Conference North

200px
Countries	England  Wales
Founded	2004
Number of teams	22
Levels on pyramid	6
Promotion to	Conference National
Relegation to	Northern Premier League Premier Division Southern League Premier Division
Domestic cup(s)	FA Cup FA Trophy Conference League Cup
Current champions	Hyde (2011–12)
Website	Football Conference
2012–13 Football Conference

The Conference North also known as Blue Square Bet North for sponsorship reasons, is a division of the Football Conference in England, taking its place immediately below the Conference National. Along with Conference South it is at Step 2 of the National League System and the sixth overall tier of the English football league system. It consists of teams located in northern England, the English Midlands and North Wales.

Conference North was introduced in 2004 as part of a major restructuring of English non-League football. The champions are automatically promoted to Conference National. A second promotion place goes to the winners of play-offs involving the teams finishing in second to fifth place. The winners of the play-offs are also promoted to Conference National. The three bottom clubs are relegated to Step 3 leagues. Teams from this division, as well as from the Conference South, enter the FA Cup at the Second Qualifying Round. On the last day of the 2010–11 season, Eastwood Town set a new record of 19 games unbeaten in the league, passing Southport and Solihull Moors previous joint record of 18 games.^[1]

From 2007–08, and for the next three years, it has been known officially as the Blue Square Bet North.

Conference North clubs, 2012–13[link]

The area covered by Conference North is coloured in pink. Conference North teams also come from counties bordering Conference South (purple).

Past Conference North winners[link]

Blue Square North Trophy awarded to Southport, 2009–10 season.

Conference North stadia 2012-13[link]

Records[link]

See also[link]

• Conference South
• Conference National

References[link]

External links[link]

• Football Conference official site
• Conference North clubs' locations

Oliver North
In Iraq, December 2007.
Birth name	Oliver Laurence North
Nickname	Ollie
Born	(1943-10-07) October 7, 1943 (age 68)
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Marine Corps
Years of service	1968–1990
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel
Unit	1st Battalion 3rd Marines 3rd Battalion 8th Marines 2nd Marine Division
Commands held	Marine Corps Northern Training Area, Okinawa
Battles/wars	Vietnam War
Awards	Silver Star Bronze Star Purple Heart(2)* Presidential Service Badge
Other work	correspondent with the Fox News Channel United States Senate candidate

Oliver Laurence North (born October 7, 1943) is a former Marine Corps officer, political commentator, host of War Stories with Oliver North on Fox News Channel, a military historian, and a New York Times best-selling author.

North was at the center of national attention during the Iran-Contra affair, a political scandal of the late 1980s. North was a National Security Council staff member involved in the clandestine sale of weapons to Iran, which served to encourage the release of U.S. hostages from Lebanon. North formulated the second part of the plan: diverting proceeds from the arms sales to support the Contra rebel groups in Nicaragua (funding to the Contras had been prohibited under the Boland Amendment amidst widespread public opposition in the U.S. and controversies surrounding human rights abuses by the Contras). North was charged with several felonies and convicted of three, but the convictions were later vacated, and the underlying charges dismissed due to the limited immunity agreement granted for his pre-trial public Congressional testimony about the affair.^[1]

Early life[link]

North was born in San Antonio, Texas, the son of Ann Theresa (née Clancy) and Oliver Clay North, an army major.^[2][3] He grew up in Philmont, New York, and graduated from Ockawamick High School in 1961. He attended State University of New York at Brockport in Brockport, New York, for two years.^[4]

While at Brockport, North spent a summer at the United States Marine Corps Platoon Leaders Class and Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, and gained an appointment to the United States Naval Academy in 1963. He received his commission as second lieutenant in 1968 (he missed a year due to injuries from an auto accident). One of North's classmates at the Academy was former Secretary of the Navy and current U.S. Senator Jim Webb. Although a heavy underdog, North beat Webb in a championship boxing match at Annapolis.^[5]

U.S. Marine Corps career[link]

North served as a platoon leader in Vietnam where, during combat service, he was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star and two Purple Heart medals.^[6] He then became an instructor at The Basic School in Quantico. In 1970, North returned to South Vietnam to testify at the trial of Corporal Randy Herrod, a Marine formerly under his command who had been charged with a mass killing of Vietnamese civilians. North was promoted to Captain in 1971 and served as commanding officer of the Marine Corps Northern Training Area in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.

