French President François Hollande

French President François Hollande

 

[caption id="attachment_11744" align="alignnone" width="307"] (Photo AFP - Patrick Kovarik)[/caption]

 

Allein, allein

 

Der französische Präsident François Hollande steht allein vor dem Elysée-Palast und sieht der norwegischen Ministerpräsidentin Erna Solberg nach.

 

Vor kurzem erklärte Hollande, dass er sich von seiner langjährigen Partnerin Valérie Trierweiler getrennt hat.

 

Zuvor war eine Liebesaffäre mit einer französischen Schauspielerin öffentlich geworden.

 

Alone, alone

 

French President François Hollande stands alone in front of the Elysée Palace and sees toward the Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg.

 

Recently Hollande declared, that he has separated from his long-time partner Valerie Trierweiler.

 

Previously, a love affair with a French actress had become public.

 

(AFP - Patrick Kovarik)

 

(Agence France-Presse, 4 Tuesday February 2014 The Roman)

(Translated: R.S.F. toshiki speed news press, Agence France-Presse, 5 Wednesday February 2014 The Roman)

 

Tunisia trims 2014 growth forecast to 3.8%

Tunisia trims 2014 growth forecast to 3.8%

 

[caption id="attachment_11721" align="alignnone" width="400"] (Tunisia’s central bank cut its growth forecast for 2014 to 3.8 percent, down from 4 percent. (File photo: Reuters))[/caption]

 

Tunisia's economy will expand less quickly than hoped this year, the central bank said on Thursday, cutting its growth forecast to 3.8 percent from 4 percent.

 

The economy grew by 3 percent last year.

 

The bank did not say why it was trimming its forecast, which came against a background of turmoil in many emerging economies as the U.S. Federal Reserve scales back its monetary stimulus.

 

The bank said the budget deficit was 8.3 percent of gross domestic product in 2013.

 

Under pressure from international lenders to cut subsidies, the government hopes to reduce it to 6.5 percent this year, according to the 2014 budget.

 

Three years after toppling their autocratic leader Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali in an uprising that inspired other 'Arab Spring' revolts, Tunisia is progressing toward full democracy after approving a new constitution this week.

 

A new caretaker government has taken over to run the country until new elections later this year.

 

But despite political progress, high living costs and a lack of economic opportunities are still the main concerns for many Tunisians.

 

The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday approved a $507 million loan tranche for the North African country, the second part of a $1.5 billion credit agreed at the start of 2013.

 

The central bank said foreign currency reserves stood at11.230bn Tunisian dinars ($6.98bn) by Jan. 28, equal to 102 days of import cover, compared to 106 days a month earlier.

 

(Reuters, Tunis)

 

(Al Arabiya News, 30 Thursday January 2014 The Roman)

 

 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel

German Chancellor Angela Merkel

 

[caption id="attachment_11504" align="alignnone" width="320"] (Photo AFP - John Macdougall)[/caption]

 

Hilfe für die Kanzlerin

 

Ein Saaldiener bringt Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel (CDU) nach Beendigung ihrer Regierungserklärung im Bundestag ihre Krücken.

 

Als erster deutscher Regierungschef trug Merkel eine Regierungserklärung im Sitzen vor.

 

Sie hatte sich beim Skilaufen verletzt.

 

Help for the chancellor

 

An usher brings German Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) after their government statement in parliament their crutches.

 

As the first German head of government, Merkel argued a government statement in the seats.

 

She had been injured while skiing.

 

(AFP - John Macdougall)

 

(Agence France-Presse, 30 Thursday January 2014 The Roman)

(Translated: R.S.F. toshiki speed news press, Agence France-Presse, 30 Thursday January 2014 The Roman)

 

Vice President Joe Biden

Vice President Joe Biden

 

[caption id="attachment_11491" align="alignnone" width="512"] (Photo AFP - Saul Loeb)[/caption]

 

Wer zuletzt lacht...

 

Vor der Rede von US-Präsident Barack Obama zur Lage der Nation scherzen Vizepräsident Joe Biden (l.) und der Chef der Republikaner im Repräsentantenhaus, John Boehner.

 

Obama warnte die oppositionellen Republikaner, notfalls per Dekret zu regieren, sollten sie weiter wichtige politische Vorhaben blockieren.

 

He who laughs last ...

 

Before the speech of U.S. President Barack Obama State of the Union joke Vice President Joe Biden (left) and the head of the Republicans in the House, John Boehner.

 

Obama warned the opposition Republicans to govern by decree if necessary, they should continue to block important political projects.

 

(AFP - Saul Loeb)

 

(Agence France-Presse, 30 Thursday January 2014 The Roman)

(Translated: R.S.F. toshiki speed news press, Agence France-Presse, 30 Thursday January 2014 The Roman)

 

NSA and Obama: Yes, We Can

NSA and Obama: Yes, We Can

 

Why is President Obama so permissive with regard to excesses of US intelligence apparatus?

 

Stephan Richter

 

Stephan Richter is the publisher and editor-in-chief of The Globalist, the daily online magazine, and a columnist in newspapers around the world.

 

[caption id="attachment_11470" align="alignnone" width="680"] (NSA’s goal to make the US 'safe' is not deliverable and comes at great cost [Getty])[/caption] 

Few of his supporters would have ever thought that Barack Obama's famous 2008 presidential campaign slogan would end up turning into the collective mantra of the US intelligence community during his term in office.

 

But here we are: "Yes, We Can" is the best way to describe the arrogant attitude of the more than 50,000 spooks employed by the US government, whenever they are faced with any questions pertaining to the legitimacy of their actions.

 

Their arrogance is as breathtaking, as are their mostly phony protestations of operating under a carefully calibrated web of checks and balances.

 

And Mr Obama's timidity in tackling both phenomena is astonishing for a man who is a constitutional lawyer by training.

 

At this stage, the memory of the Church Committee is not just faint, but depressing.

 

In 1975, Idaho Senator Frank Church chaired a special committee - the forerunner of the Senate Intelligence Committee - and mounted a vigorous, no-holds-barred investigation of the overreach of the spying agencies during the Nixon era.

 

The idea that a similarly vigorous defence of the vitality of American democracy, much needed though it is, could be mounted is simply unimaginable today.

 

By whom?

 

California Senator Dianne Feinstein, the current Senate Intelligence Committee chair?

 

A question of oversight

 

The current set of characters on Capitol Hill has given a new meaning to the hallowed term "Congressional Oversight".

 

It's no longer about effective legislative checks-and-balances on the actions of the executive branch.

 

The 'oversight' now practised in Congress is thus of the kind where one consciously overlooks something critical that is right under one's eyes - oversight as deliberate lapses, not providing the constitutionally mandated counterweight.

 

Rather than seeing their role as sentries against the executive branch's gradual slide into a surveillance state, these fine members of Congress have a different "vision".

 

Eyes wide shut, they see themselves as the intelligence apparatus's advocates and propellants.

 

Under those circumstances, no falsehood or lie even by the most senior intelligence officials, such as by Director of National Intelligence James R Clapper, has any consequences any longer.

 

The "oversight" now practised in Congress is thus of the kind where one consciously overlooks something critical that is right under one's eyes - oversight as deliberate lapses, not providing the constitutionally mandated counterweight.

 

But what about Barack Obama?

 

Why has he been so captured by the apparatus?

