Paukenschlag in Washington: US-Präsident kündigt breite Kooperation mit Havanna an. Am Dienstag erstes Telefonat zwischen Staatschefs seit Revolution
Daily Archives: 17. Dezember 2014
Statement by the President on Cuba Policy Changes
In the most significant changes in our policy in more than fifty years, we will end an outdated approach that, for decades, has failed to advance our interests, and instead we will begin to normalize relations between our two countries. Through these changes, we intend to create more opportunities for the American and Cuban people, and begin a new chapter among the nations of the Americas.
Cuban musician tells USAID to ‚go to hell‘ over secret hip-hop scheme
One of Cuba‘s most famous musicians is telling the U.S. Agency for International Development to „go to hell“ for pulling his son and other island-based rappers without their knowledge into a scheme aimed at sparking a youth uprising against the Communist government.
Resignation of Dr. Rajiv Shah as Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development
Raj has been an outstanding Administrator, a creative innovator, and a dynamic leader. After five years, he absolutely deserves this transition, and he leaves USAID after making a dramatic mark — transforming this institution into one that‘s more entrepreneurial, more modern, and more nimble, while promoting resilient democracies and battling extreme poverty across the globe.
Rajiv Shah to Step Down as USAID Administrator in Mid-February
In an article published Wednesday on USAID’s website, Shah described the agency’s work to help reduce poverty and conflicts as well as promote economic development and national security programs globally.
‘Collective self-delusion’: UK diplomat slams Afghanistan strategists
Politicians were so ignorant of military affairs during the Afghan war they “did not know the difference between a Tornado [aircraft] and a torpedo,” a senior UK diplomat has said. He claimed officials were engaged in an “act of collective self-delusion.”
Kasernen für Flüchtlinge?
Verteidigungsminister Gerald Klug (SPÖ) möchte Flüchtlinge aus dem syrischen Bürgerkrieg allen Ernstes in Kasernen unterbringen. Damit sind nicht nur leerstehende Liegenschaften gemeint, sondern auch einen Bundesheer-Standorte, an dem voller Betrieb herrscht.
Hinweis: Die Öffentlichkeit ist interessiert an einem Live-Protokoll aus dem #Edathy-#BKA-Untersuchungsausschuss am morgigen Donn. / 18.12.
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2. Untersuchungsausschuss: Öffentliche Zeugenvernehmung am 18. Dezember 2014
Ton- und Bildaufnahmen sowie Ton- und Bildübertragungen der öffentlichen Anhörung sind nicht gestattet. Mobilfunktelefone sind auszuschalten.
Telephone conversation with Angela Merkel, Francois Hollande and Petro Poroshenko
Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with Federal Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel, President of France Francois Hollande and President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko.
The four leaders continued their discussion of the crisis situation in Ukraine in the context of international efforts to settle the conflict and stressed the need to ensure a lasting ceasefire in Donetsk and Lugansk.
PM Samaras fails to get more than 160 votes for President /Live blog from Athens
Voting schedule for Greece’s next President.
The voting takes place in three rounds.
1) 17. Dec 1. voting 200 vote needed
2) 23. Dec 2. voting 200 votes needed
3) 29. Dec 3. voting 180 votes needed
Should the Parliament fail to elect the President, it has to be dissolved in 10 days and snap elections have to take place.
According to Greek media, snap polls could take place on 25. January or 1. February 2015.
Nea Dimokratia and PASOK have together 155 seats (votes) in a parliament of 300.
Greece’s crucial Presidency vote: what’s the procedure?
According to the rules of Presidency vote, the procedure opens with the Parliament Speaker reading the statute, the votes-collectors take their places and the voting starts.
Each MP who hears his name stands up and expresses his preference. Each vote is being noted down.
No debate takes place, and no MP has the right to justify his/her vote.
The voting procedure lasts 40 minutes.
DIE GRIECHENLAND-KRISE (V): Politische Monarchie zu verkaufen
(07.05.2010) Was viele nicht wissen: laut der nach der Militärdiktatur erlassenen Verfassung Griechenlands kann laut Artikel 48 der Staatspräsident “auf Vorschlag des Kabinetts” (!) die Regierung entlassen, das Parlament auflösen, die Verfassung teilweise ausser Kraft setzen und den “state of siege”, den Notstand ausrufen (korrekte Übersetzung eigentlich “Belagerungszustand”). Danach kann der Präsident selbst Gesetze erlassen. Präsident Griechenlands ist derzeit Karolos Papoulias (Pasok).
