We knew Britney Spears was said to be unleashing her inner wild child in her “I Wanna Go” video, but what exactly does that mean? The short video teaser released last night gives us some clues: Brit standing on the hood of a yellow taxi cab in front of a marquis displaying the (fictitious, sadly) … More » Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Idolator Discovery Date : 20/06/2011 05:10 Number of articles : 4
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Former Cherie Blair ‘lifestyle guru’ seeks damages of £250,000 over alleged claims she could sell details of ex-PM’s marriage • Read the judgment in full Carole Caplin, the former “lifestyle guru” to Cherie Blair, has been given the green light to sue the Daily Mail for libel over her alleged portrayal as “some sort of sexpot or randy masseuse”. Caplin, 48, is seeking damages of up to £250,000 from the Associated Newspapers title after a September 2010 article which allegedly suggested that she would disclose “sex secrets” about former prime minister Tony Blair’s wife for £1m. Judge Mrs Justice Sharp on Monday concluded that the article, headlined “Will Carole Caplin lift the lid on Blairs’ marriage?”, was capable of giving rise to the suspicion that she would sell her story for a substantial fee. “It seems to me that an ordinary sensible reader could conclude both that Caplin now has a financial motive to spill the beans, and that she may do so, even though she has said nothing up until now,” Sharp said. “I have concluded that read as a whole, and applying the relevant principles to the issue as it arises now, the article is capable of conveying the suspicion that the claimant will ‘lift the lid on the Blairs’ marriage’ and their ‘sex secrets” for substantial financial reward.” Sharp said it would be for a trial tribunal to conclude what inference is to be drawn from these words. David Price QC, acting for Caplin, told the high court in London in May that the newspaper portrayed his client as a “Svengali or Rasputin figure” in the marriage of Tony and Cherie Blair. Associated Newspapers accepted that, taken on their own, the headlines could foster a suspicion that Caplin was intending to “lift the lid” on the Blairs. However, the publisher argued that the article as a whole was not defamatory. Caplin acted as a “lifestyle adviser” to Cherie Blair during her time at Downing Street. She has given numerous newspaper and magazine interviews about her relationship with the Blairs since leaving to set up a gym. The Daily Mail claimed Caplin had previously turned down an offer of £1m to sell her story, but that she “might now be forced to think again” following the alleged financial failure of her gym. The article also alleged that Caplin had “insisted” Cherie Blair disclose all about her private life. Price told the court that this would lead readers to suspect that Caplin could reveal all for a financial reward. Price argued the article implied that Caplin gave the former prime minister massages of a sexual nature during her time at Downing Street, allegations he described as completely false. He added: “My client’s business involves respect for confidential information – it’s at the heart of what she does, at the heart of this relationship.” • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly “for publication”. • To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook . Media law Daily Mail Newspapers & magazines Associated Newspapers Daily Mail & General Trust National newspapers Privacy & the media Cherie Blair Tony Blair Josh Halliday guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Justice Clarence Thomas Should Resign For His Egregious Conflicts of Interest and Unethical Behavior
June 20, 2011 No Comment
enlarge Has this country become so corrupt that our elected officials and the media will simply look the other way while Clarence Thomas makes a mockery of judicial impartiality? How nice that he has rich friends who do such nice favors — I’m sure it doesn’t influence him in the least: Justice Clarence Thomas is an ethics problem in a black robe. Just eight months after ThinkProgress broke the story of Thomas’ attendance at a Koch-sponsored political fundraiser , we learn that Thomas doesn’t just do unethical favors for wealthy right-wing donors — they also do expensive favors for him . Leading conservative donor Harlan Crow, whose company often litigates in federal court, donated $500,000 to allow Thomas’s wife to start a Tea Party group and he once gave Thomas a $19,000 Bible that belonged to Frederick Douglass. The American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank which frequently files briefs in Thomas’ Court, also gave Thomas a $15,000 gift.If this sounds familiar, it’s because America has seen this movie before. Indeed, the Thomas scandal is little more than a remake of the forty year-old gifting scandal that brought down Justice Abe Fortas. Like Thomas, Fortas liked to associate with wealthy individuals with potential business before his Court. And like Thomas, Fortas took inappropriate gifts from his wealthy benefactors. It is difficult to distinguish Fortas’ scandal from Thomas’. Like Fortas, Thomas accepted several very valuable gifts from parties who are frequently interested in the outcome of federal court cases. One of Thomas’ benefactors has even filed briefs in his Court since giving Thomas a $15,000 gift, and Thomas has not recused himself from each of these cases. Of course, Thomas is also the least likely Justice to actually follow the command of precedent. Thomas embraces a discredited theory of the Constitution which would return America to a time when federal child labor laws were considered unconstitutional . His fellow justices criticize him for showing “ utter disregard for our precedent and Congress’ intent.” Even ultra-conservative Justice Antonin Scalia finds Thomas’ approach to the law too extreme — in Scalia’s words “I am a textualist. I am an originalist. I am not a nut.” But Thomas’ disregard for what has come before him changes nothing about the precedent he faces. If Abe Fortas had to resign his seat, so too should Clarence Thomas.
