International News

Mad Cow Disease Hits Canada - US Bans Beef Imports

Canada’s first confirmed case of mad cow disease in a decade sent shockwaves through its multibillion-dollar beef industry Tuesday while health officials scrambled to find out more and others questioned why it took Alberta months to confirm the case in the first place.

Within minutes of Vanclief’s announcement, United States agriculture officials temporarily banned beef imports from Canada, which make up three-quarters of Canada’s $4-billion beef and cattle industry.

The Decline of International Financial Institutions

There is indeed a crisis looming in the global economic institutions but the problem is less that the Bush administration is seeking to carpet bomb the World Bank, the IMF and the WTO with neo-liberal ideas - rather that the US shows signs of giving up on multilateralism in favour of cutting bilateral deals with willing (and weaker) partners.

Last autumn, Gordon Brown and his fellow finance ministers told the International Monetary Fund to draw up a plan that would give bankruptcy protection to countries. The idea was to give states the same rights as companies if they went belly-up, avoiding the expensive bail-outs that have accompanied the big financial crises of the past decade.

The IMF was given six months to come up with a blueprint, but when it reported back last month the idea was dead in the water. Billions of dollars from the bail-outs ended up in the coffers of the big finance houses of New York and George Bush was told not to meddle with welfare for Wall Street. The message was understood: the US used its voting power at the IMF to strangle the bankruptcy code at birth.

AP - Venezuelan Lawmakers Condemn U.S. Envoy

Ruling party lawmakers passed a resolution Tuesday criticizing Ambassador Charles S. Shapiro for what they said was interference in Venezuelan affairs.

In a vote boycotted by opposition lawmakers, Congress passed a motion rejecting Shapiro's remarks on press freedom as "defamatory."

Slanted AP Story has the ambassador criticising attacks on journalists. A much, much better story is at Venezuela Headlines Newsite.

French Anti-Porn Leader Denies Three Witnesses Placing Him At S&M Orgies

A senior civil servant leading a campaign to ban pornography from French television has denied sworn witness statements that he once took part in sado-masochistic soirees run by a convicted serial killer.

The claims first emerged earlier this month during a police investigation into allegations that Patrice Alègre, a serial killer who is serving a life sentence for killing five women, was for years offered illegal protection by corrupt police and magistrates in the south-western city of Toulouse.

According to statements from several former prostitutes, Alègre was not the lone psychopath he was made out to be at his trial last year. He is alleged to have acted for most of the 1990s as the leader of a sado-masochistic sex ring, supplying women and drugs for debauched, and at times violent, evenings frequented by senior policemen, judges, businessmen, sports personalities and politicians.

At least three of the former prostitutes named Mr Baudis - then the mayor - as a regular participant at the sessions, some of which were held at a disused chateau belonging to the town hall's social services department, the police said.

There has often been similar twisted associations of sadomasochism and powerful conservatives.

UN Colombian Adviser Snubs US... "FARC is not a Terrorist Group"

Special United Nations (UN) delegate for Colombia, James Lemoyne has set the cat among the pigeons, announcing that the 30+ year old Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) should be NOT be considered a terrorist group.