Bonjour Planet Earth: September 2009

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

2000 women whipped for 5 hours by priests in Tamil Nadu, India...

Like every Dussera, thousands gathered to pray at a 300-year-old temple in Tamil Nadu's Namakkal district. What followed next was unspeakable horror.

Two thousand teenagers and children, some as young as 10, were whipped by the temple's priests. For five hours. The priests' explanation: This whipping is a cure-all. Some 10-year-olds were lashed for not studying enough. Others were attacked for being slow to attain puberty. And menstruating teens were hit for being impure. The priests say this is nothing new. "We have been practicing this ritual for 300 years," declares Thangavelu, a priest.

The shocking scenes were filmed by local channels, none of whom called for help. Like others in this area, they find nothing absurd about what they saw. Tradition is tradition, they say. More + video...

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New Jersey mandates flu vaccine for school children, or they will be kicked out!!!

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A million widows and millions of fatherless children, this is what war has done to Iraq...

Nearly three decades of war, brutal totalitarianism, invasion, occupation and insurgency in Iraq have left behind at least a million widows - and several million children without fathers.

That was the conservative estimate earlier in 2009 by Iraq's acting minister for women's affairs, Narmeen Othman. She believes there may even be two million widows.

Under Saddam Hussein, despite the brutality of his regime towards so many of Iraq's people, war widows were looked after by the state. Now, they are mostly hidden and vulnerable.

It's been called Iraq's cultural time bomb. More...

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Polanski's defenders lose sight of the true victim...

The grand jury transcripts of the sex abuse case paint a far more damaging picture of the events that allegedly unfolded between the director and a 13-year-old girl at Jack Nicholson's home in 1977.

(...)

I'm reading this in the district attorney's office at the Los Angeles County Criminal Courts Building, digging through the Polanski file to refresh my memory of the infamous case, and my blood pressure is rising.

(...)

But I wish the renowned legal scholars Harvey Weinstein and Debra Winger, to name just two of Polanski's defenders, were here with me now. I'd like to invite Martin Scorsese, as well, along with David Lynch, who have put their names on a petition calling for Polanski to be freed immediately. Full story...

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Politicians take control of the Internet...

Non-US governments will have more control over the governance of the internet as the US gives up its exclusive control of Icann, the body primarily responsible for managing internet domain names.

European communications commissioner Viviane Reding today welcomed the move that she said would make Icann "more open and accountable to billions of internet users worldwide".

Under new rules that come into effect tomorrow, Icann, the US-based Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, will no longer be subject to unilateral review by the US Department of Commerce (DoC). More...

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Gay and Lesbian kiss-in in Paris!!!

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California Nurses Association on swine flu vaccine: encourage, don't mandate...

As the national H1N1 pandemic arrives, with the vaccine following shortly, the nation's largest professional association and union of registered nurses has issued new nursing practice guidelines to structure its use. The California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC) will present this policy as bargaining demands to hospital management, and as guidance to regulators and legislators. More...

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The Bangladesh farmer who killed 83,000 rats...

Bangladesh on Wednesday awarded a farmer who killed more than 83,000 rats and launched a monthlong campaign nationwide to kill millions more, to protect crops and reduce the need for food imports.

Mokhairul Islam, 40, won a first prize of a color television for killing some 83,450 rats in the past nine months in Gazipur district near the South Asian country's capital, Dhaka. He collected their tails for proof.

"I am so happy to get this honor," Islam told The Associated Press after receiving a 14-inch television and a certificate amid cheers at an official ceremony packed with 500 farmers and officials. "I had no idea that the government gives prizes for this."
"This is an exciting moment. I will continue to kill them," he vowed. More...

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Angry woman fries and eats ex's pet goldfish!!!

Authorities say a Houston-area woman who was angry with her former common-law husband fried their pet goldfish and ate some of them.

Pasadena police say it’s a civil matter and no charges will be filed. The seven goldfish were purchased together by the couple during happier times.

