Commonwealth Day

From the GC of Canada:
"Commonwealth Day"

Message from His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston,
Governor General of Canada, on the Occasion of
Commonwealth Day

 

OTTAWA—The 54 member nations of the Commonwealth are bound together by history, trade and shared values. Since it began in 1975, Commonwealth Day has served as an occasion to celebrate these bonds, and every year one theme in particular has been singled out for special consideration.

The theme of the 2013 Commonwealth Day, “Opportunity through Enterprise,” highlights one of today’s most valuable shared resources: the innovative thinking and enterprising spirit that sow a great deal of the wealth, on which our countries depend. From big business to small rural communities, government to civil society, we are unlocking opportunities for people from all walks of life. This year, we also mark the creation of the Charter of the Commonwealth, which, for the first time in one accessible document, brings together the values and aspirations that unite us. Democracy, human rights, the rule of law, fundamental freedoms, peace, prosperity—we have all expressed our desire and our commitment to these ideals. It is now our duty, as members of the Commonwealth, to improve the lives of our people, and to make ours a smarter, more caring world. May the spirit of Commonwealth Day imbue us with a feeling of joy and togetherness. I wish you all a prosperous year, filled with new and exciting opportunities.

^ It would be good if Commonwealth Day was more of an official holiday in all 54 nations that make up the Commonwealth otherwise what is the point of having it in the first place. I was only able to find something that mentioned what today was on the Gov. General of Canada's website and that is just plain sad. How can you expect the countries and their people to take the Commonwealth seriously when the Federal Governments don't? ^

http://gg.ca/document.aspx?id=14977

Oz (2013)

I just saw this movie today. The full title is: "Oz: The Great and Powerful." I thought is was a good (but not great) movie. There were lots of times when it seemed to drag on forever and were boring. I did like the colorful scenes, but most of the movie was dark. I also don't see any reason to pay to see the 3-D version just because it is the trend nowadays -  just like it was in the 1950s.. James Franco was ok as Oz, but not the best. Mila Kunis didn't look or sound like the Wicked Witch of the West. I usually like her, but like Franco, she didn't seem to fit here. Zach Braff was funny as Finly and I liked the China Doll too. They both added real comic relief - without much trying. The basic storyline was decent, but had no twists or turns to keep you guessing what was going to happen. It was a very straightforward movie.

While the movie was rated PG I think it should have been rated PG-13 since it was pretty dark and had very little for children. Speaking of children: guess who sat right behind us in the theater? A family with 2 little kids (around 4 and 8.) They get kicking the seats, talking loudly and just being annoying. The parents did little to quiet them. It is times like these that I wish they had kid-free places (ie theaters, planes, restaurants, etc.) Why do other people have to be subjected to the screams of people's children and waste their money?

I heard they are already planning a sequel to this prequel. I am not sure if I would see it in the theater or wait for it on Netflix.

N. Korea Ends Pact

From the BBC:

"North Korea ends peace pacts with South"

North Korea says it is scrapping all non-aggression pacts with South Korea, closing its hotline with Seoul and shutting their shared border point. The announcement follows a fresh round of UN sanctions punishing Pyongyang for its nuclear test last month. Earlier, Pyongyang said it had a right to carry out a pre-emptive nuclear strike and was pulling out of the armistice that ended the Korean War. The US said "extreme rhetoric" was not unusual for Pyongyang. China, which is the North's only major ally, called for both North and South to show restraint and to continue talking. Beijing rarely criticises its ally, but has criticised the North's nuclear tests and has given support to the UN's sanctions. South Korea's President Park Geun-hye said the current security situation was "very grave" but that she would "deal strongly" with provocation from the North.

---

The threatened pre-emptive nuclear strike seems more bluff than reality, since the North's leaders know it would be suicidal, and an attack on the US seems impracticable given the still technically rudimentary quality of the North's ballistic missile programme and the unproven state of its nuclear miniaturisation technology needed to place a nuclear warhead atop a missile. A more troubling possibility is that the North might choose - out of irritation with the UN - to precipitate a border clash with South Korea, either on land or sea, as it did before in 2010.  The two Koreas have reached a range of agreements over the years, including a 1991 pact on resolving disputes and avoiding military clashes, but the North Korean statement did not expand on what was being cancelled.  It also said it was notifying the South that it was "immediately" cutting off the North-South hotline, saying there was "nothing to talk to the puppet group of traitors about". The hotline, installed in 1971, is intended as a means of direct communication at a time of high tension, but is also used to co-ordinate the passage of people and goods through the heavily-fortified Demilitarized Zone.

Resolution 2094

• Strongly condemns North Korea's ongoing nuclear activities, including its uranium enrichment programme
• Imposes new sanctions to block financial transactions and bulk cash transfers in support of illicit activity
• Strengthens states' authority to inspect suspicious cargo
• Requires states to deny port access to any North Korean vessel that refuses to be inspected
• Calls on states to deny permission to any aircraft to take off, land in or overfly their territory if the aircraft is suspected of transporting prohibited items
• Enables stronger enforcement of existing sanctions by UN member states
• Sanctions new individuals and entities

^ It seems, as usual, to be all talk. As one news reporter said it was "big talk from a little man." North Korea has repeatedly bombed South Korea, crossed the border in tunnels, kidnap civilizans since the 1953 ceasefire. Usually the US and South Korea do nothing more than talk back or create sanctions. I don't think North Korea has the military power to bomb the US, but they could invade the South again. Hopefully, China will keep its ally in line especially because now China needs the US more than North Korea (a far cry from the 1950s.) ^

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21709917

Chavez Tomb

From USA Today:
"Venezuela: Chávez remains to be on view indefinitely"

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez's remains will be specially embalmed so they can be kept on view indefinitely to inspire future generations, the country's vice president said. "The remains will be kept in a crystal coffin, just like Ho Chi Minh, Mao and Lenin," Vice President Nicolas Maduro said in a television broadcast from the military academy where Chávez's body is  The president's initial resting place will be an army post in the mountain overlooking Caracas from where Chávez launched his first coup in 1992, Maduro said. The command post is being converted into a Museum of the Revolution.

^ Thsi is just stupid. The way they are discribing the crowds waiting to see his body reminded me of the story in Pravda about Stalin's death in 1953. Of course several years later he was named a murderous dictator and his body removed from Lenin's tomb. I am curious to see if the same thing happens in a few years with Chavez's body. ^

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/03/07/venezuela-chavez-death/1969867/

Russian Foreign Care

From MT:
"Government Approves Rules For Medical Care for Foreigners"

The government has approved new rules for providing medical care to foreigners, including free emergency health care, a decree published Wednesday said. Foreign nationals temporarily or permanently residing in Russia are eligible for free medical assistance for sudden acute illnesses and exacerbations of chronic diseases that are life threatening, according to a decree published on the Garant legal information portal. "Emergency and specialized medical care is provided to foreign nationals in case of diseases, accidents, injuries, poisoning and other conditions that require immediate medical intervention. At medical organizations within the state and municipal health system, such medical care is provided free of charge to foreign nationals," the decree said.  Other emergency treatment or routine health care is provided to foreign nationals for a fee or in accordance with their existing health insurance plan.