After Okinawa, North was assigned for four years to Marine Headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. He was promoted to major, and then served two years as operations officer of 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, commanded by then Lt. Col. John Southy Grinalds, 2nd Marine Division in Camp Lejeune at Jacksonville, North Carolina. It was through Lt. Col. Grinalds that North converted to Christianity. He attended the Command and Staff Course at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, and graduated in 1981.

North began his assignment to the National Security Council (NSC) in Washington, D.C., where he served as the deputy director for political-military affairs^[7] from 1981 until his reassignment in 1986. In 1983, North received his promotion to lieutenant colonel,^[8] which would be his last.

During his tenure at the NSC, North managed a number of missions. This included leading the hunt for those responsible for the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing that killed 241 U.S. Marines, an effort that saw North arranging a midair interception of an EgyptAir jet carrying those responsible for the Achille Lauro hijacking. Also at the NSC, he helped plan the U.S. invasion of Grenada and the 1986 Bombing of Libya.^[7]

During his trial, Oliver North spent his last two years on active duty assigned to Headquarters Marine Corps in Arlington, Virginia.

Military Awards[link]

Iran-Contra affair[link]

North's mugshot, taken on the day of his arrest

North came into the public spotlight as a result of his participation in the Iran-Contra affair, a political scandal of the late 1980s, in which he claimed partial responsibility for the sale of weapons via intermediaries to Iran, with the profits being channeled to the Contras in Nicaragua. He was reportedly responsible for the establishment of a covert network, which aided the Contras. The Boland Amendment (to the House Appropriations Bill of 1982 and subsequent years) prohibited the appropriation of U.S. funds by intelligence agencies for this purpose at that time, thus the search for alternative funding sources. Funding was facilitated through Palmer National Bank of Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1983 by Harvey McLean, Jr., a businessman from Shreveport, Louisiana. and was initially funded with $2.8 million dollars by Herman K. Beebe. North supposedly used this bank during the Iran-Contra scandal by funneling money from his shell organization, the "National Endowment for the Preservation of Liberty," through Palmer National Bank to the Contras.

According to the National Security Archive, in August 23, 1986 e-mail to National Security Advisor John Poindexter, Oliver North described a meeting with a representative of Panamanian Dictator Manuel Noriega: "You will recall that over the years Manuel Noriega in Panama and I have developed a fairly good relationship," North writes before explaining Noriega's proposal. If U.S. officials can "help clean up his image" and lift the ban on arms sales to the Panamanian Defense Force, Noriega will "'take care of' the Sandinista leadership for us."^[9][10]

North told Poindexter that Noriega could assist with sabotage against the Sandinistas and supposedly suggested that Noriega be paid one million dollars in cash, from "Project Democracy" funds raised from the sale of U.S. arms to Iran—for the Panamanian leader's help in destroying Nicaraguan economic installations.^[11]

In November 1986, as the sale of weapons was made public, North was dismissed by President Ronald Reagan, and, in July 1987, he was summoned to testify before televised hearings of a joint Congressional committee that was formed to investigate Iran-Contra. The image of North taking the oath became iconic, and similar photographs made the cover of Time and Newsweek, and helped to define him in the eyes of the public.^{[citation needed]} During the hearings, North admitted that he had lied to Congress, for which, among other things, he was later charged. He defended his actions by stating that he believed in the goal of aiding the Contras, whom he saw as freedom fighters, and said that he viewed the Iran-Contra scheme as a "neat idea".^[12] North admitted shredding government documents related to his Contra and Iranian activities, at William Casey's suggestion, when the Iran Contra scandal became public. He testified that Robert McFarlane had asked him to alter official records to delete references to direct assistance to the contras and that he had helped.^[13]

