Sir Roger Carr warns in an interview that the Coalition must give some
sort of support over rising energy costs to UK manufacturers or else
risk seeing businesses relocate abroad with the consequential loss of jobs.

Cleared robber George Davis wont rest until getaway driver is found innocent

Jun 12 2011
Exclusive by Marion Scott, Sunday Mail

THE victim of a famous miscarriage of justice has backed the fight to clear post office heist getaway driver Willie Beck.

George Davis, 69, last month overturned his conviction for a 1974 armed robbery after a highprofile campaign.

Now he has lent his support to Beck, of Dennistoun, Glasgow, who has spent the past 30 years protesting his innocence.

Dad-of-two Beck, 50, is adamant that he was wrongly jailed over a post office robbery in Livingston in December 1981.

Londoner Davis, who famously won the support of The Whos Roger Daltrey who wore a George Davis is Innocent T-shirt on stage in 1975, said: I hope Willie is allowed to have his case reviewed by the Appeal Court.

That way, there can be a full and public examination of his case. He will need to be persistent and determined.

In my case the support of my family and friends helped keep me at it.

Beck has chained himself to buildings, protested across Scotland and posted on YouTube to proclaim his innocence.

Back in 1981, two axe-wielding thugs wearing balaclavas attacked delivery men carrying pound;21,000 and fled in a Ford Granada.

A witness who saw the drivers face described him as in his 40s with a moustache. He did not identify Beck, who was just 20 at the time and clean shaven.

Two other people – one an off-duty police officer – fingered Beck as the driver.

But a note made by Becks solicitor stated the officer made the identification without even looking down the parade.

Beck also claims another man was identified at a second parade and that information was withheld from him.

The second suspect was said to be in his 20s but witnesses said he never removed his balaclava.

Beck – who claims he was told the names of the real robbers during his four years in jail in the 80s – said: All I want is to clear my name and Im just as determined as George has been. Im extremely touched hes backing me. I was convicted of being the driver after two people wrongly picked me out of an identity parade.

I was in Glasgow at the time of the robbery and look nothing like the description given by eyewitnesses.

There were inconsistencies and evidence and information has been withheld.

Ive never been allowed an appeal and Ive been denied legal aid to clear my name.

For years, Lothian and Borders Police told the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission they didnt have photographs and crime reports dating back to the incident.

But in 2005, the police sent me items they assured SCCRC they didnt have.

Those photographs would have helped an eyewitness expert make a proper determination in my case.

The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission have twice refused to put Becks case to appeal but he has asked them to reconsider.

Lothian and Borders Police said: Inquiries will be made in order to establish the circumstances of this case.

Is Joanna Braithwaite an animal person?

This might be a redundant question.

A few metres from where were sitting in the New Zealand Portrait Gallery on Wellingtonswaterfront, theres a painting of Braithwaite, a self-portrait,all but covered in guinea pigs. Closer again, in another work, her face is almost lost in a crowd of dogs faces. Across the gallery floor, in a painting judged a finalist for Australias prestigious Archibald Prize, shes surrounded by chooks.

So she likes animals then?

Well, Ive always had this interest in animal-people relationships, she says. I think that peoples relationships with animals and how they interact and all those sorts of things can be very revealing.

She owns a pet dog, a pug called Brains my muse, she says. But hes about all she can manage at the moment, living as she does in central Sydney.

If I could, Id like to have several pugs, but being in the middle of the city, its not fair on the animals, is it?

Braithwaite is an award-winning and much-exhibited Kiwi artist. Born in England in 1962, she moved here at the age of 3, eventually studying at Canterbury Universitys School of Fine Arts.

After living in Christchurch most of her life, she moved to Australia in 1999, planning to stay for only a little while: But you know what its like, you start working in another place and then times gone by.

Significant Others, her exhibition at the Portrait Gallery, surveys 45 of her works, some showing in New Zealand for the first time.

