One of China's national emblems is the Giant Panda. But a rather less appealing variety of bear is now stalking the Middle Kingdom. The value of the Shanghai Stock Exchange is down by around a fifth since its February peak. A rapid fall of such a magnitude fits one of the usual definitions of a bear market.
Reported by Independent 9 hours ago.
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China's tumbling stock markets: Will the country need the 'wet nurse' again?
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Police officer cleared of assaulting teenager
A police officer accused of assaulting a 15-year-old girl during a party in Auckland in February has been cleared of any wrongdoing by an internal investigation.The party on Wellington St in Howick got out of control, with reports...
Reported by New Zealand Herald 12 hours ago.
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Teina Pora case: Police finally release forensic evidence
Police have released forensic evidence to defence lawyers in the Teina Pora case - 16 months after a court order told them to.Pora's lawyers have been asking police for forensic evidence for some time and in February 2012 consent...
Reported by New Zealand Herald 12 hours ago.
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Azure Minerals intercepts 129m at 2.9% copper equivalent at Cascada in Mexico
Azure Minerals (ASX:AZS) has had a huge copper hit intercepting 129 metres at 2.9% copper equivalent that included a high grade zone of 10 metres at 14% CuEq at its Cascada copper-gold-silver project in Mexico.
The results are from the first three drill holes, and follow on from the discovery hole at Cascada that returned 70 metres at 2.7% CuEq, announced in February.
Drill results from the APR-DD-089 that hit 129 metres at 2.9 CuEq include 19 metres at 9.5% CuEq, while the APR-DD-090 returned 70 metres at 1.9% CuEq including 10 metres at 4% and hole APR-DD-088 hit a gold rich zone of 13 metres grading at 2.12g/t gold and 23g/t silver.
Visual inspection of the core also shows presence of copper sulphide mineralistion in all the holes drilled to date at the project, with dominant copper sulphide mineral being chalcocite.
Azure's current drilling program consists of 18 holes for a total of about 2,000 metres of which 17 have been completed.
Fifteen holes test the Cascada zone, while two tested the Rojo Grande target about 300 metres northeast from Cascada and one scout hole will test a zone of vuggy silica containing anomalous gold at Cascada.
*
Proactive Investors Australia is the market leader in producing news, articles and research reports on ASX “Small and Mid-cap” stocks with distribution in Australia, UK, North America and Hong Kong / China.* Reported by Proactive Investors 12 hours ago.
The results are from the first three drill holes, and follow on from the discovery hole at Cascada that returned 70 metres at 2.7% CuEq, announced in February.
Drill results from the APR-DD-089 that hit 129 metres at 2.9 CuEq include 19 metres at 9.5% CuEq, while the APR-DD-090 returned 70 metres at 1.9% CuEq including 10 metres at 4% and hole APR-DD-088 hit a gold rich zone of 13 metres grading at 2.12g/t gold and 23g/t silver.
Visual inspection of the core also shows presence of copper sulphide mineralistion in all the holes drilled to date at the project, with dominant copper sulphide mineral being chalcocite.
Azure's current drilling program consists of 18 holes for a total of about 2,000 metres of which 17 have been completed.
Fifteen holes test the Cascada zone, while two tested the Rojo Grande target about 300 metres northeast from Cascada and one scout hole will test a zone of vuggy silica containing anomalous gold at Cascada.
*
Proactive Investors Australia is the market leader in producing news, articles and research reports on ASX “Small and Mid-cap” stocks with distribution in Australia, UK, North America and Hong Kong / China.* Reported by Proactive Investors 12 hours ago.
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Paramus Promotes Ehrenberg as its New Police Chief
Patch Paramus, NJ --It's official. Kenneth Ehrenberg is the new Chief of the Paramus Police Department.
Ehrenberg, a lifelong resident of Paramus and 26-year member of the department, took the oath of the office in front of a packed house Tuesday night. Ehrenberg was promoted from Captain this past February to Deputy Chief. He's been acting as Chief since June 1 when former Chief Christopher Brock's retirement went into effect.
"The borough of Paramus is most appreciative that you are on watch and leading such a fine department and tonight we truly are the beneficiary," said Mayor Richard LaBarbiera.
The new Chief thanked all for the opportunity to "stand here tonight as Chief of the Paramus Police Department, a department I have served half my life in."
"As I begin this new chapter as police chief I look forward to the task of challenges that lie ahead as we continue the transformation of this department into a proactive, financially efficient and cutting-edge leader in law enforcment in NJ today. I promise I won't let you down and will work everyday for the betterment of this community," said Ehrenberg.
It was a special night for the Ehrenberg family as the Chief's son Kenny was honored for his acceptance into the United States Air Force Academy.
The younger Ehrenberg who graduates Paramus High School this Wednesday is headed straight to Colarado where he will spend the next four years.
LaBarbiera presented him with a certificate of commendation. In addition the borough will hang a Blue Star banner out front Borough Hall on his behalf, said the mayor.
The younger Ehrenberg was also presented with a certificate from Sam Casiello on behalf of the Veterans Affairs Office. Casiello read excerpts from a letter sent to him from the Air Force Academy admissions liasion officer on Kenny's behalf which noted that he was one of 1,190 interested students to be accepted out of more than 9,000 who had applied.
"He joins a select group who will train to be future leaders of the Air Force," he read. Reported by Patch 11 hours ago.
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Shanty singers to release first songs since colleague's death
This is Bath --
Shanty singers The Fisherman's Friends are to release their first new material since the death of group member Trevor Grills in February. The Cornish-based vocalists' second album, One and All – the follow-up to their eponymous debut – was recorded days before Grills was killed, along with promoter Paul McMullen, in an accident at a venue in Surrey Reported by This is 9 hours ago.
Shanty singers The Fisherman's Friends are to release their first new material since the death of group member Trevor Grills in February. The Cornish-based vocalists' second album, One and All – the follow-up to their eponymous debut – was recorded days before Grills was killed, along with promoter Paul McMullen, in an accident at a venue in Surrey Reported by This is 9 hours ago.
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Police warn of dangers of legal highs after recording rise in seizures of crack cocaine, heroin and mephedrone
This is Plymouth --
PLYMOUTH police have reissued their warnings about the fatal consequences of drugs – including "legal highs".
The warning comes after figures released to The Herald recorded rises in seizures of crack cocaine, heroin and mephedrone.
Seizures of mephedrone – known locally by its street name "bubble"– have gone from 4,646 grams between April 2011 and March 2012 to 5,405 grams between April 2012 and March 2013. The former legal high was banned in 2010.
Crack cocaine seizures have gone from 1.3 grams over the same time period to 111.8 grams while Ecstasy or MDMA rose from 119 grams to 420 grams.
Amphetamine seizures have dropped from 124 kilos – accounted for mainly by just one seizure – to just 49.9 kilos.
GBL – gammabutyrolactone – has rocketed from no seizures at all during 2011/12 to 1,000 liquid mls during 2012/13.
The drug – nicknamed "coma in a bottle"– is an addictive depressant used for its euphoric and sleep inducing effects. Police say the large rise was accounted for by one seizure in Plymouth in August 2012.
Drug officers said more than half of the crack cocaine seizures came about from one bust, which occurred in February this year when a London man – Daniel Belle – was arrested in Citadel Road. A search of a nearby property on the Hoe resulted in the discovery of around 300 "wraps" of the class A drug. Belle, of Ladbrook Grove, pleaded guilty on June 19 at Plymouth Magistrates Court and will be sentenced on July 19 at Plymouth Crown Court for dealing crack cocaine and heroin.
The main drug seized over the past year – and the year before – was herbal cannabis, with it making up 55 percent of all seizures between 2012/13 and 54.1 percent in 2011/12.
Police said that while there had been an 87.7 percent rise in the number of seizures of cocaine, which included crack, there had been physically less of the class A drug taken off dealers and users, dropping from 8.2 kg to 1.5 kg.
Plymouth police currently does not have a Drug Liaison Officer (DLO), following the recent retirement of Det Con Stuart Payne.
However, former DLO, Det Con Ken Ord, said: "Using drugs can cause users serious health problems as unlike manufactured drugs the contents and strengths are not controlled or known.
"This can also be said of the new psychoactive substances – known as "legal highs"– some of which tested recently have been shown to contained drugs that are illegal to possess.
"We will continue to fight to take drugs off the street and we're always grateful for any information from members of the public which we will act on as promptly as we can.
"It's a long process but there is a core aim behind it, the ongoing battle is to put commercial dealers out of action and making our communities a better place to live."
Det Sgt Mark Newnham of the Financial Investigation Unit said police had serious concerns over new "legal highs", particularly following two tragic deaths over the past year.
He noted how the city's coroner had raised the issue following the death of 20-year-old student Grant Mace whose body was found by an MoD police launch on Sunday March 4 last year in water off the Hoe near the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club. He had drowned. At his inquest coroner Ian Arrow noted how Grant had taken Methoxetamine prior to his death. The drug – which was legal at the time – is also known as mexxy or MXE.
Following advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, the Home Office made methoxetamine illegal on April 5, 2012, just four weeks after Grant's death.
Det Sgt Newnham also highlighted the death of Andrew Dan, who suffered fatal injuries after falling 40ft from a third-floor flat at Tavy House, Devonport, on January 21 this year.
Detectives investigating his death recently made two arrests and told The Herald Mr Dan had taken 'legal highs' in the lead-up to his death.
The government announced a year-long ban on two more "legal highs" earlier this month – NMOMe and Benzo Fury – while drugs experts assess their impact. However, Det Sgt Newnham said other "legal highs" would inevitably take their place, despite the dangers. He said: "People do not have a clue what they are taking. They don't know what they are made from and what the effects may be. Some of the side effects are so extreme they have contributed to the deaths of two people in the city."
"The people who supply these drugs don't care about the consequences of their actions, they are doing it purely to line their own pockets with cash." Reported by This is 10 hours ago.
PLYMOUTH police have reissued their warnings about the fatal consequences of drugs – including "legal highs".
The warning comes after figures released to The Herald recorded rises in seizures of crack cocaine, heroin and mephedrone.
Seizures of mephedrone – known locally by its street name "bubble"– have gone from 4,646 grams between April 2011 and March 2012 to 5,405 grams between April 2012 and March 2013. The former legal high was banned in 2010.
Crack cocaine seizures have gone from 1.3 grams over the same time period to 111.8 grams while Ecstasy or MDMA rose from 119 grams to 420 grams.
Amphetamine seizures have dropped from 124 kilos – accounted for mainly by just one seizure – to just 49.9 kilos.
GBL – gammabutyrolactone – has rocketed from no seizures at all during 2011/12 to 1,000 liquid mls during 2012/13.
The drug – nicknamed "coma in a bottle"– is an addictive depressant used for its euphoric and sleep inducing effects. Police say the large rise was accounted for by one seizure in Plymouth in August 2012.
Drug officers said more than half of the crack cocaine seizures came about from one bust, which occurred in February this year when a London man – Daniel Belle – was arrested in Citadel Road. A search of a nearby property on the Hoe resulted in the discovery of around 300 "wraps" of the class A drug. Belle, of Ladbrook Grove, pleaded guilty on June 19 at Plymouth Magistrates Court and will be sentenced on July 19 at Plymouth Crown Court for dealing crack cocaine and heroin.
The main drug seized over the past year – and the year before – was herbal cannabis, with it making up 55 percent of all seizures between 2012/13 and 54.1 percent in 2011/12.
Police said that while there had been an 87.7 percent rise in the number of seizures of cocaine, which included crack, there had been physically less of the class A drug taken off dealers and users, dropping from 8.2 kg to 1.5 kg.
Plymouth police currently does not have a Drug Liaison Officer (DLO), following the recent retirement of Det Con Stuart Payne.
However, former DLO, Det Con Ken Ord, said: "Using drugs can cause users serious health problems as unlike manufactured drugs the contents and strengths are not controlled or known.
