WikiLeaks has data from 2.4 million Syrian emails

Placards and messages placed by supporters of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, are seen outside the Ecuador Embassy, London, Friday, June 29, 2012. Assange had entered the embassy in an attempt to gain political asylum to prevent him from being extradited to Sweden to face allegations of sex crimes, which he denies. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

Placards and messages placed by supporters of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, are seen outside the Ecuador Embassy, London, Friday, June 29, 2012. Assange had entered the embassy in an attempt to gain political asylum to prevent him from being extradited to Sweden to face allegations of sex crimes, which he denies. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

(AP) ? The secret-spilling group WikiLeaks said Thursday it was in the process of publishing material from 2.4 million Syrian emails ? many of which it said came from official government accounts.

WikiLeaks' Sarah Harrison told journalists at London's Frontline Club that the emails reveal interactions between the Syrian government and Western companies, although she declined to go into much further detail.

Harrison quoted WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange as saying that "the material is embarrassing to Syria, but it is also embarrassing to Syria's external opponents."

WikiLeaks posted only a handful of the documents to its website Thursday, but the disclosure ? whose source WikiLeaks has not made clear ? wouldn't be the first major leak of Syrian emails.

In February, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz published excerpts of what it said were emails hacked from Syrian servers by Anonymous, the shadowy Internet activist group. In March, Britain's Guardian newspaper published emails it sourced to Syrian opposition activists.

The messages appeared to catch the glamorous wife of Syrian President Bashar Assad shopping for pricey shoes while her country slipped toward civil war.

Harrison said the WikiLeaks emails dated from August 2006 to March 2012 and originated from hundreds of different domains, including Syria's ministry of presidential affairs.

Harrison said her group was "statistically confident" that the body of material was genuine.

U.S. State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said he didn't believe the disclosures would change anything.

"There is ample evidence about the exact violence that they are perpetrating against their own people," he told reporters. "So my initial reaction is that I am not sure that any additional internal correspondence will change our perspective."

Assange, who is currently seeking asylum at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, was not at the brief presentation. He is wanted by British police for possible extradition to Sweden to face questions about alleged sexual misconduct there.

He has denied wrongdoing but faces arrest if he leaves the embassy.

Harrison acknowledged that WikiLeaks is facing "a difficult time at the moment" but said "we are continuing to work through that."

___

Associated Press writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2012-07-05-WikiLeaks-Syria/id-e3ba7374ef264ac3a46041bbeca5a711

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Futures flat on caution before jobs report

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stock-futures-edge-lower-focus-jobs-data-080556146--finance.html

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Maine filmmaker chats with younger version of self

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/maine-filmmaker-chats-younger-version-self-215328578--finance.html

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Attorney: Casey Anthony rejected early plea deal

MIAMI (AP) ? Casey Anthony's attorney said he strongly considered early in the case whether she should plead guilty to a lesser charge to avoid the death penalty if convicted of murdering her 2-year-old daughter Caylee, but Anthony adamantly insisted she had nothing to do with the toddler's death.

In his just-published book "Presumed Guilty, Casey Anthony: The Inside Story," attorney Jose Baez said prosecutors offered in 2008 to allow Anthony to plead guilty to aggravated manslaughter of a child and serve up to 13 years in prison. Baez said in an interview with The Associated Press that in those early days he thought taking it might be in Anthony's best interest.

"There were times, difficult times, when the evidence didn't look good for Casey," Baez said, adding that it was his obligation as a lawyer to convey any such plea offers.

Anthony, he said, "would not entertain it for a second." As he became more familiar with the state's mostly circumstantial case, Baez said he grew convinced she would be acquitted by a jury ? as she was a year ago Thursday of all charges except for four misdemeanors of lying to investigators.

"There was nothing in the trial that ever made me think Casey was guilty of anything as related to the murder," Baez said. "Every single piece of evidence favored us."

Prosecutors claimed Anthony suffocated Caylee with duct tape so she could spend time with her boyfriend and be free for Orlando's nightlife. Baez said during the trial ? repeated again in his book ? that Caylee accidentally drowned in a family swimming pool and that her father, George Anthony, hid the body. Baez also claimed George Anthony sexually abused his daughter.

George Anthony denied both allegations, and there was little brought up about them during the trial. Baez said the defense wasn't required to put on any such evidence because proving the case is the prosecution's burden, not the other way around.

