Sunday, July 1, 2018

Argentine footballer Javier Mascherano announced retirement from international football after losing 3–4 against France in the Last 16 knockout phase of the FIFA World Cup yesterday.

Mascherano made his international debut on June 17, 2003, at the age of nineteen. Since then, he has won 147 international caps with Argentina, a national record. Mascherano has featured in four different FIFA World Cup tournaments, since the 2006 World Cup.

After the match, 34-year-old Mascherano said, “It’s time to say goodbye and for the younger players to step in.” He also said, “Personally, from now on, I will be just another fan, it’s over” ^{((es))Spanish language: ?En lo personal, a partir de ahora, seré un hincha más. Se terminó}.

In the last four years, Mascherano has won the silver medal at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, 2015 Copa América ^{((en))America Cup} and 2016’s Copa América Centenario.

Sunday, August 5, 2007

Oliver Hill, an American Civil Rights lawyer died today at the age of 100. Hill was attending breakfast, when he died “peacefully,” said a friend of Hill’s family, Joseph Morrissey. The cause is not yet known.

“As a pioneer for civil rights, an accomplished attorney, and a war veteran, Mr. Hill’s dedication to serving the commonwealth and the country never failed,” said Virginia Governor, Tim Kaine in a statement released to the press.

Hill won African American teachers the right to have equal pay in 1940, which was the first civil rights case he won in his career.

He was also the first African American to be elected to the city council in Richmond, Virginia in 1948.

Hill also filed several lawsuits against racial segregation in the U.S. public school systems in 1954. Those lawsuits later became as the ‘Brown vs. Board‘ which overturned laws dating back to 1896 which ruled that separate schools for African Americans and White Americans were “unequal.”

Friday, September 11, 2009

Disney president John Lasseter has announced that British actor Timothy Dalton will be voicing a character in Toy Story 3.

Dalton, who previously starred as James Bond in Licence to Kill and The Living Daylights, will star as a thespian hedgehog called Mr. Pricklypants in Toy Story 3, a film which is due for release in June 2010. Mr. Pricklypants is described as “a hedgehog toy with thespian tendencies”.

John Lasseter, Disney/Pixar Chief Creative Officer, made the announcement at a Disney Animation Showcase in London, England on Thursday. At the same event it was announced that Mandy Moore would star in a cartoon based on the fairytale Rapunzel and that a James Bond-style character will appear in upcoming Disney/Pixar film Cars 2. In August 2009, it was also announced that Michael Keaton — from the movie Cars — would voice Ken, the boyfriend to Barbie in the film.

John Lasseter originally announced the plans for the third film in the franchise in January 2008 and said that people would be “blown away” by it. He proclaimed: “It [Toy Story 3] is shaping up to be another great adventure for Buzz, Woody and the gang from Andy’s room.”

Saturday, January 23, 2010

An American client of Switzerland-based bank, UBS, has won an appeal in Swiss court on Friday against providing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of the United States with relevant information about his offshore accounts.

The Swiss court ruled that the man’s failure to complete an IRS tax form, no matter how much money it pertained to, was not in itself fraudulent behavior. The case calls into question an agreement made between Switzerland and the United States last year in which Swiss tax authorities would supply the IRS with information on nearly 4,500 suspected tax evaders and their respective accounts.

A further twenty-five similar cases are still pending; the verdicts of which may be influenced by this precedent-setting case.

The Swiss government will meet next Wednesday to discuss how to better implement last year’s Swiss-US banking accord. As it pertains to the case at hand, if they so choose, Swiss tax officials can file a further appeal petitioning the court’s decision.

UBS and the US Department of Justice both have yet to comment on the matter.

According to the US government, UBS is “hiding” over US$15 billion in assets on behalf of American account holders.

Friday, May 3, 2019

As part of the celebration of 900 years of the Cahors Cathedral in Cahors, France, celebration ongoing through April, a precious relic was carried in procession through the streets of the city on Saturday, April 27: the Holy Headdress of Christ.

The Holy Headdress is recognized by tradition as the veil that covered the head of Jesus when he was buried. By one tradition, Charlemagne brought back the relic of Jerusalem and offered it to the diocese of Cahors. The relic has been venerated in Cahors since the construction of the cathedral 900 years ago.

The “Sainte Coiffe” got back into the streets of Cahors for the first time in nearly eight decades. The relic was carried in procession followed by, according to varying reports, nearly 2000 people, perhaps some hundreds more, in an event both for believers and curious. The procession made its way at the pace of hymns and prayers, through the narrow streets of the town, then on the banks of the Lot, and ended on the forecourt of the cathedral.

The event was sustained by the city of Cahors, the State of France, and the civil society, for which many people have invested themselves, including volunteers.

Other celebrations and other events have been planned in Cahors until December.

• The procession at the Rue des Soubirous. Image: Genium.

• The procession at the Rue du Château du Roi. Image: Genium.

• The procession at the Rue du Château du Roi. Image: Genium.

• The procession at the Rue nationale. Image: Genium.

• The procession at the Place Hélène Metges. Image: Genium.

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

The on-again, off-again requirement that California high school seniors must pass the High School Exit Exam is back on again, after the California State Supreme Court today granted the state’s request that the court stay a lower court’s decision to stop schools from requiring the test.

Lawyers for State Superintendent of Schools Jack O’Connell asked for the stay after Alameda County Superior Court Judge Robert Freedman ruled May 12 that the test requirement was unfair and unconstitutional, and forbade the state’s schools from using it as a graduation requirement. O’Connell’s lawyers also asked the Supreme Court to hear their argument that the Court should endorse the test and overturn Freedman’s ruling, but the Court sent the case down to the 1st District Court of Appeal for hearings.

“I am extremely pleased that the Supreme Court has reinstated the California High School Exit Exam as a condition for graduation,” O’Connell said after the decision was announced. “As a result, school districts can continue their graduation exercises as planned before this litigation began.”

Arturo Gonzalez, lead counsel for the students who challenged the test in court, told the James Logan Courier, “Our clients are disappointed in today’s 4-3 split decision of the California Supreme Court. However, this fight is not over. We intend to seek immediate relief in the court of appeals in San Francisco. We are hopeful that oral argument can be scheduled in time to obtain an order that would allow the Class of 2006 to graduate.”

O’Connell said he’s instructing school districts to withhold diplomas from those who haven’t passed the test. “I will communicate with districts today to ensure they are aware that the exit exam is a graduation requirement,” he said. ” Students who have worked hard to pass this exam will be given a diploma that signifies their mastery of essential skills in reading and math. I hope that this decision will give students in the class of 2006, their parents, and their schools certainty.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger praised the court’s decision. “”Today’s ruling is a victory for the children of California and for our future as a state,” said Schwarzenegger. “The exit exam ensures that our schools are living up to their responsibility by giving our students the skills and the knowledge they need to succeed in college and in the workplace. Postponement would have deprived us of the best tool we have to measure how well schools are doing their job.”

The ruling affects about 70 students at James Logan High School who haven’t passed either the math or language arts portions of the test, or both. As many as 47,000 are affected statewide.

“It’s crazy, I want to cry,” said Zuhal, a senior who hasn’t yet passed the test after she heard the news. Then she started crying.

Raymond, a senior who has had trouble with the math portion of the test, said he had made plans for graduating based on Freedman’s banning of the test. “I’m really disappointed,” he said. “I feel really bad. They should cancel it right now. Graduation day is too near.”

Both students took the test earlier this month, but won’t know if they passed until August 15, said Ray, too late to receive a diploma with their classmates.

“The Supreme Court did not say that Judge Freedman was wrong. Four justices simply questioned whether allowing our clients to graduate was the appropriate remedy,” said Gonzalez, “We intend to demonstrate that the relief was proper. If the constitutional rights of our children are violated, we cannot punish them further by depriving them of a diploma that they have rightfully earned by passing all required courses.”

O’Connell said students who haven’t passed the test would have more opportunities. “We will not give up on the students who are still struggling to pass,” O’Connell said, ” They will continue to be given every option to master those skills they will need in order to succeed beyond high school.”

O’Connell said he looked forward to arguing the case in the appellate court. “”In sending this case to the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court has provided us an opportunity to argue the merits of this case,” he said.

O’Connell, who wrote the law when he was a state legislator in 1999, said the test is an important ingredient in California’s school reform efforts. “We know, and look forward to sharing with the court, that as a result of the exit exam, our students have studied harder and learned more than they would have otherwise,” he said. “Schools, administrators, school board members, parents, and even policy makers here in Sacramento paid more attention to the needs of students who were falling behind their peers.

“Today’s court action marks an important step for school accountability. I will continue to fight to make sure every student who graduates in California has the skills necessary to succeed,” he said.

This article is based on Supreme Court Revives Exit Exam Requirement by Patrick Hannigan, James Logan Courier, which has a copyright policy compatible with our CC-BY 2.5. Specifically “Creative Commons 2.5 Share-Alike license“