"This can also be said of the new psychoactive substances – known as "legal highs"– some of which tested recently have been shown to contained drugs that are illegal to possess.
"We will continue to fight to take drugs off the street and we're always grateful for any information from members of the public which we will act on as promptly as we can.
"It's a long process but there is a core aim behind it, the ongoing battle is to put commercial dealers out of action and making our communities a better place to live."
Det Sgt Mark Newnham of the Financial Investigation Unit said police had serious concerns over new "legal highs", particularly following two tragic deaths over the past year.
He noted how the city's coroner had raised the issue following the death of 20-year-old student Grant Mace whose body was found by an MoD police launch on Sunday March 4 last year in water off the Hoe near the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club. He had drowned. At his inquest coroner Ian Arrow noted how Grant had taken Methoxetamine prior to his death. The drug – which was legal at the time – is also known as mexxy or MXE.
Following advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, the Home Office made methoxetamine illegal on April 5, 2012, just four weeks after Grant's death.
Det Sgt Newnham also highlighted the death of Andrew Dan, who suffered fatal injuries after falling 40ft from a third-floor flat at Tavy House, Devonport, on January 21 this year.
Detectives investigating his death recently made two arrests and told The Herald Mr Dan had taken 'legal highs' in the lead-up to his death.
The government announced a year-long ban on two more "legal highs" earlier this month – NMOMe and Benzo Fury – while drugs experts assess their impact. However, Det Sgt Newnham said other "legal highs" would inevitably take their place, despite the dangers. He said: "People do not have a clue what they are taking. They don't know what they are made from and what the effects may be. Some of the side effects are so extreme they have contributed to the deaths of two people in the city."
"The people who supply these drugs don't care about the consequences of their actions, they are doing it purely to line their own pockets with cash." Reported by This is 10 hours ago.
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New measures to stop children buying alcohol
This is Devon --
FURTHER test purchases are likely to be carried out in licensed premises following an operation that led to one store losing the right to sell booze.
But bar bosses have been told that during the crack-down, in the early months of this year, youngsters recruited by licensing chiefs were allowed to lie about their age for the first time, setting a precedent.
Prior to the operation, if test purchasers were asked their age they had to be truthful.
Police and Plymouth City Council officers approved the change because they felt the no-lying policy did not test the robustness of premises' underage-drinking regime. They are keen that bar and shop staff check ID details thoroughly before serving young people.
David Hughes, a licensing officer at Plymouth City Council, told bar bosses at this month's Plymouth Licensing Forum that the test purchasing crackdown took place between February and April, and covered age-restricted items, such as knives, in addition to alcohol.
He said operations, led by the council and police, were set up to test "the robustness" of premises' efforts to test attempts by underage children to access alcohol, and whether management impressed the importance on staff.
He said: "Historically we have taken the view that (the children test purchasers) should not lie – this time we took the view that they could."
Mr Hughes also said that it was also decided that girls could wear make-up to "make themselves look older" when trying to buy liquor in a test purchase.
He said 16 on- and off-licence premises were tested – and 11 failed.
These were notified on the night of the test and received letters too before being re-tested.
Three "persistent failures" not only served a test purchaser during a second visit – but on a third one, too.
One of these – The Corner Shop, at 81 North Hill – appeared before the councils' licensing committee last month when it had its alcohol license revoked.
Mr Hughes told the Forum that if any premises failed a test purchase they would be "targeted again".
He stressed that most premises that failed during this year's sting operations had made improvements.
However he urged them to ensure bar staff remain vigilant, even if ages and ID documents are checked at the door of a pub or club, adding that "bar sellers will carry the can" if alcohol is sold to an underage child.
Following the meeting, Mr Hughes told The Herald that the other two premises which had failed a third test "would be dealt with".
He said that while further stings were not ongoing at the moment he said: "I'm sure there will be more, at some stage."
Meanwhile, Mick McDonnell, chairman of Best Bar None Plymouth, said the organisation would carry out its own test-purchasing – but using youngsters aged over 18.
This, he stressed, would not result in any offence being committed by bars, but would help them by "testing age verification policies". Reported by This is 10 hours ago.
FURTHER test purchases are likely to be carried out in licensed premises following an operation that led to one store losing the right to sell booze.
But bar bosses have been told that during the crack-down, in the early months of this year, youngsters recruited by licensing chiefs were allowed to lie about their age for the first time, setting a precedent.
Prior to the operation, if test purchasers were asked their age they had to be truthful.
Police and Plymouth City Council officers approved the change because they felt the no-lying policy did not test the robustness of premises' underage-drinking regime. They are keen that bar and shop staff check ID details thoroughly before serving young people.
David Hughes, a licensing officer at Plymouth City Council, told bar bosses at this month's Plymouth Licensing Forum that the test purchasing crackdown took place between February and April, and covered age-restricted items, such as knives, in addition to alcohol.
He said operations, led by the council and police, were set up to test "the robustness" of premises' efforts to test attempts by underage children to access alcohol, and whether management impressed the importance on staff.
He said: "Historically we have taken the view that (the children test purchasers) should not lie – this time we took the view that they could."
Mr Hughes also said that it was also decided that girls could wear make-up to "make themselves look older" when trying to buy liquor in a test purchase.
He said 16 on- and off-licence premises were tested – and 11 failed.
These were notified on the night of the test and received letters too before being re-tested.
Three "persistent failures" not only served a test purchaser during a second visit – but on a third one, too.
One of these – The Corner Shop, at 81 North Hill – appeared before the councils' licensing committee last month when it had its alcohol license revoked.
Mr Hughes told the Forum that if any premises failed a test purchase they would be "targeted again".
He stressed that most premises that failed during this year's sting operations had made improvements.
However he urged them to ensure bar staff remain vigilant, even if ages and ID documents are checked at the door of a pub or club, adding that "bar sellers will carry the can" if alcohol is sold to an underage child.
Following the meeting, Mr Hughes told The Herald that the other two premises which had failed a third test "would be dealt with".
He said that while further stings were not ongoing at the moment he said: "I'm sure there will be more, at some stage."
Meanwhile, Mick McDonnell, chairman of Best Bar None Plymouth, said the organisation would carry out its own test-purchasing – but using youngsters aged over 18.
This, he stressed, would not result in any offence being committed by bars, but would help them by "testing age verification policies". Reported by This is 10 hours ago.
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Julia Gillard: opponents move against Australian prime minister
Members of governing Labor party who want to reinstate Kevin Rudd gather signatures to force the matter to a vote
Three months out from a general election and in the last sitting week of parliament, Australia's embattled prime minister, Julia Gillard, is facing a petition from members of her own party to oust her from office.
It follows months of speculation about her leadership and several dire opinion polls, the results of which, if repeated on election day in September, would deliver a crushing defeat to the governing Labor party.
The petition, being circulated by supporters of Kevin Rudd - the man she ousted as prime minister three years ago this week – calls for a special meeting of Labor parliamentarians, known as the caucus, where a leadership ballot could take place.
There have been weeks of intensive leadership speculation during which Rudd supporters have openly campaigned against the prime minister. Throughout, Gillard has made it clear that she will not stand down. While the petition was being circulated, she answered questions in parliament. "I can assure the Australian people that as the prime minister I am getting on the job," she told MPs.
Thirty-five signatures out of a caucus of 102 are needed on the petition to force a meeting.
For observers of Australian politics it is a case of deja vu all over again, with leadership tension dogging Gillard – the country's first female prime minister - for the entire duration of this hung parliament.
In February last year Kevin Rudd was resoundingly defeated by Gillard 71 to 31 in a caucus ballot and went to the backbench.
In March this year Gillard called another leadership "spill"– effectively declaring her role and the office of prime minister open – after one of her most senior cabinet ministers withdrew his support and called for the party to clear the air over leadership once and for all.
But instead of challenging Rudd astounded observers by refusing to run against her. Ten minutes before the vote was due to take place Rudd said the only way he would return as prime minister was if an overwhelming majority of Labor party MPs drafted him and if the position was vacant. Neither condition had been met.
Despite then asserting that he could not see any circumstances in which he would lead the Labor party in the future, his supporters continued to brief against Gillard and the soap opera continued, culminating in Wednesday's petition.
It's not clear if or when a vote will actually take place. If it does and there is a change of leadership, a number of options would then arise, including the possibility of an early election if the independent MPs who hold the balance of power in parliament refuse to support a new Labor prime minister.
Rudd himself had not declared whether he would mount a challenge – he is due to travel to China on Friday. Reported by guardian.co.uk 10 hours ago.
Three months out from a general election and in the last sitting week of parliament, Australia's embattled prime minister, Julia Gillard, is facing a petition from members of her own party to oust her from office.
It follows months of speculation about her leadership and several dire opinion polls, the results of which, if repeated on election day in September, would deliver a crushing defeat to the governing Labor party.
The petition, being circulated by supporters of Kevin Rudd - the man she ousted as prime minister three years ago this week – calls for a special meeting of Labor parliamentarians, known as the caucus, where a leadership ballot could take place.
There have been weeks of intensive leadership speculation during which Rudd supporters have openly campaigned against the prime minister. Throughout, Gillard has made it clear that she will not stand down. While the petition was being circulated, she answered questions in parliament. "I can assure the Australian people that as the prime minister I am getting on the job," she told MPs.
Thirty-five signatures out of a caucus of 102 are needed on the petition to force a meeting.
For observers of Australian politics it is a case of deja vu all over again, with leadership tension dogging Gillard – the country's first female prime minister - for the entire duration of this hung parliament.
In February last year Kevin Rudd was resoundingly defeated by Gillard 71 to 31 in a caucus ballot and went to the backbench.
In March this year Gillard called another leadership "spill"– effectively declaring her role and the office of prime minister open – after one of her most senior cabinet ministers withdrew his support and called for the party to clear the air over leadership once and for all.
But instead of challenging Rudd astounded observers by refusing to run against her. Ten minutes before the vote was due to take place Rudd said the only way he would return as prime minister was if an overwhelming majority of Labor party MPs drafted him and if the position was vacant. Neither condition had been met.
Despite then asserting that he could not see any circumstances in which he would lead the Labor party in the future, his supporters continued to brief against Gillard and the soap opera continued, culminating in Wednesday's petition.
It's not clear if or when a vote will actually take place. If it does and there is a change of leadership, a number of options would then arise, including the possibility of an early election if the independent MPs who hold the balance of power in parliament refuse to support a new Labor prime minister.
Rudd himself had not declared whether he would mount a challenge – he is due to travel to China on Friday. Reported by guardian.co.uk 10 hours ago.
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Drugs gang feel full force of the law in sentencing
This is Cornwall --A GANG from Newquay were sentenced to almost 50 years in jail last week for their role in a criminal network which tried to "flood" Cornwall with cocaine and cannabis.
The group formed part of a larger network of 21 people who had fallen foul of the biggest police sting operation in the duchy's history, carried out between October 2010 and June 2011.
Operating alongside another group from Falmouth, and contacts in the North, West Midlands and South East, they were responsible for trafficking drugs into Cornwall.
Collectively, the network was responsible for trying to bring in cocaine, cannabis and amphetamines with a street value of £880,000.
In some cases the cocaine was adulterated to such an extent that less than 15 per cent of it was the drug it was marketed as when it hit the streets.
Matthew Bird, with brothers Samual and Joseph Tucker, played a central role in organising the gang's activities and the movements of couriers on drugs runs in the county and North.
But they were foiled by a lengthy police investigation, titled Operation Ipanema, that spanned nine months, involving surveillance, mobile phone analysis, CCTV footage, police chases and roadside arrests.
Standing before Judge John Neligan in the dock throughout last week each gang member heard the same message upon sentencing.
"This behaviour would have provided many with the opportunity to become addicted to cocaine or to have fed their addiction," he said.
"This in turn, in many cases, leads to loss of health and a general downward spiral, which many addicts find difficult to recover from and in the future lead some to commit crime in order to support their addictive habit.
