Amplify’d from www.naturalnews.com

Murdoch's media malpractice and the genetic altering of human beings through DNA vaccines

by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer

(NaturalNews) Rupert Murdoch's media empire News Corp., which represents the second largest media conglomerate in the world behind the Walt Disney Company, is taking a severe beating as Murdoch himself is having to address various criminal allegations, including that his News of the World tabloid illegally hacked private phone lines and committed various other crimes (http://www.naturalnews.com/033034_N...).

But Murdoch's media malpractice runs even deeper as his strong connections to the pharmaceutical industry also fueled his media machine's fabrication of lies against Dr. Andrew Wakefield, as well as hid from the public the true dangers of DNA vaccines that permanently corrupt human genes and cause autism. Murdoch has built quite a reputation for himself as a scoundrel of sorts, as many Americans who identify with the "left" side of the political spectrum have accused him of pandering to the "right" by skewing the news to appeal to "conservatives" (Murdoch owns FOX News, after all). But what Murdoch's organization is actually doing on all fronts with its various media outlets, including FOX, is pushing much bigger agendas that supersede any alleged "right vs. left" paradigm. One such agenda is News Corp.'s routine censorship of the dangerous truth about drugs and vaccines, which include smear campaigns like those levied against Dr. Wakefield who conduct legitimate research that contradicts mainstream medical thought. News Corp. systematically destroyed the reputation of Dr. Wakefield, lied about his work If you are unfamiliar with the Dr. Wakefield story, you can read more about it in previous NaturalNews articles (http://www.naturalnews.com/Andrew_W...). But as a quick recap, Dr. Wakefield basically discovered through credible research that the combination measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine was linked to mental and physiological health problems, and that the individual measles vaccine should be given to children instead until further research on the safety of MMR could be conducted. The findings were credible, responsibly-derived, and honest in their assessment -- but they resulted in a tirade of lies and slander against Dr. Wakefield. The statements included false accusations that he is opposed to all vaccinations, that he had manipulated his data, and that he is basically unfit to be a doctor, despite the fact that he is arguably one of the most well-respected and highly-educated gastroenterologists in the world. In the end, though, Dr. Wakefield ended up having his study pulled from the esteemed UK journal Lancet, and his UK medical license was revoked. And just who was responsible for the annihilation campaign against Dr. Wakefield? None other than Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., which literally fabricated lies about Dr. Wakefield and disseminated them around the world via its multinational media network. News Corp.'s London Times, for instance, falsely accused Dr. Wakefield of being "callous, unethical and dishonest," and published numerous articles saying he was a fraud, and that he "abused his position of trust." And why, exactly, did News Corp. feel the need to destroy the life and reputation of a man that had done so much to help children with autism and other neurological disorders? Because Dr. Wakefield's findings were incongruent with the multi-billion-dollar profit ring of multinational pharmaceutical companies like GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Merck Inc., both of which produce and market MMR vaccines. Murdoch media empire, judicial system closely knit with drug companies Did you know that Rupert Murdoch's son James Murdoch, who manages the UK paper Sunday Times, is on the board of GSK? Or how about Sir Nigel Davis, the High Court judge that denied parents of children treated by Dr. Wakefield the right to have their claims against vaccine manufacturers heard in a real court? Davis' brother, who is an executive board member of Elsevier, the group that publishes the Lancet, is also on the board of GSK. An article in the COTO Report also explains that the head of the popular Reuters news service serves on the board of Merck, while a prominent writer at the UK's Daily Mirror is married to the former chairman of GSK. And the list goes on and on. With all of these strong connections to drug companies, it is no wonder that the media at large wholly participated in the Dr. Wakefield slander campaign -- after all, Dr. Wakefield's work caused millions of people to wake up and begin questioning the safety not only of the MMR vaccine, but also of vaccines in general. And this continued awakening is taking its toll on Big Pharma's profits. MMR and dozens of other DNA' vaccines essentially create genetically-modified humans Dr. Wakefield's work uncovered a crucial detail about certain vaccines that ultimately exposes those in this particular category as highly-dangerous, life-altering poisons. Third-generation DNA vaccines like MMR contain genetically-engineered (GE) materials that are injected directly into the body, sort of like how genetically-modified (GM) crop seeds have been injected with altered DNA that changes their genetic makeup -- and these GE traits can permanently alter proper human development. As far as DNA vaccines are concerned, the GE material they contain is included as part of an overall effort to induce "DNA uptake," a term that is very vaguely defined, but one that appears to infer a literal adoption of altered DNA into the human genetic structure. If this is the case, then DNA vaccines like MMR are overriding normal DNA with altered DNA, which causes the untold changes in human development and health that have been observed. Based on Dr. Wakefield's findings, this is exactly what appears to occur with MMR vaccines in particular, and it is why he urged the public to skip the MMR vaccine and get the individual vaccines instead. His findings showed that the MMR vaccine is linked to mitochondria dysfunction caused by DNA mutations. And since no proper review of MMR has ever taken place to prove its safety, his professional conclusion was that it was best to stop using it for childrens safety. Mitochondria, of course, are what power cells and convert energy into forms that are usable by the body. When these do not work properly, the entire human body becomes compromised. Individuals with autism demonstrate mitochondria dysfunction as well as various other problems, which may or may not be possible to cure -- and this, again, is precisely why Dr. Wakefield urged the public to beware of the MMR vaccine. According to the same COTO Report article mentioned earlier, DNA vaccines like MMR were actually derived from failed gene therapy experiments. In other words, they appear to be a type of genetic experiment that is permanently altering human gene expression and proper DNA development, which in turn lands its victims with permanent, life-altering developmental disorders like autism. But none of this will ever be addressed by the likes of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., or by most other mainstream news outlets for that matter, because of their close alliance with the drug industry. It is in their best interests to hide the truth from the public, and to continue pushing the lie that all vaccines are safe, and have never been implicated in causing any long-term health problems. CBS News, however, did recently report on a new review published in the Journal of Immunotoxicology that addresses the issue of third-generation DNA vaccines and autism. That review, entitled Theoretical aspects of autism: Causes -- A review, admits that "[d]ocumented causes of autism include genetic mutations and/or deletions, viral infections, and encephalitis [brain damage] following vaccination." Sources for this story include: http://coto2.wordpress.com/2011/07/... Read more at www.naturalnews.com

