Turning victims into perpetrators: Right-wingers defend Prosser’s chokehold by claiming assaulted colleague was the aggressor
June 29, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media Greta Van Susteren already has a record of favoritism when it comes to Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser, so it probably wasn’t any surprise when she devoted a segment of her show the other night to suggesting loudly that Prosser was being set up by the woman he allegedly tried to throttle , Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, as well as the court’s Chief Justice, Shirley Abrahamson, whom he has previously attacked verbally as a “total bitch” . Indeed, that’s largely a continuation of Van Susteren’s previous narrative around Prosser — namely, that Prosser is the innocent victim of a campaign cooked up against him by conniving feminist justices in Wisconsin. And the heated denials and countercharges coming from Prosser and his many ardent defenders (including the Planet Bizarro that is the Althouseosphere) have certainly played into that narrative. It’s almost as if they’re colluding. Van Susteren is promising “more to this story”. What’s next? Some Breitbartesque e-mail thefts, perhaps? Well, it’s their only possible narrative short of abject humiliation, so of course they’re sticking to it.
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Heated exchanges at prime minister’s questions as Labour leader says PM ‘can’t be trusted’ with health service David Cameron has launched a scathing attack on the Labour leader, Ed Miliband, after being put on the back foot over the NHS. Miliband continued his strategy of challenging Cameron on policy detail at prime minister’s questions, asking him to state the cost of NHS redundancies before revealing the figure of £852m. The Labour leader then asked the prime minister to guarantee that none of those pocketing redundancy payments would be rehired in one of the hundreds of new bodies set to be created as a result of the NHS reforms. But Cameron sought to steer the debate away from health and on to the union strikes due to be staged on Thursday. He accused Miliband of choosing not to ask him about the forthcoming industrial disruption because he was in the “pocket of the unions”. “That’s what we see, week after week – he has to talk about the micro because he can’t talk about the macro,” the prime minister said. “What the whole country will have noticed is, at a time when people are worrying about strikes, he can’t ask about strikes because he is in the pocket of the unions.” The heated atmosphere prompted the Speaker, John Bercow, to appeal to MPs to “calm down and reflect on what the public thinks of this sort of behaviour”. Cameron was forced on the defensive after Miliband rattled off a list of new NHS organisations which he said would see the total number of NHS bodies grow from 163 to 521, despite a promised cull of quangos by the government. These included “pathfinder consortia, health and wellbeing boards, shadow commissioning groups, authorised commissioning groups, a national commissioning board, PCT clusters, SHA clusters, clinical networks and clinical senates”, Miliband said, adding: “Is this what you meant by a bonfire of the quangos?” Cameron said £5bn was being saved through the reduction of bureaucracy, and that the government was implementing the £20bn cost savings set out by Labour. “The difference is … we are going on with putting more money into the NHS, money that the party opposite doesn’t support, so there will be more nurses, more doctors, more operations in our health service and a better NHS compared with cuts from the party opposite,” he said. Miliband again asked him whether staff made redundant would be rehired “to do their old jobs at your new quangos”. Cameron said: “I know that you have this extraordinary vision of how the NHS is run, but it’s not the prime minister who hires every person in every organisation in the NHS.” The Labour leader said people would notice that Cameron “could not be trusted with the NHS”. “Isn’t the truth [that] he promised no top-down reorganisations, he is doing it,” Miliband said. “He promised a bonfire of the quangos; he’s creating more. He promised a better deal for patients, and things are getting worse. What people are asking up and down this country is, what is he doing to our NHS?” Cameron steered the debate away from the government’s policies by launching into the Labour party’s links to the trade unions. “What the whole country will have noticed is, at a time when people are worrying about strikes, he can’t ask about strikes because he is in the pocket of the unions,” said Cameron. “What the whole country will have noticed is, at a time when Greece is facing huge problems over its deficit, he can’t talk about Greece because his plan is to make Britain like Greece. “What the whole country will have noticed is, at a time when the economy is the key issue, he can’t talk about the economy because of his ludicrous plan for tax cuts.” Ed Miliband David Cameron Health policy PMQs House of Commons NHS Health Hélène Mulholland guardian.co.uk
