Alex Jones Re-issues Challenge to Box Piers Morgan

Alex Jones Re-issues Challenge to Box Piers Morgan
http://static.infowars.com/slideshow/032114piersboxing.jpg

“You know, Morgan, that I will literally beat the hell out of you”

Prison Planet.com
March 21, 2014

One would think embattled CNN host Piers Morgan would have had enough fighting.

For months prior to the announcement of his pseudo-departure, he’d fought an uphill battle campaigning for further restrictions to the Second Amendment, duking it out with some of the staunchest gun advocates in the country.

And in his most popular show to date, he went toe-to-toe with the “T-rex of Political Talk” himself, Alex Jones, suffering a highly publicized defeat that served to invigorate and alert gun owners and defenders of freedom alike.

Morgan is set to leave his prime time post at the propaganda dissemination network, but far from throwing in the towel, he is now promoting and plans to participate in a boxing match with British colleague and BBC Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson, a match similar to the one proposed by Jones during his appearance on Piers Morgan Live.

In his January 2013 unscripted CNN interview, spurred by Infowars’ facetious, but apropos petition to deport the British subject due to his ceaseless attacks on the Bill of Rights, Jones revealed the teleprompter reader as a “hatchet man of the New World Order,” and, as some may recall, in the process also threw down the gauntlet challenging Morgan to a boxing match.

“You’re a hatchet man of the new world order. You’re a hatchet man. And I want to say this right here. You think you’re a tough guy? Well have me back with a boxing ring in here, and I’ll wear red, white, and blue, and you can wear your Jolly Roger,” Jones proposed.

Not surprisingly, a flustered Morgan scoffed at the proposal, but in a subsequent episode entertained the notion with guests, who went as far as to suggest Piers accept Jones’ challenge, then shoot the prominent radio host.

“I don’t care what the justification is that you’re allowed in this country to own a semi-automatic weapon – much less a handgun. But what do you need a semi-automatic weapon for? The only reason I think you’d need it is, Piers, challenge Alex Jones to a boxing match, show up with a semi-automatic that you got legally and pop him,” Daily Beast sports columnist Buzz Bissinger suggested in the live, televised segment, to which Huffington Post contributor Abby Huntsman chimed in, “I’d love to see that… [laughter] in uniform.”

Acknowledging Morgan’s latest ploy as a publicity stunt, Jones is reiterating his previous challenge to step into the ring with the vanquished Constitutional foe.

“You know Morgan, that I will literally beat the hell out of you,” Jones declared on his Friday, March 21 broadcast, adding that a bare-knuckle or glove match in Las Vegas would be highly publicized and would likely bring in millions of dollars.

“You need to accept the challenge, coward,” Jones implored, suggesting that the Daily Beast columnist also join them in the ring. “I will literally beat the hell out of you and Buzz Bissinger.”

More as this develops…

This article was posted: Friday, March 21, 2014 at 1:53 pm

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Prison Planet.com

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Alex Jones Re-issues Challenge to Box ‘Coward’ Piers Morgan

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Alex Jones Re-issues Challenge to Box ‘Coward’ Piers Morgan

The CIA Torture Impunity Challenge

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The CIA Torture Impunity Challenge

Ukraine"s turmoil brings tough challenge to Putin

MOSCOW (AP) — A successful Olympics behind him, President Vladimir Putin is facing what may become the most dramatic challenge of his rule: how to respond to the turmoil in Ukraine, a country he has declared vital for Russia’s interests, which is home to millions of Russian-speakers and hosts a major Russian navy base.

Some in Ukraine’s Russian-speaking east and south already have begged the Kremlin to help protect them against what they fear could be violence by the victorious protesters who toppled Ukraine’s Moscow-backed leader. Putin has refrained from taking a public stance on Ukraine amid the Sochi Games, but the mounting tensions could quickly leave him with a stark choice: Stick to diplomacy and risk losing face at home, or open a Pandora’s box by entering the fray.

If Moscow openly backs separatist-minded groups in Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula that serves as the base for Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, it could unleash devastating hostilities that Europe hasn’t seen since the Balkan wars. And ignoring pleas for help from pro-Russian groups in Ukraine could shatter Putin’s carefully manicured image of the tough ruler eager to stand up to the West, eroding his conservative support base at home, where his foes could be encouraged by the Ukrainian example.

Facing such high risks, Putin has remained silent, weighing his options. His premier, Dmitry Medvedev, on Monday poured scorn on the new Ukrainian authorities who replaced President Viktor Yanukovych, and questioned their legitimacy. But he wouldn’t say what action Russia might take to protect its interests.

“If you consider Kalashnikov-toting people in black masks who are roaming Kiev to be the government, then it will be hard for us to work with that government,” Medvedev said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry criticized the West for turning a blind eye to what Moscow described as the opposition reneging on its agreement signed Friday to form a unity government and aiming to “suppress dissent in various regions of Ukraine with dictatorial and, sometimes, even terrorist methods.”

At the same time, NATO’s supreme allied commander in Europe, Gen. Philip Breedlove, discussed events in Ukraine with Gen. Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff of Russia’s armed forces, and they agreed to keep each other informed about developments in the country.

Amid spiraling tensions and increasingly tough rhetoric, Putin’s best hope for striking a peaceful compromise on Russian interests in Ukraine could paradoxically be former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who was freed Saturday after more than 2½ years behind bars.

