The Rise of the Planet of the Apes blockbuster reboot is out next week. To celebrate, we revisit the strange and complicated history of primate films – and ask whether we’ve lost our enthusiasm for
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‘Explosive device’ strapped to 18-year-old daughter of wealthy businessman turns out to be fake An Australian teenager who was trapped in her Sydney home after a stranger in a balaclava reportedly attached a suspicious device around her neck turned out to be the victim of an elaborate hoax. The deception was only discovered, however, after a 10-hour ordeal. Madeleine Pulver, 18, the daughter of a wealthy business executive, was released after police, taking advice from the British military, managed to remove the device, described as “very elaborate, very sophisticated”. New South Wales state police assistant commissioner Mark Murdoch said this morning that the device was “a very, very elaborate hoax”. “But it was made and certainly gave the appearance of a legitimate improvised explosive device,” he said outside the high school student’s home at Mosman in Sydney. “We had to treat it seriously until we could prove otherwise and that’s exactly what we did and that’s why it took so long.” The alarm had earlier been raised at 2.30pm Australian time on Wednesday and streets were closed to traffic near the home of William Pulver, chief executive of the technology company Appen, and his wife Belinda in the wealthy north shore suburb of Mosman. Murdoch said it was too early to say whether the device had been placed as part of an extortion attempt. “It was affixed to her by a chain or something similar, which took us a fair while to remove … and that added to the trauma that Madeleine experienced,” Murdoch said, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. “There were some instructions left by the offender at the scene and those instructions will provide us with further lines of inquiry,” Murdoch told ABC radio. The teenager was reunited with her parents, who had been kept out of the house during the rescue for their own safety. She was taken to hospital for an examination and released at 3am local time. “She’s good. She’s been kept in a very uncomfortable position. She has been and will be uncomfortable for a little while to come,” he said. “The family are at a loss to explain this,” said Murdoch. “You would hardly think someone would go to this much trouble if there wasn’t a motive behind it.” It was, he added, one of the most bizarre cases he had seen in his career. The investigation was being led by the robbery and serious crime squad. The Australian newspaper reported that police confirmed the teenager had “interaction with the person who was responsible” for placing the device. There were unconfirmed reports that a man wearing a balaclava had broken into the house and strapped a device he claimed was a bomb to the teenager’s neck or wrist. One report said he told her he could trigger it by remote control, and that it had a microphone attached enabling him to hear what she was saying. Sydney’s Daily Telegraph reported that police believed a ransom note was attached to the girl’s neck, but bomb disposal officers had been unable to read it. Friends of Pulver, who is believed to attend a private school and to be taking her Higher School Certificate, were said to have gathered at the police cordon during the incident. Appen, the company her father works for, provides linguistics technologies to companies including Microsoft, Google and Nokia. The family are reported to be among the wealthiest in Sydney. Australia Caroline Davies Lizzy Davies guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Dylan Ratigan Knocks Down Little Luke’s Statement That Trade Agreements Create Jobs. You Tell Him, Dylan!