 ^ This is good news although I know many Russians who do not use their own health care system because of the long waits, poor sanity and lack of good equipment and doctors. You would think that the Russian Government should fix their crumbling health care system before expanding it (I said the same thing about the US Government and our new health care law.) ^

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/government-approves-rules-for-medical-care-for-foreigners/476654.html

 

9-11 Knives

From Yahoo:
"New TSA rules on knives draw fire from 9/11 kin"

Some family members of victims killed in the Sept. 11 terror attacks said Wednesday that they are outraged by the Transportation Security Administration's decision to let passengers carry pocketknives on planes. TSA Administrator John Pistole announced Tuesday that airline passengers will be able to carry pocketknives with blades less than 2.36 inches long and less than half an inch wide. Souvenir baseball bats, golf clubs and other sports equipment also will be permitted starting next month. The agency said the policy aligns the U.S. with international standards and allows the TSA to concentrate on more serious safety threats. Unions representing flight attendants and other airline workers decried the change, and several relatives of people killed when terrorists hijacked four U.S. airliners on Sept. 11, 2001, criticized the move as well. "I'm flabbergasted," said Sally Regenhard, whose firefighter son was killed at the World Trade Center. "I'm really disgusted by this latest news." Regenhard said she recently had a container of yogurt confiscated by the TSA because it was a gel. "I'm just wondering why a yogurt is more dangerous than a penknife or a golf club," she said. Debra Burlingame, whose brother Charles was the pilot of the plane that crashed into the Pentagon, said a pocketknife can be just as deadly as a box cutter, like the ones the hijackers used. Box cutters will still be banned under the new rules. "When you're drawing a blade against someone's neck, they're quite lethal," Burlingame said. "This is bad news." Burlingame said Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed told interrogators that the hijackers each used "a Swiss knife," a brand of pocketknife, to butcher a sheep and a camel as part of their training. The transcript of the 2003 interrogation was part of the 9/11 Commission Report.  Burlingame suspects the TSA decided to allow folding knives because they are hard to spot. She said the agency's employees "have a difficult time seeing these knives on X-ray screening, which lowers their performance testing rates."

Several relatives of those who died on United Flight 93, whose passengers tried to wrest control of the plane before it crashed in Shanksville, Pa., questioned the policy change. "What's the difference between a pocketknife and a box cutter, for crying out loud?" asked David Beamer, whose son Todd led the Flight 93 revolt with the words, "Let's roll." ''I cannot see the upside to this." Alice Hoagland, whose son Mark Bingham was another leader of the attempt to take back Flight 93, called it "a dreadful mistake to loosen the rules." "We are increasing the chances of flight attendants and passengers being attacked while in the air," said Hoagland, a retired flight attendant. "This decision was made in order to make the TSA look a little better, to ease up on the standard so they won't have egg on their face."

^ I thought the same thing when I first heard about this change. It is pretty stupid to allow any knives on-board. ^

http://news.yahoo.com/tsa-rules-knives-draw-fire-9-11-kin-191051767.html

Knives On Planes

From the TSA Blog:

" TSA Prohibited Items List Changing April 25th - Small Pocket Knives and Some Sporting Goods Items to be Permitted"

TSA established a committee to review the prohibited items list based on an overall risk-based security approach. After the review, TSA Administrator John S. Pistole made the decision to start allowing the following items in carry-on bags beginning April 25th:

- Small Pocket Knives – Small knives with non-locking blades smaller than 2.36 inches and less than 1/2 inch in width will be permitted

- Small Novelty Bats and Toy Bats

- Ski Poles

- Hockey Sticks

- Lacrosse Sticks

- Billiard Cues

- Golf Clubs (Limit Two)

This is part of an overall Risk-Based Security approach, which allows Transportation Security Officers to better focus their efforts on finding higher threat items such as explosives. This decision aligns TSA more closely with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards.

These similar items will still remain on the prohibited items list:

 

-Razor blades and box cutters will remain prohibited in carry-on luggage.

- Full-size baseball, softball and cricket bats are prohibited items in carry-on luggage.

 

. Again, please note these changes are effective April 25, 2013

 

 

^ I can understand allowing Swiss army style knves on-board, but none of the other knives or bats or sticks. ^

 

 

http://blog.tsa.gov/2013/03/tsa-prohibited-items-list-changing_5.html

Chavez Dead

From Yahoo:

"Hugo Chavez, fiery Venezuelan leader, dies at 58"

 President Hugo Chavez was a fighter. The former paratroop commander and fiery populist waged continual battle for his socialist ideals and outsmarted his rivals time and again, defeating a coup attempt, winning re-election three times and using his country's vast oil wealth to his political advantage. A self-described "subversive," Chavez fashioned himself after the 19th Century independence leader Simon Bolivar and renamed his country the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. He called himself a "humble soldier" in a battle for socialism and against U.S. hegemony. He thrived on confrontation with Washington and his political opponents at home, and used those conflicts to rally his followers. Almost the only adversary it seemed he couldn't beat was cancer. He died Tuesday in Caracas at 4:25 local time after his prolonged illness. He was 58. During more than 14 years in office, his leftist politics and grandiose style polarized Venezuelans.

^ The world and Venezuela are better now that he is gone. ^

http://news.yahoo.com/hugo-chavez-fiery-venezuelan-leader-dies-58-220210262.html

Nurse Refuses CPR

From the BBC:
"Lorraine Bayless death: Inquiry after nurse refuses CPR"

Police in California have begun an inquiry into the death of an elderly woman after a nurse at her senior community refused to administer CPR. The nurse also disregarded an emergency dispatcher's plea to find "anybody that's willing to help this lady and not let her die" before medics arrived. She said staff members were not allowed to administer CPR. The executive director of Glenwood Gardens in Bakersfield defended the nurse, saying she had followed policy. Bakersfield police said they were opening the inquiry to determine whether there was criminal wrongdoing in the case, but would not comment further on the investigation. An unidentified woman reportedly called an emergency line after Lorraine Bayless, 87, collapsed inside a dining room and appeared barely to be breathing. A nurse at Glenwood Gardens then got on the phone to say she could not perform CPR.

In a tape of the call, dispatcher Tracey Halvorson can be heard saying: "I understand if your boss is telling you, you can't do it but... as a human being... is there anybody that's willing to help this lady and not let her die?" "Not at this time," the nurse replies. The dispatcher suggests the nurse find another staff member - a gardener perhaps - or a passing stranger to help. Kern County Fire Department Deputy Chief Michael Miller said Ms Halvorson followed procedures during the call.

The elderly woman had no pulse and was not breathing when fire crews reached her, Battalion Chief Anthony Galagaza said.  Bayless was later pronounced dead at Mercy Southwest Hospital.

^ This is disgusting. Any place that has a policy of refusing to help those that need it should be shut down. The fact that it was a place for the elderly and the woman was a nurse makes this even more sick. What is the point of having a nurse on staff if they can't even do CPR? There is no point. The same with nurses at public schools who are as useless as gym classes. I hope CA does something right for a change and does something against the home and the woman who calls herself a nurse (she should have her credentials taken from her.) ^

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-21664236

Stalin's Death: 60 Years

From the MT:

"Stalin Lives On, 60 Years After Death"

