Live from Panasonic's CES 2012 press event! originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Washington, Jan 9 (EFE).- The plaintiffs in a case filed in the United States criticized former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo for claiming immunity as a former head of state in connection with the 1997 Acteal massacre in Chiapas state.
"As a private citizen without an official post in a government for more than 10 years, there is no legitimate purpose in his attempting to get immunity for his legal responsibility," attorney Roger Kobert, who represents the plaintiffs, told Efe.
Zedillo's attorneys asked the federal court hearing the case in Connecticut on Friday to throw out the lawsuit filed last year by about a dozen relatives of the massacre victims against the former president.
The defense team for Zedillo, who served as Mexico's president from 1994 to 2000, considers the allegations that he played a role in the massacre "unfounded" and "slanderous."
Zedillo has immunity from any lawsuit over incidents that occurred while he was president, defense attorneys contend.
The former president is "dodging responsibility for this great tragedy" and "hiding behind a legal technicality" instead of facing the plaintiffs, Kobert said.
The defense is "unduly" using the case as a platform for Zedillo to proclaim his innocence, a move that is "inappropriate" at this stage in the process, Kobert said.
The law firm of Rafferty, Kobert, Tenenholtz, Bounds & Hess filed suit on Sept. 19 in Connecticut against Zedillo, a Yale University faculty member.
On Dec. 22, 1997, a group of men toting assault rifles killed 45 unarmed Tzotzil Indians, including 15 children, as they were praying inside a church in Acteal, Chiapas state.
The massacre occurred during the period when the government was fighting the Zapatista National Liberation Army, or EZLN, guerrilla group.
Tzotzil Indians from the Tzajalum, Chimix and Quextic communities had gathered in Acteal after fleeing their homes due to violence between EZLN supporters and armed members of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, which governed Mexico at the time.
The massacre led to the resignations of Government Secretary Emilio Chuayfett and Chiapas Gov. Julio Cesar Ruiz Ferro, both of whom were PRI members.
Some people considered Ruiz Ferro to be behind the massacre.
Many human rights groups labeled the massacre a "state crime" and accused Ruiz Ferro and Zedillo of being involved.
Zedillo was the last president from the PRI, which governed Mexico from 1929 to 2000.
The lawsuit accuses the former Mexican head of state of complicity with the slaughter and an ensuing cover-up organized with former Attorney General Jorge Madrazo Cuellar.
The lawsuit contends that the Zedillo administration abandoned talks with the Zapatistas - whose armed uprising lasted only about a week - in favor of a violent crackdown after a report from a U.S. bank cited instability in Chiapas as a negative factor for the Mexican economy.
Zedillo, according to the suit, conspired with Madrazo Cuellar to hide the president's connection with a covert operation involving the use of police, soldiers and civilian paramilitaries to crush the Zapatistas.
"Compelling evidence shows that the authorities facilitated the arming of paramilitaries who carried out the killings and failed to intervene as the savage attack continued for hours," Amnesty International said in a 1998 statement on Acteal.
The plaintiffs are seeking $50 million in damages. EFE
Source: http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?r5721777596
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Defense Secretary Leon Panetta (center) listens as President Obama delivers remarks on the Defense Strategic Review at the Pentagon on Friday. (JIM WATSON - AFP/GETTY IMAGES) There?s an argument health reformers occasionally face that goes something like this: Sure, America way overspends on health care. But that overspending ultimately encourages medical innovations of incalculable value. Sharp cuts to health-care spending could lead us to lose out on those innovations.
I thought of that argument while reading Binya Appelbaum?s article warning that cutting the defense budget could kill off the military?s historical role as a driver of consumer-friendly innovations. The chain of reasoning goes something like this: We funnel huge amounts of money to the military; some of that money goes to R&D; some of that R&D unexpectedly pays off for consumers; and so cutting the military budget could ultimately hurt consumers.
A few thoughts:
? The correct question here is not, ?Does the military innovate?? It?s ?Is continuing to increase the military?s budget the best way for the federal government to fund innovation??
? As Appelbaum notes, military R&D accounts for 55 percent of the federal government?s R&D spending. This is likely because it is very difficult to cut the military?s budget and very easy to cut so-called ?non-defense discretionary spending,? the part of the budget where most of the rest of the R&D spending sits.
? The proposed cuts to the military are cuts to the military?s expected rate of growth ? and this is after a decade in which the military budget ballooned. In real terms, the proposed budget envisions military spending increasing, not decreasing, over the next decade.
? R&D accounts for 12 percent of military spending. The administration?s proposed cuts would shave 8 percent off the military budget over the next decade. Depending on how the military chooses to use its resources, R&D may or may not be harmed. Indeed, if the military moves from focusing on conventional warfare to emphasizing next-gen warfare, R&D could even increase.
? Overspending on the military in the hopes that some of the money will run into R&D is a very inefficient way to support R&D. If we want spending on military R&D to remain constant or even increase, we can direct the military to protect that category of spending.
? By the same token, funding military R&D is probably an inefficient way to fund nonmilitary innovations. If what we want is R&D focused on innovations with broad applications, we should fund that R&D directly rather than hoping that some of the military?s innovations turn out to also be of use to consumers.
? Perhaps the best argument for funding military R&D is that it?s economically inefficient but politically efficient. It would be better to fund R&D directly, but the only politically sustainable form of innovation funding is military spending. That is depressing, but it might be true.
That said, it is convenient for many in both the health-care and military sectors to try and protect their funding by pointing to their innovations. But ultimately, if we want to spend money encouraging innovation, we should do that directly. We shouldn?t just shovel money to bloated sectors in the hopes that some of it ends up funding innovations.
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Gallery: Wi-Spy Helicopter and Intruder RC toys put the childlike wonder back into spying on your neighbors
Wi-Spy Helicopter and Intruder RC toys put the childlike wonder back into spying on your neighbors originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 08 Jan 2012 22:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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RT @Jnoubiyeh: Zionist entity set to commit more massacres: Israel to increase its military budget by $2B. bit.ly/Adh3kw #ArabSpring 
3yyash Abdelrahman Ayyash
Source: http://twitter.com/3yyash/statuses/156220246041174016
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Nick and Ashley?s fairytale wedding was held here in Aruba on 11-11-11 (a popular wedding date worldwide) and documented for the reality show. The couple chose Westin, one of the top destination wedding and event resorts in the Caribbean.
Some 100 guests from abroad joined Nick and Ashley for the chic affair, which began with a pre-ceremony cocktail hour on the beach with passed hors d?oeuvres including tuna tataki shooters, Brie in puff pastry, and chilled beef tenderloin on focaccia.
A breathtaking sunset ceremony was followed by a wedding feast held at the resort?s Terrace venue overlooking the beach, with a premium bar and live band. After dinner, guests walked over to neighboring beach bar, Bugaloe, for dancing and a celebratory plunge into the sea at 11:11pm. After, guests refreshed and changed at the resort for a wedding after-party held in the ballroom, munching on mini beef sliders, pizza, and desserts until the wee hours of the morning.
The entire menu of festivities was captured on camera for the reality show.
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WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) ? Republican presidential contenders Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney were neck and neck in Iowa on Tuesday in the party's first contest to determine a challenger to Democratic President Barack Obama.
Partial returns from the state Republican Party showed the two candidates winning roughly 25 percent of the vote each with about 92 percent of precincts reporting. Ron Paul was in third place with about 21 percent of the vote.
The months-long campaign has been marked by volatility. Romney is a favorite of the party's business wing, while Santorum appeared to be consolidating the state's large bloc of Christian conservatives. Paul has drawn a passionate following among libertarians and younger voters.
Iowa's caucuses are known more for weeding out candidates than picking the future president but a strong finish here could provide a big boost in the state-by-state battle to choose the Republican to stand against Obama in the November 6 election.
Most of the candidates have topped opinion polls at one point in a race that until recently centered on televised debates rather than on-the-ground campaigning.
With deep reserves of cash and a strong campaign infrastructure, Romney emerges from Iowa in a much stronger position than his rivals. He holds a commanding lead in the next nominating contest in New Hampshire, a week from now.
Long an afterthought in the race, Santorum is the latest candidate to emerge as the conservative alternative to Romney.
The former Pennsylvania senator wagered his campaign on a strong showing in Iowa as he visited all 99 of the state's counties and emphasized hot-button social issues in a play for the state's sizeable bloc of Christian conservatives.
With little cash and a bare-bones campaign operation, he could have difficulty competing in other states.
Many voters said they were undecided even as the caucuses got under way. Voters gathered in schools, libraries churches and other venues around the state, listening to supporters tout the various candidates before casting their ballots. Democrats and independents were allowed to participate as long as they re-register as Republicans at the site.
"There's bits and pieces of each candidate that I like and bits and pieces that I don't," said Judy Peters, the owner of an events center in West Des Moines which staged one of the meetings.
Outside groups associated with candidates, known as "Super PACs," have taken advantage of loosened campaign-finance rules to flood the Iowa airwaves with negative advertising.
Former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich has seen his support erode under a barrage of such attack advertisements. Early returns showed him in fourth place ahead of Texas Governor Rick Perry.
"Poor Newt. I kind of feel sorry for him. He's just been savaged," said voter James Patterson, who said he planned to vote for Romney. "Somebody's really, really mad at Newt."
Sparsely populated Iowa only yields 28 delegates of the 1,143 needed to lock up the Republican presidential nomination, and those delegates aren't actually awarded for months after Tuesday's caucuses.
Only 5 percent of eligible voters were expected to participate. Still, the stakes are high.
Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, aimed for a win that could ease persistent doubts among conservatives about his moderate past and propel him toward clinching the nomination early.
Surveys show Romney performs best among Republicans in head-to-head matchups with Obama in a campaign certain to focus on the economy and high unemployment.
But so far, polls show he has been unable to win more than one-quarter of likely Republican voters.
"I was really not interested in any of the candidates at all and I didn't notice Santorum because he was so low in the polls," said Rachel Wright, an artist who spoke on behalf of Santorum at a caucus in Ames. She approved his anti-abortion stand. "He is really strong pro-lifer. I admire his faith, and I almost admire that he isn't in our face about it."
Largely consigned to the margins for most of the race, Santorum is now fending off attacks from his rivals who see him as a new threat. On Tuesday, he accused Paul of launching a wave of automated phone calls that questioned Santorum's anti-abortion and pro-gun credentials.
Paul, a congressman from Texas, has won a zealous following thanks to a message that emphasizes a drastically limited government and a scaled back foreign policy.
FLICKERING HOPES
Struggling rivals like Perry and U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann fought for at least a fourth-place finish that could preserve their flickering hopes.
The caucuses start a frenzied month for the Republican presidential hopefuls that will include a half-dozen debates in January and three more state votes -- on January 10 in New Hampshire, January 21 in South Carolina and January 31 in Florida.
Iowa's nominating contest has traditionally cleared the field of losers and elevated surprise contenders. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee won the 2008 Republican caucuses, but fell short of the nomination. The eventual nominee, Arizona Senator John McCain, finished a distant fourth.
Obama launched his White House run with an Iowa win four years ago. This time, Obama is the only Democrat running, but the party is holding caucuses anyway and he addressed caucus-goers by video on Tuesday night.
(Additional reporting by John Whitesides, Steve Holland and Sam Youngman in Iowa and Lily Kuo in Washington; Writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by David Storey)
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