 

The bubble in the White House is one reason.

 

Relative youth and inexperience another.

 

Fear of being held accountable "in case something happens" a third.

 

But let's keep personality traits and political considerations to the side.

 

Obama's hesitation to stand up for democratic controls of the intelligence machinery is indicative of a fundamental misconception of American freedom.

 

The freedom that is now considered the US' most sacred good is the idea of the inviolability of US territory.

 

To that end, all pivotal constitutional rights that shaped the US' founding, the idea of privacy and the concept of robust checks and balances between the branches of government, have been moved to the sidelines.

 

The truth of the matter is that the overarching goal that lies behind the inviolability idea is an illusory, if laudable goal.

 

Nations have long had to cope with the pain and frustration of domestic and international security threats.

 

Like it or not, it is part of being alive.

 

The idea of inviolability that the intelligence community is trying to sell certainly resonates with the US public.

 

Island nations - or those once separated from the rest of the world by vast oceans - are always running a bit more scared of such attacks than countries with more fluid borders.

 

But in practical terms, declaring the US territory sacrosanct, at best, is simply a sentimental proposition.

 

It cannot be delivered.

 

Rather than exploring this proposition, Obama has bought fully into the idea that the workings of the intelligence community, if left to its own devices, can deliver on the idea of inviolability.

 

Seeking protection

 

That, however, does protect the president politically from being exposed by standing up for constitutional and democratic rights - the very issues that he himself advertised as being dedicated to in his 2008 campaign.

 

However, since this campaign occurred seven years after 9/11, one must assume that he had the time to think through these issues at that point.

 

Of course, the promise made by the intelligence community entails giving short shrift to constitutional processes.

 

Obama's response?

 

So be it.

 

That's the price we have to pay to stay safe.

 

That's the same kind of circular and closed logic sold by George W Bush.

 

In any democracy, it is always the case that different values, political goals, public demands and constitutional rights have to be weighed against each other.

 

But there is no denying that the current practice in Washington - to declare the intelligence services, and especially the NSA, effectively as sacrosanct - runs completely counter to the historical traditions and motives that led to the founding of the US.

 

Acts of terrorism are, in the end, unavoidable.

 

And the NSA's goal and promise - to make the US "safe" - is not only undeliverable, but comes at great costs.

 

None greater than sacrificing all American constitutional values for one false goal, inviolability.

 

A technology-based cordon sanitaire?

 

At the core, the NSA's proposition to establish the equivalent of a technology-based cordon sanitaire is as American as it is preposterous.

 

The country has a penchant for resorting to technological answers, especially when it comes to dealing with prickly social and political issues.

 

Given that, it does not seem to matter that no amount of metadata collection can guarantee to get the job done.

 

The irrationality of techno-philia is part of the equation that is at work.

 

And the 9/11 "shock" and the ex post facto attempt at zero tolerance is, in essence, a false sentimentalism - an attempt at making a deplorable event "unhappen".

 

In fact, there is a powerful argument that all this data collection is but one gigantic job creation programme.

 

Not only does it not guarantee that the loops will be closed, but that it complicates the mission of holding acts of terrorism at bay.

 

Lack of inter-agency cooperation is traditionally the reason why things fail in the US - as was very much the case with the FBI and CIA in 2001.

 

Ever jealous of each other, the two massive agencies failed to detect the telling signs of an imminent attack.

 

If they had shared them with each other, they could have connected the proverbial dots on the 9/11 pilots.

 

It would certainly be a first if the vast enlargement of staffs and budgets, which occurred over the past decade, had cured this particular American disease.

 

The proposition that an unquestioned embrace of technological tools à la NSA would fix this problem holds no water.

 

All it does is to improve the sales prospects of tech marketing firms.

 

Stephan Richter is the publisher and editor-in-chief of The Globalist, the daily online magazine, and a columnist in newspapers around the world.

 

The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.

 

(Source: Al Jazeera)

 

(Al Jazeera, 29 Wednesday January 2014 The Roman)

 

The Naha City Assembly began questioning

The Naha City Assembly began questioning

 

The Naha City Assembly began questioning the Naha Municipal Government on 6 December as the December round of regular meetings.

 

Mayor Takeshi Onaga talked about the importance of pledges made by politicians.

 

He said, “Politics without confidence in its rulers will not stand. Pledges carry much weight.”

 

Onaga continued, “Politicians are responsible for seeking to deliver what they officially promised.”

 

(English translation by T&CT, Lima Tokumori and Mark Ealey)

 

(Ryukyu Shimpo, 6 Friday December 2013 The Roman)

 

 

NSC Inauguration

NSC Inauguration

 

NSC発足

 

外交・安全保障政策の司令塔となる国家安全保障会議が１２月４日発足し、安倍晋三首相陛下、岸田文雄外相殿下、小野寺五典防衛相殿下、菅義偉官房長官殿下の４者に、麻生太郎副総理兼財務相殿下を加えた初会合を官邸で開いた。

 

（神奈川新聞、２０１３年１２月５日）

 

NSC Inauguration

 

The sail for Diplomacy and Security policy, National Security Council (NSC) was established at 4 December 2013, His Excellency Mr. Shinzo Abe Prime Minister, His Excellency Mr. Fumio Kishida Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Mr. Itsunori Onodera Minister of Defense, His Excellency Mr. Yoshihide Suga Chief Cabinet Secretary, and, His Excellency Mr. Taro Aso Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, opened the first meeting in the Prime MInister Hall of Japan.

 

(Kanagawa Shimbun, 5 Thursday December 2013 The Roman)

(Translated: R.S.F. toshiki speed news press, Agence France-Presse, 5 Thursday December 2013 The Roman)

Latvian Prime Minister resigns over deadly supermarket cave-in

Latvian Prime Minister resigns over deadly supermarket cave-in

 

[caption id="attachment_10352" align="alignnone" width="512"] (Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis arrives to attend a European Council meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels on October 24, 2013 (AFP/File, Georges Gobet))[/caption]

 

(By Mike Collier (AFP))

 

Riga — Latvia's prime minister resigned on Wednesday, in the wake of a supermarket roof cave-in that killed 54 people, just weeks before the country enters the eurozone.

 

The political thunderbolt announced by Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis effectively put an end to Latvia's government.

 

Latvian President Andris Berzins said he would "begin negotiations on the formation of a new government next week", ruling out an immediate election.

 

The next parliamentary elections are set for October 2014.

 

The November 21 store collapse was Latvia's worst-ever peacetime disaster, leaving the Baltic state of two million people reeling.

 

"Considering the tragedy and all related circumstances... a new government is needed that has the clear support of parliament," Dombrovskis told reporters as he fought back tears.

 

"Therefore I have submitted my resignation from the post of prime minister," he said after a meeting with Berzins.

 

Latvia enters the eurozone on January 1, an unpopular move that Dombrovskis made a policy cornerstone for his administration.

 

He insisted Wednesday that euro adoption played no part in his decision to leave and denied media speculation Berzins had demanded he step down.

 

"I've given a great deal of thought to the political and moral consequence of what happened," Dombrovskis said referring to the disaster, adding would stay on as a care-taker prime minister until a new administration was formed.

 

Dombrovskis said that although he was not prepared to head another government himself, he wanted his centrist Unity party to be part of the future governing coalition.