  Yury Fidelgoltz, a Stalin-era gulag survivor, has an answer ready when he hears people pine for the "good old days" under Uncle Joe. "My answer is clear. If Stalin came to power now, you wouldn't talk like that because he'd snap your necks!" Fidelgoltz said, leaning forward in his chair, his blue eyes narrowing during a recent conversation in his apartment in Moscow. Fidelgoltz, 85, was a 20-year-old aspiring actor when he was sentenced to a decade of hard labor for anti-Soviet scribblings in his private diary. He served six years, from 1948 to 1954, before his release, the result of a liberalization policy in the wake of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin's death. Fidelgoltz is one of thousands of survivors who have lived to see the 60th anniversary of Stalin's death on Tuesday, a reminder of the human cost of Stalin's 30-year rule. Other reminders of Stalin's regime are all around us — from the Moscow metro that millions of Muscovites ride to work, to the country's UN Security Council seat and nuclear arsenal. Some say Stalin even lives in the language and mentality of the country's officials, whom critics accuse of a Stalin-like tendency to use violence to solve problems. "He's very much alive," said human rights leader and former Soviet dissident Lyudmila Alexeyeva. Experts and human rights leaders say Stalin, still a controversial figure, is a bellwether for the nation's anxiety about the present, and a potent symbol that the government exploits and abuses at its own risk. Stalin ruled Russia from 1922 to 1953, during which time he oversaw the country's rapid industrialization, the collectivization of agriculture, and the Allied victory in World War II, as well as a system of political repression that saw millions imprisoned and killed. He left his mark on the map of Russia, adding the Kuril Islands — seized from Japan just before the war's end — and the Siberian republic of Tuva, while also creating the Leningrad region and the Jewish autonomous region. Also, under Stalin, the Soviet Union became a nuclear power and gained permanent membership on the UN Security Council, where Russia has made headlines in recent months by blocking Western-backed proposals to pressure Syrian leader Bashar Assad. Closer to home, Stalin ordered the construction of Moscow's metro system, the iconic Seven Sisters skyscrapers, and what is now the All-Russia Exhibition Center. "It's the architecture of a totalitarian utopia," with monumental scale, expensive decor and elements of historical styles from classicism to gothic, said Natalya Samover, head of Arkhnadzor, a group that promotes architectural preservation. But experts agreed that Stalin's most important legacy is the debate he inspires between supporters, who tend to see him as a strong, incorruptible leader, and detractors, who see him as bloody tyrant. The ambivalence that Russians feel toward Stalin is apparent in a recent public opinion poll by the independent Levada Center. Forty-nine percent of respondents said the dictator played a positive role in Russian history, while 55 percent associated his death on March 5, 1953, with the end of terror and repression and the liberation of millions of innocent people from imprisonment. By comparison, only 18 percent said his death meant the loss of a great leader and teacher. Lev Gudkov, the Levada Center's direct, said that when it came to Stalin, Russians suffered from a kind of schizophrenia that is increasingly turning into indifference as the years pass. Other indicators suggest that his popularity has increased in recent years. The percentage of respondents who call him the most outstanding historical figure jumped from 12 to 36 percent between 1989 and 2008, according to Levada polls, a fact that Gudkov partly blames on Putin-era propaganda. Beginning in 2000, Putin's government has "very quietly and equivocally" improved the image of Stalin and the Soviet era, tying Stalin to the Allied victory in World War II and praising the modernization that took place on his watch, Gudkov said. Portraits of Stalin on city buses commemorating Victory Day in St. Petersburg have appeared, as well as a quote praising Stalin inside the Kurskaya metro station that reads, "Stalin reared us on loyalty to the people. He inspired us to labor and heroism." Senior government officials, including Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, have expressed support for going back to Volgograd's World War II-era name, Stalingrad. The city provoked a nationwide discussion when it approved a measure to revert back to its old name on six war-related holidays. There was also the appearance of a school history textbook in 2008 that praised Stalin as an "effective manager" whose campaign of terror was a rational step toward modernization. The strategy has gone hand-in-hand with Putin's own brand of authoritarianism, which has included its own modernization and anti-corruption campaigns, as well as a call for stability, Gudkov said. Alexeyeva, the rights leader, put it more bluntly. "The regime wants to be a dictatorship like Stalin's, perhaps without the bloodshed, but they want everyone to fear and praise them and keep their mouths shut," she said. But was Stalin's era the utopia of order, quality services and clean streets that many supporters say it was? Oleg Khlevnyuk, a Stalin expert and senior researcher at the Russian National Archives, said no — these ideas have little to no foundation in reality. The crime rate was very high under Stalin, bureaucrats did steal, and average people lived exclusively poorly and often starved, he said. As for the Soviet Union's great-power status, "Maybe they feared us, but I can't understand what joy that brought to regular people," he said. What these myths are really about are anxieties regarding contemporary Russia. Concerns about corruption, crime, Russia's status and the standard of living give birth to an imagined past, he said. "There are political forces that are ready to play this Stalin card, but nothing would work for them if there weren't this public yearning. It's politically dangerous for the government, but they have to say something positive because there are a lot of people who like Stalin," he said. Opposition activists have accused the current government of being Stalinist. References to "1937" — the height of the Great Purge, which saw 725,000 executions over two years — have been frequent since the Kremlin began ramping up restrictions on critics and nonconformists last year. In public remarks, Putin has attempted to toe the line between praising Stalin's achievements and condemning his abuses. During his annual call-in television show in 2009, Putin said that the Soviet Union had industrialized under Stalin and that nobody could "throw stones" at those who led the Soviet Army to Berlin in World War II because defeat would have been "catastrophic." But, he said, these achievements were reached at an "unacceptable" cost: Millions suffered from repressions, and crimes were widely committed against the Russian people. On another occasion, he condemned the idea that Russia should return to, or needs, a totalitarian regime, which he said would "kill peoples' freedom and creativity," thereby derailing the economy, society and political sphere.  Nonetheless, Stalinist sayings have a way of popping out of officials' mouths, giving some the impression that the great dictator might have friends in high places."One death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic," is an oft-quoted saying, attributed to Stalin, as is, "It's not important how they voted, it's important how they counted the votes," said Sergei Lukashevsky, director of the Sakharov Center. Of equal concern is sympathy for Stalin within the security services. Andrei Soldatov, an intelligence analyst at Agentura.ru, said Stalin's influence lives on in the structure of the Federal Security Service, a successor agency to the KGB, as well as the mentality of many who serve in it. Russian counter-intelligence has a central office, as well as offices in almost every city, a sprawling network that allowed it, during the Stalinist era, to process large numbers of prisoners for repressions, he said. "As a result, it's much bigger than MI-5, and this structure was in no way reformed and exists to this day," Soldatov said. Stalin promoted a siege mentality that remains to this day, an idea that Russia is surrounded by enemies bent on weakening and destroying it, a mentality that's still convincing for many, Soldatov said.

 

^ It is interesting that this if even being debated 60 years after Stalin died especially since the Soviets in the early 1960s spoke out against everything Stalin had done (of course those who spoke out also survived the purges because they helped Stalin.) If the Soviets themselves say he was not a great man and even removed his body from Lenin's Tomb then it should be clear to Russians today that he was a murderous dictator that can only be likened to Hitler. ^

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/stalin-lives-on-60-years-after-death/476444.html

Psychiatric Soviets

From DW:

"'Psychiatric' prisoners want diagnoses reversed"

Twenty years after the breakup of the Soviet Union, a group of anti-Soviet Latvians who were sent to psychiatric institutions during communist rule are still waiting to have their diagnoses withdrawn and justice served. In 1989, when the Iron Curtain was beginning to fall, one of the first documentaries was made about the horrors of the Soviet regime. The film “The Dissident" portrayed a 53-year-old Latvian lawyer who was locked up for years in psychiatric hospitals. Such treatment, it seems, was not an isolated incident. From the late 1960s to the mid-80s, a group of Latvians were diagnosed with mental illnesses and locked away because of their anti-Soviet views and actions. Today, their diagnoses have still not been revoked. The subject of that film was Peteris Lazda, now 77 years old. He's still schizophrenic - that is, on paper. He was "diagnosed" back in 1978 after the KGB arrested him. Lazda had written leaflets saying Latvia wanted to leave the Soviet Union, and calling on Moscow to loosen its grip on the republic. After his arrest, during the trial that took place, Lazda said the verdict was merciless. "The court decided to send me to hospital for indefinite, compulsory treatment - it means confinement for life," he said. "They were hoping that I would die there, [or] that somebody would kill me there." Lazda was first sent to a psycho-neurological hospital in Riga. He was kept in prison, and eventually sent to psychiatric clinics in Leningrad and Volgograd, in what is present-day Russia. "I had a very, very tough time in Leningrad. I met an Estonian who was also locked up. He'd already spent 17 years there and he told me I would never leave the place. You can imagine how that affected me," Lazda said.  He was forced to take various anti-psychotic medicines like Haloperidol and Aminazin. He said the medication sometimes made him delirious. But that was just one part of the ordeal, he claimed. "The maintenance staff at the psychiatric hospital were criminals who were put away after committing crimes like robberies and murders. They actually killed some patients," Lazda said. "When that happened a prosecutor would arrive, make a statement, leave, and the case would soon be closed. The victim's remains would be buried on the hospital's grounds." Lazda managed to survive the torture, and was discharged in 1982 after four years in detention. He was able to return home to his wife and daughter. But he couldn't get a proper job because he was still officially certified as being mentally ill, which restricted his work options.

Lazda is one of up to 50 Latvians who were victims of the political abuse of psychiatry under communism. And their records still haven't been cleared. Andrejs Judins, a Latvian member of parliament, wants this injustice to end. Judins said that the presence of documents diagnosing someone with a mental illness because that person didn't want to serve in the Soviet military or was critical of the communist regime, "then there are grounds to rehabilitate that individual. And that diagnosis and treatment have to be declared false." Judins added that people like Lazda should have their diagnoses revoked on the basis of simply assessing their historic documents. The victims, he said, shouldn't be subjected to any more traumatic experiences, including psychological screenings.

