Sri Lanka
Power and Energy Minister Champika Ranawaka said that Sri Lanka is reconsidering the outright transfer of a parcel of land to China under a $1.5 billion port city deal signed by the previous government.
Under the original plan signed by former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, 108 hectares of land next to the main commercial port of Colombo would be taken over by China Communications Construction Co Ltd, including 20 hectares on an outright basis and the rest on a 99-year lease.
“There is a new suggestion not to give freehold land and that land should be controlled and subjected to the Sri Lankan law,” said Ranawaka.
The Sri Lankan-Chinese deal also caused tension with neighboring India, who has had territorial disputes with China in the past. India and China are also competing for influence across the Indian Ocean through which much of their trade transits.
Qatar
Qatar recalled its ambassador to Egypt last week following a dispute over Egypt’s airstrikes in Libya on Islamic State targets in Libya.
Qatari officials expressed reservations over Egypt’s unilateral military action in another Arab League member state, citing the risk of civilian casualties.
However, after a meeting in Cairo on Wednesday, the Arab League issued a statement expressing its “complete understanding” about Egypt’s airstrikes in response to the beheading of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians in Libya by Islamic State militants.
The Egyptian permanent representative to the Arab League, Tareq Adel, said it was clear that Qatar “supports terrorism.” A Qatari foreign ministry official denounced Adel’s statement, saying it was “against righteousness, wisdom and principles of joint Arab action.”
Poland
Minister of Foreign Affairs Grzegorz Schetyna announced on Wednesday that Poland will abide by a European court ruling that ordered it to pay a total of $262,000 in reparations to two individuals who were held in a “black site” in the country run by the C.I.A.
“We have to do it,” said Grzegorz Schetyna in an interview with a state news agency. “We are a law-abiding country.”
The European Court of Human Rights ruled in July that Poland violated the rights of the two men, Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, by handing them over to the C.I.A. in 2002.
The two men, who are both charged with various crimes and activities relating to terrorism, are now being held in the American military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Although Maryland has decriminalized Marijuana, UMBC has not updated policy
In both the Maryland Senate and the Maryland State House of Delegates, legislation has been introduced in order to legalize and regulate the sale of marijuana. Senate Bill 531 and House Bill 911, also known as The Marijuana Control and Revenue Act of 2015, would permit adults aged 21 and over to personally grow, cultivate, sell and buy marijuana.
Adults would be allowed to purchase and possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana, 5 grams of hashish, 16 ounces of marijuana infused edibles and 72 ounces of marijuana infused liquids. For non-commercial purposes, adults would be allowed to grow up to six cannabis plants. Both bills are currently sponsored by over 40 legislators, all of whom are Democrats.
Late last year, Governor Martin O’Malley signed a bill officially decriminalizing marijuana. Currently in Maryland, being caught possessing less than 10 grams of marijuana for the first time results in a civil ticket with a fine of up to $100.
“The Marijuana Control and Revenue Act is the next step on the road to saner drug policy in Maryland,” stated Sara Love, the public policy director for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Maryland, in a press release statement.
“ … Our state has the opportunity to move beyond the tragic costs of the counterproductive ‘war on drugs,’” Love continued, “and toward increased revenue that can be used to support policies that strengthen communities.”
According to federal analysis based upon similar Maryland legislation proposed in 2014, more than $95 million dollars would be made in state tax revenue on commercially-sold marijuana. The Maryland representatives who have introduced the marijuana legalization bills have proposed that future commercial marijuana revenue be directed toward education and development sectors.
Although marijuana has been fully decriminalized in Maryland, UMBC has not altered its campus marijuana policies. UMBC Students for Sensible Drug Policy President Nitin Sampathi, a senior graphic design major, is critical of this.
“Students shouldn’t be penalized for making a safer choice,” Simpathi said, referring to studies that have suggested that marijuana is safer to use than alcohol. “On campus, marijuana should be treated the same as alcohol.” Simpathi expressed his belief that “both UMBC and SSDP want to reduce drug usage,” but that that does not happen “through criminalization.”
Sampathi said, “it’s ironic that we’re a research university but we choose to ignore the research that goes against our policies.“ The UMBC Student Government Association (SGA) has yet to comment on Maryland’s marijuana policies.
In a Gallup poll taken in late 2013, 58% of Americans said that they would be in favor of legalizing and regulating marijuana whereas 39% of Americans said that they are opposed.
16-year old male from Kentucky suspected of involvement in his family’s deaths
Maryland police engaged in a car chase and firefight with a male teenager with alleged ties to his family’s murder in Kentucky.
