Chilling mobile phone footage purports to show men having been gunned down in Homs, shedding new light on crackdown Fresh evidence has emerged of the scale of Syria’s crackdown on demonstrators, with a video smuggled into Lebanon that shows unarmed protesters having been shot, some seriously injured and possibly dead, in what appears to be the city of Homs earlier this month. The video, captured on a mobile phone, shows up to half a dozen men struck down by what appears to be relentless gunfire. It was smuggled into the Lebanese border town of Wadi Khaled on Sunday. The footage is believed to have been taken during a rally after Friday prayers on 3 June. According to a Syrian “Mohammed” who spoke to the Guardian in Wadi Khaled on Tuesday, the man who filmed it was tracked down by regime officials, then tortured and killed. The video is graphic, gruesome and difficult to watch but, like many others that are being uploaded to the internet, is being used to cast light on an increasingly bloody uprising that is otherwise being conducted without international scrutiny. Syria has banned international journalists for the past three months and continues to disrupt the internet and telephone lines as its forces sweep through restive towns and cities. Other videos have shown the same violent methods of quelling dissent, but few have been as violent. It has not been confirmed how many people were killed or injured in Homs on 3 June, but reports from activists at the time suggested at least 20 had died. “We are members of the anti-government movement,” said Mohammed, who comes from the town of Tel Khalakh. “This regime who made our lives hell and made us flee to Wadi Khaled.” Mohammed was not present at the protest in Homs on the day the video shot, but spoke to the Guardian about a similar crackdown in his town, in nearby Tel Khalakh on 3 June. “We were protesting on Friday. We did not have any weapons at all. We were children, women and elderly men. We were being shot at from all directions by the security forces and gangsters,” he said. “They began to detain us. They shot our children and women. “We were shouting, ‘peaceful, peaceful.’ We began taking bullets from snipers. When the snipers had finished their job, the gangsters came down. They began to detain us and step on our bodies. “They were mocking us, ‘You want freedom?’ and stepping on our backs.” Martin Chulov, Rachel Stevenson, and Mona Mahmood Syria Arab and Middle East unrest Protest Martin Chulov Rachel Stevenson Mona Mahmood guardian.co.uk
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PM invites opposite number, Antonis Samaras, to join his party in a national unity government to address tailspinning economy The economic and social mayhem gripping Europe’s peripheries appeared to have claimed the scalp of another government after the Greek prime minister admitted he could not drive through reforms to shore up the beleaguered economy, and offered to make way for a government of national unity. After a day on which tens of thousands marched on parliament to oppose the swingeing austerity measures designed to stave off bankruptcy, George Papandreou effectively conceded that he had not been able to muster enough support in parliament for the swingeing cuts required by international creditors to enable Greece to balance its books. Papandreou told his conservative opposite number, Antonis Samaras, that he would stand aside and make way for a new leader if the opposition joined his party in a national unity government committed to sweeping reform to prevent Greece’s tailspinning economy from crashing. It remained unclear whether the opposition New Democracy party would agree to the move. Party insiders were indicating that it would only do so if the government renegotiated the terms of last year’s €110bn (£96bn) international bailout package, designed to save Greece from default. “The most important member of a ship’s crew is the captain, and the captain has to go,” prominent conservative deputy Theodoros Karaoglou said, according to Associated Press. “If we joined forces, we could go to our (creditors) together to negotiate and the results of course would be better.” Greece’s economy is drowning in more than 300bn euros of debt – around one and a half times bigger than the country’s entire annual output. Unemployment has rocketed to 16.2 percent, and the economy is predicted to contract by as much as 3 percent this year, making it Europe’s worst performing economy – and one of the worst in the world. Under a bailout agreed with the EU and IMF a year ago, the country was to implement painful austerity measures, cutting spending deeply and privatising large swathes of the economy. Papandreou’s plan provided for 6.5 billion euros ($9.4 billion) in tax rises and spending cuts this year. But a popular revolt has demonstrated that reforms are deeply unpopular. A wave of strikes and riots have reduced Athens to a smouldering mess of shattered windows and shuttered storefronts, furious during daytime riots, derelict and desolate by night. Earlier on Wednesday, police used teargas on demonstrators