Blair's foul legacy of sleaze threatens to stick to Labour and finish off Brown as well Sleaze is an oil slick on the beach of politics. It sticks, stinks - and kills reputations. It stayed with John Profumo through 43 desolate years as he toiled for redemption. It still swills around the Conservative party that David Cameron strives to revive. And now it is a threat this government can't ignore any longer: a foul Blair "legacy" that may finish off Brown as well. Too apocalyptic? Why should a few soft loans to Labour matter? Who cares if rich men, waving chequebooks, can collect their peerages in that dark alley round the back? We've wallowed in so much gunk since 1997 - dodgy millionaires, dodgy mortgages, dodgy dossiers - that ermine for sale should barely rise eyebrows. But it does. I went to an instructive meeting the other day: the first open AGM of the Committee for Standards in Public Life. Sir Alistair Graham, its chairman, loudly lamented clear failings of independent regulation in the ministerial code. His audience, mostly men in suits, nodded earnest agreement, for they, it transpired, were commissioners of various standards, too. They looked after national audits, local councillors, public appointments, members of parliament, election officials and much more. Yet where did they come from? Why were they there and diligently committed? Professor Peter Hennessy from Queen Mary College shed kindlier light. John Major, he said, was a bit of an unappreciated hero. It had been his decision to publish those "Questions of Procedure for Ministers", to put the country's most vital code of conduct on the record at last. And it had been his decision, too, to found the Committee for Standards as a permanent "ethical workshop". When we looked back at the Major years, we ought to remember more than trouble and financial strife. Once upon a recent time, our inner sanctums embraced what one senior mandarin called the "good chap theory of government". But good chaps, like Profumo, couldn't always be good; trust was not always a given; rooms, smoke-filled or not, always needed a blast of fresh air.
Sleaze is an oil slick on the beach of politics. It sticks, stinks - and kills reputations. It stayed with John Profumo through 43 desolate years as he toiled for redemption. It still swills around the Conservative party that David Cameron strives to revive. And now it is a threat this government can't ignore any longer: a foul Blair "legacy" that may finish off Brown as well.
Too apocalyptic? Why should a few soft loans to Labour matter? Who cares if rich men, waving chequebooks, can collect their peerages in that dark alley round the back? We've wallowed in so much gunk since 1997 - dodgy millionaires, dodgy mortgages, dodgy dossiers - that ermine for sale should barely rise eyebrows. But it does.
I went to an instructive meeting the other day: the first open AGM of the Committee for Standards in Public Life. Sir Alistair Graham, its chairman, loudly lamented clear failings of independent regulation in the ministerial code. His audience, mostly men in suits, nodded earnest agreement, for they, it transpired, were commissioners of various standards, too. They looked after national audits, local councillors, public appointments, members of parliament, election officials and much more.
Yet where did they come from? Why were they there and diligently committed? Professor Peter Hennessy from Queen Mary College shed kindlier light. John Major, he said, was a bit of an unappreciated hero. It had been his decision to publish those "Questions of Procedure for Ministers", to put the country's most vital code of conduct on the record at last. And it had been his decision, too, to found the Committee for Standards as a permanent "ethical workshop".
When we looked back at the Major years, we ought to remember more than trouble and financial strife. Once upon a recent time, our inner sanctums embraced what one senior mandarin called the "good chap theory of government". But good chaps, like Profumo, couldn't always be good; trust was not always a given; rooms, smoke-filled or not, always needed a blast of fresh air.
The zeitgeist is all part of the media campaign to build up Cameron and the Tories.
Twenty years after a blast in the nuclear plant at Chernobyl spread radioactive debris across Europe, it has been revealed that 375 farms in Britain, with 200,000 sheep, are still contaminated by fallout After two decades, the legacy of the Chernobyl disaster is still casting its poisonous shadow over Britain's countryside. The Department of Health has admitted that more than 200,000 sheep are grazing on land contaminated by fallout from the explosion at the Ukrainian nuclear plant 1,500 miles away. Emergency orders still apply to 355 Welsh farms, 11 in Scotland and nine in England as a result of the catastrophe in April 1986. The revelation - in a Commons written answer to the Labour MP Gordon Prentice - comes as Mr Blair prepares to make the case for nuclear power in a forthcoming government Energy Review. The Prime Minister argues that nuclear energy would allow the UK to achieve twin objectives of cutting C02 emissions and reducing dependency on imported natural gas supplies. But, just last week a damning report from the Government's own advisory board on sustainable development identified five major disadvantages to any planned renewal of Britain's nuclear power programme, including the threat of terrorist attack and the danger of radiation exposure. The longevity of the "Chernobyl effect" in a region generation of nuclear power stations, and going through a consultation exercise to try to convince the public that this is a safe form of electricity generation, we shouldn't overlook the terrible consequences if something does go wrong, "No one would now build a reactor as unsafe as those at Chernobyl, which were jerry built. Even so, I think a lot of people will be shocked to know that, as we approach the 20th anniversary of Chernobyl, hundreds of farming families are still living with the fallout."
After two decades, the legacy of the Chernobyl disaster is still casting its poisonous shadow over Britain's countryside. The Department of Health has admitted that more than 200,000 sheep are grazing on land contaminated by fallout from the explosion at the Ukrainian nuclear plant 1,500 miles away. Emergency orders still apply to 355 Welsh farms, 11 in Scotland and nine in England as a result of the catastrophe in April 1986.