Evidence and testimony showed that Anthony was a habitual liar, even making up fake friends and pretending every day to go to a job she didn't have. Baez was asked whether Anthony's lies surrounding her daughter's disappearance might be indicative that she was guilty.

"I don't think the lies are indicative of innocence or guilt," he said. "The lies were there long before Caylee passed away." In the book, he says Anthony had built a "fantasy world," and her lies weren't evidence of guilt but signs of someone with "serious mental health issues."

Baez said one piece of prosecution evidence he was most concerned about was that police cadaver dogs had indicated a body may have been in the trunk of Anthony's car at one point and also that a body may have been in the backyard. None was discovered in the backyard and there was nothing but rotting bags of trash in the trunk.

But, he said, people ? and jurors ? believe in dogs.

"That concerned me a little bit. Most people really think dogs can do magic," Baez said.

The prosecution's flaw, he added, was that regarding the car search the dog and handler were focused only on Anthony's vehicle and did not include others in a lineup to give the dog options.

Overall, Baez attributed the strong public backlash against the jury's verdict to a lack of understanding about the judicial system and because "a lot of people bought into the hype" that Anthony must have been guilty. He noted that jurors who gave media interviews after the trial said they waited for weeks for strong evidence that never came.

"We need to talk about whether an actual murder occurred," he said. "That's where the focus should have been, and it never was."

Baez declined to comment on what Anthony is doing these days and on how often he talks to her. He said he promised her confidentiality when she agreed that he could write his book, in which she did not participate. Anthony is living in an undisclosed location in Florida serving probation for an unrelated conviction, which Baez said ends on Aug. 21.

"She's doing a lot better than she was in prison," Baez said, but then added: "She's a prisoner of her own freedom."

_____

Follow Curt Anderson on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Miamicurt

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/attorney-casey-anthony-rejected-early-plea-deal-122507066.html

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Fri 8/24: TGIF couples event at Yampa Valley Golf Course

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Details

  • Categories: Golf
  • Event posted: April 19, 2012
  • Last updated: April 19, 2012

Event details

Can't make it?

Check out these additional dates

The Yampa Valley Golf Course hosts biweekly TGIF couples events during the summer. Registration is $46 each week for a round of golf and a following meal. Each event features a different theme and format. For more information, call 824-3673. The themes for each event are:
April 20 ? Red Solo Cup/Four-person scramble
May 4 ? Mexican Night/Best ball
May 18 ? Hippie Night/Two-person scramble
June 8 ? Cowboys & Indians/Chapman
June 15? Dads Night/Alternate shot
July 6 ? Hawaiian Luau/Two-person scramble
July 20 ? Fifties Night/Four-person scramble
Aug. 10 ? Gangster Night/Best ball
Aug. 24 ? Old-Fashioned Golf/Alternate shot
Sept. 7 ? Famous Couples/Chapman
Sept. 21 ? Hunters Scramble/Two-person scramble
October, TBD ? Bronco Bash/Four-person scramble, 18 holes

Source: http://www2.craigdailypress.com/events/2012/aug/24/13562/

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NGO Monitor: BDS IN THE PEWS: Foreign Government Funding Behind Anti-Israel Activism in Mainline Churches

BDS IN THE PEWS:

European, U.S. and Canadian Government Funding Behind Anti-Israel Activism
in Mainline Churches

NGO Monitor's latest report documents the flow of funds from European, US
and Canadian governments to several Palestinian and pro-Palestinian
Christian NGOs that promote boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS), and
supersessionist theologies, in mainline churches across the globe.

The main findings:

In the last decade, BDS aimed at Israel developed as a key issue in mainline
Christian denominations in the United States, Europe, Canada, and elsewhere.

A number of European governments, plus the United States and Canada provide
funds for these church-based efforts to delegitimize Israel. These taxpayer
funds are disbursed as grants to church-based humanitarian NGOs, which then
transfer these funds to highly politicized pro-Palestinian NGOs, including
Christian groups that promote within mainline churches BDS, the one-state
solution and, in many cases, antisemitic supercessionist, or replacement,
theologies.