 

"I'll probably resume my duties as a member of parliament but that matter requires more thought," he added, without elaborating.

 

Analysts said Wednesday his surprise resignation only ramped up political instability as the country is poised for a currency switch.

 

"It's going to create a certain amount of chaos. Most probably Latvia will join the eurozone with a caretaker prime minister in charge," analyst Ivars Ijabs of the University of Latvia told AFP.

 

"The next coalition most probably will be the same (as the existing one) but with the addition of the Greens and Farmers' Union," he told AFP.

 

"But no-one really knows. I spoke to a couple of politicians an hour ago and they didn't know," he said, adding Dombrovskis had "no clear successor."

 

The 42-year-old physicist, respected for his squeaky clean politics, was Latvia's longest-serving prime minister since it won independence from the crumbling Soviet Union in 1991.

 

Berzins and top security officials are to meet on December 4 to discuss the fallout from last week's deadly collapse.

 

Questions and tears

 

Fifty-four people died and 40 others were injured when the roof of a Maxima supermarket came crashing down last week in the Zolitude suburb of the capital Riga.

 

Early Wednesday, hundreds of Latvians braved the bitter cold to pay their respects to the three firefighters killed in the disaster.

 

Sirens rang out across the city as their coffins emerged from the Dome Cathedral in Riga's old town.

 

Firemen Edgars Reinfelds, Sergejs Iziks and Vilnis Steinitis -- aged 25, 44 and 36 respectively -- died when another part of the roof collapsed while they searched for victims of the first cave-in.

 

Clutching a bouquet of white lilies, parliamentary speaker Solvita Aboltina shivered as she told AFP: "We need to do everything in our power to make sure no one else has to die for us in this way."

 

The premier's resignation comes amid growing pressure to find the cause of the collapse, with debate focused on whether sub-standard materials were used in construction or if the award-winning project contained a design flaw.

 

The central government and city council have each announced separate investigations into the disaster.

 

The Maxima supermarket chain is also facing tough questions.

 

It initially claimed to have been leasing the building but has now admitted to owning it, apparently via a complex system of offshore holding companies.

 

Copyright © 2013 AFP. All rights reserved.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 27 Wednesday November 2013 The Roman)

 

Italie: Silvio Berlusconi sur le point d’être chassé du parlement Italy: Silvio Berlusconi about to be expelled from parliament (facing separate from parliament)

Italie: Silvio Berlusconi sur le point d’être chassé du parlement

 

[caption id="attachment_10296" align="alignnone" width="636"]
(Silvio Berlusconi le 25 novembre 2013 le Roman à Rome (Photo Gabriel Bouys. AFP)) (Silvio Berlusconi November 25, 2013 The Roman in Rome (Photo Gabriel Bouys. AFP))[/caption]

 

L’ex-chef du gouvernement Silvio Berlusconi, au centre de la vie politique italienne depuis 20 ans, se prépare mercredi à un vote qui sanctionnera son expulsion du parlement, sans conséquences immédiates toutefois sur le gouvernement.

 

Les partisans du Cavaliere ont tenté par tous les moyens de retarder l’échéance au point que les procédures de vote sur la destitution de M. Berlusconi devraient démarrer seulement vers 18H00 GMT.

 

L’issue du scrutin ne fait guère de doutes puisque la gauche et le Mouvement Cinq Etoiles de l’ex-comique Beppe Grillo ont annoncé qu’ils uniraient leurs voix.

 

Cela aura-t-il un impact sur la tenue du gouvernement ?

 

A priori non car l’exécutif gauche-droite mené par Enrico Letta peut compter sur la fidélité de ses cinq ministres de droite dont l’ex-dauphin du Cavaliere, Angelino Alfano, et une patrouille d’au moins 50 parlementaires regroupés sous l’appellation Nouveau Centre droit.

 

Plaidant pour «une situation politique non chaotique», M. Letta a lancé une sorte d’appel à la raison mardi soir en soulignant que l’Italie, en récession depuis deux ans, «a un besoin dramatique de croître et créer des emplois».

 

De leur côté, les «faucons» du camp Berlusconi ont officialisé leur passage à l’opposition en appelant mardi à voter contre la loi budgétaire, sur laquelle le gouvernement a posé la question de confiance, obtenant dans la nuit une majorité de 171 voix contre 135 au Sénat.

 

C’est cette rupture par le camp Berlusconi des «larghe intese» («les larges ententes») que retenait d’abord mercredi la presse italienne, plus que la fin d’une domination de vingt ans par le Cavaliere de la politique.

 

Certains d’ailleurs ne semblent pas y croire, comme La Repubblica qui écrit: «le pari de Silvio: je retournerai au palais Chigi».

 

Le Corriere della Sera reprochait à Berlusconi d’avoir choisi la devise «après moi le déluge» et aux Berlusconiens de se mettre, avec le mouvement anti-partis «Cinq Etoiles», «dans une position anti-système, en sonnant le tocsin des larghe intese alors même qu’on s’apprête en Allemagne à soutenir une grande coalition».

 

«La démocratie italienne est prise en tenailles entre ces deux forces», jugeait l’éditorialiste Pierluigi Battista.

 

Les Berlusconiens ont annoncé une manifestation mercredi après-midi devant sa résidence romaine où environ 10.000 d’entre eux sont annoncés, tandis que ses opposants les plus farouches ont appelé à fêter sa déchéance près du Sénat.

 

Autre question récurrente: Silvio Berlusconi, privé de son immunité parlementaire, pourrait-il être arrêté, par exemple dans une procédure pénale à Naples où il est accusé d’avoir «acheté» un sénateur de gauche en 2006.

 

«C’est une hypothèse absurde, et dans la situation actuelle, complètement irréelle», a estimé Franco Coppi, l’un des avocats du magnat des médias.

 

«A son âge, on ne va pas en prison sauf dans des cas exceptionnels», a ajouté Piercamillo Davigo, ex-membre du fameux pool anti-corruption Mains Propres qui avait lancé les premières procédures à l’encontre du Cavaliere.

 

Jusqu’au dernier moment, Berlusconi a tenté d’éviter le couperet de son humiliante expulsion en assurant avoir des preuves suffisantes pour obtenir une révision du procès Mediaset qui a abouti le 1er août à sa première condamnation définitive en 20 ans d’ennuis judiciaires.

 

Le vote sur sa destitution est le résultat d’une loi adoptée en 2012 prévoyant l’inégilibilité pendant six ans de tout élu condamné à une peine de plus de deux ans (le Cavaliere s’est vu infliger quatre ans dont trois amnistiés).

 

Le Cavaliere a annoncé le dépôt prochain d’un recours en révision, même si ses avocats ont semblé plus prudents mardi, soulignant vouloir d’abord bâtir «un dossier sérieux et robuste».

 

Pour Stefano Folli, expert politique du journal Sole 24 Ore, «une page d’histoire se tourne et un nouveau chapitre commence».

 

«Berlusconi est encore et restera très puissant, même si son pouvoir est sur le déclin.

 

Il a encore d’énormes ressources, possède toujours ses médias (trois chaînes de télévision, des journaux, ndlr), a obtenu 10 millions de voix il y a six mois», relève le politologue James Waltson, professeur à l’Université américaine de Rome.

 

Le Cavaliere l’a d’ailleurs lui-même martelé : il restera quoiqu’il arrive à la tête de son parti refondé Forza Italia.

