hollowayplasteringandstucco.com

Friday, July 6, 2007

The International Olympic Committee awarded the XXII Winter Olympics, to be held in 2014, to Sochi, Russia, a resort city near the Black Sea, in Guatemala City yesterday defeating Pyeongchang, South Korea, by just four votes. Salzburg, Austria, was eliminated in the first round by 25 votes.

According to the Associated Press, several factors played a part in Sochi’s win. One factor was that of Russian president Vladimir Putin himself. Putin, an avid skier and a black belt in judo, traveled to Guatemala to lobby IOC members and headed up the final presentation of Sochi’s bid to the assembly.

“Putin being here was very important, he worked very hard at it. He was nice. He spoke French — he never speaks French. He spoke English — he never speaks English,” said French IOC member and former ski champion Jean-Claude Killy.

Patrick Hickey, an Irish member of the IOC agreed. “There’s no doubt that President Putin’s presence was a massive influence, his performance was superb. He was humble. He spoke in English and French. The second most powerful man in the world said everything will be delivered.”

Juan Antonio Samaranch, former IOC president and Spanish ambassador to Russia made a big push for Sochi, which may have swung some key votes according to some IOC members.

“This is, without doubt, not just a recognition of Russia’s sporting achievements but it is, beyond any doubt, a judgment on our country, it is a recognition of our growing capability, first of all economically and socially,” Putin stated upon his return to Russia.

Another factor is Russia’s brand new wealth from exports of Russian natural gas and oil, which provided over $12 billion for Putin to invest in the Games and the infrastructure around Sochi.

Russia last hosted the games in 1980 in Moscow, when the country was known as the Soviet Union. The games were boycotted by the United States and some of its allies over the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

The United States continues to spar with Russia over human rights abuses and the subjugation of democratic freedoms.

U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack spoke in Washington to reporters stating, “Well, it’s a proud moment for Russia and I am sure it’s a proud moment for him so he can characterize it as he sees fit, I’m not sure that the selection of Russia to host the Winter Olympics really, at this point, changes our view or others’ views — or concerns — about the direction of democracy and related issues: human rights, respect for freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and to be able to peaceably organize opposition democratic parties.”

Meanwhile, Sochi has announced that progress of construction on venues in Sochi will be offered online. Dmitri Chernyshenko, Sochi 2014’s bid leader said, “The IOC will be online every single moment in terms of construction, there will be live video from all construction sites.”

The next Olympic bid is for the 2016 Summer Olympics which includes bids from Chicago, Tokyo, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, Doha, Baku, and Prague.

A compilation of brief news reports for Friday, August 14, 2009.

A body recovered by Indonesian police on August 8th is not that of Noordin Mohammed Top. The Indonesian authorities had been optimistic that Top, the mastermind behind the 2002 Bali bombings, had been killed on Saturday in a gun battle that concluded a 17 hour siege in the Temanggung district of Central Java.

DNA tests suggests that the body is that of a man identified only as Ibrahim, a florist who was the inside man in the attacks on luxury hotels in Jakarta this July.

Sources

• Dicky Christanto and Mustaqim Adamrah. “Ibrohim played key role in Jakarta hotel bombings: Police” — The Jarkarta Post, August 13, 2009
• “Bali bombing mastermind escaped deadly police siege” — Xinhua News Agency, August 12, 2009
• Anne Tang. “DNA test shows JI leader Top still alive” — Xinhua News Agency, August 12, 2009

Attempts by President Barack Obama to reform the health care in the United States has been met with grassroots opposition. Critics fear that Obama’s reforms are an attempt to socialise health care. However, the President has dismissed such apprehension as an attempt to “scare and mislead” by vested interests hoping to derail the reforms.

Opposition adverts which feature the alleged failures and rationing of healthcare in the British National Health Service (NHS), have been rebutted by citizens, politicians and the media. Spurred on by American commentators that described that the NHS as “evil’ and Orwellian, with over a million responses to an on-line Twitter campaign, called welovetheNHS started in support of the NHS.

Sources

• Patrick Foster. “Anti-healthcare lobbyists duped us, say Katie Brickell and Kate Spall” — The Times, August 14, 2009
• Clare Ellicott. “‘I owe my life to the NHS’: Stephen Hawking tells US to stop attacking health service” — The Daily Mail, August 13, 2009
• “Tough questions, frustrations continue in town halls” — CNN, August 13, 2009
• Kerry Sheridan. “Obama aims to sooth concerns amid healthcare fury” — Agence France-Presse, August 13, 2009

Three British soldiers of have been killed by an explosion whilst on foot patrol near the town of Sangin in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

The death of the soldiers — two from the 2nd Battalion The Rifles and one from 40 Regiment Royal Artillery — brings the number of British soldiers killed in Afghanistan since 2001 to 199.

“[These deaths] brings us very close to the sad milestone of 200 fatalities in this conflict. We cannot help but reflect on the toll the mission has taken…” said Bob Ainsworth, the British Secretary of State for Defence.

Sources

• “Three UK soldiers die in Helmand” — BBC News Online, August 13, 2009
• “Soldiers killed in Afghanistan to be named: report” — Agence France-Presse, August 13, 2009

Friday, December 23, 2005

The Conservative Party of Canada leader Stephen Harper today made bold claims about the Canadian Arctic region at a campaign stop in Winnipeg, “The single most important duty of the federal government is to protect and defend our national sovereignty.” . The prime minister-hopeful stated, “There are new and disturbing reports of American nuclear submarines passing though Canadian waters without obtaining the permission of —or even notifying — the Canadian government.”

Harper promised a significant increase in military presence in the Canadian region, which has had notable soveriegnty disputes with the United States, Russia, Denmark and Norway.”You don’t defend national sovereignty with flags,” Harper said. “You need forces on the ground, ships in the sea, and proper surveillance.”

Among other promises, Harper stated he would station three armed naval heavy ice breakers in the area of Iqaluit with 500 regular force personnel, recruit 500 more Canadian rangers, and build a new army training center in the area of Cambridge Bay on the Northwest Passage.File:Stephen Harper voa.jpg

“As prime minister, I will make it clear to foreign governments — including the United States — that naval vessels traveling in Canadian territorial waters will require the consent of the government of Canada,” Harper stated.

The Conservative Party Website states this ““Canada First” Northern Strategy will increase surveillance, navy, army and air force presence”.

The Liberal Party of Canada, the Conservatives’ most powerful rival in the election, quickly posted a rebuttal on their website. They claim Stephen Harpers stated defense budget of $5.3(CAD) billion over 5 years is not enough to afford the two polar icebreakers, which the Liberal party claims will cost $3(CAD) billion with the party estimating an upkeep of $150(CAD) million per year. “Where does Mr. Harper plan to find another $1 billion?” the party asked in their rebuttal.

The Arctic may be an important issue in the future for Canadians, as scientists expect the fabled Northwest Passage of the Arctic to open up for year round shipping by 2050 as a result of global warming. According to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, trade routes from Europe to the Far East could save 4000 km through the passage, as compared to the current routes through the Panama Canal.

Canada last flexed its muscle in the Arctic in 2004 in its most massive Arctic exercise ever, with six hundred personnel from the three services (army, air force, navy) involved in a large exercise in the Baffin Islands.

Canadians are scheduled to go to the polls on January 23, 2006 in an early election as a result of a non-confidence motion in parliament against the former ruling Liberal party.

Friday, August 22, 2014

Russian authorities have detained four people on Wednesday on suspicion of vandalism, following an incident where the spire of the iconic Kotelnicheskaya Embankment Building in Moscow was painted in the colors of the Ukrainian flag. The suspects, reportedly consisting of two men and two women, allegedly ascended the building by stairs to reach its top floor, before using climbing equipment to complete the ascent, according to Moscow police.

Over the course of the previous night, the suspects proceeded to paint the top half of the building’s star-shaped spire blue and erected a Ukrainian flag atop at about 7:15 am local time, reports the Interfax news agency, with information corroborated by Moscow’s municipal emergency services. The alterations to the building made by the suspects remained for several hours, before workers removed the flag and repainted the spire to its normal color. Containing 32 floors and standing at a height of 176 m (577 ft), the Kotelnicheskaya Embankment Building is one of the Seven Sisters, skyscrapers constructed between 1947 and 1953 in Moscow under the direction of Joseph Stalin.