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Independent editor-in-chief defends columnist involved in ‘politically motivated’ plagiarism furore Simon Kelner, the editor-in-chief of the Independent, described the online plagiarism row over star columnist Johann Hari as “politically motivated” and “fabricated anger” at lunchtime on Wednesday. Speaking to Radio 4′s The Media Show , Kelner said Hari’s practice of not attributing some interviewees’ quotes was wrong. But he sought to defend the award-winning columnist, saying it is not a great scandal and claiming that Hari had been unfairly vilified on Twitter. Kelner confirmed that the paper is investigating which editors knew about Hari’s interview technique and that they would review some of his past articles. Writing in the Independent on Wednesday, Hari apologised for his practice of sometimes using quotes taken from other interviews and presenting them as his own. “What Johann did was wrong. He accepts and we believe it,” Kelner told The Media Show presenter Steve Hewlett. “It was born from an honest ambition to give the clearest possible representation of what the interviewee was saying. In the grand scheme of things it is not a great scandal – it’s a naive error which we recognise.” Kelner suggested Hari would not face any disciplinary action – other than being “spoken to at great length” – and said the young columnist had suffered punishment enough with the vilification he’s had on Twitter. He added: “Johann has been vilified by the Twittersphere for what he has done. I don’t think you can discount [that an] element of it feels politically inspired [and] some of it is fabricated anger about what Johann has done.” Hari won the Orwell Prize for political journalism in 2008 for his work on American rightwingers, a report on Saudi Arabia, multiculturalism and women, and another on France’s “secret war” in the Central African Republic. A spokesman for the prize said on Wednesday that it was aware of the Johann Hari controversy and that it had a “process to follow in situations such as this and are doing so now”. Simon Kelner Independent News & Media Newspapers & magazines Blogging Digital media Twitter Internet Newspapers Josh Halliday guardian.co.uk
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Police Federation for Northern Ireland chairman says there have been 200 gun and bomb attacks against officers since last year There are around 650 active dissident republican terrorists determined to destroy Northern Ireland’s power-sharing settlement, police officers warned on Wednesday. The numbers from the Police Federation for Northern Ireland (PFNI) are the first hard figures on the size of the anti-ceasefire republican movements to be released in recent years. Over recent months there has been an upsurge in violence from the Real IRA, Continuity IRA and Oghlaigh naEireann – the three groups opposed to the peace process. In April a faction of the Real IRA in Co Tyrone said they carried out a car bomb attack that killed Constable Ronan Kerr in Omagh. Terry Spence, the chairman of the PFNI, said governments both at Westminster and Stormont should stop underestimating the scale of the dissident threat. Spence said it was “common knowledge that they number around 650 – hardly the microscopic numbers officially suggested in official circles”. He revealed that since last year there have been 200 gun and bomb attacks against his officers in the Police Service of Northern Ireland. Addressing the Northern Ireland secretary, Owen Paterson, Matt Baggot, the PSNI chief constable, and the Stormont justice minister, David Ford, as well as his delegates, Spence said: “Let me be absolutely clear. The Police Federation for Northern Ireland is frustrated at the seeming unwillingness of the executive and the PSNI to face up to the fact that we need to bring every resource that can be made available to us to bring the growing terrorist threat to an end.” He also singled out the Garda Síochána for praise in countering the dissident republican threat from across the border. “Thanks to their magnificent efforts over 170 people from both sides of the border have been arrested for terrorist offences over the past 12 months. Last weekend’s explosives discovery in Louth was a particular example of their good work.” Two men in their 50s were arrested last weekend after a police raid on a farm house close to the border with Northern Ireland. Detectives found parts for a mortar bomb launcher and a significant quantity of home made explosives. The Garda later said they believed they had foiled a major terrorist attack being planned for somewhere across the border. But in Northern Ireland, Spence said the authorities had been “blindsided by the growth in terrorism” both republican and loyalist. Referring to the recent attacks by a unit of the Ulster Volunteer Force on a Catholic community in east Belfast, Spence said more robust