A Serbian judge decided Tuesday to hand over arrested former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic to the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague, news reports said. Belgrade judge Milan Dilparic's ruling came after he questioned Karadzic on Monday night, the Tanjug state news agency reported. Karadzic's lawyer, Svetozar Vujacic, said he would appeal, Tanjug said. He has three days to file an appeal. Serbian authorities announced late Monday they had arrested Karadzic, 63, after 12 years in hiding. The independent Beta news agency reported that Karadzic was arrested in Serbia, ending more than a decade in hiding. The UN war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia indicted Karadzic in 1995 on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and breach of the Geneva Convention for his alleged role in leading the brutal ethnic cleansing of non-Serbs during Bosnia's 1992-95 ethnic war.
Belgrade judge Milan Dilparic's ruling came after he questioned Karadzic on Monday night, the Tanjug state news agency reported. Karadzic's lawyer, Svetozar Vujacic, said he would appeal, Tanjug said. He has three days to file an appeal.
Serbian authorities announced late Monday they had arrested Karadzic, 63, after 12 years in hiding. The independent Beta news agency reported that Karadzic was arrested in Serbia, ending more than a decade in hiding.
The UN war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia indicted Karadzic in 1995 on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and breach of the Geneva Convention for his alleged role in leading the brutal ethnic cleansing of non-Serbs during Bosnia's 1992-95 ethnic war.
Captured Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic was practising alternative medicine and living in Serbia's capital, Belgrade. He was working in a private practice in a "very convincing disguise", sporting a long white beard, and calling himself Dragan Dabic, a Serbian official said. He was arrested on Monday near Belgrade after more than a decade on the run.
Captured Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic was practising alternative medicine and living in Serbia's capital, Belgrade.
He was working in a private practice in a "very convincing disguise", sporting a long white beard, and calling himself Dragan Dabic, a Serbian official said.
He was arrested on Monday near Belgrade after more than a decade on the run.
The arrest of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, the man accused of orchestrating Europe's worst massacre since World War II, has unleashed an outburst of joy in the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. In Belgrade, police have amassed in front of the court building where Karadzic is being held. Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic (R) and his general Ratko Mladic are seen on Mountain Vlasic in this April 1995 file photo. He was on the run for a decade, but now Radovan Karadzic, 63, the former president of the Bosnian Serbs who is accused of war crimes including the massacre of 8,000 Muslims in Srebenica, has been caught. The arrest took place on Monday evening and was "an operation of the Serbian security services," said the office of Serbian President Boris Tadic. However, Sveta Vujacic, Karadzic's lawyer, had a different version of events. He said Karadzic had been arrested on a public bus around 9:30 a.m. on Friday and held until he was brought to the court Monday. "He just said that these people showed him a police badge and then he was taken to some place and kept in the room. And that is absolutely against the law what they did," Vujacic told AP Television News. "The judge also said that he will look into this matter, who and why kept him for three days."
The arrest of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, the man accused of orchestrating Europe's worst massacre since World War II, has unleashed an outburst of joy in the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. In Belgrade, police have amassed in front of the court building where Karadzic is being held.
Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic (R) and his general Ratko Mladic are seen on Mountain Vlasic in this April 1995 file photo. He was on the run for a decade, but now Radovan Karadzic, 63, the former president of the Bosnian Serbs who is accused of war crimes including the massacre of 8,000 Muslims in Srebenica, has been caught.
The arrest took place on Monday evening and was "an operation of the Serbian security services," said the office of Serbian President Boris Tadic.
However, Sveta Vujacic, Karadzic's lawyer, had a different version of events. He said Karadzic had been arrested on a public bus around 9:30 a.m. on Friday and held until he was brought to the court Monday.
"He just said that these people showed him a police badge and then he was taken to some place and kept in the room. And that is absolutely against the law what they did," Vujacic told AP Television News. "The judge also said that he will look into this matter, who and why kept him for three days."