Tymoshenko, who narrowly lost the 2010 presidential vote to Yanukovych and landed in prison on abuse of office charges that were denounced by the West, immediately jumped to the forefront of Ukraine’s political scene. She flew to the capital after her release to speak to tens of thousands of demonstrators on Kiev’s Independence Square, known as the Maidan.

Her charisma, ambitions and unparalleled political skills would make her all but certain to win the Ukrainian presidency in early elections set for May. Putin, who had good ties with Ukraine’s fiery ex-premier in the past, could hope for striking a deal with her that would safeguard Russian interests without the need to resort to force.

“If she consolidates power, Putin will be quite happy. They understand each other perfectly well,” said Stanislav Belkovsky, a political consultant who advised the Kremlin and worked in Ukraine. “He has good ties with Tymoshenko, and her triumph would suit him.”

Tymoshenko, who comes from eastern Ukraine, could be an ideal peacemaker, restoring an uneasy balance between Ukraine’s Russian-speaking east and south, and its western regions that abhor Russian influence.

She is burdened, however, by the legacy of insider deals and corruption allegations during her business and government careers, which may challenge her campaign. She also faces the tough task of winning the trust of some of the protesters, who are suspicious of old players and want fresh faces and strong action. And she will have to walk a fine line between publicly taking an anti-Kremlin posture to win votes in western regions and assuaging residents of the east that their interests will be protected.

For Putin, she could actually make a more convenient partner than the hesitant and indecisive Yanukovych, who had tried to maneuver between Russia and the West and provoked public anger by abruptly shelving a pact with the European Union in favor of a bailout from Moscow.

Russia’s state-controlled broadcasters heaped scorn on Yanukovych, casting him as a leader who was too weak to use force to establish order and betrayed police who had stood behind him. That’s a clear sign the Kremlin sees him as a discarded asset.

Reports about Yanukovych hiding in the Crimea, which hosts Russia’s naval base, could encourage some activists in Kiev and western Ukraine to pressure the government to apprehend him. They want to put him on trial for sanctioning the use of force against protesters that resulted in scores of deaths.

Such a move could set the stage for violence in the Crimea, where most of the population speaks Russian and abhors nationalist groups from western Ukraine.

Any such clashes would in turn put pressure on Putin to intervene, and he could come under the influence of more hawkish figures in his administration who have been advocating a tough line on Ukraine to expose alleged Western plots to pry the country from Russia’s sphere of influence.

The talk about reclaiming the Crimea long has been rife in Russia’s political circles. The region fell under Russia’s control in the 18th century under Catherine the Great and only became part of Ukraine in 1954, when then-Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev transferred it from Russian to Ukrainian administrative control.

Fyodor Lukyanov, the editor of Russia in Global Affairs magazine and head of the Council for Foreign and Defense Policies, said that for the Kremlin the key indicators would be the action by the new government regarding the Black Sea Fleet’s presence in Ukraine and authorities’ pledges to stay away from military blocs.

He said that if Moscow sees Kiev reneging on these issues, it would set off alarms in the Kremlin as a possible signal of Ukraine joining NATO.

“Ukraine in NATO has been a red line,” Lukyanov said. “If that happens, various options will come under consideration, including appeal to certain parts of Ukraine, including the Crimea.”

He warned that a violent confrontation between pro-Moscow protesters and demonstrators supporting the new Ukrainian authorities could force Russia to act.

“If clashes occur in the Crimea, Russia will start by issuing harsh statements and put the Black Sea Fleet on high alert,” Lukyanov said. “Russia couldn’t ignore it. There are all kinds of risks.”

Associated Press

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Ukraine"s turmoil brings tough challenge to Putin

Ukraine"s turmoil brings tough challenge to Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, shakes hands with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych at the Olympic reception hosted by the Russian President in Sochi, Russia, Friday, Feb. 7, 2014. (AP Photo/RIA-Novosti, Alexei Nikolsky, Presidential Press Service)

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, shakes hands with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych at the Olympic reception hosted by the Russian President in Sochi, Russia, Friday, Feb. 7, 2014. (AP Photo/RIA-Novosti, Alexei Nikolsky, Presidential Press Service)

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev speaks to press after a meeting with his Armenian counterpart Tigran Sargsyan in Sochi, Russia. The statement by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was the strongest criticism yet from Russia, which had backed Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who fled the capital of Kiev after striking a deal with the opposition. The Ukrainian parliament on Saturday quickly ousted him and set new elections for May, and its new speaker has been named Ukraine’s caretaker president. (AP Photo/RIA Novosti, Dmitry Astakhov, Government Press Service)

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MOSCOW (AP) — A successful Olympics behind him, President Vladimir Putin is facing what may become the most dramatic challenge of his rule: how to respond to the turmoil in Ukraine, a country he has declared vital for Russia’s interests, which is home to millions of Russian-speakers and hosts a major Russian navy base.

Some in Ukraine’s Russian-speaking east and south already have begged the Kremlin to help protect them against what they fear could be violence by the victorious protesters who toppled Ukraine’s Moscow-backed leader. Putin has refrained from taking a public stance on Ukraine amid the Sochi Games, but the mounting tensions could quickly leave him with a stark choice: Stick to diplomacy and risk losing face at home, or open a Pandora’s box by entering the fray.

