Career as prosecutor Grace worked for nearly a decade in the Atlanta-Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney's office as Special Prosecutor. Her work focused on felony cases involving serial murder, serial rape, serial child molestation, and arson.[6]
Grace left the prosecutors' office after the District Attorney she had been working under decided not to run for reelection.[7]
] Prosecutorial misconduct The Supreme Court of Georgia has twice commented on Grace's conduct as a prosecutor. First, in a 1994 heroin drug trafficking case, Bell v. State, the Court declared a mistrial, saying that Grace had "exceeded the wide latitude of closing argument" by drawing comparisons to unrelated murder and rape cases.[8]
In 1997, the court was more severe, overturning the murder-arson conviction of businessman W. W. Carr in the death of his wife. While the court said its reversal was not due to these transgressions, since the case had turned primarily on circumstantial evidence, it nevertheless concluded "the conduct of the prosecuting attorney in this case demonstrated her disregard of the notions of due process and fairness, and was inexcusable."[9] Carr was freed in 2004 when The Georgia Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Fulton County had waited too long to retry him, thereby unfairly prejudicing his right to a fair trial[10].
Despite upholding the conviction she sought, a panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals wrote in a 2005 opinion that Grace "played fast and loose" with her ethical duties and failed to "fulfill her responsibilities" as a prosecutor in the 1990 triple murder trial of Herbert Connell Stephens.[11] The court agreed that it was "difficult to conclude that Grace did not knowingly use ... [apparently false] testimony" from a detective that there were no other suspects, despite the existence of outstanding arrest warrants for other men.[11]
Career as broadcasterAfter leaving the Fulton County prosecutors' office, Grace was approached by and accepted an offer from Court TV founder Steven Brill to do a legal commentary show alongside Johnnie Cochran. When Cochran left the show, Grace was moved to a solo trial coverage show on CourtTV.[7]
In 2005, she began hosting a regular primetime legal analysis show on CNN Headline News (now HLN) in addition to her CourtTV show.[6] On May 9, 2007, Grace announced that she would be leaving Court TV to focus more on her CNN Headline News Program and charity work.[12] She did her last show on Court TV on June 19, 2007.
Nancy Grace has a distinctive interviewing style mixing vocal questions with multimedia stats displays. The Foundation of American Women in Radio & Television has presented Nancy Grace with two Gracie Awards for her Court TV show.[6]
Nancy Grace had been covering the Casey Anthony story for years. After the controversial verdict ruled that Casey Anthony was not guilty, her show on HLN had its highest ratings ever in the 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. hour slots on Tuesday, July 5th, 2011. [13]
Controversies Suicide of interviewee Melinda DuckettIn 2006, 21-year-old Melinda Duckett committed suicide following an interview conducted by Grace concerning the disappearance of Duckett's 2-year-old son Trenton.[14]
Grace interviewed Duckett less than two weeks after the child went missing, questioning her for her alleged lack of openness regarding her son's disappearance, asking Duckett "Where were you? Why aren't you telling us where you were that day?"[15] Duckett appeared confused and was unable to answer whether or not she had taken a polygraph test. When Grace asked her why she could not account for specific details, Duckett began to reply, "Because I was told not to," to which Grace responded, "Ms. Duckett, you are not telling us for a reason. What is the reason? You refuse to give even the simplest facts of where you were with your son before he went missing. It is day twelve." According to the CNN transcript, Duckett replied, "(INAUDIBLE) with all media. It's not just there, just all media. Period." Grace then moved on to a media psychologist who asserted that Duckett was "skirting around the issue."[14][15]
The next day, before the airing of the show, Duckett shot herself, a death that relatives claim was influenced by media scrutiny, particularly from Grace.[14][16] Speaking to The Orlando Sentinel, Duckett's grandfather Bill Eubank said, "Nancy Grace and the others, they just bashed her to the end. She was not one anyone ever would have thought of to do something like this."[14] CNN has also been criticized for allowing the show to air in the wake of Duckett's suicide.[17] Police investigating the case had not named Melinda Duckett as a suspect in the case at the time, but after her suicide the police did say that, as nearly all parents are in missing-child cases, she was a suspect from the beginning.[14]
In an interview on Good Morning America, Nancy Grace said in reaction to events that "If anything, I would suggest that guilt made her commit suicide. To suggest that a 15- or 20-minute interview can cause someone to commit suicide is focusing on the wrong thing."[18] She then said that, while she sympathized with the family, she knew from her own experience as a victim of crime that such people look for somebody else to blame.[19]