Radovan Karadzic, the former Bosnian Serb leader who is facing war crimes charges, evaded capture for a decade by disguising himself in a huge white beard and becoming a celebrated New Age doctor in Belgrade, it has emerged. Until he was tracked down and arrested by Serbian special forces last night, Dr Karadzic was working as an alternative medicine specialist in a clinic in the suburb of New Belgrade using the false name of Dr Dragan Dabic. Far from hiding in remote areas like other fugitives such as Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden, Dr Karadzic appears to have established himself in the heart of the Serbian capital, and embraced his double life to such an extent that his alias had become a household name in a field where he was said to have accumulated "vast" knowledge.
Radovan Karadzic, the former Bosnian Serb leader who is facing war crimes charges, evaded capture for a decade by disguising himself in a huge white beard and becoming a celebrated New Age doctor in Belgrade, it has emerged.
Until he was tracked down and arrested by Serbian special forces last night, Dr Karadzic was working as an alternative medicine specialist in a clinic in the suburb of New Belgrade using the false name of Dr Dragan Dabic.
Far from hiding in remote areas like other fugitives such as Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden, Dr Karadzic appears to have established himself in the heart of the Serbian capital, and embraced his double life to such an extent that his alias had become a household name in a field where he was said to have accumulated "vast" knowledge.
BELGRADE, Serbia (CNN) -- Bosnian Serb war crimes fugitive Radovan Karadzic was so convinced of his disguise he regularly contributed to a health magazine as he brazenly built up his profile as an alternative medical practitioner, The Associated Press reported Tuesday. A photo released by 'Healthy Life' magazine purported to be Karadzic. 1 of 3 As Serbian authorities announced the arrest of Karadzic, 63, on charges of war crimes committed during the brutal Balkans conflict, details of his life during more than a decade on the run were revealed. Goran Kojic, editor in chief of Serbia's "Healthy Magazine" released new images of the former leader hidden behind an enormous white beard, long hair and spectacles, identifying one of the world's most wanted men as a regular contributor. "It never even occurred to me that this man with a long white beard and hair was Karadzic," a shocked Kojic said, according to The Associated Press. Serb authorities said Karadzic -- accused of ordering the deadly siege of Sarajevo and some of the worst atrocities in Europe since World War II including the 1995 massacre of 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica -- was working at a medical practice in Belgrade prior to his arrest.
BELGRADE, Serbia (CNN) -- Bosnian Serb war crimes fugitive Radovan Karadzic was so convinced of his disguise he regularly contributed to a health magazine as he brazenly built up his profile as an alternative medical practitioner, The Associated Press reported Tuesday.
A photo released by 'Healthy Life' magazine purported to be Karadzic. 1 of 3
As Serbian authorities announced the arrest of Karadzic, 63, on charges of war crimes committed during the brutal Balkans conflict, details of his life during more than a decade on the run were revealed.
Goran Kojic, editor in chief of Serbia's "Healthy Magazine" released new images of the former leader hidden behind an enormous white beard, long hair and spectacles, identifying one of the world's most wanted men as a regular contributor.
"It never even occurred to me that this man with a long white beard and hair was Karadzic," a shocked Kojic said, according to The Associated Press.
Serb authorities said Karadzic -- accused of ordering the deadly siege of Sarajevo and some of the worst atrocities in Europe since World War II including the 1995 massacre of 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica -- was working at a medical practice in Belgrade prior to his arrest.
The Irish rejection of the Lisbon Treaty has sent shockwaves across the EU. But the treaty is still no lost cause, says German Foreign Minister Steinmeier in an exclusive essay for DW-WORLD.DE. Frank-Walter Steinmeier is German foreign minister and vice chancellor. He is also deputy chairman of the Social Democratic Party. Whither Europe? We are asking that same question yet again. One year ago, we were all relieved because the EU appeared to have survived its crisis. While it had parted ways with its constitution, it was still committed to plans for a reform treaty. Months later, this had evolved into the Lisbon Treaty. And today? The treaty has been ratified 23 times. But it was vetoed once, on June 12, in the Irish referendum. The looks of consternation on the faces of the European foreign ministers who met up in Brussels a few days later are still a vivid memory to me.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier is German foreign minister and vice chancellor. He is also deputy chairman of the Social Democratic Party.
