soyuclub says: Serena talks Venus health : Source: widetrends.com — Tuesday, September 06, 2011 Serena talks Venus health – Ser… http://t.co/Uoi5KN6
Continue reading …Festival de Veneza Le-Carré-Verfilmung mit Colin Firth in Venedig präsentiert Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy shines at Venice filmintel says: Have said this to a few people but worth saying again; if TINKER , TAILOR , SOLDIER , SPY has perked your Le Carre interest read A PERFECT SPY .
Continue reading …widetrends says: Some may get tiny needle flu shots : Some may get tiny needle flu shots – It’s flu vaccine time again and some lu… http://t.co/MYgKi17
Continue reading …When FBI translator Shamai Leibowitz pleaded guilty last year to divulging classified information, the nature of that info was kept secret even from the judge . Now we know why: Leibowitz was passing on transcripts of US wiretaps on the Israeli embassy in DC, the blogger he leaked them to tells…
Continue reading …MPs expected to reject Nadine Dorries’s proposal to stop abortion providers from offering counselling Nick Clegg is on Wednesday planning to vote against a cross-party amendment, tabled by socially conservative MPs, that would strip abortion providers of their counselling role. In the most high-profile parliamentary debate on abortion since the general election, the deputy prime minister will lead a series of Liberal Democrat and Tory ministers into the no lobby. They will be joined by most Labour MPs in voting against the amendment tabled by Nadine Dorries, a Tory backbencher, and Frank Field, Labour’s former welfare reform minister. David Cameron, who was said to be initially sympathetic to the amendment, will vote against it if he is in the Commons. But the prime minister may not be at Westminster for the vote, which will take place after the weekly session of prime minister’s questions. The debate will be the first time parliament has voted on the highly sensitive issue of abortion since MPs voted to maintain the upper limit of 24 weeks in May 2008. Cameron supported an unsuccessful amendment by Dorries to reduce the upper limit to 20 weeks. The latest Dorries amendment would strip non-statutory abortion providers such as Marie Stopes and Bpas from offering counselling to women. This is designed to provide greater opportunities for independent counsellors, some of whom are influenced by pro-life groups, to provide counselling. NHS abortion providers would still be free to offer counselling. A rival amendment, tabled by the Lib Dem MP Julian Huppert, has also been accepted for debate. This would prevent any organisation from offering counselling unless it followed “current evidence-based guidance produced by a professional medical organisation specified by the secretary of state”. Huppert said: “My amendment effectively supports the status quo. It says that all advice should be based on the medical evidence that we have.” Evan Harris, the former Lib Dem MP who is advising Huppert, said it was important to ensure that advice was based on medical evidence because some NHS abortion providers were referring women to questionable independent counsellors: “It is unethical for the NHS to be signposting, or even referring, women to organisations which make up information or which seek to persuade women either way though guilt, shame or lies.” The Dorries amendment is expected to be comprehensively rejected by MPs. This means that the Huppert amendment is unlikely to be put to a vote. Yvette Cooper, the shadow women’s minister, accused Cameron on Monday of adopting a “cack-handed” approach to abortion after he appeared to show some sympathy for the Dorries amendment. But sources at the Department of Health – who said that all of its ministers would vote against the Dorries amendment – said that the government had always rejected her amendment. The sources said that ministers have made clear since the early summer that they favour a consultation on the counselling system for women who experience an unplanned pregnancy. This will first examine whether there are problems with the current system. Once that work has been completed the consultation will examine whether women should be offered independent counselling. But Diane Abbott, the shadow public health minister who will lead for Labour in the debate, was highly critical of the prime minister: “David Cameron has been entirely disingenuous in his handling of this, making promises to the anti-choice campaign one week, and going back on them the next week. The way the government has responded, prioritising