Ritvars Jansons from the Museum of Occupation of Latvia said on national radio that it's important to clear the victims' records. "If we don't openly acknowledge that such people exist in Latvia, then we'll never be able to come to terms with our past," he said. Politicians have pledged to correct this historic injustice without delay. But Lazda is not enthusiastic about the opportunity of being rehabilitated; in fact, quite the opposite. Lazda said it's deeply insulting that politicians have taken so long to remember people like him. And, he added, he doesn't need to prove his sanity to psychiatrists whom he doesn't even trust.

^ I have read many things regarding these mental hospitals and how the Soviets sent anyone "anti-Soviet" to them. There was even a case where a Hungarian was sent to a Soviet mental hospital and after the USSR collapsed it took years for anyone to release him. The staff all thought he was mentally retarded because they couldn't understand what he was saying - he was speaking his native Hungarian. On a side note: I have met many Russians that can not understand how non-Russians can not automatically speak and understand Russian. Once when I was in the Moscow Metro and stopped by the police for an identity check the policeman couldn't understand why I spoke Russian with an accent even though he was looking at my American passport (thus showing I wasn't a native Russian.) He also couldn't understand why my American passport was not in Russian. I explained to him that I wasn't Russian, but American and that we use English, but my American passport had a Russian visa in it that was in both Russian and English. People I tell that story to say he was joking with me, but he looked and acted like some hillbilly from the Russian steepes who somehow made his way to the big city so I don't think he was joking - he was probably too stupid to know any better. Russia (as the self-appointed successor state of the Soviet Union) should compensate ALL the victims of Soviet repression and oppression done both inside the USSR as well as the countries and territories they occupied. We make the Germans do the same for what the Nazis did to Europe and their victims. The only difference between the Nazis and the Soviets are that one lasted 12 years and the other 84. ^

http://www.dw.de/psychiatric-prisoners-want-diagnoses-reversed/a-16639562

Translating The Past

From DW:

"Anne Frank translator: Past remains important"

Author Mirjam Pressler, known for her work on Anne Frank's diaries, tells DW why books about difficult childhoods need to be read and why she became a translator.

DW: Congratulations on the Buber-Rosenzweig Medal which you're receiving on March 3 to honor your work for the understanding between Jews and Christians. This isn't the first award you have received, but is this award, which recognizes your literary and translation work, of a special significance to you?

Mirjam Pressler: Yes, of course it is. The understanding between Christians and Jews is a very important issue for me. It makes me very happy to receive this honor.

Why is this particular relationship still so important?

It is important for me to bring back this past world in which Jews had a big and important part in the German population. It's not only about keeping alive the memory of the Holocaust. In 2009, I published a biography about the history of Anne Frank's family. Those were well-off Frankfurt Jews, very assimilated. I read hundreds of letter from the family and it became apparent to me that there was a layer of German society that was completely lost. Even today it is a very big loss. And they were Germans. What I want is to emphasize is that they were there, that they were a part of society and that they were brutally wiped out and that society lost something very important when it happened.

You are Jewish and married to an Israeli. How do you personally think the state of the understanding is between Jews and Christians in Germany today?

I think that things are actually looking quite good. At least for the non-pious Jews. We have a secular society in Germany, religion doesn't play a role in everyday life. I myself basically never have difficulties and the Jews that I know all get by well. Of course there always is that big shock about neo-Nazis.

One of your main works is considered being the translator and editor of the diaries of Anne Frank, who was killed by the Nazis in 1945. It's often the story of young Jews in different eras that you focus on in your books for young people. But more generally it's also about difficult childhoods and outsiders. Are you worried that you won't find any young readers for such issues?

I don't think so because I believe that young readers can tell very well when stories are about something important or about something that's not important. There are always new young readers who are interested particularly in the period of Nazi Germany. It was a time that was so important and that still has political consequences today. Also, I don't write my books thinking about what teenagers might be interested in, but I write them because I want to write them. I always assume that if a topic is interesting to me, it will also be interesting to some other people. So far that's worked. As a teenager, I myself would have liked to read books about young outsiders and their difficulties because they would have helped me. If children are in a difficult situation in their lives and can read books where the protagonist is going through something similar then it might help them. And it will help others to be more sensitive to situations of friends or classmates.

For about 20 years now you have also been translating literature from Hebrew into German and work with some of the most successful Israeli authors, like Zeruya Shalev. What brought you to translating literature from Hebrew into German?

It is not actually something I wanted because it takes a lot more time to translate from Hebrew than from a European language. Hebrew has a different structure and different layers of language. It was a publisher who talked me into it. He always told me that it was my obligation and duty because I speak Hebrew. There were not and are not that many translators for the language. That's why he kept talking to me until I said 'alright, I'll translate one youth and one adult book and that's it.' I did those translations but then that was not it.

Why were there so few Hebrew translators in the 1980s? Was it mostly because of the Germany's past and the Holocaust?

Of course it was linked to the Holocaust. And to the fact it was only very late that Germany developed an interest in books and literature from Israel. Most of the autobiographical works were written when the people were already old - or at least not young anymore. In Israel, people didn't want to hear about it and neither did people in Germany. It took some time until people were ready to listen to those stories.

When or because of what did that change?

In Israel it clearly was the trial of Adolf Eichman 1961. After that, in Israel the situation for Holocaust survivors from Europe got better. People became interested in them and asked them to tell their stories. In Germany that happened at around the same period. I think the main reason was that time had passed. Because in Germany people didn't immediately have the idea to ask their parents "What did you do during the Nazi regime?" It took time to make it less personal; later it was only about the grandparent generation.What happened then – was there a renaissance of Israeli literature in Germany? Certainly. Zeruya Shalev is one example but not the only one. There is, for instance, also Aharon Appelfeld or Schoschana Rabinovici. Her book "Thanks to my Mother" was really important, I think. It's about a woman who as a child survives a Nazi concentration camp thanks to her mother and who writes down her recollections after her own children have grown up. And when there was an interest in literature from Israel, there also were people to translate it. I've never counted, but today there are probably around 10 translators in Germany who translate works from Hebrew. There are also translators in Israel that work for German publishing companies, but most of the work is being done here.

How has literature from Israeli authors changed?

There is now literature in Israel that has nothing to do with the Holocaust. This is very interesting and those books are also being published in Germany. There is a piece of normality that has been created here.

Mirjam Pressler was born 1940 in Darmstadt, Germany, and is author and translator of children's, young people's and adult's books. One of her most important work is the translating and editing of the diaries of Anne Frank, the world-famous notes of Jewish girl who in 1945 was killed by the Nazis. For her children's and youth books she already received numerous awards.

^ I have heard of Mirjam Pressler (especially with regards to her work with Anne Frank) but reading this article told me more about her and her life. I didn't know she was from Darmstadt - which is one of the German cities I lived in. I also didn't know about her work translating from Hebrew. This shed some new light on her work and was pretty interesting. ^

http://www.dw.de/anne-frank-translator-past-remains-important/a-16642123

Sequestration

From USA Today:
"President signs order to begin sequester cuts"

The White House made public an order at about 8:30 p.m. ET signed by President Obama making the budget cuts known as sequestration official and giving the federal government the authority to begin implementing $85 billion in across-the-board decreases. The order released by the White House demands that "budgetary resources in each non-exempt budget account be reduced by the amount calculated by the Office of Management and Budget." The cuts would run through Sept. 30, the end of the federal fiscal year. According to a letter dated today from Jeffrey Zients, deputy director for management of the Office of Management and Budget, to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, the sequestration calls for a 7.8% cut in non-exempt defense discretionary funds and 5% cut in non-exempt non-defense discretionary funding. It also calls for 2% cuts to Medicare, 5.1% to other non-exempt non-defense mandatory programs and 7.9% to non-exempt defense mandatory programs. The federal government has said the cuts will soon translate into furlough notices to government workers, and that there will be cuts to government spending on defense contracts and domestic government programs. The plan protects active military personnel and anti-poverty programs. The letter to Boehner, which introduced a detailed OMB report on the cuts, noted that federal lawmakers voted for sequestration "as a mechanism to compel the Congress to act on deficit reduction." The letter continued, "As a result of Congress's failure to act, the law requires the President to issue a sequestration order today canceling $85 billion in budgetary resources across the Federal Government for FY 2013." An identical letter was sent to the president of the Senate, Vice President Biden. The order comes after both Republican and Democratic alternatives to imposing across-the-board spending cuts failed to pass in the U.S. Senate. The Democratic plan would have imposed a tax of 30% or more on millionaires, and cuts to defense and farm programs. The Republican plan would have forced responsibility on the president to determine how to implement the cuts as opposed to imposing an across-the-board decrease.

