Catholic Priest Sex Abuse

The Rape of Irish Children

By EAMONN McCANN

The publication on November 26th of the report by Judge Yvonne Murphy into how the Irish State handled allegations of child sex abuse by priests in the Dublin diocese prompted widespread calls for action against both bishops and State officials. But so far, no sign.

The report found that hundreds of allegations against scores of priests over a 30-year period had been covered up by successive archbishops of Dublin and ignored - even when evidence was handed to them - by the gardai (police). The report found that senior gardai routinely referred complaints to the Church and allowed the Church to conduct investigations or not, and to take action or not. Not was the Church’s consistent preference.
The allegations ranged from “touching up” to “ordinary” rape to stuffing a crucifix into a child’s vagina.

The report detailed: one priest admitting sexually abusing more than 100 children; another confessing that he had abused on average once a fortnight during a 25-year stint; one complaint made against a priest which had been ignored, allowing the abuser to violate at least six other children; one case in which gardai took 20 years to decide on a prosecution.

Murphy reported regular “inappropriate contacts” between the civil authorities and the Archdiocese. “A number of very senior members of the gardaí, including the Commissioner (Patrick Costigan) [the State’s top policeman in the early 1960s] clearly regarded priests as being outside their remit.”

The report concludes: “The welfare of the children, which should have been the first priority, was not even a factor to be considered.”

Whether the report will lead to change even in the long term may be doubted. Even now, the Vatican will likely be pondering the latest dispatches from the Irish battle-front and pursing its lips with satisfaction that it hasn’t taken a serious hit.

Hard pounding, Your Holiness, but we’re coming through in good shape.

This confidence of the outcome has been most clearly expressed in the continuance of the cover-up even after the report’s publication. More brazen than ever, the conspirators are hiding in clear sight.

There’s scarcely a bishop in the 26 Irish dioceses who hasn’t issued a statement in the past fortnight explaining how dismayed/distressed/shocked/bewildered he’s been to discover the extent of the depravity perpetrated by priests and the failure of some of his fellow bishops to alert the civil authorities. Some of the more plausible performers have been wheeled out to widen their eyes for the cameras in displays of wonderment....“I cannot begin to understand the mentality...” They still take the people for fools.

Complaints of clerical abuse of children in Ireland have been in the public arena for at least 25 years. Occasionally, flurries of allegations have resulted in spates of publicity. But these tended to be short-lived. The local bishop might even apologise in the local paper. The response of the Northern as well as the Southern Irish State ranged from the inadequate to the inert. But you could bet the Lenten Collection that the Church itself was paying attention throughout, tracking every complaint, monitoring reaction, clucking with satisfaction that the faith of the people remained strong and resistant to any radical conclusion.

Now they ask the people to believe that they didn’t have an inkling of the full extent of the criminality until very recently. They never discreetly enquired of one another during prayer breaks at their conclaves at Maynooth or All Hallows, How’s that business with Fr. So-and-so going? Any more word about that wee girl from such-and-such? Is the mother in that other case still on-side?

Pull the other one, your Lordships, it’s got church-bells on.

The Church’s enmeshment with the State helps explain this confidence. On December 1st, Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Brian Cowan claimed in parliament that the Vatican had “acted in good faith” in refusing to cooperate with Judge Murphy. The authorities in Rome and their representative in Ireland, the Papal Nuncio, had refused even to answer letters from Murphy asking for access to their files on abuse allegations.

A State which had genuine concern for its children would have responded to the report by taking decisive action to remove the Catholic bishops as patrons of primary schools. Three thousand of 3,200 primaries in the Republic have bishops as patrons - with the power to hire and fire and complete control over the school’s “ethos”. No less appropriate category of men could be imagined to have such power over the moral formation of children. But not a single member of parliament - not one! - has urged the Government to take this obvious action.

Control of education is at the heart of the matter. A ferocious determination to secure the right to train the consciousness of the next generation dictated the Catholic hierarchy’s attitude to the emerging Irish State in the early years of the last century. Give us your children and we’ll give you our backing against the British and help shore up your State. The State was born in the embrace of the Church and hasn’t fully recovered from its origins

In the North, the Church did its dirty deal with the anti-Catholic Unionists. Control of the education of the children of Catholic parents in return for a commitment to keep the Catholics as docile as possible. The arrangement lasted at least into the 1980s, when the Northern bishops told the British government that if it proceeded with a plan to integrate teacher training the Church would be unable to restrain the anger of the faithful. That is, Lay a finger on our control of teacher training and we’ll stop condemning the IRA from the pulpit. And it worked.

Not that the IRA - now transmogrified into Sinn Fein - has proven any more useful that the other useless parties to the raped children of Ireland.

Consider a case from the North: A priest is transferred from the South into a Derry parish. The night before he arrives, the priests in the parochial house are visited by an emissary from the bishop who tells them to “keep an eye” on their new colleague, and specifically to ensure that he is not left alone with children. Over the next few months, despite two curates taking turns to follow him around, he rapes two little girls. The family of one of the girls informs the bishop. He ignores them. They then write to the Cardinal, the most senior Churchman on the island, describing the assault on their daughter in heart-rending terms and the shattering effect both on her and the family. The Cardinal acknowledges the letter, expresses sympathy - and assures the family that he will remember them in his prayers. The rapist is moved out of the parish and hidden in a monastery in the South. When he is traced there and exposed, the bishop lies in public that the Church had earlier informed the civil authorities of the allegations. The priest is eventually jailed.

The bishop concerned has been among those seen on television in the past fortnight explaining that the situation in his diocese regarding the handling of allegations of child sex abuse has always been tickedy-boo.

Bastards.

10-12-2009 om 23:41 geschreven door Vorser-Raadgever  

09-12-2009 om 21:06 geschreven door Vorser-Raadgever  

Majid Tavakoli Brutally Beaten and Injured During Arrest ضرب و جرح شدید مجید توکلی هنگام بازداشت و گزارشات جعلی رسانه‌های دولت

December 9, 2009

Majid Tavakoli

December 08, 2009

The detained student activist who was violently arrested by intelligence agents yesterday is facing torture.

HRA-The Prisoners’ Rights Unit of HRA reports that Majid Tavakoli was arrested yesterday as he and his friends were leaving Amir Kabir University via its Hafez Street gate. The arresting agents were waiting for him in a white minivan without a license plate and an unmarked Peugeot 405 sedan.

The agents severely beat and injured Majid during the arrest. The amount of violence and brutality used in the arrest shocked passer-bys.

Eyewitnesses told HRA that a group of students accompanied Majid on his way out after he gave a speech at the Student’s Day ceremony at Amir Kabir University. Majid, who was wearing a dark jacket at the time of his speech, changed to a beige jacket with the help of students and people who were present. He then left the university via its Hafez street gate and headed to College intersection, along with a few other activists.

At the College intersection (Enghelab ave. & Hafez str.) he and his 4 friends were intercepted by a white minivan and a Peugeot 405. He was dragged violently into the car.

An eyewitness who is an expelled Amir Kabir university student told the HRA that, “All the pictures published by the state media are false and a clear use of immoral means against student and civil activists in Iran.”

Reports suggest that Majid Tavakoli was first taken to a detention center on Nejatollahi Street, where he was tortured by intelligence agents, who then took him to an unknown location. Intelligence agents have been trying to falsify the circumstances around Majid Tavakoli’s arrest. Eyewitnesses have denied all the news published by pro-Ahmadinejad media.

The violence exercised during the arrest, as well as the coverage given by the media close to intelligence milieus, has become a cause for extreme concern about the fate of Majid Tavakoli.

Majid Tavakoli was once held for 15 months, accused of publishing false articles, but he was acquitted of the charges 2 years ago. He exposed 70 cases of tortures to which he had been subjected during his detention.

He was arrested a second time during a memorial for Bazargan (IRI’s first Prime Minister) and held for 115 days in solitary at ward 209 of Evin. He was recently released on heavy bail.

12/09/09
Iranian Student Activists Condemn Arrest of Their Pee
Source: Radio Zamaneh Majid Tavakoli Islamic Association of Amir Kabir University Students condemned the arrest of Majid Tavakoli and expressed their full support for him despite state efforts to ridicule him. State media published images of Majid Tavakoli claiming that he was trying to escape the campus "dressed as a woman." Amir Kabir student association claims these reports merely reveal the "dictatorship's fury" against Majid Tavakoli for his criticism of "oppression." The statement issued by the Amir Kabir Student Association says: "The grand and widespread protests of resistant students all across the country have frazzled the lowly oppressors so they have no other recourse than dressing up Majid Tavakoli in disguise." They maintain that Majid Tavakoli is the "pride of the student movement" and the resistance of students "be it dressed in female or male clothing" will persist until the establishment of democracy. December 7 protests at Amirkabir University Reportedly on December 7, Majid Tavakoli was beaten in the vicinity of the University, arrested and taken to an unknown location. He was also arrested two years ago in the course of student protests and was released after 115 days in prison. He was also imprisoned with two other peers for 15 months on another occasion accused of "propaganda against the system, offending the sacred and publishing falsehoods."

