General Electric Claims It Overpaid for Part due to Conspiracy

The Article: General Electric Claims It Overpaid for Part due to Conspiracy

General Electric Co. filed an antitrust lawsuit claiming it overpaid for the component due to an alleged price-fixing conspiracy involving a couple of Whirlpool Corp. subsidiaries and two European suppliers also named as defendants. The suit is over a compressor that helps create cold air to keep refrigerated foods fresh or frozen. GE claims the conspiracy began as early as 1996 to illegally inflate the price of the key refrigerator part. As one of the largest buyers of the compressors, GE says it was "a target and a victim" of the conspiracy, hurting its refrigerator business. The company, based in Fairfield, Conn., is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages along with a monetary award three times the amount of its damages. It also seeks an injunction against the defendants.

It's interesting to see potential anti-trust cases with international players involved.

Federal Judge Sends Concordia Lawsuits Back to Fla. Court -- Continued

The Article: Federal Judge Sends Concordia Lawsuits Back to Fla. Court

Two lawsuits over last year's Costa Concordia grounding off Italy that defendant Carnival Corp. sent on a hopeful cruise into federal court have been shipped back to state jurisdiction. The order came just 11 days after the same federal judge decided Italy was the proper place for a Massachusetts family to pursue a claim against the Miami-based company. Carnival tried to use the Class Action Fairness Act to transfer the cases of Denise Abeid-Saba and 56 other plaintiffs and Geoffrey Scimone and 46 others from Florida to federal jurisdiction.

"We are thrilled that we can now turn our attention to litigating the facts of this case before a Florida state court where the plaintiffs can expect their interests will be protected rather than in Italy where the courts are notoriously slow and cases for mass torts such as shipwrecks have taken as long as 30 years without final decisions," Bern said.

It's interesting to see the jurisdictional venue on this case changed from originally being held in Florida, then sent to Italy, and then returned to Florida. Insiders claim that Carnival had a better chance in Italy than they do in the US under federal court.

U.K. Supreme Court Sits in Secret for First Time

The Article: U.K. Supreme Court Sits in Secret for First Time

Britain's highest court for the first time convened behind closed doors -- in a case involving an Iranian bank -- just one week after the Supreme Court decided it had the power to sit in secret. Justices had been told that some material in the case related to national security and couldn't be safely aired in public.

Bank Mellat, an Iranian bank, is trying to overturn a 2009 order by the U.K. Treasury barring it from operating in the country. That order, made under counterterrorism laws, shut the bank out of the British financial sector because it allegedly helped finance Tehran's disputed nuclear program.

Critics argue that it is of international concern, that the court chose to hold the proceedings in private, and using a closed evidence procedure. Human rights group mark this occasion as a sad landmark in British history, in contrast to the courts reputation for respecting and enforcing the matter of law in it's highest regards. 

International Court Detains Rwandan-Born Warlord

The Article: International Court Detains Rwandan-Born Warlord

African warlord Bosco Ntaganda was taken from the U.S. Embassy in Rwanda on Friday and flown to International Criminal Court in The Hague, where he faces charges including murder, rape and persecution in a rebel group's deadly reign of terror that gripped eastern Congo a decade ago. Nicknamed "The Terminator" because of his reputation for ruthlessness in battle, Ntaganda became a symbol of impunity in Africa, at times playing tennis in eastern Congo, apparently without fear of arrest.

Ntaganda was first indicted in 2006 on charges of recruiting and using child soldiers. In July last year, the court issued a second arrest warrant accusing Ntaganda of murder, rape, sexual slavery, persecution and pillaging in 2002-2003 in the eastern province of Ituri. He faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment if convicted.

It's a good sentiment that the international community is holding Ntaganda accountable for his actions, and seeking justice. This demonstration could assist in establishing a precedent for the future processing and handling of other offenders. 

N.Y. Judge Declines to Recognize Validity of Egyptian Guardianship Decision

The Article: N.Y. Judge Declines to Recognize Validity of Egyptian Guardianship Decision

A New York state judge has declined to recognize an Egyptian court's appointment of a son as his father's guardian. Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Betsy Barros dismissed as contrary to the state's public policy the bid of Ahmed Mohamed Gabr to control the U.S. assets of his father, Mohamed Ahmed Mohamed Gabr. Instead, the judge appointed the elder man's wife, Sana'a, as his personal needs guardian.

This is an interesting matter of jurisdiction as the son was appointed guardian by an Egyptian court; however, As an initial matter, Barros had to weigh whether to recognize the validity of the Egyptian guardianship decision and grant it comity.

She observed that the foreign order relied "in large measure" on medical tests performed by the Egyptian Forensic Medical Department that found "organic diseases and senile dementia." Furthermore, Barros observed that Egyptian law stated it was "legally established that the guardianship be vested in the adult son, then the father, then in the grandfather and thereafter be vested in whoever the Court may chose."

But New York's law is "gender neutral" and even lists the spouse as the first appointee.