government political strategy over the issues at hand, has shown complete disregard for women and families across the country. The government seems to be unable to properly manage the country’s health services. “The anti-choice campaign has been driven by misinformation, misleading arguments and distortion, and fuelled by the government’s appalling handling of this issue. Nadine Dorries and her allies cannot point to any evidence to support their claim that women considering a termination are receiving poor advice at the moment. It is crucial that we maintain women’s access to impartial, non-directive and clinical information on pregnancy choices. At the moment, there is a duty for women to be fully informed about the choices available to her – including alternatives to an abortion.” Abortion Health Nick Clegg David Cameron Liberal Democrats Conservatives Women NHS Nicholas Watt guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Muammar Gaddafi’s location still unknown despite rumours of asylum in Burkina Faso The hunt for Muammar Gaddafi has widened across Africa after Libyan army convoys crossed hundreds of miles of desert into neighbouring Niger, rumoured to be bound for Burkina Faso. Tantalising clues of a possible escape route for Gaddafi filled the void created by the disappearance of the ousted leader whose face was ubiquitous in Libya for more than 40 years. Reports of multiple convoys fleeing to Niger with looted gold and cash also suggested that the will of regime loyalists was failing and their last pockets of resistance in Libya could be near collapse. Details of the size of the convoys, and who was in them, were scarce as they made their way across the vast swath of Sahara with more than 1,000 miles between any populated areas on the two sides of the border. But military sources from France and Niger told Reuters that a convoy of between 200 and 250 vehicles from Libya was escorted to the northern city of Agadez by the Nigerien army. Amid speculation about a possible South African-brokered deal to allow Gaddafi to go free, there were rumours he might join the convoy en route to neighbouring Burkina Faso, which has offered him asylum. Guma el-Gamaty, the London representative of the National Transitional Council (NTC), said that Gaddafi could already be in Niger but admitted there was no certainty about his whereabouts. US and British officials said they were sceptical about claims the deposed leader had already left Libya. In London, Foreign Office sources described difficulties in communications – Britain does not have embassies in either Niger or Burkina Faso – amid swirling rumours about events in the remote Sahel borderlands. Gaddafi has courted poor African nations in recent years and used Libya’s oil wealth to buy influence at the African Union. He is believed to have financed the Tuareg rebellion in the north of Niger and remains popular in towns such as Agadez, where a majority of the population is Tuareg. Burkina Faso, a former recipient of large amounts of Libyan aid, offered Gaddafi sanctuary about two weeks ago even though it has signed the international criminal court treaty requiring it to hand suspects to The Hague. France, Niger and Burkina Faso, along with the NTC and Nato, all denied knowing where he was or of any deal to let him go abroad or find refuge. Niger’s foreign minister, Bazoum Mohamed, was quoted by al-Arabiya television saying that Gaddafi was not in the convoy, which arrived late on Monday. An aide to the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, said: “We have no specific information that would indicate that Gaddafi is there.” But those comments did not contradict a French military source who claimed the 69-year-old fugitive and his son and heir Saif al-Islam might join the convoy later to head for Burkina Faso. The unnamed source told Reuters he had been informed that the commander of Libya’s southern forces, General Ali Khana, may also be in Niger, not far from the Libyan border. He said he had been told Gaddafi and his son, Saif al-Islam, would join Khana and catch up with the convoy should they choose to accept the offer of exile. The sources said the convoy, probably including officers from army units based in the south of Libya, may have looped through Algeria rather than crossing the Libya-Niger frontier directly. Algeria last week took in Gaddafi’s wife, daughter and two other sons, angering the NTC. A spokesman for the NTC described a convoy carrying gold and cash, including banknotes from the Central Bank of Libya branch in Sirte, Gaddafi’s