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伊議会解散、4月総選挙へ 右派と左派が10年ぶり対決
2006年02月11日23時41分 朝日 イタリアのチャンピ大統領は11日、議会解散令に署名、上下両院を解散した。これを受けて、政府は総選挙の日程を4月9、10日と正式に決めた。ベルルスコーニ首相(69)率いる与党の中道右派連合と、プロディ元首相(66)率いる野党の中道左派連合との全面対決となる。中道左派が5年ぶりの政権交代を実現させるか、中道右派が01年に続いて再び勝利するかが焦点だ。 長引く景気低迷やイラク政策などで、ベルルスコーニ政権に対する国民の不満は高まっている。世論調査では、今のところ野党が5ポイントほどリードしている。 ベルルスコーニ首相は解散前からテレビやラジオに次々と出演し、劣勢の巻き返しに躍起だ。10日もトリノ冬季五輪開会式への出席を見合わせ、同夜のテレビ討論番組に出演した。 議会は昨年末、選挙制度改革法案を可決。小選挙区制と比例代表制を組み合わせた制度が変わり、今度の総選挙は完全な比例代表制のもとで行われる。選挙制度の変更は、与党に有利に働くとみられている。 Italy Schedules Elections for Early April Saturday February 11, 2006 1:16 PM By ALESSANDRA RIZZO Associated Press Writer ROME (AP) - Italy dissolved its parliament on Saturday and scheduled elections for early April, opening a campaign that pits Premier Silvio Berluconi against a strong center-left opponent. The government set the date during a Cabinet meeting minutes after the Italian president signed a decree that dissolved parliament, ending a five-year legislature. The election date had been agreed upon in previous weeks between Berlusconi and the president, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi. Opposition leaders had also signed off on the date. Parliament ended two weeks later than originally planned, after Berlusconi negotiated a delay that allowed his government to rush through a flurry of last-minute legislation. It also allowed the premier to keep up a barrage of TV and radio appearances, which will be limited during official campaigning because of rules aimed at giving competing coalitions equal air time. ``I'll be able to rest a bit,'' Berlusconi said, speaking on a talk show late Friday. Despite the media blitz, opinion polls have consistently indicated that the center-left bloc headed by Romano Prodi, a former premier and former European Commission president, is leading the race by some five percentage points. Berlusconi, a key ally of President Bush in the Iraq war, has expressed confidence that his media campaign will bear fruit, saying his own pollsters indicate the two blocs are virtually level. ``I have absolutely no doubt over the fact that I will govern for another five years,'' he said Friday on the sidelines of a conference in Rome. Among the measures approved in the final parliamentary sessions were funding for the Winter Olympics, which opened Friday in Turin, and for Italy's dwindling contingent in Iraq, where some 2,600 Italian troops are currently posted. Berlusconi, a key ally of President Bush who was elected in 2001, has been plagued by legal troubles surrounding his Milan-based business empire since he entered politics. He has contended he is the victim of a campaign by left-leaning magistrates. Center-left parties - which range from centrist moderates to communists and secular radicals - are divided over proposals for a quick pullout from Iraq and granting legal rights to same-sex couples. Italy's parliament dissolved for April elections Sat Feb 11, 2006 8:32 PM IST By Philip Pullella ROME (Reuters) - Italy's parliament was dissolved on Saturday, opening the way for April general elections which opinion polls say the centre-right coalition of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi looks set to lose. President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi signed a decree ending the current legislature after receiving parliament's speakers, raising the curtain on five stormy months for Italian politics. After the election there will be nationwide mayoral ballots and a referendum on plans to reform the constitution. The new parliament will also have to choose a successor to Ciampi, whose mandate expires in May. In the past few months political leaders have made sometimes vitriolic attacks on each other, and Ciampi appealed to politicians to try to keep the campaign fair and respectful and to keep the problems of the nation in sight. The centre-left has accused Berlusconi of monopolising the airwaves unfairly as he appeared on almost every television and radio chat show since the New Year to talk up his achievements. Latest opinion polls