Monday, September 18, 2006
Someone has their head on right
Can Internet criticism of Mideast news footage be slander?
By Doreen Carvajal International Herald Tribune
Published: September 17, 2006
PARIS In a somber, wood-paneled courtroom of the Palais de Justice, French judges in black robes and linen cravats are carefully examining harrowing television images of a Palestinian father shielding his son from a burst of bullets.
The ghastly television footage transformed 12-year-old Mohammed al-Dura
into an international martyr of the second intifada and ignited a lingering controversy. Six years later, France 2, the state-supported channel that captured the exclusive video, is fighting to protect its reputation in a French courtroom, where it is suing three Internet critics who questioned the channel's veracity.
To confront its online detractors, France 2 is invoking the 1881 press slander law that Émile Zola defied when he published "J'accuse" in the Dreyfus affair. In effect, it is an insult law that protects individuals or groups from defamation that "strikes at honor" and reputation.
The channel's lawsuits accuse three Web site operators - an Israeli translator, a Parisian doctor and a former candidate for Parliament turned media consultant - of impugning the station and its Jerusalem correspondent, Charles Enderlin, a gravelly voiced veteran whose work and writing have drawn plaudits from the mayor of Paris and President Jacques Chirac, among others.
In the case of Charles Gouz, 64, a doctor who posts a Web log at www.- debriefing.org, his alleged insult was republishing critical text from a small conservative Israeli news Web site that has been doggedly questioning the way the shooting was first reported.
The France 2 complaint disputes his reference to Enderlin's "grave professional errors" in coverage of Dura and "disinformation in connection with the affair and the role played by France 2's staff."
Pierre Lurçat, 39, a Jerusalem resident and president of an association called Liberty, Democracy and Judaism, was sued because he is the leader of an organization listed as the legal operator of a Web site, www.liguededefensejuive.com, that urged readers to attend a planned demonstration against France 2 in 2002: "Come demonstrate against the lies of France 2," it said, and "the gross manipulation with an award for disinformation to France 2 and Charles Enderlin."
Although France 2 is being aggressive in court, it is not seeking to make money on the case, asking for a symbolic €1, or $1.27, in damages from each of its critics.
"For us, this is a problem of principle, a moral issue," said Etienne Leehardt, the channel's deputy information director.
"We didn't set up anything on al- Dura, and we just reported this story like millions of stories that we do every year. This was obviously more publicized, but we never set anything up."
He said the station's lawyers had gathered information about a variety of Web sites that they believed were defamatory and had submitted complaints to the French judicial system, which then determined who could be pursued legally.
The facts of the shooting at a remote intersection in Gaza in September 2000 have been endlessly dissected in Web logs and a 2002 German public television documentary.
In his first report, which France 2 released without charge to other international television stations, Enderlin said simply that the father and his son "were the target of fire from Israeli positions." He was not actually there when the shooting happened but worked closely with a Palestinian cameraman who filmed the scene.
Since then, the debate has shifted from where the bullets came from - it is unclear whether it was Palestinian or Israeli fire - to whether the shooting was a form of street theater staged for propaganda effect.
Enderlin said he had no problem with critics who had questions about what happened that day. But he said: "We have been insulted. We have been called liars. We have filed lawsuits against people who are really insulting us, and maybe this will stop people from sending thousands and thousands of e- mails. We want at some point to have this story be less hysterical."
He draws sympathy for the difficulties inherent in covering a war. "Think what you want of the images," said Hervé Deguine, a freelance French journalist who has been investigating the issue for Médias magazine. "But at the moment Enderlin wrote his commentary, he had witnessed many other clashes where armed Palestinians had been targeted by the Israelis, rightly or wrongly."
Then, referring to Enderlin's initial report about gunfire from the Israeli side, Deguin added, "Given all that he has seen, you can understand logically that he would use these words."
