A former Roman Catholic priest who started abusing boys more than half a century ago has finally been brought to justice.
James Robinson, 73, known as 'Father Jim', had a "dreadful weakness" for boys as young as 10, Birmingham Crown Court was told.
Robinson was found guilty of a string of offences involving the sexual abuse of children.
He moved from parish to parish in the West Midlands between 1959 and 1983, and repeatedly abused at least six boys.
Prosecutor John Attwood told the jury that the priest used his position of trust to gain "unfettered and unlimited" access to victims who "caught his eye".
His parishioners saw him as a "charismatic, charming, forceful personality" but in reality he was grooming youngsters by giving them gifts and taking them on trips in his sports car.
"He became like part of our family", said one victim, "everybody loved him and liked him, he was a very popular man...he was my hero, I was very fond of him. He was a boxer, a local celebrity...I was like a lamb to the slaughter...I was totally under his control, I don't know why".
Robinson worked in churches in Staffordshire, Birmingham and Coventry until he moved to California in 1985, the same year that one victim found the courage to tell the church and police about his abuse.
He continued to work as a priest in America until further victims contacted West Midlands Police in the early 1990s. But, officers say they weren't able to extradite him until last year- following a change in Californian law.
One complainant spotted Robinson's photograph on Sky News, prompting him to give a statement to police. Detectives think there could be many more victims both here, and in America.
#3
It's a good thing the attitude of the Church has changed to get rid of the predators... and of society, that permits victims to complain instead of suffering in silence. And finally, the change in the approach of the therapeutic professions, to accept that this behaviour is neither an alternative lifestyle nor something that can be easily repaired with a bit of talk therapy.
#5
As a Catholic I can only agree, but the hierarchy that knew and allowed this and every similar abomination to continue should also be jailed and/or have their reputations ruined if they already died
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/22/2010 19:04 Comments ||
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#6
the catholic church hid this pedophile for years, shuffling him from parish to parish
yes, hang the rock spider but go after the church that has allowed this to flourish not just here but in many places around the world
obviously there is something wrong with forcing priests to be celibate and telling them that sex is wrong, dirty and is only OK for married people. it's turned many of them into twisted sex fiends.
ireland, australia, america.. the catholic priest pedophiles have destroyed thousands of lives
[Al Arabiya] A bigwig in Egypt's ruling party on Thursday gave the strongest signal yet that geriatric President Hosni Mubarak, 82, would seek re-election next year, saying he was the party's candidate. Unless he keels over from old age first, of course...
Ali El Din Hillal, the National Democratic Party's media head, told Rooters the formal nomination process would not take place until a month or two before the vote, a date which has not been set although it is expected in the second half of 2011.
The looming vote has prompted speculation about whether Mubarak, in power since the Pleistocene, will seek a sixth term. If he does not, many believe his politician son Gamal, 46, could inherit the throne, or possibly another candidate with a military background. ... but only as the result of tanks in the streets...
Rumours about Mubarak's health, fuelled by his gallbladder surgery in Germany in March, have added to the debate about whether he will stay in office. Since his surgery, the president has resumed a regular schedule of meetings and foreign trips. "The NDP's candidate for the coming presidential elections is President Hosni Mubarak," Hillal said by telephone. "This is the will of all the leadership of the party."
Hillal suggested, in comments to a talk show broadcast earlier on Thursday by a U.S.-based Arabic channel, that the election could be held in October. But he would not confirm that date when speaking to Rooters.
Analysts say rules for the election stack the vote heavily in favor of the candidate put forward by the NDP. In the 2005 vote, Egypt's first multi-candidate race, Mubarak won easily.
Liberal opposition candidate Ayman Nour, Mubarak's main challenger in 2005, came a distant second and was jugged soon after on charges he said were politically motivated.
Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif said in September the constitutional process outlined a timeline for fielding candidates of three months before a vote.
