If you think the narrowly averted government shutdown over a few billion dollars was bad, wait until you see the multi- trillion -dollar brawls coming in the next few weeks, reports the Wall Street Journal . First up, the government is about to hit its legally imposed $14.294 trillion debt…
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Remains of Alfred Adler, a member of Freud’s inner circle credited with defining the inferiority complex, found in Edinburgh crematorium The long-lost remains of Alfred Adler, one of the founding fathers of psychoanalysis, have been rediscovered in a crematorium in Edinburgh nearly 74 years after he died suddenly on a lecture tour. Adler, a core figure with Sigmund Freud in the group that founded the psychoanalytic movement before the pair split in 1911, collapsed after a suspected heart attack in May 1937 while he was in Aberdeen for a three-week-long series of lectures and seminars at the university. The Viennese doctor, credited with developing the theory of the inferiority complex, was cremated alone, and his widow and surviving children lost track of his ashes. For the following 70 years their location remained a mystery to his family, his followers and Adlerian scholars. Later this month, however, his ashes will be returned to Vienna for a civic ceremony following a remarkable discovery by the honorary Austrian consul to Scotland, John Clifford. Asked to trace Adler’s remains by the institute he founded in Vienna, Clifford traced the casket to a crematorium only a few hundred metres behind the consulate in Edinburgh. They had been stored there in a quiet, wood-panelled gallery rarely visited by the public, alongside dozens of other caskets and urns. His US-based granddaughter, Margot Adler, said his family thought Adler’s remains were lost. “The first story I had heard was that the remains had disappeared … They thought they were supposed to be in Aberdeen. “The next story I heard was that I got some letters or an article about three Viennese Adlerian students going on a search … and then I heard about John’s discovery.” Margot, the daughter of Adler’s only son, Kurt, said it was customary within the family to be cremated. In 1937, Scotland’s only crematorium was at Warriston in Edinburgh, so after a funeral attended by Aberdeen university’s most senior academics, his body was sent south. It appears the family heard nothing more. Europe was on the brink of war, and Adler’s wife, Raissa, had been living in the United States since 1932. They believed he died partly from stress, she said. Then 67, he had just learned that his oldest and favourite daughter, Valentina, a committed communist, had been sent to a Soviet gulag in one of Stalin’s purges. Many of the family were socialists, and the Adlers were friends of Leon Trotsky and his wife. Margot Alder found references to Valentina’s disappearance in her own family papers, in a letter from Albert Einstein asking about her aunt. “Our family wasn’t the kind of family which cared about remains. I don’t think anyone gave it much thought. Remember this happened in 1937 and then the war came. I think during the war, that was the last thing on anybody’s mind,” she said. She believes her father would have been delighted that Adler’s ashes were being returned to Vienna. Adler was made a freeman of Vienna in 1930, before fascism took hold. “Vienna was essentially Adler’s home, his birth home and there was the triangle, you know, Adler, Jung and Freud, and all had that sense of coming out of that place, so there’s something rather fitting about him going back there. I
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Tourism officials complain over £1m advertising campaign, but biggest Channel Island remains defiant Tourism officials on the Isles of Scilly are to lodge a complaint over a claim made by Jersey’s tourism office in a £1m TV advertising campaign that the largest of the Channel Islands is “the warmest place in the British Isles”. Met Office temperature records for Scilly obtained by the Guardian also appear to undermine Jersey’s claim. The Met Office officially recognises Scilly as the warmest place in the UK. A Met Office spokesman said that Jersey – 50 miles further south – does not fall under its auspices because “it is not part of the UK”, although “it had no reason to doubt” Jersey’s claims to be warmer. The small print on Jersey’s advert says it bases its claim on “minimum temperatures supplied by the Jersey Meteorological Department “. Tony Pallot, Jersey’s principal meteorological officer, said Jersey’s “mean minimum” for 1971-2000 – the period used by the Met Office to calculate all its mean temperatures – was 8.9C (32F). However, Met Office data for Scilly seen by the Guardian says the “mean minimum” for St Mary’s, Scilly’s largest island, was 9.4C over the period. On other measures such as hours of sunshine and maximum mean