We’ve been hearing a lot lately about America’s struggles: rising joblessness, increasing poverty, growing inequality, and an education system that’s falling behind those of other developed countries. But it’s worth keeping in mind that even as things seems to get worse by some measures, they’re getting by others. And perhaps the most obvious area for
Continue reading …A truly wild footnote to the story about Heather Penney, the F-16 pilot who was willing to give up her life, kamikaze-style , by flying her unarmed jet into United 93 to stop it on Sept. 11: She was potentially willing to sacrifice her father’s life, too. The Washington Post reports…
Continue reading …Michele Bachmann made waves this week by claiming that the HPV vaccine can cause mental retardation, and now more critics are piling on—one of whom is Rick Perry. Perry, of course, was the target of Bachmann’s original statement; she disagrees with the executive order he issued requiring Texas girls…
Continue reading …The FAA could soon be shut down again, costing thousands of workers their jobs and the government $30 million a day in airline ticket taxes, all thanks to a single Republican senator. Tom Coburn is exploiting a Senate procedural rule requiring unanimous consent to switch from working on one bill…
Continue reading …Denmark exit polls predict election of country’s first female prime minister
September 15, 2011 No Comment
Social democratic leader Helle Thorning-Schmidt said to be slightly ahead in closely fought battle Denmark’s social democratic leader looks set to become the country’s first female prime minister by a narrow margin, according to early general election exit polls on Thursday night. But the projections were too close for certainty, and suggested the election could turn on late results from Greenland and the Faroe Islands, which have four seats in the 179-strong chamber in Copenhagen. The uncertainty was compounded by the fact that the exit polls were released hours before voting closed. Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the 44-year-old former MEP who is the daughter-in-law of British politicians Neil and Glenys Kinnock, was said to be slightly ahead, with her “red bloc” centre-left coalition securing a majority of between three and seven over the incumbent liberal-conservative government of Lars Lokke Rasmussen, according to three separate exit polls. The centre-right coalition has been in power for a decade, notching up a trio of election victories, but as a minority government propped up in parliament by the far-right, anti-Muslim and anti-European Danish People’s party, whose influence has been central, forcing the passage of dozens of new laws countering immigration. The far right party and its success over the past decade has made it the model for like-minded parties in Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands who have chalked up notable gains over the past two years. The DPP has also succeeded in forcing its anti-immigrant position on the mainstream, meaning the restrictive regime is unlikely to change whoever wins. The popular and controversial DPP leader, Pia Kjaersgaard, said: “It is almost as if [the election] has become a referendum about me and the DPP. I think that has given me extra strength, but also that people have said they would support me. That has been incredibly warm and nice,” she said as she cast her ballot. Thorning-Schmidt, appearing alongside her husband, Stephen Kinnock, congratulated herself, although the projected close result suggested she had done worse than expected. “I feel like giving myself a pat on the back,” she said. “We can create history tonight. We can bid goodbye to 10 years of [Liberal-Conservative] government which has ground to a halt, and get a new government and a new majority in Denmark.” The campaign was dominated by the flagging economy, with the incumbents promising austerity and the centre-left a wave of public spending. Denmark Europe The far right Lars Eriksen Ian Traynor guardian.co.uk
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Dramatic implications of individual voter registration spelt out to members on constitutional reform select committee As many as 10 million voters, predominantly poor, young or black, and more liable to vote Labour, could fall off the electoral register under government plans, the Electoral Commission, electoral administrators and psephologists warned . The changes will pave the way for a further review of constituency boundaries that will reduce the number of safe Labour seats before the 2020 election. MPs on the political and constitutional reform select committee only realised the implications of the plans following three evidence sessions with election experts over the past week to examine the white paper which proposes to introduce individual electoral registration rather than household registration before the 2015 election. The committee chairman, Labour MP Graham Allen, said they were “genuinely shocked”. Even Tory members such as Eleanor Laing expressed surprise. The policy has been described by Jenny Russell, the chair of the electoral commission, as the biggest change to voting since the introduction of the universal franchise. Ministers