Government troops unleashed a barrage of rockets and mortars against rebels outside of Misrata, followed by an infantry assault Muammar Gaddafi’s forces have responded to Nato’s intensified aerial bombardment of Tripoli by launching a heavy attack on rebel positions outside the liberated city of Misrata. Government troops unleashed a barrage of Grad rockets and mortars against rebel positions to the east, west and south of Misrata early on Wednesday morning, and followed up with an infantry assault. By mid-afternoon, the Hikma hospital reported 10 rebel fighters dead and 26 wounded. The attack came as Liam Fox, the defence secretary, expressed increasing frustration with the slow progress of the western-led military campaign, forcefully telling fellow Nato ministers at a meeting in Brussels they should contribute more. The attack on Libya’s third biggest city was the heaviest since loyalist forces were overwhelmed there in April, and came a day after Nato pounded military sites in Tripoli from the air. It was the heaviest 24 hours of bombing yet in the capital, with the alliance conducting 66 strike sorties. The targets struck in and around the city included six command and control centres, two anti-aircraft guns, a radar system and a vehicle storage facility, according to Nato. The worst damage occurred at Gaddafi’s Bab al-Aziziya compound, where several buildings were destroyed, sending giant plumes of smoke into the sky. Bombing continued on Wednesday morning, but with less intensity. Gaddafi, who is in hiding in the capital and has rarely been seen or heard from in recent weeks, reacted with fury to the attack, insisting he would fight to end in an audio broadcast on state television. Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said 31 people – soldiers, guards, and civilians – had been killed in Tuesday’s bombing raids, and described Nato as “the forces of evil”. The casualty figure could not be independently verified. In an attempt to show that Nato had struck non-military targets, government minders on Wednesday morning took journalists to see a “nature reserve”, occasionally used by Gaddafi to entertain guests, which had been hit the previous evening. The missiles had destroyed two trucks, one of them very large, a golf cart, a large tent and several containers, including one that had computer equipment and a paper shredder inside. Officials were unable to explain what the vehicles were doing on a nature reserve, or why there were windsocks nearby, which appeared to suggest the presence of an airfield. The surge in the number of attacks on targets in Tripoli, which follows the incorporation of attack helicopters into Nato’s mission on the weekend, is a clear attempt to end the military stalemate on the ground and hasten Gaddafi’s exit. Nearly four months into the conflict, rebels control large parts of eastern Libya, a string of towns in the western mountains, near the border with Tunisia, as well as Misrata. Opposition fighters there said they had repelled Wednesday’s attack by government forces. “Our will is stronger than theirs,” said Sadik Ibrahim Mohammed, an injured rebel fighter. “The Shebab [rebels] have the heart. The Gaddafi soldiers ran away.” But the various frontlines are all still some way from Tripoli, where the regime still has a tight grip on the population. The Libyan government says that the escalated aerial campaign against Gaddafi had gone far beyond the mandate of protecting civilians, a point some critics of the operation outside Libya agree with. Fox told a meeting of Nato ministers: “I firmly believe that we must intensify our pressure on the regime and it is imperative our military commanders have the assets and capabilities they need to do the job all of us around this table have asked of them: to defeat those regime elements which continue to threaten civilians.” He added: “Let me be frank. Nato is not just about military hardware. It is also about values. And those values are not an optional extra.” Libya Middle East Muammar Gaddafi Nato Arab and Middle East unrest Xan Rice Richard Norton-Taylor guardian.co.uk
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Questions arise over identity of lesbian feminist blog’s author after apparent kidnapping by security forces US embassy officials in Syria are urgently seeking to establish further details about Amina Abdallah Araf al Omari – who according to a post on her blog, A Gay Girl in Damascus , was abducted by security forces on Monday evening – as questions emerged over the identity of the blogger. According to the blog, which has gained a growing following in Syria and further afield since popular protests against the government began in March, Araf was snatched by three armed men on a Damascus street and has not been heard from since. The update was signed by Rania O Ismail, who said she was Araf’s cousin. The blogger, who writes of her life as a lesbian feminist participating in the protests, has said that her mother is American and she is a joint US-Syrian citizen. Angela Williams from the US embassy in Damascus told the Guardian that US officials had not been able to confirm any of the details in the blog, and had no records of someone of that name living in Damascus. “We and our colleagues in Washington are continuing to attempt to ascertain more information about Ms