Is Cameron a revolutionary?

Unlike the Americans and countless other imitators, we do not have a document with the stamp and authority of the founding fathers to guide us through the highways and by-ways of constitutional change.

In some ways, that makes the unthinkable more possible, unconstrained as we are by the rigidity of the printed word.

But convention can be equally powerful and it still takes a good deal to shift those structures and practices that have become embedded in our national institutions.

David Cameron seems intent on a shake-up, along with at least two cabinet ministers, including Alan Johnson who wants a referendum on proportional representation at the time of the next general election.

Many of Mr Cameron's ideas, set out in his speech to the Open University, have been floated before.

Giving parents and communities more power over schools and house building have been key themes of the Tory leader's premiership.

And ever since Ken Clarke's democracy task force reported, there has been plenty of talk about giving more power to MPs to hold ministers to account and even reducing the numbers of MPs at Westminster.

There are also some easy wins: so putting Parliament on YouTube will face no resistance; nor will sending out text messages to the public, letting them know where a particular bill is in its Parliamentary passage (let's see how many sign up for that one).


The real question is whether the public will buy the idea that constitutional reform is a panacea for the current difficulties

But his new thought for the day is the fixed term Parliament; not a commitment to a fixed term Parliament, but the promise to give it "serious consideration".

Like the farming out of decisions on interest rates to the Bank of England, why not depoliticise the timing of elections, remove that fact of the pre-election giveaway (though there's no chance of one of those this time round) and allow everyone to set their watches by the date of the next poll.

But as Mr Cameron knows only too well, there are difficulties with such an idea.

First of all, how does it chime with the idea of giving more power back to the people?

Isn't there a danger that the people will merely see it as giving those pesky politicians a guaranteed time in power, however badly they are doing?

Secondly, Mr Cameron has made much in recent weeks of his call for a general election now - Gordon Brown, he says, is an unelected prime minister.

But Mr Brown has a year to run on his government's mandate, so David Cameron runs the risk of it looking like he is trying to have his cake and eat it.

The other difficulty for Mr Cameron is that he is a Conservative - in other words, his party is not traditionally identified with radical constitutional change.

And you can expect to hear a great deal from the Labour Party, pointing out that the Tories opposed devolution for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and House of Lords reform.

But the real question is whether the public will buy the idea that constitutional reform is a panacea for the current difficulties.

Can they be persuaded that the political nadir we have now reached can be remedied by fixing the roof?

Or will the people end up concluding that the rot comes from within?

Broadway theatres defy recession

Sales for tickets to see plays and musicals during the 2008-2009 season topped $943.3m (£589.5m).

It was $6m ($3.75m) up on last year, despite attendance being slightly down.

"If you put on a great show, people will come - even in the midst of an economic downturn," said Charlotte St. Martin, of the Broadway League.

"Research has shown that theatre provides escape from everyday life and especially during these tough times, we have given the audiences a reason to see a show."

Hollywood stars

The Broadway League, an industry trade association, said the 2008-09 season featured 43 shows, with revivals of classic musicals Hair and West Side Story among the biggest hits.

Hollywood names like Katie Holmes, Angela Lansbury, James Gandolfini and Susan Sarandon have also proved a big draw, the Broadway League said.

Attendance was 12.15 million, compared to 12.27 million during the 2007-2008 season.

The League's figures were approximate after estimated profits for the now-closed Young Frankenstein.

The Mel Brooks musical, which closed in January after a year's run, did not release its weekly figures.

International Problems of Resources and Energy


The world situation concerning resources and energy has taken on a very fluid form because it has reached a major turning point as a result of OPEC's petroleum policy, a rapid increase in the world's demand for energy, and the increased awareness of "an energy crisis" which stems from the prospects of an energy shortage in the United States.

OPEC member countries have been trying to emerge from their traditional status of being a mere tax collector in an effort to increase their control over the international petroleum industry by taking such measures as nationalistic policies on pricing, participation in management and nationalization. It seems that these policies are an irreversible current of history. As a result, the function of regulating the supply of petroleum to the world, hitherto performed by the international oil majors, has become gradually subjected to great restrictions. And there have been structural changes in the international supply of petroleum, and how to secure a stable supply of petroleum has become a matter of major concern to the major oil-consuming countries.

