The Daily Telegraph

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RUSTED Gillard struggles as polls show her heading for defeat 

SYDNEY —

Ms Gillard moved the focus back to policy matters, unveiling plans for a low fee pensions scheme after a string of public revelations. The centre-left leader pledged that if her Labour Party is re-elected, workers on average incomes would see their retirement savings grow by A$40,000 ($49, 212) under the new superannuation scheme. “It’s part of the sharp contrast between a re-elected Gillard government and what (opposition leader) Tony Abbott would do if he was elected prime minister,” she said. But Ms Gillard, who has faced criticism over how she seized power in a party coup against Mr Kevin Rudd, conceded that her battle to keep conservative Mr Abbott out of power was a tough one. “Let’s be very clear about this, we’re in a fight,” Ms Gillard said late Saturday.

A new poll on Saturday suggested Mr Abbott’s Liberal Party had for the first time picked up an election-winning lead of 52 per cent over Labour’s 48 per cent, according to a Nielsen poll. Ms Gillard’s plunging popularity came after leaks from the Cabinet room that undermined her position on introducing paid parental leave and raising pensions. Mr Rudd, has denied claims he was behind any of the leaks. But his spectre cast a fresh pall over Ms Gillard’s campaign when ex-Liberal foreign minister Alexander Downer was quoted as saying his party “mercilessly” used Mr Rudd as a “double agent” to leak compromising information about Labour a decade ago.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard struggled yesterday to put her election campaign back on track after a poll showed her heading for defeat following a series of damaging leaks.AFP

Bulls brace for earnings hangover

Singapore is just a  RED dOt and a "BONSAi"

Yet  Singapore  releases  one of the HiGHEST  LEVEL  of  CARBON ? ? ? ?

If SINGAPROE want the PEOPLE to OPT  for BICYCLING,

THE  CABINET  must WALK  THE  TALK

and  TAKE THE LEAD  in 

CYCLING  TO AND  FROM  WORK

BECAUSE  BY  THEN

SINGAPROE WiLL  CLEAN  &  GREEN

WITHOUT  TRAFFIC  JAM

pharoah88      ( Date: 31-Jul-2010 16:02) Posted:   http://www.cyclelicio.us/2010/new-uk-prime-minister-commutes-by-bike/ UK Conservative Party leader David Cameron today was selected as the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The 43 year old Cameron, who is Britain’s youngest prime minister in almost two centuries, regularly rode his bicycle to parliament. It’s unknown if Cameron will continue riding his bike from his new official residence at Number 10 Downing Street.       What other world leader gets around by bike? In his campaign, Mr Cameron threw a few bones to the motoring lobby, though he also promotes high speed rail across Britain and green initiatives to encourage walking, cycling, and mass transit use. Like the United States, the UK is increasingly dependent on imported oil for its energy needs. North Sea oil production fueled economic growth from the Thatcher era onwards. Although production peaked in 1999, the national government continued to receive substantial revenue from North Sea production, allowing lavish spending on social programs. North Sea oil has not cushioned Britain from the worldwide economic turmoil of the past two years, leading to the dissolution of Gordon Brown’s Labour Party government. The Conservative Party plans to cut some taxes to stimulate economic growth, but with declining energy supplies economic growth is impossible though, to his credit, Cameron has resisted most tax cut proposals in favor of plans to cut government spending. The UK’s 2009 oil revenue was half what it was in 2008, and 2010 will likely be even worse. Cameron and his coalition government with the Liberal Democrats will need to deal with the realities of physical resource constraints, climate change issues, economic recession, and lower tax revenues. It should be interesting for them and for all of us.   See also: German Defence Minister rides a bicycle

1. Josh Duhamel rides a bicycle
2. Robert Pattinson rides a brakeless fixie
3. Kate Hudson rides a bicycle
4. Lawyers on bikes, and DC bike share expansion

Is the Internet really the root cause?

The seeds of radicalisation are sown offline, and that’s where counter-measures should focus

Mohamed Abdul Saddiq

O

The common thread in the radicalisation of Muhammad Fadil and others such as Abdul Basheer Abdul Kader, Muhammad Zamri Abdullah and Maksham Mohd Shah before him who were detained under the ISA was the exposure and desire to address “injustices” towards Muslims in places such as Palestine, Chechnya, Afghanistan and Iraq through armed jihad.

The two key questions that remain unanswered are: What role did the Internet play and what threat did these individuals pose to Singapore?