09-12-2009 om 20:57 geschreven door Vorser-Raadgever  

• AOFle08/12/2009 à 17:24

08-12-2009 om 22:05 geschreven door Vorser-Raadgever  

The agency placed the country on credit watch negative, meaning it is likely to lose its A- rating within months. The country already has the lowest credit rating in the eurozone, but has come under greater scrutiny amid fears that its newly-elected government may avoid imposing significant cuts on the public finances.

The news, which coincided with a separate warning from Jean-Claude Trichet, European Central Bank president, pushed interest rates on Greek bonds to their highest levels in seven months.

In its assessment of Greece’s finances, S&P said that the govenment’s fiscal consolidation plans are “unlikely to secure a sustained reduction in fiscal deficits and the public debt burden”.

In the absence of further measures, S&P added that Greece’s general government debt burden could reach 125pc of GDP in 2010, the largest in the eurozone, or move even higher over the medium term. The next notch down from Greece’s current level would be BBB+, which is still in investment grade territory, albeit only narrowly.

Mr Trichet indicated that the moves carried out so far by the new government had not been sufficient to arrest the fiscal crisis. He said to the European parliament: “we all know the very important and courageous decisions that will have to be taken”.

Some commentators suspect that Greece is particularly vulnerable to a fiscal crisis, since, as a euro member, it does not have the luxury of being able to devalue its currency or inflate its way out of a growing fiscal burden. It must either deflate and accept slow and painful economic stagnation, or default on its debts, calling the wider euro project into question.

Following the recent crisis in Dubai, investors have become doubly sensitive to the risks of sovereign debt crises, with others warning that the UK is similarly exposed.

S&P also revised its outlook on Portugal’s sovereign-credit rating to “negative” from “stable”, blaming a deterioration in public finances.

The agency said Portugal’s public deficit could be higher than the 8pc of output foreseen this year, with its debt-to-gross domestic product ratio possibly hitting 90pc or more by 2011.

It added that trimming the budget would likely be complicated by structural weaknesses in the economy and weak competitiveness that would hamper growth. The agency said the economy was likely to show a 2.9pc contraction this year.

“The outlook reflects our view of the increased potential for a rating downgrade due to the larger deterioration in Portugal’s public finances than we previously expected, including an expected rapid increase in the debt-to-GDP ratio to more than 90 percent by 2011,” S&P credit analyst Kai Stukenbrock said in a statement.

12/08/2009

Timebomb for the Euro

Greek Debt Poses a Danger to Common Currency

By Wolfgang Reuter

As economic indicators have improved, concern about the financial crisis has abated. But the next big problem could be approaching. Greece's public deficit is skyrocketing and the country may become insolvent. The effect on Europe's common currency could be dire.

Josef Ackermann, the CEO of Deutsche Bank, has given the all-clear signal many times in the past. He has repeatedly said that the worst was over, only to see the financial crisis strengthen its grip on the world economy.

Ackermann isn't alone in his opinion. Practically unnoticed by the public, an issue has returned to the forefront in recent weeks -- one that was a cause for great concern at the height of the financial crisis but then, as optimism about the economy began to grow, was eventually forgotten: the fear of a national bankruptcy in the euro zone. And the question as to whether such a bankruptcy, should it come about, could destroy the common European currency.

Greece was always at the very top of the list of countries at risk. But now the danger appears to be more acute than ever.

Insuring Against Default

The seismographs in the trading rooms at investment banks detected the initial tremors weeks ago. Today, when the code "Greece CDS 10Yr" appears on Bloomberg terminals, a curve at the bottom of the screen points sharply upward. It reflects the price that banks are now charging to insure 10-year Greek government bonds against default.

The price of these securities has jumped dramatically since Greek Finance Minister Giorgos Papakonstantinou announced three weeks ago that his country's budget deficit would reach 12.7 percent of gross domestic product this year, instead of the 6 percent originally forecast -- and well about the 3 percent limit foreseen by European Union rules.

A second curve is the mirror image of the first. It depicts the price of government bonds from the euro-zone country. It points sharply downward.

Greece already pays almost 2 percent more in interest on its debt than Germany. In other words, at a total debt of €270 billion ($402 billion), Greece will be paying €5 billion more in annual interest than it would if it were Germany. And, with rating agencies threatening to downgrade the country's already dismal credit rating, the situation is only likely to get worse.

The finance ministers and central bankers of the euro-zone member states are as alarmed as they are helpless. "The Greek problem," says a senior administration official in Berlin, "will be an acid test for the currency union."

No Buyers Can Be Found

Greece has already accumulated a mountain of debt that will be difficult if not impossible to pay off. The government has borrowed more than 110 percent of the country's economic output over the years, and if investors lose confidence in the bonds, a meltdown could happen as early as next year.

That's when the government borrowers in Athens will be required to refinance €25 billion worth of debt -- that is, repay what they owe using funds borrowed from the financial markets. But if no buyers can be found for its securities, Greece will have no choice but to declare insolvency -- just as Mexico, Ecuador, Russia and Argentina have done in past decades.

This puts Brussels in a predicament. European Union rules preclude the 27-member bloc from lending money to member states to plug holes in their budgets or bridge deficits.

And even if there were a way to circumvent this prohibition, the consequences could be disastrous. The lack of concern over budget discipline in countries like Spain, Italy and Ireland would spread like wildfire across the entire continent. The message would be clear: Why save, if others will eventually foot the bill?

A Domino Effect

On the other hand, if Brussels left the Greeks to their own devices, the consequences would also be dire. Confidence in the euro would be shattered, and the union would face a crucial test. What good is a common currency, many would ask, if some of the member states pay their debts while others do not?

Furthermore, there is a threat of a domino effect. If one euro member falls, speculators will test the stability of other potential bankruptcy candidates. This could destroy the currency union. Because of this systemic risk, say the economists at the Swiss bank UBS, "we believe that if a country is facing a problem with debt repayment or issuance, it will be supported.

A default of a euro-group country doesn't worry the monetary policy hawks at the Bundesbank, Germany's central bank. "So what if Greece stops paying its debts?" one of the executive board members asked at a recent banquet in Frankfurt. "The euro is strong enough to take it." The real threat, he says, is if Brussels comes to the Greeks' aid. "Then the currency union will turn into an inflation union."

But it remains to be seen whether politicians can maintain such an unbending approach. The prices for Greek government bonds plunged once in the past, until then German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück, to the horror of the Bundesbank, publicly pledged to help the Greeks if necessary. There is much to be said for the government taking exactly the same position today.

Can Bankruptcy Be Prevented?

A national bankruptcy in Greece would have a serious impact on Germany, where many banks have invested heavily in the high-yield Greek treasury bonds -- after borrowing the money to buy the bonds from the European Central Bank (ECB) or other central banks at rates of 1-2 percent. Making money doesn't get much easier -- as long as the Greeks remain solvent.

But can a Greek bankruptcy even be prevented anymore? The answer, at least initially, depends heavily on the ECB. Will the custodian of the euro continue to accept Greek bonds as collateral for short-term liquidity assistance, or will it turn down the securities in the future? Another possibility is a compromise, under which the banks would pay additional interest when they submit Greek bonds.

The next meeting of the ECB takes place on Dec. 17. "The subject will be on the agenda," say officials in Frankfurt. Time is of the essence.

Central bankers in the euro zone are already speculating, behind closed doors, what would happen if the Greeks started printing euros without ECB approval. There is no answer to the question, and that makes central bankers from Lisbon to Dublin even more nervous than they are already.

Massaging Budget Figures

And more mistrustful. In 2004, it was discovered, completely by accident, that Greece had only managed to qualify for entry into the currency union by massaging its budget figures. The Greeks have only complied with the Maastricht criteria once since the introduction of the euro, in 2006.

Even those figures may have been doctored. At the time, the Greeks managed to increase their official gross national product by a hefty 25 percent, partly because they included the black market and prostitution in economic output. This brought down the deficit rate -- on paper, at any rate -- to 2.9 percent.

The figures representing Greece's budget deficit are constantly being revised upward. The most recent uptick, by close to 7 percent, is a record for Europe -- and it comes in a country that was relatively unaffected by the financial crisis. This year, the Greek economy will have shrunk by only 1.2 percent, say Greek economists. Next year they expect the economy to return to grown, albeit modest.

