| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"maff" |
| Date: |
16 Jun 2007 04:25:05 AM |
| Object: |
OT: Uncharted territory |
Uncharted territory
Ian Black
June 15, 2007 9:30 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/ian_black/2007/06/uncharted_territory.h=
tml
Hamas's armed takeover of the Gaza Strip has left Palestinians reeling
in shock at the implications and wondering out loud whether
reconciliation is possible - or whether further disasters now await
them after this landmark moment in their troubled history.
Neither the Islamist movement nor its Fatah rival can see a quick or
easy way out of this new impasse, even if logic suggests both must
seek conciliation to avoid a permanent geographical and political
split between the coastal enclave and the West Bank - the two parts of
any putative Palestinian state. Arab governments, worried by Hamas's
victory, will encourage them to do so. The US and Europe are less
sure.
A striking prospect
David Beresford
June 15, 2007 9:00 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/david_beresford/2007/06/a_striking_pros=
pect.html
Collective bargaining can be a bloody and unforgiving business in
South Africa. Last year guards in the security industry went on strike
and more than 50 died. There hasn't been a single prosecution arising
from the killings.
The current public sector strike may not be as bloody, but it is
likely to prove even more unforgiving as so much turns on it. It has
become apparent that the strike could contribute to the outcome of a
struggle for the highest office in the land. The country's biggest
strike since the apartheid era entered its 16th day today. An
estimated 1 million nurses, teachers and civil servants are taking
part in the strike. Government negotiators have offered a 7.25%
increase, slightly above inflation. The Congress of South African
Trade Unions (Cosatu), which has described the offer as "an insult",
is demanding 10%.
The failure of public diplomacy
Marc Lynch
June 15, 2007 8:00 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/marc_lynch/2007/06/alhurra_marti.html
On June 8, Larry Register announced his resignation from the troubled
American Arabic-language satellite television station al-Hurra in the
wake of a relentless campaign for his scalp by conservative
journalists, members of congress, and disgruntled stalwarts of al-
Hurra's previous, failed incarnation. The campaign recalls a similar
sliming campaign against Alberto Fernandez, the state department's
best Arabic-speaking public diplomat, crucified in the conservative
media for an out of context snippet taken from one of his hundreds of
live media appearances. Register's resignation likely seals the fate
of al-Hurra, which looks ever more like Radio and TV Marti - the anti-
Castro stations beloved of American conservatives and Cuban exiles
which maintains exorbitant budgets year after year even though hardly
any Cubans ever tune in.
Launched in February 2004, al-Hurra never had a chance to be more than
a drop in the highly competitive Arab media ocean. But even when you
take into consideration the stigma of American funding, its
performance under its founding director Mowafic Harb was remarkably
weak. Arab viewers who bothered to tune in often expressed
astonishment that America, home of Hollywood and CNN, could possibly
be producing such a shoddy, unappealing product. Questionable news
selection, weak journalism, and uninteresting talk-show topics and
guests made the American stigma almost redundant. Arab media insiders
regale each other with tales of the unprofessionalism at the station,
the money freely sloshing around, the odd personnel decisions, the
dominance of certain Lebanese sects, the bizarre story selection.
Overall, al-Hurra came across as a third-rate Lebanese TV station
rather than America's flagship public diplomacy enterprise. By 2006 it
had become clear that al-Hurra had failed to win any significant
audience or generate any meaningful political debate. Before
conservatives suddenly decided to go after Register, it was rather
hard to find even a single person not on al-Hurra's payroll with a
good word to say about it.
The unfab four
Eric Alterman
June 15, 2007 7:30 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/eric_alterman/2007/06/the_unfab_four.ht=
ml
I like to think I know a lot of smart people, but even so, nobody I
know has been able to make any sense of the Republican party
presidential primary race yet. None at all.
Mitt Romney has the most money and is treated as a strong contender,
in part because he is running as the most socially conservative top-
tier candidate in the race. Thing is, he got elected to the
governorship of the most liberal state in the country by proving he
was, socially, the most liberal Republican this side of fellow
Massachusetts native, New York mayor Michael Bloomberg (who is really
a liberal Democrat but needed an uncluttered party line on which to
run).
America's tribal strategy for Iraq
Carter Malkasian
June 15, 2007 7:00 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/carter_malkasian/2007/06/americas_triba=
l_strategy_for_i.html
The idea of backing Sunni tribal militias to fight al-Qaida in Iraq
has recently received widespread attention. The strategy is the least-
worst option to salvage US interests in a divided and war-torn Iraq.
America will have to live with the resulting damage to Iraqi democracy
and national unity.
In late 2005, Marine and Army commanders in Anbar province started
turning to Sunni tribes to counter terrorists and keep some semblance
of law and order. Although they had no love for the Iraqi government,
certain Sunni tribal leaders were upset with the heavy-handed tactics
of al-Qaida in Iraq and, more importantly, their growing control of
the black market.
Jacob and Esau
Josh Freedman Berthoud
June 15, 2007 5:30 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/josh_freedman_berthoud/2007/06/jacob_an=
d_esau.html
"I feel we are part of the Bible. It's a very spiritual experience."