"Also a very huge profit may be made on this at the very top of the organisational chain, doubtless getting a larger share than those near to or at the bottom."
Each defendant told the court their own story of how they became embroiled in the conspiracy.
There were those who claimed it was to support an alcohol or gambling addiction, others to pay off debts, sometimes to the gang members themselves, others more frankly admitted they were in it just to make money.
Matthew Bird received 12 years for his part in the conspiracy. His defence lawyer Michael Gregson told the court how he had spent a lot of his ill-gotten gains on his wedding, adding how a lack of work had caused the father of three to succumb to the temptation.
His co-conspirators, Joseph and Samual Tucker, received ten and a half and nine years respectively. For the defence, Barrie Van Den Berg said Joseph Tucker thought he was "going to die" after he was diagnosed with cancer in November 2010, causing him to want to provide for his family.
Matthew Bird's father Anthony, who had made eight identical trips to Manchester under Samual Tucker's direction, being caught on one occasion with £180,000 cocaine, received six years.
Other couriers Ian Smith, Brian Callaghan and Michelle Mageean received six years, five years and a nine-month suspended sentence for their roles.
Sarah Morgan, who lived in St Dennis at the time, also received a six-month suspended sentence.
Roy Jones, of Porhan Green, who headed the Falmouth and Penryn gang, was dealt a 13-year sentence for being involved in five conspiracies to supply cocaine and cannabis – his half-brother Michael Dean Thom, also of Porhan Green, was given five years.
Speaking outside of court, David Dale, detective inspector of the serious and organised investigation team (SOCIT), said of the men: "They are major suppliers of drugs, who have made substantial amounts of money; hundreds of thousands of pounds in profits that they made and they have been living a pleasant lifestyle.
"These people have contempt for everybody else; they don't care about their neighbours, they don't care about other people because they are going to take money off them. They just see them as cash cows they can take money off.
"If you operate within Cornwall and you are a substantial drug dealer, we will locate you, we will arrest you and we will prosecute you.
"Every single person we target will be prosecuted. If you bring drugs into Cornwall, we won't just prosecute the people in Cornwall we will go after you as well."
The court heard how the level of the gang's involvement was highlighted by the continued activity despite some being released on bail.
Detective Constable Chris Louca, who was highly commended by Judge Neligan for his handling of the case, said outside court that he was pleased with the sentences.
He added that although historically the West Country may be viewed as an easy target for drugs gangs, with cases like this, that was beginning to change.
He said: "Sentences are, and should act as, a deterrent to whoever may wish to follow in their suit. With recent operations, Devon and Cornwall is now going to begin to get a reputation for being a tough place to go and try traffic drugs.
"I think what we've shown, especially with this job is that we don't just look at our criminals who are trafficking the drugs into Cornwall, we actually look at who is supplying them in bulk quantities and wherever and whenever possible we will identify them and also bring them to justice."
A further man, John Patrick Kennedy, of Stonleigh Pavilions, Bryan Road, Huddersfield, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis and possession with intent to supply cocaine and is awaiting sentencing.
Rob Andrew, from the Newquay Safe Group, told the Cornish Guardian this week: "I think drugs are an issue across the whole country and across the whole of Cornwall, concentrated in the towns and cities where there are more young people, so I am not surprised Newquay had some.
"If caught, you find yourself serving a long term in prison, so it certainly helps."
*Sentences* Newquay crime group Anthony Bird, Trenance Avenue, Newquay – 6 years Matthew Bird, Dale Road, Newquay – 12 years Sarah Morgan, Trelawney Road, Newquay – 6 months (suspended for one year) Ian Smith, Polwhele Road, Newquay – 6 years Samual Tucker, Pendragon Crescent, Newquay – 9 years Joseph Tucker, Tamarisk Lane, Newquay – 10.5 years Brian Callaghan, Bay View Terrace, Newquay – 5 years Michelle Mageean, Bosworgie Close, St Columb – 9 months (suspended for one year) Falmouth crime group Michael Dean Thom, Broad Street, Penryn – 5 years Jack Clark, Boslowick Road, Falmouth – 4 years Andrew Christopher Smith, Falmouth– 2.5 years Jon Hughes, Brookwood Lye Road, Brookwood, Woking – 6 months (to run consecutively to current sentence) Roy Jones, River View, Polsetho, Penryn – 13 years Roy Wilks, Swanpool Street, Falmouth – 5 years William Mason, Carminowe, Man Road, Ashton, Helston – 3.5 years Michael George Thom, Laburnum Close, Falmouth – 2.5 years Northern/Surrey connection Ian Singleton, Woodlands Close, Broadbottom, Hyde – 10 years Jason Carter, Marston Close, Ashton-under-Lyne – 8 years John Fullard, Dukinfield Road, Hyde park – 5 years Kevin Waller, Allen Street, Maidstone, Kent – 6 years *Timeline of crime: How events unfolded as police captured drugs gang* October 13, 2010: Andrew Bird pulled over travelling southbound on M5 in Devon. A search of his van reveals 4kg of cocaine with a street value of £180,000. Later, a biscuit tin containing 1.4kg of benzocaine, a cutting agent, is seized from his home. October 29, 2010: Roy Jones' Mercedes ML is seen on CCTV in Birmingham city centre. The car is pulled over near Launceston on its way back to Cornwall, with Michael Dean Thom and Jones inside, along with a passport belonging to Jack Clark. Mobile phone records show the trio made a trip to the West Midlands from Falmouth earlier that day. Clark is spotted at Birmingham New Street station catching a train for Plymouth. More mobile phone evidence shows the three met up again in the early hours of the morning in Cornwall. November 13, 2010: Jack Clark travels to Liverpool Lime Street station from Cornwall, in contact with Roy Jones and a man from Birkenhead, known as Riley. CCTV footage shows him exit the station with a seemingly empty Nike holdall over his arm. He is spotted 50 minutes later at Hamilton Square Railway Station, Birkenhead, with a now much heavier holdall. More mobile phone analysis shows Jones and Riley had also been in contact on November 1 with Jon Hughes, who had driven a car from Falmouth to Birkenhead that same day. November 30, 2010: Andrew Smith is pulled over on the M5 with £85,000 of cannabis and 120g of cocaine. He had been observed in the Huddersfield area earlier that day picking up a black holdall from another male. January 11, 2011: William Mason is pulled over near Helston carrying £135,000 worth of amphetamine and cocaine. A search of his home nearby reveals cannabis cultivation worth of £100,000. Fingerprints were found on the cannabis packaging from Roy Wilks. Mobile phone analysis shows Wilks and Roy Jones had been in contact with Mason as he drove to Sunbury-on-Thames that day. CCTV from the Hare & Hounds pub showed him meeting an unknown male. The CCTV also revealed that he, Jones, Wilks and Kevin Waller had met in the pub the week before for 20 minutes. February 3, 2011: Matthew Bird and Sarah Morgan were arrested outside her home in St Dennis. A search of Morgan's home reveals two separate bundles of cash worth £4,500. Joseph Tucker is spotted at Whitecross later that day for a meeting with Jason Carter. Both men are arrested and a search of Tucker revealed cocaine with a street value of £90,000. Carter's address and vehicle in Manchester were discovered to contain an assortment of drugs worth more than £100,000. February 25, 2011: Ian Smith is pulled over on M5 in Devon with £40,000 in cocaine in the boot of his car. It is later established he made a trip to the Broadbottom area of Manchester before travelling to Coventry on February 23. March 21, 2011: Matthew Bird, Roy Jones and Michael Dean Thom are spotted meeting outside his home in Newquay. A search and arrest of the men discovers £7,000 in cash and a machine press in the boot. March 31, 2011: Samual Tucker meets with Michael George Thom in the car park of the County Arms in Truro. Michael George Thom is pulled over with £6,640 in cash a short distance away. May 23, 2011: Joseph Tucker is witnessed meeting with Ian Singleton at Knutsford Services. June 8, 2011: Brian Callaghan and Michelle Mageean are seen meeting with John Fullard from Manchester at the Premier Inn at Quintrell Downs. Mobile phone data shows that Joseph Tucker had been in contact with Callaghan and Mageean and Fullard with Ian Singleton. Reported by This is 9 hours ago.
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India has addressed shortfalls in its black money fight: FATF
*In a major boost to measures being taken by India against money laundering and terror financing activities, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) today said the country has substantially addressed the deficiencies in its regulatory framework and has become largely compliant with global standards in this regard.*
FATF is an inter-governmental body that sets standards, and develops and promotes policies to combat money laundering and terrorist financing for countries across the world.
With a substantial improvement in Indias regulatory provisions, FATF has also decided to remove the country from its regular follow-up process for determining its compliance to for anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations.
The move would help India get greater support from international authorities in its fight against black money and check the illicit flow of funds from and to the country.
In its latest report on India, FATF said it has "recognised that India had made significant progress in addressing deficiencies identified in its mutual evaluation report (of June 2010) and decided that the country should be removed from the regular follow-up process".
India was earlier placed in the regular follow-up process for mutual evaluation purposes because of partially compliant (PC) ratings on certain core and key Recommendations.
"Since the publication of the mutual evaluation report (in June 2010), India has been reporting back to the FATF on a regular basis on the progress made in the implementation of its Action Plan to strengthen India's AML/CFT System.
"India has made significant progress with regard to the implementation of this action plan," FATF said.
Among various improvements in the past three years, India has rectified "nearly all of the technical deficiencies identified with respect to the criminalisation of money laundering and terrorist financing and the implementation of effective confiscation and provisional measures".
Besides, India has substantially addressed the technical deficiencies identified in relation to customer due diligence and other preventive measures, FATF said.
It said India has also further enhanced "its outreach programme to provide guidance to the financial sector on the suspicious transaction reporting obligations and engaging in extensive compliance monitoring, and as brought several of the Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs) within the scope of its preventive AML/CFT measures.
"At its June, 2013 Plenary meeting, the FATF decided that India had reached a satisfactory level of compliance with all of the core and key Recommendations and could be removed from the regular follow-up process," the international body said.
India became a member of FATF in 2010, the same year when it was placed under the regular follow-up process for its compliance to various global standards.
Since then, India submitted seven follow-up reports to FATF regarding the progress
made in its regulatory framework.
In February, while submitting its seventh such report, it also said it would report to the FATF Plenary again in June, 2013 regarding additional steps taken by it to remove the deficiencies to get it removed from the regular follow-up.
FATF said all the financial sector regulators in the country have amended their inspection procedures to give much greater emphasis to AML/CFT in the routine examination programme.
Besides, AML/CFT compliance monitoring has been introduced for the first time for India Posts financial services business and the inspection programme commenced in April, 2011.
"With respect to the suspicious transactions reporting regime, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has further enhanced its outreach programme to provide guidance to the financial sector on their reporting obligations, and has engaged in extensive compliance monitoring.
"The result has been a significant increase in the number of STRs filed both with respect to money laundering and terror financing, without any evidence that this constitutes defensive reporting.
Approximately two-thirds of the STRs received," it added.
Besides, various designated non-financial businesses and professions (DNFBPs) have been brought within the scope of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), such as casinos; real estate agents, sub-registrars in charge of registering property; dealers in precious metals/stones; dealers in high-value goods; and safe deposit keepers.
"No immediate action is currently planned with respect to lawyers and accountants, who the authorities consider to pose a low risk for money laundering on the basis of two risk assessments that have been undertaken.
"However, the amendments to the PMLA contain a provision that will allow additional DNFBPs under the PMLA at a later stage," FATF said.
India also established four inter-agency committees to review the steps needed to respond to the concerns previously raised by FATF -- The AML/CFT Regulatory Framework Assessment Committee, The Casino Sector Assessment Committee (CSAC), The Beneficial Ownership Assessment Committee (BOAC) and The Non Profit Organisations Sector Assessment Committee (NPOC). Reported by Deccan Herald 9 hours ago.
FATF is an inter-governmental body that sets standards, and develops and promotes policies to combat money laundering and terrorist financing for countries across the world.
