The Swedish government plans to allow new nuclear reactors to be built, according to reports - overturning a ban introduced three decades ago. The ban followed a 1980 referendum, in which the public voted to phase out nuclear power gradually. But only two reactors have been closed since then, while 10 are still working. The centre-right government was quoted by Reuters as saying it should be allowed to replace old reactors. The plans would need parliament's approval. Analysts say public support for nuclear energy has grown amid concerns over climate change.
The Swedish government plans to allow new nuclear reactors to be built, according to reports - overturning a ban introduced three decades ago.
The ban followed a 1980 referendum, in which the public voted to phase out nuclear power gradually.
But only two reactors have been closed since then, while 10 are still working.
The centre-right government was quoted by Reuters as saying it should be allowed to replace old reactors. The plans would need parliament's approval.
Analysts say public support for nuclear energy has grown amid concerns over climate change.
The Council of Europe is urging the Czech Republic to suspend its program of surgically castrating convicted sex offenders after visiting hospitals and prisons in the former Soviet Bloc nation. The Council of Europe's anti-torture committee on Thursday demanded an immediate cessation to the practice of surgically castrating convicted sex offenders in the Czech Republic. According to news agency AFP, in a report published following visits to two Czech psychiatric hospitals and two Czech prisons, the committee said the practice "amounts to degrading treatment."
The Council of Europe's anti-torture committee on Thursday demanded an immediate cessation to the practice of surgically castrating convicted sex offenders in the Czech Republic.
According to news agency AFP, in a report published following visits to two Czech psychiatric hospitals and two Czech prisons, the committee said the practice "amounts to degrading treatment."
I've heard reports from paedophiles who've been castrated that suggests it "frees" them from the compulsion but it's not something I'd like done compulsorily. keep to the Fen Causeway
Seriously. Now where's the fun in that! - Megatron
Seriously. Most economists teach a theoretical framework that has been shown to be fundamentally useless. -- James K. Galbraith
Question: Why a 2 rating on my comment/question? It was just a question. Trying to gauge the level of disgust for the current financial situation. I have my own gut feeling toward child molesters, etc. Where do the current crop of Republicans and their ilk rate, on the gut-level scale? That's all. Now where's the fun in that! - Megatron
Do you castrate people on gut feelings, too? Most economists teach a theoretical framework that has been shown to be fundamentally useless. -- James K. Galbraith
If you are asking if castration is EVER an acceptable punishment/solution for any crime/situation, quite honestly, I don't know. My comment, in all of its bad taste, was BUT ANOTHER ONE of my gut level postings which I seem to shoot out without considering the potential fallout.
"But what would Fox News have to say if they saw this posting"?
Question: When I post ANYTHING, am I really suppose to consider the "sensibilities" of everyone or should I just be prepared for 2 ratings? I don't mind being ignored; I'm used to that. Now where's the fun in that! - Megatron
I would certianly advocate punitive taxation, but then again, I have always been fuming about the crap rich-beneficial tax system. keep to the Fen Causeway
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his advisers are in the final phase of preparing France's return to NATO's military structures, after Paris obtained US-backing for two senior command positions. US national security adviser James Jones has agreed in principle with Jean-David Levitte, a diplomatic adviser to President Sarkozy, that French officers could take over the reins of the Allied Command Transformation unit based in Norfolk, Virginia (US), according to a report in French daily Le Monde's Thursday edition (5 February), France has been out of NATO's military structures for more than 40 years The Norfolk unit is in charge of overseeing transformations within the alliance such as its doctrine, organisation and the use of forces. The second senior post given to the French would be a regional NATO command based in Lisbon - the headquarters of the Rapid Reaction Force and of a centre for satellite-photo analysis.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his advisers are in the final phase of preparing France's return to NATO's military structures, after Paris obtained US-backing for two senior command positions.
US national security adviser James Jones has agreed in principle with Jean-David Levitte, a diplomatic adviser to President Sarkozy, that French officers could take over the reins of the Allied Command Transformation unit based in Norfolk, Virginia (US), according to a report in French daily Le Monde's Thursday edition (5 February),
France has been out of NATO's military structures for more than 40 years
The Norfolk unit is in charge of overseeing transformations within the alliance such as its doctrine, organisation and the use of forces.