birthplace that remains loyal to him. An NTC official, Fathis Baja, told Reuters: “Late last night 10 vehicles carrying gold, euros and dollars crossed from Jufra into Niger with the help of Tuaregs from the Niger tribe.” Tuareg nomads who inhabit the Sahara across frontiers say those fleeing Libya include many black Africans, some of whom may have been fighters for Gaddafi and now fear anger and reprisals. Officials in Niger have said the head of Gaddafi’s security brigades, Mansour Dhao, along with more than 10 other Libyans, crossed into Niger on Sunday. Meanwhile Abdoulaye Harouna, owner of the Agadez Info newspaper, told the Associated Press several dozen pick-up trucks had arrived on Monday, led by the Tuareg rebel leader Rissa ag Boula, a native of Niger who sought refuge in Libya and was believed to be fighting for Gaddafi. Gamaty warned that Niger would be penalised if it was found to have helped Gaddafi escape. “Niger is a neighbour of Libya from the south and should be considering the future relationship with Libya,” he told the BBC. This – if confirmed – will very much antagonise any future relationship between Libya and Niger.” Nato appeared to deny suggestions that it had deliberately refrained from attacking a large convoy or convoys reported to have crossed the border. “Nato continuously receives reports from various sources regarding weapons, vehicles and even convoys of vehicles moving throughout Libya,” said spokeswoman Oana Lungescu. “We do not discuss the intelligence and surveillance information we collect, but we do publicly announce actions we take when we act on threats to the civilian population. Our mission is to protect civilians, the civilian population in Libya, not to track and target thousands of fleeing former regime leaders, mercenaries, military commanders and internally displaced people.” Gaddafi has broadcast defiance since being forced into hiding two weeks ago, and vowed to die fighting on his own soil, although only three major Libyan cities remain under his control – Bani Walid, Sirte and Sabha. His fugitive spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said by phone on Monday: “Muammar Gaddafi is in excellent health and in very, very high spirits … he is in a place that will not be reached by those fractious groups, and he is in Libya.” Both Gaddafi and Saif al-Islam have previously been said to be in the tribal stronghold of Bani Walid, 90 miles south of Tripoli. But that belief has evaporated after days of blockade of the town. NTC negotiators continued to press on Tuesday for a peaceful surrender in Bani Walid to avoid further bloodshed. They met four local clan leaders at a televised parley in a mosque in Boshtata, 30 miles from the town. The clan leaders said the majority of Bani Walid’s population were ready to surrender but the rest feared reprisals, in particular against 63 Gaddafi loyalists named on a wanted list. They told the meeting of rumours circulating in Bani Walid that the rebels were going to rape the women of the town and kill people. The rebels offered a temporary amnesty to loyalists and ordered that a local radio station, accused of spreading alarmist propaganda, be shut down. Mahmoud Jibril, prime minister of the NTC, joined the talks by telephone on loudspeaker, promising to restore food, water and power supplies while protecting civilians. “This is a real chance for Bani Walid to show its real face to the world, to enter the history of Libya,” he said. As the participants emerged, rebels sang and fired into the air in celebration. Moftha Bagol, a mediator from Bani Walid, said: “Around 90% of the people there are against Gaddafi. A few are still refusing because they have been involved in killing and bloodshed and are scared something will happen to them later. “But we are determined to persuade them. With god’s help we hope to convince them that we are all brothers.” Hours later, sources in Boshtata suggested that the attempt had not been a success and the stalemate continued. Near Sirte there was the first sign of heavy fighting for some days. Combatants reported exchanges of shell fire and rockets to the east. Muammar Gaddafi Libya Middle East Africa David Smith guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …“It looked like (the pilot) was trying to right the plane or take off again. You’re speeding up a bit, and the ‘whoom,’ you’re sort of whiplashed around.” — DAVID ROSS, a passenger in the United Express plane that slid off the runway at Ottawa Airport on Sunday afternoon (via Ottawa Citizen)
