Obama and the Jewish vote - trading his support for Israel for their support for the White House bid - or does he just want their money ?

Obama Walks a Difficult Path as He Courts Jewish Voters is the headline in today's New York Times

1. Why oh Why did Louis Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam leader endorse him ?
Mr. Obama called Mr. Farrakhan an anti-Semite and denounced his support, but was pressed by Shrillary ( who has a black spot after sayin nice things to Suha Arafat, in 2000 in Gaza.

2. Mr. Obama has also faced criticism over remarks he made about the suffering of Palestinians — remarks he says were incorrectly reported .

3. Viral e-mail messages, say he is a Muslim who attended a madrassa in Indonesia as a boy and was sworn into office on the Koran. In fact, he is a Christian who was sworn in on a Bible.

4. E-mail messages say you can't trust Mr Obama - the former national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski and diplomat Robert Malley, hate figures for Jews, are top advisers to his campaign. Mr. Brzezinski has met with Mr. Obama, but he is not a top adviser. Mr. Malley has communicated with the campaign by e-mail but has never spoken to Mr. Obama, a campaign spokesman said. Denial. Denial. Denial

But he has clutch of Jews advsing him on Mid East affairs ... 2 previouslt staff members for Billary Dennis Ross, a top Mideast adviser; Anthony Lake, national security adviser and Susan Rice, assistant secretary of state ( not a Jewish Princess, Rhodes Scholar and United States Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs from October '97 to Jan ,2001 but also also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Aspen Strategy Group) . Other advisers on Israeli and Mideast matters are Mr. Wexler; Dan Shapiro, formerly of the Clinton national security council, and Eric Lynn, a former Congressional aide.

The young (and inexperienced Senator Barack Obama voted against authorising President Bush to go to war in Iraq. My how HE has changed , (change being his watchword) he has voted with Republicans to increase the size and presence of the US military there (in the so-called "Surge" program); he has voted yes to reauthorise the undemocratic USA Patriot Act that endangers Americans' civil liberties; and has voted in favor of a Republican bill to authorise the construction of a 700-mile fence on the border with Mexico.

In an article in The Electronic Intifada (4 March 2007, "How Barack Obama learned to love Israel"), Ali Abunimah, a leading Palestinian activist in Chicago, exposed the ambitious Illinois Senator in the way he gradually dovetailed his (perfectly legitimate) ambition for the White House with a systematic distancing of himself from the Palestinian cause and a simultaneous catering to the Zionist Lobby in the United States.

"Israel," Senator Obama told a cheering and crowded AIPAC audience in a speech on 3 March 2007, is "our strongest ally in the region and its only established democracy. . . We must preserve our total commitment to our unique defense relationship with Israel by fully funding military assistance and continuing work on the Arrow and related missile defense programs."

"Dear Ambassador Khalilzad," wrote Barack Obama, "I understand that today the UN Security Council met regarding the situation in Gaza, and that a resolution or statement could be forthcoming from the Council in short order. I urge you to ensure that the Security Council issue no statement and pass no resolution on this matter that does not fully condemn the rocket assault Hamas has been conducting on civilians in southern Israel."

That is what the Presidential candiadte wrote to the US Ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad in January -- soon after hundreds of thousands of Palestinians smashed their way out of the Gaza concentration camp and flooded into Egypt in search of food and other basic necessities.

Shrillary said at the height of the Israeli bombing of innocent Lebanese in July 2006. "Israeli values are American values,"

Maybe Obama has indeed woken the dead soul at the heart of the current US political culture. Maybe he does want to change. Maybe he has a yearning a yearning, a wish, a vision perhaps always embedded in the American dream -- to be a nation among others, to wed the fate of its own poor, sick, homeless, and forsaken to that of others around the world.

Maybe he is just as happy as Shrillary and her husband ....and almost every Congressman and Senator to dance to the tune of AIPAC ....

The Said's were/are of course supporters of ...
Read about the Movement here also see How the FBI Spied on Edward Said

"In our work and planning and discussions our main principle is that separation between peoples is not a solution for any of the problems that divide peoples." Edward Said

Tip ; Keep an eye on the dissing of Michelle Obama.

Stop the War , Iraqi Oil Union Leader Hasan Juma and Ibrahim Mousawi - resistance personified

Sandwiched with the Philatelists and Prayers, Stop the War had their Manchester Roadshow for the World against War Demo in London on March 15th in the Mount Street Friend's Meeting House this afternoon.

It was disappointing that only 120 odd people turned out (and that's not the GMP headcount) to hear Hassan Juma, President, Iraqi Oil Workers Union and the charismatic Ibrahim Mousawi the editor of Al Intiqad,موقع الإنتقاد الإخباري (Criticism) Hezbollah's newspaper.

Hassan is a big man, in many ways, used to addressng meetings in Basra he waved the microphone away leaving that for his interpreter to catch up with him.

The opposition to the Oil Laws has been impressive, with men like Hassan involved it is easy to see how the US placemen like Maliki are frightened to make a decision. Sharahstani the Oil Minister has even now agreed that the Supply Agreements the US oil majors want are not what is wanted.

Today Shahristani said Iraq was close to finishing negotiations with several oil majors for two-year technical support contracts that hopefully would be signed in March. Those majors include Royal Dutch Shell, BP, Exxon Mobil Corp, Total and Chevron Corp., he said. He hoped the technical support contracts would add 500,000 barrels per day of oil to Iraq's output in a year.

Iraq's oil sector could need as much as $75 billion (U.S.) in investment.The extraction and service contracts should add 1.5 million bpd to output once they were in place, Shahristani says. Without this investment nothing will happen ... naturally the majors want to translate these "technical" agreemetns to marketing arrangement that will tie up pumping and profits for years to come.

Whilst the Iraq's oil sector could need as much as $75 billion (U.S.) in investment.The extraction and service contracts should add 1.5 million bpd to output once they were in place, Shahristani added.

Whilst the hated Oil Law stays stalled in Parliament - (Hassan says Maliki has threatened to remove agreement from Parliament) The service and extraction contracts seen by the West and the majors as a stop-gap until a crucial oil law is passed, and will not provide the long-term involvement big oil companies crave.

Meanwhile in Calgary yesterday, Addax Petroleum Corp. said it had signed a deal with the Kurdistan regional government in Iraq that amends a production-sharing contract with Genel Enerji to bring the Taq Taq project (including Taq Taq field and the Kewa Chirmila prospect) into line with the region's oil and gas law, including royalties, cost recovery and profit sharing.(Press release)

The arrival of Ibrahim Mousawi in the UK has been heralded by an extraordinary Zionist claque who want to treat him as though he were some noisome bacillus, who would spread his message amongst our youth.