Police spokesman Vance Mitchell says the man reported on Saturday that the woman took the goldfish from his apartment. More...

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Drunk wedding brawl in Russia!!!

Un mariage russe pas triste!!!

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'Psycho' dad in India locked up 3 daughters, wife for 7 years...

It's a story that will send a chill down your spine, a story of a 60-year-old father, who locked, beat and starved his wife and daughters for 7 years. ( Watch Video )

Francis Gomes, a 60-year-old unemployed man, living in Mumbai along with his wife and 3 daughters had confined his family in the house since 2002.

The father allegedly kept them locked up as he was convinced that his girls would be raped if they even stepped out of home.

t is believed that every morning before Francis left home he would lock the door giving the impression that the family was away. The women were often denied food and fresh clothing. The windows had been boarded, denying them sunlight; they were prohibited from watching television, so much so that when the youngest daughter failed her college exam, the father hit her so hard that she suffered severe neck injuries. More...

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Saudi police storm mix gender party, detain more than 100 men and women...

Saudi security forces stormed a mixed-gender party in the southern city of al-Taif and arrested more than 100 revelers, local media reported on Wednesday.

Regular Saudi police, joined by the religious police for 'the promotion of virtue and the prevention of vice,' detained more than 100 men and women celebrating in a resort, the Saudi news website Sabq reported.

'More than 100 men and woman attended the party. Women took off their abayas (black robes) and danced and mixed with men,' the site reported. More...

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Nude Germans looking for a place to roam...

Germany is traditionally tolerant of nudity, but a plan to give naked ramblers their own wilderness path is still some way from the sunny uplands.

A campsite manager, Heinz Ludwig, aims to establish Germany's first official naked ramblers' footpath - an 18km (11-mile) route in the Harz Mountains.

"But some people are against - it is not directly supported by the community," he told BBC News.

"I want people to calm down, then we'll try again next year." More...

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Washington torpille le rapport Goldstone sur Gaza...

Le juge Richard Goldstone a présenté mardi devant le Conseil des droits de l’homme les conclusions de sa commission d’enquête, qui a pu constater que des crimes de guerre et de « possibles » crimes contre l’humanité avaient été commis lors de l’intervention israélienne à Gaza en début d’année par les deux parties aux combats.

Comme pour le Soudan, la commission estime que le Conseil de sécurité de l’ONU devrait saisir la Cour pénale internationale (CPI) si, dans un délai de six mois, les justices israélienne et palestinienne se montraient incapables de mener leur propre enquête. Le juge sud-africain a insisté sur les notions de responsabilité et d’impunité : « L’actuel défaut de justice (au Proche-Orient) sape tout espoir de succès pour le processus de paix et renforce un environnement propice à la violence. » Le Groupe arabe, l’Organisation de la conférence islamique, le Groupe africain et le Mouvement des non-alignés ont salué la qualité du travail de la mission en appuyant sans nuances ses conclusions et recommandations. Suite...

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Est-il permis de débattre avec Dieudonné ?

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OGM : le maïs espagnol demande « l’asile agricole » à la France...

Des épis de maïs espagnols ont demandé ce mardi « l’asile agricole » à l’ambassade de France à Madrid, pour fuir la « contamination » du maïs transgénique cultivé en Espagne. En effet, la culture de maïs OGM se développe « à grande échelle » en Espagne, alors qu’un moratoire sur cette culture a été imposé en France depuis 2008 par Jean-Louis BORLOO, ministre de l’écologie, du développement et de l’aménagement durables.

Aujourd’hui, une vingtaine de militants déguisés en épis de maïs, et venant de plusieurs pays européens, ont donc brièvement manifesté devant l’ambassade au centre de Madrid, et remis une pétition à un des ses diplomates, affirmant vouloir « fuir en France plutôt qu’être OGM ». Suite...

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Cristiano Ronaldo menacé par un sorcier!!!

Une information très inquiétante repérée chez nos amis de So Foot. Vendredi, le Real aurait reçu une lettre vendredi d’un sorcier prêt à s’en prendre à la star Cristiano Ronaldo.

