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Europe’s austerity packages start to bite but still lots more to be extracted from the Irish
The chart below suggests that Ireland is still far to wealthy. Rest assured that the IMF/ECB via their agent “The Government of Ireland” have more tricks and schemes up their sleeves to extract money from you.
Its the ‘big picture’ issues that we need to watch these days, no longer detailed forecasts of individual product growth rates. They are driving chemical product sales in every major region.
The chart above from the Financial Times highlights Europe‘s drive towards austerity. Long gone are the days of the 2009 G20 meeting, when everyone focused on stimulus spending. This year, austerity packages will hit household income in most countries:
• Greeks lose 14% of their income, €5600 ($7600)
• Ireland and Portugal lose 5%
• Spain loses 5%, and Italy 3%
• Even the average German household will lose 1%
As Venezuela Prays for its Beloved Leader, Vultures Circle, Eager for Death and Profits
As Venezuela Prays for its Beloved Leader, Vultures Circle, Eager for Death and Profits
By Ruth Hull
Very few leaders, anywhere, have enjoyed the kind of love and popular support Hugo Chavez receives from the people of Venezuela. Outside of George Washington and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, no American President has enjoyed the popularity of Hugo Chavez, who has won elections by margins American Presidents only dream of receiving.
Hugo Chavez and the people of Venezuela have a common enemy: vultures in the form of rich corporate opponents. These vultures were there before Chavez took office. The people can remember when the corporate thieves looted the country’s resources and robbed the people into poverty. Now, these opponents are taking advantage of Chavez’s weakened condition following surgery and are spreading false rumors of death, eager to undo the people’s vote of 2012, a vote that clearly showed that the people of Venezuela want no part of the opposition’s form of government ever again. With Chavez in the hospital, these vultures are trying to frighten the people and stress out the ailing leader in the hopes that he will die or that the false rumors will manifest in reality. The opposition believes a new election will allow them to rip away the people’s property and resources for their own agenda. It is hard enough to recover from surgery without the strain of knowing that people you love will suffer greatly if you don’t recover fast enough. The opposition’s ruthless misconduct could actually be endangering Hugo Chavez’s very life. Without conscience, the opposition awaits death as it plans the demise of the people’s government, their fortunes and their resources.
Who is Hugo Chavez, this great President who has won the hearts of the Venezuelan people, young and old?
In 1999, when Hugo Chavez took office, the country was suffering from extreme poverty. Infant mortality was high. The bulk of the people were poverty stricken and had very little. Now, the Gross National Product has increased by about 250%. Chavez has cut the poverty rate by over 60%. The infant mortality rate has been almost cut in half.
Much of the reason for the pre-Chavez poverty was that rich oil giants were savaging the resources and giving nothing back to the people. Chavez ended the looting and gave the people a percentage of the profits obtained from the people’s own resources. International corporations had acquired unused property that was sitting vacant while people went homeless. (Sound familiar?) Chavez gave the unused business property back to the people. He assisted the people in cultivating their own resourses, growing their own food and in getting the medical attention they needed. He opened up medical centers for the people to be treated, raising the longevity of the people of Venezuela. While longevity is leveling off in the United States, it has dramatically increased since Hugo Chavez took office.
Chavez has treated the people like his brothers and sisters, celebrating with them at all possible opportunities, reading to their children, and making the interests of the people the key factor in setting government policies. Their suffering has been his suffering and their joys, his joys.
Americans looking at the Chavez government wonder where we went wrong and why our leaders don’t listen to us the way Chavez listens to his people. As Chavez lies in his hospital bed recovering from cancer surgery, the people of his country pray for him as they would for a father or a brother or sister.
It hasn’t been an easy road for Hugo Chavez and his people in a world where corporate interests are treated as paramount to those of the people. Greedy oil executives, opposing Chavez’s reforms, had their chauffeurs drive them to formal protests as citizens watched stunned at the ridiculous site of rich men marching around with signs disparaging the poor and downtrodden.
Despite interference from the World Trade Organization (responsible for destroying the standard of living in countries around the world that have been affiliated with that organization), Chavez stood up against free trade and against the WTO. He put his people first, ahead of corporations and ahead of greed. He received death threats. There were frequent attempts on his life orchestrated by foreign powers.
