Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara: a state comptrollers report has concluded that the Netanyahus ran up household costs that were significantly excessive and inconsistent with the basic principles of proportionality, sensibility, thrift and efficiency. Photograph: Nir Elias/Reuters

Only a month before Israelis vote in a general election, a damning report by Israels state comptroller has revealed excessive spending of state funds by the prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu.

The comptrollers report examined the spending of the prime ministers official residence in Jerusalem and the Netanyahus private villa in the plush coastal resort of Caesarea. It followed numerous media reports of financial improprieties, many blamed on Mr Netanyahus wife, Sara.

State comptroller Yosef Shapira concluded that the Netanyahus had run up household costs that were significantly excessive and inconsistent with the basic principles of proportionality, sensibility, thrift and efficiency.

The report revealed that the Netanyahus spent large sums of state funds on ordering takeaway meals from restaurants and hotels even though a member of staff was employed as a cook. In 2011, outside meals were ordered for the residences at a cost of 20,000.

Between 2009 and 2013, the average monthly cost for cleaning was 17,000.

The couple also hired a private electrician, a member of the prime ministers Likud party central committee, to work on weekends at the their Caesarea home . He was also called out on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

The polls show Mr Netanyahus Likud running neck and neck with the centre-left Zionist Camp, jointly headed by Labours Yitzhak Herzog and former justice minister Tzipi Livni. It remains to be seen what impact the report will have on the Israeli electorate. Previous reports of the Netanyahus excessive spending did little to sway right-wing voters, who accused the leftist media of a witch hunt.

The Likud party said in a statement that many of the shortcomings cited had already been rectified and that Mr Netanyahu was acting on others.

Regrettably, the media campaign in the past few weeks over this report is a clear attempt to topple the prime minister and the Likud government by trifling with petty issues and distracting voters, the party said.

Read more here:
Excessive spending of state funds by Netanyahu revealed

Nissan today declared itself ready to take on the worlds best sports car manufacturers after revealing a glimpse of its Le Mans challenger the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO during the commercial break for Super Bowl XLIX.

Last years Super Bowl was the most watched television program in U.S. television history with over 110 million viewers. The 2015 game was therefore the perfect opportunity for Nissans With Dad commercial (view at http://www.withdad.com) to air for the first time, revealing the much-anticipated Nissan GT-R LM NISMO, the car that will take on the best in the world in the race to glory at the Le Mans 24 Hours.

In a bold move, the Japanese manufacturer has interpreted the sports technical regulations in an innovative way, producing a front-engined, front wheel drive car that is powered by a V6 3.0-liter twin turbo gasoline engine and a kinetic energy recovery system.

It gave us great pride to reveal the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO during the Super Bowl, said Roel de Vries, global head of Marketing and Brand Strategy at Nissan. The combination of the Super Bowl and the Le Mans 24 Hours two of the most watched sporting events in the world presented us with a unique opportunity to showcase our most ambitious motorsport program in recent times. The GT-R is our flagship road car. This, the ultimate GT-R, continues a sporting bloodline that goes back three decades with NISMO, the motorsport and performance arm of Nissan. Le Mans drives innovation, so success on the track will lead to greater innovation in our road car range. We are the new kids at Le Mans. Our opponents are the best in the world, but we are ready.

The new car will contest the LM P1 class of the FIA World Endurance Championship, the highest category in world sports car racing. Starting at Silverstone, UK on April 12, the series travels around the world to Spa in Belgium, onto the Le Mans 24 Hours and Germanys Nrburgring, before going global with races in the U.S., Japan, China and the Middle East.

The FIA World Endurance Championship is the ultimate proving ground for automotive companies as technological gains on the track can carry through to road cars. Racing car engineers are facing the same challenges as road car engineers as the spotlight falls on energy efficiency. With more technical freedom than Formula 1, the LM P1 engineers have ample opportunity to innovate.

This is innovation that excites, said Shoichi Miyatani, president of NISMO. Sustainability is at the top of our agenda, and the technical regulations for Le Mans give us the freedom to pursue new ideas in this area. Our record at Le Mans is third place overall, so we have unfinished business there. We want to win and we have the knowledge to do that for our customers, our employees and our fans. The competition is exceptionally strong and we are excited by the challenge.

Our LM P1 program makes the connection between NISMO on the road and NISMO on the track, showcasing our brand DNA to a global audience, said Darren Cox, global head of Brand, Marketing & Sales, NISMO. We are taking motorsport to the masses, telling tales of technical innovation but also human stories via all of the exciting communications channels that are open to us now. We will innovate off the track as well as on it, so you can be assured that this is just the beginning of the story.

The intensive test program for the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO that began in Arizona last year continues in the U.S. Nissans full LM P1 driver line-up will be revealed soon.

New LM P1 Partnerships Revealed

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Electric Vehicle News

February 10, 2015 - 17:55 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Pablo Picassos former electrician and his wife have gone on trial in Paris accused of having stolen 271 pieces of the artists work, The Irish Times reports.

Pierre Le Guennec and his wife, Danielle claim that the artist, or his wife, gave them the 180 lithographs, collages and paintings and 91 drawings around 1970 when Le Guennec began working as a general handyman at Picassos estate.

