European Tribune

European Breakfast - September 29

by Fran
Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 12:32:02 AM EST

"The only ways to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible."

Arthur C. Clarke


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by Fran (fran at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 12:32:56 AM EST
Independent: Secret US deal 'broke EU privacy law'

he secret release of information on millions of private banking transactions to US anti-terrorism investigators breached privacy rules in Europe, according to an official inquiry report released yesterday.

The findings emerged from a report into the transfer of information by Swift, a Belgian-based organisation which processes money transfers on behalf of the world's banks, including the largest UK financial institutions.

After the release of the document, Belgium's Prime Minister, Guy Verhofstadt, said that the company had broken his country's privacy rules by making the information available to the US authorities for more than five years.

However, he acknowledged that Swift had found itself in a legal no-man's land, caught between European and US law, and that some anti-terror investigation was legitimate.

Under American law the company believes it was obliged to co-operate with the scheme set up by the US Treasury Department after the 11 September attacks.

by Fran (fran at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 12:46:05 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Swift had found itself in a legal no-man's land, caught between European and US law.

Time for Europe to make it more painful for European companies to not comply with European laws than with US laws. Should be easy enough, most of them do more business in Europe than in the US.


some anti-terror investigation was legitimate

yes - the legal ones. Why THE FUCK is that so hard to understand?

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (jeromeguillet@yahoo.fr) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 03:12:43 AM EST
[ Parent ]
The Belgian premier said that his government would not take legal action to shut down the data transfers, but appealed to EU and US authorities to open talks on a new agreement on the transfer of financial records. This could provide more privacy guarantees.

Oh, they do undestand but (they are cowards) :

  • Belgian politicians do not want to disturb relations with the US as happened in the past, and there is also NATO (HQ's in Belgium) and Afghanistan.

  • On 8 Oct. there are elections in Belgium. They want to avoid everything (terrorism.....)that amplifies the agenda of the far right (Vlaams Belang).

  • In the Belgian press the news was burried on page 17 in a small article. The birthday of BB (Brigit Bardot) got more attention. Journalists are cowards to: didn't see any critical question.

  • By passing the hot potato to the EU they relieve themselves to do nothing.

  • To be clear : Swift can continue with what they are doing.
 

The struggle of man against tyranny is the struggle of memory against forgetting.(Kundera)
by Elco B (elcob at scarlet dot be) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 06:39:18 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Deutsche Welle: Polish PM Denounces 'Outlaws' for Hidden Camera Scandal

Protestors in front of the Polish parliament demanded the resignation of the government after secret tapes released this week sparked vote-buying allegations against the Kaczynski administration.

Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski on Wednesday denounced an outlawed "grey network" that he said was trying to discredit his ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party by setting up a key PiS official in a hidden camera interview.

"PiS is holding talks aimed at finding support for our government and the changes it is introducing," Kaczynski said in an address to the nation aired on public television. The changes that PiS wants to introduce in Poland "bother those who form informal and formal grey networks and who, up to now, have acted outside any legal and constitutional order," Kaczynski said.

The Polish parliament buildingBildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:  Youths camped in front of the Polish parliament Wednesday to demand resignation

His fighting talk came a day after a key PiS official, Adam Lipinski, was shown on a rival television station, apparently trying to convince a lawmaker from the populist Samoobrona party, Renata Beger, to quit her party and join PiS.

Beger was privy to the secret film, as she was wearing the hidden camera herself.

by Fran (fran at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 12:51:05 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Hungary then Poland... This region has recently fallen into insignificance and inattention. What's going on in Eastern Europe? These debt-ridden countries have the same credit rating BBB as Russia according to big three rating agencies. Maybe it's time to downgrade them.
by FarEasterner on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 03:44:25 AM EST
[ Parent ]
are about the financial ability of a country to pay or not. They tell little about the desire of the country to pay or not.

Russia's experience of international financial markets is that it gets to be able to borrow again just a few years after the most extravagant default, so it has no real incentive not to default at the right time. Put simply, big commodity exporters can get away with a lot, as soon as said commodity is in strong demand. Russia pretty much always has commodities that are in demand.

Poland played the smae game in theearly 90s when it defaulted on older debt and was not penalised for it, whereas Hungary, which made it a point of honor to pay all of its old (and crippling debt) was treated much less well because they were in a weaker financial position (of course, they did not default, so they had to pay a lot of debt service).

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (jeromeguillet@yahoo.fr) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 04:14:46 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I did not understand you at all. Who authorised whom to rate desire to pay debts. I thought these credit agencies who wield the power of making anyone king or beggar should look in details of budget, trade balance and so on, not going to pure political speculations - this country belongs to the West, another is risky because its rulers don't like the West. I do believe that almost all politicians in the world are crooks who have nothing in common with democratic or liberal or muslim or buddhist ideals and values. It's strange if you think that your politicians are better than others.  
by FarEasterner on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 04:39:47 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Sorry - small adjustment, caused by constant translation of words from my native language to English.
Of course it should be said - It's strange if one thinks that his politicians are better than others.
by FarEasterner on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 04:54:33 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Who told you credit ratings are not politically motivated?

Those whom the Gods wish to destroy They first make mad. -- Euripides
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 06:18:47 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Well, the only question should be: "will they pay me back?" That depends, very obviously, on (i) the ability to pay and (ii) the desire to pay (often inversely linked to the ability to get away with not paying).

If rating agencies are only evaluating (i) they are only doing half their job.

I was not making a comment on anybody's politicians. I wasn't even criticizing Russian ones: just saying that their experience is that financial markets seem to forgive their shenanigans quite easily and Russia should, from such experience, certainly not worry about market constraints when evaluating when to pay or not their debts.

