Is the Liam Fox affair a repeat of the Profumo affair?

October 13, 2011
Christine Keeler in 1963

Christine Keeler in 1963: Image via Wikipedia

The UK press and blogs are full of the Liam Fox / Adam Werrity affair. The main stream media only write in euphemisms about the relationship between Fox and Werrity. The blogs of course are much more forthright in their suggestion that Fox is gay and Werrity his long time boy-friend. The constant reference to Werrity being Fox’s best man at his wedding is – I suppose – meant to imply that his marriage was a subterfuge to mask his being gay. Some examples of the articles in the media and the blogosphere: The Telegraph, The StudentRoom blog, Order-order.com blog, The Spectator, PressTV, Daily Mail

From Wikipedia:

The Profumo Affair was a 1963 British political scandal named after John Profumo, Secretary of State for War. His affair with Christine Keeler, the reputed mistress of an alleged Russian spy, followed by lying in the House of Commons when he was questioned about it, forced the resignation of Profumo and damaged the reputation of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan’s government. Macmillan himself resigned a few months later due to ill health.

For the historical comparison to hold:

  1. Adam Werrity would need to be the Minister’s lover (and the UK press always carefully refers to him as “his friend of 18 years and his best man”),
  2. Werrity would need to be in the pay of a “foreign power”. It seems apparent that Werrity has been financed by a number of conservative US lobby groups and some suggestion of Israeli and even Iranian lobby groups.
  3.  Werrity’s objectives would have to have been to influence Fox or to extract sensitive information (with or without Fox’s knowledge) for his paymasters.
By all accounts this could well be a case of history repeating itself.

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Posted in Ethics, Media, Politics, UK | 1 Comment »

Iran fails in attempt to launch a monkey into space

October 13, 2011

In February last year Iran sent several small animals into space — a rat, two turtles and worms — aboard a capsule carried by its Kavoshgar-3 rocket.

Iran then developed ambitious plans to launch a monkey into space. Apparently this attempt was made last month but it failed. The Telegraph reports:

Kavoshgar 3 launch in 2010 - image: http://militaryasia.blogspot.com

“The Kavoshgar-5 rocket carrying a capsule with a live animal (a monkey) was launched during Shahrivar,” an Iranian calendar month spanning August 23 to September 22, Deputy Science Minister Mohammad Mehdinejad-Nouri was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.

“However, the launch was not publicised as all of its anticipated objectives were not accomplished,” Mehdinejad-Nouri told reporters.

He said the launch of a live animal into space was “strategic, and a priority,” and expressed hope that future launches would attain more of the objectives set.

On October 3, Iran indefinitely postponed plans to send a live monkey into space, without giving any reasons.

“One cannot give a set date for this project and as soon as our nation’s scientists announce the readiness (of the project) it will be announced,” said Hamid Fazeli, head of Iran’s Space Organisation.

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New undersea volcanic eruptions move closer to El Hierro

October 13, 2011

Earthquakes and volcanos in the Canary Islands cause concern because studies have shown that if they struck El Hierro or La Palma — just north of El Hierro – there is a possibility that a large part of El Hierro island would slide into the ocean and trigger a huge tsunami that could travel across the Atlantic hitting the eastern seaboard of the US in six hours.

Earlier posts are here and here.

Recent earthquake swarms on El Hierro - image: Instituto Geográfico Nacional

Underwater Volcanic Eruptions Edge Closer To El Hierro Mainland 

Two new underwater volcanic eruptions have occurred off the south coast of El Hierro, the smallest and southernmost island in the Canary Islands.

Seismologists say two separate fissures have been identified less than 3.7 kilometres and 2.8 kilometres from La Restinga, a town on the southeast of the island. Authorities have detected a sulphur odour in the area while dead fish have also been spotted floating on the surface of Las Calmas Sea.

The fresh eruptions occurred 48 hours after a subsea eruption, Spain’s first since an eruption on La Palma in 1971, occurred approximately 5 kilometres from La Restinga. The town’s 570 residents were subsequently evacuated as a precautionary measure in the event of volcanic activity moving closer to the island.

The eruptions take place amidst an unprecedented earthquake swarm in El Hierro. The number of earthquakes recorded since July 17, 2011 on El Hierro has now exceeded 10,300.

Hierro, a shield volcano, has had a single historic eruption from the Volcan de Lomo Negro vent in 1793. The eruption lasted approximately one month and produced lava flows. …….

…. A Red Alert was issued by local authorities for the town of La Restinga, where local residents were evacuated from on Tuesday evening. Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and cabinet colleagues later attended an emergency briefing on the developing situation.