Araf, including confirmation of her citizenship. We are unable to make a consular representation to the Syrian authorities on Ms Araf’s behalf without first determining that she is a US citizen.” Other questions have arisen over the identity of the blog’s author. A London woman, Jelena Lecic, issued a statement saying that photographs that had been published and widely circulated as being of Araf were in fact of her. The Guardian removed a picture after it received a complaint from Lecic, replacing it with another image supplied directly to the paper last month by the blog’s author. That picture has also been removed following a second complaint from Lecic, pending an investigation. Emails to an address supplied by Ismail have not met a response and the Guardian has been unable independently to verify Araf’s identity or that of her parents, in Syria or the US. No individual has been identified who can confirm they have met Araf or spoken to her by Skype or telephone. Activists in Syria frequently take elaborate steps to conceal their identities, often communicating by Skype or secure email rather than meeting face to face and using pseudonyms or multiple identities. At least 750 activists have been killed by security forces since the uprising began. Tal al-Mallouhi, a 20-year-old Palestinian-Syrian blogger from Homs, was sentenced to five years in jail in February, accused of spying for the US. Other bloggers and dissidents have faced similar fates. The Guardian last month published an interview with the blog’s author , conducted by a Damascus journalist who wrote under the pseudonym Katherine Marsh. Marsh was given an email for the blogger by a trusted Syrian contact, and suggested in extensive email correspondence that they meet in person or talk by Skype. The contact had never met Araf. Araf, who according to blogposts was living on the run, agreed to meet Marsh in person but did not turn up for the rendezvous. In later emails she said she had been followed, and so aborted the meeting. Araf told Marsh that Skype had been blocked, which was why she was unable to communicate by that means. The site is not blocked in Syria but was blocked from download, according to Marsh. On an earlier blog, dated December 2007, the author wrote she would post “samples of fiction and literature I am working on. This blog will have what may sometimes seem likely deeply personal accounts. And sometimes they will be. But there will also be fiction. And I will not tell you which is which.” Some experts on gay communities in the Middle East say that much on the blog feels authentic, but others have expressed unease about some of the details outlined in individual posts. Dan Littauer, executive editor of GayMiddleEast.com, told the Guardian his colleagues in Damascus were seeking to verify Araf’s identity, but were sceptical about the details of some incidents, including an account of security services turning up to arrest her but being sent away by her father. Sandra Bagaria, a Canadian who said she was an online friend of the blogger, told the New York Times that she had never met Araf or spoken to her on Skype, but said she had spoken to Ismail after Araf’s disappearance. Paula Brooks, the American executive editor of the blog Lezgetreal.com, which hosted several postings under Araf’s byline dating from before the uprising in Syria, said she too had corresponded only by email with the blogger. A search of the IP address on which Araf contacted Brooks can be traced to a server in Edinburgh, but the trail also leads to a number of untraceable servers. Activists keen to obscure their identities frequently use “proxy” servers to disguise the source of their postings. A number of internet sites appear to lend credence to the blogger’s story, but are extremely difficult to verify independently. Abandoned sites on Myspace and Linkedin appear to belong to the same person, as does a cached lesbian dating site page dated to 2007, in which “almondeyez” describes herself as “the coolest, sexiest half-Arab SF loving geek girl you’ll ever meet”. Many details on the sites are consistent with those outlined on the blog. A Facebook page apparently belonging to Ismail has also been identified. A post of erotic poetry, dating from 2007, is bylined Amanda L McClure, the “American” name which Araf says on her blog she could have taken (she identifies her mother as Caroline McClure Araf). It is not unusual for genuine bloggers writing under pseudonyms to face questions over the authenticity of their voice, including Salam Pax, the “Baghdad Blogger” who wrote a column for this newspaper and was a genuine Iraqi writer. A number of prominent blogs, including Plain Layne, supposedly the diary of a bisexual young woman, have been exposed as elaborate fictions, however. That blog was written by a man, Odin Soli, who now calls himself a writer of “online fiction”. The administrator of the Facebook page Free Amina Araf posted the following update: “At the time this site was created, there was no reason to doubt her authenticity of the story … We think it is possible that the writer of the blog is indeed in custody, in which case, it is important to continue to support her. Many people in Syria are forced to use alternative identities to protect themselves.” Syria Middle East Blogging Digital media Arab and Middle East unrest Newspapers & magazines Esther Addley Nidaa Hassan guardian.co.uk
