No Agenda Episode 596 - "Undesirable Nudity"
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- Executive Producers: Arch Duke of Silicon Valley Sir David Foley, Lennart Renkema, Kevin Hind
- Associate Executive Producers:Sir Incognegro, Sir Michael Allen, Grimerica Podcast
- 596 Club Members: Arch Duke of Silicon Valley Sir David Foley
- Become a member of the 597 Club, support the show here
- Titles:Sir Incognegro -->> Baronet
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- Ace of Spades
- Chinese Year of the Horse
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- TODAY
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- 75 this morning 28 by the end of the show
- Bison jerkey / Raw cow's milk cheddar cheese
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- Alcatraz, the prisoner mentality and No Agenda
- I was going through my photo collection and ran across the pictures taken of Alcatraz where I was given a private tour by Ranger Craig, No Agenda Producer and all around good guy.It struck me that something was peculiar. Besides getting a unique behind-the-scene tour showing some of the weird and often abandoned parts of the Island, the biggest surprise were the massive crowds that go to Alcatraz every day to tour the place.
- The scene is curiously sick and perverted. And there is little or no publicity for the tours. Yet you need a reservation long in advance to get on the many packed boats to take you to the island.
- The sociology is more complex than simple slave training.
- I thought about this for a minute and realized that this is a reflection on how our populace has changed. Think about a society where a centerpiece of tourism is an old prison, a place where people were locked up. And this seems to be a growing national trend. ''Let's go see that! What could be more fascinating than a prison?''This seems peculiar, especially since it is managed by the US Government.
- People will come and visit San Francisco and instead of doing anything culturally relevant such as seeing a play, visiting a museum, understanding the architecture, instead they visit Alcatraz.
- The self-imposed all-in mentality of the general public is the basis for the popularity of this prison as a place you'd want to visit and tour. It's natural since people are living in a security state and this is just one of many places that once stored the disobedient.
- It's depressing and highlights the day-to-day mental imprisonment people have self-imposed upon themselves by listening to mainstream media and believing everything they are told while leading a regimented life. People who cannot think for themselves and make themselves ill by buying into false truths and accepting stories that make no sense. This is one of the primary reasons you support No Agenda. To get out of your own personal Alcatraz. So help the No Agenda Show as it continues to guard reality with an understanding of the events around you that you cannot find anywhere else. Contribute today by clicking here.
- You co-host,John C. DvorakPS Visit the support page and pick a program whenever you can.PPS Don't forget, show 600 approaches.
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- Presidential Proclamation -- American Red Cross Month, 2014
- AMERICAN RED CROSS MONTH, 2014
- BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
- On the bloodied battlefields of the Civil War, Clara Barton risked her life to aid the wounded, raise spirits, and deliver dearly needed medical supplies. She went on to found the American Red Cross in 1881, which would carry forward her legacy of compassion. Since then, service and relief organizations have demonstrated time and time again that amid the greatest hardship, all of us can unite in shared commitment to helping our fellow human beings. During American Red Cross Month, we honor those who devote themselves to bringing relief where there is suffering, inspiring hope where there is despair, and healing the wounds of disaster and war.
- Today, American Red Cross workers, alongside countless humanitarian organizations and caring volunteers, deliver life-saving assistance in every corner of our Nation and all across the globe. They help us donate blood to the ill and injured, fortify towns against rising flood waters, teach us first aid, and rebuild communities in the wake of terrible disasters. Last year, we saw this compassion once again when a tornado tore through Oklahoma, leaving homes destroyed and schools in rubble. Americans came together as one people and one family, determined to stand with those affected every step of the way and to emerge from this tragedy stronger than ever before.
- During the darkness of storm, we see what is brightest in America -- the drive to shield our neighbors from danger, to roll up our sleeves in times of crisis, to respond as one Nation and leave no one behind. This month, as we honor our incredible relief and service organizations, let us also celebrate that uniquely American spirit that calls us, across all lines of background and belief, to set aside smaller differences in service of a greater purpose.
- NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America and Honorary Chairman of the American Red Cross, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 2014 as American Red Cross Month. I encourage all Americans to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities, and by supporting the work of service and relief organizations.
- IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
- twenty-eighth day of February, in the year of our Lord two thousand fourteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-eighth.
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- Presidential Proclamation -- Irish-American Heritage Month, 2014
- Office of the Press Secretary
- IRISH-AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH, 2014
- BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
- Centuries after America welcomed the first sons and daughters of the Emerald Isle to our shores, Irish heritage continues to enrich our Nation. This month, we reflect on proud traditions handed down through the generations, and we celebrate the many threads of green woven into the red, white, and blue.
- Irish Americans have defended our country through times of war, strengthened communities from coast to coast, and poured sweat and blood into building our infrastructure and raising our skyscrapers. Some endured hunger, hardship, and prejudice; many rose to be leaders of government, industry, or culture. Their journey is a testament to the resilience of the Irish character, a people who never stopped dreaming of a brighter future and never stopped striving to make that dream a reality. Today, Americans of all backgrounds can find common ground in the values of faith and perseverance, and we can all draw strength from the unshakable belief that through hard work and sacrifice, we can forge better lives for ourselves and our families.
- The American and Irish peoples enjoy a friendship deepened by both shared heritage and shared ideals. On the international stage, we are proud to work in concert toward a freer, more just world. As we honor that enduring connection during Irish-American Heritage Month, let us look forward to many more generations of partnership. May the bond between our peoples only grow in the centuries to come.
- NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 2014 as Irish-American Heritage Month. I call upon all Americans to observe this month with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs.
- IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth day of February, in the year of our Lord two thousand fourteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-eighth.
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- Presidential Proclamation -- Women's History Month, 2014
- Office of the Press Secretary
- BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
- Throughout our Nation's history, American women have led movements for social and economic justice, made groundbreaking scientific discoveries, enriched our culture with stunning works of art and literature, and charted bold directions in our foreign policy. They have served our country with valor, from the battlefields of the Revolutionary War to the deserts of Iraq and mountains of Afghanistan. During Women's History Month, we recognize the victories, struggles, and stories of the women who have made our country what it is today.
- This month, we are reminded that even in America, freedom and justice have never come easily. As part of a centuries-old and ever-evolving movement, countless women have put their shoulder to the wheel of progress -- activists who gathered at Seneca Falls and gave expression to a righteous cause; trailblazers who defied convention and shattered glass ceilings; millions who claimed control of their own bodies, voices, and lives. Together, they have pushed our Nation toward equality, liberation, and acceptance of women's right -- not only to choose their own destinies -- but also to shape the futures of peoples and nations.
- Through the grit and sacrifice of generations, American women and girls have gained greater opportunities and more representation than ever before. Yet they continue to face workplace discrimination, a higher risk of sexual assault, and an earnings gap that will cost the average woman hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of her working lifetime.
- As women fight for their seats at the head of the table, my Administration offers our unwavering support. The first bill I signed as President was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which made it easier for women to challenge pay discrimination. Under the Affordable Care Act, we banned insurance companies from charging women more because of their gender, and we continue to defend this law against those who would let women's bosses influence their health care decisions. Last year, recognizing a storied history of patriotic and courageous service in our Armed Forces, the United States military opened ground combat units to women in uniform. We are also encouraging more girls to explore their passions for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and taking action to create economic opportunities for women across the globe. Last fall, we finalized a rule to extend overtime and minimum wage protections to homecare workers, 90 percent of whom are women. And this January, I launched a White House task force to protect students from sexual assault.
- As we honor the many women who have shaped our history, let us also celebrate those who make progress in our time. Let us remember that when women succeed, America succeeds. And from Wall Street to Main Street, in the White House and on Capitol Hill -- let us put our Nation on the path to success.
- NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 2014 as Women's History Month. I call upon all Americans to observe this month and to celebrate International Women's Day on March 8, 2014, with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities. I also invite all Americans to visit www.WomensHistoryMonth.gov to learn more about the generations of women who have left enduring imprints on our history.
- IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand fourteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-eighth.
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- Message -- Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Zimbabwe
- Office of the Press Secretary
- TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES:
- Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C.
- 1622(d)) provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless, within 90 days prior to the anniversary date of its declaration, the President publishes in the Federal Register and transmits to the Congress a notice stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the anniversary date. In accordance with this provision, I have sent to the Federal Register for publication the enclosed notice stating that the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13288 of March 6, 2003, with respect to the actions and policies of certain members of the Government of Zimbabwe and other persons to undermine Zimbabwe's democratic processes or institutions is to continue in effect beyond March 6, 2014.
- The threat constituted by the actions and policies of certain members of the Government of Zimbabwe and other persons to undermine Zimbabwe's democratic processes or institutions has not been resolved. These actions and policies continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the foreign policy of the United States. For these reasons, I have determined that it is necessary to continue this national emergency and to maintain in force the sanctions to respond to this threat.
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- Chiner$
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- MUSLIM-Xinjiang oil boom fuels Uighur resentment - FT.com
- “Offer energy resources as tribute [to Beijing] to create harmony”
- proclaims a giant billboard outside a petrol station in Korla, in
- China’s restive western frontier region of Xinjiang.
- The increasing importance of the Muslim-dominated Xinjiang autonomous
- region as a source of the energy and minerals needed to fuel China’s
- booming eastern cities is raising the stakes for Beijing in its battle
- against separatists agitating for an independent state
- The Chinese didn’t want to let Xinjiang be independent before, but
- after they built all the oilfields, it became absolutely impossible,”
- said one Muslim resident in Korla, who asked not to be named for fear of
- retribution by government security agents.
- The desert around the city is punctuated every kilometre or two by
- oil and gas derricks, each of them topped with the red Chinese national
- flag, an assertion of sovereignty over every inch of the energy-rich
- Printed from: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/163dec1c-7518-11dd-ab30-0000779fd18c.html
- Print a single copy of this article for personal use. Contact us if you wish to print more to distribute to others.
- (C) The Financial Times Ltd 2014 FT and 'Financial Times' are trademarks of The Financial Times Ltd. Privacy policy | Terms | Copyright
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- China blames separatists for knife attack; 33 dead - KansasCity.com
- KUNMING, China '-- More than 10 assailants slashed scores of people with knives at a train station in southern China, drawing police fire, in what authorities called a terrorist assault by ethnic separatists based in the far west, state media said Sunday. Thirty-three people were killed and 130 wounded.
- Police fatally shot four of the assailants , arrested one and were searching for the others following the attack late Saturday at the Kunming train station in Yunnan province, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Witnesses described attackers dressed in black storming the train station and attacking people indiscriminately.
- Student Qiao Yunao, 16, was waiting to catch a train at the station when people starting crying out and running, and then saw a man slash another man's neck, drawing blood.
- "I was freaking out, and ran to a fast food store, and many people were running in there to take refuge," she told The Associated Press via Sina Weibo, a Chinese microblog. "I saw two attackers, both men, one with a watermelon knife and the other with a fruit knife. They were running and chopping whoever they could."
- The attackers' identities were not yet confirmed, but evidence at the scene of the attack showed that it was "a terrorist attack carried out by Xinjiang separatist forces," Xinhua quoted the municipal government as saying. Authorities considered it to be "an organized, premeditated violent terrorist attack."
- The far western region of Xinjiang is home to a simmering rebellion against Chinese rule by separatists among parts of the Muslim Uighur (pronounced WEE'-gur) population.
- Most attacks blamed on Uighur separatists take place in Xinjiang, where clashes between ethnic Uighurs and members of China's ethnic Han majority are also frequent. Saturday's assault took place more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) to the southeast in Yunnan, which has not had a history of such unrest.
- However, a suicide car attack blamed on Uighur separatists that killed five people at Beijing's Tiananmen Gate last November raised alarms that militants could be changing tactics and aiming to strike at soft targets throughout the country.
- In an indication of how seriously authorities viewed the attack '-- one of China's deadliest in recent years '-- the country's top police official, Politburo member Meng Jianzhu, arrived in Kunming on Sunday morning and went straight to the hospital to visit the wounded and their families, Xinhua reported.
- The violence in Kunming came at a sensitive time as political leaders in Beijing prepared for Wednesday's opening of the annual meeting of the nominal legislature where the government of President Xi Jinping will deliver its first one-year work report.
- Xi called for "all-out efforts" to bring the culprits to justice. In a statement, the Security Management Bureau under the Ministry of Public Security said that police will "crack down the crimes in accordance with the law without any tolerance."
- A Xinhua reporter in Kunming said firefighters and emergency medical personnel were at the station and rushing injured people to hospitals, while police were investigating. The news agency said that in addition to the four attackers killed, 29 people described as civilians were confirmed dead and 130 injured.
- More than 60 victims were taken to Kunming No. 1 People's Hospital, where at least a dozen bodies also could be seen, according to Xinhua reporters at the hospital.
- Yang Haifei, who was being treated at the hospital for chest and back wounds, told Xinhua that he saw a person "come straight at me with a long knife and I ran away with everyone." People who were slow to escape ended up severely injured, he said. "They just fell on the ground."
- At a guard pavilion in front of the train station, three victims were crying. One of them, Yang Ziqing, told Xinhua that they were waiting for a train to Shanghai when a knife-wielding man suddenly came at them.
- "My two town-fellows' husbands have been rushed to hospital, but I can't find my husband, and his phone went unanswered," Yang sobbed.
- Xinhua said some victims were migrant workers who were returning to factories after family reunions over the Chinese New Year.
- Pictures on Sina Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, showed bodies covered in blood at the station. Footage on China's state broadcaster CCTV showed a heavy police presence near the station and plainclothes agents wrapping a long knife in a plastic bag as investigators collected evidence following the attacks.
- The Kunming railway station, located in the southeastern area of the city, is one of the largest in southwest China.
- The attack was the deadliest violence attributed to Uighur-Han conflicts since riots in the Xinjiang capital of Urumqi in 2009, in which Uighurs stormed the streets of the city, targeting Han people in seemingly random violence that included killing women and children. A few days later Han vigilante mobs armed with sticks and bats attacked Uighurs in the same city. Nearly 200 people died.
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- Ukraine
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- Webcam Girl Survey
- Russian-speaking, eastern Ukrainian camgirls were telling me that they and their russophone friends were
- not pro-Russia, despite what I kept hearing on the news. Therefore thusly, whybecause I decided to do
- Girl #1: SMOKING hot, and studies economics. Ethnic Ukrainian, but with Russian as mother tongue. Did
- not think joining EU made economic sense yet - maybe in 10 years. She is not pleased with what has
- happened in Kyiv. She talks of armed protestors overthrowing the president, a new parliament forming and
- kicking ex-prez out, voting for themselves a new cabinet, and she asks me, "Is this democracy?". When I
- ask if she then is a Yanukovych supporter, she replies, "Hell no, he's horrible! Unfortunately though,
- many wish to kill him. I do not wish this".
- Girl #2: also smoking, ethnic Ukrainian, with Russian as mother tongue. Also can speak Ukrainian. Lives
- in a big city in the east. Hates Yanukovych and supports Kyiv actions. Says that most in her city are
- pro-Ukraine, anti-Yanukovich. Just because she/they speak Russian does not mean they are pro-Russia. Is
- sick of all the violence in her city and in Ukraine. Is afraid of war. "Poor Ukraine, poor Crimea" she
- A couple other people I have spoken with, native Ukrainian speakers from Kyiv, are not against usage of
- the Russian language. When I told them "I've actually started to learn to speak Russian, I hope you
- don't hate me", they replied, "Why would I hate you? I speak Russian too you know".
- This shit is so tiring. Always about turf, resources, mind controlling the propagandized populice
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- No Agenda's Knight "Boots on the Ground" rig
- Astra 4A satellite from my dish outside provides Radio Ukraine International feed plus many Ukrainian TV
- - a freesat box on the big TV - ATR Crimea channel currently showing.
- - an eyeTV Netstream SAT box picked up by the iPad - Ukr channel 5 currently showing
- - Tweeter and google translate on the 'Air
- - Research and clip editing on the 'Pro
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- Theory:
- Replace Gazprom with EMERGENCY gas from USA?
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- Drugs
- Ukraine is drug transit for cocaine (Port of Odessa)
- Connected to el campo? New routes?
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- Review: 'Command Authority' by Tom Clancy - Chicago Tribune
- December 12, 2013|By Kevin Nance
- "Command Authority" is the first book by Tom Clancy published since his death in October. (Keri Wiginton, Chicago Tribune)
- In "Command Authority," the first Tom Clancy espionage/military thriller published since the megaselling author's death in October, the Cold War is alive and well. It never really ended, in fact, bringing Clancy's Jack Ryan series '-- featuring the CIA analyst first seen battling the Soviets in 1984's "The Hunt for Red October" '-- full circle.
- This piece first ran in Printers Row Journal, delivered to Printers Row members with the Sunday Chicago Tribune and by digital edition via email. Click here to learn about joining Printers Row.
- After a lengthy and much-lamented absence from the pantheon of world villains in the Clancy universe (during which bad guys in the Middle East, Japan, Pakistan and China took turns menacing America or its interests), Russian scoundrels are once again wearing the black hats.
- The chief scoundrels, in this case, are the Russian President Valeri Volodin, an ex-KGB man, and his main enforcer, Roman Talanov, who as young men foresaw the collapse of the Soviet Union and have since demonstrated their talent for survival. A dictator in all but name, Volodin is bent on re-establishing Russian dominance over its former satellite states, beginning with an ultimately NATO-thwarted military foray in Estonia followed by a bigger, nastier push in Ukraine.
- This brings them onto a collision course with Ryan, now the U.S. president, and his son, Jack Ryan Jr., who has followed his dad into the family business of protecting the homeland from its enemies abroad. The younger Ryan, on hiatus from his gig as an intelligence analyst, spy and part-time assassin, has moved to London and is working for a company investigating international financial crimes. This ultimately reconnects the Ryans to Volodin, Talanov and their old KGB cronies, who exited communism by means of a series of larcenous golden parachutes.
- It's the familiar, mostly effective Clancy stew of trigger-happy testosterone, cloak-and-dagger spy adventure, high-tech military action and conservative politics, including the author's trademark disdain for international diplomacy and anyone who might dare to criticize American intelligence operations.
- It's true, too, that the book's premise can hardly be dismissed as paranoid fantasy. Volodin bears an undeniable and no doubt intended resemblance, at least in part, to the real-life Russian president, Vladimir Putin, whose own KGB background and ambition to return his country to the status of global superpower are obvious to anyone with even a cursory interest in international affairs.
- But whatever its level of geopolitical verisimilitude, "Command Authority" isn't exactly the bang that red-meat Clancy fans might have wished for as a culmination of the Jack Ryan series; it's more of a whimper. Its early scenes of military action in Estonia are thrilling in their smash-mouth fashion, but "Command Authority" soon bogs down in the details of complex financial transactions, military acronyms, espionage code, heavy exposition and backstory, and, worst of all, endless subplots involving dozens of characters. (These include the happy but brief reappearance of the Russian ex-official Sergey Golovko, whose death by poisoning becomes one of the story's catalysts.)
- The result of this stubborn granularity makes for a sometimes sluggish pace over the course of such a doorstop of a book, an all but fatal flaw in a genre that makes its living off compelling the reader to keep the pages turning.
- Like two of its predecessors in the Ryan franchise, "Locked On" (2011) and "Threat Vector" (2012), "Command Authority" was written "with" Mark Greaney, author of "Dead Eye" and other thrillers. Exactly how much each of the collaborators contributed to the writing is known only to the parties involved. But it's easy to speculate that Clancy, a one-man entertainment industry who allowed his name to be used by ghostwriters of movie scripts and other commodities, did not have the same firm grip on the storytelling here that made "The Hunt for Red October" one of the best books of the genre it helped launch.
- Does Clancy's death spell the end for the Jack Ryan saga? If the ongoing careers of Jason Bourne and other thriller-franchise heroes who survived their original creators are any indication, it seems likely that we'll be seeing plenty more of the Ryans, for better or worse.
- Kevin Nance is a Chicago-based freelance writer and photographer. Twitter: @KevinNance1
- By Tom Clancy with Mark Greaney, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 739 pages, $29.95
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- Obama Skips National Security Team Meeting on Russia, Ukraine | The Weekly Standard
- A White House official emailed some reporters to say that President Obama's team met today to discuss the ongoing situation on Ukraine. It appears President Obama did not attend.
- "The President's national security team met today to receive an update on the situation in Ukraine and discuss potential policy options. We will provide further updates later this afternoon," reads the full statement.
- According to Time magazine's Zeke Miller, Obama skipped the meeting. "Obama did not attend the meeting, but WH official says he has been briefed by Susan Rice and his national security team," says Miller.
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- Senators suggest recalling Russia's ambassador from US over Obama speech '-- RT News
- Published time: March 01, 2014 15:55Edited time: March 01, 2014 21:39The Russian Embassy in Washington, DC. (AFP Photo/Shawn Thew)
- Russian senators are going to ask President Vladimir Putin to consider recalling Moscow's Ambassador to the US following President Barack Obama's ''aggressive'' comments on the situation in Ukraine, the speaker of the chamber said.
- The upper house of the Russian parliament, the Federation Council, has ordered the committee on international affairs to apply to Putin and ask him to recall Moscow's ambassador to the US, council speaker Valentina Matvienko said.
- ''The president will consider the appeal and make a decision,'' she said.
- The initiative was put forward by the Federation Council's vice speaker, Yury Vorobiev, who referred to the President Barack Obama's speech Friday, in which he said that Russia would have to pay for its policies in Ukraine. In Vorobiev's opinion, Obama ''crossed the red line and insulted the Russian people'' and his words were a ''direct threat.''
- Senator Vyacheslav Shtyrov welcomed the idea, saying that Ukrainian events are the result of work which was carried out ''with the participation of foreign states'' and the US played an important role in it. He noted that some American officials openly admit that they ''invested a lot of money to create such a situation.''
- So far, no decisions have been made on the matter, said the Kremlin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. The proposal made by the senators is their opinion, Peskov pointed out.
- ''Valentina Matvienko made a good point saying that the Federation Council expressed its opinion and made an appeal to the president. But it is up to the head of state to make a decision on the issue,'' Peskov said.
- According to the head of the State Duma committee for CIS and compatriots, Leonid Slutsky, the Russian ambassador may be recalled to Moscow for consultations.
- ''In the current situation we are not talking about breaking or suspending diplomatic relations. The Ambassador might be temporarily recalled for consultations, while the format is something for the Russian President and the Foreign Ministry to decide on,'' Slutsky told Rossiya 24 TV channel.
- ''This should be a balanced decision that would demonstrate to the USA that Russia does understand that events in Ukraine are of a nature of a '...geopolitical battle, we understand where the authors of these actions are, we are aware of that,'' the MP said.
- On Friday, Obama warned Russia against Ukraine intervention.
- ''The United States will stand with the international community in affirming that there will be costs for any military intervention in Ukraine,'' he said.
- In his address from the White House, Obama expressed his nation's ''concerns'' about ''reports'' of ''military movements'' inside Ukraine. Obama also stated that it was up to Ukrainian people to determine their own future as the situation ''remains very fluid.''
- The remarks came as Moscow's UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin said that any movements of Russian military within the Autonomous Republic Crimea were in line with the existing arrangements with Ukraine on the deployment of military assets in the former Soviet republic.
- ''We have an arrangement with Ukraine about the stationing of the Russian Black Sea fleet in Sevastopol and we are acting within the framework of that agreement,'' Churkin told reporters after a private meeting of the UN Security Council.
- Churkin also reminded that is was the pro-Maidan forces who broke the EU-brokered agreement and forced Viktor Yanukovich to leave the country.
- ''Legal aspects of declaring him to be not president any longer are very questionable,'' Churkin said. ''What happened there is that immediately after this agreement was signed '' not just by President Yanukovich and opposition leaders but the signatures were fixed by the foreign ministers of Germany, France and Poland, supported by the European Union '' immediately there were threats that they will be storming the Presidential residence unless he resigns by 10am the next morning. My understanding is that is what caused him to leave the city. And that of course was not something which was envisaged in the agreement. That was a clear breach of that agreement.''
- The document to settle the Ukrainian political crisis was signed on February 21 and certified by the foreign ministers of Germany, Poland and France.
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- Ukraine slapped with '¬1,000 bank withdrawals limit
- Ukraine's hryvnia currency rebounded on Friday from record dollar lows after the crisis-hit nation's central bank slapped a daily limit on cash withdrawals and reached out to the IMF amid simmering international tensions.
- The fast-moving Ukrainian crisis weighed on many European stock markets, which pulled lower amid fears of a potential wider conflict in the region.
- Investors also digested a mixed session in Asia after Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen provided an upbeat view of the US economy -- and hinted the central bank could ease up on its stimulus taper if the growth outlook weakens.
- In a crisis measure, Ukraine's central bank capped cash withdrawals to 15,000 hryvnia (1,095 euros, $1,400) per day, in the latest sign of the desperate state of national finances and a run on bank accounts.
- The news came one day after Ukraine requested financial support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as Kiev struggles to emerge from a bloody political crisis amid heightened tensions with Russia.
- The national hryvnia currency rose to 9.1800 against the dollar, having plunged to a historic low of 11.3075 on Thursday.
- "Although the move by the central bank to limit foreign currency withdrawal seems to have propped up the currency, we think that the global show of support for Ukraine, especially from the US, and the IMF loan request are the bigger drivers of hryvnia strength today," said analyst Kathleen Brooks at trading site Forex.com.
- "Capital controls tend to be currency negative, while having the US on your side when you face a formidable force like Russia is likely to have a bigger impact.
- "A pullback from record lows versus the dollar is to be expected, especially now that imminent bankruptcy looks like it has been avoided."
- UKRAINE SLAMS RUSSIAN INVASION
- Kiev meanwhile on Friday accused Russia of staging an "armed invasion" of Crimea and appealed to the West to guarantee its territorial integrity after pro-Kremlin gunmen took control of the peninsula's main airport.
- With this in mind, London's benchmark FTSE 100 stocks index fell 0.13 percent to stand at 6,801.10 points in midday deals. Frankfurt's DAX 30 shed 0.10 percent to 9,579.36 points and the Paris CAC 40 dipped 0.52 percent to 4,373.63.
- "European markets are still in a consolidation pattern as optimism over the an accelerating global economy is currently being neutralised by uncertainty coming out of the Ukraine," said trader Markus Huber at London-based brokerage Peregrine & Black.
- "In the United States, focus will be on revised Q4 GDP figures expected to be coming in much weaker than the first reading."
- He added: "Towards the end of trading today ahead of the weekend it will be interesting to see who will keep the upper hand, with some (investors) possibly reducing their risk exposure due to the unrest in the Ukraine."
- Elsewhere, the euro jumped to $1.3813 -- its highest level so far this year -- as stronger-than-expected eurozone inflation dampened talk of a rate hike next week from the European Central Bank (ECB).
- That compared with a level of $1.3710 late in New York on Thursday.
- Eurozone inflation stood at 0.8 percent in February from a year earlier, official data showed on Friday.
- Market expectations had been for a reading of 0.7 percent.
- "The higher-than-expected inflation numbers reduce the chances of an ECB rate cut at next week's meeting and we maintain the view that on balance the central bank will keep rates on hold," said ABN Amro economist Nick Kounis.
- The European single currency rose to 82.50 British pence from 82.15 pence on Thursday. The pound gained to $1.6735 from $1.6688.
- On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold fell to $1,328.16 an ounce from $1,332.25 on Thursday.
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- Ukrainian banks limiting cash withdrawal at ATMs | E-Money blog
- Ukrainian banks are setting limits on cash withdrawal at ATMs, explainingthat it's a security measure against a possible wave of cyber crime. But given that the hryvnia, the Ukrainian currency, has already hit its all-time lows and may free-fall further, ATM limits might be an attempt to slow depreciation.
- PrivatBank, one of the first major system banks of Ukraine, set a daily limit on money withdrawal at 3,000 hryvnias, which is about $ 335.6.
- ''Our bank is not the only one that is setting these limits. Officially, it is made because of a risk that a card could be compromized,'' said PrivatBank's hot-line operator.
- UniCredit Bank said it limited the maximum level of cash available at its ATMs at 1,500 hryvnias in order to provide access to funds for all of its clients. Russia's Sberbank said its clients have no limits on cash withdrawal. But the bank stopped its lending operations in Ukraine.
- Cashless payment transactions are carried out without any restrictions.
- Constraints on money withdrawal were implemented following a spike in demand for dollars and euros as people and businesses were trying to avoid risks of the hryvnia depreciation, which accelerated in late November. Then the people took to the streets of Ukraine's capital to protest against an unexpected decision made by President Viktor Yanukovich to stop trade deal negotiation with Europe and instead seek financial aid from neighboring Russia.
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- G8 - Sommet Evian Summit 2003 - Questions about the G8
- Who created the G8 and when?
- In 1975, French President Val(C)ry Giscard d'Estaing invited the Leaders of Germany, Japan , the United Kingdom , the United States and Italy to a meeting at the chteau of Rambouillet near Paris . In the French President's view, it was a very small gathering. The idea was to discuss world issues of the day, dominated by the oil crisis, in an informal setting. The Leaders decided to make the event annual and invited Canada to join them to form the G7 in 1976. Russia formally joined the group, which then became the G8, at the 1998 Birmingham Summit.
- Which countries make up the G8? Why eight and not more or less?
- The G8 member nations are Canada , France , Germany , Italy , Japan , Russia , the United Kingdom and the United States . The European Union also attends the Summit , represented by the Leader of the country holding the Presidency of the European Council and the President of the European Commission.
- There are no plans to extend the G8 to other permanent members. However, since 1996, G8 members G8 members have stepped up their dialogue with countries, groups of countries and institutions outside their group and especially with the Southern, emerging and least developed countries. Other nations are regularly invited to take part in summit work. For example, the Kananaskis Summit invited the five African countries behind the NEPAD.
- What does the G8 do? What does it discuss? What important decisions has it made?
- Although the G8 is sometimes seen as being omnipotent, it is also criticised for being useless because it does not have extensive decision-making capacities. Nevertheless, it plays a real and important role, because it has a huge co-operative and driving capacity and because a good understanding among G8 members is vital to the smooth running of the major international organisations.
- Some of the initiatives recently taken by the G8 are:
- - The ''heavily indebted poor countries'' (HIPC) debt reduction initiative. The HIPC Initiative was launched at the G7 Summit in Lyon in 1996 to restore solvency to the beneficiary countries by cancelling part of their external debts including, for the first time, the debt held by the multilateral creditors. The HIPC Initiative was enhanced by the June 1999 Cologne Summit to provide faster relief to a larger number of countries with more generous debt forgiveness. The initiative is expected to reduce the debt-service payments of 38 heavily indebted poor countries by over 37 billion dollars.
- The 2000 Okinawa Summit's adoption of a Charter on the Global Information Society, which defines the framework for the development of the information society and recognises the need for joint regulation by the public and private sectors, preservation of social cohesion and cultural diversity, and the fight against cybercrime. It also proposes measures to bridge the digital divide between North and South.The creation of a Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, announced at the 2001 Genoa Summit with the United Nations Secretary-General, with initial funding of 1.3 billion dollars. This creation was driven by the impetus given at the 2000 Okinawa Summit.The fight against terrorism and the formation of the Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction adopted by the Kananaskis Summit.The adoption, also in Kananaskis, of the G8AfricaAction Plan in support of the New Partnership forAfrica's Development. This plan launched by African Heads of State lays the foundations for African development based in particular on good governance, peer review, and a new partnership with the countries of the North.The G8's scope has expanded from the original economic, monetary and financial issues to globalisation. For example, the last summit in Kananaskis addressed combating terrorism, development assistance (the Africa Action Plan in response to the NEPAD and the HIPC Initiative), economic growth and sustainable development and certain regional issues (situation in the Middle East, Afghanistan and relations between India and Pakistan).
- The G8 is neither an institution nor an international organisation. It is not a legal entity. It has no permanent secretariat. It takes no binding measures. It therefore in no way competes with the United Nations, the World Trade Organisation or the international financial institutions. It is more like a club of leading industrialised countries, regularly meeting and consulting to enhance their friendship and synchronize their points of view as regards the major international economic and political issues. The statements published following the ministerial meetings and the annual summit of Heads of State and Government reflect this solidarity and may contain political and financial commitments made by G8 members.
- The G8 is chaired by each of the member countries in turn for a full calendar year. The country holding the Chair proposes the summit location and agenda, and organises preparatory meetings.
- Preparations for the annual summit of G8 Heads of State and Government take the form of a series of meetings among the personal representatives of the G8 Heads of State and Government, commonly known as ''sherpas'' (generally three meetings before the summit and one after). Meetings of foreign affairs and finance ''sous-sherpas'' (usually two or three meetings before the summit and one after) supplement and assist the sherpas' work. Ministry of Foreign Affairs political affairs directors also hold regular meetings.
- What is the G8's working language?
- Strictly speaking, there is no official G8 language, since the G8 is a consultation procedure and not an international organisation.
- The Heads of State and Government speak in their own languages at the annual G8 summit. The meetings of ministers are translated into various languages, but always into French and English and often into German. The summit communiqu(C)s are translated into French and English, with the preparatory working language being English.
- Who chairs the G8 and for how long? What does the Chair do?
- The Chair of the G8 rotates among the member countries in a fixed order. After the Canadian Chair in 2002 and the French Chair in 2003, the chairs will be American (2004), British (2005), Russian (2006 '' decision made at the Kananaskis Summit), German (2007), Japanese (2008), Italian (2009) and then Canadian again (2010).
- The country holding the Chair '' from 1 January to 31 December of a given year '' proposes the summit location, agenda and organises the preparatory meetings. The Chair hosts the summit and acts as spokesperson for the G8 for the year. The Chair is also responsible for interacting with non-G8 countries, international institutions and organisations, and civil society (NGOs, unions and companies).
- What preparations isFrancemaking to chair the G8 in 2003?
- France plans first and foremost to continue with and consolidate the work done in Kananaskis under the Canadian Chair, especially as regards Africa, fighting terrorism and the Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction. In addition, following the Johannesburg conference, we would like to make access to drinking water and sustainable development an important focus of our work in 2003.
- The President of the French Republic and the French government are currently consulting extensively with civil society and the business world regarding new issues that France would like to propose for consideration by its G8 partners.
- The administrative preparations for the summit are the chief responsibility of the Diplomatic Adviser to the President of the French Republic and Sherpa. He is assisted by a Finance Sous-Sherpa, the Head of the European and International Affairs Department at the Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industry, and by a Foreign Affairs Sous-Sherpa, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Director of Economic and Financial Affairs. They are responsible for working with Ministry of Foreign Affairs political affairs directors to consolidate the work of the different administrations in preparation for the Evian Summit.
- The implementation of the G8 action plan in response to the NEPAD (the New Partnership for Africa's Development), adopted at the Kananaskis Summit, is the particular responsibility of the President of the French Republic's Personal Representative for the G8 Africa Action Plan, Michel Camdessus, former IMF Managing Director.
- More specialised groups of experts may also be formed. The summit's material and logistical organisation has been entrusted to a diplomat, Jean-Claude Poimboeuf, appointed Secretary-General of the Evian Summit.
- When didFrancelast chair the G8?
- The 2003 Summit in Evian will be the fifth summit to be held in France . The previous summits in France were held in Rambouillet (1975), Versailles (1982), Paris (Summit of the Arch, 1989) and Lyon (1996).
- What areFrance's goals and priorities for 2003?
- The President of the French Republic presented these goals in his speech to the Diplomatic Corps on 7 January 2003 (link with the speech).
- The first two summits hosted by France were both held in the Paris area, in Rambouillet in 1975 and in Versailles in 1982. The next two summits held in France in 1989 and 1996 took place in cities, in Lyon and Paris ( Summit of the Arch) respectively.
- It seemed important to decentralise this event in the spirit of Kananaskis (2002 summit in the Canadian Rocky mountains) by choosing a beautiful natural site conducive to discussion and reflection and with substantial accommodation capacities. Evian fits the bill.
- The summit is an annual meeting where the Leaders of the Eight (plus the President of the European Commission and the Leader of the country holding the Presidency of the European Union) meet to discuss important issues of the day. The summit is traditionally held over a weekend in June or July. This year, the summit will be held in Evian-les-Bains in the French Alps from 1 to 3 June 2003.
- What is a Sherpa? Who is the French Sherpa?
- A summit demands meticulous preparation in the form of a series of meetings held over the year and attended by the G8 Leaders' personal representatives, called ''Sherpas'' (after the Himalayan porters who help climbers reach mountain summits). These Sherpas oversee the implementation of the commitments made at the Summit . The French Sherpa is the Diplomatic Adviser to the President of the French Republic , Maurice Gourdault-Montagne.
- Is there just one G8 or are there more?
- The main meeting is the Summit of G8 Heads of State and Government. It is held every year in the summer, generally in June. The last summit was held in Kananaskis under the Canadian Chair on 26 and 27 June 2002. The next summit will be held in Evian-les-Bains, under the French Chair, from 1 to 3 June 2003. This will be followed by a summit extended to other countries.
- Meetings of ministers are also held in the G8 format. Some of these meetings are held routinely. This is true of the meeting of foreign ministers and of the meeting of finance ministers in preparation for the Summit . Both meetings are held shortly before the Summit of Heads of State and Government. Moreover, G7 finance ministers and central bank governors hold meetings alongside each of the IMF and World Bank autumn and spring meetings in addition to their traditional meeting at the beginning of the year.
- Regular and occasional meetings of ministers are also held on specific G8 subjects. In 2002, meetings were attended by the ministers from the ministries of Justice and Home Affairs, Co-operation, the Environment, Research and Employment.
- What is the difference between the G7 and the G8? Where doesRussiastand?
- Russia joined the G7 to form the G8 in 1997, but some meetings continued to be held in G7 format. This is why the summit of G8 Heads of State and Government issued two documents up until 2001: a communiqu(C) released by the G8 on all issues save those of economic and financial interest, and a statement by the G7 solely on financial issues.
- At the Kananaskis summit, it was agreed that Russia should chair the G8 and host the summit in 2006. This decision bears testimony to the economic and democratic changes made by Russia in recent years.
- Why are the Eight really nine, if not ten? Who represents the European Union and since when?
- In 1978, the G8 Leaders decided to invite the European Economic Community to join the summit. Ever since, the European Union has taken part in the discussions. However, it cannot chair or host a summit. The EU is represented by the President of the European Commission and by the Leader of the country holding the Presidency of the European Union. This country will be Greece at the Evian Summit.
- What is the G7 Finance Ministers' Meeting?
- The meetings of finance ministers in the 1970s to some extent gave rise to the summits of the Heads of State and Government of the leading industrialised countries. On 25 March 1973, George Shultz, US Treasury Secretary at the time, invited the British, French and German finance ministers to an informal discussion in Washington . The four men discussed the international monetary disorder created by the American decision to drop the gold standard. They subsequently decided to continue their discussions and invite their Japanese counterpart to join them. In the months that followed, the five held meeting after meeting. The press started using the expression the ''group of five'' or ''G5''. Val(C)ry Giscard d'Estaing took part in this first meeting as finance minister. When it became his turn to chair, he suggested that this type of meeting be held by the Heads of State and Government. This gave rise to the ''G5 + 1'' meeting in Rambouillet (to which Italy was also invited). The G5 expanded to become the G7 Finance Ministers' Meeting with the participation of Canada and Italy . Today, the finance ministers of the G7 countries, assisted by their central bank governors, generally meet three times a year, including twice alongside the IMF and World Bank spring and autumn meetings. They take stock of the development of the global economy and co-ordinate over current major financial problems. The Russian Federation is gradually being incorporated into these meetings.
- What are the other ''G'' groups? How do they tie in with the G8?
- Today, there are many groups of countries. The main groups are as follow:
- The G20 liaises closely with the G7 Finance Ministers' Meeting. It comprises the finance ministers and central bank governors of the G7 countries and representatives from 12 emerging countries (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Turkey) as well as the country holding the Presidency of the European Union (if this country is not a member of the G7). The European Central Bank, the Managing Director of the IMF, the Chairman of the International Monetary and Financial Committee of the Board of Governors of the IMF, the President of the World Bank, and the Chairman of the Development Committee of the World Bank and the IMF also sit on the G20. Its creation was made official by the G7 Finance Ministers' Meeting in September 1999 and it met for the first time in Berlin in December 1999. Its mandate is to form a forum for co-operation and discussion on financial globalisation.
- The G10 also works in close liaison with the G7, since all the members of the G7 are involved. It comprises the G7 finance ministers and central bank governors and their counterparts in Belgium , the Netherlands , Sweden and Switzerland (making a total of eleven nations even though the original title stands). It often meets alongside the IMF and World Bank six-monthly meetings. It addresses financial issues such as the procedures currently envisaged for the orderly and expeditious resolution of sovereign debt crises.
- The Group of 77 is in no way linked to the G7 or the G8. It was established following the Joint Declaration of the Seventy-Seven Countries issued at the end of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in 1964. It was set up to articulate and promote the common economic interests of its members and enhance their joint negotiating capacity on all major international economic issues debated in the United Nations system. Today, the G77 is made up of 133 emerging and developing countries, but its original title stands due to its historical significance.
- The G24 is a product of the G77. It was established in 1971 to co-ordinate the position of the developing countries on international monetary and finance system issues and to articulate their interests in international monetary talks. It meets twice a year, before the IMF and World Bank six-monthly meetings, to enable the developing countries to discuss the points on the agenda at these meetings. Member countries are as follows: Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, Congo (Dem. Rep.), Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Iran, Ivory Coast, Lebanon, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Syria, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.
- The G15 is the group that represents the G77 to the Bretton Woods institutions. It has been meeting as a Summit ever since a recommendation by the Non-Aligned Summit Conference in Belgrade in September 1989.
- Does the G8 threaten the role of the United Nations, the IMF or the World Bank?
- The G8 is an informal club for discussion and co-operation by the leading industrialised countries. It is neither an organisation nor an international institution. It is not a legal entity and does not have a permanent secretariat. It takes no binding measures and does not claim to compete with or replace the international organisations. Far from being a threat to the United Nations, the WTO and the international financial institutions, the G8 highlights the co-ordination and driving-force responsibilities of the leading industrialised countries and hence contributes to the smooth running of the international community.
- Is the G8 indifferent to the poor countries?
- Far from being interested only in the growth of its member countries and solving its own problems, the G8 has been addressing issues of direct concern to developing countries for many years now.
- One of the issues of direct consequence to the developing countries is the HIPC (heavily indebted poor countries) Initiative, launched at the Lyon Summit in 1996, to cancel what was deemed the unsustainable proportion of the debt of some forty countries. At the Cologne Summit in 1999, this initiative was enhanced to provide faster relief to a larger number of countries with more generous debt forgiveness. The G7 countries set an example for other bilateral creditors by announcing the cancellation of all the eligible debt owed to them by these countries, in addition to the Initiative itself.
- The Global Health Fund set up to combat the three major scourges affecting especially poor countries '' AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis '' was established by the 2001 Genoa Summit. Finally, Africa, a Kananaskis Summit priority, will remain the French Chair's priority. The Evian Summit will look at implementing the Africa Action Plan adopted at Kananaskis in response to the African NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa's Development) initiative, which comprises a whole range of undertakings to help Africa back on the road to prosperity and good governance.
- Does the G8 consult the developing countries? Is there a possibility of the G8 enlarging to take in the developing countries?
- There are no plans to permanently open up the G8 to other countries to form a new G-n. However, the G8 members are increasingly aware of the need to step up their dialogue with countries, groups of countries and institutions outside their group, and primarily with the Southern countries. Over the last few years, for example, the President of the French Republic has written to the Heads of State of the Southern countries to consult with them on the priorities they would like to see addressed. He has subsequently written to them after each summit to inform them of the results obtained.
- Following the Japanese Chair, which initiated informal consultations with Leaders of Southern countries alongside the Okinawa Summit, the 2001 Italian Chair sought to engage in a more formal dialogue with non-G8 representatives of the international community on poverty reduction, which was a major theme of this summit. Italy personally invited the presidents of South Africa , Mali and Nigeria , the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the President of the World Bank and the directors-general of WHO and the FAO. Likewise, four Heads of State from the countries that initiated the NEPAD attended Kananaskis: Algeria , Nigeria , Senegal and South Africa , along with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
- A meeting ''of a new nature'', which is expected to be attended by the Heads of State and Government of over a dozen developing, emerging and poor countries, is planned to take place together with the summit in Evian.
- Does the G8 consult civil society, business, the unions and the non-governmental organisations?
- Civil society stakeholders often play a deciding role in the development of certain major international projects, since they can form real forces of proposal and influence. The Jubilee 2000 organisation made up of numerous NGOs campaigning for the cancellation of the poorest countries' debts played a hand in the 1999 Cologne Summit's decision to enhance the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative launched at the Lyon Summit in 1996. Lobbying and support by many NGOs went a long way towards the decision to announce the creation of a Global Health Fund at the 2001 Genoa Summit.
- Modern diplomacy hence finds powerhouses of proposals and vital bridges in this associative action to help make progress with globalisation-related issues calling for suitable global responses. For example, the issues considered by the Heads of State and Government of the G8 countries are discussed in political and technical detail with civil society players, using the channels specific to each country. The French Chair intends to hold as open a dialogue as possible to allow for these players' opinions in its own priorities.
- Could there be said to be a G8 ideology?
- The G8 has no set doctrine. It is not steered by an ''ideology''. Although the member countries of the G8 stand together on certain issues, they have a far from identical view of all subjects. Although they are united by certain universal values '' democracy, human rights, and the free-market economy '' their economic and social models and their political sympathies can often vary. Yet what unites them is their belief in the need for international co-operation and their awareness of their responsibilities.
- The G8's attention is turning increasingly to the rest of the world. Developing countries are frequently consulted and even invited to G8 summits. Narrowing the gap between the poorest countries and the richest countries has moreover become a major G8 concern. It was, for example, at the heart of the most recent summits in Genoa and Kananaskis, and it will be at the heart of the coming Evian Summit, which will be enhanced by a summit enlarged to poor and emerging countries.
- Is the G8 the world's management board?
- The G8 is sometimes seen as the world's ''management board''. Yet this often-debated notion is far from the truth. The G8 is an informal body that has no binding authority. It can only commit its own members. It exists primarily to avoid political and economic discord that would be detrimental to both the G8 and the rest of the world. Its strengths as a driving and co-operative force are unparalleled by those of the sovereign States and international organisations such as the United Nations, the World Trade Organisation, the European Union and the international financial institutions.
- In addition, the G8 is just one club for discussion and co-operation among many others '' in particular, there is the G10, the G15, the G20, the G24 and the G77. The G8's powers and uniqueness should not be overestimated. Last but not least, in terms of economic matters, the central banks and international markets have become highly independent and the G8 cannot pretend to rule over them any more than any other informal bodies.
- Given that the G8 is not and has no intention of being the world's management board, it does not seek to impose its will on the rest of the world, especially the poor countries, but it is aware of its responsibilities. The Chair in office consults the developing countries prior to the G8 meetings, if not invites them to the annual summit itself. For example, the architects of the NEPAD were invited to the Kananaskis Summit and the French Chair will also organise a summit enlarged to certain developing and emerging countries. Civil society is naturally consulted throughout the summit preparation process. Finally, the G8 is run internally like an informal club where discussions are extremely free and open.
- As regards globalisation, the G8 has set itself the goal of providing the essential open co-ordination needed between countries whose economic and political weight makes them inevitable players in global governance. Drawing on a positive experience, as shown by the many poverty reduction and development initiatives taken, the G8's purpose is to be a decisive driving force whose credibility and dynamics are rooted in the member countries' political ability to make strong commitments. Since it deliberately has no administrative structure, the G8 puts its initiatives forward as part of the standard, legitimate mechanisms used by the international institutions in charge of these issues (UN, WTO and the international financial institutions) and within which it cannot make any decision alone.
- Why is the G8 criticised? Does it pay attention to the criticisms made of it?
- The G8 is sometimes fiercely criticised, as tragically shown by the violent demonstrations at the 2001 Genoa Summit. Behind these criticisms is the underlying question of the regulation of globalisation. The G8 is at the heart of this issue, since it is one of the bodies aspiring to contribute to this regulation. Yet numerous voices have spoken out against the suitability of this formation. Some loudly voice fears that the richest countries have set themselves up as a management board, without any universal institution such as the UN giving the meeting a mandate or even encouraging it to set up.
- The G8 could never replace international institutions. However, experience has shown that it can be a useful co-operative and driving force. The weight of the G8 countries in the world economy (nearly 60% of global GDP) alone places a particular responsibility on them when it comes to regulating globalisation. In addition, the Heads of State and Government elected by democratic elections have every right to meet when they see fit and express their views.
- The G8 is currently thinking about changing the way it is run. A certain penchant is appearing for a return to ''the spirit of Rambouillet'', i.e. for smaller meetings with smaller delegations and agendas. The Canadian government organised just such a summit. The choice of Kananaskis compelled participants to reduce their delegations to fit in with the available hotel accommodation. This intimate format consideration will also be a core element of preparations for the Evian Summit.
- Likewise, G8 members are increasingly aware of the need to step up their dialogue with countries, groups of countries and institutions outside their group, and primarily with the Southern, emerging and least developed countries. This is why the representatives of these countries are now regularly invited to the summits.
- Can I contact the G8? How?
- While France is holding the Chair, you can contact the G8 by email at the following address: redaction@g8.fr
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- G8 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- The Group of Eight (G8) is a forum for the governments of seven leading industrialized democracies, plus Russia.[1] The forum originated with a 1975 summit hosted by France that brought together representatives of six governments: France, West Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, thus leading to the name Group of Six or G6. The summit became known as the Group of Seven or G7 the following year with the addition of Canada. The G7 is composed by the 7 developed wealthiest countries on Earth (as national net wealth) and by the 7 developed wealthiest countries on Earth by GDP,[2] and it remains active despite the creation of the G8. In 1998, Russia was added to the group which then became known as the G8.[3] The European Union is represented within the G8 but cannot host or chair summits.[4]
- "G8" can refer to the member states in aggregate or to the annual summit meeting of the G8 heads of government. The former term, G6, is now frequently applied to the six most populous countries within the European Union. G8 ministers also meet throughout the year, such as the G7/8 finance ministers (who meet four times a year), G8 foreign ministers, or G8 environment ministers.
- Collectively, the G8 nations comprise 50.1% of 2012 global nominal GDP and 40.9% of global GDP (PPP). Each calendar year, the responsibility of hosting the G8 rotates through the member states in the following order: France, United States, United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Canada. The holder of the presidency sets the agenda, hosts the summit for that year, and determines which ministerial meetings will take place. Lately, both France and the United Kingdom have expressed a desire to expand the group to include five developing countries, referred to as the Outreach Five (O5) or the Plus Five: Brazil (7th country in the world by nominal GDP [2]), People's Republic of China (2nd country in the world by GDP [2]), India (9th country in the world by GDP [5]), Mexico, and South Africa. These countries have participated as guests in previous meetings, which are sometimes called G8+5.
- With the G-20 major economies growing in stature since the 2008 Washington summit, world leaders from the group announced at their Pittsburgh summit on September 25, 2009, that the group will replace the G8 as the main economic council of wealthy nations.[6][7]
- History[edit]At the 34th G8 Summit at Toyako, Hokkaido, formal photo during Tanabata matsuri event for world leaders '' Silvio Berlusconi (Italy), Dmitry Medvedev (Russia), Angela Merkel (Germany), Gordon Brown (UK), Yasuo Fukuda (Japan), George W. Bush (US), Stephen Harper (Canada), Nicolas Sarkozy (France), Jos(C) Manuel Barroso (EU) '' July 7, 2008.The concept of a forum for the world's major industrialized democracies emerged prior the 1973 oil crisis. On Sunday, March 25, 1973, Secretary of the TreasuryGeorge Shultz convened an informal gathering of Finance Ministers from West Germany (Helmut Schmidt), France (Val(C)ry Giscard d'Estaing), and Britain (Anthony Barber) before an upcoming meeting in Washington DC. When running the idea past President Nixon, he noted that he would be out of town, and offered use of the White House; the meeting was subsequently held in the library on the ground floor.[8] Taking their name from the setting, this original group of four became known as the "Library Group".[9] In mid-1973, at the World Bank-IMF meetings, Shultz proposed the addition of Japan to the original four nations, who agreed.[10] The informal gathering of senior financial officials from the United States, the United Kingdom, West Germany, Japan, and France became known as the "Group of Five."[11]
- The year that followed was one of the most turbulent of the post World War II era, The heads of state or government of the top ten industrial nations fell due to illness or scandal. There were two elections in the UK, three Chancellors of West Germany, three presidents of France, three Prime Ministers of Japan and Italy, two US Presidents and Prime Minister Trudeau of Canada was forced into an early election. Of the members of the "Group of Five" all were new to the job with the exception of Prime Minister Trudeau.
- As 1975 dawned, Schmidt and Giscard were now heads of state in their respective countries, and since they both spoke fluent English, it occurred to them that they, British Prime Minister Harold Wilson and US President Gerald Ford could get together in an informal retreat and discuss election results and the issues of the day. So, in the late spring, President Giscard invited the heads of government from West Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States to a summit in Chteau de Rambouillet; the annual meeting of the six leaders was organized under a rotating presidency, forming the Group of Six (G6). The following year, with Wilson out as Prime Minister of Britain, Schmidt and Ford felt an English speaker with more experience was needed, so Canada's Pierre Trudeau was invited to join the group [12] and the group became the Group of Seven (G7). The European Union is represented by the President of the European Commission and the leader of the country that holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The President of the European Commission has attended all meetings since first invited by the United Kingdom in 1977[13] and the Council President now also regularly attends.
- Following 1994's G7 summit in Naples, Russian officials held separate meetings with leaders of the G7 after the group's summits. This informal arrangement was dubbed the Political 8 (P8) '' or, colloquially, the G7+1. At the invitation of Prime Minister of the United KingdomTony Blair and President of the United StatesBill Clinton,[14] President Boris Yeltsin was invited first as a guest observer, later as a full participant. It was seen as a way to encourage Yeltsin with his capitalist reforms. Russia formally joined the group in 1998, resulting in the Group of Eight, or G8.
- Food[edit]A major focus of the G8 since 2009 has been the global supply of food.[15] At the 2009 L'Aquila summit, the G8's members promised to contribute $20 billion to the issue over three years.[16] Since then, only 22% of the promised funds have been delivered.[17]
- At the 2012 summit, President Barack Obama plans to ask G8 leaders to adopt a policy that would privatize global food investment.[18][19]
- Structure and activities[edit]By design, the G8 deliberately lacks an administrative structure like those for international organizations, such as the United Nations or the World Bank. The group does not have a permanent secretariat, or offices for its members.
- The presidency of the group rotates annually among member countries, with each new term beginning on 1 January of the year. The country holding the presidency is responsible for planning and hosting a series of ministerial-level meetings, leading up to a mid-year summit attended by the heads of government. The president of the European Commission participates as an equal in all summit events.[20]
- The ministerial meetings bring together ministers responsible for various portfolios to discuss issues of mutual or global concern. The range of topics include health, law enforcement, labor, economic and social development, energy, environment, foreign affairs, justice and interior, terrorism, and trade. There are also a separate set of meetings known as the G8+5, created during the 2005 Gleneagles, Scotland summit, that is attended by finance and energy ministers from all eight member countries in addition to the five "outreach countries" which are also known as the Group of Five '-- Brazil, People's Republic of China, India, Mexico, and South Africa.[21]
- In June 2005, justice ministers and interior ministers from the G8 countries agreed to launch an international database on pedophiles.[22] The G8 officials also agreed to pool data on terrorism, subject to restrictions by privacy and security laws in individual countries.[23]
- Global energy[edit]At the Heiligendamm Summit in 2007, the G8 acknowledged a proposal from the EU for a worldwide initiative on efficient energy use. They agreed to explore, along with the International Energy Agency, the most effective means to promote energy efficiency internationally. A year later, on 8 June 2008, the G8 along with China, India, South Korea and the European Community established the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation, at the Energy Ministerial meeting hosted by Japan holding 2008 G8 Presidency, in Aomori.[24]
- G8 Finance Ministers, whilst in preparation for the 34th Summit of the G8 Heads of State and Government in Toyako, Hokkaido, met on the 13 and 14 June 2008, in Osaka, Japan. They agreed to the ''G8 Action Plan for Climate Change to Enhance the Engagement of Private and Public Financial Institutions.'' In closing, Ministers supported the launch of new Climate Investment Funds (CIFs) by the World Bank, which will help existing efforts until a new framework under the UNFCCC is implemented after 2012. The UNFCCC is not on track to meeting any of its stated goals.[25]
- Annual summit[edit]The annual G8 leaders summit is attended by the heads of government.[26] The member country holding the G8 presidency is responsible for organizing and hosting the year's summit.
