Queen discusses difficulties of forming minority governments with Tony Abbott in Canberra Australia’s turbulent political landscape and minority government were the topics of conversation when the Queen met the country’s opposition leader. The monarch told Tony Abbott, head of the Liberal party, that forming minority governments was always problematic. The sovereign was referring to the experiences of Australia’s prime minister Julia Gillard, who experienced weeks of political wrangling before she was able to form a government after elections last year produced no overall winner. The politician had to rely on a handful of independent members of parliament finally backing her before she could take up office at the head of a minority government. The Labor party leader had called a snap election after taking over from prime minister Kevin Rudd who was deposed in a party coup less than three years after becoming prime minister. The Queen rarely speaks about her personal views in public and her words were recorded by the waiting media who were given access to the first few moments of the audience. But her comments were also formed by recent experiences as there were a number of anxious days before David Cameron was able to form a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats last year. Abbott met the Queen in the morning room of Canberra’s Government House on Friday after the sovereign had held discussions with Gillard. The Queen wasted no time raising the issue of the precarious state of Australian politics saying: “It is an interesting time.” Australia’s minority government is the first in decades and commentators have said it could easily be threatened by a ministerial misdemeanour or by-election. Abbott replied to the Queen’s opening statement saying: “It is never dull, we play our politics tough in this country and give no quarter, Australian society is always dynamic.” He made the Queen laugh when he added: “We like to think we’re the happening place, Your Majesty.” The monarch replied: “A minority government is always a difficult thing to organise,” before talks continued behind closed doors. Gillard has faced criticism for deciding not to curtsey to the Queen when the pair first met, and on Friday she again bowed her head, twice, to the monarch as she walked into the room. Australia Monarchy Julia Gillard guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Downing Street pressed for more detail of donors named in Liam Fox report
October 21, 2011 No Comment
The report naming six companies has raised questions about their identities and links to the Pargav slush fund Downing Street faces growing pressure to definitively identify a company named in the report by the cabinet secretary, Gus O’Donnell, into Liam Fox’s links with his best man, Adam Werritty. The former cabinet minister Peter Hain demanded that ministers clarify who is behind the company, IRG Ltd. The report’s publication on Tuesday was intended to draw a line under the furore around Fox’s links with Werritty, which led to Fox resigning as defence secretary. But the report, which named the six companies and individuals that funded Werritty’s Pargav “slush fund”, has raised more unanswered questions. Among the Pargav donors, including the mining tycoon Mick Davis, private investigations firm G3 and billionaire property mogul Poju Zabludowicz, is a company referred to as simply “IRG Ltd”. More than 30 companies and organisations use the same initials, including an Iraq-focused charity, an executive recruitment agency linked to the former Tory minister Virginia Bottomley and a pizza restaurant in Basildon. On Thursday , Hain put down a parliamentary question for the Cabinet Office minister, Francis Maude, demanding he “explain the nature and purpose of IRG Ltd”. Hain said: “The tentacles of this scandal spread even further and the government must come clean on what IRG is. There is no reason for the Cabinet Office to say it knows what IRG is, but not to admit it in public.” Among those being scrutinised is International Resources Group, a US company that claims it “organised and synthesised Afghanistan’s constitutional and religious, secular, and customary laws” after the fall of the Taliban. International Resources Group has refused to return the Guardian’s calls for the last three days. The Guardian visited IRG’s offices at a New York skyscraper and was refused entry by security guards. Its website, IRGltd.com , says it is “an L-3 company”. L-3 has denied that International Resources Group is the same IRG Ltd that funded Pargav. L-3 is a hi-tech telecommunications company in which the Tory donor Michael Hintze’s CQS hedge fund has had a $34m investment. In July, Fox told