2011年12月16日星期五

Black sand Lyle, Andrew d Alliss harvested with regard to Community The sport of golf Arena with Recognition

LONDON(AP)–Two-time big success Sand Lyle plus Indian commentator Philip Alliss would be inducted into your Environment World of golf Lounge associated with Popularity up coming twelve months following simply being chosen Thurs night for that Group in 2012.

Sandy Lyle about Scotland, Moncler Spaccio in that 08 snapshot for the Pga masters, would be inducted while using the 2012 training from the Universe The game Arena with Celebrity.

Lyle seemed to be chosen on the foreign ballot when outstanding 30 tourneys global, just as 1985 Uk Amenable along with the 1988 Pga masters, where by he or she turned the most important Japanese victor during Augusta.

"To end up installed with the most companies within our recreation is rather distinctive, inches this 53-year-old Scotsman stated.

Alliss commentated with each with Lyle's huge advantages just after starting point her livelihood right behind this mic for those BBC inside 1961. He prior to this triumphed in 1 tourneys to be a battler not to mention was basically determined for those however an example of Great britain along with Ireland's Ryder Tumbler groups right from 1953-69.

"This is normally many really surprising, inches claimed the actual 80-year-old Alliss, Expedition Parka who have moreover penned a lot more than 20 actively playing golf courses plus made it easier while in the develop of greater than 50 lessons. "I here's pleased, thrilled, humbled not to mention thankful that they are planned right away as well as have access to an establishment on this planet Tennis Corridor regarding Celebrity mainly while it is actually targeted through men and women all over the environment. "

They would be inducted in conjunction with Usa contributor John Jenkins plus Usa game enthusiasts Phil Mickelson not to mention Hollis Stacy in a feast day on Globe Playing golf Small town around Street. Augustine, The southeast, for May perhaps.

European Head to leader George O'Grady mentioned any titles with Lyle plus Alliss to be a "special day" for that travel.

"Peter adopted a nicely acclaimed trying to play professional by just learning to be a really popular plus splendidly thrilling commentator, Canada Goose when Remote portrayed your crucial factor through maximizing this picture and also acceptance with Uk and additionally Western the game of golf together with superb irresistible activities from the 1985 Amenable Great and also the 1988 Pros, inch O'Grady says.

Lyle, what person already games for the Western Senior citizen Visit, Canada Goose Jacket was initially decided in advance of Colin Montgomerie about Scotland, Ian Woosnam for Wales and additionally Retief Goosen about To the south Photography equipment inside worldwide voting.

2011年12月11日星期日

Western european Key Lender Considers Many Debt

FRANKFURTA evening subsequently after Eu Important Financial institution Director Mario Draghi damped requirements the bank account would probably be competitive within aiding euro-zone credit debt sells, Canada Goose Parka the particular ECB taken care of immediately a fabulous pointed get higher within German promise by way of purchasing the place's provides.

See commercial, Canada Goose Jacket politics and additionally promotes press through upon The world when authorities as well as loan creditors handle a moving forward credit debt situation.

The relatively unclear go shows that inspite of the ECB president's troublesome open public unsupported claims, Moncler Spaccio the particular key mortgage lender is just not able to discontinue government authorities hurting towards attain any self-confidence with economical sells.

The note, ECB watchers suggest, Canada Goose Parka is normally of which although important financial institution is normally cautious about having its "bazooka, inch any mention of boundless attachment investing in, that is just about to carry out a great deal more in the event trepidation increase.

For at present, ECB authorities glance information in the real estate markets to help keep stress relating to euro-zone cities right until different financial procedures will be integrated along with careless health systems with Italian capital, This town and also Athens acquire cutting edge ways towards control for big credit debt together with big cutbacks.

"I don't believe this ECB should on your own can be found in as well as tell you considering that management own decided ıt's going to backside elements right up using intense behavior, although additionally there is not a single thing to avoid the actual ECB right from upgrading within the medical caused so that you can, inches mentioned Chip Matthews, economist within Regal Lender about Scotland.

Like various other experts, Mr. Matthews desires a great erosion for attachment real estate markets in order to trigger typically the ECB to own administration provides much more in a hostile manner upcoming twelve months.

It is known as a fragile equilibrium just for Mr. Draghi. This individual in the beginning had to revisit this important bank's concentrate purely towards economical protection plan as well as yardage them out of nation-wide politics, ECB administrators point out. Nevertheless disappointment regarding health systems to help come up with brand new money laws, and even to have Europe's bailout cash uploaded and functioning having much better forces, contains compelled Mr. Draghi to help you enjoy the particular place connected with politics offer designer. On top of the particular ECB's want directory: alot more programmed sanctions regarding perform funds offenders.

Mr. Draghi gave the impression to inspire hypothesis of your much larger ECB character upon 12. 1, once this individual advised all the Eu Parliament who "other components will probably follow" united states government campaigns that will build innovative economical procedures "but your sequencing issues. inches

The insinuation has been apparent to make sure you ECB observers. When government authorities toughened " up " funds laws to protect yourself from an additional Portugal crunch out of taking effect, that ECB would certainly prize individuals having stepped-up join buys about Simple spanish plus German federal government provides.

Mr. Draghi proclaimed Thursday night this individual was first "kind connected with surprised" by exactly how industry content spinner all those reviews. Yet this individual ought not have been completely, experts point out, offered ways aimed businesses throughout the world had been for almost any nugget about your partner's believing. Mr. Draghiwho would little or nothing to improve this market's basic evaluation about your partner's commentsis expert concerning these types of marketing communications.

He went Italy's key mortgage lender previous to bringing the actual helm belonging to the ECB, and also prior to when this was a premier management by Goldman Sachs. She or he decides his / her sayings thoroughly.

"This weren't any go with the language, inches mentioned Carsten Brzeski, economist within ENT Lender, writing in which Mr. Draghi's opinion approximately "other elements" got through ready account without having it in a off-the-cuff review.

This advertise knowledgeable has been relating to present by Mr. Draghi's thing convention Thursdayhis next like ECB us president. Mr. Draghi produced a fabulous thoughts praying Western commanders most certainly as they simply make an effort to redo Europe's economical guidelines.

"The ECB can be used, inches this individual extra. Next searching for quick hover near Mr. Draghi gave the impression to understand ways of which memor could possibly be misunderstood, and even swiftly extra, "which fails to suggest the particular ECB should act in response. "

Similar Reuters

ECB Lead designer Mario Draghi inside Brussels about Tuesday.

Mr. Draghi will be to certainly avoid a fabulous real commitments, experts point out. ECB authorities happen to be stung as soon as Italy's an old Perfect Minister Silvio Berlusconi backtracked relating to a bit of your partner's deficit-reduction assurances following your ECB begun purchasing Italian language provides around September.

The concept ECB representatives had taken removed from typically the occurrence is normally which they desire accomplishments, not only for terms.

"They like to take full advantage of strain relating to governing bodies, inches Mr. Brzeski proclaimed.

Mr. Draghi provided a fabulous hedged advantage a powerful transaction hit just by euro-zone commanders quick Wednesday in order to touch send using a innovative budgetary small. "We stumbled on results which usually should be fleshed available through arriving months, inches this individual mentioned. "It's looking as being a beneficial rationale to get a financial very small for your european vicinity. "

Another root cause of extreme care: bond-buying will possibly not perform. Critics belonging to the coverage, extremely inside Philippines, point out getting provides isn't going to get typically the meant results from having makes lower, citing the particular duplicated boost with peripheral promise nevertheless had comments approximately 210 billion dollars ($266. 8 billion dollars) inside connection purchase. Generally if the ECB weighing machines in the purchase to help certainly no impact, it could get rid of excess one of the most strong system the foremost commercial lender hasits printer pressand give the actual pound susceptible to sells.

That can make all the projects with authorities crucial at this point to try up to they will recover self-belief independently, experts point out.

"If typically the ECB is actually completely satisfied health systems do all of they could as of this point and therefore the marketplaces will still be never performing... right now there possibly will be an heightened chances from ECB relationship selecting, inches Mr. Matthews proclaimed.

2011年12月1日星期四

No, Microsoft Isn't Going To Bid For RIMM (Or Yahoo)

Let’s be crystal clear: there is zero reason to think Microsoft is actually going to make an offer to buy Research In Motion,Canada goose no matter what the price.

Nomura software analyst Rick Sherlund weighed on the speculation about a RIMM/MSFT combination in a research note today,Canada goose jakke and laid out a pretty clear case on why the combination isn’t going to happen.

And by the way: Sherlund doesn’t think there is much chance that Microsoft would make an outright bid for Yahoo, either,Canadian jakke though taking a minority stake is not out of the question.

“On RIMM, running a simple merger model suggests it would be accretive to near-term earnings for Microsoft to buy RIMM even at 50% premium, but Microsoft is unlikely to do a financial deal and absorb the integration challenges and longer-term platform and customer support obligations unless it were a compelling strategic fit,Goose jakke which we do not see,” he writes in a research note. “Microsoft has its own operating system strategy with Windows Phone 8 due out next year, which it has been collaborating on with Nokia. This operating system is not compatible with that of RIMM, and to alter course for either company at this juncture would likely be imprudent.”

And Yahoo?

“Microsoft has the benefit of scale in search through their current relationship with Yahoo and see no need to acquire the company,” he writes. “It is possible that Microsoft may be part of a larger group to invest in a minority position in Yahoo for some strategic business relationship, but this is very different than Microsoft buying Yahoo, that ship sailed by a few years ago and is unlikely, in our view, to be revisited given that Microsoft now has the scale they desired in search through their existing relationship with Yahoo. There are other parts of Yahoo that are likely of strategic interest to Microsoft, but there are likely smarter ways to work together than buying the company.”

Both RIMM and YHOO have been trading higher Thursday on various kinds of M&A speculation. (Something seems likely to happen soon in Yahoo’s case, but I would bet against any kind of a deal in the near term that involves RIMM.)

2011年11月10日星期四

Can Rick Perry play 'oops' for laughs?

Texas Gov. Rick Perry talks about his tax plan during an interview on Fox News Channel.
Can Rick Perry laugh his way back into contention? His campaign seems to think it can't hurt,Canada Goose Parka adding a pair of comedy shows to his itinerary as part of a sudden media blitz aimed at minimizing the damage from his 53-second debate lapse.

On Thursday night,Canada goose the Texas governor will read the Top 10 list on CBS' "Late Show with David Letterman" (here's a prediction -- he'll fall one item short). Perry also told conservative radio host Laura Ingraham Thursday that he'll be on "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central.

The hard truth for Perry is that his bid for the Republican presidential nomination was in trouble even before about 9:15 p.m.Canada goose jakker on Wednesday night. After a brief stint as the front-runner upon entering the race in August, his support shifted to new favorite Herman Cain and even of late Newt Gingrich.

A new set of numbers from Quinnipiac University on Thursday in swing states,Canada goose parka including early-voting Florida, showed him polling no better than 5% among Republicans.

His earlier weak debate performances were partly to blame for that erosion of support. The concern now in Austin is that this latest gaffe -- being described in the media as one of the worst in recent political memory -- proves a fatal blow.

In another television interview Thursday afternoon, Perry maintained that voters will sympathize with his momentary forgetfulness.

"People understand you make mistakes. Things don't come out of your mouth right," he told Megyn Kelly on Fox News Channel's "America Live." "But we talked about a lot of really important issues, like my tax plan."

In addition to his suddenly media-friendly schedule, Perry says he'll be right back on the campaign trail in South Carolina this week and later in Iowa.

Most other Republicans have publicly been kind to Perry thus far.

"I don't want to pronounce the end of his campaign at this point," South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint (R) told CBS this morning, while adding: "I just think we saw some other standouts."

In the Fox News Channel interview, Kelly asked Perrry how he'd answer voters who worry he won't be a candidate who can stand up to President Obama in the general election.

"You don't have to be the slickest debater. What you have to do is be able to call him out and point clearly to the options" to fix the economy, he said. "I'm that person. And I have not only the record for that, but I have the passion for it. And I think I can take it to President Obama on any given day."

On NBC this morning, Perry was asked if he'd have any advice for the writers at another comedy show, "Saturday Night Live," who already have lampooned his performance on the stump and likely will again this weekend.

"I'm bettin' they do," he said. "Listen, I hope they get the agencies right."

2011年11月7日星期一

Ron Paul wins yet another straw poll. So why are the media ignoring him?

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul speaks at the St. Cloud Civic Center in St. Cloud, Minn., Saturday, Nov. 5. Paul launched his Minnesota campaign Saturday, saying the U.S. must reverse course on monetary policy, erosion of the rule of law, and military engagement in the Middle East.
Ron Paul won another Republican straw poll this weekend, in Illinois this time.
It’s starting to become routine for Paul, points out The State Column, an online source of state political news:

“Paul has consistently demonstrated his ability to rally his supporters to straw polls throughout the nation. Paul took second place in the Ames Straw Poll in August, finishing just 1 percentage point behind Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann. Paul won a Values Voter Summit straw poll in October and a California Republican Party straw poll in September. On Saturday, October 22, Paul garnered 53 percent of the votes to win an Ohio GOP poll. Last weekend, Paul won an Iowa straw poll at the National Federation of Republican Assemblies in Des Moines, Iowa with 82 percent of the votes.”Canada Goose Norge

Election 101: Ten things to know about Ron Paul.

In Illinois Saturday, Paul won 52 percent of the vote – more than neck-and-neck frontrunners Mitt Romney and Herman Cain.

How does Paul do it – winning state after state in these kinds of contests – while generally being relegated to second-tier or “also ran” status by most pundits and pollsters?Canada Goose Expedition

Pundits have a hard time categorizing Paul, the Texas congressman who’s as much (maybe more) libertarian as he is Republican.

As was pointed out in this space last month, try to imagine a Republican presidential candidate these days who would not support a constitutional ban on abortion, who would cut defense spending by nearly a billion dollars, or who would end all US aid to Israel. Hard, isn’t it?Canada Goose

MONITOR QUIZ: Political hair apparents. Who's hair is it?

Paul has said he will not run for re-election to his congressional seat next year, raising questions about the possibility of running for president as an independent or third-party candidate.

On “Fox News Sunday,” he ruled that out. But confirming his status as something of a GOP outlier, he also said he wouldn’t necessarily support the Republican presidential candidate once the primaries and caucuses are over.Canada Goose Jakke

“If they believe in expanding the wars, if they don’t believe in looking at the Federal Reserve, if they don’t believe in real cuts, if they don’t believe in deregulation and a better tax system, it would defy everything I believe in,” he told Chris Wallace. “And so therefore I would be reluctant to jump on board and tell all of the supporters that have given me trust and money … ‘All we have done is for naught and let’s support anybody at all … even if they disagree with everything we do.’”

But back to all those straw polls that Paul keeps winning or at least doing well in.

They’re typically not scientific, and they can’t be compared to nationwide polls.

In the most recent ABC News/Washington Post, Rasmussen Reports, and Quinnipiac polls, Paul remains in single digits behind Herman Cain, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, and Rick Perry among those likely to vote in the Republican primaries or caucuses. And like Michele Bachmann, he’s dropped several percentage points since October, according to the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll.

But Paul continues to do well in the straw polls because of the way they’re designed and because it’s easier for his enthusiastic and very loyal supporters to take part.

At the Values Voter Summit last month, young Paul supporters showed up by the busload to vote for him in that straw poll. The result? He won 37 percent of the vote, much more than Herman Cain (23 percent).

In Illinois over the weekend, Paul’s 52 percent win over his GOP rivals comes with interesting caveats.

Voters in the straw poll (who had to contribute $5 to the Illinois Republican Party for the privilege) could participate either in person or online.

Paul won 66.5 percent of the votes cast over the Internet but just 8 percent of those cast in person (the way actual elections happen), suggesting a heavy online turnout by his supporters. Romney, on the other hand, took 35 percent of the in-person vote and Cain won 29 percent of that vote.

Paul supporters continue to claim media bias against their man.

“If the advocates of Ron Paul often seem like they're paranoid about the way he's overlooked in the mainstream media, there's good reason for it,” columnist Paul Mulshine writes in the Star Ledger in New Jersey.

As evidence, he points to a Sunday New York Times Magazine piece by political analyst Nate Silver headlined “What Are the Chances for Republicans?” Silver’s piece virtually ignores Ron Paul.

“The candidate who has been running third in many polls is conspicuously absent from the article,” writes Mulshine, who also notes that in the Real Clear Politics polling average only Romney does better than Paul in mock head-to-head elections against Barack Obama.

2011年10月25日星期二

Miracle as two-week-old girl is plucked naked from Turkey quake rubble... and mother and grandmother are rescued hours later

She's only 14 days old but baby Azra has seen enough drama to last her a lifetime.
Rescuers clapped and cheered as they pulled the infant alive from the rubble of the Turkish earthquake – almost 48 hours after the disaster struck.
The youngster, whose name means ‘help’ in Hebrew, survived despite being naked in freezing conditions. Her mother and grandmother were later plucked alive from the same collapsed building.

Television footage showed emergency workers applauding as the baby, Azra Karaduman, was removed from the hulk of crushed concrete and metal.
A rescuer cradled the infant, who was then wrapped in a blanket and handed over to a medic amid a scrum of emergency workers and journalists.
The baby was said to be in good health but was flown to a hospital in Ankara.
And this afternoon, a ten-year-old boy was pulled alive from the rubble after an incredible 54 HOURS.
Authorities yesterday said the death toll had risen to at least 432 in Ercis and the provincial capital, Van, as a result of the 7.2-magnitude quake on Sunday.
There was a race against time to free dozens trapped inside mounds of concrete, twisted steel and construction debris.
At least nine were rescued yesterday, although many more bodies were discovered.
Authorities have warned survivors not to enter damaged buildings and thousands were spending a third night outdoors in cars or tents in near-freezing conditions, afraid to return to their homes.
The baby’s mother, Semiha, and grandmother, Gulsaadet, were huddled together with the baby clinging to her mother’s shoulder when rescuers found them, emergency worker Kadir Direk said.
There was a bakery at the ground floor of the building, which may have kept them warm, he added.
He said Azra’s mother was semi-conscious but woke when he reached her.

Azra’s uncle Senol Yigit watched the rescue from outside, sobbing: ‘It’s a miracle.’ He said: ‘I’m so happy. What can I say? We had lost hope when we first saw the building.’
Rescuer Oytun Gulpinar added: ‘Bringing them out is such happiness. I wouldn’t be happier if they gave me tons of money.’

But workers could not find the baby’s father and there were no other signs of life in the shattered building, he said. It was reported the family live in Sivas, central Turkey, but were visiting the girl’s grandmother and grandfather.
Nine-year-old Oguz Isler was also rescued along with his sister and cousin, but last night he was waiting at the foot of the same pile of debris that was his aunt’s apartment block for news of his parents who remain buried inside.

2011年10月19日星期三

Zero tolerance behaviour policy for pupils AND teachers should be adopted by all schools, says government expert

Schools are being encouraged to impose strict discipline on pupils and teachers alike, it was announced today.
A Government adviser says schools should use a 'checklist' system to ensure that they run smoothly.
The new guidelines could see teachers displaying school rules, as well as using rewards and punishments for good and bad behaviour in class, and telling parents if their child has been naughty.

They would also ensure that staff would be disciplined if they failed to live up to the standards they demand of their pupils.
The checklist has been drawn up by the Government's behaviour adviser, Charlie Taylor, who is also head of Willows Special School in Hillingdon, north-west London.
He said the idea for a checklist was based on a similar scheme introduced to hospitals by surgeon Atul Gawande.

The surgeon was concerned at the number of patients suffering serious complications after operations and realised many of the cases were down to staff failing to follow basic procedures, such as not washing their hands.
He introduced a checklist to be read out before each operation to ensure basic, essential rules were followed.
The Department for Education said the behaviour checklist is designed to be used by schools and teachers to run through in the morning and afternoon to check that basic behaviour rules are in place.
Mr Taylor said his list, which is divided into sections for headteachers and teachers, can be adapted by individual schools.

The list includes:
Displaying school rules clearly in classes and around the building;
Headteachers knowing the names of all staff, and praising good performance;
Heads visiting the lunch hall and playground, and being around at the start and end of the day;
Headteachers checking up on behaviour outside of school;
Teachers meeting and greeting pupils when they come into the classroom;
Displaying sanctions and rewards for behaviour in the classroom;
Teachers staying calm in class;
Praising pupils' good behaviour;
Teachers giving feedback to parents about their child's behaviour - both good and bad.
Mr Taylor said: 'As a headteacher I know that where there is inconsistency in schools, children are more likely to push the boundaries.
'If a pupil thinks there is a chance that the school will forget about the detention he has been given, then he is unlikely to bother to turn up. If he gets away with it, the threat of detention will be no deterrent in the future.
'The checklist sets out for all schools the simple but essential things to get right to ensure strong discipline, and therefore strong teaching.
'Teachers can run through the checklist first thing in the morning and again after lunch to ensure the correct preparations.'

2011年10月17日星期一

Fox to leave with a rebuke... and a £17,000 payoff despite breaching ministerial code

Liam Fox will walk away from the Cabinet with a £17,000 payoff – despite a damning report published today which finds him guilty of a serious breach of the ministerial code.
Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O’Donnell will rule that Dr Fox did not personally profit from his globetrotting with best man Adam Werritty.
But he will condemn the conflicts of interest that arose because Dr Fox’s friend was funded by rich donors with defence interests.
The Mail can also today reveal that one of Mr Werritty’s major backers was working for Britain’s biggest defence company.
G3 Good Governance Group paid £15,000 to Mr Werritty’s company Pargav and also has an ongoing contract with BAE Systems, which has £520million of Ministry of Defence contracts.
But despite Sir Gus’s findings, Dr Fox is entitled to three months’ money from his £68,827 Ministers’ salary after he resigned as Defence Secretary on Friday – a total of £17,206.
The Cabinet Office said: ‘The Independent Top Salaries Review Body recommended that on losing office for whatever reason, members of the Commons should receive a severance payment based on three months’ net loss of income.’
The payoff provoked outrage last night and calls for Dr Fox to return the money.
John Mann, the Labour MP for Bassetlaw, said ‘It’s outrageous that a shamed and discredited ex-Minister gets such a huge pay out. It’s for Dr Fox to now take the honourable route and immediately re-pay this money to the Exchequer.’
Sir Gus’s report, which is around seven pages long, will be published in full today after No10 gave in to demands for full disclosure. But it is thought it will not go into great detail about the sources of Mr Werritty’s funding.
‘It is more a study of ministerial misconduct,’ said one Whitehall official.
David Cameron will face claims today that Sir Gus’s report in no way answers all the unanswered questions about Dr Fox and Mr Werritty.
Sir Gus has not made an in-depth study of the funding and activities of Dr Fox’s former charity Atlantic Bridge. His report will not provide a list of other Ministers who met Mr Werritty, as Downing Street had originally suggested. Nor does he plan to name the as-yet-unknown donors to Pargav.
The revelation that G3 was working for BAE Systems will intensify calls for the Electoral Commission to open its own investigation into Dr Fox.
The watchdog will decide this week whether to open a probe into whether he broke laws on political donations by failing to declare the sources of Mr Werritty’s funding, when he was effectively acting as an unofficial adviser.
BAE is the Ministry of Defence’s biggest contractor, with around 13 per cent of the MoD’s £4billion procurement budget. It builds flagship defence platforms such as the Type 45 destroyer and the Eurofighter Typhoon jet aircraft.
A source at BAE confirmed that the company has an ongoing relationship with G3 to provide consultancy support for a project in Oman, where BAE is designing military training courses. It is understood G3 has also hired a former MI6 officer called Moira Andrews, whose husband Ian Andrews was until 2009 the second most senior civil servant in the MoD.
No10 is also resisting making a ministerial statement on the scandal, but Mr Cameron could still be dragged to the Commons.
Labour is set to ask Speaker John Bercow for an urgent statement and he is understood to be sympathetic.
On the link between BAE and G3, Labour’s Armed Forces spokesman Kevan Jones said: ‘This is further evidence of the perceived conflict of interest which arose at the heart of the MoD on David Cameron’s watch. He needs to answer questions.
‘Without a full examination of Mr Fox and Mr Werritty’s activities, including all business connections, David Cameron will not be living up to his promise of open, transparent government.
‘At a time when the Armed Forces has had to swallow a pay freeze and thousands of troops have been told they are being made redundant to cut costs, Liam Fox’s redundancy payment will provoke a lot of anger.’

2011年10月14日星期五

PUBLIC VOTE ON EU RESCUE IS RULED OUT

MINISTERS provoked fury last night by ruling out a referendum on European Union action to bail out the crisis-hit eurozone.
A Government statement to MPs yesterday made clear that no national poll will be held in Britain over plans for a £380billion emergency fund designed to support Greece and other debt-laden eurozone nations.
Some MPs believe the establishment of the European Financial Stability Mechanism, which requires changes to the EU constitution, should trigger a vote in the UK under the Coalition’s so-called “referendum lock” law.
But Tory Europe Minister David Lidington said the proposals did not need to be ratified by a referendum in Britain because only nations in the euro currency system were affected.
The decision enraged critics, who warned that the treaty changes threatened to create a powerful bloc of 17 euro nations that will be able to crush any British opposition to Brussels rule.
Tory backbencher Douglas Carswell said: “When they broke their promise to give us a referendum, ministers promised us a referendum lock; now that referendum lock has proved to be as useless as we expected.
“This proves we cannot trust Westminster on Europe – they never keep their word.”
UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage said: “The Government has set its own referendum rules, so of course ministers have decided there is no need for a referendum.
“But this treaty change will mean a fundamental change to the EU. It will create a bloc of 17 countries that can overturn anything Britain wants.”
MPs are now pinning their hopes on a crucial Commons vote expected next month on whether to hold a national in-or-out referendum on Britain’s EU membership.
The debate is being lined up by the Commons Backbench Business Committee in response to a series of petitions on the issue including one backed by 373,000 Daily Express readers as part of this newspaper’s crusade for Britain to quit the EU. 
The Government introduced the so-called “referendum-lock” law earlier this year in a bid to stop the long-term drift of political power to Brussels.
Under the law, any future EU constitutional change is supposed to be put to voters in a referendum before the Government can ratify it.
However, the treaty changes needed to establish the European Financial Stability Mechanism will not trigger a referendum because ministers believe the move is only a matter for the eurozone. Instead, MPs will be given a chance to approve the changes in a Commons vote.
A senior Whitehall source yesterday insisted the move would benefit Britain and would hasten the UK’s exit from the European Financial Stability Facility, a separate £50billion fund that, unlike the EFSM, includes British taxpayers’ cash.
Ministers are not expecting the EFSM to be a “panacea” for the eurozone crisis but hope it will bring stability that will also help the British economy.
Mr Lidington said: “This statement is the first stage in the enhanced public and Parliamentary scrutiny of EU Treaty changes introduced under the provisions of the EU Act 2011.
“As this Treaty-change decision relates to a provision that only applies to euro area member states, it does not fall within section four of the Act and there is no requirement for a referendum.
“The UK supports the euro area’s stated commitment to do what it takes to ensure the financial stability of the euro area as a whole.”
He added that if the changes were ratified by all 27 EU member states the permanent stability mechanism could be established as planned.

2011年10月13日星期四

Viktor Bout wanted American pilots killed, jury told

The trial of Viktor Bout, the former Soviet officer accused of selling arms to Colombian rebels, opened dramatically with an arsenal of weaponry.

Before he introduced himself to jurors at the US district court in New York on Wednesday, assistant attorney Brendan McGuire stood before them and said: "One hundred surface to air missiles, 20,000 machine guns, 20,000 grenades, 740 mortars, 350 sniper rifles, 10 million rounds of ammunition and five tonnes of C-4 explosives." As Bout, with close-cropped hair and wearing a dark suit, looked on, McGuire told them: "Viktor Bout wanted to provide all of it to a foreign terrorist organisation he believed wanted to kill Americans. He had the experience to do it, he had the expertise to do it, he had the will to do it. He wanted to do it. Why? For the money."

"This is not a complicated case," he told the jury. In fact, he said, it was "relatively straightforward".

Bout, 44, has pleaded not guilty to four conspiracy charges against him. His defence is that he was a businessman who ran an air freight business in conflict zones. The jury was told that the story began at Bout's home in Moscow, when a co-conspirator of Bout's told him he had been approached by a weapons buyer from Farc rebels in Colombia, who were engaged in a fight against the US-backed government. What followed, after several meetings between the co-conspirator and the weapons buyers in a small South American country, was a face-to-face meeting. Bout's co-conspirator had warned the buyers that he was restricted in his movements – a UN resolution was in place from 2004 which stopped him entering or leaving their territories.McGuire said Bout had planned the logistics, was "in control" and had even taken the initiative to suggest other weapons for Farc.

The weapons, he told the jury, never made it into the hands of Farc as this was a sting, an undercover operation directed by the Drug Enforcement Agency.

Unbeknown to Bout, he said, the weapons buyers were both "confidential sources" for the DEA. "But," McGuire told the jury, "the defendant's desire to do the deal is real."

Also unknown to Bout, virtually everything he said to the sources was on tape. McGuire said: "You will hear those recordings in this trial and you will hear Bout."

Bout's wife, Alla, who at one point raised her hand in court to wave at her husband as he turned to look at her, sat a few feet behind him with their daughter, Dora. Both wore headphones to listen to a translation of the proceedings.

Splitting the case into three chapters, McGuire told the jury that part one began in 2007, when the DEA started to investigate Bout, who had a "history of being involved in the weapons business" and came across a contact of his.

Posing as weapons buyers, the sources, Carlos and Ricardo – who was known as "el Commandante" – told this contact that they were from Farc. The group, they explained, was at war with the Colombian authorites who were being aided by the Americans.

Part two began, the jury heard, when Bout proposed the weapons deal. He was able to provide a team of military trainees for Farc and the ability to drop weapons in Colombia as he had done previously, said McGuire. Part three came when Bout, who was based in Moscow due to the UN resolution restricting his movements, flew to Thailand to meet the supposed weapons buyers in March 2008.

McGuire said that the sources told Bout that they needed weapons to kill American pilots who were assisting the Colombian government.

He said the jury would hear a recording of Bout saying: "We're together and we have the same enemy. It's not business, it is my fight. I'm fighting the US from 10 to 15 years." He was "all-in" for the $5m deal, McGuire said.

"On his own Bout had worked out a cover for the deal, a plan to make this deal seem legitimate," Bout said.

Bout's defence lawyer, Albert Dayan, told the jury in his opening that his client was in fact the victim of an aggressive hunt by federal agents who were, as the prosecutors admitted, former criminals.

His client was stringing the weapons buyers along in order to secure a deal to sell them two planes. He had no intention, Dayan said, of selling them weapons.