 

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Amplify’d from www.independent.co.uk

Catholic anger at Murdoch's papal knighthood

Steve Boggan

The Roman Catholic church is receiving complaints from worshippers following news that Rupert Murdoch has been awarded a papal knighthood from Pope John Paul II.

Senior Catholics are said to have been "mystified and astonished" when they heard that the purveyor of newspaper sex, scandal and nudity was made a Knight Commander of St Gregory at a ceremony in Los Angeles last month.

News of the award was kept out of Mr Murdoch's British titles - the Sun, the Times, the Sunday Times and the News of the World - at his request, although it is provoking outrage in the religious media and in Ireland, where many Catholics have reacted with anger that Mr Murdoch, who is not a Catholic, appears to have been honoured purely for donating large sums of money to the church. He and his wife, Anna, who is a Catholic, are known in Los Angeles as large contributors to the Archdiocesan Education Foundation, although specific amounts are not known.

The award was made by the Pope at the suggestion of Cardinal Archbishop Roger Mahony of Los Angeles. His recommendation was vetted by the Secretariat of State at the Vatican before being given the approval of the pontiff.

The knighthood is bestowed upon people of "unblemished character". It was presented by the Cardinal at St Francis De Sales Church in Los Angeles on 11 January. Other recipients included Bob Hope and Roy Disney, of the Walt Disney empire.

The reaction of Catholics in Britain has been almost unanimously negative.

Deborah Jones, editor of the Catholic Herald, said: "We have been receiving a much larger mailbag that usual, about 99 per cent of it asking: `What the hell is the church doing giving him a knighthood?'

