Death-row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal lost his bid for a new trial in the killing of a city police officer after the U.S. Supreme Court said Monday that it will not take up the case. Abu-Jamal, a former Black Panther and one-time radio reporter, had claimed prosecutors improperly excluded blacks from the jury that convicted him of murdering white Philadelphia police Officer Daniel Faulkner in 1981.
Abu-Jamal's attorney, Robert R. Bryan of San Francisco, called his client's trial "a mockery of justice" and said Monday he would seek a rehearing by the high court.
But prosecutor Hugh Burns said that "for practical purposes, this was the last remotely realistic chance for getting a new trial."
Continued on Page 49
In the wake of an Obama administration program to rescue troubled homeowners, several federal agencies are teaming up to fight mortgage and foreclosure scams, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said Monday.
The administration's $75 billion effort to help as many as 9 million mortgage holders get new or refinanced loans is drawing a lot of interest from homeowners, Treasury Department officials explained.
"Those who would seek to prey on the most vulnerable also seek to intensify their efforts as well," Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said. "We will aggressively pursue those involved in mortgage rescue scams."
Treasury, the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Housing and Urban Development will lead the effort from Washington. State attorneys general will also participate.
The Treasury's financial crimes investigative unit is sending financial institutions a checklist to help them spot suspicious loan activity and foreclosure rescue scams.
Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission reviewed online and print advertising for mortgage foreclosure companies nationwide and found "71 distinct companies running suspicious ads," Treasury said.
The FTC has filed five civil cases against companies offering loan modification or foreclosure services, including one against a company that spent $9 million on TV and radio ads in less than a year.
"These companies are kicking people when they're down, charging enormous upfront fees and sabotaging homeowners who could be getting help for free," said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz. "These companies are giving people false hope. They are shameless, as well as opportunistic."
The initiative will bring more resources for the FBI and the Justice Department to investigate and prosecute mortgage fraud, Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan told a congressional panel last week.
The announcement is timely. Mortgage fraud has reached an all-time high even as the number of home loans being issued has shrunk, according to a report issued last month by the Mortgage Asset Research Institute and the Mortgage Bankers Association.
The FBI is investigating more than 2,100 mortgage fraud cases, up almost 400% from five years ago, Attorney General Eric Holder said.
#1
They needn't worry - a whole lot of crooks are running scams to fleece Americans of their hard-earned cash.
Congress, for a start....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/06/2009 14:36 Comments ||
Top||
#2
You're late. Fix your Mortgage Scams are plentiful.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/06/2009 14:37 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Congress, for a start....
Ah, they're concerned about the competition, even though they have a multi-trillion dollar head start. Taking other people's money to spend yourself is well entrenched. They just don't want to share in the process. So much for redistribution.
#4
Absolutely correct Barbara. Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and a cast of many others created the scam in the first place with the subprime loan mess. We are all paying the price now.
Q Sonja Sagmeister from a little country, Austria, from Austrian Television. Mr. President, you said you came here to learn and to listen. So a quite personal question -- what did you learn from your personal talk with the European leaders? And did this change in a certain way your views on Europe and its politics?
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Its an interesting question. I had already formed relationships with many of them. Some of them I had met when I traveled through Europe before my election. Some of them I had met because they came to Washington after the election. This is the first time Ive been in a forum with so many of them at the same time.
It was also interesting to see that political interaction in Europe is not that different from the United States Senate. Theres a lot of -- I dont know what the term is in Austrian -- wheeling and dealing -- and, you know, people are pursuing their interests, and everybody has their own particular issues and their own particular politics.
#2
In fairness, Austrian German is very different than German German, coloured as it is by the languages of all the subject peoples of the Austro-Hungarian empire and the more sophisticated concerns of a people concerned with running a stable empire vs. a people living on Europe's battlefield and consequently worrying a great deal about basic survival issues and whether the villagers will need to resort to cannibalism this winter to survive until spring. Nonetheless, President Obama's wording displays a certain ignorance of the common forms used by those accustomed to the circles in which he suddenly finds himself, poor man.
#9
So what he expected? That people have no interests?! Somewhat that sounds a bit xenophobe, it appears he expected that Europeans would not show the same human traits of others.
Posted by: Large Snerong7311 ||
04/06/2009 14:48 Comments ||
Top||
#10
Damn, but the man is insightful. Communicates it well, also.
#12
tw, I only had 3 years of German in high school, but after almost 30 years, I was complemented on my pronunciation by an Austrian (as well as a German speaking Swiss.) The languages can't be that far apart.
