/nov

Spanish superspy Francisco Paesa, 75, gets out of yet another scrape. Paru le 29/11/2011 dans The Guardian

►http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/29/spanish-superspy-franciso-paesa

For years Paesa featured on Interpol’s most wanted list after a Spanish court accused him of laundering millions of pounds stolen by a corrupt senior socialist government official.

Paesa had previously been involved in a sting operation against the Basque terrorist group Eta in 1986, in which he sold them missiles fitted with radio transmitters so that they could be tracked by the police.

His name was also mentioned in the mid-1990s as a middleman between the socialist government of prime minister Felipe González and the so-called Anti Terrorist Liberation Group (GAL), set up by Spain’s interior ministry to carry out attacks in south-west France on suspected Eta members.

The group hired mercenaries from Portugal, Italy and elsewhere to carry out attacks that killed 26 people – a third of whom turned out to have nothing to do with Eta.

Paesa’s contacts were said to be several bag men who worked in González’s office when he was prime minister between 1982 and 1996 – though courts found insufficient evidence to convict him of any GAL-related charges.

Jerusalem dance studio is the new frontline in battle for secular liberty | World news | The Observer
►http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/27/jerusalem-dance-studio-dancers

Since the company renovated its premises in the centre of Jerusalem, installing picture windows that let passers-by see the rehearsals, ultra-orthodox Jews in the locality have waged a campaign against what they call the “indecency” of the women dancers.

They have demanded that the company close the blinds to conceal the women, banging on the windows and yelling through the glass whenever it has not complied.

Last week the company took a stand. It raised the blinds for an informal performance of Babel and the dancers continue to rehearse in full view.

Tension between the Haredim and other Jews is mounting across Israel. But it is acute in Jerusalem, where the proportion of Haredim is more than 20% and rising fast because of their high birth rate and the flight of many secular Jews from the city. Many non-Haredim say that the ultra-orthodox wield disproportionate influence on Jerusalem’s politics and social policy. Amir Kolben, the founder of the dance company, says its visibility is only one issue. “Jerusalem is full of friction points between ultra-orthodox Jews and secular culture. We have nothing against religious or orthodox Jews, but unfortunately this is not the case from the other side,” he said..

#Israël #ultra-orthodoxes #sexisme #artistes

#Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant operator ’ignored tsunami warning’ | World news | The Guardian
►http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/29/fukushima-daiichi-operator-tsunami-warning

Tokyo Electric Power (#Tepco) officials rejected “unrealistic” estimates made in a 2008 internal report that the plant could be threatened by a tsunami of up to 10.2 metres, Kyodo news agency said.

The tsunami that crippled backup power supplies at the plant on the afternoon of 11 March, leading to the meltdown of three reactors, was more than 14 metres high.

#nucléaire

(ce genre de truc qui ne fait scandale que dans les cas où la catastrophe est arrivée)

Bahrain medics face new charges of supplying weapons to protesters | World news | The Guardian
►http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/28/bahrain-medics-face-new-charges

Twenty staff from the Salmaniya Medical Complex in Manama had thought their ordeal might be ending on Monday after the release of last week’s report detailing human rights abuses by Bahrain’s security forces during the Pearl revolution in February.

The report by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) found allegations that the medics “assisted the demonstrators by supplying them with weapons” to be unfounded.

But prosecutors produced guns, swords, knives and chains and claimed this was proof against the doctors, nurses, and paramedics. These weapons had not been presented previously – and led to an incredulous response in court. “It was really hilarious,” one of them, Dr Nada Dhaif, told BBC Radio 5. “The government has missed the chance that anyone will take this seriously.”

The 20 were initially convicted in the military-run national safety court in September on a raft of charges, including incitement to overthrow the regime. The government said they were involved with “hardline protesters” and they were sentenced to five to 15 years.

Au fait, tu sais que Bahrein a voté les sanctions économiques contre la Syrie ?

Gay clergy row threatens mass resignations from Church of Scotland | World news | The Guardian
►http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/14/gay-clergy-row-mass-resignation

The Church of Scotland is braced for mass resignations over moves to allow the ordination of gay ministers, with up to 150 conservative and evangelical ministers threatening to quit, the Guardian can reveal.

The rebellion began after the Church of Scotland became the first major presbyterian church in the world to allow openly gay and lesbian ministers to take up parishes at its general assembly in May, despite evidence that 20% of its elders and office-bearers could leave in protest.

#religion

26 bodies found in abandoned vehicles in Mexico
►http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/24/bodies-found-abandoned-vehicles-mexico

Twenty-six bodies were discovered bound and gagged on Thursday in vehicles abandoned in the heart of Guadalajara, Mexico’s second-largest city and the site of the recent Pan American Games, officials said.

Brazil census shows African-Brazilians in the majority for the first time | World news | The Guardian
►http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/17/brazil-census-african-brazilians-majority

Preliminary results from the 2010 census, released on Wednesday, show that 97 million Brazilians, or 50.7% of the population, now define themselves as black or mixed race, compared with 91 million or 47.7% who label themselves white.