The US government, through the National Endowment for Democracy (mostly
funded by the US Congress) granted the Holy Land Trust $124,300 (2009, 2010,
2012). HLT's executive director Sami Awad, speaking at the National
Leadership Conference for the Vineyard Church in 2009, told the audience (at
01:20:27 in the audio): "We've actually done training in non-violence for
Hamas leaders and other militant groups as well." Hamas is listed as a
terrorist organization by the US State Department and the EU. Further, the
US Supreme Court upheld a law criminalizing material support for terror
organizations. (Holder, Attorney General, et al. v. Humanitarian Law Project
et al. 2010). The law defines "material support" as including "any property,
tangible or intangible, or service, including... training, expert advice or
assistance..." Based in Bethlehem, HLT is a signatory to the 2005
"Palestinian Civil Society Call for BDS" and supports the Kairos Palestine
document. HLT conducts highly politicized tours to the region targeting
church leaders.

BDS strategists view the churches as a key target for promoting the BDS
agenda because: "religious institutions are seen in many communities as
embodying important moral and ethical principles... Divestment campaigns
that target companies such as Caterpillar have been initiated in a number of
major Christian churches. Not only will successful divestment campaigns
financially weaken the Occupation, but will raise both the public profile
and legitimacy of the BDS campaign."

To read the full report, click here.

http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/bds_in_the_pews_european_us_and_canadian_g...

NGO Monitor www.ngo-monitor.org info@ngo-monitor.org
The Amuta for NGO Responsibility, R.A. 58-0465508
NGO Monitor | 1 Ben Maimon Blvd. | Jerusalem | 92262 | Israel

Source: http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=57351

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Syria Sanctions Proposed By United States, European And Arab States

PARIS -- The United States and its European and Arab partners will threaten the Assad regime with global sanctions if it fails to quickly implement a Syrian peace plan that includes the appointment of a new interim government, U.S. officials said Thursday on the eve of an 80-nation conference.

The threat isn't new but officials believe it may carry added bite due to Russia and China's recent willingness to discuss Syrian transition strategies after 16 months of brutal crackdowns and civil war. The minimum hope is that the two veto-wielding U.N. Security Council powers might back elusive international economic sanctions if President Bashar Assad ignores the call for peace.

Diplomats at the United Nations already are working on a document that would demand restrictions on oil and other commercial business with Syria's government if it refuses to abide by U.N. mediator Kofi Annan's plan for a cease-fire and the creation of a caretaker government.

A U.N. resolution could be introduced next week, according to American officials who previewed Friday's "Friends of the Syrian People" gathering in Paris on condition of anonymity. But with neither Moscow nor Beijing in attendance, much will remain dependent on persuading the two reluctant powers to pressure Assad into action.

They've twice stood in the way of U.N. condemnations of Assad's government. And Moscow, whose sole naval base in the Mediterranean Sea is in Syria, maintains close military cooperation with Damascus.

The objections of Russia and China also effectively watered down Annan's blueprint for transition at a conference in Geneva last weekend. It grants Assad an effective veto over any interim government candidate he opposes. The opposition would gain the same power.

The formula could lead to a stalemate that plays into Assad's hands, leaving him in power while his security forces persist in what Western nations and human rights groups have described as gross human rights violations. Activists reported at least 26 people killed across Syria on Thursday in clashes between troops and rebels and government shelling across the country. They say more than 14,000 people have been killed since the revolt began.

The path to a post-Assad Syria is complicated and treacherous.

A year after President Barack Obama and many European and Arab leaders issued blanket statements calling for an end to the four-decade Assad dynasty, they now are left looking for piecemeal advances against a regime continuing to command sufficient support ? at least to hold on to power, if not snuff out the rebellion ? among Syria's minorities, business elite and military.

Syrian opposition groups who gathered with Arab countries earlier this week in Cairo have struggled to find unity. They are hoping their six-page "vision" for transition, complete with details on a new parliament and constitution, will allay fears that the Sunni militants leading the fight against the regime mean to grab all the power.

International sanctions form the second part of the strategy, but the Syrian opposition has been asking for military support. The Obama administration says it won't intervene militarily or provide weapons to the Syrian rebels for what it considers to be an already too militarized conflict.

"I think that we have had 12 kinds of sanctions so far and none of them affected or stopped the killings in Syria," complained Adib Shishakly, a member of the opposition Syrian National Council. "Obviously it is not working," he told The Associated Press. "A different solution needs to be discussed."

Shishakly repeated the opposition's demand that any transition begin with Assad's departure. "We cannot negotiate with the killer," he said.

