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By tklaura

A Duna menti régióban lévő vallási toleranciáról tartottak konferenciát hétfőn Karlócán. Az eseményt a Kék Duna Alapítvány szervezte, a tanácskozást pedig Bojan Pajtić a tartományi kormány elnöke nyitotta meg.

Az etnikumok és a felekezetek egymás közötti párbeszédének megvalósításáról és a vallási tolerancia terjesztéséről tanácskoztak hétfőn Karlócán a Duna régió országaiból érkező A cikk folytatása …

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Général : Le Président du Parlement européen Martin Schulz et les présidents des groupes politiques se sont rendus lundi au Luxembourg, où ils ont rencontré le Premier Ministre Xavier Bettel. Celui-ci a présenté les priorités de la présidence luxembourgeoise du Conseil de l'Union européenne qui sera exercée à partir du 1er juillet prochain et pour six mois.

Source : © Union européenne, 2015 - PE

Csökkenni fog a nyugtalottó nyerteseinek száma, de nő a nyeremények értéke, miután a képviselőház elfogadta a sorsjáték módosítására vonatkozó javaslatot: a következő sorsoláson legfeljebb százan nyerhetnek.
Kategória: Aktuális/Udvarhelyszék

Photo credit: uwehiksch on Flickr

With all the attention turned to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), currently negotiated by the U.S. with 12 Asian countries, few seem to notice anymore the equally important Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the European Union and the United States. The two deals are similar in essence: They both seek to advance the beacon of free trade by tearing tariff and non-tariff barriers, with the promise of creating jobs and delivering a much-needed economic boost to the nations involved.

However, both trade agreements have been plagued by concerns raised by consumer groups, academics and politicians of all stripes over the so-called Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS), an arcane mechanism that allows aggrieved corporations to challenge the validity of government regulations that can impact their bottom line in extrajudicial tribunals. According to critics, the threat of expensive lawsuits from multinationals can leave governments afraid to act in citizens’ favor, a phenomenon known as regulatory chill. Activists are increasingly skeptical of any measure meant to protect the profits of corporations, seen as largely responsible for the near collapse of the financial system and the start of the Great Recession.

Adding insult to injury, the fact that trade negotiations are conducted in secret did not advance the cause for the TPP and the TTIP and an amendment to force the White House to make the texts public was struck down in the Senate. As expected, Capitol Hill has been the scene of some particularly thespian speeches given by opponents and proponents of the ISDS, most recently evidenced on May 22, when the Senate overwhelmingly rejected another anti-ISDS amendment from Senator Elizabeth Warren.

Far from the limelight of the U.S. media, the European Commission has also went into damage control mode over the ISDS, facing off a multipronged crusade mounted by member states, the European Parliament, businesses and the public. Many fear the same fate for the TTIP as that of the shelved copyright infringement treaty, ACTA, rejected after massive popular demonstrations. Indeed, the general mood in Europe is sour to say the least. A petition against the TTIP and the ISDS has gathered almost 2 million signatures in eight months, twice the number needed for the European Commission to take action on the demands of petitioners. Moreover, a public consultation to assess the concerns of businesses on the proposed trade deal received a record 150,000 replies, in which 88 percent of respondents were opposed to the ISDS.

Making matters worse, the governments of France and Germany have voiced strong opposition to the ISDS, threatening not to sign the trade deal in its current form. Paris expressed outrage, with the Secretary of State for Foreign Trade saying that his country would “never allow private tribunals in the pay of multinational companies to dictate the policies of sovereign states, particularly in certain domains like health and the environment.” German Environment Minister, Barbara Hendricks, told the German press she believes that ISDS is “simply not necessary.” Further afield, the European Parliament has echoed such concerns, fully aware that without its vote, scheduled during the week of June 8, the TTIP would be scuttled.

Cobbling together all the elements, it’s clear that the TTIP will survive only after lawmakers on both sides of the Atlantic significantly review the investor-state dispute mechanism. Cecilia Malmström, the European Union’s Trade Commissioner sought to dispel fears when she announced earlier in May a reform plan for the ISDS. Calling the ISDS “not fit for the 21st century,” she put forth a concept paper to revisit it across four areas: the protection of governments’ right to regulate; the creation of an appellate mechanism; the establishment of a clear code of conduct for judges to reduce conflicts of interest and the reassessment of the relationship between ISDS and domestic courts.

But neither the European Parliament nor the United States responded favorably to Malmström’s proposal. European lawmakers insisted that the plan doesn’t go far and deep enough, with one MEP calling it “trying to put lipstick on the ISDS pig,” while the U.S. Undersecretary for International Trade, Stefan Selig, lauded the status quo and rejected the need for any reform to the extrajudicial court system.

