Ukraine - the opponent Klitschko calls for a truce until 18 hours

 Ukraine: the opponent Klitschko calls for a truce until 18 hours

"I will return within 20 hours and you render account of the negotiations," said the Ojos, quoted on the premises by the Interfax news agency. He also discussed with representatives of the police, who promised him not to throw stun and tear gas grenades until the same hour, according to the same source.
Vitali Klitschko, with other leaders of the opposition, should meet from 1 p.m., local time (12 hours, French time), president Viktor Ianoukovitch. "The chances are not great, but they exist", considered the opponent, asking the demonstrators to let firefighters put out the fire of their barricade of tires, since the night of Wednesday to Thursday.
EARLY ELECTIONS
Calmer than the previous days, the situation was still tense Thursday on the premises before his intervention, with exchanges of Molotov cocktails and paving stones on the part of the demonstrators. and stun grenades on the part of the police. A first session of negotiations that had lasted three hours Wednesday gave nothing and Mr. Klitschko has warned that there would be an "offensive" If there were no concessions of power.
Read our report (edition subscribers): on the independence square, "there is no strategy, it stands ready, thats all. The opposition claims in fact the convening of early elections to put an end to the protest, born two months ago to the refusal of Ianoukovitch signed an agreement of association with the European Union, and its decision to turn to Moscow. The movement resumed momentum after the adoption the week last of legislation strengthening penalties for protesters, and turned to the urban guerrillas since Sunday. Wednesday, the police launched several assaults against the protesters, and there were five deaths in clashes; making reached a new milestone in the crisis
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Thursday, January 23, 2014 | 0 comments | Read More

Case Lambert: justice is opposed to passive euthanasia of the patient

The Court found that the contents of the will of Vincent Lambert "could not be determined with a sufficient degree of certainty" and found that "it is inappropriate that the CHU de Reims had considered that Mr Lambert could be regarded as having demonstrated its willingness to interrupt this treatment.



"THE WISHES OF VINCENT WERE NOT MET.

It has also estimated that "the continuation of treatment was neither unnecessary nor disproportionate and did not aim only artificial maintenance of life. The CHU, the nephew of Vincent Lambert and his wife, who says that Vincent Lambert had expressed before his accident his refusal of an artificial life support, will file an appeal with the Council of State.


"It's added violence to violence", said Rachel Lambert, for whom "let him go is the ultimate proof of love that can bring him. This decision "may create an unfortunate case", for his part regretted Me Bruno Lorit, François Lambert lawyer, nephew of the patient, which "drives [t] a decision less general and more centered on the specific case of Vincent. A view shared by Dr. Eric Kariger, head of the Department of palliative medicine, CHU de Reims, who believes that "the wishes of Vincent have not been met.


THE CURRENT LAW "CONSISTS OF AMBIGUITIES.

The reaction of the Government did not do wait. "It is not for me to comment on a court decision, certainly I believe know that the wife of Vincent Lambert will lodge an appeal with the Council of State and thus the procedure continues," said on Europe 1 Marisol Touraine, the Minister of health, before estimating the law Leonetti was not enough.

The current law "has ambiguities that should be lifted, because it is clear that there are different assessments between doctors, family and the judges on what this law allows to make," the Minister said, refusing however to provide a precise timetable.

Adopted in 2005, the law Leonetti includes that physicians may, after obtaining the opinion of the relatives, stop treatments 'unnecessary or disproportionate and whose sole purpose is the artificial maintenance of life'.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A PART OF THE FAMILY AND THE CHU

Saturday, Dr. Eric Kariger had announced to the family of Vincent Lambert imminent stop of his power and artificial hydration. But Monday, her parents, a sister and a half-brother seized the Administrative Court of Châlons-en-Champagne in an application for interim relief-freedom to demand annulment of medical decision and transfer to another hospital.