With a substantial improvement in Indias regulatory provisions, FATF has also decided to remove the country from its regular follow-up process for determining its compliance to for anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations.
The move would help India get greater support from international authorities in its fight against black money and check the illicit flow of funds from and to the country.
In its latest report on India, FATF said it has "recognised that India had made significant progress in addressing deficiencies identified in its mutual evaluation report (of June 2010) and decided that the country should be removed from the regular follow-up process".
India was earlier placed in the regular follow-up process for mutual evaluation purposes because of partially compliant (PC) ratings on certain core and key Recommendations.
"Since the publication of the mutual evaluation report (in June 2010), India has been reporting back to the FATF on a regular basis on the progress made in the implementation of its Action Plan to strengthen India's AML/CFT System.
"India has made significant progress with regard to the implementation of this action plan," FATF said.
Among various improvements in the past three years, India has rectified "nearly all of the technical deficiencies identified with respect to the criminalisation of money laundering and terrorist financing and the implementation of effective confiscation and provisional measures".
Besides, India has substantially addressed the technical deficiencies identified in relation to customer due diligence and other preventive measures, FATF said.
It said India has also further enhanced "its outreach programme to provide guidance to the financial sector on the suspicious transaction reporting obligations and engaging in extensive compliance monitoring, and as brought several of the Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs) within the scope of its preventive AML/CFT measures.
"At its June, 2013 Plenary meeting, the FATF decided that India had reached a satisfactory level of compliance with all of the core and key Recommendations and could be removed from the regular follow-up process," the international body said.
India became a member of FATF in 2010, the same year when it was placed under the regular follow-up process for its compliance to various global standards.
Since then, India submitted seven follow-up reports to FATF regarding the progress
made in its regulatory framework.
In February, while submitting its seventh such report, it also said it would report to the FATF Plenary again in June, 2013 regarding additional steps taken by it to remove the deficiencies to get it removed from the regular follow-up.
FATF said all the financial sector regulators in the country have amended their inspection procedures to give much greater emphasis to AML/CFT in the routine examination programme.
Besides, AML/CFT compliance monitoring has been introduced for the first time for India Posts financial services business and the inspection programme commenced in April, 2011.
"With respect to the suspicious transactions reporting regime, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has further enhanced its outreach programme to provide guidance to the financial sector on their reporting obligations, and has engaged in extensive compliance monitoring.
"The result has been a significant increase in the number of STRs filed both with respect to money laundering and terror financing, without any evidence that this constitutes defensive reporting.
Approximately two-thirds of the STRs received," it added.
Besides, various designated non-financial businesses and professions (DNFBPs) have been brought within the scope of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), such as casinos; real estate agents, sub-registrars in charge of registering property; dealers in precious metals/stones; dealers in high-value goods; and safe deposit keepers.
"No immediate action is currently planned with respect to lawyers and accountants, who the authorities consider to pose a low risk for money laundering on the basis of two risk assessments that have been undertaken.
"However, the amendments to the PMLA contain a provision that will allow additional DNFBPs under the PMLA at a later stage," FATF said.
India also established four inter-agency committees to review the steps needed to respond to the concerns previously raised by FATF -- The AML/CFT Regulatory Framework Assessment Committee, The Casino Sector Assessment Committee (CSAC), The Beneficial Ownership Assessment Committee (BOAC) and The Non Profit Organisations Sector Assessment Committee (NPOC). Reported by Deccan Herald 9 hours ago.
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Priest to Pelosi: Denounce Abortion or Renounce Catholicism
Former House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi has been outspoken over the years in her support for abortion, or as she calls it, “reproductive health.”
At the same time, she has been outspoken about her Roman Catholicism, to the point of kissing Pope Benedict XVI’s ring and presenting herself for Communion during the Inaugural Mass for Pope Francis.
Like her fellow attendee at that Mass—Vice-President Joe Biden, also a publicly professed Catholic and abortion supporter—she hasn’t let the fact that the Church does not, and never has, sanctioned abortion, and considers receiving or formally participating in an abortion to be a mortal sin, deter her on either front.
To be clear, the Catholic Church views taking Communion as a grave matter, and urges anyone who has knowingly committed a mortal sin to abstain until they have repented, confessed, and received absolution for that sin. Since it’s unlikely that any priest present is a mind-reader, it’s up to the communicant to know whether or not he or she is in a state of grace and act accordingly.
But, regarding the trial of abortionist Kermit Gosnell—now in prison for life for first-degree murder in the deaths of three late-term babies born alive after attempted abortions—Pelosi said it was “really disgusting, and when we talk about women’s reproductive health, that’s not what we’re talking about.”
On Thursday, June 13, during a press briefing, John McCormack of The Weekly Standard asked Pelosi how she could reconcile that stand with her opposition for the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which sought to prohibit abortions during the last four months of pregnancy (with an exception for saving the life of the mother). The bipartisan bill recently passed the House of Representatives with a vote of 228 to 196.
Pelosi bristled at the question, saying there was a difference between what Gosnell did and what the bill was calling for. McCormack pressed her again, asking, “What’s the moral difference?” between a successful late-term abortion and delivering an infant alive and then killing it.
“This is not the issue,” said Pelosi. “They are saying that there’s no abortion. It would make it a federal law that there would be no abortion in this country.”
Obviously, the bill was only addressing abortions after 20 weeks, not all abortions. But at least to this point, Pelosi was consistent in her support of abortion on demand, which is the majority view of her party, at least on the national level.
Pelosi went on to say, “As a practicing and respectful Catholic, this is sacred ground to me when we talk about this. This shouldn’t have anything to do with politics.”
So, Pelosi cited her Roman Catholic faith—which expressly forbids abortion—to claim that the right to an abortion is “sacred ground” to her. Well, it may be, to her, but that is the precise reverse of the way the Church views the issue.
This was too much for Father Frank Pavone, the national director of Priests for Life, who, on June 18, penned an open letter to Pelosi on the subject. He cited a visit he and members of his staff made to Pelosi’s office “several years ago” with diagrams depicting a 23-week abortion.
He wrote, “When asked the simple question, ‘When you say the word “abortion,” is this what you mean?’ In response, nothing but silence has emanated from your office.”
Regarding Pelosi’s reference to her faith and “sacred ground,” Pavone wrote:
With this statement, you make a mockery of the Catholic faith and of the tens of millions of Americans who consider themselves ‘practicing and respectful Catholics’ and who find the killing of children -- whether inside or outside the womb—reprehensible.
You speak here of Catholic faith as if it is supposed to hide us from reality instead of lead us to face reality, as if it is supposed to confuse basic moral truths instead of clarify them, and as if it is supposed to help us escape the hard moral questions of life rather than help us confront them.
Whatever Catholic faith you claim to respect and practice, it is not the faith that the Catholic Church teaches. And I speak for countless Catholics when I say that it's time for you to stop speaking as if it were.
Abortion is not sacred ground; it is sacrilegious ground. To imagine God giving the slightest approval to an act that dismembers a child he created is offensive to both faith and reason.
He concluded, “Either exercise your duties as a public servant and a Catholic, or have the honesty to formally renounce them.”
The Priests for Life Website allows readers of the letter to send the letter—along with any revisions or edits they might like—to Pelosi’s office.
Asserting that all Catholics sin and “fall short in practice,” hence the need for confession, Pavone challenged Pelosi, saying, “If you say you believe this, then believe it, otherwise be honest and say, ‘No, I can’t believe what the Church believes.’”
This might prove tough with Pelosi, who seems to have little difficulty navigating the cognitive dissonance of at once claiming to practice the Roman Catholicism and appearing to have her own personal definition of what that means.
This is despite her private meeting with then-Pope Benedict XVI in February 2009, which inspired the Vatican to release this official statement regarding their conversation:
His Holiness took the opportunity to speak of the requirements of the natural moral law and the Church's consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death which enjoin all Catholics, and especially legislators, jurists and those responsible for the common good of society, to work in cooperation with all men and women of good will in creating a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development.
Nothing seems to have changed. On June 24, in an interview with Think Progress, Pelosi responded to Pavone, saying:
My faith is very deep and has been my whole life. I love my faith and my faith has nothing to do with whoever he is. The arrogance of it all! It’s like something ancient, medieval…
The Church taught me as I was growing up that every person has a free will and has the responsibility to live up to a moral standard. And I respect women’s judgment and values to do that. Whether this priest thinks his judgment should be another woman’s judgment is absolutely ridiculous to me. But nonetheless it’s what they say. I grant the Church where they are on abortion. That’s where they are, that’s where they have to be. But my faith isn’t about what their position is.
My faith is about, Christ is my savior, the Church is His Church, and has nothing to do with Priests for Life… I wouldn’t even dignify whatever it is they said. It was a highly emotional statement that they made. If it were more intellectual I might have paid attention to it. He was acting hysterically.
According to Pelosi, she loves her faith and Church, and yet what that Church teaches doesn’t affect what she thinks or believes. But she kisses one pope’s ring and takes Communion in front of another. One might call this principled opposition or religious confusion or political calculation or outright hypocrisy.
Only Pelosi—and according to her, Christ—knows for sure.
Reported by Breitbart 9 hours ago.
At the same time, she has been outspoken about her Roman Catholicism, to the point of kissing Pope Benedict XVI’s ring and presenting herself for Communion during the Inaugural Mass for Pope Francis.
Like her fellow attendee at that Mass—Vice-President Joe Biden, also a publicly professed Catholic and abortion supporter—she hasn’t let the fact that the Church does not, and never has, sanctioned abortion, and considers receiving or formally participating in an abortion to be a mortal sin, deter her on either front.
To be clear, the Catholic Church views taking Communion as a grave matter, and urges anyone who has knowingly committed a mortal sin to abstain until they have repented, confessed, and received absolution for that sin. Since it’s unlikely that any priest present is a mind-reader, it’s up to the communicant to know whether or not he or she is in a state of grace and act accordingly.
But, regarding the trial of abortionist Kermit Gosnell—now in prison for life for first-degree murder in the deaths of three late-term babies born alive after attempted abortions—Pelosi said it was “really disgusting, and when we talk about women’s reproductive health, that’s not what we’re talking about.”
On Thursday, June 13, during a press briefing, John McCormack of The Weekly Standard asked Pelosi how she could reconcile that stand with her opposition for the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which sought to prohibit abortions during the last four months of pregnancy (with an exception for saving the life of the mother). The bipartisan bill recently passed the House of Representatives with a vote of 228 to 196.
Pelosi bristled at the question, saying there was a difference between what Gosnell did and what the bill was calling for. McCormack pressed her again, asking, “What’s the moral difference?” between a successful late-term abortion and delivering an infant alive and then killing it.
“This is not the issue,” said Pelosi. “They are saying that there’s no abortion. It would make it a federal law that there would be no abortion in this country.”
Obviously, the bill was only addressing abortions after 20 weeks, not all abortions. But at least to this point, Pelosi was consistent in her support of abortion on demand, which is the majority view of her party, at least on the national level.
Pelosi went on to say, “As a practicing and respectful Catholic, this is sacred ground to me when we talk about this. This shouldn’t have anything to do with politics.”
So, Pelosi cited her Roman Catholic faith—which expressly forbids abortion—to claim that the right to an abortion is “sacred ground” to her. Well, it may be, to her, but that is the precise reverse of the way the Church views the issue.
This was too much for Father Frank Pavone, the national director of Priests for Life, who, on June 18, penned an open letter to Pelosi on the subject. He cited a visit he and members of his staff made to Pelosi’s office “several years ago” with diagrams depicting a 23-week abortion.
He wrote, “When asked the simple question, ‘When you say the word “abortion,” is this what you mean?’ In response, nothing but silence has emanated from your office.”
Regarding Pelosi’s reference to her faith and “sacred ground,” Pavone wrote:
With this statement, you make a mockery of the Catholic faith and of the tens of millions of Americans who consider themselves ‘practicing and respectful Catholics’ and who find the killing of children -- whether inside or outside the womb—reprehensible.
