OT: Caught on camera
maff
Eric Allison
March 7, 2007 10:00 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/eric_allison/2007/03/at_64_years_of_ageand.html
At 64 years of age - and having spent approximately half of my adult
life behind bars - I am not easily shocked by the behaviour of some of
those employed by the criminal justice system. But watching the CCTV
footage of a police officer in Sheffield laying into a slightly built
young woman at the back of a city centre nightclub shook my senses to
the core. The arrest of 20 year old Toni Comer, in July last year came
about after Ms Comer - who stands at five feet six inches tall and
weighs in at nine stone - had earlier been ejected from the Niche
night club. She then damaged a car belonging to an employee of the
club before trying to gain re-entry via the back door of the venue.
What followed next was caught on camera: the footage shows Ms Comer
and a police officer grappling at the top of a fire escape. The pair
tumble down the steps before the officer, by now on top of the woman,
raises a clenched fist and brings it down five times - in hammer like
fashion.
Bush to Brazil
Conor Foley
March 7, 2007 10:30 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/conor_foley/2007/03/bush_to_brazil.html
The most interesting thing about tomorrow's visit by President George
Bush to Brazil is how uninteresting most Brazilians find it.
Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of trade unionists, students and
activists from Brazil's large landless movement will demonstrate
against Bush, who is almost universally loathed in Brazil. Dislike for
him spans the domestic political spectrum. An opinion poll for the BBC
showed that 60% of Brazilians had a negative opinion of him, which was
one of the highest figures of any country in the world.
Kicking the habit
Jo Wood
March 8, 2007 8:01 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/jo_wood/2007/03/rehab_for_the_angry.html
With nothing less than a BBC entertainment "top story", Robbie
Williams skulks out of rehab yesterday, poor lamb. With not a hint of
attention seeking, he admitted himself on his 33rd birthday, addicted
to prescription drugs, and is now being looked after by his mum. Seems
to be the thing to do these days, to check oneself in to somewhere
with a name that sounds like a pastel colour, to be "cured" of the
vices that have burdened these poor, vulnerable people.
You can be admitted for any number of different reasons - Robbie, of
course, for addiction to prescription drugs; Miss USA Tara Conner for
alcoholism and "sexual misconduct" (eh?); Linsay Lohan to take care of
her "personal health", whatever that means; Jade Goody for stress and
depression; Britney Spears for the need to shave her hair off, and,
gasp, get a tattoo in front of, well, the world's press; and perhaps
my favourite, Nick Foulkes for "unhappiness".
The mirage of independence
Besnik Pula and Anna Di Lellio
March 8, 2007 9:00 AM
If the settlement drafted by special envoy for Kosovo, Martii
Ahtisaari, is approved by the UN security council later this month, a
new "independent protectorate" will be established in Europe. Confused
by the contradiction contained in that term? The truth is that naming
the reality that is taking shape in Kosovo is a challenge.
The settlement provides for self-rule, clearly stating that Kosovo
shall be responsible for managing its own affairs, and thus de facto
severing local government's formal ties with its legal sovereign, the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, a state that is no more. At the same
time, it requires the presence of an International Civilian
Representative (ICR) with broad powers, who is the final authority
regarding the interpretation of the settlement.
The brotherhood is gathering outside the pharaoh's palace
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2028786,00.html
The Mubarak regime is heading for a succession crisis. By trying to
strangle Egypt's Islamists, it has strengthened them
Timothy Garton Ash in Aswan
Thursday March 8, 2007
The Guardian
In front of the towering golden sandstone entrance to the temple of
Edfu stands an imposing granite statue of a falcon, some 12ft tall,
representing Horus, a premier league Egyptian god. Sculpted into his
chest is a small figure of one of the Greek rulers of Egypt at the
time when the temple was built. To buttress his political legitimacy,
the alien neo-pharaoh had not merely wrapped himself in the flag but
carved himself into the stone of a powerful god. The rulers of Egypt
have been playing this game for thousands of years - and they are at
it again today.
