Mexico opposition may work with criminals

 

Mexican President Felipe Calderon has said politicians in the main opposition party may consider deals with criminals, opening an inflammatory new front in the nation's presidential election campaign. Calderon's blunt remarks about the centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which is favored to win the July 1, 2012 election, are unusual in a country where the president is expected to stay largely aloof from party politics. Centering on the policy that has dominated his presidency -- an aggressive army-led crackdown on drug cartels -- his comments risk polarizing opinion on how to restore stability to Mexico, where the drug war has killed 44,000 in five years. Leading members of Calderon's conservative National Action Party (PAN), other PRI opponents and political analysts have accused the once-dominant party of making secret deals with drug cartels in the past to keep the peace in Mexico. In a weekend New York Times interview published a day after he said a state governed by the PRI had been left in the hands of a drug gang, Calderon was asked whether the opposition party might pursue a corrupt relationship with organized crime. "There are many in the PRI who think the deals of the past would work now. I don't see what deal could be done, but that is the mentality many of them have," said Calderon, whom the law prevents from seeking a second six-year term. Calderon's office later issued a statement saying the newspaper had expressly noted when posing the question that the PRI had a reputation for making deals with organized crime. His office underlined that the president recognized many in the PRI did not favor this approach and supported his policy. Analysts say Calderon is bitterly opposed to the PRI, which dominated Mexico for seven decades until PAN won the presidency in 2000 under its candidate Vicente Fox. The tide of drug war killings has eroded support for the PAN, and the PRI's main hopeful, the telegenic former governor of the State of Mexico, Enrique Pena Nieto, has around twice the support of his nearest rival. NAMING NAMES The PRI has attacked Calderon for the spiraling death toll, and analysts said the president's remarks were tailored for the election, putting in jeopardy any hope of passing many pending reforms that have been stalled in Congress. "This is really serious," Javier Oliva, a political scientist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), said of Calderon's comments about the PRI. "The president has an obligation to prove this now. To name names." "The president is regressing into a negative stance of being president of the PAN, and not president of Mexico." The Times noted that Calderon "looked disgusted at the mere mention of the PRI" during the interview. The statement issued by his office said Calderon mentioned the ex-PRI governor of Nuevo Leon state, Socrates Rizzo, as someone who had pointed to the existence of such pacts. Rizzo's comments, which were reported early this year, were rejected by leading PRI figures at the time. The PRI's national chairman, Humberto Moreira, told El Universal's Sunday newspaper his party did not want to make deals with organized crime and that Calderon was trying to exploit the issue of public security for political ends.

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Mexico’s military says soldiers freed 61 men being held captive by the Zetas drug cartel for use as forced labor

 

Mexico’s military says soldiers freed 61 men being held captive by the Zetas drug cartel for use as forced labor. The army says the men were found guarded by three Zetas kidnappers in a safe house in the border city of Piedras Negras on Saturday. Soldiers made the discovery during a security sweep in the area that also turned up an abandoned truck filled with 6 tons of marijuana. Loading... Comments Weigh InCorrections? In a press conference Sunday, Gen. Luis Crescencio Sandoval Gonzalez said one of the captives was from Honduras and others were from various parts of Mexico. He said the three kidnappers were arrested. Piedras Negras sits across the border from Eagle Pass, Texas, in the Mexican state of Coahuila, which has been the scene of ongoing battles between drug gangs.

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Four former members of the Colombian army's special forces are training members of Los Zetas

 

Four former members of the Colombian army's special forces are training members of Los Zetas, considered Mexico's most violent drug cartel, the Bogota daily El Tiempo reported Sunday. The retired soldiers - two captains and two sergeants - served time in Colombia for human rights violations. "The identities of the soldiers have not been released because charges have not been filed against them," El Tiempo said, adding that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Mexican police and Colombian police were tracking their movements.

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You shoot a police officer, you’re going to get shot back at

 

A little before dawn on a sticky summer night in June, one of Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s Ranger Reconnaissance Teams was running a clandestine operation along the Rio Grande when its surveillance squad came across a Dodge Durango pickup truck loaded with bales of Mexican marijuana. Bad idea, messing with Texas. 37 Comments Weigh InCorrections? inShare Gallery  The Texas governor is seeking the 2012 GOP presidential nomination. Gallery  Mexico's ongoing drug war continues to claim lives and disrupt order in the country. More On This Story Read more on PostPolitics.com Rick Perry a hawk on Texas border security Perry and Romney dominate GOP fundraising Cain defends ‘9-9-9’ tax overhaul plan View all Items in this Story The lawmen chased the truck along the river, with a Texas Department of Public Safety helicopter swooping overhead and Texas game wardens roaring down the Rio Grande in boats, state authorities said. In minutes, the traffickers had ditched the truck in the muddy water and were rafting the dope back to Mexico. Then the shooting started. Alone among his Republican rivals running for president, the Texas governor has a small army at his disposal. Over the past three years, he has deployed it along his southern flank in a secretive, military-style campaign that his supporters deem absolutely necessary and successful and that his critics call an overzealous, expensive and mostly ineffective political stunt. A hawk when it comes to Mexican cartels, Perry said in New Hampshire this month that as president he would consider sending U.S. troops into Mexico to combat drug violence there and stop it from spilling into the United States. The June incident along the Rio Grande was typical of Perry’s border security campaign: a lot of swagger, with mixed results. The initial news release said the Texas Rangers team came “under heavy fire” by members of the Gulf cartel, though officials later said it was “four to six shots.” The Texas Rangers and their multi-agency task force, which included U.S. Border Patrol agents, returned fire — big time — lighting up the Mexican riverbank with 300 rounds. “You shoot a police officer, you’re going to get shot back at,” said Steven McCraw, Perry’s homeland security chief and director of the Texas Department of Public Safety.

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Frightening 'Drug Threat Assessment' for the USA and Mexico

 