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (jeromeguillet@yahoo.fr) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 07:14:28 AM EST
[ Parent ]
See my adjustment earlier about politicians.
However you don't find it's strange that Hungary with 10% of GDP budget deficit easily overcomes it with its exaggerated desire to pay and political turmoil. Russia has none of these; still it is rated the same. Double standards, surely.
I have no connection to the world of economics otherwise I would dismiss recomendations of these agencies in dustbin.
by FarEasterner on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 07:28:33 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Russia has none of these

'Exaggerated desire to pay' and political turmoil are opposed factors. Also, it's not 10% of GDP, only 6.5%. Furthermore, the recent troubles did lead to credit companies starting the process of downgrading (by starting reviews): Fitch announced a downgrade from stable to negative, and Moody's is expected to downgrade not only the debt rating but the rating of multiple banks.

Also a metacomment, if Central-Eastern European countries are so insignificiant, why spend so much time on them (and on repeating the claim of insignificance)?

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

by DoDo on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 07:42:04 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I do not spend much time on them - they are very far from me, even Chechnya is on the other planet (see my name). Whether they are significant - anyone can see googling these countries (in many languages). They come to news almost exlusively when they want to do something nasty to Russia, its recent master, and something pleasant to new master - USA. Do they have big market, strong economy, vibrant democracy...? Vibrant is word I don't like, it is in arsenal of Mr Cheney and likes who are the same crooks in my opinion as his counterparts in Russia, EU or wherever. Surely despite harsh facts about Eastern Europe (many my relatives and friends visited them and were not satisfied with tourist services) I do wish prosperity to all and Eastern Europe in particular. However I have recently heard of only insignificant barriers they are building to stop imperialist plans Moscow rulers entertain. These are not serious, Kremlin easily find other transit countries and this region has fallen in oblivion.    
by FarEasterner on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 08:23:01 AM EST
[ Parent ]

They come to news almost exlusively when they want to do something nasty to Russia, its recent master, and something pleasant to new master - USA.

Could it be that this is the only time that Russian media takes notice of them? We have the same bias in each of our own countries, to be honest.

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (jeromeguillet@yahoo.fr) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 09:18:54 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Well, I am not watching closely Russian media but on the whole I can say - yes, these Eastern European countries have fallen into oblivion. For Asian media these countries are non-existant entities, they inform bits of information on US, Western Europe and Russia (in sport and entertainment sections) and obsessed with local events.
by FarEasterner on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 10:11:12 AM EST
[ Parent ]
BBC: What the US knows about visitors

Passenger profile

The Passenger Name Record (PNR) data falls into 34 overlapping fields, some of which contain very little information, for example the passenger's name, while others contain a lot, including the passenger's name (again), date of birth, sex, citizenship and so on.

The data can be broken down into the following categories

    * Information about the passenger: name; address; date of birth; passport number; citizenship; sex; country of residence; US visa number (plus date and place issued); address while in the US; telephone numbers; e-mail address; frequent flyer miles flown; address on frequent flyer account; the passenger's history of not showing up for flights

    * Information about the booking of the ticket: date of reservation; date of intended travel; date ticket was issued; travel agency; travel agent; billing address; how the ticket was paid for (including credit card number); the ticket number; which organisation issued the ticket; whether the passenger bought the ticket at the airport just before the flight; whether the passenger has a definite booking or is on a waiting list; pricing information; a locator number on the computer reservation system; history of changes to the booking

    * Information about the flight itself: seat number; seat information (eg aisle or window); bag tag numbers; one-way or return flight; special requests, such as requests for special meals, for a wheelchair, or help for an unaccompanied minor

    * Information about the passenger's itinerary: other flights ticketed separately, or data on accommodation, car rental, rail reservations or tours.

    * Information about other people: the group the passenger is travelling with; the person who booked the ticket

The CBP system has been built in such a way that some "sensitive" information is filtered out.

by Fran (fran at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 12:56:52 AM EST
[ Parent ]
One point made by the USA is that they are going to require that information anyway, so it's just a matter of svaing time to have the info communicated in advance by the airlines rather than painfully getting it from passengers.

The real issue is that airline companies should be forced to provide to each passenger a copy of all the information they have about them. People might be surprised to see how much information on there is around...

That would be my solution: let the airlines give whatever the USA ask, but give a copy to each passenger.

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (jeromeguillet@yahoo.fr) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 03:17:02 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I just don't understand the point of the info. It's a typical bureaucratic solution to a problem; CYA by collating a load of information about people. If anything goes wrong, they'll have every form filled out in triplicate to show it wasn't their fault.

keep to the Fen Causeway
by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 07:03:25 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Just scrap the Visa Waiver Program, which is the reason why EU countries are introducing things like "biometric passports" and giving up privacy protections.

If all passengers needed to go to the US consulate for a visa, they could give the information directly to the Department of State without intermediaries and they would know exactly what information is being given. It is already inconvenient enough to go to the US without a visa anyway. If everyone needed a visa, the US might relax a little bit on the Airport security.

Those whom the Gods wish to destroy They first make mad. -- Euripides

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 07:10:34 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Deutsche Welle: Iran Negotiator Sees "Positive Conclusions" in Nuclear Talks

Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, said Thursday that two days of talks in Berlin with the EU's foreign policy chief Solana had produced "some positive conclusions."

"It has been a long, constructive negotiation," Larijani told reporters after the meeting aimed at persuading Iran to agree to a nuclear deal offered by world powers. "We have been able to arrive at some positive conclusions. Today we have discussed modalities with the aim of coming back to the main negotiations as soon as possible."

Solana also said progress had been made and added that he would be speaking again to Larijani next week.

"We have been progressing," Solana said. "We will have a new contact in the middle of next week."

by Fran (fran at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 01:23:52 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Financial Times: EU to open up postal market from 2009

Europe's market for postal services will be thrown open to unfettered competition from 2009, according to proposals to be presented by the European Commission as early as next month.

Brussels is keen to sweep away the last remnants of an era in which postal services were dominated by state-owned monopolies, and complete the market's transformation into a competitive service sector. The Commission also hopes that full postal liberalisation will lead to lower costs for consumers and businesses.