Daniella Weiss, the mayor of Kedumim, sees her West Bank settlement as
central to the Jewish people's return to the Holy Land. On the wall
behind her hangs a familiar-looking landscape, but I find myself
disorientated as I gaze at the unrecognisable and rather bizarre
marble structure in the foreground. After a few seconds I realise that
this is the imagined Jerusalem of the future - complete with a rebuilt
temple where the al-Aqsa mosque now stands. It is an emphatic
illustration of Daniella's vision, which is apparently one step closer
to being realised, now that the Jewish people have returned to Judea
and Samaria.
Claiming Biblical legitimacy for the Jewish resettlement of the West
Bank is a central tenet of the Israeli settler movement. Judea and
Samaria feature in the Tanach as parts of the birthplace of the Jewish
people, and Daniella and the other driving forces behind the Israeli
settler movement continually reassert that connection - and settle the
land on that basis.
Europe: a sceptic's view
Iain Dale
June 15, 2007 5:00 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/iain_dale/2007/06/europe_a_sceptics_vie=
w=2Ehtml
As Tony Blair heads off to the European summit to give away more of
our national sovereignty he would do well to remember that his
successor is not bound by what he agrees. It is commonly thought that
Gordon Brown is more eurosceptic than Tony Blair, but then that's not
too difficult. But what does being "eurosceptic" mean nowadays? Is it
the same as being "anti-Europe"? Of course not. UKIP are trying a new
argument which says that unless you want to withdraw from the EU you
cannot call yourself a eurosceptic. I think they will find that I can.
I may be eurosceptic but I am decidedly NOT anti-Europe.
Indeed, I resent it when people like Denis MacShane try to portray all
eurosceptics as some sort of narrow-minded nationalistic sect. I
haven't an anti-European bone in my body. I've lived in Germany and
did my degree in German. Indeed, as the saying goes, some of my best
friends are Germans. Just because you question the actions and motives
of European institutions does not mean you are anti-European. So I
hope we can avoid the usual kind of name-calling on this issue as we
start to debate the desirability of a new European constitution or
constitutional treaty.
Ways to earn a living
Ian Wylie
June 15, 2007 4:30 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/ian_wylie/2007/06/im_as_big_a_fan.html
I'm as big a fan of flexible working as you'll find. This morning I
spent an hour helping with a lesson at my daughter's school. And when
I'm done writing this I'll change my son's nappy, then take him on the
school run.
So when Conservative leader David Cameron says he wants all parents
with children under 18 to have the right to ask their bosses for
flexible working (at present, the right applies only to parents with
children under six or disabled children under 18), I really want to
say, "Yeah, Dave - bring it on!"
The culture of contact
Kippy Joseph
June 15, 2007 4:00 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/kippy_joseph/2007/06/if_an_oxymoron_is_=
a=2Ehtml
If an oxymoron is a paradox reduced to two words, then surely,
"compulsory volunteerism" qualifies as one. Floated as an idea in the
latest report on promoting community cohesion, this contradiction
seems a bit ridiculous. Yet I'm convinced that it's not quite as crazy
as it seems.
The good idea struggling to get out is that we'd benefit as a nation
from giving young people more structured opportunities to mix and
mingle - in ways that simply don't happen at school.
The king is dead. Long live the king?
Bruce Ackerman
June 15, 2007 3:30 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/bruce_ackerman/2007/06/the_king_is_dead=
_long_live_the.html
After a long hard winter of discontent, springtime has come for Bush
bashers everywhere. We awake each morning to hear the news of our
hapless hero's latest reversal of fortune - one morning it is the
sacrifice of Wolfowitz; the next, his capitulation to the global-
warming crusade. Quite suddenly, the president is no longer powerful
enough to nominate his top choice to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff: General Peter Pace had served him loyally over the past two
years, and it is precisely for this reason that Bush can't obtain
Senate confirmation for a four year extension of Pace's term of
office. So much for his grandiose claims as commander-in-chief.
And a long hot summer lies ahead. The only remaining question is how
low the president will sink. Will he explore depths last seen by
Richard Nixon or plummet yet further, exiting the White House as the
Herbert Hoover of the twenty-first century?
In everyone's interests
Jonathan Freedland
June 15, 2007 2:30 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/jonathan_freedland/2007/06/from_now_on_=
when_people.html
From now on, when people talk about the Middle East peace process,
you'll have to ask: which one? Israelis and Palestinians are as
unreconciled as ever, but now the war of Palestinian against
Palestinian has plumbed a new depth. The two movements which began the
week joined in a national unity government, Hamas and Fatah, have
spent the last few days in direct, bloody conflict. The result is that
Hamas now rules over Gaza as a distinct separate entity, while Fatah
controls the West Bank. This is not what the world meant by a two-
state solution.
There are multiple causes for deep concern. First, though the streets
of Gaza are said to be quieted now, there has been terrible loss of
life: more than 90 killed in the current fighting alone. Eye-witness
accounts have spoken of summary executions in the streets.
Try a little tenderness
Dave Hill
June 15, 2007 2:00 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/dave_hill/2007/06/try_a_little_tenderne=
ss.html
Warrington town centre is calm and clean with a spacey new shopping
mall and a fine town hall fronted by a set of golden gates. Opposite
these stands the Gateway building in Sankey Street, the base for a
cluster of local voluntary schemes including one called Talk, Don't
Walk. Its mission is to work with runaways, sorting out the problems
of the mostly teenage children who bolt from family homes and care
homes alike. Across the UK there are plenty of such kids: at least
129,000 running away incidents occur here every year. Before the age
of 16 one in nine children have either run or been forced to stay out
of their home overnight, usually as a consequence of painful
circumstances and often with disastrous effects.