Of course, all I did was wish them a Froehliche Weihnachten (Merry Christmas), so it's not a large sample.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
04/06/2009 21:33 Comments ||
Top||
#13
Austrian is to German as Alabama is to Yankee. Swiss German is another beast altogether. But that is neither here nor there. The Glorious Bammo the Pious didn't know what the hell he was talking about. Again.
#14
I've been to all three German speaking countries: Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The Germans bitch about not being able to understand the Swiss, but never about the Austrians.
#shrug# It's been clear for some time now that Obama is no genius, no matter what his followers say. My guess is that he has about the same IQ as Bush... and nearly every other politician: somewhere between 115-130.
#1
Obama has promised $50,000 USD quake aid. I sh*t you not. $50K. Better to have not offered than to be a twit about it. He'll also send over Region 1 Director's Cut DVDs of "Earthquake"
(OK - I made that last part up)
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/06/2009 16:12 Comments ||
Top||
"UPDATE: A State Department reader emails: 'Quick point of clarificationthe 50K for Italian quake relief is the amount immediately available from US Chiefs of Mission to release on their own authority. More will inevitably follow.' Ah, I should have thought of that, and the story should have noted it."
Legacy Media strikes again. Is anyone surprised?
Let's beat Bambi up on sh*t he actually does, guys. There's plenty to go around, just not this particular one. Yet.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/06/2009 19:11 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Hugh Pickens writes to mention that Italian scientist Giampaolo Giuliani, a researcher at the National Physical Laboratory of Gran Sasso, recently gave warning about an earthquake that was to happen on March 29th of this year near L'Aquilla. Based on radon gas emissions and a series of observed tremors he tried to convince residents to evacuate, drawing much criticism from the city's mayor and others. Giuliani was forced to take down warnings he had posted on the internet. The researcher had said that a 'disastrous' earthquake would strike on March 29, but when it didn't, Guido Bertolaso, head of Italy's Civil Protection Agency, last week officially denounced Giuliani in court for false alarm. 'These imbeciles enjoy spreading false news,' Bertalaso was quoted as saying. 'Everyone knows that you can't predict earthquakes.' Giuliani, it turns out, was partially right. A much smaller seismic shift struck on the day he said it would, with the truly disastrous one arriving just one week later. 'Someone owes me an apology,' said Giuliani, who is also a resident of L'Aquila. 'The situation here is dramatic. I am devastated, but also angry.'"
OK, now how many carbon credits are required to offset this? 2-3 years GDP? There has not been a word w/r to this nasty polluter.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The Mount Redoubt volcano in Alaska has had another large eruption after being relatively quiet for nearly a week. This is the 19th major eruption in the last two weeks. The Alaska Volcano Observatory in Anchorage says the volcano about 100 miles southwest of the city erupted early Saturday.
The National Weather Service said radar indicated a plume of volcanic ash rose 50,000 feet into the sky, making this one of the largest eruptions since the volcano became active on March 22. The ash cloud was drifting toward the southeast and there were reports of the fine, gritty ash falling in towns on the Kenai Peninsula.
Meanwhile, a plan is under way to draw down millions of gallons of oil stored in two tanks near Mount Redoubt.
The volcano began erupting on March 22. Since then, it has produced numerous large explosions that have sent mud and rock cascading down its flanks. Some of that mud and debris has reached the Drift River Terminal, 22 miles away from the volcano.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/06/2009 14:28 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Without being funny, this will cause a great melting of the snowcap wherever the darker ash lands on snow.
Solar heat is then magnified by the darker surface.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/06/2009 14:35 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Volcanos dump a huge amount of particulate material into the atmosphere. The Mt. Pinatubo eruption produced a noticable cooling effect for a few years as well as some beautiful sunsets.
Hopefully, this eruption doesn't screw up Global Warming. I got big money invested in Global Warming Scam futures.
#5
Boy howdy!
Does BO's "cap and trade" scam include volcanic eruptions?
What's the carbon footprint of a volcano anyway?
I once heard that the average run of the mill volcanic eruption (as if there is anything run of the mill about one of these suckers) puts more CO2, NO2, SO2, etc and particulate into the air than all of the cars, coal fired plants, oil field fires combined since the beginning of the industrial revolution.
We could have zero emission everything and these things would still affect our weather.
Alcoholics try to control the uncontrollable....perchance the Enviros fall into that category.