Particularly vexing to the remaining EU countries is the fact that Greece has profited from its EU membership for decades. Year after year, net transfers from Brussels have exceeded payments moving in the opposite direction by €3 billion to €6 billion. These numbers, too, have often been suspect. At times, the land area declared for agricultural subsidies was incorrect, and sometimes approval conditions were not met.

Resolute Words

Nevertheless, EU politicians find their hands tied. "The game is over," the chairman of the euro group, Jean-Claude Juncker, declared recently, only to turn around and assure the country of his solidarity. "I don't have the slightest suspicion that Greece could go bankrupt -- anyone speculating that this will happen is deluding himself," says Juncker.

His resolute words were directed at investment bankers in London, Frankfurt and New York. They know full well that Greece is indeed on the brink of bankruptcy, but they don't know whether the EU will, as Juncker insinuated, come to the aid of member state Greece. Juncker's message, in other words, was that those speculating on a bankruptcy could be left out in the cold.

The EU has now begun a tougher approach to Greece. Three weeks ago, the government in Athens received a rebuke from Brussels, followed by another one last week. So far, however, the Greek government has shown little inclination to take any significant steps. It does intend to reduce the deficit, but only to 9.1 percent next year. This is far too little for many European foreign ministers. As the new Greek finance minister, Giorgos Papakonstantinou, recently announced, the country will need at least four years to get its deficit under control "without jeopardizing the economic recovery."

But by then the government deficit will have reached about €400 billion, or about 150 percent of GDP. Servicing that amount of debt, even at current interest rates of about 5 percent, will make up at least one third of government spending.

A London investment banker is betting on the continued decline of prices for Greek bonds in the short term, while simultaneously waiting for the right time to start buying the securities again. He jokes: "If someone has €1,000 in debt, he has a problem. If someone has €10 million in debt, his bank has a problem. And the bank, in this case, is Europe."

08-12-2009 om 21:40 geschreven door Vorser-Raadgever  

Green Fuel

While these useless summits are held around the planet,

Iran
has become the only country in the world to go totally Green

& we are proud of it.

08-12-2009 om 21:14 geschreven door Vorser-Raadgever  

December 08, 2009

PR and punishment - Greek police's new zero tolerance policy

6.12.2009, originally uploaded by e_vra.

The Greek media has been full of praise of the way in which the recently elected PASOK government as handled the disturbances over the last few days. The new zero - tolerance policing policy announced by the minister for the protection of the citizen, Mihalis Chrisoidis has been credited with limiting the extent of violence, especially in Athens.

On the other hand the TV channels have gleefully lapped up images of young proesters throwing rocks and stones at the riot police and have been flooding the airways with stories of anarchist plots and police discoveries of caches of petrol boms and other rioting paraphenalia. In addition the record numbers of detentions and arrests have been presented in a positive light, sign that the police have got serious about cracking down on trouble makers.

In a sense this is a repeat of the media coverage of last years uprising when the media spent at least a week blaming Greece's worst civil disturbances ina generation on hooilgans and looters, as if the hundreds of thousands who took to the streets in proests across the nation were nothing more than rampaging football fans looking for a fight.

Once again the media coverage has almost completely ignored the thousands who demonstarted peacefully this year and focused on the scenes of violence which are presented simply as acts of mindless vandalism. Indeed the channels ahve been falling over each other to see who can condemn the protests most, blindly accepting any figure or statement issued by the police, ignoring the opinions of anyone not in a position of authority.

On the other hand the Greek language blogosphere and elsewhere on the internet there is growing resentment of the way of this and especially the way in which the violence of te police has eitther been played down or completely overlooked. Reporters, who should know better have simply decided to report the official version events and leave out any loose ends such as eyewitness accounts of those actually present.

On epersonal example involves the march on Sunday here in Thessaloniki when the police went into action almost immediately after it started. Just moments after the protest moved off the people from the anarchist block started attacking shops selling religious goods, a supermarket and banks, quickly prompting the riot police and motorcycle units to intervene. The sight of police officers on motorbikes mounting pavements and driving through crowds of people running in panic through clouds of tear gas is not one I'll forget soon.

In the general mayhem the marchers, who are nearly always organised in blocks according to political affiliation, soon scattered and mixed and that is how I ended up with about two hundred other just below the ex-ministry of Macedonia and Thrace surrounded by riot squads who fired tear gas rounds into the group and beat anyone who tried to move away from the area.

Even after it was clear that they had control of the area, officers continued to club and kick those on the ground and refused medical help to the injured. Instead they shouted insults and threats at anyone who looked at them.

I cannot vouch for the character of each and everyone there but from my knowledge of the groups that regularly take part in marches the vast majority of these people were not trouble makers or bomb throwers. They belong to student groups that abhor such tactics and believe that those who commit such acts damage their cause. They, like me just happened to be in swept up with a tide of people desperately runningaway from police with clubs firing tear gas. Like me, they did not break away from the main group knowing full well that in such a situation small groups or individuals are easy prey for police units with a grudge and a truncheon.

The media however, reported that the police had isolated and captured a group of anarchists and had confiscated a large number of petrol bombs, gas masks and clubs and that 88 people had been taken in for qustioning and 20 arrested. Despite the presence of a number of TV camera crews for over an hour I saw no footage of those inside the police cordon being asked their opinion or saying what had happened, instead just fleeting glances of people on the floor followed by pictures of the weapons supposedly confiscated. If their had indeed been such a cache present the density of the crowd and the fact that nobody was searched till hours later would have meant that those carrying such things would have had ample opportunity to get dump them out of their bags or pockets.

What we had instead was PR and punishment, the police knew that whatever version of the truth they said would be accepted without question and that the sight of them with so many prisoners would vandicate their new get tough policy, irrespctive of whether they'd actually captured anyone who'd broken the law. On the other hand those caught up in this farce would have to endure a night in the cells, possibly weeks in court explaining their case.

The same approach was also true of the events in Athens when motorcycle cops also rode their machines into crowds of demonstartors, seriously injuring a 55 year old teacher, while the footage was shown it was presented as an unfortunate accident. No mention however was made at all of the officer who after gunning his bike into people was pulled off. In a fit of rage he pulled out his pistol and chased them.

I'm not sure what exactly lies behind the new media landscape and why so few reporters have been critical of the present situation but with the Greek media feeling the effects of the country's economic crisis theose who own the private media outlets are unlikely to antagonise a government which in a position to provide a steady revenue stream in the form of ads and contracts.

08-12-2009 om 21:00 geschreven door Vorser-Raadgever  

08-12-2009 om 20:35 geschreven door Vorser-Raadgever  

07-12-2009 om 22:03 geschreven door Vorser-Raadgever  

07-12-2009 om 21:44 geschreven door Vorser-Raadgever  

07-12-2009 om 21:36 geschreven door Vorser-Raadgever  

Teheran op dit ogenblik!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/07/iranian-police-basij-clas_n_382280.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

AP) TEHRAN, Iran -- Security forces and pro-government militiamen clashed with protesters shouting "death to the dictator" outside Tehran University on Monday, beating men and women with batons and firing tear gas, on a day of nationwide student demonstrations, witnesses said.

Thousands of protesters demonstrated in the streets outside the campus in support of students inside. As they chanted "death to the dictator," riot police and Basij militiamen charged the crowds, the witnesses said.

The plainclothes Basijis beat protesters on the heads and shoulders as the crowd scattered, then regrouped on nearby street corners. Nearby, protesters and Basijis pelted each other with stones, the witnesses said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.

Pro-reform campus groups have called for students across the country to turn out Monday for massive rallies at universities against Iran's clerical leadership -- the first major protest in more than a month. The opposition has been struggling to maintain its presence on the streets after security forces crushed massive rallies that erupted over Iran's disputed presidential election in June.

While turmoil erupted in the streets outside Tehran University on Monday, authorities took dramatic steps to close the campuses to the outside world.

Cell phone networks around the universities were shut down. To hide anything going on inside, the fence around Tehran University was covered with banners and signs bearing quotes from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and messages marking an important Shiite occasion celebrated Sunday. Police and members of the elite Revolutionary Guard surrounded all the university entrances and were checking IDs of anyone entering to prevent opposition activists from joining the students, witnesses said.

Footage posted on YouTube purported to show a march by thousands on Monday inside Tehran University. The young men and women were shown chanting "death to the dictator" and slogans against the Basij as they marched through the campus. There was no sign of security forces, and the students marched without frictions. The authenticity of the footage could be immediately be confirmed

The potential for violence inside the campuses was high. Some 2,000 Basiji students were brought into Tehran University early Monday -- obstensively to hold a celebration for the Shiite holiday, but such hard-line students are often used to crush pro-reform rallies on campus.