This is the second time in nine months that the Administrative Court of Châlons-en-Champagne believes that the framework provided by the law Leonetti has not been respected by the team of Dr. Kariger. In may, after thirty-one days of interruption of artificial nutrition, the parents of the young man had already obtained the resumption of feeding their son, on the grounds that they had not been adequately informed of this decision.


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Friday, January 17, 2014 | 0 comments | Read More

Madagascar has an elected president, the outgoing regime

Madagascar again has an elected president, the winner outgoing regime

Antananarivo - Hery Rajaonarimampianina, supported by the strong man of the regime of transitio  Andry Rajoelina, is officially the new Malagasy president since Friday, first head of State elected since the coup of 2009 which had isolated the island from the international community.



Mr. Rajaonarimampianina, 55, former Finance Minister of the regime installed early 2009 by the young mayor of Antananarivo, was "declared officially president of the Republic of Madagascar" by the Special Electoral Court (these) president, François Rakotozafy, which dismissed the application for annulment lodged by the defeated candidate.

The new president won 53.49% of the vote during the second round held in the quiet in December. The participation rate was 50,72%.

Robinson Jean Louis, the candidate knighted by the former deposed president Marc Ravalomanana, still in exile in South Africa, won 46.51% of the vote.

He spoke of "massive fraud" and particularly challenged the electoral list, while observers have deemed free and credible ballot. The ESC has tried to puncture the abscess through Tuesday a confrontation in private closed between lawyers on both sides.

On the institutional level, Madagascar could know a scenario "Poutine", outgoing president becoming Prime Minister and keeping most of the power.

The Rajoelina camp is indeed in a position to appoint him Prime Minister after swept away the relative majority in the National Assembly according to provisional results.

Mr Rajoelina has been prevented to attend the presidential election, under pressure from the international community which feared unrest. It had chosen to support one of the two candidates qualified for the second round.

Mired in a major political crisis for five years, the island still worked by tension, which recently expressed during clashes with the police on a University campus that made a death last week.

Major political crisis five years

The challenges that await the new president are huge, starting with the political stabilisation, key of a restart of tourism (15% of GDP currently) and the realization of prospecting oil and mining projects.

Madagascar, which had seen enviable growth under the era Ravalomanana - this was before the global financial crisis - has backtracked in many areas.

Since 2009, the country ended up banished from the nations, investors have deserted, and international aid has dried up, causing a serious economic crisis and a general impoverishment of the population.

Seven out of 10 children do not end primary school. Poverty pushes many locals in begging and petty crime is on the rise, theft, assault multiplying including in tourist areas.

Struck by an invasion of locusts unprecedented in 2013, which is added to the traditional related to cyclones, droughts and deletions four million inhabitants on 22 are food insecure, according to the Food Programme (WFP).

The deforestation of the island contributed to an epidemic of plague that killed 75 people at the end of the year 2013.

The great unknown is also due to the attitude of former president Ravalomanana, also to stand for election by the international community. His wife Lalao is since 2013 return to Madagascar, very active politically, while itself is still forbidden to stay on the island.

Discrete Minister of finance and the Budget, Mr. Rajaonarimampianina was able to somehow manage the finances of a country deprived of international assistance. Even if his involvement in the regime who ran the island for more than four years earned him suspicion by his opponents to have covered some illegal trafficking.

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Death of a Japanese soldier who continued the war until 1974

Hiroo Onoda est mort tranquillement dans son lit à Tokyo à 91 ans. Rien que de très banal sauf que cet ancien soldat japonais a vécu caché dans la jungle aux Philippines jusqu’en 1974, pensant que la guerre n’était pas finie. Durant près de trente ans après la capitulation de l’empire nippon, cet officier de renseignement et spécialiste des techniques de guérilla a résisté sur l’île philippine de Lubang, près de Luzon.
On l’y avait envoyé en 1944 avec un ordre formel : ne jamais se rendre et tenir jusqu’à l’arrivée de renforts. Avec trois autres soldats, il a obéi à cette instruction pendant des années après le conflit, ignorant que le combat était fini. Leur existence fut découverte en 1950 lorsque l’un d’eux décida de sortir de la forêt et de rentrer au Japon.



