Ad astra per aspera
A senior Tory MP today called for an investigation into whether MI5 mistakenly recruited al-Qaida sympathisers.Patrick Mercer, the chairman of the counter-terrorism subcommittee, said six Muslim recruits had been thrown out of the service because of serious concerns over their pasts.The MP said he was writing to the home secretary, Alan Johnson, to call for an investigation into the matter.Two of the six men allegedly attended al-Qaida training camps in Pakistan while the others had unexplained gaps of up to three months in their CVs.Mercer told the Telegraph that the September 11 2001 terror attacks on the US should have prompted the British government to expand the security services, but this did not happen until the bombings on London's transport network on 7 July 2005."It took an attack on this country for such measures to be started," he said."But at this point it was an unseemly rush of which our enemies, not unsurprisingly, took advantage."
A senior Tory MP today called for an investigation into whether MI5 mistakenly recruited al-Qaida sympathisers.
Patrick Mercer, the chairman of the counter-terrorism subcommittee, said six Muslim recruits had been thrown out of the service because of serious concerns over their pasts.
The MP said he was writing to the home secretary, Alan Johnson, to call for an investigation into the matter.
Two of the six men allegedly attended al-Qaida training camps in Pakistan while the others had unexplained gaps of up to three months in their CVs.
Mercer told the Telegraph that the September 11 2001 terror attacks on the US should have prompted the British government to expand the security services, but this did not happen until the bombings on London's transport network on 7 July 2005.
"It took an attack on this country for such measures to be started," he said.
"But at this point it was an unseemly rush of which our enemies, not unsurprisingly, took advantage."
A senior Tory MP has asked the home secretary whether al-Qaeda sympathisers were mistakenly recruited by MI5.Patrick Mercer, chairman of the Home Affairs counter-terror sub-committee, said sources told him six had sought to infiltrate the security service. Four were ejected at the initial vetting stage but two got "further down the system", he told the BBC. The Home Office declined to comment but Whitehall officials firmly rejected the claims, saying there was no evidence. Mr Mercer said: "What concerns me is that not all of these individuals... have necessarily been nailed and that is why I've written to the home secretary to seek his reassurance."
A senior Tory MP has asked the home secretary whether al-Qaeda sympathisers were mistakenly recruited by MI5.
Patrick Mercer, chairman of the Home Affairs counter-terror sub-committee, said sources told him six had sought to infiltrate the security service.
Four were ejected at the initial vetting stage but two got "further down the system", he told the BBC.
The Home Office declined to comment but Whitehall officials firmly rejected the claims, saying there was no evidence.
Mr Mercer said: "What concerns me is that not all of these individuals... have necessarily been nailed and that is why I've written to the home secretary to seek his reassurance."
The right to end your life on the NHS will be available within a few years, campaigners forecast yesterday, as they stepped up their battle to change Britain's suicide laws. Buoyed by the law lords' ruling in the case of Debbie Purdy, who has multiple sclerosis, they have vowed to renew their efforts to change the law. Mrs Purdy stressed yesterday that she would rather be able to die at home when she chooses, than go to Switzerland, where the laws on assisted suicide are less restrictive than in the UK. "Swiss people don't use the Dignitas clinic, because the law allows them to die in hospital or at home," she said. "Foreigners do that, because we have no option. My choice would be to die at 90, of old age, after the medical profession had found a cure for multiple sclerosis, but because that probably won't happen, when life is unbearable I would prefer to be able to have an assisted death in this country, and not to have to travel."Her remarks will fuel the campaign for a change in the 1961 Suicide Act, which makes it illegal under any circumstances to assist someone to commit suicide - with the result that 115 British patients have travelled to Switzerland to die there.
The right to end your life on the NHS will be available within a few years, campaigners forecast yesterday, as they stepped up their battle to change Britain's suicide laws.
Buoyed by the law lords' ruling in the case of Debbie Purdy, who has multiple sclerosis, they have vowed to renew their efforts to change the law. Mrs Purdy stressed yesterday that she would rather be able to die at home when she chooses, than go to Switzerland, where the laws on assisted suicide are less restrictive than in the UK.