The revelation - in a Commons written answer to the Labour MP Gordon Prentice - comes as Mr Blair prepares to make the case for nuclear power in a forthcoming government Energy Review. The Prime Minister argues that nuclear energy would allow the UK to achieve twin objectives of cutting C02 emissions and reducing dependency on imported natural gas supplies.
But, just last week a damning report from the Government's own advisory board on sustainable development identified five major disadvantages to any planned renewal of Britain's nuclear power programme, including the threat of terrorist attack and the danger of radiation exposure. The longevity of the "Chernobyl effect" in a region generation of nuclear power stations, and going through a consultation exercise to try to convince the public that this is a safe form of electricity generation, we shouldn't overlook the terrible consequences if something does go wrong, "No one would now build a reactor as unsafe as those at Chernobyl, which were jerry built. Even so, I think a lot of people will be shocked to know that, as we approach the 20th anniversary of Chernobyl, hundreds of farming families are still living with the fallout."
But the odd one gets a high reading if it comes straight in off the fell,
Do we know if that happens in other areas? Do we know if this is an area of high naturam radioactivity? Can we compare the trigger levels to anything?
Absent hard information, this is just innuendo and fearmongering. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
What use are those to the average Independent reader? But I already indicated that you just would have to look up UK regulations for the precise numbers.
and you will note that they don't even say that there are actually sheep above that level
You then quote out of context. What do you think "and has to be slaughtered." means?
Do we know if that happens in other areas?
Yes - application of the same emergency orders:
No sheep can be moved out of any of these areas without a special licence, under Emergency Orders imposed in 1986. Sheep that have higher than the permitted level of radiation have to be marked with a special dye that does not wash off in the rain, and have to spend months grazing on uncontaminated grass before they are passed as fit to go into the food chain.
Do we know if this is an area of high naturam radioactivity? Can we compare the trigger levels to anything?
Now I submit those are valid points, but as the article mentions peat bogs, I suspect natural radioactivity is out of the question, and accumulated Chernobyl contamination is the obvious first suspect. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
Are you being serious, DoDo? What use is actual, relevant, hard information to the average paper reader? Indeed. I suppose they coul also go and log in on the relevant website to read the report, why does the press need to mention it at all? And if the information is out there, why ask anyone to prepare a report at all? People can go make their own measurements, themselves, if they care about it.
You then quote out of context.
I quoted the ONLY instance in the article of a (indirect) mention of an actual exceedance of the (unknown) trigger levels.
I suspect natural radioactivity is out of the question
Prove it.
It should not be up to anyone else to prove the negaitve of this. It's up to you to prove such allegations. Your anti-nuclear stance is blinding you. Let's hold nuclear energy to the highest standards, but that means that criticism should also be made with some (ideally, the same) standards of transparency and verification.
That article of the Independent and your own comments totally fail any kind of reasonable standard for proof. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
High natural radioactivity is usually associated with bedrock, magmatic or volcanic. Peat bogs are - soil. Heavy waterfall and no outflow makes them sinks for anything washed out of the atmosphere. Another point against natural sources is the short half-life of caesium.
I did some homework in another post, but I couldn't find much on Cs background levels in connection with either peat bogs or sheep in Britain. (I found one document with data on tested sheep from Northern Ireland with most below 1 Bq/kg and a maximum of 5.43 Bq/kg. I also found a worldwide survey for fishes, values ranged from 0.2 to 2.1 Bq/kg.) I'm certain if natural levels would be anywhere near that value, pro-nuclear sites would have the info. Instead, I find those mentioning the sheep issue stress the reduction in the number of affected farms. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
Nutrient-poor and acidic, a bog is a peat-accumulating wetland comprised of acidophilic vegetation, particularly Sphagnum mosses species and ericad shrubs. Although bogs are water-saturated, they have virtually no inflow or outflow of mineral-bearing water. Isolated from the groundwater table, their only source of nutrients is precipitation.
Read here. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
Heavy rainfall caused minerals such as iron to be washed out or leached from the surface layers of the thin soil, in a process known as paludification. These were deposited lower down in the soil profile where they formed an impermeable layer known as an iron pan (see Figure 2). As water cannot move down through such a layer, the soil surface became waterlogged. Under these conditions the accumulation and spread of peat was made possible.
There are nice figures for explanation. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
Well, I didn't, you saw me in the process of self-education :-)
My image of a peat bog was (a) a German low-land filled-up lake, or (b) a Scottish or Cornish hilltop moor (the versions I have seen personally, and the ones I read of as being used for 'atmospheric composition archeology'), so blanket bogs were a news to me. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
Wikipedia: Readers of The Independent
One could say that a stereotypical 'Independent' reader is well-educated, a Liberal Democrat or perhaps Labour voter, anti-war and interested in issues about the environment. These are directly reflected onto the newspaper's style. The paper's editorial line favours the implementation of proportional representation, and tackling climate change. It often has critical front page spreads about George Bush and many articles by female journalists. Thus it is seen as an educated tabloid newspaper (a 'compact' newspaper).
The question is whether the paper's "educated" readership will put their concern over climate change above a data-driven discussion of the facts and a critical discussion of the sources.
I think the problem is that newspapers don't feel that they have to provide references to additional reading or to their sources more explicitly than a mention in passing.
It may also be an issue that the environmentally-conscious editorial line is an ideological position, and so it's ok to "fix the intelligence around the policy". guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper
This is not at all scaremongering, but a regular theme, ever since the farm restrictions were predicted to be over in six weeks ack in 1986.