What a mess. And what a fillip, therefore, that Talk, Don't Walk
appears to be a big success. It reports that in the three years since
its launch the number of runaways in the Warrington area has fallen by
76% - from 1,235 in 2003 to 297 in 2006 - and that during the same
period recorded crime directly linked to "runners" has fallen by a
similar percentage. Talk, Don't Walk was initially funded from the
government's Invest to Save Budget (ISB), a joint cabinet office and
treasury initiative designed to finance innovative projects for
joining up public services and helping them to work more efficiently.
Computer says no
Open Thread
June 15, 2007 1:30 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/open_thread/2007/06/computer_says_no.ht=
ml
If you have ever sat at a frozen computer endlessly bashing control-
alt-delete and cursing your dependence on technology, then you may
sympathise with Suni Williams and her crew.
Seeing the light?
Inayat Bunglawala
June 15, 2007 1:00 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/inayat_bunglawala/2007/06/seeing_the_li=
ght.html
What are we to make of former extremists who claim to have seen the
light and are now very keen to tell us their inside story? Normally,
this should be warmly welcomed as an opportunity to gain an insight
into a largely hidden underworld, but let's have a closer look at two
recent cases.
First we have Hassan Butt from Manchester. Back in November 2001, Butt
came to prominence when he surfaced in Pakistan during the bombing of
Afghanistan and claimed to have recruited "hundreds" of UK Muslims to
fight against US/UK troops and also urged British-based Muslims to
attack UK targets. Newspapers and MPs at the time called for him to be
prosecuted. Yet, just over a month later, this clearly enterprising
young jihadi had quietly slipped back into the UK and was trying to
sell his story to the Daily Mirror for =A3100,000. Evidently, he did not
think it absolutely crucial to take part in any actual fighting
against US/UK troops himself and risk his own life, while his disdain
for material gain appeared to be somewhat less than total. The Mirror
turned his offer down.
Oslo's baleful legacy
Nimer Sultany
June 15, 2007 12:30 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/nimer_sultany/2007/06/oslos_baleful_leg=
acy.html
The Oslo endless-fruitless-negotiations peace process has created an
ambiguous situation: the Palestinians are caught somewhere between
state-building and liberation struggle without being or having either.
As a result they bear the responsibilities of freedom without actually
enjoying freedom. The world looks at them as if they were in a
postcolonial stage while the colonialists are still around.
Additionally, the Oslo process has transformed the Palestinian
revolutionary project into a corrupted comprador class that enjoys
some benefits from the occupier. The victory of Hamas in the elections
has caught this comprador class by surprise. Since then, the Fatah
movement has refused to acknowledge its defeat, refused initially to
join Hamas in a unity government, and waited eagerly to prove that
Hamas has failed without initially giving it a chance to succeed.
Drunk on power?
Colin Randall
June 15, 2007 12:00 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/colin_randall/2007/06/power_drunk.html
On the surface, nothing much has gone wrong for Nicolas Sarkozy in the
month since he formally took over from Jacques Chirac.
He looks busy and happy, the polls suggest he's doing well enough and,
with the Parti Socialiste in near-farcical disarray, Sunday should
confirm a landslide centre-right majority in parliament.
The way forward
Brian Brivati
June 15, 2007 11:36 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/brian_brivati/2007/06/the_way_forward.h=
tml
Thursday at the Iraq Commission came to belong to the Kurds, but
started with a heavy dose of frontline experience from Dr Ali Allawi,
until recently an adviser to the prime minister of Iraq but now very
much out of love with the current government. Allawi was questioned
for an hour and his politeness was slightly disconcerting, especially
at the end. Paddy Ashdown's style as chair is rather different to
Margaret Jay or Tom King - he likes to sum up the evidence.
The only problem is that his disarming "now I don't want to put words
in your mouth" often means that is exactly what he is about to do. A
couple of witnesses have shot back, with: "That is not what I am
saying at all." Dr Allawi simply agreed. The summary is important
because Allawi's evidence was multidimensional and not reducible to a
simple headline.
In the know
Mark Vernon
June 15, 2007 11:00 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/mark_vernon/2007/06/in_the_know.html
Recently, there was a programme on the radio that explored what had
happened to the individuals who gave their lives to Jesus at the Billy
Graham rallies 50 years ago. Some were converted. They went on to
become bishops and to hold positions in public life. Others, though,
looked back at the moment they responded to the call with puzzlement,
embarrassment and regret.
It is a familiar story. When I worked as an Anglican priest near the
university city of Durham, my colleagues and I often encountered young
students who had felt the power and passion of the simple faith of the
Christian Union. Only to find that when the complexities of life
pressed in again, or they simply grew up, they came to feel that they
had been led up the garden path. We felt our task was to see whether
anything of their faith could be rescued by encouraging them to see
the subtleties of theology and the nuances of the spiritual life as a
friend, not the enemy.
Hamas hints at talks as chaos reigns in divided Palestine
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,2104406,00.html
Islamists strengthen grip in Gaza but western governments, including
US, side with Palestinian president in the West Bank
Rory McCarthy in Jerusalem, Hazem Balousha in Gaza City and Conal
Urquhart in Ramallah
Saturday June 16, 2007
The Guardian
Jubilant Hamas militants cemented their domination over Gaza yesterday
but appeared to make conciliatory overtures to their Fatah opponents
after a week of intense fighting that has effectively broken Palestine
in two.
Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader in Gaza, called for new negotiations
with the Fatah leader and Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and
urged calm from his own gunmen after they had routed Fatah rivals and
embarked on a wave of looting in Fatah offices and homes in the Gaza
Strip. Hamas also released 10 senior Fatah officials captured during
five days of clashes that killed more than 100 people.
How war was turned into a brand
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/comment/0,,2104439,00.html
Political chaos means Israel is booming like it's 1999 - and the boom
is in defence exports field-tested on Palestinians
Naomi Klein
Saturday June 16, 2007
The Guardian
Gaza in the hands of Hamas, with masked militants sitting in the
president's chair; the West Bank on the edge; Israeli army camps
hastily assembled in the Golan Heights; a spy satellite over Iran and
Syria; war with Hizbullah a hair trigger away; a scandal-plagued
political class facing a total loss of public faith. At a glance,
things aren't going well for Israel. But here's a puzzle: why, in the
midst of such chaos and carnage, is the Israeli economy booming like
it's 1999, with a roaring stock market and growth rates nearing
China's?
Enslaved, burned and beaten: police free 450 from Chinese brick
factories
http://www.guardian.co.uk/china/story/0,,2104336,00.html
=B7 Children among captives forced to work for no pay
=B7 Local officials accused of colluding with traffickers
Jonathan Watts in Beijing
Saturday June 16, 2007
The Guardian
More than 450 slave workers - many of them maimed, burned and mentally
scarred - have been rescued from Chinese brick factories in an
investigation into illegal labour camps, it emerged yesterday.
The victims, including children as young as 14, were reportedly
abducted or tricked into labouring at the kilns, where they toiled for
16 to 20 hours a day for no pay and barely enough food to live.
According to the state media, they were beaten by guards and kept from
escaping by dogs. At least 13 died from overwork and abuse, including
a labourer who was allegedly battered to death with a shovel.
All the fun of the fair - it must be Iraq
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,2104353,00.html
Regional chiefs hope new resort will help kick-start holiday industry
Michael Howard in Rowanduz
Saturday June 16, 2007
The Guardian
It is Friday afternoon, and the queue for the downhill toboggan run is
getting longer. Sirwan Mohammed catches his breath as he hops off the
luge with his grandfather in tow and joins the back of the line for
another go. "It's great fun no matter how old you are," he enthuses.
"Who says you can't have fun in Iraq?"
Welcome to the Pank resort, a multi-million-pound leisure complex that
would be unremarkable in most parts of the world. But in a country
riven by war the sight of alpine-style chalets, manicured lawns and a
roller-coaster sledge ride comes as a shock. It is easy to forget that
this is Iraq. Even more so when you take in the stunning backdrop of
some of Kurdistan's highest peaks.
Review of meal that 'jangled like a car crash' deemed defamatory
http://www.guardian.co.uk/australia/story/0,,2104345,00.html
Barbara McMahon in Sydney
Saturday June 16, 2007
The Guardian
Australian food critics were left spluttering into their napkins
yesterday after a court decided that an unfavourable review of a
Sydney restaurant was defamatory, opening the way for the owners to
claim damages.
The critics said the decision could lead to reviewers of theatre,
music, literature and art fearing to speak their minds in case they
are sued.
The case centres on a review of Coco Roco restaurant published in the
Sydney Morning Herald newspaper in 2003. Matthew Evans, then the
newspaper's chief food critic, dined at the restaurant twice and was
not impressed. He said the flavour of oysters soaked in limoncello
"jangled like a car crash" and that a sherry scented apricot white
sauce that accompanied steak was a "wretched garnish" that he scraped
off.
Ex-Klansman found guilty of 1964 killings
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2104326,00.html
Ed Pilkington in New York
Saturday June 16, 2007
The Guardian
Federal authorities in the US are under pressure to make a final
effort to bring unsolved race crimes from the civil rights era to
trial after a 71-year-old former Ku Klux Klansman was found guilty of
charges over the 1964 deaths of two black teenagers.
James Seale was convicted on Thursday of kidnapping and conspiracy in
the killings of Henry Dee and Charles Moore, who were found dead in
the Mississippi river after they went missing while hitchhiking. The
federal jury heard that the teenagers had been brutally beaten before
being dropped into the river tied to heavy weights. Seale now faces a
life sentence.
UK to protest after attacks on embassy party guests in Iran
http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran/story/0,,2104349,00.html
Robert Tait in Tehran
Saturday June 16, 2007
The Guardian
The British embassy in Tehran is expected to lodge a diplomatic
protest after Iranian guests were attacked by demonstrators and
detained by police following a reception to celebrate the Queen's
birthday.
Geoffrey Adams, Britain's ambassador to Iran, was understood to be
consulting the Foreign Office yesterday over a formal response to a
violent protest apparently designed to deter Iranians from attending
Thursday's reception, an annual event in the British diplomatic
calendar.
Dozens of guests turned back after being confronted by angry
demonstrators chanting insults, including "shame on you dirty Iranians
willing to eat the birthday cake of the queen of lies". Water cans,
tomatoes and paintballs were lobbed into the embassy compound during
protests, which began an hour before the reception and continued
throughout the event.
