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Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Monday, January 28, 2013
Russia tries whistleblower, despite his death
FILE - This Monday, Nov. 30, 2009 file photo shows a portrait of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky who died in jail, which is held by his mother Nataliya Magnitskaya, unseen, as she speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Moscow. Russia is preparing to put lawyer Sergei Magnitsky on trial, even though he is dead, in the latest twist in a case that has severely strained U.S.- Russian relations. Magnitsky, a lawyer for the Hermitage Capital fund, died in jail in 2009 after accusing Russian officials of colluding in stealing $230 million from the state. He was arrested on suspicion of tax evasion by the same Interior Ministry officials he accused. A Moscow court on Monday Jan. 28, 2012 set preliminary hearings in the posthumous trial for Feb. 18. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
FILE - This Monday, Nov. 30, 2009 file photo shows a portrait of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky who died in jail, which is held by his mother Nataliya Magnitskaya, unseen, as she speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Moscow. Russia is preparing to put lawyer Sergei Magnitsky on trial, even though he is dead, in the latest twist in a case that has severely strained U.S.- Russian relations. Magnitsky, a lawyer for the Hermitage Capital fund, died in jail in 2009 after accusing Russian officials of colluding in stealing $230 million from the state. He was arrested on suspicion of tax evasion by the same Interior Ministry officials he accused. A Moscow court on Monday Jan. 28, 2012 set preliminary hearings in the posthumous trial for Feb. 18. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
FILE - This Friday, Nov. 16, 2012 file photo shows a tombstone on the grave of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky who died in jail, at a cemetery in Moscow. Russia is preparing to put lawyer Sergei Magnitsky on trial, even though he is dead, in the latest twist in a case that has severely strained U.S.- Russian relations. Magnitsky, a lawyer for the Hermitage Capital fund, died in jail in 2009 after accusing Russian officials of colluding in stealing $230 million from the state. He was arrested on suspicion of tax evasion by the same Interior Ministry officials he accused. A Moscow court on Monday Jan. 28, 2012 set preliminary hearings in the posthumous trial for Feb. 18. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze, file)
MOSCOW (AP) ? Russia is preparing to put lawyer Sergei Magnitsky on trial, even though he died in 2009, an unusual twist in a case that has become a byword for Russian corruption and severely strained U.S. relations with Moscow.
Russia's top court ruled in August 2011 that posthumous trials are allowed, with the intention of letting relatives clear their loved ones' names. In Magnitsky's case, family members say they don't want another trial, yet prosecutors re-filed charges anyway.
The move has outraged human rights groups who see the whistleblower's situation as indicative of the rampant judicial abuse, skyrocketing graft, and blurred boundaries between the state and organized crime that have plagued Russia under President Vladimir Putin.
"The trial of a deceased person and the forcible involvement of his relatives is a dangerous precedent that would open a whole new chapter in Russia's worsening human rights record," Amnesty International said in a recent statement.
Magnitsky drew controversy in 2008 after claiming that an organized crime group colluded with corrupt Interior Ministry officials to claim a $230 million tax rebate through illegally obtained subsidiaries of Hermitage Capital Management, the company of Magnitsky's then-client, London-based investor William Browder.
Those same officials had him arrested and placed in pre-trial detention. Magnitsky and Browder were accused of evading $16.8 million in taxes.
A year later, the 37-year-old Magnitsky died in jail of pancreatitis, after what supporters claim was systematic torture. Russia's presidential human rights council found in July 2011 that Magnitsky had been repeatedly beaten and deliberately denied medical treatment.
A Moscow court on Monday set preliminary hearings in the case for Feb. 18. Magnitsky's mother, Nataliya Magnitskaya, said she had no faith the officials who she believes are complicit in her son's death could give him a fair trial.
"What are they going to say? 'We're guilty and we should be punished?' It's obvious what's going to happen," she said. "They just want a conviction. Maybe they'll change the venue to the cemetery and try Sergei there."