In 2002, Hugo Chavez was kidnapped by powerful foreign interests (as in people associated with George W. Bush). One of those connected to the kidnapping was Henrique Capriles, the man who was soundly defeated by the people of Venezuela in the 2012 re-election of Hugo Chavez. Hugo Chavez was taken to an island and only released after the people took to the streets and refused to settle for anything less than the return of their beloved leader.
Greg Palast has said, “Fear of Chavez is Fear of Democracy.” He is correct. In that article, he compared Hugo Chavez to Franklin Delano Roosevelt. FDR is the leader attributed with pulling America out of the great depression. We currently have no leader who is willing to do what it takes to pull America out of its current depression. But Hugo Chavez has been there for the American people when George W. Bush and Barack Obama have fallen short and let the people down. When Hurricane Katrina hit, George W. Bush was AWOL (just like in the Alabama National Guard). But Hugo Chavez decided to fill in for Bush and was the first world leader to offer aid to the people of New Orleans. In recent winters, Barack Obama has been content to let the people in the colder regions of the United States freeze to death. Hugo Chavez doesn’t want Americans to die from neglect and has provided heating oil to Americans to assist with the cold winters.
Hugo Chavez has been a guiding light for the world, showing us that there can be leaders who put people first. He has shown the world that the people are more important than corporate greed. He has shown that the government should serve the people and not vice versa.
When Fukushima showed the dangers of nuclear power and America’s EPA hid the truth about the extensive fallout in the United States, it was Hugo Chavez who cared enough about the safety of his own people to tell them the truth and to freeze all nuclear projects in Venezuela. In contrast, our own President Barack Obama pushed for the building of new Fukushima-style reactors in the United States and temporarily fled our country with his family for South America when Fukushima’s plume first hit the United States. Is it any wonder that Hugo Chavez has a much higher popularity rating in his country than Barack Obama has in ours?
While criticizing the inaccurate election process in the United States, Jimmy Carter praised the election process in Venezuela.
“As a matter of fact, of the 92 elections that we’ve monitored, I would say the election process in Venezuela is the best in the world,” Mr. Carter said, noting the Carter Center’s extensive work monitoring elections around the globe.
So while the people of Venezuela pray for the recovery of their friend, their brother, their example and their leader, the hateful forces of the opposition are intentionally and maliciously spreading false rumors and endangering Chavez’s life by pressuring him to return for a symbolic inauguration before he can fully recover. If the stress or pressure of any of this causes any further complications to the health of Venezuela’s beloved leader, the opposition, including Henrique Capriles, Julio Borges and Tomas Guanipa, can expect to be held accountable in the eyes of the People of Venezuela and the world.
Venezuela’s People’s National Assembly has united behind Hugo Chavez in selecting his friend and ally Diosdado Cabello as its Assembly leader. Cabello and Vice President Nicolas Maduro (Chavez’s choice for his successor) are working together to maintain Chavez’s government and his reforms until he can rejoin his revolution.
Under the Venezuelan Constitution, as shown and read by Vice President Maduro, the Venezuelan Supreme Court can swear in President Chavez at a later date and a different location than where and when they had intended the Inauguration. This flexibility will likely remove some of the pressure interfering with his recovery. Stress is never good when a person is fighting not just for his health but for the protection of his people.
On Thursday, January 10th, 2013, the People of Venezuela will be rallying in support of President Chavez, sending him a clear message that they are with him, eagerly awaiting his return. People around the world will be joining them in spirit and prayer. The world needs more heroes and it can’t afford to lose the few leaders who actually care. Viva Chavez.
The author is the chairman of a liberal Democratic organization that is working to move the country towards its true base, the people. She has organized major human rights events and worked with some of the most liberal leaders in America. Her career has included work as a criminal defense attorney, a licensed private investigator, an educator and a writer.
God to give Interview on Oprah about ExoPlanets!
Following this week’s announcement that there could be as many as 17 billion exoplanets, many of them Earthlike, within our galaxy alone (that mean’s there’s a fuck sight more in the Universe) God has asked Pope Benedict XVI to read a short statement and ask questions on his behalf.
