By Sarah Bull
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It's definitely not your usual family set-up.
And as families around the world celebrated Father's Day yesterday, Woody Allen's estranged son Ronan posted a sarcastic message on his Twitter page.
Ronan, 25, tweeted: 'Happy father's day - or as they call it in my family, happy brother-in-law's day.'
Sarcastic: Woody Allen's son Ronan Farrow tweeted 'happy brother-in-law's day' in reference to his father's relationship with his adopted sister
Controversial: Ronan's message was then retweeted by Allen's ex-wife Mia Farrow
The message was then retweeted by Allen's ex-wife Mia Farrow, who added the word: 'Boom'
Ronan's tweet makes reference to the fact that Allen, 76, is married to Soon-Yi, who was the adopted daughter of Farrow and her second husband Andre Previn.
Speaking previously about the relationship, Ronan, who now works for the Obama administration, has said: 'He's my father married to my sister. That makes me his son and his brother-in-law.
'That is such a moral transgression.'
Estranged: Woody and his son Ronan haven't spoken since the early 1990s
Boom! Mia Farrow retweeted the message with an added comment of her own
Allen was seen giving adopted daughters Bechet and Manzie a hearty hug in Beverly Hills over the weekend.
The 76-year-old movie maker was also accompanied by his 41-year-old wife for the day out.
While Allen seemed in good cheer, Manzie did not seem to be in the best of moods, even though she was visiting one of the city's poshest hotels at the Beverly Wilshire.
Happy family: Allen was seen giving his daughters Becohet and Manzie a hug in Beverly Hills on Saturday
Walking on: Allen's wife Soon-Yi chatted with a friend as she pranced around the grounds
VIDEO: Showbiz roundup! 'Nude' Katy and Cheryl most desired girly kiss…
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
TOWIE's Lauren Goodger: - The Sun
But the 25-year-old reality TV star says she is currently happy being single.
She declared: "I’m not locked away in a relationship where I’ve felt a bit insecure. I’m getting the old me back that I lost.
"I feel good again. I’m the person I want to be again. I can’t stop smiling."
The brunette added: "When you’re in a relationship, you lose your identity. It’s always been 'Lauren and Mark' and now it’s 'I’m Lauren'."
The childhood sweethearts dated for ten years and even got engaged at one point before splitting last August.
Mark is now seeing US volleyball player Chelsea Rashoff, 22, after meeting her during his recent stint in LA filming new show Mark Wright's Hollywood Nights.
Meanwhile Lauren has been flaunting her bikini body in Marbella after dropping a dress size.
The Only Way Is Essex star was in the Spanish resort with her ITV2 castmates filming a one-off special episode of the show.
And Lauren was seen cosying up to a host of hunky men, which she believes would have irritated Mark no matter who he is now going out with.
She said: "Yeah, of course he will be bothered. I would be too, I won’t deny it. It’s a natural feeling.
"We’re never not going to care. We’ll always have that history."
Lauren, who was spotted at the same club as Mark last Thursday night, also revealed that they are still in touch, admitting: "Yeah, up and down. It’s difficult because we’ve still got a lot of feelings for each other, but it’s just not right."
However Lauren didn't rule out a reunion with Mark in the future.
She said: "At the minute, I’m going forward. If we were together, I don’t think we’d be able to do the things we want to do.
"Would he have gone off and done his show? No, he wouldn’t – it would probably have been me and him doing a show.
But she added: "Everything happens for a reason. Whatever’s meant to be will be."
Read the full story in this week's new! magazine - out today.
Source: www.thesun.co.uk
Beware of love at first site - deccanchronicle.com
Divorcees and widows beware! With his fake profiles posted on popular matrimonial sites, 26-year-old Aamir Khan targeted divorcees and widows and was able to cheat many of them in the last two years.
The latest victim was a Chennai-based BPO worker who complained to the city cyber crime officials that Khan cheated her and stole her money as well.
