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Madelaine Hamilton's Friends
| August 27, 2008 | 3:20 PM |
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Mugabe heckled by opposition during opening of parliament....
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By ANGUS SHAW, Associated Press Writer Tue Aug 26, 2:09 PM ET
HARARE, Zimbabwe - Opposition legislators jeered President Robert Mugabe on Tuesday as he opened Zimbabwe's parliament, singing and chanting and sometimes drowning out his voice.
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The rare show of defiance — broadcast live on national television — set the stage for a combative legislature, even as Mugabe and his political foes try to negotiate a power sharing arrangement after disputed elections.
Mugabe's speech could sometimes not be heard over the jeers of his opponents, who clapped and sang songs deriding him and the ZANU-PF. "ZANU is rotten. You are great liars," they sang.
"We are tired of you," they shouted.
Looking annoyed, Mugabe first raised his voice then raced through the final lines of a speech railing against the West for sanctions it has imposed on people and companies linked to him, including travel bans and asset freezes.
Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe with increasing authoritarianism since declaring independence from its former colonizer, Britain, in 1980 and had turned parliament into a rubber-stamp body.
But, with the country in economic freefall, the opposition Movement for Democratic Change has gained a strong following in recent years and this March clinched a parliamentary majority, posing the most serious threat yet to the 84-year-old leader's decades-long rule.
Tuesday's raucous session may be a glimpse into a future of bitter debates and close votes in parliament.
Opposition legislators also presented a petition Tuesday pointing out that the opening of the parliament was "a clear breach" of the agreement that led to power-sharing talks.
It called Mugabe "the illegitimate usurper of the people's will."
The petition also condemned the arrests of opposition legislators. When parliamentarians reported Monday to be sworn in, two were arrested. A third opposition legislator who is on the team negotiating power-sharing was arrested at his home early Tuesday, the opposition reported.
Opposition spokesman Nelson Chamisa said the arrests are an attempt to subvert his party's slight majority in parliament.
Some 2,000 opposition activists remain jailed in Zimbabwe months after March 29 elections where they garnered more votes than Mugabe and his party.
Mugabe reacted violently, unleashing soldiers, police and militants accused of killing nearly 200 opposition members, breaking the limbs of thousands and forcing tens of thousands from their homes with fire attacks.
In March, Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change won 100 of the 210 seats in parliament, upsetting ZANU-PF's long-held majority. Mugabe's party won 99 seats and a splinter opposition faction won 10. An independent who broke away from Mugabe's party has the remaining seat.
In parliament Monday, the opposition's Lovemore Moyo won the race for speaker by a surprising 110 votes to 98. The ballot was secret, but Moyo apparently got votes from both Mugabe's party and the splinter faction to win a post that puts him in charge of parliament's debate and schedule and gives him the power to appoint committee chairmen.
Parliament's first order of business will be to approve funds for government ministries and projects — a budget vote that normally would have been completed months ago. So government business will remain largely paralyzed until legislators meet again on Oct. 14.
If the opposition continues to win support from the splinter faction, it would have the simple majority needed to block those funds. But if there is deadlock, Mugabe could dissolve the assembly and rule by decree. It is unlikely the opposition could summon the two-thirds vote needed to impeach Mugabe.
Meanwhile, there is a standoff in the negotiations over how Tsvangirai and Mugabe would share power.
Tsvangirai beat Mugabe and two other candidates in presidential elections held alongside the legislative balloting, but did not gain the simple majority needed to avoid a runoff. Mugabe held a one-man runoff and declared himself victor despite Western condemnation.
The opposition blames Zimbabwe's crisis on Mugabe's increasingly autocratic and corrupt rule. Zimbabwe began unraveling after Mugabe ordered the often-violent seizures of white-owned commercial farms for landless blacks. Instead, most farms went to Cabinet ministers and generals who let the land lie fallow and destroyed the country's economic base.
Mugabe has repeatedly blamed his country's woes on European and U.S. sanctions, which he called illegal on Tuesday.
"Sanctions must go," he said, to cheers from his supporters. "They cannot last a day longer if we as Zimbabweans speak against them in deafening unison." The sanctions target people and companies linked to Mugabe with travel bans and asset freezes.
