Gaddafi Praises Obama at U.N.

Protesters shout slogans against Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi during a demonstration in front of the United Nations as the UN General Assembly going on in New York on September 23, 2009. Kadhafi is a hate figure for US politicians and media outlets because of Libya’s role in the 1988 Lockerbie airliner bombing and the release by British authorities last month of the sole Libyan convicted in the attack. Getty Images

Washington Post | Sep 23, 2009

By Keith B. Richburg

NEW YORK, Sept. 23 — President Obama at the United Nations won praise from an unlikely and probably unwelcome source Wednesday: Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi, who was making his first appearance before the world body.

Speaking after Obama, Gaddafi had mostly harsh words for the United Nations, as he theatrically tossed aside a copy of the U.N. charter and referred to the Security Council as a “Terror Council” because of its veto power.

But when it came to America’s 44th president, Gaddafi offered only warm words, calling him “our son” and “our Obama,” and saying, “The election of Obama is the beginning of change.”

“We are content and happy if Obama can stay forever as the president,” Gaddafi said during a rambling, 95-minute speech during which he read from notes, exhausted at least one of his interpreters, threw the U.N. schedule into disarray, and put much of his audience to sleep.

Even Ali Abdussalam Trekim, the Libyan diplomat who introduced Gaddafi and sat behind him as chairman of the General Assembly, appeared to be dosing.

At one point, Gaddafi, dressed in a copper-colored robe adorned with a pin of the African continent, chided his audience members, saying: “You’re tired. All of you are asleep.”

Gaddafi’s marathon remarks were not a U.N. record. Cuba’s Fidel Castro holds that distinction with a 4 1/2 -hour lecture in 1960.

Gaddafi took power in a 1969 coup, but in 40 years has never addressed the United Nations. Libya only recently opened relations with the United States after agreeing to give up its nuclear program and renouncing terror.

But Gaddafi’s diplomatic rapprochement with Washington did not stop hundreds of Libyan dissidents and critics — including family members of those killed in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland — from turning out to protest the Libyan leader’s presence in New York.

Some of the demonstrators referred to Gaddafi’s difficulties finding a place to stay in the New York area during his visit, after the town of Englewood, N.J., where Libya owns five acres of property, turned him away and several city hotels said he was not welcome. The demonstrators chanted: “Gaddafi’s got no place to rent! Go back home and pitch your tent!”

There was confusion over where Gaddafi would spend the night. He stayed Tuesday night at the Libyan mission, not far from U.N headquarters.

On Wednesday, local officials in suburban Bedford, N.Y. said that a tent on Donald Trump’s estate that was rented by the Libyan government for the week was being dismantled. Officials there had earlier denied permits for the huge Bedouin tent being constructed on the grounds.

Turkish prime minister calls for a “new global order”

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke to a large audience in Richardson Auditorium on Wednesday afternoon. Photo by Roger Wang

Turkish prime minister talks of a new world order

dailyprincetonian.com | Sep 24, 2009

By Jack Ackerman

Former professional soccer player turned Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan proposed the creation of a “new global order” to an audience of roughly 700 students and visitors in Richardson Auditorium on Wednesday.

During the speech, which was delivered in Turkish and simultaneously translated to audience members via individual earpieces, Erdogan said that today’s most pressing international matters require international cooperation that embraces a diversity of opinion while focusing on political, cultural, economic and legal issues.

“This global order should be an order which embraces everyone, which is … based on sharing, which sees differences as social enrichment. And it should be an order which is based on trust,” Erdogan explained. “This political order should be just, equitable and participatory. We must understand world politics as a whole, and we must understand properly the dynamic relationship between different actors.”

Erdogan criticized the hypocrisy of world leaders and organizations who profess respect for all people and all viewpoints in documents like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights but whose actions contradict their stated views.

“If you have the text, and you don’t have the practice, that of course is not really of any use to us,” he said. “In our country, we say that you cannot feel the sweet taste of honey in your mouth just by speaking the name of honey. You have to eat the honey to taste the taste.”

Turkey’s past experience dealing with economic recession, ethnic conflict and terrorism leaves it in a position to play an important role in international cooperation aimed at combating these issues, Erdogan said.

He explained, “When [my party] first came to power, we had many problems with countries surrounding us …  had problems with almost all of our neighbors, and so much so that the situation was at times threatening, and we said that our goal is not to make enemies, but to make friends.”

Erdogan pointed to the specific examples of Turkish relations with Syria, Iraq, Iran, Russia and the Caucasus as evidence of his country’s successful foreign policy. “If one can remove prejudice and preconceptions,” he said, “it is not so difficult at the end of the day to make friends.”

President Tilghman, who introduced Erdogan, lauded Turkey as a key American ally and an important leader in Middle Eastern politics.

“Turkey occupies a critical place in the world, bridging as it does two continents, and not just geographically,” she said. “It looks both east and west … Its history has been inextricably intertwined with both the Christian and Muslim worlds.”

