Liberty Never Sleeps- Chris Christie–Media Injustice and The Unwashed Masses – Video


Liberty Never Sleeps- Chris Christie--Media Injustice and The Unwashed Masses
Conservative talk show with Republican rascal and raconteur, syndicated columnist Thomas Purcell. Uncensored, unfiltered opinions and phone calls from listen...

By: Thomas Purcell

Read more from the original source:

Liberty Never Sleeps- Chris Christie--Media Injustice and The Unwashed Masses - Video

John Cornyn again questions feds’ pursuit of late hacker-activist Aaron Swartz

Aaron Swartz in Miami Beach in 2009. He died Jan. 11, 2013 at age 26 in New York City. (Michael Francis McElroy/The New York Times)

WASHINGTON The pushback by some in the Republican Party against the Obama Administrations embattled defense of secrecy and surveillance is well-documented. Tea Party champion Rand Paul, with a strong libertarianism strain, has promised to file a class-action suit aimed at the National Security Administrations massive snooping operations.

Sen. Ted Cruz, another of the movements bannermen, has kept mostly quiet so far on many of the issues that have so riled up Paul and a small band of others.

But on Thursday a very different kind of Republican, Sen. John Cornyn, weighed in on a related issue, raising his own objections to what he called the reckless way in which the Department of Justice under President Obama has wielded its powers against individuals.

It was an interesting move for Cornyn, who as a former Texas Supreme Court justice and attorney general is about as conservative, as law-and-order as any senator in Washington.

He engaged the debate by evoking a name that hasnt been much discussed in Texas political circles, a name I first heard a year ago this Saturday.

I was sitting in funky little coffee shop in San Francisco trying to make sense of a piece of fiction that I had begun. I was on leave, and it was a year for trying new things. Across the table was a young guy in his late 20s looking like he had lost his iPad somewhere or dropped one of the gadgets that seemingly everyone in Northern California carried like ammunition. I asked him how he was. His response: Im just devastated by Aaron Swartzs death. I cant believe it.

Aaron Swartz. I had heard a report of his suicide at age 26 that morning on the way into the city from my home in Palo Alto, and seemingly alone in that tech-juiced city, hadnt recognized the name. Turns out, seemingly everyone I met that day and the next was reeling from the news.

Aaron was the computer wunderkind who as a teenager had emerged as kind of a hacker white knight and thinker that made the computerati take notice. One of his earliest achievements was to help write the code for what became RSS newsfeed software. His close mentors as a teen were MIT professor Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the, well, the Internet, and Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig. The New Republic would write in a February obituary that Swartz was welcome on any e-mail thread or chat room populated by the worlds leading hackers before he could shave.

But of course all that had seemed like an eternity ago for Swartz in January of last year, when he killed himself. He had been pursued for two years or more by the Department of Justice for the crime of illegally downloading 4 million articles from an academic database and making them available to the public. Trouble was, none of the articles belonged to him. That Friday a year ago was the first day I had heard his name.

Read more from the original source:

John Cornyn again questions feds' pursuit of late hacker-activist Aaron Swartz

Upshur County Libertarians to meet Tuesday

The Upshur County Libertarian Party will hold its monthly meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Country Cafe, located across from the county Rock Building on U.S. Hwy. 271 in Gilmer. The meeting is open to the public.

State Rep. David Simpson (R-Longview) was originally scheduled to speak at Tuesday's meeting, but his appearance has been postponed until the group's Feb. 11 monthly meeting in order to allow him to attend a banquet on Tuesday, said Upshur Libertarian Chairman Vance Lowry.

The Upshur Libertarians, who nominate any local candidates by convention rather than in primary elections, will hold their county convention March 4, at which time they are expected to nominate Peggy LaGrone for County Clerk. Registered voters who do not cast ballots in the March 4 Republican or Democrat primaries are eligible to participate in the Libertarian convention.

Ms. LaGrone, a former Republican who was County Clerk from Jan. 1, 2007 to Dec. 31, 2010, is expected to oppose Republican Terri Ross in the November general election. Mrs. Ross is unopposed for the GOP nomination, and no Democrat is seeking the post.

