EPIDEMIA COLPOSA - VALIUM CALDORO INDAGATO SI INCAZZA E SVENDOLA GIGGINO’A MANETTA: “LE COLPE SONO DEI SINDACI” – IL CAPO DEI PM LEPORE FA IL POMPIERE: “IL GOVERNATORE È UNA PERSONA PERBENE, L’ISCRIZIONE È UN ATTO DOVUTO” - LA LEGA SE NE FREGA DI NAPOLI E MINACCIA IL GOVERNO SUL DECRETO AMMAZZASENTENZA (DEL TAR) – TRA I SACCHETTI, SPUNTANO LE PISTOLE: TRE COLPI NELLA NOTTE TRA SABATO E DOMENICA…
More Treachery at the Fed?
By Mike Whitney
URL of this article: www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=25381
Global Research, June 24, 2011
No
one expects the Fed to announce a rate-hike at the end of the today's
FOMC meeting, but that doesn't mean there won't be a few surprises. The
problem is that the recovery has stalled and the Fed can't decide
whether we've just hit a "soft patch" or if it's something more serious.
If it is more serious, then the Fed will need a contingency plan for
kick-starting the economy. So, what's it going to be; another round of
Quantitative Easing (QE), rate caps on short-term Treasuries or
something else altogether? That's what the financial media will want to
know, and only Fed chairman Ben Bernanke knows the answers.
But before we get to that, let's look at the economy. First quarter growth has been revised to an anemic 1.8 percent and economists are currently shaving their estimates for Q2. Some think that the high number of "black swan" events (Tsunami in Japan, debt problems in the eurozone) are mainly responsible for the poor growth, but that doesn't explain the sharp downturn in hiring, manufacturing, housing and consumer confidence. The US is experiencing a dropoff in demand at the worst possible time, just as Obama's $800 billion fiscal stimulus and Bernanke's $600 billion monetary stimulus are running out of gas. That means even less support for an economy that can barley stand upright as it is. Here's an excerpt from an article by Nouriel Roubini with a rundown on the economy:
"...there are good reasons to believe that we are experiencing a more persistent slump.... the factors slowing US growth are chronic. These include slow but persistent private and public-sector deleveraging; rising oil prices; weak job creation; another downturn in the housing market; severe fiscal problems at the state and local level; and an unsustainable deficit and debt burden at the federal level....
If what is happening now turns out to be something worse than a temporary soft patch, the market correction will continue further, thus weakening growth as the negative wealth effects of falling equity markets reduce private spending." ("That Stalling Feeling", Nouriel roubini, Project Syndicate)
More and more mainstream economists have joined Roubini in thinking that recent sluggishness is more than a soft patch. They think we may be headed for a double dip recession. Surprisingly, former chief economic advisor to the president, Lawrence Summers, has joined the Cassandras and is warning of stiffer headwinds just ahead. Here's a clip from Summers recent op-ed in the Financial Times:
"...the US is now half way to a lost economic decade.....the problem in a period of high unemployment, as now, is a lack of business demand for employees not any lack of desire to work is all but self-evident... When demand is constraining an economy, there is little to be gained from increasing potential supply. ...
What, then, is to be done? This is no time for ... traditional political agendas.
... The fiscal debate must accept that the greatest threat to our creditworthiness is a sustained period of slow growth. Discussions about medium-term austerity need to be coupled with a focus on near-term growth....
Substantial withdrawal of fiscal stimulus at the end of 2011 would be premature. Stimulus should be continued and indeed expanded by providing the payroll tax cut to employers as well as employees...
We averted Depression in 2008/2009 by acting decisively. Now we can avert a lost decade by recognizing economic reality." ("How to avoid stumbling into our own lost decade", Lawrence Summers, Financial Times)
Consider the irony of Summers--who designed Obama's $800 billion stimulus package and rejected the warnings of other prominent economists who said the stimulus was "too small"--recanting in the FT and pleading for a second round. Pretty shameless, eh? But the point is the leading economic indicators are pointed down, hiring has slowed to a crawl, household spending and personal consumption have tapered off, wages remain flat, and lending is barley staying even. In other words, the Fed's efforts to stimulate demand have failed. The economy is in another funk.
So, what is Bernanke going to say at today's meeting?
Ahhh, that's where the surprise comes in, but there was a clue in an article last week on Bloomberg News. Here's an excerpt from the article:
"Federal Reserve officials are discussing whether to adopt an explicit target for inflation, a strategy long advocated by Chairman Ben S. Bernanke .... An inflation target could help quiet critics of record monetary stimulus and anchor public expectations for consumer prices should the Fed in coming months try to spur the recovery by keeping interest rates close to zero for longer.
“My sense is that this may be a done deal, though not one likely to be implemented soon, and perhaps not until economic conditions return to closer to normal,” said Laurence Meyer, senior managing director and co-founder of Macroeconomic Advisers LLC and a former Fed governor.
“The chairman is obviously for it, and it is hard to find anybody on the FOMC who now is really opposed to it.” ("Fed Officials Said to Discuss Adopting Inflation Target Backed by Bernanke", Bloomberg)
So, an inflation target is a "done deal"? Really? But what does that mean?
Once the Fed sets an "explicit inflation target", then (if the CPI is below the target and rates are already at zero, as they are today) the Fed can buy as many bonds as they please until their goal is reached. If that sounds a lot like Quantitative Easing; it's because it's the same thing. (Although this time it will probably involve rate caps on medium-term Treasuries) Is that what Bernanke is doing; announcing a third round of his controversial bond purchasing program without using the same name?
It sure looks like it. In fact, any mention today of "inflation targeting" at today's FOMC meeting should be taken as a sign that Bernanke is planning another bond buying binge, despite the fact that the only people who really benefited from the program have been investors who've seen stock prices skyrocket from the money that's shifted out of bonds into equities. All the gains from QE2 went to Wall Street.
As for inflation targeting, Bernanke is not just an advocate of the policy, he's its biggest booster. He's even written a book on the topic titled "Inflation Targeting: Lessons from the International Experience" with co-authors Thomas Laubach, Frederic S. Mishkin, and Adam S. Posen in 2001. There's every reason to suspect that the neoliberal credo that Bernanke espouses in his book helped shoehorn him into the top-spot at the Central Bank. It certainly had nothing to do with his abyssal track record.
So, what's so bad about an explicit inflation target anyway? Haven't other countries used the policy effectively?
Yes, they have. But other countries (particularly in the EU) also have labor laws and a social safety net which tend to protect workers from the abuses of errant monetary policy. Not so in the US. If Bernanke executes his plan, high unemployment and slow growth will become a permanent feature of life in America. Here's an excerpt from an article by Nobel prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz mulling over the effects of inflation targeting in other countries:
"Today, inflation targeting is being put to the test — and it will almost certainly fail. Developing countries currently face higher rates of inflation, not because of poorer macro-management, but because oil and food prices are soaring, and these items represent a much larger share of the average household budget than in rich countries....Inflation in these countries is, for the most part, imported. Raising interest rates won’t have much effect on the international price of grains or fuel..." ("What's wrong with inflation targeting?", Joseph Stiglitz, Project Syndicate)
But Stiglitz is talking about "developing countries". Does that same rule apply to the US?
Yes, it does. If the Fed achieves its target rate, then Bernanke will raise short-term rates regardless of the effects on growth or employment. That's what inflation targeting is all about; it's a hat-tip to investors that the Fed will preserve their wealth at all costs, even if the broader economy has to be sacrificed. Here's a clip from an article by economist Dean Baker who draws the same conclusion as Stiglitz:
"Inflation targeting has led to an enormous economic and human disaster, likely costing the world more than $10tn in lost output and leaving tens of millions of people unemployed. If this experience is not enough to discredit a policy, it is difficult to imagine any possible set of events in the world that could lead the inflation targeters to change their minds....
....the central bankers and others directing policy place the interests of the financial sector at the center of their concerns." ("Guess which policy your central bank will pursue", Dean Baker, Guardian)
Get the picture? Inflation targeting is neoliberalism writ large, no different than "structural adjustment", "debt consolidation", "privatization of public assets" etc. It's another subsidy for speculators while ordinary working people get kicked to the curb.
Here's one last blurb from economist James Galbraith who's even more skeptical of inflation targeting than Stiglitz or Baker. This excerpt is from Galbraith's blistering critique of Bernanke's book titled "The Inflation Obsession: Flying in the Face of the Facts":
"....Inflation targeting in all cases coincided with high unemployment, and its main effect was to excuse central bankers from addressing this crisis.....("The Inflation Obsession: Flying in the Face of the Facts", James k. Galbraith, Foreign Affairs)
That's it in a nutshell. Bernanke wants to absolve himself of any responsibility to enact policies that will create "full employment". He'd rather shrug off the Fed's dual mandate ("price stability and full employment") and focus on inflation alone. That means that soaring unemployment and slow growth will be the norm for years to come.