action needed to be taken against those loyalists still engaged in violence. “If being a proscribed organisation is to mean anything then action must be taken. The behaviour of the UVF demands that active members released under the Belfast Agreement on license should be recalled to prison by the secretary of state. “We cannot tolerate paramilitary groups creating public havoc because they think they have no voice in how Northern Ireland is governed. “They have exactly the same access to the ballot box and opportunity to stand for election as the rest of us.” The secretary of state retains the power to re-arrest and imprison any of the paramilitary prisoners who were freed early as part of the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement. During two nights of disturbances last week the UVF attacked police lines as well as residents’ homes in the Catholic Short Strand district of east Belfast. Dissident republicans also opened fire towards the loyalist side and wounded the Press Asociation’s photographer Niall Carson. On Friday night several thousand loyalists will march in the same area where trouble erupted last week during an Orange Order band parade around east Belfast. Security forces will be on alert in case there is any repeat of last week’s sectarian disorder. Northern Ireland Police Henry McDonald guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …“It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games , sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.” -John Adams, July 3 rd , 1776 Seems like a lot of fuss over a document written to form a political agreement between some loosely unified colonies more than 200 years ago. When Adams wrote that, a nation had been created, yes, but it had yet to win any significant victories in its war against the most powerful military in the world. Many states were nearly bankrupt and it wasn't certain they'd hang together. And for all its noble ideas about equality, the Declaration did nothing to end slavery, which Adams called “as offensive in the sight of God as it is derogatory from our own honor or interest of happiness.” But despite all that, John Adams understood that the founding of the United States was … exceptional. And since the founding, right down to this July 4 th weekend 2011, Americans have sensed that America is unique among the nations of the world – in its liberties, its republic, its resources and its opportunities – and in its unique role as a force for good. But for the modern left and their media allies, not so much. As the Culture and Media Institute has documented in the past , the idea of American exceptionalism at best makes liberals and the mainstream media uncomfortable. At worst they flatly deny that the United States can stake any claim to greatness, let alone being exceptional. President Obama has shown ambivalence toward the notion that America is exceptional. That, coupled with his administration's European-style government-centered philosophy, have left him open to the charge that he sees America as just another nation, and is as comfortable apologizing for its sins as touting its virtues. The conservative hopefuls looking to take on Obama in the 2012 election continue to hit him with the charge. This has prompted two often contradictory responses from the left. On one hand, NPR's Tavis Smiley dismisses American exceptionalism as “overrated,” while the Washington Post's Richard Cohen calls it a “myth” born of “smugness” and “narcissism,” and points to the country's imperfections as proof that America is no more exceptional than Belgium or Honduras. On the other, the Post's Greg Sargent believes any mention of exceptionalism is part of a plot to make President Obama into the “Other.” Times Joe Klein calls charges “subtly venomous” and a Nation columnist asserts that American exceptionalism is based on “racialized hierarchies.” In either case, American exceptionalism as its been traditionally understood, has become a taboo topic for liberal journalists. 'Smugness' So is America exceptional? According to the liberal Brookings Institution, 58 percent of Americans think so, and say “God has granted America a special role in human history.” But not the liberal media establishment. “This notion of American exceptionalism is,” in the words of NPR's Tavis Smiley , “overrated.” In his victory speech Nov. 2, Florida Senator Marco Rubio declared, “America is the single greatest nation in all of human history. A place without equal in the history of all mankind.” Perhaps liberals heard this as adding insult to injury with the Democrats' electoral rout in November, because they got angry. In the Huffington Post, Peter Beinart raved about “the lunatic notion that America is the only truly free and successful country in the world.” Michael Kinsley penned a column flatly declaring, “U.S. is not greatest county ever.” Apparently, the concept hasn't grown more attractive with age. On May 9, liberal Washington Post writer Richard Cohen penned a column on “The myth of American