Continue reading …Wildfires continued to ravage Central Texas yesterday as firefighters battled the most devastating single fire in Texas history, the Los Angeles Times reports. As of yesterday, 476 homes had been destroyed in Bastrop County, east of Austin; firefighters battled the flames as they tore through thousands of acres. With 40…
Continue reading …• Press F5 for the latest or use our auto-refresh button below • Email paul.doyle@guardian.co.uk with your thoughts • Follow Paul on Twitter if that’s your thing • Follow all tonight’s latest scores across Europe On England: “It looks like Downing playing for Liverpool and Young playing for Manchester United is a wing-wing situation for England,” chortles Erlend Andenaes. In other news , Armenia have just taken the lead in Slovakia, meaning Ireland could remain in the runners-up spot tonight following their jammy draw in Russia. Half-time: England are doing enough. After a desultory half hour Downing and Young combined for a fine goal and confidence has coursed through them ever since. They’ve been far from brilliant, but they’ve been better than Wales. 42 min: Wales’ limitations as an attacking force are being exposed now, as despite their attempts to rebel against their apparent fate, England, becalmed by the goal, are comfortably on top, without dazzling. 40 min: Young produces a superb cross after a short corner, but Rooney fails to connect with an attempted header just five yards out. 38 min: Bale attempts a solo burst from deep, but runs into trouble and England launch the ball back forward quickfast. Hennessey is forced to charge off his line to boot it clear just before Rooney could latch onto it. 36 min: Downing has his dander up and that’s bad news for Taylor, who’s starting to look decidedly dizzy. GOAL! England 1-0 Wales (Young 35′) Unsurprisingly the wingers were responsible for the break-through. Downing twisted and darted past Ledley down the right and then cut the ball back into the centre, where Young arrived to drive low into the net from eight yards. 32 min: Gunter dispossess goals deep in his own half and then races forward … and completely loses his head, attempting to blast the ball into the top corner from 30 yards. Keep their composure in such situations and Wales could shock England. 30 min: Wales are working extremely hard to subdue England, a few forays down the flanks from Downing and Young being the only signs of English penetration. The midfield trio of Lampard, Milner and Barry is not, would you believe, offering any ingenuity. 27 min: The Welsh have a solid centre so England can only make any ground down the wings. Young jinks and tries to tempt Gunter into committing himself but the defender holds his ground, though Young still manages to deliver a dangerous cross, which Rooney meet and volleys way, way over. 25 min: A lapse of concentration from Cole gives Wales a corner. The visitors must be beginning to sense an upset given England’s drabness so far. But they’ll have to come up with something better than the weak corner that they’ve just delivered. 23 min: In a nutshell, this has been a typical England Wembley performance so far. Uninspired. 20 min: England are too proud to rough up Wales’ main man. Milner gets a deserved booking for clattering into Bale. 19 min: England have truly twigged that Downing has Taylor on toast, so are feeding him regularly. A fine cross towards Rooney from the Liverpool man prompts Hennessey to scamper off his line to claim. Meanwhile, this from Robin Hazlehurst. “Fancy updates from Norn Iron’s match in Estonia?” chirps Robin. “I’m watching it live on Estonian TV – I would have gone but the game actually sold out. 30 minutes gone, NI had most of the possession but not too many real threats, and Vunk has just put Estonia ahead with a cracking first-time strike from outside the box. Worth looking up. The Irish have now got the vunk on – oh and Estonia have just scored from 30 yards, Kink this time. Vunk and Kink, what a strikeforce.” 17 min: Taylor buys a Downing feint all too easily but the winger overhits his cross. However, encouraged by the ease with which Downing got to the by-line, England work it down the right again, and this time the cross demands an urgent headed clearance. 14 min: Morison gives Terry a bit of the Grant Holt treatment, outrunning and then outmuscling the England captain to reach a long ball first. And then boom a rash shot miles over from 25 yards and an acute angle. “You know, the fact that the crowd applauded a successful sideways pass from Lampard to Cole in the sixth minute tells you everything that is wrong with the English game,” intones Phil Sawyer. “Have our expectations really sunk so low?” Well, in days of yore they’d have been baying at every player to launch it into the mixer, so perhaps that is progress? 