Curators Gregory OBrien and Jenny Bornholdt say her paintings are both strange and beautiful, giving the sense of what is human a real jolt.

Mostly theyre from the past decade or so, and mostly they dont feature humans at all.

My main practice is mostly the animal-based work, she says. The self-portraitsIve always done them slightly to the side.

In some ways, her work has been getting simpler. When fears about genetic modification were at their peak, she painted hybrid animals, like a deer-bird that appears in this show.

Then there was a series called Hover, which depicted human beings in mid-air covered in birds or butterflies.

More recently, the animals take the canvas alone. But theyre not the kind of thing youll see on Animal Planet- they still contain what art writer Peter Simpson calls a twist which wrenches the work away from simple realism towards the surreal.

So theres a kereru wearing a set of rosary beads and a pair of nervous guinea pigs on stage, a dog wearing a pheasant for a hat and a fish on crutches, a horse wrapped in a shawl and another dog in a fur hat, just to name a handful.

Clearly theres something funny about all this, a side to the paintings thats emphasised by their witty titles: Dressed to Kill (the dog and pheasant combo), Performance Anxiety (those guinea pigs), and so on.

I think thats part of human relationships with animals particularly with a dog or something like that, she says.

Why is it that in movies, comic-book superhero sagas run out of steam by the third installment? In the first part, the superhero attains his or her power; in the second, he or she weighs the demands of life and human relationships against the responsibility of superheroism (and its attendant fame); and in the third there are different villains and more occasions for hand-wringing and the stars fee has become so huge that the studio just wants to wipe the slate clean and go back to the beginning which is, narratively speaking, the easy part of the whole arc. (Plus, the fanboys have closer emotional ties to their heroes in the earlier, nerdier stages.) In the case of the X-Men saga, which plunged to earth in part three under the hacktacular Brett Ratner after Bryan Singer had found his wings in X2, the decision to start over must have been particularly easy. The old principals are old principals, while Hugh Jackman as Wolverine now has his own Origins plotline. And there really is an earlier story to tell, a good one, about the youngish Professor Charles Xaviers decision, way back in 1962, to identify, shelter, and educate the planets population of mutants and his fundamental rift with the separatist mutant known as Magneto.

X-Men: First Class is thoroughly second-rate, but its pleasant enough. Where Singer often let his It Gets Betterstyle gay-rights subtext smother the sheer pop exhilaration of the material, the new director, Matthew Vaughn, allows nothing to bog him down. The even-less-talented acolyte of Guy Ritchie, Vaughn developed his self-consciously hip, ironic style at the feet of his petit-maestro and wouldnt know how to put real emotions onscreen if he even had any. Nazis round up Jews for concentration camps, characters whom we care about are brutally murdered, theres an imminent nuclear holocaust and it all just flies by. Vaughn does linger on his female characters miniskirts, though. He has priorities.

Hes lucky he also has two first-rate actors in the lead: blue-eyed Scots cutie James McAvoy as Xavier and German-Irish chameleon Michael Fassbender as Erik, soon to be the human magnet dubbed Magneto. McAvoy doesnt have Patrick Stewarts stentorian chops, but hes able to drop his natural jauntiness on cue and rise to several momentous occasions, and Fassbender turns the chip on Eriks shoulder into a magnetic force all its own. They team up to join forces with the CIA (represented by Oliver Platt) to battle a Dr. Mengelelike supervillain called Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon), but Erik is only onboard because Shaw exterminated his mom. Unlike the staunchly accommodationist Xavier, the future Magneto shares Shaws militant anti-humanism. He has witnessed the way governments round up the undesirables.

Part of the fun in prequels like X-Men: First Class is seeing how characters youve never met evolve into characters youve known for years. In this case, the pivotal figure is Raven (Jennifer Lawrence), the blue-skinned shape-shifter who becomes Xaviers surrogate sister but is destined to grow into Magnetos most formidable ally, Mystique. Lawrence is a likable presence (she still has her delectable baby fat) and makes her mutant radicalization convincing but not her defection from the side of her beloved Xavier. The movie has a lot of balls in the air and Vaughn doesnt focus on any one too long. He has an easier time with split-screen training montages than, you know, feelings.