"The great majority are complaining about page 3 girls and soft pornography in his newspapers and on his satellite channels. Some of the more thoughtful ones are expressing concern over his monopolistic tendencies and his [legal] reluctance to pay taxes. Worst of all, it does the church no good at all because it gives the impression that these honours can be bought."

Joanna Bogle, of the Association of Catholic Women, described the decision to honour Mr Murdoch as "absurd".

Speaking in a personal capacity, she said: "It sends out the message that you can make a living out of something - soft pornography - that is regarded by the Church as sinful, and yet you can be awarded for it. The Knighthood of St Gregory is supposed to be about honour and chivalry and and splendour. To give it to Murdoch is ridiculous and wrong."

Fr Kieran Conry, director of the Catholic Media Office, confirmed that some Catholics had been complaining. "Some have said that this man is a purveyor of pornography and filth. The News of the World may not be everyone's idea of a good read, but in general, no one could say Mr Murdoch has done anything evil."

Ann Widdecombe, the Tory MP who converted to the Catholic church, said she was "astonished" at the award. But she added: "I hope that now ... he might feel obliged to make some of his newspapers conform to Catholic teachings. It is never too late for a sinner to repent."

News International said Mr Murdoch did not wish to comment. Read more at www.independent.co.uk

 

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Amplify’d from www.wgal.com

Police: 15-Year-Old Killed Man, Took Hostage

York Police End Standoff With Teen

Images: IMAGES: York Shooting Scene

YORK, Pa. -- A bizarre homicide attracted the attention of York police Wednesday. Police arrested a 15-year-old boy following a shooting and standoff. Jaquez Brown was arraigned before a judge Wednesday night and charged with criminal homicide. Jaquez Brown More Police said Brown is accused of shooting and killing a 19-year-old man and taking a hostage. The shooting happened around 2:30 p.m. at 337 East Princess Street (see interactive map below). The street was closed in the area for more than two hours as investigators gathered evidence. The victim has not yet been identified. He was killed with a handgun. Neighbors in the area said they heard four or five shots. Around 5:40 p.m. a York County quick response team in an armored vehicle moved in to the area of East Philadelphia Street near North Broad Street. The team made an arrest in connection with the shooting. Heavily-armed police responded to East Philadelphia Street where a standoff took place. IMAGES: York Shooting Scene IMAGES: Recent Susquehanna Valley Shootings Read more at www.wgal.com

 

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'Cash Cab' Taxi Hits, Kills Pedestrian

Crash Occurred After Production Wrapped On Canadian Show

Reuters A pedestrian is dead after being struck and killed by a taxi used in the Canadian version of the TV game show "Cash Cab." Vancouver police told The Associated Press a 61-year-old man from Surrey, B.C., died in a hospital shortly after being struck by the mock yellow cab late Friday. Police did not immediately release the victim's identity. The accident happened as a producer was driving the replica cab back to a storage facility after filming for the day had been completed, said Andrew Burnstein, president of Castlewood Productions Inc., which produces the show's Canadian version. Circumstances leading to the crash were still being determined and no charges have yet been filed, the AP reported. Distributed by Internet Broadcasting. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Read more at www.wgal.com

 

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York City Police arrest teen in connection with fatal shooting

York City Police arrest teen in connection with fatal shooting

The 15-year-old was arrested shortly after the shooting when someone called in his location, police said.

By REBECCA LeFEVER

Neighbors gather near the scene of a shooting at the 300 block of East Princess Street in York Wednesday July, 20, 2011 as police, left, cover the victim's body. A 19-year-old male was killed in the shooting, which has been declared a homicide. (DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS -- EILEEN JOYCE)

A 15-year-old York boy was arrested Wednesday afternoon after he fatally shot a man and barricaded himself inside a York home, according to York City Police.



Officers responded at 2:27 p.m. to the 300 block of East Princess Street where they said Jacquez Brown got into a fight outside the home of 19-year-old Anthony Sharkus Wasilewski.