Journalists working for foreign media organizations are banned from covering Monday's planned protests. They were told late Saturday by the Culture Ministry that their press cards would be suspended for three days starting Monday.

Government opponents were hoping for a large turnout for Monday's demonstrations to show their movement still has momentum despite a series of government crackdowns since the election, which the opposition says President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won by fraud.

Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi threw his support behind the planned student demonstrations and declared that his movement was is still alive. A statement posted on his Web site said the clerical establishment cannot silence students and was losing legitimacy in the Iranian people's minds.

"A great nation would not stay silent when some confiscate its vote," said Mousavi, who claims to be the real winner of the June 12 vote.

Khamenei, the supreme leader who has final say on all state matters, accused the opposition Sunday of causing divisions in the country and creating opportunities for Iran's enemies.

Students at Tehran University played a major role in street demonstrations in support of the 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled to pro-U.S. shah and brought clerics to power. But in the past decade, universities have become strongholds for the pro-reform opposition, which seeks to reduce the clerics' domination of politics.

Sunday night, rooftop cries of "Allahu akbar" or "God is great" and "death to the dictator" were heard from many parts of Tehran in support of the opposition. The rooftop chants -- which were almost every night in the weeks following the election -- had not been heard since the opposition's last attempt to mobilize, a Nov. 4 rally coinciding with state-sanctioned events to mark the anniversary of the 1979 U.S. Embassy takeover.

That demonstration drew far fewer protesters than at the height of the summer's unrest. But it still provoked a violent response from security forces. Monday's protests appears to be larger than the Nov. 4 rallies.

For weeks after the disputed June presidential election, demonstrations triggered by claims of massive fraud in the vote brought hundreds of thousands to the streets, but the relentless crackdown that followed has taken a heavy toll.

Seeking to deny the protesters a chance to reassert their voice, authorities slowed Internet connections to a crawl in the capital. For some periods on Sunday, Web access was completely shut down -- a tactic that was also used before last month's demonstration.

The call for Monday's demonstrations was put out on dozens of Web sites run by supporters of opposition leaders Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi, who both ran against Ahmadinejad in the June 12 election. Most of those sites have been repeatedly blocked by the government, forcing activists to set up new ones.

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07-12-2009 om 16:17 geschreven door Vorser-Raadgever  

Violence erupts on anniversary of Athens riots

this

07-12-2009 om 00:00 geschreven door Vorser-Raadgever  

Sunday, December 06, 2009

Protests to march the first anniversary of death of Greek teen end in clashes

There's nothing like blind terror for letting you know you're alive.Every sensory input suddenly lights up your neurons like a city block decked out for Christmas. You suddenly become aware of absolutely everything around you, decisions that you usually kick around your head for minutes are taken in units of times in 100ths of seconds. What you don't notice, however, is pain.

After being chased on and off by riot cops and those on motorbikes for more than a kilometre I end up with a couple of hundred kids just below the ministry building, there's no way out as both above and below us are platoons of riot cops who keep on shooting tear gas canisters into the crowd despite the fact that there is nowhere to go. I try to see if I get pass but those ahead of me who try get beaten and kicked by the riot squad, forced back into the main mass. A gas canister, shot out of something resembling an old style revolver smashes into the tarmac next to me, richochetting and striking my leg. In the general panic, I pay it little attention, worried that I too will next in line for a beating and move back, but where? There is nowhere to go.

Eventually, the gas clears and we realise that we are surrounded, police order us to sit down and start insulting and kicking those around the edges. Somebody, injured cries for help, they ignore her and keep on screaming at those on the ground. There are so many people in such a small space that it's nearly impossible to find room. I squeeze in besides some high school students and looking down see that my jeans are red. Is someone hurt, I Look at the guy next to me who appears to be fine. Then it dawns on me that the blood might be my own. I left the leg and see the canister has taken out a chunk of flesh in my shin. It doesn't even hurt,strangely enough.

The cops keep on whacking away at those they consider are not complying with their orders and something in me breaks. I'm not what I wanted to achieve or what good I could do but I get up and start shouting at them in English, "I'm a reporter with Reuters " I lie but that was the first thing that popped into my head, I keep on shouting it in my best "you've been naughty, now sit down" teacher's voice as loud as I can, adding that what happens today will be on the news tomorrow again and again. I'm not sure how much they understand but it distracts their attention and they seem to calm down,or at least behave. By that time the rest of the media pack have caught up with us and so the police stand down, having more sense than to beat people on live TV.

Those detained are taken in police vans to the central police station in Thessaloniki and who knows what. Their crime simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

With the help of the march's legal team I manage to get out and find an ambulance which takes me along with another guy hit in the face by a canister to the local hospital. There we see other injured in a similar way, including a young woman hit in the head, afterwards she told me that her camera had been smashed by the police when she attempted to record their abuse.

According to Greek channel MEGA today has been a great success for the authorities and the police's new hard line has brought results. I think that what they have brought is a new round of escalation which will grow in the coming days.

You can see pictures from today on Demotix.

Labels: citizen journalism, demotix, greek riots, griots, thessaloniki greece

posted by teacher dude at 8:32 PM 1 comments

Saturday, December 05, 2009

Countdown 2 Combat

Countdown 2 Combat, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

Labels: Athens, Greece, griots, I Predict a Riot, poster activism

posted by teacher dude at 8:22 PM 0 comments

Athens protests this weekend - A survival guide

Photograph from Greek Riots in Photos - Voyager.gr

I thought I'd share a few tips with those covering the anniversary of the death of the Greek teenager, Alexandros Grigoropoulos this weekend. I hope they prove useful.

1 - The potential for violence has increased rapidly over the last few weeks so be prepared for clashes.

2 - Being a reporter is no guarantee of safety, especially with the police. The Greek cops have a long and inglorious history concerning photographers. They will not hesitate to use force if they feel you are photographing them.

3 - Many of the demonstrators, especially the anarchists view the media and hence reporters with the same contempt they hold for the police. Use discretion when taking pictures around them, if challenged put away your camera immediately unless you want it smashed. However, most other political/social groups are more tolerant of the media.

4 - The riot police have changed tactics recently so expect extensive use of tear gas and flash grenades. Maalox antacid tablets mixed with water can help somewhat. Though not with breathing.

5 - The grounds of the university of Athens are officially off limits to the police, so make sure you know where the nearest entrances are if the police advance. Being a foreigner or reporter will not protect you.

6 - If you do get detained make sure you have ID otherwise you risk days of belong held in a police cell.Try to get the number of some Greek friends in case you get arrested.

7 - Areas such as Exarchia are a rabbit warren of small streets, get familiar with the local geography so that if you have to make a quick retreat you know where you're heading.

8 - Running shoes are a must.

More tips from Endiaferon

Protesters will be formed into blocks. It is probable that anarchist protesters who have intention to clash will be in groups around protesters' blocks. If they start throwing rocks or other objects at the cops things may escalate in no time. I advise you that when you see the first signs of a clash, stay close to a political/student block.

In case of intense use of tear gas don't panic and don't try to run away from the main group of protesters in alleys etc. The best thing you can do (especially if you can't open your eyes) is get into a group, grab the person next to you and walk together.

A group of lawyers will be around in the protest to provide law advice in case someone gets arrested. These are their phone numbers:

6972-718536 


6972-799025


6976-395658


6946-738686


6978-909319 


6936-492025 


6975-752346 


6973-335960

If you get arrested, call them as quickly as you can. Do not sign anything in the police station and have in mind that cops may try to deceive you.

Labels: . Greece, Athens, citizen journalism, greek riots, griots

posted by teacher dude at 12:59 AM 0 comments

Friday, December 04, 2009

Remembering December 2008

Remembering December 2008, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

This was taken just after the riot police went in to break up a road block set up by high school students in the centre of Thessaloniki last year during the protests that followed the death of Alexandros Grigoropoulos, shot by the police in Exarchia, Athens.

The clashes between protesters and the authorities lasted for nearly a month.

07-12-2009 om 00:00 geschreven door Vorser-Raadgever  

Beppe Grillo: nr. 7 op Forbes-lijst van 'Web celebrities'

1

maandag 2 februari 2009 16:28 door Vitina

Komiek Grillo brengt Italiaanse politiek in verwarring

Gepubliceerd: 20 september 2007 00:00 | Gewijzigd: 22 augustus 2008 17:39

Door Bas Mesters

Een komiek heeft de Italiaanse politiek in zijn greep en hij maakt geen grap. Als er nu verkiezingen worden gehouden zou de helft van alle Italianen overwegen om op de cabaretier Beppe Grillo te stemmen.

Politici, columnisten, heel Italië vraagt zich af wat er aan de hand is. Wil Grillo daadwerkelijk de politiek in? Is het een onbeschaamde populist? Of geeft hij Italianen een stem die teleurgesteld zijn in de politiek?