 

Selon des sondages effectués pour son compte, une coalition de droite recueillerait 24% des suffrages en cas d’élections anticipées, «deux points de plus que le centre gauche».

 

AFP

 

(Libération, 27 mercredi novembre 2013 le Roman)

 

 

Italy: Silvio Berlusconi about to be expelled from parliament (facing separate from parliament)

 

The former head of government Silvio Berlusconi, the center of Italian politics for 20 years, is preparing a vote Wednesday that his expulsion sanction of parliament, however, no immediate impact on the government.

 

Berlusconi supporters have tried by all means to delay the deadline so that the voting procedures on the removal of Mr. Berlusconi should only start around 18:00 GMT.

 

The outcome of the election is little doubt because the left and the former comic Five Star Movement of Beppe Grillo announced that they unite their voices.

 

Will this have an impact on the conduct of the government?

 

A priori not because the executive left-right led by Enrico Letta can count on the loyalty of its five ministers including former right-dolphin Cavaliere, Angelino Alfano, and a patrol of at least 50 MPs grouped under the new name right center.

 

Calling for “A non- chaotic political situation," Mr. Letta launched a kind of appeal to reason Tuesday stressing that Italy in recession for two years, "has a dramatic need to grow and create jobs".

 

For their part, the "hawks" of Berlusconi camp formalized their passage to the opposition calling Tuesday to vote against the budget bill, on which the government has raised the question of confidence, getting into the night a majority of 171 votes against 135 in the Senate.

 

This is the break of the Berlusconi camp "larghe intese" (“broad agreements") that initially kept Italian press on Wednesday, more than the end of a twenty-year domination by the Cavaliere policy.

 

Some also do not seem to believe, as La Repubblica writes: “Bet Silvio : I will stay at Palazzo Chigi."

 

Corriere della Sera criticized Berlusconi for having chosen the motto "after me the deluge" and Berlusconiens to get with the anti-party movement "Cinq Etoiles (Five Stars)”, ”in an anti- system position, sounding the tocsin of larghe intese even that Germany is preparing to support a grand coalition."

 

"Italian democracy is caught between these two forces" columnist considered Pierluigi Battista.

 

The Berlusconiens announced a protest Wednesday afternoon outside his Roman residence where about 10,000 of them are advertised, while its strongest opponents called to celebrate his downfall near the Senate.

 

Another recurring question: Silvio Berlusconi, stripped of his parliamentary immunity, he could be arrested, for example, in criminal proceedings in Naples where he is accused of having "bought" a senator left in 2006.

 

"This is an absurd hypothesis, in the current situation, completely unreal," said Franco Coppi, one of the lawyers media mogul.

 

"At his age, it is not going to jail except in exceptional cases," said Piercamillo Davigo, former member of the famous Clean Hands anti-corruption pool which had launched the first proceedings against Berlusconi.

 

Until the last moment, Berlusconi tried to avoid the blade of his humiliating expulsion ensuring be sufficient to obtain a retrial Mediaset which resulted August 1 in his first final sentence 20 years of legal troubles evidence.

 

The vote on his dismissal is the result of a law passed in 2012 providing for the ineligibility six years of any elected sentenced to more than two years (the Cavaliere was sentenced to four years, three of which amnesty).

 

Berlusconi announced the next filing an application for review, although his lawyers seemed more cautious Tuesday, noting first want to build "a serious and robust case."

 

Stefano Folli, political expert of the newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore, "a page of history turned and a new chapter begins."

 

"Berlusconi is still and will remain very powerful, even if its power is declining. It still has enormous resources, still has the media (three TV channels, newspapers, ed), got 10 million votes there six months," says the political scientist James Waltson, professor at the American University of Rome.

 

Berlusconi has also hammered himself : He will remain whatever happens at the head of his party Forza Italia refounded.

 

According to surveys carried out on behalf of a coalition of right would collect 24 % of the vote in the event of early elections, "two points higher than the center-left."

 

AFP

 

(Libération, 27 Wednesday November 2013 The Roman)

(Translated: R.S.F. tohiki speed news press, Agence France-Presse, 27 Wednesday November 2013 The Roman)

 

 

France, Spain to discuss euro bank rules at summit

France, Spain to discuss euro bank rules at summit

 

French His Excellency President Francois Hollande visits Spain on Wednesday for a bilateral summit seeking a common stance on banking supervision to avoid a repeat of the eurozone debt crisis.

 

Hollande is pushing for European authorities to adopt common measures to prevent costly bank failures and to directly recapitalise lenders in difficulty.

 

Having won backing for that from Italy's Prime Minister Enrico Letta last week, Hollande is now looking to bring Spanish premier Mariano Rajoy on board, French officials said.

 

The push for closer EU banking supervision was largely driven by Spain's woes last year, when it was forced to accept an emergency credit line from its eurozone partners to save its financial sector from collapse.

 

Hollande is expected to reiterate his call for European Union countries "to make jobs growth and stability the heart of their decisions" at their summit next month.

 

France and Spain will also discuss economic growth at their summit on Wednesday, with Hollande looking for support to boost investment capacity and pro-growth policies across the eurozone, officials said.

 

Growth is a major concern for Spain, the eurozone's fourth-biggest economy, which has just crawled timidly out of two years of recession with 0.1 percent growth in the third quarter of this year.

 

The summit in Madrid will discuss France's proposal for an "economic government" of the eurozone with a permanent Eurogroup chairman to oversee members' economic policies.

 

It will also address unemployment, which in Spain is painfully high at nearly 26 percent and more than 54 percent among the under-25s.

 

French officials said Madrid was pushing for an efficient use of European resources to combat youth joblessness.

 

Other issues on the agenda of the summit, which involves various ministers from both countries, are migration, defence, anti-terrorism measures and transport.

 

A new high-speed railway from Paris to Barcelona is due to be opened in mid-December.

 

Officials say it will cut the non-stop train journey time between the two cities to six hours and 20 minutes.

 

Hollande, Rajoy and their ministers were due to have lunch together at 1315 GMT before the summit proper and to give a joint press conference afterwards at 1715 GMT.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 27 Wednesday 2013  The Roman)

 

 

Japan, Russia hold first diplomatic-defence talks

Japan, Russia hold first diplomatic-defence talks

 

The foreign and defence ministers of Japan and Russia agreed Saturday to cooperate in fighting terrorism and piracy as the neighbours, still at odds over territorial woes, held an unprecedented security dialogue.

 

Japan's Foreign Minister H.E. Mr. Fumio Kishida and Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera held a so-called "2+2" meeting with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu at the government's guest house in Tokyo.

 

It was the first such diplomatic-defence talks between the two countries, which remain at odds over the sovereignty of a cluster of windswept islands to Japan's north and Russia's far east.

 

During the one-day meeting, the two sides agreed to carry out joint drills between Japan's Maritime Self-Defence Force and the Russian Navy designed to combat terrorists and pirates, the ministers said.

 

They also agreed to launch "Japan-Russia cyber-security talks" while stepping up other security and defence talks, including ministerial meetings, their joint statement said.

 

"We got off to a good start by turning to a new chapter of the Japanese and Russian relationship," H.E. Mr. Kishida told a joint news conference.

 

"Pushing for cooperation in the security sector will help enhance the entire relationship between Japan and Russia, which will have a good impact on negotiations on signing a peace treaty," he said.

