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19 Feb 2012 15:09

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World: U.S. and British officials to Israel: Don’t get into a war with Iran

  • American General Martin Dempsey, who leads the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said, regarding the possibility of an Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, that it’s “not prudent” at this time to attack in such a way, and “a strike at this time would be destabilizing.” Ya think?
  • British British Foreign Secretary William Hague, who recently warned of a renewed Cold War, agreed with Dempsey, saying Israel should  go along with the U.K.’s “very serious economic sanctions and diplomatic pressure, and the readiness to negotiate with Iran.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Feb 2012 08:04

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World: Start clutching your handkerchiefs; Prince Harry is returning to battle.

  • Killing insurgents is what the machine Prince Harry flies is there for; you cannot put it any other way.
  • A British defense source • Regarding Prince Harry’s return to combat. Prince Harry is returning to duty with the Royal Air Force shortly. No one is sure when his four-month tour begins, but he’ll be working with the unit with the highest “kill rate” while it was in Afghanistan. source
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Feb 2012 11:31

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World: Falkland Islands still major sticking point for Britain, Argentina 30 years later

  • 1982 The United Kingdom went to war with Argentina over possession of the Falkland Islands, a land of roughly 3,000 people fairly close to Antartica, claimed to be possessed by each country. The war, which killed hundreds on each side, ended without a resolution of the islands’ ownership, but the two countries later rebuilt their diplomatic relationship.
  • 2012 As the 30th anniversary of the war approaches, the two countries are arguing about the Falklands again, with Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez accusing Britain of “militarizing the South Atlantic” and promising to complain to the United Nations, and British PM David Cameron saying that “The people of the Falklands choose to be British.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Jan 2012 14:44

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World: Former head of Royal Bank of Scotland stripped of knighthood

  • Fred Goodwin was the dominant decision-maker at RBS at the time. In reaching this decision, it was recognised that widespread concern about Fred Goodwin’s decisions meant that the retention of a knighthood for ‘services to banking’ could not be sustained.
  • A British Cabinet Office spokesman • Remarking on the decision to strip Fred Goodwin, the former chief of the Royal Bank of Scotland, of the knighthood he received in 2004. Goodwin presided over RBS during its acquisition of the Dutch bank ABN Amro in 2007, during the height of the financial and banking sector crisis; a risky move that failed utterly. The British taxpayer was forced to fund a bailout of RBN thanks to Goodwin’s aggressive acquisition, to the tune of 45 billion pounds. Said Labour Party leader Ed Milliband: “…I think it is only the start of the change we need in our boardrooms. We need to change the bonus culture and we need real responsibility right across the board.” source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Dec 2011 22:26

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Tech: Knight of the night: That’s SIR Jony Ive to you, unworthy Windows users

  • But seriously, this is awesome: Jony Ive, the industrial design icon who became Steve Jobs’ right-hand man during his second run at Apple, will honored as a Knight Commander of the British Empire (KBE) next year. Jobs, who called Ive his “spiritual partner” in the biography released weeks after his death, enabled Ive to help create radical, minimalistic designs that have defined the company since the release of the original iMac. It’s not his first honor from the British government — in 2005, he was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE). This is an upgrade for the design icon — the equivalent of moving from a Mac Mini to a Mac Pro. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Nov 2011 21:22

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World: Britain orders closure of Iranian embassy, withdraws officials

  • “a breach of international responsibilities”: Such was British Foreign Secretary William Hague’s analysis of the recent storming of a British embassy in Iran by 200 or so students, protesters who belonged to a movement believed to be under the sway of the Iranian government itself. Britain has recalled their officials from the embassy in Tehran, and has ordered the Iranian embassy in Britain to be closed and for its officials to depart within 48 hours. That there’s a tense diplomatic posture between the two states is no surprise — last week Britain opted to cut off all financial ties with Iran, in opposition to its nuclear program. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Nov 2011 10:31

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World: Britain to Iranian diplomats: GTFO out of our country, jerks

  • The Iranian Chargé in London is being informed now that we require the immediate closure of the Iranian Embassy in London and that all Iranian diplomatic staff must leave the United Kingdom within the next 48 hours. If any country makes it impossible for us to operate on their soil they cannot expect to have a functioning Embassy here.
  • British Foreign Secretary William Hague • Warning Iran to close its embassy, in a ratcheting-up of tensions between the two countries a day after activists raided the British Embassy in Tehran, upset over new sanctions against Iran. Hague was careful to emphasize diplomatic ties still exist between the two countries: “This does not amount to the severing of diplomatic relations in their entirety,” he said. “It is action that reduces our relations with Iran to the lowest level consistent with the maintenance of diplomatic relations.” In other words, they may get a phone call, but don’t expect it to be friendly. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

29 Nov 2011 10:33

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World: Iranian protesters, upset over sanctions, storm British Embassy

  • And British officials aren’t happy: On Tuesday, Iranian protesters angry with the British government stormed the country’s embassy in Tehran, forcing diplomats to flee out the back door for their safety. The move came after the British government placed sanctions on Iran, preventing British banks from doing business with Iranian banks out of concern they were helping to facilitate the country’s nuclear program. The British government condemned the actions. “We are outraged by this. It is utterly unacceptable,” the UK Foreign Office said in a statement. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Oct 2011 10:59

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World: Reports: Occupy Manchester draws big crowds, peaceful protests

  • 30,000 people marching in Manchester source
  • » A peaceful protest emphasized: Before Sunday’s protests (timed with a Conservative Party conference) began, organizers went out of their way to emphasize to police that the protests would not be anything like the violent riots in August, which started in London and eventually made their way to Manchester. “Organizers of the demo have made it clear that they want a peaceful protest.” said Assistant Chief Constable Ian Hopkins. “We have given some very strong messages that the police, the courts and the public won’t tolerate the sort of behavior we saw in August and we’re here today to make sure that anyone who does think they can step out of line will very quickly learn that they can’t.” Thus far, things have remained peaceful, with only one protester hurt (she fell).
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Aug 2011 11:19

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World: Scotland Yard takes offense to David Cameron’s take on riot response

  • I think after any event like this, people will always make comments who weren’t there.
  • Scotland Yard Acting Commissioner Tim Godwin • Offering a rebuttal to the tough comments Prime Minister David Cameron made about the police response to the riots in London and throughout the United Kingdom. Mind you, Godwin has a point — see, Cameron, top policing official Theresa May and London Mayor Boris Johnson all happened to be on vacation at the time, and only came back to the country after the crisis got out of control. British police officers have arrested around 1,051 people since the attacks began, and roughly 591 have been charged with crimes thus far. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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