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Sunday, June 23, 2013

Candidate shot at Albania election polling place

Albania?s Conservative Prime Minister Sali Berisha, 68, who is seeking a third term in office, speaks at a rally in Tirana, Tuesday, June 18, 2013. The general election taking place Sunday, June 23, 2013 is considered a test for the Balkan country to shed its post-Communist legacy of troubled popular votes, as it seeks closer ties and eventual membership in the European Union. Conservative Sali Berisha, is seeking a third term and will speak at his Democratic Party's main election rally Friday in the capital Tirana. (AP Photo/Hektor Pustina)

In this Thursday, June 20, 2013 photo, main opposition Socialist Party leader Edi Rama, speaks at a rally, in Tirana, Albania, ahead of the Sunday?s general elections. Political parties in Albania entered their final day of campaigning for Sunday's general elections, considered a test for the Balkan country to shed its history of troubled campaigns as it seeks closer ties and eventual membership in the European Union. (AP Photo/Hektor Pustina)

Trash bins in the capital Tirana Saturday, June 22, 2013, are filled with posters, banners and other materials used by the political parties during the month-long electoral campaign. Political campaigning stops in Albania Saturday, a day before parliamentary elections which are considered a crucial test for its ambitions for closer ties and eventual membership in the European Union. (AP Photo/Hektor Pustina)

An Albanian woman casts her vote in Tirana, Sunday, June 23, 2013 in the Albanian elections. An Albanian political candidate was shot and a supporter of a rival party killed in an exchange of gunfire near a polling station, police said Sunday, as the country held crucial elections already marred by a dispute that could leave the outcome up in the air. Both conservative Prime Minister Sali Berisha and his close rival, Socialist leader Edi Rama, have hopes for eventual entry to the European Union, and the election is seen as a test of whether the country can run a fair and safe vote. (AP Photo/Hektor Pustina)

TIRANA, Albania (AP) ? An exchange of gunfire near a polling station wounded a candidate for parliament and left dead a supporter of a rival party during Albania's national elections on Sunday, tainting what had been a largely peaceful campaign season and threatening to further undermine the nation's bid to join the European Union.

The violence, which drew condemnation from an EU official, added to the already existing uncertainty surrounding the election: because of a political dispute, it's unclear when the vote results will be announced.

A police spokesman said Gjon Gjoni, 49, died after being shot in an exchange of fire that also wounded Mhill Fufi, 49, a candidate for Prime Minister Sali Berisha's governing Democratic Party. An opposition party leader identified Gjoni as a supporter. Another man, Fufi's relative Kastriot Fufi, 39, was also wounded.

It was not immediately clear who exactly did the shooting. The incident took place in the city of Lac, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) northwest of the capital, Tirana, and started with an argument, said the police spokesman, Tefik Sulejmani, who gave few other details.

A spokeswoman for the ruling Democratic Party, Laura Vorpsi, said Mhill Fufi was trying to move away some opposition supporters who were trying to bribe voters, and alleged that those opposition supporters "responded with shooting rounds."

"The Democratic Party harshly denounces any act of violence," Vorpsi said.

Once one of the world's most hardline communist countries, Albania has had a rocky road to democracy. Corruption has plagued the impoverished country, and its elections have been marred by violence and vote-rigging.

The conservative prime minister, Berisha, and his close rival, Socialist Party leader Edi Rama, both hope Albania can gain eventual entry to the EU, and Sunday's election is seen as a test of whether the country can run a fair and safe vote.

Berisha declined to comment on the killing after casting his ballot, saying he needed more information first. The prime minister invited all Albanians to take part in the vote and turn Sunday "into a day of festivities and good understanding."

"I assure you that your vote will be fully respected," Berisha said.

Rama, meanwhile, denounced "certain segments of police" for collaborating with "criminals" and insisted that participation in the vote was the best way to respond. "It is barbarous that in an election day, in the midst of Europe, a human is shot dead from criminals supported from police," he told reporters.

