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<p>The New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science had excavated the Bisti Beast, or Bistahieversor sealeyi (“Sealey’s Destroyer of the Bistis”), in 1998 in the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness Area near Farmington. The magnificent fossil is a show-stopper, but its internal structure had remained a stubborn mystery. To examine the innards of this 40-inch chunk of solid rock the size of a horse’s skull, you can’t simply a plunk it down on the local imaging clinic’s X-ray machine. The skull is way too big to fit in the viewing area and regular X-rays are too weak to penetrate the dense fossil stone.</p>
<p>A solution appeared from 90 miles up the road at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The lab’s microtron accelerator creates very high-energy X-rays whose penetrating power far exceeds what you’d find at your dentist’s office. Beyond that, the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) – one of the country’s most powerful particle accelerators – creates a beam of high-energy neutrons, particles from an atom’s nucleus. Most people are familiar with the medical applications of X-ray images, but neutron scans are more exotic. Neutrons lack an electric charge and don’t interact with the electrons of an atom the way X-rays do. Instead, neutrons are scattered by the atom’s nuclei, which makes them more penetrating and gives different information about the sample being scanned.</p>
<p>The lab is one of just a few places in the world that can perform neutron computer tomography (CT) scanning and one of only two that has the ability to do high-energy (or “fast”) neutron CT, combine it with high-energy X-ray scans, and do both on samples ranging from small to large. Combining neutron CT – 3-D imaging – with X-ray CT yields unique insights into dense objects, more than can be gleaned by either method alone.</p>
<p>With these techniques, Los Alamos researchers create 3-D images and animations of various materials and components, inside and out. Typically, scanning work supports the Lab’s primary mission of ensuring the safety, security and reliability of the nation’s nuclear stockpile, for which the medical X-ray variety also does not work, but as a user facility with unique imaging capability, LANSCE is also available to outside researchers for a variety of projects.</p>
<p>With all these world-class scanners, why not aim them at a skull to illuminate the rocky innards of one of New Mexico’s iconic fossils while developing a new method to characterize objects bigger than what fits on a single picture/radiograph? The lab started a collaboration with Tom Williamson, paleontology curator of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. They carefully packed the skull inside a padded barrel and shipped it up to Los Alamos.</p>
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<p>Right away, the Los Alamos team had a size problem they were hoping for. The skull was so big they had to figure out new ways of positioning it in the field of view at both the X-ray and neutron beam facilities. As it turned out, though, they would immediately put these new techniques to use for the lab’s mission work.</p>
<p>For the paleontologists, the results were worth the effort, too. The lab team produced the highest-resolution scan of a tyrannosaur skull ever done. The X-ray images show unerupted teeth, the brain cavity, the internal structure in some bones, sinus cavities, pathways of some nerves and blood vessels, and other anatomical structures. The neutron images are still being processed, but preliminary work shows details that can’t be seen in the X-rays, validating this dual method of scanning fossils. In the future, methods need to be developed that merge the neutron and X-ray data sets together rather than viewing them separately, hopefully unraveling details that neither of the two shows. Engineers and mathematicians who are specialists in computer tomography already were excited to hear about this data set and are eager to get to work – once again expanding Los Alamos’ unique capabilities.</p>
<p>The team’s study illuminates the Bisti Beast’s place in tyrannosaur ancestry and adds important new pieces to the puzzle of how the bone-crushing top predators evolved over millions of years before reaching their food-chain apogee in the T. rex. At the same time, the team’s work advanced the state of the art in imaging capabilities at the laboratory on stockpile stewardship projects for the lab’s primary mission, which makes the world a safer place. We’ve all come a long way.</p>
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Using tech to peer inside a tyrannosaur’s skull
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https://abqjournal.com/1070571/using-tech-to-peer-inside-a-tyrannosaurs-skull-ex-paleontologists-unearthed-the-bisti-beast-or-bistaheieversor-sealevi-in-1998.html
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2017-09-29
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<p>Flickr/&lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/republicanconference/4035765906/sizes/m/in/photostream/"&gt;republicanconference&lt;/a&gt;</p>
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<p>This past week, House Republicans <a href="" type="internal">launched an all-out war on Planned Parenthood</a>, vowing to cut $327 million in federal family planning funding.The organization, of course, does not use federal money for abortions—the Hyde Amendment forbids that—but nonetheless House GOPers have Planned Parenthood in their crosshairs.</p>
<p>Here at the conservative CPAC conference, I spoke with Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) about the Planned Parenthood battle. King rivals Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), who has led the charge to deny federal funds to the organization, in his loathing for Planned Parenthood and his zealotry on the issue of abortion, among others. (At a hearing last Tuesday, King went into gory detail describing what he <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/09/steve-king-anti-abortion-dismemberment_n_820728.html" type="external">called</a> “fetal dismemberment” when debating a tax-centric bill on federal funding for abortions.) He told me the group’s practices are “ghoulish and ghastly and gruesome,” and that Planned Parenthood engages in “child prostitution and illegal immigration.”</p>
<p>We talked briefly about an undercover video from a pro-life group showing a Planned Parenthood counselor giving a fake “pimp” advice about health services for his supposed under-age prostitutes (a set-up similar to one orchestrated by James O’Keefe that targeted the now-defunct ACORN). That counselor was summarily fired, and the organization reported the incident to the authorities. But when I asked King about the funding fight and the video, he said Planned Parenthood “is deserving of something far more severe than Congress will be able to deliver to them before the videos came out.”</p>
<p>Planned Parenthood has admitted that one counselor made a mistake, but correctly asserts it handled the issue properly. King didn’t agree. “I believe that the videos we saw of ACORN accurately reflected the activities of ACORN and the culture of ACORN, and the videos we have seen of Planned Parenthood accurately reflect the culture and the activities of Planned Parenthood.” On the funding battle, King pledged a “smackdown vote to shut down every dollar going to Planned Parenthood.”</p>
<p>But does the bill have any chance whatsoever in the Democratically-controlled Senate, I asked. King didn’t miss a beat:</p>
<p>Harry Reid can defend those ghoulish and ghastly and gruesome practices that Planned Parenthood is advocating along with child prostitution and illegal immigration. He can play defense on that. They didn’t do very well in the Senate when they tried to defend ACORN. I don’t think they’ll do any better this time.</p>
<p>No matter what happens in the Senate, he concluded, the fight will rage on in the House. “Mike Pence is determined,”&#160;King said. “I don’t think he’s going to back off. And I will not.”</p>
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Rep. Steve King Pledges “Smackdown” on Planned Parenthood
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https://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/rep-steve-king-pledges-smackdown-planned-parenthood/
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2011-02-12
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<p>The S&amp;P 500 and the Dow Jones industrial average indexes ended Wednesday's session with slight gains as expectations for timing on a rate hike timing were largely unchanged after minutes from the most recent meeting of the U.S.&#160;Federal Reserve.</p>
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<p>The Dow Jones industrial average rose 15.54 points, or 0.09 percent, to 18,144.2, the S&amp;P 500 gained 2.45 points, or 0.11 percent, to 2,139.18 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 7.77 points, or 0.15 percent, to 5,239.02 policymakers judged a rate hike would be warranted "relatively soon" if the U.S. economy continued to strengthen, according to the September policy meeting.</p>
<p>"There's nothing new from the Fed and earnings are coming soon so investors are going to see what earnings look like before they buy more&#160;stocks," said Steve Massocca, Chief Investment Officer, Wedbush Equity Management LLC in San Francisco.</p>
<p>Traders have priced in small odds of a rate increase in November as the meeting falls days ahead of the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election. The odds rise to about 70 percent for a move in December, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.</p>
<p>At 2:47 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones industrial average &lt;.DJI&gt; was up 30.92 points, or 0.17 percent, to 18,159.58, the S&amp;P 500 &lt;.SPX&gt; had gained 4.36 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,141.09 and the Nasdaq Composite &lt;.IXIC&gt; had dropped 1.29 points, or 0.02 percent, to 5,245.49.</p>
<p>Overall, S&amp;P 500 earnings are currently expected to fall 0.7 percent in the third quarter, marking the fifth quarter of negative earnings in a row, according to Thomson Reuters data.</p>
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<p>The dollar &lt;.DXY&gt;, which would also benefit from higher rates, rose to a seven-month high against a basket of major currencies on Wednesday.</p>
<p>Wall Street had sold off on Tuesday after the third-quarter earnings season kicked off on a sour note and investors worried about the U.S. Nov. 8 election day.</p>
<p>Eight of the eleven major S&amp;P 500 indexes were higher, led by real estate's &lt;.SPLRCR&gt; 1.2 percent rise.</p>
<p>Energy&#160;stocks&#160;&lt;.SPNY&gt; were down 0.4 percent as oil prices fell after OPEC reported its September oil output at eight-year highs.</p>
<p>Humana Inc was the biggest loser on the S&amp;P, after the insurer said a U.S. government health department cut its quality rating on Humana Medicare plans, a move that could affect how much the government pays the company in 2018. Fortinet shares plunged 12 percent after the cybersecurity company cut its third-quarter revenue and profit forecasts and dragged down shares of rivals Palo Alto and FireEye .</p>
<p>Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.17-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.03-to-1 ratio favored advancers.</p>
<p>The S&amp;P 500 posted 1 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 29 new highs and 48 new lows.</p>
<p>(additional reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Nick Zieminski)</p>
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Stocks Steady After Fed Minutes
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http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/10/12/stocks-steady-after-fed-minutes.html
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2016-10-12
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<p>The AP <a href="http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070716/kpmg_tax_shelters.html?.v=3" type="external">reports</a> that a judge has dropped charges against 13 former KPMG employees in what had been one of the largest criminal tax cases in U.S. history.</p>
<p>U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan said the dismissal was necessary because the government coerced KPMG to limit and then cut off its payment of the onetime employees’ legal fees….</p>
<p>The case resulted after the government investigated what it described as a tax shelter fraud that helped the wealthy escape $2.5 billion in U.S. taxes.</p>
<p>Kaplan said the Department of Justice “deliberately or callously” prevented many of the defendants from getting funds for their defense, blocking them from hiring the lawyers of their choice.</p>
<p>A spokeswoman for federal prosecutors, Yusill Scribner, told the AP the government “had no comment.”</p>
<p>A lawyer reader comments that the DOJ botched the case by overreaching in trying to an unusual degree to deny the defendants the ability to pay their lawyers. “This is a tactic the Justice Department started using under Ashcroft in white collar cases. It has been roundly criticized by civil libertarians, unions, defense counsel and many, many, federal judges. The policy was announced in the infamous Thompson memo, named after the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division who issued it. It was so controversial that Justice recently announced it was withdrawing the memo. Too late for the largest criminal tax fraud case in history.</p>
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Court Squashes One of Biggest Tax Fraud Cases in History
| true |
https://motherjones.com/politics/2007/07/court-squashes-one-biggest-tax-fraud-cases-history/
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2007-07-16
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<p>That’s because the two political committees waging war over the tax — which would fund a plan to make pre-kindergarten education free or affordable for every Santa Fe family that wants it — are getting money from other organizations that themselves don’t have to say where their money comes from.</p>
<p>Former City Councilor Karen Heldmeyer, the city’s unofficial watchdog when it comes Santa Fe’s campaign code, has made this clear for all to see with a complaint she filed with the city’s Ethics and Campaign Review Board.</p>
<p>She notes that neither the pro-soda tax PAC or the PAC opposing the tax checked boxes on their first campaign financial disclosure forms to acknowledge that they have accepted so-called “dark money” — in the form of donations from organizations that are under no legal requirement to provide the source of the money they can dole out in elections.</p>
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<p>Also, neither side added a required statement to their campaign mailers or other materials that says: “This campaign material is supported in part by donations from an organization that is not required to disclose its contributors to the Santa Fe city clerk.”</p>
<p>It turns out that the Pre-K for Santa Fe (pro-tax) and Better Way for Santa Fe &amp; Pre-K (anti-tax) were following the advice of the city attorney’s office, which reached the conclusion that the acknowledgement of dark money is required in Santa Fe only for candidate elections, not for votes on ballot issues like the soda tax.</p>
<p>Our view is that the city’s lawyers are mistaken: The portion of the city election code referring to financial disclosure of funds raised and expenditures by “any person or entity” clearly makes no distinction between candidate campaigns and ballot issue elections, lumping advocacy for candidates with advocacy for any “ballot proposition.” The city attorney’s interpretation may boil down to whether you call the PACs “independently sponsored” groups or “political committees,” covered in different sections of the code. But the plain language of the ordinance falls on the side of disclosure.</p>
<p>In one way, this may seem like a small issue. Under the current state of United States election law, dark money in campaigns is allowed. But at least under Santa Fe’s code, it is supposed to be acknowledged to the point of noting it on campaign materials.</p>
<p>There are two major dark money sources so far in the soda tax election.</p>
<p>One is Organizers in the Land of Enchantment or OLÈ, a nonprofit that has long advocated for early childhood education. It gave $100,000 to the pro-tax Pre-K for Santa Fe. In response to Journal questions, OLÈ says the source of the money is confidential.</p>
<p>The other is the American Beverage Association, always a player in soda tax battles across the country, which also has put $100,000 into the Santa Fe debate, against the tax. One can assume the ABA gets most of its money from companies like Pepsi and Coke, but there of course could be other sources. A representative of the ABA was still trying to provide a response to Journal questions at deadline Thursday.</p>
<p>Why don’t the dueling Santa fe PACs just tell their donor organizations to come clean, put all the cards on the table and tell us where the money comes from?</p>
<p>Heldmeyer’s complaint comes before the Ethics and Campaign Review Board next week. The board should decide in favor of the limited disclosure of dark money sources in local campaigns set in the city code. If there really is some confusion over this point buried in the code, the commission should move quickly to clarify the point before this issue can cloud another Santa Fe vote.</p>
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‘Dark money’ may get a pass in soda tax fight
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https://abqjournal.com/979744/dark-money-may-get-a-pass-in-soda-tax-fight.html
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<p>The Daily Camera reports ( <a href="http://bit.ly/2e0OK6A" type="external">http://bit.ly/2e0OK6A</a> ) 21-year-old Elizabeth Burdeshaw was sentenced after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor trespassing charge as part of a plea deal.</p>
<p>Court documents say Brudeshaw camped with 28-year-old Jimmy Andrew Suggs and 26-year-old Zackary Ryan Kuykendall near Nederland over the course of several days. Officials say the two men from Vinemont, Alabama used only rocks to extinguish their campfire.</p>
<p>The fire flared up and spread across more than 500 acres.</p>
<p>Kuykendall and Suggs are scheduled to be arraigned Friday on arson charges.</p>
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<p>Prosecutors say there was no evidence Burdeshaw was directly involved in maintain or putting out the campfire.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Daily Camera, <a href="http://www.dailycamera.com/" type="external">http://www.dailycamera.com/</a></p>
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Camping partner of men charged in Colorado fire sentenced
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https://abqjournal.com/880263/camping-partner-of-men-charged-in-colorado-fire-sentenced.html
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<p>The first time most people heard Levon Helm sing was way back in 1968 when The Band released Music From Big Pink. You had to wait until the end of side one to hear him, and the song was the album’s most accessible, “The Weight.” The song was at once out front but also vague and mysterious in a Dylan-esque sort of way. Helm’s voice was an immediate grabber drawing you into the lyrics in which the singer always seemed to lose. His voice summoned all of American roots-based music all at once, country, blues, folk, gospel, somehow adding up to rock ‘n’ roll and perfect for storytelling. Helm’s storytelling would later be put to excellent use in the film, The Right Stuff as well as a couple of music documentaries, one detailing the music to be found on Highway 61.</p>
<p>When the original version of The Band dissolved in 1976, Helm released a succession of solo albums. The first Levon Helm &amp; the RCO All-Stars looked great on paper. Surrounding himself with some of the greatest blues and R&amp;B players, at the time, three-fourths of Booker T &amp; the MGs, Dr. John, Paul Butterfield, and several the of the top New York session horn players, the album promised more than it delivered. It was tight, it was funky, the songs for the most part were there, but that undefined spark, the magic that should have taken it higher was curiously missing.</p>
<p>In concert, they appeared unrehearsed with key members not showing up. Helm’s next eponymous album found him diving even deeper into R&amp;B, and while he’s pictured holding drumsticks on the cover, he’s not listed as playing drums. Again surrounded by some of the greatest R&amp;B session guys, it was in the good, but not great category. At the time, I wondered why Helm’s excellent cover of “Take Me To The River” was ignored on FM rock radio in favor the Talking Heads’ rendition.</p>
<p>Helm turned to Nashville for his next album, which while staying close to R&amp;B also showed more of a country influence. It had one killer track, “Blue House of Broken Hearts.” Helm, then returned to The Band’s original label for one more eponymous album, which featured more R&amp;B, plus a couple of classics, “Willie and the Hand Jive,” and “Money.”</p>
<p>Around this time, Helm reformed The Band, at first with his cousins, The Cate Brothers, and then a more defined line-up. It was good to see them, and while the shows had a far more relaxed, friendlier atmosphere, the intensity was missing. The Band was one of the tightest groups I’ve ever seen on stage, up there with James Brown’s bands and Booker T &amp; The MGs ­ a group easily capable of duplicating the sound they achieved in the studio onstage. The second version of The Band would often resort to blues they could play in their sleep and occasionally other usually blues flavored covers.</p>
<p>Then tragedy struck with the suicide of singer/pianist Richard Manuel. They continued to perform as The Band, and also as solo performers and duos. In the early ’90s their first new album as The Band appeared, followed by two others. They all had moments. When their last album, Jubilation was released, it was obvious on that album was well is in a documentary that was shown on TV at the time, there was something severely wrong with Helm’s voice. It was announced not long after he had been diagnosed with throat cancer. I’d stopped going to Band shows by then. At the last show I saw the blew cues on songs they’d played hundreds of times and I didn’t want the good memories erased by bad ones.</p>
<p>The cracks in The Band myth were starting to show big time. Rick Danko was busted in Japan for heroin possession and spent several months in jail before being released. Insanely overweight, he died in his sleep in 1999. There was no doubt The Band was finished.</p>
<p>Unable to sing, Helm formed a blues band, The Barn Burners. I went to see them once. They were ok, a good blues band with a great drummer. Helm, a totally natural musician, had long ago mastered the art of Chicago blues drumming in a style based more on feel and soul than precision.</p>
<p>Bankrupt and disgusted with the music business, in effort to save his home and recording studio from foreclosure, Helm started a series of concerts at his home in his studio, “The Midnight Rambles.” With the help of ex-Dylan sideman, Larry Campbell, Jimmy Vivino, other notable players as well as various guests and opening acts, Helm brought music back to what it should be, a moving, shared, intimate, no bullshit experience. And slowly but surely Helm began singing again.</p>
<p>At the end of October, Helm released a new album, <a href="" type="internal">Dirt Farmer</a>. Produced by Larry Campbell, and Helm’s daughter, Amy, it is an outstanding achievement. To say it is his best solo album is understating the case. It virtually wipes out all his previous solo album as well as those by the reformed Band. It’s the first album I’ve heard in ages that made me reach for the CD booklet to see who is playing what.</p>
<p>Helm’s voice is not what it once was. After throat surgery and 28 radiation treatments, how could it be? It doesn’t matter. The heart and soul, the all important ingredients in making music magical are there in abundance.</p>
<p>Interestingly the album is all acoustic and consists of traditional and/or traditional sounding songs by contemporary writers. Some of the songs, Helm learned from his parents growing up. One of the songs, “Little Birds” was done by The Band at their earliest live performances.</p>
<p>Much of the credit has to go to Larry Campbell, who provides, guitar, fiddle, mandolin, resonator guitar, and dulcimer. He sets the perfect tone for each song, and you’d never know he’s overdubbing. It is his fiddle work that shines. Revealing his love and knowledge of Celtic music (displayed on his solo album, Rooftops), his playing is somehow rough and smooth at the same time, but never slick. Always a team player, he simply knows what to do, always putting the song first.</p>
<p>Also standing out are the startlingly real harmonies of Helm’s daughter Amy, and Campbell’s wife, Teresa Williams. They zero in on just the right amount of roughness inherent in the music, beautiful without being pretty. While the sound of the recording is clean, the feel is of a front porch on some lonesome mountain, not that of a recording studio.</p>
<p>The music itself is as old as those mountains, familiar, yet new at the same time. The opening tune, a Stanley Brothers tribute, “False Hearted Lover Blues,” is the same melody as “Little Maggie,” and ‘Poor Old Dirt Farmer” is “Rye Whiskey” as well as the Irish song, “Rosin The Beau.”</p>
<p>Helm’s voice, older, craggier, fits the material perfectly, and his drums, never obtrusive make the songs rock. The other instruments, occasional pump organ or piano, additional percussion add just the right amount of color, appearing when necessary then fading into the blend.</p>
<p>Helm can’t resist touching on the blues which he does on J.B. Lenoir’s “Feelin’ Good,” or mixing up genres, giving the Carter Family’s, “Single Girl, Married Girl,” a loping New Orleans flavored piano-based rhythm. He also moves into gospel territory on the funky brooding “Calvary,” and the closing track, Buddy and Julie Miller’s, “Wide River to Cross.”</p>
<p>The standout track, on an album of mostly standouts, is a totally moving cover of Steve Earle’s, “The Mountain,” which Helm makes his own. In the notes, Helm says he first heard the song watching Amy Goodman’s TV show, “Democracy Now.” Helm’s storytelling gifts were never more evident. He is the miner in the song, especially on the heartbreaking third verse:</p>
<p>I was young on this mountain but now I am old And I knew every holler, every cool swimmin hole ’til one night I lay down and woke up to find That my childhood was over and I went down in the mine.</p>
<p>For those fans of The Band, who’ve been waiting, perhaps since the second Band album for a return to the feel of what Greil Marcus has termed, “music remembered,” <a href="" type="internal">Dirt Farmer</a> has it in abundance.</p>
<p>PETER STONE BROWN is a musician, songwriter, and writer. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
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The Return of Levon Helm
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https://counterpunch.org/2007/11/12/the-return-of-levon-helm/
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2007-11-12
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<p>Embattled Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has avoided political humiliation after his center-right party retained power in his home province of Galicia, <a href="http://nz.sports.yahoo.com/news/spain-regional-votes-test-crisis-024114879.html" type="external">the Agence France-Presse reported today.</a></p>
<p>Exit polls show the ruling People's Party maintained its majority in the northwestern region, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20022218" type="external">the BBC reported.</a></p>
<p>In the other regional election held this weekend, the Basque nationalist party <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partido_Nacionalista_Vasco" type="external">Partido Nacionalista Vasco</a> looked set to win 24-27 seats in Basque Country, putting it ahead of its rivals, <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/spains-pm-rajoy-wins-key-regional-vote-exit-183540111.html" type="external">Reuters reported,</a> citing exit polls showed.&#160;</p>
<p>The BBC said the result in the Basque Country would likely fuel calls for independence.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/spain-holds-elections-in-northwestern-galicia-and-turbulent-separatism-wracked-basque-region/2012/10/21/f310fda4-1b3c-11e2-ad4a-e5a958b60a1e_story.html" type="external">The Associated Press said</a> the weekend elections - the first held since Rajoy's party introduced tough austerity measures 11 months ago - were seen as a popular test of the government's spending cuts, tax hikes and labor reforms that have led to protests across the country.</p>
<p>Spain, which is suffering its second recession in three years and has near 25 percent unemployment, has implemented the tough measures in order to avoid an international bailout.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/spain/121010/standard-poors-spain-credit-rating-junk" type="external">Standard &amp; Poor's cuts Spain credit rating to near junk status</a> &#160;</p>
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Spain regional elections: Exit polls show Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy won vote in Galicia
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https://pri.org/stories/2012-10-21/spain-regional-elections-exit-polls-show-prime-minister-mariano-rajoy-won-vote
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2012-10-21
| 3 |
<p />
<p>On the surface, Palo Alto Networks (NYSE: PANW) looks like a great growth stock. The cybersecurity company's quarterly revenues rose an average of 54% over the past four quarters, and analysts expect it to post 47% sales growth for the year.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>However, the stock is actually down more than20% this year thanks to the glaring differences between Palo Alto's <a href="http://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/non-gaap-earnings.asp" type="external">non-GAAP Opens a New Window.</a> (adjusted) and <a href="http://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/gaap.asp" type="external">GAAP Opens a New Window.</a> (unadjusted) earnings. Last quarter, Palo Alto's non-GAAP net income rose 88% annually to $38.5 million. But on a GAAP basis, its net loss widened from $45.9 million to $70.2 million. That disparity was caused by the company's biggest mistake of the year: failing to keep its stock-based compensation under control.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Many young tech companies with weak cash flows use stock-based compensation to inflate employees' salaries to competitive levels. But as companies mature and generate sustainable cash flows, they should reduce the amount of that compensation relative to their total revenues.</p>
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<p>Companies exclude stock-based compensation, one of their biggest expenses, from their non-GAAP earnings. Companies like Palo Alto believe non-GAAP metrics present a clearer picture of their core growth, while critics argue they merely erase some expenses toinflate earnings growth.</p>
<p>A key problem is that non-GAAP metrics were previously used to eliminate the impact of non-recurring charges, but stock-based compensation is clearly a recurring charge. Palo Alto's share-based-compensation-related charges totaled a third of its revenue last quarter; $112.7 million in charges that was completely excluded from its non-GAAP earnings in the quarter ended April 30, which should bother investors.</p>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.paysa.com/" type="external">Paysa Opens a New Window.</a>, theaverage Palo Alto Networks employee earns $192,500 per year, which includes a base salary of $122,000, a $17,800 annual bonus, a $14,800 signing bonus, and $37,900 in stock bonuses.</p>
<p>That's higher than the average salary at its bigger rival,Check Point Technologies (NASDAQ: CHKP), which paysan average salary of $143,000 (including $33,000 in annual equity), but comparable to the average salaryof $194,000 (including $39,000 of annual equity) at its smaller threat-prevention peer FireEye (NASDAQ: FEYE).</p>
<p>Palo Alto has aggressively expanded its workforce over the past year across all of its departments, with its combined R&amp;D, sales &amp; marketing, and general &amp; administrative headcounts rising to 2,991 last quarter.</p>
<p>Data source: 10-Q filing.Q3 2016 employee headcount. YOY = year over year.</p>
<p>That expansion fueled huge increases in stock-based compensation expenses. Over the past year, those expenses have steadily risen as a percentage of its overall revenues.</p>
<p>Data source: Quarterly reports.Stock-based compensation related charges. YOY = year over year.</p>
<p>That's a bright red flag, because its year-over-year sales growth of 48% last quarter actually represents its slowest growth rate in nine quarters. If Palo Alto's sales growth continues slowing down as its stock-based compensation rises relative to its revenue, its GAAP losses will widen.</p>
<p>FireEye has faced similar criticisms about its stock-based compensation expenses, which rose just 1.6% annually last quarter but still gobbled up 33% of its revenue. However, FireEye's revenue is growing at a much slower rate than Palo Alto's, dropping to an all-time low of19% year-over-year growth last quarter.</p>
<p>In response, FireEye announced it would start <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/08/08/7-signs-you-should-sell-fireeye-inc-stock.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">laying Opens a New Window.</a> <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/08/08/7-signs-you-should-sell-fireeye-inc-stock.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">off employees Opens a New Window.</a> to cut operating expenses by $80 million per year. The company believes that move will boost profitability and slow down its cash burn rate, which reduced its cash position from $402 million at the end of 2015 to just $184 million last quarter.</p>
<p>Palo Alto is in better shape than FireEye, with better sales growth and a cash pile that grew 21% annually to $550 million last quarter. Its free cash flow nearly doubled to $151 million. But with that much free cash flow growth, shouldn't Palo Alto have spent more cash on employee salaries instead of relying so heavily on stock bonuses?</p>
<p>Therein lies the problem with Palo Alto Networks: The company has enough cash to reduce its dependence on stock-based compensation, but charges for that expense still equal a third of its revenues, which results in widening GAAP losses but rising non-GAAP profits.That strategy, which adds millions of new shares every year, severely dilutes the value of existing shares:</p>
<p>Image source: <a href="http://ycharts.com" type="external">YCharts</a>.</p>
<p>Simply put, Palo Alto is enriching its employees at the expense of its investors. Therefore, I wouldn't consider touching Palo Alto unless it reins in its stock-based compensation and tries much harder to narrow its GAAP losses.</p>
<p>A secret billion-dollar stock opportunity The world's biggest tech company forgot to show you something, but a few Wall Street analysts and the Fool didn't miss a beat: There's a small company that's powering their brand-new gadgets and the coming revolution in technology. And we think its stock price has nearly unlimited room to run for early, in-the-know investors! To be one of them, <a href="http://www.fool.com/mms/mark/ecap-foolcom-apple-wearable?aid=6965&amp;source=irbeditxt0000017&amp;ftm_cam=rb-wearable-d&amp;ftm_pit=2668&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">just click here Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFSunLion/info.aspx" type="external">Leo Sun Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Check Point Software Technologies and FireEye. The Motley Fool recommends Palo Alto Networks. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/motley.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
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<p>OREGONBend.comBy Barney LertenBend.comTuesday, November 11, 2003 Posted: 5:00 PMReference Code: AR-12383November 11&#160;-&#160;A Portland attorney for 18 alleged clergy sex abuse victims has filed suit in Klamath County against the Bend-based Catholic Diocese of Baker and more than 60 churches in Central and Eastern Oregon. It seeks to reverse the bishop’s allegedly fraudulent transfer of assets to those parishes, or hold them liable for potential trial damages.The Most Rev. Robert Vasa, bishop of the Diocese of Baker, confirmed recently to <a href="http://Bend.com/the" type="external">Bend.com/the</a> Bend Bugle that he had signed the paperwork transfering the assets to dozens of churches across the diocese several months ago, “shortly after the decision” in May by a Deschutes County Circuit Court judge that he could proceed. “I had already had all of the titles of the property and the warranty deeds prepared,” Vasa said last month. “They just needed a date and a signature.” After a May 14 hearing, at which the bishop testified, Circuit Judge Michael Adler lifted a temporary restraining order he had issued in February that had barred the diocese from transfering millions of dollars in property and assets to its 60 parishes and missions.</p>
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<p>“Now look where we’re at,” her spokesman, Joseph Cueto, said in a written statement. “Our GDP was the third-fastest growing in the country through the first quarter, and we just saw our strongest private-sector job growth in more than a decade, at nearly 19,000 private-sector jobs in the last year alone. And now the state is predicting a budget surplus, rather than a deficit.”</p>
<p>The revenue forecast is still uncertain. Nonpartisan economists for the Legislature repeatedly warned lawmakers this week about some unusual volatility in the state’s collection of gross receipts taxes and other potential risks that could damage the financial picture.</p>
<p>The margin for error is small.</p>
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<p>The forecast released Wednesday estimates the state will receive about $6.1 billion in operating revenue in the next budget year, just $25 million more than current spending levels. That’s only enough for a 0.4 percent increase in state spending.</p>
<p>Lt. gov. hopeful: Kelly Zunie, who stepped down last month as New Mexico’s Cabinet secretary for Indian affairs, is launching a bid for lieutenant governor.</p>
<p>She announced her campaign under the slogan “faith, family, freedom.”</p>
<p>Zunie is the first candidate seeking the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor. The primary is in June next year.</p>
<p>She was the first woman to lead the state’s Department of Indian Affairs.</p>
<p>union backing: U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, D-N.M., – facing a contested primary for the Democratic nomination in next year’s governor’s race – has picked up eight union endorsements.</p>
<p>The latest is from employees who work on trade shows, exhibitions and live entertainment: the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Local 423 Stagehands.</p>
<p>She also has won endorsements from seven other union groups, including two of the state’s biggest unions, the New Mexico Building &amp; Construction Trades Council and Teamsters Local 492, her campaign says.</p>
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<p>Gov. in Mexico: Gov. Martinez is in Mexico for a few days to attend a meeting of the commission that promotes economic development, public safety and other cooperation between New Mexico and Sonora, one of two Mexican states that border New Mexico.</p>
<p>She also will meet with Gov. Javier Corral Jurado of Chihuahua, the other Mexican state that borders New Mexico.</p>
<p>New Mexico is paying for the travel.</p>
<p>Dan McKay: <a href="" type="internal">[email protected]</a></p>
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<p>MEXICO CITY, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Former finance ministry official Irene Espinosa was on Wednesday confirmed by Congress as the first woman to serve on the board of the Mexican central bank, taking the seat previously occupied by the bank’s new governor.</p>
<p>Longstanding central bank chief Agustin Carstens stood down at the end of November 2017, and was replaced by board member and deputy governor Alejandro Diaz de Leon.</p>
<p>Espinosa, whose designation was comfortably voted through by the permanent commission of Congress, assumes the seat vacated by Diaz de Leon, the government said.</p>
<p>The sister of former foreign minister Patricia Espinosa, Irene Espinosa is an economist who served as treasurer at the finance ministry from 2009. Before that, Espinosa worked at the Inter-American Development Bank and Mexico’s prestigious ITAM university.</p>
<p>The central bank has been battling Mexico’s highest inflation in over 16 years. Although inflation slowed in the first half of January, the board is still expected to raise its benchmark lending rate in February.</p>
<p>Separately, Congress also approved the appointment of Miguel Messmacher as new deputy finance minister, and Alberto Torres Garcia as the new deputy minister for revenue. (Reporting by Mexico City Newsroom; Editing by Dave Graham and Rosalba O’Brien)</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>AUSTIN/SCHERTZ, Texas (Reuters) - A package bomb blew up at a FedEx Corp distribution center near San Antonio on Tuesday, officials said, and the FBI was investigating whether it was linked to a series of four homemade bombs that hit the Texas capital of Austin this month.</p>
<p>Officials did not say if the latest incident was the work of what Austin police believe could be a serial bomber responsible for the four earlier devices that killed two people and injured four others.</p>
<p>The blast at the FedEx facility in Schertz was the fifth in the state in the last 18 days. If it is linked to the others, it would be the first outside the Austin area and the first that involves a commercial parcel service.</p>
<p>Police discovered another package at the same location that they believe is also loaded with an explosive device, San Antonio Police Chief Bill McManus told reporters.</p>
<p>“There was one other package that we believe was also loaded with an explosive device that they are looking at right now,” McManus told reporters in Schertz, which is about 20 miles northeast of San Antonio.</p> Law enforcement personnel attend the scene of a blast at a FedEx facility in Schertz, Texas, U.S., March 20, 2018. REUTERS/Sergio Flores
<p>The blast knocked a female employee off her feet and may have caused a concussion, McManus said. Federal officials on the scene said she had ringing in her ears and was treated and released.</p>
<p>The package, filled with nails and metal shrapnel, exploded shortly after midnight local time at the facility, about 65 miles south of Austin, the San Antonio Fire Department said on Twitter.</p> Slideshow (12 Images)
<p>The company described it as a FedEx Ground sorting facility. About 75 people were working at the facility at the time, fire officials said.</p>
<p>The individual or people behind the bombings are likely to be highly skilled and methodical, said Fred Burton, chief security officer for Stratfor, a private intelligence and security consulting firm based in Austin.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-texas-blast-whitehouse/no-known-link-to-terrorism-in-texas-bombings-white-house-idUSKBN1GW293" type="external">No known link to terrorism in Texas bombings: White House</a>
<p>“This is a race against time to find him before he bombs again,” Burton said.</p>
<p>The bombings in Austin did not appear to be linked to terrorism, White House spokesman Sarah Sanders said on Twitter on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee and Lisa Lambert in Washington; Writing by Scott Malone and Daniel Trotta; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Jeffrey Benkoe</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. film and TV studio The Weinstein Company, whose ex-Chairman Harvey Weinstein has been accused of sexual harassment and assault, said on Monday it filed for bankruptcy and was ending all non-disclosure agreements that may have silenced some women.</p>
<p>The Weinstein Company filed for bankruptcy in the Delaware court, listing $500 million to $1 billion in liabilities and $500 million to $1 billion in assets, and said it struck a deal with an affiliate of private equity firm Lantern Capital Partners to acquire its assets. <a href="http://bit.ly/2prGdNm" type="external">bit.ly/2prGdNm</a></p>
<p>The bankruptcy comes after the studio spent months looking for a buyer or investor. The company inked a deal with an investor group led by former Obama administration official Maria Contreras-Sweet, but the group terminated its offer earlier this month after seeing that the company had more liabilities than previously disclosed.</p>
<p>The Weinstein Company said in a statement it entered into a “stalking horse” agreement with a Lantern Capital affiliate, that would purchase substantially all of the assets of the company.</p>
<p>The offer from Lantern will set the floor for higher and better bidders in a court-supervised auction.</p>
<p>Lions Gate Entertainment Corp had made an earlier offer for some of the company’s assets, as had Qatar-owned film company Miramax, which was founded by Harvey Weinstein and his brother Bob Weinstein. Both could be among potential bidders in the auction.</p> FILE PHOTO - Harvey Weinstein speaks at the UBS 40th Annual Global Media and Communications Conference in New York, December 5, 2012. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
<p>More than 70 women accused the company’s co-founder, Harvey Weinstein, who was one of Hollywood’s most influential men, of sexual misconduct, including rape. Weinstein has denied having non-consensual sex with anyone.</p>
<p>“Since October, it has been reported that Harvey Weinstein used non-disclosure agreements as a secret weapon to silence his accusers. Effective immediately, those ‘agreements’ end,” the company said in an emailed statement.</p>
<p>Movie producer Killer Content also said bankruptcy would be the best option for the company, and that it may be interested in the studio’s assets in a bankruptcy auction.</p>
<p>In February, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sued The Weinstein Company, Harvey Weinstein and his brother Bob Weinstein, alleging that Harvey Weinstein sexually harassed employees and the company failed to respond. Bob Weinstein co-founded the company and is the co-chairman.</p>
<p>“This is a watershed moment for efforts to address the corrosive effects of sexual misconduct in the workplace,” Schneiderman said in a statement after the company’s announcement on Monday.</p>
<p>Launched in October 2005, the studio produced and distributed critically acclaimed hits including “The King’s Speech” and “Silver Linings Playbook,” as well as TV series such as long-running fashion reality competition “Project Runway.”</p>
<p>Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli in New York and Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Gopakumar Warrier</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>(Reuters) - A student who shot and critically wounded two fellow students at a Maryland high school on Tuesday morning, died after exchanging gunfire with a campus security officer, the county sheriff said.</p> Law enforcement motorcade is seen near the Great Mills High School following a shooting on Tuesday morning in St. Mary's County, Maryland, U.S., March 20, 2018. REUTERS/Sait Serkan Gurbuz
<p>The school day had barely begun when the student, who has not been identified, shot a male student and a female student at Great Mills High School in St. Mary’s County before the campus security officer intervened, county Sheriff Timothy Cameron told a news conference.</p>
<p>“Our school resource officer who was stationed inside the school was alerted to the event and the shots being fired,” Cameron said. “He pursued the shooter, engaged the shooter; during that engagement he fired a round at the shooter. Simultaneously, the shooter fired a round as well.”</p>
<p>The officer was not harmed, the sheriff said.</p>
<p>The latest in a long string of deadly shootings at U.S. schools and universities took place a little more than a month after 17 students and educators were shot dead at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.</p>
<p>That attack sparked a new student movement against gun violence, including a national school walkout last week that Great Mills students participated in. It occurred just days before a planned Saturday march in Washington calling for new restrictions on guns.</p>
<p>Parkland students and Great Mills students exchanged supportive messages on Twitter following Tuesday’s shooting.</p>
<p>“We are here for you, students of Great Mills, together we can stop this from ever happening again,” Emma Gonzalez, a senior at Stoneman Douglas High School who survived last month’s rampage, wrote on Twitter.</p>
<p>A 14-year-old male student, whom the sheriff had earlier said was in critical condition, was in good condition after treatment at MedStar St Mary’s Hospital, according to hospital officials. A 16-year-old female student, who also had been in critical condition, was stabilized and transferred to another hospital, they said.</p> Law enforcement vehicles are seen outside the Great Mills High School following a shooting on Tuesday morning in St. Mary's County, Maryland, U.S., March 20, 2018. REUTERS/Sait Serkan Gurbuz
<p>The shooter used a handgun in the attack, the sheriff said. He was confirmed deceased at 10:41 a.m. ET after being taken to a hospital.</p>
<p>Cameron said investigators would determine whether the shooter died of a wound from the school resource officer’s gun or in some other way.</p>
<p>The public school’s roughly 1,600 students were later escorted off campus by police, classroom by classroom, to reunite with their parents at another high school.</p> Slideshow (6 Images)
<p>Police investigated rumors that someone was threatening to shoot people at the school last month, BayNet, a Maryland news outlet, reported on Feb. 21. The threats were unsubstantiated, but security was increased at the school, the principal said, according to BayNet.</p>
<p>It was unclear whether those rumors had any connection with Tuesday’s violence.</p>
<p>“I’m not aware of anything, but again we’re gonna go back and come through that as well as anybody involved (and) their social media posts,” Cameron said in response to questions about the report.</p>
<p>An armed school resource officer had also been on the campus of Stoneman Douglas at the time of the shooting there, and came under criticism for failing to stop the gunman, who was armed with an AR-15 assault-style rifle. The officer, who resigned, said he had not been sure where the gunfire was coming from.</p>
<p>U.S. President Donald Trump and the National Rifle Association have proposed arming teachers to combat the threat of school shootings, while gun safety advocates have demanded a ban on semiautomatic rifles, among other laws.</p>
<p>The Maryland school is in Great Mills, a community about 70 miles (110 km) south of Washington.</p>
<p>“You never think it’ll be your school and then it is,” Mollie Davis, who identified herself as a student at the school, wrote on Twitter. “Great Mills is a wonderful school and somewhere I am proud to go. Why us?”</p>
<p>Reporting by Jonathan Allen and Gina Cherelus in New York; writing by Joseph Ax; editing by Scott Malone and Jonathan Oatis</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The spate of bombings in the Texas capital of Austin have no known links to terrorism, White House spokesman Sarah Sanders said on Tuesday.</p> Schertz Police block off Doerr Lane near the scene of a blast at a FedEx facility in Schertz, Texas, U.S., March 20, 2018. REUTERS/Sergio Flores
<p>“We are committed to bringing perpetrators of these heinous acts to justice. There is no apparent nexus to terrorism at this time,” Sanders said in a Twitter post.</p>
<p>A package bomb blew up at a FedEx Corp distribution center near San Antonio on Tuesday, officials said, and the FBI was investigating whether it was linked to a series of four homemade bombs in Austin.</p>
<p>Reporting by Doina Chiacu; editing by Jonathan Oatis</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
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Mexico's Congress approves first woman on central bank board 'Race against time' to find bomber as fifth device blows up in Texas Weinstein Co files for bankruptcy, ends all non-disclosure agreements Maryland high school shooter dies after exchange with officer: sheriff No known link to terrorism in Texas bombings: White House
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<p>Alice Herz-Sommer lost most of her family in the Holocaust.</p>
<p>On Sunday, her family lost her.</p>
<p>Herz-Sommer, the world's oldest Holocaust survivor, died at the age of 110.</p>
<p>An acclaimed pianist, she was once one of the many musicians forced to play more than 100 concerts for guards and other prisoners at the&#160;Theresienstadt concentration camp in what is now the Czech Republic.</p>
<p>Tens of thousands of Jews and other minorities died there.&#160;But Herz-Sommer and her son survived despite years of hard labor and a diet of watery "soup." They were liberated by the Russians in 1945.</p>
<p>Friends and family remembered Herz-Sommer as a bright spirit whose strength <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/oldest-holocaust-survivor-dies-110-22640530" type="external">never faltered</a>.&#160;</p>
<p>"We lost weight. People ask, 'How could you make music?' We were so weak. But music was special, like a spell, I would say," she once recalled of her time at Theresienstadt.</p>
<p>Many prisoners would have died earlier had they not come to hear the music, <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-news/.premium-1.575973" type="external">she told Haaretz</a>.&#160;"As we would have," she added.</p>
<p>Born in Prague on Nov. 26, 1903, Herz-Sommer learned the piano from her sister at age 5.</p>
<p>She went on to study under Vaclav Stepan and at the Prague German Conservatory of Music, where she was the youngest pupil.</p>
<p>After <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/23/world/europe/holocaust-survivor-death/" type="external">marrying</a> Leopold Sommer in 1931, she began to make a name for herself across Europe until the Nazis took over Prague. Then she and her family were sent to&#160;Theresienstadt, also known as&#160;Terezin.</p>
<p>After regaining her freedom, she went to Israel in 1949 and taught music. The later half of her life was spent in a London flat.</p>
<p>As for how and why she survived when so many did not, Herz-Sommer <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alice-Herz-Sommer/64477615398?id=64477615398&amp;sk=info" type="external">had this</a> to say:</p>
<p>"My temperament. This optimism and this discipline. Punctually, at 10 a.m., I am sitting there at the piano, with everything in order around me. For 30 years I have eaten the same, fish or chicken. Good soup, and this is all. I don't drink, not tea, not coffee, not alcohol. Only hot water. I walked and swam a lot."</p>
<p>Herz-Sommer became the subject of the <a href="http://nickreedent.com/" type="external">documentary</a>, "The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life," which has been nominated for an Academy Award.</p>