- The serial annual summits can be parsed chronologically in arguably distinct ways, including as the sequence of host countries for the summits has recurred over time, series, etc.[27]
- DateHost countryHost leaderLocation heldWebsiteNotes1stNovember 15''17, 1975 FranceVal(C)ry Giscard d'EstaingRambouillet (Castle of Rambouillet)G6 Summit2ndJune 27''28, 1976 United StatesGerald R. FordDorado, Puerto Rico[28]Also called "Rambouillet II;" Canada joins the group, forming the G7[28]3rdMay 7''8, 1977 United KingdomJames CallaghanLondonPresident of the European Commission is invited to join the annual G-7 summits4thJuly 16''17, 1978 West GermanyHelmut SchmidtBonn, North Rhine-Westphalia5thJune 28''29, 1979 JapanMasayoshi ÅhiraTokyo6thJune 22''23, 1980 ItalyFrancesco CossigaVeniceacting Prime Minister Masayoshi Ito of Japan did not attend.7thJuly 20''21, 1981 CanadaPierre E. TrudeauMontebello, Quebec8thJune 4''6, 1982 FranceFran§ois MitterrandVersailles9thMay 28''30, 1983 United StatesRonald ReaganWilliamsburg, Virginia10thJune 7''9, 1984 United KingdomMargaret ThatcherLondon11thMay 2''4, 1985 West GermanyHelmut KohlBonn, North Rhine-Westphalia12thMay 4''6, 1986 JapanYasuhiro NakasoneTokyo13thJune 8''10, 1987 ItalyAmintore FanfaniVenice14thJune 19''21, 1988 CanadaBrian MulroneyToronto15thJuly 14''16, 1989 FranceFran§ois MitterrandParis16thJuly 9''11, 1990 United StatesGeorge H. W. BushHouston17thJuly 15''17, 1991 United KingdomJohn MajorLondon18thJuly 6''8, 1992 GermanyHelmut KohlMunich, Bavaria19thJuly 7''9, 1993 JapanKiichi MiyazawaTokyo20thJuly 8''10, 1994 ItalySilvio BerlusconiNaples21stJune 15''17, 1995 CanadaJean Chr(C)tienHalifax, Nova Scotia[29]22ndJune 27''29, 1996 FranceJacques ChiracLyonInternational organizations' debut to G8 Summits periodically. The invited ones here were: United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization.[30]23rdJune 20''22, 1997 United StatesBill ClintonDenver[31]Russia joins the group, forming G824thMay 15''17, 1998 United KingdomTony BlairBirmingham[32]25thJune 18''20, 1999 GermanyGerhard Schr¶derCologne, North Rhine-Westphalia[33]First Summit of the G-20 major economies at Berlin26thJuly 21''23, 2000 JapanYoshiro MoriNago, Okinawa[34]Formation of the G8+5 starts, when South Africa was invited. Until the 38th G8 summit in 2012, it has been invited to the Summit annually without interruption. Also, with permission from a G8 leader, other nations were invited to the Summit on a periodical basis for the first time. Nigeria, Algeria and Senegal accepted their invitations here. The World Health Organization was also invited for the first time.[30]27thJuly 20''22, 2001 ItalySilvio BerlusconiGenoa[35]Leaders from Bangladesh, Mali and El Salvador accepted their invitations here.[30] Demonstrator Carlo Giuliani is shot and killed by police during a violent demonstration. One of the largest and most violent anti-globalization movement protests occurred for the 27th G8 summit.[36] Following those events and the September 11 attacks two months later in 2001, the G8 have met at more remote locations.28thJune 26''27, 2002 CanadaJean Chr(C)tienKananaskis, Alberta[37]Russia gains permission to officially host a G8 Summit.29thJune 2''3, 2003 FranceJacques Chiracvian-les-Bains[1]The G8+5 was unofficially made, when China, India, Brazil, and Mexico were invited to this Summit for the first time. South Africa has joined the G8 Summit, since 2000, until the 2012 edition. Other first-time nations that were invited by the French president included: Egypt, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Switzerland.[30]30thJune 8''10, 2004 United StatesGeorge W. BushSea Island, Georgia[38]A record number of leaders from 12 different nations accepted their invitations here. Amongst a couple of veteran nations, the others were: Ghana, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Turkey, Yemen and Uganda.[30] Also, the state funeral of former president Ronald Reagan took place in Washington during the summit.31stJuly 6''8, 2005 United KingdomTony BlairGleneagles[39]The G8+5 was officially formed. On the second day of the meeting, suicide bombers killed 52 people on the London Underground and a bus. Nations that were invited for the first time were Ethiopia and Tanzania. The African Union and the International Energy Agency made their debut here.[30] During the 31st G8 summit in United Kingdom, 225,000 people took to the streets of Edinburgh as part of the Make Poverty History campaign calling for Trade Justice, Debt Relief and Better Aid. Numerous other demonstrations also took place challenging the legitimacy of the G8.[40]32ndJuly 15''17, 2006 RussiaVladimir PutinStrelna, St. Petersburg[2]First G8 Summit on Russian soil. Also, the International Atomic Energy Agency and UNESCO made their debut here.[30]33rdJune 6''8, 2007 GermanyAngela MerkelHeiligendamm, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern[3]Seven different international organizations accepted their invitations to this Summit. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the Commonwealth of Independent States made their debut here.[30]34thJuly 7''9, 2008 JapanYasuo FukudaToyako (Lake Toya), Hokkaido[41]Nations that accepted their G8 Summit invitations for the first time are: Australia, Indonesia and South Korea.[30]35thJuly 8''10, 2009 ItalySilvio BerlusconiL'Aquila, Abruzzo[4]This G8 Summit was originally planned to be in La Maddalena (Sardinia), but was moved to L'Aquila as a way of showing Prime Minister Berlusconi's desire to help the region in and around L'Aquila after the earthquake that hit the area on the April 6th, 2009. Nations that accepted their invitations for the first time were: Angola, Denmark, Netherlands and Spain.[42] A record of TEN (10) international organizations were represented in this G8 Summit. For the first time, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the World Food Programme, and the International Labour Organization accepted their invitations.[43]36thJune 25''26, 2010[44] CanadaStephen HarperHuntsville, Ontario[45][46]Malawi, Colombia, Haiti, and Jamaica accepted their invitations for the first time.[47]37thMay 26''27, 2011 FranceNicolas SarkozyDeauville,[48][49]Basse-Normandie[5]Guinea, Niger, C´te d'Ivoire and Tunisia accepted their invitations for the first time. Also, the League of Arab States made its debut to the meeting.[50]38thMay 18''19, 2012 United StatesBarack ObamaCamp David[51][6]The summit was originally planned for Chicago, along with the NATO summit, but it was announced officially on March 5, 2012, that the G8 summit will be held at the more private location of Camp David and at one day earlier than previously scheduled.[52] Also, this is the second G8 summit, in which one of the core leaders (Vladimir Putin) declined to participate. This G8 summit concentrated on the core leaders only; no non-G8 leaders or international organizations were invited.39thJune 17''18, 2013 United KingdomDavid CameronLough Erne, County Fermanagh[53][7]Like in 2012, only the core members of the G8 attended this meeting. The four main topics that were discussed here were trade, government transparency, tackling tax evasion, and the ongoing Syrian crisis.[54]40thJune 4''5, 2014 RussiaVladimir PutinSochi[55][8]41st2015 GermanyAngela MerkelSchloss Elmau[56]The G8 leaders at the 36th summit in Huntsville, Ontario. Left to right: Cameron, Van Rompuy (EU), Harper, Medvedev, Kan, Berlusconi, Obama, Barroso (EC), Merkel, Sarkozy.Member facts[edit]These G8 countries represent:
- 7 of the 7 top-ranked developed countries with the highest national net wealth (United States, Japan, Germany, France, UK, Italy, Canada) also known as G7.7 of the 15 top-ranked countries with the highest net wealth per capita (United States, France, Japan, UK, Italy, Canada, Germany)8 of 12 top-ranked leading export countries.[57]6 of 10 top-ranked countries with the largest gold reserves (United States, Germany, Italy, France, Russia, Japan).8 of 11 top-ranked economies (by nominal GDP), according to latest (2012 data) International Monetary Fund's statistics.5 countries with a nominal GDP per capita above US$40,000 (Canada, United States, Japan, Germany, France).5 countries with a sovereign wealth fund, administered by either a national or a state/provincial government (Russia, United States, France, Canada, Italy).[58]8 of 30 top-ranked nations with large amounts of foreign-exchange reserves in their central banks.4 out of 9 countries having nuclear weapons (France, Russia, UK, United States).[59][60]3 countries that have nuclear weapons sharing programs (Canada, Germany, Italy).[61][62][63]7 of the 9 largest nuclear energy producers (United States, France, Japan, Russia, Germany, Canada, UK), even though Germany will wean itself from nuclear power by 2022.[64] As with Japan, it shut down all of its nuclear reactors because of the earthquake in 2011; the first time the nation has gone nuclear-free since 1970.[65] However, in July 2012, Japan restarted two nuclear reactors at the Åi Nuclear Power Plant. These reactors are the only ones currently in operation at this time.8 of the 15 top donors to the UN budget for the 2013 annual fiscal year.4 countries with a HDI index for 2013 of 0.9 and higher (United States, Germany, Japan, Canada).2 countries with the highest credit rating from Standard & Poor's, Fitch, and Moody's at the same time (Canada and Germany).[66]With G8+5 and the G20[edit]all G8 countries became members of the unofficial trillion dollar club (countries with a nominal GDP in excess of US$1 trillion) by 2005. Today, 14 (out of the total of 15 so far) countries in the world are members of both the unofficial club and the G-20 major economies group.all of the G8, 15 (out of 19) of the G-20, and 12 (out of 13) G8+5-countries (minus South Africa) are among the 20 top-ranked nations by the amount of voting power and special drawing rights (SDRs) in the International Monetary Fund.7 (out of 8) G8 countries (minus Russia) and 3 distinct members of the G-20 only (which are Australia, South Korea, and Argentina) have a HDI index of 0.8 or higher for 2013.Cumulative influence of member nations[edit]Together the eight countries making up the G8 represent about 14% of the world population, but they represent about 60% of the gross world product[67] as measured by gross domestic product, all eight nations being within the top 12 countries according to the CIA World Factbook. (see the CIA World Factbook column in List of countries by GDP (nominal)), the majority of global military power (seven are in the top 8 nations for military expenditure[68]), and almost all of the world's active nuclear weapons.[69] In 2007, the combined G8 military spending was US$850 billion. This is 72% of the world's total military expenditures. (see List of countries and federations by military expenditures) Four of the G8 members, the United Kingdom, United States, France and Russia, together account for 96''99% of the world's nuclear weapons.[70] (see List of states with nuclear weapons)
- Criticism[edit]Some criticism centres on the assertion that members of G8 do not do enough to help global problems such as Third World Debt, global warming and the AIDS epidemic'--due to strict medicine patent policy and other issues related to globalization. In Unravelling Global Apartheid, the political analyst Titus Alexander described the G7, as it then was, as the 'cabinet' of global minority rule, with a coordinating role in world affairs.[71]
- The conservative Heritage Foundation has criticized the G8 for advocating food security without making room for economic freedom.[72]
- Protesters in London 2013 have carried slogans such as "against the 1%" as a reference to an increasing concentration of wealth and influence.
- Decline[edit]The G8's relevance is unclear.[73] Critics argue that the G8 has now become unrepresentative of the world's most powerful economies. In particular, China has surpassed every economy but the United States,[74] while Brazil has surpassed Canada and Italy (according to the IMF). Also according to the International Monetary Fund and the CIA World Factbook, India has already surpassed Japan in terms of purchasing power parity, although remaining on the 10th position when it comes to Real GDP. This has given rise to the idea of enlarging G8 to the G8+5, which includes these other economically powerful nations. Other critics assert, however, that the concept of a country's net wealth is different from the nation's GDP.
- With Vladimir Putin not attending the 2012 G8 summit at Camp David, there is credence that the summit has generally outlived its usefulness, as a viable international gathering of foreign leaders.[75] As a result of that decision, one Foreign Policy magazine contributor stated that Russia should be deleted from the G8 altogether.[76][77] However, another FP contributor commented that the G8 is still relevant, despite the increasing international power and prestige of the G-20 major economies leaders' summit.[78]
- Current leaders[edit]See also[edit]References[edit]^>title=Thinking Ahead: The 'One-Time' G-22 Looks Useful http://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/28/business/worldbusiness/28iht-think.t_4.html>title=Thinking Ahead: The 'One-Time' G-22 Looks Useful. ^ abcDownload-GDPcurrent-USD-countries.xls^"2008 Evian summit '' Questions about the G8". G8.fr. Retrieved 2011-05-21. ^The EU has the privileges and obligations of membership but does not host/chair summits. It is represented by the Commission and Council presidents. 967. "EU and the G8". European Commission. Retrieved 2007-09-25. ^dictionary.reference.com^"Officials: G-20 to supplant G-8 as international economic council". CNN. 2009-09-25. Retrieved 2009-09-25. ^"G20 to replace the G8". SBS. 2009-09-26. Retrieved 2009-09-26. ^Shultz, George P., Turmoil and Triumph: My Years as Secretary of State, 1993, p. 148 ISBN 0-684-19325-6^Bayne, Nicholas et al. (2000). Hanging in There, p. 34.^Shultz, ibid.^Farnsworth, Clyde H. "A Secret Society of Finance Ministers," New York Times. May 8, 1977.^G8: The Most Exclusive Club in the World, Thomas S. Axworthy, The Canadian Encyclopedia, Historica Foundation of Canada, Toronto, Undated.Accessed07-12-2008.^"EU and the G8". European Union. Archived from the original on December 26, 2007. Retrieved 2006-07-17. ^"Russia '-- Odd Man Out in the G-8", Mark Medish, The Globalist, 02-24-2006.Accessed: 07-12-2008^"Cash-strapped G8 looks to private sector in hunger fight". Reuters. 18 May 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2012. ^Lief, Eric (15 September 2012). "Funding Food Security - A Financial Lens on the L'Aquila G8". Spotlight. Retrieved 18 May 2012. ^"G8 leaders urged to live up to nutrition commitments". Farming UK. 18 May 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2012. ^Tandon, Shaun (18 May 2012). "Obama turns to private sector to feed world's poor". Agence France-Presse. Retrieved 18 May 2012. ^Patrick, Stewart M. (16 May 2012). "Why This Year's G8 Summit Matters". The Atlantic. Retrieved 18 May 2012. ^Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan): Summit Meetings in the Past;European Union: "EU and the G8"^"G5 Overview; Evoluci"n del Grupo de los Cinco". Groupoffive.org. Retrieved 2010-06-27. ^G8 to launch international pedophile database David Batty June 18, 2005 The Guardian^G8 to pool data on terrorism Martin Wainwright June 18, 2005 The Guardian^The International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation (IPEEC). June 8, 2008.^"G8 Finance Ministers Support Climate Investment Funds". IISD - Climate Change Policy & Practice. 14 June 2008. ^Feldman, Adam (July 7, 2008). "What's Wrong with the G-8". Forbes (New York). ^Hajnal, Peter I. (1999). The G8 System and the G20: Evolution, Role and Documentation, p. 30., p. 30, at Google Books^ abShabecoff, Philip. "Go-Slow Policies Urged by Leaders in Economic Talks; Closing Statement Calls for Sustained Growth Coupled With Curbs on Inflation; Ford's Aims Realized; 7 Heads of Government Also Agree to Consider a New Body to Assist Italy Co-Slow Economic Policies Urged by 7 Leaders,"New York Times. June 29, 1976; Chronology, June 1976.^"Halifax G7 Summit 1995". Chebucto.ns.ca. 2000-05-28. Retrieved 2010-06-27. ^ abcdefghiKirton, John. "A Summit of Substantial Success: The Performance of the 2008 G8"; page 88 and 89G8 Information Centre '-- University of Toronto July 17, 2008.^"Denver Summit of the Eight". State.gov. Retrieved 2010-02-08. ^"Internet Archive Wayback Machine". Web.archive.org. 1998-12-12. Archived from the original on 1998-12-12. Retrieved 2011-05-21. ^"1999 G8 summit documents". Web.archive.org. 2005-02-26. Archived from the original on 2005-02-26. Retrieved 2010-06-27. ^"Kyushu-Okinawa Summit". MOFA. Retrieved 2010-02-08. ^"Vertice di Genova 2001". Web.archive.org. 2001-08-06. Archived from the original on 2001-08-06. Retrieved 2010-02-08. ^Italy officials convicted over G8, BBC News^"UT G8 Info. Centre. Kananaskis Summit 2002. Summit Contents". G8.utoronto.ca. Retrieved 2010-02-08. ^"Sea Island Summit 2004". Georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov. Retrieved 2010-02-08. ^"Special Reports | G8_Gleneagles". BBC News. 2008-09-17. Retrieved 2010-02-08. ^David Miller "Spinning the G8", Zednet, May 13th 2005.^"Hokkaido Toyako Summit '' TOP". Mofa.go.jp. Retrieved 2010-02-08. ^"G8 Summit 2009 '' official website '' Other Countries". G8italia2009.it. Retrieved 2010-02-08. ^"G8 Summit 2009 '' official website '' International Organizations". G8italia2009.it. Retrieved 2010-02-08. ^"Canada's G8 Plans" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-06-27. ^"Prime Minister of Canada: Prime Minister announces Canada to host 2010 G8 Summit in Huntsville". Pm.gc.ca. Retrieved 2010-02-08. ^"2010 Muskoka Summit". Canadainternational.gc.ca. Retrieved 2011-05-21. ^Participants at the 2010 Muskoka Summit. G8 Information Centre. Retrieved June 29, 2010.^"Le prochain G20 aura lieu Cannes,"Le point. November 12, 2010.^The City of DeauvilleOfficial 2011 G8 website. Retrieved February 7, 2011.^Kirton, John (May 26, 2011). "Prospects for the 2011 G8 Deauville Summit". G8 Information Centre. Retrieved 2011-05-27. ^"2012 G8 Summit Relocation". G8.utoronto.ca. Retrieved 2013-03-26. ^"White House Moves G8 Summit From Chicago To Camp David". CBS Chicago. March 5, 2012. Retrieved 2012-03-05. ^"BBC News - Lough Erne resort in Fermanagh to host G8 summit". Bbc.co.uk. 2012-11-20. Retrieved 2013-03-26. ^"As it happened: G8 summit". BBC News. Retrieved 2013-06-18. ^2014 G8 Summit to Be Held in Sochi - Putin^Germany to hold 2015 G8 summit at Alpine spa Elmau in Bavaria^"exports". cia factbook. ^"Sovereign Wealth Fund Rankings". SWF Institute. Retrieved 2012-02-16. ^"Status of Nuclear Forces". Federation of American Scientists. March 26, 2012. Retrieved 2012-03-26. ^"Which countries have nuclear weapons?". BBC News. March 26, 2012. Retrieved 2012-03-26. ^(G8). Global Issues. Retrieved on 2011-12-02.^Most Powerful Nations. Exploredia (2010-12-24). Retrieved on 2011-12-02.^G8 Powers^"Germany: Nuclear power plants to close by 2022". BBC. May 30, 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-12. ^"Tomari shutdown leaves Japan without nuclear power". BBC News. May 5, 2012. Retrieved 2012-05-05. ^11 countries with perfect credit^"United Nations Development Programme". Undp.org. Retrieved 2010-02-08. ^"World Wide Military Expenditures". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 2007-12-10. ^"The G8 and the Nuclear Industry". The Campaign for Nuclear Phaseout. June 2002. Retrieved 2007-11-28. ^"Federation of American Scientists: Status of World Nuclear Forces". Fas.org. Retrieved 2010-01-12. ^Alexander, titus (1996). Unravelling Global Apartheid: an overview of world politics. Polity Press. pp. 212''213. ^Miller, Terry (17 May 2012). "G8 Food Security Agenda Should Encourage Greater Privatisation.". Heritage Foundation. Retrieved 18 May 2012. ^Lee, Don (July 6, 2008). "On eve of summit, G-8's relevance is unclear". Los Angeles Times. ^"China marches towards world's No. 2 economy". CNN. August 16, 2010. ^Bremmer, Ian (May 14, 2012). "Welcome to the New World Disorder". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2012-05-16. ^Aslund, Anders (May 15, 2012). "Kick Russia Out of the G-8". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2012-05-16. ^Bremmer, Ian (May 15, 2012). "Putin's G-8 snub could keep the U.S. and Russia talking". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2012-05-16. ^Bosco, David (May 16, 2012). "Three cheers for homogeneity". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2012-05-16. Further reading[edit]Bayne, Nicholas and Robert D. Putnam. (2000). Hanging in There: The G7 and G8 Summit in Maturity and Renewal. Aldershot, Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing. 10-ISBN 0-7546-1185-X; 13-ISBN 978-0-7546-1185-1; OCLC 43186692Haas, P.M. (1992). "Introduction. Epistemic communities and international policy coordination," International Organization 46,1:1''35.Hajnal, Peter I. (1999). The G8 system and the G20 : Evolution, Role and Documentation. Aldershot, Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing. 13-ISBN 9780754645504/13-ISBN 0754645509; OCLC 277231920Kokotsis, Eleonore. (1999). Keeping International Commitments: Compliance, Credibility, and the G7, 1988''1995. New York: Garland Publishing. 10-ISBN 0815333323/13-ISBN 9780815333326; OCLC 40460131Reinalda, Bob and Bertjan Verbeek. (1998). Autonomous Policy Making by International Organizations. London: Routledge. 10-ISBN 0415164869/10-ISBN 9780415164863; 13-ISBN 978-0-203-45085-7;10-ISBN 0-203-45085-X; OCLC 39013643External links[edit]"Official website of Russia's G8 Presidency (in English)"*The Canadian Government's G8 Web Site (in English)G8 Information Centre, G8 Research Group, University of Toronto"2010 is a date with fate for G8", Oxfam International Blogs"Special Report: G8", Guardian Unlimited"Profile: G8", BBC News"We are deeply concerned. Again", New Statesman, 4 July 2005, '--G8 development concerns since 1977G8 Information Centre Finance Ministers Meetings"G8: Cooking the books won't feed anyone", Oxfam International"Dear G8 Leaders, don't lie about your aid", Oxfam International Blogs"Wait, the G-8 still exists?", Foreign Policy Magazine"Is this the last G-8 summit meeting?", Foreign Policy Magazinehttp://www.un.org/french/pubs/chronique/2006/numero1/0106p54.htm "The Group of Eight, ECOSOC and the Constitutional Paradox" Links to related articles
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- Nikolai Valuev - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Nikolai Valuev (born August 21, 1973) is a former Russian professional boxer. He boxed as a professional heavyweight from 1993 to 2009. Valuev is a former Russian and two-time WBA heavyweight champion. He holds the record as the tallest and heaviest boxing champion in history. At his peak he stood 7' 1" (2.16m) and weighed more than 320lbs (145kg). Valuev holds notable wins over John Ruiz, Jameel McCline, Siarhei Liakhovich and Evander Holyfield. He retired at the age of 36, following a majority-decision defeat to David Haye in November 2009.
- Biography[edit]Valuev was born on 21 August 1973, in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now St. Petersburg, Russia). He also had a Tatar grandfather.[1][2][3]
- He has three young children, daughter Irina and son Grisha (Grigoriy), his third child, son Sergei, was born on 30 July 2012. In his professional boxing career Valuev has been defeated only twice by Ruslan Chagaev and David Haye.
- Valuev is a Russian Orthodox Christian.[4] During his youth he played water polo and basketball.
- Valuev has written a book in Russian called My 12 Rounds, with the help of prominent Russian sports journalist Konstantin Osipov.[5] The book discusses his life in general and his boxing career in particular. For that book, Valuev received an award from the government of St. Petersburg.[6] The book was presented in St. Petersburg on 5 February 2007.
- In January 2006 Valuev was accused of assaulting a security guard at the Spartak Ice Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia. No criminal investigation was ever launched by local police.[7][8]
- Boxing career[edit]First reign as WBA champion[edit]In 2005, Valuev squared off with WBA heavyweight champion John Ruiz, and won a twelve-round majority-decision, becoming both the tallest (2.1 m or 7 ft) and heaviest (323lbs) champion in boxing history.[9] In his first defence he defeated challenger Owen Beck (25''3, 18 KOs) by a third-round technical knockout in Hannover, Germany. In October 2006, Valuev fought Monte Barrett and defeated him with a technical knockout in the 11th round. In January 2007, Valuev fought Jameel McCline (38''6''3, 23 KOs) in St. Jakobshalle, Basel, Switzerland. Valuev won the match, successfully defending his title, after McCline was not able to continue the bout after injuring his knee when throwing a punch near the end of the 3rd round.
- Loss of WBA title to Chagaev[edit]The title defence was held on 14 April 2007. Chagaev defeated Valuev by a majority decision (117''111, 115''113 and 114''114).
- Valuev changed trainers, from Manuel Gabrielian to Alexander Zimin, who coached the old Soviet Union amateur boxing team.
- On 29 September 2007, Valuev won against Jean-Francois Bergeron in Oldenburg, Germany, by a 12-round unanimous decision (118''111 on all three cards).[10]
- Second reign as WBA champion[edit]In a 16 February 2008, title eliminator, Valuev defeated former titleholder Sergei Liakhovich from Belarus, winning every round at the Nuremberg Arena in Germany.[11] The victory earned Valuev the right to face Chagaev for the WBA title again, the only man who had defeated him in his boxing career. He was scheduled to face Chagaev for his WBA title on 5 July 2008, but Chagaev pulled out with an injury. Valuev instead fought John Ruiz for the vacant title on 30 August 2008 and the WBA decided to make Chagaev "Champion In Recess". Valuev defeated Ruiz by unanimous decision to regain the WBA heavyweight championship, with Valuev and Chagaev set to fight no later than 26 June 2009 to determine whom the WBA regarded as their champion.[12] Their scheduled rematch on 30 May 2009 was cancelled due to Chagaev's viral infection and on 24 July 2009, when the WBA published their Official Ratings as of June 2009, Chagaev was no longer the "Champion In Recess" but the No. 1 challenger instead.
- Valuev's first title defence of his second reign as WBA Champion was against the 46-year old, four-time heavyweight champion of the world, Evander Holyfield, on 20 December 2008, in which Valuev won a controversial majority decision. Before the match, Valuev weighed 310.8 pounds (141 kg), nearly 100 pounds heavier than Holyfield at 214.3 pounds (97 kg).[13]
- Loss of WBA title to Haye[edit]In his second defence, Valuev lost his title on 7 November 2009 against former unified and lineal cruiserweight champion David Haye in Nuremberg on points (114''114, 116''112, 116''112).[14]
- Retirement from boxing and health problems[edit]Valuev announced his retirement from boxing in a Russian newspaper three days after the loss to Haye on 10 November 2009.
- In 2010, Valuev's doctor went on record saying that he is treating Valuev for "serious bone and joint problems".[15] Valuev underwent two operations that required at least six months on the sidelines.
- Valuev confirmed in 2013 that medical advice was one of the reasons he is not planning to make a comeback in boxing.[16]
- Acting career and advertising[edit]Valuev's first role in a film was a cameo appearance in the German film7 Zwerge '' Der Wald ist nicht genug in 2006.[17] In 2008 Valuev played the main role in the film Stonehead by Philip Yankovskiy, playing an ex-boxer who lost his memory.[18] The film took the main prize at the film festival "Window to Europe".[19] After the success of Stonehead, it was announced Valuev is being filmed in two new films at the same time.[20]
- Nikolai Valuev has participated in several photo and video advertisements of various products and services. In November 2009 he signed a promotional contract with a German sausage manufacturer, making Valuev the face of the company's advertisement campaign for five years.[citation needed] Nikolai Valuev is also planning to open a family restaurant in Germany. In August 2010, Valuev signed a promotional contract with Pokerstars poker portal, which is going to achieve professional success in this game.[citation needed]
- Valuev's distinctive appearance and fame have occasionally attracted the use of his images in advertising without his permission. In particular, the Penza theatre "Contemporary" for some time before the movie showing the film, where Nikolai Valuev acts as a man who punishes the audience disturbing others. Nikolai Valuev, upon learning about this, sued the theatre for damages amounting to 2 million rubles. In 2011, Nikolai Valuev is involved in the advertising power of "Interskol" as well as in advertising MTS.[citation needed]
- Political career[edit]In December 2011 Russian parliamentary election he became a member of Duma through the United Russia Party. On 17 December 2012, Valuev supported[21] the law in the Russian Parliament banning adoption of Russian orphans by citizens of the US.
- Involvement in other sports[edit]In 2011, Valuev became the General Manager of Russia national bandy team and he also has as a task to develop the so-called Russian hockey in the country.[22][23] He is also the Vice-President of the All Russian Bandy Federation[2]. Bandy is considered a national sport in Russia.[24]
- Nikolai Valuev Boxing School[edit]In 2009, Nikolai Valuev, together with a group of coaches, created "Nikolay Valuev Boxing School" with offices in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Oblast. The school is based on three types of age groups: pupils (school terms 3-5), students (terms 6-8) and adults. School pupils participate and compete in various boxing matches, including the "Valuev Cup" youth boxing tournament, which became a regular competition in St. Petersburg.[25]
- Valuev Youth Sports Foundation[edit]The Valuev Foundation was opened on 13 September 2010. The fund was established to promote regular physical exercise among young people to enable children of different social backgrounds play sports, to further their education and strengthen the principles of sport, as well as spread the ideals of sports into other areas.
- Filmography[edit]2001 - The town, Issue ' 892003 - Playing without rules - cameo2006 - 7 Dwarfs: And a little wood2008 - Rock Head - Yegor Golovin "Rock Head"2009 - Path - a prisoner nicknamed "The Beast"2009 - Fight without rules - Nicholas Shafts2011 - Antique Watches - cameo2013 - Bigfoot Files - HimselfProfessional boxing record[edit]50 Wins (34 Knockouts), 2 Losses, 1 No Contest[26]ResultRecordOpponentTypeRd., TimeDateLocationNotesLoss50''21 NCDavid HayeMD112009-11-07Nuremberg Arena, Nuremberg, GermanyLost WBA Heavyweight title.Win50''11 NCEvander HolyfieldMD122008-12-20Hallenstadion, Zurich, SwitzerlandDefended WBA Heavyweight title.Win49''11 NCJohn RuizUD122008-08-30Max Schmeling Halle, Prenzlauer Berg, GermanyWon vacant WBA Heavyweight title.Win48''11 NCSiarhei LiakhovichUD122008-02-16Nuremberg Arena, Nuremberg, GermanyWBA Heavyweight title eliminator.Win47''11 NCJean Francois BergeronUD122007-09-29EWE Arena, Oldenburg, GermanyLoss46''11 NCRuslan ChagaevMD122007-04-14Porsche Arena, Stuttgart, GermanyLost WBA Heavyweight title.Win46''01 NCJameel McClineRTD3 (12), 3:002007-01-20 St. Jakob Halle, Basel, SwitzerlandDefended WBA Heavyweight title.Win45''01 NCMonte BarrettTKO11 (12), 2:122006-10-07Allstate Arena, Rosemont, United StatesDefended WBA Heavyweight title.Win44''01 NCOwen BeckTKO3 (12), 2:442006-06-03TUI Arena, Hannover, GermanyDefended WBA Heavyweight title.Win43''01 NCJohn RuizMD122005-12-17Max Schmeling Halle, Prenzlauer Berg, GermanyWon WBA Heavyweight title.Win42''01 NCLarry DonaldMD122005-10-01EWE Arena, Oldenburg, GermanyDefended WBA Inter-Continental Heavyweight title and WBA Heavyweight title eliminator.Win41''01 NCClifford EtienneKO3 (12), ?2005-05-14 Oberfrankenhalle, Bayreuth, GermanyDefended WBA Inter-Continental Heavyweight title.Win40''01 NCAttila LevinTKO3 (12), 2:342005-02-12Max Schmeling Halle, Prenzlauer Berg, GermanyDefended WBA Inter-Continental Heavyweight title.Win39''01 NCGerald NoblesDQ4 (12), 0:422004-11-20 BigBox, Kempten, GermanyDefended WBA Inter-Continental Heavyweight title. Nobles disqualified for repeated low blows.Win38''01 NCPaolo VidozTKO9 (12), 2:332004-10-09Messehalle, Erfurt, GermanyWon vacant WBA Inter-Continental Heavyweight title.Win37''01 NCRichard BangoTKO6 (10), 1:502004-07-24 Brandenburg Halle, Frankfurt, GermanyWon Interim WBA Inter-Continental heavyweight title.Win36''01 NCMarcelo DominguezUD82004-04-17Max Schmeling Halle, Prenzlauer Berg, GermanyWin35''01 NCDicky RyanTKO1 (10), 2:432004-02-28 Mehrzweckhalle, Dresden, GermanyWin34''01 NC Otis TisdaleKO1 (8), ?2003-10-04 Stadthalle, Zwickau, GermanyWin33''01 NCBob MirovicUD82003-08-16Nuerburgring Race Track, N¼rburg, GermanyWin32''01 NC Vitali ShkrabaTKO4 (10), ?2003-07-18 Belarusian State Circus, Minsk, BelarusWin31''01 NC Pedro Daniel FrancoUD122003-03-15Yubileyny Sports Palace, Saint Petersburg, RussiaDefended PABA Heavyweight title.Win30''01 NCKostiantyn PryziukRTD3 (10), 3:002002-10-10 Casino Conti, Saint Petersburg, RussiaDefended Russian Heavyweight title.Win29''01 NCTaras BidenkoUD122002-07-21Seoul, South KoreaDefended PABA Heavyweight title.Win28''01 NCYaroslav ZavorotnyiTKO3 (10), ?2002-06-15Druzhba Palace of Sports, DonetskUkraineWin27''01 NC Toakipa TasefaUD122001-09-28Yubileyny Sports Palace, Saint Petersburg, RussiaDefended PABA Heavyweight title.Win26''01 NC George LinbergerTKO1 (12), ?2001-06-30Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, United StatesDefended PABA Heavyweight title.Win25''01 NC Vitali ShkrabaTKO4 (8), ?2001-03-06Moscow, RussiaDefended PABA Heavyweight title.Win24''01 NC Tone FisoTKO1 (12), ?2000-10-29Yubileyny Sports Palace, Saint Petersburg, RussiaWon PABA Heavyweight title.Win23''01 NCYuriy YelistratovUD122000-06-06Yubileyny Sports Palace, Saint Petersburg, RussiaWon Interim PABA heavyweight title.Win22''01 NC Yuri NikolaevTKO2 (6), ?2000-03-10Novosibirsk, RussiaWin21''01 NC Aleksei VarakinKO1 (12), ?1999-12-15Saint Petersburg, RussiaDefended Russian Heavyweight title.Win20''01 NC James McQueenKO1 (6), ?1999-06-25Prague, Czech RepublicNC19''01 NC Andreas SidonNC61999-05-07Prague, Czech RepublicNC due to fighting without a referee.Win19''0 John TupouTKO4 (10), ?1999-02-13 Ariake Colosseum, Tokyo, JapanWin18''0 Aleksei OsokinTKO6 (10), ?1999-01-22 Casino Conti, Saint Petersburg, RussiaWon vacant Russian Heavyweight title.Win17''0 Evgeny OdolskyKO1 (6), ?1998-12-19 Casino Conti, Saint Petersburg, RussiaWin16''0 James GainesUD61998-06-09Moscow, RussiaWin15''0 Jim HuffmanTKO2 (4), ?1998-03-14Olympisky Sport Hall, Moscow, RussiaWin14''0 Sinclair BabbTKO1 (6), 2:051997-12-06Stockland Stadium, Townsville, AustraliaWin13''0 Alarim UysalTKO2 (6), ?1997-11-08Ballsporthalle, Frankfurt, GermanyWin12''0Kevin RosierKO1 (6), ?1997-09-27Moscow, RussiaWin11''0 August TanuvasaTKO1 (6), 2:441997-08-21 Bankstown RSL Club, Sydney, AustraliaWin10''0 Rodney HarrisUD41997-07-26Yokohama Arena, Kanagawa, JapanWin9''0 Terrell NelsonTKO2 (4), 1:261997-05-31Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, United StatesWin8''0 Manao NavuilawaTKO1 (4), 1:241997-05-09 Bankstown Sports Club, Sydney, AustraliaWin7''0 Patrick SladeTKO1 (4), 1:591997-03-21 Parramatta RSL Club, Sydney, AustraliaWin6''0 Darren FearnTKO1 (6), ?1996-11-26York Hall, London, EnglandWin5''0 Neil KirkwoodTKO2 (4), ?1996-10-08 Town Hall, London, EnglandWin4''0 Sergei AnikeevKO2 (4), ?1995-02-16Saint Petersburg, RussiaWin3''0 Aleksei TsygankovKO3 (4), ?1994-04-15Saint Petersburg, RussiaWin2''0 Aleksandr VasilievUD41994-02-22Saint Petersburg, RussiaWin1''0 John MortonTKO2 (4), ?1993-10-15 Sporthalle, Sch¶neberg, GermanyValuev's professional debut.References[edit]^Ð Ð°Ð·Ð¼ÐµÑ Ð¸Ð¼ÐµÐµÑ Ð·Ð½Ð°Ñение^Ð'аÐ>>Ñев ÑÑаÐ>> еÑе ÑиÐ>>Ñнее, а ÐÑÑ
Ð¾Ð²Ð¸Ñ ÐоÐаÐ>> в боÐ>>ÑниÑÑ '' бокÑ, Ð'аÐ>>Ñев '' РоÑбаÐ>>Ñ-ÐеÑеÑбÑÑÐ"^Ð'икоÐ>>ай ''Beast from the east'' Ð'аÐ>>Ñев >> Paradyz.ru^ÐвÑÑенник, бÑвÑий бокÑеÑ-Ð>>ÑбиÑеÐ>>Ñ, бÐ>>аÐ"оÑÐ>>овиÐ>> Ð'аÐ>>Ñева на бой Ñ Ð Ñизом ÐÑавоÑÐ>>авие.Ru^"Ð'ои 12 ÑаÑндов" [My 12 rounds] (in Russian). TimeOut Moscow. Retrieved 21 May 2013. ^"Ð'икоÐ>>ай Ð'аÐ>>Ñев ÐоÐ>>ÑÑиÐ>> Ð>>иÑеÑаÑÑÑнÑÑ ÐÑÐµÐ¼Ð¸Ñ Ð·Ð° авÑобиоÐ"ÑаÑÐ¸Ñ '' ÐокÑ/MMA". Sports.ru. Retrieved 2010-07-28. ^"Valuev: "I faced with typical Russian boorishness aggravated with alcohol"". Rin.ru. 2007-01-21. ^"Russia's 'Beast from the East' in security guard assault scandal". RIA Novosti. 2006-01-26. ^7-foot giant claims WBA heavyweight title '' Boxing- NBC Sports. Nbcsports.msnbc.com (2005-12-17). Retrieved on 2011-04-19.^Rafael, Dan (2007-08-14). "Ex-champ Valuev to fight Bergeron in Germany". ESPN. ^"Valuev dominates Liakhovich!". ^"Ruslan Chagaev". ^Holyfield, 46, faces Valuev for heavyweight title, Associated Press, 20 December 2008.^"Loss to David Haye '' BBC Website". BBC News. 2009-11-07. Retrieved 2010-05-20. ^"Valuev future in doubt". Sky Sports. Retrieved 25 August 2010. ^"Ex-champ Valuev talks Klitschko reign, Haye v Fury and retirement". "Through care, as well as health and medical recommendations, I was advised that fighting would not be good for me and so I will stay retired." ^"7 Zwerge full cast". imdb.com. Retrieved 2012-11-03. ^ÐиноÐаноÑама '' ÐÐ>>оÐ" ÐºÐ¾Ð¼Ð°Ð½Ð´Ñ Ð'икоÐ>>Ð°Ñ Ð'аÐ>>Ñева '' ÐÐ¾ÐºÑ '' Sports.ru^"ÐинокаÑÑина Ñ ÑÑаÑÑием Ð'аÐ>>Ñева ÐоÐ>>ÑÑиÐ>>а ÐÑиз киноÑеÑÑиваÐ>>Ñ "Ðкно в ÐвÑоÐÑ" '' ÐокÑ/MMA". Sports.ru. Retrieved 2010-07-28. ^"Ð'аÐ>>Ñев ÑнимаеÑÑÑ ÑÑÐ°Ð·Ñ Ð² ÑÑеÑ
ÑиÐ>>ÑмаÑ
'' ÐокÑ/MMA". Sports.ru. Retrieved 2010-07-28. ^[1]^Bandy information on the official home page of Nikolai Valuev^'Beast from the East' welcomed into national bandy team setup^"Russian bandy players blessed for victory at world championship in Kazan". Tatar-Inform. 2011-01-21. Retrieved 2009-08-31. ^"Ð'икоÐ>>ай Ð'аÐ>>Ñев оÑкÑÑÐ>> ÑкоÐ>>Ñ Ð±Ð¾ÐºÑа в ÐеÑеÑбÑÑÐ"е" [Nikolai Valuev opened a boxing school in Peterburg] (in Russian). Baltinfo. 27 September 2010. Retrieved 21 May 2013. ^Nikolay Valuev '' Boxer. Boxrec.com. Retrieved on 2011-04-19.External links[edit]
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- Star Russian Parliamentarians Arrive in Crimea | World | RIA Novosti
- SEVASTOPOL, February 27 (RIA Novosti) '' A clutch of high-profile Russian parliamentarians arrived in the Ukrainian city of Sevastopol on Thursday as unrest in the region spread.
- Boxing champion Nikolai Valuev, former figure skater Irina Rodnina, and the first woman in space Valentina Tereshkova were photographed in the central square of Sevastopol, which has been the focal point of pro-Russia protests in the city since it was the site of a Sunday rally attended by up to 20,000 people.
- ''I arrived in Sevastopol to support residents of Crimea. Friends, Russia is with you!'' Valuev wrote on Twitter.
- Ethnic Russians make up the majority of the population of Crimea, which has been alarmed by belligerent nationalist rhetoric coming out of Kiev following the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych over the weekend.
- Speakers at pro-Russia rallies across Crimea in recent days have condemned the incoming regime in Kiev as fascist and called for Russian intervention. Armed men seized the regional parliament in Simferopol overnight and remain in control of the building, which is currently cordoned off by police.
- Valuev also tweeted that there was an ongoing ''information war'' about events in Ukraine, and said he was there to find out what was happening on the ground.
- Another Russian parliament member, Communist deputy Anatoly Lokot, also appeared to be in Sevastopol on Thursday. Lokot tweeted a photograph of himself with the city's pro-Russia leader, Alexei Chaly, whose supporters are striving to get recognized as the city's mayor, despite his Russian citizenship.
- The prominent deputies from Russia's parliament are the latest in a string of senior Russian officials to visit the troubled region.
- Sergei Mironov, leader of opposition party A Just Russia, said on his personal website that he held talks with Russia's consul in Crimea and visited the Black Sea fleet base in Sevastopol on Thursday.
- Leonid Slutsky, who heads the Russian parliament's committee for relations with former Soviet States, arrived in Crimea on Monday evening for a 24-hour visit.
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- REPORT: Ukrainian Warship Defects To Russia | Business Insider
- Ukrainian Navy flagship Hetman Sahaidachny has reportedly refused orders from Kiev and defected to the Russian side, a Russian senator has claimed in an interview with Ivestia Daily.
- ''Ukraine's Navy flagship the Hetman Sahaidachny has come over to our side today. It has hung out the St Andrew's flag,'' Sen. Igor Morozov, a member of the committee on the international affairs, told Izvestia. ''The crew has fulfilled the order by the chief commander of Ukraine's armed forces Viktor Yanukovych.''
- The ship recently took part in counter-piracy patrols with EU naval forces and was sailing towards its homeport of Sevastopol, Naval Today reports.
- Ousted Ukraine President Yanukovych, under Kremlin protection in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, railed against those who forced him out of power in a press conference on Feb. 28, calling them ''radical mobsters'' who took over the country.
- ''I believe that the Ukrainian parliament is not legitimate,'' he said.
- This is a developing story, and this post will be updated as we learn more.
- Follow Business Insider Australia on Facebook and Twitter
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- Facts you need to know about Crimea and why it is in turmoil '-- RT News
- Published time: February 27, 2014 04:51Edited time: February 28, 2014 12:35Ukrainian police separate ethnic Russians (L) and Crimean Tatars during rallies near the Crimean parliament building in Simferopol February 26, 2014. (Reuters / Baz Ratner)
- With its multinational society and a long history of conquests, the Crimean Peninsula has always been a crossroads of cultures '' and a hotbed of conflicts. Amid Ukrainian turmoil, every ethnic group of Crimeans has its own vision of the region's future.
- What is Crimea?Now known as Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the picturesque peninsula shooting out into Black Sea from mainland Ukraine was for centuries colonized and conquered by historic empires and nomadic tribes. Greeks, Scythians, Byzantians and the Genoese have all left traces of their presence in Crimean archeological sites and placenames.
- The Russian Empire annexed the territory of Crimea in the last quarter of the 18th century, after a number of bloody wars with the Ottoman Empire.
- As part of the 1774 Kuchuk-Kainarji peace treaty the Crimean Khanate, previously subordinate to Ottomans and notorious for its brutal and perpetual slave raids into East Slavic lands, aligned itself with Russia. Soon Empress Catherine the Great abolished the Crimean Khanate, giving them a historic Greek name of Taurida.
- Soviet citizens got to know Crimea as an ''all-Union health resort,'' with many of those born in the Soviet Union sharing nostalgic memories of children's holiday camps and seaside.
- Who lives there now?The majority of those living in Crimea today are ethnic Russians '' almost 1,200,000 or around 58.3 percent of the population, according to the last national census conducted back in 2001. Some 24 percent are Ukrainians (around 500,000) and 12 percent are Crimean Tatars. However, in the Crimea's largest city of Sevastopol, which is considered a separate region of Crimea, there are very few Crimean Tatars and around 22 percent of Ukrainians, with over 70 percent of the population being Russians.
- An absolute majority of the Crimean population (97 percent) use Russian as their main language, according to a Kiev International Institute of Sociology poll. One of the first decisions of the interim Kiev government directly hit Crimea, as it revoked a law that allowed Russian and other minority languages to be recognized as official in multicultural regions.
- What's happening now?After the Ukrainian President was ousted and an interim government was established in Kiev, the Russian majority started protesting outside the regional parliament, urging local MPs not to support it. They want the Autonomous Region to return to the constitution of 1992, under which Crimea briefly had its own president and independent foreign policy.
- The parliament of the Crimean Autonomous Region was due to declare on Wednesday the region's official position toward the new authorities in Kiev. The Mejlis of the Crimean Tatars has spoken out sharply against holding a parliamentary session on the issue, expressing their support for the new central authorities. Back in 2012 members of the Mejlis ran for parliamentary elections as part of Yulia Tymoshenko's bloc and remain active supporters of the revolutionary Kiev government.
- Two separate rallies, consisting of several thousand protesters, faced each other in front of the parliament building in the Crimean capital, Simferopol. Two people have died as a result of scuffles and stampede and about 30 were injured, before the head of the Mejlis, Refat Chubarov, called for the participants of the rally to go home peacefully. While the Mejlis represents only around 20 percent of the minority, they claim to be the voice of the whole Tatar population. Many of the Crimean Tatars actually participated in the stand-off on the side of pro-Russian forces.
- Following the example of Kiev, vigilante groups are being formed, with about 3,500 people already patrolling the streets of Crimea along with police to prevent any provocations.
- After the central government in Kiev disbanded the Berkut special police task force, new authorities in Sevastopol have refused to comply and welcomed all Berkut officers who feel intimidated to come to live in Crimea with their families. Sevastopol earlier elected a new mayor after the popular gathering ousted the local government, which tried to cling to power by pledging allegiance to Kiev's new rulers.
- Impact of 2014 change of power in KievTurmoil in the Crimean Autonomous Region began after the new Ukrainian authorities revoked a law that gave legal grounds for regional use of minority languages, including Russian. The 2012 law allowed predominantly Russian-speaking regions of Ukraine to use Russian in official business, education and some other areas.
- Official Kiev also proposed an initiative that would prohibit officials from the former regime from occupying official posts.
- Abolition of the regional language law sparked controversy throughout Ukraine. Even in the most nationalistic western regions of the country, people spoke against the reforms.
- In the stronghold of the far-right opposition, Lvov citizens announced a day of the Russian language, calling on all locals to speak Russian for one day in solidarity with the Russian population of Ukraine.
- How was Crimea separated from Russia?
- In 1954, a controversial decision of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, himself an ethnic Ukrainian, transferred the Crimea peninsula to the Ukrainian SSR, extracting it from Russian territory.
- Following the breakup of the Soviet Union, Khrushchev's ''gift'' has been widely criticized by many Russians, including the majority of those living in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.
- Adding to the confusion was also the status of Soviet-era Sevastopol, which not only remained the largest Crimean city, but also retained its special strategic and military profile. In 1948, Sevastopol was separated from the surrounding region and made directly subordinate to Moscow. Serving as an important Soviet naval base, it remained a ''closed city'' for years.
- In the 1990s, the status of Sevastopol became the subject of endless debates between Russia and Ukraine. Following negotiations, the city with the surrounding territories was granted a special ''state significance'' status within the Ukrainian state, and some of the naval facilities were leased to Russia for its Black Sea Fleet until at least 2047. However, the city's Russian majority and some outspoken Russian politicians still consider it to be a part of Russia.
- Ethnic controversyBy the beginning of the 20th century, Russians and the Crimean Tatars were equally predominant ethnic groups in Crimea, followed by Ukrainian, Jewish and other minorities. Crimea was both a royal resort and an inspiration for some of the great Russian poets, writers and artists, some of whom lived or were born there.
- During WWII some 20,000 Crimean Tatars allied with the Nazi German occupants, but many others also fought the Germans within the Soviet Army. Citing the collaboration of Crimean Tatars with the Nazis, Joseph Stalin ordered the whole ethnic group to be deported from Crimea to several Central Asian Soviet republics. Officially, 183,155 people were deported from Crimea, followed by about 9,000 Crimean Tatar WWII veterans. That made up about 19 percent of the Crimean population on the eve of war, almost half of which was by then Russian.
- While the move was officially criticized by the communist leadership as early as in 1967, the Tatars were de facto unable to return to Crimea until the late 1980s. The tragic events surrounding Stalin's deportation obviously shaped the ethnic group's detestation of the Soviet regime.
- Referendums and hopesIn 1991, the people of Crimea took part in several referendums. One proclaimed the region an Autonomous Republic within the Soviet Union, with 93.26 percent of the voters supporting the move. As the events unfolded fast, another one was already asking if the Crimeans supported the independence of Ukraine from the Soviet Union '' a question that gathered 54 percent support. However, a referendum on Crimea's independence from Ukraine was indefinitely banned from being held, leading critics to assert that their lawful rights were oppressed by Kiev authorities.
- Complicating the issue was the return of the Crimean Tatars, who not only started to resettle in tens of thousands, but also rivaled local authorities. The Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People was formed to represent the rights and interests of the ethnic minority. Although it was never officially recognized as an official organization, the body has enjoyed undisputed authority over most of Crimean Tatars and has successfully pushed for some concessions for the ethnic group in local laws.
- While the Crimean Tatar re-settlers and the peninsula's current Russian majority have learned to understand one another as neighbors, hardcore politicians from both ethnic groups also created grounds for a heated standoff. Calls for wider autonomy and aggressive lobbying for Crimean Tatar rights have prompted several pro-Russian Crimean political leaders to call the Mejlis an ''organized criminal group'' leading ''unconstitutional'' activities. The remarks sparked furious claims of ''discrimination'' from the Crimean Tatar community.
- What happens next?The ultimate goal of the ethnic Russian population protesting in Crimea is to hold a referendum on whether the region should retain its current status as an autonomous region in Ukraine, to become independent, or become part of Russia again. In the meantime, they claim to have a right to disobey orders of the ''illegal'' central government.
- The Mejlis Tatar group, meanwhile, feels that ethnic Russians are trying to ''tear Crimea away from Ukraine'' excluding them from deciding the land's fate. They however represent only a small portion of the Tatar minority, while the rest remain apolitical or even support the Crimea's right for self-determination.
- Right-wing radicals from Western Ukraine earlier threatened to send the so-called ''trains of friendship'' full of armed fighters in order to crush any signs of resistance to the revolution they were fighting so hard for.
- The Kiev authorities busy with appointing roles in the revolutionary government in the meantime embraced a soft approach towards Crimea. The interim interior minister even did not undertake any ''drastic measures'' to arrest fugitive ousted President Yanukovich, fearing that may spark unrest.
- Russia repeatedly confirmed it does not doubt Crimea is a part of Ukraine, even though it understands the emotions of the residents of the region. This week Russian MPs initiated a bill that will allow Russian citizenship within six month if the applicant successfully proves his or her Russian ethnicity. It is prepared especially to save Russian-speaking Ukrainians from possible infringement of their rights.
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- ITAR-TASS: Russia - Agreements Russian Black Sea Fleet in Crimea should be cancelled '-- Ukrainian parliament
- KIEV, February 28. /ITAR-TASS/. The Kharkiv agreements on the stay of Russia's Black Sea Fleet in Ukraine should be cancelled, Ukrainian parliament deputy Oleg Lyashko said.''Due to Russia's position on Crimea the Kharkiv agreements should be immediately denounced,'' the deputy said.
- On April 21, 2010 in Kharkiv, the Presidents of Russia and Ukraine, Dmitry Medvedev and Viktor Yanukovych signed a historical agreement. Under the document, Ukraine will get a 10-year-discount on Russian gas. In return Yanukovych agreed to extend the Black Sea Fleet's lease in Sevastopol by 25 years.
- In June 2010 Medvedev and Yanukovych signed a law on ratification of the agreement to extend the Black Sea Fleet's presence in the Crimea after 2017 for another 25 years.
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- Russian troops take over Ukraine's Crimea region
- If the Ukrainian interim president Oleksandr Turchynov means what he said earlier, that any intervention by Russia is to be considered an act of war and will lead to war, then expect war to happen soon.
- Putin sought and quickly got his parliament's approval to use its military to protect Russia's interests across Ukraine. But while sometimes-violent pro-Russian protests broke out Saturday in a number of Russian-speaking regions of eastern Ukraine, Moscow's immediate focus appeared to be Crimea.
- Tensions increased when Ukraine's acting president, Oleksandr Turchynov, made a late night announcement that he had ordered the country's armed forces to be at full readiness because of the threat of ''potential aggression.''
- The Kremlin website said Putin told Obama that Russian troops may send its troops not only to Crimea but all of predominantly Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine due to ''the existence of real threats'' to Russian citizens in Ukrainian territory.
- ''Vladimir Putin emphasized that, in the case of a further spread in violence in eastern regions and Crimea, Russia maintains the right to protect its interests and the Russian-speaking population that lives there,'' the statement on the website said.
- In Crimea, the new pro-Russian prime minister '-- who came to power after the gunmen swept into parliament on Thursday '-- claimed control of the military and police and asked Putin for help in keeping peace. There was no visible presence of Ukrainian troops Saturday.
- The deputy premier in the Crimean government told Russian news agency RIA Novsti that Ukrainian troops were disarmed and others joined the Crimean people to help patrol the territory. The report couldn't immediately be confirmed.
- Crimean Tatars, the historic hosts of the land who make up 12 percent of the island's population and stand strongly for Crimea remaining part of Ukraine, didn't put up any visible resistance Saturday.
- ''The last two or three days have turned around the life of all the people in Crimea,'' said Refat Chubarov, a Crimean Tatar leader. ''They've taken over military bases and civil institutions. That's why Crimean society is filled with fear. People are afraid of everyone and everything.''
- Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt summed the situation up simply: ''What's happening in Crimea is a Russian takeover. There is no doubt about that,'' he told Swedish Radio. ''Russian military forces are involved and there has been a local takeover of power.''
- Moscow has remained silent on claims that Russian troops are already in control of much of the peninsula, saying any troop movements are within agreed-upon rules governing the semi-autonomous Ukrainian region.
- Meanwhile, flights remained halted at Simferopol's airport. Dozens of armed men in military uniforms without markings patrolled the area. They didn't stop or search people leaving or entering the airport, and refused to talk to journalists.
- Full article: Russian troops take over Ukraine's Crimea region (MSN)
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- Russian Parliament Approves Use of Military in Ukraine, Specifically Crimea
- By Michael RozeffOn Thursday morning, I made one of my rare predictions: ''Putin is more than posturing, however. He will use his army to hold Crimea. Over 150,000 troops are doing a 'military exercise'. The option of splitting off part of Ukraine also remains open.'' This was based on several considerations, including the military exercise, the importance of Crimea to Russia, and the additional severe political blow to Putin and Russia if Ukraine were to suppress the ethnic Russians in Crimea or boot out the Russians.Now the Russian Senate in a 90-0 vote has given Putin authority to use the military in Crimea. Putin's official rationale is to protect Russian citizens and military forces in Crimea. This rationale is identical to rationales we hear from American presidents when they move forces around the world. Hence, we need give no weight in terms of a consistent position to the posturings of Obama and McCain in this matter. Not that there is any way, in the first place, to justify that U.S. forces be used to protect U.S. citizens who privately choose to do business or travel across the globe.McCain spoke of Russia's ''infiltration'' as a ''great danger''. Hardly. He's the danger if he means to confront Russia over this. It is a very good thing, relatively speaking, that McCain never made it to the White House!Obama is bad enough. We do have to give weight to potential errors of judgment of Obama and others in the U.S. government who may decide to raise the stakes in some manner in this very dangerous game and confront Russia. We do have to understand that Obama almost blundered into war with and in Syria by foolishly adopting a red line. We do have to understand that Obama has planted the seed corn of many future U.S. involvements in conflicts by his expansion and entrenching of AFRICOM in Africa. We do have to understand that neocons still permeate official offices in Washington and that they are brainless warmongering idiots, lacking in all good sense, prudence and judgment, and totally unqualified for their positions.
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- Barack Obama Skips National Security Meeting While Putin Moves On Ukraine
- WTF??????? Even for an incompetent boob who hides behind the man pants of Valerie Jarrett, this is behavior bordering on the bizarre '' behavior that is signaling to the world, ''Don't worry about America, we won't do sh*t.'' If Congress had more true leaders and far fewer gutless politicians, they would, at the very least, be calling for a competence review of one Barack H. Obama. Russia is massing troops, and Barack Obama can't be bothered to sit in a on briefing of what is happening? Not since Nero has a world leader shown so little regard for the safety and well being of his own people, and allies.
- __________________________________
- (via The Weekly Standard)
- A White House official emailed some reporters to say that President Obama's team met today to discuss the ongoing situation on Ukraine. It appears President Obama did not attend.
- ''The President's national security team met today to receive an update on the situation in Ukraine and discuss potential policy options. We will provide further updates later this afternoon,'' reads the full statement.