The Russian court ruling allowing posthumous trials came after an appeal by the family of an obstetrician who was killed in a collision with a car of a top oil company executive. Prosecutors reopened Magnitsky's case just days after the 2011 ruling. His mother has since filed 25 appeals asking for the case to be closed.
Browder is being tried in absentia; he has not been to Russia since he was banned from entering the country in 2005.
"To try a dead man is beyond evil," Browder told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Monday. "This is a politically directed prosecution ? Putin and (Prime Minister Dmitry) Medvedev have both directed, have sent the instructions for the outcome of this case."
Russia's troubled criminal justice system has a long history of staging grandiose, politically motivated trials aimed at sending a message to opponents of the state. Under Joseph Stalin, the Soviet Union saw numerous show trials of top officials, many of which ended with summary executions.
In modern Russia, vaguely defined charges of "economic crimes" are frequently used to seize assets and silence political opponents such as former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky. One in six Russian businessmen have been accused of "economic crimes" since 2002, according to the country's business ombudsman.
Browder has used a website, Russian Untouchables, to post material that allegedly shows the officials accused by Magnitsky became substantially wealthier after the tax rebate, spending vastly in excess of their meager official salaries on international travel, luxury cars, and prime real estate in Dubai. The Russian officials deny any wrongdoing.
Officials in Switzerland, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia are attempting to trace portions of the $230 million rebate to banks in those countries.
Putting Magnitsky on trial posthumously underscores the Kremlin's defiance amid growing international concern over Russia's human rights record and corruption.
Last December, tensions between the U.S. and Russia flared when Congress passed a law named after Magnitsky sanctioning officials Browder accuses of involvement in the fraud. Browder says he hopes the European Union will pass its own Magnitsky act by the end of the year.
Russia responded to the U.S. law by banning adoptions of Russian children by Americans and dropping charges against a prison doctor on trial for negligence in Magnitsky's death.
Putin at that time said that Magnitsky died of a heart attack and accused Browder of politicizing his death to distract from his own crimes. The Russian president has decried the Magnitsky law as an "anti-Russian" attempt by Congress to impose America's will on Russia's sovereignty.
"Why does one country think it has the right to spread its jurisdiction all over the world?" he asked during a news conference in December.
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Sunday, January 27, 2013
Thousands march for gun control in Washington
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Thousands of people, many holding signs with names of gun violence victims and messages such as "Ban Assault Weapons Now," joined a rally for gun control on Saturday, marching from the Capitol to the Washington Monument.
Leading the crowd were marchers with "We Are Sandy Hook" signs, paying tribute to victims of the December school shooting in Newtown, Conn. Washington Mayor Vincent Gray and other city officials marched alongside them. The crowd stretched for at least two blocks along Constitution Avenue.
Participants held signs reading "Gun Control Now," ''Stop NRA" and "What Would Jesus Pack?" among other messages. Other signs were simple and white, with the names of victims of gun violence.
About 100 residents from Newtown, where a gunman killed 20 first-graders and six teachers, traveled to Washington together, organizers said.
Participant Kara Baekey from nearby Norwalk, Conn., said that when she heard about the Newtown shooting, she immediately thought of her two young children. She said she decided she must take action, and that's why she traveled to Washington for the march.
"I wanted to make sure this never happens at my kids' school or any other school," Baekey said. "It just can't happen again."
Once the crowd arrived at the monument, speakers called for a ban on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition and for universal background checks on gun sales.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan told the crowd it's not about taking away Second Amendment gun rights, but about gun safety and saving lives. He said he and President Barack Obama would do everything they could to enact gun control policies.
"This is about trying to create a climate in which our children can grow up free of fear," Duncan said. "This march is a starting point; it is not an ending point ... We must act, we must act, we must act."
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C.'s non-voting representative in Congress, said the gun lobby can be stopped, and the crowd chanted back, "Yes, we can."
