The Speaker Editors – Page 65 – The Speaker News Journal

Navalny given surprisingly light sentence, attempts to attend protest of conviction, rearrested

December 31, 2014 by The Speaker Editors

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Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny was expected to receive a stiff sentence of up to 10 years for charges of fraud–charges widely believed to be a veil for the Russian government’s suspected interest in silencing the outspoken critic–but a surprising verdict saw Navalny walk out of court Tuesday with a suspended sentence, hours before his rearrest for breaking house arrest to attend a protest in Moscow’s Manezh Square.

Navalny was expected to receive 10 years in a penal colony. The prosecutor asked 9 years, but in other recent cases, such as Kirovoles, they added another year.

However, and to the surprise of many, he received a suspended sentence, while his brother Oleg Navalny received three and a half years for the same offense.

Navalny attempted to attend a protest at Manezh Square, located directly in front of the Kremlin, and was arrested by Russian police while en route for breaking the conditions of his house arrest sentence.

Thousands of protesters attended the protest to voice their opposition to the trials of the Navalnys and the Russian war in Ukraine.

Over 100 protesters were arrested at the demonstration. Because the protest was not authorized by the Russian government, all participants committed crimes by attending.

Navalny has been under house arrest since February since he was charged with defrauding French cosmetics firm Yves Rocher with his brother. The men were found guilty of stealing approximately $520,000.

Navalny has been known to the Kremlin since at least 2011 when he was among the leaders of strong protests in Moscow.

The verdict for the sentence was expected to be handed down Jan. 15, 2015, but was brought forward abruptly to Dec. 30, the main Russian New Years holiday. The Russian New Year break begins Dec. 30 and ends Jan. 8. Commenters noted that the date may have been an attempt to avoid or mitigate large-scale protests.

By James Haleavy

Last week Navalny delivered his final speech in court–a form of address called in Russia a “last word,” in which he referenced exiled writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn. In the speech, Navalny reiterated Solzhenitsyn’s phrase, “Live not by lies.”

The 1974 essay was published on the day Solzhenitsyn was arrested by Soviet secret police for treason, and ended, “DON’T LIE! DON’T PARTICIPATE IN LIES! DON’T SUPPORT A LIE!” [sic].

In the essay, Solzhenitsyn argued that the Soviet system was held together by a vital lie, which had become a mode of existence in the land.

Navalny addressed his echo of Solzhenitsyn’s words to the Russian public who participate in the current system of lies–those, Navlny said, who looked into the table rather than eye to eye.

Prosecution may also be directed at other activists associated with Navalny. An investigation into the organizers of public readings in parks have been accused of using public funds to support Navalny in a recently opened investigation.Navalny’s final word:

The last word of Alexei Navalny

“How many times in his life can a person who is not engaged in anything illegal pronounce his last words? Over the past year and a half, this is my sixth or seventh last words. It’s as if we are coming to the last days. All of you–judges, prosecutors, plaintiffs–in your conversations with me, look at the table. You all say, ‘Alexey, well, you already know everything.’ I understand, I understand that you now will not jump up, nor will the representative ‘Yves Rocher’ stand up and say, ‘You have convinced me.’ No, I understand that people are not built this way. No one will say to his family: ‘Today I jailed an obviously innocent man, and I live with it.’ I understand that it will sound like, “You already know everything,” or ‘Well, what did with regard to Putin…’

“My words refer to those who practice wrong or ignore what is happening. My words to you are for recognition that we should not tolerate lies about everything. I’m told that Russian interests in Turkmenistan–they do not exist, but for the interests of Russians in Ukraine it was necessary to start a war. I am told that in Gazprom they do not steal. I bring the documents and hear, ‘This just doesn’t exist.’ I say that we are ready to run in the elections and to demonstrate that we are forming a party. And we are not allowed into the elections and hear, ‘We have won.’

“The more a person brings to a lie, the more he faces that lie. A lie is the essence of the state. Yesterday Putin spoke and said, ‘We have no palaces!’ Yes, we took pictures of three of them in a month.

“Why put up with this nonsense? Why look at the table? Life is too short to look at the table. I do not have time to look back–I’ve already turned forty. Soon I’ll have grandchildren. We’ll look around and we’ll be in bed, and they’ll be looking at us and thinking, ‘Hurry up and vacate it.’We can be proud only moments when we can honestly look into the eyes of each other, when we do something worthy.

