Caroline Pugh: Interview With Ethos Water Founder Peter Thum on His New Venture: Liberty United

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Peter Thum is no stranger to philanthropy and entrepreneurial success. As the founder of Ethos Water, he raised more than $7 million in humanitarian water grants and helped half a million people worldwide gain access to clean water. Starbucks acquired Ethos in 2005. Soon afterwards, he joined Starbucks as vice president and also became the director of the Starbucks Foundation through 2008.

Hungry to continue in his philanthropic ventures, Thum founded Fonderie 47 in 2009. The luxury brand removes AK47s from war zones in Africa and turns them into high-end jewelry. They make anything from cuff links to steel, diamond, 18-karat rose gold and platinum rings, the purchase of which funds the destruction of 160 assault rifles in African war zones. Along the way, Thum has received help from his wife, actress Cara Buono, who stars in popular TV show Mad Men, and has even collaborated with renowned jewelry designer James de Givenchy.

Fast forward to today, Thum recently launched Liberty United, a brand to extend his efforts to reduce gun violence to America. Liberty United transforms illegal guns and bullets from American communities into fashionable, iconic jewelry. The new label has launched its first collection with the well-known, brother and sister duo of Philip and Courtney Crangi of Giles & Brother. The collection, which is manufactured in America, includes bracelets, rings and necklaces. Each piece bears the serial number of an illegal gun that the venture has taken out of circulation. In turn, each purchase funds programs to reduce gun violence in the U.S.A.

I recently had a chance to talk with Peter about his new line and what it means for gun violence.

1) Describe your motivation behind starting Liberty United.

In 2008, while I was working on Ethos Water projects, I met kids in Africa armed with assault rifles. Since then, I've worked to remove over 32,000 assault rifles from circulation in war zones there. My wife and I talked about doing this here in The States. After our daughter was born, we began working on Liberty United.

2) How does Liberty United work?

It's pretty simple. We recycle illegal guns and bullets from American communities to make jewelry and other wearable art with leading designers. Profits from Liberty United sales fund programs to reduce gun violence in partner communities and across America.

3) How is Liberty United different from Fonderie 47?

They both are motivated by our desire to reduce gun violence and work with top artisans. Liberty United makes fashionable, accessible pieces and is focused on funding programs to reduce gun violence in the gun issue in the USA. Fonderie 47 makes very rare, one-of-a-kind and limited edition pieces from AK47s recycled from Africa and sales fund programs to reduce gun violence in Africa.

4) What are the main components of which Liberty United pieces are made?

Steel from guns and bullet shell casings, as well as brass, sterling silver, and American labor. All of our pieces are handcrafted here in the U.S.A.

5) Liberty United partnered with jewelry designer Philip Crangi of Giles + Brother, how would you best describe the inspiration behind the design?

Philip's Railroad Spike was inspired by first American Transcontinental Railroad and the famous driving of the golden spike to join East and West in 1869. This iconic symbol of American progress and unity is behind it.

6) Each one of the pieces is stamped with a special number, what does the number represent?

Each piece bears the serial number of one of the illegal guns we've recycled goes on every piece. I first came up with this idea for Fonderie 47 in 2009. It has been a part of every piece we've made for Fonderie 47 and for Liberty United.

7) Where did name "Liberty United" come from?

Our country has been built on individual freedoms, and working and sacrificing together. I wanted the brand to symbolize these two ideals and the tension, hence the name.

8) Why is gun violence personal to you?

My dad was a surgeon and served in the Army during Vietnam and later treated kids who had been shot in gang violence around where we lived. Seeing that as a boy and then later meeting kids in Africa armed with assault rifles made me want to do something about gun violence.

9) What message are you trying to bring about with launching Liberty United?

You can stand up and stand against gun violence. Liberty United offers a straightforward way to do this. If you like it wear it, and tell a friend.

10) What reactions have you had to the pieces so far?

Customers and the press and folks in general seem to love them for how they look and what they mean.

11) Where can people go to purchase Liberty United pieces?