Using a March 2003 article, the number of farms under monitoring for Caesium contamination: more than 9000 in June 1986, according to a December 2000 BBC article just below 400 then, 386 in March 2003, 375 now. Threshold: 1,000Bq/kg. There is a special regulation to move sheep that has more than this to lower areas, away from the pet bogs, for a few weeks and wait for contamination levels to fall. The 2003 article also mentions that the then prospective new EU members wanted to impose an EU-wide threshold to their lower, 600 Bq/kg threshold.
More on farmland contamination tests in the UK here. No word about background levels, but on differences between soils, and isotopes.
Now, with a dosis factor of 1.3*10-8, 1000 Bq/kg would make 0.13 mSv per kg meat eaten, so one would have to eat a helluva' lot to get to the 20 mSv per year health safety limit, but not that much to get above, say, the German background level of 2.1 mSv/year, or even the German average exposure (i.e. involving non-natural sources like X-ray screeners) of 4.1 mSv/year. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
So the trigger level means that you need to eat 30kg/y of that animal to get the equivalent to "natural" exposure. That's not an unsignificant quantity of meat, which suggests that the threshhold is pretty low, which is fine, but does makes it kind of irresponsible to talk about the "long lasting effects" of Chernobyl when only the "odd animal" ever gets to be above such a lowish level in terms of practical consequences. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
I thought that was their job-description. Chalk that one up under bad press reporting #... Oh, I lost count.
If ET finds two or three more people with the capacities of Fran (although they are a rare breed), coupled to the expertise already here, I'd think there would be a very potential competitioner to the Independent.
What I mean is that news stories will tend to lose importance as primary sources. Agency wires, institutions' press releases, should be the primary material that is analysed unless the purpose is to analyse/debunk consensus newspeak itself.
News stories provide the necessary pointers to dig up the original sources.
The genuinely interesting content that newspapers provide, then, the little that is written by their correspondents, and opinion/analysis pieces. guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper
And I know that ET, in current status, does not have the reader's input for what I described. But a man can dream. Hey, in 5 years or so, the baby boom generation should have been completely retired and daily active on the web... (Although I wonder how progressive they are...)
On the other hand, Democracy Now had had the daughter of an El Pais writer as an intern, and they used her as a Spain-based correspondent when they needed it. That was neat. guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper
I stopped reading the international section of Hungarian papers around three years ago for similar reasons. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
I don't see the point of "correspondents" who copy-paste from the wire. What an ill name for an increasingly outdated concept.
Talk of differing expectations. Yes, I'd wish every newspaper would do that, especially on the web, but I long ago gave up expecting scientific literature standards from even top-quality general media - or to expect the majority of readers wanting that. (For the majority their papers are still "newspapers of record".) *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
The two contenders to rule Italy, Silvio Berlusconi, the Prime Minister, and the main opposition leader, Romano Prodi, clash tonight on prime-time television in a debate already dismissed by Mr Berlusconi as "a waxworks show". Following rules of engagement inspired by the US presidential election debate between George Bush and John Kerry, each man will have two and a half minutes to reply to a question, with right of reply limited to one minute. One candidate will get the first question, the other the last one, with the order reversed for the second encounter, on 3 April. Everything down to suits and ties has been discussed in detail. Two different moderators will be in charge of the two shows, their order of appearance decided by tossing a coin. The debate is expected to follow the success of Mr Berlusoni's last two debating appearances and break viewing records. Italy's long campaign leading to the general election on 9 and 10 April has caught fire, at least on television. The rules were agreed at the insistence of Mr Prodi's side after the challenger told Mr Berlusconi that he would rather have no debate than one in which the cards were stacked against him. Until last week Mr Berlusconi was insisting on his right, as the current premier, to conclude the discussion with a televised press conference given by himself alone. Now he has conceded, albeit begrudgingly. "According to these rules, neither of us can reply to the other and the one who wants to lodge a disagreement must put up his hand like at school when you want to go to the lavatory ... We will be like little statues." It certainly goes against the grain of Italian political debate, which is usually a contest to see who can shout louder and longer. But there is a growing feeling that the classic knockabout Italian style has hit a roadblock - especially after Mr Berlusconi's last television appearance ended with him stalking out in a huff.
Following rules of engagement inspired by the US presidential election debate between George Bush and John Kerry, each man will have two and a half minutes to reply to a question, with right of reply limited to one minute. One candidate will get the first question, the other the last one, with the order reversed for the second encounter, on 3 April.
Everything down to suits and ties has been discussed in detail. Two different moderators will be in charge of the two shows, their order of appearance decided by tossing a coin. The debate is expected to follow the success of Mr Berlusoni's last two debating appearances and break viewing records. Italy's long campaign leading to the general election on 9 and 10 April has caught fire, at least on television.
The rules were agreed at the insistence of Mr Prodi's side after the challenger told Mr Berlusconi that he would rather have no debate than one in which the cards were stacked against him. Until last week Mr Berlusconi was insisting on his right, as the current premier, to conclude the discussion with a televised press conference given by himself alone.
Now he has conceded, albeit begrudgingly. "According to these rules, neither of us can reply to the other and the one who wants to lodge a disagreement must put up his hand like at school when you want to go to the lavatory ... We will be like little statues."
It certainly goes against the grain of Italian political debate, which is usually a contest to see who can shout louder and longer. But there is a growing feeling that the classic knockabout Italian style has hit a roadblock - especially after Mr Berlusconi's last television appearance ended with him stalking out in a huff.
Until last week Mr Berlusconi was insisting on his right, as the current premier, to conclude the discussion with a televised press conference given by himself alone.