exceptionalism.” Cohen bemoaned a “culture of smugness. The emblem of this culture is the term 'American exceptionalism.'” “American exceptionalism once applied to the hostility that the American worker – virtually alone in the industrialized world – had toward socialism,” Cohen wrote. “Now, though, it is infused with religious meaning …” (Untrue. Many date the birth of American exceptionalism to a 1630 sermon written by Puritan John Winthrop, who declared that the Massachusetts Bay colony would be a “city upon a hill,” a Christian example to mankind. But never interrupt a liberal rewriting history.) Unsurprisingly, Cohen trotted out a litany of the nation's problems and blemishes – the murder rate, the national debt and the “dysfunctional education system – more than 14,000 school districts, lots of bad (but job-protected) teachers, oblivious parents and students who are too dumb to know they're dumb.” (Cohen never, of course, acknowledged the culpability of liberal policies in creating or exacerbating these problems.) We can't be exceptional because Japanese kids to much better in math than our kids. “Let no person think there is not a certain kind of American exceptionalism that I believe in and cherish,” Cohen asserted. 'It is our astounding capacity for tolerance.” He held America up against the “massacres, pogroms, population transfers and genocides” of European history (no mention of African or Asian history, though) and, except for blacks and American Indians, America comes out looking ok. Wow. That's like being told your blind date “loves pets” and “is great with kids.” To Cohen, religion is to blame for American exceptionalism since its adherents believe “what God has made exceptional, man must not alter.” The result is that Americans are taken with “a phrase that reeks of arrogance and discourages compromise. American exceptionalism ought to be American narcissism.” Poor Cohen. It must be hard to live in a nation disgusts you so. An Exceptionally Sinister Weapon Cohen also hit on a common theme for liberals, that American exceptionalism is merely a weapon conservatives use to beat liberals. “It turns out, however, that some of those most inclined to exalt American exceptionalism are simply using the imaginary past to defend their cultural tics – conventional marriage or school prayer or, for some odd reason, a furious antipathy to the notion that mankind has contributed (just a bit) to global warming.” Conventional marriage is a “cultural tic?” Since liberals will use any tool at hand to further an agenda, they're incapable of seeing a principle for what it is. They're also incapable of seeing an almost comical contradiction: American exceptionalism they say, is a “myth,” mere bigotry or narcissism, but tell them the president agrees with them and watch the fireworks. Liberal Washington Post blogger Greg Sargent gets particularly incensed at “the mindlessness and vapidity of the right's attack on Obama for allegedly not believing in 'American exceptionalism.'” It's an “ongoing attack that has become ” absurd and self-parodic. ” When in January Obama, still smarting from his November electoral defeats, seemed to strike a new tone when talking about the nation, Sargent's exceptionalism radar was working overtime. A Kathleen Parker column wondering why Obama hadn't actually used the phrase 'American Exceptionalism' in his State of the Union speech was part of “the nonstop idiocy.” The “idiocy” of the Weekly Standard's Bill Krystol's was to assert that Obama calling America “the greatest nation on earth,” and “the greatest country in the world” in a January weekly radio address was a concession to the right. Sargent pointed out prior Obama statements about the nation. But around the same time, over at MSNBC, Sargent's fellow liberals were undercutting his argument. On Jan. 30, Chris Matthews hailed “another good week for Barack Obama's move to the center. And if you need to move to the center, what better way than to talk up American exceptionalism?” Time magazine editor Rick Stengel agreed. “I think clearly what Obama's self-interest is is that he's mimicking Reagan's style, not his substance. As you say, Reagan was the great prophet of American exceptionalism.” So even Obama's cheerleaders at MSNBC and Time thought touting American exceptionalism was a new tactic for the president. On Memorial Day, when Sarah Palin criticized Obama for characterizing the U.S. military as “one of the finest fighting forces the world has ever known,” rather than the best, Sargent was ready to mock her . “If Obama doesn't say that our armed forces are the bestest, baddest, most a**-kicking-ist fighting forces in all of human history , he's subtly denigrating the troops.” Race to the Bottom After lambasting Palin, Sargent reminded readers of “what this attack line is really about … part of a much broader effort to insinuate that you should find Obama's character, story, motives, identity, cultural instincts and intentions towards our country to be alien and fundamentally suspect.”