All answers given by the Pope will be the word of God (A conference phone will be in place on the desk if God himself, who cannot be present due to a scheduling conflict) has anything to add.
It is believed that the Creator, who relies heavily upon faith to avoid difficult questions, accepts that even his most devoted followers might require clarification on certain Biblical conflicts which have arisen due to Nasa’s recent discoveries.
One of the key points being that if it took six days to build the Earth, that means it would have taken 112 billion days to create the planets in the Milky Way alone.
Seeing as there are some 200 Billion galaxies that we know about…well, do the math!
Even the most scrupulous multi-tasker couldn’t squeeze that lot into a mere 14 Billion years, and we haven’t even mentioned stars.
‘And don’t get me started on dark matter!’ said one high ranking cardinal scratching his head at the pre-interview press conference!*
Oprah is said to be thrilled at the prospect of speaking to God on prime-time although the network are bracing themselves for the Papal rider which is said to be notoriously excessive.
‘It’ll be a breeze after Lance Armstrong!’ said her agent. ‘After all, it’s not like God is trying to swing a job at the USADA is it?’
The interview is to take place in two weeks time which gives the Vatican just enough time to think up a strategy should it all go horribly wrong.
*God is expected to point out that planets without life are built much faster!
Palestinian Loss of Land – 1946 TO 2000
Palestinians were forced from their homes 60 years ago from what is now called Israel into refugee camps in Gaza and the West Bank, Jordan and Lebanon.
While attempts have been made by the Palestinians to create a better life for themselves, these refugee camps have been forced upon them to this day by American Taxpayer funding, and Anglo American, Europe backing and banking for Israel that has propped up the forced ‘state’ of Israel for more than fifty years.
Illuminati, New World Order elite have been at the forefront in protecting European and American settler people who stole the land and continue to steal the remaining few segments of land from the Palestinians, in essence taking away from the Palestinians piece by piece this land over these many years.
Funding by the US Taxpayer for the enslavement of the Palestinian people continues to increase, estimated now considerably more than the previous 4 billion US dollars per year.
via TheWE — a group of off planet, other universe people— TheWE.cc managed by Kewe a TheWE ambassador.
via TheWE — a group of off planet, other universe people — TheWE.cc managed by Kewe a TheWE ambassador .
Families can’t take any more punishing tax hikes
HOUSEHOLDERS have now reached a point where they cannot bear more tax hikes in the Budget, experts warn.
A family with one income of €55,000 and two children is paying an extra €3,400 a year in taxes and levies since 2008.
A sixth austerity Budget next month will be too much for large numbers of people to cope with, the Irish Tax Institute said.
But next month’s Budget is expected to see the introduction of a property tax that is expected to cost a family with a €350,000 home €875 in tax in a full year. The charge is likely to be set at a rate of 0.25pc on the value of the home.
There are also expected to be changes in pay related social insurance (PRSI) and the universal social charge (USC).
President of the tax body
Martin Phelan said more taxes would mean people will spend less, some will work less, while there will be a growth in the black economy.
“A small base of people are contributing vast amounts of revenue for the Government. It is getting to a dangerous level with fewer people paying more and more taxes with less income,” Mr Phelan said.
Some €1.25bn in extra taxes is expected to be imposed by Finance Minister Michael Noonan in two weeks’ time.
Cuts
And an additional €2.25bn is expected in expenditure cuts. But the tax body said there should be an even greater emphasis on spending cuts, as it would be too damaging to the economy to tax income earners even more.
There is a limit to how much more can be imposed, the tax
body said. Changes to income tax, the introduction of the universal social charge, the removal of tax reliefs and child benefit cuts have meant those still in a job are paying vastly more tax since the economic downturn hit in 2008.
There are now 1.8 million income taxpayers, down 300,000 from 2007, the tax institute said.
Plans to introduce water charges and a property tax will mean there will have been 10 new taxes imposed on households in the last four years.
These include the income levy and the health levy, which became the universal social charge.
Also included are carbon taxes, the second-homes tax, the household charge, the domicile levy on high earners, the pensions levy on private sector retirement funds and the insurance levy.
