Paul LePage's eight greatest hits (VIDEO) (Washington Post)

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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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MARC travel awards announced for the June 2013 FASEB science research conferences

Public release date: 21-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Gail Pinder
gpinder@faseb.org
301-634-7021
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology

Bethesda, MD FASEB MARC (Maximizing Access to Research Careers) Program has announced the travel award recipient for the FASEB Science Research Conferences held in June, 2013. These awards are meant to promote the entry of underrepresented minority students, postdoctorates and scientists into the mainstream of the basic science community and to encourage the participation of young scientists at the FASEB Science Research Conferences. This year MARC conferred 5 awards totaling $8,000.

The FASEB MARC Program is funded by a grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institutes of Health. A primary goal of the MARC Program is to increase the number and competitiveness of underrepresented minorities engaged in biomedical and behavioral research.

FASEB MARC Travel Awards for the June 2013 FASEB Science Research Conferences:

Regulation and Function of Small GTPases, June 2-7, 2013, Steamboat Springs, CO

Tikvah Hayes, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Biology Chemistry of Vision, June 9-14 2013, Steamboat Springs, CO

Dr. Melina Agosto, Baylor College of Medicine

Ion Channel Regulation, June 16-21, 2013, Nassau, Bahamas

Tracey Hermanstyne, Washington University, St. Louis

Mitochondrial Biogenesis and Dynamics in Health, Disease and Aging, June 16-28, 2013, Big Sky, MT

Iliana Soto, University of Miami Medical School

Molecular Mechanisms and Physiological Consequences of Protein Aggregation, June 23-28, 2013, Big Sky, MT

Dr. Cyrus Bett, University of California San Diego [APS, & Protein Society Member]

###

FASEB is composed of 26 societies with more than 100,000 members, making it the largest coalition of biomedical research associations in the United States. Our mission is to advance health and welfare by promoting progress and education in biological and biomedical sciences through service to our member societies and collaborative advocacy.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 21-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Gail Pinder
gpinder@faseb.org
301-634-7021
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology

Bethesda, MD FASEB MARC (Maximizing Access to Research Careers) Program has announced the travel award recipient for the FASEB Science Research Conferences held in June, 2013. These awards are meant to promote the entry of underrepresented minority students, postdoctorates and scientists into the mainstream of the basic science community and to encourage the participation of young scientists at the FASEB Science Research Conferences. This year MARC conferred 5 awards totaling $8,000.

The FASEB MARC Program is funded by a grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institutes of Health. A primary goal of the MARC Program is to increase the number and competitiveness of underrepresented minorities engaged in biomedical and behavioral research.

FASEB MARC Travel Awards for the June 2013 FASEB Science Research Conferences:

Regulation and Function of Small GTPases, June 2-7, 2013, Steamboat Springs, CO

Tikvah Hayes, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Biology Chemistry of Vision, June 9-14 2013, Steamboat Springs, CO

Dr. Melina Agosto, Baylor College of Medicine

Ion Channel Regulation, June 16-21, 2013, Nassau, Bahamas

Tracey Hermanstyne, Washington University, St. Louis

Mitochondrial Biogenesis and Dynamics in Health, Disease and Aging, June 16-28, 2013, Big Sky, MT

Iliana Soto, University of Miami Medical School

Molecular Mechanisms and Physiological Consequences of Protein Aggregation, June 23-28, 2013, Big Sky, MT

Dr. Cyrus Bett, University of California San Diego [APS, & Protein Society Member]

###

FASEB is composed of 26 societies with more than 100,000 members, making it the largest coalition of biomedical research associations in the United States. Our mission is to advance health and welfare by promoting progress and education in biological and biomedical sciences through service to our member societies and collaborative advocacy.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/foas-mta062113.php

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Federal Protection of Gray Wolves May Be Lifted, Agency Says

[unable to retrieve full-text content]The Fish and Wildlife Service wants to eliminate the endangered-species restrictions on gray wolves, but the plan was quickly greeted with criticism by conservationists.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/08/science/earth/gray-wolves-no-longer-need-federal-protection-obama-administration-says.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Is This Creepy Facebook-Friendly Startup Behind the NSA PRISM Program?

No one knows what Palantir?named after a magical rock in Lord of The Rings that granted remote vision?exactly does. But we know enough to know it's not just another California startup. The secretive data-mining company works directly with the American government, has a product named "Prism," and some very close ties to Facebook, one of the NSA's top targets.

Palantir says it sells "software that allows organizations to make sense of massive amounts of disparate data," for purposes including "combating terrorism," and offers to bring "Silicon Valley to your doorstep." It's enjoyed early investments from the CIA, which might have something to do with its current napkin-valuation of around $5 billion, and now employs former top spooks like Michael Leiter. Palantir also happens to sell software called "Prism," which shares its namesake with an NSA spy program that also aims to bring Silicon Valley to snoop doorsteps around the Beltway. Palantir's Prism, according to a handy user manual published on TPM, "is a software component that lets you quickly integrate external databases"?exactly the kind of action that the NSA allegedly makes use of to suck up your Facebook browsing, Gmail inbox, and Google searches in realtime.

Coincidentally (!), the government loves Palantir, and spends millions to use its software, according to federal contract data. The Department of Defense?which operates the NSA?has been pumping money into Palantir from 2009 to as recently as spring of this year. It's also something of an eyebrow-moving coincidence that 2009 marked the first year of Facebook's alleged participation in the NSA data-mill. Facebook and Palantir know each other.