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<p><a href="http://pienews.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Vs.jpg" type="external" />John Boehner's plan, in which he proposes to sue President Barack Obama for violating the Constitutional role of the presidency, is important and brilliant.&#160;I am an attorney, with a keen interest in both politics and law.&#160;I have read and studied the U.S. Supreme Court precedents in question. Pundits with [?]</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.americanthinker.com/2014/07/boehners_brilliant_lawsuit.html" type="external">Click here to view original web page at www.americanthinker.com</a></p>
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<p>Sept. 25 (UPI) — Japanese Prime Minister <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Shinzo_Abe/" type="external">Shinzo Abe</a> on Monday announced that the government’s lower house of parliament will dissolve this week — and replacement elections will be held next month.</p>
<p>The 475-seat House of Representatives will be dissolved Thursday, Abe announced, and campaigns to refill them will start Oct. 10 — and elections are reportedly set for Oct. 22.</p>
<p>Abe set the breakup of the powerful lower house of parliament for Thursday because that’s when lawmakers return from a three-month summer recess.</p>
<p>Japan must hold the voting before the end of next year, but Abe has likely decided on the snap election to capitalize on his Liberal Democratic Party’s <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/japan-prime-minister-calls-snap-election-1506331985" type="external">two-thirds majority</a>, with a coalition partner, in the House.</p>
<p>Monday, Abe said the decision to dissolve parliament was aimed at resolving <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41385735" type="external">a “national crisis”</a> that stems from rising tensions with <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/North_Korea/" type="external">North Korea</a>.</p>
<p>Abe’s administration has rebounded recently from low opinion ratings following a summer political scandal. It has been helped, the party believes, by Abe’s alignment with U.S. President <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Donald_Trump/" type="external">Donald Trump</a> in opposing North Korea in its development of nuclear missile capability.</p>
<p>Among the priorities of Abe’s government is the removal of Japan’s fiscal deficit by 2020 through an increase in a consumption tax. Some members of his party advocate using the extra revenue to enhance social programs, like those offered to help children. The election will likely delay the attempt to restore Japan’s fiscal stability.</p>
<p>The political scandals sent Abe’s approval rating to a low of about 30 percent. It has since recovered to between 40 and 50 percent.</p>
<p>Because <a href="http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0003962484" type="external">of the election</a>, Finance Minister <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Taro_Aso/" type="external">Taro Aso</a> will likely forego the meeting of <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/G20/" type="external">G20</a> finance ministers in Washington next month.</p>
<p>Aso, who also serves as deputy prime minister, plans to attend a round of economic talks with U.S. Vice president <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Mike_Pence/" type="external">Mike Pence</a> on Oct. 16, <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/09/25/business/election-looming-aso-may-skip-meeting-g-20-finance-chiefs-next-month/#.WcjWAf-Wz5o" type="external">the Japan Times</a> reported Monday.</p>
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2017-09-25
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<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Americans had best rethink the “war on terror” while they still have the liberty to do so. For all of President Bush’s blah-blah talk about bringing democracy to the world, the Bush administration has proved that it is no friend of liberty at home.</p>
<p>The Bush administration has violated constitutional principles, US law, and the Geneva Conventions as no previous administration has done. Here is a short list of the Bush administration’s crimes:</p>
<p>Spying without court warrants on Americans in violation of both the US Constitution and the FISA statute.</p>
<p>The denial of habeas corpus, attorney-client privilege, due process, and Geneva Conventions protections to those, American or foreign, designated without evidence as terrorists or enemy combatants.</p>
<p>The justification and use of torture to coerce confessions and the kidnapping of foreign nationals who are sent to be tortured in foreign prisons.</p>
<p>The initiation of military aggression against states based on intentional deception by the Bush administration of the US public and the United Nations, and the intentional fabrication of “evidence” to justify unprovoked aggression against sovereign states, which is a war crime under the Nuremberg standard established by the US.</p>
<p>Violation of the oath of office to defend the US Constitution by practically every member of the Bush administration and Congress.</p>
<p>Bush has assaulted the separation of powers and the rule of law with “signing statements” and “executive orders” that President Nixon’s White House Counsel John Dean says are commands that treat the co-equal branches of government and the electorate as subservient to executive authority. In April 2006, Boston Globe reporter Charlie Savage listed 750 laws “challenged” by the Bush administration. Not even the demonized president of Iran claims to be above the law.</p>
<p>Genocide against the people of Iraq where one million Iraqis have died as a result of Bush’s invasion and several million Iraqis are displaced persons.</p>
<p>Massive civilian casualties in Afghanistan, which is a form of genocide in which military force is routinely applied to unarmed noncombatants.</p>
<p>Massive corruption in which no-bid contracts are issued to Republican corporations in exchange for kickbacks to political campaigns.</p>
<p>The theft of two national elections as documented in books by Mark Crispin Miller and Greg Palast.</p>
<p>The Bush administration has even conducted Stalinist show trials against innocent Muslim charities as part of its propaganda to make the American people fearful that they are surrounded by hostile terrorists. In December 2001 President Bush declared the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development to be a “terrorist organization” and seized the charity’s assets. Bush put the charities’ officials on trial as terrorists. Six years later on October 22, 2007, after years of investigations and two months of testimony by who but “Israeli intelligence agents” (according to the New York Times), the US government’s case fell apart in the courtroom.</p>
<p>One of the jurors said that the case ” was strung together with macaroni noodles. There was so little evidence.”</p>
<p>Georgetown University professor of constitutional law David D. Cole said the case “suggests the government is really pushing beyond where the law justifies them going.”</p>
<p>While committing these unprecedented crimes, President Bush has claimed the moral high ground despite having lied to the American people and despite devastating two countries in the name of “making the world safe from terrorists.” When people in Iraq and Afghanistan are asked who are the terrorists, they answer that it is the Americans.</p>
<p>The Bush administration has not been held accountable for any of its crimes. By failing to hold government accountable to law, the Constitution, and the American people. the opposition party and the corporate media have abandoned their responsibility to protect freedom and democracy in the United States.</p>
<p>There can be no democracy where there is no government accountability, and there is no government accountability in the United States–except, of course, to the Israel Lobby.</p>
<p>Now the Bush administration wants to take away the American people’s freedom to travel within their own country by airplane. Not content with an 80,000 “no fly” list, a subset of a 500,000-750,000 “watch list,” the Bush administration’s Transport Security Administration has proposed new rules that will require Americans to get government permission 72 hours in advance prior to being allowed to board a domestic flight.</p>
<p>The TSA justifies this extraordinary violation of our constitutional rights on the grounds that 90 to 93 percent of all travel reservations are final by then.</p>
<p>So what?!</p>
<p>And what of the 7 to 10 percent of flights that the TSA estimates are not on the books 72 hours in advance? These are family emergencies and critical business deals. What does the TSA care if a member of your family dies while you await the government’s permission to fly?</p>
<p>Any agency of the government that can propose such a tyrannical regulation should be abolished. The TSA’s mentality shows it to be a far greater threat to Americans than are terrorists.</p>
<p>Even without the “permission to fly” rule, the TSA’s practices are ridiculous and unjustified. The confiscation of tooth paste and unopened bottles of perfume, the harassment of US military officers in uniform, the harassment of old people struggling with their walkers, of mothers struggling with small children–none of this makes any sense except in terms of getting Americans accustomed to harassment as a citizen’s duty to government and to train a cadre to conduct warrantless searches of fellow citizens.</p>
<p>The no-fly list itself is absurd. If a known terrorist were to show up at an airport, he would be arrested, not refused permission to fly. Anyone else who can clear security like other passengers has every right to fly.</p>
<p>Set aside the violation of the Constitution and the Soviet-style tyranny of the loss of the freedom to travel and consider merely the practical aspect of the proposal. What American wants his travel plans dependent on a government bureaucracy capable of putting US Senator Ted Kennedy on the “no fly” list and capable of issuing US visas to two of the alleged 9/11 hijackers six months after they allegedly died in the 9/11 events?</p>
<p>If we believe the official story, 9/11 itself reveals a government totally devoid of any competence whatsoever.</p>
<p>The “war on terror” is fraudulent. The cruel war and the deceptive vocabulary that protects it are a cover for expanding US and Israeli hegemony in the MIddle East and for constructing a functioning police state at home. A country in which people cannot make airline reservations without the government’s permission is not a free country.</p>
<p>PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration. He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal editorial page and Contributing Editor of National Review. He is coauthor of <a href="" type="internal">The Tyranny of Good Intentions.</a>He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
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The Fraudlent War on Terror
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https://counterpunch.org/2007/10/25/the-fraudlent-war-on-terror/
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2007-10-25
| 4 |
<p>It has started. A new TV spot is running nationally saying that “fixing health care” is “something that we must do.” It is the first ad in what we expect will be a massive barrage of public relations claims on all sides of the coming debate over President-elect Obama’s …</p>
<p />
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https://factcheck.org/tag/american-medical-association/
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<p />
<p>California, with the largest haul of Democratic delegates up for grabs on “Super Tuesday,” is by some measures the biggest political prize in the primary elections. But next week’s primary is barely registering with voters. “Primary, what primary?” <a href="http://search.ft.com/search/article.html?id=040226001091&amp;query=california+and+kerry&amp;vsc_appId=totalSearch&amp;state=Form" type="external">asks</a> the Financial Times.</p>
<p />
<p>California votes on Tuesday to choose a Democratic challenger to George W. Bush. But if you weren’t looking, you would hardly know it.</p>
<p>In part this is because the contest isn’t looking like much of a competition. <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/story/8338932p-9268898c.html" type="external">Polls</a> put John Kerry at least 30 points ahead of John Edwards, and though one-third of voters might <a href="http://www.latimes.com/la-me-poll24feb24,1,6205882.story" type="external">change their minds</a>, most of these are Edwards backers. The Christian Science Monitor says there’s a <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0227/p02s01-uspo.html" type="external">“sleepy inevitability”</a> about the outcome.</p>
<p>California moved its primary from fall to spring in 1996 precisely to give the state more of a say in the nomination process. But, explains Nelson Polsby, a political scientist at Berkeley, it’s still not early enough. “Kerry has got it sewn up – California’s primary comes too late.” Adds Art Tores, the chairman of the Democratic party in California, “The cycle has to be changed.”</p>
<p>Neither candidate has gone out of his way to court California voters, partly because, given the size of the state, it’s virtually impossible to do retail politics there, and TV advertising, at $5m a pop, is prohibitively expensive.</p>
<p>To the extent that they are campaigning in California, the two Democrats might be bringing the wrong message. As in other parts of the country, Kerry and Edwards are focusing on jobs and trade. But that’s an <a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/8045130.htm" type="external">approach</a> that might not click so well in the Golden State, at least according to the San Jose Mercury News:</p>
<p />
<p>California, the nation’s second-largest exporting state, depends on trade to keep its economy humming. Offshoring, the trend toward moving skilled jobs to places like India, may be stoking the fears of some. But analysts say California voters also know the benefits of free trade. So do political donors, particularly in Silicon Valley, where many owe their fortunes to open borders.</p>
<p>“I think there’s a protectionist element in California, but this is a state that lives or dies by trade,” said Garry South, a California Democratic strategist who advised Sen. Joe Lieberman before he dropped out. “If I were a Democratic candidate, I would be a little careful of bashing trade in California.”</p>
<p>Despite Kerry’s momentum, Edwards is still optimistic, <a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/8041771.htm" type="external">on the basis that</a> “in any place that we campaign head-to-head, I’m surging at the end. Every single place, and this is not an accident.”</p>
<p>Edwards is presenting himself as an advocate for the working poor. <a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/special_packages/election2004/8045030.htm" type="external">This</a> from Kurtzman:</p>
<p />
<p>Likening himself to Franklin Delano Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy, who he said had made strides to help poor people and minorities during difficult times, Edwards said he would take up the challenge of fighting for the poor, even though poor people often do not vote.</p>
<p>While the speech might not yield votes from the poor, it seemed designed to appeal to the progressive wing of the party and give liberal Democrats an alternative to Kerry.</p>
<p>If anyone’s paying attention, that is. Mary Leonard of the Boston Globe thinks the media focus on gay marriage will <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/02/26/gay_marriage_questions_loom_large/" type="external">distract</a> public from the candidates’ core messages. It was certainly a main focus of <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/27/politics/campaign/27DEBA.html?hp" type="external">last night’s debate</a> in Los Angeles.</p>
<p />
<p>Time is short, the state is huge, TV advertising is too expensive, and all Californians want to talk about is gay marriage, an issue that promises to distract the leading Democratic candidates as they land here and make a mad dash to win over voters before Tuesday’s presidential primary.</p>
<p>Both Democrats are avoiding extreme stances on gay marriage, neither supporting Bush’s goal to alter the Constitution nor backing San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s push to legalize same sex marriage. Instead they support civil unions.</p>
<p>Polls show that most Americans don’t support marriage for gay people and California Democrats, diverse as they are, are most likely to fall in line with Kerry and Edwards despite a Bay area campaign to vote for Kucinich in protest.</p>
<p>The focus on gay marriage might draw attention away from another defining issue in California: immigration. Ann Simmons of the Los Angeles Times <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/2004/la-na-immig26feb26,1,2130548.story?coll=la-headlines-elect2004" type="external">notes</a> the growing importance of the immigrant vote:</p>
<p />
<p>In California, where the latest census figures put Latinos at 32% of the population and Asians at 11%, and where 44% of Latinos are foreign born, immigration is a pertinent issue, both practically and symbolically.</p>
<p>Leaders of ethnic advocacy groups say a candidate’s stand on immigration policy determines one simple factor: whether a candidate is for immigrants or against them.</p>
<p>Immigration is for Latinos similar to what civil rights is for African Americans,” said Sergio Bendixen, a pollster who specializes in opinion research among Latinos.”</p>
<p>Both Democrats attack Bush’s guest worker plan as a crude device to court the votes of immigrants while stripping them of rights.</p>
<p>Edwards “charges that millions of immigrants would be thrust into “a second-class status with no real promise of citizenship.”</p>
<p />
<p>Kerry has argued that the policy “rewards business over immigrants by providing them with a permanent pool of disenfranchised temporary workers who could easily be exploited by employers.</p>
<p>But some ethnic community advocates have praised Bush for propelling the immigration issue to the fore and for introducing concrete steps toward giving illegal immigrants the chance to become legal residents.</p>
<p>They also maintain that both immigrant and American-born Latinos have become more politically savvy and that Democrats can no longer take their support for granted.</p>
<p>The environment, largely ignored so far, could emerge as a key issue in progressive San Francisco and Los Angeles, where liberals might favor Kerry’s solid record pushing for clean air and foreign oil alternatives and fighting oil drilling in the Alaskan wilderness.</p>
<p>Although Kerry and Edwards have voted similarly on most issues, the senior senator has backed environmental protections more vigorously. However, although Edwards opposed a bill that would have tightened emissions on pick-up trucks, he fought Bush administration efforts to relax clean air rules.</p>
<p>But all this may be beside the point. The Christian Science Monitor calls the vote a “foregone ending,” because, in California as elsewhere, voters are leanign toward Kerry as the guy that can beat Bush. “Kerry’s electability is far more important to voters here than his positions,” one analyst tells the paper. Another says: “Mainly, voters here know Kerry looks good on TV and is winning, and so they want him.”</p>
<p />
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California Sleeping
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https://motherjones.com/politics/2004/02/california-sleeping/
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2004-02-27
| 4 |
<p>Bullies are empowered when people cower. Bullies cower when people fight back—even if that is only by standing up (silently or noisily) for what they believe.</p>
<p>Something strange is happening here, and it merits a serious discussion. In the week that has passed since Chicago shut up Trump, both the mainstream and other media have seen a rush of articles criticizing not Donald Trump but the protestors who shut his rally at the University of Illinois-Chicago down, defending Trump’s First Amendment rights but not those of those of the demonstrators.</p>
<p>Writers from David Moberg and Clancy Segal on the Left, to moderate Ron Grossman of the&#160;Chicago Tribune, to right-wing ideologue Charles Krauthammer strangely agree on one thing: that the anti-Trump demonstrations and “violence” will turn off American voters and move them into The Donald’s camp.</p>
<p>To buoy their arguments, they draw on what they believe are analogous situations: the election of Richard Nixon over Hubert Humphrey after the demonstrations of 1968 and, in the case of Grossman and Segal, events in Germany’s Weimar republic during the 1930s which they say led to (or at least hastened) the rise of Adolph Hitler.</p>
<p>We should set the record straight on this question—not only for history’s sake but as a guide to action now and in the future.</p>
<p>After stating his credentials as a person who has participated in demonstrations, Grossman&#160; <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/ct-trump-protesters-grossman-20160315-story.html" type="external">writes</a>,</p>
<p>But the time has come to halt the demonstrations. They became counterproductive once the confrontation between Trump's followers and opponents at the UIC Pavilion turned violent. It doesn't matter who started it. Trump profited from it. He will continue to do so whenever images of punching and cursing partisans lead the evening news.</p>
<p>Yet there was virtually no violence at the rally—not even a punch until Trump called off the rally and his angry, frustrated supporters left the Pavilion. And even then there were only three arrests. Given that there were thousands of people there, it is a testament to the discipline and the peaceful intentions of all that there was no more than the kind of scuffle that occurs outside most bars in any city on a Saturday night.</p>
<p>Let’s be clear: I do not, nor should anyone else, believe that it was violence or fear of violence that made Trump shut down the rally. Rather, Trump canceled because he didn’t like the odds. He loves the violence and threat of violence that he has used time and again in rallies when there are 10,000 Trumpists and a handful of demonstrators. Then his cries of “get him out” or offers to pay the bail of anyone who coldcocks the demonstrators are recorded by the media as victorious powerful cries as they are echoed and cheered by the mostly (though&#160; <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/03/21/white-trump-protester-sucker-punched-by-black-trump-supporter-in-brutal-video-of-tucson-rally/" type="external">not all</a>) white men who shove the lone demonstrators offering not the least bit of resistance to their blows. Dr. King would have been proud of their calm under fire.</p>
<p>That Trump could not control the scene at the Chicago rally; that his racist, misogynist comments were sure to be met with catcalls and boos rather than adulation; was what he feared—not the violence. That the TV cameras might have picked up white people not pummeling blacks but rather the rainbow white, black, female, male, Asian, Hispanic, Christian, Muslim crowd—Chicago and America in miniature, standing together against his divisive politics would have undermined his narrative.</p>
<p>Peaceful resistance doesn’t egg on Trump’s supporters. Bullies are empowered when people cower. Bullies cower when people fight back.</p>
<p>I think back to the summer of 1965 when we, whites and blacks together in solidarity marching peacefully with Dr. King through Marquette Park on Chicago’s southwest side, were stoned and had cherry bombs thrown at our feet. Should we have stopped the marches? Should we have believed that our very presence was the reason for racism? When we were violently attacked, were we then to blame for our injuries?</p>
<p>Moberg&#160; <a href="" type="internal">writes</a>,</p>
<p>Many Trump opponents, from petition signers trying to deny Trump use of the venue to protesters at the rally, wanted to stop Trump from speaking. That’s always tempting when someone is saying things as stupid and insulting as Trump does on a regular basis.</p>
<p>It’s the wrong response.&#160;Progressives should try to use such an event to communicate a counter-message to the large audience available, stretching far beyond Trump fans. That message is, first of all, that Trump —as a leader and through implementation of his ideas—would be bad for you and bad for the country.&#160;Second, there are better choices for leaders and better ways of identifying the real problems of the country and their solutions (taxing rich people like Trump more and more humanely adopt a steady flow of immigrants, just to start).</p>
<p>Moberg is wrong. It isn’t that the demonstrators meant to stop Trump from speaking—although like the Republican party leadership as well as anyone who cares about the impact of hate speech on the democratic experiment, I wish he would stop. But they did mean to challenge his message with a message of their own.</p>
<p>That message had two parts: one, that the people maligned by Trump—women, blacks, Hispanics, Muslims, immigrants—would not slink quietly into the night and agree to be slandered by him without standing up for themselves. And, equally important, that there are thousands of white people who do not identify with Trump’s message but rather identify with the diversity of religion, race and ethnicity that has made the nation strong.</p>
<p>The thousands of peaceful demonstrators inside and outside the Pavilion said that racist rhetoric has no place in Chicago, a city built by the groups Trump maligns. It’s a message, ironically, that Mayor Rahm Emanuel got. A few nights later at a Holocaust Museum Dinner, he&#160; <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-rahm-emanuel-donald-trump-speech-0319-met-20160318-story.html" type="external">said</a>,</p>
<p>In the '30s, when there was a rise and discussion of the use of anti-Semitism and isolation of Jews, the world was silent. The world did not speak up, because if it was OK to happen to the Jews, because it wasn't us. It was fine, and the allowance of that rhetoric of hatred permitted an environment and a context, at each step the erosion of people's rights, their civil rights and our human dignity.&#160;</p>
<p>And then we have&#160; <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/theres-an-air-of-menace-about-this-campaign/2016/03/17/8cb5961a-ec70-11e5-a6f3-21ccdbc5f74e_story.html" type="external">Krauthammer</a>:</p>
<p>The political thuggery that shut down a Donald Trump rally in Chicago last week may just be a harbinger. It would be nice, therefore, if we could think straight about cause and effect. The immediate conventional wisdom was to blame the disturbance on the ‘toxic climate’ created by Trump. Nonsense. This was an act of deliberate sabotage created by a totalitarian left that specializes in the intimidation and silencing of political opponents. … The Chicago shutdown was a planned attack on free speech and free assembly. Hence the exultant chant of the protesters upon the announcement of the rally's cancellation: “We stopped Trump.” It had all of the spontaneity of a beer-hall putsch.</p>
<p>Really? A planned attack on free speech and free assembly? Actually I believe the Trump rally and the demonstrations were examples of free speech and free assembly at its fullest and best. Trump can say what he has to say and so can we.</p>
<p>The point of free assembly and free speech is to challenge. No left-wing conspiracy was needed to galvanize students and groups of activists throughout Chicago. It was the natural response of those vilified to stand up for themselves, and of students who live in a diverse society to protest the use of their campus by a bigot.</p>
<p>I heard these same arguments in 2002, when it became clear that Bush intended to take us to war. People were fearful and argued that perhaps we shouldn’t stir the pot. I believed and believe now if we didn’t boldly take public space to express dissent, that public space will disappear. So we proceeded to organize&#160; <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99591469" type="external">the October 2, 2002, rally,</a>&#160;at which a young politician named Barack Obama would deliver a speech&#160;that&#160;later helped&#160;determine the outcome of the 2008 presidential&#160;election.</p>
<p>And the analogies. It’s apparently time to dredge up 1968 again, the demonstration that never dies. And it’s the same old crap—an acceptance by leftists, liberals and the Right that the disruptions, the loss of the elections that year were the fault of the demonstrators in the streets of Chicago and elsewhere. Grossman&#160; <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/ct-trump-protesters-grossman-20160315-story.html" type="external">writes</a>&#160;that Richard Nixon won the election by “playing on [the] fears” of “a city under siege by long-haired, weirdly costumed hippies and anarchists” that were seen on the streets of Chicago that year.</p>
<p>I was an organizer of those demonstrations, and they did not sink Humphrey and elect Nixon. The Democratic Party’s intransigence, its unwillingness and inability to hear and incorporate the sentiments of the young, the blacks, the women, the anti-war sentiments and the ugly brutality of the state—all of those things suppressed the vote and brought on the Nixon victory.</p>
<p>After being shunned by our elders, attacked by the Party and the police force of its leader, did anyone really think we were going to go out and vote for Humphrey? The nation hated the war and after the deaths of King and Kennedy and the bloodying of the young in Chicago, seeing the party as the defender of democracy and civil rights was a stretch.</p>
<p>What’s really ironic is that Grossman and Krauthammer really stretch and harken back to Weimar Germany in the 1930s—implying in Ron’s case that it was the action of the resistance that assured the rise of Nazism. History tells us otherwise. Most modern scholars would dispute that – some saying, in fact that it was the lack of Jewish protest (both in Germany and in America) that&#160; <a href="http://www.hirhome.com/israel/leaders0.htm" type="external">allowed</a>&#160;Hitler to rise and the State Department to turn a blind eye.</p>
<p>I salute those who speak out, who stand up, in peace, in solidarity, who take the blows when given, but also know when to fight back. It is they who are future, not those who would accommodate, accommodate, accomodate until all freedom is gone.</p>
<p>Like what you’ve read? <a href="https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/itt-subscription-offer?refcode=WS_ITT_Article_Footer&amp;noskip=true" type="external">Subscribe to In These Times magazine</a>, or <a href="https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/support-in-these-times?refcode=WS_ITT_Article_Footer&amp;noskip=true" type="external">make a tax-deductible donation to fund this reporting</a>.</p>
<p>Marilyn Katz is a writer, consultant and long-time political activist. She is president of MK Communications, a partner in Democracy Partners and a founder and co-chair of the newly formed Chicago Women Take Action.</p>
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Chicago Activists Should Be Commended, Not Scolded, for Shutting Down Donald Trump’s Rally
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http://inthesetimes.com/article/18992/critique-of-david-moberg
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2016-03-21
| 4 |
<p>A. Barton Hinkle <a href="http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/rtd-opinion/2012/aug/19/tdopin02-the-wrong-side-absolutely-must-not-win-ar-2138869/" type="external">captures it</a>.</p>
<p>The past several weeks have made one thing crystal-clear: Our country faces unmitigated disaster if the Other Side wins.</p>
<p>No reasonably intelligent person can deny this. All you have to do is look at the way the Other Side has been running its campaign. Instead of focusing on the big issues that are important to the American People, it has fired a relentlessly negative barrage of distortions, misrepresentations and flat-out lies.</p>
<p>Just look at the Other Side's latest commercial, which take a perfectly reasonable statement by the candidate for My Side completely out of context to make it seem as if he is saying something nefarious. This just shows you how desperate the Other Side is and how willing it is to mislead the American People.</p>
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The State of Punditry Today
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https://thedailybeast.com/the-state-of-punditry-today
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2018-10-04
| 4 |
<p />
<p>By virtually all accounts, the combined markets of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are expected to become massive. Estimates vary, of course, but most pundits expect the futuristic alternative-reality formats will become multibillion-dollar juggernauts in the coming years.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Now that Facebook's Oculus Rift VR headset is available to the masses, and Microsoft's AR wonder HoloLens is ready for developers to expand its already impressive capabilities in preparation for widespread production, the VR-AR war is officially on. Much of the hype surrounding VR -- and AR as it gets ready for the general public -- is being driven by gamers. No surprise there.</p>
<p>What may raise a few eyebrows, however, is a recent report that suggests gaming is just one piece of the alternative-reality pie. And should the forecast come to pass, it could prove to be a boon for Microsoft and its HoloLens AR.</p>
<p>Image source: <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-hololens/en-us" type="external">Microsoft Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>The envelope, pleaseAccording to a recent study from Goldman Sachs, the combined AR and VR markets are expected to generate $80 billion in revenue by 2025. That's an impressive figure, but it's also somewhat conservative compared with others that suggest the two cutting-edge technologies will grow to become a $120 billion market in four years.</p>
<p>Either way, there's a lot at stake for the likes of Facebook and Microsoft, among others, and both recognize the world's gamers will get the VR-AR market off and running. When CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Facebook's $2 billion deal for Oculus in March 2014, he said, "Immersive gaming will be the first, and Oculus already has big plans here that won't be changing and we hope to accelerate."</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>As for Microsoft's HoloLens, one of its early developers, who's no longer with Microsoft, recently admitted, "There is clearly a gaming potential there, but they [Microsoft] don't want to put this out there as an Xbox extension." Microsoft's reluctance to promote HoloLens as a gaming device, and Zuckerberg's assertion that Rift for gamers is "just the start," speak to the opportunity non-game-related applications represent.</p>
<p>As per Goldman Sachs' forecast, nearly half the VR-AR market -- both software and hardware -- will be derived from the "enterprise and public sector, with healthcare and engineering being the most promising areas of use." For example, of the $35 billion VR and AR software is predicted to generate by 2025, Goldman expects $16.1 billion will come from enterprise and public-sector customers, while consumers will drive $18.9 billion in software revenue.</p>
<p>The possibilities are endlessThe potential of VR and AR for enterprise customers is also why some pundits expect it will be devices such as Microsoft's HoloLens that will ultimately win the day over the Rifts of the world. According to research from Digi-Capital, $90 billion of its forecasted $120 billion in total sales by 2020 will come from AR, while VR generates "just" $30 billion.</p>
<p>It's not hard to imagine engineers, healthcare professionals, and educators around the world, among others, who will use AR to facilitate projects and communicate with cohorts, regardless of location. That's ideal for Microsoft, given its emphasis on building HoloLens for commercial use first and gaming second. Facebook's Rift, on the other hand, has taken a more traditional approach of gaming first, with the enterprise to follow. But as Zuckerberg made clear from the get-go, his plans for Oculus will take a similar path as HoloLens.</p>
<p>In fact, word has it Facebook is exploring AR even as it works to get its Rift VR headset off the ground. Developing solutions that address needs across both the VR and AR markets is clearly a no-brainer, given Goldman Sachs' assertion that enterprise customers will account for such a large part of the combined markets.</p>
<p>For now at least, the success of VR and the soon-to-be-released AR technologies lies in the hands of the world's gamers. But Microsoft and Facebook recognize there's a lot more than immersive games in the future of VR and AR. Dominating the commercial market will determine who wins the virtual war.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/04/14/the-winner-of-the-vr-wars-needs-to-dominate-this-k.aspx" type="external">The Winner of the VR Wars Needs to Dominate This Key Vertical Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/timbrugger/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Tim Brugger Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Facebook. The Motley Fool recommends Microsoft. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
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The Winner of the VR Wars Needs to Dominate This Key Vertical
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2016-04-14
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<p>Recent US budget cuts have forced the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to close 149 air traffic towers around the country.</p>
<p>The closures will mainly affect small airports, with none expected to shut down because of the cuts.</p>
<p>Indeed, the cuts will affect airports <a href="http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/national/FAA-to-close-149-air-traffic-towers-under-cuts-" type="external">with less</a> than 150,000 flights per year and fewer than 10,000 commercial flights.</p>
<p>The cuts in air traffic towers will begin early next month.</p>
<p>“We heard from communities across the country about the importance of their towers, and these were very tough decisions,” <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/faa-will-close-149-airport-towers-on-heels-of-sequester/2013/03/22/e3973ecc-9302-11e2-a31e-14700e2724e4_story.html" type="external">said</a> Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.</p>
<p>“Unfortunately, we are faced with a series of difficult choices that we have to make to reach the required cuts under sequestration.”</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/thomson-reuters/130321/us-house-averts-government-shutdown-backs-ryan-budget" type="external">U.S. House averts government shutdown, backs Ryan budget</a></p>
<p>Safety has clearly been a concern as pilots will be forced to coordinate their own take-offs and landings.</p>
<p>"We will work with the airports and the operators to ensure the procedures are in place to maintain the high level of safety at non-towered airports," said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta <a href="http://www.faa.gov/news/press_releases/news_story.cfm?newsId=14414" type="external">in a statement</a>.</p>
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Budget cuts close down 149 air traffic towers in the US
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2013-03-22
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<p>India, the world’s largest democracy, has a PR problem.</p>
<p>Despite the effort of politicians to present India as a rapidly modernizing state, gruesome incidents of rape keep making news, generating bewilderment among analysts. Take the latest instance of a double rape and killing of two young girls in a tiny rural village in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The girls were 12 and 14 years old and were last seen alive leaving their home in the middle of the night to relieve themselves. Were it not for footage of their bodies hanging from a mango tree the next day, the incident would likely not have made much news.</p>
<p>That incident is not isolated. Within days, <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/world/india-rocked-by-new-rape-cases-20140612-zs674.html" type="external">more reports</a> surfaced from Uttar Pradesh of a 19-year-old woman who was lynched and a 45-year-old woman who was raped and also hung. Additionally, a woman in the same state <a href="http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Regional/2014/06/12/Indian-woman-says-police-gangraped-her-inside-station/" type="external">said she had been gang raped</a> by four police officers after she went to the station to plead her incarcerated husband’s case. In fact, since the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/29/world/asia/condition-worsens-for-victim-of-gang-rape-in-india.html%20" type="external">2012 violent gang rape and killing</a> of a young woman on a bus in the country’s capital, Delhi, India has been grappling with high-profile rapes and sexual assaults making news like never before.</p>
<p>Obviously rape itself is not a new phenomenon in India. But treating it as a heinous crime deserving of public revulsion is relatively new. Most attempts to make sense of the violence miss one crucial element however, and that is India’s caste system.</p>
<p />
<p>Why would the rapists and killers of the two young girls in Uttar Pradesh go to the lengths of hanging the victims’ bodies from a tree? The answer to that question is hidden beneath layers of India’s caste-based sexual violence. The victims at the center of that crime were from the Shakya caste while the alleged perpetrators were from the Yadav caste. Although both castes are designated as “lower castes,” the Yadav caste is dominant in the village where the crime was committed.</p>
<p>Thenmozhi Soundararajan is a Dalit-American filmmaker, transmedia artist and co-founder of the international women’s media technology collective Third World Majority. For the past several years she has devoted herself to exposing the injustices of India’s caste system. In <a href="http://uprisingradio.org/home/?s=thenmozhi&amp;submit=Go" type="external">an interview</a> on <a href="http://www.uprisingradio.org" type="external">Uprising</a> during which she helped place India’s rape epidemic within the lens of caste-based violence, she told me, caste “is an insidious system that traps over 200 million people.” That’s the equivalent of two-thirds of the U.S.’ population dealing with an entrenched system of oppression. She cited the grim statistics that “every hour [in India], three Dalits are murdered, two are raped, and two [Dalit] houses are burned,” adding, “this is one of the most under-reported human rights crises of our time.” Most Americans will be unfamiliar with the word “Dalit.” But it is an increasingly common term of self-identification used by India’s Adivasis or tribal communities who have historically been at the bottom of the socioeconomic hierarchy as “untouchables” or “scheduled castes.” “Just like within the Black Power movement, the assertion of being black was that first step toward self-determination, for Dalits, we reject the epithet of ‘untouchable,’&#160;” Soundararajan said. “Dalit,” she added, “means ‘broken by a system of oppression,’ but is also a term of struggle, meaning ‘we fight to survive, we fight to thrive, and think of ourselves as a people defined by this struggle.’&#160;“</p>
<p>The National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR) explains in its <a href="http://www.ncdhr.org.in/resources/publications/Brochure-NCDHR.pdf" type="external">brochure</a> that India’s lower castes, also known as “untouchables,” “may not use the same wells, visit the same temples, drink from the same cups in tea stalls [as upper caste Indians], or lay claim to land that is legally theirs. … Dalit children are frequently made to sit in the back of classrooms and communities as a whole are made to perform degrading rituals in the name of caste.” Additionally, “Dalit women face the triple burden of caste, class and gender.”</p>
<p>Despite the fact that only a handful of media outlets in India or the U.S. have examined India’s rape epidemic through the lens of caste, Soundararajan told me, “the reality is that caste is everywhere South Asians are. If we’re able to talk about and break the silence on caste-based sexual violence, we’ll really be able to make headway in terms of ending this system in our lifetime.” India has outlawed caste-based discrimination in its very constitution. But just as rape is outlawed and yet essentially <a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/mp-minister-defends-mulayam-akhilesh-over-badaun-rape/article1-1226343.aspx" type="external">condoned by many politicians</a>, caste-based violence and discrimination are rampant in villages and cities alike and laws remain unenforced.</p>
<p>In studying Dalit communities, the United Nations found some years ago that women “face targeted violence, even rape and death, from state actors and powerful members of dominant castes who used [their power] to inflict political lessons and crush dissent within community.” The NCDHR, in its <a href="http://www.ncdhr.org.in/resources/publications/ndmj/UPR_Caste_Based_Discrimination%2C_India_2012.pdf" type="external">2012 report</a> to the United Nations, cited tens of thousands of cases of violence against Dalit women each year. Soundararajan said to me, “when we’re talking about caste-based sexual violence, it’s not a crime of just lust, it’s not a crime of individual power. … [It is] a systemic way in which caste is enforced through Dalit women’s bodies.”</p>
<p>She gave a typical example of how “anytime the Dalit community [tries to] exert their rights like going out to vote or going to school or trying to access common resources that have been segregated in the caste apartheid that exists in rural and urban India, what will happen is there will be reprisal violence.” She echoed the dominant upper-caste sentiment: “Because you guys decided to step out this way, we’re going to emasculate the men of the community, we’re going to target your women, we’re going to humiliate them.”</p>
<p>The collective punishment against Dalit communities for daring to exercise their right to exist includes, according to Soundararajan, “an entire spectrum of sexual violence [against Dalit women] that includes being stripped and paraded naked, having your head shorn, raped and murdered in these heinous, humiliating ways that are designed to tell over and over to the Dalit community, ‘you are not human, you will never be one of us, don’t ever try this again, we have total control over your bodies and your lands.’&#160;“</p>
<p>Seeing India’s sexual violence against women through the lens of the caste system clarifies the reason why the 12- and 14-year-old Dalit girls were lynched. The presumably Yadav perpetrators were sending a message of collective humiliation to the entire lower-caste Shakya community. Upper-caste violators of the law often get away with crimes of sexual violence because, according to Soundararajan, “there are two Indias: one India where there is a rule of law for those that are upper caste and wealthy, and another India where there is no rule of law, particularly if you’re Dalit.”</p>
<p>Soundararajan indicted all levels of Indian society for the crimes of caste-based violence, saying “we have to examine the culture of impunity that goes all the way from that village [in Uttar Pradesh] to the top levels of Indian diplomacy.” India is a strong U.S. ally and a lucrative market for transnational capitalist enterprises. Although gendered violence is a convenient excuse for foreign intervention in countries like Afghanistan, India’s caste-based apartheid is dismissed by the international community and major Western powers like the U.S. as part of the country’s own internal affairs. In fact, neither President Obama nor U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has made any mention of caste-based violence in condemning the recent incidents of rape in India.</p>
<p>Soundararajan had strong words for outside commentators about India’s sexual violence, saying, “Stop talking about the rape culture without mentioning caste!” Drawing an analogy with the West, she said, “It would be similar to looking at the U.S. under slavery and wondering why black women were experiencing rape much differently than white women without talking about slavery. That’s how critical it is to have a structural analysis and to name caste as one of the core origins of this rape culture in India.”</p>
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Why It Is Crucial to Examine India's Rape Epidemic Through the Lens of Caste
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https://truthdig.com/articles/why-it-is-crucial-to-examine-indias-rape-epidemic-through-the-lens-of-caste/
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2014-06-20
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<p>Buy shoes, helps schools.</p>
<p>Shoes on a Shoestring, with locations on the East and West sides of Albuquerque, will offer 10 percent off to customers on Saturday and will donate 10 percent of that day’s sales to the Albuquerque Public Schools Education Foundation.</p>
<p>The nonprofit APS Foundation works to benefit the district’s academic programs.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
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Shoe sales to help schools
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https://abqjournal.com/299202/shoe-sales-to-help-schools.html
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2013-11-12
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<p>MEXICO CITY — David Pablos, who impressed with Cannes’ 2015 Un Certain Regard player “The Chosen Ones,” is attached to direct “La Caída” (Dive), a highly topical tale of sexual abuse in the ultra-competitive sporting world of high-board diving.</p>
<p>From an original idea by Karla Souza, “Dive” is produced by Ana Laura Rascón and Souza with a view to Souza starring in the film as its protagonist.</p>
<p>Martin Scorsese producer Gaston Pavlovich has a first option on the project which Rascón, Souza and Pablos will introduce at this week’s Los Cabos Festival Industry Meet-Mart.</p>
<p>“Dive” is inspired by a real case in Mexico. More than that, however, its virtue looks to be its homing in the singular power structure which facilitates abuse – the reduction of authority to a single person at a time when the victim’s lack the power, mechanism or credibility to protest;, and its focus on the protagonist’s battle to persuade herself that she has been a victim of abuse in the first place.</p>
<p>“Dive” turns on a girl, Mariel, to be played by Souza, a diver training for the Olympic Games, whose life changes radically when it is revealed that her diving partner Nadia has been abused for years by their trainer, Braulio. The man’s conduct is brought to light by happenstance when Nuria’s mother discovers her daughter’s diary, which describes the trainer actions from when Nuria was a small girl. Nuria’s mother goes to the media. Confronted by the scandal, Mariel fears separation from Braulio and persuades Nuria to deny any kind of sexual abuse.</p>
<p>It takes Mariel time to realize Braulio has done anything wrong at all. She was in love with him; they had a relationship, she argues to herself. It is only when she cottons on to other girls’ in the diving team having been victims of sexual abuse, that Mariel begins to confront the trainer’s manipulation and lies.</p>
<p>Researching the film, “the girls we talked to repeatedly say they were in love with the trainer. Their confidence and career is in his hands. He knows their techniques, and how to make them better, and how to make them feel better (or worse)” Rascón said.</p>
<p>Official statistics in Mexico are alarming, Pablos said. 71% of athletes have suffered some kind if harassment or abuse; the trainer committed these acts in 67% of cases.</p>
<p>Pablos said “Dive” would look not only at the consequences off sexual abuse and the divers’ daily lives, but at such context as the divers’ families, isolation, and guilt. “The material touches very personal issues, and here is where is the heart of the film,” he added.</p>
<p>In development for two years, the heart of “Dive” is Mariel’s struggle to confront&#160;her&#160;reality, the trainer’s actions and separate them from fantasy, said Rascón.</p>
<p>The Harvey Weinstein revelations “have been very relevant,” she added. “Some of the girls even wrote to us, saying: ‘Look what’s happening. 10 years ago, nobody listened to us.”</p>
<p>Pablos will finish a first draft screenplay by November.</p>
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Los Cabos: David Pablos, Karla Souza, Ana Laura Rascón Team for ‘Dive,’ a Tale of Sporting World Sexual Abuse
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https://newsline.com/los-cabos-david-pablos-karla-souza-ana-laura-rascon-team-for-dive-a-tale-of-sporting-world-sexual-abuse/
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2017-11-08
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<p>As Dizzy Dean would say, "You dances with who you brung." My district has no candidate for council this year so I am faced with having to go to the polls to vote for just a mayor.</p>
<p>Now herein lies the rub: I have not been able to separate one candidate from the four that would make my vote easy. You would think that someone would stand out regardless of your political views.</p>
<p>So far no candidate has convinced me to pick him and all the opposite views from well-meaning citizens who take the time to comment in the news are not helping either. Sad but true, I will go to the polling place on Election Day as undecided.</p>
<p>Sure does not speak well for any of the mayoral candidates at this point. Not one of them has knocked on my door or even put a flyer inside the screen. I guess my vote is not that important to them, but it is important to me.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Call me undecided.</p>
<p>John Holley</p>
<p>Rio Rancho</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
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Letter to the editor: Casting vote for mayor won't be an easy choice
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<p>TORONTO (Reuters) – The mayor of Toronto said on Thursday that Canada’s largest city was working to make sure it has an attractive bid for Amazon.com (NASDAQ:) Inc’s second headquarters.</p>
<p>Earlier on Thursday, Amazon, the world’s largest e-commerce company, announced a $5 billion expansion plan that would generate 50,000 new jobs.</p>
<p>“I firmly believe that Toronto is a prime candidate to host Amazon’s second headquarters in North America. I will be leading the charge to make the case that Amazon should call Toronto home,” Mayor John Tory said in a statement.</p>
<p />
<p>Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.</p>
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Toronto vies for site of second Amazon headquarters
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https://newsline.com/toronto-vies-for-site-of-second-amazon-headquarters/
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2017-09-07
