Articles and rumors abound regarding where big time college sports programs are headed. By big time, I mean members of the five largest revenue producing conferences: ACC, Big 10, Big 12, PAC 12, and SEC. The facts are that leaders from these conferences have met regarding redesigning their own governance. What exactly that will mean is where speculation and rumor abounds. The one clear message is that change is coming. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
President Obama is meeting Monday with his most loyal supporters to discuss ways to promote his agenda on issues like immigration reform and the economy as lawmakers prepare to return home for their annual summer break.
By Matt Cantor
Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell have spent a combined 60 years in the Senate, and they’ve generally had an amicable relationship—but no more. Sticking points include the Democrats’ attempt to oust McConnell in 2014; a super PAC led by former Reid aides is working against the minority leader in… …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Newser – Home
A Columbia school board member is rallying for his fellow hirsute politicians in need of more campaign cash.
From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/politics/~3/aLCb1c2OjwE/
Progress Kentucky is a super PAC that is acting more like a rogue operation in its efforts to unseat Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell — sending out racially sensitive tweets and allegedly making a secret recording of the Senate Minority Leader’s re-election strategy talks.
From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/politics/~3/Wxa2MoF4aN8/
North Korea reportedly warned Japan that Tokyo would be the first target should the country decide to play its nuclear card.
The warning is reportedly in response to Tokyo‘s standing orders to destroy any missile heading towards the nation, according to Korean Central News Agency.
Japan has deployed PAC-3 missile interceptor units around Tokyo to protect its capital and is taking North Korea‘s rhetoric seriously.
“We are doing all we can to protect the safety of our nation,” chief Cabinet spokesman Yoshihide Suga said, though he and Ministry of Defense officials refused to confirm the reports about the naval alert, saying they do not want to “show their cards” to North Korea.
Japanese officials have long feared that North Korea has not only the means, but several potential motives, for launching an attack on Tokyo or major U.S. military installations on Japan‘s main island.
“If Kim Jong Un decides to launch a missile, whether it’s across the Sea of Japan or some other direction, he will be choosing willfully to ignore the entire international community,” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters in South Korea. “And it will be a provocation and unwanted act that will raise people’s temperatures.”
“We will stand with South Korea and Japan against these threats. And we will defend ourselves,” he said.
Speaking beside Kerry, South Korea‘s Yun called for more United Nations action against Pyongyang if it commits another provocation.
He refused to comment specifically on the U.S. intelligence report, saying only that the North has “high nuclear and missile capabilities” but that it is still some time away from a nuclear bomb that is “small, light and diversified.”
Kerry offered strong words of solidarity for South Korea, and praised South Korea President Park Geun-hye’s “bright vision” of a prosperous and reunified Korean Peninsula without nuclear weapons. By contrast, he said North Korea‘s Kim, has a choice to make between provocation and returning to talks to de-escalate tension and lead to the end of its nuclear program
Both Yun and Kerry kept the door open for future negotiations with Pyongyang.
But both seemed to suggest that they were unlikely in light of the North’s increasingly bombastic threats, including nuclear strikes on the United States. Most experts say those are unfeasible based on the North’s current capacity and would never be explored seriously because the U.S. response would be overwhelming against a regime focused primarily on survival.
Kerry said any talks with North Korea have to lead toward denuclearization.
They have to be really serious,” Kerry said. “No one is going to talk for the sake of talking and no one is going to play this round-robin game that gets repeated every few years, which is both unnecessary and dangerous.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/world/~3/9169pUDzOOk/
By The Huffington Post News Editors
Earlier Thursday, Jefferson County Democratic Party official Jacob Conway came forward to reporters at WPFL News in Louisville, Ky., to allege that “Shawn Reilly and Curtis Morrison, who founded and volunteered for Progress Kentucky, respectively, bragged to him about how they recorded” the strategy meeting at which advisers to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) had discussed the opposition research they’d piled up against actress Ashley Judd, who had, for a time, mulled mounting a campaign against McConnell. This recording made its way to David Corn at Mother Jones, who then made it publicly available. McConnell has since repeatedly contended that the recording was obtained through illegal subterfuge and hinted at the possibility that Progress Kentucky, a liberal super PAC, might be behind it.