Posted by: James Carville ||
04/06/2009 15:01 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Governor Palin was brought up on federal charges today for failing to set aside enough of Alaska's Carbon Notes, or CANs, for such a disaster. One senate aide stated, "Governor Palin had plenty of advance warning to take action to prevent the Gaiac eruption, and failed to protect humanity by disregarding established EGADs (Emergency Goric Accounting Disciplines) principles by not preparing a contengency emergency carbon budget allowance. There is a motion on the floor already to regain this negligent greenhouse emmission release by adding an ammendment to the federal duty, over the next 10 years, required for carbon related industries who conduct any business in or with the state of Alaska in for programs designed to offset atmospheric carbon, such as the Nevada Rainforest Reclamation Act. Additional eruptions may force an emergency measure, extending the current electricity curfew earlier to make it from 2 am until 6 am, except in structures designated as Obama Rescue and Community qualified."
Governor Palin, if convicted, faces up to a 10 year Privilage in the Department of Forestry and Agriculture Techniques and will be liable in civil court for any animal injuries linked to the fallout. The verdict is expected later today.
[Bangla Daily Star] Most central leaders of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) yesterday threatened to resign from their posts if Awami League President Sheikh Hasina does not reconsider her decision of withdrawing herself as the organisational chief.
The BCL central leaders last night sat at a crucial meeting with their President Mahmud Hasan Ripon and General Secretary Mahfuzul Haider Chowdhury Roton to discuss the existing unorganised situation of the student body that led Hasina to quit as its guardian on Saturday.
Meeting sources said 110 of the 201 members of the BCL central committee signed a paper, which they said they would consider as their resignation letter if Hasina were not back.
Ripon and Roton did not sign the paper.
The five-hour long meeting ended without any decision. Later, the BCL central committee members went to Hasina's residence at Jamuna to inform her about their decision, the sources said, adding that Hasina told the BCL men that she would have a meeting with them this evening.
"Those of us who believe in the ideologies of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Sheikh Hasina will resign from Chhatra League if she [Hasina] does not come back as our organisational chief," said BCL Vice-President Abu Sayeed.
Hasina quit as the BCL's organisational chief on Saturday at an AL Presidium meeting and directed law enforcement agencies to take stern action against those involved in criminal activities, extortion and tender manipulation, no matter which organisation they belong to.
The student leaders yesterday blamed Ripon and Roton for failing to effectively lead the party and control frequent unrest at several educational institutions after Awami League assumed power.
Referring to the recent clashes at different universities and educational institutions, many BCL leaders at the meeting criticised Ripon and Roton for not following their recommendations in dealing with the situation.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/06/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
[Bangla Daily Star] The Jahangirnagar University (JU) authorities yesterday expelled six students for six months for their involvement in Friday's violent incident in its Mir Mosharraf Hossain Hall.
The students are Shafiul Mahmud of Statistics dept, Arif Iqbal Hossain and Sajidur Rahman of History dept, Khan Mohammad Abu Sayeed Al Arabi and Zihan Hossain of Government and Politics dept and KM Taifur Siddique of Geography and Environment department, says a JU press release.
Under section 8 of disciplinary ordinance, Vice-chancellor Prof Sharif Enamul Kabir expelled the students.
At least 15 people were injured in a clash between two factions of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) over establishing supremacy in the hall.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/06/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
[Bangla Daily Star] A group of leaders and activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) allegedly beat up some listed contractors of Dhaka University yesterday over tender for two development works worth Tk 10 lakh on the campus.
Sources said some BCL men, including a former president of Sergeant Zahurul Haq Hall, a central committee vice-president, two activists of Surya Sen Hall and their followers, beat up some 12 to 15 contractors at Haji Mohammad Muhsin Hall playground when the contractors denied to hand over schedules of tender for two development works.
Yesterday was the last date for purchasing tender schedule of development two works--one worth Tk 7.5 Lakh in Muhsin Hall and another worth Tk 2.5 lakh at Shibbari on the campus, said a contractor on condition of anonymity.
"Where will we go? Please write our story so that the vice chancellor notices it. Otherwise, we would not be able to submit our schedule on Monday," the contractor said.
Vice-Chancellor Prof AAMS Arefin Siddique last night told The Daily Star they would take up all necessary security measures to ensure safe dropping of schedule today.
Campus sources said some former and incumbent BCL leaders and Juba League leaders directly negotiated a development work worth Tk 24 crore in the last week of February on the DU campus.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/06/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced a 2010 Pentagon budget Monday that reflects major changes in the "scope and significance" of Defense Department priorities.