Constant attacks on the website royaldutchshellplc.com
Just for information royaldutchshellplc.com is a site that is highly critical of Shell and its associates.
Illustration of 95 year old Alfred Donovan, co-founder of royaldutchshellplc.com, displayed courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
DISCLAIMER: This is not a Shell website nor is it officially endorsed by or affiliated with Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
EMAIL SENT 11 NOVEMBER 2012 BY JOHN DONOVAN TO MR MICHIEL BRANDJES, COMPANY SECRETARY & GENERAL COUNSEL CORPORATE, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC
From: John Donovan <john@shellnews.net>
Subject: Constant attacks on the website royaldutchshellplc.com
Date: 11 November 2012 15:29:54 GMT
To: michiel.brandjes@shell.com
Dear Mr Brandjes
I would like to bring another serious matter to your attention.
I refer to the constant attacks on our website royaldutchshellplc.com.
There are three strands to the activity.
The first is denial of service attacks where the site is flooded with traffic. We have upgraded our server a number of times in an effort to deal with these attacks, but the scale is such that even our latest high capacity dedicated server has crashed due to massive spikes in traffic, which cannot be due to normal activity.
BLOCKING SHELL BLOG ENTRIES
For over a year we have received attacks on the site in the form of massive numbers of blog entries being received. They have recently reached a level whereby legitimate blogs are crowded out, effectively blocking criticism against Shell. Blog postings arrive every few minutes 24/7 for several days. Then cease for a few days. The time interval between the blogs, during the periods when they are being received, is random. Multiple languages are used including Dutch, Greek, French and mainly English. Different IPS addresses are used for each blog. Different content, mostly nothing to do with Shell or related matters. The amount of text changes on every blog. Sometime just a few lines and sometimes a long screed. Different aliases are used on each posting. One posting contained a threat to hack the site. Despite the machinations, we have evidence that all of the blog activity comes from one source, with clues that the source is located in the Netherlands.
THREATS RELATING TO SAKHALIN ENERGY
We also receive forwarded emails almost every day, sometimes several times per day, from a source relating to Sakhalin Energy. The emails contain multiple languages. In more recent months, this party has also copied the emails to Mr Voser and to senior people at Gasprom, Sakhalin Energy and the UK police. The emails have contained implied threats against us personally arising from our intervention in the Sakhalin2 project. This party also seems to be located in the Netherlands.
We had initially wondered if some or all of the activity was due to mis-identification i.e someone thought they were attacking a Shell website. However, given the amount of time the attacks have gone on and the fact that we personally have been targeted, it seems that possibility can be ruled out.
We do not know if the multi-pronged attacks are co-incidental or coordinated.
Given the 24/7 nature of the blogging activity, it appears that someone has very deep pockets. Someone who does not like us very much.
I would be grateful if you could check whether an operation directed against us by Shell may have got out of hand?
As you know, Shell has used undercover activities against us in the past and more recently, set up a counter-measures team as well as initiating a global spying operation against us involving a Pittsburgh based agency with specialist expertise in cyber-crimes/warfare.
Is any of this activity still in progress?
I have recently brought these matters to the attention of a specialist UK police cyber-crimes unit as I understand that the activity I have described is unlawful.
Best Regards
John Donovan
ANY RESPONSE FROM SHELL WILL BE PUBLISHED HERE UNEDITED
via Constant attacks on the website royaldutchshellplc.com | Royal Dutch Shell plc .com.
via Constant attacks on the website royaldutchshellplc.com | Royal Dutch Shell plc .com.
Will Chinese consumers lead the world? –
Hong Kong (CNN) — When Shaun Rein drives to Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport, about 10 minutes outside the airfield, he begins to notice a line of cars — including Rolls Royces and Bentleys — parked along the side of the highway.
“Why? It’s because these people, who can spend a million dollars on a car, don’t want to spend $2 on parking at the garage,” said Rein, managing director at China Market Research Group.
For Chinese leaders, the nation’s newfound wealth represents a bumpy road as it tries to steer the nation on a new economic path. The ruling Communist Party (CCP) continues meetings this week for the 18th Party Congress, where it is expected to select Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang to become the president and premier, respectively, of China for the next decade.
