For-profit colleges are the ultimate special interest. Many receive around 90 percent of their revenue from federal financial aid, more than $30 billion a year, and many charge students sky-high prices. In recent years, it has been fully documented that a large number of these schools have high dropouts rates and dismal job placement, and many have been caught engaging in highly coercive and deceptive recruiting practices. Yet when the bad actions of these predatory schools got publicly exposed, the schools simply used the enormous resources they've amassed to hire expensive lobbyists and consultants, and to make campaign contributions to politicians, in order to avoid accountability and keep taxpayer dollars pouring into their coffers.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
UK: UK's wealthiest defy recession
Sunday Times Rich List suggests
Mr Mittal retains top spot despite his company's share price crashing this year The UK's richest people have defied the double-dip recession to become even richer over the past year, according to the annual Sunday Times Rich List.
The newspaper's research found the combined worth of the country's 1,000 wealthiest people is £414bn, up 4.7%.It means their joint wealth has passed the level last seen in 2008, before the financial crash, to set a new record.
Top spot for the eighth straight year is held by Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, 61, with £12.7bn.
There are now 77 billionaires on the list, with individuals needing to have at least £72m to make the top 1,000.
The richest billionaire of all, Mr Mittal, retains his position despite seeing 27% of his family fortune wiped out in the last 12 months because of a drop in the share price of their steel producing business.
The Mittal family have held the number one spot in the list since 2005.
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Britain's richest top 10
- Lakshmi Mittal and family - £12.7bn.
- Alisher Usmanov - £12.3bn.
- Roman Abramovich - £9.5bn.
- Sri and Gopi Hinduja - £8.6bn.
- Leonard Blavatnik - £7.58bn.
- Ernesto and Kirsty Bertarelli - £7.4bn.
- The Duke of Westminster - £7.35bn.
- David and Simon Reuben - £7.08bn.
- John Fredriksen and family - £6.6bn.
- Galen and George Weston and family - £5.9bn.
Another person who has made money from the metal industry, Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov, is second with £12.3bn, while Chelsea owner and oil baron Roman Abramovich is third with £9.5bn, despite being £800m down on last year.
The richest woman is former Miss UK Kirsty Bertarelli, who shares a £7.4bn fortune with her husband Ernesto, while the Duke of Westminster's property portfolio makes him worth £7.3bn.Several leading British entrepreneurs, who are further down the list, have seen their wealth increase this year.
Diamond retailer Laurence Graff's wealth has risen to £3,300m while Sir Anthony Bamford, owner of the JCB earth-moving machinery firm, has seen his fortune go up to £3,150m.
Sir Paul McCartney's wedding to heiress Nancy Shevell boosts his position in the list Some of Britain's best-known performers and artists have also seen their fortunes improve.
Sir Paul McCartney's recent marriage to his third wife Nancy Shevell, who is the daughter of an American trucking magnate, sees him become the third wealthiest man in British music, as their combined wealth is now rated at £665m.
The two people surpassing him are music executive Clive Calder, who is worth £1,350m, and theatre owner and producer Sir Cameron Mackintosh, whose fortune has gone up to £725m.
Harry Potter creator JK Rowling's worth has risen by £30m in the last year to £560m, putting her 148th on the list, and a new addition to the list is London-based founder of the Spotify music website Daniel Ek, ranked 395th with a fortune of £190m - the same amount as David and Victoria Beckham.
China: Chen Guangcheng's escape sparks round-up
Hu Jia (R) met Chen Guangcheng (L) after his escape, and was later detained Chinese authorities have begun to round up relatives and associates of blind activist Chen Guangcheng, who fled from house arrest last week, reports say.
Several people involved in Mr Chen's escape have been detained or have disappeared in recent days, and fellow activist Hu Jia is being questioned.Mr Chen is believed to be sheltering at the US embassy in Beijing.
The US and international rights groups have frequently expressed alarm at the treatment of Mr Chen and his family.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who has demanded his release in the past, is due in China this week for a previously arranged meeting which is now likely to be overshadowed by Mr Chen's case.
The US government has not so far commented publicly on the whereabouts of Mr Chen.
Analysts say the issue will be highly sensitive for both sides, and will not be easy to resolve.
If Mr Chen is in the embassy, his case will raise memories of an incident in 1989 when another prominent activist, Fang Lizhi, fled to the US mission in Beijing.
He remained there for more than a year while the two sides attempted to broker a deal.
'Shameful saga' Mr Chen was placed under house arrest in 2010 after spending more than four years in jail for disrupting traffic and damaging property.
He had exposed how local authorities in Linyi, Shandong province, forced thousands of women to have abortions or be sterilised as part of China's one-child policy.
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SEEKING US REFUGE
- In 1989 dissident scientist Fang Lizhi fled to US embassy in Beijing after supporting the Tiananmen protesters
- He remained in embassy for 13 months while US and China argued over his fate
- Beijing eventually allowed him to leave to seek medical treatment abroad
- Spent the rest of his life in exile in US, dying in April 2012
His colleagues said last Sunday's escape had taken months to plan, and was carried out with the help of a network of friends and activists.
He scaled the wall that the authorities had built around his house, and was driven hundreds of miles to Beijing, where activists say he stayed in safe-houses before fleeing to the embassy.His wife and six-year-old daughter remain under house arrest, but several of his family members have been detained and others are being sought by the authorities.
One of Mr Chen's friends, He Peirong - who wrote on her microblog that she had driven him to Beijing - is believed to have been detained in the city of Nanjing.
"I was actually talking to her and the last words she said were 'the PSB [Public Security Bureau] has arrived,'" said Bob Fu, of the US-based ChinaAid pressure group.
Her microblog was later deleted, and all searches on popular microblogging sites for Mr Chen's name and other related terms were being blocked by the censors.
On Saturday, the authorities detained Hu Jia, who had earlier told the BBC how he had met Mr Chen since his escape.
Mr Hu's wife, Zeng Jinyan, said late on Saturday that her husband's detention had been extended for a further 24 hours.
Chen Guangcheng directly addresses Premier Wen Jiabao in a video released after his escape
The fate of other associates of Mr Chen also remains unclear, with reports claiming several have disappeared.
The treatment of Mr Chen and his family by local authorities has long been controversial.
Amnesty International regards him as a "prisoner of conscience" and has called on the authorities to end the "shameful saga" of his detention.
UK: London 2012: Missiles may be placed at residential flats
Resident Brian Wheelan: "It creates a lot of fear. It's a massive inconvenience"
The Ministry of Defence is considering placing surface-to-air missiles on residential flats during the Olympics.
An east London estate, where 700 people live, has received leaflets saying a "Higher Velocity Missile system" could be placed on a water tower.A spokesman said the MoD had not yet decided whether to deploy ground based air defence systems during the event.
But estate resident Brian Whelan said firing the missiles "would shower debris across the east end of London".
The journalist said: "At first I thought it was a hoax. I can't see what purpose high-velocity missiles could serve over a crowded area like Tower Hamlets.
"They say they'll only use them as a last resort, but... you'd shower debris across the east end of London by firing these missiles."
Test run
Mr Whelan, who claims to have seen soldiers carrying a crate into the building, said his property management company put up posters and gave out the leaflets on Saturday.
He continued: "They are going to have a test run next week, putting high velocity missiles on the roof just above our apartment and on the back of it they're stationing police and military in the tower of the building for two months.
"It [the leaflet] says there will be 10 officers plus police present 24/7."
This part of the leaflet assures residents that their residence will not become a terrorist target Saturday, April 28, 2012
Israel : A Stroll Through Tel Aviv
By Maira Kalman — Bauhaus, bookstores, opinionated people, and strong coffee: On Israel Independence Day, a Tel Aviv-born artist captures the scenes of her native city
Israel : A Stroll Through Tel Aviv
Bauhaus, bookstores, opinionated people, and strong coffee: On Israel Independence Day, a Tel Aviv-born artist captures the scenes of her native city
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