The second senior post given to the French would be a regional NATO command based in Lisbon - the headquarters of the Rapid Reaction Force and of a centre for satellite-photo analysis.
PARIS: France is in talks on taking control of two NATO command posts, including a prestigious one in the United States that has never been led by a foreign commander, defense officials said Thursday. Such a move could also be accompanied by the injection of hundreds more French troops into NATO, a European defense official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because no deal had been finalized. President Nicolas Sarkozy has been looking to tighten France's links with NATO, particularly ahead of the defense alliance's April summit meeting in Strasbourg and Kehl, Germany, that will celebrate its 60th anniversary. The European official and a French military official said France was in talks to put a French general in charge of two command posts: one in Norfolk, Virginia, responsible for laying out the long-term vision of the Atlantic alliance, and the other an operational command based in Lisbon.
PARIS: France is in talks on taking control of two NATO command posts, including a prestigious one in the United States that has never been led by a foreign commander, defense officials said Thursday.
Such a move could also be accompanied by the injection of hundreds more French troops into NATO, a European defense official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because no deal had been finalized.
President Nicolas Sarkozy has been looking to tighten France's links with NATO, particularly ahead of the defense alliance's April summit meeting in Strasbourg and Kehl, Germany, that will celebrate its 60th anniversary.
The European official and a French military official said France was in talks to put a French general in charge of two command posts: one in Norfolk, Virginia, responsible for laying out the long-term vision of the Atlantic alliance, and the other an operational command based in Lisbon.
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission and the upcoming Swedish EU presidency are planning to generate fresh political momentum for cleaning up the Baltic Sea and connecting Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to EU energy grids. The "Baltic Sea Strategy" - the EU's first regional-level policy - is to create a new club for the eight Baltic coastal countries which may in future meet regularly at foreign minister level to push forward local-interest projects. A seagull on Sweden's Baltic Sea coast The club will not have its own budget or secretariat but is likely to be supported by a new cell in the commission's regions department, which is responsible for spending the lion's share of EU annual funds. The move "seeks to fulfill the potential of the 2004 enlargement" in the words of the commission's draft policy blueprint, which suggests that existing regional organs like the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) have seen little action in past years.
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission and the upcoming Swedish EU presidency are planning to generate fresh political momentum for cleaning up the Baltic Sea and connecting Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to EU energy grids.
The "Baltic Sea Strategy" - the EU's first regional-level policy - is to create a new club for the eight Baltic coastal countries which may in future meet regularly at foreign minister level to push forward local-interest projects.
A seagull on Sweden's Baltic Sea coast
The club will not have its own budget or secretariat but is likely to be supported by a new cell in the commission's regions department, which is responsible for spending the lion's share of EU annual funds.
The move "seeks to fulfill the potential of the 2004 enlargement" in the words of the commission's draft policy blueprint, which suggests that existing regional organs like the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) have seen little action in past years.
or 15 years, Ireland's economy boomed, but today it is the country most severely hit by recession in the Eurozone. Every five minutes, a job is lost. When the property bubble burst, Irish banks had to pay the price. In Limerick, computer giant Dell is shedding 1900 jobs, closing its plant and moving to Poland. Ireland's deputy prime minister presents students with business awards, but with unemployment at 8%, students are worried about their future.The government is about to take some unpopular decisions - Irish tax payers will soon be handed a large bill. The French took to the streets for far less; how the Irish respond remains to be seen.
or 15 years, Ireland's economy boomed, but today it is the country most severely hit by recession in the Eurozone. Every five minutes, a job is lost. When the property bubble burst, Irish banks had to pay the price. In Limerick, computer giant Dell is shedding 1900 jobs, closing its plant and moving to Poland.
Ireland's deputy prime minister presents students with business awards, but with unemployment at 8%, students are worried about their future.The government is about to take some unpopular decisions - Irish tax payers will soon be handed a large bill. The French took to the streets for far less; how the Irish respond remains to be seen.
