Locals ban Adán Sarabia’s Los Gringos No Comen Llajua (Foreigners Don’t Eat Spicy Sauce) because it portrays them as narco-villains For a film-maker, getting lost in the jungle can be a source of amusing sketches, which can turn even more humorous if it’s a German tourist stumbling upon a makeshift cocaine lab run by fictional drug-traffickers. But coca growers in the Yungas region of Bolivia do not see the funny side. They have banned the screening of Adán Sarabia’s Los Gringos No Comen Llajua (Foreigners Don’t Eat Spicy Sauce) because it portrays them as narco-villains. In the movie, the German tourist is kidnapped by drug traffickers who believe he is worth a lot of money. It’s all fiction, says the Bolivian filmmaker, but the coca growers are not convinced. They have even intimidated those who try to show the film. “The house of one of the people who helped us was burnt down,” said Sarabia. “They’ve threatened the actors who live in the Yungas that they’ll throw them out of their community, and they’ve called them persona non grata.” The young director protests that his comedy, while filmed in the Yungas, could be set in any jungle area of Latin America. “I was surprised that one of the leaders of the coca growers wanted to know who gave us permission to film a cocaine lab,” said Sarabia. A scene in the movie shows mean-looking men stumping their feet on coca leaves, the traditional maceration process in the production of illegal cocaine. “This person believes that what he’s seen in the movie is true but, in reality, that cocaine lab was our artistic recreation.” For the director, this is not just laughable but also an implicit confirmation that some of the coca legally grown in the Yungas for traditional and medicinal uses goes to drug traffickers. “This comment implicates the coca growers, that they do have maceration pits,” said Savadria. “He put his foot in his mouth.” The director, however, is pleased about the controversy because it has given the film very good publicity. “We now plan to launch it again. People now want to see it.” Bolivia Comedy Drugs trade guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Locals ban Adán Sarabia’s Los Gringos No Comen Llajua (Foreigners Don’t Eat Spicy Sauce) because it portrays them as narco-villains For a film-maker, getting lost in the jungle can be a source of amusing sketches, which can turn even more humorous if it’s a German tourist stumbling upon a makeshift cocaine lab run by fictional drug-traffickers. But coca growers in the Yungas region of Bolivia do not see the funny side. They have banned the screening of Adán Sarabia’s Los Gringos No Comen Llajua (Foreigners Don’t Eat Spicy Sauce) because it portrays them as narco-villains. In the movie, the German tourist is kidnapped by drug traffickers who believe he is worth a lot of money. It’s all fiction, says the Bolivian filmmaker, but the coca growers are not convinced. They have even intimidated those who try to show the film. “The house of one of the people who helped us was burnt down,” said Sarabia. “They’ve threatened the actors who live in the Yungas that they’ll throw them out of their community, and they’ve called them persona non grata.” The young director protests that his comedy, while filmed in the Yungas, could be set in any jungle area of Latin America. “I was surprised that one of the leaders of the coca growers wanted to know who gave us permission to film a cocaine lab,” said Sarabia. A scene in the movie shows mean-looking men stumping their feet on coca leaves, the traditional maceration process in the production of illegal cocaine. “This person believes that what he’s seen in the movie is true but, in reality, that cocaine lab was our artistic recreation.” For the director, this is not just laughable but also an implicit confirmation that some of the coca legally grown in the Yungas for traditional and medicinal uses goes to drug traffickers. “This comment implicates the coca growers, that they do have maceration pits,” said Savadria. “He put his foot in his mouth.” The director, however, is pleased about the controversy because it has given the film very good publicity. “We now plan to launch it again. People now want to see it.” Bolivia Comedy Drugs trade guardian.co.uk