^ It's official! The idiots in DC couldn't get their act together and do what is right for the American people. Sequestration today, possible government shut-down March 27th, but cut my Netflix and that's where I draw the line. ^

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/03/01/obama-signs-spending-cuts/1958177/

Illegals Released

From USA Today:
"Report: Thousands of illegal immigrants released"

The Homeland Security Department released from its jails more than 2,000 illegal immigrants facing deportation in recent weeks due to looming budget cuts and planned to release 3,000 more during March, the Associated Press has learned. The newly disclosed figures, cited in internal budget documents reviewed by the AP, are significantly higher than the "few hundred" illegal immigrants the Obama administration acknowledged this week had been released under the budget-savings process. The government documents show that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement or ICE released roughly 1,000 illegal immigrants from its jails around the U.S. each week since at least Feb. 15. The agency's field offices have reported more than 2,000 immigrants released before intense criticism this week led to a temporary shutdown of the plan, according to the documents. The states where immigrants were released include Arizona, California, Georgia and Texas. The White House has said it was not consulted about the releases, and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has acknowledged they occurred in a manner she regrets. White House spokesman Jay Carney on Wednesday said the government had released "a few hundred" of the roughly 30,000 illegal immigrants held in federal detention pending deportation proceedings. Carney said the immigrants released were "low-risk, noncriminal detainees," and the decision was made by career ICE officials.

^ This goes against the true meaning of illegal. Napolitano should loose her job for allowing this to happen. Why doesn't the Federal Government just release all criminals and let them run free in society and hope they report willingly? ICE seems to be run by complete idiots who want to encourage illegal activity. ^

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/01/homeland-security-illegal-immigrants/1957941/

Israeli Arabs Join Up

From the JP:

"More Arab Israelis volunteer for national service"

 When Nasim Awadallah finished high school two years ago, he didn’t have many prospects. His grades were not good enough to get into university. He worked at a minimum wage job for a few months but was not satisfied. So he volunteered for Israel’s national service, an alternative to army service, which is under the control of the Defense Ministry. He works at the same school he attended in his village. In the mornings, he helps the physical education teachers and in the afternoons he coaches three separate soccer teams. “I decided to do something with my life,” Awadallah tells The Media Line after a quick pick-up soccer game with some of his charges. “I decided to serve the country and I hope it will help me in the future. I think that after I do this, people will look at me differently.” Israel has a universal draft – three years for men and two years for women. Two large segments of the population are exempt from being drafted –Arab citizens of Israel and the ultra-Orthodox. They are, however, permitted to volunteer for both the army and the national service, and a growing number are doing so. National service began as an alternative framework for Orthodox Jewish girls who didn’t feel comfortable in the mixed gender environment of the army. According to Adi Luria of the Volunteers Association, jobs are available in a range of settings, from hospitals to education to clerical jobs. During their service, the candidates receive training and a small stipend. Afterwards they are eligible for government grants for education. “Israeli society gives a lot of weight to the army and serving your country,” Luria told The Media Line. “When you don’t do that, something is missing from your resume.” She says some 3000 Arab citizens of Israel are now volunteering – and the number is growing every year. But some have also criticized the volunteers for cooperating with the Ministry of Defense. “Some of the people I knew in east Jerusalem sent me nasty letters when they heard that I decided to join national service,” Awadallah said. “But then I said to myself, 'I don’t care. I need to do what’s right for my future.'” A smaller number of Arab citizens of Israel are serving in the army. Male Druse, an Arabic-speaking offshoot of Islam, are drafted and many have risen to high positions in the army. But until recently, very few Christians or Muslims volunteered for the army. “I always wanted to be drafted,” Arin Shaabi, 27, a military prosecutor in the army told The Media Line. “Arabs also live in this country. This is my country and I don’t see myself living anywhere else.” Arab citizens of Israel make up one-fifth of Israel’s population. They have long complained of discrimination in municipal budgets, education and job opportunities. The political leadership of their community still often discourages volunteering for national service, and certainly frowns on the army, which they see as a tool of the Israeli “occupation” of the West Bank.

Yet more and more young people are choosing to serve, and each one often convinces several friends to join as well. Nasim Awadallah says three of his friends have already signed up for next year. And he’s convinced he’s learning skills that will help him his whole life.

^ This seems like a good thing. If Israeli Arabs want more respect and money from the Israeli Jews then they should either serve in the Army or do National Service. Not only do they get trained in skills that can help them in their future career. but it shows that they want to be a part of Israel. Anyone who actively shows that kind of desire deserves the same rights as an Israeli Jew. Hopefully, the young Israeli Arabs will continue to join up and help bridge the gap between the Israeli Jews and the Israeli Arabs. ^

http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=305046

Stalin Love

From the BBC:

"Carnegie: Stalin still admired in ex-Soviet lands"

An opinion survey commissioned by the Carnegie Endowment says that Soviet dictator Josef Stalin has remained widely admired in Russia and other ex-Soviet nations, even though millions of people died under his brutally repressive rule. The Carnegie report, released Friday, was based on the first-ever comparative opinion polls in Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. It found that support for Stalin in Russia has actually increased since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. The report has concluded that public attitudes to the dictator have improved during Russian President Vladimir Putin's 13-year rule as the Kremlin has found Stalin's image useful in its efforts to tighten control. The tyrant led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. Communists and other hardliners credit him with leading the country to victory in World War II, and making it a nuclear superpower, while others condemn the brutal purges that killed millions of people. One of the report's authors, Lev Gudkov, a Russian sociologist whose polling agency conducted the survey, noted that in 1989, the peak of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's efforts to liberalize the country and expose Stalinist crimes, only 12 percent of Russians polled described Stalin as one of the most prominent historical figures. In the Carnegie poll last year, 42 percent of Russian respondents named Stalin as the most influential historical figure. "Vladimir Putin's Russia of 2012 needs symbols of authority and national strength, however controversial they may be, to validate the newly authoritarian political order," Gudkov wrote in the Carnegie report. "Stalin, a despotic leader responsible for mass bloodshed but also still identified with wartime victory and national unity, fits this need for symbols that reinforce the current political ideology." Putin, a former KGB officer, has avoided open public praise or criticism of Stalin, but he has restored Soviet-era symbols and focused on the nation's Soviet-era achievements rather than Stalinist crimes. Kremlin critics have seen attempts to whitewash Stalin's image as part of Putin's rollback on democracy. Many in Russia have been dismayed by government-sponsored school textbooks that paint Stalin in a largely positive light and by the reconstruction of a Moscow subway station that restored old Soviet national anthem lyrics praising Stalin as part of its interior decoration. In the most recent sign of respect for the dictator earlier this year, the regional legislature decreed that the city of Volgograd, which was known as Stalingrad until its renaming in 1961, should once again be known by its old name on days commemorating the historic WWII battle. In some Russian cities, authorities ordered images of Stalin to be put on city buses as part of festivities. The Carnegie report revealed that while a high number of Russians have a positive view of Stalin, his era mostly draws negative perceptions, an ambiguity that reflects public confusion, the legacy of totalitarian "doublethink" and paternalist state model. An even greater admiration of Stalin was seen in his homeland, Georgia, where 45 percent of respondents expressed a positive view of him. In Armenia, 38 percent of those polled said their country will always need leaders like Stalin. In Azerbaijan, where respondents viewed Stalin more negatively compared to the three other nations, 22 percent of those polled didn't even know who Stalin was.

