Top Global Socialists to confront British PM on EU plan

Jan. 24, 2013

Uber-wealthy socialists not amused, want Britain's money

British Prime Minister David Cameron delivers
a speech on 'the future of the European Union
and Britain's role within it', in central London, on
January 23, 2013. Cameron faces a frosty reception
from the global elite at the annual Davos meeting on
Thursday after his vow to hold a referendum on
Britain's membership of the EU.

British Prime Minister David Cameron faces a frosty reception from the global elite at the annual Davos meeting on Thursday after his vow to hold a referendum on Britain's membership of the EU.
The World Economic Forum in the snowy Swiss ski resort will see top politicians and business leaders pursue talks on whether they have seen the back of the global financial crisis.

But that theme threatens to go off-piste, with both Cameron and his finance minister George Osborne due to speak one day after the British leader angered his main European partners with his plan for a referendum by the end of 2017.

German Chancellor and EU powerbroker Angela Merkel is also scheduled to address the annual forum, along with a host of other leaders from the 27-nation bloc that Cameron described as needing wide-ranging reforms.

His referendum vow has complicated things at a time when the politicians and business leaders at Davos had hoped that Europe's economy might have finally turned a corner after the three-year eurozone debt crisis.

International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde said on Wednesday there had been stabilisation in the markets while Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said things had changed from a year ago.

Monti also said that he believed the British public would vote to stay in the EU in any referendum such as the one Cameron promised in his long-awaited speech in London on Wednesday.

Cameron will however be seeking support from fellow European leaders for his plans to renegotiate the terms of Britain's troubled EU membership before giving the British public a vote on the new agreements.

The European reaction has been cold so far, with the continent's power couple France and Germany both warning Britain it could not expect to pick and choose its rules.

Cameron -- who speaks at 0930 GMT followed by Osborne four hours later -- will hope Merkel keeps up the conciliatory note she sounded immediately after his speech, saying she was prepared to hear his "wishes" and calling for "compromise".

Merkel will speak at Davos at 1315 GMT on Thursday, while Monti, Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny, Dutch premier Mark Rutte and their Polish counterpart Donald Tusk are also due to address the forum.

A broader global outlook will also feature at Davos on Thursday, however, with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Microsoft tycoon Bill Gates, Jordan's Queen Rania joining up with Cameron to discuss development goals for the future.

The crisis in Mali, where French forces are helping African troops fight Islamist militants, will also be discussed while Israeli President Shimon Peres and deputy prime minister Ehud Barak are to address the forum.

No formal decisions are taken at Davos but corporate deals are often sewn up on the sidelines and presidents and prime ministers huddle to thrash out pressing issues.

The invitation-only meeting is also known for its informal luncheons and lavish cocktail parties, often hosted by corporate sponsors and with exclusive guest lists, where political and business leaders can network and mingle.

For its annual invasion from the world's most powerful people, the snow-covered resort goes into lockdown, with around 5,000 police and military guarding the venue and helicopters buzzing overhead.


source: afp

Greek Socialist Ex-Minister Busted for Swiss Account

Jan. 24, 2013

Ahh yes. The benefits of Socialism that the useful idiots never experience $$$

AFP - A former Greek socialist minister can be prosecuted for failing to declare a Swiss bank account, a case related to a broader tax scandal plaguing the government, lawmakers have decided.
A parliament committee on Wednesday authorised judicial authorities to investigate Yiannos Papantoniou for failing to declare the sum of 1.3 million euros ($1.7 million), the state-run Athens News Agency reported on Thursday.

Prosecutors have already ordered a general investigation into Papantoniou's bank holdings.

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde at the IMF Headquarters in Washington, DC, on January 17, 2013. A former Greek socialist minister can be prosecuted for failing to declare a Swiss bank account, a case related to a broader tax scandal plaguing the government, lawmakers have decided. The account in question is one of over 2,000 included on the so-called Lagarde list.

One of Greece's longest-serving finance ministers who also headed the defence ministry, Papantoniou maintains that the Swiss account belongs to his wife.

The account in question is one of over 2,000 included on the so-called Lagarde list, a document which France's ex-finance minister and current IMF chief Christine Lagarde gave to Greek authorities in 2010 to help a tax evasion probe.

A succession of Greek finance ministers have faced criticism in recent months for failing to properly screen the data, which had been originally leaked by an HSBC employee and has been used by a number of European states to crack down on tax cheats.

Earlier this month, parliament authorised an investigation into former socialist finance minister George Papaconstantinou, who is accused of removing the names of three of his relatives from the list.

Papaconstantinou has denied the charge, countering that the fight against chronic tax evasion in Greece actually intensified during his term.

source: AFP

The Dark Side of Soccer

Jan. 24, 2013

Unbeknownst to most Americans, the worldwide sport they crave to explode in the U.S. as it has done all over the globe, carries much more than murderous riots and the everyday rock or bottle throwing at enemy teams. take a moment to become familiar with organized crime and the other hidden elements

Insight: Smuggling, soccer and the mafia

 (Italy) - When police went after mafia boss Francesco "The Fat Head" Pesce in southern Italy, they ended up with more than they bargained for: his local soccer team, Rosarnese.

The semi-professional squad, controlled by the Pesce crime family for years, according to a clan member who turned state's witness in 2010, found itself placed under judicial control in 2011 and in need of new sponsors.

Though soccer is virtually a religion in Italy, no new backer came forward - for fear of angering the ‘Ndrangheta, a powerful mafia network in Calabria, the region in the ‘toe' of Italy. Last July, after a dismal season of 24 losses, five draws and just five wins, the Rosarnese team was dismantled.

The demise of the soccer club, which was a small part of 220 million euros in assets law officers seized from the Pesce clan, illustrates the growing influence of the ‘Ndrangheta. The group's economic clout now surpasses that of its more storied Sicilian cousin, the Cosa Nostra, Italy's top anti-mafia magistrates say.

"Today the Calabrian mafia is a national and an international force. It pollutes the economy and is heavily compromising the political system," said Pierpaolo Romani, national coordinator of an association uniting city governments against the mafia and author of the 2012 book "Criminal Soccer" about the mob's interest in the sport. "With a football team, the ‘Ndrangheta expands both its economic reach and its political standing in a community."

The ‘Ndrangheta has grown rich thanks to a business strategy focused on cocaine. Just three miles from Rosarno is the huge container port of Gioia Tauro, where almost half of all the cocaine seized by police in Italy last year was found. The harbor, positioned half-way between the Strait of Gibraltar and the Suez Canal, is a key commercial hub and has become the ‘Ndrangheta's main artery for South American cocaine and other contraband, which it hides in the flow of legal cargo.

The police have had some victories over the 'Ndrangheta and other mafia groups. Pesce, for instance, was convicted for racketeering and mafia conspiracy and is serving a 20-year sentence in a high-security prison. He denies any wrongdoing and is appealing the ruling.

Despite such gains, the sums involved in organized crime in Italy, which will vote in a new parliament next month, remain enormous. Taken together, Italy's main crime groups - the ‘Ndrangheta, the Cosa Nostra, and the Camorra from the southern city of Naples - would have an annual turnover of 116 billion euros, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. That is more than the annual sales of Italy's biggest company, oil-giant Eni.


TRACKING THE CONTAINERS

In a basement on the outskirts of Rome is a nerve-centre in the fight against smuggling: the anti-fraud unit of the national customs agency. There a team of 15 analysts - including computer experts, a mathematician, a statistician and an electrical engineer - occupies a room with 10 large flat screens showing live maps of the world's busiest shipping lanes. Investigators using sophisticated computer analysis and a vast database try to identify high-risk containers heading for Italy.