Cet homme («pas un anti-Real») affirme qu’une «une personne connue et qui connaît personnellement le footballeur » lui aurait demandé d’utiliser ses pouvoirs pour que Cricri «se blesse gravement». Avant d’ajouter. «Moi je l’aime bien ce garçon mais j’imagine que lui aussi aime bien la majorité des gardiens à qui il marque des buts». Cette information a été relayée par le journal El Mundo.

Et le travail d’envoutement aurait déjà commencé. Le sorcier explique avoir déjà disposé des photos du footballeur portugais dans son laboratoire et déroule son CV. C’est lui qui serait à l’origine des problèmes de couple des Beckham.

Source

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Grosses pertes salariales pour les grands patrons suisses?

Les salaires des patrons des 48 plus grandes entreprises suisses cotées ont reculé de plus de 25% l'an dernier, révèle une étude de PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC). La baisse s'explique par la chute de près de moitié de la part variable de la rémunération (bonus).

Le traitement de base est lui resté quasi inchangé, a indiqué mercredi à Zurich le cabinet de conseil en présentant les résultats de son enquête. Le salaire moyen des patrons des 20 entreprises représentées dans le Swiss Market Index (SMI) est tombé à 6,9 millions de francs en 2008, contre 9,3 millions un an plus tôt. Suite...

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Everything is OK! Keep on shopping...

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Gaza violations "must not go unpunished"

Serious human rights violations committed during the recent war in the Gaza Strip should not go unpunished, says a top Swiss diplomat.

Dante Martinelli told states at the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council that it was "their duty" to follow up a report that accuses Israel and Palestinian groups, notably Hamas, of war crimes during the armed conflict in Gaza last winter.

"Serious crimes committed by both sides cannot be ignored," the Swiss ambassador to the UN in Geneva told the packed room during a one-day debate on a recent report by Richard Goldstone, a South African jurist and former UN war crimes prosecutor. More...

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Chaos and cancellations after schoolgirl dies from HPV vaccine...

The cervical cancer vaccination programme is in chaos today after the death of 14-year-old Natalie Morton.

Ministers insisted the scheme must go ahead and refused officially to suspend it.

But many health trusts are cancelling vaccinations due over the next few weeks while they investigate whether vaccine stocks are linked to the dose given to Natalie, who died on Monday hours after receiving the jab.

Initial post mortem results suggested the schoolgirl had a serious underlying health condition which meant it was 'unlikely' the vaccine had caused her death.

The local health trust in Coventry, which made the announcement, would give no further details to the nature of the problem. More + photos...

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$13bn Malaysian metropolis eyes Singapore...

More than $13bn has been committed to an ambitious plan to create a metropolis at the southern tip of Malaysia three times the size of Singapore, says the chief executive of the state agency set up to drive the project.

Arlida Ariff, chief of Iskandar Investments, told the Financial Times in an interview that a further $2bn (€1.4bn, £1.3bn) was likely to be committed in the next two years, including nearly $300m in retail investment expected to be announced over the next few months.

(...)

In the long-run, the biggest single source of investment is likely to be Singapore, whose central business district is not much more than half an hour’s drive from Iskandar’s proposed financial district.

The attraction for Singapore is the low cost of land, office space and housing, which are currently about 80 per cent cheaper in the Iskandar economic zone. Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore’s prime minister, has joined Najib Razak, his Malaysian counterpart, in backing the project. Full story...

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Streaker invades soccer pitch!!!

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Pirate Party launched in Australia...

After winning 7.1 per cent of Swedish votes in this year's European Parliament elections, The Pirate Party has opened up a branch in Australia and plans to contest the next federal election.

The party, which will campaign on a platform of anti-internet censorship and the decriminalisation of non-commercial file sharing, has already signed up 550 members, enough for it to register as a party with the Australian Electoral Commission.

It plans to hold internal elections for leadership positions - president, general secretary, treasurer and their deputies - on October 7.

