Greek man sues over being ‘Turkish yoghurt model’
&cat=7&pid=14751&cache=true">A Greek man is suing a dairy in Sweden for 50 million kronor ($6.9m;
April 9, 2010 | Posted in General News | Read More »
Vladimir Putin “We discussed this important issue yesterday over a beer...”
Barack OBAMA “You know, my faith is one that admits some doubt...”
Posts tagged with the keyword: ‘style’
Union set to trial rolling subs
&cat=7&pid=7814&cache=true">Rugby league-style rolling substitutions will be trialled in rugby union’s County Championship from 1 May. The controversial proposal emerged from a Rugby Football Union task group report released last year. Under the system, each team will be able to make up to 12 interchanges per game, with players allowed to return to action having already been substituted. Supporters say the plan will improve player welfare, but opponents fear it will change the character of the sport. Rolling substitutions have become an accepted part of rugby league since they were first introduced in the early 1990s. In Super League (the top level of rugby league in Britain), teams can also make up to 12 interchanges in a match. It has led to the majority of props being rotated during the game, tending to play in relatively short bursts. Rugby union’s world governing body, the International Rugby Board, sanctioned the trial last year, and the RFU’s council has now approved its use in the County Championship, which is primarily competed for by players below the professional tiers of the English game. “All the coaches I have spoken to are saying ‘Bring it on’ so there is certainly an appetite to try things,” said Rob Briers, the RFU’s chair of the County Championship review group and RFU competitions. ” If rolling substitutions are to be tested, we have to be very careful. The shape of the game, its core values and the health of those who play it are all at risk ” Wales and Wasps coach Shaun Edwards, speaking last year “Using a finite, one-month competition at the end of the season gives people a chance to see how it may or may not work at a reasonable level of rugby.” Chris Cuthbertson, chair of the RFU’s laws sub-committee added: “There will be consultation at all levels of the game and there will not be a blanket implementation across England. It would be for each level of the game to determine if such a system would be beneficial for them.” The RFU task group was set up in the wake of the infamous ‘Bloodgate’ and the rolling substitution idea has been seen as a way of ensuring the current blood substitution rules cannot be abused again. As the rules stand, a temporary replacement is only permitted if a player has a blood injury. However, the rule was abused last season when Harlequins winger Tom Williams went off with fake blood coming from his mouth to be replaced by Nick Evans. But critics say the introduction of rolling replacements could lead to an even greater emphasis on size and bulk, with coaches likely to favour players who could take full advantage “A prop who wanted to last 60 minutes could not balloon up to 24 stone if only because he would become an absolute liability in open play,” wrote Wasps and Wales coach Shaun Edwards, who is a legend of British rugby league, in his column for The Guardian last year. “However, if one of the front five has to last only 10 or 20 minutes of explosive action before getting a rest on the bench, then 20 stone is better than 18 and 22 better than 20, and enough time in the gym will certainly shape these new giants. “If rolling substitutions are to be tested, we have to be very careful. The shape of the game, its core values and the health of those who play it are all at risk.” But England manager Martin Johnson, also speaking last year, said he could see the reasons for the introduction of the change. “Some form of rolling substitutions needs to be looked at,” he said. “I liked it when 15 guys had to battle it out and you had to be fit for 80 minutes, but you come around to thinking about it as a possibility.” Johnson also said he agreed with the panel’s suggestion that rolling replacements would benefit player welfare, as they would allow potential cases of concussion to be properly diagnosed. “Player safety is an issue with players getting bangs on the head,” he said. “It needs to be looked at carefully and I am sure it will be trialled. Maybe it is inevitable.” Interchanges will only be allowed to take place during stoppages in play.