You speak here of Catholic faith as if it is supposed to hide us from reality instead of lead us to face reality, as if it is supposed to confuse basic moral truths instead of clarify them, and as if it is supposed to help us escape the hard moral questions of life rather than help us confront them.
Whatever Catholic faith you claim to respect and practice, it is not the faith that the Catholic Church teaches. And I speak for countless Catholics when I say that it's time for you to stop speaking as if it were.
Abortion is not sacred ground; it is sacrilegious ground. To imagine God giving the slightest approval to an act that dismembers a child he created is offensive to both faith and reason.
He concluded, “Either exercise your duties as a public servant and a Catholic, or have the honesty to formally renounce them.”
The Priests for Life Website allows readers of the letter to send the letter—along with any revisions or edits they might like—to Pelosi’s office.
Asserting that all Catholics sin and “fall short in practice,” hence the need for confession, Pavone challenged Pelosi, saying, “If you say you believe this, then believe it, otherwise be honest and say, ‘No, I can’t believe what the Church believes.’”
This might prove tough with Pelosi, who seems to have little difficulty navigating the cognitive dissonance of at once claiming to practice the Roman Catholicism and appearing to have her own personal definition of what that means.
This is despite her private meeting with then-Pope Benedict XVI in February 2009, which inspired the Vatican to release this official statement regarding their conversation:
His Holiness took the opportunity to speak of the requirements of the natural moral law and the Church's consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death which enjoin all Catholics, and especially legislators, jurists and those responsible for the common good of society, to work in cooperation with all men and women of good will in creating a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development.
Nothing seems to have changed. On June 24, in an interview with Think Progress, Pelosi responded to Pavone, saying:
My faith is very deep and has been my whole life. I love my faith and my faith has nothing to do with whoever he is. The arrogance of it all! It’s like something ancient, medieval…
The Church taught me as I was growing up that every person has a free will and has the responsibility to live up to a moral standard. And I respect women’s judgment and values to do that. Whether this priest thinks his judgment should be another woman’s judgment is absolutely ridiculous to me. But nonetheless it’s what they say. I grant the Church where they are on abortion. That’s where they are, that’s where they have to be. But my faith isn’t about what their position is.
My faith is about, Christ is my savior, the Church is His Church, and has nothing to do with Priests for Life… I wouldn’t even dignify whatever it is they said. It was a highly emotional statement that they made. If it were more intellectual I might have paid attention to it. He was acting hysterically.
According to Pelosi, she loves her faith and Church, and yet what that Church teaches doesn’t affect what she thinks or believes. But she kisses one pope’s ring and takes Communion in front of another. One might call this principled opposition or religious confusion or political calculation or outright hypocrisy.
Only Pelosi—and according to her, Christ—knows for sure.
Reported by Breitbart 9 hours ago.
↧
Gold prices drop to near three-year low on U.S. data
*Gold fell to its lowest in nearly three years on Wednesday, pressured by strong U.S. economic data that boosted stock markets and supported the U.S. Federal Reserves plan to scale back its monetary easing measures in the next few months.*
Bullion, now down for a seventh session out of eight, has been sliding since Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke laid out a strategy last Wednesday to wind down the banks $85 billion monthly bond purchases on the back of a recovering economy.
Prices of gold, typically seen as hedge against inflation, have been supported in recent years by central bank steps to support their economies.
Spot gold fell 2 percent to $1,251.50 an ounce by 0413 GMT. Gold for immediate delivery fell to $1,243.94 earlier - its lowest since September 2010.
The metal has now lost 10 percent, or about $140 an ounce, since the beginning of last week.
"Weve pushed past the $1,270 level seen last week. Thats a key technical level so we are going through a whole bunch of stop losses," said Victor Thianpiriya, commodities analyst at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group.
Comex gold and spot silver both fell to their lowest since August 2010.
Strong economic data has prompted the Feds decision to consider a wind-down of bond purchases from later this year and end purchases by mid-2014, raising fears that central banks around the world would pull support.
Data on Tuesday showed U.S. consumer confidence jumped in June to its highest level in more than five years, while sales of new U.S. single-family homes rose to their highest level in nearly five years in May.
*PHYSICAL DEMAND SUBDUED*
When gold fell the most in thirty years in mid-April after 12 annual gains, strong physical demand in Asia helped cap losses.
However, this time around demand has not risen strongly enough to support prices as buyers are waiting on the sidelines for the markets to stabilize.
"In April we had a lot of demand, it made it hard to get hold of bullion," said Gregor Gregersen of Silver Bullion Pte Ltd, a gold and silver dealer in Singapore. "This time, we saw an increase in demand but not the way we saw in April."
Liquidity issues in China have renewed fears of a slowdown in the No. 2 gold consumer.
The Peoples Bank of China has raised concerns of a lasting credit crunch as it tries to curtail a vast informal loan market and shore up growth, although it has sought to allay fears that its tough stance will lead to a banking crisis.
Shanghai gold futures fell nearly 3 percent on Wednesday.
Demand in India, the top gold consumer, has fallen as the government imposes new rules to discourage gold buying in an effort to reduce a record current account deficit.
SPDR Gold Trust, the worlds largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 16.23 tonnes to 969.50 tonnes on Tuesday, to their lowest since February 2009. Reported by Deccan Herald 8 hours ago.
Bullion, now down for a seventh session out of eight, has been sliding since Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke laid out a strategy last Wednesday to wind down the banks $85 billion monthly bond purchases on the back of a recovering economy.
Prices of gold, typically seen as hedge against inflation, have been supported in recent years by central bank steps to support their economies.
Spot gold fell 2 percent to $1,251.50 an ounce by 0413 GMT. Gold for immediate delivery fell to $1,243.94 earlier - its lowest since September 2010.
The metal has now lost 10 percent, or about $140 an ounce, since the beginning of last week.
"Weve pushed past the $1,270 level seen last week. Thats a key technical level so we are going through a whole bunch of stop losses," said Victor Thianpiriya, commodities analyst at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group.
Comex gold and spot silver both fell to their lowest since August 2010.
Strong economic data has prompted the Feds decision to consider a wind-down of bond purchases from later this year and end purchases by mid-2014, raising fears that central banks around the world would pull support.
Data on Tuesday showed U.S. consumer confidence jumped in June to its highest level in more than five years, while sales of new U.S. single-family homes rose to their highest level in nearly five years in May.
*PHYSICAL DEMAND SUBDUED*
When gold fell the most in thirty years in mid-April after 12 annual gains, strong physical demand in Asia helped cap losses.
However, this time around demand has not risen strongly enough to support prices as buyers are waiting on the sidelines for the markets to stabilize.
"In April we had a lot of demand, it made it hard to get hold of bullion," said Gregor Gregersen of Silver Bullion Pte Ltd, a gold and silver dealer in Singapore. "This time, we saw an increase in demand but not the way we saw in April."
Liquidity issues in China have renewed fears of a slowdown in the No. 2 gold consumer.
The Peoples Bank of China has raised concerns of a lasting credit crunch as it tries to curtail a vast informal loan market and shore up growth, although it has sought to allay fears that its tough stance will lead to a banking crisis.
Shanghai gold futures fell nearly 3 percent on Wednesday.
Demand in India, the top gold consumer, has fallen as the government imposes new rules to discourage gold buying in an effort to reduce a record current account deficit.
SPDR Gold Trust, the worlds largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 16.23 tonnes to 969.50 tonnes on Tuesday, to their lowest since February 2009. Reported by Deccan Herald 8 hours ago.
↧
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State Department Releases First Photos of Benghazi Aftermath
Judicial Watch forced The Department of State to release the first seven photos depicting the aftermath of the September 11, 2012, terrorist attacks on U.S. diplomatic and CIA facilities in Benghazi, Libya. The release of the photos on June 6, 2013, was in response to a Freedom of Information (FOIA) lawsuit filed against the State Department on February 25, 2013. These are the first Benghazi photos released by the State Department.
The photos obtained by Judicial Watch seem to depict portions of the so-called “Special Mission Compound” in Benghazi, including what appears to be a burned and ransacked building, at least two burned vehicles, and Arabic graffiti with militant Islamist slogans. You can view the photos here. They are not graphic, but upsetting and stark given that they depict the aftermath of this terrible atrocity against our nation.
Judicial Watch is after far more than these seven photos. Here is the full breadth of what we are seeking pursuant to a FOIA request first filed last December with the State Department:
Any and all videos and photographs depicting U.S. Consulate facilities in Benghazi, Libya (including the Special Mission Compound and the Annex) between September 10, 2012, and September 13, 2012, that were provided to the Accountability Review Board (ARB) for Benghazi and/or to any individual member of the ARB.
Judicial Watch became aware that the documents existed when they were referenced by the ARB in issuing its final report on December 31, 2012. According to ARB Chairman Ambassador Tom Pickering, the Board “reviewed thousands of documents and watched hours of video” during the course of its investigation. The Obama administration also reportedly shared Benghazi videos with certain members of Congress.
We figured if the Obama administration was sharing this material with Congress, the American people should also have the chance to have a look. State Department officials instead attempted to keep these records secret and did not release any photos or videos until we forced them to relent.
While we continue to pursue photo and video evidence of the Benghazi attacks, Judicial Watch has three pending FOIA lawsuits against the Obama administration for documents about the Benghazi attack, 14 FOIA requests and one Mandatory Declassification Review Request.
In a FOIA lawsuit filed against the State Department in February, 2013, Judicial Watch sought access to records concerning a contract totaling nearly $400,000 that was awarded to a foreign firm for “Security Guards and Patrol Services” at the Benghazi Consulate prior to the Benghazi attacks.
Breitbart News previously reported that when first questioned about foreign Benghazi security guards on Friday, September 14, 2012, State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland emphatically denied that State had hired any private firm to provide security at the American mission in Benghazi.
However, on September 17, 2012, WIRED magazine broke the story that Nuland had provided false information in her September 14 press conference, saying: “Contrary to Friday’s claim by State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland that ‘at no time did we contract with a private security firm in Libya,’ the department inked a contract for ‘security guards and patrol services’ on May 3, 2012, for $387,413.68.”
In her daily press briefing on Tuesday, September 18, 2012, Nuland admitted that she had made an “error” concerning the State Department’s hiring of foreign security firms in Benghazi. “There was a group called Blue Mountain Group, which is a private security company with permits to operate in Libya,” Nuland said. Breitbart.com later broke the story that Blue Mountain was specifically selected for the Benghazi security operation because it was willing to sign the State Department Rules of Engagement for Libya prohibiting guards from carrying weapons with live ammunition.
In another FOIA lawsuit filed in February 2013, this one against the Obama Administration’s Office of the Director of National Intelligence, JW seeks access to a controversial “speaking points” memo seeming to suggest that intelligence officials believed from the outset that al Qaeda was behind the attack despite public statements to the contrary issued by Obama administration officials, including UN Ambassador Susan Rice (now Obama’s appointee to serve as National Security Advisor) and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The basis for the FOIA request was confirmed in early May, when an explosive story in the Weekly Standard revealed that, contrary to the Obama administration’s denials, the State Department’s own internal emails explicitly pointed to al Qaeda involvement in the deadly attack.
In an attempt to get beyond the spin coming from the Obama administration, Judicial Watch issued an independent interim report in January on Benghazi entitled “The Benghazi Attack of September 11, 2012: Analysis and Further Questions from a Diplomatic Security Service Regional Security Officer and Special Agent.” The special report relied on the expertise of Raymond Fournier, a recently retired Diplomatic Security Service Special Agent with more than 30 years of experience managing security for a host U.S. embassies, including our posts in Israel and Afghanistan.
We will continue to pressure the administration through FOIA requests and lawsuits to get to the truth behind the Benghazi attack.
Reported by Breitbart 7 hours ago.
