Voters' Reaction to Romney's "47%" Comments Tilts Negative
PRINCETON, NJ -- Americans have a more negative than positive immediate reaction to Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's comments, secretly caught on video, about the 47% of Americans whom he said are Obama supporters and dependent on the government. Thirty-six percent of voters say Romney's comments make them less likely to vote for him, while 20% say the remarks make them more likely to vote for him, and 43% say the comments won't make a difference.
Sep 19, 2012
Bahrain charges police officers with torture
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Traveling Vietnam by train: The ‘Reunification Express’
Traveling Vietnam by train: The ‘Reunification Express’:
By: Ate Hoekstra
The Reunification Express runs from Ha Noi to Ho Chi Minh cityThey sometimes call it the ‘Reunification Express’, the train that connects Hanoi in North-Vietnam to Ho Chi Minh City in the south. And it it’s without any doubt one of the best ways to get to know Vietnam and one of the best train journeys you can make in the former Indochina.
“Why would you take a train when there’s a night bus?” one of my friends asked when I told him I was about to take the train from Hanoi to Nha Trang. “The bus is more comfortable than the train and it’s faster.”
Good question. Why take a train in Vietnam when there are so many bus companies? And why take a train when there are so many cheap budget flights connecting one city to another? The answer is quite simple: it’s the best way to get to know the country in a short period of time. That goes for any country that has trains and it certainly goes for Vietnam.
My plan was to take a train from Hanoi all the way down to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). Each day at least four trains leave from Hanoi (more at peak times) to embark on the 30 to 34 hour journey to get to HCMC. Due to circumstances I had to get off at Nha Trang, but that was only 400 kilometers from the end of the line and good for 26 hours of traveling. Enough to know how it feels to be in the ‘Reunification Express’.
The Reunification Express at the Hanoi train station
Because I made the journey from Hanoi to Nha Trang in two different stages, I bought myself two tickets. One soft sleeper from Hanoi to Da Nang and, after staying in Da Nang for a few days, a soft seat from Da Nang to Nha Trang. Both of them were good. The beds are a bit small for tall western people, but will do. Also the compartments are clean enough, the AC will make sure doesn’t get too warm (it might even get a bit chilly) and blankets are provided. If you’re only traveling by day time the soft seat is perfect. It really is soft, it gives you a great view of Vietnam’s landscape and it’s a perfect way to see how Vietnamese people travel and live.
Views from the train in Vietnam, By: Ate Hoekstra
The reunification express in action, By: Stan Dalone
Making the best of train food, By: Brian Johnos & Kantner
Making the train your home, By: Francisco Anzola
Then there’s the fabulous view. The landscape between Hanoi and HCMC is beautiful and diverse. During the daytime I saw endless rice fields, rocky mountains, small villages, high cliffs and sunny beaches. It gave me a glimpse of Vietnam’s daily life, watching the motor bikes, the field workers and the people who wait at the stations for something to happen. Of course, taking the ‘Reunification Express’ is by far not enough to get to know Vietnam, but it gets you much closer to the people and their culture than a budget flight can do. And it’s a much more fun, safe and relaxing way of travel than to hop on one of the overloaded, crazy driving busses.
By: Ate Hoekstra
The Reunification Express runs from Ha Noi to Ho Chi Minh city
“Why would you take a train when there’s a night bus?” one of my friends asked when I told him I was about to take the train from Hanoi to Nha Trang. “The bus is more comfortable than the train and it’s faster.”
Good question. Why take a train in Vietnam when there are so many bus companies? And why take a train when there are so many cheap budget flights connecting one city to another? The answer is quite simple: it’s the best way to get to know the country in a short period of time. That goes for any country that has trains and it certainly goes for Vietnam.
My plan was to take a train from Hanoi all the way down to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). Each day at least four trains leave from Hanoi (more at peak times) to embark on the 30 to 34 hour journey to get to HCMC. Due to circumstances I had to get off at Nha Trang, but that was only 400 kilometers from the end of the line and good for 26 hours of traveling. Enough to know how it feels to be in the ‘Reunification Express’.
Train Travel in Vietnam, a Seat or a Berth?
Taking the train in Vietnam usually gives you different options of comfort. First there’s the choice between buying a ticket for a sleeping berth or a seat. If you’re doing the whole route from Hanoi to HCMC it’s wise to choose a sleeping berth, because sitting in a chair for more than 30 hours isn’t that great. With the berths you choose between the hard sleeper and the soft sleeper. Both of them have ac in the cabins, but the soft sleepers are more comfortable and more spacious (four beds in a compartment, instead of six). When it comes to seats there’s the choice between soft seats and hard seats. You might want to take the soft seat, because the hard ones are made of wood and hence really hard, especially when sitting in a train for more than just a few hours.
The Reunification Express at the Hanoi train station
Because I made the journey from Hanoi to Nha Trang in two different stages, I bought myself two tickets. One soft sleeper from Hanoi to Da Nang and, after staying in Da Nang for a few days, a soft seat from Da Nang to Nha Trang. Both of them were good. The beds are a bit small for tall western people, but will do. Also the compartments are clean enough, the AC will make sure doesn’t get too warm (it might even get a bit chilly) and blankets are provided. If you’re only traveling by day time the soft seat is perfect. It really is soft, it gives you a great view of Vietnam’s landscape and it’s a perfect way to see how Vietnamese people travel and live.