rallying outside parliament. At least 11 people were injured and another 20 people were detained, according to police, as protesters responded to tear gas by hurling stones and firebombs. Cafe tables and chairs lay overturned as rubbish bins burned. Heavy clouds of teargas hung over Syntagma Square and side streets. The choking chemicals wafted as far as the presidential mansion behind parliament, where Papandreou met with the country’s president, Karolos Papoulias, to brief him on the severity of the situation. “We want them out. Obviously these measures are not going to get us out of the crisis,” said Antony Vatselas, a 28-year-old mechanical engineer, crying from tear gas. “They want only us to pay for it,” he told Reuters. “And they are doing nothing. I want the debt to be erased. If this doesn’t happen, there is no exit for Greece.” Papandreou has suffered plummeting approval ratings and an open revolt from within his own PASOK Socialist party over the new austerity bill, which is set to increase taxes and cut spending until 2015 two years beyond the current government’s mandate. Several MPs indicated that they would not support his reform plan, threatening his thin majority in parliament, where his Pasok party has 155 seats in the 300-seat chamber. The only alternative to financial austerity appears to be a default on Greece’s large stack of loans, an outcome that European leaders have been desperate to avoid for fear that the contagion effect would ripple through the international financial system. Greece Europe Helena Smith guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Luke Russert Explains How the Media Will Hound Anthony Weiner and Democrats Until He Resigns
June 15, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media Luke Russert explains to MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts what his marching orders are from their network. He will hound the Democrats and Anthony Weiner at every opportunity until Weiner finally resigns. Of course no word yet on when he’s planning on doing the same thing to David Vitter or Tom Coburn.
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CNN's Dana Bash is a new member of the board of trustees for an organization that, as part of its official mission, advocates for “reproductive rights” on Capitol Hill and at the United Nations. The organization, Jewish Women International (JWI), clarifies that its purpose is “empowering women and girls — through economic literacy; community training; healthy relationship education; and the proliferation of women's leadership.” The organization's mission statement includes the following: “At the grassroots level at the United Nations and on Capitol Hill, our advocacy agenda is centered on violence prevention and reproductive rights.” In today's abortion debate, “reproductive rights” is usually a liberal code-word for “pro-choice.” Bash, a CNN Capitol Hill correspondent, was born and raised Jewish. She was honored by JWI in 2010 as one of 10 Jewish “women to watch” for her work at CNN. The group's official blog recently affirmed its pro-choice stance in slamming the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortions Act.” The blog stated that “It is JWI's long-held belief that women and their families have the right to make their own decisions about pregnancy and health care, and that these decisions must remain a private matter.” They also called the bill part of “insidious efforts to restrict reproductive freedom.”
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Jeremy Ractliffe, who hid uncut diamonds given by supermodel Naomi Campbell, says he has no regrets The former head of Nelson Mandela’s children’s charity, who received alleged “blood diamonds” from the British supermodel Naomi Campbell, has been cleared of wrongdoing by a South African court. Jeremy Ractliffe, founder of the charity, had been charged with illegally keeping uncut diamonds. The gems were passed to him by Campbell after she allegedly received them as a gift from former Liberian president Charles Taylor. A judge said that the case against Ractliffe, who could have faced 10 years in jail if convicted, was not proven. “Mr Ractliffe, you are not guilty and discharged,” said magistrate Renier Boshoff after hearing half a day of testimony. Ractliffe, 74, the former chief executive of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, had been accompanied to court by his wife and five daughters, who embraced and wept after hearing the verdict. Ractliffe claimed he kept the stones and did not report them to authorities in an attempt to protect the reputations of Mandela, Campbell and the charity. He insisted that he had no regrets and did not blame Campbell for his trouble. “I was just doing my job,” he said outside court. “I did what I did for what I felt were totally valid reasons. I have always thought I was innocent and it was very nice to have this proven.” His wife, Gail, added: “My husband is a good and honourable man.” The existence of the stones emerged last year during the war crimes trial of Taylor at The Hague. Prosecutors said they were “blood diamonds” given by Taylor to Campbell in 1997 after a charity dinner hosted by Mandela with guests including the Hollywood actor Mia Farrow. Campbell testified that she received “dirty-looking stones” from three men who came to her hotel room. The supermodel said that she did not know the source of the diamonds, but other witnesses claimed she had bragged about getting them from Taylor. Campbell said she gave Ractliffe the diamonds the morning after she received them, during a trip on the luxury Blue Train, as a donation to Mandela’s charity. Ractliffe said he did not tell the foundation about the diamonds and kept them in a safe for 13 years until he handed them over to police after Campbell’s August 2010 testimony. Ractliffe had already stepped down as chief executive by last August. He resigned as a trustee after the diamond controversy became public. It is illegal in South Africa to possess a rough diamond because of its possible links to funding fighters in African civil wars, money laundering and other crimes. Taylor has denied using illegally mined diamonds to buy weapons for Sierra Leone’s Revolutionary United Front rebels during the 1991-2001 civil war. His three-year trial closed in March and judges are expected to deliver their verdict later this year. South Africa Blood diamonds Naomi Campbell Charles Taylor Nelson Mandela David Smith guardian.co.uk
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Market’s appetite for technology stocks continues as music streaming site’s worth hits more than twice the value of AOL Pandora, the music streaming company, saw its valuation rocket to $4.2bn (£2.6bn) in the first hour of trading at its flotation on the New York stock exchange – $1.6bn higher than anticipated. Shares in Pandora traded at $26 each in the opening minutes of its market debut on Wednesday, 60% higher than the loss-making company’s initial offer price of $16 . Pandora’s shares opened at $20, up 25%, and went as high as $26, briefly valuing the company at $4.2bn – more than twice the value of AOL. The share price settled back during the first hours of trading to about $22, a market value of $3.6bn. While the surge was expected – Pandora has put only about 9% of its shares on the public market and investors clamoured to get hold of the limited supply – the market’s appetite for technology stocks continues unabated. Demand mirrored the pattern seen with recent tech flotations such as LinkedIn, which saw its shares soar from $45 each to $90 in the opening minutes of trading last month. However, if the trading pattern remains true to form Pandora can expect its share price to fall back by perhaps a fifth in the coming days, in line with what occurred to LinkedIn and Russian search engine Yandex. Pandora reported revenue of $51m, with a net loss of $6.8m in the three months to the end of April. The company has 90 million registered users in the US and makes money mainly from advertising, with significant costs for music royalties to record companies – it paid out $29m in three months to the end of April. Pandora also warns that its revenue growth rate is expected to decline in the future as the business matures and encounters more competition. While investors have taken the chance to buy shares, Pandora faces competition on numerous fronts, including from satellite radio provider Sirius, music services such as Rhapsody and cloud storage services from Apple, Google and Amazon. Spotify’s long-awaited US launch is also said to be close. •
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Socialist government and conservatives opposition plot ‘grand coalition’ to deal with debt crisis amid violent strike in Athens, reports state TV Greece’s Socialist government began power-sharing talks with the opposition conservatives as violent clashes ripped through Athens , state television has reported. State-run NET television said the prime minister, George Papandreou, was in talks with the opposition leader Antonis Samaras to form a possible grand coalition government to deal with the country’s crippling debt crisis. Officials were not immediately available for comment, but several conservative MPs publicly backed the idea and called for Papandreou to step aside. “The most important member of a ship’s crew is the captain, and the captain has to go,” prominent conservative MP Theodoros Karaoglou said. “If we joined forces, we could go to our [creditors] together to negotiate and the results of course would be better.” Violent clashes lasted several hours after more than 25,000 people gathered outside parliament to protest against a new package of tax rises and spending cuts. At least 20 people were detained, police said. The rally was called during a general strike against a new wave of austerity measures worth €28bn (£25bn) to 2015, exceeding the Socialists’ scheduled term in office by two years. Papandreou has suffered plummeting approval ratings and an open revolt within his own Pasok party. One of his MPs left the party on Tuesday night and declared himself an independent, reducing Pasok’s majority to five seats in the 300-member