Following the act, at least one of the suspects then reportedly descended from the building by parachute, reported state news channel Rossiya 24, and captured on a video published by Lifenews, reportedly filmed by a local resident. Additional video broadcast by Rossiya 24, taken from a window, captured a parachuting suspect landing in a nearby playground. Among the suspects was Alexander Pogrebov, who has denied the charges brought forth by authorities. “I was detained for parachuting off the skyscraper. I chose that place because it’s beautiful. […] It just so happened that at the time of the jump, someone else committed an act of vandalism — they destroyed the spire with paint, and raised the Ukrainian flag.” said Pogrebov in an interview to LifeNews.

Pogrebov’s comments were supported by a police official, who stated to the Itar-Tass agency: “The two young men and two girls say they jumped from a high building with parachutes. They say they didn’t hoist any flag and didn’t paint the flag.” If convicted of vandalism, Pogrebov and the other suspects may be sentenced to a maximum of three years imprisonment. Over the phone to Bloomberg, an unidentified duty press official stated the suspects were previously arrested over other charges. According to reports from Russian state television, all four suspects were Russian citizens.

Other acts by Russian protestors to show support and solidarity with Ukraine, contrasting the approval which came following the Russian annexation of Crimea, included the singing of the Ukrainian national anthem by protestors while being arrested. Russian musician Andrey Makarevich, who fronts the band Mashina Vremeni, which translates to “Time Machine”, was labelled as a “traitor” by Russian lawmakers and musicians who supported Russian interests, after he traveled to eastern Ukraine last week to perform for displaced children in regions held by the Ukrainian army.

On a post on Twitter, Russian opposition leader Gennady Gudkov stated “I don’t justify youngsters who painted a star on the skyscraper, but this is an administrative offense, not criminal”. In 2011 and 2012, following accusations of electoral fraud during the parliamentary elections at the time, Gudkov supported protestors who took to the streets of Moscow in opposition to Russian president Vladimir Putin.

The act comes just days prior to Ukraine’s Day of the National Flag on August 23 and Independence Day on August 24. The country’s president, Petro Poroshenko, expressed his approval from Kiev of the act and praise for the suspects in a written post on Facebook. “On the eve of Independence Day we are starting an initiative called ‘Our Colours,’ which is devoted to the Ukrainian flag” ^{((uk))Ukrainian language: ???????????? ??? ???????????? ?? ????????? ?????????? “???? ???????”, ??? ?????????? ???????????? ???????}, wrote Poroshenko. “And it is symbolic that, on this day, our colours have been painted on what is perhaps the greatest skyscraper in Moscow. I urge Ukrainians throughout the world, wherever they are, on the eve of the anniversary of our independence, to decorate their homes, offices, and cars in our national colours.” ^{((uk))Ukrainian language: ???????????, ?? ? ??? ???? ? ???? ??????? ????????????, ???????, ????????? ??????? ? ??????. ???????? ????????? ?? ?????? ?????, ?? ? ???? ?? ????, ??????????? ??????? ????????????, ?????????? ???? ???????, ?????, ???? ? ???? ??????????? ???????.}

“I like very much the fact that, on the eve of celebrating the Ukrainian flag, one of Moscow’s highest buildings was painted in our colors,” Poroshenko said in a video posted on Facebook. “I congratulate these Ukrainians.” Following the deaths of more than 2,000 people and the displacement of 300,000 from their homes amid fighting in eastern Ukraine between the Ukrainian armed forced and pro-Russian separatists, Poroshenko is scheduled to discuss the crisis with Putin next week, the first such meeting in two months.

Sunday, February 18, 2018

On Thursday, Phil Scott of Vermont became the fourth governor in the United States to sign an executive order requiring all companies providing Internet access to state agencies to abide by net neutrality for all customers in his state. He said he did this because Vermonters rely on Internet access without blocking, throttling and paid prioritization, threatened by the December 14 decision of the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the matter of “Restoring Internet freedom”. The first state governor to challenge the FCC in this way was Steve Bulllock of Montana, who did so on January 22. Andrew Cuomo of New York followed two days later. Philip Murphy of New Jersey signed a similar executive order on February 5. These four executive orders differ in details, but all require that state agencies purchase Internet access services only from companies with an enforceable commitment to net neutrality for all customers in their state.