While describing it as an "extremely sad development," Janine Iamunno, a spokeswoman for Grace,[14] said that her program would continue to follow the case as they had a "responsibility to bring attention to this case in the hopes of helping find Trenton Duckett." Grace commented that "I do not feel that our show is to blame for what happened to Melinda Duckett. The truth is not always nice or polite or easy to go down. Sometimes it's harsh, and it hurts."[14]
On November 21, 2006, thesmokinggun.com exposed pending litigation on behalf of the estate of Melinda Duckett, asserting a wrongful death claim against CNN and Grace. The attorney for the estate alleges that, even if Duckett did kill her own son, Grace's aggressive questioning traumatized Duckett so much that she committed suicide. She also argues that CNN's decision to air the interview after Duckett's suicide traumatized her family. Trenton was never found.[17][20]
On November 8, 2010, Grace reached a settlement with the estate of Melinda Duckett to create a $200,000 trust fund dedicated to locating Trenton. This settlement was reached a month before a jury trial was scheduled to start. According to the agreement, if the young boy is found alive before he turns 13, the remaining proceeds in the trust will be administered by a trustee – Trenton's great-aunt Kathleen Calvert – until he turns 18 and the funds are transferred for his use. If Trenton is not found by his 13th birthday, or if he is found but is not alive, the funds will be transferred immediately to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. "We are pleased the lawsuit has been dismissed. The statement speaks for itself," a spokeswoman for CNN said.[21]
Duke lacrosse allegationsGrace took a vehemently pro-prosecution position throughout the 2006 Duke University lacrosse case, in which Crystal Gail Mangum, a stripper and North Carolina Central University student, falsely accused three members of Duke University's men's lacrosse team of raping her at a party. Prior to Duke suspending its men's lacrosse team's season, she sarcastically noted on the air, "I'm so glad they didn't miss a lacrosse game over a little thing like gang rape!" and "Why would you go to a cop in an alleged gang rape case, say, and lie and give misleading information?"[22] After the disbarment of District Attorney Mike Nifong, Attorney General Roy Cooper pronounced all three players innocent of the rape charges made by Mangum and Nifong.[23] On the following broadcast of her show, Grace did not appear and a substitute reporter, Jane Velez-Mitchell, announced the removal of all charges.[24]
Elizabeth Smart kidnappingDuring the Elizabeth Smart case, when suspect Richard Ricci was arrested by police on the basis that he had a criminal record and had worked on the Smarts' home, Grace immediately and repeatedly proclaimed on CourtTV and CNN's Larry King that Ricci "was guilty," although there was little evidence to support this claim. She also suggested publicly that Ricci's girlfriend was involved in the cover-up of his alleged crime. Grace continued to accuse Ricci, though he died while in custody.[25]
It was later revealed that Smart was kidnapped by Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee, two individuals with whom Richard Ricci had no connection.[26]
When CourtTV confronted Grace seven months later to ask whether she was incorrect in her assertion that Ricci was guilty, and whether or not she felt bad about it in any way, she stated that Ricci was "a known ex-con, a known felon, and brought suspicion on himself, so who could blame anyone for claiming he was the perpetrator?" When Larry King asked her about the matter, she equated criticism of herself with criticism of the police in the case. She said: "I'm not letting you take the police with me on a guilt trip."[27]
In July 2006, Grace interviewed Smart, who was promoting a legislative bill. Grace repeatedly asked her for information regarding her abduction. Smart told her she didn't feel comfortable discussing it, despite Grace's persistence in the matter. Finally, Grace stopped when Smart said she "didn't appreciate [Grace] bringing all this up."[28]
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Language is not the supreme criteria for top-court appointments : One of the more contentious debates in the last Parliament centred on a private member’s bill that would have required all Supreme Court of Canada judges to be bilingual.
One of the more contentious debates in the last Parliament centred on a private member’s bill that would have required all Supreme Court of Canada judges to be bilingual.
At the time, it was theory. Now, however, the practical effects of this debate are playing out in an enormously important contest to fill two vacancies in Ontario's contingent of three judges.
It has become conventional wisdom that proficiency in both official languages is a virtual must. Judges who are bilingual have been propelled toward the top of the list.