Whither Europe? We are asking that same question yet again. One year ago, we were all relieved because the EU appeared to have survived its crisis. While it had parted ways with its constitution, it was still committed to plans for a reform treaty. Months later, this had evolved into the Lisbon Treaty.
And today? The treaty has been ratified 23 times. But it was vetoed once, on June 12, in the Irish referendum. The looks of consternation on the faces of the European foreign ministers who met up in Brussels a few days later are still a vivid memory to me.
a catastrophic mistake of communication that demonstrates how utterly unsuited to democratic discourse our elites have become.
So how do they get reelected? And why do they manage to oh-so-conveniently make it sound like the "no" votes are a rejection of European bureaucracy and regulation and not of the arrogant neolib policies that they (the elites, not the European bureaucracy) run?
You're just playing in their hands. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
They get elected on domestic issues, and the EU is still "foreign affairs". A vivid image of what should exist acts as a surrogate for reality. Pursuit of the image then prevents pursuit of the reality -- John K. Galbraith
These people are obviously not incompetent at communicating with the public when it suits them; so the explanation that they are incompetent about Europe does not quite work, from my point of view. Which means it's something else. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
Because communicating effectively about Europe, they are not.
Even Wallström, whose job it is. A vivid image of what should exist acts as a surrogate for reality. Pursuit of the image then prevents pursuit of the reality -- John K. Galbraith
The most important part of all marketing communications is to convey the benefits of the product/service as they would apply to an individual potential 'buyer'.
Most media stories about the EU are negatives, not benefits. It is not really the media to blame - their dogged pursuit of bad news was and is to be expected. But there are lots of benefits accruing from European unification. The failure of the Communication commissioner to tell the story of these benefits to a general audience is scandalous. It is largely caused by a lack of imagination and an amateur understanding of what communication is. You can't be me, I'm taken
When they try to come up with "tangible" "benefits" for citizens they usually turn out rather daft.
And this is probably by design, too. With the emphasis on subsidiarity and proportionality (everything should be done at the closest level to the citizen that is both practical and effective) most of what impacts the average citizen is done at the local or national level.
And I am not sure that's a bad thing, either: I'm a Spanish Federalist, not a French Centralist.
Can I ask again for a Swiss case-study diary? (Confederacy, local sovereignty, direct democracy) A vivid image of what should exist acts as a surrogate for reality. Pursuit of the image then prevents pursuit of the reality -- John K. Galbraith
Local benefits are disconnected from the supranational institutions and systems, but local negatives are blamed by national institutions on the supranational, because it is easy, gets them off the hook, and 'who is going to check anyway?'
There are massive benefits realised by the redistribution of EU funding to underdeveloped regions or areas undergoing industrial transition. There are huge benefits in EU wide standardization and consumer protection. There are also large mistakes made (biofuels, paper reuse etc etc) but no worse than the mistakes that national government regularly make.
The greatest benefit of the EU IMO is the sharing of diversity, of finding out there are many solutions. The existence of a better way of doing things in one country, can be a benefit to all countries.
That is what ET does on a minor scale - the sharing of diversity in solutions and the origination of imaginative solutions. If only ET could be scaled up!
But that would not solve the communication problem. We also share in a style of language and presentation that does not appeal widely. ET is not consumer-ready, and perhaps should never be. But, as we have often discussed, the concepts and presentations developed here do need to reach audiences outside ET. And there are many audiences, each requiring a different type of communication style and content. You can't be me, I'm taken
We also share in a style of language and presentation that does not appeal widely. ET is not consumer-ready, and perhaps should never be.
It would indeed be strange and no doubt frustrating if we were to speak to each other here in soundbites and ad slogans. Do you think a discussion forum of any interest is also going to have wide appeal?