Brown pulled a 9-mm pistol from the front of his pants, police said, and fired several shots at Wasilewski before running from the scene. Wasilewski was found on the sidewalk and pronounced dead at the scene by York County Coroner Barry Bloss.

Jacquez Davon Brown (SUBMITTED)

Officers noted an apparent gunshot wound to the neck, according to charging documents.Police received a call at 3:07 p.m. of a man who forced himself into a home in the 300 block of East Philadelphia Street. York City Police Chief Wes Kahley said they had no idea the incident was related to the shooting until they arrived on scene.



The York County Quick Response Team was called to assist, police said. They entered the home with shields and arrested Brown a short time later.



Brown was taken to the police station where he admitted to shooting Wasilewski, the release states.



Brown's mother was brought to the police station to sit in on the interview since Brown is a minor, according to charging documents.



He was taken to Central Booking and arraigned on one count of criminal homicide. Charges are pending from the East Philadelphia Street incident, police said.



After his arrest, police continued to search the home. Kahley said searching the home after the arrest was a precautionary measure and that they planned to obtain a warrant. East Philadelphia Street remained closed between North Pine and North Broad streets until about 6:30 p.m.



Lynse Doucette of the 300 block of East Philadelphia Street sat on the sidewalk as police continued to search the home Brown had entered.She had stepped off the bus at a stop across the street and was hungry and tired, waiting for police to allow her past the yellow caution tape.



"It's usually a very peaceful, quiet block," Doucette said. "I'm just afraid for my neighbors."

A police officer carries his gun and covers himself with a shield as he enters a building on the 300 block of East Philadelphia Street in York Wednesday July 20, 2011. Police later arrested a man in the residence who is believed to have been involved in the shooting. (DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS -- EILEEN JOYCE)

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NASA Spacecraft Snaps First Close-Up Photo of Huge Asteroid Vesta in the Asteroid Belt

Amplify’d from www.space.com

NASA Spacecraft Snaps First Close-Up Photo of Huge Asteroid Vesta

NASA's Dawn spacecraft obtained this image with its framing camera on July 17, 2011. It was taken from a distance of about 9,500 miles (15,000 kilometers) away from the protoplanet Vesta. Each pixel in the image corresponds to roughly 0.88 miles (1.4 kilometers) CREDIT: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA View full size image

NASA's Dawn spacecraft has beamed home the first close-up photo of the huge asteroid Vesta, just days after entering orbit around the distant space rock. The new photo, which Dawn snapped for navigation purposes on Sunday (July 17), shows Vesta in greater detail than ever before, researchers said. Astronomers have been observing the gigantic space rock for 200 years, first with ground telescopes and later orbiting observatories, but have never been able to see it so clearly, they added. "We are beginning the study of arguably the oldest extant primordial surface in the solar system," said Dawn principal investigator Christopher Russell, of UCLA, in a statement. [Photos: See the first close-up photos of Vesta]

"This region of space has been ignored for far too long. So far, the images received to date reveal a complex surface that seems to have preserved some of the earliest events in Vesta's history, as well as logging the onslaught that Vesta has suffered in the intervening eons," Russell added.

NASA's Dawn spacecraft took this image of the south polar region of Vesta, which has a diameter of 330 miles (530 kilometers). The image was taken on July 9, 2011, and it has a scale of about 2.2 miles (3.5 km) per pixel. To enhance details, the resolution was enlarged to .6 miles (1 km) per pixel. This region is characterized by rough topography, a large mountain, impact craters, grooves and steep scarps. CREDIT: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA View full size image

A successful slide into orbit

At 330 miles (530 kilometers) wide, Vesta is the second-largest object in the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. It's so big that many astronomers classify it as a protoplanet, saying that Vesta was on its way to becoming a full-fledged rocky planet like Earth or Mars before Jupiter's gravity stirred up the asteroid belt.

Dawn arrived in orbit at Vesta at about 1 a.m. EDT Saturday (0500 GMT), becoming the first probe to enter into orbit around an object in the asteroid belt. Because of time zone differences, the historic event occurred late Friday night at NASA's Dawn mission control center at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif.