One of the high-profile programs on the chopping block is the Air Force's most expensive fighter, the F-22 Raptor.
The proposed budget cuts several traditional big-ticket items while investing in programs designed to bolster the military's ability to wage an ongoing conflict against terrorists and other extremist elements in multiple regions at the same time.
Gates acknowledged that parts of the budget are likely to run into significant opposition on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers are concerned in part about preserving valuable defense contracts for their districts and states. "This is a reform budget, reflecting lessons learned in Iraq and Afghanistan," Gates said. "There's no question that a lot of these decisions will be controversial."
He called on Congress to "rise above parochial interests and consider what is in the best interests of the nation as a whole."
House Armed Service Chairman Ike Skelton, D-Missouri, acknowledged that congressmen have concerns about job losses in their home districts but said that ultimately, "the national interest overrides anything."
"The buck stops with us," he said. "We still have a lot of hard work ahead of us."
Three key priorities are reflected in the changes, Gates said. The priorities are a stronger institutional commitment to the military's all-volunteer force, a decision to "rebalance" defense programs to better fight current and future conflicts, and "fundamental overhauls" of the military's procurement, acquisition and contracting process.
Among other things, Gates called for production of the Air Force's most expensive fighter, the F-22 Raptor, to be phased out by fiscal year 2011.
He also called for terminating a proposed fleet of 23 presidential helicopters estimated to cost more than $13 billion. The proposed fleet, he noted, was originally projected to cost $6.5 billion. It "has fallen six years behind schedule and runs the risk of not delivering the requested capability," he said. Gates maintained that a new fleet of presidential helicopters will still ultimately be necessary, however.
At the same time, he said he did not want to pursue a development program for a new Air Force bomber "until we have a better understanding of the need, the requirement and the technology."
Gates did request 50 Predator and Reaper-class unmanned aerial vehicles by fiscal year 2011, translating to a 62 percent increase in capability over the current level and 127 percent from a year ago.
Turning to the military's overall troop levels, Gates proposed spending an additional $11 billion to complete a planned expansion of the Army and Marine Corps while halting reductions in the Air Force and Navy. A planned 547,000 troop increase, while capping the growth of Army brigade combat teams at 45 as opposed to a previously discussed level of 48, will be sufficient to "ensure that we have better manned units ready to employ and help put an end to the routine use of stop-loss," Gates maintained. "This step will also lower the risk of hollowing the force," he said.
Gates also proposed a reduction in the use of support service contractors from 39 percent of the Pentagon work force to a pre-2001 level of 26 percent. The contractors, Gates added, would be replaced with full-time government employees.
To help create a more mobile, flexible force, Gates proposed boosting special operations personnel by 2,800, or 5 percent, as well as purchasing aircraft designed to provide greater lift mobility and rapid transportation of those forces.
Among other things, he cited a proposed increase in the purchase of "littoral combat ships, a key capability for presence, stability and counterinsurgency operations in coastal regions," from two to three ships.
The Pentagon's ultimate goal, he said, is to acquire 55 of these ships.
Another $500 million is directed toward boosting "global partnership capacity efforts" through enhanced initiatives for "training and equipping foreign militaries to undertake counterterrorism and stability operations."
In what may prove to be one of the most controversial aspects of his proposed budget, Gates announced the cancellation or reduction of key elements of the Pentagon's missile defense system, including the installation of additional ground-based interceptor missiles in Alaska. The proposed overall missile defense system budget was trimmed by $1.4 billion.
A bipartisan group of senators released a letter during Gates' announcement that urged him "not to allow deep cuts in U.S. missile defense programs that are critically important to protecting our homeland and our allies against the growing threat of ballistic missiles."
"The threat from ballistic missiles is significant and on the rise. [It] has been underscored by Iran and North Korea's recent missile tests," they argued. The letter was signed by both senators from Alaska -- Republican Lisa Murkowski and Democrat Mark Begich -- among others.
Although Gates was initially appointed Pentagon chief by former President George W. Bush, his overall budget received what appeared to be a mixed reception from congressional Republicans.
"Republicans appreciate Secretary Gates' effort to shape the Department of Defense so that we more effectively fight the wars our troops are engaged in today. However, we are concerned about the tradeoffs involved in re-balancing the Department," New York Rep. John McHugh, the ranking Republican on the House Armed Services committee, said in a written statement. "It remains the Congress' responsibility to provide for the common defense," he warned.
Former Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, however, said Gates' budget "is a major step in the right direction."
