US Osprey military aircraft begin Okinawa base move

The Ospreys arrived at a US base in western Japan in July, ahead of their deployment to Okinawa's Futenma airbase.

Two have now landed there and another four are on their way, reports say.

Okinawa residents have opposed the move, citing safety fears following crashes in Morocco and Florida.

The Osprey is a hybrid military aircraft that has a rotor and can take off like a helicopter but flies like a plane. A total of 12 are to be stationed at Futenma airbase.

They had been due to move on Friday but were delayed by a typhoon.

On Sunday police were called in to move protesters who had tried to seal off the gates to the airbase. Japanese public broadcaster NHK said that a crowd of more than 100 had gathered at the base early on Monday.

Earlier this month, announcing that permission had been given for test-flights, Japanese Defence Minister Satoshi Morimoto said the safety of the aircraft had been confirmed, with the two accidents "caused by human factors".

But opposition to the US military footprint in Okinawa is intense, amid a 15-year stand-off over a base relocation plan.

Many Okinawan residents want Futenma airbase - which sits in a densely-packed residential area - moved off the island.

The US and Japanese governments have agreed to close Futenma but say they will replace it with a new facility in the less populated north of Okinawa.

Local lawmakers and residents are fighting the plan, saying Okinawa already hosts a disproportionate number of US troops.

Source & Image : BBC

D.C. sniper 10 years later: ‘I was a monster’

John Lee Malvo is escorted from court, Jan. 14, 2003. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)

Lee Boyd Malvo, who was convicted along with John Allen Muhammad in the 2002 D.C. sniper shootings that left 10 dead and three wounded, says he remembers the killings vividly but can't explain why he did what he did.

"I was a monster," Malvo told the Washington Post in a recent interview from a Virginia prison where he's serving six consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. "If you look up the definition, that's what a monster is. I was a ghoul. I was a thief. I stole people's lives. I did someone else's bidding just because they said so. There is no rhyme or reason or sense."

Malvo, now 27, was a teenager at the time of the shootings. Muhammad was executed in 2009. The shooting spree lasted three weeks before the pair were arrested at a truck stop in Maryland.

"At that point in time, I had been desensitized," Malvo continued. "In the midst of the task, there is no feeling. It got to a point where I'd get in a zone. There was nothing else but whoever is before me, and anything that comes between me and, as you would say, the target, I'm either going to destroy, or if it's too big, find a way around it. Nothing is going to stop me but death to get that done. ... I was able to tap into a place that if there was a soul there it was behind layers and layers and layers of darkness."

Muhammad, Malvo said, was a father figure to him.

"I trusted him," he said. "I was unable to distinguish between Muhammad the father I had wanted and Muhammad the nervous wreck that was just falling to pieces. He understood exactly how to motivate me by giving approval or denying approval. It's very subtle. It wasn't violent at all. It's like what a pimp does to a woman."

"He picked me because he knew he could mold me," he said. "He knew I could be what he needed me to be. ... He could not have chosen a better child."

After their arrest, Malvo said, he claimed responsibility for the killings in an attempt to save Muhammad from the death penalty.

"I did everything I thought I could do to save his life," Malvo said. "It was just a mixture of half-truths, details that only I or the killer would know, because I was there. What's crazy is this entire process. I'm concerned for him, and he doesn't give a rat's a-- whether I live or die."

Source & Image : Yahoo

Anne Hathaway Marries Adam Shulman

Forget "Rachel Getting Married" - this weekend it was Anne Hathaway's turn to tie the knot!

The "Dark Knight Rises" star, 29, wed her love of four years, 31-year-old actor/jewelry designer Adam Shulman, in scenic Big Sur, Calif., on Saturday night, according to multiple reports.

PLAY IT NOW: Anne Hathaway Reveals How She Got In Shape For Dark Knight Rises & Les Miserables

The romantic ceremony took place at a private estate overlooking the California coastline, while nearly 180 of the couple's friends and family members (who were taken to the venue via shuttles) looked on, according to Celebuzz, who was first to report the happy news.

Anne and Adam kept the location of their wedding under wraps prior to the big day, and required guests to wear a special bracelet in order to board shuttles to the ceremony, the website reported.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Anne Hathaway & Adam Shulman: A Love Story

PHOTOS: Anne Hathaway & Adam Shulman: A Love Story

The newlyweds kicked off their wedding weekend with a rehearsal dinner at the Ventana Inn and Spa on Friday, and chose to adorn their wedding locale with nature-inspired décor - including foliage branches - that complimented their majestic, coastal surroundings, People reported.

The stunning actress, who will soon be seen starring in the highly anticipated big screen adaptation of "Les Miserables," wore a flowing, off-the-shoulder white gown designed by Valentino, complete with a floor-length veil.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Celebrity Wedding Photos!

Anne and her now-husband began dating in November 2008 and announced their engagement in November 2011.

A rep for the actress confirmed the news to Access Hollywood at the time and revealed Anne's engagement ring was "design collaboration between Adam and Kwiat Heritage jewels."

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Celebrity Engagement Rings — The Bling Is The Thing!

-- Erin O'Sullivan

Copyright 2012 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source & Image : Yahoo

Syria ex-detainees allege ordeals of rape and sex abuse

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The first thing he saw was a woman in the corner of the basement. "They were raping her. It was clear that they were raping her. There was blood coming out of her body and she just stayed in the corner."

The witness was working as an activist with a church-based human rights group when he was arrested last November.

The witness says his captors demanded that he confess to smuggling weapons and sending footage of demonstrations to foreign news organisations.

"They hit me, they kick me, they slap me and they (did) something unfriendly and offensive… I know what happens when they arrest someone. I feel like this is the end."

At first, he says, a security official began to touch him sexually. There was also an officer who watched what was happening but remained silent. Then he was attacked by a group of three officers.

"The three guys, they are like animals. I tried to protect myself but I'm just a short guy… when they were raping me, I start to say: 'Please don't do that, please don't do that.'"

As he was being raped, he says his attackers mocked him. "You want Assad to quit? This is for saying that you don't like Bashar al-Assad."

A teenage boy was brought into the cell. He, too, was raped. As the assault went on, the boy cried out for his mother.

But - in the words of another survivor - the torture cells of Syria are places where "nobody hears your voice, nobody visits you".

