WorldFailure

Wait a minute, I thought YOU had the loot!
24 February 2012



MADRID (AP) — There's nothing like a flat tire to ruin a carefully planned heist.

Spanish police say hooded thieves crashed a van into a courier service warehouse vault and made off with sacks of valuables on Thursday. They then fled in a waiting Audi, but crashed into another car as they merged onto a Madrid highway. That caused the flat.

Thousands of Russians to monitor vote, stop fraud
By Alissa de Carbonnel
28 February 2012


Volunteer monitors and observers attend a training and educational course at the Andrei Sakharov Museum and Public Center in Moscow January 29, 2012. Picture taken January 29, 2012. REUTERS-Anton Golubev

(Reuters) - Before officials could sign off on the vote tally at Moscow polling station No. 81 in December's parliamentary poll, the local election commission chief had disappeared with the ballots, they said.

The election officials waited for her until almost 1:00 a.m., then gave up and went home. A security guard later told one of them he had seen Klavdia Titova, the head of the commission, climb out of a first-storey window. When she reappeared the next day, an extra 322 votes had been added to the count of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's United Russia party, court documents show. One official said his signature had been forged on the protocol. The court denied an appeal by the opposition Communist party against the results, and, at the trial, Titova declined to comment to Reuters about the allegations.

Turkmenistan declares 'happy epoch' after president's win
27 February 2012


Turkmenistan's President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov (L) kisses the national flag as he is inaugurated for a second term in the capital Ashgabat, on February 17.

AFP - Turkmenistan on Monday declared it had entered a new era called the "happy epoch of the mighty state" following its president's crushing re-election in polls earlier this month.

"The uplifting and inspiring slogan of President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, 'the happy epoch of the mighty state', will be a new stage in the development of the country," the government daily Neutral Turkmenistan announced. The slogan is a "call for our future achievements and great deeds," it added.

WikiLeaks targets global risk company Stratfor
27 February 2012


WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange speaks at a news conference in London, February 27, 2012. REUTERS-Finbarr O'Reilly

(Reuters) - The anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks began publishing on Monday more than 5 million emails from a U.S.-based global security analysis company that has been likened to a shadow CIA.

The emails, snatched by hackers, could unmask sensitive sources and throw light on the murky world of intelligence-gathering by the company known as Stratfor, which counts Fortune 500 corporations among its subscribers.

370,000 migrants on the dole

More than 370,000 migrants who were admitted to Britain to work, study or go on holiday are now claiming out-of-work benefits, according to official figures compiled for the first time.


Concerns are growing that the country has become a destination for 'benefit tourists'. Photo: REX

By Robert Winnett
19 January 2012

The migrants, who can claim unemployment, housing and incapacity benefit, are costing taxpayers billions of pounds a year. In other countries, many would have had to return home after their visas expired or their employment ended.

But Chris Bryant, shadow immigration minister, today blamed the Government and said the situation would only get worse due to lax border controls, rising migration and increasing unemployment. He said: "Tory ministers are resorting to rhetoric and misinformation to hide the reality of their failures on immigration and unemployment. Far from strengthening immigration control the Government is returning fewer illegal migrants and net migration has continued to increase. And at the same time increasing numbers of people born here and abroad are on out-of-work benefits because the government's failure on the economy has pushed unemployment up. Ministers should get a grip of rising unemployment and weaker border controls rather than trying to hide behind questionable figures which include people who have been British citizens for many years, and don't take account of British citizens claiming benefits abroad."

The figures are likely to reopen the debate over the generosity of the welfare system amid growing concerns that the country has become a destination for “benefit tourists”.

Should migrants be allowed to claim benefits in Britain? (Poll Closed)
Yes - They should have as much access to benefits as Britsh citizens 4.16% (556 votes)
Yes - But it should be proportionate to the amount they have paid in tax 29.9% (3,997 votes)
No - Under no circumstances 63.13% (8,440 votes)
No - But this should be reviewed when the country's finances are healthier 2.81% (376 votes)
Total Votes: 13,369

In an article for today’s Daily Telegraph, Chris Grayling, the employment minister, and Damian Green, the immigration minister, say that the large number of migrants now claiming benefits has been increased by the “organisational chaos” of Britain’s immigration system. “It should never have been allowed to happen and Labour should be embarrassed by what it left behind,” they add. “We’re determined to sort things out. Firstly by building an immigration system that is properly controlled and which people can have confidence in. And secondly by building a new generation of data systems that will ensure that no one can come to Britain and claim benefits to which they are not entitled.”

In the past, the nationality of benefit claimants has not been recorded. Ministers ordered a comparison of records held by the UK Border Agency, Department for Work and Pensions and HM Revenue and Customs. The analysis found there were 371,000 foreign-born claimants for out-of-work benefits, out of a total 5.5 million recipients. Of these, 258,000 were from outside the European Economic Area. Officials used data from applications for National Insurance cards, which require people to declare whether they are foreign nationals. Just over half have subsequently become British citizens.

People from outside the European Union can legally come to Britain to work, study or visit with a visa. If they stay for a certain period of time, marry or have children they can apply to remain permanently — after which they become eligible for state handouts. Asylum seekers can also be eligible for benefits. European nationals actively looking for work can claim unemployment benefit. However, those from some eastern European nations can only claim after 12 months on a registration scheme. In the majority of cases, ministers found that the migrants claiming benefits were eligible for the money. In a small sample group, details from a quarter of claimants could not be verified, while 2 per cent of them were suspected of making fraudulent claims.