North was tried in 1988 in relation to his activities while at the National Security Council. He was indicted on sixteen felony counts, and, on May 4, 1989, he was initially convicted of three: accepting an illegal gratuity; aiding and abetting in the obstruction of a congressional inquiry; and ordering the destruction of documents via his secretary, Fawn Hall. He was sentenced, by U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell on July 5, 1989, to a three-year suspended prison term, two years' probation, $150,000 in fines, and 1,200 hours community service.

However, on July 20, 1990, with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU),^[14] North's convictions were vacated, after the appeals court found that witnesses in his trial might have been impermissibly affected by his immunized congressional testimony.^[15]

Because North had been granted limited immunity for his Congressional testimony, the law prohibited the independent counsel (or any prosecutor) from using that testimony as part of a criminal case against him. To prepare for the expected defense challenge that North's testimony had been used, the prosecution team had—before North's congressional testimony had been given—listed and isolated all of its evidence.^{[citation needed]} Further, the individual members of the prosecution team had isolated themselves from news reports and discussion of North's testimony. While the defense could show no specific instance in which North's congressional testimony was used in his trial, the Court of Appeals ruled that the trial judge had made an insufficient examination of the issue. Consequently, North's convictions were reversed. The Supreme Court declined to review the case. After further hearings on the immunity issue, Judge Gesell dismissed all charges against North on September 16, 1991, on the motion of the independent counsel.

Allegations of involvement with drug trafficking[link]

Allegations were made, most notably by the Kerry Subcomitee, that North and other senior officials created a privatized Contra network that attracted drug traffickers looking for cover for their operations, then turned a blind eye to repeated reports of drug smuggling related to the Contras, and actively worked with known drug smugglers such as Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega to assist the Contras.^[16] Most Contra associates found guilty of trafficking by the Kerry Committee were involved in the supply chain (ostensibly for "humanitarian goods," though the supply chain was later found to have serviced the transport of arms), which had been set up by North. Organizations and individuals involved in the supply chain under investigation for trafficking included the company SETCO (operated by large-scale trafficker Juan Matta-Ballesteros), the fruit company Frigorificos de Puntarenas, rancher John Hull, and several Cuban exiles; North and other US government officials were criticized by the Kerry Report for their practice of "ticket punching" for these parties, whereby people under active investigation for drug trafficking were given cover and pay by joining in the Contra supply chain. In addition to the Kerry Committee's investigation, the Costa Rican government of Nobel-Prize winner Óscar Arias conducted an investigation of Contra-related drug trafficking, and as a result of this investigation, North and several other US Government officials were permanently banned from entering Costa Rica. North has consistently denied any involvement with drug trafficking, stating on Fox's Hannity and Colmes, "...nobody in the government of the United States, going all the way back to the earliest days of this under Jimmy Carter, ever had anything to do with running drugs to support the Nicaraguan resistance."^[17]

Despite North's claims, Senator John Kerry's 1988 Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics and International Operations found numerous references to drug trafficking within North's own notebooks (that North and the White House had substantially edited and censored). The Subcommittee reviewed 2,848 pages of spiral-bound notes taken by North between September, 1984 through November 1986 and concluded: "In reviewing these note-books, the Committee staff found a number of references to narcotics, terrorism and related matters which appeared relevant and material to the Subcommittee's inquiry.... the Notebooks do contain numerous reference to drugs, terrorism, and to the attempts of the committee itself to investigate what North was doing in connection with his secret support of the Contras." Pages 145–147 of the Subcommittee's report directly quote 15 North notebook entries related to drug trafficking. An entry from July 12, 1985 states "$14 million to finance came from drugs".^[18]

