Fugitive from slaughterhouse continues to outwit her would-be rescuers, who are battling to prevent hunters shooting the animal Three months after Yvonne went on the run, the hunt for Germany’s most famous fugitive is heating up after a search party discovered a sign of her wanderings – a field littered with cowpats. Yvonne, a six-year-old dairy cow, escaped from a Bavarian farm in May days before she was due to be slaughtered. When the local authorities in Mühldorf gave hunters permission to shoot her on sight, animal rights activists waded in. Gut Aiderbichl, an animal sanctuary in Austria, paid Yvonne’s owner €600 (£530), vowing to bring the cow to safety before she was knocked down by a Bavarian bullet. Her whereabouts have now become a national obsession in Germany, with one tabloid offering a reward of €10,000 for her safe return. Her story has spread across the world. On Wednesday Gut Aiderbichl said it had had media inquiries from Abu Dhabi and South Africa, where a psychic claimed to have communicated with her. Indians had been stressing Yvonne’s holiness. Despite the publicity, Yvonne remains at large. An animal whisperer from Switzerland failed to coax her back from the Bavarian forest using telepathy; Ernst, the bull with a “deep baritone moo” and manly musk, also proved strangely resistible. The plan for Friesi, Yvonne’s “long-lost” two-year-old son, to be deployed as an inducement has yet to be put into action: he is still being briefed on his special role (tugging at Mum’s heartstrings). Last week a local radio station leased a helicopter equipped with a heat-seeking camera to fly over the woods where Yvonne is believed to be hiding, but reported that she ran away “nimble as a weasel” when they hovered overhead. This week the Gut Aiderbichl search party spotted some vital clues, including cowpats created, they swear, by Yvonne. A hunter claimed that in the early hours of Monday he came face-to-face with Yvonne, Michael Aufhauser, who runs Gut Aiderbichl, reported. “He told us he looked into her eyes and she looked back like a wild animal, not a dairy cow,” said Aufhauser. The hunter was not allowed to shoot Yvonne because Gut Aiderbichl had been granted an injunction which made it temporarily illegal to kill her. The latest injunction is due to expire on Sunday, though Aufhauser is confident it will be extended. “Right now we are just waiting for her,” he said. “Maybe she will come to us in an hour, maybe days or weeks. But we will stay for as long as it takes.” Germany Europe Animals Animal welfare Animal behaviour Helen Pidd guardian.co.uk
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Intellectual property office sides with Bobby G against three other original ex-bandmates in legal ruling over dispute The UK intellectual property office has been making its mind up which members of Bucks Fizz, the pop group which won the 1981 Eurovision song contest, are eligible to claim the name as their own. Rival members of the original group, Mike Nolan and Cheryl Baker on one side and Robert Gubby, aka Bobby G on the other, resorted to law to establish who could claim the name during their respective bands’ tours of out-of-season holiday camp 80s weekends. Allan James, the principal hearing officer, sided with Gubby. With forensic attention to detail, an exegesis worthy of Shakespearean scholarship and a little asperity, James ruled in a 25-page judgment that Gubby and his partner, Heidi Manton, owned the name, having registered it as a trademark in 2001. Exhibit A was a letter from Nolan dating back to June 1981, which ceded the rights to them. The dispute arose in 2009 as Nolan and Baker – referred to under her real name Rita Stroud – later joined by the group’s other original member, Jay Aston, started touring again, calling themselves the Original Bucks Fizz. They complained that Gubby’s rival group, called Bucks Fizz or Bobby G’s Bucks Fizz, were misleading audiences into thinking they were the band that won Eurovision with Making Your Mind Up. In fact over the past 30 years, as the ruling pointed out, 15 people have belonged to Bucks Fizz at various times. The ruling stated: “The submission that two original members are enough to avoid misleading the public (possibly provided these are Rita Stroud and Mike Nolan) but that one original member is not enough appears to me to be an arbitrary distinction. “The public would have no reason to expect the group performing as Bucks Fizz to consist of the original lineup … [that] had not performed together for 24 years.” Bucks Fizz, the penultimate British winners of the Eurovision contest (Katrina and the Waves scored the latest UK victory, in 1997), was specifically formed to compete by the Big Note Music group and, though the group toured for three years after the competition and had a number of hits, the trademark registration had lapsed. According to the judgment, the group had fewer than 100 fans. Giving evidence for Nolan and Baker, Ian Stocker, a longstanding fan and operator of a website dedicated to the group, insisted that he and his relatives spoke of little else and that people were misled. “The subject of Bucks Fizz is often raised and discussed with me at social gatherings,” he said. “The most commonly asked question is in connection with what the band is currently doing and who is currently in the band. This has caused much confusion over the years.” James said: “This suggests that Mr Stocker’s circle … are well aware that the current lineup is not the original one. Of course, given his own exceptional interest the level of knowledge of his friends may not be typical of the public at large.” Nolan and Baker will face costs from the hearing, likely to be about £5,000. Chris McLeod, director of trademarks at the law firm Squire, Sanders