This is not in defence of an exclusive, elitist yadda yadda watering-hole for intellectuals. Just that it's not the job of a community discussion blog to handle direct mainstream communication. That's a whole other job on its own. When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind
There's the message, the messenger and the passenger. All 3 need to be discussed and correlated imo. But as I said, there are no clear reasons why ET has to be consumer-ready. You can't be me, I'm taken
Who might (easily) do better than the lot we've got, but would still be up against the compartmentalisation of national/language media, and the sense that real political life that matters is in one's home country (just look at the eagerness <snark> of the pols to be MEPs compared to something in public view in their own country).
I don't see marketing/communication as alone capable of turning this situation round. We need institutional change to create a pan-European political space that then can be effectively marketed as the place where things are happening. When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind
We need institutional change to create a pan-European political space.
Agreed. But we, voters, can say something to eligibles in each election. One school of, say, "Pan-European Citizens" could intervene in pre-electoral moments to try that politicians may think that Europe can give them votes. And also remind voters that Europe exists and is our overall framework.
The lack of politicians on Europe is based on their own interests as politicians.
I think (already in the Spanish referendum, and now in the Irish one) that the left-wind (?), which supported the NO, however, it did not inform citizens. When Procrustes looks after you, you're sure to fit in.
they're pretty clueless with the web, though watching euronews, sometimes i see a form of reaching out, listing phone numbers to call to know one's rights on this or that, or for general info.
i know, i know, so last century...
get sven doing a presentation in webready multimedia, sponsor concerts with info desks, announce and inform us of why it's so great to be an EU member. young people need more than 'it's to stop another continental war', as reason not to ignore the EU. young people are also predisposed to like the EU as it offers many advantages in freedom of travel and study their parents did not enjoy, so it's a good time to explain things to them, i think.
if leaders think no-one cares, then they will retreat to aloofness and poor communication, we can (must, should try to affect that dynamic by whining letting them know what we need, preferably more proactively than waiting for an important -and massively misunderstood - treaty vote.
there are many here showing the way forward on this, ET is a drop in a media vacuum, but this has to keep growing....the tech is here for real 'interlogue'TM now, there should be no excuses, either for passivity, or mere top-down pronouncements...
meanwhile piebag's blog pretty well exemplifies what's wrong with leaders' lack of understanding or intelligent use of the new interactive political medium, that should offer so much better and more immediate feedback.
token at best, condescending, disconnected and unhearing at worst.
hi andreas! The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it. Chinese Proverb.
my concern too...
more transparency, more humility, (ask us over and over what we need, you're s'posed to be working for us), and solid, truthful, understandable (for-dummies) rebuttals of NO talking points.
and why not adopt the american model constitution? tweak it a bit, but don't make a retro move with an important document that's ponderous, bloated and rodded with legalese, please. tip our hat to it, it's a political work of art, why can't we update it and take it from there, its values translate globally, that's what makes it such a gem.
get it while it's hot, or before it disappears down a memory hole!
google cache it!
KISS The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it. Chinese Proverb.
A "transition to EU democracy" passed through the Council agreeing a treaty among the member states that takes power away from the Council and the States. Not going to happen. A vivid image of what should exist acts as a surrogate for reality. Pursuit of the image then prevents pursuit of the reality -- John K. Galbraith
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has backed French proposals for the EU to sign an "association" pact with Ukraine in September, amid uncertainty over what the move could mean for Ukraine's EU membership aspirations. "This agreement will not only mean a strengthened partnership. It can also qualify as an associate member agreement," the chancellor said after meeting Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko on a brief visit to Kiev on Monday (21 July). Kiev is keen to get on the EU membership path Her comment came one day before EU foreign ministers come together in Brussels on Tuesday to rubber-stamp plans for the EU-Ukraine summit in Evian, France on 9 September, where the two sides aim to sign the political chapter of a new bilateral deal. The title "association agreement" - recalling the "association" treaties signed with former eastern bloc countries before the 2004 EU enlargement - would be a diplomatic victory for Kiev, which has pushed for an EU membership perspective since it broke away from the Russian sphere of influence in the 2004 Orange Revolution.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has backed French proposals for the EU to sign an "association" pact with Ukraine in September, amid uncertainty over what the move could mean for Ukraine's EU membership aspirations.
