Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Britain's poshest protestor: Hector Christie – who gave up his Glyndebourne inheritance on a toss of a coin – was this …

By Catherine Ostler

PUBLISHED: 16:51 EST, 25 May 2012 | UPDATED: 00:32 EST, 26 May 2012

Hector Christie is such a rebel, he even rebels against the rebels

There cant have been many protesters at last winters anti-capitalist encampment in the City of London who had chosen the tents on the steps of St Pauls Cathedral over their own roomy Queen Anne stately home, set among 6,000 picturesque acres of the West Country.

For that matter, there cant be many members of Take Back The Flour, the anti-GM foods protest group which is planning to invade and uproot GM crops at the Rothamsted Research centre in Hertfordshire tomorrow, who can claim aristocratic lineage, an Eton education and a trust fund.

But then Hector Christie is not your average eco-warrior.

In fact, hes such a rebel, he even rebels against the rebels: unwilling to wait for tomorrows protest, it is claimed he went ahead on his own last Sunday and broke into Rothamsted, where he allegedly lopped heads off GM plants, scattered some wheat seed of his own and made a general nuisance of himself, for which he was arrested, charged with criminal damage and released on bail.

He will appear in court in St Albans on July 13 and faces being sent to prison.

This is not the first time that Hector Christie, now 50, has been in trouble.

As the eldest son of Sir George and Lady (Mary) Christie, he is the man who could have been running Glyndebourne, the opera house that sits next to a Tudor home in the bucolic surroundings of the Sussex Downs.

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Britain's poshest protestor: Hector Christie - who gave up his Glyndebourne inheritance on a toss of a coin - was this ...

Dockery leaks AG Pam Bondi's Caymans wedding plans

By Jose Lambiet Gossip Extra

6:14 p.m. EDT, May 25, 2012

Pam Bondi, Floridas comely attorney general, isscheduled to get married to a Tampa doctor tomorrow afternoonin the Cayman Islands, Gossip Extra has learned.

Bondi, 46, is set to tie the knot with fiance Gregory Henderson, an ophthalmologist, about 5 p.m. at the Ritz Carlton Grand Cayman, according to several sources.

Neitherher spokeswomen arent returning calls, buta staffer at the fancy hotel said the Republican bombshellis at her rehearsal dinner tonight.

The wedding issupposed to take place on the great lawn, right in front of the beach, the source said. But the weather her is pretty bad. Its been raining all week,so they might have to move indoors.

Im told about 50 family members and friends areexpected attomorrows ceremony.

AlthoughBondi desperately tried to keep the event a secret, State Senator Paula Dockery let the cat out of the bag on her Facebook page yesterday when she reported seeing Bondi at Tampa Airport and being on the same flight to the islands.

The plane is filled with her wedding party, Dockerys entry reads.

Dockery alsoposte a photo of Bondi (above) playing flight attendant during the trip.

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Dockery leaks AG Pam Bondi's Caymans wedding plans

Student Loans Chief To Stand Down Over Tax Controversy

Student Loans Company head Ed Lester will stand down when his contract expires next year in the wake of controversy over his tax arrangements.

Lester was paid through a company in order legally to reduce his liability for tax until ministers intervened in February this year.

The Student Loans Company said his contract expires at the end of January next year and work had begun to recruit his replacement.

A Student Loans Company spokeswoman said: "Ed Lester's two-year contract ends on 31 January 2013.

"The process to recruit his replacement is under way now to ensure that there is a smooth handover in the change of leadership at the Student Loans Company."

The arrangement for Lester's pay was disclosed in an HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) letter obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by Exaro News and BBC Newsnight.

Following the revelations in February, Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander said the way in which Lester received his 182,000 salary would be changed and launched a review of similar arrangements across Whitehall.

The review identified more than 2,400 cases of public sector staff being employed indirectly - some potentially avoiding full income tax for a decade or more.

Since January, 350 such contracts have been ended and tighter rules have now been introduced.

Yesterday Alexander said everyone in the public sector "should be on the payroll and paying the correct amount of tax".

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Student Loans Chief To Stand Down Over Tax Controversy

C.T. Weber, Peace and Freedom Party

Since 1967, south Sacramento resident C.T. Weber has been registered as a third-party member and continuously fought for issues he feels are not being raised by the Democratic or Republican parties.

Many of the candidates say jobs are the top priority, but he said both parties have contributed to the bleak economic situation.

"Both Democrats and Republicans have switched the taxes from corporations and the rich over to the working class and poor people. We think if the super-rich would pay their fair share, the budget would be balanced," he said.

Weber said he would like to see a split roll tax, where commercial properties would have their property taxes increase at a higher rate than residential properties.

To reduce the state budget, Weber also recommended decreasing the number of people in prison for non-violent drug offenses.

"If they were put into a program outside of the prison system, it would save millions of dollars," he said.

One of the other main causes his party supports is state funding of elections to give all candidates a more even starting point.

"It would really open up the system. If we had a system that was fair and open, all four of our alternative parties would have members in the Assembly and Congress," he said.

Weber has been to Lodi to go winetasting, and said he imagines that agriculture issues are the top priority for the area.

In the past, Weber participated in acts of civil disobedience when necessary, and has been arrested for protesting education cuts and advocating for improved accessibility for those in wheelchairs.

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C.T. Weber, Peace and Freedom Party

Delinquent tax letter released pursuant to FOIA

PARKERSBURG - A letter written by attorney Andrew Woofter to Wood County Commission President Blair Couch about delinquent personal property taxes owed by Couch's former business was released pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by Couch's political opponent Harry Deitzler, officials said on Friday.

The Parkersburg News and Sentinel on Thursday reported taxes of $16,582 remain owed by A.W. Couch Inc., a car rental firm that ceased operation when the franchises in the area were taken over by the Hertz Corp. The debt was first reported two years ago.

Couch, a Republican and the incumbent county commissioner, in the November general election will face Deitzler, a former Wood County prosecutor who is with the Charleston law firm of Carper, Bee and Deitzler.

Wood County Prosecutor Jason Wharton Friday said the FOIA request was made around April 6.

"The FOIA request was from Harry Deitzler," Wharton said.

While Woofter, special counsel for the sheriff's tax office, on Wednesday said he believed the letter was privileged communications between attorney and client, Wharton said it was his opinion under FOIA that the letter was a "disclosable document."

The letter outlined a repayment plan with Couch, but was never mailed to Couch after the agreement was never approved by the tax office, Woofter said.

"The FOIA policy is to keep the public informed and disclosures are to be liberally construed. Looking at this particular document, although attorney/client privilege is recognized under FOIA, it was my opinion it was a disclosable document," Wharton said.

Wood County Sheriff Jeff Sandy said the FOIA request came to the tax office.

"The tax office is handled by chief tax deputy Dennie Huggins and we were advised by legal counsel, (Wood County Prosecutor) Jason Wharton, to release the letter. We were advised by the prosecutor that everything that we had in that file needed to be released pursuant to the FOIA request," Sandy said.

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Delinquent tax letter released pursuant to FOIA