Another witness, a woman, told me she had been held for two months in the notorious Palestine Branch of Military Intelligence in Damascus - a building bombed by rebels last May.

The woman was arrested at a checkpoint in Homs late last year.

As part of the torture, she alleges, rats and mice were used by interrogators to violate women. She described an assault on another prisoner which she says she witnessed.

"He inserted a rat in her vagina. She was screaming. Afterwards we saw blood on the floor. He told her: 'Is this good enough for you?' They were mocking her. It was obvious she was in agony. We could see her. After that she no longer moved."

In the absence of other witnesses and with UN human rights investigators refused access to Syria, independent verification of rape claims is impossible. It is equally difficult to estimate the number of rape cases.

According to the campaign group Human Rights Watch, the stigma surrounding such allegations means many victims are reluctant to come forward.

"In many cases… victims did not want their families or others in the community to know about the assault because of fear or shame", the group said.

Human Rights Watch says sexual violence is used to degrade and humiliate prisoners. Neither they nor the United Nations have so far made allegations of sexual violence against the rebel side.

According to the latest report from the UN, sexual violence is part of a pattern of crimes against humanity inflicted on civilians in Syria.

The Syrian government has consistently rejected such accusations and has dismissed the latest UN report as "neither fair nor objective".

Rape is one of the oldest scourges of war. But in recent times there have been moves to strengthen the response of the international community.

Landmark judgements in the tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda were meant to signal the beginning of the end of a culture of impunity.

The UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, has called for the allegations against the Syrian government, including sexual violence, to be referred to the International Criminal Court.

However, deep divisions on the UN Security Council between Syria's enemies and supporters make such a referral highly unlikely.

Source & Image : BBC

Iranian jury finds Reuters guilty of lies in 'ninjas' report

A Reuters video showed women clad head to toe in black, running up walls, flipping backwards, diving and rolling over swords.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Reuters admitted in February a video story erred in calling women assassins in training


• The story involved thousands of women practicing to be ninjas


• A jury found the news agency's bureau chief guilty


• Judge will rule on guilt or innocence in October

(CNN) -- The jury of Iran's Press Court on Sunday found the Tehran bureau chief for Reuters guilty of publishing lies and negatively influencing public opinion.

Press TV, a state media agency, reported a jury member said Reuters was "found guilty of propagating against the Islamic Republic and disseminating false information to disturb public opinion."

Parisa Hafezi is Reuters' bureau chief in Tehran. She referred CNN to Thompson Reuters, based in London, for a statement.

In a story about the verdict on its website, Reuters said, "We understand that the jury has stated its view and we now await the court's ruling. We do not intend to comment further until a decision is issued."

Press TV said a judge will make his final ruling in October, and the news agency can appeal the decision.

The controversy stems from a Reuters video showing women clad head to toe in black, running up walls and flipping backwards, and diving and rolling over swords held at waist heights.

A Culture Ministry official accused Reuters of calling the martial arts students terrorists, when in fact they are "university students and housewives" who "engaged in this sport because of their love for the sport."

Reuters acknowledged the video report in February "contained an error" and said the headline was changed after a complaint.

The story's headline, "Thousands of female Ninjas train as Iran's assassins," was corrected to read "Three thousand women Ninjas train in Iran," Reuters said in a statement.

Reuters also apologized for the error, the news agency said.

According to Fars, a semiofficial Iranian news agency, the lawsuit was filed by "Iranian Women Ninjas."

Eleven Reuters staff members in Tehran were told to hand in their press cards over the incident, Reuters said in April.

"We acknowledge this error occurred and regard it as a very serious matter," editor-in-chief Stephen J. Adler said, adding that officials at the company "conducted an internal review and have taken appropriate steps to prevent a recurrence."

The press court was created in February 2011. An Iranian official said it was necessary because of developments in mass media and "special media crimes."

Source & Image : CNN World

Georgia leader Mikhail Saakashvili faces election test

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Opposition leader Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgia's richest man, accuses the president of acting undemocratically and trampling on people's rights.

Mr Saakashvili says his opponent will allow Russia to dominate the former Soviet republic.

The president led the country in a short war with Russia in 2008.

He has sought to portray the election as a choice between his progressive Western-leaning government, and a future dominated by Russia.

"Tomorrow, our enemy has its last chance to turn us off our path of independence," Mr Saakashvili said in a recorded address carried on state TV on Sunday.

"But I am confident that tomorrow our freedom-loving nation will take the ultimate and decisive step towards liberation from the pincers of the conqueror and towards integration into the house of Europe."

The government's reputation has taken a battering in recent weeks because of a prisoner-abuse scandal.

Videos broadcast on national television showed prison inmates being beaten and sexually abused by guards.

The scandal sparked street protests and has allowed Mr Ivanishvili to portray the government has high-handed and uncaring.

"This regime cannot be the leadership of our country. This system should collapse," he told supporters of his Georgian Dream coalition at a rally on Saturday.

Analysts say the election is crucial because the country's political system is being altered to give more power to parliament.

Mr Saakashvili's second term as president ends next year, and he is constitutionally barred from standing again.

So a parliamentary majority for his United National Movement could see him continue his domination of Georgian politics after he steps down.

The BBC's Damien McGuinness in Tbilisi says fist-fights are already a common feature of campaign meetings, and there are fears a dispute over the results could lead to violence.

Source & Image : BBC

China manufacturing slump drags on

Growth in China's manufacturing sector slowed in September as the country prepares for a political leadership change.

HONG KONG (CNNMoney) -- Activity in China's factory sector continued to slide last month, bringing more bad news for the country's political class as they prepare for a once-a-decade leadership transition.

The Chinese government said Monday that its official manufacturing index hit 49.8 in September, up from 49.2 in August. Any reading below 50 indicates that factory activity is shrinking rather than growing.

On Saturday, a closely-followed report by bank HSBC (HBC) said that new export orders declined last month at their sharpest rate in three-and-a-half years due to weaker international demand.

The fate of manufacturing in China is considered a barometer of the global economy because of the country's role as a powerhouse exporter.

Several economists have recently cut their growth forecasts for China to the mid 7% range. China's economy had been growing around 10% for the past few years. And China's benchmark stock index, the Shanghai Composite, is near multi-year lows.