parliament. Greece Europe Global recession Economics Global economy European Union IMF Financial crisis Banking Market turmoil guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …The Larry Summerses of the world agree with the DFH’s on identifying the problems, but as Robert Kuttner says, they are too chickenshit or too stubborn to actually agree with us when we call out the right things to do. What Larry Summers Can’t Bring Himself to Say If you want to understand why the Obama administration’s heart is in the right place but it suffers from a chronic lack of political nerve, you need look no further than former chief economic advisor Larry Summers. On Sunday, Summers published a piece in the Financial Times warning that the recovery was at risk of sputtering out. His analysis was spot-on. But his proposed solutions were feeble, bordering on pathetic. Summers declared boldly: The problem in a period of high unemployment, as now, is a lack of business demand for employees… After bubbles burst, there is no pent-up desire to invest. Instead, there is a glut of capital caused by the over-investment during the period of overconfidence – vacant houses, malls without tenants, factories without customers. Exactly so. And Summers went on to debunk such usual remedies as training programs, tax cuts, and deficit reduction for its own sake. Increasing the supply of qualified workers, he added, may even make things worse: Training programs or measures to increase work incentives for those with high and low incomes may affect who gets the jobs, but in a demand-constrained economy will not affect the total number of jobs. Measures that increase productivity and efficiency, if they do not also translate into increased demand, may actually reduce the number of people working as the level of total output remains demand-constrained. So, what’s solution? A big infrastructure program, or Stimulus II, right? Surely, that logically follows. Well, no. .. read on It’s maddening. Atrios continues: All Wind-Up And No Pitch It’s basically the same with Klain, who spent time arguing with the imaginary hippies who were obsessed with the stimulus involving Big Projects. Now as a certified dirty hippie, I think there was a blown opportunity to make the case for big projects, though I don’t think that’s the same thing as thinking big projects should have been central to the stimulus. And thinking that some big projects would be a good thing isn’t just Hoover Dam nostalgia, it’s thinking that…there are some big projects that we should be doing! Klain then goes on to make the case that we should be repairing things instead of focusing on big new projects. Well, this dirty hippie mostly agrees! Or, at least, agrees that while there shouldn’t necessarily be a tradeoff, there are basically limitless fast opportunities to spend money repairing water systems. However, after arguing that we should repair stuff, Klain goes on to say that… wait, nevermind, we shouldn’t be repairing stuff!… read on
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Leaked documents ahead of key Lima meeting suggest UN body is looking to slow emissions with technological fixes rather than talks • Read the documents here Lighter-coloured crops, aerosols in the stratosphere and iron filings in the ocean are among the measures being considered by leading scientists for “geo-engineering” the Earth’s climate, leaked documents from the UN climate science body show. In a move that suggests the UN and rich countries are despairing of reaching agreement by consensus at global climate talks, the US, British and other western scientists will outline a series of ideas to manipulate the world’s climate to reduce carbon emissions. But they accept that even though the ideas could theoretically work, they might equally have unintended and even irreversible consequences. The papers , leaked from inside the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), ahead of a geo-engineering expert group meeting in Lima in Peru next week , show that around 60 scientists will propose or try to assess a range of radical measures, including: • blasting sulphate aerosols into the stratosphere to reflect sunlight into space; • depositing massive quantities of iron filings into the oceans; • bio-engineering crops to be a lighter colour to reflect sunlight; and • suppressing cirrus clouds. Other proposals likely to be suggested include spraying sea water into clouds to reflect sunlight away from the Earth, burying charcoal, painting streets and roofs white on a vast scale, adding lime to oceans and finding different ways to suck greenhouse gases out of the air and deposit heat deep into oceans. The meeting is expected to provide governments with a scientific assessment of geo-engineering technologies, but is widely expected to be in favour of more research and possibly large-scale experimentation despite an international moratorium adopted by the UN last year in Japan. This week, more than 125 environment, development and human rights groups from 40 countries published a letter sent to Rajendra Pachauri, the Nobel prize-winning