However, the plan could face severe resistance from trade unions worried about job losses, and member states such as France, which are traditionally keen to defend public services against private-sector competition.

The European Union postal services sector is estimated to be worth more than €90bn (£61bn) a year, and employs some 5m people. The market has already seen deep changes in recent years, not least thanks to a landmark EU law from 1997 that allowed competition in an ever-growing number of postal services.

by Fran (fran at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 01:26:52 AM EST
[ Parent ]
"hopes"? Is that the best they can do?
by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 02:09:16 AM EST
[ Parent ]
what private sector company exactly is going to distribute mail in Lozère or Morvan for 53 cents per letter?

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
by Jerome a Paris (jeromeguillet@yahoo.fr) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 03:18:43 AM EST
[ Parent ]
The Commission also hopes that full postal liberalisation will lead to lower costs for consumers and businesses.

As the Commission certainly ought to know, this will most likely lead to lower costs for (large and mail-intensive) businesses and higher costs for consumers and small businesses. The private competitors will cherry-pick the lucrative and rationalizable volume contracts, forcing the public postal authorities - with their public mission of universal service - to raise their rates.

Or alternatively, the public mails will have to be subsidized with tax money.

"Ideas or the lack of them can cause disease." - Kurt Vonnegut

by dvx (dvx.clt ät gmail dotcom) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 05:03:59 AM EST
[ Parent ]
or, to put it in another way: the private sector will capture the profits from the easy bits of the market, which will no longer be available to carry the burden of the harder parts of the market. Taxes will need to be raised, which will lead to complaints, thus to pressure to reduce service to harder areas, and to lower taxes.

Market "rationalised".

Instead of making companies bid for the leve lof subsidy they need to service the harder parts of the market (as often happens), how about FIRST auctioning the best bits by making the private sector bid for how much of the surplus they can grab they'd be willing to pay the State for that privilege?

Or is the goal only to reduce price for the "best" consumers?

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (jeromeguillet@yahoo.fr) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 07:19:11 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Financial Times: Berlin resolves Mozart opera spat

A controversial Mozart opera adapted to include a scene showing Mohammed's severed head on stage appears set for a new run in Berlin after the German government said the show must go on as a "signal of closer dialogue" with the country's 3.4m Muslims.

Mozart's Idomeneo was this week removed from the programme of Berlin's Deutsche Oper because of police fears it would be targeted by Islamic extremists.

Wolfgang Schäuble, interior minister and the country's top security official, said on Wednesday that 30 government and Muslim representatives, meeting in Berlin to launch a three-year dialogue forum, had "spoken out unanimously" that the opera should be performed as scheduled in November.

Deutsche Oper and Berlin city officials said on Wednesday night that efforts were under way to ensure the opera, already shown dozens of times in Berlin since 2003, returned to the stage.

Mr Schäuble, appearing to overrule Berlin police, insisted that "there was never a direct threat of violence" against the opera, but acknowledged that security forces had acted in good faith in responding to an undefined "heightened sense of danger" surrounding the 200-year-old work.

by Fran (fran at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 01:30:27 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Mr Schäuble, appearing to overrule Berlin police, insisted that "there was never a direct threat of violence" against the opera, but acknowledged that security forces had acted in good faith in responding to an undefined "heightened sense of danger" surrounding the 200-year-old work.

The cops' "faith" may have been "good", but their police work was execrable. The whole incident would never have happened if anyone involved had used an ounce of common sense. And "undefined"? No shit.

From what I've read, the Berlin police took it upon themselves to warn the director of the Deutsche Oper that they could not guarantee security if Idomeneo went on - without there ever having been a concrete (or even vague) threat (technically known as "talking out your ass"). Whereupon the director simply deleted the production from the program, with neither announcement nor explanation (and without seeking any further clarification, or consulting any other persons). Evidently she was hoping that culture journalists would be too stupid to compare the old and new programs.

Once it was noticed, somebody put out a press release mentioning the alleged risks, so all her "discretion" was for nought.

"Ideas or the lack of them can cause disease." - Kurt Vonnegut

by dvx (dvx.clt ät gmail dotcom) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 05:19:41 AM EST
[ Parent ]
On the other hand, the reason Idomeneo had never raised such passions is that the presence of religious leaders in the background, or of their severed heads, is not  there because Mozart's score or libretto require it, but because the director felt like demonstrating creativity and stoking controversy by being provocative. So any "heightened sense of danger" surrounds not "the 200-year-old work", but this particular scenification of it.

Let's put on "Death of a Salesman", but transfer the setting to Mecca and cast Mohammed as the salesman, just to prove we're creative.

Those whom the Gods wish to destroy They first make mad. -- Euripides

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 06:51:42 AM EST
[ Parent ]
So in fact the Opera was banned by the police because of their unsubstantiated beliefs that it might offend Muslims?

An interesting bit of spin there. Of course the damage has already been done now, and opera goers everywhere now believe that Muslims are ready to protest their pastime with threats of violence.

Very nice.

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 05:21:29 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Yes, that is what happened. The Police told the Opera that they could not guarantee its safety.

Those whom the Gods wish to destroy They first make mad. -- Euripides
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 06:14:02 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Guardian: Sarkozy sparks immigrants row with Spain

France and Spain have become embroiled in a row over immigration after the French interior minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, criticised the Spanish government for an immigration amnesty that saw 580,000 foreigners receive work and residency papers last year.

Mr Sarkozy, who is expected to fight for France's presidency on a centre-right ticket next year, said the socialist government of the Spanish prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, had been encouraging illegal immigrants to breach Europe's frontiers.