^ It doesn't surprise me that former Soviets would love Stalin. The majority of them continue to live in tightly-controlled countries with the same leaders in power that were there during Soviet times. I have seen polls that show Germans think Hitler was a good man as well. If these polls show us anything it is that people can be just as blind and stupid during the reign of a violent dictator as they are 60+ years later. ^

http://news.yahoo.com/carnegie-stalin-still-admired-ex-soviet-lands-193309610.html

Furlough Borders

From the Globe and Mail:

"Ottawa wary of border tie-ups in wake of U.S. budget impasse"

Canada will be watching closely to see whether a massive scheduled budget cut in the United States this week will affect the Beyond the Border pact between the two countries, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said Wednesday. Unless polarized U.S. lawmakers can come together, about $85-billion (U.S.) in cuts are set to hit federal programs starting Friday.  Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said this week there would be pain for the Canada-U.S. border because her department would have to cut 5,000 border-patrol agents if the cuts go through. Mr. Baird said the deal is key to the prosperity of both countries. “We’re going to continue to be very, very focused on it,” he said Wednesday. “After March 1, we’ll see what challenges arise. Obviously, this is not the way Canada would prefer to make these types of budgetary decisions. But it is what it is.” Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President Barack Obama signed the vaunted border deal 14 months ago. It is designed to speed trade across the 49th parallel while protecting the North American continent from terrorist threats. Ms. Napolitano said the looming cuts, known as sequestration, will cause pain for Canadians, in particular at the busy Canada-U.S. border. “Sequester will be felt up there because there’s only a few big crossing places for trade on the Canadian-U.S. border and they’re really important crossing places,” Ms. Napolitano said in a speech to a Washington think tank. “In fact, trade-wise, they’re probably the No. 1 or 2 crossing places in the world. As sequester evolves and we have to furlough people who are port officers and not fill vacant positions, and not pay overtime, we’re unfortunately going to see those lines really stretch.” If Congress fails to reach a deal to avert the cuts, Ms. Napolitano said, the jobs will be lost. Cuts to customs and border security staff will increase congestion and hurt Canadian companies, said Fen Hampson, director of the global security program at the Waterloo, Ont., Centre for International Governance Innovation. “More generally, if there is a slowdown in U.S. growth as a result of sequestration’s general adverse impact on the U.S. economy as many predict, it will also hurt trade,” he said. “There is no win with sequestration and the current impending disaster underlines how far we really have to go to secure a meaningful beyond-the-border deal.” In addition to the 5,000 border patrol agents, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection is preparing to reduce its work hours by the equivalent of 2,750 inspectors as well, meaning cargo inspections at the border could drag on interminably for Canadian exporters. David Jacobson, the U.S. ambassador, has said repeatedly that the best thing his country can do for Canada is to get its fiscal house in order. With this latest round of gridlock gripping Washington, various U.S. federal departments and agencies are laying out how they plan to cut costs. The Pentagon will be forced to impose $55-billion in cuts and will call on 800,000 civilian employees to take unpaid time off. Ms. Napolitano’s remarks raise questions about the future progress on the border deal. In part, its success will be measured on the implementation of a series of pilot projects between the two countries. “Sequestration is also going to make it much harder to get the attention of the White House and those who are friendly to making a deal with Canada in the U.S. Congress,” Mr. Hampson said.

In December, the two countries said in a progress report that they’d made significant progress but realize there’s still much work to do. One outstanding project is the next generation of cross-border law enforcement, which will see police and security officials work even more closely than they do now. It would build on joint border-policing efforts by creating integrated teams in areas such as intelligence and criminal investigations. Two pilot projects were supposed to be up and running by last summer, but the progress report says officials are still evaluating the “operational and legal requirements” involved.

^ I believe the furloughs are going to happen tomorrow because the President nor Congress seem to care about fixing the problem. They are all being stubborn, arrogant fools and the only ones who will suffer are the American people. I can see the furloughs affecting the US-Canadian border, but do little on the US-Mexican border (except for Americans) since most others swim across rather than use the border inspections. In all seriousness, the Federal Government needs to get its act together and make sure this issue doesn't come about tomorrow or in the future. ^

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-wary-of-border-tie-ups-in-wake-of-us-budget-impasse/article9143279/

Auf Wiedersehn Pope

From the BBC:
"Benedict XVI resignation: The two-pope problem"

The Pope has resigned because he felt he was no longer up to the demands the office made on him.

That hasn't happened in 600 years.  There are those in the Church who well might exploit such ambiguities were the new pontiff to choose a very different path from that of his predecessor on, for example, the role of women in the Church or - rather less contentious - the promotion of the traditional Latin liturgy.  A (very) short lesson in Catholic theology is necessary : the rank of deacon, priest and bishop is regarded as sacramental, on a par with baptism or marriage. A bishop can resign his job, as can a priest, but theologically, says the Church, they are still bishops or priests. But being pope, however, is an office, it is not a sacramental status.  The pope is pope because he is bishop of Rome. He can stop being bishop of Rome (all other bishops are expected to submit their resignation at 75), and therefore can stop being pope. Many people expected that Papa Ratzinger would revert back to being Cardinal Ratzinger, which is what happened to two rival popes in 1415. Instead of that sensible solution, it has been announced he will be "Pontiff emeritus", dress in white and be called "Your Holiness", hopelessly muddying the waters and making him appear a quasi, alternative pope.

The confusion gets worse. Benedict is keeping his private secretary, Archbishop Georg Gaenswein.

The new pope may well find such proximity uncomfortable, feeling obliged to consult him especially on subjects Benedict made his own, the creation of the "Ordinariat" to receive Romeward-bound Anglicans, for example, or the controversial reintroduction of Latin into the Catholic liturgy.

^   So long, farewell, auf wiedersehn, good bye - Pope. I hope the new one continues what Pope John Paul 2 did and doesn't set us back many years like the last one did. ^

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21616503

Russian Disabled

From Moscow Times:

"Blind Lawmaker Praises New Law Requiring Firms to Hire the Disabled

Oleg Smolin, a State Duma deputy with the Communist Party, praised a law that entered into force Monday and requires companies to hire disabled people or face fines of up to 10,000 rubles ($330)."We supported this legislation because it looks like a first step forward," Smolin, who is blind, told The Moscow Times.  The amendments, published on the Kremlin's website Monday, introduce fines for business owners who refuse to employ people with disabilities or fail to create a quota system that earmarks a certain percentage of jobs for them. The legislation concerns companies with 100 or more employees and requires them to provide 2 to 4 percent of their jobs to people with disabilities. The fines for noncompliance range from 5,000 to 10,000 rubles. Asked whether the fines are too small to make a difference, Smolin said the amount reflected a compromise between the government and organizations that work with disabled people.  He acknowledged, however, that nongovernmental organizations had sought stricter measures to encourage employment of the disabled. One of them, which was ultimately rejected, would have required companies to pay into a special fund to create workspaces for the disabled. Federal legislation passed in 2004 requires companies with more than 30 employees to fill a certain percentage of their positions with disabled people, should qualified candidates with disabilities apply. The law was amended in 2005 to increase the worker threshold from 30 to 100. The latest law introduces the fines. The decision to establish fines appears to be aimed at forcing companies to be more socially responsible, in a country where 3.5 million people with disabilities, or 84 percent of all disabled Russians capable of working, are unemployed, according to government figures.

 ^ Like in other countries having laws that protect the disabled are only effective if they are enforced. There are many laws regarding the disabled in the United States and many have been around for decades and yet organizations, companies, etc are allowed to find loop holes and continue to discriminate against the disabled. Hopefully, this new Russian law will be enforced, but having experienced  first-hand how the majority of Russians treat and think about the disabled (most see the disabled as getting what they deserve and many consider everyone with a disability to be mentally unstable) I doubt it will do much to actually help the disabled. ^

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/blind-lawmaker-praises-new-law-requiring-firms-to-hire-the-disabled/476056.html

 

Israeli Test

From the BBC:
"Israel successfully tests Arrow 3 missile interceptor"

Israel's defence ministry says it has carried out a successful test of its new missile interceptor system.