Nazif said that, if Mubarak felt capable of running, the party would stand behind him. Other top party officials have said Mubarak would be the favored choice if he decided to run.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2010 00:00 ||
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A STOWAWAY crocodile on a flight escaped from its carrier bag and sparked an onboard stampede that caused the flight to crash, killing 19 passengers and crew. The croc had been hidden in a passenger's sports bag - allegedly with plans to sell it - but it tore loose and ran amok, sparking panic. We've seen this movie. It doesn't end well.
A stampede of terrified passengers caused the small aircraft to lose balance and tip over in mid-air during an internal flight in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The unbalanced load caused the aircraft, on a routine flight from the capital, Kinshasa, to the regional airport at Bandundu, to go into a spin and crash into a house.
A lone survivor from the Let 410 plane told the astonishing tale to investigators. Ironically the crocodile also survived the crash but was later killed with a machete by rescuers sifting through the wreckage. "Enough is enough! I have had it with this M-F croc on this M-F plane!"
The plane smashed into an empty house just a few hundred metres from its destination.
"According to the inquiry report and the testimony of the only survivor, the crash happened because of a panic sparked by the escape of a crocodile hidden in a sports bag," news organisation Jeune Afrique reported. "One of the passengers had hidden the animal, which he planned to sell, in a big sports bag, from which the reptile escaped as the plane began its descent into Bandundu.
#6
Wow, the Croc had to be killed up close by likley repeated Machete hacks, NOT by the Plane Crash per se, AKA falling + crashing from the High Sky.
Someone call PETA + HLN > first they took him away from Mama Croc + Croc BFF's + Croc GFF's + his safe secure smelly Swamp + tasty carrion, then they put him aboard a rickety light plane overcrowded wid wussy Humans in an un-secure sports bag where he couldn't even look out the window - then they killed him after the crash iike it was his fault!
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL must demand JUSTICE, JUSTICE I SAY!
#7
TW: That is no joke. It's still on the lose. I heard it was recently scene Pakistan, probably on the ISI Pay-roll.
Posted by: Charles ||
10/22/2010 22:02 Comments ||
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#8
D *** NG IT, who knew that "T-REX'S ARE OVERRATED-N-NOT-THAT-TASTY" CROC-GATOR LOYAL SWAMP CREATURE don't like being Airborne, let alone flying LESS-THAN-COACH!
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Ugandan police Thursday used teargas to prevent a group of opposition leaders, including presidential candidate Kizza Besigye, from entering the grounds of the country's election panel offices.
"These people who came in and wanted to enter the electoral commission, they were causing a stampede," Grace Turyagumanawe, police deputy of director of operations, told journalists shortly after the confrontation.
"The teargas which was there... was minimal," he said.
Besigye and a group of supporters approached the commission's office in central Kampala early Thursday, aiming to meet election officials about preparations for the country's upcoming vote.
"The reason we came here was to remind the individuals running the electoral commission that they have a non-negotiable constitutional duty to organise free and fair elections," Ssemujju Ibrahim Nganda, front man for Besigye's Inter-party Cooperation said.
"Instead police threw me to the ground and kicked me."
Turyagumanawe said "nobody was roughed up" during the incident.
Chief government spokesperson Kabakumba Masiko explained the huge security deployment outside the compound by saying "government had prior information of the (opposition's) plans."
Turyagumanawe said the scuffles had broken out because Besigye and his aides had refused to be checked by police before entering the compound, but Nganda and other Besigye loyalists dismissed that explanation.
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10/22/2010 00:00 ||
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[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Zimbabwe's representative in the Big Brother All Stars reality television show, Munyaradzi Chidzonga on Wednesday met President Robert Mugabe and was feted with $300 000 compensatory 'prize money.'
This means that Munya got more than the winner of the competition, Uti from Nigeria who pocketed $200 000 for winning the contest sponsored by Multi Choice.