If Moscow openly backs separatist-minded groups in Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula that serves as the base for Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, it could unleash devastating hostilities that Europe hasn’t seen since the Balkan wars. And ignoring pleas for help from pro-Russian groups in Ukraine could shatter Putin’s carefully manicured image of the tough ruler eager to stand up to the West, eroding his conservative support base at home, where his foes could be encouraged by the Ukrainian example.

Facing such high risks, Putin has remained silent, weighing his options. His premier, Dmitry Medvedev, on Monday poured scorn on the new Ukrainian authorities who replaced President Viktor Yanukovych, and questioned their legitimacy. But he wouldn’t say what action Russia might take to protect its interests.

“If you consider Kalashnikov-toting people in black masks who are roaming Kiev to be the government, then it will be hard for us to work with that government,” Medvedev said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry criticized the West for turning a blind eye to what Moscow described as the opposition reneging on its agreement signed Friday to form a unity government and aiming to “suppress dissent in various regions of Ukraine with dictatorial and, sometimes, even terrorist methods.”

Amid spiraling tensions and increasingly tough rhetoric, Putin’s best hope for striking a peaceful compromise on Russian interests in Ukraine could paradoxically be former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who was freed Saturday after more than 2½ years behind bars.

Tymoshenko, who narrowly lost the 2010 presidential vote to Yanukovych and landed in prison on abuse of office charges that were denounced by the West, immediately jumped to the forefront of Ukraine’s political scene. She flew to the capital immediately after her release to speak to tens of thousands of demonstrators on Kiev’s Independence Square, known as the Maidan.

Her charisma, ambitions and unparalleled political skills would make her all but certain to win the Ukrainian presidency in early elections set for May. Putin, who had good ties with Ukraine’s fiery ex-premier in the past, could hope for striking a deal with her that would safeguard Russian interests without the need to resort to force.

“If she consolidates power, Putin will be quite happy. They understand each other perfectly well,” said Stanislav Belkovsky, a political consultant who advised the Kremlin and worked in Ukraine. “He has good ties with Tymoshenko, and her triumph would suit him.”

Tymoshenko, who comes from eastern Ukraine, could be an ideal peacemaker, restoring an uneasy balance between Ukraine’s Russian-speaking east and south, and its western regions that abhor Russian influence.

She is burdened, however, by the legacy of insider deals and corruption allegations during her business and government careers, which may challenge her campaign. She also faces the tough task of winning the trust of some of the protesters, who are suspicious of old players and want fresh faces and strong action. And she will have to walk a fine line between publicly taking an anti-Kremlin posture to win votes in western regions and assuaging residents of the east that their interests will be protected.

For Putin, she could actually make a more convenient partner than the hesitant and indecisive Yanukovych, who had tried to maneuver between Russia and the West and provoked public anger by abruptly shelving a pact with the European Union in favor of a bailout from Moscow.

Russia’s state-controlled broadcasters heaped scorn on Yanukovych, casting him as a leader who was too weak to use force to establish order and betrayed police who had stood behind him. That’s a clear sign the Kremlin sees him as a discarded asset.

Reports about Yanukovych hiding in the Crimea, which hosts Russia’s naval base, could encourage some activists in Kiev and western Ukraine to pressure the government to apprehend him. They want to put him on trial for sanctioning the use of force against protesters that resulted in scores of deaths.

Such a move could set the stage for violence in the Crimea, where most of the population speaks Russian and abhors nationalist groups from western Ukraine.

Any such clashes would in turn put pressure on Putin to intervene, and he could come under the influence of more hawkish figures in his administration who have been advocating a tough line on Ukraine to expose alleged Western plots to pry the country from Russia’s sphere of influence.

The talk about reclaiming the Crimea long has been rife in Russia’s political circles. The region fell under Russia’s control in the 18th century under Catherine the Great and only became part of Ukraine in 1954, when then-Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev transferred it from Russian to Ukrainian administrative control.

Fyodor Lukyanov, the editor of Russia in Global Affairs magazine and head of the Council for Foreign and Defense Policies, said that for the Kremlin the key indicators would be the action by the new government regarding the Black Sea Fleet’s presence in Ukraine and authorities’ pledges to stay away from military blocs.

He said that if Moscow sees Kiev reneging on these issues, it would set off alarms in the Kremlin as a possible signal of Ukraine joining NATO.

“Ukraine in NATO has been a red line,” Lukyanov said. “If that happens, various options will come under consideration, including appeal to certain parts of Ukraine, including the Crimea.”

He warned that a violent confrontation between pro-Moscow protesters and demonstrators supporting the new Ukrainian authorities could force Russia to act.

“If clashes occur in the Crimea, Russia will start by issuing harsh statements and put the Black Sea Fleet on high alert,” Lukyanov said. “Russia couldn’t ignore it. There are all kinds of risks.”

Associated Press

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Top Headlines

Ukraine"s turmoil brings tough challenge to Putin

Contesting Common Sense: Stuart Hall’s Challenge to the Left

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Contesting Common Sense: Stuart Hall’s Challenge to the Left

The Turkish Special Forces Face Their Greatest Challenge Yet: A Door

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The Turkish Special Forces Face Their Greatest Challenge Yet: A Door

ClevverMovies Geek Week Challenge!

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ClevverMovies Geek Week Challenge!