head of the IPCC, warning that the body had no mandate to consider the legality or political suitability of using geo-engineering. “Asking a group of geo-engineering scientists if more research should be done is like asking bears if they would like honey,” said the letter, signed by groups including Friends of the Earth International, Via Campesina and ETC. Concern over the IPCC meeting centres on who should decide what kind of geo-engineering takes place, and how it should be regulated and monitored. Some projects might, if they work, unintentionally change weather patterns and possibly affect farming and livelihoods in some of the most vulnerable areas in the world. “[Geo-engineering] is not a scientific question, it is a political one. International peasant organisations, indigenous peoples and social movements have all expressed outright opposition to such measures as a false solution to the climate crisis,” says the letter. Britain is, along with the US, strongly backing geo-engineering research and has supported scientists with millions of pounds of university research, including a Bristol University plan to develop a “hose” held up by balloons through which sulphates can be sent into the stratosphere. The Royal Society is now trying to develop international guidelines and principles and is holding workshops around the world. In a letter to the Guardian this week, Georgina Mace, professor of conservation science at Imperial College, London and Catherine Redgwell, professor of international law at UCL, said that investment in geo-engineering research had already begun and, “without international governance structures, schemes could soon be implemented unencumbered by the safeguards needed”. But according to abstracts of the papers, Redgwell will advise the IPCC in Peru next week that no new laws should be adopted. “A multilateral geo-engineering treaty is not likely or desirable. The appetite for climate change law-making is low.” The main principles, she suggests, should be that geo-engineering is a “public good”, there should be public participation in schemes and independent assessment of the impacts. “Geo-engineering is not a public good but could be a giant international scandal with devastating consequences on the poor,” said Diana Bronson, researcher with international NGO the ETC Group. In the papers, many of the scientists accept there are that major uncertainties around the technologies. However, the scientific steering group of the meeting, which will assess the technologies, includes many well-known geo-engineering advocates who have called for public funds to conduct large-scale experiments as well as scientists who have patents on geo-engineering technologies or financial interests in the technologies. The meeting has been given added weight because last week, Christiana Figueres, head of the UNFCCC, told the Guardian that the world may have to investigate geo-engineering because emissions were continuing to rise. “We are putting ourselves in a scenario where we will have to develop more powerful technologies to capture emissions out of the atmosphere”, she said. “We are getting into very risky territory.” Geo-engineering Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Climate change Global climate talks United Nations Peru John Vidal guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …MSNBC’s Roberts Trots Out Rep. Ellison to Dismiss Hearings on Inmate Radicalization
June 15, 2011 No Comment
With Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) holding a hearing on the radicalization of Muslim inmates in U.S. prisons, MSNBC's Thomas Roberts this morning set out to discredit the premise of the proceedings by interviewing Minnesota Democrat and practicing Muslim Rep. Keith Ellison. Ellison, Roberts reminded viewers of MSNBC's 11 a.m. Eastern hour of live news coverage, provided tearful testimony at a hearing in March on Islamic radicalization. Roberts began his interview by practically holding Ellison forth as an expert when it comes to the data regarding prisoner radicalization (emphasis mine): Today's hearing really keys in on prisons. Congressman King though noting that dozens of ex-convicts that have traveled on to Yemen and join al Qaeda fringe groups. From what you've seen though, how widespread is the problem and is it really warranted to be discussed today in these hearings? Ellison responded that radicalization should be discussed but objected that the hearings were focusing unfairly on Muslims when there are “white supremist (sic) groups, other groups, gangs from various parts of the world that might be the subject of a hearing.” Roberts failed to challenge Ellison, moving on to query him on his thoughts about GOP presidential hopeful Herman Cain and his views on potentially having Muslims in his Cabinet. The MSNBC daytime anchor also failed to balance out Ellison by bringing on experts who have studied prison inmate radicalization nor any conservatives or Republicans who would rebut Ellison's complaint that Muslims were being unfairly singled out. # # #
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