This is part of a flurry of state-level net neutrality actions. The New York State Assembly introduced bill A01958 on January 17, 2017, three days before the inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United States, anticipating action by him to overturn the 2015 “Title II Order” that made net neutrality enforceable in the US. Two other bills were introduced into the Washington House of Representatives in the ten days before the official decision of Trump’s FCC on this issue. In addition to these, 63 other state-level responses by net neutrality supporters were documented by Fight for the Future (FFTF) by February 16, 2018, including at least 27 bills introduced into the legislatures of 17 states with others reportedly under consideration.

These bills are in addition to the lawsuit filed on January 16 by the Attorney General of New York on behalf of 21 states and the District of Columbia claiming this FCC decision was “arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion within the meaning of the Administrative Procedure Act” (APA) of 1946 and other grounds. These states were New York, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington state. New Jersey reportedly later committed to join the suit.

These four executive orders are the only actions on FFTF’s list of actions by net neutrality supporters that seem immediately enforceable. All others require approval by democratic bodies. The four executive orders might be challenged in courts as conflicting with “Preemption authority” claimed by the US Federal Communications Commission’s “Declaratory ruling, report and order” adopted December 14 and released January 4. The FCC order was described by dissenting Commissioner Clyburn as “Destroying Internet Freedom” rather than “Restoring Internet Freedom” as the order is titled. She wrote that this order “will put profits and shareholder returns above what is best for” consumers.

Wednesday, September 6, 2006

The President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf is in Kabul for a two-day visit during which he is scheduled to hold talks with his Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai. The talks are expected to focus on the continuing militant activity on both sides of the border, with Taliban forces allegedly infiltrating into Afghanistan from across the border in Pakistan.

Economic cooperation and reconstruction in Afghanistan are also on the agenda. President Musharraf is scheduled to meet cabinet ministers and address parliamentarians tomorrow. His delegation includes ministers for foreign and religious affairs and the petroleum sector, and the head of Pakistan’s intelligence agency.

“Frank discussions on the war on terror and expanding bilateral cooperation on regional issues,” read a statement by President Karzai’s office.

Pakistan foreign office spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam told AFP news agency that the Presidents “will exchange views on bilateral relations, economic cooperation, reconstruction activities in Afghanistan and cooperation in the fight against terrorism,”

“Afghanistan is expecting the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to take effective action against terrorism,” Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Sultan Ahmad Baheen said.

Pakistan signed a peace agreement with pro-Taliban militants in the North Waziristan region on the eve of the visit. The deal aims to end years of unrest in the border province. Under its terms the Pakistan military forces and militants will stop attacks on each other and the militants have agreed to disarm or expel foreign Al-Qaeda-linked fighters in the area. Pakistan has rejected criticism that the deal will allow pro-Taliban forces to operate freely in the area.

“Pakistan is committed to its policy on war on terror, and Osama caught anywhere in Pakistan would be brought to justice,” army spokesman Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan told the Associated Press.

On Wednesday, President Karzai met the NATO General Secretary Jaap de Hoop Scheffer in Kabul and signed an accord aimed at boosting security and development in the country. The NATO chief warned that “some of the terrorists, the spoilers, think they can win in the south,”, adding “They are wrong. Because they cannot win, they will not win, […] That is why we are engaged in combat as well at this very moment.”

The visit comes amidst an upsurge in violence in Afghanistan, with US forces saying that 60 militants were killed by artillery and air-strikes on Tuesday. Some 700 more are believed to be surrounded by soldiers in an operation in Khandahar province.

NATO and Afghan forces launched an operation in Khandahar’s Panjwayi district last weekend, and NATO reports 250 militants as killed in the operations, though a Taliban commander has disputed the figure and there is no independent confirmation of the toll. Hundreds have been killed in continuing fighting between government and international security forces and insurgents in the last four months.

An estimated 1500 families have been displaced by the fighting in Khandahar.

Suspected Taliban militants shot dead two muslim clerics in Lashkar Gah, capital of the Helmand province in the last two days and raided a district headquarters in the town of Arghandad in Zabul province.