Arrow 3 detects an incoming missile, intercepts it and destroys it with a second missile above the earth's atmosphere.  Officials said the cutting-edge system had been designed to defend Israel from the threat of a strike from Iran. Monday's test was conducted alongside US forces and is the first time the system has been tested. Israel already has the Iron Dome missile defence system, which - officials say - intercepted up to 85% of missiles fired from Gaza towards populated areas during the conflict in November 2012.  Defence officials say that because the system will be able to shoot down missiles in space, it could cause nuclear and chemical warheads to disintegrate safely.  An official said it was "the first time the interceptor with all of its equipment took off and flew, achieved the velocities, and did the manoeuvres in space". He said a full interception would be tested in future but would not say when. The official also declined to say when the system would be fully implemented. Arrow 3 will form part of Israel's multi-layered defence shield. During the recent Gaza conflict, the Israeli defence ministry claimed the first layer of that shield - the Iron Dome - knocked down 421 of 1,354 short-range missiles fired from Gaza. Of those that landed, 58 hit urban areas while the rest fell in open fields, causing no damage.

^ Good job Israel. You continue to amaze the world and defend yourself at the same time. Hopefully, this new system will become fully operational soon. ^

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21571422

Smoking Law

From the BBC:
"Putin signs law banning smoking in public in Russia"

Smoking in public places will be banned in Russia after President Vladimir Putin signed a tough new bill into law. Under the new legislation, smoking in restaurants, long-distance trains and housing block entrance halls will be illegal. The government has made reducing smoking one of the cornerstones of its bid to improve public health. Russia has one of the highest smoking rates in the world, with more than four in 10 Russians considered smokers. Parliament passed the bill earlier in February, with only one deputy in the State Duma voting against the legislation. The law "On protecting the health of citizens from the danger of passive smoking and the consequences of the use of tobacco" will come into force in stages, beginning on 1 June. On that date, smoking will be banned within 15m of entrances to stations, airports, metro stations and ports; in workplaces; in entrances to apartment blocks; and in children's playgrounds and on beaches. Exactly one year later, smoking will be banned on long-distance trains and ships; in hotels; in restaurants, bars, cafes, shops and markets; and on suburban railway platforms. Under the bill, a minimum retail price will be introduced for tobacco and its sale and advertising will be restricted. According to that report, the retail price of a pack of 20 of the cheapest brand of cigarettes in 2010 was 11 roubles (£0.23; $0.36; 0.27 euros) while a popular Western brand sold for 48 roubles (£1; $1.6; 1.2 euros).

^ So this will be law although I still have my doubts that it will be enforced. Russians love to smoke and always seem to find ways to go against authority no matter how small. In the Moscow Metro people walk up the down stairs and vice versa as a sign against authority - it is annoying if you're a foreigner or tourist and don't know that - but in the end it's harmless. ^

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21571418

Gov't Cuts

From the White House:

"Impact on March 1st Cuts on Middle Class Families, Jobs and Economic Security: New Hampshire"

 

If sequestration were to take effect, some examples of the impacts on New Hampshire

this year alone are:

- Teachers and Schools: New Hampshire will lose approximately $1,078,000 in funding for

primary and secondary education, putting teacher and aide jobs at risk. In addition about 1,000

fewer students would be served and approximately 10 fewer schools would receive funding.

- Education for Children with Disabilities: In addition, New Hampshire will lose approximately

$2.2 million in funds for about 30 teachers, aides, and staff who help children with disabilities.

- Work-Study Jobs: Around 120 fewer low income students in New Hampshire would receive aid

to help them finance the costs of college and around 130 fewer students will get work-study jobs

that help them pay for college.

- Head Start: Head Start and Early Head Start services would be eliminated for approximately 100

children in New Hampshire, reducing access to critical early education.

 

- Protections for Clean Air and Clean Water: New Hampshire would lose about $1,500,000 in

environmental funding to ensure clean water and air quality, as well as prevent pollution from

pesticides and hazardous waste. In addition, New Hampshire could lose another $359,000 in grants

for fish and wildlife protection.

- Military Readiness: In New Hampshire, approximately 1,000 civilian Department of Defense

employees would be furloughed, reducing gross pay by around $5.4 million in total.

- Army: Base operation funding would be cut by about $1 million in New Hampshire.

 

- Law Enforcement and Public Safety Funds for Crime Prevention and Prosecution: New

Hampshire will lose about $71,000 in Justice Assistance Grants that support law enforcement,

prosecution and courts, crime prevention and education, corrections and community corrections,

drug treatment and enforcement, and crime victim and witness initiatives.

- Job Search Assistance to Help those in New Hampshire find Employment and Training: New

Hampshire will lose about $138,000 in funding for job search assistance, referral, and placement,

meaning around 4,950 fewer people will get the help and skills they need to find employment.

- Child Care: Up to 100 disadvantaged and vulnerable children could lose access to child care,

which is also essential for working parents to hold down a job.

- Vaccines for Children: In New Hampshire around 680 fewer children will receive vaccines for

diseases such as measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus, whooping cough, influenza, and Hepatitis B due

to reduced funding for vaccinations of about $46,000.

- Public Health: New Hampshire will lose approximately $126,000 in funds to help upgrade its

ability to respond to public health threats including infectious diseases, natural disasters, and

biological, chemical, nuclear, and radiological events. In addition, New Hampshire will lose about

$330,000 in grants to help prevent and treat substance abuse, resulting in around 300 fewer

admissions to substance abuse programs. And the New Hampshire State Department of Health

Statistics and Data Management will lose about $60,000 resulting in around 1,500 fewer HIV tests.

- STOP Violence Against Women Program: New Hampshire could lose up to $28,000 in funds

that provide services to victims of domestic violence, resulting in up to 100 fewer victims being

served.

- Nutrition Assistance for Seniors: New Hampshire would lose approximately $225,000 in funds

that provide meals for seniors.

NATIONWIDE IMPACTS:

- Cuts to education: Our ability to teach our kids the skills they’ll need for the jobs of the future

would be put at risk. 70,000 young children would lose access to Head Start, 10,000 teacher

jobs would be put at risk, and funding for up to 7,200 special education teachers, aides, and

staff could be cut.

- Cuts to small business: Small businesses create two-thirds of all new jobs in America. Instead

of helping small businesses expand and hire, the automatic cuts would reduce loan guarantees

to small businesses by up to approximately $900 million.

 

- Cuts to food safety: Outbreaks of foodborne illness are a serious threat to families and public

health. If sequestration takes effect, up to 2,100 fewer food inspections could occur, putting

families at risk and costing billions in lost food production.

- Cuts to research and innovation: To compete for the jobs of the future and ensure that the

next breakthroughs to find cures for critical diseases are developed right here in America, we

need to continue to lead the world in research and innovation. Most Americans with chronic

diseases don’t have a day to lose, but under sequestration progress towards cures would be

delayed and several thousand researchers could lose their jobs. Up to 12,000 scientists and

students would also be impacted.

 

- Cuts to mental health: If sequestration takes effect, up to 373,000 seriously mentally ill adults

and seriously emotionally disturbed children could go untreated. This would likely lead to

increased hospitalizations, involvement in the criminal justice system, and homelessness for

these individuals.

More detailed explanations of these cuts as well as additional areas that will be impacted include:

 

- FBI and other law enforcement – The FBI and other law enforcement entities would see a

reduction in capacity equivalent to more than 1,000 Federal agents. This loss of agents would

significantly impact our ability to combat violent crime, pursue financial crimes, secure our

borders, and protect national security.

- Customs and border patrol – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) would not be able to

maintain current staffing levels of border patrol agents and CBP officers as mandated by Congress.

CBP would have to reduce its work hours by the equivalent of over 5,000 border patrol agents and

the equivalent of over 2,750 CBP officers. Funding and staffing reductions would increase wait

times at airports, weaken security between land ports of entry, limit CBP’s ability to collect

revenue owed to the Federal government, and slow screening and entry for those traveling into the

United States. At the major gateway airports, average wait times could increase by 30-50 percent.

At the nation’s busiest airports, like Newark, JFK, LAX, and Chicago O’Hare, peak wait times

could grow to over 4 hours or more. On the southwest land border, our biggest ports of entry in

California and Texas could face wait times of 5 hours or more during peak holiday weekends and

travel periods. And at our seaports, delays in container examinations could increase from 2-3 days

to 4-5 days, resulting in congestion at terminals, increased transaction costs to the trade

community, and reduced availability of consumer goods and raw materials critical to our economy.