"We are all culpable if we do nothing now," Norton said
James Agenbroad, 78, of Garrett Park, Md., carried a handwritten sign on cardboard that read "Repeal the 2nd Amendment." He called it the only way to stop mass killings because he thinks the Supreme Court will strike down any other restrictions on guns.
"You can repeal it," he said. "We repealed prohibition."
Molly Smith, the artistic director of Washington's Arena Stage, and her partner organized the march. Organizers said that in addition to the 100 people from Newtown, buses of participants traveled from New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia. Others flew in from Seattle, San Francisco and Alaska, they said.
While she's never organized a political march before, Smith said she was compelled to press for a change in the law. The march organizers support Obama's call for gun control measures. They also want lawmakers to require gun safety training for all buyers of firearms.
"With the drum roll, the consistency of the mass murders and the shock of it, it is always something that is moving and devastating to me. And then, it's as if I move on," Smith said. "And in this moment, I can't move on. I can't move on.
"I think it's because it was children, babies," she said. "I was horrified by it."
After the Connecticut shootings, Smith began organizing on Facebook. The group One Million Moms for Gun Control, the Washington National Cathedral and two other churches eventually signed on to co-sponsor the march. Organizers have raised more than $50,000 online to pay for equipment and fees to stage the rally, Smith said.
Lawmakers from the District of Columbia and Maryland rallied the crowd, along with Marian Wright Edelman of the Children's Defense Fund and Colin Goddard, a survivor from the Virginia Tech massacre.
Goddard said he was shot four times at Virginia Tech and is motivated to keep fighting for gun control because what happened to him keeps happening ? and nothing's been done to stop it.
"We are Americans," he said, drawing big cheers. "We have overcome difficulties when we realize we are better than this."
Smith said she supports a comprehensive look at mental health and violence in video games and films. But she said the mass killings at Virginia Tech and Aurora, Colo., and Newtown, Conn., all began with guns.
"The issue is guns. The Second Amendment gives us the right to own guns, but it's not the right to own any gun," she said. "These are assault weapons, made for killing people."
___
March on Washington for Gun Control: http://www.guncontrolmarch.com/
___
Follow Brett Zongker at https://twitter.com/DCArtBeat
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/thousands-march-gun-control-washington-164306917.html
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TopBallerz Wealth, Health and Fitness: Isagenix with Thyroid ...
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Source: http://modordukan.blogspot.com/2013/01/topballerz-wealth-health-and-fitness.html
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Saturday, January 26, 2013
Decatur Metro ? Beer Festival Distributes $52,000 in Grants
A recent Patch post reminded me that the Jan/Feb Decatur Focus announced the benefactors of this year?s Decatur Beer Festival grants.? According to the Focus, since 1998 the festival has given more than $550,000 back to the community.? Here are this year?s winners via the Focus?
Decatur?s MLK Service Project ? to assist low-income senior homeowners with home maintenance and repair.
Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta ? to support Power Hour, a comprehensive education and tutoring program.
I CARE ? to provide transportation services to Decatur senior residents for doctor, hospital, and pharmacy appointments.
Decatur-area Emergency Assistance Ministry ? to computerize the office for ability to do business with other organizations such as Atlanta Community Food Bank.
Poverty is Real ? to coordinate efforts with musicians and businesses to help raise money for local organizations addressing poverty and homelessness.
Decatur Education Foundation ? to support the start of a microfinance program that will make loans to students for entrepreneurial projects.
Our House ? to support the Early Childhood Education program.
Wylde Center ? for a solar pump with water reclamation system to bring water to the garden.
The Global Village School ? to provide transportation to school and related educational and volunteer resources in Decatur.
On the Same Page ? for supplies for each child in the reading program.
Housing Authority of Decatur ? for the STAR after-school program.
DeKalb History Center ? to create an Exhibits Design workshop.
Literacy Volunteers of Atlanta ? to provide instruction to the adults in the Family Literacy Program.
