Ecuador says Snowden seeking asylum there

June 24, 2013

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Ecuador's foreign minister said Monday his country will act not on its interests but on its principles as it considers an asylum request from National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, wanted for revealing classified U.S. secrets.

Speaking to reporters through a translator at a hotel in Hanoi, Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said the asylum request "has to do with freedom of expression and with the security of citizens around the world."

Patino spoke briefly to reporters on his way to a meeting with Vietnam's foreign minister. He did not say how long it would take Ecuador to decide. Snowden was on a flight from Hong Kong that arrived in Moscow Sunday and was booked on a flight to Cuba Monday, the Russian news agencies ITAR-Tass and Interfax reported, citing unnamed airline officials.

"We know that he's currently in Moscow, and we are ... in touch with the highest authorities of Russia," Patino said. Anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks said Snowden was bound for Ecuador "via a safe route for the purposes of asylum, and is being escorted by diplomats and legal advisers from WikiLeaks." The organization's founder Julian Assange, was granted asylum by Ecuador last year and has been staying at the country's embassy in the United Kingdom.

The Russian reports said a plane carrying Snowden arrived in Moscow on Sunday and he was booked on a flight to Cuba on Monday. The reports cited unnamed airline officials and said he intended to travel from Cuba to Caracas, Venezuela. There was also speculation that he might try to reach Ecuador.

Snowden had been in hiding in Hong Kong for several weeks after he revealed information on the highly classified spy programs. Patino said Ecuador would not base its asylum decision on its potential to damage the country's relationship with the United States

"There are some governments that act more upon their own interests, but we do not," Patino said. "We act upon our principles." He added, "We take care of the human rights of the people." Patino was to hold a news conference Monday evening in Hanoi.

WikiLeaks said it was providing legal help to Snowden at his request and that he was being escorted by diplomats and legal advisers from the group. Assange has spent a year inside the Ecuadorean Embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden to face questioning about sex crime allegations. He told the Sydney Morning Herald that his organization is in a position to help Snowden because it has expertise in international asylum and extradition law.

WikiLeaks: Snowden going to Ecuador to seek asylum

June 24, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) — Admitted leaker Edward Snowden took flight Sunday in evasion of U.S. authorities, seeking asylum in Ecuador and leaving the Obama administration scrambling to determine its next step in what became a game of diplomatic cat-and-mouse.

The former National Security Agency contractor and CIA technician fled Hong Kong and arrived at the Moscow airport, where he planned to spend the night before boarding an Aeroflot flight to Cuba. Ecuador's Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said his government received an asylum request from Snowden, and the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks said it would help him.

"He goes to the very countries that have, at best, very tense relationships with the United States," said Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., adding that she feared Snowden would trade more U.S. secrets for asylum. "This is not going to play out well for the national security interests of the United States."

The move left the U.S. with limited options as Snowden's itinerary took him on a tour of what many see as anti-American capitals. Ecuador in particular has rejected the United States' previous efforts at cooperation, and has been helping WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, avoid prosecution by allowing him to stay at its embassy in London.

Snowden gave The Guardian and The Washington Post documents disclosing U.S. surveillance programs that collect vast amounts of phone records and online data in the name of foreign intelligence, but often sweep up information on American citizens. Officials have the ability to collect phone and Internet information broadly but need a warrant to examine specific cases where they believe terrorism is involved.

Snowden had been in hiding for several weeks in Hong Kong, a former British colony with a high degree of autonomy from mainland China. The United States formally sought Snowden's extradition from Hong Kong but was rebuffed; Hong Kong officials said the U.S. request did not fully comply with their laws.

The Justice Department rejected that claim, saying its request met all of the requirements of the extradition treaty between the U.S. and Hong Kong. During conversations last week, including a phone call Wednesday between Attorney General Eric Holder and Hong Kong Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen, Hong Kong officials never raised any issues regarding sufficiency of the U.S. request, a Justice spokesperson said.

A State Department official said the United States was in touch through diplomatic and law enforcement channels with countries that Snowden could travel through or to, reminding them that Snowden is wanted on criminal charges and reiterating Washington's position that Snowden should only be permitted to travel back to the U.S.

Those officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the case. The Justice Department said it would "pursue relevant law enforcement cooperation with other countries where Mr. Snowden may be attempting to travel."

Russia's state ITAR-Tass news agency and Interfax cited an unnamed Aeroflot airline official as saying Snowden was on the plane that landed Sunday afternoon in Moscow. Upon his arrival, Snowden did not leave Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport. One explanation could be that he wasn't allowed; a U.S. official said Snowden's passport had been revoked, and special permission from Russian authorities would have been needed.

Caitlin Hayden, a spokeswoman for the White House's National Security Council, said, "Given our intensified cooperation after the Boston marathon bombings and our history of working with Russia on law enforcement matters — including returning numerous high-level criminals back to Russia at the request of the Russian government — we expect the Russian government to look at all options available to expel Mr. Snowden back to the U.S. to face justice for the crimes with which he is charged."

The Russian media report said Snowden intended to fly to Cuba on Monday and then on to Caracas, Venezuela. U.S. lawmakers scoffed. "The freedom trail is not exactly China-Russia-Cuba-Venezuela, so I hope we'll chase him to the ends of the earth, bring him to justice and let the Russians know there'll be consequences if they harbor this guy," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

With each suspected flight, efforts to secure Snowden's return to the United States appeared more complicated if not impossible. The United States does not have an extradition treaty with Russia, but does with Cuba, Venezuela and Ecuador. Even with an extradition agreement though, any country could give Snowden a political exemption.

The likelihood that any of these countries would stop Snowden from traveling on to Ecuador seemed remote. While diplomatic tensions have thawed in recent years, Cuba and the United States are hardly allies after a half century of distrust.

Venezuela, too, could prove difficult. Former President Hugo Chavez was a sworn enemy of the United States and his successor, Nicolas Maduro, earlier this year called Obama "grand chief of devils." The two countries do not exchange ambassadors.