"Look what has happened in the Canary Islands," Mr Sarkozy said on the France 2 television channel, referring to the 20,000 African immigrants who had reached the Spanish islands over the past year. "There has been a knock-on effect," he said. "Spain cannot control the flow of clandestine immigrants."

by Fran (fran at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 01:35:32 AM EST
[ Parent ]
This has a lot to do with internal Spanish politics, Sarkozy is parroting the arguments the PP has been using against the government's policy, even using the same catch phrases.

Last Wednesday in Parliament in the government control session the PP representatives cited a number of European officials who had criticised Spain's immigration policy. They were all from the EPP, I think. I need to dig up the list.

Those whom the Gods wish to destroy They first make mad. -- Euripides

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 03:25:50 AM EST
[ Parent ]
In addition, Zapatero has explicitly and harshly dismissed Sarkozy's criticism. Via google news:

Paris Link: Zapatero: Sarkozy Has Nothing To Teach Me (28 Sep 2006)

Indeed, Spain had regularised over half a million illegal immigrants in 2005, a figure that had raised the ire of Nicolas Sarkozy. In response, Zapatero said:
"Whatever the French interior Minister wants to say regarding immigration counts for nothing, if you look at what happened in the suburbs of Paris last November."
Sarkozy has proposed to the European Union the merging of all immigration policies within the EU to create one single policy, and has railed against mass regularisation of illegal immigrants. His plans include a tightening up of controls, and increased deportations of illegal immigrants, something that Sarkozy has already put into action in France.
Zapatero may be dangerously naive, but to me Sarkozy emobodies all that is ugly about France. I dread the thought of him becoming President of France.

Those whom the Gods wish to destroy They first make mad. -- Euripides
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 09:01:55 AM EST
[ Parent ]

to me Sarkozy emobodies all that is ugly about France. I dread the thought of him becoming President of France.

Fully agree.

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (jeromeguillet@yahoo.fr) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 09:20:17 AM EST
[ Parent ]
El Pais:


   
   
The play Lorca was all, created and directed by Pepe Rubianes, was finally shown last night in the Auditorioum of the Madrid CCOO (Communist trade union, after the City of Madrid would not permit it performance in the Teatro Espanol, due to statments by the actor referring to the unity of Spain in scatalogical terms. Before the showing, dozens of demonstrators with Spanish flags carrying writing in opposition to Rubianes and in favor of national unity, carrying a strong political message gathered, near the auditorium.

One hour before the performance there were already people guarding the doors to the auditorium, while demostrators on the Paseo del Prado, shouting "You shit  yourself on Spain, and not in your whore mother", and carried a flag with the slogan, "Rubianes: You are an omonious actor but Spain has no fault."  

La obra Lorca eran todos, creada y dirigida por Pepe Rubianes, fue estrenada finalmente anoche en el Auditorio de CC.OO. de Madrid, después de que el Ayuntamiento de Madrid no permitiera su representación en el Teatro Español, a causa de unas declaraciones en las que el actor se refirió a la unidad de España con términos escatológicos. Antes del estreno, se concentraron, en las inmediaciones del auditorio, decenas de manifestantes con banderas de España que corearon consignas en contra de Pepe Rubianes y a favor de la unidad nacional, rodeados de un fuerte dispositivo policial.

Una hora antes del comienzo del espectáculo, ya había personas aguardando en la puerta del auditorio, mientras los manifestantes en el bulevar del Paseo del Prado, gritaban "Te cagas en España y no en tu puta madre", y portaban una bandera de España con el lema "Rubianes: eres un actor nefasto pero España no tiene la culpa".

The irony of right wing hacks making threats to an actor playing a poet who was murdered at that beginning of the Civil War and buried in an unmarked grave for making comments about the unity of Spain is clearly lost on the Spanish right.  I should hope that the PP would condemn this, but the City of Madrid is ruled by the PP, so they started this.  (Yet another reason why Barcelona is better than Madrid.)

Spain has never confronted the full legacy of the thousands executed in cold blood by both sides in the Civil War.  For the Republicans, it was a tragedy of militias run amok, for the Nationalists it was policy, culminating in the forced labor of thousands of Republican POWS to construct the grave of the 2nd Republic with Franco's Monument at the Valley of the Fallen.  I seriously question whether the decision to never pursue charges posthomously against the atrocities of the Nationalist isn't the reason Spain has an active and frightening fascist right wing where other European nations do not.

And I'll give my consent to any government that does not deny a man a living wage-Billy Bragg

by ManfromMiddletown (manfrommiddletown at lycos dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 04:50:44 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Nitpicking the translation:

España no tiene la culpa = It's not Spain's fault [that you're a terrible actor]

corearon consignas = sang slogans

Those whom the Gods wish to destroy They first make mad. -- Euripides

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 06:17:17 AM EST
[ Parent ]
How the Mayor of Madrid came on top of the dung heap...

El Pais [$] via Escolar.net: Gallardón, 'el Artista' (Jaume Sisa, Septiembre 12, 2006)El Pais [$] via Escolar.net: Gallardón, 'the Artist' (Jaume Sisa, September 12, 2006)
Pero la revelación, el triunfador absoluto y mago de la escena, el que debería chupar todo el foco es sin lugar a dudas el Alcalde. Queda bien con los suyos (amigos y enemigos, ya que no se subvencionará al Artista de izquierdas con dinero de los madrileños), con el público en general (él no ha impedido la libertad de expresión) e incluso con la oposición (ha ofrecido su teatro al Poeta de los vencidos). Qué gran función para un protagonista genial. Qué gran descubrimiento para la escena española.
But the revelation, the absolute winner and wizard of the stage, the one that should get all the spotlight is without doubt the Mayor. He ends well with his lot (friends and foes, as he will not subsidise the leftist Artist with the money of the madrileños), with the audience in general (it was not him that curtailed freedom of speech) and even with the opposition (he has offered his theatre to the Poet of the defeated). What a great show for a genius protagonist. What a great discovery for the Spanish stage.