On a eu beau alors larguer par avion des tracts annonçant à Onoda que la guerre était terminée depuis longtemps et que l’armée impériale avait été battue, le soldat n’y crut jamais et continua avec ses derniers acolytes à surveiller des installations militaires et même parfois à se battre contre des soldats philippins. Après la mort d’un des compagnons d’infortune d'Onoda, Tokyo et Manille continuèrent de rechercher ce dernier et son ultime frère d’armes pendant dix ans. Finalement les recherches furent arrêtées en 1959, Japonais et Philippins étant persuadés que tous deux étaient morts. Mais en 1972, ils refirent surface pour attaquer des troupes philippines. Onoda réussit à s’enfuir alors que son dernier homme était tué.

Tokyo décida alors d’envoyer des membres de sa propre famille pour tenter de le convaincre d’arrêter le combat, mais en vain. Il aura finalement fallu que son ex-commandant s’enfonce lui-même dans la jungle en 1974 et lui ordonne de déposer les armes pour qu’il accepte sa reddition.

Le 11 mars 1974, Hiroo Onoda (2e à gauche) quitte finalement la jungle de l’île de Luban, aux Philippines. (Photo Jiji. AFP)


Hiroo Onoda était le dernier de ces dizaines de soldats japonais qui, aux quatre coins de l’Asie, ne croyaient pas à la défaite, et avaient décidé de continuer la lutte au nom de l’empereur Hirohito, bien après la capitulation annoncée par ce dernier le 15 août 1945. A son retour au Japon en 1974, il expliqua lors d’une conférence de presse que pendant ses trente années au cœur de la jungle philippine, il n’avait eu qu’une seule chose en tête : «exécuter les ordres»
.
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The Ukraine vote a draconian law against demonstrations

This text was adopted by 235 deputies out of 450, Freehand provides penalties ranging up to 15 days in jail or fines of more than EUR 500 for the installation of tents, scenes or unauthorized speakers in advance. In addition, if the law is promulgated by the president, the individuals and organizations responsible for providing equipment to offenders could risk a fine of more than EUR 1 000 or sentenced to ten days in jail.




THE OPPOSITION DENOUNCED "A VIOLATION OF THE LEGISLATION.

"What happened today in Parliament is a violation of the law," responded Vitali Klitschko, became one of the leaders of the opposition and possible rival of Viktor Yanukovych to the next presidential. The leader of far-right, Oleh Tyahnybok, another opposition figure, for its part felt that it was "simply a usurpation of power.

The challenge was born in November of the refusal of Viktor Yanukovich, increased with the Russia in favour of a continuation of the Ukraine in the sphere of Russian influence, to sign a free trade agreement with the European Union, in preparation for more than three years, in favour of economic cooperation.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated their disapproval in the streets of Kiev. Tents are still installed on the square of independence, in the heart of the capital. If Viktor Yanukovych should promulgate the text, this type of action would become illegal, as well as the wearing of masks that militant nationalists hostile to the president have become accustomed to wearing.

Jan Tombinski, Ambassador of the European Union (EU) in Ukraine, added its voice to that of opponents to condemn the way in which the text was adopted at hand rather than by the usual electronic vote. "There should be normal procedures, otherwise the credit given to democratic institutions and the law is at risk", concerned in a press release.

Signs of tension in the country, at least two members were injured in a fight, a few minutes after the adoption of the budget to Parliament. Opposition MPs are trying to block since the beginning of the week the work in the Parliament, after the Government refused to sign the agreement of free trade with the EU.

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Ohio: too long agony for the condemned to death

A person sentenced to death was execute, Thursday, in Lucasville, Ohio, by lethal injection of a drug cocktail that had never been tested before. Dennis McGuire, age 53, convicted of rape and murder in 1989 of a young pregnant woman, was pronounced dead at 10:53 (16:53 pm French time), according to a spokesperson for the prison authorities. According to the new Protocol of that State, he was executed by injection of the sedative midazolam and Painkiller hydromorphone, where the mixture was never used in the United States.