Conway has also appeared on Fox News, where he explained that he made his public allegations against Reilly and Morrison because he saw the McConnell recording as potentially damaging to the Democratic Party. Via TPM:
“The only reason that I came forward with what I knew was I was trying to protect the Democratic Party,” Conway said. “I believe in our party’s values, and I was doing what I thought was best for the party because I did not want their bad behavior, their poor mistakes — I shouldn’t say ‘bad behavior’ — their mistakes, their lack of judgment to hurt our party’s efforts here in the state of Kentucky and in Jefferson County, here in Louisville.”
From: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/11/progress-kentucky-mcconnell_n_3064265.html
By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico, S.A.B. de C.V. Informs
GUADALAJARA, Mexico–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE: PAC; BMV: GAP) (“the Company” or “GAP“) informs that it has been notified that, in the protection proceeding by which the Company had appealed a intermediate decision in the lawsuit filed by Grupo México, S.A.B. de C.V. (“Grupo México”) seeking the declaration of invalidity of the Company’s bylaws, and by virtue of the application of certain federal precedents regarding such protection proceedings, the court granted GAP‘s petition for a suspension of the intermediate court’s decision that had declared invalid Articles X and XII of the Company’s bylaws. The court’s decision of suspension confirms that which is set forth in Article 1343 of the Commercial Code, namely that the lower courts’ decisions at the trial and intermediate level are not carried out until all ordinary and extraordinary measures of redress by GAP have been exhausted.
As a result of this decision, GAP confirms that Articles X and XII of its bylaws remain valid and binding, and, consequently, GAP‘s shareholders are required to adhere to them.
Company Description:
Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico, S.A.B. de C.V. (GAP) operates 12 airports throughout Mexico’s Pacific region, including the major cities of Guadalajara and Tijuana, the four tourist destinations of Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, La Paz and Manzanillo, and six other mid-sized cities: Hermosillo, Bajio, Morelia, Aguascalientes, Mexicali and Los Mochis. In February 2006, GAP‘s shares were listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “PAC” and on the Mexican Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “GAP“.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements. These statements are not historical facts, and are based on management’s current view and estimates of future economic circumstances, industry conditions, company performance and financial results. The words “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “plans” and similar expressions, as they relate to the company, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Statements regarding the declaration or payment of dividends, the implementation of principal operating and financing strategies and capital expenditure plans, the direction of future operations and the factors or trends affecting financial conditions, liquidity or results of operations are examples of forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the current views of management and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. There is no guarantee that the expected events, trends or results will actually occur. The statements are based on many assumptions and factors, including general economic and market conditions, industry conditions, and operating factors.
From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/11/grupo-aeroportuario-del-pacifico-sab-de-cv-informs/
North Korea delivered a fresh round of rhetoric Thursday with claims it had “powerful striking means” on standby for a launch, while Seoul and Washington speculated that the country is preparing to test a medium-range missile during upcoming national celebrations.
On the streets of Pyongyang, meanwhile, North Koreans celebrated the anniversary of leader Kim Jong Un‘s appointment to the country’s top party post — one in a slew of titles collected a year ago in the months after father Kim Jong Il‘s death.
The Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, a nonmilitary agency that deals with relations with South Korea, didn’t elaborate on its warning of a strike. The statement is the latest in a torrent of warlike threats seen outside Pyongyang as an effort to raise fears and pressure Seoul and Washington into changing their North Korea policy.
Officials in Seoul and Washington say Pyongyang appears to be preparing to test-fire a medium-range missile designed to reach the U.S. territory of Guam in the Pacific Ocean.
Such a launch would violate U.N. Security Council resolutions prohibiting North Korea from nuclear and ballistic missile activity, and mark a major escalation in Pyongyang’s standoff with neighboring nations and the U.S.
North Korea already has been punished in recent months for launching a long-range rocket in December and conducting an underground nuclear test in February.
Analysts do not believe North Korea will stage an attack similar to the one that started the Korean War in 1950. But there are concerns that the animosity could spark a skirmish that could escalate into a serious conflict.
“North Korea has been, with its bellicose rhetoric, with its actions … skating very close to a dangerous line,” U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said in Washington on Wednesday. “Their actions and their words have not helped defuse a combustible situation.”