Related: China stocks stuck in massive rut

China's central bank has already lowered interest rates twice this year in an attempt to accelerate growth. The Chinese government also recently announced a plan to spend more than $150 billion on transportation and other infrastructure projects.

Analysts have suggested that the latest round of disappointing economic news will increase pressure on policymakers to pursue stimulus measures.

But China's government will soon undergo a major transition in the coming months, a once-in-a-decade move that will reshape the leadership of the Communist Party. It is unclear if China will announce any more significant stimulus measures until the new leaders are in place.

First Published: September 30, 2012: 10:04 PM ET

Source & Image : CNN Money

Obama camp: No ‘zingers’ at debate with Romney

President Barack Obama greets supporters upon his arrival in Las Vegas, Nevada (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)LAS VEGAS - President Barack Obama won't be using 'zingers' against Mitt Romney when they clash Wednesday in their first face-to-face debate, a campaign spokeswoman said Sunday. And while beer has featured prominently in recent campaign swings, Obama will be sure to reach out to soda-drinkers, too.

"This will be a very large audience," Jen Psaki told reporters aboard Air Force Once. "He wants to speak directly to the families -- the people who are on their couches at home, having snacks, drinking a beer, drinking soda, whatever it is, and tuning in for the first time -- and that's who he's speaking directly to."

"We also saw in reports that Mitt Romney and his team have been working on zingers and special lines for months," Psaki said. "That's not what the President's focus is on. So if you're expecting that, that's probably not what he's going to deliver on."

The spokeswoman was plainly referring to a New York Times report that said, in part, that:

Romney's team has concluded that debates are about creating moments and has equipped him with a series of zingers that he has memorized and has been practicing on aides since August. His strategy includes luring the president into appearing smug or evasive about his responsibility for the economy.

"Mitt Romney and his team have been clear that what they need and what they expect from the debates is a game-changing performance," Psaki said.

She pointed to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's comments on "Meet The Press" that the debate would be "the restart of this campaign." "Come Thursday morning, the entire narrative of this race is going to change."

Obama has been working on cutting short his frequently verbose answers to questions, Psaki said. Americans want "not just a professorial list of facts or accomplishments or even goals. We know they're looking for your vision, and that's what the President has been focused on."

Source & Image : Yahoo

A Rout Leaves the Jets Hurting and Cursing

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Jets’ season has deteriorated into a tragicomic mix of fluky injuries and M.R.I. tubes, of turnovers and incompletions, of hoping for the best but assuming the worst.

For the second consecutive Sunday, there was an intense competition for the most worrisome aspect of their afternoon, and the contenders all looked the same: an inaccurate quarterback, an impotent running game, a porous defense and the image of a key player collapsing to the ground and being carted away, his status uncertain but grim — not unlike his team’s.

And yet somehow, the nadir of the Jets’ 34-0 loss to the San Francisco 49ers at MetLife Stadium came long after the outcome had been decided, after Santonio Holmes’s left leg gave out on a seemingly innocuous fourth-quarter catch along the sideline.

As Coach Rex Ryan stewed across the field, his anger and humiliation was building for the postgame tirade he would soon unleash at his players and at his news conference. All around him was red, the color of jersey-wearing 49ers fans who had moved down to claim seats belonging to Jets supporters who had opted to sit in traffic rather than watch the end of the game.

The totality of the carnage — the 2-for-13 ineptitude on third down; the 245 rushing yards allowed, the most under Ryan; the 145 yards amassed — infuriated Ryan, and he arrived in the interview room afterward looking like a man who needed a hug, a stiff drink or both. He started to say something, paused for six seconds, then apologized for the coarse language he was about to use.

“I was going to say we got our butt kicked,” said Ryan, who thought better (or worse) of it and opted for more colorful terms to characterize the nature of the defeat.

Just minutes earlier, Ryan told his players that San Francisco embarrassed them, that their performance was “obviously unacceptable.” He told them not to bother coming to the facility Monday or Tuesday, that they would be best served spending that time reflecting on their own. Summing up the day, Joe McKnight said, “I ain’t never seen anything like that.”

The A.F.C. East standings indicate that the Jets are still in first place, sharing the same 2-2 record as the New England Patriots and the Buffalo Bills. But with undefeated Houston — a team that is capable of bullying the Jets just as the 49ers did — visiting next Monday night, the Jets’ stay in first could soon end.

Not without their best player, Darrelle Revis, who sustained a season-ending knee injury last week, or their best offensive player, Holmes, who seemed in such deep pain that, while lying on his back, he could not bear holding onto the ball. He flipped it in the air, and Carlos Rogers returned it 51 yards for a touchdown.

And not when a coach is asked about the job security of a quarterback, Mark Sanchez, who committed two of the team’s four turnovers, who has presided over an offense that has scored a single touchdown in its last 34 possessions, who through four games has completed 49.2 percent of his passes. And not when a coach is seething about a defense that has allowed an average of 172.8 rushing yards and is better at missing tackles than making them.

“They ran the football, they controlled the clock, and we didn’t do anything to stop them,” linebacker Aaron Maybin said. “As a defense, that’s pretty embarrassing.”

Several times Ryan had proclaimed this team the best of his four-year tenure, but one quarter into the season, the Jets are ravaged by injuries, inconsistency and, perhaps, miscalculations.

The defense they thought would be excellent is not, yielding 379 yards Sunday. The running game they thought would thrive under the new coordinator has sputtered, recording only 45 yards. With their passing offense already diminished by the absences of the receiving threats Dustin Keller (hamstring) and Stephen Hill (hamstring), the Jets’ lack of depth was further exposed by Holmes’s injury. They strengthened other areas of need in the off-season, like safety, but opted not to acquire a proven No. 2 receiver to complement Holmes. Now they are facing the consequences. Holmes left the stadium on a golf cart, with crutches, his foot encased in a boot. X-rays were negative, but Holmes will have a magnetic resonance imaging test Monday.

“What are we going to do?” Sanchez said. “We can’t just not show up. We’ve got to play. We’ve got to play better than we did today.”

Sanchez completed 13 of 29 passes for 103 yards, committing two turnovers — one, a fumble after he held the ball too long, was particularly vexing, stalling a drive at the San Francisco 25 late in the first half with the Jets trailing, 7-0. The 49ers countered with a field goal as time expired, and early in the third quarter, after a Sanchez screen pass was deflected and intercepted, a brief but audible chant arose.