August 3, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media Although we’re being told the three pending trade agreements with Panama, South Korea and Colombia will result in jobs for Americans, that’s not true. And Dylan Ratigan really let Little Luke Russert have it when he spouted that line . Ratigan’s also writing about trade agreements on his blog: If you want to know why politicians are so eager to pass a free trade agreement with Panama this month, type “Panama offshore banks” into Google and look at the paid ads. What you’ll see is advertising by law firms and banks that will offer you help to set up a secret corporate structure in Panama immune from taxes. The State Department knows this. Here’s how the State Department described the Panamanian economy in 2006 in a secret memo revealed on Wikileaks. The Panamanian “incorporation regime ensures secrecy, avoids taxes,and shields assets from the enforcement of legal judgments. Along with its sophisticated banking services, Panama remains an environment conducive to laundering the proceeds from criminal activity and creates a vulnerability to terrorist financing.” Yet, here’s how President Obama describes the three NAFTA-style Free Trade agreements that Congress is attempting to ratify later this month, one with Panama. “There are a few things that we can and should do right now to redouble our efforts on behalf of the American people. Today, Congress can advance trade agreements that will help businesses sell more American-made goods and services to Asia and South America, supporting thousands of jobs here at home .” This week, I’ll be covering the free trade agreements pushed by the politicians, along with the Huffington Post. The Panama FTA is one of three trade agreements up for debate and passage later this month. The agreement is supported by the business community and opposed by the AFL-CIO, and will be scored by unions. The Panama government itself wants this agreement desperately, and has complained about all of its lobbying spending in DC ($6.2 million). Panama is too small as an economy to really impact jobs in the United States, the real value of the FTA is strategic and has to do with American geopolitical aims. For the business community, Panama is a great place to hide their money. Panama is the second largest tax haven in the world , according to a secret State Department memo released by Wikileaks. There’s a deep irony in the US relationship with Panama. The country’s cooperation in the war on drugs is considered pivotal, with the State Department arguing that Panama is more important to the US than we are to Panama (see this cable ). One third of all ships are flagged in Panama, and Panama lets the US board those ships to search for drugs. But for some reason, Panama’s position as a haven for drug money is not a particular concern. What else do you need to know? Here’s Leo Gerard, president of the Steelworkers Union: “These three FTAs will undermine our economic recovery, further decimate American manufacturing and jobs and deepen the economic insecurity and devastation faced by workers across the country.” A number of factors make the FTAs, as presently negotiated, a one-way street. The so-called environmental protections that are built into the agreements simply aren’t enforced. So American companies who can build a factory in another country, knowing they can simply flush toxic waste into the local streams with no legal consequences, are obviously going to do it. They’re trying to sell these current proposed agreements as job-friendly because they include additional funding for TAA, the program that helps dislocated workers who lose their jobs as a result of the the FTAs. But that’s not enough to make up for the jobs that will be lost. The banks want these agreements. Workers don’t. Who wins?
Continue reading …Dreamboard bulletin trading in thousands of images to promote paedophilia causes 43 US arrests with 72 charged worldwide Seventy-two people have been charged with participating in an international child abuse network that prosecutors say used an online bulletin board called Dreamboard to trade tens of thousands of images and videos of sexually abused children. Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland security secretary Janet Napolitano said on Wednesday that a 20-month law enforcement effort called Operation Delego targeted more than 600 Dreamboard members around the world for allegedly participating in the private, members-only internet club created to promote paedophilia. Numerous participants in the network sexually abused children ages 12 and under, produced images and video of the abuse and then shared it with other club members, according to court papers released in the case. Of the 72 charged in the United States, 43 have been arrested there, and nine in other countries. Another 20 are known to authorities only by their internet names and remain at large. Authorities have arrested people in 13 other countries Canada, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, Hungary, Kenya, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Qatar, Serbia, Sweden and Switzerland, but some of those were arrested on local rather than the US charges. At a news conference at the Justice Department, the attorney general called the criminal activity a “nightmare for the children” and said that some of the children featured in the images and videos were just infants. In many