Like other U.S. States, Ohio changed its procedure for executions after the refusal of European manufacturers to provide for supreme punishment, the anaesthetic employee so far. The injection began at 10.29 24 minutes before the time at which his death has been pronounced, according to the local daily Columbus Dispatch reporter. It was, according to the pool of journalists who attended the execution, the longest run since Ohio reinstated the death penalty in 1999.
Choking sounds that lasted at least ten minutes
"10 H 33, McGuire began to wrestle and Pant heavily, producing sneezing and choking sounds that lasted at least ten minutes, the fist tight pulling the chest. A long and deep rattle came out of his mouth", the local press reported. His lawyers claimed that McGuire would die of asphyxiation by a phenomenon of 'lack of air' and have "a cruel and unusual punishment" prohibited by the Constitution. But all appeals of the convicted person, until the supreme Court of the United States, had been rejected.

The graces of Ohio Office also denied his clemency, followed by Governor John Kasich, who in the past has commuted four death sentences and expressed reservations about the death penalty. A federal judge in Ohio, Gregory Frost, found that "the evidence had not been made before this Court that McGuire had a substantial risk to experience severe pain", according to the court document.
The second execution in unusual suffering
The three executions carried out this year, it was the second that, driving new products, appears to have occurred in unusual suffering. January 9 in Oklahoma, the sentenced to death Michael Lee Wilson let go, in his last words on the execution table: "I feel my whole body burn", then the intravenous injection had already begun, according to a spokesman for the prison authorities, Jerry Massie.
Oklahoma also had to find another supplier for its lethal injections. They had obtained the barbiturate pentobarbital, commonly used to euthanize animals, with a demonstrator in pharmacy. But this type of pharmaceutical companies are placed under the authority of the States and not the Federal law governing major laboratories. Therefore, their products are not approved by the federal drug agency. A scandal had erupted in November 2012 when one of these Massachusetts dispensaries had been deemed responsible for an outbreak of deadly meningitis due to lack of hygiene.
"If there is length and disturbing descriptions of execution of Dennis McGuire, and considering the many complications on the lethal injection reported in other States, it seems that procedures for lethal injections in this country are more scandalous and problematic than ever before," said Deborah Denno, an expert of the death penalty at the Fordham University law school.

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Accenture new lead contrator on Obamacare website

Joe Raedle / Getty Images

Yanelis Diaz, waits on the HealthCare.gov website that reads, "HealthCare.gov has a lot of visitors right now!" as she helps people through the options available to them under the Affordable Care Act at a Miami Enrollment Assistance Center on Dec. 23, 2013 in Miami, Florida.
By Roberta Rampton and Eric Beech, Reuters
Accenture has been chosen to replace CGI Federal as the lead contractor on the Obamacare enrollment website, which failed to work when it launched in October for millions of Americans shopping for insurance, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said on Saturday.

CGI Federal, a subsidiary of CGI Group, built the website, HealthCare.gov, which struggled with error messages and slow speeds for weeks after its launch. The glitches created a political crisis for President Barack Obama, threatening the roll-out of his signature healthcare law and emboldening its foes among Republican lawmakers to call for its repeal.

"As CMS moves forward in our efforts to help consumers access quality, affordable health coverage, we have selected Accenture to become the lead contractor for the HealthCare.gov portal and to prepare for next year's open enrollment period," the agency said in a statement.
CGI Federal said on Friday that its contract, which was originally awarded in 2011 and is scheduled to end February 28, would not be renewed. 
The Washington Post reported on Friday that Accenture will get a year-long contract worth about $90 million for the website.

Obama has said the fiasco with HealthCare.gov has made him want to overhaul the way the federal government buys technology services. Critics say the system favors large, established contractors such as CGI.