“For me it’s quite a painful situation. And a cunning, painful format, which is chosen by the Kremlin, not just putting me in jail, but trying to bring in more people: Ofitserova, the father of five children–and his wife–I have to look them in the eye. I admit it: yes, they hook me in, and also even innocent people are being dragged in. But even taking hostages can not stop me. Life has no meaning if we tolerate lies. I will never agree with the system that has been built in this country. It is built so as to rob everyone who in this room. This is a real junta.

“I do not regret a single second of the actions which I took to fight corruption. Kobzev told me, ‘Alex, you’ll just be jailed, because you have to challenge it, and they won’t endure it.’ Nakarkal! [He has predicted evil!] You can not live with the thought ‘Oh, I will be jailed.’ I was aware of this. But I do not regret it and will encourage people to exercise their right to freedom of assembly, among other things.

“And people have a legitimate right to revolt against the junta that has grabbed everything. We allowed them to rob us and turn us into beasts. What have they paid us? or what were you paid–staring at the table? Education, do you have it? No. Health Care? No. The roads? No. What are the wages of the bailiffs standing here? No, you’re robbed every day. I will not tolerate this. Will stand as long as necessary–here, beside this cage, or inside it.

“My brother was not going to engage in politics. There is no need to aggravate this. I will not stop because of the taking of hostages, but what do they gain from killing them? I appeal to absolutely everyone. It may sound naive, and we are used to laughing at the name of this famous article [by Solzhenitsyn], but, ‘Live not the lie.’

“‘Live not by lies.’ Nothing else is left. In our country, in this situation, there’s no other solution.

“I thank you all for your support and call on everyone to ‘live not by the lie.’ I’m absolutely sure that if they isolate me, if they imprison me and so on, another will come and take my place. I never did anything unique or complicated. I’m sure that in the Anti-Corruption Fund or elsewhere there will be people who will continue to do the same, regardless of the decisions of these courts, the only purpose of which is to imitate justice. Thank you.”

[su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6vh4e9LqUI”][su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsQ63m4hLN0″][su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ctbc9kw1oHA”][/su_youtube]

By James Haleavy

Oil production in Bentiu, South Sudan to resume soon – Petroleum Minister

December 31, 2014 by The Speaker Editors

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Juba – The oil production in Bentiu, the capital of Unity state which was halted due to last year’s political crisis will soon re-start production, according to the Minister of Petroleum and Mining, Deng Dau.

Unity state produces around 15 percent of South Sudan’s oil, while Upper Nile produces the remaining 85 percent. The fighting in Bentiu last April forced many foreign oil workers to flee and oil production had stopped.

According to the minister, preparation steps are in place for the oil to be pumped and production is expected to increase and fill the gap caused by the fall in oil prices globally.

“We have now cleared and the assessment is being done by the operator. We are preparing to resume in Bentiu to compensate the falling prices,” Dau said.

The minister said everything is now ready: “We got report from the operators, they are clearing and cutting the grass everything is okay and ready to resume.”

On the falling oil prices globally, the minister said South Sudan, being an oil producing country, is impacted by the drop in prices like any other oil producing country.

“Almost 35 percent to 40 percent will be the gap due to the fall in oil prices. It will be compensated by producing more.”

He added that production in Upper Nile still remains at 160,000 barrels per day with no improvement as was expected by the finance minister while presenting his budget to Parliament.

South Sudan’s Parliament is worried about the falling oil price. Crude oil dropped another four percent on Thursday to a four-year low of $74 a barrel.

The oil price has dropped by more than 30 percent since June, when it stood at $115 a barrel.

This is bad news for oil producing countries, particularly South Sudan, the most oil-dependent country in the world.

Goc Makwach, the chairperson of the finance committee in Parliament, said it would affect the budget estimates and that they advised the Government not to rely on one source of revenues only.

Oil revenues represent 68 percent of total government income this financial year–estimated at SSP12.7 billion.

This estimate assumes that production in the Upper Nile fields will increase from 180,000 to 220,000 barrels per day by June 2015.

It also assumes that production in Unity state will resume, starting from 5,000 barrels per day and rising to 40,000 by the end of December this year.

Currently, production in the Upper Nile fields stands at 160,000 barrels, while oil production in Unity state remains shut down.

A 30 percent drop in oil prices means South Sudan currently generates only SSP700 million a month from oil revenues, far below the expected SSP1 billion.

It is not clear how the Government plans to fill the deficit. It is already struggling to secure SSP3 billion in loans to finance the budget.

It is also struggling to generate SSP2.6 billion in taxes and fees, more than double last year’s, which some considered over-optimistic considering the ongoing conflict.

