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In a major victory for Ohio’s four minor political parties, the so-called “John Kasich Re-election Protection Act” was struck down on Tuesday, January 7, 2014. The Libertarian, Green, and Constitution Parties had sued to stop the bill that would have banned their Party primaries. The Parties would “suffer irreparable harm” if Senate Bill 193 (SB 193) was enforced by Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson wrote in his opinion. Language in SB 193 disbanded the minor parties for not receiving two percent of a statewide vote in the 2012 election, even though there was no such requirement that year.
Senator Bill Seiz (R-Cincinnati) introduced SB 193 the same day the Ohio Libertarians publicly announced their gubernatorial candidate Charlie Earl’s nomination. A recent poll showed John Kasich and his Democratic opponent Ed Fitzgerald each running at 41 percent and Earl attracting 6 percent of the vote, presumably from voters who normally lean toward the conservative Kasich.
Senator Bill Seiz (R-Cincinnati) introduced SB 193 the same day the Ohio Libertarians publicly announced their gubernatorial candidate Charlie Earl’s nomination. A recent poll showed John Kasich and his Democratic opponent Ed Fitzgerald each running at 41 percent and Earl attracting 6 percent of the vote, presumably from voters who normally lean toward the conservative Kasich.
On August 9, 2013, President Obama, responded to the never ending NSA surveillance scandal by forming a panel to give him recommendations on how to change the intelligence community's practice of wholesale spying on the whole world. Although the panel was touted as independent and tasked with safeguarding liberties, its function was very different both in its inception and execution.
The panel answered to the president through Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and consisted of intelligence community and Obama administration insiders. The charge of the review panel was to “assess whether, in light of advancements in communications technologies, the United States employs its technical collection capabilities in a manner that optimally protects our national security and advances our foreign policy while appropriately accounting for other policy considerations, such as the risk of unauthorized disclosure and our need to maintain the public trust.”
The panel answered to the president through Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and consisted of intelligence community and Obama administration insiders. The charge of the review panel was to “assess whether, in light of advancements in communications technologies, the United States employs its technical collection capabilities in a manner that optimally protects our national security and advances our foreign policy while appropriately accounting for other policy considerations, such as the risk of unauthorized disclosure and our need to maintain the public trust.”
Dear Mr. Baron and Mr. Merida:
On behalf of more than 25,000 signers of a petition to The Washington Post, I’m writing this letter to request a brief meeting to present the petition at a time that would be convenient for you on Jan. 14 or 15.
Here is the text of the petition, launched by RootsAction.org:
“A basic principle of journalism is to acknowledge when the owner of a media outlet has a major financial relationship with the subject of coverage. We strongly urge the Washington Post to be fully candid with its readers about the fact that the newspaper’s new owner, Jeff Bezos, is the founder and CEO of Amazon which recently landed a $600 million contract with the CIA. The Washington Post’s coverage of the CIA should include full disclosure that the sole owner of the Post is also the main owner of Amazon -- and Amazon is now gaining huge profits directly from the CIA.”
The petition includes cogent comments by many of the people who signed it.
I hope that you can set aside perhaps 10 minutes on Jan. 14 or 15 for the purpose of receiving the petition and hearing a summary of its signers’ concerns.
On behalf of more than 25,000 signers of a petition to The Washington Post, I’m writing this letter to request a brief meeting to present the petition at a time that would be convenient for you on Jan. 14 or 15.
Here is the text of the petition, launched by RootsAction.org:
“A basic principle of journalism is to acknowledge when the owner of a media outlet has a major financial relationship with the subject of coverage. We strongly urge the Washington Post to be fully candid with its readers about the fact that the newspaper’s new owner, Jeff Bezos, is the founder and CEO of Amazon which recently landed a $600 million contract with the CIA. The Washington Post’s coverage of the CIA should include full disclosure that the sole owner of the Post is also the main owner of Amazon -- and Amazon is now gaining huge profits directly from the CIA.”
The petition includes cogent comments by many of the people who signed it.
I hope that you can set aside perhaps 10 minutes on Jan. 14 or 15 for the purpose of receiving the petition and hearing a summary of its signers’ concerns.
“In Iraq, al-Qaeda launched an offensive to take control of two cities, Fallujah and Ramadi, that U.S. troops sacrificed heavily to clear of terrorists between 2004 and 2008.”
And so the new year begins, with a heavy dose of same old, same old. This is the Washington Post editorial page, which Robert Parry dubbed the neocon bullhorn, blaming the al-Qaeda uprising in western Iraq on President Obama’s withdrawal of troops from that country, along with his failure to invade Syria last fall, all of which, the editorial charges, adds up to complacency in the face of growing danger and a lack of protection for “vital U.S. interests.”
And for good measure, the Post lets loose a cry for the troops and their sacrifice on behalf of those vital interests. It’s obviously not too early to start performing cosmetic surgery on Bush-era history (boy, we had those terrorists on the run), even as its consequences continue to hemorrhage.
And so the new year begins, with a heavy dose of same old, same old. This is the Washington Post editorial page, which Robert Parry dubbed the neocon bullhorn, blaming the al-Qaeda uprising in western Iraq on President Obama’s withdrawal of troops from that country, along with his failure to invade Syria last fall, all of which, the editorial charges, adds up to complacency in the face of growing danger and a lack of protection for “vital U.S. interests.”
And for good measure, the Post lets loose a cry for the troops and their sacrifice on behalf of those vital interests. It’s obviously not too early to start performing cosmetic surgery on Bush-era history (boy, we had those terrorists on the run), even as its consequences continue to hemorrhage.