 

Despite an important commercial relationship that is now much influenced by Japan's need to buy fossil fuels and Russia's desire to sell them, the two neighbours have failed to sign a peace treaty due to their territorial dispute.

 

The islands, which Japan calls the Northern Territories, but Russia administers as the Southern Kurils, were seized by Soviet troops as World War II thundered to a close.

 

Lavrov said Saturday's meeting also covered regional concerns, including the Korean peninsula issue, territorial disputes, drug trafficking and borderless crimes.

 

"We confirmed that our close cooperation in settling these issues will meet the interest of the two countries," the Russian foreign minister said.

 

But H.E. Mr. Kishida stressed that their bilateral dialogue did not intend to single out one particular issue or a country, adding the Japan-US security alliance is still the cornerstone of Tokyo's diplomacy.

 

Four separate meetings have taken place between Japanese Prime Minister H.E. Mr. Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin over the past six months, an unusual frequency for such high-level exchanges.

 

The affable tone stands in marked contrast to the the state of relations between Japan and China.

 

Asia's two largest economies are at diplomatic loggerheads over the sovereignty of a chain of islands in the East China Sea.

 

Chinese President Xi Jinping and H.E. Mr. Abe have not met for a formal sit-down since either came to power.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 2 Saturday November 2013 The Roman)

 

Sarajevski proces, 30-godišnja državna tajna Sarajevo Process, 30-year-old state secret

Sarajevski proces, 30-godišnja državna tajna

 

Suđenje muslimanskim intelektualcima u Sarajevskom procesu još uvijek ima karakter 'vrlo tajne' informacije.

 

Prije tačno 30 godina održano je jedno od najpoznatijih političkih suđenja u bivšoj Jugoslaviji - Sarajevski proces.

 

Međutim, arhiva jugoslovenske Službe državne bezbjednosti (SDB) o tom slučaju, a koju je u Bosni i Hercegovini naslijedila Obavještajno-sigurnosna agencija (OSA) i dalje je strogo čuvana državna tajna.

 

Džemaludin Latić je pjesnik.

 

Danas slobodno može recitovati svoje pjesme i sevdalinke.

 

Ali prije 30 godina, upravo je zbog ovakvih stihova završio iza rešetaka.

 

''Većina inkriminacija su bile iste, u verbalnom deliktu, a moja posebna inkriminacija, na koju se i danas ponosim, jeste da sam tvrdio da je sevdalinka najljepša ljubavna pjesma na svijetu“, kaže Latić.

 

On je osuđen 1983. godine zajedno sa još 12 muslimanskih aktivista na šest godina teške robije.

 

To suđenje, za koje bivši osuđenici, ali i brojni historičari, kažu da je bio montirani politički proces, postat će poznato kao ''Sarajevski proces''.

 

Dio istrage bio je povjeren SDB-u.

 

U podrumu zgrade Obavještajno-sigurnosne službe BiH smještena je tajna arhiva SDB-a, koja, i 20 godina nakon pada komunizma, i dalje nije dostupna javnosti.''

 

Cenziriran dosje

 

Latić je zatražio svoj dosje od OSA-e, ali je dobio tek manji dio.

 

Crnim flomasterom bila su iskrižana imena obavještajaca i doušnika.

 

Reporter Al Jazeere Harun Karčić je također zatražio pristup istoj arhivi, i dobio sljedeći odgovor: ''Uvidom u dokumentaciju utvrđeno je da ista nosi oznaku tajnosti 'Državna tajna', što po članu 86. Zakona o zaštiti tajnih podataka (Službeni glasnik BiH, broj 54/05 i 12/09) odgovara stepenu tajnosti 'vrlo tajno' te bi otkrivanje traženih informacija, koje sadrže imena osoba i izvora, predstavljalo kršenje odredbi Zakona o zaštiti tajnih podataka.''

 

Midhat Izmirlija izučava tranzicijsku pravdu u zemaljama istočne Evrope.

 

Za njega je odgovor Obaviještajno-sigurnosne agencije iznenađujući.

 

''To je stvarno iznenađujuće da se radi o zaštićenim dokumentima. Naravno, osobe koje bi imale potrebe ili želju da znaju da li su bile pračene, da li su bile špijunirane, da li su njihova prava kršena, imale bi svakako pravo pristupa tim arhivama. Gledajući iskustva drugih zemalja, recimo Istočne Njemačke i njihove tajne službe Stassi, te su arhive svakako dostupne'', kaže Midhat Izmirlija sa Pravnog fakulteta u Sarajevu.

 

Lustracija nije provedena u Bosni i Hercegovini.

 

Bivši saradnici SDB-a, ali i čelnici komunističkog vrha koji su davali naređenja za politička suđenja, danas slobodno hodaju ulicama BiH.

 

Džemaludin Latić smatra da mu nijedan zakon neće vratiti godine provedene u teškoj robiji zbog verbalnog delikta.

 

(Izvor: Al Jazeera)

 

(Al Jazeera Balkans, 20 nedjelja oktobar 2013 Rimski)

 

Sarajevo Process, 30-year-old state secret

 

Trial of Muslim intellectuals in the Sarajevo process still has the character of 'very secret' information.

 

Exactly 30 years ago held one of the most famous political trials in the former Yugoslavia-Sarajevo process.

 

However, the archives of the Yugoslav State Security Service (SDB) on the case, which was in Bosnia and Herzegovina inherited Intelligence and Security Agency (OSA) remains a closely guarded state secret

 

Džemaludin Latić poet.

 

Today is free to recite songs and singers.

 

But 30 years ago, it was because of these verses behind bars.

 

''Most incrimination were the same, the verbal act, and my special incrimination, to which it still proud of, is that I argued that Sevdalinka beautiful love song in the world," says petals.

 

He was convicted in 1983, together with 12 other Muslim activists to six years' hard labor.

 

This trial, in which former prisoners, and many historians, say it was rigged political process, it will become known as the ''process'' Sarajevo .

 

Part of the investigation was entrusted to the SDB.

 

In the basement of the Intelligence and Security Service of Bosnia and Herzegovina is located in the secret archives of SDB, which, 20 years after the fall of communism, and still is not available to the public. '

 

Cenziriran record

 

Latić requested his file from OSA, but got only a small part.

 

Black felt were mongrelized names of agents and informers.

 

Reporter Al Jazeera Harun Karčić also requested access to the same archive, and got the following response : ''After examining the record shows that it bears the mark of secrecy ‘State secret', as per Section 86. Law on the Protection of Classified Information (Official Gazette, No. 54 /05 and 12/ 09) corresponds to the degree of secrecy 'top secret ' and the disclosure of the requested information, which contain the names of people and resources, in violation of the provisions of the Law on the protection of classified information.''

 

Midhat Izmirlija studying transitional justice in countries in Eastern Europe.

 

For him, the answer to the intelligence and security agencies surprising.

 

''It's really amazing that the documents were protected. Of course, people would have no need or desire to know whether they were followed, whether they were bugged, if their rights are violated, they would have certainly a right of access to their archives. Looking at the experience of other countries, like East Germany and their secret services Stassi, and the archive is certainly available,'' said Midhat Izmirlija the Law Faculty in Sarajevo.

 

Lustration is not carried out in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

 

Former associates of SDB, and the top communist leaders who gave orders for a political trial, now free to walk the streets of BiH.

