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<p>The United States’ announcement that it plans to end the combat role of its troops in Afghanistan earlier than expected, and before the end of next year, is a crucial milestone in the international forces’ retreat from the country. Coming after the French decision to go early, the US move looks like part of a panicky rush for the exit. More important, Afghans like to bet on winners, and the US action will convince many that these are increasingly likely to be the Taliban and Pakistan rather than the Afghan government. No wonder NATO officials looked so anxious as they pretended that the US action had not come as a nasty surprise.</p>
<p>The decision, revealed by the US Defense Secretary, Leon Panetta, with deliberate casualness to journalists on his plane, is an admission of failure. The US has an army of 90,000 soldiers in Afghanistan and is spending $100 billion a year, but has still been unable to defeat 20,000-25,000 Taliban who receive no pay at all.</p>
<p>A little over 10 years ago, I was standing on a small hill by a ruined textile factory 40 miles north of Kabul watching the plumes of fire erupt on the skyline as US bombs and missiles exploded in the Taliban front line. In the next few weeks the Taliban government imploded and I was able to drive nervously but safely to Kabul and, soon after, to Kandahar.</p>
<p>It is an extraordinary turn-around that a decade later the Americans are departing and the Taliban are back in business. A leaked NATO report on interrogations of 4,000 captured Taliban, al-Qa’ida, foreign fighters and civilians shows that Taliban prisoners are in a confident mood. They believe their popular support is growing, Afghan government officials secretly collaborate with them, and, once foreign troops are gone, they believe they are going to win. The authors of the NATO report say “Afghan civilians frequently prefer Taliban governance over Giroa [Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan] usually as a result of government corruption, ethnic bias and lack of connection with local religious and tribal leaders.” This enables the Taliban easily to recruit more fighters to replace their casualties.</p>
<p>As in Iraq, departing US troops will leave behind a very different political and military landscape in Afghanistan from the one they hoped to create. In the Iraqi case, power is held by Shia religious parties closely linked to Iran, which is the opposite of what the Americans wanted to see when they captured Baghdad in 2003. In the Afghan case, the government of Hamid Karzai has waning authority as the US steps back and Afghans take out insurance policies to ensure personal survival by making approaches to the Taliban. In both Iraq and Afghanistan, powerful US armies failed to impose their control or restore peace.</p>
<p>America’s wars launched in the aftermath of 9/11 led Washington to overplay its hand disastrously. This was not so obvious at the time as it is now. At first sight, both wars looked easy because they were against feeble, isolated enemies, unpopular in their own countries. But successful invasion is very different from successful occupation. In neither Baghdad nor Kabul did the US have an adequate local partner. No neighboring countries wanted the occupations to succeed. Above all, the US underestimated the extent to which foreign occupation generates resistance.</p>
<p>The NATO report, based on no fewer than 27,000 interrogations, is full of interesting facts about the Taliban prisoners’ optimistic perception of where they stand today. It is not so much that Taliban are greatly liked, but that the government and its local emissaries are loathed for their corruption, incompetence and violence. This is evident even among people whom self-interest should lead to support the status quo. I was talking to an estate agent in north Kabul just over a year ago, when, after denouncing government corruption, he furiously told me that “people are so angry there will be a revolution”. On an earlier occasion, I was having a rather boring interview with a mid-level official, who told me of all the good things the government was planning to do. I asked him, without expecting much of interest to emerge, if he wanted to say anything off the record. He said quietly that indeed he did and, without changing his tone of voice, went on to describe the members of the government he had just been praising as a gang of warlords and racketeers.</p>
<p>Such opposition to the government does not necessarily mean support for the insurgents, but it creates a political vacuum which they swiftly fill. The former Communist political and military commander for the whole of southern Afghanistan, General Nur al-Haq Ulumi, told me that the Communist Party in the 1980s had 200,000 members as core supporters. “I doubt if there are more than 40 people really loyal to Karzai,” he added. “He does not even have the full support of his own cabinet.”</p>
<p>Candid about Afghans’ criticism of their government, the NATO report is diplomatically reticent about the other main reason why the Taliban has been able to survive, recover and absorb the US counter-offensive in 2010-11. The Taliban benefits from simply being Afghans who are fighting foreign occupation, and “occupation” is the word used by both Taliban and government officials. The Pashtun, the community to which the Taliban mostly belong, are notorious for their detestation of foreigners.</p>
<p>In one respect, Afghanistan has been militarily more difficult for the US than Iraq. In the latter country, in the aftermath of the sectarian slaughter of 2006-07, Sunni and Shia were more frightened of each other than they were of American troops. The presence of US soldiers in any Baghdad neighborhood at this stage of the war meant less violence inflicted on ordinary people. The situation in Afghanistan is exactly the reverse of this, with the arrival of foreign forces inevitably bringing more violence as special forces carry out night raids to kill local Taliban militants.</p>
<p>An American success in Afghanistan was impossible once the Pakistan army had decided to give full backing to a return of the Taliban. The US faced the same strategic weakness as the Soviet army during its Afghan campaign. However many setbacks the anti-Soviet mujahideen or the anti-American Taliban suffered, they could always retreat across the 1,600 mile-long border with Pakistan to rest, re-organize and re-equip. President Barack Obama was told during his first days in office that the heart of military problems facing the US in Afghanistan lay in Pakistan, but Washington could never work out an effective way of dealing with it. The NATO report just leaked tellingly quotes a senior al-Qa’ida commander from Kunar province in eastern Afghanistan saying: “Pakistan knows everything. They control everything. I can’t [expletive] on a tree in Kunar without them watching. The Taliban are not Islam. The Taliban are Islamabad.”</p>
<p>The US has failed in Afghanistan and the Taliban will become stronger. But it is unlikely they can win a total victory. The non-Pashtun communities, a majority of the population, will resist them. Reconciliation will be very difficult in a country as deeply divided as Afghanistan. The war may soon be over for the Americans, but not for the Afghans.</p>
<p>PATRICK COCKBURN is the author of “ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1416551476/counterpunchmaga" type="external">Muqtada: Muqtada Al-Sadr, the Shia Revival, and the Struggle for Iraq.</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | How the War Was Lost | true | https://counterpunch.org/2012/02/06/how-the-war-was-lost/ | 2012-02-06 | 4 |
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<p>BERLIN — German authorities say they expect to have a cannabis-growing program up and running in 2019 after the country approved legislation allowing some patients to get the drug as a prescription medication.</p>
<p>Germany’s Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices said Friday that it’s setting up a “cannabis agency” to oversee the growing program. It plans to solicit bids from throughout the European Union to find companies to run it.</p>
<p>The program’s first cannabis is expected to be available in 2019. Until then, prescriptions will be fulfilled with imported marijuana, which currently comes from the Netherlands and Canada.</p>
<p>The government has stressed Germany’s new rules don’t mean marijuana will be legal for non-medical purposes.</p>
<p>Patients in Germany previously had to seek special authorization to use the drug. About 1,000 people did so.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Germany expects cannabis-growing program to be going in 2019 | false | https://abqjournal.com/961501/germany-expects-cannabis-growing-program-to-be-going-in-2019.html | 2 |
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<p>KJV Preserves It While Others Delete It - Who Is Right?</p>
<p>"For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one." <a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=1Jo&amp;c=5" type="external">1 John 5:7</a></p>
<p>Question: Is it true that 1 John 5:7 is not in any Greek manuscript before the 1600s? If it is true, why is it in the King James Bible? Answer: 1 John 5:7 belongs in the King James Bible and was preserved by faithful Christians. But the passage was removed from many Greek manuscripts, because of the problems it seemed to cause. It is true that there is a small number of Scriptures that are not the same between the King James Bible and the so-called "Majority" Greek text. There are a number of reasons for this:</p>
<p>So why then is 1 John 5:7 in the King James Bible, but not in many of the existing Greek manuscripts? To understand the answer, we must look at the history of what happened shortly after the Bible was written.</p>
<p>The Greek and Roman Institutions</p>
<p>During the early growth of the Christian church, ministers (whether saved or not) wrote down doctrines that they said were Christian and Biblical. Starting after the death of the apostles (about 100 AD) many people taught the lie that Jesus was not God the Son and Son of God, or that Jesus became God at His baptism, or the false doctrine that the Holy Spirit was not God or was not eternal.</p>
<p>The growing religion that became known as Roman Catholic, after many debates eventually agreed on the doctrine of the Trinity. So they had no reason to remove 1 John 5:7 from their Bibles, since it supported what they taught.</p>
<p>But the Greek Eastern Orthodox religion was combatting a heresy called " <a href="http://www.chick.com/ask/articles/glossary.asp" type="external">Sabellianism</a>," and would have found it easier to combat the heresy by simply removing the troubling passage from their Bibles.</p>
<p>The Vaudois</p>
<p>Now the "Waldensian," or "Vaudois" Bibles stretch from about 157 to the 1400s AD. The fact is, according to John Calvin's successor Theodore Beza, that the Vaudois received the Scriptures from missionaries of Antioch of Syria in the 120s AD and finished translating it into their Latin language by 157 AD. This Bible was passed down from generation, until the Reformation of the 1500s, when the Protestants translated the Vaudois Bible into French, Italian, etc. This Bible carries heavy weight when finding out what God really said. <a href="http://www.chick.com/ask/articles/glossary.asp" type="external">John Wesley</a> and <a href="http://www.chick.com/ask/articles/glossary.asp" type="external">Jonathan Edwards</a> believed, as most of the Reformers, that the Vaudois were the descendants of the true Christians, and that they preserved the Christian faith for the Bible-believing Christians today.</p>
<p>Who Has the Most to Gain? Who Has the Most to Lose?</p>
<p>The evidence of history shows us that the Roman Catholic religion was relentless in its effort to destroy the Vaudois and their Bible. It took them until the 1650s to finish their hateful attacks. But the Vaudois were successful in preserving God's words to the days of the Reformation.</p>
<p>Now we have to ask ourselves a question: Who had the most to gain by adding to or taking away from the Bible? Did the Vaudois, who were being killed for having their Bibles, have anything to gain by adding to or taking from the words of God? Compromise is what the Roman religion wanted! Had the Vaudois just followed the popes, their lives would have been much easier. But they counted the cost. This was not politics; it was their life and soul. They above all people would not want to change a single letter of the words they received from Antioch of Syria. And they paid for this with their lives.</p>
<p>What about the "scholars" at Alexandria, Egypt? We already know about them. They could not even make their few 45 manuscripts agree. How could we believe they preserved God's words?</p>
<p>The Reformation itself owes a lot to these Christians in the French Alps. They not only preserved the Scriptures, but they show to what lengths God would go to keep his promise (Psalm 12:6-7).</p>
<p>And that's only part of the story about the preservation of God's words. <a href="http://www.chick.com/ask/articles/1john57.asp" type="external">source - Chick Publishing</a></p> Question: Answer: | true | http://nowtheendbegins.com/pages/KJV/1-john-5-7-kjv-bible.htm | 0 |
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<p>PT Pertamina and Rosneft Oil Company Tuesday agreed to form a joint venture company that will build and operate a oil refinery and petrochemical complex in East Java, Indonesia, which is estimated to need up to $15 billion in investment.</p>
<p>Pertamina, an Indonesian state-owned company, will hold a 55% stake in the joint venture, while its Russian partner holds the remaining 45%. The refinery will have a processing capacity of 300,000 barrels of oil per day, and will produce fuels that meet Euro 5 emissions standards for cars, Pertamina said.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The fuels that will be produced will be 80,000 barrels of gasoline, 99,000 barrels of diesel, and 26,000 barrels of aviation fuel per day.</p>
<p>The company will start the construction of the project in 2020, with completion expected in 2024.</p>
<p>-- Write to I Made Sentana at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>November 28, 2017 02:48 ET (07:48 GMT)</p> | Pertamina and Rosneft Oil Form Oil Complex JV in East Java | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/11/28/pertamina-and-rosneft-oil-form-oil-complex-jv-in-east-java2.html | 2017-11-28 | 0 |
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<p>Don’t let that headline fool you. Most of us in New Mexico are still experiencing all La Nina has to offer, with above-normal temperatures and below normal precipitation. Santa Fe Ski Area is set to open this morning at 9. Ten runs will be open with special prices of lift tickes. Go to the <a href="http://www.skisantafe.com/" type="external">area’s web site</a> for more info.</p>
<p>Today’s forecast for most of the state is mild and slightly windy. Highs in the Albuquerque area will be near 60, with breezes about 10 mph. An approaching cool front will drop the temps over the weekend a few degrees.</p>
<p>Here’s the official forecast for the metro:</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 64. Northwest wind between 5 and 15 mph.</p>
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<p>Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 31. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.</p>
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<p>Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 59. North wind between 5 and 15 mph.</p>
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<p>Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 29. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.</p>
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<p>Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 60. North wind around 5 mph.</p> | Slightly Cooler Weekend on the Way | false | https://abqjournal.com/10608/slightly-cooler-weekend-on-the-way.html | 2 |
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<p>Three articles this weekend suggest that President Bush and his aim-challenged vice president are being abandoned by key elements of their base, and are facing a growing threat of impeachment.</p>
<p>In the New York Times Sunday Book Review, Dexter Filkins, one of the best reporters covering the Iraq War, reviewing a new book by former U.S. occupation viceroy L. Paul Bremer, reports on how Bremer says he asked for 40,000 more troops, and got a sympathetic hearing from Gen. Sanchez, who made it clear that he couldn’t get them. The reason: The Bush administration was politically committed to keeping troop levels at no more than 130,000, and reducing them if possible. The article makes it clear that Bremer saw the war and occupation as a failure.</p>
<p>In the current issue of National Review, William Buckley says Bush has to admit that his grand Iraq adventure has been a failure. While one can take issue with Buckley’s conclusion–that the disaster in Iraq shouldn’t mean that the U.S. can’t continue to meddle in other countries around the world–his major point is that for Bush and the U.S. in Iraq, it’s over. For Buckley only challenge remaining is for the president and his administration to admit defeat.</p>
<p>What this means is that Bush has lost both the corporate Republican backing for the war, as represented by Bremer, a fixture of the Wall Street establishment, and the mainstream Conservatives, as represented by Buckley.</p>
<p>Put that together with a third report–so far ignored by the major corporate media–that special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald has obtained some 250 “missing” emails concerning the outing of Valerie Plame, and we have a whole new ballgame regarding the Bush administration’s remaining three years in office.</p>
<p>If Jason Leopold’s <a href="" type="internal">special report</a> is correct (and Leopold has been pretty dead-on with regard to developments in the Fitzgerald probe), these new emails would appear to tie Cheney directly to the outing, and would be powerful evidence that the vice president lied to investigators regarding his knowledge of and involvement in the attack on Plame and ambassador Joseph Wilson.</p>
<p>With his allies dwindling, and evidence of his administration’s criminality edging closer and closer to the Oval Office, Bush appears to be developing more and more of a bunker mentality.</p>
<p>It’s all very reminiscent of the latter years of the Nixon administration, and we know how that one ended …</p>
<p>DAVE LINDORFF is the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1567512283/counterpunchmaga" type="external">Killing Time: an Investigation into the Death Row Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal</a>. His new book of CounterPunch columns titled “ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1567512984/counterpunchmaga" type="external">This Can’t be Happening!</a>” is published by Common Courage Press. Lindorff’s new book, “ <a href="" type="internal">The Case for Impeachment</a>“, co-authored by Barbara Olshansky, is due out May 1.</p>
<p>He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
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<p>&#160;</p> | Bush’s Bunker Days | true | https://counterpunch.org/2006/02/27/bush-s-bunker-days/ | 2006-02-27 | 4 |
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<p>The Obama administration warned Congress on Monday that the United States could run out of money to pay its bills soon after mid-October if lawmakers do not move swiftly to raise a limit on government borrowing.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>"Congress should act as soon as possible to protect America's good credit," Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said in a letter to congressional leaders, urging action "well before any risk of default becomes imminent."</p>
<p>The government has been scraping up against its $16.7 trillion debt limit since May, but has avoid defaulting on any of its obligations by employing a number of emergency measures to manage its cash, like suspending investments in pension funds for federal workers.</p>
<p>Lew said the government will exhaust its borrowing capacity in the middle of October and be left with about $50 billion in cash on hand, an amount that he said could conceivably be wiped out in a single day. That would make default imminent and could shake investors' confidence in the United States, he said.</p>
<p>"Such a scenario could undermine financial markets and result in significant disruptions to our economy," Lew added.</p>
<p>A heated debate in Washington over the debt ceiling nearly led to default in 2011. This roiled financial markets at the time and helped prompt a Wall Street rating agency to downgrade America's debt rating.</p>
<p>This year, Republicans are considering using the need to raise the debt ceiling as leverage for their agenda in Congress. The party is trying to weaken President Barack Obama's signature healthcare overhaul. Conservatives also want to reform tax laws and get Obama to approve a proposed oil pipeline.</p>
<p>"The debt limit remains a reminder that, under President Obama, Washington has failed to deal seriously with America's debt and deficit," said Michael Steel, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner.</p>
<p>While Congress has already taken the tax and spending decisions that have fueled U.S. budget deficits, it also separately controls the limit on the nation's debt.</p>
<p>Obama is vowing not to let the debt ceiling be a bargaining chip in other political discussions.</p>
<p>"We will not negotiate with Republicans in Congress over Congress' responsibility to pay the bills that Congress has racked up, period," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.</p>
<p>Previously, the Obama administration had said Congress needed to act by early September, but a strengthening economy has boosted tax receipts, buying the government more time before it runs out of borrowing room.</p>
<p>The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has said the government might not exhaust its borrowing capacity until November, an estimate in line with private sector forecasts.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Leslie Adler)</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | Treasury's Lew: US Will Exhaust Borrowing Capacity Mid-October | true | http://foxbusiness.com/politics/2013/08/26/treasury-lew-us-will-exhaust-borrowing-capacity-mid-october.html | 2016-03-02 | 0 |
<p>Courtesy of Girlie Action Media</p>
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<p>Agnes ObelAventine Play It Again Sam</p>
<p>To get those spooky vibes going in advance of Halloween, check out Aventine, the sophomore effort from melancholy Dane Agnes Obel. Restrained yet melodically lush, her elegant chamber pop intertwines haunted vocals, sometimes overdubbed to heavenly choir dimensions, and moonlit, introspective piano, with spare, brooding strings underscoring the sense of downcast beauty.</p>
<p>Such dreamy understatement might verge on New Age blandness in lesser hands, but Obel maintains an arresting undercurrent of dread in deceptively forceful tunes like “Fuel to Fire” and “Words Are Dead.” While Aventine is the perfect 2 a.m. record, its atmospheric haze will bring a little late-night mystery to any time of day.</p>
<p /> | Halloween Comes Early on Agnes Obel’s “Aventine” | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2013/10/halloween-early-agnes-obels-aventine-review/ | 2013-10-07 | 4 |
<p>The facts and figures surrounding income inequality are so outrageous that it’s hard to understand why people aren’t more outraged about it. The fact is, the situation is more insidious in our lives than is obvious, because income inequality is undermining democracy and will continue to do so until the nation rises up against it or slouches its way into true plutocracy.</p>
<p>It is a real problem.&#160; Today in America, one percent of the population earns 25 percent of all income and controls 40 percent of the nation’s wealth, according to economist Joseph Stiglitz.</p>
<p>“Twenty-five years ago, the corresponding figures were 12 percent and 33 percent,” Stiglitz <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/society/features/2011/05/top-one-percent-201105?currentPage=all" type="external">wrote</a> in the May 2011 issue of Vanity Fair.</p>
<p>The situation shows no sign of getting better.&#160; One example of the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/05/us-inequality-infographic_n_845042.html#s261410&amp;title=CEO_Pay" type="external">disparity</a>&#160;is in the earnings of CEOs compared with those of workers in their companies.&#160; In 1970, heads of companies made 39 times the salary of the average workers.&#160; By the year 2000, that number had ballooned to 1039 times average salaries.&#160; The current recession has made the gap even larger.</p>
<p>Stiglitz says that people remain unconcerned about these numbers because what matters to most people “is not how the pie is divided but the size of the pie. That argument is fundamentally wrong,” Stiglitz warns. “An economy in which most citizens are doing worse year after year—an economy like America’s—is not likely to do well over the long haul.”</p>
<p>Stiglitz writes, “Economists are not sure how to fully explain the growing inequality in America, but one big part of the reason we have so much inequality is that the top 1 percent want it that way.”</p>
<p>Mark Thoma explains why that is so in an article in The Fiscal Times.&#160; He notes that inter-generational mobility (that is, the ability to climb the ladder by children of lower socioeconomic groups) has decreased dramatically because opportunities for education, health care and other factors that would enable such mobility have lessened.&#160; The wealthy generally oppose plans to increase these opportunities for the masses, hence protecting their place at the top of the food chain.</p>
<p>Mobility, Thoma writes, “can be hampered by the concentration of wealth and power. If wealth and power can be passed from generation to generation, and if the power that comes with wealth allows individuals to erect barriers that protect their businesses from competition or regulation, then the wealth that is passed from generation to generation serves as a barrier to mobility both within and across generations.”</p>
<p>Worst of all, concentrated wealth means concentrated political power.&#160; In the age of SuperPacs and Citizens United, it is money that speaks the loudest in terms of electing politicians and influencing policy.</p>
<p>Stiglitz argues that “a modern economy requires ‘collective action’—it needs government to invest in infrastructure, education, and technology.”&#160; Such investments are often opposed by the wealthy, who can take care of their own needs without government assistance.</p>
<p>MIT ecomomist Daron Acemoglu <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/03/23/451166/acemoglu-income-inequality-political-powe/" type="external">puts it this way</a>:</p>
<p>“…when economic inequality increases, the people who have become economically more powerful will often attempt to use that power in order to gain even more political power. And once they are able to monopolize political power, they will start using that for changing the rules in their favor. And that sort of political inequality is the real danger that’s facing the United States.”</p>
<p>The Occupy Wall Street movement clearly articulated the income inequality issue, introducing the 1 percent/99 percent dichotomy in dramatic fashion. &#160;Whether the OWS perspective fires the public imagination and brings about a reversal of the growing problem has yet to be seen.&#160; But one thing seems certain:&#160; inaction will ensure ever-expanding income inequality and further erosion of the middle class.</p> | The Rich Get Richer: Income Inequality and Political Power | false | https://ivn.us/2012/04/23/the-rich-get-richer-income-inequality-and-political-power/ | 2012-04-23 | 2 |
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<p><a href="http://www.alternet.org" type="external">AlterNet</a> is hosting a <a href="http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2010/03/10/you-are-the-center-of-glenn-becks-latest-conspiracy/" type="external">spiffy new video feature</a> sponsored by MoveOn.org, SEIU, and Brave New Films that enables you to put yourself in the center of one of Glenn Beck’s inane conspiracy theories. Not just you, but your friends, your employer, your hometown, and your photos (if you’re into the Facebook thing). Sure to be a viral classic, it kind of has to be seen to be appreciated. Go <a href="http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2010/03/10/you-are-the-center-of-glenn-becks-latest-conspiracy/" type="external">make yours now</a>!&#160;Here’s mine:</p>
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<p>Strangely, Beck’s rantings about me are uncannily similar to those of many commenters on this <a href="" type="internal">Wal-Mart/Barbie story</a>…Huh!</p>
<p /> | Your Own Glenn Beck Video! | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2010/03/your-own-glenn-beck-video-alternet-facebook-customize-left-wing-conspiracy-theory/ | 2010-03-10 | 4 |
<p>When Khodar Jindo and his family fled Syria, like many other refugees, they had their sights set on northern Europe. After nine months in Turkey, they decide to make their journey.</p>
<p>They paid a smuggler thousands of dollars. He said he would take them all the way to Germany, but somewhere in the remote forests near the Turkish-Bulgarian border he abandoned them.</p>
<p>“Without the GPS, we would have died in Bulgaria,” say Kohdar.</p>
<p>Khodar and his family were stranded with a group of other migrants.</p>
<p>Together they walked for two weeks guided by the GPS in their smartphones — and eventually they found their way through Bulgaria and into Serbia and on to this abandoned brick factory near Serbia’s border with Hungary.</p>
<p>For hundreds of Syrians, Iraqis, Afghanis, Pakistanis and Eritreans this is now the last stop before they make their final push into the EU.</p>
<p>Migrants from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Eritrea seek refuge at an abandoned brick factory near the Serbian-Hungarian border.</p>
<p>Rebecca Collard</p>
<p>For decades, migrants and asylum seekers fleeing Africa and the Middle East have had their sights set on Europe. Some are smuggled in the back of trucks, on trains or by foot. Others risk the dangerous sea crossing of the central Mediterranean.</p>
<p>But this year alone at least 1,500 migrants and asylum seekers have died trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea — most from Libya, bound for Italy.</p>
<p>As the perils of this popular sea route become more clear, an increasing number of migrants are opting for a route through the Balkans. In May alone, 10,000 migrants were detected trying to illegally cross the Serbian-Hungarian border, a tenfold increase from last year. Many more crossed undetected.</p>
<p>On this land route, migrants risk another danger: exploitation and kidnapping. They tell tales of being locked in houses in Macedonia by traffickers, and lied to, stolen from and abandoned by the smugglers they paid to take them to safety.</p>
<p>So, many are choosing DIY smuggling. With smartphones in hand, they are guiding themselves in to Europe.</p>
<p>Migrants walk through a field near the Serbian-Hungarian border.</p>
<p>Rebecca Collard</p>
<p>Abu Hassan and his family fled Syria two months ago, determined to reach Munich. They sold everything they owned and paid smugglers to take them on the short boat trip to Greece, and then paid thousands of more dollars to be smuggled on to Germany. But instead, the smugglers dropped them in Macedonia near the Serbian border.</p>
<p>“They said ‘there’s Serbia, go,'” says Abu Hassan. They were caught by Serbian police but released, and quickly headed north.</p>
<p>Camping in a park in Belgrade, they debated their options for crossing the Serbian-Hungarian border — their last barrier to the EU. They were scared of being robbed again and decided to go it alone.</p>
<p>The day after we met in the park, Abu Hassan sent me a voice message saying he was heading to the border. Days later, another message told me they reached Germany.</p>
<p>He also sent&#160;me a video sent to him by another Syrian.</p>
<p>The video is a step-by-step guide to sneaking across the Serbian-Hungarian border. The video shows a Google Map and a voice instructs the migrants to walk between a river and the road. It tells them to move quickly through the populated areas and no matter what happens, stay hidden until 6:30 a.m., before getting a taxi on to Budapest.</p>
<p>Syrian migrants move quickly through a populated area of a Serbian village in route to the Hungarian border.&#160;</p>
<p>Rebecca Collard</p>
<p>He followed this route exactly, he says.</p>
<p>Back near the Serbian-Hungarian border, migrants gathered in a park. A group of 10 or so huddled together speaking in Arabic. Some were Syrians, other were Yazdis who fled ISIS during an attack on Mount Sinjar. They got nervous and asked me to turn off the microphone.</p>
<p>They were planning to take the same route as Abu Hassan.</p>
<p>Within minutes, they were following in his tracks, walking quickly, as instructed, through the populated areas toward the forest by the river.</p>
<p>That night I saw dozens of migrants, in groups, follow the same route, most under the cover of darkness. Routes like this can go viral.</p>
<p>An Afghani migrant plays music from a memory stick on a small speaker where he is camping in an abandoned brick factory near the Serbian-Hungarian border.</p>
<p>Rebecca Collard</p>
<p>But the smartphone is unlikely to replace the smuggler completely. Some migrants say they believe using their phones will let police catch them. Others pay for different routes smugglers tell them are safer.</p>
<p>The next night, Hungarian police arrested 379 migrants a few miles from the border. Many of those who are caught are sent back to Serbia and they simply try again, smartphones in hand.</p> | Forget the trafficker, migrants are sneaking into Europe by themselves | false | https://pri.org/stories/2015-06-15/forget-trafficker-migrants-are-sneaking-europe-themselves | 2015-06-15 | 3 |
<p>Tampa Tribune Tampa Trib executive editor Janet Weaver says fired reporter Rozel A. Lee's sports award <a href="http://www.tbo.com/sports/MGBB7PY08JE.html" type="external">vote manipulation</a> "is especially painful to me because it involves two high school athletes -- one who won the award and one who placed second because of our reporter's improper vote. Both are, by all accounts, exceptional young men on and off the football field. I am sorry the actions of a Tribune reporter have put them in an awkward position." &gt; <a href="http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/sfl-0205voting,0,6935211.story?coll=sfla-sports-front" type="external">Sun-Sentinel reporters no longer allowed to cast sports awards votes (S-S)</a></p> | Tampa Trib editor: Reporter's awards manipulation pains me | false | https://poynter.org/news/tampa-trib-editor-reporters-awards-manipulation-pains-me | 2006-02-06 | 2 |
<p>Analysis &amp; Opinions</p>
<p />
<p>It is the first Munich security conference in the shadow of US President Donald Trump, raising questions about how participants will address the new US administration. In an interview with German station Radio Bayern, Harvard policy expert Cathryn Cluver gives an inside look at the foreign policy risks and opportunities at the conference, giving context to&#160;the upcoming remarks of senior Trump Administration officials Mike&#160;Pence and James Mattis.</p>
<p /> | A Historical Security Conference? | false | http://belfercenter.org/publication/historical-security-conference | 2017-02-18 | 2 |
<p>The New York Sunday Times on November 28, 2010 published noted historian Geoffrey C. Ward’s review of a biography of President Theodore Roosevelt [TR]. His review reveals something distressing about the way some of our scholars gloss over our iconic figures and write history as the U.S. fights multiple wars. A popular war hero, President for seven years, a prominent international figure [awarded the Nobel Peace Prize], arguably the man who built the U.S. overseas empire, TR’s brash aggressiveness has long made him Mount Rushmore in size and a favorite of school texts. He is always listed among our best and most important leaders.</p>
<p>At one point Ward refers to Roosevelt having “a bloodlust impossible to excuse.” First a fact: In and out of the White House TR wielded enormous power at home and across the globe, and at the moment the U.S. rushed onto the world scene. Question: does not a bloodlust from this high a global perch have huge consequences? Ward simply mentions TR’s bloodlust and then hurries on.</p>
<p>TR was an energetic, impetuous, rarely contained figure. What about his bloodlust? Did he open his heart to war and violence? In 1897 TR wrote a friend “I should welcome almost any war, for I think this country needs one” — and carried around a list of six target nations on three continents. The next year the U.S. declared war on Spain, and TR at forty rushed to serve — and did serve heroically as a Rough Rider. Years later he regretted he had not been “seriously wounded in Cuba in some striking and disfiguring way.”</p>
<p>In what ways did TR’s bloodlust impact the world stage? Reviewer Ward does not say, but TR does. “All the great masterful races have been fighting races,” he claimed. To fellow Anglo-Saxons he said, “It is wholly impossible to avoid conflicts with the weaker races,” and added, “The most ultimately righteous of all wars is a war with savages.” He urged Anglo Saxon men to embrace war as a form of “spiritual renewal” that would prevent “race suicide” and stimulate “a clear instinct for racial selfishness.” TR as a statesman embraced war as inevitable, justifiable, and politically useful. As an historian TR called “heroic” shocking U.S. Army massacres of innocent Indian villagers. He believed “the only good Indian is a dead Indian” and promoted the genocide of Native Americans.</p>
