Volcano in Iceland causes flash flood

Hundreds of people have been evacuated from near a restless volcano in Iceland amid signs of a second eruption.


Seismic activity suggested movement from under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier, authorities said.


According to BBC news, the volcano under the glacier last erupted March 20 after almost 200 years of silence. Flash floods are feared with a second eruption.

New debate on cult existence

The saga over the finger of god ministries has kicked up a debate on religious cults and sects.


NTVs Linda Oguttu takes a look at different instances where churches end up being described as sects and cults.


The finger of god church is known as Finger of God Ministries International (FOGM).

Italy: The Man Hunt

Italy: The Man Hunt
February 2010


The recent riots between Africans and locals in the Calabrian town of Rosarno have sparked nationwide outrage. Whilst some blame racism, the appalling exploitation of migrant workers and a mafia wage levy are likelier causes.


They are beasts. We have always helped them ... we do not want them here anymore One of the townspeople points at the destruction left in the wake of the riots. Whilst the rest of Italy is quick to brand the locals as racists, the migrants growing frustration with their low pay and poor living conditions is the actual source of discontent.


To make matters worse, workers must hand in up to a quarter of their earnings to the local mafia head. Journalist Domenico Mammola also blames the lingering economic crisis: A huge problem is the dismal economic situation. For this reason you can no longer pay people properly. With the Mafia exploiting the situation to its advantage, it is unlikely to improve nor Rosarno to remain an isolated case.

Haïti "Human Trafficking": Some Haitian Children Weren't Orphans

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (CBS/AP) As a group of American Baptist charity workers waits to hear if they will be tried on child trafficking charges for attempting to take 33 children out of earthquake-ravaged Haiti, the Associated Press has learned that not all of the children they were transporting were orphans.

Photo: Infant who was amongst group that Baptists wanted to move to Haiti is seen at SOS Children's Villages.

"One (8-year-old) girl was crying, and saying, 'I am not an orphan. I still have my parents.' And she thought she was going on a summer camp or a boarding school or something like that," George Willeit, a spokesman for SOS Children's Villages, said. SOS, an Austrian-based charity working in Haiti, now has custody of the children.

Photo: Detained Americans at police headquarters in the Port-au-Prince airport, Jan. 30, 2010.

Willeit said the children arrived "very hungry, very thirsty." A 2- to 3-month-old baby was dehydrated and had to be hospitalized, he said. Workers were searching for their families or close relatives.

Child welfare groups expressed outrage over Friday's attempt to move the kids to a hotel in the Dominic Republic, saying some of the children had parents who survived the Jan. 12 earthquake. Prime Minister Max Bellerive denounced the group's "illegal trafficking of children" in a country long afflicted by the scourge and by foreign meddling.

Photo: Baptist group tried to move this boy into Dominic Republic. The pink label on his shirt had his name written on it.

But while the church workers may be viewed as "traffickers" in Haiti, they say they came armed only with good intentions. They were "just trying to do the right thing," said Laura Silsby, a spokeswoman for the Idaho church group. She conceded that amidst the chaos, she had not obtained the proper Haitian documents for the children.

Photo: Five members of the Central Valley Baptist congregation were detained.

The Baptists' "Haitian Orphan Rescue Mission" was described as an effort to save abandoned, traumatized children. Their plan was to scoop up 100 kids and take them by bus to a 45-room hotel at Cabarete, a beach resort in the Dominican Republic. The 33 kids ranged in age from 2 months to 12 years.

They were stopped at the border for not having proper paperwork and taken back to Port-au-Prince, where the children were taken to a temporary children's home.

The group's actions are further complicated by a view amongst some Haitian parents that giving a child up for adoption to foreigners may be their best chance for a future.

"My parents died in the earthquake. My husband has gone. Giving up one of my kids would at least give them a chance," Saintanne Petit-Frere, 40, a mother of six living outside in a tent camp near the airport said Sunday. "My only fear is that they would forget me, but that wouldn't affect my decision."

"Some parents I know have already given their children to foreigners," said Adonis Helman, 44. "I've been thinking how I will choose which one I may give."

For now, the Haitian government has halted all adoptions unless they were in motion before the earthquake. Prime Minister Bellerive's personal authorization is now required for the departure of any child.

Haiti has long been a hub for sex trafficking as well as the trafficking of children for domestic slavery within the country.

A commission will meet Monday to decide if the church members would go before a judge. They remain in custody, but not in jail.

Earthquake Rattles Guatemala

Associated Press
January 19th, 2010



A 6.0-magnitude earthquake rocked Guatemala and parts of El Salvador on Monday.


Fortunatly, there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage in either country.

Australian TV Crew Rescue Baby From Rubble

An australian TV crew helps rescue a baby girl trapped under rubble for days after the massive quake that has killed thousands.


The 16-month-old girl, called Winnie Tilin, was rescued from the rubble of a house in Haiti on Friday nearly three days after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake devastated the country.


