High Court Protects Secret Service Agents

click to enlarge for extra scrutiny

Apple CEO Tim Cook will testify before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations regarding a report that Apple had hidden more than $44 billion in offshore accounts between 2009 and 2012, meaning the company avoided paying taxes on the funds. In anticipation of the hearing, Apple released Cook’s 17-page testimony, which explains Apple’s position on the investigation, saying the company “safeguards the capital entrusted to it by its shareholders with prudent management” and argues that the company has been a powerful force for job creation in the United States. “Apple complies fully with both the laws and spirit of the laws. And Apple pays all its required taxes, both in this country and abroad,” the advance testimony explained. An April report by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists revealed that hiding money in offshore accounts is common around the world, as a massive leak of emails revealed politicians were often avoiding paying taxes in their own countries. Watch the testimony, broadcast on May 21.

The search for survivors of Monday's massive tornado continues in Oklahoma, with crews searching destroyed buildings and vehicles: The official death toll stood at 51 Tuesday morning, but it was sure to rise. A coroner's office official said some 40 bodies have yet to be processed by medical examiners—roughly half of them children. More bodies could be hidden under the vast debris field, authorities warned. Hundreds of people were injured. While most major news sources continue to report 51 dead, there are conflicting reports, however. According to Reuters: Officials in Oklahoma City said on Tuesday that 24 bodies were recovered after a devastating tornado tore through Moore, Okla., a sharp decline from the 51 deaths they previously reported. "We have got good news. The number right now is 24," said Amy Elliott, chief administrative officer at the Oklahoma City Medical Examiner's Office. The prior figure of 51 dead may have included some double-reported casualties, Elliott said. Here's hoping. President Obama has declared a major disaster; he will speak about Oklahoma at 10 am Eastern. 6:35 AM PT: The AP follows Reuters: BREAKING: Medical examiner's office revises death toll from Oklahoma tornado to at least 24. — @AP via SocialFlow

As the Boy Scouts prepare to vote on whether to change the organization's ban on openly gay members, news outlets should resist the urge to let anti-gay activists frame the debate around concerns about pedophilia and sexual abuse. On May 23, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) will vote on a proposal that would rescind the organization's ban on openly gay scouts but maintain a ban on gay adults serving in leadership positions. The "compromise" proposal is clearly meant to assuage right-wing fears that openly gay scout leaders might engage in pedophilia - a fear that was given plenty of airtime in February when the BSA first considered changing its policy: But the compromise proposal hasn't silenced anti-gay groups like the American Family Association (AFA) and Family Research Council (FRC), which continue to warn that allowing gay people into the BSA would increase the risk of inappropriate sexual behavior and sexual abuse. OnMyHonor.net, one of the groups leading the effort against the compromise proposal, lists sexual abuse as one of its primary concerns about accepting gay scouts (emphasis in original): Based upon personal and candid conversations with BSA officials at the highest levels, the BSA is fully aware that this proposed resolution will absolutely increase the risk of boy-on-boy sexual contact in Scouting Enacting this resolution will result in more ugly litigation and will further the public scandal to the BSA, not to mention the tragedy of countless boys who will experience sexual, physical and psychological abuse. The "gays are pedophiles" talking point, of course, has been widely debunked by child welfare experts and has no basis in reality. Even the BSA acknowledges that the threat of sexual abuse by gay members is a myth, stating: [T]he BSA makes no connection between the sexual abuse or victimization of a child and homosexuality. The BSA takes strong exception to this assertion. Some of the nation's leading experts reinforce this position. The BSA has stringent polices that protect the safety and privacy of youth and adult members and has always worked to ensure that it is a supportive and safe environment for young people. But this consensus from child welfare experts apparently wasn't enough to stop mainstream media outlets from obsessively debating the homosexuality-pedophilia connection in February. On Fox News, for example, discussions of pedophilia tainted more than two-thirds of the network's coverage of the Boy Scouts' ban: When the BSA votes on its compromise proposal, media outlets should refuse to allow anti-gay activists - many of whom have histories of extreme anti-gay commentary - to hijack their coverage in order to peddle damaging and discredited smears about gay people.

submitted by icnoevil [link] [2 comments]