Ilir Meta, the leader of the Socialist Movement for Integration, confirmed that Gjoni, the man who died, was a supporter. Meta, whose party is allies with that of Rama's, also blamed police and "criminal elements" of the ruling Democrats, whom he alleged were exerting pressure at polling stations.

"Sali Berisha is not Albania's premier any more. He cannot leave power without shedding blood," Meta said.

In other incidents across the country, a journalist was reportedly not allowed to enter a polling station and was pushed away from the area, while a camera belonging to a private TV station, Top Channel was broken and the cameraman reported to have been beaten.

Some 3.3 million registered voters were eligible to cast their ballots Sunday, the eighth national polls since the fall of communism in 1990. The month-long contest had been relatively calm until election day, though there had been reports of civil servants and even school children being pressured to attend pro-government rallies.

Albania's president called for unity in wake of Sunday's violence. "Peace, calm, citizens' life is important," Bujar Nishani said. "I appeal for calm and maturity because, we may vote for different parties, but we are one nation."

Bu the EU's top diplomat in Albania took a hard stand on the violence.

"I want to say something very clear, very firm. Among the international and European standards for elections, there is the refusal of violence," said Ettore Sequi, the EU ambassador to Tirana.

A political dispute over the country's election commission has meant it is uncertain when results of the vote will be announced, although the law mandates they be revealed no later than three days after the polls.

Albania joined NATO in 2009. But it has failed to gain candidate status from the EU, which is pressing for broader democratic reforms and an improved election record.

Some 400 international observers and about 8,000 local ones are monitoring Sunday's election.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-06-23-Albania-Elections/id-82924db3043046059d8d6340bc2037a3

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Saturday, June 22, 2013

Federal nullification efforts mounting in states

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Imagine the scenario: A federal agent attempts to arrest someone for illegally selling a machine gun. Instead, the federal agent is arrested ? charged in a state court with the crime of enforcing federal gun laws.

Farfetched? Not as much as you might think.

The scenario would become conceivable if legislation passed by Missouri's Republican-led Legislature is signed into law by Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon.

The Missouri legislation is perhaps the most extreme example of a states' rights movement that has been spreading across the nation. States are increasingly adopting laws that purport to nullify federal laws ? setting up intentional legal conflicts, directing local police not to enforce federal laws and, in rare cases, even threatening criminal charges for federal agents who dare to do their jobs.

An Associated Press analysis found that about four-fifths of the states now have enacted local laws that directly reject or ignore federal laws on marijuana use, gun control, health insurance requirements and identification standards for driver's licenses. The recent trend began in Democratic leaning California with a 1996 medical marijuana law and has proliferated lately in Republican strongholds like Kansas, where Gov. Sam Brownback this spring became the first to sign a measure threatening felony charges against federal agents who enforce certain firearms laws in his state.

Some states, such as Montana and Arizona, have said "no" to the feds again and again ? passing states' rights measures on all four subjects examined by the AP ? despite questions about whether their "no" carries any legal significance.

"It seems that there has been an uptick in nullification efforts from both the left and the right," said Adam Winkler, a professor at the University of California at Los Angeles who specializes in constitutional law.

Yet "the law is clear ? the supremacy clause (of the U.S. Constitution) says specifically that the federal laws are supreme over contrary state laws, even if the state doesn't like those laws," Winkler added.

The fact that U.S. courts have repeatedly upheld federal laws over conflicting state ones hasn't stopped some states from flouting those federal laws ? sometimes successfully.

About 20 states now have medical marijuana laws allowing people to use pot to treat chronic pain and other ailments ? despite a federal law that still criminalizes marijuana distribution and possession. Ceding ground to the states, President Barack Obama's administration has made it known to federal prosecutors that it wasn't worth their time to target those people.

