DECEMBER 2007
UK,Italy,Holland,France...
OSCE countries meet overshadowed by
US-Russia crisis
By DPA
Nov 29, 2007, 9:02 GMT
Madrid - More than
40 foreign ministers from 56 countries of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) began a two-day
annual meeting Thursday in Madrid, where Russia and the
United States seemed
set to clash over human rights.
Spain currently holds the rotating presidency of the
human rights and
security watchdog, which grew out of a predecessor
founded in 1975 in the
Cold War era.
The OSCE election monitoring body has refused to send
observers to Sunday's
elections in Russia, citing delays in granting visas and
other obstacles.
US senior official Nicholas Burns, who represents
Washington at the Madrid
meeting, accused Moscow of trying to 'weaken' the OSCE in
its role as a
defender of democracy and electoral transparency. 'We
will defend the organization' against those who want to
make it 'less relevant,' Burns said ahead of the meeting
in Madrid.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meanwhile warned against
foreign meddling
in Russia's elections on Wednesday. Russia claims that
the OSCE is boycotting the elections under US pressure,
while Washington accuses Moscow of trying to undermine
the OSCE's human
rights work.
Items on the Madrid agenda will also include Russia's
plans to abandon a key
conventional arms treaty in response to US plans for a
defence shield in
eastern Europe, and the Kazakh bid for the OSCE
chairmanship in 2009.
Russia backs the Kazakh bid, but the US and its allies
would like to
postpone it over what they regard as Kazakhstan's dubious
democratic
credentials.
The OSCE chairmanship will first pass to Finland from the
beginning of 2008.
As decisions by the OSCE require unanimity, the
organization has not
approved a political declaration since 2002.
big brother uk,Who holds your details?
Child Benefit database
The database, at the centre of the latest crisis, holds information on all child benefit recipients, details of 25 million individuals and 7.25 million families
National Identity Register
Linked to the introduction of ID cards, it holds data on your name, address, gender, date and place of birth and biometric information such as iris patterns
Criminal Records Bureau
Contains name, address and details of any convictions for criminal offences
Passport database
Has your address, date and place of birth and your travel history
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
Details of any penalty points will show up alongside your name, address and date of birth
Proposed EU-wide census
Facts and figures on population and housing across EU would go further than any national census
NHS electronic patients record system
Part of the Government's £12.4bn National Programme for IT, aims to put all patient records online
UK DNA Database
Biggest DNA list in the world covers 5.2 per cent of population. 30,000 additions every month
Inland Revenue
Has on record the name, address and financial details of everyone who pays tax in Britain
ContactPoint
Part of the Government's Every Child Matters programme, it holds details on every child in England, including name, address, gender, date of birth and an ID number
'Something Is Rotten in the State of
Italy'
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,
1518,517062,00.html
Italy is reeling from riots this weekend sparked by the accidental shooting of a football fan by a police officer. While government and football authorities attempt to deal with the scourge of hooliganism, some are asking if the recurring violence points to a deeper malaise in Italian society.Milan fans in Bergamo on Sunday. The scourge of fan violence reared its ugly head again this weekend.
Italy is scrambling to
deal with the aftermath of riots this weekend sparked by
the accidental shooting of a football fan. State
prosecutors said Monday that hooligans who went on the rampage
The violence that spread across Italy was in reaction to the death of Gabriele Sandri, a 26-year-old DJ, who was killed after police officer Luigi Spaccatorella fired warning shots to stop a brawl among rival fans at a motorway rest stop. The policeman is now under investigation for manslaughter.
Soccer authorities said on Monday said they would suspend matches scheduled for next Sunday, and Italy's Interior Ministry slapped a ban on large groups of violent fans traveling to certain games. Meanwhile, Italian Sports Minister Giovanna Melandri called for Italian football fans to take time to "stop and think." However, according to Clarence Seedorf, a player with AC Milan, football is being made a scapegoat by the government for deeper problems in Italian society. "They cannot blame football every time," the Dutch player told Britain's Sky Sports News. "The people are not happy. They are coming to the stadiums to express their feelings and their feelings are not positive. ... The whole country lacks leadership."