Zimbabweans felt Munya was robbed after surviving eviction nine times when he was nominated and political heavyweights from President Mugabe's Zanu PF party jumped at the opportunity to exploit to their favour.
The move was initiated by business mogul Phillip Chiyangwa, a nephew of the president and David Chapfika who initiated a fundraising campaign.
After meeting the president, Munya said: "That was something I wanted to do since I was very young. They say when you are young you are given the power of dreams.
"You live that dream until a certain time it is realised. I have always told young people around that we are a product of a group of men's dreams and we have been given a platform.
"And I can proudly stand on that platform and say a black man is more powerful in Zimbabwe than anywhere else in the world.
"I have been given the blessing of travelling and seeing, not all of it, but much of the world and this is the best place. It is thanks to men like you Your Excellency."
During the course of Big Brother, Munya said he wanted to meet President Mugabe and usually went around the house with the Zimbabwean flag draped over his shoulders.
President Mugabe said Munya was a people's hero and the true winner of the Big Brother All Stars reality television show.
He hailed Munya's performance in the "grueling" and "rough contest".
"This is quite a joyous moment not just for Munya, not just for me, but to all of us in the country... you have done well for the country," he said.
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10/22/2010 00:00 ||
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[Daily Nation (Kenya)] The BBC warned of "difficult choices" ahead after the government confirmed today that the broadcaster will take over the funding of the World Service from the foreign ministry.
Finance minister George Osborne said the BBC would pay for the World Service and the BBC unit monitoring foreign media, plus part-fund the Welsh-language channel S4C. The moves will save the government 340 million pounds (539 million dollars) a year by 2014-2015.
I seem to recall that's functionally a 16% cut in BBC funding, if one includes the previous budgets of the absorbed units, for the same amount of work. No doubt it was explained to the BBC that they would be able to cut overlapping overhead.
In return, the BBC licence fee, which every British householder must pay to watch television and listen to radio, will be frozen for six years at 145.50 pounds (Sh18,000) a year.
Until now, the World Service has been funded by the Foreign Office because of its role as a provider of predominantly radio news in English and 31 languages around the world.
Mr Osborne, said: "This deal helps almost every family and is equivalent to a 16 per cent saving in the BBC budget over the period, similar to the savings in other major cultural institutions."
He added: "The BBC also agreed to reduce its online spend and make no further encroachments into local media markets."
BBC director-general Mark Thompson hailed the freezing of the licence fee as a "realistic deal in exceptional circumstances." Broadcasting workers' union Bectu accused the corporation of "throwing in the towel" by agreeing to the deal, having already voiced fears of a fresh round of job cuts as a result of the decision to freeze the licence fee.
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10/22/2010 00:00 ||
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Mystery surrounds the apparent suicide of a rising star of Gazprom's management.
While police suspect Sergei Klyuka, 36, took his own life - possibly over gambling debts - colleagues fear foul play.
Klyuka, deputy-head of the financial-economic department of the energy giant, was found dead on Oct. 17. He was locked into his jeep, had a gag in his mouth and a bullet wound to his head.
The police say they found Klyuka in his car at about 2 am with a shot in his head and a combat pistol lying on the next seat. Klyuka's wife said the pistol was a present from Kazakhstan's Prime Minister.
Before or after it was used?
The security guard says the police are certain that it is suicide. ' They found the note , presumably,' the security guard said. 'But I did not read it . And he must have gagged himself not to scream from the pain. I only saw his crooked finger with which he pressed the trigger.'
Sure, people who commit suicide gag themselves. Happens all the time.
China, which has been blocking shipments of crucial minerals to Japan for the last month, has now quietly halted some shipments of those materials to the United States and Europe, three industry officials said this week.
The embargo is expanding beyond Japan, said one of the three rare earth industry officials, all of whom insisted on anonymity for fear of business retaliation by Chinese authorities.
They said Chinese customs officials imposed the broader restrictions on Monday morning, hours after a top Chinese official summoned international news media Sunday night to denounce United States trade actions.
