Mainstream News

Nearly 2,500 British bankers paid over €1m, says EU regulator

"In 2011, 2,436 UK-based bankers earned in excess of €1m, down from 2,525 the previous year, according to a study by the European Banking Authority. The most senior bankers working in Britain took home on average €1.44m in 2011, down from €2.3m in 2010, highlighting the impact of the downturn in the financial services industry.In total, the country's highest paid financiers shared a salary and bonus pool in 2011 worth €3.51bn, down from €5.8bn in 2010.However, based on average pay levels, bankers in Spain earned the most, with earnings of €2.26m (£1.95m) in 2010 and €2.44m in 2011. The number of individuals paid more than €1m in Spain was 125." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNearly 2,500 British bankers paid over €1m, says EU regulator

Unemployment crisis in Italy hits immigrants the worst

"Immigrants are being hit harder than Italians by the country’s unemployment crisis, a new report showed Monday, saying the figures were 'extremely worrying' and could lead to 'major social destabilisation'. The report said the number of unemployed foreigners in the country was currently 385,000 — up from 220,000 at the beginning of the economic crisis in 2008. The report also outlined the importance of immigrants in Italian society and said those who did work were often stuck in low-skill and low-pay jobs. Without migrants, Italian demographic growth would be zero and the population would be ageing at a faster rate, according to the report.." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUnemployment crisis in Italy hits immigrants the worst

Germany fears revolution if Europe scraps welfare model

"German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble warned on Tuesday that failure to win the battle against youth unemployment could tear Europe apart, and dropping the continent's welfare model in favor of tougher U.S. standards would spark a revolution. Germany, along with France, Spain and Italy, backed urgent action to rescue a generation of young Europeans who fear they will not find jobs, with youth unemployment in the EU standing at nearly one in four, more than twice the adult rate. If U.S. welfare standards were introduced in Europe, 'we would have revolution, not tomorrow, but on the very same day,' Schaeuble told a conference in Paris." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGermany fears revolution if Europe scraps welfare model

Europe’s ‘new deal’ for jobless dismissed as rhetoric

"The Prado in Madrid has become the unlikely symbol of Europe’s unemployment curse. The museum recently advertised for 11 low-level jobs, mostly guarding paintings by Velasquez, El Greco and Picasso from enthusiastic tourists. The starting salaries were just €13,000 (£11,100) a year yet, to the astonishment of the curators, 18,524 people applied. The print-out list of applicants runs for 357 pages. This is the 'white heat' of a youth jobs crisis that has crept up on EU leaders and now threatens to set off a volcanic political eruption. Francois Hollande, the French president, warned on Tuesday that failure to offer these people hope risks destroying the EU altogether." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEurope’s ‘new deal’ for jobless dismissed as rhetoric

Christie accepts $4.5M donation from United Arab Emirates for Sandy relief

"The United Arab Emirates Embassy has donated $4.5 million to the Hurricane Sandy relief organization founded by Gov. Chris Christie’s wife to upgrade computer technology for schools in areas hardest hit by the storm. The money will be divided among 30 schools in nine school districts most affected by Sandy to upgrade their computer technology and position them for the new statewide standardized testing to start in the spring of 2015. The announcement was made Monday by Christie, his wife Mary Pat and Yousef Al Otaiba, United Arab Emirates Ambassador to the United States, at the Highlands Elementary School, one of the recipients of the funding." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChristie accepts $4.5M donation from United Arab Emirates for Sandy relief

A Citizens Protest Movement Builds in Kuwait

"'Bedoun,' literally 'without,' are stateless people, without citizenship and without the right to education, health care and other civil rights held by Kuwaiti citizens. There are more than 100,000 of these stateless people living a life without rights in Kuwait, most of them because they or their relatives didn't bother to get the necessary documents when the State of Kuwait was established in 1961. After all, they likely reasoned, things had gone just fine for centuries without such documentation. The Bedoun, the non-citizens, were the first in Kuwait to take to the streets demanding equality and dignity, concurrent with the Arab Spring." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA Citizens Protest Movement Builds in Kuwait

Justin Amash amendment to defund the NSA may be circumvented by House leadership

"House Republican leaders are considering limiting amendments to the defense bill out of concern for proposals that Amash and other lawmakers might bring forward. Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (R-Texas) wrote to his colleagues last week that the panel might limit amendments, a departure from the open amendment process that’s been used on the defense bill since Republicans took over in 2011. In addition to amendments on the NSA, there are concerns about amendments tying President Obama’s hands in Syria and Egypt, according to defense sources." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJustin Amash amendment to defund the NSA may be circumvented by House leadership

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden applies for temporary asylum in Russia

"Fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden has applied for temporary asylum in Russia, a pro-Kremlin lawyer said Tuesday, after President Vladimir Putin accused Washington of 'trapping' him in the country. Snowden, wanted by the United States for revealing sensational details of its vast spying operations, is now spending a fourth week in the transit lounge at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport without crossing the Russian border. Washington has reacted sharply to the possibility that Moscow might offer Snowden a safe haven and accused it of providing him with a 'propaganda platform.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNSA whistleblower Edward Snowden applies for temporary asylum in Russia

Seniors attacked, beaten by NYPD in their home awarded $300K

"Breast cancer survivor Elaine McCarthy, now 71, was reading a Bible in her Canarsie bedroom, and partially paralyzed stroke victim Egbert Thomas, 73, was watching a John Wayne flick on TV when at least five Emergency Service Unit cops rammed through a basement door on Sept. 6, 2008, and began their rampage. The cops — led by an officer who would later commit suicide after another allegation of excessive force, court papers show — weren’t in hot pursuit of a perp, which could have explained why they tossed the seniors aside like rag dolls. In addition, the couple’s pit bull, Trouble, was whacked by a cop with his heavy ballistic shield and died three days later." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSeniors attacked, beaten by NYPD in their home awarded $300K

Seniors attacked, beaten by NYPD in their home awarded $300K

"Breast cancer survivor Elaine McCarthy, now 71, was reading a Bible in her Canarsie bedroom, and partially paralyzed stroke victim Egbert Thomas, 73, was watching a John Wayne flick on TV when at least five Emergency Service Unit cops rammed through a basement door on Sept. 6, 2008, and began their rampage. The cops — led by an officer who would later commit suicide after another allegation of excessive force, court papers show — weren’t in hot pursuit of a perp, which could have explained why they tossed the seniors aside like rag dolls. In addition, the couple’s pit bull, Trouble, was whacked by a cop with his heavy ballistic shield and died three days later." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSeniors attacked, beaten by NYPD in their home awarded $300K