Philly college students shelled out $150 to attend a symposium on “the application of Platonic and Hegelian ethics to business”—which somehow managed to involve strippers and lap dances. La Salle University assistant professor Jack Rappaport reportedly hired the strippers, and allegedly applied a little “Hegelian ethics” himself—he reportedly…
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‘I ask everybody, all the parties, to avoid taking Libya into a civil war. The unity of Libya is essential’ The former Libyan foreign minister Moussa Koussa last night used his first public comments since his defection to Britain to urge all sides in the conflict to stop his country turning into “a new Somalia”. “I ask everybody, all the parties, to avoid taking Libya into a civil war,” he told the BBC in a prepared statement. “More than that, we refuse to divide Libya. The unity of Libya is essential to any solution and settlement for Libya.” Koussa, who flew to the UK on 30 March, has been staying at an undisclosed location. The BBC said the interview took place in a secret location in central London. Reading out a statement in Arabic, he said: “The solution in Libya will come from the Libyans themselves, and through discussion and democratic dialogue.” Koussa also spoke about his relationship with the UK, saying that Britons were the friends of Libya, both on an historical and personal level. “We worked together against terrorism and we succeeded. We worked together to avoid terrorism and we worked together to dismantle weapons of mass destruction. It is a great job, it is great work and it makes the world safer,” he said, in an apparent reference to matters including Libya’s decision to relinquish its weapons of mass destruction programme in return for international diplomatic rehabilitation. Seeking to explain his reasons for abandoning the Gaddafi regime after 30 years, much of which he spent as Libya’s foreign intelligence chief, he said that he had been “devoted” to his work and was certain that it involved serving the Libyan people. But he said that recent events had changed things.”That’s why I took this decision. Not because I’m waiting for anything, but because I know that what I did to resign will cause me problems, but I’m ready to make that sacrifice for the sake of my country.” He said earlier: “My country lives in a difficult time. It’s the worst. When the Libyans started to lose security and stability I decided to resign. I have no contact with the Libyan regime.” Police investigating the Lockerbie bombing interviewed Koussa last week after Scottish police made a request to the Foreign Office to meet him. He is believed to have been a senior intelligence officer at the time of the 1988 plane bombing. In 1980, Koussa was expelled from the UK. He has always denied Libya was involved in the bombing. Libya Moussa Koussa Arab and Middle East unrest Ben Quinn guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Bad news for eco-conscious stoners: That joint you just smoked hurt the planet. Marijuana grown indoors accounts for 1% of America’s yearly electricity consumption, or $5 billion worth of energy, a study finds. That’s equivalent to the annual energy bills of 2 million homes. And in terms of CO2 emissions,…
Continue reading …One of the four bodies that cops found on a desolate Long Island beach last week is that of an infant or child, reports the New York Post. “One doesn’t match the others. It’s a young person, possibly as young as an infant, or a child,” says a source. “If…
Continue reading …Kimberly Stewart has starred as herself in the E! True Hollywood Story episode of “The Hilton Sisters.” So it makes total sense that she’s carry the baby of a fellow actor … Oscar-winner Benicio del Toro. Yes, you read that right. The 31-year-old daughter of Rod Stewart isn’t in a relationship…
Continue reading …We’re in the midst of another bubble, and it’s not an Internet one, according to PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel. It’s a higher education bubble, and “like the housing bubble, the education bubble is about security and insurance against the future,” writes Sarah Lacy, who sat down to interview Thiel for…
Continue reading …Barack Obama has left the building. Granted, with Republicans running amok, all Obama really has is “the bully pulpit,” but incredibly, “he’s using it to reinforce his enemies’ narrative,” writes Paul Krugman in the New York Times . Maybe he did have to make big concessions to avoid a government shutdown,…
Continue reading …An explosion tore through a key subway station in the Belarusian capital of Minsk during evening rush hour today, killing seven and wounding 50 others, officials said. An AP reporter at the scene saw heavily wounded people being carried out of the Oktyabrskaya subway station, which within 100 meters of…
Continue reading …The healthiness of school lunches is quite the hot topic these days, and the Chicago Tribune takes a timely look at a public school that, aiming for better student nutrition, banned lunches brought from home. Six years ago. And many parents and kids are still voicing their outrage. “Who thinks…
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Château Margaux expert to breathe new life into historic California winery Perhaps Francis Ford Coppola made him an offer he couldn’t refuse, or perhaps wine expert Phillipe Bascaules just loves the smell of Napa Valley in the morning: either way Coppola, director of film classics such as The Godfather and Apocalypse Now has lured the prominent winemaker from Château Margaux to breathe life into his California winery. Coppola said his aim is to make the estate the finest in America for the production of Old World wines, as he announced he has also bought the historic trademark Inglenook. Bascaules takes over from Scott McLeod, who had resigned as the estate’s winemaker. Inglenook occupies an important part in the development of wine in the US. The winery was founded in California’s Napa Valley in 1879 by a Finnish sea captain, Gustave Niebaum, who established it as one of the finest in the world. Niebaum brought some of the best European grapevines to Napa. Coppola bought part of the Inglenook property in 1975 with the profits from The Godfather. He spent the next two decades adding bits to re-establish the old estate, but the trademark had eluded him until now. Coppola said the arrival of Bascaules was intended to hour the estate’s heritage and restore its legacy. He said he wanted to help with “invigorating the vineyards, planning a new state-of-the-art winemaking facility, and focusing on what it would take to achieve my goal of restoring this property into America’s greatest wine estate.” Bascaules, in the same statement, said: “I was charmed by the beauty of the estate and its unique environment. I found the tasting of 1959 Inglenook astonishing with regard to its freshness and complexity, and when I tasted some samples of the 2009 vintage, I recognized the incredible potential of this property. I understand Francis Ford Coppola’s desire to bring the quality of the wines to their fullest potential and I’m excited to explore new methods to reach this goal.” The statement continues: “Rubicon will continue to be the proprietary name of Inglenook’s flagship wine, and Bascaules, who spent the past 21 years at Château Margaux, will lead a team of talented winemaking professionals dedicated to the goal of making Rubicon the finest New World estate wine produced in the Old World style.” Bascaules served as estate director for 11 years at Château Margaux. Francis Ford Coppola Ewen MacAskill guardian.co.uk
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