L’arabe, langue d’orfèvre

La richesse du vocabulaire de la langue arabe et ces figures rhétoriques sont parmi ses plus beaux attraits. Ibn Khalawayh indique que les Arabes ont 500 noms pour le mot “lion” et 200 noms pour le serpent. Certains linguistes s’accordent à dire que ces noms sont absolument identiques, mais l’opinion la plus solide est celle qui soutient qu’il existe des nuances d’un mot à un autre et que deux termes ne désignent pas exactement la même chose.

 

Voici quelques exemples autour de la notion de vide et des différents termes utilisés en arabe pour l’exprimer :

- Une table sans repas est appelée “khiwaan خِوان”. Lorsqu’elle est servie, on utilise le terme “maa’idah مائدة”.

- Un verre vide est appelé “koob كوب ” ou “qadah قدح”. Lorsqu’il contient un liquide, il devient “ka’s كأس”.

- Pour désigner le fait de manger tout ce qui se trouve sur une table, lors du dîner, on utilise le verbe “iqtamma اِقتمّ”.

- Pour désigner le fait de boire tout ce que contient un récipient, on utilise le verbe “ishtaffa اشتفّ”.

- Pour décrire l’enfant qui boit tout le lait que sa mère, allaitante, lui fournit au point de l’épuiser, on utilise le verbe “imtakka امتكّ”.

- Le verbe qui indique le fait de vider les pis d’un chameau est “nahaka نهك”.

- Le verbe qui indique le fait de vider un puits est “nazafa نزف”.

Et sans aucun doute : ” كلام العرب لا يحيط به إلا نبيّ “, autrement dit : “Nul ne peut avoir une aussi grande connaissance de la langue qu’un prophète.”

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation displays 30 translated bestsellers at London Book Fair

The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation showcased translated versions of 30 bestsellers on topics ranging from literature to management and science at the London Book Fair, which concluded recently in the UK capital.

The books represent the Foundation’s initial contribution to the Arabic library as part of its ‘Tarjem’ project, achieved in collaboration with a number of leading translation agencies in the region. The translated works included ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ by former US Vice President Al Gore that has documented the reality of global warming; ‘The Google Story’ by Pulitzer Prize-winning David Vise and renowned researcher Mark Malseed; as well as ‘Memories of a Survivor’ by Nobel-Prize winner Doris Lessing. The Arabic versions of all the 30 books will be available to readers in the region by end May.

The Foundation’s delegation headed by Yasser Hareb, Vice President for Culture, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation, leveraged the platform of the London Book Fair to hold a series of talks with leading regional and international publishers, intellectuals and thought leaders. Jamal Al Shehi, Director of Culture, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation, said: “The international book fair was an excellent platform to highlight the Foundation’s objectives, key initiatives and programmes to Europe’s literary community. The fair also enabled us to explore new cooperation avenues with key players in the Arab and global publishing sector.”

On the sidelines of the book fair, the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation felicitated five Arab publishers shortlisted for the British Council International Young Publishing Entrepreneur of the Year (IYPE) award 2008, prior to the gala award ceremony. Among those honoured were Mansoor Abulhoul, Jerboa Books (UAE); Karim Elias, Elias Publishing House (Egypt); Nadine Touma, Dar Onboz (Lebanon); Thuraya Batterjee, Kadi & Ramadi Publishing House (Saudi Arabia), and Nashwan Al Maghafi, Yemen Bookshop (Yemen) who bagged the IYPE 2008 award.

During the ceremony, Cheri Blair, wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, hailed the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation’s role in promoting Arab intellectual output. Applauding the Foundation’s initiative to publish 10 titles for each Arab publishing house shortlisted for the awards, Cheri Blair also praised its commitment to buy 1,500 books of each of the published titles. Speaking on behalf of the five honoured publishers, Nashwan A. Al-Maghafi expressed profound appreciation of the Foundation’s gesture. He said: “We are highly impressed by the Foundation’s vision towards building the Arab world’s knowledge assets. We look forward to cooperating with the Foundation to help achieve its strategic objectives in enhancing the Arab intellectual output.”

The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation was launched in May 2007 with an endowment of US$10 billion to invest in a series of programmes that provide the necessary infrastructure and create an environment conducive for knowledge creation in the Arab world.