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Institutions including Harvard and Vanderbilt reportedly use hedge funds to buy land in deals that may force farmers out Harvard and other major American universities are working through British hedge funds and European financial speculators to buy or lease vast areas of African farmland in deals, some of which may force many thousands of people off their land, according to a new study. Researchers say foreign investors are profiting from “land grabs” that often fail to deliver the promised benefits of jobs and economic development, and can lead to environmental and social problems in the poorest countries in the world. The new report on land acquisitions in seven African countries suggests that Harvard, Vanderbilt and many other US colleges with large endowment funds have invested heavily in African land in the past few years. Much of the money is said to be channelled through London-based Emergent asset management, which runs one of Africa’s largest land acquisition funds, run by former JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs currency dealers. Researchers at the California-based Oakland Institute think that Emergent’s clients in the US may have invested up to $500m in some of the most fertile land in the expectation of making 25% returns. Emergent said the deals were handled responsibly. “Yes, university endowment funds and pension funds are long-term investors,” a spokesman said. “We are investing in African agriculture and setting up businesses and employing people. We are doing it in a responsible way … The amounts are large. They can be hundreds of millions of dollars. This is not landgrabbing. We want to make the land more valuable. Being big makes an impact, economies of scale can be more productive.” Chinese and Middle Eastern firms have previously been identified as “grabbing” large tracts of land in developing countries to grow cheap food for home populations, but western funds are behind many of the biggest deals, says the Oakland institute, an advocacy research group. The company that manages Harvard’s investment funds declined to comment. “It is Harvard management company policy not to discuss investments or investment strategy and therefore I cannot confirm the report,” said a spokesman. Vanderbilt also declined to comment. Oakland said investors overstated the benefits of the deals for the communities involved. “Companies have been able to create complex layers of companies and subsidiaries to avert the gaze of weak regulatory authorities. Analysis of the contracts reveal that many of the deals will provide few jobs and will force many thousands of people off the land,” said Anuradha Mittal, Oakland’s director. In Tanzania, the memorandum of understanding between the local government and US-based farm development corporation AgriSol Energy, which is working with Iowa University, stipulates that the two main locations – Katumba and Mishamo – for their project are refugee settlements holding as many as 162,000 people that will have to be closed before the $700m project can start. The refugees have been farming this land for 40 years. In Ethiopia, a process of “villagisation” by the government is moving tens of thousands of people from traditional lands into new centres while big land deals are being struck with international companies. The largest land deal in South Sudan, where as much as 9% of the land is said by Norwegian analysts to have been bought in the last few years, was negotiated between a Texas-based firm, Nile Trading and Development and a local co-operative run by absent chiefs. The 49-year lease of 400,000 hectares of central Equatoria for around $25,000 (£15,000) allows the company to exploit all natural resources including oil and timber. The company, headed by former US Ambassador Howard Eugene Douglas, says it intends to apply for UN-backed carbon credits that could provide it with millions of pounds a year in revenues. In Mozambique, where up to 7m hectares of land is potentially available for investors, western hedge funds are said in the report to be working with South Africans businesses to buy vast tracts of forest and farmland for investors in Europe and the US. The contracts show the government will waive taxes for up to 25 years, but few jobs will be created. “No one should believe that these investors are there to feed starving Africans, create jobs or improve food security,” said Obang Metho of Solidarity Movement for New Ethiopia. “These agreements – many of which could be in place for 99 years – do not mean progress for local people and will not lead to food in their stomachs. These deals lead only to dollars in the pockets of corrupt leaders and foreign investors.” “The scale of the land deals being struck is shocking”, said Mittal. “The conversion of African small farms and forests into a natural-asset-based, high-return investment strategy can drive up food prices and increase the risks of climate change. Research by the World Bank and others suggests that nearly 60m hectares – an area the size of France – has been bought or leased by foreign companies in Africa in the past three years. “Most of these deals are characterised by a lack of transparency, despite the profound implications