Trade embargos from the U.S. and others have caused sharp inflation in Syria, but Assad's government still can rely on oil from friendly governments such as Venezuela and cash from Iran, its close ally. Such assistance remains legal, even if Washington and its allies regard it as evidence of complicity in Assad's crimes.

If Russia and China agree, the U.N. Security Council could issue a global ban on these forms of economic assistance, which Assad needs to press on with what he claims is a military battle against criminals and terrorists. Friday's meeting in Paris likely sets the stage for more tough diplomacy ahead.

___

Associated Press writer Sohrab Monemi contributed to this report.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/05/syria-sanctions_n_1652836.html

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U.N. Limits Melamine in Formula after China Scandal

by Naharnet Newsdesk 05 July 2012, 10:09 W460

A U.N. commission has set a recommended limit on the amount of melamine allowed in liquid infant formula after a 2008 scandal in China in which six babies died from drinking formula and milk products containing the industrial chemical.

Two years ago, the U.N. food security body known as the Codex Alimentarius Commission set the maximum limit of melamine in powdered infant formula at 1 milligram per kilogram of formula. On Wednesday, the commission said it had adopted a limit for liquid formula at 0.15 milligrams/kilogram.

The recommendations are not binding. The commission, which is jointly run by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization, is made up of 184 government representatives plus the European Commission.

Melamine is used to make dishes and kitchenware, and trace amounts can sometimes get into food from packaging. In China, melamine was being added to watered-down milk to elevate protein levels. In addition to the six deaths, some 300,000 babies became sick after consuming the tainted formula and milk.

The U.N. commission also made recommendations to limit the spread of salmonella and listeria in pre-packaged melon slices. Codex said the exposed pulp from the fruit can become a breeding ground for bacteria and that the risk was increasing since melon is increasingly being sold in easy-to-eat slices. It recommended that melon be wrapped quickly and refrigerated at 4 degrees Centigrade (39.2 Fahrenheit) or less.

And Codex issued a warning about dried figs: the fruit can host carcinogenic aflaxotoxins, which are produced by mold, if not stored properly. The commission agreed to limit the amount of aflaxotoxins in dried figs at 10 micrograms/kilogram.

The commission, which wraps up its meeting Saturday, is expected to make recommendations on a big issue in livestock circles: the use of growth-promoting veterinary drugs. The commission plans to set maximum residue limits for these drugs, though its members are deeply divided on the issue.

Source: http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/45589-u-n-limits-melamine-in-formula-after-china-scandal

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Twitter sees new record during Euro 2012 final

Spain's Fernando Torres holds his son Leo after an award ceremony as Spain won the Euro 2012 soccer championship final between Spain and Italy in Kiev, Ukraine, early Monday, July 2, 2012. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Spain's Fernando Torres holds his son Leo after an award ceremony as Spain won the Euro 2012 soccer championship final between Spain and Italy in Kiev, Ukraine, early Monday, July 2, 2012. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

(AP) ? Twitter says its users fired off more than 15,000 tweets per second when Spain scored its fourth goal in Sunday's European Championship final, setting a sports-related record on the social networking site.

The surge in tweets came just weeks before the Olympic Games in London are expected to spur more record-setting activity on social networking sites ? from tweets to postings of photos and other user-generated material.

Twitter said it registered a total of 16.5 million tweets worldwide during the soccer match Sunday in Kiev, where Spain defeated Italy 4-0. It said total global traffic on its platform peaked at 15,358 tweets per second as Spain scored its fourth goal, a record for a sporting event.

"Commentators, fans and athletes around the world supported their teams in song, in face paint and in tweets" throughout the Euro 2012, Twitter said in a blog.

As fans increasingly use social media to connect during major sports competitions, new "tweet per second" records are constantly being set.

Twitter registered a peak of 12,233 tweets per second during the final three minutes of the Super Bowl in February.

An earlier record was set during the final match of the 2011 Women's World Cup, a match in Germany that saw 7,196 tweets per second, including 13 from President Barack Obama. In that game, Japan's team defeated the U.S. on penalty kicks following a 2-2 draw.

Among those who tweeted Sunday was Pele, the retired Brazilian star. He congratulated Spain and said he was looking forward to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2012-07-02-Euro%202012-Twitter%20Record/id-45faae9048cb49898924037a048d51ab

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