cases, the children being victimised were in obvious, and intentional, pain – just as the rules for one area of the bulletin board mandated, the attorney general said. Napolitano said the amount of child abuse material swapped by participants in the network was massive, the equivalent to 16,000 DVDs. To conceal their conduct, members used screen names rather than actual names and accessed the bulletin board via proxy servers, with internet traffic routed through other computers to disguise a user’s location, according to the court papers. Participants were required to continually upload images of child sexual abuse to maintain their membership. Participants who molested children and created new images of child abuse were placed in a “Super VIP” category that gave them access to the entire quantity of child abuse on the bulletin board, the court papers stated. A “super hardcore” section of the bulletin board was limited to posts showing adults having violent sexual intercourse with “very young kids” subjected to physical and sexual abuse. Child protection Children Internet United States guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Dreamboard bulletin trading in thousands of images to promote paedophilia causes 43 US arrests with 72 charged worldwide Seventy-two people have been charged with participating in an international child abuse network that prosecutors say used an online bulletin board called Dreamboard to trade tens of thousands of images and videos of sexually abused children. Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland security secretary Janet Napolitano said on Wednesday that a 20-month law enforcement effort called Operation Delego targeted more than 600 Dreamboard members around the world for allegedly participating in the private, members-only internet club created to promote paedophilia. Numerous participants in the network sexually abused children ages 12 and under, produced images and video of the abuse and then shared it with other club members, according to court papers released in the case. Of the 72 charged in the United States, 43 have been arrested there, and nine in other countries. Another 20 are known to authorities only by their internet names and remain at large. Authorities have arrested people in 13 other countries Canada, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, Hungary, Kenya, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Qatar, Serbia, Sweden and Switzerland, but some of those were arrested on local rather than the US charges. At a news conference at the Justice Department, the attorney general called the criminal activity a “nightmare for the children” and said that some of the children featured in the images and videos were just infants. In many cases, the children being victimised were in obvious, and intentional, pain – just as the rules for one area of the bulletin board mandated, the attorney general said. Napolitano said the amount of child abuse material swapped by participants in the network was massive, the equivalent to 16,000 DVDs. To conceal their conduct, members used screen names rather than actual names and accessed the bulletin board via proxy servers, with internet traffic routed through other computers to disguise a user’s location, according to the court papers. Participants were required to continually upload images of child sexual abuse to maintain their membership. Participants who molested children and created new images of child abuse were placed in a “Super VIP” category that gave them access to the entire quantity of child abuse on the bulletin board, the court papers stated. A “super hardcore” section of the bulletin board was limited to posts showing adults having violent sexual intercourse with “very young kids” subjected to physical and sexual abuse. Child protection Children Internet United States guardian.co.uk
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The vote, which required approval by all 15 council members, resulted in Lebanon dissociating itself The UN security council has added its weight to growing international outcry over Syria by condemning the attacks on civilians by President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Syrian tanks have stormed Hama under heavy shelling on the fourth day of their offensive, taking over a main square at the heart of the city and cutting off electricity, water and phone lines. The UN security council’s presidential statement on Syria carries less weight than a resolution, but it still becomes part of the council’s record. The vote, which required approval by all 15 council members, put Lebanon in a difficult position. Instead of blocking adoption of the UN statement, Lebanon invoked a procedure last used 35 years ago and dissociated itself from the text. In other steps, Hillary Clinton met with US-based Syrian democracy activists on Tuesday as the Obama administration weighed up new sanctions against Syria. Congressional calls also mounted for action against Assad’s regime. Opposition figures and activists accused the regime of striking hard at a moment when world and media attention were distracted by the trial in Egypt of former president, Hosni Mubarak. “Hama is being collectively punished for its peaceful protests calling for the downfall of Bashar Assad,” said Suheir Atassi, a prominent pro-democracy activist. Like many other Syria-based activists, Atassi has gone largely into hiding and communicated