Europe Is Our Home, We Need to Fix It – in Handelsblatt, 30 OCT 2015

He makes too good a case for true reform and that scares those who now have some power.

Yanis Varoufakis

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YV Handessblatt 30 OCT 2015Yanis Varoufakis was appointed as Greek finance minister after the far-left Syriza party came to power inJanuary. The academic resigned in July after it became clear Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was going to askfor a third bailout, despite winning a referendum that rejected E.U. imposed austerity.

Handelsblatt sat down with Mr. Varoufakis this week to discuss his dramatic year at the epicenter of European politics.

The man who rocked the boat. Source: DPA

Handelsblatt: Mr. Varoufakis, at the time you were minister of finance, Greece was not very successful in getting creditors to accept their demands or suggestions. Some people fear, othershope, that the refugee crisis has improved the negotiating power of Greece and other countriesvis-à-vis Germany? 

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Three Non-Native Men Charged with Fraudulently Selling Filipino-Made Jewelry as American Indian-Made

Gallery 8 in Albuquerque was engaged in selling non-Native made items that were marketed as being American Indian-made

Gallery 8 in Albuquerque was engaged in selling non-Native made items that were marketed as being American Indian-made

Sixteen Search Warrants Executed in New Mexico and California as Part of Continuing Investigation into Alleged Violations of the Indian Arts and Crafts Act

Published October 30, 2015

ALBUQUERQUE – Three New Mexicans have been charged with violating the Indian Arts and Crafts Act (IACA) by conspiring to import and fraudulently sell Filipino-made jewelry as Native American-made.  The indictment charging the three defendants is the result of an ongoing federal investigation led by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service into an international scheme to violate the IACA that included a law enforcement operation yesterday during which 16 search warrants were executed in New Mexico and California and related investigative activity took place in the Philippines.

The IACA prohibits the offer or display for sale, or the sale of any good in a manner that falsely suggests that it is Indian produced, an Indian product, or the product of a particular Indian and Indian tribe.  The law is designed to prevent products from being marketed as “Indian made,” when the products are not, in fact, made by Indians.  It covers all Indian and Indian-style traditional and contemporary arts and crafts produced after 1935, and broadly applies to the marketing of arts and crafts by any person in the United States.  IACA provides critical economic benefits for Native American cultural development by recognizing that forgery and fraudulent Indian arts and crafts diminish the livelihood of Native American artists and craftspeople by lowering both market prices and standards.

“American Indian and Alaska Native people have contributed tremendously to the cultural and artistic heritage of our nation and they have an important future that must be protected,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Stuart F. Delery. 

“This case demonstrates our willingness to prosecute those who falsely market products as ‘Indian Made’ and thus undermine the livelihoods of Native American artists and craftspeople, many of whom are responsible for carrying precious spiritual and artistic knowledge from one generation to another.”

“The indictment announced today and yesterday’s enforcement operation are not only about enforcing the law but also about protecting and preserving the cultural heritage of Native Americans,” said U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez.  “The cultural heritage of American Indians is a precious national resource and it is critically important that we provide the proper respect to those whose creations are seen by some as simple retail commodities to be exploited for profit.”

The four-count indictment that was unsealed Thursday, October 29, 2015, charges Nael Ali, 51, and Mohammad Abed Manasra, 53, both of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Christina Bowen, 41, of Los Lunas, New Mexico, with conspiracy to violate IACA and three substantive violations of the Act.  Ali is the owner of two jewelry stores, Gallery 8 and Galleria Azul, in Albuquerque’s Old Town that purport to specialize in the sale of Native American jewelry.  Bowen was formerly employed as a store manager by Ali.  Manasra holds himself out as a wholesaler of Native American jewelry.

Ali was arrested in Albuquerque Wednesday and Bowen surrendered to the U.S. Marshals Service Thursday morning.  Both made their initial appearances in federal court in Albuquerque this morning and were released pending trial. Manasra was arrested yesterday in La Habra, Calif., and will be transferred to the District of New Mexico to face the charges against him.  If convicted of the charges against them, the defendants each face a statutory maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000.00 fine. Charges in indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

During Wednesday’s law enforcement operation and as part of the continuing investigation, federal agents executed 15 search warrants in New Mexico and one in California.  Eight of the search warrants were executed in Albuquerque including four at retail and wholesale jewelry businesses.  In addition, search warrants were executed at three jewelry stores in Gallup, three jewelry stores in Santa Fe, and a jewelry production shop in Zuni.  Federal agents also executed a search warrant at a jewelry store in Calistoga, California.

The case was investigated by the Office of Law Enforcement for the Southwest Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with assistance from the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Marshals Service, DEA and New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement for Region Eight and California Department of Fish and Wildlife provided support in Calistoga, Calif., and HSI provided support in La Habra, Calif.  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Attaché for Southeast Asia and the Philippine National Bureau of Investigations provided support in Cebu City, Philippines.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristopher N. Houghton is prosecuting the case.

The post Three Non-Native Men Charged with Fraudulently Selling Filipino-Made Jewelry as American Indian-Made appeared first on Native News Online.