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<p>A Navy fleet arrives on Memorial Weekend for its annual New York celebration, an event widely covered by the print and broadcast media with great enthusiasm. As the crew stands in crisp white formation, the amphibious assault vessel U.S.S. Wasp leads the parade of ships entering New York harbor for the start of Fleet Week.</p>
<p>A young man in Iowa, inspired by the movie Saving Private Ryan, paints a 56-ton boulder he calls Freedom Rock with murals depicting the sacrifices of America’s service members. Local businesses encourage visits to the rock, and viewing the mural has become a Memorial Day ritual for thousands of people. The tableau receives extensive national press coverage.</p>
<p>A prominent investment banker-statesman warns that, unless we get “entitlement” costs under control, Social Security spending will inevitably undermine national security. He says that as in prior wars, Americans deserve the truth about the costs of protecting the nation – “a burden they’re likely to tolerate if they’re given the unvarnished facts.”</p>
<p>A noted architect and environmentalist gushes in a feature profile of him, “Imagine our military bases covered with solar thermal collectors that could generate steam and electricity.”</p>
<p>A letter to the editor of The New York Times from a man in Florida states, “We must reorganize our armed forces to provide the capability to launch strikes anywhere in the world at any time. Unfortunately, the civilian populations that harbor terrorists will become unintended victims.”</p>
<p>The House Armed Services Committee works through $646 billion in proposed spending for the Defense Department and war operations. Halfway through markups for the 2008 defense authorization bill, the committee has approved efforts to add ships, Boeing cargo planes and fighter engines to the Pentagon’s budget request. The Senate Armed Services Committee cuts $12 billion from President Bush’s $142 billion request for war funding to use for other programs such as increases in Army and Marine Corps troops.</p>
<p>A newspaper headline shouts, “Army wants more elbow room – sights set on 4.9 million more acres of U.S. turf for high-tech exercises.” The accompanying photo shows a U.S. soldier prone on the ground in full battle gear firing at targets in a simulated Iraqi village on a training site the military wants to triple in size.</p>
<p>The Pentagon unveils three new programs with extensive media fanfare: the Joint Strike Fighter, its largest aviation program with an eventual cost of more than $600 billion; Future Combat Systems, a vast satellite computer battlefield network with sensors, drones, etc. with a price tag of $230 billion; and the MQ-9 Reaper, the world’s first remote-controlled robot attack squadron, carrying 14 air-to-ground weapons or four Hellfires and two 500 pound bombs with initial targets in Afghanistan and Iraq.</p>
<p>Less known is the fact that the U.S. has more than 700 military bases in 130 countries and deploys 13 naval task forces, fleets of long-range bombers, a half million soldiers, agents, technicians, teachers, dependents and civilian contractors – plus 234 military golf courses – around the world.</p>
<p>The United States also possesses thousands of active nuclear warheads and keeps almost half of them ready to launch within 15 minutes. To cover all fronts from all directions, the U.S. maintainsa triad of intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched missiles and strategic bombers.U.S. nuclear weapons laboratories receive more money than ever, with the federal government’s “weapons activities budget” at $6 billion annually.</p>
<p>At a Washington press conference, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, stands between the former heads of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and the Army War College. She is introducing legislation that would add 100,000 soldiers to the Army, declaring that it should be a national priority to field a significantly larger military.”She understands the weaknesses in the Democratic Party perhaps better than anyone else,” observes a “centrist” Democratic strategist. ”The party will not be taken seriously by the American people unless it believes it will defend them.”</p>
<p>According to Barack Obama’s 2008 Web site, he is“committed to helping the heroes who defend our nation today and the veterans who fought in years past,“ and he will lead us to “rebuild and transform the military to meet 21st-century threats.” There is no talk about the Pentagon budget.</p>
<p>The many candidates seeking the Republican nomination for president next year all bark: cut taxes, increase military spending, reduce “entitlements” of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the ghost of C. Wright Mills haunts library shelves across the country where his inconvenient words still resonate: “The military order, once a slim establishment in a context of distrust fed by state militia, has become the largest and most expensive feature of government, and, although well versed in smiling public relations, now has all the grim and clumsy efficiency of a sprawling bureaucratic domain. There is a political economy linked, in a thousand ways, with military institutions and decisions. The military manipulation of civilian opinion and the military invasion of the civilian mind are now important ways in which the power of the warlords is steadily exerted.”</p>
<p>Of the 100 largest U.S. defense contractors, the top six – Lockheed, Boeing, Northrup, General Dynamics, Raytheon, Halliburton – collectively receive some $80 billion annually from the federal government. A leading contractor in Iraq, Blackwater USA, holds contracts worth about $800 million a year.</p>
<p>Between 1990 and 2006, American defense contractors contributed a total of $111 million to Democrats and Republicans, with 60 percent going to the GOP. In 1990, $7 million was contributed to the two parties. In 2006, the defense industry gave $16 million total – from individuals, political action committees, soft money – with $6 million going to Democrats and $10 million to Republicans.</p>
<p>A bleak nightmare now engulfs our mighty republic. The land is awash in guns, with thousands killed by bullets every year. Thousands more Americans and others die in Iraq from bullets and shrapnel as images of fallen heroes and grieving families blink on nightly television. Political phantoms chasing money and votes are silent about the prospect of gun control or moving billions from the Pentagon to help fund health care and Social Security. With megaphones blaring, America’s tin leaders are on parade, marching in unison in the “war on terror” while the Founding Fathers shriek in the night.</p>
<p>GEORGE H. STRAUSS holds a Ph.D. in political science from New York University, a Master’s in Public Affairs from The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, and a B.A. in government and economics from Oberlin College. He is the author of articles and position papers on various public policy issues and has been involved in electoral politics at the national, state and local levels. He is the author of a collection of satirical poetry and short stories, Welcome to the Bozo Club, and runs a non-political communications firm based in New York. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>Bibliography</p>
<p>“Confrontations Long Ago – The Student Leaders Look Back.” Saturday Review. 19 August 1972.</p>
<p>The Protest Generation: Political Disenchantment and Activism among American High School Students. Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Politics, New York University. February 1973.</p>
<p>“Two Perspectives on High School Student Politics: Political Objects versus Political Actors.” Youth &amp; Society. March 1974.</p>
<p>“School as Power Structure: Student Attitudes toward High School Policies, Student Power Positions and Student Rights Movement.” Education and Urban Society. November 1974.</p>
<p>“The Foster Care Mess.” Newsday. 9 August 1977.</p>
<p>The Children Are Waiting: The Failure to Achieve Permanent Homes for Foster Children in New York City. Report on an Audit by the New York City Comptroller’s Office: Project Director, GEORGE H. STRAUSS. Published with foundation grants, New York 1978.</p>
<p>Testimony before the National Commission for Children in Need of Parents. Philadelphia, PA. 26 January 1978.</p>
<p>“Globalization of Finance and Economics Challenges Business Reporting in Many Countries.” International Public Relations Review. Fall 1992.</p>
<p>“The Boom in Latin America – Is It Real?” International Public Relations Review. Spring 1993.</p>
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2007-08-08
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<p>Amusement and water parks operator Cedar Fair (NYSE:FUN) is hiring former Disney (NYSE:DIS) executive Matthew Ouimet to serve as its new CEO when current head Dick Kinzel retires next year.</p>
<p>Effective immediately, Ouimet, 53, will become president of Cedar, subsequently replacing Kinzel, 70, as chief executive upon his retirement on January 3.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>A 20-year veteran of the amusement park and hospitality industry, Ouimet has spent 17 years with Disney, where he served as chief financial officer of Disney Development, executive general manger of Disney Vacation Club, president of Disney Cruise Line and president of Disneyland Resort, among others.</p>
<p>In 2006 he was recruited to serve as the president of <a href="" type="internal">Starwood Hotels</a> &amp; Resorts (NYSE:HOT), where he oversaw 900 owned, managed and franchised hotel properties in 95 countries. In 2008 he joined Corinthian Colleges (NASDAQ:COCO), as publicly-held, post-secondary education company, as chief operating officer.</p>
<p>Without question, Matt is the right leader to join Cedar Fair now as it builds momentum on its renewed path of sustained, profitable growth in 2011 and beyond, said Tom Harvie, Cedars independent chairman.</p>
<p>In addition to his new role, Ouimet will continue serving on the board of <a href="" type="internal">Collective Brands</a> (NYSE:PSS), a retail giant with a portfolio of recognized footwear brands including Payless and Saucony.</p>
<p>In a statement, the Sandusky, Ohio-based amusement park chain thanked Kinzel for his years of dedication to Cedar. The current chief executive joined the Cedar Point amusement park in 1972 and was appointed CEO of its parent, Cedar Fair, in 1986, a year before the company started trading on the <a href="" type="internal">New York Stock Exchange</a>.</p>
<p>Kinzel also served as chairman of the board from 2003 to 2010.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
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Cedar Fair Taps Former Disney Executive for CEO Spot
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2016-01-28
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<p>SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Conductor Charles Dutoit’s name has become so toxic following accusations of sexual assault that Canada’s national broadcaster has stopped saying his name on air when radio stations play his music.</p>
<p>“At this point, we are no longer crediting Mr. Dutoit as conductor,” said Emma Bedard, spokeswoman for Canadian Broadcasting Corp.</p>
<p>Dutoit served as music director for the Montreal Symphony Orchestra from 1977-2002. He made scores of recordings with the orchestra that make up an important part of the national broadcaster’s Canadian repertoire on classical music station CBC Radio Two. But the new policy applies to all CBC stations.</p>
<p>“CBC Radio Two is where these recordings are most often played, but our approach would be the same regardless of channel,” Bedard said in emailed statements. Her comments were first reported by the Montreal Gazette.</p>
<p>The policy took effect after The Associated Press reported on Dec. 21 that four women, including three opera singers and an orchestra musician, accused Dutoit of sexual assault. The world-renowned conductor denied the accusations, but eight major orchestras promptly cut ties with Dutoit or distanced themselves from him.</p>
<p>“We began changing how we refer to these recordings at the end of December, and will continue for the time being to simply credit the Montreal Symphony Orchestra,” she said.</p>
<p>On Thursday, the AP published a story with six new accusations of assault against Dutoit, including one musician who accused him of rape. Dutoit denied the latest accusations, saying in a statement he was “appalled and sickened” by the rape allegation which he called a “bewildering and baseless charge.”</p>
<p>SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Conductor Charles Dutoit’s name has become so toxic following accusations of sexual assault that Canada’s national broadcaster has stopped saying his name on air when radio stations play his music.</p>
<p>“At this point, we are no longer crediting Mr. Dutoit as conductor,” said Emma Bedard, spokeswoman for Canadian Broadcasting Corp.</p>
<p>Dutoit served as music director for the Montreal Symphony Orchestra from 1977-2002. He made scores of recordings with the orchestra that make up an important part of the national broadcaster’s Canadian repertoire on classical music station CBC Radio Two. But the new policy applies to all CBC stations.</p>
<p>“CBC Radio Two is where these recordings are most often played, but our approach would be the same regardless of channel,” Bedard said in emailed statements. Her comments were first reported by the Montreal Gazette.</p>
<p>The policy took effect after The Associated Press reported on Dec. 21 that four women, including three opera singers and an orchestra musician, accused Dutoit of sexual assault. The world-renowned conductor denied the accusations, but eight major orchestras promptly cut ties with Dutoit or distanced themselves from him.</p>
<p>“We began changing how we refer to these recordings at the end of December, and will continue for the time being to simply credit the Montreal Symphony Orchestra,” she said.</p>
<p>On Thursday, the AP published a story with six new accusations of assault against Dutoit, including one musician who accused him of rape. Dutoit denied the latest accusations, saying in a statement he was “appalled and sickened” by the rape allegation which he called a “bewildering and baseless charge.”</p>
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Canadian broadcaster cuts Charles Dutoit’s name from radio
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https://apnews.com/dc9d4138ce2e4754b81247a20655e1cc
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2018-01-13
| 2 |
<p>Nepomuceno Moreno was a father trying to get by when he was <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/anti-violence-activist-slain-mexico-150950615.html" type="external">gunned down</a> in his van at an intersection in Hermosillo.</p>
<p>At 56 years old, he made a simple living, selling seafood on the sidewalk.</p>
<p>But when his 18-year-old son disappeared last year, Moreno became an anguished parent, searching for answers to their missing child. In Mexico, this has become increasingly common. The war on drugs in this country has taken tens of thousands of lives since it began in 2006. That doesn't include the missing.</p>
<p>Moreno, in his quest, became one of the public faces of the missing, joining up with anti-violence groups to call for justice. He publicly said that masked police had taken his son, rather than random gunmen.&#160;</p>
<p>Corruption in the police force is well-known. It's one of the reasons that Mexico had deployed military forces in the form of US-trained marines to pursue the cartels. The hope is that they're less corruptible, more professional. Although, reports <a href="http://www.hrw.org/reports/2011/11/09/neither-rights-nor-security-0" type="external">suggest</a> the marines, too, have abused their power.</p>
<p>The general in this war, President Felipe Calderon, met with Moreno in October.&#160;</p>
<p>Moreno, according to the AP, told Calderon that he feared for his safety, and that of his family. He said that the men who had taken his son were police officers working with organized crime.</p>
<p>Shortly afterward, Moreno was dead.</p>
<p>Government officials say that Moreno himself was involved in drug trafficking. According to a <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/anti-violence-activist-slain-mexico-150950615.html" type="external">spokesman</a> for Sonora state attorney general's office, Jose Larrinaga Talamantes:</p>
<p>[He said] the victim had been involved with organized crime at least since his 1979 arrest in Arizona for heroin smuggling and possession.</p>
<p>In 1997, Moreno was jailed again on drug-related charges, Larrinaga said.</p>
<p>"There are various lines of investigation that remain open, but the principal one is his relationship with organized crime," Larrinaga said. Moreno's son's kidnapping was also being looked at, Larrinaga said.</p>
<p>Calderon has long said that the vast majority of victims of Mexico's violence have some ties to organized crime - that's code for drug cartels. That has outraged victims' families, who beg to differ.</p>
<p>No one will know why Moreno was killed, or who killed him now. These kinds of murders don't seem to get solved.</p>
<p>And the fear continues for the Morenos. Nepomuceno's living relatives now say that they, too, fear for their lives.&#160;</p>
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Mexico activist slain - but by whom?
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https://pri.org/stories/2011-11-30/mexico-activist-slain-whom
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2011-11-30
| 3 |
<p>Investing.com – The People’s Bank of China set the yuan parity rate against the dollar at 6.6399 on Tuesday, compared to the previous close of 6.6398.</p>
<p>The China Foreign Exchange Trade System sets the weighted average of prices given by market makers. The highest and lowest offers are excluded from the calculation. The central bank allows the dollar/yuan rate to move no more than 2% above or below the central parity rate.</p>
<p>Market watchers see a yuan level of 7 against the dollar, , as a key touchstone for sentiment in the near term.</p>
<p />
<p>Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.</p>
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Forex – PBOC Sets Yuan Parity At 6.6399 Against Dollar
| false |
https://newsline.com/forex-pboc-sets-yuan-parity-at-6-6399-against-dollar/
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2017-11-13
| 1 |
<p>Mexico's biggest retailer, Wal-Mart de Mexico SAB, said Thursday that its net profit increased 15% in the second quarter as higher sales combined with lower costs and expenses.</p>
<p>Walmex, as the unit of Arkansas-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is known, made net profit on continuing operations of 6.75 billion Mexican pesos ($380 million) in the three months through June, compared with 5.87 billion pesos in the year-earlier period.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The company also registered a 7 billion-peso gain in the quarter from the sale of its Suburbia clothing stores.</p>
<p>Sales rose 9.1% to 135.72 billion pesos, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization -- a measure of operating cash flow -- grew 13% to 12.47 billion pesos. Same-store sales rose 7.2% in Mexico and 6.9% in Central America.</p>
<p>Walmex said both cost of sales and general expenses declined as a percentage of revenue.</p>
<p>The results were in line with the expectations of analysts polled by The Wall Street Journal.</p>
<p>Growth in Mexican retail, while slower than in 2016, has been resilient to this year's bump in inflation and a slowdown in consumer credit. More than 800,000 formal private sector jobs were created in the past year, and unemployment is at an 11-year low, although wage increases have been below the current 6.3% inflation rate.</p>
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<p>Retail association Antad, whose members include Walmex, reported 5.7% same-store sales growth in the second quarter, with total sales up 8.9%.</p>
<p>Write to Anthony Harrup at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>July 27, 2017 17:23 ET (21:23 GMT)</p>
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Wal-Mart de Mexico Net Profit Rises on Higher Sales, Lower Costs
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/07/27/wal-mart-de-mexico-net-profit-rises-on-higher-sales-lower-costs.html
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2017-07-27
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<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>A law enforcement official identified Charley Saturmin Robinet, 39, as the man police shot Sunday. The official wasn’t authorized to speak publicly and talked to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.</p>
<p>Axel Cruau, the consul general for France in Los Angeles, said the man stole the identity of a French citizen and was living in the United States under an assumed name. He had applied for a French passport in the late 1990s to come to the United States to “pursue a career in acting.”</p>
<p>This February 2000 photo provided by Ventura County Sheriff’s Office shows Charley Saturmin Robinet after his arrest for robbery. (The Associated Press)</p>
<p>Using the name Robinet, the man was identified as a French national in 2000 when he was convicted of robbing a Wells Fargo branch and pistol-whipping an employee in an effort to pay for acting classes at the Beverly Hills Playhouse.</p>
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<p>That arrest spurred the consulate to provide the man with support, but as he was nearing his release from prison in 2013, officials found another Robinet in France with the same birthdate and discovered the one in the U.S. was an impostor, Cruau said.</p>
<p>“The real Charley Robinet is in France apparently living a totally normal life and totally unaware his identity had been stolen years and years ago,” Cruau said.</p>
<p>While in federal prison in Rochester, Minnesota, the bank robber known as Robinet was assigned to the mental health unit, and federal officials said medical staff determined he was suffering from “a mental disease or defect” that required treatment in a psychiatric hospital, documents show.</p>
<p>He served roughly 13 years in prison and then spent six months in a halfway house before being released in May 2014, said Ed Ross, a spokesman for the Bureau of Prisons.</p>
<p>Foreign nationals are typically deported after serving criminal sentences. But in this case, France would not take the man, since he wasn’t really a French citizen. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2001 that immigration authorities could not detain people indefinitely because no country is willing to take them. So once his sentence was served, the man known as Robinet was let free.</p>
<p>U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Virginia Kice said she couldn’t immediately comment on his immigration history.</p>
<p>Under the terms of the man’s release, he was required to provide reports to his probation officer at the beginning of each month, Deputy U.S. Marshal Matthew Cordova said. When he failed to do so in November, December and January, a federal warrant was issued Jan. 9.</p>
<p>The confrontation that ended in the man’s death Sunday was recorded on a bystander’s cellphone and viewed millions of times online. Authorities said the man tried to grab a rookie officer’s gun before three other officers shot him.</p>
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<p>The three officers who fired their weapons in the struggle were veterans of the Skid Row beat who had special training to deal with mentally ill and other people in the downtrodden area, police leaders said.</p>
<p>But the rookie officer who cried out that the man had his gun, leading to the shooting, had considerably less experience, and police didn’t immediately say how much training he had received in dealing with mentally ill people. All officers must go through at least an 11-hour course.</p>
<p>Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said some of the veteran officers had “completed our most extensive mental illness training over a 36-hour course.” Initial signs showed the officers used what they had learned during the confrontation, despite the outcome, he said.</p>
<p>“The way you have conversations, the way you offer options, the way that you give some space, the body language that you portray, the way that you escalate, all of that is part of the training,” Beck said Monday. “I will make judgment on that when I review the totality of the investigation, but on the face of it, it appears they did try all of that.”</p>
<p>Several dozen people rallied Tuesday in protest of the shooting and observed a moment of silence.</p>
<p>Though the shooting was captured on multiple videos and two officer-worn cameras, exactly what happened remains unclear.</p>
<p>Video showed the homeless man reaching toward the rookie officer’s waistband, Beck said. The officer’s gun was later found partly cocked and jammed with a round of ammunition in the chamber and another in the ejection port, indicating a struggle for the weapon, the chief said.</p>
<p>“You can hear the young officer who was primarily engaged in the confrontation saying that ‘He has my gun. He has my gun,'” Beck said.</p>
<p>The three other officers then opened fire.</p>
<p>Beck said the officers had arrived to investigate a robbery report and the homeless man refused to obey their commands and became combative.</p>
<p>A security camera outside a homeless shelter about 75 feet away showed the man pushed over a neighbor’s tent and the two people had a dispute. When officers arrived, the suspect turned and jumped into his tent. The man jumped out, flailing and kicking before ending up on the ground.</p>
<p>Beck said officers didn’t know if the suspect was arming himself. Stun guns “appeared to have little effect, and he continued to violently resist,” Beck said.</p>
<p>As the man took swings, four officers wrestled him to the ground. The struggle became blurry and distant, but shouting could be heard, followed by five apparent gunshots.</p>
<p>The four officers are on paid leave.</p>
<p>——</p>
<p>Associated Press writers Elliot Spagat in San Diego and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.</p>
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Man killed by Los Angeles police was wanted by U.S. marshals
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https://abqjournal.com/549466/man-killed-by-los-angeles-police-was-wanted-by-u-s-marshals.html
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<p>Chinese sports comedy, “ <a href="http://variety.com/tag/never-say-die/" type="external">Never Say Die</a>” topped the box office charts in China over a weekend that was made more complicated by staggered releases and the beginning of the important National Day holiday.</p>
<p>“ <a href="http://variety.com/2017/film/news/international-box-office-kingsman-it-1202577386/" type="external">Never Say Die</a>” was released on Saturday and showed in the chart for only two days. It topped the chart on Saturday and Sunday with a combined $46.6 million, according to data from Ent Group.</p>
<p>In second place, also with a Saturday release, was Jackie Chan- and Pierce Brosnan-starring action film, “ <a href="http://variety.com/tag/the-foreigner/" type="external">The Foreigner</a>.” Directed by Martin Campbell and co-produced by <a href="http://variety.com/tag/stx-entertainment/" type="external">STX Entertainment</a>, it grossed $22.1 million in two days, with nearly $2 million of that earned on IMAX screens.</p>
<p>Martial arts action drama, “Chasing The Dragon” narrowly took third place from “Sky Hunters” in fourth. “Dragon,” which stars Andy Lau and Donnie Yen, had a platform release on Friday before expanding on Saturday. It earned $14 million over three days. “Sky Hunters,” the Chinese military’s answer to “Top Gun” had a normal Friday release and earned 13.1 million.</p>
<p>Music comedy, “City of Rock” led the chart on its opening Friday, but say its numbers crimped the following two days. In three days it earned $11.3 million.</p>
<p>Ten other films claimed chart places on one or more of the three days, but none cracked more than $2 million.</p>
<p>Holdover,” War for the Planet of the Apes” clung on to sixth place with $1.68 million. Its cumulative total after 17 days is $108 million.</p>
<p>“SMART Chase,” an Orlando Bloom-starring action adventure picture with Chinese and international backing, took $1.56 million in two days. It is directed by Charles Martin and produced by Bliss Media.</p>
<p>Chinese animation, “Dragon Force Movie” took eith place with $1.32 million earned on Sunday alone. Another Chinese animation, “Alex The Floating Planet” took tenth spot with 1.18, also earned from a Sunday outing. Splitting them, holdover, “Contratiempo” took ninth place with $1.26 million. The Spanish action title has earned $21.1 million in 17 days.</p>
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China Box Office: ‘Never Say Die’ Earns $46 million to Lead National Day Holiday Weekend
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https://newsline.com/china-box-office-never-say-die-earns-46-million-to-lead-national-day-holiday-weekend/
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2017-10-01
| 1 |
<p>Anthony Pignataro: Exciting, isn’t it? Well, to us wonkish, nerdish reporters, it is. Yes, folks, Senate President Pro Tem <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Darrell_Steinberg" type="external">Darrell Steinberg</a> has agreed to post a <a href="http://www.senate.ca.gov/~newsen/senate_payroll_081510.pdf" type="external">22-page PDF spreadsheet</a> listing the salaries of all Senate staffers, right there real prominent-like on the Senate <a href="http://www.senate.ca.gov/" type="external">website</a>(see it there at the bottom?).</p>
<p>With this list, you can quickly find that, say, Kernan “Kip” Lipper — Steinberg’s Executive Staff Director who is so powerful that he’s often called the <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2009/nov/29/local/la-me-lipper29-2009nov29" type="external">“41st senator”</a> — brings in $13,764 a month. Or that Joanna Manzano, an intern at something called the “Secretary Senate/Desk” makes the slightly smaller figure of $800 a month.</p>
<p>Of course, the list itemizes only salaries — no pensions or benefits here, folks. And currently, it’s just the Senate. As for when the Assembly might follow with its own staff accounting, you guess is as good as anyone’s: that’s because the Assembly is trying to pass a law (rather than just a rule, which is what the Senate did) mandating disclosure. And you know how good they are at that this time of year…</p>
<p>Posted Aug. 30, 2010</p>
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Senate Staff Salaries Online!
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https://calwatchdog.com/2010/08/30/senate-staff-salaries-online/
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2018-08-20
| 3 |
<p>The myth of a successful nuclear power industry in France has melted into financial chaos.</p>
<p>With it dies the corporate-hyped poster child for a “nuclear renaissance” of new reactor construction that is drowning in red ink and radioactive waste.</p>
<p>Areva, France’s nationally-owned corporate atomic façade, has plunged into a deep financial crisis led by a devastating shortage of cash.</p>
<p>Electricite de France, the French national utility, has been raided by European Union officials charging that its price-fixing may be undermining competition throughout the continent.</p>
<p>Delays and cost overruns continue to escalate at Areva’s catastrophic Olkiluoto reactor construction project in Finland. Areva has admitted to a $2.2 billion, or 55%, cost increase in the Finnish building site after three and a half years. The Flamanville project—the only one now being built in France—is already over $1 billion more expensive than projected after a single year under construction.</p>
<p>In 2008, France’s nuclear power output dropped 0.1%, while wind generation rose more than 37%.</p>
<p>Attempts to build new French reactors in the US are meeting stiffened resistance.</p>
<p>And the definitive failure of America’s Yucca Mountain nuke waste dump mirrors France’s parallel inability to deal with its own radioactive trash.</p>
<p>Widely portrayed as the model of corporate success, reactor-builder Areva is desperately short of money. As it begs a bailout from its dominant owner, the French government, Areva’s mismanagement and overextension in promoting and building new reactors has wrecked its image in worldwide capital markets. According to Mycle Schneider, Paris-based author of “Nuclear Power in France—Beyond the Myth,” Areva shares have plunged by over 60% since June 2008, twice as much as the CAC40, the standard indicator of the 40 largest French companies on the stock market.</p>
<p>Areva’s hyper-active public relations department has made much of recent orders to build two new reactors in China. But it’s now begging France’s taxpayers for some $4 billion in short term bailout money, and may need still another $6 billion more to pay for investments in uranium mines, fuel production and heavy manufacturing ventures.</p>
<p>Areva will also need more than 2 billion Euros (about US$3 billion) to buy back shares in its nuke reactor unit after Germany’s Siemens pulled out of a joint venture. There have been significant, highly-publicized bumps in the Chinese transaction. And Areva may now be forced to pony up billions more in penalties from delays and overruns at its reactor construction fiasco in Finland.</p>
<p>The Finnish government will also have to meet additional costs from trading in carbon emissions because it had firmly counted on the new reactor to supply “green” power as of this year. Olkiluoto is now not expected to deliver electricity before 2012.</p>
<p>Areva’s woes have caused French President Nicolas Sarkozy to face possible job cuts and asset sales at the government-controlled energy giant, which was formed in 2001.</p>
<p>China’s two-reactor order includes a promise from Areva to supply up to 20 years worth of nuclear fuel. Areva also hopes to sell at least seven reactors in the US, but these plans are meeting stiff resistance. Complex ownership and licensing battles have erupted at Constellation Energy, meant to be the conduit for two new reactors in Maryland. Ratepayer revolts in Florida and Missouri have arisen over plans to force the public to pay for new reactors as they are being built. Electric rates in the Sunshine State have already begun to soar due to proposed nuke construction, prompting an angry grassroots upheaval.</p>
<p>The potential American reactor market has also been bloodied by the definitive disposal of the proposed high level dump at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. After decades as the centerpiece of America’s “solution” to the nuke waste problem, with at least $10 billion spent on it, Yucca’s failure underscores France’s own waste dilemma.</p>
<p>The French reprocessing center at La Hague has come under widespread attack for its massive radiation discharges into the English Channel and surrounding atmosphere. The plant has produced over nine thousand containers of extremely high level wastes with no safe place to go. Its by-product of plutonium has complicated global attempts to curb the spread of radioactive materials capable of being turned into nuclear bombs.</p>
<p>In addition to the reprocessing wastes, without a permanent repository of its own, France’s 58 reactors have also accumulated over ten thousand tons of spent fuel rods, as the 104 units in the US constantly generate.</p>
<p>Areva says it hopes to raise cash by selling part of a uranium enrichment plant under construction in southern France to Japan’s Kansai Electric. Other asset sales may be hampered by slumping market values. Areva also hopes to partner with US weapons builder Northrop Grumman to build heavy reactor equipment in Virginia.</p>
<p>But on March 11, European Union regulators raided EdF offices because “suspected illegal conduct may include actions to raise prices on the French wholesale electricity market.” The stunning action against the massive conglomerate, which is 84.8% owned by the French government, could result in huge fines.</p>
<p>The EU says EdF may have manipulated prices and redrawn contracts for some 60 key corporate users. Nuke backers constantly tout that close to 80% of France’s electricity comes from reactors whose power flows through EdF. But Areva’s cash shortage and EdF’s price-fixing scandal underscore the huge financial imbalances imposed by building and operating atomic reactors. According to Schneider, “EDF’s shares dropped by over 40% during the last six months alone. When management in February 2009 announced that larger than expected charges had corroded profits, share value dropped by 7% overnight and continued to fall since. The EDF share now stands 12% below the value when it was first introduced to the stock market in November 2005. Not really a brilliant investment.”</p>
<p>EdF and Areva are at the core of what has been labeled as the global “nuclear renaissance.” Their escalating money problems underscore an epic failure that has been a significant factor in the current global economic crisis. After a half- century of massive government subsidies in the US, UK, France and elsewhere, atomic energy still staggers under an unsustainable load of high construction costs and uncompetitive prices for the electricity it generates.</p>
<p>EdF’s recent $17.5 billion takeover of nuke utility British Energy came with a warning from EdF officials that England’s commitment to wind turbines could undermine the future of nuclear power. The statement evoked widespread astonishment and scorn from the environmental community.</p>
<p>In the financial community, concerns still linger over the half-trillion-dollar (and still climbing) cost of the 1986 explosion at Chernobyl. The instant $900 million conversion of the “asset” at Three Mile Island into an epic liability occurred 30 years ago this month. (The conversion of Michigan’s Fermi I reactor at Monroe into a $100 million molten mess happened October 5, 1966).</p>
<p>The costs from the earthquake last year that crippled seven reactors at Japan’s Kashiwazaki are still rising. The failure of Yucca Mountain has converted billions of dollars in utility and taxpayer investments into pure waste. Growing grassroots movements in Vermont and elsewhere threaten to cut off license extensions and shut American reactors at which decommissioning funds have been slashed by the collapse of US investment funds.</p>
<p>The argument that atomic energy provides an answer for global warming turned to a deep embarrassment in France when reactors were forced to shut during the summer heat because they were raising river temperatures far beyond legal limits. In another case, a reactor containment had to be sprayed in order to cool it back to operational temperatures. Similar shutdowns came at a reactor in Alabama.</p>
<p>But as massive cost overruns and delays continue to escalate at Areva’s showpiece reactor construction fiasco in Finland, the industry clamors for unlimited access to taxpayer funds. The surging stream of atomic failure continues to guarantee that private investors will favor green technologies like solar, wind and efficiency.</p>
<p>Thus in France, as elsewhere, the “nuclear renaissance” may be still-born. In 2007, world nuclear electricity generation dropped by an unprecedented 2%. According to Schneider, in 2008, for the first time in nuclear power history, no new reactor was connected to the grid anywhere on Earth.</p>
<p>As Schneider’s “ <a href="http://www.greens-efa.org/cms/topics/rubrik/6/[email protected]" type="external">Nuclear Power in France—Beyond the Myth</a>” points out, after 35 years of nuclear power development, the French “nuclear dreamland” gets only 16% of its final energy from nuclear power. Commissioned by the Greens-EFA Group in the European Parliament (Brussels, December, 2008) , Schneider’s report shows that despite its huge nuclear commitment, almost half of France’s energy consumption still comes from oil.</p>
<p>In fact, says Schneider, “the wasteful nature of the French economy and households leads to a higher per capita consumption of oil than in Germany, Italy, the UK or even the EU on average.</p>
<p>“Those who think that nuclear power would be a cheap and clean way to render the US less dependent on oil should have a close look at the French record.”</p>
<p>At the French heart of its “renaissance,” the nuclear clock is winding down, not up. Time is running out for a radioactive technology that, after fifty years, remains unable to muster a sustainable level of private financing, shows no real promise of ever paying for itself, and has now plunged into deepening financial chaos.</p>
<p>HARVEY WASSERMAN, a co-founder of Musicians United for Safe Energy, is editing the <a href="http://www.nukefree.org/" type="external">nukefree.org</a> web site. He is the author of <a href="" type="internal">SOLARTOPIA! Our Green-Powered Earth, A.D. 2030,</a> is at <a href="http://www.solartopia.org/" type="external">www.solartopia.org</a>. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
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The Crash of France’s Nuclear Poster Child
| true |
https://counterpunch.org/2009/03/19/the-crash-of-france-s-nuclear-poster-child/
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2009-03-19
| 4 |
<p><a href="http://variety.com/t/joan-didion/" type="external">Joan Didion</a> has been at the center of our cultural and political life for more than five decades, writing incisively on everything from war to rock music to murder in books such as “Slouching Towards Bethlehem” “The White Album,” and “Salvador.” As an essayist, novelist, critic, and screenwriter, she’s inspired a passionate following that is nearly unmatched in American letters. That status reached near deification levels with 2005’s “The Year of Magical Thinking.” In it, she reflects on her own personal tragedy, recounting her grief after the death of her husband John Gregory Dunne and her struggle to deal with the fatal illness of her daughter, Quintana Roo. By writing so unflinchingly about such a painful topic, she formed an even deeper connection with her readers.</p>
<p>It took her nephew, the filmmaker <a href="http://variety.com/t/griffin-dunne/" type="external">Griffin Dunne</a>, to convince Didion to do what she had long resisted — sit down and shareher personal and professional remembrances on camera. The fruits of their labor, the brilliant new documentary, “ <a href="http://variety.com/2014/film/news/joan-didion-documentary-kickstarter-1201345405/" type="external">Joan Didion</a>: The Center Will Not Hold,” premieres at the New York Film Festival on Wednesday. It debuts on Netflix on October 27. Dunne spoke with Variety on the eve of the film’s festival launch.</p>
<p>How did you get the idea to do a documentary on your aunt?</p>
<p>It started six years ago. Joan asked me to shoot a promotional short movie that her publishers wanted to promote her book “Blue Nights.” We had a good time doing it and she loved the process. I pushed my luck and said, “what about doing a documentary?” No one had done one — her choice, by the way. She agreed and then I thought, “oh boy, I’m going to have to get the God damn money to do it the right way and the way she deserves.”</p>
<p>So you went to Kickstarter?</p>
<p>Yes, so I went to Kickstarter. I was conservative and asked for a lot less than what I needed. That may have been a mistake, because by lunch time on the first day we had reached our limit. So armed with that response and with the trailer I shot for Kickstarter, which had gone viral, I went to Netflix. They came on and were able to give me a proper budget.</p>
<p>Why has Joan opted not to do documentaries?</p>
<p>It’s not that she avoids publicity. Every time she has a book come out she stomps around and promotes it. But I think she presumed rightly that if she let someone make a documentary about her, and that someone didn’t know her well, it would be more of a full time commitment. She was also concerned it could end up being kind of a dry, academic kind of exercise.</p>
<p>How comfortable was she talking about her life on camera?</p>
<p>Nobody’s ever accused Joan of being a chatterbox. She sometimes answers in two or three words and that’s the end of that, not out of real reluctance, but out of a natural brevity that’s like her writing.</p>
<p>She did open up to me. One of the aspects that touched me and that I’m most proud of is the difference in expression when she’s talking to me in interviews and the archival footage of her on talk shows. There’s a very different expression on her face when she’s being interviewed by someone she doesn’t really know.</p>
<p>I asked her once in an email why she was letting me make a movie about her and her response was, because I couldn’t think of a compelling reason to say no. That’s pure Joan.</p>
<p>Were there any topics she insisted were off limits?</p>
<p>None. Her attitude was I’m a writer, you’re a filmmaker. I don’t tell you how to make a film and you don’t tell me how to write a book. She’s also written extensively about loss and family and grief and good times and bad times. She expected me to go there.</p>
<p>What was your first exposure to her work?</p>
<p>It was reading “Slouching Towards Bethlehem.” I was too young to be a participant in the sixties, but I was fascinated by these hippies she had ingratiated herself with and who let her hang out with them. She told this story about a little kid on acid that left a huge impression on me. I remember thinking, as many people who were adults did, that it didn’t seem like all fun and games or peace and love and understanding. Even as a 12 year old the darkness of that environment really came through. It wasn’t the image that commercials were putting out there.</p>
<p>Readers seem almost possessive of her work. Why does she inspire such an intense feeling in her fans?</p>
<p>One of the burdens in taking this on is that people have such an intimate relationship with her work. It’s the same kind of personal relationship that others feel to Bob Dylan or JD Salinger. It’s like <a href="http://juliaallison.com/goodbye-to-all-that-by-joan-didion/" type="external">her essay</a> about leaving New York — she writes something about an individual experience that’s totally relatible. It’s about outgrowing a city and movie on with life and going to the next chapter.</p>
<p>Things only get more personal with “The Year of Magical Thinking.” She wrote about her grief as a reporter would write about the subject. It resonated with millions of readers who had experienced their own losses.</p>
<p>Throughout her career she also seemed to have a knack for writing on topic. She was so keyed into the cultural and political conversation.</p>
<p>She seemed to be writing about events that people were living through exactly at that time. Be it the Manson murders or the Iraq War or Salvador or the Central Park Five, she had insights and observations that gave texture and meaning and depth to disorder and chaos and were quite prophetic. She helped people make sense of their times.</p>
<p>Is it possible for a writer to have that kind of profile today?</p>
<p>Christopher Hitchens, in his time, gained that kind of national attention with his curiosity, his passion, and his anger. That’s the exception to the rule. In the film, I show Tom Brokaw interviewing Joan in 1977 for a four part series on “The Today Show.” That would never happen today.</p>
<p>She also had the advantage of having great photographers take pictures of her that are as iconic as those Che t-shirts.Before people read Joan, they’ve seen photos of her.</p>
<p>She also wrote screenplays with John Gregory Dunne for films like “Up Close &amp; Personal” and “The Panic in Needle Park.” What attracted her to Hollywood.</p>
<p>She alway loved movies. As a kid, she’d go to her father’s base and watch John Wayne movies. That made a huge impression on her. She also realized that you could make more in Hollywood than as a novelist. But she and John loved screenwriting. They loved sending pages back and forth. They also loved the game and the social etiquette of Hollywood. John knew all about the art of the deal. They always had great gossip and knew who was up and who was out at Warner’s or Columbia. They found great humor in the work and they dug the money.</p>
<p>Since this film will be streaming soon, does Joan use Netflix?</p>
<p>Like too many people in my family, Joan is a serious Luddite. She has an assistant who has hooked up all that stuff for her, but she prefers looking at DVDs.</p>
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Griffin Dunne on Convincing Joan Didion to Make a Netflix Documentary
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<p>Disney’s “Thor: The Dark World,” earning $86.1 million, dominated the weekend box office as it opened domestically at No. 1, according to studio estimates Sunday.</p>
<p>Starring Chris Hemsworth, the Marvel superhero sequel earned $109.4 million when it opened internationally last weekend and brought in $180.1 million globally. Overall, it has grossed $327 million worldwide.</p>
<p>In limited theaters Thursday evening, “Thor: The Dark World” brought in $7.1 million overnight.</p>
<p />
<p>Surpassing the ticket sales of “Thor,” which scored $65.7 million when it opened in May of 2011, “Thor: The Dark World” marks a record for a Disney November opening, topping the $70.5 million “The Incredibles” earned in 2004.</p>
<p>Paramount hidden-camera comedy “Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa” held the second-place slot at the box office for the second weekend in a row, earning $11.3 million during its third weekend, with a domestic total reaching more than $78 million.</p>
<p>Relativity Media’s 3-D animated kiddie flick “Free Birds,” soared into third place with $11.1 million in its second weekend.</p>
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<p>CBS Films’ “Last Vegas,” featuring an all-star cast including Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Kline, took fourth place in its second weekend.</p>
<p>Last weekend’s box office champ, the sci-fi “Ender’s Game,” starring Harrison Ford, Asa Butterfield and Viola Davis, dropped to fifth place in its second weekend.</p>
<p>Expanding to 1,144 theaters in its fourth week, possible Oscar contender “12 Years a Slave” brought in an impressive $6.6 million at No. 7.</p>
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‘Thor: The Dark World’ bashes box office with $86M