Wang Baodong, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said on Tuesday that the Chinese government was putting new restrictions on the mining, processing and export of rare earths to protect the environment. But he said that China was not violating any W.T.O. rules in doing so and that it was not imposing an embargo or trying to use rare earths as a bargaining chip.
#1
Wang Baodong, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said on Tuesday that the Chinese government was putting new restrictions on the mining, processing and export of rare earths to protect the environment. But he said that China was not violating any W.T.O. rules in doing so and that it was not imposing an embargo or trying to use rare earths as a bargaining chip.
No, no, certainly not a bargaining chip. Well, two can play the game as well as one. Beware of sh*tting in your messkit.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/22/2010 1:11 Comments ||
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#2
Many metals only found in china used for hardened metal and magnets in US weapons and technology.
#3
Beijing is still a flux on how to balance China's desire for econ-led national modernization, versus internal protection of Chinese natural resources. THE CPC KNOWS "RISING CHINA" AT THIS TIME DOESN'T HAVE THE RELIABLE MICROS OR MACROS, ETC. TO PROTECT ITS RARE-EARTH RESERVES FROM DOMESTIC, FOREIGN WASTE-N-ABUSE.
Hence we have
* TOPIX/WMF > CHINA: THE US NEEDS 15 YEARS TO DEV ITS OWN RARE-EARTH INDUSTRIES.
US' need for "15 Years" dev = China's "15 Years" [15-20 before runs out].
#4
ION CATHAY, FREEREPUBLIC > [Shinzo Abe] JAPAN'S FORMER PM SAYS CHINA SEEKING "LEBENSTRAUM" ["living space", ala WW2 Germany].
ABE = CHINA DESIRES TO ACQUIRE NEW "STRATEGIC FRONTIERS" AS ITS NATIONAL, GEOPOL POWER RISES OR EXPANDS.
* WAFF > [Japan Times] JAPAN TO INCREASE ITS SUBMARINE FLEET TO 22 FROM 16. IMO read, Anti-PLAN ASW.
SAME = US MARINE COMMANDER: US MARINES IN OKINAWA NECESSARY FOR [China, DPRK] DETERRENCE.
* WMF > JAPAN DEFENSE MINISTRY: US, JSDFS MUST MIL COOPERATE TO LIMIT CPLAN NAVAL OPERATIONS TO CHINA'S COASTS.
* WAFF > ARE THE CHINESE [closely covertly]LINKED TO THE IRANIAN ARMS INDUSTRY?, espec as per Iran's LR Missles + NucProgs.
ARTIC = CHINA likely has no fear of detection by the UN or Internat Community because it recognizes THERE IS NO ONE WID POLITICAL WILL TO STOP, DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT???
#5
CHINESE MIL FORUM > PLAN [Submarines] IS JAPAN'S ONLY REAL PROBLEM [mil threat to Japan].
* SAME > BIOLOGICAL WARFARE THAT ONLY KILLS NON-KOREANS BEING CONTEMPLATED [in DRPK = NOKOR] | IS NORTH KOREA TESTING WMDS [BioWar + ChemWar] ON CHILDREN [+ Women], falsely setting up ordinary North Koreans as "FAKE POLITICAL PRISONERS", ETC. for covert use as MIL-RELATED GUINEA PIGS???
#7
"Rare earths" are not as rare as the article suggests. They exist in other countries, too (incl. US and Canada) but exploitation is less viable due to environmental restrictions.
If China exports less exploitation in other countries becomes viable.
Not much to worry about
Posted by: European Conservative ||
10/22/2010 3:10 Comments ||
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#8
My $0.02 sez that the chicoms are just engaged in market manipulation for short term gain. When it looks like other sources will come on line, the embargo ends.
Never attribute to malice that which can be explained by incompetence, folly, short sightedness, etc.
