Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/297849197?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Victims of Madoff fraud can't sue SEC: appeals court
By Nate Raymond
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Victims of Bernard Madoff's investment fraud have lost their bid to sue the Securities and Exchange Commission for negligence in failing to uncover the swindler's Ponzi scheme.
On Wednesday, a federal appeals court in New York upheld the dismissal of lawsuits against the securities regulator brought by Madoff investors. The court said the SEC's actions and "regrettable inaction" were protected by a law that shields federal agencies from liability.
The Madoff case embarrassed the SEC, which had investigated the now-imprisoned money manager but failed to detect his fraud.
The investor lawsuits relied heavily on a 2009 report by the SEC Inspector General's office, which outlined how the agency missed red flags and failed to follow up properly on leads that he was running a massive scam at his firm, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC.
Howard Kleinhendler, a lawyer for eight plaintiffs who lost $50 million in Madoff's scheme, said he could not envision a better example of a case in which the SEC should be held liable for failing to prevent a fraud.
"It just shows that we spend a lot of money on this agency, and when they screw up, they're not accountable," he said, adding he would seek a Supreme Court review of the case.
An SEC spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In an unsigned opinion, a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals expressed "sympathy for Plaintiffs' predicament (and our antipathy for the SEC's conduct)," but said Congress' intent was to protect regulators' discretionary use of their investigatory powers.
The ruling upholds an April 2011 decision by U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain in Manhattan, which tossed a lawsuit brought by Madoff investors Phyllis Molchatsky and Steven Schneider.
Several similar cases by other investors that were also dismissed were consolidated for the appeal.
Howard Elisofon, a lawyer for Molchatsky and Schneider at the law firm Herrick Feinstein, said in a statement he "recognized that challenging the SEC would be difficult, but this was a case that needed to be fought."
Separately, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this year rejected claims against the SEC by other former Madoff clients.
Madoff pleaded guilty in March 2009 to running what prosecutors said was a $65-billion Ponzi scheme. He was sentenced to a 150-year prison sentence in June 2009.
Irving Picard, a court-appointed trustee, has said he has recovered or reached settlements for $9.32 billion for former Madoff customers.
The case is Molchatsky v. United States, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 11-2510.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Martha Graybow, Alden Bentley and Bernadette Baum)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/madoff-investors-cant-sue-sec-appeals-court-173818369--sector.html
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Atlantic turbulence 'to hit flights'
8 April 2013
Last updated at 13:29 ET
Flights across the North Atlantic could get a lot bumpier in the future if the climate changes as scientists expect.
Planes are already encountering stronger winds, and could now face more turbulence, according to research led from Reading University, UK.
The study, published in Nature Climate Change, suggests that by mid-century passengers will be bounced around more frequently and more strongly.
The zone in the North Atlantic affected by turbulence could also increase.
Reading's Dr Paul Williams said comfort was not the only consideration; there were financial consequences of bumpier airspace as well.
"It's certainly plausible that if flights get diverted more to fly around turbulence rather than through it then the amount of fuel that needs to be burnt will increase," he told BBC News.
"Fuel costs money, which airlines have to pay, and ultimately it could of course be passengers buying their tickets who see the prices go up."
Dr Williams was presenting his research here in Vienna at the European Union Geosciences (EGU) General Assembly.
It was undertaken with Dr Manoj Joshi from the University of East Anglia.
The scientists concentrated their investigation on the North Atlantic corridor, which some 600 flights cross each day to go between the Americas and Europe.
They used a supercomputer to simulate likely changes to air currents above 10km in altitude, such as the fast-moving jet stream.
There is evidence to suggest this has been blowing more strongly, and under some scenarios could be prone to more of the instabilities associated with turbulence as the Earth's climate warms.
Williams and Joshi compared what was essentially an unchanged ("pre-industrial") climate with one that contained double the carbon dioxide. This could happen in the 2050s on present trends.
The modelling suggested the average strength of transatlantic turbulence could increase by between 10% and 40%, and the amount of airspace likely to contain significant turbulence by between 40% and 170%, where the most likely outcome is around 100%. In other words, a doubling of the amount of airspace affected.
"The probability of moderate or greater turbulence increases by 10.8%," said Dr Williams.