This would cause an uproar here in the UK if Blair suggested such a thing. Blatant abust of power, etc.
(I use the example of the UK as that is where the article is published.)
But here, it's just a little fact, quickly passed over.
The debate should be broadcasted on several TV channels and the radio. Negotiations were underway last night to give it maximum diffusion on private channels. I do not know if it will be broadcasted over the net, but expect so.
I hope Donna and others, as well as myself, can report the event as it goes on. I am personally hampered since I do not have a TV, never possessed one, nor intend to. Anyone living in Italy can understand my choice.
Berlusconi has appeared nervous these past few days. He lost terribly to Diliberto of Rifondazione Communista the other day and stalked out of an interview two days ago. There are two major judiciary operations going on that personally concern him and his government- the Mills' bribery/perjury case and the vast wiretapping case which now enters its second stage and has prompted the demission of the Minister of Health, Francesco Storace, AN heavyweight. Pollari, head of the Sismi, also offered to resign but was reconfirmed. I first reported this here at eurotrib. I see Laura Rozen has written something about this a couple of days ago and kindly linked to my original piece.
Another reason for B's nervousness are the polls. He continues to produce crackpot polls by the American spin company, PSB, and his personal polling entity, Euromedia, that allege his advantage. All other polls, by internationally recognized polling companies, show an advantage of the left that oscillates around 4,5% to 5% lead with a tendency to widen. These polling companies use a system based on the French method (I don't know what that means) have predicted results correctly in over 99% of the cases. The one glaring error was the well-known Jospin-Le Pen case.
B is no fool and knows damn well he is losing.
An amusing aside was an overheard cellphone conversation. A major rightwing candidate was talking to his bookmaker, telling him to place bets on a leftwing win. In the worst of cases, he'll win someth
Hah! Not just Italy, de Gondi. I've been living without TV for years now and only when there were some good movies boadcasted and no friends around I regretted that choice. But besides that, practically every public Dutch channel is archived and accessible from the net, so for news, documentaries and debates I can still satisfy my with-drawal needs.
In the times when I did have a TV, I did regularly linger on the one Italian channel they put on the cable here, I believe it was Rai Uno. I lingered mostly because of the bizarro factor (and the far too blond, double-breasted host) and was mildly entertained - but I can't imagine bearing to watch it 24/7.
Anyway. Back to serious business.
:))))
Sorry, just making fun of you... It's rare I can do that, and in this thread I did it twice! Tee-hee!
I was in Palermo one year's end/New Year's Day, with TV in the hotel room, a dozen Italian channels, and I understand your choice... *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
Six European Union countries face legal action later this month by the European Commission for maintaining bans on gambling while permitting their citizens to wager in their national lotteries. The European Union's internal market commissioner, Charlie McCreevy, said he wanted to take action against Germany, Finland, Sweden, Italy, Holland and Hungary for restricting the advertising and promotion of gambling services like booking shops, which run bets on sporting events, as well as on the gambling services themselves. "We should proceed against all these countries," McCreevy said Friday. National governments have become addicted to the revenue that their national lotteries bring in. As Europeans spend more on lottery tickets, and as governments find it harder to finance public spending through orthodox means like taxation, they have frustrated efforts to create a more level playing field for competition in the gambling and lottery business. The European Commission has tried several times to break down what amount to monopolies on gambling that are held by national lotteries but its efforts have been thwarted by the member states. Most recently, the commission tried to include gambling in its controversial and wide-ranging services directive, but members of the European Parliament threw out the clause on gambling. "The official reason for opposing other forms of gambling is out of social concern, but the real reason they want to restrict other gambling outlets is because they don't want to lose the contributions to state coffers they get from their national lotteries," said Torbjorn Ihre, head of public affairs at the Brussels- based European Betting Association.
The European Union's internal market commissioner, Charlie McCreevy, said he wanted to take action against Germany, Finland, Sweden, Italy, Holland and Hungary for restricting the advertising and promotion of gambling services like booking shops, which run bets on sporting events, as well as on the gambling services themselves. "We should proceed against all these countries," McCreevy said Friday.
National governments have become addicted to the revenue that their national lotteries bring in. As Europeans spend more on lottery tickets, and as governments find it harder to finance public spending through orthodox means like taxation, they have frustrated efforts to create a more level playing field for competition in the gambling and lottery business. The European Commission has tried several times to break down what amount to monopolies on gambling that are held by national lotteries but its efforts have been thwarted by the member states.
Most recently, the commission tried to include gambling in its controversial and wide-ranging services directive, but members of the European Parliament threw out the clause on gambling.
"The official reason for opposing other forms of gambling is out of social concern, but the real reason they want to restrict other gambling outlets is because they don't want to lose the contributions to state coffers they get from their national lotteries," said Torbjorn Ihre, head of public affairs at the Brussels- based European Betting Association.
