Rapper Common was among several artists who performed at a poetry event at the White House last night—and he didn’t shoot any cops. The rapper, whose presence at the event infuriated conservative pundits who seized upon some of his controversial lyrics, gently recited verses about love and the suffering…
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How did the world’s most wanted man keep himself busy in that Pakistani compound? Bin Laden’s recently discovered diaries give us a unique insight into his politics, TV viewing habits and haircare regime 14 August 2009 Watched TV for a few hours to see if there were any stories about me. Nothing today. I did see that temptress Sarah Palin on CNN though, practically naked as usual – wrists showing, ankles, hair, everything. Oddly enough, she was talking about death panels. I have always advocated them as a quick and efficient way to punish people for stealing fruit or shaving, but she seemed very dismissive of the idea. At one point she actually said “Obama’s death panels” instead of “Osama’s death panels”, but the interviewer didn’t pick her up on the mistake. Stupid woman. 11 September 2009 Fired into the air a few times, but everybody said it was a bad idea. “Too much noise, Osama. You’ll draw attention to our hiding place.” Cowards, all of them. Not really in a holiday mood, anyway. Nobody celebrates it round here. 19 January 2010 Spent the morning planning new attacks on major American population centres. You have to keep yourself busy in a place like this, otherwise you’ll go mad. We need to stage more mass killings – lots of small killings will do nothing to change US policy. They have small killings almost every day there – I doubt they would even notice. Also, I’m big on trains these days. And attacking on dates sacred to Americans: 4 July, Madonna’s birthday, the Vanity Fair Oscar party, Lindsay Lohan court appearance, etc. To paraphrase those fat cooks from the BBC, it’s time to take killing to the next level. When I was finished I called everyone into the safe room to tell them my new plan to defeat the infidels: we are going to attack the public transport network of Los Angeles, bringing this modern-day Sodom to its knees. Someone laughed and said, “good luck with that”. Then I said, “Jihad does NOT get tougher than this!” and we all laughed. It’s good to feel at the centre of things again. 26 April 2010 Saw myself on TV, in an old clip from who knows when, exhorting followers to exterminate western imperialists. So young! What happened to that dashing, smoky-eyed, full-lipped fellow? He is sat here hunched in a shawl, eating seeds and watching Larry King. Sigh. 5 June 2010 Very hot. Spent afternoon in the courtyard, reading and thinking. It is lonely here, but also very peaceful. At times like these, war and death and western imperialism seem a world away from this little seat under the olive tree. If next door’s ball comes over that wall one more time today I’m going to put a bullet in it before I throw it back. 15 August 2010 Courier came today: secret messages from al-Qaida, more AA batteries for the remote, copy of Newsweek, Ikea catalogue (they send me two, every time, even though I have never ordered anything) and a pirate DVD of Finding Nemo. Watched it, laughed a lot, condemned it afterwards. Tonight is book-club night, and everyone in the compound is angry with me because I have picked the Qur’an again. They all say they have read it before. I say, but have you memorised it? They say, you always hijack the discussion! This is true, I suppose. Abu says it is his turn to pick. No way, I tell him. Never again, not after Angela’s Ashes. 3 November 2010 Can’t tell whether to be pleased by US election results. Their system is so complicated! Two houses of legislature, president, cabinet, judiciary – as far as I’m concerned it all adds up to one great big Satan. I guess the Republican win is bad for healthcare reform, and therefore good (more Americans dead, no extra work for us) but I’m finding it hard to feel pleased. 22 November 2010 Very tired today. Stayed up late last night with friends arguing about whether or not dishwashers were blasphemous. And you can’t just say “yes” and be done with it. Everyone wants reasons. In the end I told them that, God willing, we should concentrate our efforts on eliminating bigger evils – America, Israel, music – and leave smaller doctrinal questions about household appliances to one side for now. Hassan says some of the new ones use less water than the old, non-blasphemous way of washing-up, but of course this is not the point. Later, probably because I was tired, I had an accident with the beard dye. First, I used the Delicate Iced Chocolate instead of the Sensual Black, then I forgot to put on the gloves, then I left the stuff on way too long. I cannot make a video looking like this. It will have to wait. 8 March 2011 OMG WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ARSENAL!!! 3-1 WHAT ARE THEY LIKE!!!! 30 April 2011 Something weird going on in the neighbourhood. Can’t put my finger on it, but there are some extra antennas on the roof over the road, and that white van on the corner has been there for, like, four days. I got so worried I called ISI, but they said I was just being paranoid. Osama bin Laden Global terrorism al-Qaida United States US national security Tim Dowling guardian.co.uk