The prospects of an energy shortage in the United States has produced a strong impact on the energy and petroleum markets of the world. It is expected that imports of petroleum by the United States will rapidly increase in the future, and it has become clear that the United States, which hitherto has been an outsider in the world petroleum market, will enter the market as a giant importer. It is feared that there might develop an excessive competition between Japan and countries of the West, which are also heavily dependent on overseas petroleum, over efforts to secure petroleum.

It is also necessary to pay attention to the OPEC members' policies on resource conservation. Some of the OPEC members have already taken strong measures to conserve their resources. Some of the oil-producing countries with the greatest future potential resources do not necessarily have a strong incentive to increase production because they already have tremendous revenues from petroleum, and there is a fear that the oil-producing countries might not supply petroleum to the extent needed by the consuming countries.

Japan is poor in domestic resources and will have to import energy and petroleum resources in increasing quantities in the future. Therefore, Japan must extensively widen its scope of cooperation with the countries producing energy and petroleum on the basis of general international cooperation, within the situation where the interests of the producing countries, consuming countries and the international oil majors are intertwined in growing complexity, and promote multilateral international cooperation with the countries importing energy and petroleum, as well as to work out and carry out comprehensive measures to secure a stable supply of energy and petroleum resources over a long period of time.

LeBron's Big Night Finishes With A Miss

he Cleveland Cavaliers were down two with seconds remaining. Cavalier Nation -- this time, nearly 1,000 miles from the action -- was in panic mode, thousands certainly afraid to look at their televisions, thousands more certainly on the brink of tears.

Mo Williams was standing out of bounds with the ball in his hands, zeroed in on King James and King James alone. And the dream season was a swish or a miss away from either salvation or, for all intents and purposes, the end.

But this time, it would be more difficult. The Orlando Magic had learned their lesson after letting LeBron James squirt free for a game-winning 3-pointer in Game 2. This time, they put two defenders on him. This time, it seemed like he wouldn't even get the ball.

But he did, using what Magic coach Stan Van Gundy called a "tight end" move to shake loose from Mickael Pietrus and Courtney Lee.

He caught the pass from Williams, who was stationed beneath the Magic basket, in the backcourt with 3.2 seconds to play, and began racing toward the left sideline, eyeing the clock and preparing to fire.

But from the moment he let it go, he knew his 38-footer didn't contain a miracle, and as the buzzer sounded, it hit the backboard, short and to the left.

This time, there would be no talk of history, no talk of exorcising demons of seasons past. This time, James could not save the Cavs.

"I always feel like I can make any shot that I take," James said. "But as it traveled, it didn't look good. It felt good leaving my hand but didn't look good in the air."

Now nothing looks good for the Cavs.

Orlando's 116-114 overtime victory gave them a 3-1lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference final, and if you think they'll come back and win the next three games, I've got a new pair of Nike Air Broussards to sell you for $350.

In the 62-year history of the NBA, 190 teams have taken a 3-1 lead in a playoff series, and 182 of them (or 95.6 percent) have won.

And that's not even to mention the Cavs' lousy history against this Magic team. A nightmare matchup if there ever was one, Orlando has now beaten Cleveland 10 times in 14 meetings over the last three years.

Eminem out-sells other US albums

Eminem's new record Relapse has sold more copies in its first week of release than any other album released in the US this year.

Nielsen SoundScan, the firm that tracks music sales, said his first album in nearly five years sold 608,000 copies.

The record beat Green Day's 21st Century Breakdown, which topped the charts last week, after selling 215,000 copies in three days.

Eminem is currently number one in the UK and US album chart.

Relapse is Eminem's fifth straight number one album.

His last record in 2004, Encore, sold 711,000 in its first week - though that was only across four days.



It went on to sell 5.1 million copies.

In February the star's long-awaited comeback single broke a download record and topped the US Billboard singles chart.

Crack A Bottle, which also features Dr Dre, sold more than 418,000 online copies, the most ever in a first week of release.

HBOS loan irregularities alleged

File on 4 has heard from firms that claim they were ruined by the actions of a senior executive, and management consultants recommended by the bank.

The bank and management consultants Quayside Corporate Services have denied any wrongdoing.

The loans from HBOS's "high risk" unit between 2002 and 2007 are said to have led to losses at the bank of £250m.

The unit was based in Reading, Berkshire.

File on 4 heard from businesses alleging that a bank executive, Lynden Scourfield, required them to employ consultants Quayside Corporate Services as a condition for getting a loan.