U.S. pressure on Caracas also might be problematic given its energy exports. The U.S. Energy Information Agency reports Venezuela sent the United States 900,000 barrels of crude oil each day in 2012, making it the fourth-largest foreign source of U.S. oil.

"I think 10 percent of Snowden's issues are now legal, and 90 percent political," said Douglas McNabb, an expert in international extradition and a senior principal at international criminal defense firm McNabb Associates.

Assange's lawyer, Michael Ratner, said Snowden's options aren't numerous. "You have to have a country that's going to stand up to the United States," Ratner said. "You're not talking about a huge range of countries here."

That is perhaps why Snowden first stopped in Russia, a nation with complicated relations with Washington. Russian President Vladimir Putin is "aiding and abetting Snowden's escape," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

"Allies are supposed to treat each other in decent ways, and Putin always seems almost eager to put a finger in the eye of the United States," Schumer said. "That's not how allies should treat one another, and I think it will have serious consequences for the United States-Russia relationship."

It also wasn't clear Snowden was finished with disclosing highly classified information. "I am very worried about what else he has," said Rep. Loretta Sanchez, a California Democrat who sits on the House Homeland Security Committee.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said she had been told Snowden had perhaps more than 200 sensitive documents. Ros-Lehtinen spoke with CNN. Graham spoke to "Fox News Sunday." Schumer was on CNN's "State of the Union." Sanchez appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press." Feinstein was on CBS' "Face the Nation."

Associated Press White House Correspondent Julie Pace and Associated Press writers Matthew V. Lee and Frederic J. Frommer in Washington, Lynn Berry in Moscow, Kevin Chan in Hong Kong and Sylvia Hui in London contributed to this report.

France keen to buy 12 US Reaper drones: minister

Paris (AFP)
June 11, 2013

France wants to buy 12 Reaper drones from the United States, Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Tuesday, as ministry officials put the cost at 670 million euros ($889 million).

Le Drian said he wanted two Reapers to be deployed in sub-Saharan Africa, where France is battling Islamist militants in Mali.

The 10 others would be deployed in French and European skies.

The deal needs the approval of Congress. Le Drian said that if it did not give a go-ahead, France could buy the drones from Israel.

The Reapers are made by California-based General Atomics.

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/France_keen_to_buy_12_US_Reaper_drones_minister_999.html.

Colorado secede? Counties weigh exit plan to form state of 'North Colorado'

By Mark Trumbull
June 8, 2013

Colorado secede? It sounds implausible, but the idea of counties withdrawing from one state to form a new one isn’t impossible. But some big hurdles – like the US Constitution – make it very difficult.

It’s an uphill climb that looks Rocky Mountain high, but a collection of independent-thinking counties may mount an effort to secede from the rest of Colorado and form their own new state.

The idea is rooted in the political rift that many Coloradans – especially rural ones – feel with a Denver-based state legislature that has taken a liberal turn in recent years.

A new state, if it formed, might be called North Colorado.

Would that mean that the rest of the current state would need to become South Colorado? How would the US flag look with 51 stars? Would this give similar ideas to politically restive sections of other states?

It may be too early to ask such questions. The road to forming a new state is a difficult one.

The move would require not just a secession vote showing the counties’ desire to depart. It would also require votes of approval by Colorado’s Legislature and by the US Congress, according to Article 4 of the US Constitution.

“No new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress,” the Constitution says.

According to the National Constitution Center, an organization based in Philadelphia, this process “has been used successfully to create five states: Vermont (from New York, in 1791); Kentucky (from Virginia, in 1792); Tennessee (from North Carolina, in 1796); Maine (from Massachusetts, in 1820); and West Virginia (from Virginia, in 1863).”

So it can be done. And in Colorado, the idea is on the table.

In a Thursday news article, the Coloradan website said the state’s Democrat-controlled Legislature has recently passed laws for stricter gun control, greater reliance on renewable energy in rural areas, and restraints on what was perceived as cruel treatment of livestock.

“Our vision and our morals are no longer represented by the state [Legislature] and the current [governor’s] administration, and we think it’s time that we do take seriously what our options are,” said Douglas Rademacher, a Weld County Commissioner. “This is just one of our options, but we will be moving forward with it.”

In addition to Weld County, other counties weighing the new-state idea are Morgan, Logan, Sedgwick, Phillips, Washington, Yuma, and Kit Carson.

A state of North Colorado containing those counties would not be the smallest US state, in land area, but it would have the smallest population.

Similar ideas have sprung up in other US states. But again, since 1863, secession to form a new state hasn’t actually happened.

Source: Christian Science Monitor.
Link: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2013/0608/Colorado-secede-Counties-weigh-exit-plan-to-form-state-of-North-Colorado.

Breaking: NSA spy grid whistleblower Ed Snowden steps forward in mind-blowing video interview with Glenn Greenwald

Sunday, June 09, 2013
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger

(NaturalNews) The NSA spy scandal has just exploded beyond the worst fears of the highly-secretive U.S. government. The whistleblower behind the leaked PRISM slides has just stepped forward, offering a mind-blowing interview to investigative journalist Glenn Greenwald, who broke this story in The Guardian. (Wow, actual journalism is making a comeback! This is legendary stuff!)

We have copied the video from The Guardian and placed it on TV.naturalnews.com to make sure it's safely archived on a network that can't be censored by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, YouTube, etc. -- all the top companies who conspired with the NSA to turn over private user data (emails, phone calls, videos, etc.) to government spooks...

Source: NaturalNews.
Link: http://www.naturalnews.com/040694_Edward_Snowden_Glenn_Greenwald_interview.html.

How Google, Facebook, Skype, Yahoo and AOL are all blatantly lying to their own users in denying NSA spy grid scheme

Saturday, June 08, 2013
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger

(NaturalNews) What do Google, AOL, Skype, Facebook, Apple, Hotmail and Yahoo all have in common? They have all been caught turning over private user data to the government's spy agency, the NSA. All these companies routinely turn over the emails, voice calls, text chats, photos, files and even logins and passwords of their users, including Americans.