"Dawn slipped gently into orbit with the same grace it has displayed during its years of ion thrusting through interplanetary space," said Marc Rayman, Dawn chief engineer and mission manager at JPL. "It is fantastically exciting that we will begin providing humankind its first detailed views of one of the last unexplored worlds in the inner solar system."

The spacecraft will stay at Vesta for the next year, making observations that could help scientists better understand the solar system's early days and the processes that have formed and shaped the rocky planets. [7 Strangest Asteroids in the Solar System]

Many more good photos of the huge space rock will doubtless come back down to Earth soon, especially after Dawn begins gathering science data early next month. Right now, the spacecraft is still in its approach phase.

During approach, the Dawn team will continue a search for possible moons around the asteroid; obtain more images for navigation; observe Vesta's physical properties; and obtain calibration data, researchers said.

This composite image shows the comparative sizes of eight asteroids. Until now, Lutetia, with a diameter of 81 miles (130 kilometers), was the largest asteroid visited by a spacecraft, which occurred during a flyby. Vesta, which is also considered a protoplanet because it's a large body that almost became a planet, dwarfs all other small bodies in this image, with diameter of approximately 330 miles (530 km). CREDIT: NASA/JPL-Caltech/JAXA/ESA View full size image

A long journey

The $466 million Dawn mission launched in September 2007. Since then, it has logged about 1.7 billion miles (2.7 billion km) chasing Vesta down.

The spacecraft's work won't be done when it wraps up investigations at Vesta. In July 2012, Dawn will head off toward the dwarf planet Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt. It will arrive at Ceres in February 2015 and undertake a similar study of that huge space rock.

Though they both reside in the asteroid belt, Vesta and Ceres are very different bodies. Ceres is more primitive and wet, possily harboring water ice. Vesta, on the other hand, seems to be drier and rockier, researchers have said.

A detailed study of these two gigantic asteroids could shed light on how rocky bodies coalesced and evolved in the early days of the solar system, researchers said. This information could bear on how our own planet — and Mars, Mercury and Venus — came to be.

Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

Photos: Asteroids in Deep Space How NASA's Dawn Asteroid Mission Works (Infographic) As the Asteroid Turns: Hubble Spies Vesta Read more at www.space.com

 

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TransCanada has invoked the power of eminent domain to do it anyway

Amplify’d from www.huffingtonpost.com

Landowners Challenge TransCanada's Keystone Pipeline

Sue Kelso, born Sue White, is fiercely attached to a 180-acre slice of southern Oklahoma farmland. The property, about two hours north of Dallas, has been in the family since Kelso's parents, the late A.L. and Dollie White, purchased the first 80 acres in 1941. They added 100 more in 1950.

Now, the Calgary-based pipeline company TransCanada wants to run its proposed Keystone XL pipeline -- which would carry oil harvested from Alberta's tar sands through six states to the Texas Gulf Coast -- under the White family's land. Kelso, 69, and her aging siblings ultimately refused, so TransCanada has invoked the power of eminent domain to do it anyway.

The White clan is fighting the company's claim to right-of-way in court.

"My mom and dad had eight children, but one passed away when we were young, so seven of us grew up there," Kelso said in a telephone interview. "We farmed peanuts and at times we had vegetable crops that we sold -- cucumbers, peas and green beans. But we mostly farmed peanuts. We made money doing that, and we worked for other people hoeing and pulling cotton," she said.

"My dad was blind. He was legally blind when my mother married him. She was only 17. We scratched our living out of that dirt," Kelso added. "That farm meant the world to my mom and dad and they said they were going to leave it to us to care for, and that's what we intend to do."

They've got an uphill battle.

TransCanada's spokesman, Terry Cunha, emphasized that in neither this, nor in any other case, is the company seeking to seize property -- even though the legal process is known rather harrowingly as "condemnation." Rather, he said, the company only seeks to obtain easement rights to build and maintain its pipeline.