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<p>Michael Scheuer left the CIA in November 2005 after 22 years of service. Between 1995 and 1999 he was responsible for a unit in charge of tracking down Osama bin Laden. Since 2000 he had been one of the principal anti-terrorism agents within the CIA. While he was still in service, he already wrote an essay criticizing the American anti-terrorism politics (“ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1574888625/counterpunchmaga" type="external">Imperial Hubris</a>“). Within the CIA, Michael Scheuer is considered as being a detractor. He lives in Virginia with his family.This interview was conducted by the German newspaper <a href="" type="internal">Die Zeit</a>.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: You have participated within the CIA in developing a system called « renditions » in the course of which presumed terrorists were abducted to foreign countries and handed over to third countries. Would you say that from the point of view of the CIA these “extraordinary renditions” were a successful undertaking?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: Absolutely. For ten years it had been the most successful anti-terrorism program in the USA.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: Why?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: Because its aims were clearly defined. First of all, we wanted to identify and put behind bars members and contact persons of the terrorist group Al-Qaida, particularly those having participated in an attack against the USA or an allied state or those who might be planning such an attack. The second goal was the confiscation of documents and electronic devices. The media affirms that we have arrested and abducted persons on the basis of presumptions in order to interrogate them. But this is not true.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: You thus did not wish to interrogate them?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: If we had the occasion to do so it was like the cherry on the cake. Basically, we only wished to arrest the person and confiscate his or her documents.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: Why?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: Our experience is that aggressive questioning bordering on torture does not achieve results. Persons interrogated in this way tell the agent anything he wishes to hear. Either they lie or they give us precise but obsolete information.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: Who invented the “extraordinary renditions” system?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: President Clinton, his security counsellor Sandy Berger and his terrorism counsellor Richard Clarke instructed the CIA in autumn 1995 to destroy Al-Qaida. We asked the president what we should do with the arrested persons? Clinton replied that this was our problem. The CIA indicated that they are not jailors. It was then suggested we find any solution whatsoever to this problem. And this is what we did, we established a procedure and I myself was part of this working group. We concentrated on those members of Al-Qaida who were wanted by the police in their respective countries of origin or those who had already been convicted during their absence.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: How did you take the decision as to who should be arrested?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: We had to present quite a lot of accusatory material to a group of lawyers.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: Lawyers? Within the secret services?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: Yes, there are lawyers everywhere, within the CIA, the Ministry of Justice, the National Security Councill. We have established a list of targets under their surveillance. We then had to find the person and this in a country ready to cooperate with us. Additionally, the person’s country of origin had to be willing to take the person back. It is a very complicated procedure aimed at a very restricted target group.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: Why would countries wish to cooperate with you on their own territory? They could have done all the work themselves?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: They thought that only the USA was under threat. And that they would only become the target of terrorist attacks once they start arresting suspects. If we had not started the process, nobody would have done it.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: Your partner countries thus wanted to pass on the work to the CIA?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: Yes, but they did not want the persons to remain on their territory. The CIA did not arrest or imprison anybody themselves.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: I beg your pardon?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: The local police or the local secret services took care of that. We always stayed in the background. The American government is full of cowards. They do not permit the CIA to work independently.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: Did the interrogations take place in the target country?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: We always submitted our questions in writing.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: The CIA never really took part in the interrogations?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: I have never heard of anything like that. The lawyers enjoined us from doing so.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: Did you not have doubts concerning the use of torture in these countries?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: No, my job was to protect American citizens by arresting members of Al-Qaida. The executive power of our government has to decide whether it considers this hypocritical or not. 90% of this operation was successful and only 10% could be considered as disastrous.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: Which part was the disaster?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: The fact that everything was made public. From now on the Europeans will diminish their assistance because they fear reading about it in the Washington Post. And then there is this troublemaker in the Senate, Senator John McCain, who virtually confessed, wrongly of course, that the CIA uses torture. And that is how the program will be destroyed.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: Why did you transfer the persons to their countries of origin instead of transferring them to the USA? Could you not have imprisoned them there much more safely?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: The crimes they had committed were always acts of violence. We did not have the slightest doubts that those people would be released by their countries. And president Clinton did not want them to be transferred to the USA.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: Why not?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: Our leaders did not wish us to treat them like prisoners of war but rather like common criminals. Additionally, they feared that they would never be able to assemble sufficient proof in order to defend the case before our law courts.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: Is it that difficult?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: In order to obtain a judgement against someone in the USA, an American law officer has to read him the Miranda rights when arresting him. This is impossible to do in a foreign country. Secondly, the investigators have to confirm the authenticity of the documents to the court. Should nobody be able to do so, the court automatically presumes that the documents have been tampered with. Thus it is almost impossible to obtain a judgement.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: How can it be possible not to dispose of enough forensic proof but nevertheless be convinced enough to arrest someone in a foreign country? Does the operation not automatically become illegal and illegitimate?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: No, since arrest warrants against most of these persons had already been issued in their countries of origin. Even though we do not appreciate the Egyptian or Jordanian system of justice, it nevertheless remains a system of justice. We simply assist in transferring these persons to their countries of origin in order for them to be tried for crimes committed abroad.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: The CIA considered itself as a planetary police?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: No, we are an American government agency aiming to protect American citizens. We would have preferred to transfer these persons to the USA as prisoners of war. As a matter of fact, Osama bin Laden declared war against us twice, once in 1996, then in 1998. But President Clinton did not want that. And neither does President Bush. They both thought that this would somehow legitimate Al-Qaida members if we treated them like prisoners of war. But that is not true. Bin Laden and his agents are heroes in the Islamic world. Nothing we do could legitimate them more than they already are. Furthermore, it is easier to let the Jordanians or the Egyptians do the dirty work.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: Human rights were not that important then for the Clinton government?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: The CIA has asked this question. It is a fact that in Cairo people are not treated the same as they are in Milwaukee. The Clinton government asked us: Do you think the prisoners are treated there according to the stipulations of the applicable local jurisdiction? And we replied: Yes we are convinced about that.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: The Clinton government did not show much interest in the way things were run on the spot either?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: Exactly. The members in charge of the CIA have been convinced from the beginning that in the end we will be considered as being the guilty ones. And you can ascertain it yourself: Bill Clinton, Sandy Berger or Richard Clarke have not yet commented on this.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: Which laws have been broken?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: I really don,t know. No American law, that,s for sure. The CIA may break any law except for American law just as any secret service. And abroad we have always acted upon approval of the local authorities.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: The head of the anti-terrorism section of the CIA, Cofer Black, said after the attacks of September 11 that they would stop playing “Mr. Nice Guy”. What effects did this have on internal CIA procedures?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: There was much more pressure to succeed. And we started to place people in specialized institutions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo. The Bush government wanted to arrest the people itself but it made the same mistake as the Clinton government by not treating them as prisoners of war.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: How many people have you arrested?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: I couldn’t say exactly. Right after the 2001 attacks, the director of the CIA George Tenet told Congress that until then it were approximately 100 persons. The operations that I was in charge of concerned approximately 40 people at that time. The number 100 seems much too high to me.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: And since then?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: Most countries do not wish to take back this kind of person. That is the reason why most of them are in the hands of the Americans. Therefore, the number of arrested people is higher, a few hundred maybe, but certainly not thousands.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: One of your former colleagues has designated these “extraordinary renditions” as “atrocities”.</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: If defending the USA is an atrocity, this critic would feel quite at home within the left wing of the Democratic Party. I believe that this shows only a lack of courage to do the dirty work oneself.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: Critics within the agency affirm that the program got out of control after 2001.</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: Until today it remains very difficult to obtain the lawyers’ consent for an operation. The Europeans should not underestimate the paralysing nature of the American administrative system.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: Which legal changes have taken place since 2001?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: We have stopped being such Pharisees as we now imprison the persons ourselves. At least one can say in favour of the Bush government that it behaves more manly and that it takes care of the dirty work itself. And in the media I read that they now apply “improved interrogation techniques”, probably meaning that a little bit more force can be used now than before.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: How do you explain people dying during their detention period by the CIA?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: I do not know anything about that. I have only read about that in the papers.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: There are reports of persons being seriously abused and there are even pictures to prove that.</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: My understanding of the new interrogation methods is that none of them should be fatal. If deaths really occurred, then I presume there must have been excesses. And this, of course, is not acceptable.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: Apparently, hundreds of CIA flights have been crossing Europe, what for?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: (laughs) It’s just that all that is a bit surreal, that’s all. The CIA acts everywhere in the world. We transport persons, equipment and funds all over the world. If we wish to supply provisions to the CIA in Iraq, we have to cross Europe on our way and stock up our plane with kerosene. This does not mean, however, that each of these planes has a “bad guy” on board.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: Do you find the excitement in Europe amusing?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: Yes, quite amusing indeed.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: Why do you need prisons in Eastern Europe?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: I am not sure that there really are prisons over there. I would be surprised if there were.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: I hoped that you would tell me where they are.</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: (laughs) I will reply by citing Franklin D. Roosevelt: I think they are in Shangri-la. No really, I do not know why we should need such prisons. We have enough capacities elsewhere, particularly in Iraq and Cuba. I did not know anything about prisons in Eastern Europe while I was still working. This, however, does not mean anything. Maybe I did not need to know. And if they existed, I suppose our European allies were convinced that the operation would protect them as much as it protected us.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: How did the cooperation with the European allies work, especially with Germany?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: In the best of cases one could say that the efficiency of the cooperation was very unsteady before 2001. I do not think Germany is among our best allies. The Italians have always been good allies and the Brits do their best. The principal problem in Europe is more essential: The immigration legislation and asylum rights have helped to establish a hard-core of terrorists, convicted elsewhere, and who have now become European citizens. Additionally, nobody can be deported to a country applying the death penalty.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: The position concerning the death penalty hampers the cooperation?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: It’s much more than that. It is like a roadblock. In principle, we have not been working in Europe. Agreements have been made during the Cold War according to which we do not undertake operations ourselves in Europe and the CIA still has to observe the stipulations of these agreements. Thus, we worked in places where the system would allow it. It would be insane to bash one’s head against a wall.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: Why else was the cooperation unsteady besides the death penalty problem?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: Churchill once said at the end of the thirties: The Europeans always hope that the alligator will eat them last. As long as the USA were the terrorists, target many Europeans wondered why they should expose themselves to danger and get involved alongside the Americans. Die Zeit: How did you try to obtain the information you needed from your German colleagues for example?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: Sometimes we simply did not receive a reply; on other occasions we only received a partial reply. Sometimes we were told: we do not have much information but here is what we,ve got. Everything went very slowly.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: Has this changed since the 2001 attacks?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: Oh yes, indeed. But in Europe they still believe that even after the attacks on New York, Madrid and London that one should not get too involved. They believe that they are only in danger if they support the Americans.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: The number of partisans of this thesis has increased after the Iraq invasion.</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: The Iraq invasion has without a doubt broken our spine and also discredited our anti-terrorism operation. In the long run this war will certainly cause the return to Europe of a second generation of well-trained European Muslim and convert fighters. The first generation arrived in the 90’s from the Balkans and Chechnya.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: I’ll cite the case of the German/Syrian Mohammed Haydar Zammer who had a connection with the so-called Hamburg cell having prepared the attacks on the World Trade Center. German justice could not prove anything against him. The CIA arrested the man in Morocco and transferred him to Syria. How should I imagine the cooperation with the Germans in this specific case?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: I would be surprised if nobody within the German secret services had been updated on this operation, even if it may have been done retroactively. Critics from Europe are very much feared in Washington. This may come as a surprise, especially in view of our current president, but that remains nevertheless true.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: Could the contrary not be the case? Notably that the German secret services have informed you beforehand of the man’s destination as he left Germany?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: Nothing is impossible, but I have no reason to presume something like this.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: The new German Minister of the Interior Wolfgang Schäuble has informed us that the interrogations of Zammar in Syria have been satisfactory. Is this true?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: That is true with regards to the “extraordinary renditions” program. I believe it to be dishonest on the part of the Europeans to criticize this operation that intensely because we have transmitted all information obtained concerning them during the interrogations to the Spanish, Italian, German, French and English services. And if you asked these services, they would reply: The information obtained thanks to the “extraordinary renditions” program of the CIA has been very useful.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: The Germans thus have profited from your methods?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: Of course.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: The German Minister of the Interior has told the Parliament of three cases where German agents have attended interrogations of German citizens in prisons abroad. Would it be exaggerated to say that the CIA did the dirty work for us Germans?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: As I already said, sometimes the criticism borders on hypocrisy in my view.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: Can you be sure that there have been no errors and that no one was falsely transferred?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: I am sure that errors have been committed. Clausewitz has spoken of the fogs of war and we are right in the middle of that fog. If errors have been committed, the concerned persons have to be indemnified.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: One of these cases seems to be the one concerning the German citizen Khaled El-Masri who was arrested in the Balkans, then transferred to Afghanistan and released several months later in the Balkans.</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: This is one of the symbols for the confusion in times of war. He surely would not have been arrested, had there not existed alarming information against him.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: This case seems more likely to be a symbol showing that we should rather entrust such cases to public prosecution, to law courts and to the police instead of to the CIA.</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: If you prefer Al-Qaida being subject to prosecution and wait until we have lost the case, then you are surely right. We are, however, at war and the quicker we succeed in treating this kind of thing outside the framework of the prosecution and in treating them according to the rules of the Geneva Convention, the better it will be for the USA, Europe and also for Germany. If these people are considered as prisoners of war, there is no legal means to be used against them.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: Mr. El-Masri indicates that he was tortured. He was detained in a CIA prison in Afghanistan.</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: If he was detained in a CIA prison, he was not tortured. Full stop.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: But this is what he says.</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: That does not surprise me. Maybe he wants to obtain money. That,s what they all want.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: He also says that he was interrogated in Afghanistan by a German. How can that be possible?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: I don’t know if this is true but it is possible. Our government and our secret services try to help NATO’s allies. If German agents have indeed interrogated him, this means that they too hoped to obtain information from him.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: How many of such cases involving European Muslims are there?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: Not many, because in most cases the Europeans do not cooperate. Thus, we try to get hold of these people as soon as they leave European territory.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: El-Masri wondered why the American agents who interrogated him knew details of his daily life. They could only have obtained these details from the German secret services, unless of course the CIA spies in Germany itself?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: I am sure that this information did not come from our services. If we disposed of information about El-Masri’s activities in Germany, these were provided by one of the German services. And this also suggests that he was arrested based not on a simple rumor or on a supposition.</p>
<p>Die Zeit: What will become of the “extraordinary renditions”?</p>
<p>Michael Scheuer: The program is probably dead because of the leaks, the publications and the criticisms. The result is disillusioning for those in charge within the secret services: Not one of those who had given us the orders to act as we did admits today to have done so.</p>
<p>Translated from German into English by Eva, a member of Tlaxcala, the network of translators for linguistic diversity ( <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>).</p>
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The Origins of the Rendition Program: Does the CIA Have the Right to Break Any Law?
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https://counterpunch.org/2006/01/07/the-origins-of-the-rendition-program-does-the-cia-have-the-right-to-break-any-law/
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2006-01-07
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<p />
<p>Model 3. Image source: Tesla.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>It was always meant to be.</p>
<p>Ahead of Tesla's Model 3 unveiling in March, I wondered <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/03/17/will-tesla-motors-charge-extra-for-model-3-superch.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">whether or not Opens a New Window.</a> the electric-car maker would include Supercharger access as a standard feature on the mainstream model. The most obvious answer was that Tesla would charge extra for Supercharging for a variety of reasons. Not only is the Model 3 priced lower, so the cost isn't embedded into the price of the car like it is with Model S and Model X, but there are significant congestion implications if Tesla were to include Supercharging on all Model 3s at no extra cost. Plus, charging Model 3 buyers extra would help fund the capital investments associated with the ongoing Supercharger network expansion.</p>
<p>It wasn't clear at the initial unveiling whether or not it would be included, though. CEO Elon Musk vaguely said that Supercharging would be "standard," but what he really meant was that the hardware would be standard. It wasn't clear initially whether the feature would be enabled by default, and Tesla clarified shortly thereafter that the company hadn't yet decided <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/04/05/tesla-model-3-supercharging-might-not-be-free-afte.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">whether or not Opens a New Window.</a> it would be free.</p>
<p>The general expectation within the Tesla community in recent months has been that Model 3 Supercharging will come at an additional cost. However, there's been speculation as to if Tesla would only implement a one-time lifetime purchase or some other type of pay-per-use model. It looks like Musk has decided that Tesla will offer both.</p>
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<p>At Tesla's annual shareholder meeting yesterday, Musk clarified the Model 3 Supercharging situation a bit further. As a service, Supercharging was designed to be extremely "straightforward and easy" in its current implementation. Owners can just pull up to a Supercharger, plug in, and walk away without having to worry about billing or other types of authorization.</p>
<p>Here's how Musk answered a shareholder question about Model 3 Supercharging:</p>
<p>His comments suggest that Tesla will offer both a pay-per-use model as well as a lifetime access model. This makes sense on a number of levels.</p>
<p>For starters, the lifetime access option available on early Model S vehicles (before Supercharging became standard throughout the lineup) was rather pricey. Supercharging was available for $2,000 at the time of purchase, or $2,500 after the purchase.</p>
<p>Whether or not lifetime access is worth it depends entirely upon a customer's expected usage of the network. The cost might be hard to justify for a local commuter that rarely takes long-distance road trips, but a true road warrior would eventually recoup the cost in gas savings for those cross-country treks. These days, there's not much of a decision for Model S or Model X buyers, since it's a standard feature that's included in the price of the car.</p>
<p>Offering a pay-per-use model dramatically increases the flexibility for Model 3 owners, since they will be able to only pay for what they need at the time without having to buy an expensive lifetime access option unless they want to. It shouldn't be too hard for Tesla to implement some type of seamless billing system, either, since its Supercharger network is able to monitor and track usage, and customers already have My Tesla accounts set up.</p>
<p>Now that we know the overall models that Tesla will use, we just need to know more specifics about pricing.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/06/01/tesla-model-3-supercharging-will-have-both-pay-per.aspx" type="external">Tesla Model 3 Supercharging Will Have Both Pay-Per-Use and Lifetime Options Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFNewCow/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Evan Niu, CFA Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Tesla Motors, andhas the following options: long January 2018 $180 calls on Tesla Motors. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Tesla Motors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
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Tesla Model 3 Supercharging Will Have Both Pay-Per-Use and Lifetime Options
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/06/01/tesla-model-3-supercharging-will-have-both-pay-per-use-and-lifetime-options.html
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2016-06-01
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<p>The fallen US drone that is purportedly in the hands of Iran may be fake, <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2011-12-14/iran-drone-united-states-spy-plane/51936376/1?csp=34news&amp;utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+usatoday-NewsTopStories+%28News+-+Top+Stories%29" type="external">USA Today quoted</a> an anonymous former-Pentagon official saying.&#160;</p>
<p>Not only is the unmanned aerial vehicle the wrong color, but the welds running across the wing joints do not conform to the stealth design that helps avoid radar detection, the ex-Pentagon official said based on Iran's released footage of the US drone.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: Iran war: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/111212/iran-war-explosion-israel-attack-us-stuxnet" type="external">Has it already begun?</a></p>
<p>Iran announced earlier this week its military brought down a CIA-operated stealth drone by hacking into it and aired video footage of the fallen unmanned plane.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The anonymous official also raised questions surrounding why the landing gear was visibly blocked in the video with banners that read "We'll trample America underfoot" and "The US cannot do a damn thing."</p>
<p>US President Barack Obama confirmed on Monday that the American government has asked Iran to return the spy drone. "We've asked for it back. We'll see how the Iranians respond," Obama said.</p>
<p>Tehran has denied the request and said they will be using the captured drone to increase their military technology.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/special-reports/drone-wars" type="external">Drone Wars full coverage</a></p>
<p>"No one returns the symbol of aggression to the party that sought secret and vital intelligence related to the national security of a country," Armed Forces deputy commander. Hossein Salami, said on state television.</p>
<p>Pentagon spokesman George Little said an American drone has gone missing and not been recovered but went short of confirming if the drone shown by Iranian media is the lost aircraft, <a href="http://articles.cnn.com/2011-12-13/middleeast/world_meast_iran-spy-plane_1_drone-spy-plane-iran-claims?_s=PM:MIDDLEEAST" type="external">CNN reported</a>.&#160;</p>
<p>Several news outlets anonymously <a href="" type="external">confirmed</a> that Iran's claim they possess a US drone is true.&#160;</p>
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US drone in Iran could be fake, according to a news report (VIDEO)
| false |
https://pri.org/stories/2011-12-15/us-drone-iran-could-be-fake-according-news-report-video
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2011-12-15
| 3 |
<p />
<p>The European Central Bank’s long-time spokesperson, Regina Schueller, will leave to head up the communications division of Germany’s largest lender, Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB).</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Schueller joined the ECB in 1994 and has headed up the press and information division since 1999. She has served in the press office through three ECB presidents, Mario Draghi, as well as his predecessors Jean-Claude Trichet and the late Wim Duisenberg.</p>
<p>The move marks the second major press official to leave the central bank to take a dip in the private world in 2013. Earlier, Director of Communications Elisabeth Ardaillon-Poirer departed to join the PR firm Publicis Groupe.</p>
<p>A job post seeking a new head of the press division at the ECB has been posted, calling for someone who will manage both internal and external communications, while handling language services and organizing all VIP visits.</p>
<p>The position change comes at a time of great difficulty for the region, which faces unprecedented challenges including tackling a major debt crisis that has been ongoing for four years. The ECB is set to become the single banking supervisor for the European Union next year, which will require an Asset Quality Review for the banks under its oversight, including Deutsche Bank.</p>
<p>Shares of Deutsche Bank didn't immediately react to the news, trading about half a percentage point lower to $45.36 in recent trade.</p>
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European Central Bank Loses Top Spokesperson to Deutsche Bank
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/08/26/european-central-bank-loses-top-spokesperson-to-deutsche-bank.html
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2016-03-09
| 0 |
<p />
<p>If there’s one regret most college students seem to have it’s this:&#160; That they spent too much for their college education. I see the problem up close and personal here in New York City, where it’s not uncommon for a journalism student to graduate from an Ivy League or near-Ivy League school with $100,000 in debt. Given the fact that starting salaries in journalism are low, it’s no wonder these students struggle.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>One rule of thumb prospective college students and their parents should use is this: Your four-year total college tab shouldn’t exceed the starting annual salary in your field of choice, that’s according to Kal Chany, founder of Campus Consultants and author of “Paying for College Without Going Broke.”&#160; Chany says meeting that hurdle may be easier said than done, and added, “There is no one size fits all answer.”</p>
<p>To be sure, though, some students will find it difficult to hold to that rule of thumb, and for that reason, many apply for student aid. The FAFSA is the most critical tool to accessing that aid and you can still make application for federal student aid now for the 2014-15 school year. Even if you don’t think you’re eligible for assistance, Chany says it’s important to apply. Other common mistakes people make in applying for federal aid include using the wrong year’s version of the form, waiting to be accepted to college to apply for aid and even using an incorrect Social Security number.</p>
<p>But it’s not enough to simply borrow a lot of money. If you want to keep your costs low, you’ll seek out schools that have the best return on your dollar. The average cost of a four year degree at Harvey Mudd College as an eye popping&#160; $229,500 with average annual scholarships of $27,763, but the return on investment over 20 years is over a million dollars. Graduates of MIT, the California Institute of Technology and Stanford University all enjoy similar high rates of return, according to an evaluation by PayScale.</p>
<p>Bottom line, plan ahead – in terms of both nailing down as much grant money as you can and finding a college that gives you value for your education dollar.</p>
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More Bang For Your College Bucks
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http://foxbusiness.com/features/2014/04/08/more-bang-for-your-college-bucks.html
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2016-03-06
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<p>Discovery Communications, Inc. (DISCK) will report its next earnings on Feb 01 BMO. The company reported the earnings of $0.38/Share in the last quarter where the estimated EPS by analysts was $0.54/share. The difference between the expected and actual EPS was $-0.16/share, which represents an Earnings surprise of -29.6%. Many analysts are providing their Estimated […]</p>
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Revenue Estimates Analysis Of Discovery Communications, Inc. (DISCK)
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https://newsline.com/revenue-estimates-analysis-of-discovery-communications-inc-disck/
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2018-01-18
| 1 |
<p>AP: BAGHDAD, Iraq – An alliance of Shiite religious parties won the most seats in Iraq’s new parliament but not enough to rule without coalition partners, the election commission said Friday. Sunni Arabs gained seats over previous balloting.</p>
<p>A top Sunni politician, meanwhile, appealed for the release of American journalist Jill Carroll and urged U.S. and Iraqi forces to stop arresting Iraqi women, as a deadline set by kidnappers was set to expire. | <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060120/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq;_ylt=Ahv6mn_.dBjXTpHD5OJDamms0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ--" type="external">story</a></p>
<p>Update:</p>
<p />
<p>A former Pentagon analyst is sentenced to 12 years-plus for leaking confidential documents in an attempt to get the U.S. to take the threat of Iran more seriously. | <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Pentagon-Spy-Probe.html?emc=eta1" type="external">story</a></p>
<p>Update No. 2: Iran and Iraq are already <a href="http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-18/0601172126012335.htm" type="external">linking arms</a> on the construction of electricity facilities. (hat tip: [email protected])</p>
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Iraqi Voting Tally Deals Deathblow to Neocon Fantasies
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https://truthdig.com/articles/iraqi-voting-tally-deals-deathblow-to-neocon-fantasies/
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2006-01-20
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<p />
<p>You probably don't like to think about the idea that your health may decline to the point that you'll need help with day-to-day activities. But it's important to face the facts: According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, a person turning 65 today has almost a 70% chance of needing long-term care services at some point in his lifetime.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Long-term care, also called custodial care, refers to professional help with "activities of daily living" (ADL), as medical providers call them. These activities include:</p>
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<p>Typically a person will qualify for long-term care when their doctor or health provider certifies that they're unable to perform at least two of the ADLs from this list.</p>
<p>If you live long enough, you'll likely need some form of long-term care. While you may be able to get some free help from a relative, it's possible that no one will be available or able to provide the level of care that you end up needing.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, Medicare does not cover the cost of most long-term care services because they aren't technically medical services. Medicare will pay for skilled nursing services, but it will only cover a maximum of 100 days in a nursing home, and it won't pay at all for home aide services (when a person comes to your house to help you with ADLs and other basic activities). Medicaid will cover such services, but not until you've exhausted all other resources and are essentially broke.</p>
<p>If you have money set aside in a health savings account (HSA), you can use those funds to pay for long-term care. Another option is self-insuring -- that is, setting money aside in a dedicated investment account with the intention of using those funds 25 or 30 years in the future when you need long-term care. However, it can be difficult to fund such an account to the level you may require. According to Genworth Financial's annual Cost of Care Survey, the median monthly cost for a home health aide in 2016 was $3,861, and a semiprivate room in a nursing home cost $6,844 a month. What's more, you might need those funds before the 25 to 30 years of growth are complete.</p>
<p>Long-term care insurance reimburses its policyholders a set daily amount for services that help you with your ADLs. Some policies are idiosyncratic when it comes to the services they cover, so read the fine print carefully before you sign. Most policies require medical underwriting, which means that if you're already in bad health or currently receiving long-term care, you probably won't qualify for a new policy.</p>
<p>Long-term care insurance premiums are notoriously high. You can expect to pay several thousand dollars a year in premiums, and the rates rise steeply if you wait until you're 65 or older to buy a policy. Paying long-term care insurance premiums from an HSA is allowed and will at least give you a small tax break on the money.</p>
<p>Some companies offer hybrid life/long-term care insurance policies, which often have fixed premiums. This can save you from a sudden, steep rise in premium costs as you age. These hybrid policies will also pay out part of the long-term care coverage as a death bonus if you end up not needing to use it, which means you'll get something back for your money.</p>
<p>IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.</p>
<p>Unless you're sure you have another way of paying for these services, consider getting a long-term care or hybrid life insurance policy. The best time to start looking is in your 50s, because you can lock in much lower premiums at that point than if you wait until you're older (but check the policy carefully to see what their practice is for raising rates over time). When pricing out policies, keep in mind that you don't need to buy an enormous policy to cover every possible expense; should you end up in a nursing home (typically the most expensive form of long-term care), your Social Security benefits and retirement savings will take care of at least part of the cost.</p>
<p>What's more, if you're in a nursing home you'll likely have much lower day-to-day expenses, since you won't be spending your own money on things like food, and basic medical care. Check your Social Security statement and the status of your retirement accounts and factor those funds in when deciding how much long-term care coverage you'll need. And remember that like most insurance policies, a long-term care policy gives you one benefit right away: peace of mind.</p>
<p>The $16,122 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook If you're like most Americans, you're a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known "Social Security secrets" could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. For example: one easy trick could pay you as much as $16,122 more... each year! Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after. <a href="http://www.fool.com/mms/mark/ecap-foolcom-social-security?aid=8727&amp;source=irreditxt0000002&amp;ftm_cam=ryr-ss-intro-report&amp;ftm_pit=3186&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Simply click here to discover how to learn more about these strategies Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
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Do You Need Long-Term Care Insurance?
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http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/03/02/do-need-long-term-care-insurance.html
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2017-03-16
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<p>The dollar bulls are out for dollar bills. After having tumbled over the last few years while the U.S. economy grew smartly, that same broken dollar is now up 16% against the euro this year—and up more against other major currencies.</p>
<p>Down is up, and up is down? How is it that a growing U.S. economy was bad for the U.S. dollar, but a potentially calamitous collapse in the same U.S. economy—complete with a foreigner-bankrolled quasi-nationalization of the U.S. banking sector—has the U.S. dollar up double-digit percentages? And if bad is truly good, maybe we should nationalize the rest of the U.S. economy in a hurry while overseas investors are still digging the idea and bidding up the dollar.</p>
<p>There is an element of bizarro world safety here. While I wouldn't be hanging around in four years when the bailout bills come due around the same time as the boomers start retiring.</p>
<p>Sadly, at least for dollar bulls, it is not that the dollar is newly back to being the de facto world currency, the position it held for most of the last sixty years. Matter of fact, the U.S. dollar's so-called reserve status is more endangered than ever. The U.S. is still spending more than it brings in every year; it borrows money abroad to finance an unsustainable trade deficit; and it has lost its way with respect to building an economy around selling things for more than they cost. You know, the capitalism thing, as opposed to the financial engineering thing.</p>
<p>Because far from being a de facto standard, the dollar is really beginning to piss people off. The ongoing global crisis is driving home a painful truth: Over-reliance on another country's currency is a little like sharing someone else's ventilation system. So long as they do the repairs, it's generally an okay compromise—assuming they like the same room temperatures that you do. But get hooked up to a manic-depressive's HVAC system on the other side of the planet, and you risk having the heat running mid-summer, the air-conditioning blasting away during snow storms, and the fan on high when you're trying to sleep. It's somewhere between wildly uncomfortable and outright dangerous.</p>
<p>So, if the dollar has lots its gloss, why is it newly doing so well? There are roughly three things going on.</p>
<p>First, countries and companies around the world loaded up with a great deal of debt over the last decade, some of which was used to build productive stuff, and some of which was used to buy financial tchotkes from the U.S. (It turns out the U.S. is not be able to export semiconductors any more, but it's awesome at exporting useless financial instruments.) Either way, much of that debt was denominated in U.S. dollars, and, as companies and countries and hedge funds see their dollar receipts shrinking in a weakening economy, they are all racing to get U.S. dollars and stash them away for a rainy day—like maybe tomorrow—when they need to make payments, or even pay back that debt. Trouble is, when lots of companies and countries and hedge funds all start hoarding U.S. dollars at the same time it increases the demand for said dollars. Think of the dollar as Squealer the Pig collectible Beanie Babies circa Christmas 1996, and you begin to get the picture.</p>
<p>Second, there is an element of bizarro world safety here. While the U.S. dollar is far from safe, and I wouldn't be hanging around in four years when the bailout bills come due around the same time as the boomers start retiring, the dollar is also currently seen as less lethal than many other currencies around the world. Admittedly, saying the awful U.S. dollar isn't as lethal as, say, the busted Icelandic krona isn't saying much. Nevertheless, money is boomeranging back to the U.S. from around the world, and coming from all sorts of safe haven currencies, like the Canadian dollar, the Singapore dollar, and the Swiss franc, which have all been pounded in recent weeks as the "we're less awful" dollar trade picks up.</p>
<p>The whole thing is also circular. The only asset that's working right now isn't stocks, bonds, commodities, or private equity, so money is exiting them speedily and looking for someplace to go that is working.</p>
<p>And where's that? It's currently the dollar. Of course, as more money comes flooding into the dollar the better it does, and the better it does the more money comes in, and the more hot money (read: hedge funds) follows it. Such upward spirals are illusory, but they also tend to run longer than anyone expects, and then end badly, usually right around the time people think the ever-upward spiral is the new normal.</p>
<p>A good guess for when the end might come? Sometime in the next few months when arriviste gold bugs, who bought the precious metal over the last six months in anticipation of a dollar collapse, give up on gold and accept that the dollar is once again king.</p>
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Why the Dollar Surge Won't Last
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https://thedailybeast.com/why-the-dollar-surge-wont-last
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2018-10-04
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<p />
<p>“This is our big boy,” said NASA engineer Stephen C. Doering, dwarfed by the tank resting on cradles in a high bay.</p>
<p>NASA has a complicated way of building rockets that funnels money to multiple states in the southeastern United States. The SLS program is based in Alabama, at the Marshall Space Flight Center. Engine tests will be done in Mississippi, at the Stennis Space Center. The final stacking of the rocket and the launch will be from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at the Kennedy Space Center.</p>
<p>Construction of the core stage is handled here in Louisiana, at the Michoud Assembly Facility, which covers the equivalent of 31 football fields. The vast structure survived Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and then a direct hit from a tornado earlier this year.</p>
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<p>But the new rocket will have to survive the unpredictable crosswinds of Washington.</p>
<p>President Donald Trump is now in charge of the space program, and no one in Washington seems to have a clear idea what’s going to happen next. Trump has expressed interest in President John F. Kennedy’s vow in 1961 to put American astronauts on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Thus everyone expects Trump to try to create a “Kennedy moment.”</p>
<p>The 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing is coming up in two years. For NASA, and the entire space industry, that’s a huge anniversary – and suddenly everyone seems to be talking about moon missions.</p>
<p>President George W. Bush wanted U.S. boots on the moon by 2020. President Barack Obama killed the Bush program, saying we’d been there and done that. But with Republicans in control of both Congress and the White House, the moon looms larger in the sky.</p>
<p>Last month, in his address to Congress, Trump made a single, enigmatic comment about space: “American footprints on distant worlds are not too big a dream.”</p>
<p>Did that mean the moon? Mars?</p>
<p>Trump hasn’t nominated anyone yet to lead NASA, nor has he picked a science adviser. He is expected to issue an executive order re-forming the long-disbanded National Space Council, which would be headed by Vice President Mike Pence and oversee civilian and military space programs.</p>
<p>In the meantime, civil servants at NASA headquarters are re-examining the current human spaceflight schedule to see whether there’s a way to do something dramatic before the end of Trump’s term.</p>
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<p>The first SLS launch, penciled in for late next year, will also be the first time it is paired with the new Orion crew capsule. No one will be aboard. It’s a shakedown cruise to test the hardware and life support equipment. Instead of live astronauts, mannequins will serve as the crew.</p>
<p>But last month, NASA’s acting administrator, Robert Lightfoot, asked his team to look at the feasibility of adding astronauts to the first test flight. The feasibility study should be complete within weeks.</p>
<p>And then there’s Elon Musk.</p>
<p>Musk, the founder and chief engineer of SpaceX, has met at least four times with Trump or his aides recently. Last month, in what appeared to be a hastily called teleconference with reporters, Musk announced that he intends to send two tourists next year on a figure-eight joy ride past the moon and back to Earth.</p>
<p>He did not identify the tourists, saying only that they were wealthy people who know each other and have already put down deposits. Musk said that he could do the moon flyby with his own new rocket, still under development, called the Falcon Heavy.</p>
<p>Another wrinkle: Musk told reporters that SpaceX would be willing to bump the rich tourists from that first flight and let NASA astronauts take their place.</p>
<p>There are reasons to view such a scenario as extremely unlikely. Powerful people in the space world would be unhappy to see Musk and SpaceX steal any thunder from the SLS and Orion. Huge aerospace corporations, including Boeing and Lockheed Martin, have contracts for this hardware.</p>
<p>The Alabama factor comes into play. The SLS is based at NASA Marshall, in Huntsville, the historic center of American rocketry. The Trump administration has a number of influential Alabamians, starting with Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Two former Sessions senate staffers, Stephen Miller and Rick Dearborn, work in the White House.</p>
<p>There are practical issues, too: Musk has a reputation for overpromising on timelines. SpaceX has never launched anyone into space. The Falcon Heavy has never flown. Moreover, NASA officials would be unlikely to embrace a SpaceX moon flyby unless it clearly fit into the agency’s long-term plans for deep-space exploration.</p>
<p>“What does Elon want to do with this – is it just a one-off tourist flight?” said NASA’s top official for human spaceflight, William Gerstenmaier, in an interview with The Washington Post. “I don’t see it as advancing human presence in the solar system.”</p>
<p>At the annual Robert H. Goddard Memorial Symposium this week in Greenbelt, Maryland, a student from Purdue University asked a panel of space experts a pointed question: What’s harder in spaceflight, the technical engineering or the political engineering?</p>
<p>Mary Lynne Dittmar, executive director of the Coalition for Deep Space Exploration, which represents aerospace companies such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin, found that one easy to answer:</p>
<p>“Political engineering is always more challenging.”</p>
<p>—</p>
<p>Things were so much simpler in the 1960s. The United States and the Soviet Union were locked in a Cold War and racing to the moon in government-owned rockets. The United States won that race, planted a flag, left bootprints.</p>
<p>NASA today is faced with basic questions of destination, hardware and motivation. China has a growing space program but does not seem in a hurry to put astronauts on the moon, so there’s no indication that a space race is heating up. NASA and Russia work shoulder to shoulder on the International Space Station.</p>
<p>Six years after NASA retired the space shuttle, the agency relies on Russian spacecraft to ferry American astronauts to and from orbit. SpaceX and Boeing have contracts to take astronauts to the International Space Station, but the first flights are probably a couple years away. In the meantime, NASA is building the SLS and Orion for “deep space exploration.”</p>
<p>In the 2020s, that would mean astronauts orbiting the moon but not going to the lunar surface. The most ambitious such mission would last a full year and function as a trial run for the much more daunting trip to Mars. Gerstenmaier, questioned this week by an audience member at the Goddard Symposium, said he would not rule out a landing on the moon but did not think it was necessary for NASA’s long-term Mars ambitions.</p>
<p>Gerstenmaier is a civil servant who has survived many strategic pivots at NASA. In his brief remarks at the rostrum this week, he said the SLS will only launch about once a year, which he said is not often enough for a compelling space program. He showed a graphic with government-owned rockets like the SLS lined up next to private rockets like SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy and Blue Origin’s New Glenn. “I love every one of these rockets,” he said.</p>
<p>But NASA’s steady-as-she-goes, methodical way of operating has been criticized by outsiders as overly slow and cautious. The current manifest for the SLS envisions several years between the first two flights.</p>
<p>Newt Gingrich, for one, has seen enough. Gingrich is a space buff who has consulted with Trump in an unofficial capacity. When Gingrich ran for president in 2012, he spoke of his dream of a moon base. He even cited one of his old ideas: that Americans in a moon colony could achieve statehood.</p>
<p>“The answer is to open the system up to competition, establish prizes, take risk, and dream big,” Gingrich said in an email to The Post.</p>
<p>He added, “The key is to liberate space from government monopoly and maximize the inventive entrepreneurial spirit of the Wright brothers, Edison, Ford and other classic Americans.”</p>
<p>The SLS is an old-fashioned rocket in many ways. NASA fully owns the rocket. It oversees every aspect of the rocket’s design and operation. It’s being built by the prime contractor, Boeing, under a traditional cost-plus contract that offers little incentive to do hold down the cost. The booster is also disposable.</p>
<p>All that exquisitely welded metal in the giant tank at Michoud will wind up at the bottom of the ocean. That’s an expensive way to do business. The cost of a single launch of the SLS could be in the vicinity of $1 billion.</p>
<p>SpaceX and Blue Origin – the space start-up owned by Jeffrey P. Bezos (who also owns The Post) – have emphasized reusability. The two companies have built boosters that can land softly back on land or on a platform at sea.</p>
<p>Musk has said he wants to launch the first humans to the surface of Mars in 2024. He envisions gigantic spaceships that could carry 100 people at a time. The goal is to create cities on Mars so that the Martian civilization can be independent and self-sustaining, and humanity will be a multi-planet species.</p>
<p>Humans are Earthlings, however: Any mission to Mars would take many months and human bones deteriorate in weightless environments. Space is shot through with radiation, particularly beyond the Earth’s protective magnetic field. No country has ever landed anything on Mars heavier than a rover. The atmosphere is too thin to be of much help in slowing down a vehicle deploying parachutes, but it’s thick enough to cause turbulence and overheating.</p>
<p>Bezos is less focused on Mars, but he has repeatedly said he wants to see millions of people living and working in space. He would like industrial activity moved off-planet to help protect Earth’s natural environment. Blue Origin has circulated a white paper describing how it would like to provide cargo delivery service as soon as 2020 for a (still hypothetical) NASA lunar base.</p>
<p>“We should make American Space Great Again,” Gingrich said in the email to The Post. “Done properly we can be on the moon in President Trump’s first term and orbiting Mars by the end of his second term.”</p>
<p>Gerstenmaier is preaching cooperation: “None of us can do it alone,” he said at the Greenbelt symposium.</p>
<p>“It is not a race to the moon” between NASA and the private sector, said Dittmar, whose coalition is funded by the big aerospace companies.</p>
<p>But it feels like a race, somehow. At the very least, everyone is suddenly in a hurry. Gerstenmaier talked about “an urgency” to NASA’s activities. That’s because, even without Trump channeling Kennedy, NASA has a serious plan to blast people back to the vicinity of the moon – “sometime in 2021, 2022,” Gerstenmaier said. “That’s not that far away.”</p>
<p>If the plan holds, the big fuel tank at Michoud, plus another, smaller tank for liquid oxygen, and some other Michoud-created hardware, will wind up in Florida, at the Cape, as part of a stack of components forming a complete, full-fledged rocket that’s taller than the Statue of Liberty.</p>
<p>At that point it will simply need a destination.</p>
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Trump, with NASA, has a new rocket and spaceship – where’s he going to go?