The first of France 2's three trials started Thursday in the Hall of Justice with a defiant appearance by the accused, Philippe Karsenty, 40, founder of a French company, Media Ratings, with a Web site at www.m-r.fr, and an erstwhile candidate for Parliament.
"France 2 wants to use the justice system to silence its critics and give credence to its reporting," he said to a special tribunal of three judges. "Do not let them do it."
Karsenty incurred the wrath of France 2 with an article on his site in 2004 that called for the ouster of Enderlin and dismissed the shooting of the young boy as a staged death.
At the trial, France 2's lawyer presented no witnesses, nor did she question Karsenty's four witnesses, including a Boston University history professor, Richard Landes, a scholar in medieval studies who is on sabbatical to research the raw television footage used in news reports from the Middle East that he says are sometimes staged for propaganda effect.
Landes - whom the France 2 lawyer scorned, saying, "What does he know about images? He's a medievalist" - said after the trial that he had been buoyed by the proceedings because of the outspoken views of Sandrine Alimi-Uzan, a special "procureur de la republique," a lawyer present in court to represent the interests of civil society.
She issued a warning about the dangerous powers of a press that cannot be criticized, noting that this was not a typical libel case of an "ill-considered insult," although Karsenty clearly had defamed Enderlin. But she added that the issue permitted some liberty of tone and that Karsenty should be exonerated.
The panel of three judges on the case is expected to issue an opinion in mid- October, the same month that the second round of another trial begins for Lurçat.
-- Taken from the International Herald Tribune
Botox therapy 'may be addictive'
Botox therapy 'may be addictive'
Botox treatment to rid yourself of unsightly wrinkles may be addictive, research has found.
Doctors found 40% of patients using Botox expressed a compulsive desire for further treatments.
People need to keep having jabs otherwise the effects of the treatment - which paralyses the muscles - rapidly wears off.
The research will be presented at a meeting of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons.
It is easy to see how people could become addicted Dr Carter Singh
There was a 50% increase in the number of people treated with Botox injections in the UK during 2005.
Mintel, the market research group, estimates more than 100,000 treatments are now given in Britain each year.
Fear of ageing
The study was carried out by Dr Carter Singh, who has a degree in psychology and is based at Derbyshire Royal Infirmary, and the consultant plastic surgeon Martin Kelly, of London Plastic Surgery Associates.
They surveyed clients at 81 clinics, and compared Botox users to people who used other, less invasive beauty treatments.
They found:
* Over 50% of those who use Botox expressed a lack of control over the natural ageing process
* Nearly 50% expressed anger at people criticising them for Botox use
* Over 40% expressed a compulsive motive for using Botox repetitively
* Over 50% of people using Botox reported actually "feeling" younger, rather than just looking younger.
Dr Singh said regular Botox users seemed to have a greater concern about the ageing process, and their inability to control it.
He said: "Botox has a good safety profile, but it also has potentially addictive qualities.
"Botox changes the physical appearance of a person's skin or face, and that ultimately leads to improved body image.
"This enhances psychological well-being. It is easy to see how people could become addicted."
Colin Angus, a celebrity agent who has regularly used Botox, said: "When I first had it done the changes were tremendous, but I think probably now I have just got used to the way I look.
"In my job, image is very important. No matter what anybody says, you have to look good."
Botox is a highly purified and much diluted form of the botulism bacterium, responsible for deadly food poisoning.
It blocks the transmission of acetylcholine from the nerves to the muscle.
Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter which send a message to the muscle telling it to contract or tense up.
With the flow of acetylcholine blocked or significantly reduced, the muscle can no longer retract and it relaxes. As a result, the wrinkled areas smooth out and soften.
However, the effect wears off after four to six months.
Women who are who are pregnant or breastfeeding, or people with neurological diseases should not use Botox.
-- Taken from BBC News
Singapore Christians hosting pro-Israel conference
Singapore Christians hosting pro-Israel conference"If the Bible can be misinterpreted, what more the news which just comes and goes."