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Death of grandchild of eccentric millionaire Wellington Burt triggered 21-year countdown clause in one-of-a-kind will He called it his “golden egg”, and for 92 years it has been incubating quietly in a trust fund in his hometown of Saginaw, Michigan. But by the end of this month its shell will crack and out will come a fortune worth up to $110m (£67.5m), enriching people he never knew and bringing to an end the saga of one of the strangest bequests in US history. The “golden egg” belonged to one Wellington Burt, a fabulously wealthy Michigan lumber tycoon who was, according to the account of his contemporaries, brilliant, crotchety and eccentric in equal measure. When he died in 1919, aged 87, he had a multimillion fortune to give away, and was expected to provide handsomely for his immediate family and for the various Saginaw causes that he espoused. It was not to be. Nobody quite knows why — some say it was the result of petty gripes against family members, others that he was a sour old man who wanted to wreak his revenge beyond the grave — but Burt wrote one of the most peculiar wills that probate lawyers can remember. The “golden egg” he said would remain in its nest for 21 years after the death of his last surviving grandchild. That last of his grandchildren alive when he died was Marion Lansill, and she herself passed away in November 1989, thus starting the 21-year countdown that ended last November. Since then a local judge in charge of the trust fund has been poring over 30 applications from individuals eager to share in the spoils. The local newspaper, the Saginaw News, reports that at the end of the judge’s researches, 12 people will divide up the golden egg, now estimated after interest to be worth between $100m and $110m. The beneficiaries form a disparate group, spread out from the east to west coasts of the US. None of the 12 knew Burt, though the eldest of the group was two years old when he died. The sum they receive varies greatly too, under a formula agreed between family lawyers that grants most money to those closest in generation to Burt with fewest siblings. The greatest individual profit is $16m and the least $2.9m. For those who came before them, and who were deprived of any of Burt’s fortune, his legacy was one of bitterness, and some say a curse. The newspaper says that Burt’s six children, seven grandchildren, six great-grandchildren and 11 great-great grandchildren all received not a penny, either because they died while the “golden egg” lay dormant or because they were deemed ineligible. To rub salt into the wound, Burt left his immediate offspring a relatively miniscule annual allowance of as little as $1,000 a year — the same as he left his cook, housekeeper and coachman. The youngest of the 12 heirs, Christina Cameron, 19, who will receive almost $3m, as will her sister Cory, told the Saginaw News that she had mixed feelings about the windfall as she had seen the pain it caused her forebears. First her grandfather had been due to inherit, but he died two years ago. Then her mother was in line, but she died aged 50 last February. “I guess all of this happening within a year made this seem more like a curse,” Cameron said. “My grandfather was pretty excited about it, and then my mother was pretty excited about it as well. Cory and I are not as excited.” Michigan United States Ed Pilkington guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Death of grandchild of eccentric millionaire Wellington Burt triggered 21-year countdown clause in one-of-a-kind will He called it his “golden egg”, and for 92 years it has been incubating quietly in a trust fund in his hometown of Saginaw, Michigan. But by the end of this month its shell will crack and out will come a fortune worth up to $110m (£67.5m), enriching people he never knew and bringing to an end the saga of one of the strangest bequests in US history. The “golden egg” belonged to one Wellington Burt, a fabulously wealthy Michigan lumber tycoon who was, according to the account of his contemporaries, brilliant, crotchety and eccentric in equal measure. When he died in 1919, aged 87, he had a multimillion fortune to give away, and was expected to provide handsomely for his immediate family and for the various Saginaw causes that he espoused. It was not to be. Nobody quite knows why — some say it was the result of petty gripes against family members, others that he was a sour old man who wanted to wreak his revenge beyond the grave — but Burt wrote one of the most peculiar wills that probate lawyers can remember. The “golden egg” he said would remain in its nest for 21 years after the death of his last surviving grandchild. That last of his grandchildren alive when he died was Marion Lansill, and she herself passed away in November 1989, thus starting the 21-year countdown that ended last November. Since then a local judge in charge of the trust fund has been poring over 30 applications from individuals eager to share in the spoils. The local newspaper, the Saginaw News, reports that at the end of the judge’s researches, 12 people will divide up the golden egg, now estimated after interest to be worth between $100m and $110m. The beneficiaries form a disparate group, spread out from the east to west coasts of the US. None of the 12 knew Burt, though the eldest of the group was two years old when he died. The sum they receive varies greatly too, under a formula agreed between family lawyers that grants most money to those closest in generation to Burt with fewest siblings. The greatest individual profit is $16m and the least $2.9m. For those who came before them, and who were deprived of any of Burt’s fortune, his legacy was one of bitterness, and some say a curse. The newspaper says that Burt’s six children, seven grandchildren, six great-grandchildren and 11 great-great grandchildren all received not a penny, either because they died