Tag Archives: Commission

To attract global cinema, Hindus suggest Malta to treat all religions equally

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Malta should treat all religions and denominations equally in front of the law to become attractive to global businesses, including filmmakers looking for exotic locations, acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, stated in Nevada (USA) today.

Malta Criminal Code reportedly makes one liable to imprisonment up to six months for publicly vilifying “Roman Catholic Apostolic Religion”, while committing such act against “any cult tolerated by law” makes one liable to imprisonment only up to three months.

Commissioner of Malta Film Commission Luisa Bonello was reportedly at the 40th International Film Festival of India (November 23 to December three) in Goa (India) to market Malta as a low expensive and diverse film shooting destination which offered cash incentives. Parts of Tamil film “Vinnai Thandi Varuvaya” directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon and scored by Oscar winner A.R. Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire) were reportedly shot in Valletta, Mdina, Gozo and Comino in Malta earlier this year.

Rajan Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, also urged Malta to replace the subject of “religion” with “comparative religion” in its public primary and secondary schools, teaching basics of all major world religions, including the viewpoint of non-believers. According to Constitution of Malta (Chapter I, Article 2, Item 3): “Religious teaching of the Roman Catholic Apostolic Faith shall be provided in all State schools as part of compulsory education.”

More than 50 feature films have been reportedly shot in Malta, including Alec Guinness starrer 1954 “Malta Story” and The Da Vinci Code, The Spy Who Loved Me, Gladiator, Casino Royale, Clash of the Titans, David Copperfield, Never Say Never Again, The Count of Monte Cristo, etc.

Malta Film Commission based in Vittoriosa is a government body for promotion, development and support of the audiovisual and film servicing industry. The Film Commissioner has the responsibility to market the locations, facilities, skills, talent and expertise available in Malta in order to attract inward investment in the form of international audiovisual productions shooting on the island. Elizabeth Lowell is the Commission Coordinator.

Maltese islands were first settled reportedly in 5,200 BCE. Few European countries have such concentrated architecture, history, and beaches in so small an area as Malta.

London 2012 Continues To Make Positive Progress

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The International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s Coordination Commission concluded today its fifth full visit (25-26 November) to the city of London. With less than 1,000 days to go to the London 2012 Opening Ceremony, the Commission was able to hear about the advances made by the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) and its partners and share their thoughts and experiences on the planning for the Games. The two-day session focused principally on the operational delivery of the Games, and the Commission received in-depth updates on the progress of its operations.
Very Positive
Commenting after the meeting, IOC Coordination Commission Chairman Denis Oswald said, “Once again, we have had very productive meetings with our partners at London 2012 and we are very positive about the progress that they are making in preparing for the Games.” He continued, “It is over a year since the Beijing Games came to a close and LOCOG has clearly been able to learn from its experiences last year and integrate them into planning for 2012. This was evident from the good discussions and sharing of information that we had around a number of topics including venues, infrastructure, workforce, city preparations and LOCOG’s volunteer programme, which will be launched next year. LOCOG also updated us on the proposals to move badminton and rhythmic gymnastics to Wembley Arena and we are satisfied with progress on this issue. LOCOG is discussing the proposal with the two International Federations concerned and we look forward to hearing LOCOG’s position at our Executive Board meeting in December.”
Operations And Planning
With venue construction continuing on or ahead of schedule and the Games drawing ever nearer, the focus of this Coordination Commission was largely on operations and planning than on the excellent construction and regeneration work being carried out by the Olympic Delivery Authority. With this in mind, the Commission spent time discussing with LOCOG and its partners, including the Government and the Mayor of London’s office, a number of operational subjects including athlete services, ticketing, city operations, technology, press operations, transport, sport and Paralympic Games operations.
LONDON 2012
London was elected as the Host City for the Games of the XXX Olympiad on 6 July 2005 at the 117th IOC Session in Singapore. London eventually succeeded in the fourth round of voting taking 54 votes from a possible 104. London faced stiff opposition during the vote from the other four candidate cities: Paris, New York, Moscow and Madrid. There will be 26 sports on the Olympic programme in London in 2012 and around 10,500 athletes.

Source: WEBWIRE

Iraq requests UN set up independent commission to probe deadly terror attacks

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Iraq’s President today called on the United Nations to establish an independent international commission to probe a series of deadly bombings and other terrorist attacks in the country since the start of last year that he said can only have been carried out with the help of external forces.

Jalal Talabani told the General Assembly’s annual high-level segment that the scope and nature of the crimes – including the so-called Bloody Wednesday explosions last month that killed around 100 people and targeted leading Government ministries in the capital, Baghdad – meant an outside investigation was necessary.

“The Iraqi Government finds itself obliged to resort to the United Nations to protect its people and stop the bleeding of innocent Iraqis,” he said, calling on Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to appoint a senior official “to evaluate the extent of foreign intervention that threatens the security and integrity of Iraq.”

Once the commission has carried out its work, then a special international criminal court should be set up to try those accused of committing the crimes, he said.

Mr. Talabani said the bombings and attacks in 2008 and 2009 had “reached the level of genocide and crimes against humanity subject to punishment under international law.

“We believe these acts at this level of organization, complexity and magnitude cannot be planned, funded and implemented without support of external forces and parties and primary investigations indicate the involvement of external parties in the process.”

The Iraqi President also called on neighbouring countries and other States to cooperate more with Baghdad “to control Iraq’s borders, exchange information, coordinate efforts, and prevent the groups that support terrorism and work against Iraq under any cover.”

In his address Mr. Talabani also stated that Iraq has made important progress over the past 12 months, notably by taking greater responsibility for its own security and signing an agreement with the United States on the withdrawal of US troops.

The most important immediate challenge will be legislative polls scheduled to be held across Iraq in January 2010, he said.

“The success of these elections will put the current political regime based on democracy, pluralism and the peaceful transfer of power on the right path. The success of the elections will transfer the political process from the establishment stage to one of permanence and stability and will promote stability and security in Iraq.”

Gov. Quinn Names Human Services Commission; Advisory Panel to Focus on Best Practices, Recommendations

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Gov. Pat Quinn today signed an executive order creating the Illinois Human Services Commission.

The new Commission will make recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly about providing high quality human services to Illinois citizens.

Even in these tough economic times, its important that we always focus on providing vital human services to those in need, said Governor Quinn.

This Commission will serve that important call to duty by recognizing and recommending practices that will ensure our State provides high-quality, efficient and effective services now and in the future.

Governor Quinn named Toni Irving and Ngoan Le as co-chairs of the Commission. Irving is Deputy Chief of Staff for the Office of the Governor. Le is a longtime public servant and Vice President of Programs at the Chicago Community Trust. (Irving Background, Le Background)

The Commission is comprised of members with expertise in both the public and private sectors.

The group includes:

two legislators from each of the four caucuses;
chief administrators of seven of the States major human service agencies;
human service advocates and community leaders;
and two co-chairs designated by the Governor.

The Executive Order also states the Commissions membership shall reflect regional, racial, and cultural diversity to ensure representation of all Illinois citizens.

The Commission will address issues such as the process for determining fair, adequate and timely reimbursement; efficient management of publicly-funded programs and services; and projections for future human services need in Illinois.

The Commission will hold public hearings. (Executive Order)

The Commission will submit an initial report on its progress and objectives to the Governor and the General Assembly by June 30, 2010.

The Commission will then submit interim reports on Nov. 30, 2010 and April 30, 2011, and a final report outlining its findings and recommendations no later than Nov. 22, 2011.&/

Source: Chicago Press Release