According to the police, Khan, a divorcee himself, used to introduce himself as a senior professional in an IT firm or employee of a reputed corporate house with a hefty monthly package.
A senior cyber crime official told Deccan Chronicle, “We are collecting more details from Khan on the number of women he cheated.
Every year, we receive at least five complaints about cheating through matrimonial sites. All details posted on the site might not be true. The applicants should check the authenticity of the profiles.”
The officer said that Chakravarthy from Villupuram was recently arrested for cheating 16 women via matrimonial sites.
The cyber crime department has decided to conduct awareness camps in city colleges in the coming months. “We organised a series of awareness events in trade fairs, exhibitions and many public places last year.
We will arrange sessions in city colleges now about fake profiles on matrimonial sites. It’s high time net users were aware of the possible dangers in the virtual world,” said the official.
Mr S.N. Ravichandran of Cyber Society of India Forum said, “There was a recent incident in Erode where a miscreant read through the profile of a groom on a matrimonial site and checked out his likes and dislikes on his facebook page.
He then approached the youth’s parents, claiming to be a priest, with ‘supernatural knowledge’ about their son.
He convinced them that they should immediately perform a pooja for their son’s well-being. When the parents were engaged in the pooja, the fake priest stole all the valuables from the house and fled.”
“Matrimonial site users should first cross-check the address, the firm where the person is employed and ensure that the details are genuine by contacting his/her family,” he cautioned.
Rules of engagement by bharathmatrimony
Jumping the gun while surfing for potential life partners on matrimonial websites, is bound to land you in a sticky situation.
As with any other contact made through a chatroom or social networking website, a netizen should exercise caution before getting personal with strangers they come across on matrimonial sites.
“We have nearly three lakh people registering on our website every month. While our staff can only make the basic enquiries and verify the details posted by users over telephone, we cannot keep track of every profile,” says Murugavel Janakiraman, CEO and founder of Bharathmatrimony.com. He lays down three golden rules for women registered on any matrimonial website.
Rule #1 Cut the Cash
“There should be absolutely no exchange of money before marriage,” says Mr Murugavel. “The person may sound very nice, he may have even promised to marry you..
But the minute he asks you for money, or a loan, it is a clear sign that he is a conman,” stresses Mr Murugavel, urging women not to fall for common excuses such as “I am coming from the US and I lost my wallet at the airport, please send me some money,” or “My mother is hospitalized, I need some cash urgently”
Rule#2—No hanky-panky
“A man and woman who get acquainted through a matrimonial site should not indulge in a physical relationship before marriage,” says Mr Murugavel, pointing out that sticking to traditional values of abstinence until your wedding night, may save a lot of pain.
“No matter how decent or genuine the prospective groom may be, there is no need to start getting physical. If the man runs away or breaks off the wedding, the woman will be left in the lurch, feeling violated and cheated,” he warns.
Rule# 3—Meet the parents
“Get the family involved, keep your parents informed about your every move,” Mr Murugavel says.
In many of the cases reported, the victims have gone ahead and met the ‘bridegrooms’ by themselves, started affairs with them or given them money, without their parents’ knowledge or approval.
“While a matrimonial service or website is just the first touchpoint, it is best if the families continue the process of ‘fixing’ the wedding, traditionally. Like in the old days, the parents could meet first and talk it over, before taking the next step. The family is the best security against con artists,” he advises.
Getting married the arranged way is safer
The traditional practice of arranging marriages, in which elders in the family play a major role, is time tested in cementing the bondage.
But for the draconian greed for dowry, arranged marriage is far too safe and does not fix the onus on any individual but makes it a collective responsibility at crisis time, say those into arranged marriage for decades.
“The age-old practice of enquiring about the background of the prosperous bride or groom to be, by visiting their offices or houses, enables one to ascertain the character of the suitable boy or girl and also their parents,” says Mohan, who has recently married off his teacher son to a teacher bride.