"Swiss people don't use the Dignitas clinic, because the law allows them to die in hospital or at home," she said. "Foreigners do that, because we have no option. My choice would be to die at 90, of old age, after the medical profession had found a cure for multiple sclerosis, but because that probably won't happen, when life is unbearable I would prefer to be able to have an assisted death in this country, and not to have to travel."
Her remarks will fuel the campaign for a change in the 1961 Suicide Act, which makes it illegal under any circumstances to assist someone to commit suicide - with the result that 115 British patients have travelled to Switzerland to die there.
the distinction is so fine as to be irrelevant, imo. ~"When an inner situation is not made conscious, it appears outside as fate." Karl Jung~
White, working-class estates are to be targeted by a government campaign to head off the threat from far-right extremism. A list of "hot spots" considered susceptible to the far-right's messages is being drawn up by officials in the Department for Communities and Local Government. About 100 council wards will be identified by using crime, unemployment, and income data, supplemented by "soft intelligence" from local sources.Each community will be targeted with "tailored" measures designed to steer them away from the far right. The tactics used will include: *Holding "open and honest" discussions to allow residents to air grievances without being accused of racism, while tackling immigration "myths";*Tackling segregation by bringing together people from neighbouring, but ethnically distinct communities;*Focusing a £1bn new jobs fund on the areas, offering jobs and work experience for unemployed young people;*Fostering more community leaders, who can help local authorities to respond to the concerns of communities;*Forcing local authorities to be more transparent on social housing policies.The nationwide drive comes after the British National Party (BNP) won two seats during the European elections last month.
White, working-class estates are to be targeted by a government campaign to head off the threat from far-right extremism.
A list of "hot spots" considered susceptible to the far-right's messages is being drawn up by officials in the Department for Communities and Local Government. About 100 council wards will be identified by using crime, unemployment, and income data, supplemented by "soft intelligence" from local sources.
Each community will be targeted with "tailored" measures designed to steer them away from the far right. The tactics used will include:
*Holding "open and honest" discussions to allow residents to air grievances without being accused of racism, while tackling immigration "myths";
*Tackling segregation by bringing together people from neighbouring, but ethnically distinct communities;
*Focusing a £1bn new jobs fund on the areas, offering jobs and work experience for unemployed young people;
*Fostering more community leaders, who can help local authorities to respond to the concerns of communities;
*Forcing local authorities to be more transparent on social housing policies.
The nationwide drive comes after the British National Party (BNP) won two seats during the European elections last month.
Well, that would mean that you would actually have to relocate resources, not just spend them on consulting fees. And that can never be a serious conclusion. A vote for PES is a vote for EPP! A vote for EPP is a vote for PES! Support the coalition, vote EPP-PES in 2009!
The EU and international lending institutions have agreed a deal with Ukraine to help it provide stable supplies of Russian gas to Europe.Loans worth $1.7bn (£1bn) were agreed in return for reforms to Ukraine's gas sector, the European Commission said. The deal is meant to include money to help Ukrainian national gas company Naftogaz pay off large debts to Russia. In January, many countries were left without gas because of a payment dispute between Moscow and Kiev. The new deal will allow Ukraine to replenish its reserves of Russian gas before the winter. Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said Ukraine had made commitments which would ensure increased transparency and the long-term viability of the industry, though he did not give details.
The EU and international lending institutions have agreed a deal with Ukraine to help it provide stable supplies of Russian gas to Europe.
Loans worth $1.7bn (£1bn) were agreed in return for reforms to Ukraine's gas sector, the European Commission said.
The deal is meant to include money to help Ukrainian national gas company Naftogaz pay off large debts to Russia.
In January, many countries were left without gas because of a payment dispute between Moscow and Kiev.
The new deal will allow Ukraine to replenish its reserves of Russian gas before the winter.
Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said Ukraine had made commitments which would ensure increased transparency and the long-term viability of the industry, though he did not give details.
