In defiance of the major music companies and film industry, the European Parliament has voted against punishing alleged file-sharers by shutting off their internet connection, an idea that has been pushed by both record labels and French President Nicolas Sarkozy over the last year.

An amendment to a report on Europe's Cultural Industries that was narrowly adopted by the parliament on Thursday (10 April) describes such a manoeuvre as disproportionate to the act of downloading a copyrighted music track or film.

Recognising the internet as a "vast platform" for cultural expression and democratic participation, the amendment, proposed by 31-year-old Swedish centre-right MEP Christofer Fjellner and French Socialist MEP Michel Rocard, calls on the European Commission and member states "to avoid adopting measures conflicting with civil liberties and human rights and with the principles of proportionality, effectiveness and dissuasiveness, such as the interruption of internet access."

The International Federation of Phonographic Industries - the music industry's trade association - had heavily lobbied MEPs to adopt the so-called three strikes approach, whereby repeated violators of copyright through the sharing of songs, films, games or software would have their internet connection cut off.

Slovakia's parliament has ratified the Lisbon Treaty, despite a boycott of the vote by some opposition parties.

Previous attempts to hold a vote had to be scrapped because of a series of walkouts by MPs over a media law, which critics say harms press freedom.

But one of the opposition parties decided to drop its boycott and give Prime Minister Robert Fico the majority he needed to push the bill through.

Poland has also formally ratified the treaty, after a vote by MPs last week.

President Lech Kaczynski took the final step, nine days after both houses of parliament had backed a law authorising him to do so.

Austria's parliament ratified the document on Wednesday.

At least 19,000 school students and teachers have demonstrated on the streets of Paris against a proposed reform of the French education system.

They marched against job cuts in secondary schools. The government plans to cut some 11,200 education jobs this year, including 8,500 teaching posts.

The protest, which began on Thursday afternoon, is the students' second this week and the fifth in two weeks.

Thursday's protest is thought to be the largest so far.

It is 10 years since leaders of Northern Ireland's Protestant and Catholic communities signed up to the Good Friday Peace Agreement, ending decades of violence and laying the foundations for a poltical settlement. David Trimble was the first First Minister of the power-sharing government established by the Agreement. He resigned in 2001 over the disarmament issue and the peace process was stalled for several years before a final accord was reached. The Nobel Peace Prize winner talked to EuroNews about how the agreement was brokered and reflects on possible lessons for other regions of conflict.

<...>

EN: Lets go back to Ireland, Ireland and Europe, do you think the European Union has done enough, should it be more engaged?

DT: The main effect of the European Union is not something the European Union did as an institution. The main effect was its existence and by virtue of the changes that the European Union symbolises the whole idea of nationality in western Europe is quite different to what it was a generation ago. That changed the context within which we were looking at the problem. <...>

EN: Republicans and Unionists are still divided on one key issue, the possible reunification with the Republic. Do you envisage that happening one day or is that just of the question.

DT: I don't think personally that will ever happen, but I don't think in a few years it's going to matter. Because the other thing that's happened over the course of the past ten years is that there's now a much closer relationship between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, so I don't see this as being a problem for the future at all.

The EU Question

The European Freedom Alliance Party in the European Parliament is reportedly calling to make missile defense in Eastern Europe an EU issue.[8] This is bad news. The supranational European Union is a bureaucratic, statist, cumbersome, anti-American entity that has attempted to frustrate American policy on multiple occasions. The involvement of the EU is unnecessary and would effectively kill any hope of a deal. Poland, the Czech Republic, and the United States must give zero consideration to involving the EU at any level. 

For its part, NATO has generally considered the Washington-Warsaw-Prague talks to be bilateral and has not interfered. Also, NATO has expressed general support for European missile defenses, especially against short- and medium-range missiles. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer stated after the April North Atlantic Council meeting: "There is absolutely a shared threat perception between the allies. Allies all agree that there is a threat from ballistic missiles."[9] NATO's developing interest in missile defense is a good thing; it should ultimately complement America's missile defense program in Eastern Europe. There is no reason to believe that simultaneous development of missile defenses in Europe by both NATO and the U.S. would be incompatible in the long-term.

