UK Chancellor of the Exchequer makes 2005 Budget speech

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

The United Kingdom Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Right Honourable Gordon Brown PC MP, in a speech to the British House of Commons today presented his ninth Budget, what is very likely to be his last Budget before the next UK General Election. This opened the parliamentary debate on the 2005 Finance Bill, and was followed by responses from the opposition parties.

In a 48 minute long speech, the Chancellor presented a Budget of “tax cuts that are reasonable, spending that is affordable, and [economic] stability that is paramount”, that was “the prudent course for Britain”. There were few surprises that had not already been indicated in his 2004 pre-Budget report. The increase in the threshold on stamp duty was greater than that forecast by commentators, as was the amount of the Council Tax rebate to households with pensioners.

Friday, July 22, 2005

Representative Tom Tancredo (R-CO) has clarified his earlier statement that “you could take out their holy sites,” in the event of a nuclear attack upon the U.S. by Islamic terrorists. Rep. Tancredo has refused to make any apologies, saying “When we bombed Hiroshima, when we bombed Dresden, we punished a lot of people who were not necessarily (guilty). Not every German was a member of the Nazi Party. You do things in war that are ugly.” However, Tancredo emphasized that he was speaking hypothetically and not necessarily suggesting policy.

The remarks, made in a July 15th radio interview, hosted by Pat Campbell of WFLA in Orlando, Florida, have drawn support from conservatives groups such as Northeast Intelligence Network and Free Republic, and have offended the American Muslim community.In the interview, Tancredo discussed his request for information from the Justice Department regarding the claim of evangelical Christian journalist Joseph Farah that al-Qaida has smuggled multiple nuclear weapons into the U.S.

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Ian Narev, the CEO of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, this morning “unreservedly” apologised to clients who lost money in a scandal involving the bank’s financial planning services arm.

Last week, a Senate enquiry found financial advisers from the Commonwealth Bank had made high-risk investments of clients’ money without the clients’ permission, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars lost. The Senate enquiry called for a Royal Commission into the bank, and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

Mr Narev stated the bank’s performance in providing financial advice was “unacceptable”, and the bank was launching a scheme to compensate clients who lost money due to the planners’ actions.

In a statement Mr Narev said, “Poor advice provided by some of our advisers between 2003 and 2012 caused financial loss and distress and I am truly sorry for that. […] There have been changes in management, structure and culture. We have also invested in new systems, implemented new processes, enhanced adviser supervision and improved training.”

An investigation by Fairfax Media instigated the Senate inquiry into the Commonwealth Bank’s financial planning division and ASIC.

Whistleblower Jeff Morris, who reported the misconduct of the bank to ASIC six years ago, said in an article for The Sydney Morning Herald that neither the bank nor ASIC should be in control of the compensation program.

A compilation of brief news reports for Thursday, December 4, 2008.

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On December 2, the Toronto city council voted in favor of banning the sales and distribution of bottled water on city property. The council also agreed to provide public drinking fountains on their properties, as well as on a measure that would make shoppers pay at least five Canadian cents for plastic grocery bags and force business owners to offer reusable bags and carry-out containers.

“Toronto’s decision to ban the bottle and turn on the tap sends a clear message that bottled water’s 15 minutes are up,” said Polaris Institute’s campaign coordinator, Joe Cressy.

All of the city’s facilities should be following the water ban by 2011, while businesses will have to implement their bag fees by 2010. Toronto has become the largest city in the world to ban bottled water on government property.

Related news

• “Calls for bottled water bans grow in Canada” — Wikinews, August 23, 2008

Sources

• “Toronto Bans Bottled Water” — CNW Group, December 3, 2008
• “Toronto council approves plastic bag charge, bottle ban” — CBC News, December 3, 2008

On Tuesday, American actor, Patrick Swayze, who suffers from pancreatic cancer, denied reports that he was near death. American tabloid National Inquirer reported on November 28 that Swayze’s cancer had spread to his liver and that he was preparing for his death.

“The only thorn in my side being that many tabloids have been consistently reporting lies and false information about me and those close to me,” said Swayze in a statement to the press who also added that he knows he is in “the fight for his life,” but that it is a fight that he “is winning.”

“I’m one of the lucky few that responds well to treatment,” added Swayze.

Swayze has starred in over a dozen films, including the 1987 hit film Dirty Dancing.

Related news

• “Wikinews Shorts: November 28, 2008” — Wikinews, November 28, 2008

Sources

• “Swayze denies ‘deathbed’ rumours” — BBC News Online, December 3, 2008
• “Patrick Swayze denies reports he is near death” — Reuters, December 2, 2008

Saturday, February 11, 2006

Neil Entwistle, 27, appeared before a Magistrates’ court today and agreed to extradition to the United States, where he will face double-murder and weapons charges. Entwistle is now the prime suspect in the killings of his wife Rachel, 27, and nine-month-old baby daughter Lillian. Both were shot to death and left under a pile of blankets in the bedroom of their Hopkinton, Massachusetts home.

District Judge Anthony Evans said in court, to Entwistle, “You are agreeing to be sent immediately to the US and there will be no extradition proceedings?” Entwistle replied, “that’s right, yes.”

Ben Brandon, Entwistles council, said “Neil believes he will receive a fair and proper hearing in the US on these very serious allegations,” and wishes to go back to the U.S. “as soon as possible. He is anxious that any delay could cause his late wife’s family, and his own, additional distress.”

Earlier on Thursday, Entwistle had said before the court, that he did not agree to extradition “at this stage.”

However; Entwistles lawyer said that “he never changed his mind. He was always inclined to consent to extradition. He was going to think about it overnight with our advice. And overnight, after reserving his position, he has consented.”

Entwistle was reportedly planning a murder-suicide. Instead, police believe he fled to England, where he was subsequently arrested in London.

If convicted of first-degree murder, Entwistle could face life in prison.

Sunday, August 21, 2005

A robotic system at Stanford Medical Center was used to perform a laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery successfully with a theoretically similar rate of complications to that seen in standard operations. However, as there were only 10 people in the experimental group (and another 10 in the control group), this is not a statistically significant sample.

If this surgical procedure is as successful in large-scale studies, it may lead the way for the use of robotic surgery in even more delicate procedures, such as heart surgery. Note that this is not a fully automated system, as a human doctor controls the operation via remote control. Laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery is a treatment for obesity.

There were concerns that doctors, in the future, might only be trained in the remote control procedure. Ronald G. Latimer, M.D., of Santa Barbara, CA, warned “The fact that surgeons may have to open the patient or might actually need to revert to standard laparoscopic techniques demands that this basic training be a requirement before a robot is purchased. Robots do malfunction, so a backup system is imperative. We should not be seduced to buy this instrument to train surgeons if they are not able to do the primary operations themselves.”

There are precedents for just such a problem occurring. A previous “new technology”, the electrocardiogram (ECG), has lead to a lack of basic education on the older technology, the stethoscope. As a result, many heart conditions now go undiagnosed, especially in children and others who rarely undergo an ECG procedure.

Friday, May 6, 2005

According to an TNS NIPO survey published today, a 68% majority of the Dutch agrees with the position that the Balkenende government is behaving itself as the “lap dog” (“schoothondje“) of the United States.

The survey also stated 79% find that US President Bush overly pressures other countries to become and stay allies to the US. Over 70% agreed Europe should attempt to counterbalance the US, while 56% of the participants in the survey agree that Bush is a danger for world peace.

The survey was released the night before a Bush visit to the Netherlands.