Those whom the Gods wish to destroy They first make mad. -- Euripides
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 06:27:15 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Could Gallardón be the coming man of the Spanish centre-right?

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.
by DoDo on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 07:02:07 AM EST
[ Parent ]
That is a diary in itself, but yes.

There are three problems with him:

  1. he is Opus Dei
  2. he is in the wrong party
  3. because of #2 and over a decade at the head of the regional and now city governments, he has accumulated a lot of baggage because of 2)


Those whom the Gods wish to destroy They first make mad. -- Euripides
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 07:15:29 AM EST
[ Parent ]
NYT: In Britain, Musharraf Is Questioned on Terror Ties

LONDON, Sept. 28 -- President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan arrived here on Thursday and found himself facing accusations that his country's intelligence service had indirect ties to Al Qaeda and that his government committed widespread human rights abuses as an ally of the United States in its effort to curb terrorism.

[...]

A report of a leaked document, which said that Pakistan's intelligence service indirectly supported the Taliban, played into the argument over the growing insurgency in Afghanistan, where Britain and the United States have sent forces. The document was said by the BBC to have originated in Britain's Defense Academy, a research agency sponsored by the Ministry of Defense.

Separately, Amnesty International, the human rights group, accused Pakistan of abuses, including the torture of terrorism suspects and the illegal transfer of detainees to the United States.



"Ideas or the lack of them can cause disease." - Kurt Vonnegut
by dvx (dvx.clt ät gmail dotcom) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 05:28:31 AM EST
[ Parent ]
A related DKos diary by LondonYank.

Those whom the Gods wish to destroy They first make mad. -- Euripides
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 06:12:02 AM EST
[ Parent ]
WORLD
by Fran (fran at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 12:33:21 AM EST
Guardian: Mexican city grinds to halt amid violence

· Burning barricades and shoot-outs at tourist site
· Protests to go on until governor is ousted

The great colonial city of Oaxaca was brought to a standstill yesterday amid escalating tension that has already transformed much of this tourist attraction into a place of burning barricades, popular justice, shadowy paramilitary groups, and shoot-outs outside luxury hotels.

Shops, petrol stations, hotels and restaurants stayed shut as part of a 48-hour strike seeking to pressure the federal government to intervene between radical leftwing groups and the local state governor they want to overthrow.

What began in May as a dispute about teachers' pay has grown into a revolt with human rights activists fearing a bloody repression.

The Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca, the APPO, controls much of the city centre known the world over for its plazas and monasteries, laidback cafes and picturesque markets filled with indigenous people selling their textiles.

This is now APPO territory filled with tents, daubed with revolutionary graffiti, dotted with burnt out buses and protected by roadblocks. The protesters have also taken over local government offices and radio stations, as well as tying alleged thieves to lamp-posts.

by Fran (fran at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 12:38:19 AM EST
[ Parent ]
WaPo: Senate gives final approval to detainee bill

The House of Representatives passed the same measure on Wednesday and must make a technical change to reconcile it with the Senate's. Bush was expected to sign it soon afterward.

While the bill cleared the Senate by a comfortable margin, it barely survived an earlier challenge that would have delayed and possibly killed it.

"The Senate sent a strong signal to the terrorists that we will continue using every element of national power to pursue our enemies and to prevent attacks on America," Bush said in a statement after the Senate vote.

"The Military Commissions Act of 2006 will allow the continuation of a CIA program that has been one of America's most potent tools in fighting the war on terror," Bush said.

by Fran (fran at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 12:43:07 AM EST
[ Parent ]
IHT: U.S. Senate passes broad new detainee rules

WASHINGTON The U.S. Senate approved a measure on Thursday on the interrogations and trials of terrorism suspects, establishing far-reaching rules to deal with what President George W. Bush has called the most dangerous combatants in a different type of war.

The vote was 65 to 34. It was cast after more than 10 hours of often impassioned debate that touched on the Constitution, the horrors of Sept. 11 and the role of the United States in the world.

Both parties also positioned themselves for the continuing clash over national security going into the homestretch of the midterm elections.

The bill would set up rules for the military commissions that will allow the government to proceed with the prosecutions of high-level detainees including Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, considered the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

It would make illegal several broadly defined abuses of detainees, while leaving it to the president to establish specific permissible interrogation techniques. And it would strip detainees of a habeas corpus right to challenge their detentions in court.

bold mine

by Fran (fran at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 01:00:53 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Um...hello sleeping America, your Congress just gave a psychopath the freedome to torture, jail and/or disappear people for any cause. Is this not a dictatorship then? If not, what is?

This is a very sad...and frightening day...

Half the population is under the age of 18. Tanzania's future is NOW...join the 50% campaign!

by whataboutbob on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 04:27:49 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Is this not a dictatorship then? If not, what is?

When they come for you, Bob. When they come for you.

And I'll give my consent to any government that does not deny a man a living wage-Billy Bragg

by ManfromMiddletown (manfrommiddletown at lycos dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 04:52:48 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I'm not sure, are you saying I'm over-reacting? I mean, they just suspended Habeas Corpus (a rule of law for over 700 years that requires that anyone detained has the right to request a court hearing, so they can know what the charges are against them. Which means, a person can be detained indefinitely, on hearsay, with no charges). Do you feel comfortable with the fact that BUSH has this power, in particular?

Just wondering where you stand on it (perhaps my response may sound a bit strong...but this IS a very dangerous precedent)...

Here's a quote from Sen. Reid:

The Framers of our Constitution understood the need for checks and balances, but this bill discards them.

Many of the worst provisions were not in the Committee-reported bill, and were not in the compromise announced last Friday.  They were added over the weekend after backroom meetings with White House lawyers.

We have tried to improve this legislation. Senator Levin proposed to substitute the bipartisan bill that was reported by the Armed Services Committee. That amendment was rejected.

Senators Specter and Leahy offered an amendment to restore the right to judicial review - that amendment was rejected.