"There is a massive apparatus within the United States government that with complete secrecy has been building this enormous structure that has only one goal," journalist Glenn Greenwald recently told Piers Morgan (who knows all about spying and hacking people's private data). "And that is to destroy privacy and anonymity not just in the United States but around the world."

Tech companies rush to issue (false) denials

Immediately after these revelations surfaced over the past few days, all these companies began denying any involvement with the NSA. "Google CEO Larry Page and Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg are denying reports that depict two of the Internet’s most influential companies as willing participants in a secret government program that gives the National Security Agency unfettered access to email and other personal information transmitted on various online services," reports the San Francisco branch of CBS News.

But what nobody is yet revealing is that all these companies are required by law to LIE to their own customers about secret government surveillance.

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, you see, makes it a federal crime for any company participating in the surveillance to publicly acknowledge the existence of that surveillance. Thus, executives at Facebook, Google, Skype and others would all face arrest and federal prosecution as "terrorists" if they admitted the truth to their own users.

That's just how far down the rabbit hole this government surveillance program goes: Not only does the government spy on you and everything you do -- "they quite literally can watch your ideas as you type" -- the government can also force all the tech companies cooperating with the spying to publicly deny the existence of the program.

But the New York Times -- yes, the NYT which hardly ever engages is actual journalism -- has gone public with an article confirming that these tech companies did, indeed, concede to the NSA surveillance program. "They opened discussions with national security officials about developing technical methods to more efficiently and securely share the personal data of foreign users in response to lawful government requests. And in some cases, they changed their computer systems to do so," says the NYT in an article titled Tech Companies Concede to Surveillance Program.

Except it wasn't just "foreign users," it turns out. The program quickly ballooned to encompass users in the United States, too. The NYT goes on to report:

In at least two cases, at Google and Facebook, one of the plans discussed was to build separate, secure portals, like a digital version of the secure physical rooms that have long existed for classified information, in some instances on company servers. Through these online rooms, the government would request data, companies would deposit it and the government would retrieve it, people briefed on the discussions said.

This is how companies like Google and Facebook can claim, with a straight face, that the NSA doesn't have "backdoor access to our servers." They don't need it! What actually happens is that Google, Facebook, Yahoo and others simply deposit all user data at another location -- a "gateway" where the NSA copies it off.

Now you understand how to correctly parse this fake denial by Google's chief executive Larry Page, who says, "The U.S. government does not have direct access or a 'back door' to the information stored in our data centers."

It doesn't need "direct access." It has INDIRECT access that was set up by Google!

Source: NaturalNews.
Link: http://www.naturalnews.com/040692_NSA_spying_tech_companies_FISA.html.

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann won't seek re-election

May 29, 2013

WASHINGTON, May 29 (UPI) -- U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., a Tea Party movement leader in Congress, announced Wednesday she wouldn't seek re-election.

"After a great deal of thought and deliberation, I have decided next year I will not seek a fifth congressional term," Bachmann said in a video posted on her campaign website. "After serious consideration, I am confident this is the right decision."

She said the constitutional limit of eight years in office imposed on the president also was "long enough for an individual to serve as a representative for a specific congressional district."

Bachmann said her decision not to seek re-election wasn't influenced by questions about whether she could win re-election nor "impacted in any way" about inquiries about her 2012 presidential campaign and presidential campaign staff.

Bachmann had sought the Republican Party presidential nomination in 2012, winning the Ames, Iowa, straw poll, before falling behind in the state's caucuses. Her presidential bid prompted an ethics investigation into alleged improper payments to campaign consultants.

Bachmann slogged through a tough congressional race last year, besting her Democratic challenger, hotelier Jim Graves, by 4,300 votes. Graves announced last month that he would run again for Minnesota's 6th Congressional District.

"I've never considered holding public office an occupation," Bachmann said in the video and pledged to fight for conservative causes for the next 18 months. "I've always considered it to be an honor and privilege."

Thanking her husband, children, foster children and constituents, Bachmann said her future "is full. It is limitless and my passion for America remains."

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2013/05/29/US-Rep-Michele-Bachmann-wont-seek-re-election/UPI-25371369826080/.

Striking Green-Eyed Butterfly Discovered in the United States

May 28, 2013 — A new butterfly species from Texas, given the common name Vicroy's Ministreak, was discovered because of its striking olive green eye color, and was given a formal scientific name (Ministrymon janevicroy). This beautiful new butterfly may be the last truly distinctive butterfly species to be discovered in the United States.

Although individuals of Vicroy's Ministreak were deposited in the Smithsonian entomology collections a century ago, this species was unrecognized because it was confused with the common, similar-looking Gray Ministreak. Interestingly what distinguishes the two species is the distinctive olive-green eyes of the new species in contrast to the dark brown/black eyes of the Gray Ministreak.

As their common names suggest both species are diminutive, about the size of a thumbnail, and may occur at the same time and place. Besides eye color, each has different wing patterns and different internal structures. They have different, but overlapping, geographic distributions and habitat requirements.

Jeffrey Glassberg, President of the North American Butterfly Association, discovered Vicroy's Ministreak, and he named the species after his wife (Jane Vicroy Scott). Bob Robbins, the butterfly curator at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC, together with Glassberg, are the authors of the paper officially describing Vicroy's Ministreak, published in the open access scientific journal ZooKeys.

Regardless of whether Vicroy's Ministreak turns out to be the last truly distinctive butterfly to be discovered in the United States, the era of new butterfly species, which began with Linnaeus more than 250 years ago, is ending in the United States. In tropical America, however, there are still hundreds upon hundreds of butterfly species awaiting discovery.

Source: Science Daily.
Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130528122510.htm.

For Republicans like Rand Paul, the 2016 campaign has begun

By Samuel P. Jacobs
CONCORD, New Hampshire | Fri May 24, 2013

(Reuters) - Seeking to raise money for the New Hampshire Republican Party, state chairwoman Jennifer Horn recently called the party's national boss, Reince Priebus, with a question: Could he get Rand Paul to visit?

