NFL Players Union Decertifies, And Work Stoppage Looms

The NFL Players Union has filed to decertify, decreasing the chance that weeks of talks with the league would be enough to avoid the NFL's first work stoppage since 1987.

According to the AP:

By decertifying, the union has cleared the way for individual players to file antitrust lawsuits against the NFL, which opted out of the CBA in 2008. It has renounced its right to represent the players in contract bargaining.

The next step, Mike Pesca tells All Things Considered co-host Robert Siegel, will likely involve lots of litigation. Without a union, players can then file anti-trust lawsuits against the NFL.

"A few NFL players, including Tom Brady, have filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the NFL," Pesca says. "It is a way to put pressure on the NFL. It is a way, perhaps, to get a court to rule against the NFL, to change the balance of power on their side."

 

Asked about the upcoming season, Pesca says it's still too early to say that the 2011 NFL season will be lost, or even that such an outcome is likely.

After all, there's a great deal of money at stake — both players and the owners are trying to figure out how to divide billions of dollars.

"Hard negotiation is fine," Pesca says. "But being hardheaded might really not be in the best interest of either side, to eschew $4.5 billion just to get a better deal down the road."

Friday, the players' union even took its website down, emphasizing that it no longer represents the players — and sending visitors to a new site, nfllockout.com.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/03/11/134471027/nfl-players-union-decertifies-and-work-stoppage-looms?ft=1&f=1003

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Is treatment of WikiLeaks suspect Bradley Manning fueling State Department-Pentagon dispute? (Los Angeles Times)

According to his lawyers, military officials are holding WikiLeaks suspect Bradley Manning in conditions tantamount to solitary confinement, and he is forced to stand at attention while naked. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley says the treatment of Manning is 'stupid,' but President Obama says the Pentagon assures him it is appropriate. WASHINGTON -- Public criticism by U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley about the treatment of an Army Pvt. Bradley Manning, suspected of giving classified material to WikiLeaks, has given rise to speculation about a rift between the State Department and the Pentagon over the handling of the prisoner. Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/66370225?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Eminence front (Balloon-juice.com)

The Monkey Cage discusses the data showing that, among Democrats, concern over global warming increases with education while among Republicans, it decreases. Many of our favorite serious conservatives admit that global warming is happening, but feel it's important that we do nothing about it. This means that, in practice, they are no different from Jim [...] Share With Friends: | | Lybia Protests News, Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/66356555?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Scientists Doubt Meteorite Carried Life To Earth

The tantalizing prospect that life could have rained down from space has been raised in a new scientific paper by a NASA researcher, but most scientists who have seen the work think it's probably wrong.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/03/07/134341801/scientists-doubt-meteorite-carried-life-to-earth?ft=1&f=1007

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DeMint Builds Campaign Machine (Taegan Goddard's Political Wire)

Having played a kingmaker role in many of the most competitive Republican primaries of 2010, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) is now setting up his own campaign machine for the 2012 elections that could rival the National Republican Senatorial Committee, according to Politico. "The buildup is the latest sign that DeMint has become the pre-eminent conservative political activist in the Senate, and he plans to push candidates whose ideological views align with his and the tea party movement's -- even if it sets up a major clash with the NRSC, which always looks for the most electable prospect." Share With Friends: | | Lybia Protests News, Politics - Top Stories News, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/66305962?client_source=feed&format=rss

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VitaminWater's Health Claims Spark Lawsuits In Canada

Sports drinks made by Vitamin Water are the target of potential class-action lawsuits in Canada, over claims that the vitamin-fortified drinks make false claims of being healthy. The CBC reports that the two lawsuits, which name VitaminWater's corporate parent, Coca-Cola, are in the early stages.

In one case, a Calgary man claims that he wouldn't have bought the drink if he'd known that it contains more than 30 grams of sugar. And court papers in Alberta show that the other complaint centers around VitaminWater's faux-scientific-geeky labeling, calling itself a "nutrient enhanced water beverage," according to the CBC.

 

And in something of a twist, both law firms that are filing the suits didn't want to talk to the CBC. But Coca-Cola did, if only to say that it will take "all necessary steps to vigorously defend" the company from any litigation — a phrase that's basically the corporate version of "bring it on."

The statement from Coke also noted that each bottle of VitaminWater lists the drink's ingredients and calories.

Here in the U.S., the Center for Science in the Public Interest is participating in a class-action lawsuit of its own against Coca-Cola over the VitaminWater brand.

A report by the CSPI cites the FDA's "jelly bean" rule, which "prohibits companies from making health claims on junk foods that only meet various nutrient thresholds via fortification. The judge also found that vitaminwater's claim on the 'focus' flavor of vitaminwater that it 'may reduce the risk of age-related eye disease' runs afoul of FDA regulations."

The CSPI case also faults the drinks for touting their juice content. Even with names like "endurance peach mango" and "focus kiwi strawberry," the CSPI says, "VitaminWater contains between zero and one percent juice."

If you thirst for the truth about water, a 2008 NPR story might interest you. It's called Five Myths About Drinking Water.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/03/10/134431620/vitaminwaters-health-claims-spark-lawsuits-in-canada?ft=1&f=1003

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Lab Vs. Courtroom: Different Definitions Of Proof

Enlarge Janice Haney Carr/CDC Public Health Image Library

The FBI used a new DNA fingerprinting technology to analyze the anthrax used in the 2001 mailings. These anthrax spores can live for many years.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/03/09/134367107/lab-vs-courtroom-different-definitions-of-proof?ft=1&f=1007

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