"'Moderate or greater turbulence' has a specific definition in aviation. It is turbulence that is strong enough to bounce the aircraft around with an acceleration of five metres per second squared, which is half of a g-force. For that, the seatbelt sign would certainly be on; it would be difficult to walk; drinks would get knocked over; you'd feel strain against your seatbelt."
The Nature Climate Change study is said to be the first to examine the future of aviation turbulence.
Figures are hard to come by but the costs of air turbulence in terms of injuries, plane damage and post-incident inquiries are thought to be in the region of $150m (?100m) a year.
Detecting clear-air turbulence (unstable air in clear blue skies) by remote sensing is difficult.
Currently, pilots rely a lot on reports from planes that have already made the journey across the Atlantic earlier in the day for information about probable flight conditions.
Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22063340#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa
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Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Heavy metal, Islamist politics, and democracy in Indonesia
Heavy metal band Jamrud and a major Indonesian Islamist party throw a gig together. That's one of the smallest changes in Indonesian politics.
When I moved to Indonesia in 1993, the Indonesian media and political spheres were closed shops. There were only three legal political parties and the media, particularly broadcast media, were tightly controlled. The scenes around me now, in this corner of the archipelago, reveal just how much the nation has transformed itself.?
Skip to next paragraph Dan MurphyStaff writer
Dan Murphy is a staff writer for the Monitor's international desk, focused on the Middle East.?Murphy, who has reported from Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt, and more than a dozen other countries, writes and edits Backchannels. The focus? War and international relations, leaning toward things Middle East.
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Twenty years ago, nightly news reports largely consisted of long, loving accounts of the latest factory opening by President Soeharto, the self-styled "father of Indonesian development" (the old 50,000 rupiah note carried a beaming Soeharto with this title beneath), followed by an account of the latest foreign dignitary he received and then, perhaps, sports.?
There were red lines everywhere for reporters and film and television producers. Most important was to never, ever discuss in a critical tone the 1965 coup that brought him to power and the anti-Communist purge that followed, leaving an estimated 500,000 dead. There was an official narrative that everyone had to adhere to: Evil communists tried to take over and brave young Soeharto saved the day, pushing the first president of Indonesia,?Sukarno, from power for having unsavory friends. End of story. Or else.
It wasn't until 2000, two years after Soeharto was pushed from power, that the mawkish 1983 romance "The Year of Living Dangerously," set amid Indonesia's 1965 turmoil, was allowed to be shown here, with Indonesians in the audience twittering at the accents of the Filipino actors when they spoke Indonesian.
Even almost 30 years later, Soeharto's regime still played masterfully with the fear and paranoia generated by the national tragedy of 1965. In that time, he built an order (which he called the "New Order") based on rigid political control. In the years after taking power he forced Indonesia's existing political parties into two super-parties that, for decades, represented the loyal (very, very, very loyal) opposition: the United Development Party (PPP) for Islamist political groups and the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) for more secular nationalist ones.
And then there was the new party to rule them all: His Golkar, an acronym that means "Functional Groups."
In the early 1990s, the protest movement that would help galvanize opinion against Soeharto in 1998 was being born, though no one really understood it back then. It was much like Egypt when I arrived there a decade ago: activists hounded by the state, organizing, seeking to make links to labor unions, often getting their heads kicked in by the police or the military in what seemed like a hopeless cause.
In 1993, Soeharto made one of his great miscalculations. Though he had show-elections every five years, which his government called "festivals of democracy," both PDI and PPP were allowed some scraps of parliamentary representation as rewards for good behavior. At the time, some members of the PDI, however, were pushing to engage politics in a real way, and Soeharto's government sought to directly control the election of a new party leader. However, the PDI succeeded in naming Megawati Sukarnoputri, Sukarno's daughter, as the head of the party.
While she had neither political skills nor governing ability of her own, a group of bright political operators seeking political change gathered around her, and were important players when the curtain came down on Soeharto's 32-year reign. Megawati ended up Indonesia's first post-Soeharto vice president and its second president, in a political era in which the country exploded from just three parties to over 100.
Today, Indonesia's raucous political environment is a stunning change from a decade ago. South Maluku, of which Ambon is the capital, is gearing up for gubernatorial elections (under Soeharto, all local politicians down to the district level were appointed by Jakarta) and the island is awash in political posters and canvassers. Judging from a few days traveling in the province, there are at least five candidates with some money behind them, and the bottoms of their billboards show the support they've aligned in each case from dozens of national parties.
Speaking to an old friend from Indonesia recently, who describes himself as a "glass half-empty guy," he nevertheless said direct local elections and a commitment to the political process has been one of the great successes of Indonesia since Soeharto. Sure, crooks often get into office, "but they end up getting voted out."
Indonesia's next big "festival of democracy" (this time, a real one) is scheduled for next year. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is being term-limited from office, and the jockeying to replace him has already begun.
The old three parties have had mixed fortunes in the years since democracy came to Indonesia. The PDI (which came to be known as the PDI-P, or "Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle") leads the opposition in parliament, with about 17 percent of the seats. Golkar, which has parlayed backing from big businesses and years of organization into ongoing support, is the junior partner in the governing coalition with about 19 percent of the seats. And the PPP? A shadow of their former selves, with 7 percent of the seats in parliament.
But I switched on the TV here two nights ago before going to bed, and came across the PPP's 40th anniversary rally in Surabaya, East Java. Having spent much of the past decade in the Middle East, and having covered the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Indonesia, I was transfixed. A crowd of thousands of enthusiastic young Indonesians, the girls in headscarves, were head-banging to the heavy metal band Jamrud, which was headlining a party for an avowedly Islamist political group.
With apologies to Mark Levine, who wrote an excellent book on the alternative music scene in the Arab world called "Heavy Metal Islam," this was the real thing. I wish I could find an online video of the show. But though its absent the PPP's green flag, with the Kabbah in Mecca in the middle waving above the music, this is what Jamrud sounds like:
And it reminded me that a unique political culture is evolving here that can consistently confound expectations and preconceptions.
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Harold M. Schmeck Jr., Times Science Writer, Dies at 89
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Mr. Schmeck covered medical research for The New York Times, where he worked for more than 30 years.
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Cabela's to Hire 200 to Staff New Green Bay, Wis., Store
Applications being accepted now, according to general manager Steve Farone.
Cabela?s Green Bay, Wisconsin Store
Cabelas
SIDNEY, Neb. --(Ammoland.com)- Cabela?s Incorporated, the World?s Foremost Outfitter of hunting, fishing and outdoor gear, plans to hire approximately 200 full-time, part-time and seasonal employees to staff its new Green Bay, Wis., store scheduled to open this summer.
Applications are being accepted now and interviews will begin April 22, continuing through April 26.
To apply, visit www.cabelas.jobs, click on ?Apply Now,? then ?United States Jobs,? and select ?Green Bay.? Follow instructions to log in. Applications must be submitted online. Applying does not guarantee an interview.?http://tiny.cc/jdp8uw
Most employees are expected to come from Green Bay and the surrounding area. Typically, Cabela?s attracts applicants with detailed knowledge about the outdoors and an aptitude for customer service.
?Cabela?s is looking for employees who will deliver legendary customer service, and who will be excited about sharing their passion and knowledge of the outdoors with our many loyal customers across the area,? said Steve Farone, general manager of the new store.
The 100,000-square-foot store is located at 1499 Lombardi Ave N near Lambeau Field in the Village of Ashwaubenon in Brown County. It is Cabela?s third Wisconsin store, joining the Richfield and Prairie du Chien locations. In addition to thousands of quality outdoor products, the store will feature a mountain replica, aquarium, indoor archery range, dynamic wildlife displays, Gun Library, Bargain Cave, Deli, Fudge Shop and Sportsman?s Hall of Fame displaying Wisconsin trophy animal mounts.
Currently, Cabela?s operates 43 stores across the United States and Canada. The company has announced plans to open an additional 12 stores by the end of 2014.
www.cabelas.com
About Cabela?s Incorporated
Cabela?s Incorporated, headquartered in Sidney, Nebraska, is a leading specialty retailer, and the world?s largest direct marketer, of hunting, fishing, camping and related outdoor merchandise. Since the Company?s founding in 1961, Cabela?s? has grown to become one of the most well-known outdoor recreation brands in the world, and has long been recognized as the World?s Foremost Outfitter?. Through Cabela?s growing number of retail stores and its well-established direct business, it offers a wide and distinctive selection of high-quality outdoor products at competitive prices while providing superior customer service. Cabela?s also issues the Cabela?s CLUB? Visa credit card, which serves as its primary customer loyalty rewards program. Cabela?s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ?CAB?.
Source: http://www.ammoland.com/2013/04/cabelas-to-hire-200-to-staff-new-green-bay-wis-store/
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