No, capitalism is not the only way to order human affairs
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2028789,00.html
We are endlessly assured that there is no alternative to the present
system and that socialism is dead. Real life suggests otherwise
Andrew Murray
Thursday March 8, 2007
The Guardian
For nearly two decades, the Thatcherite dictum that "there is no
alternative" has been used to stifle serious challenge to the way the
world is run, and right now there seems to be an increasingly urgent
insistence that there is only one possible social and economic future
for us all. It isn't just the hard men of the moneyed right asserting
that capitalism is the only way to order human affairs. Liberals are
also now unshakeably convinced that there can be no alternative to
capitalism - unless perhaps it is a collapse into some variety of
barbarism.
A blight on Bermondsey
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2028790,00.html
Let's not tar this historic part of London with the taint of scandal
created by Celebrity Big Brother
David McKie
Thursday March 8, 2007
The Guardian
The other day, on Tooley Street, just south of Tower Bridge, I came
upon Samuel Bourne Bevington, first mayor of Bermondsey, clad in all
his muncipal finery, gazing out as he has done for the past 100 years
over the thundering traffic in the general direction of Waterloo.
Behind him, at a deferential distance, and notably smaller, is Ernest
Bevin, Attlee's foreign secretary. To the world at large, he might
seem the more considerable figure. But this isn't the world at large;
it is Bermondsey.
A dark underbelly of mass graves and electoral fraud
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2028781,00.html
Congress is questioning a Latin American policy that has left George
Bush with a best friend who is a major embarrassment
Isabel Hilton
Thursday March 8, 2007
The Guardian
There is little to cheer a US president on a visit to Latin America
these days. Where it once enforced its will on the region the US now
looks increasingly out of touch. The presidents of Venezuela,
Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Peru, Argentina, Uruguay and
Chile were not elected as friends of the US, and China has quietly
filled the economic gap left by seven years of US distraction and
neglect.
Obama's rising star hit by claims of financial misdealing
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections08/story/0,,2028841,00.html
· Illinois senator accused of conflict of interest
· Campaign team say share deals were above board
Ewen MacAskill in Washington
Thursday March 8, 2007
The Guardian
Barack Obama, a star of the Democratic party and a frontrunner in the
presidential race, was forced on to the defensive yesterday over past
financial dealings.
Disclosure of his share dealings in two companies - one dealing in
pharmaceuticals and the other in communications - was a knock to Mr
Obama who is campaigning on a platform of higher ethical standards in
politics and tougher restrictions on political funding and lobbying.
Until now Mr Obama, a senator for Illinois, has enjoyed a relatively
easy rise and established himself as the main rival to Hillary Clinton
for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Norway's Aryan children go to court over years of prejudice
Associated Press in Strasbourg
Thursday March 8, 2007
The Guardian
They claim they were locked up in mental homes and denied education,
the victims of a monstrous Nazi scheme and decades of public
prejudice.
Now a group of Norwegian "war children", born as part of a German plan
to create a genetically pure race, are taking their case to the
European court of human rights, demanding compensation and recognition
of their suffering from the government in Oslo.
Up to 12,000 children with a Norwegian mother and a German father were
born in Norway during the second world war under the Lebensborn -
Fountain of Life - scheme, first introduced by SS chief Heinrich
Himmler in 1935 to propagate Aryan children. Outside Germany, Norway
was the jewel of the programme.
Heard the one about the atheist who scorned a comedian for his belief
in a comforting God?
http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,2028934,00.html
· Spat erupts over comment in comic's autobiography
· Biologist and stand-up vie for literary prize
Jeevan Vasagar
Thursday March 8, 2007
The Guardian
It may be the least likely literary spat in history. Richard Dawkins,
the evolutionary biologist famous for his rottweiler attacks on
religion, has poured scorn on Peter Kay, the northern comic best known
for a gentle joke about garlic bread.