Views from the train in Vietnam, By: Ate Hoekstra
The reunification express in action, By: Stan Dalone
Making the best of train food, By: Brian Johnos & Kantner
Drinks and Food on the Train
One of the nice things about the Hanoi – HCMC train is that you don’t need to bring any food or drinks. Of course you are allowed to bring as much food as you want and that’s exactly what a lot of Vietnamese people do. But there’s enough food available on the train. In the evening you can get yourself a bowl of soup, in the morning and in the afternoon train vendors sell rice with chicken. It’s not the best food in the world, and for sure not the best food in Vietnam, but it’s cheap and it fills. And if you don’t like it, you can buy drinks and instant noodles on the train. Or wait until the next station, because there’s usually enough time to get off the train to get a quick bite at a station.
Making the train your home, By: Francisco Anzola
It’s all about the Experience
So the food is alright, the soft sleeper is good and the seat is perfect, but in the end those things are only small – but essential – parts of the experience. And the experience, that’s what it’s all about when taking the train in Vietnam. It’s a perfect way to get to know the country and its culture a little better in a small period of time. Vietnamese people make the train their home, even when it’s just for a few hours. They bring their family, they bring loads of food and it seems like they feel at home from the first moment they enter the wagon.Then there’s the fabulous view. The landscape between Hanoi and HCMC is beautiful and diverse. During the daytime I saw endless rice fields, rocky mountains, small villages, high cliffs and sunny beaches. It gave me a glimpse of Vietnam’s daily life, watching the motor bikes, the field workers and the people who wait at the stations for something to happen. Of course, taking the ‘Reunification Express’ is by far not enough to get to know Vietnam, but it gets you much closer to the people and their culture than a budget flight can do. And it’s a much more fun, safe and relaxing way of travel than to hop on one of the overloaded, crazy driving busses.
More info on Train Travel in Vietnam
If you want to know the current prices and schedules, be sure to check www.seat61.com/Vietnam.htm. Train tickets can easily be bought in most hotels and guesthouses or at the stations. Prices vary on which berth or seat you take, but to Western standards it never gets expensive to take a train in Vietnam.Mutilated bodies found in central Mexico
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Media Crackdown Intensifies
Media Crackdown Intensifies:
The Vietnamese government has stepped up a media crackdown by tightly monitoring journalists' movements, phone conversations, and online activities, pressuring mainstream reporters to close down their blogs and expanding a list of "taboo" topics, according to a new report.
"Vietnamese officials are stepping up repression of old and new media even as they promote an image of an open, globalized economy," said the report by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an independent group promoting press freedom worldwide.
"Intense surveillance and imprisonment of critical journalists, coupled with increasingly restrictive laws, are choking the flow of information," the group said, basing its report on interviews with 32 bloggers, reporters, and editors both inside and outside of Vietnam.
Many spoke to CPJ on condition of anonymity due to fear of reprisal if their names appeared in a report critical of the government. Several independent bloggers declined to meet CPJ representatives in person due to concerns for their personal security.
The office of Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, whose Communist Party-dominated government maintains some of the strictest and harshest media controls in all of Asia, did not respond to CPJ’s written request for comment for the report.
'Striking back'
The report said that while Vietnam must maintain a certain degree of openness while integrating into the global economy, authorities are simultaneously striking back against independent journalists and political dissidents who use digital platforms.
Rising grassroots resentment of state-backed land-grabbing, perceptions that the government has ceded territory and made unfavorable concessions to China, and signs of an economic slowdown have all been covered critically in independent blogs.
Responding to this perceived threat, Prime Minister Dung’s administration has unleashed a harsh crackdown on dissent, the report said.
The slowing economy for example has led to an expansion of the government's list of "taboo topics" to include criticism of the government’s economic management, land conflicts between the government and local communities, and the business dealings of the prime minister’s daughter, according to editors and reporters familiar with a set of guidelines issued to the local media by the government's Central Propaganda Department (CPD).
“Vietnam’s government portrays itself as the sole guardian of the country’s national interest, yet economic slowdown, state-backed land grabs, and perceived territorial concessions to China are increasingly criticized by independent bloggers,” said CPJ Senior Southeast Asia Representative Shawn Crispin.
“In response, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s administration has cracked down hard on journalists, dissidents, and activists—a policy that should be reversed,” he said.
The government's list of forbidden topics has traditionally included the activities of political dissidents and activists, high-level official corruption, factional divisions inside the Communist Party, human rights issues, anti-China sentiments or protests, and any mention of ethnic differences between the country’s once divided northern and southern regions.
"Even with those strict guidelines in place, reporters who spoke to CPJ said their movements, phone conversations, and online activities are under tight surveillance," the report said.
Four mobile phones
One local wire service reporter told CPJ he maintains four separate mobile telephones, three registered in other people’s names, to elude government eavesdropping, especially on his communications with foreign embassies and local dissidents.
He said he often places calls to sensitive sources far away from his news bureau to evade possible tracking of his location using the Global Positioning System (GPS), a space-based satellite navigation system.
Several mainstream media reporters who spoke to CPJ said they had earlier maintained independent blogs outside of their news bureaus, where they published material that their newspapers had censored or posted comments critical of their paper’s slanted coverage of news events.
"But as government surveillance over the blogosphere has improved and intensified, many said they have shuttered their blogs, either under direct government pressure or because of concerns they could be fired if discovered moonlighting as a pseudonymous blogger," the report said.
The Vietnamese government does not acknowledge maintaining a formal blacklist of local journalists who have either flouted directives by its Central Propaganda Department (CPD) or who are believed to have ties to political dissidents.
However, journalists who spoke to CPJ insisted that such a list exists.
Foreign correspondents
Although not subject to the CPD’s weekly censorship meetings, international reporters based in Vietnam face a different set of restrictions, according to the report.
Police keep tabs on their reporting activities through required informal “coffee meetings” with their local news assistants, the CPJ report said.
All accredited foreign news bureaus are required to hire local assistants, although the assistants are not allowed press credentials.