<p>President during a time when a hundred African Americans were killed by brutal lynch mobs each year, TR said he opposed lynching. He also spoke to Black audiences about lynching and announced the “rapists and criminals” among them “did more harm to their race than any white man can possibly do them.”</p>
<p>During his White House years, TR boasted, “not a shot was fired at any soldier of a hostile nation by any American soldier or sailor.” But when Filipinos demanded the right of self-determination, he ordered a U.S. Army occupation of the Philippines that continued throughout his presidency and beyond . . . and took hundreds of thousands of civilian lives.</p>
<p>During World War I TR’s bloodlust was still kicking. At 60 he rushed to join the Army so he could die gloriously for his country, but was turned down. But when his son Archie was wounded overseas TR and his family raised a toast. TR died two years later peacefully in his bed.</p>
<p>Roosevelt’s bloodlust carried a strong racial bias, a flawed memory, and lived deep in his soul. Like him it became a part of American policy. Confining it to four words is not the whole truth. Nor is it useful as the U.S. fights three Middle Eastern wars and contemplates another invasion.</p>
<p>Americans need to understand our leaders, our history and how to avoid bloodlust-driven policies.</p>
<p>William Loren Katz, author of forty books on American history, is a visiting scholar at New York University. His website is: <a href="http://www.williamlkatzl.com" type="external">williamlkatzl.com</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.easycartsecure.com/CounterPunch/Annual_Subscriptions.html" type="external">Limited Time Special Offer! Get CounterPunch Print Edition By Email for Only $25 a Year!</a></p>
<p /> | The Bloodlust of Teddy Roosevelt | true | https://counterpunch.org/2011/06/08/the-bloodlust-of-teddy-roosevelt/ | 2011-06-08 | 4 |
<p />
<p>Image Source: The Motley Fool.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Warren Buffett's masterpiece -- insurance titan and mega-conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A)(NYSE: BRK-B) -- saw its second-quarter financial results boosted by its recent blockbuster acquisition deals.</p>
<p>Berkshire's manufacturing revenue surged 28% to $12.2 billion, lifted by the company's recent $4.2 billion purchase of battery maker Duracell and its $32.7 billion purchase of aerospace parts company Precision Castparts.</p>
<p>Sales in the company's service and retailing operations, however, fell 1% to $18.4 billion. The decline was mostly attributable to a 14% year-over-year decrease in revenue at NetJets, reflecting both lower aircraft sales and reduced fuel surcharge revenue due to lower fuel prices.</p>
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<p>In total, net earnings from Berkshire's manufacturing, service, and retailing segment rose 14% to $1.5 billion.</p>
<p>Underwriting profits improved to $337 million, up from a loss of $38 million in the year-ago quarter as customer additions and rate hikes boosted results at GEICO, and Berkshire's reinsurance business benefited from changes in foreign exchange rates.</p>
<p>GEICO wrote 11.4% more in premiums compared with the prior-year period, and the crown jewel of Berkshire's insurance subsidiaries delivered $150 million in pre-tax underwriting gains, a 183% year-over-year improvement.</p>
<p>In addition, Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group generated an underwriting gain of $184 million, compared to a loss of $411 million in Q2 2015. The business benefited from foreign currency gains and lower estimated losses on prior-year policies.</p>
<p>Business for Berkshire's Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad continued to be dampened by lower demand for the transport of coal and oil-related products; BNSF's revenue fell 15% to $4.6 billion.</p>
<p>Berkshire Hathaway Energy also saw a decline in revenue, with sales decreasing 5% to $4.3 billion.</p>
<p>All told, pre-tax operating earnings at Berkshire's railroad, utilities, and energy segment fell 14% to $1.3 billion.</p>
<p>Company-wide, Berkshire's revenue rose 6% to $54.5 billion in the second quarter, while operating earnings jumped 18% to $4.6 billion. And Berkshire's net earnings, which are impacted by the company's volatile investment income, surged 25% to $5 billion.</p>
<p>Berkshire ended the quarter with approximately $90 billion in insurance float -- essentially, the cash the insurer collects up front when premiums are paid, but that it doesn't have to pay out until claims are made. Berkshire gets to invest the float -- and keep the profits.</p>
<p>In that regard, Berkshire's public stock portfolio was valued at $104.2 billion as of June 30, approximately 61% of which was concentrated in four companies:$23.7 billion in shares of Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC); $18.1 billion in Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO); $12.3 billion in International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM); and $9.2 billion in American Express (NYSE: AXP). Of note is Berkshire's position in IBM, which produced an unrealized loss of about $1.5 billion as of the end of the second quarter. However, Berkshire continues to maintain that it has no plans to sell the stake, and believes it will recover in value over time.</p>
<p>Finally, book value -- Buffett's preferred performance metric, which provides a measure of net worth by subtracting Berkshire's liabilities from its assets -- rose 2.9% since the end of 2015 to $160,009 per Class A equivalent share. That places Berkshire Hathaway's stock at about 1.38 times book value -- not far from the 1.2 times book that Buffett identified as the price at which <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/05/03/3-takeaways-from-berkshire-hathaways-annual-meetin.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">he himself would repurchase shares Opens a New Window.</a>.</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=2691&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/TMFGuardian/info.aspx" type="external">Joe Tenebruso Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Berkshire Hathaway (B shares) and Wells Fargo. The Motley Fool recommends American Express and Coca-Cola. 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://wiki.fool.com/Motley" 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> | Acquisitions Drive Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Earnings 25% Higher | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/08/16/acquisitions-drive-berkshire-hathaway-inc-earnings-25-higher.html | 2016-08-16 | 0 |
<p>COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — For the first 10 minutes or so of Thursday's game, Ohio State looked as if it might have an emotional hangover from last weekend's monumental upset of then-No. 1 Michigan State. But then the 3-pointers started going in.</p>
<p>Ohio State (14-4, 5-0 Big Ten) battled back from a seven-point deficit, took a 24-22 lead with a Jae'Sean Tate dunk with 7:25 left in the first half and cruised to 91-69 rout of Maryland to remain unbeaten in the Big Ten.</p>
<p>"I thought they were way more physical and tougher than we were in the first 10 minutes, but our guys responded." Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann said.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/keita_bates_diop_908070.html" type="external">Keita Bates-Diop</a> continued his torrid streak with 26 points for Ohio State, hitting 6 of 8 shots from beyond the arc. He had scored 27 against Iowa on Jan. 4, and followed with a 32-point performance against Michigan State on Sunday that earned him Big Ten Player of the Week honors.</p>
<p>C.J. Jackson scored 14, and Tate added 13. Bates-Diop also had eight rebounds. Tate and C.J. Jackson each had six assists, and Kam Williams had five.</p>
<p>"We've got a group of unselfish guys," Tate said. "We were able to find shooters, and luckily today nobody could miss."</p>
<p>Michal Cekovsky at 7-foot-1 used his height advantage inside to lead the Terrapins with 18 points.</p>
<p>Maryland has suffered some misfortune, losing its two lead power forwards and a key reserve — accounting for about 19 points per game — to season-ending injuries in the past two weeks. Some of the remaining players were hit by illness.</p>
<p>"We don't have a lot of depth," Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said. "We're starting guys that should be bench guys, and we're playing guys that shouldn't be playing right now. But that's where we are, and we've got to get better.</p>
<p>"We're an absolute mess right now," he said.</p>
<p>The Buckeyes led 44-32 at the half <a href="https://twitter.com/OhioStateHoops/status/951624289849102337/photo/1" type="external">on the strength of a 22-2 run</a> that included a trio of 3-pointers from Andrew Dakich and a pair from Bates-Diop.</p>
<p>"I'm not a high-volume shooter, so just to knock those down was great," said Dakich, <a href="http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/andrew_dakich_1053605.html" type="external">a graduate transfer from Michigan</a> who had a career-high 11 points. "Just to kind of give them a boost with that 12-point lead going into the second half."</p>
<p>BIG PICTURE</p>
<p>Maryland: Had won eight of the last nine entering the game but caught Ohio State on a hot streak. The Terps sorely missed their three forwards who are out with injuries.</p>
<p>"We're just kind of like, well, we've got some guys hurt so we're kind of feeling sorry for ourselves instead of competing the way we need to compete," Turgeon said.</p>
<p>Ohio State: Bates-Diop is having a breakout season and getting lots of help from talented players around him.</p>
<p>RAINING TREYS</p>
<p>The 17 3-pointers were the second-most in Ohio State history, but Holtmann did his best to lower expectations.</p>
<p>"I don't think we can ever expect to make 17 3s in a game," he said. "I think that's unrealistic. We made some shots tonight that on an average night that we're probably not going to make. Our guys did a great job sharing the ball. But I don't think we can expect these offensive numbers."</p>
<p>PLAYING WITH ATTITUDE</p>
<p>Ohio State has a lot of season left but so far has exceeded expectations by a long shot.</p>
<p>The roster was thin in the summer when Holtmann replaced 13-year coach Thad Matta, and the Buckeyes were expected to limp through a disappointing season.</p>
<p>They've now won four straight and nine of the last 10.</p>
<p>"We were picked to be one of the last teams in the Big Ten," Tate said. "No matter if we are 5-0 (in the conference), we're going to continue to play with that chip on our shoulder. I think that's really been a key to our success."</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>Maryland: At Michigan on Monday night.</p>
<p>Ohio State: At Rutgers on Sunday night.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP college basketball at www.collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Mitch Stacy at <a href="http://twitter.com/mitchstacy" type="external">http://twitter.com/mitchstacy</a></p>
<p>COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — For the first 10 minutes or so of Thursday's game, Ohio State looked as if it might have an emotional hangover from last weekend's monumental upset of then-No. 1 Michigan State. But then the 3-pointers started going in.</p>
<p>Ohio State (14-4, 5-0 Big Ten) battled back from a seven-point deficit, took a 24-22 lead with a Jae'Sean Tate dunk with 7:25 left in the first half and cruised to 91-69 rout of Maryland to remain unbeaten in the Big Ten.</p>
<p>"I thought they were way more physical and tougher than we were in the first 10 minutes, but our guys responded." Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann said.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/keita_bates_diop_908070.html" type="external">Keita Bates-Diop</a> continued his torrid streak with 26 points for Ohio State, hitting 6 of 8 shots from beyond the arc. He had scored 27 against Iowa on Jan. 4, and followed with a 32-point performance against Michigan State on Sunday that earned him Big Ten Player of the Week honors.</p>
<p>C.J. Jackson scored 14, and Tate added 13. Bates-Diop also had eight rebounds. Tate and C.J. Jackson each had six assists, and Kam Williams had five.</p>
<p>"We've got a group of unselfish guys," Tate said. "We were able to find shooters, and luckily today nobody could miss."</p>
<p>Michal Cekovsky at 7-foot-1 used his height advantage inside to lead the Terrapins with 18 points.</p>
<p>Maryland has suffered some misfortune, losing its two lead power forwards and a key reserve — accounting for about 19 points per game — to season-ending injuries in the past two weeks. Some of the remaining players were hit by illness.</p>
<p>"We don't have a lot of depth," Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said. "We're starting guys that should be bench guys, and we're playing guys that shouldn't be playing right now. But that's where we are, and we've got to get better.</p>
<p>"We're an absolute mess right now," he said.</p>
<p>The Buckeyes led 44-32 at the half <a href="https://twitter.com/OhioStateHoops/status/951624289849102337/photo/1" type="external">on the strength of a 22-2 run</a> that included a trio of 3-pointers from Andrew Dakich and a pair from Bates-Diop.</p>
<p>"I'm not a high-volume shooter, so just to knock those down was great," said Dakich, <a href="http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/andrew_dakich_1053605.html" type="external">a graduate transfer from Michigan</a> who had a career-high 11 points. "Just to kind of give them a boost with that 12-point lead going into the second half."</p>
<p>BIG PICTURE</p>
<p>Maryland: Had won eight of the last nine entering the game but caught Ohio State on a hot streak. The Terps sorely missed their three forwards who are out with injuries.</p>
<p>"We're just kind of like, well, we've got some guys hurt so we're kind of feeling sorry for ourselves instead of competing the way we need to compete," Turgeon said.</p>
<p>Ohio State: Bates-Diop is having a breakout season and getting lots of help from talented players around him.</p>
<p>RAINING TREYS</p>
<p>The 17 3-pointers were the second-most in Ohio State history, but Holtmann did his best to lower expectations.</p>
<p>"I don't think we can ever expect to make 17 3s in a game," he said. "I think that's unrealistic. We made some shots tonight that on an average night that we're probably not going to make. Our guys did a great job sharing the ball. But I don't think we can expect these offensive numbers."</p>
<p>PLAYING WITH ATTITUDE</p>
<p>Ohio State has a lot of season left but so far has exceeded expectations by a long shot.</p>
<p>The roster was thin in the summer when Holtmann replaced 13-year coach Thad Matta, and the Buckeyes were expected to limp through a disappointing season.</p>
<p>They've now won four straight and nine of the last 10.</p>
<p>"We were picked to be one of the last teams in the Big Ten," Tate said. "No matter if we are 5-0 (in the conference), we're going to continue to play with that chip on our shoulder. I think that's really been a key to our success."</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>Maryland: At Michigan on Monday night.</p>
<p>Ohio State: At Rutgers on Sunday night.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP college basketball at www.collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Mitch Stacy at <a href="http://twitter.com/mitchstacy" type="external">http://twitter.com/mitchstacy</a></p> | Bates-Diop powers Ohio State in 91-69 rout of Maryland | false | https://apnews.com/amp/037acf5b7c5a4464943b49b57693511a | 2018-01-12 | 2 |
<p>Somewhere that looks like the Cayman Islands, <a href="" type="internal">home to thousands of US tax cheats.</a>&lt;a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&amp;search_source=search_form&amp;version=llv1&amp;anyorall=all&amp;safesearch=1&amp;searchterm=cayman+islands&amp;search_group=#id=95270656&amp;src=phb0dJdj01YLB2KgrpsZng-1-12"&gt;Candis Davis&lt;/a&gt;/Shutterstock</p>
<p />
<p>Late Tuesday, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/08/rand-paul-fatca_n_3234435.html?utm_hp_ref=politics" type="external">introduced</a> a bill that would repeal part of a law aimed at fighting offshore tax evasion.</p>
<p>The law, called the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, was passed in 2010 and is supposed to go into effect on January 1, 2014. It requires foreign financial institutions to report information about Americans with accounts worth more than $50,000 to the IRS. Firms that don’t comply <a href="http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/Rand-Paul-Introduces-Bill-Repeal-Parts-FATCA-66634-1.html" type="external">will be fined</a>.</p>
<p>Tax policy watch dogs say the FATCA is essential to rooting out tax cheats. “The increased bilateral exchange of taxpayer information that…[is] crucial to cleaning up the worldwide shadow financial system,” Heather Lowe, director of government affairs for the advocacy organization Global Financial Integrity <a href="http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/Rand-Paul-Blamed-Blocking-FATCA-66580-1.html" type="external">told Accounting Today</a> earlier this month. “[F]oreign financial institutions should not harbor the illicit assets of U.S. tax evaders.”</p>
<p>But Paul’s bill to weaken the law was immediately hailed as “heroic” by the biggest independent financial advisory firm in the world. In an email press release from the <a href="https://www.devere-group.com/" type="external">deVere group</a>, chief executive Nigel Green said, “Senator Paul’s heroic stance against this toxic, economy-damaging tax act is a landmark moment in the mission to have it repealed. He has taken a courageous stand against FATCA, [a law that] will impose unnecessary costs and burdens on foreign financial institutions.”</p>
<p>Paul, generally a die-hard anti-taxer, <a href="http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/Rand-Paul-Introduces-Bill-Repeal-Parts-FATCA-66634-1.html" type="external">says</a> the intent of his bill “is not to disrupt legitimate tax enforcement.” Instead, he says he objects to FATCA because it “violates important privacy protections,” by giving foreign governments too much access to US citizens’ tax information. Paul <a href="http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/Rand-Paul-Introduces-Bill-Repeal-Parts-FATCA-66634-1.html" type="external">says</a> he is only in favor of repealing those provisions.</p>
<p>But Paul has a long history of fighting the offshore-tax evasion law. Since FATCA was signed, the Treasury Department has been <a href="http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/Rand-Paul-Blamed-Blocking-FATCA-66580-1.html" type="external">negotiating and signing treaties</a> with over 50 countries to implement the law’s provisions. Paul has <a href="http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/Rand-Paul-Introduces-Bill-Repeal-Parts-FATCA-66634-1.html" type="external">put a hold</a> on Senate approval of all tax treaties since he was elected in 2010, and as such has been <a href="http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/Rand-Paul-Introduces-Bill-Repeal-Parts-FATCA-66634-1.html" type="external">blamed</a> for trying to block FATCA.</p>
<p>A companion version of Paul’s bill is <a href="http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/Rand-Paul-Introduces-Bill-Repeal-Parts-FATCA-66634-1.html" type="external">expected</a> to be introduced in the House soon.</p>
<p /> | Rand Paul Wants to Loosen Laws on Offshore Tax Evasion | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2013/05/rand-paul-fatca-repeal-offshore-tax-evasion/ | 2013-05-09 | 4 |
<p />
<p>Photo By Mike Mozart | <a href="" type="internal">CC BY 2.0</a></p>
<p />
<p>The 2016 US presidential election has officially descended into a snarling, hate-filled slugfest, and is probably the most vicious there has ever been. When you have one candidate, Donald Trump, threatening to put his opponent, Hillary Clinton, in jail if he becomes president, we are talking a race for the White House that is the political equivalent of a zero sum game.</p>
<p>While Trump is a bigot, megalomaniac and mysogonist — and this on a good day — he is also a tough and resilient operator whom you get the sense is actually revelling in the pressure cooker that is the US political arena. On the back of the release of the now infamous 2005&#160; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IY8FwWwIVyQ" type="external">audio tape</a>, during which he brags to “Access Hollywood” host, Billy Bush, about his sexual prowess with women, a media onslaught and the mass desertion of his ship by major figures within the GOP appeared to ensure that his campaign was all but destroyed.</p>
<p>But then out he comes in St Louis, a candidate with his back to the ropes, to immediately mount a ferocious and sustained assault on his opponent, one that succeeded in nullifying the tremendous momentum she had behind her going in. Over the course of the debate, Trump threw and landed major blows, bringing up Bill Clinton’s own less than stellar record when it comes to the treatment of women, again reminding voters of the 33,000 deleted emails of his opponent, and calling out Clinton’s hawkish support for the war in Iraq and her role as secretary of state in the destruction of Libya. His analysis of the conflict in Syria and belief in resetting relations with Russia also has the benefit of being sane when compared to his opponent, whose election would immediately bring the world closer to a major conflict than it has been since the Cuban missile crisis. When Trump vowed to direct a special prosecutor to investigate her over the aforementioned missing emails, if elected, followed later by his witheringly effective aside to put her in jail, you could almost hear the collective cheer of millions not only in America but across the world.</p>
<p>There is a method to the seeming madness of Trump’s approach. Though his rhetoric comes over as out of control, he is reaching into a deep well of animosity towards Washington, with the Clintons the emodiment of the corruption, special interests, and machine politics that millions of Americans have grown to despise. He is a billionaire who has succeeded in positioning himself as an anti-establishment candidate. This is an achievement of which P T Barnum would be proud.</p>
<p>Unlike the first debate, which Hillary Clinton won hands down, this time round Trump managed to do what no opponent or critic of the Clintons ever has in breaching the veneer of respectability and propriety which they and their supporters have succeeded in maintaining in an insult to the truth of their collective record. While the polls after the second debate recorded a victory for Clinton, there is little doubt she left the venue bruised and wounded.</p>
<p>The average American voter respects strength; whether real or perceived it matters not, they admire and worship personal attributes of toughness that reflect what they consider to be the attributes of the country. In this regard Trump comes over as the political equivalent of a gunslinger, a man for whom the rules of polite society do not apply, who makes his own rules and changes them as it suits. He is the archetypal maverick in this sense, an image that plays well with people grown tired of the slick and on-message political mannequins that populate Washington. He is rude, vulgar, inappropriate, and unpredictable in a combination that brings a sense of frission to proceedings. That he is also a mysogonist, equal opportunites bigot and narcissist matters less to his supporters than the ocean of self confidence he exudes and the willingness to do and say whatever it takes to get ahead. In other words he is America with the mask removed.</p>
<p>When Hillary Clinton talked about establishing a no-fly zone in Syria a chill should have slid down the spine of all right-thinking people. This would be tantamount to a declaration of war against Syria and Russia. Then there was her utterly ludicrous depiction of the ‘rebels’ in Aleppo as freedom fighters. Freedom fighters? Nusra Front, the dominant faction among the opposition fighting in Aleppo, differs from ISIS in name only. In its methods and objective of establishing a pure sectarian Sunni state, it poses the same menace. As for the so-called moderate rebels, in what language is it moderate to&#160; <a href="" type="internal">kidnap and behead</a>&#160;12-year old children, as militants beloning to the US-backed Nour al-Din al-Zinki Movement did a few weeks ago, filming themselves doing so in the process?</p>
<p>This is why it has been so revelatory following the mainstream media coverage in the wake of the second debate. With few exceptions it has been on Trump, depicting him as an out of control nut who would be dangerous for the country. In truth it is Hillary Clinton, with her penchant for war and the destruction of Arab countries, who is far more dangerous — not only for the people of the United States but a world grown weary of US hegemony.</p> | Clinton vs. Trump: a Zero-Sum Game | true | https://counterpunch.org/2016/10/12/clinton-vs-trump-a-zero-sum-game/ | 2016-10-12 | 4 |
<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: Invesco Ltd.</p>
<p>Advertisement</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 2018</p>
<p>For an opening position disclosure, state the latest</p>
<p>practicable date prior to the disclosure</p>
<p>(f) In addition to the company in 1(c) above, is the Yes: Booker Group Plc.</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>1. Interests and short positions in the relevant securities of the offeror</p>
<p>or offeree to which the disclosure relates following the dealing (if any)</p>
<p>GB0008847096</p>
<p>Class of relevant security: 5p Ordinary</p>
<p>Interests Short positions</p>
<p>Number % Number %</p>
<p>(1) Relevant securities owned and/or controlled: 28,477,787 0.34%</p>
<p>(2) Cash-settled derivatives:</p>
<p>(3) Stock-settled derivatives (including options)</p>
<p>and agreements to purchase/sell:</p>
<p>TOTAL: 28,477,787 0.34%</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>1. Purchases and sales</p>
<p>Class of relevant Purchase/sale Number of securities Price per unit</p>
<p>security</p>
<p>Ordinary Purchase 2,515,429 2.09 GBP</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 Nature of dealing Details Price per unit</p>
<p>relevant e.g. subscription, conversion (if</p>
<p>security 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: Philippa Holmes</p>
<p>Telephone number: 01491 417 447</p>
<p>Public disclosures under Rule 8 of the Code must be made to a Regulatory</p>
<p>Information Service and must also be emailed to the Takeover Panel at</p>
<p>[email protected]. The Panel's Market Surveillance Unit is</p>
<p>available for consultation in relation to the Code's disclosure</p>
<p>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: Invesco Ltd. via Globenewswire</p>
<p>http://www.invescoperpetual.co.uk/</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>January 31, 2018 09:06 ET (14:06 GMT)</p> | Invesco UK Ltd Invesco Ltd. : Form 8.3 - Tesco Plc | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/10/13/invesco-uk-ltd-invesco-ltd-form-8-3-tesco-plc.html | 2018-01-31 | 0 |
<p>A woman in Abu Dhabi allegedly tortured her maid to death for being lazy and not doing the housework properly.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/courts/maid-tortured-to-death-with-scalding-water-abu-dhabi-court-told" type="external">According to The National</a>&#160;the Emirati woman pleaded not guilty in court to assault leading to the death of her Ethiopian maid.</p>
<p>The Abu Dhabi Criminal Court heard last week that the accused woman's children witnessed regular beatings of the maid, which including tying her up, whipping her, throwing scalding water over her body and rubbing pepper in her eyes.</p>
<p>An autopsy concluded her death was caused by several burns over her body, which had become infected. Her eyes showed evidence of bleeding from the torture, which had occurred over a period of time.</p>
<p>The woman, who was not named, admitted torturing her maid but denied pouring boiling water on her.</p>
<p>"I only beat her up, I just wanted her to do the housework properly - I didn't mean to hurt or kill her."</p>
<p>"I was angry," she told the court.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ethiopianreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&amp;t=44493" type="external">The Ethiopian Review reported</a>&#160;the maid was found dead in the family's bathroom. It said the woman's two children saw her beating the Ethiopian maid daily after she moved in with them in July, during Ramadan.</p>
<p>The accused woman's son reported the death to police.</p>
<p>The case has been adjourned to December 31.</p> | "Lazy" maid tortured to death with boiling water, court hears | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-11-13/lazy-maid-tortured-death-boiling-water-court-hears | 2012-11-13 | 3 |
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>Dr. Anna Konopka practices medicine out of her 160-year-old clapboard house in New London, NH. That is to say, she did. New Hampshire's Board of Medicine has pulled her license to practice medicine because she doesn't own a computer and never bothered to learn how to use one.</p>
<p />
<p>The 84-year-old New Londoner who emigrated from Poland in 1961 practices alone and can't afford to hire an assistant. "I'm interested in helping people. I didn't go to medicine for money, and I didn't make money," she says. In fact, her fee for seeing someone without insurance is a mere $50.</p>
<p />
<p>She's stands accused of leaving prescription dosing levels up to the parents and, in one case, failing to treat a patient with daily inhaled steroids. The main issue at hand, however, is her inability to use the state's mandatory electronic drug monitoring program. Konopka's records are kept in manilla folders and organized in filing cabinets. Shelves of well-used medical books provide her with reference.</p>
<p />
<p>Her patients are a loyal bunch and now find themselves without a doctor. "It stinks, but you have to find a new doctor, and it's a rat race," said patient Stanley Wright while attending the hearing to show his support. "The doctor I had before was over-medicating me, and she gives me a lot of herbal stuff and I was doing a lot better. Now, I'm back to being screwed. I don't know what to do."</p>
<p />
<p>Assistant Attorney General Lyn Cusack wishes to shut down Konopka for good and is urging the board to deny any further appeals.</p>
<p />
<p>Source:</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.fox5ny.com/news/doctor-who-refuses-to-use-computers-loses-medical-license" type="external">fox5ny.com/news/doctor-who-refuses-to-use-computers-loses-medical-license</a></p> | New London, NH Doctor Loses License to Practice Because She Doesn't Own a Computer | true | http://thegoldwater.com/news/11563-New-London-NH-Doctor-Loses-License-to-Practice-Because-She-Doesn-t-Own-a-Computer | 2017-11-10 | 0 |
<p>&#160;In Lynchburg, Virginia, on April 30, a train carrying crude oil <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2014/05/oil-tanker-crashes" type="external">derailed</a>, and some of the rail cars exploded into a ball of fire, and then fell into the James River.</p>
<p>This was not an isolated incident.</p>
<p>A number of explosive train derailments, including the tragedy in <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/lac-mégantic-rail-disaster-oil-remains-in-chaudière-river-1.2639732" type="external">Lac-Megantic, Quebec</a>, which killed 44 people, have raised the alarm about the safety of shipping oil by rail.</p>
<p>The oil now gushing from the Bakken Shale in North Dakota and the Alberta Tar Sands has overwhelmed pipeline capacity, and millions of gallons now ride the rails, often in older tanker cars vulnerable to rupture.&#160;</p>
<p>Increased alarm and public pressure have now pushed Canada to act.</p>
<p>New rules announced last week by Transport Minister Lisa Raitt cover three basic areas, according to <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ottawa-to-strengthen-rail-safety-rules/article18121006/" type="external">Kim Mackrael</a>, reporter for the Globe and Mail based in Ottawa.&#160;“They apply to the structure of the cars that commonly carry the oil by rail; the emergency plans that come into play if an accident occurs; and the risk analysis that railways are supposed to use to look at how risky it is to carry a particularly dangerous good by rail,” Mackrael says.&#160;</p>
<p>The first rule mandates that within two to three years, companies can no longer carry crude oil through Canada in rail cars built before 2011.</p>
<p>“The cars that are normally used to carry crude oil are called <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Energy-Voices/2013/0710/NTSB-warned-of-rail-car-used-in-Quebec-train-fire" type="external">DOT-111's</a>,” Mackrael explains. “These cars have been around for a long time. Many of the [cars] that are on the tracks right now date back to the 1970s.”</p>
<p>The problem with these cars, Mackrael says, is that before October, 2011 they were built with "insufficient lining, external shields and venting to protect against punctures and gas buildups." Without these additional safety features,&#160;rails cars can explode more easily or corrode on the inside from the oil they are carrying. Since 2011, the industry has been making these cars to a higher standard, but the new cars are only a fraction of the ones currently in use.&#160;&#160;</p>
<p>The second rule, regarding emergency response plans in the event of an accident, fills a serious regulatory gap.</p>
<p>“Until the accident in Lac-Megantic, oil wasn’t really considered to be explosive or dangerous to that level,” explains Mackrael. “These emergency plans exist[ed] for other dangerous goods, but never for oil.”</p>
<p>Under the new rule, companies who import oil will for the first time have to come up with emergency plans and make sure that municipalities are prepared to respond to an accident. (Just last week, the U.S Department of Transportation issued an <a href="http://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2014/05/07/feds-issue-emergency-order-on-crude-oil-trains" type="external">emergency order</a> requiring the same of U.S. carriers.)</p>
<p>As regards improved risk analysis, the Canadian rules came in response to discussions that have been happening in the United States, says Mackrael. Recently, she explains, railways and the U.S. Department of Transportation came to a voluntary agreement that railways would perform a better risk analysis of routes carrying dangerous goods. Carriers in the U.S. have also been asked to look into whether safer routes exist for carrying crude oil.</p>
<p>In Canada, Mackrael says, the rules don’t go quite that far, in part because of a recognition that there aren’t many alternative routes available.</p>
<p>“[I]n Canada, the question is more about looking at the possible risks of going through big communities [or near] water supplies — that sort of thing,” says Mackrael. “Right now the discussion is around slowing down trains when going through higher-risk areas.”</p>
<p>Mackrael says the response to the new rules from the oil industry has been overall “relatively positive.”</p>
<p>“I think there’s some recognition that this was a pretty massive disaster and recognition that change is coming,” she says. At the same time, the industry has expressed concern about the changes for the DOT-111s, largely because of the tight timeline.</p>
<p>Three years may sound to many like too long for unsafe cars with loads of explosive crude oil to remain on the rails, but the industry feels three years is not enough time to build or retrofit older cars.</p>
<p>There are a couple of other complications. If the United States doesn’t require the same changes to the DOT-111’s, the result might simply be that the more dangerous cars are &#160;sent to the U.S., while the newer cars get shipped to Canada. Then again, if the United States does make the same rule, it could become more difficult for the manufacturers to supply the industry with enough of the newer cars to keep oil moving at its current pace.</p>
<p>So far, the U.S. has only “urged,” not required, the railroads to begin using the newer, safer rail cars.</p>
<p>The recent accidents and the spike in public alarm and government action raise questions about the future of shipping oil by rail.</p>
<p>Many Canadian cities, including Lac-Megantic, were built because of the railroads, says Mackrael. The mayor of Lac-Megantic acknowledged that the city wouldn’t exist if the railroad hadn’t been built there.</p>
<p>“At this point, Mackrael says,“as we become...more aware about the dangers of the goods that are going through, I think a lot of communities and a lot people are really thinking about what that reality means if a serious accident happens.”</p>
<p>“You do have railways hauling a massive amount of oil that is, particularly in the case of the Bakken [oil], very volatile, very prone to exploding. I hope we don’t see any more of these, but we certainly haven’t eliminated all the risk on this.” &#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Canada moves to put tougher limits on dangerous oil trains | false | https://pri.org/stories/2014-05-21/canada-moves-put-toughter-limits-dangerous-oil-trains | 2014-05-21 | 3 |
<p>AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The winning numbers in Wednesday morning’s drawing of the Texas Lottery’s “All or Nothing Morning” game were:</p>
<p>01-03-04-08-10-13-14-19-21-22-23-24</p>
<p>(one, three, four, eight, ten, thirteen, fourteen, nineteen, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four)</p>
