http://www.sott.net Signs of the Times, featuring news and commentary on world events. Never wavering in our unending search for the light of truth in a pathocracy driven world! en-us Original content Copyright 2009 by Signs of the Times. For other content, see our Fair Use Policy at www.sott.net Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:11:19 -0500 http://www.sott.net/images/sottlogo_rss.jpg SOTT.net http://www.sott.net http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197411-Hadley-Climatic-Reseach-Centre-hacked-with-release-of-hundreds-of-docs-and-emails The University of East Anglia's Hadley Climatic Research Centre appears to have suffered a security breach earlier today, when an unknown hacker apparently downloaded 1079 e-mails and 72 documents of various types and published them to an anonymous FTP server. These files appear to contain highly sensitive information that, if genuine, could prove extremely embarrassing to the authors of the e-mails involved. Those authors include some of the most celebrated names among proponents of the theory of anthropogenic global warming (AGW). The FTP link first appeared on a blog called The Air Vent. The blog's owner, identified as "Jeff Id", downloaded the file, examined it, and posted a brief summary on his blog. Another commenter, identified as "Steven Mosher," passed the information on to Steven McIntyre's Climate Audit blog and to another blog, The Blackboard, run by a blogger identified as "Lucia." Most recently, blogger Anthony Watts, who runs a blog titled Watts Up With That? mentioned the FTP archive in his own blog. Commentary on all the blogs involved has been brisk, except, oddly enough, at The Air Vent, where only seven comments have been received. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197411-Hadley-Climatic-Reseach-Centre-hacked-with-release-of-hundreds-of-docs-and-emails Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:06:13 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197402-Russia-Bans-Junk-Foods-Advertising Further to an agreement with leading multinationals, from January 2010 advertising of snacks, burgers, fries and sugary drinks addressing children under 12 years will no longer be allowed in Russia. The multinationals that have signed the agreement are Coca-Cola, Kellogg's, Kraft Foods, Bolshevik, Mars, PepsiCo, Unilever, and Nestlé Inmarko, an article in the Pravda paper notifies. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197402-Russia-Bans-Junk-Foods-Advertising Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:36:30 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197398-France-Shooting-in-Central-Paris-Kills-1-Injures-2 A man with an automatic weapon has opened fire on a car near a Paris train station, killing one man and wounding two others. The shooting took place near the Gare du Nord train station, for trains to London and other international destinations. Such an incident is told to be rare in France, which has strict gun control laws, AP reported. A police officer said one of the occupants was hit in the head and died soon after. The other two victims have been hospitalized. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197398-France-Shooting-in-Central-Paris-Kills-1-Injures-2 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:21:42 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197396-United-Kingdom-Sorry-for-Shooting-at-Spanish-Flag-Buoy The UK has apologized to Spain after the Royal Navy used a buoy with the Spanish colors for target practice. The exercise took place off the coast of Gibraltar earlier this week. The UK ambassador was summoned to the foreign ministry in Madrid to explain. According to local reports, the navy hastily removed the buoy, which had a red-and-yellow marker, when approached by a Spanish police launch on Tuesday. Ambassador Giles Paxman conceded it was insensitive and an error of judgment. While acknowledging that the target had appeared "similar" to the Spanish flag, he insisted that was not what it was supposed to represent. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197396-United-Kingdom-Sorry-for-Shooting-at-Spanish-Flag-Buoy Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:58:36 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197384-On-the-ninth-day-Yahweh-said-Enough-Worried-pimp-halted-an-English-rabbi-s-ten-day-drug-fuelled-orgy-on-day-nine An eminent rabbi was so exhausted after three days of constant cocaine-fuelled partying with escorts that his pimp grew worried and cancelled that day's supply of girls, a jury was told. Rabbi Baruch Chalomish, 55, who has a £6 million fortune, was a scholarly academic, an accomplished businessman, a charity giver and a dutiful family man until his first wife died of cancer and his world fell apart. He turned to alcohol in his depression, then took refuge in cocaine, spending up to £1,000 a week. He lived in squalor, seeking comfort from prostitutes, Manchester Crown Court was told. The prosecution said that Chalomish was the financier in a commercial cocaine supply business while Nasir Abbas, 54, a convicted drug dealer, provided the drugs and the customers. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197384-On-the-ninth-day-Yahweh-said-Enough-Worried-pimp-halted-an-English-rabbi-s-ten-day-drug-fuelled-orgy-on-day-nine Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:42:44 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197359-US-Navy-Crash-Blamed-on-Catastrophic-Leadership A collision between a nuclear-powered US Navy submarine and a US warship in the Strait of Hormuz was caused by "catastrophic failure" in management, a US Navy report says. US Navy investigators found that "ineffective and negligent" management and the failure of navigation practices were to blame for a March 2009 collision between the USS Hartford and the USS New Orleans, an amphibious vessel. "This incident comes down to weak and complacent leadership, which led to inadequate planning and preparation of the crew," the Navy Times said in its report. Commander of US Fleet Forces Command Adm. John C. Harvey Jr. endorsed the findings of the report and described the collision as "avoidable." http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197359-US-Navy-Crash-Blamed-on-Catastrophic-Leadership Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:42:41 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197356-Egypt-Algeria-football-world-cup-anger-turns-violent-in-Cairo Riot police in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, pushed back a violent demonstration near the Algerian embassy in the early hours of Friday. Egyptian protesters reportedly hurled firebombs at police protecting the embassy and overturned a police van. Egypt's Interior Ministry said 35 people were injured. The clashes stem from Egypt's defeat by Algeria in a World Cup qualifying match on Wednesday, securing Algeria the last African place for next year's finals. On Friday Alaa Mubarak, the son of Egypt's president Hosni Mubarak, made a rare public statement calling for a "tough stance" to be taken against Algeria. "When you insult my dignity... I will beat you on the head," the businessman, who had attended the game in Khartoum, said. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197356-Egypt-Algeria-football-world-cup-anger-turns-violent-in-Cairo Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:27:41 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197354-UK-court-rejects-British-government-bid-to-suppress-CIA-evidence-of-torture - Sixth damning ruling in Binyam Mohamed case - Foreign secretary's claims of security risk dismissed The high court today flatly rejected claims by David Miliband, the foreign secretary, that releasing evidence of the CIA's inhuman and unlawful treatment of UK resident Binyam Mohamed would harm Britain's relations with the US by giving away intelligence secrets. Evidence that the foreign secretary also wants to suppress is believed to reveal what British intelligence officers knew about Mohamed's treatment. Mohamed, 31, an Ethiopian, says he was tortured in Pakistan, Morocco, Afghanistan, and Guantánamo Bay. In the sixth in a string of damning rulings, the high court accused Miliband of wanting to suppress information about CIA activities even though details had already been disclosed by the Obama administration. Dismissing Miliband's claims, Lord Justice Thomas and Mr Justice Lloyd Jones insisted they were not trying to give away "American secrets". They said: "Of itself, the treatment to which Mr Mohamed was subjected could never properly be described in a democracy as 'a secret' or an 'intelligence secret' or 'a summary of classified intelligence'." http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197354-UK-court-rejects-British-government-bid-to-suppress-CIA-evidence-of-torture Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:13:45 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197345-Ireland-facing-huge-bill-for-flood-damage South and west hardest hit as Army is deployed Ireland faces a multi-million euro flood damage bill after some of the worst flooding in living memory. Bus and rail travel was disrupted, motorists were urged to undertake journeys only if absolutely necessary and the Army was called out to help stem rising floodwaters as parts of the South and the West faced the brunt of the atrocious conditions. Last night, Met Eireann warned of more bad weather to come with more wind and heavy rain. Meteorologists added that next week was looking "every bit as unsettled". http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197345-Ireland-facing-huge-bill-for-flood-damage Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:30:41 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197317-Profile-Herman-Van-Rompuy Born in 1947 in Brussels, Herman Van Rompuy was educated at the Jesuit Sint-Jan Berchmans College in the Belgian capital, and studied philosophy and economics at the Catholic University of Leuven. Before entering politics, he worked at the Belgian central bank from 1972 to 1975. He was chairman of the Christian People's Party, a centre-right Flemish party, from 1988 to 1993 and was budget minister from 1993 to 1999 under the Christian Democrat-led government of Jean-Luc Dehaene. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197317-Profile-Herman-Van-Rompuy Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:13:34 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197316-Belgian-PM-named-as-EU-president Herman Van Rompuy, Belgium's prime minister, has become the first president of the European Council. Van Rompuy, largely unknown outside his native Belgium, was named after a consensus was reached at a meeting of the leaders of the 27-member European Union on Thursday. Tony Blair, the former UK prime minister, was ruled out of the race earlier in the day after it became clear that centre-right countries, who dominate the EU, were determined that the role should go to someone from their group. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197316-Belgian-PM-named-as-EU-president Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:57:21 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197299-China-Police-Accuse-Unwed-Couple-of-Selling-Baby A young couple in east China's Jiangsu Province have run afoul of the law for selling their newborn boy online for 15,000 yuan (US $2,196). They spent the money shortly after the sale on a new computer, cell phone and other goods, police said. The couple were unmarried and thus unable to register the child with local authorities, and because of their meager incomes they were unwilling to keep the boy, yesterday's Yangtse Evening Post reported. The man was detained and the woman was released on bail due to poor heath. Both were accused of child trafficking, the newspaper said, though no formal charges had been filed as of late yesterday. Police in Changzhou City began looking into the case after being tipped on November 10 that an expectant mother had posted an Internet notice offering to sell her baby. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197299-China-Police-Accuse-Unwed-Couple-of-Selling-Baby Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:57:34 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197297-Bulgaria-11-Year-Old-Girl-Gives-Birth-on-Wedding-Day An 11-year old Bulgarian girl gave birth to a baby girl after going into labor on her wedding day, according to The Daily Telegraph. Kordeza Zhelyazkova became pregnant two weeks before her 11th birthday and was set to marry boyfriend Jeliazko Dimitrov, 19, when she went into labor during her three-day wedding last month. "I'm not going to play with toys any more -- I have a new toy now," Zhelyazkova told Britain's News of the World newspaper . The bride-to-be was still wearing her wedding dress and tiara when she arrived at a hospital to give birth to daughter Violeta. She admitted that she had not known about sex education or even how to get pregnant. She presumed she was putting on weight from eating too many burgers until her grandmother suggested she was pregnant. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197297-Bulgaria-11-Year-Old-Girl-Gives-Birth-on-Wedding-Day Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:42:05 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197293-Russia-Western-investor-s-lawyer-dies-in-Moscow-jail Sergei Magnitsky, 37, had been in ill health, his lawyer says. Magnitsky was jailed for his work with Hermitage Capital Management, a vocal critic of official corruption. A lawyer for Hermitage Capital Management, the investment fund locked in a scandal-soaked clash with Russian authorities, died in a Moscow jail, an Interior Ministry spokeswoman said Tuesday. Sergei Magnitsky, 37, died of a heart attack Monday night, spokeswoman Irina Dudukina said. Jailed for the last year on tax charges related to his work with Hermitage, Magnitsky had complained that he was being kept in poor conditions and denied medical care despite his failing health. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197293-Russia-Western-investor-s-lawyer-dies-in-Moscow-jail Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:28:40 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197265-Violent-dissent-in-Greece-cui-bono- It's time for the left to interrogate the systemic origins of the terrorism that has greeted the new Greek government In a few weeks, Greece will commemorate the "December events", which began last year when a police officer killed a young boy in Exarhia, an area that's been described as a semi-ghetto of leftist dissidents and anarchists in the centre of Athens. Following this event, weeks of protests ensued and from there began a trajectory of decline on many levels of society, which ended with the fall of the undoubtedly inadequate government. Then, just three weeks on from the victorious election of a new government, and a wave of grassroots terrorism was making headlines. This was, apparently, unprecedented: it is said that never before had there been a substantial wave of terrorist activities during the honeymoon of a new government. And, yet, there is nothing really surprising about it. For, despite their - quite substantial - differences, the terrorists, smaller parties, a large number of political analysts, and an even larger number of intellectuals, all agree: nothing has really changed. Neo-liberalism and capitalism are here to stay. The only promise that the new government seems to bring is that it will have a human face. Far from being a bombastic cliche, this, of course, translates into policies: a larger welfare state, more justice, less privileges for the privileged, fairer distribution of wealth etc. But instead of a friendly version of an explicitly exploitative and fundamentally unjust system, the radical left wants to negotiate the system itself. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197265-Violent-dissent-in-Greece-cui-bono- Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:33:19 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197263-The-real-agenda-comes-to-the-fore-Italy-s-Foreign-Minister-says-post-Lisbon-EU-needs-a-European-Army Italy is to push for the creation of a European Army after the "new Europe" takes shape at this week's crucial EU summit following the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty. Franco Frattini, the Italian Foreign Minister, said that the Lisbon Treaty had established "that if some countries want to enter into reinforced co-operation between themselves they can do so". This was already the case with the euro and the Schengen accords on frontier-free travel, and could now be applied to "common European defence". In an interview with The Times at his office in the monumental marble-halled Foreign Ministry on the banks of the Tiber, Mr Frattini said: "We have finally concluded a never-ending story". The Lisbon Treaty, which comes into force in December, will be sealed on Thursday with an EU summit to choose an EU President and Foreign Minister. He warned that "if we do not find a common foreign policy, there is the risk that Europe will become irrelevant. We will be bypassed by the G2 of America and China, which is to say the Pacific axis, and the Atlantic axis will be forgotten. We need political will and commitment, otherwise the people of Europe will be disillusioned and disappointed. People expect a great deal of us. After Lisbon we have no more alibis". http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197263-The-real-agenda-comes-to-the-fore-Italy-s-Foreign-Minister-says-post-Lisbon-EU-needs-a-European-Army Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:24:09 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197262-Favourite-to-be-EU-president-backs-European-national-anthem The new front-runner to be the first EU President is committed to a European national anthem and the replacement of a range of nationalistic symbols. Herman Van Rompuy, 62, the Prime Minister of Belgium for 11 months, is expected to be installed as President of the European Council at a dinner in Brussels on Thursday of the 27 EU leaders. The Daily Telegraph can disclose that the Flemish Christian Democrat was an architect of his party's federalist manifesto which calls for a massive extension of the presence of the EU in town halls, schools and sporting events. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197262-Favourite-to-be-EU-president-backs-European-national-anthem Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:02:02 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197216-From-Belfast-to-Baghdad-British-army-officers-barbaric-treatment-of-civilians-is-natural-for-an-occupying-power A British army officer threatened to set fire to an Iraqi detainee, an inquiry into the death of Baha Mousa heard. Former corporal Donald Payne told the public inquiry into Mr Mousa's death he witnessed Lieutenant Craig Rodgers pretending to set a young detainee alight. He also claimed that he saw every member of the unit commanded by Lt Rodgers, known by the call sign G10A, ''forcefully kick and/or punch'' the group of Iraqi prisoners that included Mr Mousa. Hotel receptionist Mr Mousa, 26, died in Basra, southern Iraq, on September 15 2003 while in the custody of the former Queen's Lancashire Regiment (QLR) having suffered 93 separate injuries. Payne, a former QLR provost corporal, became the first member of the UK armed forces to be convicted of a war crime when he pleaded guilty at a court martial to inhumanely treating civilians. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197216-From-Belfast-to-Baghdad-British-army-officers-barbaric-treatment-of-civilians-is-natural-for-an-occupying-power Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:27:59 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197204-C-st-moi-le-roi-Nicolas-Sarkozy-gets-new-Air-Sarko-One-jet Nicolas Sarkozy is to get a new presidential jet, which critics in France have nicknamed 'Air Sarko One'. The French President currently uses an ageing Airbus 319s but next year a larger Airbus A330-200 will come into service. The airliner has been bought second-hand from Air Caraibes but is to undergo major renovations to make it fit for the French leader and his first lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. While the new presidential plane is not as big as President Barack Obama's Boeing 747-200B - otherwise known as Air Force One - its cost is already provoking debate in Paris. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197204-C-st-moi-le-roi-Nicolas-Sarkozy-gets-new-Air-Sarko-One-jet Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:53:53 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197201-Man-killed-wife-during-a-dream- The trial of a husband accused of murdering his wife as they slept in a camper van has heard he killed her while he dreamt she was an intruder. Christine Thomas, 57, was killed in Aberporth, Ceredigion, in July 2008. Swansea Crown Court heard Brian Thomas, 59, of Neath, accepts he killed her but says he has a sleep disorder which had been triggered by "boy racer activity". Jurors have been told they can reach a verdict of not guilty or of not guilty by reason of insanity. Prosecuting barrister Paul Thomas QC, in his opening words to the jury on Tuesday morning, described the case as "highly unusual". http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197201-Man-killed-wife-during-a-dream- Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:24:46 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197190-France-Women-Banned-from-Wearing-Trousers-in-Paris A decree banning women from wearing trousers in Paris is still technically in force, it emerged on Monday, making the laissez-faire French capital theoretically stricter than hard-line Sudan in the fashion stakes. The rule banning women from dressing like men - namely by wearing trousers - was first introduced in 1800 by Paris' police chief and has survived repeated attempts to repeal it. The 1800 rule stipulated than any Parisienne wishing to dress like a man "must present herself to Paris' main police station to obtain authorization". In 1892, it was slightly relaxed thanks to an amendment which said trousers were permitted "as long as the woman is holding the reins of a horse". Then in 1909, the decree was further watered down when an extra clause was added to allow women in trousers on condition they were "on a bicycle or holding it by the handlebars". http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197190-France-Women-Banned-from-Wearing-Trousers-in-Paris Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:53:44 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197180-German-Population-to-Shrink-by-17-Million- Germany could be home to as many as 17 million fewer people in 50 years' time, official statistics showed today, laying bare the scale of the demographic crisis in Europe's top economy. At the same time, Germans are greying rapidly, with one in three set to be over 65 by 2060, compared to one in five now, the federal statistics office said. One in seven will be over 80. The total population, currently 82 million, will slump to between 65 and 70 million and neither immigration nor an increase in the birth rate - currently 1.4 children per woman - can do much to ease the crisis, the office added. Like other advanced economies, Germany is facing a snowballing population crisis, leaving the country short of workers and adding to the strain on already stretched public coffers. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197180-German-Population-to-Shrink-by-17-Million- Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:16:07 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197163-Murdered-mother-of-two-died-from-a-severed-hand-lived-in-fear-for-months-says-sister The family of a young mother found dying in a street with serious head wounds and her right hand cut off has said she had 'lived in fear for months'. Geeta Aulakh, who has two young sons, died four hours later in hospital from her horrific injuries. Police later arrested her estranged husband, 31-year-old Harpreet Aulakh, along with five other men. Mrs Aulakh was on her way home from her job as a receptionist at community radio station Sunrise Radio when she was attacked. The 28-year-old was ambushed just yards from the home of her sons' childminder at about 7pm on Monday. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197163-Murdered-mother-of-two-died-from-a-severed-hand-lived-in-fear-for-months-says-sister Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:25:07 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197153-Lebanon-Syria-and-now-Israel-connect-to-occupied-Cyprus Just weeks after an illegal ferry service was reportedly started to occupied Cyprus from Lebanon, the Turkish Cypriot press reports today that a new route from Famagusta to Israel will start within weeks. In a front page splash, Kibrisli reports the new ferry, which is expected to carry almost 100 thousand tourists per year from Israel to occupied Cyprus, will bring a fresh impetus to tourism. The paper writes that the ferry services are planned to start in December and before the New Year's Eve. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197153-Lebanon-Syria-and-now-Israel-connect-to-occupied-Cyprus Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:21:40 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197148-Veto-wielding-China-says-no-to-Iran-sanctions As US President Barack Obama plans to pay his first official visit to Beijing, China signals its opposition to new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program. The Chinese government believes that negotiation sides should make efforts to settle issues regarding Iran's nuclear case through "political and diplomatic" talks, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told IRNA on Saturday. He added that a diplomatic and permanent solution to Iran's nuclear issue will help bring about peace and stability to the Middle East. As a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Iran has the right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, said the spokesman. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197148-Veto-wielding-China-says-no-to-Iran-sanctions Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:39:47 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197140-EU-presidential-candidate-plans-EU-wide-tax The man tipped to be Europe's first president is already considering new EU taxes to fund the rising cost of Brussels and the welfare state. Herman Van Rompuy, the Belgian Prime Minister, broke his silence before Thursday's summit to choose the president - but only at a meeting of the secretive Bilderberg group of top politicians, bankers and businessmen. Mr Van Rompuy's contentious remarks were aired privately amid the grand surroundings of the Castle of the Valley of the Duchess near Brussels. The château hosted the talks on the Treaty of Rome in 1957 that launched the European Union. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197140-EU-presidential-candidate-plans-EU-wide-tax Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:33:43 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197113-90-Year-Old-Charged-in-Germany-for-Nazi-Era-Crimes Former SS sergeant Adolf Storms lived in Germany unnoticed for more than six decades after World War II until an Austrian university student last year came across his name while researching a 1945 massacre of Jewish forced laborers. The student gave the information to state prosecutors near Storms' hometown of Duisburg, and they have now filed charges against the 90-year-old on 58 counts of murder for the killings near the Austrian village of Deutsch Schuetzen, a German court said. "On March 29, 1945, the accused and his accomplices brought at least 57 Jewish forced laborers in several groups to a nearby forest area, where they had to give up their valuables and kneel by a grave," the court said in a statement. "The accused and other SS members then cruelly shot the Jewish forced-laborers from behind." The day following the massacre, Storms is accused of personally shooting another Jew who could no longer walk during a forced march in Austria from Deutsch Schuetzen to the village of Hartberg, the court said. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197113-90-Year-Old-Charged-in-Germany-for-Nazi-Era-Crimes Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:08:30 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197100-European-Union-Top-Jobs-Still-in-Doubt The European Union's top jobs remained in doubt on Tuesday, only two days ahead of a special summit designed to announce the appointments. Nearly a hundred ministers of foreign and EU affairs from 27 EU member states failed at a meeting on Monday to decide on the appointments of a permanent EU president, a foreign affairs representative and secretary general of the EU Council. The situation could drag out the summit, which is planned to last a few hours on Thursday over a working dinner, to days, according to the current Swedish EU presidency. "There are still some days to go," Swedish Minister for EU affairs Cecilia Malmstrom said after the Monday meeting. "I wouldn't say it's a complete mess, but there's no agreement still." "If the situation should appear that there is no decision on Thursday, it is up to the presidency to evaluate the situation," Malmstrom said in reply to a question on whether the summit could be extended until Friday afternoon. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197100-European-Union-Top-Jobs-Still-in-Doubt Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:05:43 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197088-Landslide-derails-train-and-closes-commuter-line-on-same-day-it-reopens Iarnrod Eireann was yesterday forced to close a busy commuter line on the same day that its service along the Malahide viaduct re-opened after its dramatic collapse three months ago. While the northern service through Malahide resumed yesterday with user numbers "significantly" down, other rail passengers face two weeks of disruption after a train derailed yesterday following a landslide. Yesterday's incident occurred at about 6am on a stretch of line a few hundred yards south of the Wicklow station, and after a weekend of heavy rain. The driver of the out-of-service train, which was heading to Arklow, escaped without injury after it derailed when it hit debris caused by a landslide. The incident occurred less than 48 hours after a different section of the same line was closed when rail staff found an embankment to be unstable, south of Arklow. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197088-Landslide-derails-train-and-closes-commuter-line-on-same-day-it-reopens Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:02:45 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197077-Scotland-Four-years-for-torture-teenagers Three youths who tortured a 14-year-old girl in a car park and filmed the attack on a mobile phone have each been sentenced to four years' detention. The two 14-year-old girls and a 13-year-old boy stripped their victim naked and hit her with stiletto heels during the 45-minute ordeal in January. The boy compared the aftermath of the attack in Edinburgh to a scene from Resident Evil. Judge Lord Malcolm said it had been an attack of "uncontrolled cruelty" http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197077-Scotland-Four-years-for-torture-teenagers Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:11:54 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197068-Irish-government-prepares-army-to-deal-with-large-scale-public-demonstrations The Army is gearing up to deal with possible public disorder on our streets. The Defence Forces are to get new anti-riot equipment at a cost of €300,000. The new kit has been bought to protect soldiers who have to deal with rioters in Ireland or on peace keeping missions abroad. But the equipment will only be used here when gardai are unable to cope with demonstrations and call on the Army for support. It will also be used in routine training for soldiers. Asked if the equipment was being procured to cope with large-scale public demonstrations over government cutbacks and policies a Defence Forces spokesman said: "No. It's being bought to replace existing stocks." http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197068-Irish-government-prepares-army-to-deal-with-large-scale-public-demonstrations Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:08:22 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197065-Germany-mulling-withdrawal-from-Afghanistan Germany is mulling over a withdrawal from Afghanistan, amid rising differences of opinion among NATO members over handling the Afghan mission. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle called on Sunday for preliminary work to lay down the foundations of a withdrawal from Afghanistan in the country's next four-year parliamentary term. "In the life of this parliament, we have to get sufficiently far with the concept of self-sustained security that a perspective for withdrawal comes into view," Westerwelle told ZDF television. "We don't want to remain in Afghanistan forever," the minister added. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197065-Germany-mulling-withdrawal-from-Afghanistan Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:17:26 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197059-Russian-who-spied-on-Israel-shot-dead-in-Moscow Shabtai Kalmanovitch, an Israeli immigrant from the former Soviet Union who served time in prison for spying for the KGB, was shot and killed while driving in downtown Moscow, news agencies reported on Monday. According to the Interfax news agency, Kalmanovitch was shot while driving in his Mercedes in the Russian capital. The report said Kalmanovitch was shot by assailants armed with semi-automatic weapons who drove by in a passing vehicle. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197059-Russian-who-spied-on-Israel-shot-dead-in-Moscow Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:50:28 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197045-Denmark-Offers-Immigrants-13-000-Euros-to-Return-Home Denmark has agreed to increase tenfold the amount of money offered to immigrants who return home permanently to 100,000 kroner (13,443 euros, 20,172 dollars), officials said Monday. The centre-right minority government reached an agreement with its key ally, the far-right Danish People's Party (DPP), on the issue late Sunday as part of their 2010 budget negotiations. A financial incentive of 11,000 kroner had until now been offered to immigrants to resettle in their country of origin. The scheme is aimed at immigrants from outside the European Union and Nordic countries, DPP deputy leader Peter Skaarup told AFP. "It in practice targets those nationals from non-Western countries who are struggling to adapt to Danish society and who would be tempted by a fairly significant sum to go back home forever," he said. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197045-Denmark-Offers-Immigrants-13-000-Euros-to-Return-Home Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:42:22 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197043-Mistress-Diary-Mussolini-was-Fierce-Anti-Semite Benito Mussolini was a fierce anti-Semite, who proudly said that his hatred for Jews preceded Adolf Hitler's and vowed to "destroy them all," according to previously unpublished diaries by the Fascist dictator's longtime mistress. According to the diaries, Mussolini also talked about the warm reception he received from Hitler at the 1938 Munich conference - he called the German leader a "softy" - and attacked Pope Pius XI for his criticism of Nazism and Fascism. On a more intimate note, Mussolini was explicit about his sexual appetites for his mistress and said he regretted having affairs with several other women. The dairies kept by Claretta Petacci, Mussolini's mistress, between 1932 and 1938 are the subject of a book coming out this week entitled Secret Mussolini. Excerpts were published Monday by Italy's leading daily Corriere della Sera and confirmed by publisher Rizzoli. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197043-Mistress-Diary-Mussolini-was-Fierce-Anti-Semite Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:16:11 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197037-Anti-Semitism-drive-most-successful-yet-UK-police A joint operation to deter anti-Semitism and crime during the Jewish High Holy Days has been hailed as the "most successful yet". Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and Community Security Trust (CST) undertook a series of actions over a 23-day period to reassure people during the religious festivities. It involved high-visibility patrols before and after services at synagogues, covering the main pedestrian routes, as well as joint patrols between the police and members of the CST. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197037-Anti-Semitism-drive-most-successful-yet-UK-police Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:07:53 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197034-Germany-Swine-Flu-Kills-Two-in-Bavaria German health authorities on Monday confirmed the deaths of two men in Bavaria from swine flu, but a 55-year-old from the eastern German state of Thuringia did not die after being immunised for the H1N1 virus as had been originally feared. A 57-year-old and an 18-year-old both passed away in the past week from swine flu complications, Bavarian officials said. The authorities also confirmed suspicions that a 24-year-old woman from Cologne died on November 11 from the virus. But the man from Thuringia apparently had a heart attack the same day he received his vaccination, the state's Health Ministry said after an autopsy. The daily Thüringer Allgemeine reported earlier on Monday that officials were concerned the man had had a adverse reaction to the vaccination. A 65-year-old German woman with a heart condition died last Tuesday only hours after receiving an immunisation for swine flu. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197034-Germany-Swine-Flu-Kills-Two-in-Bavaria Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:48:25 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197033-Friends-in-high-places Every year a very grand lunch is given by the Conservative Friends of Israel at a central London hotel. Anyone who is anyone in the Conservative party makes it their business to be there. It is normally addressed by the party leader. This year's event took place in June, with the main speech by David Cameron, and the shadow foreign secretary, William Hague, in attendance. The dominant event of the previous 12 months had been the Israeli invasion of Gaza. We were shocked Cameron made no reference in his speech to the massive destruction it caused, or the 1,370 deaths that resulted, or for that matter the invasion itself. Indeed, our likely future prime minister went out of his way to praise Israel because it "strives to protect innocent life". This remark was not intended satirically. Afterwards, we resolved to ask the question: what are the rules of British political behaviour that cause the Tory leader, his mass of MPs and parliamentary candidates to flock to the Friends of Israel lunch in the year of the Gaza