and Dempsey said: “The case shows the importance of registering trademarks and the importance of music groups – which are often partnerships – having written partnership agreements in place at the outset so they retain equal rights to the name.” Intellectual property Pop and rock Eurovision Stephen Bates guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Intellectual property office sides with Bobby G against three other original ex-bandmates in legal ruling over dispute The UK intellectual property office has been making its mind up which members of Bucks Fizz, the pop group which won the 1981 Eurovision song contest, are eligible to claim the name as their own. Rival members of the original group, Mike Nolan and Cheryl Baker on one side and Robert Gubby, aka Bobby G on the other, resorted to law to establish who could claim the name during their respective bands’ tours of out-of-season holiday camp 80s weekends. Allan James, the principal hearing officer, sided with Gubby. With forensic attention to detail, an exegesis worthy of Shakespearean scholarship and a little asperity, James ruled in a 25-page judgment that Gubby and his partner, Heidi Manton, owned the name, having registered it as a trademark in 2001. Exhibit A was a letter from Nolan dating back to June 1981, which ceded the rights to them. The dispute arose in 2009 as Nolan and Baker – referred to under her real name Rita Stroud – later joined by the group’s other original member, Jay Aston, started touring again, calling themselves the Original Bucks Fizz. They complained that Gubby’s rival group, called Bucks Fizz or Bobby G’s Bucks Fizz, were misleading audiences into thinking they were the band that won Eurovision with Making Your Mind Up. In fact over the past 30 years, as the ruling pointed out, 15 people have belonged to Bucks Fizz at various times. The ruling stated: “The submission that two original members are enough to avoid misleading the public (possibly provided these are Rita Stroud and Mike Nolan) but that one original member is not enough appears to me to be an arbitrary distinction. “The public would have no reason to expect the group performing as Bucks Fizz to consist of the original lineup … [that] had not performed together for 24 years.” Bucks Fizz, the penultimate British winners of the Eurovision contest (Katrina and the Waves scored the latest UK victory, in 1997), was specifically formed to compete by the Big Note Music group and, though the group toured for three years after the competition and had a number of hits, the trademark registration had lapsed. According to the judgment, the group had fewer than 100 fans. Giving evidence for Nolan and Baker, Ian Stocker, a longstanding fan and operator of a website dedicated to the group, insisted that he and his relatives spoke of little else and that people were misled. “The subject of Bucks Fizz is often raised and discussed with me at social gatherings,” he said. “The most commonly asked question is in connection with what the band is currently doing and who is currently in the band. This has caused much confusion over the years.” James said: “This suggests that Mr Stocker’s circle … are well aware that the current lineup is not the original one. Of course, given his own exceptional interest the level of knowledge of his friends may not be typical of the public at large.” Nolan and Baker will face costs from the hearing, likely to be about £5,000. Chris McLeod, director of trademarks at the law firm Squire, Sanders and Dempsey said: “The case shows the importance of registering trademarks and the importance of music groups – which are often partnerships – having written partnership agreements in place at the outset so they retain equal rights to the name.” Intellectual property Pop and rock Eurovision Stephen Bates guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Police probing the mysterious death of the girlfriend of pharmaceutical CEO Jonah Shacknai are becoming convinced that it was a suicide, sources close to the investigation tell NBC San Diego . Rebecca Nalepa, 32, was found hanging naked from a balcony at Shacknai’s San Diego mansion with her wrists and ankles…
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Small cracks found at top of monument after tremor on US east coast, while city officials order inspection of all school buildings The earthquake that hit the east coast of the US on Tuesday left minor cracks in the pyramid at the top of the Washington Monument and forced the precautionary closure of Washington DC’s schools. Although no casualties or any serious damage have yet been reported as a result of one of the biggest quakes to hit the east coast, the Washington schools authority issued a statement saying that, while it understood the inconvenience the closure would cause to some parents, it wanted engineers to inspect its 126 school buildings. The US parks department, which is responsible for many of DC’s monuments, reported some minor cracks on the pyramid at the top of the 555ft monument. The national cathedral in Washington, one of the highest buildings in the city, also suffered minor damage, with several capstones dislodged from its spires. The quake, which registered 5.8 on the Richter scale, was followed by a tremor on Wednesday morning. The quake on Tuesday led to the evacuation of the White House, Congress, schools and offices. Many workers then headed home or to the nearest bar to wait for the traffic to ease. Planes were grounded and trains stopped while rails were checked. The media response to the quake was greeted with mild amusement in California, where tremors are a regular occurrence. Cable channels such as CNN – which, until that point, had been providing almost non-stop reports from Muammar Gaddafi’s compound in Tripoli – switched to devote a lot of their coverage to the quake. The Washington Post led with it on Wednesday, headlining: “Earthquake jolts DC area”. The Post reported that the first warnings of the quake may have come from the National Zoo, where officials said red-ruffed lemurs began “alarm calling” a full 15 minutes before the quake hit and. In the great ape house, Iris the orangutan bellowed 10 seconds before the keepers felt it. The east coast is bracing itself for the landfall of Hurricane Irene, which is on course to hit North Carolina. United States Washington DC Natural disasters and extreme weather Ewen MacAskill guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …France’s rich keen to pay more tax as PM Fillon announces ‘rigour package’