put the centre-left opposition, led by former European Commission President Romano Prodi, some five percentage points ahead of Berlusconi's coalition. Hours after parliament was dissolved, Prodi presented the centre-left programme to a packed theatre in Rome and said Italy needed "radical reforms" to make its economy more competitive. The economy grew at an average rate of just 0.8 percent per year under Berlusconi, near the bottom of the 12 nations in the euro zone and less than half the rate in the previous five years under the centre left. Industrial output has also fallen in each of the last five years, and Italy's once export-led economy posted trade deficits in 2004 and 2005 for the first time since 1992. Berlusconi shot back, saying Prodi, who is a former prime minister, was "inadequate" to lead Italy. Prodi's alliance, ranging from hardline Communist parties to centrist Roman Catholic groups, has struggled to agree a platform, revealing divisions over everything from the Iraq war to same-sex unions and transport. Berlusconi has managed to trim the opposition lead in opinion polls in recent weeks. Berlusconi swept to power in 2001, securing the largest parliamentary majority in post-war Italy, but infighting among his centre-right partners has dulled the government's image. Despite the feuding, Berlusconi managed to stay prime minister throughout the legislature, only the third person in post-war Italy to accomplish this feat. He has blamed the country's problems on international events beyond his control, like the Sept. 11 attacks, but critics say he let Italy decline while his own businesses prospered. (Additional reporting by Crispian Balmer) The Financial Times Italy’s centre-left question Prodi’s leadership skills >By Tony Barber in Rome >Published: February 9 2006 16:43 | Last updated: February 9 2006 16:43 >> The unity of Italy’s often bickering centre-left opposition parties will be tested from Friday when they launch their campaign to dethrone Silvio Berlusconi, prime minister, in the April 9 general election. In a 274-page document considered too stodgy even by some centre-left strategists, the opposition, led by Romano Prodi, the former European Commission president, recently set out a draft programme for government. It included promises to inject more competition into Italy’s rigid economy, simplify bureaucracy and gradually reduce the budget deficit – ideas to which Mr Prodi this week added an eye-catching pledge to cut Italian unit labour costs by no less than 5 percentage points, or about €10bn ($11.9bn). But the programme, which centre-left leaders aim to approve this weekend, cannot conceal persistent divisions over issues ranging from same-sex civil unions and education to the environment and Italy’s military presence in Iraq. These disputes, and Mr Prodi’s inability to settle them, are causing some centre-left activists to question whether he would last more than a year or two as prime minister if the opposition were to win the election. “It is the great unspoken secret,” says one strategist. “We haven’t even won yet, but already some people are thinking about a post-Prodi government of the centre-left.” Such speculation may not be so foolhardy. As a technocrat who belongs to no political party, Mr Prodi is in the same precarious position he occupied as premier from April 1996 to October 1998. His government was eventually toppled in a parliamentary revolt orchestrated by Fausto Bertinotti, leader of Italy’s hardline Communist Refoundation party, and exploited by Massimo D’Alema, a centre-left rival who took the premiership. To minimise the risk of similar future treachery, Mr Prodi staged US-style primary elections last October to pick the centre-left’s candidate for the premiership. He trounced all other contenders, winning 75 per cent of more than 4m votes cast. At present, he seems well-placed in the battle against Mr Berlusconi: an opinion poll published by the Ekma research institute on Tuesday gave the centre-left a 52.5 to 46.5 per cent lead over the centre-right government. But the same poll