The missile that officials believe Pyongyang is readying has been dubbed the “Musudan” by foreign experts after the northeastern village where North Korea has a launch pad. The missile has a range of 3,500 kilometers (2,180 miles) and is designed to reach U.S. military installments in Guam and Japan, experts say.
Bracing for a launch, officials said could take place at any time, Seoul deployed three naval destroyers, an early warning surveillance aircraft and a land-based radar system, a Defense Ministry official said in Seoul, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with department rules. Japan deployed PAC-3 missile interceptors around Tokyo.
But officials in Seoul played down security fears, noting that no foreign government has evacuated its citizens from either Korean capital.
“North Korea has continuously issued provocative threats and made efforts to raise tension on the Korean peninsula … but the current situation is being managed safely and our and foreign governments have been calmly responding,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho Tai-young told reporters Thursday.
The war talk is seen as a way for North Korea to draw attention to the precariousness of the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and to boost the military credentials of young leader Kim Jong Un.
The Korean War ended in
From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/world/~3/vyHIJWAEkc8/
By The Huffington Post News Editors
WASHINGTON — At a congressional hearing on Tuesday convened by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), officials from the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service were unable to name a prosecution undertaken by either agency for false statements made by a nonprofit engaging in political activities or for super PAC contributions made through a shell corporation.
The hearing before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism was held to examine enforcement of campaign finance laws since the Supreme Court‘s 2010 ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission opened the door to unlimited independent campaign spending by corporations, unions and, through a subsequent lower court ruling, individuals.
Whitehouse highlighted the lack of enforcement, as far as he could see, against two types of potential violations: the use of shell corporations to conceal a donor’s identity when contributing to a super PAC, and the making of false statements in registering for 501(c)(4) “social welfare” nonprofit status by a group that asserts it will not engage in political activity but, in fact, does.
Read More…
More on Campaign Finance
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post
By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico Reports Passenger Traffic Increase of 9.1% for March 2013
GUADALAJARA, Mexico–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE: PAC; BMV: GAP) (“the Company” or “GAP“) announced today preliminary terminal passenger traffic figures for the month of March 2013 compared to traffic figures for March 2012.
During March 2013, total terminal passengers increased 9.1% compared to the previous year. Domestic passenger traffic increased 9.9%, while international passenger traffic increased 8.0% compared to March 2012.
Recent Events:
Notably, Holy Week / Easter took place during the month of April, in 2012. In 2013, however, Holy Week took place during March, while Easter took place in April. As a result, figures will be comparable in April 2013.
Also during March, it is important to mention the launch of two new routes: the first is Tijuana to Cancun by Volaris and secondly, Los Cabos to Denver, by Southwest Airlines (operated by Air Tran Airways).
Company Description:
Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico, S.A.B. de C.V. (GAP) operates twelve airports throughout Mexico’s Pacific region, including the major cities of Guadalajara and Tijuana, the four tourist destinations of Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, La Paz and Manzanillo, and six mid-sized cities: Hermosillo,Guanajuato, Morelia, Aguascalientes, Mexicali and Los Mochis. In March 2006, GAP‘s shares were listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “PAC” and on the Mexican Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “GAP“.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements. These statements are statements that are not historical facts, and are based on management’s current view and estimates of future economic circumstances, industry conditions, company performance and financial results. The words “anticipates”, “believes”, “estimates”, “expects”, “plans” and similar expressions, as they relate to the company, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Statements regarding the declaration or payment of dividends, the implementation of principal operating and financing strategies and capital expenditure plans, the direction of future operations and the factors or trends affecting financial condition, liquidity or results of operations are examples of forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the current views of management and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. There is no guarantee that the expected events, trends or results will actually occur. The statements are based on many assumptions and factors, including general economic and market conditions, industry conditions, …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
A factory complex that is North Korea‘s last major economic link with South Korea was a virtual ghost town Tuesday after Pyongyang suspended its operations and recalled all 53,000 of its workers as part of its recent war-like posturing.
The work stoppage at the Kaesong industrial complex, the biggest employer in the North’s third-biggest city and a source of much-needed hard currency, shows that Pyongyang is willing to hurt its own shaky economy in order to display its anger with South Korea and the United States.