<p>AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The winning numbers in Wednesday morning’s drawing of the Texas Lottery’s “All or Nothing Morning” game were:</p>
<p>01-03-04-08-10-13-14-19-21-22-23-24</p>
<p>(one, three, four, eight, ten, thirteen, fourteen, nineteen, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four)</p> | Winning numbers drawn in ‘All or Nothing Morning’ game | false | https://apnews.com/8239c177a38044278cf44109da56dfc2 | 2018-01-24 | 2 |
<p>Shares of Michaels Companies (NASDAQ: MIK) rose 11.5% in August 2017, <a href="http://marketintelligence.spglobal.com/" type="external">according to data from S&amp;P Global Market Intelligence Opens a New Window.</a>. The arts-and-crafts retailer presented a strong second-quarter earnings report on August 24, showing credible signs of a successful turnaround. The stock closed 8.5% higher the next day after <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/08/24/why-the-michaels-companies-stock-jumped-today.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=08a4853c-988d-11e7-a33c-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">soaring as much as 26.5% higher Opens a New Window.</a> in the morning session.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>In the second quarter, Michaels' sales rose 1.2%, to $1.07 billion. Net income stayed flat, at $35.6 million, but earnings per share increased 12%, to $0.19 per share, thanks to a generous buyback program. These results landed at the top end of management's guidance and exceeded the consensus analyst projections across the board. Furthermore, comparable-store sales increased by 0.6%.</p>
<p>Looking ahead, Michaels CEO Chuck Rubin is operating under a data-driven operating plan known as Vision 2020. Under that umbrella, management hopes to improve its inventory management and marketing efforts based on both shopping-pattern analysis and direct feedback from in-store customers. There's also a smaller online retail effort in the mix, but Rubin expects customers in the arts-and-crafts market to prefer the hands-on experience of going to a physical store.</p>
<p>That effort makes plenty of sense, and <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/07/24/the-michaels-companies-stock-wins-upgrade-what-you.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=08a4853c-988d-11e7-a33c-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">the stock still trades at bargain-bin valuations Opens a New Window.</a>. You can pick up Michaels shares for less than 12 times trailing earnings and nine times free cash flows. I wouldn't be surprised to see August's momentum continuing, as long as the company keeps executing on its multi-year growth plans.</p>
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<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of September 5, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFZahrim/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=08a4853c-988d-11e7-a33c-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Anders Bylund Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends The Michaels Companies. 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;uuid=08a4853c-988d-11e7-a33c-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Why Shares of Michaels Companies Inc. Gained 11.5% in August | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/09/13/why-shares-michaels-companies-inc-gained-11-5-in-august.html | 2017-09-13 | 0 |
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<p>LAS VEGAS, N.M. — A northern New Mexico city and its police chief are locked in a public battle over funding, staffing levels and allowing officers to coach at area schools.</p>
<p>The Las Vegas Optic reports (https://goo.gl/6zBk8G ) the city of Las Vegas recently received a letter from Las Vegas Police Chief Juan Montano’s attorney informing officials he has filed a tort claim against the city.</p>
<p>Attorney Raul Carrillo wrote that the claim comes amid acts against Montano around funding issues, hostile work environment, whistleblower issues and retaliation against the chief.</p>
<p>The letter, obtained by the Optic, said Montano’s claim is a result of a “string of actions” against him.</p>
<p>City spokesman Lee Einer says the matter is under investigation.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Las Vegas Optic, <a href="http://www.lasvegasoptic.com" type="external">http://www.lasvegasoptic.com</a></p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | City of Las Vegas, police chief sparring over budget, staff | false | https://abqjournal.com/1052096/city-of-las-vegas-police-chief-sparring-over-budget-staff.html | 2 |
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<p>By James Oliphant</p>
<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democratic election victories in Virginia and New Jersey showed Republicans losing more ground in suburban areas, where President Donald Trump’s unpopularity could cost them dearly in next year’s congressional races.</p>
<p>The results from Tuesday, particularly in Virginia, suggest that Trump’s strategy of playing to a loyal but limited base has not enabled him to broaden support for his presidency or his party.</p>
<p>Democrats were delighted, believing that control of the U.S. House of Representatives, and perhaps even the Senate, now both controlled by Republicans, might be up for grabs in next year’s elections.</p>
<p>Some Republicans shared that view after their party’s candidates did poorly among independent, college-educated, women, and minority voters in suburban areas.</p>
<p>“Unless we get our act together, we are going to lose heavily,” Republican Senator John McCain said on Wednesday.</p>
<p>Democrats would need to pick up 24 seats next year to retake control of the House. Should that happen, Trump’s policy agenda would be effectively dead and the administration would come under greater scrutiny.</p>
<p>The win by Democrat Phil Murphy in New Jersey’s governor’s race came as no surprise because of the unpopularity of outgoing Republican Governor Chris Christie. But Ralph Northam’s 9-point victory over Republican Ed Gillespie for governor in swing-state Virginia was larger than expected.</p>
<p>Trump quickly tried to distance himself from Gillespie’s poor showing, saying on Twitter that the Republican candidate “worked hard but did not embrace me or what I stand for.”</p>
<p>Still, Trump’s leadership record appeared to motivate Democrats to vote in record numbers in Virginia, with exit polls showing that many came out simply to express their displeasure with the president.</p>
<p>“Trump is turning off more voters than he’s bringing in,” said Rodell Mollineau, a Democratic strategist in Washington. “His base is strong, but it isn’t growing.”</p>
<p>During his first year in office, Trump has consistently played to a base of passionate supporters, many of them older white men who live in rural areas declining in population, and has shown little inclination to reach out to the majority of voters who disapprove of him.</p>
<p>Whit Ayres, a Republican pollster based in Virginia, said the party was on a risky track. “Republicans have traded fast-growing upscale suburban counties for slow-growing or declining rural areas. That is not a formula for long-term success.”</p>
<p>There also may be signs of slippage in Trump’s political base.</p>
<p>In Virginia, Gillespie campaigned hard on immigration and crime – two hot issues with the president’s supporters – but did worse than expected in some rural and suburban areas that Trump easily won last year.</p>
<p>In rural Dickenson County, considered to be the heart of Trump country in Virginia, Gillespie’s margin over Northam was almost 7 percentage points less than Trump’s margin of victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton last year.</p>
<p>Trump won the city of Virginia Beach in 2016 by 3 points, but Gillespie lost to Northam there by 5, a swing of eight points.</p>
<p>‘SUBURBS OUT IN FULL FORCE’</p>
<p>More critically, Gillespie was blown out by Northam in northern Virginia’s populous suburbs, where Trump also struggled in the presidential race.</p>
<p>“The suburbs came out in full force,” said Matt Mackowiak, a Republican strategist. “They appear to be very motivated to try and deliver a message to Trump.”</p>
<p>In growing Loudoun County, outside of Washington, Democrat Barack Obama barely edged out Republican Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential race. On Tuesday, Northam buried Gillespie there by almost 20 points.</p>
<p>“I’m worried,” Ari Fleischer, a former White House spokesman for Republican President George W. Bush, told Fox News on Wednesday. “Democrats came out in huge numbers yesterday in the races and if they have that kind of enthusiasm going into 2018, it’s going to be very tough sailing for Republicans.”</p>
<p>Gillespie, a longtime Washington insider and lobbyist, tried to keep his distance from Trump personally even as he adopted some of his more combative campaign rhetoric.</p>
<p>It was a strategy that failed and Mackowiak said the result reflected Trump’s historically low approval rating. “I don’t think the White House was worried about that before, but now I think they have to be.”</p>
<p>The five-day Reuters/Ipsos tracking poll has Trump hovering around 35 percent approval nationally, with close to 60 percent of respondents disapproving of his performance in office.</p>
<p>A person familiar with Trump’s political operation dismissed the election results on Tuesday as having anything to do with the president, noting that both New Jersey and Virginia were won by Clinton in 2016.</p>
<p>Andrew Surabian, an adviser to the pro-Trump political group Great America Alliance, said Gillespie lost because he was exactly the kind of establishment Republican that Trump voters have rejected.</p>
<p>“Ed Gillespie’s campaign went down in flames because he failed to fully embrace the president or his agenda,” Surabian said, “and without a coherent message and an authentic messenger, Republican candidates will not be successful moving forward.”</p> | Trump's limited appeal a warning sign for Republicans ahead of 2018 elections | false | https://newsline.com/trump039s-limited-appeal-a-warning-sign-for-republicans-ahead-of-2018-elections/ | 2017-11-08 | 1 |
<p>Eyebrows are raising after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo saw a big boost in income last year — and it’s thanks to his recent memoir.</p>
<p>The governor reported that he pulled in $377,000 last year for his book, “All Things Possible,” which was published in the fall, as well as his $169,000 salary as governor, according to an <a href="http://www.cnycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=1191962#.VS-Ke_nF9qQ" type="external">Associated Press report</a>.</p>
<p>His total income of $553,000 is a lot higher than his income of $360,000 in 2013, when he received an advance of $188,333 from his book. Cuomo also reported charitable donations of $27,000 in 2014 between the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and HELP USA, the latter of which Cuomo found to help the homeless.</p>
<p>He owed $6,916 on his taxes out of a total tax bill of $155,193 at the federal level. He paid the state $41,000 and will receive a refund of $3,212.</p>
<p>Cuomo, a Democrat, has served as governor of the Empire State since 2011. He won reelection in November with 54 percent of the vote compared to 40.6 percent for his Republican challenger, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino.</p>
<p>The money comes despite disappointing sales for the book, which is fully titled “All Things Possible: Setbacks and Success in Politics and Life,” according to an <a href="http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Cuomo-releases-2014-tax-returns-6203037.php" type="external">Albany Times-Union report</a>.</p>
<p /> | Why the big boost in income for NY Governor Cuomo? | false | http://natmonitor.com/2015/04/16/why-the-big-boost-in-income-for-ny-governor-cuomo/ | 2015-04-16 | 3 |
<p>Aug. 14 (UPI) — Vanderpump Rules star Stassi Schroeder says her boyfriend dumped her on their anniversary.</p>
<p>The 29-year-old television personality announced Saturday on Twitter that Patrick Meagher broke up with her on their fourth anniversary as a couple.</p>
<p>“Broken up with on our anniversary after I planned a trip for us to Mexico. Call me Carrie Bradshaw,” she <a href="https://twitter.com/stassi/status/896499171745607680" type="external">wrote</a>, referencing Carrie’s trip to Mexico following her split from Big in the Sex and the City movie. “@rachaelnobrien you’re coming w me now.”</p>
<p>Schroeder followed up by sharing a <a href="https://twitter.com/stassi/status/897076693332094976" type="external">photo</a> of herself FaceTiming with her dog while in Mexico on Monday. She later tweeted about missing the latest episode of Game of Thrones.</p>
<p>“AND @hbonow doesn’t work in Mexico, because… of course. Cool. See you next week Game of Thrones,” the star <a href="https://twitter.com/stassi/status/897084085755142144" type="external">wrote</a>.</p>
<p>Schroeder had dedicated a since-deleted post to Meagher on Instagram on their anniversary Friday. <a href="http://www.eonline.com/news/873154/vaderpump-rules-stassi-schroeder-dumped-on-anniversary-by-on-again-off-again-boyfriend" type="external">E! News reported</a> the star shared a photo with Meagher and poked fun at their on-again, off-again relationship in the caption.</p>
<p>“I met this gangster 4 years ago. And we’ve been together consistently without one disagreement ever…” she wrote.</p>
<p>Schroeder and Meagher had appeared to reconcile in May following a split in mid-2016. The reality star addressed the breakup on her podcast, Straight Up with Stassi, at the time, acknowledging she and Meagher have “broken up and gotten back together so many times.”</p> | 'Vanderpump Rules' star Stassi Schroeder dumped on anniversary | false | https://newsline.com/vanderpump-rules-star-stassi-schroeder-dumped-on-anniversary/ | 2017-08-14 | 1 |
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<p>The developer of the world's largest aircraft says the blimp-shaped airship "sustained damage" after it made a bumpy landing on its second test flight in eastern England.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Hybrid Air Vehicles says it is trying to figure out what caused the rough landing of the 302-foot (92-meter) Airlander 10 during its flight Wednesday in Bedfordshire, north of London.</p>
<p>In a statement on Facebook it said all "crew are safe and well and there are no injuries."</p>
<p>A hybrid of blimp, helicopter and airplane, the Airlander is able to stay aloft for days at a time. It is designed to use less fuel than a plane, but carry heavier loads than conventional airships.</p>
<p>The aircraft was initially developed for the U.S. military for use in surveillance in Afghanistan.</p> | World's largest aircraft damaged on 2nd test flight | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2016/08/24/world-largest-aircraft-damaged-on-2nd-test-flight.html | 2016-08-25 | 0 |
<p>Weeks after a British magazine published a long article by two American professors titled “The Israel Lobby,” the outrage continued to howl through mainstream U.S. media.</p>
<p>A Los Angeles Times op-ed article by Council on Foreign Relations senior fellow Max Boot helped to set a common tone. He condemned a working paper by professors John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt that was excerpted last month in the London Review of Books.</p>
<p>The working paper, Boot proclaimed, is “nutty.” And he strongly implied that the two professors — Mearsheimer at the University of Chicago and Walt at Harvard — are anti-Semitic.</p>
<p>Many who went on the media attack did more than imply. On April 3, for instance, the same day that the Philadelphia Inquirer reprinted Boot’s piece from the L.A. Times, a notably similar op-ed appeared in the Boston Herald under the headline “Anti-Semitic Paranoia at Harvard.”</p>
<p>And so it goes in the national media echo chamber. When a Johns Hopkins University professor weighed in last week on the op-ed page of the Washington Post, the headline was blunt: “Yes, It’s Anti-Semitic.” The piece flatly called the Mearsheimer-Walt essay “kooky academic work” — and “anti-Semitic.”</p>
<p>But nothing in the essay is anti-Semitic.</p>
<p>Some of the analysis from Mearsheimer and Walt is arguable. A number of major factors affect Uncle Sam’s Middle East policies in addition to pro-Israel pressures. But no one can credibly deny that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee is one of the most powerful lobbying groups in Washington, where politicians know that they can criticize Israel only at their political peril.</p>
<p>Overall, the Mearsheimer-Walt essay makes many solid points about destructive aspects of U.S. support for the Israeli government. Their assessments deserve serious consideration.</p>
<p>For several decades, to the present moment, Israel’s treatment of Palestinian people has amounted to methodical and despicable violations of human rights. Yet criticism of those policies from anyone (including American Jews such as myself) routinely results in accusations of anti-Jewish bigotry.</p>
<p>The U.S. media reaction to the essay by professors Mearsheimer and Walt provides just another bit of evidence that they were absolutely correct when they wrote: “Anyone who criticizes Israel’s actions or argues that pro-Israel groups have significant influence over U.S. Middle Eastern policy — an influence AIPAC celebrates — stands a good chance of being labeled an anti-Semite. Indeed, anyone who merely claims that there is an Israel Lobby runs the risk of being charged with anti-Semitism, even though the Israeli media refer to America’s ‘Jewish Lobby.’ In other words, the Lobby first boasts of its influence and then attacks anyone who calls attention to it. It’s a very effective tactic: anti-Semitism is something no one wants to be accused of.”</p>
<p>Sadly, few media outlets in the United States are willing to confront this “very effective tactic.” Yet it must be challenged. As the London-based Financial Times editorialized on the first day of this month: “Moral blackmail — the fear that any criticism of Israeli policy and U.S. support for it will lead to charges of anti-Semitism — is a powerful disincentive to publish dissenting views. It is also leading to the silencing of policy debate on American university campuses, partly as the result of targeted campaigns against the dissenters.”</p>
<p>The Financial Times editorial noted: “Reflexes that ordinarily spring automatically to the defense of open debate and free enquiry shut down — at least among much of America’s political elite — once the subject turns to Israel, and above all the pro-Israel lobby’s role in shaping U.S. foreign policy.”</p>
<p>The U.S. government’s policies toward Israel should be considered on their merits. As it happens, that’s one of the many valid points made by Mearsheimer and Walt in their much-vilified essay: “Open debate will expose the limits of the strategic and moral case for one-sided U.S. support and could move the U.S. to a position more consistent with its own national interest, with the interests of the other states in the region, and with Israel’s long-term interests as well.”</p>
<p>But without open debate, no significant change in those policies can happen. That inertia — stultifying the blood of the body politic by constricting the flow of information and ideas — is antithetical to the kind of democratic discourse that we deserve.</p>
<p>Few other American academics have been willing to expose themselves to the kind of professional risks that John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt took by releasing their provocative paper. And few other American activists have been willing to expose themselves to the kind of risks that Rachel Corrie took when she sat between a Palestinian home and a Caterpillar bulldozer in Gaza three years ago.</p>
<p>The bulldozer, driven by an Israeli army soldier on assignment to demolish the home, rolled over Corrie, who was 23 years old. She had taken a nonviolent position for human rights; she lost her life as a result. But she was rarely praised in the same U.S. media outlets that had gone into raptures over the image of a solitary unarmed man standing in front of Chinese tanks at the time of the Tiananmen Square massacre.</p>
<p>In sharp contrast to the high-tech killers who run the Israeli military apparatus and the low-tech killers who engage in suicide bombings, Rachel Corrie put her beliefs into practice with militant nonviolence instead of carnage. She exemplified the best of the human spirit in action; she was killed with an American-brand bulldozer in the service of a U.S.-backed government.</p>
<p>As her parents, Cindy and Craig Corrie, said in a statement on her birthday a few weeks after she died: “Rachel wanted to bring attention to the plight of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Territories, a people she felt were largely invisible to most Americans.”</p>
<p>In the United States, the nonstop pro-Israel media siege aims to keep them scarcely visible.</p>
<p>NORMAN SOLOMON is the author of <a href="" type="internal">War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death</a>.</p>
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<p>&#160;</p> | The Lobby and the Bulldozer | true | https://counterpunch.org/2006/04/13/the-lobby-and-the-bulldozer/ | 2006-04-13 | 4 |
<p>Judge Andrew Napolitano, Fox News Senior judicial analyst, on a gene editing breakthrough with human embryos, and the legal and ethical issues this could cause in the future.</p>
<p>Scientists made a breakthrough in gene editing when they successfully edited the DNA of human embryos to remove a mutation that can lead to a hereditary heart condition.&#160; Although the breakthrough may lead to vast potential health benefits, it also opens the door to controversy as well.&#160; Some have raised the ethical concerns of couples one day using the technology to create ‘designer babies.’</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>When the Fox Business Network’s Stuart Varney posed the question, “It opens the door to designer babies, is there a legal problem with that?”&#160;Fox News senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano explained why this is not an immediate threat. &#160;“At the present time, there is a legal problem with that…it [Congress] has prohibited the Food and Drug Administration from spending money on the registration of gene editing.&#160; Therefore gene editing cannot be done commercially in the United States of America at the present time.”</p>
<p>According to Napolitano, even though we’re five to ten years away from having the ability to create designer babies, it will eventually become available somewhere in the world, if not in the U.S.</p>
<p>“The genie is out of the bottle and if it doesn’t happen here and a rich couple wants a designer baby, they may go to Shanghai and have it done there and then come back here and have the baby here.”</p>
<p>Napolitano also discussed the need to address the legal concerns surrounding the controversy, “We probably will have a legal framework.&#160; Will we be ahead of the rest of the world or will we be behind it?&#160; Under what circumstances will the government permit gene editing?&#160; Because you want a baby with blonde hair and blue eyes who is going to go to Princeton instead of the London School of Economics?”</p> | Gene editing raises legal, ethical problems with designer babies: Judge Napolitano | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/08/03/gene-editing-raises-legal-ethical-problems-with-designer-babies-judge-napolitano.html | 2017-08-03 | 0 |
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<p>Those of us who are white regularly insist that the racists and bigots are a minority of us and that the white-power movement is a marginal and demented faction.</p>
<p>This is true, and the mayhem in Charlottesville, Va., called forth passionate condemnations of blood-and-soil nationalism across the spectrum of ideology. These forms of witness were a necessary defense of the American idea and underscored the shamefulness of Trump’s embrace of moral equivalence. There are not, as Trump insisted Saturday, “many sides” to questions that were settled long ago: Racism, anti-Semitism, discrimination and white supremacy are unequivocally wrong.</p>
<p>A president who cannot bring himself to say this immediately and unequivocally squanders any claim to moral leadership.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Advisers to the president tried to clean up after this moral failure, putting out a statement Sunday morning – attributed to no one – declaring that “of course” his condemnation of violence “includes white supremacists, KKK, neo-Nazi and all extremist groups.” But if that “of course” is sincere, why didn’t Trump say these things in the first place? And why hang on to the president’s inexcusable moral equivalence by adding that phrase “and all extremist groups”? This was simply a weak philosophical cover-up for a politician who has shown us his real instincts throughout his public life, from his birtherism to his reluctance to turn away 2016 endorsements from Klansmen and other racists.</p>
<p>More Republicans than usual broke with Trump after his anemic response, and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, was especially poignant in offering historical perspective on this episode: “My brother didn’t give his life fighting Hitler for Nazi ideas to go unchallenged here at home.”</p>
<p>But that so many others in the party preferred to keep their discomfort on background was itself a scandal. “I can’t tell you how sick &amp; tired I am of the ‘privately wincing’ Republicans,” Peter Wehner, a veteran of three Republican administrations, tweeted. “It’s a self-incriminating silence.” Yes, it is.</p>
<p>The proper response is for Democrats and Republicans willing to take a stand to force a vote in Congress condemning the president for his opportunistic obtuseness and making clear where the vast majority of Americans stand on white supremacy. This is important for many reasons, but especially to send a message to America’s minorities that whites are willing to do more than offer rote condemnations of racism.</p>
<p>For make no mistake: No matter how accurate it is to say that neo-Nazis and Klansmen represent a repugnant fringe, the fact that our president has consistently and successfully exploited white racial resentment cannot help but be taken by citizens of color as a sign of racism’s stubborn durability.</p>
<p>The backlash to racial progress is an old American story, from the end of Reconstruction forward. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words from 1967 speak to us still: “Loose and easy language about equality, resonant resolutions about brotherhood fall pleasantly on the ear, but for the Negro, there is a credibility gap he cannot overlook. He remembers that with each modest advance the white population promptly raises the argument that the Negro has come far enough. Each step forward accents an ever-present tendency to backlash.” This is what we saw this weekend.</p>
<p>The battles over Confederate monuments, in Charlottesville and elsewhere, reflect our difficulty in acknowledging that these memorials are less historical markers than political statements. Many were erected explicitly in support of Jim Crow and implicitly to deny the truth that the Southern cause in the Civil War was built around a defense of slavery. Taking them down is an acknowledgement of what history teaches, not an eradication of the past.</p>
<p>But history is also being made now. As is always true with Trump, self-interest is the most efficient explanation for his actions: Under pressure from the Russia investigation, he is reluctant to alienate backlash voters, who are among his most loyal supporters.</p>
<p>The rest of us, however, have a larger obligation to our country and to racial justice. As the late civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer might suggest, it is time to ask about Trump: When will we become sick and tired of being sick and tired?</p>
<p>Dionne’s columns, including those not published in the Journal, can be read at <a href="" type="internal">abqjournal.com/opinion</a> – look for the syndicated columnist link. Copyright, Washington Post Writers Group; e-mail: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>. Twitter: @EJDionne.</p>
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<p /> | All sides should condemn Trump’s racial pandering | false | https://abqjournal.com/1048090/all-sides-should-condemn-trumps-racial-pandering.html | 2 |
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<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>32 states have previously put the right for same-sex couples to receive civil marriages to a popular vote, and 32 times the measures were voted down. Yesterday, however, three states became the first to successfully pass ballot measures to make gay marriage legal: Maryland, Maine, and Washington.</p>
<p>Maryland’s proposition passed with close approval, at 52%. The measure’s passage is consistent with pre-election <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/polling/samesex-marriage-favored-maryland-likely-voters/2012/10/18/913e11fa-1918-11e2-ad4a-e5a958b60a1e_page.html" type="external">polling</a>. The Maryland State legislature <a href="http://www.inquisitr.com/197309/maryland-governor-martin-omalley-to-sign-civil-marriage-protection-act/" type="external">approved</a> same-sex marriage in February of 2012, leaving it to be implemented if approved in a voter referendum. The bill will take affect on the first day of 2013.</p>
<p>Maine’s measure passed with a more comfortable margin, but remained close with 53% voting “yes” and 46% voting “no.” Like Maryland’s, the results were consistent with <a href="http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2011/PPP_Release_ME_1102.pdf" type="external">polling</a> which found a slight majority of Mainers in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage. Unlike in Maryland, Maine’s initiative did not <a href="https://www.boston.com/news/local/maine/articles/2011/07/01/gay_marriage_supporters_plan_referendum_in_maine/?camp=pm" type="external">start as legislation</a>.</p>
<p>Washington’s legislation passed with 51% of the vote. Similar to the process in Maryland, Washington’s state legislature passed a law to make gay marriage legal only upon popular&#160; <a href="http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2012/06/anti-gay-marriage-measure-qualifies-for-wash-state-ballot/1#.T_FHarWe4j8" type="external">vote</a>. Unlike in the other two states, <a href="http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2011/PPP_Release_WA_1103.pdf" type="external">polling</a> in Washington indicated a more comfortable support for the measure.</p>
<p>The 2012 elections will be remembered for many things. Outside of the focus on the presidential race, the country appears to have arrived at a turning point in the battle for marriage equality. Putting same-sex legalization measures to a popular vote used to be a surefire strategy for defeating the law. But it appears that the tide is turning.</p>
<p>Editors Note: An additional measure, to define marriage as between a man and a woman, failed in Minnesota. Marriage equality activists see this as a <a href="" type="internal">fourth victory for the movement</a>.</p> | Gay Marriage Legalized in Three More States | false | https://ivn.us/2012/11/07/gay-marriage-legalized-in-three-more-states/ | 2012-11-07 | 2 |
<p>The Daily Show's Trevor Noah basically told the Republicans to man up if any of them ever actually want to be president after hitting them hard for their incessant whining following last week's CNBC debate, where they all decided to pile on and attack the media for asking them a bunch of "gotcha' questions" that they didn't like.</p>
<p>Noah sounded a little bit like <a href="" type="internal">President Obama this week</a>, who got his digs in on them for talking tough about how they'd handle terrorists and Vladimir Putin, but crying like a bunch of stuck pigs about those terrible meanies who moderated their debate, and wondered:</p>
<p>What happened that transformed this crew from the Expendables into the cast of Scooby Doo?</p>
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<p>After playing a mash up of all of those terrible "gotcha' questions" they candidates were asked during the debate, Noah continued.</p>
<p>Whoa, whoa, whoa. What's with all the detailed questions? How about we save a little mystery for inauguration night? Of course, as upset as the candidates were about the questions they got, they were more angry about the questions they didn't get.</p>
<p>Cue the lot of them, along with an assist by Sean Hannity on Fox just making stuff up about what the Democrats were supposedly asked during their debate.</p>
<p>After wondering if any of them had actually watched the Democratic debate, and playing a mash up of Anderson Cooper hammering the Democrats with what were not softball questions -- and pointing out that you didn't hear the Democrats complaining the way these whiners running for the Republican nomination have -- Noah let them have it for trying to "baby-proof" the entire election, and for <a href="" type="internal">their list of demands for any future debates</a>.</p>
<p>He wrapped things up by telling them they'd better man up if any of them actually want to be president because they're going to get tough questions they don't like if one of them is actually (God help us) elected as president, and pointed to President Obama's gray hair and how his time in office has aged him as proof of that.</p> | Trevor Noah Tells Republicans To Toughen Up And Quit Whining About Debate Questions | true | http://crooksandliars.com/2015/11/trevor-noah-tells-republicans-toughen-and | 2015-11-03 | 4 |
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<p>Democrats locking horns on <a href="" type="internal">financial reform</a> are in a pickle. As Politico <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0410/35347.html" type="external">reports</a> today, some Dems with a hand in crafting the <a href="" type="internal">Senate’s Wall Street overhaul</a> have begun to doubt whether a <a href="http://www.rollcall.com/news/44630-1.html" type="external">Memorial Day deadline</a> is at all realistic for delivering a bill to President Obama. And they’re probably right: That would mean a majority in the Senate agreed to a politically palatable bill, passed it, then both the House and Senate reconciled their two pieces of legislation and sent the combined bill to the president. In a little under two months. When it took the Senate banking committee, led by Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), far longer just to get out of committee.</p>
<p>The fear among Democrats, the Politico&#160;story highlights, is that a May 31 deadline, which the administration put in place, will imbue financial reform talks with the same partisan flame-throwing that so marred the health care debate. Ditching the deadline, worried Dems say, could allow for improved negotiations and a better shot at a bipartisan financial reform bill. It might also blunt the <a href="http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/healthcare/march_2010/55_favor_repeal_of_health_care_bill" type="external">public blowback</a> seen with the health care bill’s passage. A number of outsiders—lobbyists, former government officials—quoted in the Politico story say the deadline was more a rhetorical flourish than anything, an effort by Obama and Co. to keep Congress’ talks moving at a rapid clip.</p>
<p>Not only that, but there’s the fear that any major legislation considered after Memorial Day will be overtaken by campaigning for the looming fall elections. That’s certainly true for vulnerable Dems—those who voted for health care, for instance—who’ll be spending much of the second half of 2010 clawing to keep their seat and, inevitably, less concerned about systemic risk and capital restrictions and consumer protection agencies. It’s sad, but a reality—especially in what’s shaping up to be a <a href="" type="internal">tough midterm election for Democrats</a>, among them those fighting for financial reform.</p>
<p>Of course, no one who’s closely followed financial reform believes the Memorial Day deadline means anything. After all, Dodd said early last year that he expected a financial bill to be completed by year’s end. Well, it’s April 2010, and the full Senate hasn’t even begun talks. What remains to be seen, and what really matters, is whether the Democratic leadership will be able to juggle writing new financial reforms and helping party members campaign to keep their seats. It’s a balancing act that could land them what they want on both accounts.</p>
<p /> | Mission Impossible: Financial Bill Deadline | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2010/04/financial-reform-deadline-impossible-politico-bristle-chris-dodd-barney-frank-memorial-day/ | 2010-04-05 | 4 |
<p>Editor’s note: The sources interviewed here wanted to remain anonymous because of pending trials and fear of police and judicial repercussions.</p>
<p>View Donald Kaufman’s photos at the Oceti Sakowin camp.</p>
<p><a href="#" type="external">PHOTO ESSAY | 6 photosWater Protectors at Standing Rock</a></p>
<p>CANNON BALL, N.D.—Native Americans and fellow activists huddled around small fires in the Oceti Sakowin Camp on Sunday night and sang songs in a nostalgic and bittersweet gathering. These demonstrators opposing the Dakota Access pipeline, who call themselves “water protectors,” feel they are making a last stand at Oceti Sakowin.</p>
<p />
<p>Nightly rituals of song, speech, dance and gatherings by firelight used to involve thousands at this camp, but that number has dwindled to about 50 people—many of whom have been subjected to police violence and have spent time in jail. The national media have all but vanished. Cold winds blow through the vast, empty plains.</p>