- According to Time magazine's Zeke Miller, Obama skipped the meeting. ''Obama did not attend the meeting, but WH official says he has been briefed by Susan Rice and his national security team,'' says Miller. LINK
- Susan Rice is said to have ''briefed'' the president. The same Susan Rice who went out after the Benghazi Massacre and repeated time and again the lie that it was NOT a terrorist attack, but rather a demonstration by some angry Muslims over a YouTube video, even though our own military intelligence called it a terrorist attack as it was happening in real time.
- Also note how the White House says he did not attend the briefing by his national security team, but then later, a WH official says that the president ''has been briefed by Susan Rice and his national security team.''
- Susan Rice isn't updating Barack Obama, she's updating Valerie Jarrett, because it is Jarrett who placed Rice in the position of spokesperson after the Benghazi Massacre, it is Jarrett who rewarded Rice for her lying performance by making her national security adviser, and it is Jarrett who is now overseeing the weak, conflicting, and ultimately very dangerous, reaction/non-reaction that has been the United States' position regarding recent events in Europe.
- Valerie Jarrett is the first unelected President of the United States. Guess that makes her a full on dictator then.
- Anyone catch her highly defensive ''I'm the one in charge here'' performance with Bill O'Reilly this past week? If you've never actually seen how Valerie Jarrett operates, it's a good look at who has been running this country that last five years.
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- Russia might invade Ukraine if Obama wins, Palin warns
- Share +Twitter Facebook Google + Reddit
- Speaking Tuesday at a rally in a Reno, Nevada, Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin had a little fun with her counterpart on the Democratic ticket, thanking Joe Biden for warning Barack Obama's supporters to "gird your loins" for an international crisis if the Illinois senator wins.
- Palin helpfully offered four scenarios for such a crisis, one of which was this strange one:
- After the Russian Army invaded the nation of Georgia, Senator Obama's reaction was one of indecision and moral equivalence, the kind of response that would only encourage Russia's Putin to invade Ukraine next.
- As we've said before, this is an extremely far-fetched scenario. And given how Russia has been able to unsettle Ukraine's pro-Western government without firing a shot, I don't see why violence would be necessary to bring Kiev to heel. Watch the upcoming parliamentary elections in December to see if Moscow gets the pliable new government it wants.
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- Russia Seeks Access to Bases in Eight Countries for Its Ships and Bombers | CNS News
- Russia says it is negotiating with Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Algeria, Cyprus, the Seychelles, Vietnam and Singapore about access to facilities that can be used by its navy and strategic bombers. (Image: Google Maps)
- (CNSNews.com) '' At a time of escalated tensions with the West over Ukraine, Russia says it is negotiating with eight governments around the world for access to military facilities, to enable it to extend its long-range naval and strategic bomber capabilities.
- Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Wednesday the military was engaged in talks with Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Algeria, Cyprus, the Seychelles, Vietnam and Singapore.
- ''We need bases for refueling near the equator, and in other places,'' ITAR-Tass quoted him as saying.
- Russia is not looking to establish bases in those locations, but to reach agreement to use facilities there when required.
- The countries are all strategically located '' in three leftist-ruled countries close to the U.S.; towards either end of the Mediterranean; in the Indian Ocean south of the Gulf of Aden; and near some of the world's most important shipping lanes in the Malacca Strait and South China Sea.
- Access to the new locations would extend the Russian military's potential reach well beyond its existing extraterritorial bases, at the Syrian port of Tartus and in former Soviet states '' Ukraine's Sevastopol, Armenia, Belarus, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and the occupied Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
- Shoigu said Russia was also beefing up its existing military presence in the post-Soviet region, doubling its troop numbers in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, and deploying a regiment of troops to Belarus where it already has fighter aircraft stationed.
- ''Russia has started reviving its navy and strategic aviation since mid-2000s, seeing them as a tool to project the Russian image abroad and to protect its national interests around the globe,'' the RIA Novosti state news agency commented.
- ''Now, Moscow needs to place such military assets in strategically important regions of the world to make them work effectively toward the goal of expanding Russia's global influence.''
- During his previous tenure at the Kremlin, President Vladimir Putin in 2002 shut down a Cold War-era radar base in Cuba and a naval base in Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam. Russia cited financial constraints, but the move was also seen at the time as an attempt to improve relations with Washington.
- The listening station near Havana had been a key intelligence facility for decades, while the Vietnamese base, which was built by the U.S. during the Vietnam War, was leased to the Soviet Union in 1979 and became the largest Soviet base in the world beyond Moscow's Warsaw Pact allies.
- Upon his return to the presidency in 2012, Putin began exploring options to renew alliances with the communist countries, and Russian Navy chief Vice Admiral Viktor Chirkov said that year Cuba and Vietnam were in the frame.
- Russia is now helping Vietnam to upgrade facilities at Cam Ranh Bay, including a submarine training center, and Russia is negotiating for preferential access to refueling and repair facilities there for its ships.
- As for the Western hemisphere, Russian Navy ships in 2008 made their first visit since the end of the Cold War, holding joint maneuvers with the Venezuelan Navy in the Caribbean, navigating the Panama Canal, and making a port call in Havana.
- Russian Navy vessels visited Cuba again in 2009 and last August '' and on Wednesday, a Russian intelligence-gathering ship, the Viktor Leonov, docked in Havana harbor with no explanation from the government or state media coverage, the Associated Press reported.
- Russian strategic bombers also visited the region in 2008 '' for the first time since long-range flights by the aircraft were halted after the Soviet Union's collapse '' and again last fall, when two Tupolev ''Blackjacks'' carried out combat training patrols between Venezuela and Nicaragua.
- Russian defense spending has been climbing sharply in the years since its last military engagement '' the invasion of Georgia in August 2008 '' and early this year it was reported to have overtaken Britain to become the world's third biggest spender, behind the U.S. and China.
- According to the British consultancy HIS Jane's, Russia's defense expenditure has more than doubled since 2007, and will have tripled by 2016. [cns-donate]
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- Vladamir Putin's Iron Shield for the World
- In a game of wins and losses..........
- Th reality is the Russian Parliament is trying to recall their Ambassador to Washington before he experiences Obama anal sex Benghazi style.
- Obama costs are not allowing Putin to rub his magic lamp later this summer.
- If Vladamir Putin was an oracle vision of evil, then it would be interesting in Ukraine becoming Soviet, as this would relate that as the Russian frontier moves east, then the oracle will not have Prague ploughed. If the frontier is Ukraine, then that is where a Great Eurasian War will start as the oracle points to.
- It is a reality that America is not Ronald Reagan good, nor is Britain Margaret Thatcher principled. America is evil, so the question is what is better for the world, Obama cartel evil or a Vladamir Putin Iron Shield of protection for the Slavs?
- The map of the Crimea is important as this is the homeland of American Germans. You will never hear this, but this part of Russia was civilized by German Israelites who later came to America.
- Crimea is vital to the Black Sea control, and the Naval heart of Russia. One must understand that Ukraine is about exposing Russia as antagonist, so the cartel can gain to soft under stomach of Russia and gut her.
- This blog first dealt with all of this, and prays that Vladamir Putin becomes the Cyrus in the Lord's hand. Vladamir Putin does not hold all the cards. The threats are the economic dismantling of Russia in "retaliation".
- From an Obama regime standpoint, he represents a greater evil than Vladamir Putin. Think of the game in this manner. Adolf Hitler wanted what the cartel took, and that was Russian people for slave labor and their resources. This is what the Neo Roman Empire desires for slave labor and for resources. What do you think the Romans would have become if they had American energy and natural resources with a combined work force.
- From an American Patriot standpoint, what is more danger? A Vladamir Putin who has not launched nuclear weapons, or a European cartel which started the American Civil War, and used America to genocide Germany and is now gutting America with the knife of Obama?Consider that cartel now as a Superpower in control of all western Asia and eastern Europe.
- In logical conclusion, a Putin is an asset to America to a point. A Putin who is a Cyrus in the Lord's hand is a complete American asset.So I pray the Lord keeps Vladamir Putin as a Christian asset.
- That is the assessment which is necessary in this, and you will not find one intelligence analysis in this as all are MIC and the cartel, none have American Christians as the focus.
- At this juncture of history, Vladamir Putin is an asset to all that is good. If he acquires the Slavic nations under his protection, then it isolates the Neo Roman Empire from power and means hundreds of millions will not be slaughtered.
- Will the cartel risk Russian spears in Rome, Warsaw, Paris, Vienna ploughing those cities compared to Prague, Bucharest, Budapest and Belgrade?The conclusion would be no.
- That is what strategic assessment reads like, and it is what you never experience.
- UPDATE: Russia Seeks Access to Bases in 8 Countries for Its Ships, Bombers...
- Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua...
- You are trying to be herded to fear Russia, which has no projection ability and could never maintain a front against America in any war.
- Sarah Palin is bragging of I TOLD YOU SO, but where in her FOX prostitution payment in leaving Patriots abandoned on the field in September 2011. Saying she told someone something, is a great deal different than projecting end game scenarios in making the right judgment now.
- That is what the Lame Cherry does by God's Grace every time.
- As Ronald Reagan said, "doveryai no proveryai".
- Trust but verify. The Lame Cherry trusts Vladamir Putin on Faith more than on the verified reality of what the Obama regime has done to Americans and the world.
- In this great tribulation, it is not the better the devil I do know in the Obama regime, but better the devil I hope bound in the Russia not going down to Sodom.agtG
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- Vladimir Putin submitted appeal to the Federation Council
- Vladimir Putin submitted an appeal to the Council of Federation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.
- ''In connection with the extraordinary situation that has developed in Ukraine and the threat to citizens of the Russian Federation, our compatriots, the personnel of the military contingent of the Russian Federation Armed Forces deployed on the territory of Ukraine (Autonomous Republic of Crimea) in accordance with international agreement; pursuant to Article 102.1 (d) of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, I hereby appeal to the Council of Federation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation to use the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine until the social and political situation in that country is normalised.''
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- Russia's Parliament Approves Putin's Call For Troops In Ukraine : The Two-Way : NPR
- hide captionYoung people look at pro-Russian armed men blocking access to the Ukrainian frontier guard base in Balaklava, a small city not far from Sevastopol, on Saturday.
- Viktor Drachev /AFP/Getty ImagesYoung people look at pro-Russian armed men blocking access to the Ukrainian frontier guard base in Balaklava, a small city not far from Sevastopol, on Saturday.
- Viktor Drachev /AFP/Getty ImagesThis post was updated at 4:50 p.m. ET.
- Russia's parliament has unanimously approved a request by President Vladimir Putin to authorize the intervention of Moscow's forces in Ukraine until "the normalization of the political situation" there. In response, Ukraine put its own forces on alert and warned that a Russian invasion would spark war between the two countries.
- Russia's Federation Council vote came quickly after a formal appeal from Putin, but seemed to only rubber-stamp what has already occurred: Ukraine's defense minister said thousands of additional Russian troops are already in the Crimea in what appeared to be a move aimed at maintaining Kremlin access to the strategic peninsula, where Russia's Black Sea fleet is based.
- After the vote, Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted by Reuters as saying:
- "[The] president [now] has received the full arsenal of means needed to resolve the situation, in terms of using [military] forces and in terms of taking decisions about [withdrawing] the head of our diplomatic mission in the United States."
- Although the additional Russian force appeared, at least for now, to be limited to the Crimean peninsula, Putin's appeal, which called for authorizing force in the whole of the country, seemed to set up the possibility of a wider intervention.
- Initially, Ukraine said 6,000 additional Russian troops had entered the country illegally, but speaking at a U.N. Security Council emergency meeting on Saturday, ambassador Vitaly Churkin said 15,000 Russian troops in Crimea.
- hide captionArmed men take up positions around the regional parliament building in the Crimean city of Simferopol on Saturday. Ukraine's defense minister said on Saturday Russia had "recently" brought 6,000 additional personnel into Ukraine.
- David Mdzinarishvili/Reuters/LandovArmed men take up positions around the regional parliament building in the Crimean city of Simferopol on Saturday. Ukraine's defense minister said on Saturday Russia had "recently" brought 6,000 additional personnel into Ukraine.
- David Mdzinarishvili/Reuters/LandovAt the same meeting, U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power said it was time for the intervention to end. "Actions speak louder than words," she said in a blunt statement to the Council.
- She called the Russian action "dangerous and destabilizing" and "without legal basis."
- The military moves, thus far involving mysterious balaclava-clad soldiers, follow the installation this week in Crimea of Sergiy Aksyono, a pro-Russian leader, and the ouster a week ago of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych.
- After Yanukovych fled to Russia last week, Aksyono asked Moscow for help in "stabilizing the region." On Saturday Aksyono claimed Saturday that he's coordinating directly with troops from Russia's Black Sea fleet and that those forces were guarding government buildings.
- Aksyono's election has been deemed illegal by Kiev.
- Russia's Interfax news agency quotes Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk as demanding that Russia "recall their forces, and return them to their stations."
- "Russian partners, stop provoking civil and military resistance in Ukraine," Yatsenyuk said in an apparent reference to pro-Russian partisans in eastern Ukraine.
- Later, after a three-hour meeting with Ukraine's security and defense chiefs, Acting President Oleksander Turchinov said the country's military had been placed on combat alert. Yatsenyuk said a Russian invasion would represent "the beginning of war and the end of any relations between Ukraine and Russia."
- The U.N. Security Council met Saturday afternoon in an open, televised session to discuss the Ukraine crisis, a meeting that followed earlier closed-door consultations. The council heard speeches from a U.N. deputy secretary-general and several ambassadors, but did not take any action.
- Yuriy Sergeyev, Ukraine's ambassador to the U.N., asked the Security Council, of which Russia is a member, to help safeguard its territorial integrity and "do everything possible now" to stop what he called Russia's "aggression."
- Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, says Russian military movements are within the purview of existing security arrangements between Kiev and Moscow.
- "We have an agreement with Ukraine on the presence of the Russian Black Sea fleet with a base in Sevastopol, and we are acting within the framework of that agreement," he told reporters after a closed-door meeting of the U.N. Security Council.
- He said Ukraine needs "to refrain from conducting a hasty presidential election. They need to stop trying to intimidate other regions and other political forces."
- U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called "for the full respect and preservation of the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine," spokesman Martin Nesirky said.
- Meanwhile, President Obama's national security team met on Saturday, a senior administration official tells Reuters. They discussed options for a response to the crisis. Obama on Friday said he is "deeply concerned" by reports coming from the region and warned of unspecified "costs" for Russia from the U.S. and the international community.
- RIA News Agency says that in a phone call between Obama and Putin, the Russian leader said his country reserves the right to protect its interests and those of Russian speakers in Ukraine.
- The diplomatic shadow boxing is the latest in what many view as an outright Russian invasion of Crimea triggered by President Viktor Yanukovych's ouster last week. Yanukovych was forced out by a months-long protest calling on Ukraine to move away from Russia and align more closely with the West. Ukraine's interim government has promised fresh elections.
- Reuters quotes Vitaly Klitschko, a senior Ukrainian politician and likely presidential candidate, as calling for a "general mobilization" of Ukrainian forces in the face of Moscow's intervention.
- Germany, which depends heavily on Russia for its natural gas supply, also had cautionary words for Moscow. Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Saturday said the situation in Crimea "had become considerably more acute."
- "Whoever pours more oil onto the flames now, with words or actions, is consciously aiming for further escalation of the situation," he said. "Everything Russia does in Crimea must be in keeping with the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and treaties on Russia's Black Sea fleet."
- "We are holding the Russian government to its public statements on this," Steinmeier said. "And this entails also that Russia provides without delay complete transparency over the movements of its troops in Crimea, as well as its goals and intentions behind these."
- U.K. Foreign Secretary William Hague has also expressed concern to his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.
- "I told Minister Lavrov that Britain supports the Ukrainian government's request for urgent consultations in accordance with the 1994 Budapest Memorandum signed by the U.K., U.S., Russia and Ukraine," Hague said, adding that London has "summoned the Russian ambassador to the Foreign Office to register our deep concerns."
- The EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, said Russia's decision was unwarranted.
- "I therefore call upon the Russian Federation not to dispatch such troops but to promote its views through peaceful means," Ashton said in a written statement on Saturday.
- She said she would meet with Lavrov after meeting with EU foreign ministers on Monday.
- NATO ambassadors were set for a meeting on Sunday to discuss Ukraine.
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- FULL TEXT-Ukraine. Memorandum on Security Assurances - Wikisource, the free online library
- The United States of America, the Russian Federation, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,
- Welcoming the accession of Ukraine to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons as a non-nuclear-weapon State,
- Taking into account the commitment of Ukraine to eliminate all nuclear weapons from its territory within a specified period of time,
- Noting the changes in the world-wide security situation, including the end of the Cold War, which have brought about conditions for deep reductions in nuclear forces.
- The United States of America, the Russian Federation, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, reaffirm their commitment to Ukraine, in accordance with the principles of the CSCE Final Act, to respect the Independence and Sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine.The United States of America, the Russian Federation, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, reaffirm their obligation to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine, and that none of their weapons will ever be used against Ukraine except in self-defense or otherwise in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.The United States of America, the Russian Federation, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, reaffirm their commitment to Ukraine, in accordance with the principles of the CSCE Final Act, to refrain from economic coercion designed to subordinate to their own interest the exercise by Ukraine of the rights inherent in its sovereignty and thus to secure advantages of any kind.The United States of America, the Russian Federation, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, reaffirm their commitment to seek immediate United Nations Security Council action to provide assistance to Ukraine, as a non-nuclear-weapon State Party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, if Ukraine should become a victim of an act of aggression or an object of a threat of aggression in which nuclear weapons are used.The United States of America, the Russian Federation, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, reaffirm, in the case of the Ukraine, their commitment not to use nuclear weapons against any non-nuclear-weapon State Party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, except in the case of an attack on themselves, their territories or dependent territories, their armed forces, or their allies, by such a state in association or alliance with a nuclear weapon state.The United States of America, the Russian Federation, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland will consult in the event a situation arises which raises a question concerning these commitments.This Memorandum will become applicable upon signature.
- Signed in four copies having equal validity in the English, Russian and Ukrainian languages.
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- Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances is an international treaty signed on 5 February 1994 in the Hungarian capital Budapest by Ukraine, the United States of America, Russia, and the United Kingdom concerning the nuclear disarmament of Ukraine and its security relationship with the signatory countries. According to the memorandum, Russia, the USA, and the UK confirmed, in recognition of Ukraine becoming party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and in effect abandoning its nuclear arsenal to Russia, that they would:[citation needed]
- Respect Ukrainian independence and sovereignty within its existing borders.Refrain from the threat or use of force against Ukraine.Refrain from using economic pressure on Ukraine in order to influence its politics.Seek United Nations Security Council action if nuclear weapons are used against Ukraine.Refrain from the use of nuclear arms against Ukraine.Consult with one another if questions arise regarding these commitments.Relevance to the 2014 Crimean crisis[edit]In February 2014, unidentified troops seized or blockaded various airports, as well as other strategic sites throughout Crimea.[1] Official Ukrainian sources have said that the troops are Russian, attached to the Russian Black Sea Fleet stationed in Crimea,[2] likely placing Russia in violation of the Budapest Memorandum. The Russian Foreign Ministry has confirmed the movement of armoured units attached to the Black Sea Fleet in Crimea, but asserts they are acting within the scope of the various agreements between the two countries, and other official Russian sources deny that the units in the area of Sevastopol International Airport, specifically, are attached to the Black Sea Fleet.[3]
- In response to the crisis, the Ukrainian parliament has requested the Memorandum's signatories reaffirm their commitment to the principles enshrined in the treaty, and further asked that they hold consultations with Ukraine to ease tensions. [4]
- See also[edit]References[edit]External links[edit]
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- Treaty would mean 'British war with Russia' if Putin's troops intervene in Ukraine | Mail Online
- The agreement sees signatories promise to protect Ukraine's bordersIt was signed by Bill Clinton, John Major, Boris Yeltsin and Leonid Kuchma in 1994Ukrainian parliament has now reached out directly to all the countries who signed the treatyPutin currently has 150,000 troops on Ukraine's borders and it is reported some have crossed into the countryPresident Obama says he is 'deeply concerned' by the newsThe US and Britain have both made 'crisis calls' to President Putin to warn him to respect territorial boundariesBy Jill Reilly and Lizzie Edmonds
- PUBLISHED: 13:05 EST, 28 February 2014 | UPDATED: 06:41 EST, 1 March 2014
- A treaty signed in 1994 by the US and Britain could pull both countries into a war to protect Ukraine if President Putin's troops cross into the country.
- Bill Clinton, John Major, Boris Yeltsin and Leonid Kuchma '' the then-rulers of the USA, UK, Russia and Ukraine - agreed to the The Budapest Memorandum as part of the denuclearization of former Soviet republics after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
- Technically it means that if Russia has invaded Ukraine then it would be difficult for the US and Britain to avoid going to war.
- The revelation comes as reports suggest the Kremlin was moving up to 2,000 troops across the Black Sea from Novorossiysk to their fleet base at Sevastopol.
- At least 20 men wearing the uniform of the Russian fleet and carrying automatic rifles surrounded a Ukrainian border guard post in a standoff near the port yesterday.
- The Budapest Memorandum was signed in 1991 by Bill Clinton, John Major, Boris Yeltsin and Leonid Kuchma - the then-rulers of the USA, UK, Russia and Ukraine. It promises to protect Ukraine's borders, in return for Ukraine giving up its nuclear weapons
- Last night it was still unclear the exact scale of Russian boots on the ground in Crimea or the identity of gunmen who have taken over airports in Simferopol and Sevastopol '' though reports suggest they are Russian marines or Moscow- controlled militias.
- The action came as President Obama delivered blunt warnings to Moscow.
- 'We are now deeply concerned by reports of military movements taken by the Russian Federation inside of Ukraine,' he told reporters at the White House.
- 'Any violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity would be deeply destabilizing,' he said in a brief appearance.
- 'The United States will stand with the international community in affirming that there will be costs for any military intervention in Ukraine.'
- U.S. officials also said the President could scrap plans to attend an international summit in Russia and take negotiations on deepening trade ties with the country off the table in response to Russian involvement in the Ukraine.
- Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel added: "This could be a very dangerous situation if this continues in a provocative way."
- Asked about options in a CBS News interview, he said that "We're trying to deal with a diplomatic focus, that's the appropriate, responsible approach."
- Both the U.S. and the UK are advising against all non-essential trips to Ukraine - especially Crimea.
- former British Ambassador to Moscow Sir Tony Brenton, who served as British Ambassador from 2004 to 2008, said in an interview that war could be an option 'if we do conclude the [Budapest] Memorandum is legally binding.'
- NATO also asked Russia not to take action that could escalate tension. However Moscow responded by telling the organization to 'refrain' from provocative statements on Ukraine and respect its 'non-bloc' status.
- Sir Tony Brenton, who served as British Ambassador from 2004 to 2008, said that war could be an option 'if we do conclude the [Budapest] Memorandum is legally binding.'
- It promises to protect Ukraine's borders, in return for Ukraine giving up its nuclear weapons.
- Kiev has demanded the agreement is activated after insisting their borders had been violated.
- In response Mr Brenton said in a BBC radio interview: 'If indeed this is a Russian invasion of Crimea and if we do conclude the [Budapest] Memorandum is legally binding then it's very difficult to avoid the conclusion that we're going to go to war with Russia'.
- Ukraine accused Russia of a 'military invasion and occupation', saying Russian troops have taken up positions around a coast guard base and two airports on its strategic Crimea peninsula.
- Russia kept silent on the accusations, as the crisis deepened between two of Europe's largest countries.
- Any Russian military incursion in Crimea would dramatically raise the stakes in Ukraine's conflict, which saw pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych flee last weekend after three months of anti-government protests. Yanukovych vowed Friday at a news conference in Russia to 'keep fighting for the future of Ukraine,' though he called any military action 'unacceptable.'
- Moscow has vowed to protect Russian-speaking Ukrainians in Crimea, where it has a major naval base, and Ukraine and the West have warned Russia to stay away.
- Russia did not confirm its troops were involved in Friday's action in Crimea, which would be a major escalation.
- In Kiev, Ukraine's parliament adopted a resolution demanding that Russia halt steps it says are aimed against Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and called for a U.N. Security Council meeting on the crisis.
- THE BUDAPEST REFERENDUMBudapest Memorandum on Security Assurances was a international treaty signed on February, 5, 1994, in Budapest.
- The diplomatic document saw signatories make promises to each other as part of the denuclearization of former Soviet republics after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
- It was signed by Bill Clinton, John Major, Boris Yeltsin and Leonid Kuchma '' the then-rulers of the USA, UK, Russia and Ukraine.
- The agreement promises to protest Ukraine's borders in return for Ukraine giving up its nuclear weapons.
- It is not a formal treaty, but rather, a diplomatic document.
- It was an unprecedented case in contemporary international life and international law.
- Whether is it legally binding in complex.
- 'It is binding in international law, but that doesn't mean it has any means of enforcement,' says Barry Kellman is a professor of law and director of the International Weapons Control Center at DePaul University's College of Law told Radio Free Europe.
- 'I can only describe this as a military invasion and occupation,' Ukraine's newly named interior minister, Arsen Avakov, wrote in a Facebook post.
- The chief of Ukraine's security council, Andriy Parubiy, seemed to strike a less strident tone later in the day, saying gunmen had tried to 'seize' the airports in the Crimean cities of Simferopol and Sevastopol but insisting in comments to the Interfax news agency that 'de-facto the airports are controlled by the law enforcement bodies of Ukraine.'
- Ukraine's State Border Guard Service also said about 30 Russian marines from Russia's Black Sea Fleet - which is based in Sevastopol - had taken up position outside the Ukrainian Coast Guard base in the area. It said the marines said they were there to prevent any weapons at the base from being seized by extremists.
- Russia's defense ministry had no comment.
- Yanukovych made his first public appearance since fleeing Ukraine in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, not far from the Ukrainian border. It was the first confirmation that he had left the country, and he said he was 'forced' to do so only after his family received threats.
- 'I intend to keep fighting for the future of Ukraine,' he said.
- Yanukovych said he supports Crimea's residents who are worried about 'nationalists' in Kiev and added that Russia cannot stand by while events in Ukraine unfold. He denied, however, that this amounts to a call for military intervention.
- 'Any military action in this situation is unacceptable,' he said.
- Tensions rising: A Russian soldier on an armoured personnel carrier halted on a road in Ukraine around 20 miles from Sebastapol, where there is a large Russian military presence
- US warns Russia: Stay out of the Ukraine
- Armed Russian navy servicemen surround a Ukrainian border guard base in Balaclava, in the Crimea region
- An armed Ukrainian border guard looks out of a window as the base is surrounded by armed Russian navy servicemen in Balaclava
- The prosecutor-general's office in Kiev said it would seek Yanukovych's extradition to Ukraine, where he is wanted on suspicion of mass murder in last week's violent clashes between protesters and police, during which over 80 people were killed.
- Associated Press journalists approaching the Sevastopol airport found the road leading up to it blocked by two military trucks and a handful of gunmen wearing camouflage uniforms and carrying assault rifles.
- A car with Russian military plates was stopped at the roadblock. A man wearing a military uniform with a Russian flag on his sleeve got out of the car and was allowed to enter on foot after a brief discussion with the gunmen.
- The moment armed men storm Crimea government building
- At the airport serving Simferopol, commercial flights were landing and taking off despite dozens of armed men in military uniforms without markings patrolling with assault rifles. They didn't stop or search people leaving or entering the airport, and refused to talk to journalists.
- One man who identified himself only as Vladimir said the men were part of the Crimean People's Brigade, which he described as a self-defense unit ensuring that no 'radicals and fascists' arrive from other parts of Ukraine. There was no way to verify his account.
- The airport deployments came a day after masked gunmen with rocket-propelled grenades and sniper rifles seized the parliament and government offices in Simferopol and raised the Russian flag. Ukrainian police cordoned off the area but didn't confront the gunmen. They remained in control of the buildings Friday.
- The Russian foreign and defense ministries had no comment. Russia's state RIA Novosti and Interfax cited an unnamed official from the Russian Black Sea Fleet denying involvement, saying Russian servicemen stationed in Crimea have not moved into the airports and denying that the Russian military was in control there.
- Tensions between the two countries were high, however. Russia continued with massive combat readiness exercises involving most of its troops in western and southern Russia that it said were unrelated to the Ukraine conflict. The moves were reminiscent of Cold War brinksmanship.
- Russian military forces are blockading an airport in the Black Sea port of Sevastopol in Crimea, an act Ukraine's new interior minister has announced branded an 'armed invasion'
- As events in the Crimea region heighten tensions with neighboring Russia, this morning armed men also took over the other main Crimean airport, Simferopol, according to a Facebook post by Mr Avakov
- Dozens of armed men in military uniforms without markings were seen patrolling the airport in Simferopol, the capital of Crimea
- The move came as U.S. Vice President Joe Biden told Ukraine's new prime minister that the U.S. welcomes the formation of the country's new government
- The Kremlin, in a statement published late Thursday, said President Vladimir Putin had instructed the government to 'maintain contacts with the counterparts in Kiev in what concerns trade and economic ties between Russia and Ukraine.'
- Moscow has been sending mixed signals about Ukraine but pledged to respect its territorial integrity. Putin has long dreamed of pulling Ukraine, a country of 46 million people considered the cradle of Russian civilization, closer into Moscow's orbit.
- Meanwhile, Swiss prosecutors announced they had launched a criminal investigation against Yanukovych and his son Aleksander over 'aggravated money laundering.'
- They said police and Geneva's chief prosecutor conducted a search and seized documents Thursday at the premises of a company owned by Aleksander Yanukovych.
- Ukraine's ex-President Yanukovych has made his first public appearance since being ousted, telling a news conference that he was going to fight for his country's future
- Switzerland and Austria both said they would freeze any assets Yanukovych and his entourage might have in those countries.
- Ukraine's population is divided in loyalties between Russia and the West, with much of western Ukraine advocating closer ties with the European Union while eastern and southern regions look to Russia for support.
- Crimea, a southeastern peninsula of Ukraine that has semi-autonomous status, was seized by Russian forces in the 18th century under Catherine the Great, and was once the crown jewel in Russian and then Soviet empires.
- It became part of Ukraine in 1954 when Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev transferred jurisdiction from Russia, a move that was a mere formality until the 1991 Soviet collapse meant Crimea landed in an independent Ukraine.
- In a bid to shore up Ukraine's fledgling administration, the International Monetary Fund has said it is 'ready to respond' to Ukraine's bid for financial assistance; Ukraine's finance ministry has said it needs $35 billion over the next two years to avoid default.
- The European Union is also considering emergency loans for a country that is the chief conduit of Russian natural gas to western Europe.
- And Putin, in his statement, asked his government to 'hold consultations with foreign partners including the IMF and the G8 nations to provide financial aid to Ukraine.'
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- There are No Neo-Nazis in Ukraine. And the Obama Administration does not support Fascists | Global Research
- Svoboda is a Neo-Nazi Party, Ukraine's fourth biggest party holding 36 seats out of 450 in parliament.
- They're also part of the Alliance of European National Movements along with the BNP and Jobbik.
- Svoboda is supported directly by Washington.
- This is Svoboda, the Neo-Nazi group that is doing the fighting in Ukraine.
- Update February 24. The BBC headlines read: ''We are putting our hopes in a new generation of politicians'' amidst unconfirmed reports that an arrest warrant has been issued for the democratically elected president.
- Speaker of the Parliament Oleksandr Turchynov who allegedly issued the arrest warrant directed against President Viktor Yanukovych stated ''We must move towards a national government by Tuesday''. That government, were it to be formed, would be integrated by Svoboda.
- Scroll down to meet the ''new generation of politicians'' supported and financed by the Obama administration.
- Svoboda's Oleh Tyahnybok doing their party salute when re-elected their leader.
- http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/1444332-Ukraine/page3
- http://www.businessinsider.com/john-mccain-meets-oleh-tyahnybok-in-ukraine-2013-12
- John McCain with leader of the Neo-Nazi Svoboda Party (right)
- John McCain with leader of the Neo-Nazi Svoboda Party Oleh Tyahnybok. McCain on a ''Business Trip'' to Kiev (Source Business Insider)
- US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland together Neo Nazi Svoboda leader Oleh Tyahnybok (left)
- ''The far-right in Ukraine are acting as the vanguard of a protest movement that is being reported as pro-democracy.
- The situation on the ground is not as simple as pro-EU and trade versus pro-Putin and Russian hegemony in the region.''
- Russia Today. Ukrainian Neo-Nazi skinheads
- Reunion of SS and UPA Nazi collaborators and their supporters in 2006 in the Ukraine. Civilisation Ukrainian-Style: Vandalising the Memorials to the Soldiers of the Anti-Hitler Coalition
- http://02varvara.wordpress.com/2008/11/28/civilisation-ukrainian-style-vandalising-the-memorials-to-the-soldiers-of-the-anti-hitler-coalition/
- http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4452331,00.html
- ''Here protesters clash with riot police, one carries a homemade shield painted with a white power symbol and the numbers 14 and 88.
- These numbers are common neo-Nazi slogans;with 14 standing for David Lane's slogan (We must secure the existence of our people and a future for White Children) and 88 as code for HH, or Heil Hitler.''
- Patriots burn flags, while white power flags are flown throughout the crowd
- http://www.sott.net/article/272680-Ukraines-fascist-Neo-Nazi-color-revolution-backed-by-US
- Ukrainian Skinheads, The Times, 2006 Rally
- Neo-Nazi thugs at the forefront of Ukrainian protests
- Activists in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv wearing uniforms of the former Ukrainian Insurgent Army (known as UPA, from its Ukrainian language initials) marched in a large scale event in the city center today.
- http://revolution-news.com/ukrainian-euromaidan-solution-putin-just-another-fascist-political-coup/
- http://defendinghistory.com/24818/24818#more-24818
- http://gatesofvienna.net/2013/12/things-are-not-what-they-seem/
- The Svoboda leader also refers to the Nazi Stephan Bandera in the interview: ''You must, as Stephan Bandera once said, ''reach every Ukrainian'' (see below to understand the significance of this statement).
- Svoboda's Oleh Tyahnybok at a ceremony in 2009, celebrating Stephan Bandera, Nazi ally during the WWII, whose organization massacred Jews and Poles, now rehabilitated in Ukraine as ''a patriot'' and ''national hero''.
- People holding UPA (horizontal red and black) and Svoboda (3 yellow fingers on blue) flags march through Kyiv to the honor of the Nazi ally, Bandera.
- Svoboda march together with UPA and other nationalists to the memory of Nazi ally, Stepan Bandera, Kyiv 2011.
- http://revolution-news.com/ukrainian-euromaidan-solution-putin-just-another-fascist-political-coup/
- October 2011, torchlight procession in Kyiv, devoted to birthday of Stepan Bandera, the leader of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists, and also to all OUN-UPA fighters. The march was organised by the 'Svoboda' Pan-Ukrainian Association.
- Images compiled by Michel Chossudovsky
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- PARTY LINES: Soros Changing His Tune | The Moscow Times
- "I see the situation very positively. The [Putin] administration is very serious about ? reducing arbitrary influence in business." f George Soros on Tuesday, on Ekho Moskvy.
- Soros, the world's most famous financier, was talking up Russia this week. To his credit, Soros is not offering blind praise: He is put off by President Vladimir Putin's proposed "dictatorship of law" f he would prefer rule of law minus the dictatorship. And he is alarmed by the thuggish harassment of NTV television, and by the ugliness in Chechnya.
- But it's interesting to note the timing: Soros is gushing about how the Kremlin is "reducing arbitrary influence in business" less than three weeks after his most famous investment here, Svyazinvest, became the beneficiary of some very arbitrary influence by the new St. Petersburgers in government.
- Three years ago, Soros made what he later characterized as "the worst investment decision of my career:" buying a 25 percent stake in Svyazinvest, a state-owned telephone holding company. As someone who plays to win, Soros found a strong partner in Vladimir Potanin's Uneximbank f a bank so masterful at winning sweetheart deals over the years that sometimes the government asked Uneximbank itself to run privatization auctions. Uneximbank would dutifully set about soliciting bids, evaluating them and proclaiming itself the winner.
- Sure enough, Soros-Uneximbank won Svyazinvest f with the highest bid ever seen in Russian privatization, around $1.9 billion (of which Soros paid half). But Soros is also a philanthropist, with a public-spirited and philosophical bent. So when losing rivals alleged the auction had been fixed, Soros acted hurt. To this day he argues that he paid "a fair price" f a subjective term, given an auction where only Cyprus-based shell companies linked with an oligarch could play.
- A year later came the crash of August 1998. Soros took a bath. Afterward, he was harshly critical of Russia's political and economic system f and particularly of Boris Berezovsky. In his latest book, Soros recounts trying "to convert Berezovsky from robber capitalist to legitimate capitalist."
- "I had lunch with Berezovsky at his 'club,' which was decorated, deliberately or not, in the way Hollywood would present a mafia hangout. I was the only guest," Soros wrote. Soros says Berezovsky sought his help in taking over Gazprom, but Soros declined. "This got Berezovsky very angry ? I literally felt that he could kill me."
- Soros goes on to argue that Berezovsky and others may have conjured up the war in Chechnya and perhaps even the apartment bombings to install Putin as Boris Yeltsin's successor:
- "Berezovsky [had] regaled me with stories of how he had paid off the military commanders in Chechnya and Abkhazia. So when [Shamil] Basayev invaded Dagestan, I smelled a rat. ? From Berezovsky's point of view it made perfect sense. ? It would give him, Berezovsky, a hold over Putin. So far, no evidence has surfaced that would contradict this theory."
- There is a logical inconsistency in arguing:
- a) the war was high theater (and high treason) engineered to keep corrupt interests in power via Putin, and
- b) Putin's Kremlin is working to reduce the unwarranted influence of corrupt interests.
- So what has changed for Soros between a) and b)?
- Here's one possible answer: In the fall, Putin put the top people at St. Petersburg Telephone, or PTS, in charge of the Communications Ministry and of Svyazinvest. On May 19, former PTS deputy director Leonid Reiman was confirmed as communications minister. Within hours, the ministry handed a coveted mobile phone license to Sonic Duo, a company majority-owned by Svyazinvest, now run by Reiman's old boss, former PTS general director Valery Yashin.
- Amazingly, there was no auction. One former PTS executive hands a telecommunications license to another former PTS executive. In other nations, this happens at open auctions that raise millions, or even billions.
- So Svyazinvest has gotten a sweetheart insider deal at the expense of the public f one that benefits Soros. And suddenly Soros is saying he'll invest again in Russia. Fine. But since he is Soros, he can't just take advantage of a lucky break and invest to make money. No, he must claim to have higher reasons. And so the Kremlin, once a font of "robber capitalism," is now "reducing arbitrary influence in business."
- Matt Bivens is the editor of The Moscow Times.
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- BBC NEWS | Business | Ukraine pushes mass sell-off plan
- President Yushchenko's government is keen to sell state assets
- Ukraine's new government has signalled its willingness to press ahead with the mass sell-off of state-owned companies.Deputy Prime Minister Oleg Rybachuk said the government planned to offer for privatisation "everything but a few strategic businesses".
- He told investors in Kiev that the new sell-offs would meet international standards for transparency.
- Uncertainty still surrounds several privatisations undertaken by the previous government of Leonid Kuchma.
- Chief among those was the controversial sale last year of the Krivorizhstal steel mill for $800m (£440m) to a group whose members included the son-in-law of former President Kuchma.
- Ukraine's new administration plans a rerun of the sell-off, after declaring the previous deal illegal.
- But Prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko has now ruled out any out-of-court settlement in the disputed case.
- "There is already a court ruling. This is a clear ruling that the privatisation was illegal," Ms Tymoshenko said on Thursday.
- "There can be no out-of-court settlement. I know of no other way than conducting a new, open privatisation auction."
- The government of President Viktor Yushchenko, who came to power after winning a rerun of the disputed 2004 election, has said it plans to review several deals in which state assets were allegedly sold at below-market prices.
- However, officials have yet to release a final list of companies.
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- SnowJob
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Why do the FirstLook people and Applebaum respond to tweets? Do they not know how it works? Riff Raff etc?
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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- On the importance of keeping investors out of the newsroom, and not treating your readers like fools | PandoDaily
- By Paul CarrOn March 1, 2014
- Mr. Greenwald is a very popular guy on Twitter, with about 320,000 followers. And he has earned a reputation for bullying people who don't share his views, frequently using his megaphone to launch unfair and frequently dishonest personal attacks. It will be interesting to see if he keeps this up at the $50 million news venture he's starting that's being bankrolled by eBay billionaire Pierre Omidyar. '' Christian Science Monitor
- Yesterday afternoon, Pando published a report by Mark Ames showing that eBay founder Pierre Omidyar invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in Ukrainian opposition groups involved in the overthrow of the country's government. Even more interesting, given that Omidyar is now publisher of The Intercept, a blog which vows to expose American government wrongdoing, is the revelation that his co-investor in the groups was'... the US government.
- This morning, Omidyar Group staffer Glenn Greenwald spent almost three thousand words meticulously not responding to the piece. In a blog post titled ''On the Meaning of Journalistic Independence,'' Greenwald explains'...
- I have not spoken to Pierre or anyone at First Look '' or, for that matter, anyone else in the world '' about any of this, and am speaking only for myself here. To be honest, I barely know what it is that I'm supposed to boldly come forth and address, so I'll do my best to make a few points about this specific article but also make some general points about journalistic independence that I do actually think are important.
- Of course, the hubristic ''On'' in the title should have warned readers that what followed would be, at best, undergraduate-level rhetoric. And sure enough, Greenwald tries to pull the old ''this is old news, let's move on'' trick beloved of politicians and anyone who binge-watched Scandal'...
- [A]s I just discovered with with literally 5 minutes of Googling,the Omidyar Network's support for the Ukrainian group in question, Centre UA, has long been publicly known: because the Omidyar Network announced the investment at the time in a press release and then explained it on its website.
- Greenwald is correct on that point. In 2011, Omidyar Network did disclose its investment in the (then) little known Centre UA. In fact, Greenwald could have saved himself those five minutes of Googling. Ames' piece contained a link to that same announcement. The link came a few paragraphs below the part where Ames said explicitly that some of our information came from ''financial disclosures,'' and a few paragraphs above the part where we embedded pages of documents not published by Omidyar Networks, showing Omidyar's co-investors to be the U.S. government.
- As Greenwald says, those disclosures and other documents were first published three years ago, long before Omidyar launched his ''adversarial'' news site, long before the Ukrainian revolution and long before Intercept staffer Marcy Wheeler voiced her suspicions as to who was really behind the events in Kiev. We took the view that those few readers who might have stumbled across the disclosures in the past were unlikely to remember them in the context of recent events.
- That view turned out to be correct. You only have to see thestormofTweets from prominent journalists expressing shock at Ames' report'.... or read Greenwald's own words:
- I was not previously aware that the Omidyar Network donated to this Ukrainian group. That's because, prior to creating The Intercept with Laura Poitras and Jeremy Scahill, I did not research Omidyar's political views or donations.
- Well good, now you are aware, Glenn. Journalism accomplished.
- The remainder of Greenwald's rebuttal is his usual mix of bluster and self-contradiction. Having said he has no opinion of his boss' co-investments with the US government, he then spends hundreds of words defending them:
- ''Wasn't it just 72 hours ago that the widespread, mainstream view in the west (not one that I shared) was that there was a profound moral obligation to stand up and support the brave and noble Ukrainian opposition forces as they fight to be liberated from the brutal and repressive regime imposed on them by Vladimir Putin's puppet? When did it suddenly become shameful in those same circles to support those very same opposition forces?
- Of course, at no point in his piece did Ames argue that Omidyar should not be allowed to invest in foreign opposition groups, nor did the piece say Omidyar should feel ashamed for supporting the Ukrainian revolution. They're his billions and he may do with them as he pleases.
- The point of the piece, aside from to convey facts to our readers, is that Omidyar and First Look have made statement after statement about how they aim to be a thorn in the side of the US government, and yet in several cases Omidyar has co-invested with that same US government to shape foreign policy to suit his own worldview. (A wag might point out that it's far easier to put a thorn in someone's side if you're sitting next to him at an investment meeting.)
- Whether Greenwald likes it or not, this is an important story and one we will continue to report.
- There is, however, one aspect of Greenwald's post that demands a firm rebuttal, and that's his continuing attempt to shrug off Pierre Omidyar's $250 million investment in First Look as if it's business as usual for a media organization. After all, says Greenwald, Pando has billionaire investors, too. He cites, in particular, Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen as examples of how ''our'' billionaires are worse than ''his'' billionaire, ignoring (or perhaps unaware of, given his proud ignorance of his employer's business dealings) the fact that Thiel is a founder of PayPal, now owned by eBay, and Andressen sits on eBay's board.
- It's here that Greenwald's post is so disingenuous that it starts to take on the appearance of a deliberate lie.
- Neither Andreessen (who previously invested one million dollars in Pando, but did not participate in either of our last two funding rounds) nor Thiel (who didn't invest his own money, but rather invested a total of $300,000 through Founders Fund) has a seat on Pando's board, or any involvement whatsoever in the running of the company. Neither Andreessen nor Thiel, nor any other venture capital backer, owns more than 10 percent of Pando. Most importantly, they, and all of Pando's venture capitalist investors, are kept just as far away from the editorial team as is anyone reading this article.
- Greenwald is entirely correct when he says that most media companies have received money from rich people, but the key is to treat their capital as simply that '-- capital '-- and to ensure that no investor is ever in a position to influence what appears in print or online.
- A recent example of this distinction, of course, is the scandal, unearthed by Pando's David Sirota, involving billionaire John Arnold's donation to PBS for a series called ''Pension Peril.'' A rich person donating to PBS isn't news. What made it a scandal was when Sirota revealed that, despite Arnold being a long-time pensions activist, his donation had specifically been solicited for the making of ''Pension Peril.'' Worse, he was the series' sole backer.
- Which brings us to Omidyar's involvement in First Look, and why it's important that journalists be vigilant in reporting his other financial interests. To suggest Omidyar is just a passive investor in Greenwald, Scahill, Wheeler et al. is as ridiculous as claiming Jesus was just a passive backer of the disciples (''Nah, you've got it all wrong. He just gave us the bread and wine, it's up to us what we do with it.'')
- Pierre Omidyar is not the dumb money behind First Look, he is the company's founder and publisher. It was Omidyar who called Glenn Greenwald and personally hired him to head The Intercept, just as it was Omidyar himself who takes credit for having hired Matt Taibbi away from Rolling Stone.
- Even after making those key hires, Omidyar did not recuse himself from the day-to-day editorial operations. Here is First Look staffer Jeremy Scahill speaking to the Daily Beast:
- [Omidyar] strikes me as always sort of political, but I think that the NSA story and the expanding wars put politics for him into a much more prominent place in his existence. This is not a side project that he is doing. Pierre writes more on our internal messaging than anyone else. And he is not micromanaging. This guy has a vision. And his vision is to confront what he sees as an assault on the privacy of Americans.
- Pierre writes more on our internal messaging than anyone else. This guy has a vision.
- With those two remarks, Scahill obliterates Greenwald's claims of independence from his boss, publisher and sole quarter-of-a-billion-dollar backer.
- There is no universe, current or imagined, in which Peter Thiel or Marc Andreessen or any other venture capitalist would be allowed within a billion miles of Pando's internal messaging system. And there is no planet within that universe on which Thiel, Andreessen or any of our dozen or so venture backers would be given any privileged line to our reporters (if they have something to say they can send us a letter to the editor, like everyone else). I would hope all of the other ''billionaire-backed'' media organizations Greenwald cites in his post would say the same.
- Pierre Omidyar, First Look's sole backer, has a vision. A vision he spends his day sharing with First Look's reporters via their internal messaging. By Scahill's own admission, Omidyar's voice is heard more frequently than any editorial staffer at the company. And yet, by Greenwald's admission, he has spent precisely no time investigating the business deals or conflicts of interest which might shape that vision, or might lead Omidyar to try to influence the reporting by the staff whose paychecks he alone signs.
- If that's how Omidyar believes the business of media should be transacted, that's his choice. And if Greenwald is convinced that he remains entirely incorruptible, despite the constant muzak of his master's voice playing in the newsroom, that's fine too. But it's not how most media companies do things, and it's not how we do things at Pando. By claiming otherwise, Greenwald is treating his readers as fools.
- No amount of Twitter smears or online bluster or cries of ''old news!'' will stop us reporting the facts about Pierre Omidyar and First Look, or examining what they mean for the future of journalism.
- Should Glenn Greenwald ever find himself curious as to what his boss is up to, he can rest assured the answers will always be found right here on Pando.
- Update: Since writing this post, several readers have sent me links to other journalists who have been unwise enough to ask difficult questions of Glenn Greenwald. In fact it's fast become a blog genre all of its own. Here are a few:
- A Pathetic Slap from a Lying Bully, by Joshua Foust:
- What makes any tiff with Greenwald so exhausting is not just the needlessly personal nature of his attacks, but rather his outright lies. That's correct: Glenn Greenwald is a serial liar. He is pathological about it. And he pretends like people are too dumb to notice.
- Joe McCarthy, Glenn Greenwald, and me, by Dan Murphy (Christian Science Monitor):
- Mr. Greenwald is a very popular guy on Twitter, with about 320,000 followers. And he has earned a reputation for bullying people who don't share his views, frequently using his megaphone to launch unfair and frequently dishonest personal attacks. It will be interesting to see if he keeps this up at the $50 million news venture he's starting that's being bankrolled by eBay billionaire Pierre Omidyar.
- Why I Won't Engage Glenn Greenwald, by Benjamin Wittes (Brookings Institution):
- My problem with Greenwald is not his politics. I engage with people of his politics all the time. It is the pervasive suggestion in his work of the corruption and ill-motive of his opponents, whom he serially fails to credit with believing the arguments they are making.
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- On the meaning of journalistic independence - The Intercept
- This morning, I see that some people are quite abuzz about a new Pando article ''revealing'' that the foundation of Pierre Omidyar, the publisher of First Look Media which publishes The Intercept, gave several hundred thousand dollars to a Ukraininan ''pro-democracy'' organization opposed to the ruling regime. This, apparently, is some sort of scandal that must be immediately addressed not only by Omidyar, but also by every journalist who works at First Look. That several whole hours elapsed since the article was published on late Friday afternoon without my commenting is, for some, indicative of disturbing stonewalling.
- I just learned of this article about 30 minutes ago, which is why I'm addressing it ''only'' now (I apologize for not continuously monitoring Twitter at all times, including the weekend). I have not spoken to Pierre or anyone at First Look '' or, for that matter, anyone else in the world '' about any of this, and am speaking only for myself here. To be honest, I barely know what it is that I'm supposed to boldly come forth and address, so I'll do my best to make a few points about this specific article but also make some general points about journalistic independence that I do actually think are important:
- (1) The Pando article adopts the tone of bold investigative journalism that intrepidly dug deep into secret materials and uncovered a ''shocking'' bombshell (''Step out of the shadows'.... Pierre Omidyar''). But as I just discovered with literally 5 minutes of Googling, the Omidyar Network's support for the Ukrainian group in question, Centre UA, has long been publicly known: because the Omidyar Network announced the investment at the time in a press release and then explained it on its website.
- In a September 15, 2011 press release, the Omidyar Network ''announced today its intent to grant up to $3M to six leading organizations focused on advancing government transparency and accountability'' including ''Centre UA (Ukraine)''. The Network then devoted an entire page of its website (entitled ''New Citizen (Centre UA)'') to touting the investment and explaining its rationale and purpose (the group, claims the Network, ''seeks to enable citizen participation in national and regional politics by amplifying the voices of Ukrainian citizens and promoting open and accountable government'').
- I think it's perfectly valid for journalists to investigate the financial dealings of corporations and billionaires who fund media outlets, whether it be those who fund or own Pando, First Look, MSNBC, Fox News, The Washington Post or any other. And it's certainly reasonable to have concerns and objections about the funding of organizations that are devoted to regime change in other countries: I certainly have those myself. But the Omidyar Network doesn't exactly seem ashamed of these donations, and they definitely don't seem to be hiding them, given that they trumpeted them in their own press releases and web pages.
- (2) Can someone please succinctly explain why this is a scandal that needs to be addressed, particularly by First Look journalists? That's a genuine request. Wasn't it just 72 hours ago that the widespread, mainstream view in the west (not one that I shared) was that there was a profound moral obligation to stand up and support the brave and noble Ukrainian opposition forces as they fight to be liberated from the brutal and repressive regime imposed on them by Vladimir Putin's puppet? When did it suddenly become shameful in those same circles to support those very same opposition forces?
- In fact, I've been accused more times than I can count '' including by a former NSA employee and a Eurasia Foundation spokesman - of being a Putin shill for not supporting the Ukrainian opposition and not denouncing Russian involvement there (by which they mean I've not written anything on this topic). Now we seem to have the exact opposite premise: that the real evil is supporting the opposition in Ukraine and any journalist who works at First Look '' including ones who are repeatedly called criminals by top U.S. officials for publishing top secret government documents; or who risk their lives to go around the world publicizing the devastation wrought by America's Dirty Wars and its dirty and lawless private contractors; or who have led the journalistic attack on the banks that own and control the government - are now tools of neo-liberal, CIA-cooperating imperialism which seeks to undermine Putin by secretly engineering the Ukrainian revolution. To call all of that innuendo muddled and incoherent is to be generous.
- (3) Despite its being publicly disclosed, I was not previously aware that the Omidyar Network donated to this Ukrainian group. That's because, prior to creating The Intercept with Laura Poitras and Jermey Scahill, I did not research Omidyar's political views or donations. That's because his political views and donations are of no special interest to me '' any more than I cared about the political views of the family that owns and funds Salon (about which I know literally nothing, despite having worked there for almost 6 years), or any more than I cared about the political views of those who control the Guardian Trust.
- There's a very simple reason for that: they have no effect whatsoever on my journalism or the journalism of The Intercept. That's because we are guaranteed full editorial freedom and journalistic independence. The Omidyar Network's political views or activities '' or those of anyone else '' have no effect whatsoever on what we report, how we report it, or what we say.
- The author of the Pando article seems to understand this point quite well when it comes to excusing himself from working for a media outlet funded by national-security-state-supporting tech billionaires whose views he claims to find ''repugnant'':
- It is a problem we all have to contend with'--PandoDaily's 18-plus investors include a gaggle of Silicon Valley billionaires like Marc Andreessen (who serves on the board of eBay, chaired by Pierre Omidyar) and Peter Thiel (whose politics I've investigated [GG: before working for a media outlet he funded] and described as repugnant.)
- So he acknowledges the truly repellent politics of those who fund the media outlet where he does his journalism: Andreessen, a Romney supporter, has become one of the NSA's most devoted defenders, while the company owned by Paypal founder Thiel, Palantir Technologies, works extensively with the CIA and got caught scheming against journalists, WikiLeaks supporters and Chamber of Commerce critics. But he obviously believes those repellent views and activities do not reflect on him or his journalism. Indeed, any of you who are approvingly citing the Pando article are implicitly saying the same thing: namely, that media outlets funded by government-supporting tech moguls with repugnant histories can produce important journalism, including reporting on other tech moguls.
- More generally, you're endorsing the point that the political ideology of those who fund media outlets, no matter how much you dislike that ideology, does not mean that hard-hitting investigative journalism is precluded or that the journalism reflects the views of those who fund it. Anyone who thinks that The Intercept is or will be some sort of mouthpiece for U.S. foreign policy goals is invited to review the journalism we've produced in the 20 days we've existed.
- Now, if you want to take the position that people should not work at organizations funded by oligarchs, or that journalism is inherently corrupted if funded by rich people with bad political views, then I hope you apply that consistently. Groups like the ACLU, Media Matters, the Center for Constitutional Rights and a whole slew of left-wing groups have been funded for years by billionaire George Soros and his foundations despite a long history of funding of and profiting from all sorts of capitalism projects anathema to the left (the same Pando writer previously claimed without evidence that the ACLU received a $20 million donation from the Koch Brothers). Or, as Kade Crockford of the ACLU of Massachusetts put it:
- Are Chris Hayes and Rachel Maddow responsible for allthebadactsofComcast, which owns MSNBC, or is their journalism impugned by those bad acts? Was WikiLeaks infected with Vladimir Putin's sins, as some argued, because Julian Assange's show appeared on RT? Or go ahead and apply those questions to virtually every large media organization or advocacy group you like, which needs substantial funding, which in turn requires that they seek and obtain that funding from very rich people who undoubtedly have political views and activities you find repellent.
- That journalistic outlets fail to hold accountable large governmental and corporate entities is a common complaint. It's one I share. It's possible to do great journalism in discrete, isolated cases without much funding and by working alone, but it's virtually impossible to do sustained, broad-scale investigative journalism aimed at large and powerful entities without such funding. As I've learned quite well over the last eight months, you need teams of journalists, and editors, and lawyers, and experts, and travel and technology budgets, and a whole slew of other tools that require serious funding. The same is true for large-scale activism.
- That funding, by definition, is going to come from people rich enough to provide it. And such people are almost certainly going to have views and activities that you find objectionable. If you want to take the position that this should never be done, that's fine: just be sure to apply it consistently to the media outlets and groups you really like.
- But for me, the issue is not '' and for a long time has not been '' the political views of those who fund journalism. Journalists should be judged by the journalism they produce, not by those who fund the outlets where they do it. The real issue is whether they demand and obtain editorial freedom. We have. But ultimately, the only thing that matters is the journalism we or any other media outlets produce.