Rabbi Wollenberg, the orthodox rabbi of the Cardiff Jewish community, criticised the decision to allow him to speak at the university (another stop on the Roadshow on Monday) and said it would distract from the Stop The War coalition’s peaceful aims.... it is difficult to stumble across an Orthodox Rabbi at a Stop the War event .. and probably impossible.

Shadow Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillan said: “We don’t want people preaching the politics of hate to be allowed into our county. We are trying to stop him coming to the UK and he certainly shouldn’t be allowed to speak in Cardiff.”

In Cambridge the Jewish Chronicle are thrilled to report that "Jewish students at Cambridge University have scuppered a meeting due to be held there on Sunday (at Corpus Christi College) , one of whose main speakers was the editor of a journal linked to Hizbollah."

Of course the anti-anti-semite crew were to th fore including our dear old friend and pensioner Lady Dame Jane Pauline Neville Baronesss Neville -Jones ... afterhaving a cup of tea and some halva with the Board of Deputies she said "Mousawi's presence is not conducive to the public good," and that he might "preach hate" if he were allowed in.

Henry Grunwald, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews as point man to lead the attack left his meeting with her to sell the same story to the Zionist media in London and Jerusalem.

True to form The Jerusalem Post ran a headline which blared 'Hezbollah television station editor's entry into Britain angers Jewish leaders' and the Jewish Chronicle and Forward followed suit with the Jewish Chronicle of 11/16/07 headlining 'Ban Hezbollah man from UK!'

Zionist Conservative Party Chairman David Cameron, always under the kosh from Tel Aviv asked at PMQ's if Gordon Brown would deny Mousawi entry to Britain, apparently because he did "not trust the 'Arabists' in the Home Office to do a proper job". "Are you aware that the Irish government recently refused entry to Ibrahim Mousawi, head of Hezbollah's viciously anti-Semitic TV station, Al-Manar?" (which he isn't) , Cameron ticked off Gordon ." Just what approach will Her Majesty's government take when Mr. Mousawi attempts to enter the UK to speak at a conference?" Cameron demanded. Brown demurred and looked uncomfortable.

Ibrahim Mousawi was very good. A sharp, keen , gaze, a studied measured delivery.He certainly knew his audience. He spoke in English, clearly and forcefully. He gets full marks for being eloquent and firing up the crowd without saying anything inflammatory that's going to make the newspapers tomorrow.

He spent a great deal of time explaining how he wasn't anti-semitic, a needless and useless distinction. This defence, falls into the trap laid by the Zionists, if you are not with us you are against us. Hezbollah arenot terrorists, they are a resistance movement - faced with this we have to sit and watch whilst our Zionist claquers sit idly whilst the IDF bomb South Lebanon for 33 days. We arrested 2 soldiers (the IDF arrest but they say Hezbollah "kidnap" ) so what do they do ? Bomb the civilian airport in Beirut....

However, warmed up he pointed out that of the inhabitants of the Middle East, only one country had a stockpile of 250 nuclear weapons (who knows how manythey have ? - one set off will be enough) - I work with words he said ... WE don't occupy stolen land, WE don't steal water ...

His controlled delivery held everyone, especially the beautiful Palestinian girls who hung on his every word. Their eyes glistened and they strained to hear his every word and clustered round him like a rock star.

Would that we had such orators in the UK, people who can stir the crowd, unify their thoughts and provide what, as he called Hezbollah ... we are not the people, they are the shaft, we are the steel point. Some steel, some point. You can view him speaking in London on December 1st 2007 here

London 2 weeks time - be there. Details

Couldn't spot the Special Branch officer , although there was one young guy very handy taking room shots from too many angles. His picture is in Lord Patel's files.

Prince Harry has killed 30 Taliban

Bild have an entertaining take on the news from the desert today - apparently his security guys say he has to stay out of nightclubs as well....Für die Zeit nach seiner Rückkehr droht Nachtschwärmer Harry ein Nachtclubverbot.

Jack Straw was slid in and out of Rochdale yesterday without any public announcment, perhaps he was explaining the finer points of aerial warfare to the Muslim Community leaders he met.

See previous Post about Harry Memorial and here

UPDATE Sunday 8.00 EST New Bild Story here

Bacton - Pipelines blowing up - Press shutting up - gas price going up.

Something very, very odd is not going on. There was a bang / explosion / fire at Bacton (Norfolk) gas terminal just over 24 hours ago... It was mentioned on Channel 4 News immediately it happened. ( see this from a Shell Corporate watcher however)

There has not been a mention in the UK Press / TV all day.

Press blacked out for a reason ... perhaps Harry Windsor is guarding it with the armed Police that the BBC reported in January.

See last nights post Bacton explosion last night - The Bigger the Bang the Louder the Silence. and the one from late Thursday night Bacton Gas Explosion - immediate gas price rise in UK of 18%

APX has the spot price up 1p over the day to 58.28 p per therm frm 52 p before the fire/ bang / explosion. Price UPDATE Saturday 1/3/08 56.67 p per therm

Forbes 4 pm EST Friday 29th and Reuters report ATP Oil & Gas Corp. Friday said a fire at its Bacton facility in the U.K. had no current impact on its existing production in that country.

In a statement, the company said that of the facility's four terminals, the one that handles natural gas wasn't affected by the fire. They state that it is currently producing 65 million standard cubic feet per day of its U.K. production through Bacton.

ATP are a fascinating company, truly bottom feeders they " acquire and develop properties, many of which have proved undeveloped reserves (“PUD’s”) at the time of acquisition that are economically attractive to ATP, but not strategic to exploration-oriented oil and gas companies" 5 year share price ;

The original report from the Eastern Daily Press on 28th is still available on line. EDP On line also have Bacton explosion probe begins yesterday ... "Officials last night could not say what had caused the explosion, but assured an investigation would be held. Shell plant manager at Bacton, Don Paulino, refused to say how close the explosion had been to causing a major incident. And he declined to comment on whether the explosion happened near any flammable materials, saying it was in “a watery area”.

"Among the nearest people to the explosion and fire were Richard and Anna Hollis, who own the Castaways Holiday Park next door to the site.Mr Hollis said: “I heard the blast. It sounded like a bomb going off. The fire probably lasted for about 20 to 25 minutes.”And he was not confident of finding out the full truth about the incident, adding: “They won't tell us every-thing about what happened, based on my previous experience of the gas companies.”His wife added: “We could see flames and smoke shooting up into the air and the siren was going off very loudly. “It was really alarming. We could see billowing black smoke. The fire was right in the centre of the terminal and there were helicopters flying all around.” (Pic taken by Ann Hollis)

"A statement from the company said: “There is no threat to the health of personnel at the site. The incident will be investigated by Shell and the relevant authorities, as is normal under these circumstances.”

