Impromptu walkabout in Cork wins new friends, as Sinn Féin is ridiculed for censuring member who shook hand The Queen has concluded her highly successful first official visit to Ireland with an impromptu walkabout in Cork, greeting hundreds of cheering children and shopworkers. Earlier, during a visit to the medieval castle and cathedral at the Rock of Cashel, one of the country’s most historic sites, she even found a Sinn Féin representative willing to meet her and shake her hand: the mayor, Michael Browne. He breached party conventions that members should not meet the monarch and earned criticism for doing so. He claimed it was his civic duty to do it. “I just shook hands with her … I just said ‘Welcome to Cashel your majesty and I hope you enjoy your stay’. No more, no less.” The party has been much criticised for refusing to meet the Queen and ridiculed for its stance, with suggestions that it would never be satisfied, whatever happened. Her popularity appears to have disconcerted it. Muiris O Súilleabháin, Sinn Féin’s South Tipperary spokesman, said: “Party members in Tipperary were surprised by Michael Browne’s action, especially as he recently signed a statement against the English queen’s visit to the Rock of Cashel. “The visit of the English queen to Ireland is premature and we are opposed to it. Elected members should not attend any of the events related to it.” Despite that, the Queen met plenty of Irish people who were prepared to cheer her. In Cork several thousand turned out, drowning a protest by hundreds of opponents, who were kept out of earshot across the river that divides the town. She and the Duke of Edinburgh toured the English market, a historic covered area of food shops, joking with the shopkeepers. Fishmonger Pat O’Connell said: “She was absolutely superb. She is easy to talk to, and has got a great sense of humour. “She got a huge welcome here. I am very proud to be a market trader, and very proud to be a Cork man.” Outside the market, the Queen unexpectedly plunged towards the waiting crowd opposite, smiling and chatting to individuals. Rosemary Williams of Clonakilty said: “It says a lot for Cork that the threat was perceived to be less here. She is purely wonderful.” Jim Daly, principal of St Oliver’s School in Cork, who brought dozens of children to see the royal visitor, said: “The Queen came and said hello to the children and we were absolutely thrilled. “It’s a day they will remember all the days of their lives, and will tell their children and grandchildren about. “From the very moment the Queen stepped out of the plane on Tuesday wearing the colours of our country, and going to the Garden of Remembrance, she disarmed us completely. “All of us, on both sides of the divide, it has helped us reappraise our history and our culture. Her visit will go a long, long way to healing the wounds of past years.” Royal officials and Irish ministers have been thrilled at the outcome of the visit. Protests have been very muted and there has been much favourable comment about the 85-year-old’s feistiness and the obvious sincerity of her acknowledgement of past wrongs and the respects she paid at the country’s remembrance garden. Its success follows close behind that of the royal wedding three weeks ago and just in advance of Barack Obama’s arrival at Buckingham Palace for a state visit on Tuesday. The Queen Monarchy Ireland Europe Sinn Féin Stephen Bates guardian.co.uk
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More Old Etonians have entered Who’s Who this year than in any year since 1997, according to research The return of the Conservative party to government has been accompanied by a resurgence in the number of Old Etonian entrants to Who’s Who, long regarded as the definitive guide to the British establishment. More Old Etonians have entered Who’s Who this year than in any year since 1997, according to research by the Guardian. Thirty-one of the 1,008 new entrants attended the school. In total, 1,225 Old Etonians grace the book’s pages – only 20 fewer than 18 years before. The findings also show the resurgence of the UK’s elite universities and members’ clubs, revealing a glacially slow pace of change. Who’s Who – biographical listings of Britain’s senior politicians, judges, civil servants and notable figures from the arts, academia and other areas – is widely seen as the standard reference book for the UK’s governing classes. Eton has long dominated its pages, with roughly four times as many alumni listed as its public-school rival Harrow. But in recent years, the number of Old Etonians entering the listings had been falling, with only 16 in each of the 2009 and 2010 lists. The coalition government is dominated by former public school pupils. Within days of the appointment of the cabinet in May 2010, it was revealed that 16 senior ministers attended public schools. David Cameron and the Commons leader, Sir George Young, went to Eton, as did Cabinet Office