Earlier decision by outgoing Icelandic government to increase whaling quota for the next five years to be reconsidered, new government saysceland's new government may revoke a controversial decision taken last week to increase the country's whaling quota more than sixfold.Finance minister, Steingrimur Sigfusson, who is also the fisheries minister, told a news conference yesterday: "We agreed in a government meeting this morning to send a formal warning out to those with vested interests in whaling, saying that the recent decision of the ex-minister of fisheries about increasing the whaling quota for the next five years is now being reconsidered."He added: "We intend to make a policy statement about this issue in a few days."Iceland's previous prime minister, Geir Haarde, stepped down on 26 January after civil unrest following the collapse of the country's currency and banking system.
celand's new government may revoke a controversial decision taken last week to increase the country's whaling quota more than sixfold.
Finance minister, Steingrimur Sigfusson, who is also the fisheries minister, told a news conference yesterday: "We agreed in a government meeting this morning to send a formal warning out to those with vested interests in whaling, saying that the recent decision of the ex-minister of fisheries about increasing the whaling quota for the next five years is now being reconsidered."
He added: "We intend to make a policy statement about this issue in a few days."
Iceland's previous prime minister, Geir Haarde, stepped down on 26 January after civil unrest following the collapse of the country's currency and banking system.
A boat carrying a group of radical anti-whaling activists collided with a Japanese whaling vessel in the Antarctic Ocean on Friday in a clash Japan condemned as "unforgivable." No one was injured.Activist Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society said his boat was trying to prevent a Japanese ship from dragging a whale on board when another Japanese boat shot in front of Watson's vessel, causing a collision."The situation down here is getting very, very chaotic and very aggressive," Watson told The Associated Press by satellite phone from his boat, named after the late Australian conservationist and TV personality, Steve Irwin.In a statement, the Institute of Cetacean Research -- the Japanese government-affiliated organization that oversees the hunt -- condemned the protesters' actions, characterizing the collision as a "deliberate ramming" that occurred while the Japanese were trying to load a whale on board one of their ships.Shigeki Takaya, a Fisheries Agency spokesman for whaling in Japan, called the incident "appalling and unforgivable."
Activist Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society said his boat was trying to prevent a Japanese ship from dragging a whale on board when another Japanese boat shot in front of Watson's vessel, causing a collision.
"The situation down here is getting very, very chaotic and very aggressive," Watson told The Associated Press by satellite phone from his boat, named after the late Australian conservationist and TV personality, Steve Irwin.
In a statement, the Institute of Cetacean Research -- the Japanese government-affiliated organization that oversees the hunt -- condemned the protesters' actions, characterizing the collision as a "deliberate ramming" that occurred while the Japanese were trying to load a whale on board one of their ships.
Shigeki Takaya, a Fisheries Agency spokesman for whaling in Japan, called the incident "appalling and unforgivable."
PARIS: Ask a random sample of Britons, Danes, Latvians and Italians who the president of the United States is, and you'll hear an Obama chorus. Ask them who the president of the European Union is, and you will probably draw a blank. Told it is Vaclav Klaus, they would most likely say: Who? The Europeans have only themselves to blame for such ignorance, given a system that allows the EU presidency to change hands every six months. Now, at a time when the region is reeling from back-to-back crises, topped by the worst economic downtown in decades, it is the turn of the Czech Republic, a country of 10 million with a record as a reluctant EU member, let alone leader. The Czechs' leadership - or lack of it - should clinch the argument for a permanent EU presidency that could give the continent the kind of clout it deserves and needs.
PARIS: Ask a random sample of Britons, Danes, Latvians and Italians who the president of the United States is, and you'll hear an Obama chorus.
Ask them who the president of the European Union is, and you will probably draw a blank. Told it is Vaclav Klaus, they would most likely say: Who?
The Europeans have only themselves to blame for such ignorance, given a system that allows the EU presidency to change hands every six months.
Now, at a time when the region is reeling from back-to-back crises, topped by the worst economic downtown in decades, it is the turn of the Czech Republic, a country of 10 million with a record as a reluctant EU member, let alone leader.
The Czechs' leadership - or lack of it - should clinch the argument for a permanent EU presidency that could give the continent the kind of clout it deserves and needs.
I hate this crap. Hate, hate, hate.