<p>Altogether, hundreds of people remain at the Standing Rock camps, but Oceti Sakowin—once a vibrant center for the #NoDAPL movement—now feels like a ghost town. Police stop and check all vehicles approaching the camp. No one is allowed to bring camping gear, including sleeping bags, to the site.</p>
<p>Many water protectors expect a raid Wednesday in which authorities will force evacuations from the camps. Resistance is likely, and some demonstrators fear it will be brutally crushed. Asked about the predicted raid, a water protector said people feel “estranged, vulnerable, [like they’re] facing a wolves’ den. … I feel betrayed.”</p>
<p>During the day, water protectors work urgently to remove the makeshift homes, leftover supplies and trash from Oceti Sakowin before the police come. These people working together in muddy, cold and chaotic conditions feel anxiety and fear. Many longtime campers are plagued by coughs. One speaker around the fire said that he regularly <a href="http://thedailyhaze.com/rozol-poisoning-camp-cough-standing-rock/" type="external">coughs up blood</a> and that he was told that it was caused by Rozol, a chemical used to kill rats, moles and other animals. No independent sources verified that the poison was used on activists, but The Bismarck Tribune reported that Rozol <a href="http://bismarcktribune.com/news/state-and-regional/meyer-ranch-buffalo-under-quarantine-for-rozol-poison/article_7230182c-a174-51e2-88f8-b2977a936462.html" type="external">had killed wildlife</a> at the nearby Cannonball Ranch.</p>
<p>Law enforcement officers have arrived from many parts of the country. They include <a href="http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2017/02/updated-national-park-service-law-enforcement-rangers-being-called-standing-rock" type="external">National Park Service rangers</a>, who were told to bring riot gear and night vision and thermal scopes.</p>
<p>“The police are working as state enforcers of corporate greed and exploitation,” an activist told Truthdig. “I wish it wasn’t that way. I can’t construe it any other way. They are literally standing between the peoples of this land and the project [the pipeline] that’s going through it.”</p>
<p>Adding to the grim atmosphere, the FBI has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/10/standing-rock-fbi-investigation-dakota-access" type="external">launched a terrorism task force</a> to investigate Standing Rock activists, The Guardian reported last week.</p>
<p>On Sunday night, the music, which helped campers bond over the months, brought smiles and laughter to the 50 people at Oceti Sakowin. A storm is coming, and no one at camp is delusional about what lies ahead. The immediate outcome of their resistance no longer drives them. Instead, they focus on a moral line they have drawn between what they believe is right and what they believe is wrong.</p>
<p>They accept that the United States government will vanquish the camp. But the stand of the water protectors, as described by Truthdig columnist and author Chris Hedges in his book “ <a href="" type="internal">Wages of Rebellion</a>,” has a greater purpose than preventing an oil pipeline from being built:</p>
<p>Some of the demonstrators trust that the #NoDAPL movement will lead to something important. Terrence Daniels, a technology activist who has been at Standing Rock since August, believes that the actions of the water protectors will increase awareness of the rights of Native Americans and help end destructive oil practices. Daniels said, “Your enemies fight their hardest at their last, and that’s one of the things we are seeing here.”</p>
<p>Watch video below of the Oceti Sakowin Camp takedown, ending months of “water protector” protests against the building of the Dakota Access oil pipeline.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Watch video below of Truthdig contributor Donald Kaufman on the ground at #StandingRock in North Dakota covering the #NoDAPL water protector movement.</p>
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<p />
<p>View Donald Kaufman’s photos at the Oceti Sakowin camp.</p>
<p><a href="#" type="external">PHOTO ESSAY | 6 photosWater Protectors at Standing Rock</a></p> | Standing Rock: Last Stand at Oceti Sakowin Camp | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/standing-rock-last-stand-at-oceti-sakowin-camp/ | 2017-02-21 | 4 |
<p>Big crowds, bad weather and the most congested airspace in the nation: If you’re flying in or out of New York‘s JFK International airport this summer, you can now add a fourth potential challenge to your travel plans and peace of mind.</p>
<p>A runway that handles a quarter of JFK’s traffic will be closed all summer – the airport’s busiest season -- creating the risk of travel delays at an airport already notorious for long waits. Travel to and from JFK, which handles 50 million passengers a year and is the country’s number one airport for international travel, peaks during July and August.</p>
<p>The runway, 4L/22R, closed in April to be widened and lengthened and will remain closed through late September. According to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport, the $457 million renovation is meant to enable the airport to handle larger planes, including Airbus 380s, and to satisfy FAA-mandated safety-zone requirements.</p>
<p>The FAA said in April prior to the closing that i <a href="http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2015/04/delays_expected_at_jfk_during_5-month_runway_closu.html" type="external">t did expect delays</a> because of the construction. But the Port Authority maintains that JFK can operate at near-full capacity with the remaining three runways. That may not provide much reassurance for travelers given the airport’s already horrendous reputation for delays. In 2014, fully <a href="http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/subject_areas/airline_information/airline_ontime_tables/2014_12/table_03" type="external">25 percent of JFK arrivals</a> were delayed, according to Department of Transportation figures, one of the worst performances at the country’s 30 busiest airports. Earlier this month, <a href="http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-best-and-worst-airlines-airports-and-flights-summer-2015-update/" type="external">statistics whiz Nate Silver crunched the numbers and named JFK the second-worst in the nation for delays</a> between May 2014 and April 2015. Only another New York City airport, LaGuardia, was worse.</p>
<p>So far, however, there have been no construction-related delays. The Port Authority and the airlines have made operational changes to accommodate the new runway configuration. American Airlines, for example, has adjusted block times (i.e., the time from departure gate to arrival gate) and shifted flight schedules so fewer flights land during peak hours.</p>
<p>“We haven’t seen any impact whatsoever,” said American spokesman Matt Miller. “It’s been a great collaboration between us, the FAA and the Port Authority.”</p>
<p>Aviation analyst Bob Mann also says he thinks the Port Authority has done its due diligence. “You can only do this work when the weather permits; unfortunately, that coincides with a period of peak traffic,” he said. “All things considered, I would judge that the PA has considered all the options both in terms of what’s feasible by time of year and the demands that are placed on the airport during that time of year.”</p>
<p>"It’s probably a place you don’t want to be anywhere near.”</p>
<p>The real test, however, will take place in the coming weeks and months as the summer travel season kicks into high gear and JFK turns into a hub for Europe-bound vacationers. If the weather goes bad — as it often does — and additional runways get closed, no amount of schedule adjustment will prevent delays from multiplying.</p>
<p>Travelers got a glimpse of that scenario in March when a previous stage of the construction project forced the airport to limit operations to a single runway. “I was waiting to pick up my wife, whose flight was delayed over an hour,” said software executive Michael Pryor, who used the extra time to ascertain that the construction project was to blame. “It was super frustrating.”</p>
<p>And given the complex nature of the region’s airspace, problems at JFK can quickly spread to other local airports.</p>
<p>“JFK's various runway usage configurations will have an effect on LaGuardia, Newark and Teterboro (New Jersey),” said Phil Derner, founder of the aviation website, <a href="http://nycaviation.com/" type="external">NYCAviation.com</a>. “A normal weather event can force JFK to use a runway configuration that can easily shut down Teterboro due to airspace issues and put Newark and LaGuardia onto their own capacity-limiting configurations.”</p>
<p>For its part, the FAA has created a temporary plan that entails adapting procedures to handle regional traffic, especially when the weather deteriorates. In a statement to NBC News, the FAA said that the agency “will use various runway configurations and air traffic procedures at the major New York area airports to help minimize congestion that may occur during the construction.” The agency’s plan will almost certainly come into play as temperatures start to climb, creating ideal conditions for the region’s notorious afternoon thunderstorms.</p>
<p>Ultimately, says Derner, the construction project is just another challenge in what is already a challenging situation: “I don’t see any of the delays we’d see would be because of the runway project itself but they could be exacerbated a little by any limitations in the runway configurations they can use.”</p>
<p>For travelers, it all points to taking a “hope for the best, prepare for the worst” approach when flying in and out of New York this summer. “It’s going to be a little more stressful for passengers but that’s just summer,” said Derner. “Even if the runway project wasn’t going on, people would be stressed.”</p>
<p>Michael Pryor, on the other hand, is a bit less sanguine. “On a good day, JFK isn’t great,” he told NBC News. “With one runway closed, you can only imagine what will happen if other things go wrong. It’s probably a place you don’t want to be anywhere near.”</p> | Will JFK Runway Closure Create a Summer Air Traffic Jam? | false | http://nbcnews.com/business/travel/will-jfk-runway-closure-create-summer-air-traffic-jam-n379141 | 2015-06-21 | 3 |
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<p>This cartoon requires Macromedia’s Flash Player. If you don’t see the cartoon above, <a href="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" type="external">download the player here</a>.</p>
<p>Mark Fiore is an editorial cartoonist and animator whose work has appeared in the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Examiner, and dozens of other publications. He is an active member of the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists, and has a <a href="http://www.markfiore.com" type="external">web site</a> featuring his work.</p>
<p /> | Cut and Run | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2006/06/cut-and-run/ | 2006-06-29 | 4 |
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<p>I AM WRITING this letter because I would just like to thank the city of Albuquerque for all the great parks and trails around the Albuquerque metro area.</p>
<p>My family just moved to Albuquerque and we are very impressed with the amount of parks as they are a great way to be more active and they are also a great convenience. I also love how you have kept them very nice looking and well-manicured.</p>
<p>I also am overjoyed that you have a remote control park and shooting-range park as these are some of my favorite things to do, though I have not gone yet, due to time restraints.</p>
<p>I look forward to visiting more parks soon.</p>
<p>TAYLOR JENKINS</p>
<p>Albuquerque</p>
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<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Kudos to ABQ for great parks | false | https://abqjournal.com/665420/kudos-to-abq-for-great-parks.html | 2 |
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<p>SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemen’s Shiite rebels say they have fired a ballistic missile targeting a special forces camp and a facility for helicopter gunships in the Saudi border province of Najran.</p>
<p>The media arm of the rebels, known as the Houthis, said Thursday’s projectile was a Qaher 2-M ballistic missile.</p>
<p>It provided no further details and there was no immediate comment from the Saudi-led coalition, fighting the rebels since 2015, on whether the missile caused material damage or casualties.</p>
<p>The Houthis, who swept across Yemen and overthrew the internationally recognized government of President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi in 2015, hold the capital, Sanaa, and much of northern Yemen, where most of the country’s 25 million people live.</p>
<p>Saudi Arabia has since then fought on the side of the Hadi government.</p>
<p>SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemen’s Shiite rebels say they have fired a ballistic missile targeting a special forces camp and a facility for helicopter gunships in the Saudi border province of Najran.</p>
<p>The media arm of the rebels, known as the Houthis, said Thursday’s projectile was a Qaher 2-M ballistic missile.</p>
<p>It provided no further details and there was no immediate comment from the Saudi-led coalition, fighting the rebels since 2015, on whether the missile caused material damage or casualties.</p>
<p>The Houthis, who swept across Yemen and overthrew the internationally recognized government of President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi in 2015, hold the capital, Sanaa, and much of northern Yemen, where most of the country’s 25 million people live.</p>
<p>Saudi Arabia has since then fought on the side of the Hadi government.</p> | Yemen’s Houthis say they fired ballistic missile at Saudi | false | https://apnews.com/77f984b4d4454873bac4f95ac4dbaf52 | 2018-01-11 | 2 |
<p>[Clinton] has always wanted our love and wanted to share his love with us. It is not about the skin. It is about the spirit and the soul of this soul brother.</p>
<p>Former Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater</p>
<p>I was mildly amused, a bit disgusted but not surprised when former President Bill Clinton was named to the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, there is no shortage of gullibility when it comes to the relationship between blacks and the man from Hope. Towards the end of his term, he was viewed favorably by a staggering 83 percent of African Americans. Now Clinton has been named honorary chairman of the planned $37 million national Museum of African American History expected to open in Charleston in 2007.</p>
<p>Besides just having a big name draw to raise money, it should be obvious what’s going on. Clinton is reworking his image by creating a phony civil rights legacy. Forced to resign because of Watergate, Richard Nixon attempted to reshape his image into that of a foreign policy expert before his death. Jimmy Carter left office a failure with hostages in Iran and an economy in crisis. He was still able to remake himself into a statesman and international peace advocate. Should Clinton get his way, memories of his real race record will fade as he transmogrifies himself into a racial healer. And he is getting plenty of help, as always, from black people.</p>
<p>Charles King, the hall of fame’s executive director, said the former president deserved induction “to show him our appreciation not only for what he did as president but for his lifelong association with us. He came to us. We were responsible for him being governor, and president. He held on to that. And we held on to that.”</p>
<p>Clinton is now the only white person among the hall’s 62 members, who include poet Maya Angelou, John Johnson, founder of Jet and Ebony magazines, and former Clinton administration Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders. Remember Elders? Clinton fired her because she said it wasn’t a bad idea to talk about masturbation in sex education classes.</p>
<p>The evening of the induction Clinton shared the dais with soul-turned-gospel singer/preacher Al Green. The two have so much in common that it’s a wonder Clinton hasn’t had a pot of hot grits flung at him. Point being ­ their commonalty has more to do with them being doggish, busted males than some twisted sense of racial or cultural empathy.</p>
<p>Since leaving office, Clinton has been working his “ghetto pass” overtime. When complaints arose about the cost of his office space in Midtown Manhattan, what did he do? He moved to 125th Street in Harlem, historically the intellectual capital of black America. The community that nurtured Malcolm X, Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, Jessie Fauset, W.E.B. Du Bois, Zora Neale Hurston, Adam Powell and a host of others ate it up. Harlem was Clinton’s second choice and for that he got a hero’s welcome.</p>
<p>At present, the only national political figure the Democratic Party has ­ black or white ­ that blacks identify with is Clinton. In 1998 the party’s get-out-the-black-vote effort consisted of mailing out postcards with Clinton posing beside black families. In the 2002 elections black households once again got their postcards with Clinton’s picture followed up an automated phone message from their good buddy Bill.</p>
<p>No other president in United States history has managed to get so much black support for giving so little. But what makes Clinton’s race act so successful is that black America never asked him to do much to begin with. In the 1980s, Clinton was the first white candidate for governor to reach out to Arkansas’s black voters, to eat on their porches, pray in their churches, invite them into the governor’s office. For 12 years before Clinton, Ronald Reagan and George Bush insulted and ignored black people. Consequently, when Clinton wooed African Americans, most were just happy someone was finally paying attention. To some degree, black support of Clinton is also acknowledgement of the black community’s need for white acceptance.</p>
<p>Some argue that Clinton deserves support because his economic policies were a boon for African Americans. During his administration median income reached an all-time high, and poverty among blacks dipped thanks in large part to his increases in the minimum wage and the Earned Income Tax Credit. But on the other side of the economic coin the black-white wealth disparity remained fixed and the gap between the rich and poor expanded under his administration.</p>
<p>Others point to the record number of African Americans in the Clinton cabinet and the picture of racial diversity it projected. At times Clinton talked the social justice talk, lavishly invoking the name of Martin Luther King. While touring Africa he even gave a half-hearted apology for America’s part in European colonization and enslavement. A black man, Vernon Jordan, was his best friend. A black woman, Betty Currie, was his personal secretary. It’s debatable whether the blacks around Clinton had any real power, but real or not, his mostly symbolic gestures were much more than black people had ever seen from a white person in power. And those gestures have carried Clinton a long way.</p>
<p>The joke that refuses to go away has Clinton as America’s first black president ­ a sentiment enthusiastically affirmed by black celebrities, elites and quasi-intellectuals. In his bit, comedian Chris Rock used Clinton’s “persecution over a $300 haircut” to support the claim. Former Southern Christian Leadership Conference head Joseph Lowery said that blacks like Clinton because “he plays the saxophone.” Harvard professor Alvin Poussaint joked, Clinton “must have black ancestry.” Back in1998 during the height of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, writer Toni Morrison said, “black skin notwithstanding: this is our first black President” citing his dysfunctional upbringing as commonality with black males. But the joke’s an insult. The punch line is that Clinton is decadent and promiscuous, got rhythm, got caught and got over — so he’s black!</p>
<p>The notion of Clinton as a great friend of the black community or defender of civil rights is just as crazy. Clinton co-opted civil rights themes and figures and distorted their meaning for his political advancement and survival. Whether it’s his telling blacks how disappointed “Dr. King would be [in them] if he were alive today”, because of black on black crime or his attorney comparing him to Abraham Lincoln during the impeachment hearings, Clinton was an expert at playing the race card. All the while, his policies and attitude on due process, equal protection and equal treatment, or civil rights (rights guaranteed to all), were horrible. A couple of examples of his racial hypocrisy come to mind. One was his initiative requiring citizens, mostly black, in public housing to surrender their Fourth Amendment or privacy rights. Another was the “one strike and you’re out” policy under which public housing residents convicted of a crime, along with anyone who lives with them, are evicted without consideration of their due process rights. But while the Rehnquest Court upheld these assaults on the rights of the poor, Jeb Bush (via his daughter Nicole) and Clinton (still on the public dole) all remain exempt from the laws they promote.</p>
<p>Southern politician Clinton has always played the race-crime game to perfection. In his first presidential race Governor Clinton ran for office supporting the death penalty at a time when the country was split almost down the middle on the issue. Then for good measure, he rushed back to Arkansas to oversee the execution of convicted killer Ricky Ray Rector, a brain-damaged black man. For years after his first election, I kept a picture of Clinton and then-Georgia Senator Sam Nunn posing in front of a phalanx of black inmates in white prison suits taken at Stone Mountain, Georgia. Historians generally give Pulaski, Tennessee, the dubious honor as the birthplace of the Ku Klux Klan. But Stone Mountain is hailed as the Klan’s second home. The picture appeared in newspapers all across the south the day of the southern primaries in 1992. That picture is what Clinton has always represented to me.</p>
<p>So, the fact that Clinton left behind a larger ­ mostly black ­ prison population than when he took office should come as no surprise. Black incarceration rates during the Clinton years surpassed Ronald Reagan’s eight years. The incarceration rates for blacks increased from around 3,000 per 100,000 to 3,620 per 100,000 people during his administration. That he did nothing about mandatory minimum sentences was no surprise. That he did nothing to change the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine that disproportionately affects African Americans was no surprise. That he successfully stumped for “three strikes and you’re out” in the crime bill, for restrictions on the right of habeas corpus and expansion of the federal death penalty was no surprise. When he came into office one in four black men were in the toils of the criminal justice system in some way; when he left it was one in three. In many states ex-felons are denied the right to vote, a factor that had a direct impact on the 2000 presidential vote in Florida. Again, no surprise.</p>
<p>Shortly after leaving office, Clinton published a piece, “Erasing America’s Color Lines”, in the New York Times. He wrote that “America was now at a point where we can write a new preamble to the 21st century, in which color differences are not the problem, but the promise, of America.” He outlined a path that would allow the Bush administration to reduce systemic racism. The list included a ban on racial profiling, an examination of mandatory minimum sentencing and a presidential commission on voter reform.</p>
<p>But Clinton’s suggestions were another bit of hypocrisy given that he refused to implement them while he had the chance. And his knowledge that George Bush would never take any of his suggestions made the whole exercise just another piece of grotesque symbolism, typical of his relationship with the black community. The commentary was a perfect postscript to Clinton’s marriage with black America, a relationship that is characterized by the James Brown song “Talking loud and saying nothing”.</p>
<p>On the night Clinton was inducted into the Arkansas hall of fame, Charles King must have lost his memory. He forgot that, as Governor, his guest of honor refused to sign a civil rights bill. In Charleston, the people behind the civil rights museum forgot that Clinton dumped his friend Lani Guinier from consideration for the Justice Department’s office of civil rights over her advocacy of cumulative voting ­ the next frontier for civil rights, which would break down voting by race and party.</p>
<p>Maybe Clinton’s name and service on the board in Charleston will help lure the money needed to make the project a reality. Maybe now blacks will get to use him and maybe get something in return for a change. But he shouldn’t be allowed simply to fundraise himself into a legacy or assume a legacy he doesn’t deserve. A legacy should be more that just showing up. As for being a soul brother? He’s got a very, very long way to go.</p>
<p>Kevin Alexander Gray is a civil rights organizer in South Carolina. This essay is excerpted from <a href="http://www.easycarts.net/ecarts/CounterPunch/CP_Books.html" type="external">Dime’s Worth of Difference</a>. He can be reached at: <a href="" type="internal">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Soul Brother? | true | https://counterpunch.org/2004/11/19/soul-brother/ | 2004-11-19 | 4 |
<p>Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon says President Trump’s firing of former FBI Director James Comey is the biggest mistake in “modern political history.”</p>
<p>CBS News anchor Charlie Rose asked Bannon during a Sunday interview if Comey’s sacking is the “biggest mistake in political history.”</p>
<p>“That probably would be too bombastic, even for me,” Bannon responded on <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/steve-bannon-more-from-60-minutes/" type="external">“60 Minutes.”</a> “But maybe modern political history.”</p>
<p>Bannon told Rose, however, that had Trump not ousted Comey, there would not be a special counsel leading the probe of Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election.</p>
<p>“I don’t think there’s any doubt that if James Comey had not been fired, we would not have a special counsel,” he said, referencing Robert Mueller.</p>
<p>“We would not have the Mueller investigation, we would not have a Mueller investigation in the breadth that clearly Mr. Mueller is going in.”</p>
<p>Bannon additionally called the Russia investigation a “waste of time” before declining to state whether he believes Moscow meddled in last year’s White House race.</p>
<p>“We’ll have to wait til the investigation is finished,” said Bannon, who is now executive chairman of Breitbart News.</p>
<p>Trump dismissed Comey last May, a move which sparked controversy due to the FBI’s ongoing examination of Russia’s election intrusions in 2016.</p>
<p>The Justice Department appointed Mueller, himself a former FBI director, to serve as the investigation’s special counsel the same month of Comey’s ouster.</p>
<p>The Washington Post reported last Friday that Mueller has told the White House his team hopes to interview six senior and former aides to Trump as part of his investigation.</p>
<p>Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer and former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus are among those Mueller’s team hopes to speak with.</p>
<p>Mueller’s investigation includes potential collusion between Russia and Trump’s 2016 election campaign.</p>
<p>Trump has repeatedly criticized Mueller’s probe as a “witch hunt” against him and his administration.</p> | Bannon called Trump firing Comey the biggest mistake in ‘modern political history’ | false | https://circa.com/story/2017/09/11/politics/steve-bannon-trump-firing-james-comey-biggest-mistake-in-modern-political-history | 2017-09-11 | 1 |
<p>Early Sunday morning, Ann Coulter issued a series of mocking tweets directed at left-wing and Democrat-aligned news media outlets, focusing on the backlash-against-Muslims narrative touted by news media outlets during coverage of Islamic terrorist attacks.</p>
<p>Coulter mocked news media outlets for quickly and eagerly framing Saturday's unrest in Charlottesville as white supremacist terrorism, whereas the same news media outlets are often reticent to describe radical Islamic mass murder attacks — attempted or otherwise — as terroristic.</p>
<p>Saturday's unrest in Charlotteville prompted many news media outlets to hype "white nationalism" and "white supremacy" as significant social forces in contemporary America, additionally seeking to link them to President Donald Trump. The same news media outlets regularly offer support to violent left-groups groups such as Antifa and racial separatist groups like Black Lives Matter.</p>
<p>Follow Robert Kraychik on <a href="https://twitter.com/kr3ch3k" type="external">Twitter</a>.</p> | Coulter Mocks Media's Hypocritical Charlottesville Response In Twitter Tirade | true | https://dailywire.com/news/19657/late-night-ann-coulter-twitter-tirade-mocks-msm-robert-kraychik | 2017-08-13 | 0 |
<p>As we know, Liberty Counsel spokesman Matt Barber regularly uses his personal website to feature columnists who advocate for executing homosexuals. As a change of pace, today Barber publishes a column by some nutjob who claims that Christians are thisclose to being executed by gay people. Michael Bresciani writes:</p>
<p>Starting with the persecution, fining and jailing of cake bakers and county clerks who will not perform “homosexual weddings” it will take only a few short steps to bring it to the arrest and murder of the faithful. But just as the Christians in the days of the Roman persecution would not deny either their King or his Divine instructions – modern Christians who have not betrayed their faith or seceded to apostate churches will do the very same. Barack Obama may be our president but neither he, nor anyone else, will be our king. We can live with that and we can die with that.</p>
<p>In a previous column Bresciani wrote: “There is little doubt that the entire gay and lesbian community is guided by a powerful demon spirit who is subordinate to Satan.”</p>
<p>NOTE: I never link BarbWire columns. First at all, FUCK him. Also – my malware alarms go nuts on that site.</p> | Columnist For Liberty Counsel’s Matt Barber: Gays Are Planning To Murder Faithful Christians | true | http://joemygod.com/2015/09/15/columnist-for-liberty-counsels-matt-barber-gays-are-planning-to-murder-faithful-christians/ | 2015-09-15 | 4 |
<p>A school superintendent, principal, and two coaches have been charged in connection with last year’s rape case in Steubenville. <a href="http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/25/21609473-steubenville-case-four-more-charged-including-superintendent-volunteer-coach?lite" type="external">NBC news reports</a>:</p>
<p>An Ohio grand jury investigating an alleged cover-up in the Steubenville rape case has indicted four more people, including the school superintendent and an assistant football coach.</p>
<p>Superintendent Michael McVey was charged with tampering with evidence and obstruction of justice in the aftermath of the incident at the center of the case: the sexual assault of a drunken 16-year-old girl by two high school football players after a booze-fueled party in August 2012.</p>
<p>A volunteer assistant coach, Matthew Belardine, was charged with allowing underage drinking, obstructing official business and making a false statement.</p>
<p>Two school employees, strength coach Seth Fluharty and elementary-school principal Lynette Gorman, were charged with failure to report child abuse.</p>
<p>From the beginning, it seemed clear that other members of the community–including adults–knew about the awful events that happened that night. (The two football players who were <a href="" type="internal">eventually convicted</a>&#160;of rape were even under the impression that their head coach&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Reno&#160;Saccoccia “took care of it.”</a>)&#160;“What you have people is people who were not worried about a victim. They were worried about other things,” Ohio AG Mike DeWine said in announcing the charges.</p>
<p>I’m glad to see the grand jury starting to hold them accountable. We’ll keep you updated as the case progresses.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="https://twitter.com/mayadusenbery" type="external">Maya Dusenbery</a> is an Executive Director of Feministing.</p> | Breaking: Superintendent and three school employees indicted in Steubenville rape case | true | http://feministing.com/2013/11/25/breaking-four-school-officials-indicted-in-steubenville-rape-case/ | 4 |
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<p>Hundreds of students from around New Mexico walked out of class Monday morning to protest the state’s new standardized test, while thousands more began taking the controversial exam.</p>
<p>In Albuquerque, between 900 and 1,000 students held protests at seven Albuquerque Public Schools high schools and at one local charter school, according to APS spokeswoman Monica Armenta. There are about 66,000 students across the district who are scheduled to take the test.</p>
<p>About 100 students protested briefly in Rio Rancho, while students also held protests in Las Cruces, Moriarty and Santa Fe.</p>
<p>The size of the protests varied widely in Albuquerque. Some schools such as Albuquerque and Rio Grande high schools had hundreds of student protesters, while protests at La Cueva and Sandia were much smaller.</p>
<p>State Education Secretary Hanna Skandera said Monday that she was disappointed some students chose to walk out on the test, but she said there were thousands more who began the PARCC exam Monday.</p>
<p>“I think we need to applaud the kids who did take on this challenge,” she told the Journal.</p>
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<p>Both Skandera and APS interim Superintendent Brad Winter said the first day of testing was “positive” and that computer glitches were minimal.</p>
<p>Protesting students carried posters with messages such as “I am more than a test score” and chanted slogans like “Say no to PARCC” — referring to New Mexico’s new standardized test, the Partnership for Assessment of&#160; Readiness for College and Career exam.</p>
<p>The test is a graduation requirement for 11th-graders, although they also can meet the requirement by passing other tests.</p>
<p>About 400 students from Rio Grande High School and South Valley Academy left their schools and marched to join student protesters at Atrisco Heritage Academy. They walked along the shoulder of Coors and Dennis Chavez boulevards with police accompanying them in order to help keep them safe.</p>
<p>APS bused the students back to their schools after they reached Atrisco Heritage.</p>
<p>Myrna Campos, a South Valley Academy senior who helped organize the protests at her school, said she was inspired by student protests in Santa Fe last week.</p>
<p>“It’s too much overtesting,” Campos said as she walked with classmates down Coors.</p>
<p>But it was relatively quiet in Santa Fe, where students staged the first demonstrations against the PARCC exam last week.</p>
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<p>Latifah Phillips, the school district’s chief of staff, said about five students at Santa Fe High School walked out on the test but later returned to class.</p>
<p>“Overall, the first day of testing went pretty smoothly,” she said.</p>
<p>Phillips said there had been an uptick in parents filing paperwork to have their children opt out of taking the test. Early last week, just five parents had filled out forms to opt out. That was up to 60 on Monday.</p>
<p>But Phillips noted that’s just a small percentage of the 8,000 students in Santa Fe Public Schools eligible to take the test.</p>
<p>In Albuquerque, Winter said APS respects students’ right to protest, but it creates safety concerns when they leave campus.</p>
<p>“We want students to be in class for their education, but when students do leave campus, it is a concern because we can’t protect them,” he said.</p>
<p>Armenta urged parents to talk to their children about their safety if they do leave campus.</p>
<p>New Mexico adopted the PARCC exam — which is more rigorous than its predecessor, the Standards Based Assessment — because it aligns with the Common Core State Standards, which New Mexico put in place last year. Students in grades 3-11 take the exam.</p>
<p>The federal government requires states to give a statewide standardized test. New Mexico is among a group of states that have chosen to use the PARCC exam, a computerized test.</p>
<p>The PARCC exam will be used as a graduation requirement for juniors who take the test, although they can meet the requirement by passing other tests. It also will be used in teacher evaluations and A-F school grades in the same way the SBA was used.</p>
<p>Critics say the PARCC exam is contributing to overtesting in schools and takes away from important classroom instructional time.</p>
<p>Skandera said the PARCC is simply replacing the SBA and requires either the same or less testing time than the SBA. She said she plans to meet with students who expressed concerns to her over the test in letters after PARCC’s first testing period and that she appreciates that some students voiced concerns about the test without leaving class.</p>
<p>Connor Guiney, a junior at Highland who helped organize the protest at his school, said, “PARCC isn’t fair to students, teachers and schools.”</p>
<p>Guiney said he disagrees with the test’s role in teacher and school ratings, and that it takes up too much class time.</p>