There's a reason why Stiglitz, Baker and Galbraith all oppose inflation targeting. It's bad policy.
But before we get to that, let's look at the economy. First quarter growth has been revised to an anemic 1.8 percent and economists are currently shaving their estimates for Q2. Some think that the high number of "black swan" events (Tsunami in Japan, debt problems in the eurozone) are mainly responsible for the poor growth, but that doesn't explain the sharp downturn in hiring, manufacturing, housing and consumer confidence. The US is experiencing a dropoff in demand at the worst possible time, just as Obama's $800 billion fiscal stimulus and Bernanke's $600 billion monetary stimulus are running out of gas. That means even less support for an economy that can barley stand upright as it is. Here's an excerpt from an article by Nouriel Roubini with a rundown on the economy:
"...there are good reasons to believe that we are experiencing a more persistent slump.... the factors slowing US growth are chronic. These include slow but persistent private and public-sector deleveraging; rising oil prices; weak job creation; another downturn in the housing market; severe fiscal problems at the state and local level; and an unsustainable deficit and debt burden at the federal level....
If what is happening now turns out to be something worse than a temporary soft patch, the market correction will continue further, thus weakening growth as the negative wealth effects of falling equity markets reduce private spending." ("That Stalling Feeling", Nouriel roubini, Project Syndicate)
More and more mainstream economists have joined Roubini in thinking that recent sluggishness is more than a soft patch. They think we may be headed for a double dip recession. Surprisingly, former chief economic advisor to the president, Lawrence Summers, has joined the Cassandras and is warning of stiffer headwinds just ahead. Here's a clip from Summers recent op-ed in the Financial Times:
"...the US is now half way to a lost economic decade.....the problem in a period of high unemployment, as now, is a lack of business demand for employees not any lack of desire to work is all but self-evident... When demand is constraining an economy, there is little to be gained from increasing potential supply. ...
What, then, is to be done? This is no time for ... traditional political agendas.
... The fiscal debate must accept that the greatest threat to our creditworthiness is a sustained period of slow growth. Discussions about medium-term austerity need to be coupled with a focus on near-term growth....
Substantial withdrawal of fiscal stimulus at the end of 2011 would be premature. Stimulus should be continued and indeed expanded by providing the payroll tax cut to employers as well as employees...
We averted Depression in 2008/2009 by acting decisively. Now we can avert a lost decade by recognizing economic reality." ("How to avoid stumbling into our own lost decade", Lawrence Summers, Financial Times)
Consider the irony of Summers--who designed Obama's $800 billion stimulus package and rejected the warnings of other prominent economists who said the stimulus was "too small"--recanting in the FT and pleading for a second round. Pretty shameless, eh? But the point is the leading economic indicators are pointed down, hiring has slowed to a crawl, household spending and personal consumption have tapered off, wages remain flat, and lending is barley staying even. In other words, the Fed's efforts to stimulate demand have failed. The economy is in another funk.
So, what is Bernanke going to say at today's meeting?
Ahhh, that's where the surprise comes in, but there was a clue in an article last week on Bloomberg News. Here's an excerpt from the article:
"Federal Reserve officials are discussing whether to adopt an explicit target for inflation, a strategy long advocated by Chairman Ben S. Bernanke .... An inflation target could help quiet critics of record monetary stimulus and anchor public expectations for consumer prices should the Fed in coming months try to spur the recovery by keeping interest rates close to zero for longer.
“My sense is that this may be a done deal, though not one likely to be implemented soon, and perhaps not until economic conditions return to closer to normal,” said Laurence Meyer, senior managing director and co-founder of Macroeconomic Advisers LLC and a former Fed governor.
“The chairman is obviously for it, and it is hard to find anybody on the FOMC who now is really opposed to it.” ("Fed Officials Said to Discuss Adopting Inflation Target Backed by Bernanke", Bloomberg)
So, an inflation target is a "done deal"? Really? But what does that mean?
Once the Fed sets an "explicit inflation target", then (if the CPI is below the target and rates are already at zero, as they are today) the Fed can buy as many bonds as they please until their goal is reached. If that sounds a lot like Quantitative Easing; it's because it's the same thing. (Although this time it will probably involve rate caps on medium-term Treasuries) Is that what Bernanke is doing; announcing a third round of his controversial bond purchasing program without using the same name?
It sure looks like it. In fact, any mention today of "inflation targeting" at today's FOMC meeting should be taken as a sign that Bernanke is planning another bond buying binge, despite the fact that the only people who really benefited from the program have been investors who've seen stock prices skyrocket from the money that's shifted out of bonds into equities. All the gains from QE2 went to Wall Street.
As for inflation targeting, Bernanke is not just an advocate of the policy, he's its biggest booster. He's even written a book on the topic titled "Inflation Targeting: Lessons from the International Experience" with co-authors Thomas Laubach, Frederic S. Mishkin, and Adam S. Posen in 2001. There's every reason to suspect that the neoliberal credo that Bernanke espouses in his book helped shoehorn him into the top-spot at the Central Bank. It certainly had nothing to do with his abyssal track record.
So, what's so bad about an explicit inflation target anyway? Haven't other countries used the policy effectively?
Yes, they have. But other countries (particularly in the EU) also have labor laws and a social safety net which tend to protect workers from the abuses of errant monetary policy. Not so in the US. If Bernanke executes his plan, high unemployment and slow growth will become a permanent feature of life in America. Here's an excerpt from an article by Nobel prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz mulling over the effects of inflation targeting in other countries:
"Today, inflation targeting is being put to the test — and it will almost certainly fail. Developing countries currently face higher rates of inflation, not because of poorer macro-management, but because oil and food prices are soaring, and these items represent a much larger share of the average household budget than in rich countries....Inflation in these countries is, for the most part, imported. Raising interest rates won’t have much effect on the international price of grains or fuel..." ("What's wrong with inflation targeting?", Joseph Stiglitz, Project Syndicate)
But Stiglitz is talking about "developing countries". Does that same rule apply to the US?
Yes, it does. If the Fed achieves its target rate, then Bernanke will raise short-term rates regardless of the effects on growth or employment. That's what inflation targeting is all about; it's a hat-tip to investors that the Fed will preserve their wealth at all costs, even if the broader economy has to be sacrificed. Here's a clip from an article by economist Dean Baker who draws the same conclusion as Stiglitz:
"Inflation targeting has led to an enormous economic and human disaster, likely costing the world more than $10tn in lost output and leaving tens of millions of people unemployed. If this experience is not enough to discredit a policy, it is difficult to imagine any possible set of events in the world that could lead the inflation targeters to change their minds....
....the central bankers and others directing policy place the interests of the financial sector at the center of their concerns." ("Guess which policy your central bank will pursue", Dean Baker, Guardian)
Get the picture? Inflation targeting is neoliberalism writ large, no different than "structural adjustment", "debt consolidation", "privatization of public assets" etc. It's another subsidy for speculators while ordinary working people get kicked to the curb.
Here's one last blurb from economist James Galbraith who's even more skeptical of inflation targeting than Stiglitz or Baker. This excerpt is from Galbraith's blistering critique of Bernanke's book titled "The Inflation Obsession: Flying in the Face of the Facts":
"....Inflation targeting in all cases coincided with high unemployment, and its main effect was to excuse central bankers from addressing this crisis.....("The Inflation Obsession: Flying in the Face of the Facts", James k. Galbraith, Foreign Affairs)
That's it in a nutshell. Bernanke wants to absolve himself of any responsibility to enact policies that will create "full employment". He'd rather shrug off the Fed's dual mandate ("price stability and full employment") and focus on inflation alone. That means that soaring unemployment and slow growth will be the norm for years to come.
There's a reason why Stiglitz, Baker and Galbraith all oppose inflation targeting. It's bad policy.
The New Republic Daily Report
06/27/11
How the Supreme Court's Conservative Justices Went to War With Themselves Jeffrey Rosen
In April 2000, a Vermont
musician named Diana Levine went to the hospital with a migraine. There, a nurse
incorrectly injected Phenergan, an anti-nausea drug, into her vein rather than
her muscle. This led to gangrene and, eventually, the amputation of much of her
right arm. Levine sued and won more than $6 million from a Vermont jury, which
concluded that Wyeth, the drug company, had failed to warn her properly about
the risks of the drug. Wyeth then countersued, arguing that the jury verdict was
preempted by the fact that the Federal Drug Administration had approved a change
in the drug’s labeling. According to Wyeth, this federal regulatory decision
should have trumped a state court ruling.By 2008, the case had found its way to the Supreme Court. Most observers expected the justices to side with Wyeth. Among them was Diana Levine herself. Before the oral argument, I attended a panel with Levine, where she displayed her amputated arm and sang a song she had written about her grief and frustration that reduced the audience to tears. When the Court’s decision came down, however, it was a double surprise—not just because Levine won, but because of how she won. As many people expected, the four liberal justices had sided with her. But she had also won over Anthony Kennedy as well as the Court’s most conservative justice, Clarence Thomas. Only John Roberts, Antonin Scalia, and Samuel Alito had voted against her.