Facebook, which used to be a neighbor?directly across the street?from Palantir, at 156 University Avenue in Palo Alto. Peter Thiel, who sits on Facebook's board of directors and has mentored Mark Zuckerberg for close to a decade, is a co-founder of Palantir?though that detail is omitted from his bio on the board's website. And as Facebook has spread into the brains of a billion users and completely saturated the United States, it's become one of the NSA's top targets via PRISM: Federal spies have ?continued exponential growth in [surveillance] tasking to Facebook," says the Washington Post, and federal intel analysts enjoy "extensive search and surveillance capabilities against the variety of online social networking services.?

It'd make sense for the Feds to outsource a sinister program like PRISM to a relatively unknown entity like Palantir. Private sector contracts are cheaper than building your own from scratch. Paying Palantir would also give every single PR rep in tech an easy out: No, we don't work with the government [because we work with Palantir].

So of course, Facebook denies any governmental conspiring, because, what else would it possibly say? It's not like any of the people in a position to talk to press would even have been briefed on something so ostensibly nefarious. It goes without saying that Palantir won't say anything either?nor do these dots connect to anything definitive. But when the biggest social network is accused of lazing in bed with the NSA, we shouldn't be entirely surprised: Facebook, the largest social network in the history of such things, is already friendly with one of the most sophisticated, shadowy private spying efforts in the history of the world.

Maybe Prism isn't PRISM. But Facebook's high council is A-OK with spies?and the company that does it best is right in their backyard.

Update: Palantir says it's Prism is not the NSA's PRISM.

Palantir: Our Prism is not the NSA?s Prism blogs.ft.com/tech-blog/2013?

? Tim Bradshaw (@tim) June 7, 2013

Source: http://valleywag.gawker.com/is-this-creepy-facebook-friendly-startup-behind-the-nsa-511895177

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Is This Creepy Facebook-Friendly Startup Behind the NSA PRISM Program?

No one knows what Palantir?named after a magical rock in Lord of The Rings that granted remote vision?exactly does. But we know enough to know it's not just another California startup. The secretive data-mining company works directly with the American government, has a product named "Prism," and some very close ties to Facebook, one of the NSA's top targets.

Palantir says it sells "software that allows organizations to make sense of massive amounts of disparate data," for purposes including "combating terrorism," and offers to bring "Silicon Valley to your doorstep." It's enjoyed early investments from the CIA, which might have something to do with its current napkin-valuation of around $5 billion, and now employs former top spooks like Michael Leiter. Palantir also happens to sell software called "Prism," which shares its namesake with an NSA spy program that also aims to bring Silicon Valley to snoop doorsteps around the Beltway. Palantir's Prism, according to a handy user manual published on TPM, "is a software component that lets you quickly integrate external databases"?exactly the kind of action that the NSA allegedly makes use of to suck up your Facebook browsing, Gmail inbox, and Google searches in realtime.

Coincidentally (!), the government loves Palantir, and spends millions to use its software, according to federal contract data. The Department of Defense?which operates the NSA?has been pumping money into Palantir from 2009 to as recently as spring of this year. It's also something of an eyebrow-moving coincidence that 2009 marked the first year of Facebook's alleged participation in the NSA data-mill. Facebook and Palantir know each other.

Facebook was once a neighbor?directly across the street?of Palantir, at 156 University Avenue in Palo Alto. Peter Thiel, who sits on Facebook's board of directors and has mentored Mark Zuckerberg for close to a decade, is a co-founder of Palantir?though that detail is omitted from his bio on the board's website. And as Facebook has spread into the brains of a billion users and completely saturated the United States, it's become one of the NSA's top targets via PRISM: Federal spies have ?continued exponential growth in [surveillance] tasking to Facebook," says the Washington Post, and federal intel analysts enjoy "extensive search and surveillance capabilities against the variety of online social networking services.?

It'd make sense for the Feds to outsource a sinister program like PRISM to a relatively unknown entity like Palantir. Private sector contracts are cheaper than building your own from scratch. Paying Palantir would also give every single PR rep in tech an easy out: No, we don't work with the government [because we work with Palantir].

So of course, Facebook denies any governmental conspiring, because, what else would it possibly say? It's not like any of the people in a position to talk to press would even have been briefed on something so ostensibly nefarious. It goes without saying that Palantir won't say anything either?nor do these dots connect to anything definitive. But when the biggest social network is accused of lazing in bed with the NSA, we shouldn't be entirely surprised: Facebook, the largest social network in the history of such things, is already friendly with one of the most sophisticated, shadowy private spying efforts in the history of the world.

Maybe Prism isn't PRISM. But Facebook's high council is A-OK with spies?and the company that does it best is right in their backyard.

Update: Palantir says it's Prism is not the NSA's PRISM.

Palantir: Our Prism is not the NSA?s Prism blogs.ft.com/tech-blog/2013?

? Tim Bradshaw (@tim) June 7, 2013

Source: http://valleywag.gawker.com/is-this-creepy-facebook-friendly-startup-behind-the-nsa-511895177

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Odin Mobile set to launch as first US mobile carrier for the visually impaired

Sure, cellphones for those who have issues with sight aren't new, but Odin Mobile is aiming to be the very first US mobile carrier specifically tailored to improve accessibility for the visually impaired. When it launches in late July, the T-Mobile MVNO will offer Qualcomm's Ray low vision-friendly smartphone for $300 -- which is slated to arrive at Amazon on June 6th -- and more affordable handsets from Emporia. Odin Mobile also plans to send user guides in Word format and HTML via email, and promises that its customer support team will know the ins and outs of the accessibility features in its phones. As if that weren't enough, the firm vows to donate two percent of its revenue from voice and text services to organizations that help the visually impaired. Head past the break for the press release or hit the source link to peruse the company's devices and plans.

Filed under: Mobile, T-Mobile

Comments

Source: Odin Mobile

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/05/odin-mobile-first-mobile-service-provider-for-the-visually-impaired/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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