March 17, 2010 | Posted in Sports | Read More »
Mr Punch
&cat=7&pid=6965&cache=true">A POINT OF VIEW An imaginary telephone call and a real-life ruler show us that although they shouldn’t be bullies, our leaders should exemplify power under control, writes Simon Schama. Now here’s a turn-up for the books. Of late the papers, especially those not enthusiastic about the prospect of Gordon Brown prolonging his tenure in Downing Street, have been reporting rough handling of staff at Number 10. A book by the political journalist Andrew Rawnsley, and an insider memoir by Suzie Mackenzie, paint the same picture – and it isn’t pretty. The imposing figure of the ex-rugby playing PM, has, it seems, been putting the heat on underlings. Losing it. Barging his way through the door. Perhaps shaking his fist Or pounding it on the cabinet table Prime ministerial brows have beetled. The soft Scottish baritone has been raised to the kind of bloodcurdling yell last heard coming from the clan frontline behind William Wallace. “Cripes!” they’ll be saying south of the border, “watch out for the claymore and mind the sgian dubh!” But here’s the funny thing. During the time that these reports of Godzilla running amok in Whitehall were splashing over the newsprint, the Prime Minister’s poll ratings actually went up. Ditto those of his party. Who to trust among the candidates for the top job, to get the battered and broken economy on its feet again No, not Mr New Man with his bike and nice hair. But the Bear from the Lair. Bring on the tough love, we seem to be saying. Beat us daddy, four to the bar. The more the newspapers went on about the Prime Minister’s brutishness, the speedier the Conservatives’ once formidable lead over New Labour evaporated. FIND OUT MORE… A Point of View, with Simon Schama, is on Fridays on Radio 4 at 2050 GMT and repeated Sundays, 0850 GMT Or listen to it here later If only someone could find evidence that Gordon Brown chewed on live gerbils with his tea, or kicked holes in the walls of the Cabinet Room, he’d be home and dry in the election. Which makes me wonder whether or not these reports of nastiness in high places don’t have the fingerprints of propaganda geniuses all over them Could it possibly have gone like this , I wonder… “Brrring brring… Hullo, Mandy Alistair here. Listen, I hear there are calls for the PM to play nicey-nicey, if he’s to have even a snowball’s, against Dave “Cut the scowling and growling right out. Lots of wee bairn kissing. Intensive retraining in smile-technique… And so forth. No, no, Mandy, don’t agree with me for god’s sake. You know what I think Codswallop .” I interrupt this speculation to alert you to the possibility that you might just conceivably have read a stronger term, but this is for families, so “codswallop” it will remain. But if you find “piffle” or even “balderdash” more authentic, then be my guest. “Call me a hardened cynic. But…” “No Alistair, surely not !” “As I was trying to say, call me Machiavelli but what I think the people want, when they get a close look at New Man for PM, is a bit of the Old Man. It’s tough out there and no-one trusts a Sauvignon sipper when the going gets rough.” “You’re a granny, you’re worried about your pension or the NHS. Who do you think knows what it’s like on a wet morning in Macclesfield waiting for the bus Smoothie-chops or the Incredible Hulk” “If I catch your drift, Alistair – and of course I may be attributing low tactics to you when none could possibly be intended, and if so I implore your forgiveness on bended knee – are you suggesting that Gordon turn on the rough stuff” “Aren’t we the clever clogs Been at the macchiato again have we Not a million miles away from what I have in mind – if we want to win the election, that is.” “What mood do you think the people who’ve taken a walloping from the, erm, downturn, are in anyway Horrible that’s what. They want to yell and shout, and throw plates – at the dog. “But they’re British remember, and we don’t do that. Some clumsy great berk stamps on our feet getting on the train and WE say ‘oh.. terribly sorry’. Now what the people are waiting for is someone who’ll have a bit of bad temper on their behalf.” “I see. The tantrum tactic. Throw a wobbly, put the boot in selected rear ends now and again, and the voters will feel that you care. Very good.” “Only problem, dear Alistair, is you know Gordon. He doesn’t really do raving lunatic for Britain. Not his