It seemed that their desire for action was directed at overseas conflicts and theatres. However, the identification of individuals who were willing to fight overseas is the most powerful indicator that radicalisation is metastasising.

As was seen in the United Kingdom, once a national demonstrates a desire to go abroad and fight, it may be only a matter of time before this radicalised individual considers conducting operations domestically. As such, it is important to stem radicalisation before it gets to this stage.

Thus, while Singapore has at least a moral obligation to prevent terrorism from occurring anywhere if it can, there is a perception of a looming direct threat to Singapore, demonstrated by the continuing threat of radicalisation. Given the lack of a direct threat to life and property in Singapore, some may argue that the detention was an overreaction on the part of the authorities. However, from a security standpoint, it seems that it is always better to overcompensate on safety than fall short. The most important open question is this: Why does radicalisation still occur, given all the laudable counter radicalisation efforts and community engagement efforts?n April 4, Muhammad Fadil Abdul Hamid, a 20-year old Full-time National Serviceman in the Singapore Armed Forces, was detained for two years under Singapore’s Internal Security Act (ISA).

MERELY REINFORCEMENT

According to media reports and statements by the authorities, Fadil’s self-radicalisation was a result of his fervent search on the Internet for jihadist propaganda and videos.

The threat of online radicalisation is taken as a given.

But does the Internet serve as a cause or merely an accelerant for radicalisation? The emphasis on the concept of online radicalisation ostensibly removes the agency of individuals to make judgments independently, but instead casts them as mindless automatons readily susceptible to the unparalleled horrors that the Internet seems to pose.

The apparent pervasiveness of websites espousing jihadist views, as hostile and aggressive as they appear, ultimately does not explain the radicalisation of an individual.

Jihadist websites and the extreme rhetoric contained therein may be notable for spreading propaganda that aim to cast aspersions on Western hegemony, but they are not the engine of radicalisation.

Rarely, if ever, do people alter their views after exposure to radical websites; more often than not, they tend to seek out information which serves to reinforce their original views. This is, arguably, why cases such as Fadil’s remain the exception rather than the norm, since the majority of Muslims are not of radical leanings and would not seek radical websites or pay any heed to such sites if they chance upon it while browsing the Internet.

Some experts see Internet forums as more damaging than “passive websites” since people actually bounce ideas off each other, creating an “echo chamber” effect. This gives the illusion of strength in numbers as an affirmation of a radicalised individual’s beliefs.

It remains unknown whether Fadil’s reported “contact with Awlaki” meant communication with the United States-born Anwar al Awlaki or exposure to Awlaki’s materials or videos. The former could have expedited Fadil’s radical fervour, but he arguably would not have gone searching for Awlaki if he had not had a radical bias in the first place. As mentioned, Fadil and the three detained before him were “outraged” by the apparent injustices suffered by fellow Muslims in conflict areas such as Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan among others. This anger is one of the major ingredients in the process of radicalisation — it is a sort of powder keg that begins offline.

This powder keg may be ignited if this anger resonates with personal experiences, and be amplified by radical ideologies (as individuals) which could be reinforced through participation in a group such as an online forum.

There is also the danger of confirmation bias. It was revealed that Fadil searched the Internet for jihadist propaganda and videos and was influenced by the ideas of radical Muslim clerics such as Awlaki. While there is undoubtedly a correlation between his Internet activity and his radicalisation, no causal connection has so far been found.

SEED S OF RESISTANCE

The distinction is important, because claiming a causal link leads to policy solutions. If the policy solutions fail to address the causes of radicalisation, they may misallocate counter-radicalisation resources.

Following the announcement of the detentions, there were calls for stricter punitive legislative measures against online religious extremists and racial chauvinists. Such measures are, arguably, useful only on a superficial level as only the symptoms, not the cause, are being tackled.

To address the root cause of the issue, other observers call for an increase in counter-ideology/narrative websites to compete with the already wildly proliferating radical Islamist materials. However, this would have limited success given the tendency for users to gravitate towards sites that conform to their original bias.

Rather than online, these “counterideology” debates and dialogues should be propagated offline in a more prominent way, perhaps in open debates where the community at large can be educated.

Instead of shielding the young and the community at large from radical ideology — which is at best a stop-gap measure in the vast World Wide Web — parents, religious and community leaders should discuss openly with their children and youth, much like how sexual education is now being approached, and thoroughly debunk these radical ideologies.