The request, and Paul's appearance here last Monday in a room packed with 500 Republicans, spoke volumes about the party as its followers - some energized by the scandals surrounding Democratic President Barack Obama's administration - are already looking to the 2016 elections.

With no clear presidential front-runner in their party, Republicans are in shopping mode.

They are looking for signs of a candidate who could unite the party's religious right, its more moderate establishment and its libertarian, anti-tax Tea Partiers in a way that Mitt Romney, the 2012 presidential nominee, could not do.

And they are looking for someone who could appeal to - or at least not offend - Hispanics, non-white women and other parts of the electorate that went big for Obama and Democrats last year.

That's why, just four months into Obama's second term, Paul is part of a stampede of Republican would-be contenders who are criss-crossing the country meeting voters, recruiting potential donors and currying favor with local politicians who could help determine their fate in a run for the White House.

The lessons of Romney's bitter loss in November are never far away. On Monday, Paul made jokes about neighboring (and more liberal) Massachusetts and chided leading Democrat Hillary Clinton. But the Kentucky senator also made a point of calling for a more diverse Republican Party, one that, in his words, should have room for tattooed, bearded and pony-tailed voters.

"If you want to be party of white people, we're winning all the white vote," Paul said. "But we're a diverse nation. We're going to win when we look like America."

Paul, the son of libertarian upstart Ron Paul, a Republican presidential contender last year, is on a tour of states such as New Hampshire and Iowa that will hold crucial contests at the start of the 2016 presidential primary season.

Other potential contenders are on the road as well.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker ventured this week to Iowa, where the first votes traditionally are cast in the presidential campaign, for a pair of fundraisers.

In early June, Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will mingle with supporters of Romney's campaign at a gathering in Park City, Utah.

Reuters/Ipsos tracking polls this week show Ryan - Romney's vice presidential running mate last year - and Christie with a slight edge in a crowded field of possible contenders.

Among others tipped to run, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has popped up in New Hampshire in recent weeks, and Texas Senator Ted Cruz, another Tea Party favorite, spoke at a dinner for Republicans in South Carolina, a conservative state that will host the 2016 campaign's first primary in the South.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio has been busy in Washington promoting a plan to overhaul the nation's immigration system, but he has quietly laid some groundwork for a 2016 campaign.

Rubio's political action committee recently paid for an ad defending Senator Kelly Ayotte, who has been criticized by gun-control groups since she voted against a plan to extend background checks for gun buyers.

The ads are running in Ayotte's home state - New Hampshire.

Rubio's fellow Floridian Jeb Bush, the state's former governor and a brother to one former president and son to another, has not indicated whether he might run in 2016. But he has been politically active, calling for Congress to approve an immigration bill.

Potential 2016 contenders "are just beginning to stir," Doug Gross, a Republican operative in Iowa who managed Romney's campaign there in 2008, said of the potential 2016 contenders. "Some of these folks are starting to reach out to key folks."

A NEW GENERATION

The early jockeying for 2016 reflects the uncertainty in a Republican Party that has been going through a generational and strategic shift since Romney, 66, lost in November.

Among the most prominent potential contenders, Cruz, Rubio, Ryan and Jindal are all in their early 40s. Walker is 45 and Paul and Christie, both 50, are the oldest.

The lack of an obvious front-runner for the upcoming presidential election is not unusual for the Democratic Party but is for Republicans, who for generations have typically had an experienced contender in line to run for the White House.

"There is no anointed person now, and that's a change," said Tom Rath, Republican strategist in New Hampshire who has advised Romney and former president George W. Bush.

The chaos in the Republican field contrasts sharply with the picture for Democrats, who continue to wait for a definitive sign from former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, the clear front-runner if she decides to jump into the race.

That has made Clinton a target of Republican arrows in Congress and online, attacks that have been fueled by their questions over how she handled the deadly attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, last September.

Republicans could be setting a new ideological course after years in which the party has gotten more conservative, even as the nation's voters have become more diverse and likelier to support moderate and liberal Democrats.

Paul's focus on civil liberties, Cruz's brash, no-apologies conservatism and Christie's moderation-with-an-edge approach could be among the key forces competing for attention in the Republican race, analysts say.

And then there is former Pennsylvania congressman Rick Santorum, who had some bright moments in the 2012 campaign as a conservative alternative to Romney.

The wide open field appears to have given new hope to Santorum, who frustrated Romney and some Republican leaders with his staunchly conservative statements on abortion and women.

Starting early this summer, Santorum, 55, will release a series of documentary-style videos online. Adviser John Brabender says the idea is to create original programming for people to share about Santorum, who won 11 states in the Republican primary season last year.

"We are putting together a narrative of the Rick Santorum story," Brabender said. "It's pretty interesting to see how close he came to the (2012) nomination. If he would have won Michigan, he would have been the nominee. One of our jobs is to sort of remind people of that."

Santorum has also formed Patriot Voices, a political action committee that claims 400 local chapters. His advisers see these as Santorum "sleeper cells," ready to act if he decides to run.

'HE IS GOING TO DO WELL'

One potential stumbling block for Santorum: He would need to do well again in Iowa, where he won in 2012.

But Paul is increasingly popular in Iowa, the traditional starting gate for the presidential race. In Iowa and New Hampshire, Paul seems to be building on his father's small but loyal campaign apparatus.

"He is going to do well here," said Kevin Moore, 36, of Manchester, New Hampshire.

At Paul's appearance in Concord, Moore sold T-shirts with Paul's face and the slogan "Stand with Rand." The slogan rocketed around the Internet after Paul's 13-hour Senate speech in March to protest the administration's use of military drones.

Paul's speech in Concord made clear that he is seeking to prove that he can be more than a mascot for the Tea Party movement. It also showed that he might have some work to do.

He began with a defense of civil liberties, the type of speech that has made him popular across the political spectrum.