minister Oliver Letwin, while 222 alumni of Nick Clegg’s alma mater, Westminster school, have made their way into Who’s Who pages. In total, more than 2,300 people in Who’s Who attended the top five public schools – Eton, Charterhouse, Harrow, Rugby and Marlborough. Oxford and Cambridge graduates also continue to dominate the establishment. A study in the Sunday Times in 1993 found the proportion of new Who’s Who entrants from Britain’s two oldest universities had fallen to 27%. Though fewer than 2% of students attend Oxford or Cambridge, 32% of entrants to Who’s Who in 2011 went to one of the two universities. About one in three people – 11,700 out of 34,210 – listed in Who’s Who attended Oxford or Cambridge. Cambridge, with 5,985 alumni listed, was ahead of Oxford on 5,776. In contrast, Edinburgh, in third place, had just 913 listings. The findings echo comments made last month by the Conservative MP David Davis after the publication of the government’s social mobility strategy. “Britain is probably now the most stratified society in the western world,” he wrote on Politics Home. “Equality of opportunity has been declining for at least four decades, and the postwar ‘golden era’ of social mobility is a rapidly dimming memory.” Cameron and Clegg clashed after the initiative’s launch over the issue of MPs and other public figures giving unpaid internships to the children of friends and relatives. Clegg had attacked internships, saying: “We want a fair job market based on merit, not networks. It should be about what you know, not who you know.” One field in which Who’s Who is gradually changing is the addition of women. While fewer than one in eight people listed are female, the proportion of women entrants has been gradually increasing over the last 15 years, from 11% in 1996 to 23% in 2011 – the largest figure so far. The extracurricular interests of those listed have also changed little in 30 years. The gentleman’s club the Athenaeum was the most-represented institution, with 916 members. The MCC at Lord’s was close behind with 832, followed by the Garrick (626), Royal Automobile (498) and Reform (439) clubs. Aaron Porter, president of the National Union of Students, said the continued dominance of the professions by Oxbridge and private schools highlighted the importance of widening university access. “These findings demonstrate Oxbridge still opens doors in an unparalleled way,” he said. “This makes their failure to really make progress in attracting students from the poorest and non-traditional backgrounds more important than ever. “It is still remarkable that private schools make up 7% of the school population but 50% of Oxbridge. It’s a problem for society as a whole.” Private schools Schools Equality guardian.co.uk
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More Old Etonians have entered Who’s Who this year than in any year since 1997, according to research The return of the Conservative party to government has been accompanied by a resurgence in the number of Old Etonian entrants to Who’s Who, long regarded as the definitive guide to the British establishment. More Old Etonians have entered Who’s Who this year than in any year since 1997, according to research by the Guardian. Thirty-one of the 1,008 new entrants attended the school. In total, 1,225 Old Etonians grace the book’s pages – only 20 fewer than 18 years before. The findings also show the resurgence of the UK’s elite universities and members’ clubs, revealing a glacially slow pace of change. Who’s Who – biographical listings of Britain’s senior politicians, judges, civil servants and notable figures from the arts, academia and other areas – is widely seen as the standard reference book for the UK’s governing classes. Eton has long dominated its pages, with roughly four times as many alumni listed as its public-school rival Harrow. But in recent years, the number of Old Etonians entering the listings had been falling, with only 16 in each of the 2009 and 2010 lists. The coalition government is dominated by former public school pupils. Within days of the appointment of the cabinet in May 2010, it was revealed that 16 senior ministers attended public schools. David Cameron and the Commons leader, Sir George Young, went to Eton, as did Cabinet Office minister Oliver Letwin, while 222 alumni of Nick Clegg’s alma mater, Westminster school, have made their way into Who’s Who pages. In total, more than 2,300 people in Who’s Who attended the top five public schools – Eton, Charterhouse, Harrow, Rugby and Marlborough. Oxford and Cambridge graduates also continue to dominate the establishment. A study in the Sunday Times in 1993 found the proportion of new Who’s Who entrants from Britain’s two oldest universities had fallen to 27%. Though fewer than 2% of students attend Oxford or Cambridge, 32% of entrants to Who’s Who in 2011 went to one of the two universities. About one in three people – 11,700 out of 34,210 – listed in