12 min: Wales are beginning to emerge as an offensive force, having weathered England’s rather feeble storm. Collison embarks on a fine run through the middle before being halted by an impressive Terry challenge. Cahill attempts to mop up but only goes an spills a bucket of dirty water all over the box, allowing Ramsey to fire off a shot from the edge of the area. A terrible shot, as it turned out. 11 min: As soon as Bale gets the ball, which is rarely, England players converge on him. Young proves the point, by chopping the Spur down mid-way inside the England half. Bale swings in the resultant freekick and Williams nods several yards wide. 9 min: England are dominating possession, and channelling most of their attack down their left, seemingly having identified Gunter as a weak link. Cole is getting a lot of space but so far has not made optimal use of it. 7 min: Blake diverts a Cole cross behind for a corner. Terry meets Young’s delivery but heads behind, then complains about Williams’ holding him even though he had a handful of Williams’ short too. 5 min: You could call England’s start ponderous or composed, depending on your mood. But Lampard, for one, appears to have had enough of the slow sideways passing so launches on long for Rooney to chase. Williams misjudges it but Hennessey hurtles off his line to intercept before Rooney can impose punishment. 3 min: So it’s all England so far, but most in the English half too. In other words, nothing much is happening yet. Or, “the sides are just feeling each other out”. 1 min: England set the game in motion. Immediately they begin stroking the ball around at a somewhat leisurely pace. They eventually work their way down the left before Gunter intervenes, poking the ball out of play from beneath Cole’s feet. 7:42pm: Not to be outdone, some avenging Welsh fans boo (a particularly dreary rendition of) God Save the Queen. 7:41pm: The Welsh anthem is greeted by boos and whistles by a sizeable contingent of heroic Englishmen in the crowd. Well done lads, that’ll learn ‘em. 7:39pm: So much for the kick-off delay. The teams waddle out onto the pitch to moderate applause: Wembley still only seems about half-full … 7:35pm: Word from Wembley is that congestion outside the ground is so bad that kick-off is likely to be delayed. Next year’s Olympics are going to be a right old lark, aren’t they? Preamble: England are on their worst winless streak at home for 30 years and you wouldn’t rule out another bout of Wembley paralysis, and not simply because creaking Frank Lampard has returned to the starting line-up. In the only other change from Friday’s easy victory in Bulgaria, Fabio Capello has drafted in James Milner, both because Theo Walcott has a “knock” and because Wales’ best player, Gareth Bale, needs to be carefully tracked. Can’t leave anything to chance when you’re hosting the team ranked 117th in the world. Bale produced his best ever performance for his country as Wales’ ended an epic slump by beating Montenegro last Friday but two of the other star performers in that match, David Vaughan and Craig Bellamy, got yellow cards booked and are therefore suspended. That was particularly harsh on Bellamy, who was booked for an imaginary foul, but others might say that it’s impossible to be too harsh on Craig Bellamy so there you go. The absent duo are replaced tonight by Jack Collison and Andrew Crofts. Steve Morison was the only Norwich player to look out of his depth when they took on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last week but after a fine performance against Montenegro he may be fancying his chances of giving John Terry a tougher game this time, possibly having got tips off Grant Holt, who tormented the England captain in that narrow Norwich loss. In all likelihood, however, most of the action is going to be around the Welsh box, which means at least someone in red is going to have to replicate the magnificent defiance of Richard Dunne in Moscow this afternoon if Wales are to avoid defeat. Teams: England: Hart; Smalling, Cole, Cahill, Terry; Barry, Downing, Lampard, Milner; Young, Rooney. Wales: Hennessey; Gunter, Blake, Williams, Taylor; Ledley, Crofts, Ramsey; Collison, Morison, Bale Euro 2012 qualifiers England Wales Euro 2012 Paul Doyle guardian.co.uk
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