Continue reading "'How the Supreme Court's Conservative Justices Went to War With Themselves"
The Surprising Story of How One Black Panther Ended Up in Prison for a Crime He Didn't Commit Kate Coleman
What Canada Can Learn From Brazil About Its Obligation to Protect the Planet Bill McKibben
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
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June 27, 2011
In-Depth Issues:
Jamaat e Islami of Pakistan and Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt Join Hands (Dawn-Pakistan)
The Muslim political party Jamaat e Islami of Pakistan and the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt on Wednesday decided to join hands to solve issues faced by Muslims all over the world and to promote the true image of Islam.
The leadership of the two parties made the announcement at the Muslim Brotherhood headquarters in Cairo on Wednesday. A JI delegation, led by the JI chief Syed Munawar Hasan, is currently on a four-day visit to Egypt at the invitation of Muslim Brotherhood chief Dr. Muhammad Badei.
Attacks on Syrian Protesters Leave 20 Dead - Alexandra Sandels (Los Angeles Times)
Syrian security officers opened fire on protesters Friday, leaving as many as 20 dead, as people poured into the streets across the nation in defiance of President Bashar Assad.
Large demonstrations were reported in the central cities of Homs and Hama, the suburbs of Damascus, the mainly Kurdish city of Qamishli in the north, and the eastern oil hub of Dair Alzour.
Delta Denies Jewish Discrimination Claims - (CNN)
Delta Air Lines on Friday denied online claims that it is discriminating against Jewish passengers through a multi-airline alliance that is set to include Saudi Arabian Airlines.
Delta said it does not operate in Saudi Arabia, nor does it sell Delta seats on flights operated by other carriers that serve that country.
Delta's agreement with the Saudi carrier allows passengers to book tickets on multiple airlines "similar to the standard interline agreements American Airlines, US Airways and Alaska Airlines have with Saudi Arabian Airlines," the airline said in a statement.
New Cracks Form in Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood - Maggie Michael (AP)
The new political openness in post-revolutionary Egypt is taking a toll on the Muslim Brotherhood.
Several factions - most recently several young members - have already broken away to form new parties to rival the Brotherhood's main Freedom and Justice Party.
The latest breakaway party is spearheaded by members of the Brotherhood's so-called "reformist" camp, which announced Sunday they were forming a separate bloc called al-Riyada, Arabic for "The Pioneers."
See also Egypt's New Political Alliance Could Boost the Islamists - Eric Trager (Washington Institute for Near East Policy)
June 21 saw the second meeting of the National Democratic Alliance for Egypt, with fourteen smaller parties agreeing to join the coalition's founders, the Muslim Brotherhood's newly formed Freedom and Justice Party and the liberal Wafd Party.
Anti-Western foreign policy views are uniting parties with wildly divergent views on domestic issues.
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- U.S. Warns Against New Gaza Flotilla
U.S. State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said in a statement Friday: "Groups that seek to break Israel's maritime blockade of Gaza are taking irresponsible and provocative actions that risk the safety of their passengers," adding that there were established ways to move humanitarian aid to Gaza. "We urge all those seeking to provide such assistance to the people of Gaza to use these mechanisms, and not to participate in actions like the planned flotilla."
"We underscore that delivering or attempting or conspiring to deliver material support or other resources to or for the benefit of a designated foreign terrorist organization, such as Hamas, could violate U.S. civil and criminal statutes and could lead to fines and incarceration." (Reuters)
See also Israel, Egypt Agree Flotilla Can Unload Cargo in El-Arish - Yaakov Katz and Herb Keinon
Israel and Egypt have come to an understanding that ships taking part in an upcoming flotilla to Gaza will be allowed to unload their cargo at the Egyptian port of El-Arish, from where it will be transferred on land to Gaza after being checked, Israel Radio reported on Monday. The Israeli government has declared that the flotilla, scheduled to arrive later this week, will not be allowed to enter Gaza by sea. (Jerusalem Post) - Building Boom in Gaza - Ethan Bronner
Two luxury hotels are opening in Gaza this month. Thousands of new cars are plying the roads. A second shopping mall will open next month. Hundreds of homes and two dozen schools are about to go up. As pro-Palestinian activists prepare to set sail aboard a flotilla to Gaza, the Palestinian coastal enclave is experiencing its first real period of economic growth since the siege they are protesting began in 2007. "The siege on goods is now 60 to 70% over," said Jamal El-Khoudary, chairman of the board of the Islamic University, who has led Gaza's Popular Committee Against the Siege.
Gaza has never been among the world's poorest places. There is near universal literacy, relatively low infant mortality, and health conditions remain better than in much of the developing world. Hundreds of BMWs, pickup trucks and other vehicles have arrived in recent months from Libya, while dozens of white Kia Sportage models are widely thought to have come from the same looted dealership in Benghazi. (New York Times) - Iran Woos U.S. Allies as Troops Withdraw - Jay Solomon
Iran is moving to cement ties with the leaders of three key American allies - Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq - highlighting Tehran's efforts to take a greater role in the region as the U.S. military pulls out troops. The Afghan and Pakistani presidents, visiting Tehran, discussed with Iranian President Ahmadinejad "many issues...that might come up after the NATO military force goes out of Afghanistan," Iranian Foreign Minister Salehi said Sunday. (Wall Street Journal)
- Report: Hizbullah Moving Arms from Syria to Lebanon, Fearing Assad's Fall - Barak Ravid and Amos Harel
In recent weeks Hizbullah has moved hundreds of missiles from storage sites in Syria to bases in eastern Lebanon, the French newspaper Le Figaro reported Saturday. Hizbullah moved the missiles over fears that a successor to the failing regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad could sever ties with the organization. A Western expert is quoted as saying efforts have been made to send as much weaponry as possible to Lebanon before the fall of the Assad regime. Intelligence agencies have monitored the movement of trucks from the Syrian border to Lebanon's Bekaa region containing long-range Iranian Zilzal, Fajr-3 and Fajr-4 missiles. (Ha'aretz) - Israel Isolates Imprisoned Senior Hamas Operatives - Elior Levy
In response to kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit's continued imprisonment, Israel has placed at least seven imprisoned senior Hamas operatives in solitary confinement, sources confirmed. Israel aims to prevent contact between the Hamas inmates who will be scattered in separate wings or different facilities. They will not be allowed to share prison cells or stay in adjacent cells. Frequency of family visits and telephone calls will be reduced. Prisoners will not be able to start studying for a higher degree, while those who have already began a program will be allowed to finish it. (Ynet News) - Turkey Wants UN to Tone Down Report on Gaza Flotilla Raid - Barak Ravid
The Turks are "very worried" about harsh criticism of Turkey in the UN Secretary-General's report on last year's flotilla to Gaza, according to a senior government official in Jerusalem. They want Israel to agree to a softened version as part of a package deal to end the crisis between the two countries over the May 2010 flotilla. A draft of the report was given to Israel and Turkey about six weeks ago. The committee determined that Israel's naval blockade of Gaza is in keeping with international law, and therefore its actions to stop the flotilla were legal. The report criticizes the Turkish government and highlights the relationship between it and IHH, the group that organized the flotilla. (Ha'aretz)
- A Foolish Plan from "Wise Men" on the Middle East - Elliott Abrams
Another Middle East peace plan was proposed on June 23 in the New York Review of Books by a set of Washington luminaries. It proposes that the U.S. give up on the "peace process" and impose conditions of our own, and threaten dire consequences should Israel balk. The proposals reveal that many of America's most experienced former senior officials now blame Israel alone for the freeze in Middle East peace negotiations. And they believe that Israel should be forced into compromises and sacrifices under enormous American pressure, even if the vast majority of Israelis oppose them and view them as dangerous.
As we all celebrate the demands for democracy in Arab lands, we can be thankful that American democracy remains strong. This fact ensures that neither the president nor Congress would ever accept the demands made here: to blame Israel alone for the failure to reach a peace agreement, threaten her, adopt positions that undermine her security, and abandon pledges made by American presidents of both parties. The writer, senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, was a deputy national security adviser in the George W. Bush administration. (Weekly Standard) - How Can Do-Gooders Possibly Think that Gaza Is the Primary Center of Injustice in the Middle East? - Kevin Myers
What is it about Israel that prompts such a widespread departure from common sense, reason and moral reality? As another insane flotilla prepares to butt across the Mediterranean bringing "aid" to the "beleaguered" people of Gaza, does it never occur to all the hysterical anti-Israeli activists in Ireland that this is like worrying about the steaks being burnt on the barbecue, as a forest fire sweeps towards your back garden?