Who’s Who attended Oxford or Cambridge. Cambridge, with 5,985 alumni listed, was ahead of Oxford on 5,776. In contrast, Edinburgh, in third place, had just 913 listings. The findings echo comments made last month by the Conservative MP David Davis after the publication of the government’s social mobility strategy. “Britain is probably now the most stratified society in the western world,” he wrote on Politics Home. “Equality of opportunity has been declining for at least four decades, and the postwar ‘golden era’ of social mobility is a rapidly dimming memory.” Cameron and Clegg clashed after the initiative’s launch over the issue of MPs and other public figures giving unpaid internships to the children of friends and relatives. Clegg had attacked internships, saying: “We want a fair job market based on merit, not networks. It should be about what you know, not who you know.” One field in which Who’s Who is gradually changing is the addition of women. While fewer than one in eight people listed are female, the proportion of women entrants has been gradually increasing over the last 15 years, from 11% in 1996 to 23% in 2011 – the largest figure so far. The extracurricular interests of those listed have also changed little in 30 years. The gentleman’s club the Athenaeum was the most-represented institution, with 916 members. The MCC at Lord’s was close behind with 832, followed by the Garrick (626), Royal Automobile (498) and Reform (439) clubs. Aaron Porter, president of the National Union of Students, said the continued dominance of the professions by Oxbridge and private schools highlighted the importance of widening university access. “These findings demonstrate Oxbridge still opens doors in an unparalleled way,” he said. “This makes their failure to really make progress in attracting students from the poorest and non-traditional backgrounds more important than ever. “It is still remarkable that private schools make up 7% of the school population but 50% of Oxbridge. It’s a problem for society as a whole.” Private schools Schools Equality guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …More Old Etonians have entered Who’s Who this year than in any year since 1997, according to research The return of the Conservative party to government has been accompanied by a resurgence in the number of Old Etonian entrants to Who’s Who, long regarded as the definitive guide to the British establishment. More Old Etonians have entered Who’s Who this year than in any year since 1997, according to research by the Guardian. Thirty-one of the 1,008 new entrants attended the school. In total, 1,225 Old Etonians grace the book’s pages – only 20 fewer than 18 years before. The findings also show the resurgence of the UK’s elite universities and members’ clubs, revealing a glacially slow pace of change. Who’s Who – biographical listings of Britain’s senior politicians, judges, civil servants and notable figures from the arts, academia and other areas – is widely seen as the standard reference book for the UK’s governing classes. Eton has long dominated its pages, with roughly four times as many alumni listed as its public-school rival Harrow. But in recent years, the number of Old Etonians entering the listings had been falling, with only 16 in each of the 2009 and 2010 lists. The coalition government is dominated by former public school pupils. Within days of the appointment of the cabinet in May 2010, it was revealed that 16 senior ministers attended public schools. David Cameron and the Commons leader, Sir George Young, went to Eton, as did Cabinet Office minister Oliver Letwin, while 222 alumni of Nick Clegg’s alma mater, Westminster school, have made their way into Who’s Who pages. In total, more than 2,300 people in Who’s Who attended the top five public schools – Eton, Charterhouse, Harrow, Rugby and Marlborough. Oxford and Cambridge graduates also continue to dominate the establishment. A study in the Sunday Times in 1993 found the proportion of new Who’s Who entrants from Britain’s two oldest universities had fallen to 27%. Though fewer than 2% of students attend Oxford or Cambridge, 32% of entrants to Who’s Who in 2011 went to one of the two universities. About one in three people – 11,700 out of 34,210 – listed in Who’s Who attended Oxford or Cambridge. Cambridge, with 5,985 alumni listed, was ahead of Oxford on 5,776. In contrast, Edinburgh, in third place, had just 913 listings. The findings echo comments made last month by the Conservative MP David Davis after the publication of the government’s social mobility strategy. “Britain is probably now the most stratified society in the western world,” he wrote on Politics Home. “Equality of opportunity has been declining for at least four decades, and the postwar ‘golden era’ of social mobility is a rapidly dimming memory.” Cameron and Clegg clashed after the initiative’s launch over the issue of MPs and other public figures giving unpaid internships