The comedian and the scientist are rivals in the Galaxy British Book
Awards, in which Dawkins is a frontrunner for his bestselling atheist
diatribe The God Delusion, and Kay is nominated for his popular
memoirs The Sound of Laughter.
First British paintings of Native American chiefs at National Portrait
Gallery
http://arts.guardian.co.uk/art/news/story/0,,2028950,00.html
Charlotte Higgins, arts correspondent
Thursday March 8, 2007
The Guardian
In 1710 four "Indian kings" visited the London court to forge a treaty
with the British crown. Their arrival, prompting a nationwide stir,
was commemorated by John Verelst's stunning portraits, the first
representations of Native Americans in British art. Tomorrow, for the
first time, the portraits go on public view in Britain, at the
National Portrait Gallery in its exhibition Between Worlds: Voyagers
to Britain 1700-1850.
The gallery's curator, Stephanie Pratt, herself one of the Crow Creek
Dakota Sioux, says the works are a fascinating example of individuals
from one culture being interpreted - with only partial understanding -
by an artist of another. "They were not Indian kings. They were
representatives of the Iroquois ... It's an example of an artist
attempting to fit an unfamiliar people into European artistic
conventions. They stand in formal poses in landscape backgrounds as if
English aristocrats. Yet the way they are dressed ... the clan symbols
- bear, wolf and turtle - scream out their difference."
Struggle for equality and freedom in developing countries
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/article2338425.ece
By Anne Penketh, Diplomatic Editor
Published: 08 March 2007
Rosa Franca wants justice for her daughter. Five years ago, 15-year
old Maria Isabel left home in Guatemala City for work and never
returned. Her rape and murder was not an isolated case: in the past
five years, 2,700 women and girls have been the victims of targeted
killings in Guatemala, with the number rising each year.
But Rosa Franca is still campaigning for a police investigation,
something which would have been taken for granted if she had lived in
London or Paris.
Gene study offers hope of potent anti-cancer drugs
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_technology/article2338410.ece
By Steve Connor, Science Editor
Published: 08 March 2007
A study has opened the way for a new generation of drugs to combat the
genes that give rise to the growth of cancer tumours.
Scientists have carried out the widest survey yet of the genetic
errors that cause tumours to grow. The findings will be used to design
anti-cancer drugs targeted at counteracting mutations in a patient's
DNA.
Trials of Guantanamo suspects begin without a lawyer or reporter in
sight
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article2338360.ece
By Andrew Buncombe in Washington
Published: 08 March 2007
Campaigners have condemned the Bush administration's plan to proceed
with secret proceedings against 14 "high-value" terrorism suspects
currently being held at Guantanamo Bay. The suspects include Khalid
Sheikh Mohammed, accused of organising the 11 September 2001 attacks.
The military tribunals, scheduled to begin tomorrow, will take place
behind closed doors and away from the scrutiny of the media. Hundreds
of previous hearings held to determine the formal status of the
prisoners have been open to reporters. None of the suspects will be
able to have a lawyer present.
The bear necessities of democracy in China
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article2338364.ece
By Clifford Coonan in Beijing
Published: 08 March 2007
A delegate at China's annual parliament, the National People's
Congress, has tabled a proposal to phase out the farming of black
bears for their bile, which is used in traditional medicine, saying it
is cruel to the 7,000 bears farmed around the country.
The bile is gathered in a gruesome fashion - it is collected as it
drips from a cut made in the bears' spleens - the focus of much anger
from animal welfare groups.
Three out of four Liberian women have been raped, survey finds
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/africa/article2338358.ece
By Kate Thomas
Published: 08 March 2007
Three out of four women in parts of Liberia have been raped, a survey
has found. Girl children are especially vulnerable - some victims are
as young as three.
The medical aid agency Merlin sees between one and four cases of child
rape at the clinics it supports in Liberia every month. And Claire
Parker, Merlin's reproductive health co-ordinator, says that is only a
small proportion of the victims.