have unexpectedly proposed that it should no longer be compulsory to co-operate with electoral registration officers (EROs) when they try to compile an accurate register, in effect downgrading the civic duty to engage with politics. Russell warned: “It is logical to suggest that those that do not vote in elections will not see the point of registering to vote and it is possible that the register may therefore go from a 90%completeness that we currently have to 60-65%.” John Stewart, chairman of the electoral registration officers, said the drop-off was likely to be 10% in “the leafy shires” but closer to 30% in inner city areas. He said there would be an incentive not to register as the list is used for jury service and to combat credit fraud. He said he expected large numbers of young voters would not register. The Cabinet Office, overseen by Nick Clegg, which had already decided there would be no household canvass in 2014 to save money, is introducing individual registration before the 2015 general election. The Electoral Commission said the change would mean 10% of the electorate could fall off the register in as many as 300 local authority areas. The full effect of voluntary individual registration will be felt at the 2020 general election because the constituency boundaries for that election will be based on a voluntary individual register compiled in December 2015. The projected 30% fall off in registered voters, weighted towards poorer voters, would require the boundary commission to reduce the number of inner-city Labour seats because the Boundary Commission is required to draw up constituencies with the sole objective of equalising the size of the electorates and not to take into account natural or political borders. It is already estimated that as many as 3 million people currently eligible to vote do not register even though it is compulsory to co-operate with the compilation of the registry. Although individual registration will be introduced before the 2015 general election, ministers have said the names on the existing household register can be carried over on to the election register, so reducing the impact. Tristam Hunt, a Labour committee member, said: “These plans show how little this government really cares about democracy or fairness. If they get away with it, the effect on the 2020 general election will make the chaotic boundary review published this week look minor. This is designed to wipe the poor and the young off the political map. “We are moving from a notion of registering as part as a civic duty to something akin to personal choice like a Nectar card or BA miles.” Russell said the government’s plans had “unforeseen consequences”. It is currently an offence, liable to a maximum fine of £1,000, to fail to comply with a request for information from an ERO or to give false information. The Cabinet Office white paper, published in the summer said: “While we strongly encourage people to register to vote, the government believes the act is one of personal choice and as such there should be no compulsion placed on an individual to make an application to register to vote.” Roger Mortimore from pollsters Ipsos Mori warned: “It is a very dramatic change and I am opposed to it. So far there is a political effect, it is most likely to disadvantage Labour”, because “people that are least engaged in politics — the poor, the young and the ethnic minorities and all those groups, when they do vote at all are more likely to vote Labour”. Electoral reform Boundary changes House of Commons Patrick Wintour guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …It’s been a shaky day all around the globe: A 6.2 earthquake hit off Japan’s coast today, and a 6.0 shaker also struck off Cuba’s coast. No tsunami warnings have been issued in either location, and no injuries or damage have been reported. In Japan, cooling functions were…
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• Hit F5 for the latest or use the auto-refresh button below • Follow all tonight’s European action on our live scoreboard • And email your thoughts to john.ashdown@guardian.co.uk Half-time email dept. “John, did you make it home in time to clean up before your girlfriend got home the other night, after the tennis?” wonders Eliot Crowe. “And, given that Spurs themselves aren’t even interested in this match, is there any chance you can entertain us readers by telling what happened on Top of the Pops ?” In answer to your first question, yes. In answer to the second, I think that particular story deserves better than this slightly underwhelming contest. Tell, you want – if there’s six or more goals in the second half I’ll spill the beans. If not, no deal. Half-time snack dept. Just a tea for me. White, no sugar. Peeeep! And the referee brings the opening 45 to a close. 45 min: Athanasiadis, whose name is causing me a few typing issues, does well to send a shot at goal under pressure from Corluka. It’s straight into Cudicini’s bread-basket. 43 min: Livermore, impressive thus far, is cynically chopped down by Pablo Garcia and picks up a booking. 