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/967343/trump-with-nasa-has-a-new-rocket-and-spaceship-wheres-he-going-to-go.html
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2017-03-12
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<p />
<p>The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs appears to have lost sight of that fact. Over the last several months, it’s become alarmingly clear that the VA has strayed from its mission of service to veterans.</p>
<p>It’s time for the department to come clean about its record of dysfunction and corruption and embrace reform.</p>
<p>A recent audit of wait times for health care services at VA facilities reveals the startling facts. The audit found that more than 100,000 veterans nationwide have experienced long wait times, with more than 57,000 having waited more than 90 days for an initial appointment.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Here in New Mexico, the audit found that more than 1,000 veterans had waited more than three months for their initial appointments.</p>
<p>But it gets worse. A whistle-blower doctor has also charged that officials at the Raymond G. Murphy VA Medical Center in Albuquerque falsified records to make it appear that reported wait times were shorter than they were in reality – and then moved to destroy those records when the scandal became public.</p>
<p>Another Albuquerque VA doctor reports that patients with heart problems wait an average of four months for an appointment with a cardiologist. The long wait occurred in spite of the fact that the Albuquerque VA employs eight cardiologists, who see an average of fewer than two patients per day.</p>
<p>According to one news analysis, that means the Albuquerque VA cardiology department sees about 36 patients per week – the same number a private cardiologist would see in two days.</p>
<p>Does the VA’s mismanagement have an effect on veterans’ health and well-being? Almost certainly, although it remains unclear how many veterans have suffered or even died from delayed care. (One reported estimate finds that 21 veterans in the Albuquerque area died in recent years while waiting for an appointment, though it’s uncertain as to whether delayed care played in a role in those deaths.)</p>
<p>The department’s systemic problems stretch far beyond New Mexico, of course, which is why Congress has finally moved to pass long-needed reforms that will bring greater accountability, transparency and patient choice to VA.</p>
<p>As veterans, we should thank our representatives in Congress who have supported these reform measures.</p>
<p>But we shouldn’t wait for Washington to take action. After all, the VA’s problems didn’t arise overnight, and they won’t be fixed quickly. New Mexico’s military veterans, along with our families and supporters, should be banding together to continue pressing for the change we expect.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Tonight, Concerned Veterans for America will host a special meeting from 5-8 p.m. at Albuquerque’s Duke City Harley, 8603 Lomas NE to gather additional input from veterans and taxpayers on the need to fix the VA. The goal: to keep up the pressure for real reform to restore the VA to its mission of serving the needs of veterans, not bureaucrats.</p>
<p>All Albuquerque area military veterans are invited to attend to find out how you can be part of the solution.</p>
<p>And you don’t have to be a veteran to take part and show your support; if you’re a friend or family member of a veteran or active duty service member, or if you just want to show your support, all are welcome.</p>
<p>As bad as things have gotten at the VA, it is still possible for the department to turn things around by embracing an ethic of service to veterans, greater choice and flexibility for patients, and accountability for VA employees.</p>
<p>There are hundreds of hard-working professionals at the Albuquerque VA that are dedicated to the veterans, many of whom are veterans themselves, working inside a broken and disorganized system. Just as we strive to fix the systemic problems inherent in the system, we must also recognize those members of the VA health care system that work hard to overcome these inexcusable issues always striving to do things right and go the extra mile for my fellow veterans.</p>
<p />
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VA can still turn things around for better care
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/417442/va-can-still-turn-things-around-for-better-care.html
| 2 |
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<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — Same-sex marriage opponents acknowledge they face a tough task in trying to persuade the Supreme Court to allow states to limit marriage to a man and a woman.</p>
<p>But they are urging the court to resist embracing what they see as a radical change in society's view of what constitutes a marriage, especially without more information about how same-sex marriage affects children who are raised by two fathers or two mothers.</p>
<p>The idea that same-sex marriage might have uncertain effects on children is strongly contested by those who want the court to declare that same-sex couples have a right to marry in all 50 states. Among the 31 plaintiffs in the cases that will be argued at the court on Tuesday are parents who have spent years seeking formal recognition on their children's birth certificates or adoption papers.</p>
<p>But opponents, in dozens of briefs asking the court to uphold state bans on same-sex marriage, insist they are not motivated by any prejudice toward gays and lesbians.</p>
<p>"This is an issue on which people of good will may reasonably disagree," lawyer John Bursch wrote in his defense of Michigan's gay-marriage ban. Bursch will argue on behalf of the states that same-sex couples can claim no constitutional right to marriage.</p>
<p>Same-sex couples now can marry in 36 states and the District of Columbia, the product of a dizzying pace of change in state marriage laws. Just three years ago, only six states allowed it.</p>
<p>In most states, courts have struck down gay marriage bans written into state laws or enshrined in state constitutions.</p>
<p>The concern for children is among several threads that run through the legal, political, social and religious arguments being advanced in support of upholding the same-sex marriage bans.</p>
<p>"If children don't do as well when they are raised by same-sex parents, why would we want to establish or encourage that as a social norm?" asked the Rev. D. Paul Sullins, a Catholic University sociology professor. Sullins has analyzed data in government surveys and concluded that children brought up by two parents of the same sex have a higher rate of emotional problems than their peers raised by heterosexual parents.</p>
<p>Sullins has been harshly criticized by sociologists who support same-sex marriage, but he said he stands by his data. "I don't know of any Catholic way to compute the equation," he said. "The idea that there are no differences is emphatically mistaken. I don't know how else to say that."</p>
<p>Perhaps the most visible defender of reserving marriage only for heterosexuals has been Ryan Anderson, a research fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation.</p>
<p>Anderson said the push for nationwide acceptance of gay and lesbian unions is a product of cultural degradation that has spanned more than 40 years and includes greater sexual permissiveness, a rise in births to single mothers and liberalized divorce laws.</p>
<p>"If you think the past 40 years has been problematic for marriage," Anderson said, "you might think this is something we should go slow on and leave it to the states to make marriage policy."</p>
<p>But more pointedly, Anderson said states are correct in defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman because of their interest in encouraging couples to produce children and then stay together to raise those children.</p>
<p>"Same-sex marriage is about cutting the cord between romance and diapers," he said. "Marriage becomes just about consenting adults."</p>
<p>Several groups supporting the states stress that a biologically intact family is the ideal environment for children. But they also are careful to acknowledge the value of adoption, perhaps in recognition of Chief Justice Roberts' role as the father of two adopted children. "Adoption is an indispensable social good that provides children a home when the ideal, a stable, two-parent biological family, is unavailable," said a brief from groups that support biological parenting.</p>
<p>Another argument opponents make is that a ruling in favor of same-sex marriage could lead to opening marriage to three or more people.</p>
<p>"Expanding the definition of marriage away from the way cultures and civilization have always defined it can only lead to further confusion," said the Rev. Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention' Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. "We're always told that what we say is slippery-slope alarmism. And yet the slope is quite slippery."</p>
<p>These same arguments about cultural and societal harm didn't fare well when they were made in the Supreme Court two years ago in a challenge to the federal anti-gay marriage law. In an opinion written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, the court struck down the part of that law that denied federal benefits to legally married same-sex couples.</p>
<p>This time around, same-sex marriage opponents are drawing on the parts of Kennedy's opinion that ratified states' ability to make the rules for who could marry. They also are relying on another Kennedy opinion from last year in which the court upheld Michigan's voter-approved ban on the use of race in state college admissions.</p>
<p>"It is demeaning to the democratic process to presume that the voters are not capable of deciding an issue of this sensitivity on decent and rational grounds," Kennedy wrote of Michigan's affirmative action ban.</p>
<p>Voters in roughly 30 states, including Michigan, had approved constitutional amendments defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman.</p>
<p>This case, Bursch wrote on behalf of Michigan, is not about the best marriage definition, but "who decides, the people of each state or the federal judiciary?"</p>
<p>Moore, the Southern Baptist official, said that he is under no illusion about the odds his side faces at the Supreme Court.</p>
<p>"We have spent several years seeking to prepare our people for the fact that the same-sex marriage seems to be coming to their communities," Moore said. "Many people in red states have assumed that this is an issue for other people."</p>
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — Same-sex marriage opponents acknowledge they face a tough task in trying to persuade the Supreme Court to allow states to limit marriage to a man and a woman.</p>
<p>But they are urging the court to resist embracing what they see as a radical change in society's view of what constitutes a marriage, especially without more information about how same-sex marriage affects children who are raised by two fathers or two mothers.</p>
<p>The idea that same-sex marriage might have uncertain effects on children is strongly contested by those who want the court to declare that same-sex couples have a right to marry in all 50 states. Among the 31 plaintiffs in the cases that will be argued at the court on Tuesday are parents who have spent years seeking formal recognition on their children's birth certificates or adoption papers.</p>
<p>But opponents, in dozens of briefs asking the court to uphold state bans on same-sex marriage, insist they are not motivated by any prejudice toward gays and lesbians.</p>
<p>"This is an issue on which people of good will may reasonably disagree," lawyer John Bursch wrote in his defense of Michigan's gay-marriage ban. Bursch will argue on behalf of the states that same-sex couples can claim no constitutional right to marriage.</p>
<p>Same-sex couples now can marry in 36 states and the District of Columbia, the product of a dizzying pace of change in state marriage laws. Just three years ago, only six states allowed it.</p>
<p>In most states, courts have struck down gay marriage bans written into state laws or enshrined in state constitutions.</p>
<p>The concern for children is among several threads that run through the legal, political, social and religious arguments being advanced in support of upholding the same-sex marriage bans.</p>
<p>"If children don't do as well when they are raised by same-sex parents, why would we want to establish or encourage that as a social norm?" asked the Rev. D. Paul Sullins, a Catholic University sociology professor. Sullins has analyzed data in government surveys and concluded that children brought up by two parents of the same sex have a higher rate of emotional problems than their peers raised by heterosexual parents.</p>
<p>Sullins has been harshly criticized by sociologists who support same-sex marriage, but he said he stands by his data. "I don't know of any Catholic way to compute the equation," he said. "The idea that there are no differences is emphatically mistaken. I don't know how else to say that."</p>
<p>Perhaps the most visible defender of reserving marriage only for heterosexuals has been Ryan Anderson, a research fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation.</p>
<p>Anderson said the push for nationwide acceptance of gay and lesbian unions is a product of cultural degradation that has spanned more than 40 years and includes greater sexual permissiveness, a rise in births to single mothers and liberalized divorce laws.</p>
<p>"If you think the past 40 years has been problematic for marriage," Anderson said, "you might think this is something we should go slow on and leave it to the states to make marriage policy."</p>
<p>But more pointedly, Anderson said states are correct in defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman because of their interest in encouraging couples to produce children and then stay together to raise those children.</p>
<p>"Same-sex marriage is about cutting the cord between romance and diapers," he said. "Marriage becomes just about consenting adults."</p>
<p>Several groups supporting the states stress that a biologically intact family is the ideal environment for children. But they also are careful to acknowledge the value of adoption, perhaps in recognition of Chief Justice Roberts' role as the father of two adopted children. "Adoption is an indispensable social good that provides children a home when the ideal, a stable, two-parent biological family, is unavailable," said a brief from groups that support biological parenting.</p>
<p>Another argument opponents make is that a ruling in favor of same-sex marriage could lead to opening marriage to three or more people.</p>
<p>"Expanding the definition of marriage away from the way cultures and civilization have always defined it can only lead to further confusion," said the Rev. Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention' Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. "We're always told that what we say is slippery-slope alarmism. And yet the slope is quite slippery."</p>
<p>These same arguments about cultural and societal harm didn't fare well when they were made in the Supreme Court two years ago in a challenge to the federal anti-gay marriage law. In an opinion written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, the court struck down the part of that law that denied federal benefits to legally married same-sex couples.</p>
<p>This time around, same-sex marriage opponents are drawing on the parts of Kennedy's opinion that ratified states' ability to make the rules for who could marry. They also are relying on another Kennedy opinion from last year in which the court upheld Michigan's voter-approved ban on the use of race in state college admissions.</p>
<p>"It is demeaning to the democratic process to presume that the voters are not capable of deciding an issue of this sensitivity on decent and rational grounds," Kennedy wrote of Michigan's affirmative action ban.</p>
<p>Voters in roughly 30 states, including Michigan, had approved constitutional amendments defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman.</p>
<p>This case, Bursch wrote on behalf of Michigan, is not about the best marriage definition, but "who decides, the people of each state or the federal judiciary?"</p>
<p>Moore, the Southern Baptist official, said that he is under no illusion about the odds his side faces at the Supreme Court.</p>
<p>"We have spent several years seeking to prepare our people for the fact that the same-sex marriage seems to be coming to their communities," Moore said. "Many people in red states have assumed that this is an issue for other people."</p>
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Same-sex marriage opponents urge Supreme Court to go slow
| false |
https://apnews.com/amp/4fe19f9e67a045c491e546318d4ff846
|
2015-04-26
| 2 |
<p>Forecasters have said <a href="" type="internal">Hurricane Irma</a>, which intensified to a Category 5 storm on Tuesday, is one of the strongest storms ever recorded in the Atlantic.</p>
<p>In fact, the storm has become so strong that it's showing up on earthquake-detecting seismometers, Stephen Hicks, a seismologist at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom tweeted Tuesday.</p>
<p>"What we’re seeing in the seismogram are low-pitched hums that gradually become stronger as the hurricane gets closer to the seismometer on the island of Guadeloupe," Hicks <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2017/09/05/hurricane-irma-so-strong-its-registering-devices-designed-detect-earthquakes/634419001/" type="external">told USA Today</a>.</p>
<p>In a follow-up tweet he clarified that seismometers were likely picking up background noises, like wind causing trees to move or waves crashing.</p>
<p>The National Hurricane Center warned that Hurricane Irma "will bring life-threatening wind, storm surge and rainfall hazards" to the Caribbean islands in its path. As of Tuesday, the powerful storm had 185 mph winds as it approached the Leeward Islands.</p>
<p>President Donald Trump declared emergencies for Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands ahead of Irma's expected landfall.</p>
<p>The Associated Press contributed to this report.</p>
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Hurricane Irma has become so strong it's registering on earthquake-detecting seismometers
| false |
https://circa.com/story/2017/09/05/weather/hurricane-irma-has-become-so-strong-its-registering-on-earthquake-detecting-seismometers
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2017-09-06
| 1 |
<p>Even though the bill had been passed by both houses of the state legislature, on Thursday, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie <a href="file://localhost/Christie%20Blocks%20Law%20Against%20Child%20Marriage,%20Claiming%20It%20Would%20Offend%20%E2%80%98Religious%E2%80%99%20Communities%20https/::www.aol.com:article:news:2017:05:11:chris-christie-rejects-measure-to-ban-child-marriage:22082430:%3Futm_source=dlvr.it&amp;utm_medium=twitter" type="external">refused to sign a bill</a> that would have made New Jersey the first state in the union to ban child marriage without exception. The bill would have banned marriage for anyone under 18.</p>
<p>Christie conditionally vetoed the bill, saying, "An exclusion without exceptions would violate the cultures and traditions of some communities in New Jersey based on religious traditions," and sent it back to the state legislature with a suggestion that judges should be able to approve. He <a href="http://www.politico.com/states/new-jersey/story/2017/05/11/ban-on-child-marriages-conditionally-vetoed-by-christie-111987" type="external">also said</a>, “I agree that protecting the well-being, dignity, and freedom of minors is vital, but the severe bar this bill creates is not necessary to address the concerns voiced by the bill’s proponents and does not comport with the sensibilities and, in some cases, the religious customs, of the people of this State.”</p>
<p>Some who were against the bill said exceptions should remain for military members (as youngsters can join the military at the age of 17 given parental consent), and pregnant teenagers.</p>
<p>Similar legislation exists in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas.</p>
<p>In 2011, the Tahirih Justice Center <a href="http://www.unchainedatlast.org/about-arranged-forced-marriage/" type="external">found 3,000 known or suspected cases</a> of girls in the U.S. as young as 15 who were forced to marry under threats of death, beatings or ostracism between 2009 and 2011.</p>
<p>The organization Unchained At Last reported that roughly 3,500 marriages involving at least one partner under 18 took place in New Jersey from 1995 to 2012.</p>
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Chris Christie Vetoes Bill Banning Marriage Under 18
| true |
https://dailywire.com/news/16397/chris-christie-vetoes-bill-banning-marriage-under-hank-berrien
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2017-05-12
| 0 |
<p>ROCKY HILL, Conn. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Connecticut Lottery's "Lotto" game were:</p>
<p>10-20-27-39-41-43</p>
<p>(ten, twenty, twenty-seven, thirty-nine, forty-one, forty-three)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $1.1 million</p>
<p>ROCKY HILL, Conn. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Connecticut Lottery's "Lotto" game were:</p>
<p>10-20-27-39-41-43</p>
<p>(ten, twenty, twenty-seven, thirty-nine, forty-one, forty-three)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $1.1 million</p>
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Winning numbers drawn in 'Lotto' game
| false |
https://apnews.com/amp/9bc828fb14f84927a8bf329a9672067d
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2018-01-17
| 2 |
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<p>Actor Ray Romano is to star in a TV series based on Elmore Leonard’s “Get Shorty.” It will be filmed in Albuquerque. (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Elmore Leonard’s “Get Shorty” is getting the TV treatment, and it will be filming in Albuquerque and Los Angeles.</p>
<p>The New Mexico State Film Office announced Wednesday that the Epix and MGM Television project will be in principal photography through May 2017.</p>
<p>According to the film office, the production will employ 289 New Mexico crew members and about 3,500 New Mexico background talent.</p>
<p>Actor Chris O’Dowd will star in the Epix series, “Get Shorty.” (Grant Pollard/Invision/AP)</p>
<p>The series stars Chris O’Dowd and Emmy Award-winner Ray Romano and is inspired by Leonard’s 1990 New York Times best-selling novel, which was adapted into a 1995 film.</p>
<p>Series regulars include Sean Bridgers, Lidia Porto, Megan Stevenson, Goya Robles, Lucy Walters and Carolyn Dodd.</p>
<p>O’Dowd is set to play Miles, a hitman from Nevada who tries to become a movie producer in Hollywood as a means to leave his criminal past behind. Romano is set for the role of Rick, a washed-up producer of low-quality films who becomes Miles’ partner and guide through the maze of Hollywood.&#160; Bridgers will play Miles’ partner within the organization, Louis.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Porto will portray Amara, the godmother of a Nevada crime ring. Stevenson is set for the role of April, an attractive and ambitious studio executive, and Robles will portray Yago, Amara’s dangerous nephew.</p>
<p>It is created and executive produced by Davey Holmes.</p>
<p>“Elmore Leonard’s work was formative for me, and the world of ‘Get Shorty’ felt ready for a reinvention, while staying true to the creative spirit of the book,” Holmes said. “Leonard had a fantastic ability to illuminate thuggish characters and find not only menace, but also comedy that springs from their humanity. It’s a story about murderous tough guys with wistful dreams and fragile egos. Our lead character is an outsider, doesn’t come from Hollywood. We are delighted to be shooting in New Mexico.”</p>
<p>This is the second Epix production that has filmed in New Mexico. The first was “Graves,” which also filmed in Albuquerque.</p>
<p>“Albuquerque welcomes the TV series “Get Shorty” to our city,” said Albuquerque’s Mayor Richard Berry. “The film industry provides high-paying, creative jobs to our citizens and many businesses are affected positively by the filming here in Albuquerque.”</p>
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‘Get Shorty’ TV series to be filmed in ABQ
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https://abqjournal.com/880641/get-shorty-tv-series-to-be-filmed-in-abq.html
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2016-11-02
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<p>Evidence that the US is a failed state is piling up faster than I can record it.</p>
<p>One conclusive hallmark of a failed state is that the crooks are inside the government, using government to protect and to advance their private interests.</p>
<p>Another conclusive hallmark is rising income inequality as the insiders manipulate economic policy for their enrichment at the expense of everyone else.</p>
<p>Income inequality in the US is now the most extreme of all countries. The 2008 OECD report, “ <a href="http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/47/2/41528678.pdf" type="external">Income Distribution and Poverty in OECD Countries,</a>” concludes that the US is the country with the highest inequality and poverty rate across the OECD and that since 2000 nowhere has there been such a stark rise in income inequality as in the US. The OECD finds that in the US the distribution of wealth is even more unequal than the distribution of income.</p>
<p>On October 21, 2009, Business Week highlighted a <a href="http://yoursdp.org/index.php/news/3-international/2948-countries-with-the-biggest-gaps-between-rich-and-poor" type="external">new report</a> from the United Nations Development Program concluded that the US ranked third among states with the worst income inequality. As number one and number two, Hong Kong and Singapore, are both essentially city states, not countries, the US actually has the shame of being the country with the most inequality in the distribution of income.</p>
<p>The stark increase in US income inequality in the 21st century coincides with the offshoring of US jobs, which enriched executives with “performance bonuses” while impoverishing the middle class, and with the rapid rise of unregulated OTC derivatives, which enriched Wall Street and the financial sector at the expense of everyone else.</p>
<p>Millions of Americans have lost their homes and half of their retirement savings while being loaded up with government debt to bail out the banksters who created the derivative crisis.</p>
<p>Frontline’s October 21 broadcast, “The Warning,” documents how Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, Deputy Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, and Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Arthur Levitt blocked Brooksley Born, head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, from performing her statutory duties and regulating OTC derivatives.</p>
<p>After the worst crisis in US financial history struck, just as Brooksley Born said it would, a disgraced Alan Greenspan was summoned out of retirement to explain to Congress his unequivocal assurances that no regulation of derivatives was necessary. Greenspan had even told Congress that regulation of derivatives would be harmful. A pathetic Greenspan had to admit that the free market ideology on which he had relied turned out to have a flaw.</p>
<p>Greenspan may have bet our country on his free market ideology, but does anyone believe that Rubin and Summers were doing anything other than protecting the enormous fraud-based profits that derivatives were bringing Wall Street? As Brooksley Born stressed, OTC derivatives are a “dark market.” There is no transparency. Regulators have no information on them and neither do purchasers.</p>
<p>Even after Long Term Capital Management blew up in 1998 and had to be bailed out, Greenspan, Rubin, and Summers stuck to their guns. Greenspan, Rubin and Summers, and a roped-in gullible Arthur Levitt who now regrets that he was the banksters’ dupe, succeeded in manipulating a totally ignorant Congress into blocking the CFTC from doing its mandated job. Brooksley Born, prevented by the public’s elected representatives from protecting the public, resigned. Wall Street money simply shoved facts and honest regulators aside, guaranteeing government inaction and the financial crisis that hit in 2008 and continues to plague our economy today.</p>
<p>The financial insiders running the Treasury, White House, and Federal Reserve shifted to taxpayers the cost of the catastrophe that they had created. When the crisis hit, Henry Paulson, appointed by President Bush as Rubin’s replacement as the Goldman Sachs representative running the US Treasury, hyped fear to obtain from “our” representatives in Congress with no questions asked hundreds of billions of taxpayers’ dollars (TARP money) to bail out Goldman Sachs and the other malefactors of unregulated derivatives.</p>
<p>When Goldman Sachs recently announced that it was paying massive six and seven figure bonuses to every employee, public outrage erupted. In defense of banksters, saved with the public’s money, paying themselves bonuses in excess of most people’s life-time earnings, Lord Griffiths, Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs International, said that the public must learn to “tolerate the inequality as a way to achieve greater prosperity for all.”</p>
<p>In other words, “Let them eat cake.”</p>
<p>According to the UN report cited above, Great Britain has the 7th most unequal income distribution in the world. After the Goldman Sachs bonuses, the British will move up in distinction, perhaps rivaling Israel for the fourth spot in the hierarchy.</p>
<p>Despite the total insanity of unregulated derivatives, the high level of public anger, and Greenspan’s confession to Congress, still nothing has been done to regulate derivatives. One of Rubin’s Assistant Treasury Secretaries, Gary Gensler, has replaced Brooksley Born as head of the CFTC. Larry Summers is the head of President Obama’s National Economic Council. Former Federal Reserve official Timothy Geithner, a Paulson protege, runs the Obama Treasury. A Goldman Sachs vice president, Adam Storch, has been appointed the chief operating officer of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Banksters are still in charge.</p>
<p>Is there another country in which in full public view so few so blatantly use government for the enrichment of private interests, with a coterie of “free market” economists available to justify plunder on the grounds that “the market knows best”? A narco-state is bad enough. The US surpasses this horror with its financo-state.</p>
<p>As Brooksley Born says, if nothing is done “it’ll happen again.”</p>
<p>But nothing can be done. The crooks have the government.</p>
<p>Note: The OECD report shows that despite the Reagan tax rate reduction, the rate of increase in US income inequality declined during the Reagan years. During the mid-1990s the Gini coefficient (the measure of income inequality) actually fell. Beginning in 2000 with the New Economy (essentially financial fraud and offshoring of US jobs), the Gini coefficient shot up sharply.</p>
<p>PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration. He is coauthor of <a href="" type="internal">The Tyranny of Good Intentions.</a>He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
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Are You Ready for the Next Crisis?
| true |
https://counterpunch.org/2009/10/26/are-you-ready-for-the-next-crisis/
|
2009-10-26
| 4 |
<p />
<p>As the gulf coast of Texas and parts of Louisiana reeled from the escalating damage brought on by Harvey on Tuesday, millions of commercial and residential damage has been done by not only flooding, but also high winds that slammed the area over the past few days.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>FEMA estimates that the cost of damage from just one inch of water can exceed $20,000. In the coastal areas of Texas, rainfall was expected to reach up to 50 inches before the storm completely cleared out of the region.</p>
<p>Still, a natural disaster does not guarantee mortgage or other financial relief, which is often taken on a case by case basis.</p>
<p>Mortgage</p>
<p>In the wake of a declared natural disaster, the Federal Housing Administration may issue a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures. The agency announced on Tuesday it would make mortgage insurance available to its 200,000 insured homeowners.</p>
<p>Additionally, a mortgage servicer may temporarily suspend or reduce a homeowner’s dues for up to 90 days if the servicer believes the value of the property has been affected or the disaster has impeded the owner’s ability to make payments. Other relief efforts are generally specific to the servicer.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Specific relief options</p>
<p>A Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) representative said the bank – one of the largest banks by asset value in the region – has “immediately suspended all negative credit bureau reporting, late fees, collection calls, and foreclosure referrals and sales for all home loan customers with homes in the counties that were under hurricane warnings when Harvey made landfall.” The suspension will remain in place through at least the end of September.</p>
<p>Wells Fargo home loan customers can contact the bank regarding 60-day relief, with 90-day relief available for customers whose homes reside in FEMA-designated disaster areas. In some cases, customers can have their payments postponed for up to 90 days without a negative effect on their credit.</p>
<p>“After the initial disaster relief period (60 or 90 days) expires, home loan customers who are still unable to make payments will be evaluated for further assistance options based on their situation,” the Wells Fargo representative added.</p>
<p>JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) said it would waive late fees on mortgage, credit card, business banking and auto loans through Sept. 10 for “customers in the Houston metro area and other areas severely affected by the hurricane.” The bank also pledged to donate $1 million to relief efforts by the American Red Cross and other organizations, and to match further donations by its employees.</p>
<p>Fannie Mae, which guarantees more than 36,000 homes in the affected area with about $5.1 billion in unpaid balances, said on Tuesday it will implement a 90-day foreclosure sale suspension and eviction suspension for borrowers in the affected areas. Borrowers could also qualify for a temporary suspension or reduction of their mortgage payments for up to six months.</p>
<p>Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), one of the other large banks in the area, said it will automatically refund fees for customers and business owners in areas affected by Harvey, including late fees on credit cards and mortgage and home equity payments. In addition, the bank has pledged $1 million toward recovery efforts and manages an emergency relief fund for its employees who live in the storm zone.</p>
<p>Once the grace periods are over, individuals who still need help can turn to their lenders for customized assistance, but it is important for borrowers to contact their loan servicers in order to notify them of their situations.</p>
<p>Insurance</p>
<p>Another big issue for Harvey victims could be insurance claims. Fifty-two percent of Houston’s residential and commercial properties are located outside of FEMA-designated Special Flood Hazard Areas, according to global property analytics firm CoreLogic. Only individuals with properties located within flood hazard areas are required to purchase flood insurance. This could leave many people in the area with serious financial challenges after the storm clears out.</p>
<p>“If you don’t have flood insurance, good luck,” Burl Daniel, an insurance expert witness from Texas, told FOX Business. Since extreme winds also caused damage, Daniel says property owners may try to argue either wind or rain was principally responsible for the damage, depending on their coverage. State law in Texas stipulates that a loss triggered by a combination of covered and excluded causes will not be covered – known as anti-concurrent causation – which could make things difficult for people who suffered complete storm damage.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, Daniel said it is important for people to notify their insurance carriers, noting that it should not be expected that everything will be covered.</p>
<p>This story has been updated.</p>
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Hurricane Harvey: Homes destroyed, owners left with few options
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/08/29/hurricane-harvey-homes-destroyed-owners-left-with-few-options.html
|
2017-08-30
| 0 |
<p>Fulbright scholar Jesse Appell went to China to study the tradition of Chinese stand-up comedy. After he made a spoof video of Psy's megahit, "Gangnam Style" which he called "Laowai Style" he found himself at the center of his own comedy.</p>
<p>His video went viral on the internet in China. When a Chinese TV show approached him to perform the song on their show he was told he needed to change or "harmonize," that's the Chinese way of describing censorship, certain lines in the song.</p>
<p>Anchor, Marco Werman interviews Appell about his brush with censorship and celebrity in China.</p>
<p>Check out Appell's take on the hit Psy song:</p>
|
Humoring the Chinese: An American Comedian has a Run-in With Chinese Censorship
| false |
https://pri.org/stories/2013-04-12/humoring-chinese-american-comedian-has-run-chinese-censorship
|
2013-04-12
| 3 |
<p>TIDMINVP TIDMTSCO</p>
<p>FORM 8.5 (EPT/RI)</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>PUBLIC DEALING DISCLOSURE BY AN EXEMPT PRINCIPAL TRADER WITH RECOGNISED</p>
<p>INTERMEDIARY STATUS DEALING IN A CLIENT-SERVING CAPACITY</p>
<p>1. KEY INFORMATION</p>
<p>(a) Name of exempt principal trader:</p>
<p>Investec Bank plc</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>(b) Name of offeror/offeree in relation to whose relevant</p>
<p>securities this form relates: Tesco plc</p>
<p>Use a separate form for each offeror/offeree</p>
<p>(c) Name of the party to the offer with which exempt</p>
<p>principal trader is connected: Investec are Broker to Booker Group plc</p>
<p>d) Date dealing undertaken:</p>
<p>30(th) January 2018</p>
<p>(e) Has the EPT previously disclosed, or is it today Yes</p>
<p>disclosing, in respect of any other party to this</p>
<p>offer?</p>
<p>2. DEALINGS BY THE EXEMPT PRINCIPAL TRADER</p>
<p>(a) Purchases and sales</p>
<p>Class of Purchases/ sales Total Highest price per unit paid/received Lowest price per unit paid/received</p>
<p>relevant number of (pence) (pence)</p>
<p>security securities</p>
<p>Ordinary Purchases 521,926 211.2 207.7</p>
<p>Shares</p>
<p>Ordinary Sales 519,065 211.7 207.8</p>
<p>Shares</p>
<p>(b) Derivatives transactions (other than options)</p>
<p>Class of Product description Nature of dealing Number of Price</p>
<p>relevant e.g. CFD e.g. opening/closing a long/short position, increasing/reducing reference per</p>
<p>security a long/short position securities unit</p>
<p>(c) Options transactions in respect of existing securities</p>
<p>(i) Writing, selling, purchasing or varying</p>
<p>Class of Product Writing, Number of Exercise Type Expiry Option</p>
<p>relevant description purchasing, securities price e.g. American, European etc. date money</p>
<p>security e.g. call selling, to which per paid/</p>
<p>option varying option unit received</p>
<p>etc. relates per</p>
<p>unit</p>
<p>(ii) Exercising</p>
<p>Class of relevant Product description Number of Exercise price per</p>
<p>security e.g. call option securities unit</p>
<p>(d) Other dealings (including subscribing for new securities)</p>
<p>Class of relevant Nature of dealing Details Price per unit</p>
<p>security e.g. subscription, conversion (if applicable)</p>
<p>The currency of all prices and other monetary amounts should be stated.</p>
<p>Where there have been dealings in more than one class of relevant</p>
<p>securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(b), copy table 2(a), (b),</p>
<p>(c) or (d) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant</p>
<p>security dealt in.</p>
<p>3. OTHER INFORMATION</p>
<p>(a) Indemnity and other dealing arrangements</p>
<p>Details of any indemnity or option arrangement, or</p>
<p>any agreement or understanding, formal or informal,</p>
<p>relating to relevant securities which may be an inducement</p>
<p>to deal or refrain from dealing entered into by the</p>
<p>exempt principal trader making the disclosure and</p>
<p>any party to the offer or any person acting in concert</p>
<p>with a party to the offer:</p>
<p>If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings,</p>
<p>state "none"</p>
<p>None</p>
<p>(b) Agreements, arrangements or understandings relating to</p>
<p>options or derivatives</p>
<p>Details of any agreement, arrangement or understanding,</p>
<p>formal or informal, between the exempt principal trader</p>
<p>making the disclosure and any other person relating</p>
<p>to:</p>
<p>(i) the voting rights of any relevant securities under</p>
<p>any option; or</p>
<p>(ii) the voting rights or future acquisition or disposal</p>
<p>of any relevant securities to which any derivative</p>
<p>is referenced:</p>
<p>If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings,</p>
<p>state "none"</p>
<p>None</p>
<p>Date of disclosure:</p>
<p>31(st) January 2018</p>
<p>Contact name:</p>
<p>Robert Letson</p>
<p>Telephone number:</p>
<p>0207 597 5690</p>
<p>This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf</p>
<p>of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients.</p>
<p>The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely</p>
<p>responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information</p>
<p>contained therein.</p>
<p>Source: Investec Bank plc via Globenewswire</p>
<p>https://www.investec.co.uk/</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>January 31, 2018 05:26 ET (10:26 GMT)</p>
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Investec Bank plc Investec Bank Plc : Form 8.5 (EPT/RI) - Tesco Plc
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/10/05/investec-bank-plc-investec-bank-plc-form-8-5-eptri-tesco-plc.html
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2018-01-31
| 0 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>ROBERTO E. ROSALES/JOURNALCounty firefighters douse a structure fire Saturday afternoon north of Albuquerque.</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Firefighters are mopping up a large structure fire that burned north of Albuquerque on Saturday afternoon.</p>
<p>The blaze started as a trash fire, according to a Bernalillo County Fire Department spokesman, and it could be seen sending a column of smoke visible from the city.</p>
<p>Firefighters could be seen dousing a gutted adobe building with at least two hoses. The house is along Fourth Street near Interstate 25.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Keep with ABQJournal.com for updates.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
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Fire breaks out north of Albuquerque
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/398022/fire-breaks-out-north-of-albuquerque.html
| 2 |
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<p>Like most states, Minnesota has a big budget problem. But unlike most states, it’s looking to the well-heeled to help fill the gap. Gov. Mark Dayton plans to attack the state’s $6.2 billion deficit by raising taxes on the rich. –JCL</p>
<p>Winona Daily News:</p>
<p>Gov. Mark Dayton looked to the wealthy to erase about half of a $6.2 billion budget deficit on Tuesday, proposing a new top tax bracket and an income surtax that together would give Minnesota the nation’s highest income tax rate.</p>
<p>The Democratic governor’s plan would raise nearly $2.9 billion from the top 5 percent of taxpayers, including a new property tax on homes valued at more than $1 million.</p>
<p />
<p>It would also increase taxes on health care providers and corporations with foreign operations, while cutting almost $1 billion in spending for programs including MinnesotaCare health care and nursing homes.</p>
<p>The tax increases and spending cuts are contained in Dayton’s proposal for a two-year, $37 billion budget that guides more money into education but could also cost about 800 state workers their jobs.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.winonadailynews.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_63872936-39cc-11e0-88f2-001cc4c002e0.html" type="external">Read more</a></p>
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Minnesota Moves to Make the Rich Pay More
| true |
http://truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/raising_minnesota_20110226/
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2011-02-27
| 4 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — There’s going to be all types of aerial work.</p>
<p>From fabric to hoops to the trapeze, the Albuquerque Aerialists have it covered. The group is presenting “Things That Go Bump in the Night” at 6 tonight and 2 and 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 26 at Factory on 5, 1715 Fifth NW. The group has been performing in Albuquerque since 2012 and describes the event as “an intimate interactive circus experience.”</p>
<p>Admission is based on a $10-$20 sliding scale per person. Call 681-8472 for reservations and more details on the event, or visit the group on Facebook at <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Albuquerque-Aerialist-Collective/303720519670987" type="external">www.facebook.com/pages/Albuquerque-Aerialist-Collective/303720519670987</a>.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
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Aerialists will swing high
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/163069/aerialists-will-swing-high.html
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2013-01-25
| 2 |
<p>STOCKHOLM—An American scientist who shared this year’s Nobel Prize for medicine bluntly criticized political developments at home in his address at the awards’ gala banquet, saying that U.S. scientists are facing funding cutbacks that will hurt research.</p>
<p>Michael Rosbash, who was honored for his work on circadian rhythms — commonly called the body clock — expressed concern that U.S. government funding such as that received by him and Nobel colleagues Jeffrey Hall and Michael Young is endangered.</p>
<p>“We benefited from an enlightened period in the postwar United States. Our National Institutes of Health have enthusiastically and generously supported basic research … (but) the current climate in the U.S. is a warning that continued support cannot be taken for granted,” Rosbash said in a short speech Sunday night at Stockholm’s ornate city hall.</p>
<p>The 2018 federal budget proposed by President Donald Trump calls for cutting science funding by billions of dollars.</p>
<p />
<p>“Also in danger is the pluralistic America into which all three of us of born were born and raised after World War II,” Rosbash said. “Immigrants and foreigners have always been an indispensable part of our country, including its great record in scientific research.”</p>
<p>Literature laureate Kazuo Ishiguro of Britain expressed concern about increasing tensions between social factions.</p>
<p>“We live today in a time of growing tribal enmities of communities fracturing into bitterly opposed groups,” said Ishiguro, who was born in Japan.</p>
<p>He said Nobel prizes can counterbalance such animosity.</p>
<p>“The pride we feel when someone from our nation wins a Nobel prize is different from the one we feel witnessing one of our athletes winning an Olympic medal. We don’t feel the pride of our tribe demonstrating superiority over other tribes. Rather it’s the pride that from knowing that one of us has made a significant contribution to our common human endeavor,” he said.</p>
<p>In the Norwegian capital of Oslo, a survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima compared her struggle to survive in 1945 to the objectives of the group awarded this year’s Nobel’s Peace Prize.</p>
<p>Setsuko Thurlow, who was 13 when the U.S. bomb devastated her Japanese city during the final weeks of World War II, spoke as a leading activist with the Nobel-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.</p>
<p>Thurlow said the Hiroshima blast left her buried under the rubble, but she was able to see light and crawl to safety. In the same way, the campaign to which she belongs is a driving force behind an international treaty to ban nuclear weapons, she said after ICAN received the Nobel prize it won in October.</p>
<p>“Our light now is the ban treaty,” Thurlow said. “I repeat those words that I heard called to me in the ruins of Hiroshima: ‘Don’t give up. Keep pushing. See the light? Crawl toward it.'”</p>
<p>The treaty has been signed by 56 countries — none of them nuclear powers — and ratified by only three. To become binding it requires ratification by 50 countries.</p>
<p>ICAN Executive Director Beatrice Fihn, who accepted the prize along with Thurlow, said that while the treaty is far from ratification “now, at long last, we have an unequivocal norm against nuclear weapons.”</p>
<p>“This is the way forward. There is only one way to prevent the use of nuclear weapons — prohibit and eliminate them,” Fihn said.</p>
<p>The prize winners were announced in October. All except the peace prize were awarded in Sweden on Sunday.</p>
<p>The other laureates were American Richard Thaler for his work in behavioral economics; American physicists Kip Thorne, Rainer Weiss and Barry Barish for confirming the existence of gravity waves; and Jacques Dubochet of Switzerland, American Joachim Frank and Richard Henderson of the United Kingdom for advances in electron microscopy.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Heintz reported from Moscow.</p>
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Nobel Laureate Fears U.S. Politics Could Undermine Science
| true |
https://truthdig.com/articles/u-s-nobel-laureate-fears-u-s-politics-undermine-science/
|
2017-12-11
| 4 |
<p>Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren put a “hold” on the confirmation of Makan Delrahim, President Donald Trump’s nominee to run the Justice Department’s antitrust division, delaying a vote until at least September, according to two people familiar with the matter.&#160;</p>
<p>The delay means Delrahim remains on the outside as Justice Department lawyers wrap up their investigation of AT&amp;T Inc. and Time Warner Inc.’s proposed&#160;$85.4 billion merger and start early talks with company representatives about possible conditions that could secure approval. AT&amp;T’s bid for the owner of CNN and HBO would reshape the media landscape and has drawn fire from Trump.</p>
<p>Trump blasted the Time Warner acquisition as a candidate, saying it puts “too much concentration of power in the hands of too few.” In January, he softened his tone, saying the government still had to review the details.</p>
<p>Warren has expressed concern about concentration in some markets and the need for vigorous antitrust enforcement to reduce imbalances in the economy. She has described the nomination of Delrahim, a former lobbyist for Anthem Inc., as an indication that Trump’s administration will “put the interests of giant corporations ahead of the American people,” according to an April 3 post on her Facebook page.</p>
<p>The two people who discussed the hold spoke on condition of anonymity. A spokeswoman for Warren declined to comment, and Delrahim declined to comment.</p>
<p>Delrahim’s name had been expected to be included in a package of confirmations that cleared the Senate Thursday. Warren’s hold meant his nomination couldn’t be advanced on the Senate floor.</p>
<p>The nomination can be considered in a stand-alone vote with support from 60 senators. But that won’t happen until senators return to Washington after their August break, said one of the people. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved Delrahim’s nomination 9-1 on June 8.</p>
<p>Seven months into the Trump administration, there are still no permanent antitrust chiefs in place. In addition to the delay on Delrahim, Trump has yet to name a permanent chairman to the Federal Trade Commission.</p>
<p>Lawmakers have been pressuring the administration over the AT&amp;T deal. Warren and fellow Democratic Senator Al Franken of Minnesota, among others, said last month the deal would lead to higher prices and fewer choices for consumers and urged the Justice Department to consider blocking it. They argued that conditions to regulate AT&amp;T’s behavior would be unenforceable and unreliable.</p>
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Trump's Pick for Antitrust Chief Blocked by Sen. Warren
| false |
https://newsline.com/trumps-pick-for-antitrust-chief-blocked-by-sen-warren/
|
2017-08-07
| 1 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Page is among the Trump associates under scrutiny as the FBI and congressional committees investigate whether his presidential campaign had ties to Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election. Trump has denied any wrongdoing, but the investigations could shadow his presidency for months or even years.</p>
<p>The Post, citing unnamed law enforcement and other U.S. officials, said Tuesday the government surveillance application laid out the basis for believing that Page had knowingly engaged in intelligence activities on Russia’s behalf. The newspaper said the application includes contacts Page had with a Russian intelligence operative in 2013.</p>
<p>Those contacts are detailed in a 2015 court filing involving a case against three men charged in connection with a Cold War-style Russian spying ring. According to the filing, Page provided one of the men documents about the energy industry. He was not charged as part of that case.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>An FBI spokesman did not immediately return a call seeking comment from The Associated Press.</p>
<p>Page, who has denied having improper ties to Russia, told the AP Tuesday he was “happy” that the court order had been revealed and blamed the Obama administration for trying to “suppress dissidents who did not fully support their failed foreign policy.”</p>
<p>“It will be interesting to see what comes out when the unjustified basis for those FISA requests are more fully disclosed over time,” said Page, using an acronym to refer to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.</p>
<p>The FISA court and its orders are highly secretive. Judges grant permission for surveillance if they agree there’s probable cause that the target is an agent of a foreign power. Though the standard is a high bar to meet, applications are hardly ever denied.</p>
<p>The Post reported that a 90-day warrant was issued for Page and has been renewed more than once by the FISA court.</p>
<p>Page was a little known investment banker when Trump announced him as a member of his foreign policy advisory team early last year. Trump aides insist the president has no relationship with Page and did not have any dealings with him during the campaign.</p>
