Tag Archives: apologies

Apology

scotsmanIn a television review published on 21 April of a programme entitled The Tattie Howkers, which dealt with issues surrounding migrant agricultural workers, we stated: "There are still agricultural workers coming to Scotland from countries such as Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. They’re brought over by recruitment bosses such as Bernard Gaughan – grandson of Irish field workers, son of a ganger. Perhaps they’re not sleeping in cowsheds, but they too slip under the radar for most of us." We would like to make it clear Mr Gaughan has never brought workers into the UK, that his company, Total Labour Solutions, operates under the strict licensing laws of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority and that Mr Gaughan has campaigned to improve the rights of workers in this sector. We apologise for the error.

Apology

geelongAN article in yesterday’s Geelong Advertiser incorrectly reported that Cindy Gambino overdosed on analgesics in an attempt to commit suicide. The Geelong Advertiser has been assured by Ms Gambino that at no stage did she consider harming herself. The Geelong Advertiser sincerely apologises for the error and for any distress it may have caused.

Australian Broadcasting Corp. apologizes to lobby group

austbroadcorpA report from the JTA:

Australia’s national public broadcaster has apologized for a report that claimed Israel’s security fence was ruled to be illegal by the Supreme Court.

The Australian Broadcasting Corp. apologized Wednesday to a Jewish lobby group and corrected an April 25 report which stated that “both the International Court of Justice and Israel’s Supreme Court have ruled that the West Bank wall is illegal and must be pulled down.”

In a letter to the affairs council this week, Australian Broadcasting Corp. representative Kieran Doyle apologized for "this lapse in editorial standards." He advised that an editor’s note had been attached to the online transcript of the report noting the error, and that the matter also has been posted on the corrections page of ABC News…

Thanks, Steve!

Apology

financialmailSAIn the Cover Story on Sasol (June 19), it was stated that senior executive Riaan Rademan had been suspended and was facing disciplinary proceedings. This is not true in any respect. We apologise to Rademan and Sasol for the mistake.

Apology

dailytelegraphAN ARTICLE entitled "Charged for giving his kids’ mum AIDS" was published on May 19, 2008 concerning Mr Brian Montgomery. The article was incorrectly accompanied by a photograph of Mr Mark Ryan. The Daily Telegraph apologises unreservedly for any embarrassment or hurt to feelings suffered by Mr Ryan as a result of the publication.

Apology

theageOn October 4, 2008, The Age published an article under the headline "Cosmetic surgery rules cop flack". The article reported on new rules implemented by the Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery (ACCS) requiring disclosure by ACCS members to prospective recipients of invasive surgery. The article included a photograph of Dr Cynthia Weinstein and reproduced quotations obtained from the Health Services Commissioner, Beth Wilson. Dr Weinstein complains that the article inaccurately implied she conducts invasive surgeries, the subject of the new ACCS rules, with less than satisfactory or unprofessional results. To the degree the article inaccurately carried that meaning, The Age apologises to Cynthia Weinstein.

Apology

An article published on Page A1 Wednesday about an unfinished home in Columbia Township contained incorrect information about Amy and Chris Dickerson. The article incorrectly stated that Amy Dickerson filed for bankruptcy in 2008. That is not true. The article also said there was a judgment against the Dickersons relating to a civil case with the contractor. That is not true. The case was decided in the Dickersons’ favor, and Chmeil General Contracting, LLC was ordered to pay the Dickersons $181,829.38. The Dickersons were in no way at fault. The Citizen Patriot apologizes for these errors. Link

 

Apology

OUR article 2.3 million in rates owed published on May 26, 2009, may have implied that Frank Gallo owed the council a substantial sum for unpaid rates. In fact, there are no rates owing by Mr Gallo. There are continuing negotiations between him and the council regarding culvert construction works. We apologise for any embarrassment our article may have caused.

Apology

sundaytimeslogoIn our article (July 6, 2008) headlined Met Marksman gets £5,000 payout over ’serial killer’ quip, we quoted a senior police officer saying the Met marksman was known as ‘Killer’ and that “he revelled in his nickname”. We have been assured by the marksman that he does not have that nickname and consequently could not possibly have revelled in it. We accept this and that his claim against Commander Sue Akers was not therefore hypocritical and we apologise for any embarrassment or distress this may have caused. Link

Apology

tasmaniancountryIN an article on page 7 of Tasmanian Country published on May 29 2009 this newspaper published an allegation that Mr Chris Oldfield, the Chief Executive Officer of the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association, had a conflict of interest over managed investment schemes.
That article included the words that it “had been implied in media reports that as Mr Oldfield’s media company did work for timber company Forest Enterprises Australia it may have also encouraged TFGA members to invest in Great Southern which specialised in tree farming”.
In fact, no such implication has ever been raised in the media. We were wrong to have suggested that it had.
The publisher and editor of Tasmanian Country unreservedly apologise to Mr Oldfield for the publication of the allegation and for any hurt and embarrassment that it has caused him, his family and colleagues.