"This agreement will not only mean a strengthened partnership. It can also qualify as an associate member agreement," the chancellor said after meeting Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko on a brief visit to Kiev on Monday (21 July).
Kiev is keen to get on the EU membership path
Her comment came one day before EU foreign ministers come together in Brussels on Tuesday to rubber-stamp plans for the EU-Ukraine summit in Evian, France on 9 September, where the two sides aim to sign the political chapter of a new bilateral deal.
The title "association agreement" - recalling the "association" treaties signed with former eastern bloc countries before the 2004 EU enlargement - would be a diplomatic victory for Kiev, which has pushed for an EU membership perspective since it broke away from the Russian sphere of influence in the 2004 Orange Revolution.
French President Nicholas Sarkozy has proposed to the Irish prime minister that a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty be held on the same day as elections to the European Parliament next June. Mr Sarkozy made the suggestion during a private discussion with Prime Minister, or Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, according to reports in the Irish Times, during a six-hour whistle-stop trip to Dublin to meet with government leaders and campaigners from both sides of the treaty battle. Mr Sarkozy spent three minutes with each campaigner. At the same time, publicly, the French president denied that he had said Ireland must vote again. "I never said that Ireland had to organise a new referendum. I said that at some stage or another the Irish had to be given the opportunity to give their opinion." Last week, he told a private session with deputies from his UMP party in Paris that Ireland would have to hold a second referendum, according to an attendee of the meeting.
French President Nicholas Sarkozy has proposed to the Irish prime minister that a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty be held on the same day as elections to the European Parliament next June.
Mr Sarkozy made the suggestion during a private discussion with Prime Minister, or Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, according to reports in the Irish Times, during a six-hour whistle-stop trip to Dublin to meet with government leaders and campaigners from both sides of the treaty battle.
Mr Sarkozy spent three minutes with each campaigner.
At the same time, publicly, the French president denied that he had said Ireland must vote again.
"I never said that Ireland had to organise a new referendum. I said that at some stage or another the Irish had to be given the opportunity to give their opinion."
Last week, he told a private session with deputies from his UMP party in Paris that Ireland would have to hold a second referendum, according to an attendee of the meeting.
At what point will the elites stop arrogantly thinnking they can force it down our throats and engage with the electorate over the future of europe ? keep to the Fen Causeway
This is a "No" talking point that is - surprise ... False:
History of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe
Spanish voters were the first to go to the polls in a referendum on ratification on 20 February 2005. Both the government and the main opposition party campaigned for a 'yes' vote. The Constitution was passed by a large margin, with 77 per cent of voters in favour, but major opposition parties declared that the 42 per cent turnout was an embarrassment for the governing Spanish Socialist Workers' Party.
In the wake of the French and Dutch rejections, Luxembourg pressed ahead with its scheduled consultative referendum 10 July 2005. Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker stated that he would resign in the event of a rejection. The result was 56% in favour with a high turnout of 88%.
We should not be helping to spread it.
It's another balmy weekend on the beach in Naples. By the rocks, a couple soak up the southern Italian sun. A few metres away, their feet poking from under beach towels that cover their faces and bodies, lie two drowned Roma children. The girls, Cristina, aged 16, and Violetta, 14, were buried last night as the fallout from the circumstances of their death reverberated throughout Italy. It is an image that has crystallised the mounting disquiet in the country over the treatment of Roma, coming after camps have been burnt and the government has embarked on a bid to fingerprint every member of the minority. Two young Roma sisters had drowned at Torregaveta beach after taking a dip in treacherous waters. Their corpses were recovered from the sea - then left on the beach for hours while holidaymakers continued to sunbathe and picnic around them.
It's another balmy weekend on the beach in Naples. By the rocks, a couple soak up the southern Italian sun. A few metres away, their feet poking from under beach towels that cover their faces and bodies, lie two drowned Roma children.