Nuthin ' to see..Move along there now ... move along. Except EDP Online have just posted ..9.30 GMT "Yesterday a five party investigation - with experts from Shell, the Health and Safety Executive, the Environment Agency, police and fire service - began into the cause of the blast in the waste water system at the Shell terminal. Shell said it could not speculate on the extent of the damage or cause of the blaze until the investigation was complete, or say how long the plant will remain shut down.But North Norfolk MP Norman Lamb said the fact that there were no firefighters stationed at the Bacton site needed to be looked at urgently." More all very, very odd.

A Forum thread has mentioned it and the picture heading the post was taken from five miles from the plant.

Case-Shiller numbers out for Q4 2007 - US house price slump accelerates

The Case-Shiller HPI numbers are out for December. Worse news than the snow for San Diego.

The low-, mid-, and high-priced tiers were respectively down 3.8%, 3.3%, and 3.1% from the prior month.

The aggregate index was down 3.4%. The pace is picking up for the correction on the high-end -- December represents the first monthly decline of over 2% (let alone over 3%) for that tier.

The tally for calendar year 2007 was: -23.1% for the low tier (Gulp !!), -16.0% for the middle tier, -8.6% for the high tier, and -15.0% overall.



Read the Standard & Poors Fact Sheet on how the Case - Shiller Index works. and get all the data sheets relating to historical prices and Q4 2007 published 26th Feb 2008 here

Lord Patel said on January 3rd 2007 "If you live in the US ... the only thing you will buy cheaper in a year's time is your house." see The Mysterious case of the disappearing M3

Katoucha Niane , supermodel and anti - female circumcision campaigner found dead in Seine - Mystery surrounds cause of death

Former supermodel Katoucha Niane muse of fashion legend Yves Saint Laurent, has been recovered from the Seine near Paris today 29th February. The body, which was spotted under a bridge by a passer-by, and which was thought to have been in the water for close to a month, was still clothed in a designer dress. She disappeared on January 31st after being dropped off by friends after a party.

She lived in a houseboat on the Seine, near the Alexander III bridge in Paris. On February 1, 2008, she returned to her houseboat from a party. This was the last time she was reportedly seen alive. On February 4, 2008, police opened a missing persons case for her. Her purse was found untouched outside the door to her boat.

Katoucha was a french national and was born in Conakry in Guinea. She was proud of her African background and her father was playwright and historian Djibril Tamsir Niane.

She left the catwalk full-time in 1994 where she had modelled for Christian Lacroix, Paco Rabanne and Thierry Mugler and in recent years launched a foundation campaigning against female circumcision. (see video about her campaign - pic 8 months ago)

Excised at the age of nine in Guinea, she recounted the ordeal in a book, In My Flesh.

She said she saw her career as a form of "revenge" for the horror of the mutilation.

See UNICEF for more and better information about this wretched practice or The Female Genital Cutting Education and Networking Project

There are between eight and ten million women and girls in the Middle East and in Africa who are at risk of undergoing one form or another of genital cutting. In the United States it is estimated that about ten thousand girls are at risk of this practice. FGC in a variety of its forms is routinely practiced in Middle Eastern countries (the two Yemens, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, and Southern Algeria). In Africa it is practiced in the majority of the continent including Kenya, Nigeria, Mali, Upper Volta, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Mozambique, and Sudan.

Extraordinarily well stuffed in Austria

120 particpipants from 25 countries entered the World Taxidermy Championships at Salzburg last weekend. The German national association has over 260 biological taxidermists. Pic judges at work.

Ben Griffin Ex SAS whistleblower on Rendition gagged - Video of Banned speech

Whilst the world held a HarryFest to celebrate his handling of a machine gun (allegedly firing at Terry Taliban") and calling in USAF F 15's to bomb the shit out of an unseen enemy, Richard Norton Taylor in the Guradian reported that ...

Court gags ex-SAS man who made torture claims

Apparently not only were the Press prevented by a court order from reporting a court martial of six SAS soldiers charged with a conspiracy to "defraud of a value of about £3,000". Ben Griffin a former SAS soldier was served with a high court order. This order ( breach of which is contempt of Court) prevents hime from any further comment about how hundreds of Iraqis and Afghans captured by British and American special forces were rendered to prisons where they faced torture.

Griffin, 29, left the British army in 2005 after three months in Baghdad, saying he disagreed with the "illegal" tactics of US troops.

He told a press conference hosted by the Stop the War Coalition this week that individuals detained by SAS troops in a joint UK-US special forces taskforce had ended up in interrogation centres in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as Guantánamo Bay.

Referring to the government's admission that two US rendition flights containing terror suspects had landed at the British territory of Diego Garcia, Griffin said the use of British territory and airspace "pales into insignificance in light of the fact that it has been British soldiers detaining the victims of extraordinary rendition in the first place".

The Ministry of Defence said it did not comment on special forces' activities.

Griffin previously spoke to the Daily Telegraph 11th March 2006

'I didn't join the British Army to conduct American foreign policy' by Sean Rayment

He said: "I saw a lot of things in Baghdad that were illegal or just wrong. I knew, so others must have known, that this was not the way to conduct operations if you wanted to win the hearts and minds of the local population." ....he believes that the reputation of the Army has been damaged by its association with the American forces.

You Tube have a video of Ben speaking at a Stop the War rally added today 29th Feb 2008in which he explains that troops never "arrested" anyone , they were specifically told not to, they "detained" them and then passed them over to US jurisdiction - which is in itself rendition.




Saturday 1 March, 3pm, Friends Meeting House, Mount Street.

Doors open 2.30 pm
Rally for peace
Greater Manchester Stop the War Coalition

Hassan Juma, President, Iraqi Oil Workers Union
Johnny Rico, US soldier who refused to fight in Afghanistan
Ibrahim Mousawi the editor of Al Intiqad, Hezbollah's newspaper
Andrew Murray, Chair Stop the War Coalition.

07765122829
Email: krantz.mark@googlemail.com

9/11 further puzzles, further denials of information , obfuscation ......

Distance lends enchantment but increasingly allows the curious details to filter out about the anomalies of the events on 9/11.

Of all major U.S. airline crashes within the U.S. investigated and published by the National Transportation Safety Board during the past 20 years, the 9/11 'black boxes' are virtually the only ones without listed serial numbers.

NTSB American Airlines flight 77 flight data recorder report, not noting a device serial number:

http://www.911myths.com/AAL77_fdr.pdf

NTSB United Airlines flight 93 flight data recorder report, not noting a device serial number:

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB196/doc04.pdf

4 registered Boeing commercial passenger aircraft were used in the September 11, 2001terrorist attacks (according to the official conspiracy theory). The officials have so far failed to produce a single piece of physical evidence collected from the three 9/11 crash sights that identify the planes that are supposed to have crashed.

There is overwheling evidence of the planes produced when they were supposed to be in the air - specific information that would confirm official allegations regarding the identity of these aircraft has been mysteriously withheld or denied upon request.