Musharraf last visited Afghanistan in 2002. Afghanistan has previously complained that Pakistan is not doing enough to combat Taliban insurgency in its side of the 2,250km (1,400-mile) mountainous border between the two countries. Earlier in the year, allegations by Afghanistan that Taliban and Al-Qaeda leaders were living in Pakistan were dismissed by Musharraf as “nonsense”. In February, Afghanistan issued a list of 150 Taliban suspects it said were living in Pakistan. President Musharraf dismissed the information as “old and outdated”, but President Karzai reiterated that the list was up-to-date.

Some Al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders have been arrested in Pakistan, which has also stationed close to 80,000 troops along the Afghan borders. There is international pressure on Musharraf to deal with Islamist groups in Pakistan who are believed to assist Taliban forces.

“Pakistan has the potential to be the solution to the problems of Afghanistan,” Afghan foreign ministry advisor Ali Muradian said.”We hope that President Musharraf will open a new chapter in relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan.”

Pakistan was closely associated with the Taliban’s rise to power in the 90s one of only three nations that recognised the then Taliban government.

While state run dailies Kabul Times and Hewad expressed hope that two leaders will work together to improve security, The daily Cheragh said that while statements about restoring security can be expected from the meeting, “as experience has shown”, previous pledges by Pakistan “have not been fulfilled”.

Kabul Times also said Afghanistan was grateful for Pakistan’s help to thousands of Afghan refugees.

“The key concern is whether the agreement is going to lead to more insurgents going to and fro across the border or less,” A diplomat told AFP, while another questioned Pakistan’s peace deal with the militants.

Thursday, January 4, 2007

Introduced by Alan Rosenberg, current President of the Screen Actors Guild, Grey’s Anatomy star Sandra Oh and Bobby, Happy Feet actor Elijah Wood announced nominees for “the Actors”.

The award ballots will be mailed to voters tomorrow. The Guild’s entire active membership is allowed to vote, before the January 26 deadline. It is the only award voted on solely by actors, and the only award given solely to actors.

The ceremonies are held two days later, on January 28. TNT and TBS will both air the program in the United States, at 8 p.m. ET/PT, 7 p.m. CT, and 6 p.m. MT. In Canada, CTV is expected to show the special.

A total of eleven funny men and women got “Outstanding Performance by a Actor in a Comedy Series” nominations.

For male actors, the list reads Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy in 30 Rock, Steve Carell as Michael Scott in The Office, Jason Lee as Earl Hickey in My Name is Earl, Jeremy Piven as Ari Gold in Entourage, and Tony Shalhoub as Adrian Monk in Monk.

The females given a nod were America Ferrera as Betty Suarez in Ugly Betty, Felicity Huffman as Lynette in Desperate Housewives, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Christine Campbell in The New Adventures of Old Christine, Megan Mullally as Karen Walker in Will & Grace, Mary-Louise Parker as Nancy Botwin in Weeds, and Jaime Pressly as Joy in My Name is Earl.

Thespians also got their due salutes.

“Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series” nominees are James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano in The Sopranos, Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan in Dexter, Hugh Laurie as Dr. Gregory House in House, James Spader as Alan Shore in Boston Legal, and Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer in 24.

Nominations for “Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series” go to Patricia Arquette as Allison Dubois in Medium, Edie Falco as Carmela Soprano in The Sopranos, Mariska Hargitay as Det. Olivia Benson in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Kyra Sedgwick as Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson in The Closer, and Chandra Wilson as Dr. Miranda Bailey in Grey’s Anatomy.

Two nominations in the “Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series” went to each ABC and HBO. The first got acknowledgement for Grey’s Anatomy and Boston Legal, while the series on the latter were The Sopranos and Deadwood. The FOX network’s series 24 also received a nomination.

Up for “Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series” are The Office on NBC, ABC’s Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives, and two cable series, Showtime’s Weeds and HBO series Entourage.

Many of the series have writing and performances that could qualify them for either Drama or Comedy series, such as Boston Legal and Desperate Housewives.

The Sopranos was the only series to get three nominations; telefilm Broken Trail also received that many.

As with many television-related award shows over the last decade, HBO lead the pack in nominations, with 10. ABC and NBC received 8 each.