The girls, Cristina, aged 16, and Violetta, 14, were buried last night as the fallout from the circumstances of their death reverberated throughout Italy.
It is an image that has crystallised the mounting disquiet in the country over the treatment of Roma, coming after camps have been burnt and the government has embarked on a bid to fingerprint every member of the minority. Two young Roma sisters had drowned at Torregaveta beach after taking a dip in treacherous waters. Their corpses were recovered from the sea - then left on the beach for hours while holidaymakers continued to sunbathe and picnic around them.
http://www.pupia.tv/notizie/0003563.html
Though videos of course are also be cropped and edited, it does a suggest a certain respectful distance from the bodies, and the presence of emergency personnel.
I wonder if this photograph may not be somewhat misleading as to the true situation on that beach. ... all progress depends on the unreasonable mensch.(apologies to G.B. Shaw)
Scenes of indifference to corpses are common throughout the world, long before Midnight Cowboy. We certainly needn't accept it but it is perhaps too hasty to depict it as cynical racism aimed specifically at Rom.
Cardinal Sepe did thunder about the case. It is always good to stigmatize racism but this particular episode does not seem to fit the bill.
everyone within sight to pack up their families and kit and get on a 40° train home?
wtf? sad reality, but the same would have happened if the girls had been from elsewhere. people don't feel educated or equipped to deal with a situation like that, it doesn't mean they're heartless. what would anyone here have done in that situation?
the media has to whip everything into a scandal, when it's undeserved, and conveniently glosses over, or worse, whitewashes things that are really bad.
objective focus on what's really happening to italy, not so much, it takes furriners i guess to report from the outside. no skin off their noses... The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it. Chinese Proverb.
Real news needs to have its context explained- and most newspapers either do a bad job or simply don't bother.
In the past two days we've had the Tavaroli incrimination, 18 arrests in Reggio Calabria in which Micciché is implicated (who's Micciché?), the Del Turco arrest with all parties involved... How do you explain the Tavaroli case in less than 500 words?
heh, i can only handle so much RAI, i haven't a clue as to what that's about, unless beppe or you clue me in, clueless i remain.
the layers of baroque complexity in italian politics leave me stupefied.
still dealing with the 'davantologia', i'll leave the 'dietrologia' to you experts, the better to eventually decipher... The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it. Chinese Proverb.
Italy's top appeals court has reversed its notorious ruling of nine years ago that a woman wearing tight jeans cannot by definition be raped or sexually molested since the removal of the garment requires her "collaboration and consent". A 37-year-old man from Padua convicted in 2005 of sexually molesting his partner's teenage daughter by inserting his hands inside the front of her jeans had appealed to the Court of Cassation, citing its 1999 ruling and claiming that he could not have committed the alleged "libidinous act" because the girl's jeans were too tight.
Italy's top appeals court has reversed its notorious ruling of nine years ago that a woman wearing tight jeans cannot by definition be raped or sexually molested since the removal of the garment requires her "collaboration and consent".
A 37-year-old man from Padua convicted in 2005 of sexually molesting his partner's teenage daughter by inserting his hands inside the front of her jeans had appealed to the Court of Cassation, citing its 1999 ruling and claiming that he could not have committed the alleged "libidinous act" because the girl's jeans were too tight.
And he knows they were too tight because he did try to insert the hand in them, right? A vivid image of what should exist acts as a surrogate for reality. Pursuit of the image then prevents pursuit of the reality -- John K. Galbraith
Is there a similar expression in other languages?
I had over a quarter a professor of Latin (of course, in University), which said that they paid him 500 PTA per month and he gave us classes for PTA per month. He said, on history and institutions:
¡Viva el Imperio Romano, que a los siervos manumite y a las siervas "mite manu"!
Long live for the Roman Empire, which "manumites" to the slave-men and he "mites manu" to the slave-women!
Latin manumittere = Spanish "manumitir" = "give freedom".
In Italy, like in Spain, the influence of the classical world is still present. The latin slave-women did not wear tight pants, but skirts. When Procrustes looks after you, you're sure to fit in.
