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Tuesday, March 29, 2011
CYBERPRESSE.CA: Le gouvernement syrien dirigé depuis 2003 par le Premier ministre Mohammad Naji Otri a présenté mardi sa démission au chef de l'État Bachar al-Assad, qui l'a acceptée, a annoncé l'agence officielle Sana.«Le président Assad a accepté aujourd'hui la démission du gouvernement de Mohammad Naji Otri et lui a demandé d'expedier les affaires courantes», selon Sana. » | Agence France-Presse | Mardi 29 Mars 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Chinese hackers seeking information on commercial secrets are suspected of having broken into a computer used by Julia Gillard, the Australian prime minister.Miss Gillard's parliamentary computer was among 10 machines used by senior government ministers which were compromised by the hackers, Australian intelligence officials have said.
Sydney's Daily Telegraph reported that American intelligence officials alerted their Australian counterparts to the security issue, warning that thousands of emails could have been stolen by the hackers.
"Four separate government sources confirmed that they had been told Chinese intelligence agencies were among a list of foreign hackers that are under suspicion," the paper said. Read on and comment » | Bonnie Malkin in Sydney | Tuesday, March 29, 2011
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Selon une étude d’Addiction Info Suisse, la consommation d’alcool, de tabac et de cannabis des jeunes de 15 ans est toujours aussi élevée.
L’attitude des jeunes face à l’alcool, le tabac et le cannabis n’a guère changé: leur consommation reste toujours aussi élevée qu’il y a quatre ans, selon une nouvelle enquête réalisée par Addiction Info Suisse auprès des écoliers de 15 ans. Environ un quart des adolescents boivent de l’alcool une fois par semaine et un jeune sur dix fume quotidiennement.
La consommation d’alcool et de cannabis avait atteint un sommet dans l’enquête réalisée en 2002 auprès des 11-15 ans, a rappelé mardi l’organisation. L’étude est effectuée tous les quatre ans sur mandat de l’Office fédéral de la santé publique (OFSP). Cette fois, l’accent a été mis sur les jeunes de 15 ans, un âge qui représente une étape importante du développement des adolescents. » | ATS | Mardi 29 Mars 2011
DIE PRESSE: Islamistenführer Doku Umarow soll bei einem Luftangriff im Nordkaukasus getötet worden sein. Umarow hatte sich unter anderem zu dem Anschlag auf den Moskauer Flughafen bekannt.Russische Spezialkräfte haben nach eigenen Angaben den als "Russlands Bin Laden" bekannten Islamistenführer Doku Umarow getötet. Das meldete die Agentur Interfax am Dienstag. Eine offizielle Bestätigung gab es vorerst nicht.
Dem Bericht zufolge wurde Umarow am Montag bei einem Luftangriff im Konfliktgebiet Nordkaukaus zusammen mit 16 weiteren Terroristen getötet. Allerdings war er bereits in der Vergangenheit für tot erklärt worden.
Der kremltreue tschetschenische Republikchef Ramsan Kadyrow sprach von einer "guten Nachricht für eine gesunde Entwicklung" der Unruheregion, sollte sich der Tod bestätigen. » | Ag. | Dienstag, 29. März 2011
THE GUARDIAN: Rome is negotiating an African haven for the Libyan leader as international pressure mounts on him to go
Efforts appear to be under way to offer Muammar Gaddafi a way of escape from Libya, with Italy saying it was trying to organise an African haven for him, and the US signalling it would not try to stop the dictator from fleeing.
The move came amid mounting diplomatic and military pressure on Gaddafi as Britain tries to assemble a global consensus demanding he surrender power while intensifying air strikes against his forces. An international conference in London – including the UN, Arab states, the African Union, and more than 40 foreign ministers – will focus on co-ordinating assistance in the face of a possible humanitarian disaster and building a unified international front in condemnation of the Gaddafi regime and in support of Nato-led military action in Libya.
On the eve of the conference, Italy offered to broker a ceasefire deal in Libya, involving asylum for Gaddafi in an African country. "Gaddafi must understand that it would be an act of courage to say: 'I understand that I have to go'," said the Italian foreign minister, Franco Frattini. "We hope that the African Union can find a valid proposal."