suggested that Mr Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party – humiliated by crushing defeats in regional elections last April – was regaining strength, accounting for half the centre-right’s overall support. The narrower the margin between centre-right and centre-left, the greater the risk of a hung parliament in which neither camp controls both legislative chambers and neither can implement serious economic reforms. One frustration for Mr Prodi is that his efforts to woo undecided voters – the 10 per cent or so of the electorate who, some pollsters say, will determine the election’s outcome – are frequently disrupted by his nominal allies on the far left. This week the trouble has involved environmentalists and other demonstrators protesting against plans to build a high-speed Alpine rail link between Turin in northern Italy and the French city of Lyon. “Certain demonstrations must be stopped,” said Mr Prodi, conscious that the protests might damage Italy’s image during the 2006 Turin Winter Olympic games, which start today. Francesco Rutelli, leader of the moderate centre-left Margherita party, went further, denouncing “extremist infantile behaviour of the left which must be isolated”. Another dispute unsettling the centre-left involves same-sex unions, where the opposition’s Catholic wing – including Mr Prodi – takes a cautious stance, at odds with the radical secularism of other activists who want full legal recognition for gay couples. On economic policy, many of Mr Bertinotti’s communist chieftains explicitly reject the Prodi rhetoric of market liberalisation. Mr Berlusconi’s strategists are quick to seize on such differences, saying a Prodi government would be at best incoherent in its strategy and at worst a puppet of more extremist forces. “The inadequacy of the centre-left’s leadership is being dramatically exposed,” says Fabrizio Cicchitto, Forza Italia’s deputy national co-ordinator. #
by alfayoko2005
| 2006-02-12 00:25
| LGB(TIQ)
福島県、先進企業に優遇金利 男女共同参画後押し (河北新報 2006/02/10)
従業員が仕事と家庭、育児を両立しやすい職場づくりを進める企業に対して、福島県は新年度、中小企業向け制度資金で優遇金利を適用する。県の「次世代育成支援企業」の認証を受けた企業が対象で、通常年2.5%の融資利率を0.7ポイント引き下げる。子育て支援や男女共同参画に取り組む企業への恩典とし、認証取得を目指す中小企業を広げる狙いだ。 優遇金利は、県の制度資金「ふくしまの産業強化資金融資制度」の中で適用する。県内に本社を持つ業歴5年以上の中小企業が対象で、融資限度額は運転資金が3000万円、設備資金が5000万円。融資期間はいずれも10年以内。通常の利率は年2.5%(固定)だが、次世代育成支援企業の認証を受けた企業には1.8%(同)とする。 認証制度は県が本年度、男女を問わず仕事と育児、家事を両立できる職場づくりを広げようと創設した。「子育て応援中小企業」と「仕事と生活の調和推進企業」の2部門。「子育て応援」は、従業員300人未満で育児休業取得率向上や子育て中の残業時間縮減に成果を上げている企業。「仕事と生活」は、規模を問わず女性の登用やパート従業員の公正処遇、育児・介護休業の利用しやすさ―などが条件となる。 これまでに「子育て応援」として2社、「仕事と生活」として16社が認証を受けた。 県は「男女共同参画や子育て支援への取り組みは、経営状況が厳しくなると真っ先に縮小されがち。認証を受けた企業は取り組みを継続、充実させるために活用してほしい。認証取得を目指す企業の動機付けとなることも期待している」(商工労働部)と話している。 2006年02月10日金曜日 #
by alfayoko2005
| 2006-02-11 15:24
| ジェンダー・セックス
米国西海岸時間2006年2月9日
スー・マカリスター記者:マーキュリー・ニュース ベイエリアに拠点を置くオンラインの項目別広告、クレイグズリストは全世界にユーザーがいるが、差別的な住宅広告を載せたとしてシカゴのある住宅団体から訴えられた。公民権を擁護するシカゴの弁護士の委員会は、クレイグズリストに7月以降掲載されたシカゴ地区の住宅広告のうち200件以上が、人種、宗教、家族規模、その他の理由で借り手を差別しており法律に違反すると主張している。例えば、「キリスト教徒で同性愛者ではない独身女性」や「イスラム教徒が望ましい」、「子連れ、ペットお断り」などの文言が見られるという。 シカゴの連邦裁判所で提訴されたこの訴訟は、かつては新聞が主な媒体であった項目別広告において、クレイグズリストの重要性が高まっていることを示している。現在、同サイトは20カ国以上の150都市での広告を掲載している。連邦法は、宗教や人種、性別、既婚か独身かなど様々な理由にもとづいて借り手を差別することを禁じている。クレイグズリストのジム・ブックマスター最高経営責任者は、同社は差別的な広告を最小に抑える努力をしており、ユーザーの掲載した広告内容については法律的に責任を負わないと述べた。同リストは3週間前に、すべての住宅広告に黄色でハイライトしたリンクを付け加え、住宅関係の連邦法(Federal fair housing laws)などの情報につながるようにした。 クレイグズリストは、サンフランシスコの住民が広告を掲載し、情報を共有し、他の人たちに出会うための電子メールリストとして11年前に誕生した。この数年間に同リストは、ニューメキシコ州のアルバカーキからニュージーランドのオークランドまで対象地域を大きく拡大している。会社が成長するにつれて、今回のシカゴの弁護士のように同社の活動を厳しくチェックする動きも出てきた、とある業界アナリストは言う。 