- (4) Typical for this particular writer, the Pando article is filled with factual inaccuracies, including one extremely serious one:
- Of the many problems that poses, none is more serious than the fact that Omidyar now has the only two people with exclusive access to the complete Snowden NSA cache, Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras. Somehow, the same billionaire who co-financed the ''coup'' in Ukraine with USAID, also has exclusive access to the NSA secrets'--and very few in the independent media dare voice a skeptical word about it. [emphasis added]
- Let's leave to the side the laughable hyperbole that Omidyar is now the mastermind who has secretly engineered the Ukrainian uprising. Let's also leave to the side a vital fact that people like this Pando writer steadfastly ignore: that there are numerous media entities in possession of tens of thousands of Snowden documents, including The Guardian, Bart Gellman/The Washington Post, The New York Times, and ProPublica, rendering absurd any conspiracy theories that Omidyar can control which documents are or are not published.
- The real falsehood here is that Omidyar himself has any access, let alone ''exclusive access'', to ''the NSA secrets.'' This is nothing short of a fabrication. The writer of this article just made that up.
- The only Snowden documents Omidyar has ever seen are the ones that have been published as part of stories in media outlets around the world. He has no possession of those documents and no access to them. He has never sought or received access to those documents. He has played no role whatsoever in deciding which ones will be reported. He obviously plays no role in deciding which documents all those other news outlets will report. Other than generally conveying that there is much reporting left to be done on these documents '' something I've publicly said many times '' I don't believe I've ever even had a single discussion with him about a single document in the archive.
- We've continued to report on those documents with media outlets around the world '' in the last month alone, I reported on numerous documents with NBC, while Laura did the same withThe New York Times - and will continue to report on them at The Intercept with full editorial independence. But the claim that he has obtained possession of, or even access to, the archive (in full or in part) is an outright falsehood.
- Other inaccuracies pervade the article. Marcy Wheeler, whose comments were prominently featured, complained rather vehemently and at length that the article wildly misrepresented what she said.
- (5) I have a long history of condemning U.S. government interference in the governance of other countries, and of the accompanying jingoistic moral narrative that this interference is intended to engender Freedom and Democracy rather than the promotion of U.S. interests. I have equal scorn for those who feign opposition to Russian interference in the sovereignty of other countries while continuing to support all sorts of U.S. interference of exactly that sort. I know little about the specific Ukrainian group at issue here '' do any of you touting this article know anything about them? '' and I certainly don't trust this writer to convey anything accurately.
- But what I do know is that I would never temper, limit, suppress or change my views for anyone's benefit '' as anyone I've worked with will be happy to tell you '' and my views on such interference in other countries isn't going to remotely change no matter the actual facts here. I also know that I'm free to express those views without the slightest fear. And I have zero doubt that that's true of every other writer at The Intercept. That's what journalistic independence means.
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- The Audit | Columbia Journalism Review
- Posted on Thursday Oct 17th at 10:50am
- Make no mistake, news that Glenn Greenwald is leaving The Guardian to start a new publication funded by eBay billionaire Pierre Omidyar is giant news'--a bigger deal, in my book, than Jeff Bezos buying the Washington Post.
- (UPDATE: I should disclose that the Omidyar Network helps fund CJR, something I didn't know until shortly after I published this post.)
- This isn't just another startup.
- What makes this extraordinary is the combination of muckraking'--and, dare I say, dissident'--journalists Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras, and Jeremy Scahill with the gargantuan fortune of one of the first internet billionaires.
- The problem with the Billionaire Savior phase of the newspaper collapse has always been that billionaires don't tend to like the kind of authority-questioning journalism that upsets the status quo. Billionaires tend to have a finger in every pie: powerful friends they don't want annoyed and business interests they don't want looked at. The Way Things Are may not work for most of us, but it ain't bad if you're an American billionaire.
- By hiring Greenwald & Co., Omidyar is making a clear statement that he's the billionaire exception. A little more than a year ago, Greenwald was writing for Salon.com, which (somehow) has a market cap of $3.5 million. Six years ago he was still typing away on his own blog. It's like Izzy Stone running into a civic-minded plastics billionaire determined to take I.F. Stone's Weekly large back in the day.
- NYU's Jay Rosen interviewed Omidyar and breaks the news that he was one of the few people approached about purchasing the Washington Post. That process led Omidyar to "ask himself what could be done with the same investment if you decided to build something from the ground up," Rosen writes.
- Wait... did he say "same investment"? As in $250 million-ish? Yes he did:
- I asked how large a commitment he was prepared to make in dollars. For starters: the $250 million it would have taken to buy the Washington Post.
- That is an astonishing amount of money. Think about how much incredible journalism the nonprofit ProPublica has put out in the last five-plus years. It has spent just $43 million in that time to do so'--total. Virtually all of that has been funded by foundation grants and reader contributions.
- It will be fascinating to see how Omidyar and Greenwald set up the business model for their new venture, being truly unencumbered by legacy constraints. Omidyar tells Rosen that the site will be a company rather than a nonprofit, but that "all proceeds... will be reinvested in the journalism." If that's the case, it will be a sort of quasi-nonprofit: able to sell ads and otherwise act like a publishing company but paying little to no taxes.
- If it takes ads. Omidyar already has a track record of supporting journalism startups, launching the well-regarded Honolulu Civil Beat in 2010. That site had a $20 a month hard paywall that has now morphed into a metered paywall that charges $10 a month. The Civil Beat calls itself "subscriber-supported journalism" and doesn't take advertising.
- The new company will surely have a different, more ambitious model. Rosen:
- Omidyar believes that if independent, ferocious, investigative journalism isn't brought to the attention of general audiences it can never have the effect that actually creates a check on power. Therefore the new entity -- they have a name but they're not releasing it, so I will just call it NewCo -- will have to serve the interest of all kinds of news consumers. It cannot be a niche product. It will have to cover sports, business, entertainment, technology: everything that users demand.
- At the core of Newco will be a different plan for how to build a large news organization. It resembles what I called in an earlier post "the personal franchise model" in news. You start with individual journalists who have their own reputations, deep subject matter expertise, clear points of view, an independent and outsider spirit, a dedicated online following, and their own way of working. The idea is to attract these people to NewCo, or find young journalists capable of working in this way, and then support them well.
- This is the best news journalism has seen in a long, long time. Here's hoping this remarkable pairing realizes its full potential.
- Guardian bombshells in an escalating battle against journalism. Greenwald partner's detention, prior-restraint threats, and smashed hard drives.
- Britain's spooks don't get the 4th estate. Oliver Robbins on the detention of David Miranda and the seizure of press communications.
- The HBGary Federal Scandal. Many questions need answering as hackers shine a light on the private-security underworld
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- Pierre Omidyar co-funded Ukraine revolution groups with US government, documents show | PandoDaily
- By Mark AmesOn February 28, 2014
- Just hours after last weekend's ouster of Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, one of Pierre Omidyar's newest hires at national security blog ''The Intercept,'' was already digging for the truth.
- Marcy Wheeler, who is the new site's ''senior policy analyst,'' speculated that the Ukraine revolution was likely a ''coup'' engineered by ''deep forces'' on behalf of ''Pax Americana'':
- ''There's quite a bit of evidence of coup-ness. Q is how many levels deep interference from both sides is.''
- These are serious claims. So serious that I decided to investigate them. And what I found was shocking.
- Wheeler is partly correct. Pando has confirmed that the American government '' in the form of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) '' played a major role in funding opposition groups prior to the revolution. Moreover, a large percentage of the rest of the funding to those same groups came from a US billionaire who has previously worked closely with US government agencies to further his own business interests. This was by no means a US-backed ''coup,'' but clear evidence shows that US investment was a force multiplier for many of the groups involved in overthrowing Yanukovych.
- But that's not the shocking part.
- What's shocking is the name of the billionaire who co-invested with the US government (or as Wheeler put it: the ''dark force'' acting on behalf of ''Pax Americana'').
- Step out of the shadows'.... Wheeler's boss, Pierre Omidyar.
- Yes, in the annals of independent media, this might be the strangest twist ever: According to financial disclosures and reports seen by Pando, the founder and publisher of Glenn Greenwald's government-bashing blog,''The Intercept,'' co-invested with the US government to help fund regime change in Ukraine.
- When the revolution came to Ukraine, neo-fascists played a front-center role in overthrowing the country's president. But the real political power rests with Ukraine's pro-western neoliberals. Political figures like Oleh Rybachuk, long a favorite of the State Department, DC neocons, EU, and NATO'--and the right-hand man to Orange Revolution leader Viktor Yushchenko.
- Last December, the Financial Times wrote that Rybachuk's ''New Citizen'' NGO campaign ''played a big role in getting the protest up and running.''
- New Citizen, along with the rest of Rybachuk's interlocking network of western-backed NGOs and campaigns'-- ''Center UA'' (also spelled ''Centre UA''), ''Chesno,'' and ''Stop Censorship'' to name a few '-- grew their power by targeting pro-Yanukovych politicians with a well-coordinated anti-corruption campaign that built its strength in Ukraine's regions, before massing in Kiev last autumn.
- The efforts of the NGOs were so successful that the Ukraine government was accused of employing dirty tricks to shut them down. In early February, the groups were the subject of a massive money laundering investigation by the economics division of Ukraine's Interior Ministry in what many denounced as a politically motivated move.
- Fortunately the groups had the strength '' which is to say, money '' to survive those attacks and continue pushing for regime change in Ukraine. The source of that money?
- According to the Kyiv Post, Pierrie Omidyar's Omidyar Network (part of the Omidyar Group which owns First Look Media and the Intercept) provided 36% of ''Center UA'''s $500,000 budget in 2012'-- nearly $200,000. USAID provided 54% of ''Center UA'''s budget for 2012. Other funders included the US government-backed National Endowment for Democracy.
- In 2011, Omidyar Network gave $335,000 to ''New Citizen,'' one of the anti-Yanukovych ''projects'' managed through the Rybachuk-chaired NGO ''Center UA.'' At the time, Omidyar Network boasted that its investment in ''New Citizen'' would help ''shape public policy'' in Ukraine:
- ''Using technology and media, New Citizen coordinates the efforts of concerned members of society, reinforcing their ability to shape public policy.
- '''... With support from Omidyar Network, New Citizen will strengthen its advocacy efforts in order to drive greater transparency and engage citizens on issues of importance to them.''
- In March 2012, Rybachuk '-- the operator behind the 2004 Orange Revolution scenes, the Anatoly Chubais of Ukraine '-- boasted that he was preparing a new Orange Revolution:
- ''People are not afraid. We now have 150 NGOs in all the major cities in our 'clean up Parliament campaign' to elect and find better parliamentarians'....The Orange Revolution was a miracle, a massive peaceful protest that worked. We want to do that again and we think we will.''
- Detailed financial records reviewed by Pando (and embedded below) also show Omidyar Network covered costs for the expansion of Rybachuk's anti-Yanukovych campaign, ''Chesno'' (''Honestly''), into regional cities including Poltava, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Ternopil, Sumy, and elsewhere, mostly in the Ukrainian-speaking west and center.
- To understand what it means for Omidyar to fund Oleh Rybachuk, some brief history is necessary. Rybachuk's background follows a familiar pattern in post-Soviet opportunism: From well-connected KGB intelligence ties, to post-Soviet neoliberal networker.
- In the Soviet era, Rybachuk studied in a military languages program half of whose graduates went on to work for the KGB. Rybachuk's murky overseas posting in India in the late Soviet era further strengthens many suspicions about his Soviet intelligence ties; whatever the case, by Rybachuk's own account, his close ties to top intelligence figures in the Ukrainian SBU served him well during the Orange Revolution of 2004, when the SBU passed along secret information about vote fraud and assassination plots.
- In 1992, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Rybachuk moved to the newly-formed Ukraine Central Bank, heading the foreign relations department under Central Bank chief and future Orange Revolution leader Viktor Yushchenko. In his central bank post, Rybachuk established close friendly ties with western government and financial aid institutions, as well as proto-Omidyar figures like George Soros, who funded many of the NGOs involved in ''color revolutions'' including small donations to the same Ukraine NGOs that Omidyar backed. (Like Omidyar Network does today, Soros' charity arms'--Open Society and Renaissance Foundation'--publicly preached transparency and good government in places like Russia during the Yeltsin years, while Soros' financial arm speculated on Russian debt and participated in scandal-plagued auctions of state assets.)
- In early 2005, Orange Revolution leader Yushchenko became Ukraine's president, and he appointed Rybachuk deputy prime minister in charge of integrating Ukraine into the EU, NATO, and other western institutions. Rybachuk also pushed for the mass-privatization of Ukraine's remaining state holdings.
- Over the next several years, Rybachuk was shifted around President Yushchenko's embattled administration, torn by internal divisions. In 2010, Yushchenko lost the presidency to recently-overthrown Viktor Yanukovych, and a year later, Rybachuk was on Omidyar's and USAID's payroll, preparing for the next Orange Revolution. As Rybachuk told the Financial Times two years ago:
- ''We want to do [the Orange Revolution] again and we think we will.''
- Some of Omidyar's funds were specifically earmarked for covering the costs of setting up Rybachuk's ''clean up parliament'' NGOs in Ukraine's regional centers. Shortly after the Euromaidan demonstrations erupted last November, Ukraine's Interior Ministry opened up a money laundering investigation into Rybachuk's NGOs, dragging Omidyar's name into the high-stakes political struggle.
- According to a Kyiv Post article on February 10 titled, ''Rybachuk: Democracy-promoting nongovernmental organization faces 'ridiculous' investigation'':
- ''Police are investigating Center UA, a public-sector watchdog funded by Western donors, on suspicion of money laundering, the group said. The group's leader, Oleh Rybachuk, said it appears that authorities, with the probe, are trying to warn other nongovernmental organizations that seek to promote democracy, transparency, free speech and human rights in Ukraine.
- ''According to Center UA, the Kyiv economic crimes unit of the Interior Ministry started the investigation on Dec. 11. Recently, however, investigators stepped up their efforts, questioning some 200 witnesses.
- '''... Center UA received more than $500,000 in 2012, according to its annual report for that year, 54 percent of which came from Pact Inc., a project funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. Nearly 36 percent came from Omidyar Network, a foundation established by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife. Other donors include the International Renaissance Foundation, whose key funder is billionaire George Soros, and National Endowment for Democracy, funded largely by the U.S. Congress.''
- What all this adds up to is a journalistic conflict-of-interest of the worst kind: Omidyar working hand-in-glove with US foreign policy agencies to interfere in foreign governments, co-financing regime change with well-known arms of the American empire '-- while at the same time hiring a growing team of soi-disant ''independent journalists'' which vows to investigate the behavior of the US government at home and overseas, and boasts of its uniquely ''adversarial'' relationship towards these government institutions.
- As First Look staffer Jeremy Scahill told the Daily Beast'...
- We had a long discussion about this internally; about what our position would be if the White House asked us to not publish something'.... With us, because we want to be adversarial, they won't know what bat phone to call. They know who to call at The Times, they know who to call at The Post. With us, who are they going to call? Pierre? Glenn?
- Of the many problems that poses, none is more serious than the fact that Omidyar now has the only two people with exclusive access to the complete Snowden NSA cache, Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras. Somehow, the same billionaire who co-financed the ''coup'' in Ukraine with USAID, also has exclusive access to the NSA secrets'--and very few in the independent media dare voice a skeptical word about it.
- In the larger sense, this is a problem of 21st century American inequality, of life in a billionaire-dominated era. It is a problem we all have to contend with'--PandoDaily's 18-plus investors include a gaggle of Silicon Valley billionaires like Marc Andreessen (who serves on the board of eBay, chaired by Pierre Omidyar) and Peter Thiel (whose politics I've investigated, and described as repugnant.)
- But what is more immediately alarming is what makes Omidyar different. Unlike other billionaires, Omidyar has garnered nothing but uncritical, fawning press coverage, particularly from those he has hired. By acquiring a ''dream team'' of what remains of independent media '-- Greenwald, Jeremy Scahill, Wheeler, my former partner Matt Taibbi '-- not to mention press ''critics'' like Jay Rosen '-- he buys both silence and fawning press.
- Both are incredibly useful: Silence, an absence of journalistic curiosity about Omidyar's activities overseas and at home, has been purchased for the price of whatever his current all-star indie cast currently costs him. As an added bonus, that same investment buys silence from exponentially larger numbers of desperately underpaid independent journalists hoping to someday be on his payroll, and the underfunded media watchdogs that survive on Omidyar Network grants.
- And it also buys laughable fluff from the likes of Scahill who also boasted to the Daily Beast of his boss' close involvement in the day to day running of First Look.
- ''[Omidyar] strikes me as always sort of political, but I think that the NSA story and the expanding wars put politics for him into a much more prominent place in his existence. This is not a side project that he is doing. Pierre writes more on our internal messaging than anyone else. And he is not micromanaging. This guy has a vision. And his vision is to confront what he sees as an assault on the privacy of Americans.''
- Now Wheeler has her answer '-- that, yes, the revolutionary groups were part-funded by Uncle Sam, but also by her boss '-- one assumes awkward follow up questions will be asked on that First Look internal messaging system.
- Whether Wheeler, Scahill and their colleagues go on to share their concerns publicly will speak volumes about First Look's much-trumpeted independence, both from Omidyar's other business interests and from Omidyar's co-investors in Ukraine: the US government.
- Editor's note:Pando contacted Omidyar Networks for comment prior to publication but had not received a response by press time. We will update this post if they do respond.
- Chesno document showing total funding from USAID and Omidyar Network to ''Centre UA'':
- Chesno document showing numerous Omidyar fundings for activities in regional cities:
- 09 09 2013 Chesno 2012 Finance Campain Final
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- Documents confirm US military spying on antiwar groups
- By Patrick Martin1 March 2014Newly released documents confirm that the US Army was the prime mover of the surveillance and infiltration of antiwar groups on the West Coast. The documents shed light on the circumstances surrounding a protracted lawsuit against federal government spying on antiwar activists.
- The lawsuit, Panagacos v. Towery, was filed in 2010 by Julianne Panagacos and six other antiwar activists against a government spy, John Towery, who infiltrated at least four different organizations in the Puget Sound, Washington area: Port Militarization Resistance, Students for a Democratic Society, the Industrial Workers of the World, and Iraq Veterans Against the War.
- Towery was identified in 2009 as the man who, under the pseudonym John Jacob, became active in all these groups. He supplied information to the Washington State Fusion Center, which links federal state and local police agencies, including the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
- Until now, however, Towery had always denied that he was acting at the behest of the US military, even though he was a member of the Force Protection Service at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, a huge military base in Tacoma, Washington. Domestic spying by the armed forces is illegal under the Posse Comitatus law and has been officially banned'--while continuing in secret'--since the exposure of Pentagon spying on the 1960s movement against the Vietnam War.
- The new documents came to light as the result of a Public Records Act request in a separate case, involving a member of Port Militarization Resistance who was framed up on charges of assaulting a policeman during an antiwar march.
- One of the newly released documents is a 2007 email from Towery, using his military account, to the FBI and police departments in Everett and Spokane, Washington, Portland and Eugene, Oregon, and Los Angeles. He proposes that they form a cross-agency group for intelligence sharing on ''leftist/anarchist'' activists.
- Larry Hildes, the National Lawyers Guild attorney who filed the lawsuit, said in a press statement issued February 24, ''The latest revelations show how the Army not only engaged in illegal spying on political dissidents, it led the charge and tried to expand the counterintelligence network targeting leftists and anarchists. By targeting activists without probable cause, based on their ideology and the perceived political threat they represent, the Army clearly broke the law and must be held accountable.''
- Towery attended a Domestic Terrorism Conference in 2007 at which ''domestic terrorist'' dossiers on antiwar and left-wing activists were distributed for police review. These individuals could later be targeted for state repression ranging from preventing them from boarding airplanes (if they were placed on the federal ''no-fly'' list) to preventive detention in the event of a mass roundup of supposed ''terrorists.''
- In addition to Towery, other named defendants include his supervisor Thomas Rudd, the US Army, Navy and Coast Guard, military officers in each of these services, and dozens of local police departments and individual officers in Washington state.
- The Obama administration has sought to have the Panagacos lawsuit dismissed, as well as demanding that all documents in the case be sealed. In December 2012, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the allegations of government violations of the First and Fourth Amendments to the US Constitution were ''plausible,'' and the case is now in the discovery phase, with trial scheduled for June 2014.
- The administration's official posture is that Towery was not working for the Army when he infiltrated the antiwar groups, but working ''off-hours'' for the Pierce County Sheriff's Department. However, the email was sent from his desk at Lewis-McChord during business hours, using his military email address and identifying himself by military rank.
- Attorney Hildes and one of the seven plaintiffs in the Panagacos suit, Glenn Crespo, were interviewed Tuesday on the NPR program Democracy Now. Crespo described how Towery had sought to entrap him by persuading him to buy guns and learn how to shoot.
- After seeming to befriend Crespo while attending antiwar meetings, Towery at one point visited him at home and showed him a gun and how to load and unload it. Later, he showed Crespo documents about military tactics and suggested making use of them in ''our actions.'' Subsequently, he gave Crespo a copy of a proposed article written from the perspective of the 9/11 hijackers. Fortunately, Crespo's reaction to these approaches'--which he described as ''the weirdest thing in the world'''--was to keep his distance.
- ''The Army was expressly paying him to monitor, disrupt and destroy these folks' activism and their lives,'' Hildes said. ''People would get busted over and over and over. Towery was attending their personal parties, their birthday parties, their going-away parties, and taking these vicious notes and passing them on about how to undermine these folks, how to undermine their activities, how to destroy their lives.''
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- Common Core Charter $chools
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- FACT SHEET: Opportunity for all: President Obama Launches My Brother's Keeper Initiative to Build Ladders of Opportunity For Boys and Young Men of Color
- Office of the Press Secretary
- ''I'm reaching out to some of America's leading foundations and corporations on a new initiative to help more young men of color facing especially tough odds to stay on track and reach their full potential.''
- '' President Barack Obama, January 28, 2014
- ''There are a lot of kids out there who need help, who are getting a lot of negative reinforcement. And is there more that we can do to give them the sense that their country cares about them and values them and is willing to invest in them?''
- '' President Barack Obama, July 19, 2013
- President Obama is taking action to launch My Brother's Keeper '' a new initiative to help every boy and young man of color who is willing to do the hard work to get ahead. For decades, opportunity has lagged behind for boys and young men of color. But across the country, communities are adopting approaches to help put these boys and young men on the path to success. The President wants to build on that work. We can learn from communities that are partnering with local businesses and foundations to connect these boys and young men to mentoring, support networks, and skills they need to find a good job or go to college and work their way up into the middle class. And the Administration will do its part by helping to identify and promote programs that work.
- That starts by using proven tools that expand opportunity at key moments in the lives of these young people. The President believes this includes ensuring access to basic health, nutrition, and to high-quality early education to get these kids reading and ready for school at the youngest age. But that's not enough. We need to partner with communities and police to reduce violence and make our classrooms and streets safer. And we need to help these young men stay in school and find a good job'' so they have the opportunity to reach their full potential, contribute to their communities and build decent lives for themselves and their families.
- New Presidential Task Force to Expand Opportunity. President Obama will sign a Presidential Memorandum establishing the My Brother's Keeper Task Force, an interagency effort, chaired by Assistant to the President and Cabinet Secretary Broderick Johnson, that will help us determine what public and private efforts are working and how to expand upon them, how the Federal Government's own policies and programs can better support these efforts, and how to better involve State and local officials, the private sector, and the philanthropic community in these efforts.
- The Task Force will work across executive departments and agencies to:
- Assess the impact of Federal policies, regulations, and programs of general applicability on boys and young men of color, so as to develop proposals that will enhance positive outcomes and eliminate or reduce negative ones.Recommend, where appropriate, incentives for the broad adoption by national, State, and local public and private decision makers of effective and innovative strategies and practices for providing opportunities to and improving outcomes for boys and young men of color.Create an Administration-wide ''What Works'' online portal to disseminate successful programs and practices that improve outcomes for boys and young men of color.Develop a comprehensive public website, to be maintained by the Department of Education, that will assess, on an ongoing basis, critical indicators of life outcomes for boys and young men of color in absolute and relative terms.Work with external stakeholders to highlight the opportunities, challenges, and efforts affecting boys and young men of color.Recommend to the President means of ensuring sustained efforts within the Federal Government and continued partnership with the private sector and philanthropic community as set forth in the Presidential Memorandum. Investments from Leading Foundations and Businesses to Advance the Achievement of Boys and Young Men of Color. Leading foundations and businesses have long worked with others in philanthropy to create opportunities for young men and boys of color and today are committing significant resources to research critical intervention points in the lives of boys and young men of color; change the often-damaging narrative about them; and catalyze coordinated investments to seed, replicate, and scale up effective community solutions.
- The foundations supporting today's call to action have already made extensive investments, including $150 million in current spending that they have already approved or awarded. Building on that, today these foundations are announcing that over the next five years they seek to invest at least $200 million, alongside additional investments from their peers in philanthropy and the business community, to find and rapidly spread solutions that have the highest potential for impact in key areas, including: early child development and school readiness, parenting and parent engagement, 3rd grade literacy, educational opportunity and school discipline reform, interactions with the criminal justice system ladders to jobs and economic opportunity and healthy families and communities.
- The foundations will work over the next 90 days to design a strategy and infrastructure for coordination of these investments, which can be aligned with additional commitments from a diverse array of actors from other sectors.
- These foundations, who are joining President Obama at today's announcement, include The Annie E. Casey Foundation, The Atlantic Philanthropies, Bloomberg Philanthropies, The California Endowment, The Ford Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Open Society Foundations, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and The Kapor Center for Social Impact. Many of the foundations are members of the Executives' Alliance to Expand Opportunities for Boys and Men of Color '' a coalition of philanthropic institutions committed to leveraging philanthropy's role in improving life outcomes for boys and men of color.
- In addition to the leadership from the philanthropic community, the My Brother's Keeper initiative will leverage participation from the business community and elected officials to support this cross-sector effort. As part of today's announcement, President Obama will meet with a number of business leaders '' including Joe Echevarria of Deloitte, Magic Johnson of Magic Johnson Enterprises, Glenn Hutchins of Silver Lake Partners, Adam Silver of the National Basketball Association and Thomas Tull of Legendary Entertainment '' to discuss ways in which they and their companies can work with the Initiative to improve the life outcomes of boys and young men of color.
- The President will also be joined today by public sector leaders including General Colin Powell, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Honorable Michael Bloomberg. Additionally, several other prominent members of the business community'--including Rosalind Brewer of Sam's Club, Ken Chenault of American Express, and Don Thompson of McDonald's'--have already expressed their support for this effort, and the White House expects additional commitments in the coming days and months.
- Data shows that boys and young men of color, regardless of socio-economic background, are disproportionately at risk throughout the journey from their youngest years to college and career. For instance, large disparities remain in reading proficiency, with 86 percent of black boys and 82 percent of Hispanic boys reading below proficiency levels by the fourth grade '' compared to 58 percent of white boys reading below proficiency levels. Additionally, the disproportionate number of black and Hispanic young men who are unemployed or involved in the criminal justice system alone is a perilous drag on state budgets, and undermines family and community stability. These young men are more than six times as likely to be victims of murder than their white peers and account for almost half of the country's murder victims each year.
- The effort launched today is focused on unlocking the full potential of boys and young men of color '' something that will not only benefit them, but all Americans. The Task Force and new private sector partnership will take a collaborative and multidisciplinary approach to building ladders of opportunity. Both the Task Force and the partnership will take action immediately while planning for long-term success.
- Close schools, show how your 'program' resulted in these 'foundations' funding new charter schools
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- History of that phrase
- The phrase "my brother's keeper" comes from the Book of Genesis in the
- Bible, where God asks Cain, the son of Adam and Eve, for the location of
- his brother Abel, whom Cain had killed. In some versions, Cain replies:
- "Am I my brother's keeper?" Obama has quoted that Bible portion several
- times during his presidency, saying Americans should look out for each
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- Philanthropy and My Brother's Keeper Initiative | Boys and Men of Color
- Our CommitmentTen of America's leading foundations announced a joint effort with the White House to help America's young men of color reach their full potential in school, work and life. Learn more about this unprecedented public/private initiative.
- Read MoreWhy Boys and Men of Color?All young people should have the opportunity to make healthy choices and the tools to lead a healthy and productive life. Given the opportunity, they can and will play a powerful role in building a stronger America.
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- Youth Guidance B.A.M. - Becoming A Man
- President Obama visits a B.A.M. group in Hyde Park
- B.A.M. (Becoming a Man) is a dropout and violence prevention program for at-risk male students in grades 7-12. B.A.M. offers in-school programming, in some cases complemented by after-school sports, to develop social-cognitive skills strongly correlated with reductions in violent and anti-social behavior. Each session is built around a lesson designed to develop a specific skill through stories, role-playing and group exercises. Participants learn about and practice impulse control, emotional self-regulation, reading social cues and interpreting intentions of others, raising aspirations for the future and developing a sense of personal responsibility and integrity. The after-school sports component reinforces conflict resolution skills and the social and emotional learning objectives of the in-school curriculum.
- EvidenceA recent randomized controlled trial conducted by the University of Chicago Crime Lab showed that B.A.M. reduces violent crime arrests, weapons crime and increases school achievement:
- Reduced violent crime arrests by 44%Reduced weapons crime and vandalism by 36%Reduced the likelihood of attending school in a juvenile justice setting by 53%Increased future graduation rates by 10-23%
- B.A.M. is grounded in research that shows a large share of homicides of Chicago youth stem from impulsive behavior '' young people with access to guns ''massively'' over-reacting to some aspect of their social environment. This is consistent with a growing body of research showing that social-cognitive skills such as impulse control, future orientation, and conflict resolution are predictive of a wide range of key life outcomes such as school success and crime involvement. The $550 billion the US spends on K-12 schooling each year mostly focuses on academic skills. B.A.M. seeks to fill this need by developing key non-academic skills for at-risk male youth.
- B.A.M. YouthAccording to the U of C Crime Lab, 7,000 students have missed more than 40 days of school and are enrolled in schools within communities with homicide rates more than twice the national average. They are at a greatly elevated risk for violence involvement.
- B.A.M. serves these very high risk males in grades 7-12 in Chicago Public Schools. On average participants have missed six-weeks of school during the pre-program year and have a mean GPA of 1.7/4 (D average). Nearly 40% have been arrested and more than half are over-age/under-credited.
- B.A.M. currently serves more than 1,500 male youths in close to 40 schools in the Austin, Englewood, North Lawndale, Woodlawn and Pilsen/Little Village neighborhoods among others. These numbers triple the number of youths served in the 2012-13 school year '' 492 young men in 17 schools.
- B.A.M. Curriculum Addresses Six Core ValuesB.A.M. group therapy session
- 1. INTEGRITY '' is the core principle of the program. Students learn that a man is someone who is reliable, honest and in touch with his integrity or lack thereof and that he makes amends when he is out of integrity and does what he says he is going to do.
- 2. ACCOUNTABILITY '' Students learn that they should be responsible for the choices that they make and take ownership for their feelings, thoughts and behaviors. A man can feel anger, sadness or fear, but he must own his reactions to those emotions.
- 3. SELF-DETERMINATION '' Students learn the importance of focus and perseverance in reaching one's goals. They learn to deal with self-defeating feelings, thoughts and behaviors that can become obstacles or barriers to achieving their goals.
- 4. POSITIVE ANGER EXPRESSION '' is the most effective and remembered lesson taught in the program. Students learn anger management coping skills and effective techniques to express anger that avoid typical negative consequences such as suspensions, arrests, and damaged relationships.
- 5. VISIONARY GOAL SETTING '' Students learn to envision their futures and make clear connections between their current behaviors, attitude and values and their visions. They seek to get in touch with traumas, pains and faulty thinking that cause them to act in negative and destructive ways. They learn how to heal these parts of themselves and direct that energy toward achieving their vision. This can be a very intense and yet life-altering process for those who are ready for it.
- 6. RESPECT FOR WOMANHOOD '' Students are challenged to take a critical look at the values and actions that represent positive experiences and appreciation for women as opposed to depreciation, devaluing and oppression. They then learn appropriate and positive communication skills and begin using them in their interactions with women thereby increasing their respect for women of all ages.
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- About Us | Match Education
- Match Education is an engine of discovery and applied innovation in education. We operate high-performing urban public charter schools and a unique graduate school of education that trains teachers for high-poverty schools. Out of this applied work, we refine, validate empirically, and eventually disseminate new ideas and practices on core questions in education reform.
- Our work is organized into three divisions:
- Match Schools. We design and manage high-performing, innovative K-12 charter public schools in Boston. Our schools are widely recognized for their ability to prepare students academically for college success.
- Match Teachers. We operate the Sposato Graduate School of Education® that grants a Master's in Effective Teaching (MET) degree. Our approach to training teachers is unconventional. It stresses long hours, highly directed coaching from master educators, and repetitive practice of basic teaching and classroom management techniques. The most recognized charter schools in the country hire our graduates and pay us to train them.
- Match Export. Match Export is our vehicle for sharing the inventions we develop in our applied work. We publish what we learn in a broad range of outlets, from academic journals to the popular press, and we increasingly partner with districts, graduates schools of education, and policy makers nationally who are interested in replicating our work and learning from our applied research.
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- Shut Up Slave!
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- Certification Program for Access to the Death Master File
- Comments are due on or before 5:00 p.m. Eastern time March 18, 2014. The public meeting will take place on Tuesday, March 4, 2014, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Eastern time at the place noted under ADDRESSES, and comments made orally during the public comment portion of the public meeting will be recorded and transcribed.
- Written comments must be submitted to John Hounsell by email at jhounsell@ntis.gov, or in paper form at NTIS, 5301 Shawnee Road, Alexandria, VA 22312. The public meeting will take place at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Madison Building West, 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, VA 22314. The public meeting will also be webcast.
- John Hounsell at jhounsell@ntis.gov or 703-605-6184.
- This Request for Information (RFI) seeks comments from the public regarding the establishment by the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) of the new certification program for persons who seek access to the Social Security Administration's Public Death Master File (DMF) at any time within the three-calendar-year period following an individual's death, as required by Section 203 of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 (Pub. L. 113-67) (Act). The Act prohibits disclosure of DMF information during the three-calendar-year period following death unless the person requesting the information has been certified under a program established by the Secretary of Commerce. The Act directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish a certification program for such access to the DMF. Section 203, ''Restriction on Access to the Death Master File,'' requires a fee-based certification program for allowable uses of DMF data for any deceased individual within three calendar years of the individual's death. Authority to carry out Section 203 has been delegated by the Secretary of Commerce to the National Technical Information Service (NTIS).
- NTIS will establish the certification program in a manner consistent with the Act and its mission, to promote American innovation and economic growth by collecting and disseminating scientific, technical and engineering information to the public and industry, by providing information management solutions to other Federal agencies, and by doing all without appropriated funding. A summary of the provisions of Section 203 is provided below.
- Section 203(a) of the Act directs that the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) ''shall not disclose to any person information contained on the Death Master File with respect to any deceased individual at any time during the 3-calendar-year period beginning on the date of the individual's death, unless such person is certified under the program established under subsection (b)'' of Section 203.
- Section 203(b)(1) of the Act directs the Secretary to ''establish a program (A) to certify persons who are eligible to access the information described in subsection (a) contained on the Death Master File, and (B) to perform periodic and unscheduled audits of certified persons to determine the compliance by such certified persons with the requirements of the program.''
- Under Section 203(b)(2) of the Act, a person ''shall not be certified under the program established under paragraph (1) unless such person certifies that access to the information described in subsection (a) is appropriate because such person (A) has (i) a legitimate fraud prevention interest, or (ii) a legitimate business purpose pursuant to a law, governmental rule, regulation, or fiduciary duty, and (B) has systems, facilities, and procedures in place to safeguard such information, and experience in maintaining the confidentiality, security, and appropriate use of such information, pursuant to requirements similar to the requirements of section 6103(p)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (IRC), and (C) agrees to satisfy the requirements of such section 6103(p)(4) as if such section applied to such person.''
- Section 203(b)(3)(A) of the Act directs the Secretary to ''establish under section 9701 of title 31, United States Code, a program for the charge of fees sufficient to cover (but not to exceed) all costs associated with evaluating applications for certification and auditing, inspecting, and monitoring certified persons under the program. Any fees so collected shall be deposited and credited as offsetting collections to the accounts from which such costs are paid.'' Section 203(b)(3)(B) of the Act requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress ''on the total fees collected during the preceding year and the cost of administering the certification program under this subsection for such year.''
- Section 203(c)(1) of the Act provides that any person ''certified under the program established under subsection (b), who receives information described in subsection (a), and who during the period of time described in subsection (a)(A) discloses such information to any person other than a person who meets the requirements of subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of subsection (b)(2), (B) discloses such information to any person who uses the information for any purpose not listed under subsection (b)(2)(A) or who further discloses the information to a person who does not meet such requirements, or (C) uses any such information for any purpose not listed under subsection (b)(2)(A), and any person to whom such information is disclosed who further discloses or uses such information as described in the preceding subparagraphs, shall pay a penalty of $1,000 for each such disclosure or use. Under Section 203(c)(2), the total penalty imposed on any person for any calendar year ''shall not exceed $250,000,'' unless the Secretary determines the violations to have been ''willful or intentional.''
- Section 203(d) of the Act defines the term ''Death Master File'' to mean ''information on the name, social security account number, date of birth, and date of death of deceased individuals maintained by the Commissioner of Social Security, other than information that was provided to such Commissioner under section 205(r) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(r)).''
- Under Section 203(e)(1) of the Act, no Federal agency ''shall be compelled to disclose,'' to any person ''not certified,'' information contained on the Death Master File with respect to any deceased individual at any time during the 3-calendar-year period beginning on the date of the individual's death. Section 203(e)(2) of the Act provides that Section 203 shall be considered a statute described in subsection (b)(3) of section 552 of title 5, United States Code (the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)).
- Under Section 203(f) of the Act, Section 203 takes effect 90 days after the date of the enactment, while Section 203(e) (the FOIA provision) takes effect upon enactment.
- During Congressional debate on the Joint Resolution, H. J. Res. 59, which, upon being passed by Congress and signed into law by the President, became the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013, several Members of Congress described their understanding of the purpose and meaning of Section 203. Members offering statements included Representatives Johnson, [1] Bachus [2] and Neal, [3] and Senators Nelson, [4] Murray, [5] Casey [6] and Hatch. [7]
- The Social Security Administration (SSA) compiles the DMF from certain deaths reported to the agency. SSA receives death reports from many sources, including family members, funeral homes, hospitals, States, Federal agencies, postal authorities and financial institutions. The DMF is not a complete file of all deaths, and does not include State death records. (Section 205(r) of the Social Security Act prohibits SSA from disclosing this information to the public on the DMF.) In addition, SSA cannot guarantee the accuracy of the DMF. The absence of a particular person on this file is not proof that the individual is alive. Further, in rare instances it is possible for the record of a person who is not deceased to be included erroneously in the DMF.
- SSA makes the DMF available to the public through an agreement with NTIS. NTIS offers the DMF to the public through an online search application, as well as through raw data file download products. DMF subscribers have the option of subscribing to an online search application or maintaining a raw data version of the file at their location. The online service is updated on a weekly basis, and raw data file weekly and monthly updates are offered electronically via https, as well as via secure FTP.
- The Death Master File is an important tool which has been used for many purposes. It is used by pension funds, insurance organizations, Federal, State and Local government entities and others responsible for verifying deceased person(s) in support of fulfillment of benefits to their beneficiaries. By methodically running financial, credit, payment and other applications against the Death Master File, the financial community, insurance companies, security firms and State and Local governments are better able to identify and prevent identity fraud, and identify customers who are deceased. Other current users include clinicians and medical researchers tracking former patients and study subjects, law enforcement and genealogists.
- While the DMF unquestionably plays an important role in preventing identity fraud, concern about misuse of publicly available DMF information, as noted in the statements of several Members of Congress cited above, led to the inclusion of Section 203 in the Act, signed into law by President Obama. NTIS seeks comments from the public on how best to implement the certification program mandated under Section 203.
- The following questions cover the major areas for which NTIS seeks comment. The questions are not intended to limit topics that may be addressed through this Request for Information, and commenters may address any topic they believe has implications for the establishment of a certification program for access to the DMF, regardless of whether this document mentions it. NTIS will consider all timely comments received.
- Comments containing references, studies, research, and other empirical data that are not widely published should include copies of the referenced materials. No confidential or proprietary comments, information or materials are to be submitted, and all submitted comments will be made available publically at http://dmf.ntis.gov/.
- In the questions that follow, references to ''you'' are intended to include individual persons as well as organizations unless otherwise indicated, and submitted comments should distinguish between individuals and organizations as necessary or desirable for context.
- Certification ProgramNTIS solicits information on implementation of the certification program mandated under Section 203. In particular, NTIS seeks to understand how persons would characterize the basis for their use of DMF information as it relates to the certification criteria of Section 203. In addition, NTIS seeks to understand how persons who seek certification would comply with the requirements set forth under Section 203 to safeguard DMF information. NTIS also seeks information regarding how to best ensure the safeguarding of released DMF information.
- 1. Do you think that you have a legitimate fraud prevention interest in accessing DMF information, as described in the Act? If so, explain in detail the basis of that interest.
- 2. If you have a legitimate business purpose pursuant to a law, explain in detail the basis of that legitimate business purpose and cite the relevant law.
- 3. If you have a legitimate business purpose pursuant to a governmental rule, explain in detail the basis of that legitimate business purpose and cite the relevant governmental rule.
- 4. If you have a legitimate business purpose pursuant to a regulation, explain in detail the basis of that legitimate business purpose and cite the relevant regulation.
- 5. If you have a legitimate business purpose pursuant to a fiduciary duty, explain in detail the basis of that legitimate business purpose and cite the relevant fiduciary duty.
- 6. Do you have systems, facilities, and procedures in place to safeguard DMF information, and experience in maintaining the confidentiality, security, and appropriate use of such information? If so, explain in detail.
- 7. If you have systems, facilities, and procedures in place to safeguard DMF information, or to safeguard sensitive information other than DMF information, explain whether and how your systems, facilities, and procedures are audited, inspected or monitored.
- 8. If you have systems, facilities, and procedures in place to safeguard DMF information, or to safeguard sensitive information other than DMF information, and if your systems, facilities, and procedures are audited, inspected or monitored, explain whether that is voluntary, or whether it is required by law, governmental rule, regulation, fiduciary duty, or other reason and cite such.
- 9. If you have systems, facilities, and procedures in place to safeguard DMF information, or to safeguard sensitive information other than DMF information, and if your systems, facilities, and procedures are audited, inspected or monitored, explain whether any of these reviews would reveal (1) how such information was used by you, (2) whether such information had been disclosed to a third person, and (3) how such information, if disclosed to a third person, was used by that person, or was further disclosed by that person to a fourth person.
- 10. If you have systems, facilities, and procedures in place to safeguard DMF information, and experience in maintaining the confidentiality, security, and appropriate use of such information, explain in detail the extent to which these satisfy the requirements of section 6103(p)(4) of the IRC, or satisfy requirements ''similar'' to the requirements of section 6103(p)(4) of the IRC.
- 11. If you do not currently have systems, facilities, and procedures in place to safeguard DMF information, explain how you would anticipate putting such systems, facilities, and procedures in place in order to become certified to access DMF information.
- 12. Under the Act, you are required to certify that you have systems, facilities, and procedures in place to safeguard DMF information, and experience in maintaining the confidentiality, security, and appropriate use of such information, pursuant to requirements ''similar'' to the requirements of section 6103(p)(4) of the IRC. Please explain in detail how your systems, etc., and experience might be ''similar'' but not identical to the requirements of section 6103(p)(4) of the IRC, and how any differences from the requirements of section 6103(p)(4) of the IRC would nevertheless permit achieving the objective of safeguarding DMF information.
- 13. What systems, facilities, and procedures do you believe are necessary to safeguard DMF information provided under the Act, including audit, inspection and monitoring procedures?
- 14. Identify laws or regulations that require the safeguarding of released DMF information, and summarize the procedures required by such laws or regulations.
- Fees and PenaltiesNTIS solicits information on the fees and penalties mandated under Section 203. In particular, because Section 203 mandates the charge of fees to cover, but not to exceed, all costs associated with evaluating applications for certification and auditing, inspecting, and monitoring certified persons under the program, NTIS seeks to understand whether persons desiring to access DMF information during the initial three-calendar-year period, including persons currently accessing DMF information, would participate in a fee-based certification program in order to obtain or maintain access to the DMF. NTIS also seeks to understand how persons certified under the certification program would avoid disclosing such information to any person not authorized to obtain such information because they are not certified or, if certified, would use such information for a purpose not listed under Section 203(b)(2)(A).
- 15. Would the imposition of a single, presumably larger, fee at the time of certification be preferable to the charge of multiple, presumably smaller, fees, such as annual fees?
- 16. In order to become certified to have access to DMF information, how would you prevent disclosure of such information to any person other than a person who was also certified, or who, if not certified, would meet the requirements of certification?
- Death Master File InformationNTIS solicits comments on the term ''Death Master File,'' as that term is defined in Section 203: ''information on the name, social security account number, date of birth, and date of death of deceased individuals maintained by the Commissioner of Social Security, other than information that was provided to such Commissioner under section 205(r) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(r)).'' In particular, NTIS seeks to understand whether persons currently accessing the DMF, or who might wish to access the DMF in the future, during the initial three-calendar-year period, need access to all the types of information included within the definition of that term in order to make use of DMF information. If access to all the types of information included within the definition of the term ''Death Master File'' is not needed for persons to make use of DMF information, NTIS seeks to understand which type(s) of information is not needed.
- 17. If you currently access DMF information, does your use of that information include or require the name, social security account number, date of birth, and date of death of deceased individuals? If not, explain which type(s) of DMF information you do not use.
- 18. Would you find it useful to access DMF information that included information for a deceased individual during the 3-calendar-year period beginning on the date of the individual's death, but did not include one or more of the name, social security account number, date of birth, and date of death of the deceased individual? If so, explain which type(s) of DMF information could be excluded.
- NTIS will hold a public meeting at which members of the public may provide comments on the establishment of the certification program for access to the DMF in person on Tuesday, March 4, 2014, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Eastern time at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Madison Building West, 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, VA 22341. As with written comments, comments made orally at the public meeting should not include confidential or proprietary information, and all comments from attendees will be will be recorded and transcribed, and will made available publically along with written comments at http://dmf.ntis.gov/.
- Seating at the public meeting will be limited, and attendance will be ''first-come, first-served,'' on a space-available basis. The public meeting will also be webcast for those who are unable to participate in person. Details about the public meeting, including how to register, will be posted at the NTIS DMF Web page, http://dmf.ntis.gov/. The NTIS DMF Web page also has information about how to subscribe to the NTIS email distribution list to receive announcements from NTIS about the progress of the establishment of the certification program. To subscribe to this free service, you may provide an email address to jhounsell@ntis.gov.
- Dated: February 25, 2014.
- [FR Doc. 2014-04584 Filed 2-28-14; 8:45 am]
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- Vaccine$
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- Is The Super Potent New Opiate Painkiller Zohydro Just Too Dangerous? - Forbes
- A new opiate painkiller with 5 to 10 times the power of Vicodin, set to hit the market in March, could trigger a disastrous spike in overdoses and deaths, says a powerful coalition of doctors, lawmakers, and addiction specialists.
- In a strongly worded letter that could be titled ''Just Say No to Zohydro'' more than 40 experts urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reconsider its approval of Zohydro ER, a potent extended release formulation of straight-up hydrocodone, citing its potential to add to the growing epidemic of painkiller addiction.
- ''In the midst of a severe drug addiction epidemic fueled by overprescribing of opioids, the very last thing the country needs is a new, dangerous, high-dose opioid,'' the experts wrote, addressing FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, MD.
- One member of the letter-writing coalition, Andrew Kolodny, president of the advocacy group Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing, was more blunt: ''It's a whopping dose of hydrocodone packed in an easy-to-crush capsule. It will kill people as soon as it's released.''
- This isn't the first group of experts to beg the FDA to reconsider. A coalition of Congressional representatives and state Attorney Generals has also urged the FDA to listen to its own advisory panel, which voted 11 to 2 against approving Zohydro.
- What's all the fuss about? Plenty. Zohydro is so strong that someone new to opioids could die of an overdose from just two pills, the experts say. And a child could die from ingesting just one capsule. According to the FDA's review, the relief '' or the high '' of Zohydro can last up to 12 hours per dose.
- An ad for Zohydro ER, which experts say is too dangerous and should not have received FDA approval.
- The CDC's data on opioid painkiller deaths speaks for itself, showing that deaths quadrupled in a ten year period. Between 1999 to 2010, the number of U.S. drug poisoning deaths involving an opioid analgesic went from 4,030 to almost 17,000, now topping those from heroin and cocaine combined. CDC data show that prescriptions for painkillers have nearly tripled over the past two decades, and 5 million Americans are dependent on the painkillers.
- There's no disagreement that we're in the middle of an epidemic of painkiller abuse. Since 1999, the U.S. has seen deaths from opiate painkillers jump by 415 percent in women and 265 percent in men. And this isn't just black-market drugs '' the biggest victims are middle-aged men and women legitimately prescribed the drugs for chronic pain, the experts say. Nearly 60 percent of all drug overdoses are from FDA-approved prescription medications, not illegal drugs. According to Forbes' own Robert Pearl, MD, 3 in 4 drug overdose deaths are due to an opioid painkiller such as oxycodone, hydrocodone or methadone.
- The question, experts say, is do we need a new opiate painkiller at all, given that we seem unable to prevent the ones we already have from ending up in the wrong hands? A drug this strong has enormous potential for abuse, and the U.S. does not have a good track record in preventing that from happening. The death of Philip Seymore Hoffman put a spotlight on the potential of oxycodone, Vicodin, and other painkillers to set people up for heroin addiction, which has also been on a rapid rise in the U.S. over the past few years.
- The U.S., with just 5 percent of the world's population, now accounts for 84 percent of global oxycodone (Oxycontin) consumption and more than 99 percent of hydrocodone (Vicodin, Lortab) consumption. That's a lot of painkillers.
- Zohydro ER was approved by the FDA on October 25, 2013. Pharmaceutical experts have expressed surprise that Zohydro was approved without an ''abuse-deterrent'' formulation, which means a formulation including additives like naloxone or niacin that cause unwanted side effects when the drug is snorted or injected but are tolerable when taken orally as prescribed.
- The primary thing that sets Zohydro apart '' other than its strength '' is that it doesn't contain acetaminophen, as Vicodin does, and it's on this basis that its maker, Zogenix, has argued that it's safer than the alternatives. That's simply not true, argue its opponents, who point out that there are plenty of other opiate painkillers already on the market that don't contain acetaminophen. Zohydro is expected to be available as early as March.
- In addition to Kolodny, the coalition, which calls itself Fed Up, unites doctors, pharmaceutical industry experts, advocacy groups, and addiction specialists, including G. Caleb Alexander, MD, Co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Drug Safety and Effectiveness; Stuart Gitlow, MD, President of the American Society of Addiction Medicine; Daniel Busch, MD, of the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University.
- In response to previously expressed concerns, Zogenix has established a safe-use board of experts outside the company to aid in overseeing ''appropriate use'' of the drug.
- For more health news, follow me here on Forbes.com, on Twitter, @MelanieHaiken, and subscribe to my posts on Facebook.
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- Help the Coalition! | FedUp!
- Tax-deductible donations to FED UP! Rally are being collected by the Steve Rummler Hope Foundation (a 501(c)(3) public charity)
- Donate by check:Send your check payable to FED UP! Rally to:Sandra Kresser, Treasurer, FED UP RallyP.O. Box 9069Salt Lake City, UT 84109
- *Fed UP! Rally does not accept financial support from pharmaceutical companies or any other entities that could be perceived as a conflict of interest.
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- Heroin market development: Schedules of Controlled Substances: Rescheduling of Hydrocodone Combination Products From Schedule III to Schedule II
- Interested persons may file written comments on this proposal pursuant to 21 CFR 1308.43(g). Electronic comments must be submitted, and written comments must be postmarked, on or before April 28, 2014. Commenters should be aware that the electronic Federal Docket Management System will not accept comments after midnight Eastern Time on the last day of the comment period.
- Interested persons, defined as those ''adversely affected or aggrieved by any rule or proposed rule issuable pursuant to section 201 of the Act (21 U.S.C. 811),'' 21 CFR 1300.01, may file a request for hearing or waiver of an opportunity for a hearing or to participate in a hearing pursuant to 21 CFR 1308.44 and in accordance with 21 CFR 1316.45, 1316.47, 1316.48 or 1316.49, as applicable. Requests for hearing, notices of appearance, and waivers of an opportunity for a hearing or to participate in a hearing must be received on or before March 31, 2014.
- To ensure proper handling of comments, please reference ''Docket No. DEA-389'' on all electronic and written correspondence. The DEA encourages that all comments be submitted electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal which provides the ability to type short comments directly into the comment field on the Web page or attach a file for lengthier comments. Please go to www.regulations.gov and follow the on-line instructions at that site for submitting comments. Paper comments that duplicate electronic submissions are not necessary. Should you, however, wish to submit written comments, in lieu of electronic comments, they should be sent via regular or express mail to: Drug Enforcement Administration, Attention: DEA Federal Register Representative/ODW, 8701 Morrissette Drive, Springfield, Virginia 22152. All requests for a hearing and waivers of participation must be sent to: Drug Enforcement Administration, Attention: Hearing Clerk/LJ, 8701 Morrissette Drive, Springfield, Virginia 22152.
- Ruth A. Carter, Office of Diversion Control, Drug Enforcement Administration; Mailing Address: 8701 Morrissette Drive, Springfield, Virginia 22152, Telephone: (202) 598-6812.
- Please note that all comments received in response to this docket are considered part of the public record and will be made available for public inspection online at www.regulations.gov. Such information includes personal identifying information (such as your name, address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by the commenter.
- The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) applies to all comments received. If you want to submit personal identifying information (such as your name, address, etc.) as part of your comment, but do not want it to be made publicly available, you must include the phrase ''PERSONAL IDENTIFYING INFORMATION'' in the first paragraph of your comment. You must also place all of the personal identifying information you do not want made publicly available in the first paragraph of your comment and identify what information you want redacted.
- If you want to submit confidential business information as part of your comment, but do not want it to be made publicly available, you must include the phrase ''CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION'' in the first paragraph of your comment. You must also prominently identify the confidential business information to be redacted within the comment. If a comment has so much confidential business information that it cannot be effectively redacted, all or part of that comment may not be made publicly available. Comments containing personal identifying information or confidential business information identified as directed above will be made publicly available in redacted form.
- An electronic copy of this document and supplemental information to this proposed rule are available at www.regulations.gov for easy reference. If you wish to personally inspect the comments and materials received or the supporting documentation the DEA used in preparing the proposed action, these materials will be available for public inspection by appointment. To arrange a viewing, please see the ''For Further Information Contact'' paragraph above.
- Request for Hearing, Notice of Appearance at Hearing, or Waiver of an Opportunity for a Hearing or To Participate in a Hearing Back to TopPursuant to the provisions of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), 21 U.S.C. 811(a), this action is a formal rulemaking ''on the record after opportunity for a hearing.'' Such proceedings are conducted pursuant to the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 5 U.S.C. 551-559. 21 CFR 1308.41-1308.45; 21 CFR Part 1316 subpart D. In accordance with 21 CFR 1308.44(a)-(c), requests for a hearing, notices of appearance, and waivers of an opportunity for a hearing or to participate in a hearing may be submitted only by interested persons, defined as those ''adversely affected or aggrieved by any rule or proposed rule issuable pursuant to section 201 of the Act (21 U.S.C. 811).'' 21 CFR 1300.01. Requests for hearing and notices of appearance must conform to the requirements of 21 CFR 1308.44(a) or (b), and 1316.47 or 1316.48 as applicable, and include a statement of the interest of the person in the proceeding and the objections or issues, if any, concerning which the person desires to be heard. Any waiver must conform to the requirements of 21 CFR 1308.44(c) and 1316.49, including a written statement regarding the interested person's position on the matters of fact and law involved in any hearing.
- Please note that pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 811(a)(1), the purpose and subject matter of a hearing held in relation to this rulemaking is restricted to: ''(A) find[ing] that such drug or other substance has a potential for abuse, and (B) mak[ing] with respect to such drug or other substance the findings prescribed by subsection (b) of section 812 of [title 21] for the schedule in which such drug is to be placed * * *.'' Requests for a hearing, notices of appearance at a hearing, and waivers of an opportunity for a hearing or to participate in a hearing must be submitted to the DEA using the address information provided above.
- The DEA implements and enforces titles II and III of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, as amended. Titles II and III are referred to as the ''Controlled Substances Act'' and the ''Controlled Substances Import and Export Act,'' respectively, and are collectively referred to as the ''Controlled Substances Act'' or the ''CSA'' for the purpose of this action. 21 U.S.C. 801-971. The DEA publishes the implementing regulations for these statutes in title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), parts 1300 to 1321. The CSA and its implementing regulations are designed to prevent, detect, and eliminate the diversion of controlled substances and listed chemicals into the illicit market while providing for the legitimate medical, scientific, research, and industrial needs of the United States. Controlled substances have the potential for abuse and dependence and are controlled to protect the public health and safety.
- Under the CSA, controlled substances are classified into one of five schedules based upon their potential for abuse, their currently accepted medical use, and the degree of dependence the substance may cause. 21 U.S.C. 812. The initial schedules of controlled substances established by Congress are found at 21 U.S.C. 812(c), and the current list of all scheduled substances is published at 21 CFR Part 1308. 21 U.S.C. 812(a).
- Pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 811(a)(1), the Attorney General may, by rule, ''add to such a schedule or transfer between such schedules any drug or other substance if he (A) finds that such drug or other substance has a potential for abuse, and (B) makes with respect to such drug or other substance the findings prescribed by [21 U.S.C. 812(b)] for the schedule in which such drug is to be placed * * *.'' Pursuant to 28 CFR 0.100(b), the Attorney General has delegated this scheduling authority to the Administrator of the DEA.
