February 25, 2008 N°. 597 - Vol. 6
"Violence among young people is an aspect of their desire to create. They don't know how to use their energy creatively so they do the opposite and destroy."
Anthony Burgess
Insider's view: see how local concerns shape up the global world. Read the daily press review in Migalhas International
Read Migalhas LatinoAmérica every Tuesday and Thursday. Visit the website at www.migalhas.com/latinoamerica
UBS sued on sub-prime mis-selling
Germany's HSH Nordbank is to sue the Swiss banking giant UBS for mis-selling millions of dollars of investments linked to US sub-prime mortgages. It wants to recover "significant" losses on a $500m portfolio it bought in 2002. If HSH Nordbank is successful there could be a wave of such legal action from other banks and investors who claim not to have been made aware of how risky Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDOs) were. It plans to file its suit in the State of New York by the end of the month.
Latin America nuclear pact signed
Argentina and Brazil have agreed to build a joint nuclear reactor to address looming energy shortages. The agreement came as part of a plan by South America's two biggest economies to extend defense and energy projects. Brazil would export electricity to Argentina in the winter months ahead amid shortage fears. "We're going to launch a satellite jointly and develop a nuclear project," Lula said. This includes a nuclear sub and uranium enrichment programs. He added that the venture would "serve as an example in this world, ablaze with the temptation to build up arms and with political and ideological intolerance".
Bill would give bankruptcy judges power to rewrite home mortgages
A pending congressional proposal to allow bankruptcy judges to reduce borrowers’ outstanding home mortgages is running into some strong opposition from lenders. The measure, which could be voted on in the Senate next week, would allow the judges to change the terms of mortgages for primary residences. The measure is backed by consumer groups, civil rights organizations, labor unions and AARP. The House Judiciary Committee passed a similar measure last year. Backers say the bill could help up to 600,000 homeowners avoid foreclosure.
UK government says no plans to create compulsory DNA database
The UK Home Office said Saturday that the government has no plans to create a compulsory DNA database for British citizens, citing ethical and information security concerns. The country's more limited existing National DNA Database, which retains DNA information collected from criminal suspects upon arrest, has already been criticized by rights groups for retaining the information of suspects after they are found innocent, and for displaying a racial bias against minorities. One proponent of the database, UK Lord Justice Stephen Sedley, has said that the database should be expanded to include all citizens and visitors to the country in order to combat crime and to eliminate the racial bias. Policing Minister Tony McNulty defended the current system, telling BBC News that the system's "balance and the fairness and proportionality is about right where it's now." McNulty also expressed concerns about maintaining the security of the DNA database if it were expanded to include 60 million people.
Brillant lawyers wanted
At Migalhas, we are preparing a new series on career for law students. If you want to share your experience, your views and perspectives on opportunities and challenges, firms, courts, government agencies and non-profit organizations or simply give them the "inside" day-in-the-life of various jobs, we would like to hear from you. We want to illustrate the multiple career paths, the connections between the legal and business communities, the available resources in international education (LL.M) with real life examples drawn from the community of our readers. If you want to become a "career coach", helping law students to make a well-informed choices leading to a long-term career satisfaction, we will feature your story in our special edition of our Conexão magazine, to be published soon. Please contact the editor Michael Ghilissen at [email protected]. We look forward to the contributions of our finest lawyers.
Michael Page connects offices in Brazil and Mexico
Michael Page International, the recruitment consultancy, is to interconnect the its offices and operations in Brazil and Mexico. Under the agreement, Global Crossing, an IP solutions provider, will provide Internet Protocol Virtual Private Network (IP VPN) services, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) Outbound services and managed network services in Brazil and Mexico, as well as local access services in Sao Paulo, where the company's network hub for the region is located.
The authoritative resource for information on the worldwide legal profession
Martindale-Hubbel's Legal Network is the most complete, widely used and trusted source of information on the worldwide legal profession - and one of the most effective ways for lawyers to promote their practices. The Lawyer Locator to find the credentials of more than one million lawyers and firms is available at www.martindale-hubbell.com.br.
Before you open the door to the boardroom, peek through the keyhole!
Have a look at the new section of the Migalhas website and discover the professional development opportunities with large corporations presented by Michael Page International. Click here to peep through the hole!