invasion? And what are the rules of media discourse that ensure such an event passes without even being noticed? http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197033-Friends-in-high-places Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:42:24 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197002-The-Israel-lobby-in-Britain 50% of MPs in the shadow cabinet are Conservative Friends of Israel members, according to Channel 4's Dispatches Pro-Israeli organisations in Britain look set to see their influence increase if the Conservatives win the next election, a film scrutinising the activities of a powerful but little-known lobby warns today. At least half of the shadow cabinet are members of the Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI), according to a Dispatches programme being screened on Channel 4. The programme-makers describe the CFI as "beyond doubt the most well- connected and probably the best funded of all Westminster lobbying groups". Inside Britain's Israel Lobby claims that donations to the Conservative party "from all CFI members and their businesses add up to well over £10m over the last eight years". CFI has disputed the figure and called the film "deeply flawed". The programme also describes how David Cameron allegedly accepted a £15,000 donation from Poju Zabludowicz, a Finnish billionaire who chairs Bicom (the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre). Zabludowizc, the film reveals, has business interests in an illegal West Bank settlement. He also gave £50,000 to Conservative Central Office. Zabludowicz says his contributions "are a matter of public record". http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197002-The-Israel-lobby-in-Britain Mon, 16 Nov 2009 03:59:54 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196995-Gorbachev-Says-Obama-Should-Start-Afghan-Withdrawal Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, drawing on his experience of military failure in Afghanistan in the 1980s, said the U.S. can't win the conflict there and should begin pulling out its soldiers. Afghanistan, where U.S. and NATO forces are battling a Taliban-led insurgency, is too fragmented between clans to be controlled militarily, Gorbachev, 78, said in an interview today in Berlin. While he said President Barack Obama would be unlikely to take his advice, Gorbachev said he saw no chance of success even with more U.S. troops. "I believe that there is no prospect of a military solution," Gorbachev said in Russian through a translator. "What we need is the reconciliation of Afghan society -- and they should be preparing the ground for withdrawal rather than additional troops." http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196995-Gorbachev-Says-Obama-Should-Start-Afghan-Withdrawal Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:19:22 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196945-Brown-answers-British-public-s-call-to-withdraw-from-Afghanistan-by-sending-more-troops-to-die Britain's prime minister says the UK will send more troops to Afghanistan if other allies do the same. Speaking on British radio, BBC's Radio Four, Gordon Brown said he's confident of that support. Prime Minister Gordon Brown said British envoys are being sent out to talk with coalition partners and NATO allies to make the case for sending more troops to Afghanistan. "We are prepared to put more troops into Afghanistan, there must be burden-sharing among the alliance," he said. Britain currently has 9,000 troops in Afghanistan and is proposing sending 500 more, but it wants other allies - not including the United States - to send another 5,000 troops as well. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196945-Brown-answers-British-public-s-call-to-withdraw-from-Afghanistan-by-sending-more-troops-to-die Sun, 15 Nov 2009 08:48:28 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196944-Germany-sending-120-more-troops-to-Afghanistan Germany will send 120 more soldiers to northern Afghanistan to reinforce its base in the Kundus province, Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said on Friday. Guttenberg announced the modest increase during a surprise visit to Afghanistan, where Germany has the third largest contingent in the NATO-led mission with 4,200 troops. "I've made the decision to reinforce Kundus with an additional infantry company from mid-January," the new defence minister said at the dust-covered field post in Kundus, where he visited a wounded soldier and ate at the mess hall. The United States, with 67,000 soldiers in Afghanistan, has long urged Germany and other countries to send more troops. There are about 42,000 from other allied nations. Defence Ministry spokesman Steffen Moritz told reporters in Berlin the extra infantry company would contain 120 troops. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196944-Germany-sending-120-more-troops-to-Afghanistan Sun, 15 Nov 2009 08:43:16 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196935-Romford-Scouts-Investigated-Over-Anti-Jewish-Chants Members of explorer troop shouted 'kill the Jews' at veterans during remembrance parade A scout troop is being investigated by the police after its members shouted death threats and racist abuse at Jewish war veterans during a remembrance parade. Dressed in full uniform, the explorer scouts, who were taking part in Remembrance Sunday service in Romford, Essex were heard to repeatedly shout "Let's kill the Jews" at Jewish second world war veterans. The head of the scouts in the area has issued a full apology for the incident, which was witnessed by a senior policeman standing a few feet away. A Metropolitan police spokesman said the Met was investigating two allegations of "racially aggravated harassment" involving more than one member of the Romford explorer scout unit. He would not say how many scouts were involved. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196935-Romford-Scouts-Investigated-Over-Anti-Jewish-Chants Sun, 15 Nov 2009 06:40:45 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196928-Channel-4-defends-Israel-lobby-probe Channel 4's flagship investigations programme, Dispatches, is to probe what it calls "one of the most powerful and influential political lobbies in Britain" - the pro-Israel lobby. The political columnist Peter Oborne is to front an hour-long broadcast, Inside Britain's Israel Lobby, due to be broadcast on Monday week. The hard-hitting documentary strand has been responsible for such programmes as Undercover Mosque two years ago, which included covert filming of Islamist extremists preaching in British mosques. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196928-Channel-4-defends-Israel-lobby-probe Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:17:40 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196924-UK-Elderly-and-Disabled-Could-Be-Forced-to-Commit-Suicide-Under-Changes-to-Rules Increasing numbers of elderly and infirm people will be pressured into killing themselves under changes to assisted suicide rules, it has been claimed. A group of leading lawyers, peers and former judges including Baroness Butler-Sloss, the former head of the family division of the High Court, are warning that the plans pose "serious dangers for public safety". In a significant intervention, they are warning the proposed changes go against the will of Parliament and risk reducing the Director of Public Prosecutions from an enforcer of the law, to an arbitrator. Baroness Butler-Sloss, Lord Mackay of Clashfern, a former Lord Chancellor, and Lord Carlile of Berriew, the Government's terrorism legislation adviser, are among those have come together in an unprecedented coalition to express concern about the impact of the changes proposed by Keir Starmer, the DPP. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196924-UK-Elderly-and-Disabled-Could-Be-Forced-to-Commit-Suicide-Under-Changes-to-Rules Sat, 14 Nov 2009 21:01:27 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196918-China-Admits-Secretly-Salvaging-British-Submarine-HMS-Poseidon China has admitted secretly salvaging a British submarine sunk in an accident in 1931, but claimed there was no sign of the remains or personal effects of the 18 men who were entombed in HMS Poseidon when it went down off the former naval base of Weihai. Beijing has only confirmed that it raised and scrapped the Poseidon in 1972 after its fate was reported by The Daily Telegraph shortly after the anniversary of the sinking on June 9. But China's claim that the hull of the vessel contained no human remains, identity tags, watches, rings or other personal items has provoked anger among relatives of the men who died. "It was a shock to discover the Chinese authorities' claims and I'm deeply upset and disappointed," said Penny Lewis, whose grandfather, Able Seaman Frederick Tolliday, died in the accident. "And that is not only for myself, but especially on behalf of my father and grandmother who were both still alive in 1972 when the Poseidon was recovered," she said. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196918-China-Admits-Secretly-Salvaging-British-Submarine-HMS-Poseidon Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:27:33 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196916-A-President-of-Europe-Continent-s-Unity-is-Tested The European Union has battled long and hard for this moment: the imminent choice of its first president. To get there, the EU strong-armed Irish voters, brushed aside hostile French and Dutch ballots, and pressured the Czech president into agreeing to a single leader to give Europe a strong voice on the world stage. Yet after all that, EU leaders meeting Thursday may end up picking someone from a small country with little international power instead of a charismatic heavyweight to head this continental bloc of 27 nations, half a billion people and huge economic heft. To pick a boss they can all live with, they must strike the right balance between big countries and small, east and west, socialists and conservatives, perhaps male and female. They must maneuver between proponents of a strong Europe and those who fear it - eurocentrics and euroskeptics, in the local parlance. It's a diplomatic minefield. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196916-A-President-of-Europe-Continent-s-Unity-is-Tested Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:10:11 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196905-China-investigates-2-deaths-after-flu-vaccinations Beijing - Two people in China who received swine flu vaccinations died in the past week but at least one death appears unrelated to the vaccine and the other was being investigated. The country's health ministry reported the deaths late Friday on its Web site - the first time China has announced deaths with potential links to the Chinese-made swine flu vaccine. An autopsy showed one victim suffered a heart attack and, "experts have basically ruled out the possibility that the patient's sudden death was the result of immediate allergic reactions to the flu vaccines," the ministry statement said. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196905-China-investigates-2-deaths-after-flu-vaccinations Sat, 14 Nov 2009 19:18:00 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196894-UK-Headteacher-suspends-pupils-after-being-cyberbullied-on-Facebook-group-attacking-her-dress-sense A headteacher has suspended three pupils after they set up a Facebook group attacking her dress sense. Elizabeth Hitch was so incensed by comments on the social networking site that she threatened dozens of others at Beaumont School, St Albans, with disciplinary action. She then fired off letters to parents of students who had participated in the discussions, claiming that the remarks were 'offensive' and some were 'illegal.' The education authority said that the Facebook site amounted to 'cyberbullying.' The drama began after a group of pupils set up a group on Facebook last week which attracted more than 200 members. It was brought to the attention of Mrs Hitch who immediately suspended the pupils she considered to be the ringleaders. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196894-UK-Headteacher-suspends-pupils-after-being-cyberbullied-on-Facebook-group-attacking-her-dress-sense Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:59:56 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196893-Medvedev-orders-checks-of-Russian-arms-depots-after-fatal-fire Russian President Dmitry Medevedev issued an order on Saturday for the country's weapons depots to undergo safety checks, after a fire that killed two people and injured many others. A naval arms depot in Russian Volga city of Ulyanovsk burst into flames on Friday night. Medvedev, currently in Singapore for a summit of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum countries, held a video conference on the fire with Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev and senior emergencies official Ruslan Tsalikov. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196893-Medvedev-orders-checks-of-Russian-arms-depots-after-fatal-fire Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:54:23 -0500