"Our commitment is to treat landowners with respect, to work with them and come to the best possible solution," Cunha said. "We do everything reasonable to avoid using eminent domain. We have always followed this process in negotiating rights of way from landowners along 35,500 miles of pipe."

But that's of little comfort to Kelso. "It's wrong," she said. "That is our land, and it's not fair that a foreign company can come in and condemn it."

Whatever the merits of the White family's case, public concern over pipeline safety -- and scrutiny of the actions of pipeline companies -- has been heightened by a recent rupture in a line belonging to Exxon-Mobil, which allowed some 42,000 gallons of oil to seep into the Yellowstone River in Montana earlier this month.

Indeed, environmental groups quickly linked the two pipelines, arguing that the Exxon-Mobil spill clearly demonstrates that the risks of TransCanada's venture are too high.

On Friday, seven Democratic senators, led by Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton echoing that sentiment. They called for a review of the permitting process.

"We write to express our continuing concerns regarding TransCanada's proposed Keystone XL pipeline," the letter began. "One need look no further than the ongoing impacts on the Yellowstone River in Montana from a leak in ExxonMobil's Silvertip pipeline to recognize that such risks are very real."

The White family is deeply worried about spills, too, and their story is one of several highlighted in a report published in April by the environmental group Friends of the Earth. In it they argue that TransCanada has been bullying property owners as it tries to secure the rights to run its 2,000 miles of pipeline through the American heartland.

"Eminent domain is supposed to be used for the public good," said Alex Moore, an activist with Friends of the Earth. "Yet TransCanada is suing and threatening American farmers and ranchers with eminent domain so it can build a pipeline that will serve no one but TransCanada and Big Oil."

The tales gathered in the group's April report include people like David Daniel, a carpenter from Winsboro, Texas, who said he first learned his property was included in TransCanada's pipeline plans when he discovered that the company had hammered survey stakes into his land. "No one from the company had asked his permission -- or even notified him after the fact," the report stated. "When he denied the company further access to his land, their Houston law firm threatened to take his property through eminent domain."

Letters sent over the last year to landowners in various states by TransCanada, or by its agents, suggest that it regards eminent domain as a path of last resort -- though one the company is certainly willing to take.

But Cunha, TransCanada's spokesman, said any suggestion that the company was bullying landowners was false, and that the company has diligently followed federal and state guidelines for pursuing legal easement deals with property owners in all states the proposed pipeline would traverse. He also disputed stories of wanton trespass.

"We don't just show up and start trespassing and laying stakes down without permission," Cunha said.

Meanwhile, the White family's challenge, which questions TransCanada's right to invoke eminent domain in the first place, is unusual. By many measures, it would seem a losing proposition.

"The majority of time property owners do lose," said Catherine Tedone Newman, the executive director of the Owners' Counsel of America, an organization dedicated to protecting the rights of property owners in eminent domain cases. "But they lose for the good of the public. What you're really trying to do is advocate for individual rights," Newman said. "That's what our founding fathers based our country on."

Eminent domain is a fickle business and the details vary from state to state. What's certain, though, is that the law tends to favor local governments and developers who can legitimately claim that a greater public purpose is being served by whatever infrastructure project or economic enhancement is being undertaken -- from utility wires and freeways, to schools, pipelines, railroad tracks and ports.

Directly challenging a claim to eminent domain, therefore, is far less common than refusing to accept the financial terms proposed by a company to compensate property owners for the use of their land.

Kelso said land agents representing TransCanada originally offered her family $1,300 for a 50-foot easement for the pipeline itself, which would cut across the southwest corner of the property, along with a 25-foot temporary easement on either side for equipment. According to court filings, that number was eventually increased to $2,123 for use of the land.

The family still grazes cattle there, and another of the White's daughters, Doris Lynn, still lives with her husband on the land. Kelso and her husband, Waylan, who now live just over the border in Texas, have built a retirement home on the property.