while the “golden egg” lay dormant or because they were deemed ineligible. To rub salt into the wound, Burt left his immediate offspring a relatively miniscule annual allowance of as little as $1,000 a year — the same as he left his cook, housekeeper and coachman. The youngest of the 12 heirs, Christina Cameron, 19, who will receive almost $3m, as will her sister Cory, told the Saginaw News that she had mixed feelings about the windfall as she had seen the pain it caused her forebears. First her grandfather had been due to inherit, but he died two years ago. Then her mother was in line, but she died aged 50 last February. “I guess all of this happening within a year made this seem more like a curse,” Cameron said. “My grandfather was pretty excited about it, and then my mother was pretty excited about it as well. Cory and I are not as excited.” Michigan United States Ed Pilkington guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Death of grandchild of eccentric millionaire Wellington Burt triggered 21-year countdown clause in one-of-a-kind will He called it his “golden egg”, and for 92 years it has been incubating quietly in a trust fund in his hometown of Saginaw, Michigan. But by the end of this month its shell will crack and out will come a fortune worth up to $110m (£67.5m), enriching people he never knew and bringing to an end the saga of one of the strangest bequests in US history. The “golden egg” belonged to one Wellington Burt, a fabulously wealthy Michigan lumber tycoon who was, according to the account of his contemporaries, brilliant, crotchety and eccentric in equal measure. When he died in 1919, aged 87, he had a multimillion fortune to give away, and was expected to provide handsomely for his immediate family and for the various Saginaw causes that he espoused. It was not to be. Nobody quite knows why — some say it was the result of petty gripes against family members, others that he was a sour old man who wanted to wreak his revenge beyond the grave — but Burt wrote one of the most peculiar wills that probate lawyers can remember. The “golden egg” he said would remain in its nest for 21 years after the death of his last surviving grandchild. That last of his grandchildren alive when he died was Marion Lansill, and she herself passed away in November 1989, thus starting the 21-year countdown that ended last November. Since then a local judge in charge of the trust fund has been poring over 30 applications from individuals eager to share in the spoils. The local newspaper, the Saginaw News, reports that at the end of the judge’s researches, 12 people will divide up the golden egg, now estimated after interest to be worth between $100m and $110m. The beneficiaries form a disparate group, spread out from the east to west coasts of the US. None of the 12 knew Burt, though the eldest of the group was two years old when he died. The sum they receive varies greatly too, under a formula agreed between family lawyers that grants most money to those closest in generation to Burt with fewest siblings. The greatest individual profit is $16m and the least $2.9m. For those who came before them, and who were deprived of any of Burt’s fortune, his legacy was one of bitterness, and some say a curse. The newspaper says that Burt’s six children, seven grandchildren, six great-grandchildren and 11 great-great grandchildren all received not a penny, either because they died while the “golden egg” lay dormant or because they were deemed ineligible. To rub salt into the wound, Burt left his immediate offspring a relatively miniscule annual allowance of as little as $1,000 a year — the same as he left his cook, housekeeper and coachman. The youngest of the 12 heirs, Christina Cameron, 19, who will receive almost $3m, as will her sister Cory, told the Saginaw News that she had mixed feelings about the windfall as she had seen the pain it caused her forebears. First her grandfather had been due to inherit, but he died two years ago. Then her mother was in line, but she died aged 50 last February. “I guess all of this happening within a year made this seem more like a curse,” Cameron said. “My grandfather was pretty excited about it, and then my mother was pretty excited about it as well. Cory and I are not as excited.” Michigan United States Ed Pilkington guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Two men believed to have been planning a terrorist attack on New York City were arrested Wednesday night. Law enforcement sources describe the men as homegrown radicals of North African descent, the New York Times reports. The arrests were made by the NYPD’s Intelligence Division after the FBI-NYPD Joint Terrorism…
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Al-Qaida leader had major head wounds, says James Inhofe, who says less ‘gruesome’ pictures of corpse should be released A US senator permitted to view secret photographs of Osama bin Laden’s corpse has described “pretty grotesque” images of a badly mutilated body that leave no doubt that the al-Qaida leader is dead. Senator James Inhofe said he saw 15 pictures at the CIA headquarters in Virginia, some of which were taken immediately after Bin Laden was shot. They show the al-Qaida leader with large head wounds around the eye and ear. Inhofe described some of the pictures as “gruesome”. “One of the shots went through the ear and out through an eye socket, or through the eye socket and out through the ear and exploded, that was the kind of ordinance it was. That caused the brains to be hanging out of the eye socket,” he told CNN. Inhofe said that he had no doubt that the pictures were of Bin Laden. “Absolutely no question about