Winnie appeared to be healthy after her ordeal.


According to AFP, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said the powerful quake was initially measured at 7.3 and struck 16 kilometers (ten miles) from the capital Port-au-Prince, and 27 kilometers (17 miles) from Petionville.


The earthquake struck at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), the USGS said.


It is hard still to estimate the approximative number of victms and damages, although most of reporters talk about hundreds of thousands of victims.

White Power USA

* First Part:




* Second Part:





With the election of the Barack Obama, a failing economy and anti-immigrant sentiment on the rise, some activists are calling it the perfect storm for recruitment by racist organisations.



Supremacist groups are reportedly targeting soldiers returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as trying to become part of 'mainstream' conservatism by organising around the successful 'Tea Party' movement.

Paul Haggis: Letter Of Resignation From Scientology

On october, a was published in four parts at the blog of Marty Rathbun, a former high-level Scientology official who has left the church and now criticizes Scientology's leader, David Miscavige.


In the letter, written to Scientology's current national spokesman, Tommy Davis, Paul Haggis explains why he is leaving Scientology after 35 years.


Here is the full text of the letter:


Tommy,

As you know, for ten months now I have been writing to ask you to make a public statement denouncing the actions of the Church of Scientology of San Diego. Their public sponsorship of Proposition 8, a hate-filled legislation that succeeded in taking away the civil rights of gay and lesbian citizens of California - rights that were granted them by the Supreme Court of our state - shames us.

I called and wrote and implored you, as the official spokesman of the church, to condemn their actions. I told you I could not, in good conscience, be a member of an organization where gay-bashing was tolerated.

In that first conversation, back at the end of October of last year, you told me you were horrified, that you would get to the bottom of it and "heads would roll." You promised action. Ten months passed. No action was forthcoming. The best you offered was a weak and carefully worded press release, which praised the church's human rights record and took no responsibility. Even that, you decided not to publish.

The church's refusal to denounce the actions of these bigots, hypocrites and homophobes is cowardly. I can think of no other word. Silence is consent, Tommy. I refuse to consent.

I joined the Church of Scientology thirty-five years ago. During my twenties and early thirties I studied and received a great deal of counseling. While I have not been an active member for many years, I found much of what I learned to be very helpful, and I still apply it in my daily life. I have never pretended to be the best Scientologist, but I openly and vigorously defended the church whenever it was criticized, as I railed against the kind of intolerance that I believed was directed against it. I had my disagreements, but I dealt with them internally. I saw the organization - with all its warts, growing pains and problems - as an underdog. And I have always had a thing for underdogs.

But I reached a point several weeks ago where I no longer knew what to think. You had allowed our name to be allied with the worst elements of the Christian Right. In order to contain a potential "PR flap" you allowed our sponsorship of Proposition 8 to stand. Despite all the church's words about promoting freedom and human rights, its name is now in the public record alongside those who promote bigotry and intolerance, homophobia and fear.

The fact that the Mormon Church drew all the fire, that no one noticed, doesn't matter. I noticed. And I felt sick. I wondered how the church could, in good conscience, through the action of a few and then the inaction of its leadership, support a bill that strips a group of its civil rights.

This was my state of mind when I was online doing research and chanced upon an interview clip with you on CNN. The interview lasted maybe ten minutes - it was just you and the newscaster. And in it I saw you deny the church's policy of disconnection. You said straight-out there was no such policy, that it did not exist.

I was shocked. We all know this policy exists. I didn't have to search for verification - I didn't have to look any further than my own home.

The Corporation

The Corporation is a 2003 documentary film written by Joel Bakan, and directed by Mark Achbar and Jennifer Abbott. The documentary is critical of the modern-day corporation.

This is explored through specific examples.


The Corporation has been displayed worldwide, on television, and via DVD, file sharing, and free download.


Bakan wrote the book, The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power, during the filming of the documentary.



Source: Wikipedia

Citizen Berlusconi (2003)

Citizen Berlusconi - Wide Angle
envoyé par masuzzi. -

Directors: Andrea Cairola & Susan Gray
Writers: Andrea Cairola & Susan Gray
Release Date: 21 August 2003 (USA)
Genre: Documentary


Silvio Berlusconi is the first media mogul ever to govern a Western democracy. With a net worth estimated at 13 billion euros*, Italy's Prime Minister controls 90% of Italian national television - directly or indirectly – the copyright on a quarter of all Italian books, and two national newspapers.


He controls the main distribution networks for most of Italy’s magazines and movies, and roughly 60% of all television advertising sales. In Italy, where most people get their information from television, control of the airwaves is a political goldmine. No small wonder that Berlusconi holds Italy’s top political job.


This film follows those who are trying to stop Berlusconi – within Parliament and the media, trying to make the truth of what is happening in Italy. Today a losing battle, but one that shows first hand what happens when a media mogul takes the reigns of power.