16-year-old Jason Hendrix was killed on the morning of Saturday, Feb. 14, in a shootout with Maryland police near Essex. He failed to stop when a police officer attempted to pull him over for speeding and fled the scene, resulting in a car chase involving six officers that ended when Hendrix struck another vehicle at an intersection near Hyde Park Road.
When an officer approached the car, Hendrix shot at him and was killed in the ensuing firefight. The officer was mildly injured and quickly released from the hospital.
Upon searching the vehicle, the officers discovered six weapons, including four .38-caliber handguns, one 9 mm handgun and a shotgun, as well as a backpack full of ammunition.
Upon identifying Hendrix and reaching out to the station in Corbin, Kentucky, police visited the Hendrix home that night and discovered the bodies of his parents and his sister. All three victims had suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the head and were killed sometime during the evening of Wednesday, February 11.
Officers have confirmed that the car Hendrix was driving was his mother’s SUV. Jason is the primary suspect, with a possible motive being his parent’s recent restrictions on his computer and cell phone use. His reasons for fleeing to Maryland are uncertain.
Jason Hendrix was an active church-goer, ROTC student and high school junior. His sister, Grace, was a cheerleader and sixth-grade student. Her father was a beekeeper and a worker at the county clerk’s office, while his mother taught social work at Union College.
Multiple members of the community, including Pastor Drew Mahan and family friend Greg Razmus, expressed shock, claiming that there was “no sign” from Jason or the family that anything was seriously wrong at home.
Such a violent crime is rare for the Corbin community. Police Chief David Cambell said, “We’re having a lot of overdoses on heroin. I think we had four suicides last year. But we’ve never had anything like this.” All four members of the family are being mourned by the community.
[Sources:http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/blog/bs-md-co-hendrix-weapons-20150217-story.html
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-corbin-deaths-20150215-story.html#page=1
http://www.kentucky.com/2015/02/15/3696500_corbin-teen-killed-in-shootout.html?rh=1
http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/17/us/maryland-kentucky-shooting/]
President’s use of executive action on illegal immigration ruled to have inadequately followed proper procedures
Late Monday night, a federal judge from Texas ruled against the President’s use of executive action on illegal immigration, and in favor of the 25 other states that were in opposition. The President created a plan at the end of last year to protect up to 5 million illegal immigrants from facing immediate deportation.
Judge Andrew Hanan cited that the president and his administration failed to entirely comply with the Administrative Procedure Act, which requires the administration to provide a longer comment and notification period. He also added that the program would be a significant financial burden on the states.
The case was filed in a district court with a judge close to the border, in a state that has supported the deportation of immigrants, and to a judge that has historically opposed President Obama’s ideals on immigration.
In a 2014 University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll, 60% of state residents said that illegal immigrants should be immediately deported from the country, to the 34% that opposed the idea.
The nation as a whole appears fairly evenly split on illegal immigration. A 2015 CNN/ORC poll conducted on the 15th of February found that 49% of the nation believed a plan should be put in place to give immigrants legal residency. Another 49% supported a plan to stop the flow of illegal immigration and deport those currently residing in the states.
Judge Andrew Hanan has never been shy in voicing his opinions on the subject. During a discussion on border patrol, he said, “Their hard work and dedication goes for naught when those in charge create policies that tie their hands.”
Less than one day after the ruling, the president responded by saying, “The law is on our side, and history is on our side.” The White House released a statement that argued that the President’s actions “are well within his legal authority.” They also announced that they plan on appealing the ruling.
The President is adamant that preparation for the program will continue.
He said, “The Department of Homeland Security will continue with the planning because we want to make sure that as soon as these legal issues get resolved – which I anticipate they will, in our favor – that we are ready to go.”
The decision dampens the hopes of thousands of immigrants that believed amnesty was finally within arms reach. The immigration agency was set to upload documents on Wednesday that would have allowed thousands of illegal immigrants to join the President’s program. Now that the program has been put on hold, many immigrants are in a judicial flux.
Laura Foote Reiff, the chairwoman of the National Immigration Forum and immigration adviser for the White House, said that the delay could halt all of the executive action-reliant programs by at least 6-12 months.
Although executive action is intended to be used in moderation, it is the only way that illegal immigrants will benefit from any federal legislation as the chances of a Republican-controlled Congress passing any pro-immigration policies are slim to none.
The president expressed his frustration towards the overall conflict over immigration reform between his administration and Congress. He recently commented on Congressional threats to defund the Department of Homeland Security, and how it would impact immigration policies further.
“With a new Congress, my hope has been that they now get serious in solving the problem,” said President Obama. “Instead, Congress has made threats to defund the Department of Homeland Security, which would make it even harder for us to protect our border and keep our people safe.”