parliament that the Ministry of Defence would go ahead with plans to award a contract to L-3 to provide the MoD with new rivet joint aircraft to replace Nimrod. A spokesman for CQS, which has been extensively linked to Werritty, said Hintze had “no idea” whether the IRG company named by O’Donnell was the same IRG that is owned by L-3 in which CQS holds an investment. Hintze’s charitable foundation was the biggest single donor to the Atlantic Bridge, the now-defunct charity that appears to have supported Werritty’s jetset lifestyle before the creation of Pargav. Werritty ran the Atlantic Bridge from inside CQS’s plush offices over looking Buckingham Palace. Oliver Hylton, one of Hintze’s closest aides and the manager of his charitable foundation, arranged for Werritty to be given a desk in CQS’s HQ. Hylton, who has been suspended by CQS, was the company secretary of Pargav, which funded Werritty’s first class flights and five star hotels on trips to accompany Fox on official visits abroad. Last week Hylton handed over details of Pargav’s funding to the media. CQS declined to ask Hylton to identify IRG. Another IRG Ltd is a UK company which trades as Odgers Berndston, an executive recruitment agency and it counts former Conservative health secretary, Virginia Bottomley, as a director. It too has denied any connection to Pargav. A third organisation, the Iraq Research Group, said to be led by Stephen Crouch, the former chairman of the Tory Party’s Camarthen West and South Pembrokeshire constituency, has been identified in media reports as a possible candidate. The Guardian has been unable to contact Crouch. Simon Hart, the MP for Camarthen West, said Crouch used to make frequent trips to Iraq and said it was understood locally that he had a background in the military or intelligence. “We always thought he was working for the programme rebuilding Iraq and that he was working for an American company,” Hart said. Hart said Crouch once helped arrange a £5,000 donation to the local party from Tony Buckingham, an oil tycoon with interests in Kurdistan. A search of company records shows that almost 30 companies registered in the UK use the initials IRG. A Cabinet Office spokesman said: No 10 knows which organisation it is, but will not make it public. “We are not going to go into the detail of the people or organisations that are in the report.” A spokesman at Conservative central office said: “The Conservative party has no idea who IRG is.” Liam Fox and Adam Werritty links Liam Fox Adam Werritty Rupert Neate Robert Booth Karen McVeigh Gus O’Donnell guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Downing Street pressed for more detail of donors named in Liam Fox report
October 21, 2011 No CommentThe report naming six companies has raised questions about their identities and links to the Pargav slush fund Downing Street faces growing pressure to definitively identify a company named in the report by the cabinet secretary, Gus O’Donnell, into Liam Fox’s links with his best man, Adam Werritty. The former cabinet minister Peter Hain demanded that ministers clarify who is behind the company, IRG Ltd. The report’s publication on Tuesday was intended to draw a line under the furore around Fox’s links with Werritty, which led to Fox resigning as defence secretary. But the report, which named the six companies and individuals that funded Werritty’s Pargav “slush fund”, has raised more unanswered questions. Among the Pargav donors, including the mining tycoon Mick Davis, private investigations firm G3 and billionaire property mogul Poju Zabludowicz, is a company referred to as simply “IRG Ltd”. More than 30 companies and organisations use the same initials, including an Iraq-focused charity, an executive recruitment agency linked to the former Tory minister Virginia Bottomley and a pizza restaurant in Basildon. On Thursday , Hain put down a parliamentary question for the Cabinet Office minister, Francis Maude, demanding he “explain the nature and purpose of IRG Ltd”. Hain said: “The tentacles of this scandal spread even further and the government must come clean on what IRG is. There is no reason for the Cabinet Office to say it knows what IRG is, but not to admit it in public.” Among those being scrutinised is International Resources Group, a US company that claims it “organised and synthesised Afghanistan’s constitutional and religious, secular, and customary laws” after the fall of the Taliban. International Resources Group has refused to return the Guardian’s calls for the last three days. The Guardian visited IRG’s offices at a New York skyscraper and was refused entry by security guards. Its website, IRGltd.com , says it is “an L-3 company”. L-3 has