Only a few hundred South Korean managers remained at the facility, which has been run for the past decade with cheap North Korean labor and South Korean capital and know-how. The managers have not been forced to leave the complex, located just north of the Demilitarized Zone.
One manager said that he and his colleagues are subsisting on instant noodles but planned to stay and watch over company equipment as long as their food lasted. Some of those who chose to leave were seen departing in cars overloaded with finished products.
The pull-out is part of a torrent of provocations and threats Pyongyang has unleashed at Seoul and Washington in recent weeks. The North is angry at U.N. sanctions punishing it for its third nuclear test on Feb. 12, as well as joint military exercises between the U.S. and South Korea that the allies call routine but that Pyongyang sees as preparation for an invasion.
In what’s seen as the latest attempt to stoke fear, North Korea on Tuesday urged all foreign companies and tourists in South Korea to evacuate because it says the rival Koreas are on the verge of nuclear war. Analysts see a direct attack on Seoul as extremely unlikely.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye, who has sought to re-engage North Korea with dialogue and aid since taking office in February, expressed exasperation Tuesday with what she called the “endless vicious cycle” of Seoul answering Pyongyang’s hostile behavior with compromise, only to get more hostility.
U.S. and South Korean defense officials have said they’ve seen nothing to indicate that Pyongyang is preparing for a major military action. But they have raised their defense postures, and so has Japan, which deployed PAC-3 missile interceptors in key locations around Tokyo on Tuesday as a precaution against possible North Korean ballistic missile tests.
Analysts say North Korea‘s rhetoric and actions …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
By The Huffington Post News Editors
TOKYO — Japan has deployed missile interceptors in key locations around Tokyo as a precaution against possible North Korean ballistic missile tests.
The Patriot missiles, called PAC-3s, were deployed Tuesday at Japan‘s defense ministry headquarters and were also to be deployed at bases farther away from central Tokyo.
Read More…
More on North Korea
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post
Japan has deployed missile interceptors in key locations around Tokyo as a precaution against possible North Korean ballistic missile tests.
The Patriot missiles, called PAC-3s, were deployed Tuesday at Japan‘s defense ministry headquarters and were also to be deployed at bases farther away from central Tokyo.
Japan has taken similar measures before previous North Korean launches. It has never actually tried to shoot down a North Korean missile and was not expected to try to do so unless there was a clear threat to Japanese territory.
North Korea is believed to have moved ballistic missiles to its east coast, possibly in preparation for a test launch. That has further raised tensions on the Korean Peninsula amid threats by North Korea and large-scale war games involving U.S. and South Korean troops.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
Man Who Took Hostages At Hillary Campaign Office Missing From Prison...
(Third column, 19th story, link)
Source: Drudge Report
HE'S BACK! Ickes advising super PAC...
(Third column, 16th story, link)
Source: Drudge Report
By Mark Russell At last, a super PAC that can be described as hirsute—it’s Bearded Entrepreneurs for the Advancement of a Responsible Democracy, aka BEARD, a political action committee dedicated to advancing bearded candidates. Founded by Jonathan Sessions and Andy Shapero, BEARD is as quirky as you might imagine: A planned committee… …read more
WASHINGTON, April 5 (UPI) — Talk about a potentially hairy situation. The U.S. election watchdog has received paperwork from a political action committee that supports bearded candidates.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at UPI Odd News
By The Huffington Post News Editors
Super PACs, independent-expenditure committees that can raise unlimited campaign contributions, conjure up images of political heavyweights like Karl Rove and the Koch brothers.
But two marijuana-growing brothers from Eugene, Ore., have decided to use the fundraising platform to fight to legalize weed. They’re accepting donations now at the Legalize Marijuana Super PAC.com.
Mark and Dennis Rogers submitted a super-PAC application to the Federal Election Commission on March 11 and were approved on March 25, Mark Rogers told The Huffington Post.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post
By Evann Gastaldo Count James Carville among those who really want Hillary Clinton to run for president in 2016. He’s supporting Ready for Hillary PAC, a super PAC whose mission is to get Clinton into the race, the Washington Post reports. In an email Carville is sending today, he will ask other Clinton… …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Newser – Home