While they are meant to spare ordinary Zimbabweans, already suffering from chronic shortages of food, medication, electricity and water, Zimbabwean officials say the sanctions help discourage foreign investment, loans and aid.
More than a third of Zimbabweans depend of foreign food aid but Mugabe has barred charities for handing out the food, charging they were favoring opposition supporters. Opposition legislators on Tuesday called on Mugabe to honor his agreement to allow food to be distributed, signed as a prerequisite for the power-sharing talks.
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| August 27, 2008 | 3:33 AM |
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Police investigate possible plot to kill Obama at Invesco
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Judi Villa April M. Washington Mon Aug 25, 10:08 PM ET
Authorities are investigating a possible assassination plot against presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.
At least four people have been arrested in connection with a possible plot to kill Obama at his Thursday night acceptance speech at Invesco Field at Mile High, according to CBS4 News. The suspects are being held on either drug or weapons charges.
Aurora police arrested a longtime drug user Sunday afternoon during a routine traffic stop where the man was seen "weaving," sources said. Three possible other accomplices also were arrested, according to police.
Police found four weapons, including two rifles and two handguns, in a rented pickup.
That arrest then led authorities to a second man staying at the Cherry Creek Hotel at 600 South Colorado Blvd in Glendale. When authorities knocked on the man's door, they say he jumped out of his sixth floor window, landing on an awning and running from the scene. They say they soon found him with a broken ankle. He too was arrested.
CBS4 reported one of the suspects told authorities they were "going to shoot Obama from a high vantage point using a ... rifle … sighted at 750 yards."
Law-enforcement sources told CBS4 that one of the suspects "was directly asked if they had come to Denver to kill Obama. He responded in the affirmative."
One of the suspects has been identified as 28-year-old Tharin Gartrell.
Police found a rifle in the man's rented pickup and methamphetamine. The man allegedly made comments about Sen. Obama, but sources wouldn't say what they were.
It was enough, however, to make police believe the man might have been plotting to somehow harm Obama.
A second source told CBS4 News that they are concerned they may have come upon a possible "assasination plot."
The Secret Service, ATF and U.S. Attorney's Office are investigating.
Brian Maass of CBS4 News contributed to this report.
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| August 26, 2008 | 4:18 AM |
| August 25, 2008 | 11:00 PM |
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Time is running out for the Horn of Africa
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Combined impact of failed harvests and global increases in the price of food affecting millions. Says the development organization ActionAid.
With millions facing hunger and destitution, ActionAid is warning that the region is now reaching a tipping point with increasing numbers of people unable to cope. Altogether five countries – Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Eritrea and Djibouti – are affected. If nothing is done, the situation could easily become catastrophic.
In Ethiopia, the government estimates that 4.6 million people need emergency food aid. Less documented is the disastrous food crisis in Kenya, with 1.2 million people already affected and numbers rising daily.
Areas which normally get two rainy seasons a year have had inadequate rain for more than 12 months. Crops have failed, livestock have been dying.
The drought arrived at the same time as the global increase in the prices of food, fuel and fertiliser. Poor people are going hungry because they can neither produce nor buy enough food. In Kenya the price of staple foods such as maize has increased by a half in less than a year.
In the northern Rift Valley, ActionAid found that most men were away searching for water and pasture for cattle, whilst women and children struggled to survive on poisonous wild fruit called loma. It takes a day to pick enough berries for one meal, plus a day’s drying and a day cooking before they are edible.
ActionAid’s head of emergencies, Roger Yates explained that whilst rain has fallen in recent weeks, in many places it has been too little or too late to ensure a harvest later this year. There has also been an explosion in army worm populations, decimating crops that had been salvaged.
Roger Yates said:
- People will need emergency food aid well into 2009. Women and children are suffering most from malnutrition and many are now only surviving because of supplementary food rations. Small holders and pastoralists must be helped to get back on their feet as soon as possible. Dams and water tanks need to be repaired, water trucked in and seeds and veterinary medicines supplied to ensure no more crops or livestock are lost.
Many agencies, including ActionAid, are already delivering aid, but to save lives and livelihoods much more is needed during the coming months.
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| August 25, 2008 | 12:08 PM |
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Middle East in the fall
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I will travel to the Middle East on October 22nd to make reporting for Joney´s World during four weeks in one of the most interesting regions in the world for the moment.