to the children of friends and relatives. Clegg had attacked internships, saying: “We want a fair job market based on merit, not networks. It should be about what you know, not who you know.” One field in which Who’s Who is gradually changing is the addition of women. While fewer than one in eight people listed are female, the proportion of women entrants has been gradually increasing over the last 15 years, from 11% in 1996 to 23% in 2011 – the largest figure so far. The extracurricular interests of those listed have also changed little in 30 years. The gentleman’s club the Athenaeum was the most-represented institution, with 916 members. The MCC at Lord’s was close behind with 832, followed by the Garrick (626), Royal Automobile (498) and Reform (439) clubs. Aaron Porter, president of the National Union of Students, said the continued dominance of the professions by Oxbridge and private schools highlighted the importance of widening university access. “These findings demonstrate Oxbridge still opens doors in an unparalleled way,” he said. “This makes their failure to really make progress in attracting students from the poorest and non-traditional backgrounds more important than ever. “It is still remarkable that private schools make up 7% of the school population but 50% of Oxbridge. It’s a problem for society as a whole.” Private schools Schools Equality guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Andrea Mitchell, John Heilemann Scold GOP 2012 Hopefuls for Disagreeing with Obama’s Israel Policy
May 20, 2011 No Comment
In lockstep with Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg, who scolded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “please don't speak to my president that way,” MSNBC anchor Andrea Mitchell cautioned of the “political pitfalls” for Republican presidential candidates who dared to challenge Barack Obama's speech on the Middle East. On the May 20 edition of “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” NBC's chief foreign affairs correspondent warned against criticizing the Democratic commander-in-chief and bewailed the “angry reception” he's received over his desire to see Israel surrender territory it acquired in the six-day Middle East war of 1967. “The political pitfalls of wading into the Israeli-Palestinian stalemate was on display today, with Republican presidential contenders piling on the president,” chided Mitchell, who went on to ask New York magazine's John Heilemann, “Whatever happened to politics ending at the water's edge?” For his part, Heilemann appeared equally despondent that Republican presidential hopefuls would criticize Obama for taking a position that Netanyahu called “indefensible.” “Well I think we left that age a long time ago, Andrea, unfortunately,” lamented the magazine's national affairs editor. After reading critical press statements from the Romney, Pawlenty, and Bachmann camps, Mitchell fretted, “That's pretty categorical,” before moving on to another subject. A transcript of the relevant portions of the segment can be found below: MSNBC Andrea Mitchell Reports May 20, 2011 1:08 p.m. EDT ANDREA MITCHELL: The political pitfalls of wading into the Israeli-Palestinian stalemate was on display today, with Republican presidential contenders piling on the president. 2012 hopefuls slamming Mr. Obama for saying that Israel should give up lands occupied since 1967, even as some Senate Republicans offer a more measured reception – those not running for office, not running for president. John Heilemann is National Affairs editor for New York Magazine and joins us from New York. So first of all, the angry reception that the president got, was that predictable? Whatever happened to politics ending at the water's edge? JOHN HEILEMANN: Well I think we left that age a long time ago, Andrea, unfortunately. Predictable? I think utterly predictable. I think most Republicans who are running for president believe that it's going to be a very close election in 2012 if they get the nomination and they're looking at states particularly like Florida. And they're looking at what they see as the president's political weakness with Jewish-American community and they're trying to get themselves in a good position to capitalize on that if they happen to be the nominee. MITCHELL: We had a strong statement from Mitt Romney saying that “President Obama has thrown Israel under the bus. He has disrespected Israel and undermined its ability to negotiate peace.” Pawlenty saying “President Obama's insistence on a return to the '67 borders is a mistaken and dangerous demand.” The city of Jerusalem must never be re-divided. Michele Bachmann, who could be entertaining a run, “President Obama has again indicated his policy toward Israel is to blame Israel first.” That's pretty categorical. Newt Gingrich was also on the bandwagon here. –Alex Fitzsimmons is a News Analysis intern at the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.