Nicolas Sarkozy narrowly avoided a critical political defeat last night when his flagship proposals to give the French constitution its biggest overhaul in half a century were passed by a margin of just one vote. The president, who has made the reform of key institutions a priority of his premiership, scraped to victory as 539 politicians came out in support of the changes, while 357 voted against. He had needed a majority of three-fifths - or 538 votes - for the reform to go through. As the result of the highly controversial ballot was read out, a collective murmur of surprise echoed around the chamber at Versailles, scene of the special session of France's MPs and senators. It had been unclear right up until the last moments which way the vote would go. For days the Elysée Palace has been rallying recalcitrant Gaullist members of Sarkozy's majority UMP party and urging those undecided to back the reforms.
Nicolas Sarkozy narrowly avoided a critical political defeat last night when his flagship proposals to give the French constitution its biggest overhaul in half a century were passed by a margin of just one vote.
The president, who has made the reform of key institutions a priority of his premiership, scraped to victory as 539 politicians came out in support of the changes, while 357 voted against. He had needed a majority of three-fifths - or 538 votes - for the reform to go through.
As the result of the highly controversial ballot was read out, a collective murmur of surprise echoed around the chamber at Versailles, scene of the special session of France's MPs and senators.
It had been unclear right up until the last moments which way the vote would go. For days the Elysée Palace has been rallying recalcitrant Gaullist members of Sarkozy's majority UMP party and urging those undecided to back the reforms.
The Elysée's unlikely saviour turned out to be Jack Lang, the former Socialist minister, who was the only member of his party to vote for the changes.
Debate in the Senate ammounted to a total of three days.
It is likely that the law will be eventually judged anti-constitutional but it will already have absolved its scope of blocking all current trials and investigations into Berlusconi's fervid, reiterative and questionable activities. The David Mill's trial will be blocked as soon as the law is published in the official gazzette.
No other democracy has a law of such sweeping immunity to prosecution. In fact only four states allow for presidential or royal immunity. But then in a nation where parliamentary sovereignty has been reduced to a gaggle of sycophants who were appointed rather than elected, the word "democracy" applies only in its authoritarian sense. We have a new Duce.
Solar power from Saharan sun could provide Europe's electricity, says EU · Huge £35bn supergrid would pool green sources · Brown and Sarkozy back north African plan Alok Jha, science correspondent The Guardian, Wednesday July 23, 2008 Article history A concentrating solar power (CSP) plant in Spain that uses panels to refl ect light on to a central tower to produce electricity. Similar plants are proposed for north Africa. Photograph: AP A tiny rectangle superimposed on the vast expanse of the Sahara captures the seductive appeal of the audacious plan to cut Europe's carbon emissions by harnessing the fierce power of the desert sun. Dwarfed by any of the north African nations, it represents an area slightly smaller than Wales but scientists claimed yesterday it could one day generate enough solar energy to supply all of Europe with clean electricity.Speaking at the Euroscience Open Forum in Barcelona, Arnulf Jaeger-Walden of the European commission's Institute for Energy, said it would require the capture of just 0.3% of the light falling on the Sahara and Middle East deserts to meet all of Europe's energy needs.
· Huge £35bn supergrid would pool green sources · Brown and Sarkozy back north African plan
A concentrating solar power (CSP) plant in Spain that uses panels to refl ect light on to a central tower to produce electricity. Similar plants are proposed for north Africa. Photograph: AP
A tiny rectangle superimposed on the vast expanse of the Sahara captures the seductive appeal of the audacious plan to cut Europe's carbon emissions by harnessing the fierce power of the desert sun.
Dwarfed by any of the north African nations, it represents an area slightly smaller than Wales but scientists claimed yesterday it could one day generate enough solar energy to supply all of Europe with clean electricity.
Speaking at the Euroscience Open Forum in Barcelona, Arnulf Jaeger-Walden of the European commission's Institute for Energy, said it would require the capture of just 0.3% of the light falling on the Sahara and Middle East deserts to meet all of Europe's energy needs.