STUDIES: FBI Crime Report Shows Murder Rates Remain Higher in Death Penalty States

The U.S. Department of Justice released its annual FBI Uniform Crime Report for 2014, reporting no change in the national murder rate since 2013. In the Northeast, the region with the fewest executions, the murder rate declined 5.7%, from 3.5 to 3.3 per 100,000 population. The murder rate was 1.7 times higher in the South, which carries out the most executions of any region. That region saw a 3.4% increase in the homicide rate, and its 5.5 murders per 100,00 population remained the highest rate of any region. Murder rates in the West and Midwest declined by 3.8% and 5.4%, respectively. A DPIC analysis of weighted murder rates found that death penalty jurisdictions continue to have a higher murder rate than non-death penalty jurisdictions (including Washington, D.C.): 4.7 per 100,000 compared to 3.8 per 100,000. Ten of the eleven states with the highest murder rates have the death penalty, while six of the eight lowest do not.

(“Crime in the United States, 2014“, U.S. Dept. of Justice (2015); DPIC analysis posted October 30, 2015).  See Deterrence and Murder Rates.

REGION 2014 2013
Northeast 3.3 3.5
West 3.9 4.0
Midwest 4.3 4.6
South 5.5 5.3
NATIONAL 4.5 4.5

Rates are number of murders per 100,000 persons.

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Saving the last Japanese dugongs

The home of the last few Japanese dugongs is about to be landfilled to make way for two airstrips – part of the expansion of a US military base on the island of Okinawa. But a movement nearly 18 years old is standing up to say NO. That’s why our ship the Rainbow Warrior is en route to join them…

The first thing that drew me to Greenpeace as a young New Zealander was actually the “peace” side of things. Nuclear weapons testing in the South Pacific had drawn strong opposition from local people and from Greenpeace. Ultimately, that opposition cost Greenpeace its ship, the Rainbow Warrior – bombed and sunk by the French government in an act of state sponsored terrorism – and the life of photographer Fernando Pereira. But it also helped win a nuclear free New Zealand.

I was at school, and we were studying the horrors of nuclear war, something that felt like a very real threat at the time. The bombing of the Rainbow Warrior made the issue a whole lot more real.

Many years later, after environmental studies and the start of a career in marine conservation, I found myself in 2005 setting sail with the second Rainbow Warrior to help protect Okinawa’s small population of dugongs, which were under threat from plans to construct a US military airstrip right across a coral reef.

It’s hard to imagine a more peaceful sea creature than the dugong, a hefty vegetarian sea animal that grazes on sea grasses, meanders around coastal waters and was allegedly the basis of mermaid folklore.

Japanese dugong

The campaign brought together everything that had drawn me to Greenpeace. Protecting endangered ocean creatures – not just dugongs, but the myriad of other coral reef creatures of Henoko Bay, including a huge diversity of clown fish (Nemo, and his various  colourful cousins) and other inhabitants of coral reef and seagrass ecosystems.

The struggle to protect Okinawa’s dugongs is a struggle for existence itself.

There are extremely few dugongs left, and Japan risks losing its only population. It’s also a struggle for peace for the people of Okinawa. For many decades, military bases have dominated the island, and have raised many concerns from local communities. Building a new military airstrip – on the habitat of the last few dugongs – is symbolic of military power bulldozing over local and natural values. Local values that include both “green” – protecting native wildlife and the surrounding oceans – and “peace”, building a society where non-violence finally prevails over warfare and conflict. 

Ribbons attached to barbed wire perimeter fence with SV Rainbow Warrior in background at American marine base, Camp Schwab, Henoko, Okinawa Island, Japan. 2005

For me, it’s both happy and sad to return to Okinawa ten years later. It’s sad because in a decade those voices, despite their strength and defiance, have not been listened to. The plans to drill coral, pave over reefs with concrete and construct a monstrosity from which to launch military aircraft have not been abandoned, as they should have been in 2005.

But it also makes me happy. Happy to see local leaders standing up for peace and for the environment. Happy to arrive on board the new Rainbow Warrior – the third Greenpeace ship bearing this name – to Okinawa.

Once again, we have sailed here in support of the local people that want to save the dugongs, protect the ocean and spread peace.

Take action to save the dugong and Henoko Bay.

Karli Thomas is an Oceans Campaigner at Greenpeace New Zealand.

Baby dies in West Bank after inhaling teargas, says Palestinian ministry

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Eight-month-old baby suffocates inside family home in village south of Bethlehem after Israeli forces fire teargas

An eight-month-old Palestinian baby has died after inhaling teargas in a village near Bethlehem, the Palestinian ministry of health has said, on another day of killings and clashes in the West Bank.

The baby, named as Ramadan Mohammad Faisal Thawabta, suffocated inside his family home in Beit Fajjar, a village south of Bethlehem.

Continue reading…

Rare Cyclone Heads for Arabia : Image of the Day

Forecasts suggest Chapala will reach super cyclone category 5 status on October 31, but then weaken as it moves north and meets the extremely dry air of the Arabian Peninsula. It has the potential to make landfall in Yemen and Oman as a category 1 cyclone. But whether or not it sustains its winds, the storm should drop substantial rainfall over the parched region. Forecasters from the UK Met Office noted that the storm could produce up to 20 inches (500 millimeters) of rainfall in some places—four to five times the yearly average for the region. The storm is also having an impact on the busy shipping routes to the Indian Ocean through the Gulf of Aden.

Source: Rare Cyclone Heads for Arabia : Image of the Day

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