As an American secret agent, Rose Byrne has a promising first scene in which she impulsively strips down to her lingerie to follow the guy who played Aaron in 24 into a swank nightclub, but she fades into the background once McAvoy and Fassbender do their male-bonding thing. January Jones as an icy telepath strides around in a white miniskirt and pillbox hat, and affects a state of exquisite boredom and superiority cleverly making her ineptitude as an actress look like a creative choice. By far the most passionate performance comes from Bacon, who has evidently decided that if youre going to play a villain who exults in his villainy, you dont half-exult: You throw back your head and throw up your arms and groooooove on your evil. Its too bad that, for reasons I cant spell out, what should be his mightiest moment his last in the picture is his most inert.

The climax is the biggest letdown, a giant hash of crosscutting and unremarkable (in an era in which weve seen everything) CGI, but it does throw a whole new light on the Cuban Missile Crisis. The fact is, its a lot less disturbing to believe that the US and Soviet Union came this close to nuking each other out of existence because of unseen psychotic mutants than by humans whom Christopher Hitchens has rightly called high-risk narcissists.

Related: The Similarities Between X-Men: First Class and Inglourious Basterds
The Star Market: Does Michael Fassbender Have the X Factor to Become a Superstar?
From The Godfather Part II to Indiana Jones to X-Men: First Class: The History of the Movie Prequel
Vulture Flow Chart: Which Loud Summer Action Movie Is Right for You?

With everything in the world from our language to our LinkedIn networks growing bigger, more complex and moving faster, its easy to feel like we are no longer in control. Our career path, our relationships and our futures are all victims of circumstance. Whether we are bowing to the will of a boss, a paycheck, a parent or a profile on Match.com, its important to remember that when it comes to directing our lives, we are still very much at the wheel.

How we perceive ourselves and the world around us largely shapes how we are seen by the world. Truly knowing ourselves can mean the difference between creating the life we want and yielding to the life we lead. And while its empowering to acknowledge that we are the strongest source for real change in our lives, it is admittedly scary to realize how much of our lives is in our own hands.

A friend and colleague of mine Dr. Dan Siegel, who also happens to be Executive Director of The Mindsight Institute and a clinical professor of psychiatry at UCLA, defines peoples ability to understand what is going on in their own mind and the minds of others as mindsight. Mindsight is a method of self-understanding through which people can gain insight and empathy by exploring the workings of their own mind. Practicing mindsight entails an openness, observation and objectivity that can help us to be aware of our mental processes without being swept away by them. In this sense, it allows us to reshape and redirect our future and become the author of our own story.

Most people dont consciously recognize how much the lessons of our past shape our current actions and reactions. Mindsight helps us make sense of who we are and how we see the world by allowing us to reflect on our own story and gain insight into how that story informs our perceptions and emotions. By creating what Dan Siegel refers to as a cohesive narrative of our life, we can understand how our past is subconsciously influencing our present and make conscious decisions about how we want to lead our lives.

The situations we adapted to as kids can leave us with old ways of thinking and behaving that hurt us as adults. That stubborn streak we formed as a child may have resulted from feeling constantly controlled by a strict upbringing, but it can become problematic in the context of our careers. An interaction with our child that sends us flying off the deep end may have more to do with our own experience as a child and less to do with how we really feel toward our own children. When emotions feel especially intense, misplaced or out of character, this can be a warning sign that the heightened reaction has more to do with our past than our present. Mindsight can help us separate these old emotions from current circumstances.