Federal authorities have repeatedly delayed implementation of the 2005 Real ID Act, an anti-terrorism law that set stringent requirements for photo identification cards to be used to board commercial flights or enter federal buildings. The law has been stymied, in part, because about half the state legislatures have opposed its implementation, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

About 20 states have enacted measures challenging Obama's 2010 health care laws, many of which specifically reject the provision mandating that most people have health insurance or face tax penalties beginning in 2014.

After Montana passed a 2009 law declaring that federal firearms regulations don't apply to guns made and kept in that state, eight other states have enacted similar laws. Gun activist Gary Marbut said he crafted the Montana measure as a foundation for a legal challenge to the federal power to regulate interstate commerce under the U.S. Constitution. His lawsuit was dismissed by a trial judge but is now pending before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

"The states created this federal monster, and so it's time for the states to get their monster on a leash," said Marbut, president of the Montana Shooting Sports Association.

The Supreme Court ruled in 1997 that local police could not be compelled to carry out provisions of a federal gun control law. But some states are now attempting to take that a step further by asserting that certain federal laws can't even be enforced by federal authorities.

A new Kansas law makes it a felony for a federal agent to attempt to enforce laws on guns made and owned in Kansas. A similar Wyoming law, passed in 2010, made it a misdemeanor. The Missouri bill also would declare it a misdemeanor crime but would apply more broadly to all federal gun laws and regulations ? past, present, or future ? that "infringe on the people's right to keep and bear arms."

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder sent a letter in late April to the Kansas governor warning that the federal government is willing to go to court over the new law.

"Kansas may not prevent federal employees and officials from carrying out their official responsibilities," Holder wrote.

Federal authorities in the western district of Missouri led the nation in prosecutions for federal weapons offenses through the first seven months of the 2013 fiscal year, with Kansas close behind, according to a data clearinghouse at Syracuse University.

Felons illegally possessing firearms is the most common charge nationally. But the Missouri measure sets it sights on nullifying federal firearms registrations and, among other things, a 1934 law that imposes a tax on transferring machine guns or silencers. Last year, the federal government prosecuted 83 people nationally for unlawful possession of machine guns.

So what would happen if a local prosecutor actually charges a federal agent for doing his or her job?

"They're going to have problems if they do it ? there's no doubt about it," said Michael Boldin, executive director of the Tenth Amendment Center, a Los Angeles-based entity that promotes states' rights. "There's no federal court in the country that's going to say that a state can pull this off."

Yet states may never need to prosecute federal agents in order to make their point.

If enough states resist, "it's going to be very difficult for the federal government to force their laws down our throats," Boldin said.

Missouri's governor has not said whether he will sign or veto the bill nullifying federal gun laws. Meanwhile, thousands of people have sent online messages to the governor's office about the legislation.

Signing the measure "will show other states how to resist the tyranny of federal bureaucrats who want to rob you of your right to self-defense," said one message, signed by Jim and Arlena Sowash, who own a gun shop in rural Stover, Mo.

Others urged a veto.

"Outlandish bills like this ? completely flouting our federal system ? make Missouri the laughingstock of the nation," said a message written by Ann Havelka, of the Kansas City suburb of Gladstone.

___

Follow David A. Lieb at: http://www.twitter.com/DavidALieb

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/federal-nullification-efforts-mounting-states-125044420.html

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U.S. files espionage charges against Snowden over leaks

By Tabassum Zakaria and Mark Hosenball

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has filed espionage charges against Edward Snowden, a former U.S. National Security Agency contractor who admitted revealing secret surveillance programs to media outlets, according to a court document made public on Friday.

Snowden, who is believed to be in hiding in Hong Kong, was charged with theft of government property, unauthorized communication of national defense information and willful communication of classified communications intelligence information to an unauthorized person, said the criminal complaint, which was dated June 14.

The latter two offenses fall under the U.S. Espionage Act and carry penalties of fines and up to 10 years in prison.