42 min: “Thought I might tell you that Rubin Kazan just had a penalty brilliantly saved but, just before they got it, down at the other end Ryzhikov picked up the ball outside the box and it was ignored,” writes Brynmoor Pattison. “Interesting match underway in Tallaght! 0-1 to Rubin so far.” 41 min: Lovely work down the right from Spurs – Walker, Giovani and Falque combining to pick open the PAOK defence. The Spaniard dinks the ball back in and Pavlyuchenko whelps it off towards Macedonia. 40 min: … which Pavlyuchenko thumps into the roof of the net. On the outside of the goal. It was dipping, see. Cracking effort. 38 min: Bassong finds Pavlyuchenko with a lovely ball into the inside-left channel. The Russian gets the benefit of some Keystone Cops defending, cuts inside and wins a very dangerous free-kick … 36 min: Tottenham’s back four play a bit of keep-ball, before Giovani hops and pops forward once more and draws a free-kick. Arias gets a booking for his trouble. 34 min: The referee is doing his best to make this interesting – Tottenham concede a free-kick outside the PAOK area, but Livermore spanks a shot at goal. He gets a stern talking to from the man in yellow, who seems to fancy placing himself at the centre of proceedings. 33 min: And from the retake he drags it wide of Cudicini’s left-hand post! GO … NO! The Brazilian scoops it past Cudicini, runs off to celebrate … but the referee has ordered a retake! 29 min: PENALTY! And not to Spurs, but to PAOK! Cudicini pretty unnecessarily drags down Athanasiadis. 27 min: Giovani robs Vieirinha 30 yards from goal – the PAOK whistle their disgust. Kane goes down in the area … it looks like a penalty and quacks like a penalty … but it’s not a penalty. Kane gets a booking for simulation and replays show it wasn’t particularly deserved. It certainly looked like Contreras caught him. 25 min: … cleared away with little fuss. And on the break Giovani skitters and skips away from a couple of defenders, raising the pulse for just about the first time in this opening half. The move breaks down soon enough, but at least it was a brief injection of pace into a game that’s being played veerrrryyy slllooooowwwwllllllyyyyy. 24 min: Salpingidis wins a corner … 22 min: Former Uruguay international Pablo Garcia is the pivot in midfield for PAOK, but he’s operating in areas deeper than the Mariana Trench so struggling to cause any damage. 20 min: Townsend dinks in a cross, Kane heads straight at the keeper. It’s been a low key, middling-quality start here. And the match hasn’t been much better. 19 min: Vieirinha again causes trouble, shimmying his way into a shooting position, but then blazing over 18 min: … whipped in, but well held by Cudicini. 17 min: Vierienha again gets a little space, 25 yards from goal. Decent effort, deflected over. Corner … 16 min: Vierinha pokes a through-ball into the box, but it’s too heavy for his team-mate. 14 min: Tremendous atmosphere at the Toumba Stadium, despite Spurs monopolising possession. Kane gets down to the byline, but can’t work space for the cross. 13 min: “I wonder if a team from that Welsh railway station, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch will ever get a team in the Europa league?” writes Ben Bamford. “That would give these Greek chaps something to think about …” They’d have to go some to beat Bangkok Bravo (full name: Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit Bravo Association Football Club ), though I suppose they’d have to meet in the World Club Championship. 11 min: CLEARED OFF THE LINE! Livermore does superbly to wriggle his way in to the box, lays the ball off to Falque who manages to find the only PAOK defender on the line. 10 min: With Andros Townsend struggling, Etto gets clear down the right and drags in a low cross that reaches a PAOK shirt in the box. The shot is well blocked at close quarters. 8 min: The Greek side have definitely upped their work-rate and are snapping at Tottenham heels higher up the pitch now. And in doing so giving away a couple of free-kicks. 7 min: Salpingidis, a veteran of 50 caps for Greece, whups another ball into the penalty area, but this time it’s aimless. 6 min: Dangerous cross into the box from Salpingidis, after nice work from Etto, but there’s not a black and white shirt in the box. 4 min: Falque picks the pocket of a PAOK defender but his attempted one-two doesn’t come off. Plenty of eyes on 21-year-old Spaniard tonight. 3 min: Shamrock Rovers are already 0-1 down at home to Rubin Kazan. 2 min: Free-kick to Spurs over on the right, whipped in left-footed by Tom Carroll (whose team-mates presumably call Christmas. Or Lewis. Or Andy). Straight into the meaty paws of Kresic in the PAOK goal. 1 min: Bassong does a little tidying up at the back as PAOK break forward, but then there’s some early pass, pass, pass from the visitors. Peep! Off we go then. Spurs, all in what Dulux or Crown might call Space Lilac, kicking from right to left. Click-clack, click-clack … The teams are in the tunnel. Something that could be Highway to Hell belts out from the Tannoy. 5.57pm: An alternative view dept. “Last season Harry ran his top players ragged, playing them every game and giving little opportunity to younger players,” writes Martin Wills. “Maybe he’s learned something from that.” 5.55pm: PAOK Salonika’s full and proper name is Panthessaloníkios Athlitikós Ómilos Konstantinoupolitón. A mouthful, that’s for sure. But not quite Nooit Opgeven Altijd Doorzetten Aangenaam Door Vermaak En Nuttig Door Ontspanning Combinatie Breda ( otherwise known as NAC Breda ). 