#10
Now the Chinese get to see who supports them in this matter. You support China, you get some rare earths to sell at high rates. You also go in to get sized for a pair of knee pads, cause you're going to need them with all the kowtowing you're going to do.
the Chicoms have "state sponsored capitalism" a kind of neo-mercantilism, where the state-owned corporations (another arm of the government) muscle in to foreign markets/countries backed by the weight of the CCP
They also widely manipulate their currency peg
It's not too far of a stretch to think they also dabble in the markets - market manipulation
Rare Earth Elements - a small group of thinly traded stocks
china with monopoly of exports
they can easily ramp up the price of said shares with restriction like they just did
they can control the action of those little shares
and make a killing on shorting them / trading futures etc
they can play the markets like one giant casino
and here in australia we well know the asian predilection for casinos..... just go to Macau: Vegas of the East.
#17
TOPIX/CHINA DAILY > SOUTH KOREA: POSSIBILITY OF [Third] DPRK NUCLEAR TEST CANNOT BE RULED OUT, albeit in Seoul's view the probability of a new Nuke Test by NOKOR remains low.
NEWS KERALA > US: ANOTHER NORTH KOREA NUKE TEST WOULD BE "PROVOCATIVE". Not nice at all.
* TOPIX > FRANCE BACKS EURO MISSLE SHIELD, BUT ONLY AS A BACKUP TO NUCLEAR ARSENAL [French Nukes = for NATO-EU].
[Iran Press TV] Pierre Moscovici, a Socialist politician in La Belle France, has branded President Nicolas Sarkozy's reform plans as irresponsible, saying he will pay the price at the 2012 elections. M. Moskvich would of course have done ever so much better, solving le problemme in a trice...
Moscovici said the main reason behind the recent protests against Sarkozy's pension reform plans was the high rate of dissatisfaction with his policies. ... pension reform being one of those policies...
He also said that students have joined the protests because the future of the youth has not been planned properly in France, AFP reported. The yoots are incapable of planning their own futures, natch...
Senator Jean-Pierre Bel also voiced concern over the reform plans and said, "There has been an accumulation of worries, and bitterness, of disappointment and despair. And woe. Don't forget the woe.
"And I think that Nicolas Sarkozy will keep hearing about the pension reform, it is going to stick to him, and it will still be an issue in the coming weeks and months."
Sarkozy has warned that "troublemakers" using violence in the pension protests would be pursued and punished. "They will be stopped, tracked down and punished, in Lyon and anywhere else, with no weakness, because in our democracy, there are many ways to express yourself. But violence is the most cowardly, the most gratuitous, and that is not acceptable," said the French president. ... unless you're setting fire to cars for fun on a Friday night...
He also ordered police to reopen all the blocked fuel depots on Wednesday. "If this disorder is not ended quickly, the attempt to paralyze the country could have consequences for jobs by disrupting the normal functioning of the economy," Sarkozy stated.
Nearly a third of France's petrol stations have run dry as a result of the blockades. Union workers have called the strikes in a bid to oppose the controversial pension reform plan which would raise the minimum retirement age from 60 to 62 and the full state pension age from 65 to 67.
The French General Confederation of Labor says the people now want the president to step down. "Yeah! Let our guy take over!" And you thought the Socialists had given up when they lost the last election, eh ...
Sarkozy, however, has vowed to push ahead with his reform plans, saying that his party will pass the bill in a senate vote scheduled for Thursday.
Nearly 2,000 protesters have been reportedly detained across France over the past week. "Into the paddy wagon wit' vous!"
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2010 00:00 ||
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[Al Jazeera] France has witnessed another day of temper tantrums as protestors blocked key sites and clashed with police amid calls by unions for further nationwide riots over plans by the government to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62.
The country's senate is expected to vote on changes to the pensions system on Friday, but Al Jizz's Jacky Rowland, reporting from Gay Paree, the capital, said that the main constituents of the bill have already been passed.
Yoots meanwhile have been clashing with riot police in several cities.