Death by media

hamilton_spectatorA story in Monday’s Spectator about the Sheraton falcons incorrectly reported that Bill Manson, husband of volunteer Ann Manson, had died. In fact, Bill Manson is alive and well and still very active in the community.
We apologize for the error.
Link

Apology

pioneerpressLocal: A headline Thursday should not have said that a Mankato roofer was implicated in a labor scheme involving immigrant workers. In fact, Kato Roofing was a client of a labor-leasing company that has been indicted in relation with the scheme. But Kato Roofing has not been implicated or associated in any way with the federal investigation, and Kato Roofing officials emphasize that they have done nothing wrong. The Pioneer Press apologizes for the error. Link

Apology

sundaymailausON March 15, in the Sunday Mail, we published photographs which were said to be of Ms Hanson.
It is clear that the pictures published are not of Pauline Hanson.
We made a mistake publishing those pictures.
We apologise to Ms Hanson for the hurt and embarrassment caused by the publication.
We have learnt a valuable lesson.

This story in the Times of London helps explain the above:

Mystery surrounds a set of nude pictures allegedly taken 30 years ago of the Australian far-right politician Pauline Hanson.
The photographs, published across Australian media at the weekend, purport to show the former One Nation leader partially naked and in skimpy lingerie.
But Ms Hanson says the photographs are not her, and has threatened to bare her belly button to prove it.

Apology

independentIn our article, ‘Taboo-buster: the dark side of Jimmy Carr’ (18 November 2008), we wrote that Jimmy Carr’s mother had divorced his father seven years before her death.
We have been asked by Jim Carr, Jimmy Carr’s father, to correct this. They had an amicable separation but never divorced. Jim Carr has also asked us to make it clear that although, by choice, his youngest son, Colin, continued to live in the family home with his older brother Jimmy, Jim Carr continued to be financially responsible for, and was the only legal guardian of, his youngest son until that son reached the age of 18 some 3 years later, so it was misleading to write in the article that Jimmy Carr and his older brother ‘took on the responsibility of bringing up their younger brother’. We are pleased to do so and apologise to Jim Carr for the errors.
Link

Guardian apologizes for failing to attribute quotes

guardianAn article about Adam Carroll, A1 Grand Prix championship driver, published online under the heading Adam Carroll aiming for formula one after A1GP success, 5 May, failed to acknowledge that the quotes from Carroll used in the piece came from an interview by Will Buxton published in the 4 May issue of GPWeek, an online magazine. We apologise for this lapse. Link

Apology

sun_uk3We refer to yesterday’s article “More Low Blows From Warren”. We would like to make clear that Frank Warren has promoted over 2,000 fights and has always paid boxers their purses as obliged by the British Boxing Board of Control.
The litigation with Joe Calzaghe involved a claim for “profit share”.
Sports Network Ltd has already paid $4million to him over the fight. Mr Warren informs us he is not only offering to pay a tenth of what is due.
Sports Network Europe continues to trade and upcoming fights including Amir Khan’s world title fight on June 27 are not affected and will still be promoted by Frank Warren. We apologise to Mr Warren for any embarrassment caused.

Toronto Sun apologizes for “stupid” headline

torontosunA headline on page one of the Toronto Sun yesterday was both inaccurate and misleading. In fact, as the story reported, the mother of a boy involved in a high school fight in Keswick said her son “said something stupid.” She did not say nor imply he was stupid. The Sun regrets the error and apologizes to the boy and his family. Link

All Muslims look alike (and the Independent is very sorry)

independentIn yesterday’s article in the print edition, ‘Britain’s least wanted’, by mistake we published a picture of D. Al-Boutti , instead of a picture of ‘Safwat Hijazi, televangalist’. Dr Al-Boutti is a highly reputable Syrian Muslim scholar and of course would not appear on a banned list. We apologize to Dr Al-Boutti for our error. Link

Sorry, doctors

economistWe would like to apologise to the world’s pathologists for suggesting that the histological examination of excised tumours is carried out by “technicians”, as suggested last week in “Illuminating surgery”. The pathologists who perform this work are, of course, physicians who specialise in the examination of tissue samples. Link

Apology

winnipeg-sunA story in the April 19 Sunday Sun, headlined Quick on the draw, incorrectly created the impression Eddy Kubara was involved in the Toronto Dominion bank robbery on Jan. 22, 1971.
Kubara was not involved in the planning or execution of the holdup.
The Sun apologizes for the error.
Link

All officers look alike

On 10th December last, we published a story on the website with the heading: ‘Police officer faces jail after crashing riot van’.
The article described the conviction of former Pc Geoff Jackson for taking a police vehicle without consent, careless driving and driving without insurance after a night out drinking with friends.
The article was accompanied by a photograph depicting a male with the caption ‘Geoff Jackson leaving court this afternoon’.
In fact the photograph was not of Pc Jackson but another police officer who had nothing to do with the incident and has never been charged with any criminal offence.
We wish to apologise to this officer for our mistake, which has inevitably caused him great distress.
Link

Guardian contributor admits telling tall tales about his time in the French Foreign Legion

guardianErwin James is the name used by a convicted murder murderer who writes regularly for the Guardian. (That name is somewhat different from the one he grew up with.) Back in 2006, he wrote an article about his time spent in the French Foreign Legion. Now, three years later, he has admitted to fabricating parts of that story. The Guardian published this correction:

A feature, published in 2006, in which the writer, Erwin James, recounted his experiences in the Foreign Legion contained information that was untrue. James was in the Foreign Legion for a time but his claim to have served with one of its regiments in Beirut in the summer of 1982 was false and a paragraph, which purported to describe his experiences there, was fiction. He did not join the Foreign Legion until the end of 1982, by which time his regiment had returned from Beirut. The article also suggested that James accompanied his regiment on missions to Djibouti and the Central African Republic. While these were regular regiment duties, James did not go there. He did, as he said in the piece, go to Chad. In a more recent article James said he joined the Foreign Legion in 1981. That was also untrue. In both articles, we should have made clear that names and/or nationalities of some individuals had been changed so that they could not be identified (Legion of honour, 13 January 2006, page 8, G2, and ‘God help anyone who weakened’: my life in the French Foreign Legion, 25 February 2009, page 2, G2). The readers’ editor will write about this in her weekly column on 27 April). Link

Erwin James, born Erwin James Monahan, also wrote a lenghty lengthy article to admit his fabrications and offer more details about his life before and after his prison sentence. An excerpt:

…I made a supremely stupid error of judgment. A report appeared in the news to the effect that the French Foreign Legion was reluctant to take men from Britain, as the British who had been volunteering were “too flabby”. I was asked to write a long piece about my experience in the legion and comment on the revelations in the news for G2, which I did. Irrationally now looking back and much to my mortification, I placed information in the piece which was blatantly untrue.

In order to camouflage my whereabouts in 1982 and create a fog around the facts of my crimes, I wrote the piece as if I was in the legion from the beginning of that year, when in fact I did not join up until the end of the year. In particular, I made reference to “we”, meaning my regiment, undertaking tours in various African countries in 1982. The regiment did indeed undertake those tours; only I was not with them. Neither could I have been in Beirut in September of that year, as I said I was in the piece. I knew all the details of that operation, as the 1st combat company had not long returned from Beirut when I joined them in Calvi in Corsica at the end of my basic training. On 25 February this year, in response to another news story relating to the legion, I wrote another vignette of legion life for G2. The anecdote – about a young German recruit getting bashed by an adjutant for picking the wrong time to say he wanted to leave the Legion – was true. But the date I said I had joined, 1981, was not.

I was prompted to come clean and alert the Guardian about this ridiculous deceit when my “true” identity was revealed on the web some weeks ago and the bloggers involved noted my prevarications about the length of time I had actually spent in legion. The deceit has left me embarrassed and sad for letting down not only the people at the Guardian who trusted me, but Guardian readers who have been so accepting of me and my prison-issue writing over the past 10 years. It is clear to me now that the only person I was really deceiving was myself. The fallout from my identification on that message board, and the lies I told, has led to this piece; to me feeling that I now have to be completely honest about both my time in the legion and to stop hiding from who I really am. I am aware that these revelations may prove painful for people to whom my past actions have caused immeasurable pain and distress. For that I am truly, truly sorry…

Share a name, become a scam artist

advertiserA MAN who scammed thousands of dollars from newly-arrived immigrants is not a barrister as reported in The Advertiser yesterday.
Harry Alevizos, 57, of Clearview, pleaded guilty in Adelaide Magistrates Court on Monday to fraud charges over his claims to be a registered migration agent.
The barrister and solicitor Harry Alevizos is another man and is in no way related to the offences. The Advertiser apologises for any harm caused to Mr Alevizos or his family.

Esquire apologizes for expletive-laden article offering advice on swearing

esquire_logoThe May issue of Esquire includes a section that promises to give readers 26 “skills worth having.” Included among the advice on skinning a moose, giving a massage, parallel parking, and consoling a crying woman was a lesson in how to “curse well.” That item apparently upset a number of readers and the magazine has published an apology on its website. The apology:

In the “How to Curse” section of our May 2009 feature, “How to Skin a Moose,” we presented a parody of extreme profanity and its users, contrasting exaggerated examples of offensive language with ordinary situations. The target of the parody was profanity itself and not the various people who might be its object, including gay people. But we used a particularly offensive phrase we shouldn’t have. It certainly was not our intent to cause pain. Judging from the reaction, we did. For that we are sincerely sorry.

And by “particularly offensive phrase” I think they mean “shit-sniffing faggot.” Or maybe it was “Al fucking Gore” that upset people?

The offending article (click for larger):

esquire

Apology

guardianWe apologise to Jacob Zuma, the president of the African National Congress, for suggesting (in a piece headlined Get used to a corrupt and chaotic South Africa. But don’t write it off, 6 March, page 31) that he was guilty of rape. This was included due to an editing error. In fact, Mr Zuma was acquitted of a rape charge in 2006. We also alleged that he was guilty of corruption and bribery. We would like to clarify that since the article was published all criminal charges against Mr Zuma have been dropped by the South African National Prosecuting Authority on the basis that the timing of the decision to prosecute him in the first place was politically motivated. We apologise for any distress or embarrassment caused. Link