Although the site is vastly improved, technical glitches continue to bedevil enrollment. The improvements allowed more than 1.1 million people to shop for and enroll in insurance on HealthCare.gov by the end of 2013, far short of original hopes for early enrollment.

The deadline for signing up for 2014 health insurance under the Affordable Care Act is March 31, meaning the new contractor will take over at a time when the government needs the site to handle what it hopes will be a surge of last-minute sign-ups.
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Basque demonstrators rally in support of prisoners of ETA

Rafa Rivas / AFP - Getty Images


People March during a demonstration called by several Basque political parties, trade unions and social groups in the northern city of Bilbao Basque January 11, 2014.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched through the streets of Bilbao in the North of the Spanish Basque country, Saturday, in support of jailed members of the Basque ETA separatist group, defying a ban from the Court of Madrid.

A judge of the High Court had vetoed the market, originally organized by supporters of the prisoners to call for the detainees to be moved to jails closer to their homes.

But two of the main political parties in the region, the independence party Basque Bildu and moderate nationalist PNV (Partido Nacionalista Vasco) - have joined forces to reshape the rally on a market for "human rights, understanding and peace".
The treatment of prisoners of ETA is inconvenient for the Madrid government, which would be certain to anger the associations of victims if he makes concessions to prisoners.ETA - or Euskadi Ta Askatasuna, which means Basque homeland and freedom in Basque - is accused of killing more than 800 people over four decades, many with car bombs.

However, in 2011, the Group requested a cease-fire, and speculation has grown that he might soon announce a complete disarmament.

"This is a unique opportunity to show the world our desire for peace and the obstacles that the Spanish Government is getting started," said Jose Mari Agirre, 55, to the market.

Applications of ETA prisoners to see out their prison sentences in the Basque country could advance after they said last month that they would recognize the system of criminal justice of the Spain.

In a statement, the prisoners acknowledged the pain caused by decades of violence.

The Group has already greatly weakened by hundreds of arrests in Spain and France, but also a political and social support to the country Basque decrease.

Some 600 ETA members are in jail in Spain.

Reuters

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Democrat heading bridge probe says Christie could be impeached if he knew of closures

Marcus Yam / Redux Pictures file


Traffic crosses the George Washington Bridge linking New Jersey to New York on July 15, 2012.
By Michael Isikoff, National Investigative Correspondent, NBC News



The chairman of a New Jersey legislative panel investigating the George Washington Bridge lane closures said Gov. Chris Christie's top aides had engaged in a "cover-up" and the governor could be impeached if it is determined he was aware of efforts to use the bridge for political purposes.

"Using the George Washington Bridge, a public resource, to exact a political vendetta, is a crime," New Jersey Assemblyman John Wisniewski, who is spearheading the bridge probe, told NBC News on Saturday. "Having people use their official position to have a political game is a crime. So if those tie back to the governor in any way, it clearly becomes an impeachable offense."

In a news conference on Thursday, Christie denied any prior knowledge of plans to use lane closures on the bridge as political payback against the Mayor of Fort Lee for refusing to endorse his re-election. He said he was "stunned by the abject stupidity that was shown here."

But Wisniewski said he does not find the governor's denials credible given the number of his top aides and appointees shown to have knowledge of the matter in thousands of pages of emails and text messages his committee has obtained.

"It's hard to really accept the governor's statement that he knew nothing until the other morning," Wisnieswki said.

New documents renew questions about what New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie knew and when he knew it. NBC News' Kelly O'Donnell reports.

Referring to Christie aides named in the emails and text messages, he added: "These people travel with him, these people discuss things with him every single day. This is not an isolated, unknown story. ... He knew there was an investigation. He knew people were looking at it, and his senior staff was involved (and) he expects us to believe he knew nothing? I just find that implausible."

Christie's press secretary, Mike Drewniak, did not immediately return a phone call and email request for comment. Wisnewski said Drewniak is one of the Christie aides that the documents show had some knowledge of the bridge lane closures.