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Over the past month there’s been an outcry among YouTube’s large community of gaming vloggers (video bloggers) as the ContentID system went mad and seemed intent on becoming the first computer program to achieve Skynet status. The system, designed to seek out and flag any copyright-infringing material, began flagging anything and everything, up to and including videos of an indie game uploaded by the game’s own creator.
One of the most popular vlog formats on YouTube is called a Let’s Play video, in which a person, sometimes accompanied by a friend or two, records him or herself playing a game. The video is recorded straight from the game, something made easy with software such as Bandicam for PC or a game capture device that you plug your Xbox or Playstation into, something anyone can pick up from Micro Center starting at about $75. The software layers the player’s audio commentary over the sound of the game, giving the effect of hanging out with a friend watching them play.
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The 30th anniversary of the Transformers is this year, and in preparation for the event toymaker Hasbro held an online poll to let the public create the first “Fan-Built Bot,” who would not only be made into a toy but would also feature in the IDW’s current Transformers comics. Among other options, fans got to vote once a day on the new character’s vehicle mode, weapon of choice, faction and gender.
The winner’s name is Windblade, and after decades of Hasbro fussing over whether or not female Transformers toys would sell, the fans spoke out and demanded one. But a recent announcement from IDW shows the comic publisher plans to take it even further: The comic she’ll be headlining will be written and drawn by female creators.
Mairghread Scott, who recently wrote for both the Transformers Prime TV series and comics, has been announced as the writer on the new four-issue series. Joining her will be artist Sarah Stone, who has done work for RPG publishers Wizards of the Coast and Paizo.
Gender in the world of giant sexless alien robots is a funny thing.
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Scott Humes isn’t a morning person but the Worthington Kilbourne High School senior was a little more lethargic than usual during a morning session at the American Hearing Impaired Hockey Association camp in Chicago last June.
When Kevin Delaney, a camp instructor and a skating skills and development coach for the Chicago Blackhawks, asked Humes about his lack of energy, he thought the hockey player was pulling his leg.
“I said ‘I’m trying my hardest but I’m just really tired. I’m having a kidney transplant next week,’” Humes says chuckling.
“The guy thought Scott was joking,” says Jane Humes, Scott’s mother who donated her kidney to her son on June 19. “He was thinking ‘Oh sure you’re having a transplant next week.’ He felt horrible when he found out Scott was telling the truth.”
The coach’s confusion was understandable. Even though he was competing with a kidney that was functioning at six percent, Scott kept his impending surgery a secret from his coaches and his teammates and continued to play last season.
A year later, the forward is getting back to where he was before his kidney started to fail.
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The Ohio State men’s basketball team came through its non-conference schedule with a 13-0 record and climbed to third in the AP national polls before entering Big Ten play.
Senior guard Aaron Craft says that means less than nothing as the Buckeyes enter league competition.
“It’s definitely exciting to jump into Big Ten play,” says Craft whose team started league play 2-1 after falling 72-68 in overtime at No. 5 Michigan State on Jan. 7. “It’s like a new season. Everyone is 0-0.”
Ohio State coach Thad Matta divides the season into three sections: the non-conference season, the league schedule and the Big Ten and post-season tournaments. The middle phase, the run through the Big Ten conference, proves to be the most difficult.
“It’s going to be a war. That’s for sure,” Matta says. “In today’s college basketball society, there are no givens. Winning a conference championship is the hardest thing to do in college basketball. There aren’t a lot of secrets as the season wears on. Each game has a huge stake.”
“You can lose any Big Ten game if you don’t bring your ‘A’ game,” junior guard Shannon Scott adds. “We have to practice hard every day and prepare for every game.
While the ‘zero option’ becomes increasingly popular as far as U.S. troops are concerned in Afghanistan, the unfolding scenario two countries over may cause the Obama administration to weigh its available strategies again.
Before the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a strong al-Qaeda affiliate, overran and seized the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi in Iraq, the idea of pulling out all American troops from a particularly volatile world region had a fair amount of support. Amongst a war-weary nation, after all, such prescriptions sound quite nice. Take Afghanistan, for example. After more than a decade of war, who would oppose a complete evacuation? Never mind the reasons for America’s entrance into the war, the ‘zero option’ still remains popular. And now for the Administration, timing is everything.
Before the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a strong al-Qaeda affiliate, overran and seized the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi in Iraq, the idea of pulling out all American troops from a particularly volatile world region had a fair amount of support. Amongst a war-weary nation, after all, such prescriptions sound quite nice. Take Afghanistan, for example. After more than a decade of war, who would oppose a complete evacuation? Never mind the reasons for America’s entrance into the war, the ‘zero option’ still remains popular. And now for the Administration, timing is everything.
The holiday season brought the world two federal rulings on the National Security Agency’s collection of data on every single person in the country. The cases were brought in two different federal districts before two different federal judges. Federal District Judge Leon, of the District of Columbia, called the NSA’s practices “Orwellian,” and “likely unconstitutional” but declined to issue an injunction prior to a full trial.
Federal District Judge Pauley, of the Southern District of New York, upheld the NSA’s bulk metadata collection. In both cases the NSA relied on testimony from Teresa H. Shea, the Director of the Signals Intelligence Directorate of the NSA.
Federal District Judge Pauley, of the Southern District of New York, upheld the NSA’s bulk metadata collection. In both cases the NSA relied on testimony from Teresa H. Shea, the Director of the Signals Intelligence Directorate of the NSA.