Better give it into the pockets of mafia guys than spend them on public projects! </mccreepy> *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
The lawyer for Slobodan Milosevic said Monday that a team of Russian doctors would arrive in the Netherlands on Tuesday to repeat the autopsy that was performed Sunday on the former Serbian president. The body of Milosevic, who was found dead in the detention center early Saturday, is still at the Netherlands Forensic Institute in The Hague but is now available to be claimed by his family. Milosevic's lawyer, Zdenko Tomanovic, said that the Russian medical team would be headed by Leo Bokeria, director of Moscow's Bakulev cardiovascular center, and that a doctor at the center examined Milosevic at the United Nations detention center last year. Tomanovic said Milosevic had been sending reports of his medical condition to Russia for at least two years. According to the lawyer, the Russian doctors concluded that his medical treatment was not "in accordance with their views." Milosevic's son, Marko, was to arrive in the Netherlands on Tuesday. The institute could not be reached to say how it would react to a second autopsy, but that decision rests with the family. Until then, the lawyer said, the family has taken action to move the body to Belgrade, where Milosevic's funeral is to take place. It would entail a gathering of nationalists and supporters of the former president that has not been seen in more than five years. Carla del Ponte, the chief prosecutor at the UN war crimes tribunal, staunchly defended Milosevic's medical treatment. "Milosevic had the best medical care you can imagine," she said in an interview, adding that she had a folder of medical reports and surveillance that began in March 2002 and continued until this month. "So many doctors were looking at him all the time," del Ponte said, "I was confident that if there was one person who we should not worry about it was him. Nothing was overlooked. Every small detail was attended to."
The body of Milosevic, who was found dead in the detention center early Saturday, is still at the Netherlands Forensic Institute in The Hague but is now available to be claimed by his family.
Milosevic's lawyer, Zdenko Tomanovic, said that the Russian medical team would be headed by Leo Bokeria, director of Moscow's Bakulev cardiovascular center, and that a doctor at the center examined Milosevic at the United Nations detention center last year.
Tomanovic said Milosevic had been sending reports of his medical condition to Russia for at least two years. According to the lawyer, the Russian doctors concluded that his medical treatment was not "in accordance with their views."
Milosevic's son, Marko, was to arrive in the Netherlands on Tuesday. The institute could not be reached to say how it would react to a second autopsy, but that decision rests with the family.
Until then, the lawyer said, the family has taken action to move the body to Belgrade, where Milosevic's funeral is to take place. It would entail a gathering of nationalists and supporters of the former president that has not been seen in more than five years.
Carla del Ponte, the chief prosecutor at the UN war crimes tribunal, staunchly defended Milosevic's medical treatment. "Milosevic had the best medical care you can imagine," she said in an interview, adding that she had a folder of medical reports and surveillance that began in March 2002 and continued until this month.
"So many doctors were looking at him all the time," del Ponte said, "I was confident that if there was one person who we should not worry about it was him. Nothing was overlooked. Every small detail was attended to."
Serbia is still struggling to come to terms with the death of its former president Slobodan Milosevic. Reactions are mixed, while the tension surrounding the question of his funeral is on the rise. From pride in his leadership to shame at his memory, the death of former Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic in his cell at the UN war crimes court in The Hague, where he was standing trial for genocide and war crimes, inspired an emotional response that deeply divided his homeland. Dozens of hardcore Milosevic loyalists queued in the rain on Sunday to pay tribute to their late idol in front of his party seat in central Belgrade. ... Serbia-Montenegro's Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic said he was "ashamed" by the reactions of Milosevic's die-hard followers. "His supporters' grief for the man who was responsible for countless crimes and who personally ordered numerous murders has been turned into eulogies for the deceased," Draskovic told Tanjug news agency. Milosevic's policies had only produced "death, misfortune and hatred," said Draskovic, who was a fierce critic of the autocratic regime of the former Serbian and Yugoslav president in the 1990s, but also, for a short period of time, a minister in Milosevic's government. "By promoting a serial killer into a national hero his victims are murdered again and Serbia disgraces itself ... as the state in which crime is a supreme virtue," Draskovic said.
From pride in his leadership to shame at his memory, the death of former Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic in his cell at the UN war crimes court in The Hague, where he was standing trial for genocide and war crimes, inspired an emotional response that deeply divided his homeland.
Dozens of hardcore Milosevic loyalists queued in the rain on Sunday to pay tribute to their late idol in front of his party seat in central Belgrade.
... Serbia-Montenegro's Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic said he was "ashamed" by the reactions of Milosevic's die-hard followers.
"His supporters' grief for the man who was responsible for countless crimes and who personally ordered numerous murders has been turned into eulogies for the deceased," Draskovic told Tanjug news agency.
Milosevic's policies had only produced "death, misfortune and hatred," said Draskovic, who was a fierce critic of the autocratic regime of the former Serbian and Yugoslav president in the 1990s, but also, for a short period of time, a minister in Milosevic's government.
"By promoting a serial killer into a national hero his victims are murdered again and Serbia disgraces itself ... as the state in which crime is a supreme virtue," Draskovic said.
· Belgrade may host his funeral but not state burial · Son demands protection for exiled family's return Russia intervened in the row over the death of Slobodan Milosevic yesterday, when it sent a team of doctors to The Hague to examine his body after expressing doubts about the reliability of the postmortem examination. As Belgrade indicated that it would allow the funeral of the former Serbian leader to take place on its soil, the Russian government voiced "alarm" at the sudden death of Milosevic. "We have the right not to believe and not to trust those who are conducting this autopsy," the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said as he announced that four Russian pathologists would fly to The Hague. The intervention by Russia, a clear demonstration of Vladimir Putin's recent determination to flex his muscles, compounded the sense of uncertainty since Milosevic died of a heart attack on Saturday in his prison cell near the international war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. The former president's family and supporters, who have accused Dutch medical authorities of failing to provide adequate medical care, were yesterday involved in a show of will with the Serbian government over funeral arrangements. Mira Markovic, his widow who lives in exile in Moscow, is demanding that the Serb authorities drop charges against her for abuse of power to allow her to attend her husband's funeral. This was rejected out of hand last night by the Serbian president, Boris Tadic, who also dismissed calls from the Socialist party for Milosevic to be granted a full state funeral. Some Socialist supporters of Milosevic, who hope to use his death to increase pressure on the prime minister, Vojislav Kostunica, called for him to be buried with full honours in the Avenue of the Heroes. President Tadic said that a state funeral "would be highly inappropriate".