Libby guilty verdict has left 'cloud over Vice-President'
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article2338361.ece
By Rupert Cornwell in Washington
Published: 08 March 2007
New questions are being raised about the US Vice-President Dick Cheney
and his influence in the innermost councils of the Bush
administration, following the conviction of his former top aide Lewis
Libby for lying to the FBI and a federal grand jury in the CIA leak
case.
The White House yesterday insisted that nothing has changed,
maintaining that Mr Cheney, a prime architect of the Iraq war, still
had President George Bush's full confidence.
Britain shamed for its 'immoral' exploitation of foreign labour
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article2338418.ece
By Andy McSmith
Published: 08 March 2007
Britain is becoming the moral "poor man" of Europe because it is using
migrant labour to expand the economy while doing almost nothing to
protect immigrants from exploitation, according to a report
commissioned by the Catholic Church.
The report says the failure to mention migrants in the anti-poverty
strategy, that the Government recently submitted to the EU, was an
"appalling omission" not made by any other leading EU government.
Where to find the soul of Spain's Moorish hinterland
http://money.independent.co.uk/property/homes/article2332912.ece
In a national park near the Moorish city of Lorca, Laura Latham
discovers the kind of Spanish landscape she thought had been lost for
ever
Published: 07 March 2007
The coast of Murcia, in southern Spain, is having a bit of a boom.
Swamped with new-build resorts and golf courses, the area is
experiencing unprecedented development. But head away from the coast
and you'll find a different Murcia, one that has, so far, retained its
authenticity.
The small cathedral city of Lorca is only around 20 minutes inland and
offers a beautiful historic centre, a mix of winding Moorish alleyways
and Baroque architecture. It is also in a picturesque location,
surrounded by the fabulous scenery of the Sierra Espuna national park
and large open networks of fields. In this countryside you won't find
vast, soulless urban developments but individual villas or farmhouses,
while in Lorca's narrow streets and lively bars life goes on much as
it always has.
Johann Hari: We must shame the torturers' accomplices
http://comment.independent.co.uk/columnists_a_l/johann_hari/article2338387.ece
Even if the people at Guantanamo are guilty, they should not be beaten
or boarded or broken
Published: 08 March 2007
Guantanamo Bay - America's shining torture-camp on a hill -is humming
with new activity this week. Fourteen newbies have arrived, almost
certainly from secret CIA prisons in Eastern Europe, where they have
been waterboarded into passivity. They include Khalid Sheikh Mohammed,
accused of masterminding the 9/11 massacres, and a man known as
Hambali who allegedly planned the Bali bombing in which 200 innocent
clubbers were incinerated.
There won't be much time to settle in: the show-trials begin tomorrow.
In these new military tribunals, the defendants can be shut out of
their own trial at any time (along with their lawyers), "evidence"
acquired via torture is admissible, and the accused can end up
convicted on the basis of evidence they have not seen and cannot
challenge.
Leading article: The Home Secretary is using foul language
http://comment.independent.co.uk/leading_articles/article2338357.ece
Published: 08 March 2007
There was nothing particularly remarkable about the "enforcement
strategy" for dealing with migrants unveiled by the Home Secretary,
John Reid, yesterday. It was the usual ragbag of draconian measures,
half-baked ideas and headline-grabbing gimmicks that we have had from
this government on the subject of immigration many times before.
There are to be text-message reminders for people over-staying their
visas; compulsory ID cards for foreign nationals seeking to settle in
the UK; fines for landlords housing illegal immigrants. Pilot schemes
are to be established to use ID card data to ensure migrants pay for
NHS care. A "watch list" of people not entitled to public services
will be created. Some of these ideas, such as the clampdown on
landlords, could do real harm if property owners decide it is more
trouble than it is worth letting rooms to migrants. Most, however,
will probably be quietly dropped when they prove unworkable.