Daily Archives: August 20, 2012

Study links press freedom to happiness

Posted: August 20, 2012 at 9:12 pm

By Tarra Quismundo Philippine Daily Inquirer

Whats the key to happiness? Apparently, press freedom contributes to happiness.

As the Philippine media push for the passage of the freedom of information (FOI) bill, a study by doctoral students in journalism has found that countries with a free press, especially those with FOI laws, have higher levels of happiness and living standards overall.

The happiness study by Fulbright scholar Edson Tandoc Jr. of Missouri School of Journalism and his research partner, Bruno Takahashi of Michigan State University, found that press freedom contributed to peoples life satisfaction as it was a vital component in assuring effective governance.

The study also underlined the importance of institutionalizing freedom of information in promoting greater levels of press freedom and improving quality of life, said Tandoc, a former Philippine Daily Inquirer reporter.

He said it was a correlation that indicated the need to urgently pass the Philippine FOI legislation.

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Freedom Manifesto: Why Free Markets Are Moral And Big Government Isn't

Posted: at 9:12 pm

The coming 2012 presidential election is not only about the choice of a president. From the media to the dinner table, debates rage over health care, the environment, entitlements, and education. They beg the question: What kind of society do we want to be? Should we put our trust in free markets, or Big Government?

Steve Forbes, chairman and editor-in-chief of Forbes Media and former presidential candidate, and co-author Elizabeth Ames, give this debate a new and surprising twist. Today's bureaucratic and bloated Big Government, the authors argue, is the opposite of a moral force. Instead of assuring fairness, it promotes favoritism. Instead of furthering opportunity, it stifles economic growth. Instead of unleashing innovation and material abundance, its regulations and price controls create rigidity and scarcity.

The only way to a truly fair and moral society, the authors say, is through economic freedomfree people and free markets. Throughout history, open markets have helped the poor and everyone else by unleashing unprecedented creativity, generating wealth and raising living standards. Promoting trust, generosity and democracy, economic freedom has been a more powerful force for individual rights, self-determinationand humanitythan any government bureaucracy.

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Freedom of expression undersiege in parliament

Posted: at 9:12 pm

Freedom of expression undersiege in parliament

As the civil society movement in Botswana we would like to express our unqualified disappointment at all members who have so far opposed the Freedom of Information Bill and those who voted in favour of the Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority Bill. Whilst we express our disappointment we call on MPs to redeem themselves and rise to the defence of the Constitution of Botswana which protects, amongst others freedom of expression and the right to privacy at the next opportunity. On the same breath we request the MPs in future to play an effective role as a governance structure in Botswana to ensure that approval of legislation is for the benefit of this nation, selfless and for restoring the dignity of our people.

The Freedom of Information Bill, a progressive piece of legislation geared towards giving Batswana the right to access information has being shot down. The government mounted a spirited campaign against the Bill, labelling it 'mischievous'.

Amongst reasons for the foregoing being that the phrase 'public interest' is not defined and could be open to any interpretation and further that the Bill requires sensitive documents such as minutes of Cabinet to be made public. Efforts to explain that the phrase is generally understood and is similar to "public good" or "public benefit" did not bear any fruit.

The fact that there are several exemptions to the disclosure or supply of information such as for, National security and defense, Legal professional privilege, Personal privilege, Trade secrets and business affairs, National economic issues was ignored by Parliament.

It is disappointing to note that instead of approaching the discussion on the Freedom of Information Bill with the view to improve on the current draft, the government resorted to searching for reasons why the bill should be trashed. Even when the mover of the motion noticed amendments to try and accommodate the views of government, the attack on the bill, whilst without substance was condescending and unrelenting.

As the civil society movement we are disappointed that Parliament failed to assert itself as the defender of democracy in this country by voting in favour of the Freedom of Information Bill. We expected our MPs to vote selflessly and in a manner that is consistent and considerate to the interests of their constituents and the public benefit first.

It was also our expectation that Parliament would amend the BOCRA bill to return to the three tier system of broadcasting which was adopted by the government as articulated in various official policy and legislation including the Broadcasting Act of 1998. This clear attempt to entrench government control of public media is undesirable and is a major regression to the gains made when Radio Botswana was licensed as a 'public service broadcaster'.

The BOCRA Bill at clause 53 states in relation to electronic communication; "The Authority may, during any emergency, require any service provider to give priority to the transmission of the messages of government or of any person and to intercept messages transmitted under such circumstances". The Bill does not define the word 'emergency'. This is an area of grave concern, as in the manner it is drafted, the Bill does not accord with current best practice and leaves a lot of room for abuse. As civil society we would like to echo the call for an oversight to this provision to safeguard it from possible abuse. The Intelligence and Security Act of 2007 provides a useful example as it requires the Director General under similar circumstances to approach "a senior magistrate or a judge of the High Court for a warrant". Unless such safeguards are put in place then the public has every reason to worry as to whether this is yet another attempt to infringe upon their freedom of expression and privacy. Our view is that BOCRA provisions are inconsistent with both Article 19 of the ICCPR; Article 9 of the African Charter and section 12 of our Constitution as well as UN's general comment NO 34 and the declaration of Principles on Freedom of Information in Africa. We are disappointed that MPs failed to be proactive and effect the desired changes to the BOCRA bill and pass the Freedom of Information Bill (with the necessary amendments) because we believe that those actions would have gone a long way in contributing to the realisation of Vision 2016 aspiration of an "open, democratic and accountable nation". The civil society movement reserves every right to explore all legal options to seek redress should this onslaught on freedom of expression and privacy not be halted. Botswana Civil Society Organisations Gaborone

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Freedom Rally for Another Victory over Southern Illinois

Posted: at 9:12 pm

August 19, 2012 - Frontier League (FL) Florence Freedom Florence, KY-The Florence Freedom(46-38)defeated the Southern Illinois Miners(49-34) 6-3 Sunday night as they took two out of three against the Miners. The Freedom are now trailing Gateway by 2.5 games for the final wild card spot with 12 games to play.

The Miners scored first against Freedom starter Brandon Mathes who earned a no decision. In the 3rd inning, Cory Harrilchak lined a ground rule double down the right field line giving them a 1-0 lead. The Freedom tied the game in their 3rd. With two outs and two on, Peter Fatse found a hole through the right side of the infield singling home Pierre LePage to tie the game at 1-1. In the 4th, the Miners got back to back RBI doubles from Jason Ganek and Chris Anderson to claim a 3-1 advantage. The Freedom tied the game for the second time in the 6th. Junior Arrojo drew a walk and later scored on Eddie Rodriguez's two run homer to left field. Rodriguez homered for the second straight game giving him now nine on the season.

The Freedom put together a two out rally in the 7th to secure the lead for good. John Malloy got on base with a walk. David Harris then drove one to center field for an RBI double scoring Malloy to give the Freedom a 4-3 lead. Arrojo followed with an RBI single as did Fatse to put them ahead 6-3. Fatse finished the game going 3-4 with 2 RBI.

The Miners threatened against closer Jorge Marban in the 9th. They had two runners on, but Marban struck out Javier Herrera and got Chad Maddox to hit into a force out play at third base to end the game. It was Marban's 10th save of the season and his fifth in the last seven games.

Mathes went 6 innings allowing 7 hits and 3 runs with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts.

The Freedom will have Monday off before hosting the Joliet Slammers on Tuesday night. Joliet will feature RHP Steven Maxwell(6-8, 3.98) as the Freedom will counter with LHP Andres Caceres(7-3, 4.40). The game can be heard starting at 6:50 with Steve Jarnicki on Real Talk 1160 AM and realtalk1160.com.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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Liberty Mutual receives Chinese regulatory OK to establish a branch in Shandong Province

Posted: at 9:12 pm

By Chris Reidy, Globe Staff

Liberty Mutual Insurance Group of Boston said it has been granted approval to establish a branch in Shandong Province by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission.

In a press release, Liberty said it received the commissions approval on Aug. 6 to prepare for a provincial branch in Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province, which is the fourth largest property and casualty insurance market in China.

Upon final commission approval, Liberty will be the second foreign property and casualty insurer in the province, and will offer personal lines products for Shandongs 96 million people as well as a wide range of commercial lines products for small-to-medium enterprises.

Liberty Mutual has had a presence in China since 1996. Liberty Mutual currently has operations in Chongqing in the west, Beijing in the north, Zhejiang Province in the east, and Guangdong Province in the south of the country.

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Liberty Gold (OTCBB: LBGO) Increases Its Property in Alaska

Posted: at 9:12 pm

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire -08/20/12)- Liberty Gold, Corp. (LBGO) has announced that they have increased their McCord Creek Alaska property to 33 claims up from 14.

The McCord Creek project is comprised of State mining claims located 70 miles northwest of Fairbanks in the Tintina Gold Belt, which has produced nearly 30 million ounces of gold to date and has experienced accelerated gold exploration, development, and mining activity over the years.

The Tintina Gold Belt stretches across Alaska into the Yukon Territory of Canada. This region is home to significant gold deposits and mines, including the Donlin Creek deposit at 32 million ounces of gold, the Fort Knox mine with over 5.5 million ounces of gold produced and the Pogo mine that began producing gold in 2006. Other mining outfits currently in Alaska include AngloGold (AU), Kinross Gold Corp (KGC) and NovaGold Resources (NG).

This report is for information purposes only, and is neither a solicitation to buy nor an offer to sell securities. Information, opinions and analysis contained herein are based on sources deemed to be reliable and are subject to change without notice. A third party has hired and paid OTC Report one thousand two hundred and ninety five dollars for the publication and circulation of this news release. Accordingly, certain information included herein may be forward-looking within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. However, no representation, expressed or implied, is made as to the accuracy, completeness or correctness. In light of the above, we accept no liability for any losses arising from an investor's reliance on or use of this report. We do not and have not had any ownership interest in said third party of any kind.

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Rupert Sanders' Wife Liberty Ross Hints at Freedom in New Blog Post

Posted: at 9:12 pm

A picture is worth a thousand words.

And in the case of Liberty Ross' online blog for Vogue UK, her recent photo post with no text can be interpreted with several meanings.

Titled "Liberty," Ross, whose husband Rupert Sanders, 41, was caught having an affair with Kristen Stewart, 22 (Us Weekly broke the news of the cheating scandal last month), posted her first entry in over a month and a half on Monday, with just a picture of an eagle with its wings spread, soaring through the air

PHOTOS: All the pics from Kristen and Rupert's shocking July 17 fling

New York's The Cut speculates that the post "is meant to be a statement of freedom and independence." Meanwhile, Ross' commenters are leaving words of encouragement for the mom of two with remarks like, "Soar high, darling," "Free as a bird? Good luck to you Liberty" and "Just like the eagle, you're beautiful and strong and will get through anything life throws at you."

This isn't the first act of cryptic messaging Ross, 33, has sent out. Just hours after Us' cover story broke on July 24, she tweeted, "Wow," from her Twitter before deleting her account.

On August 5, three weeks after the Snow White and the Huntsman director and actress' steamy California makeout session was captured by photographers, Ross stepped out in L.A. with their children, daughter Skyla, 7, and son Tennyson, 5 -- without her wedding band.

PHOTOS: Kristen and Rupert's road to infidelity

How is Ross, who played mother to a younger version of Stewart's Snow White character in SWATH, doing in the wake of her spouse's shocking fling with the Twilight Saga actress? "Liberty is very upset but hasn't made any decisions," a source told Us of her 15-year relationship with Sanders. "It's too early to tell what will happen with them."

PHOTOS: Women who've been cheated on

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Sennen Restates Reasons for Rejection of Liberty's Hostile Offer

Posted: at 9:12 pm

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Aug. 20, 2012) - Sennen Resources Ltd. (SN.V) ("Sennen" or "the Company") restates its reasons for recommending REJECTION of the Offer by Liberty Silver Corp. ("Liberty").

Do not tender your Sennen Shares to the Liberty Offer. Sennen Shareholders are reminded that the Board of Directors have recommended REJECTION of the Liberty Offer for the reasons set out in the Director's Circular dated July 30, 2012. There is no need for Sennen Shareholders to do anything to REJECT the Liberty Offer. Please refer to the Director's Circular, which is available on SEDAR, for more detailed reasons for REJECTION, and steps to take if you have already tendered your Sennen Shares.

Various Letters and News Releases issued by Liberty's management are replete with irrelevant statements and innumerable errors that demonstrate a lack of understanding of the industry in which they purport to operate.

In order to clarify matters Sennen restates the following:

Stated Ian Rozier, President and CEO of Sennen, "Liberty's Offer is an insult to the intelligence of Sennen Shareholders who understand that this is a clear case of the management and promoters of an OTC shell company with very little money and questionable assets trying to back their ludicrously overvalued paper into an established company with tangible assets-in this case Sennen and its treasury. As previously stated, the simple fact is that Sennen Shareholders are being asked to make a very high risk Private Placement of $13.5M into a junior explorer that the market, its own management, its directors, shareholders and promoters are apparently unwilling to do. Based on this we can only assume that they collectively agree with Sennen's management and directors as to the real value of Liberty Silver. We repeat once again, Liberty's Offer is of zero interest to Sennen's Board, management, as well as to shareholders representing a majority of the Company's shares, if indeed any of them."

Sennen's Board of Directors recommends Sennen Shareholders do NOT tender their Sennen Shares to the Liberty Offer and are reminded that the Board of Directors have recommended REJECTION of the Liberty Offer for reasons as set out in the Director's Circular dated July 30, 2012. There is no need for Sennen Shareholders to do anything to REJECT the Liberty Offer. Please refer to the Director's Circular, which is available on SEDAR, for more detailed reasons for REJECTION, and steps to take if you have already tendered your Sennen Shares.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV") nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) has reviewed, nor do they accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of, this release.

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Liberty Mutual Insurance Group’s Subsidiary Receives China Insurance Regulatory Commission’s (CIRC) Approval To …

Posted: at 9:12 pm

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Liberty Insurance Company Limited (Liberty), has been granted approval to establish a branch in Shandong province by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC). Headquartered in Chongqing, Liberty received CIRCs approval on August 6, 2012 to prepare for a provincial branch in Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province, which is the 4th largest property and casualty insurance market in China.

Upon final CIRC approval, Liberty will be the 2nd foreign property and casualty insurer in the province, and will offer personal lines products for Shandongs 96 million people as well as a wide range of commercial lines products for small-to-medium enterprises. Shandong has a gross domestic product (GDP) of US$721 billion, making it Chinas 3rd largest provincial economy.

At present, Liberty has operations in Chongqing in the west, Beijing in the north, Zhejiang province in the east and Guangdong province in the south of the country. As of December 31, 2011, the company ranked 2nd largest by premium size among 21 foreign property and casualty insurance companies operating in China.

Liberty Mutual continues to build its reputation in China as a strong provider of quality insurance products and as a company dedicated to helping people live safer, more secure lives, said Liberty Mutual Insurance Groups President and CEO David Long. We thank CIRC for approval of our branch application and we look forward to the opportunities presented to us in this new region.

Liberty Mutual Insurance Group in China

Liberty Mutual Insurance Group has had a presence in China since 1996 when its subsidiary Liberty Mutual Insurance Company established a representative office in Shanghai. In January 2004, the company opened its first insurance office in Chongqing, positioning Liberty Mutual as the 1st foreign property and casualty insurer with a presence in western China. In September 2007, Liberty Mutual received approval to have its Chongqing operation converted to a wholly owned subsidiary. Liberty is the only Fortune 500 company subsidiary headquartered in Chongqing.

About Liberty Mutual Insurance Group

"Helping people live safer, more secure lives" since 1912, Boston-based Liberty Mutual Insurance is a diversified global insurer and the third largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. based on 2011 direct premiums written as reported by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Liberty Mutual Insurance also ranks 84th on the Fortune 100 list of largest corporations in the U.S. based on 2011 revenue. As of December 31, 2011, Liberty Mutual Insurance had $117.1 billion in consolidated assets, $99.3 billion in consolidated liabilities, and $34.7 billion in annual consolidated revenue.

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What is an assault weapon?

Posted: at 9:10 pm

The Second Amendment and the NRA have been under attack since the theater shooting in Colorado.

The tragedy was nothing but horrible. To think another human could open fire, fatally shooting 12 and wounding 58 others, is impossible to comprehend.

As outdoorsmen, we must remember that anytime something as horrific as this happens, it will effect our sport. Whether you are a hunter, sporting clay shooter or a competition shooter, those who are anti-gun revive their campaign to restrict or abolish our rights. There are those in government and the private sector who think they can protect you by disarming you. Today, there's an outcry to ban assault weapons.

So just what is an assault weapon?

An assault weapon is a military look-a-like. An AR-15 is a so called assault weapon. Just as is a AK-47, civilian kind is a semi automatic. The AR-15 looks like an M16, which is full auto. Politicians like to demonize the look-a likes as assault weapons used on the battlefield but military weapons are full auto. They also can have large capacity magazines.

Politicians have said these weapons need to be on the battlefield, not our streets. You might or might not agree with this, but the Second Amendment guarantees our right to keep and bear arms. It does not state what guns can or cannot be possessed.

A coworker asked me why anyone could need an AR-15? An AR-15 is used in competition shooting, like at Camp Perry in Port Clinton. Yes, it can be used for varmint hunting, too.

The point is my coworker is a deer hunter and only sees what he uses in his sport. Some clay target shooters have the same viewpoint -- nobody is going to take my shotgun.

Ask the people of Great Britain and Australia what they will take. The answer is just about everything. The governments banned private ownership of all firearms in Great Britain and a very limited, if you can prove you need one, in Australia.

Another argument by politicians is no one needs to have as much ammunition as the Colorado shooter had. How can they decide what is too much, 50 rounds, 100 rounds? Let us be reasonable. How about prosecuting the criminals to the fullest degree, instead of those of us who are responsible gun owners?

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