style.” “Well, time he learned some bad manners. Throw his weight around a bit. Hell, I could give him a few lessons.” “But dear Alistair, maybe you don’t need to. Maybe, just maybe, there are those out there who feel they have been handled by the PM with – shall we say – something less than kid gloves And perhaps, they might like to vent a little. For the benefit of the public…” “You wicked old…” “Now, now Alistair. Pot calling the kettle macchiato I think.” “Right, you’ve outdone yourself. Let me at it. It’s LEAK time. The Campbell is coming, tra-la tra-la. See you, bad boy.” “Cheery by, tough stuff. A pleasure doing business with you as always.” It couldn’t have been like that could it, fellow-voters Nah . Perish the thought But even if it wasn’t, the “boo-hoo he’s such a bully, treats people like dirt” tactic of his opponents has misfired. Biffer, with a heart A quick shufti across the pond would have told those in command and control at the editor’s desk as much. For the more Barack Obama has tried to deploy sweet reason, make up to the Bad Guys, whether in Tehran or the Republican party, the more they have greeted his overtures with gobs of spit in the eye. Obama reaches out, urges the divided nation to come together in a healing national cuddle, and the perception is that he’s too soft for the job. He seems never to want to sack anyone lest it seem evidence of panic. But a touch of head rolling and he would be seen as The Man. Namby-pamby is the kiss of electoral death. It would be nice – I guess – if politics were all about an end to name-calling, a ban on manoeuvres that resemble a swift kick in the soft tissue, and were just a philosophy seminar on, you know, the Right Thing to Do for the Country – with issues , thrashed out sportingly with no low blows between parties concerned. Yes and it would also be nice if England were a shoo-in for the World Cup, Kurt Cobain came out of hiding to say there’s been a terrible mistake, and caviar was 5p a kilo. But guess what, people, it ain’t so. Politics is about biffs and bashes as much as deeply informed policy positions. Of course we want our biffers and our bashers to be decent human beings, lest they make biffing and bashing the entire point of their politics as authoritarian monsters of violence and cruelty have been wont to do from Caligula to Pol Pot. I am not recommending as model the Tsars of Russia, Ivan the Terrible, and Peter the Great, for whom smashing the skulls of their sons was a job description if they were to hack it in Muscovy. No, what I’m after is an image that projects power under self-control. And we have exactly that image. Next time you’re in Rome – and you know that’s where you want to be, isn’t it – just climb the steps of the Capitoline Hill. There on a terrace designed by Michelangelo – who knew a thing about the creative deployment of hot temper – is the equestrian statue of the first and last true philosopher-prince. Emperor Marcus Aurelius, he of the maxims and sayings, too many of which come down to “take cold showers” and “avoid the paparazzi and red carpets” for my liking, but when it came to powerful self-control, no-one came close. (Don’t be fooled by Richard Harris in Gladiator who looked and sounded as though he were the oldest living fugitive from a Glastonbury Festival.) There sits the emperor mounted on his mighty steed. The war-horse’s front legs are lifted in the levade , a tricky dressage move which you won’t see at your local gymkhana. Does the emperor unceremoniously slide backwards off the rump The hell he does. No – he holds the reins with just one hand . Wow. Talk about tough-guy composure, not to mention all-time muscular control. Yes, I know that he presided over the beginning of the end of the Roman Empire and sitting upright in the saddle on a frisky mount didn’t help with the Goths and Huns. But, he slowed them down. It took another few centuries before the empire bit the dust. That would do for a Prime Minister, wouldn’t it So never mind about the telly debates. Ostler, bring me a trio of mounts – celerrime if you please. Let’s get Dave and Gordon and Nick up on their high horses, take a look at their form, and then we’ll be able to judge how they can take the fences when the going is sticky. Uh-oh, Gordon seems to be giving his mount what-for with the whip and spurs as he rounds the bend. HELP – someone call the RSPCA! Add your comments on this story, using the form below.