<p>Anna Bentham-Grey, who also helped organize the walkout, said planning began last week and was done largely on social media.</p>
<p>Student protesters were split over whether they would take the test.</p>
<p>Some said they were skipping it altogether. Others said they hoped to take it and make up the portion of the exam they missed Monday.</p>
<p>APS officials had warned students if they walked out on the exam, they would not be allowed to make up the portion they missed.</p>
<p>Bentham-Grey and Guiney said they hoped students still would be allowed to take the PARCC.</p>
<p>“We still want students to take the test. We still want them to make good scores on it,” Bentham-Grey said.</p>
<p>Last Wednesday, Winter issued a letter that was posted on the district’s website warning students that if they skipped class, they would receive an unexcused absence.</p>
<p>Some students said they have been threatened with stiffer penalties, including in- and out-of-school suspensions, being suspended from extracurricular activities and not being able to walk during their graduation ceremonies.</p>
<p>Armenta said the district will leave it up to principals to decide penalties for students who walked out.</p>
<p>At Albuquerque High, student organizer Maya Quinones, a senior, said the point of the protest was to draw attention to students’ dissatisfaction with the test.</p>
<p>“The purpose is to let people know the test is hurting us,” she said.</p>
<p>Quinones said organizers hoped to keep the demonstration civil and restrained. She said students came up with a code of conduct, which included a ban on any profanity in chants or on posters.</p>
<p>SouthWest Organizing Project, a community organization, paid for the Albuquerque High students’ posters, said Janelle Astorga, a senior who also is an intern for the group. She said the protest, however, was strictly a student effort.</p>
<p>Kim Vesely, spokeswoman for Rio Rancho Public Schools, said about 50 students walked out at Rio Rancho High and 50 at V. Sue Cleveland High.</p>
<p>Cleveland Principal Scott Affentranger said the protest at his school started about 7:30 a.m. but was short-lived.</p>
<p>Not every student was on board with the protests.</p>
<p>“You’re going to have to take so many tests in life, like, this is nothing compared to what you’re going to have to take. It’s kind of easier to just man-up and take it,” Rio Rancho High senior Danielle Griego told the Rio Rancho Observer.</p>
<p>About 150 Moriarty High School students walked out of class after the first bell. Teachers and Moriarty-Edgewood School District officials were waiting for them when the students filed out onto the Pinto Patio at the school.</p>
<p>“The students deserve to be heard,” Moriarty Principal Stephanie West&#160; said.</p>
<p>There were no signs to speak of and no chanting of slogans. The protest was more of an opportunity for those organizing it to ask their classmates to fill out postcards to be sent to Skandera, Gov. Susana Martinez and state lawmakers.</p>
<p>Journal staff writers Elaine Briseno, T.S. Last and Rory McClannahan contributed to this report.</p>
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<p><a href="#" type="external">Close</a></p> | PARCC protests hit APS | false | https://abqjournal.com/548407/new-mexico-students-planning-walkouts-over-new-tests.html | 2015-03-02 | 2 |
<p>Developing economies have played second fiddle to developed market over the past few years, with U.S. equities leading the charge. However, investors are finally beginning to take a closer look at emerging market stocks and exchange traded funds as many search for cheap opportunities. “Here at Deutsche Asset Management, we believe that the time is… <a href="https://www.etftrends.com/smart-beta-channel/investors-should-consider-re-emerging-market-etfs/" type="external">Click to read more at ETFtrends.com. Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | Investors Should Consider Re-Emerging Market ETFs | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/04/21/investors-should-consider-re-emerging-market-etfs.html | 2017-04-21 | 0 |
<p>You may have heard more people recently both celebrate and bemoan the state of the cryptocurrency market, especially the explosive rise and fall (and most recently, rise again) of Bitcoin. Even if you only have a layman's knowledge of how the cryptocurrency market tends to fare, you've probably walked away with the obvious impression: yes, it's volatile. Even though Bitcoin dropped below $6,000 last week (for investors, that's a hair-pulling 70% less than the value of its all-time high in December), it's since played a comeback kid move, surging up by 50% and topping $9,000 as of this last weekend. Investors have experienced a roller coaster ride that shows no signs of slowing down just quite yet. The current state of Bitcoin is on the up and up, and while no one can quite explain why, it’s a great time to <a href="" type="internal">educate yourself on how it all works</a>.</p>
<p>So is it still a good time to invest in and learn about cryptocurrencies? The short answer is, yes. The fact of the matter is, cryptocurrencies are utterly dependent on the ever-changing whims of the market, meaning they'll rise and fall based on how urgently the market believes in their investment. And while the dips can cause a bit of a panic, Bitcoin's performance speaks for itself: it's outdone any asset or stock you might have otherwise invested in.</p>
<p>Here's the big note: don't invest any amount you can't stand to lose. Be sure that whatever you put into Bitcoin is not essential to your daily life and operations. And despite the valleys and the peaks, long-term investors in Bitcoin indeed have something to show for it: for example, if you had invested $1,000 in Bitcoin in 2011, you would have $36.7 million now. To successfully invest in Bitcoin, it's important to stay true to the most basic tenets of investment: start small, play the market wisely and patiently and you could end up with some big wins.</p>
<p>A key way to make the best decisions around Bitcoin and altcoin investment is to educate yourself about what's going on in the market. <a href="" type="internal">This Bitcoin and cryptocurrency six-course bundle</a> shows you the ins and outs of successful trading strategies, including the best times to buy and sell, and how you can best interpret the market to your advantage. You’ll develop a full theoretical and practical understanding of Bitcoin, understand how it can play a role in business, and learn how to secure your transactions and develop a smarter ICO investment strategy. Completing this course earns you a recognized certification, enhancing your professional standing if you have any plans to consult for companies or individuals in the future.</p>
<p>Usually, this Bitcoin and cryptocurrency mastery bundle is $99.95, but <a href="" type="internal">you can get it now for $29</a>, or 70% off.</p>
<p>Please note that if you buy something featured in one of our posts we may collect a share of sales. &#160;&#160;&#160;</p> | Why Bitcoin Is Still Worth Investing In | true | https://thedailybeast.com/why-bitcoin-is-still-worth-investing-in | 2018-10-04 | 4 |
<p>Who is Occupying Wall Street and DC?</p>
<p>Adara Scarlet, for one.</p>
<p>Born and raised in Denver, the 27-year old headed east once she heard about the occupy movement.</p>
<p>Her mother died at age 40 of cervical cancer. Adara was 10 years old.</p>
<p>“She was one of those anti-vaccine kind of people,” Scarlet says of her mom. “She thought you could cure everything through holistic means. She tried to meditate her cancer away. It didn’t work. She could have been treated. She had many opportunities to be treated. But she waited until it was too late. She decided to do the chemo ten days before her death. It was too late.”</p>
<p>Adara and her sister moved in with her dad – Martin Goldstein. Her parents had divorced when the sisters were younger.</p>
<p>Goldstein graduated from the University of Louisville School of Law. He was a member of the Colorado Bar. But he found out that he didn’t like practicing law – so he did odd jobs – as a stock broker, taxi driver, and dispatcher.</p>
<p>When he lost his jobs as a dispatcher, he lost his health insurance.</p>
<p>But he had this amazing ability to count cards at the Blackjack table.</p>
<p>So, starting in 2000, Marty would go almost every day to Black Hawk, Colorado and gamble at the casinos.</p>
<p>And he made on average $200 a day.</p>
<p>“He had an amazing memory,” Adara says. “He was a walking talking encyclopedia. He taught me how to count cards when I was ten years old. He could beat the system and he did.”</p>
<p>Adara says that it’s a myth that counting cards at a casino is illegal.</p>
<p>“It’s just something you are doing in your head. He would go there and win around $200 a day – sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less.”</p>
<p>“Back then, there was a $5 betting minimum and maximum per hand. If you were to do this today, he would be much more prosperous. Now you can bet up to $100 per hand. Back then, it was just strictly five dollar ante.”</p>
<p>“And he played blackjack. He was clearing $1000 a week. The rent on the house was $1195 a month. He never seemed to have a problem with the grocery shopping. And buying clothes for me and my sister.”</p>
<p>He was able to pay the bills – including $600 a month to Kaiser Permanente for health insurance for himself and the girls.</p>
<p>Then Goldstein started getting sick – and running up medical bills.</p>
<p>“He was having a whole bunch of medical problems,” Adara says. “They never figured out what was wrong with him. We never found out.”</p>
<p>The illness started in about 2000 or 2001.</p>
<p>He smoked a pack a day – menthol cigarettes.</p>
<p>What were the symptoms?</p>
<p>“Legs swollen,” Adara says. “Calves were so swollen they were bigger than his thighs.”</p>
<p>“And he couldn’t eat. He couldn’t keep food down.”</p>
<p>“His circulation was all screwed up, so he was always cold.”</p>
<p>“Kaiser bounced him around to a whole bunch of specialists. But nobody could figure out what was wrong with him – they pretty much gave up after a certain point.”</p>
<p>“Kaiser said – we don’t know what’s wrong with you – now give us our money.”</p>
<p>“But he said he was not going to pay them. He thought he could win in court because they never did anything for him and he was continuing to get sicker. He lost a whole bunch of weight. He was overweight most of his life. He actually got pretty skinny toward the end.”</p>
<p>“He got fed up with Kaiser. He paid all of this money into the system. Not only the premiums, but the co pays. He said – I’m not going to pay this bill – you haven’t figured out what is wrong with me.”</p>
<p>“I assume they wouldn’t cover him anymore, or he just refused to give them any more money.”</p>
<p>“Kaiser said he owed them about $10,000 for all the tests, CAT scans, MRIs. The bills kept piling up. He couldn’t pay it.”</p>
<p>“It was something around $10,000. He couldn’t pay it. He refused to pay it.”</p>
<p>“Kaiser sued him. He went to court and fought them. But Kaiser won the lawsuit.”</p>
<p>“But he didn’t pay. He couldn’t pay.”</p>
<p>“They put bill collectors on it. He was in debt to them. He had bill collectors calling him.”</p>
<p>“Kaiser Permanent is a horrible horrible company,” Adara says.</p>
<p>In early April 2003, Marty Goldstein was eating a bowl of chili in the kitchen. And he said to Adara that he was going to kill himself.</p>
<p>“It was the most casual thing,” Adara said. “He said – I want to talk to you about something. I don’t want you to tell your sister because she is kind of emotional. I don’t want her to get bent out of shape. But I’m sure you’ll understand.”</p>
<p>“And he said – I’ve decided that I have lived my life, it’s time to go, I’m going to stick around for one more birthday.”</p>
<p>“His birthday was April 30.”</p>
<p>“My birthday is May 11.”</p>
<p>“He was 53 that year. I was 18.”</p>
<p>“My response was to freak out and tell my sister, which was exactly what he asked me not to do.”</p>
<p>“He was sitting there eating a bowl of chili while he was talking about it. He was just blowing on the chili, eating the chili, like it was nothing.”</p>
<p>“I went down and told my sister – Dad is talking about killing himself.”</p>
<p>Did he say how he was going to do it?</p>
<p>“No he didn’t. He just said – it was time to bow out. It was so casual.”</p>
<p>“He said that he had lived his life. He said all he had done was get himself into debt. And there was no way he would be able to pay Kaiser. He said – what do I have in my future other than bankrupting my family?”</p>
<p>“He suffered from depression. I’m sure if we had a better mental health care system, he wouldn’t have thought this was the only way out.”</p>
<p>“When I told my sister, she panicked. We went upstairs and cornered my dad and said – you have every reason to live. That kind of thing.”</p>
<p>“He acted like we convinced him. After we were at it for a while, he said – you are absolutely right, I don’t know what I was thinking. I was just talking crazy talk. And he never brought it up again.”</p>
<p>That was April 2003.</p>
<p>Did he say anything after that date?</p>
<p>“Never. He never brought it up again.”</p>
<p>But less than a year later – on February 4, 2004 – Marty Goldstein killed himself.</p>
<p>How did he kill himself?</p>
<p>“He shot himself in the head. I got a call from my aunt. It was the cops who called her. He had left a note. He called 911 first. He said – I’m about to kill myself. Please collect my body so my daughters don’t find it. He left a short note for the emergency people. He said – here are the keys to the house for my daughters. He even said what day the trash pick up was. He said – please don’t let my daughters find my body here.”</p>
<p>Did he leave a note for you?</p>
<p>“Yes, a long note in a sealed envelope. It was a 22-page hand written letter.”</p>
<p>“He said when bill collectors come around, they can come and collect my TV, bed, everything like that. I have a small life insurance policy that will pay collectors off at about 75 cents on the dollar.”</p>
<p>“I guess he must have been about $40,000 debt in total, because it was a $30,000 life insurance policy. The life insurance company of course managed to screw us – we didn’t get that.”</p>
<p>“He had actually gotten life insurance with a company that covered suicide. God knows where he found that. It was some place out of Texas. He had done that specifically in the early 1990s.”</p>
<p>“He had this policy for years. Maybe he had suicide on the back of his mind.”</p>
<p>An aunt told Adara that her father’s bills wouldn’t pass on to the family.</p>
<p>“But collectors called me and my sister anyway. They tried to trick us into thinking that we owed it. I’m really glad my aunt told me – you don’t owe anybody any money. Don’t let anyone talk you into thinking that you do. My sister and I just hung up on them. And finally after about a year, they quit calling.”</p>
<p>Adara believes that if we had a single payer national health insurance system, her father might still be alive.</p>
<p>“He was really depressed and he considered suicide as a possibility. But I don’t think he would have done it. The Kaiser Permanente bills were on his mind. He didn’t want to burden his family with bills.”</p>
<p>“My dad’s main killer was depression. And no health insurance. If had been able to pay those bills, he would have stuck it out.”</p>
<p>Adara says she was a changed person after her dad died.</p>
<p>“I was a selfish asshole before he died,” she says. “I had a lot of friends that I would just kind of talk at. I had boyfriends I would use and walk all over. I was not a good person. I hate myself looking back. After my dad died, I had this moment of clarity that life was more important than that. So, I wanted to make amends with everybody I had ever screwed over. And I wanted to apologize to them. I tracked down some people who I had long since lost touch with. And I just apologized.”</p>
<p>“Even though my politics were liberal, I was a hateful person – or you could say an angsty teenager. I hated the cheerleaders just because they were cheerleaders. That kind of thing.”</p>
<p>“I didn’t realize how stupid that was. I waited tables and told horror stories about my customers all the time. I wouldn’t hang out with myself from back then. I was a really negative person. I was a drain on people. I was always complaining about something. And I sort of realized that and wanted to change that after my dad died. It was a slow process. But now I’m pretty much the opposite of who I was back then.”</p>
<p>“Earlier this year, I saw a youtube video of Dennis Trainor. I saw this video where he was inviting to people to come to Washington, D.C. for October 2011. I just decided I had to come. I was already enrolled in college classes.”</p>
<p>Adara slept on Freedom Plaza in DC for a week. And now she’s heading up to Occupy Wall Street.</p>
<p>“Everybody who dies from lack of access to health care is a real person,” Adara says. “And everybody who dies in a war is a real person. I try to keep in the back of mind all of the time – I am not any more important than anyone else.”</p>
<p>One more thing about Adara. She has inherited at least one thing from her dad – his amazing memory.</p>
<p>One of her favorite days is March 14 – Pi day.</p>
<p>As in – 3.14.</p>
<p>Off the top of her head, she can reel off Pi to about 200 digits.</p>
<p>Russell Mokhiber edits <a href="http://www.singlepayeraction.org/" type="external">Single Payer Action</a>.</p> | Adara Scarlet, Suicide and Single Payer | true | https://counterpunch.org/2011/10/19/adara-scarlet-suicide-and-single-payer/ | 2011-10-19 | 4 |
<p>If you’re seeking hordes of zombies on restless prowl, you had better look elsewhere than “World War Z.” A few of them turn up in the course of the movie, looking weird and acting strange. You can tell they’re not entirely of this world because they usually have the shakes something awful and are wearing smears of fright makeup (boo!). They got the virus real bad, and that ain’t good.</p>
<p>After reshoots, delays and a budget north of $200 million, I read in the press that this movie can never, ever recoup its cost. “Disappointing,” I can hear some executive murmuring in his swell office, but that’s not necessarily the case. I mean, there’s the redoubtable Brad Pitt to take into account, ever agreeable and always easy on the eyes. And there’s a plot that’s one minute in South Korea, the next in Israel, another time in Wales, not making an awful lot of sense, but never quite sending you out in the cold prematurely. Best of all, there are plenty of set piece action sequences that are staged by the director, Marc Forster, with exemplary zeal and scale.</p>
<p>Particularly in the picture’s long middle passage, he demonstrates a gift for varying and extending these pieces that is well above average, and without making a travesty of what plot there is. As you can imagine, it’s fairly simple: The zombies are pretty much out to destroy the world, which as far as I could tell, has only the easygoing and beamishly smiling Pitt to bring them to heel. Other characters pop in and out of the proceedings, with no consequential impact on them or, for that matter, on their careers. They are all fine, dandy and, alas, never around long enough to really establish their presence.</p>
<p>Yet, perhaps perversely, I kind of like this movie, as do some other reviewers I’ve read, and I’m wondering why this should be. I think it begins with the fact that it breathes so easily. It has a few slack sections, where it diverts its attention to the wife and kids in a highly conventional way. And sometimes — fairly rarely, I’ll admit — it just sort of stands around doing not much of anything. But mostly it is up and doing, darting hither and tither, and I appreciate that in movies of this kind. It’s not breathless the way so many grander action movies are. And it’s not ever languid or pretentious, either. It pretty much goes about its business in a smooth, professional way.</p>
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<p>It’s summertime, you know. There are a lot of films that spend what “World War Z” — I guess accidentally — did. But a lot of huffing and puffing usually accompanies that effort. They’re out to give you an “experience.” Maybe this movie, given its cost, has no choice but to try that too. But it doesn’t feel that way. It had a whole bunch of writers — usually a sure sign of panic and mixed motives — but it still feels small.</p>
<p>I don’t want to oversell “World War Z.” In the end, it’s just a nicely made little movie that unfortunately got too big for its budgetary britches. On the other hand, it’s not nothing either. It’s “enjoyable” — a mild enough description, but one that will not be overused as the summer winds along, breathing fire, brimstone and — what’s the word I’m searching for? — “disappointment.” Or maybe just sighs of regret and shrugs of resentment. This film doesn’t deliver anything powerful or even lengthily memorable. But it’s OK in its own agreeable way. At $40 or $50 million it might have seemed a lot better than that.</p> | 'World War Z': Still Fun at Twice the Price | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/world-war-z-still-fun-at-twice-the-price/ | 2013-06-26 | 4 |
<p>The irony in current relations between Russia and America is that the US has been far more ideological, perversely so, in the past two decades than Soviet foreign policy ever was. Russia is now expanding its economic and political relations with its former comrades both in the “near abroad” and in the Middle East without any of the scheming subtexts of Washington’s manoeuvring in the recent past.</p>
<p>One of the many signs of this is the rapid realignment of Ukraine since the election of President Viktor Yanukovich. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin not long ago floated the idea of merging Ukraine’s national energy company Naftogaz Ukrainiy with the Russian gas giant Gazprom — a move, gasped critics, that would put Ukraine’s strategic network of gas pipelines effectively under Moscow’s control.</p>
<p>Gazprom Chairman Alexei Miller said Gazprom is considering asset swaps with Naftogaz that would provide Gazprom with access to control over the transit pipelines and underground gas storage facilities in exchange for Naftogaz’s access to production assets inside Russia as well as the development of new gas fields. Ukrainian pipelines carry about 80 percent of Russian natural gas exports to Europe. If the deals go ahead, this would mean the end of the Nabucco pipeline, and Gazprom would probably abandon or scale back the South Stream pipeline.</p>
<p>Putin and Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov agreed to create a joint holding company which would give Russia effective control over the nuclear power industry in Ukraine and provide Russian access to Uranium ore deposits. Russia and Ukraine would build a nuclear fuel enrichment facility in Ukraine and provide a $5 billion credit to build two nuclear power generators at the Khmelnitsk nuclear power plant. There are also acquisition deals in the works in aviation and shipbuilding and steel and pipe manufacturing.</p>
<p>In addition to the renewal of the lease of the Black Sea naval base at Sevastopol till 2042, Russia hopes to re-open a Soviet-era submarine base in the Crimea and establish naval bases at Nikolayev and Odessa on the Black Sea coast. “The planned expansion of the Black Sea Fleet is Russia’s response to the NATO expansion to the East,” said Admiral Vladimir Komoyedov, former Black Sea Fleet Commander, referring to the establishment of NATO bases in Romania and Bulgaria. Russian President Dmitri Medvedev is expected to sign an agreement on upgrading the Sevastopol base when he pays an official visit to Ukraine next week.</p>
<p>Vladimir Belaeff, president of Global Society Institute in San Francisco, says, “The current rapprochement between Ukraine and the Russian Federation has been long coming.” Compounded by the Western financial meltdown, former Soviet states are now turning to Moscow to renew capital and business ties. Ukrainian-Canadian economist Vlad Ivanenko stated at Russian Profile.org that it is “inappropriate to say that Russia is trying to buy Ukraine because, economically, there are few Ukrainian assets worth buying at current market prices. The need to secure long-term loyalty partially explains why Russia is ready to pay an upfront premium for the right of exclusive use of Ukrainian assets.”</p>
<p>This is a “pragmatic, creative and opportunity-driven relationship” according to Belaeff. The two countries are much closer than, say, the US and Canada, which are now virtually an integrated market with the North America Free Trade Association. He sees the Gazprom and Naftogaz negotiations as “a rescue project for the Ukrainian gas pipeline network considering the general shortage of capital available”, and along with the other deals will help stave off collapse of the dysfunctional Ukrainian economy. This is a win-win situation for a Europe teetering on the brink of financial collapse, if not for Washington military strategists.</p>
<p>Russian President Dmitri Medvedev’s recent visit to Syria and Turkey further confirms that international relations are beginning to make sense again. Medvedev and Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad agreed economic deals including arms sales, and Russia will upgrade the former Soviet naval base in Tartus, which along with the Ukrainian naval bases will give Russia a much higher profile in the region.</p>
<p>From Damascus, Medvedev went to Istanbul, and signed deals on building gas and oil pipelines, transporting oil from the Black Sea via the Samsun-Ceyhan pipeline, and building Turkey’s first nuclear power station.</p>
<p>Ukraine, Syria, Turkey — these rapid developments are a renewal of Soviet foreign policy, albeit in a very different form. As for relations between Russia and the West, there is a return to what was traditionally known as detente, most notably the signing of the renewed START treaty and the ongoing Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty conference in New York, where the main agenda item is to make Israel join, with both the US and Russia in agreement. This is realpolitik at its best.</p>
<p>The Bush-Clinton-Bush leadership abandoned realpolitik to try to force the new, weaker Russia to accept a subservient role in the new world order, a la Britain or Latvia, and when this failed, tried to revive the Cold War. The Putin/Medvedev policy is to patiently push ahead with a European project, restructuring the economy along European lines, all the while maintaining an independent military force, using groupings like BRIC, the SCO and CSTO to keep from falling into the B-C-B trap. The Gorbachev/Yeltsin white-flag period is now behind, though it will take decades for Russia to undo the damage they caused.</p>
<p>Obama is being forced by events in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and Israel to come to terms with this reality. Russia accepted the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq in the heat of the post-9/11 frenzy, but will not accept further NATO encroachment or a US invasion of Iran. It allows NATO supplies to pour through its territory on their way to Afghanistan, and grudgingly allowed the US base in Kyrgyzstan a year’s grace period, but its red lines have been clearly drawn.</p>
<p>It could do little as NATO swallowed up Eastern Europe and bits of the ex-Soviet Union, and allowed Ukrainian NATOphiles five years to wreak their havoc until Ukrainians came to their sense themselves. But just as Napoleon and Hitler were destroyed by overstretch, so NATO and the US itself are living on borrowed time (and increasingly meaningless US dollars). What looks like “one step forward, two steps back” in Obama’s relations with Russia is really an indication that the NATO/US retreat has already begun.</p>
<p>Despite the inertia of the Bush legacy, the world is rediscovering traditional balance-of-power international relations. The responsibility of Russia is to make sure the retreat happens in a way that does not result in all-out war.</p>
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<p><a href="http://greentags.bigcartel.com/" type="external">WORDS THAT STICK</a></p>
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<p /> | Rediscovering Realpolitik? | true | https://counterpunch.org/2010/05/21/rediscovering-realpolitik/ | 2010-05-21 | 4 |
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<p>For over two decades, Democrats planning their party’s presidential conventions have faced a dilemma: what to do with Jimmy Carter? After losing his reelection bid to Ronald Reagan in 1980, Carter was not the most popular fellow around. In the following years, the party wasn’t eager to remind voters that Carter had once been its leaders. In recent years, Carter, while engaged in multiple humanitarian efforts at home and abroad, has sparked controversy with his candid talk about Middle East matters.</p>
<p>This time around, the convention planners devised a smart and appropriate way to use and acknowledge–and pay tribute–to one of the best ex-presidents in U.S. history. They showed a film in which Carter, labeled both president and humanitarian, interviewed victims of Hurricane Katrina in their still-devastated New Orleans neighborhoods. Carter also narrated the film, noting that Katrina “sent a signal around the world that our own government couldn’t take care of own people.” He noted that what has happened–and not happened–in New Orleans is similar to what he has seen in the poorest regions of the world. “We have been forgotten,” one New Orleans resident told him, as he nodded sympathetically. That sympathy was obviously genuine. And Carter took the obvious jab at George W. Bush, noting that Barack Obama, if elected, will make sure that such an inadequate government response never happens again.</p>
<p>Once the film ended, Carter hit the stage, with his wife, Rosalynn. The thousands of Democratic delegates cheered loudly for them. He said nothing. He waved. He left. It was well done–and a reminder that this ex-president has been more effective than the current one.</p>
<p /> | At the Democratic Convention, Getting Jimmy Carter Right | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2008/08/democratic-convention-getting-jimmy-carter-right/ | 2008-08-26 | 4 |
<p>I wonder if fundamental change could be achieved more easily if those with powerful voices, like Brill, were a bit less confident in drawing the boundaries of political possibility, and more willing to join in efforts to expand them.</p>
<p>Promising new treatments and technologies abounded, but the rising cost of healthcare was squeezing the finances of families throughout the nation. A research group—the Committee on the Costs of Medical Care—was assembled to study, and perhaps change, healthcare financing and delivery in the United States.</p>
<p>The year was 1927, but the <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3603728/" type="external">Committee’s final report</a>, released five years later, remains quite timely.“There needs to be&#160;some plan,” the report stated, “whereby the unequal and sometimes crushing burden of medical expenses can be distributed.” The report presciently acknowledged the dangers of what was a new phenomenon, the commercialization of healthcare: “The danger which physicians and dentists fear, namely that lay groups organized for profit will control medical practice, is a real one.”&#160;</p>
<p>These two very much intertwined problems—high healthcare costs and medical profiteering—have only become more pronounced. They are also the concerns of Steven Brill’s bestselling new book, <a href="" type="external">America’s Bitter Pill: Money, Politics, Backroom Deals, and the Fight to Fix Our Broken Healthcare System</a>.</p>
<p>Brill—a journalist, lawyer and founder of numerous media ventures—burst onto the healthcare reform scene in 2013 with an explosive exposé in Time that painstakingly demonstrated the wreckage inflicted by massive itemized medical bills on some very unfortunate uninsured and underinsured people. His new book traces the emergence, travails, accomplishments and shortcomings of Barack Obama’s <a href="http://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/rights/" type="external">Affordable Care Act</a> (ACA). His reporting on the “backroom deals” that helped sculpt the ACA provide a valuable illustration of just how much influence the “medical industrial complex” has accrued.</p>
<p>For the pharmaceutical industry, the stakes were high, particularly as some Democrats were talking about allowing Medicare to negotiate with drug companies over prices (which is what the rest of the world does already). Brill describes how a deal was ultimately hashed out in meetings between industry lobbyists, Max Baucus’ Finance Committee staff and the administration. “[My] five principal CEOs,” he quotes from a note written by head pharma lobbyist Billy Tauzin to a White House staffer, “have accepted the terms we discussed with the Committee yesterday.” Those terms, not surprisingly, did nothing to substantially contain astronomically high U.S. drug prices.</p>
<p>Brill stumbles, however, in his prescriptions for the future. As Brill describes, a historic consolidation of the healthcare industry into large, integrated, regional systems is underway, and some evidence has already demonstrated that such consolidation carries the peril of monopolistic pricing. His solution is to accommodate this trend toward “branded, integrated and regulated oligopolies” and also to heavily regulate it, while at the same time encouraging these systems to cut out the middle man and become insurers themselves (which some have done already). Through greater administrative simplicity, redefined provider incentives and a cap on profits, Brill envisions huge potential savings.&#160;</p>
<p>Unfortunately, insurer overhead&#160;(which his plan would not eliminate) is only one part of the massive administrative waste of the U.S. healthcare system. In reality, the only system that could achieve profound administrative savings would be one in which hospitals receive a “global budget” from a single governmental payer to cover all operating expenses for all patients.</p>
<p>Because healthcare organizations would be both the payer (insurer) and the provider in Brill’s plan, he argues that they would no longer have a profit incentive to overtreat—i.e., offer patients unnecessary tests and referrals. However, the notion that we can dramatically reduce healthcare expenditures by suppressing this “fee-for-service” incentive is itself an oversimplified, if happily bipartisan, dogma. No doubt there is overtreatment in the U.S. system, but there are also areas where Americans use comparatively less healthcare. <a href="http://www.commonwealthfund.org/~/media/files/publications/issue-brief/2010/jun/1412_anderson_measuring_us_hlt_care_sys_intl_ib.pdf" type="external">In a recent survey of 15 developed nations</a>, the U.S. had the highest rate of MRI scans—but it also had the second lowest number of annual doctor visits per capita, and the fourth lowest number of per capita hospital discharges.</p>
<p>In an era when the insured are facing rising out-of-pocket health expenses—up to <a href="https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/out-of-pocket-maximum-limit/" type="external">$13,200 a year after premiums for family plans</a> bought on the ACA exchange—I worry far more about all of the families who sacrifice needed care because of the crushing financial burden of high deductibles and copayments. Brill’s own reporting reveals the problem of out-of-pocket exposure to healthcare costs, but it is unclear if his proposal would do anything about it, much less eliminate it.</p>
<p>At times, Brill implicitly accepts the premise that a public, fully universal, single-payer program might be the best cure for what he calls the “toxicity of our profiteer-dominated healthcare system.” But he is resigned that such a system is simply “never going to happen.” I wonder if fundamental change could be achieved more easily if those with powerful voices, like Brill, were a bit less confident in drawing the boundaries of political possibility, and more willing to join in efforts to expand them.&#160;</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>Adam Gaffney is a physician and writer with a focus on healthcare politics, policy and history. He is an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School and a pulmonary and critical care physician at the Cambridge Health Alliance. His writing has appeared in the New Republic, Los Angeles Review of Books, Salon, CNN.com, USA Today, Jacobin and elsewhere. He’s a board member of Physicians for a National Health Program, a single-payer advocacy organization. The views expressed are his own.</p> | Obamacare and Its Discontents | true | http://inthesetimes.com/article/17765/obamacare-and-its-discontents | 2015-03-25 | 4 |
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<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The odds are shifting toward a dry winter in New Mexico as La Niña strengthens, according to the federal government’s lead seasonal climate forecaster.</p>
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<p>The <a href="http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/enso_advisory/ensodisc.html" type="external">latest forecast</a>, out today (Thurs. 9/9) from the Climate Prediction Center calls for the cool Pacific pattern known as La Niña to strengthen and last through the winter. That does not guarantee a dry winter here, but it does increase the chances, said Jon Gottschalck, head of forecast operations for the federal government’s Climate Prediction Center. “There’s a tilt in the odds toward the dry end of things,” Gottschalck told me this morning.</p>
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<p>La Niña tends to shift the storm track across North America during the fall-winter-early spring season, pushing it to the north. Here’s the latest precipitation forecast map from Gottschalck’s office. The darker the brown, the higher the odds of a dry winter:</p>