The photos obtained by Judicial Watch seem to depict portions of the so-called “Special Mission Compound” in Benghazi, including what appears to be a burned and ransacked building, at least two burned vehicles, and Arabic graffiti with militant Islamist slogans. You can view the photos here. They are not graphic, but upsetting and stark given that they depict the aftermath of this terrible atrocity against our nation.
Judicial Watch is after far more than these seven photos. Here is the full breadth of what we are seeking pursuant to a FOIA request first filed last December with the State Department:
Any and all videos and photographs depicting U.S. Consulate facilities in Benghazi, Libya (including the Special Mission Compound and the Annex) between September 10, 2012, and September 13, 2012, that were provided to the Accountability Review Board (ARB) for Benghazi and/or to any individual member of the ARB.
Judicial Watch became aware that the documents existed when they were referenced by the ARB in issuing its final report on December 31, 2012. According to ARB Chairman Ambassador Tom Pickering, the Board “reviewed thousands of documents and watched hours of video” during the course of its investigation. The Obama administration also reportedly shared Benghazi videos with certain members of Congress.
We figured if the Obama administration was sharing this material with Congress, the American people should also have the chance to have a look. State Department officials instead attempted to keep these records secret and did not release any photos or videos until we forced them to relent.
While we continue to pursue photo and video evidence of the Benghazi attacks, Judicial Watch has three pending FOIA lawsuits against the Obama administration for documents about the Benghazi attack, 14 FOIA requests and one Mandatory Declassification Review Request.
In a FOIA lawsuit filed against the State Department in February, 2013, Judicial Watch sought access to records concerning a contract totaling nearly $400,000 that was awarded to a foreign firm for “Security Guards and Patrol Services” at the Benghazi Consulate prior to the Benghazi attacks.
Breitbart News previously reported that when first questioned about foreign Benghazi security guards on Friday, September 14, 2012, State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland emphatically denied that State had hired any private firm to provide security at the American mission in Benghazi.
However, on September 17, 2012, WIRED magazine broke the story that Nuland had provided false information in her September 14 press conference, saying: “Contrary to Friday’s claim by State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland that ‘at no time did we contract with a private security firm in Libya,’ the department inked a contract for ‘security guards and patrol services’ on May 3, 2012, for $387,413.68.”
In her daily press briefing on Tuesday, September 18, 2012, Nuland admitted that she had made an “error” concerning the State Department’s hiring of foreign security firms in Benghazi. “There was a group called Blue Mountain Group, which is a private security company with permits to operate in Libya,” Nuland said. Breitbart.com later broke the story that Blue Mountain was specifically selected for the Benghazi security operation because it was willing to sign the State Department Rules of Engagement for Libya prohibiting guards from carrying weapons with live ammunition.
In another FOIA lawsuit filed in February 2013, this one against the Obama Administration’s Office of the Director of National Intelligence, JW seeks access to a controversial “speaking points” memo seeming to suggest that intelligence officials believed from the outset that al Qaeda was behind the attack despite public statements to the contrary issued by Obama administration officials, including UN Ambassador Susan Rice (now Obama’s appointee to serve as National Security Advisor) and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The basis for the FOIA request was confirmed in early May, when an explosive story in the Weekly Standard revealed that, contrary to the Obama administration’s denials, the State Department’s own internal emails explicitly pointed to al Qaeda involvement in the deadly attack.
In an attempt to get beyond the spin coming from the Obama administration, Judicial Watch issued an independent interim report in January on Benghazi entitled “The Benghazi Attack of September 11, 2012: Analysis and Further Questions from a Diplomatic Security Service Regional Security Officer and Special Agent.” The special report relied on the expertise of Raymond Fournier, a recently retired Diplomatic Security Service Special Agent with more than 30 years of experience managing security for a host U.S. embassies, including our posts in Israel and Afghanistan.
We will continue to pressure the administration through FOIA requests and lawsuits to get to the truth behind the Benghazi attack.
Reported by Breitbart 7 hours ago.
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Man of Steel does battle with Brad Pitt's zombie apocalypse World War Z
Keeping the walking dead off the top spot and dominating the box office for a second week? That looks like a job for Superman
*The winner*
Topping the chart for a second week in a row, Man of Steel is only the second film this year to reach £20m after just two weekends of play. Les Miserables, the top-grosser for the year with £40.65m, stood at £17.36 at this stage of its run. Iron Man 3 reached £24.57m after two weekends, an 11-day figure. Man of Steel is behind the pace of the summer's top earner, with £21.33m so far. That's already nearly £5m ahead of the lifetime total for Superman Returns, which maxed out here with £16.4m. It's a similar amount ahead of Man of Steel producer Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins, which reached £16.6m in total.
Man of Steel suffered a second-weekend drop of 55%, which compares unfavorably with the 45% that Iron Man 3 fell by. However, it's always tricky making these comparisons. Iron Man 3 faced no new blockbuster competition in its second week of play, since rival distributors were sufficiently intimidated to give the film a wide berth. Man of Steel, in contrast, faced significant competition in the shape of Brad Pitt and a zombie apocalypse.
Star Trek Into Darkness fell 46% in its second weekend of play, a strong performance given the arrival of Fast & Furious 6 and The Great Gatsby. A week later, Fast & Furious 6 dropped 59%, against the challenge of The Hangover Part III.
*The runner-up*
The publicity campaigns for most blockbusters are carefully orchestrated by Hollywood studios, leveraging star appeal and assets to build positive buzz in the run-up to release. In the case of World War Z, the well-publicised delays, reshoots and tensions between director Marc Forster and producer/star Brad Pitt made that process harder to manage. Even Vanity Fair ran a rare unauthorised cover story, detailing the problematic production. Paramount fought back with an aggressive premiere strategy, but ultimately the film would stand or fall on its own merits.
The result – a UK opening of £4.54m – is a happy one for its backers. While by no means among the top openings of the summer season, it's worth considering that the built-in awareness for Max Brooks's novels isn't in the same league as for properties such as Superman, Iron Man, Star Trek and Fast & Furious. And unlike those 12A competitors, World War Z is certificate 15, effectively excluding it from the family audience and young teens.
The World War Z number is also bigger than virtually all Pitt's previous debut figures: Inglourious Basterds, £3.57m including £1.69m in previews; Mr and Mrs Smith, £3.94m including £405,000 in previews; Seven, £2.63m. Troy, with £6.02m for its first weekend of wide play, remains Pitt's biggest opening, but that figure included previews totalling £2.27m. Ocean's Eleven, with £5.10m, opened ahead of World War Z, but that was an ensemble film with George Clooney in the title role, and in any case included previews of £837,000. Strip out all the previews, and World War Z is Pitt's biggest-ever UK debut. The Ocean's sequels both debuted below £4m.
*The invisible success*
Not included in the official chart are Saturday and Sunday previews for Despicable Me 2. The animated sequel fully arrives in cinemas on Friday, and the preview takings will then be added into its official opening-weekend tally, making it a five-day figure. The number is rumoured to be the biggest since Ice Age: Continental Drift added £5.27m of previews into its first weekend of full UK play. However, that was four days of previews for the Ice Age flick, as against just two days for Despicable Me. More next week on what looks set to be a sensational opening for Despicable Me 2.
*The arthouse contender*
While holdover titles The Great Gatsby and especially Behind the Candelabra continue to engage upscale and older audiences, fresh competition arrives in the form of Before Midnight, kicking off with a decent £244,000 from 106 sites. This compares with a debut of £139,000 from 44 screens for its 2004 predecessor Before Sunset, which went on to achieve an impressive £922,000 in total. The original film in the series, 1995's Before Sunrise, reached £458,000 over its lifetime.
Targeting a similarly non-mainstream audience are the British period drama Summer in February and Much Ado About Nothing, which once again find themselves side by side in the chart. The fact that Summer in February's total (£199,000) is pulling ahead of Much Ado (£166,000) is primarily a reflection of strong midweek sales – the older audience is notorious for its tendency to visit the cinema on weekdays. Summer in February's distributor Metrodome reports 21% of the film's box-office to date earned in the south-west region, where the action is set, led by Truro, Penzance, Wadebridge and Newquay. The decision to host a premiere for the film in Penzance is clearly paying off with local buzz.
*The disappointments*
With a weak debut of £268,000 from 305 sites, crime thriller Snitch confirms that, in the UK at least, Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock, cannot be relied upon to open a movie. Landing outside the top 10 with £154,000 from 226 screens, including £44,000 in previews, the spoof comedy A Haunted House was predictably rejected by the market, which as recently as April was treated to Scary Movie 5.
Rounding out a trio of disappointments is plucky Brit flick Spike Island, which lands with a lethargic £56,000 from 99 screens, and a £565 average. Not many would agree with Esquire critic Andrew O'Hagan's surprising claim that "Spike Island is the best Manchester film since A Taste of Honey, the best music film since The Commitments, and the best movie about teenage kicks since Trainspotting"– but there was nevertheless plenty of media goodwill for the film and its young cast. O'Hagan added that the film "will speak instantly and personally to a whole generation", but in fact Spike Island faced the familiar problem of facing two different generations: those old enough to be nostalgic for the Stone Roses and the summer of baggy; and a younger audience similar in age to the characters depicted. The former may have considered itself better served by Shane Meadows's current Stone Roses documentary Made of Stone (£456,000 so far); the latter may be looking to the cinema for other entertainments.
*The future*
Thanks to the arrival of World War Z and sustained box-office for Man of Steel, overall the market is a solid 68% up on the equivalent weekend from last year, when new entrant Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter was the top film. Had Despicable Me 2's previews been included in the current frame, overall the box-office would have been more than double the 2012 equivalent. Looking ahead to the coming weekend, box-office looks certain to be dominated by Despicable Me 2, although older audiences will have other choices. This Is the End features Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill and fellow comedic actors facing the Apocalypse at James Franco's house, while Stand Up Guys boasts Al Pacino and Christopher Walken. The latter reached a disappointing $3m when it was released in the US in February, while the former currently stands at $58m there. Hummingbird is the latest featuring Jason Statham, and The East offers a US indie alternative, with Brit Marling and Alexander Skarsgard.
*Top 10 films*
*1.* Man of Steel, £5,073,356 from 575 sites. Total: £21,332,301
*2.* World War Z, £4,535,899 from 488 sites (New)
*3.* After Earth, £432,881 from 384 sites. Total: £5,711,932
*4.* Behind the Candelabra, £367,888 from 272 sites. Total: £2,444,433
*5.* The Hangover Part III, £316,888 from 312 sites. Total: £18,777,521
*6.* Snitch, £268,229 from 305 sites (New)
*7.* Epic, £251,038 from 452 sites. Total: £12,652,346
*8.* Before Midnight, £244,231 from 106 sites (New)
*9.* Fast & Furious 6, £160,851 from 225 sites. Total: £24,877,587
*10.* The Great Gatsby, £158,927 from 209 sites. Total: £15,198,622
*Other openers*
A Haunted House, 226 sites, £110,148 (+ £43,657 previews)
Raanjhanaa, 43 sites, £71,708
Spike Island, 99 sites, £55,961
Black Rock, 16 sites, £21,034
Like Someone in Love, 8 sites, £13,009
Shun Li and the Poet, 3 sites, £2,576
Citadel, 8 sites, £1,808
Fire in the Night, 2 sites, £1,602
I Am Breathing, 7 sites, £1,402
The Seasoning House, 6 sites, £804
Waiting for Lightning, 5 sites, £752
• Thanks to Rentrak Reported by guardian.co.uk 6 hours ago.
*The winner*
Topping the chart for a second week in a row, Man of Steel is only the second film this year to reach £20m after just two weekends of play. Les Miserables, the top-grosser for the year with £40.65m, stood at £17.36 at this stage of its run. Iron Man 3 reached £24.57m after two weekends, an 11-day figure. Man of Steel is behind the pace of the summer's top earner, with £21.33m so far. That's already nearly £5m ahead of the lifetime total for Superman Returns, which maxed out here with £16.4m. It's a similar amount ahead of Man of Steel producer Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins, which reached £16.6m in total.