5.52pm: Harsh words dept. “I think this team selection, and Harry’s attitude towards this competition, betrays a real arrogance,” writes William Hardy. “They obviously think of themselves as a Champions League club, but they’re not going to be getting back in it any time soon, and they could win this if they took it seriously. Harry has only won one trophy in his whole career, and they could get a big draw if they stay in. One of Man City’s group will be entering, imagine Spurs getting Bayern, or Villareal or Napoli? Arrogance, that’s what I put it down to. Misplaced arrogance at that as well.” 5.49pm: Quite enjoying the fact that PAOK have got a Lino in there first XI. He’s a Brazilian – slightly disappointingly his first name isn’t “Oi!” and his surname isn’t “Getyourflagup”. He’s Dorvalino Alves Maciel. And it’s probably pronounced “Leeno” if we’re being honest with ourselves. Preamble: Evening all. Are we well? I’m dandy thanks, basking in the warm glow of a day’s work well done. Today I scrubbed the flagstones on my balcony and then re-pebbled the gutters – and, no, neither of those are euphemisms. And if that were not enough, there’s an evening of Europa League action to look forward to. Unlike many, I really like the Europa League. It’s full of big, old teams – names from the past that modern football has left behind: Anderlecht, PSV Eindhoven, Sporting Lisbon, Lazio, Dynamo Kiev, Besiktas, Paris St Germain, Malmo, Austria Vienna, Club Brugge, Celtic, Rennes, Atletico Madrid, Steaua Bucharest, AEK Athens … and plenty more. Tottenham don’t seem quite so enamoured. What makes me say that? Here are the teams: PAOK Salonika: Kresic, Malezas, Contreras, Lino, Etto, Pablo Garcia, Fotakis, Arias, Vieirinha, Athanasiadis, Salpingidis. Subs: Chalkias, Balafas, Robert, Papazoglou, Ivic, Sznaucner, Tsoukalas. Tottenham: Cudicini, Bassong, Corluka, Walker, Livermore, Townsend, Carroll, Pavlyuchenko, Giovani, Falque, Kane. Subs: Gomes, Fredericks, Nicholson, Pritchard, Parrett, Stewart, Barthram. Referee: Milorad Mazic (Serbia) Europa League 2011-12 PAOK Salonika Tottenham Hotspur Europa League John Ashdown guardian.co.uk
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South Korea’s Kolon found to have stolen trade secrets of fibre in largest ever settlement in intellectual property trial The industrial conglomerate DuPont has won $920m (£583m) in damages after a US jury ruled that a South Korean firm had stolen trade secrets about the high-strength fibres used in its Kevlar body armour. Kolon Industries mounted a “concerted, orchestrated and persistent effort” to steal confidential information, DuPont’s lawyer Thomas Sager said. The Korean firm said it would appeal and was “confident that a fair and favourable decision will be reached on appeal”. The firm is also countersuing DuPont. The jury in Richmond, Virginia, took two days to find in favour of the US firm, which sued Kolon two years ago. DuPont argued that Kolon had conspired with a group of former employees to steal the secrets of its top-selling fibre. Michael Mitchell, a former employee whom the US authorities said gave Kolon proprietary information about Kevlar, is now in prison. The US firm alerted the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) after learning Mitchell, a former DuPont engineer and Kevlar marketing executive, had confidential information on his home computer. The FBI searched his house and found DuPont documents and confidential information belonging to DuPont, federal prosecutors said last year. Mitchell was sentenced to 18 months in prison last March after pleading guilty to theft of trade secrets and obstruction of justice. Kolon recruited other former DuPont workers, from both the US firm and its Japanese subsidiary, as part of a “concerted effort” to obtain information about Kevlar, according to court filings. Kevlar, created by DuPont in 1965 and originally used in racing car tyres, now accounts for $1.4bn of DuPont’s sales and is used in bullet-proof vests, army helmets, snare drums, suspension bridge ropes and fibre-optic cable. “DuPont’s investment in developing this information, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars over many years, was thereby essentially lost,” the company said in a court filing in October. “Kolon is now able to compete against DuPont in the aramid [the class of synthetic fibres that includes Kevlar] marketing using DuPont’s own information against it.” The “jury decision is an enormous victory for global intellectual property protection”, Sager said. “It also sends a message to potential thieves of intellectual property that DuPont will pursue all legal remedies to protect our significant investment in research and development.” Kolon’s rival product is called Heracron. The Korean firm accuses DuPont of creating unfair competition by requiring customers to buy 80% to 100% of their Kevlar or equivalent fibres from the company. The case is set to go to trial next March. A