In addition, international journalists work in Vietnam on renewable six-month visas, a system that encourages self-censorship for those keen to maintain their position in the country, the bureau chief of one international news agency told CPJ, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The CPJ’s report on Vietnam’s press freedom situation coincides with the highly anticipated trial, set for September 24, on anti-state charges of three prominent bloggers.
The trial of Nguyen Van Hai, Ta Phong Tan, and Phan Thanh Hai could result in up to 20-year prison terms, underscoring the extreme risks that journalists in Vietnam face for expressing independent views, CPJ said.
With at least 14 journalists behind bars, Vietnam is Asia’s second worst jailer of the press, trailing only China, according to CPJ research.
Many of those in detention have been charged or convicted of anti-state crimes related to their blog postings.
Reported by Parameswaran Ponnudurai.
The Vietnamese government has stepped up a media crackdown by tightly monitoring journalists' movements, phone conversations, and online activities, pressuring mainstream reporters to close down their blogs and expanding a list of "taboo" topics, according to a new report.
"Vietnamese officials are stepping up repression of old and new media even as they promote an image of an open, globalized economy," said the report by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an independent group promoting press freedom worldwide.
"Intense surveillance and imprisonment of critical journalists, coupled with increasingly restrictive laws, are choking the flow of information," the group said, basing its report on interviews with 32 bloggers, reporters, and editors both inside and outside of Vietnam.
Many spoke to CPJ on condition of anonymity due to fear of reprisal if their names appeared in a report critical of the government. Several independent bloggers declined to meet CPJ representatives in person due to concerns for their personal security.
The office of Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, whose Communist Party-dominated government maintains some of the strictest and harshest media controls in all of Asia, did not respond to CPJ’s written request for comment for the report.
'Striking back'
The report said that while Vietnam must maintain a certain degree of openness while integrating into the global economy, authorities are simultaneously striking back against independent journalists and political dissidents who use digital platforms.
Rising grassroots resentment of state-backed land-grabbing, perceptions that the government has ceded territory and made unfavorable concessions to China, and signs of an economic slowdown have all been covered critically in independent blogs.
Responding to this perceived threat, Prime Minister Dung’s administration has unleashed a harsh crackdown on dissent, the report said.
The slowing economy for example has led to an expansion of the government's list of "taboo topics" to include criticism of the government’s economic management, land conflicts between the government and local communities, and the business dealings of the prime minister’s daughter, according to editors and reporters familiar with a set of guidelines issued to the local media by the government's Central Propaganda Department (CPD).
“Vietnam’s government portrays itself as the sole guardian of the country’s national interest, yet economic slowdown, state-backed land grabs, and perceived territorial concessions to China are increasingly criticized by independent bloggers,” said CPJ Senior Southeast Asia Representative Shawn Crispin.
“In response, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s administration has cracked down hard on journalists, dissidents, and activists—a policy that should be reversed,” he said.
The government's list of forbidden topics has traditionally included the activities of political dissidents and activists, high-level official corruption, factional divisions inside the Communist Party, human rights issues, anti-China sentiments or protests, and any mention of ethnic differences between the country’s once divided northern and southern regions.
"Even with those strict guidelines in place, reporters who spoke to CPJ said their movements, phone conversations, and online activities are under tight surveillance," the report said.
Four mobile phones
One local wire service reporter told CPJ he maintains four separate mobile telephones, three registered in other people’s names, to elude government eavesdropping, especially on his communications with foreign embassies and local dissidents.
He said he often places calls to sensitive sources far away from his news bureau to evade possible tracking of his location using the Global Positioning System (GPS), a space-based satellite navigation system.
Several mainstream media reporters who spoke to CPJ said they had earlier maintained independent blogs outside of their news bureaus, where they published material that their newspapers had censored or posted comments critical of their paper’s slanted coverage of news events.
"But as government surveillance over the blogosphere has improved and intensified, many said they have shuttered their blogs, either under direct government pressure or because of concerns they could be fired if discovered moonlighting as a pseudonymous blogger," the report said.
The Vietnamese government does not acknowledge maintaining a formal blacklist of local journalists who have either flouted directives by its Central Propaganda Department (CPD) or who are believed to have ties to political dissidents.
However, journalists who spoke to CPJ insisted that such a list exists.
Foreign correspondents
Although not subject to the CPD’s weekly censorship meetings, international reporters based in Vietnam face a different set of restrictions, according to the report.
Police keep tabs on their reporting activities through required informal “coffee meetings” with their local news assistants, the CPJ report said.
All accredited foreign news bureaus are required to hire local assistants, although the assistants are not allowed press credentials.
In addition, international journalists work in Vietnam on renewable six-month visas, a system that encourages self-censorship for those keen to maintain their position in the country, the bureau chief of one international news agency told CPJ, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The CPJ’s report on Vietnam’s press freedom situation coincides with the highly anticipated trial, set for September 24, on anti-state charges of three prominent bloggers.
The trial of Nguyen Van Hai, Ta Phong Tan, and Phan Thanh Hai could result in up to 20-year prison terms, underscoring the extreme risks that journalists in Vietnam face for expressing independent views, CPJ said.
With at least 14 journalists behind bars, Vietnam is Asia’s second worst jailer of the press, trailing only China, according to CPJ research.
Many of those in detention have been charged or convicted of anti-state crimes related to their blog postings.
Reported by Parameswaran Ponnudurai.
Charges Filed in Reporter's Death
Charges Filed in Reporter's Death:
A provincial court in Cambodia has filed charges of premeditated murder against a military police officer and his wife over the death of an investigative journalist, according to a court official.
The reporter, Hang Serei Oudom, was looking into claims of illegal logging and extortion when he went missing on Sept. 10. His battered body was found two days later in the trunk of his car.