Continue reading …NBC’s Gregory Frets Greece-Like Rioting if U.S. Makes ‘Draconian’ Spending Cuts
June 20, 2011 No Comment
On NBC's Sunday Meet the Press, host David Gregory took on an alarmist tone as he worried that any significant attempts to address the nation's enormous debt could lead to violence: “Look at the images that came out of Greece this week as you've got…big cuts in public spending. And this is the result, rioting in the streets….Could we have that kind of reaction here?” Gregory posed that question to Senators Dick Durbin and Lindsey Graham early in the program, further fretting: “Are we headed in this direction with the kind of actions we're talking about in terms of cutting public spending?…Is there a risk…that these draconian cuts in spending that so many Americans think are necessary may actually halt what we're still…seeing as a very fragile, very weak economic recovery?” Later in the broadcast, Gregory again brought up the subject to his political panel: “We showed the pictures from Greece. We can show them again, demonstrations in the streets as a result of draconian cuts being made by the government there….are we being too aggressive about tackling deficits at a point when the economy still needs so much help?” Liberal historian and author Doris Kearns Goodwin quickly agreed: “Absolutely….you've got to deal with the economy first, get it going, and then you make promises about getting that [the deficit] down.” Fellow panelist, Wall Street Journal editorial page editor Paul Gigot, presented the conservative side of the argument: “I think, philosophically, from an economics policy point of view, you cut spending, you're going to help the economy, in my view. Because every dollar the government spends is a dollar that's taken out of the private sector, which is the only place, the only place you're going to drive growth.” Here is a transcript of the June 19 exchange: 10:35AM ET DAVID GREGORY: To both of you, and I'll start with Senator Durbin, look, what's going on around the world is something that we're debating here in America. Look at the images that came out of Greece this week as you've got governments that are defaulting in Europe potentially, big cuts in public spending. And this is the result, rioting in the streets. There are union members and there are just citizens who are saying this is way too much. Senator Durbin, are we headed in this direction with the kind of actions we're talking about in terms of cutting public spending? Could we have that kind of reaction here?…Senator Graham, let me get back to this other point, which is what we're seeing going on in the Eurozone right now, potential defaults. Is there a risk, from your side of the aisle, that these draconian cuts in spending that so many Americans think are necessary may actually halt what we're still seeming – seeing as a very fragile, very weak economic recovery? (…) 11:10AM ET GREGORY: Doris, we, we showed the pictures from Greece. We can show them again, demonstrations in the streets as a result of draconian cuts being made by the government there. The same question I asked to Senator Graham, are we being too aggressive about tackling deficits at a point when the economy still needs so much help? DORIS KEARNS GOODWIN: Absolutely. I mean, it seems to me the rational answer right now, we've got to get the economy to grow, and then get some problems which we agree on both sides that we will have targets for cutting the deficit. I mean, most economists would argue that. But somehow the deficit has become – it's the same way it became with Perot, it's become that lady in the closet. We have to deal with it, we do have to deal with it. GREGORY: Right. GOODWIN: But you've got to deal with the economy first, get it going, and then you make promises about getting that down. GREGORY: But even – I've spoken to House Republican leaders who say, you know, this is – even our zeal to cut the debt… GOODWIN:
Continue reading …A baby boomlet is beefing up families of GOP contenders. While the average American family has two children, six GOP presidential candidates and prospects have 34 kids among them (not counting Michele Bachmann’s 23 foster kids)—and “religion appears to be a major driver of the GOP population explosion,” says…
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Inception Ending Reaction Inception ending reaction video BRHS Inception Ending Reversed (“Time” by Hans Zimmer played backwards) Frankdpxep says: inception ending AP source: Wild name Mike Yeo new head coach http://t.co/3YxnLoc ;P
Continue reading …WOMAN ARRESTED For Refusing Installation of Smart Meters in Her Neighborhood (Video)
June 20, 2011 No Comment
It’s an Obama World… You will do as you’re told. You will keep your temperature at an Obama-approved level. A woman was arrested this past weekend for not allowing officials to install a smart meters in her neighborhood. The P/Oed … Continue reading → Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Gateway Pundit Discovery Date : 19/06/2011 16:08 Number of articles : 3
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‘Mossbourne two’ would meet demands of parents who beg for a place at academy in east London, says headteacher One of Labour’s first academies – which replaced a school described by the government as the “worst school in Britain” – is planning to take advantage of a flagship Tory policy by opening a free school to cope with demand from parents. Mossbourne academy, in Hackney, east London, wants to set up a free school at which 70% of children would take the “English baccalaureate”, a set of five core academic subjects at GCSE. The move was announced as the education secretary, Michael Gove, confirmed the government had received 281 applications to open free schools from September 2012. These included a proposal from Everton FC to open a school that would use sport to engage children at risk of exclusion. The most recent applications included 20 schools for children with special needs and 65 characterising themselves as faith schools among the applications to open a free school this September. Speaking at the Policy Exchange thinktank in London on Monday, Gove said: “Even when there are places at local schools, they’re not necessarily