The bulk of this year’s budget is taken up by salaries and operational cost of the various ministries and government institutions as well as the army and the police.

The government has just reversed the austerity measures by re-instating housing and other allowances. Makur said it was inconceivable to re-introduce them.

Addressing the shortfall, Makuar said a lot of efforts were being made to increase revenues from taxes and fees.

The vice president James Igga earlier said the Government generates now 3 million SSP daily at Nimule border point when a cleanup was done compared to 400,000 SSP.

He says the Government plans to visit all the border checkpoints specifically Kaya, Nadapal and those bordering the Sudan.

The falling oil price is the third major setback for South Sudan since it gained independence–after the oil shutdown and the conflict.

And it is entirely beyond South Sudan’s control. Analysts point out that the falling price is caused by both higher supply and lower demand.

The world’s slowing economy, particularly in China, and stalled recoveries in Europe and Japan, are reducing the demand for oil.

Others point out that energy-saving measures in rich countries are starting to have an impact. The average new car consumes 25 percent less petrol per mile than ten years ago.

But there has been a big supply shock, too. Global oil production since early 2013 has been running at one million to two million barrels per day higher than in 2012.

This is mainly because the US increased production of shale-oil, to hit 11 million barrels a day this year, overtaking Saudi Arabia and Russia as the world’s biggest oil producer.

Also, surprisingly, war-torn Libya was pumping 40 percent more oil at the end of September than the previous month.

In addition, Saudi Arabia boost output to protect its market share and hurt American shale producers.

Shale oil is relatively expensive, because it comes from many small, short-lived wells. Analysts claim that a third of wells lose money below an oil price of $80 a barrel.

But economists point out that the low oil price may be short-lived. Some American shale-oil producers may lower or stop production because it becomes no longer economically viable.

As war rages on in oil-producing Iraq and Libya, and Nigeria grapples with an insurgency, supply is vulnerable to chaotic forces.

Petroleum minister Dau said the ministry is in the last step for the implementation of the digital licensing system as the legal framework is in place.

“South Sudan wants to start from where others were. It will be one of the best in Africa,” Dau said.

Dau further said the issuance of the license will begin in March 2015 and will cover the entire minerals in South Sudan, “It will be transparent to all stakeholders, the companies, Government and the people.”

By Moi Julius

IB Times
VOA
All Africa

South Sudan parliament to re-deliberate controversial security bill

December 31, 2014 by The Speaker Editors

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Juba – The National Legislative Assembly will discuss the controversial national security bill which was returned to the house by the president, who declined to sign the bill.

The president’s move follows concerns raised by local and international rights groups, Western countries, opposition political parties and members of his own ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) party.

Those who had walked out when the bill was being endorsed said they were not allowed time to debate and criticized powers given to national security to arrest and detain people.

The minority chief whip Andrew Okony said they are happy now that the bill has been returned for proper debate as they had demanded.

“This is an important bill which needs to be debated and all concerns of the legislators are incorporated,”

The Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), a civil society in South Sudan hailed President Salva Kiir for returning the national security bill for more deliberation by the national parliament today, dated 19.12,2014.

CEPO executive coordinator Edmund Yakani in a statement said the decision of returning the national security service bill to the parliament demonstrates the president’s response to the public outcry on the controversial provisions of the bill.

Yakani said CEPO is urging the national parliamentarians to sincerely deliberate on the national security bill with the interest of respecting and honoring the transitional constitution provisions in article 159, in which is defined the mandate of South Sudan’s national security duties, functions and responsibilities.

According to CEPO, the nation needs legislation on national security services but the legislation should embrace democratic principles including respect and fulfillment of human rights as stipulated in the transitional constitution part two, “Bill of Rights.”

He said CEPO will be keenly observing the national parliament on their deliberation on the national security bill improvement.

The executive coordinator pointed that when the parliament endorsed the bill last time, the quorum was not enough and they as MPs were not given time to study the bill.

By Moi Julius

Links:

Newhub
Assata Sharkur
New Nation South Sudan

UN Mission in South Sudan has destroyed weapons in Jonglei state

January 2, 2015December 31, 2014 by The Speaker Editors

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The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has destroyed weapons that were confiscated from internally displaced persons living at a UN Protection of Civilians Sites in Jonglei state On Monday.

The weapons that were confiscated by UNMISS were brought into the camp illegally earlier this year. Last year the government accused IDPs at the camp of being loyal to former Vice President Riek Machar, who turned rebel leader in South Sudan.