The story that Gordon Brown fumbled the Olympic crisis was so credible because it seemed to fit a pattern. It turns out that it was announced long ago that he was never due to attend the Olympic opening: the Chinese already confirmed his attendance only at the closing ceremony. Brown, anxious to offend neither side, failed to clarify that he was not attending and not protesting either. It was a bum rap.

...

Here is the puzzle. Those who know him know Gordon Brown to be a man of sincere beliefs with a profound concern for the poor at home and abroad. There is nothing showy or sham about him. But, alas, a good man doesn't necessarily make a good prime minister. So was it right when the Blair camp malevolently tarred him as "psychologically flawed"? Well, who isn't? There's no reason to think him any crazier than others with the vaulting ambition to reach No 10. Blair was considerably madder and badder by the time he left office - what with war, Catholic conversion and shameless plunder from fat directorships.

...

The 10p tax fiasco is serious: in one iconic error Brown has blown away his most admirable reputation - a 10-year record of directing money to the poorest. Even in this year's tight budget, money was found for poor children. But now the voters see some of the lowest-paid having their income tax raised from 10p to 20p. We who inquired about this after Brown's last budget were too easily fobbed off with apparent evidence it would effect few people - but there are 5.3 million low-paid childless losers. Never mind that many more voters gained. Never mind that Cameron will vote against it without saying where he'll get £7bn to restore the 10p rate. This does inestimable harm to the "Whose side are you on?" question. So why not tax the richest to take the low-paid out of tax? Answer comes there none - though conversation in every pub and wine bar points the finger at the fat cats whose avarice caused the crisis in which ordinary people risk losing their homes. Why did it take the Tories to first suggest taxing non-doms

...

After all, under-reported as ever, the NHS is doing well with waiting lists down, GPs' opening hours up and funds in reserve. Soon 3,500 children's centres will be open for all toddlers, and extended schools will open from breakfast to tea, with diplomas and apprenticeships to keep all in training until 18. Two million council and housing association homes have been quietly renovated to decent standards. These are good reasons why Labour deserves another term, but it can't be won with weather vane politics blowing with every contrary puff of wind. The time is short - but it's never over until the fat returning officer sings.

"We've put about $45 billion into Iraq's reconstruction . . . and they have not spent their own resources," said House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (Ill.). "They have got to have some skin in the game."
link

So this is a game? Over a million Iraqis dead, 4-5 million refugees? How much skin does Rahm think Iraqis should put up for his war? Does he wish more Iraqi children to die?

According to the United Nations -- citing reports from Iraq's southern province of Qadissiyah -- 275 children have been struck with leishmaniasis, which is spread by sand flies. Most have a form that causes skin sores, but others have a type that strikes internal organs and can be fatal.
...
Though the disease was first identified in Iraq more than a century ago, outbreaks were rare during Saddam Hussein's regime. But since the conflict began, experts say the destroyed health system has opened the way for diseases lurking in the environment.
Skin disease strikes Iraqi children

Now the U.S. Congress, Democrats and Republicans alike, want Iraqi's to pay for the bullets that kill them. 

ABC News is reporting that senior Bush administration officials were intimately involved in planning torture regimens for use against terrorism suspects. The officials include vice president Dick Cheney; CIA director George Tenet and his successor, former CIA agent and Congressman Porter Goss; then-national security advisor Condoleezza Rice; former secretary of state Colin Powell; former secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld; and former attorney general John Ashcroft. All were members of the Principals Committee of president Bush's national security council.

Torture is illegal under US and international law. In 2006, with the help of a complacent Congress, the administration immunized themselves from prosecution under the relevant US law--the 1996 War Crimes Act--by slipping into the Military Commissions Act a provision amending the previous law and retroactively forgiving any government official or employee who violated it.