Lots , Lots more at Adrian Monaghan posted 26th Feb 2008. With e-mails from FOI etc.,

Do You Ever Wonder Comments ..."Supposedly, four passenger jets crash on the same day, and not a single traceable part has been recovered from even one of them?"

This is a popular morning time Danish TV show that aired some further dissent aired by Chemistry Professor , Niels Harrit and Jakob Hede Madsen of the Danish 9/11 Forum


Or go to You Tube

Cyprus Government formed and Ryanair tells it like it is in air fares in Europe.

President Demetris Christofias , the 6th President since Cyprus obtained independence in 1960, was sworn in today and the Cyprus cabinet met for the first time under his control - he had previously been the speaker in Parliament and defeated MEP Ioannis Kasoulides in a presidential election run-off on Sunday.

He determined that they would have two major goals , reviving peace talks with the Turkish Cypriots and ending the 30 year division of the strategic Mediterranean island.

Christofias who is Russian educated , is leader of the AKEL party ,with avowed Marxist-Leninist ideals but is seen as more socialist than communist rooted and is the largest party in the Greek part of the island.

The tri-party coalition of AKEL with socialist EDEK and DIKO now takes power for a 5 year term

EU health commissioner Markos Kyprianou, (son of three-time Cyprus president Spyros Kyprianou) takes up the key post of foreign minister . His commission job will be taken by former MP Androulla Vassiliou, the beautiful and engaging young wife of wife of former Cyprus president George Vassiliou.

Harilaos Stavrakis, a senior Bank of Cyprus executive ,takes over the Finance Ministry as the country expands into the Eurozone with a growth rate of 4% expected in the forthcoming year. Much of which will be the growth of offshore banking and financial services. Helped by a helthy dose ofg money laun dering from the immigrant Eastern Europeans and the leaky Northern Turkish border with its money juggling casinos.

Overall AKEL has taken the most portfolios with five (including affiliated members), followed by DIKO with three, the socialists with two and the finance minister was appointed by common consensus.

Negotiations with the Turkish Cypriots had gone nowhere with the previous President DIKO chief Tassos Papadopoulos, (who had a surprise defeat in the first round of voting) who led Greek Cypriots in rejecting a UN reunification plan in a 2004 referendum. Christofias, has agreed to meet Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat to try to end the stalemate - a move that has been welcomed in the halls of the European bureaucrats.

Ministers appointed are :
Finance Charilaos Stavrakis
The Interior Neoclis Sylikiotis
Defence Costas Papacostas
Education and Culture Andreas Demetriou
Communications and Works Nicos Nicolaides
Commerce, Industry and Tourism Antonis Paschalides
Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment Michalis Polyniki Charalambides
Labor and Social Insurance Soteroulla Charalambous
Justice and Public Order Kypros Chrysostomides
Health Christos Patsalides

ELSEWHERE Ayia Napa mayor Nakis Tsokkos is seeking to impose a year-round blanket ban after after nine soldiers were charged with smashing up a pub and attacking locals - the 9 will stand trial on March 31 after pleading not guilty to a variety of offences ranging from causing grievous bodily harm to breach of the peace over the Ayia Napa pub rampage in February.

Ryanair’s Director of Route Development Bernard Berger told a hoteliers` conference that something had to be done about airport charges before they would fly to Cyprus. Berger gave a speech - ‘Europe soars, Cyprus slumps’ to the conference, organised by the Cyprus Hotel Association (PASYXE).

Ryanair's current average ticket price is With an average ticket price of €44 and the current €30 fee per departing passenger from Cyprus will continue to be strong dis-incentive to use Cyprus..

Berger quoted the example of Latvia where they had taken the decision to lower its rates, and since then Ryanair had brought in between one and four million passengers through Riga airport. he also highlighted malta's 11% growth in visitors after more realistic pricing.

Berger said Ryanair could initially bring in 60,000 to 70,000 new tourists a year (would include flights to and from Stockholm, Milan, Pisa, Marseille, Barcelona and Dusseldorf) and after a few years this could increase to as much as 750,000 a year...if they could strike a deal. (GB Airways -part of EasyJet. Gatwick- Paphos 7 days return today is £278)

Pics are of Christmas Stamps from 2007 see the story of these here Cyprus remembers theft by Turks of Christian relics from ocupied churches in Christmas Stamps.

Cyprus post office issued memorial stamps depicting Murals From The Chapel Of St. Themonianus In The Turkish occupied village of Lysi. The little chapel was plundered completely by the Turks, probably between 1974 and 1983, under the strict surveillance of the occupying Turkish army and with the criminal intention of removing without exception everything including the wall paintings.


Possibly not on the agenda when Demetris Christofias meets Mehmet Ali Talat

Bacton explosion last night - The Bigger the Bang the Louder the Silence.

Remarkably there has been remarkably little (virtually Zero) comment on the Blast / explosion / fire at Bacton in Norfolk last night which has shut the supplies of 13% of UK natural gas and psuhed the price up overnight from 52 (ish) p per Therm to 57 (ish) p per Therm.

However rooting about this popped up

BBC Online 8/1/08 Armed police to guard gas plant

One quarter of Britain's gas is handled at Bacton, which also processes supplies from three North Sea oil fields and channels gas to and from Europe.

Armed police are to guard Bacton Gas Terminal against a possible terrorist attack, Norfolk Police has confirmed. The decision to deploy armed police is part of an ongoing review of security around the country.

The Home Office emphasised it had not received any intelligence of an attack, or an increase in the level of terrorist threats.

A national newspaper (Rupe's Rag News of the World NOW) claimed there were intelligence reports of al-Qaeda suspects showing an interest in some oil and gas terminals. (The NOW oil and gas terminals in Humberside and Grampian, Scotland, and oil refineries at Coryton, Essex, and Fawley, near Southampton, as locations where troops are to be deployed to beef up security. They also said the paper suggested that plans to bring in military security came in response to intelligence reports of al Qaida suspects showing an interest in plants including Bacton and the Milford Haven gas terminal in south Wales.)(PA) The NOW report also was headlined that the Football Premier Leage was a target with a picture of a footballer as headline ! - AL-QAEDA TARGET THE PREMIERSHIP

The Home Office said: "We have been very clear that we face the severe threat of terrorism, so it is important that we consider all options to protect our assets and infrastructure.

"This particular review doesn't reflect any specific threat. We constantly keep our resources under review."

Current Threat level

UPDATE 3.45 pm GMT Reuters report gas flow re-started. Still no mention on Friday UK News media of incident.

Israelis rain bombs and rockets on Gaza - 20 dead, 5 of them children

Late Thursday, an Israel Air Force missile strike hit an electric company vehicle in Khan Yunis, killing two workmen, medics said. The Israeli military said they hit a car carrying militants.

After nightfall Thursday, two Palestinians were killed in an IAF missile strike on a truck in Gaza City, near Shifa Hospital.