One of the great challenges the new leadership faces is to move the economy — currently driven by exports and investment — toward a more sustainable course led by domestic consumer spending. While domestic consumption is rising, it still makes up just over one-third of the China’s total economy. American consumers, by comparison, power more than two-thirds of the U.S. economy.
China youth have savings rate near zero China’s migrants struggle More reforms in China’s future? Challenges for China’s new leaders
Much has been made of China’s growing group of super rich which has spurred record sales for luxury goods makers such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Prada. The nation has an estimated one million people with a net worth of $1 million or more, and that is expected to grow 2.5 times in the next three years, Rein said.
But much of the hope of the rising domestic spending rests with China’s growing middle class. There are an estimated 350 million people in China’s middle class, which are households that earn between $6,000 and $15,000, Rein said. A government think tank predicted last week that by 2020 there will be 600 million Chinese earning middle-class incomes.
“But they are not really middle class in the American sense. In the U.S., you’re born a blue collar worker, your parents were blue collar, your grandparents — and you’re proud of that, you have that identity. And you like to shop at Macy’s on special occasions,” Rein said.
“In China, you don’t have that — that doesn’t really exist. Everyone here says they’re going to be rich,” he added.
That growth represents eye-popping opportunities for foreign multinationals and domestic companies. Chinese consumers prefer overseas brands for consumer electronics yet favor domestic companies for personal care or household items, according to a recent report by McKinsey & Company. And foreign companies that got into the market early — such as General Motors — are now raking in record profits.
But as outgoing President Hu Jintao noted last week, concerns remain. He set an ambitious target for 2020 to double per capita income in China from 2010 levels for both rural and urban dwellers to address the rising wealth disparity. China’s per capita income was $4,423 in 2010, according to the International Monetary Fund. “Unbalanced, uncoordinated and unsustainable development remains a big problem,” Hu said in his speech at the Party congress.
“I think what’s more alarming or more worrisome is how big is it going to get? Will it continue to grow and drive economic growth not only in China but for the world? Or will it stagnate under a mountain of new debt — debt from expensive housing to the cost of educating your kids to health care costs?” said Karl Gerth, author of “As China Goes, So Goes the World: How Chinese Consumers Are Transforming Everything.”
“These are all things that the government is trying to address by reinstituting some semblance of a social safety net, so instead of saving 40 or 50% of their disposable incomes, people can start to spend it,” adds Gerth, who teaches at Merton College of the University of Oxford.
For foreign companies, there are mounting worries of roadblocks from Beijing to prevent access to the growing Chinese domestic market. Last summer, a report from the European Union Chamber of Commerce showed that more than 40% of members said they think government policies for multinational companies are less fair than two years ago, and 22% say they may move investments out of the country as a result.
As Time’s Michael Shuman recently wrote, a new Chinese Great Wall — constructed of regulations and restrictions — are making it harder for foreign companies to compete with domestic players in the Chinese consumer market. “Things that were easy are less easy,” Michael Dunne, president of the Hong Kong-based auto consultancy Dunne & Co., told Time, adding that carmakers “have to work harder to get what they want. Free access is not part of the equation.”
Still, more cash is trickling down to Chinese laborers. More than half of the country’s growth last year “has come from domestic consumption, and it’s really because the government is pushing for more money to go into the pocket of everyday Chinese — 21 of China’s 31 provinces increased the minimum wage by 22%,” Rein said.
“So what you’re seeing is Chinese are getting wealthier, they’re starting to spend more,” he said. “That’s why you saw retail sales growth of 14.2% last month.”
How the Western world is limiting free speech –
Free speech is dying in the Western world. While most people still enjoy considerable freedom of expression, this right, once a near-absolute, has become less defined and less dependable for those espousing controversial social, political or religious views. The decline of free speech has come not from any single blow but rather from thousands of paper cuts of well-intentioned exceptions designed to maintain social harmony.
In the face of the violence that frequently results from anti-religious expression, some world leaders seem to be losing their patience with free speech. After a video called “Innocence of Muslims” appeared on YouTube and sparked violent protests in several Muslim nations last month, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned that “when some people use this freedom of expression to provoke or humiliate some others’ values and beliefs, then this cannot be protected.”