The National Drug Intelligence Center, a branch of the U.S. Department of Justice, recently released a document entitled the "National Drug Threat Assessment 2011."  You can read the document online here.  The document paints a gloomy picture for both the U.S. and Mexico. The Assessment's Executive Summary begins: "The illicit trafficking and abuse of drugs present a challenging, dynamic threat to the United States.  Overall demand is rising, largely supplied by illicit drugs smuggled to U.S. markets by major transnational criminal organizations (TCOs).  Changing conditions continue to alter patterns in drug production, trafficking, and abuse. Traffickers are responding to government counterdrug efforts by modifying their interrelationships, altering drug production levels, and adjusting their trafficking routes and methods. Major Mexican-based TCOs continue to solidify their dominance over the wholesale illicit drug trade as they control the movement of most of the foreign-produced drug supply across the U.S. Southwest Border. "The estimated economic cost of illicit drug use to society for 2007 was more than $193 billion...." One of the contributing factors is the high demand for drugs in the United States. This high demand finances the drug cartels, allowing them to spend more and expand their operations.   According to the 2011 Assessment, that demand is growing. The document reports that "The abuse of several major illicit drugs, including heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine, appears to be increasing, especially among the young."  Elsewhere it says that "Overall drug availability is increasing."  One exception to this tendency is cocaine - its availability and use are down.   The document states that "The Southwest Border remains the primary gateway for moving illicit drugs into the United States.  Most illicit drugs available in the United States are smuggled overland across the Southwest Border...."  The Southwest Border is comprised of the southern borders of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas with Mexico. Then there is the tunneling: "Despite enhanced detection efforts and better countermeasures, Mexican drug traffickers will continue to build tunnels under the Southwest Border." In the U.S., Mexican cartels have cornered the market.  The 2011 Assessment states that "Mexican-based TCOs [transnational crime organizations] dominate the supply, trafficking, and wholesale distribution of most illicit drugs in the United States."  Elsewhere, it predicts that "Major Mexican-based TCOs and their associates are solidifying their dominance of the U.S. wholesale drug trade and will maintain their reign for the foreseeable future." The Mexican cartels are active in many urban areas.  The Assessment calculates that "Mexican-based TCOs were operating in more than a thousand U.S. cities during 2009 and 2010...." And, "Mexican-based trafficking organizations control access to the U.S.-Mexico border, the primary gateway for moving the bulk of illicit drugs into the United States.  The organizations control, simultaneously use, or are competing for control of various smuggling corridors that they use to regulate drug flow across the border. The value they attach to controlling border access is demonstrated by the ferocity with which several rival TCOs are fighting over control of key corridors, or ‘plazas.'" The document says that seven major Mexican drug cartels are supplying the United States, but that "... the Sinaloa Cartel is preeminent - its members traffic all major illicit drugs of abuse, and its extensive distribution network supplies drugs to all regions of the United States." U.S.-based gangs are involved in the distribution north of the border: "The threat posed by gang involvement in drug trafficking is increasing, particularly in the Southwest Region. With gangs already the dominant retail drug suppliers in major and midsized cities, some gang members are solidifying their ties to Mexican TCOs to bolster their involvement in wholesale smuggling, internal distribution, and control of the retail trade." The Assessment reports that "Criminal gangs - that is street, prison, and outlaw motorcycle gangs - remain in control of most of the retail distribution of drugs throughout much of the United States, particularly in major and midsize cities." The document predicts that "Collaboration between U.S. gangs and Mexican-based TCOs will continue to increase, facilitating wholesale drug trafficking into and within the United States.  Most collaboration occurs in cities along the U.S.-Mexico border, although some occurs in other regions of the country. Some U.S.-based gangs in the Southwest Border region also operate in Mexico, facilitating the smuggling of illicit drugs across the border." The 2011 Assessment paints a gloomy picture of the drug trafficking situation, drug cartels, and the safety and security of both the U.S. and Mexico.

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many teens were using the Internet as a tool for exploring questions of personal identity, successfully building their own future lives using what they discover on the Web

 

The risk of youth wasting huge amounts of time on social networks like Facebook and Twitter as well as the shared videos of YouTube is well known, but a Tel Aviv University researcher claims that these resources can actually promote psychological development. Prof. Moshe Israelashvili of TAU’s Jaime and Joan Constantiner School of Education, with his master’s degree student Taejin Kim and colleague Dr. Gabriel Bukobza, studied 278 teenage girls and boys from schools throughout the country. They found that many teens were using the Internet as a tool for exploring questions of personal identity, successfully building their own future lives using what they discover on the Web. The study, published in the Journal of Adolescence, encourages parents and educators to look at engagement with the online world as beneficial for teens. Social networking, Israelashvili says, is a positive example of Internet use: “Facebook use is not in the same category as gambling or gaming,” he insists, and as a result researchers should redefine the characteristics of the disorder called “Internet addiction” in adolescents. The teens were asked to rate themselves in terms of Internet use, ego clarification and self-understanding and how well they related to their peer groups. The researchers discovered there was a negative correlation between Internet overuse and the teens' levels of ego development and clarity of self-perception. This, he said, is an indication that some Internet use is destructive and isolating while some is informative and serves a socializing function. These results show that the current understanding of adolescent Internet addiction demands redefinition. Psychiatrists now classify an “Internet addict” as a person who spends more than 38 hours on the Internet every week. But it’s the quality, not the quantity that matters, argues Israelashvili. The researchers determined that many teens who participated in the study met the psychiatric standard of “Internet addiction” but were actually using the Internet as a tool to aid in their journey of self-discovery. There are two different kinds of teenage Web addicts, he continued. The first group is composed of adolescents who really are addicted, misusing the Internet with things like online gaming and gambling or pornographic websites, isolating themselves from the world around them. The second can be defined as “self-clarification seekers” whose use of the Internet helps them comprehensively define their own identities and place in the world. They tend to use the Internet for social networking and information gathering, such as on news sites or Twitter. Parents and educators should change the conversations they have with teens about Internet use, the researchers urge. The Web is a big part of our modern lifestyle, and both adults and children are spending more time there. As a result, what is important is how that time is used. Students must learn to use the Internet in a healthy way – as a source of knowledge about themselves in relation to their peers around the world, recommends Israelashvili. If parents still don't like the amount of time their teens are spending in front of the computer, they should consider becoming an information resource for their adolescent children, encouraging a healthy flow of conversation in the household itself. “Too many parents are too preoccupied,” the researcher says. “They demand high academic achievements and place less importance on teaching their children how to face the world.” Teens won't give up the Internet, but they may spend less time online if family interactions meet some of the same needs. “By the time teens reach the age of 18 or 19 they enter a new phase of life called ‘emerging adulthood,’ in which they take the lessons of their adolescence and implement them to build a more independent life. If they have spent their teenage years worrying only about their academic performance or gaming, they won't be able to manage well during their emerging adulthood and might have difficulties in making personal decisions and relating well to the world around them,” he concludes.

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prescription painkiller addiction

 