The IGN says all three of its seismic stations on El Hierro in the Canary Islands have registered a volcanic tremor of low frequency in the south of the island at La Restinga, the southern-most village in the Canaries.

Hundreds Remain Evacuated 

Roughly 600 people were evacuated Tuesday on Spain’s El Hierro Island in the Canaries due to the eruption of a nearby underwater volcano. They remained outside their homes on Wednesday as authorities feared an impending eruption. …. In a press release issued on Wednesday, the Canary Islands government said that although no specific changes have been observed since Tuesday evening, precautions remain in effect: “Among the security measures to ensure the safety of the population remains the designation by the Maritime Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife maritime exclusion zone which is closed to shipping, fishing, diving, sports or recreation in the area within a radius of four nautical miles from the tip of La Restinga.”

Ferry crossings to the island also remain suspended. People were, however, allowed to return to their homes on Wednesday under the protection of civil safety officials to retrieve medicines, clothing, and other necessities.

Some took to message boards on Tuesday and Wednesday claiming that a landslide in the Canary Islands could cause a mega-tsunami that would devastate the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. ……

 

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Posted in Geosciences, Natural Phenomena, Science, Volcanos | 3 Comments »

Update – Steven King resigns from Irish Examiner but continues with APCO Worldwide

October 13, 2011

UPDATE! 13th October

I posted about this story earlier here, and Steven King has now resigned after his plagiarism was discovered:

Irish Examiner columnist Steven King resigns following plagiarism controversy

THE IRISH EXAMINER says that its weekly international affairs columnist Steven King has resigned from the paper.

The resignation follows allegations that King plagiarised passages for his column from a number of sources including blogger Brendan O’Neill of Spiked, and from Salon.com and Commentary Magazine.

The allegations were made by journalist Brian Whelan, who previously uncovered evidence of plagiarism in the work of London Independent columnist Johnn Hari. Hari is currently on unpaid leave and is undertaking a journalism training course.

…. The Examiner reports today that King said he was out of reach while visiting Ethiopia recently…..

which of course makes me wonder which unsavoury person or party in Ethiopia is using APCO Worldwide as its spin-doctor.

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Posted in Behaviour, Ethics, Media, Politics | 1 Comment »

Solar science re-emerging? and about time too!

October 12, 2011

It has always struck me as incredibly arrogant and amazingly stupid that the climate “scientists” have ignored the effects of the sun for 2 decades – presumably because:

  1. they did not understand the sun,
  2. doomsday scenarios were better for getting funding,
  3. they had such an overweening conviction about man made effects, and
  4. they actually believed their computer models were the greatest thing since sliced bread!
Perhaps that is changing. As Paul Hudson signs off his column on the BBC Weather blog:
This is an exciting time for solar physics, and its role in climate. As one leading climate scientist told me last month, it’s a subject that is now no longer taboo. And about time, too.
Related: New Scientist permits the sun to join the climate club

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Posted in Climate, Science, Solar science | 1 Comment »

Now Murdoch’s WSJ caught in a circulation scam as his European publishing head resigns

October 12, 2011

It’s pretty clear that The Guardian does not much care for Rupert Murdoch or his newspapers but they are involved in so much which is shady that it provides permanent employment for some of The Guardian’s “investigative journalists” (who are not themselves above some hanky panky from time to time).

After the News of the World / News International phone hacking fiasco, this time it is the Wall Street Journal which has been found to have been cooking the books about its circulation figures. Andrew Langhoff  who is Murdoch’s publishing head in Europe has resigned to contain the damge. Executive Learning Partnership, or ELP, a Netherlands-based consulting firm is also implicated.

The Wall Street Journal also carries the story: Publisher of WSJ Europe Resigns After Ethics Inquiry

The Guardian – 

One of Rupert Murdoch’s most senior European executives has resigned following Guardian inquiries about a circulation scam at News Corporation’s flagship newspaper, the Wall Street Journal.

The Guardian found evidence that the Journal had been channelling money through European companies in order to secretly buy thousands of copies of its own paper at a knock-down rate, misleading readers and advertisers about the Journal’s true circulation.

The bizarre scheme included a formal, written contract in which the Journal persuaded one company to co-operate by agreeing to publish articles that promoted its activities, a move which led some staff to accuse the paper’s management of violating journalistic ethics and jeopardising its treasured reputation for editorial quality.

Internal emails and documents suggest the scam was promoted by Andrew Langhoff, the European managing director of the Journal’s parent company, Dow Jones and Co, which was bought by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation in July 2007. Langhoff resigned on Tuesday.