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• Hit F5 to refresh or turn on the automatic widget below • Email thoughts and chat to rob.bagchi@guardian.co.uk • Follow all today’s games in our daily live blog from SW19 Second set: Federer 6-3, 2-3 Tsonga* The problem with listening to McEnroe is that any personal judgment seems redundant by comparison. He says Tsonga’s penchant for going big from the back of the court is undoing his better work near the net and he’s right. If he lets Federer move him from side to side he hasn’t got a prayer. What gives him a chance, though, is that serve and he wins the game with a whacking great ace. Second set: Federer* 6-3, 2-2 Tsonga Tom Morgan’s been on: “I’m sure I won’t be the only one to contact you, but Mr Cochrane appears to have had the wool pulled over his eyes. As an amateur ref I can assure him that teams that win the toss still choose ends according to the FA laws. Perhaps the other team was going to buy the referee a pint or two after his game?” A ref hanging around after for beers? Brave soul. Oh I say. Tsonga is pushing Federer more but Fed wins the best point of the match with another crafty volley that clips the net. A last unforced error from Tsonga seals it for Federer. Second set: Federer 6-3, 1-2 Tsonga* Tsonga is fighting back, trying to take the initiative and succeeding with a biffed double-hand backhand and volley at the net when Federer digs it out. Another double fault brings the game to 40-30, though, as if belief deserts him at the moment he’s proved himself but he rallies to win the game when Federer goes wide. Second set: Federer* 6-3, 1-1 Tsonga Federer snuffs out Tsonga’s attempts at passing shots when the Frenchman is deep in the court because Tsonga rather telegraphs his intentions, and levels it at 15-all with a beauty of a volley from wide on the left of the court. Simon Watson writes: “Are you sure Federer is playing today? Apparently he was on court on Sunday trying to settle a score …” Murray’s beard suggests the sponsors haven’t been too heavy-handed with him. Federer takes the game. Second set: Federer 6-3, 0-1 Tsonga* Oh dear. Tsonga begins with a double fault, hitting the net with his first at 137mph. He’s obviously going for it now and does level at 15 all with a booming second serve that caught Federer off guard. One step forward, one step, maybe two back, as Tsonga fails to challenge a call that was in by the baseline and levelled it at 30-30. He then moves in front with his best shot of the match and wins the game. First set: Federer* 6-3 Tsonga Tales of the toss from Alec Cochrane: “A few years ago whilst captaining a 9th XI football team, having won the toss and chosen to shoot with the wind behind our backs the ref informed me that they’d changed the rules on the toss and now the winner kicked off, whilst the loser chose ends, apparently in an attempt to simplify the rules. The opposition captain then of course chose to shoot in the direction I wanted to in the first half and sure enough by the time the second half came around the wind had changed direction. I bet they don’t do that in tennis.” Federer wins the game to love off his serve and takes the first set. Cakewalk time unless Tsonga can string together better shots off the baseline with his strong suit near the net. First set: Federer* 5-3 Tsonga Sorry to sound repetitive and I know it’s early in the game but Federer has this ability to play wonderful shots off his forehand that Tsonga is unable to cope with. Mac thinks Tsonga is lumbering around and there’s truth to that. He looks peculiarly leaden-footed but this isn’t over and he wins points when he comes to the net and wins the game with a lovely return with the ball at foot-level. First set: Federer* 5-2 Tsonga Another beautiful stop-volley for Federer’s showreel puts him 15-love up and he gets up to beat Tsonga’s attempt at a lob to backhand smash and go 30-15 ahead, winning the game when Tsonga’s backhand isn’t up to the test. First set: Federer 4-2 Tsonga* Good first point from Tsonga, forcing Federer very wide with his serve then wrongfooting him off the return. Then vintage Federer to win with a sublime lob after a long rally where Federer manoeuvred Tsonga into position with a sadist’s precision. But Tsonga recovers to take the next two points before Federer brings it deuce with a gorgeous volley. Tsonga’s first ace gives him the advantage and Federer pushes it wide of the line on the right to lose the game. First set: Federer* 4-1 Tsonga Better response from Tsonga but to this layman he seems to momentarily be sacrificing power just to make sure that he gets the ball over the net and makes Federer commit a couple of unforced errors. After losing a referral, he moves to 30-40 when Federer loosely gives him the opportunity but Federer gets back to deuce. Tsonga earns another break point by pushing Federer wide then getting close to the net to volley past him. Federer wakes up and wins the game with a pair of powerful serves that force Tsonga to overhit. First set: Federer 3-1 Tsonga* Goodness. Nerves always play a part but Tsonga is more Bert Lahr than king of the jungle out there. He moves to 30-0 with a little luck but then can’t get his feet moving when Federert pings one deep to his right and he tamely hits it into the net. He wraps up the final point with more aggression, though, to take the game. First set: Federer* 3-0 Tsonga Tsonga again finds the net. He’s not even aiming wide and overpowering his shots, simply underhitting everything as if caution has got the better of him. Federe wins to love, the final point won with a lovely sliced forehand. Mike Cassidy writes: “Interesting chicken and lion quote