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Harmondsworth under spotlight for holding detainees as long as three years at a cost of £110 a night, says IMB report Ministers have been warned by an official immigration watchdog of the “excessively long” periods, including cases of more than three years, that detainees are being held at Europe’s largest removal centre. A “snapshot” taken last December showed that 35 detainees at Harmondsworth removal centre, near Heathrow airport, had been waiting more than 12 months to be deported, including seven who had been waiting more than two years. Harmondsworth’s officially appointed independent monitoring board (IMB) said one man had been held in detention for three years and seven months at a cost of £110 a night. The bill is already more than £144,000. “This is not only emotionally costly to detainees but expensive for the taxpayer,” says the IMB’s annual report to the immigration minister, Damian Green. It adds that the latest national figures show that as of 3 March, 170 detainees around the country have been held more than two years waiting for their removal. The watchdog raises the problem of “hidden children” being held in immigration detention centres despite the coalition’s pledge to end the practice. The IMB’s annual report reveals that six children who were held last year at Harmondsworth were removed by social services when it had been established they were children. The watchdog said they were part of the problem of young people being detained by the UK Border Agency as adults despite claiming to be under 18. “Arrangements should be made for the rapid assessment of those claiming to be under 18,” the IMB reported. Harmondsworth, which is run by a US private security company, GEO, became the largest immigration detention centre in Europe last year when four prison-style wings were opened, trebling the total capacity to 615 people. The report was published as a freedom of information request revealed a surge of complaints last year against the security company G4S over its running of four immigration removal centres. In 2010 the company received 773 complaints from detainees – 240 more than the previous year. Nearly 130 of the complaints were fully or partially substantiated. Most concerned lost property, poor quality food or poor communication but 25 of the complaints that were substantiated involved the conduct of individual members of staff. They included two complaints of serious assault by staff on detainees at Harmondsworth and at Tinsley House, near Gatwick. A third case of assault at Harmondsworth is still being investigated. G4S lost the contract to carry out immigration deportations last year. A police investigation continues into the case of Jimmy Mubenga, an Angolan who died after being restrained by three G4S guards on a flight . A spokesman for G4S said: “Anyone detained within our immigration facilities is given every opportunity to raise concerns about either the treatment they receive from our staff or the services we provide. “The level of substantiated complaints against our employees over the last three years, at 25, is extremely low and of a minor nature, albeit we take each one very seriously. “The vast majority of upheld complaints relate to issues at Brook House IRC, which houses some of the UK’s most challenging detainees, including a number of convicted criminals, prior to their deportation.” David Wood, head of criminality and detention at the UK Border Agency, said: “The way that complaints are processed and recorded has been made simpler in recent years, which has led to a rise in recording. “Complaints range from issues about the food served at mealtimes to more serious issues. Importantly these figures show a decrease in substantiated complaints and that the majority of complaints are minor and relate to availability of facilities at the centres.” Immigration and asylum Human rights Jimmy Mubenga Children Alan Travis guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Harmondsworth under spotlight for holding detainees as long as three years at a cost of £110 a night, says IMB report Ministers have been warned by an official immigration watchdog of the “excessively long” periods, including cases of more than three years, that detainees are being held at Europe’s largest removal centre. A “snapshot” taken last December showed that 35 detainees at Harmondsworth removal centre, near Heathrow airport, had been waiting more than 12 months to be deported, including seven who had been waiting more than two years. Harmondsworth’s officially appointed independent monitoring board (IMB) said one man had been held in detention for three years and seven months at a cost of £110 a night. The bill is already more than £144,000. “This is not only emotionally costly to detainees but expensive for the taxpayer,” says the IMB’s annual report to the immigration minister, Damian Green. It adds that the latest national figures show that as of 3 March, 170 detainees around the country have been held more than two years waiting for their removal. The watchdog raises the problem of “hidden children” being held in immigration detention centres despite the coalition’s pledge to end the practice. The IMB’s annual report reveals that six children who were held last year at Harmondsworth were removed by social services when it had been established they were children. The watchdog said they were part of the problem of young people being detained by the UK Border Agency as adults despite claiming to be under 18. “Arrangements should be made for the rapid assessment of those claiming to be under 18,” the IMB reported. Harmondsworth, which is run