U.S. Names Russians Targeted for Sanctions

The Article: U.S. Names Russians Targeted for Sanctions

In a controversial maneuver the US government names Russian citizens targeted for sanctions, namely in human rights and corruption violations. Relations between the US and Russia have been better in previous years, although the list provided is short as some Russian government officials have claimed. Some have speculated that the omitted names on the list were spared as a hope not to further erode the already rocky relations between the US and Russia. 

Ivory Coast wants surveillance drones to replace U.N. troops

The Article: Ivory Coast wants surveillance drones to replace U.N. troops

Ivory Coast U.N. Ambassador Youssoufou Bamba told the 15-member council that surveillance drones should be deployed to offset any planned cuts to the peacekeeping force in the world's biggest cocoa producer. This is an interesting position considering the controversial usage of drones abroad, and in America particularly. Since the western Ivory Coast is a hotbed of conflict, the drones may be a superior choice to deal with incursions, and offering superior surveillance capabilities. 

Cashing in on Internet censorship

The Article: Cashing in on Internet censorship

A growing number of software firms are cashing in on the internet censorship debacle by providing tools and means to circumvent firewalls and other monitoring techniques of censoring countries, for a price. One of the interesting concepts from this article is a matter of jurisdiction, so long as the people providing the tools do not physically enter China for instance, there is no risk of prosecution or detainment. 

White House Calls for Free Access to Articles That Are Based on Publicly-Funded Research

The Article: White House Calls for Free Access to Articles That Are Based on Publicly-Funded Research

White house proposes that free access be granted to the public for tax-funded research articles. One of the stipulations is that the information being made available must be non-classified. This could be a monumental step towards a better model and level of transparency within the US government. Also by requiring agencies to publish their results, better allocation of funding and other decisions of that nature can be answered more effectively. 

Contractor for U.S.-Based Company Sentenced for Murder of Colombian Labor Leaders

The Article: Contractor for U.S.-Based Company Sentenced for Murder of Colombian Labor Leaders

Drummond corporation implicated in murder and corruption charges in Colombia, after former Drummond contractor was convicted of ordering a paramilitary unit to murder two union employees, as a subsequent result of their protests and complaints about his food service operation in Columbia. Blanco the former contractor attests that the orders to eliminate the union employees came from senior upper management in Drummond, and that a conviction on his account would most likely drop the US lawsuit, he suggested that an investigation be mounted against Drummond's executives and president to determine the extent of their involvement. 

U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Appeal From Somali Pirates

The Article: U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Appeal From Somali Pirates

Somali pirates are rejected an appeal from the US Supreme Court on piracy charges that have not been tried in nearly 200 years. It's interesting to see how the piracy rates have declined in recent years, due to changes in security procedures and international shipping tracking methods.

Federal Judge Rules Costa Concordia Lawsuit Should Be Filed in Italy

The Article: Federal Judge Rules Costa Concordia Lawsuit Should Be Filed in Italy

A federal judge in Florida ruled that the capsized cruise-liner incident's case would be tried in Italy and not in the US. This decision was based on jurisdictional and infrastructural reasons, due to the fact that the incident occurred in Italy and not in the US, and key witnesses are Italian, and the spoken language in the courts would also be in Italian. 

More Than 50 Countries Helped the CIA Outsource Torture

The Article: More Than 50 Countries Helped the CIA Outsource Torture

Since the terrorist attacks that occurred on 9/11, torture, in all of its definitions and methods has been on the rise, especially with the intelligence and espionage communities within the USA. According to a new report from the Open Society Foundation. The report details the CIA’s effort to outsource torture since 9/11, known as “extraordinary rendition,” which consists of exporting prisoners without due process to a supporting country that complies and practices torture. 

The "KNOWN" 54 countries complicit with these outsourcing practices are: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Finland, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Libya, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malawi, Malaysia, Mauritania, Morocco, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Syria, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, Yemen, and Zimbabwe.

This is beyond sickening. To condone, manipulate and legally maneuver around cruel and unusual punishment laws, the USA outsourced the victims to host countries to continue to perform the torture and to avoid punishment, and public scrutiny. The Open Society Foundation suspects that more countries are suspect to have complied with these practices; however, that information will not become available unless it becomes fully declassified. 

Clinton to answer questions regarding Benghazi

The article: Clinton to answer questions regarding Benghazi

Secretary of state Hillary Clinton finally ordered to answer to congress on Wednesday about the Benghazi attacks, and what she knew before, during and afterwards. What should follow are some answers to what had happened and why US military support was not issued, and perhaps provide a further explanation as to why conflicting information on this particular issue has been published at many different levels of government.

Assange granted asylum, sort of?

The article: Assange and diplomatic asylum: a primer

The decision to grant asylum to controversial founder of whistleblower organization Wikileaks, Julian Assange was granted; however, he is still detained in the embassy. When we think of asylum said individual is granted asylum upon entering their safe haven yet in Assange's case he is not allowed to leave the embassy and enter South America.

Bottom line? The US has many enemies and has declared that transparency in its organizations is not desired nor a priority, and Assange particularly is a martyr to this cause, along with many other journalists and free-speech advocates.