A single page of the complaint was unsealed on Friday. An accompanying affidavit remained under seal.

The charges are the government's first step in what could be a long legal battle to return Snowden from Hong Kong and try him in a U.S. court.

Two U.S. sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the United States was preparing to seek Snowden's extradition from Hong Kong, which is part of China but has wide-ranging autonomy, including an independent judiciary.

The Washington Post, which first reported the criminal complaint earlier on Friday, said the United States had asked Hong Kong to detain Snowden on a provisional arrest warrant.

There was no immediate response to requests for comment from Hong Kong's security bureau.

Snowden earlier this month admitted leaking secrets about classified U.S. surveillance programs, creating a public uproar. Supporters say he is a whistleblower, while critics call him a criminal and perhaps even a traitor.

He disclosed documents detailing U.S. telephone and Internet surveillance efforts to the Washington Post and Britain's Guardian newspaper.

The criminal complaint was filed in the Eastern District of Virginia, where Snowden's former employer, Booz Allen Hamilton, is located.

That judicial district has seen a number of high-profile prosecutions, including the spy case against former FBI agent Robert Hanssen and the case of al Qaeda operative Zacarias Moussaoui. Both were convicted.

'ACTIVE EXTRADITION RELATIONSHIP'

Documents leaked by Snowden revealed that the NSA has access to vast amounts of Internet data such as emails, chat rooms and video from large companies such as Facebook and Google, under a government program known as Prism.

They also showed that the government had worked through the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to gather so-called metadata - such as the time, duration and telephone numbers called - on all calls carried by service providers such as Verizon.

President Barack Obama and his intelligence chiefs have vigorously defended the programs, saying they are regulated by law and that Congress was notified. They say the programs have been used to thwart militant plots and do not target Americans' personal lives, they say.

U.S. federal prosecutors, by filing a criminal complaint, lay claim to a legal basis to make an extradition request of the authorities in Hong Kong, the Post reported. The prosecutors now have 60 days to file an indictment and can then take steps to secure Snowden's extradition from Hong Kong for a criminal trial in the United States, the newspaper reported.

The United States and Hong Kong have "excellent cooperation" and as a result of agreements, "there is an active extradition relationship between Hong Kong and the United States," a U.S. law enforcement official told Reuters.

An Icelandic businessman linked to the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks said on Thursday he had readied a private plane in China to fly Snowden to Iceland if Iceland's government would grant asylum.

Iceland refused on Friday to say whether it would grant asylum to Snowden.

(Editing by Warren Strobel and Peter Cooney)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-files-espionage-charges-against-snowden-over-leaks-015108216.html

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Obama to meet with privacy, civil liberties board

FILE - This Sept. 19, 2007 file photo shows the National Security Agency building at Fort Meade, Md. As many as one of every five worldwide terror threats picked up by U.S. government surveillance has been targeted on the United States, the Obama administration says. But officials are reluctant to say much more about the 50 plots they claim have been thwarted. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama is holding his first meeting with a privacy and civil liberties board Friday as he seeks to make good on his pledge to have a public discussion about secretive government surveillance programs.

Obama has said the little-known Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board will play a key role in that effort. The federal oversight board reviews anti-terror programs to ensure that privacy concerns are taken into account.

The president is also tasking the director of national intelligence, James Clapper, to consider declassifying more details about the government's collection of U.S. phone and Internet records. Obama is specifically asking Clapper to review possible declassification of opinions from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which approves the surveillance efforts.

Obama's meeting with the board was taking place Friday afternoon, but the White House wasn't planning to allow press coverage.

The government has already lifted some of the secrecy surrounding the programs following disclosures earlier this month about their existence by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. But the legal opinions from the highly secretive court remain private.

The privacy board was created in 2004 but has operated fitfully ever since, given congressional infighting and at times, censorship by government lawyers. The board was dormant during Obama's first term and only became fully functional in May, before the NSA programs became public.