Obama: Income inequality a defining challenge

Obama: Income inequality a defining challenge

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama turned his focus Wednesday to the pocketbook issues that Americans consistently rank as a top concern, arguing that the dream of upward economic mobility is breaking down and the growing income gap is a “defining challenge of our time.”
Business Headlines

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CNN"s Cuomo Dismisses Challenge to Birth Control Mandate as "Growing Distraction" From Fixing ObamaCare

CNN’s Chris Cuomo called the legal challenge to ObamaCare’s birth control mandate a “growing distraction from dealing with the problems of ObamaCare” on Wednesday’s New Day.

“It also raises the question at what point do you stop challenging the law? At what point do you accept that this was passed, it was tested by the Supreme Court?” he asked. “To me, it’s a growing distraction from dealing with the problems of Obamacare.” [Video below the break. Audio here.]

Opponents of the mandate insist the case is about matters of religious liberty and conscience, but Cuomo argued ObamaCare is the law of the land.

“You talk about good in standing law. It was already vetted by the Supreme Court, and that you just leave it alone and figure out its implementation,” he insisted. This isn’t the first time Cuomo has implied at least a partial support of ObamaCare.

After millions were losing or were set to lose their insurance because of ObamaCare, Cuomo insisted that “You cannot measure the law by what’s happening with this one slice of the people potentially.” He added that “Some people are going to have to pay some more, but over time it evens out.”

Cuomo also told a conservative guest last week that “You have to have the government involved with health care.”
 

NewsBusters blogs

CNN"s Cuomo Dismisses Challenge to Birth Control Mandate as "Growing Distraction" From Fixing ObamaCare

Govt Lawyers: Americans Have No Right to Challenge Surveillance

Govt Lawyers: Americans Have No Right to Challenge Surveillance

Ordinary Americans Have No Say, Officials Insist

by Jason Ditz, November 22, 2013

Government lawyers are demanding that the US District Court immediately throw out an ACLU lawsuit against NSA surveillance, insisting that there is no avenue by which “ordinary Americans” could even theoretically challenge its legality.

The ACLU is arguing that the surveillance, involving collecting every phone record of every American, exceeds the authority the NSA has under either the Patriot Act or the Constitution.

The government is arguing that only phone companies could challenge the collection orders, however, and then only in super-secret FISA courts, which have already rubber-stamped the surveillance time and again.

The lawyers are also arguing that the judge himself isn’t qualified to hear questions of “national security” and that he should simply trust the administration’s officials to figure things out on their own, outside of courts.

Last 5 posts by Jason Ditz

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• Syrian Rebel Factions Unite as ‘Islamic Front’ – November 22nd, 2013

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WHAT REALLY HAPPENED

Govt Lawyers: Americans Have No Right to Challenge Surveillance

Supreme Court blocks challenge to NSA phone tracking

Supreme Court blocks challenge to NSA phone tracking
http://thedailynewsreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/d9650__supreme-court-nsa-spying.si.jpg

Reuters / Jonathan Ernst

The Supreme Court announced Monday morning that it would not be considering at this time a complaint filed months earlier that challenged the legality of the National Security Agency’s dragnet telephone surveillance program.

Editor’s note: while the Supreme Court turned down EPIC’s case, two other cases challenging NSA surveillance are moving forward in U.S. district courts.

The high court issued a notice early Monday without comment acknowledging that it would not be weighing in on a matter introduced this past June by a privacy watchdog group after NSA leaker Edward Snowden revealed evidence showing that the United States intelligence agency was collecting metadata pertaining to the phone calls of millions of American customers of the telecommunications company Verizon on a regular basis.

That disclosure — the first of many NSA documents leaked by Mr. Snowden — prompted the Washington, DC-based Electronic Privacy Information Center, or EPIC, to ask the Supreme Court to consider taking action that would end the collection of phone records on a major scale.

When EPIC filed their petition in June, they wrote, “We believe that the NSA’s collection of domestic communications contravenes the First and Fourth Amendments to the United States Constitution, and violates several federal privacy laws, including the Privacy Act of 1974 and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 as amended.”

“We ask the NSA to immediately suspend collection of solely domestic communications pending the competition of a public rulemaking as required by law. We intend to renew our request each week until we receive your response,” EPIC said.

Five months later, though, the Supreme Court said this week that it would not be hearing EPIC’s plea. A document began circulating early Monday in which the high court listed the petition filed by the privacy advocates as denied.

With other cases still pending, however, alternative routes may eventually lead to reform of the NSA’s habits on some level. Lower courts are still in the midst of deciding what action they will take with regards to similar lawsuits filed by other groups in response to the Snowden leaks and the revelations they made possible. The American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and conservative legal activist Larry Klayman have filed separate civil lawsuits in various US District Courts challenging the NSA’s program, all of which are still pending.

Cindy Cohn, the legal director of the EFF, told the Washington Post only weeks after the first Snowden leak appeared that the disclosures had been a “tremendous boon” to other matters being litigated, and pointed to no fewer than five previously-filed complaints challenging various government-led surveillance programs.

“Now that this secret surveillance program has been disclosed, and now that Congressional leaders and legal scholars agree it is unlawful, we have a chance for the Supreme Court to weigh in,” EPIC lead counsel Alan Butler told The Verge on Monday.

