People in Power Make Better Liars

Posted on May 17, 2010 by abby

MSNBC– New York Gov. David Paterson is embroiled in a scandal over whether he used his power and influence to intimidate a woman pursuing a domestic violence case against one of his top aides.

As a result, the governor said last month that he would not seek a second term, and his communications director quit earlier this month, citing “integrity” issues.

Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling, who went to prison after the spectacular collapse of the company, is appealing to the Supreme Court his 2006 conviction on 19 counts of fraud, conspiracy, insider trading and lying.

His lawyers argue that he didn’t get a fair trial and that Skilling’s conduct, “even if wrongful in some way,” was not illegal because he was not looking out for his personal interests “apart from his normal compensation incentives.”

The issue of integrity is at the heart of the predicaments these powerful men find themselves in. An organization’s health often hinges on the trustworthiness of its leaders, ethics experts say.

There’s old saying: power corrupts. A new Columbia Business School study titled “People with Power are Better Liars” finds there may be truth behind the cliché.

“People in power are able to lie better,” said Dana Carney, a management professor at Columbia Business School and one of the co-authors of the study. “It just doesn’t hurt them as much to do it.”

No Right for Press to Protect Sources, Canadian Supreme Court Says

Posted on May 16, 2010 by abby

GLOBE & MAIL– The Supreme Court of Canada slammed the door shut Friday on a concerted attempt by the press to broaden its rights to protect confidential sources.

In an 8-1 ruling, the court said that in an age of blogging, Twittering and long-range microphones, the media are too amorphous to enjoy such a right and too ungovernable to exercise it properly.

“The bottom line is that no journalist can give a source a total assurance of confidentially,” the majority said. “All such arrangements necessarily carry an element of risk that the source’s identity will eventually be revealed.”

Mr. Justice Ian Binnie said it was a “simplistic proposition” to suggest that a journalist should be able to decide on his or her own whether to grant blanket immunity to a source.

To grant a right to administer blanket immunity to a trade that has no professional regulation and vastly differing ethical standards, “would blow a giant hole in law enforcement and other constitutionally recognized values such as privacy,” the majority said.

“Journalistic privilege is very context specific,” it added. “The public interest in free expression will always weigh heavily in the balance.”

The ruling means that the National Post and reporter Andrew McIntosh may now have to hand over an envelope sent by a confidential source, assuming police still wish to learn the source’s identity.

While Friday’s decision dealt primarily with physical evidence – such as letters or notebooks – its implications extend to information journalists obtain verbally from confidential sources.

The court recognized that many vital public issues have been enhanced by investigative reporting and that confidential sources in these sort of cases will very possibly win court approval in future for confidentiality arrangements.

But it said that confidentiality would be routinely requested and granted if it were made too easy to obtain.

“The public interest in freedom of expression is of immense importance but it is not absolute and, in circumstances such as the present, it must be balanced against other important interests – including the investigation and suppression of crime,” Judge Binnie said.

Continue reading about the Canadian Supreme Court Saying there is No Right for Press to Protect Sources.

Map of Israel’s Progressive Takeover of Palestine

Posted on May 16, 2010 by abby

THE ATLANTIC– Joe Biden was kicked in the balls as he came to Israel with a simultaneous “fuck you” by the Israeli government announcing new settlements – 1600 houses – in East Jerusalem. The immediate spin was that Netanyahu was blindsided by the actions of his Interior Department and was embarrassed. But Haaretz reports today that these 1600 are just the beginning:

Some 50,000 new housing units in Jerusalem neighborhoods beyond the Green Line are in various stages of planning and approval, planning officials told Haaretz. They said Jerusalem’s construction plans for the next few years, even decades, are expected to focus on East Jerusalem.

Most of the housing units will be built in predominantly Jewish neighborhoods beyond the Green Line, while a smaller number of them will be built in Arab neighborhoods. The plans for some 20,000 of the apartments are already in advanced stages of approval and implementation, while plans for the remainder have yet to be submitted to the planning committees.

But Laura Rozen, always worth reading, sees skepticism in Israel:

Many observers were skeptical that Netanyahu was as in the dark about the plan as he claimed to Biden.