The German press on Tuesday looks at the implications of the fan violence for Italian football, society and politics. The left-leaning Berliner Zeitung writes:
"The Italians are always caught up in a power struggle. Nothing in that country has a secure position -- not the parties which are constantly splitting up and being refounded ... not the institutions which pass from the clutches of one party to another, not the church which wants to control domestic politics." "Under these circumstances, radical football fans also form a group that, without prospects of winning the big trophies, look for a monopoly of power in their narrow world, which they then want to present to the rest of the country." "The fact that state prosecutors in Rome are now accusing the mobs from last weekend of terrorism shows the shock in society. But is this terrorism? Certainly a social problem has become a political one. In other European countries projects aimed at fans have had good results, and they should be attempted in Italy. Indeed, the state's latest successes against the mafia in Sicily show that civil society can be articulate if it sees its interests represented by the state."
The left-leaning Die Tageszeitung writes:
"(Sandri's) death had little to do with hooliganism -- and a lot more to do with the Italian police, who are far too relaxed in the way they use their weapons.""Italy's hooligans have already given their verdict: they chant 'murderers!' in the stadiums. With its grotesque reaction the state has enflamed the mood more than if it would have if it had just let the games be played. The escalation has reached a new level: now there is a united Ultra front -- one that has never been seen in Italy before -- against the 'enemy state.' And both sides have their own martyrs: hate and fear will always be present when the police and the hooligans face each other.""The state may have managed to make stadiums more secure, but the problem has just shifted to the areas around the stadiums. It is a sign of the deep failure on the part of the state and the football clubs that while the criminal Ultras have not been reined in, the normal fans feel the increasingly tough security measures are pushing them into the same boat. Italy may be the world champion, but it looks like its football could become a ghost sport played in empty stadiums."
The conservative daily Die Welt writes:
"Italy likes to call itself the bel paese, the beautiful country.... But there is another side to Italy: the ugly side." "It was as if the radical part of Italy's football world had just been waiting for (Sandri's death). A few hours later violent demonstrations broke out in Bergamo, Milan, Rome and Taranto. The number of the rioters wasn't big but that meant their actions were all the more militant. There was deep-seated hate at work, that was about much more than the immediate provocation. It was directed against the state and its institutions -- and that quickly came to the fore across Italy." "Football stadiums have long been places that attract people who flirt with far-right symbols and ideas and that are looking for the murkiest mass experience. While hooligans don't act that differently elsewhere, the rage in Italy is particularly apparent. ... The fact that this kind of rage can flare up so quickly across the whole country is an indication that there is something rotten in the state of Italy."
The Financial Times Deutschland writes:
"What began as a brawl between football fans in Tuscany could lead to the fall of the already crisis-ridden Italian government." "Giuliano Amato, Italy's interior minister, has said he carries the political responsibility for the death of the fan, who was shot by a police officer. The fact that it was a tragic accident can minimize the guilt of the shooter. But that doesn't absolve Amato from the fact that the security forces operate in a chaotic manner, and that the one stray bullet led to riots by thousands of thugs in several cities."
------
"The Ultras have power in Italian football, they are
not social losers like those who rioted in the French
suburbs in 2005. And they don't hesitate to use blackmail
tactics that they learned from the mafia. The
politicians' fear of tackling them is the real
scandal." "If Amato resigns then Romano Prodi's
center-left government could break apart. Amato has been
one of its few supporters. But the end of the government
would only be the smaller problem, in comparison to the
effect of unrestrained football fanaticism on Italian
society."
-- Siobhán Dowling,
12:15 p.m. CET
?????: ???? ?????
Hugo Chavez and the King.........Raja and the Queen
Hugo said : Aznar was a fascist !!
Zapatero
said : ..do not insult Mr. Aznar ,
who was democratically
elected !!....Hugo
The King said : why don't you shut up !!.....Hugo !!
The first fact is that the King,himself, was never elected
The second fact Hugo is an elected person
The third and most relevant fact is that this King was simply appointed by a fascist....even a fascist who was once allied to Adolf Hitler.
My question , with all due respect, who ought to shut up ??
in this case and for ever , too.