Senator Rockefeller offered an amendment to improve congressional oversight of CIA programs - that amendment was rejected.

Senator Kennedy offered an amendment to clarify that inhumane interrogation tactics prohibited by the Army Field manual could not be used on Americans or on others - that amendment was rejected.

And Senator Byrd offered an amendment to sunset military commissions so that Congress would simply be required to reconsider this far-reaching authority after five years of experience. Even that amendment was rejected.

I strongly believe this legislation is unconstitutional.  It will almost certainly be struck down by the Supreme Court.  And when that happens, we'll be back here several years from now debating how to bring terrorists to justice.

The families of the 9/11 victims and the nation have been waiting five years for the perpetrators of these attacks to be brought to justice. They should not have to wait longer.  We should get this right now - and we are not doing so by passing this bill. The National security policies of this administration and Republican Congress may have been tough, but they haven't been smart. The American people are paying a price for their mistakes.

History will judge our actions here today. I am convinced that future generations will view passage of this bill as a grave error. I wish to be recorded as one who voted against taking this step."




Half the population is under the age of 18. Tanzania's future is NOW...join the 50% campaign!
by whataboutbob on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 05:41:17 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Is this not a dictatorship then? If not, what is?
When they come for you, Bob. When they come for you.
I'm not sure, are you saying I'm over-reacting?
No, you're not over-reacting, but only evil-doers have anything to worry about, right?
When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.



Those whom the Gods wish to destroy They first make mad. -- Euripides
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 06:09:49 AM EST
[ Parent ]
And...since I seem to be in rant mode...

There are many people in America now who say that "if a person criticizes the President in a time of war, they are traitors". You know, "either you are with us, or against us". So, is it too far of a stretch for the President to deem anyone who criticizes him as "an enemy combatant", and throw them in jail. I mean, Guantanemo, secret CIA prisons, etc have already been established everywhere. So...I would say he is back in business, but with even more power.

Do I over-react...maybe, hopefully...but also hopefully the voters will reaize what is at stake and vote in people who respect the rule of law.

<this gives me the shivers...this is serious shit>

Half the population is under the age of 18. Tanzania's future is NOW...join the 50% campaign!

by whataboutbob on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 06:12:38 AM EST
[ Parent ]
From the LA Times: The White House Warden

BURIED IN THE complex Senate compromise on detainee treatment is a real shocker, reaching far beyond the legal struggles about foreign terrorist suspects in the Guantanamo Bay fortress. The compromise legislation, which is racing toward the White House, authorizes the president to seize American citizens as enemy combatants, even if they have never left the United States. And once thrown into military prison, they cannot expect a trial by their peers or any other of the normal protections of the Bill of Rights.

This dangerous compromise not only authorizes the president to seize and hold terrorists who have fought against our troops "during an armed conflict," it also allows him to seize anybody who has "purposefully and materially supported hostilities against the United States." This grants the president enormous power over citizens and legal residents

Doesn't that make a person just a little nervous. And we are talking about Bush/Cheney here...<shudder>

Half the population is under the age of 18. Tanzania's future is NOW...join the 50% campaign!

by whataboutbob on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 06:35:52 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Some of us have been getting shivers from this serious shit for about 5 years and taking serious shit for it... The extraterritoriality of this law is what worries me.

Those whom the Gods wish to destroy They first make mad. -- Euripides
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 06:39:42 AM EST
[ Parent ]
So maybe this is something we can discuss around here (and I will try to get around to writing something to get it started later), which is: what is, and what should be Europe's response be to this new law? After all, any one of us "Europeans" are potential "enemy combatants" now too. Which means we can just disappear too, according to the powers now invested in the Prez. Shouldn't Europe be complaining, since this law could end up imprisoning European citizens unjustly, with no recourse? Just wondering...

Half the population is under the age of 18. Tanzania's future is NOW...join the 50% campaign!
by whataboutbob on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 09:05:54 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I'm interested to see what effect it'll have on extradition cases. The death penalty is already a problem.

I guess we'll ignore it the same way we ignore the carry on of all the other dodgy regimes we have to do business with. Though actually legalising torture is pretty good going even by the dodgiest standards. Most countries like to pretend their virtue, hiding the cattle prod behind their backs.

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 09:12:09 AM EST
[ Parent ]
We'll get the same reaction as to the Hague Invasion Act: nothing.

Those whom the Gods wish to destroy They first make mad. -- Euripides
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 10:12:37 AM EST
[ Parent ]
what is, and what should be Europe's response be to this new law?

Come and liberate us?  Install a democratic regime in our backwards country?  Put Bush on trial?    

Please?

Pleeeeeeeeeeze.....

Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. -Voltaire

by p------- on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 12:12:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]
anti-Americans all. It could never happen there. And so and so on.
by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 09:17:02 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Stop jerking your knee!

Those whom the Gods wish to destroy They first make mad. -- Euripides
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 09:22:05 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I noticed that a number of Democrats voted in favour of this law.
by Alex in Toulouse on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 09:33:46 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Yes, but it's ok because it was only tactical, or because the law might be found unconstitutional or something. No worries, eh?
by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 09:39:40 AM EST
[ Parent ]
A tactical mistake by Reid...there should have been a filibuster...but he negotiated that away for amendments (which didn't pass). I read though that there wasn't enough support for a filibuster on the Dem side...but I feel a filibuster would have at least made the real underlying issues news.

The Dems got played again...

Half the population is under the age of 18. Tanzania's future is NOW...join the 50% campaign!

by whataboutbob on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 12:08:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Can you say "nuclear option"?

Those whom the Gods wish to destroy They first make mad. -- Euripides
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 12:16:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Migeru linked to the famous poem. You only have to worry when they come for you.  Which is the point, because by the time they come fo you, there's no one left to say no.