via email. “The Syrian regime is committing crimes against humanity,” she said. “Where are the free people of the world?” At least three tanks took up positions in Hama’s central Assi square, which in recent weeks had been the site of carnival-like demonstrations by hundreds of thousands of protesters calling for the downfall of President Assad’s regime. Activists reported a new military push into the city early in the day, with fresh explosions, fierce shelling by tanks and machine gun fire heard in many parts of the city. Clouds of smoke hung over many of its rickety apartment buildings. “We are being subjected to shelling, machine gun fire, sniper fire, everything you can think of,” said activist Omar Hamawi. Activists and residents said military sweeps, raids and door-to-door arrests also continued in many parts of the country. About 1,700 civilians have been killed since the largely peaceful protests against Assad’s regime began in mid-March, according to tallies by activists. Syria Bashar Al-Assad Lebanon Middle East Arab and Middle East unrest United Nations Protest guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …The vote, which required approval by all 15 council members, resulted in Lebanon dissociating itself The UN security council has added its weight to growing international outcry over Syria by condemning the attacks on civilians by President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Syrian tanks have stormed Hama under heavy shelling on the fourth day of their offensive, taking over a main square at the heart of the city and cutting off electricity, water and phone lines. The UN security council’s presidential statement on Syria carries less weight than a resolution, but it still becomes part of the council’s record. The vote, which required approval by all 15 council members, put Lebanon in a difficult position. Instead of blocking adoption of the UN statement, Lebanon invoked a procedure last used 35 years ago and dissociated itself from the text. In other steps, Hillary Clinton met with US-based Syrian democracy activists on Tuesday as the Obama administration weighed up new sanctions against Syria. Congressional calls also mounted for action against Assad’s regime. Opposition figures and activists accused the regime of striking hard at a moment when world and media attention were distracted by the trial in Egypt of former president, Hosni Mubarak. “Hama is being collectively punished for its peaceful protests calling for the downfall of Bashar Assad,” said Suheir Atassi, a prominent pro-democracy activist. Like many other Syria-based activists, Atassi has gone largely into hiding and communicated via email. “The Syrian regime is committing crimes against humanity,” she said. “Where are the free people of the world?” At least three tanks took up positions in Hama’s central Assi square, which in recent weeks had been the site of carnival-like demonstrations by hundreds of thousands of protesters calling for the downfall of President Assad’s regime. Activists reported a new military push into the city early in the day, with fresh explosions, fierce shelling by tanks and machine gun fire heard in many parts of the city. Clouds of smoke hung over many of its rickety apartment buildings. “We are being subjected to shelling, machine gun fire, sniper fire, everything you can think of,” said activist Omar Hamawi. Activists and residents said military sweeps, raids and door-to-door arrests also continued in many parts of the country. About 1,700 civilians have been killed since the largely peaceful protests against Assad’s regime began in mid-March, according to tallies by activists. Syria Bashar Al-Assad Lebanon Middle East Arab and Middle East unrest United Nations Protest guardian.co.uk
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• No word on much needed reform of Italy’s economy • Fall in US factory orders adds to mounting fears Fears that the eurozone crisis is escalating and further evidence of the weakness in the US economy drove stock markets lower on Wednesday as policy makers failed to restore confidence in global markets. The FTSE 100 index closed at its lowest level since November, after its biggest one day fall for nine months of 133 points, while Wall Street was gyrating wildly and facing its ninth consecutive day of falls – a pattern last recorded in 1978. A much anticipated speech by Italy’s prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, was delayed until European markets closed but failed to calm the storm on international financial markets that threatens to engulf his country and imperil the entire eurozone. Italy and Spain – whose prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has cut short his summer holiday – are now at the centre of the eurozone debt crisis that began with Greece more than a year ago and has enveloped Ireland and Portugal. European commission president José Manuel Barroso tried to inject calm into the markets by insisting that record high yields – interest rates – on Spanish and Italian government bonds were “unwarranted”. “Developments in the sovereign bond markets of Italy and Spain are a cause of deep concern,” Barroso said. “These developments are clearly unwarranted on the basis of economic and budgetary fundamentals in these two member states and the steps that they are taking to reinforce those fundamentals.” The Swiss central bank stunned markets by attempting to reverse the “massive overvaluation” of the Swiss franc, which hit record highs against the dollar as a perceived haven, by cutting interest rates. Amid the anxieties in Europe, concerns about the US economy were compounded when the service sector survey was weaker than expected and other data showed a fall in factory orders in June. European politicians had hoped their deal on 21 July to bailout Greece for a second time and impose losses on bond holders would restore confidence in the eurozone. Their efforts have failed, particularly as US debt crisis compounded the febrile atmosphere in the markets. In France, shares in the second largest bank Société Générale were temporarily suspended – they eventually closed 9% lower in heavy turnover – after it took a €395m (£345m) hit on its exposure to Greece because of its contribution to the bailout plan. The price of gold hit fresh highs. Concerns were also mounting that banks across the eurozone were finding difficulties in funding themselves on the markets. Huw van Steenis, banks analyst at Morgan Stanley, said: “Investors, we and some banks are increasingly concerned that funding markets won’t reopen with sufficient depth or at good enough terms for Italian and Spanish issuers, requiring banks to take offsetting measures”. Berlusconi’s statement to the lower house of parliament faced immediate criticism for failing to tackle the problems facing the Italian economy even though he promised to work with unions and employers on a reform of Italy’s notoriously rigid employment laws. He drew attention to the fact that his government had earlier given the green light to €9bn of infrastructure projects which he said would promote growth, especially in the poorer south. But his keenly awaited speech contained neither an appeal to the nation for painful sacrifices in the common interest, nor an announcement that his government would force through the radical, structural reforms that most economists believe Italy badly needs. There were few indications that Berlusconi intended stiffening the budget-reduction measures his government approved last month. And he flatly ruled out any change of government. “Stability has always been a winning weapon against speculation,” Berlusconi declared. He was speaking at the end of a day that saw Italy’s borrowing rates soar to their highest levels since the launch of the euro. The yield on its benchmark, 10-year treasury bonds touched 6.21% before dropping back to 6.09%. His economy minister Giulio Tremonti had earlier met eurogroup president Jean-Claude Juncker to discuss the crisis. Berlusconi had originally intended to deliver the first of two speeches to the legislature earlier in the day. But it was decided that, given the sensitivity of the situation, he should hold off until after the close of markets in Europe. Despite calls for his resignation, the prime minister said he fully intended seeing out his mandate, which does not expire until 2013. The nearest he came to self-criticism was an admission that “we know there is more to do.” Quite what remained elusive. His pledge on labour reform was tentative. The government had some time ago proposed to the unions and employers a revision of Italy’s keystone employment law, he said. “Now is the time to check the level of agreement”. European debt crisis European banks Stock markets Bonds Italy Europe Silvio Berlusconi Euro Currencies John Hooper Jill Treanor guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …• No word on much needed reform of Italy’s economy • Fall in US factory orders adds to mounting fears Fears that the eurozone crisis is escalating and further evidence of the weakness in the US economy drove stock markets lower on Wednesday as policy makers failed to restore confidence in global markets. The FTSE 100 index closed at its lowest level since November, after its biggest one day fall for nine months of 133 points, while Wall Street was gyrating wildly and facing its ninth consecutive day of falls – a pattern last recorded in 1978. A much anticipated speech by Italy’s prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, was delayed until European markets closed but failed to calm the storm on international financial markets that threatens to engulf his country and imperil the entire eurozone. Italy and Spain – whose prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has cut short his summer holiday – are now at the centre of the eurozone debt crisis that began with Greece more than a year ago and has enveloped Ireland and Portugal. European commission president José Manuel Barroso tried to inject calm into the markets by insisting that record high yields – interest rates – on Spanish and Italian government bonds were “unwarranted”. “Developments in the sovereign bond markets of Italy and Spain are a cause of deep concern,” Barroso said. “These developments are clearly unwarranted on the basis of economic and budgetary fundamentals in these two member states and the steps that they are taking to reinforce those fundamentals.” The Swiss central bank stunned markets by attempting to reverse the “massive overvaluation” of the Swiss franc, which hit record highs against the dollar as a perceived haven, by cutting interest rates. Amid the anxieties in Europe, concerns about the US economy were compounded when the service sector survey was weaker than expected and other data showed a fall in factory orders in June. European politicians had hoped