"My brother and sister-in-law have cows on the place," Kelso said. "It takes forever for that grass to come back, and TransCanada told us they wouldn't pay for pasture damage if we didn't take the deal."

So they thought about it. After all, the Whites weren't strangers to pipelines. Four oil or natural gas lines -- artifacts of deals made by their now-deceased parents -- already slip underfoot at the property. Even Cunha said the company was close to a deal with the family.

But after reading up on the Keystone XL pipeline and its proposed cargo -- a thick, tarry form of oil called bitumen, which is diluted with other petroleum byproducts and pumped at higher pressures and temperatures than conventional crude -- Kelso said she and her family became nervous and backed away.

A spill on their property, she said, would be too much to bear.

Last August, TransCanada filed a condemnation suit on the property. In January, the Whites fought back, arguing in a filing with Oklahoma's Bryan County District Court that TransCanada's claim ought to be dismissed because, among other things, the pipeline would serve no public good, no legislature had ever granted eminent domain for the right to move bitumen, and as a foreign corporation it has no right to eminent domain.

From the filing:

The Landowners' property cannot be legally taken by TransCandada Keystone Pipeline, LP because the property would be taken: (1) by a privately-owned, foreign corporate entity; (2) by an entity owned and controlled by a privately-owned, foreign corporate entity; (3) for the benefit of a privately-owned foreign entity; (4) for the benefit of a foreign government; and (5) other reasons outside the scope of any public use for which property of citizens of Oklahoma and the United States may legally be taken under the Oklahoma statutes, the Oklahoma Constitution, or the United States Constitution.

The White family's attorney, Harlan Hentges, put it more simply: "It's not that it's an oil pipeline, it's that the public gets no use from the pipeline. That's the problem," Hentges said. "The pendulum is swinging against eminent domain," he added. "We're not tilting at windmills, here. This is a good fight to fight."

TransCanada fired back in February, arguing in essence that the White's challenge had no real merit, and that TransCanada's claim to eminent domain was as legitimate as any other -- not least because its Keystone operation is not a "foreign corporation," but a limited liability partnership legally registered in Delaware. The oil from Alberta, it also argued, meets state standards, and the pipeline itself would serve the public good by creating jobs and delivering roughly $1.25 billion in economic benefits to Oklahoma alone -- at least according to one study.

Critics have disputed those numbers. They've also questioned the company's pursuit of easements when the the U.S. State Department has not yet granted the company permission to build.

Cunha argued that it only made business sense to pursue easement deals while waiting for the State Department to deliberate, so that the company is poised to begin building as soon as one is issued.

In the event the permit is denied, he said, landowners get to keep the money.

To date, TransCanada has secured 90 percent of its needed easement deals, Cunha said. In the remaining 10 percent of the cases, he added, negotiations over what constitutes fair market value for the use of various properties are ongoing, and the company expects that it will reach agreements with most cases.

Whether that will prove overly optimistic remains to be seen. In Oklahoma alone, TransCanada has filed at least 59 suits seeking condemnation of properties, though Cunha said the White family's case was the only one to his knowledge in which a landowner was not challenging the price offered, but the company's right to eminent domain on its face.

Sue Kelso, meanwhile, said she's now convinced that no price is high enough. But she also said that she isn't holding her breath that her family's efforts -- or those anywhere else -- will stop the Keystone XL pipeline from ultimately being built.

"They'll get it though there anyway," she said. "Let's face it, all they've got to do is dangle a dollar in front to these politicians and they'll think it's the most wonderful thing in the world." Read more at www.huffingtonpost.com

 

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Complaints against York councilwoman Toni Smith sent to D.A.

Amplify’d from www.ydr.com

Complaints against York councilwoman sent to D.A.

York County Solicitor Mike Flannelly said he reviewed the complaints of violations of the election law.

By EMILY OPILO Daily Record/Sunday News

Several ethics complaints filed against York City Councilwoman Toni Smith have been referred to the county district attorney's office, York County Solicitor Mike Flannelly said Wednesday.

