UK’s Labour government faces cabinet resignations, electoral defeat
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Friday, June 5, 2009
The Labour government of United Kingdom Prime Minister Gordon Brown received multiple blows this week after a spate of resignations from the cabinet and losses in local and council elections.
As of this morning, six ministers — Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, Communities and Local Government Minister Hazel Blears, Work and Pensions Minister James Purnell, Transport Minister Geoff Hoon, Employment Minister Tony McNulty and Defence Minister John Hutton — had all handed in notices of resignation from the cabinet as fallout from the Members’ expenses scandal spread.
Mr Purnell’s resignation included an admonition for Gordon Brown to step down as Prime Minister and allow the Labour Party to choose a new leader. In his letter of resignation, Purnell told the Prime Minister “I owe it to our party to say what I believe no matter how hard that may be. I now believe your continued leadership makes a Conservative victory more, not less likely.”
However, when John Hutton, a known critic of Brown who once predicted that Brown would be a ‘Fucking disaster’[1], resigned he gave his full backing to the Prime Minister. “I firmly believe that Gordon Brown is the right man to lead our party and our country”.
Incoming results from Thursday’s local elections also show heavy losses for Labour, with the party in control of none of the councils which have yet declared results. The last Labour-run County councils — Lancashire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire — were all lost. In Staffordshire there was a wipeout of Labour, going from 32 council seats to just three. Another telling figure was the result from St Ives in Cambridgeshire: Labour’s candidates placed last, behind the Official Monster Raving Loony Party‘s “Lord Toby Jug”.
While the results from the 2009 European Elections, which the United Kingdom also voted in on Thursday, will not be counted until Sunday, polling before the election indicated Labour’s share of the vote could be only the fourth largest, after the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and UKIP.
Labour’s troubles have prompted the Prime Minister to re-shuffle his cabinet, with Health Minister Alan Johnson becoming the new Home Secretary. His role of Health Secretary was taken by Andy Burnham. Tony Blair’s former spin doctor Peter Mandelson taking an expanded portfolio along with Gordon Brown’s own former title of First Minister.
Staying in their positions are Jim Murphy, the Scottish Secretary, Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary and Ed Balls, the Children, Schools and Families Secretary. Peter Hain, who resigned from the government last year returns as Welsh Secretary. Ben Bradshaw becomes the new Culture Secretary. Lord Adonis has become the new Transport Secretary, meaning that there are now two Lords in charge in major spending Government departments, and three Peers in the Cabinet. This has caused some controversy for Brown.
Drawing from the business world, Sir Alan Sugar, the hard-nosed tycoon who hosts the UK’s version of The Apprentice, has been appointed as ‘enterprise Tsar’.
There are now just three full members of the Cabinet who are women: Yvette Cooper, Baroness Royall and Harriet Harman.
Despite the setbacks, Brown said at a press conference this evening that he would “fight on” and rejected calls to step aside, saying “I have faith in doing my duty… I believe in never walking away in difficult times.”
However, even after such a dramatic day the bad news kept on coming for Brown. Caroline Flint, hitherto the Europe Minister resigned from government, attacking Brown’s use of female politicians as “female window dressing”. She accused Brown of running a “two-tier” government with an “inner” cabinet circle. Later Geraldine Smith, the Labour MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale criticized Flint saying “She should have counted to ten before she wrote that letter”.
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Submitted by: Mark Alexander
Yoga Teacher Training Courses India
For years thousands of yoga practitioners have travelled to South Asia to practice in Ashrams, develop their yoga at intensive workshops or ultimately become qualified yoga teachers on one of the many Yoga Alliance certified yoga teacher training courses India has to offer. More and more companies are launching YA certified yoga courses in Varanasi and other spiritual surroundings around India.
Yoga Alliance Certified Teacher Training
Becoming a Yoga Alliance certified teacher has its benefits. Other than the great enjoyment and spiritual satisfaction that teaching to others gives you, the other benefit that cannot be ignored is that YA Certification is a recognized qualification that puts you on the right road to finding work as a qualified yoga teacher enabling you to make a living doing the thing that you love most in this world.
Why Teacher Training Courses India?
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5nyrD4eM64[/youtube]
The traditional practice of mental and physical health which we have come to know as yoga originated from the North of India and what is now known as Nepal. Even though in recent times it has become more and more popular worldwide and is now taught all over the globe it is likely that the majority of all yoga teachers at one time or another traveled to India to practice yoga or get certified as a teacher; and what better place to bring you closer to yoga and some of the best yoga teachers in the world than the land of its origins, but why not Nepal?
Yoga in Nepal
Anyone who has visited a Himalayan ashram or practiced at a retreat with the magnificent Mount Everest as their backdrop will tell you of an enlightening experience that is not to be forgotten. There is something really special about practicing and learning yoga on the Roof of the World, the Himalayas. The historical association that Nepal has with Yoga, being cut off from the hustle and bustle off modern civilization and the beautiful background that the Himalayas gives the region all adds to the unique spiritual atmosphere of Nepal and so more and more companies have chosen to offer yoga teacher training courses in this wonderful country.
Yoga Teacher Training Courses Nepal
There are number of Yoga companies to choose from that offer yoga teacher training courses in the Kathmandu valley of Nepal but when it comes to making the choice of which company to take your teacher training course with how can you be sure that youre choosing the right one? Firstly the tell tale sign of a reputable company is whether they offer Yoga Alliance certified courses or not and if so then well, youre half way there.
Yoga Companies Kathmandu
When it comes to choosing a yoga teacher training course with a reputable yoga company in Nepal you can be reassured that you will get great value for your money. The prices for yoga training courses in Nepal vary from around 600 USD for a 4 week/200 hour course to around 900 USD for 6 week/300 hour courses.
300 Hours Yoga Courses
There are a number of Kathmandu Yoga schools run by reputable companies that offer an amazing 300 hours yoga holistic course including 200 hours of Yoga Alliance certified training, plus 5-6 weeks of complimentary holistic nutrition training. Unmatched by yoga schools in India these 300 hours yoga courses boast up to 50 hours of yoga teacher training, with a selected few also offering a Thai massage course that will get you certified in Thai massage inclusive of your YTTC price.
About the Author: This article was written and submitted by Mark Alexander Senior SEO and area manager of
itandwebdesign.com
on behalf of
yogi-nomad.org/yoga_ttc_teacher_training_nepal.html
a non-profit organization holding yoga teacher training courses in Kathmandu. The next yoga TTC will be held on 3rd October 2010.
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US intercity passenger train collides with truck, derails
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Tuesday, July 17, 2007
An Amtrak passenger train de-railed after hitting a pickup truck in Plant City, Florida, in the United States. The driver of the pickup truck was killed on impact. The crash occurred at a marked railroad crossing inside of an industrial area, according to an Amtrak spokesperson.
None of the 133 passengers were seriously hurt, however, the train’s engineer and five passengers were taken to a local hospital after suffering minor injuries. The remaining passengers were taken to a local bowling alley. Although the train’s two locomotives and nine cars de-railed, they remained upright.
Witnesses report the train sounded its horns at the appropriate times. It was reported the pickup truck simply drove in front of the train.
The crash is the second to occur this week with a train; on Monday, a driver in a Pontiac Grand Am deliberately ignored the lights and crossing arms at another railroad crossing in the area, and drove around them, into the path of a different Amtrak train on the same route. The impact caused the car to go airborne. All four people in the car were killed; no one on the train was injured.