According to Mathilde Redmatn, deputy director of the International Red Cross in Gaza, there is in fact no humanitarian crisis there at all. But by God, there is one in Syria, where possibly thousands have died in the past month. However, I notice that none of the Irish do-gooders are sending an aid-ship to Latakia.
Israel, just about the only country in the entire region where Arabs are not rising up against their rulers, is also the only country that the Irish chattering classes unite in condemning. (Irish Independent)
- Since the establishment of limited Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and Gaza in the mid-1990s, the U.S. government has committed over $4 billion in bilateral assistance to the Palestinians, who are among the world's largest per capita recipients of international foreign aid.
- From FY2008 to the present, annual U.S. bilateral assistance to the Palestinians has averaged over $600 million. Additionally, the U.S. is the largest single-state donor to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
- A May 2011 power-sharing agreement between Fatah and Hamas has raised concerns among some Members of Congress about continuing U.S. budgetary and security assistance to a PA government that could be subject to the approval of a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (Hamas) that claims to reserve the right to violently oppose Israel's existence.
- The Fatah-Hamas power-sharing or "unity" government will not be eligible for U.S. aid if Hamas is included in the government and does not change its stance towards Israel - possibly subject to some limited exceptions.
Susan Rice, the American ambassador to the UN, said there was "no greater threat" to U.S. support and funding of the UN than the prospect of Palestinian statehood being endorsed by member states. Rice said the Obama administration was devoting "extraordinary efforts and energy" to restarting Middle Eastern peace talks so that a vote in September could be avoided. (Telegraph-UK)
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INDUSTRY NEWS
Iran to Hold Military Missile Exercises
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) will kick-off an annual 10-day ground, naval and missile military exercise today in the Gulf region, the state news agency IRNA reported.
BAE Delivers Upgraded Warrior Vehicles to British Army
BAE Systems has developed and delivered 70 upgraded British Army Warrior infantry fighting vehicles in Afghanistan under a £30m upgrade contract awarded by the UK Ministry of Defence.
DARPA Selects SRI for Mind's Eye Programme
SRI International has been selected by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to design a Visual Intelligence Grounded in Learning (VIGIL) system for its Mind's Eye programme.
Harris to Deliver New Encryption Device to US Army
Harris will deliver programmable encryption devices and support services to Northrop Grumman for use in the US Army Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below-Blue Force Tracking system (FBCB2-BFT).
CORPORATE NEWSWhy Have Modular UPS Systems Become Popular?
Uninterruptible Power Supplies Ltd - A Kohler Company
Bergstrom Off-Highway Teams Up With Nationwide Structures to Keep US Troops in Middle East Comfortable
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HTG Explains: Photography with Film-Based Cameras
We’ve
become reliant on digital cameras since they are so easy to use. But
have you ever wondered how film-based photography works? Read on to
increase your photographic knowledge—or to develop an new appreciation
for your point and click camera.How to Clean Your Dirty Smartphone (Without Breaking Something)
We
have already shown you how to clean your keyboard without breaking
it, but did you know your smartphone can be just as dirty and covered
with bacteria? Here is how to properly clean your smartphone.How to Automatically Clean Your Linux PC with Cruftbuster
Do
you have folders filled with myriad of files that need a serious spring
cleaning ? If you do, we have Cruftbuster, an automated self-cleaning
tool for Linux, to sort out your messy folders.Week in Geek: LulzSec Hackers Calling it Quits
This
week we learned how to pin any file to the Windows 7 Taskbar, sync
iTunes to an Android phone, create custom cover pages in Microsoft Word
2010, how you use the Command Line on your computers, got to indulge in
some sweet Geek Deals, and more. |
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Industry News
A new world order has unfolded, with nerds ascendant.
Source: The New York Times
Son of One Laptop Per Child.
Source: ITWorld
The more you mistype, the longer it runs.
Source: DVICE
Maybe they've been the top level of this domain for too long.
Source: guardian.co.uk
VB6 is dead? Guess I messed that memo.
Source: Chui's Counterpoint
Developer News
A trivial approach to security.
Source: All that is wrong with the world...
JSON and the arg(o)!s.
Source: Mongolab
Look at all it can do...
Source: Peter Michaux
Killing the cash cow.
Source: Dave Winer
I'm workin' on a building, a .NET-based building.
Source: Elegant Code
Code Project Discussions - Have your say!
Experience counts... but how to use it?
Source: The Code Project
using AnOldJoke = new Laughs;
Source: The Code Project
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News stories
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June 27, 2011 |
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| Einmal Hüften schwingen, bitte: "Honey 2" Vom Tanzfilm "Honey", in dem R&B- und Hip-Hop-Rhytmen die Hauptrolle spielen, gibt es eine Fortsetzung. Gewinne Shirts zum Film. » mehr |
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Newsletter | 27.06.2011, 13:45 UTC | |
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Die Themen des Tages | |
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Berichte, Hintergründe, Meinungen | |
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Haftbefehl gegen Gaddafi |
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Ein halbes Leben in Nordkoreas Arbeitslagern | |
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| Kim
Hye-sook hat mehr als die Hälfte ihres Lebens in nordkoreanischen
Arbeitslagern verbracht. Ihre Familie wurde in Sippenhaft genommen, als
der Großvater flüchtete. Seltene Einblicke in den Lageralltag. [mehr] |
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Anschlag auf Bierlokal in Nigeria | |
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muslimisch geprägten Norden Nigerias haben mutmaßliche Mitglieder einer
radikalislamischen Sekte einen Anschlag verübt - berichtet wird von
vielen Toten. Das Ziel war ein beliebter Biergarten. [mehr] |
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Prügel statt Lohn im Diplomatenhaushalt | |
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Attaché der saudischen Botschaft in Berlin soll die wirtschaftliche
Abhängigkeit seiner Haushaltshilfe in krimineller Weise ausgenutzt
haben. Strafverfolgung muss er dennoch nicht fürchten. [mehr] |
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FIFA-Frauenfußball-WM 2011 in Deutschland | |
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| Spielberichte,
Analysen, Porträts und Hintergrundinformationen: Die aktuelle
Berichterstattung von DW-WORLD.DE zur Frauenfußball-Weltmeisterschaft. [mehr] |
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Der Nahe Osten zwischen Freiheit und Diktatur | |
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Wochen ist zwischen Marokko und dem Jemen nichts mehr wie es war. Das
Volk begehrt auf. Diktatoren werden gestürzt oder klammern sich
verzweifelt an die Macht. Wir haben die Ereignisse zusammengefasst. [mehr] |
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Deutschland einig Euroskeptikerland | |
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Stimmung ist endgültig gekippt: Die Deutschen sorgen sich um den Euro
und wollen den Griechen kein Geld mehr leihen. Die Politik der letzten
Tage ist da nicht ohne Schuld. [mehr] |
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Die Börse kennt nur ein Topthema | |
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| Investoren
müssen sich weiterhin für Athen interessieren, denn ein wichtiger
Termin steht bevor. Was die Börsenwoche sonst noch bringt, lesen Sie bei
unserem Partner boerse.ARD.de [mehr] |
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Verspottet, verachtet und bemitleidet | |
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| Zu
jeder Gesellschaft gehören Arme. Wie aber mit ihnen umgegangen wurde,
das war einem ständigen Wandel unterworfen. Auch heute ist das Thema
Armut noch brandaktuell. Das zeigen zwei Ausstellungen in Trier. [mehr] |
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Talentschuppen fürs Theater | |
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| Das
Theaternachwuchs-Festival "Kaltstart" holt talentierten Nachwuchs nach
Hamburg. Für junge Regisseure, Autoren, Dramaturgen und Schauspieler
heißt das: Kontakte knüpfen und den Grundstein für die Karriere legen. [mehr] |
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Gesucht: Frauenfußball-Bilder | |
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| Die
Frauenfußball-Weltmeisterschaft in Deutschland ist in vollem Gange. Wir
suchen originelle, ungewöhnliche oder lustige Bilder von Fußball
spielenden Frauen in aller Welt. [mehr] |
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Stimmungsvoller Auftakt zur Frauen-WM | |
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| Sommermärchen
reloaded? Vor dem Start der Fußball-WM der Frauen wurde diese
werbewirksame Zielsetzung des DFB von vielen eher belächelt. Doch alle
Zweifler haben sich getäuscht: Die Frauen begeistern die Massen. [mehr] |
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Global Media Forum 2011 | |
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| "Menschenrechte
und Globalisierung - Herausforderungen für die Medien" ist das Thema
des diesjährigen Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum. Vom 20. bis zum 22.