Military officer An Bunheng and his wife, known by her nickname “Vy,” were taken into custody the next day after police and a court prosecutor said they had found evidence linking them to the crime at the couple’s restaurant in Cambodia’s northeastern Ratanakiri province.
“The Ratanakiri court on Sunday charged two suspects—An Bunheng and his wife Sim Vy—with the premeditated murder of local journalist Hang Serei Oudom,” investigating judge Luch Lao told RFA’s Khmer service.
The charges were filed following a 48-hour period of questioning by police, Lao said, adding that he has ordered the couple to be detained pending trial and that the court’s investigation of the crime is ongoing.
Call for investigation
In a statement last week, Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called for a “thorough investigation” into Oudom’s death.
The group noted in its Sept. 13 statement that the journalist had written about “rich and influential people,” including businessmen and provincial officials involved in the trafficking of luxury wood in Ratanakiri, and that his colleagues had told him “they were concerned for his safety” in the days before he disappeared.
Authorities found Oudom’s body about a week after he published an article accusing a local military police officer of extorting money from an illegal logger in the area and of using military vehicles to transport illegal timber.
Police said the journalist had apparently died from a series of axe blows to the head.
Speaking to reporters at her son’s funeral on Saturday, Oudom’s mother Keo Sovann appealed for justice for her murdered son.
“He left behind an elderly mother and a pregnant wife,” Sovann said. “I am appealing to the government and to [Cambodia’s prime minister] Samdech Hun Sen to help us.”
Separate complaint filed
The Cambodian rights group Adhoc has provided a lawyer to help the victim’s family file a separate legal complaint against the suspects and any accomplices whose identities may later come to light, Ny Chakriya, the head of Adhoc’s investigating unit, said.
The complaint was filed on Tuesday, Oudom's mother told RFA.
RSF ranked Cambodia 117th out of 179 countries in its most recent annual press freedom index.
“Cambodian journalists, bloggers and cyber-activists who draw attention to environmental problems, especially deforestation, are frequently targeted by the people they try to expose,” the group said.
In April, environmental activist Chut Wutty was shot and killed while he accompanied two reporters from the Cambodia Daily to investigate illegal logging claims in a protected forest region.
A security guard from a logging company was charged with the shooting, but conflicting accounts given by authorities about the circumstances surrounding the death have prompted calls by rights groups for a thorough investigation.
Reported by Sok Ratha for RFA’s Khmer service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Richard Finney.
A provincial court in Cambodia has filed charges of premeditated murder against a military police officer and his wife over the death of an investigative journalist, according to a court official.
The reporter, Hang Serei Oudom, was looking into claims of illegal logging and extortion when he went missing on Sept. 10. His battered body was found two days later in the trunk of his car.
Military officer An Bunheng and his wife, known by her nickname “Vy,” were taken into custody the next day after police and a court prosecutor said they had found evidence linking them to the crime at the couple’s restaurant in Cambodia’s northeastern Ratanakiri province.
“The Ratanakiri court on Sunday charged two suspects—An Bunheng and his wife Sim Vy—with the premeditated murder of local journalist Hang Serei Oudom,” investigating judge Luch Lao told RFA’s Khmer service.
The charges were filed following a 48-hour period of questioning by police, Lao said, adding that he has ordered the couple to be detained pending trial and that the court’s investigation of the crime is ongoing.
Call for investigation
In a statement last week, Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called for a “thorough investigation” into Oudom’s death.
The group noted in its Sept. 13 statement that the journalist had written about “rich and influential people,” including businessmen and provincial officials involved in the trafficking of luxury wood in Ratanakiri, and that his colleagues had told him “they were concerned for his safety” in the days before he disappeared.
Authorities found Oudom’s body about a week after he published an article accusing a local military police officer of extorting money from an illegal logger in the area and of using military vehicles to transport illegal timber.
Police said the journalist had apparently died from a series of axe blows to the head.
Speaking to reporters at her son’s funeral on Saturday, Oudom’s mother Keo Sovann appealed for justice for her murdered son.
“He left behind an elderly mother and a pregnant wife,” Sovann said. “I am appealing to the government and to [Cambodia’s prime minister] Samdech Hun Sen to help us.”
Separate complaint filed
The Cambodian rights group Adhoc has provided a lawyer to help the victim’s family file a separate legal complaint against the suspects and any accomplices whose identities may later come to light, Ny Chakriya, the head of Adhoc’s investigating unit, said.
The complaint was filed on Tuesday, Oudom's mother told RFA.
RSF ranked Cambodia 117th out of 179 countries in its most recent annual press freedom index.
“Cambodian journalists, bloggers and cyber-activists who draw attention to environmental problems, especially deforestation, are frequently targeted by the people they try to expose,” the group said.
In April, environmental activist Chut Wutty was shot and killed while he accompanied two reporters from the Cambodia Daily to investigate illegal logging claims in a protected forest region.
A security guard from a logging company was charged with the shooting, but conflicting accounts given by authorities about the circumstances surrounding the death have prompted calls by rights groups for a thorough investigation.
Reported by Sok Ratha for RFA’s Khmer service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Richard Finney.
Balochistan situation is worse than East Timor and Sudan, UN should intervene: BNV - Quetta - News - Balochwarna News
Balochistan situation is worse than East Timor and Sudan, UN should intervene: BNV - Quetta - News - Balochwarna News
A spokesperson of the BNV said that activists from his Organisation has informed the UN about 14,000 enforced disappeared Baloch and the recovery of around 500 mutilated bodies including those of women and children. The BNV also gave a video CD to the WGEID delegation which contained a detailed list of extra-judicially killed Baloch activists, pictures the victims killed by Pakistan military in custody and images of Baloch women and children killed during indiscriminate bombardments in military operations in Balochistan. The CD also contained video clips of the brutally tortured bodies of Baloch victims and pictures showing signs of extreme torture including broken bones, eyes plucked out and other signs of painful treatments they were subjected to in custody.