The fighting broke out in mid-December of 2013 in Juba and quickly escalated, spreading to the three states of Upper Nile, Jonglei and Unity and raged along tribal lines with Nuer against Dinka and Dinka against Nuer in those states. This led to displacement of those who could not escape the violence. These citizens fled to UN camps for protection.

But there some few people who were loyal to Machar and who entered the UN camps with their rifles. The United Nations expressly bars people seeking protection at UN camps from bringing weapons in with them.

Jonglei state’s UNMISS Coordinator Hazel De Wet spoke to people gathered to watch the UN destroy the weapons.

“We will do whatever retake to ensure that no one enters our base with a weapon because that is not the way we operate at all. At all times and we will do regular searches and whatever we find will be confiscated and then methodology attached in order to deactivate that,” De Wet said.

The weapons that were destroyed were 20 machetes, bayonets, sickles, empty magazines, and ammunition. In addition, nearly 150 military uniforms and accessories were confiscated.

Jonglei State Deputy Governor Baba Medan says the destruction of the confiscated items sends an important message for the future.

“We are very happy and we are coming here to witness what will happen and to send the message all over the world that the government of Jonglei state and government of South Sudan is committed to peace and we have a good cooperative with our UNMISS in Jonglei state.”

Authorities continue to find weapons in the Jonglei camp despite previous searches. UNMISS Police Official Colonel Komane Eddy says people are searched for weapons when they first enter the camp. A second search was conducted when the IDP camp was moved in October, and a third search took place this week. He now declares the camp weapons free.

“Were they are staying now is weapons free. We can be very sure that there are no weapons now,” he said.

“We have got our UN police and Bangladeshis at the exit entry point to ensure that who enter the primacies does not smuggle or enter in with an item that is prohibited,” Eddy said.

UNMISS peace keeper, Brig. General Rajeev Kumar, says the UN is working with South Sudan to end the violence so that the government can concentrate on development issues.

“We need to consolidate in terms of various institutions, institutions of government, which create capacity for the quality, strong, professional modern armed forces which binds the country together.”

By Achiek J Riak

Obama visits Hawaii for the holidays

December 30, 2014 by The Speaker Editors

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For many of us, the week transitioning from Christmas to the New Years is probably one of the most cheer-filed occasions in our year. Parties going off all over the place, strangers exchanging holiday greetings with each other with a smile, and hard-working parents taking time off from their work to spend time with their families. And the President is apparently not one to miss out on the festivities.

President Barack Obama arrived in his home state, Hawaii, on Dec. 22 for the first family’s annual tradition of spending the holidays in their vacation house at Kailua. They are expected to return to Washington on Jan. 5, 2015.

Like most Americans going on vacation, the President aims to do a lot of things while he is in the locale. His itinerary includes golfing on Hawaii’s many golf courses, snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, hiking the Maunawili Falls trail, and dining at Waikiki. On Christmas Day, he visited the military members in Anderson Hall at the Marine Corps Base in Kaneohe Bay to express his gratitude for the Marines’ dedication to their duty.

While he looks forward to spending the entirety of his holidays, he is not completely cut off from his presidential responsibilities. Shortly before his trip for Hawaii, President Obama was asked to attend the funeral service for fallen NYPD officer Rafael Ramos. Although he did not attend the service personally, he sent Vice President and Dr. Jill Biden to appear in his stead and expressed his condolences to New York Police Commissioner Bill Bratton over the phone.

Now halfway through his vacation, the White House has yet to release the complete rundown of what the first family did during their first week of vacation time.

This would be the sixth time that the Obamas spent their holidays in Hawaii for the past five years.

By Antonio Torrijos

Parties to pursue legal measures to block 2015 elections in South Sudan

December 30, 2014 by The Speaker Editors

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Juba – Opposition political parties will have to take to legal measures to compel the government from holding the 2015 general elections as the conditions will not allow for free and fair vote, according to Dr. Lam Akol, the leader of SPLM-DC.

“Before elections, we are going to take all legal measures to persuade them. It is not the right thing to do. We are not going to fold our hands and wait,”Akol said during the official opening of SPLMDC new premises in Juba today.

He said conducting the elections at the moment would be against the Election Act, and accused the electoral commission of being dragged into politics.

Akol added that the elections for caretaker governors in some of the states of South Sudan such as Jonglei, Lakes have not been conducted according to the constitution, which only gives six months for caretaker governors. “The fact that it has not be done for the governors means it is not possible for the general elections,” said Akol.

According to him, as political parties, peace is a priority at the moment and elections will be conducted later.