The alliance between Turkey and the United States is especially important in preventing terrorism, Erdogan explained. To do this, he cautioned, people must stop equating terrorism with Muslim religious beliefs.

“Islam never accepts terrorism,” he said. “The meaning of the word ‘Islam’ is ‘peace.’ It is a religion which believes in peace.”

While Erdogan acknowledged that much remains to be accomplished, he said he believes Turkey’s values and the will of its people will help guide the country. “We are trying to take the right steps based on justice and rights, and those steps are supported by our society, our people.”

Madonna Caps Israel Trip Greeting Jewish Sabbath With Netanyahu

US pop diva Madonna (C) prays at the tomb of Ha’Ari Ha’Kadosh, or Rabbi Isaac Luria Ben-Shelomo, at the ancient cemetery in the northern Israeli city of Safed, on Sepetmber 4, 2009 after her ‘Sticky and Sweet’ tour concert in Tel Aviv?s Yarkon Park in Israel. Getty Images

Madonna declared Israel to be “the energy center of the world” and draped herself in an Israeli flag

Bloomberg | Sep 5, 2009

By Calev Ben-David

Pop star Madonna capped a week-long visit to Israel by joining Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sarah at their Jerusalem residence Friday night and helping them ceremonially usher in the Jewish Sabbath.

“The singer Madonna and her Israeli manager Guy Oseary were hosted Friday evening in the Prime Minister’s Residence for the welcoming of the Sabbath. Mrs. Netanyahu and Madonna performed together the lighting and blessing of the ceremonial candles,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a text message to reporters.

The singer gave two concerts in Tel Aviv this week to conclude her world-wide “Sticky and Sweet” tour, between visits to local Jewish holy sites motivated by her interest in a popularized form of the traditional Jewish mysticism known as kabbalah.

At one concert Madonna declared Israel to be “the energy center of the world” and draped herself in an Israeli flag handed her by an audience member. Two years ago she made a private visit to Israel in which she attended a kabbalah seminar in Tel Aviv.

While her two concerts together drew some 100,000 Israeli fans, Madonna’s visit also attracted criticism from both Jews and Palestinians. Hania Bitar, director-general of the West-Bank based Palestinian Youth Association for Leadership and Rights Activism, told the Ynet news Web Site that Madonna should have also spoken out against Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.

A prominent Israeli scholar of traditional Jewish mysticism, Rabbi Yitzhak Batzri of Jerusalem’s Shalom Yeshiva, told the Arutz-7 news Web site that “there is no connection between what the singer learns and true kabbalah,” and condemned her performances as immodest.

The Roman-Catholic born entertainer, who said in a 2004 televison interview she also wants to be known by the Jewish name, Esther, has studied for several years at the Kabbalah Centre, a Los Angeles-based organization that teaches a popularized form of the ancient Jewish mysticism.

Obama to Use Current Law to Support Indefinite Detentions

NY Times | Sep 23, 2009

By PETER BAKER

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has decided not to seek new legislation from Congress authorizing the indefinite detention of about 50 terrorism suspects being held without charges at at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, officials said Wednesday.

Instead, the administration will continue to hold the detainees without bringing them to trial based on the power it says it has under the Congressional resolution passed after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, authorizing the president to use force against forces of Al Qaeda and the Taliban.

In concluding that it does not need specific permission from Congress to hold detainees without charges, the Obama administration is adopting one of the arguments advanced by the Bush administration in years of debates about detention policies.

But President Obama’s advisers are not embracing the more disputed Bush contention that the president has inherent power under the Constitution to detain terrorism suspects indefinitely regardless of Congress.

The Justice Department said in a statement Wednesday night that “the administration would rely on authority already provided by Congress” under the use of force resolution. “The administration is not currently seeking additional authorization,” the statement said.

The department pointed out that courts would continue to review the cases of those held without charges through habeas corpus hearings. The Washington Post first reported the decision.

The legal interpretation applies to detainees whom the government concludes should be held because they are a continuing danger to national security but who cannot be brought to trial for various reasons, like evidence tainted by harsh interrogations. Although it has not determined definitively how many detainees that applies to, officials said it would probably be about 50 of the more than 200 men still held at Guantánamo. The government plans to bring the others to trial or send them to other countries.

Officials said the decision applies only to those already held at Guantánamo. They said it remained an open question whether the administration would seek legislation or establish a new system for indefinite detention of suspected terrorists captured in the future.

Justice Department officials informed representatives of human rights and civil liberties groups about the decision not to seek the new legislation for the current detainees at a meeting last week. Officials said Wednesday that the position was in keeping with the evolving arguments being made by the administration in court over recent months.

“The position conveyed by the Justice Department in the meeting last week broke no new ground and was entirely consistent with information previously provided by the Justice Department to the Senate Armed Services Committee,” the department’s statement said.

Still, the position surprised some critics who had expected after a speech by Mr. Obama in May that he would seek legislation to put the system of indefinite detention on firmer political and legal ground. In that speech at the National Archives, Mr. Obama said that he was considering continuing indefinite detention in some limited cases but that he would not act unilaterally.