02/10/2006 Posted on Thu, Feb. 09, 2006 Housing ads challenged CRAIGSLIST ACCUSED IN SUIT OF POSTING DISCRIMINATORY ITEMS By Sue McAllister San Jose Mercury News Craigslist, the Bay Area-based online community with global reach, was sued this week by a Chicago fair housing group that accused the company of allowing discriminatory housing ads on its site. The Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law alleges that since July, more than 200 Chicago-area housing ads posted to craigslist have violated fair housing laws by discriminating against prospective tenants on the basis of race, religion, family size or other characteristics. Ads mentioned in the suit contained language such as ``Christian single straight female needed,'' ``Muslim preferred,'' and ``Sorry, no kids, no pets.'' The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Chicago, is a sign of craigslist's growing importance in classified advertising, a market newspapers once dominated. The site now offers listings in more than 20 countries and 150 cities. Federal fair housing laws prohibit advertisers and landlords from discriminating against prospective tenants based on a variety of factors, including religion, race, gender and marital status. Craigslist Chief Executive Jim Buckmaster defended his company's efforts to minimize the number of discriminatory ads, and said the company is not legally responsible for the content of user postings. ``Discriminatory ads on craigslist are actually exceedingly rare,'' he wrote in response to e-mailed questions Wednesday. He cited users' vigilance in flagging such ads for removal from the site, as well as the company's recently enhanced efforts to link fair housing information to housing-related postings. In addition, he wrote, ``the law is pretty clear to the effect that sites like craigslist cannot be held legally liable for the content of postings submitted by end users.'' He said the company goes ``far beyond what is required by law in posting very prominent educational notices about fair housing throughout our housing section.'' Helped by Palo Alto-based Project Sentinel Fair Housing and others, craigslist three weeks ago added a yellow-highlighted link to every housing ad it posts. The links lead to information on the federal fair housing law, guidance on how to write ads that comply with the law and to a site with details about each state's fair housing laws. ``It's obvious that craigslist has exploded and become like a household name, and everyone goes to it for jobs or housing or other community needs,'' said Gabe Zwettler of Project Sentinel. He said the group is working with craigslist to make fair housing rules ``more in-your-face,'' and typically pursues landlords who appear to violate the law, not Web sites. ``We're just trying to help them set up as many obstacles as possible for people trying to post discriminatory ads.'' Craigslist began 11 years ago as an e-mail list for San Francisco-area residents to post ads, share information and meet others. In the past few years, however, it has extended its mix of ads and community-building to cities from Albuquerque, N.M., to Auckland, New Zealand. As the company grows, it is more likely to face the kind of scrutiny typified by the Chicago group's lawsuit, said Rob Enderle, a technology industry analyst with the Enderle Group in San Jose. ``Craigslist is not used to having to edit'' the content on its site, Enderle said, but depending on how the Chicago lawsuit goes, it may have to become more aggressive about policing content, the way printed publications have done since fair housing laws were passed more than three decades ago. Elyssa Winslow of the Chicago Lawyers' Committee said her group felt it necessary to monitor craigslist and other Web sites with housing ads because ``there's not nearly the level of discriminatory ads, nowhere close, in print ads as there are in online ads.'' She said ads like the ones mentioned in the lawsuit ``mislead readers into thinking these types of ads are normal and acceptable and you can base housing decisions'' on things like tenants' religion or national origin. Contact Sue McAllister at smcallister@ mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5833. craigslist Disputes "Fair" Housing Lawsuit Summary: A group of lawyers has alleged that a handful of housing ads posted by our users are disciminatory, demanding that craigslist use outdated and mistake-prone methods that if adopted would actually reduce fair housing opportunity, while eroding free speech rights. In reality, the craigslist community already