denied that International Resources Group is the same IRG Ltd that funded Pargav. L-3 is a hi-tech telecommunications company in which the Tory donor Michael Hintze’s CQS hedge fund has had a $34m investment. In July, Fox told parliament that the Ministry of Defence would go ahead with plans to award a contract to L-3 to provide the MoD with new rivet joint aircraft to replace Nimrod. A spokesman for CQS, which has been extensively linked to Werritty, said Hintze had “no idea” whether the IRG company named by O’Donnell was the same IRG that is owned by L-3 in which CQS holds an investment. Hintze’s charitable foundation was the biggest single donor to the Atlantic Bridge, the now-defunct charity that appears to have supported Werritty’s jetset lifestyle before the creation of Pargav. Werritty ran the Atlantic Bridge from inside CQS’s plush offices over looking Buckingham Palace. Oliver Hylton, one of Hintze’s closest aides and the manager of his charitable foundation, arranged for Werritty to be given a desk in CQS’s HQ. Hylton, who has been suspended by CQS, was the company secretary of Pargav, which funded Werritty’s first class flights and five star hotels on trips to accompany Fox on official visits abroad. Last week Hylton handed over details of Pargav’s funding to the media. CQS declined to ask Hylton to identify IRG. Another IRG Ltd is a UK company which trades as Odgers Berndston, an executive recruitment agency and it counts former Conservative health secretary, Virginia Bottomley, as a director. It too has denied any connection to Pargav. A third organisation, the Iraq Research Group, said to be led by Stephen Crouch, the former chairman of the Tory Party’s Camarthen West and South Pembrokeshire constituency, has been identified in media reports as a possible candidate. The Guardian has been unable to contact Crouch. Simon Hart, the MP for Camarthen West, said Crouch used to make frequent trips to Iraq and said it was understood locally that he had a background in the military or intelligence. “We always thought he was working for the programme rebuilding Iraq and that he was working for an American company,” Hart said. Hart said Crouch once helped arrange a £5,000 donation to the local party from Tony Buckingham, an oil tycoon with interests in Kurdistan. A search of company records shows that almost 30 companies registered in the UK use the initials IRG. A Cabinet Office spokesman said: No 10 knows which organisation it is, but will not make it public. “We are not going to go into the detail of the people or organisations that are in the report.” A spokesman at Conservative central office said: “The Conservative party has no idea who IRG is.” Liam Fox and Adam Werritty links Liam Fox Adam Werritty Rupert Neate Robert Booth Karen McVeigh Gus O’Donnell guardian.co.uk
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Actor Jon Bernthal of ‘The Walking Dead,’ says he believes it resonates with viewers because it’s not a campy zombie show but instead a story about survival. He talks about his character Shane’s struggles in the new season. (Oct. 20)
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Actor Jon Bernthal of ‘The Walking Dead,’ says he believes it resonates with viewers because it’s not a campy zombie show but instead a story about survival. He talks about his character Shane’s struggles in the new season. (Oct. 20)
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The ‘Occupy Wall Street’ protests are starting to draw a crowd, of tourists. The month-old encampment is becoming a spot for what you might call field trips. (Oct. 20)
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The ‘Occupy Wall Street’ protests are starting to draw a crowd, of tourists. The month-old encampment is becoming a spot for what you might call field trips. (Oct. 20)
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Wait, what? In the top of the 7th, vowel-challenged Cardinals reliever Mark Rzepczynski notched a strike out to end the inning. This prompted play-by-play announcer Joe Buck to mention that Rzepczynki’s nickname is “Scrabble” because of his elaborate last name (It would notch you 39 points in the game, for what it’s worth). Fellow broadcaster Tim McCarver responded by saying, “It’s a five letter word: S-T-R-I-K-E.” If you didn’t catch what’s so bizarre about what McCarver said.. please read the quote again. We’re going to assume McCarver counted the letters with his fingers as he spelled out strike, and then just decided to let it go without correcting himself. Fortunately the spelling watchdogs on Twitter were all over it: After McCarver finished spelling, he shared a relatively awkward 5-second silence with Joe Buck before they broke for a commercial break. AwfulAnnouncing.com, the online experts on such matters, concluded that “Tim McCarver can apparently spell, he just can’t count.” The flub was noteworthy to be sure, and we’re assuming the phrase will be a staple of intramural softball games for generations to come. It certainly wasn’t the most ideal way to kick-off McCarver’s record 22nd time calling the World Series. This also marks the 14th Fall classic in which McCarver and Buck have shared the broadcast booth. When introduced for the game, Buck had an interesting way of reflecting on the duo’s long tenure:
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NEW YORK — Apple Inc. said Tuesday that C Spire Wireless, the country’s eighth-largest phone company, will start selling the iPhone 4S in a few weeks. That’s a major coup for the small company, which provides service in Mississippi and surrounding states. So far, only the three biggest carriers sell the iPhone in the U.S. C Spire is bypassing the rest, including T-Mobile USA and U.S. Cellular, in getting the right to sell it. Neither C Spire, which was known as Cellular South until a month ago, nor Apple explained why C Spire was getting the phone rather than the No. 4 carrier, T-Mobile. Analyst Jan Dawson of Ovum found the announcement puzzling. “Leapfrogging T-Mobile certainly feels like a slap in the face, and you could argue that there are others that should have come first,” he said. The iPhone 4S isn’t compatible with T-Mobile USA’s high-speed wireless data network, so Apple would have to change its design or make a version specific to T-Mobile. But Dawson believes that’s a minor hurdle to overcome. The iPhone 4 exists in two versions for different networks already. Chicago-based U.S. Cellular Corp.’s network is compatible with one of them, but it isn’t selling the phone. Sprint Nextel Corp. began selling the iPhone last week. AT&T Inc. had it exclusively for more than three years, until Verizon Wireless started selling it in February. Verizon, the largest carrier, has more than 100 million phones and other devices on its network, which compares to 1 million at C Spire. While it’s tiny in comparison to other U.S. carriers, there are several overseas iPhone carriers that have fewer subscribers. Hu Meena, the CEO of C Spire, testified in Washington in 2009 that small companies like his were denied access to the most attractive phones, as those were tied up with exclusive arrangements with the larger carriers. C Spire, which is based in Ridgeland, Miss., has subscribers in Mississippi as well as the Memphis, Tenn., Mobile, Ala., and Pensacola, Fla. areas.
Continue reading …EU to launch first two Galileo satellites today, as sat-nav system lurches forward
October 21, 2011 No Comment
The EU’s Galileo satellite navigation system has been beset by delays and budget overruns in recent months, but its future is looking slightly brighter, now that its first two satellites are primed for launch. The European Space Agency is expected to send the satellites into space today, as part of a long-term project that will cost an estimated €7 billion (around $9.6 billion). Slated to take off from Kourou, French Guiana, the pair of satellites will ride on the back of a Russian rocket to an altitude of nearly 15,000 miles, where they’ll test system functions both in space and on Earth. If all goes according to plan, they’ll also become Galileo’s first operational satellites, paving the way, officials hope, for many more to follow. In fact, the European Commission is looking to complete the 30-satellite constellation by the year 2019, with two scheduled to launch during every quarter, beginning in 2012. The idea, of course, is to offer Europeans an alternative to US-operated GPS, with a free consumer service scheduled to launch in 2014, followed by a more precise, paid service in 2020. Nevertheless, budgetary concerns loom large over the project, which, according to the EC, has already racked up a development and deployment bill of over €5 billion ($6.8 billion), since 2003. The commission will present a finalized proposal to EU member governments by the end of the year, in the hopes of obtaining that extra €7 billion, though it may face more acute criticism, considering today’s dour economic climate. It remains unlikely, however, that Galileo will be totally shut down, as the EU says it could bring in an extra €90 billion in annual revenue, once completed. EU to launch first two Galileo satellites today, as sat-nav system lurches forward originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Oct 2011 04:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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