1 - Northern Rock now in public hands. (Read more)
2 - French judges quiz both traders in Societe Generale case: sources.(Read more)
3 - UN panel criticizes US for slow progress in fighting racism.(Read more)
4 - Rescues for Homeowners in Debt Weighed. (Read more)
Life sentences for mine officials
Three people have been sentenced to life in prison by a Chinese court for their roles in a mine explosion that killed 105 people last year. Twice as many people as permitted were working in the mine at the time of the blast. Those sentenced to life included the mine's production manager and an investor. The court sentenced 14 others to shorter jail terms for their role in the blast. The company was also fined 185.2m yuan ($26m) for illegal trade in explosives, illegal work on an unapproved coal bed and tax evasion.
Chinese trial over fake receipts
Five men are to appear in court in China charged with producing fake receipts that could have cost the state billions of dollars. The men are accused of forging over one million receipts worth a total of $147bn at a factory in Guizhou province. There is an active black market for fake receipts in China, which companies can use to claim tax rebates on business expenses.
Raul Castro named Cuban president
Cuba's National Assembly unanimously votes to confirm Raul Castro as president to replace his brother Fidel. Raul has in effect been president since Fidel had major surgery in July 2006. It is understood that he was the only nominee in a vote seen as a formality. What this means for the prospects for change remains unclear.
Serbs experience deja vu after riots
Serb demonstrators marched for a sixth day Saturday in northern Kosovo, protesting its secession from Serbia. In Belgrade on Thursday, the protests turned violent as rioters attacked and set fire to the U.S. Embassy. The U.S. State Department has ordered all nonessential employees and diplomats' families to leave. “Russia will not use force in Kosovo though the situation in the region will continue to escalate. We are not going to a spot distant from our borders with any military or force actions. There is no direct threat on Russia. There is no threat to our national interests there," NATO representative Rogozin said.
Bosnian Serbs threaten secession referendum as Kosovo itself risks partition
Bosnian Serb lawmakers have backed a resolution calling Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia illegal and threatening to call a referendum on their own possible separation from the amalgamated state of Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH). The resolution, passed late Thursday by the People's Assembly of Republika Srpska, cautioned that recognition of Kosovo would set an international precedent. US Ambassador to Bosnia-Herzegovina Charles English described talk of sovereignty as an 'irresponsible and unconstitutional concept.'
US-Mexico 'virtual fence' ready
A high-technology system to control the US-Mexico border with cameras and radar instead of a physical fence has gained government approval, US officials say. The $20m 'virtual fence' already covers 28 miles (48km) of the border between Arizona state and Mexico. Built by Boeing, the virtual fence is part of a strategy to stop illegal immigrants as well as drug-smugglers attempt to pass into the US on foot or in vehicles.
Ruling to shut down leak site called censorship
Wikileaks.org allows users to anonymously post corporate and government documents they think expose wrongdoing. Last week a federal judge ordered the site shut down after a bank charged that it had illegally posted documents stolen by a former employee.
Who will tell Hillary?
Even before Sen. Barack Obama won his ninth straight contest against Sen. Hillary Clinton, in Wisconsin last Tuesday, wise old heads in the Democratic Party were asking this question: Who will tell her that it's over, that she cannot win the presidential nomination and that the sooner she leaves the race, the more it will improve the party's chances of defeating Sen. John McCain in November? Clinton could not go before Democratic primary voters and assail Obama for being too far to the left. Instead, she insinuated moral turpitude by asserting that Obama had not been "vetted." When that backfired, she claimed plagiarism by Obama in lifting a paragraph from a speech by his friend and supporter Deval Patrick, the Massachusetts governor -- an approach that yielded mainly derisive laughter among politicians. Clinton's burden is not only Obama's charisma but also McCain's resurrection. Some of the same Democrats who short months ago were heralding her as the "perfect" candidate now call her a sure loser against McCain, saying she would do the party a favor by just leaving.
'NatWest Three' head for prison
Three British bankers have been sentenced to 37 months in prison each for their role in a multi-million pound fraud linked to US energy firm Enron. A Texas judge announced the sentence, thereby approving a plea-bargain deal. In return for pleading guilty last year to one count of wire fraud, US prosecutors agreed to ask for the six other counts to be dismissed, and supported the trio's bid to serve some of their sentence in the UK. The men admitted to conspiring with ex-Enron employees Andrew Fastow and Michael Kopper, who are already in prison, to defraud NatWest of $19m and then split $7.3m between themselves. The judge also ordered the three men to repay $7.3m to Natwest's owner, the Royal Bank of Scotland, as part of the sentencing.