March 12, 2010 | Posted in General News | Read More »
More schools likely to be failed
&cat=7&pid=6018&cache=true">More schools are being judged inadequate under a new inspection regime, figures from England’s schools watchdog are expected to show. Ofsted introduced a new framework in September 2009 which requires schools to achieve higher results to be rated as good or outstanding. The watchdog has insisted its new-style inspections would “raise the bar” on its expectations of schools. Data on schools’ performance under the system will be released on Wednesday. Last week the Times Educational Supplement said the new regime had seen a near doubling in the proportion of schools judged “inadequate”, while the proportion rated “outstanding” was less than half of what it used to be. But inspectors said they now had “higher expectations on behalf of pupils and parents”. ” It is no surprise if there is a rise in inadequate schools – it just reflects the fact that the bar has been raised ” Department for Children, Schools and Families A spokesman for Ofsted said: “We have made it clear that every time an inspection framework is revised, expectations are raised too.” Ofsted said the reaction from schools had been “overwhelmingly positive”, with nine out of 10 who had responded to feedback surveys saying they were satisfied with the way inspection was carried out. A spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said: “We made clear in the schools White Paper last June that inspection from September would be more challenging. “It is no surprise if there is a rise in inadequate schools – it just reflects the fact that the bar has been raised and weaker schools are being inspected earlier in the cycle.” New regime Under the new arrangements, outstanding and good schools are only inspected once within a five-year period – previously it was every three years. Satisfactory schools are inspected every three years and inadequate schools are visited regularly until they make the improvements necessary. The new regime sees inspectors assess twice as many lessons and more emphasis is put on questionnaires filled out by parents and pupils. Inspectors put more emphasis on pupil attainment – a point which has caused controversy, particularly for schools in challenging areas – rather than on improvement. Schools are given two days’ warning of an inspection and the inspections lasts for two days. Ofsted said the new format was introduced in response to teachers’ concerns inspections focused too much on schools data and inspectors did not assess enough lessons. The watchdog said more than 2,000 inspections had been carried out under the new system between September and December last year. Chris Richardson, head teacher at the Kings of Wessex School in Somerset, said the new inspection framework brought “significant improvements”, particularly a sharper focus on student achievement. “A new self-evaluation form meant we felt well prepared for inspection and it gave the inspectors a good overview of the school. “Our students valued the opportunities to engage with the inspectors and give their perspective on the school.” But John Fairhurst, head of Shenfield High School in Essex, said the new inspection framework had downgraded his school from good with outstanding features to satisfactory, simply because the school’s GCSE results in 2008 were weak. “It’s become a rather skimpy inspection with an altered agenda – heavily data driven,” he said. “The framework proved, in our case, superficial and underestimated the good work of the school.” The Association for School and College Leaders and the National Association of Head Teachers are also critical of the regime, saying it puts too much emphasis on raw attainment.
March 10, 2010 | Posted in General News | Read More »
Dott and Lee grab Crucible spots
&cat=7&pid=5998&cache=true">Former champion Graeme Dott beat Jimmy Michie 10-5 to book his place at next month’s World Snooker Championship. 2006 champion Dott, 32, heads to the Crucible after a hard-fought win in the final qualifying round in Sheffield. Stephen Lee, on bail following an investigation into suspicious betting patterns, earned his Sheffield spot after hammering Mike Dunn 10-2. Chinese teenager Anda Zhang, 18, will also be in Thursday’s Crucible draw after seeing off Ricky Walden 10-8. Rookie Zhang clinched victory over 27-year-old Walden with a pair of century breaks in the final two frames of the match. With the game delicately poised at 8-8 Zhang, who is just 5ft 3ins inches tall and is nicknamed Mighty Mouse, rattled in a clearance of 134 to take the lead. 606: DEBATE ” What about Zhang Anda, this guy is only 18 years old, is he snooker’s next big star ” blogsfcvfs He then wrapped up the win with a break of 103 in the final frame. Preston potter Stuart Pettman turned on the style on his way to a 10-2 hammering of Stuart Bingham. Pettman, 34, rolled in five half-century breaks in a dominant display. Jamie Cope was also a man in good form as he cruised to a 10-5 win over Mark Joyce. The player they call the Stoke Shotgun was on target with a break of 108 and added eight more half century breaks to ease to victory. Northern Ireland’s Gerard Greene was made to work hard for his Crucible berth, the Kent-based left hander taking over eight hours to grind his way past Rory McLeod. Greene eventually triumphed 10-9 after a final frame decider to secure his spot in the televised stages which take place at the Crucible from 17 April- 3 May. The qualifying tournament, held at the English Institute of Sport, whittles down 108 Crucible hopefuls to 16 who then join the world’s top 16 players at the World Championship. Famous names such as John Parrot and Jimmy White are among those who have failed to make the cut.