<p>Page’s relationship with Russia began to draw scrutiny during the campaign after he visited Moscow in July 2016 for a speech at the New Economic School. While Page said he was traveling in a personal capacity, the school cited his role in the Trump campaign in advertising the speech.</p>
<p>Page was sharply critical of the U.S. in his remarks, saying Washington has a “hypocritical focus on ideas such as democratization, inequality, corruption and regime change.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Days later, Page talked with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. at an event on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention. Attorney General Jeff Sessions spoke with the Russian envoy at the same event, a conversation he failed to reveal when asked about contacts with Russians during his Senate confirmation hearings.</p>
<p>The campaign began distancing itself from Page after his trip to Russia, saying he was only an informal adviser. By the fall, he appeared to have cut ties to the Republican campaign.</p>
<p>It’s unclear how Page got connected with the Trump campaign. One campaign official said Page was recruited by Sam Clovis, an Iowa Republican operative who ran the Trump campaign’s policy shop and is now a senior adviser at the Agriculture Department. Those who served on the campaign’s foreign policy advisory committee also said they had limited contact with Page.</p>
<p>But in a letter Page sent to the Senate intelligence committee last month, he cast himself as a regular presence in Trump Tower, where the campaign was headquartered.</p>
<p>“I have frequently dined in Trump Grill, had lunch in Trump Café, had coffee meetings in the Starbucks at Trump Tower, attended events and spent many hours in campaign headquarters on the fifth floor last year,” Page wrote. He also noted that his office building in New York “is literally connected to the Trump Tower building by an atrium.”</p>
<p>Page, a former Merrill Lynch investment banker who worked out of its Moscow office for three years, now runs Global Energy Capital, a firm focused on energy sectors in emerging markets. According to the company’s website, he has advised on transactions for Gazprom and RAO UES, a pair of Russian entities.</p>
|
Report: US sought to monitor Trump adviser last summer
| false |
https://abqjournal.com/986615/report-us-sought-to-monitor-trump-adviser-last-summer.html
|
2017-04-12
| 2 |
<p />
<p>Welcome to OnSale at FOXBusiness, where we look at cool deals and insane bargains.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Go local with this new site for freshly farmed goods. <a href="" type="internal">Google</a> isnt just IN your wallet, it IS your wallet. Fantasy footballers must check out this new streaming service and the latest from <a href="" type="internal">Samsung</a> may be really thin, but its a huge deal.</p>
<p>CSA Group Deals</p>
<p>New group buying site Farmigo makes it easier to participate in Community Supported Agriculture by purchasing locally-grown, organic produce and meats directly from local farms. The service allows groups of people to sign up for farm-fresh goods purchased in bulk.</p>
<p>Through a quick, simple ZIP code search, shoppers can find the nearest producer and read all about the farms that support Farmigos direct-to-consumer sale approach. Each farm has its own web store, complete with harvest information to alert shoppers of whats in season and the next harvest. Farmers are also able to see whats in demand.</p>
<p>All transactions are between farmer and customer, with no middleman involved in the process. Subscription terms vary according to location, but are easily accessible before signing up. Check it out at <a href="http://www.farmigo.com" type="external">Farmigo.com Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Cash, Check, or Google?</p>
<p>Google Wallet has finally arrived. Googles mobile payment system is available via Android app on Nexus S 4G, available on Sprint, and so far uses Citi <a href="" type="internal">MasterCard</a> and the Google Prepaid Card.</p>
<p>Theres also a tap-to-pay feature, which lets users tap their phone instead of having to swipe a card. (This feature is available wherever you see the MasterCard symbol and the words PayPass. Soon you may even start seeing a Google Wallet logo, too.)</p>
<p>Those who use Google Offers will be glad to know that they can store offers automatically in their Wallet, for easy access on the go. Google Wallet also has a PIN feature to keep a users identity safe and secure. Google Wallet payments are currently accepted at select Sports Authority, Duane Reade, <a href="" type="internal">CVS</a> Pharmacy, and <a href="" type="internal">Foot Locker</a> stores, and is expected to be available at Macys, Walgreens, and Einstein Bros. Bagelss soon. You can search for locations nearby, too, by visiting Googles <a href="http://www.google.com/wallet/where-it-works.html" type="external">Where it Works section Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Want to use Google Wallet but dont have the right phone? <a href="https://services.google.com/fb/forms/walletinterest/" type="external">Click here to sign up Opens a New Window.</a> for availability notifications.</p>
<p>Personalized Sports Updates</p>
<p>Those who want to keep track of their favorite teams and fantasy players will be happy to know that Slacker Radio and ESPN Audio are making customized sports stations, just for you.</p>
<p>Those who use Slackers free Basic Radio service to listen to their favorite playlists now have access to an interactive station from ESPN. Slacker Radio Plus ($3.99 per month) and Premium Radio ($9.99 per month) listeners will be able to listen to the ESPN station ad-free, and sign up for personalized stations according to favorite team or sport. Hourly SportsCenter updates are available for paying Slacker customers, too. Find out more at <a href="http://www.slacker.com/" type="external">Slacker.com Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>A New Galaxy on the Way</p>
<p>Samsungs Galaxy Tab 8.9 is coming soon&amp; maybe even sometime this week. The tablet, powered by Android 3.1 Honeycomb, uses <a href="" type="internal">Adobe</a> Flash and has a Dual core 1GHz processor. The device can also multi-task, and provides a great gaming experience without any buffering or plug-ins to mess with. The dimensions are impressive, weighing in at 447 grams and 0.34 inches from front to back.</p>
<p>The Tabs access to Media Hub lets users rent or download movies and TV shows to be stored in the cloud and viewed on other Media Hub-enabled devices. The retail price: $469. <a href="http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/galaxy-tab/GT-P7310MAAXAR%C2%A0" type="external">Learn more at Samsung.com Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Know of a killer deal or insane bargain? E-mail the goods to [email protected] and share the wealth.</p>
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Farm Fresh Group Deals and Sports Your Way
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/features/2011/09/21/farm-fresh-group-deals-and-sports-your-way.html
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2016-03-04
| 0 |
<p>Hurricane&#160;Harvey&#160;on Friday further intensified into a dangerous category four storm, just hours before it was due to slam into Texas with a force not felt on the US mainland since 2005.</p>
<p>Texas Governor Greg Abbott asked President Donald Trump to declare&#160;Harvey&#160;a "major disaster" in order to speed federal assistance, issuing disaster declarations for 30 counties.</p>
<p>The arrival of the storm —&#160;which was packing sustained winds of 130 miles (215 kilometers) an hour —&#160;was the first major domestic challenge for Trump, who the White House said would head to the affected region early next week.&#160;</p>
<p>"We can obviously tell already at this stage this is going to be a very major disaster," a somber Abbott said, as more than 1,000 National Guardsmen were activated to help with evacuation and recovery.</p>
<p>"We're going to be dealing with really record-setting flooding in multiple regions."</p>
<p>Coastal water levels were already rising, as the first major storm of the annual Atlantic hurricane season forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes and wreaked havoc on air travel.</p>
<p>As of 2300 GMT,&#160;Harvey&#160;was located about 45 miles east of Corpus Christi —&#160;a major hub for the American oil industry —&#160;and moving at eight miles an hour, the National Hurricane Center said, warning of possible "catastrophic" flooding.</p>
<p>The storm was expected to make landfall by early Saturday on the populous Texas coast, dumping up to 40 inches (more than 100 centimeters) of rain over the next four or five days and generating storm surges of up to 12 feet.</p>
<p>"All the advice we can give is get out, and get out now," said Patrick Rios, the mayor of Rockport, where a majority of the town's 9,500 residents had left.</p>
<p>Rios had blunt words for those determined to stay, telling them to "mark their arm with a Sharpie pen, put their social security number" —&#160;to be identified if found dead.</p>
<p>Highways leading from coastal areas were jammed as authorities issued mandatory evacuation orders in many areas.</p>
<p>Before the storm hit, the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) prepositioned emergency supplies.</p>
<p>As he headed to the Camp David presidential retreat for the weekend with his family, Trump said: "Good luck to everybody."</p>
<p>Harvey&#160;is forecast to be the most powerful hurricane to hit the mainland since Wilma struck Florida in 2005, and could inflict billions of dollars in damage.&#160;</p>
<p>2005 was a huge year for hurricanes —&#160;before Wilma, Hurricane Katrina pummelled New Orleans, leaving more than 1,800 dead and becoming one of the greatest hiccups in the presidency of George W. Bush.</p>
<p>Coastal Texas is a fast-growing area, with some 1.5 million people moving into the area since 1999.&#160;</p>
<p>Authorities said the combination of dense growth and perhaps a year's worth of rain falling in just days could prove deadly.&#160;</p>
<p>Local television footage showed supermarket aisles plucked bare, houses and shops with windows boarded over, and long lines snaking outside gas stations.&#160;</p>
<p>The National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned of the "complete destruction of mobile homes," of many buildings "washing away," and some areas being left "uninhabitable for weeks or months."</p>
<p>In 2005, Bush faced severe criticism after FEMA appeared unprepared for the devastating damage inflicted by Hurricane Katrina.</p>
<p>"Keep on top of hurricane&#160;Harvey&#160;don't make same mistake Pres Bush made w Katrina," Republican Senator Chuck Grassley urged the US leader in a tweet.</p>
<p>In a series of tweets throughout Friday, Trump said he was closely monitoring the storm's progress and said he was "here to assist as needed."&#160;</p>
<p>"Storm turned Hurricane is getting much bigger and more powerful than projected. Federal Government is on site and ready to respond. Be safe!" he said after arriving at Camp David.</p>
<p>"This storm will likely be very destructive for several days," the White House said.</p>
<p>In Corpus Christi, a children's hospital evacuated 10 newborn infants to a facility inland due to the prospect of extended power outages.</p>
<p>But many Corpus Christi residents appeared bent on sitting the storm out, packing sandbags to protect their homes —&#160;until the supply of sandbags ran out.</p>
<p>Already, nearly 50,000 people in the city had lost power.</p>
<p>Sheriff Frank Osborne of Matagorda County, where evacuations were mandatory, described the high stakes.</p>
<p>"I'm not going to put one of my deputies' life on the line to save somebody that didn't leave when they were asked to," he told local TV station KHOU.</p>
<p>People east of the mammoth, three-mile (five-kilometer) seawall in Galveston Island were urged to evacuate. Galveston was the scene of a devastating category 4 hurricane in 1900 that claimed an estimated 8,000 lives.</p>
<p>Officials in Houston, the biggest city in the storm's path, canceled school but did not anticipate mass evacuations.&#160;</p>
<p>Inland cities like San Antonio prepared to welcome evacuees, and some began arriving on Friday.&#160;</p>
<p>FEMA chief Brock Long said the most pressing danger was the storm surge, the high tides powered by powerful winds, but said many inland counties should prepare for "significant" flooding.&#160;</p>
<p>One-third of the US refining capacity is potentially under threat. Crude prices rose slightly Friday ahead of landfall.</p>
<p>US authorities said about 22 percent of crude production in the Gulf of Mexico was shut down as of Friday mid-day —&#160;or more than 375,000 barrels a day. But total daily US production stands at 9.5 million barrels a day, experts say.</p>
<p>In Louisiana, Governor John Bel Edwards issued an emergency declaration for his entire state, as authorities in New Orleans —&#160;where Katrina did the most damage —&#160;readied high-water rescue vehicles and boats.&#160;</p>
<p>Edwards described a "worse-case scenario" in which the storm leaves Texas, gains new strength over the heated waters of the Gulf, and then heads toward Louisiana.&#160;</p>
<p>Meteorologist Eric Holthaus told AFP the prospect of the storm stalling on the coast, lashing it with heavy rain for days, was "just terrifying."</p>
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Hurricane Harvey intensified to a monster Category 4 storm as it approaches Texas
| false |
https://pri.org/stories/2017-08-25/hurricane-harvey-approaches-texas-could-have-catastrophic-effects
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2017-08-25
| 3 |
<p />
<p>Image source: Micron Technology.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Oversupply in the memory chip market has plagued Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) in recent quarters. Revenue began to decline in the middle of 2015, and earnings turned negative earlier this year. Memory prices are now strengthening, leading Micron to return to both growth and profitability in its fiscal first quarter. The company beat analyst estimates across the board when it reported its results on Dec. 21, and its guidance predicts an even better second quarter.</p>
<p>Almost everything went right for Micron during the first quarter. Sales volume soared for both DRAM and NAND chips, up 18% and 26%, respectively, compared to the previous quarter. The average sales price for DRAM jumped 5%, while NAND prices were flat. During fiscal 2016, DRAM prices plunged 35% and NAND prices were down 20%, so even a small rise in prices represents a dramatic reversal compared to recent quarters.</p>
<p>As prices were rising, Micron managed to cut per-bit costs. DRAM costs dropped 5% and NAND costs dropped 8%, leading to a major improvement in gross margin compared to the fourth quarter. Gross margin was 25%, up 7 percentage points sequentially.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Strong pricing is expected to continue into the second quarter. Micron sees revenue between $4.35 billion and $4.7 billion, with a non-GAAP gross margin between 31% and 34%. Micron typically manages gross margins in the low 30s during the best of times, so Micron's guidance suggests a very quick recovery.</p>
<p>Non-GAAP operating income is expected to double compared to the first quarter, to a range of $800 million to $900 million. That implies a non-GAAP operating margin somewhere around 19%, a typical number in Micron's best years.</p>
<p>Both PCs and mobile devices drove growth for Micron during the first quarter. The compute and networking segment grew revenue by 18% sequentially, driven by strong demand for Micron's 20nm products. Graphics DRAM was an area of strength, with GPU launches and strong console sales driving sales higher. The segment produced a non-GAAP operating margin of 13.9%, up from just 0.8% during the fourth quarter.</p>
<p>The mobile segment wasn't as profitable, posting an 8.6% non-GAAP operating margin. But revenue soared 54% sequentially, driven primarily by customer qualifications. The segment posted a loss during the fourth quarter, and Micron pointed to the ramping of 20nm products and reduced high-cost early production inventory as the drivers behind the improved profitability.</p>
<p>Micron CEO Mark Durcan summed up the quarter in the company's conference call:</p>
<p>Fiscal 2017 should be a great year for Micron, based on the company's results and guidance so far. Supply is failing to keep up with demand, leading prices to rise and Micron's margins to fatten. But just like last time Micron was wildly profitable, during fiscal 2014 and 2015, this period of exceptional profitability won't last forever.</p>
<p>On the same day that Micron reported its results, fellow memory chip manufacturer SK Hynix announced that it planned to invest $2.7 billion to boost memory chip production, aiming to take advantage of surging demand and prices. Most of this investment will go toward building a new NAND chip plant, while the rest will go toward raising DRAM production at existing facilities.</p>
<p>It will take time for this additional capacity to come online, so Micron doesn't have anything to worry about in the near term. But the idea that these high levels of profitability are sustainable goes against history. If there's market share to be won by increasing capacity, then capacity will eventually be increased.</p>
<p>Micron had a great first quarter, and the next few quarters are shaping up to be even better. But investors should be careful not to get ahead of themselves.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Micron Technology When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=bc650b43-79be-4e58-b5d6-4fe53927dac0&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Micron Technology wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=bc650b43-79be-4e58-b5d6-4fe53927dac0&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of Nov. 7, 2016</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFBargainBin/info.aspx" type="external">Timothy Green Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/motley.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
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Rising Memory Prices a Boon for Micron Technology
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/12/24/rising-memory-prices-boon-for-micron-technology.html
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2016-12-24
| 0 |
<p>MEXICO CITY — Hurricane season roared on as Norma edged toward Mexico’s resort-studded Baja California Peninsula on Saturday, Jose threatened heavy surf along the U.S. East Coast and Tropical Storm Lee formed in the Atlantic far from land.</p>
<p>Meanwhile a tropical depression formed in the Atlantic that threatened to gain force and head in the direction of Caribbean islands already ravaged by Hurricane Irma.</p>
<p>A tropical storm warning was in effect for the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula due to Norma, which the U.S. National Hurricane Center reported had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph, just above the minimum threshold for a Category 1 hurricane.</p>
<p>The storm was 240 miles south of Cabo San Lucas and moving north at 2 mph, with forecasters saying it could approach waters southwest of the peninsula late Sunday or early Monday.</p>
<p>The peninsular region that’s home to the twin resort cities of Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo was hit about two weeks ago by Tropical Storm Lidia, which flooded streets and homes and killed at least four people.</p>
<p>The Baja California Sur government readied storm shelters and canceled classes for Monday as well as a planned military parade in the state capital, La Paz, amid Mexican Independence Day celebrations.</p>
<p>In the Atlantic, Hurricane Jose was far from land but generating powerful swells that the center said were affecting coastal areas in Bermuda, the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and the U.S. southeast.</p>
<p>The center added that tropical storm watches were possible for the U.S. East Coast later in the day and advised people from North Carolina to New England to monitor Jose’s progress.</p>
<p>The hurricane had maximum sustained winds of 80 mph. It was located about 480 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and was heading northwest at 9 mph.</p>
<p>Also Saturday, Tropical Storm Lee formed in the eastern Atlantic with sustained winds of 40 mph. The storm was about 655 miles west of the Cape Verde Islands and posed no immediate threat to land. Little change in strength was forecast over the next couple of days as it heads toward the west.</p>
<p>To the west, another system prompted tropical storm watches for a portion of the Lesser Antilles and was forecast to strengthen and brush by islands that were recently wrecked by Irma.</p>
<p>Tropical Depression Fifteen was about 695 miles&#160;east-southeast of the area, and a tropical storm watch was in effect for the islands of St. Lucia, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Barbados and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.</p>
<p>The hurricane center said the depression was expected to become a tropical storm later Saturday and could be near hurricane status when it approaches the Leeward Islands on Tuesday.</p>
<p>The death toll from Irma in the Caribbean was 38.</p>
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Tropical Storm Warning for Los Cabos Due to Hurricane Norma
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https://newsline.com/tropical-storm-warning-for-los-cabos-due-to-hurricane-norma/
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2017-09-16
| 1 |
<p>Vice President Joe Biden landed in Mexico City last night and he’s left little doubt about his mission—to lock in the regional drug war. His visit comes at a time&#160; <a href="" type="internal">of mounting calls</a>&#160;to end prohibitionist laws and the drug war model.</p>
<p>Biden will be in Mexico City all day Monday meeting with President Felipe Calderon and presidential candidates, then in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Tuesday, where he’ll meet with President Porfirio Lobo and have a “working lunch” with Central American presidents.</p>
<p>On a March 1 call with the press, a reporter asked whether the drug war would be on the agenda at the meeting with Central American presidents. Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Dan Restrepo, replied,</p>
<p>“The Obama administration has been quite clear in our opposition to decriminalization or legalization of illicit drugs. At the same time, we’ve also been very open–the President has said it on numerous occasions, in meetings with leaders and publicly–of our willingness, our interest, in engaging in a robust dialogue with our partners to determine how we can be most effective in confronting the transnational criminal organizations, and, in this case in Central America, the gangs that are adversely affecting people’s daily lives and daily routines.”</p>
<p>His message is that the administration that presides over the nation with the largest illegal drug market in the world and actively funds a global war to enforce ineffective prohibition policies will not consider any form of legalization. But it supports “dialogue.”</p>
<p>Can that position really qualify as dialogue? A dialogue on how to “be most effective in confronting transnational criminal organizations” must start from the recognition that the current U.S. strategy has increased violence, done nothing to reduce crime or illicit drug flows and had a devastating impact on “people’s daily lives and daily routines” in Mexico and Central America.</p>
<p>A real discussion on effective strategies has to include the option of legalization. The Obama administration seems determined to block that option, despite a growing number of calls for discussion on legalization that include former presidents of Brazil, Mexico and Colombia and current presidents Santos of Colombia and Perez Molina of Guatemala.</p>
<p>Biden is just the latest envoy in U.S. diplomatic offensive to bolster the drug war. On Feb. 27, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano was in Guatemala with&#160; <a href="" type="internal">the same message</a>. “The United States does not view decriminalization as a viable way to deal with the narcotics problem,” she told Perez Molina.</p>
<p>Pérez Molina recently&#160; <a href="" type="internal">called for decriminalization</a>&#160;in the region and he reiterated his position at the meeting with Napolitano. “We are calling for a discussion, a debate. And we continue to insist… We want to open a debate to find a more effective way to fight drug trafficking.” The Guatemalan government has begun to lobby other Central American countries on the issue in anticipation of the meeting this week. Biden appears to have been charged on this trip with deterring any move toward legalization in the region and aligning nations in the war on drugs.</p>
<p>He has a tough road ahead of him. Latin American citizens and government leaders are openly protesting a model where their nations pay in blood and lives to fill U.S. defense contractor’s pockets and spread the Pentagon’s global reach–with few, if any, positive results. In Mexico, thousands filled the Central Plaza to draw the outlines of 60,000 dead in the drug war on the large esplanade in front of the National Palace and the citizen Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity is planning a summer caravan through the United States to protest U.S. aid for the drug war through the Merida Initiative.</p>
<p>The Mexican daily La Jornada published an <a href="" type="internal">&#160;editorial Feb. 24</a>&#160;calling for debate on decriminalization and commenting on a statement by Sec. of Foreign Relations, Patricia Espinosa, that the Mexican government is against decriminalization but would consider debate. It concluded:</p>
<p>“Perhaps if the debate on the decriminalization of drugs had been begun before adopting the present course regarding public security, the country would have saved countless lives, widespread social suffering, grave processes of institutional breakdown and astronomical monetary resources. In whatever form, it is urgent and impossible to postpone the analysis of alternatives to the failure of a drug policy that is one only of the police, the military and the judiciary. In that sense anyone who takes this position–though it may be late and contradictory–is welcome.”</p>
<p>Despite the praise that has been and will be lavished on Calderon for his drug war, for other countries, Mexico has become the example of why NOT to pursue a drug war strategy. When I asked President Perez Molina and President Lobo how they felt about winding up like Mexico, both sought to distance themselves from the Mexican experience. I had the opportunity to ask as part of a fact-finding mission on violence against women led by the Nobel Women’s Initiative and JASS that showed a huge increase in violence against women as militarization under the drug war has escalated.</p>
<p>Perez Molina answered that his country was in a different position: “Drug trafficking in Guatemala is different than in Mexico. We don’t see a war situation. The cartels have to maintain control of territory in Mexico but here it’s traffic, there isn’t occupation or control of territory. Here I don’t see the army in a war against the narco…” In other interviews he has also been reticent about allowing the level of U.S. intervention that the Mexican government has permitted.</p>
<p>Lobo recognized the risks and failures of the model but dodged the question of alternatives. “I don’t have the answer, people are dying, [drug-trafficking] pollutes us, and there is violence. There’s an increase in drug trafficking. The problem is, what’s the solution? Colombia put up a major fight and drugs keep flowing out. They have arms from the US and the money keeps flowing. In this we have to find a solution so this won’t end up being a war without end.”</p>
<p>Instead of sitting down with its neighbors to find a peaceful solution and truly assess whether the current strategy is working for anybody, the White House is sending a strong message to hold the line on the drug war. And Biden brings much more than his personal power of persuasion to the mostly closed-door conversations</p>
<p>It’s disturbing to see that the Obama administration has taken such a hard line against opening up debate on alternatives to the drug war. From here in Mexico, we see the costs so painfully close that the expected endorsements from Biden and company, far from being support, are a stubborn denial of reality. We can’t know what will happen in the private meetings, but statements before Biden’s trip emphasize support for the Calderon drug war and the commitment to continue the present model of security cooperation until the last day of his administration.</p>
<p>One wonders what will be said at the separate meetings with the presidential candidates. If the stated purpose is to repeat the U.S. commitment to respecting the electoral process and results, why not simply announce that publicly to all? Will Biden pressure the candidates to do the U.S.’ bidding on security policy, bringing to bear U.S. political and economic clout to assure continuance of the drug war?</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Lopez Obrador announced</a>&#160;he will deliver a letter to Biden stating, “We do not want to continue to favor military cooperation in the relationship with the United States, but instead place cooperation for development at the center.”</p>
<p>The U.S. has tremendous influence over Mexico and Central America, historically through aid and military presence, and even more now that free trade agreements have created even higher levels of economic dependence.</p>
<p>To use that influence to suppress debate on innovative and very possibly effective alternatives to the bloody drug war is bad politics and the opposite of the kind of “equal partnership and mutual respect” the Obama administration promised at the&#160; <a href="http://www.cipamericas.org/archives/1696" type="external">Trinidad and Tobago Summit in 2009</a>. Part of the purpose of Biden’s trip is to prepare for the Summit of the Americas in Cartagena in April. At that summit, the hemisphere’s nations will be able to judge whether Obama’s presidency changed relations as promised three years ago.</p>
<p>If Biden’s trip focuses on locking in policies of drug war militarization and discouraging independent regional initiatives, the Obama administration will arrive in Cartagena having broken those promises and dashed hopes of a more just realignment of relations in the hemisphere.</p>
<p>Laura Carlsen&#160;is Director of the&#160; <a href="http://www.cipamericas.org/archives/www.cipamericas.org" type="external">Americas Program</a>&#160;of the Center for International Policy based in Mexico City. She is a contributor to&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Hopeless: Barack Obama and the Politics of Illusion</a>, forthcoming from AK Press.</p>
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Doing Biden’s Bidding
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https://counterpunch.org/2012/03/06/doing-bidens-bidding/
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2012-03-06
| 4 |
<p>“The Internet is watching us now. If they want to. They can see what sites you visit. In the future, television will be watching us, and customizing itself to what it knows about us. The thrilling thing is, that will make us feel we’re part of the medium.&#160; <a href="http://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/spielberg-and-cruise-and-the-movies" type="external">The scary thing is, we’ll lose our right to privacy.</a>&#160;An ad will appear in the air around us, talking directly to us.”</p>
<p>—Director Steven Spielberg,&#160;Minority Report</p>
<p>We have arrived, way ahead of schedule, into the dystopian future dreamed up by such science fiction writers as George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, Margaret Atwood and Philip K. Dick.</p>
<p>Much like Orwell’s Big Brother in&#160; <a href="" type="internal">1984</a>, the government and its corporate spies now watch our every move.</p>
<p>Much like Huxley’s&#160; <a href="" type="internal">A Brave New World</a>, we are churning out a society of watchers who “have their liberties taken away from them, but … rather enjoy it, because they [are] distracted from any desire to rebel by propaganda or brainwashing.”</p>
<p>Much like Atwood’s&#160; <a href="" type="internal">The Handmaid’s Tale</a>, the populace is now taught to “know their place and their duties, to understand that they have no real rights but will be protected up to a point if they conform, and to think so poorly of themselves that&#160; <a href="" type="internal">they will accept their assigned fate and not rebel or run away</a>.”</p>
<p>And in keeping with Philip K. Dick’s darkly prophetic vision of a dystopian police state—which became the basis for&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Steven Spielberg’s futuristic thriller&#160;Minority Report&#160;which was released 15 years ago</a>—we are now trapped into a world in which the government is all-seeing, all-knowing and all-powerful, and if you dare to step out of line, dark-clad police SWAT teams and pre-crime units will crack a few skulls to bring the populace under control.</p>
<p>Minority Report&#160;is set in the year 2054, but it could just as well have taken place in 2017.</p>
<p>Seemingly taking its cue from science fiction, technology has moved so fast in the short time since&#160;Minority Report&#160;premiered in 2002 that what once seemed futuristic no longer occupies the realm of science fiction.</p>
<p>Incredibly, as the various nascent technologies employed and shared by the government and corporations alike—facial recognition, iris scanners, massive databases, behavior prediction software, and so on—are incorporated into a complex, interwoven cyber network aimed at tracking our movements, predicting our thoughts and controlling our behavior, Spielberg’s unnerving vision of the future is fast becoming our reality.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Both worlds</a>—our present-day reality and Spielberg’s celluloid vision of the future—are characterized by widespread surveillance, behavior prediction technologies, data mining, fusion centers, driverless cars, voice-controlled homes, facial recognition systems, cybugs and drones, and predictive policing (pre-crime) aimed at capturing would-be criminals before they can do any damage.</p>
<p>Surveillance cameras are everywhere. Government agents listen in on our telephone calls and read our emails. Political correctness—a philosophy that discourages diversity—has become a guiding principle of modern society.</p>
<p>The courts have shredded the Fourth Amendment’s protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. In fact, SWAT teams battering down doors without search warrants and FBI agents acting as a secret police that investigate dissenting citizens are common occurrences in contemporary America.</p>
<p>We are increasingly ruled by multi-corporations wedded to the police state. Much of the population is either hooked on illegal drugs or ones prescribed by doctors. And bodily privacy and integrity has been utterly eviscerated by a prevailing view that Americans have no rights over what happens to their bodies during an encounter with government officials, who are allowed to search, seize, strip, scan, spy on, probe, pat down, taser, and arrest any individual at any time and for the slightest provocation.</p>
<p>All of this has come about with little more than a whimper from a clueless American populace largely comprised of nonreaders and television and internet zombies. But we have been warned about such an ominous future in novels and movies for years.</p>
<p>The following 15 films may be the best representation of what we now face as a society.</p>
<p>Fahrenheit 451&#160;(1966). Adapted from Ray Bradbury’s novel and directed by Francois Truffaut, this film depicts a futuristic society in which books are banned, and firemen ironically are called on to burn contraband books—451 Fahrenheit being the temperature at which books burn. Montag is a fireman who develops a conscience and begins to question his book burning. This film is an adept metaphor for our obsessively politically correct society where virtually everyone now pre-censors speech. Here, a brainwashed people addicted to television and drugs do little to resist governmental oppressors.</p>
<p>2001: A Space Odyssey&#160;(1968). The plot of Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece, as based on an Arthur C. Clarke short story, revolves around a space voyage to Jupiter. The astronauts soon learn, however, that the fully automated ship is orchestrated by a computer system—known as HAL 9000—which has become an autonomous thinking being that will even murder to retain control. The idea is that at some point in human evolution, technology in the form of artificial intelligence will become autonomous and that human beings will become mere appendages of technology. In fact, at present, we are seeing this development with massive databases generated and controlled by the government that are administered by such secretive agencies as the National Security Agency and sweep all websites and other information devices collecting information on average citizens. We are being watched from cradle to grave.</p>
<p>Planet of the Apes&#160;(1968). Based on Pierre Boulle’s novel, astronauts crash on a planet where apes are the masters and humans are treated as brutes and slaves. While fleeing from gorillas on horseback, astronaut Taylor is shot in the throat, captured and housed in a cage. From there, Taylor begins a journey wherein the truth revealed is that the planet was once controlled by technologically advanced humans who destroyed civilization. Taylor’s trek to the ominous Forbidden Zone reveals the startling fact that he was on planet earth all along. Descending into a fit of rage at what he sees in the final scene, Taylor screams: “We finally really did it. You maniacs! You blew it up! Damn you.” The lesson is obvious here, but will we listen? The script, although rewritten, was initially drafted by Rod Serling and retains Serling’s&#160;Twilight Zone-ish ending.</p>
<p>THX 1138&#160;(1970). George Lucas’ directorial debut, this is a somber view of a dehumanized society totally controlled by a police state. The people are force-fed drugs to keep them passive, and they no longer have names but only letter/number combinations such as THX 1138. Any citizen who steps out of line is quickly brought into compliance by robotic police equipped with “pain prods”—electro-shock batons. Sound like tasers?</p>
<p>A Clockwork Orange&#160;(1971). Director Stanley Kubrick presents a future ruled by sadistic punk gangs and a chaotic government that cracks down on its citizens sporadically. Alex is a violent punk who finds himself in the grinding, crushing wheels of injustice. This film may accurately portray the future of western society that grinds to a halt as oil supplies diminish, environmental crises increase, chaos rules, and the only thing left is brute force.</p>
<p>Soylent Green&#160;(1973). Set in a futuristic overpopulated New York City, the people depend on synthetic foods manufactured by the Soylent Corporation. A policeman investigating a murder discovers the grisly truth about what soylent green is really made of. The theme is chaos where the world is ruled by ruthless corporations whose only goal is greed and profit. Sound familiar?</p>
<p>Blade Runner&#160;(1982). In a 21st century Los Angeles, a world-weary cop tracks down a handful of renegade “replicants” (synthetically produced human slaves). Life is now dominated by mega-corporations, and people sleepwalk along rain-drenched streets. This is a world where human life is cheap, and where anyone can be exterminated at will by the police (or blade runners). Based upon a Philip K. Dick novel, this exquisite Ridley Scott film questions what it means to be human in an inhuman world.</p>
<p>Nineteen Eighty-Four&#160;(1984). The best adaptation of Orwell’s dark tale, this film visualizes the total loss of freedom in a world dominated by technology and its misuse, and the crushing inhumanity of an omniscient state. The government controls the masses by controlling their thoughts, altering history and changing the meaning of words. Winston Smith is a doubter who turns to self-expression through his diary and then begins questioning the ways and methods of Big Brother before being re-educated in a most brutal fashion.</p>
<p>Brazil&#160;(1985). Sharing a similar vision of the near future as&#160;1984&#160;and Franz Kafka’s novel&#160;The Trial, this is arguably director Terry Gilliam’s best work, one replete with a merging of the fantastic and stark reality. Here, a mother-dominated, hapless clerk takes refuge in flights of fantasy to escape the ordinary drabness of life. Caught within the chaotic tentacles of a police state, the longing for more innocent, free times lies behind the vicious surface of this film.</p>
<p>They Live&#160;(1988). John Carpenter’s bizarre sci-fi social satire action film assumes the future has already arrived. John Nada is a homeless person who stumbles across a resistance movement and finds a pair of sunglasses that enables him to see the real world around him. What he discovers is a world controlled by ominous beings who bombard the citizens with subliminal messages such as “obey” and “conform.” Carpenter manages to make an effective political point about the underclass—that is, everyone except those in power. The point: we, the prisoners of our devices, are too busy sucking up the entertainment trivia beamed into our brains and attacking each other up to start an effective resistance movement.</p>
<p>The Matrix&#160;(1999). The story centers on a computer programmer Thomas A. Anderson, secretly a hacker known by the alias “Neo,” who begins a relentless quest to learn the meaning of “The Matrix”—cryptic references that appear on his computer. Neo’s search leads him to Morpheus who reveals the truth that the present reality is not what it seems and that Anderson is actually living in the future—2199. Humanity is at war against technology which has taken the form of intelligent beings, and Neo is actually living in The Matrix, an illusionary world that appears to be set in the present in order to keep the humans docile and under control. Neo soon joins Morpheus and his cohorts in a rebellion against the machines that use SWAT team tactics to keep things under control.</p>
<p>Minority Report&#160;(2002). Based on a short story by Philip K. Dick and directed by Steven Spielberg, the setting is 2054 where PreCrime, a specialized police unit, apprehends criminals before they can commit the crime. Captain Anderton is the chief of the Washington, DC, PreCrime force which uses future visions generated by “pre-cogs” (mutated humans with precognitive abilities) to stop murders. Soon Anderton becomes the focus of an investigation when the precogs predict he will commit a murder. But the system can be manipulated. This film raises the issue of the danger of technology operating autonomously—which will happen eventually if it has not already occurred. To a hammer, all the world looks like a nail. In the same way, to a police state computer, we all look like suspects. In fact, before long, we all may be mere extensions or appendages of the police state—all suspects in a world commandeered by machines.</p>
<p>V for Vendetta&#160;(2006). This film depicts a society ruled by a corrupt and totalitarian government where everything is run by an abusive secret police. A vigilante named V dons a mask and leads a rebellion against the state. The subtext here is that authoritarian regimes through repression create their own enemies—that is, terrorists—forcing government agents and terrorists into a recurring cycle of violence. And who is caught in the middle? The citizens, of course. This film has a cult following among various underground political groups such as Anonymous, whose members wear the same Guy Fawkes mask as that worn by V.</p>
<p>Children of Men&#160;(2006). This film portrays a futuristic world without hope since humankind has lost its ability to procreate. Civilization has descended into chaos and is held together by a military state and a government that attempts to keep its totalitarian stronghold on the population. Most governments have collapsed, leaving Great Britain as one of the few remaining intact societies. As a result, millions of refugees seek asylum only to be rounded up and detained by the police. Suicide is a viable option as a suicide kit called Quietus is promoted on billboards and on television and newspapers. But hope for a new day comes when a woman becomes inexplicably pregnant.</p>
<p>Land of the Blind&#160;(2006). This dark political satire is based on several historical incidents in which tyrannical rulers were overthrown by new leaders who proved just as evil as their predecessors. Maximilian II is a demented fascist ruler of a troubled land named Everycountry who has two main interests: tormenting his underlings and running his country’s movie industry. Citizens who are perceived as questioning the state are sent to “re-education camps” where the state’s concept of reality is drummed into their heads. Joe, a prison guard, is emotionally moved by the prisoner and renowned author Thorne and eventually joins a coup to remove the sadistic Maximilian, replacing him with Thorne. But soon Joe finds himself the target of the new government.</p>
<p>All of these films—and the writers who inspired them—understood what many Americans, caught up in their partisan, flag-waving, zombified states, are still struggling to come to terms with: that there is no such thing as a government organized for the good of the people. Even the best intentions among those in government inevitably give way to the desire to maintain power and control at all costs.</p>
<p>Eventually, as I point out in my book&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Battlefield America: The War on the American People</a>, even the sleepwalking masses (who remain convinced that all of the bad things happening in the police state—the police shootings, the police beatings, the raids, the roadside strip searches—are happening to other people) will have to wake up.</p>
<p>Sooner or later, the things happening to other people will start happening to us and our loved ones.</p>
<p>When that painful reality sinks in, it will hit with the force of a SWAT team crashing through your door, a taser being aimed at your stomach, and a gun pointed at your head. And there will be no channel to change, no reality to alter, and no manufactured farce to hide behind.</p>
<p>As George Orwell warned, “If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face forever.”</p>
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You Want a Picture of the Future? Imagine a Boot Stamping on Your Face
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https://counterpunch.org/2017/07/05/you-want-a-picture-of-the-future-imagine-a-boot-stamping-on-your-face/
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2017-07-05
| 4 |
<p>Yahoo Inc again reported a steep decline in display advertising revenue, disappointing Wall Street investors who had hoped for signs that CEO Marissa Mayer is reviving the company's main business.</p>
<p>And Intel Corp forecast revenue in line with expectations after a first-quarter walloped by what sector analysts say was a record decline in personal computer sales.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Commentary:</p>
<p>Yahoo:</p>
<p>SAMEET SINHA, ANALYST, B. RILEY CARIS</p>
<p>"The display side continues to be a big disappointment while the search business was slightly better than our expectations.</p>
<p>"People were disappointed by the display advertising because that's Yahoo's key business. We were looking for display to be down about 9 percent, and they came in at negative 11.</p>
<p>"When you compare this to what it was down last quarter -- it was 4.5 percent -- you can see acceleration in the decline. We'll be looking for reasons behind that."</p>
<p>Intel:</p>
<p>DOUG FREEDMAN, ANALYST, RBC CAPITAL</p>
<p>"These numbers are not very solid, but the second quarter guidance is better than feared. Conditions are probably not as bad as industry reports have suggested recently.</p>
<p>"Single biggest delta in the numbers was that first-quarter tax rate, which was 8 percentage points lower than I was modeling. That preserved some margin in the first quarter. First quarter gross margins came in at the low end of expectations, but they are guiding up on gross margins going forward.</p>
<p>"People may be surprised by the fact that datacenter was down quarter on quarter more than the PC client group. The market really wants to see how they can help customers win in the marketplace. The thinking is that it has to be price, but I don't think that is driving the market.</p>
<p>"They have to help customers build better products and win in the consumer electronics marketplace."</p>
<p>(Reporting By Malathi Nayak and Alistair Barr)</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
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Instant View 2: Yahoo's main ad business shrinks again, Intel in line
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http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/04/16/instant-view-2-yahoo-main-ad-business-shrinks-again-intel-in-line.html
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2016-01-29
| 0 |
<p>John Murray/johnmurrayphotography.com</p>
<p />
<p>The deed is as good as done.</p>
<p>On Thursday evening, the Wisconsin Assembly, the state’s lower legislative chamber, <a href="" type="internal">passed a rewritten version of the controversial “budget repair bill”</a> that <a href="" type="internal">would strip most public-sector unions</a> of their collective bargaining rights, in effect gutting organized labor in the state. The bill now awaits the signature of Republican Governor Scott Walker, whose original bill <a href="" type="internal">sparked weeks of protests in the streets of Madison and the halls of the state capitol building</a>.</p>
<p>So where do labor unions, Democrats, and anti-Walker protesters go from here?</p>
<p>Democrats are already challenging the legality of the bill’s passage in the Assembly and Senate. Democrats have asked ( <a href="http://www.thewheelerreport.com/releases/March11/0310/0310barcadaletter.pdf" type="external">PDF</a>) the Dane County district attorney to investigate whether Wednesday night’s vote in the state Senate violated the state’s Open Meetings Law; that law requires 24-hours’ notice of “every meeting of a governmental body,” and in the case of rushed meetings, two hours’ notice at the very least. The state Senate’s chief clerk, however, said ( <a href="http://www.thewheelerreport.com/releases/March11/0310/0310marchant.pdf" type="external">PDF</a>) proper notice was given for the vote, in which 18 Senate Republicans voted in favor and one GOPer, Dale Schultz, voted against the bill.</p>
<p>That vote, of course, took place without the 14 Senate Democrats who fled the state on February 18 to block such a vote. They did so because the constitutionally mandated quorum for all bills relating to state finances requires at least one member of the minority—in this case, 20 votes. However, acting on legal advice, state Republicans on Wednesday rejiggered Governor Walker’s “repair” bill so that it was, in their eyes, not a financial bill and thus didn’t require the 20-vote quorum after all. Assembly Democrat Jon Richards, among others, is arguing that the bill was indeed a financial one, and wants a review of whether the Assembly’s vote on the bill was legal if the Senate passed it without the necessary quorum.</p>
<p>If those legal challenges are shot down, we’ll likely see the return of the 14 Senate Democrats who <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41644074/ns/us_news-life/" type="external">fled the state</a> on February 18 to block a vote on what they believe is a financial bill. One of those senators, Chris Larson, said on Thursday he’d be back in Wisconsin “soon.” The Democrats’ return would mark a pretty significant defeat for pro-labor groups, who pinned their hopes of beating back Walker and his GOP allies on keeping the “Wisconsin 14” out of the state.</p>
<p>There could also be walk-outs, and possibly even a general strike, after Walker signs the “repair” bill. The president of Madison’s firefighters union said on Wednesday he supported a general strike, and a labor umbrella group in Madison, the South Central Federation of Labor, endorsed the idea of a strike as early as Feb. 21. Striking or walking out, however, comes with a big risk: Buried in Walker’s retooled bill, <a href="" type="internal">as I first reported</a>, is a provision giving state officials the power to fire employees who strike or walkout, so long as the governor has declared a state of emergency.&#160;</p>
<p>Then there’s the April 5 election for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, the first election in the aftermath of the Madison protests. Organizers and politicos tell me they see the Supreme Court race, pitting <a href="http://www.kloppenburgforjustice.com/" type="external">Democrat JoAnne Kloppenberg</a> against&#160; <a href="http://www.justiceprosser.com/" type="external">Republican David Prosser</a>, as a test of whether the energy of the past few weeks can translate into support at the ballot box. A veteran assistant attorney general, Kloppenberg is the underdog in the race, squaring off against the conservative Prosser, a current Supreme Court justice who handily <a href="http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/elections/article_bf2162be-397e-11e0-9a1e-001cc4c03286.html" type="external">won a four-way primary</a> in February to decide the final two candidates. In that February primary, Prosser claimed 51 percent of the vote, with Kloppenberg at 28 percent. Of course, since that vote, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/22/wiscon-polls-oppose-walker_n_826359.html" type="external">public</a> opinion has shifted significantly away from Walker, so if Democrats can connect Prosser to the governor and his unpopular “repair” bill, they might unseat the conservative front-runner.</p>
<p>And gathering momentum by the day are campaigns to recall Wisconsin lawmakers, in particular Republicans in swing districts. The Progressive Change Campaign Coalition and Democracy for America <a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0311/Liberal_groups_raise_200000_overnight.html?showall" type="external">have raised upwards of $750,000</a>—they drummed up $200,000 on Wednesday night alone—for TV ads in support of a recall campaign targeting three GOPers:&#160;Sens. Randy Hopper, Alberta Darling, and Dan Kapanke. MoveOn.org says it has also raised $825,000 for its recall efforts in Wisconsin.</p>
<p>But even with fundraising hauls like those, progressive groups are fighting an uphill battle, as history is very much against them. In the Badger State’s 162-year history, <a href="http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/117501513.html" type="external">only two lawmakers</a> have ever been successfully recalled.</p>
<p />
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What’s Next for Wisconsin’s Unions, Democrats, and Protesters?