A schoolgirl was taken to hospital on Thursday during clashes with police outside a high school in the central city of Poitiers. Police in Lyon fired tear gas when a group of around 200 high school students tried to join a demonstration organised by the CGT, the country's main union.
Five youths were jugged in Nice after stones were thrown at police during a demonstration outside a high school.
Unions said 35,000 people erupted into the streets of the southern city of Toulouse on Thursday, although officials put the figure closer to 8,000.
At least 4,000 high school students marched through the capital, with student union leaders vowing to continue protesting despite half-term holidays which start on Friday. Rowland said that the presence of youths on the streets may decrease as the holidays approach.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
FREEREPUBLIC > FRENCH RIOTS A FORESHADOW OF AMERICA'S FUTURE.
and
* YAHOO NEWS > ACROSS THE USA, LARGE PUBLIC WORKS PROJECTS [Govt] ARE BEING ABANDONED | US SHUNS SOME BIG PUBLIC WORKS PROJECTS. Various US State-Local Govts trying ways to stave off BANKRUPTCY + OTHER BUDGET WOES, ETC. in GREATER-N-LONGER-THAN-1929, PRE-OWG = FUTURE OWG, USSA = USRoA,.....@ AMERICA = AMERIKA???
[USMC singing French Foreign Legion, EU anthem here].
#2
"At least 4,000 high school students marched through the capital, with student union leaders vowing to continue protesting despite half-term holidays which start on Friday.
#4
a group of around 200 high school students tried to join a demonstration organised by the CGT, the country's main union.
CGT claims to have cut all organic ties with the Communist Party. Perhaps the hammer and sickle emblems on all those banners are just for dramatic effect. Hey ya gotta love that good old fashioned coalition building.
(KUNA) -- King Albert II of Belgium Thursday appointed a new Royal Mediator in a fresh attempt to form a coalition government and lead the country out of the current political crisis.
The mediator, a former minister and Phlegmish socialist Johan Vande Lanotte, met with the King today evening, Belgian media reported.
Elections were held in Belgium in June but the country is till run by a caretaker government as coalition talks between the Phlegmish and Frenchie-loving political parties collapsed due to disagreement over state reforms.
The Phlegmish nationalist party N-VA and the Frenchie-loving socialists emerged as the two biggest parties following the June elections.
Belgium is divided on linguistic lines between the Dutch-speaking region Flanders in the north and the French-speaking region Walloon in the south.
And the ten percent of the population that is German, over there in their little corner of the country, desperate not to be reunited with their linguistic brothers.
Several attempts by mediators in the past have failed to achieve any breakthrough. Last week, the Frenchie-loving parties turned down proposals by the Phlegmish nationalist leader Bart De Wever on distribution of funds for the regions.
The new mediator Vande Lanotte is said to be acceptable to both the Phlegmish nationalists and the Frenchie-loving socialists.
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10/22/2010 00:00 ||
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(KUNA) -- Violent festivities opened for the third day Thursday between police and rioters in the French city of Lyon, where demonstrators have been on the streets to protest reform of Frances pension system.
Youths and young anarchists fought street battles in the centre of Lyons business area and police have brought in reinforcements, including a spotter helicopter, to prevent further looting and widespread damage to shops and vehicles.
Police say they have jugged over 230 people during the past three days of clashes during which the commercial streets of Lyon have been attacked by rioters who infiltrated protests by high-school students.
Meanwhile, ...back at the ranch... student unions say they will continue to call protests on Friday and beyond if necessary, despite the start of the end-October vacation.
Unions are meeting Thursday afternoon to decide what further action to take in view of the passing of the retirement legislation, which has been voted by the National Assembly but is currently being debated in the Senate.
The Senate was due to vote on the law on Wednesday but the ballot has been held up because of opposition tactics of introducing large numbers of amendments and efforts to get the session suspended.
President Nicolas Sarkozy vows that he will not back down on his reform plan, which he says is crucial to the survivability of pension entitlements in this country.