Later life and career[link]

Oliver North signing one of his books

Politics[link]

In 1994, North unsuccessfully ran for the Senate as the Republican candidate in Virginia. Republican Senator John Warner of Virginia endorsed Marshall Coleman, a Republican who ran as an independent, instead of North. On the eve of the election, former first lady Nancy Reagan told a reporter that North had lied to her husband when discussing Iran-Contra with the former president, effectively stopping his campaign. North lost by a 46% to 43% margin to incumbent Democrat Charles Robb,^[19] a son-in-law of President Lyndon B. Johnson. Coleman received 11%. North's candidacy was documented in the 1996 film A Perfect Candidate.^[20]

Oliver North pictured with Clinton Township, Franklin County, Ohio Assistant Fire Chief John Harris and Lieutenant Douglas Brown at a public speaking event.

In his failed bid to unseat Robb, North raised $20.3 million in a single year through nationwide direct mail solicitations, telemarketing, fundraising events, and contributions from major donors. About $16 million of that amount was from direct mail alone. This was the biggest accumulation of direct mail funds for a statewide campaign to that date, and it made North the top direct mail political fundraiser in the country in 1994.^[21]

Books and media[link]

North has written several best-selling books including Under Fire, One More Mission, War Stories — Operation Iraqi Freedom, Mission Compromised, The Jericho Sanction, and The Assassins.

His latest book, American Heroes, was released nationally in the U.S. on May 6, 2008. In this book, North addresses issues of defense against global terrorism, Jihad, and radical Islam from his perspective as a military officer and national security advisor and current Middle East war correspondent.^[22] North is also a syndicated columnist.^[23]

In 1991, North appeared on the first season of The Jerry Springer Show.

From 1995 to 2003, North was host of his own nationally-syndicated radio program known as the Oliver North Radio Show or Common Sense Radio. He also served as co-host of Equal Time on MSNBC for a couple of including the years starting in 1999. North is currently the host of the television show War Stories with Oliver North, and a regular commentator on Hannity, both on the Fox News Channel. North appeared as himself on many television shows including the sitcom Wings in 1991, and three episodes of the TV military drama JAG in 1995, 1996 and 2002.^[24] In addition, he regularly speaks at both public and private events.

Freedom Alliance[link]

In 1990, North founded the Freedom Alliance, a 501(c)(3) foundation "... to advance the American heritage of freedom by honoring and encouraging military service, defending the sovereignty of the United States and promoting a strong national defense." The foundation's primary activities include providing support for wounded combat soldiers and providing scholarships for the sons and the daughters of service members killed in action.^[25] Beginning in 2003, Sean Hannity has raised over $10 million for the Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund through Freedom Concerts and donations from the Sean Hannity Show and its listeners. The charity has been criticized by conservative-leaning blogger Debbie Schlussel for distributing too little of its funds for charitable purposes.^[26] Hannity, North, and other charity spokespersons claim that all of the net proceeds from the Freedom Concerts are donated to the fund.^[27]

Personal life[link]

Although raised a Roman Catholic, he has long attended Anglican services with his family.^[28] North is a board member in the NRA and had appeared at the NRA national convention in 2007^[29] and 2008.^[30]

References[link]

• Ben Bradlee Jr. (1998). Guts and Glory: The Rise and Fall of Oliver North. Donald I. Fine, Inc. ISBN 1-55611-053-7. 

External links[link]

	Biography portal
	United States Marine Corps portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Oliver North

• Podcasts of North's recent articles
• IMDB list of Oliver North's television appearances
• Freedom Alliance
• Oliver North Features at Creators Syndicate
• "The Oliver North File". The National Security Archive / George Washington University. http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB113/. 
• Oliver North's political donations
• Oliver North's Website
• Publisher's website featuring Oliver North's latest book American Heroes
• Transcript, Audio, Video of North's Opening Statement During the Iran Contra Hearings from AmericanRhetoric.com

Richard Pitino (born September 16, 1982) is the head coach for the Florida International University men's basketball team. He is the son of Louisville's head coach, Rick Pitino.