Source: RT

End the Lie – Independent News

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Supreme Court blocks challenge to NSA phone tracking

RT
November 18, 2013

The Supreme Court announced Monday morning that it would not be considering at this time a complaint filed months earlier that challenged the legality of the National Security Agency’s dragnet telephone surveillance program.

Gavels have been used by courts since perhaps the middle ages.
Credit: Jonathunder via Wikimedia

The high court issued a notice early Monday without comment acknowledging that it would not be weighing in on a matter introduced this past June by a privacy watchdog group after NSA leaker Edward Snowden revealed evidence showing that the United States intelligence agency was collecting metadata pertaining to the phone calls of millions of American customers of the telecommunications company Verizon on a regular basis.

That disclosure — the first of many NSA documents leaked by Mr. Snowden — prompted the Washington, DC-based Electronic Privacy Information Center, or EPIC, to ask the Supreme Court to consider taking action that would end the collection of phone records on a major scale.

When EPIC filed their petition in June, they wrote, “We believe that the NSA’s collection of domestic communications contravenes the First and Fourth Amendments to the United States Constitution, and violates several federal privacy laws, including the Privacy Act of 1974 and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 as amended.”

“We ask the NSA to immediately suspend collection of solely domestic communications pending the competition of a public rulemaking as required by law. We intend to renew our request each week until we receive your response,” EPIC said.

Five months later, though, the Supreme Court said this week that it would not be hearing EPIC’s plea. A document began circulating early Monday in which the high court listed the petition filed by the privacy advocates as denied.

With other cases still pending, however, alternative routes may eventually lead to reform of the NSA’s habits on some level. Lower courts are still in the midst of deciding what action they will take with regards to similar lawsuits filed by other groups in response to the Snowden leaks and the revelations they made possible. The American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and conservative legal activist Larry Klayman have filed separate civil lawsuits in various US District Courts challenging the NSA’s program, all of which are still pending.

Cindy Cohn, the legal director of the EFF, told the Washington Post only weeks after the first Snowden leak appeared that the disclosures had been a “tremendous boon” to other matters being litigated, and pointed to no fewer than five previously-filed complaints challenging various government-led surveillance programs.

“Now that this secret surveillance program has been disclosed, and now that Congressional leaders and legal scholars agree it is unlawful, we have a chance for the Supreme Court to weigh in,” EPIC lead counsel Alan Butler told The Verge on Monday.

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This article was posted: Monday, November 18, 2013 at 11:42 am

Tags: big brother, constitution, domestic news, domestic spying

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Supreme Court blocks challenge to NSA phone tracking

Supreme Court blocks challenge to NSA phone tracking

Supreme Court blocks challenge to NSA phone tracking
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RT
November 18, 2013

The Supreme Court announced Monday morning that it would not be considering at this time a complaint filed months earlier that challenged the legality of the National Security Agency’s dragnet telephone surveillance program.

Gavels have been used by courts since perhaps the middle ages.
Credit: Jonathunder via Wikimedia

The high court issued a notice early Monday without comment acknowledging that it would not be weighing in on a matter introduced this past June by a privacy watchdog group after NSA leaker Edward Snowden revealed evidence showing that the United States intelligence agency was collecting metadata pertaining to the phone calls of millions of American customers of the telecommunications company Verizon on a regular basis.

That disclosure — the first of many NSA documents leaked by Mr. Snowden — prompted the Washington, DC-based Electronic Privacy Information Center, or EPIC, to ask the Supreme Court to consider taking action that would end the collection of phone records on a major scale.

When EPIC filed their petition in June, they wrote, “We believe that the NSA’s collection of domestic communications contravenes the First and Fourth Amendments to the United States Constitution, and violates several federal privacy laws, including the Privacy Act of 1974 and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 as amended.”

“We ask the NSA to immediately suspend collection of solely domestic communications pending the competition of a public rulemaking as required by law. We intend to renew our request each week until we receive your response,” EPIC said.

Five months later, though, the Supreme Court said this week that it would not be hearing EPIC’s plea. A document began circulating early Monday in which the high court listed the petition filed by the privacy advocates as denied.

With other cases still pending, however, alternative routes may eventually lead to reform of the NSA’s habits on some level. Lower courts are still in the midst of deciding what action they will take with regards to similar lawsuits filed by other groups in response to the Snowden leaks and the revelations they made possible. The American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and conservative legal activist Larry Klayman have filed separate civil lawsuits in various US District Courts challenging the NSA’s program, all of which are still pending.

Cindy Cohn, the legal director of the EFF, told the Washington Post only weeks after the first Snowden leak appeared that the disclosures had been a “tremendous boon” to other matters being litigated, and pointed to no fewer than five previously-filed complaints challenging various government-led surveillance programs.

“Now that this secret surveillance program has been disclosed, and now that Congressional leaders and legal scholars agree it is unlawful, we have a chance for the Supreme Court to weigh in,” EPIC lead counsel Alan Butler told The Verge on Monday.