I will write some stories for external medias, so If you´re interested to buy an article, please contact me.
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| August 25, 2008 | 11:08 AM |
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OMNI HOTEL EMPLOYMENT SCUM/FRAUD
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I received this e-mail on TIG and after checking, rechecking and googling more information, i realized it was a fraud/scam. Read the email i received on my TIG inbox and the information i found on the official OMNI Hotel Website.....
Email from a TIG Member with user name "hotelmanager":
Good day,
I am Rose from Canada, the manager of Omni canadian hotel, pls i want to inform you about the vacancies in our hotel, The management needs men and women, married and not married, who will work and live in canada .The hotel will pay for his flight ticket and assist him to process his visa in his country, if you are interested contact us via E-mail : omni_internationalhotels@yahoo.ca And the Hotel informations will be sent to you immediately.
Thanks.
From the Hotel manager. E-MAIL : omni_internationalhotels@yahoo.ca Tel : 0016472880399
From OMNI Hotel Website:
Internet Fraud Alert
Omni Hotels is committed to being the employer of choice in the hospitality industry. Recently, Omni Hotels was alerted to an Internet scam involving mass emails containing false job opportunities sent from various email addresses resembling “Omni.” These emails include pictures of various Omni Hotels, and they request personal information and money in exchange for assistance in obtaining employment and work visas.
The reported incident has significantly declined. However, there are still people who continue to fall victim to these fraudulent emails. This warning is specifically intended to advise potentially misguided people to not respond to these mass emails.
Be advised that Omni Hotels does not request personal information or money via email, and Omni Hotels never solicits or recruits potential employees via e-mail.
Please join Omni Hotels to protect victims of Internet scams by reporting any solicitations to your local law enforcement agencies. Additionally, if you have received an email from a third-party that appears to be connected with Omni Hotels and you suspect it is affiliated with an Internet scam, please forward it to:
E-Commerce Department
Omni Hotels
420 Decker Drive
Irving, TX 75062
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| August 25, 2008 | 5:38 AM |
| August 23, 2008 | 3:39 PM |
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Lets Master: Act of Understanding
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 Certain questions in life remain unanswered and keep coming back at you, no matter how hard you try. Perhaps, one of the reasons being lack of your effort to tie up all the loose ends..It is also amazing to learn how few places, experiences are needed, to excite you to think again.. be lost in those lanes of memory which were long forgotten, understand how things stand at the present and seek a better understanding of the situation. It becomes even more complex when there are no available channels of communication..
Now, I am thinking over issues which must have been addressed long ago... lethargy in channelizing the emotion is as equally wrong as lethargy in its expression...It is important to board the train when the time is right (either when you wish to travel together or when you want to go your own way) rather than to remain on the tracks to create an environment of parallel existence..close enough to seek a better understanding...yet so far, for the train of communication is long gone! P.S.: This post is an outcome of my effort to understand self... an interesting experience in Dubai....I wanted to record the memory of this effort... dated August 18, 2008. 
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| August 23, 2008 | 12:08 PM |
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Baby pronounced dead lives after hours in cooler
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JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A stillborn Israeli baby who was pronounced dead by doctors "came back to life" on Monday after spending hours in a hospital refrigerator.
The baby, weighing only 600 grams at birth, spent at least five hours inside one of the hospital's refrigerated storage units, before her parents, who had taken her to be buried, began noticing some movement.
"We unwrapped her and felt she was moving. We didn't believe it at first. Then she began holding my mother's hand, and then we saw her open her mouth," said 26-year-old Faiza Magdoub, the baby's mother.
The baby was pronounced dead several hours earlier, after doctors at Western Galilee hospital in northern Israel were forced to abort her mother's pregnancy because of internal bleeding. Magdoub was 23 weeks into her pregnancy.
"We don't know how to explain this, so when we don't know how to explain things in the medical world we call it a miracle, and this is probably what happened," hospital deputy director Moshe Daniel said.
The baby was then taken to the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit for further treatment, but doctors were not sure how long she will live.
Motti Ravid, a professor of internal medicine, told Israel's Channel 10 that the low temperature inside the cooler had slowed down the baby's metabolism and likely helped her survive.