In November of 2006, we suggested that the Military Commissions Act would backfire on administration officials because it stripped war crime victims of any recourse under US law, making it more likely that courts in countries outside the US would consider claims against the US. With the news that at least the seven top officials named in the ABC story were not only aware of the torture but actively involved in planning it, the likelihood that an overseas court will hear charges becomes much greater.

NEW YORK, Apr 10 (IPS) - Washington is providing military aid to six of the countries cited in the U.S. State Department's latest series of human rights reports for recruiting and using child soldiers. They are Afghanistan, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Uganda.

A new study by the Washington-based Centre for Defence Information (CDI) charges that, while child soldiers are often recruited and deployed by rebel groups over which the government has little control, in other cases the recruitment is being carried out by directly by governments and government-supported paramilitaries.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will not attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, an aide has said.

The decision was due to "schedule issues" and had been made months ago, said UN spokeswoman, Marie Mukabe.

Meanwhile, Buenos Aires is braced for Friday's Olympic torch relay after anti-China protests in other cities.

Economist: The British housing bust begins

Guardian: IMF says US crisis is 'largest financial shock since Great Depression'

WSJ: Home-Furnishings Retailer Expected to File For Bankruptcy

WSJ: Financial Industry Pours on Campaign Donations

Yahoo: Chavez: Castro predicted fall of dollar

Telegraph wants Europe to press for more joy:

The European Central Bank has again refused to join Anglo-Saxon peers in cutting interest rates, defying ever-louder calls for action as the economic storm clouds gather over Europe.

Invest now 'or face water crisis'

Poor water quality is already hitting GDP, the World Bank says Governments in the Middle East and North Africa need to invest now if they want to avoid severe water shortages in the future, the World Bank has warned. The amount of water available per person in the arid region will halve by 2050, a report from the bank estimates. It blames climate change and population growth for new pressures on supplies. Governments in the region should tackle water waste, build more efficient networks and reduce water use - especially in farming, the bank says. The World Bank report suggests farmers could switch to crops that require less water.

jojoba perhaps?

The Living Desert - Jojoba

Jojoba has many adaptations which make it well suited to the desert environment. The upright leaves of Jojoba are angled to minimize the amount of direct sunlight the plant receives during the hottest part of the day. The dark thick bluish green leaves have a waxy cuticle that works to reduce water loss and also prevent wilting. It is interesting that these same adaptations also slow down carbon-dioxide uptake in the plant which contributes to its slow growth rate. The most intriguing aspects of Simmondsia chinensis however center around the oil found in its seeds. In fact no other plant in the world is known to produce a similar oil.

Jojoba is dioecious (male and female flowers are present on different plants) thus both a male and female plant must be present in order for the plant to produce seeds. Male and female plants retain inherent physiological differences which contribute to the reproductive success of this species. Female plants have larger thicker leaves which have a higher water content than their male counterparts. Female plants also have a more open structure which allows more photosynthesis to take place. Together these two strategies permit the female plants to produce the high amounts of energy needed for fruit production. In overall energy expenditures male shrubs only reserve 10-15% of their tissue for reproductive use while female plants utilize 30-40%. What becomes of all this effort is a seed rich in natural oil.

Approximately half of one seed consists of this nutrient rich liquid wax which is necessary for the survival of the species. It is known that thirty days after germination only 10% of the oil remains in the seed. It is apparent then that seedlings use this oil to quickly send down a tap root to ensure it can draw moisture from the soil. Young leaves and shoots follow but appear at a much slower rate.

Considering the richness and uniqueness of Jojoba oil, it should not be surprising that humans have discovered a wealth of uses for the oil. The Cahuilla Indians were known to eat the seeds fresh or ground them into a powder in order to produce a coffee-like drink. Today Jojoba oil is used in numerous cosmetic products as either a cleanser, conditioner, or moisturizer.