excels at ensuring equal opportunity housing, earning praise from fair housing groups. This lawsuit will likely be dismissed, and the craigslist community will be recognized as the gold standard for promoting fair housing for all, while fully respecting each person's constitutional right to free speech and free association. Background: (about craigslist) The Chicago Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is suing craigslist for 100 allegedly discriminatory ads posted by our Chicago users in a 6 month period, out of 200,000 housing ads submitted to chicago.craigslist.org in that timeframe. Most were roommate ads involving constitutionally protected speech and the right to free association, such as "prefer christian roommate", or were ads containing incidental and harmless remarks such as "near St Gertrude's church." Some of the challenged ads simply celebrated the diversity and tolerance of the craigslist community ("vibrant southwest Hispanic neighborhood offering great classical Mexican culture, restaurants, and businesses"). Others sought to appeal to some groups without excluding anyone ("Great apartment for graduate students"). And for a few it is difficult to determine what protected classification is at issue ("wants one nice quiet person"). Although in all likelihood this suit will be dismissed on the grounds that internet sites can not legally be held liable for content posted by users, craigslist has no need to hide behind this well-established immunity. We are extremely proud of the extraordinary results the craigslist community has achieved in ensuring equal housing opportunity on an unprecedentedly massive scale, while fully respecting constitutionally protected free speech rights. Discriminatory postings are exceedingly uncommon, and those few that do reach the site are typically removed quickly by our users through the flagging system that accompanies each ad. We have worked closely with several fair housing groups over the years on educating craigslist users about fair housing issues, and every page in our housing section has highlighted fair housing messages, linked to extensive educational materials and resources for learning more, and craigslist has been praised by fair housing advocates for our efforts in this regard. Though well-intentioned, this lawsuit misguidedly demands that we regress to primitive, mistake-prone, and wholly inadequate methods (such as manual review by our staff of the 2 million free housing ads of unlimited length posted each month, a volume of ads greater than that received by all US newspapers combined), methods which would actually be less effective in catching discriminatory ads than what we have in place currently, and which would vastly reduce the number of legitimate non-discriminatory ads that the site could process. Ironically, if this lawsuit were to succeed the net effect would be to deal a double blow to civil rights - by significantly reducing access to equal opportunity housing, and by undercutting our fundamental free speech rights - thereby doing a great disservice to the very persons these lawyers purport to represent. Putting aside the fact that craigslist legally can not be held liable in this suit, we feel very strongly that the craigslist community of users is on the very highest moral high ground with respect to fair housing, setting an example more worthy of emulation than litigation. Jim Buckmaster CEO, craigslist #
by alfayoko2005
| 2006-02-11 14:54
| LGB(TIQ)
The Financial Times