According to the census, 7.6% of Brazilians said they were black, compared with 6.2% in 2000, and 43.1% said they were mixed race, up from 38.5%.

In 1872, when Brazil’s first census was conducted, the population was split into just two groups: free people and slaves, who then represented 15% of the population.

A parallel study, released this week by the Data Popular Institute, provided further evidence of the racial divide that continues to blight Brazilian society. The wealthiest group of Brazilians – known as “Class A” – was made up of 82.3% white people and just 17.7% African-Brazilians.

In contrast “Class E” – the poorest section of society – was 76.3% African-Brazilian and 23.7% white.

en conclusion

A news report on the census findings aired by the Brazilian channel Record TV said the rise in Brazil’s officially black and mixed race population was “a signal of growing pride among the descendants of Africans”. The story was presented by a white reporter and introduced by two white news anchors.

#démographie #discriminations #Brésil

Fake terror plots, paid informants : the tactics of FBI ’#entrapment' questioned | World news | guardian.co.uk
►http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/16/fbi-entrapment-fake-terror-plots?CMP=twt_gu

Instead Williams and three other struggling local men beset by drug, criminal and mental health issues were convicted of an Islamic terrorist plot to blow up Jewish synagogues and shoot down military jets with missiles.

Even more shocking was that the organisation, money, weapons and motivation for this plot did not come from real Islamic terrorists. It came from the FBI, and an informant paid to pose as a terrorist mastermind paying big bucks for help in carrying out an attack. For McWilliams, her own government had actually cajoled and paid her beloved nephew into being a terrorist, created a fake plot and then jailed him for it. “I feel like I am in the Twilight Zone,” she told the Guardian.

Lawyers for the so-called Newburgh Four have now launched an appeal that will be held early next year. Advocates hope the case offers the best chance of exposing the issue of FBI “entrapment” in terror cases.

Après ce genre d’articles, j’ai toujours un pensée émue pour tous ceux qui passent un temps considérable à expliquer que les « théories du complot » ne sont destinées qu’aux déséquilibrés et aux fachos.

Anglican newspaper defends ’Gaystapo’ article | World news | The Guardian
►http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/08/anglican-newspaper-defends-gaystapo-article

An Anglican newspaper has defended the publication of an article that compares gay rights campaigners to Nazis, saying the author has “pertinent views”.

The column, by former east London councillor Alan Craig, appeared in the 28 October edition of the Church of England Newspaper, one of the oldest newspapers in the world. Although it is independent of the institution bearing the same name, it carries adverts for Church of England jobs and is read by its clergy.

#religion

Mullah Omar warns Taliban against hurting Afghan civilians | World news | The Guardian
►http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/04/mullah-omar-warns-taliban-afghan-civilians

Taliban foot soldiers will face sharia justice if they kill or injure innocent civilians without taking precautions, the fugitive leader of the Afghan insurgency has warned.

Mullah Omar, the Taliban’s supreme cleric, released an 1,800-word statement that dwelled at length on the need to protect civilians in a sign of the insurgency’s growing defensiveness on the issue.

Ireland closure of Vatican embassy angers Catholic church leaders | World news | guardian.co.uk
►http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/04/ireland-closure-vatican-embassy-catholic

The leader of Ireland’s Catholics has criticised the republic’s government for closing its embassy to Vatican City.

Cardinal Sean Brady expressed his “profound disappointment” over the move, which comes after diplomatic clashes this year between the Fine Gael-Labour coalition and the Holy See over the Vatican’s handling of the clerical child sex abuse scandals in Ireland.

#religion

Non : rigoureusement aucune bassesse ne sera épargnée par ce régime à l’encontre des palestiniens.

Israeli doctors “failing to report torture of Palestinian detainees” | guardian.co.uk (via @angryarab)
►http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/03/israeli-doctors-report-torture-palestinian

Medical professionals in Israel are being accused of failing to document and report injuries caused by the ill-treatment and torture of detainees by security personnel in violation of their ethical code.

A report by two Israeli human rights organisations, the Public Committee Against Torture (PCAT) and Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), claims that medical staff are also failing to report suspicion of torture and ill-treatment, returning detainees to their interrogators and passing medical information to interrogators.

UK military steps up plans for Iran attack amid fresh nuclear fears | World news | The Guardian
►http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/02/uk-military-iran-attack-nuclear

Britain’s armed forces are stepping up their contingency planning for potential military action against Iran amid mounting concern about Tehran’s nuclear enrichment programme, the Guardian has learned.

The Ministry of Defence believes the US may decide to fast-forward plans for targeted missile strikes at some key Iranian facilities. British officials say that if Washington presses ahead it will seek, and receive, UK military help for any mission, despite some deep reservations within the coalition government.

In anticipation of a potential attack, British military planners are examining where best to deploy Royal Navy ships and submarines equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles over the coming months as part of what would be an air and sea campaign.

They also believe the US would ask permission to launch attacks from Diego Garcia, the British Indian ocean territory, which the Americans have used previously for conflicts in the Middle East.