posed by the consolidation of control over global food markets and agricultural resources by financial firms,” says the report. “We have seen cases of speculators taking over agricultural land while small farmers, viewed as squatters, are forcibly removed with no compensation,” said Frederic Mousseau, policy director at Oakland, said: “This is creating insecurity in the global food system that could be a much bigger threat to global security than terrorism. More than one billion people around the world are living with hunger. The majority of the world’s poor still depend on small farms for their livelihoods, and speculators are taking these away while promising progress that never happens.” United States Africa Hedge funds Investing Aid John Vidal Claire Provost guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Delta Airlines charges returning home US Troops, $2800 for extra baggage: UPDATED
June 8, 2011 No Comment
I’ve written a lot about Delta Airlines anti-Union shenanigans and Scott Walker like activities and had a nice conversation with Sam Seder about it on his Majority Report . How low has this company sunk since I talked to Sam about them? Huff Post Delta Air Lines is facing intense criticism after charging 34 U.S. soldiers returning from Afghanistan $2,800 in baggage fees. The incident came to light on Tuesday after a couple of the new-media savvy soldiers recorded a video about their ordeal and posted it on YouTube. “We showed up and found out we had too many bags,” said Army Staff Sgt. Robert O’Hair in the video, which was shot on their flight. “We had four bags, and Delta Air Lines only allows three bags. Anything over three bags you have to pay for, even though there’s a contract between the United States government and Delta Air Lines: When returning from Afghanistan on military orders, you’re authorized up to four bags.” O’Hair added that all the soldiers with a fourth bag had to pay $200 out-of-pocket. The total for the 34 soldiers was more than $2,800. O’Hair’s fourth piece of luggage was his weapons case, carrying the tools he used, in his words, to “protect myself and Afghan citizens while I was deployed in the country.” We’ve seen how JP Morgan Chase and mortgage companies have mistreated our troops over their homes and now comes this insult. Matt Cherette writes: Delta has since explained that it allows soldiers returning from active duty to check three bags at no charge if they’re traveling in coach (four for those few in first or business class), but the airline didn’t say whether it plans to reimburse the soldiers—who were returning from Afghanistan!—for the fees. That’s because Delta is horrible and hates freedom, obviously. UPDATED: Delta has now been shamed into changing their policy. Delta has changed its baggage policy for U.S. servicemembers in response to the controversy. Rachel R. put an updated post on the company’s blog on Wednesday, announcing the changes and stressing the airline’s appreciation for armed forces. Delta’s statement, from the site Gadling.com This is just another reason to boycott Delta Airlines: enlarge Credit: http://aroundtheworldblog.blogspot.com
Continue reading …Oh, poor Rep. Sean Duffy. He promised there would be a replacement for the Affordable Care Act after the Republican House repealed it over and over again, but he can’t seem to find one. Duffy, as you might recall, is the Tea Party freshman who was fretting over how he would make ends meet on a $174,000 per year salary. But he promised there would be a replacement (giggle) after they repealed the Affordable Care Act. And Honest Sean meant that, right? Via Think Progress : Freshman Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI) promised during his campaign that he would only repeal health reform after finding a solution to replace it . However, he told a town hall meeting in his district this week that GOP leaders had convinced him to vote for repeal first, ensuring him that a replacement would be on its way. GOP leaders, Duffy said, told him that a replacement bill would be ready by the Spring. The fact that nothing has been proposed or debated all year has Duffy “very concerned”: DUFFY: I believe, if we’re going to repeal the president’s health care plan, we should replace it. I still believe that. As I dealt with the leadership, that was a concern of mine. And I got a commitment from leadership that we were going to come up with a replacement. And they told me we were going to do it in the Spring. In the Spring we haven’t come out with our replacement proposal and that has me very concerned. Because that what was we had talked about before we had the vote, “repeal and replace.” Duffy is either naive or playing a fool if he thought there would be any kind of replacement for the Affordable Care Act if it actually got repealed. Republicans want everything put in reverse, including Medicare and Social Security. They do not want Americans to have access to health insurance unless they have oodles of money to keep the profit margins fat. If they’re poor, or middle class, or have to choose between their health or their home, well…too bad. I’m not sure whether I want to laugh or cry when I watch Duffy squirm over this one. My sense is that he knew there would be no replacement, and he’s just playing the dupe to keep constituents from letting him have it.