Notes and contacts

About the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation

The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation has been launched as a personal initiative of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Announced by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East 2007 in the Dead See, Jordan with an endowment of US $10 billion, the Foundation targets to develop the knowledge and human capabilities of the Arab world and introduce a future generation of thought leaders in the region.
It aims to achieve its strategic objectives through a wide array of pioneering projects and programmes in three main strategic areas: knowledge and education, culture, and entrepreneurship.

Contact Details

Name: Mohammed Abdelmonem

Company: A’Sidrah Public Affairs

Telephone: 971 4 3642196

Email: mohammed.abdelmonem@asidrah.ae

Source: http://www.arabianbusiness.com

UK: Prison inmates complain of lack of access to interpreters

Inmates win prison racism battle

Fifteen former inmates have won a legal battle over claims they were mistreated and discriminated against on racial and religious grounds at Leeds prison.

The claims against the Ministry of Justice included complaints by Muslim prisoners who said they had been given contaminated halal food. Some of the prisoners also claimed they had been assaulted by prison staff and other inmates.

A settlement was reached on Thursday in a trial at Leeds County Court. Thirteen of the prisoners claimed they had been discriminated against on the grounds of race and religion, with some claiming they had been racially harassed and victimised. Of the 13, seven claimed they had been assaulted by prison staff and two accused staff of negligently failing to protect them from alleged assaults by other prisoners.

The remaining two inmates brought claims for alleged assaults by prison officers. Leeds Prison holds more than 1,200 male prisoners, of which more than 200 are Muslim. A solicitor for the men said the claims, which referred to incidents between 2003 and 2005, were brought after a number of prisoners signed a petition to complain about discrimination and racism in the prison. Kate Maynard, a solicitor with Hickman and Rose Solicitors, said the racial discrimination claims involved complaints about halal food being contaminated and the lack of Muslim prisoners being involved in the food production process.

Complaints were also made about the lack of access to facilities on the grounds of race or religion and a lack of access to interpreters for non-English-speaking prisoners. Ms Maynard said the alleged assaults on prisoners by prison staff were “fairly minor assaults” but said the two prisoners who claimed they had been assaulted by other inmates were left with “lasting injuries” as a result. “The custodians have almost facilitated the assault if they have failed to protect them from someone they knew was dangerous.”

Terms confidential

She added that she could not disclose any of the terms or details of the settlement but said her clients were pleased with the outcome. “They hope that bringing their complaints to court has been a catalyst for change in the treatment of non-white prisoners at HMP Leeds, so that the experience of non-white prisoners in HMP Leeds is now better than theirs was three-to-five years ago.”

The prisoners involved are no longer in custody at HMP Leeds, having either been released or transferred to other prisons. A Ministry of Justice spokesman said the agreement to settle was reached by all parties involved in the case.

He said: “The Ministry of Justice has settled 15 claims brought by prisoners who alleged that they had been subjected to unfair racial treatment whilst in Leeds prison. The terms of that settlement are strictly confidential. “The Ministry of Justice did not take lightly the decision to settle these claims and did so only on strong legal advice.”

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk

LangCommLive Launches Telephone Interpreting Service in UK and Europe

angCommLive has launched a simple and professional Telephone Interpreting service in the UK and Europe. The solution helps to overcome language barriers, which can often prevent effective communication. Such a solution can promote effective business relations, as well as efficient public service.  A wholly owned subsidiary of Transatlantic Translations, LangCommLive operates in the U.S., UK and Europe, providing on-demand Telephone Interpreting to businesses in the private sector and across the whole of the Public Sector.

The company offers an interpreting service that extends to the primary 156 languages across the world, interpreting from and to the English language. LangCommLive is headed up by industry veterans, Chris Crothall, CEO, based in America and Peter Brabazon, International Sales Director for the UK and Europe. As international trade and migration levels continue to rise, the need for telephone interpreting continues to increase throughout the world. The reduction in trade barriers, positive governmental legislation, increased competition, innovative markets and more discerning customers have all contributed to further international trade. LangCommLive’s unique personal dial card system allows for cost-effective and flexible access to the service. This card, complete with contact telephony number, individual user access and language codes, enables the user to connect through a mobile, office telephony orVoIP to the relevant interpreter within seconds.

The company’s network of Telephony Interpreters across the world posses the linguistic skills required to support a high quality service. All have native-level mastery of English and their working language along with a minimum of three years interpreting experience. A non-disclosure agreement is also in place providing a secure and confidential service to LangCommLive’s clients. Peter Brabazon, International Sales Director, explained in a company statement: “LangCommLive’s pricing structure is flexible, making it extremely cost-effective for both the private and public sectors, particularly when compared to the cost of hiring an interpreter on a face to face basis.” “For regular users of the service LangCommLive offers a monthly contract option with reduced interpreting costs. For ad hoc and emergency users The Company provides a ‘pay-as-you-go’ service. Charges for Telephone Interpreting are “per minute” although part minutes are pro-rated accordingly,” Brabazon continued.