Pakistan's soldiers 'huddling in their bases' in tribal regions
http://www.guardian.co.uk/pakistan/Story/0,,2104361,00.html
=B7 Army paralysed by Taliban threat, says ex-CIA agent
=B7 Retired officers accused of helping militants
Declan Walsh in Islamabad
Saturday June 16, 2007
The Guardian
The Pakistani army is paralysed by the growing Taliban threat and some
retired officers are covertly aiding the militants, according to a
former CIA officer.
Soldiers posted to Waziristan, a tribal area that hosts an estimated
2,000 al-Qaida fighters, are "huddling in their bases, doing nothing",
said Art Keller, a CIA case officer who was posted to Pakistan last
year.
Passion runs high over timing of historic play
http://www.guardian.co.uk/germany/article/0,,2104343,00.html
=B7 Director wants Christ's death to be rescheduled
=B7Change dismays villagers and tourist operators
Kate Connolly in Berlin
Saturday June 16, 2007
The Guardian
It is the oldest Passion play in the world, a lengthy re-enactment of
the crucifixion of Christ which has been performed in the Bavarian
village of Oberammergau every 10 years since 1634.
But a proposal by the play's director to change the hour at which
Jesus dies has split the villagers, many of whom argue it will rip it
from its medieval roots and drive away many of the half a million
international visitors it attracts.
The play, in which around 2,500 villagers take part, has almost always
run from 9.30am to 5.30pm, May to October. But Christian St=FCckl, who
has been the director since 1987, wants to shift it to 2.30pm to
10.30pm and increase the dramatic effect with lighting and torchlight.
He said a later performance would "bring the audience to a different
emotional level and improve the quality of the play".
US authority accused of ignoring allies in Iraq
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,2104401,00.html
=B7 CPA was dysfunctional, says British official
=B7 UK 'complicit' in failing to prepare postwar plan
Patrick Wintour, political editor
Saturday June 16, 2007
The Guardian
The US-led administration set up to run Iraq following the invasion in
2003 was a "dysfunctional organisation" which almost completely
ignored the British, according to its director of operations.
Andrew Bearpark, probably the Coalition Provisional Authority's
central British figure, also revealed that when he asked for details
of the plan to restore the Iraqi power supplies, he was given a one-
page piece of paper with a list of a dozen Iraqi power stations and
their potential output, amounting to what he describes as "a wish
list". "That was the CPA plan", he said in an interview with the
Guardian.
Sarkozy under attack over VAT
http://www.guardian.co.uk/france/story/0,,2104363,00.html
Angelique Chrisafis in Paris
Saturday June 16, 2007
The Guardian
Nicolas Sarkozy is facing the first real challenge to his popularity,
just as he hopes to win a sweeping majority for his party in
tomorrow's parliamentary elections.
The French president has been coasting on high approval ratings since
coming to power last month, but his honeymoon period was under threat
yesterday due to the thorny issue of VAT.
The government has announced plans for a big rise in VAT to cover
social security costs. Ministers are considering a 5% increase to
24.5% to help reduce the burden of social security payments on
companies. The government wants to cut the current hefty payroll
charges in order to make companies more competitive. But the VAT
increase would give France one of the highest rates in Europe.
Woolf denies BAE review is knee jerk reaction to US investigation
http://www.guardian.co.uk/baefiles/story/0,,2104340,00.html
Mark Milner
Saturday June 16, 2007
The Guardian
Lord Woolf, the former lord chief justice of England and Wales,
yesterday defended his =A36,000 a day role as chairman of an independent
committee set up to review arms maker BAE Systems' business ethics,
pledging a vigorous inquiry and dismissing any suggestion he had been
appointed as "window dressing".
BAE Systems, which has been at the centre of allegations relating to
arms contracts with Saudi Arabia and a number of other countries, said
the decision to set up the committee was neither a "fig leaf" nor a
knee jerk reaction to reports the US Department of Justice is about to
launch an investigation into claims of payments totalling =A31bn over a
decade to Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the former Saudi ambassador to the
US.
The world is watching
http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,,2102856,00.html
In Mexico they can't get enough of telenovelas, in China it's the
weather forecast, but around the globe the biggest audiences tune in
to reality TV and football. Our correspondents report
Saturday June 16, 2007
The Guardian
India
Indian television's defining moment arrived in early July 1990, when a
serialised version of an epic Hindu poem, the Mahabharat, came to an
end. The show had entranced 300 million viewers for an hour every
Sunday for 20 months on the country's only TV station at the time,
state-owned broadcaster Doordarshan. No programme since has matched
that size of audience (partly because there are now 160 channels) and
today's viewers prefer "pop idols" to ones found in temples: 30
million tuned into Indian Idol when it launched a couple of years ago.
Secret history
http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,,2102857,00.html
Why, since the end of the war, have millions of documents from the
Nazi regime been locked up in a German archive, access denied to
victims and their families? Anna Funder investigates
Saturday June 16, 2007
The Guardian
In the early 90s, I was an articled clerk at an establishment law
firm. We represented a building supplies manufacturer in lawsuits
brought by wharf labourers and builders. The men were dying of the
lung disease mesothelioma, contracted from breathing in asbestos dust
while handling our client's products. Usually, they died within months
of diagnosis. Our job, in six-minute billable units, was to stymie the
progress of litigation until the men had died. Often, it was a winning
tactic.
The Grub Street years
http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,2103926,00.html
In a speech, President JF Kennedy said that if only Karl Marx 'had
remained a foreign correspondent, history might have been different'.