temperatures, Jersey performs marginally better. The council of the Isles of Scilly is also contesting the use of the term “Britain” in Jersey’s advert, arguing that the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British crown dependency but not part of the UK. It also argues that, geographically, Jersey is not part of the British Isles archipelago. Julian Pearce, the council’s economic development officer, said: “We shall be writing to Jersey to remind them of both our geographical position and our ranking as the warmest place in the UK.” He also said he was investigating whether the council had grounds to make a formal complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). Jennifer Ellenger of Jersey Tourism said: “We stand 100% behind our advert and we have the data to prove we are the warmest place. We are politically part of the British Isles, even if not strictly geographically.” She confirmed the advert’s claim is based on the mean minimum temperature, but also on two further measures – average hours of sunshine per year and “mean annual” temperature. She added that another aim is to suggest the people of Jersey are the warmest in the British Isles, too. Ordnance Survey , the national mapping agency for “Great Britain” – namely, England, Scotland and Wales – said it defines the “British Isles” as being “all the main and offshore islands of Great Britain and Ireland, as well as the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands”. Malcolm Bell, head of tourism at VisitCornwall , which works closely with Council of the Isles of Scilly to attract 4.5 million tourists to the far south-west of England each year – 100,000 ofwhom visit Scilly – said he would be writing to Jersey Tourism in support of Scilly. He said: “When I first saw the advert I just laughed. It seems a bit desperate to base an advert on warmth alone when people who are only interested in that would just go to somewhere such as Dubai instead. “But the advert’s claim is also a bit cheeky. People want honesty in advertising. “Jersey might just about be technically correct in what they say, but it is bordering on unethical to stretch the truth like this when promoting your destination. We are in economically challenging times and we want to fight fairly for every customer.” Jersey, which received 685,000 visitors in 2010, has been challenged before over its tourism campaigns. In 1990, the ASA upheld a complaint against Jersey after it failed to substantiate a claim that it had more sunshine that anywhere else in the British Isles. In 1993, the ASA criticised Jersey for making exaggerated claims after it ran a newspaper campaign boasting that “our sandy beaches are always spotless and all of our golden beaches are scrubbed and rinsed twice by clear blue water”. The ASA noted that “on seven recent occasions large quantities of untreated sewage had poured onto bathing beaches”. Last year, Jersey Tourism accused the Met Office and the BBC of discrimination because it felt the Channel Islands were routinely left out of national weather forecasts. As a result, it said it was missing out on millions of pounds worth of revenue from prospective visitors. “Many people don’t have any idea just how lovely the weather is a short hop away from the mainland – meaning we lose out on valuable income,” David de Carteret, director of Jersey Tourism, said then. It was this grievance, says Jersey Tourism, that led it to base this year’s campaign around the “warmest place in the British Isles” slogan. Scilly v Jersey Number of islands Scilly: 145 (five inhabited) Jersey: 1 Population Scilly: 2,100 Jersey: 91,626 VAT Scilly: 20% Jersey: 0% Economy Scilly: tourism, daffodil farming Jersey: banking, tourism, Jersey Royal potatoes, Jersey cattle History Scilly: site of hundreds of shipwrecks, including five German U-boats during second world war Jersey: occupied by the Nazis from 1940-45 Sport Scilly: smallest football league in the world with just two teams, Woolpack Wanderers and Garrison Gunners Jersey: fields its own team at the Commonwealth Games TV highlights Scilly: An Island Parish Jersey: Bergerac Famous visitors Scilly: former prime minister Harold Wilson regularly holidayed on Scilly and is buried at St Mary’s Old Church Jersey: Alan Whicker lives on the island Languages Scilly: English, Cornish Jersey: English, French and Jèrriais Local food and drink Scilly: pasty; “scuppered” ale Jersey: “bean crock” with cabbage bread; cider Channel Islands Weather Leo Hickman guardian.co.uk
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Department of Transport promises backing for bill presented on behalf of family whose daughter was killed by a cyclist The government plans to introduce a new offence of causing death by dangerous cycling following concerns that there is no suitable legislation to deal with riders who are involved in incidents such as hitting pedestrians on pavements. The Department of Transport has promised to support a bill presented to the House of Commons by Andrea Leadsom, the Tory MP for South Northamptonshire , who is campaigning on behalf of a family whose teenage daughter was struck and killed by a reckless cyclist . The move follows a significant increase in the popularity of cycling in many parts of the UK over recent years and a parallel spate of alarmist media stories about aggressive “Lycra louts”. The plans have been criticised by cycling groups who argue that such deaths are so rare that a new law is unnecessary, as well as a distraction from a far bigger threat to pedestrians posed by cars. In 2009, the last year for which road death statistics have been collated, no pedestrians were killed by cyclists whereas 426 died in collisions with motor vehicles. Cyclists can be fined for dangerous or careless cycling but more serious offences can only be dealt with under a section of the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act originally aimed at the “wanton or furious” driving of a horse-drawn carriage. Leadsom introduced a bill to the Commons last month , using as an example Rhiannon Bennett, then 17, who was killed by a speeding cyclist in 2007. The cyclist was fined £2,200 after prosecutors decided that dangerous cycling was the only appropriate charge. While such MP-sponsored bills rarely get beyond a first reading, the road safety minister, Mike Penning, has promised the Bennetts his support. Mark Wardrop, a solicitor who has been working with family, said: “He met us afterwards in the lobby and said to the effect of: we agree with your arguments, and we’re in the process of updating a lot of road traffic laws to bring them up to date. We would look at trying to tag this on to another bill if possible.” Leadsom, who is a regular cyclist, insists she only wants to clear up a legal anomaly and is not seeking to vilify fellow riders. But the national cycling group, the CTC , argues her measure is unnecessary given that courts have used the 1861 act in the last decade to jail two cyclists who killed pedestrians, while drivers routinely receive non-custodial sentences for killing cyclists. “If the Department for Transport really wants to consider this as a serious proposal, then they need to consider the use of all road traffic offences,” said Chris Peck, the CTC’s policy co-ordinator. “Currently, only around 25% of road deaths are prosecuted using causing death by careless or dangerous, or causing death while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. We have recorded dozens of cases where the deaths of vulnerable users, including many cyclists, are simply never prosecuted.” Transport policy Cycling Transport House of Commons Peter Walker guardian.co.uk
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Hosni Mubarak gives first public address since his removal from power, as new wave of protests turns against military Egypt’s deposed president Hosni Mubarak has denied he stole billions of dollars from his country’s coffers, in his first public address since he was removed from power by mass protests in February. Mubarak said he would defend himself from any accusations of corruption, after a fresh wave of protests in Cairo in part to demand he be put on trial. “I will uphold all my legal rights to defend my reputation as well as that of my family,” he said in a speech broadcast on an Arab satellite news channel. “I have been, and still am, pained by what I and my family are facing from fraudulent campaigns and unfounded allegations that seek to harm my reputation, my integrity and my military and political record.” Mubarak said he held just one account with an Egyptian bank, and promised to co-operate with any investigation in order to prove that he did not have property or bank accounts abroad. He also denied similar accusations against his wealthy and once powerful sons, Alaa and Gamal. The al-Arabya news channel said the speech was recorded on Saturday in response to demonstrations in Cairo called in part to demand Egypt’s military rulers investigate the source of Mubarak’s wealth. The ruling military council, which took control of the country after Mubarak was toppled on 11 February, attempted to defuse the new wave of protests by announcing it would sack unpopular provincial governors appointed by the former president. But on Sunday more than 1,000 demonstrators rejected demands by the army to leave Tahrir Square, the heart of the uprising that brought down Mubarak. On Saturday the army opened fire on a crowd in the square, killing at least two people and wounding dozens, and on Sunday some of the demonstrators called for a new revolution. They brandished an effigy of the head of the ruling military council, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi. “The people demand that the field marshal be toppled,” the