Such an interpreting service delivered in an on-demand platform provides significant service and cost benefits across the full range of public sector departments, as well as commercial industries. Companies throughout the world can benefit from an on-demand solution that enables individuals from all origins to communicate effectively to accomplish their goals.

Source: http://voipservices.tmcnet.com

Oxford India Anthology of Modern Urdu Literature

The best and the mediocre
Tejwant Singh Gill

The Oxford India Anthology of Modern Urdu Literature (Vols. I & II)
Ed. Mehr Afsan Farooqi. OUP. Pages 325 and 349. Rs 795 each.

THESE volumes comprise selections of modern Urdu literature in English translation, including 130 authors, covering a span of almost 150 years. Mehr Afshan Farooqi, Professor of South Asian Literature at the University of Virginia, USA, has edited both the volumes. The selection of writings is indeed judicious. Though translation is good, some poetic pieces need to be replenished. Each volume begins with detailed introduction. Crucial issues relating to tradition and individual talent relating to ghazal and nazam are raised and resolved. Farooqi shows quite convincingly that the literature of this language is alive and growing. Its paedari (the quality of standing the test of time) can’t be discounted. With the rise of modernism, abstraction, obscurity and allegory did come into vogue but they remained efficacious only so long as their veracity was there. What has replaced them, of that she is convinced but not convincing to that extent. To put it in clear-cut terms, it is the Anglo-American modernism, propounded by Pound and Eliot, which hold her attention. Its continental counterpart, articulated by Brecht and Benjamin as the proponents, does not charm her to that extent. Each contribution carries a headpiece containing essential information about the author and apt observation about the piece itself.

The first volume has devoted 105 pages to poets and their representative pieces. It begins with Akbar Ilahabadi and ends with Tanvir Anjum. In between figure 37 poets, of whom only two, Fahmida Riaz and Sara Shagufta, are women. In all they are represented by 84 pieces. In certain cases, poets, swayed by the Anglo-American version of modernism, get away with three or four pieces. So much so, Miraji’s The Clerk’s Love Song is included though it does not rise above imitating T. S. Eliot’s Love Song of Mr Prufrock. This is an asymmetry, which could have been avoided. There is another sort of asymmetry as well. Faiz Ahmad Faiz is represented by two pieces, so eloquent of his poetic sensibility. While composing ghazal, he attained great heights by entering into dialogic relationship with Ghalib: by positing the expectation of wasal against the certainty of maut, for example. Likewise, exclusion of Sahir Ludhianvi rankles, not only for his melodic expression but also for the articulation of youthful feeling of revolt as in Taj Mahal.

The rest of this volume comprises what is appropriately termed as ‘Prose Miscellany’. The first entry is Hali’s sketch penned by Abdul Haq. With enviable empathy, he draws attention to the catholicity of Hali’s vision, his belief in the Hindu-Muslim unity and his desire to see Urdu flourish as Hindustani. A counterpoint to it is Aga Hashr Kashmiri’s sketch written by Manto, in which “our credulity, hovering between the seen and the unseen, memory, reality and fiction” gets stretched. Sketches about efforts put in for holding the last mushaira held in Delhi, the discomfort to which even a well-meaning host is put by unwanted guests, are couched in humor marked by politeness and candour.

Ismat Chugtai’s sketch of her brother is incomparable. None from the autobiographical pieces compares with it, though they are written with lot of competence. A scene from the play Anarkali marks the presence of this genre. The second volume comprises fiction, represented by extracts from novels and short stories. The editor rightly believes that their composition compares favourably with poetry writing in Urdu. Thirty-four authors, beginning with Mirza Muhammad Hadi Rusva to Syed Muhammad Ashraf, figure with an extract from his/her novel or a short story. There are 28 short stories and six extracts. They are preceded by detailed introduction in which crucial issues relating to the rise and growth of these two genres in Urdu literature are raised and resolved.