 Painkillers in Maine: A cure that came with a curse Maine’s out-of-control pill habit is among the worst in the nation, and all of us bear the costs of its abuse. By John Richardson jrichardson@mainetoday.com Staff Writer First of six parts click image to enlarge A pharmacist counts out Vicodin pills at a pharmacy in Portland last week. Maine was one of the first states to see an explosion of painkiller addiction and it remains among the worst states in the nation for pill abuse. The human and societal costs associated with the epidemic – almost 1,400 Maine people have died from pharmaceutical drug overdoses in the past decade and thousands more need treatment for addiction – are staggering, experts say. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer click image to enlarge . Ten years ago, Maine’s former U.S. attorney called prescription pain-pill abuse “the greatest criminal problem and possibly the greatest social problem facing Maine.” The problem, as it turns out, was just getting started. Maine was one of the first states to witness the explosion of prescription painkiller addiction, and its pill habit, still out of control, is among the worst in the nation. The damage continues to pile up. Nearly 1,400 Mainers have died from pharmaceutical drug overdoses in the past decade. And all residents bear the costs of the abuse. They pay for the pills, police the crime and care for and treat the addicts. Substance abuse in Maine is now estimated to cost $1.18 billion a year, or $900 for every man, woman and child, and much of that comes from misuse of prescription drugs. “It’s extraordinary how deep this epidemic has gone,” said Dr. Mark Publicker, an addiction specialist in Westbrook. “It was eating its way through the culture, and it was diagnosed too late.” Now human and social costs are at historic highs, leading to a renewed urgency to fight back. • Overdose deaths from pharmaceuticals in Maine set a new record in 2009 – 165 – and for the first time exceeded the number of Mainers killed in motor vehicle accidents. One hundred and sixty-two Mainers died from the drugs in 2010, the second-highest year on record. • Pill abuse continues to rise among teens, according to experts. Nearly one in four high school seniors in 2009  – 23.6 percent – said they have used prescription drugs that were not prescribed to them. • A record number of Maine babies – 572 – were born last year to mothers who were known to have used painkillers or other drugs during pregnancy, more than triple the number in 2005. Most of the babies experienced painful opiate withdrawal and spent their first two weeks in the hospital. • Crimes driven by pill addiction – especially pharmacy robberies and home invasions – are becoming more common and more dangerous, according to police statewide. These crimes have turned county jails into busy detox centers. • Prescription pain pill addicts are seeking treatment in record numbers – nearly 4,000 last year. Maine has more people per capita in state-funded treatment than any other state, eight times the national average, according to federal and state data. After a decade of efforts to contain the abuse, Maine’s Legislature and the Attorney General’s Office are among those calling for a more aggressive, coordinated response. A seven-year-old effort to track opiate prescriptions statewide, for example, has never been put to full use because of limited resources and participation. “I think there’s enough fault to go around for everybody,” said Jay McCloskey, who sounded the alarm as Maine’s U.S. attorney a decade ago and is now in private practice. FERTILE GROUND The 10-year toll and Maine’s inability to contain the epidemic come as little surprise to those who have experienced addiction. “It just really quickly takes control. And then it takes and takes,” said Daryl Blums, a 27-year-old recovering addict from the Sanford area. Painkiller abuse is the side effect of powerful new pain relievers introduced more than a decade ago. Drug makers targeted Maine physicians with promises that the pills were safe and effective. And doctors who took an oath to relieve suffering felt they could no longer allow pain to go untreated, at least not without violating their oath and losing patients. Maine’s fishermen, loggers and other physical laborers provided plenty of demand for the new pain medications, and the prescriptions flowed. Maine has been a consistent leader in the prescribing of narcotic painkillers such as oxycodone. Teens and others quickly figured out how to crush the pills and snort the powder to get the full euphoric rush of the synthetic opiates, which are as powerful and addictive as heroin and morphine. As a rural state at the end of the distribution network, Maine didn’t have a lot of experience with hard drugs such as heroin and cocaine. But now, here was a drug delivered to every community in pure, pharmaceutical-grade, precisely measured doses. Experienced drug users loved the pills because they could trust them to work. The inexperienced considered them safer than street drugs. And there was a ready appetite for the pills, especially among teens and among adults wanting to wash away depression or escape the stress of unemployment and financial insecurity. Police, meanwhile, were all but powerless to keep the pills out of the wrong hands. “Drugs used to come from foreign countries and people would smuggle them in,” said Penobscot County Sheriff Glenn Ross. “Today, they are in the medicine cabinets of our homes.” HIGHLY ADDICTIVE At first, prescription opiates – also called opioids – give a warm, on-top-of-the-world feeling, users say. Pretty soon you need larger amounts to get high. Then one day you feel like you have a horrible flu – pain, vomiting, sweats and chills – and you realize it’s because you missed a dose. Opiate receptors in your brain, spine and intestines have gone into a kind of shock. Opiate withdrawal doesn’t kill you, but addicts say you wish it would. “You don’t have a care in the world when you’re on it. And when you can’t get it, it’s the worst experience in the world,” said Chuck Lawson, a recovering addict in Portland. Some addicts say it took them as little as two weeks of regular use to get hooked. The extreme highs and lows physically change an addict’s brain. Getting the next dose becomes the first thing – and sometimes the only thing – on an addict’s mind. Some addicts, chasing the high and trying to avoid withdrawal, mix painkillers with Xanax or other anti-anxiety pills or dissolve the pills and inject them directly into their veins. Both push addicts closer to a potentially fatal overdose. “Once you got past a certain point, there is no going back,” said 31-year-old Nicole Martin, a recovering addict who injected the drugs and used heroin when she couldn’t get pills. “Anything you say you haven’t done yet, you will do eventually.” WIDELY AVAILABLE Finding the drugs is rarely a problem, addicts say. Users share them, buy them, steal them, forge prescriptions for them and, if desperate enough, trade sex for them. Some go out of state to get the drugs, including to Florida’s so-called “pill mills” – clinics that offer painkiller prescriptions for cash. Many addicts get prescriptions from their local doctors – sometimes for real pain and often not. Some are even bold enough to file false police reports of pill theft so they can convince their doctors to give them more. Those with their own prescriptions get their pills on the cheap – MaineCare and private insurance cover most of the cost. And they quickly learn they can sell their pills for as much as $30 to $100 apiece depending on the type and strength. Addicts buying their pills on the street can spend $100 to $400 a day to feed their habits. That gets very expensive, said Blake Carver of Portland. Carver, now 24, was a teenager when he started breaking into houses looking for money to buy “Oxys,” he said. And he always cleaned out the medicine cabinets in the homes he robbed. “Even if there wasn’t something I wanted, I knew somebody who would,” he said. ‘NO FAMILY IS IMMUNE’ The epidemic has affected Mainers of all ages and backgrounds – middle schoolers and senior citizens, clam diggers and doctors. “No family is immune from this particular issue,” said Troy Morton, chief deputy of the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office.  “They are the youngest of kids, in their early teens, and people in their 70s. They are the poorest of the poor and the richest. There are no boundaries.” Abuse often starts among teens, who don’t understand the danger and are more vulnerable to addiction. Addiction, meanwhile, is most common among young adults who were in their teens when the pills first flooded into Maine communities. Thirteen percent of Mainers age 18 to 25 said they abused painkillers in the past year, according to the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the most recent available. The rate is 6 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds and 4.7 percent of all Mainers over 12 – a total of 52,000 people. The overall cost of painkiller abuse in Maine is not known. Through taxes, health insurance premiums and higher medical costs, Mainers are helping to supply the pills, pay for emergency room visits, investigate crimes, lock addicts in jails and provide the treatments to help them get sober. Opiate addiction treatment alone costs Maine taxpayers millions of dollars a year. The state spends about $12 million a year on substance abuse treatment programs, not including its share of MaineCare coverage for treatment services. Painkiller addiction accounts for about one-third of substance abuse treatment admissions. However, every dollar spent on treatment saves as much as $12 in medical care and crime-related costs, according to Maine’s Office of Substance Abuse. Opiate abuse – including both heroin and prescription painkillers – was responsible for 30,451 emergency and outpatient hospital visits in Maine in 2008, a 28 percent increase from the year before, according to a May report. Pharmacies have banklike security, with surveillance cameras and tracking devices, and still get robbed repeatedly in some cases. County jails and state prisons are straining financially to hold and care for all the addicts arrested for drug-related crimes. RENEWED URGENCY State government, the medical community, law enforcement, drug makers and others have all taken action to try to contain the problem. There are new prescribing guidelines, tamper-proof prescription sheets, overdose prevention campaigns and collection drives for unused drugs. Experts say many of the efforts have helped keep the abuse from doing even more damage. But frustration is clearly peaking after a decade of watching the problem steadily worsen. “It just seems that if we’re leading the way with this problem, we ought to show some leadership in dealing with it,” said Rep. Jon Hinck, D-Portland. Hinck proposed a bill in the Legislature earlier this year that would have established new rules for doctors, including a requirement that they check patients’ medication records before prescribing them painkillers. The proposal failed, but lawmakers instead created a study group that is due to propose policy changes by Dec. 1. McCloskey, the former U.S. attorney, said the state and federal governments have not devoted enough resources to educating kids about the dangers of abuse. “It hasn’t been a priority,” he said. McCloskey, meanwhile, took criticism himself after leaving the federal government in 2001 and working as a consultant for the maker of OxyContin. McCloskey still maintains the pharmaceutical industry is not to blame for the abuse. “If we don’t reduce the demand for drugs we’ll never be successful.” Most now agree that pill abuse is so entrenched in Maine’s culture it will take more than doctors or state agencies or police alone to control it. “People want to point a finger. Let’s blame the pharmaceutical companies. Let’s blame the physicians. Let’s blame the druggies. (Some) people still think it’s a problem of will power,” said Marcella Sorg, a forensic anthropologist at the University of Maine’s Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center. “The reason we haven’t been able to tackle it is because it’s so darn complicated.” Maine Attorney General William Schneider has invited leaders in government, law enforcement, medicine, education and addiction treatment to attend a one-day summit Oct. 25 and come up with a coordinated action plan. “It’s staggering,” Schneider said. “I don’t think it’s going to be solved by any one particular tactic, but I think if we choose several different tactics we can make a difference.” Those who have experienced addiction first-hand have no easy answers, either. The pills are too easy to get and too powerful, said James Cox, a 31-year-old recovering addict in Jonesboro. “I don’t think they’ll ever get rid of it,” he said.