Early Thursday evening, an IAF helicopter attacked a police roadblock near the Gaza City home of Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, in which Palestinian .

Four children - all under the age of 16 and three from the same family - were killed in an IAF strike in Jabalya, a refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Palestinian sources said. Witnesses said the children were playing soccer when the missile struck. Another boy wounded in that strike, a 12-year-old neighbor, died later, hospital officials said.

Another IAF attack in northern Gaza a short while later killed a Hamas militant.

Earlier, IAF aircraft struck northern Gaza, killing another Hamas member and one other person. There were no details on the target, and the IDF had no immediate comment.

On Thursday morning, the IAF struck targets in carried out an air strike in Gaza City, killing two militants from the Popular Resistance Committees and another from Hamas.

Overnight, IAF jets blasted a government building in Gaza. Palestinian health officials said a 6-month-old baby was killed in the attack, and 30 people were wounded.
Haaretz

Harry Windsor - An Officer and a Gentleman

Air Force Link
Feb. 26 airpower summary: B-1Bs destroy Taliban check point

Air Force B-1B Lancers dropped GBU-31s(500lb) and 38s (2,000lbs) in order to destroy an enemy commander's house, a Taliban check point, an enemy ambush site, improvised explosive device emplacers, and enemy combatants on a ridge line. A JTAC reported that the missions were successful.

"After the disappointment over Iraq ....... he retrained as a battlefield air controller known as a JTAC (Joint Terminal Attack Controller) with a view to going to Afghanistan. "

Gordon Brown said Prince Harry has been an "exemplary" soldier, adding: "The whole of Britain will be proud of the outstanding service he is giving."

Doling out a Guernica daily to the Third World - it's no wonder they are so thrilled to see us there.

Anorak has a good take on the media HarryFest

" ..all he seems to have done is spanked a few bare bottoms" David Steel on Cyril Smith 1979

Attutudes to the abuse and bullying of children, especially those in the care of the local authority or the State have changed dramatically.

So has the attitude of society to those who misuse their position to abuse children

The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979. It marked a pivotal point in post war British politics. Margaret Thatcher defeated James Callaghan's incumbent Labour government in what would prove to be the first of four consecutive general election victories for the Conservative Party. Auberon Waugh, also stood representing the "Dog Lovers' Party" in memory of Rinka the Great Dane shot by Andrew Newton instead of Norman Scott, Jeremy Thorpe the Liberal leaders lover..

One was never certain that the nation was more shocked by the culling of a dog than by Thorpe's homosexuality, deceit, and bare faced lies in court.

Rochdale Altenative Press (RAP) published an article about Cyril Smith MP, (Now Sir Cyril) in their issue No 78 of May 1978 which hit the streets of Rochdale the week before the election .

It was headed "Strange Case of Smith the Man"

The Article launched into their report ...RAP has obtained evidence that , during the 60's Cyril Smith (Alderman and Chairman of the Education Committee) was using his position to get lads aged 13-18 to undresin front of him in order that he could get them to bend over his knee while he spanked their bare bottoms or let him hold their testicles in a bizarre ' medical inspection '

They deatiled how the Lancashire Police had investigated claims about Smith's activities 3 years before he became an MP for 6 months.

The original complaint concerned a resident of Cambridge Boys Hostel, Castlemere Street, Rochdale (it closed in 1965) . Eventually 7 people made complaints.

"... he took me into the quiet Room. he told me to take my trousers down and bend over his knee..." Another one ..." Cyril Smith found out I had taken some money . He asked me if I would accept his punishment or be dealt with by the authorities..." Another " He told me to take my trousers and oants down. He held my testicles and told me to cough"

At the end of the Lancashire Police review a File was drawn up by the Officer incharge of the Task Force team for submission to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

But the DPP wjhen asked by RAP said .." The DPP cannot trace such a case being referred to us, but cannot confirm or deny receiving it" - it appears that at the time existence of the review into Smith's conduct and the File were common knowledge amongst many local politicians and Police.

But the file did exist and was handled by Special Branch when prospects of a Conservative / Liberal pact were being considered.

Smith has always denied the allegations. RAP at the time warote asking for an interview and received no reply.

The article was published and a shocked town waited for a response by the big fella.

There was none.

David Steel's Press Office was quoted as saying on 22nd April 1979 ..." ..all he seems to have done is spanked a few bare bottoms".

Copies of RAP can be found in the Rochdale and Whitworth Libraries.

Bacton Gas Explosion - immediate gas price rise in UK of 18%

Gas pipelines blow up - "THE BIG BANG THEORY – The Bigger the Bang, the Louder the Silence 04/08/04 " identifies the problems the UK faces in energy security.

Late sleepers in Ath, 30 km SW of Brussels were woken by a massive explosion at 8.55 am on Friday July 30th 2004. A gas pipeline exploded.

Between 12 and 16 people died immediately and some 200 were injured of whom 35 who suffered massive burns (many of them emergency service staff) and are not expected to survive.
The UK media offered no comment or analysis on this massive and lethal incident and turned to the important issues of the day, Cherie Blair's swimwear, Lady Di's non-functioning fountain and the endless sex sagas of the denizen's of London's Soho Square.

Silence. A silence induced by an unwillingness to either rule out the possibility of terrorist action or even identify how such an accident (if that is what it was – and nobody has ever decided what caused it) punches a hole in the alleged UK “Energy Policy”.

Now 4 years later there is still do definitive efitive view about the cause of the explosion.

Tonight we learn that there has been an explosion at the Bacton Gas terminal in Norfolk 18 miles NW of Norwich.

Bacton is a sprawling complex of five gas terminals, built over the last 35 years is the largest gas terminal complex in the UK. Gas lands onshore at the three producer terminals from the Southern North Sea and from the Shearwater Elgin Area Line (SEAL) and is then distributed to UK customers via the National Grid terminal, or to Belgium via the Interconnector system. When in reverse flow mode, the Interconnector Bacton Terminal is used to import gas into the UK.

Ten fire engines attended the incident, which was described as ``very large-scale'' by the Norfolk Fire Service press office today. The plant sustained some ``structural damage'' from an explosion, the fire service said. All 17 staff on the site at the time were accounted for and by 7.30pm Shell UK Exploration said: “The fire has now been extinguished and the plant has been shut down safely.”

No gas was flowing through either the Shell Bacton or Bacton Seal terminals, data from National Grid showed.

Total SA halted flows from the Elgin-Franklin fields in the North Sea, which ship gas to Bacton, spokeswoman Jenny Costelloe said. Those fields can pump 280,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, including 175,000 of gas condensate, a type of light oil.