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| August 22, 2008 | 3:50 AM |
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The World Heritage Youth Forum
About this category: Learning & Education
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The Canadian Commission for UNESCO was proud to work with Parks Canada and other partners in organizing the Youth component of the 32nd Session of the World Heritage Committee. The World Heritage Committee held its annual meeting in Québec City from July 2 – 10, 2008, coinciding with the city’s 400th anniversary celebration.
The World Heritage Youth Forum brought together 30 young people between the ages of 18 to 25--15 Canadians and 15 others invited by Canada from countries representing the five geographical regions of UNESCO--who spent more than two weeks learning about world heritage and the Convention, undertaking educational visits to Canadian World Heritage sites and attending sessions of the World Heritage Committee. The complete report of the World Heritage Youth Forum will be available shortly on the Canadian Commission’s web site at www.unesco.ca
An outcome of the event is the “Six Billion People, One Common Heritage” dossier, launched through a partnership with the National Film Board of Canada. It contains many photos and texts posted by the youth participants as well as the video they produced and presented at the opening ceremony of the 32nd Session of the World Heritage Committee. To view the video: http://citizen.nfb.ca/youth-and-world-heritage
Today, the Web site aims at being a platform for exchanges and discussions about World Heritage between youth from all over the globe, and all are invited to contribute.
To do so, please go to: http://citizen.nfb.ca/six-billion-people-one-common-heritage
Further information about the work of the 32nd Session of the World Heritage Committee can be found at https://www.canada2008.ca/en
For information about World Heritage sites in Canada, go the Parks Canada web site at http://www.pc.gc.ca
Source: Canadian Commission for UNESCO www.unesco.ca
La Commission canadienne pour l’UNESCO est fière d’avoir collaboré avec Parcs Canada et d’autres partenaires dans l’organisation du volet jeunesse de la 32e Session du Comité du patrimoine mondial, qui s’est déroulée à Québec du 2 au 10 juillet, dans le cadre de son 400e anniversaire.
Pendant plus de deux semaines, 30 jeunes, âgés de 18 à 25 ans - 15 Canadiens et 15 personnes venant de pays qui représentent les cinq régions géographiques de l’UNESCO - se sont réunis au Canada pour en apprendra davantage au sujet du patrimoine mondial et de la Convention. Ils ont visité certains sites du patrimoine mondial du Canada et ont assisté à des sessions du Comité du patrimoine mondial. Le rapport final de la composante jeunesse sera bientôt disponible sur le site Web de la Commission au www.unesco.ca
L’un des résultats de cet événement est le lancement du site « Six milliards d’êtres humains, un héritage commun » lancé grâce à un partenariat avec l’Office national du film du Canada. Le dossier contient plusieurs photos et articles publiés par les jeunes participants ainsi que la vidéo qu’ils ont produite et qui a été présentée lors de la cérémonie d’ouverture de la 32e Session du Comité du patrimoine mondial. Pour visionner la vidéo : http://citoyen.onf.ca/video-volet-jeunesse-32e-session
Aujourd’hui, le site se veut être une plateforme d’échanges et de discussions entre jeunes de partout intéressés par le patrimoine mondial et tous sont invités à y contribuer. Pour se faire allez au : http://citoyen.onf.ca/six-milliards-d-etres-humains-un-heritage-commun
De plus amples renseignements sur les travaux de la 32e Session du Comité du patrimoine mondial se trouvent à https://www.canada2008.ca/fr
Pour plus de détails sur les sites du Patrimoine mondial au Canada, veuillez consulter le site Web de Parcs Canada : http://www.pc.gc.ca
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| August 21, 2008 | 7:11 PM |
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Mon compte-rendu- Congrès Mondial des Jeunes
About this event: 4th World Youth Congress - Quebec City 2008
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Un salut chaleureux à tous les délégués qui ont participé au 4e Congrès Mondial des Jeunes à la ville de Québec,
Un grand salut aussi à ceux qui ont participé au congrès virtuel,
Tout d'abord, le congrès a représenté, pour moi, une occasion formidable de faire de nouveaux amis qui viennent de différents horizons mais ont en commun la passion pour l'engagement communautaire, le développement de projets novateurs, bref le désir de changer le monde pour un monde plus juste et plus inclusif notamment à l'égard de nous (les jeunes) qui représentent non seulement le futur mais surtout le présent, un présent d'actions dans nos communautés que ce soit en lançant des projets de lutte contre la pauvreté, de lutte contre les changements climatiques, de lutte contre l'analphabétisme ou de projets en ligne qui visent à atteindre les fameux Objectifs du Millénaire pour le Développement.