The selection of authors is judicious, though difference of opinion can be there so far as their representative pieces are concerned. For example, the extracts from the novels of Rusva, Prem Chand, Quttatulain Hyder, Khadija Mastoor and Abdddullah Hussain are largely representative of their art and craft. So far as Rajinder Singh Bedi’s merit goes, the story included doesn’t do justice to it. As against it, inordinate space given to Shamsur Rahman Faruqi is unjust. Likewise, the absence of Mumtaj Mufti is irksome. However, reading Intizar Hussain’s A Chronicle of the Peacocks is an experience in itself.All these reservations, however, are provisional so far goes the overall excellence of these volumes. They provide the best direction for studying modern Urdu literature in its myriad forms and styles.

Source: http://www.tribuneindia.com

Multicultural Association of Medical Interpreters provides training for medical interpreters

Medical interpreter training availableA special training for medical interpreters will be conducted later this month at the Multicultural Association of Medical Interpreters, 309 Genesee St., fourth floor.

MAMI is looking for people who speak Burmese, Karen (from Burma), Vietnamese, Cambodian, Farsi, Arabic, Bosnian, Spanish, Russian, Hindi, Korean, Italian and French. People who speak other languages are welcome.

Once trained, one Burmese interpreter may become eligible for full-time employment.

Class size is limited. There is a tuition charge, but scholarships can be made available for some of the critical languages. Training involves interpreting skills, ethics and procedures, medical basic anatomy, common illnesses and treatments, culture-brokering, communication skills, role playing, benchmark oral evaluations, and written exam. Materials include a training manual and a bilingual medical glossary.

Upon passing the written exam, participants will be eligible to work as paid MAMI interpreter-interns. This on-the-job experience, combined with an oral e xam, leads to agency certification by MAMI.

Source: http://www.uticaod.com

The Translator from Darfur

Tribesman tells of risks he took as a translator in Darfur

When Daoud Hari, a Zaghawa tribesman from Darfur, saw the Eiffel Tower twinkling one night last week in Paris it reminded him of stars in the African desert. “Europe is very nice,” he said, “but I feel very sad to be away from my country.” For the time being, Hari, 35, has no option but exile. He has taken extraordinary risks, coming within seconds of death, to help to draw the world’s attention to the killings in Darfur, western Sudan, as an interpreter for the international press.

His harrowing memoir, The Translator, which is about to be published in Britain, is the first such witness account by a Sudanese of the killing. It is certain to enrage the Khartoum government, which has been accused of mass

The memoirs by Hari are the first such witness account by a Sudanese of the killing in Darfur

murder in Darfur. More than 300,000 people have been slaughtered by government-backed forces in what have come to be known as Africa’s killing fields. Despite losing everything dear to him, Hari, who has been granted political asylum in America, has kept his gentle manner and playful smile. It puts a human face on the suffering.

He bears small scars like quotation marks cut into his face by his grandmother when he was little. Another Zaghawa tradition is reverence of camels and Hari recalled racing across the desert on Kelgi, his favourite, when he was young. “He was my best friend,” he said in an interview at his French publisher’s office on his first visit to Europe last week.

While some took up arms to fight the Sudanese government, Hari has tried to use words “to make the world better”. Hari’s father had noticed his intelligence and sent him to school in the nearest big town while his elder brother, Ahmed, looked after the camels. He enjoyed books such as Jane Eyre, Treasure Island and Oliver Twist. His book was written with the help of  two Americans, one of them an aid worker he had met in Darfur. “I didn’t have any idea how to write a book,” said Hari, “but my friends said, ‘Don’t worry, Daoud, we’ll help you’.”

The book offers a poignant glimpse of Hari’s village before the killing began, when Arabs and nonArabs coexisted peacefully in a time of colourful weddings, camel races and children’s games in the moonlight. That world was obliterated by bullets and rocket fire when Arab nomad horsemen allied to the government – the so-called janjaweed militias – destroyed the village and scores like it, killing Ahmed and several other family members in 2003.

Hari roamed the desert with a group of friends, trying to help others escape to Chad. He saw places where the sands were littered with human bones, some “still wearing their clothes and leathery skin”. He found three small children dead under a tree. Their mother had hanged herself from a branch with her shawl. “We took her down, gently, and buried her alongside her children,” said Hari. “The moment has haunted my memory every day since then.”

He met a man deranged by grief. A soldier had bayoneted his four-year-old daughter for sport. The devastated father told Hari: “He [the soldier] was all red with the blood of my little girl and was dancing. What was he – a human being? A demon?” Hari began to work as a guide for journalists and his help in publicising the killing in newspapers made him one of the most wanted men in Sudan, whose leaders have largely kept the press out of Darfur.

