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Friday, March 13, 2009

Billionaire philanthropist and former Chief of Protocol of the United States Leonore Annenberg, widow of the late publishing magnate Walter Annenberg, died Thursday, at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California. She was 91 and had been in declining health at the time of her death. An Annenberg family spokesperson issued a statement confirming Mrs. Annenberg’s death, and giving the cause of death as natural.

Annenberg served as Chief of Protocol from 1981 to 1982 under President Ronald Reagan. Once out of the public eye, the Annenbergs began donating large sums of their fortune to arts, cultural, medical, and educational facilities through the Annenberg Foundation, established in 1989.

Former President George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush issued a statement in which they referred to Mr. and Mrs. Annenberg as having “exemplified service to others and were two of God’s very special people.” Former First Lady Nancy Reagan called Mrs. Annenberg “a dear and longtime friend” and praised the couple’s “unparalleled” philanthropy that “left an indelible print on education in the United States.”

Plans for a memorial service are underway.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd faced intense scrutiny in federal parliament on Tuesday following days of speculation that he was considering scrapping cash bonuses to recipients of carer and seniors payments. Questions by the opposition during question time were dominated by the cash bonuses, with leader of the opposition, Brendan Nelson moving to censure the Prime Minister.

It was the first censure motion moved against the Prime Minister since his election last year.

For the past four years, the previous Howard government had made one-off payments to seniors of up to $500 and $1,600 to carers.

Facing repeated questions, the Prime Minister said “I guarantee that carers will not be one dollar worse off as a consequence of the budget”.

Mr Rudd said that the government was also looking at “the challenges of carers and pensioners in the long term” instead of through one-time bonus payments as the previous government had. Mr Rudd then called the opposition the “new party of compassion” and told the house that the Howard government had never committed to the payments in the long term, as they were not in forward budget estimates.

Brendan Nelson then moved a motion to censure the Prime Minister over his plans. During his motion, Dr Nelson called upon the Prime Minister to “get up, for God’s sake, get up, stand in front of that microphone and say to the carers of this country, ‘I, the Prime Minister of Australia, believe in you and will deliver you a lump sum payment in the budget.”

Dr Nelson also accused the Prime Minister of not seeing the significance of the bonus payments for those who receive them. “For someone earning $250,000 a year, a lump sum payment of $1,600 would probably make them think: ‘What’s that? It’s my credit card payment or whatever.’” said Dr Nelson.

The opposition leader told the House of Representatives that many people had been budgeting for the bonus payment and it was unfair for it to be taken from them. “If you are hanging out for that lump sum payment, it is absolutely essential for your budgeting,” said Dr Nelson.

When the Prime Minister spoke against the motion, he reminded the opposition that a Liberal party document said “A re-elected Coalition Government will consider continuing to pay these bonuses, depending on the economic circumstances at the time.”

Mr Rudd then drew attention to his $500 utilities allowance, which will be paid to aged and disability pensioners as well as carers to counter the rise in the cost of living.

Speaking for the motion, opposition community services spokesman Tony Abbott accused the Rudd government of “compassion fatigue” and said that the cardboard cutout of the Prime Minister which appeared in parliament on the previous sitting day had “more heart than this Prime Minister”.

The censure motion was defeated along party lines.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Retired four-star general and former US Secretary of State Alexander Haig died Saturday morning of complications from an infection at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland at the age of 85.

A West Point graduate and decorated veteran of both the Korean and Vietnam wars, Haig served as commander of US forces stationed in Europe and Supreme Allied Commander of NATO. He also held top advisory posts in the Nixon, Ford, and Reagan administrations. Haig furthermore unsuccessfully sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1988.

Despite his distinguished military and political career, Haig was never able to fully live down his internationally televised response to the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan in 1981.

“As of now, I am in control here in the White House, pending the return of the Vice President,” Haig said hours after the shooting.

Some saw the comment as a calculated usurping of Vice President George H.W. Bush‘s authority and as a purposeful disregard of the overall chain of command.

In his own defense, Haig later told the media that what he said earlier was done “to reassure Americans” that the White House was functioning during the absence of Vice President Bush whom was flying back to Washington, D.C. from Texas at the time of the shooting.

In a press conference on Saturday, US President Barack Obama described Haig as a valued public servant who “exemplified our finest warrior-diplomat tradition of those who dedicate their lives to public service.”

Haig “served his country in many capacities for many years, earning honor on the battlefield, the confidence of presidents and prime ministers, and the thanks of a grateful nation,” US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton later added.

Saturday, April 2, 2005

Stand-up comedian Mitch Hedberg was found dead Wednesday in his hotel room in New Jersey. The comedian, originally from the St. Paul, Minnesota region, was on an east coast tour of the USA. Hedberg started his career in South Florida, and later worked in Seattle.

While the cause of Hedberg’s death is yet unconfirmed, Hedberg’s performance at a show in Portland, Maine in October 2004 suggested he might have a problem with drug use. According to Steve Kolowich of the Bowdoin Orient, “Hedberg, who was clearly intoxicated, was falling down all over the stage that night. At one point, he lay down behind the back curtain and told jokes for approximately ten minutes before rolling back into sight. He also asked the audience where the best bar in town was, and invited them to join him there after the show.”

According to an AP report on KLTV.com, Hedberg’s mother, Mary Hedberg, claimed speculation that her son’s death was drug-related was “gossip.” The same report notes that services will be held in Woodbury, Minnesota on Tuesday, April 5.

Hedberg, a frequent guest on Late Night with David Letterman, had released two CDs titled Strategic Grill Locations and Mitch All Together. He also directed a movie, “Los Enchiladas!” The movie premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

Saturday, January 5, 2008

A previously unknown militant group has claimed responsibility for killing a United States diplomat in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum on New Year’s Day.

The group, calling itself Ansar al-Tawhid (Companions of Monotheism), said its members shot 33-year-old John Granville and his Sudanese driver Abdel Rahman Abbas. The name of the militant group has been used by many other groups of extremists in other areas of the world.

It was not immediately possible to authenticate the claim, which was posted on a Web site used by Islamists.

Granville was being driven home on New Year’s Day when another vehicle cut his car off, and assailants opened fire.

FBI agents and other U.S. investigators have traveled to Sudan to investigate the shooting.

Sudan’s foreign ministry has said the shooting was an isolated incident with no political connotations. Sudanese media reports quoted a government official earlier this week as saying there is no evidence the attack was an act of terrorism.

U.S.-Sudanese relations have been tense because of the violence in Sudan’s Darfur region. The shooting happened one day after a joint United Nations–African Union force took over peacekeeping duties in Darfur.

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Bloc Quebecois Member of Parliament Benoit Sauvageau was killed in an automobile accident on Monday morning after his vehicle hit a tow truck at the side of a road in his Montreal constituency.

Sauvageau, 42, had been an MP since 1993 and represented the riding of Repentigny at the time of his death.

Bloc Québécois (BQ) Leader Gilles Duceppe, speaking in Quebec City, remembered Sauvageau as a hard-working representative who was widely respected “not only in the sovereigntist camp but by his adversaries who always recognized him for his honesty and his determination.”

“I think he was a very good member of Parliament, a very good sovereigntist,” added Duceppe.

Visibly shaken by the news, Duceppe said: “It’s awful, at 42 with four children (daughters) between the ages of five and 15, it’s not right.”

Former Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard, who led the BQ when Sauvageau was first elected, told Radio Canada: “It’s a tragedy. It’s unbelievable that he died like that.”

“He is a man who was engaged in political fights but he did it correctly, with nobility and idealism and a lot of respect for others, even his adversaries,” said Bouchard.

Sauvageau was a history professor before entering politics. As an MP he was the Bloc’s spokesperson on public accounts and the treasury board and was also the party’s critic responsible for the Official Languages Act and the rights of Francophones outside of Quebec.

“On behalf of the Liberal Party of Canada and our Parliamentary caucus, I would like to express my deepest sadness and regret at the news of the death of Benoît Sauvageau in a tragic car accident in Repentigny this afternoon,” said interim Liberal leader Bill Graham.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the prayers and thoughts of all Parliamentarians are with Sauvageau’s loved ones at this difficult time.