Tot op het hoogste niveau houdt men zich met de komiek bezig. President Napolitano waarschuwde gisteren voor „het gevaar van anti-politiek”. Premier Romano Prodi zei maandag in een tv-show: „Je kunt niet een land regeren alsof het een komische show is [...] democratie wordt gerund door politieke partijen.” Schrijver en intellectueel Umberto Eco spreekt van „een inval van de barbaren’’ refererend aan Grillo’s beledigende taal. De premier is voor Grillo „Valium-Prodi” en Silvio Berlusconi „de psycho-dwerg”.

Grillo’s aanhang groeide enorm toen hij in 2005 een blog op internet opende, waarop hij dagelijks misstanden aan de kaak stelt. Inmiddels is zijn blog met 160.000 bezoeken per dag de grootste van Italië en de dertiende van de wereld. In 260 steden zijn clubs ontstaan die via zijn blog contact met elkaar onderhouden, zijn naam dragen, en zich lokaal inzetten om hun leefomgeving te verbeteren.

De macht van Grillo’s blog werd tien dagen geleden duidelijk, toen hij 330.000 sympathisanten mobiliseerde voor Vaffanculoday (netjes vertaald: sodemieter-op-dag). Ze demonstreerden in 153 steden tegen het aanblijven van 23 parlementariërs die veroordeeld zijn door de rechter.

Zondag sloeg Grillo opnieuw toe. In zijn blog riep hij zijn fans op om burgerlijsten te formeren voor de gemeenteraadsverkiezingen van volgend jaar. „Kandidaten die voldoen aan de voorwaarden krijgen een certificaat van transparantie van beppegrillo.it”, zo schreef hij op zijn website. Twee voorwaarden: je mag geen lid zijn van een politieke partij en je mag geen strafblad hebben.

Maandag meldde opiniepeiler Renato Mannheimer, dat 17 procent van de Italianen op Grillo zou willen stemmen, en dat 33 procent het zou overwegen als het kon. Sindsdien vragen parlementariërs zich nerveus af wat de komiek van plan is.

Grillo schreef in zijn blog van zondag dat hij zelf de komende maanden niet zal verschijnen op demonstraties van de burgerlijsten die nu worden opgericht. ,,De deelnemers aan de Vaffanculo-day, lenen hun stem aan niemand, ze zijn hun eigen megafoon: burgers die zelf politiek bedrijven.’’ De cabaretier heeft altijd herhaald dat hij zelf geen politieke partij wil beginnen. Zijn eigen criteria volgend kan hij dat ook niet eens, omdat hij een strafblad heeft. Hij is ooit veroordeeld voor roekeloos rijgedrag, waarbij een weggebruiker omkwam.

Volgens opiniepeiler Renato Mannheimer is Beppe Grillo erin geslaagd om politiek te koppelen aan anti-politiek. „Hij oefent grote aantrekkingskracht uit op linkse maatschappijverbeteraars, maar heeft ook aanhang bij de Italianen die totaal gedesillusioneerd zijn in de politiek.”

En dat zijn er heel veel. 60 procent van de Italianen gebruikte termen als: woede, walging en wantrouwen in antwoord op de vraag: „Wat komt in u op als u aan de politiek denkt?” Driekwart is ervan overtuigd dat politici niet geïnteresseerd zijn in wat de gewone man denkt en wil.

Enig recht van spreken hebben de teleurgestelde Italianen. Afgelopen vrijdag nog onthulde het weekblad L’Espresso dat de ministers van Justitie Clemente Mastella en die van Cultuur Francesco Rutelli het regeringsvliegtuig hebben gebruikt om met vrienden en familie naar de Formule I Grand Prix in Monza te reizen. Kosten 20.000 euro. Hetzelfde blad bracht een week eerder het nieuws dat tientallen politici via slinkse wegen voor de helft van de prijs dure appartementen hebben aangeschaft. De Italiaanse werkgeversbond Confindustria meldde gisteren dat een Italiaanse parlementariër met zijn apparaat, tassendragers en eigen auto twee keer zoveel kost als zijn Franse en vier keer zoveel als een Britse collega. De duizend Italiaanse parlementariërs verdienen het meest van al hun collega’s in Europa. Meer dan vijftienduizend euro netto per maand, anderhalf keer zoveel als de Nederlandse premier Balkenende.

In hun bestseller La Casta rekenen de journalisten Sergio Rizzo en Gian Antonio Stella uit dat de president van Italië en zijn entourage vier keer zoveel kosten als de hofhouding van de Britse koningin. Gouverneurs van de Italiaanse regio’s geven tot twaalf keer hogere bedragen aan representatiekosten op dan de Duitse president.

Volgens de auteurs is de politiek „een kaste” geworden „die zich steeds minder ten doel stelt om het algemene welzijn via goed bestuur te bevorderen, en meer en meer er op gericht is om zichzelf te voeden”.

Maandagavond reageerde premier Prodi in de praatshow Porta a Porta onverwacht hard op de anti-politieke sentimenten. „Ik geloof niet dat de maatschappij beter is dan haar politieke klasse,” aldus de premier. Hij wees op studenten die voor 30.000 euro toelating tot de opleiding medicijnen probeerden te kopen. Hij refereerde aan belastingontduiking, waaraan 30 procent van de Italianen zich schuldig zou maken – ten koste van 260 miljard euro per jaar. Hij haalde er zelfs het tekort aan transfusiebloed in Italië bij om te illustreren dat de Italianen egoïsten zijn.

Over Grillo zei Prodi: „Voor hem verandert nu alles. Want in plaats van met kritiek moet hij nu met voorstellen komen.” Grillo pareerde op zijn blog door Prodi om te dopen van Valium-Prodi naar Alzheimer-Prodi, vanwege het volgens hem slechte geheugen van de premier. Grillo: „De voorstellen zijn er: opgesteld door de burgers die maandenlang e-mails en commentaren naar mijn blog hebben gestuurd. Het zijn niet mijn voorstellen, maar voorstellen van de werkgevers van Prodi. Ik heb ze persoonlijk op 8 juni 2006 aan Alzheimer-Prodi overhandigd.”

Beppe Grillo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Giuseppe Piero Grillo
Beppe Grillo
Born	21 July 1948 (1948-07-21) (age 61) Savignone, Italy
Nationality	Italian
Occupation	Activist Comedian Actor
Children	6

Giuseppe Piero Grillo, better known as Beppe Grillo (born 21 July 1948), is an Italian activist, blogger, comedian, actor and politician, who also works in theatres and television.

Biography

Grillo was born in Savignone, a small town in the Province of Genoa, Liguria.

After receiving his degree as an accountant, Grillo became a comedian by chance, improvising a monologue in an audition. Two weeks later he was discovered and launched by Italian TV presenter Pippo Baudo. He subsequently participated in the variety show Secondo Voi for two years (1977-78). Later, in 1979, he participated in Luna Park by Enzo Trapani, and Fantastico.

In the 1980s his success rose further, thanks to shows like Te la do io l'America (1982, 4 episodes) and Te lo do io il Brasile (1984, six episodes). In these shows, he narrated his experiences of his visits to the United States and Brazil, with anecdotes and witticisms about the culture, lifestyle and beauty of these places.

As a result, his popularity grew more and more, and he became the protagonist of another show developed especially for him, called Grillometro (Grillometer). In 1986, he was the star of prize-winning advertisements for a brand of yogurt.

Soon after this, his performances began to be characterized by an increasing level of political satire, often expressed in such a direct way that he quickly offended a lot of Italian politicians. In 1987 during the Saturday night TV show Fantastico 7, he attacked the Italian Socialist Party and its leader Bettino Craxi, then Italy's Prime Minister, on the occasion of his visit in the People's Republic of China. Grillo said:

If the Chinese are all socialists, whom do they steal from?

The joke hinted at the totalitarianism of the PRC, but even more to the widespread corruption for which the Italian Socialist Party was known. As a consequence, Grillo was effectively and silently banished from publicly owned television; yet, he was vindicated a few years later when the Italian Socialist Party had to be disbanded in a welter of corruption scandals known as Tangentopoli, uncovered by the Mani pulite investigation. Craxi himself died in Tunisia, unable to return to Italy where he would have been jailed for several convictions.

Consequently, from the beginning of the 1990s his appearances on television became rare: according to many people, the reason for this is a silent ostracism by politicians offended by his revelations about their hidden financial activities, frauds and false claims. When one of his shows was finally allowed to be broadcast by RAI, in 1993, it obtained a record share of 16 million viewers. He was later banned definitively from Italian television.