Subprime lessons hit home for CEOs
Executives far from Wall Street are finding lessons in the subprime-loan meltdown. Among the insights: Don't chase a boom without planning for the bust and ensure that incentive systems don't encourage excessive risk.
Leaner times ahead
For Big Law, 2008 may prove a smaller year. After several years of rising revenue and profit and all the accompanying salary wars and ever-higher client rates, the nation's largest law firms are bracing for a period that might not be so flush.
The end of the Net porn wars
Despite big talk, federal efforts against adult obscenity online have withered. It may be hard to remember now, but when the Bush administration came into power, it said fighting Internet pornography would be a priority. At their confirmation hearings, U.S. Attorneys General John Ashcroft and Alberto Gonzales each vowed that fighting obscenity on the Web would be a top concern. And since 1995, the criminalization of Internet pornography has been a priority in Congress, with major pieces of legislation passing by wide majorities. Yet 35 years after the U.S. Supreme Court defined obscenity in Miller v. California, adult entertainment has moved out of darkened movie theaters and onto cable and hotel pay-per-view TV, home video players and especially onto the Internet, becoming the second largest segment of the industry by revenue. Meanwhile, little beyond minor Internet obscenity prosecutions is happening on the federal legal front. The battlefield has been strangely silent. And some of the old-line combatants say a combination of empty political posturing with legal uncertainty have enervated federal anti-obscenity efforts.
Pakistan blocks YouTube over 'blasphemous' content
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has ordered the country's 70 Internet service providers to block access to popular video-sharing website YouTube because of "blasphemous content, videos and documents" posted on the site, a government official confirmed Sunday. The order, issued by the director of the PTA on Friday, claimed the ratio of "non-Islamic objectionable video" has increased on the website and instructed providers to block the site until further notice.
Time
Guess Who Came to Dinner? A visit from George Clooney, home handyman and the last true movie star.
Newsweek
The Hunt for an Addiction Vaccine. How vaccines and other new drugs may be changing the way we treat addictions.
Business Week
Special Report: Customer Service Champs. Meet the best-in-class companies that deliver just the right level of service—and avoid the disastrous slipups that can drive today's digitally empowered consumers to trample a brand's name across the Internet
The Economist
Castro's Legacy. As Castro steps down, rue the damage he has done, but lift the embargo against a sad, dysfunctional island
L'Express
Les francs-maçons et le pouvoir.
Der Spiegel
Wie viel Mutter braucht das Kind? Krippe oder Kinderzimmer
Sudan 'renews Darfur air strikes'
BBC News, Centrist newscaster, London, England
North-Kivu: MONUC's position on the massacre of Kalonge
CongoPlanet.com, Independent online news aggregator
Ghana Discovers More Oil!
GhanaWeb, Online news portal, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Uganda: New Accord Provides for War Crimes Trials
Human Rights Watch (Africa), International news press releases
Barkai cracks icy swim record
iafrica, Online news portal, Cape Town, South Africa
Cops discover petrol bombs in Delft
Independent Online, News portal, Cape Town, South Africa
'What did Zuma say behind closed doors?'
Mail & Guardian Online, Liberal, Johannesburg, South Africa
Robbers shot 'without warning'
News24.com, Online news portal, Cape Town, South Africa
Former GDR premier denies advising Cuba on transition
Brazil Sun, Independent online news aggregator
Cuba: Fidel Castro's Abusive Machinery Remains Intact
Human Rights Watch (Americas), International news press releases
Cuba: Raúl Shares His Seat with Fidel
IPS Latin America, International cooperative of journalists, Rome, Italy
APEC and EU-LAC Peru 2008 Summits - Weekend Update
Living in Peru, News portal, Lima, Peru
A model of rationality
The Globe and Mail, Centrist daily, Toronto, Canada
Golden night for Coens
Toronto Star, Liberal daily, Toronto, Canada
Australian minister to bolster cooperation with RI
Antara News, News agency, Jakarta, Indonesia
Raul Castro Picked as Cuba's President
Chosun Ilbo, Conservative daily, Seoul, South Korea
Mobile phone radiation 'affects human skin'
India Express, News portal, Mumbai, India
'Watt warriors' to save MCD bill
India Times, Conservative daily, New Delhi, India
Stormy weather leaves at least three dead
Japan Times, Independent centrist, Tokyo, Japan
Coens 'Country' wins four Oscars, including best picture, director
Malaysian Star, Online news portal, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
Royal rendevous with QE2 in Sydney (+video)
New Zealand Herald, Conservative daily, Auckland, New Zealand
Roadside bomb kills four Shiite pilgrims in S Baghdad