His life was complicated considerably when rebel groups fighting the janjaweed became suspicious of him and he describes a darkly comic scene in which he carried on translating for Philip Cox, a British journalist, as a young rebel put a gun to his head, told him he was going to kill him and that Cox had better move to avoid getting splattered with blood. Cox called a rebel commander on his satellite telephone and won a reprieve. “Escaping death is a wonderful feeling,” said the translator. “It makes you smile, again and again, foolishly, helplessly for several hours.”

He escorted journalists to scenes where dozens of people had been shot or hacked to death with machetes and knives, trying to comfort the foreigners when they were overwhelmed by the horror. He described a French journalist’s breakdown at the sight of dead children: “She could not talk, eat or drink for a long time, she just cried for those little ones.” It was not long before he got into trouble again. Paul Salopek, an American journalist on assignment for National Geographic, insisted on taking him to a particularly dangerous area. Hari had a bad feeling but felt obliged to go. They were captured by rebels from Hari’s own tribe who accused them of being spies.

Together with their driver they were severely beaten. Hari and the driver were handed over to a “crazy commander” who hung them upside down from a tree for more beatings. They were taken for execution to a valley “strewn with human bones and clumps of hair and the horrible stench of death”. Hari says he tried not to step on the human remains, “but it was impossible. I shivered with each step. So this is the place where I am going to die, I said to myself”.

Hari told the Zaghawa youths in the firing squad that he knew their families and convinced them not to shoot. He and the others were handed over to the Sudanese army and were jailed in El Fasher, the town in which Hari had gone to school. He was convinced they were to be executed. But unknown to him a campaign had been launched and the Sudanese regime was being bombarded with messages on their behalf from politicians and celebrities including Jimmy Carter, the former US president, and Bono, the rock star. After 36 days in captivity the three were released.

On a book tour in Europe last week, Hari marvelled at the difference between Paris and Darfur, the land he loves best, calling it “another planet”. He said: “These houses are like a painting,” gesturing at a street outside his publisher’s window. He would like to resume life as a simple herdsman. “I would be too tired if I had a big house, cars, lots of money. I like to watch the stars at night,” he said.

It might be some time before his dream of a return to normality comes true: thousands more people have recently been uprooted from their homes to flee across the border to refugee camps in Chad. “Peace in Darfur seems further away today than ever,” said John Holmes, the United Nations under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs. Hari hopes that his book will spread awareness of the violence. “We should all feel concerned by it,” he said. “World leaders will do something if men and women mobilise in all corners of the world.”

Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk

Welsh authors translated into Turkish and Arabic to meet growing Asian interest

FICTION by Welsh authors is being translated into Turkish and Arabic to meet Asian bookworms’ growing interest in contemporary Wales. Publishers in the Middle East have chosen some of the grittiest portrayals of life in Wales for their readers – but that can cause a few difficulties.

Stories have to be chosen with care because ripe language and descriptions of sexual activity might not pass the censors or could offend readers in some countries.And one translator said it was impossible to translate into Arabic the vernacular used by author Niall Griffiths in his novel Runt, which revolves around a teenage savant on a Welsh hill farm.

“The translator found it hard to find the equivalent in written Arabic, which is different from spoken Arabic,” said Sioned Puw Rowlands of Welsh Literature Abroad, which promotes Welsh books for translation.

“They didn’t have any problem with the content of Runt.”

Another difficulty is that no Arabic translators can work directly from Welsh-language texts, so books or poetry in Welsh must be translated into English before the translator can start – and before the publisher can decide whether the material would suit their market. Welsh-language books have been translated into many other languages, including Italian and Japanese, by people proficient in Welsh and the local language.

Despite this difficulty, an Arabic translation is now under way of Manon Rhys’s Welsh-language novel Rara Avis. Turkish readers should soon be able to read, in their own language, The Long Dry by Cynan Jones and Overland by Richard Collins. One Turkish publisher is interested in Fresh Apples, a book of short stories by Rachel Tresize. An Egyptian publisher has also bought rights to The Long Dry.

Dr Rowlands said her organisation had been promoting Welsh writing at book fairs in the Middle East for the last two years. “That’s going to continue,” she said. “I think it will develop towards Asia, rather than in the African direction. “There’s a lot of potential in India. That’s one of our targets for this new financial year. Many new publishers are appearing at the moment in India and there’s great interest in publishing work from overseas. We’ve had inquiries from publishers in India.” The fast-growing Chinese economy was another target, she said. Poetry by RS Thomas had been published in Mandarin, and Welsh Literature Abroad had exhibited at the main book fair for the Far East in Taiwan.