Quetta :
A delegation of the Baloch National Voice has called on the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances in Quetta, and hand them evidence of Pakistan’s atrocities in Balochistan.A spokesperson of the BNV said that activists from his Organisation has informed the UN about 14,000 enforced disappeared Baloch and the recovery of around 500 mutilated bodies including those of women and children. The BNV also gave a video CD to the WGEID delegation which contained a detailed list of extra-judicially killed Baloch activists, pictures the victims killed by Pakistan military in custody and images of Baloch women and children killed during indiscriminate bombardments in military operations in Balochistan. The CD also contained video clips of the brutally tortured bodies of Baloch victims and pictures showing signs of extreme torture including broken bones, eyes plucked out and other signs of painful treatments they were subjected to in custody.
Russia boots out USAID - The Washington Post
Russia boots out USAID - The Washington Post
MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin is expelling the U.S. Agency for International Development, the State Department said Tuesday, another in a series of ever-more-aggressive measures meant to limit the work of Russian activists who support democracy, protect human rights and promote fair elections.
The move closes a two-decade window, open since the end of the Cold War, that has allowed the American aid agency to operate fairly freely in Russia while providing $2.6 billion in assistance.
Egypt’s president names new intelligence chief, involved in 2011 Schalit deal - The Washington Post
Egypt’s president names new intelligence chief, involved in 2011 Schalit deal - The Washington Post
CAIRO — Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi on Wednesday appointed as the country’s new intelligence chief a veteran official who was involved in the brokering of last year’s release of an Israeli soldier captured by Palestinian militants, the official news agency said.
Mohammed Raafat Abdel-Wahed was key in the Cairo-mediated deal between Hamas and Israel that led to the freeing of Gilad Schalit in 2011 in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. His appointment was reported by the Middle East News Agency.
South Africa: Lonmin miners prepare to return to work, ending deadly strike - The Washington Post
South Africa: Lonmin miners prepare to return to work, ending deadly strike - The Washington Post
MARIKANA, South Africa — Lonmin miners celebrated a wage deal Wednesday that ended a deadly and prolonged strike but labor unrest continued with police firing rubber bullets and tear gas at strikers at a different platinum mine.
Some warned that the deal struck by Lonmin to give its 28,000 workers up to 22 percent pay raises would incite other miners to similar action. Lonmin also employs 10,000 contract workers not covered by the agreement.
World Bank sees Palestinian fiscal crisis worsening - The Washington Post
World Bank sees Palestinian fiscal crisis worsening - The Washington Post
A fiscal crisis facing the Palestinian Authority will deepen unless foreign donors increase their support and Israel lifts a web of restrictions in the West Bank that hinder private investment needed to drive economic growth, the World Bank said in a report released Wednesday.
Issued ahead of a meeting of donor nations next week in New York, the report follows a recent wave of protests in the West Bank set off by increases in the prices of fuel and other basic goods. The protests unsettled the Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the West Bank and is struggling to pay salaries because of a shortfall in foreign aid, particularly from Arab states.
Defense industry is reshaping itself in a multitude of ways - The Washington Post
Defense industry is reshaping itself in a multitude of ways - The Washington Post
The defense industry is remaking itself in the face of changing technologies and shrinking budgets, with companies rushing to buy or sell vast lines of business to better position themselves for an uncertain future.
Last week, London-based BAE Systems and Paris-based European Aeronautic Defense & Space said they’re considering combining into a behemoth that would dwarf traditional industry leaders, such as Lockheed Martin and Boeing.
France ramps up embassy security after magazine caricatures Prophet Muhammad amid new protests - The Washington Post
France ramps up embassy security after magazine caricatures Prophet Muhammad amid new protests - The Washington Post
PARIS — A French magazine published vulgar caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad on Wednesday, brandishing its right to free speech amid global tensions over a movie insulting to Islam.
In response, the French government ordered embassies and schools to close Friday in about 20 countries and tens of thousands marched in Lebanon in protest.
Vladimir Putin says of Mitt Romney: At least he’s direct - The Washington Post
Vladimir Putin says of Mitt Romney: At least he’s direct - The Washington Post
MOSCOW — Soviet leaders used to prefer Republicans to Democrats, in the belief that Republicans were tough but more sincere and, once they made a promise, were more likely to deliver on it.
There has been a whiff of that old way of thinking in recent remarks by President Vladimir Putin, even though plenty has changed in Russia’s relations with the United States. Speaking to reporters last week, Putinsaid he appreciates GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s bluntness in his denunciations of Russia — because that stance lets Russia know where it stands, and reinforces Putin’s opposition to a missile defense shield in Europe.
Post poll: Tim Kaine opens first lead over George Allen in Va. Senate race - The Washington Post
Post poll: Tim Kaine opens first lead over George Allen in Va. Senate race - The Washington Post
Timothy M. Kaine has jumped ahead of George Allen for the first time in their U.S. Senate race, according to a new Washington Post poll in Virginia, changing the complexion of a nationally watched contest that could help determine which party controls the chamber.
Timothy M. Kaine has jumped ahead of George Allen for the first time in their U.S. Senate race, according to a new Washington Post poll in Virginia, changing the complexion of a nationally watched contest that could help determine which party controls the chamber.
GALLUP - Obama 48%, Romney 46% in Swing States
Obama 48%, Romney 46% in Swing States: Barack Obama (48%) and Mitt Romney (46%) remain closely matched in key 2012 election swing states. Twenty-two percent of voters in those states are undecided or say they could change their presidential preference.