And I'll give my consent to any government that does not deny a man a living wage-Billy Bragg
by ManfromMiddletown (manfrommiddletown at lycos dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 10:04:46 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Bob, why do you hate freedom?

Those whom the Gods wish to destroy They first make mad. -- Euripides
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 06:10:12 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Bob? Bob...?

Well, he was there a minute ago.

I expect he'll turn up again at some point.

There's no reason to worry, is there?

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 06:25:03 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Guardian: They cry, pray to Bush and wash out the devil - welcome to Jesus Camp - A documentary on evangelical Christian children's camps has caused uproar in the US

The children at the Kids on Fire summer camp are intent as they pray over a cardboard cutout of President George Bush. They raise their hands in the air and sway, eyes closed, as they join the chant for "righteous judges". Tears stream down their faces as they are told that they are "phonies" and "hypocrites" and must wash their hands in bottled water to drive out the devil.

The documentary film Jesus Camp follows three children at the Kids on Fire Pentecostal summer camp in the small city of Devil's Lake, North Dakota.

The children at the Kids on Fire summer camp are intent as they pray over a cardboard cutout of President George Bush. They raise their hands in the air and sway, eyes closed, as they join the chant for "righteous judges". Tears stream down their faces as they are told that they are "phonies" and "hypocrites" and must wash their hands in bottled water to drive out the devil.

The documentary film Jesus Camp follows three children at the Kids on Fire Pentecostal summer camp in the small city of Devil's Lake, North Dakota.

by Fran (fran at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 12:48:34 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I saw the trailer for this a couple of weeks ago when I went to see Little Miss Sunshine. I have a rule that if I'm disturbed/scared by the preview I don't go see the film (I hate horror films).  That's never happened on a documentary before.  I don't think I could sit through this.  It was truly creepy.
by Maryb2004 on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 01:09:14 AM EST
[ Parent ]
In fact -- see for yourself.  Youtube has it.
by Maryb2004 on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 01:12:12 AM EST
[ Parent ]
That is the funniest thing I have ever seen. We are such fantastic evolutionary failures. Monkeys with guns indeed.

you are the media you consume.

by MillMan (millguy at gmail) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 01:16:50 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Well marketed too. It's a pornographic horror movie for middle class intellectuals.

you are the media you consume.

by MillMan (millguy at gmail) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 01:31:53 AM EST
[ Parent ]
IHT: Thai coup leaders choose interim prime minister

BANGKOK The military rulers of Thailand have chosen Surayud Chulanont, a former army commander and close adviser to the country's powerful monarch, as interim prime minister following their coup, the auditor general said.

"Yes, definitely, General Surayud is the prime minister. He is the suitable person," Auditor General Jaruvan Maintaka told a small group of reporters late Thursday. Her comments were carried on an official government Web site on Friday.

Surayud's appointment was expected to be announced this weekend or Monday, after it receives approval from King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Surayud, a highly regarded 62-year-old retired officer, was selected by the country's ruling military council which seized power from Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in a bloodless coup on Sept. 19 while the premier was abroad. The council vowed to name a civilian prime minister within two weeks.

Akara Thiroj, a spokesman for the council, said an interim constitution has already been completed and sent to the Royal Palace. He hoped the constitution could be announced Saturday or Sunday and followed by the formal announcement of the prime minister on the weekend or Monday.

by Fran (fran at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 12:53:50 AM EST
[ Parent ]
IHT: Buffett's excellent idea

At the center of the current showdown with Iran is one chilling technical fact: The same technology that can make fuel for a nuclear reactor can also make the core of a nuclear bomb.

Add to that the legal fact that the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty guarantees all members in good standing the right to make their own reactor fuel and you have a pretty good idea why the United States and Europe are having such a tough time blocking Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

Enter Warren Buffett, the billionaire investor and philanthropist. He is pledging $50 million for a fuel bank - run by the International Atomic Energy Agency - to be a supplier of last resort for any country that chooses not to get into the risky reactor fuel business and gets the IAEA seal of approval.

Right now countries can argue - sincerely or not - that without their own fuel plants they can be easily blackmailed by foreign suppliers with whom they have political disagreements. Iran has been caught lying about its nuclear program too often to believe that all it wants is reactor fuel. But its talk of nuclear cartels still gets a sympathetic hearing from many of the nuclear have- nots.

Buffett, who is working with the nonprofit Nuclear Threat Initiative, headed by a former U.S. senator, Sam Nunn, is a man who understands leverage. He won't kick in his $50 million unless some government or governments ante up $100 million in cash or fuel. And the project has to come together within two years or he will take his money off the table.

by Fran (fran at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 01:04:44 AM EST
[ Parent ]
But would it work for "rogue" nations?
by Nomad on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 03:54:35 AM EST
[ Parent ]
You mean the US?
by Fran (fran at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 03:58:13 AM EST
[ Parent ]
$50 million is pocket money. If it became a $1 billion it might get taken more seriously.

But isn't this usually called bribery?

And it's hard to take NP claims seriously when the US has already been so generous with Pakistan.  

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 05:27:39 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Don't forget the recent nuclear technology agreement between the US and India. Talk about NPT-busting.

Those whom the Gods wish to destroy They first make mad. -- Euripides
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 06:05:43 AM EST
[ Parent ]
BBC: Canada 'sorry' over deportation

The head of Canada's national police force has publicly apologised to a man deported to Syria after being falsely accused of terrorism.

Maher Arar was deported by US customs agents to Syria after Canadian police labelled him an Islamic extremist.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Commissioner, Giulano Zaccardelli said his force had made major mistakes.

A public inquiry found Mr Arar had been caught up in a hunt for terror suspects after the 2001 attacks on the US.

Mr Zaccardelli says he has no intention of resigning over the affair despite calls for him to do so.

His apology to Mr Arar was unequivocal.

Mr Zaccardelli said: "I wish to take this opportunity to express publicly to you and to your wife and to your children how truly sorry I am for whatever part the actions of the RCMP may have contributed to the terrible injustices that you experienced and the pain that you and your family endured."

by Fran (fran at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 01:06:41 AM EST
[ Parent ]
He's certainly terrorised me.

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
by Jerome a Paris (jeromeguillet@yahoo.fr) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 03:25:05 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Compensation ? Sorry, in situations like this words don't cut it in the same way as a big pile of dosh. He can't get a job, so $50,000 x 10 minimum, probably 20.
2 years out of his life, 200,000 per.
Sundry distress, call it a million total.

Course he won't get a bent penny. But he should still sue their arses.


keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 07:28:16 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Independent: Nato to take over Afghanistan operation

Nato will take command next month of peacekeeping duties in all parts of Afghanistan hit by the Taliban insurgency after the US said it would transfer 12,000 more troops to its force.

The US servicemen will be moved from the relatively peaceful eastern part of Afghanistan to the volatile southern region, where Nato troops, including 5,000 British soldiers, have been fighting an increasingly bloody war with Islamist Taliban fighters.

The deployment will mean that 14,000 of Nato's 32,000 International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) troops under British command would be provided by the US, its biggest contingent under foreign control since the Second World War.

The agreement yesterday came as European nations failed to agree to send more troops to cover shortfalls identified by commanders. The secretary general, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, at the Nato meeting in Slovenia, urged other countries to send more troops to the country.


by Fran (fran at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 01:19:41 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Brillinat. The country was totaly salvageable after the primary invasion, but cos they chose to do nothing about the problems that enabled the taliban, they've lost.

Now it's half past too late, NATO get to move in. It's enough to make you weep.

What are they there for ? What is their purpose ? What peace are they keeping ? What they fuck are they doing about re-building the country ? What about all of the irrigation destroyed by Bush that has rendered the country incapable of growing its own food.

What are we doing to improve commerce ? Education ? We let schools be bombed by ignorant fascists and don't challenge them. We allow women to be impoverished cos its inconveneint to defend and empower them.

What is this intended to achieve ?

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 07:33:13 AM EST
[ Parent ]
well they don't call it 'pipelinistan' for nothing....

"That millions of people share the same form of mental pathology does not make those people sane." Eric Fromm
by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 06:02:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Nah.

Pipeline economics - why the Afghan pipeline will NOT be built

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (jeromeguillet@yahoo.fr) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 06:13:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Asked about the future of the Iranian Jewish community, he replied: "Did you see how many children were there tonight?"

He was right. It was hard to concentrate on praying in the synagogue, where at least 300 people had come, because of all the children running up and down the aisles and chattering outside.

But there is a difference between children and young adults. Peyman, Saketkhoo's 27-year-old son, was fond of saying, "Everyone in Iran has a problem," meaning that everyone - Jewish and non-Jewish - wants to leave.

It's not just the political situation, he said, but the fact that with the rise of Ahmadinejad, the economic situation has worsened and poverty has deepened.

(...)

Most indicative of this tacit acceptance of religious diversity is a huge picture on the side of a building in north Teheran. Like many pictures in the capital, it commemorates Iranian soldiers who fell during the 1980-8 Iran-Iraq war. But this one is different. It is dedicated to the minorities who served their country, and depicts five Iranians of various religions and ethnicities. Four represent Assyrian and Armenian ethnicities and members of the Christian and Zoroastrian communities. Right in the center is an Iranian Jew, with his name spelled in Farsi and Hebrew.

From the very conservative Jerusalem Post

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (jeromeguillet@yahoo.fr) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 03:30:11 AM EST
[ Parent ]
NYT: In Teeming India, Water Crisis Means Dry Pipes and Foul Sludge

[...]

In the richest city in India, with the nation's economy marching ahead at an enviable clip, middle-class people [...] are reduced to foraging for water. Their predicament testifies to the government's astonishing inability to deliver the most basic services to its citizens at a time when India asserts itself as a global power.

The crisis, decades in the making, has grown as fast as India in recent years. A soaring population, the warp-speed sprawl of cities, and a vast and thirsty farm belt have all put new strains on a feeble, ill-kept public water and sanitation network.

The combination has left water all too scarce in some places, contaminated in others and in cursed surfeit for millions who are flooded each year. Today the problems threaten India's ability to fortify its sagging farms, sustain its economic growth and make its cities healthy and habitable. At stake is not only India's economic ambition but its very image as the world's largest democracy.

"If we become rich or poor as a nation, it's because of water," said Sunita Narain, director of the Center for Science and Environment in New Delhi.



"Ideas or the lack of them can cause disease." - Kurt Vonnegut
by dvx (dvx.clt ät gmail dotcom) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 05:25:36 AM EST
[ Parent ]
There is only one answer - corruption or by other words low quality of public service. It's astonishing that India well watered in monsoon (perhaps except Rajasthan) has lack of water - for example in Darjeeling and Kalimpong (West Bengal hills) water shortages are frequent despite the fact that they are among wettest places on Earth. Construction of water reservoirs is plagued by intermittent delays because of chronic corruption.
by FarEasterner on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 05:42:44 AM EST
[ Parent ]
This echoes Amartya Sen's contention that Famine is not due to lack of food but to unresponsive government.

Those whom the Gods wish to destroy They first make mad. -- Euripides
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 06:04:22 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I presume the Irish would agree wholeheartedly.

"Ideas or the lack of them can cause disease." - Kurt Vonnegut
by dvx (dvx.clt ät gmail dotcom) on Fri Sep 29th, 2006 at 06:24:00 AM EST
[ Parent ]
The water policy of the Indian governemnt has been a scandal for 50 years.

It's not a question of too few reservoirs, it's the siting and the lack of compensation. Driving people off productive land to add to the urban poor. Some dams flood more land than they are capable of irrigating.

Also they expect reservoirs to provide water for drinking, irigation, flood relief and hydro-eolectric power. Incompatible