it. A lot of people out there say, ‘I want to see the pictures,’ but I’ve already seen them. That was him. He’s gone. He’s history,” he said. Inhofe, a member of the Senate’s armed services committee, has pressed the Obama administration to make public pictures of Bin Laden’s body to challenge any claims that he is still alive. However, after viewing the photographs Inhofe hesitated to say they should all be released. Instead he said that three pictures taken aboard a ship after Bin Laden’s body was cleaned for burial at sea are more acceptable for distribution. “I still believe they should release these pictures, some of these pictures to the public,” he said. “At least the ones during the cleanup period on the USS Vincent, that’s just a personal opinion.” The administration agreed to permit members of congressional armed services and intelligence committees to view the pictures amid the debate over their release. However, concerns that Bin Laden’s supporters may not believe he was killed have diminished with al-Qaida’s acknowledgement that its leader is dead. Osama bin Laden al-Qaida Obama administration US foreign policy US military US politics Chris McGreal guardian.co.uk
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PM and deputy say two parties have distinct identities but insist coalition will endure as they make joint appearance David Cameron and Nick Clegg have marked the coalition government’s first anniversary with a show of unity and a pledge to see out a full five-year term in power. At an event in east London, the prime minister and his deputy took turns to portray the coalition as two parties with distinct identities, prone to arguments behind the scenes, but intent on coming up with unified policy conclusions that would best serve the country. Cameron and Clegg appeared together in Stratford as the coalition government sought to draw a line under the events of last week, when the Lib Dems fared very badly in local and devolved parliament elections and failed to win the alternative vote referendum. Speaking in the wake of the disastrous results for his party, Clegg said the Liberal Democrats had gone into coalition with its eyes “wide open”. He said that he had always known that the elections would be a “tough period” but insisted that the party would be judged by what it had achieved at the end of five years in power. Cameron said the voters would not be swayed by unspecified “fripperies” but by whether the government delivered “good results about the things that British people care about”. “That’s what we’re focused on, that’s why it’s a five-year government and that’s why I believe it will endure.” Clegg insisted that “whoever was in government” would have to do difficult, controversial and, in some respects, downright unpopular things. “I went into this with my eyes open, my party went into this collectively with our eyes open, that it wouldn’t be easy– you shouldn’t go into government because it is easy – but because we genuinely believe that what we are doing together, two parties coming together, yes retaining our differences, to clear up a lot of the problems we have inherited of the past that is the long-term interest of the country.” Clegg added: “Polls go up and down. People’s popularity goes up and down, parties’ popularity goes up and down. At the end of the day, how will we be judged? We will be judged about whether we have sorted out the mess we have inherited and restored a sense of optimism, of prosperity, of jobs for this country. It is a job we have started and we are going to see it through. This was always going to be the really, really tough part for the coalition and the tough part for the country economically.” The reason for coalition was “as strong today as it was a year ago”, said Cameron, as he highlighted long-term “structural problems” facing the country, the nation’s debt and youth unemployment. “We have different traditions and views and beliefs and we have robust discussions, even arguments in private, and then we come out with agreed policies that we think are good for the country,” said Cameron. “If people could see what actually happens in private, where both parties stand up for their views but we come to a good, collective decision, I think they’d see it is a strong coalition government and that’s what I’m absolutely committed to delivering.” The prime minister and his deputy PM made a joint appearance to outline plans to “reverse the trend of rising youth unemployment” through apprenticeships and work placements in private firms later down the line. But a brief question-and-answer session with the media was dominated by the relations between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrat party in the aftermath of last week’s local and devolved elections and the referendum. The two men were also grilled on the Commons standard watchdog’s decision to suspend David Laws , a former Lib Dem minister and MP for Yeovil, for “serious breaches” of the expenses system. Clegg was caught out when he began to speak about David as being “a close friend of mine” only to be stopped by Cameron who joked he might want to make it clear that he was referring to Laws, in an answer to a two-part question that involved the seven-day suspension of Laws. Both men laughed as Clegg clarified he was referring to Laws. Earlier in the day, Clegg aired his unhappiness at the political point-scoring of both sides of the alternative vote referendum campaign as he appealed for unity over House of Lords reform . Giving evidence to the Commons political and constitutional reform committee on Thursday morning, Clegg said he was determined to press ahead with