August 24, 2011 No Comment
Sixteen wealthy French citizens have signed a petition As a group of France’s wealthiest citizens, including L’Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt , take up the call for a tax on the rich, François Fillon, the French prime minister, announced on Wednesday a “rigour package” to cut the country’s deficit and save €11bn (£9.7bn). The 16 business executives and wealthy individuals signed a petition calling for an “exceptional contribution” by the country’s richest citizens as a measure to help France drag itself out of the economic crisis that his hit the eurozone countries. The idea follows a similar suggestion from the American billionaire Warren Buffett, which has been picked up and supported by Maurice Lévy, the influential head of the advertising and marketing group Publicis, and Pierre Bergé, founder of the fashion house Yves Saint Laurent. Buffett had criticised the fact that he was paying less tax than many of his employees. The letter on the website of the French news magazine Le Nouvel Observateur was signed by some of France’s leading businessmen, including Christophe de Margerie, of the oil group Total, Frédéric Oudea, head of France’s second biggest bank Societé Générale, and Jean-Cyril Spinetta, president of Air France-KLM. Bettencourt, 88, France’s richest woman, with a fortune estimated at €17bn (£15bn), also put her name to the petition. The measures in the rigour package, dubbed by some the “financial turn of the screw”, include: • an “exceptional contribution” of 3% on taxable earnings for those earning above €500,000 to remain in place until France’s deficit had been reduced to 3% of GDP. • an increase in tax on tobacco and alcohol • a modification of capital gains tax on property Fillon also spoke of a “harmonisation” of taxes on businesses and companies between France and Germany. He said growth predictions for 2011 were down to 1.75% (from 2%) and 1.75% for 2012 (0.5% less than originally forecast). In the letter to Le Nouvel Observateur, the 16 signatories said: “We, presidents or company leaders, businessmen and women, bankers, professionals and wealthy citizens, would like an ‘exceptional contribution’ imposed on the most fortunate French taxpayers. “We are aware that we have fully benefited from the French model and European environment to which we are attached and that we want to help preserve them. This contribution is not a solution in itself: it should be part of a more global effort of reforms affecting [public] spending as well as [tax] revenues. “At a time when the public finances deficit and the prospect of a worsening state debt threaten the future of France and Europe, and when the government is asking everyone to show their solidarity, it seems necessary for us to contribute to this.” Any tax on the country’s wealthiest citizens would be imposed for a limited period, probably about two years, said analysts, and would target those considered the richest personally and not the companies for whom they work. France has promised to rein in its public deficit in previous years but without success. The eurozone sovereign debt crisis has prompted it to announce plans to trim its public deficit to 5.7 % this year, 4.6 % next year and 3% in 2013. Among other measures, Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, is reported to be considering the abandonment of tax-free overtime for workers. This was one of the financial measures that under the slogan “work harder to earn more”, was a pillar of his election campaign in 2005, but has cost the government an estimated €4.5bn in lost revenues. The government is also looking at ending tax breaks for companies. Having recently abolished the “financial shield”, which set a limit on the total amount of tax the rich were expected to pay, a new tax on the wealthy would avoid accusations his austerity measures would hit those lower down the income scale and small businesses hardest, in the run up to next year’s presidential elections. France and Germany are also discussing proposals for a tax on financial transactions, a measure that is vehemently opposed by Britain. France Europe Europe Tax and spending Nicolas Sarkozy Warren Buffett Euro European monetary union Financial crisis Tobin tax Kim Willsher guardian.co.uk
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Evacuations began on a tiny barrier island off North Carolina as Hurricane Irene strengthened to a major Category 3 storm over the Bahamas on Wednesday with the East Coast in its sights. (Aug. 23)