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Under new laws being drawn up addicts would be forced into treatment or jailed, and dealers ‘treated like serial killers’ Drug dealers are to be “treated like serial killers” and could be sent to forced labour camps under harsh laws being drawn up by Russia’s Kremlin-controlled parliament. Boris Gryzlov, the speaker of the state duma, the lower house, said a “total war on drugs” was needed to stem a soaring abuse rate driven by the flow of Afghan heroin through central Asia to Europe. Russia has as many as 6 million addicts (one in 25 people). Every year 100,000 people die from using drugs, Gryzlov said in a newspaper. The scale of the problem “threatens Russia’s gene pool”, he said. “We are standing on the edge of a precipice. Either we squash drug addiction or it will destroy us.” This year, President Dmitry Medvedev said drug abuse was cutting up to three percentage points off economic growth. Injecting drug use is also accelerating Russia’s Aids crisis because – unlike most other European countries – methadone treatment is banned and needle exchange programmes are scarce, meaning the virus spreads quickly from addict to addict via dirty syringes. An estimated one in 100 Russians are HIV positive. Under legislation promoted by the ruling United Russia party and now being reviewed in parliament, drug addicts will be forced into treatment or jailed, and dealers will be handed heftier custodial sentences. “The barons of narco-business must be put on a par with serial killers with the appropriate punishment in the form of a life sentence,” said Gryzlov, who is chairman of the party. Activists criticised the idea of putting addicts behind bars, pointing to a growing worldwide consensus that treating drug users as criminals has failed as a strategy. The Global Commission on Drugs Policy said in a report last week that there needed to be a shift away from criminalising drugs and incarcerating those who use them. Gryzlov, however, claimed that “criminal responsibility for the use of narcotics is a powerful preventative measure”. Special punishments should also be considered for dealers, he added: “Sending drug traders to a katorga [forced labour camp], for example. Felling timber, laying rails and constructing mines – that’s very different from sitting in a personal cell with a television and a fridge while you keep up your ‘business’ on the outside.” While it remains unclear how many of the measures will become law, other leading members of United Russia – which is headed by Vladimir Putin, the prime minister, and which dominates the duma – said they supported the initiative. The plans follow an admission by Medvedev in April that Russia’s fight against drug addiction had failed. He called for radical measures such as mandatory drug tests in schools. Possession of small quantities of psychotropic substances in Russia carries an administrative fine of up to 15,000 roubles (£330), but Gryzlov indicated it would now result in a jail term. The state should offer narkomany – addicts – a stark choice, he said: “Prison or forced treatment.” That could be a bleak prospect. Some of Russia’s detox clinics still use “coding”, a controversial therapy in which patients are scared into thinking terrible consequences (such as their testicles falling off) will result if they mix drugs with medicines which are actually placebos. Several activists condemned Gryzlov’s suggestion to “isolate” drug users from society. “Sending more people to prison will not reduce drug addiction or improve public health,” said Anya Sarang, president of the Andrey Rylkov Foundation, an advocacy group for people with HIV which works with injecting drug users (IDUs). “Russian prisons are terrible places full of HIV, tuberculosis and other diseases. Drugs are often even more accessible there than anywhere else.” She added: “What we need instead of this harsh drug control rhetoric is greater emphasis on rehabilitation, substitution treatment, case management for drug users and protection from HIV.” HIV prevalence among IDUs in western countries is 1 or 2%, but lack of outreach work and the absence of opiate substitution (methadone) and other “harm reduction” measures mean the figure is 16% in Russia – rising to 60% in hotspots such as St Petersburg. Denis Broun, the Moscow-based director of UNAIDS for Europe and central Asia, told the Guardian that Gryzlov’s proposals could make matters even worse. “It has been widely shown that criminalising people using drugs simply drives them underground and makes them much harder to reach with preventative measures,” he said. “This is not an effective strategy for fighting HIV. Purely repressive measures do not work.” Russia Drugs Aids and HIV Europe Health Tom Parfitt guardian.co.uk