Ahimsa House ? to provide shelter and vet care for pets while their owners stay at family violence shelters.
Woodlands Garden ? to help plant 50 trees in Woodlands Garden.
Oakhurst Cooperative Preschool ? to replace a chain link fence on the property.
DeKalb Rape Crisis Center ? to provide four months of Crisis Line answering service costs.
Source: http://www.decaturmetro.com/2013/01/25/beer-festival-distributes-52000-in-grants/
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Will Kim Kardashian Carry Simone Camille?s $1,200 Diaper Bag?
The reality star's childhood BFF designed a chic, animal print diaper bag with her expectant friend in mind. 
Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/8KaI1GBoTFI/
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Envoy: SKorea's Park open to dialogue with NKorea
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) ? South Korea's new president will not tolerate North Korean provocations but will continue to push for dialogue with Pyongyang, a special envoy to President-elect Park Geun-hye said just hours after the North's top governing body declared it would continue atomic tests and rocket launches.
Park is strongly urging North Korea to refrain from conducting a nuclear test that could only worsen the tensions on the Korean Peninsula in the wake of a provocative long-range rocket launch in December, envoy Rhee In-je told The Associated Press and selected news outlets in Davos, Switzerland.
"President-elect Park makes it clear that North Korea's nuclear ambitions and further provocations against the South will not be tolerated," Rhee said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum on Thursday. "In particular, she strongly urges North Korea to refrain from further worsening the situation by conducting a third nuclear test."
North Korea responded Friday by warning South Korea of "strong physical countermeasures" if Seoul takes part in U.N. sanctions aimed at punishing Pyongyang for the rocket launch.
"Sanctions mean war and a declaration of war against us," the Committee for Peaceful Unification of the Fatherland said in a statement carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency.
The latest warning comes in the wake of a U.N. Security Council decision Tuesday to condemn North Korea's Dec. 12 rocket launch as a violation of a ban against missile activity. The council, including Pyongyang ally China, also expanded sanctions against the regime.
North Korea's National Defense Commission responded by declaring that the regime is prepared to conduct a nuclear test in defiance of U.N. punishment, and it made clear that its long-range rockets are designed to carry not only satellites but also warheads aimed at striking the United States.
The commission, North Korea's top governing body led by leader Kim Jong Un, pledged Thursday to keep launching satellites and rockets and to conduct a nuclear test as part of a "new phase" of combat with the United States, which it blames for leading the U.N. bid to punish Pyongyang. It said a nuclear test was part of "upcoming" action but did not say exactly when or where it would take place.
"We do not hide that a variety of satellites and long-range rockets which will be launched by the DPRK one after another and a nuclear test of higher level which will be carried out by it in the upcoming all-out action, a new phase of the anti-U.S. struggle that has lasted century after century, will target against the U.S., the sworn enemy of the Korean people," the commission said, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said he has seen no outward sign that North Korea will follow through soon on its plan to conduct a test. But that doesn't mean preparations aren't taking place.
"They have the capability, frankly, to conduct these tests in a way that make it very difficult to determine whether or not they are doing it," Panetta told reporters in Washington.
North Korea claims the right to build nuclear weapons as a defense against the United States, its Korean War foe.
Their bitter three-year war ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, in 1953, and left the Korean Peninsula divided by the world's most heavily fortified demilitarized zone. The U.S. leads the U.N. Command that governs the truce and stations more than 28,000 troops in ally South Korea, a presence that North Korea cites as a key reason for its drive to build nuclear weapons.
North Korea is estimated to have stored up enough weaponized plutonium for four to eight bombs, according to scientist Siegfried Hecker, who visited the North's Nyongbyon nuclear complex in 2010.
In October, an unidentified spokesman at the National Defense Commission claimed that the U.S. mainland was within missile range. And at a military parade last April, North Korea showed off what appeared to be an intercontinental ballistic missile.
In 2009, Pyongyang declared that it would begin enriching uranium, which would give North Korea a second way to make atomic weapons.
