Joerg Haider is dead

Austria's veteran far-right leader Joerg Haider was killed in a car accident this morning near his home town of Klagenfurt, police said.
Haider, who led the far-right into a coalition government from 2000-2006, made headlines across the world and drew international condemnation with his blunt anti-immigrant statements and for seeming to flirt with Nazi sympathies.
The 58-year-old governor of Austria's Carinthia province died after suffering major head and chest injuries when the government car he was driving went out of control and rolled down an embankment, police said. He was alone in the car.
Police said they were investigating the cause of the crash.
"This is for us like the end of the world," said Haider's spokesman Stefan Petzner. He said Haider had been heading to a town near Klagenfurt in the mountainous southern province for a gathering of his family to mark his mother's 90th birthday.
Haider, a folksy character who struck a popular chord among many Austrians, headed one of two far-right parties that surged to a combined 30 percent of the vote in a parliamentary election last month, potentially redrawing Austria's political landscape.
Active in politics since his teenage years in the affluent Alpine country, he became a full-time politician in 1977 for the far-right Freedom Party.
Haider caused an international backlash when he led the Freedom Party into a coalition government with the conservative People's Party in 2000, triggering widespread condemnation and temporary European Union sanctions against Austria.
The deal fell apart, leading to an early election in 2002 in which the Freedom Party lost heavily, followed by a remake of the coalition.
After internecine struggles within the Freedom Party, Haider formed the breakaway Alliance for the Future of Austria in 2005. His new party became junior partner in the coalition government, while the Freedom Party left and went into opposition.
But in a national election in 2006, the Alliance for the Future of Austria only just scraped past the 4 percent threshold to enter parliament.
Haider also made headlines with several verbal gaffes and by making foreign trips to see leaders such as Iraq's Saddam Hussein and Libya's Muammar Gaddafi.
He once reproached Austria's government by citing the "proper labour policies" of Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany. On another occasion he referred to Nazi concentration camps in a parliamentary debate as "penal camps".
Born in Upper Austria, his father was a former member of Hitler's brown-shirted storm troopers. His mother was a teacher who had been a Hitler Youth leader.
Haider is survived by his wife and two daughters.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/austrian-far-right-leader-dies-in-car-accident-958115.html

Berlusconi Says Leaders May Close World's Markets (Update1)

Oct. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said political leaders are discussing the idea of closing the world's financial markets while they ``rewrite the rules of international finance.''

``The idea of suspending the markets for the time it takes to rewrite the rules is being discussed,'' Berlusconi said today after a Cabinet meeting in Naples, Italy. A solution to the financial crisis ``can't just be for one country, or even just for Europe, but global.''
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell as much 8.1 percent in early trading and pared most of those losses after Berlusconi's remarks. The Dow was down 0.5 percent to 8540.52 at 10:10 in New York.

Group of Seven finance ministers and central bankers are meeting in Washington today, and will stay in town for the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings this weekend. European Union leaders may gather in Paris on Oct. 12, three days before a scheduled summit in Brussels, Berlusconi said today, while Group of Eight leaders may hold a meeting on the crisis ``in coming days,'' he said.

Berlusconi didn't give any details about what kind of rules leaders were looking to change, except to say that leaders are ``talking about a new Bretton Woods.''

The Bretton Woods Agreements were adopted to rebuild the international economic system after World War II in a hotel in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. The aim of the agreements was to establish a monetary management system, initially by pegging currencies to gold. The IMF was set up later to help manage the international financial system.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aP5mpMUORBWM

NWN: Capitalism collapsing ? Certainly we have/are approaching a similar mess that occured in October 1928 - Wall Street Crash.

Local Councils crash

It has been announced that hundreds of millions of pounds of local council funding was held in bank accounts connected to Iceland meaning that there is a chance that it will all be lost after the crash in the country’s financial sector. The Icelandic authorities have made good savings for nationals but as yet there has been no word on the various overseas divisions connected to the country’s banks – all of which were nationalised a couple of days ago.

So what are the consequences for the UK tax payer?

While so far the local authorities with exposure to Icelandic banks have refused to confirm or deny what the future holds, there is likely to be a cut in local services or an increase in local taxes. However, this episode has also highlighted exactly how much money the local authorities have in savings accounts at the same time as increasing council taxes for millions of people around the UK.

Many believe that either way the UK tax payer will have to foot the bill as these local authorities are pushing for the government to reimburse the funds they may lose, at the overall expense of the tax payer. A lose lose situation for the tax payer seems almost certain!
http://financialadvice.co.uk/news/3/householdbills/8134/Local-councils-lose-millions-to-Icelandic-crash.html

Authorities in London are believed to have about £200 million in Icelandic banks. They include Westminster, which said it had £17 million split between Landsbanki and Heritable; Sutton — £5.5 million — and Havering, which has investments totalling £12.5 million. Outside the capital, Kent County Council said that it had £50 million deposited in Icelandic banks — £15 million with Glitnir Bank, £17 million with Landsbanki and just over £18 million in its British subsidiary, Heritable.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article4910126.ece

NWN: We hear that 98 councils are effected to the tune of half a £billion

Death on the NHS

Failed bombers planned 'wholesale' murders, court hears


LONDON (AFP) — Two doctors accused of plotting failed car bombings in London and Glasgow wanted to commit "indiscriminate and wholesale" murder, prosecutors alleged Thursday on the first day of a major anti-terror trial.