Dr Rowlands said reading books by foreign authors improved international understanding.

Source: http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk

USA: More latitude on “State Secrets” for courts may help former FBI translator

NEW YORK, Apr 25 (IPS) – The U.S. Congress moved a step closer Thursday to reining in the legal practice that the government has used to block lawsuits by whistleblowers and victims of “extraordinary rendition”, as well as actions that would embarrass the George W. Bush administration.

By an 11-8 vote, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed the State Secrets Protection Act, a measure introduced by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, and Arlen Specter, a Republican from Pennsylvania. Specter, the committee’s most senior minority member, was alone among the panel’s nine Republicans to vote in favour of approving the bill. The measure would establish new rules that would allow judges to review government evidence supporting its claims that bringing a case to civil trial would involve disclosure of classified state secrets and thus compromise national security.

Steven Aftergood, head of the Government Secrecy Programme at the Federation of American Scientists, told IPS, “The state secrets privilege has been used to derail legal challenges to government policies on detention, rendition, and interrogation, among other outstanding issues. There has to be a better way. There is no incentive for the executive to regulate itself or to curtail its use of the privilege.” The bill now goes to the full Senate for a vote, though its timing and outcome remain unclear. A similar bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressmen Jerrold Nadler, Democrat from New York, and Tom Petri, a Wisconsin Republican.

The White House has signaled that President Bush will veto the legislation if it passes both houses of Congress.  The new bill would provide a mechanism for protecting legitimate secrets while also permitting civil litigation to proceed.

Under the proposed measure, when the government claims the state secrets privilege, it will be required to submit an affidavit explaining why the information sought should remain secret. If the court agrees that certain evidence is privileged, it must order the government to produce unclassified or blacked-out versions of the sensitive information if doing so would not harm national security. Judges would be authorised to rule against the government if it refuses to produce this documentation.

The attorney general would be required to report to the House and Senate Intelligence and Judiciary committees every time the government claimed the state secrets privilege. The state secrets privilege is a common law right that lets the government protect sensitive national security information from being disclosed as evidence in litigation. The courts have generally accepted such government assertions.

However, Gabor Rona, international legal director of the advocacy group Human Rights First, told IPS, “When courts dismiss cases alleging human rights violations on state secrets grounds, and leave no alternative for redress, the U.S. is in violation of its obligation under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to provide a remedy.” The privilege was first recognised by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1953, in a case later shown to have been bogus. It has been asserted since then by every U.S. administration, Republican and Democratic. But the Bush administration has increased its use dramatically. It has raised the privilege in over 25 percent more cases each year than previous administrations, and has sought dismissal in more than 90 percent of cases.

The privilege has been invoked to dismiss claims of unlawful domestic surveillance, detention, torture, and misconduct by government employees, on grounds that adjudicating them would cause unacceptable damage to national security. Legal scholars have long recognised the need for congressional guidance on this issue. A recent report by the American Bar Association urged Congress to “enact legislation governing federal civil cases implicating the state secrets privilege”.

The bipartisan Constitution Project found that “legislative action is essential to restore and strengthen the basic rights and liberties provided by our constitutional system of government.” And a group of leading constitutional scholars wrote to Congress emphasising that there “is a need for new rules designed to protect the system of checks and balances, individual rights, national security, fairness in the courtroom, and the adversary process.”  The absence of such rules has resulted in the dismissal of a number of high-profile lawsuits against the government. For example:

A German citizen, Khaled el-Masri, complained to the court that he was kidnapped, illegally detained and abused by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in a case of “extraordinary rendition.” His suit was dismissed because he would not be able to make his case except by using “privileged evidence” that exposed CIA practices — and the CIA could not defend itself against the allegations “without using privileged evidence.”

In another widely publicised case, the Justice Department asserted the state-secrets privilege in successfully seeking to dismiss a lawsuit by Maher Arar, a Syrian-born Canadian citizen who was detained in the U.S. in 2002 and sent against his will to Syria, where he says he was tortured until his release a year later. A Canadian government commission found after a two-year investigation that Arar had no connection with terrorists and awarded him compensation of 10 million dollars and an apology.  Another case involved Sibel Edmonds, a former translator at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), who was fired for reporting security breaches and possible espionage within the Bureau. Edmonds unsuccessfully appealed her case to the U.S. Supreme Court. At the time, the Inspector General of the Department of Justice found that Edmonds’ firing was an act of retaliation.