People's Daily Online, English-language, Beijing, China
The best film award went to No Country For Old Men
Sydney Morning Herald, Centrist daily, Sydney, Australia
Government ready for discussions
The Hindu, Left-leaning daily, Chennai, India
Six more sites in care home probe
BBC News, Centrist newscaster, London, England
Serbs struggle with Kosovo's independence
International Herald Tribune, Independent daily, Paris, France
Crisis at police watchdog as lawyers resign
The Guardian, Liberal daily, London, England
Oil near $100 in Asian trade
The Irish Times, Centrist daily, Dublin, Ireland
7 children 'may be buried at Jersey care home'
The Telegraph, Conservative daily, London, England
Nicolas Sarkozy loses his cool over French food
Times Online, Conservative daily, London, England
High Court To Decide Katzav Case on Tuesday
Arutz Sheva, Online, right-wing, Tel Aviv, Israel
Iraq: Al-Anbar Launch Special Terrorism Courts
Asharq Al-Awsat, Pan-Arab daily, London, England
Woman in China has suspected bird flu
Gulf News, Independent daily, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Israeli Oscar hopeful 'Beaufort' pipped by Austrian entry
Haaretz, Liberal daily, Tel Aviv, Israel
Europe: Heading for a New Security Deal with Israel
IPS Middle East, International cooperative of journalists, Rome, Italy
Cost of living in region outstrips pay increases
Middle East North African Network, Online financial portal, Amman, Jordan
Raul Castro Succeeds Brother as Cuba's New President
Nahamet, Online news portal, Beirut, Lebanon
Turkey warns Iraqi Kurds against sheltering PKK rebels
The Daily Star, Independent daily, Beirut, Lebanon
Fugitive walks into court, declares his innocence
Yemen Times, Independent weekly, Sana'a, Yemen
__________________
How are we doing?
We would like to hear from you how we perform. What you like and what we should change or add… Send us an email; we aim to please!
Tell your friends and associates…
to subscribe to Migalhas International! www.migalhas.com
Express yourself
Want to share your opinion, your experience, your questions? You are welcome to do so. This forum is yours. Please contact the editor: [email protected]
Events
We welcome information about your events or conferences to come. Please contact the editor.
Sponsors
Become a sponsor. Spread your name in the business and legal spheres around the world in Migalhas International.
Subscription
To subscribe: Register your name and your address at www.migalhas.com
To unsubscribe: Send your name and e-mail address to in the subject line. We will remove your name soonest.
Address changes: If you want to continue to receive Migalhas International, please make sure we have your current e-mail address.
Contact
Michael Ghilissen, editor: [email protected]
Miguel Matos, publisher: [email protected]
Please feel free to send your comments, questions and suggestions to the editor.
Your comments
We always welcome information, articles, testimonials, opinions and comments about something you’ve read in Migalhas International. Please forward your contributions to the editor.
Confidentiality
When you add your name to Migalhas International, you can be sure that it's confidential. We do not share, trade, rent or sell this list. Our "privacy policy" contains no fine print. No one gets our list. Period. Your e-mail address is safe with us.
Sharing Migalhas International
If you'd like to share this Migalhas International with friends and colleagues, feel free to forward this issue including the copyright notice. Or, invite them to subscribe so they receive their own Migalhas International every week.
Sources
The content of the Miglhas International newsletter is edited for purposes of news reporting, comments and education from several sources, including: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, The London Times, Le Monde, Frankfurter Allgemeine, The Financial Times, Google News, International Herald Tribune, Paper Chase (jurist.law.pitt.edu), The World Press Review: https://www.worldpress.org, Forbes, Fortune, Time, Newsweek, Harvard Business Review, American Bar Association, American Lawyer Media, FindLaw.com, Reuters, Associated Press, Internet Business Law Services, Folha de Sao Paulo, O Estado do Sao Paulo, Lexis Nexis, West Law, CNN, The Globe and Mail, The Los Angeles Times, Wikipedia and more.
Fair use notice
This newsletter contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of legal, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material in this newsletter is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
The messages that appear in this newsletter are for informational purposes only. They are not intended to be and should not be considered legal advice nor substitute for obtaining legal advice from competent, independent, legal counsel in the relevant jurisdiction.
Transmission of this information is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. The information contained on this list may or may not reflect the most current legal developments.
www.migalhas.com
Copyright 2008 - Migalhas International