Bilal Abdulla, 28, and Mohammed Asha, 29, who both worked for Britain's government-run National Health Service, are accused of conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to cause explosions. Both deny the charges.

Iraqi-born Abdulla was arrested after a burning Jeep Cherokee he was in was driven into Glasgow Airport's main terminal building on June 30. Jordanian neurologist Asha was detained hours later on a motorway in northwest England.

The previous day, two Mercedes Benz cars filled with petrol, gas cannisters and nails were discovered in London's West End theatre and nightclub district.

"Their plan was to carry out a series of attacks on the public using bombs concealed in vehicles," said prosecutor Jonathan Laidlaw at Woolwich Crown Court in south London.

"In short, these men were intent on committing murder on an indiscriminate and a wholesale scale.

"In addition to the killing of the innocent, the objective of course was to seize public attention both here in this country and internationally," he said.

Laidlaw added: "It was simply good fortune that the bombs did not go off in London. Equally, it was simply luck that protected the people of Scotland."

He also described as "extraordinary" the fact that both Abdulla and Asha were doctors in the state-funded NHS, arguing that "as the evidence demonstrates, in fact they turned their attention away from the treatment of illness to the planning of murder."

The pair were accused of being Islamic extremists who used a house on the outskirts of Glasgow as a bomb factory, and who made a reconnaissance trip to central London a month before the failed attacks.

A third man, 26-year-old Sabeel Ahmed, was found guilty by a British court in April of withholding information from police about the attacks, and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment.

He was deported to his home country India in May after being released from custody due to the amount of time he had already served in jail.

Ahmed's brother Kafeel, trained as an aeronautical engineer, was the Jeep Cherokee's driver, but later died in hospital after suffering 90 percent burns.

Laidlaw alleged that in the Glasgow attack Kafeel Ahmed and Abdulla "by using petrol bombs and by spraying petrol around, were going to try and blow the car up with themselves inside."

"This was, for all intent and purposes, a mobile incendiary bomb with specific explosive content in the form of mobile gas canisters."

The only other man charged in connection with the plot -- Indian doctor Mohammed Haneef, who was detained in Australia -- was exonerated by a court of charges that he had abetted a group involved in the failed bombings, after the case against him collapsed for lack of evidence.
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5g5VjjrILNBqLdASGjpFmjQv8vf8Q

Richard Edmonds on the Advisory Council ?

What is going on here ?

Is this true ?

Richard was a target for the Griffin dirty tricks a few years back, to rid the BNP of RE.

The methods were crude usage of swastikas on peoples arms, that were stood with Richard. They even imposed swastikas on people at Florrie Rost Van Tonningens home where Richard was present at a dinner. The result, Richard was given a warning by the BNP.

Richard asked for help to many at that time, such was his fear at being 'booted out' of the BNP via a kangaroo court such as JT later suffered.

Then John Tyndall was 'hounded out' of the BNP by Griffin and his henchmen, not once, but twice !

Since John Tyndall died, Richard has hardly associated with the so called 'hardliners' if at all. He has however been out and about promoting Griffins weak BNP.

Griffin has not been purging nationalists from the BNP since the year 2000, to now change his mind.

Will Richard Edmonds explain his views, because many are very suspicious of his actions in being allowed to re-join the AC.

What the hell is going on with this development ?

What are your views ?

A taste of their own medicine

Socialist meeting blocked by councillor

SOCIALIST PARTY members in Debden, Essex have been blocked from organising a public meeting at Debden Park community centre on the world economic crisis.
The community centre room initially accepted the booking. However, an unnamed councillor requested that Essex Police inquire into the nature of the meeting and the Socialist Party. The centre then withdrew the room booking, saying they will not accept bookings from any political organisations.

Despite being asked, Essex Police will not release the name or political affiliation of the councillor who asked them to look into the meeting. We believe this is an attack on our democratic right to organise. (NWN Comment: Now you know what it feels like)

We deserve the right to know which councillor asked the police to look into the meeting and whether or not they oppose ordinary people organising and discussing what is happening in the world. Socialist Party members will be organising a campaign to have the name of this anti-democratic councillor revealed.

It is probably no coincidence that the British National Party has four councillors in the area. Despite this attack on our right to organise, Socialist Party members held a campaign stall in Debden last Saturday where 23 copies of The Socialist were sold.

Greg Maughan

http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/6486

Mother of all council houses

A MUM of seven is being paid £170,000 a year in benefits so she can live in a £1.2million mansion.

Taxpayers hit by the credit crunch fund the swish seven-bedroom home enjoyed free by Afghan migrant Toorpakai Saindi and her family.

And her landlord is raking in rent of more than £12,000 a month from a local council — funded by taxpayers.

That’s DOUBLE the normal market value of the seven-bedroom property, located in a swish West London street peppered with the Mercedes and BMW cars of private owners.

Yesterday Saindi, who also gets an estimated £400 a week in child and local tax benefits, said: “It’s a lot of money, but the council pay it.

“This is their problem. I don’t know why they pay so much.”


Landlord Ajit Panesar, who is acting within his rights, also referred The Sun to Ealing Council.

They blamed the Government, saying it set the rate.


But Whitehall insisted the council could have put Ms Saindi in a cheaper home.


The root of the potty payouts lies with the Local Housing Allowance — rolled out nationally on April 7.

More:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1780948.ece