Nikki and Paul Turner, whose music production and publishing business needed loan finance from HBOS, claimed the business suffered as a result of the involvement with Lynden Scourfield and Quayside and are currently facing eviction from their home by the bank. Their account of events is strongly disputed by the bank and Quayside.

The Turners' MP, James Paice, told File on 4 that HBOS's new owners Lloyds were not taking seriously their complaints and those of other businesses.

Mr Paice said that a number of businesses ended up in more debt than before Quayside got involved.

He said: "The whole thing stinks.

"The contention that I and my colleagues have is that the bank or some of the bank's then officials were significantly party to allowing or indeed encouraging these businesses to get into greater difficulty than they may or may not have been in the first place… they flatly refuse [to accept] that."

Lib Dem Treasury spokesman Vince Cable said: "If half of what I hear is true this is a very, very serious matter."

Mr Cable has called on the Financial Services Authority to investigate evidence of "very, very serious allegations".

David Mills, who founded Quayside, denied any wrongdoing and said: "I and Quayside Corporate Services acted as advisers to a number of banks and accounting firms to help implement commercial decisions made by our clients to try to turn around failing businesses.

"I always kept the banks fully informed of progress with the businesses. Unfortunately, in a number of cases, companies were unable to pay off large debts incurred before Quayside Corporate Services' involvement."

MPs have criticised Lloyds Banking Group for not properly investigating business customers' complaints.

No-one from the group would be interviewed but in a statement it told the BBC: "We simply cannot comment on individual circumstances. However, we strongly believe that we have acted throughout in a fair and responsible way.

"Bank of Scotland deals in a sensitive and fair way with all of its corporate banking customers, including those experiencing difficulties. We stand by our customers and support them closely in managing their financial difficulties."

POWER AND STRENGTH

It is not to say that the weak state is a new issue. To elucidate the concept of weak state one might go as far back as Thucydides and the notorious Melian Dialogue stressing that the "strong do what they have power to do and the weak accept what they have to accept". A concept equalizing a state's power with its strength is the leitmotif through the long life of realism in international relations theory or the "power-politics" school of thought. Its focus is on the (nation-) state as the principal actor in international relations, and since the purpose of statecraft is survival in an anarchic (hostile) environment, the main goal is the acquisition of power. Security is perceived as national security and war with another state as the main threat. The position and relative security of any weak state is gauged in term of the specific international system in which it is operating. The weak state is discussed within a comparative system: great powers, middle powers, weak states, mini states. The main characteristic of weak states is their lack of power or strength. Strength is a relative, not absolute phenomenon. The main criteria for distinction between small (i.e. weak) and strong states are military power and geographical position as internal sources of weakness, and formal alliances and weak state-great power relations as external sources of weakness. Also, weak states frequently produce only a limited number of products. There are various possibilities for great powers to exploit the position of weak states, which have fewer choices in decision-making.

The problem with this approach is that it is impossible to have a "concise, precise and elegant statement", that is, a definition. "A very large set of criteria must be used. Some are easily quantified, while others are highly intuitive and qualitative." The weak states form the largest class of states and have the most diverse membership – a fact which makes it still more difficult to assign them any common denominator other then overall relative weakness.

The total power of a state is its internal and external power combined. Military power is measured through " 'effective population', that is, the part of the population which can be armed and educated to operate modern sophisticated weapons", possession of nuclear weapons, economic, industrial and social capacity. The indicators used to determine this are population, Gross National Product, GNP per capita, military expenditure and quantity of armed forces, energy reserves, production and consumption. In terms of geographical position, location and nature of terrain are important, but also "border pressure" - the number of neighbouring countries with which a common border is shared, their relative population ratios, their military strength, and their political intentions.

This approach does not provide clear guidance for comparison of similar-size states. Strength is here discussed only in terms of possible external threats, military and economic, from the system and region level. Although it was mentioned that the strength is not static, many elements of strength are relatively fixed: population, geographic position, terrain and so on. The ratio between multiple criteria is not clarified, except that "on the whole, weak states score relatively low on most criteria".