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enlarge I was sitting at my desk Tuesday when I felt something strange. My desk chair was rolling back and forth, and when I turned around to look out my window, I saw the wall shaking. I live in Philadelphia. We’re not used to earthquakes. We’re not designed for them. More to the point, my city has old, poorly-maintained infrastructure. In my neighborhood, every time we have a heavy rainstorm, we see sinkholes pucker up everywhere. Our local sewer system is 150 years old . Our bridges are uncomfortably close to collapse, and no one does anything other than slap the equivalent of Band-Aids on the problems. Why? Because for 30 years, state and congressional Republicans have made it impossible to raise necessary taxes. When the earthquake hit, I was checking the latest storm track for Hurricane Irene. All I could think of was, “Swell. Looks like a direct hit on the East Coast, and I wonder what programs the Republicans will insist we cut to pay for the clean-up.” I look at Dave’s story, where we see funding was cut for earthquake sensors at nuclear power plants — right near the epicenter of yesterday’s quake — and I feel like screaming, “What the hell is wrong with you people?” Then I see the latest reports that indicate (surprise!) the Deepwater Horizon site is leaking again , and no one’s talking about it. Seen anything on the news? Oh, and I’m not even mentioning the news that the area around the Fukushima power plants will be uninhabitable for a long, long time . And that’s not counting the numerous problems with our food and water supplies. What do these things have in common? They’re things government can, and should, take care of. Here in the U.S., we count on our federal agencies to regulate, enforce, anticipate problems – and clean up after national disasters. We are the richest nation in the world. We can afford this. What we can’t afford is another string of wars. We can’t continue to cut everything at home to pay for wars elsewhere, particularly when they’re for such blatantly dishonest reasons. We need to stop. Now. I continue to be astounded by the national disconnect over global climate change. We are facing more numerous storms, more powerful weather extremes, and our infrastructure is no longer built to handle it. So what are our brave senators fighting over? Who can cut more spending. Instead of doing what’s best for our country, they do what’s best for their reelection . They’re more worried about Pope Grover than they are about their duty to the rest of us. We are all connected, everywhere. A nuclear power plant in Fukushima spits out a radioactive plume, and now it’s in our air, food and water. A typhoon in one part of the world drives up food prices everywhere else. A massive earthquake in Japan affects the financial health of the global economy. One world. Everything connected. To have elected representatives who are too cowardly and craven to do the job for which they were elected — it’s not acceptable. Don’t accept it. Start speaking out. This crap is crazy. Pick up the phone, write a letter, go to a town hall. Sit in. Raise hell. Tell them you won’t vote for anyone who refuses to act like a freaking grownup and raise the revenue to pay for them. Get moving. Because if we wait much longer, it’s going to be too late.
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The New York Times maintained its strange hostility toward center-right French president (and former Bush ally) Nicolas Sarkozy in Steven Erlanger Tuesday’s story from Paris, “ Sarkozy Seen as Baiting Socialists With Budget Role .” Erlanger implied that Sarkozy’s standard political appeals for deficits and balanced budgets (i.e. “the right’s obsession”) were somehow unfair to the opposition Socialist Party. Taking sides, Erlanger lamented the Socialists may be right on the merits but that Sarkozy’s simplistic approach could well prevail: “They have some sensible arguments, but as often in politics, a simple idea often trumps a complicated one. The Socialists recognize the need for fiscal discipline.” President Nicolas Sarkozy has used the crisis over the euro and his relationship with the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, to set a potential political trap for the Socialist opposition less than nine months before the French presidential election. Hoping to show the French that he is a man of stature and responsibility, Mr. Sarkozy is pressing for a constitutional amendment to promote a balanced budget and making it a litmus test of fiscal responsibility for the Socialists, who oppose it. Mr. Sarkozy has previously floated an idea he calls “the golden rule,” a legal requirement for a balanced budget, and a weak version has passed both houses of Parliament, where his center-right party has a majority. The Socialists voted against it, calling it a political maneuver and a “communications operation.” …. But Mr. Sarkozy also seems to have a domestic intent — to portray the Socialists as fiscally irresponsible and spendthrift . He has also, with much fanfare, ordered his government to come up with new spending cuts and alterations in the tax code to ensure, even in a period of flat growth, that he meets his stated target of reducing national debt to 5.7 percent of gross domestic product this year and 4.6 percent next year, election year. …. In the meantime, Mr. Sarkozy has returned to the Mediterranean vacation home of his pregnant wife, leaving the Socialists, gearing up for their own primary fight in October, having to explain why a debt limit and balanced budgets are a bad idea. They have some sensible arguments, but as often in politics, a simple idea often trumps a complicated one. The Socialists recognize the need for fiscal discipline , but for now their own plans are either complicated or vague, and emphasize new programs more than cuts. Erlanger quoted some scathing critics of Sarkozy’s plan and party:
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[Today's Deal] Tidalis -85% OFF Half-Life 2 Cinematic Mod10- Part 4: Watching Rob Struggle With a Puzzle for 30 Minutes Final Boss Battles #15: Portal JoanPadilla3 says: Portal 2: A new view on puzzle games http://t.co/JEfLq8W
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