 Wisniewski’s comments came shortly after New Jersey’s Democratic Assembly Speaker -elect Vincent Prieto said he plans to call a special session on Thursday to reauthorize subpoena power for Wisniewski's committee. That would enable Wisniewski to pursue what Prieto called "the abuse of power" in the bridge lane closures.

Wisniewski  said he plans to use that power to subpoena official and private emails, text mesages and other documents from Christie's current and former top aides and then call them in "one by one" to testify.



Mel Evans / AP


New Jersey Assemblyman John Wisniewski answers a question at the Statehouse, in Trenton, on Wednesday.

One of the aides who Wisniewski and other Democrats said merit special scrutiny is Regina Egea, a senior staffer who Christie has designated to be his next chief of staff.  Documents released Friday show that Egea  was forwarded a copy of a scathing email from Patrick Foye, the Port Authority's executive director, at 10:44 a.m. on Sept. 13, 2012– four days after the  first lane closures and a few hours after Foye sent it. In the email, Foye called the lane closures "abusive," a threat to public safety, and a violation of "federal law and the laws of both states" (New York and New Jersey.)

Bill Baroni, a Christie appointee who was then deputy director of the Port Authority, forwarded the email from Foye, marked "Importance: High," to Egea three hours after Foye sent it to top Port Authority officials.

There is no indication from the documents whether Egea responded to the email. (She did not immediately respond to an email request for comment.) But Wisniewski said, "It's hard to believe that she got that email and she just filed it away or she said nothing."

"If you know anything about New Jersey statehouse politics, this is a governor --  all of our governors quite frankly -- are governors who really tightly manage that operation," he said. "There are no freelancers or independent operations there. And so it strains credibility to believe that the governor knew nothing."
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First 2016 States still high on Christie - for now

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 Carlo Allegri / Reuters

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie still has his backers in early primary states, despite the bridge scandal.

By Kasie Hunt, Political Reporter, NBC News

The Republican establishment in early presidential nominating states is standing by Chris Christie - so far.

Many of those closest to the action allow that the New Jersey governor could end up disqualified as a potential 2016 presidential candidate if it turns out that he wasn't telling the truth about the politically motivated lane closures on the George Washington Bridge during his marathon press conference on Thursday. Christie said he wasn't aware of or involved with a top staffer' plan s to snarl traffic in Fort Lee, N.J., and announced he was firing two top aides.

Yet interviews with numerous early - state operatives, establishment figures and party chairs show that even though there's skittishness in private, there's readiness to publicly rally behind Christie. His handling of the crisis so far, they say, could wear well over the next two years, eventually cast him as a decisive leader willing to take responsibility and fire top aides for their mistakes.

"At the end of the day, he's going to be just fine," said David Kochel, who led 2012 nominee Mitt Romney's efforts in Iowa.

'' He showed leadership. He held people accountable, '' said Jennifer Horn, chairwoman of the New Hampshire Republican Party.

"It's refreshing to see a leader step up and take responsibility," said Matt Moore, chairman of the South Carolina GOP.

The across-the-board defence reflects a combination of a fractured Republican Party's hopes and fears for the looming 2016 presidential nomination fight that will kick off two years from now in Iowa. Each early state is defensive of its position in the process and wants every candidate to compete aggressively there. It's still early, and it's clear influential players are wary of crossing someone who is still viewed as a frontrunner, a more-than-plausible nominee and a potential president.

And most of all, it's reflective of a GOP still bruised by a drawn-out 2012 appointment process that was defined by warring factions, forced its candidates to stake out right-wing positions to woo conservative activists and eventually produced a weak nominee who lost decisively to Democratic President Barack Obama in the general election.

Christie's enemies - Democrats and Republicans - ready to pounce

New documents renew questions about what New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie knew and when he knew it. NBC News' Kelly O'Donnell reports.

"The thing I think units our party across the spectrum is to defeat Hillary Clinton. And everyone knows that's going to be a very difficult task,"said David Carney, a New Hampshire-based operative who served as Texas Gov. Rick Perry's top strategist during his bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012.

