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Friday, June 5, 2009

General Motors Corporation (GM), an American automaker which has filed for bankruptcy protection, announced on Friday that the Penske Automotive Group (PAG) was selected to purchase Saturn Corporation. The transaction should be completed in October.

The purchase includes rights to the Saturn brand, its five current models and its dealership network. Two models would be discontinued, the Sky and Astra. GM would continue building the Aura sedan, the SUV’s, Vue and Outlook for at least two more years.

Saturn has 350 dealers across the United States. The dealers employ more than 13,000 jobs and sell only the Saturn autos. Canadian Saturn dealers are not included in the deal.

According to Penske future Saturn vehicles will be fuel economy focused. An expert indicated that this would move Saturn back to its roots of a entry level car company. PAG is in talks with several international automakers to replace GM after 2011. Automotive News reports that Renault Samsung Motors of Korea is the most likely candidate.

Penske wants Jill Lajdziak, Saturn’s general manager, and Tom LaSorda, former Chrysler President to head up the company when it is independent of GM.

Serra Automotive in Grand Blanc Township, Genesee County, Michigan, is in talks to take a partial ownership in a new Saturn lead by Penske.

Friday, May 9, 2008

Police in the British city of Bristol have surrounded a house near the city of Bristol, after a man refused to allow the police into the house.

This move comes after Avon and Somerset police received reports regarding a domestic incident in the House.

Local residents have reported that the police suspect was carrying an air rifle. The suspect has not yet been named.

The police siege is still underway, with the suspect on Fairview Road continuing to barricade himself into his house.

Police originally visited the property at 13:15 local time (12:15 UTC) Today. The police have reported that this happened after “receiving reports of a disturbance.”

The police also described the attendance of armed police at the scene. They said that this move was only taken as a precaution.

Kingswood, the town where the incident took place, has a population of 62,679. It can be found near the A420 road that leads out of Bristol.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Sweden’s first royal wedding since 1976 took place Saturday when Crown Princess Victoria, 32, married her long-time boyfriend and former personal trainer, Daniel Westling, 36. The ceremony took place at Stockholm Cathedral.

Over 1,200 guests, including many rulers, politicians, royals and other dignitaries from across the world, attended the wedding, which cost an estimated 20 million Swedish kronor. Victoria wore a wedding dress with five-metre long train designed by Pär Engsheden. She wore the same crown that her mother, Queen Silvia, wore on her wedding day 34 years previously, also on June 19. Victoria’s father, King Carl XVI Gustaf, walked Victoria down the aisle, which was deemed untraditional by many. In Sweden, the bride and groom usually walk down the aisle together, emphasising the country’s views on equality. Victoria met with Daniel half-way to the altar, where they exchanged brief kisses, and, to the sounds of the wedding march, made their way to the the silver altar. She was followed by ten bridesmaids. The couple both had tears in their eyes as they said their vows, and apart from fumbling when they exchanged rings, the ceremony went smoothly.

Following the ceremony, the couple headed a fast-paced procession through central Stockholm on a horse-drawn carriage, flanked by police and security. Up to 500,000 people are thought to have lined the streets. They then boarded the Vasaorden, the same royal barge Victoria’s parents used in their wedding, and traveled through Stockholm’s waters, accompanied by flyover of 18 fighter jets near the end of the procession. A wedding banquet followed in the in the Hall of State of the Royal Palace.

Controversy has surrounded the engagement and wedding between the Crown Princess and Westling, a “commoner”. Victoria met Westling as she was recovering from bulemia in 2002. He owned a chain of gymnasiums and was brought in to help bring Victoria back to full health. Westling was raised in a middle-class family in Ockelbo, in central Sweden. His father managed a social services centre, and his mother worked in a post office. When the relationship was made public, Westling was mocked as an outsider and the king was reportedly horrified at the thought of his daughter marrying a “commoner”, even though he did so when he married Silvia. Last year, Westling underwent transplant surgery for a congenital kidney disorder. The Swedish public have been assured that he will be able to have children and that his illness will not be passed on to his offspring.

Westling underwent years of training to prepare for his new role in the royal family, including lessons in etiquette, elocution, and multi-lingual small talk; and a makeover that saw his hair being cropped short, and his plain-looking glasses and clothes being replaced by designer-wear.