In particular, the unit monitors ships travelling to Gioia Tauro and passes its information to finance police in Calabria, who combine that data with intelligence gathered through more traditional investigative methods, such as bugged cars, wiretaps or stakeouts. But the odds of finding smuggled drugs in the giant port are stacked against the police.

At the dock more than 1,000 employees load and unload containers 24 hours a day, seven days a week, closing only on Christmas and New Year's day. At night, floodlights illuminate the 2-mile-long (3.2km) quay. Pinpointing a few duffle bags of cocaine - the typical shipping method in recent months - among the non-stop cargo shuffle is like trying to find a grain of black sand on a white beach.

The port authority declined to comment on drug smuggling. But investigators say the duffle bags packed with super-pure cocaine weigh about 40-45 kilos each and are light enough to be lifted by one man. They can be tossed into a container in a Central or South American port and removed quickly at Gioia Tauro before customs officials have a chance to intercept them. The containers are easily resealed to leave no trace.

"The containers are Trojan horses," said Claudio Petrozziello, commander of the province's finance police, as container carriers whizzed around the dock behind him.

Each duffle bag of cocaine is worth as much as 2.25 million euros wholesale, and about 9 million euros on the street. Mostly - the Interior Ministry estimates 90 percent of the time - the criminal clan's bag-man, and not the police, gets to the contraband first.

Nevertheless, finance police and customs authorities are having increasing success. In June 2012, finance police found 17 black Jansport bags containing foil-wrapped and vacuum-sealed bricks of South American cocaine. The haul was worth more than 38 million euros wholesale, and at least four times as much on the street. The police are still hunting the smugglers.

In total, the police seized in excess of two tons of cocaine at the port last year, more than double the amount of 2011, according to finance police data.

Daniele Testi, a spokesman for Contship, the container terminal logistics firm at the port, said: "What is happening in Gioia Tauro is what is happening in all the world's largest ports. Contship continues to believe that the police must do all they can to fight crime. What we are trying to do is make sure that the business runs smoothly, is successful, and continues to provide jobs."

A COURAGEOUS MAYOR

The police have made inroads in other areas. In 2008 they planted a bug in a Rosarno laundromat and recorded a conversation between Domenico Oppedisano, a crime boss, and another mafia suspect. Oppedisano said there were 250 mobsters in the town of fewer than 15,000 people, according to a transcript of the conversation seen by Reuters.

Oppedisano, 82, was later arrested for being the boss of bosses of the ‘Ndrangheta's estimated 150 clans and is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence for mafia membership - a crime in Italy. He denies wrongdoing and is appealing his conviction.

In an attempt to loosen the grip of the Calabrian mob, authorities in Rome dissolved Rosarno's city council in 2008 because it had been infiltrated by the ‘Ndrangheta. When new mayoral elections were held two years later, Elisabetta Tripodi, who had previously worked as a secretary in city hall, won.

Explaining why she took on such a challenge, Tripodi told Reuters: "I did not want Rosarno to be known as a town of racists and mobsters". As well as being blighted by the mafia, the town's image had also been tarnished by violent clashes between African migrant workers and locals in January 2010.

Since then, Tripodi has taken an unprecedented stand against the ‘Ndrangheta, going so far as to sue Francesco "Fat Head" Pesce, 35, in civil court for damages in the case involving the soccer team and other local businesses. The court awarded the city a 50-million-euro settlement, which is to be paid from a state fund of confiscated mafia cash.

In retaliation, the ‘Ndrangheta vandalized city property, and Tripodi received a threatening letter.

"These threats convinced us that we were heading down the right path, because it meant that what we were doing was bothersome," Tripodi said.

She now lives under 24-hour police protection, and when she is in her office in town hall, she closes a steel door behind her.

"I've had bodyguards with me at all times for 14 months. Everything in my life has changed," she said, adding that her two sons, 12- and 16-years-old, hope that she serves only one term.

Tripodi gets help from anti-mafia magistrates such as Alessandra Cerreti, who confiscated the soccer team from the Pesce clan, and from the local finance police; but her bravery and altruism stand out.

"The ‘Ndrangheta is an invasive presence in all segments of Calabria's social and political life," said Cerreti, who lives in the regional capital Reggio Calabria under 24-hour protection by armed bodyguards. "There is an army of professionals, businessmen, and even sometimes magistrates and members of law enforcement, who put themselves at the service of the ‘Ndrangheta out of personal interest."

"SOCCER IS EVERYTHING"

Combating those interests is an uphill battle, though Rosarno keeps trying. The failure to find new sponsors for the local soccer club hurt. The mafia regularly tries to blunt police victories, and often succeeds.

"It is in the ‘Ndrangheta's interest to demonstrate that a seized asset wastes away in the hands of the state," said Cerreti. "We put into place a series of initiatives to keep it from happening, but the difficulty is that the ‘Ndrangheta invests rivers of cash in the asset or company, while the state does not have the same resources."

Nevertheless, on the outskirts of town, the Pope John Paul II stadium now hosts a new amateur soccer team and is an after-school haven for young boys.

"For these kids in Rosarno, soccer is everything," said Agostino Orlando, sports director of the new club, as his young son clung to his leg. As he spoke, players in yellow jerseys and black shorts began arriving for a game against a nearby rival. "We're a new team. We've been reborn," said Orlando.

But the glowing lights of the port in the distance were a reminder that Rosarno, like Italy, still has a long fight ahead.

(Additional reporting by Antonio Denti, Roberto Mignucci and Alessandro Bianchi in Gioia Tauro; editing by Simon Robinson and Richard Woods)

source

Senate Democrats praise House Republican debt limit bill. Pet their heads, give them bacon strip

Jan. 24, 2013

Senate Democratic leaders, unlike their House counterparts, praised the legislation, saying that it would cut the link Republicans had previously insisted upon between future debt limit increases and new spending cuts.

(Reuters) - The Senate will take up a nearly four-month extension of U.S. borrowing authority if the Republican proposal is passed by the House of Representatives, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, said on Wednesday.

The House is poised to vote on the legislation on Wednesday.


(Reporting by Kim Dixon and Richard Cowan; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

additional editing: mine

The Consequences of Whistleblowing: An Investigation by Obama's Alphabet boys

Jan. 24, 2013

U.S. NTSB reviewing whistleblower claims in 787 case

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is looking at issues raised by more than one whistleblower as it investigates battery failures that have grounded the global fleet of 50 Boeing Co 787 Dreamliners for a week.

 Michael Leon, one of the whistleblowers, said he spoke with an NTSB investigator this week and gave him extensive materials about his claim that he was fired around six years ago for raising safety concerns about Securaplane Technologies Inc., an Arizona company that makes chargers for the highly flammable lithium-ion batteries at the heart of the probe.

In an interview with Reuters on Wednesday and in earlier court papers, Leon said Securaplane was rushing to ship chargers that by his assessment did not conform to specifications and could have malfunctioned.

A federal administrative judge later dismissed Leon's complaints after concluding he was fired for repeated misconduct, according to court documents. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) concluded that the pieces of equipment he complained about were never installed in the aircraft, as they were prototypes.

Leon appealed the federal court's ruling in 2011, but no decision has been reached.

Now the NTSB is taking a closer look at some safety concerns people have previously raised as part of a widening investigation by U.S., Japanese and French authorities into two 787 battery failures this month. One involved a fire on a parked 787 at Boston airport, the other forced a second 787 to make an emergency landing in Japan.