Das Parlament muss erst 15 Tage nach der Erklärung des “state of siege” seine Zustimmung erteilen, welche dann jeweils für weitere 15 Tage gilt. Die Deutschen kennen das noch als “Notverordnungen” aus der Weimarer Republik, die der 1925 vom Volk zum Staatspräsidenten gewählte preussische General Paul von Hindenburg in den Abgrund führte.
Griechische Präsidentschaftswahl im ersten Durchgang gescheitert
Das Amt des Präsidenten sieht vor allem repräsentative Pflichten vor, ähnlich wie das Amt des Deutschen Bundespräsidenten.
New Democracy to Table Changes for Greek Constitution Revision
(19. November) The governing party’s proposals consist of 31 changes, although the basic ones are those regarding the restoration of the regulatory role of the President of the Hellenic Republic, the strengthening of his jurisdiction and the change of his election process, as New Democracy’s committee chairman, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, revealed, leaving the possibility open for disconnecting the presidential vote from the Parliament’s dissolution and the early elections that follow in such instances.
Mike Gravel to Senator Mark Udall: Make Full Torture Probe Public Like I Did with Pentagon Papers
On the Senate floor last week, outgoing Democratic Sen. Mark Udall called for a purge of top CIA officials implicated in the torture program and cover-up, including current Director John Brennan.
Press Freedom Fight: Reporter James Risen Faces Subpoena in CIA Whistleblower Case
This is a rush transcript:
Torture and the Myth of Never Again: The Persecution of John Kiriakou
John Kiriakou Alone
The one man in the whole archipelago of America’s secret horrors who went to jail is former CIA officer John Kiriakou. Of the untold numbers of men and women involved in the whole nightmare show of those years, only one.
best scene in any movie ever in this history of the world
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Forschung Mars: Große Flecken
(18.08.1969) Aber dann gab es — durch Zufall — doch wieder eine Wende im Weltbild. Eine kosmische Kollision mit einem Meteor hatte die dichtauf folgende Zwillingssonde Mariner 7 am 29. Juli aus Ihrer ursprünglichen Bahn geworfen. (…)
Daß der Mars vielleicht doch belebt sei, will beispielsweise der Chemiker Professor George Pimentel (Universität von Kalifornien, Berkeley) einer Reihe von Mariner-7-Befunden entnehmen: Die Infrarot-Messungen bestätigten, daß die Mars-Atmosphäre Methan und Ammoniak enthält.
Is there methane on Mars?
Available online 13 December 2010 (…)
The first discovery of methane on Mars was announced in 1969 at a press conference by the Mariner 7 Infrared Spectrometer (IRS) team just two days after the flyby.
Are you trying to fool us, NASA?
(05.06.2008) it was back in 1969 when two scientists from the University of California at Berkeley, Dr. George C. Pimentel and Dr. Kenneth Herr, announced the discovery of methane and ammonia in the Martian atmosphere using Mariner 7 data.
Guess what: that report was withdrawn one month later due to “the possibililty of misinterpretation of the absorption of similar specral bands by frozen carbon dioxide”, blabla.
‘A Great Moment’: Rover Finds Methane, a Clue That Mars May Harbor Life
A year after reporting that NASA’s Curiosity rover had found no evidence of methane gas on Mars, all but dashing hopes that organisms might be living there now, scientists reversed themselves on Tuesday.
Somalia’s Ambassador to the United States: Who Is Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke?
Sharmarke’s first professional jobs were for a Somali bank and for Coca-Cola. He later went to work for the non-governmental organization Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives in Canada. Sharmarke went to work for the United Nations in 2000, serving in Sri Lanka, Sierra Leone and the Darfur region of Sudan, where he was a political advisor. He also worked as a foreign policy adviser to former Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf, who left office in 2008. Sharmarke was also selected as Somalia’s ambassador to the United States at that time but never took up the post.