A senior American official signalled that a solution in which Gaddafi flees to a country beyond the reach of the international criminal court (ICC), which is investigating war crimes charges against him, would be acceptable to Washington, pointing out that Barack Obama had repeatedly called on Gaddafi to leave. » | Julian Borger and Richard Norton-Taylor | Tuesday, March 29, 2011
LE POINT: Une quarantaine de pays sont attendus mardi à Londres pour la première réunion du "groupe de contact" sur la Libye.
Le dirigeant libyen Muammar Kadhafi a exhorté dans un message le "groupe de contact" sur la Libye qui se réunit mardi à Londres à mettre fin à l'"offensive barbare" contre son pays, la comparant aux campagnes militaires de Hitler en Europe. » | Le Point.fr | Mardi 29 Mars 2011
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: The fate of the world's economy and financial markets lies with Saudi Arabia's political stability and the price of oil over the next three months.
That's according to independent economist David Hale, who says an escalation of friction between oil producers Saudi Arabia and Bahrain could tip the world back into recession.
Mr Hale's opinion is backed by Magellan Financial Group's chief executive Hamish Douglass, who says a major conflict involving major oil producers could have the oil price skyrocket by $US200 a barrel.
Saudi Arabia's intervention in Bahrain two weeks ago to quell a civil uprising polarised, rather than stabilised, the situation that had since quietened down, said Mr Hale, who is global economic adviser to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
"I think it was probably too pre-emptive and probably destructive," he told AAP in an interview in Melbourne.
"I think the critical issue of a tipping point is Saudi Arabia and political stability.
"If that's jeopardised, that could send the oil price up (by) $US50 a barrel, $US100 a barrel. That would tip us into a new global recession." » | Alison Bell | AAP | Tuesday, March 29, 2011
GATES OF VIENNA: Speech by Geert Wilders, Rome, 25 March 2011
Signore e signori, ladies and gentlemen, dear friends of the Magna Carta Foundation, molte grazie. Thank you for inviting me to Rome. It is great to be here in this beautiful city which for many centuries was the capital and the centre of Europe’s Judeo-Christian culture.
Together with Jerusalem and Athens, Rome is the cradle of our Western civilization — the most advanced and superior civilization the world has ever known.
As Westerners, we share the same Judeo-Christian culture. I am from the Netherlands and you are from Italy. Our national cultures are branches of the same tree. We do not belong to multiple cultures, but to different branches of one single culture. This is why when we come to Rome, we all come home in a sense. We belong here, as we also belong in Athens and in Jerusalem.
It is important that we know where our roots are. If we lose them we become deracinated. We become men and women without a culture.
I am here today to talk about multiculturalism. This term has a number of different meanings. I use the term to refer to a specific political ideology. It advocates that all cultures are equal. If they are equal it follows that the state is not allowed to promote any specific cultural values as central and dominant. In other words: multiculturalism holds that the state should not promote a leitkultur, which immigrants have to accept if they want to live in our midst.
It is this ideology of cultural relativism which the German Chancellor Angela Merkel recently referred to when she said that multiculturalism has proved “an absolute failure.”
My friends, I dare say that we have known this all along. Indeed, the premise of the multiculturalist ideology is wrong. Cultures are not equal. They are different, because their roots are different. That is why the multiculturalists try to destroy our roots.
Rome is a very appropriate place to address these issues. There is an old saying which people of our Western culture are all familiar with. “When in Rome, do as the Romans do,” it says. This is an obvious truth: If you move somewhere, you must adapt to the laws and customs of the land.
The multicultural society has undermined this rule of common sense and decency. The multicultural society tells the newcomers who settle in our cities and villages: You are free to behave contrary to our norms and values. Because your norms and values are just as good, perhaps even better, than ours.
It is, indeed, appropriate to discuss these matters here in Rome, because the history of Rome also serves as a warning. Continue reading and comment » Speech by Geert Wilders | ROME | Friday, March 25, 2011
HT: Jim Ball, Australia’s Number 1 Overnight Radio Presenter »
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BBC: PJ Crowley was, until two weeks ago, US Assistant Secretary of State for Public affairs.He resigned under heavy political pressure after describing the Pentagon's treatment of Bradley Manning, the US soldier suspected of spilling secrets to Wikileaks as "counterproductive and stupid".