It took four games — and the second at home — for some fans to call for Tebow. It was unclear precisely why, given his minimal role Sunday (2 rushes for no yards and a pass for 9 yards). In the first half alone, the 49ers revealed more creativity with their change-of-pace quarterback, Colin Kaepernick — who ran for 50 yards and the team’s first touchdown — than the Jets have all season with Tebow.

Several players defended Sanchez afterward, as did Ryan, who said he was not ready to switch quarterbacks because “I think Mark is the answer.”

But, he added, “Again, time will tell.”

And there is time. Twelve more games for Sanchez to rebound, for the defense to recover, for players to heal. But with 12 more games also comes the potential for 12 more exasperating losses, 12 ways the season could spiral out of control. As always, the Jets are hoping for the best. Hoping, perhaps, against hope.

Source & Image : New York Times

Japan Tankan survey shows business mood worsening

The Bank of Japan's Tankan Survey measures pessimism and optimism among large manufacturers.

The index showed the mood deteriorating to minus 3, compared to minus 1 in the June survey. It has been negative for four straight quarters.

Analysts said demand has been hit by a weak global economic picture.

"The details of the Tankan show that indexes for demand are weakening both domestically and overseas, reflecting the slowdown in the global economy and its impact on Japan," said Hiraoki Muto from Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management in Tokyo.

Source & Image : BBC

Justin Bieber Gets Sick On Stage, Continues With Concert

What a trooper! Justin Bieber took his devotion to his Beliebers to a whole new level on Saturday night.

The 18-year-old superstar, seemingly suffering from some sort of stomach ailment, threw up on stage during a concert in Glendale, Ariz., but pushed through the entire show for his fans.

PLAY IT NOW: Justin Bieber’s Mother: What Advice Does She Give Him About Dating?

According to TMZ, Justin also left the stage twice due to illness, and apologized to the understanding audience for being sick.

The dedicated pop star kept a sense of humor about the evening with an "Anchorman" reference, Tweeting, "And .... Milk was a bad choice! Lol"

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Young Love! Justin Bieber & Selena Gomez

He later posted a photo of himself resting in bed with the caption, "Great show. Getting better for tomorrow's show !!!! Love u"

The Arizona stop marked the first show of the "As Long As You Love Me" singer's new "Believe" tour.

-- Erin O'Sullivan

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Young Hollywood Heartthrobs!

Copyright 2012 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source & Image : Yahoo

Pussy Riot case: Russian court to hear appeal

In August, three members of the group were jailed for two years for staging an anti-Kremlin protest in a Moscow cathedral.

The Russian Orthodox Church said on Sunday that clemency should be possible for the trio as long as they repented what they called their "punk prayer".

But their lawyers have said that they doubt the appeal will be successful.

The three band members - Maria Alyokhina, 24, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30 - were found guilty of "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred" in August.

Their imprisonment sparked condemnation in many parts of the world.

Their obscenity-laced performance, which implored the Virgin Mary to "throw out" President Vladimir Putin and sought, they said, to highlight the Russian Orthodox Church leader's support for the president, enraged the Church.

But, in a statement, the Church said that though the women's action "cannot be left unpunished", if they showed penitence and reconsideration of their action their words "shouldn't be left unnoticed".

"The church sincerely wishes for the repentance of those who desecrated a holy place, certainly it would benefit their souls," senior Church spokesman Vladimir Legoida said.

The church's comments follow a suggestion from Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev earlier this month that a suspended sentence would have been sufficient punishment for the women.

Their lawyers have said that their clients will not repent if it means admitting guilt.

"If they [the church] mean repentance in the sense of a crime ... it definitely won't happen. Our clients won't admit guilt. A call for that is pointless," lawyer Mark Feigin told independent TV channel Dozhd on Sunday.

The father of one of the jailed women said that whether they repent or not, the trio have little hope of their sentences being quashed.

"The sentence is predetermined; their repentance will not affect it in any way," Stanislav Samutsevich told Reuters.

Source & Image : BBC

Seven of the week's best reads

Ben Goldacre | Guardian | 21 September 2012

How much do you and your doctor know about the drugs you take? This account suggests not enough. Says Goldacre: "Drugs are tested by the people who manufacture them, in poorly designed trials, on hopelessly small numbers of weird, unrepresentative patients, and analysed using techniques that are flawed by design, in such a way that they exaggerate the benefits of treatments. Unsurprisingly, these trials tend to produce results that favour the manufacturer. When trials throw up results that companies don't like, they are perfectly entitled to hide them from doctors and patients, so we only ever see a distorted picture of any drug's true effects."

Andrew Sullivan | Newsweek | 24 September 2012

The US presidential election campaign is now in full swing, and much time and effort is being expended in second-guessing the intentions of voters. "But", says Sullivan, "one thing that has so far, in my view, been under-estimated is the potential impact of a solid Obama win, and perhaps a Democratic retention of the Senate and some progress in the House. This is now a perfectly plausible outcome. It would also be a transformational moment in modern American politics." Here is Sullivan's idea of what a second term for President Obama could mean.

Jason Sheeler | Texas Monthly | 22 September 2012

Kermit Oliver is a painter, a mystic, a recluse. He lives in a modest house with his wife and works the night shift, sorting mail in a post office in Waco, Texas. He mourns his son, who was executed for murder. And he designs silk scarves for the Hermes fashion house in Paris. His style is so popular that the company has repeatedly commissioned new original designs from him. And he remains the only American artist ever to have designed scarves for Hermes.

Bernard Porter | History Today | 27 September 2012

It looked big on the map. All those countries coloured red. But the British Empire was never administered or even loosely organised centrally. It was run by a small cadre of civil servants - 4,000 at its Victorian peak. It was more about trade than territory. Empire on the cheap. As Porter says in this fascinating reappraisal: "Most of the British Empire in the 19th and 20th Centuries was what we would now call 'privatised', for two of the reasons usually adduced for privatisation today: to save money and to shed responsibility. The other reason, that 'private' always works better, was not so much in evidence."