Somalia President appoints New Prime Minister
Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud has appointed Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke as the country’s new Prime Minister, becoming the third Premier to serve under the President.
THE DECLARATION OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL, May 14, 1948
ACCORDINGLY WE, MEMBERS OF THE PEOPLE‘S COUNCIL, REPRESENTATIVES OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY OF ERETZ-ISRAEL AND OF THE ZIONIST MOVEMENT, ARE HERE ASSEMBLED ON THE DAY OF THE TERMINATION OF THE BRITISH MANDATE OVER ERETZ-ISRAEL AND, BY VIRTUE OF OUR NATURAL AND HISTORIC RIGHT AND ON THE STRENGTH OF THE RESOLUTION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY, HEREBY DECLARE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A JEWISH STATE IN ERETZ-ISRAEL, TO BE KNOWN AS THE STATE OF ISRAEL.
WE DECLARE that, with effect from the moment of the termination of the Mandate being tonight, the eve of Sabbath, the 6th Iyar, 5708 (15th May, 1948), until the establishment of the elected, regular authorities of the State in accordance with the Constitution which shall be adopted by the Elected Constituent Assembly not later than the 1st October 1948, the People‘s Council shall act as a Provisional Council of State, and its executive organ, the People‘s Administration, shall be the Provisional Government of the Jewish State, to be called „Israel“.
Sorry folks, Israel‘s Declaration of Independence made no mention of democracy
The defenders of democracy are using the Declaration of Independence as the main authority in their fight to save the State of Israel’s democratic character. Time and again they repeat the statement that, according to the Declaration, the State of Israel came into being as “a Jewish and democratic state.” But that is not so.
Antworten des Außenministers Russlands, Sergej Lawrow, auf Fragen der Nachrichtenagentur „Interfax“, Moskau, 15. Dezember 2014
Würde man alles aufzählen, was Russland nach dem Zerfall der UdSSR für die Ukraine getan hat (Dutzende Milliarden Dollar haben wir diesem Land faktisch in Form von Subventionen gegeben), oder nur unsere Handlungen, die auf die Normalisierung der Lage und die Suche nach konstruktiven Auswegen aus der Krise nach dem Staatsstreich im Februar dieses Jahres ausgerichtet waren, so käme eine respektable Liste zustande. Das betrifft unsere Herangehensweise an die Prozesse im Südosten, das dort stattgefundene Referendum, unsere Einstellung zu den darauffolgenden Wahlen in den proklamierten Volksrepubliken Donezk und Lugansk, den Wahlen des ukrainischen Präsidenten und danach der Werchowna Rada und unsere Initiative zur Schaffung des Minsker Prozesses, der jetzt von allen als der einzig realistische Ausweg aus der Situation anerkannt wird. Fragt man vor diesem Hintergrund unsere westlichen Kollegen (insbesondere die Amerikaner), was sie konkret gemacht haben, so sind keine recht beeindruckenden Leistungen zu sehen, abgesehen davon, dass sie bedenkenlos und vorbehaltlos alle, auch völlig destruktive Handlungen der ukrainischen Machthaber unterstützen, – zum Beispiel das Lustrationsgesetz, das in der Venedig-Kommission des Europarates für Empörung gesorgt hat.
Wir stufen diesen „Ukraine Support Act“ der USA als feindlich ein. Der Präsident der USA, Barack Obama, hat die Wahl, das Gesetz zu unterzeichnen oder nicht. Was dessen Inkraftsetzung und praktische Anwendung betrifft, so werden wir von den konkreten Taten ausgehen.
DB-Tarifverhandlungen: GDL fordert verhandelbares Angebot – Streikgeld erhöht
Bereits Anfang Dezember haben der GDL-Hauptvorstand und die Tarifkommission eine Erhöhung des Streikgeldes von 50 auf 75 Euro pro Tag beschlossen. Weselsky: „Das ist notwendig für den notwendigen Ausgleich auch bei längeren Arbeitskämpfen.“ Das bisher gezahlte Streikgeld hat die Lohnkürzungen bei längeren Schichten an den Wochenenden noch nicht einmal zur Hälfte kompensiert. „Unsere Mitglieder stehen solidarisch zusammen und werden zur Durchsetzung unserer Forderungen auch weitere Arbeitskämpfe nicht scheuen. Sie befinden sich jedoch nicht in Gehaltsklassen, die bei längeren Streiks größere Einkommensverluste einfach gegenfinanzieren können“, so der GDL-Bundesvorsitzende.