When implemented in five states in Western Balkans, this approach is not particularly revealing. Albania, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, and Serbia and Montenegro all are small states in terms of territory - less than 150.000 square kilometres, and in population – below 30 million. All five states have long borders, no nuclear weapons, low military expenditure, and no versatile production and export. In terms of external indicators, none of them is in NATO, that is in a formal alliance. There are some differences: Croatia has bigger GDP, Serbia and Montenegro the biggest territory and population, Albania the best terrain for defence, but there is no explanation as to which element has more weight. This concept includes many indicators without assigning value to them; hence it is too vague for finer comparison. Furthermore, there is no explanation as to how such permanent weakness becomes an acute security issue, except that it depends on great power politics.

Pound falls back against dollar

The pound capped a rise in recent weeks by hitting $1.60 on Wednesday for the first time since November last year.

But it fell to $1.5925 on Thursday as investors took profits and the dollar rose against a range of currencies.

The Bank of England's David Blanchflower warned that the worst of the global crisis may not be over.

My worry is that there can be many false dawns and we shouldn't assume that everything is over," he said in an interview with the Times newspaper.

Separately, a survey by the CBI provided more gloomy news on the UK economy.

The CBI's distributive trends survey said that UK retail sales had fallen by more than expected in May and that retailers were expecting a further deterioration next month.

But analysts expect the pound to remain strong as it rebounds from the 23-year low of $1.3620 against the dollar in January.

"The bullish momentum is stronger than it has been since December 2006," said Nicole Elliott of Mizuho Corporate Bank.

An early rally by the dollar also saw it strengthen against the euro. One euro dropped to $1.3867 from $1.3965 on Wednesday.

United "suffer" pain of defeat

Edwin van der Sar admitted that Manchester United FC were made to "suffer" at the hands of FC Barcelona as the goalkeeper reflected on failing to retain the UEFA Champions League trophy for the second time in his career.


The 38-year-old was part of the AFC Ajax sides that defeated AC Milan in the 1995 final before losing out to Juventus at the last hurdle the following year. This time around Van der Sar felt his team failed to do enough to become the first team to win the tournament in successive seasons, following their triumph over Chelsea FC in Moscow last May. "We wanted to win and hold on to the trophy," he explained. "In the first ten minutes it looked like we could do that as we had some shots on target while they looked a little nervous. After they scored we stopped playing. They gained in confidence and we never really got hold of the ball in order to play our own game."


The United No1 was picking the ball out of his net after just ten minutes following Samuel Eto'o's near-post strike, while Lionel Messi's second-half header made the game safe for Barcelona's treble winners. "We had a couple of chances and didn't take them," Van der Sar added. "At the end we were chasing the game, but they kept the ball very well and made us suffer. [After the game] the manager told us to look at ourselves and not to complain about other things."

Cristiano Ronaldo was quick to agree with his team-mate. "They played better than us and controlled the game," the 24-year-old said. "They created more opportunities and I think they deserved to win. We knew that making bad mistakes tonight would cost us and that proved to be the case. We started very well in the opening minutes but after that I didn't see much more of Manchester United."

Oil falls as demand 'set to drop'

The price of oil has fallen after the International Energy Agency said world oil demand would drop this year by more than at any time since 1981.
The price of US light crude oil fell by more than $1 a barrel to $56.86, while Brent crude dropped 74 cents to $56.60.
The IEA said demand for oil would fall by 3% this year compared with 2008.
On Wednesday, oil prices hit six-month highs, with US crude prices topping $60 on hopes that the worst may be over for the world economy.
"The oil price seems to have moved a bit higher in the past month largely on the basis of equity markets and sentiment rather than evidence of higher consumption," said David Fyfe, head of the IEA's Oil Industry and Markets Division.
The Paris-based IEA said demand would fall to 83.2 million barrels a day this year, 2.6 million less than in 2008.
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) has implemented a number of production cuts in order to counter the fall in demand for oil and halt the slide in its price.
Oil prices hit a record of more than $147 a barrel in July last year.