Read more

This article was posted: Monday, November 18, 2013 at 11:42 am

Tags: big brother, constitution, domestic news, domestic spying

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Read more about Supreme Court blocks challenge to NSA phone tracking and other interesting subjects concerning NSA at TheDailyNewsReport.com

Rand Paul On NSA Spying: "I"m Going To Challenge This At The Supreme Court" - Fox News 6/9/2013

Rand Paul On NSA Spying: "I"m Going To Challenge This At The Supreme Court" - Fox News 6/9/2013
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UPDATE 1-Suntech to challenge U.S. bondholders" bankruptcy push

UPDATE 1-Suntech to challenge U.S. bondholders" bankruptcy push
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Thu Oct 31, 2013 11:05am EDT





* Four U.S. bondholders seek Chapter 7 proceedings against Suntech




* Suntech has until Nov. 6 to respond to the filing




Oct 31 (Reuters) – Chinese solar panel maker Suntech Power Holdings Co Ltd said it intended to contest a bankruptcy petition filed against it in the United States by some bondholders.




U.S.-listed Suntech’s shares fell as much as 8 percent to a low of $ 1.30.




A group of four U.S. bondholders, holding about $ 1.6 million of the debt-laden company’s 3 percent convertible senior notes due 2013, made the filing under Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.




In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, or liquidation, a trustee is appointed to oversee the sale of a company’s assets to raise money to repay creditors.




Suntech defaulted in March on a principal payment on its $ 541 million convertible bonds, prompting its main manufacturing unit, Wuxi Suntech, to file for bankruptcy protection in China five days later.




Suntech, once the largest panel maker in the world, has not been able to recover after a global glut of panels depressed selling prices and the withdrawal of subsidies in top European solar markets. Its stock price has collapsed since touching a life-high of $ 86.28 in December 2007.




One of the four U.S. bondholders is Trondheim Capital Partners LP. Colin Peterson, a managing director at the distressed-debt firm, told Reuters in March that he would sue Suntech if it failed to make the payments.




Analysts have long warned that Suntech’s overseas bondholders had slim chances of recovering their money, though the company has continued to enjoy government support while under bankruptcy proceedings in China.




Suntech said on Wednesday that Wuxi Guolian, the investment arm of the city government of Wuxi where the company is headquartered, could invest at least $ 150 million to support a restructuring of the company.




The closely watched restructuring is moving forward with China’s Shunfeng Photovoltaic International Ltd potentially buying Wuxi Suntech, according to sources.




Suntech has repeatedly struck deals with its U.S. bondholders to defer payment on the $ 541 million loan, but the company said on Thursday that a judgment had been ruled in favor of certain bondholders with respect to repayment of their notes.




Suntech said it had until Nov. 6 to respond to the Chapter 7 filing made in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York.




Suntech shares were down 4.3 percent at $ 1.24 in late morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock price has collapsed since touching a life-high of $ 86.28 in December 2007.





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Reuters: Bonds News

Read more about UPDATE 1-Suntech to challenge U.S. bondholders" bankruptcy push and other interesting subjects concerning Bonds at TheDailyNewsReport.com

Maryland calls gun law challenge too late, too little

Fox News
Sept. 30, 2013

The state of Maryland says gun advocates waited too long to challenge tougher firearm regulations set to take effect Tuesday.

Attorney General Doug Gansler asked a federal judge in Baltimore on Monday to deny their request for an order blocking enforcement of the law.

A collection of gun shops, firearm associations and private citizens filed two lawsuits late last week challenging different aspects of the law on constitutional grounds. A court hearing on the first case is set for Tuesday.

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This article was posted: Monday, September 30, 2013 at 12:08 pm

Tags: constitution, gun rights

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Maryland calls gun law challenge too late, too little

The Century-Long Challenge to Respond to Fukushima

More than two years after an earthquake and tsunami wreaked havoc on a Japanese power plant, the Fukushima nuclear disaster is one of the most serious threats to public health in the Asia-Pacific, and the worst case of nuclear contamination the world has ever seen. Radiation continues to leak from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi site into groundwater, threatening to contaminate the entire Pacific Ocean. The cleanup will require an unprecedented global effort.

Initially, the leaked radioactive materials consisted of cesium-137 and 134, and to a lesser degree iodine-131. Of these, the real long-term threat comes from cesium-137, which is easily absorbed into bodily tissue—and its half-life of 30 years means it will be a threat for decades to come. Recent measurements indicate that escaping water also has increasing levels of strontium-90, a far more dangerous radioactive material than cesium. Strontium-90 mimics calcium and is readily absorbed into the bones of humans and animals.

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) recently announced that it lacks the expertise to effectively control the flow of radiation into groundwater and seawater and is seeking help from the Japanese government. TEPCO has proposed setting up a subterranean barrier around the plant by freezing the ground, thereby preventing radioactive water from eventually leaking into the ocean—an approach that has never before been attempted in a case of massive radiation leakage. TEPCO has also proposed erecting additional walls now that the existing wall has been overwhelmed by the approximately 400 tons per day of water flowing into the power plant.

But even if these proposals were to succeed, they would not constitute a long-term solution.

A New Space Race

Solving the Fukushima Daiichi crisis needs to be considered a challenge akin to putting a person on the moon in the 1960s. This complex technological feat will require focused attention and the concentration of tremendous resources over decades. But this time the effort must be international, as the situation potentially puts the health of hundreds of millions at risk. The long-term solution to this crisis deserves at least as much attention from government and industry as do nuclear proliferation, terrorism, the economy, and crime.