But party spokesman Brendan Molloy was quick to point out that free file sharing was only one aspect of the overall mission, which was to "bolster our nation's Democratic conventions". More...

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Miss Singapore World accused of credit card thefts, gives up crown...

Ris Low has resigned as Miss Singapore World 2009, days after her past conviction for credit card fraud was exposed.

The organiser of the local beauty pageant, ERM World Marketing, said in a statement on Tuesday she will no longer represent Singapore at Miss World 2009 in South Africa.

ERM said it will be interviewing a new representative to represent Singapore at Miss World 2009 in the coming days and will announce her shortly.

The organiser said it has met Low and her parents and “they have agreed to allow their daughter to resign from the crown as we feel is in the best interest for the Miss Singapore World Pageant and Singapore at large.” More...

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Anger at Hollywood petition demanding Polanski release...

The clamour for Roman Polanski's release from fellow film directors - including David Lynch, Martin Scorsese and Pedro Almodovar - and politicians - French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner and his Polish counterpart Radoslaw Sikorski - faced a growing backlash this morning.

Luc Besson, director of Léon, has refused to sign a Hollywood petition calling for Polanski's immediate release from the Swiss jail where he awaits possible extradition to the United States over an underage sex conviction from 30 years ago. "There is one justice, and that should be the same for everyone," Besson said on French radio. "I have a daughter, 13 years old. If she was violated, nothing would be the same, even 30 years later." More...

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Tuesday, September 29, 2009

The Jackson 5 and Big Boy...

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Shopping habits of China’s ‘suddenly wealthy...’

In the past decade China has become the workshop for the world, its low-cost labour force toiling in factories to churn out cheap goods destined for western consumers. Many of the raw materials needed to feed this industrial juggernaut have to be imported from other countries and today China is the biggest driver of markets in commodities such as copper, oil and iron ore.

But as well as a multitude of low-paid factory workers, the country’s manufacturing boom has also created a large and growing number of baofahu – literally, the “suddenly wealthy”. Their shopping habits and changing tastes are reshaping global trade flows at the other end of the production chain. More...

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Microsoft aims to contain malware tide with its own Security Essentials...

Microsoft's Security Essentials is officially available from today, offering free protection against malware for any PC user with a valid copy of Windows from XP Service Pack 2 onwards.

The suite is primarily aimed at consumers, but the fact that it is free could also prove attractive to smaller businesses.

Available as a free download, Microsoft Security Essentials supersedes the Windows Live OneCare subscription service that was discontinued earlier this year, and provides protection against viruses, spyware and other malicious software. More...

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The strange, dark truths of Moammar Gadhafi...

I dread UN week. I can barely face it anymore.

Endless hours of self-important, flatulent, self-congratulatory orations, all delivered in front of that ugly, green marble backdrop.

Hell for a TV reporter: Ugly visuals, boring audio. And so it was again this week, mostly.

But when Libyan Leader Moammar Gadhafi — self-styled "dean of the Arab rulers, king of kings of Africa and the imam of Muslims" — made his way to the the podium, I sat up straight.

I just can't help admiring the guy's performances. I know he's been a vicious, dangerous SOB, whose agents have tortured, terrorized and slaughtered civilians.

But then, as Gadhafi would say — as he did again this week — so have the Americans. Go ahead and argue with that. More...

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A call centre in India!!! Jai ho...

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Restless Saudi teens flogged for rioting...

Saudi Arabia flogged a group of teenagers after a rare riot in the eastern region of the Islamic kingdom, local newspapers said today.

Human rights activists and liberals condemned yesterday's flogging which Saudi newspapers said happened after groups of young people smashed windows of restaurants and shops in Khobar on Saudi national day last week.

No reason was given for the rampage, but analysts suspect it was linked to the frustration of the young imposed in the strict Saudi society.

Analysts and diplomats say the case shows the challenge for the government to offer social space for a young population in one of the most conservative states and birthplace of Islam.

Newspapers such as al-Hayat and al-Watan said some 20 teenagers had received at least 30 lashes each. More...