But then there is a scientific element to arranged marriages. The horoscopes of the bride or groom help to ascertain the matrimonial compatibility and this is verified by the parents of both the sides, he says.
“Well, so long as the horoscopes are not tampered before tallying, relationships will not turn sour in post-married life,” he adds.
“Finding a suitable ‘match’ for the ‘girl’ or ‘boy’ is not an easy task. Though astrological compatibility is also a must, enquiries and conversation during the official ‘seeing’ of the ‘girl’ in her parents’ presence, helps to understand the persons far better,” says J. Subrahmanyam and adds that arranged marriages continue to thrive even today.
“Though I am physically handicapped, my mumbling that the girl whom I have ‘seen’ had some patches on her face, was overheard by her father. Just about a fortnight before my marriage, he had ensured his daughter undergo plastic surgery, much to my surprise,” says N. Ravi, president of Tamil Nadu Differently Abled Welfare Association.
Despite the changing lifestyles, arranged marriages continue to hold good, he says and adds that “arranged marriage is an institution surviving on love and trust”.
Love marriages that last longer hinge upon the patronage from the parents.
Source: www.deccanchronicle.com
Matrimonial Attorney Jeffery Leving Discusses Fathers’ Rights and How to Be a Good Divorced Dad - PRLog (free press release)
Tune in this Wednesday, June 20th at 8:50AM (CST) as Matrimonial Attorney Jeffery M. Leving (http://www.dadsrights.com)
How to Be a Good Divorced Dad garnered praise from President Barack Obama and an endorsement from Francis Cardinal George of the Archdiocese of Chicago who said, “This is a pain-filled book that offers good advice about how to preserve a family born of a marriage that has failed. It’s a book that is, unfortunately, more and more needed.”
The book offers insights about legal system trends and other factors that dismantle father-child relationships. It is filled with stories showing how fathers have struggled to save and protect their relationships with their children.
How to Be a Good Divorced Dad is currently available at bookstores, libraries and in the Amazon Kindle Store online at http://amazon.com/
About the Author:
Jeffery M. Leving was named one of “America’s Best Lawyers” by Forbes Radio. He authored two previous groundbreaking books: Fathers’ Rights and Divorce Wars and co-authored the Illinois Joint-Custody.
Leving was recently honored in Resolution No. 995 by the Illinois House of Representatives for his “forward-thinking initiatives in the field of law and father’s rights” and Leving “serves as a model of hard work, integrity, and dedication for the people of the State of Illinois.”
For more information contact Jennifer Whiteside at (312) 296-3666.
Source: www.prlog.org
Administrators axe 180 Coryton staff - The Guardian
Administrators in charge of Britain's largest independent oil refinery at Coryton are to axe 180 staff amid warnings that it is "highly unlikely" the plant will survive in its current form.
PricewaterhouseCoopers said approximately 180 of the site's 500 permanent staff will be made redundant next week following the cessation of refining activities.
"The administrators have been clear there would likely be a substantial number of redundancies from the 500-strong workforce. The administrators met with staff and announced that approximately 180 staff will be made redundant next week," said PwC. "Conversations will take place over the following days with affected individuals. Following cessation of refining activities last week, the programme to safely wind down operations at the refinery continues."
PwC said it was still in talks to sell the site, but played down the chances of it being sold as a functioning refinery, despite interest from a former Russian energy minister. Igor Yusufov, who served under Vladimir Putin, is the only suitor interested in maintaining the Essex site as a refinery, in the face of competition from Shell, which wants to convert Coryton into a storage facility that will employs a fraction of the plant's current workforce. Including contractors, Coryton employs 850 people.
"The administrators are continuing to work with various parties who have expressed an interest in acquiring the Coryton site. It is highly unlikely, however, that it will be sold as a refinery," said PwC. Last week Coryton staff lobbied the Department of Energy and Climate Change to help save the bankrupt business, but Decc has refused to use state aid to rescue the site, indicating that it has no long term future as a refinery. Decc has also reassured motorists that Coryton's closure will not affect petrol supplies in the south-east, even though it supplies about 20% of the region's fuel.