He also said 17 political parties had presented a paper a long time ago on resolving the country’s crisis though the government have barred them from attending the Addis Ababa talks.

The SPLMDC leader said despite lots of oil money amounting to 13 billion dollars, bi-lateral support and the 2005 Oslo donors’ conference, nothing in terms of services is being seen. “The SPLM has failed to provide a programme to run our country,” said Akol.

Akol called the 1.5 billion allocated for the conduction of elections meaningless since the Government is unable to feed its people than hurrying for elections insearch for legitimacy.

“Let us concentrate on working for peace,” Dr. Lam Akol urged on the Government.

The leader of minority who is from SPLMDC in the national legislative assembly, Onyoti Adigo, attacked the Government’s demand for elections in 2015 saying it is unacceptable and no one will accept.

He said peace is paramount and urged the warring parties both the Government and the SPLM in opposition rebels to prioritize it.

By Moi Julius
Photo: Apiliga

Contagion – Could it happen?

December 29, 2014 by The Speaker Editors

The dive in the price of oil combined with economic sanctions has hit Russia’s economy very hard. The Russians have experienced massive inflation, as well as large outflow of capital from its borders. To combat this, the Russian Central Bank has raised interest rates to 17 percent, hoping to constrict the rampant inflation by attracting demand for the ruble, and restrict the money supply simultaneously.

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The dive in the price of oil combined with economic sanctions has hit Russia’s economy very hard. The Russians have experienced massive inflation, as well as large outflow of capital from its borders. To combat this, the Russian Central Bank has raised interest rates to 17 percent, hoping to constrict the rampant inflation by attracting demand for the ruble, and restrict the money supply simultaneously.

Keep in mind that the 17 percent is a nominal figure, and if you adjust it for inflation, is much lower. For example, take a nominal interest rate of 10 percent, and then apply inflation at 12 percent, you’d have a negative interest rate of two percent. So as inflation runs high in Russia, the central bank will maintain or raise the real interest rate to combat inflation, even if that means raising the nominal rate to 25 percent. The downside for the Russian Central Bank to raising interest rates is the increased risk of default. This most likely would not transpire into a Russian sovereign debt crisis but a corporate debt crisis. If Russian companies began to go bankrupt and default on their debts it would increase pressure on the lending institutions that hold the paper.

In addition to the pressure applied to banks that have loaned money to Russian companies, which are mostly European banks, there is an even larger problem for US institutions. With a strengthening dollar and falling oil prices, emerging markets have taken a large hit. An emerging market country like Venezuela is very dependent on oil as a major source of revenue, and carries a heavy debt that is 57 percent of its GDP. It is comparable to a family where the father lost his job, and the family is already indebted. There is a good chance for default. Venezuela is not the only case of shaky emerging market debt. Brazil, South Africa, and Turkey all have high debt to GDP loads. In all, there are nine trillion dollars in dollar denominated emerging market debt. On top of that, there is an additional 5 trillion in energy related debt. So in total there is $14 trillion in unstable debt.

Say if 15 percent of the debt ends up in default. We would then be looking at $2.1 trillion in losses. That would be larger than the losses during the Dot-com bubble and the subprime mortgage bubble, which triggered the collapse of the housing market.

Exacerbating this already large problem could be the vast network of derivatives. These derivatives are used for several functions, to trade as financial instruments, to leverage banks’ positions, and to transfer risk.

In this scenario, pay attention to the last point, their ability to “transfer” risk. In 2008, AIG found themselves guaranteeing $61 billion in subprime mortgage derivatives, and could not provide the collateral to back it up. The US government ended up bailing out AIG and a number of other financial institutions. Without that there would have been a complete collapse of our banking system.

Today’s problem is potentially bigger. This is a terrible scenario, but could certainly become a real one if oil prices stay low and the dollar stays strong. Though if the Federal Reserve instead chooses to delay its rate hike, there will be a huge reversal in the dollar, and it will relieve this deflationary trajectory, for at least a little while longer.

Analysis by Andrew Gehrig

South Korea tries to remove the deadlock

December 29, 2014 by The Speaker Editors

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Monday South Korea proposed a series of talks with North Korea. It is an attempt to remove the gunpowder between the two borders which has led to a huge amount of fighting in the past few decades. Since the Korean War of 1950-1953 there has not been any major progress towards negotiations between the two countries.

Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae said at a news conference that South Korea wants to hold talks in January. However, it is still unclear whether North Korea will accept the offer or not. The reason behind this is that in the past decade North Korea has viewed these talks as an attempt to take over. It also wants a united Korea with Pyongyang in charge, which is nearly impossible.