by a US private security company, GEO, became the largest immigration detention centre in Europe last year when four prison-style wings were opened, trebling the total capacity to 615 people. The report was published as a freedom of information request revealed a surge of complaints last year against the security company G4S over its running of four immigration removal centres. In 2010 the company received 773 complaints from detainees – 240 more than the previous year. Nearly 130 of the complaints were fully or partially substantiated. Most concerned lost property, poor quality food or poor communication but 25 of the complaints that were substantiated involved the conduct of individual members of staff. They included two complaints of serious assault by staff on detainees at Harmondsworth and at Tinsley House, near Gatwick. A third case of assault at Harmondsworth is still being investigated. G4S lost the contract to carry out immigration deportations last year. A police investigation continues into the case of Jimmy Mubenga, an Angolan who died after being restrained by three G4S guards on a flight . A spokesman for G4S said: “Anyone detained within our immigration facilities is given every opportunity to raise concerns about either the treatment they receive from our staff or the services we provide. “The level of substantiated complaints against our employees over the last three years, at 25, is extremely low and of a minor nature, albeit we take each one very seriously. “The vast majority of upheld complaints relate to issues at Brook House IRC, which houses some of the UK’s most challenging detainees, including a number of convicted criminals, prior to their deportation.” David Wood, head of criminality and detention at the UK Border Agency, said: “The way that complaints are processed and recorded has been made simpler in recent years, which has led to a rise in recording. “Complaints range from issues about the food served at mealtimes to more serious issues. Importantly these figures show a decrease in substantiated complaints and that the majority of complaints are minor and relate to availability of facilities at the centres.” Immigration and asylum Human rights Jimmy Mubenga Children Alan Travis guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Harmondsworth under spotlight for holding detainees as long as three years at a cost of £110 a night, says IMB report Ministers have been warned by an official immigration watchdog of the “excessively long” periods, including cases of more than three years, that detainees are being held at Europe’s largest removal centre. A “snapshot” taken last December showed that 35 detainees at Harmondsworth removal centre, near Heathrow airport, had been waiting more than 12 months to be deported, including seven who had been waiting more than two years. Harmondsworth’s officially appointed independent monitoring board (IMB) said one man had been held in detention for three years and seven months at a cost of £110 a night. The bill is already more than £144,000. “This is not only emotionally costly to detainees but expensive for the taxpayer,” says the IMB’s annual report to the immigration minister, Damian Green. It adds that the latest national figures show that as of 3 March, 170 detainees around the country have been held more than two years waiting for their removal. The watchdog raises the problem of “hidden children” being held in immigration detention centres despite the coalition’s pledge to end the practice. The IMB’s annual report reveals that six children who were held last year at Harmondsworth were removed by social services when it had been established they were children. The watchdog said they were part of the problem of young people being detained by the UK Border Agency as adults despite claiming to be under 18. “Arrangements should be made for the rapid assessment of those claiming to be under 18,” the IMB reported. Harmondsworth, which is run by a US private security company, GEO, became the largest immigration detention centre in Europe last year when four prison-style wings were opened, trebling the total capacity to 615 people. The report was published as a freedom of information request revealed a surge of complaints last year against the security company G4S over its running of four immigration removal centres. In 2010 the company received 773 complaints from detainees – 240 more than the previous year. Nearly 130 of the complaints were fully or partially substantiated. Most concerned lost property, poor quality food or poor communication but 25 of the complaints that were substantiated involved the conduct of individual members of staff. They included two complaints of serious assault by staff on detainees at Harmondsworth and at Tinsley House, near Gatwick. A third case of assault at Harmondsworth is still being investigated. G4S lost the contract to carry out immigration deportations last year. A police investigation continues into