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<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | A Dry Forecast | false | https://abqjournal.com/3612/a-dry-forecast.html | 2 |
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<p>When cardiac arrest strikes, every second counts when it comes to preventing death. However, the distrust of the police among people of color — a topic that’s recently <a href="" type="internal">gained national attention</a> thanks to widespread protests over police killings of unarmed black men — may compel them to forego emergency care in these life-threatening situations, a <a href="http://www.healthfinder.gov/News/Article.aspx?id=694421" type="external">new study</a> shows.</p>
<p>During interviews with residents of low-income Latino communities in Denver, researchers found that many didn’t call 911 in cases of cardiac arrest because of their suspicion of law enforcement, the possibility of language barriers with first responders, and misconceptions about the costs of ambulatory care.</p>
<p>“Residents of low-income, minority neighborhoods have two strikes against them: The incidence of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is much higher than average and rates of bystander CPR are below average,” study lead author Dr. Comilla Sasson, of the University of Colorado School of Medicine, <a href="http://www.healthfinder.gov/News/Article.aspx?id=694421" type="external">said in a journal press release</a>.</p>
<p>These new findings come on the heels of previous research that provides a glimpse in the difficulties that Latinos, regardless of their immigration status, experience in their interaction with authorities. According to a <a href="http://www.policylink.org/sites/default/files/INSECURE_COMMUNITIES_REPORT_FINAL.PDF" type="external">2013 study</a> conducted by national group Policy Link, more than 40 percent of Latinos said they felt isolated from police officers sworn to protect and serve.</p>
<p>Nearly 44 percent of Latinos in the Policy Link study said they are less likely to report crimes out of fear that police would ask them or their loved ones about their immigration status. Seven out of 10 undocumented immigrants surveyed also said that they wouldn’t contact law enforcement if they were victims of a crime.</p>
<p>The issue has been exacerbated in the years since local police departments have <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2013/03/fear-distrust-of-police-rampant-three-years-after-sb-1070.php" type="external">become more involved in federal immigration matters</a>. Latino distrust in in American institutions — also confirmed by <a href="http://web.outreach-partners.org/docs/FAN%20Fear%20Factsheet.pdf" type="external">a depletion of funds</a> for health care centers that provide care to undocumented people and <a href="http://web.outreach-partners.org/docs/FAN%20Fear%20Factsheet.pdf" type="external">negative experiences</a> with health care providers — has complicated efforts to bridge racial gaps in health care, especially in the weeks before and during the Obamacare enrollment period.</p>
<p>“A lot of Latino people don’t come because they’re afraid,” Ruben Acosta, a Mexican immigrant living in Los Angeles, <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/latinos-remain-wary-of-obamacare-as-deadline-looms-165314855.html" type="external">told Yahoo News</a> in March shortly after he and his wife took a leap of faith and applied for health insurance. Despite the White House’s assurances that information collected during enrollment would not be transferred to immigration officials, Acosta said he remained skeptical of the outreach to Latinos. “Obama promised that [applicants’ immigration status] information won’t be shared, but he also promised he’d pass immigration reform [long ago.]”</p>
<p>Less than half of Latinos in the U.S. knew about their state’s health exchange, compared to 68 percent of blacks and 69 percent of whites, according to a <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2014/02/18/news/economy/obamacare-latinos/" type="external">survey</a> conducted by the Commonwealth Fund before the current enrollment period began. In February, The National Alliance for Hispanic Health, an organization that at one point reported fielding 4,000 Obamacare-related phone calls, told CNN that counselors often encountered mixed-status families — groups that had at least one undocumented immigrant.</p>
<p>Health officials say that people of color stand to <a href="" type="internal">benefit the most</a> from adequate emergency, preventative, and specialized care, which count among some of Obamacare’s offerings. In the long run, access to these amenities could help underserved populations tackle other ailments like diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension. Sasson said part of fulfilling that goal requires better addressing Latinos’ distrust of law enforcement.</p>
<p>“We need to do a better job of overcoming the significant barriers to timely medical care for Latinos suffering cardiac arrest,” Sasson said. “Culturally sensitive public education about cardiac arrest and CPR is a key first step. Future research will [also] need to be conducted to better understand how targeted, culturally sensitive public education campaigns may improve the provision of bystander CPR and cardiac arrest survival rates in high-risk neighborhoods.”</p>
<p>Distrust of the police doesn’t only hamper Latinos’ efforts to receive emergency care. Black women abused by their significant others also <a href="http://www.vcpionline.org/%5C/pdfs/50%20Reasons%20Why%20Victims%20Stay.pdf" type="external">weigh the consequences</a> of reporting instances of violence out of fear about how the police will treat their spouse. Building trust among this demographic also proves difficult since the staff at battered women’s shelters don’t reflect the diversity of the communities they serve.</p> | Why People Of Color Don’t Call For An Ambulance | true | http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/12/15/3603690/distrust-police-emergency-care/ | 2014-12-15 | 4 |
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<p>University of New Mexico researchers found a 13 percent increase in the overall rate of injuries after the resort lifted the ban on snowboarding on March 19, 2008.</p>
<p>There also was a change in the type of injuries: more closed-head injuries, wrist breaks and sprains, shoulder separations and broken collarbones.</p>
<p>Pick up the Sunday Journal for the complete story.</p>
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<p>&#160;</p> | Coming Sunday: Injury rate up at Taos after snowboard ban was lifted | false | https://abqjournal.com/167282/coming-sunday-injury-rate-up-at-taos-after-snowboard-ban-was-lifted.html | 2013-02-09 | 2 |
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<p>From left, Ginger Gates, a veterinary technician, and veterinarian Rachel Redd check out a mass on the leg of Mena, a dog owned by Daniela Meza, who works as a vet tech at the shelter side of the Clare Eddy Thaw Animal Hospital. Redd is the veterinarian on the side of the hospital that is open to the public and is located at the Santa Fe Animal Shelter. (Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal)</p>
<p>SANTA FE, N.M. — Too many times, people have to surrender their pets to the Santa Fe Animal Shelter because they can’t afford to take care of their medical needs.</p>
<p>Now, with the fruition of part of the shelter board’s vision for its campus at 100 Caja del Rio Road, people in financial straits might have another option.</p>
<p>The Clare Eddy Thaw Animal Hospital, which began construction in spring 2012 and opened its doors in September, includes fresh new quarters for medical care, surgery and recuperation for its shelter animals in back – but also offers veterinary care for privately owned animals in its offices up front.</p>
<p>A cat and dog recover from surgery in the Santa Fe Animal Shelter’s side of its new animal hospital, which also provides services to the public. (Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal)</p>
<p>Its one of 37 shelters in the United States that provide veterinary care both for shelter animals and for pets who already have homes, said receptionist Andrea Lopez.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>While the shelter intends the veterinary clinic to offer the same services and care available from any other clinic, it also emphasizes the availability of discounts and payment plans for people who need them.</p>
<p>Just the other day, a female boxer had blood and pus drained from a hematoma in her ear for less than $300, Lopez said. The owner’s regular veterinarian had priced the surgery at $780, she said.</p>
<p>And whatever profits come from full-price care can be plowed back into the shelter’s activities.</p>
<p>Dr. Rachel Redd, veterinarian at the clinic portion open to the public, said she left private practice in Hobbs to take the job here.</p>
<p>“I wanted to get into shelter medicine. This is a nice combination of the two,” she said.</p>
<p>Her office boasts a large cage with multiple tiers for Adele, a pet rat she adopted when someone took it to the shelter after finding it abandoned in an apartment when the occupants moved out. “I’ve always wanted a pet rat,” she said.</p>
<p>Megan Rodriguez, a veterinarian assistant, trims matted hair off a shelter dog at the Santa Fe Animal Shelter’s Clare Eddy Thaw Animal Hospital, which also offers services to pets that already have homes. (Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal)</p>
<p>In private practice, Redd said, she sometimes found herself taking pets away from their owners or euthanizing them because the people couldn’t afford the veterinary care their animals needed. The ability to offer breaks for low-income people “was really appealing to me,” she said. “That’s kind of why I came over. We’re helping people who need help.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The clinic is open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday on an appointment-only basis. You can call 983-2755 to make one. The building was constructed and equipped through donations from the Eugene Thaw and Brown foundations, said Evelyn Viechec, development manager for the shelter.</p>
<p>“We’re lucky to have donors ready to support the work we’re doing here,” she said.</p>
<p>Within a year, the hospital hopes to expand to a second veterinarian on staff and offer somewhat later hours, seven days a week, Redd said. Two vet techs also work there.</p>
<p>So far, she hasn’t been seeing too many animals for wellness visits – many people already have established relationships with their veterinarians for those check-ups, Redd said. And spaying and neutering is offered at low cost at the shelter’s clinic on Camino Entrada, so she hasn’t gotten much of that work.</p>
<p>“We’ve been seeing a lot of older animals for dental care and tumor removals,” she said, while adding that the clinic can provide all the standard services offered at most veterinary offices, including some orthopedic surgery.</p>
<p>“Our big goal is to function like any other vet clinic,” Redd said.</p>
<p>A couple of shelter dogs recover after surgery — the one in the foreground had its leg amputated — at the Clare Eddy Thaw Animal Hospital in Santa Fe. The hospital, which serves privately owned pets as well as shelter animals, was built with the help of donations from the Eugene Thaw and Brown foundations. (Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal)</p>
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<p /> | New hospital offers health care for all | false | https://abqjournal.com/311998/new-hospital-offers-health-care-for-all.html | 2 |
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<p>Published time: 2 Aug, 2017 16:43Edited time: 2 Aug, 2017 17:12</p>
<p>Moscow “won’t bend” and has no plans to change its policies following Donald Trump’s signing of new anti-Russian sanctions, says its permanent representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/usa/398346-trump-russia-sanctions-flawed/" type="external" /></p>
<p>“If those who came up with this bill thought that they could change our policies with it, they were mistaken. History is proof of that. They need to understand that we do not bend or break,” Nebenzya told journalists in New York.</p>
<p>Nebenzya, who was appointed last month to replace the late Vitaly Churkin, added that the ratification was expected, and would “inevitably” further damage the relationship between the two countries.</p>
<p>“De facto, this changes nothing. There is nothing new here,” Vladimir Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, told the media in Moscow.</p>
<p>“Counter-measures have already been taken.”</p>
<p>After the cross-party bill was approved overwhelmingly by the House and Senate last week, the Russian president announced that the US would have to cut its embassy staff in the country by 755 people by September, and said that Moscow would seize several buildings used by diplomats.</p> | Moscow ‘won’t bend or break’ over US sanctions – Russian envoy to UN | false | https://newsline.com/moscow-wont-bend-or-break-over-us-sanctions-russian-envoy-to-un/ | 2017-08-02 | 1 |
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<p>New Orleans-based Entergy Corp. and Michigan-based utility, Consumers Energy, said they’ve agreed to end a power purchase agreement for the plant that year. They said it will save Consumers’ customers as much as $172 million from 2018 to 2022 and affect about 600 employees.</p>
<p>The companies said less expensive alternatives now exist to provide power in the region as Consumers adds more renewable energy and natural gas-fired generation.</p>
<p>If ending the purchase agreement is approved by regulators, Entergy said it plans to close the plant Oct. 1, 2018. An earlier agreement committed Consumers to purchase nearly all of the power that Palisades generates through April 2022.</p>
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<p>“We determined that a shutdown in 2018 is prudent when comparing the transaction to the business risks of continued operation,” Leo Denault, Entergy’s chairman and CEO, said in a statement.</p>
<p>Consumers said it will consider potential placement of up to 180 employees from Palisades into the utility’s workforce.</p>
<p>Gov. Rick Snyder said he plans to direct the Michigan Agency for Energy, the Michigan Department of Treasury, Michigan Economic Development Corp. and others to help prepare the area for the possible shutdown.</p>
<p>“We need to make sure we use the next two years to wisely plan the use of state and local resources to adapt to whatever decision is made,” he said in a statement.</p>
<p>Under Entergy’s current plan, Palisades would be refueled as scheduled in the spring and operate through the end of the fuel cycle. As part of the agreement, Consumers Energy also will pay Entergy $172 million to end the power purchase agreement and help Entergy transition to decommissioning the plant.</p>
<p>Republican state Rep. Aric Nesbitt, chairman of the House Committee on Energy Policy, said he wants Entergy to reconsider the decision to close the plant.</p>
<p>“This announcement further threatens Michigan electric reliability after 2018,” said Nesbitt, whose district includes the plant. “This is not just a bad decision for our local families, but it is also the wrong decision for Michigan’s energy future.”</p>
<p>Entergy and the Consumers Energy Foundation plan to provide a total of $10 million over several years in economic development funding for southwestern Michigan as part of an effort to ease the economic effects of the closure.</p>
<p>The plant is in Van Buren County’s Covert Township, along Lake Michigan. It started generating electricity in 1971 and can produce enough power for more than 800,000 homes. Consumers Energy is part of Jackson-based CMS Energy Corp.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>This story has been corrected to show that Consumers, not Entergy, could offer new positions to some of the affected employees.</p> | Energy company plans to close Michigan nuclear plant in 2018 | false | https://abqjournal.com/904800/energy-company-plans-to-close-michigan-nuclear-plant-in-2018.html | 2016-12-08 | 2 |
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<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Donations of non-perishable items for the YDI food pantry will be accepted from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday during the Circle of Caring St. Patrick's Food Drive.</p>
<p>Donations of canned, boxed and bagged food items can be brought to Armijo Plaza, 900 Isleta SW. The items will be placed along Isleta in the hopes of creating a line of donations from Bridge to Lopez SW.</p>
<p>Organizer Stephen Gutierrez will also continue accepting donations every Friday evening beginning March 21 at his campsite at Armijo Plaza.</p>
<p>Gutierrez, known for drawing attention to the poor by his Christmas camp-outs, was one of the Journal's Angels Among Us winners in 2013.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Food drive will benefit YDI pantry | false | https://abqjournal.com/369415/food-drive-will-benefit-ydi-pantry.html | 2 |
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<p><a href="http://variety.com/t/edouard-waintrop/" type="external">Edouard Waintrop</a>, the topper of Cannes’ <a href="http://variety.com/t/directors-fortnight/" type="external">Directors Fortnight</a>, told Variety that he had not planned on stepping down from the sidebar for at least another two years.</p>
<p>The French directors’ guild (Société des réalisateurs de films) announced on Thursday that Waintrop will serve his seventh and last edition at the helm of <a href="http://variety.com/2017/film/asia/women-come-to-power-in-indonesian-film-industry-1202437507/" type="external">Directors Fortnight</a> in 2018, which will mark the sidebar’s 50th anniversary.</p>
<p>Waintrop, who is on a yearly contract, said he had asked the guild to allow him to extend it for two years, rather than one, so that he could focus on the selection of the 50th anniversary without having to be concerned about his next professional steps.</p>
<p>“I did not expect nor did I anticipate that [the] next edition would be my last. I was told by Celine Sciamma (who co-presides the Directors’ Guild with Rebecca Zlotowski and Yann Gonzalez) that I could not stay beyond the 50th anniversary,” said Waintrop, who also revealed that he had faced some criticism for selecting several French films, including Bruno Dumont’s “Jeanette.”</p>
<p>He pointed out the fact that he may have suffered from his lack of popularity among French directors considering the last number of helmers he has said “no” to.</p>
<p>The French Directors’ Guild nevertheless praised Waintrop for curating “with care, warmth and intelligence, surrounded by his team and selection committee” but said that changing the leadership of Directors Fortnight was part of its mandate and was necessary to ensure some change and diversity within the selection.</p>
<p>Speaking to Variety, Sciamma applauded Waintrop’s long run at the head of Directors Fortnight and said the guild will be considering an artistic director — possibly a woman — who will echo the new voices and reflect the rapidly changing composition of the French Directors’ Guild. Sciamma said the candidates do not have to be French, as international film figures are being considered.</p>
<p>Sciamma said they are also aiming to appoint an artistic director who will be able to make bold choices, like Waintrop did with the selection of comedies such as Thomas Cailley’s “Love at First Fight,” as well as films from promising first-time helmers and more established directors.</p>
<p>In six editions, Waintrop succeeded in revamping Directors Fortnight with a mix of up-and-coming directors such as Deniz Erguven (“Mustang”), Damien Chazelle (“Whiplash”), Chloé Zhao (“The Rider”), Houda Benyamina (“Divines”), Pablo Larraín (“Neruda”), and Clio Barnard (“The Selfish Giant”); as well as high-profile, critically acclaimed directors such as Arnaud Desplechin (“My Golden Years”), Marco Bellocchio (“Sweet Dreams”), and Bruno Dumont (“Li’l Quinquin”).</p> | Cannes’ Directors Fortnight Topper Edouard Waintrop: ‘My Exit Is Not Voluntary’ | false | https://newsline.com/cannes-directors-fortnight-topper-edouard-waintrop-my-exit-is-not-voluntary/ | 2017-11-10 | 1 |
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<p>The American shopping mall has been in decline for around a decade, and the department stores that anchor them aren't faring any better. From 2005 to 2015, U.S. department-store sales fell 31%. They continued their descent in 2016, with Sears Holdings'(NASDAQ: SHLD)Sears and Kmart stores,Macy's (NYSE: M), and J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) leading the way.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The three department stores have plans to close hundreds of stores, and the entire brick-and-mortar industry isn't faring much better. There have been about 1,200 store closures since the middle of last year, according to Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Youssef Squali. And the biggest beneficiary of these store closures is Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN).</p>
<p>Where have all the shoppers gone? Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Sears saw its revenue decline by $3 billion in 2016. Half of that revenue decline came from store closures, while the other half is due to declines in same-store sales. For the full year, sales at comparable Kmart locations declined 5.3% and Sears' comparable sales fell 9.3%. Those numbers were even higher in the fourth quarter: 8% and 12.3%, respectively.</p>
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<p>Sears is also feeling pressure on its margins. Gross margin declined 190 basis points for the year. Management specifically points to lower margins on its apparel business -- an area Amazon has been steadily gaining market share.</p>
<p>At the beginning of 2017, Sears announced plans to close 150 additional stores.</p>
<p>Macy's sales fell 5% in 2016, and its net income cratered 43%. That marks its second straight year of declines in net income. Macy's is also suffering from declining same-store sales, but not nearly as bad as Sears. Comparable sales at Macy's on an owned basis declined by 3.5% last year.</p>
<p>Macy's is in the midst of closing 100 locations. It has about 34 more to go.</p>
<p>Finally, J.C. Penney saw relatively flat sales in 2016 and comparable-store sales were flat for the full year. Comparble sales fell a slight 0.7% in the fourth quarter, but overall J.C. Penney seems to have stabilized its revenue decline. Still, revenue is well below pre-2011 levels. The company generated $17.3 billion in sales in 2011 versus $12.5 billion in 2016.</p>
<p>J.C. Penney is accelerating its efforts to provide home services such as bathroom remodeling and blinds installation, and selling and installing awnings, water systems, and smart home technology. It sounds a lot like what Sears does, so it's not clear what kind of impact it would have on sales. Amazon also offers similar services through third parties.</p>
<p>J.C. Penney plans to close 140 stores.</p>
<p>Combined, Sears, Macy's, and J.C. Penney are closing 390 stores, and losing billions in sales every year.</p>
<p>Squali estimates that the 390 store closures will put $2.5 billion in annual sales up for grabs, and he thinks Amazon can take between 20% and 40% of that revenue. Amazon benefits from being more convenient and providing a better customer experience. It's also making inroads with shoppers by producing its own private labels for clothing among other things, directly cutting into the department stores' biggest verticals.</p>
<p>Amazon continues to spin the flywheel of Amazon Prime, which can make it more convenient for shoppers to buy things from Amazon than drive to the mall and fight for a parking spot. The more Prime subscribers Amazon attracts, the <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2016/11/27/amazons-most-overlooked-competitive-advantage.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">more third-party retailers Opens a New Window.</a> join Amazon's marketplace. As a result, shoppers can find just about anything they're looking for on Amazon. Amazon's customer service, meanwhile, remains at the top of the industry.</p>
<p>Although $500 million to $1 billion in annual sales is a small amount for Amazon, which brought in $124 billion across its retail segments last year, it's the overall trend that's important for investors to see. As department stores such as Sears, Macy's, and J.C. Penney continue to close stores and see declining same-store sales, Amazon is there to pick up the lost revenue.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than AmazonWhen 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=3ec64090-6b26-45ba-8abb-0efbf53f1985&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 Amazon wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
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<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of February 6, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/adamlevy/info.aspx" type="external">Adam Levy Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Amazon. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon. 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> | Sears, Macy's, and J.C. Penney's Pain Is Amazon.com's Gain | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/04/03/sears-macys-and-jc-penney-pain-is-amazoncom-gain.html | 2017-04-03 | 0 |
<p>A photo taken on January 23, 2016 shows snow-covered cars lining a residential street in the northwest section of Washington, DC.</p>
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<p>On the past week-end, several Northeastern States along the I-95 corridor were hit by a mammoth show storm that claimed some 41 lives in related incidences.&#160; It is reported that snowfall, lasting as much as 36 hours in some areas, accumulated snow-piles up to 40 inches high in places along the NE coastal region.&#160; Major transportation systems were shut down; around 8,000 airline flights were canceled.&#160; A wind gush of hurricane force, 75 miles per hour, was recorded in Rehobeth Beach, Delaware.</p>
<p>A small number of entrenched right-wing politicians and religious leaders still argue that there is no such phenomenon as climate change caused by human atmospheric pollution.&#160; They hold firmly to this belief in face of mounting scientific evidence to the contrary, believing that climate patterns are wholly in the province of divine forces. &#160;Some will point to the recent North East blizzard as evidence against the concept of global-warming—“How could there be global-warming amidst all this snow”, they say.</p>
<p>But overwhelmingly the society of climatologists points to scientific evidence that adds proof to the reality of global warming. Joe Romm, reporter for Climate Progress, ask two renowned climatologists, Michael Mann and Kevin Trenberth, to comment on the role climate change has on the latest record-breaking superstorm: Mann, Director of Penn State’s Earth System Science Center, said this: “There is peer-reviewed science that now suggest that climate change will lead to more of these intense [blizzards because of] unusually warm Atlantic ocean surface temperatures.”&#160; Trenberth, former administrator at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, agrees with this assessment.&#160; He indicated that over a region of some 1000 miles off the NE coast, the sea surface temperatures are over 3F above normal and, as a result, water vapor in the atmosphere is about 10 to 15% higher.&#160; He said that up to half percent of this pattern “can be attributed to climate change.”</p>
<p>The bottom line is that scientific findings directly connect global warming with more extreme precipitation.&#160; The basic physics is that a warmer atmosphere has the capacity to hold more moisture, at a rate of approximately 7 % increase per every 1 C higher water temperature.&#160; The United Kingdom Met Office’s 2014 update on climate science said in essence that by the use of the stated principle we can predict comparable future increases in rainfall. The 2014 National Climate Assessment (NCA), a congressionally mandated study by 300 climate science experts, stated: “Warmer air can contain more water vapor than cooler air.&#160; Global analysis shows that the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere has in fact increased due to human-caused warming…This extra moisture is available to storm systems, resulting in heavier rainfalls” [snowfalls in the winter].</p>
<p>Though it is predicted that we will continue to have blizzards as we had the past week-end, the average annual snowfall will not increase; in fact, it might well decrease.&#160; Why? NCA climatologists conclude that the long-term trend is for climate change to alter weather patterns is such a way as to produce more severe snowstorms, while, overall, winters become shorter and milder.</p>
<p>Chances are that there will continue to be deniers of the severity of man-created atmospheric pollution and its resulting green-house effect and global warming.&#160; However, the good news is that, largely as a result of the leadership of the President Obama Administration, in mid-December, 2015, some 200 nations came together and signed a landmark clean air agreement in Paris, France, in which they committed to reducing pollutants in the atmosphere. The opening statement in the agreement says that climate change “is an urgent and potentially irreversible threat to humankind and the planet”.</p>
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<p /> | Northeast Snow Blizzard is Proof of Global Warming | true | http://politicalblindspot.com/northeast-snow-blizzard-is-proof-of-global-warming/ | 2016-01-26 | 4 |
<p>The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation launched a new report aimed at highlighting the 18 greatest global threats to humanity and the progress made at reducing each one.</p>
<p>The report is called <a href="http://www.globalgoals.org/goalkeepers/datareport/" type="external">“Goalkeepers,”</a> and the couple&#160;intends to publish it every year until 2030, the year embraced by member nations of the <a href="http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/" type="external">United Nations</a> to be “what we all want the world to look like.”</p>
<p>“This report comes out at a time when there is more doubt than usual about the world’s commitment to development. In our own country, Congress is currently considering how to deal with the big cuts to foreign aid proposed in the president’s budget. A similar mood of retrenchment has taken hold in other donor countries,” the Gates&#160;write.</p>
<p>At the top of their list is child mortality, a number that has declined to 5 million in 2016 from more than 11 million in 1990. The goal for 2030: 2 million.</p>
<p>“The global child mortality curve doesn’t tell the whole story. It hides an important insight about what it will take to save the next 5 million,” Melinda Gates writes.</p>
<p>Those insights —&#160;basics that developed nations take for granted, like antiseptics and vaccinations.</p>
<p>“There are still nearly 20 million children in the world who aren’t immunized at all. This explains why measles, preventable with a vaccine that costs less than 20 cents, still kills almost 150,000 children every year,” she writes.</p>
<p>Similarly, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-op-ed-bio-terrorism-epidemic-world-threat-2017-2" type="external">Bill Gates warned earlier this year</a> of new epidemics that could wipe out 30 million people in less than a year if the global community doesn’t better prepare and invest in vaccine innovation.</p>
<p>Other global threats vs. progress highlighted by the Gateses include:</p>
<p>“The decisions we collectively make in the next couple of years are going to have a big impact on the shape these curves take. … It’s about what the curves signify: whether or not millions or even billions of people will conquer disease, lift themselves out of extreme poverty, and reach their full potential,” the Gateses write.</p> | Gates Foundation Launches Report to Track Fight Against Global Threats | false | https://newsline.com/gates-foundation-launches-report-to-track-fight-against-global-threats/ | 2017-09-18 | 1 |
<p>From Russia’s side, arranging a meeting with Donald Trump Jr. by promising him negative information on his father’s rival for the White House was a “purposeful event,” former CIA and NSA Director Michael Hayden said Monday.</p>
<p>“Over the last 96 hours, I’ve been quite impressed with a lot of former CIA case officers, all of them with Russia experience, commenting on how this is just how the Russians would do it, were this a meeting that the Russians wanted to use to establish this kind of influence campaign,” Hayden told <a href="http://www.cnn.com/shows/new-day/" type="external">CNN’s “New Day”</a> program. “It’s almost classic.”</p>
<p>Initially, it was reported that only Trump Jr., his brother-in-law Jared Kushner, and then-campaign manager Paul Manafort attended a meeting last June after the president’s son was contacted by an associate seeking to set up a meeting with Russian attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya on claims she had information about Clinton.</p>
<p>However, as the story unfolds, it turns out that a Russian-American lobbyist who had served as a Soviet military officer, a translator and potentially an eighth person were also at the meeting at Trump Tower.</p>
<p>The Kremlin got several things out of the meeting, even though Veselnitskaya did not share anything about Clinton.</p>
<p>“Number one, they learned what the Trump team would accept,” said Hayden. “That’s really important. Number two, they learned that the Trump team would not report it … they would be watching for increased counterintelligence activity after the meeting, if the Trump team reported it to the FBI. They didn’t.”</p>
<p>The Trump team did end up accepting Veselnitskaya’s information about sanctions relief, said Hayden.</p>
<p>The most generous side of looking at the meeting is to consider the Russian use of a “useful fool” to meet their gains, Hayden said.</p>
<p>“When Russians would take a look at someone naive, for whom they might have personal contempt but are not above using them. It translates as useful idiot or useful fool,” said Hayden. “Frankly that, to me, is the most benign explanation that I can give you of the Trump side of this meeting.”</p>
<p>Further, he disagreed with the contention that Russia was not at the time being considered as an adversary.</p>
<p>“The evidence out there, for anybody willing to give it a fair hearing, is that the Russians have been very aggressive, very adversarial,” said Hayden, while giving credit to the Trump administration for finding points where the two countries’ interests overlap.</p>
<p>“But to say they’re not an adversary, I think, just avoids, ignores the clear evidence that’s present,” said Hayden.</p> | Michael Hayden: Russians' Meeting With Trump Jr. 'Almost Classic' | false | https://newsline.com/michael-hayden-russians-meeting-with-trump-jr-almost-classic/ | 2017-07-17 | 1 |
<p />
<p>How does AT&amp;T do it?</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>During one of the most challenging times to own stocks since 2008, especially for technology stocks, the largest U.S. telecom company by market cap has eviscerated the market thus far in 2016.</p>
<p><a href="http://ycharts.com/companies/T" type="external">T</a> data by <a href="http://ycharts.com" type="external">YCharts Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>What's more, AT&amp;T shows no signs of letting up. Recently, the Dallas-based telecom titan announced it plans to begin the first phases of its rollout of its ultra-fast 5G cellular network this year. But will this effort help the company set itself apart from the likes of Verizon Communications , Sprint , and T-Mobile - Let's take a look.</p>
<p>AT&amp;T goes 5GAccording to The Wall Street Journal, AT&amp;T is preparing to begin tests for its 5G network at some point in 2015. The article says AT&amp;T has applied for an "experimental license" with the Federal Communications Commission, the telecom industry's primary regulator. The license should allow the company to conduct experiments using an early version of its forthcoming 5G technology, which follows a similar announcement from Verizon last fall.</p>
<p>Source: AT&amp;T</p>
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<p>AT&amp;T will begin working with both Ericsson and Intel in and around Austin, Texas, for the first phase of its 5G experiments. Crucially, though, AT&amp;T's first 5G experiments won't involve wireless cellular technologies with which the standards are typically associated. Rather, as part of its DirecTV merger agreement with the FCC, AT&amp;T will instead test so-called "wireless broadband" services to potentially expand ultra-fast Internet service to rural communities via wireless 5G signals. These real-world experiments near Austin will help demonstrate how 5G equipment reacts to real-life impediments such as heat, rain, and wind, which can provide valuable insight into how telecom carriers such as AT&amp;T can optimally configure their eventual national wireless 5G networks. Importantly, though, this news doesn't mean consumers should expect 5G cellular access for their smartphones and tablets anytime soon.</p>
<p>Playing the long game 5G technology has existed for years now, but its widespread deployment for cellular devices shouldn't be expected until later this decade, for a few reasons.</p>
<p>Source: AT&amp;T/.</p>