Koizumi's succession bill looks set to wilt By David Pilling and Kaori Suzuki in Tokyo Published: February 11 2006 02:00 | Last updated: February 11 2006 02:00 Junichiro Koizumi, who last year battered down what he called a "medieval fortress" by privatising the post office, appears to have had less luck with an even older Japanese institution: the Chrysanthemum throne. The prime minister yesterday said he would "proceed cautiously" with negotiations on a bill to allow female imperial succession, all but conceding it would be difficult to push the revision past legislators wary of tampering with 2,000 years of tradition. Cabinet ministers hinted the prime minister would abandon the bill, but Mr Koizumi denied reports he had already done so. The sudden possibility this week of a male heir has galvanised an already growing revolt among traditionalists and appears to have scuppered any chance of passing the bill before Mr Koizumi steps down in September. In the very month the prime minister is due to relinquish his premiership, the child of Princess Kiko, wife of the Crown Prince's younger brother, is due to be born. If the baby is a boy, he will be third in line for the throne, thereby ending a succession crisis resulting from the fact that no male has been born into the imperial family since 1965. Even before the announcement of the pregnancy - which came just as Mr Koizumi was answering parliamentary questions on the succession bill - 170 MPs had signed a petition urging caution. Empresses have sat as recently as the 18th century on the imperial throne, said to go back to the Sun Goddess Amaterasu, but none has passed on succession. Jeff Kingston, professor of Asian studies at Temple university, said: "I thought the revision of the imperial succession law was a slam dunk and Princess Aiko [four-year-old daughter of the Crown Prince] would be starting her imperial training. Now I don't think it's going to happen under Koizumi." The issue of imperial succession has opened up a lively debate about the role of Japanese women in a society where men still dominate public life. Yukiko Ebinuma, a 27-year-old freelance writer, said: "I support female succession. Why should the Japanese government stick to old-fashioned ways? They should model our monarchy on the British royal family." Ms Ebinuma, speaking in Hibya park, within a stone's throw of the Imperial Palace's extensive gardens, said she was suspicious of the timing of the imperial pregnancy, which could come to the rescue of traditionalists. "I was quite surprised to hear that Princess Kiko is pregnant, but this is Japan," she shrugged. "The baby will probably be a boy." Wataru Takahashi, a 52-year-old photographer taking pictures on the outskirts of the imperial palace grounds, was supportive of updating the succession law. "Japanese women used to be expected to stay at home doing housework, but now more and more women work outside," he said. "It is natural to have an empress in such a period. The Japanese royal family should become more open, because it is still an unknown world to ordinary Japanese people." Yet a recent shift in opinion polls suggests the public may be more wary of tampering with tradition than at first appears. A Nikkei survey this week showed that 63 per cent of people supported female succession, a drop from nearly 80 per cent in a previous poll when the issue was more abstract. Analysts said public opinion could swing further, given that the possible birth of a male heir in September would head off the need for radical change. Masayuki Seki, an executive with a manufacturing company, said: "If Princess Kiko's child were a boy, it would be better for most Japanese." Japan baby could end royal reform #
by alfayoko2005
| 2006-02-11 12:46
| ジェンダー・セックス
更新2006年02月08日 22:49米国東部時間
性犯罪者に「去勢」の選択肢~犯罪件数の減少は期待できず? US フロントライン 性犯罪者に対し精神衛生施設へ行く代わりに、去勢手術を受ける選択肢を与える法案がバージニア州で提出された。 ワシントン・ポストによると、同州では、裁判官が地域住民にとって有害だと判断した場合、特定の性犯罪で有罪となった者は、刑期終了後も精神治療施設への収容が義務付けられている。現在までに24人が施設に収容されたが、1人当たりの年間費用は約30万ドルにも達している。 去勢手術法案を提出したエメット・ハンガー上議(共和)は、現行の制度では費用がかかりすぎる上、施設から退院できるほど性犯罪者が更正する保証もないと説明する。去勢手術を導入すれば、格段に費用を削減でき、納税者の負担も少なくなるとの主張だ。 同州ではこのほか、特定の性犯罪について刑期を最低25年まで延長する法案や、刑期終了後も衛星利用測位システム(GPS)を使って監視する法案が提出されている。 世論を受け、性犯罪者に対する処罰の強化が全米レベルで検討されている。それでも、去勢手術法案については、本人の意思で選択できても「残酷すぎる」との反対意見が少なくない。 専門家によると、去勢は男性ホルモン「テストステロン」を減らすため、一部の小児性愛者が性欲をコントロールするのに役立つ。しかし、性犯罪者の多くは、暴力を好む性質や良心の欠如から犯罪行為に及ぶため、万能薬にはほど遠いという。 テストステロンは薬品でも減らすことができる。実際、性犯罪者にこうした薬を処方することを認める法律が8州で施行されている。このうち3州が、去勢を選択肢として許可している。 ハンガー上議は、同法案が成立する可能性は低くても、議論を活発化することが狙いだと話している。 #
by alfayoko2005
| 2006-02-10 23:46
| ジェンダー・セックス
|
ファン申請 |
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