Juni werden in Bonn erneut mehr als 1300 Teilnehmer erwartet. [mehr] | |
Forex Market Updates & Commentary
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- The Week Ahead from FXDD
- Personal Income & Spending Lower, PCE Slightly Higher
- NY Morning Forex Commentary for June 27th
- US Personal Income, Spending & Core PCE Due at 8:30AM
- ECB’s Stark on the wires…
- Germany’s Seibert says Germany is working on all fronts to bolster the euro.
- According to EU sources, French plan to roll over Greek debt is being discussed by EU officials with IIF.
- Sarkozy says cutting spending alone won’t solve Greece’s problems.
- EUR/$ approaching 1.4200 handle.
- German Deputy Finance Minister Asmussen on the wires….
- The Greek finance ministry is considering calling an amnesty for people with unpaid back taxes from 2010 to recouop part of the lost revenue.
- Moody’s says continued deposit outflows are credit negative for Greek banks.
- 6-27 Calender
- Kiwi Trade Balance – Worse
Messages In This Digest (14 Messages)
- 1.
- Four NATO Sldiers Killed In Afghan Attacks From: Rick Rozoff
- 2.
- 100 Days Of War: 12,607 NATO Air Missions, 4,478 Strike Sorties In L From: Rick Rozoff
- 3.
- Iraq: Deadliest Month For U.S. Soldiers In Over Two Years From: Rick Rozoff
- 4.
- Azerbaijan: President Vows Military Build-Up For New Caucasus War From: Rick Rozoff
- 5.
- Azerbaijani Army One Of The Strongest "In Europe": MP From: Rick Rozoff
- 6.
- Afghanistan: Two Spanish Soldiers Killed, Three Wounded From: Rick Rozoff
- 7.
- South African President Again Blasts NATO's War In Libya From: Rick Rozoff
- 8.
- NATO's Air War In Libya: 12,745 Sorties, 4,804 Strike Missions From: Rick Rozoff
- 9.
- Video/Text: Global Regime Change: Cash And Cyberware On U.S. Offensi From: Rick Rozoff
- 10.
- Tbilisi: NATO Representative Promotes Georgia's Integration From: Rick Rozoff
- 11.
- Four U.S. Missiles Kill At Least Eight In Pakistan From: Rick Rozoff
- 12.
- Pakistan Tells Britain To Withdraw Military Trainers From: Rick Rozoff
- 13.
- Libyan War Exceeds 100 Days: NATO Bombs Gaddafi Residence From: Rick Rozoff
- 14.
- U.S. Spy Plane Crashes, Falls Into Taliban Hands From: Rick Rozoff
PUNTO Y APARTE... Promesa incumplida A escasos 17 meses de que concluya la administración del presidente Felipe Calderón, la oferta oficial de hacer de este periodo gubernamental el sexenio de la infraestructura quedó para mejor ocasión. Los principales proyectos en la materia, que son el puerto de Punta Colonet en Baja California, el aeropuerto de la Riviera Maya e incluso la ampliación de la terminal aérea de la ciudad de México, están de nueva cuenta en estudio y sin visos de solución. Peor aún, la nueva refinería de Tula, publicitada como la obra de infraestructura más importante del gobierno federal, ni siquiera iniciará su construcción antes de diciembre de 2012. Con todos estos antecedentes, el sexenio de la infraestructura quedará como una oferta más de campaña presidencial y las grandes obras, como muchas propuestas más, seguirán pendientes por décadas, independientemente del partido en el poder.
ENTREVISTA 
AL SALIÓ BIEN LIBRADA América Latina no sólo ha logrado sortear de forma positiva la crisis internacional, sino que sus sistemas bancarios locales se han fortalecido; mientras los bancos domésticos han ganado reputación y clientes sobre las firmas internacionales.: Silvan Wyss. (J. Leyva)
REPORTAJE 
APROVECHAMIENTO DE ENERGÍA Energías sustentables soportarán el crecimiento económico sin sacrificar la mejora de la calidad de vida, coincidieron representantes de Exxon Mobile, Walmart, BASF y Dow Química. (IS)
ANÁLISIS 
ADVERTENCIA DE OCDE Dijo que la trayectoria de las finanzas públicas en muchos países es insostenible; México seguirá avanzando con reformas al sector público, lo que implica "hacer más con menos": SHCP. (MO)
PERFIL 
HABLA CON EL TALIBÁN Pakistán advirtió al representante especial de EU para Islamabad y Kabul, Frank Ruggiero, que no debe quedar al margen de las negociaciones de paz en Afganistán. (GM)
Atentos a Grecia El presidente francés Nicolas Sarkozy informó que los bancos de su país, tenedores de deuda griega, están dispuestos a participar en un segundo plan de ayuda internacional para Atenas, sobre una "base voluntaria". Los mercados con la mira en Europa Semana crucial para definir el rumbo de la crisis de deuda en Europa. El Parlamento de Grecia deberá someter a votación un paquete de ajuste económico, el cual es un requisito para liberar un tramo de recursos por 12 mil millones de euros. La Morralla 
Abendausgabe KURIER.at Newsletter vom 27.06.2011
Nachrichten
Senioren-Rüffel für die Regierung
Blecha und Khol wollen, dass das Pensionsantrittsalter schneller steigt als geplant. Sie rüffeln die Regierung, die "viel zu wenig" tue. » mehr
Wien 25.3° C 
Graz 25.0° C Salzburg 28.2° C 
» mehr Wetter
WERBUNG
Ihr Persönlichkeitshoroskop
Ihr individuelles Persönlichkeitshoroskop erstellt von KURIER.at-Astrologin Regina Binder » mehr
Weitere Nachrichten
Nachrichten
Elsners Kampf mit einem Häfnarzt
Der kranke Häftling nennt Internisten den "Mengele der Josefstadt", seit ihm
der sagte: "Wir sind kein Wunschkonzert."
» mehr
Nachrichten
"Töchterle betreibt Themenverfehlung"
Tadel und Lob gibt es für den Neo-Minister der ÖVP, der nicht jeden an die
Universität schicken will.
» mehr
Wien
Harte Zeiten für Schwarzfahrer
Wiener Linien: Die Zahl der Schwarzfahrer geht zurück - was auch an den
verstärkten Kontrollen liegt. Ein Lokalaugenschein
» mehr
Nachrichten
Schützenhofer: "Raus aus der Enge"
Die steirische VP stellt es ihren Anhängern frei, das Bildungsvolksbegehren
von SPÖ-Mann Androsch zu unterschreiben.
» mehr
» Ortstafeln: Ton ist wieder rauer geworden
» Behörde macht Österreicher zu Serben
» Wien sucht einen Chef-Radler
» 27-Jährige von Ehemann erstochen
» Rebellen vor den Toren Tripolis
» D: Lebenslang für Teenager-Morde
Zitate der Woche
Kurioses: Hässlichster Hund der Welt gekürt
Neuseeland: Verirrter Pinguin operiert
kultur
Helge Schneiders Kommissar hat Karies
Die Tournee musste er abbrechen. Aber sein sechster Krimi ist erschienen.
Naja, nicht wirklich Krimi. Eigentlich - nichts.
» mehr
» Samuel Koch: "Ich kämpfe mich da durch"
» "New York Times" hat Chefredakteurin
» "Hand aufs Herz" wird eingestellt
wirtschaft
EU-Plan: Ein Drittel weniger Geld für Bauern
Österreichs Landwirten drohen massive Kürzungen der EU-Förderungen durch
die Agrarreform. Berg- und Biobauern würde es am härtesten treffen.