from Tsonga. He may already be regretting appointing Eric Cantona as his media adviser.” Seagulls and trawlers were the first thing that came to my mind, too. First set: Federer 2-0 Tsonga* Tsonga’s nerves are jangling, approaching the net to volley, nailing the first of a rally then slicing the second into the net. Federer has two break points after Tsonga again hits a routine forehand from the back right of the court into the net then does the same from the left with the first break point. Poor start from Tsonga. First set: Federer* 1-0 Tsonga Federer chose to serve after winning the toss. Do they still do the toss with a racket, probably not but they did when I went there 20 odd years ago. A jammy net cord gets Tsonga the first point off an underhit return but Federer levels then takes the lead with a beautiful forehand from the baseline to Tsonga’s right and wins the next point on his second serve as Tsonga misjudges the pace. Federer ties up the set comfortably and looks in good nick. Mac watch: I can’t get his cameo from Curb Your Enthusiasm out of my head this morning, reading the Freak Book in the back of Larry David’s limo. He reckons the biggest chance of an upset today is in this match. Interesting. Jack Nicklaus and Greg Norman are watching on. Roger’s got his tank top on for the net photo op and the knock-up. Sue Barker says Fed trains in Dubai in 110C heat by playing two players simultaneously. Masochism leads to perfection. Remarkable John Inverdale interview with Tsonga in the build-up – “you frighten a chicken by running up to it and it runs away. You do the same to a lion he eats you. You attack me, I attack you.” Preamble: Afternoon all, and welcome to coverage of the men’s quarter-final between Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. I wouldn’t claim that tennis was my forte but this match is one I’ve been looking forward to – any chance to watch Fed is one to look forward to. He had to crank up the gears in his last match against Mikhail Youzhny but I had few doubts that he would make his 29th slam quarter-final in succession. They’ve met five times before but not on grass with Federer winning four of them but Tsonga’s form at Queen’s shows how dangerous a booming serve can be on this most unforgiving surface. Just waiting for the Daily Politics to end before I can give you a Royal Box update. Wimbledon 2011 Roger Federer Tennis Wimbledon Rob Bagchi guardian.co.uk
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New legislation allowing local authorities to retain business rates will encourage economic growth, says deputy prime minister Business rates are to be collected and retained locally, allowing councils to borrow against their future income from the taxation to fund local services. Speaking at the Local Government Association conference in Birmingham this week, deputy prime minister Nick Clegg announced the government would introduce legislation in the current Parliamentary session which would overhaul local government finance. Clegg said the bill would include plans to localise the retention of council tax, providing a “dramatic new incentive” for local authorities to encourage economic growth in their area. The legislation would also introduce tax increment finance, allowing local authorities to borrow against future income from the business rates to meet local priorities which could, the deputy prime minister suggested, include developing new homes. The announcement followed a Local Government Group poll, carried out by YouGov, which revealed that 66% of businesses said they would prefer it if their rates were retained by their council and distributed locally. Clegg reassured the audience that he would ensure the proposals were “fair”, so the poorest boroughs would not find themselves worse off than they are already are under the new system. He also announced the government was looking to set up a series of pilot schemes to test out local community budgeting, including two pilots to try out plans to pool the entire funding pot for local services. He describe the move to localism as a “once in a generation shift from a very centralised lopsided economy to one that’s more balanced”. Delegates roundly welcomed the announcement of new fiscal powers, for councils but a series of simple questions posed by Liberal Democrats among the audience were met with loud jeers. Speaking earlier at the conference, decentralisation minister Greg Clark said he wished to provide councils with an “entrenched right of initiative” allowing them to find their own answers to local problems. “I think we’re getting close to a new constitutional settlement between central government and local government,” he said. Fears were raised about the risk of creating a ‘postcode lottery’ in public service delivery, but Cllr Colin Barrow, leader of the London borough of Westminster, said such accusations were in fact a benchmark of success. “I praise the postcode lottery. I think the more of a postcode lottery we have the better, because we’re local and local means different.” This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. Join the local government network for more like this direct to your inbox. Policy Finance Localism Service provision Hannah Fearn guardian.co.uk
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Pass notes is 3,000. We celebrate the informative and irreverent column and look back at some of the highlights Pass notes is 3,000. I will pause for a burst of applause and the playing of the national anthem. Thank you. At least I hope we are marking the 3,000th pass notes. The numbering has sometimes gone awry, and it is by no means certain we got it back on track. Passnotesologists at the University of Keele have pointed out that in October 1994 two pass notes (Robert De Niro and Elizabeth Maxwell) appeared on successive days with the number 511, and that No 688 was also repeated. But,