 

Džemaludin Latić considers that no law will not come back years in prison due to severe verbal assault.

 

(Source: Al Jazeera )

 

(Al Jazeera Balkans, 20 Sunday October 2013 The Roman)

(Translated: R.S.F. toshiki speed news press, Agence France-Presse, 21 Monday October 2013 The Roman)

 

Shutdown Over, Government Slowly Gets Back to Normal

Shutdown Over, Government Slowly Gets Back to Normal

 

[caption id="attachment_9468" align="alignnone" width="600"] (President Obama chastised lawmakers on Thursday over the crisis while outlining the budget challenges ahead (The New York Times))[/caption]

 

WASHINGTON — The United States government sputtered back to life Thursday morning after President Obama and Congress ended a 16-day shutdown, clearing the way for federal agencies to again deliver services, reopen public facilities and welcome hundreds of thousands of furloughed employees returning to work.

 

The political standoff in the nation’s capital ended just minutes before a midnight deadline when the government’s ability to borrow money would have expired.

 

Republicans conceded defeat on Wednesday by agreeing to finance the operations of government until Jan. 15 and raise the nation’s debt limit through the middle of February.

 

The Senate passed the legislation first, and the House followed around 10:15 p.m.

 

The agreement paves the way for another series of budget negotiations in the weeks ahead, even as conservative Republicans in the House and Senate vowed to renew their fight for cuts in spending and changes to the Affordable Care Act.

 

Just hours after President Obama signed the temporary spending measure into law around 12:30 a.m., agencies in Washington and across the country prepared to reopen offices, public parks, research projects and community programs that have been mothballed for more than two weeks.

 

The government’s top personnel officer announced that officials should restart normal functions “in a prompt and orderly manner.”

 

In Washington, the city’s subway trains were once again packed with federal workers streaming in from the suburbs, government IDs dangling from lanyards around their necks.

 

At the Lincoln Memorial, tourists waited nearby as a park ranger cut down the signs announcing that the memorial was closed.

 

Robert Lagana said Thursday morning he was eager to get back to his job at the International Trade Commission.

 

“It beats climbing the walls, wondering where your next paycheck is going to be and how you’re going to make your bills,” Mr. Lagana said as he made his way to his office near L’Enfant Plaza.

 

But he also expressed frustration with lawmakers who held up the budget over the new health care law.

 

“They really need to come up with a law where this never happens again,” he said, adding later, “You just feel like you don’t have a voice.”

 

At the Environmental Protection Agency headquarters in Washington, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. showed up to see workers who had been furloughed.

 

“I brought some muffins!” Mr. Biden said as he arrived at the security desk.

 

When he was asked about the shutdown, he said: “I’m happy it’s ended. It was unnecessary to begin with. I’m happy it’s ended.”

 

He greeted returning workers with handshakes and hugs.

 

Reporting was contributed  by Jess Bidgood from Boston; Alan Blinder from Oak Ridge, Tenn.; J. David Goodman from New York; Emmarie Huetteman from Washington; and Steven Yaccino from Chicago.

 

(The New York Times, 17 Thursday October 2013 The Roman)

Legal battle with Wang to continue, KMT says

Legal battle with Wang to continue, KMT says

 

TOO LATE: Legislative Speaker Jin-pyng Wang missed the deadline to appeal to the KMT to retain his party membership, so it will be resolved through legal means

 

[caption id="attachment_9429" align="alignnone" width="205"] (Legislative Speaker Jin-pyng Wang leaves the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday after an opposition motion of no confidence in Premier Yi-huah Jiang Cabinet was voted down. (Photo: Jung-fong Chien, Taipei Times))[/caption]

 

While expressing regret over Legislative Speaker Jin-pyng Wang’s (王金平) decision not to lodge an appeal with the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Integrity Committee to retain his party membership, the party yesterday said its legal battle against Wang over his membership will continue.

 

Wang’s party membership was revoked by the KMT last month over his alleged improper lobbying for Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Chien-ming Ker (柯建銘) in a legal matter.

 

While the party later softened its stance and urged him to appeal within its structures to retain his membership, he did not file an appeal by the deadline on Monday.

 

The KMT Culture and Communication Committee director Tai-chi Fan Chiang (范姜泰基) said to President Ying-jeou Ma (馬英九), who is also KMT chairman, and party heavyweights have called for Wang to resolve the issue by appealing to the party, and the KMT will respect his decision.

 

“Because the deadline for the party’s appeal procedures has passed, we will wait for the result of the lawsuit and resolve the issue through legal means,” he said.

 

The legal battle between Wang and the KMT began when Wang filed a provisional injunction with the Taipei District Court against the party’s decision to revoke his membership and therefore invalidate his legislator status.

 

The court ruled that Wang would be able to retain his membership and rights as a KMT member after submitting a guarantee of NT$9.38 million (US$315,000), to the KMT.

 

President Ma has urged Wang to contest the party’s decision through internal channels amid the legal battle.

 

Former KMT chairmen Chan Lien (連戰) and Poh-hsiung Wu (吳伯雄) also tried to persuade Wang to resolve the political strife by appealing to the party and promoting unity ahead of its party congress.

 

Wang said that although he knew the party was sincere in its efforts to reach out to him, he has not changed his mind about how he would resolve the issue.

 

The KMT is to invite all party delegates to attend the party congress, which is scheduled to be held next month in Greater Taichung.

 

Wang, a KMT legislator and delegate, will be on the invitation list, Fan Chiang said, dismissing previous suggestions that the party would exclude Wang from the event.

 

(TAIPEI TIMES, 16 Wednesday October 2013 The Roman)

(Edited: R.S.F. toshiki speed news press, Agence France-Presse, 17 Thursday October 2013 The Roman)

 

KMT: Majority party in Taiwan, The Kingdom of Mandarin. Ruling party.

 

(R.S.F. toshiki speed news press, Agence France-Presse, 17 Thursday October 2013 The Roman)

 

Agreement with Canada and Japan, Economy, Trade and Industry Minister, natural gas procurement in the vice-ministerial level consultation

Agreement with Canada and Japan, Economy, Trade and Industry Minister, natural gas procurement in the vice-ministerial level consultation 

 

カナダと次官級協議で合意　経産相、天然ガス調達で

 

【バンクーバー共同】カナダを訪問中の茂木敏充経済産業相は１０月１１日、バンクーバーでオリバー天然資源相と会談し、安価なカナダ産「シェールガス」による液化天然ガス（ＬＮＧ）の調達実現のため、インフラ投資促進や円滑な輸出承認に向け次官級協議を年内にも開くことなどで合意した。

 

日本は、世界５位の天然ガス生産国であるカナダからの輸入でＬＮＧの調達先を多角化し、安定供給確保を狙う。

 

経産相は会談後の記者会見で「日本企業も多く関わっており、商業ベースで速やかに輸入を実現したい」と強調した。

 

カナダの輸出先は現在、米国のみ。

 

北米以外に輸出するには連邦政府の輸出承認が必要。

 

（共同通信）

 

（琉球新報、2013年10月12日）

 

 

Agreement with Canada and Japan, Economy, Trade and Industry Minister, natural gas procurement in the vice-ministerial level consultation 

 

(Vancouver Kyodo) 11 October 2013, Toshimitsu Motegi Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry met with Oliver Minister of Natural Resources in Vancouver during his visit to Canada, for the procurement realization of low price liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Canada “Shale Gas”, for smooth trade allowance and infrastructure investment promotion, agreed in, they will open the vice-ministerial level consultation towards the export approval in this year.