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Justin Townes Earle looks back at year of recovery

 

In the days following Justin Townes Earle's arrest last September in Indianapolis, he slipped so deeply into a cocaine psychosis it began to change his personality. Gone was the brash, cocksure young singer-songwriter who against the steep odds of addiction and a tough upbringing had transformed himself into a true artist with the critical acclaim to prove it. In its place was a 150-pound wraith haunting the East Village in New York City with an overriding paranoia brought on by an eight-ball of cocaine and a half-gallon of vodka every day. The continuous binges were destroying his talent and making his intense live shows occasionally forgettable. They were destroying his friendships one by one. Nearly six years of sobriety, all gone during an increasingly tight downward spiral over a year's time. Earle fixated on an erroneous news report that said he hit a woman while destroying his dressing room in an Indianapolis club. For a man raised by a single mother, the idea he would hit a woman was devastating. It prompted a five-day bender. "I'd just be walking down the streets in Manhattan thinking everybody was looking at me," Earle said. "I thought everybody knew about what happened and it absolutely was just crushing me. I remember vaguely calling my publicist at the time — I fired my manager not long before that had happened, and my publicist and my booking agent were the only people still working for me — and just hysterically crying and saying I just didn't want to do this anymore. I didn't want to tour any more. I didn't want to make records." Not long after, Earle entered formal treatment for the 13th time. In the 10 months since he completed rehab, the 29-year-old son of country rebel Steve Earle has experienced a series of highs and lows he shared in several interviews. He's slipped back into heroin use and rallied, turning to a new treatment that seems to have helped him settle into a healthier routine. He's been hailed as a new voice for his generation and targeted by cruel attempts at gallows humor. He split with his old girlfriend and started a new relationship that's brought him back to his hometown. Today he's on the "marijuana maintenance plan" and enjoying the benefits of anti-addiction drug Soboxone. He's exercising and feels as fit as he ever has. He's touring much of the fall and is preparing to record his fifth record, a significant step that has Earle pointed directly into the future. "And I'm as content as I've ever been," Earle said. "Which doesn't mean I'm content, but I'm as content as I've ever been. I'm still always going to be a little bit discontent because I'm a little bit crazy and I'll always want more than I have. That's what keeps me going. That's what keeps me driven to keep on doing what I'm doing." Perhaps it's that drive that's kept him alive so long. ___ Sometimes, Justin Townes Earle is amazed he's still above ground. Images flashed through his head as he sat backstage at The Mercy Lounge last November, staring out a window at bejeweled luxury high rises. The Nashville he's looking at doesn't much resemble the lazy town with the seedy side he grew up in during a nearly feral, often lonely and always confusing childhood. At the same time, some things look very much the same. "I remember when you'd look out this window and there wasn't (expletive) anything there," he said. "It was a rail yard. Well, hell you can still buy crack on 8th Avenue." A few weeks out of rehab, Earle admits his mind is often on drugs. He catches himself falling prey to the classic addict behavior of daydreaming about scoring. "I feel good now, but at least once a day I come up with some kind of hare-brained scheme to get high and get away with it," he said with a laugh.

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Food addiction, although controversial, has recently gained attention in scientific literature and comes under the realm of atypical eating disorders.

Are you addicted to food? (Thinkstock photos/Getty Images)

We all over-eat occasionally. However, a food addict eats too much food and wrong kinds of food all the time. It may be associated with an obsessive/compulsive relationship to food - where an individual indulges in frequent episodes of uncontrolled eating, else experiences anxiety if he is unable to do so. However, this may have serious health implications in due course. 
Nutritionist and obesity consultant Naini Setalvad says, "Food addiction basically means a person eats uncontrollably, for reasons besideshunger. One reason for this is the neurobiological imbalances in the levels of the chemical, serotonin. Once its levels drop in the body, a person feels low and needs to eat again. This leads to overeating, which in turn leads to feelings of guilt, depression, mood swings, weight gain and a reinforcement of low self-esteem. Because of this, a person looks to food for comfort and the vicious cycle continues." 
How can one overcome it? "One way is by breaking the cycle. If it is a severe case, then psychological treatment must be accompanied with a healthy food plan. Replace addictive foods with healthy ones, which also boost the mood and serotonin levels. Stick to whole grains, fresh fruits, nuts, seeds and make vegetables a habit. Also, drink lots of water. These foods not only comfort a person, but also take away the 'guilt' factor. You can eat three mangoes and not worry about the amount of fat you have eaten, since there is none. 

However, the natural sugar in mangoes perks a person and makes him feel better," says Setalvad. If you are addicted to food, it's time to take an honest look at your life and make a commitment to loving yourself. 

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MARBELLA Urban Planning Department is currently working on the legalization of more than 500 houses.

 

 The new General Plan for Urban Development in the town gave promoters who had built illegally the opportunity to pay compensation in order to make some complexes legal so that the homeowners would not be affected by demolitions as they had bought the properties in good faith. This had to be done within a year, although the period could be extended to two years. However, in cases which were classified as minor, where too many houses were built on a plot, no period for them to be legalized was given, and promoters have not come forward voluntarily to do so. Therefore, the town hall has now given them two months to legalise the buildings by giving the town hall 10 per cent of the benefits they have obtained from the projects. Once the two months is up, the town hall will chase the promoters who have not come forward to demand the compensation.