Linda McCulloch, national officer at the Unite trade union, said: "The administrators are moving far too fast with their redundancy programme, when we understand negotiations with a possible bidder are still taking place. There is a very strong case for short-term state aid to be provided by the government until a viable buyer is found."
Coryton, owned by Swiss company Petroplus, has struggled in the face of overcapacity in Europe and competition from new sites in the Middle East and Asia. Any would be-buyer must also commit to a multimillion pound capital expenditure programme to overhaul the refinery, a 59-year-old fixture of the south Essex landscape.
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Woman police officer was FOUR TIMES over the limit when she crashed MG sports car on seafront - Daily Mail
- WPC Tracy Watts admitted drink-driving and was warned she faces jail
- Crashed car in Southend, Essex, after downing bottle of vodka
By James White
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Drink-drive crash: Tracy Watts was four times over the legal alcohol limit when she crashed her sports car
A police officer is facing jail after she admitted crashing a sports car while four times over the drink-drive limit after binge drinking on a bottle of vodka.
Tracy Watts was arrested after crashing her MG TF into a bollard along Southend seafront, Essex, while heavily drunk.
Watts admitted she had drunk a bottle of vodka when questioned by cops at the scene of the early evening crash.
The 31-year-old appeared at Southend Magistrates’ Court today wearing a black suit, white blouse and sky blue jumper.
She hung her head as she appeared in the dock and pleaded guilty to a single charge of drink-driving.
Watts, who worked as a WPC for City of London Police, was warned she faces up to six months in jail when sentenced.
Lead magistrate Roger Harbidge said: 'This makes for very disturbing reading and it is only good fortune you did not injure anyone else.
'You must understand a custodial sentence is very likely in this case.'
Watts will now have to wait to discover her fate while a full probation report is prepared.
The court heard how Watts collided with a bollard along Eastern Esplanade, in Southend, at around 7.15pm on March 26 this year.
Police and an ambulance rushed to the scene where Watts admitted to officers from Essex Police that she had consumed a bottle of vodka before the crash.
No other people were injured and Watts was rushed to a local hospital and a blood sample was taken.
She recorded a blood-alcohol level of 320mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood - four times over the UK drink-drive limit of 80mcg per 100ml.
Watts, from Shoeburyness, Essex, resigned from her role as a City of London police officer less than a fortnight after the crash.
Crash site: The seafront in Southend, Essex, where Tracy Watts crashed her car in March. Today she admitted drink-driving and warned she faces jail
Miss Bo-Eun Jung, mitigating, said her client had underlying drink problems and was working to deal with them.
She told the court: 'My client has underlying psychological and alcohol problems which are being looked at.'
Watts was given unconditional bail and received an interim banning order meaning she is disqualified from driving until the outcome of the case.
She is due to be sentenced at Southend Magistrates’ Court later this year.
Sporty: A 2002 MG TF car similar to the one driven by the Tracy Watts when she was arrested
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
Sam Faiers and Joey Essex plotting third TOWIE spin-off show - Metro.co.uk
The recently reunited Essex couple were spotted at the W Hotel in London talking over a new show, The Sun reports, in a bid to increase their celebrity credentials beyond TOWIE.
'Sam and Joey were talking about how they were going to do their own spin-off show and how they'd love it to be on ITV2,' a source revealed.
'Joey said he thought Sam would be perfect starring in her own show, and that people would finally get to see her funny side.'
The pair would follow former TOWIE co-stars Amy Childs and Harry Derbidge, who secured their own reality show on Channel 5, and Mark Wright whose Hollywood Nights vehicle is currently airing on ITV2.
The insider added to The Sun that Faiers has reservations over 'coming across as stupid' in the spin-off, but that the couple 'both seem very excited' about the idea.