Upon marrying the Crown Princess, Westling took his wife’s ducal title and is granted the style “His Royal Highness”. He is now known as HRH Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland. He also has his own coat-of-arms and monogram. When Victoria assumes the throne and becomes Queen, Daniel will not become King, but assume a supportive role, similar to that of Prince Phillip, the husband of the United Kingdom’s Queen Elizabeth II.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Fans have spontaneously gathered in many places around the world to both mourn and celebrate Michael Jackson who died yesterday.

In New York, a crowd of 200 people gathered, to dance and sing, under the marquee of the Apollo Theater on 125th Street in Harlem, where the Jackson Five famously performed at Amateur Night, which read “In Memory of Michael Jackson, A True Apollo Legend, 1958–2009”.

In Los Angeles, California, hundreds of fans gathered outside of the UCLA Medical Center where Jackson had been taken by paramedics.

At the Hollywood Walk of Fame, fans gathered at the star for radio commentator Michael Jackson. Jackson’s own star, located at 6927 Hollywood Boulevard, was inaccessible because of the premiere of Brüno taking place at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.

Fans at the 2009 Glastonbury Festival exchanged the news via text message. Ironically, false rumours of such celebrity events have been common at the Festival in past years, as attendees have little access to news services. As a consequence many fans have not believed the news, and will not believe it until it is announced from on stage or printed in one of the Festival’s own daily newspapers later today, as Jackson’s death occurred at 22:26 last night local time. Some people, however, have been playing Jackson’s music backstage, and an impromptu tribute to Jackson was held at the Festival’s “Stone Circle”. The Festival officially begins today, and it is expected that several performers will pay tribute to Jackson.

In Toronto, fans gathered outside of the studio of MuchMusic, which adjoins the street, to watch as a special commemorative programme was broadcast live from the studio.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

A car bomb exploded today at the gates of a U.S. military base, just outside the Afghan capital of Kabul. According to officials, at least twelve people received injuries. The Taliban immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

The incident occurred just outside an US installation dubbed “Camp Phoenix”. This is mainly used by American troops which train Afghan security forces.

Camp Phoenix is often attacked by insurgents, particularly suicide bombers. In mid-November, an attack in Camp Phoenix, injured 25 people, half of them American soldiers.

The Taliban was the group that claimed responsibility for the attack. A spokesperson for the bombers, Zabihullah Mujahid, claimed in a telephone interview that the bomber had allegedly “killed and wounded” ten American soldiers and demolished three military vehicles.

Asked about that claim, an American military spokeswoman, Air Force Master Sgt. Sabrina D. Foster, said that a statement would be issued soon but that in the meantime she could confirm only eight United States personnel with minor wounds. According to Kabul police chief, Abdul Rahman, three of those injured were American interpreters.

Sayed Abdul Ghafar, head of the criminal investigation, Kabul police, said the explosion demolished at least eleven civilian vehicles in the adjoining area. Eight were wounded, most of whom were day laborers who generally would be leaving the base after a day’s work. All were reported to be stable by Interior Ministry spokesman, Zemary Bashary.

“The target of the suicide attacker seemed to be foreign forces, but we couldn’t see any American vehicle damaged there because the road was blocked by American forces. We don’t know exactly the casualties among the foreign forces,” said Ghafar.

The American troops soon blocked the area, and barred access to the highway. “They won’t even let the Afghan National Police near it,” said an Afghan policeman near the place where the attack occurred.

It was the first suicide bombing in Kabul since January 18. In the previous attack, several bombs had been detonated by the attackers, who also fought with Afghan commandos. The situation was brought under control soon; however five people were killed. Earlier today, Afghan intelligence officials provided another statement about this attack; this statement is probably the one with most details.

During a news conference, they showed a video which was about an Afghan man arrested for allegedly assisting in the attack. In the video, the man, named Kamaluddin, claimed that he received his orders from the Haqqani network. The latter is a militant organization based in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal area. He calmly clarified that he had housed the seven attackers before the attack and had provided them with several weapons.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Christine Comer, former director of the science curriculum for the Texas Education Agency (TEA), is suing the Commissioner Robert Scott for wrongful dismissal. Comer alleges that she was “illegally fired for forwarding an e-mail about a lecture that was critical of the teaching of intelligent design in science classes.” Her suit alleges she was “terminated for contravening an unconstitutional policy” which required “employees to be neutral on the subject of creationism – the biblical interpretation of the origin of humans.”