the case of Jimmy Mubenga, an Angolan who died after being restrained by three G4S guards on a flight . A spokesman for G4S said: “Anyone detained within our immigration facilities is given every opportunity to raise concerns about either the treatment they receive from our staff or the services we provide. “The level of substantiated complaints against our employees over the last three years, at 25, is extremely low and of a minor nature, albeit we take each one very seriously. “The vast majority of upheld complaints relate to issues at Brook House IRC, which houses some of the UK’s most challenging detainees, including a number of convicted criminals, prior to their deportation.” David Wood, head of criminality and detention at the UK Border Agency, said: “The way that complaints are processed and recorded has been made simpler in recent years, which has led to a rise in recording. “Complaints range from issues about the food served at mealtimes to more serious issues. Importantly these figures show a decrease in substantiated complaints and that the majority of complaints are minor and relate to availability of facilities at the centres.” Immigration and asylum Human rights Jimmy Mubenga Children Alan Travis guardian.co.uk
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Water levels on 40 rivers, including the Yangtze, above safety limits as authorities warn of dykes and dams under pressure China has evacuated more than 500,000 people from deadly floods that are devastating areas in the south of the country following the worst drought in 50 years. At least 105 people have been swept to their deaths or killed in landslides and another 65 are missing after rivers burst their banks. The authorities have issued the highest level of alarm about dykes and dams under dangerous pressure. Television channels that were only recently broadcasting images of dried-up lake beds are now carrying footage of flooded homes and boats plying their way through inundated streets. China Daily said 550,000 people have been forced to leave their homes. The dramatic shift is in line with weather trends identified by the Beijing Climate Centre, which says rain is coming in shorter, fiercer bursts , interspersed by protracted periods of drought. The worst affected province is Zhejiang, where some stretches of the Qiantang river have risen to their highest level since 1955, according to the Flood Control and Drought Relief Office. In the Zhuji district, which has had 40.5cm of rain since the start of the month, the Puyang river inundated 88 villages and 13,000 hectares of crops. In neighbouring Jiangxi province, troops have helped 122,400 residents evacuate from vulnerable lowlands, according to the China News Service. Roads have been closed and bridges have collapsed in the floods, which have also affected Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan and Guizhou provinces. Monitoring stations on 40 rivers have recorded water levels above the safety limit, including Asia’s biggest waterway – the Yangtze – which is simultaneously suffering a flood downstream and a drought closer to its source. Meteorologists warned that the torrential downpours are forecast to move southwards or inland. Li Xiaoquan was quoted on China’s weather news website as saying that the rains were expected to affect Sichuan, Chongqing and Guangdong provinces before easing on Sunday. Additional reporting by Cecily Huang Flooding Natural disasters and extreme weather China Jonathan Watts guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …School’s refusal to let boy wear cornrow braids is ruled racial discrimination
June 17, 2011 No Comment
Boy’s family wins case in high court against Harrow college that bans ‘gang-related’ hairstyles A school’s anti-gang ban on unconventional hairstyles has resulted in “unlawful, indirect racial discrimination which is not justified”, the high court has ruled. The test case decision is a victory for the family of African-Caribbean teenager “G”, who wears his hair in cornrow braids as part of a family tradition. G, who cannot be named, and his mother challenged a refusal by St Gregory’s Catholic Science College in Kenton, Harrow, north London, to let G through the school gates with his braids in September 2009, when he was 11. Mr Justice Collins, sitting in London, ruled that the hair policy was not unlawful in itself, “but if it is applied without any possibility of exception, such as G, then it is unlawful”. He said in future the school authorities must consider allowing other boys to wear cornrows if it is “a genuine family tradition based on cultural and social reasons”. Even though the family’s application for judicial review was successful, G, now 13, does not wish to return to the school, which he left in tears on his first day. “This is an important decision,” said G’s solicitor, Angela Jackman, after the hearing. “It makes clear that non-religious cultural and family practices associated with a