- The CSA provides that the scheduling of any drug or other substance may be initiated by the Attorney General (1) on his own motion; (2) at the request of the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); or (3) on the petition of any interested party. 21 U.S.C. 811(a). This proposed action was initiated by a petition to reschedule hydrocodone combination products (HCPs) [1] from schedule III to schedule II of the CSA, and is supported by, inter alia, a recommendation from the Assistant Secretary for Health of the HHS. [2] If finalized, this action would impose the regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal sanctions of schedule II controlled substances on any person who handles, or proposes to handle, HCPs.
- Hydrocodone was listed in schedule II of the CSA upon the enactment of the CSA in 1971. 91, 84 Stat. 1236, sec. 202(c), schedule II, paragraph (a), clause (1) (codified at 21 U.S.C. 812(c)); initially codified at 21 CFR 308.12(b)(1)(x) (36 FR 7776, April 24, 1971) (currently codified at 21 CFR 1308.12(b)(1)(vi)). At that time, HCPs in specified doses (containing no greater than 15 milligrams (mg) hydrocodone per dosage unit or not more than 300 mg hydrocodone per 100 milliliters) were listed in schedule III of the CSA when formulated with specified amounts of an isoquinoline alkaloid of opium or one or more therapeutically active nonnarcotic ingredients. 91, 84 Stat. 1236, sec. 202(c), schedule III, paragraph (d), clauses (3) and (4) (codified at 21 U.S.C. 812(c)); initially codified at 21 CFR 308.13(e)(3) and (4) (36 FR 7776, April 24, 1971) (currently codified at 21 CFR 1308.13(e)(1)(iii) and (iv)). Any other products that contain single-entity hydrocodone or combinations of hydrocodone and other substances outside the range of specified doses are listed in schedule II of the CSA. [3]
- Proposed Determination To Transfer HCPs to Schedule II Back to TopPursuant to 21 U.S.C. 811(a), proceedings to add a drug or substance to those controlled under the CSA, or to transfer a drug between schedules, may be initiated on the petition of any interested party. In response to a petition the DEA had received requesting that HCPs be controlled in schedule II of the CSA, in 2004 the DEA submitted a request to the HHS to provide the DEA with a scientific and medical evaluation of available information and a scheduling recommendation for HCPs, pursuant to 21 U.S.C 811(b) and (c). In 2008 the HHS provided to the DEA its recommendation that HCPs remain controlled in schedule III of the CSA. In response, in 2009, the DEA requested that the HHS re-evaluate their data and provide another scientific and medical evaluation and scheduling recommendation based on additional data and analysis.
- On July 9, 2012, President Obama signed the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act (Pub. L. 112-144) (FDASIA). Section 1139 of the FDASIA [4] directed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to hold a public meeting to ''solicit advice and recommendations'' pertaining to the scientific and medical evaluation in connection with its scheduling recommendation to the DEA regarding drug products containing hydrocodone, combined with other analgesics or as an antitussive. Additionally the Secretary was required to solicit stakeholder input ''regarding the health benefits and risks, including the potential for abuse'' of hydrocodone combination products and the impact of up-scheduling of these products. Accordingly, on January 24-25, 2013, the FDA held a public Advisory Committee meeting at which the DEA made a presentation. The Advisory Committee included members with scientific and medical expertise in the subject of opioid abuse, and a patient representative. Members included representatives from National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). There was also an opportunity for the public to provide comment. The Advisory Committee voted 19 to 10 in favor of recommending that hydrocodone combination products be placed into schedule II. According to the FDA, 768 comments were submitted by patients, patient groups, advocacy groups, and professional societies to the FDA.
- Upon evaluating the scientific and medical evidence, along with the above considerations (e.g., recommendation of the Advisory Committee, the public comments, consideration of the health benefits and risks, and information about the impact of rescheduling) mandated by the FDASIA, the HHS on December 16, 2013, submitted to the Administrator of the DEA its scientific and medical evaluation (henceforth called HHS review) entitled, ''Basis for the Recommendation to Place Hydrocodone Combination Products in Schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act.'' Pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 811(b), this document contained an eight-factor analysis of the abuse potential of HCPs, along with the HHS's recommendation to control HCPs under schedule II of the CSA.
- The HHS stated that the comments received during the open public hearing, to the docket, and the discussion of the Advisory Committee members of the FDA Advisory Committee meeting provided support for its conclusion that individuals are taking HCPs in amounts sufficient to create a hazard to their health or to the safety of other individuals or to the community; that there is significant diversion of HCPs; and that individuals are taking HCPs on their own initiative rather than on the basis of medical advice from a practitioner licensed by law to administer such drugs. The HHS stated it has also given careful consideration to the fact that the members of the Advisory Committee voted 19 to 10 in favor of rescheduling HCPs from schedule III to schedule II under the CSA. The HHS considered the increasing trends, the public comments, the recommendation of the Advisory Committee, the health benefits and risks, and the information available about the impact of rescheduling, and concluded that HCPs have high potential for abuse.
- The DEA has reviewed the scientific and medical evaluation and scheduling recommendation provided by the HHS, and all other relevant data, and completed its own eight-factor review document pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 811(c). Included below is a brief summary of each factor as considered by the DEA in its proposed rescheduling action. Both the DEA and HHS analyses are available in their entirety in the public docket for this proposed rule (Docket No. DEA-389) at www.regulations.gov under ''Supporting and Related Material.'' Full analysis of, and citations to, information referenced in this summary may also be found in the supporting material.
- 1. The Drug's Actual or Relative Potential for AbuseThe term ''abuse'' is not defined in the CSA. However, the legislative history of the CSA provides the following criteria to determine whether a particular drug or substance has a potential for abuse: [5]
- (a) Individuals are taking the drug or other substance in amounts sufficient to create a hazard to their health or to the safety of other individuals or to the community; or
- (b) There is a significant diversion of the drug or other substance from legitimate drug channels; or
- (c) Individuals are taking the drug or other substance on their own initiative rather than on the basis of medical advice from a practitioner licensed by law to administer such drugs; or
- (d) The drug is so related in its action to a drug or other substance already listed as having a potential for abuse to make it likely that it will have the same potential for abuse as such substance, thus making it reasonable to assume that there may be significant diversions from legitimate channels, significant use contrary to or without medical advice, or that it has a substantial capability of creating hazards to the health of the user or to the safety of the community.
- The DEA considered the HHS's evaluation and all other relevant data, including data related to the above mentioned criteria, and finds that:
- (a) Individuals are using HCPs in amounts sufficient to create a hazard to their health, to the safety of other individuals, or to the community.
- The HHS states that there are increasing trends in the adverse effects from abuse of HCPs, including emergency department (ED) visits, admissions to addiction treatment centers, and deaths in selected States. In 2011, HCPs were listed in 3,376 admissions for drug treatment as the primary drug of abuse and in 6,601 admissions listing HCPs in addition to other drugs in the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). [6] HCPs are prescribed in an unprecedented manner and their total prescriptions exceed prescriptions for any other opioid analgesic; this characteristic drives their abuse potential and sets them apart from other opioid analgesics in terms of abuse risks.
- Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) [7] data indicate that abuse of HCPs, similar to oxycodone products [8] (schedule II), has been associated with large numbers of admissions to the ED. For example, in 2011 the total number of ED visits related to nonmedical use of HCPs and oxycodone products were 82,479 and 151,218, respectively. [9] The American Association of Poison Control Centers' National Poison Data System [10] (NPDS; formerly known as Toxic Exposure Surveillance System or TESS) reported that HCPs were involved in 30,792 and 29,391 annual toxic exposures in 2011 and 2012, respectively. The corresponding data for oxycodone products was 19,423 and 18,495. The majority of exposures for both drug products were for intentional reasons. [11]
- The HHS mentions that nationwide estimates of overdose deaths due to HCPs cannot be quantified, but the available data for a limited number of States suggest that HCPs contribute to a substantial number of overdose deaths each year. According to the HHS, DAWN medical examiner (ME) data for five States from 2004 through 2010 reported an increase of 63% and 133% in deaths related to HCPs and oxycodone products, respectively. According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), [12] HCPs have been associated with large numbers of deaths in Florida. For example, in 2012, HCPs were associated with 777 deaths, while oxycodone products were associated with 1,426.
- As summarized below, a review of drug abuse indicators for HCPs over the past several years further indicates that these products, similar to oxycodone products, are among the most widely diverted and abused drugs in the country and have high potential for abuse.
- (b) There is a significant diversion of HCPs from legitimate drug channels.
- According to forensic laboratory data as reported by the National Forensic Laboratory System 13 14 (NFLIS) and the System to Retrieve Information from Drug Evidence [15] (STRIDE), HCPs, similar to oxycodone products, are among the top 10 most frequently encountered drugs. From 2002 through 2010, total cases (from both NFLIS and STRIDE) for both HCPs and oxycodone products gradually increased with some decline in 2011 and 2012. From 2002 through 2008, annual total cases involving HCPs (range: 9,106 in 2002 to 33,611 in 2008) consistently exceeded those for oxycodone products (range: 7,993 in 2002 to 28,343 in 2008). In 2009, total cases for HCPs (37,894) were similar to that for oxycodone products (37,680). From 2010 through 2012, total cases for oxycodone products (47,238 in 2010 and 41,915 in 2012) exceeded those for HCPs (39,261 in 2010 and 34,832 in 2012). The DEA has documented a large number of diversion and trafficking cases involving HCPs. DEA investigations conducted from 2005 through 2007 determined that HCPs were diverted from rogue Internet pharmacies.
- (c) Individuals are using HCPs on their own initiative rather than on the basis of medical advice.
- According to the data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health [16] (NSDUH), the lifetime (i.e., ever used) users of HCPs for nonmedical purposes exceeded those for oxycodone products in the United States. For example, in 2004, over 17.7 million Americans age 12 years or older reported lifetime nonmedical use of HCPs as compared to over 11.9 million reported for oxycodone products. In 2012, the corresponding data for HCPs and oxycodone products were over 25.6 and 16 million, respectively. The NSDUH also reported large increases from 2004 through 2012 in the number of individuals using HCPs and oxycodone products for nonmedical purposes.
- The past year initiates (i.e., the first use of a substance within the 12 months prior to the interview date) of HCPs exceeded those of oxycodone products from 2002 through 2005. Past year initiates for HCPs were over 1.3, 1.4, 1.3 and 1.3 million in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005, respectively. The corresponding data for oxycodone products were over 0.47, 0.5, 0.6 and 0.45 million. According to a report by the NSDUH, the combined data from 2002 through 2005 indicate that 57.7% of persons who first used pain relievers nonmedically in the past year used HCPs while 21.7% used oxycodone products. The NSDUH data from 2002 through 2006 also indicate that the lifetime users of HCPs have a higher propensity than that of lifetime users of oxycodone immediate release products (single-entity and combination products combined) to have used for nonmedical purposes any pain relievers in the past year.
- According to the Monitoring the Future [17] (MTF) survey, from 2002 through 2011 the annual prevalence of nonmedical use of Vicodin®, an HCP, ranged from about 8% to 10.5% among high school seniors (12th graders) and exceeded that of OxyContin® (4% to 5.5%), an oxycodone extended release product. In 2012, the annual prevalence rate for nonmedical use of OxyContin® was 1.6%, 3.0%, and 4.3% among 8th, 10th and 12th graders, respectively. The corresponding rates for Vicodin® were 1.3%, 4.4% and 7.5%. According to the MTF, the annual prevalence of nonmedical use of Vicodin® in college students and young adults was 3.8% and 6.3% in 2012. The corresponding data for OxyContin® were 1.2% and 2.3%. The aforementioned data from drug abuse surveys (NSDUH and MTF) collectively indicate high prevalence of abuse of HCPs among Americans including students thereby indicating their high abuse potential.
- (d) HCPs are so related in their action to a drug or other substance already listed as having a potential for abuse to make it likely that they will have the same potential for abuse as such substance, thus making it reasonable to assume that there may be significant diversion from legitimate channels, significant use contrary to or without medical advice, or that they have a substantial capability of creating hazards to the health of the user or to the safety of the community.
- Hydrocodone possesses abuse liability effects substantially similar to morphine (schedule II) in both animals and humans. Hydrocodone, similar to morphine, is a μ opioid receptor agonist and shares pharmacological properties with morphine. Hydrocodone substitutes for morphine in animals trained to discriminate the presence and absence of morphine. Hydrocodone, similar to morphine, is self-administered by animals. Hydrocodone substitutes for morphine in opioid-dependent subjects. Clinical abuse liability studies have also demonstrated that HCPs (Hycodan® or hydrocodone in combination with acetaminophen) are similar to morphine with respect to physiological effects, subjective effects, and drug ''liking'' scores.
- Hydrocodone/acetaminophen and oxycodone/acetaminophen combination products at equi-miotic doses, in general, produce similar profiles of psychopharmacological effects. These two opioid products produced prototypic opiate-like effects and psychomotor impairment of similar magnitudes.
- Collectively these data demonstrate that HCPs have a high potential for abuse similar to other schedule II opioid analgesic drugs such as morphine and oxycodone products.
- 2. Scientific Evidence of the Drug's Pharmacological Effects, if KnownThe HHS states that hydrocodone's pharmacological effects are similar to other µ opioid receptor agonists. It is effective as an antitussive agent and as an analgesic drug. Opioid analgesics have an important role in the management of pain. HCPs contain other nonnarcotic active ingredients such as acetaminophen, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (aspirin and ibuprofen), chlorpheniramine or homatropine methylbromide. The mechanism of analgesic and antitussive effects of HCPs are different from those of nonnarcotic active ingredients present in HCPs. Acetaminophen and NSAIDs are less effective against severe pain, but have a recognized role in a variety of pain settings.
- HCPs, similar to other opioid analgesics such as oxycodone products, are associated with a substantial number of overdose, suicide, abuse, and dependence reports. Overdose of HCPs, similar to other opioid analgesics, can lead to respiratory depression and death. Common adverse effects of NSAIDs include gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, renal and renovascular adverse events, and hepatic injury. Acetaminophen has low incidence of gastrointestinal side effects and is a common household analgesic available over the counter. Overdoses of acetaminophen can cause severe hepatic damage and death. Opioid/acetaminophen combination products are linked to numerous liver injuries.
- 3. The State of Current Scientific Knowledge Regarding the Drug or Other SubstanceThe HHS provided additional scientific information with focus on chemical and toxicological properties of hydrocodone and nonnarcotic components of HCPs. Hydrocodone is a semisynthetic opioid. The bitartrate salt form of hydrocodone is the main active component in all currently marketed HCPs. Nonnarcotic drugs present as co-ingredients are acetaminophen, aspirin, ibuprofen, chlorpheniramine or homatropine methylbromide. Hydrocodone and nonnarcotic drugs present in HCPs have potential to produce adverse effects.
- 4. Its History and Current Pattern of AbuseSoon after introduction for clinical use, there were reports of hydrocodone abuse and addiction. By the 1950s, it was established that hydrocodone has an abuse liability similar to that of morphine. Data regarding the pharmacological effects of hydrocodone and its high potential for abuse were available prior to the enactment of the CSA and the placement of hydrocodone in schedule II reflects that knowledge base. In the United States, popularity of hydrocodone as a drug of abuse increased in the 1990s coinciding with its increased use as an analgesic. Currently HCPs are widely diverted and abused throughout the United States as demonstrated in national and regional drug-abuse-related databases. HCPs and oxycodone products (schedule II) are the two most common opioid analgesic products encountered by law enforcement.
- Data from DEA field offices indicate that HCPs are diverted and are among the most sought after licit drugs in every geographic region of the country. DEA case investigations document numerous methods of diversion of HCPs. These methods involve drug theft, doctor shopping, fraudulent oral (call-in) prescriptions, fraudulent prescriptions, diversion by registrants, and various other drug trafficking schemes. HCPs are abused by individuals of diverse ages from adolescents to older populations. According to the NSDUH, in 2012, of the 37 million people in the United States who used pain relievers nonmedically in their lifetime, over 25.6 million (representing 9.9% of the United States population age 12 years or older) reported lifetime nonmedical use of HCPs. The MTF surveys indicate that from 2002 through 2012, 8.1% to 10.5% of high school seniors used Vicodin®, an HCP, for nonmedical purposes. In 2012, the annual prevalence of nonmedical use of Vicodin® in college students and young adults was 3.8% and 6.3%, respectively.
- Several published epidemiological studies indicate that HCPs are widely abused. For example, a published epidemiological study reviewed prescription opioid abuse data collected by drug abuse experts (representatives of the nation's methadone programs, treatment centers, impaired health care professional programs, NIDA grantees and high-prescribing physicians) and found that HCPs are one of the most commonly abused prescription opioid drugs. Rates of abuse, expressed as cases per 100,000 population, were the highest for hydrocodone and extended release oxycodone products, while the rest of the opioid analgesics, including immediate release oxycodone products, had lower rates. Another published epidemiological study also indicates that the rate of intentional exposure (abuse, intentional misuse, suicide or intentional unknown) was highest for HCPs at 3.75 per 100,000 population followed by oxycodone products at 1.81 per 100,000. HCPs were involved in 55% of all of the intentional exposure cases, whereas oxycodone products were involved in 27%. In addition, published data on toxic exposure calls received by Texas poison centers from 1998 through 2009 showed that toxic exposure calls related to ingestion of the combination of HCPs, carisoprodol and alprazolam (commonly referred under street names such as ''Holy Trinity,'' ''Houston Cocktail,'' or ''Trio'') have increased from 2000 through 2007 with some decline in 2009.
- 5. The Scope, Duration, and Significance of AbuseThe HHS mentions that abuse of HCPs is considerable and is associated with considerable negative public health impact. The extent of nonmedical use of HCPs by adolescents is higher than for oxycodone products. These data are of significant concern as this may reflect particular risk for younger individuals. The HHS also states that because of the large number of prescriptions, large amounts of HCPs are potentially available for illicit use. Large numbers of adversely affected individuals and the severity of the adverse effects related to abuse of HCPs suggest that individuals are taking these products in amounts sufficient to create a hazard to their health and to the safety of other individuals and the community. Abuse of HCPs is associated with progressively increasing trends in serious adverse effects, including ED visits, admissions for abuse treatment, and in mortality data in selected States. The HHS cites the widespread prescriptions for HCPs as one of the reasons for these adverse outcomes. According to the HHS, data suggests that HCPs have high potential for abuse.
- The DEA notes that initial reports of abuse of HCPs in the U.S. were published in the 1960s. Since the 1990s, the diversion and abuse of HCPs has escalated in the country. By the late 1990s, there were large increases in the diversion and abuse of HCPs. HCPs, similar to oxycodone products, are widely diverted and abused pharmaceutical opioid analgesics. HCPs are associated with significant illicit activity and abuse. Federal, State and local forensic laboratory data rank HCPs as one of the two most frequently encountered opioid pharmaceuticals in submissions to the laboratories. For example, in 2012, there were over 34,000 exhibits for HCPs (NFLIS). All DEA field divisions across the U.S. have reported that HCPs are among the most sought after pharmaceuticals.
- In 2012, according to the poison control centers data (NPDS), there were over 29,390 toxic exposures involving HCPs. In 2002, there were over 25,000 DAWN ED visits associated with HCPs and it was ranked sixth among all controlled substances. According to DAWN, the nonmedical use related ED visits for HCPs were 86,258; 95,972; and 82,480 in 2009, 2010, and 2011, respectively. A number of data sources indicate that abuse of HCPs is associated with a large number of deaths. According to NSDUH, there were large numbers of lifetime and past year initiates of HCPs for nonmedical purposes and these numbers exceeded those of oxycodone. According to the MTF, about 8% to 10% of high school seniors reported nonmedical use of Vicodin®, an HCP, in recent years.
- DEA case investigations document numerous methods of diversion of HCPs. These methods involve drug theft, doctor shopping, fraudulent oral (call-in) prescriptions, fraudulent prescriptions, diversion by registrants, and various other drug trafficking schemes.
- 6. What, if Any, Risk There Is to the Public HealthDespite the medical value of HCPs as antitussive and analgesic drugs, the misuse and abuse of these products present numerous risks to the public health. Many of the risk factors associated with these products are common risks shared with other μ opioid receptor agonists. These include the risks of developing tolerance, dependence and addiction, and the attendant problems associated with these risks including death. According to the CDC, from 1999 to 2010, the number of drug poisoning deaths [18] involving any opioid analgesic (e.g., oxycodone, methadone, or hydrocodone) markedly increased (over four-fold), from 4,030 to 16,651, and accounted for 43% of the 38,329 drug poisoning deaths and 39% of the 42,917 total poisoning deaths [19] in 2010. In 1999, opioid analgesics were involved in 24% of the 16,849 drug poisoning deaths and 20% of the 19,741 total poisoning deaths.
- The HHS reviewed the HCPs related adverse events that were reported to the FDA Adverse Events Reporting System (FAERS) [20] from 1969 through 2012 and compared them to those associated with oxycodone products. The most common adverse events reported for HCPs included terms such as complete suicide, intentional overdose, drug abuse, drug dependence, and drug abuser.[21] The HHS found that both HCPs and oxycodone products are associated with substantial numbers of reports of overdose, suicide, abuse, and dependence reports. Both products have large numbers of adverse events reported that reflect abuse, misuse and injury due to inappropriate use. HCPs had fewer such reports than oxycodone products.
- According to the DAWN, ED mentions associated with HCPs and oxycodone products are the highest among all opioid analgesics suggesting that both HCPs and oxycodone products have a great adverse risk to the public health. According to the HHS, DAWN ME data for five States from 2004 through 2010 reported an increase of 63% and 133% in deaths related to HCPs and oxycodone products, respectively. According to the FDLE, HCPs have been associated with large numbers of deaths in Florida in recent years. According to the NPDS annual reports, since 2002, annual figures for toxic exposures (within the category of opioid analgesic drugs) were the largest for HCPs, followed by oxycodone products (see summary of Factor 1 above). From 2006 through 2012, NPDS reported a total of 84,798 single substance exposures related to HCPs resulting in 195 deaths. The corresponding data for oxycodone products is 57,219 exposures and 173 deaths.
- 7. Its Psychic or Physiological Dependence LiabilityAccording to the HHS, data from animal and human studies indicate the dependence potential of hydrocodone. The severe dependence potential is reflected by the number of individuals admitted to addiction treatment centers citing HCPs as their substance of abuse. The HHS also states that the treatment admissions linked to abuse of HCPs are increasing. The HHS concluded that abuse of HCPs may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence.
- The DEA notes that as evident from the NSDUH data from 2002 through 2006, the propensity of the lifetime users of HCPs to develop substance use disorders on any pain relievers is higher than that of lifetime users of any pain relievers, as well as lifetime users of oxycodone products other than OxyContin® (i.e., oxycodone immediate release single-entity products and immediate release combination products). The FAERS data (from 1969 through August 28, 2008) indicate that the abuse and dependence reports associated with HCPs expressed as a percentage of all its adverse events (13.3%) were similar (both in magnitude and temporal distribution) to that for oxycodone products other than OxyContin® (13.6%).
- The DEA also notes that according to several published epidemiological surveys and retrospective review of medical records of addiction treatment populations, HCPs are among the most abused opioid pharmaceuticals in prescription opioid dependent individuals in the country and are frequently mentioned as the primary drug of abuse in these subjects.
- The above data collectively indicate that HCPs, similar to oxycodone products, have high potential to cause severe psychological or physiological dependence.
- 8. Whether the Substance Is an Immediate Precursor of a Substance Already Controlled Under the CSAHCPs are not immediate precursors of a substance already controlled under the CSA, as defined in 21 U.S.C. 811(e).
- Based on consideration of the scientific and medical evaluation and accompanying recommendation of the HHS, and based on the DEA's consideration of its own eight-factor analysis, the DEA finds that these facts and all other relevant data constitute substantial evidence of high potential for abuse of HCPs. As such, the DEA hereby proposes to transfer HCPs from schedule III to schedule II under the CSA.
- Proposed Determination of Appropriate Schedule Back to TopThe CSA outlines the findings required to transfer a drug or other substance between schedules (I, II, III, IV, or V) of the CSA. 21 U.S.C. 811(a); 21 U.S.C. 812(b). After consideration of the analysis and rescheduling recommendation of the Assistant Secretary for Health of the HHS and review of available data, the Administrator of the DEA, pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 811(a) and 21 U.S.C. 812(b)(2), finds that:
- 1. HCPs have a high potential for abuse similar to that of schedule II substances;
- 2. HCPs have a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States. According to the HHS, several pharmaceutical products containing hydrocodone in combination with acetaminophen, aspirin, NSAIDS, and homatropine are approved by FDA for use as analgesics for pain relief and for the symptomatic relief of cough and upper respiratory symptoms associated with allergies and colds; and
- 3. Abuse of HCPs may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence similar to that of schedule II substances.
- Based on these findings, the Administrator of the DEA concludes that HCPs warrant control in schedule II of the CSA. 21 U.S.C. 812(b)(2).
- If this rule is finalized as proposed, persons who handle HCPs would be subject to the CSA's schedule II regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal sanctions applicable to the manufacture, distribution, dispensing, importing, exporting, research, and conduct of instructional activities, including the following:
- Registration. Any person who handles (manufactures, distributes, dispenses, imports, exports, engages in research, or conducts instructional activities with) HCPs, or who desires to handle HCPs, would be required to be registered with the DEA to conduct such activities pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 822, 823, 957, 958, and in accordance with 21 CFR parts 1301 and 1312.
- Security. HCPs would be subject to schedule II security requirements and would need to be handled and stored pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 821, 823, 871(b) and in accordance with 21 CFR 1301.71-1301.93.
- Labeling and Packaging. All labels and labeling for commercial containers of HCPs would need to comply with 21 U.S.C. 825, 958(e), and be in accordance with 21 CFR part 1302.
- Quotas. A quota assigned pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 826 and in accordance with 21 CFR part 1303 would be required in order to manufacture HCPs.
- Inventory. Any person who becomes registered with the DEA after the effective date of the final rule would be required to take an initial inventory of all stocks of controlled substances (including HCPs) on hand on the date the registrant first engages in the handling of controlled substances, pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 827, 958, and in accordance with 21 CFR 1304.03, 1304.04, and 1304.11(a) and (b).
- After the initial inventory, every DEA registrant would be required to take a new inventory of all stocks of controlled substances on hand every two years, pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 827, 958, and in accordance with 21 CFR 1304.03, 1304.04, and 1304.11.
- Records. Every DEA registrant would be required to maintain records with respect to HCPs pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 827, 958, and in accordance with 21 CFR parts 1304, 1307, and 1312.
- Reports. Every DEA registrant would be required to submit reports regarding HCPs to the Automation of Reports and Consolidated Order System (ARCOS) pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 827 and in accordance with 21 CFR 1304.33.
- Orders for HCPs. Every DEA registrant who distributes HCPs would be required to comply with order form requirements, pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 828, and in accordance with 21 CFR part 1305.
- Prescriptions. All prescriptions for HCPs would need to comply with 21 U.S.C. 829, and would be required to be issued in accordance with 21 CFR part 1306, and part 1311 subpart C.
- Importation and Exportation. All importation and exportation of HCPs would need to be in compliance with 21 U.S.C. 952, 953, 957, 958, and in accordance with 21 CFR part 1312.
- Liability. Any activity involving HCPs not authorized by, or in violation of, the CSA, would be unlawful, and may subject the person to administrative, civil, and/or criminal sanctions.
- Executive Orders 12866 and 13563In accordance with 21 U.S.C. 811(a), this proposed scheduling action is subject to formal rulemaking procedures performed ''on the record after opportunity for a hearing,'' which are conducted pursuant to the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 556 and 557. The CSA sets forth the procedures and criteria for scheduling a drug or other substance. Such actions are exempt from review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) pursuant to Section 3(d)(1) of Executive Order 12866 and the principles reaffirmed in Executive Order 13563.
- Executive Order 12988This proposed regulation meets the applicable standards set forth in sections 3(a) and 3(b)(2) of Executive Order 12988 Civil Justice Reform to eliminate drafting errors and ambiguity, minimize litigation, provide a clear legal standard for affected conduct, and promote simplification and burden reduction.
- Executive Order 13132This proposed rulemaking does not have federalism implications warranting the application of Executive Order 13132. The proposed rule does not have substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship between the national government and the States, or the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government.
- Executive Order 13175This proposed rule does not have tribal implications warranting the application of Executive Order 13175. It does not have substantial direct effects on one or more Indian tribes, on the relationship between the Federal Government and Indian tribes, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal Government and Indian tribes.
- Regulatory Flexibility ActThe Administrator, in accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601-612) (RFA), has reviewed this proposed rule, and by approving it, certifies that it will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The purpose of this proposed rule is to place HCPs into schedule II of the CSA. No less restrictive measures (i.e., non-control or control in a lower schedule) would enable the DEA to meet its statutory obligation under the CSA.
- HCPs are widely prescribed drugs for the treatment of pain and cough suppression. Handlers of HCPs primarily include manufacturers, distributors, exporters, pharmacies, practitioners, mid-level practitioners, and hospitals/clinics. [22] It is possible that other registrants, such as importers, researchers, analytical labs, teaching institutions, etc., also handle HCPs. However, based on its understanding of its registrant population, the DEA assumes for purposes of this analysis that for all business activities other than manufacturers, distributors, exporters, pharmacies, practitioners, mid-level practitioners, and hospitals/clinics, that the volume of HCPs handled is nominal, and therefore de minimis to the economic impact determination of this proposed rescheduling action.
- Because HCPs are so widely prescribed, for the purposes of this analysis, the DEA conservatively assumes all distributors, exporters, pharmacies, practitioners, mid-level practitioners, and hospitals/clinics currently registered with the DEA to handle schedule III controlled substances are also handlers of HCPs. The DEA estimated the number of manufacturers and exporters handling HCPs directly from DEA records. In total, the DEA estimates that nearly 1.5 million controlled substance registrations, representing approximately 376,189 entities, would be affected by this rule.
- The DEA does not collect data on company size of its registrants. The DEA used DEA records and multiple subscription-based and public data sources to relate the number of registrations to the number of entities and the number of entities that are small entities. The DEA estimates that of the 376,189 entities that would be affected by this rule, 366,351 are ''small entities'' in accordance with the RFA and Small Business Administration size standards. 5 U.S.C. 601(6); 15 U.S.C. 632. [23]
- The DEA examined the registration, security (including storage), labeling and packaging, quota, inventory, recordkeeping and reporting, ordering, prescribing, importing, exporting, and disposal requirements for the 366,351 small entities estimated to be affected by the proposed rule. The DEA estimates that only the physical security requirements will have material economic impact and such impacts will be limited to manufacturers, exporters, and distributors. Many manufacturers and exporters are likely to have sufficient space in their existing vaults to accommodate HCPs. However, the DEA understands that some manufacturers, exporters, and distributors will need to build new vaults or expand existing vaults to store HCPs in compliance with schedule II controlled substance physical security requirements. Due to the uniqueness of each business, the DEA made assumptions based on research and institutional knowledge of its registrant community to quantify the costs associated with physical security requirements for manufacturers, exporters and distributors.
- The DEA estimates there will be significant economic impact on 1 (2.0%) of the affected 50 small business manufacturers, and 54 (7.9%) of the affected 683 small business distributors. The DEA estimates no significant impact on the remaining affected 4 small business exporters, 50,774 small business pharmacies, or 314,840 small business practitioners/mid-level practitioners/hospitals/clinics. In summary, 55 of the 366,351 (0.015%) affected small entities are estimated to experience significant impact, (i.e., incur costs greater than 1% of annual revenue) if the proposed rule were finalized. The percentage of small entities with significant economic impact is below the 30% threshold for all registrant business activities. The DEA's assessment of economic impact by size category indicates that the proposed rule will not have a significant effect on a substantial number of these small entities.
- The DEA's assessment of economic impact by size category indicates that the proposed rule to reschedule HCPs as schedule II controlled substances will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The DEA will consider written comments regarding the DEA's economic analysis of the impact of such rescheduling, including this certification, and requests that commenters describe the specific nature of any impact on small entities and provide empirical data to illustrate the extent of such impact.
- Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995On the basis of information contained in the ''Regulatory Flexibility Act'' section above, the DEA has determined and certifies pursuant to the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1501et seq.), that this action would not result in any Federal mandate that may result ''in the expenditure by State, local, and tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of $100,000,000 or more (adjusted for inflation) in any one year * * *.'' Therefore, neither a Small Government Agency Plan nor any other action is required under provisions of the UMRA of 1995.
- Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995This action does not impose a new collection of information requirement under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521). This action would not impose recordkeeping or reporting requirements on State or local governments, individuals, businesses, or organizations. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.
- For the reasons set out above, 21 CFR part 1308 is proposed to be amended to read as follows:
- 1.The authority citation for 21 CFR part 1308 continues to read as follows:
- Authority:21 U.S.C. 811, 812, 871(b) unless otherwise noted.
- § 1308.13 [Amended]2.Amend § 1308.13 by removing paragraphs (e)(1)(iii) and (iv) and redesignating paragraphs (e)(1)(v) through (viii) as (e)(1)(iii) through (v), respectively.
- Dated: February 21, 2014.
- [FR Doc. 2014-04333 Filed 2-26-14; 8:45 am]
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- RSS Content - Investor Relations - Zogenix
- Experts to Provide Independent Oversight and Recommendations
- SAN DIEGO, Feb. 12, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zogenix, Inc. (Nasdaq:ZGNX), a pharmaceutical company developing and commercializing products for the treatment of pain-related and central nervous system (CNS) disorders, today announced the formation of an External Safe-Use Board. The Board will be a key part of the company's comprehensive approach supporting the appropriate use of ZohydroTM ER (hydrocodone bitartrate) extended-release capsules, the first and only extended-release hydrocodone without acetaminophen for the management of pain severe enough to require daily, around-the-clock, long-term opioid treatment and for which alternative treatment options are inadequate. The areas of expertise of the standing members of the Board are matched to ensure Zogenix will receive timely, independent and thorough feedback and recommendations regarding the use of Zohydro ER after launch in early March. The Board will meet regularly to review a variety of data inputs regarding the medication's prescribing and use.
- "Instituting the External Safe-Use Board is another example of our commitment to responsible commercialization of our products," said Roger Hawley, chief executive officer of Zogenix. "The important role of this Board serves to report independent assessments, interpretations and recommendations regarding the use of Zohydro ER directly to the Board of Directors of Zogenix and to me. Our intentions are to proactively share this information with the Food & Drug Administration (FDA). This will be the first time that a Schedule II opioid product will have launched with an expert, independent safety review board in place from the first day of product availability."
- Chairperson of the External Safe-Use Board, Jeffrey Gudin, MD, Director of Pain Management and Palliative Care at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center in New Jersey, said, "This type of voluntary initiative on the part of Zogenix, will allow external, highly experienced specialists, to provide valuable insight and advice about the impact of introducing this new pain treatment to the community and, if needed, to recommend specific actions needed to ensure that the risk of abuse, misuse and diversion is minimized. The creation of this Board exemplifies Zogenix's commitment to the appropriate use of Zohydro ER."
- The members of the External Safe-Use Board consist of widely recognized experts in pain management, risk management, pharmacovigilance, surveillance, addiction, patient care and law enforcement. The Board members will meet quarterly and have responsibility for interpreting and identifying the assessment of the benefit/risk profile of Zohydro ER, effectiveness of the current surveillance tools, current education and prevention programs, and identification of opportunities to enhance signal detection or risk mitigation activities.
- Zogenix is committed to promoting the appropriate use of Zohydro ER through a comprehensive suite of voluntary initiatives, which include integrated educational resources for patients, prescribers and pharmacists, surveillance programs to identify misuse, abuse and diversion, commercial activity focused on selected prescribers experienced with managing pain using Schedule II extended-release opioids, education and training requirements for Zogenix territory representatives who will be compensated on achieving educational goals during launch year and provision of safe storage mechanisms for prescription medicines.
- In addition, Zogenix is fully engaged in developing an abuse deterrent formulation of Zohydro ER, as announced in November 2013, consistent with the Food & Drug Administration's (FDA) draft guidance for the industry on the evaluation and labeling of abuse deterrent opioids.
- Jeffrey Gudin, MD '' Chairperson; Pain Management Specialist
- Dr. Gudin is currently Director of Pain Management and Palliative Care at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center in New Jersey, an affiliate of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. His clinical and research focus includes the safe use of controlled substances for the treatment of pain, preemptive analgesia, and increasing clinician awareness of pain management and palliative care. He is board certified in Pain Medicine, Anesthesiology, Addiction Medicine and Hospice and Palliative Care.
- John J. Burke '' Law Enforcement Specialist
- Commander Burke has been a law enforcement officer for over 43 years. He is the president of the non-profit organization, National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators, and is the owner and president of Pharmaceutical Diversion Education Inc., a company which provides education and consulting work on a wide variety of prescription drug abuse issues to law enforcement, health professionals, and the pharmaceutical industry.
- Debra Gordon, RN, DNP, FAAN '' Patient Advocate
- Dr. Gordon is a Teaching Associate with the Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine at the University of Washington (UW), Seattle. She works in conjunction with the inpatient and outpatient Pain Relief Services, clinics and hospital staff to collaborate on improving systems of care and designing outcome evaluations that benefit patients and populations across the continuum of care. She has also been involved in a number of national and international projects focused on improving the quality and safety of pain management.
- Herbert Neuman, MD, MBA '' Pharmacovigilance Expert
- Dr. Neuman, President of R3xperts LLC, has Dr. Neuman, President of R3xperts LLC, has designed global drug safety and risk management systems for multiple companies and advises healthcare firms on a broad range of product safety issues. He has experience working with the FDA to understand and mitigate important drug safety and risk management issues.
- Scott Novak, PhD '' Surveillance Expert
- Dr. Novak, Senior Developmental Epidemiologist at RTI International, holds research interests in the causes, correlates, and consequences of substance use, including the behavioral and psychiatric sequelae. He currently directs the program of research on prescription drug abuse within RTI's behavioral health epidemiology program. He is also active in studies investigating the epidemiology of new synthetic/designer drugs of abuse in the United States and internationally.
- Steven Passik, PhD '' Addiction Specialist
- Dr. Passik is the Director of Clinical Addiction Research and Education at Millennium Laboratories and is a Professor of Psychiatry and Anesthesiology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. He has served on the editorial board of several peer-reviewed pain management journals, and was the president of the Indiana Cancer and AIDS Pain Initiative and the editor in chief of the National Cancer Institute's PDQ Supportive Care Editorial Board.
- Joseph Pergolizzi, Jr., MD '' Risk Management Expert
- Dr. Pergolizzi is a senior partner in the Naples Anesthesia and Physician Associates Group and Chairman of the Board of the Association of Chronic Pain Patients. He has served as a member of various medical and scientific societies and acted on a number of institutional committees including the Medical Errors Committee and Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee, and is also a participant of the FDA's Safe Use Initiative Roundtable.
- Zohydro' ER is an opioid agonist, extended-release, oral formulation of hydrocodone bitartrate indicated for the management of pain severe enough to require daily, around-the-clock, long-term opioid treatment and for which alternative treatment options are inadequate.
- Because of the risks of addiction, abuse, and misuse with opioids, even at recommended doses, and because of the greater risks of overdose and death with extended-release opioid formulations, reserve Zohydro ER for use in patients for whom alternative treatment options (e.g., non-opioid analgesics or immediate-release opioids) are ineffective, not tolerated, or would be otherwise inadequate to provide sufficient management of pain.
- Zohydro ER is not indicated for use as an as'needed (prn) analgesic.
- Please see the Zohydro ER full prescribing information for the complete boxed warning and safety information.
- WARNING: ADDICTION, ABUSE AND MISUSE; LIFE-THREATENING RESPIRATORY DEPRESSION; ACCIDENTAL EXPOSURE; NEONATAL OPIOID WITHDRAWAL SYNDROME and INTERACTION WITH ALCOHOL
- Zohydro ER exposes users to risks of addiction, abuse, and misuse, which can lead to overdose and death. Assess each patient's risk before prescribing, and monitor regularly for development of these behaviors or conditions.Serious, life-threatening, or fatal respiratory depression may occur. Monitor closely, especially upon initiation or following a dose increase. Instruct patients to swallow Zohydro ER whole to avoid exposure to a potentially fatal dose of hydrocodone.Accidental consumption of Zohydro ER, especially in children, can result in fatal overdose of hydrocodone.For patients who require opioid therapy while pregnant, be aware that infants may require treatment for neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome. Prolonged use during pregnancy can result in life-threatening neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome.Instruct patients not to consume alcohol or any products containing alcohol while taking Zohydro ER because co-ingestion can result in fatal plasma hydrocodone levels.IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
- Zohydro ER is contraindicated in patients with: significant respiratory depression; acute or severe bronchial asthma or hypercarbia; known or suspected paralytic ileus; and hypersensitivity to hydrocodone bitartrate or any other ingredients in Zohydro ER.
- Zohydro ER contains hydrocodone, a Schedule II controlled substance. As an opioid, Zohydro ER exposes users to the risks of addiction, abuse, and misuse. As modified-release products, such as Zohydro ER, deliver the opioid over an extended period of time, there is a greater risk for overdose and death due to the larger amount of hydrocodone present.
- Potential serious adverse events caused by opioids include respiratory depression, potential for misuse and abuse, CNS depressant effects, prolonged gastric obstruction, and severe hypotension. The most common adverse reactions associated with Zohydro ER ( '¥ 2%) include constipation, nausea, somnolence, fatigue, headache, dizziness, dry mouth, vomiting, pruritus, abdominal pain, peripheral edema, upper respiratory tract infection, muscle spasms, urinary tract infection, back pain and tremor.
- For more information about Zohydro ER, please visit: www.ZohydroEr.com or the Zohydro ER REMS website at www.ZohydroERREMS.com.
- Zogenix, Inc. (Nasdaq:ZGNX), with offices in San Diego and Emeryville, California, is a pharmaceutical company committed to developing and commercializing therapies that address specific clinical needs for people living with pain-related conditions and CNS disorders who need innovative treatment alternatives to help them return to normal daily functioning. Zogenix developed and commercialized the first needle-free subcutaneous injection, SUMAVEL® DosePro® (sumatriptan injection), for migraine and cluster headache. Zogenix received FDA approval for Zohydro ER (hydrocodone bitartrate) extended-release capsules, the first extended-release oral formulation of hydrocodone without acetaminophen. The development pipeline for Zogenix includes a once-monthly subcutaneous injection for schizophrenia.
- Forward-Looking Statements
- Zogenix cautions you that statements included in this press release that are not a description of historical facts are forward-looking statements. Words such as "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "indicates," "will," "intends," "potential," "suggests," "assuming," "designed" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are based on the company's current beliefs and expectations. These forward-looking statements include statements regarding: the ability to ensure that the risk of abuse, misuse and diversion of Zohydro ER is minimized and the potential to develop an abuse deterrent formulation of Zohydro ER. The inclusion of forward-looking statements should not be regarded as a representation by Zogenix that any of its plans will be achieved. Actual results may differ from those set forth in this press release due to the risk and uncertainties inherent in Zogenix's business, including, without limitation: Zogenix's ability to adequately ensure that the risk of abuse, misuse and diversion of Zohydro ER is minimized; risks and uncertainties associated with the development and regulatory approval of an abuse deterrent formulation of Zohydro ER; the timing and success of any subsequent commercial launch of Zohydro ER; Zogenix's ability to successfully launch and drive market demand for Zohydro ER; Zogenix's ability to obtain additional financing as needed to support its operations; the scope and validity of patent protection for Zohydro ER and Zogenix's ability to commercialize Zohydro ER without infringing the patent rights of others; unexpected adverse side effects or inadequate therapeutic efficacy of Zohydro ER that could limit commercialization, or that could result in recalls or product liability claims; competition from other pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies; other difficulties or delays relating to the development, testing, manufacturing and marketing of and obtaining regulatory approval for an abuse deterrent formulation of Zohydro ER; and other risks detailed in Zogenix's prior press releases as well as in public periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof, and Zogenix undertakes no obligation to revise or update this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. This caution is made under the safe harbor provisions of Section 21E of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
- ZohydroTM ER is a trademark and SUMAVEL® and DosePro® are registered trademarks of Zogenix, Inc.
- CONTACT: Investors Zack Kubow | The Ruth Group 646.536.7020 | zkubow@theruthgroup.com Media Julie Normart | WCG 415.946.1087 | jnormart@wcgworld.comZogenix
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- Obama Nation
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- Adobe & Prezi commit $400M to President Obama's digital literacy program | VentureBeat | Education | by Christina Farr
- Image Credit: The White House
- President Obama is relying on the private sector to further his ambitious goal to bring high-speed Internet to 99 percent of schools.
- The administration's ConnectEd program, unveiled last Summer, aims to improve Internet access for students and bring new education technology to schools.
- Fewer than 20 percent of educators across the country feel that their school's Internet connection adequately meets their teaching needs, according to the White House.
- The ConnectEd program has raised some $1 billion in funding from the private sector thus far. Today, the program received its largest single donation from software company Adobe. Adobe pledged more than $300 million worth of software to the program, giving K-12 students access to well-known products like Photoshop Elements and EchoSign.
- Cloud software company Prezi also donated $100 million in software licenses for education as part of the initiative. The commitment includes licenses of Prezi Edu Pro, which usually runs at $4.92 per month.
- President Obama made the announcement during the White House's inaugural student ''film festival'' earlier today. Over 2,500 student teams from K-12 schools submitted short films, which showcase how technology is used in their classrooms. You can watch the 16 final student film selections here.
- The administration is also putting pressure on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to bring lightning fast Internet to schools. Last year, Obama asked the FCC to revamp its E-Rate program, which subsidizes Internet services for schools and libraries, but only those that meet its criteria.
- The FCC amped up its involvement in ConnectEd by pledging $2 billion to connect 20 million students in 15,000 schools over the next two years.
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- Calls for pension cuts spread across US
- After release of Detroit bankruptcy planBy Thomas Gaist1 March 2014In the aftermath of US Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes' precedent setting ruling in the Detroit bankruptcy case on December 3, 2013, and the release last week of an adjustment plan based on the ruling, a coordinated attack on pensioners is intensifying across the United States.
- A chorus of voices in the corporate, media and think tank establishments are signaling the ruthless determination of the US ruling elite to rob public sector workers of their pensions, health care and other benefits.
- An article published Friday in Bloomberg, Detroit Bankruptcy Prods Cities to Target Pensions,'' argued that the main outcome of the Detroit bankruptcy so far has been to add momentum to the drive for pension reductions in states and cities nationwide.
- ''Local officials in at least 10 states are trying to cut pensions of municipal workers, or eliminate defined-benefit plans, pointing to Detroit as a symbol of the peril of growing retirement costs. From New York to California, mayors and county officials are asking legislatures, courts or voters to allow the changes as a way to maintain government services as pensions consume a larger portion of budgets,'' Bloomberg wrote.
- The claim that cutting pensions will result in improved services is a fraud. As Detroit shows, the slashing of pensions by 34 percent goes hand in hand with the further city workers layoffs and the gutting and privatization of essential services.
- According to Bloomberg, the Detroit bankruptcy filing has had the effect of ''emboldening local officials to advocate for reduced benefits.'' Teague Paterson, an attorney for municipal workers' unions in California, told Bloomberg, ''Detroit has presented something of a lightning rod for the elected officials. Until recently, government agencies have been reticent to make changes, especially for public safety employees, who have been the golden children of the public sector workforce.''
- Wall Street is issuing an ultimatum to state and local governments warning that paying pension obligations in full will degrade their credit status. Municipalities that cut pensions aggressively, on the other hand, will receive financing on more favorable terms, they say.
- Greg Donaldson, chief investment officer of Donaldson Capital Management, which holds $300 million in municipal bonds, told Bloomberg that cuts are necessary to raise investor confidence in cities' debt. ''The math in many of these pension plans just doesn't work,'' Donaldson said.
- A January 2014 study by the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, with the Orwellian title of ''Strengthening the Security of Public Sector Defined Benefit Plans,'' provides a blueprint on how to destroy public worker pensions. Declaring that such pensions are underfunded by at least $1 trillion it proposes a variety of strategies to reduce pension liabilities owed to millions of American workers, in spite of existing legal and constitutional obstacles.
- The Rockefeller Institute study based much of its analysis around the consideration that elected bodies and other ''legal structures'' will have to be circumvented in the course of diminishing pensions.
- ''Among the primary reasons that legislative efforts to address pension underfunding are misdirected and ineffective are the constitutional and legal protections afforded pension rights and the political power of those that resist change,'' the study said.
- ''State and local governments face challenges in resolving pension problems that the private sector does not face. Public pension benefits are largely defined in law and often have special legal protections '... State governments'--depending on the state and judicial interpretation'--either cannot change these benefits at all, or can only do so by statutory change. Thus, state governments must act through elected legislatures where power is diffused and can be reallocated by frequent elections and events. Legal structures in the public sector impede change,'' the study said.
- The study basically argues for dispensing with elected bodies and setting up a bankers' dictatorship. This is what was done in Detroit through the installation of an emergency manager who threw the city into bankruptcy. On December 3, Judge Rhodes not only upheld Michigan's anti-democratic emergency manager law but also ruled the federal bankruptcy court had the power to override state constitutional protections against the ''impairment'' of public pensions.
- The Rockefeller study offers another scheme to circumvent such protections, arguing that by defining certain aspects of the pension contracts as ''core promises,'' ''modifications such as changes to cost-of-living adjustments, retirement age, and employee contribution rates'' can be made on the grounds that they are not included in the core of the pension.
- Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr has released an adjustment plan that would permanently end cost of living increases for retirees.
- Describing this thievery as an ''art,'' the Rockefeller Institute says, ''increased attention on public pension funding and jurisprudence, mostly since 2008, including insightful academic analyses, provides clues into the art of the possible and how changes desired by policymakers may be achieved. Many of the assumptions that fueled previous political and judicial decisions have changed, are weakened, or are wrong. Theories that underlay pension statutes and guided judicial thinking may no longer be valid and old arguments are losing power. Courts do not change, but judges do. The same is true of legislatures. Previous decisions may be revisited, especially as political forces realign.
- ''In Detroit, the Bankruptcy Court found that both pension beneficiaries and general obligation debt holders are subject to impairment '... In some states, workers and retirees are learning that legal protection of pension benefits is not sufficient protection, if there is insufficient money in pension funds,'' the study said.
- Numerous state legislatures have changed laws in recent years in order to attack pensions. Cities currently seeking such legislative changes include Chicago, Houston, New Orleans, San Jose, and Syracuse. Chicago Public Schools chief Barbara Byrd-Bennett said Friday that a new deal between the CPS and the Chicago Teachers Union to cut teachers' pensions could produce $250 million in ''savings'' by reducing liabilities owed to retirees.
- In its most recent article, ''Detroit's bankruptcy: Cram down,'' the Economist noted, ''The goings-on in Detroit are being watched closely elsewhere, particularly in California, where several mid-sized cities have declared bankruptcy in recent years.'' Whereas cities like Vallejo and Stockton, California previously ''shied away from cutting their obligations to the state's giant public-pension fund,'' the Economist said, they are now heading for potential second rounds of bankruptcy, placing pension cuts on the order of the day. ''Detroit's case may give San Bernardino the courage to cut its future pension liabilities,'' the Economist wrote.
- The lies and distortions of the media in relation to the Detroit bankruptcy and the attack on pensions are staggering. The Washington Post published an editorial Friday, ''Paying the price for Detroit's fiscal irresponsibility,'' to pronounce that the ''Detroit bankruptcy is so catastrophic, and its causes so local, that it is tempting to say that the Motor City's downfall has few lessons for state and other local governments.'' Nevertheless, the Post continued, Detroit provided an ''important public service: to remind every city and state in the United States that eventually fiscal irresponsibility catches up with you.''
- These arguments are completely detached from social reality. The financial crisis in Detroit is not due to ''local'' conditions, but is bound up with the decline of American capitalism and the decades-long deindustrialization of the US economy that coincided with rise of the most parasitic forms of financial looting.
- In the aftermath of the 2008 crash, both Democrats and Republicans starved cities and states of cash, while handing trillions to Wall Street. The precarious condition of state and local governments, made worse by the growth of mass unemployment and wave of home foreclosures, was used to load up them up with more debt, providing even more money for the financial elite.
- Everywhere from Michigan to California and Greece to Spain governments are demanding that workers give up pensions and other vital necessities to pay off these debts.
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- US economy slows as companies announce thousands of layoffs
- By Andre Damon1 March 2014US economic growth slowed significantly in the final quarter of last year, the Commerce Department said Friday, while a number of major companies, including Best Buy, Boeing, Wells Fargo, and JPMorgan Chase announced thousands of layoffs this week.
- The Bureau of Economic Analysis downgraded its estimate for real US economic growth in the fourth quarter of 2013 to 2.4 percent, down from its first estimate of 3.2 percent released at the end of January. Economists had predicted a slightly lower revision, to 2.5 percent.
- The downward revision was substantially driven by a sharp reduction in the estimate of consumer spending growth, which was cut from 3.3 percent to 2.6 percent. The figure reflects the disastrous economic conditions facing the majority of consumers, squeezed by falling wages and high debts, pervasive mass unemployment, and cuts to bedrock antipoverty programs.
- The economic growth rate of 2.4 percent is a significant reduction from the third quarter, when the US economy grew at a rate of 4.1 percent. Economists expect the economy to continue to slow, estimating a growth rate of 2 percent for the first quarter of 2014.
- ''Originally, we had really glowing expectations for the fourth quarter, but it's been gradually beaten down,'' said Guy Berger, an economist at RBS Securities, told the New York Times.
- The lackluster figures for economic growth add to worse-than-expected jobs figures for the past two months. The US economy created 113,000 jobs in January, according to the Labor Department's latest jobs report, far fewer than the 189,000 economists had predicted. December's jobs report was even worse, showing the US added only 75,000 jobs.
- Job growth in December and January was the worst for any two-month period since 2010, and well below the already tepid monthly average of 160,000 from January through November of last year.
- The largest decrease, however, came from government spending, which fell drastically, by 12.8 percent, in the fourth quarter, compared with a 1.5 percent increase in the third quarter. This reflected the effects of the October government shutdown and sequester budget cuts, as well as a significant cut to food stamps that took effect in November.
- Stocks responded mostly positively to the poor jobs figures, as traders believed they would increased the likelihood that the Federal Reserve would continue its easy-money policies, including low interest rates and quantitative easing, for a longer period. The S&P 500 closed up by 5.16 points, or 0.28 percent, in the 47th record close over the past year. The index is up by more than 4.5 percent over the course of the past month.
- The negative economic figures come amid a string of layoff announcements
- * This week IBM began its planned series of layoffs that could entail the elimination of up to 15,000 workers, according to media reports. This will be on top of last year's layoffs, in which some 3,000 workers lost their jobs.
- * On Friday, aircraft maker Boeing said it would cut its workforce in San Antonio, Texas by up to 600 positions over the next two months.
- * On Thursday, Pennsylvania's Crozer-Keystone Health System, consisting of five hospitals said it will lay off 250 employees. A local newspaper reported, ''[t]he company blamed factors including a drop in admissions, decreased state and federal funding, cuts in reimbursements and an increasing number of patients with no insurance or Medicaid.''
- * On Wednesday, Wells Fargo & Co. announced it would lay off some 700 workers in its mortgage division. The company said the cuts reflected lower demand for mortgages, noting, ''We currently expect mortgage origination volumes to decline in first quarter 2014.''
- * That same day, the New York Post reported that Best Buy plans to lay off some 2,000 employees, after a disastrous holiday shopping season in which sales fell 2.6 percent.
- * On Tuesday, JPMorgan said it plans to eliminate some 8,000 jobs in its consumer and community banking departments, mostly in the home loan sector. The company said that the drop is attributable to a falloff in demand for mortgages and refinancing.
- The deterioration of economic and jobs conditions comes as Congress and the White House cut off emergency federal jobless benefits at the end of last year for 1.3 million people. The number of people denied benefits has since increased by 576,000, bringing the total number of people to nearly two million. If one counts the members of their households, the figure affected could be as high as 6 million.
- Earlier this month, Obama signed a bill slashing $8.7 billion from the food stamp program, on top of a cut in November that totaled some $11 billion.
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- Hillary 2016
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- Hillary Clinton's Disease
- As another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter anti matter......
- As the gossip of Russian Limbaugh is about the gossip of Hillary Clinton's health in a whispering campaign by Joe Biden and the Obama campaign, the ailents upon inquiry are as follows.
- 1. Heart Trouble.2. Vision Trouble.3. Blockage in her veins4. Ovarian cysts which trend toward cancer. (These are unknown).
- The heart is due to an elargement. She has no fluid build up.
- She has two arteries blocked, 40% and 80%.
- The vision is just old age.
- She has a 20% chance of the ovarian cysts becoming cancerous.
- To be fair Joe Biden has a 50% chance or more aneurysms, and has one in his heart area.
- Enough said as I do not care, except for finding the Truth, and as no people with money care to donate, I pray for a drought of the Word of the Lord, as I will have the answers and darkness can reign again.
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- Rumors persist that Hillary won't run because health is worse than disclosed | The Daily Caller
- If you listen to the chattering class in Washington, D.C., Hillary Clinton is a virtual certainty for the 2016 Democratic nomination, and the front-runner in the next presidential race.
- But in private, rumors persist that the former Secretary of State may not even be capable of making it to Iowa and New Hampshire. Clinton, these skeptics often say, will not run for president again because of health concerns.
- These ubiquitous rumors of her health have been fueled in part by the supermarket tabloids. The National Enquirer wrote in 2012 that Clinton had brain cancer, something a spokesman dismissed then as ''absolute nonsense.'' In January of this year, the Globe claimed that Clinton secretly had a brain tumor.