At http://libertyunited.com/

Follow Caroline Pugh on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Caroline_Pugh

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Human trafficking ring smashed in Spain and France, gang of smuggling of Chinese nationals to the United States and Europe

MADRID - The Government of Spain said that a joint investigation by French and Spanish police has broken a gang that allegedly was Chinese smuggling in Europe and United States citizens.

The Ministry of the Interior said on Saturday that 75 people have been detained, 51 in Spain and 24 in France, including two suspected heads based in Barcelona from the Organization in Europe.

The gang allegedly charged up to 50,000 euros ($66.700) for the transport of Chinese citizens to the U.S., Great Britain, Spain, France, Greece, Italy and Turkey.

Some of the trafficked people ended up in the sex trade, said the Ministry.

European hub of the band was from Barcelona Airport. It supposedly was the city of the Northeast as a stopping point for Chinese while false documents were prepared.

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Michael Froman approved the Senate as United States trade representative

* New USTR will oversee trade negotiations with the EU, Asia and the Pacific

* Froman also faces challenges in India, China trade

* Senator Warren complains about the secret of the trade negotiations of United States

* Ex-USTR Zoellick: the key question is can Froman close deals (adds more quotes, background, signature)

By Doug Palmer

WASHINGTON, June 19 (Reuters) - the Senate on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly to approve the Adviser for International Economic Affairs Michael Froman White House to be the next representative of trade, sending him to the battle of big in Asia and Europe trade negotiations.

Froman, an old friend of President Barack Obama, has already played an important role in the trade policy of the United States in the last four years of his tenure at the White House.

Now moves that work behind the scenes to a prominent role in the Cabinet of Obama, where other large jobs will include manage difficult relationships with China and India and breathing life into moribund world negotiations.

"Mike is smart. Known issues. What is very important, has the confidence of the President, "former representative of Commerce of United States Robert Zoellick, a Republican, said Wednesday in a speech at the Wilson Center, a foreign policy think-tank.

Froman was passed in a vote of 93-4. Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat of Massachusetts, was one of the few senators to vote against it, citing what it called a lack of transparency in trade negotiations in the United States, a complaint of many civil society groups have done in the past.

"Many people are deeply interested in the tracking of the trajectory of the trade negotiations, but if they do not have reasonable access to view terms of bargaining agreements, then they cannot have real input," said Warren.

Froman got strong words of support from President of the Committee of finance Senate Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana and Senator Orrin Hatch, top of the Republican group.

"I have full confidence in this man's going to be a great leader..." "It is highly qualified, said hatch.

Senate action came few days after Obama and the leaders of the European Union opened talks on what would become the free trade agreement in the world, the society's proposed transatlantic trade and investment pact.

From now you will preside over the first round of such negotiations, for the week of July 8 in Washington.

United States is also negotiating an agreement of free trade with Japan and 10 other countries in the region of Asia and the Pacific, known as the Pact of transpacific partnership expected to finish by the end of this year.

Froman's legacy will rest on if you can bring these two great negotiations for agreements and gain its approval in Congress.

To ensure the Covenant of Asia and the Pacific and win new opportunities for export to American businesses and farmers, Froman has to make politically difficult decisions that would open the U.S. market to more auto, dairy products, sugar and textile imports.

The United States and the European Union want to finish their negotiations in late 2014, requiring compromise on difficult issues such as European restrictions on the importation of modified crops genetically and other barriers to food safety which Washington says they are not based on scientific evidence.

Froman also faces an early test in Congress to get the approval of the authority of trade promotion, a piece of legislation that many of the companions of the Obama Democrats have opposed in the past.

That law, which expired in 2007, allows the White House to trade to submit tenders to the Congress to vote up or down without amendments.

Approval of the Bill would be a strong signal of support from the Congress for Asia and the Pacific and the EU agreements, helping to bring them to an end.

Concern in the Congress for the massive US trade deficit with China, which reached a record $315 billion in 2012, also pressuring Froman to advance on that front.

In addition, many lawmakers are increasingly frustrated with indigenous policies that block imports of United States and override patent protection for valuable pharmaceutical products in the United States.

In December, Froman will head to Bali for the ninth ministerial of the world Organization of trade in the middle of darkness on the continued viability of that body as a negotiating forum.

