Political News or Comments

• The History and Antiquities of the Worshipful Company of Skinners

Lada wrote: curse be on you for putting down the teenager in the vid I posted,
and may all of the education your received be your downfall.

Benn was a pupil at Westminster School and later studied at New College, Oxford where he read Philosophy, Politics and Economics and was elected President of the Oxford Union. In later life, Benn attempted to remove public references to his private education from Who's Who; in the 1975 edition his entry stated "Education—still in progress". In the 1976 edition, almost all details of his biography were omitted save for his name, jobs as a Member of Parliament and as a Government Minister, and address; the publishers confirmed that Benn had sent back his draft entry with everything else struck through.[11] In the 1977 edition, Benn's entry disappeared entirely

I'll give him ten years and then check in to see what he's up to?

Now in the uk, the elite grip on the main arteries of human expression in the 2 leading areas of potency , that being politics and journalism , is astounding .
The current cabinet ministers of the current coalition government are all millionaires and the majority of them were educated in oxford
40 of the top 100 journalists in the uk are all educated in oxford
God knows how many of these mothers are in the BBC, but currently a scotsman is studying that for a tv program to come

That's Oxford in nutshell, fuck 'em.
Those two leading areas would be controlled by the Worshipful
Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers and the Worshipful
Company of Technologists.

The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an English order of chivalry. It is the world's oldest national order of knighthood in continuous existence and the pinnacle of the British honours system. Its membership is extremely limited, consisting of the Sovereign, the Prince of Wales—both being members ex officio and gaining membership upon acceding to one of the titles—and not more than twenty-four full members, or Companions. Male members are known as Knights Companion, whilst female members are known as Ladies Companion. The Order can also include certain extra members (members of the British Royal Family and foreign monarchs), known as Supernumerary Knights and Ladies. The Sovereign alone grants membership to the Order.

King George VI believed that the Order of the Garter and the Order of the Thistle had become too linked with political patronage. In 1946, with the agreement of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, membership in these two orders became a personal gift of the Sovereign. Thus, the Sovereign personally selects Knights and Ladies Companion of the Garter, and need not act on the advice of Government.[16]

In addition, the Order includes supernumerary members, who do not count towards the limit of 24 companions. Several supernumerary members, known as "Royal Knights and Ladies of the Garter", belong to the royal family. These titles were introduced in 1786 by King George III so that his many sons would not count towards the limit on the number of companions. He created the statute of supernumerary members in 1805 so that any descendant of King George II could be installed as such a member. In 1831, this statute was extended again to include all descendants of King George I.[7]

With the installation of Emperor Alexander I of Russia in 1813, supernumerary membership was extended to foreign monarchs, who are known as "Stranger Knights and Ladies of the Garter".[8] Each such installation originally required the enactment of a statute; however, a 1954 statute authorises the regular admission of Stranger Knights or Ladies without further special enactments.[8] In lesser orders of chivalry, such foreign members would be regarded as having received honorary knighthoods.

Traditionally, reigning European monarchs are admitted to the Order. They are appointed as Strangers notwithstanding that many would be eligible for admission as Royal Knights and Ladies, as descendants of George I. Constantine II of Greece, neither in his short reign or since he was deposed in 1973, has succeeded his father Paul of Greece as a member of the Order. Similarly, Albert II of Belgium, although acceding to the throne in 1993, is the only Belgian monarch to date not to have been admitted to the Order. For a time, both Juliana, Queen of the Netherlands and her succesor, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands were concurrently members of the Order as Stranger Ladies of the Garter.

The first non-Christian ruler to be admitted to the Order was Abdülmecid I, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, in 1856 as a Stranger Knight.

The first, and to date only, member of the Order from South America, was Emperor Pedro II of Brazil, created a Stranger Knight in 1871. He was a member of the House of Braganza which also ruled in Portugal.

The first member of the Order admitted from Asia was Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, created a Stranger Knight in 1873. His immediate successor was also admitted to the Order in 1903, to be followed by the Meiji Emperor of Japan in 1906.