particular race fall within the protection of equalities legislation.” The judge emphasised that the school’s “short back and sides” hair policy was perfectly permissible and lawful, but exceptions had to be made on ethnic and cultural grounds. He stressed that the school was “not in any way racist” but had made “an honest mistake” in failing to allow for exceptions, adding: “The school has had glowing Ofsted reports and there is no question that it is an excellent school.” The judge said headteacher Andrew Prindiville had justified the policy as necessary to stop the gang culture prevalent in the area, in which haircuts were used as badges of membership, coming into the school. Cornrows were not necessarily gang-linked but other styles, like the skinhead haircut, might well have that connection, the judge said. The fear was that allowing exceptions to the “short back and sides” rule would undermine the anti-gang policy. But the judge pointed out that exceptions were already made for Rastafarians and Sikh boys who wore hair beyond the collar, and similar exceptions should be made for African Caribbeans. The judge said G’s family was not alone in regarding cornrows as part of their culture: “There are, on the evidence, other African Caribbeans who take the same view.” The judge refused the head teacher and governors permission to appeal to the court of appeal, but they can still go to the appeal judge directly to ask them to consider the case. The judge stressed that he was not ruling on whether the exclusion of G in 2009 was unlawful. It had been suggested that G’s family might bring a county court damages action over the case. That would be the time to decide whether or not the school had dealt with G’s desire to wear cornrows in an unlawful manner, said the judge. Jackman said the judge had found the school’s policy unlawful as it applied to African Caribbean boys with G’s beliefs because it indirectly discriminated on race grounds. She added: “For G, wearing his hair in cornrows is a fundamental cultural practice which would have had no adverse impact upon the school. His wishes, however, were dismissed by the school without any consideration. Whilst schools face the challenges of maintaining good discipline, a community environment and their particular ethos, this case is a reminder that they must do so within the boundaries of the law.” Schools London guardian.co.uk
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Click here to view this media Fox News host Martha MacCallum said Thursday that Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) didn’t deserve five uninterrupted minutes to announce his resignation. As Weiner was announcing his intentions to step down at a press conference Thursday afternoon, he was mercilessly heckled. One man shouted “pervert” and several other lewd comments. “Boy, a lot of anger in that room,” MacCallum announced as Weiner left the podium. “Did you hear the heckling? Sometimes it was almost difficult for Anthony Weiner to get his sentences out. There was a very strong reaction in that room which is emblematic of the way things happen everywhere this man goes. He evokes a lot of response in everything that he does.” “The heckling was really extraordinary,” National Review editor Rich Lowery told MacCallum. “Given the abuse and the humiliation that’s been heaped on this guy, you could at least give him five uninterrupted minutes to sing a swan song.” “But you know what, Rich?” MacCallum asked. “The problem is that he never gave anyone else five uninterrupted minutes. You know, you think about the way he talked to those reporters in the room when he came out of his office that day and he was berating them.” “Let’s pile on, shall we?” radio host Allen Colmes said sarcastically. “All I’m saying is that the energy in the room came right back at him,” MacCallum insisted.
Continue reading …The Blatant Liberalism of Norah O’Donnell, CBS’s New Chief WH Correspondent
June 17, 2011 No Comment
“If Time-magaziner-turned-White House-press-sec Jay Carney ever tires of defending President Obama,” wrote NB's Mark Finkelstein earlier this year, “Norah O'Donnell clearly seems ready to step in.” News broke Thursday that O'Donnell will, in fact, be moving to the White House briefing room, but she'll staying on the same side of the podium as CBS's Chief White House Correspondent . But that doesn't mean her relentless cheerleaeding for the Obama administration and its party will relent. O'Donnell is one of television news's more blatantly liberal non-prime time personalities. In light of the move, let's review just a few of her “greatest hits.” O'Donnell is of course quick to see racism in criticism of President Obama. When Newt Gingrich jibed Obama for wasting time playing basketball, she saw racism . The comment “suggests that the President is an athlete and some people may suggest, you know, because all black people are good athletes.” Fellow guests on Morning Joe laughed at the