JKTP - View Point: The sexual abuse conundrum: He said, she said | The Jakarta Post
View Point: The sexual abuse conundrum: He said, she said | The Jakarta Post
According to the dictionary, “conundrum” can mean two things: “a question asked for amusement, typically one with a pun in its answer; a riddle” or, “a confusing and difficult problem or question”.
Indonesia, I think, is a conundrum country par excellence, ranging from the weird (having sex in graveyards for spiritual and material gain), ironic (hardliners shouting “God is Great” while bashing people), funny (wearing woolly hats in the scorching sun), to the frustrating (entrenched corruption and failing reform).
Sep 18, 2012
‘First Lady’ Released
‘First Lady’ Released:
Cambodia’s war crimes tribunal has released an ailing high-ranking official of the notorious Khmer Rouge regime after her reprieve was held back following demands by prosecutors that conditions be attached to restrict her freedom.
On Sunday, Ieng Thirith, 80, the sister of deceased regime leader Pol Pot’s first wife, was driven in a convoy out of the tribunal’s compound, three days after the U.N.-backed tribunal decided to let her go as she was found unfit to stand trial.
The Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) announced Sunday that it had upheld a decision to release the former Khmer Rouge social affairs minister, who experts say has Alzheimer’s disease.
Ieng Thirith was diagnosed with the degenerative disease last year and had been excused from court proceedings while she received medical treatment in prison.
The ECCC had initially announced a decision to free her on Thursday, but prosecutors delayed the release by filing an appeal demanding conditions be set to restrict her freedom.
On Sunday, the tribunal said it was granting her a provisional release while it considers an appeal of its earlier decision to grant her “unconditional” freedom, expected to be heard later this month.
“This is a provisional measure that will remain in effect until the Supreme Court Chamber decides on the merits of the appeal by the Co-Prosecutors,” the ECCC in a statement.
She is forbidden to leave the country and is required to inform the court of her address and respond to any summons, the statement said.
Crimes against humanity
Ieng Thirith is among four surviving members of the ultra-Maoist leadership on trial for crimes committed during the 1975-1979 regime, under which up to two million Cambodians died of disease, exhaustion, starvation, and execution.
The charges against her for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide have not been withdrawn.
Survivors of the Khmer Rouge regime have criticized her release, saying they had waited decades for justice and find it hard to feel compassion for her suffering.
"It is difficult for victims and indeed, all Cambodians, to accept the especially vigorous enforcement of Ieng Thirith's rights taking place at the [tribunal]," said Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, a group that researches Khmer Rouge atrocities, the Associated Press reported.
In a statement Sunday, he noted the irony of Ieng Thirith receiving "world class health care."
As social affairs minister she was "personally and directly involved in denying Cambodians even the most basic health care during the regime's years in power," he said.
Since her arrest along with her husband in 2007, Ieng Thirith has repeatedly denied her involvement in the atrocities committed by the regime and has refused to cooperate with the tribunal.
Her husband Ieng Sary, 86, the former Khmer Rouge foreign minister, stands accused of the same atrocities, but is currently in hospital due to fatigue.
Theirs is the second case undertaken by the ECCC after successfully trying an earlier one against former prison chief Duch in February, jailing him for life on appeal for overseeing the deaths of some 15,000 people.
But despite spending nearly U.S. $150 million since it was established six years ago, the ECCC has handed down only one sentence and has been mired in allegations of corruption and interference.
Reported by RFA’s Khmer service. Written in English by Rachel Vandenbrink.
Cambodia’s war crimes tribunal has released an ailing high-ranking official of the notorious Khmer Rouge regime after her reprieve was held back following demands by prosecutors that conditions be attached to restrict her freedom.
On Sunday, Ieng Thirith, 80, the sister of deceased regime leader Pol Pot’s first wife, was driven in a convoy out of the tribunal’s compound, three days after the U.N.-backed tribunal decided to let her go as she was found unfit to stand trial.
The Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) announced Sunday that it had upheld a decision to release the former Khmer Rouge social affairs minister, who experts say has Alzheimer’s disease.
Ieng Thirith was diagnosed with the degenerative disease last year and had been excused from court proceedings while she received medical treatment in prison.
The ECCC had initially announced a decision to free her on Thursday, but prosecutors delayed the release by filing an appeal demanding conditions be set to restrict her freedom.
On Sunday, the tribunal said it was granting her a provisional release while it considers an appeal of its earlier decision to grant her “unconditional” freedom, expected to be heard later this month.
“This is a provisional measure that will remain in effect until the Supreme Court Chamber decides on the merits of the appeal by the Co-Prosecutors,” the ECCC in a statement.
She is forbidden to leave the country and is required to inform the court of her address and respond to any summons, the statement said.
Crimes against humanity
Ieng Thirith is among four surviving members of the ultra-Maoist leadership on trial for crimes committed during the 1975-1979 regime, under which up to two million Cambodians died of disease, exhaustion, starvation, and execution.
The charges against her for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide have not been withdrawn.
Survivors of the Khmer Rouge regime have criticized her release, saying they had waited decades for justice and find it hard to feel compassion for her suffering.
"It is difficult for victims and indeed, all Cambodians, to accept the especially vigorous enforcement of Ieng Thirith's rights taking place at the [tribunal]," said Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, a group that researches Khmer Rouge atrocities, the Associated Press reported.
In a statement Sunday, he noted the irony of Ieng Thirith receiving "world class health care."
As social affairs minister she was "personally and directly involved in denying Cambodians even the most basic health care during the regime's years in power," he said.
Since her arrest along with her husband in 2007, Ieng Thirith has repeatedly denied her involvement in the atrocities committed by the regime and has refused to cooperate with the tribunal.