“We must recognize that these detention policies cannot be unbounded,” he said at the time. “They can’t be based simply on what I or the executive branch decide alone.”

He said he would “work with Congress to develop an appropriate legal regime so that our efforts are consistent with our values and our Constitution.”

Officials said Wednesday that working with Congress did not mean the president would seek legislation, only that he would consult lawmakers.

Given the opposition in Congress to Mr. Obama’s plan to close Guantánamo, especially if it means transferring detainees to prisons on American soil, the prospect of writing legislation that would pass both houses appears daunting at best.

Sarah E. Mendelson, a scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies who led a study about closing Guantánamo, said forgoing legislation was “overall a good step” because it prevented Congress from making things worse. “We don’t know if it closes the door definitively on efforts to institutionalize detention without charge,” she added, “since the White House might seek to do this by itself.”

All child vaccine records to be checked

All children should have their medical records checked when they start school to see if they have had vaccinations for MMR and other illnesses, under official guidance.

Campaign groups said parents will feel under pressure to have their child vaccinated even if they have reservations.

Telegraph | Sep 23, 2009

By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor

Where there are gaps, health visitors should contact parents to encourage them them to ensure their children are given all the appropriate jabs, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence had said.

The checks should be made when a child joins nursery, playgroup or primary school and records kept where parents have expressed concerns about vaccination, the guidance said.

However campaign groups said parents will feel under pressure to have their child vaccinated even if they have reservations.

It is the first time Nice has made recommendations about immunisation.

Uptake rates of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine has improved following the scare in 1998 when Dr Andrew Wakefield linked the vaccine to bowel and autism disorders, but levels still remain relatively low.

It has been estimated that 1.3 million children aged between two and 17 in England are at risk of contracting measles because they have not been vaccinated.

Children should have three doses of the five-in-one-jab which contains vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus, polio, whooping cough and Hib, three doses of pneumoccocal conjugate vaccine which protects against the bacterium that can cause septicaemia, meningitis and pneumonia, three doses of meningitis C vaccine and two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine by the time they are aged five.

The guidance said: “The Healthy Child team, led by a health visitor working with other practitioners, should check the immunisation record (including the personal child health record) of each child aged up to 5 years.

“They should carry out this check when the child joins a day nursery, nursery school, playgroup, Sure Start children’s centre or when they start primary school. The check should be carried out in conjunction with childcare or education staff and the parents.”

Jackie Fletcher, from the campaign group Jabs, said: “Parents will definitely feel under pressure particularly because their choice is so limited. Many parents would like to vaccinate their children but they cannot have the single measles, mumps and rubella vaccines on the NHS.

“This will put extra pressure on parents that they could do without, particularly because we do not have compulsory vaccination in this country.”

She said Jabs would support moves to improve record keeping where there are reasons a child has not been vaccinated, including parental concerns but if the note was used to put extra pressure on parents that would be a backward step.

In some states in America children are not allowed to start school until they have received all their immunisations.

A spokesman for Nice said: “The new Nice guidance recommends that immunisation records of children and young people should be checked when they join a new nursery, play group, school or college.

“If they are not up-to-date with their vaccinations, school nursing teams should explain to parents why immunisation is important for children’s health and provide information in an appropriate format.

“School nursing teams should also offer vaccinations to help them catch up, or refer them to other immunisation services.”

Parents will still have a choice to vaccinate their child or not and there is no recommendation to implement compulsory vaccinations, a spokesman for Nice said.

Professor Catherine Law, Chair of the Public Health Interventions Advisory Committee (PHIAC) at Nice and Professor of Public Health and Epidemiology, University College London Institute of Child Health said: “Immunisation plays a vital role in children’s health by providing protection against common infections .

“These infections can have devastating effects and even cause death. This new guidance, for those who have a role in immunisation, makes recommendations which aim to increase the uptake in groups and settings where immunisation levels are currently low.”

Dr David Elliman Consultant Community Paediatrician, Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Trust and Haringey Teaching PCT said: “Although immunisation rates are rising, there is still a way to go before all primary care trusts have achieved the desired public health targets.”

Dr Mary Ramsay Consultant Epidemiologist, Health Protection Agency Centre for Infections said: “Immunisation saves lives and the aim of this guidance is to ensure that children are given the best possible opportunity to receive the protection they need.

“This could be achieved by ensuring that children are offered immunisation at every possible opportunity by improving access by offering walk-in vaccination clinics, mobile or outreach services which may include home visits or vaccinations at children’s centres and keeping track of their immunisation history.”

The guidance said the youngest children from large families are among those who may miss out on vital vaccinations, along with children in care, those with physical or learning disabilities and children from non-English speaking families.

This could be down to parents not wishing to have their children immunised or other factors, such as failing to return to the GP for a follow-up jab.

Other recommendations include introducing outreach programmes and longer opening hours in clinics so parents can access vaccines for their children more easily.