How wrong he was, argues Christopher Hitchens. Much of Marx's writing
during his years as a hack was a passionate defence of the values that
were to inform his political philosophy
Saturday June 16, 2007
The Guardian
Commenting acidly on a writer whom I perhaps too naively admired, my
old classics teacher put on his best sneer to ask: "Wouldn't you say,
Hitchens, that his writing was somewhat journalistic?" This lofty
schoolmaster employed my name sarcastically, and stressed the last
term as if he meant it to sting, and it rankled even more than he had
intended. Later on in life, I found that I still used to mutter and
improve my long-meditated reply. =C9mile Zola - a journalist. Charles
Dickens - a journalist. Thomas Paine - another journalist. Mark Twain.
Rudyard Kipling. George Orwell - a journalist par excellence.
Somewhere in my cortex was the idea to which Orwell himself once gave
explicit shape: the idea that "mere" writing of this sort could aspire
to become an art, and that the word "journalist" - like the ironic
modern English usage of the word "hack" - could lose its association
with the trivial and the evanescent.
A sleek, power-seeking machine
http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,2103927,00.html
Barbara Ehrenreich sees evidence of a Faustian bargain in two books on
Hillary Clinton's life
Saturday June 16, 2007
The Guardian
A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton, by Carl
Bernstein. 640pp, Hutchinson, =A325
Her Way: The Hopes and Ambitions of Hillary Rodham Clinton, by Jeff
Gerth and Don Van Natta Jr. 448pp, John Murrray, =A320
Who is Hillary Clinton? One theory, which functions as a kind of cargo
cult among American liberals, is that behind the bland, smiling
exterior and the thick gauze of platitudes crouches a fiery liberal
feminist, ready, when she has finally amassed enough power - say in
her second term as president - to spring forth and save the world.
Futile, fraudulent or worse
http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,2103935,00.html
Imperial Life in the Emerald City by Rajiv Chandrasekaran and The
Occupation of Iraq by Ali A Allawi are two very different books on
Iraq that point to the same grim conclusion, writes Oliver Miles
Saturday June 16, 2007
The Guardian
Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Baghdad's Green Zone
by Rajiv Chandrasekaran
356pp, Bloomsbury, =A312.99
The Occupation of Iraq: Winning the War, Losing the Peace
by Ali A Allawi
518pp, Yale, =A318.99
The Iraq war has produced a cupboardful of books and these two have
both been in the news. Rajiv Chandrasekaran is on the shortlist for
the =A330,000 Samuel Johnson prize for non-fiction, the winner of which
is announced on Monday. Ali Allawi, an Iraqi minister from 2003 to
2006, has made a high-profile appeal for a U-turn in US policy and the
creation of an international body to supervise American withdrawal.
The dangerous distraction of Guant=E1namo
http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,2103929,00.html
Philippe Sands discovers 'the legal equivalent of outer space' in
Clive Stafford Smith's survey of Guant=E1namo, Bad Men
Saturday June 16, 2007
The Guardian
Bad Men: Guant=E1namo Bay and the Secret Prison
by Clive Stafford Smith
320pp, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, =A316.99
Bad Men arrived from the Guardian the day before I left for a short
trip to the United States. The arrival was timely, since I was off to
interview some of the very people who had been involved in putting in
place new interrogation techniques at Guant=E1namo in late 2002. Some
believe that these techniques were the spring that fed the fountains
of abuse that later appeared in Iraq (I've not yet made my mind up on
that one, although the lawyer in me pulls towards the conclusion that
cause and effect is never quite as black and white as some claim).
The Delia Smith of intervention
http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,2103930,00.html
Martin Woollacott welcomes Paddy Ashdown's intelligent survey of
recent western military operations, Swords and Ploughshares
Saturday June 16, 2007
The Guardian
Swords and Ploughshares
by Paddy Ashdown
338pp, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, =A320
A stub of new road in Afghanistan, abandoned because so much was spent
on importing American workers and equipment that there was no cash
left to actually build it. Two schools in Bosnia, erected by competing
NGOs on either side of an ethnic fault line, wasting resources and
reinforcing the very hostilities they were supposed to reduce. Troop
contingents in Kosovo who refuse to man roadblocks, and troop
contingents in Iraq who refuse to even leave their camps. An election
schedule for Afghanistan so packed it could cost, if strictly
followed, up to half of national income for years to come.
International police training missions with personnel so unfit that
they are known as "pie boys" because of their beer bellies ... These
are typical monuments of the modern era of intervention. And that is
before you even begin to measure the terrible costs of the wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan, which intervention either failed to bring to an
end or actually precipitated.
The dangerous distraction of Guant=E1namo
http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,2103929,00.html
Philippe Sands discovers 'the legal equivalent of outer space' in
Clive Stafford Smith's survey of Guant=E1namo, Bad Men
Saturday June 16, 2007
The Guardian
Bad Men: Guant=E1namo Bay and the Secret Prison
by Clive Stafford Smith
320pp, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, =A316.99
Bad Men arrived from the Guardian the day before I left for a short
trip to the United States. The arrival was timely, since I was off to
interview some of the very people who had been involved in putting in
place new interrogation techniques at Guant=E1namo in late 2002. Some
believe that these techniques were the spring that fed the fountains
of abuse that later appeared in Iraq (I've not yet made my mind up on
that one, although the lawyer in me pulls towards the conclusion that
cause and effect is never quite as black and white as some claim).