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Arundhati Roy: What have we done to democracy?

While we're still arguing about whether there's life after death, can we add another question to the cart? Is there life after democracy? What sort of life will it be? By "democracy" I don't mean democracy as an ideal or an aspiration. I mean the working model: Western liberal democracy, and its variants, such as they are.

So, is there life after democracy?
Attempts to answer this question often turn into a comparison of different systems of governance, and end with a somewhat prickly, combative defense of democracy. It's flawed, we say. It isn't perfect, but it's better than everything else that's on offer. Inevitably, someone in the room will say: "Afghanistan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia... is that what you would prefer?" More...

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Teen in Taiwan chops off "abusive" father's hands...

A 17-year-old Taiwanese boy has been arrested for chopping off his father's hands, allegedly to avenge years of physical abuse, a police official said Tuesday.

The boy cut through his father's wrists with a knife while he was asleep at the family's home in central Miaoli on Monday, the official said. The official was speaking on condition of anonymity, citing department policy.

The 37-year-old father, a divorced ironsmith, was in stable condition after doctors reattached his severed hands, the official said.The father and son were identified only by their surname, Fan. More...

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Elephant goes on the rampage in Andhra Pradesh, India...

Un éléphant sème la panique en Inde!!!

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Climate change due to population growth is another myth...

The population explosion in poor countries will contribute little to climate change and is a dangerous distraction from the main problem of over-consumption in rich nations, a study has found.

It challenges claims by leading environmentalists, including Sir David Attenborough and Jonathon Porritt, that strict birth control is needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The study concludes that spending billions of pounds of aid on contraception in the developing world will not benefit the climate because poor countries have such low emissions. It says that Britain and other Western countries should instead focus on reducing consumption of goods, services and energy among their own populations. More...

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Amy Winehouse hires faith healer...

Amy Winehouse has flown a faith healer to the UK to help beat her addictions.

The troubled ‘Rehab’ singer – who has struggled with alcohol and drug abuse - met Peter Hippolyte while living on the Caribbean island of St Lucia and was so impressed by him, she asked him to come to London to help stop her partying.

Peter’s sessions involve drinking tea, singing and laying his healing hands upon her body. More...

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Calls for resignation of France Télécom boss after 24th. suicide...

Didier Lombard, the chief executive of France Télécom, faced calls for his resignation today after another member of staff committed sucide yesterday, bringing the tally to 24 deaths in 18 months.

The latest in a list of deaths, which has shocked France and sparked debate over restructuring at the telecommunications giant, occurred on Monday when a 51-year-old employee killed himself in the French Alps

The man, who was married with two children, left a note blaming the ''atmosphere'' at work before throwing himself off a motorway bridge in Alby-sur-Chéran.

Like many of the suicide victims at former state monopoly, he had recently switched jobs - in his case moving to a call centre where he faced performance objectives. More...

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The world's tallest horse?

He's ten feet tall with his head upright, weighs 3,000lb, and stands at 20.2 hands at the shoulder.

So is Poe the Clydesdale the world's tallest horse?

His diminutive owner Shereen Thompson thinks so - and said she wants to 'get the Guinness guys here as soon as possible'.

Poe stands 6ft 8.75in (80.8in) from hoof to shoulder. That is taller than the current tallest horse Remington, who was declared the official Guinness World Record holder only last week at 80in in Princeton, Texas. More+photos...

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Goldstone: un sioniste face aux faucons d’Israël...

A en croire les autorités israéliennes, Richard Goldstone ne serait en définitive rien d’autre qu’un agent de l’Iran et de la Libye dont le rapport sur les crimes de guerre à Gaza - qu’il présente ce matin devant le Conseil des droits de l’homme à Genève - aurait pour simple but de déstabiliser l’Etat hébreu. Devant l’Assemblée générale de l’ONU, la semaine dernière, le premier ministre Benyamin Netanyahou posait ainsi cette question : « Le rapport injuste et faussé (de Goldstone) est un test pour tous les gouvernements : êtes-vous avec Israël ou les terroristes ? »

Un allié des terroristes, Richard Goldstone ? L’accusation prêterait à sourire si la campagne de dénigrement israélienne à l’égard de ce juriste de renommée internationale n’était pas largement relayée sur Internet. Suite...