But the crowd wasn't completely taken with Paul's lessons on the U.S. Constitution. He stopped mid-speech and turned to a topic that unites Republicans: their dislike of Obama's healthcare overhaul.

"With regard to...let's see...," Paul said. "Anybody in here a big fan of Obamacare?"

The audience laughed, and Paul was back on course.

(Editing by David Lindsey and Claudia Parsons)

Source: Reuters.
Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/24/us-usa-politics-idUSBRE94N0MG20130524.

Buzz Aldrin says US must colonize Mars

Washington (AFP)
May 8, 2013

Buzz Aldrin, the American astronaut who was the second man to walk on the Moon, said Wednesday that the United States must lead the way toward building a permanent settlement on Mars.

Speaking at a conference of space experts in the US capital, the 83-year-old said the United States should apply what it learned decades ago by reaching the moon toward building a new colony on the Red Planet.

"The US needs to begin homesteading and settlement of Mars," Aldrin said at the Humans to Mars conference at George Washington University. "It is within reach."

His call for US leadership in the space race to Mars largely lines up with plans set forth by NASA and President Barack Obama's administration to send the first people to Mars in the 2030s.

But unlike NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, who acknowledged at the start of the three-day conference on Monday that significant technological gaps remain, Aldrin said the bulk of the research has already been done.

"There is really very little new research that is required," Aldrin said, calling for cash investment and political will to sustain the vision of a permanent dual-planetary society.

"The US needs to continue to be the human space transportation leader and I think we can capitalize on the dynamism of the commercial market to develop a landing system that can truly become the basis for a US highway to space."

Aldrin, who has authored a new book titled "Mission to Mars: My Vision for Space Exploration," said the title should have been "Missions to Mars" since the trips will be many and the human presence should be continuous.

"We are talking about multiple missions to eventually settle and colonize Mars," said Aldrin, who also plugged his plan to send spacecraft on cycling orbits that would engage in perpetual trajectories between Earth and Mars.

"We should focus our attention on establishing a permanent human presence on Mars by the 2030-2040 decade.

"The United States will be a beacon for the development of humanity."

Aldrin described how there could be different modular habitats on Mars, perhaps built by the world's various space agencies from China, Europe, India, Japan and Russia, with the United States in the leadership role.

He said a first step would be to send three people to the Martian moon Phobos "and use that year and a half to oversee the robotic deployment of the international Mars base."

He derided those who have suggested that people who make the trip to Mars may be able to come back to Earth afterward.

"There is no other choice than to commit to permanence on Mars," Aldrin said. "I just don't think you can have one-shot forays to the surface of Mars."

Aldrin appeared to support the Inspiration Mars idea, put forth by astronaut Dennis Tito, to send two humans on a flyby of Mars beginning in 2018, saying that "could make it very clear that our mid-century goal is permanence on Mars."

As to Mars One, the Dutch company that recently announced it was recruiting volunteers for a one-way trip to the Red Planet in 2023, Aldrin said the plan appeared to have good fundraising and public relations appeal but "not much technical basis behind it."

Aldrin was the lunar module pilot on Apollo 11. On July 20, 1969, he and Neil Armstrong became the first humans to set foot on the moon.

Source: Mars Daily.
Link: http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/Buzz_Aldrin_says_US_must_colonize_Mars_999.html.

Solar-powered plane wraps first leg of flight across U.S.

Sat May 4, 2013

May 4 (Reuters) - The flight from San Fransisco to Phoenix took 18 hours and 18 minutes on Saturday - and didn't use a drop of fuel.

A solar-powered airplane that developers hope eventually to pilot around the world landed safely in Phoenix on the first leg of an attempt to fly across the United States using only the sun's energy, project organizers said.

The plane, dubbed the Solar Impulse, took 18 hours and 18 minutes to reach Phoenix on the slow-speed flight, completing the first of five legs with planned stops in Dallas, St. Louis and Washington on the way to a final stop in New York.

The spindly-looking plane barely hummed as it took off Friday morning from Moffett Field, a joint civil-military airport near San Francisco.

It landed in predawn darkness at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, according to a statement on the Solar Impulse's website.

The flight crew plans pauses at each stop to wait for favorable weather. It hopes to reach John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York in about two months.

Swiss pilots and co-founders of the project, Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, will take turns flying the plane, built with a single-seat cockpit. Piccard was at the controls for the first flight to Arizona.

The lightweight carbon fiber Solar Impulse has a wingspan of a jumbo jet and the weight of a small car and from a distance resembles a giant floating insect.

The plane was designed for flights of up to 24 hours at a time and is a test model for a more advanced aircraft the team plans to build to circumnavigate the globe in 2015. It made its first intercontinental flight, from Spain to Morocco, last June.

The aircraft is propelled by energy collected from 12,000 solar cells built into the wings that simultaneously recharge four large batteries with a storage capacity equivalent to a Tesla electric car that allow it to fly after dark.

The lightweight design and wingspan allow the plane to conserve energy, but make it vulnerable. It cannot fly in strong wind, fog, rain or clouds.

The plane can climb to 28,000 feet (8,500 meters) and flies at an average of 43 miles per hour (69 km per hour).

The project began in 2003 with a 10-year budget of 90 million euros ($112 million) and has involved engineers from Swiss escalator maker Schindler and research aid from Belgian chemicals group Solvay.

Source: Reuters.
Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/04/usa-plane-solar-idUSL2N0DL0AE20130504.

May Day rally in Seattle turns violent, leads to 18 arrests

May 2, 2013

SEATTLE, May 2 (UPI) -- A May Day protest in Seattle turned violent as demonstrators smashed windows and threw items at police, who responded by using pepper spray and making arrests.

By late evening Wednesday, police said 18 people had been arrested for assault and property damage, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported.

Eight police officers were injured in the confrontations.

Using Twitter, police reported groups of protesters gathering in several locations throughout Seattle, including Seattle Central Community College. The Twitter feeds said protesters seemed to be lighting "flares or smoke devices" at one location and that windows were being damaged at another.