He insists people must work two years more in order to be able to finance the system and the legal retirement age is not set to be 62, or 67 in the case of a full pension.
Sarkozy has ordered strike-bound fuel depots opened up by the police and this operation is ongoing in order to relieve the bottle necks at filling stations before the end of the week. But refineries remain blocked and there have been some lightening operations to block airports and other major hubs in the past two days.
French ports and major refineries also remain blocked by strike action and intercity rail services are still disrupted by the industrial action.
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10/22/2010 00:00 ||
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[Al Jazeera] Pakistain's supreme court has asked MPs to review a constitutional amendment that would see senior court judges appointed by a parliamentary committee, delaying a potential divisive change to the relationship between the judiciary and the government.
The ruling on Thursday came after legal challenges were launched against a number of parts of the 18th amendment, which deals with changes to presidential and parliamentary powers as well as the appointment of judges.
"We would like to refer to the parliament for reconsideration, the issue of appointment process of judges to the superior courts," Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, the chief justice, said.
"Parliament is asked to review Article 175-A, for it has harmed judiciary's freedom," he said.
"To enable the parliament to proceed and re-examine the matter in terms of the observations made above, these petitions are adjourned to a date in the last week of January 2011," the order signed by 17 supreme court judges, said.
Showdown avoided
Ishtiaq Ahmed, a political analyst in Islamabad, Pakistain's capital, told Al Jizz that the decision had avoided a showdown between the courts and the executive.
"The expectations were that the judiciary would strike down part of the 18th amendment but what they have done is urge the parliament to reconsider and review article 172A [which is significant]," he said.
The 18th amendment, passed by parliament in April, would taking away the power to appoint judges Chaudhry, who heads the 17-member bench that made the ruling.
Kamal Hyder, Al Jizz's correspondent in Islamabad, said that one of the aims of the constitution is to resolve the issue of separation of powers between parliament and the judiciary.
"Immediately after the resolution was unanimously passed in April, 16 petitions were filed in the supreme court challenging a clause under which the parliamentary committee or the judicial council would decide on the country's next judges," he said.
"Under the 1993 constitution, the chief justice had to be consulted [in choosing a judge] and therefore the ruling is [mostly] about the separation of powers.
"The supreme court has made it clear it wants to uphold the law, and it wants to set new standards in Pakistain. It is also the last ray of hope in a country where the democratic institutions and governance are falling apart.
"If parliamentarians are going to start choosing judges, where is the justice going to go? Will there be fair justice if the ruling party is going to decide that it wants a certain judge," he said.
Amnesty scrapped
The supreme court has been locked in a standoff with administration of Asif Ali Zardari, the president, since December, when its judges scrapped an amnesty that protected the president and 8,000 others from corruption charges.
Yousuf Raza Gilani, the prime minister, this week sought to ease fears of a looming clash between the executive and judiciary, pledging to work with judges to uphold justice.
The 18th amendment would also reduce the power of Zardari, whose popularity is at all-time low, in a number of areas, including taking away his ability to dissolve parliament.
That function would be handed to Gilani, as would the appointment of various other high profile offices, including military chiefs and the election commissioner.
The ruling from Pakistain's highest court on Thursday did not deal with other objections raised over a quota of parliamentary seats for women, renaming Pakistain's northwestern province and rules for political parties.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2010 00:00 ||
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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.
[Al Arabiya] A 
A STOWAWAY crocodile on a flight escaped from its carrier bag and sparked an onboard stampede that caused the flight to crash, killing 19 passengers and crew. The croc had been hidden in a passenger's sports bag - allegedly with plans to sell it - but it tore loose and ran amok, sparking panic.
[Iran Press TV] Pierre Moscovici, a Socialist 
(KUNA) -- King Albert II of Belgium Thursday appointed a new Royal Mediator in a fresh attempt to form a coalition government and lead the country out of the current political crisis.