Ryoo went further to mention hope of rejoining the families separated by the Korean War. In the past North Korea has made a negative responses to all offers of talks by saying that they were attempts to topple down Pyongyang’s Government. The talks which were to be held in October were also boycotted by the North Korean government in response to the offensive messages sent to that government. The two nations had previously agreed to restart the dialogue when a high-ranked North Korean delegation made a surprise visit to the Asian Games held in the South Korea in October. Ryoo has not addressed the nation on Monday leaving a huge question whether North will accept this offer or not.

“What the North wants from the South is some kind of assurance… to stop the leaflets so I am not sure if the North would embrace the offer easily,” said Hong, analyst at Sejong Institute. Still there are symptoms that the North Korean government will accept this offer in order to defuse tensions created by the recent cyber crimes. Washington has also decided to respond with a long-lasting reaction to the North Korean government for hacking Sony, which is the studio behind the movie The Interview, a comedy movie based on the idea of kidnapping Kim. North Korea has viewed this as a direct act of war. South Korea’s nuclear reactors have also been facing a series of cyber strings.

Tensions are raising day by day as the UN has turned its attentions towards Pyongyang for its record of crimes against humanity.

Analysis by Armaghan Naveed

Personality at least as important as intelligence when it comes to doing well in school, research suggests

January 26, 2021December 29, 2014 by The Speaker Editors

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According to new psychology research, personality is at least as important as intelligence when it comes to school. Some personality traits are more important than others, according to the findings, and the study has led researcher Dr. Arthur Poropat of Griffith’s School of Applied Psychology to suggest that educators may do better to target the fluid, teachable capacities of personality rather than rely on the more static capacity of intelligence alone.

“Personality is at least, if not more important than intelligence for education,” Poropat told The Speaker. “And unlike intelligence, we can help people to develop their personality to improve their academic performance and life outcomes.”

Arthur MGT photo 049(f3)08_008 — Dr. Arthur Poropat

Poropat conducted the largest ever reviews of personality and academic performance based on the five fundamental personality factors–Conscientiousness, Openness, Agreeableness, Emotional Stability, and Extraversion. He found that Conscientiousness and Openness have the biggest influence on academic success, and helpfulness was found to also be involved in scoring grades.

“Students who scored highest on the three most relevant personality factors scored a full grade higher than students who scored lowest on those factors. The three factors are: Conscientiousness, which reflects things like making and carrying out plans, striving to achieve, and self-control; Openness (also called Openness to Experience and Intellect), encompassing being imaginative, curious, and artistic; and Emotional Stability, covering calmness and emotional adjustment (as opposed to being anxious, fearful or unstable). The two personality factors that are not so strongly linked with academic performance are Agreeableness (reflecting likability and friendliness), and Extraversion (talkative and socially-dominant).

“What my reviews of the research on personality and academic performance found was that Conscientiousness is at the very least just as important as intelligence for predicting academic performance.”

Who was doing the assessing was also a matter of the research. A students self-assessment was found to be as useful as a predictor of success in university as intelligence rankings, but the assessments of other students–those who knew the individual in question well–were found to be much more accurate than either.

“If someone who knows the student well rates the student’s personality, Conscientiousness is nearly four times as important.

“So, students who habitually manage their effort, make and stick to plans, and stay motivated regardless of set-backs, do substantially better, and this is more important than how smart the student is. Likewise, both Openness and Emotional Stability are much more useful for predicting grades and GPA when rated by someone who knows the student well. In other words, the creative and intellectually-curious students, and the calm and emotionally well-adjusted students, will do better at school and university.”

In general, personality was found to be more important than intelligence when it came to academic careers. Poropat explained why this might be.

“One way of thinking about this is that intelligence is a bit like horsepower for a car: it gives a student their basic capacity to learn. Conscientiousness, Openness and Emotional Stability is more like the way in which the car is driven. With respect to cars, a great driver in an average car will outperform a bad driver in a great car. Similarly, a student with average intelligence but who is high on Conscientiousness, Openness, and Emotional Stability will outperform an intelligent student who scores lowly on these factors.”

Poropat commented on some changes that could be made to education to improve its benefits to students.

