Is unnamed Saudi prince the $100B '08 Obama donor?

December 31, 2013

Saudi royal faces death penalty for murder of citizen: report 

The identity of the prince has not been released but Crown Prince Sultan bin Salman has given approval for the execution to take place. 'Sharia (Islamic law) shall be applied to all without exception.'

PAT SULLIVAN/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Prince Sultan bin Salman has approved an execution can take place of a Saudi prince following a murder conviction.

DUBAI - A Saudi prince who murdered a fellow Saudi may be executed, a newspaper reported on Sunday, in a rare example of a member of the kingdom's ruling family facing the death penalty.

The English-language Arab News did not name the prince or his victim, but said a senior member of the family and government, Crown Prince Sultan bin Salman, had "cleared the way for the possible execution of a prince convicted of murdering a Saudi citizen".

In a message about the case to Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, Prince Salman said: "Sharia (Islamic law) shall be applied to all without exception", the daily reported.

Prince Salman's message followed a statement from the victim's father that he was not ready to pardon the killer and he was not happy with the amount offered as blood money.

The families of murder victims are encouraged by authorities to accept blood money instead of insisting on execution.

The paper quoted Crown Prince Salman's message as saying: "There is no difference between big and small, rich and poor ... Nobody is allowed to interfere with the judiciary's decision. This is the tradition of this state. We are committed to following the sharia."

Reuters was unable to reach an Interior Ministry spokesman for comment.

The Arab News is part of a media group chaired by a son of Crown Prince Salman, who is also deputy prime minister and minister of defense.

The kingdom, which follows a strict version of sharia has been criticized in the West for its high number of executions, inconsistencies in the application of the law, and its use of public beheading to carry out death sentences.

Saudi Arabia had executed at least 47 people as of May 2013, according to Amnesty International's website, compared to 82 in all of 2011 and a similar number in 2012.

Members of the ruling family are only rarely known to be executed. One of the most prominent cases was Faisal bin Musaid al Saud, who assassinated his uncle, King Faisal, in 1975.

The family is estimated to number several thousand. While members receive monthly stipends, and the most senior princes command great wealth and political power, only a few in the family hold nationally important government posts.

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HAPPY NEW YEAR: HEALTH LAW'S IMPACT

December 31, 2013

• GateHouse Media Special Report: Some rural hospitals face cuts under Affordable Care Act

Shayna Smith, right and Andrea Jergens, left, RNs at Mercy Hospital in Moundridge, Kan., view patient information at the hospitals nurses’ station. Hospitals like Mercy are facing challenges in the wake of millions of dollars in Medicare cuts under the Affordable Care Act. Photo by Cristina Janney.

Taking care: Small rural hospitals face uncertain future under Affordable Care Act

The rollout of the Affordable Care Act has already set off significant change and uproar around individual insurance plans. As the ACA settles into place in 2014, more change and concerns are coming to small rural hospitals.

IMAGES: SMALL RURAL HOSPITALS AND ACA

Under "Obamacare," rural hospitals face significant cuts in Medicare payments that make up 40 percent of their income. As a result, they will be changing services and staffing, and putting more emphasis on primary care.

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Personal bandetta and childish squabbling lead to mayoral recall effort

December 31, 2013

Rock Hall Town Council: Petition under way to recall Rock Hall mayor

ROCK HALL — Gren Whitman, a regular attendee at town meetings and an outspoken critic of Bob Willis, said he picked up some of the first petitions Dec. 2 to recall Rock Hall’s mayor.

The town council approved a charter amendment Oct. 10 allowing for recall elections. Whitman was among the citizens who lobbied for the amendment that took effect Nov. 29.

The petitioners need 244 signatures to initiate a recall. Once the names are certified by the town, a public hearing will be scheduled for Willis and the petitioners to state their respective cases.

Regardless of the hearing’s outcome, a special election will be held. Voters will answer the question of whether or not Willis, who has two years left on his first term, remains in office.

Whitman is one of a handful of residents collecting signatures for Willis’ recall. Chrissy Price is spearheading the drive.

“(Willis) needs to realize this petition could validate him, just as well as remove him. If the citizens want to keep him, this will prove that they want to keep him,” Price said.

Price does not live in Rock Hall, so she is not eligible to vote in town elections, nor would her signature be considered valid on the petition. She is a Rock Hall native, and her father, Butch Price, is a town councilman.

She would not identify other petitioners.

“They’re just afraid of consequences from him, you know, being mayor,” Chrissy Price said.

In an interview Dec. 18, Willis said he called one of the petitioners. He said he wanted to know the reason for his recall.

Willis also said he heard some people are misrepresenting the petitions as voter registration forms.

At the Nov. 14 town meeting, Willis suggested a special election be held for himself and all four council members.

“We should have an election. Put us all up there,” he said. “Let the town decide on what they want to do with the future.”

On Dec. 16, Willis called the petition drive unfortunate and a “lose-lose” for the town.

He said he made the comment at the November meeting to show that the charter does not require reasons be given for removing someone from office, which he wants changed.

Questions were raised at a previous town meeting about whether or not the blank petition form given out by the town required council approval. The council did not approve it because some members wanted clearer instructions added by the town’s attorney, Charles “Chip” MacLeod.

At the Dec. 12 meeting, MacLeod said the council members did not need to approve the form. He said they were given a copy so they could see what would be issued starting Nov. 29.

“That form had to be made available on the effective date of the charter amendment,” Town Clerk Stephanie Loller said at the meeting.

Chrissy Price said Willis has spent the past nine months attacking the town staff. She called some of his actions unethical.

“You can’t have a mayor attacking the employees of the town just to prove a point,” she said. “There are a lot of residents out there that are unhappy with the way he’s handling things.”

Willis said he and the staff differ over town operations. He said the staff is keeping him and the council in the dark on certain issues to drive a wedge between them.

“My question is: What are people afraid of? What is it that people are hiding from?” Willis said. “Again, I think this whole recall notion is because I’m asking questions that people don’t want the answers known.”

Chrissy Price also said she is upset Willis reported her father for acting as a plumber without a license. Butch Price previously said he forgot to renew his license with the state, but remedied the situation.

“That’s attacking my father’s livelihood and his personal life. You know, that’s attacking the entire family,” Chrissy Price said.

Willis said his power has been limited. He said he and his family are being subjected to political attacks in the press and in public.

He said those efforts have failed to force him out, so people are attempting the recall.

“It’s a very serious matter, but I think it’s a very poor way of doing business. It’s politics, and it really is not a productive thing for the community,” he said.

Chrissy Price said the petition drive is nothing personal against Willis. She said she and Willis grew up together in Rock Hall, and, as mayor, he has done a lot of good for the town.

“If someone wants to sign it, that’s their prerogative. That’s their choice,” she said. “Anybody can go get a petition and state their own reasons why they no longer want any of the council members or the mayor in service.”

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The Bobbleheads of the Supreme Court will forever live in Infamy, some literally

December 31, 2013

This limited collection of U.S. Supreme Court justice dolls are some of the rarest bobbleheads in the world, the Associated Press reports.

AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

They are the work of law professor Ross Davies, who spent about 10 years creating them. When finished, they will arrive unexpectedly on each of the real justices’ desks.

AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

The idea for the bobbleheads apparently came to Davies when he was in the shower a decade ago.

The dolls have have intricate nods to each Supreme Court member. For example, the David Souter bobblehead plays a “Modest Mouse” song, a band he mentioned in a copyright case.

AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

The Ruth Bader Ginsburg doll, pictured above, stands on a replica of the Virginia Military Institute’s parade ground, referencing a 1996 opinion she wrote striking down the school’s sexist admissions policy.

The justices themeselves are fans of their wobbling counterparts. From the AP:

Antonin Scalia once said in an interview that he understands his is the most popular. Stephen Breyer had four of the figures of his colleagues on display in his chambers during a 2009 C-Span interview. His own is currently in the works. And former Chief Justice William Rehnquist sent a thank-you note for his, which was the first to come out in 2003.

“Thank you for the ‘bobble-head’ likeness of me which now sits on the mantle of the fireplace in my chambers,” Rehnquist wrote. “It is probably a better likeness of me as I was 15 years ago than as I am now, but obviously I won’t complain.”

The bobbleheads are being given away for free, not sold. Subscribers to the quarterly legal journal “The Green Bag” get a voucher to claim a bobblehead when they are released, but there’s no guarantee.

AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

Good luck getting one, Supreme Court fans! They are pretty great.

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