When we dont apply mindsight, we run the risk of getting in our heads and acting on destructive thoughts. The stream of brutal, self-loathing , and second-guessing thoughts we all live with are what psychologist and author Dr. Robert Firestone refers to as the Critical Inner Voice. The Critical Inner Voice is created from experiences we had as children that caused us to turn against ourselves and develop negative self-perceptions. When left unchallenged, this inner critic can dictate our lives. A perfect illustration of this takes place in the classic film Annie Hall. When a young couple (Annie and Alvie) first meet, an awkward dialogue takes place between them, while subtitles explain the actual thoughts going through their minds.

In their first conversation in Annies apartment, Annie tells Alvie she dabbles in photography. At the same moment her thoughts appear on the screen as I dabble? Listen to me — what a jerk! When Alvie compliments her work, she tells him she wants to take a serious photography course, at which point the subtitles reveal, He probably thinks Im a yo-yo.

While Annie is wrapped up in criticizing herself for being unintelligent, Alvie is fumbling to impress her by speaking about photography as an art form. As he stumbles over his words, he has thoughts like, I dont know what Im saying — she senses Im shallow, and, Christ, I sound like FM radio. Even as both Alvie and Annie forge a conversation in an attempt to get together, their own internal dialogues are simultaneously ripping them apart. This is a common scenario in the early stages of a relationship, and it plays out through all phases of forming a connection to another person.

When couples are attuned to this inner dialogue or Critical Inner Voice, they are better able to separate from it. A healthy relationship is formed when each partner can reflect on their own sense of self and form a connection without falling under the influence of an inner critic. For example, rather than tripping over their words or sounding like people they arent, Alvie and Annie could have been themselves in their early interaction and challenged insecurities that later plagued their relationship.

Dan Siegel writes of ideal relationships in his book Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation that [a]ttuned couples link together in a mental lovemaking, a joining of minds, in which two people create that beautiful resonant sense of becoming a we. The intimacy that blossoms can be amazing, but the journey to get there and remain there can be rough. To become linked as a we, a couple needs also to become differentiated as two mes. To illustrate this point, he describes the process of losing ones identity in a couple relationship as forming a smoothie, whereas when each person brings their individuality to their union, their relationship is like a fruit salad. Unfortunately, in creating an illusion of connection (or Fantasy Bond), a couple destroys their true feelings of compatibility and love. Only when a person is self-possessed can they live more harmoniously with their partner.

The same principles hold true for any relationship, be it with our spouse, our children, a family member or a co-worker. As Siegel points out in his book, The brain is a social organ, and our relationships with one another are not a luxury but an essential nutrient for our survival. The purpose of mindsight is to attain self-understanding that can help us put a halt to the harmful behaviors that impair our relationships. When we have insight into ourselves, we also form compassion and empathy for another person. We can uncover why we are the way we are, and become who weve always wanted to be.

As Robert Firestone wrote, Perhaps the single most important life affirming human quality is the ability to feel love — to feel compassion and empathy for and express kindness, generosity and tenderness toward other people. Learning to love others requires first valuing oneself. This is the foundation upon which all human relationships are built.

To hear more from Dr. Lisa Firestone and Dr. Dan Siegel on mindsight, attend the free June 14 Webinar Mindsight: Learning a New Science of Personal Transformation.

To read more from Dr. Lisa Firestone, visit PsychAlive.org. To read more from Dr. Dan Siegel, visit DrDanSiegel.com.

Exactly one year ago today, Daum, Korea¡¯s No. 2 Web portal, launched MyPeople, a mobile messenger service.

Little did people know that it was entering one of the hottest businesses in the new smartphone era.

The number of smartphone users in Korea hit 10 million in March and now as many use free mobile messenger services as those who use conventional text messages and voice calls.

While MyPeople trails behind market leader Kakao Talk, it aims to attract 20 million subscribers by the year¡¯s end, which would be almost three times its current 7 million subscribers.

¡°It¡¯s true that attracting subscribers was difficult for the first several months, but since the launch of Internet phone service in February, we are seeing notably strong growth in subscribers,¡± said Kim Ji-hyeon, head of Daum¡¯s mobile business, at a press conference yesterday.