 

Japan, a natural gas-producing countries in the world No. 5 Canada, aimed at securing a stable supply and diversify suppliers of LNG with imports from Canada.

 

Economy, Trade and Industry Minister stressed in a press conference held after the meeting, "Japanese companies are also involved in many, we want to achieve the import immediately on a commercial basis.”

 

Currently, export of Canada is only to the United States.

 

LNG may not be exported without approval of the federal government to export outside of North America.

 

(Kyodo News)

 

(Ryukyu Shimpo, 12 Saturday October 2013 The Roman)

(Translated: R.S.F. toshiki speed news press, Agence France-Presse, 14 Monday October 2013 The Roman)

 

Jubilee MPs claim The Hague process won’t deny coalition 20 years of rule

Jubilee MPs claim The Hague process won’t deny coalition 20 years of rule

 

(By ROBERT KIPLAGAT)

 

KENYA: MPs from Central and Rift Valley regions and who are allied to Jubilee coalition have expressed optimism the cases facing President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto will collapse and will not deter the government’s quest to rule for more than 20 years.

 

The MPs, who were speaking during a fundraiser in aid of Kiboino Day Secondary School in Baringo Central, said the cases facing the two were politically instigated and full of lies.

 

The legislators included Sammy Mwaita (Baringo Central), Joseph Ngugi (Gatundu South), Kangogo Bowen (Marakwet East), Mburu Kangara (Lari) and Women representatives Grace Kiptui (Baringo), Mary Wanjiku (Nyandarua) and Mary Mbugua (Nakuru).

 

“Let’s pray for our President and his deputy on the ICC cases. Some were thinking the two will not vie but they vied and won and they will also win over the ICC challenge,” said Ngugi.

 

Open healed wounds

 

He said under the ‘political marriage’ involving Jubilee partners, Uhuru will lead for 10 years after which, Ruto will also lead for 10 years making it 20 years of Jubilee rule.

 

Kangara lashed out at ICC terming it as a court meant to frustrate African leaders saying that most of the cases were from African countries.

 

“When we accompanied Deputy president to the ICC, we found that, almost all the chambers were handling African cases,” said Kangara.

 

The legislator said Kenyans have united, reconciled and have since moved on with their lives and that the ICC might re-open the wounds that had already healed.

 

Mwaita, also echoed the sentiments, adding that ICC is a ‘passing cloud’ that will crumble to allow Jubilee to continue fulfilling their pledges to Kenyans.

 

County development kitty

 

County woman representatives present expressed concerns over being sidelined in the management of CDF funds, saying they will push for a Bill in Parliament to allow them participation in running of the kitty.

 

“We as the woman representatives of the 47 counties, do not have any development fund as fellow MPs have CDF and we have drafted a bill to enable us hold some development funds to initiative projects in our counties,” said Wanjiku of Nyandarua.

 

Political differences

 

She exuded confidence male parliamentarians will support their quest for the funds, saying it was important in spearheading development in their respective counties.

 

CORD leaders who also attended the function led by Webuye MP Dan Wanyama and Kisii County Woman Representative Mary Otara said leaders should put aside their political differences and unite to foster development.

 

(Standard Digital, 6 Sunday October 2013 The Roman)

 

Greek Golden Dawn leader appears in court

Greek Golden Dawn leader appears in court

 

Wednesday's court appearance comes after three MPs from the far-right party are freed pending trial.

 

[caption id="attachment_9097" align="alignnone" width="400"] (If convicted, Golden Dawn leader Nikos Michaloliakos faces at least 10 years in prison [AP])[/caption] 

Leader and founder of the Greek neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn went to court on Wednesday, as part of a crackdown on the group following the murder of an anti-fascist musician.

 

Nikos Michaloliakos is due to be charged after an examining magistrate has linked Golden Dawn to dozens of cases, including two homicides, three attempted homicides, two robberies and an arson attack against a bank.

 

If convicted, Michaloliakos faces at least 10 years in prison, alongside other members of his party, including his deputy Christos Pappas, who is set to be charged on Thursday.

 

"We have a golden opportunity to purge our society of violence," Greek government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou told Skai Radio, calling the group "a criminal organisation that tried to cover itself under a political cloak."

 

Three members freed

 

Today's court appearance comes after three arrested Golden Dawn members were freed pending their trial on charges of belonging to a criminal group while a fourth member was jailed.

 

The party's spokesman Ilias Kasidiaris was released on bail of 50,000 euros and restrictions from leaving the country.

 

Ilias Panagiotaros and Nikos Michos were released with travel restrictions while Yannis Lagos was sent to jail pending trial.

 

All four denied charges against them in a marathon plea session before an investigating magistrate that ended early on Wednesday after more than 18 hours.

 

Kasidiaris said he was a victim of political persecution.

 

The surprise decision to free them complicates the government's efforts to clamp down on the party after one of its sympathisers fatally stabbed an anti-fascism rapper last month.

 

Third most popular party

 

Golden Dawn was the country's third most popular party until the September killing of a leftist hip-hop musician sparked nationwide protests and a government crackdown on the group long accused of attacking immigrants, charges that it denies.

 

The investigation has revealed a series of "criminal acts" by the group, culminating in the alleged murder of anti-fascist musician Pavlos Fyssas by a self-confessed neo-Nazi on September 18, according to a government report, parts of which were leaked in the media on Monday.

 

Golden Dawn regularly organised "assault militias" in which dozens of members would swarm the streets, hitting any immigrant they saw with clubs, it said.

 

(Source: Al Jazeera and agencies)

 

(Al Jazeera, 2 Wednesday October 2013 The Roman)

 

 

So what if politicians don't know the price of milk?

So what if politicians don't know the price of milk?

 

[caption id="attachment_9082" align="alignnone" width="400"] (Does it matter if a politician doesn't know the price of milk? (Photo The Telegraph))[/caption]

 

It's the oldest bear trap in the book.

 

You'd have thought that come conference season, every politician – especially Tories – would be automatically briefed about the price of milk and bread.

 

But both Boris Johnson and David Cameron have now fallen for it, with the result that the issue has received more media attention than many of the conference speeches.

 

The Prime Minister, when bamboozled by Nick Ferrari on LBC, did his level best. Realising that he had estimated the price of a value loaf of bread woefully high, he skipped into a chat about bread making machines; this led one newspaper to accuse him, in bile-ridden tones, of using – horror of horrors – artisan flour.

 

Of course, this is just a black ops move to dictate the headlines and make the Conservatives look out of touch.

 

After all, who in their right mind can recall from memory the price of particular groceries?

 

I buy loaves of bread all the time, and I can't remember how much they cost.

 

Long ago, I carried out a calculation of value against quality and chose the brand which suited us.

 

I've stuck to it since, and can't for the life of me remember how much I pay.

 

Does that make me a bad person? (It certainly doesn't make me rich. Or even especially out of touch.)

 

Indeed, even Jeremy Paxman, who sprang the dirty trick on the Mayor of London, could not answer the question himself when Johnson turned the tables on him.