Her husband Ieng Sary, 86, the former Khmer Rouge foreign minister, stands accused of the same atrocities, but is currently in hospital due to fatigue.
Theirs is the second case undertaken by the ECCC after successfully trying an earlier one against former prison chief Duch in February, jailing him for life on appeal for overseeing the deaths of some 15,000 people.
But despite spending nearly U.S. $150 million since it was established six years ago, the ECCC has handed down only one sentence and has been mired in allegations of corruption and interference.
Reported by RFA’s Khmer service. Written in English by Rachel Vandenbrink.
Japan: Universities Make the Push for Globalized Education | World | TIME.com
Japan: Universities Make the Push for Globalized Education | World | TIME.com
To stay competitive, more schools are welcoming international students and teachers, promoting bilingual programs of study and encouraging young Japanese to study abroad
Read more: http://world.time.com/2012/09/17/learning-curve-with-a-push-japans-universities-go-global/#ixzz26qCEcNZE
To stay competitive, more schools are welcoming international students and teachers, promoting bilingual programs of study and encouraging young Japanese to study abroad
Read more: http://world.time.com/2012/09/17/learning-curve-with-a-push-japans-universities-go-global/#ixzz26qCEcNZE
State of the Race for the Senate - Graphic - NYTimes.com
State of the Race for the Senate - Graphic - NYTimes.com
Updated analysis by The New York Times and details on the six races considered tossups.
Updated analysis by The New York Times and details on the six races considered tossups.
U.S. Warns Judge’s Ruling Impedes Its Detention Powers - NYTimes.com
U.S. Warns Judge’s Ruling Impedes Its Detention Powers - NYTimes.com
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration warned Monday that a judge’s ruling last week blocking a statute authorizing the indefinite detention of terrorism suspects has jeopardized its ability to continue detaining certain prisoners captured during the war in Afghanistan.
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration warned Monday that a judge’s ruling last week blocking a statute authorizing the indefinite detention of terrorism suspects has jeopardized its ability to continue detaining certain prisoners captured during the war in Afghanistan.
Catholics Then, Muslims Now - NYTimes.com
Catholics Then, Muslims Now - NYTimes.com
THE short, crude anti-Muslim video that sparked a wave of violent protests across the Middle East did not emerge from an obscure pocket of extremism; it is the latest in a string of anti-Muslim outbursts in the United States.
THE short, crude anti-Muslim video that sparked a wave of violent protests across the Middle East did not emerge from an obscure pocket of extremism; it is the latest in a string of anti-Muslim outbursts in the United States.
For Young Jews, a Service Says, ‘Please, Do Text’ - NYTimes.com
For Young Jews, a Service Says, ‘Please, Do Text’ - NYTimes.com
MIAMI BEACH — Settling into their seats for Rosh Hashana service, the twentysomethings instinctively reached for their cellphones to turn them off, anticipating an admonition they hear often at synagogue.
Then they looked up at the white screen behind the rabbi: Pray. Write. Text.
MIAMI BEACH — Settling into their seats for Rosh Hashana service, the twentysomethings instinctively reached for their cellphones to turn them off, anticipating an admonition they hear often at synagogue.
Then they looked up at the white screen behind the rabbi: Pray. Write. Text.
Romney Calls 47% of Voters Dependent in Leaked Video - NYTimes.com
Romney Calls 47% of Voters Dependent in Leaked Video - NYTimes.com
WASHINGTON — During a private reception with wealthy donors this year,
In a brief and hastily called news conference Monday just after 10 p.m., Mr. Romney acknowledged having made the blunt political and cultural assessment, saying it was “not elegantly stated,” but he stood by the substance of the remarks, insisting that he had made similar observations in public without generating controversy.
Protests Over Contentious Film Spread to Afghanistan - NYTimes.com
Protests Over Contentious Film Spread to Afghanistan - NYTimes.com
KABUL, Afghanistan — Facing Afghanistan’s first significant outbreak of violence over an anti-Islam film that has inflamed mobs elsewhere, the police moved swiftly on Monday to contain rampaging groups of young men who were burning tires and throwing stones along a thoroughfare leading east out of Kabul, keeping the protesters from advancing toward the city and dispersing them within hours.
KABUL, Afghanistan — Facing Afghanistan’s first significant outbreak of violence over an anti-Islam film that has inflamed mobs elsewhere, the police moved swiftly on Monday to contain rampaging groups of young men who were burning tires and throwing stones along a thoroughfare leading east out of Kabul, keeping the protesters from advancing toward the city and dispersing them within hours.
Afghan Suicide Bomber Strikes Minibus Carrying Foreigners - NYTimes.com
Afghan Suicide Bomber Strikes Minibus Carrying Foreigners - NYTimes.com
KABUL, Afghanistan — A suicide bomber killed 14 people on Tuesday including 10 foreigners, most of whom worked as flight crew members under contract with the United States government, officials said.
KABUL, Afghanistan — A suicide bomber killed 14 people on Tuesday including 10 foreigners, most of whom worked as flight crew members under contract with the United States government, officials said.
Iran Scientist Says Blasts Targeted Nuclear Sites - NYTimes.com
Iran Scientist Says Blasts Targeted Nuclear Sites - NYTimes.com
WASHINGTON — Iran’s most senior atomic energy official revealed on Monday that separate explosions, which he attributed to sabotage, had targeted power supplies to the country’s two main uranium enrichment facilities, including the deep underground site that American and Israeli officials say is the most invulnerable to bombing.
WASHINGTON — Iran’s most senior atomic energy official revealed on Monday that separate explosions, which he attributed to sabotage, had targeted power supplies to the country’s two main uranium enrichment facilities, including the deep underground site that American and Israeli officials say is the most invulnerable to bombing.