Perception can quickly create reality. Many top lawyers and jurists worry that the best candidates will be effectively blocked.
A Supreme Court vacancy should be filled by the best available candidate. He or she will spend the next 10 to 20 years deciding key federal-provincial disputes and, perhaps, social issues as momentous as euthanasia and capital punishment.
Fluency in both official languages is highly desirable, and unilingual judges who aspire to the most significant office in Canadian law ought to make an honest effort to fill this gap in within two or three years of their appointment.
But should bilingualism be the overarching qualification for appointment to the nine-judge bench, at the expense of all others?
The Court has as skilled a retinue of translators and staff lawyers as can be found. What's more, if simultaneous translation is good enough for the United Nations Security Council and G8 summits, why not the Supreme Court of Canada?
Consider that Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin was unilingual when she was appointed in 1990, but she swiftly learned French – while two of our greatest jurists, Bertha Wilson and John Sopinka, remained unilingual.
A short list of judicial candidates will soon be completed by an all-party parliamentary committee.
The perceived finalists do include such top-notch, bilingual jurists as Ontario Court of Appeal Justices Robert Sharpe and James MacPherson. But other candidates are thought to have an advantage largely because of their bilingualism.
The chances of some of the leading judges on the Ontario Court of Appeal – perhaps the strongest court in the land – may be handicapped by their linguistic deficiency. They include Eleanore Cronk, David Doherty, Michael Moldaver, Kathryn Feldman, Stephen Goudge, Eileen Gillese, John Laskin and Marc Rosenberg. The same is true of leading candidates from the bar, such as Sheila Block, Ben Zarnett and Linda Rothstein.
Moreover, observers question the chances of two candidates with strong credentials who are currently engaged in intensive French instruction: Federal Court of Appeal Judge David Stratas and Ontario Court of Appeal Judge Russell Juriansz.
If perceptions current in the legal community are being fed by background conversations involving federal government officials, our highest court may be in for troubled times.
We cannot afford to exclude the country’s finest legal minds from the Supreme Court. Prime Minister Stephen Harper must avoiding creating an unalterable convention – let alone a legal requirement – of bilingualism. It can, however, be a solemn commitment for any unilingual new appointee.
At the time, it was theory. Now, however, the practical effects of this debate are playing out in an enormously important contest to fill two vacancies in Ontario's contingent of three judges.
It has become conventional wisdom that proficiency in both official languages is a virtual must. Judges who are bilingual have been propelled toward the top of the list.
Perception can quickly create reality. Many top lawyers and jurists worry that the best candidates will be effectively blocked.
A Supreme Court vacancy should be filled by the best available candidate. He or she will spend the next 10 to 20 years deciding key federal-provincial disputes and, perhaps, social issues as momentous as euthanasia and capital punishment.
Fluency in both official languages is highly desirable, and unilingual judges who aspire to the most significant office in Canadian law ought to make an honest effort to fill this gap in within two or three years of their appointment.
But should bilingualism be the overarching qualification for appointment to the nine-judge bench, at the expense of all others?
The Court has as skilled a retinue of translators and staff lawyers as can be found. What's more, if simultaneous translation is good enough for the United Nations Security Council and G8 summits, why not the Supreme Court of Canada?
Consider that Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin was unilingual when she was appointed in 1990, but she swiftly learned French – while two of our greatest jurists, Bertha Wilson and John Sopinka, remained unilingual.
A short list of judicial candidates will soon be completed by an all-party parliamentary committee.
The perceived finalists do include such top-notch, bilingual jurists as Ontario Court of Appeal Justices Robert Sharpe and James MacPherson. But other candidates are thought to have an advantage largely because of their bilingualism.
The chances of some of the leading judges on the Ontario Court of Appeal – perhaps the strongest court in the land – may be handicapped by their linguistic deficiency. They include Eleanore Cronk, David Doherty, Michael Moldaver, Kathryn Feldman, Stephen Goudge, Eileen Gillese, John Laskin and Marc Rosenberg. The same is true of leading candidates from the bar, such as Sheila Block, Ben Zarnett and Linda Rothstein.
Moreover, observers question the chances of two candidates with strong credentials who are currently engaged in intensive French instruction: Federal Court of Appeal Judge David Stratas and Ontario Court of Appeal Judge Russell Juriansz.
If perceptions current in the legal community are being fed by background conversations involving federal government officials, our highest court may be in for troubled times.