Legal scholars and civil rights advocates have been outspoken against the Bush administration’s use of the state secrets privilege as a shield behind which it can conceal virtually any activity. Prof. David Cole of the Georgetown University Law Centre, one of the nation’s preeminent constitutional lawyers, told IPS, “The administration has argued on the merits that the president has unilateral executive power in the ‘war on terror’ to violate even criminal laws, and when it has been challenged on that assertion, it has argued that the courts can’t even rule on that assertion of power because the alleged criminal violation is a ’state secret’.”

Cole’s view is echoed by Prof. Peter Shane of the Ohio University law school. He told IPS that the Bush administration “has been conspicuous in its defence of the executive’s secret-keeping authorities, even where disclosure of the information sought would not seem to undermine any public interest.” He added, “The current Supreme Court is so solicitous of presidential power that there is absolutely no prospect of real reform initiated by the current judiciary. If there is to be change, it will have to be at the initiative of Congress.”

But Attorney General Michael Mukasey said he believes Congress probably lacks the authority to alter the state secrets privilege because it is rooted in the Constitution “and is not merely a common law privilege.” He said the bill would transfer responsibility for making national security judgments from the executive branch to the courts. He contends that federal judges do not have “the constitutional authority nor the institutional expertise to assume such functions”.

Source: http://www.ipsnews.net

UK: Interpreter to face trial for espionage

Three people were being treated for exposure to rabies last night after being bitten by an infected puppy quarantined since being brought into Britain from Sri Lanka. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said that other animals that may have come into contact with the puppy were being checked for the disease, but emphasised that the likelihood of further infection was low. The individuals bitten were at the quarantine centre, understood to be in Essex, where the dog had been kept since April 18.

Dilys Morgan, a rabies expert from the Health Protection Agency, said: “This animal died whilst in quarantine, which has effectively contained any public health risk.”

Convoy protest over fuel costs next week

Hauliers and farmers are to stage a protest in Central London on Tuesday about the high costs of diesel and petrol. The action is supported by Unite, the union supporting the strike at the Ineos refinery at Grangemouth. Lorries are to travel in convoys with police escorts along motorways into the capital and a rally is to take place at Marble Arch. One vehicle will contain a coffin intended to represent the demise of the UK road haulage industry. Vehicles are to be parked in two lanes north and south of Park Lane and the protesters will congregate outside the Houses of Parliament.

Diesel prices have risen by 16.2p a litre since the start of the year, with the average now a record £1.19 a litre.

Stepfather freed in disabled man case

The father of a murdered disabled man spoke of his devastation at the death of his son, whom he described as “the most beautiful of Mother Earth’s creations”. Paul Hughes, 42, said that the loss of James had left a massive hole in his life. His tribute came as two people arrested on suspicion of the murder were released without charge. Mr Hughes’s stepfather, Brian Kirby, and a youth were detained on Wednesday. Earlier this week Mr Hughes’s mother, Heather Wardle, 39, was found dead in woodland. Mr Hughes and his mother were reported missing a week ago.

Rhys suspect in court

A 17-year-old boy accused of murdering Rhys Jones, 11, was remanded in custody by Liverpool Youth Court yesterday. Rhys was shot through the neck as he crossed a car park outside the Fir Tree pub in Croxteth, Liverpool, after football practice last August. His parents, Stephen, 45, and Melanie, 42, attended the proceedings.

Interpreter’s spy trial

An Iranian-born interpreter in the Territorial Army is to be tried for spying. Daniel James, 45, from Brighton, is alleged to have divulged secrets to Iran while working as a translator for General David Richards, the British commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan. He will be held in custody until his trial at the Old Bailey on October 2.

Killer wearing tag

A man who murdered a teenager was wearing an electronic tag and being monitored by the Probation Service. Rikki Johnson was also in breach of a curfew when he stabbed Lewis Singleton, 18, in March last year. Johnson, 19, from Southampton, was jailed for life at Winchester Crown Court and told that he must serve a minimum of 15 years.

Refuge in a caravan

Travellers who have suffered domestic violence are being asked if they would prefer a women’s refuge in a caravan rather than a building. The online survey, set up with funding from the Government, was set up by a branch of Women’s Aid, the domestic violence charity. The plan was reported in Travellers’ Times.