Christie hasn't spent too much time in early primary states yet. But he made a number of visits on Romney's behalf in 2012, and it's clear he's interested - he made sure to send family Christmas cards to Republicans in Iowa, for example. Early polls have put him atop the potential GOP field, and his success winning over Hispanic, independent and even Democratic voters in New Jersey have cast him as someone with the potential clout and widespread appeal to take on a Democrat like Clinton.

To be sure, it's clear that there's plenty of private criticism and hand-wringing among early - state Republicans about the implications the scandal could have for Christie in the 2016 nominating process. Some acknowledge the episode could exacerbate his reputation as a bully, an image that might be damaging in always-nice Iowa gold in the genteel South.

"South Carolinians like people who are strong leaders, but they also like people who are courteous and polite," said David Wilkins, a GOP fundraiser and former ambassador under President George W. Bush who supported Texas Gov. Rick Perry's 2012 presidential campaign.

There's also frustration over the fact that the scandal could encourage a new round of the still-raging war between conservative activists and the party establishment. While the GOP has a history of falling in line behind the establishment's preferred presidential nominee, the recent discontent of the GOP base battered Romney during the last election and left party elders wondering how to change the process to protect future nominees.

That's where this scandal could damage Christie in early states, several GOP sources said privately. Potential GOP candidates are legion and include direction. RAND Paul, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. former presidential candidate Rick Santorum and Rick Perry; Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker; former vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan; and others. Conservative critics are already skeptical of Christie's positions on social issues and embrace of President Obama after Hurricane Sandy in the final days of the 2012 general election.

Democrat by-passing probe: Impeachment risk for Christie

Right-wing figures have been quick to add the scandal to their list of grievances against Christie. Iowa conservative activist Steve Feace, who's championed Cruz as a potential 2016 contender, slammed Christie and the GOP establishment on his Friday podcast.

"The Republicans would like to replace [President Obama] with somebody who shuts down the busiest bridge on planet Earth - assigned how many lives?" -simply to grind a political axis,"Feace fumed.

And Kentucky Sen. RAND Paul - who co-operatives in all three states said is by far the most active possible presidential candidate at this stage - took a swipe at Christie.

"I don't know who emailed who and who works for whom." "I have been in traffic before though and I know how angry I am when I'm in traffic and I've always wondered, ' who did this to me?'," Paul said Thursday.

Still, the criticism isn't universal. Steve King, a Western Iowa congressman with a reputation as a conservative firebrand, held back.

"I think that [Christie] manned up to it," said King, who carefully guards his own role in the Iowa caucus process and goes out of his way to short presidential hopefuls. "And now the investigation is coming along, it should be a vehicle that can scrub any questions clean and certify the statements he made."

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who was elected in 2010 a wave of Tea Party support, has also defended Christie, in writing a Facebook post that Christie "did the right thing in taking responsibility in a tough situation.

Haley, of course, is relying on Christie's fundraising support as she faces re-election this year. Several Republicans with establishment ties said that as chairman of the Republican Governors Association, Christie's next big political test is getting GOP gubernatorial candidates elected.

"What Republicans are looking to him for is to be a strong, successful RGA chairman." "And they have high expectations for him," said Haley Barbour, the former Mississippi governor and RGA chairman. "And I expect to see him directing his political energy and focus to running the RGA, not to running for president."

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Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon dead at 85

 

Alex Kolomoisky / AP


An Israeli powerhouse, Sharon has been a central figure in the nation's military and political history.
By Martin Fletcher, Correspondent, NBC News

Ariel Sharon, the former prime minister and ex-general who embodied Israel's military might, has died, Israeli radio and television announced on Saturday.



The 85-year-old Sharon had been in a coma at the Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv for eight years after suffering a stroke in 2006.

Despised by Arabs for his hardline policies, Sharon was respected by Israelis for his military prowess and patriotism.

Eight years after a stroke left him in a vegetative state, the 85-year-old dies. NBC News' Martin Fletcher reports.