"Please make Europe something we fuckwitted journalists can understand easily. Pleeeeeeese. We'll whine 'til we puke otherwise."
The brother of Pope Benedict XVI ridiculed the German chancellor as "irrational" after she criticised the Vatican for welcoming a Holocaust denier back into the church. Georg Ratzinger, a Roman Catholic priest, said his brother's critics were "ill-informed" for suggesting that the pontiff was wrong to rehabilitate the British Bishop Richard Williamson, who has claimed that the Nazis did not use gas chambers and that they killed at most 300,000 Jews, rather than the six million accepted by most historians. "He doesn't need me to defend him. But it does annoy me how stupid and ill-informed several people are that are attacking him," Mr Ratzinger, 85, said in an interview to appear in Thursday's edition of the Leipziger Volkszeitung.Chancellor Angela Merkel's attack on her compatriot Pope Benedict for welcoming back into the Catholic Church the Holocaust-denying bishop won widespread praise in Germany on Wednesday.Speaking Tuesday, Mrs Merkel said the pope's move could not be allowed to pass "without consequences" and called on the Vatican to "clarify unambiguously that there can be no denial" that the Nazis killed six million Jews.
Georg Ratzinger, a Roman Catholic priest, said his brother's critics were "ill-informed" for suggesting that the pontiff was wrong to rehabilitate the British Bishop Richard Williamson, who has claimed that the Nazis did not use gas chambers and that they killed at most 300,000 Jews, rather than the six million accepted by most historians.
"He doesn't need me to defend him. But it does annoy me how stupid and ill-informed several people are that are attacking him," Mr Ratzinger, 85, said in an interview to appear in Thursday's edition of the Leipziger Volkszeitung.
Chancellor Angela Merkel's attack on her compatriot Pope Benedict for welcoming back into the Catholic Church the Holocaust-denying bishop won widespread praise in Germany on Wednesday.
Speaking Tuesday, Mrs Merkel said the pope's move could not be allowed to pass "without consequences" and called on the Vatican to "clarify unambiguously that there can be no denial" that the Nazis killed six million Jews.
In a side show in Northeast Italy the local Lefebrvian, a certain Abrahamowicz, repeated today his slurs against the Holocaust by saying that the gas chambers were for disinfection. He also replied to Pope Ratzinger's call to the Lefebrvians to accept Vatican II and the various magistries of the recent popes. He remarked that Vatican II was a cesspool full of heresies.
Curiously, the Lega Nord and the rightwing governor of Veneto have invited Abrahamovicz to get lost in the crudest of terms.
The idea, that it could matter for the issue of excommunication, that someone denies the holocaust is not even debatable. On which ground should that matter? Murderers aren't excommunicated and as well on state side even the most evil crimes aren't punished with the loss of citizenship (which is the equivalent to excommunication, while making wrong statements when applying for citizenship can mean the loss of citizenship). The pope has made clear statements with regard to the holocaust. The request to punish denying of the holocaust with the upholding of excommunication, is the equivalent of a request by the pope to throw the constitution away and let on of his bishops be dictator. I wonder which response this would have triggered. Der Amerikaner ist die Orchidee unter den MenschenVolker Pispers
Pope Ratzinger's older brother may have been polite (we could not expect less) but his argument as reported does not argue the case (as you do) but simply generalizes on the personality of Merkel and anyone who holds similar views- such as most of the German Episcopacy. Perhaps you have seen the interview and can thus give us a fuller version.
We may note that an obscure priest is being given international coverage as if he were on par with Merkel and the German Episcopacy. For as much as opinions are to be respected, what weight does brotherhood amount to on the news market?
As for opinions of prelates, Benedict XVI was the Vatican Inquisitor throughout Wojtyla's papacy and quite often suspended prelates a divinis precisely for their opinions. His single-minded views on the Church of Liberation in South America were and are deplorable, all the more so with the assassination of Romero.