With the 12-year-old Doha round of world trade in a dead-end negotiations WTO members are struggling to reach an agreement on a small package of trade agreements to demonstrate that they can produce results. (Editing by Doina Chiacu and Bill Trott)

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Obama silent on United States weapons for rebels Syria, commends the G8 Peace Plan

Berlin - the President Barack Obama refuses to describe the type of military aid that United States will give Syrian rebels as well as praise a decision by world leaders at a Summit that ended only to seek a negotiated peace.

Obama says while the leaders could not agree on which should go the Syrian President Bashar Assad, he has decided that it is not possible that Assad regain legitimacy.

Obama spoke at a Conference of press together with German Chancellor Angela Merkel (AHN '-GEH - lah MEHR'-kuhl).

Obama, the President Russian Vladimir Putin and other leaders of the industrial economies group of eight meeting in Northern Ireland this week tried to reduce the marked differences between Russia, a key support for Assad and other Western leaders.

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Okinawa helicopter crash: United States military helicopter at the US Base accidents

Tokyo--United States military helicopter crashed on Monday in a US base in the southern island of Okinawa, and four members of the crew are believed to have survived, said that Japanese and U.S. officials.

The rescue helicopter HH-60, which belongs to Air Base Okinawa Kadena, was on a training mission without specifying when it crashed at Camp Hansen, a United States air force statement said.

Television images showed smoke rising from a place in the forest with a mutilated object that appeared to be part of the helicopter in flames.

The United States statement said that the cause of the accident was not known and does not elaborate on the condition of the four crew members aboard.

However, the Minister of defence Itsunori Onodera told reporters, quoting information received, that expulsion three crew members of the helicopter and the fourth apparently was wounded and transferred to hospital.

Onodera said that the accident was "regrettable" and that it was the United States to provide information promptly, conduct a thorough investigation and take preventive measures.

Okinawa prefectural police said there were no reports of injury or damage outside the base.

The clash comes amid strong domestic opposition to the US Marine Corps additional deployment of 12 MV-22 Osprey transport aircraft on the island. Approximately half of the 50,000 U.S. troops in Japan are based on Okinawa under a Pact of security of Japan and United States.

Military sentiment on the island is a long-standing problem, and many residents have complained about accidents, noise, and base-related crime.

Local media said that the accident revived memories of the accident in 2004, when a CH-53 helicopters from Marine Corps Air Station Futenma crashed into a University near the building, causing an uproar although there are civilians wounded and the crew survived.

"We knew that it was going to happen sooner or later," said the Mayor of Kadena Hiroshi Toyama, referring to the clash on Monday.

Restrained passenger United claiming that 'poisoned' all aboard: report

A flight of United Airlines from Newark-bound apparently holds a passenger who says that "poisoned" all aboard, advises the eyewitness news.

Input #Breaking #United flight has passenger restriction man after the threat that "poisoned all aboard." NOW @eyewitnessnyc

-kimdillon (@kimdillon) on June 17, 2013

Passenger on board the flight of United 116 of Hong Kong is to be restrained by other passengers and apparently is mentally disturbed. Officers of law enforcement have been notified.

United Airlines did not immediately respond with comment.

Update: According to The Associated Press, the FBI meet the incoming flight and asked the individual. The flight is scheduled to land at 14

Update: According to the New York Post, 116 United flight has landed at Newark Liberty International Airport.

Plane carrying disturbed passenger who claimed that all aboard were poisoned has landed at Newark http://t.co/mr0tmYMsxL pic.twitter.com/SvlqVPDpza

-New York Post (@nypost) on June 17, 2013

Update: According to AP, police accompanied by a man claiming to have poisoned passengers of flight 116 from the airplane after landed safely in Newark, on Monday afternoon. The aircraft then rolled to the door to allow that other 238 passengers, who all seemed to be well, to exit the aircraft.

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Architecture of United States surveillance includes collection of Internet revealed, phone metadata

On 12 March 2004, acting attorney general James B. Comey and officials of the Department of Justice was on the verge of resignation on orders of electronic surveillance, which believed that it is illegal.