Continue reading …MeeGo 1.2 lands for netbooks and tablets, leaves handsets hanging on the telephone
May 20, 2011 No Comment
Just because Nokia has done everything short of taping a “Dear John” letter to MeeGo’s mirror doesn’t mean the OS is dead. In fact, Intel’s Linux-based baby just got a refresh to version 1.2. So what’s new this go around? Well, primarily it’s under the hood stuff, like improved Atom support and bug fixes out the ying yang. New audio and networking stacks have also been added for A2DP streaming and HSPA+ support. The tablet UI that Intel was showing off in February is has arrived, to complement the standard netbook version and the in-car interface. Sadly, the handset edition was left out of this update. Those eager to dip their toes in the MeeGo water can download the latest version at the source link. [Thanks, Khan] MeeGo 1.2 lands for netbooks and tablets, leaves handsets hanging on the telephone originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 May 2011 15:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Goldman Sachs officials believe federal prosecutors are about to slap them with a series of subpoenas as it follows up on the scathing report on the company from the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Sources tell the Wall Street Journal that they expect the Justice Department to come knocking within…
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The upcoming hurricane season, spanning from June 1 to November 30, might be a rocky one. The National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the federal agency that studies the weather and the oceans, has just released its outlook for the incoming 2011 hurricane season, and it’s not going to be good. (PHOTOS: The Deadliest Hurricanes
Continue reading …Researchers in California think they’ve found spammers’ weak point—and say it could be used to help kill off the industry. To make their discovery, the researchers spent months trying to attract all the spam they could before buying thousands of dollars worth of products advertised in those emails. In…
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Nato says strikes will wipe out threat of Muammar Gaddafi’s forces being able to lay mines All fighting ships of the Libyan navy have been sunk or severely damaged by RAF jets in a strike that Nato said has crippled the ability of Muammar Gaddafi’s forces to lay mines. The ships were hit during a raid on Thursday night on Tripoli and Al Khums. One warship remained afloat but listing at its mooring between two merchant tankers. Fire and smoke were visible from miles away. Of the rest of the fleet, docked out of view in the main port in Tripoli, one vessel was sunk and three severely damaged. All four were raid boats with fast manoeuvrability. At least three appeared to have surface-to-air missile launchers. Another Libyan naval vessel was hit in the port of Al Khums, east of the capital. The RAF said the fleet had been hit to prevent it laying mines or threatening Nato warships enforcing UN-backed restrictions off Libya. None of the ships had been seen putting to sea in daylight during the past three weeks. At least four non-attack vessels, including coastguard cutters, remained unharmed nearby. Ships had only started to arrive in Tripoli in recent days, after three months of sanctions against oil and many household supplies, and port officials said supplies were likely to be halted again following the attacks. “Last night’s attacks have changed our expectations of shipping movements,” said a spokesman for Tripoli ports. “This will be a big disruption to civilian shipping,” it will intensify the sanctions and make our experiences worse. It will return us to square one and stop all movement of goods” Debris from the damaged warships had hit buildings and scattered over hundreds of metres. Nato has in recent days taken its battle to the heart of the capital, striking what it claims to be command and control targets. However, it is coming under increasing criticism that its actions extend beyond the UN mandate to protect civilians. The Libyan government says the navy had not put to sea since Nato started attacking government forces and installations two months ago. Libya Middle East Africa Muammar Gaddafi Arab and Middle East unrest Martin Chulov Peter Beaumont guardian.co.uk
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