As far as I know, the Vatican has NOT given a bishop's post to Williamson, and even if he revokes his statement, I would see him as unfit. Maybe you know more about that as the Italian press has better coverage of the facts. Perhaps it was planned to give Williamson a post as bishop - but again, I can't see that this was meant by Merkel -, but if the pope didn't know of Williamson's statements at that point, I still see the reaction of Merkel as unlucky. I can only hope, but there is not much reason for hope, that the irrational behaviour of politicians with regard to the holocaust and related topics doesn't create anti-semitism. In the weissgarnix.de blog even atheists and people who declared, that they disliked the pope so far expressed lack of understanding for Merkel's statement.
With regard to the Church of Liberation and general the manner of the catholic church in South America, I'm for sure not happy. There are plenty of reasons to critisise the catholic church, but critics, that simply condemn everything for sure don't are the ones, that have any positive influence. And of course you can be excommunicated for opinions, e.g. for the opinion that you don't believe in God, I think even for saying, that you don't believe in physical resurrection, or for questioning the virginity of Maria. The Pius brothers were excommunicated, because they held the mess in Latin in an old rite - not because they hate homosexuals, women in trousers, or because the denial of the holocaust. Unfortunately I was ill, when I has the chance to hear a talk about the Church of Liberation, so there my knowledge why what happened is very limited. Der Amerikaner ist die Orchidee unter den MenschenVolker Pispers
How do they weigh in? On what grounds the churches power over to weigh in? I guess on the threat of their members not voting for the politicians, that do something that they don't like. There is nothing wrong with this. Der Amerikaner ist die Orchidee unter den MenschenVolker Pispers
A) Abolish the law, that says holocaust denial is illegal B) Prepare a exhibition or something like that, where lots of evidence is for the holocaust is shown C) Invite people like Achmadinejad and the like to Germany to see the exhibition D) Refrain agreeing into abuse of the holocaust, such as - stop to support Israel unconditionless - Ok, the support is anyhow not so that huge, but still a bit more than sensible - stop to give the Central Council of Jews in Germany the quasi-state religion leader character it has to date. This is rather crass, when compared with similar Christian authorities - stop acting as if the holocaust was the only event in history ever, adjust the school learning plans appropriately as well as in general public live. Almost everybody is exremely annoyed by this. It seems the little rest becomes journalists. Der Amerikaner ist die Orchidee unter den MenschenVolker Pispers
I know it's not a rational or reasonable belief on the part of the rest of the world, but I'd say that it wont be seen as reasonable to remove the law till it is truely ancient history. Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.
The European Commission has unveiled measures aimed at protecting sharks, many of which are in sharp decline. The proposals would close loopholes in current shark finning regulations, cut catches of endangered species and set quotas according to scientific advice. About half of ocean-going shark species are threatened with extinction. Conservation groups have given a mixed reaction to the commission's proposals, which now go to the European Parliament and Council of Ministers for approval.
The European Commission has unveiled measures aimed at protecting sharks, many of which are in sharp decline.
The proposals would close loopholes in current shark finning regulations, cut catches of endangered species and set quotas according to scientific advice.
About half of ocean-going shark species are threatened with extinction.
Conservation groups have given a mixed reaction to the commission's proposals, which now go to the European Parliament and Council of Ministers for approval.
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - One year after Kosovo declared independence from Serbia, MEPs on Thursday (5 February) called on all EU countries to recognise Europe's newest state. The European Parliament "encourages those EU Member States which have not already done so to recognise the independence of Kosovo," reads the resolution adopted by MEPs in Strasbourg today. Fifty-four states worldwide have recognised Kosovo as an independent state, including the US and most of the EU The document was approved by a large majority - 424 MEPs voted in favour, 133 - against, while 24 abstained. Kosovo declared unilateral independence from Serbia on 17 February last year and it has so far been recognised by 54 states worldwide, including the US and most EU countries. To date, five EU member states - Romania, Slovakia, Greece, Cyprus and Spain - have not recognised its independence.
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - One year after Kosovo declared independence from Serbia, MEPs on Thursday (5 February) called on all EU countries to recognise Europe's newest state.
The European Parliament "encourages those EU Member States which have not already done so to recognise the independence of Kosovo," reads the resolution adopted by MEPs in Strasbourg today.
Fifty-four states worldwide have recognised Kosovo as an independent state, including the US and most of the EU
The document was approved by a large majority - 424 MEPs voted in favour, 133 - against, while 24 abstained.