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Group of investors includes the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Pimco Investment Management, the world’s largest bondholder, and BlackRock Financial Management Bank of America (BoA) is close to finalising a deal to pay $8.5bn (£5.3bn) to settle claims by a group of investors that the bank sold them poor-quality mortgage-backed securities that went sour when the housing market tanked, according to a person familiar with the settlement talks. The North Carolina-based bank was continuing talks late on Tuesday with the group, which includes the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Pimco Investment Management, the world’s largest bondholder, and BlackRock Financial Management. It is expected to announce an agreement as early as Wednesday, the person said on condition of anonymity because the matter was still developing. The deal comes eight months after the group fired off a letter to Bank of America demanding that it repurchase $47bn in mortgages that its Countrywide unit sold to them in the form of bonds. The investors have argued that Countrywide’s practice of modifying loans found to have faulty paperwork or those written outside of normal underwriting standards breached signed agreements with the investors. By continuing to service bad loans rather than speeding up foreclosures, the group has claimed that Countrywide ran up servicing fees, enriching itself at the expense of investors. The New York Fed is involved because it took over assets held by American International Group, which faltered under the weight of bad home loans that it insured. Bank of America, which paid $4bn for Countrywide in 2008, has dismissed suggestions that its handling of loan modifications and other efforts to prevent foreclosure have violated the terms of the mortgage-backed securities that the investors hold. In November, CEO Brian Moynihan said he was in day-to-day “hand-to-hand combat” with investors’ demands. But the combined effect of the Countrywide deal, mortgage crisis and the risk overhang of the soured loans have been a drain on BoA’s bottom line and stock price, eventually prompting a reversal in strategy. Since the beginning of the year, the bank has struck large settlements with multiple investors. In January, the lender paid $2.6bn to settle buyback claims on home loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And in April, the bank agreed to pay up to $1.6bn to Assured Guaranty, an insurer that also pressed the bank to repurchase shoddy mortgages. If approved, the latest settlement would address a significant remaining slice of Bank of America’s mortgage buyback claim risk. A Bank of America spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment. Bank of America US housing and sub-prime crisis US economy United States guardian.co.uk
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The Greek parliament is due to vote on the austerity bill. Protesters on the second day of a general strike are determined to stop the bill being passed. 11.17am: Dailymotion.com is livestreaming Syntagma Square again today: _ 11.08am: Only one member of the ruling (socialist) PASOK party is likely to vote against the bill – not enough to prevent its passage given that PASOK has a five-seat majority in the 300-member legislature – socialist deputy Alexandros Athanassiadis has told the Associated Press. Athanassiadis, many of whose constituents are employed by the Public Power Corporation which is up for privatisation, said he maintains his opposition to the bill but that he will likely be the only dissenter. He said: I have not changed my opinion … as things stand, I persist in my decision. I don’t think (any other socialist) deputies will vote against. I will be the only one. But the Greek news website Kathimerini.com says the vote is still on a “knife-edge” with three other socialists expressing doubts. It reports that there has been last-ditch attempt on Tuesday to win round dissenters straying from party lines. 10.54am: Alexander Marquardt, from ABC News, has posted a picture of protesters spreading Maalox, an antacid, on their faces to protect against teargas. 10.42am: The Guardian’s Helena Smith in Athens writes that battle lines are being drawn ahead of the crucial vote with 8 people already hospitalised this morning: Residents in downtown Athens woke up to the whiff of tear gas and burning rubbing bins, the former still hanging in the air after a day of pitched battles between protesters and riot police, the latter set ablaze by young Greeks bracing for a fight. Since early this morning, protesters started pouring back into Syntagma Square, the focal point of opposition against austerity measures now seen as the symbol of everything that is wrong with Greece. Many say they will stay in the square whether or not George Papandreou’s socialist government passes the bill. “Whatever happens we will stay on and fight,” says Pavlos Antonopoulos, the activist schoolteacher I spoke to yesterday who was back in the square by 8:30am after snatching a couple of hours of sleep. “We hope to amass a lot of people today even if the government has sent out a very strong order to keep Syntagma clear and us away from the parliament building. We will do everything we can to ring off parliament, to stop the vote taking place.” She said that people have been working hard to clean up the square after yesterday’s clashes and the police are determined to prevent a