May 31
[ 2007-06-07 08:00 ]
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| Geri Halliwell has left
the Spice phenomenon behind her |
| 1998: Ginger leaves the Spice
Girls |
England have
Geri Halliwell, aka Ginger Spice, has left the chart-topping Spice
Girls band.
The announcement follows days of increasingly feverish speculation,
after Geri - the driving force behind the band - missed the BBC's National
Lottery Show on Wednesday, and two concerts in Norway.
Earlier today, the group said a statement would be made at the offices
of their solicitors in central London at 1400 BST.
The Spice Girls are here to stay ... Friendship never ends.
The Spice Girls minus Ginger.
About 30 journalists gathered
outside the offices of Lee & Thompson and tension mounted as the
deadline passed.
Almost half an hour later and after several false alarms Ms Halliwell's
solicitor, Julian Turton, and
Alan Edwards, the spokesman for the remaining four members of the band,
finally emerged.
Mr Turton read out a statement which he said was written by Geri.
"Sadly I would like to confirm that I have left the Spice Girls. This
is because of differences between us. I'm sure the group will continue to
be successful and I wish them all the best... PS, I'll be back."
This was followed by the announcement on behalf of the remaining four
members of the group, which said they were "upset and saddened" but will
carry on and fulfil their commitments including the forthcoming American
tour.
The group are due to play 40 dates in the United States, beginning in
nine days' time, followed by a charity concert in Rome and four dates in
Britain.
It said they were supportive of Geri in whatever she wanted to do, but
added, "The Spice Girls are here to stay ... Friendship never ends".
It remains to be seen whether this is the beginning of the end of
Britain's most successful band since the Beatles, or whether they can
shrug off their differences and move on to greater
things. |
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| Arthur Miller had close
associations with the Communist party |
|
1957: Arthur Miller guilty of
contempt | Artificially 1969:
The US
playwright Arthur Miller has been convicted of contempt of Congress.
The conviction relates to an investigation last year by the House
of Representatives' Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) into a
Communist conspiracy to misuse American passports.
During the investigation 41-year-old Mr Miller, who is married to
Hollywood movie star Marilyn Monroe, refused to reveal the names of
alleged Communist writers with whom he had attended five or six meetings
in New York in 1947.
He was said to be co-operative in all other aspects of the hearing but
told the committee his conscience would not permit him to give the names
of others and bring possible trouble to them.
'Exposure for exposure's sake'
The guilty verdict was announced in a 15-page "opinion" today by
Federal Judge McLaughlin who presided over a six-day trial, which ended
last week.
During the trial Mr Miller's counsel, Joseph Rauh, had claimed that the
questions his client had refused to answer had no reasonable connection
with a passports inquiry.
He argued that the committee had simply wanted to expose the playwright
and that "exposure for exposure's sake" was illegal.
But Judge McLaughlin found that HUAC did have a valid legislative
purpose in looking into the passport regulations and that Mr Miller had
indeed experienced his own difficulties in obtaining a passport from the
State Department.
The trial was told by the government that Mr Miller had joined the
Communist party in 1943 but this was denied by the defendant who said that
to the best of his belief he had never been a party member.
He did, however say that "there were two short periods - one in 1940
and one in 1947 - when I was sufficiently close to Communist Party
activities so that someone might honestly have thought that I had become a
member".
Mr Miller was not in court when the guilty verdict was announced. The
maximum punishment for contempt of Congress is one year in jail, a fine of
?57 or both.
No date was fixed for sentencing but it is understood the case will
automatically go to appeal.
After the trial Mr Miller, who will remain on bail pending the next
legal step, said through a spokesman: "I have no comment to make, nor has
my wife."
The case is now bound to call into question the whole system of
Congressional inquiries and their impingement on individual
rights. |
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| Vocabulary:
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solicitor:
律師，法律顧問
impingement:
侵犯，沖擊
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