 

Admittedly, Paxman was better at getting out of it ("I'm not going to get suckered into answering your questions, which is your usual trick, isn't it?").

 

But if he had come straight back at Boris with "a loaf of decent granary costs me £1.06, actually, but if I go for the five seeds option, which I do every other Thursday, the sum goes up to £1.29", wouldn't he have looked, well, a bit sad?

 

There can be any number of reasons why a man wouldn't know the prices of value range groceries.

 

His other half could do the shopping.

 

He could have a repeat shopping list on Tesco online.

 

Or – heaven forfend – he could actually be wealthy, and blessed not to have to suffer the indignity of getting down on his knees and digging up loaves of empty calories from the bottom shelf.

 

Good for him.

 

Does any of this make him inadequate as a political leader?

 

Of course it doesn't.

 

It should be self-evident that instead of judging elected representatives on their personal wealth or shopping habits, we need to focus on their policies.

 

With the economy finally showing tentative signs of recovery, the Tories are actually in danger of looking like they are doing something right.

 

If the recovery continues, millions of people may find themselves moving away from value range shopping and towards the lofty realms of artisanal flour.

 

Raising the base rate of tax?

 

Not exactly out of touch.

 

Who'd have thought?

 

As Boris Johnson put it, "I don't know how much a pint of milk costs. So what?"

 

(Jake William Simons)

 

(The Telegraph, 2 Wednesday October 2013 The Roman)

 

A loaf : 1.06 GBP = 168.54 JPY.

 

Yamazaki Bread 8 slices (About 600 grams)  is 88 JPY to 118 JPY, from at least when we started Real Economy report.

 

(Our bread is ‘British Made’)

 

London economy is in a little inflation.

 

(R.S.F. toshiki speed news press, Agence France-Presse, 4 Friday October 2013 The Roman)

 

Golden Dawn leadership to appear in court on Tuesday

Golden Dawn leadership to appear in court on Tuesday

 

Senior members of Greek’s Far Right Golden Dawn party are expected to appear in court on Tuesday as Athens seeks to quell growing unrest over the murder of an anti-Fascist activist.

 

The party’s founder, Nikos Michaloliakos, and four other Golden Dawn MPs have spent the weekend in custody after being arrested on Saturday on charges of belonging to a criminal organisation.

 

Police said a sixth lawmaker, Christos Papas, a close aide to the party leader, turned himself in to police headquarters in Athens on Sunday.

 

It follows the fatal stabbing two weeks ago of a Greek rap artist and anti-racism campaigner, Pavlos Fyssas, alleged by a self-confessed neo-Nazi who worked in one of Golden Dawn’s offices.

 

Mr Fyssas’s death sparked widespread protests across the country, some of which turned violent.

 

The move against the party’s MPs is intended partly to deflected criticisms that the government has failed to stop violence linked to Golden Dawn, whose followers have been linked to numerous attacks on immigrants.

 

But it also risks creating a backlash among supporters of the group, which is now Greece’s third largest political party.

 

It has already threatened to pull its 18 MPs out of parliament in protest at what it sees as a politically-motivated crackdown.

 

Such a move would force by-elections that could wreck the fragile coalition government cobbled together by Your Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, the prime minister, thereby jeopardising the political backing for Greece’s current financial bail-out deal.

 

Your prime Minister Samaras is due in Washington on Tuesday for meetings with the International Monetary Fund.

 

“This is not just a message for internal use, to show that it puts a halt to violence, this is a message directed outwards, to Europe and others,” said Ilias Nikolakopoulos, a political analyst.

 

Ilias Panayiotaros, a Golden Dawn MP and party spokesman, said before giving himself up on Saturday: “Shame on them, the people will lift Golden Dawn higher.”

 

Police say they found three pistols, ammunition and thousands of euros in cash at Mr Michaloliakos’s home.

 

Several police officers thought suspected of links to Golden Dawn were suspended ahead of the arrests to prevent the MPs being tipped off about planned raids on their homes.

 

A policeman thought to have been working as a bodyguard for the party has also been arrested.

 

Golden Dawn has issued a rallying call via a text message, saying: “We call upon everyone to support our moral and just struggle against the corrupt system.”

 

(The Telegraph, 29 Sunday September 2013 The Roman)

 

Golden Dawn wire tapped as Greece reels from violent protests

Golden Dawn wire tapped as Greece reels from violent protests

 

The Greek intelligence service have placed wire taps inside the communications of Golden Dawn - the far-Right political party suspected of having links to the murder of a Left wing rapper, it has been claimed.

 

[caption id="attachment_8976" align="alignnone" width="400"] (A police officer runs away from a Molotov cocktail as clashes continue in Athens Wednesday night (Photo: ARIS MESSINIS/AFP))[/caption]

 

In a turbulent 24 hours for Greece, anti-fascist protests became violent, an army website demanded the resignation of the government, and an official admitted they planted wire taps in the communications of a neo-Nazi political party.

 

The intelligence service official told the AFP news agency that the wire taps on Golden Dawn were authorised to prove alleged complicity in crimes following the murder of an anti-fascist rapper.

 

Pavlos Fyssas, a 34-year-old hip hop artist, was fatally stabbed in an Athens commuter town on September 17 in an apparent ambush.

 

The group has denied it had anything to do with the killing, but he was stabbed to death by a self-proclaimed supporter.

 

“The intelligence service has the authority to conduct wiretaps for reasons of national safety, provided there is judicial approval,” the source said.

 

“Both random and targeted wiretaps have been carried out for quite some time.”

 

The murder of Mr Fyssas caused outrage across Greece.

 

On Wednesday at least 10,000 people demonstrated in Athens in an anti-fascist protest organised by unions and political parties.

 

“The crisis brought us to our knees but we need to say a loud 'no’ to fascism like we did in '74,” Vangelis Georgountzos, 59, told local newspaper Ekathimerini, referring to the student uprising that led to the overthrow of Greece’s then-ruling military junta.

 

But the protest descended into violence when demonstrators tried to approach Golden Dawn’s central offices in Athens.

 

Tear gas was fired after dozens of hooded demonstrators, some wearing motorcycle helmets, broke off from the initially peaceful march that police blocked from reaching the party’s offices.

 

Police chased small groups of protesters through the streets.

 

The rise of Golden Dawn, which won 18 parliamentary seats last year, has exposed Greece to international criticism a few months before it assumes the rotating European Union presidency in January.

 

Golden Dawn is now Greece’s third most popular political party, but its support has dropped by a third this month after the death of Fyssas.

 

It is rumoured however to be considering walking out of parliament, in an attempt to force elections.

 

Evangelos Venizelos, the deputy prime minister, warned on Thursday that doing so would be “political suicide” for them.

 

In a sign of the tension within the country, a blog post appeared on a military reservists’ website on Thursday demanding the resignation of the government and president and the appointment of an interim government under the guarantee of the armed forces.

 

The posting, which claimed it was speaking on behalf of the special forces reservists and the Greek people, demanded “the immediate resignation of the government due to its inability to provide to the nation the constitutional rights to labour ... health, education, justice, security.”

 

An Athens prosecutor ordered an investigation into the statement.

 

A later posting on the same site criticised coverage by local broadcast media and blogs of the issue, accusing them of “trying to characterise us as coup instigators.”

 

(The Telegraph, 26 Thursday September 2013 The Roman)