» mehr
» Die sündteure Franken-Katastrophe
» Lauter Ruf nach Euro-Finanzminister
» Teures Obst schlägt Darbo auf Magen
27 juin 2011
Les titres de Une : L'édition du soir
Découvrez le magazine digital Laurent Joffrin répond aux accusations de Marine Le Pen
La présidente du Front National veut expliquer la vigueur avec laquelle je me suis exprimé sur France 2 par des liens familiaux anciens que je voudrais expier. Trois réponses. CHALEUR. C'est un pic, c'est un cap, ce n'est pas une canicule
Des records de températures pour un mois de juin ont déjà été battus, avec 37° à Bourges. Par Louis Morice 
Primaire PS : coup d'envoi officiel et faux départs
Respectueuse du calendrier, la première secrétaire donnera mardi le coup d'envoi officiel de la primaire. Mais beaucoup ne l'ont pas attendue. Par Julie Rasplus LIBYE. Mandat d'arrêt de la CPI contre Kadhafi
Le procureur Luis Moreno-Ocampo accuse le dictateur libyen de crimes contre l'humanité commis depuis le 15 février. BAC S. Le fils d'un imprimeur interpellé dans le Val d'Oise
Le jeune homme est présumé avoir "présenté l'épreuve du bac" à l'un des trois jeunes déjà mis en examen dans ce dossier "qui l'a prise en photo". Israël prêt à stopper une nouvelle flottille humanitaire
Des militants de vingt-deux pays ont prévu de mettre le cap sur Gaza cette semaine à bord d'une dizaine de bateaux. En route pour Gaza
J'ai pris part à la deuxième flottille de la liberté pour Gaza. Par Julien Bayou, conseiller régional Europe Ecologie-Les Verts. E. COLI. Les graines mises en cause viennent d'Italie
Selon l'eau utilisée pour la germination, le mode de culture peut aussi être en cause. Facebook aurait recruté le hacker GeoHot
Le pirate de l'iPhone et de la Playstation aurait été débauché par le réseau social pour une tâche encore inconnue. GRAND EMPRUNT. Un milliard consacré à l'avenir du nucléaire
Le chef de l'Etat a dressé un premier bilan de l'emprunt de 35 milliards d'euros lancé en 2009. Michelle Bachmann lance sa campagne pour la primaire républicaine
La représentante du Minessota part favorite avec Mitt Romney dans l'Iowa. Luc Ferry, victime d'un "tsunami médiatique délirant"
Le philosophe sèche ses cours pour se consacrer au Conseil d'Analyse de la Société. Un club mondain dont l'utilité demeure incertaine. Par S.Arteta, D.Bui et S.des Déserts. Faux témoignage sur TF1 : Pernaut fait son mea culpa
Le présentateur s'est excusé après la diffusion de l'intervention d'une attachée de presse prétendant être mère de famille. Les hackers Lulz Security se séparent... mais ne s'arrêtent pas
Alors que les raisons "officielles" restent floues, certains évoquent d'une menace sur la sécurité des pirates, d'autres de nouvelles actions clandestines. MEDIATOR. Dukan a prescrit le médicament comme coupe-faim
RTL s'est procuré une ordonnance du célèbre nutritionniste français qui affirme qu'il ne connaissait pas les dangers du médicament. Des travaux d'intérêt général pour les élèves indisciplinés
Cette nouvelle mesure sera intégrée aux autres sanctions des collèges et lycées à partir de septembre prochain. Quatre anciens chefs khmers rouges devant la justice
Leur procès, qui s'est ouvert ce lundi à Phnom Penh, devrait durer des années. GRECE. "Les peuples ne se rendent jamais"
Avant le nouveau plan d'austérité, des militants ont déployé une banderole géante sur l'Acropole appelant à "organiser la contre-attaque". NATATION. Manaudou se (re)jette à l'eau
La championne olympique 2004 et triple championne du monde reprend sa carrière de nageuse. Objectif : les JO de Londres en 2012. WIMBLEDON. Les voyants français sont au vert
Tsonga, Gasquet, Llodra et Bartoli disputent les huitièmes de finale ce lundi face à Ferrer, Murray, Djokovic et Serena Williams. WEB-REPORTAGE. Découvrez cette semaine "Le Business de la piraterie"
Le Nouvel Observateur diffusera à partir de mercredi une enquête sur l'économie de la piraterie en Somalie. Une arme à feu trouvée dans un bac à sable parisien
L'arme, qui était chargée, a été déterrée par des enfants.Borloo : "la force anti-21 avril, c'est nous"
Le président du Parti Radical a réuni, dimanche midi, les membres de la nouvelle confédération des centres qui servira de socle à sa candidature. MAROC. Partisans et opposants au référendum dans la rue
Des milliers de marocains soumis au projet de révision constitutionnelle, ont manifesté pacifiquement dans les grandes villes du pays. Philippe Poutou candidat du NPA pour 2012
Il a été désigné avec 53% des voix pour prendre la suite d'Olivier Besancenot. Le dissident chinois Hu Jia a été libéré
Il avait été condamné en 2008 pour tentative de subversion. Sa libération intervient quelques jours après celle de Ai Weiwei. Hugo Chavez serait dans un état critique
Caracas a démenti l'information diffusée par un journal américain, affirmant que le "commandant est en train de se remettre" de son opération. Caroline Fourest : mais pourquoi tant de haine ?
L'essayiste et journaliste est tour à tour taxée de cathophobe, d'islamophobe, d'antisémite, quand on l'accuse pas de faire le jeu d'Israël... Par Yves Delahaie, militant au MoDem. Affaire DSK : Mamadou Diallo raconte le "calvaire" de sa soeur
"Sa vie est détruite. Elle est finie. Il n'y a plus rien à faire pour elle", déclare le frère de la victime présumée. Côte d'Ivoire : 15 proches de Laurent Gbagbo inculpés
Ils ont été placés sous mandat de dépôt pour atteinte à l'autorité de l'Etat, constitution de bandes armées et crimes économiques. New York célèbre le mariage homosexuel
Plusieurs milliers de personnes ont fêté la promulgation du mariage homosexuel dans l'Etat de New York, lors de la "Gay Pride". Vague de suicides au ministère des Finances
Trois agents ont mis fin à leurs jours ces deux dernières semaines, et un représentant syndical a tenté de se suicider vendredi lors d'une réunion. Un policier blessé dans le hold-up du casino d'Aix-en-Provence
Les cinq membres du commando ont pris la fuite et sont activement recherchés par les forces de l'ordre. Le jeu vidéo de la semaine : Child of Eden
Bienvenue dans le monde poétique d'Eden pour un incroyable voyage graphique et sonore à la recherche de vos sens. Incontournable. FLASHBACK. "Omar m’a tuer"
A l'occasion du film de Roschdy Zem, retour en vidéos sur l'affaire Omar Raddad. En partenariat avec l'Ina. VIDEOS 
2012 : Ségolène Royal, candidate à la primaire socialiste
Foot : des violences suite à la défaite de River Plate
Une attaque d'abeilles sur Wimbeldon
Pourquoi les "solutions miracles" de Marine Le Pen ne marchent pas
La vidéo qui explique le "baiser" VancouverBlogs 
Grèce : Laissez souffler le peuple grec !
Par Jean-Marcel Bouguereau
En finir avec le bac ?
Par Educobs
Prix immo: to bulle or not to bulle ?
Par Dominique Thiébaut
Apple est-il un danger pour liberté d'expression?
Par Jérôme HourdeauxVoir tous les blogs
Monday, Jun 27 '11, Sivan 25, 5771
Today`s Email Stories:
Tamar Fogel Visits Pollard 
Hamas: 'No New Deal' on Shalit Rabbi Dov Lior Arrested NY: Same Sex ‘Marriage’ OK ‘Peace Process’ Road to War? Fayyad: Freedom or Right to Vote Hizbullah Named in Hariri Hit More Website News: PFLP Vows More Kidnappings Iranian War Games For Peace! Jew Beaten by Jerusalem Arabs Arrests Made in Outpost Raid 
Israel-Hizbullah Tech Duel 
MP3 Radio Website News Briefs: 
Talk: Media TerroristsUsing a Strong Arm
Music: mixed selection
Israeli Selection
1. Netanyahu Orders Navy to Interdict Flotilla
by Gavriel Queenann
Prime Minister Binyamin ordered Israel's defense establishment Monday to interdict the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla 2, Voice of Israel radio reported.
Netanahyu gave the order during a meeting of his Security Cabinet dedicated to preparations Israel was taking in advance of the new flotilla expected to set sail for Gaza this week. The Cabinet voted in favor of a Navy plan to prevent the upcoming flotilla from arriving in Gaza and granted the IDF authority to prevent the ships' arrival by any means necessary.
Earlier Monday, Israel and Egypt agreed to the arrangement whereby ships taking part in the flotilla could opt to unload cargo at El-Arish. Ships that instead try to force their way to Gaza, however, will be boarded, searched, and have their passengers arrested.
Israel's Navy has been gearing up to stop the flotilla, which says it plans to run the blockade of the Gaza Strip.
“We expect the flotilla to set sail later in the week,” IDF sources said. “We are preparing for various scenarios, from no violence to extreme violence.”
The Navy says it plans to stop the flotilla far from Gaza, after issuing a warning that the territory is under a sea blockade. “If the ships continue sailing after being warned, then we will have the right to stop them even if they did not yet enter Gaza’s territorial waters,” a navy official explained.
The IDF released a video statement explaining its reasons for insisting all ships headed to Gaza be searched.
Predictions are that violence will be minimal after Turkey’s IHH organization – behind the infamous Mavi Marmara last year – withdrew from the initiative, but a Jordanian vessel carrying members of assorted Islamist groups has opted to stand in as the Arab world's representative in this year's flotilla.
During the 2010 Gaza flotilla self-described peace activists aboard the Mavi Marmara attempted to lynch members of Israel's Shayatet-13, or naval commando, who boarded the ship in accordance with international maritme law. Other members of the unit were forced to open fire to rescue their imperilled comrades killing 9.