Measures to improve election rules’ enforcement, improve overall process
With the goal of improving student elections in mind, the Student Government Association’s Election Board aims to see a number of changes to the electoral process implemented.
Election Board Chairman Evan Leiter-Mason, a sophomore political science and economics major, stood before the SGA Senate Monday night to present a number of impending changes to Election Board practices. Leiter-Mason discussed how these changes aimed to serve student voters.
“We [the Election Board] have been thinking about changing our policies to make the election process better,” Leiter-Mason told the Senate members. “This is something we really want to fix.”
The Election Board will specifically take steps to address student harassment from campaigners. These are intended to protect student-voters from negative electoral experiences.
Under new Election Board rules, campaigners will be prohibited from utilizing mobile devices while campaigning on campus. This rule arose from various students’ descriptions of times in which they felt pressured to cast their vote on mobile devices by campaigners in previous elections.
“Under former rules in previous elections, there were concerns expressed over how close to a student a campaigner could be while the student was voting, or campaigners looking over voters’ shoulders as they voted on mobile devices,” said Leiter-Mason before the Senate. “Now, instead of quibbling over, say, how close to a voter a campaigner is, the practice will simply not be allowed.”
In addition, Leiter-Mason stated that the Election Board will restrict polling hours during the voting period. It will also direct a public awareness campaign regarding election reforms towards students. Finally, new rules will restrict what campaigners can print in commonvision using SGA-allotted funds.
Leiter-Mason argued that the chosen reforms will maximize electoral fairness and voter turnout, while maintaining flexibility for future Election Board members. He also stated that the reforms will be strictly enforced. “Candidates that show a callous disregard for the new rules will be disqualified,” he said.
The reforms stem from expressed student dissatisfaction with previous SGA campaign practices. An SGA survey released to the student body on January 22 highlighted a number of concerns. “The survey’s results revealed that most students were dissatisfied with the tone and conduct of the campaigns, and with the SGA itself,” he said.
Students reported feeling pressured to vote by both candidates and campaign volunteers. Some also expressed a preference that voting remain online.
“We wanted to balance between popular opinions,” Leiter-Mason told the Senate regarding the response to the survey. “We ultimately want to keep voting in the voters’ hands and focus on enforcement of rules.”
In addition to announcing the new Election Board rules, Leiter-Mason also presented a number of proposed reforms to the Election Board itself. These changes would address how the Election Board makes decisions, and are to be voted on by the Senate.
One proposal would allow the Election Board Chair more personal discretion in making administrative decisions necessary “to run elections effectively.” The exceptions would involve Election Board decisions on the time, place, manner of voting and the use of SGA-allotted funds.
Another proposal would allow the Election Board Chair to remove members only with “the advice and consent of the Senate” in the form of a majority vote. The SGA Constitution currently allows the Chair to remove other members without the Senate’s approval.
The Election Board is expected to release a myUMBC discussion post highlighting both the new Election Board rules and the proposals to the Senate sometime this week. The Senate will vote upon the proposals presented by Leiter-Mason next week.
Applications for Scholarships for Women Studying Information Security (SWSIS) now open
Since 2011, Applied Computer Security Associates, sponsor of the ACSAC and NSPW conferences, has offered scholarships for women in security-related undergraduate and masters’ degree programs through the Scholarships for Women Studying Information Security (SWSIS, http://www.swsis.org).
Thanks to a $250,000 4-year contribution by Hewlett-Packard company in early 2014, ACSA expanded our program to award 11 scholarships for the 2014-15 academic year. The Committee on the Status of Women in Computing Research (CRA-W), an arm of the Computing Research Alliance, led selection of scholarship winners. Information about the 11 SWSIS Scholars (scholarship winners) is available at http://www.swsis.org.
ACSA, CRA-W, and HP are pleased to announce that applications for 2015-16 scholarships are open Dec 15 2014 – Feb 25 2015.
To apply, an applicant must provide:
* An essay describing her interest and background in the information security field.
* A current transcript.
* A resume or CV.
* At least two letters of reference (typically from faculty members).
* Her university name and class status.
The scholarship is renewable for a second year subject to availability of funds, given proof of satisfactory academic progress. Preference is for US citizens or permanent residents; funds are available for use at any US campus of a US university.
More information at http://www.swsis.org or swsis@swsis.org ]]>The Managing Directors' Fellow works with the Managing Director and Associate Managing Director in all aspects of theater administration. The Fellow’s work will generally fall into two categories: special projects and ongoing assignments. Special projects will be fluid and in response to circumstance. In the recent past they have included assisting with strategic planning; designing and launching the Board Observership Program (in which trustees are invited to observe the production process); and conducting field-wide best practice research.
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