moves towards electing the upper chamber despite the resounding public rejection of a change to the voting system. Clegg said he hoped for less argument over the Lords than those witnessed by both camps in the referendum. “The referendum campaign was characterised, some would say disfigured, by party politics and point-scoring. It was not a particularly uplifting argument by either side of the debate. “What lessons does one learn? It reinforces my view that where we can develop ideas together rather than everyone shouting at each other across the barricades, clearly it is best.” He said he had gone to “very considerable effort” to find agreement by talking to all parties in the committee drawing up the proposals for the reforms. “I hope that desire to try to move forward as consensually as possible on something as constitutionally significant as that will be reflected and recognised in the draft bill we will be publishing shortly,” he told the Commons political and constitutional reform committee. Asked about criticisms from within his own party that he should not concentrate on issues that were more important to the party than the public, he said: “Things that are important are not always resonant. The fact that we as a country, as a national community, have been talking about this one way or another for a century or more suggests that it is not a preoccupation or an obsession for one party or one politician. “I do not think that as a government we should apologise, not only in this area, for proceeding with things that are important but might not be things that your constituents and mine will raise in our weekly surgeries.” David Cameron Nick Clegg Liberal-Conservative coalition Conservatives Liberal Democrats Hélène Mulholland guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …A pair of Swedish men who ran an live online porn business in the Philippines have received life sentences for human trafficking. Police discovered 17 naked women, some of them underage, when they raided the business in a small town in the southern Philippines, the BBC reports. The women would…
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Leaked emails reveal Burson-Marsteller attempted to get USA Today and other titles to write about Google’s privacy policies Facebook has been caught secretly paying a top public relations firm to plant negative stories about Google in the US media. Burson-Marsteller, one of the world’s largest PR firms, attempted to get USA Today, the Washington Post and other high profile US news outlets to write scaremongering stories about Google’s privacy policies. The explosive revelation – which will seriously damage relations between the two technology giants, already bitter rivals – came to light in leaked emails late on Wednesday. Facebook later confirmed to the Daily Beast that it had hired Burson-Marsteller. Paul Cordasco, a spokesman for Burson-Marsteller, told the Guardian on Thursday that the assignment was “not at all standard operating procedure” and was against the company’s policies. He added: “The assignment on those terms should have been declined.” Cordasco confirmed to the Guardian that “the assignment” was now terminated and that Burson-Marsteller was no longer working with the social network. Facebook declined to comment when contacted by the Guardian. Suspicions in Silicon Valley were aroused earlier this week when two high-profile media figures – former CNBC tech reporter Jim Goldman, and John Mercurio, a former political reporter – began pitching anti-Google stories on behalf of their new employer, Burson-Marsteller. The pair consistently refused to disclose the identity of their client. Goldman and Mercurio approached USA Today and other outlets offering to ghost write op-ed columns and other stories that raised privacy concerns about Google Social Circle, a social network feature based on Gmail. In their pitch to journalists, the pair claimed Social Circle was “designed to scrape private data and build deeply personal dossiers on millions of users – in a direct and flagrant violation of [Google's] agreement with the FTC [Federal Trade Commission]“. Facebook’s cover was blown when Burson-Marsteller offered to help write an op-ed for Chris Soghoian, a prominent internet security blogger. Soghoian challenged the company’s assertion that Social Circle was a privacy threat and accused them of “making a mountain out of a molehill”. Soghoian was stonewalled by Burson-Marsteller when he asked them who their client was. He later published an email exchange between himself and Mercurio. Cordasco said on Thursday: “Now that Facebook has come forward, we can confirm that we undertook an assignment for that client. “The client requested that its name be withheld on the grounds that it was merely asking to bring publicly available information to light and such information could then be independently and easily replicated by any media. Any information brought to media attention raised fair questions, was in the public domain, and was in any event for the media to verify through independent sources. “Whatever the rationale, this was not at all standard operating procedure and is against our policies, and the assignment on those terms should have been declined. When talking to the media, we need to adhere to strict standards of transparency about clients, and this incident underscores the absolute importance of that principle.” Google declined to comment. Facebook Google Internet Social networking Newspapers Newspapers & magazines Media business Marketing & PR Digital media United States Josh Halliday guardian.co.uk
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