Limits Placed on Immigrants in Health Care Law - NYTimes.com
Limits Placed on Immigrants in Health Care Law - NYTimes.com
WASHINGTON — The White House has ruled that young immigrants who will be allowed to stay in the United States as part of a new federal policy will not be eligible for health insurance coverage underPresident Obama’s health care overhaul.
WASHINGTON — The White House has ruled that young immigrants who will be allowed to stay in the United States as part of a new federal policy will not be eligible for health insurance coverage underPresident Obama’s health care overhaul.
Map - Middle East Unrest
Middle East Unrest - WSJ.com
Demonstrations sparked in Egypt by an anti-Muslim video and spread across parts of Africa, Asia and the Middle East continued Monday. Dots indicate more information is available.
Demonstrations sparked in Egypt by an anti-Muslim video and spread across parts of Africa, Asia and the Middle East continued Monday. Dots indicate more information is available.
“Green-on-Blue” Attacks Generate Red Light | U.S. | TIME.com
“Green-on-Blue” Attacks Generate Red Light | U.S. | TIME.com
Read more: http://nation.time.com/2012/09/17/green-on-blue-attacks-generate-red-light/#ixzz26q2dHeAS
After months of simultaneously taking seriously and dismissing the “green-on-blue” attacks inside Afghanistan as the work of Afghan troops bent on killing due to perceived cultural slights, NATO forces have officially pared back their operations with their putative Afghan partners.
The decision – taken by Army Lieut. General James Terry, the No. 2 U.S. commander in Afghanistan – means that NATO and U.S. partnering with Afghan soldiers and police on patrols is no longer standard practice. The International Security Assistance Force issued a statement playing down the change.
Read more: http://nation.time.com/2012/09/17/green-on-blue-attacks-generate-red-light/#ixzz26q2dHeAS
Syria’s Secular and Islamist Rebels: Who Are the Saudis and the Qataris Arming? | World | TIME.com
Syria’s Secular and Islamist Rebels: Who Are the Saudis and the Qataris Arming? | World | TIME.com
As TIME reports here, disorder and distrust plague two of the rebels’ international patrons — Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The two Gulf powerhouses are no longer on the same page when it comes to who among the plethora of mushrooming Syrian rebel groups should be armed. The rift surfaced in August with the alleged Saudi and Qatari representatives in charge of funneling free weaponry to the rebels clearly backing different factions among the groups – including various shades of secular and Islamist militias–under the broad umbrella that is the Free Syrian Army (FSA).
Read more: http://world.time.com/2012/09/18/syrias-secular-and-islamist-rebels-who-are-the-saudis-and-the-qataris-arming/#ixzz26q27s9Lj
As TIME reports here, disorder and distrust plague two of the rebels’ international patrons — Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The two Gulf powerhouses are no longer on the same page when it comes to who among the plethora of mushrooming Syrian rebel groups should be armed. The rift surfaced in August with the alleged Saudi and Qatari representatives in charge of funneling free weaponry to the rebels clearly backing different factions among the groups – including various shades of secular and Islamist militias–under the broad umbrella that is the Free Syrian Army (FSA).
Read more: http://world.time.com/2012/09/18/syrias-secular-and-islamist-rebels-who-are-the-saudis-and-the-qataris-arming/#ixzz26q27s9Lj
Step Into the Office-Less Company - WSJ.com
Step Into the Office-Less Company - WSJ.com
The Web-services company Automattic Inc. has 123 employees working in 26 countries, 94 cities and 28 U.S. states. Its offices? Workers' homes.
At Automattic, which hosts the servers for the blogging platform WordPress.com, work gets done wherever employees choose, and virtual meetings are conducted on Skype or over Internet chat.
Private Eyes: Are Retailers Watching Our Every Move? | Business | TIME.com
Private Eyes: Are Retailers Watching Our Every Move? | Business | TIME.com
Firms like RetailNext can use security camera systems to give retailers a tremendous amount of information about customer behavior in stores, allowing retailers to finely tune staffing levels and product placement. Other firms like Euclid Analytics provide the same information by identifying customer smartphone Wi-Fi signals.
Read more: http://business.time.com/2012/09/18/private-eyes-are-retailers-watching-our-every-move/#ixzz26pyi4QWL
Firms like RetailNext can use security camera systems to give retailers a tremendous amount of information about customer behavior in stores, allowing retailers to finely tune staffing levels and product placement. Other firms like Euclid Analytics provide the same information by identifying customer smartphone Wi-Fi signals.
Read more: http://business.time.com/2012/09/18/private-eyes-are-retailers-watching-our-every-move/#ixzz26pyi4QWL
Internet Archive Amasses All TV News Since 2009 - NYTimes.com
Internet Archive Amasses All TV News Since 2009 - NYTimes.com
Inspired by a pillar of antiquity, the Library of Alexandria, Brewster Kahle has a grand vision for theInternet Archive, the giant aggregator and digitizer of data, which he founded and leads.
Edward M. Pio Roda/CNN
John King of CNN. Internet Archive has recorded 20 news channels.
Lianne Milton for The New York Times
Brewster Kahle, founder of the Internet Archive, in the company warehouse in Richmond, Calif.
“We want to collect all the books, music and video that has ever been produced by humans,” Mr. Kahle said.
Sep 17, 2012
Fall Travel Inspired by New Movies - WSJ.com
Fall Travel Inspired by New Movies - WSJ.com
Imperial Russia, midcentury America and 19th-century France don't have much in common—except maybe your next vacation. Get inspired by three classics that are coming to the big screen
BBC - Both sides blamed for Thai unrest
Both sides blamed for Thai unrest: Thai security forces and "red-shirt" protesters were to blame for escalating violence that left 92 people dead in 2010, an independent commission says.
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