Incumbent County Clerk Barbara Winchester, appointed to the office last year when Brandy Lee resigned it to become County Auditor, declined to seek election.

Read the original:

Upshur County Libertarians to meet Tuesday

Tonga’s northern islands brace for powerful cyclone

ABC Satellite image of Cyclone Ian as of 12:00pm Tongan local time, January 9.

Tonga's northern islands are bracing for the arrival of a powerful tropical cyclone which is forecast to bring hurricane force winds.

Tropical Cyclone Ian is currently packing average winds of 100 kilometres per hour with gusts of up to 140 kilometres per hour.

It's currently a Category Four system located about 300 kilometres north west of Vava'u and is moving south east at about five kilometres per hour.

Ian is expected to remain a Category Four storm for the next 24 hours and then weaken before leaving Tonga late Sunday.

Forecaster Shalwin Singh from the Fiji Meteorological Service says Tonga's northern islands will feel the brunt of Ian's fury.

"As the storm tracks south eastwards, we expect the Vava'u Group and the Ha'apai Group to be the worst affected, they will encounter the severe hurricane force winds," he said.

"It is a severe tropical cyclone now and close to its centre we expect the average winds to be up to 90 knots and that is quite significant.

"We expect hurricane force winds - that is above 65 knots - to be within 20 nautical miles of the centre.

Ian is expected to brush below Niuafo'ou, Tonga's most northerly island, in the Niua group.

Read this article:

Tonga's northern islands brace for powerful cyclone

Japan to take over management of 280 remote islands

Japan is seeking to nationalize 280 remote islands in a move aimed at strengthening the country's territorial boundaries.

Japanese government officials say nationalizing the islands is intended to clarify the governments protection of its territories and reinforce its management of marine resources and national security, The Japan News reported.

Registering [remote islands] as Japans national assets would send a message that we intend to strengthen management of them Ichita Yamamoto, Japans state minister for oceanic police and territorial issues, said.

The government must accurately grasp the state of these remote islands, Yamamoto said, according to the report.

The move may heighten already strained tensions between Tokyo, China and South Korea, who are currently engaged in territorial disputes over ownership of unclaimed islands in the East China Sea, Reuters reported.

We believe that Japans actions in marine areas should follow international law, and should not harm the interest of other countries or the international community, said Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman of Chinas foreign ministry, according to Reuters.

Earlier in the week, Japan's Cabinet adopted a national security strategy and revised defense plans that increased defense spending and calls for a larger role in maintaining international stability.

The program includes acquisition of surveillance drones, anti-missile destroyers and other equipment as the country's defense priorities shift to focus on its dispute with China over uninhabited islands.

The revised defense plans are based on the new national security strategy that reflects Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's drive to raise the profile of Japan's military and for the country to play a bigger international role.

Experts say the strategy and the defense plans are in line with power shift that has been continuing for several years. But Japan's neighbors and some Japanese citizens worry that the guidelines push the country away from its pacifist constitution.

Go here to read the rest:

Japan to take over management of 280 remote islands

Tonga’s Vava’u and Ha’apai islands brace for hurricane force winds from Tropical Cyclone Ian

ABC Satellite view of Severe Tropical Cyclone Ian approaching Tonga

Tonga's northern islands are bracing for the arrival of a powerful tropical cyclone which is forecast to bring hurricane force winds.

Tropical Cyclone Ian is currently packing average winds of 100 kilometres per hour with gusts of up to 140 kilometres per hour.

It's currently a Category Four system located about 300 kilometres north west of Vava'u and is moving south east at about five kilometres per hour.

Ian is expected to remain a Category Four storm for the next 24 hours and then weaken before leaving Tonga late Sunday.

Forecaster Shalwin Singh from the Fiji Meteorological Service says Tonga's northern islands will feel the brunt of Ian's fury.

"As the storm tracks south eastwards, we expect the Vava'u Group and the Ha'apai Group to be the worst affected, they will encounter the severe hurricane force winds," he said.

"It is a severe tropical cyclone now and close to its centre we expect the average winds to be up to 90 knots and that is quite significant.

"We expect hurricane force winds - that is above 65 knots - to be within 20 nautical miles of the centre.

Ian is expected to brush below Niuafo'ou, Tonga's most northerly island, in the Niua group.