Flows through the BBL pipeline from the Netherlands were unaffected by the fire, according to National Grid data on Bloomberg. The fuel was arriving into the U.K. at a rate of about 35 million cubic meters a day at 7:58 p.m. GMT

Within-day U.K. gas prices rose on the APX Gas UK exchange, trading at 61.5 pence a therm at 8:08 p.m. GMT, (equivalent of $12.33 per million British thermal units) compared with about 52.5 pence ( a rise of 18%) before the blaze was reported. (A therm is 100,000 British thermal units (BTU))

``Traders taking gas in through Bacton will have to replace those flows,'' said Patrick Heather, an industry consultant and former head of gas trading at BG Group Plc, said in a phone interview. ``The southeast is where the demand is. Bacton is our physical link to the continent.''
Gas Trading

Bacton can handle as much as 20% of the U.K.'s net gas imports, Heather estimated.

News of the blaze came after normal trading hours for most gas brokers. The APX exchange is used by National Grid Plc, operator of the U.K.'s gas pipeline network, to buy and sell the fuel to balance daily demand.

Gas traders will ``pounce'' on the Bacton news when trading resumes tomorrow, Heather said. ``At this time of night it will just be balancing trading.''

The APX Gas UK exchange is used by National Grid Plc, operator of the U.K.'s gas pipeline network, to buy and sell the fuel to balance daily demand and provides a real time twenty-four hours a day facility.

Further report from Eastern Daily Press 8 pm which suggests that eveyting is damped down, any fire is out . No offficial public statements have been made by the Fire Services, Terminal operators or the National Grid. 9.0 GMT. At 10.00 pm GMT Police said ave given the all-clear after the explosion and fire at Bacton gas terminal. Officers used an automated system to tell people in 360 homes in and around the village that they were safe, that the fire was out and the plant had been shut down safely.


Gobal oil and gas prices tend to move in unison and in the US Since September 2007, the prices of oil have increased from approximately $75 per barrel to over $100 per barrel and natural gas has increased from $6.13/mmBtu to a recent price of $9.08/mmBtu, a 48 percent increase. Se Chart which is close of business Wednesday 27th.
Today - Crude oil for April delivery rose $3, or 3 percent, to $102.64 a barrel at the 2:30 p.m. close of floor trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) . Futures rose to $102.97 a barrel, the highest since trading began in 1983. Prices are up 66 % from a year ago.

The Oil Drum has this excellent article posted today on North American natural gas decline. There are interesting comments on the mi of using LNG as a agas source - LNG has a higher energy content and has limited use for domestic equipment currently in use.

UPDATE : Natural gas on APX is being quoted today 57.44 (1.00 GMT) - from 52.55 yesterday before Bacton was hit. You can see the effect on quoted prices in the graph from yesterday.

Oddly enough there is little comment in the UK Press today about the incident.

Bloomberg report ;

Investigation Underway

Shell said an investigation is underway into the fire at the terminal in Norfolk, England, and it was too early to comment on the cause. The facility sustained ``structural damage'' from the blast, according to a recorded message from the local fire service yesterday.

``We have no date for the re-start of the terminal,'' Shell said in an e-mailed statement today. ``Gas supply to the U.K. is unaffected.'' Shell has been in contact with the National Grid who confirmed there is ``more than enough supply coming into the country from all the various sources,'' according to the statement.

``National Grid are confident there will be no detrimental effect on security of supply,'' Shell
said. ``Only the Shell terminal at the Bacton site is affected.''

Supply Draw

Gas shippers started to draw supplies of the fuel from liquefied natural gas stocks at the Glenmavis facility in Scotland today, the first time since Feb. 20. Rough, the U.K.'s biggest gas-storage facility, was 34 % full as of Feb. 28, with more than 26 days of supply at maximum withdrawal rate in stock, according to National Grid data. Smaller storage sites are 60 % full with 10.8 day's supply, while LNG stocks are 67 % full, the grid data show. (The loss of the 2 Shell pipelines at Bacton = 13% of UK gas supply)

Dutch gas for delivery March 3 at the Title Transfer Facility rose 2.8 % to 23.75 euros (US
$36.12) a megawatt-hour, according to Spectron Group Plc. That equals $10.59 a million British thermal units. Next-month gas gained 4.4 percent to a month-high of 23.65 euros = 55.3 p Therm.

Happy 63rd Birthday SIR PHILIP MARTIN BAILHACHE Bailiff of Jersey

The Current Bailiff of Jersey is SIR PHILIP MARTIN BAILHACHE , QC who was elected to the post in 1989. He lives with his wife Linda Le Vavasuer dit Durell and 2 children Alice and Edward at L'Anquetinerie, Grouville, Jersey JE3 9UX .This picture below is of the datestone celebrating their marriage in 1984 when he was 38.

Sir Philip was born 28 Feb 1946 almost at the same time as George Robertson. He is an Old Carthusian and went on to read Law at Pembroke College Oxford (MA, Hon Fell 1995); admitted to theMiddle Temple 1968, advocate Jersey 1969–74

He was for many years in the 70's and 80's the Governor of the Jersey Home for Boys (Haut de la Garenne)

First elected to the States of Jersey as Deputy of Grouville in 1972, he resigned his seat in 1975 to become a Crown Officer when appointed as HM Solicitor General. He became HM Attorney General in 1986. He was the serving Attorney General at the time of the court case vs. Peter Pearce which represents the only time that a senior legal official in Jersey has lost a case in the Royal Court of Jersey. The case was presided over by the Bailiff of Guernsey.

He was involved in the controversy surrounding the removal of Vernon Tomes (later Senator Vernon Tomes) as Deputy Bailiff, and replaced Vernon Tomes in that office in 1994. He became Bailiff of Jersey in 1995 and received his knighthood in 1996.

Vernon Tomes, the island's Deputy Bailiff, and a farmer's son was dismissed by Queen Elizabeth in 1992, acting on instructions from Whitehall. The reason given was that, as a senior judge, he had been repeatedly late in delivering judgments.The Queen rules as heir to William, Duke of Normandy, and not as a British monarch, she appoints the Bailiff and Deputy Bailiff to preside over the States and the judiciary and to represent the island abroad.

At the time Tomes was sacked her representative was Lieutenant Governor, Air Marshal Sir John Sutton who was booed and heckled in the streets of Jersey. The Bailiff presented Sir John with a pair of decanters "suitably inscribed" when he eventually retired Tuesday, 27th June 1995.

In 2006, Sir Philip awarded l'Ordre de la Pléiade (Grand Officier class) by l'Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie.

Philip is curently recovering from surgery from prostate cancer and will not return to office until the end of March - meanwhile Deputy Bailiff Michael Birt is standing in for him.

PRAYERS OF REPENTANCE were said at the church closest to Haut de la Garenne, where the remains of a child were found, at a service attended by Jersey’s highest officials this evening.
Rev Canon Dr Peter Williams who has arranged the service at Gouray Church where he is vicar, said prayers of “corporate repentance” would be said during the service attended by the Island’s First Minister, the Chief of Police and the Queen’s representative.