"It has long been necessary to shift spending away from weapon systems plagued by scheduling and cost overruns to ones that strike the correct balance between the needs of our deployed forces and the requirements for meeting the emerging threats of tomorrow," he said. "I believe Secretary Gates' decision is key to ensuring that the defense establishment closes the gap between the way it supports current operations and the way it prepares for future conventional threats."
Georgia Republicans slammed President Obama for Gates' announcement about the phase-out of the F-22 Raptor, which is assembled in Cobb County, Georgia.
Rep. Tom Price, whose district includes the Raptor production facility, called the cut "outrageous" and said Obama's "priorities are deeply flawed." Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss said he was "disappointed" in the cuts and accused the administration of being "willing to sacrifice the lives of American military men and women for the sake of domestic programs."
Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Connecticut, was also dismissive of the F-22 phase-out, although he said he generally supported Gates' moves to modernize the military. Some F-22 production takes place in Connecticut as well.
The proposed overall fiscal year 2010 Defense Department budget is almost $534 billion, or nearly $664 billion when including the costs of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The current Pentagon budget totals slightly over $513 billion, or almost $655 billion including the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.
#3
...What's funny is the Dem senators and congressmen from the southeast may end up drawing their knives over the -22. IIRC Eglin and Tyndall still haven't gotten their -22s (and Langley still doesn't have its full complement)and those bases would be looking at losing units if they don't. Not to mention the job losses at LockMart...
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
04/06/2009 20:07 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Hey, it's only 90,000 high paying, high tech jobs. Might even include a few union members. Those Congresscritters shouldn't have a problem with this. Gotta fix the Health System and pay ACORN you know. /s
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- The Associated Press unveiled rate cuts on Monday to help member newspapers reeling from declining advertising revenue and said it would sue websites that use its members' articles without permission.
Changes announced by the AP at its annual meeting in San Diego include $35 million in rate assessment reductions for 2010 on top of $30 million it already instituted for 2009.
The 163-year-old newswire service also will allow member newspapers to cancel their membership with one year's notice instead of two, while offering a discount to papers that stay on a two-year cancellation notice.
Jim Kennedy, AP's vice president of strategic planning, said in a telephone interview that AP would have to reduce its costs to compensate for the rate cuts. That includes not filling vacant jobs and possibly buyouts.
Dean Singleton, AP chairman and chief executive of Denver-based publisher MediaNews Group, said, "We feel it is critical to help our members during these extremely difficult times, and these numbers show our deep commitment to doing that."
The AP, a nonprofit cooperative formed by its member newspapers, said revenue from U.S. papers would fall by about a third between 2008 and 2010. In 2007, 25 percent of its $710 million in revenue came from U.S. newspapers.
Seventeen percent of its revenue comes from digital sales, such as the Internet and mobile devices, Kennedy said, adding that the number could grow to more than 20 percent in 2010. Most newspaper publishers get about 10 percent of their revenue online, and the other 90 percent in print.
The AP also threatened to "pursue legal and legislative actions" against websites that do not properly license news content. It said it would develop a system to track its members' and its own news distributed online to determine whether it is being legally used. "We can no longer stand by and watch others walk off with our work under misguided legal theories," Singleton said.
The announcement came a day before Google Inc's Chief Executive Eric Schmidt is due to speak at the Newspaper Association of America's annual conference, also in San Diego.
Many newspapers resent search websites like Google and Yahoo Inc because they say they siphon away ad revenue that should be going to their own websites.
Last October, the AP suspended plans for a new pricing structure because of complaints from member papers, who said they could not afford it. Some newspapers have threatened to cancel their membership, prompting the AP to try to find ways to keep them. One option the wire service is offering is a limited service for papers "with minimal world and national coverage needs."
[Iran Press TV Latest] A week into his new job as CEO of GM, Fritz Henderson says he is confident in the future of the company but a bankruptcy remains a possibility.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/06/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
I wonder who the clients were?
New York's attorney general has filed civil fraud charges against a hedge fund manager who funneled billions of dollars in client money to Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff. The complaint charges J. Ezra Merkin with lying to his investors about how he was handling their money. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo says Merkin invested $2.4 billion in client cash with Madoff without their permission. The complaint said Merkin collected $470 million in management fees from the accounts. Merkin claimed he was victimized by Madoff like everyone else. He is the former chairman of the financing arm of General Motors Corp.