The Dallas Morning News reported, “The policy was in force even though the federal courts have ruled that teaching creationism as science in public schools is illegal under U.S. Constitution’s provision preventing government establishment or endorsement of religious beliefs.” Among Comer’s supporters is Philosopher and National Center for Science Education speaker Barbara Forrest who was the presenter at the lecture Comer mentioned in the email.

News 8 Austin reported, “The TEA was not available for comment late Wednesday.”

Thursday, April 28, 2011

On Wednesday, at the first live public news conference ever given by the Federal Reserve (Fed), Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke explained the US central bank’s recent policy to a small group of reporters and answered some questions.

The conference was conducted two hours after the release of a report by the Fed’s policymaking committee, the Federal Open Market Committee outlining its policies decided the day before. Until 1994 the Fed gave no information about the policy decisions made in its meetings pertaining to short-term interest rates and other policies. The public was left to guess what decisions were. In 1994 the Fed began issuing brief reports.

Unlike the US, the central banks in Europe, Japan, Canada and other countries have regularly meetings with the press after making such policy decisions.

The public has increasingly been aware of the secretive practices of the Fed, especially after its unprecedented intervention with massive bailouts of large financial institutions during the recent financial crises.

At Wednesday’s meeting, it was decided that the Fed would maintain near-zero interest rates to stimulate the economy. It announced that it plans to end its program of buying back treasury bonds by the end of June, a program receiving criticism from Republicans concerned about the budget deficit.

Bernanke’s exchange with reporters, called “historic” by the Los Angeles Times, was the first of a series of regular news conferences planned to be held quarterly by Bernanke to provided the Fed with more transparency. He was cautious in his remarks. He made no news but explained in general terms the Fed’s policy.

He said the Fed is attempting to revive the US economy by creating jobs and keeping inflation low.

“The trade-offs are getting less attractive at this point,” Bernanke said. “Inflation has gotten higher … it’s not clear we can get substantial improvements in payrolls without some additional inflation risk.”

During the conference, Bernanke said he recognized that the average American was unhappy with the increasing inflation and the slow job growth, but said the Fed projected that long-term inflation will remain stable while he acknowledged the effects of the short-term price increases which he said were driven largely by the increase in the price of oil.

“There’s not much the Federal Reserve can do about gas prices, per se, at least not without derailing growth entirely, which certainly is not the right way to go,” Bernanke said. “After all, the Fed can’t create more oil.”

When asked by reporters to explain his vague answers, he gave general replies. For example, when asked to clarify the Fed’s intention to maintain near-zero interest rates for an “extended period” he said the wording suggested this period would probably continue through a couple more policymaking meetings at least.

“Unfortunately, the reason we use this vaguer terminology is we don’t know with certainty how quickly response will be required,” he said.

Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial, said of Bernanke’s performance at the press conference, “He was well-prepared and did exactly what he wanted to do – do no harm.”

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

US regulators intend to fine Toyota Motor Company $16.4 million over allegations that the company failed to notify government officials in “a timely way” about flaws in its vehicles that led to a major recall earlier this year.

The fine is the maximum penalty allowed under current US law, and would be the largest ever against an automaker, dwarfing a $1 million fine against General Motors in 2004. The U.S. Transportation Department is also considering the possibility of further fines if it was determined that the company had committed other violations of US law. The fine is the result of an investigation opened on February 16 into Toyota’s actions during the recall of 2.3 million vehicles in the US. Toyota now has a period of two weeks in which it can appeal the fine.

Current law requires an automaker to notify the US government within five days if it has determined that a safety issue exists in one of its vehicles. Internal Toyota documents obtained by the government showed that the company was aware of the issues in its cars as early as September 2009, well before it reported the problems to the US government in January.

US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said that the government has “proof that Toyota failed to live up to its legal obligations,” and that “they knowingly hid a dangerous defect for months from U.S. officials and did not take action to protect millions of drivers and their families.”

Toyota, in a statement posted on their website, said that “We have already taken a number of important steps to improve our communications with regulators and customers on safety-related matters as part of our strengthened overall commitment to quality assurance.” The statement added, “These include the appointment of a new Chief Quality Officer for North America and a greater role for the region in making safety-related decisions.”