They would consider Matthew 18 : 5 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea."

EDUCATION Minister Mike Vibert yesterday today spoke to the press on the steps of the State House and said that ‘I regret that there was a historic case of child abuse at one of the Island’s schools 'Victoria College', which was uncovered in the early 1990s before I was elected as a States member.

‘Once reported to the Education Department of the day this incidence of abuse was taken seriously. The man responsible was successfully prosecuted and subsequently imprisoned.’
The Education Minister made the statement after Senator Stuart Syvret gave copies of a leaked report into the Jervis Dykes child abuse scandal to the media yesterday.

LOCAL PRESS reports today say children at Haut de la Garenne were selected for abuse and kept in a ‘deep, dark place in the ground’ before it occurred, police have been told.
It is claimed by alleged victims that the abuse, which was sexual and physical, either took place within the holding chamber in the ground where the children were kept and fed, or elsewhere in the building.

Only one person has been charged in connection with the current enquiry. In January Gordon Claude Wateridge, 76, was accused of indecently assaulting three girls under 16 between 1969 and 1979.

The BBC have an excellent Timeline here Guradian inter active 3 D guide

Panic! Don't Panic ..Show bizniz crisis hits Metropolitan Police Entertainments Unit - all their patsies stars locked up . more required...

Peter Clarke ,Met Police Assistant Commissioner responsible for specialist operations, (AKA The Sphincter of the Yard) said on Monday when launching an advertising campaign to coincide with the ending of the 5 month "Don't Panic I'm Islamic" Trial (Joint Production BBC / MI5/6) ... "Terrorists live within our communities, making their plans whilst doing everything they can to blend in, and trying not to raise suspicions about their activities."

This blending in the community naturally involves being filummed for TV - BBC 2, Sunday 12th June,2005 19:00 ( er...one month before the 7/7 false flag bombing of the London Transport) ....The BBC paid for Mr Hamid and fellow defendants Muhammad al-Figari and Mousa Brown to go on a paintballing trip at the Delta Force centre in Tonbridge, Kent, in February 2005 for a BBC programme commissioned by MI6 (who also supplied an Asian agent provacateur for the set up / entrapment ) "Don’t Panic, I’m Islamic"

The men, accused of terrorism training, starred in the programme which was screened in June 2005. Woolwich Crown Court was told the BBC paid Mr Hamid, an Islamic preacher who denies recruiting and grooming the men behind the failed July 21st 2005 attack, a £300 fee to take part in the programme.

Mr Clarke went on to say on Monday ..."We want people to look out for the unusual, some activity or behaviour which strikes them as not quite right and out of place in their normal day to day lives."

Well look carefully at these two photographs and decide whether you should give him a call and advise him of something out of place.. or ...er...not quite right.

Nasreen Suleaman, "a researcher on the programme," *** was born of Pakistani parentsin Britain and brought up like Mohamed Sidique Khan in Yorkshire and has worked for the BBC for 13 years. She has written a considerable number of stories ( 1 2 3 4 5 6 )which have appeared on BBC Online about evil Islamic, bearded/non bearded , brown skinned Jihadist Islamic fundamentalist terrists . In November 2005 she produced a BBC 4 documentary , "Biography of a Bomber " - a search for reasons why Mohammad Sidique Khan turned from being a non-mosque-going Yorkshire Brit into a suicide bomber for Islam on July 7.

Nasreen Suleaman also spoke at a conference in Madrid organised by the British Embassy in Spain with the aim of discussing Islam and communities in the future some time in 2005.

Nasreen Suleaman appeared in Woolwich Crown Court and told them that Mr Hamid contacted her after the July 21st abortive attack and told her about his association with the bombers. (read about trial here)

Nasreen Suleaman explained to the court that she informed senior BBC managers but was not told to contact the police and therefore felt under no obligation to contact the police with this information. It appears it was her idea that they went paint balling - she told the court: "There are many, many British Muslims that I know who for the past 15 or 20 years have been going paintballing. It's a harmless enough activity. I don't think there is any suggestion, or ever has been, that it's a terrorist training activity." WRONG WRONG

Nasreen Suleaman had no need to worry, Peter Clarke and the masterminds of the Met knew all about Mr Hamid, they had a man on the inside (Agent 1259 ) for over 2 years, they were secretly recording conversations in his house.

Regrettably so busy have the Busies in Blue been in masterminding their secret cells of evil Islamic, bearded/non bearded , brown skinned Jihadist Islamic fundamentalist terrists they betrayed the trust the public put in the security services... and allowed patient, clever , well organised enthusiastic committed eco-freaks to not only identify the glaring weaknesses in security at our major airpirt and the Houses of Parliament but to breach them and explouit the resultant publicity.

They managed to sneak huge banners, Day Glo Jackets to parade for hours their message to be relayed worldwide by a primed and waiting Press.

Mr Peter Clarke the terrist mastermind added on Monday launched a massive (and no dobt expensive) advertising campagn in Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and the West Midlands (that's the hideout of the evil Islamic, bearded/non bearded , brown skinned Jihadist Islamic fundamentalist terrists).

Mr Peter Clarke the Sphincter of the Yard and Keeper of the Lunch Pails added: "I completely understand and appreciate that some people may have concerns or reservations about contacting the police."

"Any information passed to the Anti-Terrorist Hotline (0800 789 321) is treated in the strictest of confidence."

So, if any readers see a group of people (they don't have to be evil Islamic, bearded/non bearded , brown skinned Jihadist Islamic fundamentalist terrists) standing on top of an plane at London Airport with a huge fluorescent banner.

If any readers see a group of people(they don't have to be evil Islamic, bearded/non bearded , brown skinned Jihadist Islamic fundamentalist terrists) hanging banners off the roof of the Houses of Parliament while policemen (they are usually the one's in fluorescent jackets - but not always) with Heckler and Koch MP5 automatic machine guns skulking around looking very awkward.

RING 0800 789 321

Ask for Peter.

*** Small research program for the reader , simply Google the phrase, "Nasreen Suleaman, a researcher on the programme, told the court that Mr Hamid, 50" (no quotes) ... and see if you think the beautiful, doe eyed, Asian beauty , Nasreen, 13 years with the BBC who speaks to conferences at the UK Embassy in Madrid and produces TV programmes which take 24 months to make is a "researcher"

One thing is for certain beautiful, doe eyed, Asian beauty , Nasreen Suleaman is a very smart lady.

UPDATE March 17th see also Antagonist 26 February 2008
Osama bin London Exclusive - terror training and extremism gets BBC sponsorship

The UK elites and their prediliction for sex with children

Jersey is a small (90,000 population) island with a mediaeval system of Government - it isn't in the EU - Aangirfan has collected together information about Edward Paisnel, the "Beast of Jersey", who was the son of wealthy Jersey landowners.