The complaints, filed by city resident and former York City Council and mayoral candidate, Gerry L. Turner, suggested that Smith violated several sections of campaign finance rules when she contributed to a political action committee that printed materials condemning her primary opponent Michael Helfrich.

All ethics complaints filed with the York County Department of Elections and Voter Registration are forwarded to the county solicitor for review, director Nikki Suchanic said. The solicitor can choose whether to pass the complaint to the district attorney.

Flannelly would not disclose why he forwarded the complaint, but said he reviews all such cases to determine if a violation of election law has taken place and issues an opinion. If there is a factual issue with the case, the district attorney can make a further determination, he said.

York County District Attorney Tom Kearney said it was his office's policy to neither confirm nor deny whether an investigation is pending. He would not comment further.

At issue in the complaints were some fliers distributed by a group, known as the Committee for York's Future, shortly before the primary. The mailers addressed Helfrich's criminal record, featuring a pair of dice and asking voters if they wanted to gamble on him. Helfrich pleaded guilty to two felony drug charges in 1991.

Campaign finance records filed with York County show Smith and her re-election committee contributed all of the money used by the Committee for York's Future. She later defeated Helfrich by fewer than 100 votes.

In the four complaints filed against Smith, Turner alleges that she violated campaign finance law by exceeding established contribution limits, negating rules that required the committee's treasurer to make financial transactions, failing to conspicuously state the name of the person that financed the mailers and not listing outstanding debts on campaign finance documents.

Included with the complaints was a notarized statement from committee chairwoman of the Committee for York's Future, Jerri Zimmerman. She states she was led to believe by Smith that the committee would promote anti-bullying efforts when she decided to sign on as chairwoman.

Smith said previously that she would be willing to talk to Flannelly and Kearney about the complaints. She could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Read more at www.ydr.com

 

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Police catch man who ran from Springettsbury traffic stop

By TED CZECH Daily Record/Sunday News

Workers file back into the Springettsbury Township plant around 10:35 a.m. Wednesday. (Daily Record/Sunday News - Eileen Joyce)

A man who ran from police after they pulled him over on Route 30 Wednesday morning fled into the Caterpillar building but was later arrested as he tried to masquerade as an employee.

Springettsbury Township Police Sgt. Daniel Stump said the man was spotted on the property of the parts and manufacturing center carrying some cones, "trying to blend in as an employee."

But one of the employees recognized the man - whose name police did not release - and alerted police. An officer began chasing him, and a United Parcel Service worker, who saw the chase, tripped the man, allowing police to arrest him, Stump said.

Police pulled over an SUV about 7:20 a.m. between North Hills Road and Memory Lane, when they noticed it had an expired registration plate that belonged to another vehicle.

During the stop, the man got out of the gold 1994 Chevy Suburban and ran toward the industrial complex, at 600 Memory Lane. He scaled a barbed-wire fence to get onto the property, Stump said.

Stump said later the man might have gained entry to the buildings through one of many garage bays that are often open.

Officers - along with the plant's security and management team - began combing the plant and, gathering reinforcements, set up a perimeter around the complex.

"Employees in the building were evacuated as a precautionary measure," according to Caterpillar.

Police spotted the man twice inside the plant but were unable to catch him, Stump said.

Searching the man's vehicle, police found two gun holsters, which led them to believe he might have been armed, Stump said.

A York Area Regional Police K-9 unit spent about an hour searching the building.

About 11:35 a.m., after employees had been allowed to return to work, an employee recognized the man, and a nearby officer was alerted.

Springettsbury Township Police said they also received help from officers from Spring Garden and Hellam townships.

Staff photographer Chris Dunn contributed to this report.

Caterpillar's statement

After the man's arrest, Caterpillar issued a statement, saying in part that it "has cooperated fully with authorities in this matter and is grateful to local law enforcement for their quick and professional support in resolving this matter."

Workers are evacuated from the York Business Park in Springettsbury Township on Wednesday. (Daily Record/Sunday News - Chris Dunn) Read more at www.ydr.com

 

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