Joey's manager refused to confirm the existence of a new TOWIE show, but hinted that Essex is looking for new opportunities, saying: 'There is nothing official being discussed yet and there are no plans for Joey to go anywhere at the minute. But the guys may chat about ideas they have.'
Faiers and Essex may want to exercise caution with regards to leaving the show, with TOWIE regular Kirk Norcross having all but disappeared after exiting to appear on Celebrity Big Brother.
Source: www.metro.co.uk
Essex Property Trust buys two SoMa housing projects - The Business Journal
Real estate investment trust Essex Property Trust has purchased two development projects from Avant Housing totaling 463 apartments at Folsom and Fifth streets in San Francisco’s South of Market enclave.
The projects, at 260 Fifth St. and 900 Folsom St., are both in the very early stages of construction, with work having started on the Folsom Street project and a summer groundbreaking scheduled for the Fifth Street development. They have a combined estimated completed value of $250 million. The sale price was not disclosed.
Palo Alto-based Essex Property Trust has hired Avant to manage construction of the projects, which are slated for completion by early 2014.
Avant Housing LLC, a real estate development partnership between AGI Capital, TMG Partners and CalPERS , is also currently building 194 units at 1880 Mission St.
All three projects were designed to appeal to the young tech workers flooding into the city and will feature bike repair shops and dog walking areas.
“Today’s announcement represents the culmination of a long-term effort to develop quality apartment projects in the highly desirable, supply-constrained San Francisco market,” said Avant’s Eric Tao. “Essex understands and supports the community-driven ideals of these projects and, together with Avant, we are committed to fulfilling the development goals of the neighborhood.”
John D. Eudy, executive vice president of development for Essex, said the company was “pleased to be entering the robust South of Market area here in San Francisco.” “This is a healthy and strategically positioned property both for the needs of the City, as well as for our investment portfolio,” said Eudy.
Mary Ann King, president, and Brett Betzler, director, Moran & Company’s California office represented the seller. The price was not disclosed.
J.K. Dineen covers real estate for the San Francisco Business Times.
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Source: www.bizjournals.com
Tobacco investments to be reconsidered by Norfolk and Essex councils - BBC News
Two councils in the East region are to reconsider multi-million pound pension fund investments in tobacco before they take a lead role in NHS anti-smoking campaigns in 2013.
The move comes after a BBC Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request showed councils across the region have invested more than £167m in tobacco.
Norfolk has invested £25.9m while Essex has invested £9.1m.
The two councils have said they would now review their investments.
Derek Murphy, Conservative leader of Norfolk County Council and chair of the pension fund committee, said: "What I've got to do is get the best deal possible for the people who receive a local government pension from Norfolk.
Review planned"This information is of interest to us as come next April public health in Norfolk becomes a County Council responsibility.
"We have invested billions of pounds worth of money, having said that - now it (the FOIA findings) has been discovered I think it's a duty to review whether that's the right thing to do."
David Finch, Conservative deputy leader of Essex County Council said: "The fact we only have £9.1m of our pension fund in tobacco-related products is minimal, but I think we need to decide if it's appropriate we have any investment in tobacco-related products.
"My own view is the amount we have in tobacco industries may be just a moment in time and we should go and reinvest in something else."
Martin Dockrell, director of research and policy at anti-smoking group Ash, told the BBC: "From 2013, local councils will have responsibility for leading local efforts to reduce the burden of death and disease from smoking, yet many of them are the largest tobacco shareholders in the area."
Mr Dockrell added that ethical investment rules meant fund managers were permitted to say they would only "invest in tobacco when they can prove that there is no other investment that can match the value".
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Who can blame him? His father betrayed the whole family when he ran off with the adopted sister of his own children. We keep getting our knickers in a knot over gays getting married when it is THIS kind of thing that is the problem.
- JR, Chicago, USA, 18/6/2012 22:14
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