In February, Daum added the mobile voice-over-IP (mVoIP) service to MyPeople, allowing people to make free voice and video calls using the Internet network.

Kim said that on average, Daum is seeing about 2 million new subscribers a month and at the current pace, it will easily attain 20 million subscribers by the year¡¯s end.

As part of its attempt to attract more users, Daum officials unveiled yesterday the newest version of the MyPeople smartphone application as well as a PC app.

The newest version of the smartphone app, available for Apple¡¯s iPhones and Android phones since last weekend and soon to be available for BlackBerry users as well, offers a wider variety of icons, backgrounds and ring tones, as well as more storage for file exchanges.

¡°The reason we are MyPeople, and not Daum Talk, is because our core value is human relationships, and text messages are hardly the only way that people communicate,¡± Kim said. ¡°We are not just a messaging service, but we are seeking to be a platform on which people connect and socialize using many tools.¡±

The PC app, which became available yesterday, breaks all kinds of barriers by allowing people to connect using mobile devices and fixed-line Internet with several methods.

Daum officials said that the latest moves are simply an indication that it doesn¡¯t believe that the Internet phone service alone will not be sufficient to help gain popularity in coming months.

They may be right as the market is becoming increasingly crowded.

After Kakao Talk was launched in March 2010 by CEO Lee Jae-beom, with the support of investment from Kim Beom-su, a former CEO of NHN, Korea¡¯s No. 1 Web portal, Korean companies have been aggressively jumping onto the bandwagon.

The companies include the big names of the Web portal industry such as NHN and SK Communications as well as major mobile carriers like KT and LG U+.

By Kim Hyung-eun [hkim@joongang.co.kr]

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Civil unions are now the law of Illinois.

Good.

You had only to see the faces of those applicants lined up in clerk’s offices in Cook and Will counties to know how right this was. Though it is a legal measure, it was even more a testament to human values and the right to make human decisions.

Some have waited much of their adult lives to have the value of their relationships accepted by the state as real.

It was a validation for free people making free choices with the full support of the government they elected.

It’s important to remember this bill broadened the umbrella of “civil unions” and has no effect on any religion’s provenance over religious ceremonies. The rights conferred are “civil” rights.

As much as opponents invoked religious objections, we suspect this will hardly seem like a moral tipping point in 20 years. History mutes anger and marginalizes those who cling to it. We suspect the fact such barriers for gay couples existed this long will seem an unfortunate anachronism in future years. In some religious precincts, Social Security still is denounced as a pact with the devil.

Many areas of social advancement were faced with similar protests for similar reasons — women’s suffrage, civil rights in all their forms. The outraged rhetoric of one day can become so dated as the years advance as to seem bizarre.

Some advancements must await for the nation to see the rightness of them. Illinois was ready.

This is merely the natural evolution of human relationships, reaching the point where laws must reflect what life is. Law must reflect reality, not arbitrary limits and punishments.

History will prove that marriage between one man and one woman will not be harmed; adoption of children will not be thwarted; there will be dignity in end-of-life decisions.

We also admit some surprise that the Legislature acted so forthrightly based on evidence and good sense. And not coincidentally, left bigotry at the door, at least in this case. Perhaps the Statehouse actually recognized the will of the people.

For those who will never cease battling this law through legal or ballot initiatives, there is nothing one can say to them to change their minds.

But we maintain ultimate faith in the people, especially young people for whom the furor over this issue is already starting to seem a quirk that only old people find troubling. As the years pass, more generations of young people with ever more open minds will follow.

Good.

MANILA, Philippines — World Communications Day, the only worldwide celebration called by the Second Vatican Council on December 4, 1963, is celebrated in most countries, on the recommendation of the bishops of the world, on the Sunday before Pentecost. This year, this falls Sunday, June 5, 2011. An announcement of the theme was made on September 29, the Feast of the Archangels Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel, who have been designated as the patrons of those who work in radio. The Holy Father’s message for World Communications Day is traditionally published in conjunction with the Memorial of St. Francis de Sales, patron of writers, January 24.