It appears that the one thing modern society can no longer tolerate is intolerance. As Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard put it in her recent speech before the United Nations, “Our tolerance must never extend to tolerating religious hatred.”
A willingness to confine free speech in the name of social pluralism can be seen at various levels of authority and government. In February, for instance, Pennsylvania Judge Mark Martin heard a case in which a Muslim man was charged with attacking an atheist marching in a Halloween parade as a “zombie Muhammed.” Martin castigated not the defendant but the victim, Ernie Perce, lecturing him that “our forefathers intended to use the First Amendment so we can speak with our mind, not to piss off other people and cultures — which is what you did.”
Of course, free speech is often precisely about pissing off other people — challenging social taboos or political values.
This was evident in recent days when courts in Washington and New York ruled that transit authorities could not prevent or delay the posting of a controversial ad that says: “In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat jihad.”
When U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer said the government could not bar the ad simply because it could upset some Metro riders, the ruling prompted calls for new limits on such speech. And in New York, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority responded by unanimously passing a new regulation banning any message that it considers likely to “incite” others or cause some “other immediate breach of the peace.”
Such efforts focus not on the right to speak but on the possible reaction to speech — a fundamental change in the treatment of free speech in the West. The much-misconstrued statement of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes that free speech does not give you the right to shout fire in a crowded theater is now being used to curtail speech that might provoke a violence-prone minority. Our entire society is being treated as a crowded theater, and talking about whole subjects is now akin to shouting “fire!”
via Shut up and play nice: How the Western world is limiting free speech – The Washington Post.
via Shut up and play nice: How the Western world is limiting free speech – The Washington Post.
Teachers striking in Dublin’s schools,what does it do? | School Security
Teachers striking in Dublin’s schools,what does it do?
Striking season is not limited to South Africa. Teachers in Ireland’s Dublin schools have been protests over pay cuts to their budgets in the streets. The three main teachers unions in Ireland joined forces to take to the streets and try to make a difference. But in the end,what does this protesting do? And who is it for?
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – SEPTEMBER 05: Thousands of Victorian teachers march to Parliament house demanding better wages on September 5, 2012 in Melbourne, Australia. The Australian Education Union AEU want a 30 per cent pay increase for teachers over three years and more job security as opposed to the 2.5 percent increase offered by the government with the best 70 percent of teachers recieving a bhonus every year. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)
The teachers have been compliaing that their teaching system is at breaking point. The last four budget cuts put in place by Ireland’s government there has been an increase in class size and a decrease student support.
ASTI General Secretary Pat King said that today’s protest is about sending a message to Government that “there is nothing left to take from education” in the Budget.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr King said that the previous four Budgets have devastated Irish education, increased class size and removed student supports.
This protesting is great for grabbing�headlines�and filling the blogger’s sphere ,but does it really improve the lives of students and teachers alike? It is hard to say in the irish setting as it has just started but as far as the situation in South Africa it has�definitely�not helped anyone. It is the talks while the protests and strikes are on hold with the policy makers that really make a difference.
But by the same token it is hard to say that the policy makers and the like would be as likely to pay attention to the strikers’ wants and needs without the public pressure.
In essence ,it is this blogger’s belief,that communication is the main problem. Those in power must listen to those on the ground before they look for attention in ways that are not constructive. And those they feel disenfranchised or want to strike mut consider the effectiveness thereof and the far reaching consequences thereof.
Teacher’s Office, Korea (Photo credit: watchsmart)
This is a world wide trend,here are some linked articles
via Teachers striking in Dublin’s schools,what does it do? | School Security.
via Teachers striking in Dublin’s schools,what does it do? | School Security.
US Election: Donald Trump offers Barack Obama farcical $5m ‘deal’
Mr Trump’s much-hyped announcement was rumoured to concern anything from the publication of mythical Obama divorce papers to claims that the President dealt cocaine in college.
In fact, Mr Trump’s revelation turned out to be a bizarre “deal” to donate $5 million to charity should Mr Obama agree to release his college and passport records.