Fear grips Iranian academics as radical groups launch campaign of
intimidation
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article2663201.ece
By Angus McDowall in Tehran
Published: 16 June 2007
Iranian guests leaving a British embassy reception to mark the Queen's
official birthday have been harassed by radical students and security
officials in a troubling sign of the mounting tensions with the West.
The incidents on Thursday night followed other officially orchestrated
attempts to intimidate Iranians with links to the West, whom some
conservatives believe are trying to foment a "soft revolution" against
the Islamic regime.
Hamas leader seeks talks with Fatah
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article2663200.ece
By Donald Macintyre in Jerusalem
Published: 16 June 2007
The Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh refused to accept his dismissal as
Prime Minister yesterday, but called for an end to reprisals against
the rival Fatah organisation after five days of carnage in the Gaza
Strip.
The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced the appointment of
Salam Fayad, affiliated to neither Hamas or Fatah, and admired in the
West for his political moderation and financial efficiency, to head a
new emergency cabinet.
Korean women reject 'drink or be fired' culture
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article2663166.ece
By Daniel Jeffreys in Seoul
Published: 16 June 2007
Tired of being forced to down corrosive combinations of beer and rice
wine to climb the career ladder, Korean women are fighting back
against the business binge-drinking culture.
The recent High Court victory of a 29-year-old female subordinate
forced to get drunk by her boss has set the ball rolling. He was found
guilty of a "violation of human dignity" and she won damages.
China shocked by footage of child slaves being beaten and whipped
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article2663163.ece
By Clifford Coonan in Beijing
Published: 16 June 2007
It has made for horrifying viewing on Chinese state television -
hundreds of child slaves beaten with shovels, whipped by thug
overseers, guarded in concentration camp-like conditions by vicious
dogs, sores festering on their bodies as they toiled without end in a
brick factory in China's dusty heartland.
The TV footage shows hollow-eyed teenage boys, many of them kidnapped
from their homes around China, sleeping on beds of brick in hellish
dormitories, the doors tied shut with wire and the windows barred.
Clintons sell off stock that could have proved a political time bomb
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article2663162.ece
By Leonard Doyle in Washington
Published: 16 June 2007
Bill and Hillary Clinton have amassed a fortune worth between $5m
(=A33m) and $25m (=A313m) since 1993, when they first entered the White
House and put their investments in a blind trust.
Yesterday it was revealed that the Clintons sold off most of their
investments last April fearing that they would become a political
liability in the 2008 presidential race.
Judge and activists demand UN oil sanctions on Sudan
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/article2663244.ece
By Anne Penketh, Diplomatic Editor
Published: 16 June 2007
Richard Goldstone, the distinguished South African judge, has
joinedprominent human rights activists to back UN oil sanctions
punishing Sudan for failing to fully co-operate with international
efforts to halt mass killings in Darfur.
In a letter to The Independent, the five signatories advocate the
establishment of a UN-controlled trust fund allowing Sudan to continue
to export oil, but channelling the revenues to help the victims in
Darfur.
Move over, Bollywood: Indians flock to Tamil blockbuster
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article2663164.ece
By Andrew Buncombe in Delhi
Published: 16 June 2007
Chaos broke out in parts of southern India yesterday as the country's
most expensive film to date opened to huge crowds and scenes little
short of hysteria.
At some cinemas, fans poured milk over cardboard cut-out images of the
film's stars - a good-luck tradition normally reserved for deities -
while elsewhere there were riots.
Nairobi's Lady of the lamp
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/africa/article2663160.ece
Millions of Kenyan slum-dwellers fall victim to crime after dark,
their local authorities unable to provide lighting. A novel idea
offered hope - but not for long. Steve Bloomfield reports from
Nairobi
Published: 16 June 2007
Robin Mwangi never saw them coming. Out of the darkness, eight figures
emerged. One held a gun to his head while the others took what they
wanted. Mr Mwangi's phone and money were stolen and his stall, which
sells mobile phone credit and fresh meat, was ransacked.
The gang sauntered off into the night of the Korogocho slum on the
outskirts of Nairobi. Within seconds, their shapes had disappeared
into the darkness, leaving Mr Mwangi with no clue as to who had
attacked him.
Commentary on Gaza: 'Abbas should declare a state of emergency and ask
the UN for an international force'
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/article2663243.ece
Published: 16 June 2007
Sir Malcolm Rifkind, Former foreign secretary
"In the short-term the EU should give its support to Mahmoud Abbas but
his own credibility is severely under question. There is a strong
possibility that he may be eased out over the next few months. The
smart money is on Marwan Barghouti [of Fatah] who is in an Israeli
jail at the moment. But the Israelis might have their own interest in
letting him go if he is going to provide some effective leadership and
win back the initiative. What people were concerned about was that
Hamas was little more than a pretty irresponsible terrorist
organisation. After the way they have behaved in Gaza, it gives
credibility to that argument."
Indonesian police say two top terrorists arrested last week
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article2663165.ece
By Robin McDowell, Associated Press Writer
Published: 16 June 2007
The head of the Southeast Asian terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah was
arrested along with his military chief, police said yesterday, in what
they called a major breakthrough in the fight against extremists in
the world's most populous Muslim nation.