By ETGAR LEFKOVITS
SINGAPORE -- Reaching out to Christian supporters of Israel in
Asia, a group of conservative Israeli thinkers and the Knesset's Christian Allies Caucus are holding a conference in Singapore on Monday, in an
effort to bolster the increasing alliance between Jews and Christians against Islamic extremism.
The meeting, the 'Jerusalem Summit Asia,' comes a day after Pope Benedict XVI said that he was "deeply sorry" about the angry Muslim reaction to his quoting a 14th Century Byzantine Christian Emperor who had lambasted the Prophet Muhammad's teaching to spread the faith by violence as "evil and inhuman," and follows an unprecedented public tiff between the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and Evangelical Christian leaders in the Holy Land over their hardcore support for the State of Israel.
The Singapore conference, which follows two previous such Asian gatherings in Manila and Seoul over the last three years, aims to draw support for Israel by reaching out to church activists, businessmen and academia who identify with the Jewish State based on shared Biblical beliefs, and is part of a burgeoning campaign to cement ties between Israel and millions of Christian supporters around the world, the majority of whom are Evangelicals.
"This is an alliance of those who share moral values of Biblical civilization and who view radical Islam as a new incarnation of fascism and communism," said Dmitry Radyshevsky, the executive-director of the Jerusalem Summit, a right-wing Jerusalem-based NGO, which debuted in the city three years ago.
Radyshevsky, a Harvard Divinity School graduate, noted that the Pope's controversial comments could be indicative of a changing attitude among Catholics "from top to bottom" regarding radical Islam, and voiced the hope that Catholics will no longer "abstain" in a "clash of values" between Western civilization and radical Islam.
"There is a tremendous historical importance that people will see that Hitlerism of today is neither German nor Christian but radical Islam," said acting caucus head, MK Benny Elon (National Union-National Religious Party) who as a former tourism minister spearheaded Israel's relations with the Christian world.
"That the Pope, who is a German Christian is warning over the dangers of Islamic extremism is a very important development, which should open the eyes of people around the world over what enemy we face," he said, adding that with the danger of an Iranian nuclear weapon the world had to stop acting politically correct.
The venue of such a summit in strategically-placed Singapore, which is nestled between Malaysia to the north and Indonesia to the south, has proven to be a difficult exercise in non-governmental diplomacy, with both the government and some church leaders uneasy about forming such a direct and open alliance with Israel.
Even before the Pope's remarks about Islam, a top official of the Anglican Church in Singapore went a step further, cautioning against any church involvement with Israel.
"In today's society, liberal means being politically correct," said Marisa Albert, Executive-Director of the Jerusalem Summit Asia, who heads the 'Jerusalem East Gate Foundation,' a Jerusalem-based Asian Evangelical Christian organization.
"People know Israel according to what they see in the media, and people respond to Israel on the premise of what will keep them safe from terror and what will not ruffle the status quo, with no understanding of historical footing and the right of Israel as a nation," she said.
"If the Bible can be misinterpreted, what more the news which just comes and goes."
Clearly eager to steer clear of any controversy regarding Islam, in a country with a small but largely moderate Muslim population, even the Pope's comments were buried in the inside pages of the English newspapers here, which have been dominated by the meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank being held in Singapore this week.
Singapore, which is predominantly Buddhist but has a 15% Muslim minority and about an equal number of Christians, has long maintained good if covert relations with Israel dating back to the country's independence in 1965 when Israel played a pivotal and long kept secret role in helping establish Singapore's military.
The government even ensures that the head of city's tiny Jewish community holds regular interfaith meetings with his Muslim counterpart, while the head of the parliament in Singapore who is Muslim visited Israel earlier this year.
The importance of holding such a rare overtly pro-Israel event in Singapore, which is billed as the 'Wall Street of Asia,'and 'the crossroads of the East and West' with its unique makeup of Chinese Malays and Indians, was not lost on conference organizers.
