http://freeinternetpress.com Free Internet Press :: Uncensored News For Real People Newspaper en-us Copyright (c)2012, FreeInternetPress.com editor@freeinternetpress.com 60 http://freeinternetpress.com/freeinternetpress_sm.gif http://freeinternetpress.com 140 20 Sun, 20 May 2012 20:41:22 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Chen-Guangchengs-Family-And-Friends-Still-At-Risk-In-China-34914.html Supporters of Chen Guangcheng have warned that his family and friends in China are still at risk after the blind activist arrived in New York to begin a new life in the United States. Chen - whose daring escape from house arrest last month prompted a diplomatic crisis - arrived on Saturday night to cheering crowds, and used his first speech to press for greater rule of law in the country he left behind."I hope everybody works for me to promote justice and fairness in China," Chen said through an interpreter, ahead of his enrollment for a fellowship in the U.S.-Asia Law Institute at New York University School of Law.He was also careful to thank the Chinese government, knowing the well-being of relatives and associates could be influenced by an upcoming shift in the Communist party leadership. Instead, he criticized the provincial authorities in Shandong for years of persecution, including 18 months of house arrest, beatings and harassment of his relatives.Chen said "acts of retribution may not have abated" in his village of Dongshigu, which was still under lock-down. "We hope to see a thorough investigation into these events," he said. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Chen-Guangchengs-Family-And-Friends-Still-At-Risk-In-China-34914.html Sun, 20 May 2012 20:38:06 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Nationalist-Wins-Serb-Presidential-RunOff-Election-34913.html Nationalist candidate Tomislav Nikolic won the Serbian presidency on Sunday, a result that adds to the political turmoil in the Balkan country and could slow down its attempts to join the European Union. The Center for Free Elections and Democracy, an independent polling group, said Nikolic won 49.4 percent of the vote, while pro-European Union incumbent Boris Tadic received 47.4 percent. Tadic conceded defeat, saying, "I wish Nikolic the best of luck." The results are expected to be officially confirmed by Monday. The outcome was a sign of the fading allure of the E.U., which is plagued by a debt crisis, and voter discontent with Serbia's weak economy. Nikolic must name a prime minister, but that task has been complicated because of the outcome of the May 6 parliamentary election. Although Nikolic's Progressive Party won the most seats, Tadic's Democrats have tentatively agreed on an alliance with Socialists that would give them a majority. Nikolic has claimed the May 6 vote was marred by fraud. "We'll see what will happen," said Nikolic as his supporters chanted his nickname, "Tomo the Serb," on the main squares in Serbian cities. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Nationalist-Wins-Serb-Presidential-RunOff-Election-34913.html Sun, 20 May 2012 20:34:15 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Convicted-Lockerbie-Bomber-Abdelbaset-alMegrahi-Dies-34912.html Abdelbaset al-Begrahi, the former Libyan intelligence officer convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie, Scotland, bombing that killed 270 people, has died, said his brother. Abdelbaset's brother, Abdelnasser al-Megrahi, confirmed reports that he had died aged 60 after a long battle with cancer. Abdelnasser, who was at the house in Tripoli where his dead brother lay on Sunday, told the Guardian: "I don't want to talk right now, I am very upset, I don't really feel like talking. He's dead, that's it, what more do you have to know?" In an interview with the Guardian earlier this year, Abdelnasser said that his brother, who had moved to the secret address from his large home in Tripoli, was innocent. "He really is ill, he is too ill to even change the channel on the TV, he is lying down all day." The Scottish government and East Renfrewshire Council are investigating the claims of Megrahi's death. The Foreign Office is awaiting their confirmation. Megrahi was the only man convicted of the bombing, which killed 270 people, including 11 on the ground, when Pan Am Flight 103 blew up over Lockerbie four days before Christmas in 1988. There was no immediate reaction from the Libyan government. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Convicted-Lockerbie-Bomber-Abdelbaset-alMegrahi-Dies-34912.html Sun, 20 May 2012 20:32:09 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Update-Italy-Earthquake-Kills-5-And-Destroys-Centuries-Of-History-34911.html Three thousand people in northern Italy bedded down in tents or temporary accommodation on Sunday night after a strong earthquake in the early hours killed five people, injured scores more and toppled centuries-old churches and clock towers. Aftershocks in the Emilia-Romagna region continued to bring down damaged buildings during the day, injuring a firefighter, as emergency services scrambled to find temporary shelter for residents afraid to return home. "Right now our absolute priority is for people to spend the night in acceptable conditions," said civil protection chief Franco Gabrielli. With storms forecast for the area, the Italian government was due to meet on Tuesday to consider declaring a state of emergency. The 6.0 magnitude earthquake, which struck the Emilia-Romagna region 3.2 miles below ground at 4:04 a.m., was felt across northern Italy, from Liguria to the Veneto, and was described by one official as the worst in the area since the 1300s. The last serious earthquake to strike Italy was the 6.3 magnitude shock in L'Aquila in 2009 that killed nearly 300. "There's nothing to be done," said Valeria Balboni, standing amid shattered glass in her family's bathroom fittings factory near Sant'Agostino. "We're going to have to close, like so many of the others." The earthquake left major towns such as Bologna unscathed but wrought havoc in small towns and villages dotting the countryside between Bologna, Ferrara and Modena. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Update-Italy-Earthquake-Kills-5-And-Destroys-Centuries-Of-History-34911.html Sun, 20 May 2012 4:17:09 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/President-Obama-Touts-Emerging-Consensus-On-Reviving-Europe-34910.html Confronting an economic crisis that threatens them all, U.S. President Barack Obama and leaders of other world powers on Saturday declared that their governments must both spark growth and cut the debt that has crippled the European continent and put investors worldwide on edge. âЂњThere's now an emerging consensus that more must be done to promote growth and job creation right now,âЂќ President Obama proclaimed after hosting unprecedented economic talks at Camp David, Maryland, his secluded and highly secure mountaintop retreat. Seeking a second term amid hard economic times, President Obama hailed a debate heading in the direction he likes, with nations now talking of ways to spark their economies instead of just slashing spending. Yet there were no bold prescriptions at hand. Instead, leaders seemed intent on trying to inspire confidence by agreeing on a broad strategy no matter their differences. With all of them facing their own difficult political realities, they built some sovereign wiggle room into their pledge to take all necessary steps, saying âЂњthe right measures are not the same for each of us.âЂќ President Obama played international host as Europe's debt crisis threatens to drag down the U.S. recovery and his own political future, underscoring the stakes for him in getting allies abroad to rally around some answers. Much of the new emphasis on government-led growth seemed aimed at German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who came to the summit as the European leader who had demanded austerity as the most important step toward easing the euro-zone's debt crisis. The election of Socialist François Hollande as President of France, and Greek elections that created political chaos in the country were clear rejections of the belt-tightening Merkel represented. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/President-Obama-Touts-Emerging-Consensus-On-Reviving-Europe-34910.html Sun, 20 May 2012 4:16:46 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Presidents-Obama-Hollande-Help-Tilt-G8s-Balance-To-Stimulus-34909.html Economic stimulus is making a comeback. The most notable thing about the Group of Eight Summit in Maryland on Friday and Saturday was the recognition that austerity isnâЂ™t a universal cure for what ails the global economy, especially Europe. U.S. President Barack Obama and FranceâЂ™s newly elected Socialist President, François Hollande, were the rhetorical winners on the weekend. They successfully watered down the German-led position that the best way to deal with a debt crisis is to quickly pay down debt by shifting the consensus to an acceptance that austerity is a means, not an end. Fiscal consolidation remains a priority, but not at the expense of economic growth, a new emphasis that could reshape governmentsâЂ™ approach to maintaining the recovery from the financial crisis. âЂњThe global economic recovery shows signs of promise, but significant headwinds persist,âЂќ the G-8 said in a statement. âЂњWe commit to take all necessary steps to strengthen and reinvigorate our economies and combat financial stresses, recognizing that the right measures are not the same for each of us.âЂќ The shift reflects the acute state of the European debt crisis, which President Obama characterized on Saturday as a âЂњseriousâЂќ situation that could upend the global economic recovery. The G-8 also said it stood ready to release strategic oil reserves if crude prices surge this summer, but it was the prospect of Europe sinking into a deeper downturn that most worried leaders. British Prime Minister David Cameron told reporters that he detected a âЂњgrowing sense of urgency that action needed to be takenâЂќ on the euro-zone crisis, Reuters reported. âЂњContingency plans need to be put in place and the strengthening of banks, governance, firewalls âЂ“ all of those things need to take place very fast,âЂќ said Cameron. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Presidents-Obama-Hollande-Help-Tilt-G8s-Balance-To-Stimulus-34909.html Sun, 20 May 2012 4:16:13 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/The-Age-Of-Extreme-Oil-This-Used-To-Be-A-Forest-34908.html One grey Thursday at the end of April, a plane touched down in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, carrying four Achuar Indians from the Peruvian Amazon. They had flown 8,000 kilometers from the rain forest to beseech Talisman Energy Inc., the Calgary-based oil and gas conglomerate, to stop drilling in their territory. Talisman's annual general meeting was coming up, and the Achuar were invited to state their case to chief executive officer John Manzoni in front of the company's shareholders. first, they wanted to see a Canadian oil patch for themselves, and meet the aboriginal people who lived there. Their host in Fort McMurray was Gitzikomin Deranger, Gitz to his friends âЂ“ a 6-foot-4 Dene-Blackfoot activist who lives in a comfortably cluttered duplex with his parents and a revolving assortment of relatives. Many of them crowded in to meet the Achuar, who relaxed on Deranger's leather couch with surprising ease for people who live in palm huts. He had welcomed them to Alberta with a smudge âЂ“ having set a small pile of sage to smoulder in a miniature cast-iron pan, he fanned smoke over his guests with an eagle feather. âЂњDid you kill the bird to get it?âЂќ asked Peas Peas Ayui (PAY-us PAY-us AY-wee), the group's leader, a taciturn man in his mid-40s with gold-capped upper teeth. âЂњNo,âЂќ said Deranger, âЂњwe only use feathers that are given. If you find a feather on the ground, it means the eagle put it there for you, maybe even gave up its life for you.âЂќ The Achuar talked this over briefly and, for the first time since landing, their lips curled into smiles. âЂњCondor feathers are sacred for us too, but we never pick them off the ground,âЂќ Mr. Ayui explained. âЂњTo do so is an omen that your wife is preparing to leave you.âЂќ The group's female representative, a butterfly of a woman named Puwanch Kintui Antich, giggled her affirmation. That was the first of many same-but-differents that the South and North American Natives would discover about each other through the weekend. But few of the lessons to follow would end in laughter. Over the course of three days spent visiting reserves, band offices and the vast sand dunes left behind by the bitumen-scrubbers surrounding Fort McMurray, the Achuar confronted a reality that may one day be their own. And they didn't much like what they saw. This encounter was born of a new dynamic: the age of extreme oil. Gone are the days of sweet Texas crude and boundless Arabian oil fields, when petroleum lay so near the surface that all a company had to do was prick the Earth's crust and let the black gold gush. To the environmentalists who worry about reaching âЂњpeak oilâЂќ (and a subsequent decline in fossil fuels), critics can point out accurately enough that the world is flush with new hydrocarbon reserves. They are less quick to acknowledge the epic complexity and risks of most of these new finds. Alberta's oil sands are the obvious example: Here, on average, two tonnes of earth must be strip-mined and seven barrels of water heated to steam in order to produce a barrel of oil. It takes a barrel's worth of energy to produce just three barrels of oil; 30 years ago it would have been 100. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/The-Age-Of-Extreme-Oil-This-Used-To-Be-A-Forest-34908.html Sun, 20 May 2012 4:13:59 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Germany-Isolated-Over-Euro-Crisis-At-G8-Meeting-In-Chicago-34907.html President Barack Obama and U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron clashed with the German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the G-8 summit in Camp David, demanding she set out a clear path for Europe to emerge from its current crisis. The German leader resisted pressure for fresh measures that would include looser monetary policy for the European Central Bank, enabling quantitative easing similar to that deployed by the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England. President Obama and Prime Minister Cameron discussed their joint position at a G8 summit in Camp David during a 7 a.m. meeting held on a treadmill, possibly the first U.K.-U.S. bilateral to be conducted in a gym. With pressure growing for world leaders to come up with a decisive plan for solving the crisis, it emerged the Germans were resisting the inclusion of details in the final communiqué about the best course of action for the euro zone. The so-called sherpas, appointed by national leaders to draft summit communiqués, were at work until 4 a.m. on Saturday trying to forge a common position that said something specific about the euro crisis. It was being suggested that the Germans, partly due to their isolation at the summit, were pressing for specifics to be deferred to an informal E.U. council later this week, arguing it was not the business of the G-8, including Canada, Russia, Japan and the U.S., to tell the E.U. states how to handle their economy. Cameron's aides took the view that it would look distinctly odd if the communiqué did not highlight solutions. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Germany-Isolated-Over-Euro-Crisis-At-G8-Meeting-In-Chicago-34907.html Sun, 20 May 2012 4:13:19 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Scientist-Who-Championed-Gay-Cure-Admits-He-Was-Wrong-34906.html One of the most influential figures in modern psychiatry has apologized to America's gays for a scientific study which supported attempts to "cure" people of their homosexuality. The survey, published in 2001, looked at "reparative therapy" and was hailed by religious and social conservatives in America as proof that gay people could successfully become straight if they were motivated to do so. Dr. Robert Spitzer has now apologized in the same academic journal that published his original study, calling it "fatally flawed". "I believe I owe the gay community an apology," his letter said. "I also apologize to any gay person who wasted time and energy undergoing some form of reparative therapy because they believed that I had proven that reparative therapy works." Spitzer's letter, which was leaked online before its publication in the Archives of Sexual Behavior, is sure to cause delight among gay civil rights groups and stir up anger among social conservatives, who have used the study to combat the acceptance of homosexuality as a normal part of human society. Reparative therapy is popular among Christian conservative groups, which run clinics and therapy sessions at which people try to become heterosexual through counseling. Gay rights activists condemn such practices as motivated by religious faith, not science, and call them "pray away the gay" groups. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Scientist-Who-Championed-Gay-Cure-Admits-He-Was-Wrong-34906.html Sun, 20 May 2012 4:09:27 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/At-Least-3-Dead-As-59-Magnitude-Earthquake-Rocks-Northern-Italy-34905.html A strong earthquake rocked a large swathe of northern Italy early on Sunday morning, causing at least three deaths and collapsing rural factories and ancient bell towers in towns. The epicenter of the quake, which struck at 4:04 a.m. local time and had a magnitude of 5.9, was in the plains near Modena; but it was felt in nearby regions. One person working a night shift died in the collapse of a factory and two others were killed in the collapse of another building. Rescue officials were checking reports that other people were buried under rubble. First television pictures taken after dawn showed serious damage to historic buildings and rural structures. Parts of a historic fortress in one town collapsed. Thousands of people in the area rushed into the streets after the quake, felt in the major towns of Bologna, Modena, Ferrara, Rovigo, Verona and Mantua. A series of strong aftershocks hit the area and local mayors ordered residents to stay out of their homes. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/At-Least-3-Dead-As-59-Magnitude-Earthquake-Rocks-Northern-Italy-34905.html Sun, 20 May 2012 4:07:06 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Protesters-Set-Stockades-Ablaze-In-Busy-Montreal-Streets-34904.html A plan to restore order in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, appeared to erupt in smoke late Saturday, with a fiery blockades blazing on busy downtown streets. Groups of protesters built pyres from plastic traffic cones, setting them ablaze, and in at least one case added a barricade made of construction materials. Police charged protesters and repeatedly warned that they would be incarcerated throughout the weekend unless they dispersed. Late Saturday night they had reported more than 30 arrests. Some bystanders accused the police of using excessive force on a crowd whose members were mostly peaceful. Meanwhile, the protest has spread beyond borders. In New York, members of the Montreal-based rock band âЂњArcade FireâЂќ wore the movementâЂ™s iconic red squares during an appearance on Saturday Night Live. A day earlier, players in QuebecâЂ™s film industry were sporting them at the Cannes Film Festival. The scenes unfolded on QuebecâЂ™s first full day under emergency legislation designed to end months of unrest. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Protesters-Set-Stockades-Ablaze-In-Busy-Montreal-Streets-34904.html Sat, 19 May 2012 21:44:03 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/G8-Leaders-End-Summit-With-Pledge-To-Keep-Greece-In-Euro-Zone-34903.html U.S. President Barack Obama and the other G-8 leaders wrapped up their negotiations on the European crisis at Camp David on Saturday with a pledge to keep Greece in the euro zone and to promote growth. The communique, which had the growth promise at the top, represents a victory for Obama and new French President Francois Hollande over German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has resisted calls for a stimulus package. But it may be short-lived. The communique was short in detail and Merkel could re-establish her dominance next week at an informal European meeting. The eight leaders meeting at the U.S. presidential retreat in Maryland issued a communique declaring in its opening paragraph: "Our imperative is to promote growth and jobs." It added: "The global economic recovery shows signs of promise, but significant headwinds persist. Against this background, we commit to take all necessary steps to strengthen and reinvigorate our economies and combat financial stresses, recognizing that the right measures are not the same for each of us." The communique was issued after almost four hours devoted to the euro zone crisis,  which could have a negative impact on the U.S. economy and President Obama's re-election chances in November. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/G8-Leaders-End-Summit-With-Pledge-To-Keep-Greece-In-Euro-Zone-34903.html Sat, 19 May 2012 21:41:49 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/President-Obama-Takes-Republicans-To-Task-Over-Battle-Against-Wall-Street-Reform-34902.html U.S. President Barack Obama has criticized Republicans in Congress for waging an "all-out battle" against Wall Street reform, as he echoed calls for greater regulation in the aftermath of the JP Morgan fiasco.In his weekly address, the President accused his political opponents of being in hock to bank lobbyists who are doing all they can to "delay, defund and dismantle" safeguards to prevent a future financial meltdown.The comments come more than a week after JP Morgan Chase revealed a trading loss of $2 billion, leading to calls for Wall Street watchdogs to be given more teeth.Attacking the "breath-taking irresponsibility" that led to 2008's financial crisis, President Obama said such behavior had "cost our economy millions of jobs, hurt middle-class families and left the taxpayer holding the bag".Attempts to stabilize troubled banks and tighten up regulation had been met by obstruction from "too many Republicans in Congress and an army of financial industry lobbyists". http://freeinternetpress.com//story/President-Obama-Takes-Republicans-To-Task-Over-Battle-Against-Wall-Street-Reform-34902.html Sat, 19 May 2012 21:41:09 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Prosecutors-Three-NATO-Protesters-Planned-Attack-On-President-Obamas-Campaign-Headquarters-34901.html Three NATO protesters arrested in a late night raid on Wednesday have each been held on a $1.5 million bond over alleged terrorism-related offenses.Police claim the charges of conspiracy to commit terrorism, providing material support for terrorism and possession of an explosive or incendiary device, are the result of a month-long investigation into a group they believe was making Molotov cocktails.In court on Saturday, prosecutors said the trio had planned to attack targets including President Barack Obama's campaign headquarters and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's home in a plot coinciding with the NATO summit being staged in the city.Defense attorneys countered that the petrol bombs had been brought by undercover officers, and that their clients were victims of a police entrapment.It is believed that the three defendants came to Chicago late last month to take part in May Day protests. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Prosecutors-Three-NATO-Protesters-Planned-Attack-On-President-Obamas-Campaign-Headquarters-34901.html Sat, 19 May 2012 21:34:08 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/1-Girl-Killed-7-Injured-In-Bomb-Attack-On-Italian-School-34900.html A bomb has exploded in front of a school in the southern Italian town of Brindisi, killing one girl and injuring seven other pupils. The device went off as students were arriving at the Francesca Morvillo Falcone vocational school at around 8 a.m. (6 a.m. GMT). The school is named after the anti-mafia prosecutor Giovanni Falcone and his wife, who were killed by a mafia bomb in Sicily 20 years ago this weekend. Authorities said it was unclear if there was an organized crime link to the school blast. As yet, no one has claimed responsibility for the explosion. Three days ago, government officials announced security was being stepped up throughout the country after a shooting that wounded a nuclear energy official, several threats against tax officials and small explosive devices sent to the offices of a tax collection agency. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/1-Girl-Killed-7-Injured-In-Bomb-Attack-On-Italian-School-34900.html Sat, 19 May 2012 21:33:42 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Syrian-Car-Bomb-Kills-Nine-Injures-Hundreds-34899.html Nine people were killed and hundreds injured when a car bomb exploded in the Syrian city of Deir al Zor, Syrian state media has reported. A suicide bomber drove a car to an army base and detonated an estimated 1,000kg of explosives, according to Sana news agency. Observers from the United Nations  visited the scene of the explosion. An opposition group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the blast was near military intelligence offices and was followed by heavy gunfire. The group said the bomb went off on a street where a military hospital and air force intelligence offices are also located. Omar Abu Laila, spokesperson of the Free Syrian Army in Deir az-Zour accused the Syrian regime of organizing the bombing. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Syrian-Car-Bomb-Kills-Nine-Injures-Hundreds-34899.html Sat, 19 May 2012 20:52:55 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Chen-Guangcheng-Arrives-In-US-But-Fears-For-Familys-Safety-34898.html The blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng has arrived to begin a new life in the United States  âЂ“ the final leg of a dramatic, month-long escape from house arrest in rural China. His flight, United Airlines UA88, had departed for Newark almost two hours late from Beijing international airport as a thunderstorm rolled in âЂ“ a suitably tempestuous climax to one of the most remarkable chapters of courage and injustice in recent Chinese history.After beatings, imprisonment, injury, embassy refuge and diplomatic wrangling between the two superpowers, Chen's departure has stirred a mixture of relief and dismay among activists in China, who are glad Chen is safe but worried that their cause could lose one of its most influential advocates.He is now due to enrol at New York University in Greenwich Village to study as a fellow at the School of Law, the institution said.Chen said: "Thousands of thoughts are surging to my mind. I am requesting a leave of absence and I hope that they [his supporters] will understand." http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Chen-Guangcheng-Arrives-In-US-But-Fears-For-Familys-Safety-34898.html Sat, 19 May 2012 4:33:04 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/SpaceX-Dragon-To-Launch-This-Morning-At-0455am-EDT-34897.html Update:  The launch aborted just after ignition.   They are shutting down all the systems now.  A sensor detected a problem with one of the engines and aborted the launch.  They expect a 72 hour "scrub turnaround", and will try again Tuesday. The SpaceX Dragon is launching on a Falcon 9 rocket this morning at 04:55 EDT from Kennedy Space Center.   For those in Florida, it appears skies will be clear across most of the state.   Sunrise won't be until after 06:30 EDT, so you should be able to see it go up.The Dragon spacecraft will be the first privately (not government) owned vehicle to dock with the International Space Station (ISS).  This is an unmanned mission.  They will be performing several confidence tests, and delivering approximately 1,014 pounds of cargo to the astronauts on the ISS. , and will be returning with 1,367 pounds of cargo.At the time of this posting, it is still on schedule.You can watch the launch and commentary live here: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html http://freeinternetpress.com//story/SpaceX-Dragon-To-Launch-This-Morning-At-0455am-EDT-34897.html Sat, 19 May 2012 4:00:40 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Iran-Syria-Among-Top-Issues-For-G8-And-NATO-34896.html President Barack Obama and leaders of other major industrial powers grappled Friday with options to solidify world resolve against development of an Iranian nuclear bomb and encourage a more forceful response to worsening violence in Syria. President Obama will have the ear of key players on both issues during back-to-back G-8 and NATO summits that will be dominated with discussions of European economic woes and Afghanistan. Talks about Syria and Iran will be aimed directly and indirectly at Russia, a sometime protector of both Iran and Syria and the chief blockade to such U.S. goals as an arms embargo on Syria. The gatherings come in the shadow of the euro-zone debt crisis and plummeting public support for the war in Afghanistan. Political and economic chaos in Greece and Spain underscored just how fragile Europe's economy remains after an eviscerating austerity regime. Germany's finance minister predicted Friday that the crisis could last up to another two years. Most of the leaders are part of overlapping international coalitions formed to address the Iranian nuclear problem and the newer crisis in Syria, where an estimated 9,000 people have died in more than a year of violence that arose from the pro-democracy Arab uprisings. Faced with implacable Russian opposition to significant new United Nations punishments on the Syrian regime of President Bashar Assad, U.S. officials are trying to get consensus among other allies about ways to promote Assad's ouster. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Iran-Syria-Among-Top-Issues-For-G8-And-NATO-34896.html Sat, 19 May 2012 3:58:13 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/MillenniaOld-Microbes-Found-Alive-In-Deep-Ocean-Muck-34895.html A sparse community of microbes can persist for eons in the clay beneath the deep blue sea. When scientists drilled into the Pacific Ocean bottom and pulled up a long core of clay, they also pulled up microbes living on so little that it was hard for the scientists to tell if they were alive in the first place. The microbes are still being precisely identified but they are not like the other deep-sea extremophiles that scientists have found everywhere from hydrothermal vents to more than a kilometer beneath some parts of the ocean floor. These microbes, like those closer to the surface, rely on oxygen to live - unlike other denizens of the deep sea muck that find the reactive element inimical to their lifestyle and were driven to the dark, secret places of the planet when photosynthetic organisms like plankton began to fill the atmosphere with oxygen more than 2 billion  years ago. The site where these microbes were found is beneath the North Pole Gyre, a massive whirl of current north of Hawaii. Since there is hardly any land nearby, precious little dead plankton and other nutritious detritus falls to the seafloor - only 0.2 millimeters accumulates every thousand years - and what does mostly gets consumed by quicker-living microbes on the surface of the seafloor. But, when scientists drilled a core during a cruise of the Woods Hole Oceanographic InstitutionâЂ™s Knorr research vessel, they found roughly 1,000 cells of these bacteria and archaea living in extreme slow-motion per cubic centimeterâЂ™s worth of mud core from 20 meters below the bottom of the ocean. That depth suggests these microbes have persisted for 86 million years and havenâЂ™t seen fresh food since dinosaurs roamed the Earth. To cope, these newly-found microbes use oxygen to respire - or convert food into energy and release the waste byproducts - 10,000 times slower than microbes on the surface of the seafloor, leading the scientists who conducted the research, and published it in the journal  Science on Friday, May 18, to write that âЂњthese microbial communities may be living at the minimum energy flux needed for prokaryotic cells to subsist.âЂќ http://freeinternetpress.com//story/MillenniaOld-Microbes-Found-Alive-In-Deep-Ocean-Muck-34895.html Sat, 19 May 2012 3:56:18 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Chen-Guangcheng-Says-He-And-Family-Are-Set-To-Leave-For-US-34894.html Chen Guangcheng, the Chinese human rights activist who ignited a diplomatic frenzy when he escaped house arrest last month, says he is at Beijing airport Saturday and is getting ready to fly to New York. He and his family checked in and are expected to travel on a United flight from Beijing to Newark International Airport. Chen told CNN he, his wife and two children were waiting to clear security, although they had had not yet seen their own passports. China has said that Chen, who is blind, can apply to study abroad. ChinaAid, a Texas-based Christian human rights organization, said its president, Bob Fu, had spoken to Chen Saturday. Chen told him that Chinese officials had instructed the family to pack up and leave for the United States that day, ChinaAid said in a statement. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Chen-Guangcheng-Says-He-And-Family-Are-Set-To-Leave-For-US-34894.html Sat, 19 May 2012 3:54:14 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/ScienceWonkblog-Radioactive-Smuggling-34893.html A dirty bomb is not a good way to kill lots of people, but it is a great way to scare the hell out of a population. There are reports that Saddam Hussein investigated the possibility of making an RDD in the 1980s and gave up on the idea because it simply wasnâЂ™t deadly enough. On the other hand, people are scared of radiation âЂ“ even in the absence of a genuine radiological threat a dirty bomb attack can still cause deaths from panic, anxiety, and even traffic accidents as people flee the scene (or the city) unnecessarily. I would suspect that by now most terrorist groups understand the relative lack of medical risk to people. I would also suspect they know full well that they also know that, in spite of the relative lack of medical risk, a dirty bomb attack would be tremendously disruptive and that it would cause an enormous economic impact to whatever city was affected. So this means that weâЂ™ve got to be serious about controlling radioactive materials âЂ“ and weâЂ™ve got to take seriously reports of radioactive materials trafficking. Even if the radioactivity itself poses little or no risk to the public, we still have to remember that any dirty bomb attack will likely have a significant impact. This makes recent reports of radioactive materials smuggling a bit troubling. A few weeks ago, for example, there was a report that the Armenians had broken up a strontium-90 deal. Strontium-90 is one of the nuclides thought more likely to show up in a dirty bomb âЂ“ there is a ton of it in the world (it is made as a product of nuclear fission) and there are some very high-activity sources in the nations of the former Soviet Union. To give you an idea of the potential risk from Sr-90, consider that 1 curie (1 Ci) can cause skin burns if you hold it in your hand for even a few minutes. Now superimpose on that the fact that, in 1999, some woodsmen in the nation of Georgia found a single source that contained 40,000 curies of this nuclide âЂ“ it had once been used to power a Soviet-era meteorological station âЂ“ and there are still sources of this activity (and higher) that are not yet accounted for. The fact that two Armenians were busted trying to sell Sr-90 is not necessarily alarming in and of itself âЂ“ that would depend on how much they were trying to sell âЂ“ but it is worth noting. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/ScienceWonkblog-Radioactive-Smuggling-34893.html Sat, 19 May 2012 3:51:34 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Secrecyblog-NSA-Declassifies-Secret-Document-After-Publishing-It-Online-34892.html The National Security Agency last week invoked a rarely-used authority in order to declassify a classified document that was mistakenly posted on the NSA website with all of its classified passages intact. The article is a historical study entitled Maybe You Had To Be There: The SIGINT On Thirteen Soviet Shootdowns Of U.S. Reconnaissance Aircraft (You can read the 45-page report, in PDF format, here: http://www.fas.org/irp/nsa/maybe_declass.pdf).  It was written by Michael L. Peterson and was originally published in the classified journal Cryptologic Quarterly in 1993. Late in the afternoon of May 11 (not May 9 as stated on the NSA website), the NSA published a formally declassified version of the article with the annotation âЂњDeclassified and approved for release by NSAâЂ¦ pursuant to E.O. 13526 section 3.1(d)âЂ¦.âЂќ Section 3.1(d) of executive order 13526 permits the declassification of properly classified information when there is an overriding public interest in doing so.  It is almost never cited and it is hard to think of another occasion when it has been used by any government agency to justify declassification.  It reads: "3.1(d) It is presumed that information that continues to meet the classification requirements under this order requires continued protection.  In some exceptional cases, however, the need to protect such information may be outweighed by the public interest in disclosure of the information, and in these cases the information should be declassified.  When such questions arise, they shall be referred to the agency head or the senior agency official.  That official will determine, as an exercise of discretion, whether the public interest in disclosure outweighs the damage to the national security that might reasonably be expected from disclosureâЂ¦.âЂќ So what was âЂњexceptionalâЂќ about this particular NSA historical study?  What was the overriding public interest in it that justified its complete declassification despite its presumed eligibility for continued classification?  What unavoidable damage was expected to result from its disclosure?  The NSA Public Affairs Office refused to answer these questions, despite repeated inquiries. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Secrecyblog-NSA-Declassifies-Secret-Document-After-Publishing-It-Online-34892.html Sat, 19 May 2012 3:47:59 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Canadas-Harper-Government-Shuts-Down-Green-Business-Advisory-Agency-34891.html The Canadian government is to mark the 25th anniversary of its green business advisers by closing the agency down.John Baird, Canada's foreign affairs minister and point man for next month's Rio+20 Earth summit in Brazil, said this week that the National Roundtable for the Environment and Economy (NRTEE) would have its funding cut in 2013 because of the availability of information from thinktanks, the internet and universities.Baird told reporters that Canadian taxpayers should not have to pay for an organization that has produced 10 reports promoting a carbon tax âЂ“ "something that the people of Canada have repeatedly rejected"."But that's not correct," the Roundtable's CEO, David McLaughlin, told the Guardian on Thursday, adding that it had never advocated a carbon tax but had looked at cap and trade for regulating Canada's greenhouse gas emissions in a 2009 report commissioned by the government. "Which was government policy at the time," said McLaughlin.McLaughlin, a former chief of staff to federal finance minister Jim Flaherty, stressed there was always original analysis in its reports, making available information that would not otherwise be in the public domain. McLaughlin also pointed to the Roundtable's ability to combine research while convening people from industry as well as the environmental sector together.Only on Wednesday the NRTEE provided an environmental life cycle analysis commissioned by the federal environment minister, Peter Kent, and a climate change report is due out next month that will look at provincial emissions reduction plans. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Canadas-Harper-Government-Shuts-Down-Green-Business-Advisory-Agency-34891.html Sat, 19 May 2012 3:45:50 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Annular-Solar-Eclipse-Viewable-From-US-On-Sunday-34890.html Sunday will come to a close with a spectacular solar eclipse across much of the United States with the Southwest enjoying the best view and weather.  The moon will reduce the sun to what resembles a thin ring late Sunday along a path from Medford, Oregon, to Redding, California, to Reno, Nevada, to Cedar City, Utah, to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Lubbock, Texas. While officially deemed a partial eclipse elsewhere across the West, the astronomical show will still be amazing for Los Angeles, Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Boise with more than 80 percent of the sun being covered. AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson states that the display will be extra spectacular throughout the Rockies with the eclipse occurring right before sunset. For those hoping to view or photograph the eclipse (doing so while adhering to the safety tips outlined by SPACE.com), Mother Nature is set to cooperate. High pressure will promote clear skies throughout the Southwest and northward to Idaho late Sunday. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Annular-Solar-Eclipse-Viewable-From-US-On-Sunday-34890.html Sat, 19 May 2012 1:21:13 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Unemployment-Update-May-2012-34889.html Unemployment Update âЂ“ May 2012by Marie Gage  In September of 2009, I was laid off.  The items my firm manufactured were not being sold.  They were high-ticket medical equipment items and hospitals in 2009 put freezes on large capital purchases, as they were uncertain of where the economy was going.  I had no idea how serious the unemployment problem was, how impossible it was to get even a temporary gig.  At first, I started to doubt my abilities and myself.  Then I got into social networking and realized there were millions of others in my same position.  In 2010, I got into activist mode when I heard such outright nonsense from our leaders running for re-election and their opponents. I am angry over the lack of real acknowledgement of this problem. It is very serious. The easiest way to solve a problem is to deny that it exists. The media, our governmental leaders, and even our economists are not using the correct numbers, the truth as to what a serious problem we have. Friends, family members, and former co-workers did not understand the unemployment problem.  To be frank, 10 years ago if a person such as me were unemployed for more than 6 months, I would tend to think that there was something wrong with them.  They did not really want a job.  Maybe they had an undesirable past.  I did not understand the problem until I myself was immersed in it.  I was too busy working to pay attention to more than the 5 minutes of news crammed in between the weather and traffic report on the am radio while driving way to work. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Unemployment-Update-May-2012-34889.html Fri, 18 May 2012 19:28:51 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Battle-To-Save-The-Euro-Moves-To-Camp-David-34888.html U.S. President Barack Obama was caught between two competing European visions of how to solve the financial crisis and the G8 summit when U.K. Prim Minister David Cameron rejected outright a French proposal to raise €57 billion (£46 billion) through a tax on financial transactions. The euro-zone crisis is set to dominate four days of intense diplomacy which began in Washington Friday morning and continued through a meeting of G8 leaders at the presidential retreat Camp David on Friday evening. Discussions will continue there on Saturday and onto a NATO meeting in Chicago. In talks at the White House, only hours before the Camp David summit, Obama met the new French president Francois Hollande for a one-to-one conversation in which he explored the possibility of a new approach to the eurozone crisis based on a pro-growth, stimulus strategy. President Obama has been pressing for such a strategy for the last three years and has a potential ally in President Hollande. "Much of our discussion centered on the situation in the euro zone," said President  Obama. "And President Hollande and I agree that this is an issue of extraordinary importance, not only to the people of Europe, but also to the world economy. "And we're looking forward to a fruitful discussion later this evening and tomorrow with the other G8 leaders about how we can manage a responsible approach to fiscal consolidation that is coupled with a strong growth agenda." http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Battle-To-Save-The-Euro-Moves-To-Camp-David-34888.html Fri, 18 May 2012 19:27:44 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Lost-Nation-US-Think-Tank-Slams-Germanys-NATO-Role-34887.html Germany may be Europe's driving force in the euro crisis, but a prominent U.S. think tank has accused the country of shirking its defense duties. In a report released ahead of the NATO summit in Chicago, Illinois, a group of experts criticizes Germany for threatening the future of the whole alliance through its weakness. The Atlantic Council is considered one of Washington's leading foreign policy think tanks. The non-partisan institution was founded in 1961 and its honorary directors include former Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Condoleezza Rice. The Council places high value on using a diplomatic tone. So when its members resort to strong rhetoric it causes a stir, especially so now, on the eve of the NATO summit on May 20-21 in Chicago. In a 12-page report titled "Anchoring the Alliance" the Council's experts dissect the future of the defense alliance -- and make Germany into the main scapegoat for NATO's problems. "A stronger Germany would be the greatest boost to NATO's future," says the study. But the authors say that the exact opposite is actually true, namely there is less German involvement. Germany, which has taken a lead role in the euro crisis, behaves like a "lost nation" when it comes to political and military leadership. Germany's helpless behavior has consequences, says the study. "A weak Germany that lacks a capacity to act globally will inevitably weaken NATO," the authors write. "Europe cannot remain a major force within the NATO Alliance if a country of Germany's size, geography, and prosperity makes the kind of deep reductions in defense spending announced by Chancellor Angela Merkel's government in 2011." Among other cuts, Germany wants to get rid of fighter jets such as the Eurofighter, Tiger attack helicopters and the NH90 transport helicopter. Such steps "undermine European defense projects and restrict Germany's future deployment options," according to experts at the Council. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Lost-Nation-US-Think-Tank-Slams-Germanys-NATO-Role-34887.html Fri, 18 May 2012 19:27:19 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Eyes-On-The-Prize-Beijing-Sets-Its-Sights-On-Central-Europe-34886.html In recent months, China has begun to invest more heavily in Central and Eastern Europe. The new initiative reflects both Beijing's desire to develop beyond the production of cheap goods and its goal of establishing a presence in the European market for those products. The investments could also deepen political ties with countries like Poland and its neighbors. With much of Western Europe distracted by the euro crisis, China has begun in recent months to intensify its role as an investor in Central and Eastern Europe -- both through loans and the acquisitions of firms. Beijing has estimated foreign currency reserves of $3.2 trillion (€2.52 trillion), and some say the investment spree could be the start of something bigger. Last month, at the April 26 China-Central Europe-Poland Economic Forum in Warsaw, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao announced the creation of a $10 billion credit line to support Chinese investments in Central European infrastructure, new technology, and renewable energy. Wen's goal is to reach a volume of $100 billion in trade with Central Europe by 2015, an astounding turnaround for a country that was regarded with deep suspicion by the post-communist countries of Central Europe only a decade ago. And for China, the political benefits of offering such a credit line may be just as important as the economic ones. Indeed, the leaders of 16 countries in the region all traveled to the Polish capital to meet with Wen. "There is a big economic benefit to China for making a deal like this, because it wants to move out of lower-cost manufacturing eventually, and this is a way of getting a foothold in European markets," said Jonas Parello-Plesner, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. The credit line is only one of a number of major China-related developments in Central and Eastern Europe in recent months. Shortly after Wen's trip, Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Li Kequiang also traveled to the region, announcing a string of deals, including a $1 billion credit line to Hungary for the construction of a Chinese-built rail line to the Budapest airport. Chinese shipping giant Cosco has also said it is considering investing $1 billion to develop the port of Rijeka, Croatia. Earlier this year, in February, Great Wall Motors, a Chinese automobile manufacturer, began production at a new plant in Bahovitsa, Bulgaria. The company plans to use Bulgaria as a base from which to sell Chinese-designed cars -- first in Bulgaria and its neighboring Eastern European countries but, in the future, also in other European Union countries further to the west. The same month, the Financial Times reported that China's LiuGong Machinery acquired Poland's Huta Stola Wola road machinery maker for around $100 million. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Eyes-On-The-Prize-Beijing-Sets-Its-Sights-On-Central-Europe-34886.html Fri, 18 May 2012 19:24:44 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Fleeing-The-Wealth-Tax-Wealthy-French-Take-Their-Assets-To-London-34885.html During the election campaign, French President François Hollande threatened to slap an income tax rate of 75 percent on high earners. Since then, wealthy French have been looking for ways to get themselves and their money out of the country. And nowhere looks more attractive than millionaire-friendly London. It began in 2010, when wealthy Greeks started coming to London and buying up expensive townhouses in upmarket neighborhoods. Amid fears that Greece might leave the euro zone, they believed their money would be safe in Britain in its splendid isolation from the euro and the Continent's sovereign debt crisis. Then rich Spaniards started arriving. They were following by well off Italians, who at the start of the year overtook Russians as the biggest group of foreign buyers snapping up property in London, according to a survey. Whenever the euro crisis heats up somewhere in Europe, the demand for expensive homes increases in Western Europe's largest city particularly among well-heeled foreigners beset by asset angst. London real estate agents are like the canary in the coalmine for the debt crisis. They can sense early on the next country to get sucked into the vortex. So who's up next? Apparently it's the French. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Fleeing-The-Wealth-Tax-Wealthy-French-Take-Their-Assets-To-London-34885.html Fri, 18 May 2012 19:18:56 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Crisis-Of-Confidence-Fears-Of-Bank-Runs-Mount-In-Southern-Europe-34884.html Following the downgrade of 16 Spanish banks by Moody's, the focus in the euro crisis is back on the banking sector. Greeks are withdrawing hundreds of millions from their accounts, with reports that the same is happening in Spain. Experts are calling on the European Central Bank to step in and prevent full-scale bank runs. The final wake-up call came from Moody's. On Thursday evening, the U.S. rating agency downgraded 16 Spanish banks in one fell swoop, some of them by three notches. On Monday, the agency had already downgraded 26 Italian banks -- including major institutions such as UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo. The outlook for all the institutions involved is negative, said Moody's. These are drastic steps, but they are hardly excessive. The European sovereign debt crisis long ago also became a banking crisis. The fate of the affected countries can not be separated from that of their financial institutions: If a state goes bankrupt, its banks too will struggle to survive. On the other hand, the examples of Ireland and Spain show that a shaky banking system can quickly overwhelm national budgets. Moody's justified its downgrades of Spanish banks with the argument that the ability of the government to support individual banks has worsened. On Friday, the Spanish central bank was also forced to admit that the proportion of bad loans on the books of Spanish banks has risen to an 18-year high. According to the central bank, the share of bad loans rose in March to 8.36 percent, compared to 8.15 percent in the previous month. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Crisis-Of-Confidence-Fears-Of-Bank-Runs-Mount-In-Southern-Europe-34884.html Fri, 18 May 2012 19:16:20 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Europes-Failed-Natural-Gas-Strategy-Gazprom-Plans-Second-Baltic-Sea-Pipeline-34883.html With the planned Nabucco natural gas pipeline in southern Europe hitting snag after snag, Russian natural gas giant Gazprom is considering the construction of a second Baltic Sea pipeline to go with the just-finished Nord Stream. With unconventional natural gas from the US flooding the market, however, the strategy is not without risk. Seven years later, it is now clear who won the duel. When the government of Social Democratic Chancellor Gerhard Schröder came to an end in 2005, both he and his foreign minister, Green Party éminence grise Joschka Fischer, embarked on second careers as energy lobbyists. Schröder is in the service of Russian energy giant Gazprom -- as chairman of the board of the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline on the Baltic Sea floor. The pipeline went into operation six months ago and now natural gas from Siberia flows through the 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) of pipe to the German city of Greifswald. Fischer is an adviser to Nabucco, the consortium favored by the European Union, which also includes German electric power company RWE. The Nabucco pipeline is intended to transport gas from the Caspian Sea region, along a 3,900-kilometer southern route to Baumgarten in Austria, bypassing Russia in the process. But not a single meter of the pipeline has yet been laid, and that will likely remain the case. The Nabucco project will not be implemented as planned. Three weeks ago, Hungary's MOL Group voiced significant doubts about the project, and now another consortium member is thinking of pulling out. RWE executives have already prepared politicians in Brussels and Berlin for the worst case in recent weeks. They haven't made a final decision yet, but the chances that the company will remain committed to Nabucco are not good. One reason is that the estimated total cost of over €15 billion ($19 billion) is more than twice as high as the original projection. Another is that potential suppliers Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan have not yet provided definitive commitments to supply natural gas to the pipeline. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Europes-Failed-Natural-Gas-Strategy-Gazprom-Plans-Second-Baltic-Sea-Pipeline-34883.html Fri, 18 May 2012 19:09:47 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Taliban-Death-Threats-The-Wests-Afghan-Workers-Fear-NATO-Withdrawal-34882.html With the German army pulling out of Afghanistan in 2014, hundreds of Afghan workers fear they will become victims of revenge by the Taliban, who have already condemned them as traitors. German authorities are already preparing for a wave of visa applications. When Muhammad Shah* goes to the mosque in Mazar-e-Sharif, he's always got the year 2014 in his prayers. "Every day I pray to Allah that international troops won't withdraw from my country in two years," says the 27-year-old Afghan. "Not only will I lose my job -- I will also have to fear for my life and those of my family." It's late afternoon in northern Afghanistan and Shah is coming straight from his shift. Like hundreds of other Afghans, for six years the young man has worked as an interpreter for the Bundeswehr at Camp Marmal, the German army's largest base. He earns about $700 per month for his help in establishing contacts within the local population, or roughly twice as much as an Afghan general makes. Every day Shah goes out on patrol with the troops. He likes the German army soldiers. These days it's the evening news on television which scares Shah. By the end of 2014, at the latest, almost all international troops are to be withdrawn from the country in the Hindu Kush mountains, at least according to plans by nations present in the country going into the NATO summit in Chicago, Illinois, that begins on May 20. NATO leaders are hoping that the Afghan security forces can take over full responsibility for their country by then. The German government likes to call this plan the "responsible handover." http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Taliban-Death-Threats-The-Wests-Afghan-Workers-Fear-NATO-Withdrawal-34882.html Fri, 18 May 2012 19:08:55 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Alaska-Militia-Members-Accused-Of-Murder-Plot-34881.html Schaeffer Cox carries himself with youthful swagger as he spreads a message to his many admirers of an out-of-control federal government bulldozing individual freedoms. Federal prosecutors portray him quite differently: as a dangerous Alaska militia leader who with others amassed a huge cache of illegal weapons while plotting a strategy to one day kill judges, state troopers and other government officials. According to prosecutors, Cox, the 28-year-old head of the Alaska Peacemakers Militia, believed his group would eventually need to take up arms against the government, and "be sufficiently armed and equipped to sustain a take-over of the 'government' or become a new government in the event of a 'government collapse.'" So he and others allegedly hatched a plan intended to kill two government officials for every one militia member who was killed - a strategy known within the group as "241" or "two for one." The federal trial of Cox and two Alaska men - Coleman Barney, 37, and Lonnie Vernon, 56 - began last week and could last another month. Defense attorneys plan to argue that the government badly overstepped its authority, ensnaring the men via an informant who encouraged weapons purchases and pushed for violence. Their clients are not dangerous men but devout Christians who only intended to defend loved ones in case that ever became necessary, the defense has argued. Norm Olson, the founder of the Michigan Militia who now lives in the Alaska community of Nikiski and is commander of the Alaska Citizens Militia, is among those who support Cox. He said that any so-called plot against the government was just "testosterone talking." As for the "241" concept, it's about defensive planning, not striking first, said Olson. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Alaska-Militia-Members-Accused-Of-Murder-Plot-34881.html Fri, 18 May 2012 19:06:10 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/The-Need-For-Speed-The-Samwer-Brothers-Find-Global-Internet-Success-34880.html The Samwer brothers are among the most successful businessmen on the web -- and the most unpopular. Oliver, the leader of the trio, has only one goal: to capture an even greater share of the world's online marketplace. Oliver Samwer is sitting in his Munich office talking about how much of his life he spends on airplanes, his 18-hour days and the constant trips between Singapore, Moscow and São Paulo. Sometimes, he says, he make several different reservations for the same route, to be sure that he won't lose any time in case of scheduling snags. Just listening to him describe his schedule is enough to make you dizzy. And then his wife calls. The mobile phone buzzes twice, and he ignores it both times. He answers the third time and murmurs a term of endearment. He gives her 20 seconds, and then he says he'll call her back. The sound of his wife's protestations is so loud that it's even audible on the other side of the table. Samwer hangs up, smiles and continues where he left off: with his high-speed life. A fast pace is important for this successful businessman. Anyone who interacts with him is forced to adjust to his velocity -- including his wife. For Samwer, everything is about speed, and about reaching the finish line before everyone else. In the German Internet business, he and his brothers Marc and Alexander are always the first to show when there is money to be made. And they are often gone shortly before the party is over. Even their very first coup was a speed record. In 1999, they founded Alando, a German clone of the online auction house Ebay. Only 100 days later, they sold the company to Ebay for about $50 million (€38 million), making them legends early in their careers. Later on, they became involved with Jamba, StudiVZ, Citydeal, Groupon, Facebook, Parship, eDarling, MyVideo, Wimdu, HelloFresh, GlossyBox, Zalando and many other Internet up-and-comers. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/The-Need-For-Speed-The-Samwer-Brothers-Find-Global-Internet-Success-34880.html Fri, 18 May 2012 19:00:03 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Chen-Guangchengs-Brother-Decribes-Beating-By-Officials-34879.html The brother of blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng told reporters how he was chained to a chair and beaten for three days to make him reveal how his sibling escaped from house arrest in the Shandong countryside.Chen Guangfu described his ordeal in an interview with a Hong Kong magazine as his son, Chen Kegui stood accused of attempted murder for fighting back against a similar beating.A team of independent lawyers who have offered to represent the defendant were dismissed by the authorities and told not to speak about the case.Chen Guangfu told a reporter from iSunAffairs.com that local officials came to his home after his brother fled late last month from his home village of Dongshigu to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. "They put me on a chair, bound my feet with iron chains and locked my hands with handcuffs behind my back, he said, according to a transcript of the interview released to the BBC."They pulled my hands upwards forcefully. Then they slapped me in the face," he said. "They first asked me if I knew what this was about. I said 'I don't know', So they beat me and slapped my face. Only on one side, not the other. And they trampled my feet." http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Chen-Guangchengs-Brother-Decribes-Beating-By-Officials-34879.html Fri, 18 May 2012 3:51:38 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/President-Obama-Tells-EU-To-Boost-Growth-Now-Or-Face-A-Global-Crisis-34878.html U.S. President Barack Obama is to put pressure on Germany to ease the pain of austerity with policies to boost growth, as he uses two days of talks with the G8  industrial nations to warn Europe that it needs to act swiftly to spare the world economy from a second deep recession in four years. Prior to the G8 summit at Camp David this weekend, a warning from the ratings agency Fitch that Greece's days in the single currency could be numbered heightened fears in Washington that the worsening crisis in the euro zone poses a threat to America's fragile recovery and President Obama's re-election chances. President Obama will welcome the new French president, François Hollande, as a potential ally in his push for Europe to follow the U.S. in giving a higher priority to expansionary policies, and as a counterweight to the German chancellor, Angela Merkel. Obama can expect support from David Cameron, who told Merkel and Hollande on Thursday that euro-zone leaders must embark on a series of urgent steps to prop up the single currency if a major implosion across the continent is to be avoided. In a video conference with fellow E.U. leaders, the prime minister warned of a "remorseless logic" which dictates that struggling members of a single currency are supported by stronger members. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/President-Obama-Tells-EU-To-Boost-Growth-Now-Or-Face-A-Global-Crisis-34878.html Fri, 18 May 2012 3:50:53 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Moodys-Downgrades-Santander-UK-Along-With-16-Spanish-Banks-34877.html The credit rating agency Moody's has downgraded 16 Spanish banks along with Santander's U.K. arm, citing the Spanish government's reduced ability to shore up the banks.Santander U.K., whose rating was lowered to A2 âЂ“ a notch higher than its Spanish parent âЂ“ insisted there was no impact on its business and that it was an autonomous subsidiary with 90% of its assets held in the U.K., where it is also regulated. Moody's admitted it was unlikely that the U.K. Financial Services Authority would allow Santander U.K. to substantially weaken itself in order to support the parent. increasing instability.Earlier Moody's had also downgraded four regions in Spain. The moves from the credit rating agency came after a day of fears that Spain will be the next domino to fall if Greece leaves the euro, as the country was forced to deny that there was a run on its fourth-biggest lender, Bankia.Bankia shares fell almost 30% at one point after reports âЂ“ later refuted âЂ“ that depositors were withdrawing their funds. It was bailed out only last week when the government converted loans into a 45% stake.The European commission warned last week that high debts in the regions, which account for half of public spending, could prevent Spain meeting its deficit goal of 5.3% of GDP this year."It is not true that at this time a flight of deposits from Bankia is taking place," said Fernando Jiménez Latorre, the deputy economy minister. El Mundo newspaper reported that clients had withdrawn €1 billion (£800 million) of deposits from the bank since last week's bailout.This appears to have sparked jitters among investors and some clients, though there was no sign of panic in branches. "If they take my money away, I'll kill," one Bankia client spat at budget minister Cristóbal Montoro after approaching him on the street, according to El Mundo. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Moodys-Downgrades-Santander-UK-Along-With-16-Spanish-Banks-34877.html Fri, 18 May 2012 3:50:14 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/G8-Summit-President-Obama-To-Announce-3-Billion-In-Private-Aid-Funding-34876.html U.S. President Barack Obama is to make a major speech in Washington on Friday announcing at least $3 billion in private sector funding to tackle hunger in developing countries, mainly in Africa.White House officials disclosed the figure in a briefing ahead of the president's speech, which marks the start of four days of international talks with world leaders.Aid agencies are likely to react with mixed feelings. While they accept that the private sector can play a role in development, they are skeptical that it can replace the kind of funding that governments traditionally provide to the world's poorest countries.At Camp David on Friday evening and Saturday morning, President Obama is hosting the leaders of the Group of Eight (G8), comprising the the world's wealthiest countries. Its past meetings at Gleneagles, Scotland, in 2005 and L'Aquila, Italy, in 2009 resulted in major spending commitments made by the wealthiest countries to help the poor.Given the present austerity measures in Europe and in the U.S. these appear to be drying up and, instead, President Obama is putting the focus on the private sector.Raj Shah, administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAid) who took part in the White House briefing, said 45 private companies would contribute more than $3 billion to help small-scale agricultural projects. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/G8-Summit-President-Obama-To-Announce-3-Billion-In-Private-Aid-Funding-34876.html Fri, 18 May 2012 3:47:50 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Ford-GM-And-BMW-Linked-To-Illegal-Logging-And-Slave-Labor-In-Brazil-34875.html Ford, GM and BMW are sourcing material from Brazil that is driving illegal logging and slave labor, according to campaigners at Greenpeace. Brazil is a major exporter of pig iron, a primary ingredient of steel and cast iron, that is produced using massive quantities of charcoal. Reports over the past decade from the Brazilian government, the International Labor Organization (ILO), and the U.S. Department of Labor have indicated that charcoal used by many pig iron suppliers in the Amazonian state of Pará was obtained through forced labor and illegal logging of protected and indigenous lands. A new report by Greenpeace (you can read the report here: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/driving-destruction/ ) uses customs data to link eight international companies to two major Brazilian exporters of pig iron, Viena Siderurgica do Maranhão (Viena) and Siderúrgica do Pará (Sidepar), that the green group says are linked through the supply chain to charcoal suppliers with histories of buying from illegal camps and concealing illicit behavior. Ford, General Motors, BMW, Mercedes, Nissan are all linked through a Severstal steel mill in Columbus, Mississippi, that buys from Viena and Severstal, while John Deere and ThyssonKrupp are linked through foundries supplied by the Illinois-based National Material Trading, a metal broker that sources from Viena. Two other metal brokers, Environmental Materials Corporation in Pennsylvania and a division of Cargill in Minnesota were also said by Greenpeace to have imported pig iron from Viena. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Ford-GM-And-BMW-Linked-To-Illegal-Logging-And-Slave-Labor-In-Brazil-34875.html Fri, 18 May 2012 3:47:21 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Oil-Hovers-Below-93-After-Sharp-TwoWeek-SellOff-34874.html Oil prices hovered below $93 a barrel Friday in Asia, pausing after the latest twists in Europe's debt crisis triggered a sharp two-week sell-off. Benchmark oil for June delivery was up 4 cents to $92.60 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 25 cents to settle at $92.56 in New York on Thursday. Brent crude for July delivery was up 11 cents at $107.60 per barrel in London. Crude has plunged about 13 percent from $106 two weeks ago because of expectations Europe's debt crisis will slow the global economy and reduce demand for fuel. On Thursday, rating agency Moody's downgraded its credit ratings on 16 Spanish banks while a newspaper reported depositors were rushing to withdraw their money from Bankia, a troubled Spanish bank that was effectively nationalized just one week ago. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Oil-Hovers-Below-93-After-Sharp-TwoWeek-SellOff-34874.html Fri, 18 May 2012 3:42:06 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Study-Australasia-Has-Hottest-60-Years-In-A-Millennium-34873.html The last 60 years have been the hottest in Australasia for a millennium and cannot be explained by natural causes, according to a new report by scientists that supports the case for a reduction in man-made carbon emissions. In the first major study of its kind in the region, scientists at the University of Melbourne used natural data from 27 climate indicators, including tree rings, corals and ice cores to map temperature trends over the past 1,000 years. "Our study revealed that recent warming in a 1,000-year context is highly unusual and cannot be explained by natural factors alone, suggesting a strong influence of human-caused climate change in the Australasian region," said the study's lead researcher, Dr. Joelle Gergis. The climate reconstruction was done in 3,000 different ways and concluded with 95% accuracy that no other period in the past 1,000 years match or exceeded post-1950 warming in Australia. The study, published in the Journal of Climate, will be part of Australia's contribution to the fifth Intergovernmetal Panel on Climate Change report, due in 2014. As part of the study, climate modellers used the natural data to analyze the impact of both natural events, like volcanic eruptions in the pre-industrial era, and the impact of human-induced climate change such as greenhouse gasses emissions on temperatures in the last millennium. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Study-Australasia-Has-Hottest-60-Years-In-A-Millennium-34873.html Fri, 18 May 2012 3:34:01 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Mexicos-Economic-Growth-Accelerates-34872.html MexicoâЂ™s economy started 2012 with a bang as a pick-up in the United States lifted economic growth in Latin AmericaâЂ™s second-largest economy to its fastest pace in 18 months. First-quarter growth was 4.6 per cent compared with a year earlier, the fastest pace since the third quarter of 2010, prompting several analysts to upgrade 2012 growth forecasts. The economy grew 1.31 per cent in the first quarter, broadly in line with Reuters poll expectations and close to double the upwardly-revised 0.72 per cent growth of the previous quarter, the national statistics agency said on Thursday. MexicoâЂ™s central bank lifted its growth outlook on Wednesday and the strengthening undermines any case for lower interest rates, with markets sticking to bets for rates on hold at 4.5 per cent until well into 2014. Still, risks remain: although recent data from the United States, MexicoâЂ™s main trading partner, have fanned hopes it can maintain solid growth after an acceleration in the second half of last year, the euro zone narrowly escaped sliding back into recession in the first quarter. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Mexicos-Economic-Growth-Accelerates-34872.html Thu, 17 May 2012 21:00:16 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Minnesota-Man-Targeted-Mexican-Consulate-In-St-Paul-34871.html A Minnesota man with suspected ties to white supremacist groups had devised a plan to attack the Mexican consulate in St. Paul and believed his actions would "manifest national awareness," according to a federal affidavit obtained Thursday by the Associated Press. The affidavit, recently unsealed in federal court, provides details of the investigation into the alleged plans of Joseph Benjamin Thomas. The 42-year-old was indicted in April on drug charges, though authorities were investigating him and another man as part of a domestic terrorism probe. Investigators claimed the men had amassed weapons and hundreds of rounds of ammunition as part of a plan to attack the government, minorities and others. Thomas is not facing any terrorism-related charges. A message left for Thomas' attorney was not immediately returned Thursday, and the U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment on the case. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Minnesota-Man-Targeted-Mexican-Consulate-In-St-Paul-34871.html Thu, 17 May 2012 20:59:43 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Defying-The-Odds-Why-The-French-Economy-Works-Surprisingly-Well-34870.html According to German calculations, the new French president's call for an even lower retirement age and more public workers should not add up to economic growth. Despite violating established economic principles, the French economy works surprisingly well. The journalists' visit to the Paris-based headquarters of French auto maker Renault kicked off in a very French way: with an almost two-hour lunch. It was naturally not a simple affair in the company cafeteria. The meal at the nearby Cap Sequin restaurant boasted three artery-clogging courses, a bottle of white wine and a wonderful view of the Seine River followed by coffee and chocolates. At about half past two, it was finally time to get back to work, though it was somehow difficult to do so. For decades, France's economy has violated established laws of economics and not just because of the cholesterol-packed lunches. There's also the fact that France is the world leader in terms of vacation days, has a nationwide 35-hour work week and allows its citizens to retire at 65, two years earlier than in Germany. On top of that, France has strict regulations regarding employee termination and a swollen public sector. Nearly 57 percent of France's economic performance flows through state hands. That figure is about 10 percent higher than in Germany and a record level among industrialized nations. Now France has elected François Hollande, a Socialist president whose most important pledge was "More of the same!" He has called for public-sector jobs financed with a 75 percent tax on top earners, and more time to enjoy retirement. Indeed, while Germany just boosted its retirement age to 67, its western neighbors might soon be able to leave the working world at 60 with a full pension. Given these facts, it should come as no surprise that France is struggling with a few economic problems: major budget shortfalls, persistently low economic growth and a high youth-unemployment rate. Even more astounding, however, is just how good the French are doing despite their idiosyncratic economic model. Admittedly, per capita economic performance is 8 percent lower in France than Germany, after adjusting for differences in purchasing power. Considering that the French have been the world champions of savoir vivre for decades, while the Germans have been self-denying work horses, that 8 percent difference doesn't really seem so big. In other words, a country that according to established economic laws should be playing in the same league as Greece has defied the odds to keep pace with Germany. How did this happen? First, France's statistical data is misleading. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Defying-The-Odds-Why-The-French-Economy-Works-Surprisingly-Well-34870.html Thu, 17 May 2012 20:58:54 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/USS-Essex-Arrives-At-California-Port-After-Collision-34869.html Sporting crumpled catwalks and smashed lifeboats, the U.S. Navy vessel USS Essex managed to glide into San Diego Bay on Thursday, 24 hours after colliding with a tanker in the Pacific Ocean when the aging warship's steering apparently failed. Families of the crew aboard the "Iron Gator" waved homemade flags in celebration as the 21-year-old amphibious assault ship - which officials say needs to be overhauled - came into view through the morning's thick marine layer. Wednesday's mid-morning crash 120 miles off the coast of Southern California resulted in no injuries or fuel spills. The 844-foot-long Essex was carrying 982 crew members. The tanker, the 677-foot USNS Yukon, was carrying 82. "To me, it felt like a minor earthquake," said Navy photographer Duke Richardson from Jersey City, New Jersey, who was in a photo lab on the Essex when it struck the Yukon. He said some of the "newbies" on board were in a "state of shock" and let out some interesting "four-letter words" when the boat jolted and the collision alarms sounded. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/USS-Essex-Arrives-At-California-Port-After-Collision-34869.html Thu, 17 May 2012 20:58:11 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Greece-Downgraded-On-Euro-Exit-Fears-34868.html The two main figures in what promises to be Greece's most electric election in living memory were on a collision course on Thursday, with one predicting "hell" if Athens adheres to E.U.-mandated austerity and the other forecasting a "nightmare" if the nation abandons reforms and gives up the euro.Emboldened by yet another poll showing his party's wide appeal, the left-wing Syriza leader, Alexis Tsipras, said the international accord that Greece had signed up to in return for rescue loans was catastrophic for the country. Instead of a rescue, the debt-stricken nation has been thrown into its worst recession since the second world war."With this policy [bailout agreement] we are going directly to hell," he told CNN. "To save Europe we need to change direction," insisted the politician who has pledged to "tear up" the €130 billion (£104 billion) "memorandum of understanding" that Athens reached with the E.U. and IMF earlier this year.The 38-year-old, who has sent shock waves through E.U. capitals with his fiery anti-austerity rhetoric, made the remarks as Syriza announced that he would be visiting Berlin and Paris next week for talks. It was unclear whom Tsipras would be meeting, although aides said German Chancellor Angela Merkel would not be among those lined up.Within hours, the leading credit agency Fitch had downgraded Greece's sovereign rating to CCC from B-, citing "the risk of a Greek exit from European Monetary Union âЂ¦ in the near term". http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Greece-Downgraded-On-Euro-Exit-Fears-34868.html Thu, 17 May 2012 20:41:17 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/France-Eager-To-Avoid-NATO-Clash-Over-Afghanistan-Troop-Withdrawal-34867.html France's new President Francois Hollande will move to avoid an international row over his controversial election pledge to withdraw all combat troops from Afghistan by the end of the year when he meets U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House on Friday, according to western officials.Amid growing concern in Washington and London about the impact of a rapid French withdrawal, Hollande will adopt a conciliatory tone at his first major outing on the world stage, and is preparing to open discussion on a range of compromises that would soften the French position.His pledge to pull out French troops two years ahead of schedule provoked a backlash from the U.S. and Britain. They are fearful that such a move could lead to a premature rush to the exit by other members of the international force, upsetting a carefully-crafted plan for a phased withdrawal agreed by NATO at its 2010 Lisbon summit.France has the fifth biggest troop contingent in Afghanistan.According to officials, France, as well as pledging to pull out by the end of the year, is urging NATO as a whole to end its combat role in Afghanistan by the end of 2013, a year earlier than the Lisbon schedule.Hollande's proposal will dominate the White House discussion at the start of a weekend of diplomatic activity. The leaders of the G8 group of highly industrialized countries will meet at the presidential retreat Camp David on Friday and Saturday, before traveling to Chicago, Illinois, for the NATO summit on Sunday and Monday. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/France-Eager-To-Avoid-NATO-Clash-Over-Afghanistan-Troop-Withdrawal-34867.html Thu, 17 May 2012 20:37:21 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Unreliable-Partners-Germanys-Reputation-In-NATO-Has-Hit-Rock-Bottom-34866.html Ahead of the NATO summit in Chicago, Germany's standing in the alliance has reached a low point. The country's abstention in the United Nations vote on military action in Libya has done lasting damage to its reputation. The Germans are now seen as unreliable partners who don't know what they want. When the 28 ambassadors of the North Atlantic Council came together at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on Wednesday of last week, a key diplomat was missing. The German ambassador to NATO, Martin Erdmann, had suffered such a bad fall in his residence on Avenue de Tervueren the previous day that doctors had to stitch up his lip. His fellow ambassadors sent him their get-well wishes, but they managed to contain any disappointment over the fact that the German representative had been left speechless during this important phase of preparations for the NATO summit in Chicago, Illinois, on May 20-21. As it happens, the German ambassador usually says very little, even when he is present. And what should he say, given that his government hasn't even formed an opinion on a range of important issues yet? The taciturn diplomat is symptomatic of the difficult relationship between the Germans and the Western alliance. Two decades after the end of the Cold War, the country still hasn't found its role in a changed NATO. The full sovereignty on issues of foreign policy that Germany regained after reunification is almost as much of a strain for the current center-right government as it was for the two previous coalition governments. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Unreliable-Partners-Germanys-Reputation-In-NATO-Has-Hit-Rock-Bottom-34866.html Thu, 17 May 2012 20:33:28 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Commentary-Another-One-Bites-The-Dust-Its-Getting-Lonely-For-Merkel-Within-Her-Own-Party-34865.html Intellpuke: The following commentary was written by Spiegel journalist Roland Nelles and was posted on Spiegel Online's edition for Thursday, May 17, 2012. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has shown her tough side by firing Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen after he lost a key state election for her conservative party. The demise of the former political star is yet another sign of the on-going disintegration of Merkel's government. Röttgen is the latest in a long line of senior conservatives who has met with a sticky end. Yet another model pupil and political star has fallen. Once again, there was a man who wanted too much, a man who was too clever and paid the price. Norbert Röttgen had had a meteoric career in Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), serving as environment minister and a CDU state leader. Some saw him as a possible future chancellor. Now, that's all over. Röttgen, who was fired as enviornment minister by Merkel on Wednesday, has tripped up because of his own ambitions and his penchant for tactical maneuvering. He was happy to let other people know that he considered himself to be superior. As a result, he hasn't had many political friends for quite some time. His remaining supporters vanished after the disgrace of last Sunday's state election in North Rhine-Westphalia, where Röttgen led the CDU to a disastrous defeat. If someone always claims to know best, but then doesn't do a better job himself, he can expect no mercy -- in politics just as in real life. Botched Job   The chancellor had to distance herself from Röttgen. His attempt to turn the North Rhine-Westphalia election into a referendum on her policies on the euro crisis was an act of disloyalty. Already a few days before the election, everyone already knew that he had botched it, but yet he still tried to drag Merkel into the mess -- a move the chancellor could not forgive. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Commentary-Another-One-Bites-The-Dust-Its-Getting-Lonely-For-Merkel-Within-Her-Own-Party-34865.html Thu, 17 May 2012 20:30:07 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Facebook-Share-Price-Set-At-38-For-100-Billion-IPO-34864.html Facebook has set the final price of shares in its landmark initial public offering (IPO) at $38 (£24), the top of the price range it gave this week, as investors clamored to buy into the social network. The move values the company at over $100 billion.Facebook had raised the price range to $34-$38 a share, up from $28-$35 earlier this week. The company's shares will begin trading alongside Amazon, Apple and other tech giants on the Nasdaq stock exchange tomorrow in what will be the biggest technology flotation ever.The $18.4 billion share sale will be America's second biggest, behind Visa's $19.65 billion share sale in 2008. Founder Mark Zuckerberg, who owns 28.1% of Facebook shares, will be instantly propelled into the top tier of the super-rich.The consultancy Wealth-X estimates his net pre-IPO fortune at $18.95 billion. When, and if, Facebook's shares take off on Friday, some are predicting a massive first-day rise, known as a "pop", that would make Zuckerberg richer than Larry Page or Sergey Brin, the Google founders whose wealth soared after their own IPO.The Los Angeles-based Wedbush Securities, the first firm to rate Facebook after it announced plans to sell shares, has set a 12-month price target of $44. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Facebook-Share-Price-Set-At-38-For-100-Billion-IPO-34864.html Thu, 17 May 2012 20:26:26 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Space-X-Prepares-To-Launch-First-Commercial-Flight-To-Space-Station-34863.html In the early hours of Saturday morning, a rocket is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral in Florida on a mission to deliver a capsule full of supplies to the International Space Station. Such launches are unremarkable when government agencies are at the helm, but this flight is different. The launch of the Falcon 9 rocket and its Dragon capsule is in the hands of SpaceX, the first commercial company to attempt a rendezvous with the orbiting outpost. This will be a momentous step towards the privatization of space. Even a partially successful mission will strengthen NASA's plans to hand industry responsibility for sending cargo and ultimately crewed flights to low Earth orbit, allowing the agency to focus on other missions. The launch, planned for 9:55 a.m. BST, is very much a test flight for SpaceX, the company founded by PayPal entrepreneur Elon Musk, and the chances of something going wrong, from the rocket misfiring to the capsule being lost in space, are real. The Falcon 9 rocket has flown only twice before, successfully reaching orbit on both occasions. An earlier SpaceX rocket, Falcon-1, failed to reach orbit on its first three test flights, though the company has had no failures since. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Space-X-Prepares-To-Launch-First-Commercial-Flight-To-Space-Station-34863.html Thu, 17 May 2012 3:45:34 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Report-JP-Morgan-Trading-Losses-Climb-To-3-Billion-34862.html JPMorgan Chase & Co.âЂ™s trading losses have mounted to at least $3 billion, the New York Times reported Wednesday night, citing unnamed sources. Last Thursday, the bank announced that it had lost $2 billion on a bad hedging strategy, and warned it could lose more in the coming quarters. The losses surged past the $3 billion mark after just four days of trading, according to the report, as investors and hedge funds took advantage of JPMorganâЂ™s plight, further deteriorating the bankâЂ™s underlying credit market positions. JPMorgan outperformed many other banks during the credit crisis, and its shares had been nearing their pre-crisis levels before chief executive Jamie Dimon announced the losses. Speaking to investors on a conference call last Thursday, he called the damage embarrassing but said the bankâЂ™s overall health is still strong. The bank had been trying to unwind a hedge position it held against volatility in the credit markets when the strategy began to backfire, leading to added mistakes that top executives failed to catch. The Federal Bureau of Investigation announced this week that it would look into the losses, which the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Reserve are also probing. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Report-JP-Morgan-Trading-Losses-Climb-To-3-Billion-34862.html Thu, 17 May 2012 3:45:09 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Shareholders-Sue-JP-Morgan-Over-Trading-Losses-34861.html JPMorgan Chase & Co. was the target of two separate lawsuits by shareholders on Wednesday, accusing the bank and its management of excessive risk that led to trading losses of at least $2 billion. A spokesman for JPMorgan declined to comment on the lawsuits, which were filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, days after chief executive officer Jamie DimonâЂ™s May 10 statement that a âЂњfailed hedging strategyâЂќ caused the massive loss over the last month. âЂњWhat the Company did not reveal was that those losses were the result of a marked shift in the companyâЂ™s allowable risk model, undisclosed to investors, and the similarly clandestine conversion of a unit within the company that was touted as providing a conservative risk-reduction function into a risky, short-term trading enterprise that exposed the company to large losses instead,âЂќ said one of the complaints. It was filed derivatively by California shareholder James Baker on behalf of JPMorgan against Mr. Dimon, chief financial officer Douglas Braunstein and board members. The lawsuit charged the JPMorgan defendants with breach of fiduciary duty, waste of corporate assets and unjust enrichment. A separate lawsuit was filed at the same time by shareholder Saratoga Advantage Trust financial services portfolio on behalf of owners of common stock. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Shareholders-Sue-JP-Morgan-Over-Trading-Losses-34861.html Thu, 17 May 2012 3:44:29 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/European-Central-Bank-Stops-Regular-Operations-With-Four-Greek-Banks-34860.html The European Central Bank has reacted to uncertainty over GreeceâЂ™s future in the euro zone by excluding four of the countryâЂ™s banks from its regular liquidity-providing operations. The move raises the pressure on Greece to stick to its international bailout by highlighting the risk that euro zone central bankers could pull the plug on its financial system. It reflected ECB fears that a planned recapitalization of GreeceâЂ™s banks could be delayed. The four Greek banks âЂ“ which the ECB did not name âЂ“ will have to rely instead on âЂњemergency liquidity assistanceâЂќ âЂ“ a special temporary facility provided by the Greek central bank but subject to ECB approval. The ECB âЂњcontinues to support Greek banks,âЂќ a spokesman said. European leaders are attempting to turn GreeceâЂ™s repeat national election next month into a referendum on the countryâЂ™s membership of the euro, a high-stakes political gamble that officials believe can win back voters disillusioned by the tough bailout conditions but eager to stay in the single currency. âЂњWe want Greece to remain part of our family, of the European Union, and of the euro,âЂќ José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, said at an unscheduled news conference. âЂњThis being said, the ultimate resolve to stay in the euro area must come from Greece itself.âЂќ Speaking in Frankfurt, ECB President Mario Draghi said the ECBâЂ™s âЂњstrong preferenceâЂќ was for Greece to remain in the euro zone, which suggested the ECB would maintain its support for its banks as long as possible The decision on the Greek banks was taken by the ECBâЂ™s governing council on Tuesday but had been in preparation since the countryâЂ™s inconclusive May 6 election. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/European-Central-Bank-Stops-Regular-Operations-With-Four-Greek-Banks-34860.html Thu, 17 May 2012 3:43:36 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Nervous-Greeks-Pull-Money-From-Banks-34859.html EuropeâЂ™s already strained financial system is facing a dangerous new threat: a possible run on Greek banks. Greeks have been pulling their cash out of banks at an accelerating pace in recent days as fears grow that the country will leave the 17-member euro zone. A bank run wouldnâЂ™t only be a problem for Greece, which installed a caretaker government Wednesday to keep the country functioning until new elections, set for June 17. EuropeâЂ™s wavering commitment to Greece is shifting investor angst to the other weak links in the region, including heavily indebted Spain, Italy and Portugal. So far, bank deposits are holding steady in those countries, but the financial health of their banks remains shaky. Worried that contagion is already spreading far beyond Greece, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy called on his euro neighbors to issue a âЂњclear, forceful message of support for the euro and for the sustainability of the debt of all countries where that is currently in doubt.âЂќ Government borrowing costs spiked in Spain and Italy this week as investors demand a premium for lending them money. Rates on 10-year bonds eased slightly Wednesday âЂ“ to 6.25 per cent in Spain and 5.98 per cent in Italy âЂ“ but they remain near record spreads compared with German government bonds. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Nervous-Greeks-Pull-Money-From-Banks-34859.html Thu, 17 May 2012 3:41:45 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Brooklyns-UltraOrthodox-Jews-Split-Over-Child-Abuse-Case-34858.html Until last year, Nechemya Weberman was a therapist in Orthodox Jewish Brooklyn. From the apartment building he owns in Williamsburg, he counseled teenage girls from ultra-Orthodox Jewish families. Girls, who through improper dress, flirtations with boys or a curiosity in life beyond the confines of their sects, were risking disrepute. In the antiquated world of the ultra-Orthodox, the stigma of immodesty can wreck a girl's marriage prospects and her future in the community. In 2007, two worried parents sent their 12-year-old daughter for counseling with Weberman, at the insistence of her school. For three years, the girl consulted him, seeing him often several times a week. The girl had been questioning her religious teachers, and her parents hoped that Weberman, who had raised his own pious, god-fearing children, would lead her back to the right path. Later this summer, a jury in Brooklyn âЂ“ home to the largest Orthodox population outside Israel âЂ“ will be asked to decide exactly what took place during those many counseling sessions. Whether Weberman repeatedly raped the young girl as she alleges, or whether, as the defense claims, he is the object of misplaced revenge. Whatever facts emerge at trial and whatever the jury decides, most in this insular community have already reached a verdict. The majority are siding with the accused. On Wednesday night, several thousand members of Weberman's Satmar Hasidic sect are expected to attend a rally on his behalf. His supporters, with the full backing of the senior rabbis, are stepping up their efforts to fight the prosecution. That the Weberman case is going to trial at all is notable in itself. The Guardian newspaper has detailed how most sex abuse claims are handled inside the community, either brushed aside or resolved in the shadow religious courts, or by the silencing of victims through bribing or intimidation. Those cases that do reach the criminal justice system tend to end in plea deals negotiated out of public view, in line with the Brooklyn district attorney's contentious secrecy policy. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Brooklyns-UltraOrthodox-Jews-Split-Over-Child-Abuse-Case-34858.html Thu, 17 May 2012 3:40:49 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Arson-Against-Austerity-Leftists-Target-Head-Of-EUs-Greece-Task-Force-34857.html A group of left-wing extremists in Germany has claimed responsibility for an arson attack aimed at the E.U. task force leader for Greece. His efforts to implement painful reforms there are unwanted, said the group, which has also threatened further attacks. As head of the European Union task force that is helping Athens implement tough structural reforms, Horst Reichenbach is an unpopular man in Greece. Now it would seem that even in his native Germany the official can't escape his critics. Unknown perpetrators attacked his home in Potsdam, near Berlin, on Sunday night, torching his wife's car and lobbing red paint at the property, a police spokesman told news agency Reuters late on Tuesday. Left-wing extremists claimed responsibility for the attack on Tuesday, and the investigation points to a politically motivated crime, the police spokesman said. The car destroyed in the arson attack belonged to Reichenbach's wife, Dagmar Roth-Behrendt, who is a member of the European Parliament. In a letter to daily Berliner Morgenpost, a group calling itself "Friends of Loukanikos" wrote that the fire was a message for the task force leader. "Loukanikos" is a scrappy stray dog famous for taking part in Athens protests in recent years. He and a handful of other "riot dogs" like him have become symbols of the Greek protests, gaining fans worldwide. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Arson-Against-Austerity-Leftists-Target-Head-Of-EUs-Greece-Task-Force-34857.html Thu, 17 May 2012 3:33:31 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/2-Mexican-Generals-Detained-Over-Drug-Gang-Links-34856.html Investigators are questioning Mexico's former deputy defense minister and a top Army general for suspected links to organized crime, in the highest level scandal to hit the military in the five-year-old drug war. Mexican soldiers on Tuesday detained retired general Tomás Angeles Dauahare and general Roberto Dawe González and turned them over to the country's organized crime unit, military and government officials said. Angeles Dauahare was number 2 in the armed forces under President Felipe Calderón and helped lead the government's crackdown on drug cartels after soldiers were deployed to the streets in late 2006. He retired in 2008. Dawe González, still an active duty general, led an elite army unit in the western state of Colima and local media said he previously held posts in the violent states of Sinaloa and Chihuahua. An official at the attorney general's office said they would be held for several days to give testimony and then could be called in front of a judge. "The generals are answering questions because they are allegedly tied to organized crime," the official said. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/2-Mexican-Generals-Detained-Over-Drug-Gang-Links-34856.html Thu, 17 May 2012 3:28:21 America/New_York http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Activist-Chen-Guangcheng-China-To-Have-Passport-Ready-In-2-Weeks-34855.html The activist who was at the center of a diplomatic tussle between Beijing and Washington said Thursday that Chinese officials have told him the passports that he and his family just applied for should be ready within two weeks. A rights group, meanwhile, described more retaliation by authorities against his family. From a Beijing hospital room where he remains under virtual house arrest, Chen Guangcheng said in a phone interview with the Associated Press that it remained unclear if he, his wife and their two children would be able to leave China shortly after getting their passports. Chen made a dramatic late night escape from abusive house arrest in Shandong province last month and after several days hiding from security officials in Beijing wound up in the protection of U.S. diplomats, triggering intense U.S.-China negotiations on his fate. Chen and his family are now expected to be able to travel abroad for him to study in the United States in an agreement between Beijing and Washington following days of talks. Chinese officials who brought paperwork for Chen and his family to fill out on Wednesday at the hospital said the processing time for passports is up to 15 days, Chen said. The U.S. State Department has said that U.S. visas for Chen and his family are ready for them to travel to America once Beijing approves. http://freeinternetpress.com//story/Activist-Chen-Guangcheng-China-To-Have-Passport-Ready-In-2-Weeks-34855.html