Police later reported on Twitter objects were thrown at them and that they had used pepper spray "to clear the streets."

Police tried to disperse protesters with flash-bang devices and pepper spray and reported bottles and other objects were being thrown at them, the Post-Intelligencer said.

A separate, early afternoon May Day march in support of immigration reform drew the largest crowd, estimated to be 3,000-4,000 people, The Seattle Times reported.

Marchers chanted and waved signs as they marched from Judkins Park through the Chinatown International District to the Henry M. Jackson Federal Building in downtown Seattle.

This year's march occurred two weeks after a bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced a bill that, among other things, would grant legal status to an estimated 11 million people in the United States illegally.

"This is it," marcher Mauricio Ayon, legislative director for Washington Community Action Network, told the Times. "The tide is turning on this issue, and I don't think anybody wants to be caught on the wrong side of it."

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2013/05/02/May-Day-rally-in-Seattle-turns-violent-leads-to-18-arrests/UPI-33541367492967/.

First Japan tsunami debris confirmed in California

Los Angeles (AFP)
April 26, 2013

A Japanese fishing boat washed across the Pacific following the 2011 tsunami has been confirmed as the first piece of debris to reach the coast of California, officials said Friday.

The 20-foot (six-meter) skiff, found this month near the northern Californian coastal town of Crescent City, belonged to the Takata High School in the Japanese city of Rikuzentakata, in Iwate Prefecture.

Japan's consulate in San Francisco helped the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirm where the boat came from, after it was spotted washed up on a local beach.

The boat was covered in pelagic gooseneck barnacles. Experts at California's Humboldt State University also helped to identify it, said NOAA spokeswoman Keeley Belva.

The vessel is the 27th item of debris so far confirmed on the US West Coast, and the first in California. Other items have been found washed up in the states of Alaska, Washington and Oregon further up the coast.

One of the biggest items so far, a 66-foot floating dock, washed up in June in Oregon, after a 15-month trip across the Pacific from the port of Misawa, in Japan's Aomori prefecture.

A year ago, the US Coast Guard fired on and sank a deserted Japanese "ghost ship" off the coast of Alaska, after it was deemed to be a potential danger to shipping.

Japan last month marked the second anniversary of the March 11, 2011 9.0-magnitude earthquake that sent a huge wall of water into its northeastern coast, killing some 19,000 people and triggering a nuclear calamity.

The tsunami created the biggest single dumping of rubbish, sweeping some five million tonnes of shattered buildings, cars, household goods and other rubble into the sea.

An estimated three and a half million tonnes sank immediately, leaving some 1.5 million tonnes of plastic, timber, fishing nets, shipping containers, industrial scrap and innumerable other objects to float deeper into the ocean.

Source: Terra Daily.
Link: http://www.terradaily.com/reports/First_Japan_tsunami_debris_confirmed_in_California_999.html.

American charged, ex-general held in Venezuela

April 28, 2013

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — An American filmmaker was formally charged late Saturday by Venezuelan officials who accuse him of paying right-wing groups to foment postelection unrest on behalf of U.S. intelligence.

The federal prosecutor's office said Timothy Tracy, 35, of West Hollywood, California, was charged with crimes including conspiracy, association for criminal purposes and use of a false document. On Thursday, President Nicolas Maduro said he had personally ordered Tracy's arrest on suspicion of "creating violence in the cities of this country" in the wake of an April 14 presidential election narrowly won by the hand-picked successor to Hugo Chavez.

Opposition candidate Henrique Capriles contends the election was stolen from him by fraud, setting up postelection tensions and bitter accusations between Venezuela's government and opposition. Friends say Tracy is an innocent, self-funded documentary filmmaker with no political aims or government ties.

The U.S. government has also said Tracy is innocent but declined comment on the specifics of his case. Venezuela's national prosecutor's office said a judge had ordered Tracy held until further notice in a jail run by the national intelligence service in the capital, Caracas, because he presented a risk of flight.

Tracy had a translator and private lawyers hired by him, or on his behalf, during the hearing, prosecutors said. The Georgetown University English graduate was a story consultant on the 2009 documentary "American Harmony," about competitive barbershop quartet singing, and produced the recent Discovery Channel program "Under Siege," about terrorism and smuggling across the U.S.-Canada border as well the History Channel series "Madhouse," on modified race-car drivers in North Carolina.

Separately, Venezuelan officials said Saturday that they have arrested a retired general who had become a fierce critic of the government, a detention the opposition called part of a hardening crackdown in the wake of the disputed election.

Retired Brig. Gen. Antonio Rivero gained fame for denouncing Cuban involvement in the Venezuelan military in 2010 and became a prominent member of the opposition, participating in post-vote protests this month.

Rivero appeared in a brief video of a postelection protest that prosecutors played for the press Thursday after announcing Tracy's arrest. They said the video was taken from Tracy's belongings, along with another short video that shows a group of young people talking, in what appears to be a joking, sarcastic manner, about being paid many millions of dollars to participate in anti-government demonstrations.

In a snippet that is clearly heavily edited, Rivero discusses demonstrators' use of clubs and rocks in a clash with National Guard members. It is unclear, because of the editing and brevity of the clip, whether he is encouraging them to use weapons or discouraging them.

The footage appeared to be taken at a protest in Caracas soon after the vote results were announced, in which university students and National Guard members traded rocks and tear gas. Leopoldo Lopez, national coordinator of the opposition Voluntad Popular party, called Rivero's detention illegal and part of a campaign to arrest and "morally assassinate" Venezuela's opposition leadership.

"The government errs if it thinks we are going to falter in our just solicitude that the truth be known about the April 14" election, Lopez said. Rivero is a member of Lopez's party. Venezuela's Public Ministry released a statement saying that Rivero would be presented before a tribunal "for his presumed connection to violent acts that have occurred recently in this country."