Kosovo declared unilateral independence from Serbia on 17 February last year and it has so far been recognised by 54 states worldwide, including the US and most EU countries.
To date, five EU member states - Romania, Slovakia, Greece, Cyprus and Spain - have not recognised its independence.
Dear Sir I suggest a simple solution to the problem of corporate tax avoidance. Apply a Limited Liability Levy on the gross revenues of all legal entities- such as Joint Stock Limited Liability Companies - where investors benefit from the privilege of "free" limited liability. Then abolish Corporation Tax; taxes on the related investment income of individuals; possibly even VAT; and collect the Levy through the payment clearing system. The fact that this would lead to widespread unemployment among accounting, tax and legal specialists is, I guess, part of the price we would have to pay for a fairer system, but I am sure they would be prepared to make the sacrifice for the greater good. Yours etc
I suggest a simple solution to the problem of corporate tax avoidance.
Apply a Limited Liability Levy on the gross revenues of all legal entities- such as Joint Stock Limited Liability Companies - where investors benefit from the privilege of "free" limited liability.
Then abolish Corporation Tax; taxes on the related investment income of individuals; possibly even VAT; and collect the Levy through the payment clearing system. The fact that this would lead to widespread unemployment among accounting, tax and legal specialists is, I guess, part of the price we would have to pay for a fairer system, but I am sure they would be prepared to make the sacrifice for the greater good.
Yours etc
While on the first go, I thought that taxing gross revenue would be a good idea, now I think a more nuanced approach would be better.
Allow corporations to self report net revenue below a certain gross revenue threshold. For example, let's 1 million pounds annually. So below this gross revenue threshold, corporations would be able to send in their own documents showing gross revenue minus operating costs yielding net income. And this net income would be taxed.
But above this threshold, submissions by corporations would be required to be audited annually by a government employed accountant, and the cost of this process would be billed to the corporation.
I think that this would fly in common law systems like England and the US. And I'll give my consent to any government that does not deny a man a living wage-Billy Bragg
(reported in the print edition of la Repubblica on February 5th- no online source found as of now)
Assoluzione piena per Alexander Stille nel processo di primo grado che vedeva il docente di giornalismo alla Columbia University, e la Garzanti Libri, accusati di diffamazione da Fedele Confalonieri. Quest´ultimo aveva avviato la causa in relazione a quanto scritto da Stille nel suo "Citizen Berlusconi. Vita e imprese". Il giudice Aurelio Barazzetta ha assolto Stille, difeso da Laura Cavallari e Caterina Malavenda, perché "il fatto non costituisce reato".
Full absolution for Alexander Stille in the lower court trial which had the Columbia University professor of journalism and Garzanti Editions accused of defamation by Fedele Confalonieri. The latter had sued Stille over what he had written in his book "The Sack of Rome." Judge Aurelio Barazzetta ruled that Stille- defended by Laura Cavallari and Caterina Malavenda- was not guilty because "the fact does not constitute a crime."
The case reflects a recurrent aspect of recent political power and it's low-threshold intolerance towards criticism, all the more so if hard facts are reported by a prominent journalist. Richard Perle sued Seymour Hersh in England, Haider regularly took critics to court. Berlusconi and his cohorts routinely take reporters to task through the courts or through daily rants and insults against generic conspiracies of evildoers.
While one may welcome a sentence that almost always reaffirms the rights of a free press, it is deplorable that Italian politicians continue to resort to legal harassment as an arm in the agora. At the same time its comforting to take note of the emotional and civic maturity of the ruling class, certainly not so much over a matter of a misplaced superiority but simply because of the lengths certain individuals will go to cram their overblown self-image down the collective throat. The bottom line is that a bullshit artist remains what he is regardless the format and the billions.
The NYT reported at length on the case last December. An illuminating interview with Alexander Stille may be seen on youtube:
Sarkozy has a long way to go. He's young but I haven't seen him snear at the French Resistance and appoint Le Pen as minister.
Meanwhile in Germany, a similar energy study leads to strong support for renewables, as long as all the usual suspects have higher places in line. "Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin