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BODY discovered on a property in Mijas is that of missing Finnish teenager, Jenna Lepomaki

 

BODY discovered on a property in Mijas is that of missing Finnish teenager, Jenna Lepomaki, Malaga National Police have confirmed. Nevertheless, an autopsy and DNA tests are being carried out on the body, which police are 99 per cent certain belongs to Jenna. Four people have been arrested, three of them in Finland, thanks to a joint operation between Finnish and Spanish police. The 19-year-old came to the Costa del Sol on holiday invited by two Finnish men, aged 18 and 20, who she had met online, as the mother of one of them lived in Mijas. Her family attempted to dissuade her from coming, but the men paid for her trip and she arrived on June 20. She spent the first few days in a hostel in Fuengirola, but when the young man’s mother, 37, and her partner, 47 and also Finnish, went away, Jenna moved into the house. In July, her family reported her missing in Finland, and this was communicated to the Spanish police. They discovered that the teenager had reported them to the Guardia Civil in Mijas because they had allegedly attacked and threatened her when she refused to transport cocaine from Spain to Finland. She also reported that they had taken away her passport. From June 29, her mobile phone was turned off. Spanish police discovered that the two men had left Spain, travelled to Ireland and then back to Finland, where they have now been arrested, and focused their investigation on them both for their involvement in Jenna’s disappearance and their possible links to cocaine trafficking. Last Thursday, the Spanish police searched the house in Los Espartales area of Mijas, where the girl had been staying which was hired by the mother’s partner. He was arrested, and the two young children living with him were taken into the care of the Junta de Andalucia. She was also arrested in Finland. The search later continued in the area surrounding the house, where an almost mummified body was found wrapped in a sleeping bag hidden amongst some bushes and leaves. The body was missing both legs and one arm. Part of the arm was found in a barrel located on a construction site nearby. They report that it appears she was killed inside the house and the killers attempted to cut her body into pieces and then burn her remains, but having failed to do so, they hid it.

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Spewing volcano forces Spain to close island port

 

Spanish authorities say activity by an underwater volcano has led them to close access to a port on El Hierro island. Ships have been ordered away from waters around La Restinga and aircraft have been banned from flying over the island's southern tip. The port's 600 residents were evacuated Tuesday after volcanic activity began. The regional government of the Canary Islands says scientists have detected airborne volcanic fragments called pyroclasts rising from the sea off La Restinga. The government said it awaited scientific reports on the danger posed by pyroclasts, but a research vessel that was collecting samples there has been ordered to desist. TV channel La Sexta reported Saturday that journalists also have been told to clear the area.

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SPANISH AUTHORITIES are seeking to extradite a Dublin man, Freddy Thompson

 Freddy Thompson, of Loreto Road, Maryland, Dublin 8, leaves his extradition hearing at the High Court yesterday. He was remanded in custody by Mr Justice Michael Peart to next Wednesday's sitting of the court.Photograph: Collins Courts

SPANISH AUTHORITIES are seeking to extradite a Dublin man, Freddy Thompson, who they allege is a member of a international criminal gang involved in trafficking drugs and weapons.

Mr Thompson (30), with an address at Loreto Road, Maryland, Dublin 8, was arrested by gardaí at that address yesterday afternoon on foot of a European extradition warrant issued by the authorities in Malaga, Spain in September 2010 and then brought before the High Court.

The court heard the Spanish authorities are seeking his extradition on grounds alleging Mr Thompson is a member of a criminal organisation whose members include Irish, British and Spanish nationals.

The warrant further claims Frederick James Thompson, said to have moved to Spain in 2008, is a member of an organisation alleged to have laundered the proceeds of illegal drugs and weapons trafficking through a complex network of companies.

It is claimed Mr Thompson’s role was to secure weapons for the organisation and that he acted as a bodyguard and a chauffeur for the gang, based on Spain’s Costa Del Sol.

The Spanish authorities also allege Mr Thompson is an associate of and has worked for other known criminals, some of whom were described as good friends of his.

It is also claimed in the warrant that ongoing surveillance of Mr Thompson conducted by police in a number of countries revealed that on dates between 2008 and 2010 he travelled to locations including Morocco and Amsterdam.

It is claimed he travelled either in the company of or to meet gang members or other criminals, and the trips were to organise criminal activity including the shipment of drugs.

It is further claimed Mr Thompson has no movable or immovable assets, such as property, in Spain, and no legitimate means to support his lifestyle.

Yesterday, Sgt Sean Fallon of the Garda extradition unit told the court Mr Thompson was arrested shortly before 3pm at Loreto Road. Sgt Fallon said when the charges contained in the warrant were read and a copy of the warrant was handed to Mr Thompson, he replied: “I can’t read, I am not taking that.”

Mr Thompson was then taken to Kevin Street Garda station.

Mr Justice Michael Peart said he was satisfied the individual before the court was the person sought in the warrant. He told Mr Thompson he had a right to professional legal advice as well as the right to consent to surrender at any time during the extradition process to the Spanish authorities.

While no application for bail was made yesterday, Mr Thompson’s lawyers indicated one would be made in the future. The State indicated it would object to any such application.

Mr Thompson’s lawyers told the court they would be applying for legal aid under the Attorney General’s scheme.

Mr Thompson was remanded in custody by Mr Justice Peart to next Wednesday’s sitting of the High Court.

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British man arrested with contraband tobacco in Cádiz

 

Guardia Civil has arrested a British man on the quay at Cádiz port after 5,800 cartons of contraband tobacco from the canaries were found in a false bottom of the van he was driving. A statement was released from the Guardia Civil saying the arrest took place last Monday when searches were carried out on vehicles which had arrived from the Canaries. The unit from the UAR, the Risks Analysis Unit, which is made up jointly by the Guardia Civil and the Agencia Tributaria, earmarked the van for an exhaustive inspection. They found the cigarettes behind wooden panels in the van which had been placed on the floor walls and even the ceiling of the vehicle. The arrested man has been named as 39 year old G.M.H. from Liverpool. He will appear before the Instruction Court Four in Cádiz.

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search is underway for several people in the Almería town of Cuevas de Almanzora, after a landslide affected a number of caves being used as homes.

Photo - EFE

A search is underway for several people in the Almería town of Cuevas de Almanzora, after a landslide affected a number of caves being used as homes.

Three people have been rescued from the site, one is unhurt and two have been taken to the Inmaculada Hospital in Huércal-Overa with several broken bones. They are a 25 year old man and 48 year old woman according to EFE news agency.

The emergency services continue to search for another two or three people who it is believed are still trapped in one of the homes. They have located one woman and are in contact with her. Rocks which have fallen have complicated the rescue process.

The landslide, which saw earth move some 15 or 20m, happened at 0530 on Friday morning in the Realengo district of Cuevas de Almanzora, and several other cave homes have been evacuated.

Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_32320.shtml#ixzz1ald0Z4E5

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Estepona cracks down on street prostitution

 

Estepona Town Hall has drawn up a new by-law which includes measures against street prostitution with a ban on offering, requesting, negotiating for or accepting paid sexual services in public spaces, particularly within 200 metres of residential or commercial centres and schools. Fines are envisaged for those who fail to comply with the regulations. Councillor Ana Velasco told Europa Press that the by-law is expected to be approved at the next council meeting. Assistance and advice will also be available from social services for prostitutes who work locally, especially for those who want up to give up the profession. The by-law also covers other matters such as the practice of youngsters drinking in the street, graffiti, unauthorised street peddling and the responsibility of dog owners to clear up after their pets.

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British fraudster arrested in Torrevieja

 

The Spanish National Police has arrested a British man who is wanted by the authorities in the United States for a fraud. Named as 61 year old R.B.A. he was arrested in Torrevieja, Alicante, when he was carrying out some transactions in a real estate company. The US fraud dates from March 1999 when the Briton was the main owner of a company which mis-invested the firm’s retirement funds. He and others in the company invested part of the fund in treasury bonds, but the rest was transferred to personal accounts. The arrest was carried out by agents of the UDEV from the Alicante Police Station, coordinated by the fugitive location group of the Judicial Police.

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Moroccan teenager found dead on Marbella roadside was shot for trying to steal marijuana plants

 

The wife of the man who shot him has been arrested for covering up the crime and another youngster is in custody for attempted robberyThere have been two more arrests in the case of the 15 year old Moroccan boy whose body was found on the roadside between Marbella and Ronda on morning. The owner of a nearby finca was initially arrested, and it has now emerged that he shot the teenager dead after catching him breaking in to try and steal his marijuana plants. The owner, 58 year old P.N.G., moved the body off his property to the roadside and now faces charges of a public health crime in addition to the murder charge. His wife has also been arrested for allegedly covering up the crime. The third person taken into custody is a friend who was with the deceased on the night it happened, who is charged with attempted robbery. The deceased lived in San Pedro de Alcántara and is reported to have been involved in previous attempted break-ins at the property with a group of friends from the area. They had been shot at before, and on one occasion one of the group suffered minor injuries but did not report the incident to the police. The murder weapon was a hunting shotgun which was found in a police search of the suspect’s house. Another 10 firearms have also been confiscated.

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HUGE volcano in Iceland could be about to blow which would turn day into night and cause chaos across Europe.

Iceland's desolate landscape stretches beyond Vik (Pic: AP)

A HUGE volcano in Iceland could be about to blow which would turn day into night and cause chaos across Europe.

Scientists have warned that Katla – one of the most feared volcanoes in the world – is on the brink of a major explosion which would dwarf the Eyjafjallajokull eruption last year.

Katla’s magma chamber is 10 times the size of the one at nearby Eyjafjallajokull, which grounded planes because of its ash cloud and cost the European economy £1billion.

The blast caused problems for several weeks even though it was only classed as a minor eruption.

Scientists detected a series of small tremors at Katla in July but have recorded more worrying signs in the past few days that pressure is building. There has been a swarm of minor earthquakes that have now reached a magnitude of four.

Professor Pall Einarsson, of the University of Iceland, said: “It is definitely showing signs of restlessness. Volcanoes can be quite beautiful but they can also be quite destructive.”

An evacuation plan is in place for communities near Katla such as Vik, a small town of 300 people, but many fear they may have less than an hour to escape once the volcano goes up.

Katla – named after an evil troll – usually explodes twice a century. It last erupted in 1918 when the ash starved crops of sunlight and killed livestock.

Ice covering the volcano melted and flooded farms with a torrent of water said to be as wide as the Amazon.

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Holidaymakers warned on fake goods

 

Holidaymakers have been urged to avoid buying counterfeit goods abroad in a bid to crack down on serious organised crime. Gangs use the trade in fake goods to fund areas such as human trafficking, firearms and illegal drugs. Officers from the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA) are at Glasgow Airport to drive home the message and show people examples of fake goods. Detective Chief Inspector Ronnie Megaughin, from the SCDEA, said: "The trade in fake goods is not a victimless crime; there is no such thing. It is linked to a bigger and more serious picture. Those who are involved in this illegal activity are very often also responsible for peddling drugs in our communities, forcing people into the sex trade and trading in firearms. "We are all tempted by a bargain, but the fake goods that you see at markets at home and abroad - such as football shirts, handbags, watches and sunglasses - are being sold to raise funds for organised crime groups. We live in a global marketplace and criminals have no regard for international boundaries, so it could mean that the cash you spend at markets on holiday is being used to fund drug dealing in your local area. "In addition, many of these products are dangerous because they are produced with no regard for health and safety regulations, so you could be putting your safety at risk by using items such as fake electrical goods, cigarettes and alcohol." The UK Border Agency works to uncover fake goods coming into the UK. Murdo MacMillan, assistant director for the agency in Scotland, said: "UK Border Agency officers operate 24 hours a day at ports, airports and mail sorting centres to prevent fake goods hitting the UK's streets, where they can be bought by unsuspecting members of the public. Many people enjoy finding a bargain but counterfeit goods are just the tip of the criminal iceberg." Mr Megaughin said: "There are some signs people can look for to help spot a fake. Price, place and packaging are all indicators of whether something is genuine or not. It is unlikely that genuine designer brands would be on sale at market stalls, and if the price seems too good to be true, it probably is. "We are urging people to think very carefully before buying these products. It is up to all of us to help tackle this problem and reduce the impact of serious organised crime. The public can help by deciding not to buy fake goods."

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FORMER policeman lived the high life in Marbella by running a £300million VAT fraud

 

 – the biggest ever uncovered in the UK. Nigel Cranswick, 47, tried to cheat the taxman by claiming back tax on £2billion worth of bogus sales made by his mobile phone firm I2G. The “phenomenal” turnover was generated in eight months, HMRC said. Advertisement >> Meanwhile Cranswick lived it up in his rented villa in Marbella. “Despite this phenomenal turnover... I2G operated from a small office in Sheffield,” HMRC said. The scam was smashed after a five-year police probe, Newcastle crown court was told. Cranswick, from Sheffield, admitted conspiracy to cheat HMRC, as did accomplices Brian Olive, 56, of Doncaster, and Darren Smyth, 42, from Rotherham. Claire Reid, 45, also from Rotherham, admitted false accounting. The four will be sentenced next month

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BRITS ABROAD

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Rich Brits plot escape to France

 

 wealthy Britons are planning to flee what they believe to be an over-taxed and crime-ridden UK, with France the most favoured destination, according to a survey published by British bank Lloyds TSB. The survey, published on Monday, found that 17 percent of those with more than £250,000 ($391,025) in savings and investments wanted to move abroad in the next two years, up from 14 percent six months earlier. The most popular destination for the rich exiles was France (21 percent), followed by Spain (15 percent) and the US (11 percent).  Three-quarters of those questioned (73 percent) thought that crime was a bigger problem in Britain than other developed countries. "Sadly, it seems August's riots, tax increases and a rising cost of living have cast a pall over life in the UK for some wealthy people," said Nicholas Boys-Smith, managing director of Lloyds TSB International Wealth in a statement. "It may reignite fears of a 'wealth drain' from our economy as rich people seek pastures new," he said. 42 percent of those questioned named tax as a reason for leaving, up from 35 percent six months ago. Cost of living was a factor for 52 percent, up from 31 percent. Research in January 2011 suggested that 4.6 percent of the UK population have over £250,000 in savings and investments, which equals around 2.8 million people.