Man of Steel suffered a second-weekend drop of 55%, which compares unfavorably with the 45% that Iron Man 3 fell by. However, it's always tricky making these comparisons. Iron Man 3 faced no new blockbuster competition in its second week of play, since rival distributors were sufficiently intimidated to give the film a wide berth. Man of Steel, in contrast, faced significant competition in the shape of Brad Pitt and a zombie apocalypse.
Star Trek Into Darkness fell 46% in its second weekend of play, a strong performance given the arrival of Fast & Furious 6 and The Great Gatsby. A week later, Fast & Furious 6 dropped 59%, against the challenge of The Hangover Part III.
*The runner-up*
The publicity campaigns for most blockbusters are carefully orchestrated by Hollywood studios, leveraging star appeal and assets to build positive buzz in the run-up to release. In the case of World War Z, the well-publicised delays, reshoots and tensions between director Marc Forster and producer/star Brad Pitt made that process harder to manage. Even Vanity Fair ran a rare unauthorised cover story, detailing the problematic production. Paramount fought back with an aggressive premiere strategy, but ultimately the film would stand or fall on its own merits.
The result – a UK opening of £4.54m – is a happy one for its backers. While by no means among the top openings of the summer season, it's worth considering that the built-in awareness for Max Brooks's novels isn't in the same league as for properties such as Superman, Iron Man, Star Trek and Fast & Furious. And unlike those 12A competitors, World War Z is certificate 15, effectively excluding it from the family audience and young teens.
The World War Z number is also bigger than virtually all Pitt's previous debut figures: Inglourious Basterds, £3.57m including £1.69m in previews; Mr and Mrs Smith, £3.94m including £405,000 in previews; Seven, £2.63m. Troy, with £6.02m for its first weekend of wide play, remains Pitt's biggest opening, but that figure included previews totalling £2.27m. Ocean's Eleven, with £5.10m, opened ahead of World War Z, but that was an ensemble film with George Clooney in the title role, and in any case included previews of £837,000. Strip out all the previews, and World War Z is Pitt's biggest-ever UK debut. The Ocean's sequels both debuted below £4m.
*The invisible success*
Not included in the official chart are Saturday and Sunday previews for Despicable Me 2. The animated sequel fully arrives in cinemas on Friday, and the preview takings will then be added into its official opening-weekend tally, making it a five-day figure. The number is rumoured to be the biggest since Ice Age: Continental Drift added £5.27m of previews into its first weekend of full UK play. However, that was four days of previews for the Ice Age flick, as against just two days for Despicable Me. More next week on what looks set to be a sensational opening for Despicable Me 2.
*The arthouse contender*
While holdover titles The Great Gatsby and especially Behind the Candelabra continue to engage upscale and older audiences, fresh competition arrives in the form of Before Midnight, kicking off with a decent £244,000 from 106 sites. This compares with a debut of £139,000 from 44 screens for its 2004 predecessor Before Sunset, which went on to achieve an impressive £922,000 in total. The original film in the series, 1995's Before Sunrise, reached £458,000 over its lifetime.
Targeting a similarly non-mainstream audience are the British period drama Summer in February and Much Ado About Nothing, which once again find themselves side by side in the chart. The fact that Summer in February's total (£199,000) is pulling ahead of Much Ado (£166,000) is primarily a reflection of strong midweek sales – the older audience is notorious for its tendency to visit the cinema on weekdays. Summer in February's distributor Metrodome reports 21% of the film's box-office to date earned in the south-west region, where the action is set, led by Truro, Penzance, Wadebridge and Newquay. The decision to host a premiere for the film in Penzance is clearly paying off with local buzz.
*The disappointments*
With a weak debut of £268,000 from 305 sites, crime thriller Snitch confirms that, in the UK at least, Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock, cannot be relied upon to open a movie. Landing outside the top 10 with £154,000 from 226 screens, including £44,000 in previews, the spoof comedy A Haunted House was predictably rejected by the market, which as recently as April was treated to Scary Movie 5.
Rounding out a trio of disappointments is plucky Brit flick Spike Island, which lands with a lethargic £56,000 from 99 screens, and a £565 average. Not many would agree with Esquire critic Andrew O'Hagan's surprising claim that "Spike Island is the best Manchester film since A Taste of Honey, the best music film since The Commitments, and the best movie about teenage kicks since Trainspotting"– but there was nevertheless plenty of media goodwill for the film and its young cast. O'Hagan added that the film "will speak instantly and personally to a whole generation", but in fact Spike Island faced the familiar problem of facing two different generations: those old enough to be nostalgic for the Stone Roses and the summer of baggy; and a younger audience similar in age to the characters depicted. The former may have considered itself better served by Shane Meadows's current Stone Roses documentary Made of Stone (£456,000 so far); the latter may be looking to the cinema for other entertainments.
*The future*
Thanks to the arrival of World War Z and sustained box-office for Man of Steel, overall the market is a solid 68% up on the equivalent weekend from last year, when new entrant Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter was the top film. Had Despicable Me 2's previews been included in the current frame, overall the box-office would have been more than double the 2012 equivalent. Looking ahead to the coming weekend, box-office looks certain to be dominated by Despicable Me 2, although older audiences will have other choices. This Is the End features Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill and fellow comedic actors facing the Apocalypse at James Franco's house, while Stand Up Guys boasts Al Pacino and Christopher Walken. The latter reached a disappointing $3m when it was released in the US in February, while the former currently stands at $58m there. Hummingbird is the latest featuring Jason Statham, and The East offers a US indie alternative, with Brit Marling and Alexander Skarsgard.
*Top 10 films*
*1.* Man of Steel, £5,073,356 from 575 sites. Total: £21,332,301
*2.* World War Z, £4,535,899 from 488 sites (New)
*3.* After Earth, £432,881 from 384 sites. Total: £5,711,932
*4.* Behind the Candelabra, £367,888 from 272 sites. Total: £2,444,433
*5.* The Hangover Part III, £316,888 from 312 sites. Total: £18,777,521
*6.* Snitch, £268,229 from 305 sites (New)
*7.* Epic, £251,038 from 452 sites. Total: £12,652,346
*8.* Before Midnight, £244,231 from 106 sites (New)
*9.* Fast & Furious 6, £160,851 from 225 sites. Total: £24,877,587
*10.* The Great Gatsby, £158,927 from 209 sites. Total: £15,198,622
*Other openers*
A Haunted House, 226 sites, £110,148 (+ £43,657 previews)
Raanjhanaa, 43 sites, £71,708
Spike Island, 99 sites, £55,961
Black Rock, 16 sites, £21,034
Like Someone in Love, 8 sites, £13,009
Shun Li and the Poet, 3 sites, £2,576
Citadel, 8 sites, £1,808
Fire in the Night, 2 sites, £1,602
I Am Breathing, 7 sites, £1,402
The Seasoning House, 6 sites, £804
Waiting for Lightning, 5 sites, £752
• Thanks to Rentrak Reported by guardian.co.uk 6 hours ago.
↧
Jeff Olson Faces 13 Years in Jail for Writing Anti-Bank Messages in Chalk
Jeff Olson, who is being prosecuted for writing anti-bank messages on sidewalks in water-soluble chalk in 2012, is facing a 13-year jail sentence.Olson could also be fined up to $13,000 over the anti-bank slogans that were drawn on a sidewalk outside of three San Diego, California branches of Bank of America.
He is on trial for on 13 counts of vandalism.
According to the San Diego Reader, Judge Howard Shore ruled that Olson's attorney Tom Tosdal is banned from "mentioning the First Amendment, free speech, free expression, public forum, expressive conduct, or political speech during the trial.”
"I've never heard that before, that a court can prohibit an argument of First Amendment rights," said Tosdal, who is working for free to defend Olson.
Olson joined the Occupy Wall Street movement in October 2011 and appeared outside of a Bank of America branch in San Diego, carrying a homemade sign promoting "National Bank Transfer Day," in which bank customers were encouraged to lawfully move their accounts out of large corporate banks and into smaller local banks and not-for-profit credit unions.
In February 2012, Olsen bought some chalk box of chalk at a local pharmacy.
"I thought my time would be better spent at the banks, trying to convince people to ditch these banks for local credit unions. I believed that was the best way to hold the executives and the corporations accountable for bringing this country to the brink of collapse," Olsen told the San Diego Reader.
From February to August 2012, Olson visited the same Bank of America branch a few days per week, and wrote anti-bank slogans on the sidewalk such as "Stop big banks" and "Stop BankBlight.com."
The San Diego Reader obtained public records showing that Darrell Freeman, the Vice President of Bank of America’s Global Corporate Security, pressured San Diego’s Police Gang Unit and San Diego Deputy City Attorney Paige Hazard to prosecute Olsen for months.
"I wanted to let you know that we will be filing 13 counts of vandalism as a result of the incidents you reported," Hazard told Freeman on April 15, 2013.
Source: San Diego Reader Reported by Opposing Views 6 hours ago.
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Advanced Computer focused on growth
Advanced Computer Software (LON:ASW) may have paid its maiden dividend, but this is still very much a growth company, and is not likely to become a dividend stock anytime soon.
Speaking to Proactive Investors, the software and information technology firm’s relatively new chief financial officer (CFO), Guy Millward, confirmed that focus remains on growth, both organically and through acquisition.
“We’ve announced our maiden dividend … it’s something shareholders like to see, it’s a good discipline to get into,” Millward said. However, he added the group is still “very much in growth mode”, with the implication being that money is better spent driving growth in the top line and profits than in bumping up the dividend each year by huge amounts.
On the subject of acquisitions, Barbara Firth, Millward’s predecessor as CFO, said integration of the recent acquisition of Computer Software Holdings (CSH) is “going very well”.
Firth is now chief operating officer (COO) responsible for acquisitions and integration, and, like Advanced Computer Software’s (ACS) chief executive, Vin Murria, and chairman, Michael Jackson, she is a former director of CSH, so she knows the business very well.
That knowledge, along with the due diligence performed before the acquisition, enabled ACS to implement cost-saving synergies “on day two of the acquisition”, but Firth says there are still lots more cost savings to come.
“Both companies have lots of subsidiaries, with various offices scattered around the country, and we’re expecting to close six or seven down in the next 18 months.”
The acquisition is not about cutting costs, however; as is always the case with ACS, the name of the game is to drive growth through investment in the business and exploitation of cross-selling opportunities.
“We tend to spend the cost savings on other parts of the business, so we might make a saving on, let’s say, admin staff, so we’ll spend that on sales staff,” Firth explained.
Firth said the CSH business had not changed a lot since she left the company to hook up once more with former colleagues at ACS, but the company had been run from the point of view of containing costs, rather than driving growth. Just in case you are not getting the message, this is not the ACS way.
“We’re prepared to invest money in sales and marketing, and we can turn that [cost saving ethos] round very easily, to turn it into the sort of business we would have built, which is a sales-orientated business,” Firth declared.
Picking up the story, Millward said that future contracted revenue at the end of February 2013, factoring in CSH (which was actually acquired in March), increased by £79.1mln from a year earlier to £189.1mln.
Millward said the consensus forecasts out there for the current financial year (to end-February 2014) is for revenue of £201mln.
“We had £138mln of that contracted on day one to deliver … so about 70% [of the consensus revenue forecast figure]. We can see another 15% coming from repeat business from existing customers, and then the other 15% is new.” Reported by Proactive Investors 4 hours ago.
Speaking to Proactive Investors, the software and information technology firm’s relatively new chief financial officer (CFO), Guy Millward, confirmed that focus remains on growth, both organically and through acquisition.
“We’ve announced our maiden dividend … it’s something shareholders like to see, it’s a good discipline to get into,” Millward said. However, he added the group is still “very much in growth mode”, with the implication being that money is better spent driving growth in the top line and profits than in bumping up the dividend each year by huge amounts.