“One thing that surprised me when I completed the first of my studies was that teachers already ‘knew’ what the results were. The many teachers I have spoken with typically say that hard-working, intellectually curious, and well-adjusted students perform better than smart students, in part because they are easier to teach. However, there is clear evidence from independent research–i.e., not mine–that students can be taught to change their personality in ways that help their studies. What I would like to see is education actively targeting personality development in ways that are closely linked to study and work. We already know this is possible and it produces good outcomes for students but we need more attention to this, and more research on how best to achieve this. Some of my postgraduate research students are already exploring this area.”

Not only can good personalities be taught to some degree, but students may be setting themselves up for failure by depending on the static capacity of intelligence, which is different from the fluid capacity of personality, according to Poropat.

“Professor Carol Dweck has done a lot of research on why teachers and parents should never tell a student they have done well because they are smart,” he explained. “The reason is that the students seem to know what research tells us: despite the mind-training software, it seems that it is not possible to truly improve someone’s intelligence. So, if a student thinks they have done well because they are smart, they conclude there is no point in making an effort so they stop trying and their performance gets worse.

“However, there is clear evidence that personality does change over time, and that it is possible to train people to change their personality–at least as far as changing how they consistently behave. In contrast with intelligence, students seem to know that they can learn new ways of managing themselves, and new ways of exploring ideas and skills, and new ways of managing their emotions. People typically develop higher levels of Conscientiousness with age, but they can also be taught this. And, people can also be taught to be higher on Openness and Emotional Stability. So, students of any age can develop their personality to improve their academic performance: the challenge is for educators to show them how.”

Poropat concluded that much of classroom success depends on how teachers bring out the best in students.

“Teachers need to help students develop their personalities in constructive ways. That is because, unlike intelligence, teachers can guide students to be more conscientious, open to experience, and emotionally-stable, which are the three personality factors that have the biggest effect on whether students learn well. Teachers should pay attention to whether students’ personalities support learning, and use that to guide teaching of individual students.

The report, “Other-rated personality and academic performance: Evidence and implications,” was completed by Arthur E. Poropat, and was published in the journal Learning and Individual Differences.

Catalonia´s bid for independence is uncovering a deep rift in Spain´s political and social fabric

December 29, 2014 by The Speaker Editors

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The ongoing Catalan bid for independence and the political crisis between the central government in Madrid and Catalonia has opened up a divide which is creating an internal conflict within Spain that runs deep into the social fabric of the country. The divide is threatening to unravel the progress made by the county since the death of The Dictator, Francisco Franco.

A symbolic Catalan vote for independence that took place on the 9^th of November asked two fundamental questions. Should Catalonia become a state? And should Catalonia become an independent state?

The symbolic test vote produced 2.3 Million votes with 80% voting both yes to becoming a state and yes to becoming an independent state. This has been the political stepping stone that independence parties need to push through early elections in 2015. Meanwhile Catalonia fights to create a constitutional reform that will open the way for a separation from Spain and the right to be a country in its own right.

The central government has continually blocked the creation of a subcommittee to begin debating a constitutional reform. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has famously said that he will give “no concession” to Catalonia´s demands, and refuses to recognize the symbolic referendum opinion vote of November.

Mariano Rajoy has gone as far as to file criminal complaints against the president of the Catalan Government Artur Mas for having organized the “non-binding vote” and also pushed to re-centralize power as a way to punish Catalonia. Hundreds of Catalans have gone to the Supreme Court to plead guilty for voting as part of the solidarity campaign to support Mas.

There is a strong national identity in Catalonia that seeks to distance itself from Spain. Bullfighting is banned and the Catalan language that was thoroughly opposed during the dictatorship of General Franco is gaining popularity as a language in its own right. Famously, a sign existed in Barcelona´s trams: “Prohibited: spitting, swearing and speaking Catalan.”

Every year Catalonia is forced to hand over 17 billion Euros of their taxes to Madrid´s coffers, the province which contributes the most, having a larger GDP per capita plus than the rest of the country, apart from the fact that Catalonia does not enjoy fiscal autonomy like the Basque country.

Recently allegations of corruption within the central governing party, the PP (Popular Party) have pushed the divide even further. The Catalan political parties, pushing for independence, have made the end to political corruption a central theme of their manifesto.

A famous case known as the “Barcena´s papers” has rocked Spain to its core, challenging the public perception of the political elite and the traditional two party system.

Luis Barcenas nicknamed by the police as “Luis the bastard” for years was involved in tax fraud and accepting illegal payments, he stood down from the PP in 2010 but continued to accept payments. When investigated for Political corruption 22 million Euros were discovered in a Swiss bank account and a private secret ledger indicating the current president Mariano Rajoy was receiving undeclared payments.