Beppegrillo.it

He currently performs in theatres in Italy and abroad, with outstanding success. Grillo's themes include energy usage, political and corporate corruption, finance, freedom of speech, child labour, globalization, and technology. Recently Grillo started to encourage the use of Wikipedia as the future of knowledge sharing.

He maintains a blog (available in Italian, English and Japanese) at beppegrillo.it which is updated daily. Comments to posts regularly top the thousands (in the Italian version). According to Technorati, the blog is ranked among the 10 most visited blogs in the world. He often receives letters of appreciation and support from prominent figures, such as Antonio Di Pietro (former Italian Minister of Infrastructures), Fausto Bertinotti (former President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies), Renzo Piano, and even Nobel Prize Winners (like Dario Fo, Joseph E. Stiglitz, Dalai Lama, Muhammad Yunus)^[1].

On 1 September 2005, thanks to contributions from readers of his blog, Grillo bought a full page advertisement in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica in which he called for the resignation of the Bank of Italy's (then) governor Antonio Fazio over the Antonveneta banking scandal. In October 2005, Time chose him as one of the "European Heroes 2005" for his constant battle against corruption and financial scandals^[2].

On 22 November 2005 Grillo also bought a page in the International Herald Tribune, again claiming that members of the Italian Parliament ought not to represent citizens if they have ever been convicted in a court of law, even in the first degree of the three available in the Italian system^[3]. His blog now contains a regularly updated list of members of the Italian Parliament who have been convicted in all three degrees, in what he calls "operation Clean Parliament"^[4]. Grillo claimed, in 2007, that data suggested that even Scampia, the most dangerous suburb of Naples and one of the areas with the highest crime rate in Europe, actually had a lower crime rate than the Italian parliament's membership^[5].

On 26 July 2007 Grillo was permitted to speak to the members of the European Parliament in Brussels, where he drew attention to the dangerous, negative state of current Italian politics.^[6]

In August 2008, Grillo was the subject of a report on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's (ABC-TV) international affairs program "Foreign Correspondent". Titled "The Clown Prince" the report profiled Grillo's life, political activism, V Day campaign, and use of the internet as a political tool.

http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/content/oldcontent/s2464639.htm

Beppe Grillo in Bologna speaking at V-Day

On this occasion, Grillo was able to officially promote the so called V-Day (Vaffanculo or "Fuck Off" Day) on 8 September 2007. The V-Day, which was supported in more than 280 Italian cities as well as abroad, was organised by Grillo to persuade Italians to sign a petition calling for the introduction of a Bill of Popular Initiative to remove members of the Italian Parliament who have criminal convictions of any kind from their office.^[7]

Legal Issues

In 1980 he was found guilty of manslaughter for a car accident in which he was the driver; three passengers lost their lives^[8].

During his shows Grillo never hesitates to name firms and personalities he considers corrupt, always supporting his views with data and documents^{[citation needed]}. For this reason he has been sued several times for libel by many people and organizations^[who?] which he had exposed, such as Telecom Italia.

When Italian judges were investigating the Parmalat scandal, which was then the world's largest corporate bankruptcy scandal ever, Grillo was called to testify as he anticipated the imminent collapse of the dairy conglomerate in one of his shows. When he was asked by judges how he has been able to discover that, he simply said that Parmalat's financial holes were so evident that anybody who had enough ability to see them would see them, since the corporate accounting was easily accessible^[9].

Criticism

Grillo is often criticized for his lifestyle. In particular, critics blame him for owning a motor yacht and a Ferrari sports car, both being in contradiction with his well known ecologist stance. In his blog he admits that he did, in fact, acquire both but has since sold them^[8].

Grillo is also criticized for taking advantage of the Condono Tombale, a fiscal amnesty granted by the first Berlusconi government in 2001, which Grillo publicly opposed^[10]. Grillo commented on this issue during the V-Day demonstration. He said that he had personally benefitted by only €500^{[citation needed]}.

Grillo has proposed that members of the Italian Parliament who have a criminal record should be barred from public office. As Grillo himself has been found guilty of Involuntary manslaughter caused by a car accident^[8] his critics^[who?] say he has no right to represent Italians either. Grillo has always stated that he is not interested in becoming a member of the Italian Parliament anyway^[8]. Despite this, in July 2009 he publicly expressed his intention to present himself as a candidate for the PD's primary elections^[11].

Another proposal of his is that members of Parliament be limited to two government terms of office after which they might not stand again. Detractors^[who?] argue that this would shorten the political life of competent and expert politicians, usually drawing Alcide De Gasperi, Aldo Moro and Enrico Berlinguer as examples of brilliant politicians who served more than two terms. Marco Travaglio replied that, for that sake, also the political life of much less popular Clemente Mastella would have suffered^[12].

Grillo is criticized as being a mere demagogue who attacks politicians on superficial issues and their private lives while unable to provide a valid alternative. For instance, Daniele Luttazzi, famous Italian satirist, criticized Grillo in 2007 in an open letter published on the website of the news magazine Micromega. Luttazzi accused Grillo of being a "demagogue" and a "populist", suggesting Grillo to choose between satire and politics, asserting the two are incompatible^[13].

Grillo is an AIDS denialist ^[14].

06-12-2009 om 21:48 geschreven door Vorser-Raadgever  

06-12-2009 om 20:41 geschreven door Vorser-Raadgever  

05-12-2009 om 23:08 geschreven door Vorser-Raadgever  

Il Fatto Quotidiano

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Il Fatto Quotidiano
Type	Daily newspaper
Format	compact
Owner	Editoriale Il Fatto SpA
Editor	Antonio Padellaro
Founded	23rd September, 2009
Language	Italian
Headquarters	Via Orazio, 10 Rome, Italy
Circulation	136.000 (October 11, 2009)[1]
Official website	www.ilfattoquotidiano.it

Il Fatto Quotidiano (English: The Daily Fact) is an Italian daily newspaper owned by Editoriale Il Fatto SpA. It was founded on 23rd September 2009 and has been edited by Antonio Padellaro since then.

History

In late 2008, Marco Travaglio was asked by fellow journalist Massimo Fini to advertise the latter's newly founded magazine, La Voce del Ribelle ("The Rebel's Voice"), on the former's blog, voglioscendere.it, with the objective of gathering "a few hundred subscriptions". Thousands of people answered, allowing Fini's magazine to succeed.^[2] Because of this success, Travaglio started considering the idea of using his blog to launch a new independent newspaper, with no public funding, which in Italy depends on political support from a number of MPs.^[2]

The intention of publishing a new national newspaper was announced by Marco Travaglio on his blog, voglioscendere.it on June 1, 2009^[3]. The title Il Fatto Quotidiano was chosen as a homage to journalist Enzo Biagi^[3], who was purged from state television RAI at prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's request, and whose daily ten-minute prime-time news commentary on Rai Uno, named Il Fatto, was removed from programming.

In June 2009, l'Antefatto^[4], a promotional website, was set up containing information about subscription and the development of the project^[3].

The publisher stated he would not use the Italian state funding to run the newspaper, for which a news paper needs support from some MPs, but only money coming from sales and fair advertisement^[3].

The first issue, printed in 100,000 copies in addition to 32,000 subscriptions, was already sold out before 8:00 AM on September 23, even though distribution was limited to the largest cities. As a consequence, the newspaper announced it would immediately double the number of copies and publish the first issue, free of charge, on the Internet^[5][6].

Ownership

Il Fatto Quotidiano is published by Editoriale Il Fatto SpA, an Italian joint stock company. The company regulation states that the 70% of the shares can be owned by entrepreneurs, but each of them can't own more than 16% of the share capital, estimated in 600,000 euros^[7]. The remaining 30% of the shares is owned by the newspaper columnists^[7]. Therefore, no important choice can be made without the consent of the columnists as a 70% majority + 1 is needed to carry out decisions about the newspaper policy or editor election^[7]. The managing director is Giorgio Poidomani.

Format and circulation

Il Fatto Quotidiano is printed in the compact format and full colour. It's distributed in Italy either by post and over 15,000 newsagents in the major Italian towns and regions^[8][9]. A significant fraction of the readership, about one fifth^[1], is made out of subscriptions to the PDF version of the newspaper.

Regala un abbonamento

Fai passare ai tuoi amici un Natale informato, regala un abbonamento al Fatto Quotidiano. Puoi regalare un abbonamento postale, con consegna a domicilio, per 6 o 12 mesi. Oppure puoi regalare un abbonamento all'edizione digitale, in PDF, da consultare online ogni giorno dalle 00.00 del giorno di uscita.

Compila ora il modulo per regalare un abbonamento

NOTA
Usa questa procedura solo per regalare abbonamenti ad amici
Per sottoscrivere un abbonamento per te stesso, usa la procedura ordinaria.

il Blog del Fatto Quotidiano.