Russia intervened in the row over the death of Slobodan Milosevic yesterday, when it sent a team of doctors to The Hague to examine his body after expressing doubts about the reliability of the postmortem examination. As Belgrade indicated that it would allow the funeral of the former Serbian leader to take place on its soil, the Russian government voiced "alarm" at the sudden death of Milosevic. "We have the right not to believe and not to trust those who are conducting this autopsy," the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said as he announced that four Russian pathologists would fly to The Hague.
The intervention by Russia, a clear demonstration of Vladimir Putin's recent determination to flex his muscles, compounded the sense of uncertainty since Milosevic died of a heart attack on Saturday in his prison cell near the international war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. The former president's family and supporters, who have accused Dutch medical authorities of failing to provide adequate medical care, were yesterday involved in a show of will with the Serbian government over funeral arrangements.
Mira Markovic, his widow who lives in exile in Moscow, is demanding that the Serb authorities drop charges against her for abuse of power to allow her to attend her husband's funeral. This was rejected out of hand last night by the Serbian president, Boris Tadic, who also dismissed calls from the Socialist party for Milosevic to be granted a full state funeral.
Some Socialist supporters of Milosevic, who hope to use his death to increase pressure on the prime minister, Vojislav Kostunica, called for him to be buried with full honours in the Avenue of the Heroes. President Tadic said that a state funeral "would be highly inappropriate".
Does he not have trust in the Serbian doctors who attended either? *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
(Sorry, Slaboymni, that was a cheap shot ;-) ) In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
TEHRAN (ISNA) - Trust making in energy treaties especially nuclear energy must be done, and if Europe requires these resources it must keep Iran satisfied. "The real shock to European countries came when balance between investments, supply and demand fell apart," said German's Global Study Group and Political and Science Institute Director, Freedman Muller in the "Security and Energy; Asian Vision" symposium in Tehran. "Monopoly between supplier and consumer exists, which one of the main reasons to this is nonexistence of a proper gas pipeline network in the world," said Muller while noting that Europe has never actually has a real market. "Europe up to now has been the biggest importer of natural gas and has had a number of clashes with Russia and we have come aware of this fact that Russia does not possess the capacity and capability to supply Europe," he added.
"The real shock to European countries came when balance between investments, supply and demand fell apart," said German's Global Study Group and Political and Science Institute Director, Freedman Muller in the "Security and Energy; Asian Vision" symposium in Tehran.
"Monopoly between supplier and consumer exists, which one of the main reasons to this is nonexistence of a proper gas pipeline network in the world," said Muller while noting that Europe has never actually has a real market.
"Europe up to now has been the biggest importer of natural gas and has had a number of clashes with Russia and we have come aware of this fact that Russia does not possess the capacity and capability to supply Europe," he added.
Europe has had a number of clashes with Russia and we have come aware of this fact that Russia does not possess the capacity and capability to supply Europe
This is untrue, and the fact that this is said in Tehran suggests that the guy is trying to flatter his hosts into believing that they can become an alternate supplier to Europe. Iran has already had two chances to do so and blew them both (pipelines in the late 70s, race won by the USSR, LNG in the 90s, race won by Qatar). Now it's a bit late to come in the market, and they still refuse to take the steps that would make it possible for them to at least enter the market (before thinking of dominating it). Iranian gas to Europe? won't happen for a while. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
Actually, I don't know if "Freedman Muller" is flattering his hosts or what. I haven't time to waste on it, but several tries on Google have come up with nothing convincing for him or his "institute".
1. AMEC £500m It is a global project management company specialising in the oil and gas and engineering sectors. In Iraq, it is or has been: subcontractor on the $154m (£89m) Fluor contract to restore electrical power systems (February 2004); a joint contract with Fluor to "provide design-build services for construction, rehabilitation, operation, and maintenance of power generation facilities" worth $500m from Usaid (March 2004); a joint contract with Fluor to "provide design-build construction services for water resource projects" worth $500m and $600m from Usaid (March 2004); an unknown sum from a Centcom contract. 2. Aegis £246.5m+ It is perhaps the biggest UK success story in Iraq, having won the $430m Pentagon contract to oversee all private security operations. Yet Aegis has been rejected once for membership of the International Peace Operations Association, a trade association that prefers to style its sector the "peace and stability industry". ... The high-profile players LT-COL TIM SPICER (RETIRED) OBE Former Scots Guards, former SAS, Spicer is chief executive of Aegis, a private security firm. He founded Sandline, along with Simon Mann (who is now jailed for plotting a coup in Equatorial Guinea) NICHOLAS SOAMES The former Defence minister (from 1994-97), is a non-executive director of Aegis MAJ-GEN JEREMY PHIPPS (RETIRED) Former SAS, former head of British special forces 1989-1993. Previously linked to the consultancy group Control Risks, Phipps is now the head of Aegis operations in Iraq SIR MALCOLM RIFKIND The Tory former defence secretary is a non-executive director and chairman of Armor Group, which has been awarded £11.4m of public contracts in Iraq HARRY LEGGE-BOURKE FORMER CAPTAIN IN WELSH GUARDS Friend of Prince Charles and brother of Prince William's nanny. Former aide-de-camp to chief of defence staff. Operations chief for Olive Security - turnover almost doubled in 2004. ....