Kolon spokesman said the verdict was: “The result of a multi-year campaign by DuPont aimed at forcing Kolon out of the aramid fibre market. Kolon had no need for and did not solicit any trade secrets or proprietary information of DuPont, and had no reason to believe that the consultants it engaged were providing such information. Indeed, many of the ‘secrets’ alleged in this case are public knowledge.” Press Millen, an expert on trade secrets cases and attorney at Womble Carlyle, said it was the largest settlement in a trade secrets case he could recall. “In order to get a settlement this large there has to be a real sense of egregiousness and the jury has to buy into that,” he said. He noted similarities to the last big trade secrets lawsuit in which the Barbie toy firm Mattel was ordered to pay $310m to a rival, MGA, in a dispute over the origins of the Bratz doll range. He said the jury’s familiarity with Kevlar may have contributed to their willingness to reach such a large settlement. “Kevlar is also a well-known product, bought in civilian as well as military contexts. It’s a brand name and a lot less abstract than a formula,” he said. The appliance of science Best known for bullet-proof vests and army helmets, and found in a range of sports equipment – such as bicycles, snowboards, rackets and hiking boots – Kevlar has also been to Mars on the Pathfinder spacecraft and used by drug-traffickers for the hulls of submarines. Discovered in 1965 by Stephanie Kwolek, a DuPont scientist, Kevlar is a light and flexible aramid fibre five times stronger than steel. It is also found in military vehicle armour, oil and gas pipes, aeroplane wings and helicopter blades. Oren Gruenbaum DuPont Manufacturing sector Intellectual property United States South Korea Dominic Rushe guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …English city riots involved ‘hardcore’ of repeat offenders, first analysis shows
September 15, 2011 No Comment
More than 70% of the 1,715 brought to court had previous convictions or cautions, but many youngsters had clean records The riots that swept through English cities last month involved a hardcore of repeat offenders but also drew in others, particularly youngsters, who had no criminal history at all, the first official analysis has found. Detailed Ministry of Justice scrutiny of the 1,715 defendants on riot-related charges who have faced the courts also show that magistrates and judges have taken an even tougher approach to sentencing than previously thought. London courts are dealing with convicted rioters more harshly than those in other cities, according to the analysis. The figures show that 90% of those before the courts were male, and most were young – with 21% aged 10-17 and 31% aged 18-20. The analysis confirms the claims by the justice secretary, Kenneth Clarke, that “existing criminals were on the rampage” with its data showing that 73% of those before the courts had been previously cautioned or convicted. Clarke said the figures lent weight to his intention to bring in radical prison reforms to prevent this “hardcore of repeat offenders” simply going round and round the system. The “hardcore” claim is bolstered by figures showing 25% of those charged had been convicted of more than 10 previous offences and had previously served a jail sentence. About 10% of those brought to court were either already serving a community order or had been released from prison on licence. But beyond that the evidence is more complicated. While it is true that 77% of adult riot suspects had a criminal history, this falls to 55% among juveniles – indicating that many more of those defendants had been drawn into the criminal justice system for the first time. The former Labour lord chancellor, Lord Falconer, has also questioned whether the previous convictions were simply cautions for shoplifting or lengthy prison sentences for serious violent attacks. Here the figures are less conclusive. The 1,100 or so riot suspects with a previous criminal record are said to have committed a total of 16,598 previous offences between them – an average of 15 each. But the detailed breakdown shows that 39% of these are described as “summary and breach offences”, ie more minor crime, and 9.6% of the total were dealt with by a caution. The 61% of previous convictions for more serious indictable crimes include mainly theft and handling stolen goods and drug offences. The MoJ analysis also shows that the courts have actually been handing out tougher sentences than previously thought. So far 315 people have been sentenced, of whom 176 were given an immediate jail sentence with an average length of 11.1 months. For the magistrates this represents an imprisonment rate of 43% for riot cases compared with just 12% of cases for similar offences in 2010. In theft cases, the imprisonment rate has risen to 67% – compared with 2%. At crown courts, which have so far dealt with 79 cases, the immediate custody rate has risen to 89% compared with 33% normally. Sentence length is also longer – up to two or three times longer than the normal term for similar offences. Theft cases have attracted an average sentence of 7.1
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