Kenan Malik | Pandaemonium | 26 September 2012

Salman Rushdie's memoir of life under the fatwa has hit the bookshelves just as a new controversy over Islamic sensibilities has blown up around the world. It's an opportune moment to look back at the row over The Satanic Verses and see if we've learned anything. Malik says three myths about the Rushdie affair have shaped responses to every similar conflict since and that every one is being reproduced in the debate about the controversial film The Innocence of Muslims. These are: "The belief that violence is being driven by religious sensibilities, that all Muslims are incensed, and that Muslim anger is reason for new restrictions on free speech."

Lauren Hilgers | Wired | 25 September 2012

Early this year, a time-lapse video went viral on the internet. It showed a skyscraper being erected in little more than two weeks. The company behind the project, Broad Sustainable Building, was able to build so fast because most of the construction had taken place in a factory beforehand and the modules, plumbing and all had merely to be fitted together on site. It's a new way of constructing high-rise buildings and, says Broad, it's safer, less wasteful and cheaper as well as being faster than more traditional methods. Hubristic claims? We shall see. The firm's stated ambition is to build the world's tallest building in seven months, starting in November.

Lisa Hix & Steven Martin | Collectors Weekly | 24 September 2012

Here's a cautionary tale from an unlikely source. Collectors Weekly meets Steven Martin who, while living in Thailand, became fascinated by the beauty of old opium pipes, lamps and other paraphernalia. He collected more than 1,000 pieces, researched the history of opium and wrote a book about opium antiques. But somewhere along the way, initially in the interests of research (so he told himself), Martin began smoking opium too. In this interview, he discusses the social and cultural history of opium, and how his hobby turned into a health-threatening obsession.

Source & Image : BBC

The Conservative Case for Obamacare

Washington

IF Mitt Romney’s pivots on President’s Obama’s health care reform act have accelerated to a blur — from repealing on Day 1, to preserving this or that piece, to punting the decision to the states — it is for an odd reason buried beneath two and a half years of Republican political condemnations: the architecture of the Affordable Care Act is based on conservative, not liberal, ideas about individual responsibility and the power of market forces.

This fundamental ideological paradox, drowned out by partisan shouting since before the plan’s passage in 2010, explains why Obamacare has only lukewarm support from many liberals, who wanted a real, not imagined, “government takeover of health care.” It explains why Republicans have been unable since its passage to come up with anything better. And it explains why the law is nearly identical in design to the legislation Mr. Romney passed in Massachusetts while governor.

The core drivers of the health care act are market principles formulated by conservative economists, designed to correct structural flaws in our health insurance system — principles originally embraced by Republicans as a market alternative to the Clinton plan in the early 1990s. The president’s program extends the current health care system — mostly employer-based coverage, administered by commercial health insurers, with care delivered by fee-for-service doctors and hospitals — by removing the biggest obstacles to that system’s functioning like a competitive marketplace.

Chief among these obstacles are market limitations imposed by the problematic nature of health insurance, which requires that younger, healthier people subsidize older, sicker ones. Because such participation is often expensive and always voluntary, millions have simply opted out, a risky bet emboldened by the 24/7 presence of the heavily subsidized emergency room down the street. The health care law forcibly repatriates these gamblers, along with those who cannot afford to participate in a market that ultimately cross-subsidizes their medical misfortunes anyway, when they get sick and show up in that E.R. And it outlaws discrimination against those who want to participate but cannot because of their medical histories. Put aside the considerable legislative detritus of the act, and its aim is clear: to rationalize a dysfunctional health insurance marketplace.

This explains why the health insurance industry has been quietly supporting the plan all along. It levels the playing field and expands the potential market by tens of millions of new customers.

The rationalization and extension of the current market is financed by the other linchpin of the law: the mandate that we all carry health insurance, an idea forged not by liberal social engineers at the Brookings Institution but by conservative economists at the Heritage Foundation. The individual mandate recognizes that millions of Americans who could buy health insurance choose not to, because it requires trading away today’s wants for tomorrow’s needs. The mandate is about personal responsibility — a hallmark of conservative thought.

IN the partisan war sparked by the 2008 election, Republicans conveniently forgot that this was something many of them had supported for years. The only thing wrong with the mandate? Mr. Obama also thought it was a good idea.

The same goes for health insurance exchanges, another idea formulated by conservatives and supported by Republican governors and legislators across the country for years. An exchange is as pro-market a mechanism as they come: free up buyers and sellers, standardize the products, add pricing transparency, and watch what happens. Market Economics 101.

In the shouting match over the health care law, most have somehow missed another of its obvious virtues: it enshrines accountability — yes, another conservative idea. Under today’s system, most health insurers (and providers) are accountable to the wrong people, often for the wrong reasons, with the needs of patients coming last. With the transparency, mobility and choice of the exchanges, businesses and individuals can decide for themselves which insurers (and, embedded in their networks, which providers) deserve their dollars. They can see, thanks to the often derided benefits standardization of the reform act, what they are actually buying. They can shop around. And businesses are free to decide that they are better off opting out, paying into funds that subsidize individuals’ coverage and letting their employees do their own shopping, with what is, in essence, their own compensation, relocated to the exchanges.

Back when the idea of letting businesses and consumers pick their own plans — with their own money on an exchange — first floated around Washington, advocates called them “association health plans.” They, too, would have corrected for the lack of transparency, mobility and choice in local insurance markets by allowing the purchase of health insurance across state lines. They were the cornerstone of what would have been the Bush administration’s reform plan (had the administration not been distracted by other matters). After the rejection of “Hillarycare” in the mid-’90s, association health plans emerged as the centerpiece of pro-market, Republican thinking about health reform — essentially what would become Romneycare, extended via federal law to cover the entire country. So much for Mr. Romney’s argument that his plan in Massachusetts was an expression of states’ rights. His own party had bigger plans for the rest of the country, and they looked a lot like Obamacare.

Source & Image : New York Times

Venezuela poll: Big Caracas rally for Henrique Capriles

Mr Capriles criticised President Hugo Chavez for what he called a long list of unfulfilled promises.

He demanded justice for three opposition activists killed during a rally in Barinas state on Saturday.

President Chavez has promised to deepen socialism in Venezuela if he wins another six-year term.

He told his own supporters it was impossible to lose.

Mr Capriles' First Justice Party said the three men were campaigning in Barinas when gunmen shot them.