#2
I support sending GM into bankruptcy, because it would force re-organization. UAW contracts allow full-time workers to be on the job less than 180 days per year. Granted that management over-produced gas guzzlers, but those incompetents are already being turfed out; the union contract needs similar treatment. Can't be done? There is a legal concept of "Frustrated contract," which is applicable where performance is impossible. Clearly UAW' imposed non-viability frustrates their sweetheart deals. And the public - most of whom work 240 days per year - has no desire to subsidize sloth.
#3
The problem is bankruptcy as envisioned by the Obama administration is to spit GM into two parts. One w/o debt that has a chance at viability. The other saddled with debt, poor products, union pensions and retiree health care. Every few months taxpayers will pump billions into the second entity until all members die of old age. The second entity will also go by the more familiar name "Detroit".
Posted by: ed ||
04/06/2009 15:56 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Theres no need for confusion. Part 935 of Regulation 823, Section 323, Part L, Subpart iii clearly states automobiles shall be designed in the following manner
[Iran Press TV Latest] Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero conditions his country's full backing for Turkey's membership in the European Union bloc.
Zapatero, at a joint news conference with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday in Istanbul said that his government would fight in Turkey's favor during Spain's 2010 EU Presidency, on condition it complied with the prerequisites set by the bloc.
"Spain's position is firm, clear and conclusive. And that is how it will remain. We understand that Turkey has to comply in the process, in the same way all the other candidate countries once had to comply. But it will have the doors open by complying with prerequisites demanded by the EU. So that eventually it can be incorporated into the peace and collaboration project, that is the EU," he said.
Erdogan for his part thanked Spain's support and said that US President Barack Obama's earlier backing at the Prague summit on Sunday was very important to his government: "It means a lot for us."
Turkish entry talks with the EU have been held up by European concerns over human rights, a perceived lack of progress on reforms, and by a long territorial dispute with EU member Cyprus.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/06/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#4
Spain could always insist that Turkey have mandatory life sentences for those who carry out honor killings. That oughta keep Turkey out permanently.
CHISINAU (Reuters) - Moldova's ruling Communists gained enough votes on Sunday to hold on to power in parliament, exit polls showed, but lacked the number of seats to install a new president, raising the spectre of another election.
Parliament's first step is to elect a new president, and if the Communists do not garner support among the opposition and approve a candidate within three votes, then, under the constitution, a new parliamentary election must be called. President Vladimir Voronin, the only Communist president in Europe and the former Soviet Union, has to step down as he cannot stand for a third consecutive term.
But with 45 percent of the vote and 55 seats in parliament, according to the latest estimate by the Moldovan Institute for Public Policies, Voronin's Communists would need another six parliamentarians to vote in their own candidate. Three opposition parties that passed the 6 percent threshold to enter parliament said they would not enter a coalition with the Communists.
The opposition broadly advocates more integration with the European Union, including closer ties with EU member neighbour Romania, with which Moldova shares linguistic heritage, and NATO membership -- an ambition that is likely to infuriate Russia.
Voronin promotes integration with Europe but has cooled to the idea of closer ties with Romania.
"We have repeatedly said that this is a criminal regime and we will not go into a coalition," Vlad Filat, leader of the Liberal Democratic party, said speaking on PRO-TV channel.
Voronin said the free-market orientated policies of the opposition parties were incompatible with Communist policies, but hoped for a one-off grouping to pass a candidate. "I expect an ad hoc coalition to vote for the president," he told the same television station.
So that the commies can remain in power ...
The Liberal Democratic Party and the Liberal Party are likely to get some 14 percent of votes each and Our Moldova 10 percent, according to the exit poll by the Institute of Public Politics, a local umbrella group of thinktanks.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/06/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
Jordan's Criminal Court has charged a 19-year-old man with stabbing to death his sister in what is believed to be an honor killing.
Judge Jihad al-Dridi charged the man Monday with premeditated murder and the possession of a dangerous weapon. Al-Dridi said the man confessed to repeatedly stabbing his 22-year-old sister to cleanse the family honor because she left the house too often.
The victim is the eighth person to be killed in honor crimes this year. About 20 women are killed annually in Jordan by male relatives. The conservative society tolerates the killings and perpetrators often receive light sentences.
The name of the man and the victim were not revealed due to the sensitivity of the case.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
In the wake of an Obama administration program to rescue troubled homeowners, several federal agencies are teaming up to fight mortgage and foreclosure scams, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said Monday.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced a 2010 Pentagon budget Monday that reflects major changes in the "scope and significance" of Defense Department priorities.