Editoriale il Fatto S.p.A.
C.F. e P.IVA 10460121006

05-12-2009 om 22:37 geschreven door Vorser-Raadgever  

D’une prétendue défense de l’emploi par le vecteur culturel à l’organisation d’un pernicieux saccage social et écologique

Si vous faites vos courses en Bretagne, vous croiserez inévitablement un paquet de biscuits, un disque, un t-shirt ou que sais-je… avec un logo jaune et bleu représenté par un phare qui illumine de son rayonnement toute la péninsule armoricaine : c’est Produit en Bretagne.

Produit en Bretagne, label associatif créé en 1993, repose sur une idée de base : « Tout ce que nous faisons doit se traduire par du développement de l’emploi en Bretagne ». Y cohabitent industriels, distributeurs, banquiers, entreprises de services et quotidiens régionaux, à l’échelle des cinq départements bretons, Loire-Atlantique incluse donc... l’association ayant choisi dès l’origine de travailler sur la Bretagne dite historique.

A ses débuts, cette association fédérait essentiellement des industriels de l’agro-alimentaire et des distributeurs (hypermarchés), un patron de Leclerc faisant partie des fondateurs… En 2009, Produit en Bretagne, c’est 210 entreprises de tous horizons même si l’agroalimentaire reste majoritaire, 15 milliards d’euros de chiffres d’affaires générés par 100 000 salarié-e-s, pour près de 3000 produits habilités. En 2008, le budget de l’association s’est élevé à 1,2 million d’euros, dont 83 % en provenance des adhérents ; le reste étant couvert par les subventions régionale et départementales.

Produit en Bretagne, est plus qu’une marque commerciale, c’est un « état d’esprit » qu’un chef d’entreprise fédéré déclare vouloir autant transmettre aux client-e-s qu’aux salarié-e-s… De fait, la campagne publicitaire vantant ce label n’hésite pas à claironner aux consommateurs et consommatrices potentiels que c’est « l’achat solidaire pour l’emploi », « l’achat citoyen », osant même « l’achat militant » ! L’affiche 2009 titre « génération solidaire » avec de jeunes adultes souriants en manifestation, portant haut le drapeau breton flottant au vent, brandissant la banderole « Produit en Bretagne ».

Solidarité ? Le mot fait mouche, fait envie. Et puis, Produit en Bretagne, sonne produit localement, car, bien entendu, Produit en Bretagne est « un outil au service du développement durable ». En ces temps de recherches justifiées des circuits courts, pour leur moindre impact environnemental et pour le lien social, ce serait parfait... D’autant plus que Produit en Bretagne s’investit dans l’économie culturelle par des remises de prix du Disque, du Livre ou à la Création. La potion magique fonctionne : un sondage de 2007 par TMO-CSA révèle que cette marque collective profite d’une notoriété de 90 % en Bretagne et 21 % en Ile-de-France.

Il importe donc d’y regarder de plus près.

La grande distribution partie prenante du projet

Vous savez, l’hypermarché qui coule les petits commerces des centres villes et les emplois qui vont avec, qui écrase les petits producteurs, qui ouvre de plus en plus de dimanches, qui paie au rabais les salarié-e-s, souvent à temps partiel non choisi, qui fonctionne en flux tendus, l’une des causes du trafic incessant des camions... Que les hypermarchés, qui détruisent plus d’emplois qu’ils n’en génèrent, s’accordent un label « solidaire » relève pour le moins de la manipulation. Plus fort, un patron de Leclerc, associé à Produit en Bretagne, déclare que «notre objectif est de mettre des produits bretons dans tous les foyers de France », feignant d’ignorer que ça aura pour impact de déstabiliser les autres marchés locaux et régionaux…

On repassera pour la solidarité et le développement durable…

Voyons si l’autre face des instigateurs du noble label fait mieux avec un petit zoom sur les pratiques de notre généreuse industrie…

Les poids lourds de l’agroalimentaire…

Modèles de création d’emplois ?

Le « miracle économique breton » qui repose sur l’agriculture intensive a ses revers et c’est un euphémisme. En Bretagne, les plus gros bénéficiaires (on a envie de dire « assistés ») des aides européennes sont les géants de l’agroalimentaire. Le volailler Doux a ainsi empoché 62,8 millions d’euros en 2008 de subventions, présentées comme des « aides à l’exportation » face aux Brésiliens et aux Américains qui ont des coûts de revient et des prix plus bas… mais le premier concurrent de Doux au Brésil, c’est la filiale Doux brésilienne ! En novembre 2008, avec ses millions d’argent public dans les poches, Doux fermait son usine de Locminé (56), ville de 5000 habitant-e-s : 451 emplois supprimés, autant de familles touchées, sans compter l’onde de choc sur les petit-e-s commerçant-e-s et tous les emplois indirects !

Via la Politique agricole commune, ses aides inégalement réparties tout autant que celles des gouvernements, la petite paysannerie a été quasiment éliminée au profit de la concentration et du gigantisme des exploitations. Cette élimination des petites structures paysannes, outre qu’elle génère et entretient la désertification rurale, l’inégale répartition de la population sur le territoire, se fait dans la douleur : prolétarisation à bas prix, chômage ou suicides sont trop souvent la porte de sortie des « éliminé-e-s ». En Bretagne, en 1969, il y avait 169 000 exploitations agricoles, il en reste 33 000 aujourd’hui... Parallèlement, si l’effectif salarié des industries de l’agroalimentaire a progressé, fin 2007, il plafonnait à 58 600 salarié-e-s.

On est loin d’une compensation intégrale… d’autant que la population bretonne n’a cessé d’augmenter depuis 40 ans.

Le travail dans l’agro, c’est bon pour la santé

Les maladies professionnelles en Bretagne représentent 10 % du total français alors même que la région ne compte que 5 % de l’effectif salarié. 84 % de ces maladies résultent de troubles musculo-squelettiques (TMS) et plus de 40 % de ces TMS sont développés dans le secteur de l’agroalimentaire, directement liés aux conditions de travail peu reluisantes, mais dont la prise en charge est supportée par la Sécurité Sociale.

Dans certaines grandes boîtes, le syndicalisme est quasi inexistant, voire combattu…

Le bilan est donc effectivement glorieux : perte sèche de plusieurs dizaines de milliers d’emplois sur 40 ans et, en prime, on y laisse la santé !

Notre modèle agricole breton se rattrape-t-il sur le volet environnement ?

L’utilisation massive des pesticides provoque des dégâts sur la faune et la flore, tant terrestre qu’aquatique. Ravages auxquels s’ajoutent la disparition des bocages, l’excès de lisier et de fientes de volaille avec leurs conséquences sur la qualité des eaux… et le scandale des algues vertes ! De même, notre santé est triplement menacée par les choix de ce modèle : résidus de pesticides sur les végétaux et dans les produits animaux (chair, lait, œufs) ; sur ces derniers se fixent en plus les résidus d’antibiotiques et de vaccins nécessaires à ce type d’élevage, sans compter les dangers d’une alimentation trop riche en produits animaux (excès de graisses saturées et de protéines animales)… Ce type d’agriculture est aussi un gouffre à eau et à produits chimiques pour la culture du maïs essentiellement destiné à l’élevage, lequel constitue la toile de fond de l’agriculture bretonne, avec sept exploitations sur dix.

L’agro-industrie repose sur l’importation massive de céréales et soja destiné à la nutrition animale et dont la culture est l’une des causes de la déforestation en Amazonie. La Bretagne figure parmi les principales régions agro-industrielles de l’Union européenne. La moitié des cinq millions de tonnes de soja importées en France destinées à la nutrition animale est débarquée dans les ports bretons... Or, entre 66% et 80 % de ce soja est Ogm... Aussi, se fournir auprès de l’agroalimentaire breton en produits animaux est bien un achat militant... pro Ogm !

De même était-ce sûrement bon pour l’emploi local et très « développement durable » que le groupe Glon-Sanders, et son cher patron Breton, numéro un de l’alimentation du bétail, ait importé 25000 tonnes de blé de la si proche Ukraine fin 2002, via le port de Lorient ?

Cette nourriture végétale qui aurait pu servir directement aux humains est détournée en faveur des animaux élevés mais avec une perte considérable (pour produire 1 g de protéine animale il faut 7 g de protéines végétales)… Ce choix de l’agro-business participe aux famines.

N’oublions pas non plus que l’élevage industriel est une horreur pour les animaux trop souvent considérés comme des machines productives ou des choses insensibles.