However, the European Parliament’s trade committee managed to scrape together enough support and on May 28 backed a resolution in support of the TTIP on the condition that Malmström’s ISDS proposal stays on the table and will be included in the final deal.

“Deplorably, the European Parliament took a very ambiguous stance on the infamous ISDS system. We have yet to see any facts justifying its inclusion in an EU-US trade deal,” said one of the opponents of the trade deal. Even if the non-binding resolution was approved, it will be a long uphill climb in the Parliament once the bill comes to a vote.

Do we really need the ISDS? The answer is far from clear, but so far the “no” camp has the upper hand in the debate. With lawmakers deeply divided on the topic of the ISDS, it’s obvious that the far-reaching deal that would cover 800 million citizens and $35 trillion in GDP, will be the result of fierce political infighting and pork barreling. Nevertheless, the voice of the European Union will carry significant weight across the Atlantic and will certainly impact the equally fierce negotiations on Capitol Hill.

One of Geller’s ads in San Francisco.

The current debate over political advertising in the Washington, D.C.-area transit system moves the issue from “free speech” to “public safety,” and probably toward the Supreme Court.

Charles M. Schultz’s first Peanuts cartoon, 1950

Pamela Geller, the president of American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI), sought to bring her message to the nation’s capital using one of the cartoons from her May 2015 “Draw the Prophet” event. The event, which took place in Garland, Texas, was attacked by two gunmen, for which ISIS later claimed responsibility. Geller’s request was denied after the Washington-area transit authority, WMATA, temporarily suspended all advocacy advertisements on May 28.

Debates over advertising on public transportation are not new. Geller has had transit ads run in New York and Washington before. In 2012, New York and Washington posted “Support Israel, Defeat Jihad” ads that referred to war between “the civilized man” and “the savage,” and were widely labeled hate speech. It wasn’t until recently that the New York transit authority voted to ban all political advertising.

On a legal level, these ads have experienced mixed success. In March 2015, a federal court decided Philadelphia‘s transit system could not refuse ads linking Muslims to Hitler.

That same month, however, a federal court held that the transit authority in Seattle could refuse ads from both sides of the Israel-Palestine conflict. Judge Paul Watford cited public safety in the majority decision: “Municipalities faced with the prospect of having to accept virtually all political speech if they accept any — regardless of the level of disruption caused — will simply close the forum to political speech altogether.”

The Boston transit authority has implemented similar measures as well. In May, a federal court found in favor of the city transit authority’s restrictions on ads that “demean or disparage” individuals or groups. The decision allowed the city to permit ads in favor of Palestinians while refusing ads from Geller’s group.

Outside the United States there are competing approaches.  The Supreme Court of Canada, for example, struck down in 2009 an effort by British Columbia Transit to ban all political advertising. Transport for London, on the other hand, prohibits ads on buses and trains that may cause “widespread or serious offence.” Ads that touch on “matters of public controversy and sensitivity” and political causes, as well as ads which undermine the 1999 Greater London Authority Act’s commitment to “promote good relations between persons of different racial groups [or] religious beliefs,” are not permitted.

The U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment protects fundamental freedoms in American society, including the freedom of speech and freedom of religion. The text of the Amendment actually states “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech,” but Congress and the states have made many such abridgments, and the Supreme Court has agreed to some of these limits.

One such limit came about through Schenck v. United States (1919). Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. wrote in the unanimous opinion,

“The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic. […] The question in every case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger….”

In other words, you can’t falsely shout fire in a theater.  You can’t create a clear and present danger.

In 2008, a Danish cartoonist was targeted for his depictions of the Prophet Muhammad.  A Swedish artist was attacked in 2010, and allegedly the intended target of a murder plot. In January 2015, 12 people were killed in Paris in an attack on the office of a French magazine. In May, two gunmen attacked the cartoonists event near Dallas. The winning cartoon is what Geller sought to bring to Washington.

With her application under review by WMATA, Geller, used inflammatory language to defend her position:

“Drawing Muhammad is not illegal under American law, but only under Islamic law. Violence that arises over the cartoons is solely the responsibility of the Islamic jihadists who perpetrate it. Either America will stand now against attempts to suppress the freedom of speech by violence, or will submit and give the violent the signal that we can be silenced by threats and murder.  We cannot submit to the assassin’s veto.”

But free speech remains an active area of litigation. In a recent Supreme Court decision, Justice Anthony Kennedy defended the marketing of pharmaceuticals, in part by referencing cases which permitted nudity in movies, advertising alcohol prices, and clothing with expletives. In the Court’s current term, it is expected to decide whether Texas can include the option of the Confederate flag on its license plates, and whether towns can restrict the size of church signs more than it restricts the size of other signs.  None of these, though, has the recent record of international terrorism and terrorist targets (public transportation) associated with it. Would depictions of Muhammad on a Washington bus or subway train be akin to shouting fire in a theater – would they create a “clear and present danger,” obvious targets for attack?