Sharon, Israel's controversial 11th prime minister, earned the nickname “The Bulldozer” early in his career because of his reputation for stopping at nothing.

By ignoring orders as a soldier, he turned defeat into victory over Egypt in the 1973 October War. When then Gen. Sharon led his troops across the Suez Canal, encircling the Egyptian Third Army, he violated orders from the military’s Southern Command.

Later, Defense Minister Moshe Dayan called Sharon the hero of the war. But, he added, had Sharon failed, he could have faced a court martial.

As Israel’s defense minister in the 1982 war against the Palestine Liberation Organization, Sharon sent the Israeli army all the way to Beirut, while being accused of misleading the cabinet about his true intentions. This action led to his greatest humiliation and his other nickname, given to him by Arabs: “The Butcher.”

When members of a Lebanese-Christian paramilitary group known as Phalangists entered the Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila in Beirut, Sharon's soldiers, responsible for security in the area, allowed them in and even evacuated the wounded.

But they denied responsibility for what happened inside the camps, where the Phalangists massacred at least 800 Palestinian and Lebanese civilians over three days. The Sabra-Shatila massacre, as it came to be known, was one of the bloodiest chapters in Lebanon's 14-year civil war.

Israel's subsequent Kahan commission of inquiry found that Sharon should have anticipated what the Christian militants would do -- and thus established he bore "personal responsibility" for the massacre. It recommended he be removed from the defense ministry, with the understanding that he would never hold that office again.

Instead, in 2001, he became prime minister.

As part of his election campaign in September 2000, Sharon, then leader of the opposition party, led a Jewish delegation to the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism. The Al-Aqsa Mosque is part of the compound that Jews call the Temple Mount and is considered the third holiest site in Islam. The visit, which was aimed at emphasizing the Jewish claim to the holy place, sparked outrage among the Palestinians who called it a deliberate provocation.

The day after Sharon’s visit, following Friday prayers, large riots broke out around the Old City of Jerusalem. In the following days, demonstrations erupted across the West Bank and Gaza.

Many mark Sharon’s visit to the Temple Mount as the start of the Second Intifada and the end of the peace process. An estimated 3,000 Palestinians and 1,000 Israelis were killed in the violence that did not end until 2005.

The violent uprising marked Sharon’s time as prime minister. But the man who had been known as the greatest field commander in Israel's history, the champion of Jewish settlers and of expanding Israel's borders, stunned the nation by ordering the evacuation of every single Jewish settler from Gaza. He had come to the conclusion that Israel could not have everything. To keep most of the West Bank it would have to give up Gaza and then negotiate peace with the Palestinians.

It was a total about-face for one of Israel's greatest right-wingers. But before he could continue with his plan, on Jan. 4, 2006, at the height of his political power, he was struck down by a massive stroke and remained in a coma until his death.

"He'll be remembered as the last of his generation of Israeli fighters and founders," Dedi Cohen, a 38-year-old lawyer, told Reuters in Tel Aviv.

"He was a bulldozer who got things done. I know he was controversial, but he had values. He stood for something. That's missing today," Cohen said.

His decision to pull out of Gaza was still considered controversial.

"As a prime minister he took a very brave step in leaving the (Gaza) settlements. He did something unexpected that was very surprising for a right-wing prime minister, for the better," Anat Harel, 25, a computer science student in the southern town of Ashkelon told Reuters.

But in the Gaza Strip, Sharon was still reviled by many Palestinians.

"Ariel Sharon is going the same direction as other tyrants and criminals whose hands were covered in Palestinian blood," Hamas leader, Khalil al-Hayya, told Reuters.

And there was no sympathy either in the occupied West Bank.

"He's a terrible person," said Rauf Ramia, a laborer from the Qalandia refugee camp.

Regardless of his differing legacies among Arabs and Israelis, Sharon will always be remembered as a man who obeyed nobody's rules but his own.  

Reuters contributed to this report. 

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