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Politics : Dutch Central Bank Sale Announcement Imminent? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: sea_urchin who wrote (22733)	3/23/2005 3:13:19 AM
From: GUSTAVE JAEGER	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 81084

Re: the nuclear tsunami off Aceh You still with that?! You bet! Toxic waste spawning radioactive diseases in Somalia coastline: UN 04 March 2005 Highly toxic waste washed on to Somali's coastline by last December's tsumani has spawned illnesses with symptoms like radioactive exposure in villagers along the shore of the shattered African nation, the UN Environment Programme said. Citing initial reports, UNEP spokesman Nick Nuttall told AFP that "there are indications that hazardous waste, radioactive waste, chemical waste and other substances, (in containers) which have been dumped on the Somali coastline, were damaged by the tsunami." "Somalia is one of the Least Developed Countries that received countless shipments of illegal nuclear and toxic waste dumped along the coastline," UNEP said UNEP in a new report, "After The Tsunami - Rapid Environmental Assessment." UN officials said the deadly waves, which originated off Indonesia on December 26, possibly damaged the containers in northern Somalia and spilled the waste to the open, from where it spread further -- either by wind and humans -- causing diseases. Nuttall said United Nations agencies working in northern Somalia, a country that has been wracked by anarchy since 1991 and has no any reliable health monitoring equipment, reported symptoms of diseases. There are reports from villagers of a wide range of medical problems: acute respiratory infections, dry heavy coughing, mouth bleeds, abdominal haemmorrhages, unusual skin disorders and breathing difficulties, Nuttall said. UN officials familiar with the situation say the diseases bear radiation sickness symptoms. "UNEP is in discussions with (Somali) government with a view to sending a full assessment mission to the country so that we can work out the magnitude of the problem," Nuttall explained in Nairobi. Somali authorities reported that nearly 300 people -- a figure the humanitarian agencies dispute -- were killed and thousands displaced by the tsunami waves, which were sparked by an undersea quake in Indonesia. Along other Indian Ocean shorelines, up to 290,000 people died. In the late 1980s, European firms dumped wastes such as uranium, lead, cadmium, mercury, industrial, hospital, chemical, leather treatment and other waste in northern Somalia, but the trend picked up rapidly after the violent ouster of strongman Mohammed Siad Barre in 1991, according to the United Nations. Somalia watchers have said that the country's warlords controlling fiefdoms along the shoreline were paid hefty amounts of cash to allow waste to be dumped there. "Most of the waste was simply dumped on the beaches in containers and disposable leaking barrels, which ranged from small to big tanks without regard to the health of the local population and environmentally devastating impacts," the report added. The report warned that radioactive contamination can cause "serious long-term effects on human health as well as severe impacts on groundwater, soil, agriculture and fisheries for many years." gymuser.co.uk

To: sea_urchin who wrote (22733)	3/23/2005 4:44:24 AM
From: GUSTAVE JAEGER	Respond to of 81084

Re: Because they have to keep up the facade of "democracy". Speaking of "phony democracy", Greece just put out a fatwa on a "blasphemous cartoonist": Cartoonist faces Greek jail for blasphemy Krysia Diver in Stuttgart Wednesday March 23, 2005 The Guardian He meant it as a piece of religious satire, a playful look at the life of Jesus. But Gerhard Haderer's depiction of Christ as a binge-drinking friend of Jimi Hendrix and naked surfer high on cannabis has caused a furore that could potentially land the cartoonist in jail. Haderer did not even know that his book, The Life of Jesus, had been published in Greece until he received a summons to appear in court in Athens in January charged with blasphemy. He was given a six-month suspended sentence in absentia, but if he loses his appeal next month his sentence could be increased to two years. Haderer's book is the first to be banned in Greece for more than 20 years, and he is the first artist to fall prey of the European arrest warrant system since it was introduced in June 2002. Yesterday in Vienna, a group of prominent writers and poets called a press conference to draw attention to the plight of Haderer, an Austrian, whose case they claim is crucial to the freedom of international artists. "It is unbelievable that a person can write a book in his home country and be condemned and threatened with imprisonment by another," said Nikki Conrad, a human rights expert who organised yesterday's press conference. "But he is not going to just sit back and accept this injustice. He is prepared to take this to the European court of human rights. When Gerhard first got the summons he thought it was a joke. But now he is starting to get a bit nervous." Mr Conrad added that a 1,000-signature petition of international artists, signed by people including the Nobel prize winner Elfriede Jelinek, would be delivered to the EU within the next two weeks. "This campaign is crucial for the future freedom of international artists. Haderer is unique and situations like this will inhibit his artistic style," said the poet Gerhard Ruiss. The Austrian comedian Hubert Kramar, who is next week due to star in a new satirical play about Christ, turned up to the press conference dressed as Jesus. "We are supposed to be living in a democratic society. Greece is in Europe and the whole idea of the European Union is that everything is supposed to be more open. But what happened to Haderer is scaring artists like me," he said. Haderer's 40-page book has been already published in seven countries, including Germany, where 100,000 copies have been sold. Well known in Germany for his weekly illustrations in the news magazine Stern, he is to appeal against his six-month sentence in Athens on April 13. guardian.co.uk I wonder what the Turks --snubbed by EU elites as uncouth, would-be Europeans-- make of all that fuss? Is it the latest twist in the EU's rapprochement with Iran? Spawning a European Salman Rushdie? Go figure.... Gus