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Nestlé achète le lait de Robert Mugabe...

Bircher müsli et lait en poudre. Telle est la production de Nestlé au Zimbabwe. La multinationale vaudoise obtient une part appréciable de sa matière première dans une des plus grandes et plus prospères fermes de cet état d’Afrique australe. L’établissement, Gushungo Dairy Estate, est dirigé par la famille du président du pays, Robert Mugabe. Plus particulièrement par son épouse Grace et Russel Goreraza, le fils d’un premier mariage de Madame.

Porte-parole de Nestlé à Vevey, Robin Tickle, nous a confirmé que cette ferme fournit 10% à 15% du lait que la multinationale se procure au Zimbabwe. Même si le régime de Robert Mugabe est jugé infréquentable par les Etats-Unis et l’Union européenne. Ces deux autorités ont ordonné le blocage des comptes en banque du président et de tous ses proches. Ces mesures sont également valables en Suisse. Suite...

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Affaire Polanski: Violer un enfant c'est pas grave pour les grands de ce monde...

Depuis hier, nous avons droit à un déferlement médiatique de soutiens à Roman Polanski, arrêté à Zurich alors qu’il venait participer à une cérémonie. Artistes et même ministres n’ont pas de mots assez forts pour dénoncer les pratiques de la justice étasunienne. Mais le scandale est-il là ?

(...)

Mais cette interprétation est un peu trop facile. Car l’examen froid des faits fait froid dans le dos. En 1977, après des séances de photos avec la jeune mannequin de 13 ans (l’âge d’un élève de 5ème), Roman Polanski aurait fait boire l’enfant, l’aurait drogué avant d’avoir des relations sexuelles avec elle, alors qu’il avait plus de 40 ans… Le réalisateur a été poursuivi pour viol sur mineur. Dans le cas d’une gamine de 13 ans, qu’il aurait fait boire et droguée, on pourrait plaider pour des circonstances aggravantes. Article complet...

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La femme du suicidé accuse France Télécom...

Au lendemain du suicide d'un employé de France Télécom, son épouse accuse. Pour elle, le mal-être au travail est la seule raison pour laquelle il s'est donné la mort en se jetant d'un viaduc lundi matin en Haute-Savoie. Dans une lettre laissée à sa femme, cet employé de 51 ans, père de deux enfants, avait mis en cause la société qui l'employait.

Selon Annie Rouennais, ce courrier est "sans ambiguïté" sur les raisons qui ont poussé son mari à se suicider. Ce sont "ses souffrances au travail, c'est tout", a-t-elle déclaré à RTL. Elle raconte que son mari lui avait fait part à plusieurs reprises de son mal-être au travail. "Ce n'était pas quelqu'un de dépressif, c'était quelqu'un de sensible certes, mais pas dépressif du tout, qui aimait la vie avant tout", dit-elle. "Il me parlait de toutes ces restructurations, sans cesse. On impose des postes aux gens, on ne leur donne aucune possibilité."

"C'est une mutation qui l'a fait basculer (...) parce qu'on lui a donné un non choix", poursuit-elle, stigmatisant les méthodes "impersonnelles" de l'entreprise et le "manque de communication entre les individus". Priée de dire si elle envisage de porter plainte contre France Télécom, elle répond: "Je ne sais pas, c'est mon problème, je n'en dirai pas plus."

Source...

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Encore un suicide à France Télécom, le 24e...

Une nouvelle fois, un salarié de France Télécom a mis fin à ses jours, mettant en cause les conditions de travail au sein de l'entreprise. Le PDG France Télécom, Didier Lombard, s'est rendu à Annecy dans le sud-est de la France, là où cet employé de 51ans travaillait depuis peu au centre d'appel téléphonique.