Private Manning is being held at a maximum security jail, in shackles and in solitary confinement.
In an exclusive interview for HARDtalk Mr Crowley told Stephen Sackur he didn't regret expressing his views, but declined to say whether he had been asked to resign. (+ video) » | Monday, March 28, 2011
BBC: PJ Crowley: 'No regrets' over Bradley Manning remarks – Ex-US state department spokesman PJ Crowley, who quit after criticising the treatment of the man accused of leaking secret cables to Wikileaks, has told the BBC he has no regrets. » | Monday, March 28, 2011
BBC: A Saudi student has pleaded not guilty to charges he sought to make a bomb and planned terror attacks in the US.Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, 20, is charged in Texas with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. If convicted, he faces life in prison.
His list of targets allegedly included the house of former President George W Bush in Texas.
Prosecutors say Mr Aldawsari bought a gas mask, hazardous materials suit and toxic chemicals for use in bomb-making.
Mr Aldawsari is in the US legally on a student visa, and was studying business at South Plains College near Lubbock in Texas, the justice department said.
A jury trial is due to begin in federal court in Lubbock on 2 May. » | Monday, March 28, 2011
BBC – RADIO 1 – NEWSBEAT: A model bidding to become the first Muslim to represent the UK in the world final of Miss Universe has been defending her decision to enter.Shanna Bukhari, who is 24 and lives in Manchester, said she's been sent racist and abusive messages since making it to the beauty contest's UK final.
She believes Muslims in the UK should be allowed to have a western lifestyle.
But Muslim groups have accused her of disrespecting Islam.
Shanna was born in Blackburn and she became a full-time model after finishing her degree.
'Swimwear round'
She said it's her dream to be crowned Miss Universe - but has been told she's going against her religion.
"[I get] comments like 'you're not a Muslim because you're doing this' and it's like - this competition does not make me a bad Muslim at all.
"So it does hurt me to think that people are thinking like that," she said.
One of the main reasons some Muslims are angry is that Shanna would have to appear in swimwear in one round of the competition.
Mohammed Shafiq is from the Ramadhan Foundation, a group that works with young Muslims in the UK - he's against Shanna taking part.
"Islam is very clear that a woman should dress modestly and we do not believe that parading yourself in a bikini is appropriate," he said. » | Anthony Baxter, Newsbeat reporter | Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
THE GUARDIAN: Egypt's ruling military council refutes rumour former president has taken refuge in Saudi Arabia
Ousted president Hosni Mubarak has been placed under house arrest, according to a statement by Egypt's ruling generals, countering speculation that the 82-year-old has gone to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has been in power since Mubarak's three decades of rule succumbed to revolution last month.
An announcement on its official Facebook page said: "Out of the supreme military council's belief in the importance of maintaining communication with the Egyptian people and the youth of the revolution, we stress [that] news of the departure of former president Mohamed Hosni Mubarak to Tabuk in Saudi Arabia is not true, as he is under house arrest along with his family."
The Saudi monarch, King Abdullah, has been a stalwart supporter of Mubarak throughout Egypt's recent turmoil, and has repeatedly offered the former president sanctuary in the kingdom.
For now, Mubarak remains in internal exile in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh. He and his family are facing corruption charges and are under a travel ban and asset freeze.
The news of Mubarak come amid criticism of the armed forces as they begin to prepare for national elections later this year and a planned transition towards democratic, civilian government. » | Jack Shenker | Monday, March 28, 2011
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MAIL ONLINE: A British teacher could be beheaded in Saudi Arabia if found guilty of murdering a friend with whom he came to blows during a heavy drinking session.Formal charges could soon be laid against Andrew Cannon, 41, for the death of 57-year-old Robert Colman.
Cannon, from Basingstoke, Hampshire, admits there was a fight, but insists he did not cause his friend’s death.
The two men worked as English teachers in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. » | Daily Mail Reporter | Monday, March 28, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Cars will be banned from London and all other cities across Europe under a draconian EU masterplan to cut CO2 emissions by 60 per cent over the next 40 years.The European Commission on Monday unveiled a "single European transport area" aimed at enforcing "a profound shift in transport patterns for passengers" by 2050.