<p>For starters, determining the standards and protocols that will set the stage for global 5G deployment requires countries, carriers, and wireless equipment makers to forge broad consensuses that can take years to fully determine. In the U.S., the FCC proposed its initial 5G standards proposal in October, but the final official standards aren't anticipated until 2018. Installing entirely new network protocols requires billions in capital expenditures from carriers, and as such, carries such as AT&amp;T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint will all probably favor a go-slow approach in investing in the nationwide rollouts of the standard.</p>
<p>When they eventually reach full deployment, 5G wireless should provide a sizable performance boost over current 4G LTE. AT&amp;T has said it believes 5G speeds should offer at least a tenfold performance over today's 4G, and speed improvements could reach as great as a hundredfold in the future. Such speed improvements are believed to be fundamental to support future growth drivers of the tech industry such as the Internet of Things, telemedicine, ultra-high-definition video streaming, self-driving automobiles, and more.</p>
<p>So though the performance of this new standard appears worth the wait, this represents just the first chapter in what's likely to be a continued struggle for telecom supremacy among AT&amp;T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/02/21/att-goes-5g.aspx" type="external">AT&amp;T Goes 5G Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFTheDude/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Andrew Tonner Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Intel and Verizon Communications. 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> | AT&T Goes 5G | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/02/21/att-goes-5g.html | 2016-03-27 | 0 |
<p>Essex 40, Spaulding 22</p>
<p>Hazen Union 50, Richford 35</p>
<p>Milton 46, Winooski 45</p>
<p>Mount St. Joseph Academy 54, Poultney 25</p>
<p>North Country Union 46, Enosburg Falls 34</p>
<p>Essex 40, Spaulding 22</p>
<p>Hazen Union 50, Richford 35</p>
<p>Milton 46, Winooski 45</p>
<p>Mount St. Joseph Academy 54, Poultney 25</p>
<p>North Country Union 46, Enosburg Falls 34</p> | Wednesday's Scores | false | https://apnews.com/amp/728aa59ba0104d79b1f0b176f466b6f5 | 2018-01-18 | 2 |
<p>The current phase of the black struggle for freedom and equality is approaching its 30th year. No one would deny that a great deal of positive change has taken place during this period, producing many gains for black Americans. Still, an examination shows that progress is much more modest than many believe, revealing the limitation of political without economic change.</p>
<p /> | Civil Rights, 30 Years Later | true | https://dissentmagazine.org/article/civil-rights-30-years-later | 2018-10-04 | 4 |
<p>Published time: 2 Sep, 2017 16:43</p>
<p>To celebrate a volcanic eruption that buried their former village, the residents of Nejapa, El Salvador stage a festival in which they throw burning fireballs at one another.</p>
<p>The festival of ‘Bolas de Fuego,’ which translates simply as ‘fireballs,’ has had pride of place in Nejapa for generations.</p>
<p>While the August festival has a carnival atmosphere, its origins come from a tragic natural disaster that occurred 359 years ago.</p>
<p>The festival commemorates the 1658 eruption of the San Salvador volcano, when the mountain sent flaming balls of ash and rock raining down on Nexapa.</p>
<p>Lava from the so-called Playon eruption buried parts of <a href="https://books.google.ie/books?id=j52TYoUOUjMC&amp;pg=PA117&amp;lpg=PA117&amp;dq=nexapa+san+salvador&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=OReM4xwe7O&amp;sig=hOZnhi2WtjM8Bpm8ov9sasRVKrs&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwja34rS6IbWAhVjCsAKHW3RCBMQ6AEIVjAL#v=onepage&amp;q=nexapa%20san%20salvador&amp;f=false" type="external">Nexapa</a>, causing inhabitants to flee to the nearby town of Nejapa.</p>
<p>During the ‘flame throwing,’ revelers don large fire-retardant gloves and fling balls set ablaze in a designated area of Nejapa.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/in-motion/314025-el-salvador-fireballs-festival/" type="external">READ MORE: Daredevils hurl flaming balls at each other</a></p>
<p>“It is a tradition, perhaps a little dangerous because we use fire, but it is something that all who live in Nejapa… like to participate, because of the adrenaline,” Benjamin Guzman said of the event, <a href="http://www.laprensa.hn/mundo/noticiasinsolitas/1104200-410/calles-de-ciudad-salvadore%C3%B1a-arden-con-batalla-de-bolas-de-fuego" type="external">La Prensa</a> reported.</p>
<p>The Bolas de Fuego festival reportedly began in 1922 and is usually held every year on August 31. It attracts all manner of daredevils keen to get in on the risky activities.</p>
<p /> | Fireball festival honors volcano that buried village in El Salvador (PHOTOS,VIDEO) | false | https://newsline.com/fireball-festival-honors-volcano-that-buried-village-in-el-salvador-photosvideo/ | 2017-09-02 | 1 |
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<p>MADRID — A small Spanish town is considering fining a medieval church 16,000 euros ($17,500) because its bells are “too noisy.”</p>
<p>The town hall of Mostoles, southwest of Madrid, said Tuesday that following complaints from residents, town technicians measured the noise level of the chimes of Our Lady of the Assumption Church and found they were some 30 decibels above the 55 rate permitted by town regulations.</p>
<p>Experts say normal conversation produces 55-60 decibels while an airplane in flight produces 110-120 decibels.</p>
<p>Parish priest Ignacio Torres told the El Pais newspaper the bells have always been tolling in the town, and that they were usually only rung at noon and before evening Mass. He said he had no idea how the church would pay the fine if enforced.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Spain: Town may fine church over ‘noisy’ bells | false | https://abqjournal.com/869632/spain-town-may-fine-church-over-noisy-bells.html | 2 |
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<p>Screen shot of Isaiah Maurice’s Instagram post announcing his commitment to play for the UNM Lobos.</p>
<p>Help is on the way. Or, at least that’s the hope for the University of New Mexico men’s basketball team, which landed another verbal commitment over the weekend to join the program next season.</p>
<p>Isaiah Maurice, a 6-foot-10 forward/center who started his college career at Kansas State and is playing this season at South Plains College in Levelland, Texas, gave a verbal commitment to Lobos head coach Paul Weir while on an official recruiting visit this weekend in Albuquerque.</p>
<p>The Journal has reached out to Maurice for comment on his commitment. UNM staff is not allowed to talk about recruits until they sign National Letters of Intent, and the next signing period for those is April.</p>
<p>The sophomore went public with his decision on Instagram on Sunday evening, writing “Cheers to new beginnings,” accompanied by a photo of him in a Lobos jersey and the text on the photo “Welcome to New Mexico.”</p>
<p>He will have two seasons of playing eligibility remaining with the Lobos.</p>
<p>Maurice has played in nine of SPC’s 10 games this season, averaging 12.1 points (16.5 in two conference games), and 4.3 rebounds, and is shooting 73.0 percent from the field.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>At Midland College on Nov. 29, Maurice had 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting, six rebounds and two blocked shots.</p>
<p>The native of Durham, N.C., redshirted at Kansas State during the 2015-16 season and averaged 3.0 points for the Wildcats last season, including 5.9 in the team’s final seven games of the season, which included a pair of NCAA Tournament games. He was dismissed from the team in June for an unspecified violation of team rules, per a school press release.</p>
<p>Maurice is the third player who is a part of the Lobos’ 2018 recruiting class and will be one of five new players for the 2018-19 season for UNM, including two players currently with the program but who are are sitting out this season as redshirts due to NCAA transfer rules.</p>
<p>The transfers sitting out are JaQuan Lyle, a 6-foot-5 guard who started for two seasons at Ohio State, and Vance Jackson, a 6-9 wing who started last year at Connecticut. The Lobos have also received signed National Letters of Intent from 6-9 Tyler (Texas) Junior College forward Tajuan Agee and four-star rated high school point guard Drue Drinnon, a 6-foot senior from Georgia who is playing this season at Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) University School.</p>
<p>Drinnon and his family were also in Albuquerque this past weekend, visiting the campus on their own. He made an official recruiting visit and committed in October.</p> | Lobos get verbal commitment from 6-10 former Big 12 center | false | https://abqjournal.com/1104852/lobos-get-verbal-commitment-from-6-10-former-big-12-center.html | 2 |
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<p>On September 16, over one million people raised their hands in a vote to recognize center-left leader Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador as the “legitimate president” of Mexico. Gathered in Mexico City’s historic center, the delegates to the National Democratic Convention (NDC) agreed to inaugurate their president on November 21-nine days before the inauguration of the officially recognized candidate, Felipe Calderon. This act of civil resistance ushered in a new stage in an electoral conflict that has developed into an all-out battle for the country’s future.</p>
<p>The NDC constituted an unprecedented event in Mexico’s tumultuous sequence of starts and stalls toward democracy. No matter what the outcome, the convention will go down in history as a defining moment in the nation’s political development. What it will define, however, is still anybody’s guess.</p>
<p>The conservative camp that supports the presidency of Felipe Calderon, who has been officially certified by electoral institutions and backed by mainstream media conglomerates, big business, and much of the U.S. press, has portrayed the convention as the last-gasp attempt of a losing candidate to attain power.</p>
<p>But try telling that to any of the delegates straining to hear the proceedings over the rain and crowd noise on Mexico’s Independence Day. For them, “their” president not only deserves office by right of having won elections stolen through fraud, but also because he represents their interests. Running on a pro-poor platform, Lopez Obrador has gained the confidence of millions of Mexicans. The poor form the backbone of a movement that has rapidly evolved into a widespread rejection of the status quo.</p>
<p>After months of protesting fraud, the convention represented a change in direction. Amid the morass of unexplained discrepancies and manipulated results that have characterized Mexico’s presidential elections, the distinction between the demand for a fair vote count and the need to redress deeply felt social wrongs has been subsumed into a general movement for fundamental reforms. From Fighting Fraud to Fundamental Reforms</p>
<p>It would be a mistake to write off Mexico’s post-electoral conflict as a battle between legality and sore losers. Mexico’s current political crisis developed out of the lack of public confidence in an exceedingly tight and contested presidential election. The Electoral Tribunal’s declaration of Felipe Calderon as the official winner on September 5 failed to restore credibility in representative government for three fundamental reasons: a bad count, a lack of transparency, and the belief of poor Mexicans that the new government will not represent their interests.</p>
<p>The problem with the count is straightforward-no one can say with certainty who won the Mexican presidential elections. The official system of preliminary results showed such obvious flaws in functioning-including the original exclusion of 3 million votes-that the matter passed to a full review of tally sheets amid growing suspicions of foul play. Later, the judicial electoral tribunal rejected the demand for a full recount of ballots despite ample indications of irregularities.</p>
<p>In this context, the tribunal’s decision to legally proclaim Felipe Calderon the victor by a half-percent margin over Lopez Obrador was more a matter of expediency than a measure of justice. The tribunal acknowledged arithmetic errors and electoral law violations but concluded, somewhat speciously, that they did not change the outcome.</p>
<p>In the absence of a full count, the tribunal’s decision reflected wishful thinking rather than a clarification of what really happened on July 2. Evidence that included numerical differences between tally sheets and actual ballots, additional and missing ballots, and adulterated official results cast a pall over the first elections held under the rightwing National Action Party (PAN).</p>
<p>The political will of the majority of Mexicans on July 2 may never be known. Electoral officials have unaccountably refused any public review of ballots. The Federal Electoral Institute has rejected several freedom-of-information petitions to allow public access to ballots and tally sheets. Likewise, the information released to date by the Electoral Tribunal has inexplicable and unjustifiable gaps. By admitting a recount of only 9% of the precincts and nullifying certain polling place results without releasing clear, specific data on where and why, it raised more questions than it answered.</p>
<p>An election is not a technical exercise but a civic ritual that serves to renovate and legitimate powers. When it does precisely the opposite, as it has in Mexico today, it fails to serve its purpose. A democratic election cannot be declared by fiat, whether legally sanctioned or not. It has been done-in Mexico 1988, in Florida 2000-but that doesn’t make it right. Transparency is a prerequisite for elections in a democratic society, not only so the electorate can be sure the votes were counted, but also to ensure public confidence in the outcome. Unrepresented Poor</p>
<p>The vast majority of the poor-the core of the over 15 million who voted for Lopez Obrador-do not believe that Calderon will hear them, much less represent their interests.</p>
<p>Part of the problem is Mexico’s major obstacle to democratic transition-the power of the presidency. Once elected, Vicente Fox, like his predecessors in the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), used presidential powers to force unpopular measures through the back door in the form of executive decrees. Instead of limiting this power, Fox used it to consolidate neoliberal reforms.</p>
<p>Another problem is that Mexico’s political system has few mechanisms of accountability to constituents.</p>
<p>Under this system, one has to have power to leverage power. Most of the millions who voted a second time for Lopez Obrador on September 16 have, for the most part, only the two feet they stand on for leveraging power. They believe that Calderon’s PAN is the party of the rich and powerful. The government-in-resistance is their bid for a voice in a political system that has systematically excluded them.</p>
<p>Democracy reduced to electoral representation has always been a frail form of “rule by the people,” since the people often wind up far removed from their representatives. But when its ability to represent its citizens is in doubt, the system moves from frail to farcical. Mexico’s system has now clearly fallen into this category.</p>
<p>Institutional reform has been a plank of Lopez Obrador’s campaign since his original proposal for a new social pact. The civil resistance plan approved at the convention calls for protests at every public appearance of the “spurious” president, but also incorporates campaigns against the privatization of petroleum and electricity, as well as in defense of public education. The program adopted for the parallel government includes battling poverty and inequality, defense of natural resources, the right to information, an end to the privileges of the few, and profound reforms in national institutions.</p>
<p>Mexico’s constitution sanctions the right of the people to exercise sovereignty beyond the institutions of the government. Article 39 of the constitution suggests that altering the form of government is not only an inalienable right but also an obligation when the institutions no longer operate in the public interest. The government-in-resistance claims that the nation’s institutions have been manipulated through pseudo-legal and illegal ways to benefit a very small minority of the population. The poor have been left out. And now they want back in. Mexico’s Political Crisis in the World</p>
<p>For the United States, Mexico’s political crisis hits close to home, literally. Not only is the nation located on the U.S. southern border, the conflict affects U.S. interests in the fundamental areas of trade relations, immigration, and security.</p>
<p>Mexico was the laboratory for the U.S. strategy of free trade agreements based on open access to markets, favorable terms for international investment, and intellectual property protection. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiated in the early 90s forced Mexico to compete with the world’s wealthiest and most powerful nation and led to millions of jobs lost in national industry and small-scale agriculture.</p>
<p>Instead of examining the negative impact of NAFTA, the U.S. government has insisted on more of the same. It refused to renegotiate the agricultural chapter of NAFTA that calls for complete liberalization of corn and beans in 2008. Calderon supports the liberalization, despite studies that predict a profound negative impact on approximately three million small-scale farmers.</p>
<p>Lopez Obrador has made the derogation of the NAFTA agricultural clause a constant, and much applauded, point in his recent speeches. While he supports NAFTA and open markets, he has also drawn up economic policies that reclaim the direct role of the state in generating employment, protecting strategic domestic markets, redistributing income by eliminating tax breaks for the wealthy, and guaranteeing a basic standard of living for those at risk-the elderly, single mothers, persons with disabilities, and small farmers.</p>
<p>The plan is far from radical, but it has drawn the fire of powerful business interests at home and abroad. The Bush administration would rather not have another defection from the ranks of economic orthodoxy at a time when much of Latin America shows signs of leaving the fold.</p>
<p>Following the official pronouncement of Calderon as president-elect, conservative analysts eagerly placed Mexico in the ranks of nations loyal to U.S.-style economic integration. With Mexico again assured as an unconditional economic and political ally, the “Pacific Axis” of Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Peru, and Chile seemed secured at its northern end.</p>
<p>But with the current divisions, the Mexican elections can hardly be hailed as a major ratification of neoliberal policies in the hemisphere. The political crisis also complicates the Bush agenda in areas of counter-terrorism, immigration, and drug trafficking, although the basic terms of cooperation will continue.</p>
<p>Even if Calderon were miraculously able to consolidate power over the coming months-a scenario that looks increasingly unlikely-a broad movement calling for major institutional reforms will be on the political scene for a long time to come. Whether as a parallel government, a grassroots social movement, a partisan opposition, or some combination, the movement will weaken the new presidency and strengthen hopes for a real and inclusive democratic transition.</p>
<p>LAURA CARLSEN directs IRC’s Americas Program, <a href="http://www.americaspolicy.org/" type="external">www.americaspolicy.org</a>, from Mexico City, where she has worked as a political analyst for two decades.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Mexico’s Two Presidents | true | https://counterpunch.org/2006/09/23/mexico-s-two-presidents/ | 2006-09-23 | 4 |
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<p>On Dec. 1, 1955, Rosa Parks famously refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white passenger in Montgomery, Ala., thus launching the modern-day civil-rights movement.</p>
<p>Monday, Feb. 4, is the 100th anniversary of her birth. After she died at age 92 in 2005, much of the media described her as a tired seamstress, no troublemaker.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>But the media got it wrong. Rosa Parks was a first-class troublemaker.</p>
<p>Professor Jeanne Theoharis debunks the myth of the quiet seamstress in her new book “The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks.” Theoharis told me, “This is the story of a life history of activism, as (Parks) would put it, as being ‘rebellious,’ that starts decades before her famous bus stand and ends decades after.”</p>
<p>Parks was born in Tuskegee, Ala., and raised to believe that she had a right to be respected. Jim Crow laws were entrenched then, and segregation was violently enforced. In Pine Level, where she lived, white children got a bus ride to school, while African-American children walked.</p>
<p>Rosa Parks recalled: “That was a way of life; we had no choice but to accept what was the custom. The bus was among the first ways I realized there was a black world and a white world.”</p>
<p>In her late teens, Rosa met Raymond Parks, and they married. Rosa described Raymond Parks as the first activist she had ever met. He was a member of the local Montgomery NAACP chapter, and, when she learned that women were welcome at the meetings, she attended. She was elected the chapter’s secretary.</p>
<p>It was there that Rosa met and worked with E.D. Nixon, a radical labor organizer and president of the local NAACP.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Rosa Parks was able to attend the Highlander Folk School in Tennessee, in 1955. The school was a gathering place for activists — black and white together — committed to overcoming segregation, and for developing strategies and tactics for nonviolent resistance to it. It was there that Pete Seeger and others wrote the song “We Shall Overcome” as the enduring anthem of the civil-rights movement.</p>
<p>Parks returned to Montgomery and her job as a seamstress. On Dec. 1, 1955, she left work and got on the bus to go home. “The driver said that if I refused to leave the seat, he would have to call the police. And I told him, ‘Just call the police,’ ” Parks told Pacifica Radio in April 1956. “The time had just come when I had been pushed as far as I could stand to be pushed.”</p>
<p>Her arrest that day sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which would last more than a year. It was led by a young minister who had just moved into town: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.</p>
<p>Rosa Parks helped to launch Dr. King. Some 50,000 African-Americans carpooled, used church vehicles, rode in African-American-owned taxis and walked. The boycott crippled white businesses and the public transit system. Parks and others mounted a court challenge to the segregation, and in June 1956, a federal court ruled segregation on buses unconstitutional.</p>
<p>The Parks moved to Detroit. Rosa continued her work, responding to the Detroit riots in 1967, conferring with members of the Black Power movement like Stokely Carmichael. She opposed the war in Vietnam. Historian Theoharis notes that Park’s biggest hero was Malcolm X. In the 1980s, Rosa Parks fought against apartheid, joining protests outside the South African embassy in Washington, D.C.</p>
<p>When she met Nelson Mandela after his release from prison, he told her, “You sustained me while I was in prison all those years.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>When Rosa Parks died, she was the first African-American woman to lie in state in the Capitol rotunda. I raced down to Washington, D.C., to cover her memorial service.</p>
<p>I met a young college student and asked her why she was there standing outside with so many hundreds of people listening to the service on loudspeakers. She told me proudly, “I emailed my professors and said I won’t be in class today; I’m going to get an education.”</p>
<p>Rosa Parks has much to teach us. In fact, she and other young women had refused to give up their seats on the bus before Dec. 1, 1955. You never know when that magic moment will come, but when it does, if you are involved with social change, you will have helped build a foundation that will make history.</p>
<p>This Feb. 4, the U.S. Postal Service will release a Rosa Parks Forever stamp, a reminder of the enduring mark she made. Rosa Parks was no tired seamstress. As she said of that brave action she took, “The only tired I was, was tired of giving in.”</p>
<p>Distributed by King Features Syndicate.</p> | Parks Was Lovely Troublemaker | false | https://abqjournal.com/165399/parks-was-lovely-troublemaker.html | 2013-02-02 | 2 |
<p>A Catholic cathedral in San Francisco installed a watering system in an attempt to soak homeless people who try to loiter and sleep near its doorways, radio station <a href="http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/03/18/homeless-saint-marys-cathedral-archdiocese-san-francisco-intentionally-drenched-water-sleeping/" type="external">KCBS</a> reported on Wednesday.</p>
<p />
<p>Saint Mary's Cathedral, which, the radio station reported, is the main church within the Archdiocese of San Francisco and the home of the archbishop, has four tall side doors which are used as sheltered nooks by homeless people in the city.</p>
<p>While the church has "No Trespassing" signs, the watering system doesn't come with a warning and the showers rain down throughout the night, KCBS reported.</p>
<p>The spigot is 30 feet up on the ceiling of the doorway alcove and when it spews water, the alcove and unsuspecting homeless people reportedly get soaked. According to KCBS, the water runs for about 75 seconds every 30-60 minutes.</p>
<p>"We're going to be wet there all night, so hypothermia, cold, all that other stuff could set in," a homeless man named Robert told KCBS. "Keeping the church clean, but it could make people sick."</p>
<p>KCBS reported that the water system doesn't in fact keep the alcoves clean and in fact pools on the steps and nearby sidewalk since there's no drainage system installed.</p>
<p>A staff member at the cathedral reportedly told the radio station that the showers were installed about a year ago for the purpose of keeping homeless people away.</p>
<p>Archdiocese spokesman Chris Lyford told KCBS that the church refers the homeless to charities for housing but noted that they keep coming back.</p>
<p>"We do the best we can, and supporting the dignity of each person," he said. "But there is only so much you can do."</p>
<p>While the cathedral showers unsuspecting homeless people with water, California is currently in the midst of a serious drought during which time residents are encouraged to minimize nonessential water use.</p>
<p>According to an update from <a href="http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/03/18/controversial-watering-system-dousing-homeless-as-they-sleep-at-saint-marys-cathedral-in-san-francisco-to-be-removed-in-next-15-days/" type="external">KCBS</a>, the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection found that the water system violated city safety codes and issued the Archdiocese a notice to have it removed within 15 days. The Archdiocese reportedly secured a plumbing permit to have it removed.</p>
<p>Watch video of the water below, courtesy of KCBS:</p>
<p />
<p>This article has been updated.</p> | San Francisco Catholic Church Installs Watering System To Ward Off Homeless | true | http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/san-francisco-cathedral-homeless-water | 4 |
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<p>CENTURION, South Africa (AP) — After nine straight series wins, eight of them in the comfort of sub-continent conditions, India again fell short on tour to lose the second test to South Africa by 135 runs on Wednesday.</p>
<p>With it, went another series away from home.</p>
<p>India, so often a batting juggernaut at home, was bowled out for 151 before lunch on the final day at Centurion in a defeat made more painful by the fact that the pitch at SuperSport Park on the South African highveld was surprisingly more Indian than South African in character.</p>
<p>Even then, on a slow, grinding track — the kind India’s batsmen have extensive experience of — the top-ranked team in the world still couldn’t stand up to South Africa’s fast bowlers.</p>
<p>“We have not come here to play the way we have done,” said India captain Virat Kohli. “That is something that we need to definitely speak about. We need to be hard on ourselves. We need to ask ourselves if we are giving 120% for the team every time we bowl a ball or play a ball or field a ball ... as a team we are definitely going to lay out these things in the open.”</p>
<p>On his test debut for South Africa, paceman Lungi Ngidi collected 6-39 in the second innings, the newcomer blasting through India’s top and middle order to seal the tourists’ fate, leaving Kohli’s magnificent 153 in the first innings a footnote in another tale of Indian struggle away from home.</p>
<p>South Africa leads the three-test series 2-0 with one more game to play in Johannesburg next week. India, the No. 1 team in tests by some way at the start of the series after a dominant run of form in Asia, faces a first whitewash in six years. That result that could demand serious self-examination for test cricket’s No. 1 team and the sport’s most closely scrutinized players.</p>
<p>“I’d favor being ruthless,” said South Africa captain Faf du Plessis when asked if the dead rubber at the Wanderers would present an opportunity to rest some of his players ahead of a four-test series against Australia in March.</p>
<p>“We haven’t had the opportunity to beat India 3-0 for a while. For me it’s about keeping your foot on the gas.”</p>
<p>Tellingly, maybe, and blurred by that recent run of success, India has succumbed to a sixth straight series loss in South Africa, Australia or England, showing the disparity between its form inside and outside Asia.</p>
<p>India was chasing a tough target of 258 at Centurion and Cheteshwar Pujara’s run out three overs into the fifth day began the final slide, with his desperate dive not quite enough to beat AB de Villiers’ pinpoint throw from the outfield.</p>
<p>India lost seven wickets for 116 runs on the final day in just over 27 overs as the South Africans backed up Ngidi’s efforts with that slick run out and diving catches in the outfield.</p>
<p>Rohit Sharma, one of a number of batsmen whose position in the team may be under scrutiny, top-scored in the second innings with 47 but his 74-ball stay had no effect on the outcome.</p>
<p>Sharma’s dismissal, caught off a top-edge by a running, tumbling de Villiers at fine leg, left India eight wickets down and allowed the umpires to delay the lunch break with a result imminent.</p>
<p>Ngidi, the 21-year-old quick who came into the reckoning for South Africa after Dale Steyn’s injury in the first test, used the extra half-hour to remove Mohammed Shami (28) for his fifth wicket and Jasprit Bumrah (2) for his sixth.</p>
<p>South Africa, and Ngidi, had ripped the heart out of India’s batting the day before, leaving it 35-3 overnight chasing what would be a record fourth innings score at Centurion. Ngidi’s two-wicket burst late on Day 4 included the big wicket of Kohli, who was out lbw for 4.</p>
<p>Having scored half of India’s runs in the first innings, Kohli’s exit left little doubt that South Africa would win. No other Indian batsman reached 50 in either innings of the test.</p>
<p>“You can accept defeat but not the way we played,” said Kohli.</p>
<p>CENTURION, South Africa (AP) — After nine straight series wins, eight of them in the comfort of sub-continent conditions, India again fell short on tour to lose the second test to South Africa by 135 runs on Wednesday.</p>
<p>With it, went another series away from home.</p>
<p>India, so often a batting juggernaut at home, was bowled out for 151 before lunch on the final day at Centurion in a defeat made more painful by the fact that the pitch at SuperSport Park on the South African highveld was surprisingly more Indian than South African in character.</p>
<p>Even then, on a slow, grinding track — the kind India’s batsmen have extensive experience of — the top-ranked team in the world still couldn’t stand up to South Africa’s fast bowlers.</p>
<p>“We have not come here to play the way we have done,” said India captain Virat Kohli. “That is something that we need to definitely speak about. We need to be hard on ourselves. We need to ask ourselves if we are giving 120% for the team every time we bowl a ball or play a ball or field a ball ... as a team we are definitely going to lay out these things in the open.”</p>
<p>On his test debut for South Africa, paceman Lungi Ngidi collected 6-39 in the second innings, the newcomer blasting through India’s top and middle order to seal the tourists’ fate, leaving Kohli’s magnificent 153 in the first innings a footnote in another tale of Indian struggle away from home.</p>
<p>South Africa leads the three-test series 2-0 with one more game to play in Johannesburg next week. India, the No. 1 team in tests by some way at the start of the series after a dominant run of form in Asia, faces a first whitewash in six years. That result that could demand serious self-examination for test cricket’s No. 1 team and the sport’s most closely scrutinized players.</p>
<p>“I’d favor being ruthless,” said South Africa captain Faf du Plessis when asked if the dead rubber at the Wanderers would present an opportunity to rest some of his players ahead of a four-test series against Australia in March.</p>
<p>“We haven’t had the opportunity to beat India 3-0 for a while. For me it’s about keeping your foot on the gas.”</p>
<p>Tellingly, maybe, and blurred by that recent run of success, India has succumbed to a sixth straight series loss in South Africa, Australia or England, showing the disparity between its form inside and outside Asia.</p>
<p>India was chasing a tough target of 258 at Centurion and Cheteshwar Pujara’s run out three overs into the fifth day began the final slide, with his desperate dive not quite enough to beat AB de Villiers’ pinpoint throw from the outfield.</p>
<p>India lost seven wickets for 116 runs on the final day in just over 27 overs as the South Africans backed up Ngidi’s efforts with that slick run out and diving catches in the outfield.</p>
<p>Rohit Sharma, one of a number of batsmen whose position in the team may be under scrutiny, top-scored in the second innings with 47 but his 74-ball stay had no effect on the outcome.</p>
<p>Sharma’s dismissal, caught off a top-edge by a running, tumbling de Villiers at fine leg, left India eight wickets down and allowed the umpires to delay the lunch break with a result imminent.</p>
<p>Ngidi, the 21-year-old quick who came into the reckoning for South Africa after Dale Steyn’s injury in the first test, used the extra half-hour to remove Mohammed Shami (28) for his fifth wicket and Jasprit Bumrah (2) for his sixth.</p>
<p>South Africa, and Ngidi, had ripped the heart out of India’s batting the day before, leaving it 35-3 overnight chasing what would be a record fourth innings score at Centurion. Ngidi’s two-wicket burst late on Day 4 included the big wicket of Kohli, who was out lbw for 4.</p>
<p>Having scored half of India’s runs in the first innings, Kohli’s exit left little doubt that South Africa would win. No other Indian batsman reached 50 in either innings of the test.</p>
<p>“You can accept defeat but not the way we played,” said Kohli.</p> | India collapses to 151 to lose series in South Africa | false | https://apnews.com/6695ca0609a8418db25b13494eee741b | 2018-01-17 | 2 |
<p>TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Libya’s U.N.-backed government said on Thursday it was investigating reports of African migrants being sold as slaves and promised to bring the perpetrators to justice.</p>
<p>Footage broadcast by CNN appearing to show African migrants being traded in Libya sparked an international outcry and protests in Europe and Africa.</p>
<p>“There have been direct instructions issued to form an investigative committee so as to uncover the truth and to capture the wrongdoers, and those responsible, and put them before the judiciary,” Libyan Interior Minister Aref al-Khodja told journalists in Tripoli.</p>
<p>“We are now currently waiting for the results of the investigations which I believe are coming to a close.”</p>
<p>The CNN video showed what it said was an auction of men offered to Libyan buyers as farmhands and sold for $400, appearing to confirm earlier reports of the existence of markets for trading migrants in Libya.</p>
<p>Many Libyans reacted with anger to the outcry, with some pointing to a European push to stop migrants from crossing the Mediterranean to Italy that activists say has resulted in a worsening of conditions for migrants inside Libya.</p>
<p>“We call on local and international bodies to cooperate with the Attorney General’s Office and provide any information that helps to reveal the truth,” the U.N.-backed government’s presidency said in a statement.</p>
<p>“We, in Libya, are victims of illegal migration and we are not a source for it,” it added, appealing to foreign powers to help stop flows from migrants’ countries of origin and across Libya’s southern borders.</p>
<p>The U.N. Libya mission said on Wednesday it was “actively pursuing the matter with the Libyan authorities to set up transparent monitoring mechanism that safeguards migrants against horrific human rights abuses”.</p>
<p>Under pressure from Italy, the U.N.-backed government has co-opted local groups and tried to bolster Libya’s coastguard to stem the record flows of migrants crossing the Mediterranean since 2014.</p>