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https://motherjones.com/politics/2011/03/whats-next-wisconsins-unions-democrats-and-protesters/
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2011-03-11
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<p><a href="" type="internal" />A poll released by the Pew Research Center indicates that Romney’s favorability continues to fall. <a href="http://www.people-press.org/2012/08/02/romneys-personal-image-remains-negative/" type="external">The survey</a>&#160;indicated that only 37% of Americans hold the Republican presidential nominee in a favorable light, as opposed to 41% as of last June.</p>
<p>The survey conducted by Pew also indicates some not-so-surprising numbers about voting demographics, as well:</p>
<p>The relative stability of this race can be seen within most voting blocs as well. Whites have consistently favored Romney over Obama, while minority support for Obama has held relatively steady. As has been the case all year, women favor Obama by a wide margin; currently 56% of women support Obama, while 37% back Romney. Men are more evenly divided (46% Obama, 47% Romney). Obama’s support among voters under 30 remains strong (58% vs. 34% for Romney in the&#160;current survey), while voters 65 and older are divided (49% Romney vs. 45% Obama).</p>
<p><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/polling/overall-barack-obama-unfavorable/2012/08/08/181a182e-e10e-11e1-8d48-2b1243f34c85_page.html#" type="external">Another survey</a>, released Wednesday, this by The Washington Post in conjunction with ABC News, revealed slightly more positive news for Mitt Romney, giving him a 40% approval rating and a 49% disapproval rating. Either statistic is good for President Obama’s campaign, which was given a 53% approval and 43% disapproval rating. When filtered only for registered voters, though, that rating drops to 49% approval for Obama, and rises to 42% approval for Romney. Obama holds an advantage in independent-registered voter, as well, with a 46% approval rating versus a measly 38% for Mitt Romney.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/08/poll-romneys-unfavorability-rating-on-the-rise/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_politicalticker+%28Blog%3A+Political+Ticker%29" type="external">CNN reported</a> the following, with a Romney spokesperson talking about the Wednesday results:</p>
<p>Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul downplayed the new results Wednesday morning, predicting the former Massachusetts’ governor’s ratings will go up as more voters get to know him.</p>
<p>She also pointed to recent polls that give Romney an advantage over the president when voters are asked which candidate would best handle the economy.</p>
<p>In fact, a new <a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/08/new-state-polls-voters-divided-in-race-for-white-house/" type="external">Quinnipiac University/CBS News/New York Times poll</a>&#160;released Wednesday indicates Romney has a ten point advantage over Obama in the crucial swing state of Colorado on questions about the economy, with voters split in two other battleground states: Virginia and Wisconsin.</p>
<p>“The more people learn about Mitt Romney, the more they are going to like him,” Saul said on CNN’s “Starting Point.” “President Obama has not been able to get the job done, and that’s why middle class Americans are suffering so much.”</p>
<p>That is an odd claim to make, as <a href="" type="internal">Romney’s tax plan</a> was found to be mathematically impossible: as well as favoring the rich at the expense of the middle class. Mitt Romney, it seems, is disliked more by the U.S. with every month that passes, as we grow close to election day.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
<p>&#160;</p>
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Romney Is Polling Worse Every Day
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http://addictinginfo.org/2012/08/08/romney-is-polling-worse-every-day/
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2012-08-08
| 4 |
<p />
<p>Welcome to Recruiter QA, where we pose employment-related questions to the experts and share their answers! Have a question you'd like to ask? Leave it in the comments, and you might just see it in the next installment of Recruiter QA!</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Today's Question: What <a href="https://www.recruiter.com/recruitment-software.html" type="external">software Opens a New Window.</a> do you use for your hiring and why?</p>
<p>The answers below are provided by members of <a href="http://foundersociety.co/" type="external">FounderSociety Opens a New Window.</a>, an invitation-only organization comprised of ambitious startup founders and business owners.</p>
<p>1. ZipRecruiter</p>
<p>We've found <a href="https://www.ziprecruiter.com/" type="external">ZipRecruiter Opens a New Window.</a> to be very helpful in both sourcing and managing applicant materials. It posts to numerous job boards with one click. The platform helps streamline the interview and hiring process itself and has an online feature to screen applicants. Everything is stored in one place, and we can manage multiple job postings and resumes. It's an easy platform to use.</p>
<p>— Angela Delmedico, <a href="http://www.elev8cg.com" type="external">Elev8 Consulting Group Opens a New Window.</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/user?screen_name=@elev8cg" type="external">Twitter Social Network Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>2. Indeed</p>
<p>Our agency frequently utilizes <a href="http://www.indeed.com/" type="external">Indeed Opens a New Window.</a> for our hiring needs. We found that Indeed's organic listings were often at the top of the search when we searched for marketing jobs as candidates ourselves. As a marketing agency, we could expect those listings to get the most visibility with savvy web users.</p>
<p>— Justin Moodley, <a href="http://www.lasanan.com/" type="external">LASANAN Opens a New Window.</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/user?screen_name=justinmoodley" type="external">Twitter Social Network Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>3. Craigslist</p>
<p>I use <a href="https://craigslist.org/" type="external">Craigslist Opens a New Window.</a> – it's free to list in the gigs section. I found my first hire there as well as some bloggers, and I've been satisfied. <a href="https://angel.co/" type="external">AngelList Opens a New Window.</a> also seems great. I haven't hired anyone there, but there seem to be a lot of candidates with a startup mindset. I also use <a href="https://www.streak.com/" type="external">Streak Opens a New Window.</a> to track my applicants: It's a CRM built within Gmail and free for up to 200 emails/applicants. Finally, <a href="https://gusto.com/" type="external">Gusto Opens a New Window.</a> is great for signing W-9s, payroll, and reporting.</p>
<p>— James Hu, <a href="https://www.jobscan.co/" type="external">Jobscan Opens a New Window.</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/user?screen_name=huisjames" type="external">Twitter Social Network Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>4. Micron Systems</p>
<p>I've always sworn by <a href="http://www.micronsystems.com/" type="external">Micron Systems Opens a New Window.</a>. It's one of the most powerful pieces of talent management software on the market and offers a number of compliance, tracking, and performance management features specialized for the legal services industry.</p>
<p>— Steven Buchwald, <a href="http://thee2visalawyer.com/" type="external">The E2 Visa Lawyer Opens a New Window.</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/user?screen_name=steven_buchwald" type="external">Twitter Social Network Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>5. Typeform and Salesforce</p>
<p><a href="https://www.typeform.com/" type="external">Typeform Opens a New Window.</a> and <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/" type="external">Salesforce Opens a New Window.</a> are my go-to strategies for hiring employees. Typeform has a modern form that accurately receives information from all potential employees, and Salesforce keeps track of all my contact with employees.</p>
<p>— Ajmal Saleem, <a href="https://www.suprexlearning.com/" type="external">Suprex Learning Opens a New Window.</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/user?screen_name=@SuprexLearning" type="external">Twitter Social Network</a></p>
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5+ Resources to Help You Find the Best Candidates – Fast
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/features/2016/11/17/5-resources-to-help-find-best-candidates-fast.html
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2016-11-21
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<p>“It’s been 12 years. Why hasn’t Saddam Hussein complied?” So many ask.</p>
<p>“Follow the money” it’s been said is the way to get at the truth. It’s a good adage, but in this case: Follow the policy.</p>
<p>In his report Friday, UNMOVIC head Hans Blix claimed that “If Iraq had provided the necessary cooperation in 1991, the phase of disarmament — under resolution 687 — could have been short and a decade of sanctions could have been avoided.”</p>
<p>Blix also indicated that Iraq only complies because of the threat of use of force. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw went to town with this particular notion to the applause of some in the Security Council chamber.</p>
<p>One problem with such thinking is that it violates the U.N. Charter, which prohibits “ <a href="http://www.un.org/aboutun/charter/chapter6.htm" type="external">the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.</a>”</p>
<p>Another problem is that it ignores U.S. policy over the last dozen years, which has discouraged compliance with the arms inspectors. Ignoring the realities of U.S. policy is something the head of UNMOVIC should not do. Consider:</p>
<p>The original post-Gulf War U.N. Security Council resolution 687, passed in April of 1991, made lots of demands on Iraq — but, as Blix indicated, specified that once Iraq complies with the weapons inspection regime, the economic sanctions “ <a href="" type="internal">shall have no further force or effect.</a>”</p>
<p>The problem, and it’s a big problem, is that this declaration was rendered ineffective. President George Bush in May of 1991 stated: “At this juncture, my view is we don’t want to lift these sanctions as long as Saddam Hussein is in power.” This was no slip of the tongue. The same day, then-Secretary of State James Baker sent the same message: “We are not interested in seeing a relaxation of sanctions as long as Saddam Hussein is in power.” So regardless of what Hussein did, comply or not, the sanctions would stay in place. He played games with the inspectors as it suited him. [ <a href="http://www.accuracy.org/iraq" type="external">See a timeline.</a>]</p>
<p>And what would Clinton’s policy be? Just before getting into office, in an interview with Thomas Friedman of the New York Times, Clinton said: “I am a Baptist. I believe in death-bed conversions. If he [Hussein] wants a different relationship with the United States and the United Nations, all he has to do is change his behavior.” The following day, faced with attacks for articulating such politically incorrect notions, Clinton backtracked: “There is no difference between my policy and the policy of the present administration.” This meant that the crushing economic sanctions would stay in place on Iraq for eight more years, dooming hundreds of thousands of Iraqi people to premature deaths.</p>
<p>It’s notable that Friedman has falsified this subject, <a href="http://www.scn.org/ccpi/nytimes-op-ed.html" type="external">writing from Qatar in February of 2001</a>: “Saddam totally outfoxed Washington in the propaganda war. All you hear and read in the media here is that the sanctions are starving the Iraqi people — which is true. But the U.S. counter-arguments that by complying with U.N. resolutions Saddam could get those sanctions lifted at any time are never heard. Preoccupied with the peace process, no senior U.S. officials have made their case in any sustained way here, and it shows.”</p>
<p>So Friedman, from his media perch, actually helped ensure that Clinton would continue the policy of keeping the sanctions in place no matter what Hussein did; resulting, by Friedman’s own admission, in “starving the Iraqi people.” And then he pretends that the policy does not exist, mocking Arabs for believing such a thing.</p>
<p>Just to be clear about it, in March of 1997 Madeleine Albright, in her first major foreign policy address as Secretary of State, proclaimed: “We do not agree with the nations who argue that if Iraq complies with its obligations concerning weapons of mass destruction, sanctions should be lifted.” I was there, at Georgetown University when she said that. This was on par with Albright’s infamous remark on CBS’s “60 Minutes” the previous year that the sanctions, after already killing half a million children, were “worth it.”</p>
<p>Through out the late 1990s, there were a series of standoffs between the Iraqi and the U.S. governments around weapons inspectors. In December of 1998, UNSCOM head Richard Butler issued a report (which the Washington Post would later reveal was shaped by the U.S. government) claiming Iraq wasn’t cooperating with the inspectors and withdrew them just before the U.S. launched the Desert Fox bombing campaign. <a href="http://www.fair.org/activism/post-expulsions.html" type="external">Some might remember this was on the eve of Clinton’s scheduled impeachment vote</a>.</p>
<p>In January of 1999 — after UNSCOM was destroyed by its own hand — the U.S. media reported that, contrary to U.S. denials, <a href="" type="internal">UNSCOM was in fact used for espionage</a> as the Iraqis had been alleging, <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2161552.stm" type="external">in part to track Hussein</a>. (We’d do well to keep this in mind as those U2 flights go over Iraq.)</p>
<p>So Iraq kept the weapons inspectors out for four years. Why did the U.S. use the inspectors as spies? Why did it say that the sanctions would stay put regardless of what Iraq did? These would hardly seem to be the policies anyone would adopt if they really wanted disarmament.</p>
<p>There are other recent examples of the U.S. government adopting policies that betray an actual desire for Iraqi non-compliance. On October 1, 2002, just as Iraq was deciding whether or not to let inspectors have total access to presidential palaces, Ari Fleischer talked of “the cost of one bullet” being less than the cost of invasion. Was that supposed to help convince Saddam to say yes to letting inspectors into his palaces?</p>
<p>And now, just as Iraq begun destroying Al-Samoud missiles, the U.S. government is escalating its bombing of the “no-fly” zones — an ongoing, increasing years-long attack without legal justification.</p>
<p>So the U.S. policy of maintaining the sanctions in place no matter what Hussein did gave him incentive for non-compliance with the inspectors. Now, the U.S. policy seems to be invasion no matter what Hussein does. It’s hard to believe that this will ensure anything other than more massive violence from many quarters.</p>
<p>Or we could choose a different path. If the Bush administration were to state that it would respect resolution 687 and ensure the lifting of the economic sanctions on Iraq when it is verifiably disarmed, then that ostensible goal could well be reached without invasion, killing and slaughter. But that would mean that the stated goals have some relation to actual goals. The way to cut through illusions and rhetoric is to follow the policy.</p>
<p>SAM HUSSEINI is communications director for the <a href="http://www.accuracy.org/" type="external">Institute for Public Accuracy</a>. He also recently launched the web page <a href="http://www.compassroses.com/" type="external">Compass Roses</a>. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
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Follow the Policy
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https://counterpunch.org/2003/03/08/follow-the-policy/
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2003-03-08
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<p />
<p>China's economy grew 6.7 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, steady from the previous quarter and in line with market expectations, as increased government spending and a property boom offset stubbornly weak exports.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted gross domestic product (GDP) would grow 6.7 percent in the July-September period, unchanged from the second quarter and the first quarter.</p>
<p>While fears of a hard landing have eased this year, recent data also have highlighted growing imbalances in the world's second-largest economy, with growth increasingly dependent on government spending and ballooning debt as private investment tumbles to record lows.</p>
<p>The high-flying property market is also beginning to show signs of overheating.</p>
<p>Gross domestic product (GDP) rose 1.8 percent quarter-on-quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday, in line with market forecasts and compared with revised 1.9 percent quarterly growth in the second quarter.</p>
<p>The government has set a growth target of 6.5-7 percent for the full year. The economy expanded 6.9 percent in 2015, the slowest pace in a quarter of a century.</p>
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<p>The statistics bureau said in a statement that many uncertain factors in the economy remain and that the foundation for sustained growth is not solid.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Kevin Yao; Editing by Kim Coghill)</p>
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China third quarter GDP grows 6.7 percent, in line with expectations
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http://foxbusiness.com/politics/2016/10/18/china-third-quarter-gdp-grows-67-percent-in-line-with-expectations.html
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2016-10-19
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<p>Although Timothy Geithner is under fire from several directions, especially because he failed to stop the AIG executive bonus train from arriving at its destination, President Obama continues to actively support him. In fact, Obama says he wouldn’t let Geithner <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7957355.stm" type="external">quit</a> even if the treasury secretary tried to do so at this point.</p>
<p>BBC:</p>
<p>US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will not be allowed to resign amid criticism of his short term in office, President Barack Obama has said.</p>
<p>Mr Obama told CBS News he would turn down any offer by Mr Geithner to quit, and would tell him: “Sorry, buddy, you’ve still got the job.”</p>
<p />
<p>But Mr Obama stressed that the pair had not spoken about the possibility.</p>
<p><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7957355.stm" type="external">Read more</a></p>
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Wouldn't Let Geithner Quit Even if He Tried, Obama Says
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https://truthdig.com/articles/wouldnt-let-geithner-quit-even-if-he-tried-obama-says/
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2009-03-22
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<p>Albuquerque native and mixed martial arts legend Diego Sanchez and his friend and protégé, Isaac “The Shermanator” Marquez, made an appearance Monday on mmafighting.com’s The MMA Hour.</p>
<p>In a 16-minute interview via Skype with host Ariel Helwani, Marquez made it clear he wants Dodson as his next opponent.</p>
<p>Marquez, who has Down’s syndrome, defeated Sanchez by submission (arm bar) in a display bout during a Dec. 1 MMA card at Isleta Resort &amp; Casino. One suspects Sanchez was a bit off his game that night. Regardless, since then, video of the fight has gone viral on YouTube.</p>
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<p>“We were happy about that, but we never planned any of that,” Sanchez said. “It was all just about Isaac fighting for his mom.” Marquez’s mother died from complications of dementia.</p>
<p>“His specialty is the arm bar,” Sanchez said, “but right now he has America’s heart in a choke hold.”</p>
<p>Sanchez, whose fighting nicknames include “Nightmare,” “Dream” and “Lionheart,” might consider calling himself “The Phrasemaker.”</p>
<p>At the start of the interview, Helwani called the Sanchez-Marquez fight “One of the great battles of the year, and in my opinion it’s gonna be in the running for fight of the year in 2017.”</p>
<p>But when Helwani asked Marquez about his fight with Sanchez, Marquez instead held up a photo of Dodson, Sanchez’s teammate at Jackson-Wink MMA.</p>
<p>“It looks like (Marquez) is ready for the next level,” Sanchez said. “He’s found someone who’s more his size, and he got excited.</p>
<p>“… Hopefully, little John answers and replies . … He’s a little scared, I think.”</p>
<p>Throughout the interview, the affection between Sanchez and Marquez was obvious. “He loves me, and I love him more,” Sanchez said.</p>
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<p>Working with Marquez at Jackson-Wink, Sanchez said, has always been about improving Marquez’s health for the long term.</p>
<p>“No cheese, no bread,” Marquez said of his training regimen. “No hot dogs, no chips, no Coke.”</p>
<p>Sanchez and the other fighters at Jackson-Wink, Sanchez said, are careful not to injure their new star student. But, he said, “He does have talent, and he’s a motivation for the Down’s syndrome community, that even though you’re Down’s syndrome you can still have a dream, still believe in your dream and your dream is possible.</p>
<p>“That’s why he’s coming after John Dodson.”</p>
<p>SHE’S THE CHAMP: Albuquerque’s Nicco Montaño, the newly minted and first-ever UFC women’s flyweight champion, told Helwani she’s a bit annoyed by the eagerness of some of the top UFC fighters to challenge her for the title.</p>
<p>Valentina Shevchenko, who has fought for the UFC title at 135 pounds, wants to fight Montaño at 125. There’s been talk of Paige VanZant moving up from 115.</p>
<p>To Shevchenko and VanZant, Montaño says: stay in line.</p>
<p>“I laugh it off,” she told Helwani. “Some people don’t have the best attitude or sportsmanship, especially when it comes to fighting.</p>
<p>“I’m absolutely not scared. But I definitely think that they should be (made) to show what they can do at 125 before getting a chance to fight for a title.”</p>
<p>Montaño’s choice as an opponent for her first defense would be Sijara Eubanks, who was to have fought Montaño on Dec. 1 in The Ultimate Fighter 26 finale — the winner to be the first flyweight champion. But Eubanks was unable to make weight, and Montaño instead defeated Roxanne Modaferri for the title belt.</p>
<p>Montaño pointed out that Eubanks made the 125-pound limit three times during the TUF competition before having to be hospitalized after an unsuccessful weight cut.</p>
<p>“I do think Sarge can make (125), and I would like (her first opponent) to be Sarge. I think she deserves another chance.”</p>
<p>Whoever turns out to be Montaño’s first challenger will have to wait. The FIT-NHB fighter fought Modaferri with a broken bone in her left foot. After first saying she’ll need surgery, Montaño told Helwani she’ll consult an orthopedist in hopes surgery can be avoided.</p>
<p>In any case, she said, she hopes to be back in the Octagon by July or August.</p>
<p>PAYDAY: UFC featherweight Cub Swanson, who trains at Jackson-Wink, lost his fight against Brian Ortega Saturday in Fresno, Calif., and with it any chance of getting a title shot.</p>
<p>But Swanson didn’t leave Fresno empty-handed. The Palm Springs, Calif., native earned a $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus, as well as a $20,000 payout from the UFC’s outfitting deal with Reebok.</p>
<p>Those numbers are in addition to Swanson’s fight purse. Those figures have not been released.</p>
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‘Shermanator’ calls out his upcoming victim
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https://abqjournal.com/1105435/shermanator-calls-out-his-upcoming-victim.html
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<p>Barnes &amp; Noble announced Thursday that they are planning to keep their e-book business and Nook tablets as well as spin off their college books unit into its own publicly traded company. The company’s shares rose nearly 8 percent Thursday, its highest since 2009, in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.</p>
<p>Barnes &amp; Noble claimed in June that they were going to spin off Nooks Digital Media, which <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/26/barnes-noble-divestiture-idUSL4N0W04X120150226" type="external">Reuters</a> reported was set to include its college books unit. Spokeswoman Mary Ellen Keating stated that the company was going to separate “Nook Digital business from the retail business,” but the board concluded that separating the college books unit would “allow each business to optimize the opportunities.”</p>
<p>Keating added that the Nook business will remain in the retail business. According to the&#160;Wall Street Journal, their plan was abandoned after a 55 percent drop in Nook sales during the latest holiday season made it a tough to sell to investors. Additionally, the company has been struggling to boost sales due to Amazon. Amazon’s Kindle has dominated the market share, costing the company millions of dollars over the past five years.</p>
<p>An analyst at Maxim Group, John Tinker, said that keeping the Nook within the retail business “is logical” because they are currently unsure of where the product stands. Plus, retaining the Nook will allow the company to keep its digital platform.&#160;Tinker also claimed that the plan creates a “pure play” for investors interested in diving into the college market.</p>
<p>Barnes &amp; Noble’s college books unit alone rose nearly 2 percent to $751.3 million last quarter, and it accounted for roughly 45 percent of the company’s revenue. Their college bookstores operate on 714 campuses across the United States.</p>
<p>Barnes &amp; Noble announced that shareholders are expected to receive shares of its new company, Barnes &amp; Noble Education, in a tax-free transaction by the end of August.&#160;The new college bookstore company will be based in New Jersey and Max Roberts will be its chief executive.</p>
<p />
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Barnes & Noble to keep Nook division, announces college books unit spinoff
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http://natmonitor.com/2015/02/27/barnes-noble-to-keep-nook-division-announces-college-books-unit-spinoff/
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2015-02-27
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<p><a href="" type="internal" />July 20, 2012</p>
<p>By Joseph Perkins</p>
<p>I’m not a pet guy. I have no personal stake in legislation, sponsored by state Sen. Juan Vargas, D-San Diego, which would create a “voluntary” certification program for California’s pet grooming industry.</p>
<p>Yet, I’m troubled that Vargas and his fellow lawmakers think that pet grooming rises to the level that its practitioners ought to be certified.</p>
<p>Not because voluntary certification almost certainly will lead to involuntary certification which, inevitably, will lead to state-mandated licensing — which much of the state’s pet-grooming community fears.</p>
<p>But because the state government’s propensity to license any and every occupation with more than a handful of practitioners is a de facto restraint of trade that has a damping effect on competition and that ultimately raises the costs to consumers of pet grooming and other services.</p>
<p>As it is, California licenses more than 175 different professions, more than any other state. And while it is understandable that the state licenses doctors, lawyers and other professions where an incompetent practitioner can do irreparable harm, that certainly doesn’t apply to decorators, locksmiths or pet groomers.</p>
<p>Yet, the Vargas bill, <a href="http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billVotesClient.xhtml" type="external">SB 969</a>, would require pet groomers to complete 900 hours of training — why not an even 1,000? — and to pay a to-be-determined fee to the state — but of course — for the privilege of coiffing poodles and manicuring Abyssinians.</p>
<p>And it would create a new California Pet Grooming Council to administer the certification process.</p>
<p>As with every other occupation regulated by the state, the rationale for licensing, or in the case of pet grooming, certification, is to protect consumers. But a <a href="http://www.ftc.gov/be/consumerbehavior/docs/reports/CoxFoster90.pdf" type="external">Federal Trade Commission study</a> on the costs and benefits of occupational regulation concluded that licensing “does not increase the quality of service.”</p>
<p>What it does do is impose a barrier to entry into regulated occupations, like pet grooming. That’s fine by big corporations, like Petco and PetSmart, that offer grooming services at higher prices than smaller, independent pet groomers. And it’s fine by the state’s veterinarians, who would like to make inroads in the pet grooming business.</p>
<p>But with almost 2 million Californians out of work three years into the state’s putative economic recovery, now is absolutely the wrong time for the Legislature to enact a measure, like SB 969, that will create even more joblessness.</p>
<p>And not only should lawmakers reject proposed certification of pet groomers, be it “voluntary” or not, they also should revisit state licensing mandates for the more than 175 or so occupations to which they currently apply.</p>
<p>A sensible reform would require licensing only for occupations that, if unregulated, could pose a threat to public health and safety, as well as those, again, where a deficient practitioner can cause irreparable harm.</p>
<p>Under such criteria, the state government’s regulatory power would be stayed against not only pet groomers, but also furniture upholsterers, pesticide applicators, court reporters and other service providers whose occupations are needlessly licensed.</p>
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If it moves, the state wants to license it
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https://calwatchdog.com/2012/07/20/if-it-moves-the-state-wants-to-license-it/
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2018-07-20
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<p>Tumpkin was charged with five felony counts of second-degree assault and three misdemeanor counts of third-degree assault, according to 17th Judicial District Attorney Dave Young.</p>
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<p>Tumpkin, 45, is alleged to have physically abused his former girlfriend between Feb. 27, 2015, and Nov. 20, 2016. The felony charges say he used his hands as a deadly weapon, causing bodily injury and strangling his former girlfriend.</p>
<p>The Associated Press left a message with Tumpkin’s lawyer seeking comment on the charges, which were announced Tuesday, the same day his resignation from the Buffaloes coaching staff took effect. That resignation was announced last week.</p>
<p>Tumpkin coached Colorado’s safeties the last two seasons and assumed defensive play-calling duties in the Buffaloes’ Alamo Bowl appearance last month after defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt left to join Oregon’s staff. Tumpkin had been one of the candidates to replace Leavitt until the domestic violence allegations came to light.</p>
<p>He was placed on administrative leave Jan. 6 after a temporary restraining order was issued against him.</p>
<p>Tumpkin received nearly $80,000 in severance pay, unused vacation and postseason compensation upon his departure from the Buffaloes program, which enjoyed a resurgence in 2016.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>On Monday, Buffaloes coach Mike MacIntyre announced the hiring of ShaDon Brown as his secondary coach. Brown, 37, coached cornerbacks at Army last season after five seasons as a secondary coach at Wofford College.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP college football: <a href="http://www.collegefootball.ap.org" type="external">www.collegefootball.ap.org</a></p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow AP Pro Football Writer Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/arniestapleton" type="external">http://twitter.com/arniestapleton</a></p>
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Former Colorado assistant coach charged with felony assault
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https://abqjournal.com/939680/former-colorado-assistant-coach-charged-with-felony-assault.html
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<p />
<p>That's cool all by itself, but this solar "farm"&#160;floats on a manmade lake&#160;in China's Anhui province, and it is the largest floating solar project in the world.</p>
<p>The massive power plant was built by Sungrow Power Supply, and can produce enough energy to power 15,000 homes. The exact size of the operation has not been revealed, but it produces twice as much energy as the previous holder of the largest-floating-solar-plant title, which was launched by Xinyi Solar in 2016.</p>
<p />
<p>Building solar plants on bodies of water helps prevent agricultural land and terrestrial ecosystems from being developed for energy use - especially manmade lakes that are not ecologically sensitive. The water cools the electronics in the solar panels, which helps them work more efficiently.</p>
<p>Britain did the same thing for similar reasons in 2016 when it built a 23,000-panel floating solar farm on the Queen Elizabeth II reservoir near Heathrow Airport. The plant helps power the Thames Water treatment plant. The solar farm in Anhui province consists of 160,000 solar panels.</p>
<p>China&#160;is beginning to lead the world in clean energy investment, and the nation is projected to get 20% of its power consumption from low-emission energy by 2030.</p>
<p>China is plagued by toxic air pollution - smog is such a problem that the country expects to have more than&#160; <a href="http://naturalsociety.com/smog-related-lung-cancer-hit-800000-people-annually-china/" type="external">800,000 cases of lung cancer a year by 2020</a>. The city of Beijing is currently the world's top carbon emitter, with 2/3 of its electricity still fueled by coal.</p>
<p />
<p>But the country has been working on innovative ways of fighting&#160;pollution. In 2018, Nanjing, China, is expected to start building Nanjing Green Towers,&#160; <a href="http://naturalsociety.com/china-building-vertical-forests-fight-pollution-1348/" type="external">2 buildings that will serve as vertical forests&#160;</a>stylized with about 1,100 trees and more than 2,500 various shrubs and plants. The towers will absorb enough carbon dioxide to create&#160;132 pounds of oxygen&#160;daily.</p>
<p>Though China's floating solar energy plant is the largest of its type in the world, it pales in comparison to the land-locked Longyangxia Dam Solar Park, which hosts 4 million solar panels - together producing 850 megawatts of energy. And&#160;that&#160;project will eventually pale in comparison to a project in the Ningxia Autonomous Region, which will house more than 6 million solar panels and produce 2 gigawatts of power.</p>
<p><a href="http://naturalsociety.com/china-home-worlds-largest-floating-solar-plant-4581/" type="external">SOURCE</a></p>
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China builds world's largest floating solar plant
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http://hangthebankers.com/china-worlds-largest-floating-solar-plant/
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2017-07-10
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<p>In the late 1730s Johann Sebastian Bach come under fire in a widely-read music journal published by a former student, Johann Adolph Scheibe, a cantankerous and brilliant one-eyed musician and critic.&#160; The thrust of Scheibe’s polemic was that Bach’s music was too complicated, too self-indulgent: “This great man would be the admiration of whole nations if his music were more pleasant, if he did not take away the natural element in his pieces by giving them a turgid and confused style, and if he did not darken their beauty by an excess of art.” Scheibe’s views represented those of the Enlightened mainstream with its ideals of clarity, accessibility, and grace. Bach could be these things when he wanted, but rarely made things easy on himself or his listeners. In this sense, Bach was a true modernist, espousing art for art’s sake and in so doing struggling against the currents drawing European musical style towards the easier finery and more obvious brilliance of Italian opera.</p>
<p>To be fair, not everyone is moved by Bach at his most abstruse.&#160; Few but the most dedicated or warped will seek their rapture in the Art of Fugue, with its relentless contrapuntal investigations of a single theme outlining a D-minor triad. Like many others, I consider this work one of the greatest achievements in the history of Western music, but to listen to it at one sitting is to ride the knife-edge between cerebral delight and torture. Scheibe exaggerated his criticism of Bach for polemical purposes, but there is something to his critique.</p>
<p>What drove Bach to these wondrous excesses, to this seemingly tireless pursuit of complexity? And how is that, even with the just-mentioned caveat, his most rigorous music can achieve such expressive power?&#160; These two ultimately unanswerable questions have driven the commentary on Bach to levels of production he could never have imagined:&#160; some 20,000 books and articles, various plays and novels, and more than a few films, the most recent of which is The Silence Before Bach (2007) by the Spanish filmmaker Pere Portabella.</p>
<p>The movie was shown first in the United States at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in the Fall of last year as part of a Portabella retrospective. Portabella helped draft the post-Franco Spanish constitution, and became senator in the first elections held in 1977; later he served in the Catalan parliament. His involvement in politics explains why, after an intensely productive decade between 1967 and 1977, he wrote and directed only one other feature film (in 1990) before finishing The Silence Before Bach last year.</p>
<p>The picture was duly hailed as a masterpiece by New York movie critics, but only made its way up to the provinces of Upstate New York this past week. The film’s publicity claimed that it will not be issued on DVD, though it is unclear if this is due to the artistic requirements of the director, who might not want to see his Bach movie reduced to small format.&#160; With the Netflix option apparently denied me, I went to the Cornell cinema on Tuesday evening to see what Sr.&#160; Portabella had to say about Bach.</p>
<p>The no-DVD threat coupled with rave reviews nearly filled the theatre. Bach’s legacy seemed to be in good shape. In the aftermath of the film I can at least report that in spite of the medications—nearly all of them way past their expiration dates—administered by Portabella, the patient will survive. Death by cliché would have been a terrible way for Bach to go while still in the prime of his afterlife.</p>
<p>Many of my fellow viewers were less resilient than the venerable Bach to Portabella’s prescription. Several people left the within the first twenty minutes.&#160; I often take that to be a good sign, one that indicates the film is at least provocative. But there was little in the way of provocation on the screen. I suspect boredom was the expulsive force. That I remained in the theater had mostly to do with grim fascination and professional obligation. The only movie I’ve ever walked out of is the original version of the Poseidon Adventure, which I’d sneaked into at the age of eleven in 1977. I grew up on an island, and I got so freaked out by the tidal wave that I cowered in the lobby for the rest of the film. The Silence Before Bach was more a meandering bayou of the trite and tedious than a tsunami of schlock.</p>
<p>The movie began with promise. Portoblla’s camera explored a vacant museum-like building, perhaps a museum, with tiled floor, blank white, and no windows. It peered into empty alcoves but found nothing, until around the corner came an ebonized Aeolian Pianolo on a motorized, remote-control dolly on which it proceeded to follow its indeterminate path through the empty space, occasionally pirouetting on its axis. The machine played exactly what one would expect it to play, the Goldberg Variations, that perfect set of keyboard pieces beloved of filmmakers, from the pill-fueled monomania of 32 Short Films About Glenn Gould to the psychopathic culinary tastes of Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs.</p>
<p>The front panel of the pianolo had been removed so we could see the elaborate mechanism cog and flutter as it read the roll in&#160; the most mechanical performance possible.&#160; There was indeed something weirdly compelling about seeing this odd dark contraption, like a spacecraft, aimlessly traversing a vast bunker devoid of any sign of humanity. The messages to be drawn from this surreal scene are infinite: art is longer than life; the prison of the museum and of technology cannot contain Bach’s genius; Bach is the ultimate clockmaker, himself a God. This last interpretation is given some support later in the film, when one of the characters that make fleeting appearances in the course of the vague allusions to plot says as much: “God would be diminished without Bach.”</p>
<p>Or perhaps: If the Goldberg Variations are played and nobody is there to hear them do they actually make a sound?</p>
<p>The answer to that seems sadly to be yes, for what we hear from the pianola is the first cliché in the film, however compelling the scene may otherwise be: Bach’s music is so god-like that no performance can damage it.&#160; The main service of the film is that it proves the opposite to be true, but does so, painfully, by negative example. Indeed, the film is full of bad performances: from a boy (playing one of Bach’s son) at the harpischord, to teenagers thronged in a piano showroom banging away unsynchronized at, yes, the Goldberg Variations, to the modern choirboys of St. Thomas’ in Leipzig hooting their way through one of Bach’s motets, Jesu, meine Freude, to Felix Mendelsoohn playing one of his Songs without Words on a poorly restored 19th-century piano. The best performance is by a guy playing a single line from, yes, the Goldberg Variations, on a chromatic harmonica while seated in a Spanish big rig thundering across the Catalonian plain.</p>
<p>The pianoloa provides the definitive proof Bach’s is not an abstraction.&#160; If only pianolas were around to play his music it would be good and dead. Bach is not a mechanical engineer.</p>
<p>In the penultimate scene in the movie the accursed pianola returns, as the director unwittingly jack-hammers the point home.&#160; A female employee at the St. Thomas School in Leipzig, where Bach was the disgruntled cantor during the last three decades of his life, shows a pair of Spanish visitors around the place.&#160; They have just been in the Church of St. Thomas and have watched a janitor sweeping the dust from Bach’s tomb. (Although Portabella does not show us this, Bach has been spinning there for the duration of the film, and will continue to do so until the final credits.) The employee then takes the Spaniards to see the new Thomas cantor, “today’s Bach,” as she puts it. Professor Biller holds forth on the greatness of the institution while smoking a cigar. He informs his visitors and the film audience that while most of the choirboys come from non-religious films almost all eventually request to be baptized after extended engagement with Bach’s music. Herewith another of the innumerable clichés: that Bach’s music is sanctified and sanctifying, that he is the fifth Evangelist.</p>
<p>Just previously, while the “action” of the film was still back in Spain, Portabella treated to us to a long scene of this female Spanish visitor to Leipzig in a power shower washing and loofahing herself, then drying off with an towel. (Bill O’Reilly, if you can last through the first 90 minutes of the film, you’ll be glad you did!) No music accompanies this humid nudity, but after she puts on her glam clothes she does play some Bach on the cello, while her older lover (a piano dealer whose enormous showroom later hosts the teen Goldberg bang-a-long) makes breakfast in the stainless steel kitchen with views out over Barcelona. The profound message seems to be that sexy people with nice towels and cool sense of interior design play Bach, too.</p>
<p>After the employee at St. Thomas has brought the Spanish visitors to see the cantor, she repairs to one of the school’s rooms and takes of her shoes and pulls her feet up under her, as if to take a nap.&#160; Suddenly, the roll of the pianola fills the screen. This is a nap with a nightmare. The machine launches into frantic, bashing performance of Bach’s organ in fugue in G Minor.&#160; We see all the punch holes read off the piece like the primitive computer it is.&#160; The effect is excruciating: already treated to numerous iterations of the hackneyed vision of Bach the inexorable logician, we get pummeled by the sound for a good four minutes.</p>
<p>It is true that film makes recognizes the role of clichés in the Bach myth, as in its luxuriously Romantic staging of the apocryphal tale that Mendelssohn re-discovered the St. Matthew Passion when his butcher used it to wrap scraps of meat. But Portabella seems so enamored of these scenes, even if they are tinged with irony, that they lose any dramatic and critical validity.</p>
<p>In his own forgotten grave, Scheibe is smiling.&#160; There could be no clearer confirmation of his Bach criticism than that projected in Silence Before Bach, which presents Bach’s music at its most graceless and cog-like. It is not an excess of artifice in the 18th-century sense which threatens Bach’s music in this movie, but rather an excess of technology—the modern artificial in all its unyielding grimness.</p>
<p>The film ends with a supercharged recording of “Fecit potentiam” from Bach’s Magnificat heard while the camera tracks along the score in perfect synchronization with the music.&#160; So unyielding is the progress of both camera across the notes drive-train tandem wwith the piston-like performance heard on the soundtrack, that what we hear is really no more musical than the pianola.&#160; After the final chord no more music is heard, and the credits proceed soundlessly. There is no silence as sweet as the silence after the Silence Before Bach.</p>
<p>DAVID YEARSLEY teaches at Cornell University. A long-time contributor to the Anderson Valley Advertiser, he is author of <a href="" type="internal">Bach and the Meanings of Counterpoint</a>His latest CD, “All Your Cares Beguile: Songs and Sonatas from Baroque London”, has just been released by <a href="http://www.musicaomnia.org/index2.htm" type="external">Musica Omnia</a>. He can be reached at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Your Ad Here</a> &#160;</p>
<p />
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Portabella’s Bach: Grim, Trite and Incredibly Boring
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2008-09-13
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<p>TIDMTSCO</p>
<p>FORM 8.3</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>PUBLIC OPENING POSITION DISCLOSURE/DEALING DISCLOSURE BY</p>
<p>A PERSON WITH INTERESTS IN RELEVANT SECURITIES REPRESENTING 1% OR MORE</p>
<p>Rule 8.3 of the Takeover Code (the "Code")</p>
<p>1. KEY INFORMATION</p>
<p>(a) Full name of discloser: Majedie</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Asset</p>
<p>Management</p>
<p>Limited</p>
<p>(b) Owner or controller of interests and short positions</p>
<p>disclosed, if different from 1(a):</p>
<p>The naming of nominee or vehicle companies is insufficient.</p>
<p>For a trust, the trustee(s), settlor and beneficiaries</p>
<p>must be named.</p>
<p>(c) Name of offeror/offeree in relation to whose relevant</p>
<p>securities this form relates: TESCO PLC</p>
<p>Use a separate form for each offeror/offeree</p>
<p>(d) If an exempt fund manager connected with an offeror/offeree,</p>
<p>state this and specify identity of offeror/offeree:</p>
<p>(e) Date position held/dealing undertaken: 30 January</p>
<p>For an opening position disclosure, state the latest 2018</p>
<p>practicable date prior to the disclosure</p>
<p>(f) In addition to the company in 1(c) above, is the No</p>
<p>discloser making disclosures in respect of any other</p>
<p>party to the offer?</p>
<p>If it is a cash offer or possible cash offer, state</p>
<p>"N/A"</p>
<p>2. POSITIONS OF THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE</p>
<p>If there are positions or rights to subscribe to disclose in more than</p>
<p>one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c),</p>
<p>copy table 2(a) or (b) (as appropriate) for each additional class of</p>
<p>relevant security.</p>
<p>(a) Interests and short positions in the relevant securities of</p>
<p>the offeror or offeree to which the disclosure relates following the</p>
<p>dealing (if any)</p>
<p>Class of relevant security: ORD 5P</p>
<p>Short</p>
<p>Interests positions</p>
<p>Number % Number %</p>
<p>(1) Relevant securities owned and/or controlled: 313,566,650 3.83</p>
<p>(2) Cash-settled derivatives:</p>
<p>(3) Stock-settled derivatives (including options)</p>
<p>and agreements to purchase/sell:</p>
<p>TOTAL: 313,566,650 3.83</p>
<p>All interests and all short positions should be disclosed.</p>
<p>Details of any open stock-settled derivative positions (including traded</p>
<p>options), or agreements to purchase or sell relevant securities, should</p>
<p>be given on a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions).</p>
<p>(b) Rights to subscribe for new securities (including directors'</p>
<p>and other employee options)</p>
<p>Class of relevant security in relation to which subscription</p>
<p>right exists:</p>
<p>Details, including nature of the rights concerned</p>
<p>and relevant percentages:</p>
<p>3. DEALINGS (IF ANY) BY THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE</p>
<p>Where there have been dealings in more than one class of relevant</p>
<p>securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 3(a), (b),</p>
<p>(c) or (d) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant</p>
<p>security dealt in.</p>
<p>The currency of all prices and other monetary amounts should be stated.</p>
<p>(a) Purchases and sales</p>
<p>Class of relevant</p>
<p>security Purchase/sale Number of securities Price per unit</p>
<p>ORD 5P Buy 1,798,583 209.1536</p>
<p>ORD 5P Buy 1,053,438 208.9771</p>
<p>(b) Cash-settled derivative transactions</p>
<p>Class of Product description Nature of dealing Number of Price</p>
<p>relevant e.g. CFD e.g. opening/closing a long/short position, increasing/reducing reference per</p>
<p>security a long/short position securities unit</p>
<p>(c) Stock-settled derivative transactions (including options)</p>
<p>(i) Writing, selling, purchasing or varying</p>
<p>Class of Product Writing, Number of Exercise Type Expiry Option</p>