2. Aegis £246.5m+ It is perhaps the biggest UK success story in Iraq, having won the $430m Pentagon contract to oversee all private security operations. Yet Aegis has been rejected once for membership of the International Peace Operations Association, a trade association that prefers to style its sector the "peace and stability industry".
...
The high-profile players LT-COL TIM SPICER (RETIRED) OBE Former Scots Guards, former SAS, Spicer is chief executive of Aegis, a private security firm. He founded Sandline, along with Simon Mann (who is now jailed for plotting a coup in Equatorial Guinea)
NICHOLAS SOAMES The former Defence minister (from 1994-97), is a non-executive director of Aegis MAJ-GEN JEREMY PHIPPS (RETIRED) Former SAS, former head of British special forces 1989-1993. Previously linked to the consultancy group Control Risks, Phipps is now the head of Aegis operations in Iraq
SIR MALCOLM RIFKIND The Tory former defence secretary is a non-executive director and chairman of Armor Group, which has been awarded £11.4m of public contracts in Iraq HARRY LEGGE-BOURKE FORMER CAPTAIN IN WELSH GUARDS Friend of Prince Charles and brother of Prince William's nanny. Former aide-de-camp to chief of defence staff. Operations chief for Olive Security - turnover almost doubled in 2004.
....
The new right-wing coalition government in Poland is making difficulties for the European Union as it plans to cooperate with Russia on long- term energy supplies. The Poles, however, are right to do so. They say Europe already is too dependent on Russia for energy. They propose a new agreement among EU and NATO countries to diversify their sources of energy and establish the technical means for mutual support if Russian natural gas supplies should be interrupted. This in part is Poland's answer to Germany's decision to construct a new pipeline from Russia directly to Germany under the Baltic, rather than overland, passing through Poland. Poland is not the only EU member from the former Soviet bloc, however, to think that Europe is already overdependent on Russian energy. The Russians confirmed that fear in January by interrupting gas supplies to Ukraine in what amounted to a political sanction. This caused shortages for other Russian gas consumers farther down the pipeline. It was a crude and stupid thing for Gazprom and the Putin government to do, although the Germans, who already get 35 percent of their gas from Russia, are reluctant to provoke Moscow by discussing the alternative arrangements the Poles want. The president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, meets President Vladimir Putin in Moscow later this month to discuss energy "interdependence." Russia needs "a stable market and a stable relationship" with Europe, he says. The EU is about to meet on energy security. Russia in January gave them reason for concern. The Poles, though, do not help their case with the extraordinarily uncooperative line they have taken on several EU matters. The existing unanimity rule gives Warsaw considerable blackmail power in dealing with the older EU countries. The European Constitution, rejected last year in French and Netherlands referendums, would have removed the unanimity rule.
They say Europe already is too dependent on Russia for energy. They propose a new agreement among EU and NATO countries to diversify their sources of energy and establish the technical means for mutual support if Russian natural gas supplies should be interrupted.
This in part is Poland's answer to Germany's decision to construct a new pipeline from Russia directly to Germany under the Baltic, rather than overland, passing through Poland.
Poland is not the only EU member from the former Soviet bloc, however, to think that Europe is already overdependent on Russian energy. The Russians confirmed that fear in January by interrupting gas supplies to Ukraine in what amounted to a political sanction. This caused shortages for other Russian gas consumers farther down the pipeline.
It was a crude and stupid thing for Gazprom and the Putin government to do, although the Germans, who already get 35 percent of their gas from Russia, are reluctant to provoke Moscow by discussing the alternative arrangements the Poles want.
The president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, meets President Vladimir Putin in Moscow later this month to discuss energy "interdependence." Russia needs "a stable market and a stable relationship" with Europe, he says. The EU is about to meet on energy security. Russia in January gave them reason for concern.
The Poles, though, do not help their case with the extraordinarily uncooperative line they have taken on several EU matters. The existing unanimity rule gives Warsaw considerable blackmail power in dealing with the older EU countries. The European Constitution, rejected last year in French and Netherlands referendums, would have removed the unanimity rule.
The Poles, however, are right to do so.
Gas warning: not enough to meet demand
Cold weather provokes supply crisis The National Grid, responsible for running Britain's gas and electricity pipes and wires, yesterday issued an unprecedented warning that the country was in danger of not having enough gas to meet demand. It issued its first-ever "gas balancing alert" to the market, telling traders that gas demand might have to be reduced, initially for businesses. The move sent wholesale prices spiralling up fourfold.
The National Grid, responsible for running Britain's gas and electricity pipes and wires, yesterday issued an unprecedented warning that the country was in danger of not having enough gas to meet demand.
It issued its first-ever "gas balancing alert" to the market, telling traders that gas demand might have to be reduced, initially for businesses. The move sent wholesale prices spiralling up fourfold.
The market? Start signal for California-style tricks, methings... </cynical me> *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
That's where this graph comes from:
In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
Senior British diplomatic and military staff gave Tony Blair explicit warnings three years ago that the US was disastrously mishandling the occupation of Iraq, according to leaked memos. John Sawers, Mr Blair's envoy in Baghdad in the aftermath of the invasion, sent a series of confidential memos to Downing Street in May and June 2003 cataloguing US failures. With unusual frankness, he described the US postwar administration, led by the retired general Jay Garner, as "an unbelievable mess" and said "Garner and his top team of 60-year-old retired generals" were "well-meaning but out of their depth". That assessment is reinforced by Major General Albert Whitley, the most senior British officer with the US land forces. Gen Whitley, in another memo later that summer, expressed alarm that the US-British coalition was in danger of losing the peace. "We may have been seduced into something we might be inclined to regret. Is strategic failure a possibility? The answer has to be 'yes'," he concluded.