Currently, Akihito is the only non-European monarch and likely the only non-Christian who is a member of the Order. He is the fourth (consecutive) Emperor of Japan to be a Stranger Knight.

The first, and to date only, member of the Order from Africa was Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia, created a Stranger Knight in 1954.

The first knight from Australasia or Oceania was Richard Gardiner Casey, Baron Casey, an Australian politician, diplomat and the 16th Governor-General of Australia, created a Knight Companion in 1969. Subsequently, two more Australians, Sir Paul Hasluck and Sir Ninian Stephen were appointed. Three New Zealanders have been appointed; Charles Elworthy, Baron Elworthy, Sir Keith Holyoake and Sir Edmund Hillary. Sir Edmund's appointment was unusual for a Knight Companion from a Commonwealth Realm in that it did not result from political or military service.

There have been no appointments to date from North America.

The Sovereign may "degrade" members who have committed serious crimes, such as treason or who have taken up arms against her.

During the First World War, two Royal Knights and six Stranger Knights, all monarchs or princes of enemy nations and including Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany and Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, were struck off the roll of the Order or had their appointments annulled in 1915.[8]

The banner of Emperor Hirohito of Japan was removed from St. George's chapel when Japan entered World War II in 1941, but that banner and the Japanese monarch's knighthood were restored by Elizabeth II in 1971, at which time he made a State visit to the United Kingdom. The Emperor was particularly pleased by the restoration of his banner as a Knight of the Garter,[17] Perhaps curiously, Victor Emmanuel III of Italy remained a Stranger Knight after Italy entered World War II against the United Kingdom and her Allies, until his death in exile in 1947.

From the late 15th century, there was a formal ceremony of degradation, in which Garter King of Arms, accompanied by the rest of the heralds, proceeded to St George's Chapel. While Garter read the Instrument of Degradation, a herald climbed up a ladder and removed the former knight's banner, crest, helm and sword, throwing them down into the quire. The heralds then kicked them down the length of the chapel, out of the doors, and into the castle ditch. The last such formal degradation was that of the Duke of Ormonde in 1716.[18]

Descendants of Knights of the Garter may join The Society of the Friends of St George's and Descendants of the Knights of the Garter.

• On 28 June 2007, the day after Gordon Brown became Prime Minister, Miliband was appointed Foreign Secretary [a post which puts him in charge of funding the BBC World Service].

Kapis and Quicksilver, curse be on you for putting down the teenager in the vid I posted,
and may all of the education your received be your downfall.

VATICAN CITY – This is no ordinary bank: The ATMs are in Latin. Priests use a private entrance. A life-size portrait of Pope Benedict XVI hangs on the wall.
Nevertheless, the Institute for Religious Works is a bank, and it's under harsh new scrutiny in a case involving money-laundering allegations that led police to seize euro23 million ($30 million) in Vatican assets in September. Critics say the case shows that the "Vatican Bank" has never shed its penchant for secrecy and scandal.
The Vatican calls the seizure of assets a "misunderstanding" and expresses optimism it will be quickly cleared up. But court documents show that prosecutors say the Vatican Bank deliberately flouted anti-laundering laws "with the aim of hiding the ownership, destination and origin of the capital." The documents also reveal investigators' suspicions that clergy may have acted as fronts for corrupt businessmen and Mafia.
The documents pinpoint two transactions that have not been reported: one in 2009 involving the use of a false name, and another in 2010 in which the Vatican Bank withdrew euro650,000 ($860,000) from an Italian bank account but ignored bank requests to disclose where the money was headed.
The new allegations of financial impropriety could not come at a worse time for the Vatican, already hit by revelations that it sheltered pedophile priests. The corruption probe has given new hope to Holocaust survivors who tried unsuccessfully to sue in the United States, alleging that Nazi loot was stored in the Vatican Bank.
Yet the scandal is hardly the first for the centuries-old bank. In 1986, a Vatican financial adviser died after drinking cyanide-laced coffee in prison. Another was found dangling from a rope under London's Blackfriars Bridge in 1982, his pockets stuffed with money and stones. The incidents blackened the bank's reputation, raised suspicions of ties with the Mafia, and cost the Vatican hundreds of millions of dollars in legal clashes with Italian authorities.
On Sept. 21, financial police seized assets from a Vatican Bank account at the Rome branch of Credito Artigiano SpA. Investigators said the Vatican had failed to furnish information on the origin or destination of the funds as required by Italian law.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – The Vatican may be the world's smallest state but even its diplomatic soul has been laid bare by WikiLeaks cables covering everything from sex abuse and media blunders to old "technophobic" cardinals.
Cables sent from the U.S. embassy to the Vatican to the State Department depict Pope Benedict as sometimes isolated as aides try to protect him from bad news, and say his number two is seen as a "yes man" with little credibility among diplomats.
The cables were published by the Guardian newspaper, one of several news organizations with have been given access to the leaked cables from U.S. embassies around the world.
A long cable in February 2009, though couched in diplomatic language, reads like a scathing criticism of the Vatican's internal and external communications structures, which are held responsible for some of Pope Benedict's biggest public mishaps.
"The Holy See's communications operation is suffering from 'muddled messaging' partly as a result of cardinals' technophobia and ignorance about 21st century communications. Only one senior papal advisor has a Blackberry and few have e-mail accounts. It has led to PR blunders on issues as sensitive as the Holocaust," a U.S. diplomat writes.
The cable calls the pope's inner circle of advisers old "Italo-centric" men uncomfortable with information technology and the "rough and tumble of media communications."
The pope's right-hand man, Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, is depicted as a "yes man" with no diplomatic experience or linguistic skills and the cable suggests that the pope is protected from bad news.

• Looks like someone wants to take that bank over as well.
  

The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. Originally, apothecaries, or pharmacists, were members of the Grocers' Company (1345) and before this the Guild of Pepperers formed in London in 1180

As livery companies are founded by royal charter, they are under no obligation to file any records at Companies House. They are only accountable to their membership and the ways in which they spend their millions is totally discretionary. The power of the Financial Services Authority, the City watchdog, does not extend to candle-lit Company dining halls.

It makes startling reading. The accounts show that at the end of December 2005, the company had £454.6m of assets under management, a rise of £42m on the year before. Out of that total, £315.6m was in property and other fixed assets, including an extensive residential portfolio in Covent Garden and the Royal Exchange complex, the grandest shopping arcade in the City.
The Mercers also had £78.5m in quoted assets, up from £66.5m in the previous year. If the Company were a quoted investment trust, it would rank as one of the largest in the UK.
The clerk at one of the oldest Companies, who asked to remain anonymous, says: "It is fair to say that people were fairly staggered by the scale of Mercers's assets when they were published."
Although no figures exist, it is estimated that total assets held by the 107 Worshipful Companies could total £2bn. Those involved with livery companies believe that the Cloth Workers, Grocers, Drapers, Fishmongers, Goldsmiths and Leather-sellers are the richest, although no one knows which has the most assets.
And Companies are full of distinguished names from the City. Lord George of St Tudy, the former governor of the Bank of England, and Sir Brian Pitman, the former chairman of Lloyds TSB, are both court members at the Worshipful Company of International Bankers.
The Mercers was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1394. A mercer by definition was a trader in fine fabrics, although the last time a mercer was admitted as an apprentice to the company was 1888

Livery Companies are governed by a Master (known in some companies as the Prime Warden or Bailiff), a number of Wardens (who may be known as the Upper, Middle, Lower, or Renter wardens), and a Court of Assistants, which elects the Master and Wardens. The chief operating officer of the company is known as the Clerk.

• These may be the hidden string pullers

• Livery Companies are governed by a Master (known in some companies as the Prime Warden or Bailiff), a number of Wardens (who may be known as the Upper, Middle, Lower, or Renter wardens), and a Court of Assistants, which elects the Master and Wardens. The chief operating officer of the company is known as the Clerk.

• The Lord Lieutenant of Greater London, former Lord Mayor, Alderman Sir David Brewer CMG, who sponsored the company and is one of its Honorary Liveryman, said “I am proud to be a member of Merchant Taylors’, one of the oldest Livery Companies; and now the youngest – the Security Professionals.

• 
  The Worshipful Company of Security Professionals

The Worshipful Company of Security Professionals (WCoSP) is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The company is a charitable organization [think Purloined Letter when you read this pablum] providing education and health services to members of the security professional community. Formed in 1999 [right before 9/11 too] when the, now Past Masters, Steve Neville and John Purnell QPM DL registered The Guild of Security Professionals with the City of London Chamberlain's Office as The Guild of Security Professionals. On 18 November 1999 Twelve Principal Founder members met to plan the creation of a working Guild.

• Business big shot: Sir David Brewer
  Christine Seib
  
  Sir David Brewer, the former Lord Mayor of London, has been appointed the nonexecutive vice-chairman of Marsh, Britain’s biggest insurance broker, [do I have to remind people that Marsh McLennan was destroyed on 9/11 which was one of the world's biggest insurance/reinsurance and risk management firms in the world; control went back to he City of London; mind blowing], The Times has learnt. Marsh, the British arm of Marsh & McLennan, the world’s largest insurance broker, will announce the appointment to the newly created role on Monday.
  
  Sir David worked previously as a consultant to Marsh, advising on Asia, having long experience of insurance broking in China, Japan and India.
  
  His is the highest-profile appointment by Marsh since it changed its chief executive last May, when Alex Moczarski replaced Bruce Carnegie-Brown. Sir Peter Middleton, the former Permanent Secretary and chairman of Barclays, the bank, was appointed its nonexecutive chairman in July 2005.
  
  Marsh’s parent group has spent the past two years recovering from the bid-rigging scandal that cost it $850 million (£430 million) in a settlement with Eliot Spitzer, [that's why Eliot Spitzer was taken down; he threatened the City of London; he is lucky to even be alive today] then New York’s attorney-general. However, the British business emerged relatively unscathed.

• "Insurance and reinsurance is the DNA of capitalism." DK Matai, D2 Banking, Canary Wharf, London

• The Merchant Taylors' Company founded the school in 1561 and the Merchant Taylors' Educational Trust continues to be responsible to the Court of the Merchant Taylors Company for ensuring the due governance of Merchant Taylors' School. [many schools in Britain are tied very closely to these Livery Companies; an incredibly incestuous relation] The Governing Body consists of: representatives of the Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors' of the Fraternity of St John Baptist in the City of London; OMTs; the Head Master; the Bursar; and figures from the world of education and local community. A representative of the teaching faculty also attends meetings. Close links between the Company and the School have helped the school prosper for 450 years and it is our most earnest wish that they continue to do so.
  
  THE MERCHANT TAYLORS’ COMPANY
  
  The following were elected Master and Wardens of the Company for the year beginning July 2010:
  
  Master - Dr Julian J Oram
  First Upper Warden - Sir David Brewer
  Second Upper Warden - Mr Christopher M Keville
  Upper Renter Warden - Mr Hugh W J Stubbs
  Under Renter Warden - Mr Simon W Bass

• People of the Day

In Livery Companies within the City of London, a liveryman is a full member of the Company.

Livery Company members fall into two categories: freemen and liverymen. One may join as a freeman, and acquire the "Freedom of the Company", upon fulfilling the Company's criteria. Traditionally, one may be admitted by "patrimony" if either parent was a liverymen of the company, by "servitude" if one has served as an apprentice in the trade for the requisite number of years, or by "redemption" on induction and payment of a "fine". The Company may also admit individuals as honorary freemen. The term 'Livery' originated in the specific form of dress worn to retainers of a nobleman and then by extension to special dress to denote status of belonging to a trade. When a freeman becomes a Liveryman the candidate is said to be 'enclothed', indeed a 'Livery Gown' is placed on them at the Court and they are seen at the next formal or social occasion wearing it. Thereafter only the Master, Wardens and Assistants in Companies are seen wearing these at Company events. The Masters wear them at the City's formal events e.g. the two Common Halls and the United Guilds Service, and Lord Mayor's Show, if participating. Ordinary Liverymen usually wear ties at functions and ladies wear other items such as a scarf or brooch, each Company differs.

Freemen generally advance to become liverymen by a vote of the Court of the Company. Liverymen no longer have any local authority franchise in the City, but retain the exclusive right of voting in the election of the Lord Mayor of the City of London (Michaelmas 'Common Hall' 29 September) and for the Sheriffs (Mid-Summer 'Common Hall' 24 June) held in Guildhall as a ceremonial occasion. The votes are made by 'acclamation' subject to a challenge/demand from the floor for a ballot which would be held a week later. Any two Liverymen may nominate a candidate for the Freedom of the City.

Advocate Diana Thompson, Assistant Director, Legal & Corporate Affairs, at the Channel Islands Stock Exchange, has been elevated to Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of International Bankers. This honour follows on from the Freedom of the City awarded to her in 2008.

Mrs Thompson attended the Liveryman ceremony in Drapers Hall in September. The Worshipful Company, which includes members drawn from with the City’s banking and financial services community, chooses its Liverymen on the basis of membership seniority, seniority in the City and contribution to the Company.

Mrs Thompson commented:

“It is a great pleasure to progress to Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of International Bankers. As a Freeman of the Worshipful Company, I have found the networking opportunities invaluable and I am sure becoming a Liveryman will allow me to forge further meaningful business links. The Worshipful Company provides an excellent means by which to strengthen ties between the City, the CISX and to the Channel Islands as a whole.”

The affairs of the Worshipful Company are managed by the Court of Assistants: the Master, Wardens and Court Members, currently 24 in total, all of whom are Liverymen. Ms Tamara Menteshvili, Chief Executive of the CISX is a Court Assistant and shares that role with other City stalwarts such as Angela Knight, British Bankers Association, Cliff Dammers, former Secretary General of the International Primary Market Association and Brian Winterflood, Winterflood Securities Ltd. The current Master is Alderman Roger Gifford, UK Country Manager for SEB (Skandinaviska Enskilda Bank) one of Europe’s leading investment banks. Previous Masters have included Lord George of St Tudy (former Governor of the Bank of England) and Sir Brian Pitman (former Chairman of Lloyds TSB Group, Senior Adviser Morgan Stanley & Co International.

So what does being a Liveryman entail? Liverymen of at least one year’s standing form a special electorate known as Common Hall. In the Square Mile London, it is still the prerogative of Liverymen alone to elect the Sheriffs and to submit two candidates for the office of Lord Mayor and to vote at the elections for these posts. A Liveryman can stand for the post of Sheriff of the City of London and is involved in a number of committees and sub-committees of the Corporation of London, concerned with education, charity, the community, events, ceremonies and the arts.

The Worshipful Company of International Bankers has roots that go back to the Lombard Association, the Bankers Club and the Foreign Banks and Securities Houses Association. It was the foreign bankers who wanted a stronger identity and it was they who considered that the status of a guild and livery company to be desirable. However, until 1999 non-British subjects were debarred from becoming Freeman and Liveryman of the City of London. This is partly why the Worshipful Company of International Bankers has such a rapid timeline. The Company became a Guild in 2001, then a Livery Company in 2004, and became incorporated by Royal Charter in December 2007.

• However, if we remain with a pointing sword you will now see that his symbolic white horse (the Williamite, General Solms, said that William actually rode a black horse at the battle) could be interpreted as the mythical Unicorn, an emblem of the Scots and ultimately a symbol of the House of Israel. In Sir Laurence Gardner's book Bloodline and the Holy Grail, there is a chapter called 'House of the Unicorns' in which he details the history of the 'Royal House of Stewart'. Gardner claims that this House 'arose from a marital union of the herditary lines of Jesus and his brother James' and has 'long been known as the 'House of Unicorns'. (Andrew Power, Ireland: Land of the Pharaohs - pg 249)

• 
  The Worshipful Company of Security Professionals

Company of Masters

The Company of Maisters of the Science of Defence was an organisation formed in England during the reign of Henry VIII to regulate the teaching of martial arts. It served to prevent unlicenced instructors from operating, both as a form of quality assurance and as a monopoly to protect the livelihoods of its members. It also regulated the conduct of members to one another, both instructor and student.

Like the guilds it resembled, the company certified its members with varying ranks, depending on their level of skill and degree of permission to teach. Beginning students took the title Scholar and were required to hold the rank for no less than seven years before progressing to a higher rank. With proper determination and accumulation of skill, an individual moved to the second rank, Free Scholar. This rank marked noted advancement and skill, and like the previous position, had to be held for at least seven years before further progression. The next rank, Provost, provided the individual with apprenticeship to an instructor with whom they worked closely so as to improve their teaching skills and further their martial abilities. The Provost was not by any means a free teacher, remaining under the guidance and financial constraint, in the form of dues, of his superior. A truly gifted individual may have been raised to the title of Maister working as an independent instructor. The Company of Maisters of the Science of Defence was governed by four senior Maisters.

It never achieved guild status and eventually lost any influence with the passing of James I's anti-monopoly laws.

• Welcome to the General Military Council
  
  Welcome to the General Military Council of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Our work never ends but we continue to strive for excellence in all that we do in this branch, the top branch of the Order.
  IOOF sessions in Canada
  
  The 105th Session of the General Military Council Patriarchs Militant is being held at Fort Garry Hotel in downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, August 17 to August 21.
  GMC / IALAPM sessions end August 21
  
  The General Military Council and the International Association Ladies Auxiliary Patriarchs Militant will be ending their annual sessions on Thursday, August 21, 2008, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

• 
  Saint Bartholomew Day Massacre
  
  
  
  Link to Elizabeth I: Between 1570 and 1573 Sir Francis Walsingham was the English ambassador to France and Elizabeth I relied upon him to help the Huguenots to negotiate with Charles IX in 1570. Walsingham was in Paris at the time of the St Bartholomew’s Day massacre and his home was actually used as a sanctuary by Protestants, including Philip Sidney. Sir Francis Walsingham was lucky to escape with his life.

• "This killing sparked off city-wide violence with Parisians turning on Huguenot men, women and children, killing them and throwing their bodies into the River Seine. The violence in Paris lasted three days but news of the Paris trouble sparked off massacres in Toulouse, Bordeaux, Lyon, Bourges, Rouen, Orléans, Meaux, Angers, La Charité, Saumur, Gaillac and Troyes, and the violence lasted until well into October in some cases."

The Paris massacre of 1961 refers to a massacre in Paris on 17 October 1961, during the Algerian War (1954–62). Under orders from the head of the Parisian police, Maurice Papon, the French police attacked an illegal but peaceful demonstration of some 30,000 pro-FLN Algerians. Two months before, FLN had decided to increase the bombing in France and to resume the campaign against the pro-France Algerians and against the rival Algerian nationalist organization called MNA in France. After 37 years of denial, the French government acknowledged 40 deaths in 1998, although there are estimates of over 200.

All my life I've been alone. Many times I've faced death with no one to know. I would look into the huts and the tents of others in the coldest dark and I would see figures holding each other in the night. But I always passed by.

FBI Director Robert Mueller said in a Sunday press conference that the "ubiquitous nature of the Internet" has made hateful information "much more readily available to individuals than it was eight or 10 or 15 years ago and that absolutely presents a challenge to us particularly as it relates to lone wolfs."

One of the victims was Christina Taylor Green, who was a member of the student council at her local school and went to the event because of her interest in government. She is the granddaughter of former Philadelphia Phillies manager Dallas Green.

She was born on 9/11 and featured in a book called "Faces of Hope" that chronicled one baby from each state born on the day terrorists killed nearly 3,000 people.
The fact that Christina's life ended in tragedy was especially tragic to those who knew her. "Tragedy seems to have happened again," said the author of the book, Christine Naman. "In the form of this awful event."