To solve the Fukushima Daiichi problem will require enlisting the best and the brightest to come up with a long-term plan to be implemented over the next century. Experts from around the world need to contribute their insights and ideas. They should come from diverse fields—engineering, biology, demographics, agriculture, philosophy, history, art, urban design, and more. They will need to work together at multiple levels to develop a comprehensive assessment of how to rebuild communities, resettle people, control the leakage of radiation, dispose safely of the contaminated water and soil, and contain the radiation. They will also need to find ways to completely dismantle the damaged reactor, although that challenge may require technologies not available until decades from now.

Such a plan will require the development of unprecedented technologies, such as robots that can function in highly radioactive environments. This project might capture the imagination of innovators in the robotics world and give a civilian application to existing military technology. Improved robot technology would prevent the tragic scenes of old people and others volunteering to enter into the reactors at the risk of their own wellbeing.

The Fukushima disaster is a crisis for all of humanity, but it is a crisis that can serve as an opportunity to construct global networks for unprecedented collaboration. Groups or teams aided by sophisticated computer technology can start to break down into workable pieces the immense problems resulting from the ongoing spillage. Then experts can come back with the best recommendations and a concrete plan for action. The effort can draw on the precedents of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, but it must go far further.

In his book Reinventing Discovery: The New Era of Networked Science, Michael Nielsen describes principles of networked science that can be applied on an unprecedented scale. The breakthroughs that come from this effort can also be used for other long-term programs such as the cleanup of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico or the global response to climate change. The collaborative research regarding Fukushima should take place on a very large scale, larger than the sequencing of the human genome or the maintenance of the Large Hadron Collider.

Finally, there is an opportunity to entirely reinvent the field of public diplomacy in response to this crisis. Public diplomacy can move from a somewhat ambiguous effort by national governments to repackage their messaging to a serious forum for debate and action on international issues. As public diplomacy matures through the experience of Fukushima, we can devise new strategies for bringing together hundreds of thousands of people around the world to respond to mutual threats. Taking a clue from networked science, public diplomacy could serve as a platform for serious, long-term international collaboration on critical topics such as poverty, renewable energy, and pollution control.

Similarly, this crisis could serve as the impetus to make social networking do what it was supposed to do: help people combine their expertise to solve common problems. Social media could be used not as a means of exchanging photographs of lattes and overfed cats, but rather as an effective means of assessing the accuracy of information, exchanging opinions between experts, forming a general consensus, and enabling civil society to participate directly in governance. With the introduction into the social media platform of adequate peer review—such as that advocated by the Peer-to-Peer Foundation (P2P)—social media can play a central role in addressing the Fukushima crisis and responding to it. As a leader in the P2P movement, Michel Bauwens, suggests in an email, “peers are already converging in their use of knowledge around the world, even in manufacturing at the level of computers, cars, and heavy equipment.”

Here we may find the answer to the Fukushima conundrum: open the problem up to the whole world.

Peer-to-Peer Science

Making Fukushima a global project that seriously engages both experts and common citizens in the millions, or tens of millions, could give some hope to the world after two and a half years of lies, half-truths, and concerted efforts to avoid responsibility on the part of the Japanese government and international institutions. If concerned citizens in all countries were to pore through the data and offer their suggestions online, there could be a new level of transparency in the decision-making process and a flourishing of invaluable insights.

There is no reason why detailed information on radiation emissions and the state of the reactors should not be publicly available in enough detail to satisfy the curiosity of a trained nuclear engineer. If the question of what to do next comes down to the consensus of millions of concerned citizens engaged in trying to solve the problem, we will have a strong alternative to the secrecy that has dominated so far. Could our cooperation on the solution to Fukushima be an imperative to move beyond the existing barriers to our collective intelligence posed by national borders, corporate ownership, and intellectual property concerns?

A project to classify stars throughout the university has demonstrated that if tasks are carefully broken up, it is possible for laypeople to play a critical role in solving technical problems. In the case of Galaxy Zoo, anyone who is interested can qualify to go online and classify different kinds of stars situated in distant galaxies and enter the information into a database. It’s all part of a massive effort to expand our knowledge of the universe, which has been immensely successful and demonstrated that there are aspects of scientific analysis that does not require a Ph.D. In the case of Fukushima, if an ordinary person examines satellite photographs online every day, he or she can become more adept than a professor in identifying unusual flows carrying radioactive materials. There is a massive amount of information that requires analysis related to Fukushima, and at present most of it goes virtually unanalyzed.

An effective response to Fukushima needs to accommodate both general and specific perspectives. It will initially require a careful and sophisticated setting of priorities. We can then set up convergence groups that, aided by advanced computation and careful efforts at multidisciplinary integration, could respond to crises and challenges with great effectiveness. Convergence groups can also serve as a bridge between the expert and the layperson, encouraging a critical continuing education about science and society.

Responding to Fukushima is as much about educating ordinary people about science as it is about gathering together highly paid experts. It is useless for experts to come up with novel solutions if they cannot implement them. But implementation can only come about if the population as a whole has a deeper understanding of the issues. Large-scale networked science efforts that are inclusive will make sure that no segments of society are left out.

If the familiar players (NGOs, central governments, corporations, and financial institutions) are unable to address the unprecedented crises facing humanity, we must find ways to build social networks, not only as a means to come up with innovative concepts, but also to promote and implement the resulting solutions. That process includes pressuring institutions to act. We need to use true innovation to pave the way to an effective application of science and technology to the needs of civil society. There is no better place to start than the Internet and no better topic than the long-term response to the Fukushima disaster.