Self-harm study

More than one in five young people aged 11 to 19 say they have engaged in self-harm, according to research. Teenagers reported having harmed themselves deliberately by methods including cutting, burning, punching and even poisoning, according to the study by Affinity, a healthcare group that provides mental health services to the NHS.

Former PC is jailed

A former police constable has been jailed by Lincoln Crown Court for two years after a two-year campaign of abuse against his partner. Andrew Shovelar, 40, who once received an award for saving a boy aged 11, had kicked Tracey Evett, 37, spat at her and head-butted her. Shovelar, of Thetford, Norfolk, had denied unlawful wounding and assault.

Doctor struck off

A hospital registrar who remains at large on a manslaughter charge had been struck off. The General Medical Council decided that Vladan Visnjevac used excessive force in delivering a baby. Hollie Dinning suffered severe cranial trauma and died after Visnjevac tried four times to deliver her using forceps. He failed to answer bail and is now believed to be in Bosnia.

Bond driver ‘stable’

A stunt driver injured in a crash during filming for the new Bond film is still in hospital in a stable condition and “doing as well as can be expected”, a production spokesman said. Aris Comninos, 40, who is Greek, suffered head injuries when an Alfa Romeo crashed into a wall during a chase sequence on the Gardesana, a twisty road by Lake Garda in northern Italy.

Gay abuse pair get village ban

A mother and daughter have been banned from entering a Kent village for five years after persecuting a gay couple. Canterbury magistrates were told that Karen Reeves, 44, and her daughter, Christie Myles, 22, screamed abuse at and sent threatening letters to Michael Harris and Shires Chrichton, of Kingston, near Canterbury, Kent, and tried to run Mr Chrichton over in a car. Reeves was jailed for five months.

Valet driver writes off car

A luxury Jaguar car was written off when an employee at a car valet service in Thornton Heath, South London, got his boot caught in the accelerator and drove it through a metal fence and into three garages.

eBay camera thief is jailed

A thief who put his stolen goods for sale on eBay was jailed for 15 months at the Old Bailey. Daniel Toffoletti, 35, a van driver from New Southgate, North London, stole cameras and sat-navs worth £25,000 from his employer.

Bowls tribute to Charlie the dog

A dog has been made an honorary member of Ash Bowling Club, near Canterbury, after fetching stray bowls there for ten years. Charlie, a retriever, lives at a sanctuary next door. A spokesman said the club wanted to show its “love and respect”.

Killed in self-defence

A man who stabbed a drunken neighbour to death after he turned up at the wrong house and tried to force his way in will not face charges. Edwin Pitkin, 58, stabbed Mark Woods, 38, in the chest during a struggle at the door of his home in Enfield, North London, in February. The Crown Prosecution Service said that there was no evidence to prove that Mr Pitkin had been acting other than in self-defence.

Child wins damages

An eight-year-old meningitis victim has won her High Court damages action against a GP who failed to refer her to hospital straight away. Chloe Langdon, of Exeter, was ten months old when she contracted meningococcal septicaemia and was left with bad scarring and bone, joint and mobility problems. Damages against the insurers of the GP, David Williams, who denied liability, will be assessed later.

Terrorism charges

A 35-year-old man accused of possessing far-right propaganda, manuals for making explosives and poisons, and materials for terrorism appeared at the Old Bailey on terrorism charges. Nathan Worrell, of Grimsby, who appeared via video link, is also accused of collecting records “likely to be useful” in terrorism. He was remanded in custody for a hearing at the Central London court next month.

Pupils to build home

A house is to be built as an educational project in the grounds of Peebles High School in the Scottish Borders. The Fife-based Muir Homes is providing the timber shell, designed to teach pupils skills such as joinery, plastering and plumbing. Gordon Urquhart, its managing director, said: “We are committed to supporting young people learn trades. I am sure it will stand them in good stead.”

Stripper cleared

A stripper who dresses as a policeman was cleared for the second time at the Scottish High Court of Justiciary of carrying an offensive weapon. Stuart Kennedy, 24, from Aberdeen, was first cleared after a sheriff said he had a reasonable excuse for carrying a police truncheon because it was used for his act. The Crown Office appealed, saying the student had no right to carry the truncheon.

Boy died before fire

A boy aged six found dead in his burnt-out home had perished before the blaze, a post-mortem examination found. Charlie-Bob Townsend was thought to have died in the house blaze in Long Ashton, North Somerset. His father, Christopher, 51, a TV set designer, was found hanged in the garage. The cause of Charlie-Bob’s death is yet to be established, a spokesman for Avon and Somerset police said.

Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk