News Today

[baksheesh]

From The Independent

Crackdown due on 'hazardous' DIY tooth-whitening

[baksheesh]

From The Independent

To be filed under - Well, Duh!

Morbid Hitler had 'messiah complex'

A secret intelligence report - compiled just as Hitler embarked on the Final Solution - found the Nazi leader had a "messiah complex" and increasingly turned to "Jew-phobia" as defeat loomed. The document was drawn up for British intelligence in April 1942 and has lain unread since the war. Written just as the conflict was starting to turn against Hitler, it shows British analysts had noticed developing paranoia in his speechmaking and a growing preoccupation with what he called "the Jewish poison".

[baksheesh]

From The Independent

Ukraine 'should be stripped of Euro football final'

The leader of Poland's main opposition party yesterday called for the final of the Euro 2012 football tournament to be moved from Kiev to Warsaw in protest against the Ukrainian authorities' alleged mistreatment of the jailed ex-prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, wrote that a failure to move the match would "amount to silent acquiescence to the further undemocratic activities of the Ukrainian government".

[baksheesh]

From The Independent

Fairtrade: Is it really fair?

It is trade, of that there is no doubt. Some £1.3bn is spent on Fairtrade-badged goods in the UK. But nearly two decades after the launch of the scheme, the question that increasingly vexes consumers as they make their purchases is: is it really fair?

The UK is the world's biggest fair-trade market, and it continues to grow. The first three products to showcase the Fairtrade mark hit the shelves in this country 18 years ago. Now, days ahead of World Fair Trade Day, there are more than 4,500 products carrying the familiar logo in our shops.

[baksheesh]

From The Independent

France divides... and Europe pays the price

The new – or maybe the old – French president who is elected today will inherit a country more poisonously divided than at any time since the student and worker revolts of May 1968.

The 45,000,000 French voters face a choice between the soothingly pragmatic leader of a largely unreconstructed left and a President who has appealed shamelessly to the latent nationalist passions and racial prejudices of the French bourgeoisie and white working class.

[Jeffrey Wozniak]

I guess not...

[baksheesh]

My dearest friend Sheesh,

The average human being can only read 600-700 articles a day.

Don't you think this is a bit much?

But you're not an 'average human being' so I'm expecting you to break the 'G' mark. I'm doing this all for you buddyroo, so rise to the challenge! C'mon now!

[Uli]

Le PDG de Goldman Sachs, chantre du mariage gayLE MONDE | 07.05.2012 à 13h05

Par Marc Roche (Londres, correspondant)


Lloyd Blankfein, PDG de la banque d'affaires américaine Goldman Sachs. | AFP/CHIP SOMODEVILLA
Lloyd Blankfein a les oreilles qui sifflent depuis quelques jours. Les milieux d'affaires conservateurs estiment que le "p'tit gars de Brooklyn " est manipulé par la "mafia gay". Dans les clubs aux fauteuils profonds de Wall Street comme de la City, ses détracteurs vilipendent un "coup de pub" destiné à occulter les problèmes qui déferlent sur la vénérable banque d'affaires qu'il dirige depuis 2006. En revanche, les progressistes portent aux nues ce père de famille hétérosexuel qui mène combat avec grande ténacité en faveur du mariage gay.

S'adressant le 2 mai aux militants du groupe de défense homosexuel Out Street, qui vise à promouvoir l'égalité dans le secteur financier new-yorkais, Lloyd Blankfein, PDG de Goldman Sachs, a révélé que sa campagne en faveur de l'union homosexuelle avait amené un gros client - dont le nom n'a pas été divulgué - à retirer ses fonds confiés à la firme. "Ce n'est pas sans risque", mais si Wall Street soutient davantage la cause gay que d'autres secteurs, "c'est parce que la culture financière est foncièrement méritocratique et égalitaire", a déclaré Blankfein.

Les seigneurs de l'argent ont été longtemps en retard sur l'évolution de la société envers les gays, lesbiennes et transsexuels. Plus une culture d'entreprise est "masculine", donc sourdement antihomosexuelle, moins elle tolère les comportements ouvertement déviants. S'ajoute le sentiment diffus que l'idée du pouvoir financier est associée à la virilité, ce qui ne se marie pas vraiment avec le stéréotype de l'homosexualité.

Les rapports professionnels se prolongent souvent dans la sphère privée. Les cadres "hors normes" sont souvent exclus des retrouvailles avec conjoints au restaurant, des week-ends de golf et de chasse entre collègues ou des barbecues en famille. Or le réseau de relations créé à cette occasion joue un rôle évident dans les promotions.

Résultat, à compétences égales, un homosexuel a beaucoup moins de chance d'accéder à un poste de direction. Cela s'appelle le "pink plateau", le plafond de verre version rose, les barrières empêchant les homosexuels déclarés d'arriver au sommet de leur entreprise.

Réseaux d'entraide

Les mentalités sont cependant en train d'évoluer, souligne Andy Wafley, porte-parole du lobby gay britannique Stonewall. "Un nombre croissant de compagnies aident leur staff homo à s'épanouir. Un employé heureux travaille mieux", explique-t-il.

Les établissements financiers trustent le haut du hit-parade annuel de Stonewall des cent compagnies installées au Royaume-Uni les plus dynamiques dans la lutte contre les discriminations en matière d'orientation sexuelle. En 2011, Goldman Sachs a été classée sixième.

Soulignant le chemin parcouru, les grandes banques internationales, surtout américaines, se sont mises à courtiser les jeunes banquiers gays en encourageant la création de réseaux d'entraide. Preuve que la diversité au travail est devenue un facteur déterminant de l'image de l'employeur.

Marc Roche (Londres, correspondant)

[baksheesh]

May 7 2012

From The Irish Times

French, Greek results throw EU crisis plans into doubt

A surge in support for Greek anti-bailout parties threw Europe’s response to the debt crisis into renewed doubt, as French socialist François Hollande ousted president Nicolas Sarkozy in a convincing election win.

Mr Hollande will be sworn in as French president on May 15, an official at outgoing President Nicolas Sarkozy's office said today. He will accompany Mr Sarkozy at an annual ceremony tomorrow, a national holiday in France, to commemorate the end of World War Two.

[baksheesh]

From The Irish Times

Putin Returns As Russian President

Vladimir Putin took the oath as Russia's president today with a ringing appeal for unity at the start of a six-year term in which he faces growing dissent, economic problems and bitter political rivalries.

Mr Putin (59) was sworn in with his right hand resting on the Russian constitution in a glittering ceremony in the Kremlin's former throne room attended by 2,000 dignitaries who applauded his every step along a long red carpet to the podium.

Outside the Kremlin's high red walls, police rounded up men and women in cafes wearing the white ribbons symbolising their growing protest movement against Putin, having detained more than 400 people during clashes with protesters yesterday.

[baksheesh]

From The Irish Times

Nearly Half Of Learner Drivers Are Flouting The Law

ALMOST HALF of learner drivers are flouting the law by driving unaccompanied, according to the findings of a recent Garda operation.

Operation Learner Driver, carried out on March 1st, March 2nd and April 19th, involved stopping 2,200 learner drivers. It found that 43 per cent were not accompanied by a full licence-holder as required by law.

It also found that 30 per cent of learner drivers were not displaying L-plates. In some cases both offences were committed by the same driver.

[baksheesh]

From The Irish Times

Brady Welcomes Sex Abuse Inquiry Call

CATHOLIC PRIMATE Cardinal Seán Brady has welcomed yesterday’s call for an independent inquiry into Fr Brendan Smyth’s abuse of children in Ireland and elsewhere over a 40-year period.

A spokesman for the cardinal said last night that he “welcomed and supported” the proposal made by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin.

Speaking after Mass at St Francis Xavier Church on Dublin’s Gardiner Street, Dr Martin said: “We’re getting all these bits and pieces of information about a horrible situation, what Brendan Smyth did to children.”

[baksheesh]

From The Irish Times

The Vulture Capitalists Eyeing Up Ireland's Distressed Assets

Despite a challenging environment, global private equity remains bullish, and many of these so-called vulture capitalists have been circling distressed Irish assets for some time. So who are they and are they about to descend, asks FIONA REDDAN

SINCE THE COLLAPSE of Lehman Brothers in 2008, US private equity funds, the so-called “vulture capitalists”, have been sniffing around distressed Irish businesses. They first concentrated on the financial sector, and have now started to extend their reach. But, despite having ready access to billions and a strong appetite to invest, such funds have to date largely played a waiting game. So who are they and why aren’t they investing?

[baksheesh]

From The Guardian

Eurozone Crisis Live: Greek Market Rocked By Election

[baksheesh]

From The Guardian

David Beckham flops in his audition for Stuart Pearce and Team GB

David Beckham failed to shine in his latest audition for the Great Britain men's Olympic football team in front of the side's manager, Stuart Pearce, in LA Galaxy's 1-0 defeat by New York Red Bulls at the Home Depot Center.

The former Manchester United, Real Madrid and England midfielder had been heartened that Pearce had taken the trouble to fly to California to see him in action, but the 37-year-old was at his poorest on Saturday night, fluffing a series of free-kicks, overhitting his trademark long passes and missing a late, presentable chance to equalise.

[baksheesh]

From The Guardian

Cameron's 'big society' undermined by cuts and distrust, says study

David Cameron's flagship "big society" project is at risk of being derailed by savage cuts to grassroots voluntary groups and a collapse in trust among the very people the government expected to deliver its vision, according to an independent audit of the first two years of the initiative.

The report concludes that the big society lacks a clear vision and strategy and is in danger of becoming "an initiative for the leafy suburbs", despite the prime minister's championing of a policy he described at its Downing street launch in 2010 as something he hoped would be "one of the great legacies" of his government.

[baksheesh]

From The Guardian

Afghan Soldier Kills U.S. Marine

An Afghan soldier has shot dead a US marine and wounded another before being killed by return fire. It is the latest in a series of attacks against foreigners by government forces working with coalition troops.

The soldier started shooting at international troops in Tarekh Naver in the Marjah district, a former Taliban stronghold that was the site of a major offensive by coalition forces in 2010, said a spokesman for the governor of Helmand province.

[baksheesh]

From The Guardian

Drug-drivers to face jail time under new law

Drivers found to have taken drugs face a prison sentence of up to six months and a fine of up to £5,000 under new legislation, ministers reveal on Monday.

Plans to make driving while under the influence of drugs an offence will be included in a crime, communications and courts bill that will be in the Queen's speech on Wednesday. Offenders will also face an automatic driving ban.

[baksheesh]

From The Independent

Robert Fisk: Arab Spring has washed the region's appalling racism out of the news

How many tracts, books, documentaries, speeches and doctoral theses have been written and produced about Islamophobia? How many denunciations have been made against the Sarkozys and the Le Pens and the Wilders for their anti-immigration (for which, read largely anti-Muslim) policies or – let us go down far darker paths – against the plague of Breivik-style racism?

The problem with all this is that Muslim societies – or shall we whittle this down to Middle Eastern societies? – are allowed to appear squeaky-clean in the face of such trash, and innocent of any racism themselves.

[baksheesh]

From The Independent

South Korea cracks down on sale of human flesh capsules

South Korea said it is strengthening customs inspections in a crackdown on the smuggling of Chinese-made capsules filled with powdered human flesh.

The state-run Korea Customs Service said that since last August it has discovered 35 attempts to smuggle from China about 17,450 such capsules disguised as stamina-boosters.

[Blue Train]

Just in case any of you were wondering....


The reports of dinosaurs dying of farts are greatly exaggerated....


http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2...aurs_dying.php

[Blue Train]

The Bastian of Civil Liberties and Former Constitutional Law Professor is apparently "evolving" on Gay Marriage.

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics...,5251696.story


Seriously, what is there to "evolve" about? Without Loving v. Virginia his parents would not have been able to marry in a few states as late as June 12, 1967.

[Jeffrey Wozniak]

His parents are gay?

[baksheesh]

His parents are gay?

Weak, even for you buddy.
Loving v. Virginia

[baksheesh]

May 8 2012

From The Irish Times

CIA Thwarts U.S. Plane Bomb Plot

The CIA has thwarted an ambitious plot by al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen to destroy a US-bound airliner using a bomb with a sophisticated new design around the one-year anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden.

The plot involved an upgrade of the underwear bomb that failed to detonate aboard a jet over Detroit, Michigan on Christmas Day 2009.

The new bomb also was designed to be used in a passenger’s underwear, but this time al Qaeda developed a more refined detonation system, US officials said.

[baksheesh]

From The Irish Times

Greece Told To Execute Bailout Terms Or Face Bankruptcy

GREEK LEADERS have been warned they run the risk of bankrupting the country if they fail to form a government that pledges to fully execute the second EU-IMF bailout plan for the country.

The hard line taken by Germany and the European authorities comes in the face of a general election in which a clear majority of Greeks voted for parties opposed to the austerity measures in the rescue deal.

[Blue Train]

May 8 2012

From The Irish Times

CIA Thwarts U.S. Plane Bomb Plot

When I read this when it was first reported this is what came to mind.

1. Amazingly convenient.

2. When is the last time the Spooks actually did anything like this....let alone it being leaked/I mean released to the press?

3. In the meantime while the Administration leaks things left and right without anyone being punished for it....just how many whistleblowers are being prosecuted by this Bastian of Civil Liberties Administration?....some of which are facing Death or Life in Prison.

[baksheesh]

From The Irish Times

Evil, militant anti-Christian secularism is simply a myth

Ruairí Quinn’s observation that religion accounts for a disproportionate amount of class time was seized upon as an attack on religion. Religious pundits from bishops to the Iona Institute bemoan the attacks from secularists on traditional Catholic values.

Yet for all their bluster and hand-wringing, for all the tabloid outrage, “militant secularism” makes as much logical sense as “aggressive pacifism” or “hardline tolerance”; it is an oxymoron, a cynical attempt to paint equality and fairness as infringing upon the religious, who seem aghast that after decades of entitlement they might actually be expected to play fair.

[baksheesh]

From The Irish Times

Keep Going Till The Cupboard Is Bare

Could you and your family survive for two weeks only on what you already have in your kitchen?
FOR MANY OF us, money’s too tight to mention and cutting costs is imperative, but could it be possible to save money on food by simply not buying it? I set myself the challenge of not doing a weekly shop for two weeks and instead stripping my larder bare to see if I could become a frugal foodie.

Things don’t start well. It has been more than a week since we went to the supermarket so the fresh fruit and veg is running low and there is no meat. My mother thinks it is ridiculous that we don’t have any meat in the freezer (“Do you not even have a few sausages or a couple of chicken breasts?”), but we don’t. The plan was not to become vegetarians for a week, but inadvertently that is what happens.

[baksheesh]

When I read this when it was first reported this is what came to mind.

1. Amazingly convenient.

2. When is the last time the Spooks actually did anything like this....let alone it being leaked/I mean released to the press?

3. In the meantime while the Administration leaks things left and right without anyone being punished for it....just how many whistleblowers are being prosecuted by this Bastian of Civil Liberties Administration?....some of which are facing Death or Life in Prison.

Pretty disturbing, but hardly surprising huh?