Japan Fin. 23 S Discussion Threads

[maywillow] 04/8/2019 12:10

So much for the “special relationship”, then. Only a few weeks after the British rolled out the red carpet and threw every bear-skinned guardsman they could find at a state visit for Donald Trump and his family, he – this childish, petty man – turns round and treats Britain like a vassal state?

[sarkasm] 04/8/2019 10:19

51 Stars American Flag
51 or 52 States in the United States of America
August 25, 2015 by Vaughn

Actual Number of States in the United States of America: 50 States

The United States of America (USA) sometimes shortened as United States (U.S.) or just America is composed of 50 states and a federal district (Washington, D.C). The USA also has a number of unincorporated territories. These include islands such as Puerto Rico, Guam, and American Samoa to name a few. The states are represented as stars on the flag. The last state (50) to be added was Hawaii in 1959.

Remembering that the US has 51 or 52 states is a common Mandela Effect, seemingly from people even living in the US, although if the responses are to be believed online, it appears as though this misconception is generally coming from non-US residents. I first heard about about it on the Mandela Effect website.

Many of these people seem to think that Washington, D.C. might be a state (51) rather than a separate district, while others may assume one of the territories is a state such as Puerto Rico. Sometimes both of these are believed, equalling the 52 states.
My Experience

51 seems correct to me. I’m not sure why or where I started to believe this, or even if I did at all. Perhaps the article itself changed my memory based on lack of knowledge. It seems to me that I have a fuzzy memory of 51, but perhaps because of some of the reasons I explain in the possible explanations.
Possible Explanations

The 51st state is a common phrase used in politics that is applied to external territories as well as parts of existing states which would be admitted as separate states. These include the unincorporated territories as well as Washington D.C. There’s even a version of the flag showing a 51st star. If you perform Google searches of things such as “Puerto Rico 51st state” or “Washington D.C. 51st state” you will get tons of news article talking about a potential inclusion of those two examples as the 51st state.

50 appears to be a more strict, rounded number. It almost seems to be too perfect for something so complex as the number of states. Our brains automatically thinks that this nice round number simply cannot be correct, so we go to the next logical step of 51. For example, would you believe there is 200 different countries in the world? Or would it seem more correct if there was 201, or 202, or maybe even 203? As of writing there is actually 196 countries in the world, this was just an example of a possible effect happening.

Alaska and Hawaii, two official states are disconnected from the main American landmass. This factoid may be a source of the confusion in assuming that the disconnected states are the two extra instead of included in the 50.

There is 52 cards in a deck of cards. This fact may have been learned while growing up or studying, perhaps around the same time you learned that there is 50 states. Perhaps these memories are getting reversed or replacing one another.

[sarkasm] 04/8/2019 10:16

LONG BEEN QUIET HERE

HAVE THEY AS YET WORKED OUT A TIMETABLE

[adrian j boris] 12/7/2018 06:26

The 55 States of America: 5 places that could become U.S. States in your lifetime
Keith Veronese
6/08/2012 4:40pmFiled to: Futurism
203.9K
438

Alaska and Hawaii became the last additions to the United States in 1959. Why has the United States failed to add another state in over five decades?

In Watchmen, Vietnam becomes the 51st State, while former Presidential candidate Newt Gingrinch called for the Moon to be the 51st state. What are some realistic candidates for statehood in the 21st Century?

Strategic positioning
Both Alaska and Hawaii played important strategic roles in World War II and the Cold War, all while separated from their nearest state by over two thousand miles.

Strategic territories are less important in wartime, thanks to the proliferation of U.S. military bases on foreign soil, possibly leading to a decrease in named territories and the inclusion of additional states. 12 years into the 21st Century, several areas are poised to become states — what are they, and why would they be added to the current 50 states?

51. Puerto Rico
An easy pick. The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico has had the opportunity to join the United States a number of times, with the United States Federal government welcoming the commonwealth as a state with open arms. The citizens of Puerto Rico are full United States citizens, but the majority do not pay Federal income tax. Puerto Rico does have a representative in the United States Congress, but their representative does not carry a vote.

The citizens of Puerto Rico will vote to pursue statehood on August 12, 2012 — making it possible that the United States could welcome a 51st State in the next year.

52. New York City
A desire to create a state out of New York City is not a new one - novelist Norman Mailer used statehood as a key issue in his bid for election for mayor of New York City in 1969. New York City is the de facto financial capital of the planet and the population of the city dwarfs most states.

The population of New York City surpassed 8 million in 2010, making it the 11-12th largest state if only Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island jointly separated. The New York Metropolitan Area surpasses a population of 20 million (and covering parts of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut), making it the third largest state in the union.

Becoming its own state would give the New York Metropolitan Area a greater say in governing itself, as the state capital of Albany is 150 miles away. Secession from the state would also allow NYC to retain $11 billion in tax revenue it currently sends to Albany.

53. The District of Columbia
Like New York City, Washington, D.C. could be a viable candidate for statehood via secession. Citizens of the United States seat of power pay Federal taxes yet lack full voting representation in the United States Congress, an antiquated agreement stemming from a desire to prevent political players from having a say in national elections.

As the population of Washington, D.C. increases, the push for statehood will continue to grow, if only to give its citizens without political connections a rightful say in Federal government. If the district becomes a state, it will likely adopt a new name, with New Columbia being a popular choice since the early 1980s.

54. Cuba
Less than 100 miles from the coast of Florida, Cuba and the United States enjoy a tenuous relationship at best. Cuba is home to the United States oldest overseas Navy Base, Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, a 45-square-mile parcel held the southern tip of the island since 1903.

The United States is actively seeking a democratic Cuba once Fidel Castro dies, funding the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba to transition the government from a socialist republic when the time comes.

Investors are lining up to buy property in Cuba, likely turning the island into a tourist destination, if not a state, once doors open.

55. The United Kingdom
A flight from New York City to London covers over 3500 miles, but the two nations own a shared history and financial connection. Great Britain is a little larger than the combined states of Alabama and Georgia, but enjoys a massive population (over 60 million) that would instantly make Great Britain the most populous of the United States.


Great Britain is currently a member of the European Union, but has no plans to adopt the Euro, staunchly maintaining the Pound Sterling as its currency.

As the English monarchy becomes little more than a tourism-driven cliché, the identity of Great Britain begins to fade. The strong financial position and large population of Great Britain are quite attractive, making it a prime choice for a United States looking to extend its foothold onto another continent at the end of the 21st Century.

Top image via Norebbo/Shutterstock.com. Additional images courtesy of Frank Franklin II/AP and Roberto Chile/AP.

[grupo guitarlumber] 20/3/2007 18:28

Merck & CO Big business still opposes 51st state


WASHINGTON (AP) - The 108-year-old push to make Puerto Rico the 51st state
is thriving on the Caribbean island. But powerful U.S. business interests
continue to trump local politics, making it less likely than ever, experts say.
More than half of Fortune 100 companies operate there, with billions
invested in factories and trained workers. Eli-Lilly & Co., Abbott Laboratories
and others, including Microsoft Corp. and Coca-Cola Co., don't want to lose
Puerto Rico's tax-free commonwealth status, politicians and academics say.
At a congressional hearing set for Thursday, corporate lobbyists are
expected to remind statehood advocates that the lure of cheap labor and low
taxes available in Singapore, India and elsewhere would intensify if Puerto
Rico's status changed.
"The commonwealth (status) offers so much benefit to the major players
influencing the decision," says Edwin Melendez, a professor of urban policy and
management at the New School in New York who studies Puerto Rico's economy.
Like past hearings, this one is expected to be crowded and boisterous, with
interest groups debating competing proposals that would give the island's nearly
4 million residents another chance to vote on statehood. The desire for
statehood goes back to the U.S. seizure of Puerto Rico from Spain in 1898.
Residents on the island 1,000 miles off Florida's coast gained U.S. citizenship
in 1917, but they can't vote for president and have no voting representation in
Congress.
The island's tax-free status remains a key factor for big business. Congress
recently eliminated a credit allowing companies to avoid taxes on material
produced on the island. Concerns arose that Merck & Co. Inc. and Pfizer Inc.,
among others, might leave, and there was a "little pullback" after the credit
expired, Melendez said.
Puerto Rico Senate President Kenneth McClintock, a statehood advocate, says
the firms won't leave an educated, loyal and skilled work force.
Eduardo Bhatia, who runs the Washington office for Puerto Rico's governor
and whose $1 million annual lobbying budget is triple that of McClintock's,
disagrees. U.S. companies stay because they have reregistered as controlled
foreign corporations and still pay no federal taxes as long as the profits
remain offshore, he says. Numerous companies with Puerto Rican operations
declined comment on the subject or did not return calls.
Advocates argue statehood would increase investment and eliminate the stigma
that the island is a third-world entity.
"U.S. investors see it as something foreign, something Spanish, something
Caribbean," says McClintock.
Puerto Rico is "foreign" for tax purposes only, Bhatia counters. Statehood
is not needed to offer "psychological" reinforcement, he added.
The government's investment attraction team is in Washington this week to
tout the island as the "India for federal contractors," according to an e-mail
from a government-owned corporation that promotes investment in Puerto Rico.
Companies continue to expand there. Last year drug maker Amgen Inc. said it
planned to invest $1 billion over four years in new and existing plants. The
"global supply of our principal products is significantly dependent on the
uninterrupted and efficient operation of these Puerto Rico facilities," Amgen's
annual report said.
Amgen declined to detail Puerto Rican operation profits. Foreign profits
before income taxes in 2006 were about $2.33 billion, more than half the total
pretax profits.
Marjorie Powell, senior assistant general counsel at the Pharmaceutical
Research and Manufacturers of America, says drug companies migrated to Puerto
Rico because of tax incentives and remain because of a work force trained to
comply with complex regulatory standards.
Powell would not specifically address statehood, but said executives do not
decide to close or move plants "on a single factor. Companies don't move
production facilities very quickly or easily," she said.
The island's tax breaks aren't limited to profits. Horacio Aldrete, a
director at Standard & Poor's rating agency, said statehood could eliminate
Puerto Rico's rare "triple tax-exempt" status. Puerto Rican bond income is
exempt from federal, state and local taxes.
On the political front, Puerto Ricans have voted against statehood in three
nonbinding referendums over the past 40 years. In 1998, when the last vote was
held, more than 46 percent of voters favored statehood, while more than 50
percent opted for none of the choices, effectively maintaining the status quo.
On monthly trips to Washington, McClintock lobbies for legislatively
creating a two-step process toward statehood. Rep. Jose Serrano, D-N.Y., and
more than 90 co-sponsors including Democrat House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of
Maryland and Republican Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri, endorse such a bill.
Residents would first choose between changing or remaining a commonwealth. If
change was approved, a separate vote would offer a choice between statehood and
independence.
"Lobbyists, financed by the (political) party in power, as well as
entrenched business interests that historically have tried to avoid the payment
of federal taxes, have always prevented the enactment of federal legislation to
authorize" that approach, McClintock wrote in a March 12 e-mail to the
Associated Press.
Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila supports a different proposal asking Puerto Ricans
chosen for a constitutional convention to define the three options, present them
to Congress and then vote. That bill's sponsor, Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y.,
earlier this month asked her colleagues to co-sponsor her bill and more than 20
agreed.
The White House says Puerto Ricans should decide, although statehood
advocates argue that if approval occurred before President Bush's second term
ends, it could add to his legacy.
At this week's hearing and a second one scheduled for April 25 by the House
Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Melendez says new statehood proposals won't
affect corporate America's aim to keep things as they are.
"Financial incentives for the core investors, the people moving the economy,
it's not clear why they would want a move to the left or right," he says.

[ariane] 27/2/2007 14:46

Centrica Blair defends private equity firms; says they play 'important' role UPDATE


(adds background)
LONDON (AFX) - Private equity firms play an "important function" in the
economy, Prime Minister Tony Blair said in defence of the sector which has come
under growing criticism recently.
Blair was asked if he shared the concerns expressed by Labour backbenchers
and unions that venture capitalists were little more than asset strippers.
"Britain is one of the number one places in the world for private equity and
I think the private equity market brings a lot of benefits to our economy," he
said at his monthly press conference.
"Now it is important that everyone behaves responsibly but you have just got
to be very careful of these issues otherwise you end up in circumstances where
concerns about maybe a minority of specific issues in specific circumstances end
up tarring a whole sector and I don't think that would be fair at all."
"Some of those who are private equity people or venture capitalists perform
an important function in our economy, so we need to be careful," he added.
The revolt against private equity firms has gathered pace in the past two
weeks, notably led by the GMB union.
It wrote to 100 Labour MPs, calling on them to "rein in" the activities of
"asset stripping" venture capitalists eyeing firms such as J Sainsbury PLC.
The GMB also wants Chancellor Gordon Brown to end the tax relief for
interest payments on loans used by venture capitalists to buy companies like the
Automobile Association, Birds Eye and potentially Sainsbury's.
GMB general secretary Paul Kenny said companies such as CVC and Permira,
which bought the AA from Centrica PLC in September 2004 for 1.75 bln stg, have
saddled the company with 1.9 bln in debts since acquisition.
Further embarrassment was heaped on Labour this week when the figures
released by the Electoral Commission showed the party received 750,000 stg from
private equity firms and executives connected with the sector.
Nigel Doughty, chairman and founder of Doughty Hanson & Co gave 250,000 stg.
He has given 755,000 stg since February 2005.
Ronald Cohen, who founded of Apax Partners also gave 250,000 stg. His total
donations since June 2001 are now 1.55 mln stg.
Man Group PLC board member Jon Aisbitt gave 250,000 stg for a total of
500,000 stg since April 2005.
[e-mail]
fp/rar/fp/rar

[ariane] 27/2/2007 13:22

UK's Blair says Iran's defiance 'big miscalculation'


LONDON (AFX) - British prime minister Tony Blair said today Iran's refusal
to give up its nuclear ambitions in the face of UN opposition marks "a big
miscalculation", making the remark at his monthly press conference.
His comments came as diplomats from six key world powers pledged Monday to
work on a new UN Security Council resolution over Iran's refusal to suspend
uranium enrichment work.
[e-mail]
ss/jag

[ariane] 16/2/2006 06:24

American engineers in line for jobs until 2080 on Britain's nuclear clean-upGovernment prepares first tender for this year

Terry Macalister
Thursday February 16, 2006
Guardian

A small group of American companies such as Bechtel and Fluor look set to grab the lion's share of a £50bn British nuclear clean-up programme which should get the green light within weeks but take decades to complete.The government will start this latest privatisation by approving a draft strategy for dealing with the legacy of the atomic power industry, submitted by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. It is also expected to give the go-ahead for the controversial sell-off of state-owned British Nuclear Group (BNG), the operating arm of British Nuclear Fuels, which manages the huge Sellafield fuel reprocessing plant in Cumbria.

It comes as the operation of Sellafield has been criticised for the way it accounts for nuclear materials. Yesterday BNG was warned by the European commission that that it was failing to meet EU standards and told to step up its controls.

The first tender in the privatisation process however will probably involve management of the low-level waste site at Drigg, near Sellafield, and is likely to go out this year. This summer the energy minister, Malcolm Wicks, will receive an expert report and make his own recommendation to Tony Blair on how to bury nuclear waste, an issue that his predecessors have, in his words, "disgracefully" neglected.

The issue has become of burning importance in Whitehall because the authorities are in the middle of an energy review which, among other things, must consider whether a new generation of atomic plants should be built.

The government accepts that a sceptical public would not even consider this relatively carbon-neutral alternative until it felt confident that serious steps were being made to tackle the legacy of the past. But so far, decommissioning has been slow at parts of Sellafield and seven of the 11 Magnox reactor sites, such as Hunterston A, Hinkley Point A and Bradwell, which have already ceased operation.

American companies have already started positioning themselves for the privatisation of the British clean-up. Some of the jargon in the decommissioning agency's draft strategy reveals who helped write it - Bechtel, which acts as a consultant to the agency. Equally, Fluor is already helping BNG with decommissioning at Sellafield and has 21 staff in Britain to help.

Other US companies are jockeying for position: · CH2Hill has teamed up with the state-owned UK Atomic Energy Authority in a consortium that is expected to bid for decommissioning work.

· EnergySolutions, a company controlled by New York venture capitalists, has just bought BNG's American arm for around $80m (£46m) and says it will be competing for British work.

· Bechtel, which controls part of London Underground, Jacobs, and other US engineering firms are considered by industry experts to be the most likely to purchase BNG, probably through a consortium.

BNFL, meanwhile, has just sold Westinghouse, its US-based nuclear engineering and design business, to Toshiba for $5.4bn (£3.1bn) leaving it with BNG, research arm Nexia and a one-third stake in the uranium enrichment company, Urenco.

No one inside or outside the companies and agencies of the British nuclear business wants to be quoted publicly, but there is a consensus that large foreign engineering firms are almost certain to be the winners.

"You only have to look around and see who is really interested and has the experience in the nuclear waste problems. There is the odd French or Japanese firm, but basically it is the large US firms," said one industry expert.

The American companies are likely to try to beef up their Britishness by bringing in domestic firms or organisations. The Atomic Energy Authority will be in demand, as will Amec, one of the few British firms of any size to commit itself to nuclear.

Lawrie Haynes, the chief executive of BNG, is an enthusiastic champion of a sell-off involving his company. "There are many reasons for placing BNG inside the ownership of a major business. We need a partner with project management skills and bidding skills who can bring in new people and allow our existing staff to widen their career opportunities," he says.

However he is clear that BNG needs an owner committed to safety and engineering rather than a financial buyer looking for a quick return on capital. "I want a trade buyer. I want someone who can help with the performance of a complex site such as Sellafield, not someone who is worried every minute about the share price," he says.

Sellafield is one of the biggest nuclear sites in Europe, employing more than 10,000 people, and is far more complex than other sites which tend to house single power plants. Such is its complexity there is talk of decommissioning work being broken up into separate contracts.

The site is home to Calder Hall, the first British civil nuclear station, and an array of other operations including Thorp, the spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plant, and SMP, which was built to produce Mixed Oxide Fuel for overseas customers using plutonium and uranium. Formerly known as Windscale, it is the site where plutonium was produced for nuclear weapons.

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority believes the Sellafield clean-up will take at least 75 years. Legacy issues there include the continuing clean-up resulting from the 1957 shutdown as a result of a fire, and dealing with a number of "ponds" where waste was dumped fairly indiscriminately.

The scale of the problems at the 770-acre site near Whitehaven is spelled out in the decommissioning authority's draft strategy. "At Sellafield, it has been estimated that there may be as much as 20 million cubic metres of contaminated land, some of which is deep underground, resulting largely from leakages from legacy sites," it says.

At the B30 storage pond, the European commission has complained that it has not been possible to carry out checks to ensure that fissile materials intended for the civil nuclear programme have not been diverted to the military. The government denies this but the decommissioning authority admits: "Delays in spent fuel retrieval have resulted in the long-term underwater storage of the spent fuel in B30, which has resulted in serious degradation of the fuel."

Dave Skilbeck, who is in charge of the B41 solid waste storage "silo" at Sellafield, admits that there is only a partial inventory of what was thrown into the facility he is decommissioning.

Some of the problems, according to BNG managers, stem from when the plant was asked to work flat out during the miners' strike of 1984-5 to keep the lights on. Waste problems were rather pushed to one side.

Standing in the howling wind at the top of the reinforced concrete tower with only the odd seagull as company, he says: "There was no thought of how you dealt with this later."

In numbers:

Estimated cost of the entire nuclear clean-up programme: £50bn

Estimated cubic metres of contaminated land around Sellafield: 20m

Minimum number of years nuclear clean-up is expected to take: 75

Number of employees at the Sellafield nuclear plant: 10,000

FAQ

What is nuclear decommissioning and clean-up?

It is dismantling nuclear power stations and other plants at the end of their working life. They must be taken down step by step and the site left, in theory, as it was originally.

What about the waste?

This is being looked at separately. But a decision will be made - hopefully this year - on how to bury or dispose of in other ways all the nuclear waste produced in this country so far.

Who controls decommissioning?

The state National Decommissioning Authority (NDA), under Sir Anthony Cleaver, was established in April with a £2bn-a-year budget for waste.

How long will all this take?

Within 25 years the NDA hopes to have all 11 Magnox power stations cleared and available for alternative use. It intends to do likewise at research facilities at Harwell, Oxfordshire; at the Winfrith experimental reactor site in Dorset and the uranium enrichment plant at Capenhurst, near Chester. It could take 75 years to fully decommission the most complex site, Sellafield.

Why are foreign companies poised to win contracts?

Decommissioning is thought likely to be achieved more quickly and more efficiently by the private sector. Much of the financial muscle and expertise is based in the United States.

Is it sensible to sell British Nuclear Group, our own nuclear operator and decommissioning expert?

The government thinks it is but critics question why the bulk of the British nuclear industry is being dismantled and sold at a time when we might be going ahead with a new generation of atomic power stations.

[maywillow] 18/12/2005 07:46

At last, Britain will pay off its war debt
By Robert Watts (Filed: 18/12/2005)


The Treasury will next year make the final repayment of a multi-billion dollar loan it received from the US in the aftermath of the Second World War.



As soon as the war finished in August 1945 the US government abruptly cancelled Lend-Lease, the financial lifeline that had allowed Britain to buy oil, military hardware, food and other goods essential to the war effort on credit.

This, according to the economist and government adviser Lord Keynes, left Britain facing a "financial Dunkirk". Keynes warned that unless Britain could secure a loan from the US of $5bn, it would be unable to maintain its empire.

Keynes said that Britain would have no choice but to "make a sudden and humiliating withdrawal from our onerous responsibilities with great loss of prestige".

Keynes led a delegation to Washington in the autumn of 1945, where Britain secured a loan of $4.3bn. This sum was worth £1.1bn at the time, but is equivalent to £70bn in today's prices. The final $83m (£46.9m) instalment of the loan will be repaid on December 31, 2006.

[waldron] 30/5/2005 18:43

Puerto Rico

Background:

Populated for centuries by aboriginal peoples, the island was claimed by the Spanish Crown in 1493 following Columbus' second voyage to the Americas. In 1898, after 400 years of colonial rule that saw the indigenous population nearly exterminated and African slave labor introduced, Puerto Rico was ceded to the US as a result of the Spanish-American War. Puerto Ricans were granted US citizenship in 1917. Popularly-elected governors have served since 1948. In 1952, a constitution was enacted providing for internal self government. In plebiscites held in 1967, 1993, and 1998, voters chose to retain commonwealth status.

[waldron] 30/5/2005 18:27

A birthday wish come true?

The Institute of Chartered Accountants is celebrating its 125th birthday today with an attempt to be visionary. It asked 200 students what the world and accountants would be up to 25 years from now. Winner Gavin Kan, who works for Deloitte, imagines the UK will be the 51st US state, and accountants will be highly paid tax advisers. Some might say we're already there and they already are.

[waldron] 30/5/2005 17:56

US to cash in on QinetiQ float

ROB GRIFFIN


CARLYLE Group, the huge US private equity company whose advisers include former prime minister John Major, is set to more than double the value of its initial investment in Britain's defence research firm QinetiQ after only two years, when the Ministry of Defence announces its flotation.

The venture capital outfit paid around £150 million for a 31 per cent stake in the former MoD research agency in a deal which attracted controversy, with MPs questioning whether the price was too cheap.

But industry observers expect the company will be valued at around the £1 billion mark when it is floated on the stock market - possibly as early as the end of 2005 - which would make Carlyle's share worth in the region of £310m.

Weekend reports claimed that John Reid, the Defence Secretary, is currently studying a paper drafted for him which suggests that a stock market sale could take place as early as the end of this year or the beginning of 2006.

"Financial advisers haven't been appointed so a flotation is likely to be a way away still," said a source close to QinetiQ. "It was claimed when the deal was struck back in 2003 that the business would be floated by around 2006 so it's still early days yet."

Although no decision has been taken on which bankers will be represented, observers suggest that Morgan Stanley, the US investment bank, could be in pole position after carrying out a feasibility study for the company and its shareholders last year.

QinetiQ evolved from the government's Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) which carried out testing, research and development, including the invention of liquid crystal displays, the technology for flat panel speakers and microwave radar. In the late 1980s, the MoD undertook a review which recommended a public private partnership arrangement as the best way to maximise the UK's defence research capabilities. The subsequent process saw Carlyle in place.

The MoD is still the majority shareholder with a 56 per cent stake, while around 13 per cent of the business is owned by employees who would be in line for a bumper windfall on flotation. Last year it made an operating profit of £56.7m on a £795.4m turnover.

Spokesmen for both the Carlyle Group and QinetiQ declined to comment when approached yesterday.

A spokesman for the MOD said: "It has always been the plan to float QinetiQ. We will look at what the precise timings will be, but no decisions have yet been made."

CARLYLE PLAYERS

THE Carlyle Group is one of the giants of the private equity business with a whopping $24.8 billion (£13.6bn) under management and a presence in 14 countries spread across the world.

It is particularly well known for the number of high-profile names who have served in some capacity over the years.

They include former US president George Bush, ex- US defence secretary Frank C. Carlucci and former British prime minister John Major.

[maywillow] 26/12/2004 15:33

Transatlantic row over China arms embargo
3.18PM, Fri Dec 24 2004


The US has threatened to withhold military technology crucial to the UK's defence if the European Union lifts the arms embargo on China.

The EU said it intends to lift the ban on arms sales to China which has been in place since the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

But the US has warned that EU countries could expect a "very powerful reaction" if the arms embargo is lifted.

And Britain would be hardest hit out of all the EU countries due to its reliance on US military technology for security.

Economically, our own defence industry would also be hit. BAE Systems and Rolls Royce - both British - are the biggest foreign suppliers to the Pentagon.

"They are talking about helping the Chinese kill Americans more effectively," said one official from the Pentagon.

[ariane] 29/5/2003 17:57

51st : Liverpool

[waldron] 29/5/2003 12:33

Clue:

We know Hawaii!

Wherever you are in Hawaii, "The Aloha State", Vogon International knows your area.

State flag
Adopted in 1894. Hawaii's state flag resembles the Union Jack of Great Britain because many of King Kamehameha's advisors were British and the islands were once placed under England's protection. The flag consists of eight horizontal stripes of white, red and blue, representing the eight major islands, and the British Union Jack. It has served as the flag of the kingdom, republic, territory, and the state of Hawaii.


State bird State Tree State flower
Nene Kukui Tree Hibiscus

The origin of the name Hawaii is uncertain. The islands may have been named by Hawaii Loa, their traditional discoverer. Or they may have been named after Hawaii or Hawaiki, the traditional home of the Polynesians. Hawaii joined the union on Aug. 21, 1959 (the 50th state to do so). Today, the State Capital is Honolulu.

Did you know...?
Hawaii has the only royal palace in the U.S. (Iolani).



Brown calls for stronger ties with US
Patrick Hennessy, Evening Standard
29 May 2003
GORDON Brown called for stronger trade links with America today as he revealed to the rest of the Cabinet his sceptical verdict on membership of the euro.





The Treasury began sending out the Chancellor's 200-page assessment of the currency to individual ministers by special courier.


It contained the worst-kept secret in Whitehall - the Treasury's finding that Britain's economy is not enough in step with the eurozone for membership to be recommended.


According to leaks, four out of the five key economic tests set by Chancellor, which must be passed before a referendum is called, have been failed.


Although the Chancellor has ruled out membership for the time being, he now faces pressure from colleagues to agree to a 'road map' of measures to ensure the tests are passed as soon as possible.


To this end, Brown today backed Tony Blair's call for the European Union to strengthen its trade links with the US - rather than exist in isolation and foster mistrust with America.


The unspoken message was that this is a way that the eurozone countries could reform their economies to bring them more into line with Britain's.


The Chancellor endorsed academic studies which claimed a 'liberalisation' of trade between the EU and the US could benefit Europe by around £70bn a year. He said: 'The more Europe and America work closely together, the better it is for Britain, Europe and the world.'