Serious commercial interest in Jojoba oil however was not sparked until a ban on Sperm Whale oil was enacted in the early nineteen seventies. In the search for an alternative to Sperm Whale oil it was revealed that Jojoba oil could be used as a replacement. Jojoba oil has a similar viscosity to Sperm Whale oil and is stable enough to burn at high temperatures. In the year 2000 The International Jojoba Export Council predicted that global production of the oil would increase by 15% over the next 5 years. Apparently Jojoba has been a successful replacement and earned itself a permanent spot in the industrial market.

my absolute favourite massage oil!

Peace is not the absence of war -- peace is the absence of fear. Ursula Franklin

It looks like the mine wars are on again here in West Virginia. Those of us who are fighting to save our communities are committed to principles of non-violence, emulating Dr. King, the fortieth anniversary of whose murder had passed only the day before this confrontation. The company people, however, have shown their hand. Working people kept in the depths of pitiful ignorance, they will bluster, scream, shout, intimidate, threaten and perhaps engage in actual violence to protect not themselves, but their Masters. That's the saddest part of this whole tableau: these people are so far gone down Big Coal's toxic garden path that they don't realize we're struggling for their children's future every bit as much as we are for our own.

As I looked at the company wives in attendance, smirking, cat-calling, hooting and hollering, I couldn't help recalling a statistic that stays on my mind: because of all the mercury coal has put into our lives, every company wife there, like my own wife, and my own daughters, had within her body enough mercury to ensure that every child she bears will suffer at least a ten point IQ deficit. Her very breast milk contains enough mercury to qualify as toxic waste under the EPA's own standards. Her husband's proximity to the blasting, not to mention the poisons he's forced to work with, in and around, promises a tormented old age, if they have mind enough left to comprehend it. And yet, that gray April Saturday in the oldest mountains on earth, she saw me as the enemy.

negawatts!

Peace is not the absence of war -- peace is the absence of fear. Ursula Franklin

By that time Western commercial traders had been flooding the country for more than a quarter-century, and their impunity from the tabus of the Hawaiian gods as well as their immunity from the diseases decimating the people were hard to miss.

As gaping as the religious void was a political void. With the previously unknown islands suddenly at the center of a burgeoning tricontinental trade in fur, sandalwood and whale oil, there were tasks to be performed for which the Hawaiians in their self-contained development could not possibly have been prepared.

a twisted feature of anglo disease, to appear to be immune to its effects. join us or die! hawaiians died in thousands from the 'common' cold, as well as std's brought by the sailors, along with literacy and democracy...(for those who could muster the antibodies!)

Peace is not the absence of war -- peace is the absence of fear. Ursula Franklin

MARSEILLE: After the disappearance of Amelia Earhart, the demise of the French aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry on a reconnaissance mission in World War II has ranked as one of flying's great mysteries.

Now, thanks to some sleuthing by a French diver and marine archaeologist, the final pieces of the puzzle seem to have been filled in.

The story that emerged about the disappearance of Saint-Exupéry, in self-exile from Vichy France, proved to contain several narratives, a complexity that would probably have pleased the author of several adventure books on flying and the famous tale "The Little Prince," about a little interstellar traveler, which was also a profound statement of faith.

On July 31, 1944, Saint-Exupéry took off from the island of Corsica in a Lockheed P-38 Lightning reconnaissance plane, one of numerous French pilots who assisted the U.S. war effort.

MANILA: She helped turn many of the world's prawn farmers into millionaires, but Jurgenne Primavera now worries that her life's work might have indirectly accelerated the destruction of fish nurseries.

The Filipina zoologist, whose research on breeding the black tiger prawn became a manual that revolutionized the aquaculture industry, pointed at 66 hectares (163 acres) of brackish water fishponds at the bottom of a windy bluff in this seaside town south of Manila.

Local conservationists have filed a landmark suit against the owner, a wealthy lawyer accused of killing off mangroves--trees that grow on marshy coasts and serve as vital nurseries for the young of open-sea fish species.