In the period 1958 - 1971, Paisnel abducted and abused a number of children and at the same the time visited visited Jersey's Haut de la Garenne orphanage dressed as Father Christmas. This was revealed in first revealed in a book written by his wife, Joan, in 1972, after he had been sentenced to 30 years in prison. Paisnel, apparently was keen for the children to call him Uncle Ted, died in 1994. He apparently also did work on the premises as an odd job man /painter.

The mainland were alerted to an intensive study centred on that orphanage by the BBC in early December - Investigating Jersey's 'abuse' history . Mr Syvret, 42, the former Jersey health minister who has been involved in fierce clashes with Frank Walker, the island’s Chief Minister, over allegations of a cover-up, said that the abuse extended to several more children’s homes in addition to Haut de la Garenne and Greenfields, which is the subject of a separate investigation .
Aangirfan provides an excellent running commentary on paedophile scandals and cover ups ... which he traces through Lenny Harper the NI policeman in charge of the inquiry on Jersey today , via the Kincora Boys Home the North Wales , Bryn Alyn paedophile ring and MI5/6 /SIS involvement with both.

By way of police cover ups at Dunblane and Labour Party Politicians like Margaret Hodge (née Margaret Oppenheimer) who (reminscent of Kenny the Red) accused the accused the Evening Standard of "gutter journalism" and rejected its dossier on paedophile activity in the homes when The Evening Standard began a series of reports alleging that dozens of children at two Islington council homes were abused.

..to the curious case of George Robertson ... Secetary general of NATO

Blair's Protection of Elite Paedophile Rings Spells the End For His Career / Mike James

"NATO boss and Blair government insider Lord Robertson has threatened to sue Scotland's leading independent newspaper over internet allegations that he not only used his influence as a Freemason to procure a gun licence for child killer Thomas Hamilton, but was also a member of a clandestine paedophile ring reportedly set up by Hamilton for the British elite. "

Aangirfaan gets better ... read also the way Israel / Turkey / US are forming a sinister triangle of force ready to tackle Iran. Turkey is being persuaded to join an attack on Iran?

Gannon - see WAPO Friday, May 4, 2007; Page A02 see also

The BBC have been on the case of the Haut de la Garenne child abuse and cover up since 2006 and this link gives an excelle time line with links to all BBC stories. Something is very rotten in the States of Jersey.

Bob Bennett and Northern Rock - a pattern emerges -Après moi le déluge

Those who heard Bob Bennett on Radio 4 "Today" programme yesterday may well be inerested in this interview he gave when he announced his retirement. We have not heard the last of Mr Bennet or his relationship with Mr Applegarth.

He described the then-chief executive Adam Applegarth as "an energetic, youthful, growth-orientated individual"."He was difficult to deal with and he was difficult to handle," said Bennett who described himself as a "safe pair of hands" in the City's view.

Northern Rock should never have gone to the Bank of England for emergency financing in August, Bennett said, suggesting it should have taken action to scale back its lending.
Asked if the management was to blame he replied: "Partially, .... yes".

Interview: Moving On – Bob Bennett, group finance director at Northern Rock
Clare Bettelley Finance Week - 18-Sep-2006
Northern Rock group finance director, Bob Bennett announced his early retirement today. He tells Clare Bettelley the reason behind his decision and his plans for life after Northern Rock.

Finance Week: You told Finance Week last year that you would “definitely” not retire before your 60th birthday, next May. What changed?

Bob Bennett : I will continue to be employed until May (He was then 60) . If you think about the results, it makes sense to do the year-end and for the new guy to start as early as possible in the New Year.

FW: Were you forced to go? (now why ask that ?)

BB: No. If we had recruited an external candidate, then possibly I would have gone earlier. Some new people do not always want the old guy around.

FW: How many internal and external candidates did the bank consider?

BB: Dave Jones was the only internal candidate - he was always seen as the clear internal candidate. Northern Rock has a fairly static strategy about what it wants to do. Dave is completely conversant with this.

FW: What have been the highlights of your 13-year tenure?

BB: I am a forward-looking kind of guy, not a nostalgic one. It is not the end of Bob Bennett.

FW: But what would you consider your achievements?

BB: I always wanted to be an accountant. If someone had said I would be a finance director of a FTSE 100 company, I would have been happy.

FW: Will you consider extra non-executive director roles in addition to your post at Greggs?

BB: If people see me of use, then of course I would.

FW: What projects will you leave unfinished?

BB: I will not leave anything unfinished; it is not my style. The Basel II project will continue. One of the things that I am pleased about is that I am not a megalomaniac. I see it as a relay race, and have ensured that Dave’s been involved with all big projects.

JC Flowers wo looked at a take over of NR briefly, included Bob Bennett in their managment team for ther take over.

See also Accountancy Age the Daily Telegraph also had what will be seen as a very prescient article on September 19th 2007 which mention BB's departure and the consequences.

Lights go out all over Florida - Turkey Point PWR shut down

Two Florida Power & Light nuclear reactors at its Turkey Point power plant automatically shut down at 1 pm EST today. The plant is 2 miles east of Homestead, Florida, United States, next to Biscayne National Park located about 35 miles (56 kilometers) near the southernmost edge of Miami-Dade County.....

.... On the day the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announce that NRC staff will conduct two public meetings in the vicinity of the Three Mile Island 1 nuclear power plant on Tuesday, March 4, to discuss the agency’s review process for a proposed 20-year extension of the facility’s current 40-year operating license. AmerGen Energy Co., LLC, owns and operates the plant, which is located in Middletown (Dauphin County), Pa.

''We don't know whether the grid disturbance caused the units to shut down or that their shut down caused the grid disturbance,'' said Kenneth Clark, a spokesman at the NRC regional office in Atlanta. He said the two reactors were automatically shut down.

''There are no safety concerns. The reactors shut down as designed,'' Clark told the New York Times.

There were sporadic shutdowns of traffic lights, Miami airport went on to generator backup and slowly full grid connections were restored.

In 2006, FPL informed the NRC that they planned to apply for new units to be built at Turkey Point. FPL filed an initial proposal for increased capacity with the Florida Public Service Commission in October, 2007

No doubt it will be clearer later in the day what happened - the company report on their website (may be difficult to reach ) "The system is being restored in a systematic process to ensure its safe operation at all times. The company does not have a cause for the outage, which is affecting several hundred thousand customers but the system responded as designed to ensure the outage was contained. We ask you to please call us only in an emergency situation so we can keep our lines open for emergency calls". ....Meanwhile the important news today is ...

Miss Lohan as Marilyn in a pastiche of her “The Last Sitting” with Bert Stern.Kennedy moll and family lover she died six weeks later of an overdose (?).

The whole Bert Stern (ish) Oeuvre is here

PS: Curious story about suspected sabotage at Turkey Point April 2006 here with links.