Die Aufnahme der Hamas auf die Liste basierte nicht auf einer Untersuchung davon, was Hamas tatsächlich getan hatte, sondern auf Hörensagen aus dem Internet.
Hamas muss von der Liste der Terrororganisationen der EU heruntergenommen werden. Das hat das Gericht der Europäischen Union entschieden.
Causa Hypo: „Tut uns leid“
Wien/Klagenfurt. Zwar seien nicht Einzelne Schuld an dem Milliarden-Desaster der Hypo Alpe Adria Bank, doch „man kann sich bei den Österreicherinnen und Österreichern nur entschuldigen, es tut uns auch leid“, sagte Wirtschaftsminister Reinhold Mitterlehner (ÖVP).
BayernLB klagt von Republik Österreich 2,4 Milliarden Euro ein
Dienstagabend ist die BayernLB der Republik Österreich, die ebenso rechtliche Schritte überlegt, mit einer Klage praktisch zuvorgekommen.
Cruel Britannia
(22.11.2014) Human Rights Watch has no evidence of UK officials directly participating in torture. But UK complicity is clear. First, it is inconceivable that the UK government was unaware of the systematic use of torture in Pakistan. In the circumstances of the close security relationship between the two countries this would represent a significant failure of British intelligence. Reports by governments, including the United States, reports by NGOs, including Human Rights Watch, court cases in Pakistan, and media accounts put everyone on notice that torture has long been endemic in Pakistan. No one in government in Pakistan has ever challenged this in conversations with Human Rights Watch.
Obamas historischer Kurswechsel: USA und Kuba nähern sich an
US-Präsident Barack Obama will eine Erklärung abgeben, auch der kubanische Präsident wird sich äußern.
Ein erster Schritt der Annäherung ist ein Gefangenenaustausch. Kuba hat den US-Bürger Alan Gross freigelassen.
Statement by Ambassador Riyad Mansour before the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (thirteenth session), General Debate, New York
it should be noted that there is in fact a consensus among the Palestinian people, their political organizations and their leadership to join the ICC. The time to join will be decided by our leadership at an appropriate time.
Asked about Palestine Security Council resolution, Ban Ki Moon cites Quartet. Consensus is Quartet is useless.
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Israel: Respect of Fourth Geneva Convention must be ensured by High Contracting Parties meeting in Geneva
(04.01.2001) The High Contracting Parties express „deep concern at the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the field. They deplore the great number of civilian victims, in particular children and other vulnerable groups, due to indiscriminate or disproportionate use of force and due to lack of respect for
international humanitarian law“.
It calls on the Occupying Power (Israel) to „immediately refrain from committing grave breaches involving any of the acts committed under art. 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, such as wilful killing, torture, unlawful deportation, wilful deprivation of the rights of fair and regular trial, extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly“.
Geneva Conference: Israel urged to respect human rights in Palestinian territories
Switzerland gathered diplomats from 126 of the 196 signatories of the Geneva Conventions to discuss protections for civilians, fulfilling a five-year-old request for such a conference from the UN General Assembly.
Zeitintensive Nebentätigkeit: Abgeordneter gibt über 50 Mandanten an
Vielen Abgeordneten bleibt gar keine Zeit für einen Nebenjob, beim CSU-Politiker und Rechtsanwalt Alexander Flierl ist dies anders: Über 50 Mandanten führt er auf Landtagshomepage auf – ein Problem für seine Vollzeittätigkeit als Abgeordneter sieht
Palestinian teens describe torture while in Israeli detention
Heba Masalha, a lawyer working for the Palestinian Detainees Committee, managed to visit two Palestinian teens held by Israel, who testified to her of horrific abuse and torture by the soldiers and the interrogators. On December 13, Masalha visited detainee Mahmoud Ahmad Hadra, 17 years of age, from the at-Tour town, in occupied East Jerusalem, held at the HaSharon Israeli prison.