protesters chanted. The soldiers’ firing on the protesters opens a breach between the military and many Egyptians who had chanted “the people and army are one” at the anti-Mubarak rallies. On Saturday they chanted “the people and people are one”, in an open rebuke to the military which some say is not moving swiftly enough to dismantle the old regime and towards democracy. The army has promised elections for parliament in September and held a referendum on a new constitution, which passed. But it has attempted to ban protests and continues to arrest and torture dissidents despite a professed commitment to freedom of speech. Ahmed el-Moqdami, who told Reuters he was in a group representing the youth of Upper Egypt, said the standoff with the army would continue. “We will continue the sit-in until our demands are met,” he said. “First of all, the field marshal must go. Mubarak must be put on trial and a civilian council must be formed for the transition period.” The military has barred Mubarak, 82, from leaving the country while the investigations continue. He has been living in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh . Hosni Mubarak Egypt Arab and Middle East unrest Middle East Chris McGreal guardian.co.uk
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Japanese police braced for conflict with underworld as Yamaguchi-gumi head Kenichi Shinoda released after six-year sentence Police in Japan are bracing themselves for the possibility of conflict with the underworld after the head of the country’s most powerful crime syndicate was released from prison. Kenichi Shinoda was freed from the Fuchu prison, near Tokyo, on Saturday after serving a six-year sentence for firearms offences. Wearing a brown leather fedora and dark sunglasses, the 69-year-old was ushered into a waiting van shortly after dawn and taken to the western port city of Kobe, the headquarters of the Yamaguchi-gumi. Around 35,000 gangsters – 44% of Japan’s total – are members of the Yamaguchi-gumi, which has adopted a more aggressive stance under Shinoda’s leadership . Soon after he became Japan’s most powerful mafia don in July 2005 , Shinoda forged links with rival gangs and extended the Yamaguchi-gumi’s reach beyond its traditional base in western Japan. The potential for conflict has risen over the past two years amid a police crackdown on gang activities that resulted in the arrest of Shinoda’s second in command, Kiyoshi Takayama , for alleged extortion in November. Takaharu Ando, the head of the national police agency, has vowed to destroy the Yamaguchi-gumi as part of an unprecedented crackdown on organised crime. “We want them to disappear from public life,” he told reporters after being appointed in 2009. Shinoda – also known as Shinobu Tsukasa – served 13 years in prison for killing a rival with a samurai sword in the 1970s while he was the leader of the notorious Kodo-kai, a Yamaguchi-gumi affiliate based in central Japan. Japan Organised crime Justin McCurry guardian.co.uk
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Less than half of estimated dead recovered, while Fukushima plant officials hope to stop pumping radioactive water into sea The search is continuing for victims of the tsunami that struck Japan’s north-east coast almost a month ago, while officials said they hoped to stop pumping radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant into the sea. More than 20,000 Japanese troops and 110 from the US conducted land, sea and air searches for the thousands of victims whose bodies have yet to be recovered. One month since the 11 March disaster, fewer than 13,000 of the estimated 28,000 who died have been found. The likelihood of finding more is fading because many have probably been swept out to sea. A similar search last week yielded just 70 bodies. On a visit to Ishinomaki, where 2,600 of 163,000 residents were killed and 2,800 are still missing, the prime minister, Naoto Kan, vowed to support the city’s recovery. About 17,000 people are still living in evacuation centres, while its fishing industry, which accounts for 40% of the local economy, may never fully recover. “The government will do its best to help you,” Kan said. “We will do everything we can to enable you to start fishing again.” The operation to stabilise the Fukushima plant, meanwhile, is about to enter its fifth week, with no end in sight to the world’s worst nuclear crisis since the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. Nuclear officials said they hoped to stop pumping contaminated water into the sea, amid criticism from neighbouring China and South Korea, which have accused Tokyo of incompetency in its handling of the crisis. Engineers said the build-up of radioactive water during recent attempts to cool Fukushima’s overheating reactors left them with little choice but to pump it into the ocean, where it quickly dissipates. The plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), apologised for the nuclear crisis, which has prompted the evacuation of tens of thousands of people, contaminated local food and water supplies and caused panic as far away as Tokyo, 150