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A poorly designed, over-extended and ill-disciplined monetary union is in danger of falling apart

Illustration by Matt Kenyon

What if it falls apart? For all my adult life, I have been what in England is called a pro-European or Europhile. For most of that time, European history has been going our way. Now it may be on the turn. Soon, it could be heading the Eurosceptics' way. What then?

Over the last half-century, the institutional organisation of Europe has progressed from a common market of six west European states to a broader and deeper union of 500 million individual Europeans and 27 countries, from Portugal to Estonia and Finland to Greece; 17 of them share a single currency, the euro. There are no border controls between 25 European countries in the Schengen area. Enveloping it all is the fragile skin of the European convention on human rights (now under facile attack from some British Conservatives) which allows any individual resident of no less than 47 countries, including Russia, to contest a violation of their inalienable human rights all the way to a European court of human rights in Strasbourg.

Never has Europe been so united as this. Never have more of its people been more free. Never before have most European countries been democracies, joined as equal members in the same economic, political and security community. Our continent still has a grotesque amount of poverty, injustice, intolerance and outright persecution. (Try living as a Roma or Sinti in eastern Europe for a taste of all that.) I prettify nothing. But – to adapt a famous remark about democracy by that great pro-European British conservative, Winston Churchill – I do say that this is the worst possible Europe, apart from all the other Europes that have been tried from time to time.

Now all this is under threat. A poorly designed, over-extended and ill-disciplined monetary union is in danger of falling apart, bringing bitter recriminations and lasting divisions. More fundamentally, the past emotional motivators and political engines of European unification are no longer there. The peoples of Germany, the Netherlands and other core countries of the European Union are loth to take steps of further integration which many of the creators of monetary union thought would be necessary to sustain it.

I blame politicians like Angela Merkel for not showing more leadership in this respect, but such leadership would involve a heroic, uphill struggle to persuade reluctant publics in what are still (contrary to what Eurosceptics claim) largely sovereign national democracies. If these were not sovereign national democracies, the whole financial world – from Washington to Beijing – would not this week have been waiting with bated breath on the vote of one small party in the parliament of Slovakia.

I note in passing that many of the current difficulties of the eurozone were predicted back in the 1990s, and I was a sceptic about monetary union at that time. This is what I wrote in 1998: "The rationalist, functionalist, perfectionist attempt to 'make Europe' or 'complete Europe' through a hard core built around a rapid monetary union could well end up achieving the opposite of the desired effect. One can all too plausibly argue that what we are likely to witness in the next five to 10 years is the writing of another entry for [Arnold] Toynbee's index [to his A Study of History], under 'Europe, unification of, failure of attempts at'." But I am not now going to hide behind that testament to my own earlier scepticism about one element of a larger project.

As a pro-European, I stand by the whole project, warts and all. I recently contributed to an appeal – which you too can sign – arguing that the eurozone can only be saved by further fiscal integration and a strategy for growth. Remarkably, even the Eurosceptic prime minister David Cameron recently told the Financial Times that Germany and France need to fire a "big bazooka" to convince financial markets and hence preserve the eurozone. That is a bit like the Duke of Wellington wishing Napoleon success in consolidating his continental empire – but extraordinary times do produce such delicious moments.

Beyond this, however, I'm not going to add a single word to the 537 newspaper columns you have already read explaining how the eurozone must and can, or must not and can not, be saved. You decide which economic commentator you believe.

Instead, I want to ask what happens if the eurozone does fail, one way or another – and that failure begins a much larger process of gradual disintegration. Suppose that the EU in 2030 has become something like the Holy Roman Empire in, say, 1730: still extant on paper, but more origami than political reality. What then?

For us pro-Europeans, what happens then will be, first of all, a paradoxical kind of liberation. Rather like the supporters of a long-term incumbent government, for decades now we have felt some obligation to defend the existing state of affairs, with all its obvious flaws. Eurosceptics, by contrast, have enjoyed the glorious irresponsibility of opposition – and, heaven knows, the Brussels institutions furnish endless easy targets for the sceptic and the satirist.

Now the boot will be on the other foot. For a few years, like an incoming government, Eurosceptics will be able to blame current problems on the preceding regime (overhasty monetary union led to German-Greek loathing, etc), but that only lasts so long. Sooner or later it will become clear that it is their kind of Europe we are living in, not mine.

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More German travelers have been using foreign airports since a flight tax was imposed early this year.

 

 

Consider two small airports in the middle or Europe. At Maastricht Aachen Airport, business is booming thanks to an influx of German passengers who are fleeing a national aviation tax introduced on January 1, 2011. Meanwhile, just 80 kilometers across the border, Germany's Weeze Airport has been steadily losing customers.

A few years ago, things were exactly the opposite. The Netherlands had its own, yearlong experiment with an aviation tax, but revoked it in July 2009 after it saw Dutch hubs like Maastricht Aachen Airport lose passengers to rivals in neighboring countries, including Germany.

The levy cost Dutch airports, airlines, and related businesses between 1.2 and 1.3 million euros in lost revenue, according to a study by Amsterdam Aviation Economics, a research institute affiliated with the University of Amsterdam.

Hans van Mierlo, a professor of public finance at the University of Maastricht, said the abundance of transportation options in Europe means travelers can and will seek out alternatives whenever one country unilaterally imposes an air passenger tax.

"The [Dutch] crowd went to Germany; now the German crowd comes to us," he told Deutsche Welle. "I am surprised that the German government didn't learn from the Dutch failure."

Maastricht-Aachen Airport may be small, but traffic is growing rapidlyHefty rates

The German aviation tax runs at a rate of eight euros per one-way flight within Europe, 25 euros for medium-haul services to the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa, and 45 euros for long-haul flights. The tariff only applies to flights originating in Germany. The German Finance Ministry reported the duty raised 434 million euros in revenues in the first half of 2011.

However, for travelers, the tax can double the total cost of a bargain ticket. That has driven Irish budget carrier Ryanair to cancel some of its services from Weeze Airport and add flights at Maastricht. Meanwhile, rival airline Germanwings has launched a service linking Maastricht to Berlin 12 times per week.

Those moves helped drive Maastricht Aachen Airport's whopping 70 percent increase in passengers so far this year. That is quite a comeback from the time of the Dutch aviation tax, when it lost 25 percent of its customers.

Maastricht's airport has new routes to Bucharest, Tenerife, and other spotsAmong the new clientele is Ne Pham from Jülich, Germany. She told Deutsche Welle that she used to fly out of Cologne or Dusseldorf to destinations like Italy, the United States and her native Vietnam.

"It's cheaper to fly from [Maastricht] than from Germany," she said. "It's easy to find, has lots of parking spaces, and a very fast check-in. It's small but nice."

Maastricht makeover

To accommodate new passengers, Maastricht Aachen Airport has renovated its main waiting area and sole restaurant. A new bus line runs from Cologne directly to the Dutch airport, where travelers are greeted by a row of flags from seven European countries. Airport staff members are required to speak German and English in addition to Dutch, and a number of them speak French as well.