- Asked about her health on Thursday, Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill said in an email to The Daily Caller: ''To your question, very caring of you to ask. She's 100%.''
- But the rumors suggesting otherwise date back to the end of 2012, when Clinton's health made headlines as she finished her term as secretary of state: aides explained then that she developed a stomach virus, hit her head, suffered a concussion and subsequently developed a blood clot in her brain but was being medicated and was expected to recover. (TheDC TV: Could Clinton be hurting the Democratic Party?)
- But skeptics say there is much more to the story of her health, which has recently been the subject of increased speculation in Washington.
- Because of these rumors, some on the right have been convincing themselves that Hillary is sick and therefore won't run '-- a bombshell that would upend the 2016 race.
- Roger Stone, the GOP consultant, wrote on Twitter recently that Clinton is ''not running for health reasons,'' telling followers to ''remember you heard it first'' from him.
- Conservatives aren't the only ones skeptical about whether Clinton has been open about her health. At the time of Clinton's hospitalization in 2013, Melinda Henneberger of the Washington Post wrote a piece titled, ''How sick is Hillary Clinton?''
- ''Already,'' Henneberger wrote, ''reports that describe Clinton's right transverse sinus venous thrombosis as potentially life-threatening, though apparently caught in enough time, sound a lot more serious than the word from her doctors that the secretary is 'making excellent progress and we are confident she will make a full recovery. She is in good spirits, engaging with her doctors, her family and her staff.'''
- Henneberger asked then if we would ''really be shocked to learn down the road that reports during her hospitalization had put a positive spin on her condition?''
- ''Our public officials have trained us to take everything they say with a healthy dose of skepticism,'' Henneberger continued, ''and on a matter as sensitive as a head injury followed by denials of any neurological symptoms, I'm not sure why we would or should unquestioningly accept the word of any politician.''
- Some have noted Clinton's change in appearance, including the addition of thick glasses, since her hospitalization. ''One doesn't need to be a physician'... to have seen that Clinton has not appeared exactly bright-eyed and bushy-tailed of late,'' Mary Stanik, a former Minnesota health care spokeswoman, wrote in 2013. ''She looks to have gained a significant amount of weight since 2008. She seems pale, tired, and yes, aged. She's said that she would like to know again what it's like to not be tired.''
- Last year, a Clinton aide acknowledged that her health crisis caused her to stop wearing contact lenses.
- ''She'll be wearing these glasses instead of her contacts for a period of time because of lingering issues stemming from her concussion,'' spokesman Philippe Reines told ABC News in 2013. ''With them on, she sees just fine.''
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- GAS/LNG
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- ECC okays $2 bn LNG agreement
- ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), which met under Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar on Friday, ignored opposition by the Law Ministry and approved a huge $2 billion LNG terminal services agreement, raising questions whether the decision would be able to stand judicial scrutiny if challenged.
- The approved agreement has been signed between Elengy Terminal Pakistan Limited (ETPL) of the Engro Corporation and Sui Southern Gas Company, a senior official who attended the meeting told The News.
- The ETPL will, inclusive of levelised toll fee, charge 0.66 cents per MMBTU against terminal services. Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) will later on decide the toll fee.But more challenges have emerged against the agreement from within the government institutions. It was interesting to note that while a politically dominated ECC approved the LNG services agreement on Friday, the Auditor General of Pakistan keeping in view the direction of the Public Account Committee (PAC), ordered a special audit of the same agreement.
- The Auditor General's office thinks that there are seven serious deviations in the contract from the original Request for Proposal (RFP) in violation of PPRA rules.It was the second meeting of ECC that was exclusively convened to approve only one agenda item, the LNG services agreement, as in the earlier meeting that was held on Wednesday it was decided to seek the opinion of the Law Division on the deal when Finance Secretary Dr Waqar Masud raised the point that the contract was awarded on single bid basis and there were some deviations from the RFP.
- In Wednesday's meeting the secretary law was given the task to furnish legal opinion on the contract within 36 hours.Top mandarins of the Law Ministry spent the whole day on Thursday putting questions and getting answers from top officials of Sui Southern over the LNG contract. Finally, it came up with the legal opinion that the contract cannot be approved by the ECC but by the ''federal government'' as defined in the 18th amendment, which is the prime minister and his ministers.
- But the ECC approved the contract directing the federal minister for petroleum and natural resources to send the summary of LNG service agreement to the prime minister for approval as per opinion of the Law Division.
- The Law Division was of the view that since the LNG services agreement has been agreed upon between two commercial entities, ETPL and Sui Southern, so the ECC was not the forum to validate it.
- The Law Division also raised the single bid issue on the basis of which the contract was awarded to ETPL on ''ball park price'' and asked for further negotiations for more reduction in terminal services fee.
- Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and the secretary petroleum responded by saying that the said price of 0.66 cents per MMBTU was the best price in the region and even less than India's.
- To a question raised by the Law Ministry over transparency in the contract through open bidding, the secretary petroleum assured that the LNG terminal services deal was fair and transparent and the price of terminal services fee was the best and the ministry takes responsibility of the deal with ETPL.
- When contacted, CEO of EVTL Imranul Haq said after the ECC approval, ETPL and Sui Southern will formally sign the agreement and ETPL will start construction of the terminal at Port Qasim.
- Under the contract, ETPL is bound to construct the terminal in 335 days after signing LSA in case the ECC accords approval to it. And if the ETPL fails to construct the terminal, then it will have to pay the penalty of $150,000 per day to Sui Southern.
- The government wants to ensure the import of 200 MMCFD LNG from Qatar by November 1, 2014 to meet energy requirements of the country.The terminal project will primarily handle a minimum of 200 mmcfd of re-gasified LNG in the first year and 400 mmcfd in later years. The contract will be valid for 15 years and is expected to begin on November 1, 2014.
- As per the summary that the ECC approved, ETPL will be indemnified from its obligations to pay capacity charges in case of failure to import LNG by PSO or the government. And to this effect, PSO or the government will provide a comfort letter to the LNG terminal operator.
- The Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) will also provide a comfort letter to ETPL ensuring that it will take off its share of the gas delivered under this project.
- The management of the company will adjust their accounting procedures to ensure that imported LNG is ring fenced as it relates to the UFG (unaccounted for gas) and to this effect, the ministry will arrange for a policy directive to Ogra to treat LNG as ring fenced for the purpose of UFG calculation.The PSO and Sui Southern will enter into back to back agreements for re-gasified LNG take-off under commercial transaction structure.
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- Estonia and Finland agree on separate liquefied natural gas terminals | Yle Uutiset | yle.fi
- Gasum's Coral Energy LNG vessel at sea.Image: GasumAfter more than a year of the countries' competing to secure funding for the project, the Estonian Economy Minister Juhan Parts made an overture for compromise in January this year. If the project is carried out, it is expected to end both Finnish and Estonian dependence on Russian gas entirely.
- Analysts say the region's gas demand only warrants one LNG import terminal, at a cost of around 500 million euros. A pipeline that would allow Finland and Estonia to share imports would cost another 100 million euros.
- "The intent of the signed Memorandum of Understanding is for cooperation between the Estonian and Finnish LNG terminal developers to build liquefied natural gas terminals on both sides of the Gulf of Finland," the Estonian economy ministry said in a statement.
- The ministry added that by the end of May the project developers, Finland's Gasum and Estonia's Paldiski terminal developer must present the joint project's technical and economic details to their respective countries' regulators and the European Commission.
- The European Union could fund up to 40 percent of the terminal, provided it serves the interests of more than one country. Finland and the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania consume about 10 billion cubic metres of gas per year, all currently supplied by Russia's Gazprom.
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- Agenda 21
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- Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Study for the City of Los Angeles
- Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Study for the City of Los AngelesOver the next century, sea level rise in the Los Angeles (L.A.) region is expected to match global projections with an increase of 0.1 - 0.6 m (5 - 24 inches) from 2000 to 2050 and 0.4 - 1.7 m (17 - 66 inches) from 2000 to 2100. Tides, wave-driven runup and storm surge sometimes cause coastal flooding in Southern California, especially when big wave storms occur at or near peak high tides. Sea level rise will potentially exacerbate the impacts from these events.
- The City of L.A. owns and maintains coastal infrastructure that includes two power plants, two wastewater treatment plants, and the Port of L.A., one of the busiest in the world. All of these are situated about ten feet above sea level. A major component of L.A.'s economy is dependent upon beach tourism. In 2012, the Los Angeles region attracted over 41 million tourists, who accounted for more than $16.5 billion in expenditures.
- The City of L.A., along with a team of science and outreach experts, developed a science-based and stakeholder-supported adaptation planning process to begin planning for the impacts of climate change. The Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Study for the City of Los Angeles was developed to begin to prepare for accelerated sea level rise and associated storm impacts. The expert team conducted an assessment of the potential physical, social and economic impacts of sea level rise on the City's resources and population, as well as the possible impacts to coastal and shoreline assets.
- Download Full Study with Appendices
- Summary Report: Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Study for the City of Los Angeles by USC Sea Grant
- Appendices:Appendix 1: City of Los Angeles Coastal Issues Related to Future Mean Sea Level Rise by Dr. Reinhard Flick, TerraCosta Consulting Group, Inc.
- Appendix 2: Physical Vulnerability Assessment Findings for the City of Los Angeles by Brian Holland and Melissa Higbee, ICLEI '' Local Governments for Sustainability
- Appendix 3: Sea-Level Rise Impacts and Flooding Risks in the Context of Social Vulnerability: An Assessment for the City of Los Angeles by Dr. Julia Eckstrom and Dr. Susanne Moser, Susanne Moser Research & Consulting
- Appendix 4: Economic Impact of Sea level Rise to the City of Los Angeles by Dr. Dan Wei and Dr. Samrat Chatterjee, USC Price School of Public Policy, Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events
- Video Interview of Phyllis Grifman, Associate Director, USC Sea GrantAl Jazeera News Hour, January 10, 2014, Aired at 3:15pm PST News Hour
- "Interview with Phyllis Grifman of USC Sea Grant"KCRW Radio, January 7, 2014
- USC report concludes LA risks much from climate-related sea level riseKPCC 89.3 Southern California Public Radio,Molly Peterson, January 7th, 2014, 8:00am (pdf)http://www.scpr.org/blogs/environment/2014/01/07/15542/usc-report-concludes-la-risks-much-from-climate-re/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
- Residents, Renters In San Pedro, Venice Could Be Hit Hard By Rising Sea LevelCBS Los Angeles, January 8, 2014 11:55am (pdf)http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2014/01/08/residents-renters-in-san-pedro-venice-could-be-hit-hard-by-rising-sea-level/
- Much of Venice Could be Underwater in 96 YearsLA Weekly, by Dennis Romero, Wed, January 8, 2014 (pdf)http://www.laweekly.com/informer/archives/2014/01/08/much-of-venice-could-be-underwater-in-96-years
- How rising seas could affect L.A.LA Times graphic, Credits: Lorena I±iguez Elebee, Published: January 8, 2014 (pdf)http://graphics.latimes.com/towergraphic-la-me-sea-levels/
- Study: PCH, tourism, water systems vulnerable to sea level riseSanta Monica Daily Press, by David Mark Simpson on January 7, 2014 (pdf)http://smdp.com/study-pch-tourism-water-systems-vulnerable-to-sea-level-rise/130956
- L.A. storms to grow more destructive as sea level rises, study saysLA Times, by Tony Barboza, 9:05pm PST, January 7, 2014 (pdf)http://www.latimes.com/science/la-me-sea-level-20140108,0,3069596.story#axzz2ppS6jKpr
- Interest rises in LA's sea levelsUniversity of Southern California News, by Robert Perkins, January 7, 2014 (pdf)http://news.usc.edu/#!/article/58113/las-vulnerability-to-future-sea-level-rise-projected/
- New study pinpoints L.A. coastal areas vulnerable to a sea level rise from climate change,Torrance Daily Breeze and LA Daily News, by Sandy Mazza, January 7, 2014 (pdf)http://www.dailybreeze.com/environment-and-nature/20140107/new-study-pinpoints-la-coastal-areas-vulnerable-to-a-sea-level-rise-from-climate-change
- "Adapting to Sea Level Rise in a Coastal Megacity," NOAA Sea Grant Featured Story (pdf)http://seagrant.noaa.gov/News/FeatureStories/TabId/268/ArtMID/715/ArticleID/106/Adapting-to-Sea-Level-Rise-in-a-Coastal-Megacity.aspx
- Los Angeles' Vulnerability to Future Sea Level Rise ProjectedImperial Valley News, Created on Sunday, 12 January 2014 3:47pm (pdf)http://www.imperialvalleynews.com/index.php/news/california-news/6767-los-angeles-vulnerability-to-future-sea-level-rise-projected.html
- Report: Global warming on sea level in Los Angeles will worsen coastal floodingPhys.org, by Robert Perkins, January 10th, 2014 (pdf)http://phys.org/news/2014-01-global-sea-los-angeles-worsen.html
- Sea Level Expected to Rise by about Two Feet by 2050 in Los AngelesTopNews.US, by Ingela Maledevic on Wed, January 8, 2014 (pdf)http://topnews.us/content/260335-sea-level-expected-rise-about-two-feet-2050-los-angeles
- Projected Sea-Level Rise Could Land Coastal Los Angeles UnderwaterredOrbit, Online Press January 8, 2014 (pdf) http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1113041572/sea-level-rise-threaten-coastal-los-angeles-010814/
- LA's Vulnerability to Future Sea Level Rise ProjectedOriginal Press Release, USC, by Robert Perkins, January 7, 2014 (pdf)http://pressroom.usc.edu/las-vulnerability-to-future-sea-level-rise-projected/
- Santa Monica at Risk from Rising Sea Level, Climate ChangeSanta Monica Patch, Posted by Alexander Nguyen, January 8, 2014 at 4:40pm (pdf)http://santamonica.patch.com/groups/business-news/p/santa-monica-at-risk-from-rising-sea-level-climate-change
- Report: Sea Level Rise to Affect Low-Lying CommunitiesPalo Verdes Patch, Posted by Nicole Mooradian (Editor), January 7, 2014 at 11:23pm (pdf)http://palosverdes.patch.com/groups/around-town/p/report-sea-level-rise-to-affect-lowlying-communities
- Just How Screwed Is LA's Coast When Sea Levels Rise Two Feet?Curbed LA (Curbed Network), by Bianca Barragan, Tuesday, January 7, 2014 (pdf)http://la.curbed.com/archives/2014/01/just_how_screwed_is_las_coast_when_sea_levels_rise_two_feet.php
- Abbot Kinney Corridor in Venice at Risk from Rising Sea LevelsVenice-MarVista Patch, Posted by Liz Spear (Editor), January 7, 2014 (pdf)http://venice.patch.com/groups/politics-and-elections/p/abbot-kinney-corridor-in-venice-at-risk-from-rising-sea-levels?ncid=newsltuspatc00000001&evar4=picks-1-post&newsRef=true
- For more informationAlyssa Newton Mannagnewton@usc.edu213.740.8602
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- Rising sea levels threaten Los Angeles - The Ecologist
- A serious storm could exact financial losses up to $700 million.
- Los Angeles, City of the Angels in southern California, sits on a flat shelf of the Pacific coast of America, with a view of the sea. And if climate scientists are right, it could soon have an even closer view of the sea.
- The city of more than 12 million people occupies 12,000 square kilometres of land, much of it no more than three metres above sea level. By 2050, rising sea levels could pose a threat to the infrastructure, museums and historic buildings of this great capital of entertainment, education, business, tourism and international trade, according to a new study by the University of Southern California.
- "Some low-lying areas within the city's jurisdiction, such as Venice Beach and some areas of Wilmington and San Pedro, are already vulnerable to flooding", says Phyllis Grifman, lead author of the report, commissioned by the city and the USC Sea Grant Program.
- "Identifying where flooding is already observed during periods of storms and high tides, and analyzing other areas where flooding is projected, are key elements to effective planning for the future."
- The city has already started to prepare for climate change: in June last year it published a report from the University of California Los Angeles on the pattern of snow fall and spring melt over recent decades and the ominous message for winter sports and summer water levels.
- Climate scientists expect the south-west of the US to become more arid as the century advances, and California has been in the grip of recent, unprecedented drought. But as glaciers melt and retreat, and the oceans warm and expand, the City of the Angels could find itself between the devil and the deep blue sea.
- Sea levels are expected to rise somewhere between 0.6 metres and 1.7 metres by the close of the century. Peak tides and storm surges already present problems: as sea levels rise, these will become more damaging.
- The drains that carry off its storm water and sewage, and deliver clean water from the mountains, could all be at risk from marine incursion. Floods and erosion could wear away the coast roads, and many museums and historic buildings, including the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, could face damage. In 2012, Los Angeles attracted 41 million tourists who accounted for a total spending of more than $16 billion.
- Some coastal communities, the report says "are home to highly vulnerable populations" already struggling with low incomes, linguistic isolation, older housing stock and lower education levels.
- And a serious storm - the once-in-a-decade storm - could exact financial losses of $410 million if sea levels rise by half a metre. If they rise by about one and a half metres, the economic costs could tip more than $700 million.
- Tim Radford writes for the Climate News Network.
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- Earth's poles are shifting because of climate change - environment - 13 December 2013 - New Scientist
- Climate change is causing the North Pole's location to drift, owing to subtle changes in Earth's rotation that result from the melting of glaciers and ice sheets. The finding suggests that monitoring the position of the pole could become a new tool for tracking global warming.
- Computer simulations had suggested that the melting of ice sheets and the consequent rise in sea level could affect the distribution of mass on the Earth's surface. This would in turn cause the Earth's axis to shift, an effect that has been confirmed by measurements of the positions of the poles.
- Now, Jianli Chen of the University of Texas at Austin and colleagues have shown that melting due to our greenhouse-gas emissions is making its own contribution to the shift.
- The wobble in Earth's axis of rotation is a combination of two major components, each with its own cause. One is called the Chandler wobble and is thought to arise because the Earth is not rigid. Another is the annual wobble, related to Earth's orbit around the sun.
- Additional wobbleRemove these wobbles, and you are left with an additional signal. Since observations began in 1899, the North Pole has been drifting southwards 10 centimetres per year along longitude 70° west '' a line running through eastern Canada.
- This drift is due to the changes in the distribution of Earth's mass as the crust slowly rebounds after the end of the last ice age. But Chen's team found something surprising. In 2005, this southward drift changed abruptly. The pole began moving eastwards and continues to do so, a shift that has amounted to about 1.2 metres since 2005.
- To work out why the pole changed direction, Chen's team used data from NASA's GRACE satellite, which measures changes in Earth's gravity field over time. The data allowed them to calculate the redistribution of mass on Earth's surface due to the melting of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets and mountain glaciers, and the resulting rise in sea level. It correlated perfectly with the observed changes in the mean pole position (MPP).
- "Ice melting and sea level change can explain 90 per cent of the [eastward shift]," says Chen. "The driving force for the sudden change is climate change."
- Greenland thawChen's team calculated that the biggest contribution is coming from the melting of the Greenland ice sheet, which is losing about 250 gigatonnes of ice each year. Another big factor is the melting of mountain glaciers, which contributes about 194 gigatonnes per year. The contribution from Antarctica adds up to 180 gigatonnes per year, but there is considerable uncertainty here because changes in the gravity field due to Earth's crust rebounding are less well understood over Antarctica than elsewhere.
- Since the MPP can be accurately measured using multiple independent techniques, its position and drift can be used to gauge the extent of ice sheet melting, especially in between the end of the ageing GRACE mission and the launch of the next generation of gravity-field-measuring satellites, says Chen.
- Jean Dickey of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, who was not associated with the study, agrees. "It's a way to monitor climate change by continuing to measure the deviation [of the MPP] from what we have seen in the past," she says.
- Chen presented his findings this week at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco.
- If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.
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- EPA's Latest Ban Has Chilling Consequences For Many Rural People
- Exposing the comprehensive UN plan to bring about an authoritarian world government via international regulations and treaties under the guise of environmentalism and social equity.
- Remember, a lot of this is heavy doublespeak. I.E. "Commuter Friendly" = Commuter hell, at the mercy of public transportation, unfriendly-to-cars, no leaving the area etc., "Walkable" = car unfriendly, literally poverty infrastructure
- New UrbanismTriple Bottom LineSustainability/Sustainable DevelopmentSocial EquityEconomic EmpowermentSocial Responsibility"Smart" i.e. Smart GrowthEconomic/Environmental JusticeCorporate Social Responsibility(CSR)Liveable/WalkableNew NormalComplete StreetsMixed-Use (property)"Green"Commuter Friendly"Well-Being"Community ActionResilience/Resilient CommunitiesTransition TownNext/New EconomySECTION I. SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS: Chapter 2.1.
- In order to meet the challenges of environment and development, States have decided to establish a new global partnership. This partnership commits all States to engage in a continuous and constructive dialogue, inspired by the need to achieve a more efficient and equitable world economy, keeping in view the increasing interdependence of the community of nations and that sustainable development should become a priority item on the agenda of the international community. It is recognized that, for the success of this new partnership, it is important to overcome confrontation and to foster a climate of genuine cooperation and solidarity. It is equally important to strengthen national and international policies and multinational cooperation to adapt to the new realities.
- No Abusive/threatening language.
- Any posts that attack the sub, the users or the mods can be removed. Breaking this rule more than once can earn a ban.
- We are all different here, and you may find that have different beliefs, but please be respectful of each other.
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- We Gonna Rock Down to Electric Avenue '' At Least California Wants Us To '' Some Facts About the California Electric Car Mandate | Turner, Mason & Company
- Authors '' John Auers and Ryan Couture
- Last week, we looked at the potential for more diesel vehicles in the U.S. and how that is being driven by federal laws mandating increased mileage efficiency standards (CAFE). Although we will be examining the impacts of dieselization in more detail in coming weeks, our blog for today shifts gears a bit to look at another potential threat to gasoline demand coming from governmental policy initiatives '' electric car mandates. In particular, we will outline the specifics associated with California's Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate. As the early 80's song by UK pop and reggae artist Eddy Grant goes, California, which is still the largest gasoline consuming state in the U.S., wants consumers to ''Rock Down to Electric Avenue.''
- In 2012 California finalized legislation around the ZEV mandate '' Section 1962, Title 13 California Code of Regulations (CCR). The most quoted figures in press reports about the legislation were that by 2025 one out of every seven cars (15.4%) sold in California would have to be electric vehicles. The actual press release issued by the state of California on which these stories were based states that the number is ''about 15.4%'', based on their target of 1.4 million new electrics and plug in hybrids on the road between 2018 and 2025. But that only tells a part of the whole story.
- First of all, it is important to note is that the regulations do not stipulate all true electric vehicles even by 2025, but a mix of various types of low and zero emissions vehicles, slowly ramping up to the ultimate target. Until 2018, the ''ZEV'' categories include the true all electric vehicles, along with clean gasoline, hybrids, plug in hybrids, natural gas, hydrogen, and fuel cell vehicles. After 2018, the clean gasoline, natural gas, and conventional hybrids that derive their battery power from petroleum fuels will drop off, but the other categories will remain.
- Figure 1 shows a table of the types of ''ZEVs'' covered in the regulation, breaking them down with examples. Think of the ''level'' as a way to interpret the value (in terms of their ability to satisfy the mandate) of the various types. The ZEV (Zero Emissions Vehicle) type is the most valuable, made up of true electrics and fuel cell vehicles. Those vehicles can fill that ''level'', and any lower levels. The TZEV (Transitional ZEV) is more valuable than an AT-PZEV (Advanced Technology), which is more valuable than a PZEV (Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle). Of course, it is easier and cheaper to make a PZEV than a ZEV, so it is unlikely more valuable vehicles will fill the lower tiered quotas.
- Additionally, according to the 2012 legislation, not all these vehicles will be on California roads. There is a group of states joining on with California in this legislation, and there is a method of sharing credits of vehicles sold across the nation. This means the numbers they are quoting will likely be nationwide, not just statewide. These fifteen Section 177 states that are participating in this with California include CT, ME, MD, MA, NJ, NM, NY, OR, PA, RI, VT, WA, DE, GA, and NC, and others may join in later.
- Another critical point is that the number of ''ZEVs'' is calculated by credits, which means you are counting credits and not necessarily vehicles. Depending on several factors such as the ZEV range, recharge rate, and other considerations, they can get more than one (up to 7 through 2014, and then 9 in 2015-2017) credits per vehicle sold. There is also a set of rules governing number of credits for the other types of ''ZEV'' categories which changes throughout the 2009-2017 period the regulation covers. For simplicity in this blog post we have only covered 2012 onward, and omitted hydrogen fuel cell vehicles from the calculated credit tables. See Figure 2 and 3 for more details.
- So to put this in an example, lets assume Manufacturer A sells 100,000 vehicles per year in the state of California. As of 2014 they have to meet the 12% target as laid out in the regulation, meaning they would need 12,000 credits. Of those 100,000 vehicles, only 0.79% have to be a ZEV as shown in Figure 2. So theoretically, if we assumed they were producing a car with a 350 mile range and fast recharge capabilities (a Type V ZEV), they would only need 100,000*0.79%/7=113 vehicles to meet the ZEV credit quota in 2014. Granted, the remaining vehicles needed to satisfy the 12% credit target will not be gas guzzling SUVs; they can be made up of a mix of hybrids, plug in hybrids, natural gas and clean gasoline vehicles, but they will not be entirely electric as is often implied. Figure 4 goes through the required credits for the years 2012-2025 based on that 100,000 vehicles per year sales number.
- If you look closely you see what seems like an anomaly of sorts in 2018. The total number of required ZEV credits falls dramatically. This is not a typo, it is because there is a step change in not only what vehicles can be counted towards your credits, but how the credits are calculated. The program becomes much more demanding. Figure 5 shows the new method for calculating the credits moving forward.
- To put this to another example, let us look at the requirements for Manufacturer A again, assuming a constant sale of 100,000 vehicles per year in the state of California. The amount of true electrics (ZEV) dramatically increases as the years pass. Figure 6 shows a graph of this increase, using examples of the required number of vehicles based on a 150, 250, and 350 mile range, and a fast recharge capability.
- As you undoubtedly now see, this is far from straightforward and as a result estimating the impact on gasoline demand in future years is a complicated matter. In the coming weeks we will attempt to present some of these estimates regarding gasoline demand in not only California, but also the rest of the nation. As a final thought, let us point out that it is much easier to write legislation than it is to develop the technology necessary to satisfy that legislation and there is certainly a ''lot of work to be done'' in developing the next generation of ZEVs that can satisfy these regulations.
- California's ZEV mandate is one of a variety of governmental policy initiatives which have the potential to significantly impact demand for petroleum products and thus also the prospects of the U.S. refining industry. In the course of our normal consulting and industry forecasting practice Turner, Mason & Company spends significant time analyzing all of these policies and their potential impacts. On a biannual basis we issue our Crude and Refined Products Outlook(TheOutlook) publication, which incorporates these analyses in our forecasts for refined products supply and demand and the resulting prices and margins which refiners can expect during the 15-year timeframe of The Outlook. We also regularly assist clients on focused studies and analysis to help them assess policy implications for their specific situations. For more details about The Outlook, or our consulting practice, please visit our website or give us a call.
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- Israel
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- Obama Refers to 'Jewish State' of Israel Hours After Netanyahu Calls for PA to do Same | Jewish & Israel News Algemeiner.com
- President Obama delivers his 2014 State of the Union address. Photo: Screenshot.
- U.S. President Barack Obama referred to Israel as a ''Jewish State'' during Tuesday night's State of the Union address, just hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the Palestinian Authority to do the same.
- Stating America's objectives in the ongoing U.S. sponsored peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Obama called for ''an independent state for Palestinians, and lasting peace and security for the State of Israel'--a Jewish state that knows America will always be at their side.''
- At a security conference earlier on Tuesday, Israel's Netanyahu said that of two basic principles required of the PA, ''The first is recognition of the State of Israel as the national state of the Jewish people.''
- ''This is the root of the conflict. The conflict is not about the settlements, its not about the settlers, and it's not about a Palestinian state. The Zionist movement agreed to recognize a Palestinian state. The conflict is over the Jewish state'... We are asked to recognize a national Palestinian state, so can we not also demand [that they] recognize a national Jewish state?'' the Premier said.
- At least one commentator wondered whether the President was in fact endorsing the long held Israeli position. ''Was that 'Jewish state' phrasing support of Bibi's insistence on Palestinian recognition?'' tweeted Wall Street Journal reporter, Shayndi Raice.
- ''Obama recognizes Israel as 'Jewish State,''' said Haaretz journalist, Chemi Shalev. ''Obama names Israel as a Jewish State '' not a casual wording'...,'' Huffington Post Religion Editor, Paul Raushenbush, commented.
- Other reactions were less positive.
- ''POTUS: 'State of Israel-a Jewish state that knows America will always be at their side.' Will not please #Palestinian negotiators,'' said Robert Danin, a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.
- Reuters editor, Margarita Noriega, asked, ''Did you guys know Israel was a Jewish state?''
- Israel has long maintained that Palestinian Authority recognition of it as a Jewish State is a crucial step towards a comprehensive agreement that would see the cessation of all Palestinian claims against it. So far the PA has categorically rejected the Israeli request.
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- Obama makes up for past snubs of Israel in State of the Union address | TheHill
- President Obama did a favor for pro-Israel lawmakers by declaring Israel a ''Jewish state'' at the State of the Union address Tuesday.
- They might have Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) to thank for that surprising inclusion, after the staunch Israel ally suggested the president include the remarks in the speech.
- The characterization isn't a marked departure for Obama '-- he's described Israel as a Jewish state in the past. But highlighting it in a nationally televised address to a joint session of Congress pleased pro-Israel lawmakers frustrated over the recent nuclear deal with Iran.Whether Israel is designated as a Jewish state has emerged as a major stumbling block in peace negotiations with Palestine. Obama made clear he firmly sides with Israel on the controversial definition, which, if settled by a peace deal, would eliminate Palestinian right-of-return claims.
- ''It's not something that the United States usually did in the past, and that's partly because Israel never did in the past,'' said Natan Sachs, a fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution.
- ''Accepting a Jewish state and the logic of a two-state solution would negate wholesale what Palestinians call the right of return,'' said Sachs.
- But a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) criticized Obama's statement.
- ''I think it would set a very negative precedent, if we began assigning racial, religious or ethnic characteristics to any nation,'' said Ibrahim Hooper, CAIR's communications director. ''The last nation that wanted that was apartheid South Africa. They wanted to be the white nation.
- ''Our principle of equality and justice should not be altered to fit the political considerations of any interest,'' Hooper added.
- Kristin Szremski, director of communications at American Muslims for Palestine, said Obama's comments were ''extremely disappointing because it shows the United States is not an honest broker in these negotiations.''
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state ''the real key to peace'' with Palestine, but Palestinian negotiators have vehemently rejected the demand.
- In his speech Tuesday, though, Obama didn't mince words in his support for Netanyahu.
- ''American diplomacy is supporting Israelis and Palestinians as they engage in difficult but necessary talks to end the conflict there; to achieve dignity and an independent state for Palestinians, and lasting peace and security for the State of Israel '-- a Jewish state that knows America will always be at their side,'' said the president.
- Obama's high-profile statement helps make up for past remarks and incidents that angered Israel and pro-Israel Democratic lawmakers and donors. One of Obama's biggest stumbles, in their eyes, came in 2011, when the president declared the borders before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war should provide the starting point for peace talks.
- The Obama administration alienated Jewish allies in 2010, when Vice President Biden strongly criticized the Israeli government's decision to build new housing in East Jerusalem.
- Ed Koch, the late former Democratic mayor of New York City, who is Jewish, vowed he would not campaign again for Obama after what he viewed as antagonistic action toward Israel. Koch, who died last year, campaigned for the president in Florida in 2008.
- Israeli officials also groused in 2012 that Obama had snubbed Netanyahu by not meeting with him when he came to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly.
- A White House spokesman at the time disputed that assertion, noting Obama and Netanyahu attended the assembly on different days.
- Administration officials note the president has repeatedly described Israel as a Jewish state in the past, such as in a speech before the U.N. General Assembly in September.
- At a joint press availability with Netanyahu in 2009, Obama said, ''It is in the U.S. national security interests to assure that Israel's security as an independent Jewish state is maintained.''
- Even so, it was important for lawmakers to hear Obama describe Israel as a Jewish state in his State of the Union address, usually the most formal remarks delivered by the president in a given year.
- Josh Block, president and CEO of The Israel Project, said establishing Israel as fundamentally a Jewish state is essential for the success of ongoing peace talks.
- ''Palestinian denialism, denial of the Jewish people to have a Jewish state, has become increasingly entrenched,'' he said.
- Block said acknowledgement of Israel as a Jewish state is important because, otherwise Palestinians could use a peace deal as the first step to its elimination as a Jewish state.
- Sachs, of the Brookings Institution, estimated that if Palestinians who left their homes in 1948 and their descendants were granted the right of return, Arabs would equal or outnumber Jews in Israel.
- Obama's support for Israel's call for recognition as a Jewish state helped make up for his opposition to any legislation that would tighten sanctions on Iran and could derail multi-lateral nuclear talks.
- Obama has sternly warned lawmakers he would veto a sanctions bill.
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- Zionism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Zionism (Hebrew: ×...××× ×ת', Tsiyonut; Arabic: صÙÙÙÙÙØ(C)', á¹ahyÅniyya) is the national movement of Jews and Jewish culture that supports the creation of a Jewish homeland in the territory defined as the Land of Israel. A religious variety of Zionism supports Jews upholding their Jewish identity, opposes the assimilation of Jews into other societies and has advocated the return of Jews to Israel as a means for Jews to be a majority in their own nation, and to be liberated from antisemitic discrimination, exclusion, and persecution that had historically occurred in the diaspora. Zionism emerged in the late 19th century in central and eastern Europe as a national revival movement, and soon after this most leaders of the movement associated the main goal with creating the desired state in Palestine, then an area controlled by the Ottoman Empire.[2][3][4] Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state and address threats to its continued existence and security. In a less common usage, the term may also refer to non-political, cultural Zionism, founded and represented most prominently by Ahad Ha'am; and political support for the State of Israel by non-Jews, as in Christian Zionism.
- Defenders of Zionism say it is a national liberation movement for the repatriation of a dispersed socio-religious group to what they see as an abandoned homeland millennia before.[5][6][7]Critics of Zionism see it as a colonialist[8] or racist[9] ideology that led to the denial of rights, dispossession and expulsion of the "indigenous population of Palestine".[10][11][12][13]
- OverviewThe common denominator among all Zionists is the claim to Eretz Israel as the national homeland of the Jews and as the legitimate focus for the Jewish national self-determination.[14] It is based on historical ties and religious traditions linking the Jewish people to the Land of Israel.[15] Zionism does not have a uniform ideology, but has evolved in a dialogue among a plethora of ideologies: General Zionism, Religious Zionism, Labor Zionism, Revisionist Zionism, Green Zionism, etc.
- After almost two millennia of existence of the Jewish diaspora without a national state, the Zionist movement was founded in the late 19th century by secular Jews, largely as a response by Ashkenazi Jews to rising antisemitism in Europe, exemplified by the Dreyfus affair in France and the anti-Jewish pogroms in the Russian Empire.[16] The political movement was formally established by the Austro-Hungarian journalist Theodor Herzl in 1897 following the publication of his book Der Judenstaat.[17] At that time, the movement sought to encourage Jewish migration to the Ottoman Palestine.
- Although initially one of several Jewish political movements offering alternative responses to assimilation and antisemitism, Zionism grew rapidly and became the dominant force in Jewish politics with the destruction of Jewish life in Central and Eastern Europe where these alternative movements were rooted.
- The movement was eventually successful in establishing Israel on May 14, 1948 (5 Iyyar 5708 in the Hebrew calendar), as the homeland for the Jewish people. The proportion of the world's Jews living in Israel has also steadily grown since the movement came into existence and over 40% of the world's Jews now live in Israel, more than in any other country. These two outcomes represent the historical success of Zionism, unmatched by any other Jewish political movement in the past 2,000 years. In some academic studies, Zionism has been analyzed both within the larger context of diaspora politics and as an example of modern national liberation movements.[18]
- Zionism also sought assimilation into the modern world. As a result of the Diaspora, many of the Jewish people remained outsiders within their adopted countries and became detached from modern ideas. So-called "assimilationist" Jews desired complete integration into European society. They were willing to downplay their Jewish identity or even to abandon their traditional views and opinions in an attempt at modernization and assimilation into the modern world. A less radical form of assimilation was called cultural synthesis.[citation needed] Those in favor of cultural synthesis desired continuity and only moderate evolution, and were concerned that Jews should not lose their identity. "Cultural synthesists" emphasized both a need to maintain traditional Jewish values and faith, and a need to conform to a modernist society.[19]
- In 1975, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution that designated Zionism as "a form of racism and racial discrimination". The resolution was repealed in 1991 by replacing Resolution 3379 with United Nations General Assembly Resolution 46/86. Within the context of the Arab''Israeli conflict, Zionism is viewed by critics as a system that fosters apartheid and racism.[20]
- TerminologyThe term "Zionism" itself is derived from the word Zion (Hebrew: ×...×××, Tzi-yon'), referring to Jerusalem. Throughout eastern Europe at the time, there were numerous grassroots groups promoting the national resettlement of the Jews in what was termed their "ancestral homeland", as well as the revitalization and cultivation of Hebrew. These groups were collectively called the "Lovers of Zion." The first use of the term is attributed to the Austrian Nathan Birnbaum, founder of a nationalist Jewish students' movement Kadimah, who used the term in 1890 in his journal Selbstemanzipation (Self Emancipation).[21] Readings of the founders of Zionism shows that they lived in the same Europe which spawned fascism and Nazism, and they adopted the anti-Jewish view that Jews did not belong in Europe as the core of their ideology.[22]
- OrganizationMembers and delegates at the 1939 Zionist congress, by country/region (Zionism was banned in the Soviet Union). 70,000 Polish Jews supported the Revisionist Zionism movement, which was not represented.[23]Country/RegionMembersDelegatesPoland299,165109USA263,741114Palestine167,562134Romania60,01328United Kingdom23,51315South Africa22,34314Canada15,2208The multi-national, worldwide Zionist movement is structured on representative democratic principles. Congresses are held every four years (they were held every two years before the Second World War) and delegates to the congress are elected by the membership. Members are required to pay dues known as a shekel. At the congress, delegates elect a 30-man executive council, which in turn elects the movement's leader. The movement was democratic from its inception and women had the right to vote.
- Until 1917, the World Zionist Organization pursued a strategy of building a Jewish National Home through persistent small-scale immigration and the founding of such bodies as the Jewish National Fund (1901 '-- a charity that bought land for Jewish settlement) and the Anglo-Palestine Bank (1903 '-- provided loans for Jewish businesses and farmers). In 1942, at the Biltmore Conference, the movement included for the first time an express objective of the establishment of a Jewish state in the Land of Israel.
- The 28th Zionist Congress, meeting in Jerusalem in 1968, adopted the five points of the "Jerusalem Program" as the aims of Zionism today. They are:[24]
- Unity of the Jewish People and the centrality of Israel in Jewish lifeIngathering of the Jewish People in its historic homeland, Eretz Israel, through Aliyah from all countriesStrengthening of the State of Israel, based on the prophetic vision of justice and peacePreservation of the identity of the Jewish People through fostering of Jewish and Hebrew education, and of Jewish spiritual and cultural valuesProtection of Jewish rights everywhereSince the creation of modern Israel, the role of the movement has declined and it is now a peripheral factor in Israeli politics, though different perceptions of Zionism continue to play a role in Israeli and Jewish political discussion.
- Labor ZionismMain article: Labor ZionistsLabor Zionism originated in Eastern Europe. Socialist Zionists believed that centuries of oppression in antisemitic societies had reduced Jews to a meek, vulnerable, despairing existence that invited further antisemitism, a view originally stipulated by Theodor Herzl. They argued that a revolution of the Jewish soul and society was necessary and achievable in part by Jews moving to Israel and becoming farmers, workers, and soldiers in a country of their own. Most socialist Zionists rejected the observance of traditional religious Judaism as perpetuating a "Diaspora mentality" among the Jewish people, and established rural communes in Israel called "kibbutzim". The kibbutz began as a variation on a "national farm" scheme, a form of cooperative agriculture where the Jewish National Fund hired Jewish workers under trained supervision. The kibbutzim were a symbol of the Second Aliya in that they put great emphasis on communalism and egalitarianism, representing to a certain extent Utopian socialism. Furthermore, they stressed self-sufficiency, which became an important aspect of Labor Zionism. Though socialist Zionism draws its inspiration and is philosophically founded on the fundamental values and spirituality of Judaism, its progressive expression of that Judaism has often fostered an antagonistic relationship with Orthodox Judaism.
- Labor Zionism became the dominant force in the political and economic life of the Yishuv during the British Mandate of Palestine and was the dominant ideology of the political establishment in Israel until the 1977 election when the Israeli Labor Party was defeated. The Israeli Labor Party continues the tradition, although the most popular party in the kibbutzim is Meretz.[citation needed] Labor Zionism's main institution is the Histadrut, which began by providing strikebreakers against a Palestinian worker's strike in 1920 and is now the largest employer in Israel after the Israeli government.
- Liberal ZionismGeneral Zionism (or Liberal Zionism) was initially the dominant trend within the Zionist movement from the First Zionist Congress in 1897 until after the First World War. General Zionists identified with the liberal European middle class to which many Zionist leaders such as Herzl and Chaim Weizmann aspired. Liberal Zionism, although not associated with any single party in modern Israel, remains a strong trend in Israeli politics advocating free market principles, democracy and adherence to human rights. Kadima, however, does identify with many of the fundamental policies of Liberal Zionist ideology, advocating among other things the need for Palestinian statehood in order to form a more democratic society in Israel, affirming the free market, and calling for equal rights for Arab citizens of Israel.
- Nationalist ZionismNationalist Zionism originated from the Revisionist Zionists led by Jabotinsky. The Revisionists left the World Zionist Organization in 1935 because it refused to state that the creation of a Jewish state was an objective of Zionism. The revisionists advocated the formation of a Jewish Army in Palestine to force the Arab population to accept mass Jewish migration. Revisionist Zionism evolved into the Likud Party in Israel, which has dominated most governments since 1977. It advocates that Israel maintain control of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and takes a hard-line approach in the Israeli-Arab conflict. In 2005 the Likud split over the issue of creation of a Palestinian state on the occupied territories, and party members advocating peace talks helped form the Kadima party.
- Religious ZionismIn the 1920s and 1930s Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook (the first Chief Rabbi of Palestine) and his son Rabbi Zevi Judah Kook saw great religious and traditional value in many of Zionism's ideals, while rejecting its anti-religious undertones. They taught that Orthodox (Torah) Judaism embraces and mandates Zionism's positive ideals, such as the ingathering of exiles, and political activity to create and maintain a Jewish political entity in the Land of Israel. In this way, Zionism serves as a bridge between Orthodox and secular Jews.
- While other Zionist groups tended to moderate their nationalism over time, the gains from the Six-Day War have led religious Zionism to play a significant role in Israeli political life. Now associated with the National Religious Party and Gush Emunim, religious Zionists have been at the forefront of Jewish settlement in the West Bank and efforts to assert Jewish control over the Old City of Jerusalem.
- Green ZionismMain article: Green ZionismGreen Zionism is a branch of Zionism primarily concerned with the environment of Israel. The only environmental Zionist party is the Green Zionist Alliance.
- Neo-Zionism and Post-ZionismDuring the last quarter of the 20th century, classic nationalism in Israel declined. This led to the rise of two antagonistic movements: neo-Zionism and post-Zionism. Both movements mark the Israeli version of a worldwide phenomenon:
- Emergence of globalization, a market society and liberal cultureLocal backlash[25]Neo-Zionism and post-Zionism share traits with "classical" Zionism but differ by accentuating antagonist and diametrically opposed poles already present in Zionism. "Neo Zionism accentuates the messianic and particularistic dimensions of Zionist nationalism, while post-Zionism accentuates its normalising and universalistic dimensions".[26] Post-Zionism asserts that Israel should abandon the concept of a "state of the Jewish people" and strive to be a state of all its citizens,[27] or a binational state where Arabs and Jews live together while enjoying some type of autonomy.
- Zionism and Haredi JudaismMost Haredi Orthodox organizations do not belong to the Zionist movement; they view Zionism as secular, reject nationalism as a doctrine and consider Judaism to be first and foremost a religion. However, some Haredi movements such as Shas do openly affiliate with the Zionist movement.
- Haredi rabbis do not consider Israel to be a halachic Jewish state because it is secular. However, they generally consider themselves responsible for ensuring that Jews maintain religious ideals and since most Israeli citizens are Jews they pursue this agenda within Israel. Others reject any possibility of a Jewish state, since according to them a Jewish state is completely forbidden by Jewish law, and a Jewish state is considered an oxymoron.
- Two Haredi parties run in Israeli elections. They are sometimes associated with views that could be regarded as nationalist or Zionist, and have shown a preference for coalitions with more nationalist Zionist parties, probably because these are more interested in enhancing the Jewish nature of the Israeli state.
- The Sephardi-Orthodox party Shas rejected association with the Zionist movement, however in 2010 it joined the World Zionist Organization, its voters also generally regard themselves as Zionist and Knesset members frequently pursue what others might consider a Zionist agenda. Shas has supported territorial compromise with the Arabs and Palestinians but generally opposes compromise over Jewish holy sites.
- The non-Hasidic or 'Lithuanian' Haredi Ashkenazi world is represented by the Ashkenazi Agudat Israel/UTJ party has always avoided association with the Zionist movement and usually avoids voting on or discussing issues related to peace because its members do not serve in the army. The party does work towards ensuring that Israel and Israeli law are in tune with the halacha, on issues such as Shabbat rest. The rabbinical leaders of the so-called Litvishe world in current and past generations, such as Rabbi Elazar Menachem Shach and Rabbi Avigdor Miller, are strongly opposed to all forms of Zionism, religious and secular, but allow for slight cooperation in the form of participating in Israeli political life, including both passive and active participation in elections.
- Many other Hasidic groups, most famously the Satmar Hasidim as well as the larger movement they are part of in Jerusalem, the Edah HaChareidis, are strongly anti-Zionist. One of the best known Hasidic opponent of all forms of modern political Zionism was Hungarianrebbe and Talmudic scholar Joel Teitelbaum. In his view, the current State of Israel, which was founded by people that included some anti-religious personalities in seeming violation of the traditional notion that Jews should wait for the Jewish Messiah, is seen as contrary to Judaism. The core citations from classical Judaic sources cited by Teitelbaum in his arguments against modern Zionism are based on a passage in the Talmud, Rabbi Yosi b'Rebbi Hanina explains (Kesubos 111a) that the Lord imposed "Three Oaths" on the nation of Israel: a) Israel should not return to the Land together, by force; b) Israel should not rebel against the other nations; and c) The nations should not subjugate Israel too harshly. According to Teitelbaum, the second oath is relevant concerning the subsequent wars fought between Israel and Arab nations.
- Other opponent groups included in the Edah HaChareidis include Dushinsky, Toldos Aharon, Toldos Avrohom Yitzchok, Spinka, and others, numbering tens of thousands in Jerusalem, and hundreds of thousands worldwide.
- The Neturei Karta, an orthodox Haredi religious movement, strongly oppose Zionism and Israel; it considers the latter a racist regime.[28] The movement equates Zionism to Nazism, stating "Apart from the Zionists, the only ones who consistently considered the Jews a race were the Nazis."[29] Naturei Karta believes that Zionist ideology is totally contrary to traditional Jewish law and beliefs and the teachings of the Holy Torah[30] and that Zionism promotes antisemitism.[31]
- The Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement has traditionally not identified itself as Zionist, although in recent years it has adopted a nationalist agenda and opposed any territorial compromise to become Neo-Zionist.
- Particularities of Zionist beliefsZionism was established with the goal of creating a Jewish state. Though later Zionist leaders hoped to create a Jewish state in Eretz Yisrael, Theodor Herzl "approached Great Britain about possible Jewish settlement in that country's East African colonies."[32]Aliyah (migration, literally "ascent") to the Land of Israel is a recurring theme in Jewish prayers. Rejection of life in the Diaspora is a central assumption in Zionism.[33] Underlying this attitude is the feeling that the Diaspora restricts the full growth of Jewish individual and national life.
- Zionists generally preferred to speak Hebrew, a Semitic language that developed under conditions of freedom in ancient Judah, modernizing and adapting it for everyday use. Zionists sometimes refused to speak Yiddish, a language they considered affected by European persecution. Once they moved to Israel, many Zionists refused to speak their (diasporic) mother tongues and gave themselves new, Hebrew names. Hebrew was preferred not only for ideological reasons, but also because it allowed all citizens of the new state to have a common language, thus furthering the political and cultural bonds between Zionists.
- Major aspects of the Zionist idea are represented in the Israeli Declaration of Independence:
- The Land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here their spiritual, religious and political identity was shaped. Here they first attained to statehood, created cultural values of national and universal significance and gave to the world the eternal Book of Books.
- After being forcibly exiled from their land, the people kept faith with it throughout their Dispersion and never ceased to pray and hope for their return to it and for the restoration in it of their political freedom.
- Impelled by this historic and traditional attachment, Jews strove in every successive generation to re-establish themselves in their ancient homeland. In recent decades they returned in their masses.[34]
- Zionism is dedicated to fighting antisemitism. Some Zionists believe antisemitism will never disappear (and that Jews must conduct themselves with this in mind),[35] while others perceive Zionism as a vehicle with which to end antisemitism.
- HistoryPopulation of Palestine by ethno-religious groups[36]yearMuslimsJewsChristiansOthersTotal1922486,177 (74.91%)83,790 (12.91%)71,464 (11.01%)7,617 (1.17%)649,0481931493,147 (64.32%)174,606 (22.77%)88,907 (11.60%)10,101 (1.32%)766,7611941906,551 (59.68%)474,102 (31.21%)125,413 (8.26%)12,881 (0.85%)1,518,94719461,076,783 (58.34%)608,225 (32.96%)145,063 (7.86%)15,488 (0.84%)1,845,559Since the first centuries CE most Jews have lived outside Land of Israel (Eretz Israel, better known as Palestine by non-Jews), although there has been a constant presence of Jews. According to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Eretz Israel is a land promised to the Jews by God according to the Hebrew and Greek Bibles and the Quran, respectively. The Diaspora began in 586 BCE during the Babylonian occupation of Israel. The Babylonians destroyed the First Temple, which was central to Jewish culture at the time. After the 1st century Great Revolt and the 2nd century Bar Kokhba revolt, the Romans expelled the Jews from Judea, changing the name to Syria Palaestina. The Bar Kokhba revolt caused a spike in anti-Semitism and Jewish persecution. The ensuing exile from Judea greatly increased the percent of Jews who were dispersed throughout the Diaspora instead of living in their original home.
- Zion is a hill near Jerusalem (now in the city), widely symbolizing the Land of Israel.
- In the middle of the 16th century Joseph Nasi, with the support of the Ottoman Empire, tried to gather the Portuguese Jews, first to Cyprus, then owned by the Republic of Venice and later to Tiberias. This was the only practical attempt to establish some sort of Jewish political center in Palestine between the fourth and 19th centuries.[37] In the 17th century Sabbatai Zebi (1626''1676) announced himself as the Messias and gained over many Jews to his side, forming a base in Salonica. He first tried to establish a settlement in Gaza, but moved later to Smyrna. After deposing the old rabbi Aaron Lapapa even the Jewish community of Avignon prepared to emigrate to the new kingdom in the spring of 1666. The readiness of the Jews of the time to believe the messianic claims of Sabbatai Zevi may be largely explained by the desperate state of European Jewry in the mid-17th century. The bloody pogroms of Bohdan Khmelnytsky had wiped out one third of the Jewish population and destroyed many centers of Jewish learning and communal life. Finally, he was forced by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed IV to visit him and, to the surprise of his followers, in the presence of the Sultan he converted to Islam.[38][39]
- In the 19th century, a current in Judaism supporting a return to Zion grew in popularity,[40] particularly in Europe, where antisemitism and hostility towards Jews were also growing, although this idea was rejected by the conferences of rabbis held in that epoch. Nonetheless, individual efforts supported the emigration of groups of Jews to Palestine, pre-Zionist Aliyah, even before 1897, the year considered as the start of practical Zionism.[41]
- The Reformed Jews rejected this idea of a return to Zion. The conference of rabbis, at Frankfurt am Main, July 15''28, 1845, deleted from the ritual all prayers for a return to Zion and a restoration of a Jewish state. The Philadelphia conference, 1869, followed the lead of the German rabbis and decreed that the Messianic hope of Israel is "the union of all the children of God in the confession of the unity of God". The Pittsburg conference, 1885, reiterated this Messianic idea of reformed Judaism, expressing in a resolution that "we consider ourselves no longer a nation, but a religious community; and we therefore expect neither a return to Palestine, nor a sacrificial worship under the sons of Aaron, nor the restoration of any of the laws concerning a Jewish state".[42]
- Jewish settlements were established in the upper Mississippi region by W.D. Robinson in 1819 and near Jerusalem, by the American Consul Warder Cresson, a convert to Judaism, in 1850. Before he succeeded, he was tried and condemned for lunacy in a suit brought forward by his own wife and son; after winning a second trial he established a colony in the Valley of Rephaim, where he hoped to "prevent any attempts being made to take advantage of the necessities of our poor brethren ... (that would) ... FORCE them into a pretended conversion."[43] Similar efforts were made in Prague, by Abraham Benisch and Moritz Steinschneider in 1835.
- Sir Moses Montefiore, famous for his intervention in favor of Jews around the world, including the attempt to rescue Edgardo Mortara, established a colony for Jews in Palestine. In 1854, his friend Judah Touro bequeathed money to fund Jewish residential settlement in Palestine. Montefiore was appointed executor of his will, and used the funds for a variety of projects, including building in 1860 the first Jewish residential settlement and almshouse outside of the old walled city of Jerusalem '-- today known as Mishkenot Sha'ananim. Laurence Oliphant failed in a like attempt to bring to Palestine the Jewish proletariat of Poland, Lithuania, Romania, and the Turkish Empire (1879 and 1882). The official beginning of the construction of the New Yishuv in Palestine is usually dated back to the arrival of the Bilu group in 1882, which commenced the First Aliyah. In the following years, Jewish immigration to Palestine started in earnest. Most immigrants came from Russia, escaping the frequent pogroms and state-led persecution. They founded a number of agricultural settlements with financial support from Jewish philanthropists in Western Europe. Further Aliyahs followed the Russian Revolution and Nazi persecution. However, at the end of the 19th century, Jews still were a minority in Palestina.
- In the 1890s, Theodor Herzl infused Zionism with a new ideology and practical urgency, leading to the First Zionist Congress at Basel in 1897, which created the World Zionist Organization (WZO).[44] Herzl's aim was to initiate necessary preparatory steps for the attainment of a Jewish state. Herzl's attempts to reach a political agreement with the Ottoman rulers of Palestine were unsuccessful and other governmental support was sought. The WZO supported small-scale settlement in Palestine and focused on strengthening Jewish feeling and consciousness and on building a worldwide federation.
- The Russian Empire, with its long record of state organized genocide and ethnic cleansing ("pogroms") was widely regarded as the historic enemy of the Jewish people. As much of its leadership were German speakers, the Zionist movement's headquarters were located in Berlin. At the start of World War I, most Jews (and Zionists) supported Germany in its war with Russia.
- The Balfour Declaration and the Palestine MandateIn 1903, the Zionist congress declined an offer by the British to establish a homeland in Uganda. Lobbying by a Russian Jewish immigrant, Chaim Weizmann and fear that American Jews would encourage the USA to support Germany culminated in the British government's Balfour Declaration of 1917, which endorsed the creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine, as follows:
- His Majesty's government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.[45]
- In 1922, the League of Nations adopted the declaration, and granted to Britain the Palestine Mandate:
- The Mandate will secure the establishment of the Jewish national home ... and the development of self-governing institutions, and also safeguard the civil and religious rights of all the inhabitants of Palestine, irrespective of race and religion.[46]
- Weizmann's role in obtaining the Balfour Declaration led to his election as the movement's leader. He remained in that role until 1948 and then became the first President of Israel.
- Jewish migration to Palestine and widespread Jewish land purchases from feudal[citation needed] landlords led to landlessness among Palestinian Arabs and fueled unrest. There were riots in 1920, 1921 and 1929, in which both Jews and Arabs were killed.[47] Britain was responsible for the Palestinian mandate and, after the Balfour Declaration, it supported Jewish immigration in principle, but in reaction to the violent events that followed, the Peel Commission published a report proposing new provisions and restrictions.
- The Rise of HitlerIn 1933, Hitler came to power in Germany, and in 1935 the Nuremberg Laws made German Jews (and later Austrian and Czech Jews) stateless refugees. Similar rules were applied by the many Nazi allies in Europe. The subsequent growth in Jewish migration and impact of Nazi propaganda aimed at the Arab world led to the 1936''1939 Arab revolt in Palestine. Britain established the Peel Commission to investigate the situation. The commission did not consider the situation of Jews in Europe, but called for a two-state solution and compulsory transfer of populations. Britain rejected this solution and instead implemented White Paper of 1939. This planned to end Jewish immigration by 1944 and to allow no more than 75,000 further Jewish migrants. This was disastrous to European Jews already being gravely discriminated against and in need of a place to seek refuge. The British maintained this policy until the end of the Mandate.
- Growth of the Jewish community in Palestine and devastation of European Jewish life sidelined the World Zionist Organization. The Jewish Agency for Palestine under the leadership of David Ben-Gurion increasingly dictated policy with support from American Zionists who provided funding and influence in Washington, D.C., including via the highly effective American Palestine Committee.