On the occasion of the 45th World Day of Social Communications, Pope Benedict XVI conveyed his reflections on the theme “Truth, Proclamation, and Authenticity of Life in the Digital Age.” He began by recognizing that “the radical changes taking place in communications are guiding significant cultural and social developments.” He added: “This means of spreading information and knowledge is giving birth to a new way of learning and thinking, with unprecedented opportunities for establishing relationships, and building fellowship.” He stressed that “the new communications technologies must be placed at the service of the integral good of the individual and of the whole of humanity.”

The Pope urged the faithful to be attentive to and aware of possible risks involved in the new technologies. Is there is a risk of being more distracted because our attention is fragmented and absorbed in a world “other” than the one in which we live? Do we have time to reflect critically on our choices and to foster human relationships which are truly deep and lasting? “It is important always to remember,” the Pope said, “that virtual contact cannot and must not take the place of direct human contact with people at every level of our lives.”

On the occasion of World Social Communications Day, we should heed the Pope’s call to proclaim the Gospel through the new media. This means, he said, “not only to insert expressly religious content into different media platforms, but also to witness consistently, in one’s own digital profile and in the way one communicates choices, preferences and judgments that are fully consistent with the Gospel, even when it is not spoken of specifically.”

He declared: “In the final analysis, the truth of Christ is the full and authentic response to that human desire for relationship, communion, and meaning which is reflected in the immense popularity of social networks. Believers who bear witness to their most profound convictions greatly help prevent the web from becoming an instrument which depersonalizes people, attempts to manipulate them emotionally, or allows those who are powerful to monopolize the opinions of others.”

Southern Cross is planning to offload 200 care home businesses and seek a £100million cash injection as it fights for survival.

The move comes as the Government is today urged to appoint a cabinet minister to help secure the future of the firm’s 44,000 staff and 31,000 residents.

Britain’s biggest care homes provider is struggling with a £230million annual rent bill after selling its homes.

Primarily focused on the Nordic online gambling market Betsafe is a private gaming company which offers sports betting, casino and poker to a large number of players.
Online gambling business Betsson has acquired its rival Betsafe in a deal valued at EUR60 million (£52.2 million).

The Betsson Group is a Swedish gambling Group with over 40 years in the business. The Betsson Group is specialized in Internet gambling and is listed on the OMX Nordic Stock Exchange in Stockholm, Mid Cap. The firm employs approximately three hundred people in a number of locations. Betsson offers a wide range of first-class online gambling products and games in a safe and user-friendly gaming environment. Betsson’s product portfolio is varied and extensive including, a Sports Book, Casino, Live Casino, Poker, Games, Scratchcards, and Bingo.
Betsson Malta Limited is licenced by the Malta’s Lotteries and Gaming Authority under the Remote Gaming Regulations clause. Betsson Poker is powered by Ongame Network Ltd, which has a network license issued by the Gibraltar Government. Betsson Euro Tables is an online poker service belonging to a network, arranged and operated by Entraction Network Ltd. in compliance with the applicable laws of Malta. The Live Casino Games are operated by Evolution Gaming under a license issued to Evolution Gaming by the Alderney Gaming Control Commission.

According to a company press statement, the purchase details how Betsson is to pay an initial EUR32.5 million in cash and shares and a subsequent EUR27.5 million payable based on the development of the acquisition and the integration thereof during 2011. The deal is beneficial for both firms which are licensed in Malta and are present on the Ongame poker network.
Pontus Lindwall, Chief Executive Officer of Betsson, commented that the acquisition will be creating synergies such as integration of platforms and supplier contracts. Lindwall continued, “We strengthen our position in the Nordic region as well as our organisation when merging two profitable companies, each of which has proven its ability to gain market share in a highly competitive market.”