Kelly Nantel, NTSB director of public affairs, confirmed the NTSB was pursuing information provided by "more than one" whistleblower, but declined comment on any specific cases.

"We have been notified about whistleblowers and are pursuing that information where warranted," Nantel told Reuters, adding it was "not uncommon" for individuals to come forward with information during such investigations. The number and identity of other possible whistleblowers being interviewed in the 787 case remained unclear.

PLANT VISIT

A team of U.S. safety investigators this week visited the Tucson, Arizona facility of Securaplane, a unit of Britain's Meggitt Plc , where Leon worked before he was fired.

The company declined comment on the NTSB investigation, but spokeswoman Fiona Greig told Reuters in an email: "There is no connection between the Dreamliner battery issue and Michael Leon's dismissal from Securaplane."

Boeing says a two-year multi-agency investigation concluded that an explosion that sparked a huge fire that burned a three-story administrative building to the ground at the Securaplane facility in 2006 was caused by an improper test set-up, not the battery design.

The Senate Commerce, Technology and Transportation Committee said on Tuesday that it plans a hearing on aviation safety in coming weeks that will look closely at the Boeing 787 problems and the FAA's certification process.

Representative Rick Larsen, who was appointed this week to be the top Democrat on the House Aviation Subcommittee, told Reuters his committee would probably look at the FAA's certification issues as well.

Peter Knudson, spokesman for the NTSB, declined comment on any findings from the visit to Securaplane's Tucson facility. He said the safety board collected information from a variety of sources during the course of any investigation. "We're looking at everything that could have played some role in this battery mishap," he told Reuters. "There's a lot yet to learn."

RUSH TO DELIVER?

Leon, a 53-year old ex-paratrooper, claimed in his whistleblower case that he was unfairly targeted, racially profiled and ultimately fired after raising concerns that Securaplane wanted to ship battery chargers to Boeing that did not conform to product specifications. The company denied the allegations.

Securaplane hired Leon as a senior engineering technician in 2004, the same year it won the contract to work on the 787 parts. The company, which was taken over by Meggitt in April 2011, makes three important battery-related systems for the 787 as a subcontractor to France's Thales SA .

The lithium-ion battery is made by Japan's GS Yuasa Corp , while Thales is responsible for electric power conversion on the 787, the world's newest and most electricity-driven airliner. The auxiliary power unit (APU), which powers the airplane's systems when it is on the ground, is built by a unit of United Technologies Corp .

The Securaplane spokeswoman declined to give details about the value of the company's contract with Thales for work on the 787, saying those details were confidential. She said she was not aware of any other whistleblower case filed by a Meggitt or Securaplane employee.

Securaplane said it makes two battery charging units used on the 787, one for the APU battery in an aft bay, and one for the main ship battery used in a forward bay, which provides backup power for flight critical controls.

WORKFORCE "RATTLED"

In his lawsuit, and in the interview with Reuters, Leon said he raised concerns about the safety of the lithium-ion battery that he was using for testing about two weeks before it suddenly exploded in November 2006.

Leon said he tried to put out the fire using halon, a liquefied compressed gas, but parts of the battery kept reigniting. The fire "rattled the workforce" at Securaplane, according to the judge who dismissed Leon's claim, after concluding that Securaplane had proved Leon was fired for repeated misconduct, including hostile behavior, not any safety complaints, court documents show.

Leon said he refused to ship chargers that he believed had short-circuits, but company officials told him they needed to rush out the orders or risk losing the contract with Thales.

Company officials have repeatedly disputed his account.

The FAA looked into Leon's complaints in 2008 and 2009, but concluded that the equipment he had expressed concerns about were prototypes that were never installed on the 787, spokesman Laura Brown said. She added the FAA also determined that Securaplane's production of a particular printed circuit board complied with FAA requirements.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)

source: Chicago Tribune

Coming to a Government Mandated Health Care Program Near You

Jan. 24, 2013

A former healthcare worker has been arrested by detectives investigating alleged corrupt payments to public officials, Scotland Yard said.

The 59-year-old man was held at around 6.30am today at his home in the Knowsley area of Merseyside on suspicion of misconduct in a public office, corruption and conspiracy to commit both those offences.

He is being questioned at a police station in Merseyside and his home is being searched.

The arrest is a result of information given to police by News Corporation's Management and Standards Committee.

It brings the number of people detained under Operation Elveden, the investigation into inappropriate payments, to 57.


Independent.co. uk

War against Free Speech Rages On

Jan. 24, 2013

Police charge tree-climbing inauguration protester. DC Judge Orders Him "Out of Town".

Is anyone as surprised as I am that he wasn't shot? Protesting against gun ownership, well that's just perfectly fine though

BRIAN SNYDER/REUTERS - Anti-abortion protester Rives Miller Grogan takes a position in a tree prior to inauguration ceremonies in Washington, January 21, 2013. Grogan has been convicted five times in the District since 2009, mostly on charges of disorderly conduct and disobeying police. (free speech becoming a crime)

(Washington Post) - Rives Miller Grogan has something to say. The way he says it keeps getting him in trouble at the U.S. Capitol.

Now, after the 47-year-old Californian allegedly climbed 40 feet up a tree near the Capitol reflecting pool and tried to shout down President Obama’s inaugural address on Monday, a judge has ordered him to stay away not only from Capitol building but from the District entirely.

Grogan, an antiabortion activist, eluded capture for five hours on Monday. A Capitol police spokesman said he annoyed onlookers below by loudly shouting.

He had just been arrested and charged with disorderly conduct last week, after police said he shouted from the gallery of the U.S. Senate. He’s been convicted five times in the District since 2009, mostly on charges of disorderly conduct and disobeying police. He’s typically been fined and given probation and suspended sentences that result in short jail sentences.  (Reminder: Disobeying police is not illegal)

Police said Grogan once dropped to the ground in the Capitol Rotunda while clutching a doll and screamed in front of 60 visitors. Another time, police said, he paced the Capitol steps holding a bible and shouting, “Stop killing the babies.”

In June, police said, he stood up in the Senate gallery and yelled “Obama doesn’t see the light,” prompting the president of the Senate to bang his gavel several times to restore order.

Police said that they tried to talk Grogan out of the tree before Monday’s ceremony began, and then turned to the fire department for a ladder. The fire department’s truck couldn’t fit through the security barricades, and Grogan climbed higher when police brought their own ladder.

Officer Shennell S. Antrobus, a U.S. Capitol Police spokesman, said officials decided to leave Grogan in the tree until after the swearing in to avoid disruptions. Police said he came down on his own after five hours.

Antrobus said Grogan had a green ticket to the inauguration, which required him to be screened before entering the area near the president.

Police charged Grogan with violating a previous order to stay away from the U.S. Capitol, and with violating laws that require authorities to “preserve the peace and secure the Capitol from defacement,” and with “preventing any portion of the Capitol Grounds and terraces to used as playgrounds ... to protect the public property, turf and grass from destruction.” (Translation: They didn't want low information Obama supporters to realize most people disagree with his views on slaughter babies)

A D.C. Superior Court judge freed Grogan at a hearing Tuesday and ordered him to return for another Feb. 25 — for which he is allowed to return to the District.

Grogan’s mother, 69-year-old Penny Grogan of Mansfield, Texas, called her son a “wonderful Christian man” who has a wife and three children and runs a ministry.