Claiming to be acting as “a spokesperson” for the American people, Mr Trump posted a video address on YouTube saying: “President Obama is the least transparent president in the history of this country. There’s never been anything like it.”
He offered Mr Obama “a deal that I do not believe he can refuse and I hope he doesn’t”, vowing to immediately write a cheque to a charity of the President’s choice in return for releasing the records within the next week.
“If he releases these records it will end the question and indeed the anger of many Americans. They’ll know something about their president. Their president will become transparent,” Mr Trump intoned.
Mr Trump, who led the charge in the so-called birther conspiracy and attempted to cast doubt that the president was born in the US, had boasted earlier this week that his revelation was set to possibly change the race for the White House.
He told Fox News: “[I have] something very, very big concerning the president of the United States. It’s going to be very big. I know one-thing – you will cover it in a very big fashion.”
Mr Trump has a dubious record when it comes to allegations about Mr Obama, which has led to some commentators to question why Mitt Romney has failed to distance himself from the mogul.
The White House released Mr Obama’s birth certificatel last year, showing he had been born in Hawaii and not Kenya as some conservatives had relentlessly insisted.
Mr Romney has also faced conspiracy theories of his own with celebrity attorney Gloria Allred requesting what is rumoured to be damaging information about the former governor given in sealed court records concerning the divorce case of his friend Tom Stemberg, the founder of Staples.
Mr Trump’s “revelation” came on the same day that the independent Republican superPAC American Crossroads, released a new TV advert starring Clint Eastwood.
In the commercial the Hollywood icon criticises Mr Obama’s economic record and tells listeners that reelecting him for a second term would be a “rerun of the first, and our country just couldn’t survive that.”
via US Election: Donald Trump offers Barack Obama farcical $5m ‘deal’ – Telegraph.
via US Election: Donald Trump offers Barack Obama farcical $5m ‘deal’ – Telegraph.
Women ‘for sale’ in Limerick –
By Aine Fitzgerald
Published on Monday 22 October 2012 08:30
TODAY in Limerick there are 46 women “for sale” on one internet site alone, a conference on Human Trafficking has heard.
The statement was made by Denise Charlton of the Turn Off the Red Light campaign who was speaking on the subject of the purchase of sex, during a conference entitled Human Trafficking – The Problem of Identification.
The conference which was hosted by Doras Luimni in the Hunt Museum to mark EU Anti-Trafficking Day heard how the majority of individuals buying sex are now doing so on the internet as it is not illegal to do so.
“In order to buy her all I have to do is go on the net and put in what I want- ethnic minority, colour eyes, whatever, and she gets delivered to my apartment or someone else’s apartment, or a hotel room and afterwards I can rate her,” explained Ms Charlton of how individuals purchase sex on the internet.
Turn Off the Red Light is campaigning to end prostitution and sex trafficking in Ireland. Those involved in the campaign believe that the best way to combat this is to tackle the demand for prostitution by criminalising the purchase of sex.
The women who are “for sale” Ms Charlton said, are usually being controlled by criminals or criminal gangs.
“And she is earning a lot of money for them – it is extremely profitable. That is the situation in Limerick and it is the same all over Ireland.”
At the moment, she said, individuals are “buying” at lunchtime, on their way home, while at the races, and the Ploughing Championships.
“These are all really busy times,” said Ms Charlton who is CEO of the Immigrant Council of Ireland.
Many buyers, the conference heard, don’t want 18-year-olds “they want younger than 18-year-olds”.
Ms Charlton said there has been a “massive amount” of research done on buying patterns “and what some men will say is the fact that she is young will deter them but for a lot of men it won’t”.
For most men, she said, the greatest deterrent is “name and shame”.
“They do not want people to know they pay for sex.”
Another guest speaker at last Thursday’s conference, retired Limerick-based garda inspector, John O’Reilly, spoke about his experiences working closely with the victims of human trafficking during his secondment with the United Nations mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2002.
In his new book entitled Sex Slavery, the way back, Mr O’Reilly explains a new interviewing technique to combat the psychological effects of trauma on the behaviour of trafficked victims in the sex industry.