- Aviation safety – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) would be forced to undergo a

funding cut of more than $600 million. This action would force the FAA to undergo an immediate

retrenchment of core functions by reducing operating costs and eliminating or reducing services to

various segments of the flying community. A vast majority of FAA’s nearly 47,000 employees

would be furloughed for approximately one day per pay period, with a maximum of two days per

pay period. The furlough of a large number of air traffic controllers and technicians would require

a reduction in air traffic to a level that could be safely managed by the remaining staff, resulting in

slower air traffic in major cities, as well as delays and disruptions across the country during the

critical summer travel season.

- Aviation security – The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) would reduce its frontline

workforce, which would substantially increase passenger wait times at airport security checkpoints.

TSA would need to initiate a hiring freeze for all transportation security officer positions in March,

eliminate overtime, and furlough its 50,000 officers for up to seven days.

- Emergency responders – FEMA would need to reduce funding for State and local grants that

support firefighter positions and State and local emergency management personnel, hampering our

ability to respond to natural disasters like Hurricane Sandy and other emergencies.

 

- NIH research – The National Institutes of Health (NIH) would be forced to delay or halt vital

scientific projects and make hundreds of fewer research awards. Since each research award

supports up to seven research positions, several thousand personnel could lose their jobs. Many

projects would be difficult to pursue at reduced levels and would need to be cancelled, putting prior

year investments at risk. These cuts would delay progress on the prevention of debilitating chronic

conditions that are costly to society and delay development of more effective treatments for

common and rare diseases affecting millions of Americans.

- NSF research – The National Science Foundation (NSF) would issue nearly 1,000 fewer research

grants and awards, impacting an estimated 12,000 scientists and students and curtailing critical

scientific research.

- New drug approvals – The FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) would face

delays in translating new science and technology into regulatory policy and decision-making,

resulting in delays in new drug approvals. The FDA would likely also need to reduce operational

support for meeting review performance goals, such as the recently negotiated user fee goals on

new innovative prescription drugs and medical devices.

- Small business assistance – Small Business Administration (SBA) loan guarantees would be cut

by up to approximately $900 million, constraining financing needed by small businesses to

maintain and expand their operations and create jobs.

- Economic development – The Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) ability to leverage

private sector resources to support projects that spur local job creation would be restricted, likely

resulting in more than 1,000 fewer jobs created than expected and leaving approximately $50

million in private sector investment untapped.

- Oil and gas permitting - Development of oil and gas on Federal lands and waters would slow

down, due to cuts in programs at the Department of the Interior (DOI) and other agencies that plan

for new projects, conduct environmental reviews, issue permits and inspect operations. Leasing of

new Federal lands for future development would also be delayed, with fewer resources available

for agencies to prepare for and conduct lease sales.

 

- Food safety – The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could conduct 2,100 fewer inspections at

domestic and foreign facilities that manufacture food products while USDA’s Food Safety and

Inspection Service (FSIS) may have to furlough all employees for approximately two weeks. These

reductions could increase the number and severity of safety incidents, and the public could suffer

more foodborne illness, such as the recent salmonella in peanut butter outbreak and the E. coli

illnesses linked to organic spinach, as well as cost the food and agriculture sector millions of

dollars in lost production volume.

- Veterans services – Although the Department of Veterans Affairs is exempt from sequestration, the

Department of Labor’s Veterans Transition Assistance Program, which serves over 150,000

veterans a year, would have to reduce operations – leaving thousands of transitioning veterans

unserved as they move from active duty to civilian life. The Jobs for Veterans State Grants

Program would also experience cuts, translating into a reduction in the capacity to serve tens of

thousands of veterans in their efforts to find civilian employment.

- National parks – Many of the 398 national parks across the country would be partially or fully

closed, with shortened operating hours, closed facilities, reduced maintenance, and cuts to visitor

services. These closures will hurt the many small businesses and regional economies that depend

on nearby national parks to attract visitors to their region.

 

 - Title I education funds – Title I education funds would be eliminated for more than 2,700 schools,

cutting support for nearly 1.2 million disadvantaged students. This funding reduction would put the

jobs of approximately 10,000 teachers and aides at risk. Students would lose access to individual

instruction, afterschool programs, and other interventions that help close achievement gaps.

 - Special education (IDEA) – Cuts to special education funding would eliminate Federal support for

more than 7,200 teachers, aides, and other staff who provide essential instruction and support to

preschool and school-aged students with disabilities.

- Head Start – Head Start and Early Head Start services would be eliminated for approximately

70,000 children, reducing access to critical early education. Community and faith based

organizations, small businesses, local governments, and school systems would have to lay off over

14,000 teachers, teacher assistants, and other staff.

 

- Social Security applicant and beneficiary services – The Social Security Administration (SSA)

would be forced to curtail service to the public and reduce program oversight efforts designed to

make sure benefits are paid accurately and to the right people. Potential effects on SSA operations

could include a reduction in service hours to the public, and a substantial growth in the backlog of

Social Security disability claims.

 

S- enior meals – Federally-assisted programs like Meals on Wheels would be able to serve 4 million

fewer meals to seniors. These meals contribute to the overall health and well-being of participating

seniors, including those with chronic illnesses that are affected by diet, such as diabetes and heart

disease, and frail seniors who are homebound. The meals can account for 50 percent or more of

daily food for the majority of participants.

- Nutrition assistance for women, infants and children – Approximately 600,000 women and

children would be dropped from the Department of Agriculture’s Special Supplemental Nutrition

Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) from March through September. At least 1,600

State and local jobs could be lost as a result.

 - Child care– Cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Child Care and Development

Fund would leave 30,000 low-income children without child care subsidies, denying them access

to child development programs and ending a crucial work support for many families.

 - Rental assistance – The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Housing

Choice Voucher program, which provides rental assistance to very low-income families, would

face a significant reduction in funding, which would place about 125,000 families at immediate

risk of losing their permanent housing.

 

 - Emergency unemployment compensation – People receiving Emergency Unemployment

Compensation benefits would see their benefits cut by nearly 11 percent. Affected long-term

unemployed individuals would lose an average of more than $450 in benefits that they and their

families count on while they search for another job. Smaller unemployment checks will also have a

negative impact on the economy as a whole. Economists have estimated that every dollar in

unemployment benefits generates $2 in economic activity.

- Homelessness programs – More than 100,000 formerly homeless people, including veterans,

would be removed from their current housing and emergency shelter programs, putting them at risk

of returning to the streets.

 

 

 - Mental health and substance abuse services – Cuts to the Mental Health Block Grant program

would result in over 373,000 seriously mentally ill adults and seriously emotionally disturbed

children not receiving needed mental health services. This cut would likely lead to increased

hospitalizations, involvement in the criminal justice system, and homelessness for these

individuals. In addition, close to 8,900 homeless persons with serious mental illness would not get

the vital outreach, treatment, housing, and support they need through the Projects for Assistance in

Transition from Homelessness (PATH) program.

 - AIDS and HIV treatment and prevention – Cuts to the AIDS Drug Assistance Program could

result in 7,400 fewer patients having access to life saving HIV medications. And approximately

424,000 fewer HIV tests could be conducted by Centers for Disease Control (CDC) State grantees,

which could result in increased future HIV transmissions, deaths from HIV, and costs in health

care.

 - Tribal services – The Indian Health Service and Tribal hospitals and clinics would be forced to

provide 3,000 fewer inpatient admissions and 804,000 fewer outpatient visits, undermining needed

health care in Tribal communities.


^ Even though this is from the White House and is is biased in favor of Obama I thought the explanation of what cuts would happen on March 1st. I used New Hampshire to show what effects it would have on a smaller state and then left what would happen nation-wide. It seems that whenever we have a Democrat as President they can't get their act together on the budget. Clinton allowed the Federal Government to shut-down in the early 1990s and Obama allows for the threat of furloughs, shut-downs every few months. That should tell the American voters something. It is funny that these automatic cuts are called Sequestration because it sounds like someone should be riding a horse.   ^

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/sequester-factsheets/New-Hampshire.pdf