- After World War II and the Holocaust, a massive wave of stateless Jews, mainly Holocaust survivors, began migrating to Palestine in small boats in defiance of British rules. The Holocaust united much of the rest of world Jewry behind the Zionist project.[48] The British either imprisoned these Jews in Cyprus (including many orphaned children) or sent them to the British-controlled Allied Occupation Zones in Germany. This resulted in universal Jewish support for Zionism and the refusal of the U.S. Congress to grant economic aid to Britain. In addition, Zionist groups attacked the British in Palestine and, with its empire facing bankruptcy, Britain was forced to refer the issue to the newly created United Nations.
- In 1947, the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP) recommended that western Palestine should be partitioned into a Jewish state, an Arab state and a UN-controlled territory, Corpus separatum, around Jerusalem.[49] This partition plan was adopted on November 29, 1947 with UN GA Resolution 181, 33 votes in favor, 13 against, and 10 abstentions. The vote led to celebrations in the streets of Jewish cities.[50] However, the Palestinian Arabs and the Arab states rejected the UN decision, demanding a single state and removal of Jewish migrants, leading to the 1948 Arab''Israeli War.
- On May 14, 1948, at the end of the British mandate, the Jewish Agency, led by David Ben-Gurion, declared the creation of the State of Israel, and the same day the armies of seven Arab countries invaded Israel. The conflict led to an exodus of about 711,000 Palestinian Arabs,[51] known in Arabic as al-Nakba ("the Catastrophe"), and the exodus of 850,000 Jews from the Arab world, mostly to Israel. Later, a series of laws passed by the first Israeli government prevented Palestinians from returning to their homes, or claiming their property. They and many of their descendants remain refugees.[52][53] The expulsion of the Palestinians has since been widely, and controversially, described as having involved "ethnic cleansing".[54][55]
- Since the creation of the State of Israel, the World Zionist Organization has functioned mainly as an organization dedicated to assisting and encouraging Jews to migrate to Israel. It has provided political support for Israel in other countries but plays little role in internal Israeli politics. The movement's major success since 1948 was in providing logistical support for migrating Jews and, most importantly, in assisting Soviet Jews in their struggle with the authorities over the right to leave the USSR and to practice their religion in freedom.
- Non-Jewish support for ZionismPolitical support for the Jewish return to the Land of Israel predates the formal organization of Jewish Zionism as a political movement. In the 19th century, advocates of the Restoration of the Jews to the Holy Land were called Restorationists. The return of the Jews to the Holy Land was widely supported by such eminent figures as Queen Victoria, Napoleon Bonaparte,[56]King Edward VII, President John Adams of the United States, General Smuts of South Africa, President Masaryk of Czechoslovakia, philosopher and historian Benedetto Croce from Italy, Henry Dunant (founder of the Red Cross and author of the Geneva Conventions), and scientist and humanitarian Fridtjof Nansen from Norway.
- The French government through Minister M. Cambon formally committed itself to "... the renaissance of the Jewish nationality in that Land from which the people of Israel were exiled so many centuries ago."
- In China, top figures of the Nationalist government, including Sun Yat-sen, expressed their sympathy with the aspirations of the Jewish people for a National Home.[57]
- Christians supporting ZionismSome Christians have actively supported the return of Jews to Palestine even prior to Zionism, as well as subsequently. One of the principal Protestant teachers who promoted the biblical doctrine that the Jews would return to their national homeland was John Nelson Darby. He is credited with being the major promoter of the idea following his 11 lectures on the hopes of the church, the Jew and the gentile given in Geneva in 1840. His views were embraced by many evangelicals and also affected international foreign policy. Notable early supporters of Zionism include British Prime Ministers David Lloyd George and Arthur Balfour, American President Woodrow Wilson and British Major-GeneralOrde Wingate, whose activities in support of Zionism led the British Army to ban him from ever serving in Palestine. According to Charles Merkley of Carleton University, Christian Zionism strengthened significantly after the Six-Day War of 1967, and many dispensationalist Christians, especially in the United States, now strongly support Zionism.
- The founder of Latter Day Saint movement, Joseph Smith, Jr., in his last years alive, declared "the time for Jews to return to the land of Israel is now." In 1842, Smith sent Orson Hyde, an Apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, to Jerusalem to dedicate the land for the return of the Jews.[58]
- Some Arab Christians publicly supporting Israel include US author Nonie Darwish, and former Muslim Magdi Allam, author of Viva Israele,[59] both born in Egypt. Brigitte Gabriel, a Lebanese-born Christian US journalist and founder of the American Congress for Truth, urges Americans to "fearlessly speak out in defense of America, Israel and Western civilization".[60]
- Muslims supporting ZionismMain article: Muslim ZionismIn 1873, Shah of PersiaNaser al-Din Shah Qajar met with British Jewish leaders, including Sir Moses Montefiore, during his journey to Europe. At that time, the Persian king suggested that the Jews buy land and establish a state for the Jewish people.[61]
- Muslims who publicly defended Zionism include Dr. Tawfik Hamid, former member of a terror organization and current Islamic thinker and reformer,[62] Sheikh Prof. Abdul Hadi Palazzi, Director of the Cultural Institute of the Italian Islamic Community,[63] and Tashbih Sayyed, a Pakistani-American scholar, journalist, and author.[64]
- On occasion, some non-Arab Muslims such as some Kurds and Berbers have also voiced support for Zionism.[65][66][67]
- During the Palestine Mandate era, As'ad Shukeiri, a Muslim scholar ('alim) of the Acre area, and the father of PLO founder Ahmad Shukeiri, rejected the values of the Palestinian Arab national movement and was opposed to the anti-Zionist movement.[68] He met routinely with Zionist officials and had a part in every pro-Zionist Arab organization from the beginning of the British Mandate, publicly rejecting Mohammad Amin al-Husayni's use of Islam to attack Zionism.[69]
- Some Indian Muslims have also expressed opposition to Islamic anti-Zionism. In August 2007, a delegation of the All India Organization of Imams and mosques led by Maulana Jamil Ilyas visited Israel. The meet led to a joint statement expressing "peace and goodwill from Indian Muslims", developing dialogue between Indian Muslims and Israeli Jews, and rejecting the perception that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is of a religious nature.[70] The visit was organized by the American Jewish Committee. The purpose of the visit was to create meaningful debate about the status of Israel in the Muslim eyes worldwide, and strengthen the relationship between India and Israel. It is suggested that the visit could "open Muslim minds across the world to understand the democratic nature of the state of Israel, especially in the Middle East".[71]
- Hindu support for ZionismAfter Israel's creation in 1948, the Indian National Congress government opposed Zionism. Some writers have claimed that this was in order to get more Muslim votes in India (where Muslims numbered over 30 million at the time).[72] However, conservative Hindu nationalists, led by the Sangh Parivar, openly supported Zionism, as did Hindu Nationalist intellectuals like Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and Sita Ram Goel.[73] Zionism as a national liberation movement to repatriate the Jewish people to their ancestral homeland appealed to many Hindu Nationalists, who viewed their struggle for independence from British rule and the Partition of India as national liberation for long-oppressed Hindus.
- An international opinion survey has shown that India is the most pro-Israel country in the world.[74][75][76][77] In more current times, conservative Indian parties and organizations tend to support Zionism.[73][78] This has invited attacks on the Hindutva movement by parts of the Indian left opposed to Zionism, and allegations that Hindus are conspiring with the "Jewish Lobby."[79]
- Marcus Garvey and Black ZionismZionist success in winning British support for formation of a Jewish National Home in Palestine helped to inspire the Jamaican nationalist Marcus Garvey to form a movement dedicated to returning Americans of African origin to Africa. During a speech in Harlem in 1920, Garvey stated: "other races were engaged in seeing their cause through '-- the Jews through their Zionist movement and the Irish through their Irish movement '-- and I decided that, cost what it might, I would make this a favorable time to see the Negro's interest through."[80] Garvey established a shipping company, the Black Star Line, to allow Black Americans to emigrate to Africa, but for various reasons failed in his endeavour.
- Garvey helped inspire the Rastafari movement in Jamaica, the Black Jews[81] and the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem who initially moved to Liberia before settling in Israel.
- Opposition to ZionismZionism is opposed by a wide variety of organizations and individuals. Among those opposing Zionism are some secular Jews,[82] some branches of Judaism (Satmar Hasidim and Neturei Karta), the former Soviet Union,[83] some African-Americans,[84] many in the Muslim world, and Palestinians. Reasons for opposing Zionism are varied, and include the perceptions of unfair land confiscation, expulsions of Palestinians, violence against Palestinians, and alleged racism. Arab states in particular strongly oppose Zionism, which they believe is responsible for the 1948 Palestinian exodus.
- Zionism had also been opposed by some Jews for other reasons even before the establishment of the state of Israel because "Zionism constitutes a danger, spiritual and physical, to the existence of our people.'.".[85] The book also states "The booklet which we are publishing here, 'Serufay. Ha Kivshbnim Maashimim' ('The Holocaust Victims Accuse'), serves as an attempt to show, by means of testimonies., documents and reports, how Zionism and its high-level organizations brought a catastrophe upon our people during the era of the Nazi holocaust."
- Catholic Church and ZionismThe initial response of the Catholic Church seemed to be one of strong opposition to Zionism. Shortly after the 1897 Basel Conference, the semi-official Vatican periodical (edited by the Jesuits) Civilta Cattolica gave its biblical-theological judgement on political Zionism: "1827 years have passed since the prediction of Jesus of Nazareth was fulfilled ... that [after the destruction of Jerusalem] the Jews would be led away to be slaves among all the nations and that they would remain in the dispersion [diaspora, galut] until the end of the world." The Jews should not be permitted to return to Palestine with sovereignty: "According to the Sacred Scriptures, the Jewish people must always live dispersed and vagabondo [vagrant, wandering] among the other nations, so that they may render witness to Christ not only by the Scriptures ... but by their very existence".
- Nonetheless, Theodore Herzl travelled to Rome in late January 1904, after the sixth Zionist Congress (August 1903) and six months before his death, looking for some kind of support. In January 22, Herzl first met the Secretary of State, Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val. According to Herzl's private diary notes, the Cardinal agreed on the history of Israel being the same as the one of the Catholic Church, but asked beforehand for a conversion of Jews to Catholicism. Three days later, Herzl met Pope Pius X, who replied to his request of support for a Jewish return to Israel in the same terms, saying that "we are unable to favor this movement. We cannot prevent the Jews going to Jerusalem, but we could never sanction it ... The Jews have not recognized our Lord, therefore we cannot recognize the Jewish people." In 1922 the same recourse of preordained divine judgment in the Bible was utilized by the same periodical to oppose Zionism, alleging that the rejection and killing of Jesus by the Jews condemned them in the eyes of Catholics.[citation needed] This initial attitude changed over the next 50 years, until 1997, when at the Vatican symposium of that year, Pope John Paul II rejected the Christian roots of anti-Semitism, expressing that "... the wrong and unjust interpretations of the New Testament relating to the Jewish people and their supposed guilt [in Christ's death] circulated for too long, engendering sentiments of hostility toward this people."[86]
- Characterization as colonialismZionism has been characterized as colonialism, and Zionism has been criticized for promoting unfair confiscation of land, involving the expulsion of, and causing violence towards, the Palestinians. The characterization of Zionism as colonialism has been described by, among others, Nur Masalha, Gershon Shafir, Michael Prior, Ilan Pappe, and Baruch Kimmerling.[8]
- Others, such as Shlomo Avineri and Mitchell Bard, view Zionism not as colonialist movement, but as a national movement that is contending with the Palestinian one.[87]David Hoffman rejected the claim that Zionism is a 'settler-colonial undertaking' and instead characterized Zionism as a national program of affirmative action, adding that there is unbroken Jewish presence in Israel back to antiquity.[88]
- Noam Chomsky, John P. Quigly, Nur Masalha, and Cheryl Rubenberg have criticized Zionism, saying it unfairly confiscates land and expels Palestinians.[89]
- Edward Said and Michael Prior claim that the notion of expelling the Palestinians was an early component of Zionism, citing Herzl's diary from 1895 which states "we shall endeavour to expel the poor population across the border unnoticed '-- the process of expropriation and the removal of the poor must be carried out discreetly and circumspectly."[90]Derek Penslar says that Herzl may have been considering either South America or Palestine when he wrote the diary entry about expropriation.[91]
- Ilan Pappe argued that Zionism results in ethnic cleansing.[92] This view diverges from other New Historians, such as Benny Morris, who accept the Palestinian exodus narrative but place it in the context of war, not ethnic cleansing.[93]
- Saleh Abdel Jawad, Nur Masalha, Michael Prior, Ian Lustick, and John Rose have criticized Zionism for having been responsible for violence against Palestinians, such as the Deir Yassin massacre, Sabra and Shatila massacre, and Cave of the Patriarchs massacre.[94]
- In 1938, Mahatma Gandhi rejected Zionism, saying that the establishment of a Jewish national home in Palestine is a religious act and therefore must not be performed by force. He wrote, "Palestine belongs to the Arabs in the same sense that England belongs to the English or France to the French. It is wrong and inhuman to impose the Jews on the Arabs ... Surely it would be a crime against humanity to reduce the proud Arabs so that Palestine can be restored to the Jews partly or wholly as their national home ... They can settle in Palestine only by the goodwill of the Arabs. They should seek to convert the Arab heart."[95]
- Characterization as racistCritics of Zionism consider it a colonialist[8] or racist[9] movement. According to historian Avi Shlaim, throughout its history up to present day, Zionism "is replete with manifestations of deep hostility and contempt towards the indigenous population." Shlaim balances this by pointing out that there have always been individuals within the Zionist movement that have criticized such attitudes. He cites the example of Ahad Ha'am, who after visiting Palestine in 1891, published a series of articles criticizing the aggressive behaviour and political ethnocentrism of Zionist settlers. Ha'am wrote that the Zionists "behave towards the Arabs with hostility and cruelty, trespass unjustly upon their boundaries, beat them shamefully without reason and even brag about it, and nobody stands to check this contemptible and dangerous tendency" and that they believed that "the only language that the Arabs understand is that of force."[96] Some criticisms of Zionism claim that Judaism's notion of the "chosen people" is the source of racism in Zionism,[97] despite, according to Gustavo Perednik, that being a religious concept unrelated to Zionism.[98]
- In December 1973, the UN passed a series of resolutions condemning South Africa and included a reference to an "unholy alliance between Portuguese colonialism, Apartheid and Zionism."[99] At the time there was little cooperation between Israel and South Africa,[100] although the two countries would develop a close relationship during the 1970s.[101] Parallels have also been drawn between aspects of South Africa's apartheid regime and certain Israeli policies toward the Palestinians, which are seen as manifestations of racism in Zionist thinking.[102][103][104]
- In 1975 the UN General Assembly passed Resolution 3379, which said "Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination". According to the resolution, "any doctrine of racial differentiation of superiority is scientifically false, morally condemnable, socially unjust, and dangerous." The resolution named the occupied territory of Palestine, Zimbabwe, and South Africa as examples of racist regimes. Resolution 3379 was pioneered by the Soviet Union and passed with numerical support from Arab and African states amidst accusations that Israel was supportive of the apartheid regime in South Africa.[105] In 1991 the resolution was repealed with UN General Assembly Resolution 46/86,[106] after Israel declared that it would only participate in the Madrid Conference of 1991 if the resolution were revoked.[107]
- Arab countries sought to associate Zionism with racism in connection with a 2001 UN conference on racism, which took place in Durban, South Africa,[108] which caused the United States and Israel to walk away from the conference as a response. The final text of the conference did not connect Zionism with racism. A human rights forum arranged in connection with the conference, on the other hand, did equate Zionism with racism and censured Israel for what it called "racist crimes, including acts of genocide and ethnic cleansing".[109]
- The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights was adopted in 1981 by the Organisation of African Unity, which has since evolved into the African Union. The preamble of the charter includes a call to "eliminate colonialism, neo-colonialism, apartheid, zionism and to dismantle aggressive foreign military bases and all forms of discrimination, particularly those based on race, ethnic group, color, sex. language, religion or political opinions".[110] The charter has been ratified by 53 African countries.[111]
- Some supporters of Zionism, such as Chaim Herzog, argue that the movement is non-discriminatory and contains no racist aspects.[112]
- Anti-Zionism as anti-SemitismCritics of anti-Zionism have argued that opposition to Zionism can be hard to distinguish from antisemitism,[113][114][115][116] and that criticism of Israel may be used as an excuse to express viewpoints that might otherwise be considered antisemitic.[117][118] Other scholars consider certain forms of opposition to Zionism to constitute antisemitism.[115] A number of scholars have argued that opposition to Zionism and/or the State of Israel's policies at the more extreme fringes often overlaps with antisemitism.[115]
- Anti-semites have alleged that Zionism was, or is, part of a Jewish plot to take control of the world.[119] One particular version of these allegations, "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" (subtitle "Protocols extracted from the secret archives of the central chancery of Zion") achieved global notability. The protocols are fictional minutes of an imaginary meeting by Jewish leaders of this plot. Analysis and proof of their fraudulent origin goes as far back as 1921.[120] A 1920 German version renamed them "The Zionist Protocols".[121] The protocols were extensively used as propaganda by the Nazis and remain widely distributed in the Arab world. They are referred to in the 1988 Hamas charter.[122]
- There are examples of anti-Zionists using accusations, slanders, imagery and tactics previously associated with anti-semites. On October 21, 1973, then-Soviet ambassador to the United Nations Yakov Malik declared: "The Zionists have come forth with the theory of the Chosen People, an absurd ideology." Similarly, an exhibit about Zionism and Israel in the Museum of Religion and Atheism in Saint Petersburg designates the following as Soviet Zionist material: Jewish prayer shawls, tefillin and PassoverHagaddahs,[123] even though these are all religious items used by Jews for thousands of years.[124]
- Noam Chomsky, Norman Finkelstein, Michael Marder, and Tariq Ali have suggested that the characterization of anti-Zionism as anti-Semitic is inaccurate, sometimes obscures legitimate criticism of Israel's policies and actions, and is sometimes a political ploy to stifle criticism of Israel.[125]
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Retrieved July 30, 2013. ^Zionism and British imperialism II: Imperial financing in Palestine -Journal of Israeli History: Politics, Society, Culture Volume 30, Issue 2, 2011 - pages 115-139 - Michael J. Cohen^ abcShafir, Gershon, Being Israeli: the dynamics of multiple citizenship, Cambridge University Press, 2002, pp 37''38Bareli, Avi, "Forgetting Europe: Perspectives on the Debate about Zionism and Colonialism", in Israeli historical revisionism: from left to right, Psychology Press, 2003, pp 99''116Papp(C) Ilan, A history of modern Palestine: one land, two peoples, Cambridge University Press, 2006, pp 72''121Prior, Michael, The Bible and colonialism: a moral critique, Continuum International Publishing Group, 1997, pp 106''215Shafir, Gershon, "Zionism and Colonialism", in The Israel / Palestinian Question, by Ilan Pappe, Psychology Press, 1999, pp 72''85Lustick, Ian, For the Land and the Lord '...Zuriek, Elia, The Palestinians in Israel: A Study in Internal Colonialism, Routledge & K. Paul, 1979Penslar, Derek J., "Zionism, Colonialism and Postcolonialism", in Israeli historical revisionism: from left to right, Psychology Press, 2003, pp 85''98Pappe, Ilan, The ethnic cleansing of Palestine, Oneworld, 2007Masalha, Nur (2007), The Bible and Zionism: invented traditions, archaeology and post-colonialism in Palestine-Israel1, Zed Books, p. 16 Thomas, Baylis (2011), The Dark Side of Zionism: Israel's Quest for Security Through Dominance, Lexington Books, p. 4 Prior, Michael (1999), Zionism and the state of Israel: a moral inquiry, Psychology Press, p. 240 ^ abZionism, imperialism, and race, Abdul Wahhab Kayyali, Ê>>Abd al-WahhÄb KayyÄlÄ (Eds), Croom Helm, 1979Gerson, Allan, "The United Nations and Racism: the Case of Zionism and Racism", in Israel Yearbook on Human Rights 1987, Volume 17; Volume 1987, Yoram Dinstein, Mala Tabory (Eds), Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1988, p 68Hadawi, Sami, Bitter harvest: a modern history of Palestine, Interlink Books, 1991, p 183Beker, Avi, Chosen: the history of an idea, the anatomy of an obsession, Macmillan, 2008, p 131, 139, 151Dinstein, Yoram, Israel Yearbook on Human Rights 1987, Volume 17; Volume 1987, p 31, 136geHarkabi, Yehoshafat, Arab attitudes to Israel, pp 247''8^Nur Masalha (2007-09-15). The Bible and Zionism: Invented Traditions, Archaeology and Post-Colonialism in Palestine- Israel. Zed Books. p. 314. ISBN 978-1-84277-761-9. ^Ned Curthoys; Debjani Ganguly (2007). Edward Said: The Legacy of a Public Intellectual. Academic Monographs. p. 315. ISBN 978-0-522-85357-5. Retrieved 12 May 2013. ^NÄdira ShalhÅb KÄfÅrkiyÄn (7 May 2009). Militarization and Violence Against Women in Conflict Zones in the Middle East: A Palestinian Case-Study. Cambridge University Press. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-521-88222-4. Retrieved 12 May 2013. ^Paul Scham; Walid Salem; Benjamin Pogrund (15 October 2005). SHARED HISTORIES: A PALESTINIAN-ISRAELI DIALOGUE. Left Coast Press. pp. 87''. ISBN 978-1-59874-013-4. Retrieved 12 May 2013. ^Gideon Shimoni, The Zionist Ideology (1995)^Aviel Roshwald, "Jewish Identity and the Paradox of Nationalism", in Michael Berkowitz, (ed.). Nationalism, Zionism and Ethnic Mobilization of the Jews in 1900 and Beyond, p. 15.^Wylen, Stephen M. Settings of Silver: An Introduction to Judaism, Second Edition, Paulist Press, 2000, p. 392.^Walter Laqueur, The History of Zionism (2003) p 40^A.R. Taylor, 'Vision and intent in Zionist Thought', in 'The transformation of Palestine', ed. by I. Abu-Lughod, 1971, ISBN 0-8101-0345-1, p. 10^Tesler, Mark. Jewish History and the Emergence of Modern Political Zionism. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Printing Press, 1994.^Stefan Goranov, "Racism: A Basic Principle of Zionism" in Zionism and Racism. Proceedings of an International Symposium. The International Organization for the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination. New Brunswick. North American, 1979. 262p.^De Lange, Nicholas, An Introduction to Judaism, Cambridge University Press (2000), p. 30. ISBN 0-521-46624-5.^Hertzberg, Arthur, "The Zionist Idea: A Historical Analysis and Reader," Atheneum (1959)" and Herzl, Thedor, "The Diaries of Theodor Herzl," The Universal Library (1962)."^Source: A survey of Palestine, prepared in 1946 for the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry, Volume II page 907 HMSO 1946.^Hagshama.org^Uri Ram, The Future of the Past in Israel '-- A Sociology of Knowledge Approach, in Benny Morris, Making Israel, p.224.^Steve Chan, Anita Shapira, Derek Jonathan, Israeli Historical Revisionism: from left to right, Routledge, 2002, p.58.^Can Israel Survive Post-Zionism? by Meyrav Wurmser. Middle East Quarterly, March 1999^"We oppose the Zionists and their 'state' vigorously and we continue our prayers for the dismantlement of the Zionist 'state' and peace to the world." Rabbi E Weissfish, NETUREI KARTA, Representatives of Orthodox Jewry, US, London, Palestine and worldwide.^"THE GREAT GULF BETWEEN ZIONISM AND JUDAISM" Paper delivered by G. J. 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Winter 2004^http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/herzl-hinted-at-napoleon-s-zionist-past-1.120723 Herzl hinted at Napoleon's 'Zionist past'^Goldstein, Jonathan (1999), "The Republic of China and Israel", in Goldstein, Jonathan, China and Israel, 1948''1998: A Fifty Year Retrospective, Westport, Conn. and London: Praeger, pp. 1''39 ^"Orson Hyde and Israel's Restoration". Signaturebookslibrary.org. Retrieved June 3, 2010. ^ISBN 978-88-04-56777-6^anonymous. "Mission/Vision". American Congress for Truth. Archived from the original on March 24, 2008. Retrieved April 17, 2008. ^World Jewish Congress^"Dr. Tawfik Hamid's Official Website- Part of the Potomac Institute of Policy Studies". Tawfikhamid.com. Retrieved June 3, 2010. ^"FPM Article". Frontpagemag.com. Retrieved June 3, 2010. ^Neuwirth, Rachel (June 24, 2007). "Tashbih Sayyed ' A Fearless Muslim Zionist". Islam Watch. Retrieved June 3, 2010. ^"Islam, Islam, La¯cit(C), and Amazigh Activism in France and North Africa" (2004 paper), Paul A. Silverstein, Department of Anthropology, Reed College^Why not a Kurdish-Israeli Alliance? (Iran Press Service)^anonymous (February 26, 2009). "Berbers, Where Do You Stand on Palestine?". MEMRI. Retrieved March 5, 2009. ^Encyclopedia of the modern Middle East, Volume 4, Reeva S. Simon, Philip Mattar, Richard W. Bulliet. Macmillan Reference USA, 1996. p. 1661^Army of Shadows: Palestinian Collaboration with Zionism, 1917''1948. By Hillel Cohen. University of California Press, 2009. p. 84^American Jewish group takes Indian Muslims to Israel | Indian Muslims^Dialogue of Democracy: Indian Muslims Visit Israel | YaleGlobal Online Magazine^INDIA '-- ISRAEL RELATIONS: THE IMPERATIVES FOR ENHANCED STRATEGIC COOPERATION '-- Subhash Kapila '-- South Asia Analysis Group^ ab"Hindu Pro-Zionism and Philo-Semitism". Scribd. December 30, 2008. Retrieved June 3, 2010. ^ynet article^netwmd article.^daniel pipes article^digg article.^"RSS slams Left for opposing Sharon's visit: Rediff.com India News". Us.rediff.com. September 10, 2003. Retrieved June 3, 2010. ^"G h a d a r . 2 0 0 4". Ghadar.insaf.net. Retrieved June 3, 2010. ^Negro World March 6, 1920, cited in University of California, Los Angeles (accessed November 29, 2007)^BlackJews.org '-- A Project of the International Board of Rabbis^^(Russian)Ðионизм, ÐоÐ>>ÑÑÐ°Ñ ÑовеÑÑÐºÐ°Ñ ÑнÑикÐ>>оÐÐµÐ´Ð¸Ñ (Zionism. Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition. 1969''1978)^West, Cornell, Race Matters, 1993. pp 73''74Dollinger, Mark, "African American-Jewish Relations" in Antisemitism: a historical encyclopedia of prejudice and persecution, Vol 1, 2005., p 4-5"Hacker, Andrew (1999) "Jewish Racism, Black anti-Semitism", in Strangers & neighbors: relations between Blacks & Jews in the United States, Maurianne Adams (Ed.). Univ of Massachusetts Press, 1999. p. 20^"Holocaust Victims Accuse" by Reb. Moshe Shonfeld; Bnei Yeshivos NY, NY; (1977)^A Catholic Views '-- Zionism and the State of Israel, http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/mag/MAen9901.html^^Hoffman, David. Zionism is not a 'settler-colonial undertaking'. The Mail & Guardian, South Africa. June 28, 2005^Salaita, Steven George (2006). The Holy Land in transit: colonialism and the quest for Canaan. Syracuse University Press. p. 54. ISBN 0-8156-3109-X. Hirst, David (2003). The gun and the olive branch: the roots of violence in the Middle East. Nation Books. pp. 418''419. ISBN 1-56025-483-1. Chomsky, Noam (1996). World orders, old and new. Columbia University Press. p. 264:. ISBN 0-231-10157-0. "FrontPage magazine interview with Christopher Hitchens". December 11, 2003. Masalha, Nur (2000). Imperial Israel and the Palestinians: the politics of expansion. Pluto Press. p. 93. ISBN 0-7453-1615-8. "Essay by James M. Martin from "Atheist Nexus"". Quigley, John B. (1990). Palestine and Israel: a challenge to justice. Duke University Press. pp. 176''177. ISBN 0-8223-1023-6. Chomsky, Noam (1999). Fateful triangle: the United States, Israel, and the Palestinians (2nd Ed, revised). South End Press. pp. 153''154. ISBN 0-89608-601-1. Saleh Abdel Jawad (2007) "Zionist Massacres: the Creation of the Palestinian Refugee Problem in the 1948 War" in Israel and the Palestinian refugees, Eyal Benvenist®, Chaim Gans, Sari Hanafi (Eds.), Springer, p. 78.Yishai, Yael (1987). Land or peace: whither Israel?. Hoover Press. pp. 112''125. ISBN 0-8179-8521-2. Rubenberg, Cheryl (2003). The Palestinians: in search of a just peace. Lynne Rienner Publishers. p. 162. ISBN 1-58826-225-1. Geaves, Ron (2004). Islam and the West post 9/11. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 31. ISBN 0-7546-5005-7. Kassim, Anis F. (2000). The Palestine Yearbook of International Law, 1998''1999, Volume 10. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. p. 9. ISBN 90-411-1304-5. Raphael Israeli, Palestinians Between Israel and Jordan', Prager, 1991, pages 158''159, 171, 182.^Said, Edward, The Edward Said reader, Random House, Inc., 2000, pp 128''129Prior, Michael P. Zionism and the state of Israel: a moral inquiry, Psychology Press, 1999, pp 191''192Penslar, Derek, Israel in history: the Jewish state in comparative perspective, Taylor & Francis, 2007, p 56.^Penslar, Derek, Israel in history: the Jewish state in comparative perspective, Taylor & Francis, 2007, p 56.^Pappe, Ilan, The ethnic cleansing of Palestine, Oneworld, 2007^Rane, Halim. Islam and Contemporary Civilisation. Academic Monographs, 2010. ISBN 978-0-522-85728-3. p. 198^Khallidi, Walid, "Plan Dalet: The Zionist Master Plan for the Conquest of Palestine", in Middle East Forum, no. 22, Nov 1961, p 27.Weisburd, David, Jewish Settler Violence, Penn State Press, 1985, pp 20''52Lustick, Ian, "Israel's Dangerous Fundamentalists", Foreign Policy, 68 (Fall 1987), pp 118''139Tessler, Mark, "Religion and Politics in the Jewish State of Israel", in Religious resurgence and politics in the contemporary world, (Emile Sahliyeh, Ed)., SUNY Press, 1990, pp 263''296.Horowitz, Elliott S. (2006). Reckless rites: Purim and the legacy of Jewish violence. Princeton University Press. pp. 6''11. ISBN 0-691-12491-4. Rayner, John D. (1997). An understanding of Judaism. p. 57. ISBN 1-57181-971-1. Saleh Abdel Jawad (2007) "Zionist Massacres: the Creation of the Palestinian Refugee Problem in the 1948 War" in Israel and the Palestinian refugees, Eyal Benvenist®, Chaim Gans, Sari Hanafi (Eds.), Springer, p. 78:".. the Zionist movement, which claims to be secular, found it necessary to embrace the idea of 'the promised land' of Old Testament prophecy, to justify the confiscation of land and the expulsion of the Palestinians. For example, the speeches and letter of Chaim Weizman, the secular Zionist leader, are filled with references to the biblical origins of the Jewish claim to Palestine, which he often mixes liberally with more pragmatic and nationalistic claims. By the use of this premise, embraced in 1937, Zionists alleged that the Palestinians were usurpers in the Promised Land, and therefore their expulsion and death was justified. The Jewish-American writer Dan Kurzman, in his book Genesis 1948 '... describes the view of one of the Deir Yassin's killers: 'The Sternists followed the instructions of the Bible more rigidly than others. They honored the passage (Exodus 22:2): 'If a thief be found '...' This meant, of course, that killing a thief was not really murder. And were not the enemies of Zionism thieves, who wanted to steal from the Jews what God had granted them?'Ehrlich, Carl. S., (1999) "Joshua, Judaism, and Genocide", in Jewish Studies at the Turn of the Twentieth Century, Judit Targarona Borrs, ngel Senz-Badillos (Eds). 1999, Brill. p 117-124.Hirst, David, The Gun and the Olive Branch: The Roots of Violence in the Middle East. 1984, p 139.Lorch, Netanel, The Edge of the Sword: Israel's War of Independence, 1947''1949, Putnam, 1961, p 87Pappe, Ilan, The ethnic cleansing of Palestine, Oneworld, 2007, p 88^William R. Slomanson. Fundamental Perspectives on International Law. p. 50^shlaim, Avi (9 June 1994). "It can be done". London Review of Books16 (11): 26''27. Retrieved 2012-10-16. ^Korey, William, Russian antisemitism, Pamyat, and the demonology of Zionism, Psychology Press, 1995, pp 33''34Beker, Avi, Chosen: the history of an idea, the anatomy of an obsession, Macmillan, 2008, pp 139Shimoni, Gideon, Community and conscience: the Jews in apartheid South Africa, UPNE, 2003, p 167^Perednik, Gustavo. "Judeophobia". The Coordination Forum for Countering Antisemitism. ".. This identity is often explicitly worded by its spokespersons. Thus, Yakov Malik, the Soviet ambassador to the UN, declared in 1973: ''The Zionists have come forward with the theory of the Chosen People, an absurd ideology.'' (As it is well known, the biblical concept of ''Chosen People'' is part of Judaism; Zionism has nothing to do with it). "^Resolution 3151 G (XXVIII) of December 14, 1973 by the UN General Assembly^Israel and Black Africa: A Rapprochement? Ethan A. Nadelmann. Journal of Modern African Studies, Vol. 19, No. 2 (Jun., 1981), pp. 183''219^Brothers in arms '-- Israel's secret pact with Pretoria (The Guardian, February 7, 2006)^UN envoy hits Israel 'apartheid' (BBC, Feb. 23, 2007)^It's time to rethink Zionism (The Guardian, Feb. 17, 2009)^Zionism as a Racist Ideology, by Kathleen and Bill Christinson (Counterpunch, November 8 / 9, 2003)^UN General Assembly Resolution 3379, Racial Discrimination (Council on Foreign Relations, November 10, 1975)^260 General Assembly Resolution 46-86- Revocation of Resolution 3379- December 16, 1991 '-- and statement by President Herzog Dec 16, 1991, VOLUME 11''12: 1988''1992^Frum, David (2000). How We Got Here: The '70s. New York, New York: Basic Books. p. 320. ISBN 0-465-04195-7.^Anger over Zionism debate (BBC, Sept. 4, 2001)^US abandons racism summit(BBC, Sept. 3, 2001)^African [Banjul] Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, adopted June 27, 1981 (Library of the University of Minnesota)^List of Countries Who Have Signed, Ratified/Adhered to the African Charter On Human And Peoples' Rights (as of January 7, 2005)^Israeli Ambassador Chaim Herzog's Response To Zionism Is Racism Resolution. November 10, 1975. "You dare talk of racism when I can point with pride to the Arab ministers who have served in my government; to the Arab deputy speaker of my Parliament; to Arab officers and men serving of their own volition in our border and police defense forces, frequently commanding Jewish troops; to the hundreds of thousands of Arabs from all over the Middle East crowding the cities of Israel every year; to the thousands of Arabs from all over the Middle East coming for medical treatment to Israel; to the peaceful coexistence which has developed; to the fact that Arabic is an official language in Israel on a par with Hebrew; to the fact that it is as natural for an Arab to serve in public office in Israel as it is incongruous to think of a Jew serving in any public office in an Arab country, indeed being admitted to many of them. Is that racism? It is not! That, Mr. President, is Zionism."^"Anti-Zionism is anti-semitism". The Guardian. 2003-11-29. Retrieved 2003-11-29. ^"Anti-Zionism and Anti-Semitism". Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. Fall 2004. Retrieved 2012-11-17. ^ abcAnti-semitism in Germany: the post-Nazi epoch since 1945 By Werner Bergmann, Rainer Erb, page 182, "Continuity and Change: Extreme Right Perceptions of Zionism" by Roni Stauber in Anti-semitism worldwide 1999/2000 Tel Aviv University^Marcus, Kenneth L. (2007), "Anti-Zionism as Racism: Campus Anti-Semitism and the Civil Rights Act of 1964", William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal15 (3): 837''891 ^http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2006/sep/03/religion.immigrationpolicy^http://www.h-net.org/~antis/papers/jcr_antisemitism.pdf^Norman Cohn, Warrant for Genocide, Serif 2001 chapter 3^A Hoax of Hate^Norman Cohn, Warrant for Genocide, Serif 2001 page 75-76^Hamas charter, article 32: "The Zionist plan is limitless. After Palestine, the Zionists aspire to expand from the Nile to the Euphrates. When they will have digested the region they overtook, they will aspire to further expansion, and so on. Their plan is embodied in the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" ..."^Korey, W., "Updating the Protocols," Midstream, May 1970, p. 17.^Prager, D; Telushkin, J. Why the Jews?: The Reason for Antisemitism. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1983. page 169-175.^Professor Noam Chomsky argues: "There have long been efforts to identify anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism in an effort to exploit anti-racist sentiment for political ends; "one of the chief tasks of any dialogue with the Gentile world is to prove that the distinction between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism is not a distinction at all," Israeli diplomat Abba Eban argued, in a typical expression of this intellectually and morally disreputable position (Eban, Congress Bi-Weekly, March 30, 1973). But that no longer suffices. It is now necessary to identify criticism of Israeli policies as anti-Semitism '-- or in the case of Jews, as "self-hatred," so that all possible cases are covered." '-- Chomsky, 1989 "Necessary Illusions".Philosopher Michael Marder argues: "To deconstruct Zionism is ... to demand justice for its victims - not only for the Palestinians, who are suffering from it, but also for the anti-Zionist Jews, "erased" from the officially consecrated account of Zionist history. By deconstructing its ideology, we shed light on the context it strives to repress and on the violence it legitimises with a mix of theological or metaphysical reasoning and affective appeals to historical guilt for the undeniably horrific persecution of Jewish people in Europe and elsewhere."[1][2]American political scientist Norman Finkelstein argues that anti-Zionism and often just criticism of Israeli policies have been conflated with antisemitism, sometimes called new antisemitism for political gain: "Whenever Israel faces a public relations d(C)bcle such as the Intifada or international pressure to resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict, American Jewish organizations orchestrate this extravaganza called the 'new anti-Semitism.' The purpose is several-fold. First, it is to discredit any charges by claiming the person is an anti-Semite. It's to turn Jews into the victims, so that the victims are not the Palestinians any longer. As people like Abraham Foxman of the ADL put it, the Jews are being threatened by a new holocaust. It's a role reversal '-- the Jews are now the victims, not the Palestinians. So it serves the function of discrediting the people leveling the charge. It's no longer Israel that needs to leave the Occupied Territories; it's the Arabs who need to free themselves of the anti-Semitism. '-- http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/5104Tariq Ali, a British-Pakistani historian and political activist, argues that the concept of new antisemitism amounts to an attempt to subvert the language in the interests of the State of Israel. He writes that the campaign against "the supposed new 'anti-semitism'" in modern Europe is a "cynical ploy on the part of the Israeli Government to seal off the Zionist state from any criticism of its regular and consistent brutality against the Palestinians ... Criticism of Israel can not and should not be equated with anti-semitism." He argues that most pro-Palestinian, anti-Zionist groups that emerged after the Six-Day War were careful to observe the distinction between anti-Zionism and antisemitism. '-- Ali, Tariq. "Notes on Anti-Semitism, Zionism and Palestine", Counterpunch, March 4, 2004, first published in il manifesto, February 26, 2004.Further readingArmborst-Weihs, Kerstin: The Formation of the Jewish National Movement Through Transnational Exchange: Zionism in Europe up to the First World War, European History Online, Mainz: Institute of European History, 2011, retrieved: August 17, 2011.Beller, Steven. Herzl (2004)Brenner, Michael, and Shelley Frisch. Zionism: A Brief History (2003) excerpt and text searchCohen, Naomi. The Americanization of Zionism, 1897''1948 (2003). 304 pp. essays on specialized topicsFriedman, Isaiah. "Theodor Herzl: Political Activity and Achievements," Israel Studies 2004 9(3): 46''79, online in EBSCODavid Hazony, Yoram Hazony, and Michael B. Oren, eds., "New Essays on Zionism," Shalem Press, 2007.Kloke, Martin: The Development of Zionism Until the Founding of the State of Israel, European History Online, Mainz: Institute of European History, 2010, retrieved: June 13, 2012.Laqueur, Walter. A History of Zionism: From the French Revolution to the Establishment of the State of Israel (2003) survey by a leading scholar excerpt and text searchMedoff, Rafael. "Recent Trends in the Historiography of American Zionism," American Jewish History 86 (March 1998), 117''134.Motyl, Alexander J. (2001). Encyclopedia of Nationalism, Volume II. Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-227230-7. Pawel, Ernst. The Labyrinth of Exile: A Life of Theodor Herzl (1992) excerpt and text searchSachar, Howard M. A History of Israel: From the Rise of Zionism to Our Time (2007) excerpt and text searchShimoni, Gideon. The Zionist Ideology (1995)Taub, Gadi. The Settlers and the Struggle over the Meaning of Zionism (2010, Hebrew, English)Taylor, A.R., 1971, 'Vision and intent in Zionist Thought', in 'The transformation of Palestine', ed. by I. Abu-Lughod, ISBN 0-8101-0345-1, Northwestern University Press, Evanston, USAUrofsky, Melvin I. American Zionism from Herzl to the Holocaust (1995), a standard historyWigoder, Geoffrey, ed. New Encyclopedia of Zionism and Israel (2nd ed. 2 vol. 1994); 1521ppJudith Butler: Parting Ways: Jewishness and the Critique of Zionism. Columbia University Press, 2013. ISBN 978-0231146111 (Paperback)Primary sourcesHerzl, Theodor. A Jewish state: an attempt at a modern solution of the Jewish question (1896) full text onlineHerzl, Theodor. Theodor Herzl: Excerpts from His Diaries (2006) excerpt and text searchExternal links Works related to Zionism at Wikisource
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- The incredible stock-picking ability of SEC employees
- A new report raises ethical questions about stock trades by employee at the Securities and Exchange Commission. (Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)
- Forget hiring a top hedge fund to manage your portfolio. Your better bet might be an employee at the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to a new report suggesting that regulators are trading on inside information relating to investigations and upcoming enforcement actions.
- In the report titled "The Stock Picking Skills of SEC Employees," researchers found that SEC employees' stock purchases look like your average person's. But when these employees sell their stocks, they appear to systematically beat the market by making sales within weeks of costly enforcement actions by the agency.
- "These results suggest that SEC employees potentially trade profitably under the new rules, and that at least some of their profits potentially stem from trading ahead of costly SEC sanctions and on privileged non-public information," write Shivaram Rajgopal, a professor of accounting at Emory University, and Roger M. White, a doctoral student in accounting at Georgia State University. "In short, it appears that SEC employees continue to take advantage of non-public information to trade profitably in stocks under their regulatory purview."
- A spokesperson for the SEC, which has made crackdowns on insider trading a priority in its enforcement division, declined to immediately comment.
- The information was obtained from the SEC under a Freedom of Information Act request, but it was limited. The researchers did not have access to the portfolios of the SEC employees. And none of the trades were identified by employee, so the researchers could not tell how much in profits certain employees were earning, or whether employees with certain kinds of jobs or levels of power were able to make more money.
- Instead, they built hedge fund portfolios where they went long on stocks that SEC employees buy and short on stocks they sell. The findings are startling.
- Researchers found that out of the 56 enforcement actions against publicly traded companies during the time period analyzed, SEC employees traded ahead of six -- and were far more likely to sell rather than buy. "This fact pattern indicates that the monitoring mechanisms the SEC planned to impose to discourage such practice are either weak or nonexistent," the researchers say.
- The six enforcement actions were against Bank of America (Feb. 4, 2010), General Electric (July 27, 2010 and Dec. 23, 2011), Citigroup (July 29, 2010), Johnson & Johnson (April 8, 2011) and JPMorgan (July 7, 2011).
- In these cases where trades were made ahead of an announcement, the vast majority were sales. Take a look at the table below comparing the actions of SEC employees compared to the entire market, in various run-up periods ahead of an enforcement action. The disparity is striking. Thirty days or less before an announcement, for instance, more than 74 percent of trades by employees were sales, versus just half in the total market.
- Source: "Stock Picking Skills of SEC Employees"
- The SEC apparently did not begin tracking data on its employees' transactions until 2009. Even now, the report says that there is no way of knowing whether the agency is auditing the reported trades to verify their accuracy.
- New rules from 2009 state that any employee must first obtain clearance for any securities transaction. The idea is that if the employee gets cleared for the stock trade, then the clearance will serve as evidence that the employee didn't do anything improper.
- But the report's writers say that the profits made by employees still raise questions.
- "Given that the SEC is charged byCongress with enforcing insider trading regulations against corporate officers and other marketparticipants, our findings indicating abnormal risk adjusted profits on trades by SEC employeesare arguably troubling," write Rajgopal and White.
- Update: The SEC says it has an explanation. "Each of the transactions was individually reviewed and approved in advance by the Ethics office," said John Nester, spokesperson for the SEC. "Most of the sales were required by SEC policy. Staff had no choice. They were required to sell."
- Nester explained that before staff can work on an issue that involves a company, they have to sell any holdings of stock in that firm. As a result, he said, there shouldn't be any surprise that a sale would precede the announcement of an enforcement action.
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- Bloomberg Philanthropies Launches $10 Million Initiative to Prevent Drowning | News | PND
- Bloomberg Philanthropies has announced a new $10 million global initiative to prevent drowning deaths in young children.
- According to the World Health Organization, drowning accounts for more than three hundred and fifty thousand deaths per year, including nearly fifty thousand children under the age of 5. The major of those fatalities occur in low- and middle-income countries. Initially, the Drowning Prevention Project will focus its activities in Bangladesh, where drowning is the leading cause of death among children, accounting for twelve thousand deaths a year, or roughly thirty-two per day. To help address the primary factors in preventable child drowning deaths '-- lack of supervision and easy access to water '-- the project will fund community daycare centers that provide child supervision and locally manufactured playpens for children. The foundation estimates the project will monitor eighty thousand children over a two-year period and then evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions.
- The foundation also announced that it is partnering with WHO and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to identify scalable solutions to help prevent drowning deaths and build networks of public health officials and advocates willing to participate in future efforts. With support from the foundation, WHO will publish an evidence-based global report on drowning prevention later this year.
- "Drowning is a tragedy that cuts short so many promising young lives and breaks so many parents' hearts," said Kelly Henning, director of public health programs for Bloomberg Philanthropies. "It's a problem that hasn't gotten the attention it deserves, especially because simple steps can save so many lives. In Bangladesh, we will work to improve supervision of children while adults are working and to provide equipment that can keep children out of harm's way."
- Location: Bangladesh; International; New York City
- "Half the harm that is done in the worldIs due to people who want to feel important.They don't mean to do harm'--but the harm does not interest them.Or they do not see it, or they justify itBecause they are absorbed in the endless struggleTo think well of themselves."T.S. Elliot 1949 (The Cocktail Party)
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- Turning Lane... '-- Half the harm that is done in the world Is due to...
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- Ottomania
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- BBC News - Turkey to close down 'Gulen' preparatory schools
- 1 March 2014 Last updated at 12:23
- Prime Minister Erdogan accuses Mr Gulen, his former ally, of running a "parallel state" Turkey's parliament has passed a bill to shut down private preparatory schools, many of which are run by influential preacher Fethullah Gulen.
- Mr Gulen is embroiled in a bitter feud with PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has accused the US-based cleric of plotting against his government.
- The schools are a major source of income for Mr Gulen's 50-year-old Hizmet ("Service") movement.
- The law says the schools must close by 1 September 2015, local media reported.
- Hizmet movementInspired by the teachings of Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, who lives in the USGulen is a mainstream Sunni Hanafi Muslim scholar, influenced by Anatolian SufismThere is no formal structure but Hizmet followers are numbered in the millions across more than 150 countriesFirst expanded into Central Asia after the USSR's demise in 1991Gulen: Powerful but reclusive
- Millions of students attend the schools to prepare themselves for entrance examinations to win limited spots at state secondary schools and universities.
- Mr Erdogan has said that abolishing the preparatory schools is part of a reform of an "unhealthy" educational system that ranks Turkey below most other developed countries in literacy, maths and science.
- Until recently, Hizmet has generally avoided overt involvement in politics and Mr Gulen still denies he meddles.
- But tensions between the former allies were exacerbated in 2013, when thousands of alleged Hizmet sympathisers in the police and judiciary were demoted while prosecutors with alleged links to the movement aggressively pursued investigations against allies of the prime minister.
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- EUROLand
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- Scottish independence referendum campaign dominated by currency dispute
- By Steve James1 March 2014A bitter dispute has erupted between London and Edinburgh over whether an independent Scotland would be part of a ''currency union'' and over what share of British public sector debt the new state would take over.
- That the most explosive dispute of the Scottish referendum campaign to date should be over currency and public debt speaks to the class character of both the ''Yes'' and ''No'' camps. Working people across Britain face unprecedented assaults on living standards, yet the referendum is being fought out between two wealthy cliques'--both of whom insist that the gambling debts of the financial aristocracy should be passed on to the working class. They are in dispute only over who benefits most from this.
- The favoured currency option of the Scottish National Party (SNP), advancing the interests of a section of the bourgeoisie and their privileged middle class hangers-on, is for a currency union with England, Wales and Northern Ireland, in which Scotland would continue to use the pound and the Bank of England would continue to function as the lender of last resort. In this way, based on their key goal of cutting corporation tax'--which largely constitutes their ''independence'' project'--the SNP hopes to outstrip the rest of the UK as an investment location, tax haven, and source of profits. Following the financial crisis of 2008, and the vast bailout by the British government to the banking system, including a number of Scottish-based institutions, the party dropped its previous support for the euro.
- For the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition and much of the Labour Party, the instability and huge uncertainties associated with independence are viewed as risky and likely to compromise the interests of the City of London, its financial markets and major British corporations. The parties, collected in the ''Better Together'' camp in the referendum, endorse increased devolution of tax cutting and finance raising powers to Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the English regions, but within the framework of the UK, as a preferable means to cut business taxes while fragmenting nationally-based social services such as the National Health Service and driving down social spending but without endangering the viability of Britain as a global capitalist power.
- As far back as May last year, British Tory Chancellor George Osborne rejected the SNP's currency union proposal as ''unlikely''. In response, the Scottish government hinted that an independent Scotland ''could not reasonably be expected'' to shoulder a share of the UK's national debt ''if Westminster insists Scotland is not entitled to a share of assets.''
- The spat was not given much attention in the press, as the ''No'' camp remained far ahead in the opinion polls. Over the intervening months, however, the gap has closed significantly, while the number of ''don't knows'' has increased. The ''Yes'' camp, into which all the ex-left groups are integrated, insists that the brutal austerity being imposed by Westminster and Edinburgh can only be alleviated by Scottish independence.
- This bogus perspective ignores the fact that it is only the complexities of the Barnett public spending formula which have somewhat mitigated spending cuts in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, compared to England. The end result, however, is a growing realisation in ruling circles that the Cameron government's gamble in conceding a referendum to the SNP, on the expectation of the ''No'' camp winning decisively, might be going bad.
- This threat is starting to be taken seriously around the world. Earlier this year, the British Treasury was forced to respond to what were described as ''jitters'' in the financial markets over reiterated threats from SNP leader Alex Salmond of a Scottish default on its share of British debt if Scotland was barred from a currency union. This would amount to the first British debt default since the 17th century. British national debt currently stands at around £1.4 trillion, forecast to rise to £1.7 trillion by 2016. The ''jitters'' threatened to push British borrowing costs up.
- Seeking to calm the markets, the Treasury was forced to announce that it would take responsibility for all of the UK's current debt even if Scotland left the UK. Government commentators took to the media to insist that the Treasury statement did not amount to a handout to Salmond. The governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, was despatched to Edinburgh to warn that Scottish ''fiscal sovereignty'' would have to be ceded to form a viable currency union and that Scotland would face ''clear risks if these foundations are not in place.''
- The Financial Times' Martin Wolf, writing in a series, ''If Scotland Goes,'' spelled out that ''the rest of the UK could insure Scotland, but Scotland could not insure the rest of the UK'... The Scots should not be allowed to believe that they can have whatever kind of currency union they want.''
- Following David Cameron's ''seven months to save the UK'' speech at the Olympic velodrome in London earlier this month, Osborne travelled to Edinburgh to press home the point that ''If Scotland walks away from the UK, it walks away from the UK pound.''
- Osborne's position was immediately endorsed by both the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats. Osborne responded to Salmond's default threat by a bigger threat of his own. ''International lenders would look at Scotland and see a fledgling country whose only credit history was one gigantic default,'' he warned.
- With threats of default filling the air, the trade body for the huge Scottish Financial Enterprise, representing funds with assets of around £520 billion, one quarter of the UK total, warned of implications ''if fund managers cease to be in the same legal jurisdiction as the City of London and 90 percent of their customers.''
- The CEO of oil major BP, Bob Dudley, insisted, ''Great Britain is great and it ought to stay together.''
- Edinburgh based Standard Life, which has operated from the city since 1825 and which controls £240 billion, announced that a ''Yes'' vote could force it move its company HQ.
- Chastened, Salmond responded to assure Osborne and the markets that talk of default was not serious, or rather was purely for domestic tub thumping. It was a ''fair and reasonable position that Scotland should meet a fair share of the costs of that debt,'' but ''Sterling and the Bank of England are clearly shared UK assets'' and therefore Scotland ''should have a stake in their future policy.''
- Faced with exclusion from a currency union, Salmond and the SNP have, for the moment, retreated to a position of proposing to keep using the pound anyway, but without the Bank of England's support, the so-called ''Panama option'' referring to a number of Central American countries' use of the dollar.
- Workers in Scotland should vote ''No'' to Scottish independence to create the best conditions for a unified struggle against the despised Cameron government in London and the SNP administration in Edinburgh'--and against the financial parasites for which they both speak. Workers' interests are not at all served by the creation of new mini-states, but only by transcending the capitalist nation state system through establishing workers' governments in Britain and across a united socialist Europe.
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- In the name of ''peace'', the European Union readies for war
- By Jean Shaoul28 February 2014A series of European Union (EU) discussion papers and meetings have made it clear that the European powers are pushing for a more assertive militarist policy. The unfolding of this aggressive imperialist foreign policy takes place amid concerns that these powers are, in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, losing influence in the scramble for vital energy resources and markets in Asia and Africa.
- A recent European Council of Foreign Relations policy brief, Why Europe needs a new global strategy, sets out the European powers' military ambitions, not just in their former colonial possessions but in areas further afield. These include the Eurasian land mass, where the EU is set on geopolitical competition with Russia in Eastern Europe, as highlighted by the struggle for control of Ukraine, as well as with Asia and China.
- The policy brief bemoans Europe's lack of influence in the Middle East. The EU responded to Washington's calls for sanctions on Syria, only to find that Russia and Iran were able to circumvent them, while the rise of Saudi, Qatari and Turkey-backed Islamist forces in the region has cut across longstanding interests.
- The authors note that Europe's success at buying influence through ''aid'', to facilitate trade and ''security'', has been limited in part because of rivals with bigger pockets, such as the Gulf petro-states in the case of assistance to Egypt. Likewise, despite pouring money into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for more than 10 years, it lost out to China.
- The policy brief urges the sharing of national defence plans in order to better coordinate resources, the common policing of European airspace, the use of drones, and the development of European capabilities to manage crises in the EU's own ''backyard'' without the need to turn to Washington.
- It notes that the European powers have worked through the United Nations, serving as the funder and regional subcontractor for United Nations missions. The EU contributes 37 percent to the UN's peacekeeping budget that enables UN ''peacekeeping'' troop deployment and international military operations'--currently 15 missions are under way'--in comparison with the US contribution of 28 percent. But the UN is dominated by the US.
- While both Britain and France have permanent seats on the UN Security Council, they each push national interests that frequently differ both from each other and those of the EU, with a consequent loss of European influence on the world arena. For example, France and Germany opposed the US and UK-led 2003 invasion of Iraq, while Germany opposed the US, French and British intervention in Libya.
- The emergence of Brazil, Russia, China, India and other so-called emerging economies has further squeezed Europe.
- With this ''traditional multilateralism'' no longer providing a reliable mechanism for advancing their commercial and political interests, the European powers have turned to other organizations, using various funding mechanisms. These include the African Peace Facility, ATHENA, and the Instrument for Stability (IfS) to fund ''peacekeeping'' missions by the African Union (AU) and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
- AU missions have included operations in Burundi, Darfur, Comoros and Somalia, as well as hybrid missions in Mali and the Central African Republic, while ECOWAS has sent troops to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau, Cote d'Ivoire and Mali. But these operations are usually handed over to the UN at a later stage. In September 2011, the EU, led by Britain and France, put together an ad hoc coalition, the ''Friends of Libya,'' to carve up the oil-rich North African country.
- A policy briefing from the EU's Institute for Security Studies (EUISS), Setting the stage for the defence summit, argues that Europe needs ''a strong security and defence policy underpinned by robust and readily available joint military capabilities'' to enable it to engage ''in all five environments (land, air, maritime, space and cyber).'' It states that the only way to counter falling national defence budgets'--from '¬251 billion in 2001 to '¬194 billion in 2013'--is to take a joint approach, since no European government can afford to launch major new initiatives.
- A critical concern is economic relations with Asia. The EU is China's biggest trading partner, India and ASEAN's second biggest, Japan's third, and Indonesia's fourth. While the EU is in discussions with a number of Asian countries over establishing free trade areas, it lags far behind 73 bilateral FTAs signed by others with the region since 2000.