Witnesses said the gunmen fired from a van belonged to the state oil company, but there was no confirmation of this.

The three were named as Jason Valero, Omar Fernandez and Hector Rojas.

"Yesterday, sadly, violence took three lives, something that should never have happened," Mr Capriles said, in his last major rally in the capital.

"I want to tell their families, and those angels in heaven, that we are going to defeat violence on 7 October."

An initial statement by the First Justice Party on Saturday night reported two deaths.

It said a rally had been planned in Barinas, President Hugo Chavez's home state, on Saturday but the road was blocked by government supporters.

When Mr Valero and Mr Fernandez left their car to try to gain access, they were fired on by gunmen inside a van, it said.

"This tragedy gives us more strength and faith to fight for a Venezuela where justice and non-violence reign," the First Justice Party said.

Justice Minister Tareck El Aissami said in a message on Twitter that a suspect in the killings had already been arrested.

Mr Chavez and Mr Capriles are wrapping up their campaigns over the next few days ahead of the 7 October elections.

The president also gathered large crowds in Zulia state.

He said he regretted the deaths and called for calm.

"It's not with violence that we face off. It's with votes, ideas, peace, so let's not fall into provocations," he said, quoted by Reuters news agency.

There have been other incidents of violence on the campaign trail. Supporters of both candidates threw stones at each other earlier this month when Mr Capriles attempted to march through the city of Puerto Cabello.

And four people were injured in a shooting that erupted during a voting rehearsal at the beginning of September.

With violent crime a key concern for voters, the BBC's Sarah Grainger, in Caracas, says there are fears that further violence could erupt in what has become Venezuela's closest fought election in over a decade.

Mr Chavez has been in power since 1999, but was diagnosed with cancer last year.

More than 30 opposition parties have backed a single candidate, Henrique Capriles, to challenge the leftist president.

Source & Image : BBC

Debates Can Shift a Race’s Outcome, but It’s Not Easy

WASHINGTON — History shows that candidates have different ways to score through presidential debates: the forceful put-down, the surprising show of skill, the opponent’s fumble, superior post-debate tactics.

But it also shows that to fundamentally alter the direction of a campaign, a candidate usually has to accomplish all of those things.

That underscores the challenge that Mitt Romney faces against President Obama as they approach the first presidential debate of 2012, the 27th of the television era featuring the major-party nominees.

In 2004, with Americans increasingly anxious about the Iraq war, Senator John Kerry knocked President George W. Bush onto the defensive by pointing out: “Saddam Hussein didn’t attack us. Osama bin Laden attacked us.” Mr. Kerry dented Mr. Bush’s lead, but ultimately could not overcome it.

In 1980, Ronald Reagan’s avuncular “There you go again” performance reassured Americans that he was not the extremist that President Jimmy Carter had warned about. Reagan’s standing improved after that debate, though the race had already tilted his way and a Gallup study later concluded that the debate was “not likely to have been a determining factor” in his landslide victory.

Four years before, President Gerald R. Ford blundered by asserting, “There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe.” Trailing Mr. Carter, the Democratic nominee, by double-digit margins before their three debates, Mr. Ford made up ground after the debates but went on to lose the popular vote by two percentage points.

Only twice have debates appeared to shift the election’s outcome. The first time was in 1960, when Americans first saw presidential candidates debate on television.

Senator John F. Kennedy, whose crisp, cool demeanor contrasted with Vice President Richard M. Nixon’s haggard appearance, moved from being even in the Gallup Poll to four percentage points ahead by the last debate, on Oct. 21. Gallup later concluded that the candidates’ four encounters that year “could very well have accounted” for Kennedy’s narrow victory, though the closeness of the contest and a dearth of other polling at the time make a definitive conclusion difficult.

The clearest shift from the debates came in the 2000 race, pitting Gov. George W. Bush of Texas against Vice President Al Gore. It resulted from a rare combination of factors, with devastating cumulative effects on Mr. Gore’s campaign.

Mr. Gore entered the first encounter, on Oct. 3, with a reputation as a strong debater and with a lead of five percentage points among likely voters in a New York Times/CBS News poll. “We weren’t all that far from where Romney is now,” Jan van Lohuizen, a pollster for Mr. Bush, recalled last week.

But Mr. Gore’s skill at jousting became overshadowed by minor factual misstatements and what appeared as a condescending, impatient demeanor — especially after Mr. Bush’s aides called attention to them in post-debate interviews.

“They beat us after the debate in the spin room,” said Tad Devine, a strategist for Mr. Gore. “Their spin was, ‘He lied and he sighed,’ and that took hold.”

It got worse when Mr. Bush’s running mate, Dick Cheney, bested Mr. Gore’s No. 2, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, in the vice-presidential debate. In the second presidential face-off, Mr. Gore responded with what was widely judged to be an ineffectual performance.

Then, in their final debate, on Oct. 17, Mr. Gore overcompensated again — seeking to discomfit Mr. Bush by approaching him onstage. With a nod of greeting and an easy grin, Mr. Bush made Mr. Gore appear foolish.

Other errors by the Gore campaign during those two weeks, which included poor makeup for one debate that gave Mr. Gore an orange tint, helped Mr. Bush gain a strong edge in polls for “likability.” Daron Shaw, a political scientist at the University of Texas, called the result a “wave effect” that lifted the Republican ticket.

Source & Image : New York Times

Young workers: 'Never forget your dreams'

We asked you to tell us your stories of how you got your break in these tough circumstances and what advice you'd give to others still searching.

Here are your stories which include war, luck, determination and realism and at the bottom is another chance to tell us how you did it for another piece we'll publish as the series "Young and Jobless" continues.

'Do not get discouraged by failure and keep trying'

I was interviewed for around 10 of the many positions I had applied for. But I think when you fail to be shortlisted for roles, it does make you question your capabilities and skills.

There were also lots of obstacles I had to face. My home country - Ivory Coast - was going through a civil war and so I would be being interviewed over Skype while there were bomb blasts going off in the background. My priority was finding a good job while caring for my daughter. For me it became an issue of survival.

Don't just look for paid roles - volunteer or intern in order to get an insight into a professional environment and structure your CV so that it highlights your accomplishments and talents.