The statement said the retired general was arrested by Venezuela's intelligence service on Saturday. The government says postelection attacks by Capriles supporters killed nine members of the ruling Chavista movement, left dozens injured and damaged government offices and medical clinics.

The opposition vehemently denies the accusations.

Associated Press Writers Christopher Toothaker in Caracas contributed to this report.

Drone bill sent to Florida governor's desk

April 18, 2013

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., April 18 (UPI) -- A bill that would limit how local law enforcement can use unmanned drones is headed for the desk of Florida Gov. Rick Scott, officials said.

Scott has praised the bill and said he will sign it, The Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times reported.

The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Joe Negro, bars local officials from using drones without a warrant or threat of a terrorist attack and also prohibits information collected by drones to be used as evidence in court.

Police could still get search warrants for aerial video spying on specific people, locations or vehicles, and the drones could still be used in the case of a missing person or a hostage situation, The Florida Current reported.

The bill passed the House Wednesday and the Senate unanimously last week without debate.

The Miami-Dade Police Department became one of the first major metro police agencies to get permission to operate drones two years ago, and sheriff's deputies in Orange County also have approval to use two drones.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Science_News/Technology/2013/04/18/Drone-bill-sent-to-Florida-governors-desk/UPI-89501366291175/.

University of Tennessee professor's research shows Gulf of Mexico resilient after spill

Knoxville TN (SPX)
Apr 15, 2013

The Gulf of Mexico may have a much greater natural ability to self-clean oil spills than previously believed, according to Terry Hazen, University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge National Laboratory Governor's Chair for Environmental Biotechnology.

The bioremediation expert presented his Deepwater Horizon disaster research findings at the 245th National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society.

Hazen conducted research following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, which is estimated to have spilled 210 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. His research team used a powerful new approach for identifying microbes in the environment to discover previously unknown and naturally occurring bacteria that consume and break down crude oil.

"The Deepwater Horizon oil provided a new source of nutrients in the deepest waters," said Hazen.

"With more food present in the water, there was a population explosion among those bacteria already adapted to using oil as a food source. It was surprising how fast they consumed the oil. In some locations, it took only one day for them to reduce a gallon of oil to a half gallon. In others, the half-life for a given quantity of spilled oil was six days."

This data suggests that a great potential for intrinsic bioremediation of oil plumes exists in the deep sea and other environs in the Gulf of Mexico. Oil-eating bacteria are natural inhabitants of the Gulf because of the constant supply of oil as food.

Hazen's team used a novel approach for identifying previously recognized kinds of oil-eating bacteria that contributed to the natural clean up of the Deepwater Horizon spill. Instead of growing the microbes in a laboratory, the team used "ecogenomics."

This approach uses genetic and other analyses of the DNA, proteins and other footprints of bacteria to provide a more detailed picture of microbial life in the water.

"The bottom line from this research may be that the Gulf of Mexico is more resilient and better able to recover from oil spills than anyone thought," Hazen said.

"It shows that we may not need the kinds of heroic measures proposed after the Deepwater Horizon spill, like adding nutrients to speed up the growth of bacteria that break down oil or using genetically engineered bacteria. The Gulf has a broad base of natural bacteria, and they respond to the presence of oil by multiplying quite rapidly."

Source: Energy-Daily.
Link: http://www.energy-daily.com/reports/University_of_Tennessee_professors_research_shows_Gulf_of_Mexico_resilient_after_spill_999.html.

Solar becomes single largest source of new grid capacity in the USA

Washington DC (SPX)
Apr 16, 2013

For the first time, solar energy accounted for all new utility electricity generation capacity added to the U.S. grid last month, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC's) March 2013 "Energy Infrastructure Update."

More than 44 megawatts (MW) of solar electric capacity was brought online from seven projects in California, Nevada, New Jersey, Hawaii, Arizona, and North Carolina. All other energy sources combined added no new generation.

Solar also had a strong showing in FERC's quarterly generation numbers, accounting for about 30 percent of all utility-scale new capacity. The report focuses exclusively on larger facilities and does not include energy generated by net-metered installations. Net-metered systems account for more than half of all U.S. solar electric capacity.

"This speaks to the extraordinary strides we have made in the past several years to bring down costs and ramp up deployment," said Rhone Resch, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association.

"Since 2008, the amount of solar powering U.S. homes, businesses and military bases has grown by more than 600 percent-from 1,100 megawatts to more than 7,700 megawatts today. As FERC's report suggests, and many analysts predict, solar will grow to be our nation's largest new source of energy over the next four years."

FERC's report supports other findings which show solar power to be one of the fastest growing energy sources in the U.S., powering homes, businesses and utility grids across the nation. The Solar Market Insight annual edition shows the U.S. installed 3,313 megawatts (MW) of solar photovoltaics (PV) in 2012, a record for the industry.

Some of this growth is attributed to the fact that the cost of a solar system has dropped by nearly 40 percent over the past two years, making solar more affordable than ever for utilities and consumers.

"In 2012, the U.S. brought more new solar capacity online than in the three prior years combined," Resch added. "These new numbers from FERC support our forecast that solar will continue a pattern of growth in 2013, adding 5.2 GW of solar electric capacity. This sustained growth is enabling the solar industry to create thousands of good jobs and to provide clean, affordable energy for more families, businesses, utilities, and the military than ever before."

Today, America's solar industry employs 119,000 workers throughout the country. That's a 13.2 percent growth over 2011's jobs numbers, making solar one of the fastest-growing job sectors in the nation.

Source: Solar Daily.
Link: http://www.solardaily.com/reports/Solar_becomes_single_source_of_new_grid_capacity_in_the_USA_999.html.

Red Cross chief criticizes drone use outside battlefields

Geneva (AFP)
April 16, 2013

Red Cross chief Peter Maurer on Tuesday condemned US drone strikes outside areas officially engulfed in armed conflict, warning against a creeping expansion of the definition of what constitutes a battlefield.

Washington's secretive and controversial use of drones was not a problem in itself, said Maurer, as in the context of an armed conflict drones are considered legitimate weapons.