After attending St. Sebastian's School in Needham, MA, Richard Pitino earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history at Providence College in 2005. During his time at Providence College, Pitino was the manager for the Friar's mens basketball team under Tim Welsh. For two years, he also served as an assistant coach for Saint Andrew's School in nearby Barrington, Rhode Island.

In 2004-2005, he worked as an administrative assistant under Tom Herrion at the College of Charleston. In 2005, he was hired by coach Ron Everhart to serve as assistant coach at Northeastern University and followed Everhart to Duquesne University the following year. He was hired on at Louisville in April 2007.^[1]

He has accepted a position at the University of Florida as of April 17, 2009.^[2]

He left Florida on April 12, 2011 to become the associate head coach at Louisville.

Richard Pitino left his position as the assistant coach at University of Louisville to become the Head Coach at Florida International University on April 15, 2012.^[3]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Player bio at Duquesne University
• Player bio at the University of Louisville

Rachel Reeves MP
Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Incumbent
Assumed office 7 October 2011
Leader	Ed Miliband
Preceded by	Angela Eagle
Shadow Pensions Minister
In office 7 October 2010 – 7 October 2011
Leader	Ed Miliband
Succeeded by	Gregg McClymont
Member of Parliament for Leeds West
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 May 2010
Preceded by	John Battle
Majority	7,016 (18.1%)
Personal details
Born	(1979-02-13) 13 February 1979 (age 33) Lewisham, London, England
Nationality	British
Political party	Labour
Spouse(s)	Nicholas Joicey
Residence	Kirkstall
Alma mater	New College, Oxford London School of Economics
Occupation	Economist
Website	rachelreeves.net

Rachel Jane Reeves (born 13 February 1979) is a British economist and a Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Leeds West since 2010. She served as Shadow Pensions Minister from October 2010 until October 2011, when she was appointed as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury by Ed Miliband.^[1]

Background[link]

Reeves was born in Lewisham^[2] to Graham and Sally Reeves.^[3] She was educated at Cator Park School for Girls in Bromley, South East London.^[4] She cites the influence of her father on herself and her sister supporting the Labour Party, recalling how when she was eight years old he pointed out Neil Kinnock on the television and "told us that was who we voted for". Reeves says both she and her sister had "both known we were Labour since then".^[5] She joined the Labour Party at age 16.^[6] She was the Under-14 UK girls chess champion^[7] and always had an aptitude for maths.^[8]

She read politics, philosophy and economics at New College, Oxford, followed by an MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics.^[9]

Career[link]

Reeves worked as an economist at the Bank of England and British Embassy in Washington, D.C. between 2000 and 2006.^[10] Between 2006 and July 2009, she worked as a business planner and analyst for Halifax Bank of Scotland (now part of Lloyds Banking Group).^[11] She was once interviewed for a job at Goldman Sachs but turned it down. She said the job could have made her "a lot richer".^[8]

She stood as the Labour Party candidate in the Conservative safe seat Bromley and Chislehurst in the 2005 general election where she finished second.^[12] She again contested the seat in the 2006 by-election following the death of sitting MP Eric Forth and finished fourth. Reeves' support reduced from 10,241 votes to 1,925 in what was described as a "humiliation" for Labour.^[13][14] The result was the worst performance for a governing party since 1991.^[15][16]

Member of Parliament[link]

Reeves moved to Leeds in 2006 to work for Halifax Bank of Scotland. She later sought nomination for the Leeds West seat at the 2010 General Election.^[17] She was selected by the Labour Party to contest the seat from an all-women shortlist imposed by Labour head office.^[2] She defended the Labour safe seat replacing John Battle, who had chosen to retire.^[18] Reeves was elected with a majority of 7,016 on 6 May 2010, a 5,794 reduction in majority compared to her predecessor,^[19] becoming the first female to represent a Leeds constituency since Alice Bacon, who was an MP in the city for 25 years until 1970.^[20]