Do not get discouraged by failure and keep trying. Learn from your unsuccessful attempts.

'Have the courage to stand out, and stand up for yourself'

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'Keep on trying and if you have to settle for an internship, do it to gain experience'

After university I sent out a bunch of applications and dropped off my resume at offices all over Nairobi. I also did a lot of networking.

Although Kenya has a high rate of unemployment, I chose not to give up.

I bumped into my current employer one day and handed him a copy of my curriculum vitae on the off-chance he needed somebody. A day later he called me. I was first an assignment research assistant but am now working in technical support.

This is a small start-up company but it's giving me the experience I need.

I would say keep on trying and even if you have to settle for an internship, do it so that you at least gain experience.

'Find a strategy that emphasises how interesting and unique your background is'

After a long time spent in academia working on a PhD in philosophy and teaching, I changed direction completely and enrolled in a one-year masters programme at a French business school.

The change turned out to be radical as I have now just started working at a management and strategy consulting firm.

But I had entered the recruiting process many months before my first interview. I met people who worked in the industry at the companies I wanted to work at, friends of friends and alumni from the various international universities I had attended.

That helped me to feel comfortable entering the complicated and arduous process of applying and interviewing.

My advice is to find a strategy that emphasises how interesting and unique your background is.

'The job you settled for could be the stepping stone to achieving your dream job'

After studying in the UK, I hoped to enter the field of foreign affairs and diplomacy but then realised that I had no idea about how to get into that line of work in Malaysia.

I still hope to work in foreign affairs but I have come to terms with the fact that not everybody gets their dream job immediately after graduating. My current job teaches me how to track and analyse economic trends so I'm hoping that will help me in the future.

My advice to those looking for a job - sometimes you just need to settle, but never forget your dream.

The job you settled for could be the stepping stone to achieving your dream job. That hope is what forces me to wake up each morning to go to work.

'Be stubborn, be determined, be thorough'

After graduation, I spent nine months waitressing until I found a part-time internship opportunity via a family friend contact. I moved to take up the position at the drop of a hat.

I applied all over the world stating I'd be happy to relocate. Many companies never responded despite my follow-up phonecalls and emails.

But I now work in a small team of analysts conducting social media analysis and drafting reports which focus on the Western Africa region.

Persistence is key. Be stubborn, be determined, be thorough. Apply to positions you may not be directly interested in.

As a young jobseeker you are full of so much potential, don't let yourself be lost among the discouraged!

'A willingness to volunteer is also vital as it illustrates that you care about more than just yourself'

Getting a first job as a trainee solicitor was the hardest challenge I ever faced.

I have emerged from the process a stronger, tougher and better person, having learned vital skills to survive in both a tough profession and economic world.

To cross the line, I had to show dedication to the legal profession. This I did through working, unpaid and funding my own expenses, at nine firms every holiday. I needed teamwork and leadership skills, which I acquired through getting involved in university activities, and experience in the workplace which I got by working in a supermarket and a local restaurant.

A willingness to volunteer is also vital as it illustrates that you care about more than just yourself.

Also crucial is business acumen. It is simple to get, given how easy it is to access information online and via television programmes. Taking notes of the key points and issues gives you enough to have an opinion and so score points at interview.

'Perseverance is key'

Immediately after leaving university I was lucky to land a seven-month unpaid internship at the Oxfam campaigns office in Manchester in the UK.

However, my dream was to work for an non-government organisation in Peru and so I decided the only way to launch my career was to study for a masters in international development.

Finding my first job wasn't as stressful as I'd imagined. In fact, my first application landed me my dream job. I worked extremely hard for my interviews and here I am today in a small town in northern Peru using both of my degrees.

I believe that by gaining as much relevant experience as possible during and after university and being willing to start at the bottom have paid off. It really made the quest for my first (and dream) job relatively pain-free.

Use any contacts you might have in your area of work who can help you source job vacancies and just apply for everything you can - perseverance is key!

'Be willing to accept new challenges and risks so you can discover just how far you can really go'

I started working when I was still in college in the US.

Unfortunately things didn't go the way I was planning and due to the economic crisis, investment firms started laying off foreigners so my chances of getting hired by one of them was almost zero.

I decided to go back to Azerbaijan where I went through several exams and interviews before I finally got my first full-time job at Pasha Bank as a treasury controller.

I believe achievements don't come with strength but with perseverance. The traits which most successful people have in common are perseverance, persistence and determination.

The key to success is being able to develop these characteristics, stay passionate about your ambitions and be able to take a risk when necessary.

If you would like to get your dream job you need to persistently improve yourself, be willing to accept new challenges and risks so you can discover just how far you can really go.

'Keep studying even if you have to work at the same time'

I am an Indian who was educated in Bahrain and finished my masters in Australia. I am currently working as a marketing specialist for Techno Blue, which represents Samsung in the country.

I was unemployed for nine months and was finally ready to call it quits and return to India when I got an interview call from the company for a role in logistics.

I went along but the chief executive officer refused to employ me. He told me that he hated to see a person like me stuck behind a desk and instead gave me the marketing role. He was aware I did not have much experience but guaranteed full support and mentoring. I said yes immediately.

Though I found it extremely hard to find a decent job in Bahrain, I did not lose hope. Bahrain is home to me, and although I am not a Bahraini passport holder I love this tiny island with a certain passion.

Bahrain was also going through a tough year with all the protests taking place as part of the Middle East "revolution". Trade was bad and businesses were shutting down everywhere. But I kept at it.

I would advise other jobseekers to keep studying even if you have to work at the same time.

'Seize every chance going and step out of your comfort zones'

I'm working as a sales assistant in a furniture company - it's a job I started a few months ago.

My sister worked at the same company and when she decided to leave, she told me about the vacancy. She helped me send my curriculum vitae to the human resources department. But when I had the interview the boss was impressed with my English language skills - so it was a mixture of luck and talent.

At university I studied import-export business administration but I'm not really using my specialism much. I do like my job now as sometimes I have the chance to meet new customers and learn how to deal with them, solve problems and do the best I can. But I am still studying as I want to know more about foreign trade.

I would say seize every chance going and step out of your comfort zones.

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Source & Image : BBC

Japan introduces piracy penalties for illegal downloads

Such activity has been illegal since 2010, but until now had not invoked the penalties.