Read the full story in The Washington Post

Majid Rafizadeh: Iran-Syria Alliance: Why the United States and Western Allies Should Not Intervene in Syria?

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Syria has been subject to a plentitude of political polemics, but just little scholarly research and analysis. Outlets have been saturated with writings by pundits and policy analysts who are beating the drum for the U.S. to intervene in Syria or pushing the U.S. to take a leadership role as it did in case of Libya. What is intriguing is that the same analysts are the ones who would later, should the U.S. decide to intervene in Syria, condemn the United States for its imperialists and modern colonial tendencies. Alongside the pundits, some politicians like Senator John McCain have also been publicly criticizing the current administration for not leading an active role for regime change in Syria and advocating for the implementation of military tactics such as buffer zones, no-fly-zones, and military deliveries. Yet, here are some arguments for why the United States should refrain from intervening in Syria.

First of all, it is important to address a widely argued sentiment claiming the positive impact that a Syrian intervention will have on the U.S.'s national interests and security. Such sentiment argues that if the United States intervenes either directly or indirectly in Syria and topples the Bath-ruling coalition's status quo, the Islamic Republic of Iran would consequently lose not only its consistent regional ally, but also its bedfellow in the international arena. As a result, this will disrupt Iran's logistical and communicational interactions with Hezbollah and Hamas, which in turn, would ratchet down Iran's regional influence. In addition, the next Syrian government, supposedly to be led by a Sunni-majority, would be more strategically allied with the United States and Arab gulf states (Saudi Arabia primarily) rather than with Iran. Therefore, regional pressure will increase and Iranian leaders will become more likely to appeal to negotiations for its nuclear enrichment program and human rights abuses, or alternatively, be subjected to the same fate as Assad.

Unfortunately, this argument does not stand against history or Iran's regional capabilities. Firstly, the Iranian leadership has a successful track record of emerging as the winner whenever a sovereign state in the Middle East experiences instability, civil war, or foreign intervention. For instance, the protracted civil war in Lebanon created the ripe environment for Iranian leaders to give birth to one of the strongest non-state actors in the region: Hezbollah.
Secondly, after the 2003 U.S. intervention in Iraq, Iranian leaders were able to immediately create a powerful Shiite proxy in Iraq - the Jesih AlMahdi (Mehsi Army) - as well as coordinate with Shiite leaders so as to infiltrate Iraqi governmental affairs. The Iranian leadership and Revolutionary Guard's tactical strategies are characterized not by public, foreign interventions, but clandestine investments in a local, community-based, organized group that empower a proxy capable of fighting not only regional governments but world powers such as the U.S. and her Western allies. When it comes to developing proxies, Iran can be considered as the regional mastermind. By implementing this strategy, Iranian leaders avoid being held legally accountable in the region and in the face of the international community.

If the U.S. were to intervene in Syria and liberate Damascus, Iran will definitely not be the loser. Iran has strong political bonds with the Alawite leaders and community and is capable of creating a proxy as powerful, if not more, than Hezbollah in Syria. The Alawite proxy can instigate considerable amount of tension through the region and can keep Syria destabilized and in a civil war climate indefinitely. The price of oil will inevitably raise as a consequence, which will also serve the interests of the Iranian leaders.

The second argument states that if the U.S. intervenes in Syria, the immediate "democratic" system of governance to follow will be strategically and politically allied with the United States. Those who make this presupposition should pay a closer examination to the socio-political fabric of the Syrian society, the state formation, and the process of democratization in the Middle East. In any case of intervention in Damascus, the immediate creation of a centralized government will be highly unlikely.

Democratization is not a simple process that is achievable overnight. I have several family members who have lost their lives in the battle against the police-state of Syria. Unfortunately, democratization is a messy and bloody process that necessitates sacrifices.

If the U.S. intervenes in Syria, we are more likely to witness one of the greatest regional and international proxy battlegrounds, of our generation, in Damascus since the Vietnam War which would pull Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Hezbollah, Hamas, Iraq and other powers actively into Damascus in order to preserve their national and geopolitical interests.

Part of this article was published in the Los Angeles Times.

Follow Majid Rafizadeh on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@majidrafizadeh

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