The plan also envisages an end to cheap holiday flights from Britain to southern Europe with a target that over 50 per cent of all journeys above 186 miles should be by rail.
Top of the EU's list to cut climate change emissions is a target of "zero" for the number of petrol and diesel-driven cars and lorries in the EU's future cities.
Siim Kallas, the EU transport commission, insisted that Brussels directives and new taxation of fuel would be used to force people out of their cars and onto "alternative" means of transport.
"That means no more conventionally fuelled cars in our city centres," he said. "Action will follow, legislation, real action to change behaviour." » | Bruno Waterfield, Brussels | Monday, March 28, 2011
FRANFURTER ALLGEMEINE: Im Stichwahlgang der Kantonalwahlen in Frankreich hat die rechtsextreme Partei Front National starke Stimmenzuwächse verzeichnet. Die Partei von Präsident Sarkozy UMP verlor dagegen massiv an Stimmen.In der französischen Präsidentenpartei UMP ist am Montag ein Richtungsstreit über den Umgang mit dem rechtsextremen Front National (FN) entbrannt. Im Stichwahlgang der Kantonalwahlen am Sonntag hatte die von Marine Le Pen geführte Partei große Stimmengewinne verzeichnet. In den 403 Kantonen, in denen FN-Kandidaten im zweiten Wahlgang antreten konnten, steigerte die Partei ihr Ergebnis von 620.000 Stimmen im ersten Wahlgang auf 915.000 Stimmen im zweiten Wahlgang. » | F.A.Z./mic. | Montag, 28. März 2011
LE POINT: L'ancien président égyptien ne serait donc pas parti en Arabie saoudite pour un traitement médical.L'ancien président égyptien Hosni Moubarak et sa proche famille sont en résidence surveillée en Égypte, a déclaré lundi l'armée égyptienne, démentant des informations selon lesquelles il serait parti en Arabie saoudite pour un traitement médical. L'ancien président et ses proches "sont en résidence surveillée à l'intérieur de l'Égypte", a précisé le Conseil suprême des forces armées, l'instance qui dirige le pays, dans un communiqué posté sur sa page officielle sur Facebook, sans mentionner d'endroit précis. "Les informations qui ont circulé sur son départ pour Tabouk (Arabie saoudite, ndlr) sont erronées", poursuit le communiqué, en référence à une rumeur persistante en Égypte. » | Source AFP | Lundi 28 Mars 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A controversial biography of Mahatma Gandhi has claimed that the revered political leader was racist and bisexual.Great Soul, written by former New York Times executive editor Joseph Lelyveld, makes several new claims about the man who led India to independence.
The book alleges that as an older man he held "nightly cuddles" – without clothes - with seventeen year-old girls in his entourage, including his own niece.
It also suggests that he was in love with German-Jewish architect and bodybuilder, Hermann Kallenbach, for whom he left his wife in 1908. » | Monday, March 28, 2011
TELEGRAPH – BLOGS – TOBY HARNDEN: America’s intervention in Libya, riding on the coattails of Britain and France, may yet turn out for the best. There are indications that coalition air power has given the rebels the opportunity to stem and perhaps even turn the military tide against Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s forces.
Regime change may not be a declared objective but if Gaddafi remains in power, that will be a huge blow to American prestige, not to mention the effect on the human rights of ordinary Libyans. But it is very possible that Gaddafi will be killed or overthrown in the coming days.
Much of the Republican opposition to President Barack Obama’s intervention strikes me as disingenuous and partisan. There is a moral case for war and the, er, rather unfortunate Western coddling of Gaddafi after 2003 does not alter the fact that his continued presence as Libyan leader represents a threat to America.
Be all that as it may, however, if success is achieved then this will be as much despite as because of Obama’s policies. The past few weeks have betrayed a number of startling truths about the way Obama views the world. Here are 10 of them: Continue reading and comment » | Toby Harnden | Monday, March 28, 2011
THE GUARDIAN: Revolutionaries move further west along Libya's coastal road, seizing several towns without resistance, and reach Sirte
Libyan rebels are advancing on Muammar Gaddafi's home city, Sirte, after retaking all the ground lost in earlier fighting as government forces broke up and fled under western air strikes.