Or will they take ideas from the stranded wind initiative in the US and use the electricity to create useful burnable chemicals ? keep to the Fen Causeway
But this makes sense. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
which would probably be useful for something else as well.
what about glass? all that sand..
i know it's heavy, but plastic might get expensive. (as it should, until we figure out how not to pollute so much). The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it. Chinese Proverb.
Enel: in Sicily One of the First Off-Shore Wind Farms in the Mediterranean Tuesday, Jul 22, 2008 Rome, 10 July 2008 - Enel has deposited the project design for one of the first off-shore wind farms in the Mediterranean Sea. The request for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been delivered by Enel to the Ministry of the Environment and the Region of Sicily. Italy's first off-shore wind facility will foresee the installation of 115 large generators with a capacity of between 3 and 5 megawatts each in the waters of the Gulf of Gela at least 3 nautical miles off-shore, between the towns of Licata (in the province of Agrigento), Butera and Gela (both in the province of Caltanissetta). The project, developed through a joint venture between Enel (57%) and Moncada Costruzioni (43%), will have a total installed capacity of between 345 and 575 MW. The maximum cost of the investment will be about 500 million euros. Once fully operational, the plant will generate 1,150 million KWh of power, enough to meet the needs of 390,000 households, avoiding CO2 emissions of about 815,000 metric tons a year.
Rome, 10 July 2008 - Enel has deposited the project design for one of the first off-shore wind farms in the Mediterranean Sea. The request for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been delivered by Enel to the Ministry of the Environment and the Region of Sicily.
Italy's first off-shore wind facility will foresee the installation of 115 large generators with a capacity of between 3 and 5 megawatts each in the waters of the Gulf of Gela at least 3 nautical miles off-shore, between the towns of Licata (in the province of Agrigento), Butera and Gela (both in the province of Caltanissetta).
The project, developed through a joint venture between Enel (57%) and Moncada Costruzioni (43%), will have a total installed capacity of between 345 and 575 MW. The maximum cost of the investment will be about 500 million euros. Once fully operational, the plant will generate 1,150 million KWh of power, enough to meet the needs of 390,000 households, avoiding CO2 emissions of about 815,000 metric tons a year.
And this is a very early stage. This does not look like it would be built before 5 years or so at least. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
Light therapy 'beats plaque bugs' Plaque can damage the teeth and gums Scientists have developed a mouthwash that allows plaque-causing bacteria to be destroyed using nothing more than a bright light. It works using the same principles as some skin cancer treatments. Leeds Dental Institute say it may be available inside three years for home use - perhaps with the light attached to the head of a toothbrush. The same team is also working on a "repair solution" to help the body grow new enamel. They believe this could reduce the need for "drilling and filling". In our experiments, we've been using standard white light - I've been using a conventional security light Dr Simon WoodLeeds Dental Institute Both projects are being spearheaded by Professor Jennifer Kirkham, who believes they could make a big difference to dental care. The mouthwash uses "photodynamic therapy", and Professor Kirkham sees it as a way to help people who find it hard to use a toothbrush. Antibacterial molecules in the liquid are absorbed only by plaque-causing bacteria, and activated when a bright light is shone into the mouth, killing them.
Scientists have developed a mouthwash that allows plaque-causing bacteria to be destroyed using nothing more than a bright light.
It works using the same principles as some skin cancer treatments.
Leeds Dental Institute say it may be available inside three years for home use - perhaps with the light attached to the head of a toothbrush.
The same team is also working on a "repair solution" to help the body grow new enamel.
They believe this could reduce the need for "drilling and filling".
Both projects are being spearheaded by Professor Jennifer Kirkham, who believes they could make a big difference to dental care.
The mouthwash uses "photodynamic therapy", and Professor Kirkham sees it as a way to help people who find it hard to use a toothbrush.
Antibacterial molecules in the liquid are absorbed only by plaque-causing bacteria, and activated when a bright light is shone into the mouth, killing them.