Originally posted here:

Tonga's Vava'u and Ha'apai islands brace for hurricane force winds from Tropical Cyclone Ian

61 Vietnamese nabbed for poaching in Riau Islands waters

BATAM (Riau Islands): Indonesian water patrol police have nabbed 61 Vietnamese crew for poaching using trawlers in Riau Islands waters, Indonesias news agency Antarareported.

Commander of Water Patrol Boat Bisma 8001 Adjunct Senior Commissioner Sigit N Hidayat said yesterday the crew members were detained on Jan 4 along with four boats and three tonnes of fish at two separate locations around 15 miles off Jemaja Isle, Anambas District.

The loss from fish that has been caught amounts to hundreds of millions, but the environmental damage caused by the trawlers is even worse, Sigit said.

The Vietnamese crew had earlier applied for permits to fish in the Riau Islands waters at the Batam maritime affairs and fisheries office but their request was turned down.

The group went ahead to poach fish in Riau Islands on their way back to Vietnam.

The Vietnamese boats were reportedly spotted poaching regularly in Indonesian waters since last September.

In July last year, four Thai fishing boats were caught fishing illegally in the seas off eastern Aceh by Indonesian maritime authorities.

A total of 36 crew including 8 Thai and 28 Myanmar nationals were detained. Bernama

To enable your comment to be published, please refrain from vulgar language, insidious, seditious or slanderous remarks. This includes vulgar user names.

More:

61 Vietnamese nabbed for poaching in Riau Islands waters

Bank of Philippine Islands Slumps on Rights Offer: Manila Mover

Bank of the Philippine Islands, the nations third-largest lender by assets, fell to a three-week low in Manila stock trading after pricing a 25 billion peso ($559 million) rights offer at a 22 percent discount.

BPI, as the lender is known, slumped 2.2 percent to 84.30 pesos at the close of trading, the lowest level since Dec. 20. The bank will sell up to 370.4 million new shares at 67.50 pesos a share, it said in an exchange filing today, compared with its closing price of 86.15 pesos yesterday.

Proceeds from the offering will help expand lending and operations, and strengthen capital under stricter Basel III requirements, BPI said in a Nov. 6 filing. Bigger rival BDO Unibank Inc. raised the equivalent of $1 billion from a rights offer in June 2012.

Philippine National Bank (PNB) shares sank 3.1 percent to 80.9 pesos, the biggest drop since Nov. 22. The bank priced its own rights offer at 71 pesos, it said in a separate disclosure, a 15 percent discount to its close yesterday.

Philippine National will offer 162.9 million new shares starting on Jan. 27, with stockholders entitled to 15 new shares for 100 shares held, according to the disclosure. BPI will sell its shares from Jan. 20 with an entitlement ratio of one share for every 9.6 held by stockholders, it said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Norman P. Aquino in Manila at naquino1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Clarissa Batino at cbatino@bloomberg.net

Follow this link:

Bank of Philippine Islands Slumps on Rights Offer: Manila Mover

Nature Publishing Group Announces OA Journal

Weekly News Digest January 2, 2014 In addition to this week's NewsBreak(s), the editors have compiled the Weekly News Digest, featuring stories from the week just past that you should know about. Watch for additional coverage to appear in the next print issue of Information Today.

CLICK HERE to view all of this week's Weekly News Digest items.

Nature Publishing Group Announces OA Journal

Human Genome Variation, the sixth journal collaboration between NPG and JSHG, is a sister title of JSHGs Journal of Human Genetics. Katsushi Tokunaga, a professor at the University of Tokyo, will serve as editor-in-chief. The journal will feature original research articles, summaries, reviews, and data reports. Its audience is human genetics researchers and clinical geneticists.

The journal will provide a forum for scientists working in human genetics, variation and mutation to publish their discoveries, results, analysis and insights, says Dugald McGlashan, publisher of NPGs Asia-Pacific academic journals.

Authors may choose which Creative Commons license to apply to their research articles, which will be OA on publication.

NPG and JSHG will also develop a searchable database sourced from the journals data reports that includes content on genomic variation and variability.

Source: Nature Publishing Group

Read the original here:

Nature Publishing Group Announces OA Journal