- A new European Council of Foreign Relations (ECFR) policy brief, Divided Asia: the implications for Europe, warns that unlike the US, the EU missed the boat by failing to take a region-wide approach. This refers to agreements such as the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC) or the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations, which aim to cover 45 percent of the world's population and one third of its GDP in FTAs. Washington launched its Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) proposal and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) as regional trade and investment initiatives. All of these initiatives exclude Europe.
- Given the US ''pivot'' to Asia that is aimed at undermining and encircling China militarily, the think tank warns, ''Europe cannot leave Asian security to the US'' and allow the US to dominate the Asian-Pacific region. It added, ''Basing European foreign and security policy in Asia on an alignment with US policy is misguided. US diplomacy is closely linked to US commercial goals in the region.''
- It adds that, while US and EU interests often overlap, they are ''in competition in many areas such as aerospace, transport equipment, public procurement, media and entertainment, and telecoms.''
- Europe should be prepared when necessary to go it alone and pursue its own interests, including establishing a Tran-Eurasian Partnership on trade and investment, particularly in services, the brief states. It should end energy sanctions and boycotts in the Middle East and North Africa on which both Europe and Asia depend, a policy which another ECFR paper, Shooting in the dark? EU sanctions policies, attacked.
- The policy paper calls for the promotion of arms sales to Asia, which ''almost always involve training, after-sales services, or continued upgrades.''
- ''Europe cannot continue to focus only on a soft power approach,'' it insists. It notes that while European arms sales to some Asian countries match US sales, arms transfers to China are negligible due to the lack of a unified policy on lifting the arms embargo put in place after China's brutal suppression of the Tiananmen Square uprising in 1989.
- European Foreign Affairs chief Catherine Ashton echoed these sentiments at a European summit meeting at the end of last year. She said, ''If Europe is to remain a global player in the 21st century, Europeans will need to cooperate even more closely. The rationale for a stronger European defence policy is threefold: political, ensuring that the EU can live up to its global ambitions; operational, giving Europe the capacity to act on the ground; and economic, securing jobs and driving innovation in times of austerity.''
- Ashton was backed up by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who was invited to address the summit'--a first. He called on Europe to beef up its military capabilities or face a security crisis on its borders and international marginalisation, pointing out that ''our European allies lack critical capability.''
- Operations in Libya and Mali exposed the EU's limited military power, even for relatively small-scale operations not far from Europe. In the case of the 2011 NATO-led operation to overthrow the Gaddafi regime, largely undertaken by European forces, the lack of European capabilities meant that US air tankers had to refuel at least 80 percent of the European fighter jets.
- Once again, however, the European powers were unable to come to any substantive agreement. British Prime Minister David Cameron was determined to block any attempt to give the EU'--Germany in alliance with France'--a bigger role in determining defence policy, and emphasising the primacy of NATO and member states.
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- NA-Tech
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- Tim Cook to Apple Investors: Drop Dead
- For Release: February 28, 2014Contact:Judy Kent at (703) 759-7476 or [email protected] or David Almasi at (202) 543-4110 x11 or (703) 568-4727 (text enabled) or [email protected]
- Tim Cook to Apple Investors: Drop Dead
- Apple CEO Tim Cook tells Investors Who Care More About Return on Investment than Climate Change: Your Money is No Longer Welcome
- As Board Member Al Gore Cheers the Tech Giant's Dedication to Environmental Activism, Investors Left to Wonder Just How Much Shareholder Value is Being Destroyed in Efforts to Combat "Climate Change"
- Free-Market Activist Presents Shareholder Resolution to Computer Giant Apple Calling for Consumer Transparency on Environmental Issues; Company Balks
- Cupertino, CA / Washington, D.C. - At today's annual meeting of Apple shareholders in Cupertino, California, Apple CEO Tim Cook informed investors that are primarily concerned with making reasonable economic returns that their money is no longer welcome.The message came in response to the National Center for Public Policy Research's shareholder resolution asking the tech giant to be transparent about its environmental activism and a question from the National Center about the company's environmental initiatives.
- "Mr. Cook made it very clear to me that if I, or any other investor, was more concerned with return on investment than reducing carbon dioxide emissions, my investment is no longer welcome at Apple," said Justin Danhof, Esq., director of the National Center's Free Enterprise Project.
- Danhof also asked Apple CEO Tim Cook about the company's green energy pursuits. Danhof asked whether the company's environmental investments increased or decreased the company's bottom line. After initially suggesting that the investments make economic sense, Cook said the company would pursue environmental goals even if there was no economic point at all to the venture. Danhof further asked if the company's projects would continue to make sense if the federal government stopped heavily subsidizing alternative energy. Cook completely ignored the inquiry and became visibly agitated.
- Danhof went on to ask if Cook was willing to amend Apple's corporate documents to indicate that the company would not pursue environmental initiatives that have some sort of reasonable return on investment - similar to the concession the National Center recently received from General Electric. This question was greeted by boos and hisses from the Al gore contingency in the room.
- "Here's the bottom line: Apple is as obsessed with the theory of so-called climate change as its board member Al Gore is," said Danhof. "The company's CEO fervently wants investors who care more about return on investments than reducing CO2 emissions to no longer invest in Apple. Maybe they should take him up on that advice."
- "Although the National Center's proposal did not receive the required votes to pass, millions of Apple shareholders now know that the company is involved with organizations that don't appear to have the best interest of Apple's investors in mind," said Danhof. "Too often investors look at short-term returns and are unaware of corporate policy decisions that may affect long-term financial prospects. After today's meeting, investors can be certain that Apple is wasting untold amounts of shareholder money to combat so-called climate change. The only remaining question is: how much?"
- The National Center's shareholder resolution noted that "[s]ome trade associations and business organizations have expanded beyond the promotion of traditional business goals and are lobbying business executives to pursue objectives with primarily social benefits. This may affect Company profitability and shareholder value. The Company's involvement and acquiescence in these endeavors lacks transparency, and publicly-available information about the Company's trade association memberships and related activities is minimal. An annual report to shareholders will help protect shareholder value."
- Apple's full 2014 proxy statement is available here. The National Center's proposal, "Report on Company Membership and Involvement with Certain Trade Associations and Business Organizations," appears on page 60.
- The National Center filed the resolution, in part, because of Apple's membership in the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), one of the country's largest trade associations. In its 2013 "Retail Sustainability Report," RILA states: "Companies will often develop individual or industry voluntary programs to reduce the need for government regulations. If a retail company minimizes its waste generation, energy and fuel usage, land-use footprint, and other environmental impacts, and strives to improve the labor conditions of the workers across its product supply chains, it will have a competitive advantage when regulations are developed."
- "This shows that rather than fighting increased government regulation, RILA is cooperating with Washington, D.C.'s stranglehold on American business in a misguided effort to stop so-called climate change," said Danhof. "That is not an appropriate role for a trade association."
- For even more information on RILA, read "The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA): A Cartel that Threatens Innovation and Competitiveness," by National Center Senior Fellow Dr. Bonner Cohen.
- "Rather than opting for transparency, Apple opposed the National Center's resolution," noted Danhof. "Apple's actions, from hiring of President Obama's former head of the Environmental Protection Agency Lisa Jackson, to its investments in supposedly 100 percent renewable data centers, to Cook's antics at today's meeting, appear to be geared more towards combating so-called climate change rather than developing new and innovative phones and computers."
- After Danhof presented the proposal, a representative of CalPERS rose to object and stated that climate change should be one of corporate America's primary concerns, and after she called carbon dioxide emissions a "mortal danger," Apple board member and former vice president Al Gore turned around and loudly clapped and cheered.
- "If Apple wants to follow Al Gore and his chimera of climate change, it does so at its own peril," said Danhof. "Sustainability and the free market can work in concert, but not if Al Gore is directing corporate behavior."
- "Tim Cook, like every other American, is entitled to his own political views and to be an activist of any legal sort he likes on his own time," said Amy Ridenour, chairman of the National Center for Public Policy Research. "And if Tim Cook, private citizen, does not care that over 95 percent of all climate models have over-forecast the extent of predicted global warming, and wishes to use those faulty models to lobby for government policies that raise prices, kill jobs and retard economic growth and extended lifespans in the Third World, he has a right to lobby as he likes. But as the CEO of a publicly-held corporation, Tim Cook has a responsibility to, consistent with the law, to make money for his investors. If he'd rather be CEO of the Sierra Club or Greenpeace, he should apply."
- "As in the past, Cook took but a handful of questions from the many shareholders present who were eager to ask a question at the one meeting a year in which shareholder questions are taken," added Ridenour, "leaving many disappointed. Environmentalism may be a byword at Apple, but transparency surely is not."
- The National Center's Free Enterprise Project is a leading free-market corporate activist group. In 2013, Free Enterprise Project representatives attended 33 shareholder meetings advancing free-market ideals in the areas of health care, energy, taxes, subsidies, regulations, religious freedom, media bias, gun rights and many more important public policy issues. Today's Apple meeting was the National Center's third attendance at a shareholder meeting so far in 2014.
- The National Center for Public Policy Research is an Apple shareholder, as are National Center executives.
- The National Center for Public Policy Research, founded in 1982, is a non-partisan, free-market, independent conservative think-tank. Ninety-four percent of its support comes from individuals, less than four percent from foundations, and less than two percent from corporations. It receives over 350,000 individual contributions a year from over 96,000 active recent contributors.
- Contributions are tax-deductible and greatly appreciated.
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- Apple CEO promises new products, says Apple TV no longer a 'hobby' - Yahoo Finance
- CUPERTINO, California (Reuters) - Apple Inc sold more than $1 billion of Apple TV set-top boxes in 2013 and is investing heavily in the next generation of products, Chief Executive Tim Cook said at the company's annual meeting on Friday.
- Apple's ability to again transform the fast-moving technology arena is the central question in investors' and Silicon Valley executives' minds as the company's growth slows, and rivals like Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Google Inc take chunks out of its market share.
- Industry executives and Apple observers continue to believe that the company will come up with some sort of wearable device, like a smartwatch, and speculation persists about a long-rumored TV product of some sort to shake up the living room viewing experience.
- "We're working on some things that are extensions of things you can see and some that you can't see," Cook said at the annual meeting, referring to a 32 percent increase in research and development costs last year.
- Responding to a question about innovation, Cook said Apple preferred not to talk about new products under development so as not to tip off the competition.
- "You can see we're getting ripped off left, right and sideways," he said.
- Apple's shares fell 0.27 percent to close at $526.24 on Friday. They have clawed back substantial ground since falling below $400 in June, but remain well below the record-high $700 level of 2012, weighed by concerns about whether the company has any new hit products in the pipeline.
- Though Cook steered clear of that discussion, he shed some more light on the Apple TV business, which executives have long referred to as a "hobby" for a company expected to chalk up some $181 billion in sales this fiscal year.
- The $99 Apple TV set-top box, which streams content from Netflix and other video sources to a TV, had racked up $1 billion in sales in the past year, he said.
- "It's a little more difficult to call it a hobby these days," Cook said.
- Cook took pot shots at Google, saying that most users of its Android mobile operating system are using older versions, presenting a security threat. In contrast, he said, 89 percent of users of devices based on Apple's iOS operating system have the most recent version of the software.
- Shareholders at the annual meeting at Apple's Cupertino, California, headquarters re-elected all board members.
- In the run-up to the meeting at 1 Infinite Loop, many investors had publicly debated whether Apple should not put any of its massive cash pile to better use.
- Cook said the company will provide an update within 60 days on how it will use the cash, which totaled nearly $160 billion at the end of 2013. That time frame is in line with Apple's previous comments that it would announce its latest cash management plans around April.
- Apple repurchased $14 billion in stock in a two-week period earlier this year, under pressure from activist investor Carl Icahn, who had been publicly calling for the iPhone-maker to buy back an additional $50 billion of stock on top of its existing buyback program.
- The billionaire investor, who in late January said he held more than $4 billion of Apple shares, withdrew his shareholder proposal following Apple's announcement of the buyback.
- Some analysts believe Apple may eventually dip into its coffers to buy something big. The iPhone maker has so far shied away from the mega-acquisitions that far more aggressive rivals like Google and Facebook Inc have pursued, though Cook did not rule out forking over a big sum of cash if warranted.
- Cook said Apple has acquired 23 companies in the last 16 months and remained on the lookout for interesting technology and companies.
- Apple is not in a race to acquire the most companies or to spend the most money, but that "doesn't mean we won't buy a huge company tomorrow afternoon," he said.
- And he warned shareholders not to focus too narrowly on short-term gains.
- "If you're in Apple for only a week ... or two months, I would encourage you not to invest in Apple," he said.
- "We are here for the long term."
- (Reporting by Alexei Oreskovic; Editing by Leslie Adler and Richard Chang)
- Information TechnologyTechnology & ElectronicsApple TV
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- Super Foods!
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- Just Kale Me: How your Kale habit is slowly destroying your health and the world | Hunt Gather Love
- Note: if you do not plan to read the whole post, please skip to the last section
- Kale is one of those vegetables that everyone thinks is so healthy. From kale chips to kale salad, kale has become an extremely trendy vegetable. But people have embraced kale without thinking enough about the chemicals it contains and its effects on the Earth. What you don't know could kale you.
- Before scientists were blinded by kale's health food halo, they studied its horrific effect on livestock. Farmers had been mystified by the births of lambs that already had goiter. Researchers experimented with kale on sheep and rabbits with grisly results. Turns out kale does contain a goitrogen, thiocyanate, which is chemically very similar to deadly cyanide. Some young lambs were stillborn, their brain development stunted by their goiters. The consumption of kale had blocked their thyroid's ability to function properly even in the presence of proper iodine consumption. With many Americans consuming little iodine, especially those obsessed with health foods who eschew iodized salt, the effects could be devastating.
- Even more alarming, later experiments showed that mixing the kale with corn and blood meal increased the effect, something you might want to think about next time you consider sauteed kale with cornmeal pancakes and blood sausage.
- Scientists then never considered that humans would someday consider kale a ''health food.'' Back then it was only food for livestock and ignorant Scottish peasants. But even though people weren't noshing on kale chips all day, kale managed to poison them. Cows grazing on kale transferred its poisons to their milk, affecting the thyroid development of children who drank it and causing an epidemic of goiter on Tasmania.
- Kale is also rich in sulfur and compounds that convert to sulfur, which is the chemical that makes rotten eggs smell putrid. One metabolite of sulfur, S-methylcysteine sulphoxide, is known to cause ''kale poisoning'' '' severe hemolytic anemia, a life-threatening breakdown of red blood cells, in livestock. Poor sulfur digestion is associated with many serious illinesses in humans, though whether it causes them or merely exacerbates them remains to be seen.
- It makes sense that Kale would be dangerous given it evolved in an evolutionary war against those that dare to eat its leaves from aurochs to insects. One powerful weapon it possesses is lectins, which many of you recognize as a serious danger to human health, implicated in many autoimmune illnesses and other inflammatory disorders. The lectins in kale and other related species are very similar to the equally dangerous wheat germ agglutinin lectin.
- Some people think that kale and other related vegetables prevent cancer, but large-scale epidemiological studies have shown no such effect and their phytochemicals may even cause cancer. For example, indole and its derivatives have been shown to promote many types of cancer, possibly by causing hormone imbalances or by stimulating the cyt-P450 pathway that produces genotoxic metabolites. If you already have cancer, it can promote further growth and the so-called ''antioxidants'' which people think are so healthy can prevent your body from fighting the cancer effectively.
- Studies in pigs have shown that kale's close cousin broccoli promotes severe DNA damage in the colon. Kale may also promote other types of digestive problems through difficult-to-digest carbohydrates known as fructans, part of a family experts are calling FODMAPs (Fermentable, Oligo-, Di-, Mono-saccharides And Polyols). Many people have found relief from IBS and other stomach problems by avoiding foods like kale on a low-FODMAPs diet. If you are constantly bloated and gassy it might be the pound of kale you are eating for breakfast every day.
- You probably already worry a lot about antinutrients in grains, but kale contains many of the same antinutrients that rob your body of important vitamins and minerals and irritate the digestive tract including oxalate, phytic acid, and tannins.
- The amounts of these chemicals in each variety of kale varies widely, so consuming kale is like eating an uncontrolled cocktail of immunogenic and bioactive health-harming chemicals and their even more chaotic breakdown products. Terrifyingly, these chemicals also vary with time of day and season, even when they are in yourfridge!
- As kale becomes more and more popular, it raises the question: how will we feel the world's almost 9 billion people on kale? The Food and Agricultural Organization at the UN doesn't track kale production and consumption yet, but they will have to start. At current rates of growth, by 2350, almost all the world's cropland will be devoted to kale. The consequences to the environment will be devastating.
- Large-scale industrial commercial kale production requires clearing massive amounts of animal habitat and killing animals that invade the fields of kale. In the world of leafy greens production, any life that's not a leaf is a potential liability. After the spinach-related e.coli outbreak, farmers can't take the risk of co-existing with other plants and animals. Will the world look like the Salinas Valley looks like today? A sterile dry wasteland where any signs of life are promptly shot or poisoned?
- Kale production not only destroys rivers and wetlands, it uses water that human beings need. It needs heavy irrigation during the hot months of the year. Furthermore, kale needs to be fertilized extensively, particularly given its soil-fertility reducing effects, and many farms use industrially-produced resource-intensive fertilizer or fertilizer made from the manure of factory-farmed animals. A full environmental impact analysis of kale production has yet to be done, a fact people ignore when they shovel kale chips blindly into their mouths.
- The way kale is grown also increases its negative effects on your health. The EWG lists kale as one of its ''dirty dozen'' of vegetables most likely to be contaminated by pesticides. Pesticides used on kale include phthalates, dangerous chemicals that are known endocrine disruptors, wreaking havoc on the human hormonal systems. Many pesticides used to grow kale also are contaminated with immune-damaging dioxin and liver-destroying hexachlorobenzene.
- Even organic kale might be rife with harm. Laverlam, a common organic pesticide, may trigger allergic reactions, which are on the rise in the United States today. As if kale didn't destroy enough animal habitat, mineral oil used in organic production destroys the microhabitats founds in soil that are home to a great deal of biodiversity.
- Thinking you can beat that by growing kale in your garden? Home-grown greens are known to be heavily contaminated by brain-damaging lead and cancer-causing arsenic.
- In the end the best thing you can do for yourself, your family, and the world is to avoid kale and its cousins. This post contains over fifty peer-reviewed references to science, so think about that next time your so-called friend serves you a massaged kale salad with delicious flecks of parmesan reggiano. Remember there is no documented need for kale in your diet and you can get all the nutrients you need from delicious nutritious cow's liver.
- I was going to put this part up the next day, but the reaction I got from the post was so extreme that I almost immediately felt guilty. People sent me emails asking advice about other vegetables that might be bad. Some of the comments were hilarious, some just made me feel bad
- And in general people took if very very seriously, I guess they forgot I had put up a poll some time ago asking what food should be my victim to demonstrate you can demonize anything with Pubmed. Also I thought the language was pretty silly: "ignorant Scottish peasants" ... ">> delicious nutritious cow's liver"??
- Yes, Kale does contain chemicals, all foods do. In very large amounts or in certain vulnerable people could cause problems. Many of the studies I chose involved animals with a diet almost completely based on kale, which I think anyone will agree is a bad idea. Most also involved varieties not sold for human consumption and consumed in ways that humans might not consume- uncooked, un-marinated, etc. A lot of the rest involved just scary language about various chemicals and studies involving isolated chemicals.
- I do think that the point about antioxidants being overrated is valid, but overall I don't think kale or most other foods (barring actual intolerances or allergies) are going to cause problems as part of a diverse diet. Maybe you shouldn't juice a pound of kale and drink it for breakfast every day though. Sadly to say, I have met people who do things like that. You have to respect that leaves have to protect themselves from herbivory or these plants would not have survived millions of years of evolution. Some of those chemicals to deter consumption can be healthy in small amounts, but unhealthy in largely amounts.
- I will say the issues regarding leafy green production being destructive are worth thinking about, but you can certainly find responsibly-produced kale in season at your local farmer's market. I brought them up because people rarely think about the environmental effects of things that have a moral halo around them like greens, including people more than willing to tell you about how bad meat is for the environment. We should think about the fact that people pretty much demand to have salad greens every single month of the year and what that means for wildlife, wetlands, and biodiversity in general.
- But when you see an article that demonizes a food, think about whether or not there are citations and follow those citations. Ask yourself whether they apply to human beings eating a diverse diet with adequete calories. Or whether they involve very high concentrations no human being eats, isolated chemicals, or preparations that no normal human would put on their plate. I see narratives like this, not as satire, in many diet books and on a lot of diet blogs. I have been guilty of this in the past, when I took a lot of stuff seriously that I no longer worry about. Like phytic acid in foods'' most of the studies that show this is a problem involve populations of people who are malnourished. I suppose some people get to that point while dieting though.
- As far as the cornmeal pancakes with blood sausage and sauteed kale, I think that's what I'm going to have for breakfast today.
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- Bank$ters
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- Citi discovers fraud in Mexico unit
- Banking giant Citigroup cut its fourth quarter and full year 2013 estimates on Friday, as its profit was hit by fraudulent activity at a Mexico-based subsidary.
- The bank said in a statement that Banco Nacional de Mexico, or Banamex, had loaned $585 million in short-term money to a Mexican oil services company named Oceanografia. It was later discovered that the firm had been suspended by the government from being awarded new contracts,
- "Based on Citi's review...Citi estimates that it is able to support the validity of approximately $185 million of the $585 million of accounts receivables owed to Banamex by Pemex as of December 31, 2013," the bank added.
- As a result of the incident, Citi will take an estimated $235 million after-tax, or $360 million pre-tax, charge against last year's earnings. The impact will lower 2013 net income from $13.9 billion to $13.7 billion.
- Citi said it believed the fraud was "isolated to this particular client," but added that its review was ongoing. The bank expects it will determine "whether any or all portion of the $33 million of direct loans made to [Oceanografia], and the remaining approximately $185 million of accounts receivable due from Pemex is impaired."
- The news was a new hit for the Wall Street giant, which'--five years following the 2008 financial meltdown'--has yet to reach escape velocity from the crisis that nearly collapsed the global financial system.
- Citi was among the last to repay its bailout money in full, and in subsequent years has struggled with issues related to management and strategy. The bank, which originally pioneered the concept of a full service financial supermarket, has been weighed by weakness in key business areas such as mortgages and fixed-income trading.
- Banking giant Citigroup cut its fourth quarter and full year 2013 estimates, as profit was hit by fraudulent activity at a Mexico-based subsidary.
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- WTC7
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- New Navy Ship Named To Honor Flight 93, Whose Passengers And Crew Fought Terrorists On 9/11
- May we always remember, and pick up the torch'...
- PHILADELPHIA '-- A new U.S. Navy ship named to honor 40 passengers and crew killed when their hijacked United Airlines flight crashed as they fought with terrorists during the Sept. 11 attacks was put into service in Philadelphia Saturday.
- The USS Somerset is named for the southwestern Pennsylvania county where Flight 93 crashed. With its 684-foot starboard side serving as the backdrop, the amphibious transport dock warship was formally commissioned in front of more than 5,000 spectators at Penn's Landing.
- ''What we commemorate is not that war or an attack on America,'' said Sen. Pat Toomey. ''We commemorate the day America began to fight back.''
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- LGBBTQQIAAP
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- Anti-Homosexuality Act 2014 | Scribd
- THE ANTI-HOMOSEXUALITY ACT, 2014.An Act to prohibit any form of sexual relations between personsof the same sex; prohibit the promotion or recognition of suchrelations and to provide for other related matters.
- by Parliament as follows:P
- In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires'--''authority'' means having power and control over other peoplebecause of your knowledge and official position; and shallinclude a person who exercises religious, political,economic or social authority;''child'' means a person below the age of eighteen years;''court'' means a chief magistrates court;''currency point'' has the value assigned to it in the Schedule tothis Act;3
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- VIDEOS
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- VIDEO-Pussy Riot - Putin will teach you how to love / - YouTube
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- VIDEO-The Unbelievable Story Of Why Marlon Brando Rejected His 1973 Oscar For 'The Godfather' | Business Insider
- The Godfather was not too pleased with the Academy.
- The man who made offers others couldn't refuse once refused the movie industry's heftiest honor.
- On March 5, 1973, Marlon Brando declined the Academy Award for Best Actor for his gut-wrenching performance as Vito Corleone in ''The Godfather'' '-- for a very unexpected reason.
- The Movie That Brought Brando BackIn the 1960s, Brando's career had slid into decline. His previous two movies '-- the famously over-budget ''One-Eyed Jacks'' and ''Mutiny on the Bounty'' '-- tanked at the box office. Critics said ''Mutiny'' marked the end of Hollywood's golden age, and worse still, rumors of Brando's unruly behavior on set turned him into one of the least desirable actors to work with.
- Brando's career needed saving. ''The Godfather'' was his defibrillator.
- In the epic portrayal of a 1940s New York Mafia family, Brando played the patriarch, the original Don. Though the film follows his son Michael (played by Al Pacino), Vito Corleone is its spine. A ruthless, violent criminal, he loves and protects the family by any means necessary. It's the warmth of his humanity that makes him indestructible '-- a paradox shaped by Brando's remarkable performance.
- ''The Godfather'' grossed nearly $135 million nationwide, and is heralded as one of the greatest films of all time. Pinned against pinnacles of the silver screen '-- Michael Caine, Laurence Olivier, and Peter O'Toole '-- Brando was favorited to win Best Actor.
- Drama At The Awards ShowOn the eve of the 45th Academy Awards, Brando announced that he would boycott the ceremony and send Sacheen Littlefeather in his place. A little-known actress, she was then-president of the National Native American Affirmative Image Committee.
- Brando sent Sacheen Littlefeather in his place, to address the American Indian rights movement.
- On the evening of March 5, when Liv Ullman and Roger Moore read out the name of the Best Actor award recipient, neither presenter parted their lips in a smile. Their gaze fell on a woman in Apache dress, whose long, dark hair bobbed against her shoulders as she climbed the stairs.
- Moore extended the award to Littlefeather, who waved it away with an open palm. She set a letter down on the podium, introduced herself, and said:
- ''I'm representing Marlon Brando this evening and he has asked me to tell you '... that he very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award. And the reasons for this being are the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry '--''
- The crowd booed. Littlefeather looked down and said ''excuse me.'' Others in the audience began to clap, cheering her on. She continued only briefly, to ''beg'' that her appearance was not an intrusion and that they will ''meet with love and generosity'' in the future.
- Why He Did ItIn 1973, Native Americans had ''virtually no representation in the film industry and were primarily used as extras,'' Native American studies scholar Dina Gilio-Whitaker writes. ''Leading roles depicting Indians in several generations of Westerns were almost always given to white actors.''
- But they weren't just neglected or replaced in film; they were disrespected '-- a realization that crippled Brando's image of the industry.
- Brando was 48 when he became the second person to reject an Academy Award for Best Actor.
- The following day, The New York Times printed the entirety of his statement '-- which Littlefeather was unable to read in full because of ''time restraints.'' Brando expressed support for the American Indian Movement and referenced the ongoing situation at Wounded Knee, where a team of 200 Oglala Lakota activists had occupied a tiny South Dakota town the previous month and was currently under siege by U.S. military forces. He wrote:
- ''The motion picture community has been as responsible as any for degrading the Indian and making a mockery of his character, describing him as savage, hostile and evil. It's hard enough for children to grow up in this world. When Indian children '... see their race depicted as they are in films, their minds become injured in ways we can never know.''
- A tsunami of criticism toppled over Brando and Littlefeather following the Oscars, from peers in the industryand the media.
- Still, Brando lent the Native American community a once in a lifetime opportunity to raise awareness of their fight in front of 85 million viewers, leveraging an entertainment platform for political justice in unprecedented fashion. His controversial rejection of the award (which no winner has repeated since) remains one of the most powerful moments in Oscar history.
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- VIDEO-The White House Film Festival
- A couple months ago, we asked students all across the country to tell us about the technology in their classrooms.
- We asked them to tell us why technology is so important, and how it will change the educational experience for kids in the future. They stepped up to the challenge in a big way: We received more than 2,500 official entries.
- These students brought us into their classrooms, homes, and backyards. They introduced us to their teachers, to their robots, and to imaginary characters that they dreamed up. They showed us how they learn.
- OVER 2500 SUBMISSIONS RECEIVED16 OFFICIAL SELECTIONSONLINE LIVE STREAM OF ENTIRE FESTIVAL 2:30 TODAY
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- 1PdVMFNBu4H1JPxRNV1aPXE15YKjYcVKnjWhy You Should Tip Our WritersLet's Talk Bitcoin is powered by volunteers doing good work through the Cryptocurrency ecosystem, and sharing their experiences with the community as a whole. If you found this article to be valuable, please send a bitcoin tip which will go straight from your wallet directly to the wallet of the writer. No middle men. No payment processor. Pure Value for Value. Thank you for supporting our model!
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- VIDEO-Canadian Prime Minister plays Hey Jude to Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu - Telegraph
- On the last evening of his four-day visit to Israel, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper had a special surprise for his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu.
- Instead of simply giving a speech thanking his hosts at the state dinner, Mr Harper decided to take to the stage and sing the Beatles' hit Hey Jude.
- In footage from the dinner in Jerusalem, Mr Harper can be seen playing the piano and singing as Mr Netanyahu and his wife Sara merrily hum along to the tune.
- The Canadian PM is known for his musical talents and performed the same party trick at a dinner in Toronto in December 2013.
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- VIDEO-Prospects for Peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Great Lakes Region
- Chairman Menendez, Ranking Member Corker, and members of the Committee: Thank you for the invitation to testify today on the recent progress in and continuing challenges facing the African Great Lakes region and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (D.R.C.), and our comprehensive efforts to support the region in resolving the root causes of conflict and instability.
- As you know, the security and humanitarian situation in the D.R.C. has long been one of the most volatile in Africa. An estimated five million people have lost their lives since 1998, millions more have been displaced, and billions of dollars have been spent trying to stabilize the region. Looking at the region today, however, I am cautiously optimistic about the road ahead, while recognizing that a myriad of challenges still stand in the way of lasting peace and stability.
- The highest levels of the U.S. Government are committed to helping the D.R.C. and the Great Lakes region permanently break the cycle of violence and realize its democratic and economic potential. President Obama's and Secretary Kerry's appointment of a full-time special envoy is a testament to their commitment to maintaining high-level attention on this region. On my own part, I have made seven trips to the region in six months, meeting repeatedly with heads of state, civil society, and our donor partners to bring sustained attention and a comprehensive approach to resolving the crisis in the Great Lakes. Today, we are seeing progress in addressing the threat from armed groups and in furthering the regionally led peace process. We are also seeing the region's attitude towards the United States improve in recognition of our consistent high-level engagement.
- Situational UpdateThe last time the State Department testified on the D.R.C. in December 2012, the country was consumed by the M23 rebellion and the capture of Goma had raised grave doubts about the ability of the UN peacekeeping mission in the D.R.C., called MONUSCO, to protect civilians against the threat of armed groups. I can thankfully report that the outlook today is very different. In response to combined military and political pressures, the M23 was defeated and formally ended its rebellion last November.
- Three key developments contributed to the military defeat of the M23. First, the D.R.C. Government put in place more operationally effective and accountable military officers in the embattled region of North Kivu, helping to overcome previous reluctance by the D.R.C. military, or FARDC, to pursue the M23. Second, last March, the UN Security Council approved the establishment within MONUSCO of the first regionally led, 3,000-troop-strong Intervention Brigade, or IB, composed of troops from Tanzania, Malawi, and South Africa. We strongly supported this more explicit Chapter VII mandate in an effort to increase MONUSCO's capability to protect civilians by more robustly targeting armed groups. The IB provided critical support to the FARDC and helped to successfully protect civilians and defend Goma during the M23's attacks last year. Third, as the UN Group of Experts and other reporting indicates, outside support to the M23 decreased toward the end of the rebellion. We believe this was in part the result of sustained, high-level diplomatic and financial pressure on Rwanda to cease support for the M23.
- The political resolution of the M23 rebellion, on the other hand, came via the Kampala Dialogue, successfully facilitated by Uganda in its role as chair of the regional organization the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, or the ICGLR. While the Kampala Dialogue started in December 2012, it lagged for months in large part because of the lack of sufficient military pressure on and continued external support to the M23. However, the talks gained traction last fall when the M23 was forced to drop its more unrealistic demands in the face of increased military pressure from the FARDC and MONUSCO. The Ugandan Government's continued engagement throughout this period also is commendable; had they given up when talks lagged, we might have seen a very different outcome.
- I also believe the eventual success of the Kampala Dialogue was a result of the added participation of a set of five international envoys -- UN Special Envoy Mary Robinson, the Special Representative of the Secretary General Martin Kobler, Special Representative for the African Union Boubecar Diarra, Senior Coordinator for the European Union Koen Vervaeke, and me. Prior to last September, the international community had not participated in the Kampala Dialogue, or even been allowed in the room during the substantive negotiations. This changed last September, when during the envoys' first joint-trip to the region, we met with the D.R.C. and the M23 delegations in an effort to overcome the stalemate in the talks and pressure the parties toward an internationally acceptable outcome. We subsequently made repeated trips to Kampala, engaging directly with the parties over the contents of an eventual peace arrangement. I believe the active participation of the envoys was a key turning point in the Kampala Dialogue.
- The Kampala Dialogue concluded on December 12, 2013, with the M23's and the D.R.C. Government's signing of their respective Nairobi Declarations, which among other things, set out the conditions for the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration of the M23 into Congolese society, and called for those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity to be held accountable. Unlike previous agreements between the D.R.C. Government and rebel groups that failed to hold up over time or achieve lasting stability, the Nairobi Declarations do not grant blanket amnesty to the M23 for mass atrocities and do not provide for the reintegration of the M23 as a group into the D.R.C. military. The Declarations have yet to be fully implemented, however, and M23 fighters and leaders remain spread out in Uganda, Rwanda, and the D.R.C. Thus, while the official end of the M23 rebellion is promising, the long-term success of the declarations will be dependent on the parties' prompt and full implementation of their commitments, as well as the cooperation of neighboring countries in supporting the implementation of these commitments.
- Similarly, the continuation of the positive momentum gained from the end of the M23 rebellion is dependent on the region's implementation of the broader Peace, Security, and Cooperation Framework Agreement, signed a year ago by the D.R.C., Rwanda, Uganda, and an unprecedented ten other countries in the region, and signed by the UN, the AU, the ICGLR, and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) as guarantors. We believe the Framework, which sets out commitments by the D.R.C., the region, and the international community, provides the Great Lakes with the best opportunity to resolve the root causes of conflict, if participating governments maintain the political will necessary to implement their commitments.
- Next StepsLooking forward, there are three key next steps to building on recent progress in the D.R.C. and to preventing backsliding. I list these not in order of priority, as all three are equally important and must be pursued simultaneously. The first is following-up on the Kampala Dialogue with the full implementation of the Nairobi Declarations. Second is the advancement of the Framework peace process, including through broader political dialogue between and among key signatory states. And third, and perhaps the most challenging, is undertaking domestic reforms within the D.R.C.
- I. Follow-up to the Kampala DialogueOn the Nairobi Declarations, the D.R.C. Government has already fulfilled one of its primary commitments by promulgating the recent amnesty law, which grants amnesty for the act of insurrection on a case-by-case basis to those individuals who renounce rebellion. The law does not grant amnesty for war crimes, crimes against humanity, sexual violence, the recruitment of child soldiers, or other human rights abuses. The envoys played a key role during the Kampala Dialogue in ensuring that unlike previous peace arrangements, the Nairobi Declarations do not provide for impunity, which has in the past sown the seeds for future rebellions.
- In this same vein, I was encouraged, during my trip to the D.R.C. last month, to hear a variety of Congolese officials express support for mixed chambers'--hybrid courts to be staffed by both Congolese and international jurists and support staff. I was told repeatedly that the necessary legislation is slated for the March session of Parliament, although it remains to be seen whether Parliament and the President will, indeed, exhibit the political will necessary to establish the courts. We believe that the international community could play an important role in assisting the Congolese to establish a mechanism with the requisite expertise and independence to investigate and bring to justice perpetrators of mass atrocities. In the meantime, we continue to urge the D.R.C. Government to further reform its judicial sector to fight impunity, including increasing the capacity for fair and speedy trials, deploying additional trained jurists, and improving its prison and detention facilities and witness protection program.
- The next important step in implementing the Nairobi Declarations is ensuring that the hundreds of Congolese ex-M23 combatants currently spread out across the D.R.C., Uganda, and Rwanda, complete the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration process, or DDR. We are actively engaging the highest levels of the D.R.C. Government and MONUSCO regarding the urgency of implementing an effective DDR plan. We are concerned that, while the D.R.C. Government passed a DDR plan in December 2013 and promulgated a budget for it on February 1, details on the operational plan and implementation are still lacking, particularly with regard to community reintegration programs, a critical component to end the cycle of violence. During my recent trip, I visited one of the identified DDR sites. While the buildings were more or less ready to house people, the processing procedures and the programs for those ex-combatants brought to the sites was unclear. The lack of funding and preparation by the D.R.C. Government and the resulting concerns of the international community are also stalling MONUSCO's ability to provide logistical support for DDR. This is complicating and delaying the DDR process for not just the M23, but for the dozens of other armed groups in eastern D.R.C. that have surrendered in the wake of the M23's defeat. Rwanda and Uganda, which combined are hosting and feeding upwards of 2,000 ex-M23 combatants, are also unlikely to transfer these combatants back to the D.R.C. in the absence of an established DDR program.
- Particularly worrisome is how unclear the DDR process is to those ex-combatants who are to go through it. This lack of information and resulting skepticism is keeping some armed groups, who might otherwise demobilize, in the bush. Some armed groups are even sending low-level fighters to surrender in order to learn what is being offered through the DDR program. The D.R.C. Government has an unprecedented opportunity to capitalize on the willingness of thousands of current and ex-combatants to demobilize; however, if the government does not act soon, it risks having these ex-combatants regroup or join other armed groups. On the flip side, were the D.R.C. Government to institute an effective DDR program, it would be one of the best vehicles for drawing out defections from other armed groups and preventing the recycling of combatants.
- While the D.R.C. works to implement DDR, Rwanda, and Uganda still have a responsibility for maintaining effective control over the M23 ex-combatants, which they accepted onto their respective territories. They have a responsibility under the Peace, Security, and Cooperation Framework to not support armed groups, and in turn not to allow these ex-combatants to slip out of their containment camps and back into the D.R.C. potentially to regroup or join other armed groups still operating in the D.R.C. This is especially the case for the M23's most notorious leaders, many of whom face arrest warrants in the D.R.C., are subject to a worldwide travel ban, and under U.S. and UN sanctions. It is critical that Uganda and Rwanda uphold their commitments to turn over the M23 leaders responsible for human rights violations to the D.R.C. so that they can be held accountable for the international crimes they have committed.
- Moving the hundreds of current and expected ex-combatants through the first stages of DDR will potentially take at least a year, with the reintegration phase taking considerably longer, all at considerable expense. It also will require the full cooperation of the neighboring countries where the ex-combatants are currently quartered. While the onus is on the D.R.C. Government to fund and implement DDR, donors should consider supporting DDR efforts as part of our broader efforts towards security sector reform and stabilization.
- The final phase of DDR '' reintegration '' is arguably the most challenging as it requires extended efforts to help ex-combatants return to civilian life as well as help the communities to which they return. Within such communities during this period, there are serious risks of increases in domestic violence and trauma among those who suffered violence during the conflict. Restoring state authority, increasing employment opportunities, working to prevent gender-based violence, and building social cohesion in communities who are integrating ex-combatants is critical to the success of DDR.
- II. Framework Peace ProcessBeyond the Nairobi Declarations, the Great Lakes region needs to continue robust implementation of the broader Framework peace process. We commend UN Special Envoy Robinson's oversight of the process and are encouraged by the signatories' development of regional and international benchmarks and the establishment of a Women's Platform to support the Framework, recognizing that women's continued involvement in the peace process will be critical to its success. We believe, however, that fulfilling the Framework's overarching objectives will also require key signatories to undertake a broader political dialogue aimed at resolving the regional root causes of conflict.
- While many of the challenges in the D.R.C. are strictly domestic, there are regional root causes to the country's chronic instability. The D.R.C. has experienced two devastating regional wars within the past 20 years, suffered from the region's use of proxy forces, and is losing substantial revenue in the illegal exploitation of its natural resources. The resulting refugee flows and ethnic tensions do not recognize borders. These complex regional factors necessitate a transparent and in-depth dialogue between and among the D.R.C. and key neighbors, conducted under the auspices of the Framework.
- With this in mind, I believe one of the most promising signs in the Great Lakes region is the budding dialogue taking place under the stewardship of Angolan President Jos(C) Eduardo dos Santos, who assumed the chair of the ICGLR on January 15 of this year. During his first day as the ICGLR chair, President dos Santos convened the Presidents of the D.R.C., Rwanda, Uganda, and South Africa to discuss the FDLR, an armed group led by Rwandan genocidaires which has plagued eastern Congo and Rwanda for more than a decade. My fellow envoys and I, as well as regional leaders, saw in this meeting the potential start to the needed broader dialogue. Participating presidents were particularly complimentary of dos Santos' role in the process. We strongly support and encourage Angola's role in facilitating a regionally owned and initiated dialogue within the context of the Framework and stand ready to support President dos Santos in furthering it. We hope the ICGLR mechanism under Angolan leadership will expand to cover issues such as the return of M23 combatants from Rwanda and Uganda, border security, ethnic tension, domestic challenges to the voluntary and sustainable return of refugees and internally displaced persons, and regional economic cooperation. We welcomed Angola Foreign Minister Chicoti's recent trip through the Great Lakes region and Angola's pledge of financial support to the ICGLR Executive Secretariat to strengthen its technical and organizational capacity, as indicators of Angola's commitment to its new role as Chair of the organization.
- The Framework peace process has the potential to not only resolve security matters but to also boost regional economic cooperation and development. We welcomed the World Bank's announcement last year of $1 billion for Great Lakes projects that promote regional economic development and integration and contribute to peace building, and support UN Special Envoy Robinson's efforts to boost private sector investment. We are hopeful that the budding ICGLR dialogue can further regional development and integration by building trust and helping to overcome trade barriers. Development supports stability by creating employment and improving livelihoods, which in turn provide incentives to discourage continued ethnic conflict and the rise of new armed groups. We are also encouraged by the array of initiatives underway to combat the illegal trade of natural resources. The combination of ending illegal and increasing the legitimate trade in natural resources will help restore government revenues and assist the D.R.C. to assert authority over its borders, territory, and natural resources such as minerals, wildlife, and timber. These steps will help create a climate more conducive to investment and assist the D.R.C. in working with its neighbors on longer-term regional development and integration.
- III. Domestic Challenges in the D.R.C.While the end of the M23 rebellion was a critical step, many challenges remain on the D.R.C. domestic front. The government still has a long way to go to stabilize and secure its country, including improving governance and expanding state authority across the territory, increasing democratization, ensuring that upcoming elections are credible, and accelerating real security sector reform. A series of attacks around the country on December 30, 2013, including at the airport in Kinshasa, the increase in attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in the east, and the recent violence in the Katanga province, underline the continued volatility inside the Congo.
- As a first step, the D.R.C. Government, with MONUSCO's support, needs to follow-up its defeat of the M23 by applying equal military pressure on other armed groups, starting with the FDLR and the ADF. The M23 was the largest and most militarily capable armed group, so defeating it was no small feat and was understandably a priority for the D.R.C. However, there is a plethora of other armed groups that continue to prey upon the population, undermine state authority, complicate the D.R.C.'s relations with its neighbors, and illegally exploit the country's natural resources. The internal displacements and humanitarian consequences caused by these armed groups make sustainable development in the region virtually impossible.
- I made clear during my recent trip, and I continue to emphasize, that it is essential that the FARDC and MONUSCO, conduct military operations against the FDLR and the ADF. Part of our success in ending outside support to the M23 last fall came from the UN's and the international community's commitment to pursue the FDLR next. While it is understandable that going after an entrenched guerilla group like the FDLR, which is embedded within the population, is more complex and presents greater risks to civilians than fighting the more conventional M23, following through on this is important to building confidence within the region and maintaining MONUSCO's credibility as an impartial actor. We are encouraged by the D.R.C. Government's recent month-long effort to pursue the ADF and initial efforts against the FDLR, and are hopeful that the FARDC and MONUSCO will launch robust operations against the FDLR soon.
- These military efforts must also be combined with a comprehensive approach to resolving the threat of armed groups, including the promotion of defections and the demobilization and societal reintegration of those combatants who peacefully surrender through an effective DDR process. We encourage the Governments of the D.R.C. and Rwanda to work with MONUSCO to implement this comprehensive approach to ending the threat of the FDLR.
- In addition to security, the D.R.C. needs to immediately ramp up its preparations for upcoming elections. While many expect the D.R.C. to hold local elections early next year, the government has yet to approve an elections calendar. Local elections, which have never been held in the country's five decades since independence, will be an extreme logistical challenge in this vast country with virtually no infrastructure. I have spoken with the head of the D.R.C.'s election commission on several occasions and am concerned by the commission's lack of urgency in planning and implementing an effective elections strategy.
- It will be a steep uphill climb '' for the D.R.C., the region, and the international community alike '' to ensure that these next elections are credible and inclusive. With sufficient attention, coordination, and resources, and political commitment by the D.R.C. Government, I believe this goal could be attained. However, the D.R.C. Government and donors need to start planning now if we are to avoid a repeat of the seriously flawed 2011 elections, for which neither the D.R.C. nor the international community were adequately prepared. And if we are serious about prioritizing democratization, we should consider identifying additional funds to ensure adequate support for the local, provincial, and national elections expected between now and 2016. We should also position MONUSCO with the mandate and capacity to provide logistical support to the D.R.C. Government. These elections will be a critical test for the D.R.C.'s political system, in part because President Kabila will have served the maximum two terms permitted by the D.R.C.'s constitution.
- In addition to elections and DDR, there are many other challenges that the D.R.C. must overcome. One is the ever-present need for security sector reform, or SSR. While the FARDC experienced a commendable victory over the M23, it did so with extensive and robust logistical and military support from MONUSCO. Overall, the FARDC continues to be hampered by ineffective command and control, inadequate leadership, logistical deficiencies, limited resources, corruption and poor military planning capability, in turn inhibiting the government's ability to fulfill its fundamental responsibility to protect its territory and all its citizens. In many instances, the FARDC is itself responsible for horrific human rights abuses against the vulnerable populations it should be protecting.
- While we continue to support SSR efforts, the D.R.C. Government needs to demonstrate better its own commitment to SSR by ensuring that members of the security forces are professionally trained, adequately paid and supported, respectful of international human rights norms, and held accountable when they commit human rights violations. The Congolese Military Reform budget must also be passed, and the Congolese leadership must finalize the assignments of recently promoted officers to key positions that allow for the military reform plan to be implemented. SSR must also go beyond the military to include police, judicial, and prison reform, and the increased participation of women in all security sectors. Furthermore, reform and stabilization efforts must include strengthening state institutions and establishing state authority throughout the country, particularly in the territories previously held by the M23 and other armed groups. We were encouraged by the government's initial efforts to restore state services to those areas, and hope to see the expansion of services and improved security conditions across greater swaths of the D.R.C.
- Despite these challenges, I reiterate my previous assertion that I am cautiously optimistic about the road ahead for the D.R.C. and the Great Lakes. As we move forward with the Framework peace process, the international community must not repeat its past mistake of abandoning the region at the first sign of progress or for the next, latest crisis elsewhere in the world. We must ensure sustained high-level attention on the region and be prepared to follow up our words with assistance, particularly with regard to elections, DDR, SSR, and restoring state authority in eastern D.R.C.
- The D.R.C. and the Great Lakes are at a crossroads and the decisions that the Congo, the region and the international community take now will set the trajectory of the next several years in terms of security, good governance, and development. With the Framework peace process, the ICGLR dialogue, and the end of the M23 rebellion, the D.R.C. has a real opportunity to realize the peace and prosperity that has evaded the Congolese people for too long. We urge the international community, the Great Lakes region, and the D.R.C. Government to demonstrate the resolve to see the peace process through to the prosperity that we know lies ahead for the Congo.
- Thank you again for the opportunity to testify. I look forward to answering your questions.
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- VIDEO-Remarks on the Release of the Annual Country Reports on Human Rights
- Well, good morning, everybody. Excuse me. I've got a little allergies this morning, I think.I'm delighted to be here this morning for the second Human Rights report that I have issued as Secretary, and I'm particularly pleased to be here with our Acting Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, Uzra Zeya, who as I think all of you know, is performing these responsibilities in the capacity as an interim assistant secretary but who has done just a spectacular job and has led the Department in a year-long process to track and make the assessments that are reflected here. So I thank her for a job particularly well done on this year's Human Rights Report.
- The fundamental struggle for dignity, for decency in the treatment of human beings between each other and between states and citizens, is a driving force in all of human history. And from our own nation's journey, we know that this is a work in progress. Slavery was written into our Constitution before it was written out. And we know that the struggle for equal rights, for women, for others '' for LGBT community and others '' is an ongoing struggle. And it's because of the courage and commitment of citizens in each generation that the United States has come closer to living up to our own ideals.
- Even as we come together today to issue a report on other nations, we hold ourselves to a high standard, and we expect accountability here at home too. And we know that we're not perfect. We don't speak with any arrogance whatsoever, but with a concern for the human condition.
- Our own journey has not been without great difficulty, and at times, contradiction. But even as we remain humble about the challenges of our own history, we are proud that no country has more opportunity to advance the cause of democracy and no country is as committed to the cause of human rights as we are.
- This year's report, we think, is especially timely. It comes on the heels of one of the most momentous years in the struggle for greater rights and freedoms in modern history.
- In Syria, hundreds were murdered in the dead of night when a disaster occurred at the hands of a dictator who decided to infect the air of Damascus with poisonous gas, and many more have been, unfortunately, confined to die under a barrage of barrel bombs, Scud missiles, artillery, and other conventional weapons.
- In Bangladesh, thousands of workers perished in the greatest workplace safety disaster in history.
- And from Nigeria to Russia to Iran, indeed in some 80 countries the world over, LGBT communities face discriminatory laws and practices that attack their basic human dignity and undermine their safety. We are seeing new laws like the Anti-Homosexuality Bill enacted by Uganda and signed into law by President Museveni earlier this week, which not only makes criminals of people for who they are, but punishes those who defend the human rights that are our universal birthright.
- These laws contribute to a global trend of rising violence and discrimination against LGBT persons and their supporters, and they are an affront to every reasonable conscience, and the United States will continue to stand with our LGBT brothers and sisters as we stand up for freedom, for justice, for equal rights for all people around the world.
- And so with this year's report, we join with many other nations in reaffirming our commitment to a world where speaking one's mind does not lead to persecution, a world where practicing or changing one's faith does not lead to imprisonment, and where marching peacefully in the street does not get you beaten up in a blind alley or even killed in plain sight.
- So let me be clear. This is not just some high-minded exercise. This is the most comprehensive, authoritative, dispassionate, and factual review of the state of human rights globally, and every American should be proud of it. That's why Acting Assistant Secretary Zeya of the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor and our embassies and consulates around the world have spent countless hours researching and writing these reports, engaging activists, talking to governments, and analyzing NGO and media reports. And that's why they capture the attention of dictatorships and democracies alike.
- This is about accountability. It's about ending impunity. And it's about a fight that has gone on for centuries, as long as human beings have been able to think and write and speak and act on their own. The struggle for rights and dignity couldn't be more relevant to what we are seeing transpire across the globe. The places where we face some of the greatest national security challenges today are also places where governments deny basic human rights to their nations' people, and that is no coincidence. And it is particularly no coincidence in an age where people have access and want access to more information and the freedom to be able to act '' to access information and to be able to act on the basis of that information. That is what has always characterized democracies and free people.
- It's no coincidence that in North Korea, a UN commission of inquiry recently found clear and compelling evidence of wholesale torture and crimes against humanity, reports of people who have been executed summarily and fired at by artillery, fired at by anti-aircraft weapons, 122 millimeter aircraft weapons that literally obliterate human beings, and this has occurred with people in the masses being forced to watch, a form of gross and utter intimidation and oppression.
- It's no coincidence that the first use of a weapon of mass destruction anywhere in the last quarter century came from a dictatorship in Syria in trying to suppress a popular uprising, in trying to suppress the aspirations of young people who simply wanted jobs and education and opportunity.
- It's no coincidence that the brutal violence that we've seen recently in South Sudan and the Central African Republic is rooted in cycles of violence stemming from past abuses, marginalization, discrimination, and unwillingness to listen.
- And so the United States of America will continue to speak out, without a hint of arrogance or apology, on behalf of people who stand up for their universal rights. And we will stand up in many cases for those who are deprived of the opportunity to be able to stand up for themselves.
- We will do so in Venezuela, where the government has confronted peaceful protestors by deploying armed vigilantes, by imprisoning students, and by severely limiting freedoms of expression and assembly. The solution to Venezuela's problems are not found through violence, and they will not be found through violence, but only through dialogue with all Venezuelans in a climate of mutual respect.
- We will do it in Sri Lanka, where the government still has not answered basic demands for accountability and reconciliation, where attacks on civil society activists, journalists, and religious minorities, sadly, still continue. Our concern about this ongoing situation has led the United States to support another UN Human Rights Council resolution at the March session. We will do so because we know countries that deny human rights and human dignity challenge our interests as well as human interests. But we also know countries that advance those values, those countries that embrace these rights are countries that actually create opportunities.
- From Yemen to Tunisia, which I just visited last month, we have seen how national dialogue and democratic progress can make countries more stable and make them stronger partners for peace and prosperity. In Ukraine, as we all just saw in real time in the last days, tens of thousands took to the streets to demonstrate against the power '' to demonstrate again the power of people to be able to demand a more democratic and accountable governance, and to stand up even against those who would sniper from roofs and take their lives in the effort to have their voices heard.
- In Burma, we continue to see a country that was isolated for so many years slowly moving away not just from dictatorship, but toward a more productive partnering with the United States and the international community.
- So there are plenty of examples, folks, of places that choose a different road, and that strive to make it work. As today's report makes clear, Burma still faces the normal challenges, from reforming an undemocratic constitution to ending discrimination and violence against religious and ethnic minorities, but we must continue to encourage progress even as we speak honestly about the problems that persist.
- In my first year as Secretary of State, I have been very fortunate to see with my own eyes what we can accomplish when we see our power and use our power and influence to empower others to be able to change things for the better. I'm truly inspired by the civil society activists that I've met with in many of the countries I've been to '' in Hanoi, for instance '' people who are standing up for their fundamental rights to speak out and to associate freely. I'm inspired by the 86-year-old human rights pioneer I met in Moscow who has spent a lifetime fighting for the basic rights that we take for granted here in the United States. I'm inspired by a group of young southeast-Asian land rights advocates that I met at the ASEAN regional forum last year who understand that societal problems are best solved when the government works with civil society, not against it.
- The truth is that some of the greatest accomplishments in expanding the cause of human rights have come not because of legislative decree or judicial fiat, but they came through the awesomely courageous acts of individuals, whether it is Xu Zhiyong fighting the government transparency that he desires to see in China, or Ales Byalyatski, who is demanding justice and transparency and accountability in Belarus, whether it is Angel Yunier Remon Arzuaga, who is rapping for greater political freedom in Cuba, or Eskinder Nega, who is writing for freedom of expression in Ethiopia. Every single one of these people are demonstrating a brand of moral courage that we need now more than ever.
- This year there is actually another name on all of our minds, and that is, of course, the first Human Rights Report since the passing of one of the most courageous individuals of all time, Nelson Mandela. Mandela was more than an inspiration; he was a model. All over the world, I have been in homes and offices where his unmistakable face was on posters and prints. I've met so many young kids named Nelson in Africa, but in so many other places where people are aspiring for real change. His influence was just that powerful. Even in his absence, the example that he set will long endure. We carry on his work for those who are walking picket lines, who are sitting in prison cells sometimes unknown to anybody except their family, who are protesting from Cairo to Caracas to Kyiv.
- And we have to ask ourselves, as we do this: If we don't stand with these brave men and women, then what do we stand for and who will stand with them? And if we don't give voice to those who are voiceless, then who do we speak for and who will give voice to them? The demand for human dignity I believe, President Obama believes '' I think all of us believe in this country '' is unstoppable. And today we reaffirm our commitment to stand with the many who seek dignity and against the few who deny it.
- That's how we live up to our ideals. That's how we will meet the demands of this moment. That's how we will build a more stable and peaceful world.
- And before I turn things over to Uzra, let me leave you with one final thought. We obviously have a big agenda. You can see that. And that means we need our full team on the field so that we can get to work. Frankly, it's unacceptable that so many of our nominees '' countless numbers of ambassadors to very important countries are awaiting confirmation. Our national security is not served by keeping many professionals, people who have waited patiently, in a perpetual limbo. Neither is our ability to support democratic rights and aspirations of people all over the world enhanced by what is happening.
- Let me give you an example, for instance, of what is happening to Tom Malinowski. Tom is a human rights champion whom the President has picked as his nominee to be the next Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. Tom has strong bipartisan support. We know of no objection to his nomination '' none '' and yet, he has been waiting more than 220 days to be confirmed.
- So now is the time to send a strong signal that we are not content to sit on the sidelines. I ask and I hope that our colleagues in the Senate will help Tom Malinowski get on the job so that we can continue to lead in these very kinds of issues that I have just laid out here today. We are ready to lead, and that's when America is at its best, and that's the vision that has always inspired people. And it always will. And it's with that understanding that we are committed to continue this important work to defend the rights of people all around the world. That's how we became a nation, and that's how we will stay the nation that we want to be.
- With that I thank you very much, and I will leave it in the good hands of Uzra. Thank you.