According to organizers, a number of the vessels – including The Audacity of Hope, which will fly the U.S. flag – are to set sail from Greece on Monday or Tuesday to rendezvous in the Mediterranean Sea with vessels from France and Ireland.
On Sunday, however, Greek officials blocked some of the ships from setting sail to Gaza. Orrganizers said that they had retained lawyers to will fight the stop-order with the aim of allowing the vessels to leave harbor on schedule.
Vessels from Italy, Spain and Canada are also participating in the flotilla.
Comment on this story
2. Tamar Fogel, Orphaned Terror Victim, Visits Pollard in Jail
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Tamar Fogel, 12-year-old survivor of the Fogel family massacre, last week visited Jonathan Pollard during the traditional seven day mourning period (shiva) mandated by halakha (Jewish law) for the loss of a parent, sibling or offspring. During shiva, mourners sit on low stools or the floor, wear rent garments and are consoled by visitors who also say special words of comfort as they leave.
Pollard is mourning the loss of his father while in jail after American authorities refused humanitarian pleas that he be allowed to attend the funeral.
Pollard, serving a life term for an offense that usually carries a punishment of 2-4 years in prison, is the son of the late Prof. Morris Pollard, who died at the age of 95. The Obama administration also turned down pleas that Pollard be allowed to visit his father before he died. The kaddish prayer, said at each prayer service for 11 months after the death of a parent, requires a quorum of ten Jewish men (a minyan) and therefore Rabbi Yona Metzger, Chief Ashkenazi rabbi of Israel, has taken it upon himself to recite the prayer for Pollard.
However, prison authorities allowed Tamar Fogel to visit him in his cell. She and two younger brothers escaped the gory fate that met her parents, two other brothers and a baby sister after two Palestinian Authority teenage terrorists savagely knifed them to death in their home in Samaria earlier this year.
After the shocking attack, Pollard sent condolences to Tamar and her brothers by sending them teddy bears.
Tamar’s grandfather, Rabbi Yehuda Ben Yishai, accompanied her to the North Carolina prison where Pollard is languishing while his health is deteriorating.
Rabbi Ben Yishai said that Pollard, despite the loss of his father, asked about the surviving Fogel children.
Tamar’s visit was rare because prison authorizes generally have not allowed visitors under the age of 18.
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3. Hamas Accuses Israel of 'Lies' on Accepting Shalit Deal
by Chana Ya'ar
The Hamas terrorist rulers of Gaza have accused Israel of “lying” and say there is “nothing new” in a deal to free kidnapped IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit.
Gaza-based Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri also said Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is “fully responsible” for the stalemate in negotiations for Shalit's freedom.
Yesterday (Saturday, June 25) was the fifth anniversary of the abduction of the young soldier while he was serving near the Kerem Shalom crossing with Gaza. He was kidnapped by terrorists from Hamas, the Popular Resistance Committees and the Al Qaeda-linked Army of Islam group, all of whom are based in Gaza. His condition and whereabouts remain unknown, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) -- which has been denied visits in violation of international law -- has now begun to demand that Hamas prove the soldier is still alive.
“We know nothing of what Netanyahu is talking about,” Abu Zuhri said in a statement. “There is nothing new in the prisoner exchange deal, and Netanyahu is practicing lies.”
Netanyahu announced earlier today (Sunday, June 26) that Israel had accepted a deal proposed by the German mediator for Shalit's release, even though it was “harsh” and “not simple for the State of Israel.”
The prime minister did not reveal the details of the proposal.
Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Az-Zahar told journalists following Netanyahu's announcement that negotiations would not be resumed “until the captors' demands are met.” However, he too did not specifically detail what those were.
In the past, the terrorist group has demanded the release of up to 1,450 Palestinian Authority Arab prisoners in exchange for Shalit's freedom, including 450 terrorists with “blood on their hands” – meaning those who have been directly involved in the murder of Israelis.
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4. Rabbi Dov Lior Arrested
by Gavriel Queenann
Rabbi Dov Lior, Chief Rabbi of Hevron and Kiryat Arba, was arrested Monday for questioning by the Israel Police. The basis for the arrest remains unclear at this time.
His wife, Esther Lior, told Israel National News the police arrested him while driving on the Gush Etzion tunnel road while driving to Migron to meet with other rabbis to discuss the planned destruction of three buildings there.
"It may be they listened to his phone calls prior to the meeting at Migron and planned an ambush in front of him," said Rebbetzin Lior.
MK Uri Ariel (National Union) strongly condemned the arrest, saying, "Pursuing Rabbis for expressing halachic opinions is not among the functions of police and prosecutors." MK Michael Ben Ari (National Union) responded to the arrest saying, "Fire the Minister of Internal Security. Police treat Arab leaders with kid gloves, but swoop down likebirds of prey on the Jews. "
MK Yaakov Katz (National Union) said he was in shock when he heard about the arrest, "I call on all the rosh yeshivas to condemn and protest this disgrace of honor of the Torah, and to call for their students to walk out of the study hall at 16:00 and descend on the Russian Compound to a raise the hue and cry over this act of bitter contempt for the Torah."
Earlier this year a warrant was issued for Rabbis Dov Lior and Yaakov Yoseph, the son of Sephardic luminary Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, following their refusal to report to the police for questioning over the endorsement they gave to a book by Rabbi Yizhak Shapira entitled Torat Hamelech, the Law of Kings, which discusses the halakhot of waging war and taking non-Jewish lives in battle
At the time Rabbi Lior explained he believed he was not obligated to appear before the police despite the normative practice that one follow the law of the land because it was Torah itself being put on trial.
At the time, 70 rabbis and other religious leaders signed a petition against the warrant issued for Rabbi Lior, which was given to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Justice Minister Yaacov Neeman, protesting the persecution of a Torah scholar by police.
"This is a disgrace to the Torah and its disciples," the statement read. "Attempting to deny free expression to our rabbis is unacceptable. Such severe, anti-democratic measures have never been taken against intellectuals from the left no matter how extreme their manifestations of hate for the state and its citizens."
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5. New York Says ‘I Do’ to Same Sex ‘Marriage’
by Gil Ronen
New York became the sixth and largest state in the United States Friday to legalize same-sex “marriage.” The marriage of homosexuals was legalized by the New York State Legislature and Governor Andrew Cuomo.
While the New York State Assembly has passed same-sex marriage legislation in 2007, 2009, and 2011, the New York Senate rejected the bill. Negotiations between Republican members of the Senate and Governor Cuomo ensued, and a same-sex marriage bill known as the Marriage Equality Act passed the State Senate by a vote of 33-29 on Friday.
Counter-protesters at Jerusalem 'gay pride' parade / (Israel news photo: Flash 90)
Four Republicans supported the bill in the 33-29 vote and enabled it to pass, and Cuomo signed the measure the same night.
“We made a powerful statement,” Cuomo said. “This state is at its finest when it is a beacon of social justice.”
Same-sex "marriages" can theoretically begin in New York by July 24. However, legal challenges are expected to postpone this.
New York becomes the sixth state where same-gender couples can “wed,” and the third state, after Vermont and New Hampshire, to legalize marriage through legislation without being forced to do so by a court.
Orthodox Jewish groups had fought the law, laying out for members of the New York State Assembly and Senate the moral case against redefining marriage; they forwarded a statement signed by Agudath Israel, Central Rabbinical Congress of the U.S.A. and Canada, National Council of Young Israel, Rabbinical Alliance of America, Rabbinical Council of America, Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America expressing the unanimous conviction of Orthodoxy in support of traditional marriage; and circulated a comprehensive analysis, by six law academics, of how a redefinition of marriage without adequate safeguards, would conflict with religious liberties.
The leading elected opponent to the measure, Democratic Sen. Ruben Diaz, said in the Senate debate that “G-d, not Albany, settled the issue of marriage a long time ago.” Diaz, a Bronx minister, was not allowed to make a full-length speech. “I’m sorry you are trying to take away my right to speak,” he protested. “Why are you ashamed of what I have to say?”
The decision was denounced in an official statement by Agudath Israel of America as a “capitulation to a lamentable contemporary Zeitgeist.”
The Catholic Bishops of New York said the law alters “radically and forever humanity’s historic understanding of marriage.”
The bill came for a vote after an agreement was reached on more protection for religious groups that oppose same-sex marriage. These groups still fear discrimination lawsuits under the new law, because of the lacunae in the agreement.
“State legislators should not decide society-shaping issues,” said the Rev. Jason McGuire of New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms. He said his organization would work to defeat lawmakers who voted for the measure.
Agudath Israel’s executive vice-president, Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, warned that the legislation not only decrees “an ‘Orwellian’ redefinition of marriage” in the Empire State but endangers the religious rights of Orthodox Jews and other traditionalists.