Truthout Stories

The Century-Long Challenge to Respond to Fukushima

Divided vote foreshadows Obama challenge on Syria

Secretary of State John Kerry testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013, before the House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing to advance President Barack Obama’s request for congressional authorization for military intervention in Syria, a response to last month’s alleged sarin gas attack in the Syrian civil war. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Secretary of State John Kerry testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013, before the House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing to advance President Barack Obama’s request for congressional authorization for military intervention in Syria, a response to last month’s alleged sarin gas attack in the Syrian civil war. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Secretary of State John Kerry confers with U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford, right, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013, during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on President Barack Obama’s request for congressional authorization for military intervention in Syria, a response to last month’s alleged sarin gas attack in the Syrian civil war. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel sits at left. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Senate Foreign Relations Committee members Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz, center, and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., left, talk on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013, during the committee’s hearing to consider the authorization for use of military force in Syria. Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz. is at right. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

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WASHINGTON (AP) — A Senate panel’s deep divide over giving President Barack Obama the authority to use U.S. military force against Syria underscores the commander in chief’s challenge in persuading skeptical lawmakers and wary allies to back greater intervention in an intractable civil war.

The administration was pressing ahead Thursday with its full-scale sales job, holding another round of closed-door meetings for members of Congress about its intelligence on Syria. On another continent, Obama was certain to face questions from world leaders when he arrives in St. Petersburg, Russia, for an economic summit.

The event’s host, Russian President Vladimir Putin, stands as a reminder of resistance to U.S. pleas for Moscow to intervene with its ally Syria and President Bashar Assad.

Obama has called for military action after the administration blamed Assad for a chemical weapons attack on Aug. 21 that it says killed more than 1,400 civilians, including at least 400 children. Other casualty estimates are lower, and the Syrian government denies responsibility, contending rebels fighting to topple the government were to blame.

Responding to Obama’s request, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 10-7 Wednesday to authorize the “limited and specified use” of the U.S. armed forces against Syria, backing a resolution that restricts military action to 90 days and bars American ground troops from combat.

Secretary of State John Kerry, testifying for the second consecutive day before Congress, insisted that the U.S. military response would be restricted as Americans fatigued by more than a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan show little inclination to get involved in Syria.

“I don’t believe we’re going to war, I just don’t believe that,” Kerry told the House Foreign Affairs Committee, citing the ground troops and long-term commitment that he said wars entail. “That’s not what we’re doing here. The president is asking for permission to take a limited military action, yes, but one that does not put Americans in the middle of the battle.”

In the Senate, five Republicans, including potential presidential candidates Rand Paul and Marco Rubio, and two Democrats opposed the resolution, which is expected to reach the Senate floor next week. The timing of a vote is uncertain.

“I believe U.S. military action of the type contemplated here might prove to be counterproductive,” Rubio said. “After a few days of missile strikes, it will allow Assad, for example, to emerge and claim that he took on the United States and survived.”

Paul, a Kentucky conservative with strong tea party ties, has threatened a filibuster, although he acknowledged that proponents have the votes to prevail in the Senate, and he pinned his hopes on the House.

The notion of a contained operation has failed to sway many Republicans and Democrats in the House, who question why the U.S. should get involved now in a Syrian civil war that has killed an estimated 100,000, displaced millions and is in its third year. While House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., have expressed support for military action, but rank-and-file Republicans remain reluctant or outright opposed.

Republican Rep. Chris Collins said voters in his western New York district are “overwhelmingly against involvement.” The freshman congressman is undecided.

“Really, I’m looking for the president to justify limited military strike and establish what are the objectives he’s seeking and what is the mission,” Collins said in a phone interview.

Kerry told the Foreign Affairs Committee that he believed Obama would address the nation on Syria in the next few days. The president returns home from overseas Friday night.

Speaking in Sweden on Wednesday, Obama left open the possibility he would order retaliation for the deadly chemical weapons attack even if Congress withheld its approval.

“I always preserve the right and responsibility to act on behalf of America’s national security,” he told a news conference. In a challenge to lawmakers back home, he said Congress’ credibility was on the line, not his own, despite saying a year ago that the use of chemical weapons would cross a “red line.”

The Senate panel’s vote marked the first formal response in Congress, four days after Obama unexpectedly put off an anticipated cruise missile strike against Syria and instead asked lawmakers to unite behind such a plan.

The vote capped a hectic few days in which lawmakers first narrowed the scope of Obama’s request and then widened it.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a proponent of aggressive U.S. military action in Syria, joined forces with Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware to add a provision calling for “decisive changes to the present military balance of power on the ground in Syria.”

At their urging, the measure was also changed to state that the policy of the United States was “to change the momentum on the battlefield in Syria so as to create favorable conditions for a negotiated settlement that ends the conflict and leads to a democratic government in Syria.” McCain, who long has accused Obama of timidity in Syria, argued that Assad will be willing to participate in diplomatic negotiations only if he believes he is going to lose the civil war he has been fighting for more than two years.

___

Associated Press writers Julie Pace and Josh Lederman in Sweden and Bradley Klapper, Alan Fram, Deb Riechmann, Kimberly Dozier, Lolita C. Baldor and Andrew Taylor in Washington contributed to this report.

Associated Press

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Divided vote foreshadows Obama challenge on Syria