"Singapore is a battleground country in our efforts to mobilize support for Israel and promote Judeo-Christian values in Asia," said Josh Reinstein, director of the Knesset's 'Christian Allies Caucus,'the increasingly-influential cross-party parliamentary lobby that works with Christian supporters of Israel around the world.
"Because of its geographic location, many would have shied away from having such an event in this part of the world, whereas we see it as a profound opportunity," he said.
"Singapore was established here like a little Israel in a sea of Muslim nations," said conference participant Christine Darg of the London-based Exploits Ministry, who has been heavily involved in missionary work in the Muslim world.
Meanwhile, several parliamentary lobbies of Christian supporters that work with Israel are expected to be established soon in the Philippines, Finland, South Korea and Canada, following the lead of the US Congress.
The unprecedented remarks by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem last month, in which he said that Evangelical Christians were leading the world to Armageddon, served to highlight the two opposing camps in the Christian world, and the deep divide between avid Christian supporters of Israel on the one hand, lead by the Evangelicals, and Christian supporters of the Palestinians on the other, a schism which has only deepened over the last decade as the formers' ties with Israel began to warm.
The conference, which aims to call attention to the plight of the prosecution of Christians in both Asia and the Palestinian territories, will also focus on the "gender discrimination" of women in the radical Islamic world, said Dr. Martin Sherman of Tel Aviv University.
The Jerusalem Summit, which debuted in Jerusalem three years ago, is funded by the private Michael Cherney foundation.
-- Taken from Jerusalem Post
Emphasis in bold my own.
Nothing follows from this. Yes? Your point?
The rest of the article is just scary.
Foreign maids in Singapore face arbitrary salary deductions
NGO SAYS
Foreign maids in Singapore face arbitrary salary deductions
Agence France-Presse
Last updated 06:17pm (Mla time) 09/18/2006
SINGAPORE -- Foreign domestic workers in Singapore face arbitrary salary deductions on top of heavy loan repayments, a migrant workers' advocacy group said in a study released Monday.
"This is of particular concern as there is a lack of clarity and understanding on the issue of what are 'legitimate' deductions," the group TWC2 said in a statement.
It said its findings were based on discussions and surveys of foreign domestic workers in the city-state, one of Asia's wealthiest.
"Deductions of workers' salaries can be applied for medical costs, rest days taken, informal savings schemes and living expenses," a summary of the report said.
"Workers themselves accept deductions for anything from breakables to paying for drinks in the home. These non-standard deductions constitute financial abuse of foreign domestic workers."
TWC2 said the maids already arrive with heavy debts owed to employment agencies which recruit them.
"In their first months of work here, most workers receive only 10 to 20 dollars (6.31 to 12.62 US) income a month; the rest is deducted by the employment agency for fees which can be as high as 2,640 dollars," TWC2 said.
Filipina maids forgo about six months of salary and Indonesians six to eight months while paying off their debts, the report said.
It called for deductions for loan repayments to be capped at 50 percent of monthly salary, in line with current provisions for Singaporeans under the Employment Act.
Among its other recommendations, the group urged regulation of agency fees, comprehensive health insurance for the workers, reinstatement of superannuation for maids, a minimum wage level, and one day off a week.
Singapore in March ruled out giving foreign maids mandatory days off, saying it would be inconvenient.
About 150,000 women work as maids in Singapore, most of them from impoverished villages in the Philippines, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.
Their counterparts in Hong Kong, where an even larger number of maids work, are granted one day off every week and a day off on public holidays.
In a 2005 report, Human Rights Watch said maids in Singapore are abused with physical and verbal aggression, threats, restrictions on movement, abuse by agents, exorbitant debt payments, long work hours and lack of rest days.
Singapore's ministry of manpower has called that report a gross exaggeration and stressed that maids receive full protection under local laws.
Copyright 2006 Agence France-Presse. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
-- Take from inq7
(Emphasis in bold my own)
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