Mr Grayling and Mr Green write: “We’ll be investigating the records of all those people claiming benefits to make sure they are entitled to what they are receiving. We’ve already identified some with serious question marks over both their right to benefits and their immigration status. Investigators are calling to see them.”

It currently takes about three months to stop benefits in these cases and ministers are drawing up plans to allow the handouts to be stopped immediately. The analysis found that the highest number of migrants on benefits originally came from Pakistan, Somalia and India. Bangladesh, Iraq and Iran also featured prominently. European countries among the top 20 for claimants include Poland, Ireland, France and Italy.

The figures will lead to a debate over whether people who had previously paid tax should be given priority for benefits. Mr Grayling and Mr Green write: “The integrity of our benefits system is crucial to the reputation of our welfare state — to whether taxpayers feel that they are getting a fair deal. There’s a natural instinct that says that no one from other countries should receive benefits at all. But if someone works and pays taxes here, it’s not unreasonable that we should help out if they fall on hard times.” They add that the system has to be fair and stop people receiving money to which there are not entitled.

The Department for Work and Pensions has not made any estimate as to the total cost of the benefits claimed by the immigrants. Nor does the research cover those receiving the state pension, child benefit or other handouts. Jobseekers’ Allowance is currently paid at up to £67.50 a week. Incapacity benefit is worth up to £94.25 a week. Housing benefits are typically more generous although the Government is planning to introduce a “benefit cap” to prevent any household from claiming a total of more than £26,000 annually.

Mr Grayling also disclosed last year that the Government was poised to take legal action against the EU to stop more foreigners being able to claim benefits in this country under controversial “reciprocal arrangements”. David Cameron has pledged to bring non-EU immigration “under control” and a target to reduce those moving to Britain into the “tens of thousands” annually is one of his main policies.

The Conservatives accuse Labour of having let immigration spiral out of control with hundreds of thousands of people, including many from eastern Europe, settling in this country. Apart from their impact on the welfare system, ministers are also concerned about the number of jobs being taken by immigrants. Other official figures show that up to 90 percent of new jobs created in Britain over the past decade have gone to foreign -born workers while levels of unemployment have risen. The Government believes that improving the education and training of Britons, particularly young people, is the key to ensuring that they can compete for jobs.

Source: Telegraph UK.

The hard labour behind soft drinks
by Cahal Milmo and Andrew Wasley
Friday 24 February 2012

Coca-Cola is being urged to help end exploitation in Italian orange groves



Coca-Cola is facing questions about its links to orange harvesting in southern Italy, which campaigners say relies on the cheap labour of African migrants living in squalid conditions. An investigation into citrus fruit growing in Calabria has revealed how thousands of African workers, many of whom have made the treacherous voyage across the Mediterranean in search of a new life, are earning as little as €25 (£21) for a day's picking in orange groves in a region that supplies juice concentrates to several multinational companies.

Turkey: Erdogan's reforms: less schooling, more Koran
24 February, 2012



ANKARA - The goals of an education reform bill introduced by the Islamic party of Turkey's Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan have been characterised by opposition parties as aiming to halve the length of compulsory schooling to promote more Koranic schools and veil wearing.

The opposition secular press, trades unionists and other commentators, have for a month now, but especially over the past two days, been aiming their criticisms at the Islamic tendencies of the reforms of alleged faults in the country's education system. Today the countries confederation of industry, the TUSIAD, has joined in the chorus of protest. The bill would in effect abolish the present laws obliging children to attend school for eight years, halving them to the period of primary education alone.

The U.N. Threat to Internet Freedom

Top-down, international regulation is antithetical to the Net, which has flourished under its current governance model.

By Robert M. McDowell
21 February 2012


Corbis

On Feb. 27, a diplomatic process will begin in Geneva that could result in a new treaty giving the United Nations unprecedented powers over the Internet. Dozens of countries, including Russia and China, are pushing hard to reach this goal by year's end. As Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said last June, his goal and that of his allies is to establish "international control over the Internet" through the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a treaty-based organization under U.N. auspices.

The U.N. Threat to Internet Freedom

Top-down, international regulation is antithetical to the Net, which has flourished under its current governance model.

By Robert M. McDowell
21 February 2012


Corbis

On Feb. 27, a diplomatic process will begin in Geneva that could result in a new treaty giving the United Nations unprecedented powers over the Internet. Dozens of countries, including Russia and China, are pushing hard to reach this goal by year's end. As Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said last June, his goal and that of his allies is to establish "international control over the Internet" through the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a treaty-based organization under U.N. auspices.

The U.N. Threat to Internet Freedom

Top-down, international regulation is antithetical to the Net, which has flourished under its current governance model.

By Robert M. McDowell
21 February 2012


Corbis

On Feb. 27, a diplomatic process will begin in Geneva that could result in a new treaty giving the United Nations unprecedented powers over the Internet. Dozens of countries, including Russia and China, are pushing hard to reach this goal by year's end. As Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said last June, his goal and that of his allies is to establish "international control over the Internet" through the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a treaty-based organization under U.N. auspices.