March 9, 2010 | Posted in Sports | Read More »
West Ham 3-0 Hull
&cat=7&pid=233&cache=true">By Les Roopanarine West Ham turned on the style to make it two wins in a row for the first time this season as fellow relegation strugglers Hull were reduced to 10 men. Valon Behrami capped a surging run with a third-minute opener after exchanging passes with Guillermo Franco. And Hull’s problems increased shortly after the break when Craig Fagan was sent off for a second bookable offence. Julien Faubert fed Carlton Cole for a slotted second before completing the win with a thumping late effort. It was West Ham’s fourth consecutive clean sheet at home, but the emphatic scoreline – not to mention the eye-catching nature of the display against a relegation rival – will surely delight manager Gianfranco Zola. The Hammers came out of the blocks at lightning speed and although they did not convert their superiority until after Fagan’s dismissal, their performance was brimming with brio and belief. Hull were rarely in it apart from a brief spell of pressure before the break and Fagan’s departure left them with a mountain to climb. The result leaves Phil Brown’s side just a point above the drop zone. As for West Ham, who now sit four points clear of trouble in 15th, after a season of seemingly endless turmoil both on an off the pitch this was hardly the first game to invite the label ‘must-win’. However, with Hull fast closing on the dubious distinction of going a full calendar year without a league win, few previous fixtures had merited that billing with such authenticity. With a dozen games left and some daunting away assignments ahead – Tuesday night’s visit to Old Trafford is followed by trips to Chelsea, Arsenal, Everton and Liverpool – West Ham’s Premier League future is likely to be shaped at Upton Park. No one will be more aware of that reality than Zola, so it was a measure of the West Ham manager’s faith in Franco that the Mexico international was preferred to Mido in attack. The Egyptian striker has been an influential performer in his two appearances since arriving on loan last month, and his omission will doubtless have had some supporters scratching their heads. Yet Zola’s confidence in Franco, who was restored to the starting line-up at the earliest possible opportunity after a two-month layoff with a muscle complaint, was vindicated in two minutes and 10 seconds. That is how long it took Franco to capitalise on Behrami’s surging run into the area by somewhat fortuitously feeding the ball back to the Swiss international, who fired home his first Premier League goal since November 2008. It was the cue for an inspired performance by Behrami, whose zest and incisive runs might have yielded a hat-trick by half-time but for the excellence of Boaz Myhill. The Hull keeper parried a firm shot from Behrami before showing wonderful athleticism to claw away another effort at the near post, twisting in mid-air with his momentum carrying him in the opposite direction. With the Hammers starting swiftly, Myhill had been on overtime from the opening minute, when he reacted sharply to paw away an Alessandro Diamanti free-kick. Not to be outdone, Robert Green made a fine save from a meaty George Boateng effort on the stroke of half-time, but it was a rare moment of concern for the West Ham keeper. Reeling from Behrami’s early opener, Hull became increasingly tetchy, Paul McShane going nose-to-nose with Franco before Fagan picked up a booking for a foul on Scott Parker. The cost of the latter incident for Hull’s hopes of taking anything from the game became apparent shortly after the break when Fagan was dismissed for pulling back Diamanti. The Italian perhaps made the most of what little there was in the challenge, but Fagan should have known better and, with Hull depleted and the Hammers still in effervescent mood, a second goal felt inevitable. It arrived when Faubert delivered a beautifully-weighted pass to Cole from just inside his own half, the ball rolling perfectly beyond Hull left-back Andy Dawson for the England international to slot an assured finish across Myhill. The claret-and-blue confidence that had flowed all game went into overdrive, Diamanti almost scoring from his own half with an audacious effort that had a red-faced Myhill scrambling backwards desperately. Myhill avoided a moment to rank alongside Neil Sullivan’s infamous embarrassment at the hands of David Beckham, but not long afterwards Faubert stormed into the area before firing a vicious curling effort beyond the Hull keeper. By then Brown had made a triple substitution, which meant a serious late injury to Anthony Gardner, who was stretchered off after falling awkwardly, only compounded Hull’s misery on an afternoon when they were outclassed. Hull manager Phil Brown: “It was self-inflicted, we had a game plan but it was unhinged by poor decision-making. “The sending-off was also self-inflicted, it was a poor decision by Craig Fagan to make the tug because he was already in the book. “The first diagnosis of Anthony Gardner’s injury isn’t good, he has a problem with both his tibula and fibula. “It was a bad day at the office to say the least.” West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola: “It was a good performance; we can do better, but the difference was the way we started. “We were solid throughout the game and the second goal was important for us. “Robert Green’s save was worth a goal to us, because it allowed us to reorganise at half-time. “The whole team is getting better; the more confidence you get, the more the players can give.”
February 20, 2010 | Posted in General News | Read More »
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