« Produit en Bretagne surfe sur la vague identitaire »… se réjouit l’Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Brest

La mondialisation aime les fortes identités

Grâce au réseau Produit en Bretagne, de nombreux industriels bretons n’hésitent pas à démarcher des pays lointains, notamment en Asie, pour proposer leurs productions labellisées « authentiques »... Or, exporter de la nourriture qui est aussi produite dans les pays acheteurs ne porte-t-il pas atteinte au principe de souveraineté alimentaire des peuples ? Qu’il y ait des échanges de denrées qu’on ne possède pas de part et d’autres, cela se conçoit.... mais il est toujours important de mesurer l’impact écologique et social généré par ces productions et leur transport à des milliers de kilomètres.

Le collège « culture et création » de Produit en Bretagne

Produit en Bretagne, en connexion constante avec le monde étudiant, joue par ailleurs finement en misant sur l’économie culturelle : livres, disques, festivals... Il est vrai aussi que ce soutien procure des avantages fiscaux depuis une Loi de 2003 qui favorise le mécénat d’entreprises… Généreux oui, mais avec des compensations quand même !

Des artistes résistent et refusent d’amalgamer produit de consommation courante et production artistique. « Le comité Produit en Bretagne, utilise et exploite tout aspect culturel susceptible de donner une couleur régionale à leurs produits ou leurs services », constate un flûtiste qui a refusé ce prix en 2001. Les yeux ouverts, il note que le prix Produit en Bretagne « précise qu’il s’agit de "culture bretonne", mais se garde bien en revanche d’apposer un adjectif à "économie"… Pourquoi ne pas dire franchement "économie libérale" ou "économie capitaliste" ? »

Dérive sectaire ?

Plus pernicieux, l’association Produit en Bretagne demande même aux salarié-e-s des entreprises adhérentes de montrer leur appartenance par un autocollant à l’arrière de leur voiture. Et s’ils refusent ? Le lien de subordination d’un-e salarié-e s’arrête en principe au cadre du travail… et ne saurait s’immiscer dans la vie privée… Un avant-goût du Code du Travail sauce régionale ? En tout cas, on emprunte une pente glissante…

Mais continuons à gratter.

Un réservoir d’idées très particulières…

Adresse du siège de Produit en Bretagne, l’institut de Locarn, influent et puissant « think tank », situé en Centre Bretagne, destiné aux « décideurs bretons » (économiques, politiques, journalisti-ques…), estimant que les petits pays à forte identité culturelle seraient les plus dynamiques, réfléchit et s’organise pour une « Bretagne de demain »... conforme aux intérêts des dits décideurs.

Empêtré à ses débuts avec l’Opus Dei et une certaine culture du secret, l’institut de Locarn, adepte de « l’intelligence économique », a organisé des conférences avec des spécialistes militaires reconvertis dans le renseignement économique, dont « un spécialiste anglais du renseignement stratégique » et « un ex-colonel du KGB »… Car nos grands patrons réfléchissent en termes de guerre économique qui serait aussi une guerre des cultures… D’où l’importance d’appuyer une certaine identité culturelle en Bretagne. L’institut se sert du levier identitaire pour faire consensus autour de ses projets… comme s’il n’y avait pas de conflits de classes en Bretagne, pas de salarié-e-s exploité-e-s et jeté-e-s quand le patronat n’en a plus besoin…

Il y a bien un dessein politique en filigrane : promouvoir une Europe des régions et briser « l’immobilisme de l’administration » : comprendre les protections des salarié-e-s conquises à l’échelle de l’Etat français : Code du Travail, Sécurité sociale, mais aussi la gestion des services publics...

En conclusion d’une conférence du 25 janvier 2008, Alain Glon, Président de l’institut de Locarn, s’insurgeait contre la culture française de la « gratuité pour tout ce qui est indispensable dans la vie » (éducation, santé, logement…) et il a « le sentiment qu’en France on voit l’inégalité comme une injustice » et il déclare avoir « déjà proposé qu’on supprime des frontons (le terme) « égalité » »… Il revendique « le droit à l’expérimentation » dont une personne de son auditoire (uniquement des patrons et grands cadres) nous dit qu’il est entravé par « le principe de précaution »… Ca fait plaisir d’entendre de si grands humanistes, car « humaniste » l’institut l’est, c’est écrit sur son site !

Vocation très spéciale

« Une des vocations de Locarn est de servir de lieu de négociation neutre et discret, où peuvent se rencontrer des personnalités économiques et politiques », confiait Jo Le Bihan, un de ses fondateurs, lors de la création de l’institut. L’influence de l’organisation déborde largement sur la sphère politique, comme en témoignait la présence du président de la région Bretagne J-Y Le Drian (PS), de l’ancien Ministre F. Goulard (UMP) et de l’ancien Garde des Sceaux P. Méhaignerie (UMP), pour les 10 ans de l’institut en septembre 2004… Si vous croyez encore au changement par les élections, vous pouvez vous rhabiller… les décisions se prennent dans un lieu « neutre et discret », on vous dit !

La Saint Yves – Gouel Erwan

Pour promouvoir une identité commune, rien de tel que la fête ! Et voilà qu’en 1997, est sortie du chapeau rond, un recyclage de la fête religieuse « Saint Yves – Gouel Erwan », prétendument « patron de tous les Bretons » et des « avocats ». Jusqu’à il y a peu cantonnée à un procession religieuse à Tréguier (22), en partie intégriste, la Saint-Yves, aujourd’hui dans une version plus ou moins laïcisée avec quand même des pardons et des messes ( !), a les honneurs de la Région Bretagne qui lui a consacré (ou dilapidé ?) 617 000 euros d’argent public en 2009… Sans doute n’y avait-il rien de plus urgent ? Produit en Bretagne et l’institut de Locarn sont complètement impliqués dans cette fête « populaire » fabriquée par en haut. En 2004, à Pontivy (56), à l’occasion de la St-Yves, A. Glon (encore lui !) a remis le prix Produit en Bretagne du disque, en compagnie du maire PS J-P Le Roch, membre du jury… Et c’est depuis l’institut de Locarn, que le Président du Conseil Régional de Bretagne (Le Drian) et le Président du Conseil Général de Loire Atlantique (Mareschal), tous deux du PS, ont salué publiquement « chaque Breton de la Diaspora », pour la Saint-Yves 2007 : « Qu’elle soit aussi l’occasion de renforcer vos liens avec notre chère Bretagne dans sa dimension culturelle mais aussi économique en vous appuyant notamment sur le réseau Diaspora Economique Bretonne, récemment créé et animé par l’Institut de Locarn dans le cadre d’un partenariat avec l’Agence Economique de Bretagne.»

Une presse militante

Et que font nos chers journaux régionaux pour interroger ce qu’il faut bien appeler une collusion ? Dans une interview donnée au Télégramme le 16 octobre 2009, Michel Edouard Leclerc saluait « l’investissement quasiment militant des quotidiens régionaux » pour le renouveau économique et culturel de la Bretagne… Il est vrai qu’avec 800 000 euros annuels de publicité versés au Télégramme par Leclerc, le journal peut même être un stakhanoviste du militantisme ! Le 8 octobre 2009, Ouest France nous offrait un supplément publicitaire de 16 pages en faveur de Produit en Bretagne… Certain-e-s rêvent d’une Bretagne indépendante, pour notre part, nous nous contenterions déjà que sa presse le soit !

Ne nous laissons pas abuser

« Le régionalisme n’est qu’un produit d’appel de l’ultralibéralisme. (…). Résister, c’est d’abord dénoncer ce décor en toc, montrer de quel mépris il relève à l’égard de ce qu’il prétend défendre, montrer surtout ce qu’il recouvre : privatisations, déréglementation, destruction des lois sociales, mise au pillage du pays, changé en une vaste banlieue où les hangars à main d’œuvre côtoient les élevages de porcs », s’élève Françoise Morvan, dans « le monde comme si ».

Il ne s’agit pas ici de présenter la République, une, indivisible et laïque comme rempart à toutes ses dérives. Anarchistes, nous n’oublions pas qu’il nous faut deux jambes pour marcher : l’une, libertaire, avec le fédéralisme et la libre association des groupes humains selon la dimension territoriale qu’ils se choisiront et qui jetteront aux poubelles de l’Histoire les Etats, leurs frontières et leur répression ; l’autre, égalitaire et anticapitaliste, avec la mise en commun des moyens de production et le partage des richesses d’un socialisme autogestionnaire.

Produit en Bretagne ? Une vaste supercherie !

Plus d’infos sur l’Institut de Locarn, ici http://anars56.over-blog.org/article-34086618.html et là http://anars56.over-blog.org/article-34153645.html

Article relayé par le groupe libertaire Lochu-Ferrer et la Fédération anarchiste Vannes-Lorient
http://anars56.over-blog.org/

05-12-2009 om 00:00 geschreven door Vorser-Raadgever  

04-12-2009 om 20:52 geschreven door Vorser-Raadgever