Transit authorities seem to think so. In a May 27 statement about an unrelated arrest on of a man for terroristic threats, WMATA’s police chief, Ron Pavlik offered that, “We have no greater responsibility than protecting Metro’s customers and employees. This case demonstrates the seriousness with which we take all threats.” That same mentality supported WMATA’s decision to temporarily suspend all “issue-oriented advertisements.” It also supports Philadelphia’s decision to do the same.

Still, with inconsistent results in different U.S. federal courts, and with some cities deciding to reject all political advertisements, a case rising to the Supreme Court seems inevitable.

Photo: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/69/First_Peanuts_comic.png

A két férfi ötven éve alkot egy párt, most Pennsylvaniában megtarthatták az esküvőt.

La justice sud-africaine a donné raison lundi au jeune tribun populiste Julius Malema, qui contestait la volonté du fisc de saisir ses biens pour rembourser plusieurs années de fraude, au risque de lui faire perdre son siège de député. Julius Malema, qui a fait une percée remarquée l’an dernier aux législatives à la tête de […]

Serious human rights violations and abuses persist in eastern Ukraine, including shelling, executions, arbitrary and illegal detentions, torture, ill-treatment, human trafficking and the lack of justice and accountability, as well as deprivation of economic and social rights, deeply affecting the 5 million people living in the conflict-affected areas, a new United Nations report said today.

Nyilvánosságra kerülése óta valóságos össztűz zúdult a Szász Jenő vezette Nemzetstratégiai Kutatóintézet „gyöngyhalászakciójára”. 
Kategória: Vélemény

LONDON. Az elmúlt több mint negyven év brit királyi esküvőin felszolgált torták egy-egy szeletére licitálhatnak az érdeklődők idén júniusban.

Felfüggesztette júniusi tevékenységét a kilakoltatás előtt álló Árkosi Művelődési Központ. Az elmúlt hétvégére beütemezett, az országos és nemzetközi versenyeken díjazott fiatalok gálája is elmaradt.
Kategória: Erdélyi hírek

Gyimesbükkön közadakozásból készülnek újraépíteni azt a Rákóczi-vár néven ismert őrtornyot, amely mintegy háromszáz éven át szolgálta a történelmi Erdély és Moldva határán a gyimesi kereskedelmi útvonal felügyeletét.
Kategória: Erdélyi hírek

Die russische Regierung hat Kritik an "der Liste":http://www.yle.fi/tvuutiset/uutiset/upics/liitetiedostot/RUS_Einreiseverbotsliste.pdf für…

General : The political leaders of the European Parliament discussed the priorities of the upcoming Council presidency with the government of Luxembourg, which will take over on 1 July. The Conference of Presidents, made up of EP President Martin Schulz and the chairs of the political groups, went to Luxembourg on Monday 1 June where Prime Minister Xavier Bettel presented his country's priorities. In addition to the prime minister, the EP delegation also met other members of the government.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

General : The political leaders of the European Parliament discussed the priorities of the upcoming Council presidency with the government of Luxembourg, which will take over on 1 July. The Conference of Presidents, made up of EP President Martin Schulz and the chairs of the political groups, went to Luxembourg on Monday 1 June where Prime Minister Xavier Bettel presented his country's priorities. In addition to the prime minister, the EP delegation also met other members of the government.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

By tklaura

75 veszélyes vasúti átjárót tesznek biztonságossá Szerbiában a jövő év végéig az összesen 2130-ból. Az egyik legkritikusabb egy Šabachoz közeli településen található. Ennek felújítási munkálatait tekintette meg hétfőn Zorana Mihajlović építésügyi, közlekedési és infrastrukturális miniszter. Az átjáró felújítását az Orosz Vasutak pénzeli. A többi vasúti átjárót az állami költségvetésből, vagy A cikk folytatása …

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Alors que les investigations sur le scandale planétaire de corruption qui frappe la Fifa progressent, Londres menace de boycotter le Mondial si Sepp

Többen is komolytalannak tartják Dorel Coica szatmárnémeti polgármester azon kezdeményezését, miszerint az általa vezetett intézmény kisajátítaná a Pannónia (Dacia) Szállót, és 2020-ig oda költöztetnék a polgármesteri hivatalt.
Kategória: Erdélyi hírek

A tengerek élővilága érdekében vetkőztek meztelenre. Ön is szereti a halat?

Measures to prevent and treat animal diseases such as avian flu or African swine fever were informally agreed by MEPs, the Latvian Presidency of the Council of Ministers and the European Commission on Monday. The draft EU law, on diseases that are transmissible among animals and potentially to humans too, will merge and update many scattered items of old legislation, so as to help prevent and halt new outbreaks and keep pace with scientific progress.
Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP