Rabbits, Hats, Magicians and De Pfeffel Johnson

Alexander Boris De Pfeffel Johnson should be sent packing as soon as possible. If he’s allowed to stay on as a caretaker prime minister, he might not leave at all!

Boris is to politics what a magician is to hat-tricks! Magicians are able to pull rabbits out of hats before our very eyes by deft sleight of hand. De Pfeffel is equally skillful in politics. Before our very eyes, he could pull a fast one, maybe call a general election, and finesse his way into staying on as prime minister for several years to come, causing lots of uncertainty. Be warned!

Likeable, Boris may well be; but, often, so are rogues! In a funny kind of way, De Pfeffel is a likeable rogue with a touch of class.

One will never be sure BoJo has gone until he is well and truly out the door of Number 10! I concur with John Major on this, but perhaps for different reasons.

© Mark Alexander
Thursday, July 7, 2022

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson Delivers Resignation Speech - BBC News

Jul 7, 2022 UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has given his resignation address to the nation.

“It is clearly now the will of the parliamentary Conservative Party that there should be a new leader of the party and therefore a new prime minister,” he said outside Downing Street.

Johnson said the process of choosing the new leader should begin now and the timetable will be announced next week.



Boris Johnson’s messy exit encapsulates a tumultuous reign as prime minister. »

LIVE EN COURS : Boris Johnson quitte la tête du Parti conservateur et restera premier ministre jusqu’à ce qu’un nouveau dirigeant soit désigné : « Il est désormais clair que le Parti conservateur souhaite avoir un nouveau chef et donc un nouveau premier ministre », a reconnu M. Johnson. Le processus de succession à la tête des tories commencera dès la semaine prochaine. »

Johnson: Traurig, dass ich den besten Job der Welt aufgeben muss: Der britische Premierminister tritt als Chef seiner Konservativen Partei zurück. Er wolle aber als Regierungschef weitermachen, bis ein Nachfolger gewählt sei, sagte Johnson. »

LIVE: Regierungskrise im Vereinigten Königreich: Boris Johnson erklärt Rückzug in Rede an die Nation: «Ich bin traurig, dass ich den besten Job der Welt aufgeben muss»: Boris Johnson hat am Donnerstag den Parteivorsitz niedergelegt. Als britischer Premierminister will er im Amt bleiben, bis ein Nachfolger gefunden ist. Zuvor waren rund sechzig Minister und hochrangige Parteikollegen zurückgetreten. Die wichtigsten Antworten zur Regierungskrise. »

Pope Benedict Retired after Inquiry into 'Vatican Gay Bishops', Says Paper
THE GUARDIAN: Pope's staff decline to confirm or deny La Repubblica claims linking 'Vatileaks' affair and discovery of 'blackmailed gay clergy'

A potentially explosive report has linked the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI to the discovery of a network of gay prelates in the Vatican, some of whom – the report said – were being blackmailed by outsiders.

The pope's spokesman declined to confirm or deny the report, which was carried by the Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica.

The paper said the pope had taken his decision to resign on 17 December, on the day he received a dossier compiled by three cardinals delegated to look into the so-called "Vatileaks" affair.

Last May, Pope Benedict's butler, Paolo Gabriele, was arrested and charged with having stolen and leaked papal correspondence that depicted the Vatican as a seething hotbed of intrigue and infighting.

According to La Repubblica, the dossier comprising "two volumes of almost 300 pages – bound in red" had been consigned to a safe in the papal apartments and would be delivered to the pope's successor upon his election. The newspaper said the cardinals described a number of factions, including one whose members were "united by sexual orientation".

In an apparent quotation from the report, La Repubblica said some Vatican officials had been subject to "external influence" from laymen with whom they had links of a "worldly nature". The paper said this was a clear reference to blackmail. » | John Hooper in Rome | Thursday, February 21, 2013

Cardinal Wuerl: Pope's Timing 'Appropriate'
Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the Archbishop of Washington answered questions about Pope Benedict XVI's resignation. As a member of the conclave to elect the next pope, he says the choice will be driven by God and the candidate's qualifications. (Feb. 11)

Pope's Resignation Sparks Conspiracy Theories
Benedict XVI's shock resignation has set tongues wagging as some Italians question why he has become the first Pope for nearly 600 years to step down.

Pope Benedict XVI: Resignation in Latin
Listen to the Pope’s resignation in Latin here

Portugal in Turmoil
MAR 23 - Portugal's Prime Minister steps down after austerity vote fails. Conway Gittens reports

Portugal in Crisis after Prime Minister Resigns over Austerity Measures
THE GUARDIAN: • EU bailout closer after José Sócrates loses crucial vote
 • Political limbo will put pressure on Portuguese bonds

Portuguese prime minister José Sócrates has said he has submitted his resignation to the president after parliament rejected his minority Socialist government's latest austerity measures.

The loss of the vote "has taken away from the government all conditions to govern," Sócrates said. It brings the country closer to needing a bailout.

Sócrates is said he tendered his resignation to President Aníbal Cavaco Silva tonight, leaving the country in a political limbo that would place further pressure on Portugal's record-level bond yields.

Sócrates had said before the vote that he would resign if the measures to cut spending and increase taxes – designed to see off a bailout similar to those taken by Greece and Ireland – were rejected.

The measures had aroused the fury of trade unions, and railway engineers walked off the job in the morning, causing widespread travel disruption. » | Giles Tremlett in Madrid | Wednesday, March 23, 2011

THE GUARDIAN: Portugal bailout 'could cost UK £3bn': Bailout request seen as 'inevitable' following prime minister's resignation in wake of failure to push through austerity measures » | Graeme Wearden | Thursday, March 24, 2011

LSE Head Quits Over Libya Links
Organisations with links to the Libyan regime have come increasingly under the spotlight. In the UK, Sir Howard Davies , the head of the prestigious London School of Economics has resigned after disclosures the university accepted multi-million dollar donations from former student Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, a son of the Libyan leader.
Al Jazeera's Paul Brennan reports

Related >>>

Egypt’s Prime Minister Resigns
Mar 3 - Amid protests and calls for his resignation prime minister Ahmed Shafiq steps down. Maryam Ishani reports

French Foreign Minister Resigns
THE GUARDIAN: Michèle Alliot-Marie had faced criticism over links with former regime in Tunisia and has been replaced by defence minister

Beleaguered French foreign minister Michèle Alliot-Marie has resigned after weeks of criticism over her links with the former regime in Tunisia.

She was replaced by the defence minister, Alain Juppé, a former prime minister convicted in a corruption scandal six years ago, in an unplanned but widely predicted government reshuffle.

Alliot-Marie, 64, known as MAM, insisted in her resignation letter that she had "committed no fault". She is one of the longest-serving ministers in France, having held many important cabinet posts, including defence and justice. She had been at the foreign ministry for just three months.

As civil unrest spread through the Arab world, Alliot-Marie committed a series of gaffes leading to her downfall. In January, she offered the services of French security forces to quell the uprising in Tunisia, just three days before protesters forced dictator Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali to flee. >>> Kim Willsher | Sunday, February 27, 2011

UK Chief Treasury Secretary Resigns Amid Scandal


Related here

MAIL ONLINE: Muslim hate preacher is let into Britain despite Tories' pledge to keep out radicals: Home Secretary Theresa May faces outrage after her officials allowed an Islamic hate-preacher to enter Britain.

Zakir Naik, who has said ‘every Muslim should be a terrorist’ and claimed Western women are easy rape targets because of their revealing clothes, is to speak in a tour of the country. >>> Daily Mail Reporter | Sunday, May 30, 2010

David Laws Resigns Over Expenses Claim
THE TELEGRAPH: David Laws has resigned from the Coalition Cabinet after revelations that he claimed £40,000 of taxpayers’ money to pay rent to his boyfriend.

David Laws and James Lundie. Photographs: The Telegraph
Government sources said the senior Liberal Democrat stepped down as Treasury Chief Secretary while parliamentary watchdogs investigated his expenses claims.

David Cameron and Nick Clegg, the Lib Dem leader, were understood at first to have been willing to let Mr Laws remain in his key post, at least over the weekend.

However, The Sunday Telegraph learned that at least two Lib Dem Cabinet ministers, Vince Cable and Chris Huhne, believed that the circumstances of Mr Laws’s parliamentary expenses claims “did not look good at all”. They suggested that he was left with no choice other than to step aside.

The Lib Dem Scottish Secretary, Danny Alexander, will take over from Mr Laws, 44.

Mr Laws, a former banker, won his key Cabinet post after impressing Tory negotiators in the talks that set up the coalition.

He won praise for his assured start at the Treasury, where he was in charge of imposing proposed swingeing cuts to state spending.

However, on Friday night Mr Laws referred his own case to Parliament’s standards commissioner after The Daily Telegraph disclosed that he claimed as much as £950 a month in parliamentary expenses for eight years to rent rooms in two London properties.

The houses were owned by his partner, James Lundie, a political lobbyist. In 2006, MPs were banned from “leasing accommodation from a partner”. >>> Patrick Hennessy, Melissa Kite and Patrick Sawyer | Saturday, May 29, 2010

Sadly, Mr Laws Has Done the Right Thing
THE TELEGRAPH: The nature of David Laws's job made it impossible for him to remain in post.

The right move: David Laws's portfolio demanded that he be untainted by the MPs' expenses scandal. Photograph: The Telegraph
At a time when the country desperately needed an unusually able individual to fill the role of Chief Secretary to the Treasury, there had been almost unanimous agreement that David Laws, the Liberal Democrat MP for Yeovil, promised to be outstanding in the role. We face an unprecedented budget deficit. Painful cuts are necessary. Mr Laws had the financial background – he made a fortune as a successful banker before he became an MP – to understand the importance of reducing the deficit, and the political acumen to work out how to begin making the cuts in the fairest, most efficient and least damaging way possible.

Unfortunately, his frontbench career has now come to an untimely end. As The Daily Telegraph revealed on Friday night, Mr Laws claimed a total of £40,000 in rent for properties owned and inhabited by his partner. Although the newspaper would not have revealed it, Mr Laws volunteered the fact that his partner was a man, James Lundie. Changes to the rules on MPs’ expenses, introduced in July 2006, state that Parliamentary allowances “must not be used to meet the costs of… leasing accommodation from a partner or family member”. On Friday, Mr Laws promised to pay back the money. He said that he did not knowingly break the rules, because he did not think of Mr Lundie as his “partner”, or want to reveal his homosexuality, which he had kept secret from his friends and family. >>> Telegraph View | Saturday, May 29, 2010

Profile of David Laws: The Banker on the Frontbench
THE GUARDIAN: The chief secretary to the Treasury entered parliament in 2001 after quitting a career in the City that had made him a millionaire

The former investment banker David Laws, 44, has risen through the Liberal Democrat ranks since entering parliament in 2001, gaining a reputation as one of a breed of young Lib Dem MPs whose promotion of free market policies contrast with the party's left-leaning traditions.

Laws is co-author of the Orange Book, calling for a return to the "traditional building blocks of liberalism", including free trade and a belief in the effectiveness of the private sector.

He also believes in limits to EU powers and an end to the common agricultural policy. Although his perspective is more centrist than rightwing, when he first stood as a Lib Dem, the Lib Dem leader Paddy Ashdown thought he was a Tory mole. After quitting a career in the City that made him a millionaire, Laws took over Ashdown's Yeovil seat in 2001. He has since rejected overtures from the Tories to defect. >>> The Guardian | Saturday, May 29, 2010


David Laws: Yet Again, Hiding in the Closet Proves [to Be] a Politician's Undoing
THE GUARDIAN: It is hardly credible that in 2010, after all the progress that has been made, the gay liberation message still needs to be heard

The closet causes crises. It is an unhappy place to live and David Laws is not the first person who, on being forced out, immediately talked about the "relief" of no longer having to lie. It is tempting to blame Laws himself: a man who had the ability and determination to earn a fortune by the age of 28, and be in a senior government job at 44, is obviously no shrinking violet. Why wasn't he able to take control of his life and be honest and open with his friends and family and be proud of his relationship?

Laws grew up in the 1970s, a period of lingering bigotry that thrived long after the first partial decriminalisation of gay sex in 1967. His late teens and early adulthood, a time when people discover their sexuality, coincided with the long, dark night of Thatcher (to quote Derek Jarman) when the media were full of hatred, the Conservative leader of Staffordshire county council called for Aids to be dealt with by gassing gay men and police officers in gangs of 50 raided our pubs to check the licences but were too busy to investigate the murders of gay people in Britain's streets and parks or an arson attack on the gay newspaper I then edited. Conservative election posters and Margaret Thatcher derided lesbian and gay rights, while speakers at Tory annual conferences gave us such gems as: "If you want a queer for your neighbour, vote Labour" and, of course, there was Section 28.

Is it surprising that in this atmosphere, reflected in pulpits and playgrounds across the nation, a bright young man buried himself in work and focused his energies on making money?

Many people did come out even then; often, they were angry and demanding gay rights and gay liberation. And the one constant refrain of the lesbian and gay movement was to urge people to come out because the closet is a cold, lonely place that makes you lie again and again to those closest to you and always risks ending in tears. >>> Graham McKerrow | Saturday, May 29, 2010

Brown Resigns: 'Thank You And Goodbye'

Resignation Is Not an Option for the Pope
TIMES ONLINE: It is Benedict XVI’s duty to implement worldwide the reforms already made by Catholic leaders in Britain

The paedophile abuse cases have become a big crisis for the Roman Catholic Church. A crisis for the laity, a crisis for the clergy, a crisis for the bishops and, increasingly, a crisis for the Pope himself.

It has caused great damage to the victims, who need to be considered first. In some cases the psychological damage will last a lifetime. The crisis has damaged the image that the Church has of itself; it has damaged the authority of the Pope.

Priests see themselves as men of spiritual values, disciplined in their personal lives and requiring considerable personal sacrifices, including the sacrifice involved in a life of celibacy. They usually have the respect of their own communities.

It is still the case that congregations usually trust their own priests; that is true of the Catholic Church and of the Church of England, but it is easy for the Catholic clergy to feel they may be suspected of criminal conduct with children, which they find as outrageous as does everyone else. Like MPs who have never abused their expenses, many priests must feel that they are suffering guilt by association.

Most clergy live relatively austere religious lives. The proportion who have ever had sexual allegations made against them is about one in 200. That proportion has been high enough to cast some degree of suspicion on the priesthood as a whole. The clergy are able to do their work because they are trusted, and that trust has been damaged.

The Catholic Church of previous eras had a policy that sexual offences should be hidden. This policy of “cover-up” has done the greatest possible harm, both to the victims, who were not believed, and to the spread of abuse. Until about ten years ago, most Catholic bishops thought it was their duty to protect the Church from scandal; they mistakenly believed that secrecy would act in the interest of the Church.

They protected paedophile priests from the police; they persuaded the unfortunate victims to sign secrecy agreements; they kept the stories out of the press; they moved the peccant priests from one parish or diocese to another. Families were persuaded that their children, who had suffered abuse, were fantasists or liars. The victims were made to feel that it was they who were guilty. >>> William Rees-Mogg | Monday, March 29, 2010

Lou Dobbs Resigns from CNN
THE LOS ANGELES TIMES: The outspoken newsman says he has been urged 'to go beyond my role here.' Is politics in his future?

Reporting from New York - In a surprise announcement, CNN host Lou Dobbs resigned on the air Wednesday after a recent history of controversial comments on immigration, among other topics, drew heated protests from liberal groups and created friction within the cable network.

Dobbs said that CNN/U.S. President Jon Klein released him from his contract so he could pursue other opportunities. He did not offer specifics but suggested that he is seeking a role in which he will not be constrained from speaking freely.

"Over the past six months, it's become increasingly clear that strong winds of change have begun buffeting this country and affecting all of us," Dobbs said as he opened his daily program. "And some leaders in media, politics and business have been urging me to go beyond my role here at CNN and to engage in constructive problem-solving, as well as to contribute positively to a better understanding of the great issues of our day. And to continue to do so in the most honest and direct language possible." >>> Matea Gold | Thursday, November 12, 2009

Al-Azhar Chief 'Should Resign Over Veil Remark'
AFP: CAIRO — A Islamist lawmaker called on Wednesday for the head of the most prestigious centre of religious learning in the Sunni Muslim world to resign after he told a schoolgirl to remove the veil covering her face.

The demand to step down came as about two dozen students, wearing the face veil, known as a niqab, protested outside the state-run Cairo University, which has banned the veils from its residence hall.

Mohammed Tantawi, head of Al-Azhar University, told a schoolgirl to remove her niqab when he spotted her during a tour of an Al-Azhar affiliated school, the independent Al-Masry al-Youm newspaper reported this week.

He also said he intended to ban the niqab at Al-Azhar and made an unflattering remark about the girl's appearance when she took off the veil, the newspaper said.

"And you look like this; what would you do of you were a bit pretty," he reportedly asked, adding "I know more about religion than your parents."

Al-Azhar spokesman Ahmed Tawfiq confirmed Tantawi had asked the girl to remove the niqab, but said he spoke to her in a kindly way.

He said Tantawi, who insists the niqab is not an Islamic practice, wanted to ban the niqab from Al-Azhar classrooms on religious grounds.

"The imam always bases his decision on religious grounds," said Tawfiq.

Hamdi Hassan, an MP with the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest opposition group, said "Tantawi cannot stay in his post; he hurt's Al-Azhar every time he says something.

"I believe the niqab is not an obligation, but it is a benefit," he added. "Why ban it from Al-Azhar? It's a religious institution, not a belly dancing academy." >>> Samer al-Atrush (AFP) | Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Kuwaiti MP Blasts Top Egypt Imam over Veil
ARAB TIMES: KUWAIT CITY: A Kuwaiti hardline Salafist MP on Wednesday blasted Egypt’s leading cleric Mohammed Tantawi for reportedly saying that wearing a face veil was not an obligation under Islam for women. “Tantawi’s statements against the niqab (face veil) are shameful,” Mohammad Hayef told reporters. “He is known for his bizarre and abnormal fatwas (religious edicts).” Tantawi, head of the Islamic Al-Azhar University, reportedly asked a student to take off her niqab when he spotted her in a classroom at an institute run by the university. The cleric reportedly said the niqab was a tradition, not an Islamic obligation.

The niqab has come to be associated with Salafism, a brand of ultra-conservative Islam practised mostly in Saudi Arabia and some Gulf states. Al-Mutairi, who is also the Al-Thawabet Bloc Secretary General — asserted this statement defies the actions of Islamic clerics and the spirituality code of scholars. Islamists in Egypt and the whole world launched a scathing attack against Al-Tantawi immediately after the publication of these reports. “The public has grown familiar to the appalling statements of Al-Tantawi who has continued to brandish his idiosyncrasies to the whole world,” said Al-Mutairi. [Source: Arab Times] Dahlia Kholaif, Arab Times Staff and Agencies | Wednesday, October 07, 2009

France Telecom Executive Resigns after Employee Suicide Tally Rises to 24
THE GUARDIAN: Unions blame work-related stress for the deaths after many workers were forced to change jobs and relocate

The deputy chief executive of France Telecom has quit with immediate effect following the spate of suicides among its staff.

Louis-Pierre Wenes's departure comes less than a week after a France Telecom employee became the 24th since February 2008 to take his own life.

The telecoms firm announced this morning that Wenes had asked to be relieved of his duties, and that chief executive, Didier Lombard, accepted the request.

In recent weeks, France has been gripped by the series of suicides across the former state monopoly. Unions claimed workers are being driven to kill themselves by the pressure caused by a wide-ranging restructuring plan, under which many have been forced to change jobs and relocate. >>> Graeme Wearden | Monday, October 05, 2009

Ahmadinejad’s Deputy Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie Forced Out by Hardliners
TIMES ONLINE: Hardliners have forced out Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s deputy, despite his being a member of the President’s family.

Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie’s departure comes just four days after he was appointed. Mr Mashaie, whose daughter is married to President Ahmadinejad’s son, had outraged clerics and politicians after saying that the Islamic Republic was a “friend of the Israeli people”.

Mr Mashaie’s resignation was announced by Press TV, Iran’s state-run English-language television station. Last week another vice-president, Gholam Reza Aghazadeh, who headed Iran’s nuclear programme, also resigned. Mr Mashaie also attracted conservatives’ disapproval after allegedly watching unveiled women dancing at a tourism exhibition in Turkey two years ago.

The resignation came amid reports that a British Embassy employee would be released on bail after three weeks in jail on charges of inciting unrest after last month’s disputed election.

Hossein Rassam, chief analyst at the embassy in Tehran, was the last of nine embassy staff accused of involvement in opposition rallies.

The President had shown a “twisted face to clerics and elites” by appointing Mr Mashaie, said Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, a hardline Ahmadinejad ally. “Ahmadinejad should not challenge conservatives with such decisions. I request the President to replace him before more criticisms are made,” he said.

The President’s choice of first vice-president does not need Parliament’s approval but his new cabinet ministers will.

Mr Ahmadinejad would have struggled to get his ministerial choices past parliament. Mr Mashaie’s departure could make that task easier. >>> Michael Purcell in Iran | Sunday, July 19, 2009

Sarah Palin Is Resigning Over Money, Says Levi Johnston
THE TELEGRAPH: The teenage father of Sarah Palin's grandson has claimed she is resigning because she wants to make money.

Levi Johnston, 19, whose wedding to Bristol Palin, 18, was called off earlier this year, says he believes the governor is resigning over personal finances.

Mr Johnston says he lived with the Palin family from early December to the second week in January. He claims he heard the governor several times say how nice it would be to take advantage of the lucrative deals that were being offered, including a reality show and a book.

"I think the big deal was the book. That was millions of dollars," said Mr Johnston, who has had a strained relationship with the family but now says things have improved. >>> | Friday, July 10, 2009