On the subject of acquisitions, Barbara Firth, Millward’s predecessor as CFO, said integration of the recent acquisition of Computer Software Holdings (CSH) is “going very well”.
Firth is now chief operating officer (COO) responsible for acquisitions and integration, and, like Advanced Computer Software’s (ACS) chief executive, Vin Murria, and chairman, Michael Jackson, she is a former director of CSH, so she knows the business very well.
That knowledge, along with the due diligence performed before the acquisition, enabled ACS to implement cost-saving synergies “on day two of the acquisition”, but Firth says there are still lots more cost savings to come.
“Both companies have lots of subsidiaries, with various offices scattered around the country, and we’re expecting to close six or seven down in the next 18 months.”
The acquisition is not about cutting costs, however; as is always the case with ACS, the name of the game is to drive growth through investment in the business and exploitation of cross-selling opportunities.
“We tend to spend the cost savings on other parts of the business, so we might make a saving on, let’s say, admin staff, so we’ll spend that on sales staff,” Firth explained.
Firth said the CSH business had not changed a lot since she left the company to hook up once more with former colleagues at ACS, but the company had been run from the point of view of containing costs, rather than driving growth. Just in case you are not getting the message, this is not the ACS way.
“We’re prepared to invest money in sales and marketing, and we can turn that [cost saving ethos] round very easily, to turn it into the sort of business we would have built, which is a sales-orientated business,” Firth declared.
Picking up the story, Millward said that future contracted revenue at the end of February 2013, factoring in CSH (which was actually acquired in March), increased by £79.1mln from a year earlier to £189.1mln.
Millward said the consensus forecasts out there for the current financial year (to end-February 2014) is for revenue of £201mln.
“We had £138mln of that contracted on day one to deliver … so about 70% [of the consensus revenue forecast figure]. We can see another 15% coming from repeat business from existing customers, and then the other 15% is new.” Reported by Proactive Investors 4 hours ago.
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Huge Chunk of Meteorite Located in Urals Lake
Chebarkul (RIA Novosti) Jun 26, 2013A huge fragment of meteorite that slammed into Russia's Urals region in February was located on the bottom of Chebarkul Lake in the Chelyabinsk Region, a scientist said on Friday. On February 15, a meteorite landed with a massive boom that blew out windows and damaged thousands of buildings around the Urals city of Chelyabinsk, injuring 1,200 people in the area. The meteorite broke Reported by Space Daily 2 hours ago.
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Number Of First-time Buyers Increases By 15% Over The Past Year
According to a survey by the property company LSL, the number of first-time buyers has increased by 15% over the past year.
According to a survey by the property company LSL, the number of first-time buyers has increased by 15% over the past year, helped by lower borrowing costs and a wider choice of mortgages. The figures could actually be higher because demand for homes was artificially boosted in the spring of 2012 by changes to stamp duty rates.
In April this year, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) reported the highest number of first-time buyers entering the market for five years. It said the number of loans issued to such purchasers rose by 17% between February 2012 and February 2013.
Over the last year the average deposit size has fallen by 0.5%, to 19.6% and mortgage rates have also come down. But despite cheaper mortgages, and smaller percentage deposits, it is becoming more difficult for some first-time buyers to afford a property. Because house prices have risen, the size of the deposit required is rising. In April 2012 the average deposit needed was £24,842. This April, buyers needed to find £27,178, a sum that also represents a higher proportion of the buyer’s salary than a year ago.
Chelsea Square Partnership is a boutique North London estate agency offering unrivalled knowledge and experience of property sales, lettings and management in NW6 and NW2.
Formed to provide a first class service to buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants in North West London, the experienced Chelsea Square Partnership team has over 90 years of local experience and offers a personal approach which caters for the discerning property seller, buyer, landlord or tenant in the London Boroughs of Camden, Brent and Barnet.
Based in bespoke modern offices in West End Lane, West Hampstead, Chelsea Square Partnership specialises in London Property Sales, London Property Lettings and London Property Management.
Whether you are seeking a flat or house, Chelsea Square Partnership is the premier sales, letting and managing agent in North West London offering a flexible, professional real estate service to meet your needs precisely. Chelsea Square partnership have many flats, houses & apartments to rent in North West London.
Company Contact Information
Chelsea Square Partnership
Matt Ettinger
276 West End Lane
West Hampstead, London
NW6 1LJ
020 7794 1730
News and Press Release Distribution From I-Newswire.com Reported by i-Newswire.com 34 minutes ago.
According to a survey by the property company LSL, the number of first-time buyers has increased by 15% over the past year, helped by lower borrowing costs and a wider choice of mortgages. The figures could actually be higher because demand for homes was artificially boosted in the spring of 2012 by changes to stamp duty rates.
In April this year, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) reported the highest number of first-time buyers entering the market for five years. It said the number of loans issued to such purchasers rose by 17% between February 2012 and February 2013.
Over the last year the average deposit size has fallen by 0.5%, to 19.6% and mortgage rates have also come down. But despite cheaper mortgages, and smaller percentage deposits, it is becoming more difficult for some first-time buyers to afford a property. Because house prices have risen, the size of the deposit required is rising. In April 2012 the average deposit needed was £24,842. This April, buyers needed to find £27,178, a sum that also represents a higher proportion of the buyer’s salary than a year ago.
Chelsea Square Partnership is a boutique North London estate agency offering unrivalled knowledge and experience of property sales, lettings and management in NW6 and NW2.
Formed to provide a first class service to buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants in North West London, the experienced Chelsea Square Partnership team has over 90 years of local experience and offers a personal approach which caters for the discerning property seller, buyer, landlord or tenant in the London Boroughs of Camden, Brent and Barnet.
Based in bespoke modern offices in West End Lane, West Hampstead, Chelsea Square Partnership specialises in London Property Sales, London Property Lettings and London Property Management.
Whether you are seeking a flat or house, Chelsea Square Partnership is the premier sales, letting and managing agent in North West London offering a flexible, professional real estate service to meet your needs precisely. Chelsea Square partnership have many flats, houses & apartments to rent in North West London.
Company Contact Information
Chelsea Square Partnership
Matt Ettinger
276 West End Lane
West Hampstead, London
NW6 1LJ
020 7794 1730
News and Press Release Distribution From I-Newswire.com Reported by i-Newswire.com 34 minutes ago.
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Emily Verdouw: Australian Politics Is a Global Embarrassment
Three years, three days ago Kevin Rudd was torn down ruthlessly as prime minister. Despite his erratic behaviour, inability to see through policies and wasteful spending, it was an event many Australians, and the world, saw as an act of great disloyalty. A political moment that caused great embarrassment to the public followed by a hung-parliament not long after, where three independents voted in a prime minister we weren't sure we wanted.
Since the 'backstabbing' of June 24, 2010 the joke that is Australian's politics began to really acquire the laughs.
Julia Gillard swore she would not introduce a carbon tax under her leadership then blatantly fought for its inclusion not long after being sworn in. Wayne Swan vehemently promised a return to surplus by 2012/2013 and would do so by introducing an ill-thought out super-profits tax on the mining industry that accumulated little money and saw Australia remain in deficit by his self-imposed due date. Labor then supported two sex-scandals for their own good, Craig Thompson and speaker Peter Slipper.
And of course, the biggest joke of all continued to run, the Gillard-Rudd leadership contention, despite reaching many moments where the leaders and party declared it would be resolved "once and for all."
"No way will I ever be party to a stealth attack on a sitting PM. We all know when that happened it was wrong, and should not happen again," Kevin Rudd states February 22nd 2012.
Two days later, 24 February 2012 Kevin Rudd contests the leadership, loses, resigns as foreign minister and promises he will not contend again.
And now yet again, here we are, another leadership contention, more spiteful words, contradictions and backstabbing from the Labor party on a whole, and now Rudd is PM again. A man enamoured by his own celebrity.
"Rightly or wrongly, Julia has lost the trust of the Australian people, and starting on Monday I want to start restoring that trust.
"I want to finish the job the Australian people want me to do after I was elected by them as prime minister. I was elected in 2007 to govern for all Australians to govern for all families, and that's what we did.
"The government's problems have been of its own making. If I didn't exist, people would have cast around for an alternative leader for the Labor Party."
Why, how modest of you to admit Kevin. But even if you, the political messiah, did not exist Labor would still be in trouble.
Yes, now instead of infighting for the coveted power position, we have a leader who has created a mirage of self-importance, a man whose very colleagues who have now voted him in, once voted him out, once declared him as a micro-manager with a temper and a man who cannot play as a team. What does this say about the parties' stability and culture as a whole?
Now I ask, as we move into this golden era of politics, which Rudd would have you believe we're entering under his guidance, how can the global community trust in the Australian government?
How could the likes of David Cameorn, Barrack Obama, John Key and Xi Jinping confidently work with a leader, a party and a government that has proven it is nothing but unstable and untrustworthy?
How can Australia command respect if the topic of most importance over the last three years surrounds who gets the power?
Australian politics has suffered an immense loss in credibility, the Australian public is embarrassed and no matter who wants to call themselves prime minister, Labor is about to suffer a well due beating at the next election.
"We are on course for a catastrophic defeat unless there is a change," Rudd declared before today's leadership contention.
Oh Mr Rudd, how right you are. But you have no idea. The change we need is not you and it is not Labor. Reported by Huffington Post 21 minutes ago.
Since the 'backstabbing' of June 24, 2010 the joke that is Australian's politics began to really acquire the laughs.
Julia Gillard swore she would not introduce a carbon tax under her leadership then blatantly fought for its inclusion not long after being sworn in. Wayne Swan vehemently promised a return to surplus by 2012/2013 and would do so by introducing an ill-thought out super-profits tax on the mining industry that accumulated little money and saw Australia remain in deficit by his self-imposed due date. Labor then supported two sex-scandals for their own good, Craig Thompson and speaker Peter Slipper.
And of course, the biggest joke of all continued to run, the Gillard-Rudd leadership contention, despite reaching many moments where the leaders and party declared it would be resolved "once and for all."
"No way will I ever be party to a stealth attack on a sitting PM. We all know when that happened it was wrong, and should not happen again," Kevin Rudd states February 22nd 2012.
Two days later, 24 February 2012 Kevin Rudd contests the leadership, loses, resigns as foreign minister and promises he will not contend again.
And now yet again, here we are, another leadership contention, more spiteful words, contradictions and backstabbing from the Labor party on a whole, and now Rudd is PM again. A man enamoured by his own celebrity.
"Rightly or wrongly, Julia has lost the trust of the Australian people, and starting on Monday I want to start restoring that trust.
"I want to finish the job the Australian people want me to do after I was elected by them as prime minister. I was elected in 2007 to govern for all Australians to govern for all families, and that's what we did.
"The government's problems have been of its own making. If I didn't exist, people would have cast around for an alternative leader for the Labor Party."
Why, how modest of you to admit Kevin. But even if you, the political messiah, did not exist Labor would still be in trouble.
Yes, now instead of infighting for the coveted power position, we have a leader who has created a mirage of self-importance, a man whose very colleagues who have now voted him in, once voted him out, once declared him as a micro-manager with a temper and a man who cannot play as a team. What does this say about the parties' stability and culture as a whole?
Now I ask, as we move into this golden era of politics, which Rudd would have you believe we're entering under his guidance, how can the global community trust in the Australian government?
How could the likes of David Cameorn, Barrack Obama, John Key and Xi Jinping confidently work with a leader, a party and a government that has proven it is nothing but unstable and untrustworthy?
How can Australia command respect if the topic of most importance over the last three years surrounds who gets the power?
Australian politics has suffered an immense loss in credibility, the Australian public is embarrassed and no matter who wants to call themselves prime minister, Labor is about to suffer a well due beating at the next election.
"We are on course for a catastrophic defeat unless there is a change," Rudd declared before today's leadership contention.
Oh Mr Rudd, how right you are. But you have no idea. The change we need is not you and it is not Labor. Reported by Huffington Post 21 minutes ago.
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