En ce qui me concerne, depuis un presque an, j'ai lancé sur la plate-forme de TIG et sur mes sites web un projet éducatif ( http://projects.takingitglobal.org/elouarzadi/about/)
qui s'intitule Vivement la poésie !
Vivement la poésie ! est un poème sans fin en cinq versions : Français, Arabe, Anglais, Espagnol et Portugais. Les objectifs sont nobles et variés: promouvoir l'éducation constructive à travers la poésie, inciter les jeunes à exprimer leurs idées, mettre en valeur leurs réalisations et inspirer leurs collègues par la poésie. Un autre but est éducatif: enrichir le vocabulaire des étudiants ou élèves en lançant cette initiative dans les écoles, cégeps, lycées et universités dans plusieurs régions du monde. Ceci sera fait dans les mois à venir grâce au soutien de tous les membres de TIG passionnés de poésie et surtout d'éducation constructive (enseignants, élèves poètes, étudiants universitaires, chanteurs et musiciens joueront un rôle clé dans la promotion de ce projet).
Dans ma communauté, je suis présentateur bénévole du Projet Climatique Canada, une initiative du Prix Nobel et vice-président des États-Unis Al Gore. Dans ce cadre, je fais des présentations à Montréal concernant les actions qu'on peut entreprendre pour diminuer les effets du réchauffement planétaire.
J'ai été aussi bénévole avec Héma-Québec, participant à Shad Valley, un programme d'excellence au Canada.
Je sais que vous aussi, vous entreprenez des actions formidables dans vos communautés respectives. En parlant avec plusieurs d'entre vous, j'ai fait le point sur cette réalité. Je sais aussi qu'il y a certains délégués qui trouvent des problèmes de financement pour leurs projets, j'espère que les ateliers du CMJ 08 vont vous aider à surmonter cet obstacle.
Toujours concernant le CMJ 08, j'ai surtout apprécié le volet ACTION du congrès qui m'a donné l'opportunité de bien comprendre la démarche du compostage pour pouvoir l'appliquer dans ma communauté, j'ai aussi eu l'opportunité de travailler en équipe avec les membres de mon groupe, ce qui était merveilleux également ! On a fait aussi du vélo et on a découvert un parc touristique à Québec.
Finalement, le Congrès virtuel (développé par TakingITGlobal) a été un portail varié et intéressant pour les délégués qui n'ont pas pu participer au congrès.
Merci à Peace Child, TakingITGlobal et à tous les organisateurs, partenaires, chefs de clan et coordinateurs de cette rencontre exceptionnelle de la jeunesse du globe !
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| August 21, 2008 | 4:48 PM |
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Southern Africa lost their best leader today
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August 19th. The Zambian president Levy Mwanawasa died today after complications from his stroke on June 29th. And with him Southern Africa lost a very important voice against corruption and bad governance.
Mr. Mwanawasa got elected president of Zambia 2001 and started a campaign against corruption in Zambia, that for example put the former president on trial. He got reelected in 2006.
The same day as his stroke he spoke out against Robert Mugabe and where in his last weeks in office a strong opposition to the situation in Zimbabwe.
RIP Levy Mwanawasa. I will miss your courage.
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| August 19, 2008 | 10:08 AM |
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Commitment premiers on November 8th
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My new and unique lecture Commitment premiers at the Swedish youth conference Miljötinget on November 8th. And I´m very excited about it.
Commitment will give young people inspiration and tools to become active solving the climate challenge. It´s built like a television show with interesting guests, new perspectives and motivation. The lecture will run for a year towards the UN climate meeting in december 2009.
More about it later.
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| August 18, 2008 | 7:08 AM |
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Climate Commitment starts on December 4th
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Climate Commitment, Joney´s World climate focus towards the UN-meeting in Copenhagen 2009, begins on December 4th at the UN-meeting in Pozna, Poland.
Climate Commitment will be a uniqe way to build bridges and create action for our common future.
I will tell you more later, but keep you eyes open.
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| August 16, 2008 | 5:08 AM |
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