The board's chairman, David Medine, said the five-member group has a "broad range of questions" to ask about the NSA's widespread collection programs. The board was given a classified briefing on the programs last week and plans to release a report eventually with recommendations for the government.

___

Follow Julie Pace at on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-06-21-US-Obama-NSA-Surveillance/id-9687011406bb46d7adce2b216d65a56a

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Friday, June 21, 2013

sprout names jennifer levine vice president of communications

Philadelphia, PA ? May 29, 2013 - Sprout?, the 24-hour preschool network, announced today that longtime Disney executive Jennifer Levine will join its Communication Department.

As Vice President of Communications, Levine will drive the execution of communication strategies with the goal of increasing awareness and relevance of the Sprout and NBC Kids brands, across consumer and trade audiences. She will lead the communications team in developing and implementing plans that align with long-term business goals and direct all internal communications initiatives. Levine will be a key member of the Sprout executive team and report to President Sandy Wax. Her first day with Sprout was Tuesday, May 28.

?Jennifer brings a wealth of knowledge across children?s media and extensive communications expertise to Sprout,? said Sandy Wax, President of Sprout. ?I look forward to adding her perspective to our team as we build dynamic communications initiatives to help Sprout continue to reach viewers through more diverse offerings while steadily growing our network.?

Prior to joining Sprout, Levine was a Vice President of Global Communications for the publishing business within Disney Consumer Products, where she led publicity, executive communications and internal communications across print, digital and learning businesses. She played a key role in the launch of Disney Fairies as a company-wide franchise and launched Disney?s successful entrance into digital publishing across mobile platforms and devices. Levine joined Disney in 2000 and played a central role in growing the profile and impacting sales for authors including Rick Riordan and MoWillems. She also managed communications across its licensed book and magazine businesses and helped create global awareness for its China-based English language learning program.

Levine brings 20 years of communications experience to Sprout. She began her TV career at Nickelodeon/MTV Networks, where she developed and managed communications plans for various programming initiatives, consumer products businesses and pro-social campaigns. She also worked in public relations and marketing roles across her career for companies including Bender,? Goldman and Helper, Random House Children?s Books, and Atlantic Records.

Sprout is one of the leading children?s networks and has a current streak of 18 consecutive months of year-over-year growth. The network?s consistent and impressive ratings escalation is due in large part to the Sprout?s unique programming strategy. Sprout offers original series like The Chica Show, which was Sprout?s highest-rated original series premiere to-date when it launched on November 24, 2012, and Pajanimals, a Sprout original co-production with The Jim Henson Company. The network?s gold-standard, curriculum-based preschool series also includes favorites such as Sesame Street?, Barney & Friends?, The Wiggles?, Caillou?, Thomas & Friends?,? LazyTown? and more.

Source: http://www.nbcuni.com/corporate/newsroom/sprout-names-jennifer-levine-vice-president-of-communications/

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Court of public opinion looms large in George Zimmerman murder trial

George Zimmerman listens to a jury consultant in court this week. Opening arguments in the murder trial will be??

On paper, Seminole County, Fla., criminal case No. 2012-001083-CFA is a second-degree murder trial, one that could send George Zimmerman to prison for life.

But in the court of public opinion, the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin has roused a national conversation about racial profiling, self-defense, gun control, vigilantism, civil rights and more.

A trial that speaks to something more than just the individuals involved is good for civic discourse, says Jason Johnson, a political science and communications professor at Hiram College in Ohio.

?That is a very good result of this case,? Johnson told Yahoo News. ?Depending on your demographics and your experience, there are different parts of this case that pop out to you.?

Opening arguments in the high-profile trial, which will be streamed live on Yahoo, begin at 9 a.m. ET Monday.

Zimmerman was a volunteer crime watchman in his gated Sanford, Fla., community when he shot and killed Martin during a scuffle on a dark neighborhood sidewalk in February 2012.