…… In what appears to have been a damage limitation exercise following the Guardian’s inquiries, Langhoff resigned on Tuesday, citing only the complaints of unethical interference in editorial coverage. Neither he nor an article published last night in the Wall Street Journal made any reference to the circulation scam nor to the fact that the senior management of Dow Jones in New York failed to act when they were alerted last year.

The affair will add weight to the fears of shareholders in Murdoch’s parent company, NewsCorp, that the business has become a ‘rogue corporation’, operating outside normal rules. Some shareholders have launched a legal action in the US, attacking the Murdoch family after the phone-hacking scandal at the News of the World and following lawsuits in which NewsCorp subsidiaries have been accused of hacking into competitors’ computers and stealing their customers. …..

……

Circulation figures directly affect the advertising rates that can be charged and this circulation scam is nothing more than a method to defraud advertisers and – eventually – all the subscribers. Even the antics at the News of the World can be put down to maintaining circulation numbers. The certainly unethical – and perhaps criminal – behaviour of Murdoch and his henchmen and his newspapers can all be put down to greed, and a touch of narcissism  coupled with highly inflated egos.

Related: Rebekah Brooks and NoW – another new low

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Posted in Behaviour, Business, Ethics, Fraud, Media | 1 Comment »

Raytheon Polar Services and NSF refuse to evacuate stroke victim from US South Pole station

October 12, 2011
The Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, photogr...

Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in 2006: Image via Wikipedia

The manager of the US South Pole Station suffered a stroke a month ago and the physician at the U.S.-run Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station recommended her immediate evacuation. But the station run by Raytheon Polar Services for the NSF have hired consulting doctors to disagree and have declined to evacuate her. Technical difficulties and budget constraints apparently!!

(I would not be surprised if the cost of the consulting doctors would have gone a long way towards bearing the cost of the evacuation!).

Discovery News:

The manager of the U.S. South Pole station wants to be evacuated, saying she suffered a stroke more than a month ago. But U.S. polar officials say she’ll have to wait until special ski-equipped airplanes can land at the frozen base several weeks from now.

The dispute between site manager Renee-Nicole Douceur, the National Science Foundation and the operator of the base, Raytheon Polar Services, has been simmering since Douceur said she suffered a stroke on Aug. 27. The physician at the U.S.-run Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station recommended her immediate evacuation. But consulting doctors hired by Raytheon and the NSF disagreed.

… In a phone interview with Discovery News, Douceur said she suffers from blurry vision and is worried about long-term effects to her health. She says she can’t wait another few weeks. 

“I’m just hanging in there and I’m looking out my window and it’s nice and clear bright and sunny,” Douceur said. I’m saying to myself why isn’t there a plane here to get me out of here today or even yesterday?” …..

…. “I have not been treated fairly here,” Douceur said. “They have been making decisions based on budgets. Isn’t a stroke a serious thing?” ……

Douceur’s family has set up a website to gain support for her cause and enlisted the aid of U.S. Sen. Jean Shaheen, D-N.H. She’s also hired an attorney to help her plead her case. With a bit of luck she should now be evacuated on October 17th but bad weather could delay this to November.

Sounds incredibly callous from the NSF but perhaps not too surprising from Raytheon …..?

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Posted in Behaviour, Business, US | 1 Comment »

Victor Muller’s Chinese investors for Saab are evaporating

October 12, 2011

Victor Muller is still carrying on with the Saab circus and has been constantly talking up the Chinese investments due to be paid in at any moment. But this has been going on for a long time and now Reuters reports that the Chinese application to make the investment has not even been submitted to the Chinese  National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) for approval. Such approvals can take a long time and if the application has not even been submitted it totally undermines all the “fairy stories” that Muller has been spinning.

Muller is contradicting Reuters but I am afraid his statements are bordering on fantasy and I prefer to believe that Reuters have got it right.

Reuters reports today:

Pangda Automobile Trade Co , China’s largest listed auto dealer, said on Wednesday its investment agreement with Saab had become void after the Swedish car maker sought bankruptcy protection.

But the Dutch owner of the troubled firm later offered conflicting details, saying the 245 million euro ($352 million) deal with Pangda and Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co was still valid. ….

…  Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an industry forum in Chengdu, Pangda chairman Pang Qinghua said, “Now that it’s in bankruptcy protection, all the previous pacts are not valid. It’s up to the court to decide. It can also find a new partner”. Pang added that the Chinese side has not yet submitted a proposal to the Chinese government regarding the Saab deal.