A funeral has been held for the two policemen killed by a car bomb on the Spanish island of Majorca on Thursday.The service, in the Majorcan capital Palma, was attended by Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and members of the royal family. The attack was the second in 48 hours. Both have been blamed on the Basque separatist group, Eta. Also on Friday, police made a public appeal for help in tracing six people they believed to be Eta members. A minute's silence was also held across Spain in memory of the dead.
A funeral has been held for the two policemen killed by a car bomb on the Spanish island of Majorca on Thursday.
The service, in the Majorcan capital Palma, was attended by Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and members of the royal family.
The attack was the second in 48 hours. Both have been blamed on the Basque separatist group, Eta.
Also on Friday, police made a public appeal for help in tracing six people they believed to be Eta members.
A minute's silence was also held across Spain in memory of the dead.
When Eta took up arms 50 years ago in pursuit of an independent Basque homeland, Spain was an international pariah in the grip of Franco's dictatorship, the Basque language was banned and political parties were illegal. Many considered it reasonable, even inevitable, that Basque political opposition should take the form of armed attacks on military targets: Eta's first armed action was the derailment of a troop train near Bilbao.Exactly half a century on, Spain is a sturdy democracy and the Basque country enjoys more autonomy than any other region in Europe, but for the armed separatists little has changed. They still want to be free of Spain and to achieve full independence.
When Eta took up arms 50 years ago in pursuit of an independent Basque homeland, Spain was an international pariah in the grip of Franco's dictatorship, the Basque language was banned and political parties were illegal.
Many considered it reasonable, even inevitable, that Basque political opposition should take the form of armed attacks on military targets: Eta's first armed action was the derailment of a troop train near Bilbao.
Exactly half a century on, Spain is a sturdy democracy and the Basque country enjoys more autonomy than any other region in Europe, but for the armed separatists little has changed. They still want to be free of Spain and to achieve full independence.
You are obviously not aware that
Now, if I were King (heh) I would have a referendum on independence, but that's just me. It probably wouldn't pass. The peak-to-trough part of the business cycle is an outlier. Carnot would have died laughing.
you're mistaking my intent in putting such a proposal forward. I seek not to praise but to kill. I believe that if you haven't stopped these people in 50 years, it's quite unlikely that you ever will. So rather than keep doing what you've been doing and watch it fail, how about trying something else ? Something that will fail for the other side instead.
I appreciate that it's very difficult because, even more than the IRA, ETA seem wedded to a romantic vision of violent strugggle simultaneously free of achievable objectives and the ability to compromise. This is why I think the banning of basque nationalist parties, even those connected to armed struggle has been a mistake. Having those discussions about what is acceptable, what can be achieved, what might be hoped for, allows others less romantically inclined to start asking hard questions, which leads to a different level of political engagement. Right now these discussions are mostly happening in underground bars amongst the believers but, I imagine, only in a government approved manner with the media for the rest of the population.
I don't know what might work. Really, despite your response, I'm not suggesting that I know. I'm just saying that what has been done for the last 50 years hasn't worked. Try something far worse than resistance, something truly horrendous : Give them what they want. they will never recover. keep to the Fen Causeway
Um, the "Basque Nationalist Party" has been in power for the last 30 years in the Basque Regional Government and still holds the largest parliamentary group in the regional parliament. The only party that has been banned (and I personally disagree with that) is ETA's political arm. Like I said, Aralar is full of former ETA members who now renounce violence, and they are allowed to contest elections and hold office.
Give them what they want. they will never recover.
There is not a they to give it to.
Plus, unlike in Northern Ireland, "they" are a small minority. The peak-to-trough part of the business cycle is an outlier. Carnot would have died laughing.
Nevertheless, the alternative to doing something different is to keep doing that which has not worked up to now. I suggested an alternate solution that had the distinction of never having been tried.
Actually the IRA, Sinn Fein nationalist community in N Ireland is pretty small too. Just as their nationalist protestant opponents are a tiny minority. I have always complained that the absence of secular British political organisations in N Ireland has denied the majority of people of Ulster a non-denominational choice. keep to the Fen Causeway
Oh, they happen quite in the open, I can assure you. The peak-to-trough part of the business cycle is an outlier. Carnot would have died laughing.