Marion Schramm and her husband, from Geilenkirchen, Germany, echoed Pham's reasons for choosing Maastricht Aachen Airport. But they were not as impressed by the small airport's recent makeover.

"It's obviously dinky," Marion Schramm told Deutsche Welle, "You see everything right away. But it's a lot cheaper than Germany at the moment."

Customers have mixed reviews for the small Dutch airport's facilities

Weeze's woes

The German Airport Association, which represents German air hubs, has called for an immediate end to the national flight tax. It reported a tepid growth rate of 3.2 percent at airports throughout the country this July, compared with the same month last year.

Weeze Airport, near Dusseldorf, had 22.8 percent fewer customers in the same time period. Ludger van Bebber, the airport's managing director, said many of the hub's clients used to come from the Netherlands.

"The aviation tax destroys the level playing field for us," he told Deutsche Welle. "That is the main issue we have here at Weeze."

Meanwhile, Berlin's two hubs are seeing travelers hop across the border to nearby Polish airports. And people in Munich do not have to drive far to reach a number of alternative airports in Austria and the Czech Republic.

The chairman of the Maastricht airport's board is planning for growth to continueDutch chairman confident

While the German Finance Ministry has denied recent media reports that it might lower the aviation tax rates, the ministry is scheduled to evaluate the levy's effects on small and medium-sized airports in June 2012.

The chairman of Maastricht Aachen Airport, Jan Tindemans, said he is not worried about his business in the short term - even if Berlin ends up decreasing or revoking the tax.

He told Deutsche Welle that winning back market share in the wake of the Dutch tax experiment was very difficult. He does not expect things to be any easier for German hubs.

"No bakery wants its customers to go for one or two times to another bakery, because they always think [the customers] will stay there," he said. "There will be some people who will go back, but I don't think there will be much of an effect."

Tindemans said Maastricht Aachen Airport is seeking to add more airlines and destinations to its roster. He added that his airport could double annual traffic to almost one million passengers over the coming years if economic conditions remain stable.

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US to pressure Iran over 'plot to kill Saudi envoy'

 

US Attorney General Eric Holder says the alleged conspiracy was "conceived, sponsored and directed from Iran" Continue reading the main story Related Stories Clinton hails break-up of 'plot' Middle East rivalries play out in US The US secretary of state has called for a "very strong message" to be sent to Iran, after allegations of a plot to kill the Saudi ambassador to the US. Hillary Clinton said Washington was preparing new penalties against Iran, which is already subject to a variety of international sanctions. Two Iranians were charged over the plot which US officials said implicated Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps. Meanwhile the US issued a worldwide alert about possible anti-US actions. "The US government assesses that this Iranian-backed plan to assassinate the Saudi ambassador may indicate a more aggressive focus by the Iranian government on terrorist activity against diplomats from certain countries, to include possible attacks in the United States," the alert said. It urged Americans residing and travelling abroad to review the information available when making travel plans. Iran has dismissed the allegations as false and baseless. Continue reading the main story “ Start Quote The idea that they would attempt to go to a Mexican drug cartel to solicit murder-for-hire to kill the Saudi ambassador, nobody could make that up, right?” Hillary Clinton US secretary of state 'Well-grounded suspicions' Mrs Clinton praised those involved in the operation to uncover the plot. "It was a terrific achievement by our law enforcement and intelligence communities, and we will be consulting with our friends and partners around the world about how we can send a very strong message that this kind of action, which violates international norms, must be ended," she said at a news conference. "This case will, I think, reinforce the well-grounded suspicions of many countries about what they're up to." Mrs Clinton said the suspected plotters had been trying to involve hired killers from Mexican drug cartels. "The idea that they would attempt to go to a Mexican drug cartel to solicit murder-for-hire to kill the Saudi ambassador, nobody could make that up, right?" she said. US Attorney General Eric Holder said Iran's involvement in the plot was "a flagrant violation of US and international law". Continue reading the main story Analysis Mohammad Manzarpour BBC Persian There is a long history of animosity between Iran and Saudi Arabia which stretches back to before the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Religiously, the Wahhabi rulers of Saudi Arabia and the Shia clerics of Iran reject each other's interpretation of Islam. Geopolitically, the two are staunch rivals, engaged in a seemingly never-ending battle for greater regional influence. They have also been engaged in proxy wars for decades, taking different sides in the Iran-Iraq war, Afghanistan, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. But it is the Saudis' military intervention in Bahrain which may have prompted the alleged plot. It was little criticised in the West but was seen in Iran as a blatant assault on the Shia majority in Bahrain. In a statement, UK Prime Minister David Cameron's office said: "Indications that this plot was directed by elements of the Iranian regime are shocking... We will support measures to hold Iran accountable for its actions." US officials have said military action was not being considered. The US Treasury Department placed five Iranians, including the two men charged, under sanctions on Tuesday for their alleged involvement in the plot. The two accused were named as Manssor Arbabsiar, a 56-year-old naturalised US citizen with dual Iranian and US passports, and Gholam Shakuri, based in Iran and said to be a member of Iran's Quds Force, a unit of the Revolutionary Guard Corps. The other three were described as high-ranking members of the Quds force. Mr Arbabsiar, who was arrested at New York's John F Kennedy airport on 29 September, has confessed to his involvement in the alleged plot, Mr Holder said. A lawyer for Mr Arbabsiar said he would plead not guilty when he was officially indicted. 'Shocking' Mr Shakuri was said to be in Iran. US officials said that on 24 May 2011, Mr Arbabsiar made contact with an informant for the US Drug Enforcement Agency, who was posing as a Mexican drug cartel member. Manssor Arbabsiar appeared at a court in New York City on Tuesday Over a series of meetings, it is said that details emerged of a conspiracy involving members of the Iranian government paying $1.5m (£960,000) for the assassination of Saudi ambassador Adel al-Jubeir on US soil. Justice department officials said the initial envisaged target was the Saudi embassy. But in conversations secretly recorded for the US authorities, Mr Arbabsiar also allegedly considered having the ambassador killed at a purported favourite restaurant, despite the possibility of mass casualties. The plot would have been carried out with explosives, Mr Holder said. But he added that no explosives were ever put in place and the public was not in danger. Mr Holder said Mr Arbabsiar, with approval from Mr Shakuri, wired $100,000 to a US bank account for the informant as a downpayment. Mr Arbabsiar and Mr Shakuri have been charged with conspiracy to murder a foreign official, weapons conspiracy, and conspiracy to commit international terrorism charges. Continue reading the main story “ Start Quote The choice of ambassadorial target is a direct expression of the acerbic tensions in the Middle East between Saudi Arabia, a key US ally, and Iran” Kim Ghattas BBC News, Washington Alleged plot reflects Middle East rivalries Unnamed US officials also told journalists that the Israeli embassy in Washington was also to have been attacked. Iran's official Islamic Republic News Agency called the charges a "propaganda campaign" by the US government against Tehran. The allegations were "a comedy show fabricated by America", Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told the semi-official Iranian news agency, Fars. Mr Arbabsiar appeared briefly at a New York City court on Tuesday. He did not enter a plea and was held without bail. He could face a life prison sentence if convicted on all charges, the Department of Justice said.

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