We cannot afford to exclude the country’s finest legal minds from the Supreme Court. Prime Minister Stephen Harper must avoiding creating an unalterable convention – let alone a legal requirement – of bilingualism. It can, however, be a solemn commitment for any unilingual new appointee.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Next 'in-and-out' court date set Sept. 22 is the next time the lawyer for the Conservative Party and four of its members, including two senators, will be in court over charges they're facing for alleged violations of election spending rules.
Sept. 22 is the next time the lawyer for the Conservative Party and four of its members, including two senators, will be in court over charges they're facing for alleged violations of election spending rules.
Defence and Crown attorneys were in court in Ottawa on Wednesday and the routine proceeding resulted in the next court date being set for this fall.
The next appearance will be a pre-trial hearing where the parties will discuss with a judge how long the trial might last, issues related to evidence and other matters. Lawyers will appear in court on Oct.5 at which time a date for the trial could be set.
The charges were laid under the Canada Elections Act in February and relate to the so-called "in-and-out" campaign financing case stemming from the 2006 election. The charges are not criminal. The Elections Act is a federal statute.
Senator Doug Finley, the party's campaign director at the time, and Senator Irving Gerstein, a fundraiser for the party, are among the four individuals charged. Michael Donison, the former national party director, and Susan Kehoe, who served as the party's interim executive director, are the other two people charged.
The Conservative Party of Canada and the Conservative Fund of Canada, the party's fundraising arm, also face charges.
The last court date related to the matter was in March. At that time, Crown attorney Richard Roy said defence lawyer Mark Sandler had been provided with "substantial" evidence against his clients.
Wednesday's court hearing is part of a lengthy and ongoing legal battle between Elections Canada and the Conservatives over how election expenses are claimed and reimbursements issued.
The Conservatives argue they followed the election financing rules that were in place in 2006 and that Elections Canada later changed its interpretation of the rules.
Elections Canada alleges that the Conservative Party broke the spending rules by improperly reporting $1.3 million in national advertising as expenses incurred by local candidates. The elections agency alleges the party violated the rules by moving funds in and out of local ridings to pay for national ads, allowing the party to surpass the maximum spending allowance and for candidates to claim rebates on expenses that weren't actually incurred.
In addition to a charge that the election spending limit of $18 million was exceeded, Gerstein faces a charge of providing Elections Canada with a return that he knew or ought to have known contained a false or misleading statement, namely that all elections expenses had been properly recorded.
Defence and Crown attorneys were in court in Ottawa on Wednesday and the routine proceeding resulted in the next court date being set for this fall.
The next appearance will be a pre-trial hearing where the parties will discuss with a judge how long the trial might last, issues related to evidence and other matters. Lawyers will appear in court on Oct.5 at which time a date for the trial could be set.
The charges were laid under the Canada Elections Act in February and relate to the so-called "in-and-out" campaign financing case stemming from the 2006 election. The charges are not criminal. The Elections Act is a federal statute.
Senator Doug Finley, the party's campaign director at the time, and Senator Irving Gerstein, a fundraiser for the party, are among the four individuals charged. Michael Donison, the former national party director, and Susan Kehoe, who served as the party's interim executive director, are the other two people charged.
The Conservative Party of Canada and the Conservative Fund of Canada, the party's fundraising arm, also face charges.
The last court date related to the matter was in March. At that time, Crown attorney Richard Roy said defence lawyer Mark Sandler had been provided with "substantial" evidence against his clients.
Wednesday's court hearing is part of a lengthy and ongoing legal battle between Elections Canada and the Conservatives over how election expenses are claimed and reimbursements issued.
The Conservatives argue they followed the election financing rules that were in place in 2006 and that Elections Canada later changed its interpretation of the rules.
Elections Canada alleges that the Conservative Party broke the spending rules by improperly reporting $1.3 million in national advertising as expenses incurred by local candidates. The elections agency alleges the party violated the rules by moving funds in and out of local ridings to pay for national ads, allowing the party to surpass the maximum spending allowance and for candidates to claim rebates on expenses that weren't actually incurred.
In addition to a charge that the election spending limit of $18 million was exceeded, Gerstein faces a charge of providing Elections Canada with a return that he knew or ought to have known contained a false or misleading statement, namely that all elections expenses had been properly recorded.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Mr. Harper’s “triumphal arrogance” underscores his divisive approach to politics.
Opposition MPs fired back at Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s weekend display of triumphalism, saying the Prime Minister is displaying a hubris that will come back to haunt him.
In an address to supporters during the opening weekend of the Calgary Stampede, Mr. Harper said the era of Canadian Liberal dominance is over and the New Democrats’ strong support in Quebec will be fleeting.
The Prime Minister consigned the Liberals and Bloc Québécois to history’s waste basket, adding that his majority win on May 2 reflects the fact that Canadians are essentially conservative people.
“Conservative values are Canadian values. Canadian values are conservative values. They always were,” Mr. Harper said. “And Canadians are going back to the party that most closely reflects who they really are: The Conservative Party, which is Canada's party.”
In making that claim, the Prime Minister was turning the tables on Liberal predecessors such as Paul Martin and Jean Chrétien, who had long insisted that their party was the true standard-bearer of Canadian values. The Liberals liked to portray Conservatives as out of touch with the country and even quasi-American.
Interim Liberal leader Bob Rae said Mr. Harper’s “triumphal arrogance”
underscores his divisive approach to politics.
“His is still a politics that polarizes, that divides, and that excludes,” Mr. Rae said in a statement. “Pride like this will only be followed by a fall.”
NDP MP Joe Comartin said Mr. Harper was demonstrating the same arrogance that led to the Liberal downfall. And he challenged the Prime Minister’s political credibility in commenting on the NDP prospects in Quebec.
“Here we’ve got a guy who’s saying our honeymoon is going to be over quickly with the people of Quebec after he didn’t have anything more than a one-night stand,” Mr. Comartin said in a telephone interview.
After holding only one seat, the New Democrats won 59 of Quebec’s 75 seats and garnered 43 per cent of the popular vote in the May election. The Conservatives dropped to five seats from 11, with only 16.5 per cent of popular support.
The NDP MP said Mr. Harper appears to be keen to adopt the mantle of “natural governing party” that the Liberals used to assume for themselves.
“His words could have easily come out of the mouth of Chrétien or a number of other Liberal prime ministers in believing that the Canadian people have totally identified with them,” he said. “And they fly in the face of the fact that 60 per cent of Canadians voted for other political parties.”
Mr. Comartin is the NDP’s justice critic and maintained that the Conservative’s tough-on-crime agenda is at odds with the majority views of Canadians, pointing, for example, to legislation that will require jail time for people found guilty of possessing five or more marijuana plants.
In an address to supporters during the opening weekend of the Calgary Stampede, Mr. Harper said the era of Canadian Liberal dominance is over and the New Democrats’ strong support in Quebec will be fleeting.
The Prime Minister consigned the Liberals and Bloc Québécois to history’s waste basket, adding that his majority win on May 2 reflects the fact that Canadians are essentially conservative people.
“Conservative values are Canadian values. Canadian values are conservative values. They always were,” Mr. Harper said. “And Canadians are going back to the party that most closely reflects who they really are: The Conservative Party, which is Canada's party.”
In making that claim, the Prime Minister was turning the tables on Liberal predecessors such as Paul Martin and Jean Chrétien, who had long insisted that their party was the true standard-bearer of Canadian values. The Liberals liked to portray Conservatives as out of touch with the country and even quasi-American.
Interim Liberal leader Bob Rae said Mr. Harper’s “triumphal arrogance”
underscores his divisive approach to politics.
“His is still a politics that polarizes, that divides, and that excludes,” Mr. Rae said in a statement. “Pride like this will only be followed by a fall.”
NDP MP Joe Comartin said Mr. Harper was demonstrating the same arrogance that led to the Liberal downfall. And he challenged the Prime Minister’s political credibility in commenting on the NDP prospects in Quebec.
“Here we’ve got a guy who’s saying our honeymoon is going to be over quickly with the people of Quebec after he didn’t have anything more than a one-night stand,” Mr. Comartin said in a telephone interview.
After holding only one seat, the New Democrats won 59 of Quebec’s 75 seats and garnered 43 per cent of the popular vote in the May election. The Conservatives dropped to five seats from 11, with only 16.5 per cent of popular support.
The NDP MP said Mr. Harper appears to be keen to adopt the mantle of “natural governing party” that the Liberals used to assume for themselves.
“His words could have easily come out of the mouth of Chrétien or a number of other Liberal prime ministers in believing that the Canadian people have totally identified with them,” he said. “And they fly in the face of the fact that 60 per cent of Canadians voted for other political parties.”
Mr. Comartin is the NDP’s justice critic and maintained that the Conservative’s tough-on-crime agenda is at odds with the majority views of Canadians, pointing, for example, to legislation that will require jail time for people found guilty of possessing five or more marijuana plants.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Sweden could become the first country in Europe to offer Chinese lessons to all schoolchildren under plans floated by the Swedish education minister.
Sweden could become the first country in Europe to offer Chinese lessons to all schoolchildren under plans floated by the Swedish education minister.
Jan Björklund said giving future generations access to Chinese language tuition was crucial to national competitiveness.
“Chinese will be much more important, from an economic perspective, than French or Spanish,” he told the Dagens Industri newspaper.
Other western countries have also started introducing Chinese to school curriculums in recognition of China’s growing global role, but Mr Björklund’s plan aims to put Sweden ahead of the pack.
English would remain mandatory for schoolchildren but Chinese would be added to the choice of additional foreign languages available in all primary and secondary schools, along with French, Spanish and German.
Sweden has long been known for having among the highest level of English language skills outside the Anglo-Saxon world. Its proposed embrace of Chinese could be seen as a symbol of a shift in power towards Asia.
“Not everyone in the business world speaks English,” said Mr Björklund. “Very qualified businesses are leaving Europe to move to China.”
Education ministry officials stressed that Mr Björklund did not want to undermine Sweden’s traditional strength in English, but said the choice of additional foreign languages now was “too eurocentric”.
Officials described it as a personal proposal by Mr Björklund, who is leader of the Liberal party. He said he would seek support from the rest of Sweden’s ruling coalition to make it part of government policy.
They said it could take 10 to 15 years to train enough teachers to make Chinese universally available.
“It boils down to teacher-training colleges expanding programmes,” said Mr Björklund. “If we decide to do this, it’s definitely possible.”
Sweden has growing economic ties with China through big Swedish companies such as Ericsson and Hennes & Mauritz, which are investing heavily in the country.
The Scandinavian nation has also been open to investment from China, including the takeover of Gothenburg-based Volvo Cars by Geely last year. Chinese companies are also at the heart of efforts to save Saab Automobile, another Swedish carmaker, from collapse.
“If we look towards the next generation, it’s almost unavoidable to think anything else than that China will be a very important global actor,” said Mr Björklund.
Jan Björklund said giving future generations access to Chinese language tuition was crucial to national competitiveness.
“Chinese will be much more important, from an economic perspective, than French or Spanish,” he told the Dagens Industri newspaper.
Other western countries have also started introducing Chinese to school curriculums in recognition of China’s growing global role, but Mr Björklund’s plan aims to put Sweden ahead of the pack.
English would remain mandatory for schoolchildren but Chinese would be added to the choice of additional foreign languages available in all primary and secondary schools, along with French, Spanish and German.
Sweden has long been known for having among the highest level of English language skills outside the Anglo-Saxon world. Its proposed embrace of Chinese could be seen as a symbol of a shift in power towards Asia.
“Not everyone in the business world speaks English,” said Mr Björklund. “Very qualified businesses are leaving Europe to move to China.”
Education ministry officials stressed that Mr Björklund did not want to undermine Sweden’s traditional strength in English, but said the choice of additional foreign languages now was “too eurocentric”.
Officials described it as a personal proposal by Mr Björklund, who is leader of the Liberal party. He said he would seek support from the rest of Sweden’s ruling coalition to make it part of government policy.
They said it could take 10 to 15 years to train enough teachers to make Chinese universally available.
“It boils down to teacher-training colleges expanding programmes,” said Mr Björklund. “If we decide to do this, it’s definitely possible.”
Sweden has growing economic ties with China through big Swedish companies such as Ericsson and Hennes & Mauritz, which are investing heavily in the country.
The Scandinavian nation has also been open to investment from China, including the takeover of Gothenburg-based Volvo Cars by Geely last year. Chinese companies are also at the heart of efforts to save Saab Automobile, another Swedish carmaker, from collapse.
“If we look towards the next generation, it’s almost unavoidable to think anything else than that China will be a very important global actor,” said Mr Björklund.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Phone hacking The Met to contact 4,000 people investigating allegations of phone hacking by the News of the World
Police investigating allegations of phone hacking by the News of the World have called for patience as they contact almost 4,000 people whose names appear in documents seized in 2006.
The Met's Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers said she understood people were upset but police needed time.
She said officers were scouring 11,000 pages of notes as well as dealing with more who feared they were targets.
News International said allegations against its paper had been horrifying.
Among them are claims the paper hacked into the mobile phone of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, the families of 7/7 bombing victims and bereaved military families.
According to a Daily Telegraph report, the phone numbers of relatives of service personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan were found in the files of private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, who had been working for the News of the World.
Police have not approached relatives of the soldiers but some families say a newspaper has contacted them suggesting they were victims of phone hacking.
Dep Asst Commissioner Sue Akers, who is in charge of the police investigation known as Operation Weeting, said officers had already spoken to many people and would contact others "as quickly as possible".
"I have huge sympathy for those who may have been the victims of phone hacking or intrusion into their private lives," she said.
"It must be incredibly distressing to see details of the information held, or speculation about what may be held, about them in the media. This is forcing them to relive devastating experiences."
"I stand by my commitment that Operation Weeting will contact all those who have some personal contact details found in the documents seized... and my officers are working hard to ensure it is fulfilled as soon as possible," she added.
"This is taking a significant amount of time and resources."
After the allegations were made over bereaved military families, the Royal British Legion announced it was cutting ties with the News of the World as its campaigning partner, saying it was "shocked to the core".
The charity campaigned with the newspaper on Military Covenant issues and was set to mount another joint initiative to save the chief coroner's office from abolition.
Meanwhile, the Independent Police Complaints Commission has been asked to supervise the Met Police's internal investigation into payments by journalists to police for information.
Met Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson said a small number of officers were alleged to have taken illegal payments. "If true, I will be determined to root them out, find them and put them in front of the criminal court," he said.
In other developments:
Prime Minister David Cameron is consulting MPs about the nature of a public inquiry into the phone-hacking claims, amid support by the deputy prime minister and the Labour leader for a judge-led hearing, with powers to call evidence and examine witnesses under oath
Shares in BSkyB fall on fears that the News of the World phone-hacking scandal could hinder parent company News Corp's bid for the broadcaster
Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt is set to delay his decision on whether to allow News Corp's bid for BSkyB after receiving 100,000 submissions on the issue
Michael Mansfield QC, who represented Mohamed Al Fayed at the Princess Diana inquest, has been told his phone may have been hacked
The Crown Office say Strathclyde Police have been asked to look at evidence given by witnesses during the Tommy Sheridan perjury trial, in light of recent allegations
Sainsbury's supermarket, O2, Flybe, Specsavers and Dixons follow the example of other companies including Ford and Npower by suspending advertising in the NoW
The government is to urgently review its advertising contracts with the News of the World
Peter Ridsdale, chairman of Plymouth Argyle, tells BBC Radio Devon, his e-mails were hacked into and he is seeking damages from the News of the World following an article published by the paper when he was chairman of Cardiff City
News International is co-operating with a police inquiry into hacking at the News of the World and is conducting its own investigation into the claims.
"If these allegations are true we are absolutely appalled and horrified," the company said in a statement, adding that its "record as a friend of the armed services and of our servicemen and servicewomen, is impeccable".
The Met's Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers said she understood people were upset but police needed time.
She said officers were scouring 11,000 pages of notes as well as dealing with more who feared they were targets.
News International said allegations against its paper had been horrifying.
Among them are claims the paper hacked into the mobile phone of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, the families of 7/7 bombing victims and bereaved military families.
According to a Daily Telegraph report, the phone numbers of relatives of service personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan were found in the files of private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, who had been working for the News of the World.
Police have not approached relatives of the soldiers but some families say a newspaper has contacted them suggesting they were victims of phone hacking.
Dep Asst Commissioner Sue Akers, who is in charge of the police investigation known as Operation Weeting, said officers had already spoken to many people and would contact others "as quickly as possible".
"I have huge sympathy for those who may have been the victims of phone hacking or intrusion into their private lives," she said.
"It must be incredibly distressing to see details of the information held, or speculation about what may be held, about them in the media. This is forcing them to relive devastating experiences."
"I stand by my commitment that Operation Weeting will contact all those who have some personal contact details found in the documents seized... and my officers are working hard to ensure it is fulfilled as soon as possible," she added.
"This is taking a significant amount of time and resources."
After the allegations were made over bereaved military families, the Royal British Legion announced it was cutting ties with the News of the World as its campaigning partner, saying it was "shocked to the core".
The charity campaigned with the newspaper on Military Covenant issues and was set to mount another joint initiative to save the chief coroner's office from abolition.
Meanwhile, the Independent Police Complaints Commission has been asked to supervise the Met Police's internal investigation into payments by journalists to police for information.
Met Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson said a small number of officers were alleged to have taken illegal payments. "If true, I will be determined to root them out, find them and put them in front of the criminal court," he said.
In other developments:
Prime Minister David Cameron is consulting MPs about the nature of a public inquiry into the phone-hacking claims, amid support by the deputy prime minister and the Labour leader for a judge-led hearing, with powers to call evidence and examine witnesses under oath
Shares in BSkyB fall on fears that the News of the World phone-hacking scandal could hinder parent company News Corp's bid for the broadcaster
Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt is set to delay his decision on whether to allow News Corp's bid for BSkyB after receiving 100,000 submissions on the issue
Michael Mansfield QC, who represented Mohamed Al Fayed at the Princess Diana inquest, has been told his phone may have been hacked
The Crown Office say Strathclyde Police have been asked to look at evidence given by witnesses during the Tommy Sheridan perjury trial, in light of recent allegations
Sainsbury's supermarket, O2, Flybe, Specsavers and Dixons follow the example of other companies including Ford and Npower by suspending advertising in the NoW
The government is to urgently review its advertising contracts with the News of the World
Peter Ridsdale, chairman of Plymouth Argyle, tells BBC Radio Devon, his e-mails were hacked into and he is seeking damages from the News of the World following an article published by the paper when he was chairman of Cardiff City
News International is co-operating with a police inquiry into hacking at the News of the World and is conducting its own investigation into the claims.
"If these allegations are true we are absolutely appalled and horrified," the company said in a statement, adding that its "record as a friend of the armed services and of our servicemen and servicewomen, is impeccable".
Friday, July 8, 2011
The Supreme Court of Canada isn't biting on an appeal by three of Canada's largest chocolate makers stemming from a lawsuit that accused them of conspiring to raise chocolate prices in this country.
OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada isn't biting on an appeal by three of Canada's largest chocolate makers stemming from a lawsuit that accused them of conspiring to raise chocolate prices in this country.
The top court on Thursday declined to hear a case brought by Nestle, Mars and Hershey's.
In 2007, the companies, as well as Cadbury, faced several lawsuits in Canada and the United States accusing them of fixing the price of their products.
Another company, chocolate distributor Itwal Ltd., allegedly participated with price maintenance.
If the accusations were true, the group would have been in violation of federal competition laws under the Competition Act.
Cadbury and Itwal settled, with Cadbury paying nearly $5.8 million to Metro Enterprises, a Windsor, Ont.-based vending machine business.
The two companies that settled received a court order preventing the three remaining companies from suing them to cover any financial penalties the court battle might impose.
The three chocolate giants who didn't settle were trying to fight that ruling in the Supreme Court.
The Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed the group's appeal in December 2010 and the Supreme Court dismissed the trio's application for appeal Thursday.
As is its custom, the top court did not reveal the reasons for its decision not to hear the case.
Read more: http://www.canada.com/Supreme+Court+bars+chocolate+makers+appeal/5066262/story.html#ixzz1RUoYGNja
The top court on Thursday declined to hear a case brought by Nestle, Mars and Hershey's.
In 2007, the companies, as well as Cadbury, faced several lawsuits in Canada and the United States accusing them of fixing the price of their products.
Another company, chocolate distributor Itwal Ltd., allegedly participated with price maintenance.
If the accusations were true, the group would have been in violation of federal competition laws under the Competition Act.
Cadbury and Itwal settled, with Cadbury paying nearly $5.8 million to Metro Enterprises, a Windsor, Ont.-based vending machine business.
The two companies that settled received a court order preventing the three remaining companies from suing them to cover any financial penalties the court battle might impose.
The three chocolate giants who didn't settle were trying to fight that ruling in the Supreme Court.
The Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed the group's appeal in December 2010 and the Supreme Court dismissed the trio's application for appeal Thursday.
As is its custom, the top court did not reveal the reasons for its decision not to hear the case.
Read more: http://www.canada.com/Supreme+Court+bars+chocolate+makers+appeal/5066262/story.html#ixzz1RUoYGNja
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