"The law bans cutting of mangroves, but he (the fishpond owner) skirted that by building dikes that cut off the seawater, until the trees eventually died," said Jessie de los Reyes, a local marine ecology advocate.

"Now the community is suffering because their ground water has turned salty and their access to fishing areas has been cut," de los Reyes added. The case is pending.

SAN FRANCISCO, California, April 9, 2008 (ENS) - A coalition of farmworker advocates and environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Friday, seeking to force a halt to the use of four organophosphate pesticides.

Some of these pesticides have been detected in California's rural schoolyards and homes, Sequoia National Park, and Monterey Bay.

The four organophosphates at issue in the case are methidathion, oxydemeton-methyl, methamidophos, and ethoprop. They are used primarily in California on a wide variety of fruit, vegetable, and nut crops.

"These four pesticides put thousands of farmworkers and their families at risk of serious illness every year," said Patti Goldman, an attorney for Earthjustice, the environmental law firm that represents the coalition in the case, filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.

Cognitive Dissonance in Monkeys - The Monty Hall Problem - New York Times

The Monty Hall Problem has struck again, and this time it's not merely embarrassing mathematicians. If the calculations of a Yale economist are correct, there's a sneaky logical fallacy in some of the most famous experiments in psychology.

The economist, M. Keith Chen, has challenged research into cognitive dissonance, including the 1956 experiment that first identified a remarkable ability of people to rationalize their choices. Dr. Chen says that choice rationalization could still turn out to be a real phenomenon, but he maintains that there's a fatal flaw in the classic 1956 experiment and hundreds of similar ones.

in the wasteland of 79's-80's network us tv, he was on every morning, ok 3/4 of the subjects were fluff, but the rest were truth to power at its finest.
Phil Donahue's War

There is nothing cautious about Body of War, which Donahue directed with a terrific independent filmmaker he sought out, Ellen Spiro. The talk-show host who broke every television taboo--showing a woman giving birth, discussing AIDS before almost anyone else, treating transvestites with respect and corporations with distrust--is now breaking the taboo that says Americans cannot stomach the reality of this war.

Over the haunting music of Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, who volunteered to aid the project, Body of War introduces 25-year-old Tomas Young, a patriotic kid from Kansas City who signed up to fight 9/11 terrorists because his President called him to duty. Young took a bullet in the spine during his first week in Iraq and returned paralyzed from the chest down [for more on Young, see Eugene Richards's moving photo essay in these pages, "War Is Personal," March 27, 2006]. "Heartbreaking" is not a powerful enough word for the story of this veteran Donahue met with his friend Ralph Nader at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Confronted with a war he passionately opposed but did not know how to stop, Donahue considered writing a book. But after attending the 2005 National Conference on Media Reform in St. Louis, he decided to do what he's done for decades on television: show America something it would not see elsewhere. With Spiro, Donahue tells "a story of a heartland kid who suddenly went from a social life of singles bars and courtship to a daily routine of catheters, puke pans and erectile dysfunction." The film has won glowing reviews, one hailing it as "almost unbearably moving." Finding a distributor proved so difficult that after almost a year they set up their own distribution plan for what is more than just a soldier's story. Body of War is, at heart, a scathing indictment of the politicians who sent Tomas Young to fight and who keep sending others like him into the quagmire--and of complacent media that seem to be losing interest in a war their lax coverage made possible. The inspiration comes from Young, who rolls in his wheelchair at the front of antiwar demonstrations, and from Veterans for America president Bobby Muller, a paralyzed Vietnam vet who tells his young comrade, "If I don't fight the system, I will die."

That's a fitting credo for Donahue. The man who mastered the system now fights it. He is a fiercer critic than ever of those who hold microphones but do not use them to "fight the system." "They say there is 'Iraq fatigue,' that we can't keep going over what's wrong with this war. That's what the suits like to think. It's convenient. A sanitized war doesn't stir things up," says the 72-year-old champion of the free press. "But war is real, especially for veterans like Tomas. And if the American people see that reality, I believe they will force the politicians to end it."