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Development secretary faces down rightwing criticism of overseas aid, saying it is good value for money Andrew Mitchell, the development secretary, has faced down rightwing criticism of higher government spending on aid by defending British help for the world’s poor as morally right and in the national interest. Mitchell used a speech in London to mark his first year in office to say that the coalition’s development strategy provided good value for money, was targeted at countries in most need and was the best way to “protect UK security and prosperity”. In a direct riposte to those in the media and on the Tory right who have attacked the government’s decision to spare the aid budget from George Osborne’s austerity programme, Mitchell said: “It is a stain on all our consciences that a girl born in South Sudan today is more likely to die having a baby than to complete primary school. “When we know what life – and death – is like for over a billion people living on less than 80p a day, and we have the wherewithal to do something about it, then, yes, I do believe we have a moral imperative to do so.” Mitchell said that since becoming development secretary he had completed reviews of Britain’s aid spending to ensure that the extra money from British taxpayers was being well spent. “They [the reviews] have allowed ministers to take a strategic, informed view about where to focus our efforts in order to achieve the greatest impact. And to recognise the relative success of many countries that are coming out of poverty themselves. “So, over the next four years UK bilateral aid will be concentrated on 27 rather than 43 countries, among the poorest countries in the world, where the need is greatest. And whether we channel funds through multilateral agencies, or indeed through NGOs or others, we will expect the same rigour in results, transparency and value from them as we do from ourselves.” Mitchell rejected criticism that the government’s aid strategy increased dependency in poor countries and was often going to fast-growing emerging countries, such as India, which did not need it. “We are withdrawing aid from those countries that have succeeded in pulling themselves out of poverty. And we will continue to take this approach, celebrating when countries make the transition to self-sufficiency and supporting them through this process. Aid is a means to an end not an end in itself.” David Cameron stressed at last month’s G8 summit in Deauville that Britain would meet its pledge to increase aid spending to 0.7% of national output by 2013, but Mitchell said that the budget would be focused on “the poorest and the most vulnerable. On women and girls, including those who, because of the conflict in which they live, lose out twice over.” Mitchell said he wanted to “galvanise the entrepreneurial spirit of the private sector in the poorest countries and be open about what the government was doing. “We’ve made it easy for people to understand what we’re doing – publishing clear, simple data that’s easy to understand. Not only can the British taxpayer see what we are doing, but so too can the people our aid programmes are intended to help. Whether it’s a British person sitting in Manchester or a Kenyan sitting in Kisumu, any individual can hold us to account – and tell us if they think we’re getting it wrong.” Development Aid Global economy Conservatives David Cameron Larry Elliott guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Roland Martin Doesn’t Call Out DNC Chair for Linking GOP-Backed Voting Requirements With Jim Crow Laws
June 8, 2011 No Comment
CNN analyst Roland Martin simply allowed DNC Chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz to say what she wanted about Republicans on his Sunday show Washington Watch, on TVOne. Schultz linked Florida GOP-backed voting proposals with Jim Crow laws and poll taxes, and said one has a better chance of being struck by lightning than see an instance of voter fraud. Martin not once challenged Schultz over her rhetoric. Schultz was referring to Republican-backed measures in certain states that require a photo I.D. to vote and trim the number of early-voting days, in order to prevent voter fraud. Schultz hit such policies as discriminatory. [Video below the break.] “[N]ow you have the Republicans, who want to literally drag us all the way back to Jim Crow laws and literally – and very transparently – block access to the polls to voters who are more likely to vote for Democratic candidates than Republican candidates,” Schultz insisted. After she spoke, Martin briskly moved on to the next question. The story was picked up by Politico and other online sources, and Schultz retracted her Jim Crow analogy a day later. Later in the interview, Schultz ridiculously added that “you're more likely to get hit by lightning than you are to see an instance of voter fraud in this country.” And again, Martin did not question her assumptions. At the end of the segment, Schultz was asked about Rep. Anthony Weiner's Twitter fiasco – one day before Weiner called his press conference and revealed that he had lied to the media for a week about the scandal. Schultz called Weiner's situation “a personal matter” and added “that's where it should be left.” A transcript of the segment, which aired on June 5, is as follows: ROLAND MARTIN: An ongoing effort underway in Republican-controlled state houses across the country, could be another. Republicans are backing measures that will require photo identification and other type of things, including cutting the number of days for early voting. Republicans say it will cut down on voter fraud. Critics contend it's a step backwards, and it would discriminate against the poor, elderly, students, people with disabilities, and minorities. Joining me to explain why Democrats are against this move is the chair of the Democratic National Committee, Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz. We're glad you're here