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NFL and Raiders star Chandler Jones claims he was taken to a mental health hospital

admin — Tue, 26 Sep 2023 03:36:54 +0000

Published: 22:55 EDT, 25 September 2023 | Updated: 23:32 EDT, 25 September 2023

NFL star Chandler Jones, of the Las Vegas Raiders, has claimed he was taken against his will to a mental health hospital by the Vegas fire department last week.

In an alarming social media post on Monday night, Jones said he has been injected against his will and forced to sleep on the floor. It comes a week after Jones went on a disturbing rant accusing Raiders owner Mark Davis of protecting the identity of a man he claims molested his goddaughter. Jones later said that he had been hacked.

In a post on X, captioned ‘First day out but I’m still aligned’, Jones wrote: ‘First day out, if my fans and friends were wondering, I was taken in by the Las Vegas fire department last week against my will.

‘I was injected with I don’t know what. They say it was a court hold and the Las Vegas police put me on it. I hadn’t done anything wrong. The police said people were concerned about me because of my posts online.

‘I answered my front door and a group of 5 to 7 were there to put me in an ambulance where I was later injected and I asked them not to. I had no cell phone or no communication. I was taken to Southern Hills hospital and then transferred to Seven Hills where they tried to force me to take meds and injections.

Chandler Jones has claimed that he was taken to a mental hospital against his will

Jones took to X and posted a written account with alarming claims about his treatment

The NFL and Raiders star Jones, 33, added that ‘whoever put me in here had bad intentions’

‘I called Raiders GM 6 to 7 times asking for help and wondered if he had put me in here, but he never answered. I even left him voicemails. I was just trying to figure out why I’m not allowed in the building still and why do I have to continue to watch my brothers suffer every Sunday. But no answer.

‘This place is NOT a place for high profile athletes. My first night I slept on the floor and was not offered a bed.

‘My brothers had to bring me decent meals to eat and clothes. My dad comes and reads me bible verses. Every day that I miss is one million dollars. I’m still confused on what I did wrong. I’m still here. I’m very sane.

‘I workout in my room every day. Even down the hallway at 3am if you ask the staff here.

‘All I know is whoever put me here had bad intentions. I’m to (sic) strong of a person to be mentally broken. For all of my friends that know me, THEY KNOW!!!’.

The Raiders put Jones on the non-football illness list last week, ruling him out for the team indefinitely.

‘It’s a personal situation and a private matter,’ Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels said at the time. ‘We have dealt with it, and I am not going to talk about it.’

The Las Vegas Raiders have been approached for comment in light of the new post from Jones, who is 33.

The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reported last week that ‘Raiders players and others around the league have shared concerns’ over Jones and his wellbeing.

It comes after another social media rant on September 5, in which Jones claimed he didn’t want to play for the team if head coach Josh McDaniels and GM Dave Ziegler were in place.

In that same outburst, Jones also claimed that he was not allowed in the Raiders’ facility. ‘They won’t let me in the building tho, tryna provoke a n****,’ he wrote on his Instagram story.

‘And they had direct contact to my (baby momma) and we ain’t been together for five years.’

Jones is a four-time Pro Bowler who won a Super Bowl (in 2015) with the New England Patriots

Jones also shared texts that appeared to be sent to McDaniels and another member of the Raiders organization in which he complained about being shunned from the team.

‘It’s a shame that I am a top athlete with 112 sacks in the NFL and I have to go to a local gym to workout during the season for no apparent reason,’ he said in one purported message. ‘This is wild to me Josh and you know it you need to do what’s right.’

Jones signed a three-year, $51million deal with the team last year and will bring home $17million this year.

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Menendez claims he’s being charged because he’s a ‘Latino American’

admin — Sat, 23 Sep 2023 01:34:53 +0000

Menendez claims he’s being charged because he’s a ‘Latino American’

By Emily Goodin, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

Published: 16:26 EDT, 22 September 2023 | Updated: 16:27 EDT, 22 September 2023

Democratic Senator Bob Menendez on Friday denied the corruption charges against him and claimed he is being ‘falsely accused’ because he is a ‘Latin American’ who rose from a humble childhood to the United States Senate. Menendez and his wife Nadine Arslanian Menendez have been indicted by a federal grand jury over corruption allegations in an investigation that focused on a luxury car, $400,000 in gold bars and cash, plus payments toward a home mortgage allegedly received by the couple. The four-term senator, the son of Cuban immigrants, denied the charges and refused to resign.

‘Those behind this campaign simply cannot accept that a first generation Latin American from humble beginnings could rise to be a U.S. senator,’ he said in a statement. Menendez said prosecutors in the Southern District of New York ‘misrepresented the normal work of a Congressional office.’ ‘I have been falsely accused before because I refused to back down to the powers that be and the people of New Jersey were able to see through the smoke and mirrors and recognize I was innocent,’ he said. He added he would not be ‘distracted by baseless allegations’ but continue his work as senator.

The indictment claims the couple had an improper relationship with three New Jersey businessmen: Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes, who allegedly paid the couple in exchange for Menendez to use his influence in Washington D.C. to their benefit. The couple faces three criminal counts each: conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right. The three businessmen face charges of conspiracy to commit bribery and conspiracy to commit honest services fraud. The indictment also charges the senator with providing ‘sensitive U.S. Government information and took other steps that secretly aided the Government of Egypt .’

David Schertler, a lawyer for Nadine Menendez, said she ‘denies any criminal conduct and will vigorously contest these charges in court.’ Menendez also defended his wife of three years. ‘Not content with making false statements against me, they have attacked my wife for longstanding friendships she had before she and I ever met,’ he said in his statement. The senator also pointed out he has faced and defeated corruption charges before. ‘They wrote these charges as they wanted; the facts are not as presented. Prosecutors did that last time and look what a trial demonstrates. People should remember that and not accept the prosecutor’s version.’

This is the second time Menendez has faced a corruption charge. A 2015 case ended in a mistrial after a jury failed to reach a verdict on all counts and a judge acquitted him on some charges. The first time Menendez was indicted, he had been accused of using his influence to help a Florida eye doctor who gave him gifts and campaign contributions. Menendez was accused of pressuring government officials to resolve a Medicare billing dispute in favor of Dr. Salomon Melgen and securing visas for the doctor’s girlfriends. He said he was innocent. His lawyers said campaign contributions and gifts from Melgen — which included trips on his private jet to a resort in the Dominican Republic and a vacation in Paris — were tokens of their longtime friendship, not bribes. Prosecutors dropped the charges after the mistrial.

Menendez is running for re-election for his New Jersey Senate seat and already facing at least one Democratic challenger in the primary. If Menendez were to step down before the end of his term, New Jersey’s Democratic governor, Philip Murphy, would appoint a successor. Menendez has held public office continuously since 1986, when he was elected mayor of Union City, New Jersey. He was a state legislator and spent 14 years in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 2006, Gov. Jon Corzine appointed Menendez to the Senate seat he vacated when he became governor. The new indictment outlines a series of texts, payments and actions the couple allegedly took to help the three businessmen, actions from which they financially benefited.

The probe listed several ‘bribes’ paid to them. ‘Those bribes included cash, gold, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a low-or-no-show job, a luxury vehicle, and other things of value,’ the indictment said. A June 2022 raid on their New Jersey home found ‘over $480,000 in cash – much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe,’ the indictment notes, adding Nadine had over $70,000 in a safe deposit box. It also found two one-kilogram gold bars and eleven one-ounce gold bars.

Damian Williams, an attorney with the Southern District of New York, outlined the charges and supporting evidence during a press conference Friday morning, saying the couple used Menendez’s ‘power and influence to protect and enrich the businessmen and benefit the government of Egypt.’ He notes investigators ‘executed a search warrant and discovered over $500,000 worth of cash stuffed into envelopes and the senator’s jackets.’ ‘That is not all. Agents discovered a lot of gold,’ he added. Williams also said Menendez’s work went beyond normal constituent work and that he benefitted from it financially. The indictment alleges that Menendez tried to disrupt a federal criminal prosecution of Fred Daibes in exchange for money and other items of value. Daibes is an old friend of Menendez, has fundraised for his Senate campaign, and allegedly has ties to the Genovese mob family.

The indictment charges Menendez ‘promised to and did use his influence and power’ to pressure President Joe Biden to nominate a U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey who Menendez ‘believed could be influenced by Menendez with respect to the federal criminal prosecution of Fred Daibes.’ Menendez recommended and Biden later nominated Phillip Sellinger as U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, the top federal prosecutor in the state. Daibes has been under investigation before. New Jersey authorities have tracked high-ranking mobsters meeting with Daibes repeatedly over the last decade, the Daily Beast reported. Daibes provided the couple with gold bars and envelopes of cash, the indictment states.

‘Multiple gold bars provided by Daibes were found during the court-authorized June 2022 search; of the couple’s home, the indictment states. It also says the senator performed a web search for ‘how much is one kilo of gold worth’ and that the envelopes of cash had the fingerprints of Daibes and his driver. The investigation also focused on 40-year-old New Jersey businessman, Wael Hana, who has known Nadine since before she started dating Menendez. Hana, who is originally from Egypt, operated the company IS EG Halal in New Jersey and it soon became the sole entity authorized to certify that any halal food product imported into Egypt from anywhere in the world had been prepared according to Islamic law.

According to the indictment, Menendez ‘improperly advised and pressured an official at the United States Department of Agriculture for the purpose of protecting a business monopoly granted to Hana by Egypt and used in part to fund the bribes being paid to Menendez through Nadine Menendez.’ The designation of IS EG Halal surprised U.S. agriculture officials. Previously, several other companies had been doing that certification, but they were dismissed by Egyptian agriculture officials in favor of IS EG Halal, which had no previous experience in the field. The indictment charges Menendez with using the power of his position on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to influence the State Department regarding policy in Egypt and with sending Nadine ‘highly sensitive’ about Egypt that he got in Senate briefings that she, in turn, gave to Hana. As a senator, Menendez could put a ‘hold’ on State Department funding to the country.

In a text to his wife, Menendez tells her: ‘I am going to sign off this sale to Egypt today. Egypt: 46,000 120MM Target Practice Rounds and 10,000 Rounds Tank Ammunition: $99 million.’ Nadine then forwarded it to an Egyptian official who replies with the thumbs up emoji. Egypt has long been a top recipient of U.S. government aid – more than $1 billion a year – but relations between Washington and Cario have been strained by Eygpt’s human rights violations. Now that he is indicted, Menendez will have to step down as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Rules for the Senate Democratic caucus say that any member who is charged with a felony must step aside from a leadership position. Hana allegedly promised money to Nadine via a no-show job with his company. And, after months of nonpayment, she complained about not receiving the promised funds.

The indictment includes a text from Nadine to a friend: ‘I have been so upset all morning. [Hana] left for Egypt yesterday supposedly and now thinks he’s the king of the world and has both countries wrapped around his pinky. I really hope they replace him.’ Records show Arslanian was battling foreclosure on her Bergen County property in 2018. When she and Menendez got engaged, it began a period of financial turnaround for her. Within weeks of their engagement, she incorporated a business, Strategic International Business Consultants LLC, according to state records. Her foreclosure case was dismissed soon after. The following year, her assets included gold bars valued between $100,000 to $250,000, according to a Senate disclosure form amended by Menendez in March of 2022. Between April and June of 2022, the couple sold between $200,000 and $400,000 worth of gold bars, while keeping at least $250,000 worth of them.

Businessman Jose Uribe allegedly bought Menendez and Nadine the luxury vehicle, a Mercedes-Benz C-300 convertible worth more than $60,000. In exchange, Menendez ‘agreed and sought to interfere in a New Jersey state criminal prosecution of an associate of Uribe,’ the indictment states. Uribe provided Nadine Menendez with $15,000 in cash for the down payment for the Mercedes and then paid the monthly payment for her. After she had possession of the car, Uribe texted her: ‘Are you happy?’ She responded, ‘I will never forget this.’ She also texted her husband, after the purchase was complete: ‘Congratulations mon amour de la vie, we are the proud owners of a 2019 Mercedes,’ with a heart emoji. Read the full story:https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12550703/Bob-Menendez-denies-charges-refuses-resign-prosecuted-latin-american.html?ito=msngallery

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White House claims Biden was just checking in on Hunter during calls

admin — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 01:19:26 +0000

White House claims Biden was just checking in on Hunter during calls

By Emily Goodin, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

Published: 10:37 EDT, 13 September 2023 | Updated: 10:37 EDT, 13 September 2023

The White House said President Joe Biden was just calling to check in on Hunter when he was on calls with his son’s business associates. ‘This is part of the right-wing’s misinformation machine to try to confuse people about what the truth is,’ White House spokesperson for oversight and investigations Ian Sams told CNN on Wednesday morning. ‘The truth is that the president, as he said publicly for years, calls his family every day to check in. He calls his son every day to check in. He calls his other family members to check in to see how they are doing. He loves them. They are a tight-knit family.’

Hunter’s former business partner Devon Archer told the House Oversight Committee in testimony this summer that Hunter had put his father on speakerphone during business meetings about 20 times. Sams argued those calls were personal as the White House doubled down on its pushback to Speaker Kevin McCarthy opening an impeachment inquiry into the president. The administration also sent a letter to news organizations pushing the outlets ‘to ramp up its scrutiny of House Republicans for opening an impeachment inquiry based on lies.’ At the time of Archer’s closed-door testimony, Democrats in the room said Archer described the calls as personal.

‘The witness indicated that Hunter spoke to his father every day, and approximately 20 times over the course of 10-year relationship, Hunter may have put his father on the phone with any number of different people, and they never once spoke about any business dealings,’ Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman of New York said at the time. ‘As he described it, it was all casual conversation, niceties, the weather, what’s going on. There wasn’t a single conversation about any of the business dealings that Hunter had,’ Goldman noted. But Republican Chairman James Comer of Kentucky said Archer testified that Joe Biden ‘joined Hunter Biden’s dinners with his foreign business associates in person or by speakerphone over 20 times’ and was put on the phone to sell ‘the brand.’

Comer said the testimony shows ‘Joe Biden lied to the American people when he said he had no knowledge about his son’s business dealings and was not involved. Joe Biden was ‘the brand’ that his son sold around the world to enrich the Biden family.’ The White House has accused Republicans of election-year politics with its impeachment inquiry. ‘The president has been in politics for a long time. I think as he would say, he has seen a lot of malarkey along the way, but this might take the cake,’ Sams told CNN. ‘He’s focused on issues that matter to the American people.’

Sams is White House point person on countering Republican accusations against the president and his family. He is part of a war room established in the White House counsel’s office specifically to deal with GOP investigations. He noted Biden, who was vice president at the time, was calling Hunter to check in because the family was also dealing with the illness of Beau Biden, the late son of the president. Beau Biden died in 2015 of brain cancer.

‘He was checking in with Hunter during a particularly hard time, a time where the family was going through Hunter’s brother Beau’s illness. Of course the president checks in,’ Sams said. Hunter Biden has spoken about how he relapsed into his drug and alcohol addiction after his brother died. The Biden family later held an intervention to get him to do another stint in rehab. It was during that intervention that Joe Biden told his son: ‘I don’t know what else to do. I’m so scared. Tell me what to do.’

Hunter Biden did get sober but his business dealings are being investigated by House Republicans. And the impeachment inquiry – the first step in the impeachment process – will investigate whether President Biden personally benefited from his son’s work. Biden has said he had nothing to do with Hunter’s business deals. Speaker McCarthy, under heavy pressure from the conservative wing of his party and facing threats to his speakership, declared on Tuesday the inquiry would begin. ‘House Republicans have uncovered serious and credible allegations into President Biden’s conduct,’ McCarthy said. ‘Taken together these allegations paint a picture of a culture of corruption.’

‘These are allegations of abuse of power, obstruction and corruption. And they warrant further investigation by the House of Representatives . That’s why today I am directing our House committee to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden,’ he noted. Republicans have charged Biden and his family made millions off shell companies Hunter Biden formed when his father was vice president. Hunter had business deals with an energy company in the Ukraine, received a discounted stake in a private-equity firm in China , and did consulting for a Romanian real-estate magnate.

The president has denied any involvement in his son’s business dealings. But Republicans claim at least a dozen Biden family members could be involved in a scheme to benefit financially from Biden’s public office. House investigators are expected to issue subpoenas for the bank records of the president and his family. The GOP also claim Biden sat in on at least 24 calls with Hunter’s business partners and was referred to as ‘the big guy’ by Hunter’s business associates. And they say Joe Biden used pseudonyms to discuss his activities related to Ukraine with his son Hunter during his time as vice president. It’s estimated Hunter raked in $40 million through 20 shell companies and fake accounts created while Joe Biden was vice president. Read the full story: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12513619/Joe-Biden-Hunter-Beau-business-calls-check-White-House-impeachment.html?ito=msngallery

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Gabriel Agbonlahor claims Casemiro looked 45 in midfield and insists Harry Maguire should

admin — Sun, 17 Sep 2023 07:31:13 +0000

Erik ten Hag’s side slumped to a miserable 3-1 home defeat against Brighton
Agbonlahor said Brazilian midfielder Casemiro, 31, looked significantly older
Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s podcast It’s All Kicking Off!

By Adam Shergold for MailOnline

Published: 03:10 EDT, 17 September 2023 | Updated: 03:27 EDT, 17 September 2023

Gabriel Agbonlahor said Casemiro looked like a 45-year-old as Manchester United were ripped to shreds by Brighton.

The Brazilian midfielder was one of several sub-par United performers as they slumped to a miserable 3-1 defeat at Old Trafford.

It is the third defeat suffered by Erik ten Hag‘s side in their opening five Premier League matches this season as the club battles strife both on and off the field.

Former England striker Agbonlahor, speaking on talkSPORT, didn’t pull any punches in his assessment after goals by Danny Welbeck, Pascal Gross and Joao Pedro earned Brighton a fourth consecutive league win over United.

He also questioned why Harry Maguire isn’t starting games after Lisandro Martinez and Victor Lindelof endured a nightmare afternoon in defence.

Casemiro endured a miserable afternoon as Manchester United slumped to a Brighton loss

The Brazilian struggled to keep pace but one of several sub-par performers at Old Trafford

“It was a training game for Brighton.”

“Casemiro looked about 45 when he was running around the pitch…”

“Maguire deserves to play in that team. Let’s keep the same energy for Martinez.”

Gabby Agbonlahor rips in to Man United after their 3-1 loss against Brighton pic.twitter.com/SAmPSMHjQi

— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) September 16, 2023

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‘It was a stroll in the park for Brighton. I am watching the game, at no time did Brighton ever feel like they couldn’t pass it out from the back,’ said Agbonlahor.

‘No matter who was pressing, they found it so easy to get through and create chances. This was like a training ground game, especially in the second-half.

‘Casemiro! Casemiro looked like he was 45 running around that midfield. He [Ten Hag] had to bring him off on the 65th minute for Hannibal, a young lad, because he was that bad.’

Casemiro, 31, enjoyed an excellent first season at Old Trafford after joining United from Real Madrid for £60million in August 2022.

But he has struggled at the base of their midfield in the opening matches of this campaign.

Ten Hag started with Martinez and Lindelof at the heart of his defence, with former captain Maguire an unused substitute after another testing week.

Maguire was jeered by Scotland fans and scored an own goal during England’s 3-1 friendly win at Hampden Park, which led to an impassioned defence of him by Gareth Southgate.

Harry Maguire once again watched on from the bench as United’s defence crumbled

Lisandro Martinez (left) and Victor Lindelof (right) endured a torrid afternoon in defence

Agbonlahor said: ‘You know what else wound me up today? Let’s see the same energy for Lisandro Martinez and Victor Lindelof.

‘Martinez for the Gross goal, he has tried to make a block, he’s got fake-shot by Gross and he’s scored in the back of the net.

‘If that was Harry Maguire, you would not hear the end of it, “he’s terrible, get him out the side.”

‘Harry Maguire must be looking around that changing room now thinking, “how am I not getting a chance in this team?”

‘Martinez could not even play out from the back, giving the ball away, Lindelof as well. Maguire deserves to be in that team.

‘So let’s see the same energy, all you tweeters, whoever you are, let’s see that same energy for Martinez at the back, for Casemiro, who can’t get around the pitch, not just pick on Maguire.’

United return to action with a daunting Champions League trip to Bayern Munich on Wednesday night.

IT’S ALL KICKING OFF!

It’s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football.

It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify.

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EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Lady Victoria Hervey claims ‘there is hope’ for disgraced socialite

admin — Sat, 16 Sep 2023 12:46:17 +0000

Lady Victoria Hervey has been outspoken in her support for Prince Andrew and his old friend Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving 20 years in prison in the U.S. for enticement of minors and sex trafficking of underage girls.

But as a result, Lady Victoria claims, she had to flee the United States — her home for two decades.

‘It all started getting scary when I got involved with a new documentary about Ghislaine,’ the Marquess of Bristol’s sister tells me. ‘I pretended to be on a whistleblower’s side to get evidence to support Ghislaine.

‘I have been working undercover and it’s dangerous. The powers that be over there know all about me, I even thought I was being followed. I was glad to get back to the UK. I just want this to be over and stop looking over my shoulder and get back to normal.’

The socialite adds: ‘I’ve been writing to Ghislaine in prison and am in touch with Prince Andrew, but I can’t discuss him, although the Palace is fully aware of what’s going on.

‘It is delicate, but I think there is hope for Ghislaine.’

Back in UK: Lady Victoria Hervey attends Vogue World

Ghislaine Maxwell attends the 9th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation’s ‘An Enduring Vision’ benefit

The Duke of York, Virginia Giuffre, and Ghislaine Maxwell

Singer Robbie Williams seems determined to unsettle visitors at his home. I hear he’s bought an artwork emblazoned with: ‘Raising My Awareness, becoming a better person and trying not to punch you in the throat.’

The £9,000 work, called Mindfulness, is made by artist Mr. Controversial. ‘I like to create art that speaks to the inner you, the non-PC thoughts that you have but are afraid to say aloud,’ the London-born artist tells me at a private viewing of his latest collection at Old Sessions House in Clerkenwell in the capital.

Apple stars in Cotswolds

It can sometimes feel a challenge getting through the Cotswolds without stumbling into Kate Moss, the Beckhams, Blur’s Alex James — or becoming entangled with Amanda Holden, Sir Patrick Stewart, or, of course, Jeremy Clarkson.

But now the rich and famous are setting up there in pairs. I hear that Sir Jony Ive, mastermind of so many Apple devices, and his friend Marc Newson, whose Lockheed Lounge chair sold for £2.4 million — a record for a work sold at auction by a living designer –— have snapped up houses in the same honey-stoned village. Ive, 56, who designed Charles’s Coronation emblem, has dipped into his £200 million fortune to pay for a gabled gem dating from 1590.

Newson has bought an even grander Jacobean pile. Sir Jony helped to create the iPhone and iPad. He hired Newson, 59, to work for Apple in 2014. Their company, LoveFrom, is collaborating with Ferrari as it prepares to launch its first electric model. Just the thing for humming over to Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm for a pint of ‘cow juice’.

New Kidd on the block to rival Stella’s range

Stella McCartney released an organic beauty range last year with a serum costing £110.

But now the designer will have to compete with a new Kidd on the block. I hear model-turned-pub landlady Jodie Kidd is about to launch her own organic range.

‘Ours won’t be like Stella’s,’ Kidd tells me at a private view of Zara Muse’s artworks at the Grove Gallery in London’s Fitzrovia. ‘It will be very affordable. Her products’ design is very plain.’

New Kidd: Jodie Kidd attends F1 Arcade watch party for the Bahrain Grand Prix

As September ebbs away and winter beckons, artist Gail Lilley remains serene.

The secret, explains the wife of former Cabinet Minister Lord (Peter) Lilley, is transcendental meditation each morning for 15 minutes in the shower. ‘I started when we bought a house with a walk-in shower,’ says Gail, who adds that the practice yields ‘nice ideas’ as well as inducing a sense of calm — so much so that they have inspired her to create tapestries for an exhibition next year ‘on the theme of transcendental meditation’.

Alas, her husband, she says, becomes less serene.

‘It does,’ she concedes, ‘use a lot of hot water.’

The smart set’s talking about… Lady Violet’s bid to take on ‘woke’ National Trust

Her younger sister’s one-time boyfriend Otis Ferry inveigled his way into the Commons to protest against a ban on hunting.

However, Lady Violet Manners, 30, eldest of the Duke of Rutland’s three daughters, prefers a more decorous approach to campaigning.

Bidding to help rid the National Trust (NT) of its ‘woke’ agenda, Lady Violet (left) is standing for election to its council, backed by Restore Trust, a group of members sickened by NT’s virtue-signalling. ‘I believe the Trust has become distracted by a political agenda that detracts from its mission,’ she says. Lady Violet adds that it should ‘not view its history through the political lens of today when conserving the past’. Very measured Manners indeed.

But that’s not all. Violet grew up at Belvoir Castle, in Leicestershire. ‘As a child, I worked at Belvoir’s gift shop and café on weekends and holidays,’ she recalls, and adds that listening to the castle’s visitors taught her about ‘the world’s love for the UK’s houses and landscapes’.

Biden finally addresses impeachment and claims GOP is coming after him

admin — Fri, 15 Sep 2023 01:01:38 +0000

President Joe Biden made his first comments on his impeachment, telling a group of Democratic donors that Republicans ‘want to impeach me because they want to shut down the government.’ Biden, speaking at a fundraising reception in McLean, Virginia , specifically mentioned conservative Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and her interest in impeaching him since the day Republicans took control of the House of Representatives. ‘Well, I tell you what, I don’t know quite why, but they just knew they wanted to impeach me. And now, the best I can tell, they want to impeach me because they want to shut down the government,’ he said.

‘So look, look, I got a job to do. Everybody always asked about impeachment. I get up every day, not a joke, not focused on impeachment. I’ve got a job to do. I’ve got to deal with the issues that affect the American people every single solitary day,’ he noted. It was his first time acknowledging he faces the possibility of being convicted and removed from office. His most extensive comments to date came behind-closed doors. No TV cameras or photographers were allowed inside the fundraiser, only a small group of print reporters. The White House has doubled down on its defense of the president, blasting the impeachment inquiry as ‘baseless,’ setting up a war room to comba t the investigation, and sending a memo to news organizations to encourage greater scrutiny of Republican motives.

Aides insist Biden is focused on business as usual. On Thursday he’ll travel to Maryland to make a speech about the economy. But the impeachment inquiry was obviously on his mind when he spoke to a small group of supporters, who were there to donate to his re-election campaign, at the home of David Frederick and Sophie Lynn. Frederick is a partner in Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans & Figel, a Washington law firm, and was the first Rhodes scholar from the University of Pittsburgh. And the president has targeted Greene, a well-known, outspoken conservative and critic of his presidency, on previous occasions. He’s said she ripped his infrastructure plan but took federal funds from it for her congressional district.

Greene (pictured with McCarthy), a strong ally of Donald Trump, had threatened to vote against the appropriations bills that fund the government unless Speaker Kevin McCarthy opened an impeachment inquiry into the president. Congress has until September 30th to pass the federal budget or the government shuts down. She’s claimed credit for pushing McCarthy to open the impeachment inquiry. Biden told the room full of donors on Wednesday night that he ‘has a job to do’ before he moved on to a different subject. His comments were his first since McCarthy announced the inquiry – the first step in the impeachment process – on Tuesday. Republicans have been investigating Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings since they took control of the House in January. They are looking into whether Joe, who was vice president during the time period, personally benefited from his son’s work and if the family used Joe Biden’s official office for their personal gain.

President Biden has denied any involvement with his son’s business affairs. Earlier in the day, Jill Biden rescued her stony-faced husband from having to answer questions about impeachment at his first public appearance since McCarthy announced the potentially devastating inquiry. The first lady leaned over to whisper to the president and touched his arm when reporters started shouting questions about the probe during a Cabinet room meeting to discuss Biden’s Cancer Moonshot initiative. Biden looked uncomfortable under the barrage of inquiries, stared at the ceiling, and made chewing motions with his mouth, but ultimately refused to talk as reporters were led out of the room.

His wife stepped in as the White House ramped up their war with Republicans in the investigation into foreign business deals by Biden’s son Hunter. The Cabinet meeting was on the Bidens’ initiative ‘to end cancer as we know it.’ Jill Biden praised her husband’s work on the issue, telling him on Wednesday that: ‘You did good things, Joe.’ The White House is all in on defending the president.

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Wednesday called the Republicans’ impeachment probe a ‘baseless inquiry that the House Republicans can’t even really defend themselves.’ Jean-Pierre said that the elder Biden has done nothing wrong. ‘Republicans in Congress, right they have spent all year investigating the president, that’s what they’ve spent, and have turned up with no evidence that he did anything. I mean, that is what we heard over and over again, from their almost clear year-long investigation, and that’s because the President didn’t do anything wrong,’ she said in her daily press briefing. The administration is also going on the offensive to address specific charges against the president.

Earlier Wednesday, the White House said Biden was just calling to check in on Hunter when he was on calls with his son’s business associates. ‘This is part of the right-wing’s misinformation machine to try to confuse people about what the truth is,’ White House spokesperson for oversight and investigations Ian Sams told CNN on Wednesday morning. ‘The truth is that the president, as he said publicly for years, calls his family every day to check in. He calls his son every day to check in. He calls his other family members to check in to see how they are doing. He loves them. They are a tight-knit family.’ Hunter’s former business partner Devon Archer told the House Oversight Committee in testimony this summer that Hunter had put his father on speakerphone during business meetings about 20 times.

At the time of Archer’s closed-door testimony, Democrats in the room said Archer (pictured) described the calls as personal. ‘The witness indicated that Hunter spoke to his father every day, and approximately 20 times over the course of 10-year relationship, Hunter may have put his father on the phone with any number of different people, and they never once spoke about any business dealings,’ Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman of New York said at the time. ‘As he described it, it was all casual conversation, niceties, the weather, what’s going on. There wasn’t a single conversation about any of the business dealings that Hunter had,’ Goldman noted. But Republican Chairman James Comer of Kentucky said Archer testified that Joe Biden ‘joined Hunter Biden’s dinners with his foreign business associates in person or by speakerphone over 20 times’ and was put on the phone to sell ‘the brand.’

Sams (pictured) is White House point person on countering Republican accusations against the president and his family. He is part of a war room established in the White House counsel’s office specifically to deal with GOP investigations. He noted Biden, who was vice president at the time, was calling Hunter to check in because the family was also dealing with the illness of Beau Biden, the late son of the president. Beau Biden died in 2015 of brain cancer. ‘He was checking in with Hunter during a particularly hard time, a time where the family was going through Hunter’s brother Beau’s illness. Of course the president checks in,’ Sams said. Hunter Biden has spoken about how he relapsed into his drug and alcohol addiction after his brother died. The Biden family later held an intervention to get him to do another stint in rehab. It was during that intervention that Joe Biden told his son: ‘I don’t know what else to do. I’m so scared. Tell me what to do.’

Republicans have charged Biden and his family made millions off shell companies Hunter Biden formed when his father was vice president. Hunter had business deals with an energy company in the Ukraine, received a discounted stake in a private-equity firm in China, and did consulting for a Romanian real-estate magnate. The president has denied any involvement in his son’s business dealings. But Republicans claim at least a dozen Biden family members could be involved in a scheme to benefit financially from Biden’s public office. House investigators are expected to issue subpoenas for the bank records of the president and his family. The GOP also claim Biden sat in on at least 24 calls with Hunter’s business partners and was referred to as ‘the big guy’ by Hunter’s business associates. And they say Joe Biden used pseudonyms to discuss his activities related to Ukraine with his son Hunter during his time as vice president. It’s estimated Hunter raked in $40 million through 20 shell companies and fake accounts created while Joe Biden was vice president. Read the full story: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12516131/Biden-FINALLY-addresses-impeachment-republicans-shutdown-marjorie-taylor-greene.html?ito=msngallery

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Biden FINALLY addresses impeachment and claims GOP is coming after him over connections

admin — Thu, 14 Sep 2023 00:55:34 +0000

President Joe Biden made his first comments on his impeachment, telling a group of Democratic donors that Republicans ‘want to impeach me because they want to shut down the government.’

Biden, speaking at a fundraising reception in McLean, Virginia, specifically mentioned conservative Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and her interest in impeaching him since the day Republicans took control of the House of Representatives.

‘Well, I tell you what, I don’t know quite why, but they just knew they wanted to impeach me. And now, the best I can tell, they want to impeach me because they want to shut down the government,’ he said.

It was his first time acknowledging he faces the possibility of being convicted and removed from office. His most extensive comments to date came behind-closed doors. No TV cameras or photographers were allowed inside the fundraiser, only a small group of print reporters.

The White House has doubled down on its defense of the president, blasting the impeachment inquiry as ‘baseless,’ setting up a war room to combat the investigation, and sending a memo to news organizations to encourage greater scrutiny of Republican motives.

President Joe Biden told Democratic donors Republicans were impeaching him to shut down the government

Aides insist Biden is focused on business as usual. On Thursday he’ll travel to Maryland to make a speech about the economy.

But the impeachment inquiry was obviously on his mind when he spoke to a small group of supporters, who were there to donate to his re-election campaign, at the home of David Frederick and Sophie Lynn. Frederick is a partner in Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans & Figel, a Washington law firm, and was the first Rhodes scholar from the University of Pittsburgh.

And the president has targeted Greene, a well-known, outspoken conservative and critic of his presidency, on previous occasions. He’s said she ripped his infrastructure plan but took federal funds from it for her congressional district.

Greene, a strong ally of Donald Trump, had threatened to vote against the appropriations bills that fund the government unless Speaker Kevin McCarthy opened an impeachment inquiry into the president. Congress has until September 30th to pass the federal budget or the government shuts down.

She’s claimed credit for pushing McCarthy to open the impeachment inquiry.

Biden told the room full of donors on Wednesday night that he ‘has a job to do’ before he moved on to a different subject.

His comments were his first since McCarthy announced the inquiry – the first step in the impeachment process – on Tuesday.

Republicans have been investigating Hunter Biden‘s foreign business dealings since they took control of the House in January. They are looking into whether Joe, who was vice president during the time period, personally benefited from his son’s work and if the family used Joe Biden’s official office for their personal gain.

President Biden has denied any involvement with his son’s business affairs.

Earlier in the day, Jill Biden rescued her stony-faced husband from having to answer questions about impeachment at his first public appearance since McCarthy announced the potentially devastating inquiry.

The first lady leaned over to whisper to the president and touched his arm when reporters started shouting questions about the probe during a Cabinet room meeting to discuss Biden’s Cancer Moonshot initiative.

Biden looked uncomfortable under the barrage of inquiries, stared at the ceiling, and made chewing motions with his mouth, but ultimately refused to talk as reporters were led out of the room.

His wife stepped in as the White House ramped up their war with Republicans in the investigation into foreign business deals by Biden’s son Hunter.

The Cabinet meeting was on the Bidens’ initiative ‘to end cancer as we know it.’

Jill Biden praised her husband’s work on the issue, telling him on Wednesday that: ‘You did good things, Joe.’

Jill Biden reached out to get Joe Biden’s attention when he was asked about the impeachment inquiry against him

The White House is all in on defending the president.

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Wednesday called the Republicans’ impeachment probe a ‘baseless inquiry that the House Republicans can’t even really defend themselves.’

Jean-Pierre said that the elder Biden has done nothing wrong.

‘Republicans in Congress, right they have spent all year investigating the president, that’s what they’ve spent, and have turned up with no evidence that he did anything. I mean, that is what we heard over and over again, from their almost clear year-long investigation, and that’s because the President didn’t do anything wrong,’ she said in her daily press briefing.

The administration is also going on the offensive to address specific charges against the president.

Earlier Wednesday, the White House said Biden was just calling to check in on Hunter when he was on calls with his son’s business associates.

‘This is part of the right-wing’s misinformation machine to try to confuse people about what the truth is,’ White House spokesperson for oversight and investigations Ian Sams told CNN on Wednesday morning.

‘The truth is that the president, as he said publicly for years, calls his family every day to check in. He calls his son every day to check in. He calls his other family members to check in to see how they are doing. He loves them. They are a tight-knit family.’

Speaker Kevin McCarthy with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on the House floor on January 6th

President Biden didn’t answer questions on the impeachment inquiry in his first public appearance since the inquiry was announced

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called the impeachment inquiry ‘baseless’ and said President Biden did nothing wrong

Hunter’s former business partner Devon Archer told the House Oversight Committee in testimony this summer that Hunter had put his father on speakerphone during business meetings about 20 times.

At the time of Archer’s closed-door testimony, Democrats in the room said Archer described the calls as personal.

‘As he described it, it was all casual conversation, niceties, the weather, what’s going on. There wasn’t a single conversation about any of the business dealings that Hunter had,’ Goldman noted.

But Republican Chairman James Comer of Kentucky said Archer testified that Joe Biden ‘joined Hunter Biden’s dinners with his foreign business associates in person or by speakerphone over 20 times’ and was put on the phone to sell ‘the brand.’

The White House has accused Republicans of election-year politics with its impeachment inquiry.

‘The president has been in politics for a long time. I think as he would say, he has seen a lot of malarkey along the way, but this might take the cake,’ Sams told CNN. ‘He’s focused on issues that matter to the American people.’

Joe Biden with sons Hunter (left) and Beau (right) in January 2009 when he was inaugurated as vice president

White House spokesperson for oversight and investigations Ian Sams is leading the push back for the Biden administration on Republican investigations

He noted Biden, who was vice president at the time, was calling Hunter to check in because the family was also dealing with the illness of Beau Biden, the late son of the president. Beau Biden died in 2015 of brain cancer.

‘He was checking in with Hunter during a particularly hard time, a time where the family was going through Hunter’s brother Beau’s illness. Of course the president checks in,’ Sams said.

Hunter Biden has spoken about how he relapsed into his drug and alcohol addiction after his brother died. The Biden family later held an intervention to get him to do another stint in rehab.

It was during that intervention that Joe Biden told his son: ‘I don’t know what else to do. I’m so scared. Tell me what to do.’

Biden has said he had nothing to do with Hunter’s business deals.

Speaker McCarthy, under heavy pressure from the conservative wing of his party and facing threats to his speakership, declared on Tuesday the inquiry would begin.

‘House Republicans have uncovered serious and credible allegations into President Biden’s conduct,’ McCarthy said. ‘Taken together these allegations paint a picture of a culture of corruption.’

Speaker Kevin McCarthy, facing heavy pressure from the right wing of the Republican Party, launched an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden

House investigators are expected to issue subpoenas for the bank records of the president and his family. The GOP also claim Biden sat in on at least 24 calls with Hunter’s business partners and was referred to as ‘the big guy’ by Hunter’s business associates. And they say Joe Biden used pseudonyms to discuss his activities related to Ukraine with his son Hunter during his time as vice president.

It’s estimated Hunter raked in $40 million through 20 shell companies and fake accounts created while Joe Biden was vice president.

EastEnders CONFIRM Brian Conley is leaving the soap as he denies claims of a clash with

admin — Tue, 12 Sep 2023 18:20:29 +0000

EastEnders have confirmed that Brian Conley is leaving the soap after three years.

The actor, 62, has played Thomas ‘Rocky’ Cotton since May 2021 but is now moving on to new projects.

The BBC told in a statement on Wednesday that they supported his decision and denied claims of a feud and that he had demanded to be written out of the show.

Brian also took to his Instagram grid to confirm the news and further refuted claims there had been disagreements.

The Sun had claimed on Tuesday night that BBC bosses were ‘furious’ he was leaving as they had planned important storylines around his character.

Moving on to new projects: EastEnders have confirmed that Brian Conley is leaving the soap after three years

Role: The actor, 62, has played Thomas ‘Rocky’ Cotton since May 2021 but is now moving on to new projects

EastEnders said in a statement: ‘We can confirm that Brian Conley will be leaving EastEnders.

‘There is absolutely no truth in any claims of a feud with bosses and the show fully support Brian in his decision to leave which was made some time ago.

‘We wish him the best of luck for the future as we continue to work towards his exit storyline which has been in the works for some time.’

Meanwhile Brian said in a social media video: ‘Hi it’s me Brian, AKA Rocky from EastEnders. I am just sending out this message to all the fans. You may have heard reports that I am leaving.

‘It was a tough decision but it is true that I am going, I made it for many reasons that decision. It was tough as they are such a wonderful crowd in front and behind the cameras and I have loved my three years there.

‘That is the truth. There are reports that I clashed and that I was ranting, but I’m not ranting. I have gone with their blessings the Beeb and I am excited about the future and where it’s going to go and I am excited about Rocky’s exit because it’s good!

‘So I am sending you much love to all EastEnders fans and enough said!’

It comes after in June Brian revealed he could be facing the chop in this year’s Christmas cliff-hanger.

The actor told host Steph McGovern Steph’s Packed Lunch that the BBC1 soap is planning to film a number of different endings for this year’s Christmas Day episode to keep viewers guessing.

Having their say: The BBC told in a statement on Wednesday that they supported his decision and denied claims of a feud and that he had demanded to be written out of the show

Words: Brian also took to his Instagram grid to confirm the news and further refuted claims there had been disagreements

Unexpected: EastEnders said in a statement: ‘We can confirm that Brian Conley will be leaving EastEnders’

He said: ‘In February we had a lovely episode where if flashed forward to Christmas, and someone’s dead in The Vic and Letitia is there in a wedding dress and she’s covered in blood.

‘So everyone’s going, ‘O my God, who’s dead?’, as well as all the actors in the show, and all you saw was it’s a male, or is it, I don’t know.

‘You just saw the cufflinks and I think everyone has been looking out for those cufflinks for a while now.’

Asked by Steph if the cast knew who the victim was Brain replied: ‘None of us have got a clue.

‘I believe leading up to Christmas, there might be ten of us laying there so that it will be a big surprise to us as well.

Disruption: The Sun had claimed on Tuesday night that BBC bosses were ‘furious’ he was leaving as they had planned important storylines around his character

Happy: Brian was seen posing and smiling with the cast at the NTAs just last week ahead of his announced exit

Mystery: It comes after in June revealed he could be facing the chop in this year’s Christmas cliff-hanger

‘We’re all going to maybe film a moment where we’re all laying on the floor and then right up until the last minute they can reveal on Christmas Day who it is.’

Asked if he was worried about potentially being killed off, Brian said: ‘You’re in an ongoing drama so you know people do pass away and you do live on tenterhooks, especially if you’re enjoying it, and we all are, they’re a lovely bunch, everyone there.

‘I’m very happy to be there and I just think what we’re doing now and the fact that it’s the number one soap is very exciting.’

Conley has been the host of The Brian Conley Show, as well as presenting the Royal Variety Performance on eight occasions.

Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary claims NATS’ preliminary report into the ATC system failure in

admin — Thu, 07 Sep 2023 22:58:40 +0000

Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary has branded NATS’ preliminary report into its recent system failure ‘ludicrous’, ‘bogus’ and ‘full of rubbish’.

Thousands of holidaymakers were stranded when the computer systems at NATS – the national air-traffic control services provider for the UK – went into meltdown on August 28, with a preliminary report into the root causes issued on Monday.

Mr O’Leary lacerated the report in a lengthy statement from Ryanair – and in an accompanying video – with the findings labelled a ‘whitewash’ and ‘numerous inaccuracies’ within it listed.

‘NATS claims 1,500 flights were cancelled, whereas Eurocontrol [a civil-military aviation support group] confirms “over 2,000” fewer flights over the UK that day,’ Ryanair’s statement said.

‘NATS claims just 575 flights were “delayed”, which is nonsense when over 1,000 Ryanair flights alone to, from, and over the UK that day were delayed.’

Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary has branded NATS’ preliminary report into its recent system failure ‘ludicrous’, ‘bogus’ and ‘full of rubbish’

The budget Irish airline also claimed that ‘NATS knew of this system collapse at 8.32am’ but that ‘the airlines were not advised until three hours later’, adding: ‘Ryanair was first notified by Eurocontrol – not NATS – just after 11am on Monday 28.’

In a further comment, Ryanair added: ‘NATS’ second line engineering team were “supporting remotely to reduce travel time”, which is a cover-up of the fact that they were sitting at home doing nothing useful.’

NATS should explain why its back-up system failed, and what they are doing to introduce an effective back-up system, rather than the rubbish they have at the moment

Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary

The airline also questioned why the air traffic control provider does not have a 24-hour back-up system instead of the ‘four-hours of back-up flight plans’ it said NATS claims to have.

It added: ‘NATS fails to explain why one inaccurate flight plan brought down not just the NATS ATC system, but also its “back-up” system. ‘Clearly NATS’ back-up system is useless when the entire infrastructure can be brought down by one inaccurate flight plan filing.’

Addressing the issue of refunds, Ryanair said NATS, which is part-owned by the UK government, has ‘a moral obligation to reimburse its customers for its lamentable incompetence which caused the cancellation of over 2,000 flights – 360,000 passengers – and delayed more than 5,000 flights – 900,000 passengers – on Monday 28 and Tuesday, 29 August’.

It added: ‘NATS claims that it is “not within its remit” to provide cost reimbursement and compensation for airlines. This is false.

‘NATS are free to, and should provide, cost reimbursement to airlines for the millions of pounds in hotels, meal costs and alternative transport reimbursements.’

Mr O’Leary said the report is ‘factually inaccurate’ and ‘ridiculously understates the number of flights that were cancelled or delayed through the NATS system failure’.

He added: ‘NATS should explain why its back-up system failed, and what they are doing to introduce an effective back-up system, rather than the rubbish they have at the moment. They should also explain why their second-line engineering team was sitting at home… instead of being on-site and on the job.

Thousands of holidaymakers were stranded when the computer systems at NATS – the national air-traffic control services provider for the UK – went into meltdown on August 28. Pictured is the NATS station in Prestwick

NATS CEO Martin Rolfe said a ‘one in 15 million’ computer failure in Britain’s air traffic control system was to blame for the meltdown in UK flight operations. Pictured: Passengers waiting at Stansted Airport on August 29 after flights were delayed

Travellers whose flights were cancelled or delayed at Stansted Airport last month

‘Ryanair pays NATS almost €100million per year for an ATC service that is repeatedly short-staffed. The least NATS could and should do is to reimburse its airline customers for the tens of millions of pounds they have spent reimbursing passengers for their hotel, meals and transport expenses, which were entirely due to NATS system failure.

‘If NATS fail to reimburse its customers for these expenses, then Secretary of Transport Mark Harper should intervene – as the largest shareholder in NATS – and instruct NATS to reimburse NATS’ airline customers for these right-to-care expenses.’

Ryanair rival easyJet said the NATS report left some questions unanswered and called for a wide-ranging examination of its resources and IT systems ‘to ensure it is fit for purpose today and in the future’.

Willie Walsh, director general of airline industry body IATA, said in a blog post that NATS management had ‘some serious explaining to do’.

He also called for compensation to airlines and repairs to the control system funded by NATS budgets.

The cause of the crash

NATS CEO Martin Rolfe said a ‘one in 15 million’ computer failing in Britain’s air traffic control system was to blame for the chaos.

The preliminary NATS report said a single flight plan with two identically labelled markers caused the chaos.

The flight plan met European standards but included two identically named but separate waypoints or navigational markers outside UK airspace, which forced the system – and its back-up – to enter a ‘fail-safe’ mode.

Mr O’Leary said the NATS report is ‘factually inaccurate’ and ‘ridiculously understates the number of flights that were cancelled or delayed through the system failure’

NATS said: ‘We stand by our report, which clearly explains the root cause, how our operation was recovered safely and the solution that is now in place to ensure it cannot happen again’

The system had faced the dilemma of neither being able to reject the flight plan without knowing what impact that might have, nor approve it and hence risk providing wrong safety-critical information.

‘It therefore stopped operating, avoiding any opportunity for incorrect data being passed to a controller,’ the report said.

The subsequent switch to manual processing meant the average number of plans that could be handled dropped from around 400 per hour to as few as 60, leading to restrictions on flights to and from UK airports.

NATS told MailOnline Travel it ‘stands by’ its report.

A NATS spokesperson said: ‘We stand by our report, which clearly explains the root cause, how our operation was recovered safely and the solution that is now in place to ensure it cannot happen again.

‘It is a preliminary report that makes clear the areas we continue to look at.’

IN FULL: RYANAIR CEO MICHAEL O’LEARY’S COMMENTS ON THE PRELIMINARY NATS REPORT

This Preliminary NATS Report is factually inaccurate. It ridiculously understates the number of flights that were cancelled or delayed through the NATS system failure on Monday 28 August.

In Ryanair’s case, we suffered over 370 flight cancellations – over 63,000 passengers – and more than 1,500 flight delays over the two days – Monday and Tuesday over 270,000 passengers delayed.

This whitewash report, which understates the number of flights cancellations and flight delays, fails to explain why one inaccurate flight plan brought down not just the NATS ATC system, but also the backup system.

NATS should explain why its backup system failed, and what they are doing to introduce an effective backup system, rather than the rubbish they have at the moment. They should also explain why their second-line engineering team was sitting at home – operating ‘remotely to reduce travel time’ – instead of being on-site and on the job.

Finally, we do not accept NATS claim that it is ‘not within remit’ to provide cost reimbursement to customers. Ryanair pays NATS almost €100million per year for an ATC service that is repeatedly short-staffed and on the 28 August, collapsed altogether.

The least NATS could and should do is to reimburse its airline customers for the tens of millions of pounds they have spent reimbursing passengers for their hotel, meals and transport expenses, which were entirely due to NATS system failure, and NATS backup system failure on Mon 28 August last.

If NATS fail to reimburse its customers for these expenses, then Secretary of Transport Mark Harper should intervene as the largest shareholder in NATS, and instruct NATS to reimburse NATS airline customers for these right-to-care expenses.

This report, which is full of false figures about flight cancellations and delays, and avoids any explanation of why NATS backup system failed so spectacularly will not solve this problem unless NATS accepts responsibility for its incompetence and reimburses airlines and passengers for the avoidable right to care expenses they suffered due to NATS failure on Monday 28 August last.

Source: Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary

Mathematician claims to have proven the ‘six degrees of separation’ phenomenon is real

admin — Wed, 06 Sep 2023 01:37:36 +0000

Path connecting any two people together typically doesn’t exceed six people
People aim to make connections with others that will benefit them down the line
READ MORE: Google brings the ‘Bacon number’ directly into its results pages

By Stacy Liberatore For Dailymail.com

Updated: 18:11 EDT, 5 September 2023

No matter who you are or where you are from, you are only six acquaintances away from knowing any random person in the world.

The six degrees of separation have been entrenched in folklore since it was first theorized in 1967, but now a study claims to have confirmed the phenomenon.

People naturally seek prominence in social networks, strategically choosing connections that place them in central positions. But forming new relationships can be burdensome, representing a cost, so they constantly have to determine whether the cost is worth some measure of social benefit

A team of international scientists claims to have proven this phenomenon after determining most people’s objective is not to make many connections but to obtain the right ones.

The researchers took a game theory approach which started with nodes A,B,C, and D, all representing people who, with each round of the game, could choose to make connections with neighbors outside of their networks.

As they make new connections, the people are conducting cost-benefit analyses in their heads, essentially determining who across those networks is important enough to connect with and how it would benefit themselves.

The game concludes when people in the game have exhausted the connections they want to make in order to increase their own social standing. At this point, the ‘six degrees’ concept comes to bear.

Dr Baruch Barzel, one of the paper’s lead authors, said: ‘When we did the math, we discovered an amazing result: this process always ends with social paths centered around the number six.

‘Each individual acts independently without knowing the network as a whole, yet this self-driven game shapes the structure of the entire network, leading to the small world phenomenon and the recurring pattern of six degrees.’

The 14 researchers involved in the study highlighted that they are from Israel, Spain, Italy, Russia, Slovenia and Chile, yet somehow found their way together to experiment.

Dr Barzel said: ‘This collaboration is a great example of how six degrees can play in our favor.

‘How else would a team from six countries around the world come together? This is truly six degrees in action!’

The idea of six degrees of separation was first floated in a short story written by Hungarian writer Frigyes Karinthy in 1929. But the theory received renewed attention when it was picked up by social psychologist Stanley Milgram in 1967, who conducted what he called the small-world experiment.

Milgram supplied people in Nebraska with letters to send to ‘target’ people in Boston. If the Nebraskan knew the Bostonian, the letter would be sent directly.

But in most cases, the starting person would send the letter to a person in Massachusetts who they think could possibly know that target person in Boston.

This sets off a chain of sending the letter from one middleman to another until finally reaching the target person.

The average number of times the letters had to be passed on to reach the broker was six or 6.2, and a new phrase was born.

His findings were not conclusive though, as the experiment had several flaws. For instance, people became disinterested in the experiment or they lost the envelopes they were charged with mailing.

The theory has since been tested many times by researchers as well as the everyday Twitter- and Facebook user. The theory has also shot to pop culture prominence with the game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon which is based on the idea that every actor in Hollywood is connected to him.

The team’s findings were published in the journal Physical Review X .

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IN FULL: RYANAIR CEO MICHAEL O’LEARY’S COMMENTS ON THE PRELIMINARY NATS REPORT

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NFL and Raiders star Chandler Jones claims he was taken to a mental health hospital against his will by the Las Vegas fire department and forcibly injected after concerning posts online

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Mathematician claims to have proven the ‘six degrees of separation’ phenomenon is real