repeat of the trouble: Municipal employees have been working overtime to clean the square – hosing it down and in some cases painstakingly removing graffiti – but the detritus of battle is everywhere: in the shattered windows of shops and chain stores, the chipped marble facades of hotels, smashed pavements and broken entrances to metro stations. Even the trees are burned. The police, meanwhile, appear hell-bent on keeping demonstrators away. The capital’s main boulevards have been cordoned off and there have been reports of violent incidences between gangs of young Greeks and police in Pangrati, a nearby neighbourhood. By 11 am at least eight people had been rushed to hospital after being clubbed by police with one trade unionist reportedly suffering head injuries and requiring several stitches. But ordinary Greeks are equally determined to have their voices heard. Busloads have arrived from around the country – all heading for Syntagma Square. And they are backed by the powerful unions that have brought Greece to a standstill with a 48-hour general strike. “Thousands of strikers have been moved by rage and exasperation with new measures that yet again hit them while those who have, those who stole from the nation’s public wealth, those who have never paid taxes, drink to the health of those who are mocked,” said Yiannis Panagopoulos who presides over the confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE) the country’s biggest labour force. “These policies are not only unfair, they lead nowhere and are ineffective. Today we are waging a huge battle and this battle will not stop until these policies are overturned.” 10.36am: Protesters have clashed with police outside parliament as people opposed to the austerity bill have sought to block MPs from entering the building to vote. One communist deputy was pelted with yoghurt as she made her way into parliament and three people were treated for minor injuries as protesters clashed with police during an attempt to bar the way into the chamber. _ 10.31am: The markets are betting on the mid-term bill being passed by the Greek parliament. • Japan’s Nikkei closed 1.54% higher at 9797 points. European shares rose sharply in early trading: • Britain’s FTSE 100 was 1.2% higher at 2,834.26 • Germany’s DAX rose 1.3% to 7,265.34 • France’s CAC-40 was up 1.1%at 3,895.66. • Wall Street was also headed for a higher opening, with Dow Jones industrial futures gaining 0.2%to 12,169 and S&P 500 futures rising 0.3%t to 1,298.40. 10.27am: The governor of the bank of Greece, George Provopoulos, has told the Financial Times the country will be committing “suicide” if its parliament fails to back the austerity bill. He said: We have never really had a debate in this country about what went wrong. In Portugal the new government has come in and said that there will be a difficult two years ahead. We have not had that kind of talk here … For parliament to vote against this package would be a crime – the country would be voting for its suicide. 10.23am: My colleague Graeme Wearden has outlined exactly what parliament will be voting on today . It amounts to a hard-hitting package of tax rises, cuts to benefits and public spending, and privatisations. Tax increases include • A solidarity levy: At 1% for those earning between €12,000 (£10,800) and €20,000 a year, 2% for incomes between €20,000 and €50,000, 3% for those on €50,000 to €100,000, and 4% for those earning €100,000 or more. Lawmakers and public office holders will pay a 5% rate. • A lower tax-free threshold: People will now pay tax on income over €8,000 a year, down from €12,000. This basic rate of tax will be set at 10%, with exemptions for those under 30, over 65, and the disabled. • Sales tax: The VAT rate for restaurants and bars is being hiked from 13% to the new top rate of 23%. This rate already covers many products in the shops, including clothing, alcohol, electronics goods and some professional services. Spending cuts include: • Public sector wages: Salaries will be reduced by 15%. • The public sector wage bill: The goal is to cut 150,000 public sector jobs, through a hiring freeze and abolition of all temporary contracts. This should cut the total bill by €2bn by 2015. • Social benefits and pensions: The retirement age is being raised to 65. Increased means testing, and cuts to some benefits, will reduce the total amount spend on benefits by €1.09bn in 2011, then €1.28bn in 2012, €1.03bn in 2013, €1.01bn in 2014 and €700m in 2015. 10.16am: Welcome to the Guardian’s coverage of the protests in Greece and the vote on the mid-term bill in parliament. The Greek government will hope to pass its austerity bill – a precondition of additional loans from the EU and IMF – in parliament against a backdrop of massive public opposition. Despite its unpopularity the bill is expected to pass. Greece has said it has funds only until mid-July, after which it will be unable to pay salaries and pensions, or service its debts, without the next bailout instalment The vote is expected anytime from 11am BST (1pm Greek time) onwards. Trade Unionists have vowed to stop MPs getting into parliament for the vote but security in the centre of Athens is high. There are fears of more violent crashes after at least 46 people were injured, most of them police, yesterday a s rioters pelted police with chunks of marble and ripped up paving stones, and authorities responded with repeated volleys of teargas and stun grenades . Several hundred people gathered in front of parliament early today for fresh protests. Greece European Union Europe Europe Protest IMF European Central Bank Haroon Siddique guardian.co.uk
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