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Soldiers loyal to Muammar Gaddafi reach heart of strategic town of Ajdabiya, 90 miles from city at centre of revolution Muammar Gaddafi’s forces continued to fight their way toward Benghazi, the heart of Libya’s revolution, as five African leaders arrived in Tripoli in an effort to broker a ceasefire and political settlement. Rebel defences around Ajdabiya appeared to be failing as Gaddafi’s soldiers broke in to the heart of the strategic town, 90 miles from Benghazi, and engaged in running street battles after again outmanoeuvring the revolutionaries. Although western powers continued their air strikes, they did not appear to deter Gaddafi’s forces. Rebels said government forces shot down a Russian-made helicopter sent to the fight by revolutionaries only two days before. Nato forced a rebel Mig jet to land because of the UN-imposed no-fly zone. Shelling around the southern entrance to Ajdabiya continued , with loud explosions heard tand thick black spoke rising over parts of the town. Much of Ajdabiya was deserted after civilians fled amid the prospect of Gaddafi’s troops taking it for a second time in as many weeks. Thousands of rounds of discarded bullet casings littering some streets marked the site of some of the most intense shooting over the weekend. “Gaddafi’s military is in the town,” Saleh Mufta, a 25-year-old who was a science student before becoming an armed rebel, said. “There’s been a lot of shooting. Gaddafi has copied our techniques. He is not using so many tanks now after the air strikes. His men are in pick-ups. They move very fast. We don’t know where they are. They just pop up.” Burned out cars were scattered through the city, and a mosque on the edge of town appeared to have been the scene of heavy fighting. Bullets scarred much of the building. Asked what he thought the government army’s intent was, Mufta said: “They don’t want Ajdabiya. They want the road to Benghazi. They want Benghazi.” Nato faces humiliation if Gaddafi’s army is able to force its way through Ajdabiya again to threaten Benghazi, the city the western allies launched the first air strikes to defend. Other than a line of artillery about 15 miles from the city, rebel defences around Benghazi are little in evidence. The fighting continued as an African Union delegation, led by the South African president, Jacob Zuma, was to meet Gaddafi in Tripoli and then fly on to talk to the rebels in Benghazi to press for a ceasefire. Zuma has accused western powers of going against the “letter and spirit” of the UN security council resolution with the extent of air strikes and has called for Gaddafi to be allowed to leave power “with dignity”. The other members of the team include the presidents of the Congo-Brazzaville, Mali, Uganda and Mauritania. The president of Mauritania, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, said: “We hope that mediation will lead to a constructive dialogue for a political settlement of the crisis based on the aspirations of the Libyan people.” But Libya’s rebel leadership is sceptical about any political deal that does not require the immediate removal of Gaddafi from power or any ceasefire that does not require him to pull all his forces out of cities under attack, most importantly Misrata. Libya Middle East Arab and Middle East unrest Muammar Gaddafi United Nations Jacob Zuma Chris McGreal guardian.co.uk
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• Hit F5 or use the autorefresh tool for the latest updates • Email your thoughts to alan.gardner.casual@guardian.co.uk • All the latest league standings in our stats centre Omen? Newcastle were relegated at Villa Park on the final day of the season two years ago. Of course, that has no bearing on today but everyone keeps mentioning it so I’, just performing my churnalistic duties … Preamble: If you’re anything like me, you’ll see every new day as a fresh opportunity to get something wrong. Certainly Ged Houllier seems to have taken this approach to life at Aston Villa, blundering through a series of PR disasters that would make David Mellor cringe. But if he can engineer a reversal of Villa’s thumping at St James’ Park way back at the start of the season – at least in terms of result, if not scoreline – then Villa should be able to kick on to safety. With the likes of Darren Bent, Ashley Young and Stewart Downing in the side, Villa are a series of England-trumpet-blowing back pages waiting to happen. One win in six tells its own story but despite the squad’s infighting, at least they haven’t yet descended to this level of degeneracy (which coincidentally occurred during