“God leads him to D.C. to what he needs to do,” she said. “You stand up for anything of value, you get arrested. "

“Washington is the place where people should be allowed to protest,” Penny Grogan said. “God will judge all of this one day, not the courts.”

Grogan was one of three people arrested by Capitol Police on Monday. One was arrested on an outstanding warrant, the other for drinking in public.

Delusional Biden says he heard gunshots from Nickel Mines shooting

Jan. 24, 2013

It's even worse than previously thought!

It's no secret that Vice President Joe Biden has made more than a few gaffes during his political career.

His latest: a hard-to-prove comment about a brush with the 2006 school shooting at Nickel Mines.

Click Here for audio of Biden's claim

Speaking last week to the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington, D.C., Biden made the surprising revelation that he was golfing within earshot of the one-room schoolhouse when a troubled truck driver shot 10 Amish girls, killing five and wounding five.

The remark has triggered a flurry of blog posts from conservative writers, challenging the validity of Biden's account.

The 70-year-old Democrat briefly mentioned the Oct. 2, 2006, shooting as an example of how the "gun violence epidemic" affects towns and cities — big and small.

Biden told the group that it was "pure coincidence" that he was golfing in the area when the horrific tragedy unfolded.

"I happened to be literally — probably, it turned out, to be a quarter-of-a-mile (away) at an outing when I heard gunshots in the woods," Biden said. "We didn't know. … We thought there were hunters."

The vice president didn't specify the reason he was there.

"As I got back to the clubhouse of this outing and saw helicopters, it was a shooting that had just taken place in a small Amish … school just outside of Lancaster ... . So it's not just big cities or well-to-do suburbs. It can happen anywhere."

An online search of the area shows that the closest golf course to the Nickel Mines community is Moccasin Run Golf Club on Schoff Road in Atglen, about six miles away.

The next closest is Tanglewood Manor Golf Course on Scotland Road, about 10 miles away.

The Washington Times first questioned Biden's story last week.

Rodney King, the golf pro at Moccasin Run, told the Times that he was working at the course the day of the shooting and never saw Biden, who was then a U.S. senator from Delaware.

Efforts to reach owners and employees of the two golf courses were not immediately successful.

Kendra Barkoff, press secretary for the vice president, on Wednesday stood by Biden's comments.

"The vice president was golfing in the area on the day of the shooting," she wrote in an emailed response. She did not provide answers to other questions, including the name of the golf course.


source:

Dem Casey Laying Small Business Trap

Jan. 24, 2013

In the wake of ObamaCare, hundred of new regulations and an overbearing new tax code, Senator Bob Casey attempts to sucker small businesses into hiring. But as with the expiration of Bush's tax breaks, their end creates even more uncertainty in the private sector. Here's the mainstream spin...

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey

More than 10,000 businesses in Lancaster County have fewer than 500 employees.

In an effort to accelerate job creation and small-business growth, a local lawmaker will propose a tax credit tied to new hiring and wage increases.

"The top priority for Congress right now should be job creation," U.S. Sen. Bob Casey said in a conference call with reporters on Wednesday.

The Democrat said the Small Business Tax Cut Act of 2013 would benefit smaller companies the most — giving firms that have resisted new hiring an incentive to put more workers on payrolls.

The proposed measure gives small businesses a 10 percent income tax credit on new payroll for hiring new workers or increasing the hours and wages of existing employees.

Based on current average weekly earnings of private sector employees, a business would receive a tax break of about $4,250 over the course of the year for hiring an additional employee.

The tax credit is capped at $500,000 to make it more valuable to smaller companies. And Casey specifically is targeting middle-income earners by limiting the proposal to the top wage that is subject to Social Security tax, $110,100.
The proposal is a variation of an idea that Congress rejected previously. But with job growth still lagging even as the economy expands, Casey said he thinks the revised proposal is well-timed to encourage businesses to resume hiring.

"Frankly, there hasn't been nearly enough discussion going on in Washington about how we can create more jobs," Casey said. "This legislation would be an effective step in the right direction."

Tom Baldrige, president of the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce & Industry, agrees.

But, he said, the tax credit won't solve the problems facing most local business owners.

"What I hear from business owners is a longing for clarity in the tax code," Baldrige said. "There's much more interest in Washington (lawmakers) figuring out the bigger issues."

The proposal comes as Congress is under increasing pressure to do more to create jobs.

The state Department of Labor and Industry released a report Wednesday announcing that Pennsylvania's unemployment rate was 7.9 percent in December. The national unemployment rate is 7.8 percent.

"Instead of looking for quick fixes, (lawmakers) should be talking about restoring long-term sustainability," Baldrige said.

source

Dueling gun rallies to take place at state Capitol

Jan. 23, 2013

Any guesses which side will receive positive coverage by the media?

There’s going to be a showdown at the state Capitol on Wednesday over the raging gun debate that has taken hold across the nation in the wake of the Sandy Hook school shooting.

Gathering on the building’s front steps at 10 a.m. will be the Pennsylvania Responsible Citizens to speak out in defense of the Second Amendment at a rally and followed by a march around the Capitol.

At noon, CeaseFire PA and its supporters will gather in the East Wing Rotunda for a "Day of Action" to a call for action to stop gun violence in Pennsylvania.

This will be followed at 1 p.m. with a prayer vigil organized by Heeding God's Call, a Philadelphia faith-based and grassroots movement, for those who lost their lives due to gun violence and to change attitudes and measures about guns.

Capitol police are beefing up their numbers as they would for any rally that is expected to draw a large crowd, said Troy Thompson, a spokesman for the state Department of General Services, which oversees the Capitol Police.

He said the gun rights’ rally organizers are expecting 100 to 150 participants while CeaseFire representatives advised that it expects as many as 250 people.

Rally organizers have been advised of the rules and behavior expectations, Thompson said.

The Pennsylvania Responsible Citizens include a statement on their website that participants “must be aware that it will receive a high degree of scrutiny” and “a constant state of decorum, dignity and respect must be displayed.”

Thompson said additional staff will be available to help, if necessary, to check in weapons that visitors may bring with them. But other than that, he said Capitol police are not altering their protocol for keeping order at the Capitol.

This post has been updated.

source; pennlive

Amish farmer charged with killing young eagle

Jan. 23, 2013

Birds of prey had been raiding his chickens; thought it was a hawk

This is the dead immature bald eagle that the Pennsylvania Game Commission said a farmer shot around Thanksgiving for killing his free-range chickens.

An Upper Leacock farmer fed up with birds of prey killing his free-range chickens has been charged with shooting an immature bald eagle.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission charged Paul A. Zook, 28, of the 100 block of Geist Road with two misdemeanors of the state Game and Wildlife Code.

One count is for killing an endangered or threatened species and one count is for unlawful taking and possession of protected birds.

Zook, an Amish farmer, could face up to two years in jail and fines up to $5,000 if found guilty and depending on the feelings of the judge. In addition, a judge could require Zook to pay up to $5,000 to "replace" the eagle.

A preliminary hearing on the charges is scheduled Jan. 31 before District Judge Denise Commins of Leola.

Bald eagles are listed as a threatened species in Pennsylvania and are protected. Their comeback has been a rousing success in the state and Lancaster County has one of the highest concentrations in the Commonwealth.

According to a criminal complaint filed by the Game Commission, Zook readily admitted to shooting the eagle, thinking it was a hawk that was preying on his chickens.

Zook told investigating officers that he had previously shot at least three red-tailed hawks, according to the complaint filed by Derek Daly, then a wildlife conservation officer covering Lancaster County.

Hawks also are a protected species in Pennsylvania, though they are not listed as threatened or endangered.

The case began Nov. 23 when two rabbit hunters called the Game Commission and said they had found a dead eagle in a hole in the ground near Geist Road and Hartman Station Road.

Two investigating wildlife conservation officers examined the eagle and found a bullet hole in its breast.

They drove it to the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center in Kennett Square for a necropsy. Results showed that a fatal small-caliber bullet had entered the raptor's spine and exited its breast.

The examination also turned up evidence that the bird had been shot in the knee previously.

Game Commission officers started checking surrounding farms. The third farm was Zook's.

Zook confirmed for officers that he had chickens outdoors and that he had problems with hawks killing them, according to the criminal complaint.

Daly "then asked him what he was doing about it and he said that he was shooting the hawks," the complaint said.

When a deputy wildlife conservation officer asked Zook when was the last time he shot one, Zook "said prior to killing the most recent hawk, he had shot at least three other red-tailed hawks."

In response to a question, Zook said the most recent bird he had shot seemed to be a different type of hawk, according to the complaint.

Daly said Zook then signed a statement admitting to shooting the eagle and took the officers to where he had shot and the location of the eagle when he shot.

Officers seized Zook's .22 rifle and a box of ammunition as evidence.

From the edge of extinction, restoration of bald eagles here and across Pennsylvania has been celebrated by most people.

As recently as 1980, there were only three pairs of nesting eagles in Pennsylvania. In 2011, there were 217 nesting pairs.

The same week that Zook allegedly shot the eagle, a birdwatcher counted 40 bald eagles in trees near Strasburg.

Lancaster County, with the Susquehanna River for nesting sites and availability of food on farmland, has one of the highest concentrations in the state.

For the first time, there are rumblings that marauding by the national symbol is becoming a nuisance for some local Plain sect farmers.

Incidents of livestock raiding by eagles and misgivings of farmers will be explored in detail in the Outdoors section in this week's Sunday News.

acrable @ lnpnews.com

Updated: List of Eastern Sports and Outdoors Show boycotters

Updated: 01/23/2013 07:41:36 AM EST

A great display of unity. Americans come together to support United States of America's Second Amendment. God Bless the USA

Here is a list of Eastern Sports and Outdoors Show boycott supporters as posted by boycott organizer MyNortheastOutdoors.com. (List previously updated from January 21st, 2013)

Boycotters reportedly include:

Vendors:

- 2 Million Bullets
- 24/7 Hunting TV
- Absaroke-Beartooth Outfitters
- Alaska's Ravencroft Lodge
- Alaskan Outdoors TV
- Ambush Firearms
- American Whitetails of PA
- Antler Insanity
- Apex Tactical
- Appalachian Big Game TV
- Arrowhead Outdoors
- Artistic Visions Wildlife Studio
- Athens Archery
- Atlantic Tactical
- Avian X Decoys
- Banded Calls
- Bangin Redhedz Turkey Gear
- Bear Archery
- Big Game Butter
- Blitz TV
- Body Guard 360
- Bohning Archery
- Boulder Basin Outfitters
- Boondock Outdoors
- Bow Hunter's Den
- Bow Life, LLC
- Buck Bomb
- Burt Coyote Lumenok
- C&D Outfitters
- Cabela's
- Camo Addiction
- Campbell Cameras
- CanCooker
- Chaparral Hunting Adventures
- Cochrane River Outfitters
- Cody Turkey Calls
- Cold Steel Knives
- Combative Edge
- Continental Divide Outfitters
- Cross Canyon Arms
- Cutting Edge Bullets
- Darkwoods Blind
- DCVR
- Dead Ringer
- Deer and Deer Hunting.com
- Direct Action Tactical Firearms
- Dirty Dog Outdoors
- Domari Nolo Defense Consulting
- Dominance is Everything Hunting System
- Dominator 365
- Dokken Oakridge Kennels
- Down N Dirty Outdoors
- Drakes Migration Nation
- Driven TV
- Droptine Outfitters
- DuckWater Boats
- Eastern Chapter Wild Sheep Foundation
- Eastern Outdoors
- Easton Bow Hunting
- Excalibur Crossbow US, Inc
- Farmland Trophies Outfitting
- Fear No Evil
- Field Proven Calls
- Firearms Industry Consulting Group
- Firenock
- Fish Outdoor Properties
- Flatline Productions
- Foiles Migrators, Inc
- Forbes Turkey Calls
- FOXPRO High Performance Game Calls
- Full Circle Outdoors
- Furtakers TV
- Ghost River Outfitters – Alberta
- Goey Hunting Calls
- Gone Wild Outdoors
- Goodling Rifles
- Grand-Safari.com – South Africa/Tanzania/Cameroon
- Gut N Tag, LLC
- H.S. Specialities
- Heartland Whitetails
- Herd Guard
- Hevi-Shot
- High Lonesome Outfitters
- HookHunt
- Hoyt Archery Inc
- Honey Creek Outfitters
- Hunter Safety Systems
- Hunter Specialties w/ Rick White
- Hunters and Guides Connection
- Hunters Comfort, LLC
- Hunter's Specialties
- Huntin' Is Good! TV
- IceHole Coolers
- International Bowhunting Organization
- Iron Kin Hunt Club
- IScope
- J & M Traditions
- Keystone Country Store
- Keystone Elk Country Alliance
- King of the Mountain Inc.
- Kinsey's Outdoors
- Kodabow
- Lancaster Archery Supply
- Lanco Tactical
- Leupold & Stevens Inc.
- Lone Oak Retreivers
- Major League Bowhunter
- Masterpiece Outdoors, Inc.
- Men in Treestands Productions
- Midwest Whitetail Adventures
- Mindful of Nature LLC
- Montana Mountain West Outfitters
- Mountain Dog Chews
- Muddy Outdoors
- Muskie Moose, LLC
- NasHunt Outdoors
- National Wild Turkey Federation
- Nature Blinds, LLC
- NasHunt Outdoors
- National Rifle Association
- Northern Hideaway Outfitters
- Northern Outdoor Lodge
- Northern Wilderness Outfitters
- North Mountain Pepper Works
- Ol'Man Treestands
- Old Goat Outdoors
- Open Season TV
- Outdoor Channel Outfitters
- Outdoor Edge Knives
- Outdoor Specialist Group
- Outdoorsnative.com
- Ozonics Hunting
- PA Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs
- PA Taxidermist Association, Inc
- Pat Strawser Custom Calls
- Pennsylvania Trappers Assoc.
- Perry's No Peep Archery Sights
- Pipeline Ridge Hunting Preserve
- Primal Urge Outdoors
- Primos Hunting Calls
- Proc's Huntin Buddy
- PSE Archery
- Radical Hunter
- Ranew's Outdoor Equipment
- Red Star Arms
- Reflections Of The Wild
- Revolution Hunting
- Rhino Outdoors
- Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
- Rougeaux Taxidermy
- Ruger Firearms
- S & W Outfitter
- Savco LLC
- SecureIt Tactical
- Shootingthex.com
- SK Knives
- Skull Shine
- Smith and Wesson
- Southern Game Calls
- Spook Span
- SportEAR
- Sportsmen of North America TV
- Starkey Hollow Whitetails
- State Line Bone Mine
- Staudt's Gun Shop
- Stay Ready Inc
- Stokerized Stabilizers
- Strother Archery
- Summit County Outfitters
- Summit Treestands
- Susquehanna River Waterfowlers Assoc
- Table Mountain Outfitters
- Team Overkill
- Team Urban Nocks
- Ten Point Crossbows
- The Bear Whisperer
- The Outdoor Loop
- The Sportsman's Shop
- The Warmbag
- ThermaCell
- Thompson Center Arms
- Timberline Outfitters
- TNT Archery
- Tough Country
- Trijicon, Inc
- Triple Mag TV
- Trop Gun Shop
- Turnbull Manufacturing
- U Slide Bow Hunter
- Ultimate Camo
- Umax Outdoors
- Upper Canyon Outfitters
- Wallaston Lake Lodge
- Tex Mex Outdoors
- The Warmbag
- Watson Air Lock
- Watt's Truck Center
- Whitetail Adrenanline
- Whitetail Bosses
- Whitetail Freaks
- Whitetail Heaven Outdoors
- Whitewolfsurvivalsupply.com
- Wired Outdoors
- Woodcock Limited of Pennsylvania
- X-Stand Treestands
- Zink Calls
- Zook Cabins

Speakers/ celebrities:

- Abner Druckenmiller – Furtakers TV
- Angie & Scott Denny – THE LIFE at Table Mountain
- Blaine Anthony, The Bear Whisperer
- Bob Folkrod
- Bob Mercier
- Brad Farris – Primos
- Chris Brackett
- Eddie Salter
- Fred Eichler – Fulldraw Outfitters
- Greg Zipadelli
- Hal Shaffer
- Jamie Gray
- Jay Gregory
- J Paul Jackson – Drakes Migration nation
- Jim and Eva Shockey
- Jimmy Primos – Primos
- Kevin Knighton
- Kyle Wieter
- Larry Weishuhn
- Lee & Tiffany Lakosky “The Crush“
- Marc Anthony – Speaker / Pro Hunter
- Matt Morett
- Michael Lee
- Michael Waddell
- Mike Stroff – Savage Outdoors TV
- Nicole Jones
- Pat Reeves
- Ralph & Vicki Cianciarulo – Archers Choice
- Stan Potts
- Bone Collector
- Tom Dokken
- Trent Cole
- Woody Sullivan

Other boycott supporters:

- Advantage Taxidermy Studio Inc
- American Tactical Imports
- Anything About Guns
- Backwoods Life
- Bloodline With Alex Ruthledge
- Bowfreakz.com
- Bowhunting.com
- Bowhunter Planet
- Bowhunting Addiction TV
- Broken Arrow Wilderness
- Bowhunters TV
- Chasing Trophy Whitetails
- Citizens for a Responsibly Armed Society
- Crossbow Nation
- Dave's House of Hair, Harrisburg PA
- Dead Dog Walkin' TV
- Driven TV
- Drop Zone TV
- Eddie Salter
- Family Traditions TV
- Gene & Barry Wensel
- Haley Heath
- Hank Parker
- Horton Crossbows
- Hunt Wicked Close TV
- Idaho Center of Emergency Medical Training
- Mark & Beau Rodgers – Real Deal Outdoors
- Mosquito Creek Outdoors, FL
- NebraskaOutfitter.com
- Needleman & Pisano
- Off Grid Survival
- OrgaPro Ltd.
- Roger Raglin
- Shelly & Tara Seiler – Working for Whitetails TV
- Stanley Scruggs Hunting Products
- The Banded Nation TV
- The Best Of The West TV
- The Fowl Life TV
- The Kronik Hunter and staff
- The Pennsylvania Crossbow Federation
- The Resistence TV
- Wyvern Creations

Global Warming Update:

Jan. 23, 2013

Forecasters: Brutal, dangerous cold grips Northeast

Washington, D.C., is experiencing what could be its coldest stretch in almost 10 years, a meteorologist said, as dangerously cold weather and snow continued to hit much of the Northeast and Great Lakes area Wednesday.

In the D.C. area Wednesday morning, temperatures were expected to be between 10 and 17 degrees with below-zero wind chills possible in places, according to NBCWashington.com.

And in the Tri-State area, which has already seen some heavy snowfalls, the coldest weather in two years was arriving, NBCNewYork.com reported.

It added that forecasters were expecting brutal wind chills that could make it feel like minus 25 degrees.


Weather.com said lake-effect snow had been record-breaking at times and warned more was on the way.

Much of the East Coast was experiencing low temperatures. The National Weather Service issued freeze warnings for Wednesday morning for as far south as Florida.

Weather.com said there had already been some “impressive” snowfalls.



Erie, Pa., saw 16.3 inches of snow fall at the airport on Monday – the snowiest day there since Nov. 29, 1979, and the snowiest January day on record. Other parts of the city saw up to 24 inches.

In New York state, Oswego County got up to 18 inches of snow Sunday through Monday morning, while 19 inches fell in Pulaski in the 24 hours to 9 a.m. Tuesday and Ripley got 24.8 inches over the two days to Tuesday morning.

And parts of Michigan saw 10 inches of snow in the 48 hours ending Tuesday morning.

Snow through Saturday

Weather.com said the lake-effect snow was not expected to wind down until Thursday and the band of cold weather affecting the Northeast could produce some snow affecting the I-95 corridor into Saturday.

Meteorologist Doug Kammerer warned to expect cold and breezy weather in D.C. Wednesday, but said it would not be quite as windy as Tuesday, NBCWashington.com reported.

The wind chill was likely to be 10 degrees or lower Wednesday morning, but below-zero wind chills were possible in some places, the station said. Overnight Wednesday and into Thursday morning, a storm was forecast to pass quickly through the region, bringing some flurries or light snow shower early Thursday morning.

Temperatures were expected to remain below freezing Wednesday and Thursday, NBCWashington.com said. The high could break 32 degrees Friday, but the area might not rise above that mark until after the weekend.

The station said there was a good chance of up to an inch of snow Friday, with flurries possible Saturday.

The wind chill factor was driving temperatures even lower in the Tri-State areas, according to NBCNewYork.

It said temperatures were expected to fall into the lower single digits in places with wind chills potentially making it feel like minus 25 degrees Wednesday morning.

NBCNewYork.com noted this would “not get close” to record cold, which is below zero for this time of year.

Nevertheless, it noted meteorologists’ advice that the current freezing temperatures can be dangerous and advised people to cover their mouths to protect the lungs from cold air as well as wrapping up warmly.

NBCWashington.com, NBCNewYork.com and Weather.com contributed to this report.

source

Listen to the Latest Agenda 21 Radio from Tues. 1/22/13 (9 - 10 PM PT)

Jan. 23, 2013

Agenda21Radio is hosted by Paul Preston and Chriss Street. The show airs Monday thru Friday from 9 to 10 PM Pacific Time on 1410AM Marysville, CA and is simulcast on MySYTV.com

Call in questions and comments at 1-877-211-4525 or locally for Northern Californians in the Marysville, Yuba City, Chico area at 530-742-5555. Or e-mail Paul Preston at paul@edtalkradio.com

http://www.mysytv.net/kmyclive.html


Direct link>>

Obamanomics: Dish to close 300 Blockbuster stores, 3,000 jobs may be lost

Jan. 23, 2013

The sign in the lobby of the corporate headquarters of Dish Network is seen in
the Denver suburb of Englewood, Colorado April 6, 2011. Credit: Reuters/Rick Wilking

(Reuters) - Dish Network Corp plans to close 300 Blockbuster stores in the United States in the coming weeks and could lay off as many as 3,000 employees, a move that comes days after the DVD rental firm's UK unit went into administration.

Dish is trying to shed unprofitable Blockbuster outlets as online retailers like Amazon.Com Inc and download sites like Apple Inc's iTunes eat away at Blockbuster's business model. The potential job cuts represent about 40 percent of Blockbuster's U.S. workforce of 7,300 people.

"We continue to see value in the Blockbuster brand and we will continue to analyze store-level profitability and, as we have in the past, close unprofitable stores," Dish said in a statement. The company did not disclose the locations of the store closings.

Some of the 300 stores are reaching the end of their leases and others are being closed based on overall performance, Dish spokeswoman Danielle Johnson said. The company currently has about 800 stores across the country.

Dish, the second-largest U.S. satellite TV company, bought the failed Blockbuster LLC video rental chain in a bankruptcy auction in 2010.

Blockbuster's UK operations went into administration on January 16 and Deloitte was appointed to seek a buyer for all or parts of the business.

(Reporting by Liana Baker in New York and Sakthi Prasad in Bangalore; Editing by Matt Driskill)

NYC Communist Mayor Bloomberg Puts Millions Behind Gun Control Push

Jan. 23, 2013

At a news conference last month, New York City Communist Mayor Michael Bloomberg stands with people who have been affected by gun the violent mentally ill .

Congress faces a battle over gun laws that could be the biggest in a generation.

Leading the charge for gun rights is the National Rifle Association, with its huge budget and grass-roots operations. On the other side, a new leader has emerged in recent years: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is not only outspoken on gun control, he has also opened his substantial wallet for the cause.

President Obama, who has proposed big changes in federal gun laws, mentioned them only obliquely in his inaugural speech Monday. Mayors Against Illegal Guns, one of the groups Bloomberg backs, isn't speaking so softly.

"Newtown broke America's heart, and everything is different since then," John Feinblatt, chief policy adviser to Bloomberg, said last week. He was on Capitol Hill barely a month after 20 elementary school students were shot to death in Newtown, Conn.

And how much will Bloomberg spend on this fight?

"The mayor will do what it takes to save lives," Feinblatt said.

That could be a lot of money.

The NRA's annual budget surpasses $200 million — and it's only the biggest of many pro-gun groups. On the other hand, Bloomberg is a billionaire 25 times over, according to Forbes magazine.

That puts Bloomberg a few notches below conservative industrialist David Koch and his brother Charles, and a few steps above liberal financier George Soros.

"People like the Kochs, Mayor Bloomberg and many others have learned that success in the public arena depends on using multiple avenues," says Leslie Lenkowsky, a professor of public affairs and philanthropic studies at Indiana University.

Here, Bloomberg is using two avenues: The first is Mayors Against Illegal Guns, where he's a co-chairman and the biggest funder.

In 2009, Mayors Against Illegal Guns helped engineer a rare defeat in Congress for the NRA. The Senate rejected a proposal that would have made states honor concealed-carry permits from other states.

The NRA unleashed its grass-roots network on some of the mayors who are members of Mayors Against Illegal Guns.

In a 2009 video, NRA spokeswoman Rachel Parsons told the American Trigger Sports Network: "We've seen a great decrease in the membership of Mayors Against Illegal Guns. This is great news."

But the mayors group has now nearly doubled; it claims more than 800 members.

Bloomberg's other avenue of political influence? He's the only funder of the superPAC Independence USA PAC, started last year. The PAC got started late in the election cycle, spent a relatively puny $8 million, and still helped several pro-gun-control candidates win.

Democrat Joe Baca, a vulnerable pro-gun incumbent in Southern California, was knocked from office by a $3 million ad blitz from Bloomberg.

Baca didn't take it well.

"Mayor Michael Bloomberg should be ashamed of himself, for lowering himself to the level of dirty politics by his operatives," he said.

The NRA didn't respond Tuesday to a request for comment about Bloomberg and his tactics.

This winter, Bloomberg's tactics will include a Web video featuring Beyonce, Jamie Foxx and 51 other entertainment artists, listing recent mass shootings and asking, "How many more?"

Perhaps more to the point for Congress, Mayors Against Illegal Guns is organizing waves of lobbying visits to Capitol Hill from mayors, police chiefs and survivors of gun violence.

And behind that, there's the prospect of midterm campaign spending by Bloomberg.

source: NPR

Sarkozy's plans 'to dodge new 75% French tax rate by moving to London with wife Carla and setting up £1bn private equity fund'

Jan. 23, 2013

Economic Common Sense on Display... Obviously  Conservative


* Fraud police found details of move and business plan in raid on home
* Sarkozy is under investigation for corruption in France
* He will be latest Frenchman to escape potential top French tax rate of 75%
* Couple would become London's most high profile Gallic celebrities
* Sarkozy would hope for fund support from French entrepreneur Alain Minc

By Peter Allen In ParisPUBLISHED: 05:15 EST, 22 January 2013 | UPDATED: 20:20 EST, 22 January 2013

Plans for Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni's
move were unearthed in a raid by fraud police

Suddenly a handshake from David Cameron probably seems an awful lot more inviting.

Former president Nicolas Sarkozy could become the next wealthy Frenchman to flee to Britain over his country’s looming tax hikes on the rich.

Mr Sarkozy – who famously snubbed the Prime Minister’s attempt to shake his hand after Mr Cameron vetoed changes to the EU treaty in 2011 – is reportedly planning to move to London to set up a £800million investment fund.

The 57-year-old, who was ousted from office last June, has amassed a fortune from £150,000-an-hour public speaking engagements and is now said to be trying to raise capital from investors.

If the move goes ahead, the controversial Frenchman will become the latest to escape a potential top tax rate of 75 per cent in his home country.

He and his former supermodel third wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy would be likely to settle in an affluent district like South Kensington – so becoming the most high profile Gallic celebrity couple in the city.

But the former president is under investigation for corruption in France, and if he does cross the Channel there will be outrage.

Details of the planned move were uncovered during a raid by fraud police on Sarkozy’s Paris mansion last June.

It came within weeks of Mr Sarkozy losing his immunity against prosecution after being defeated by Socialist rival Francois Hollande in the May presidential election.

Now the hugely respected investigative news site Mediapart reports that the ‘first draft’ of Mr Sarkozy’s London project was found by detectives examining his computer files.

A judge has since made Sarkozy an assisted witness in the so-called Bettencourt Affair, in which he is accused of using illegal cash from France’s richest woman to fund his 2007 election campaign.

Mr Sarkozy is said to have taken the money from Liliane Bettencourt, the I’ Oreal heiress – a claim the politician denies, but for which he could still receive a prison sentence.

He is also being investigated over numerous other funding scandals, including one linked to arms sales to Pakistan, and another in which he is said to have used millions in taxpayers’ money to pay friends to produce opinion polls while he was in office.

Mediapart suggests that the planned London move would create a ‘conflict of interest’ – not only because Sarkozy is being investigated, but because a former French president should not choose the UK as a base to make his fortune.

If the move goes ahead, the controversial Frenchman (left) and his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy (right) will become the latest to escape a potential top tax rate of 75 per cent in their home country

Sarkozy (above) and his former supermodel third wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy
(below) would be likely to settle in an affluent district like South Kensington
– so becoming the most high profile Gallic celebrity couple in the city

Bernard Arnault, the luxury goods magnate and France’s richest man who owns property in London, and Hollywood star Gerard Depardieu are among Frenchmen who have come under intense criticism for trying to escape Mr Hollande’s new tax regime.

The socialist is introducing a top tax rate of 75 per cent on anyone earning more than 1 million euros a year because he disapproves of the kind of vast profits made by speculators in places like the City of London.

Mr Sarkozy, however, is a committed capitalist, whose close friends include former Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has himself earned millions since leaving office.

The former president is under investigation for corruption in France, and if he does cross the Channel there will be outrage

The French former president’s new private equity fund would aim to raise 1 billion euros – something he hopes to achieve with the help of French entrepreneur and political advisor Alain Minc.

Mr Sarkozy has recently had meetings with numerous movers and shakers in the world of high finance during high-profile trips to places like Qatar and London. But today Mr Sarkozy played down the Mediapart reports through his aides, with one saying that they were the result of ‘intellectual constructs’.

Like Mr Blair, the former head of state has always been extremely secretive about his financial dealings, and would be unlikely to discuss a wealth fund in public.

The French former president¿s new private equity fund would aim to raise 1 billion euros ¿ something he hopes to achieve with the help of French entrepreneur and political advisor Alain Minc

source: UK Daily Mail

California's Pro-Gun Sheriffs Take a Stand (Update)

Jan. 23, 2013

(GunOwnersCa) - We are not alone in this fight! While California is known across the country as being on the forefront of liberal politics, we have twelve sheriffs (so far), who decided it was time they tell the country,and Vice President Biden, that they do not agree with the anti-gun majority.

Maybe it comes as a shock to the more liberal parts of the state, that there are so many sheriffs who do not stand with the majority. And we hope it does. For too long, we've heard the sheriffs from California's major cities (San Francisco, Los Angeles, etc), act as if they speak for all of law enforcement, in support of stricter gun control laws. Well, we are proud of the twelve sheriffs who have decided they've had enough! They are taking their oaths to support and defend the Constitution to heart. We can't thank them enough for their bravery and dedication to protecting the safety and rights of their citizens, while at the same time, continuing to defend the Constitution.

If your Sheriff is on this list, send them your thanks and support. If your Sheriff's name is not on this list, call him or her and ask them to join this brave group of Sheriffs who are standing by their oaths:

Del Norte County Sheriff - Dean Wilson

El Dorado County Sheriff - John D'Agostini

Fresno County Sheriff - Margaret Mims

Humboldt County Sheriff - Mike Downey

Lassen County Sheriff - Dean Growden

Mendocino County Sheriff - Thomas Allman

Modoc County Sheriff - Mike Poindexter

Plumas County Sheriff - Greg Hagwood

Shasta County Sheriff - Tom Bosenko

Siskiyou County Sheriff - Jon Lopey

Stanislaus County Sheriff - Adam Christianson

Tehama County Sheriff - David Hencraft

In fighting for you and your rights, these Sheriffs are upholding the Constitution as it was intended by our Founding Fathers.

Top psychiatrist: Meds behind school massacres

Jan.23, 2013

If you are regular reader of this blog then this is not news to you. You heard this here shortly after the school shootings in Sandy Hook. Consider this  to be "verification" that guns are not the underlying problem. We currently have an entire generation of "outpatients" on psych meds. Many of which should by definition be institutionalized. Not only for their own personal safety, but for that of others. 

Society conducting 'vast social experiment' without knowing its end

NEW YORK – If lawmakers and authorities are truly concerned about stopping gun violence in schools, they need to take a close look at the prescription of psychotropic drugs for children and young people, says a leading psychiatrist.

In an exclusive in-person interview in New York City with WND, London-based Dr. David Healy criticized pharmaceutical companies that have made billions of dollars marketing Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, known as SSRIs.


Psychotropic drugs “prescribed for school children cause violent behavior,” Healy stated.

The drugs are widely used in the U.S. as antidepressants by doctors working in the mental health field and increasingly by primary care doctors, he noted.

Healey insisted the problem today is that doctors working with schools to control the behavior of children are inclined to prescribe SSRI drugs without serious consideration of adverse consequences.

“The pharmaceutical companies made these drugs with the idea of making money,” he said. “There’s a wide range of problems when it comes to looking at these drugs for children. Very few children have serious problems that warrant treatment with pills that have the risks SSRI drugs have.”

The drugs can make children “aggressive and hostile,” he noted.

“Children taking SSRI drugs are more likely to harm or to injure other children at school,” said Healy. “The child may be made suicidal.

“We are giving drugs to children who are passing through critical development stages, and as a society we are really conducting a vast experiment and no one really knows what the outcome of that will be.”

Healey cautioned that there is a very high correlation between mass shootings and use of the drugs.

“When roughly nine out of every 10 cases in these school shootings and mass shootings involve these drugs being prescribed, then at least a significant proportion of these cases were either caused by the drugs or the drugs made a significant contribution to the problem,” he said.

President Obama, in a series of 23 presidential memoranda and proclamations signed last week, called for the Centers for Disease control to undertake research to examine gun violence and to explore medical means to control the problem.

WND contended that putting more mental illness screening into schools would actually increase the incidence of school shootings, not reduce the violence.

“You can draw a line between the number of child psychiatrists in the United States and the number of school shootings, and you will find that both have gone up in the same direction at the same time,” he said.

He sees a “propaganda campaign” being conducted in the U.S. in the wake of the Aurora, Colo., cinema shooting and the Newtown, Conn., school shooting asserting gun violence is being caused by mental illness and could be stopped by additional school programs that screen for it.

“If school children are screened for mental illness problems, this presumably will lead more medical doctors to put more students on more pills,” he said. “I would predict then the outcome of more school screenings for mental illness will be more mass killings, even if the guns are taken away and the mass killings are not done with guns.”





He cautioned shareholders of pharmaceutical companies to realize share prices can be adversely affected should judges and juries determine the companies bear legal liabilities. Law enforcement investigators could conclude one of the company’s medications was prescribed to a child who ended up perpetrating a school shooting.

Healy cautioned that medical doctors who prescribe pills do not necessarily cure mental illness problems.

Dr. David Healy

He argued that today medical doctors are inclined to solve a wide range of health problems by prescribing drugs. In previous generations, however, extended families were capable of providing a context of family history to understand behavioral problems and to identify a wide range of problem-solving treatments. The families understood the issue as a developmental problem better treated by family intervention than by medicine.

“Market research, for instance, has made pharmaceutical companies realize it is much harder to sell drugs for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, ADHD, in a home or a community where the child’s grandmother is likely to be present,” he explained. “Because, of course, the grandmother may say, ‘That kid doesn’t need pills. His father was just like him, and look, his father turned out alright.’ Medicine intervenes with pills when communities have lost their roots in families.”

Healy also expressed distress that information available to pharmaceutical companies exposing adverse side effects of SSRI medications is not made available to the public.

To solve this problem, Healy has created a website, RxISK.org, that allows the posting of personal experiences with SSRI drugs by people who have had personal experience or have had partners, parents, children or friends injured by them. These are people, the website says, “who have found themselves trapped in a Kafkaesque world when they have sought help from doctors, regulators, or others who seem to be there to help us”

The goal of RxISK.org is to create a database open to the public that provides a report a patient can take to a doctor or pharmacist to support and inform a conversation about the adverse sides of a particular SSRI drug.

Independently, a sortable database of 4,800 cases in which SSRI drugs have been associated with violent behavior in the U.S. and worldwide has been posted on the Internet, compiled from incidents that have appeared in the media, scientific journals and Federal Drug Administration testimony.

SSRI drugs covered in the sortable database include Prozac (fluoxetine), Zoloft (sertraline), Paxil (paroxetine), Celexa (citalopram), Lexapro (escitalopram) and Luvox (fluvoxamine).

source: Wnd