on Washington Watch. Rep. DEBBIE WASSERMAN-SCHULTZ (D-Fla.), DNC Chairwoman: Thank you Roland. Great to be here with you. MARTIN: Your home state – Gov. Rick Scott is leading one of these efforts, and for the life of me, I don't understand whenever I see Republicans or even Democrats contesting votes and things along those lines. We talk about this is the fundamental right to be Americans, but to put roadblocks up to – to – for voting makes no sense to me. SCHULTZ: Well, I mean if you go back to the year 2000, when we had an obvious disaster and – and saw that our voting process needed refinement, and we did that in the America Votes Act and made sure that we could iron out those kinks, now you have the Republicans, who want to literally drag us all the way back to Jim Crow laws and literally – and very transparently – block access to the polls to voters who are more likely to vote for Democratic candidates than Republican candidates. And it's nothing short of that blatant. MARTIN: Now, Georgia has a voter I.D. law that was passed, and the Obama Justice Department – they actually approved that particular law, saying it will not impact minority voters. But other states are looking to – to put into place voter I.D. laws. Your – the DNC’s position on those voter I.D. laws. SCHULTZ: Well, photo I.D. laws, we think, is – are very similar to a poll tax. I mean you look – just look at African-American voters as a snapshot. About 25 percent of African-American voters don't have a valid photo I.D. I mean – and – and the reason it's similar to a poll tax is because you've got the expense. You've got the effort. There's difficulties for s- — for many people in getting a photo I.D. So, you're literally just throwing a barrier in the way of someone who's trying to exercise their right to vote. And the reason that it's not necessary is because we already have very legitimate voter verification processes, signature checks that are already in place; and there is so little voter fraud, which is the professed reason the Republicans are advancing these – these laws. There's so little voter fraud, and I mean you're more likely to get hit by lightning than you are to see an instance of voter fraud in this country, but Republicans are imposing laws all over the country, acting like it's not – voter fraud is rampant, and it's ridiculous. (…) SCHULTZ: Rick Scott, the Republican governor of Florida, as part of his election reform law that he just pushed through the legislature, literally said to third party groups who register voters, “We're going to fine you a thousand dollars per voter if you don't turn the voter registration form in within 48 hours of registering that voter.”
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Compensation package finalised by European Commission will cost more than €200m in June The European commission has finalised a deal to help farmers hit by the E coli crisis that will cost the bloc more than €200m (£178m) in compensation payments to the end of this month alone. The package came as Germany, the centre of the outbreak of a new and virulent strain of the bacterium, said two more people had died, taking the toll to 26. But while there were also 300 more E coli cases reported, the German health minister said the situation was gradually improving. “I cannot yet give an all-clear, but after an analysis of the numbers there’s reason for hope,” Daniel Bahr told ARD TV. “The numbers are continuously falling – which none the less means that there can still be new cases and that one unfortunately has to expect new deaths too – but overall new infections are clearly going down.” Vegetable growers, particularly those farming salad crops, have been severely hit after German officials blamed first cucumbers from Spain and then bean sprouts farmed in northern Germany. Neither turned out to be the confirmed source and scientists now say it is possible this might never be identified. An initial compensation plan, announced on Tuesday by the EU’s agriculture commissioner, Dacian Ciolos , proposed giving farmers 30% of the market price of unsold crops, up to a total of €150m. This was immediately rejected as woefully insufficient by Spain, France and Italy. Ciolos unveiled a more generous scheme on Wednesday which would see all affected producers get 50% of market price, costing €210m until the end of June. In addition, the estimated one-third of farmers who are members of national producer organisations will get another 20%, funded 50/50 by the EU and the organisations. “We are doing as much as we can with the current financial means available,” Ciolos said, conceding that the total bill could rise further. “We don’t know how things are going to evolve. We cannot predict. At the end of June we will see where we stand.” The hope for the EU is that as the outbreak recedes, consumers – at least outside Germany – will resume their usual shopping habits. The plan is expected to be ratified at a meeting of officials next Tuesday, despite the likelihood that Spain and several other nations will vote against it. Germany’s national disease control centre, the Robert Koch Institute, has given a more mixed assessment of the outbreak, saying the declining trend could simply be because people were not eating the raw products spreading the bacterium. The number of reported cases in Germany had risen by more than 300 to 2,648, it said, with nearly 700 of those affected by a serious complication that can cause kidney failure. Germany faces criticism for its reaction to the outbreak, for a perceived delay in spotting the initial pattern of illness as well as twice public identifying the cause without proof. E coli Germany European commission Europe France Spain Italy Peter Walker guardian.co.uk
