Jailed for a Million Screws!

BERLIN (Reuters) - A German factory worker stole over a million screws from his employer and skewed the market with his cheap stolen goods, police said Friday.

Over two years, the 33-year-old assembly plant worker smuggled between 2,000 and 7,000 screws out of work each night, and auctioned them on an Internet site, police said. The scheme cost his firm around 110,000 euros ($156,000). - Reuters.com

Talk about literally screwing up your job!

Related Article:
Thief nailed selling a million stolen screws ~ Reuters.com

Myanmar - Violence, Lies & Video

Kenji Nagai - AP

Japanese news photographer Kenji Nagai lies injured after police and military officials fired upon and then charged at protesters in Yangon's city centre. - Reuters

The Japanese Photo-Journalist Kenji Nagai was shot dead point blank, while filming protests against the dictatorial military regime which is using all its might to suppress calls from the citizens of the country for democracy.

"Footage capturing the last, terrible seconds of Kenji Nagai’s life has been aired on Japanese television – horrifying a nation and raising official suspicion that the 50-year old photo-journalist was murdered by Burmese troops.

The shaky, indistinct moments of footage appear to show Nagai, who was on the edge of a crowd of panic-stricken demonstrators, shoved violently to the ground by a soldier and shot dead at point-blank range.

The crowd flees, leaving behind a visibly agonised figure believed to be Nagai – dressed casually in shorts and flip-flops – on his back in the street. In his right hand is a video camera, held above the ground to protect it from the fall.

The footage, say Japanese experts, squarely contradicts the official Burmese explanation of Nagai’s death – that he was killed by a “stray bullet”.

In the few seconds before he was killed, Nagai appeared to being filming the Burmese military as it faced down the crowd. One of the soldiers seems to spot him doing so, and launches his deadly response.

Masahiko Komura, Japan’s Foreign Minister, said that the footage appeared to show that Nagai was slain deliberately by Burmese troops as they charged on a crowd of civilians. The government has dispatched the deputy foreign minister to Burma to establish the truth behind Nagai’s death." ~ Times Online

Rest in Peace Nagai. A silent tribute to all the journalists and citizen journalists who risk their lives lives daily to bring out the truth.

Warning: video contains graphic content

YouTube video of a Japanese News Channel showing a secret video of the shooting.

Related Articles:
Video shows Japanese journalist 'being shot deliberately' ~ Times Online, 28 Sep, 2007
Japanese journalist killed in violence (Agencies) ~ Gulf News 28 Sep, 2007
Japan call over journalist death ~ BBC online
Results from Google News on the shooting. ~ Google News

UAE Press gets Freedom!

Gulf News Front Page (26 Sep, 2007)

"In a victory for freedom of the press in the UAE, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, yesterday issued instructions that journalists in the country will not be jailed for doing their work." ~ Gulf News

"Two senior Khaleej Times journalists, who were each given a two-month jail term for libelling an Iranian woman on Sunday, were let out on bail after appealing the sentence." ~ Gulf News

On a personal note, it is to be noted that the Khaleej Times coverage of the entire situation is found wanting. This is despite the fact that the two journalists were not only employees of KT but also held the position of managing editor and senior reporter.

It seems Gulf News is more interested in trumpeting media freedom for all UAE journalists than Khaleej Times, which for some reason seems shy to admit and acknowledge freedom for its journalists and victory for its reporting values.

In fact, it is Gulf News that names and gives identity to the journalists, unlike Khaleej Times who diplomatically remain silent on the identity and newspaper the journalists worked for. Is it possible to imagine that Khaleej Times for some unknown reason does not seem happy to see the verdict in favour of their employees.

A free press can be good or bad, but, most certainly, without freedom a press will never be anything but bad. ~Albert Camus (French author and Philosopher)

Related Articles:
UAE upholds press freedom ~ Gulf News
Journalists get bail after appeal ~ Gulf News
Journalists' body hails decision ~ Gulf News
A huge boost to press freedom (Editorial) ~ Gulf News
No detaining journalists ~ Khaleej Times
Abu Dhabi - No detaining of journalists ~ 7days

UAE journalists sentenced to jail for libel

Two journalists sentenced to jail for libel
By Bassam Za'za', Staff Reporter
Published: September 24, 2007, 00:25

Dubai: Two senior journalists have been jailed for two months each after they were found guilty in a libel case marking what judicial officials described as 'an unusual verdict'.

The Dubai Court of Misdemeanour found the senior Egyptian journalist and senior Indian editor guilty of libelling an Iranian woman.

The Public Prosecution charged the two defendants with publishing a defamatory article in the English newspaper where they work. In her complaint the woman accused the defendants of defaming her after publishing the story.

Gulf News has learnt that defence lawyer Samir Jaafar is planning to appeal the initial verdict today. The ruling is still subject to appeal.

A former judge who requested anonymity described the ruling as 'uncommon and unusual especially in the UAE'.

Fined
"I have heard of journalists getting fined but not jailed. This is very unusual here in the UAE and especially in Dubai," said the former judge.

In 2004, the Dubai Court of First Instance sentenced Kuwaiti national, Ahmad Jarallah, Editor-in-Chief of Al Seyassah, Kuwaiti newspaper, to six months in jail and Saudi national, Othman Al Umair, former editor-in-chief of e-newspaper www.elaph.com. The two were convicted of running defamatory news against a former Miss Lebanon accusing her of having sex with a UAE businessman for thousands of dollars.

Mohammad Yousuf, Chairman of UAE Journalists Association, said this ruling is the first of its kind against journalists working in local media. "We do not want to comment on the ruling which we respect. However, we would like to say this proves our repeated calls for cancelling imprisonment verdicts against journalists in libel cases as it terrorises them from doing their jobs."

Related Article:
Two journalists sentenced to jail for libel - Gulf News, 24 Sep, 2007
Indian sentenced to two-month jail in libel case - oneindia.in, 24 Sep, 2007

"Light and Darkness"

Freemind Pictures © (Sony Ericsson K750i)

"Light and Darkness"~ Freemind

Health Care Exported?

Screen shot of the Front Page of Gulf News (17 Sep, 2007)

The Gulf News front page yesterday (18 Sep 2007) carried a story "Destination Thailand" which stated that 70,000 UAE nationals went to Thailand last year for treatment because they distrust the health care available in the UAE.

70,000 Emiratis is no laughing figure considering that according to last year's census by the UAE Government the total population of the UAE was at 824,921. In short almost 10% of the local population went to Thailand last year for treatment. A simple reason stated was distrust of the current health care system in UAE.

It is staggering to imagine what kind of numbers would be generated if Emiratis traveling to other countries for treatment such as USA, Canada, India, France, Australia were included in that percentage.

This article is an eye opener and only warrants the need for similar articles. Yet, the article stops short of pointing fingers on specific reasons or departments other than mentioning general issues such as cost inhibitions and lack of care and so on. An excerpt of the article is pasted below with a link to the complete article for further reading.

"Most of the patients are either sponsored by government agencies, including the Ministry of Health, the Dubai Department of Health and Medical Services (Dohms), Dubai Police, or are military or private patients.Some travel to Thailand only for medical treatment, while others decide to include a medical check-up in their holiday plans."

Salim Al Za'abi, UAE ambassador to Thailand, told Gulf News distrust and dissatisfaction in the UAE's medical services are recurrent themes among Emirati patients.

Some feel the medical treatment and care they get in the UAE are not worth the money they pay, some feel the service and care are too slow and insufficient, while others believe that many doctors lack the medical expertise and did not care enough about their patients. Some others have gone to Thailand to correct medical mistakes that occurred in the UAE.

"Some people have complained that hospitals in the UAE cannot discover cancer and other serious illnesses. Some have complained that doctors in the UAE did no investigation and that there are poor physical therapy facilities," he said, adding that the medical sector is the UAE has room for improvement.

Government hospitals don't provide the same services as in Thailand and private hospitals are too expensive."

"Patients prefer treatment abroad" ~ Gulf News, 18 Sep, 2007