The idea is to plant seeds of resistance offline against radical materials online and not let them make up their minds only after coming across such materials. The traditional media should also be utilised to constantly spread such counternarratives.

The emphasis in countering radical ideas should therefore not only focus on online measures; it must begin offline — where the seeds of radicalisation are sown.

The writer is a Research Analyst with the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University.

• Radicalization is the process in which an individual changes from passiveness or activism to become more revolutionary, militant or extremist.
• Radicalization is often associated with youth, adversity, alienation, social exclusion, poverty, or the perception of injustice to self or others.
  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radicalization

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DHAKA, Bangladesh — Thousands of Bangladeshi garment workers took to the streets, burning cars and blocking traffic in the capital Dhaka on Friday to protest against a government-announced wage hike that fell far short of their demands.

Police officers said security forces used tear gas and batons Friday to disperse the protesters in central Dhaka, where dozens of garment factories are located.

The angry workers broke into shuttered buildings and set furniture on fire in the heart of Dhaka Friday, the BBC reported.

Officers said several people were injured. The officers spoke on condition of anonymity, citing local briefing rules.

After weeks of violent protests, Bangladesh nearly doubled the minimum monthly wage Thursday for millions of workers in the key export garment industry to 3,000 taka ($43) from 1,662 taka, but it fell far short of labor union demands of 5,000 taka. The increase will take effect on November 1, 2010.

"We are rejecting what has been offered as increased wages because it is too inadequate to make ends meet," a worker told Reuters news agency.

Bangladesh-based factories make clothes for international brands such JCPenney, Wal-Mart, H&M, Marks & Spencer, Zara and Carrefour.

Garments are Bangladesh's biggest export, accounting for more than 80 percent of annual export earnings worth $16 billion as garment industry workers earn wages well below the poverty line.

The garment sector is Bangladesh's second biggest employer after agriculture, with about 4,500 factories employing about 3.5 million workers, with many toiling in dangerous conditions.

Dozens of workers were injured in clashes with police last month at protests over salaries and working conditions that disrupted production at several factories.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Swedish ex-police chief convicted of sex crimes

STOCKHOLM — A former Swedish police chief known for his lectures on gender equality and sexual harassment was convicted on Friday of rape and other sex crimes and sent to prison.

In a case that shocked this Nordic nation, the court found Goran Lindberg, 64, guilty of "sadistic, sexual violence" for tying one of his victims to a bed before raping her.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38482655/ns/world_news-europe/

Bullard: Fed Low Interest Rate Policy Putting U.S. At Risk For Japanese-Style Deflation

(RTTNews) - St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said Thursday that the Fed's current policies are putting the U.S. at risk for "a Japanese-style deflationary outcome within the next several years."

While Bullard said the most likely course for the U.S. economy is a gradual recovery, if prices drop the Fed should think about buying more Treasury securities instead of promising to keep interest rates low for an "extended period."

The St. Louis chief has traditionally been a hawkish with views regarding inflation, but his recent comments may indicate a concern with deflation as the economy slows down.

"A better policy response to a negative shock is to expand the quantitative easing program through the purchase of Treasury securities," Bullard wrote in a paper released Thursday.

Bullard said that a pledge to keep the Fed's federal funds target rate near zero could be detrimental, as it could cause a decline in prices.

"Under current policy in the U.S., the reaction to a negative shock is perceived to be a promise to stay low for longer, which may be COUNTERPRODUCTIVE because it may encourage a permanent, low nominal interest rate outcome," he said.

Bullard's remarks come about a week after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress that the central bank was prepared to take additional action to stimulate the recovering economy.

"The most likely possibility from where we sit today is that the recovery will continue through the fall, inflation will start to move up and this issue will all go away," Bullard told reporters. "Suppose we get another negative shock, another surprise. We have to be prepared in that event to have a plan in place to do something."

He wrote in his paper, "Promising to remain at zero for a long time is a DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD," Bullard wrote. "The policy is consistent with the idea that inflation and inflation expectations should rise in response to the promise, and that this will eventually lead the economy back toward the targeted equilibrium of [higher nominal rates and inflation]. But the policy is also consistent with the idea that inflation and inflation expectations will instead fall."

Bullard's remarks may also indicate a growing divergence within the Federal Reserve, as Kansas City's Thomas Hoenig has recently spoken out in favor of raising interest rates.

by RTT Staff Writer

For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com

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