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Property groups threaten to reclaim premises and oust management of care homes in order to claim payments owed Landlords at the centre of a dispute with Britain’s largest care homes operator have threatened to seize control of the company rather than accept a cut in rents. The landlords, among them some of Britain’s biggest property groups, have been asked to take a 30% cut in rents to keep Southern Cross afloat. But the Guardian has learned they have reacted furiously by putting forward a plan to oust the management, take back leases and sever ties with the company, which can no longer afford its annual rent bill of £230m. Under the terms of the leases, many can take back the properties if they do not receive 100% rents. The beleaguered company announced plans to axe 3,000 jobs. Last week the government was forced to step in to guarantee alternative accommodation for its 31,000 residents if it goes under. NHP, the biggest landlord which owns 250 of the company’s 750 homes, is understood to be ready to parachute in a new management team while retaining existing nursing staff to ensure continuity of care for residents. A similar plan is being drawn up by London & Regional, another big landlord. But both companies are prepared to sit down and try to thrash out an agreement with Southern Cross rather than act unilaterally. The landlords’ move looks set to escalate the battle for control of the company. It controversially sold off its freehold properties while under private equity management before it was sold off at great profit, but is now locked into rent deals it can no longer afford because of declining local authority fees and higher operating costs. Paul Saper, of healthcare consultancy LCS International, said: “Make no mistake, the rent reduction is deeply resented. Why should the landlords take all the pain, while other creditors, such as the banks, remain unaffected?” Landlords such as Bondcare, which has 39 homes but is also a care operator, would sequestrate leases and run the business themselves. Other landlords are in talks with rival care home operators such as Barchester, Bupa and Hallmark, which would step in and replace Southern Cross. Southern Cross directors and landlords are in constant contact with ministers because the government is anxious to ensure an orderly wind-down of the company to ensure protection for residents. It is not known at this stage how many of the group’s 80 landlords could opt to stay with a “rump Southern Cross”, allowing the firm to keep its listing on the London stock exchange. One analyst said: “It’s hard to avoid the impression that shareholders stand to be wiped out.” But administrative receivership would be politically explosive at a time when private sector involvement in health and social services has been lambasted by Labour and unions. The firm’s decision to cut 8% of its 44,000 strong workforce was greeted with incredulity by the GMB union. Paul Kenny, general secretary said: “This is bound to affect the quality of care for patients, as well as add to further uncertainty for long-suffering families and friends.” Kenny said it was time for the government to intervene at the company to avoid “a massive social scandal.” He added: “How can it be right to step in and save the banks, but ignore the needs of the most vulnerable in our society? Something doesn’t smell right.” Southern Cross claimed staff reductions reflected falling occupancy rates at its homes from 92% three years ago to 84%, and improvements to IT. A spokesman said: “Our announcement is part of a £20m cost-cutting programme that we flagged up last year and is aimed at making the group more efficient. Patient care will not be affected.” But critics have pointed out that falling occupancy at Southern Cross is due partly to a lack of clarity about its future, as well as cutbacks by local authorities which pay fees to the private sector for looking after elderly and infirm people. Southern Cross’s precarious finances mean it has been unable to spend as much on its homes as more prosperous competitors, which make its premises less appealing. The company said employees hit by the latest round of staff cuts would be mostly part-time or agency staff, and include caterers, cleaners and nurses. But it admitted a number of compulsory redundancies were inevitable, although home managers, deputy managers, relief managers and activity co-ordinators “will not be directly impacted by the proposed reduction in jobs, a process that is expected to be completed in October.” Southern Cross’s chairman, Sir Christopher Fisher, said: “Decisions on our future must be governed by a paramount concern for the welfare of our residents. We believe that for a critical mass of our landlords, supporting a restructured Southern Cross remains the most attractive option open to them, as we intend to demonstrate.” Southern Cross Healthcare Healthcare industry Social care Richard Wachman guardian.co.uk
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