C'est le 24e suicide à France Télécom depuis moins de deux ans. Le salarié qui s'est jeté d'un viaduc, au-dessus d'une autoroute, a laissé une lettre dans laquelle il évoque le climat au sein de l'entreprise pour expliquer son geste.

Les syndicats soulignent que le centre d'appels téléphoniques sur lequel il travaillait est connu comme « invivable » et sans aucun égard pour la situation du personnel. Suite...

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Yet another suicide in France Télécom, the 24th...

A 24th France Telecom employee has killed himself in what the company says is a "suicide spiral".

The 51-year-old father-of-two hurled himself to his death from a bridge onto a busy road in the Haute-Savoie region of the country.

In a letter to his wife, he blamed the unbearable "atmosphere" at his workplace.

France Telecom has been dogged by an series of suicides in the last 18 months. More...

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Brave Jammu housewife attacks and kills militant...

As the country bid farewell to goddess Durga, the demon-slayer, on Dashami and witnessed the evil king Ravana being vanquished on Dussehra, a humble Muslim woman in a remote Jammu village slew a dreaded Lashkar terrorist single-handedly.

Exhibiting astonishing, raw courage, Rashida Begum took on the two terrorists who had barged into her home late Sunday night in Thana Mandi village in Rajouri district. The woman, in her early forties, grabbed an axe and swung it wildly, killing one of the armed terrorists and injuring the other. Seeing his partner meet a bloody end, the other terrorist fled in sheer dread. More...

Money: are you an active saver or a so-so saver?

One of the infinite ways in which you can divide up the world into two types of people is savings behavior. People are either diligent savers or they aren’t; likely, you know where you fit in without being told.

But other than the habit of savings, how are savers and spenders different from one another? Recently, I saw some research from HSBC Direct which sheds some light on the subject. In a survey of 1,000 people–two-thirds of whom had household incomes of at least $100,000–the bank found a few interesting differences between the 22% of the population that the bank designates as “active savers” and the not-so-active rest of us. More...

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Reminder: Roman Polanski raped a child...

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Monday, September 28, 2009

Three to hang in Tanzania for albino murder...

Tanzania's high court today sentenced three men to hang for the murder of a 13-year-old albino boy, killed for his body parts in the country's northwest, local media and a rights group said.

At least 53 albinos have been killed since 2007 in the east African nation and their body parts sold for use in witchcraft, especially in the remote northwest regions of Shinyanga and Mwanza where superstition is rife.

Witchdoctors say the body parts of albinos - who lack pigment in their skin, eyes and hair - bring luck in love, life and business. One of the accused was found with two legs belonging to the deceased, Matatizo Dunia, local radio said.

Canadian albino rights group, Under The Same Sun, welcomed the court's decision but noted that this was just one judgment out of 53 deaths. More...

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High five New York City!!! Cool...

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When territorial borders get messed up in Facebook...

"Where do you live?"

Seems like a simple question, doesn't it?

But the answer is not clear-cut for everyone. Take people who live in Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir, which is wedged between India, Pakistan and China. India and Pakistan have gone to war repeatedly over the disputed territory.

Technically, it's "Indian-administered."

But on Facebook, it's simply in India.

Shujaat Bukhari, a journalist in Srinagar, was slightly uncomfortable about the classification. More...

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Madoff family members to be sued...

Epic swindler Bernard Madoff's two sons, his brother and a niece will be sued this week for $198 million, the trustee winding down the Madoff firm told CBS News' "60 Minutes" broadcast on Sunday.

Sons Mark and Andrew, brother Peter and niece Shana all held executive positions with the firm and should have known about the multibillion-dollar, worldwide 20-year-long Ponzi scheme, trustee Irving Picard and his chief counsel David Sheehan, told the program.

Wall Street's biggest investment fraud, a Ponzi scheme in which early investors are paid with the money of new clients, collapsed in the declining economy last December. Madoff confessed to the fraud of as much as $64.8 billion and is serving a 150-year prison sentence. More...