Minutes before the shooting, Zimmerman phoned police to report Martin, 17, as a suspicious person and, against the advice of a 911 dispatcher, continued to follow him through the neighborhood. Martin, a Miami high school student, had been at a nearby convenience store and was walking back to a family friend?s house where was he visiting.

[RELATED: A look at the jurors for George Zimmerman's trial

Zimmerman, who is of mixed heritage and self-identifies as Hispanic, says he shot Martin in self-defense. He maintains that the teen attacked him, pounded his head into the pavement and tried to get his holstered handgun. Martin died at the scene from a single gunshot to the chest. Sanford police didn?t initially arrest Zimmerman, who suffered a bloody nose and head lacerations in the fight.

While no one witnessed the confrontation, Martin had been on his cellphone with his girlfriend shortly before the scuffle. The woman, identified in court records as Witness No. 8, could provide key testimony for the state's argument that Zimmerman pursued Martin. A neighbor heard the pair fighting and was on the phone with 911 when the fatal shot was fired. Faint screaming is heard in the background of the call. Prosecutors say it was Martin. Zimmerman says it was him. On Friday, Judge Debra Nelson is expected to rule if audio experts will be allowed to testify.

Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, the parents of Trayvon Martin, listen as the charges against George Zimmerman??

Many viewed the early lack of charges against Zimmerman as unequal justice for a black victim. More than 2 million people signed an online Change.org petition demanding ?Justice for Trayvon Martin,? and demonstrators protested in Sanford and elsewhere across the country. President Barack Obama drew criticism from some when he addressed the tragedy during a public briefing in the White House Rose Garden.

?All of us have to do some soul-searching to figure out how does something like this happen,? Obama said 19 days before Zimmerman was eventually charged by a special prosecutor assigned to take over for local police.

?But my main message is to the parents of Trayvon Martin. If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon. And I think they are right to expect that all of us as Americans are going to take this with the seriousness it deserves and that we're going to get to the bottom of exactly what happened.?

Johnson, the professor, says the president?s remarks proved to be pivotal.

?That?s when we knew that this case was going to be about more than this particular kid getting killed,? Johnson says. ?It was going to be about notions of violence, and respect, and profiling in America in general.?

These issues have nothing to do with Martin?s death, says Robert Zimmerman, George?s father. He recently released an e-book titled, ?Florida v. Zimmerman: Uncovering the Malicious Prosecution of My Son.?

?Every attempt was made to portray the events as a white, racist, neighborhood watch volunteer stalking, pursuing, and then murdering a little black boy simply getting candy for his little brother,? Robert Zimmerman writes in the book. ?Absolutely none of this portrayal was at all accurate, and clearly known not to be true by individuals involved.?

[PHOTOS: See pictures of key players and evidence in the case

Zimmerman, himself a former judge, contends prosecutors are on a ?politically motivated witch hunt? fueled by ?race-baiters? seeking fortune and fame.

?A wholly justified and necessary action by George turned into a national issue,? he writes. ?What Americans have been told by the media for well over a year will finally be exposed and the truth presented. The egregious and self serving conduct of the Scheme Team, prosecutors, and others will hopefully be fully exposed.?

According to public documents, an FBI investigation didn't uncover any evidence that Martin?s death was motivated by race. However, Johnson said the case still has racial components that can?t be overlooked.

?Race is a lot more nuanced than we often report and discuss in public discourse,? he said. ?This is one of those cases that?s going to demonstrate how nuanced it really is.?

While the country debates the role race played, Sanford continues to heal from the community unrest. For several months, many of the town?s clergy have been gathering with federal and local mediators to share their congregation?s concerns.

Next week they?ll play peacekeepers at the trial. Four seats in the courtroom are set aside for local ministers, while other pastors plan to mingle among spectators outside the courthouse.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/court-public-opinion-looms-large-george-zimmerman-murder-121327752.html

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