their deal on 21 July to bailout Greece for a second time and impose losses on bond holders would restore confidence in the eurozone. Their efforts have failed, particularly as US debt crisis compounded the febrile atmosphere in the markets. In France, shares in the second largest bank Société Générale were temporarily suspended – they eventually closed 9% lower in heavy turnover – after it took a €395m (£345m) hit on its exposure to Greece because of its contribution to the bailout plan. The price of gold hit fresh highs. Concerns were also mounting that banks across the eurozone were finding difficulties in funding themselves on the markets. Huw van Steenis, banks analyst at Morgan Stanley, said: “Investors, we and some banks are increasingly concerned that funding markets won’t reopen with sufficient depth or at good enough terms for Italian and Spanish issuers, requiring banks to take offsetting measures”. Berlusconi’s statement to the lower house of parliament faced immediate criticism for failing to tackle the problems facing the Italian economy even though he promised to work with unions and employers on a reform of Italy’s notoriously rigid employment laws. He drew attention to the fact that his government had earlier given the green light to €9bn of infrastructure projects which he said would promote growth, especially in the poorer south. But his keenly awaited speech contained neither an appeal to the nation for painful sacrifices in the common interest, nor an announcement that his government would force through the radical, structural reforms that most economists believe Italy badly needs. There were few indications that Berlusconi intended stiffening the budget-reduction measures his government approved last month. And he flatly ruled out any change of government. “Stability has always been a winning weapon against speculation,” Berlusconi declared. He was speaking at the end of a day that saw Italy’s borrowing rates soar to their highest levels since the launch of the euro. The yield on its benchmark, 10-year treasury bonds touched 6.21% before dropping back to 6.09%. His economy minister Giulio Tremonti had earlier met eurogroup president Jean-Claude Juncker to discuss the crisis. Berlusconi had originally intended to deliver the first of two speeches to the legislature earlier in the day. But it was decided that, given the sensitivity of the situation, he should hold off until after the close of markets in Europe. Despite calls for his resignation, the prime minister said he fully intended seeing out his mandate, which does not expire until 2013. The nearest he came to self-criticism was an admission that “we know there is more to do.” Quite what remained elusive. His pledge on labour reform was tentative. The government had some time ago proposed to the unions and employers a revision of Italy’s keystone employment law, he said. “Now is the time to check the level of agreement”. European debt crisis European banks Stock markets Bonds Italy Europe Silvio Berlusconi Euro Currencies John Hooper Jill Treanor guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Looks like Bin Laden won . Wherever he is, I’m sure he’s watching and laughing: Two Senators have been warning for months that the government has a secret legal interpretation of the Patriot Act so broad that it amounts to an entirely different law — one that gives the feds massive domestic surveillance powers, and keeps the rest of us in the dark about the snooping. “There is a significant discrepancy between what most Americans – including many members of Congress – think the Patriot Act allows the government to do and how government officials interpret that same law,” wrote the Senators, Ron Wyden and Mark Udall. “We believe that most members of the American public would be very surprised to learn how federal surveillance law is being interpreted in secret. ” The Senators tried to get the government to reveal some of the law’s contents , by forcing the Director of National Intelligence and the Attorney General to produce a report outlining when this secret surveillance has gone overboard. Yesterday, the effort failed. The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence said no to the report by rejecting Wyden and Udall’s amendment to the FY2012 Intelligence Authorization Act. In other words: we are all still in the dark about how the government is spying on us.The Senators won’t say, exactly, what elements of this secret Patriot Act have them so spooked. But Wyden told Danger Room in May that the so-called “business-records provision” is a major source of concern. It empowers the FBI to get businesses, medical offices, banks and other organizations to turn over any “tangible things” it deems relevant to a security investigation. So instead, the Senators are left to make vague — if vociferous — protests. “In our view, the executive branch’s decision to conceal the U.S. government’s official understanding of what this law means is unacceptable, and untenable in the long run,” Wyden and Udall wrote in the committee’s report on the Authorization Act . “Intelligence agencies need to have the ability to conduct secret operations, but they should not be allowed to rely on secret laws.” Just a few weeks ago, Microsoft admitted that data stored in the European-based cloud were still subject to access by the U.S. government under the Patriot Act.
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