a fixture between these two teams six years ago last week). Newcastle are a placid lake of calm in comparison ( though the crocs are surely just below the surface ) to their hosts today, having quietly gone about their business of ensuring Premier League survival. Under Alan Pardew they have a record of P15 W5 D5 L5 in the league – just the kind of consistency that the Magpies have long craved needed. Today’s men and boys Aston Villa: Friedel, Walker, Dunne, Collins, Luke Young, Downing, Petrov, Makoun, Ashley Young, Agbonlahor, Bent. Subs: Marshall, Pires, Albrighton, Heskey, Reo-Coker, Clark, Cuellar. Newcastle: Harper, Simpson, Steven Taylor, Williamson, Jose Enrique, Barton, Guthrie, Coloccini, Gutierrez, Ranger, Lovenkrands. Subs: Krul, Ryan Taylor, Ferguson, Donaldson, Tavernier, Richardson, Kuqi. Today’s scapegoat Stuart Attwell (Warwickshire) Premier League Aston Villa Newcastle United Alan Gardner guardian.co.uk
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Vast array of hardware stolen includes £50,000 worth of night-vision goggles and even an aircraft fuselage Thieves stole enough military equipment from Britain’s armed forces last year to “launch a small coup”, according to an MP. The vast array of hardware included expensive kit needed by troops in the field: almost £50,000 worth of night-vision goggles, as well as pistols, boots, body armour and ration packs. A silver statue worth £25,000 was taken from the Household Cavalry barracks in Knightsbridge, and more than £7,000 of silver cutlery from the Redford barracks in Edinburgh. Compensation cheques totalling £85,000 also disappeared. Thieves somehow made off with pieces of machinery that would have been hard to move without anyone noticing, among them an aircraft fuselage, a Bedford truck, an industrial washing machine, an inflatable boat, an outboard motor and a £50,000 helicopter rotor tuner. Police estimate almost £700,000 worth of equipment was reported stolen from MoD buildings and bases during 2010, but said the level of theft had gone down in recent years. The (.doc file) was put on the House of Commons website after the Labour MP for Liverpool Wavetree, Luciana Berger, submitted a question on the issue. Berger asked for details of equipment stolen from the armed services worth more than £100 and said she was astonished when the inventory was given to her. “There’s enough military equipment to launch a small coup. The list went on and on, and the one I asked for was restricted to those items worth more than £100, so it is likely that many other things were stolen. “This list doesn’t include military bases abroad either. I will be laying down another question about that.” Berger said she had been in touch with service personnel who had told her security at some military bases was poor. They had also raised concern about the lack of patrols by MoD police, a force of 3,500 officers that is responsible for security at MoD bases. The papers name the bases from which material has been taken. Most of the night-vision goggles were taken from HMS Ocean in June last year; a television disappeared from the same ship. Military clothing worth £30,000 was taken from the Assaye barracks in Tidworth, Hampshire, home of the 1st Regiment of the Royal Artillery. The aircraft fuselage went missing from RAF Kinloss in May last year. One defence source said: “How someone managed to walk away with that, God alone knows.” The junior defence minister Andrew Robatham insisted all allegations of theft of military equipment were carefully examined. “The necessary resources, including the Ministry of Defence police, are allocated to investigate the loss, and wherever possible recover the equipment,” he said. “The Ministry of Defence has recently set up a defence crime board to provide strategic direction and initiatives aimed at combating the harm done to defence by crime.” He said the MoD compensation cheques that had gone missing had not been successfully cashed. “The cheques were for £60,000, £16,500 and £8,000. I can confirm that neither the intended recipients nor the MoD have suffered a financial loss as a consequence.” An MoD police spokesman said arrests had been made in some of the cases last year. “It is fair to say that we get a full range of people involved in this. Service personnel, civil servants, outsiders and civilian contractors working in MoD buildings.” In a statement, the force said the military community included “many hundreds of thousands of people”. “Although a certain level of theft is therefore to be expected, it is far less than for a similar-sized population in a UK town,” it said. “The MoD police ensures that all crime reported to it is fully investigated and over the last three years the level of theft it deals with has fallen by almost 20%.” Military Defence policy Nick Hopkins guardian.co.uk
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