The Queen of the Netherlands , (where I live) never asked anyone to "shut up" and her German Father used to fly RAF-Bombers over Fascist-Berlin when the King of Spain was hiding safely in Switzerland.
???? ??????!!!
Long live my Queen !!
Raja Chemayel
non-elected-blogger
13 Nov.2007
Free marketism should not be Europe's 'creed', says Sarkozy
13.11.2007 -
16:24 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - French president Nicolas Sarkozy
has outlined a vision for Europe that would see
"untramelled" capitalism pushed far down the
political hierarchy to be replaced by a focus on cultural
and spiritual issues with more than a hint of European
protectionism.
Speaking to an unusually full European chamber in
Strasbourg on Tuesday (13 November), Mr Sarkozy said that
despite recently fixing its institutional set-up, Europe
remains in a state of "moral and political
crisis."
The new Reform Treaty allows Europe to "take
decisions and to act. But it does not say with what goals
and with what purpose," said the president.
"Political questions still have to be dealt
with," he said, adding that is why he is proposing
the creation of a wise committee to discuss "without
taboos" where Europe is going."
According to Mr Sarkozy, who has put France firmly back
at the centre of the European stage since his May
election, Europeans are having a "profound identity
crisis (..) linked globalisation and the
commercialisation of the world."
Noting that "economic values seem to win the day
over other values," Mr Sarkozy said that it is a
mistake to overlook culture.
"Europe can only be Europe in the eyes of all men if
she defends spiritual values and civilisational values,
if she gathers all her forces, all her energy for
defending cultural diversity."
The French leader gave a lot of time to protectionism - a
concept that has fallen out of favour in the EU since the
more market-oriented eastern member states joined the
bloc in 2004, coupled with the current European
Commission with its strong liberal profile.
"The word protection should be not be
outlawed," said the president adding that "we
must be able to protect ourselves as much as others
do."
"If others have the right to protect themselves
against dumping, why not Europe? If other nations put
industrial policies in place, why not Europe? If others
defend their farmers, why shouldn't Europe defend its
farmers?", he asked.
While Europe is "associated" with competition,
it cannot be "alone in the world in making it a
creed."
He went on to say that while Europe has chosen a market
economy and capitalism, this should not give rise to
"untrammelled capitalism."
His 30 minute speech - greeted with a standing ovation by
MEPs - also drew to attention to the issues that France
will focus on during its presidency of the EU in the
second half of next year.
This is to include reform of the EU's farm policy after
2013, discussions on an eco-tax, and defence issues.
"How can Europe be independent (..) and have
influence in the world if it is itself unable to
guarantee its own security," said Mr Sarkozy.
But the French president, whose limelight-stealing
activity on the European stage has both riled and charmed
in almost equal measure, left one major topic out of his
speech: enlargement and the issue of Turkish membership
of the EU.
Some fear his wise group is front for halting Turkey's
progress into the EU.
Since becoming president Mr Sarkozy has been credited
with giving Europe the political impetus to agree a new
treaty, he has also made suggestions for a Mediterranean
union and has often spoke about the importance of
European defence.
Meanwhile, he has caused friction in some quarters with
his open criticism of the European Central Bank, falling
back on promises to curb France's deficit and speaking of
European industrial champions.
Further rioting in Paris
suburb
Monday, 26
November 2007,bbc World news
French youths have been battling police for a second night in a suburb of Paris where two teenagers died after their motorcycle collided with a police car.
Up to 30 police officers are said to have been injured in the clashes.
Earlier in the day, a state prosecutor ordered a manslaughter inquiry into the deaths of the two teenagers in Villiers-le-Bel.
Local youths blame police for the deaths but police say the two teenagers were speeding and not wearing helmets.
The clashes come despite numerous appeals for calm, including one by President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is visiting China.
Several vehicles, including a police car, have been set on fire and there are reports that shots have been fired at police.
Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to keep rioters at bay.
The violence follows Sunday night's clashes when about 30 cars and several buildings, including a police station, were torched in Villiers-le-Bel and neighbouring Arnouville.
Twenty-six police and fire officers were injured and nine people were arrested.