<p>relevant description purchasing, securities price e.g. American, European etc. date money</p>
<p>security e.g. call selling, to which per paid/</p>
<p>option varying option unit received</p>
<p>etc. relates per</p>
<p>unit</p>
<p>(ii) Exercise</p>
<p>Class of Product description Exercising/ Number of Exercise</p>
<p>relevant e.g. call option exercised securities price per</p>
<p>security against unit</p>
<p>(d) Other dealings (including subscribing for new securities)</p>
<p>Class of relevant Nature of dealing Details Price per unit</p>
<p>security e.g. subscription, conversion (if applicable)</p>
<p>4. OTHER INFORMATION</p>
<p>(a) Indemnity and other dealing arrangements</p>
<p>Details of any indemnity or option arrangement, or</p>
<p>any agreement or understanding, formal or informal,</p>
<p>relating to relevant securities which may be an inducement</p>
<p>to deal or refrain from dealing entered into by the</p>
<p>person making the disclosure and any party to the</p>
<p>offer or any person acting in concert with a party</p>
<p>to the offer:</p>
<p>Irrevocable commitments and letters of intent should</p>
<p>not be included. If there are no such agreements,</p>
<p>arrangements or understandings, state "none"</p>
<p>None</p>
<p>(b) Agreements, arrangements or understandings relating to</p>
<p>options or derivatives</p>
<p>Details of any agreement, arrangement or understanding,</p>
<p>formal or informal, between the person making the</p>
<p>disclosure and any other person relating to:</p>
<p>(i) the voting rights of any relevant securities under</p>
<p>any option; or</p>
<p>(ii) the voting rights or future acquisition or disposal</p>
<p>of any relevant securities to which any derivative</p>
<p>is referenced:</p>
<p>If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings,</p>
<p>state "none"</p>
<p>None</p>
<p>(c) Attachments</p>
<p>Is a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions) attached? NO</p>
<p>Date of disclosure: 31 January 2018</p>
<p>Contact name: James Tanqueray</p>
<p>Telephone number: 0207 618 3900</p>
<p>Public disclosures under Rule 8 of the Code must be made to a Regulatory</p>
<p>Information Service.</p>
<p>The Panel's Market Surveillance Unit is available for consultation in</p>
<p>relation to the Code's disclosure requirements on +44 (0)20 7638 0129.</p>
<p>The Code can be viewed on the Panel's website at</p>
<p>www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk.</p>
<p>This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf</p>
<p>of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients.</p>
<p>The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely</p>
<p>responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information</p>
<p>contained therein.</p>
<p>Source: Majedie Asset Management Ltd via Globenewswire</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>January 31, 2018 05:40 ET (10:40 GMT)</p>
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Majedie Asset Management Ltd Majedie Asset Management Ltd : Form 8.3 - Tesco Plc
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2018-01-31
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<p />
<p>The new weekly section will be published on Saturdays, beginning next Saturday, April 6.</p>
<p>Today’s is the last edition of the West Side Journal.</p>
<p>The new Rio West, which will involve some collaboration with the Rio Rancho Observer, will feature stories covering Albuquerque’s West Side, North Valley, Sandoval County and Rio Rancho.</p>
<p>The emphasis will be on in-depth stories and commentary. The section also will provide more opportunities for reader participation — from publishing readers’ comments on the editorial page to publishing reader-submitted photos to tracking down answers to reader-submitted questions regarding traffic woes.</p>
<p>In addition to news features and in-depth reporting, the section will recap the week’s news events and provide a glimpse of the week ahead.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Rio West also will continue to publish James Yodice’s coverage of prep sports and D’Val Westphal’s popular traffic column, as well as added emphasis on traffic and commuter news.</p>
<p>During the week, major breaking news will continue to be covered in the Albuquerque Journal — on page one and in its Metro and N.M. section.</p>
<p>But for a daily dose of local news, you will want to check out our new website — <a href="" type="internal">abqjournal.com/riowest</a> — a joint product of the Journal and Rio Rancho Observer newsrooms.</p>
<p>“It is readers and advertisers who will benefit from this improved editorial product — both in print and online,” said Journal editor Kent Walz. — This article appeared on page 30 of the Albuquerque Journal</p>
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New section to replace West Side Journal
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2013-03-30
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<p>WASHINGTON — It’ll be one of the most watched mid-life career changes in recent memory. What does Michelle Obama do next?</p>
<p>After eight years as a high-profile advocate against childhood obesity, a sought-after talk show guest, a Democratic power player and a style maven, the first lady will have her pick of options when she leaves the White House next month.</p>
<p>Just as the first lady’s role is undefined, with each woman molding it to her personality, interests and comfort level, there is no script for what comes after the first lady finishes the job.</p>
<p>The widowed Jacqueline Kennedy remarried and became a New York book editor. Laura Bush continues her advocacy for literacy, women in Afghanistan and preservation issues. Hillary Clinton launched her own political career with her bid for the U.S. Senate, even before her family left the White House.</p>
<p>Here’s a look at what Mrs. Obama is likely to do, or not do, when at 53 years old she becomes a private citizen again on Jan. 20.</p>
<p>LIKELY TO DO:</p>
<p>R&amp;R</p>
<p>President Barack Obama says he’s taking her on a “really nice vacation, because she deserves it. She’s been putting up with me for quite some time.” (Twenty-four years of marriage, to be exact.)</p>
<p>WRITE A MEMOIR</p>
<p>Practically all first ladies do. As the first black woman in the role and as someone who has said little publicly about her private life in the White House, book publishers would offer to pay millions for the rights to Mrs. Obama’s insider account. Clinton got an $8 million advance for her 2003 memoir, “Living History.”</p>
<p>SET UP HER FAMILY’S NEW HOME</p>
<p>Breaking from post-presidential tradition, the Obamas plan to stay in Washington so their 15-year-old daughter, Sasha, can finish high school. Presidents usually leave Washington when they leave office, but the Obamas are renting a home in the wealthy Kalorama neighborhood, near what will be the official residence of Vice President-elect Mike Pence. The home is large enough to be a hub of social activity, but it’s far from clear whether Michelle Obama will become Washington’s new power hostess. Ex-presidents tend to keep a low profile in the first year or so after they leave office.</p>
<p>The Obamas also still own a home in Chicago.</p>
<p>STICK WITH HER INITIATIVES</p>
<p>Michelle Obama has said she’ll stay engaged in public service and will keep working on the issues she focused on during her tenure. They included childhood obesity and education for girls around the world.</p>
<p>“I’ve always felt very alive using my gifts and talents to help other people. I sleep better at night. I’m happier,” she told Vogue for an interview in the fashion magazine’s December issue. “So we’ll look back at the issues that I’ve been working on. The question is: How do I engage in those issues from a new platform? I can’t say right now, because we can’t spend that much time really doing the hard work of vetting offers or ideas or options because we’re still closing things out here.”</p>
<p>COULD DO:</p>
<p>JOIN SPEAKER’S CIRCUIT</p>
<p>Obama put her oratory on display with a well-received speech on opening night of the 2016 Democratic National Convention. She followed up with a series of campaign speeches criticizing Republican Donald Trump, now the president-elect, as unsuitable for the nation’s highest office. Her friend, media mogul Oprah Winfrey, said the first lady will be “one of the most in-demand speakers” as a result of her convention performance. “That speaking fee just quadrupled,” Winfrey joked during an interview with The Associated Press.</p>
<p>Clinton earned millions of dollars giving paid speeches after she stepped down as secretary of state. Laura Bush also keeps a robust public speaking schedule.</p>
<p>HOST A TELEVISION TALK SHOW</p>
<p>Obama has demonstrated a knack for talk-show banter, and an ease in front of the TV cameras. She co-hosted “The View” before the 2008 election and recently co-hosted Ellen DeGeneres’ hourlong gabfest. Roy Ashton, head of television at the Gersh Agency in Los Angeles, says she would be a “no-brainer” to have a show of her own.</p>
<p>“She could pick up where Oprah left off, or something else,” Ashton said. “I think Michelle Obama has a ton to say.”</p>
<p>SERVE ON CORPORATE BOARDS</p>
<p>She has some experience with corporate America, but she’ll want to choose carefully. Mrs. Obama resigned from the board of a food supplier for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in 2007, shortly after her husband announced his presidential bid. He had been a critic of the retail giant. Mrs. Obama had cited the increased demands of the campaign for leaving the board of Illinois-based TreeHouse Foods Inc.</p>
<p>“It will be fun to see what she actually does,” said Kimberly Archer, head of the Washington office of Russell Reynolds Associates, an executive search and assessment firm. “Wherever she does decide to focus, I would say, ‘Lucky them.’”</p>
<p>LIKELY WON’T DO:</p>
<p>RUN FOR PUBLIC OFFICE</p>
<p>Both the president and first lady repeatedly have said she will not run for president — despite pressure from Democrats wowed by her campaign speeches challenging Trump.</p>
<p>Obama has said she doesn’t have “the patience or the inclination” to be a candidate and is “too sensible to want to be in politics.” Mrs. Obama said “No, no. Not going to do it,” when asked earlier this year about following in her husband’s footsteps.</p>
<p>RESUME PRACTICING LAW</p>
<p>Obama, a Harvard law school graduate, practiced at a Chicago firm but abandoned a legal career after the deaths of her father and a close friend. She entered public service, working for the city of Chicago and running an AmeriCorps service program before she joined the University of Chicago Medical Center as a vice president for community and external affairs. It was the last paid position she held before become first lady.</p>
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So many choices await Michelle Obama after the White House
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2016-12-12
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<p />
<p>More than 13 percent of New Mexicans aged 65 or older live at or below the federal poverty line, according to a new report.</p>
<p>Michael Spanier, cabinet secretary for the New Mexico Aging and Long-Term Services Department, said the report shows that more attention needs to be paid to the economic situation of the state’s older adults.</p>
<p>“What do elders really need to be economically secure? What are the real costs involved? Will seniors be faced with choices between paying for prescription drugs, paying for health care, paying for utilities, paying for housing?” Spanier asked.</p>
<p>The Elder Economic Security Standard Index for New Mexico was created by the Aging and Long-Term Services Department and researchers from Wider Opportunities for Women, a nonprofit group that works for economic independence and equality for women, and the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts, for the purpose of to promoting the economic well-being of New Mexico’s seniors.</p>
<p>Stacy Sanders, director of Wider Opportunities for Women’s Elder Economic Security Initiative, said similar reports for other states have been used to create legislation intended to assist seniors economically.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Spanier said the issue of economic security for the elderly is only going to grow in importance.</p>
<p>“Right now we’re about 40th in country in our percentage of the population that is over the age of 65,” Spanier said. “By 2030, we will be fourth in the country. Over 26 percent of our population will be over 65. In 2030 we’ll actually have more seniors in our state than we will have kids under the age of 18.”</p>
<p>The report also said:</p>
<p>Of particular concern to Sanders and Spanier is the fact that for nearly 30 percent of New Mexico seniors, Social Security payments constitute their entire income. For women, that comes out to about $11,560 and for men to about $15,390.</p>
<p>Some of the policy recommendations the report mentioned were instituting a state tax for taking care of the elderly at home, creating a permanent state transit fund dedicated to the development of transportation programs, providing more rental assistance vouchers, and instituting property tax relief for seniors.</p>
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Report Takes a Look at Economic Security of N.M.’s Elderly
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<p>Leaders of the teachers union, the National Education Association-New Mexico, said the ruling by Santa Fe District Judge Sarah Singleton affirmed the requirements in the state's Inspection of Public Records Act.</p>
<p>"If the Public Education Department had been as transparent as the governor claims her administration is, not one penny of legal fees would be required," NEA-New Mexico President Betty Patterson said. "If they were transparent, none of this would be necessary."</p>
<p>In all, the approved attorney fees in the case are estimated to be slightly more than $14,000. That's in addition to a $485 fine the judge levied against PED in July for violating the open records law in its handling of a request for elusive documents related to New Mexico's old teacher evaluation system.</p>
<p>Attorneys for PED had objected to the attorney fees sought by the teachers union's attorneys, arguing Wednesday that any fees awarded should be based on the dollar amount actually billed.</p>
<p>"It's disappointing that a special interest group continues to defend an old, broken evaluation system that didn't put New Mexico's kids first," agency spokesman Robert McEntyre told the Journal . "(The Wednesday) ruling shows that these special interests would rather have more money spent in courtrooms than in our classrooms, where it belongs."</p>
<p>In its open records lawsuit, the teachers union had sought documents that would back up an assertion made by Public Education Secretary Hanna Skandera that 99 percent of state teachers were rated effective under the state's old educator evaluation system. Skandera had cited the figure in arguing in favor of a controversial new system the agency implemented in 2013.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>In her Wednesday ruling, Singleton rejected some of the expenses claimed by the NEA's attorneys - its lead attorney was Todd Wertheim of Santa Fe - but found most billings acceptable at a rate of $350 per hour.</p>
<p>Susan Boe, the executive director of the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government, attended Wednesday's court hearing and described the judge's ruling as a warning of sorts for noncompliance with the open records law.</p>
<p>"I think what the decision shows is that IPRA is still alive and well," Boe told reporters.</p>
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<p>Source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Dividend stocks provide the opportunity for consistent income for risk-averse investors. But not all dividend stocks are equally good, and I prefer to find stocks with steadily increasing dividends and wide moats. Three great stocks that come to mind: Johnson &amp; Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Realty Income Group (NYSE: O), and CVS Health (NYSE: CVS). Here's why I believe each is a great holding over the long term.</p>
<p>Johnson &amp; Johnson is a Dividend Aristocrat, or a dividend stock that has been increasing its payout annually for more than 25 years. In J&amp;J's case, it's met this threshold two times over. While most people know it for its consumer products, like Band-Aids, Tylenol, and baby shampoo, J&amp;J is actually a heavily diversified healthcare company. Those consumer brands only made up roughly 18% of second-quarter 2016 revenue, with pharmaceuticals contributing 47%, and medical devices the remaining 35%.</p>
<p>That diversification is an enormous benefit to the company, as the sleepier medical device and consumer products divisions can provide the company with strong cash flow while its more boom-and-bust pharma division drives higher growth for the company. Having recently completed the acquisition of Vogue International for its consumer division, management is now seeking opportunities in med tech and pharma -- although none appear to have materialized yet.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>In the meantime, keep an eye on J&amp;J's drug portfolio, as that's the easiest lever for growth the company has. I'd pay special attention to cancer drug Imbruvica as it expands into new indications, and multiple myeloma drug Darzalex, which was recently brought to market. Company management expects both to be big potential wins for the company's top line going forward.</p>
<p>Add in J&amp;J's cash dividend payout ratio of just 60%, and according to data from <a href="http://www.spcapitaliq.com/" type="external">S&amp;P Global Market Intelligence Opens a New Window.</a>, J&amp;J is in a superb position to continue paying out a growing dividend -- currently yielding 2.7% -- for many years to come.</p>
<p>Realty Income Group, the real estate investment trust (or <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/reit.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">REIT Opens a New Window.</a>) that's known as "the monthly dividend company," has been significantly more active on the acquisitions front than J&amp;J. Realty Income's management recently raised their guidance to $1.25 billion in acquisitions for 2016 because they see so many opportunities to buy property and expand its lease base. And the reason why is obvious: Interest rates are low, so the cost of borrowing is low, and REITs like Realty Income can more cheaply fund acquisitions and grow their profitability and diversification.</p>
<p>And boy, has Realty Income grown. So much so that it has raised its dividend for 75 consecutive quarters. And with its most recent raise, the company has grown its monthly dividend by 6.1% compared to a year ago. Fortunately, that dividend growth has been largely matched by growth in the company's adjusted funds from operations, or AFFO -- (here's a <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/ffo.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">good article Opens a New Window.</a> to learn more about FFO, the number from which AFFO is derived) -- so the current payout ratio based on AFFO is around 85% for a 3.6% annual dividend yield.</p>
<p>Realty Income's big advantage is its low cost of capital -- a function of its size and high credit rating -- which should give it a big leg up on the competition when interest rates finally increase. Bottom line: Realty Income isn't going anywhere, and it's a great long-term holding in anyone's portfolio.</p>
<p>CVS Health is well known as a retail pharmacy, but people seem to forget the larger (by revenue) component of its business: the pharmacy benefit manager (or PBM), which brought in 68% of revenue last quarter. While the retail side has been growing, the PBM is on fire. So far in this year's selling season, it's brought in a whopping $4.6 billion in net new business.</p>
<p>CVS's big moat is the fact that it's an integrated healthcare company. Unlike, say, a Walgreens or Express Scripts, it's a pharmacy, a clinic manager, a mail-order pharmacy, and a PBM -- enabling it to serve patients across a number of different health circumstances and challenges.</p>
<p>This move toward vertical integration is expensive, and necessitated purchases of home-infusion specialist Coram, long-term care facility pharmacy provider Omnicare, and Target's in-store pharmacies over the last year, but it's paying off in spades. With revenue up 18% year over year and adjusted EPS up 8.3% last quarter, CVS is doing a great job of integrating these purchases and building up its business. And with a dividend yielding roughly 1.9% (and a low 25% cash payout ratio based on the trailing 12 months), CVS has plenty of room to pay ever-growing dividends for years to come.</p>
<p>A secret billion-dollar stock opportunity The world's biggest tech company forgot to show you something, but a few Wall Street analysts and the Fool didn't miss a beat: There's a small company that's powering their brand-new gadgets and the coming revolution in technology. And we think its stock price has nearly unlimited room to run for early in-the-know investors! To be one of them, <a href="http://www.fool.com/mms/mark/ecap-foolcom-apple-wearable?aid=6965&amp;source=irbeditxt0000017&amp;ftm_cam=rb-wearable-d&amp;ftm_pit=2518&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">just click here Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFEnterprise/info.aspx" type="external">Michael Douglass Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Johnson and Johnson. The Motley Fool owns shares of Express Scripts. The Motley Fool recommends CVS Health and Johnson and Johnson. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/motley.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
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3 Dividend Stocks You Can Buy and Hold Forever
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/10/06/3-dividend-stocks-can-buy-and-hold-forever.html
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2016-10-06
| 0 |
<p>ANALYSIS/OPINION:</p>
<p>ANALYSIS/OPINION:</p>
<p>Democrats should be very, very careful what they wish for.</p>
<p>Just as Hillary Clinton and all her rotten operatives at the highest levels of the Democratic Party smugly prayed that <a href="/topics/donald-trump/" type="external">Donald Trump</a> would be the Republican nominee, those same Democrats now take gleeful joy watching President <a href="/topics/donald-trump/" type="external">Trump</a>’s so-called travel ban picked apart by federal judges on the Left Coast.</p>
<p>Thursday night’s ruling to uphold the stay on <a href="/topics/donald-trump/" type="external">Mr. Trump</a>’s executive order by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals — widely known as the “Ninth Circus” for the lost legal hippies who populate the bench — was not surprising.</p>
<p>Those appellate judges — such as federal District Judge James Robart who first imposed the stay — apparently believe that the president of the United States does not have the authority to determine who is allowed to come into the country, even during this time of war.</p>
<p>And — even more spectacularly — these crazy judges do not believe the president has this authority even though he just won a nearly two-year national political campaign explicitly promising the American people that he would do exactly as he has done.</p>
<p>This is incontrovertible proof that these judges, and far too many other judges, simply do not believe that the American people have the right to govern themselves. Of course, these power-hungry judges have long been aided and abetted by Democratic politicians who grew weary after years of losing policy fights in the political arena.</p>
<p>So they took their fights to the judicial branch and invented the notion that the Constitution is a “living document,” meaning it doesn’t actually mean what it says. Rather, it means whatever you can get some flunky judge from Haight-Ashbury to say what it means. This is how the courts discovered a constitutional right to abortion in a constitution that says never mentions a single medical procedure.</p>
<p>They found it in the refracted glow — or “penumbra” — of the document. Put another way, they made it up in thin air.</p>
<p>For more than 40 years now, Democratic politicians have not only defended this reckless shredding of the Constitution in public, but they also have been winning the fight. That probably says more about the stupidity and timidity of Republicans than anything else.</p>
<p>One of the chief reasons <a href="/topics/donald-trump/" type="external">Mr. Trump</a> is president today is because Democratic politicians are such constitutional whores and Republican politicians are so stupid.</p>
<p>But what we have coming into sharp focus today is a clear, black-and-white, good-versus-evil showdown between the executive branch and the judicial branch in which <a href="/topics/donald-trump/" type="external">Mr. Trump</a> is absolutely right and these federal judges — along with all the cheering Democrats — are absolutely wrong. Even a “bad high school student” knows this, as <a href="/topics/donald-trump/" type="external">Mr. Trump</a> pointed out.</p>
<p>It is a fight the American people understand on a visceral level.</p>
<p>It looks likely that this latest ruling will go to the Supreme Court, which should rule unanimously in <a href="/topics/donald-trump/" type="external">Mr. Trump</a>’s favor. But because of the decades of partisanship on the Supreme Court, it could easily come down to a 4-4 tie.</p>
<p>That would mean that Neil Gorsuch, <a href="/topics/donald-trump/" type="external">Mr. Trump</a>’s constitutionalist nominee to the high court, would be poised to eventually cast the deciding vote in favor of the Constitution.</p>
<p>This, in turn, would clearly set the stage for <a href="/topics/donald-trump/" type="external">Mr. Trump</a> to push through a similarly principled constitutionalist to the high court if there is another vacancy in the next four years, finally tilting the court in favor of the Constitution, the American people and the right of self-governance.</p>
<p>So remember, all you Democratic politicians and judicial tyrants: You are laughing now, just as you were laughing back when <a href="/topics/donald-trump/" type="external">Mr. Trump</a> was winning the Republican nomination.</p>
<p>• Charles Hurt can be reached at [email protected]; follow him on Twitter via @charleshurt.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2018 The Washington Times, LLC. <a href="http://license.icopyright.net/3.7280?icx_id=/news/2017/feb/9/liberal-judges-set-up-trump-constitutional-showdow/" type="external">Click here for reprint permission</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
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Make SCOTUS great again: Liberal judges push their own end
| true |
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2017/feb/9/liberal-judges-set-up-trump-constitutional-showdow/
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2017-02-09
| 0 |
<p />
<p>Starting late this summer, consumers can skip checking their mailboxes for any letters, bills or cards on Saturdays.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The debt-laden United States Post Office announced Wednesday it will end Saturday delivery of first-class mail in an attempt to cut costs. The business will retain delivery of packages, express and Priority Mail.</p>
<p>“Package deliver will continue Monday through Saturday,” said Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe Wednesday. “There will be no changes in terms of Post Office hours. If we're open Saturday, we'll be open Saturday. We'll continue to deliver mail to Post Office boxes on Saturday which is very important for a number of businesses.”</p>
<p>The Postal Service posted a $16 billion loss in 2012, defaulted on its $11.1 billion retiree health benefit prefunding payments and tapped out its $15 billion lifeline with Treasury. &#160;The agency claims eliminating Saturday delivery starting Aug. 1 will save $2 billion annually.</p>
<p>“To give some perspective of our liquidity situation, a typical large organization would have either cash on hand or quick borrowing ability,” Donahoe said. “In October, at one point this year, the Postal Service had less than four days of cash on hand. That's a very scary situation and it's no situation that a business should be in.”</p>
<p>This move is the most substantial in a litany of steps the USPS has taken to reduce its massive deficit and cut costs. It has already eliminated 35% of its workforce, shuttered rural offices and slashed hours at others.</p>
<p>The USPS needs Congressional approval to shift to a five-day delivery week, but experts say they expect lawmakers to approve the idea. Since 1984, Congress has mandated that the agency deliver mail six days a week.</p>
<p>“At some point Congress isn’t going to have a choice; we heading toward the possibility of a taxpayer bailout,” said <a href="http://www.cato.org/people/tad-dehaven" type="external">Tad DeHaven Opens a New Window.</a>, budget analysis at the Cato Institute. “I would anticipate Band-Aid after Band-Aid being applied as we proceed here into the future.”</p>
<p>House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, (R-CA), and Tom Coburn (R-OK), sent a letter to leaders of both chambers of Congress supporting the delivery cut. The pair wrote, “In his recent inaugural address, President Obama spoke about the need to find real solutions to our &#160;&#160;nation’s problems.&#160;Supporting the US Postal Service’s plan to move forward with 5-day mail delivery is one such solution worthy of bipartisan support.”</p>
<p>The delivery reduction is a step in the right direction, but experts say the business can’t simply rely on cost cutting measures in order to survive.</p>
<p>“It’s a fundamental misunderstanding of the problem, it’s as if we are in the age of horse and buggy in the dawn of automobiles,” says <a href="http://www.human.cornell.edu/bio.cfm?netid=rrg24" type="external">Rick Geddes Opens a New Window.</a>, associate professor, department of policy analysis and management at Cornell University</p>
<p>Geddes advocates that the Postal Services unhinges itself from Congress and undergoes corporatization and commercialization. “It’s a large company and we have solid corporate laws that create a structure for a large business that allows it to thrive.” He says taking this step would allow the agency to better compensate employees and bring in outside experts to re-evaluate how to better use current assets.</p>
<p>“I would also commercialize the office as well, free up the decision-making on what products and services it offers and how frequently, make room for innovation. We’ve been under a one-size-fits-all approach for way too long, it’s time to become more innovative with our mail delivery.”</p>
<p>The financial structure of the USPS is a result, in part, of its existence in an in-between world; it isn't considered a government agency, nor an independent business -- yet it still receives exemptions from certain taxes and antitrust laws.</p>
<p>DeHaven agrees that Congress needs to split ties with the USPS, but says too much special interest keeps that from happening.</p>
<p>“The average member of Congress only cares about the service to the extent they can send campaign stuff to people,” he said. “Postal issues are complex, and Congress members are getting mail about privatizing the Post Office, but they will hear from unions, mailers and rural areas supporting the office. This isn’t a sexy issue -- lawmakers aren’t going to stick their neck out and say the office needs to be privatized.”</p>
<p>National Association of Letter Carriers President Fredric Rolando said the reduction will be "disastrous."</p>
<p>"It would be particularly harmful to small businesses, rural communities, the elderly, the disabled and others who depend on Saturday delivery for commerce and communication," he said in a statement.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
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Post Office's Saturday Cut: Too Little, Too Late
| true |
http://foxbusiness.com/politics/2013/02/06/post-office-saturday-cut-too-little-too-late.html
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2016-03-02
| 0 |
<p><a href="http://video.sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com" type="external" /></p>
<p>I guess this black firefighter isn't going to need to have the talk with his kids, since they got to experience firsthand what it's like for cops to make a snap decision about you based on race.</p>
<p><a href="http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/08/29/race-issues-raised-when-oakland-firefighter-kids-detained-by-police-officer-opd-keith-jones-station-29-profiling/#.VAV-cUWvdPw.twitter" type="external">CBS KPIX5</a>:</p>
<p>It was 10:45 p.m., after a recent Raiders game. Veteran firefighter Keith Jones and his two sons, ages 9 and 12, were walking back to their SUV at Station 29. A fire crew responding to an emergency had forgotten to close the garage door. Jones went in to make sure everything was secure.</p>
<p>As Jones walked out, he said a police officer, responding to a possible burglary in progress, yelled “Don’t move, put your hands up.”</p>
<p>“And his hand is on his gun. He was crouched, he was low, and he was basically in a shooting stance,” Jones said.</p>
<p>Jones complied, but noticed his 9-year-old son Trevon was starting to cry. The officer saw the two kids first and had already told them to raise their hands.</p>
<p>Jones said he told the officer that he was an Oakland firefighter, that he worked at the station and that they were his kids. He asked the officer to allow his kids to lower their hands and tell them everything is OK. Jones said the officer told them to keep their hands up and not to move.</p>
<p>The firefighter said this lasted for a few minutes.</p>
<p>“I’m pretty much thinking he’s going to pretty much shoot me,” Jones said.</p>
<p>“I was thinking is he going to shoot my dad the whole time,” said 12-year-old Keith Jones II.</p>
<p>“I was getting ready about to cry. My hands started to get tired, but I kept them up,” said 9-year-old Trevon Jones.</p>
<p>Eventually he was allowed to present his identification, but a couple of things jumped out at me in this report. First, the officer was not responding to reports of a burglary in the area, which suggests he racially profiled Mr. Jones and his kids.</p>
<p>Second, he was wearing a body camera. Let's see if the body cameras are actually something good, or if the police department dismisses what's on them as being "procedure."</p>
<p>Update: Corrected to indicate that the officer was responding to a burglary call in the area.</p>
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Cop Mistakes Black Oakland Firefighter For Burglar, Draws Weapon On Man And His Kids
| true |
http://crooksandliars.com/2014/09/cop-mistakes-black-oakland-firefighter
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2014-09-02
| 4 |
<p>One of the many things I like about Ted Cruz is his sense of humor, and his campaign’s latest ad, set to air tonight in Iowa during Saturday Night Live, exemplifies this beautifully.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/12/19/watch-the-christmas-parody-informercial-the-ted-cruz-campaign-has-paid-to-air-during-saturday-night-live/" type="external">The Blaze reports</a>:</p>
<p>The ad, which features the Texas senator read Christmas classics like “Rudolph the Underemployed Reindeer” and “The Grinch Who Lost Her Emails,” will air in key Iowa markets Saturday night, campaign spokeswoman Catherine Frazier told the Independent Journal.</p>
<p>“In the spirit of the upcoming holiday, we are excited to bring a Cruz family Christmas into the homes of SNL viewers in Iowa,” she told the website. “Ted is a long time fan of SNL, so the chance to film his own SNL-style commercial was an opportunity we couldn’t pass up!”</p>
<p>Watch:</p>
<p />
<p>In just the past couple of hours the views on this video have gone from 16,049 to 45,870 (as I type).&#160; This brilliant and fun campaign ad might just win the internet for the day.</p>
<p>Here are some reactions from Twitter:</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>Ok. This ad means I am now for <a href="https://twitter.com/tedcruz" type="external">@tedcruz</a>. Sometimes one great ad is all it takes. <a href="https://t.co/VNmFEgMT0z" type="external">https://t.co/VNmFEgMT0z</a></p>
<p>— Yes, Nick $earcy! (@yesnicksearcy) <a href="https://twitter.com/yesnicksearcy/status/678290970991984640" type="external">December 19, 2015</a></p>
<p />
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Ted Cruz Christmas Classics Ad to Air in Iowa During SNL
| true |
http://legalinsurrection.com/2015/12/ted-cruz-christmas-classics-ad-to-air-in-iowa-during-snl/
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2015-12-19
| 0 |
<p>Arrowhead Marsh near Oakland could turn to mud by 2080. &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/taylar/4029881809/sizes/l/in/photostream/"&gt;ingridtaylar&lt;/a&gt;/Flickr</p>
<p />
<p>By now, we’re used to hearing about the threats sea level rise poses to human society: It can wash away urban areas, give a boost to storms, and swallow island nations. But <a href="http://www.werc.usgs.gov/ProjectSubWebPage.aspx?SubWebPageID=2&amp;ProjectID=238" type="external">new research</a> from a team at the US Geological Survey shows that rising seas can also devastate fragile ecosystems.</p>
<p />
<p>Using a custom-built sea level modeling tool, USGS’s Western Ecological Research Center forecast the future for a dozen salt marshes in the San Francisco Bay Area, home to several species of federally protected birds and other animals. The predictions are grim: 95 percent of the marsh area could become mudflats by 2100, the effect of four feet of sea level rise (a level projected by previous studies). That’s a problem for marsh-loving endangered species like the salt marsh harvest mouse (left) and the California black rail bird, both found only in the Bay Area, and for other beach-dwelling birds that count on solid ground to lay their nests.</p>
<p>Take a look at the video below, which shows the projection for a marsh in San Pablo Bay; yellow is land, light blue is average sea level, and dark blue is high water level:&#160;</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>By the end, no more marsh (have a favorite Bay Area marsh? You can see projections for it <a href="http://www.werc.usgs.gov/ProjectSubWebPage.aspx?SubWebPageID=3&amp;ProjectID=238" type="external">here</a>). Here’s that same story, told a different way, as the marsh goes from a healthy green to muddy brown:</p>
<p />
<p>The study points out that marshes have historically been able to keep pace with sea level rise, by continually accumulating sediment and plant life. They can also escape rising seas by retreating inland. But in the Bay Area many marshes are hemmed in by development, and the rate of sea level rise projected for the remainder of this century could outpace their ability to keep up. By century’s end, the study predicts, the unique “high” marsh habitat—marked by infrequent flooding, relatively solid ground, and hardier plants—could be lost completely, replaced by watery expanses of mud interspersed with a few “low” marshes, bathed in warm salty water and suitable only for algae. This isn’t a problem only for the flora and fauna there: Marshes serve as an important buffer zone between the sea and urban areas; in San Francisco, a lot of important infrastructure (highways, airports, etc.) are only a few feet above sea level.</p>
<p>John Takekawa, who led the study, said the findings make an important statement about the damage sea level rise can bring even when it doesn’t cover the coast.</p>
<p>“Even when it’s not that entire areas will be washed away, per se,” he said, “the vegetation is changing, and then the habitat.”</p>
<p />
|
Bye-Bye Marshes, Hello Mud
| true |
https://motherjones.com/politics/2013/01/san-francisco-marshes-going-going-gone/
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2013-01-10
| 4 |
<p>Europe’s top court will weigh in this week on a proposed move by the European Central Bank to print money to buy government bonds in the face of a lagging economy.</p>
<p>The ECB is on the verge of buying government bonds to shore up the economy, but a court could attempt to reign in the bank when it gives its view on Jan. 14 about the plan, according to <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/11/us-global-economy-weekahead-idUSKBN0KK05I20150111" type="external">Reuters</a>.</p>
<p>The ECB and Germany, the largest member of the 19-member European Union, have been in a sharp disagreement over whether the practice, known as “quantitative easing,” is the right path forward for the sagging European economy.</p>
<p>The debate has caused the economy to practically come to a halt, with Germany expected to announced only modest growth in 2014.</p>
<p>As the United States has enjoyed a dramatic turnaround in the economy with strong labor statistics and solid retail sales, the European economy is not faring as well. Plummeting oil prices have given Europe a boost, but inflation is still much too low for the ECB’s comfort, resulting in the push for quantitative easing with growth stagnant and debt very high.</p>
<p>Oil prices are in the midst of its second-biggest collapse on record, dropping from $115 in the middle of last year to under $50 over the span of just a few months. That is good news for drivers, but bad news for inflation in the euro zone, as it increases the debt burden on countries.</p>
<p>Many in the euro zone believe that it is time for the ECB to act on inflation, but Germany’s staunch opposition to money-printing has proved to be an obstacle. Germany’s Bundesbank says that buying bonds issued by euro zone governments would put the country at risk of losses.</p>
<p>An adviser to Europe’s top court will provide an opinion on a challenge by Germans to an earlier ECB bond-buying program, and if the court has the same concerns as Germamy, it would provide another blow to proponents of quantitative easing, which could cause the ECB to set a fixed limit on its bond-buying plans.</p>
<p />
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Germany-ECB dispute intensifies, court to weigh in on bond-buying plan this week
| false |
http://natmonitor.com/2015/01/11/germany-ecb-dispute-intensifies-court-to-weigh-in-on-bond-buying-plan-this-week/
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2015-01-11
| 3 |
<p>President of Judicial Watch Tom Fitton taunted the Deep State Tuesday when he announced ‘the cover-up begins to end’ as new Clinton-Lynch tarmac docs are set to be released Thursday.</p>
<p>The FBI was <a href="http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2017/11/tom-fitton-blasts-fbi-stalling-release-clinton-lynch-tarmac-docs-due-today-scandal-top-cover/" type="external">stalling</a> the release of the documents all day.</p>
<p>Judicial Watch just released 29 pages of Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting docs which were previously withheld by the Justice Department.</p>
<p>The FBI wasn’t even concerned about the scandalous meeting, all they cared about was hiding the details from the public!</p>
<p>&lt;img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-354988" src="https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/wp-content/uploads/loretta-lynch-clinton-tarmac-300x169.jpg" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" alt="" width="300" height="169" /&gt;</p>
<p>Via <a href="https://www.judicialwatch.org/press-room/press-releases/judicial-watch-releases-29-pages-fbi-clinton-lynch-tarmac-meeting-documents-previously-withheld-justice-department/" type="external">Judicial Watch:</a></p>
<p>Judicial Watch&#160;today released&#160; <a href="https://www.judicialwatch.org/document-archive/jw-v-doj-02046-clinton-lynch-tarmac-records/" type="external">29 pages</a>&#160;of&#160;Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)&#160;documents&#160;related to the June 27, 2016, tarmac meeting between former Attorney General Loretta Lynch and former President Bill Clinton.&#160;The documents show that FBI officials were more concerned about leaks than the actual meeting itself.&#160; The new documents also show that then-FBI Director&#160;Comey&#160;seemed to learn of the meeting from news reports.&#160;</p>
<p>The new FBI documents show FBI officials were concerned about a leak that Bill Clinton delayed his aircraft taking off in order to “maneuver” a meeting with the attorney general.&#160; The resulting&#160; <a href="http://observer.com/2016/07/exclusive-security-source-details-bill-clinton-maneuver-to-meet-loretta-lynch/" type="external">story</a>&#160;in the&#160;Observer&#160;is seemingly confirmed and causes a flurry of emails about the source of the article.&#160; FBI official(s) write “we need to find that guy” and that the Phoenix FBI office was contacted “in an attempt to stem any further damage.”&#160; Another FBI official, working on AG Lynch’s security detail, suggests instituting non-disclosure agreements.&#160; The names of the emails authors are redacted.&#160;There are no documents showing concern about the meeting itself.&#160;</p>
<p>President of Judicial Watch Tom Fitton had this to say about the new documents:</p>
<p>“These new FBI documents show the FBI was more concerned about a whistleblower who told the truth about the infamous Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting than the scandalous meeting itself. The documents show the FBI worked to make sure no more details of the meeting would be revealed to the American people.&#160; No wonder the FBI&#160;didn’t&#160;turn these documents over until Judicial Watch caught the agency red-handed hiding them.&#160; These new documents confirm the urgent need to reopen the Clinton email scandal and criminally investigate the resulting Obama FBI/DOJ sham investigation.”&#160;</p>
<p>Click <a href="http://www.judicialwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/16-cv-02046-Release-dated-11302017.pdf?V=1" type="external">here</a> to scroll through all documents.</p>
<p>Fitton tweeted, “Judicial Watch releases 29 pages of FBI Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting documents previously withheld.”</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>How sweet of Bill Clinton to delay his flight in order to talk to Loretta Lynch about golf and grandchildren. Nothing to see here, folks.</p>
<p>The fact that the FBI was more concerned about going after the local Phoenix whistleblower (law enforcement officer?) and making sure the details of the meeting didn’t leak to the press is truly disturbing.</p>
<p>There needs to be a real investigation into the tarmac meeting and justice must be served in order for Americans to have confidence in the FBI again.</p>
| false |
https://studionewsnetwork.com/government-corruption/6976/
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2017-12-01
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<p>"The Force" can now be streamed.</p>
<p>Streaming entertainment service M-GO says it acquired the digital distribution rights to all six episodes of the Star Wars series and will start selling them on Friday. It has already begun taking pre-orders.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The Walt Disney Co., which owns Lucasflim Ltd., and 20th Century Fox are also releasing added features to the films, including extras from each film and deleted scenes.</p>
<p>M-GO is taking pre-orders for Star Wars: The Digital Movie Collection for a limited-time price of $99.77. The individual films are available for pre-order for $19.77 — a nod to the theatrical release year of the first film in the franchise.</p>
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M-GO signs deal with Walt Disney to stream entire Star Wars collection
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http://foxbusiness.com/features/2015/04/07/m-go-signs-deal-with-walt-disney-to-stream-entire-star-wars-collection.html
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2016-03-05
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<p>U.S. auto safety regulators are investigating complaints that some newer Jeep SUVs can roll away unexpectedly after drivers put them in park.</p>
<p>The probe covers 408,000 Grand Cherokees from the 2014 and 2015 model years. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it has received 14 complaints from drivers, including five crashes and three injuries.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The agency says the Jeeps have electronic gear selectors. Drivers pull the shift lever forward or backward to select gears and the shifter doesn't move along a track like it does in most cars.</p>
<p>Investigators will determine how often the problem happens, how many vehicles it affects and whether it's a safety problem before deciding whether to seek a recall.</p>
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US agency investigates 14 complaints of Jeep SUVs rolling off after being shifted into park
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http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2015/08/24/us-agency-investigates-14-complaints-jeep-suvs-rolling-off-after-being-shifted.html
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2016-03-05
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<p />
<p>The New York Stock Exchange has withdrawn a proposal that would have allowed it to flag "aberrant" pricing of exchange-traded funds, according to a filing this week.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The exchange in late January dropped a request with federal regulators that would have let it discourage traders and market-data companies from relying on ETF prices "that the exchange determines to be inconsistent with the prevailing market," the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said in a filing on Thursday.</p>
<p>NYSE's Arca exchange is a primary listing and trading venue for the $3 trillion global ETF market, and it has been scrutinized closely for its response to a lopsided trading session last summer.</p>
<p>On Aug. 24, blue-chip stocks and ETFs were halted repeatedly during a market selloff. Some ETFs sank more than 30 percent from their prior-day close, often at deep discounts to the quoted value of the stocks they held. In many cases the prices recovered later that day.</p>
<p>In asking for permission for the new trading policy in October, NYSE said the nature of exchange-traded products mean they need a "different, and generally broader, set of circumstances to determine that trades are 'aberrant,'" the commission said.</p>
<p>In a report last month, NYSE touted other reforms it has made on its exchange, including providing more information to its traders. The bourse also called for all U.S. stock exchanges to modify and coordinate their policies on trading halts when securities prices move violently in a short time.</p>
<p>The exchange, which is owned by Intercontinental Exchange Inc, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Chris Reese)</p>
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NYSE Drops Proposal to Flag 'Aberrant' Trading in ETFs: Regulators
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http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/02/19/nyse-drops-proposal-to-flag-aberrant-trading-in-etfs-regulators.html
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2016-02-19
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