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Israeli vigilantes target young Arab-Jewish couples...

It’s past 10pm, but work has just begun for the group of vigilantes in a small white hatchback patrolling the streets of Pisgat Ze’ev — a Jewish settlement on the outskirts of east Jerusalem.

As the car crawls through the nearly empty streets, the men peer out at couples. They say they are experts at spotting those that don’t “match”.

“Stop, right there. Stop the car. Is he an Arab? That dark guy . . . If they are both Jewish, keep the car moving!” yells out ‘David’, a 31-year-old Jewish settler who does not use his real name.More...

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Swiss justice minister explains the Polanski arrest...

US Pharma dumping drugs into rivers, waterways, sewers...

In spite of claims by pharmaceutical companies that they do not discharge their products into the water supply, federal researchers have discovered that waters downstream of pharmaceutical plants are more heavily contaminated with drug residue than waters elsewhere in the country.

In one study, conducted by scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), researchers tested the water entering two water treatment plants down the sewer line of several pharmaceutical factories, as well as at other plants not receiving sewage from drug plants. Researchers discovered drugs at "much higher detection frequencies and concentrations" at the plants receiving effluent from pharmaceutical factories. Drugs detected included opiates, a barbiturate and a tranquilizer.More...

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Jealous father in Ghana spanks 3-year-old son to death...

A three-year-old boy, Mawuko Nyaku met his untimely death last Monday after his 30-year-old father, Boafo Ofori Nyaku locked him up in his room and beat him for going to his mother whom he had divorced.

The DAILY GUIDE newspaper which reported the incident, said it learnt that Mawuko, who fractured his left arm, asked for water and died immediately after taking the water on Monday evening.
Confirming the incident to the paper at Anyirawasi, the District Police Commander, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Richard Gyebi revealed that little Mawuko, his father and mother were all residents of Dzogbefeme near Vane in the Ho municipality.

The suspect, he noted, divorced his wife some four months ago but the boy continued to stay with the father until that fateful Monday when the suspect saw Mawuko with the mother.More...

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British schoolgirl dies from HPV vaccine...

A 14-year-old schoolgirl has died shortly after being given a vaccine against the virus that can cause cervical cancer as part of a national immunisation programme.

Serious side-effects are understood to have affected several classmates at a school in Coventry, The Times has learnt, which in at least one case have been fatal.

The schoolgirl is understood to have died in the last few hours, after being an injection of given Cervarix, which guards against the human papilloma virus (HPV), a sexually transmitted infection that causes up to 70 per cent of cervical cancer cases. It is believed to be the first death linked to the jab since a nationwide vaccination programme began in September.More...

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Mr.Newman, the world's saddest dog!!!

A forlorn pug photographed as he waited for his owner by the side of the road has been acclaimed as the world's saddest dog.

Pictures of the pet taken by a passer-by have become an internet sensation after being posted on the photo-sharing website Flickr.

The photograph was taken outside a café in the bohemian Californian city of San Francisco, which may go some way to explaining why he is dressed in a stylish grey and purple sweater.More...

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Egypt declares war on virginity-faking devices!!!

A leading Egyptian scholar has demanded that people caught importing a female virginity-faking device into the country should face the death penalty.

Abdul Mouti Bayoumi said supplying the item was akin to spreading vice in society, a crime punishable by death in Islamic Sharia law.

The device is said to release liquid imitating blood, allowing a female to feign virginity on her wedding night.More...

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When British Indians outsource murder to India...

A BBC investigation has uncovered the deadly practice of British Asians travelling to India to hire contract killers.

Family and business associates, who are lured to the sub-continent, are often the targets.

In a country where murder is cheaper and less fraught with risk, the perpetrators of these crimes are rarely brought to justice.

Campaigners in both India and the UK believe this to have claimed the lives of hundreds of victims over several years.

These armchair murder plots are hatched in the living rooms of Britain and executed mainly in the rural Indian state of Punjab.More...

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