“Either one believes Netanyahu and his friends in government (saying it is all misunderstanding and bad timing),” wrote Jerusalem Post blogger Shmuel Rosner. “In such case, one should be concerned by Israel’s chaotic decision-making process on delicate matters.”

“Or, one might choose not to believe,” Rosner continued. “One might think Netanyahu isn’t telling the truth, or that [Interior Minister] Yishai is bluffing. If it’s the former, one will conclude that Netanyahu has no intention of seriously exploring the just-announced peace negotiations. If it’s the latter one will realize that Shas and Yishai are strong enough to toy with Netanyahu as much as they want – as much as embarrassing the American [Vice President]! – without paying a price. Not an encouraging thought.”

I cannot read Netanyahu’s mind. But I can observe Israel’s actions. They intend to occupy and colonize the entire West Bank forever. They may allow some parceled enclaves for Palestinians, but they will maintain a big military presence on the Eastern border of West Bank, and they will sustain this with raw military power and force. I certainly cannot see any other rationale for their actions these past few years that makes any sense at all. Many Israeli politicians now use the term “apartheid” for this future.

Map via Juan Cole

Sudan Hunger Crisis, Families Struggle to Survive

Posted on May 12, 2010 by abby

HUFFINGTON POST– Three-day-old Odong Obong lay in the hospital bed, his pencil-thin arms almost motionless and his shriveled, gaunt face resembling that of an elderly man.

Emaciated babies and young children throughout the ward bore the signs of hunger: exposed ribs and distended stomachs. Outside, old villagers reclined motionless in the shade, too frail to walk.

The U.N. calls this the “hungriest place on Earth” after years of drought and conflict, with aid agencies already feeding 80,000 people here. A doctor says the worst is yet to come.

Two years of failed rains and tribal clashes have laid the foundation for Africa’s newest humanitarian crisis. The World Food Program quadrupled its assistance levels from January to March in the Akobo region of southeastern Sudan.

International aid agencies are bracing for the worst. Even if spring rains materialize this year, the harvest won’t come in until fall.

“And if there is no rain, it will get worse,” said Dr. Galiek Galou, one of three doctors at the hospital in this town on the border with Ethiopia.

“If you stay here for a week you’ll have problems, even if you have money,” he said. “There is nothing to buy.”

Southern Sudan lies in a drought-prone belt of Africa, but the situation has been exacerbated by rising intertribal violence that claimed more than 2,000 lives in 2009. Because of the global financial meltdown, the government has fewer available resources.

The food crisis is also a legacy of a devastating north-south civil war of more than 21 years that left 2 million people dead and many more displaced. That conflict is separate from the war in the western Sudanese region of Darfur, which began in 2003 and has killed 300,000.

Continue reading about Sudan’s Hunger Crisis.

Medair: http://www.medair.org/

Save The Children: http://www.savethechildren.org.uk

Darfur Mediator and Sudanese Negotiator Resume Peace Talks

Posted on May 12, 2010 by abby

SUDAN TRIBUNE– Darfur’s peace chief mediator discussed today with the Sudanese officials the resumption of Doha talks to end the seven year conflict in Western Sudan.

Djibril Bassole, met Thursday in Khartoum with Amin Hassan Omer, government top negotiator and General Issmat Abdelrahman head of security arrangement sub-committee for the peace process.

The two sides discussed the ongoing preparations to resume the peace talks in Doha after its suspension last month for the general elections.

Amin informed Bassole that the Sudanese delegation would return to the Qatari capital on May 15 in order to continue peace talks with the rebel groups. Previously Sudan said the talks would restart after the swearing-in of the President elect Omer Al-Bashir on May 27.

The rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) suspended its participation in the Doha process accusing Khartoum of violating a truce they agreed last February. Ahmed Hussein Adam, JEM spokesperson told Sudan Tribune yesterday they had informed the mediation of their readiness to sign a ceasefire before the departure of the government delegation to Khartoum but the Sudanese officials preferred to leave without to sign it.

He accused Khartoum of seeking to weaken his group militarily saying they were ready to repel any attack. The government and another rebel group, Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) are expected to resume the negotiations after the arrival of the government delegation.

Sudanese President Omer Al-Bashir pledged this week to achieve peace in Darfur where some 300,000 people were killed and over 2.7 million are displaced since 2003.

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