Catalonia has not come out of the corruption scandal unscathed ether. Its famous ex-president Jordi Pujol, who served from 1980 to 2003, is currently under investigation for having syphoned off public funds which were the channeled into fiscal paradises around the world by his sons.

One of the main reasons that Catalonia looks to independence is to stem the tide of politcal corruption that has plagued the country and instilled mistrust in the political elite to the point that the population of Spain is increasingly looking for alternative parties such as “Podemos” meaning “We Can,” a political movement which was which was born from the 15-M Indignados movement.

Regardless of the rift that seems to be threatening Spain´s social fabric, Catalonia continues to push forward the independence vote, regardless of the outcome of independence votes in Scotland and Quebec, and 2015 will be a key year for politics in Spain.

Analysis by Anthony Bain

Rescuers: “QZ8501 might have sunk”

December 29, 2014December 29, 2014 by The Speaker Editors

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The head of the search and rescue team for AirAsia flight QZ8501 which disappeared while flying from Surabaya’s Juanda International Airport, Indonesia to Singapore on Sunday, revealed to Channel News Asia that search operations are confined to the Banga island, Belitung island and Lang Teng island, which are the areas most likely to contain wreckage from the aircraft, based on where it was last in contact with ground control. Indonesian officials reported there were 162 passengers on board.

The Belitung island is an area where fishermen claimed they had heard objects hit the island. A source told the Indonesian authorities that they saw a plane crash on Sunday. However, there is no formal confirmation from the concerned authority yet. Rescue teams featuring three helicopters, three airplanes, 11 vessels and several more fishing boats were gathered to prepare for the search of the missing aircraft.

Staff at the search and rescue team assumed and assessed, using the latest information source with consideration for different surrounding factors, that there is a possibility that the jet airliner might have sunk and it is at the bottom of the sea.

Meanwhile, officials in Indonesia added further that after disappearing from the radar and losing contact with air traffic control over ten hours, it is highly likely that the aircraft might have met with an accident.

An Indonesian Army spokesperson made a statement during a press conference earlier today, saying that the Army had sent five search planes to search for the missing aircraft, particularly around the eastern and northern sides of the Belitung Island. “Weather conditions in some areas are very cloudy but that is not an obstacle,” he said. Meanwhile, the Australian Air Force had even sent search planes from Darwin city, northern Australia early this morning on a search mission.

Moreover, the U.S., China and South Korea have also offered assistance in this search mission.

By Panthep Pande

Cambodian garment workers seek higher wages to make ends meet

December 28, 2014 by The Speaker Editors

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After multiple violent riots demanding a higher minimum working wage, garment workers in Cambodia struggle to make ends meet, and continue to work to get more attention focused on their plight.

Last December, five people were killed as a result of clashes with police in Phnom Penh, the site of many of the country’s garment and textile factories In Cambodia alone, there are thought to be over 620,000 workers in 960 garment and footwear factories, where at least 91 percent are female. The current minimum wage is $100 per month; however, the workers are demanding at least $177, which is the average monthly spending amount of the workers.

Bent Ghert, of Workers Rights Consortium, says that at the current wage workers find it near impossible to survive, and must live in rooms hardly large enough for a single person. “We can observe that most workers live in small, 4×4 rented rooms here in Cambodia… which cost on average $25 a month.” In order to make it easier to pay the rent, the workers usually have to live with others, such as a friend or family member.

Mr. Ghert went on to say that the worker generally sends a portion of their pay back to their village in the countryside, from where the majority of them come. This makes it even more difficult to make ends meet. “They also have to send back money for their family or siblings who are still in school. The minimum they send is $17, (as it) makes no sense to send less then that.”

After these expenses, the worker is left with little to purchase food. This, in addition to long working hours, helps contribute to the onset of extreme fatigue and diseases like anemia, which results from low iron blood levels. A recent study found that the average worker in these factories spends $1.30 on food daily. With cheap, low caloric food to sustain them, Jill Tucker of the International Labor Organization says that it’s not surprising that the health of the workers is severely compromised. “Anemia and food insecurity can contribute to wide ranging health problems for workers. Anemia often leads to chronic fatigue, concentrating difficulty and low productivity. Addressing these anemia levels will be complex, but is key to improving productivity and business outcomes in the garment sector.”

Srey Na, a garment worker in Phnom Penh, says that she has little choice but to continue working for the current wages. “I work one full day and (then) half a morning. I don’t want to work so much, but I receive money. So I work. If I don’t take this opportunity I will have difficulties.”

By Brett Scott

Photo: ILO in Asia and the Pacific