In her maiden speech, delivered on 8 June 2010,^[21] Reeves praised the work of her predecessor, John Battle, and pledged to fight for jobs, growth and prosperity for Leeds West.^[22] Reeves also pledged to follow in Battle's footsteps and fight for justice for the victims of the Armley asbestos disaster and their families. In a series of questions in Parliament, Reeves enquired whether the government would honour promises by the previous government to compensate victims of asbestos diagnosed with pleural plaques and bring legislation into force making it easier to pursue claims against insurers.^[23]

After the 2010 election she supported Ed Miliband for the Labour leadership, because she felt he was the candidate most willing to listen to what the voters were saying about where the party went wrong.^[24] Since becoming an MP, Reeves was elected to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee^[25] and was appointed Shadow Pensions Minister in October 2010.^[26] In her role as Shadow Pensions Minister she campaigned against the Government's proposed acceleration of equalising state pensions ages for men and women.^[27] She was promoted to the post of Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury in October 2011.^[28]

Reeves is a supporter of the High Speed Rail campaign,^[29] raising the issue in Parliament,^[30] as well as campaigning for the proposed Kirkstall Forge railway station.^[31] She is also involved in the campaign to save the historic Bramley Baths^[32] and the campaign to save the children's heart unit at the Leeds General Infirmary.^[33]

Reeves has been named by The Guardian newspaper as one of several MPs who employ unpaid interns, a practice that some maintain may breach the National Minimum Wage Act 1998.^[34] The Independent newspaper names Reeves as a member of a group of new Labour MPs known as the "Nando's Five".^[35] The other members are Chuka Umunna MP, Luciana Berger MP, Jonathan Reynolds MP and Emma Reynolds MP.

Writing[link]

Reeves has written on the financial crisis of 2007–2010 for the Fabian Review, Institute of Public Policy Research,^[36] Socialist Environment and Resources Association,^[37] and European Journal of Political Economy.^[38] Following her election as MP, Reeves wrote about the direction of UK government fiscal policy in Renewal, the Journal of Social Democracy. In an article entitled "The Politics of Deficit Reduction",^[39] Reeves offers her critique of the current financial situation and efforts to bring down the budget deficit.

Reeves is a proponent of Quantitative Easing^[40] to alleviate the Late-2000s recession having studied the effects of the policy on Japan in the early 2000s.^[41]

Following similar titles by Roy Jenkins in 1959 and Tony Wright in 1997, Reeves wrote the new edition of Why Vote Labour?, as part of a series giving the case for each of the main political parties at the 2010 general election.^[42]

Reeves regularly contributes articles to publications such as LabourList,^[43] Progress Online^[44] and Comment is Free.^[45] She is currently writing a biography of Alice Bacon,^[9] the only other female to have served as a Member of Parliament for a Leeds constituency.^[46]

She is a supporter of Israel, writing a chapter for a book about Israeli politics and society,^[47] and she is a keen supporter of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation.^[48]

Personal life[link]

Reeves is married to Nicholas Joicey,^[49] director of the international department HM Treasury.^[50][51] and a former private secretary and speech writer to Gordon Brown.^[52] She lives in Kirkstall, Leeds, and London.^[53] Reeves younger sister, Ellie, is a member of Labour's ruling National Executive and sits on Labour's Joint Policy Committee and is the partner of John Cryer.^[17][54]

Reeves spends her free time swimming, reading and walking.^[9][17] According to official parliamentary records she also enjoys wedding cakes and flower arranging.^[55] Reeves is a patron of Bramley Elderly Action and a trustee of Leeds Healthy Living Network.^[9] She was previously on the board of BARCA - Leeds and a governor of Swallow Hill Community College, and Kirkstall Valley Primary School.^[9]

References[link]

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