But in a text message sent to Reuters, Swedish Automobile NV CEO Victor Muller said simply: “On track with both Pangda and Youngman”. In June, Saab’s owner had signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding for Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co to take a 29.9 percent stake in the company and Pangda to take a 24 percent stake for a combined 245 million euros.

Saab has still not received a vital bridge loan of 70 million euros ($96 million) that was secured by Youngman, money that is key to its short-term survival. The investment hinges on approval from the Chinese and Swedish governments and a green light from the European Investment Bank and Saab shareholder General Motors . Asked on Wednesday whether the deal had been submitted to China’s National Development and Reform Commission for approval, Pangda’s chairman said: “Youngman’s Pang Qingnian is the one that is supposed to send the application to NDRC. As far as I know, he is soliciting opinion among industry experts regarding the deal, they are not done with it yet.”

Pangda had already paid 45 million euros to Saab for a separate deal to purchase 2,000 cars but had not received any cars due to a production halt since April.

“As for the cash injection (into Saab), I can do that only after the government approves the deal,” Pang said on Wednesday.

So with Youngman and Pangda not submitting their application to NDRC and since they need to have such approval, the only conclusion that one can draw is that any new Chinese investment money is never going to come and that Victor Muller is continuing to play a game. The Swedish Courts were remarkably lenient in allowing Muller to attempt another reconstruction of the company just after the earlier attempt at reconstruction had failed. Hopefully the courts will now have had enough of Muller’s representations of forthcoming support and investments which always seem to be grossly exaggerated and – in some cases – just untrue.

Related:

Volvo owner Geely denies reported interest in Saab 

Saab being pimped around the world by Victor Muller

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El Hierro Volcano Update – Red Alert continues and La Restinga evacuated

October 11, 2011

Update 11/10 – 17:17 UTC : People in La Restinga have been evacuated to Valverde with buses and private vehicles. They are asked to stay with family if possible or can spend the night in a student home or in tents in Valverde. La Restinga people who were not at home when the Red Alert was called were denied to enter their homes. This happened also to people living in the higher parts of La Restinga! Police threatened people protesting against the fact they could not get belongings from their houses with high fines.  Only the press is admitted to La Restinga!

Earthquakes upto September 30th - El Hierro: image http://earthquake-report.com

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Posted in Geosciences, Natural Phenomena, Volcanos | 2 Comments »

Red alert issued for undersea volcanic eruption of the El Hierro island coast (Canary Islands)

October 11, 2011

From iweather:

El Hierro. Google Maps

El Hierro: Google maps via iweather

Spain’s Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN) confirmed on Tuesday that an underwater eruption has occurred five kilometres off the southern coastline of El Hierro, the smallest of the Canary Island. The eruption is Spain’s first since the eruption in 1971 of the Teneguía volcano on the island of La Palma (Canary Islands).

The IGN says all three of its seismic stations on El Hierro in the Canary Islands have registered a volcanic tremor of low frequency in the south of the island at La Restinga, the southern-most village in the Canaries.  The estimated 537 residents of the town were summonsed to a local football field on Tuesday afternoon to be briefed on evacuation procedures.

A Red Alert has since been issued by local authorities for the town. A notice posted on the Emergencia El Hierro website on Tuesday evening stated: “Phase pre-eruptive. It involves the initiation of a preventive evacuation. Make yourself available to the authorities.”

Scientists from IGN and CSIC (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas), meanwhile, have conducted a reconnaissance flight over the sea to the area south of the island, where they have located dead fish floating on the surface five kilometres from the coast. The dead fish were identified in an area where lower seismic magnitude occurred on October 9, at a depth of approximately 2 km.

The present volcanic activity is understood to be occurring at a depth of 600 metres (just under one kilometre) below sea level, in the Las Calmas sea. …..  English language newspaper  islandconnections.eu reported: “The martime chief for the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife Antonio Padrón has issued a recomendation that boats should not sail closer than four miles off El Hierro. Divers have also been told to suspend all activities.” ….

The eruption takes place amidst an unprecedented earthquake swarm in El Hierro. The number of earthquakes recorded since July 17, 2011 on El Hierro has now exceeded 10,000. ……

El Hierro pictured from space by the MODIS satellite on Tuesday afternoon, 11 October

El Hierro pictured from space by the MODIS satellite on Tuesday afternoon, 11 October: image via iweather

More details at http://www.irishweatheronline.com/news/earth-science/geology/volcanic-red-alert-issued-as-residents-are-evacuated-from-el-hierro-town/41346.html

 

 

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Posted in Natural Phenomena, Volcanos | 3 Comments »

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