Revolutionary forces rapidly moved more than 150 miles west along Libya's coastal road, seizing several towns without resistance, as the first witness accounts emerged of the devastating effect on Gaddafi's army and militia of the aerial bombardment that broke their resistance at Ajdabiya on Saturday.
A Libyan rebel spokesman said Sirte had been captured by the rebels on Monday morning, but there is no sign the city has fallen. Sirte marks the boundary between the east and west of Libya and has great symbolic importance as Muammar Gaddafi's hometown. » | Chris McGreal in Bin Jawad and Ian Black in Sirte | Monday, March 28, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
BBC: Libyan rebels have recaptured four more towns and are moving quickly towards Muammar Gaddafi's heartland of Sirte.
They seized the eastern coastal towns of Ras Lanuf, Brega, Uqayla and Bin Jawad after pro-Gaddafi forces withdrew, under pressure from allied air strikes.
The rebels had recaptured the port of Ajdabiya on Saturday.
US, French, British and other allied aircraft started attacking Libyan government troops eight days ago.
The military coalition was assembled after the UN Security Council authorised action to protect civilians.
Nato members met in Brussels on Sunday evening and agreed to take over command of military operations in Libya from the US-led coalition, diplomats said. (+ video) » | Sunday, March 27, 2011
THE GUARDIAN: • At least 12 people killed in Latakia as unrest spreads
• State news agency blames violence on outside forcesThe Syrian army has been deployed in force in the port city of Latakia after two days of fierce anti-government protests in which at least 12 people were killed.
A government source blamed the deaths on "attacks by armed elements on the families and districts of Latakia", according to the official Sana news agency. But activists accused the military of opening fire on protesters in the city, where they say the offices of the ruling Ba'ath party have been torched.
Latakia is a majority Sunni town 220 miles north of the capital, and also home to the minority Alawite sect of President Bashar al-Assad, making unrest there particularly sensitive.
In a move to placate protesters, authorities said they had decided to lift the emergency laws. But the absence of a timetable has been widely viewed in Damascus as delaying tactics by the government. The emergency laws restrict public gatherings and authorise arrests on the basis of threats to national security.
Observers said significant changes were needed immediately to quell the spreading unrest. Until Friday, protesters had been concentrated in the southern Hauran region around the city of Deraa.
"This is a meaningless pledge to remove the emergency law when people can be detained by other laws," said Rime Allaf, a Syrian analyst at London's Chatham House. "Everybody is waiting for the president to speak and take some steps to tell the people he is in control." » | Katherine Marsh in Damascus and Saeed Kamali Dehghan | Sunday, March 27, 2011
THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE: As a child living in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia, I remember flying into Bahrain from Dhahran several times. It was an eight-minute flight, perhaps one of the shortest international flights in the world. One barely had time to down the guava juice and dates and complete the landing card and you had touched down at Manama Airport. In 1986, the King Fahd Causeway was built and travelling to Bahrain meant just a half-hour car ride. With no visible mutawa (religious police), Bahrain was chilled out and thus the official R&R station for Saudis. It would have been difficult to conceive then that one day the causeway would be used to roll in Saudi tanks to the tiny island.Later, when I was in college in the US, Professor James Bill, an Iran expert who taught me Middle East politics, claimed that the Gulf monarchies were “whopping cranes” and that their demise was imminent. On holidays back to Saudi Arabia to visit my parents, it was difficult to assess whether Professor Bill was right or wrong, as so little of what was going on in the country was revealed in newspapers. As one example, when Iraq first invaded Kuwait, it was carried as a small news item on the back page of the English daily, Arab News, and it wasn’t till my family was dropping me off at the airport a few days later, that a CNN crew stuck a mike in my face asking, “How do you feel being on the last commercial airliner out of Saudi?” » | Ayesha Ijaz Khan | Monday, March 28, 2011
RUSSIA TODAY: Russia’s Communist Party faction has submitted a bill on nationalization to the lower house of parliament.The legislation concerns the nationalization of companies that were privatized during the 1990s. Communists have always condemned the process of giving the state assets to individuals, many of whom turned into so-called oligarchs.
Observers say the Communists are trying to use their populist “trump card” now as they have started preparations for parliamentary elections scheduled for December. At the same time, the government is now launching another large-scale privatization campaign.