The National Defense Commission's allusion to a "higher level" nuclear test most likely refers to a device made from highly enriched uranium, said Cheong Seong-chang, an analyst at the private Sejong Institute in South Korea. Experts say North Korea must keep testing its atomic devices so it can make them small enough to mount as nuclear warheads onto long-range missiles.
North Korea tested atomic devices in 2006 and 2009 after receiving U.N. condemnation for launching long-range rockets.
The U.S. envoy on North Korean issues, Glyn Davies, urged Pyongyang not to explode an atomic device.
"Whether North Korea tests or not, it's up to North Korea. We hope they don't do it. We call on them not to do it," he told reporters in Seoul after meeting Thursday with South Korean officials. "It will be a mistake and a missed opportunity if they were to do it."
White House spokesman Jay Carney on Thursday said North Korea's aggressive stance is unnecessary and warned against any further testing.
"North Korea's statement is needlessly provocative and a test would be a significant violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions," he said. "Further provocation would only increase Pyongyang's isolation, and its continued focus on its nuclear and missile program is doing nothing to help the North Korean people."
He said the recent U.N. resolution is a "strong message of the international community's opposition to North Korean provocations and these tightened sanctions will impede the growth of weapons of mass destruction programs in North Korea and the United States will be taking additional steps in that regard."
Carney did not elaborate on what those steps might be.
Despite her firm stand, Park, who takes office next month, wants to leave the window open to constructive dialogue with Pyongyang and will continue to provide food and medical aid as part of a "trust-building" policy for the two Koreas, envoy Rhee said.
"It is a gradual process based on mutual trust and respect, which can begin with keeping promises," he said.
She also advocates returning to the six-nation disarmament negotiations, Rhee said. North Korea walked away from those talks in 2009 and has said future disarmament talks are out off the table.
___
Associated Press writers Sandy MacIntyre in Davos, Switzerland; Jean H. Lee in Seoul and Matthew Pennington in Washington contributed to this report. Follow AP's Korea bureau chief at www.twitter.com/newsjean.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/envoy-skoreas-park-open-dialogue-nkorea-022346592.html
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Cheap Auto Insurance? Just Ask! | Bankrate.com
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Source: http://www.bankrate.com/finance/insurance/cheap-auto-insurance-just-ask.aspx
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'Buckwild' Breakdown: Bulls, Trucks And Shae's 'Sex Aquarium'
This week on MTV's 'Buckwild,' we got bull-riding, truck funerals and learned Shae's secret nickname for her bedroom.
By James Montgomery
Shain goes bull-riding on "Buckwild"
Photo: MTV
Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1700765/buckwild-recap-bull-riding-sex-aquarium.jhtml
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Friday, January 25, 2013
Chicago municipal pension fund to divest gun maker holdings
CHICAGO (Reuters) - A pension fund for Chicago public employees has voted to divest its holdings in three companies that manufacture assault weapons, an official with the fund confirmed on Thursday.
The Municipal Employees Annuity and Benefit Fund (MEABF) voted on Wednesday to sell off just over $1 million in investments in Freedom Group Inc, Sturm Ruger and Co Inc and Smith & Wesson Holding Corp, MEABF Executive Director Jim Mohler told Reuters.
The move comes in response to the shooting last month at a Connecticut elementary school that left 20 first graders and six educators dead, shocking the nation and sparking a heated debate over gun control in the United States.
The fund delayed making a formal announcement to ensure its exposure to assault weapons makers was limited to the three companies, Mohler said. It joins public pension funds in California, New York and elsewhere that have said they either planned to dump firearms investments from their portfolios or were weighing such an option.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who ordered a review of the city's pension funds last week to see if they were invested in gun makers, welcomed the move.
In a statement, Emanuel criticized firearms companies for opposing what he called "common sense" gun safety laws, including criminal background checks on all gun purchases.
Last weekend, at the U.S. Conference of Mayors annual meeting in Washington, DC, Emanuel called on other cities to sever ties with companies that manufacture or sell assault weapons.
Earlier in the week, the Chicago Teachers Pension Fund, which has $9.5 billion in assets, voted to divest its $146,000 of investments with gun manufacturing companies.
Other Chicago agencies with investment portfolios, including the Chicago Transit Authority, the Chicago Housing Authority, and the Chicago Park District, are conducting similar reviews of their portfolios, according to City Hall.
(Reporting by James B. Kelleher; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Eric Walsh)
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Outstanding Faculty Award Winner Announced ? NOVA Fortnightly ...
Submitted
Robert Bausch of Northern Virginia Community College has received the 2013 Outstanding Faculty Award, administered by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia and sponsored by Dominion.
Bausch is one of 12 faculty recipients from Virginia?s public and private colleges and universities who received the award, the highest honor bestowed upon faculty in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The award recognizes excellence in teaching, research, knowledge integration, and public service.
Bausch has taught English composition, literature and creative writing for 38 years at NOVA?s Woodbridge Campus. Prior to teaching, he began his college education at Northern Virginia Community College as a student on the Annandale Campus in 1970 before transferring to George Mason University.
Believing in the empowerment of education, his approach to teaching transforms a classroom into a place of discovery where students discuss and practice both writing and speaking, while fostering ownership of their own lives. In doing so, he strives to help his students shape their future and find a path to their goals. In addition to teaching, Bausch has single-handedly run the Woodbridge Reading Series, which brings successful American writers to teach and discuss their work to his students and the community.
?On behalf of the College, we would like to express our congratulations to Professor Bausch for being selected as a recipient of this prestigious award,? said NOVA President Dr. Robert G. Templin Jr. ?According to Bob, he would not have a college degree ? in fact he would not have had the life he has, or done the work he?s done ? if not for NOVA. His strong commitment to teaching, while working on his own professional literary career, is evident through the many students he?s inspired, some of whom have gone on to become successful writers themselves.?
As a creative writer, Bausch has enjoyed professional success through the publication of nine novels and a collection of short stories. His professional works include: ?On the Way Home,? ?The Lives of Riley Chance,? ?Almighty Me,? ?The White Rooster and Other Stories,? ?Out of Season,? ?The Gypsy Man,? and ?A Hole in the Earth.? Many of these novels have garnered critical acclaim. He was awarded the John Dos Passos Medal for Literature, he was a Pulitzer Prize finalist, and his novel ?Almighty Me? served as the creative source for a feature length film.
?I enjoy teaching because I believe so whole heartedly in education, and in a student?s ability to find out what his or her passion is,? Bausch said. ?I want to do the same for my students that NOVA and my teachers in the early seventies did for me: They helped me discover what I needed to do in life that would be rewarding and fulfilling. I?ve taught at a lot of places, but I keep coming back to NOVA because of what it means to me.?
Bausch received a bachelors and two masters degrees, including a master of fine arts from George Mason University. He has lived in Stafford County for two decades.
Along with 11 other recipients, Bausch will be recognized during a Feb. 12 ceremony at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond. He now joins the company of 10 other NOVA colleagues who have been past recipients of the Virginia Outstanding Faculty Award.
By: Contributing Author
Stay updated by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter.
Source: http://novafortnightly.com/2013/01/23/outstanding-faculty-award-winner-announced/
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Facts and figures on Jordan's elections
AMMAN, Jordan (AP) ? Here are some facts and figures on Jordan's parliamentary election, being held on Wednesday:
THE SYSTEM: The Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the two-chamber Parliament, is elected once every four years. But the king dissolved the previous parliament last year, halfway through its term, under pressure from street protesters who accused the legislature of being docile.
The Chamber of Notables, or the Upper House, is comprised of 75 members appointed by the king.
The 150-seat lower house approves laws and monitors government performance. But the king, who still enjoys significant powers under the constitution, can dissolve parliament and rule by decree.
___
ELECTORATE: About 2.3 million of 3.3 million eligible voters are registered to vote. Of the total registered voters, 52 percent are women in a country of nearly 6 million. Around 500,000 military, police and security personnel are not allowed to vote. By tradition, the royal family doesn't vote.
___
POLITICAL GROUPS: Eighteen small and fractured political parties ? a mix of right, center, left and Islamist leaning ? are fielding candidates on a joint party ballot.
Other candidates ? also a mix of right, center, left and Islamist leaning ? are running as independents.
Five other licensed groups, including the Islamic Action Front, the political arm of the powerful Muslim Brotherhood and the largest and most organized opposition group, are boycotting the polls. The Islamic Action Front boycotted the polls two other times since 1997. This time, however, two party members broke ranks with the group and are running as independents. The four other groups boycotting include are communists and Arab nationalists.
?___
?THE CANDIDATES: 1,425 candidates, including 191 women and about 139 former lawmakers, are running ? many of them as independents, counting on their tribal affiliations and family connections. Nine seats are reserved for Christians, who make up about 4 percent of the population. Another three seats are reserved for the Chechen and Circassian minorities; and fifteen are designated for women in line with a quota under the election law of 2012.
Additionally, there are 61 lists ? each with up to 27 members ? fielded by political parties and small coalitions comprising trade and labor unionist and other activists.
?___
?THE ISSUES: Campaigning has focused on poverty, unemployment, corruption, rising food and fuel prices, health care and education, civil liberties, interference by the powerful security services in lives of citizens, public participation in decision-making and women's rights. Other issues include Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking and the Syrian civil war.
?___
VOTING HOURS: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time (0400 GMT to 1600 GMT); can be extended by two hours. Nearly 1,500 polling stations begin counting when polls close, with early results expected on Thursday.
?___
?VOTING SYSTEM: Universal suffrage. Voters mark their ballots to choose one candidate from a list of contestants in their constituency and another from nationwide lists.
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FORMING CABINETS: The party winning a majority of seats in the lower house of parliament will consult with other blocs and independents to pick a prime minister, who will then be approved by a vote of deputies. This will be the first time the chamber picks its own prime minister, as opposed to the traditional method where one has been appointed by the king. The prime minister will then choose his Cabinet, whose members can either be serving lawmakers or politicians from outside parliament. All Cabinet members must win a subsequent parliamentary vote of confidence before they are formally installed.
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Penthouse-level Brentwood condominium offered for sale | West ...
Looks like it?s going to be a busy year for real estate on the Westside! ?Klein Real Estate is pleased to announced its latest listing: ?a penthouse-level condominium in the very desirable community of Brentwood. ?This two-bedroom/two-bath unit includes about 1400 square feet on a single level along with some beautiful city views. ?Listed for $629,000. ?Open house on Tuesday, 1/29 from 11am until 2pm and on Sunday, 2/3, from 1 to 4pm.
Other features for this well-located home include 9-foot ceilings, central air conditioning and heating, a gas fireplace, large dining area, a slate entry and a tiled balcony.??In the kitchen, you?ll find tile counters and floors, a pantry plus extra storage, a dishwasher, filtered water faucet, a separate entry and an adjacent wet bar room that you could easily re-purpose as an office or a den. ? In the bedrooms, both offer walk-in closets and extra closet space., while both bathrooms have marble floors and skylights. ?For your convenience, the laundry room and trash chute down to the garage are just down the hall.
With just 18 units in the building, HOA fees are low by L.A. standards at just $351 per month, which pays for earthquake insurance, a new roof as of January 2012, copper plumbing throughout, an elevator, intercom system and a planned lobby renovation that will be paid for with existing reserves. ?Both the building and the parking area itself are gated, with two side-by-side parking spaces assigned to this home along with some large storage cabinets in the garage.
The home is centrally located in Brentwood, within easy walking distance to the shops and eateries on Wilshire Blvd. and San Vicente Blvd. ? It?s also convenient to public transportation, offers close proximity to both Westwood and Santa Monica offers easy freeway access.
If you?re not familiar with Brentwood, the community is located at the base of the?Santa Monica Mountains?and is?bounded by the?San Diego Freeway?on the east,?Wilshire Boulevard?on the south, the?Santa Monica?city limits on the southwest, the border of?Topanga State Park?on the west and?Mulholland Drive?along the ridgeline of the mountains on the north.
The area that is now Brentwood was part of the?Rancho San Vicente y Santa Monica, a Mexican land-grant ranch sold off in pieces by the?Sep?lveda?family after the?Mexican-American War. Development began following the establishment of the large 600-acre Pacific Branch of the National Home for Disabled Soldiers and Sailors?in the 1880s.
A small community sprang up outside that facility?s west gate, taking on the name?Westgate. Annexed by the City of Los Angeles on June 14, 1916, Westgate?s 49 square miles included large parts of what is now the?Pacific Palisades?and a small portion of today?s?Bel-Air. Westgate Avenue is one of the last reminders of the area?s former namesake. The Sunset Fields Golf Club, known as the Brentwood Country Club since 1941, hosted the running part of the?modern pentathlon?event at the?1932 Summer Olympics.
Originally planted with soybeans and avocados, Brentwood is now one of the prominent districts of the?Westside?and among the wealthiest neighborhoods in all of Los Angeles. It has prosperous commercial districts along each of its major east-west thoroughfares,?Wilshire Boulevard,?San Vicente Boulevard, and?Sunset Boulevard.
Though there is no direct connection, the name Brentwood harks to?Brentwood?of?Essex, England, a town on the outskirts of?London?dating back to?Saxon?times. ?Many local streets reflect this ersatz British heritage, including Barrington, Gorham, and Bristol.
San Vicente Boulevard is considered the ?Main Street? of Brentwood and is divided by a wide median on which stand many large and attractively sculpted?coral trees. This green belt replaced a derelict?Pacific Electric?trolley track, its trees evolving into a City of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument. Brentwood boosters have adopted a coral tree silhouette as a de facto community logo. Intersecting Bundy Drive is lined with extremely tall?Washingtonia robusta?palms.
Brentwood received notoriety in 1994 when?Nicole Brown Simpson, ex-wife of?NFL?legend?O.J. Simpson, and her friend?Ronald Goldman?were found stabbed to death outside her Bundy Drive condominium. Simpson was arrested for the murders and later acquitted by a jury in a heavily-publicized trial.
Brentwood?s Barrington Recreation Center has an indoor gymnasium which converts into a small auditorium with a capacity of 250. Outdoors is a lighted baseball diamond, an unlighted baseball diamond, lighted indoor basketball courts, lighted outdoor basketball courts, a children?s play area, a community room, a lighted football field, picnic tables, a lighted soccer field, lighted tennis courts, and lighted volleyball courts.?The 1.5-acre (0.61?ha) Barrington Dog Park is on the grounds of the recreation center.
Popular pleasure destinations include?The Brentwood Country Mart, a recently remodeled and expanded 1947?farmers? market; the Brentwood Village, a small shopping district near the intersection of Sunset and Barrington; and more recently, Brentwood Green, a ?village commons? created from the playground at?Brentwood Science Magnet Elementary School. There is also a tented farmers? market held each Sunday on a strip of Gretna Green Way between Brentwood Science Magnet and the Brentwood Country Club. The 2.7-mile (4.3?km)-long boundary of the private?Brentwood Country Club?is a popular local jogging route. The internationally renowned?Getty Museum?is located in the hills high above Brentwood, near the 405 Freeway?and the?Sepulveda Pass.
Want to know more about other listings or sales in Brentwood? ?Contact us at Klein Real Estate for details!
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Source: http://westlaland.com/2013/01/22/penthouse-level-brentwood-condominium-offered-for-sale/
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