It follows a lobbying campaign by country's music industry.

But critics said that efforts should have remained focused on stopping users making such material available.

In Japan illegal uploads of copyright infringing music and videos carry a maximum 10 year prison sentence and a 10 million yen fine.

Sales figures suggest the country is the world's second-largest music market after the US.

In theory the new download punishments can be enforced if a user is found to have copied a single pirated file.

The Recording Industry Association of Japan had pushed for the move, suggesting that illegal media downloads outnumbered legal ones by about a factor of 10.

The figure is based on a 2010 study which suggested that people in the country downloaded about 4.36 billion illegally pirated music and video files and 440 million purchased ones that year.

It added that the disparity was likely to have increased over the following months.

"This revision will reduce the spread of copyright infringement activities on the internet," said the body's chairman Naoki Kitagawa, who is also chief executive of Sony Music Entertainment Japan, earlier this year.

Politicians voted through the change in June.

Shortly afterwards the website of the government's finance ministry was defaced and the sites of the Supreme Court, the DPJ and LDP political parties, and the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers were briefly taken offline after cyber attacks.

The following month a group of masked activists associated wearing masks associated with the Anonymous hacktivist movement staged a protest in Tokyo.

About 80 participants picked up rubbish from the ground in the city's Shibuya shopping district for an hour to publicise their opposition to the plan.

The Japan Federation of Bar Associations, a group representing legal professionals, also issued a statement saying the offence should have remained a civil, rather than criminal, matter.

"Treating personal activities with criminal punishments must be done very cautiously, and the property damage caused by individual illegal downloads by private individuals is highly insignificant," it said.

However, the efforts did not sway the politicians.

Japan's action is part of a wider international crackdown on online piracy.

Over recent months the US has taken the digital locker service Megaupload offline; Ukraine has shut down the BitTorrent site Demonoid; the UK has jailed the owner of the Surfthechannel video link provider; and several countries have restricted access to The Pirate Bay torrent service - the founder of which was recently deported from Cambodia to Sweden to face tax charges.

France also recently fined one of its citizens for the first time under its "three strikes" rule which allows it to impose a fine if a suspected pirate ignores three warnings about their activity.

However, attempts to introduce new laws have run into problems elsewhere.

The US put off votes on Sopa (Stop Online Piracy Act) and Pipa (Protect IP Act) in January after Wikipedia and thousands of other sites staged blackouts in protest.

The European Parliament also voted to reject Acta (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement) in July after opposition across the continent.

Source & Image : BBC

EU referendum: Pundits mull future without Britain

Opinions vary on how likely or desirable this is. Some would like Britain to stay in the EU, others consider that the country's eventual departure is all but inevitable, and a third group would positively welcome such a development.

The current edition of the German Council on Foreign Relations journal, Internationale Politik, includes an article on "The British question".

Its author, Hans Kundnani, argues that closer integration, which is "probably required" to resolve the euro crisis, "could force Britain to leave the EU".

He says German politicians and media appear to be divided over how important it is to prevent this. Chancellor Angela Merkel seems to be "torn both ways". Her intuitive preference for Britain to stay may come to be outweighed by the "overwhelming pressure" she faces to resolve the euro crisis.

However, Mr Kundnani himself warns that Britain's departure would be "fatal" for the bloc and that Mrs Merkel will have to make greater concessions to Britain if she wants to avoid such an outcome.

Others share this view. A commentary by Michael Stuermer in the German daily Die Welt says it is "in the German interest to keep Britain in the EU at almost any cost". Mr Stuermer praises the "free trade instincts" of the British and says European defence without the UK "would be a knife without a blade".

Hubert Wetzel in Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung is somewhat cooler on Britain's continued membership. "Of course Britain's departure would be a disaster for the EU. However, with all due respect, Europe has bigger problems," Mr Wetzel says.

Some French-language commentators, in particular, regard Britain's eventual departure from the EU as a foregone conclusion.

The Europe correspondent of the French daily Liberation, Jean Quatremer, is categorical. "In a few years' time, Britain will have left the EU," he says in a blog post.

Mr Quatremer argues that, in the face of the coming deepening of eurozone ties, Britain's traditional strategy of negotiating opt-outs might rapidly become "unmanageable" and "even quite simply impossible".

Add to that the "growing hysteria" in the British debate on the EU, and it becomes "difficult to see" how a referendum on EU membership can be avoided, "all the more since the new generation of Conservative leaders is fanatically europhobic".

A lengthy editorial in French on the EU-Logos website agrees that "the moment of truth has arrived" for the UK.

It says the launching of an audit of EU powers and their impact on the UK by Foreign Secretary William Hague is unlikely to stop the British march towards "a rejection, in one form or another, of the European Union, a rejection which is inexorably gaining ground".

The editorial appears to welcome the prospect of a British exit. "The attitude of the United Kingdom is calling the whole patiently constructed edifice into question too strongly and too clearly. Its refusals have disheartened the last of its defenders," it says.

There is in fact a body of opinion according to which Britain's departure would be a boon to a European Union which is being held back by London's constant objections.

"Does the United Kingdom have to leave the European Union?", asks Charles Nonne in a French-language article promoted on bloggingportal.eu.

The author laments the current paralysis of European integration and squarely puts the blame on the UK. "By withdrawing from the institutions of the European Union, the United Kingdom would offer the EU an opportunity to launch a real process of federalisation," he says.

In a German-language post on blogactiv.eu entitled "Without you then!", Andreas Sowa says a "less formal link between Britain and the EU seems to be a necessary evil on the way to an institutionally and conceptually functioning Europe" and concludes: "If you are not willing, then we shall proceed without you. For the next few steps, Europe does not need Britain."

Such sentiments are not entirely confined to EU blogging portals. In December 2011, the highbrow German weekly newspaper Die Zeit carried two articles on Britain's EU membership, one in favour and the other against. Making the case against, the paper's Brussels correspondent, Matthias Krupa, said that "Britain must decide what role it wants to play in the EU in future. As notorious naysayers, the British are redundant."

Europe jigsaw picture by Thorsten Kirchhoff, CC BY.

BBC Monitoring reports and analyses news from TV, radio, web and print media around the world. For more reports from BBC Monitoring, click here

Source & Image : BBC