The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) proposes that the state returns businesses that were “unfairly” privatized. But they support compensation of expenses to current owners after “the assessment of assets at the moment of privatization.” » | Friday, March 25, 2011
RUSSIA TODAY: Is capitalism to blame for the rise in unrest and the fall of global markets? One scholar argued yes, saying it is merely how capitalism works. Ha-Joon Chang, a senior research associate at the Center for Economic and Policy Research and author of “23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism” argued the assumptions behind the dogma and hype of capitalism and the free market spun by the neoliberal economists since the era of Reagan are completely false. » | Friday, March 25, 2011
ASHARQ ALAWSAT: Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat – Independent Arab and Libyan sources have informed Asharq Al-Awsat that Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi is seeking to convince the coalition forces to accept a deal that is being secretly discussed between Gaddafi delegates and a number of Arab and American parties. This deal would see Gaddafi stepping down from power, only to be replaced by his son Saif al-Islam, with a deadline being put in place for a peaceful transition of power.A well-informed Libyan source told Asharq Al-Awsat that Saif al-Islam Gaddafi has held a number of secret meetings with officials in the French and British governments, discussing the idea of his replacing his father for a transitional period of between 2 – 3 years, in return for a comprehensive ceasefire and negotiating with the anti-Gaddafi rebels.
The sources also revealed that Saif al-Islam Gaddafi is pushing for assurances that Colonel Gaddafi and his family will be granted immunity from prosecution, and will not be legally punished in any manner.
The sources revealed that Saif al-Islam Gaddafi's plan would see him take over control of Libya from his father during a transitional period during which Libya would transform from a revolutionary state to a democratic state that enjoys public and economic freedoms.
The rebel forces are gaining strength and momentum, moving westwards towards the center of Gaddafi's support in Sirte, and the Libyan capital Tripoli. The rebels have recently captured the cities of Ajdabiyah, Brega, and Ras Lanuf, and Gaddafi's aides are racing against time to prevent the inevitable toppling of the regime in the face of the rebels' momentum. » | Khaled Mahmoud | Sunday, March 27, 2011
ASHARQ ALAWSAT: Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat – Libyan official sources have revealed that there are secret efforts being conducted by officials in the Gaddafi regime to find a way out of the current crisis and which aim to ensure the safety and continuation of the Libyan regime.The official sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Colonel Gaddafi, who just two days ago was threatening to crush the coalition forces, has hinted that he would be willing to enter negotiations to discuss possible resolutions to the current situation in Libya. This indication of Gaddafi's willingness to now enter negotiations was made by a number of senior Libyan officials during communications with several foreign parties outside of the country. The Libyan officials, who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat on the condition of anonymity, said that Colonel Gaddafi has sought the help of some western figures, who have decades-long friendly relations with him, to convince the international community to halt the air strikes against his forces and instead move towards a negotiated solution.
The source said that Gaddafi had submitted an offer through these western contacts that he would be willing to sit down at the negotiating table to search for an honorable solution to the current crisis; however the source did not disclose whether this solution would include Gaddafi stepping down from power.
Libyan Foreign Minister Musa Kusa is reportedly in contact with a number of officials within the US administration, including US Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman.
Asharq Al-Awsat also received information that Saif al-Islam Gaddafi has left the Libyan capital Tripoli, and traveled abroad, to work out an urgent plan to prevent the political and military situation in the country from further deteriorating.
Gaddafi's son, who has no official position in the Libyan state, has close relations with a number of western and American business figures; however his reputation within Libya has suffered since he issued inflammatory comments warning the people of Libya against protesting[.] » | Khaled Mahmoud | Saturday, March 26, 2011
CNN – BELIEF BLOG: Christian to Muslim: A change of faith » | Friday, March 25, 2011
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Anarchists went on the rampage in central London as hundreds of thousands of people marched in protest at government cuts.
Police fought mobs of masked thugs who pelted officers with ammonia and fireworks loaded with coins.
The anti-capitalists started fires and smashed their way into banks, hotels and shops, bringing chaos to Britain’s busiest shopping street.
The violence began as Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, addressed a TUC rally of at least 250,000 peaceful protesters in Hyde Park who had marched from Westminster to demonstrate against government spending cuts.