The cache has an estimated value of 80 million.

The Picasso estate rejects this account which it describes as ridiculous and is suing them for illegal possession of the works

Mr Le Guennec kept the art works in a garage for decades. Produced between 1900 and 1932, the works have never been displayed publicly.

The Le Guennecs face up to five years in prison and a 375,000 if convicted for concealing stolen goods.

The three-day trial is likely to be complicated by the fact that some potential witnesses have died in the interim. The prosecutors case against the couple

does not mention who may have stolen the art.

About five years ago, Mr Le Guennec began worrying about what might come of the works after his death, according to his lawyer.

Original post:
Pablo Picassos former electrician charged with stealing art worth 80mln

By LIONEL CIRONNEAU and JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press

GRASSE, France (AP) - Would Pablo Picasso have donated 271 works to an electrician who worked for him for a few years in southeast France?

A French court began to contemplate that question on Tuesday at the start of a three-day trial of Pierre Le Guennec and his wife, Danielle.

They claim that the artist, or his wife, gave them the 180 lithographs, collages and paintings and 91 sketchbook drawings around 1970 when Le Guennec began working as a general handyman for Picasso in his homes on or near the French Riviera.

Heirs of Picasso and a state prosecutor describe the couple's account as ridiculous. They argue that the master had a habit of autographing and signing works that he gave away, and had never given away such a massive trove. One Picasso family lawyer says the estimated worth is 60 million to 100 million euros ($68-113 million).

Le Guennec quietly kept the works in a garage for decades. Produced between 1900 and 1932, they have never been displayed publicly. If convicted for concealing stolen goods, the Le Guennecs could face up to five years in prison and fines of 375,000 euros ($424,000) or more - up to half the value of the loot.

Picasso, who died in 1973, left no will. But he did leave behind at least 70,000 works that have over the years been the subject of theft, forgery, legal disputes and secret sales. In recent weeks, news reports have emerged about efforts by his granddaughter, Marina Picasso, to quietly sell some of the works that she inherited, in part to purge painful family memories.

But an unknown trove like the Le Guennecs' is extraordinary.

The trial was shaping up largely as a case of "he said, she said" because some potential witnesses have died, hard evidence of theft 40 years ago may be hard to come by, and even the state's own case doesn't mention who may have stolen it.

Tuesday's session was devoted to questioning the two defendants and projections of the works - with cameras barred from the courtroom. Son Claude Picasso, the estate's administrator, was on hand.

See more here:
Picasso's ex-electrician, wife on trial over disputed cache - Quincy Herald-Whig | Illinois & Missouri News, Sports

GRASSE, France Would Pablo Picasso have donated 271 works to an electrician who worked for him for a few years in southeast France?

A French court began to contemplate that question on Tuesday at the start of a three-day trial of Pierre Le Guennec and his wife, Danielle.

They claim that the artist, or his wife, gave them 180 lithographs, collages and paintings and 91 sketchbook drawings about 1970 when Le Guennec began working as a general handyman for Picasso.

Heirs of Picasso and a state prosecutor describe the couple's account as ridiculous. They argue that the master had a habit of autographing and signing works that he gave away and had never given away such a huge trove. One Picasso family lawyer puts the estimated worth at as much as $113 million.

Le Guennec kept the works in a garage for decades. Produced between 1900 and 1932, they have never been displayed publicly. If convicted, the Le Guennecs could face up to five years in prison.

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Gift or theft? Picasso trial begins

Pierre Le Guennec (right ), who is accused of receiving stolen goods after being found in possession of paintings by late Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, sits with his wife Danielle at the court in Grasse, southeastern France on Tuesday. Photograph: AFP

Pablo Picassos former electrician and his wife have gone on trial in Paris accused of having stolen 271 pieces of the artists work.

Pierre Le Guennec and his wife, Danielle claim that the artist, or his wife, gave them the 180 lithographs, collages and paintings and 91 drawings around 1970 when Le Guennec began working as a general handyman at Picassos estate.

The cache has an estimated value of 80 million.

The Picasso estate rejects this account which it describes as ridiculous and is suing them for illegal possession of the works

Mr Le Guennec kept the art works in a garage for decades. Produced between 1900 and 1932, the works have never been displayed publicly.

The Le Guennecs face up to five years in prison and a 375,000 if convicted for concealing stolen goods.

The three-day trial is likely to be complicated by the fact that some potential witnesses have died in the interim. The prosecutors case against the couple

does not mention who may have stolen the art.

About five years ago, Mr Le Guennec began worrying about what might come of the works after his death, according to his lawyer.

See original here:
Picassos handyman charged with stealing art worth 80m

The granddaughter of Spanish painter Pablo Picasso, Marina Picasso, poses in her house 'Pavillon de Flore', on June 19, 2013, in Cannes, southeastern France. EAN CHRISTOPHE MAGNENET/AFP/Getty Images

GRASSE, France - When Pablo Picasso died in 1973, he left behind no will and a trove of an estimated 70,000 works of art. In the decades since, that collection has been the subject of numerous thefts, forgeries, courtroom dramas and secretive sales. Complicating matters is the tangled legacy of his gifts to his four children and eight grandchildren, as well as numerous wives and muses and hangers-on.