claim. Though not as frequent as the racism charge, Islamophobia is a popular one among liberal media types. O'Donnell is no exception. In the midst of the debate over the “Ground Zero mosque,” for instance, O'Donnell claimed that the project's opponents were “act[ing] like the people who attacked America and killed 3,000 people.” Other conservative protests have also earned O'Donnell's scorn. She was of course part of the MSNBC chorus that attempted to link the Tea Party movement to so-called “birthed” movement. So as one might expect, the Tea Party's primary target earned O'Donnell's effusive praise – often in spite of the facts. Reporting on the so-called health care “summit” last year, O'Donnell embarked on a misguided attempt at “truth-squadding.” She heaped praise on President Obama for laying out the facts behind his reform proposal, such as the fact, by her telling, that insurance premiums would decline by 10 to 13 percent under Obamacare. In fact, the CBO score at the time showed premiums for individuals would rise by 10 to 13 percent. Giving O'Donnell the benefit of the doubt, she played defense for the president without bothering to check the facts. As for Republican efforts to block Obamacare's passage, well, let's just say O'Donnell was not a fan. “Are you the Grinch that stole Christmas?” she asked GOP Sen. Judd Gregg in December 2009. For all of O'Donnell's fondness for Obama, she really does not like Sarah Palin. Norah appeared at a Palin book signing – crib notes in hand – last year to grill a teen Palin fan, but threw softballs to a pro-Obamacare child weeks later. O'Donnell's lame defense of Obama's decision to wear a tacky faux-military leather jacket to an address to troops in Afghanistan was a childish “Sarah Palin wears a leather jacket too!” Norah also harped on the Palin “hand note” non-story perhaps longer than any other television personality. Filmmaker John Ziegler even called on NBC to fire O'Donnell for her vehement hatred of everything Palin. The firing never came, but now O'Donnell has left for another network where, no doubt, the Palin hatred and the rest of the liberal quips will continue.
Continue reading …Premier League fixtures 2011-12: Manchester United start defence at WBA | Sean Ingle
June 17, 2011 No Comment
• Champions play Spurs, Arsenal and Chelsea in first five games • Kenny Dalglish unhappy with timing of opening games • Click here for the full list of Premier League fixtures Manchester United face a testing start to their defence of their Premier League title with an opening day fixture at West Bromwich on 13 August, followed by home games against Tottenham and Arsenal. Sir Alex Ferguson’s side then travel to Bolton in early September before another tough game against Chelsea at Old Trafford – their third game against a top-six side in their opening five matches. Arsenal too have a tricky opening, starting at Newcastle – a game in which they blew a four-goal lead last season – followed by a home match against Liverpool and an away trip to Manchester United. Chelsea and Manchester City appear to have slightly more straightforward starts. Chelsea travel to Stoke on the opening day before taking on West Bromwich and Norwich at Stamford Bridge, while Manchester City begin at home to Swansea, followed by games against Bolton, Tottenham, Wigan and Fulham. Of the other Premier League newcomers, QPR open with a home match against Bolton, while Norwich travel to Wigan. Liverpool, meanwhile, start their campaign at home to Sunderland – which means Jordan Henderson may get an immediate match against the team he played for prior to his move to Anfield. Sunderland then face Newcastle the following weekend. Tottenham and Everton meet at White Hart Lane, Fulham and Aston Villa face each other at Craven Cottage, while Blackburn host Wolves. The games will kick-off less than 72 hours after many players will have competed in a host of friendlies, including England versus Holland at Wembley. Liverpool’s manager Kenny Dalglish said he believes it would have made more sense to put back the start of the season by a day, although that would have impacted on television coverage. “There’s not a lot you can say about the fixture list really but I would ask why the season is starting on a Saturday when there are international friendlies the midweek before,” he told the club’s website. “Clubs are doing their best to bring in good players and that usually means they are international players. There is a free week after the first weekend so I don’t understand why we can’t start the season on a Sunday to prevent players having to travel back on a Wednesday night in time for a Saturday start. “If you are going to have international games then have them, but surely it makes sense to put the league games back a day if it’s possible. To me it’s common sense.” Premier League Football fixtures 2011-12 Manchester United Sean Ingle guardian.co.uk
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