As he spoke, an apparently co-ordinated attack began on shops and police in Oxford Street as a mob tried to storm into shops including Topshop, BHS and John Lewis.
MPs and retailers said the scenes damaged Britain’s reputation around the world. » | Patrick Sawer, and David Barrett | Saturday, March 26, 2011
My comment on this:
It would appear that this country is becoming ungovernable. But much of the blame for this lies with the people at the top, because they have forgotten one simple thing: fairness.
It’s all very well to talk about the ‘anti-capitalists,’ but we should ask ourselves why these people are ‘anti-capitalists.’ And I’m pretty sure they feel that the system is unfair.
And it is unfair. Very unfair, in fact, because the people that have the least are being asked to shoulder the greatest burden of the spending cuts, whilst the people at the top are not being asked to make any sacrifices at all. How can it be a fair society when bankers, for example, are being paid monopoly sums as bonuses when people at the bottom are barely scratching a living?
This is not the capitalism that I remember. It has always been so that the people at the top made a lot more money than the people at the bottom, but it is a question of degree. It is also a question about how much effort the people at the top have to make in order to earn those far bigger sums of money. Who, for example, would begrudge Bill Gates his fortune? He made his money by effort and ability and creativity. He has also made a very big contribution to the world in terms of technology. But bankers? What have they contributed? In what way have they made life better? And how much effort have they got to make to collect these vast sums of money?
It seems to me that bankers have a great deal to answer for. They have almost single-handedly destroyed the capitalist system (with the aid of the nincompoops in the Labour Party, of course – Blair, Brown et al.). But very importantly, thay have not been asked to join in and do their bit in these times of austerity. In short, the government expects the people who have the least to tighten their belts the most. Now that can’t be fair!
In my opinion, we cannot hope to understand the appalling behaviour of that anarchic mob yesterday in London without taking into consideration the points I have mentioned.
And by the way, it was Labour that fostered the benefits culture. Over the years they have given hand-outs to people who should not have been given them. The welfare state should never have been allowed to grow into the monster it has become. Alas it is human nature to be unwilling to give up that which was once a ‘right.’ In many ways, the welfare state, whilst a noble concept, has been allowed to become the scourge of the modern Western economy.
What we observed in London yesterday is the result of these failed policies: failed policies by Labour; failed policies by the Coalition to correct the unfairness.
I predict that the summer of 2011 will be long and hot! The heatwave has only just begun! – © Mark
This comment also appears here
Related »
SKY NEWS: London's Cuts March Tainted By Violence » | Sunday, March 27, 2011
MAIL ON SUNDAY: Police struggle to control hard-core anarchist rioters after 500,000-strong London march against government cuts ends in violence: Hooded anarchists attack London landmarks linked to luxury and wealth » | Daily Mail Reporter, Ian Gallagher and George Arbuthnott | Sunday, March 27, 2011
REUTERS: Rioters battle UK police after anti-cuts rally: Black-clad, masked youths battled riot police and attacked banks and luxury stores in central London on Saturday, overshadowing a protest by more than a quarter of a million Britons against government spending cuts. » | Stefano Ambrogi and Tim Castle | LONDON | Saturday, March 26, 2011
Saturday, March 26, 2011
BBC: More than 250,000 people have attended a march and rally in central London against public spending cuts.
Labour leader Ed Miliband addressed crowds in Hyde Park and the main march organised by the Trades Union Congress passed off peacefully.
But splinter groups have attacked shops and banks, and a stand-off with police is taking place in Piccadilly. There have been 16 arrests.
Ministers say the cuts are necessary to get the public finances in order.
In the largest public protest since the Iraq war rally in 2003, marchers from across the UK set off from Victoria Embankment to Hyde Park, where Trades Union Congress general secretary Brendan Barber was first in a line of speakers.
"We are here to send a message to the government that we are strong and united," he said.
"We will fight the savage cuts and we will not let them destroy peoples' services, jobs and lives."
Mr Barber was followed by Mr Miliband, who said: "The Tories said I should not come and speak today. But I am proud to stand with you. There is an alternative."
The march began at 1200 GMT and it took more than four hours for the protesters to file past the Houses of Parliament on their way to the park. (+ video) » | Saturday, March 26, 2011
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