On the legal art market, his pieces still rake in millions of dollars every year, and two recent developments could shake up the international race to own a piece of the famed Spanish artist.

Marina Picasso, a granddaughter of the artist, is reportedly aggressively selling off some of her 10,000-piece collection of his art.

She has allegedly already begun privately shopping seven of the works, valued at $290 million, reports Page Six.

While Marina Picasso has denied she has decided exactly how many artworks she will sell, she did tell The New York Times: "It's better for me to sell my works and preserve the money to redistribute to humanitarian causes."

Speculation has intensified among collectors that she could flood the market and depress prices, The New York Times reports.

In her memoir, Marina Picasso wrote about an upbringing in which her grandfather, "drove everyone who got near him to despair and engulfed them."

Marina Picasso is the daughter of Picasso's son Paulo, and "she has long kept her distance from the rest of the family," the New York Times reports.

In addition to the questions over Marina Picasso's collection, a courtroom in France is now also asking whether Pablo Picasso would have donated 271 works to an electrician who worked for him for a few years in southeast France.

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Picasso's granddaughter could upend the art market

The sophomore congressman from Maryland isnt given to pauses in his monologue, but this time he ponders for a second or two when asked how he came up with an idea to yank America out of transportation quicksand.

I looked at all the factors a while ago and said, This is where were going to go. People may not realize it, but they will, says Rep. John Delaney (D).

They realize it now.

Just as success has a thousand fathers, the concept of using almost $2trillion in offshore corporate cash to bail out the beleaguered federal trust fund for roads, bridges and transit seems to have lots of parents on Capitol Hill these days.

The number one source that is being talked about is this repatriation of funds, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) told the U.S. Conference of Mayors in January.

A couple of years ago, however, when the then-freshman congressman from Potomac began pushing the concept, it took a while before bipartisan support more than 40 members from each party emerged.

When we started talking about this two years ago, people were like, Whats that idea? People viewed it as a real out-of-the-box idea, Delaney says, and now everyones talking about it. The presidents making references to it, Speaker [John] Boehner talked about it, and you hear that Rand Paul and Barbara Boxer are thinking about a bill.

In fact, when Boxer and Paul announced their proposal, the unlikely marriage between the liberal California Democratic senator and the Libertarian-leaning Kentucky Republican senator drew attention as much for style as for content.

Theres a tremendous amount of momentum in the Congress and the administration converging toward this idea, Delaney says. Theres a real natural deal to be done there between Democrats and Republicans.

He figures its picking up steam because there is a total absence of other ideas to deal with this problem, other than lets raise the gas tax.

Here is the original post:
An out-of-the-box idea to fund transportation projects gains traction

Provided by Networx.com

What is the purpose of a residential electrical inspection? The inspection is designed to verify that your installation meets minimum requirements for electrical safety, according to current codes. In other words, its purpose is to protect you, the homeowner, as well as anyone else who will be occupying the premises from fire or electrocution.

When is a building permit required for work on your home's electrical system? When you plan to alter your existing electrical system or retrofit an entirely new installation in an older home, you will need a building permit. This is also the case when you are having the electrical system installed in a newly constructed home.

You are required by law to apply for, pay for, and receive the proper local permit before any electrical work begins. Only the homeowner or electrical contractor who will be performing the installation is authorized to apply for the permit.

What is the difference between a rough and a final inspection? There are at least two stages at which you will need to undergo an electrical inspection and approval, usually by the same body that issued your permit. The rough inspection is first, when installation of the electric box and all the wiring has been done but before the wiring has been covered by your wall material. Second is the final inspection, when all your home construction has been completed. Please note that your electrical system must pass a final inspection before occupancy is permitted.

Which areas does the inspection cover? Guidelines specifying the electrical inspection criteria for your location may be obtained at the time you apply for your permit. The basic areas are: equipment listing and labeling, electrical services, general circuitry, AFCI (arc-fault) protection, GFCI (ground fault) protection, grounding and bonding, underground wiring,and wiring methods.

Be aware that if the inspector is called in to inspect a specific upgrade, he may notice -- and write up -- a violation in other, existing work.

How should you proceed if your electrical system fails the inspection? The details vary, depending on your locale. However, the basic procedure is the same. If the inspection reveals any problems, you or your electrician will need to correct the issue and have it re-inspected. There might or might not be a fee for the re-inspection. In some regions, this re-inspection is performed by a third party. Generally you are not required to obtain a new permit prior to making corrections, as they are considered part of the original work. If you disagree with the reason for the failure (and the correction involved is time-consuming and expensive), you may be able to appeal.

What will happen if you don't bother to get a building permit or an inspection? Failure to complete the permit, inspection, and approval process can seriously jeopardize your ability to finance, sell, insure, or collect on insurance claims related to your home. That is, of course, not to mention the fact that it is a safety hazard. You may face steep fines for failing to comply or to rectify any safety code violations discovered during the inspection.

Laura Firszt writes for networx.com.

Continued here:
Understanding electrical inspection

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