John Sawers, Mr Blair's envoy in Baghdad in the aftermath of the invasion, sent a series of confidential memos to Downing Street in May and June 2003 cataloguing US failures. With unusual frankness, he described the US postwar administration, led by the retired general Jay Garner, as "an unbelievable mess" and said "Garner and his top team of 60-year-old retired generals" were "well-meaning but out of their depth".
That assessment is reinforced by Major General Albert Whitley, the most senior British officer with the US land forces. Gen Whitley, in another memo later that summer, expressed alarm that the US-British coalition was in danger of losing the peace. "We may have been seduced into something we might be inclined to regret. Is strategic failure a possibility? The answer has to be 'yes'," he concluded.
Europe, held back by France and Germany, is losing the race in education and higher qualifications faced with dogged competition from Asia, according to a study released yesterday. The study, by Andreas Schleicher from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), warns Europe to revolutionize its schools and universities and tackle class bias. "The time when Europe competed mostly with countries that offered low-skilled work at low wages has gone. Today, countries like China and India are starting to deliver high skills at low costs," Schleicher wrote. "This is profoundly changing the rules of the game," said the study, compiled for the Lisbon Council, a Brussels-based thinktank which aims to make Europe more competitive.
The study, by Andreas Schleicher from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), warns Europe to revolutionize its schools and universities and tackle class bias.
"The time when Europe competed mostly with countries that offered low-skilled work at low wages has gone. Today, countries like China and India are starting to deliver high skills at low costs," Schleicher wrote.
"This is profoundly changing the rules of the game," said the study, compiled for the Lisbon Council, a Brussels-based thinktank which aims to make Europe more competitive.
The report singles out France and Germany, which flagged it for me as a candidate for deconstrution. However, Schleicher's recommendations seem not quite square with a neoliberal agenda (he advocates incresed spending in education) despite the report being commissioned by the Lisbon Council.
What is PISA? Are the statistics reliable, are there biases? guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper
(the reference is of course to the Lisbon "make Europe competitive" agenda) In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
People tout "comparative advantage" as the saviour of Western economies, but I still don't have a good feel for it. Is there actually that much economic impetus for highly skilled work? If there isn't, then there will be zero-sum competition between workers in various countries.
There is clearly an excess supply of labour of all forms and just as clearly (looking at some parts of the world) plenty of work needed to raise living standards of people. But, somehow our economic system cannot generate the demand?
However, the global macroeconomic goal is not to encourage employment, but to increase gross (not per-capita) GDP. guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper
I'd always thought of GDP as a proxy for potential taxation, as if two friends cut each other's hair for free vs. paying each other to cut it, the only potential value of the money circulating is the ability of the government to tax it...
It was a rhetorical device on my part to expand my comment in a particular direction.
I would never accuse you of a crime as heinous as "first degree comforting in a comment." ;-)
French prime minister Dominique de Villepin yesterday coincided with Spanish prime minister Rodriguez Zapatero on the Endesa takeover issue, saying that he opposed "unfriendly" takeovers of energy corporations. After meeting with Zapatero at the Moncloa palace, Villepin said that his opposition to the takeover bid launched by German utility E.ON for Endesa was not related to "protectionism," but to the need to guarantee supply "in a sector that is strategic for security." Villepin also called for "providing the necessary means to national corporations to compete in equality" in Europe," and for supporting "large European industrial projects that do not come from an unfriendly initiative, but rather cooperation between the companies involved."
In turn, the Prime Ministers of Spain and France called on the European Union to come up with a policy to guarantee supplies in the energy area. The Prime Ministers of Spain and France _ both fending off foreign takeover bids in the energy area _ called on the European Union Monday to come up with a policy to guarantee supplies in that sector. "Given the challenges of the post-petroleum world, we have to provide answers. Europe has to come up with a true strategy to guarantee energy security,'' French Premier Dominique de Villepin said after talks with his Spanish counterpart, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.
The Prime Ministers of Spain and France _ both fending off foreign takeover bids in the energy area _ called on the European Union Monday to come up with a policy to guarantee supplies in that sector.
"Given the challenges of the post-petroleum world, we have to provide answers. Europe has to come up with a true strategy to guarantee energy security,'' French Premier Dominique de Villepin said after talks with his Spanish counterpart, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.
The PMs stated they also had discussed the fight against terrorism and the crisis over Iran's nuclear program. Villepin described police and political cooperation between Spain and France in fighting the armed Basque group ETA as "exemplary'' and said he supported all moves to bring an end to the conflict. Zapatero has said he believes an end to the group's violence is closer.
The president of the Spanish government, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, and French prime minister Dominique de Villepin met at the Moncloa Palace in Madrid this morning to discuss a number of topics, including cross-border cooperation in the fight against ETA and reforms to the regional statute of Cataluña. Sources inside the government revealed that Mr Villepin was "extremely curious" to learn at "first hand" Mr Zapatero's view of the prospects for peace in the troubled region in the light of the recent upsurge in violence.
Sources inside the government revealed that Mr Villepin was "extremely curious" to learn at "first hand" Mr Zapatero's view of the prospects for peace in the troubled region in the light of the recent upsurge in violence.