Although the legislation includes certain limited protections for religious organizations and educational institutions, the Agudath Israel leader said that “unfortunately, in the realm of the practical, granting religious organizations permission to act in accordance with the tenets of their faiths – who would have ever thought that such ‘concession’ would ever be necessary in a free country? – is insufficient to protect New Yorkers’ religious rights.
“For one thing, while the law permits religious groups to not recognize same-sex marriages with regard to their employment policies and employees’ benefits, it does nothing to protect such groups from being penalized for their position, for instance being denied government funding for their social service projects.
This is especially surprising, considering that the law does extend such protections with respect to a religious organization’s refusal to make its facilities or services available for a same-sex marriage ceremony. Why wasn’t the same protection against penalty also made available with respect to a religious organization’s employment policies?
“What is more, the law offers no protection whatsoever to religious individuals. If a wedding-hall owner or baker considers a same-sex ceremony to violate his or her sincere religious convictions and opts to not provide services to a same-sex couple, that will, outrageously, constitute a violation of state law.”
Asks Rabbi Zwiebel: “Since when are individuals less entitled to religious liberty protection than organizations and institutions?”
Religious rights ramifications aside, Rabbi Zwiebel averred that “the passage of this law tragically illustrates how flimsy the notion of ‘morality’ is in a secular society.
“What was once universally acknowledged as a deviant lifestyle is now granted the name marriage – just as what was once considered murder is today simply a woman’s constitutionally protected ‘right’ to ‘reproductive freedom.’ When moral standards are disconnected from the eternal truths of Sinai, they have no permanence or value.
"Let us use this shocking development to remind at least ourselves, as believing Jews, that right and wrong are determined not by partisan politicians but by humankind’s Creator.”
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6. Is the ‘Peace Process’ the Road to War?
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Last week, President Shimon Peres warned that written peace agreement on Jerusalem will cause a “world war.” Now, leading Kadima Knesset Member and former IDF Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz says conflict is the fate of a United Nations declaration recognizing the Palestinian Authority as a country.
In a speech at the Bedouin city of Hura in the northern Negev President Peres said that there is a de facto peace in Jerusalem, where “the entire prayers rise up together, and the government doesn’t intervene. People are living and working peacefully… but if they try to put it into writing, a world war will break out.”
The prospect of war being an inevitable result of diplomatic moves was underscored by Mofaz, who said that a United Nations declaration of the Palestinian Authority as an independent country based on its own unilateral definition of its borders also would cause a conflict.
"The possibility of a unilateral declaration – it could bring Palestinians out on to the streets for protests and, G-d forbid, it could lead to a conflict," he told the French news agency AFP Monday.
"Given the great changes in the region, it is very difficult to predict what will happen. In this situation, an Israeli-Palestinian conflict could lead to a harsh reality."
He is scheduled to lead a delegation of five Knesset committee members on a three-day visit to France and Germany and said that he will tell French officials “very clearly we are against the unilateral process at the U.N., and against support for this unilateral process.”
France has said, without commitment, it might vote in favor of a United Nations resolution on behalf of the Palestinian Authority if Israel and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas do not resume talks by September, a prospect that is all but hopeless.
Mofaz’s own diplomatic solution to the Arab-Israel maze is to immediately recognize the Palestinian Authority as a state with temporary borders, an idea that already has been put in writing in the Roadmap Agreement in the Bush administration and later rejected by Abbas.
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7. Fayyad to Israel: Give Us Freedom or Right to Vote
by Elad Benari
Salam Fayyad, the Palestinian Authority’s Prime Minister, publicly said on Friday that Israel should either give PA Arabs freedom or the right to vote, perhaps hinting that Israel should make PA Arabs full Israeli citizens.
According to a report in the PA-based Ma’an news agency, Fayyad made the comments during the weekly rally in the village of Bili'in, where PA Arabs and Israeli and international leftists have rioted nearly every Friday for years over the separation/security barrier which the IDF had set up in the area.
Ma’an reported that in his comments, Fayyad demanded either freedom or civil rights for PA Arabs and said Israel was no longer able to defend its “illegal occupation of Palestinian land,” adding the so-called occupation had become an “ethical burden.”
Fayyad also praised the “non-violent resistance movement,” saying: “The results of popular resistance may be slow, but they are guaranteed and the whole world is with us.”
Both Fayyad and PA President Chairman Mahmoud Abbas have made contradictory statements in the past over a third violent intifada, sometimes saying they oppose it and sometimes encouraging it.
Fayyad’s comments came as Israel began dismantling the Bili'in-area security/separation fence. The dismantling comes four years after the Supreme Court ordered the government to reroute the barrier and one year after an initial rerouting of the barrier.
Once dismantled, the IDF will rebuild the anti-terrorism barrier at a cost of some NIS 26 million, changing the territory belonging to the PA Arabs in the area.
Fayyad said in his comments that changing the route of the fence was the start of “the decline of the occupation which would eventually collapse.”
Meanwhile on Sunday, Palestinian Authority leadership officially decided that it will be turning to the UN General Assembly in September in order to achieve recognition of a Palestinian state within the 1949 armistice lines.
The decision was made during a meeting of PA leadership convened by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in his office in Ramallah.
Following the meeting, the PA leadership called in a statement on all countries to support its move, saying that it “encourages the efforts to resume negotiations” for peace with Israel.
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8. Hizbullah Named in Hariri Hit
by Gavriel Queenann
Tension mounts in Lebanon as reports emerge the Special Tribunal for Lebanon will indict five Hizbullah members for the 14 February 2005 assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in the coming days.
Lebanese judicial authorities will receive a copy of the STL indictment either Monday or Tuesday, a Western source in Paris told the pan-Arab Al-Hayat on Monday.
Meanwhile, London-based Asharq al-Awsat, citing well-informed sources, said five Hizbullah members will be named in the indictment.
Al-Aswat said sources told them the indictment would be submitted to the Lebanese government in the coming two days, but that the inductees names would be kept confidential for a short period during their initial questioning.
Al-Hayat said the confirmation by Western source coincides with an unannounced journey to The Hague by Lebanese judges who are part of the special tribunal’s trial chamber. The remaining judges, both staff and reserve, left Beirut Sunday for the STL headquarters in The Hague, al-Hayat said.
Lebanese officials say the move is a precautionary measure to provide personal protection to the judges ahead of the indictment's release. The sources intimated none of Lebanon’s top government leaders had any official information as to when the indictment would be issued.
The Hariri tribunal followed a tortuous path since its formation shortly after the assassination. In its initial period, it was expected that its main angle of investigation would focus on the Syrians as Hariri was known as a defender of Lebanese sovereignty vis-a-vis the Syrian regime.
Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare's filing of the indictment in January and expansion in March set off political crises in Lebanon, where the Shi'ite group Hezbollah and its allies toppled the government of Hariri's son, Saad Hariri.
The release of the indictments is expected to have serious ramifications in Lebanon and region-wide, even threatening to throw Lebanon into another civil war.
Hizbullah denies its government's delay in formulating a position on the STL stems from not knowing what the tribunal's final conclusion would be.
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Anche Bersani se ne lava le mani
"Il Cav risolva l'emergenza rifiuti"
Per De Magistris invece non c'è pericolo: "Risolvere il problema con le leggi attuali"
ore 17:09
41commentiNapoli ancora sommersa dai rifiuti. Ma il neo sindaco ribadisce di essere contrario alla dichiarazione di uno stato di emergenza: "E' quello che ci ha consegnato una città con la spazzatura. Dobbiamo risolvere il problema con le leggi attuali". Torna a salire la tensione nel Vesuviano dopo la paventata ipotesi di aprire una discarica per i rifiuti a Cava Vitiello: sindaci sul piede di guerra. Anche Bersani fa lo scarica barile: "Il governo risolva l'emergenza oppure se ne vada a casa"
Ecco le grandi novità contenute nella bozza di riforma fiscale allo studio del governo: tre aliquote Irpef - al 20, 30 e 40% - e innalzamento dell’Iva di un punto per le aliquote più alte (10 e 20%). Nel documento di riforma, viene anche prevista l’abolizione dell’Irap a partire dal 2014
La Corte penale internazionale ha spiccato un mandato di cattura contro Gheddafi, ricercato per aver programmato l'uccisione, il ferimento, l'arresto e la detenzione di centinaia di civili durante i primi 12 giorni di sommosse volte a destituirlo. Mandato d'arresto anche per il figlio del raìs, Seif al-Islam, e il capo dell'intelligence, al-Senussi
Se lo sceneggiatore di The Social Network
cancella i suoi due account su Facebook
di Cinzia Romani
Può vivere benissimo anche senza Facebook, sebbene gli abbia dato soldi e fama. "Sto dalla parte di chi odia la tecnica", ha detto infatti lo sceneggiatore Aaron Sorkin, premio Oscar perThe Social Network, il brillante film Usa da lui scritto, proprio sulla genesi del social network
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