"But if a drone is used in a country where there is no armed conflict... there is a problem," the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross told reporters in Geneva, urging the "very restrained use" of the weapon.

"A drone used in Afghanistan or Yemen is a drone used within the context of an armed conflict, and is thereby used legitimately," he said. But drone use in Pakistan was "particularly problematic" he said.

Returning from a trip to the United States, where he met with President Barack Obama, Maurer told AFP that "the US is very aware... of where we disagree with the use of drones".

The main problem with drone strikes today is a widening interpretation of what constitutes a battlefield, he said.

"To link (the definition of) battlefields to combatants on the move is an interpretation that we don't share," he said.

Lawmakers and rights advocates have criticized the US for its strikes against suspected Al-Qaeda militants in Pakistan, Yemen and elsewhere, but US officials refuse to publicly discuss any details of the covert campaign.

Maurer said he had also used his trip to urge Washington to swiftly address the problem of Guantanamo, where dozens of prisoners have been staging a hunger strike since February.

Obama moved to close the controversial US detention facility in 2009, but plans to try suspects in US civilian courts were stymied by Congress, leaving many inmates in limbo.

"I think the lack of perspective in terms of transfer... is at the origin of the big malaise that has been transformed into a hunger strike," Maurer said.

While the Red Cross regularly visits the Guantanamo detainees, its reports on the prison's conditions remain privy to the US government.

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Red_Cross_chief_criticises_drone_use_outside_battlefields_999.html.

Kerry spells out policy on Senkaku Islands

April 15, 2013

TOKYO, April 15 (UPI) -- The United States recognizes the Senkaku Islands are under Japan's administration but doesn't take a stand on their ultimate sovereignty, its top diplomat said.

Secretary of State John Kerry, concluding his Asia visit in Japan, commented on the East China Sea islands, which have become a source of serious territorial dispute between Japan and China. Tensions over their rival claims have led to violent protests in China and adversely affected their bilateral trade. The United States remains concerned that the issue should not get out of control.

Appearing with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida at a news conference, Kerry said in his talks he reiterated U.S. principles governing the policy on the Senkaku.

"The United States, as everybody knows, does not take a position on the ultimate sovereignty of the islands. But we do recognize that they are under the administration of Japan," Kerry said. "And we obviously want all the parties to deal with territorial issues through peaceful means."

The U.S. visitor said any action that raises tensions or leads to miscalculations would affect peace, stability and prosperity of an entire region.

"And so we oppose any unilateral or coercive action that would somehow aim at changing the status quo," Kerry said.

Kishida said while Japan-China relations are very important, he explained to Kerry that Japan cannot concede on issues of her sovereignty.

"I stated Japan is calling on China to reaffirm our mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic interest, and I explained Japan's door is always open to dialogue," he said.

Answering a question, Kishida said there is "stable relationship" between the two major economies in the region and that both countries need to promote from a broad perspective the mutually beneficially relationship based on common strategic interests.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2013/04/15/Kerry-spells-out-policy-on-Senkaku-Islands/UPI-20751366006285/.

US deploys destroyer off tense Korean peninsula

Seoul (AFP)
April 2, 2013

The United States has placed a destroyer off the South Korean coast to defend against a possible missile strike, the latest in a series of publicized US deployments to counter North Korean threats.

The USS Fitzgerald was moved to the southwestern coast after taking part in annual military exercises, instead of returning to its home port in Japan, a US defense official told AFP Monday on condition of anonymity.

The deployment came hours after a gathering of North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament adopted a law formalizing the country's status as a nuclear weapons state.

The Korean peninsula has been caught in a cycle of escalating tensions since the North launched a long-range rocket in December and followed it with a nuclear test in February.

Subsequent UN sanctions and annual South Korea-US military exercises have been used by Pyongyang to justify a wave of increasingly dire threats against Seoul and Washington, including warnings of missile strikes and nuclear war.

In this light, the shifting of the USS Fitzgerald was "a prudent move", the US defense official said, adding that it would offer "greater missile defense options should that become necessary".

Earlier on Monday, the US military announced it had deployed F-22 Raptor stealth fighters to South Korea as part of the ongoing annual "Foal Eagle" joint military exercise.

Pentagon spokesman George Little said the F-22s were an "important display" of US commitment to its military alliance with the South.

"The North Koreans have a choice. They can continue to engage in provocations, with bellicose, overheated, irresponsible rhetoric, or they can choose the path of peace," Little told reporters.

North Korea has already threatened to strike the US mainland and US bases in the Pacific in response to the participation of nuclear-capable US B-52 and B-2 stealth bombers in the "Foal Eagle" drill.

But the tough talk has yet to be matched by action on the ground, according to US intelligence.

"Despite the harsh rhetoric we're hearing from Pyongyang, we are not seeing changes to the North Korean military posture, such as large-scale mobilizations and positioning of forces," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

Meanwhile, South Korea's new president, Park Geun-Hye, told senior military officials that any provocation from the North should be met with a "strong and immediate" military response, no matter what the political fallout.

The assertive US and South Korean stances suggest the two allies are working in close concert, and South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-Se was in Washington for talks Tuesday with new US Secretary of State John Kerry.

The "continuing military threats from the North" will top the agenda, Yun's ministry said in a statement.

The high-stakes standoff on the Korean peninsula has triggered widespread international concern of an accidental conflict that could escalate rapidly.

Some analysts, however, note that the most recent round of North Korean threats, while still extremely belligerent, have emphasized that Pyongyang would only act in response to a military attack from the US or South Korea.

Given that the prospects of such a pre-emptive attack are almost zero, this provides North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un with a face-saving exit, suggested Stephen Haggard, a North Korea expert at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington.

Kim can argue that all the threats and military inspections "have in fact been successful at deterring an attack, even though it was not coming in any case", Haggard said.

"So the regime can now claim success and step back," he added.

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/US_deploys_destroyer_off_tense_Korean_peninsula_999.html.