No Mercy for the Weak or Bikinied on American Idol

Michael Becker / FOX So that's where all the drama was hiding?in groups of three or four!The claws came out, the tears flowed and one contestant saw evil in Paula Abdul's eyes during American Idol's group round, which may have been created for no other reason than to show us just how hard it is to play nice with others.About 30 people blew it tonight—some rather surprisingly—including Emily Wynne-Hughes, Rose Flack and David Osmond and Deanna Brown, all of whom were oohed and aahed over early on.Even Katrina "Bikini Girl" Darrell came undone in the end, felled by the very high heels that helped carry her to Hollywood.But while some frittered away their last few minutes of fame griping and sniping at each other, others continued to promote their cause.The group that dubbed itself White Chocolate, for instance—India Morrison, Justin Williams, Kris Allen and Matt Giraud—utilized their time wisely, polishing their "I Want You Back" vocals and coming up with cute choreography.And the Rainbow Coalition—Danny Gokey, Jamar Rogers, Taylor Vaifanua and a talent to perhaps be named later—wowed the judges with their harmonious a capella version of Queen's "Somebody to Love."Also among the lucky: Nate Marshall, Jasmine Murray, Jeremy Michael Sarver, Adam Lambert, Matt Breitzke, Jesse Langseth, Anne Marie Boskovich, Nick Mitchell and Jorge Nuñez.

http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b82469_no_mercy_weak_bikinied_on_american_idol.html

Rockets hit Israel from Lebanon

Militants have fired rockets into northern Israel from Lebanon for the first time since the end of last year.
Israeli Army radio and Lebanese security sources are both reporting that two Katyusha rockets have exploded near the border town of Kiryat Shmona.
It is believed the rocket attacks have not caused a very huge damage to buildings and roadways in the area.
The defense officials of Israel have said that the rockets tha attacked them were fired by the Palestinian organization in Lebanon.
Last July Israel, was in a very offensive attitude to Lebanon, trying to stop the Hezbollah rockets fired to Israel.
Troops enter Gaza
The rocket attack has come as Israel sends troops into northern Gaza and cuts off petrol supplies to the territory.
The Islamic militants of Hamas are in total control of Gaza, so Lebanon is trying to isolate the troops of Israel.
Israel has also is against the labor of the Palestinian president.
Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh has denied that the Israeli incursion into neighboring areas of northern Gaza is the precursor to an offensive against the territory.
"These are activities of a preventive character," he said.
"For the moment, we are not going on the offensive in the Gaza Strip.
"There are sectors where it's better that it is us who is present rather than others."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7817135.stm

THE NEW PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA

Election of Barack Obama gathered in streets across the country many people to celebrate a moment in history many thought might never come. We've got the first black president. "It's not cured now, but this is a step to curing this country of racism. This is the opportunity for been together. In Washington, hundreds of residents went near the White House, carrying balloons. In Miami, fireworks were playing for news of Obama’s victory. But the biggest celebration was in Chicago, Obama’s hometown, where hundred thousand people in the streets as the president-elect. “We got our first black president; we need a president that’s going to make our country better. And Obama can do that for us”, a lot of people said.

Starbucks to cut 6,700 jobs, close 300 stores

Starbucks the international corporation of coffee would cut more than 6,700 work and also would close hundreds of stores, because the low demand of coffee that have presented because the recession. The company has changed his plan of opening new stores, this situation would cost more than 500 million dollars to saving in 2009. Edward Jones, analyst Jack Russo said that this cuts will decline sales in Starbucks, but the analysts think that this is a transition year, Starbucks will find the way back.
From closing the 600 stores in the United States and 61 stores in Australia, the company said it earned 15 cents for each in its first quarter. Profits to $2.62 billion from $2.77 billion, while analysts had predicted revenue of $2.70 billion. The revenue drop stemmed from a 9 percent decline in the store sales at locations open at least a year.
The company said it plans to open only 140 new stores in United States in fiscal 2009, down from its previous target of 200. In other countries it will open 170, down from the 270 it had planned to open. The company also said it will not provide any sales or earnings guidance.

Nadal has now won three of the four Grand Slam titles

"Just remember you're a great champion and you're one of the best in history and for sure you're going to match Sampras"
nadal to federer

Nadal recovered from his marathon semi-final to ruin Federer's attempt to equal Pete Sampras's record of 14 Grand Slam titles. The world number one has now won six Grand Slam titles - including four at the French Open and one at Wimbledon.

After two days of the longest match ever in the Australian open history, that lasted five hours, Nadal played with the last world number one, federer who lost the match in five sets, after what's still a surprice, federer make a desperately nervous start, dropping serve immediately in a woeful game of three wild errors and a double fault.

The erros behan to flow from the federer backhand and a fucused nadal made him play, near to the tittle with some confident serving. two match points arived when federer, on serve and with the two nervous nadal erros, kept the contest alive.

The game was over after four hours 23 minutes, and Nadal , the first spaniard to win the australian tittle, accepted the trophy from Rod Laver and said: " roger, I know exactly how you feel".