“Electricity for All”: Attica Prefecture will pay cost for electricity reconnection & bills
A good news for a change, a wonderful Christmas present for citizens and families without electricity! Attica Prefect Rena Dourou will come up for the cost and reconnect economically weak households to electricity network. The program “Electricity for all” will help households that had their electricity supply been cut by Publi Power Company (DEH) due to outstanding debts and they can not afford to pay electricity bills and power reconnection. For this purpose the Attica Prefecture will allocate 2.5 million euro.
‘I will not let my brother suffer from the cold winter‘: Gaza youth work to aid families left homeless by Israeli assault
Under the supervision of the Palestinian Independent Commission for Youth Rights (PICYR), 30 families whose houses had been totally destroyed during the last Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, have been offered flats to live in as a temporary solution. The campaign, held by PICYR, carries the tagline, “I will not let my brother suffer from the cold winter.”
Washington Post Shrugs Off Torture Because, You Know, It Polls Well
„as long as people believe torturing terrorism detainees leads to valuable information, the CIA‘s interrogation program — and torture in general — are unlikely to face a major public backlash.
This is the unhappy reality being confronted by Democrats who had hoped to make a splash with the CIA report.“
So the only „reality“ in the article is the fact that the public‘s depraved position is bad for one particular party. Apparently, it‘s not bad for „humanity“ or common sense or human rights or America. It‘s just bad for one party?
SYRIZA leads in 3 public opinion polls, gap to ND 2.8%-4.9%
Main opposition party, left-wing SYRIZa leads in three public opinion polls published on Tuesday, one day before the first round of voting for Greece’s new President. However, the gap to PM Samaras’ Nea Dimokratia is not extraordinary big. The difference is between 2.8% to 4.9%. In all polls centre-left wing Democratic Left has no chances to enter the Parliament in elections, while nationalist Indepentent Greeks may risk not to pass the 3% threshold as well. What is interesting is that 6 to 10 respondents say that they want next President to be elected by the current Parliament.
Verizon Offers Encrypted Calling With NSA Backdoor At No Additional Charge
As a string of whistle blowers like former AT&T employee Mark Klein have made clear abundantly clear, the line purportedly separating intelligence operations from the nation‘s incumbent phone companies was all-but obliterated long ago. As such, it‘s relatively amusing to see Verizon announce this week that the company is offering up a new encrypted wireless voice service named Voice Cypher. Voice Cypher, Verizon states, offers „end-to-end“ encryption for voice calls on iOS, Android, or BlackBerry devices equipped with a special app made by Cellcrypt.
Search Something, Say Something: David Cameron Asks Google, Yahoo To Be ‚Good Citizens‘ And Report Users Searching For ‚Terrorist‘ Subject Matter
UK Prime Minister David Cameron doesn‘t ask for much from the world‘s tech companies. All he wants is for them to proactively police the web for child pornography, piracy and extremist content. He‘s not offering to pay for these services. He just expects Google et al to do this on their own time and own dime to make the world a better place.
Renzi meets with Prodi for two hours
A former president of the Democratic Party (PD), Prodi was prime minister from 1996 to 1998 and from 2006 to 2008, and presided the European Commission from 1999 to 2004.
PD denies Berlusconi-Renzi deal on Napolitano‘s successor
Premier Matteo Renzi‘s centre-left Democratic Party (PD) had denied Silvio Berlusconi‘s assertion that he has an agreement with the premier over the replacement for President Giorgio Napolitano, who is expected to step down early next year.
Renzi takes on PD dissenters
Center-left Premier Matteo Renzi once again faced down opposition from leftwing dissenters within his own Democratic Party (PD) at a party meeting at the weekend.
The assembly was held Sunday, one day after the Senate Constitutional affairs committee approved the premier‘s Constitutional reform bill designed to streamline Italy‘s slow, costly political machinery, including changing the Senate into a smaller assembly with reduced lawmaking powers.
Priest installs cell-phone blocker in Naples church
A priest in Naples has installed a device in his church blocking cellular phones, after he tired of telling parishioners to shut them off, the newspaper Il Mattino reported Monday.