Authorities warned, however, that Jemaah Islamiyah - blamed for the
2002 Bali bombings and other attacks - and breakaway factions could
still carry out strikes against Western and Christian targets.
Birthday Honours: An immigrant who inspires children and other unsung
heroes
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article2663240.ece
Published: 16 June 2007
By Jerome Taylor
When Michael Uzebu-Asije stepped off the cargo ship that had brought
him from Nigeria to Liverpool he didn't know what he was going to do
for work. During the voyage over on the SS SonCrest, Michael had made
some spare cash as a cabin boy but at just 12 years old it was going
to be tricky to find employment.
But one thing he knew he would do was to join a boxing club
Giving money away makes you feel better - especially if you're a
woman
http://news.independent.co.uk/sci_tech/article2659713.ece
By Steve Connor, Science Editor
Published: 15 June 2007
Economists have looked inside the heads of people prepared to give
money to a good cause and found the warm glow of true altruism really
does exist, at least in women.
People who volunteer to donate money to charity feel much better about
giving it away in this way than they do when paying their taxes, shows
a study in which a sophisticated brain-scanner analyses the biological
basis of spending money.
World oil supplies are set to run out faster than expected, warn
scientists
http://news.independent.co.uk/sci_tech/article2656034.ece
Scientists challenge major review of global reserves and warn that
supplies will start to run out in four years' time
By Daniel Howden
Published: 14 June 2007
Scientists have criticised a major review of the world's remaining oil
reserves, warning that the end of oil is coming sooner than
governments and oil companies are prepared to admit.
BP's Statistical Review of World Energy, published yesterday, appears
to show that the world still has enough "proven" reserves to provide
40 years of consumption at current rates. The assessment, based on
officially reported figures, has once again pushed back the estimate
of when the world will run dry.
The wet planet: There was life on Mars (probably)
http://news.independent.co.uk/sci_tech/article2656032.ece
Scientists now say that an ocean several miles deep once covered a
third of the surface of the planet, enough water to support the origin
and evolution of life. The red planet, they said, had once been a deep
blue, just like Earth.
By Steve Connor
Published: 14 June 2007
For generations, people have been fascinated by the idea of life on
Mars. It began in earnest in the late 19th century when an Italian
astronomer called Giovanni Schiaparelli peered through his telescope
and saw long, straight lines etched on to the surface of the red
planet. He called them "canali" and others quickly became convinced
that an alien civilisation had built a sophisticated network of
canals, perhaps to move water from one region of Mars to another.
In 1897, H G Wells published The War of the Worlds, which describes an
invasion of Martians covetous of Earth's rich natural resources. When
Orson Welles broadcast his famous radio adaptation of the book in
1938, mass panic ensued when thousands of Americans truly believed
that the Earth was under attack by Martians.
Howard Jacobson: Thanks to New Labour, we can say goodbye to our civil
liberties - and Polish potatoes
http://comment.independent.co.uk/columnists_a_l/howard_jacobson/article2663=
195.ece
There is gratuitous intrusion into the minutest details of our lives,
down to the nationality of the chips we eat
Published: 16 June 2007
New Labour's assault upon our personal freedoms is our subject today.
That and the Polish Potatoes Order 2004. And if you think the two are
unconnected, think again.
It's the film-maker Chris Atkins I have to thank for making me aware
a) that there is such a thing as a specifically Polish potato, and b)
that its entry into this country has been restricted since 2004. On
show all over the country (which is more than can be said for the
Polish potato), Chris Atkins' new film Taking Liberties details the
massive erosion of our civil liberties since New Labour came to power
10 years ago.
John Lichfield: A president drunk on his power
http://comment.independent.co.uk/commentators/article2663197.ece
It is as if the mask of Sarko, the consummate politician, has slipped
Published: 16 June 2007
Nicolas Sarkozy probably was drunk at the G8 summit but he was not
drunk on alcohol. He was drunk with excitement at being among the big
boys (and the one big girl) at last. For the past four weeks the new
French president has been drunk with excitement at his own success;
intoxicated by his huge popularity; inebriated by the easy ride he has
been given by the French media, even by a traditionally centre-left
newspaper such as Le Monde.
The big questions remain. Is Nicolas Sarkozy genuinely something new
in French politics? Answer: yes, up to a point. Are the French people
truly ready for change, including painful change, as they and M.
Sarkozy claim? Answer: it is too early to say.
Leading article: The turmoil in Gaza dispels any illusions about the
peace process
http://comment.independent.co.uk/leading_articles/article2663159.ece
The prospects look as gloomy today as they have ever done. There are
already signs that the disorder may spread
Published: 16 June 2007
Less than two years ago the world looked forward - with apprehension,
but also hope - to Israel's promised withdrawal from Gaza. How far
away even that cautious optimism seems today. What was widely hailed
as the first advance towards regional peace in many a year has turned
into a catastrophe of the first order. Yesterday, as the EU and others
sought desperately to bolster President Mahmoud Abbas, hand-wringing
and alarm accompanied increasingly urgent calls for a ceasefire.
It is scant consolation that, with hindsight, at least some of what
has come to pass in Gaza takes on a certain inevitability. When Israel
left Gaza, with minimal violence and on schedule, it left a territory
that was essentially ungoverned and ungovernable. Delayed legislative
elections for the Palestinian Authority produced a majority for the
militant Islamic party, Hamas. It was a victory that, apparently,
neither Israel nor the United States had foreseen.
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