the type of school places parents are happy with. A choice between two things you don’t want is hardly a choice at all. Free schools offer a genuine alternative – and they have the freedom to be different.” Like academies, free schools can set aside the national curriculum and vary teachers’ pay and conditions; many propose to extend teachers’ hours to give children a longer school day. Gove was accompanied at the speech by Michael Wilshaw, headteacher of Mossbourne, who said his proposal for a new school would answer demands of parents who “buttonholed” him outside the academy pleading for a place for their child. Wilshaw said: “We turn away over 1,000 children every year. It will be a Mossbourne two, in the south of the borough, where provision is not that good, offering a balanced and broad curriculum. Our aim is that 70% will do the English baccalaureate.” Free school groups seeking to open next year praised the “Mossbourne model”, which includes a longer day; in some cases children work until 8pm and have their evening meals at the school. Tom Shinner, a history teacher working on a free school proposal for Greenwich, south London, said: “Like Mossbourne we’ll have high expectations, a ‘no excuses’ approach. There will be an extended day, from 8am to 5.30pm, and a broad range of extra-curricular activities which every single one of our kids will have to take part in: debating, competitive sport, a model United Nations. We’ll have more teachers and fewer non-teaching adults in school, fewer teaching assistants and fewer admin staff.” Edward Fidoe, an education consultant and a member of the team behind a proposed school for Newham, east London, called Newham 21 – which would have Tony Blair’s former speechwriter Peter Hyman as its head – said the school would focus on instilling personal qualities such as leadership and creativity as well as an academic education. The Newham free school is proposingto assess children on their “leadership capability” as well as standard academic tests. Other free school proposals have been aimed at meeting local demand in areas short of places. Kerstyn Comley, a parent involved in a free school proposal for Wapping, east London, said: “There’s a huge shortage of places borough-wide: by 2014 we will be 240 places short. We decided that we had to do something about this as a parents’ group.” The Wapping group advocates an extended school day with compulsory afterschool activities, including setting up a newspaper, playing football and polo classes. Comley said: “It will be quite a small school, with 81 students per year. The schools in Tower Hamlets are all pretty large.” She added: “We’re not political. We just want a school that’s good for our kids.” Like many free school backers, the Wapping group faces a challenge in finding a suitable venue. Comley said: “Where we are is next to the City of London, and if you’re looking at private property it’s City of London prices.” Rachel Wolf, director of the New Schools Network, said her group had been “inundated” with applications. A hundred free schools could be created by 2012, and several hundred by 2015, she said. Free schools Academies Education policy Michael Gove Schools Jeevan Vasagar guardian.co.uk
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Ousted president on trial in absentia denies charges against him and says his departure was part of plot against him Tunisia’s ousted president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali said on Monday he was deceived into leaving the country, and denied giving orders for security forces to shoot at protesters who were demanding he step down. A statement issued by his lawyers said he had agreed to take a plane to Saudi Arabia to bring his family to safety, and had planned to return immediately. But, he said, the aircraft left Saudi Arabia without him after the crew ignored his instructions. Ben Ali, whose trial in absentia began on Monday , denied the charges against him of illegally possessing drugs, cash, jewellery and weapons. He said the weapons were gifts from other heads of state and the jewellery had been given as gifts to his wife, Leila Trabelsi, by foreign dignitaries. The money and drugs had been planted in his home and the presidential palace after his departure as part of a plot against him, he said in the statement. Ben Ali gave his first detailed account of the events leading to his departure from Tunisia for Saudi Arabia on 14 January, ending his 23 years in office. At the time, thousands of protesters had gathered in the centre of the capital to demand he step down, accusing him of stamping out dissent while allowing his family to amass huge wealth and control the economy. The statement said the head of presidential security had come to him in his office and told him “friendly” foreign intelligence services had passed on information about a plot to assassinate Ben Ali. He was persuaded to board a plane that would take his wife and children to safety in Jeddah, but with the intention of returning immediately, the statement said. “He boarded the plane with his family after ordering the crew to wait for him in Jeddah. But after his arrival, the plane returned to Tunisia, without waiting for him, contrary to his orders. He did not leave his post as president of the republic and hasn’t fled Tunisia as he was falsely accused of doing,” the statement said. In a forthcoming trial in a military court, Ben Ali is expected to face accusations that he ordered police to open fire on protesters outside the capital, killing hundreds of people over a three-week period. “He did not give an order to fire on demonstrators and this can be proved through the contacts between the presidency, interior ministry and different ministries, which are recorded,” the statement said. Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali Tunisia Arab and Middle East unrest Protest Africa Middle East guardian.co.uk
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Part of Amy Winehouse’s European tour has been cancelled after the singer disappointed fans in Belgrade. Winehouse turned up to the concert late and appeared unable to remember the lyrics to her songs. (June 20)
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