<p>Though sea arrivals to Italy are down almost a third this year, this week was marked by a surge in rescues after several days of bad weather, and one body was recovered, Italy’s coast guard and humanitarian groups said.</p>
<p>On Wednesday, 1,100 migrants were rescued from 11 boats, the coast guard said, and more than 200 were picked up on Thursday.</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> | Libyan government says investigating migrant 'slave market' reports | false | https://newsline.com/libyan-government-says-investigating-migrant-039slave-market039-reports/ | 2017-11-23 | 1 |
<p>LONDON (AP) — The Latest on reports of sexual harassment of women at an event in London (all times local):</p>
<p>5:55 p.m.</p>
<p>British charitable trust the Presidents Club says it is shutting down after a newspaper expose of sexual misconduct at its men-only fundraising dinner.</p>
<p>The Financial Times says undercover reporters working as hostesses at the black-tie gala saw women being harassed and groped at the event, attended by hundreds of senior executives.</p>
<p>The story sparked outrage from senior politicians.</p>
<p>The Presidents Club said Wednesday that its trustees had decided not to host any more fundraising events. It said “remaining funds will be distributed in an efficient manner to children’s charities and it will then be closed.”</p>
<p>Last week’s event raised money for hospitals and other groups through a charity auction. Recipients including London’s Great Ormond Street children’s hospital say they will return money donated by the Presidents Club.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>3:55 p.m.</p>
<p>The Bank of England says Gov. Mark Carney is deeply dismayed by reports of harassment at a charity gala which offered a meeting with him as an auction prize.</p>
<p>The bank said Wednesday it wasn’t aware of the Presidents Club dinner, and didn’t approve any auction prize for the event.</p>
<p>However, the bank says it appears the successful bidder for a tour of the bank made at the charity auction of the Lord Mayor’s Appeal subsequently re-auctioned this prize at the Presidents Club Dinner.</p>
<p>The bank says the “unauthorized re-auctioning of the prize at the Presidents Club dinner was clearly against the spirit of the original donation. The Bank has therefore made clear that it has been withdrawn.”</p>
<p>A Financial Times report revealed that hostesses were groped at the event.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>2:20 p.m.</p>
<p>Comedian David Walliams said he didn’t see any sexual misconduct at a men-only charity fundraiser that he hosted, adding he was “absolutely appalled by the reports.”</p>
<p>The Financial Times says undercover reporters at last week’s Presidents Club dinner saw women hired as hostesses being harassed and groped at the event, which was attended by hundreds of senior executives.</p>
<p>Walliams, who is also a successful children’s author, tweeted Wednesday that he left London’s Dorchester Hotel once he had finished his presenting duties at the dinner and did not witness any of the reported misconduct.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>1:40 p.m.</p>
<p>An adviser to Britain’s Department of Education has stepped down amid a growing scandal following reports of groping and lewd behavior at a men’s only charity gala dinner in London last week.</p>
<p>Anne Milton, Britain’s education minister, says David Meller, who chairs the Presidents Club event, is stepping down from his role as an adviser to the department following the revelations in a Financial Times investigation.</p>
<p>The report said some 100 female hostesses were hired to entertain hundreds of businessmen and political figures at the men-only fundraising dinner, and that the hostesses reported harassment including “repeated requests to join diners in bedrooms.”</p>
<p>Milton led condemnation of the behavior, telling the House of Commons that “it is quite extraordinary to me that in the 21st Century allegations of this kind are emerging.”</p>
<p>Labour lawmaker Jess Phillips welcomed Meller’s resignation, saying the alleged behavior was “totally unacceptable.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>11:30 a.m.</p>
<p>Britain’s Great Ormond Street Hospital says it will return donations from a U.K. charity involved in allegations that women were groped at a fundraising gala attended by hundreds of senior executives and lawmakers.</p>
<p>The men-only event at London’s Dorchester Hotel, which was held to raise money for charities, featured some 100 female hostesses, including two undercover Financial Times reporters. The journalists described harassment, lewd comments and “repeated requests to join diners in bedrooms.”</p>
<p>The children’s hospital says Wednesday it was shocked to learn of the behavior at the Presidents Club dinner and that it wouldn’t knowingly accept donations raised this way.</p>
<p>The hospital says that it was never supposed to receive money from the dinner but that it will return previous donations and “no longer accept gifts from the Presidents Club Charitable Trust.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>10 a.m.</p>
<p>Senior women in Britain’s Parliament are demanding tougher laws against harassment after a Financial Times investigation found that women were groped at a men-only charity gala attended by hundreds of senior executives and lawmakers.</p>
<p>The event at London’s Dorchester Hotel, which was held to raise money for charities, featured some 100 female hostesses, including two undercover FT reporters. The journalists described harassment, lewd comments and “repeated requests to join diners in bedrooms elsewhere in the Dorchester.”</p>
<p>The event featured auction prizes of tea with Bank of England Gov. Mark Carney and lunch with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.</p>
<p>Equalities committee chair Maria Miller tweeted she hopes “every man who attended this event will think twice before accepting another invitation to a ‘men only’ event with more than 100 female hostesses.”</p>
<p>LONDON (AP) — The Latest on reports of sexual harassment of women at an event in London (all times local):</p>
<p>5:55 p.m.</p>
<p>British charitable trust the Presidents Club says it is shutting down after a newspaper expose of sexual misconduct at its men-only fundraising dinner.</p>
<p>The Financial Times says undercover reporters working as hostesses at the black-tie gala saw women being harassed and groped at the event, attended by hundreds of senior executives.</p>
<p>The story sparked outrage from senior politicians.</p>
<p>The Presidents Club said Wednesday that its trustees had decided not to host any more fundraising events. It said “remaining funds will be distributed in an efficient manner to children’s charities and it will then be closed.”</p>
<p>Last week’s event raised money for hospitals and other groups through a charity auction. Recipients including London’s Great Ormond Street children’s hospital say they will return money donated by the Presidents Club.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>3:55 p.m.</p>
<p>The Bank of England says Gov. Mark Carney is deeply dismayed by reports of harassment at a charity gala which offered a meeting with him as an auction prize.</p>
<p>The bank said Wednesday it wasn’t aware of the Presidents Club dinner, and didn’t approve any auction prize for the event.</p>
<p>However, the bank says it appears the successful bidder for a tour of the bank made at the charity auction of the Lord Mayor’s Appeal subsequently re-auctioned this prize at the Presidents Club Dinner.</p>
<p>The bank says the “unauthorized re-auctioning of the prize at the Presidents Club dinner was clearly against the spirit of the original donation. The Bank has therefore made clear that it has been withdrawn.”</p>
<p>A Financial Times report revealed that hostesses were groped at the event.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>2:20 p.m.</p>
<p>Comedian David Walliams said he didn’t see any sexual misconduct at a men-only charity fundraiser that he hosted, adding he was “absolutely appalled by the reports.”</p>
<p>The Financial Times says undercover reporters at last week’s Presidents Club dinner saw women hired as hostesses being harassed and groped at the event, which was attended by hundreds of senior executives.</p>
<p>Walliams, who is also a successful children’s author, tweeted Wednesday that he left London’s Dorchester Hotel once he had finished his presenting duties at the dinner and did not witness any of the reported misconduct.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>1:40 p.m.</p>
<p>An adviser to Britain’s Department of Education has stepped down amid a growing scandal following reports of groping and lewd behavior at a men’s only charity gala dinner in London last week.</p>
<p>Anne Milton, Britain’s education minister, says David Meller, who chairs the Presidents Club event, is stepping down from his role as an adviser to the department following the revelations in a Financial Times investigation.</p>
<p>The report said some 100 female hostesses were hired to entertain hundreds of businessmen and political figures at the men-only fundraising dinner, and that the hostesses reported harassment including “repeated requests to join diners in bedrooms.”</p>
<p>Milton led condemnation of the behavior, telling the House of Commons that “it is quite extraordinary to me that in the 21st Century allegations of this kind are emerging.”</p>
<p>Labour lawmaker Jess Phillips welcomed Meller’s resignation, saying the alleged behavior was “totally unacceptable.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>11:30 a.m.</p>
<p>Britain’s Great Ormond Street Hospital says it will return donations from a U.K. charity involved in allegations that women were groped at a fundraising gala attended by hundreds of senior executives and lawmakers.</p>
<p>The men-only event at London’s Dorchester Hotel, which was held to raise money for charities, featured some 100 female hostesses, including two undercover Financial Times reporters. The journalists described harassment, lewd comments and “repeated requests to join diners in bedrooms.”</p>
<p>The children’s hospital says Wednesday it was shocked to learn of the behavior at the Presidents Club dinner and that it wouldn’t knowingly accept donations raised this way.</p>
<p>The hospital says that it was never supposed to receive money from the dinner but that it will return previous donations and “no longer accept gifts from the Presidents Club Charitable Trust.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>10 a.m.</p>
<p>Senior women in Britain’s Parliament are demanding tougher laws against harassment after a Financial Times investigation found that women were groped at a men-only charity gala attended by hundreds of senior executives and lawmakers.</p>
<p>The event at London’s Dorchester Hotel, which was held to raise money for charities, featured some 100 female hostesses, including two undercover FT reporters. The journalists described harassment, lewd comments and “repeated requests to join diners in bedrooms elsewhere in the Dorchester.”</p>
<p>The event featured auction prizes of tea with Bank of England Gov. Mark Carney and lunch with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.</p>
<p>Equalities committee chair Maria Miller tweeted she hopes “every man who attended this event will think twice before accepting another invitation to a ‘men only’ event with more than 100 female hostesses.”</p> | The Latest: UK charity closing in wake of harassment claims | false | https://apnews.com/9dbdb68ff12b4719862850e5a96704c9 | 2018-01-24 | 2 |
<p>Big Lots (NYSE:BIG) disclosed a 6.1% decline in fiscal first-quarter profits on Thursday, prompting the close-out retailer to drop its full-year guidance below Wall Street’s hopes.</p>
<p>The Columbus, Ohio-based company said it earned $52.5 million, or 70 cents a share, last quarter, compared with a profit of $55.9 million, or 68 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts had been calling for EPS of 69 cents.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Total sales slipped 0.6% to $1.23 billion, matching the Street’s view. Same-store sales slumped 3.6%. Gross margins decreased to 40.3% from 40.6%.</p>
<p>At the same time, Big Lots downgraded its full-year EPS view to $2.75 to $2.90, down from $3.05 to $3.15 earlier. Analysts had been calling for full-year profits of $3.03 a share. The company also said it sees same-store sales flat to down 2%.</p>
<p>For the current quarter, Big Lots said forecasted EPS of 38 cents to 48 cents, which is well below the Street’s view of 53 cents. Same-store sales are seen flat to down 3%.</p>
<p>Separately, Big Lots reached a deal to buy Canada’s Liquidation Worldwide, which distributes liquidated inventory to customers in the U.S. and Canada. The deal is worth C$1.8 million, or 6 cents a share.</p>
<p>“We have diligently studied and analyzed a number of opportunities or paths to enter Canada over the last couple of years and believe the acquisition of Liquidation World provides a long-term growth opportunity for our business and our shareholders,” Big Lots CEO Steve Fishman said in a statement.</p>
<p>Shares of Big Lots dropped 2.01% to $31.68 Thursday morning, trimming its 2011 gain to 6.1%. The company’s stock has slumped nearly 10% over the past year.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | Big Lots Posts Lower 1Q Profit, Cuts Forecast | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2011/05/26/big-lots-1q-net-61-sales-decline-forecasts-cut.html | 2016-01-28 | 0 |
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<p>Allan Stypeck, barreling down the bookstore aisle.</p>
<p>Big guy, barrel-chested, pushing 70, thinning white hair, heavy with the New York accent (Brooklyn, with a shade of Long Island). Leans in close, a little conspiratorial thing going on: “Wanna come see this?”</p>
<p>Look, hey, it’s an invitation I can’t refuse.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Stypeck is an impossible character, the kind of larger-than-life raconteur people say doesn’t exist inside the button-down Beltway. He’s the impresario of Second Story Books, one of the nation’s foremost appraisers of rare books and manuscripts, and a regular on “Chesapeake Collectibles” on Maryland Public Television.</p>
<p>Over his four-decade career, this “wanna see something cool?” gambit might have referred to an $11 million copy of John J. Audubon’s “Birds of America”; the mummified corpse of Gold Tooth Jimmy, a Detroit gangster; Henry Kissinger’s papers; dinosaur eggs; or a first edition of “The Great Gatsby,” complete with the telltale error “sick in tired,” on Page 205, which would let you know the book you’re holding is likely worth $100,000 or more.</p>
<p>Stypeck will bury you with all this in a blizzard of knowledge, history and detail.</p>
<p>“Who’s Aurel Stein?” he buttonholes me one day in the aisles, describing the material he and the staff were evaluating that afternoon. (A Hungarian-British scholar whose early-19th-century explorations in China found ancient Buddhist texts, but you knew that.) “Who’s Lionel Trilling?” (20th-century American literary critic.) “Manuel da Costa?” (15th-century Jesuit missionary and bibliographer.) “Anybody who works here, they have to know 80 percent of this stuff.”</p>
<p>On rare days, you can catch Stypeck at Second Story’s prime Dupont Circle store in Washington, D.C. The last weekend of April, he and his wife and business partner, Kim, will have a few wares on display at the Washington Antiquarian Book Fair, at the Sphinx Club in downtown Washington. It’s an annual gathering for those enchanted by books under glass – modern first editions, Civil War letters, things signed by Hamilton-era heroes.</p>
<p>But most days, it’s here, at Second Story’s warehouse in Rockville, Maryland, that one gets a glimpse into the heart of his iconoclastic empire. You can read the place as the embodiment of his mind: sweeping, curious, eclectic, overwhelming and sometimes downright odd.</p>
<p>Stypeck has me follow him into a tired gray storage room. In front of us is an array of cardboard boxes. They hold worn 78 records, reel-to-reel tapes, scrapbooks, datebooks and papers.</p>
<p>It doesn’t look all that cool.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>I drop to a knee to get a closer look, pulling out a thin spiral-bound datebook. It is dated 1942. Flipping through the first few pages, I notice amounts jotted down for railroad expenses (“$67.05 Fare – $17.10 Pullman”). And then I stop, drawing in a breath.</p>
<p>On Sunday the 18th, a handwritten entry reads: “Woody Hold for Russian War Relief. $12.00. Brooklyn. (They’ll mail directions.) 9 p.m. 152 E 94th St.”</p>
<p>“Woody – “</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Stypeck says, standing over me, “Woody Guthrie.”</p>
<p>It turns out I’m holding the personal datebook of Arthur Stern, a member of the Almanac Singers. Stern sang with Guthrie, Pete Seeger and other icons. The datebook is 75 years old and a source document of one of the most profound social and musical movements of 20th-century America.</p>
<p>It’s a tiny part of the collection at hand. Spreading out on the fluorescent-lit floor in front of us, in all these boxes, are the mortal remains of the magical mystery tour that was “Radio Unnameable,” the Bob Fass show that ran for half a century on New York’s WBAI.</p>
<p>Fass’ show was “counterculture” before the term existed. It was dubbed “the midwife to the movement” of 1960s leftist art and politics. Jerry Jeff Walker wrote “Mr. Bojangles” one night and sang it, live, on air. Arlo Guthrie first performed “Alice’s Restaurant” on the show. Dylan was a frequent guest.</p>
<p>These many years later, Fass’ Smithsonian-level trove of artifacts, memorabilia and original recordings has made its way here, for Stypeck to appraise and, somehow, officially determine its market value.</p>
<p>It is, in fact, pretty cool.</p>
<p>“Did I tell ya?” Stypeck is saying. “Did I tell ya?”</p>
<p>—</p>
<p>If you love old- and rare-book stores, like the warehouse here, I have bad news. This universe of ancient printed pages isn’t likely to completely disappear. But, unlike the universe we live in, it’s contracting.</p>
<p>In the 1980s, the D.C. area had 50 or 60 used- and rare-book stores. Today, it’s probably less than a dozen, depending on how wide you cast your net and define your terms. In the area, there’s Capitol Hill Books, Riverby, Second Story and the Lantern. But even stalwarts like Bartleby’s and the Quill &amp; Brush have closed their storefronts, like dozens of others across the nation, and now operate from homes, by appointment and mail order.</p>
<p>Susan Benne, executive director of the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America, says the organization has about 450 members but estimates 60 percent of those do not have an open storefront, and the overall number of dealers continues to drop.</p>
<p>Lost, too, is that dusty aura of something vanished, gone like smoke from steam engines in the American landscape. The digital age of Amazon.com, e-readers and online research has its advantages, but for parishioners of the Church of Old Books, it has also relegated a way of reading, and finding the book of your fever dreams, to a dust-mote-enchanted memory.</p>
<p>Before the Internet, old books were buried in basements, backrooms and used-book stores. No one really knew how many signed first editions of, say, Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood” were out there, and thus what they were worth. Finding your literary Rosebud, since the time of Gutenberg, had been an adventure.</p>
<p>That magic you felt! Your fingers tickling along the spines of carelessly shelved books in a secondhand shop … and there. Your index finger flicks across – can it be? – a worn hardcover that you’ve been wanting in a first edition for years. Goose flesh rising on your forearms, you flip open the cover to see that this is indeed a first printing! The penciled-in price on the flyleaf is $15, but it’s worth 10 times that! The thrill!</p>
<p>“Before the Internet, booksellers ruled,” Stypeck says. “You did your research, and if you found that a book had been selling for $115,000, and you had only seen four of them in your career, then that’s what it was worth.”</p>
<p>But starting around 2000, when bookstores and collectors started going online, it turned out there were a lot of first editions of “In Cold Blood,” and an ocean of other “rare” books that had been on shelves or tucked away in basements all along.</p>
<p>Now anyone can type in the name of any book into any search engine and get a list of two dozen copies of your personal Rosebud, filtered by condition, price or binding. (On a recent day on AbeBooks.com, for example, there were 150 bookstores offering 63,000 first editions.)</p>
<p>This sudden availability made most prices drop precipitously, while it boosted the value of a few titles that were truly scarce. It was the B.C./A.D. of used-book selling.</p>
<p>One day Stypeck and I stop at the landing of the steps to his suite of offices, where you can see the entire store. He points out that the view is evidence of another seismic shift in the trade: The digital generation is not as married to printed books as their forebears. As older, print-loving generations die off, they are leaving behind millions of books that their descendants do not want.</p>
<p>“Twenty years ago, I would have stood here and looked at this and thought to myself, ‘I’m a very wealthy man,’ ” he says. “If I had thrown a clearance sale, and let’s say there are 500,000 books down there, and I could sell them on average priced for $5 a book, I’d be looking at $2 [million] or $3 million in 1990s money, right?”</p>
<p>“But in reality, now, to try to liquidate this, it would be almost impossible because there’s not enough popularity in the average title to get the critical mass to come in here and carry out the majority of the books.”</p>
<p>There was barely time to digest this generational glut of books before Stypeck started hustling me backward, into his suite of offices. It is, at first glance, old wood paneling, indoor-outdoor carpet, fluorescent lighting, nothing fancy. We pass a room with a lot of boxes. He says, “That’s Caspar Weinberger’s memorabilia over there.”</p>
<p>In the hallway, tacked to the wall, is a 1960s-era comic, “Ant-Man.” On the cover, the tiny caped hero is riding a dog jumping through a window to go after a skull-headed drug dealer. But there is no time to linger over this awesomeness because we are plunging through a dimly lit corridor packed with shelves, nearly turning sideways, to squeeze into his office.</p>
<p>Here, posters of the films “The Corsican Brothers” and “Gunga Din” decorate the wall. They’re both signed by Douglas Fairbanks Jr., a friend of his, to the point that the movie star would call him late at night.</p>
<p>On Stypeck’s desk is a massive 1614 edition of Sir Walter Raleigh’s “History of the World.” It’s probably worth $8,000 to $10,000. Before I can start marveling at this, he hands me a NASA manual for Apollo 11 – the technical guide for landing on the moon, signed by all three astronauts. That’s somewhere between $35,000 and $75,000.</p>
<p>“Remind me to tell you about the Night of the Two-Handed Bourbons,” he says of his time with astronauts. “Man, those guys drink.”</p>
<p>When he first started the bookstore, he says, he had a pet Burmese python, six or eight feet long, name of Ramone. “I used to sleep with him, and he’d cuddle next to my wrist or my jugular, because it was the warmest spot. Which is crazy, when you think about that.”</p>
<p>When Stypeck was a teenager, his dad, a New York stockbroker, co-owned several racehorses. Here’s a picture of him at the Aqueduct racetrack, July 15, 1968. He’s 18, in a suit and tie, posing with jockey Ron Turcotte, who rode Secretariat to immortality a few years later.</p>
<p>This gives way to a long shaggy-dog story about an immaculate Argentine (“Ricardo Montalban’s twin brother, I’m tellin’ ya”) who came into his office with this imperial bearing, the ascot, the jacket, the hair, the accent, the whole nine – and tried to pawn off a late copy of “Don Quixote” as an original.</p>
<p>This, in turn, gives way to a story about the shah of Iran and fake rubies, which morphs into a tale about discovering Thomas Jefferson signatures on documents buried in the Maryland State Law Library (“That was $2.3 million”).</p>
<p>This keeps going until the afternoon vanishes. A little red light on my recorder is flashing. It has run out of space.</p>
<p>—</p>
<p>Born in Brooklyn in 1950, Stypeck was collecting everything – postage stamps, baseball cards, bottle caps – by the time he was 6. His father was Czech, and he grew up as a Catholic in a heavily Jewish neighborhood. “I learned about the Holocaust from listening to survivors,” he says, giving him a fascination with history and international affairs.</p>
<p>He went to college at American University, studying for the Foreign Service. Shortly after graduation, though, he and his first wife went on an antique-hunting trip for a friend in the business through New England. When he bought a batch of old books and noticed his friend’s D.C. customers snapped them up at higher prices, he knew he was onto something.</p>
<p>Three years later, in 1974, he bought Second Story Books in the Chevy Chase neighborhood, so named because it was on the second story of an office building in the 5000 block of Connecticut Avenue NW. (It’s across the street from what is now the city’s most famous bookstore, Politics and Prose.)</p>
<p>The 1970s and 1980s were a flourishing time for the trade, and Stypeck soon had six stores, from the District to Baltimore. Ambitious, he began his appraising career, which grew to include clients such as the White House, the Supreme Court, both houses of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution, the Holocaust Museum, seven Nobel laureates, diplomats, museums and auction houses. He appraised everything in the International Spy Museum. He handled Kissinger’s papers, as well as Madeleine Albright’s.</p>
<p>He remarried, and he and Kim bought an old farmhouse on a couple of acres in Poolesville, Maryland, filled with their two daughters and all sorts of curiosities from his work. There’s an original Charles Addams cartoon, a hippo skull by the pool, and that’s almost certainly Cary Grant’s old luggage that doubles as a nightstand.</p>
<p>Stypeck added a syndicated radio show, “The Book Guys,” with radio personality Mike Cuthbert, in the 1990s.</p>
<p>These days, the radio show is a memory, and his six stores have long since contracted down to the core: the Dupont Circle store and the warehouse. It’s probably just good business sense, but it feels like a last stand.</p>
<p>—</p>
<p>The last Saturday of every month, Stypeck offers free verbal appraisals at the warehouse. A few dozen people show up, eager to see if their volume might be worth thousands. It’s usually not. The differences between a first edition, first printing (the most valuable) and other editions have never been standardized. They vary from publisher to publisher and sometimes from book to book. It’s hard to be sure.</p>
<p>One such day last year, Stypeck is holding court, bringing his glasses down to perch on his nose for a closer look at an offering, like an outfielder flipping down the shades for a flyball in the sun. “One of your problems: Your dust jacket has been clipped,” he tells the owner, noting that the price has been cut out. He looks at the lettering on the copyright page, consults a guidebook: “You don’t have a first edition. It’s a later edition. A fine reading copy, but that’s all.”</p>
<p>Up next is Wendy Susswein, clutching an early-20th-century American textbook … written in German. She was raised in Upstate New York. Both parents were German Jews, Holocaust survivors.</p>
<p>Stypeck perks up immediately.</p>
<p>“This is one of the things the Bund was doing,” he says of the German American Federation of the 1930s, taking the book in hand. “Textbooks for German immigrants who were very receptive to Nazi propaganda.”</p>
<p>He drops into a discussion about the group and its frightening rally of 20,000 at Madison Square Garden in 1939. Susswein says her parents and grandparents came over that year or 1940, referring to it as “so early.” Stypeck says, “It’s actually late,” and he’s off into the rise of Nazis, Kristallnacht and the history of Nazi Germany. They talk for 20 minutes.</p>
<p>The book, he says, is a valuable thing. Susswein leaves, looking at this eight- decade book anew, as a continuing piece of national and familial history.</p>
<p>That’s what old books are – magic in unlikely packages.</p>
<p>—</p>
<p>The Second Story warehouse rises like a rough knuckle from a parking lot in an industrial park a few blocks east of Rockville Pike, slung in between Maurice Electrical Supplyand Yi’s fabric store. The concrete-block building has a loading bay next to the front door. The street is all one-story brick buildings and telephone poles and overhead wires. The only literary ghosts nearby are the gin-soaked shades of Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, interred three miles up the road.</p>
<p>Winding through the fluorescent-lit expanse, you realize that the baroque impossibility of the store is that it exists at all. There are a few similar places left – Daedalus in Columbia, Maryland; the Strand in New York – but one wonders if the old magic is fading even faster as the Internet continues to grow.</p>
<p>“The warehouse, it’s old books, things published before ISBN numbers and bar codes, and you never know what might turn up,” says Michael Dirda, The Washington Post’s former book critic, who rhapsodized about the last-century charm of the Second Story warehouse in “Browse: The World in Bookshops,” a book published in Britain last year.</p>
<p>Somewhere from 500 to 20,000 books come in every week, says Conor McHale, a veteran employee, mostly gathered from old estates. The sense of discovery – and horror – from sorting through incoming stock is palpable.</p>
<p>“It’s terrifyingly easy to miss something valuable,” McHale says.</p>
<p>A couple of years ago, he says, they put a magnificent Japanese art book on the floor for $10,000. Another dealer snapped it up – and wrote Stypeck a check for an additional $2,000, it was so underpriced.</p>
<p>“Painful,” McHale says.</p>
<p>Then a complete leather-bound set of first editions of Jane Austen’s novels came in.</p>
<p>“That stopped the room,” he says. “What would a first edition of just ‘Pride and Prejudice’ be worth? ‘Sense and Sensibility’? We eventually sold them for a total of something like $65,000. The money was cool. But just to have a complete set of her novels in one place – that was kind of a breathtaking thing. You could sit and say, ‘English literature changed with that shelf right there.’ “</p>
<p>Stypeck’s health has been racked by mercury poisoning in the past year, to the extent he can’t walk much more than a hundred feet at a time. He loses his balance and has noticed he sometimes forgets words. Still, he has just signed a long-term lease for the Dupont Circle location. He thinks the illness will pass.</p>
<p>“I’m not as pessimistic as I was a few years ago,” he says. “There’s not any endgame for this.”</p>
<p>He thinks the stores will endure. He thinks that the population of people who love books, not just reading, isn’t done quite yet. And, to paraphrase a Faulkner line he no doubt knows, he thinks the stores might even prevail.</p>
<p>—</p>
<p>Tucker is a former Washington Post staff writer. His most recent book is “Only the Hunted Run.”</p> | The challenge, joys of owning a rare book business in the digital age | false | https://abqjournal.com/979321/the-challenge-joys-of-owning-a-rare-book-business-in-the-digital-age.html | 2017-03-30 | 2 |
<p>First lady Michelle Obama on Friday said her nearly eight years in the White House have made it “excruciatingly clear” that Hillary Clinton is the only qualified candidate in the 2016 presidential race and responded to the continued false rumors about her husband’s birthplace.</p>
<p>“A candidate is not going to suddenly change when they get into office. It’s the opposite, in fact, because the minute that individual takes that oath, they are under the hottest, harshest light there is,” the first lady said in Virginia during her first campaign rally for Clinton.</p>
<p>“With every word they utter, they can start wars, crash markets, change the course of this planet...For me, it is excruciatingly clear that there is only one person in this election that we can trust with those responsibilities,” she added.</p>
<p>The first lady did not mention Donald Trump by name but took him to task pushing “birther” rumors that falsely assert President Barack Obama was born outside the United States.</p>
<p>“Of course there were those who questioned and continued to question for the past eight years up through this very day whether my husband was even born in this country. Well, during his time in office I think Barack has answered those questions with the example he set by going high when they go low,” she said.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">At a campaign event earlier in the day</a>, Trump reversed his previous remarks and conceded that Obama was born in the United States.</p>
<p>Obama took clear shots at the Republican nominee’s readiness for office, calling the presidency the “highest stakes, most 24/7 job you could ever imagine” and said it requires someone who is “going to study.”</p>
<p>The first lady is <a href="" type="internal">one of the most popular political figures</a> in the country and could be a valuable surrogate for Democrats as polls continue to tighten. Her speech at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, was aimed at fighting back apathy associated with a negative campaign that could prevent voters from showing up to the polls.</p>
<p>“I am inspired because for eight years, I have had the privilege to see what it takes to actually do this job. And here's what I absolutely know for sure...Right now we have an opportunity to elect one of the most qualified people that has endeavoured to be president,” she said.</p> | First Lady Michelle Obama Calls 2016 Choice ‘Excruciatingly Clear’ | false | http://nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/first-lady-michelle-obama-calls-2016-choice-excruciatingly-clear-n649646 | 2016-09-16 | 3 |
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>Update: The domain dailystormer.ru now appears to be down.</p>
<p />
<p>The white supremacist news site DailyStormer.com is back after its host GoDaddy removed it earlier this week following the Charlottesville, Va. Chaos, and after Google also banned it from their web services. DailyStormer is back on the internet under a Russian web domain.</p>
<p />
<p>The conservative site derogatorily referred to by liberals as a "neo-Nazi" website was accused of publishing an article mocking Heather Heyer, the woman killed when a vehicle rammed into a group of protesters against the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va. Its host GoDaddy responding to the backlash coming from liberals and the left removed the site. DailyStormer then attempted to get a domanin with Google to no avail, too.</p>
<p />
<p>The site was also briefly hosted on the dark web before acquiring a Russian domain.</p>
<p />
<p>Posts on the come-backing site were happy about the attention they have been getting the past emotionally-charged and politically-fervent days. Some of the posts read: "What has happened is that we've been given a massive amount of publicity by the media, and we need to work on capitalizing on that to get our ideas further into the public sphere."</p>
<p />
<p>Another post said the ban and their temporary disappearance from the web was "the greatest thing that's ever happened to us."</p>
<p />
<p>Published by Andrew Anglin, The Daily Stormer has the slogan:?America's #1 Most-Trusted Republican News Source?, First in Facts-First in Integrity.?</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Source:</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://thehill.com/policy/technology/346800-pro-trump-neo-nazi-website-gets-russian-domain-after-ban" type="external">http://thehill.com/policy/technology/346800-pro-trump-neo-nazi-website-gets-russian-domain-after-ban</a></p> | The Daily Stormer Is Back on the Web Under a Russian Domain | true | http://thegoldwater.com/news/6741-The-Daily-Stormer-Is-Back-on-the-Web-Under-a-Russian-Domain | 2017-08-16 | 0 |
<p>Dec. 11 (UPI) — Manchester United forward Romelu Lukaku had a hand in two goals against his own team Sunday in the Manchester Derby.</p>
<p>Manchester City left Old Trafford with a 2-1 victory over his squad.</p>
<p>The agony began for Lukaku – and United fans everywhere – in the 43rd minute.</p>
<p>Lukaku was deep near his own net during a corner kick. The cross came in and he headed it back toward his own net. The ball bounced to a waiting David Silva, who blasted it past United’s David de Gea for the first goal of the match.</p>
<p>It didn’t take long for United to even up the score. Defender Marcus Rojo ripped a pass off of a throw-in to the opposite side of the field. The ball sailed toward the far post and onto the waiting boot of Marcus Rashford. The United star drilled the pass into the far post to make the score 1-1.</p>
<p>But Lukaku was at it again in the 54th minute. The United forward attempted a clearance just outside of his own box.</p>
<p>It went very poorly.</p>
<p>Lukaku’s blast hit a group of players directly in front of his own net. The ricochet landed in front of City defender Nicholas Otamendi, who blasted it home for the lead.</p>
<p>“They scored two very bad goals, two goals that were unbelievable to concede and when you conceded two goals like this, in a match of this dimension, you obviously feel bad,” United manager Jose Mourinho said after the game, <a href="http://www.manutd.com/en/News-And-Features/Football-News/2017/Dec/Manager-reaction-Jose-Mourinho-gives-his-verdict-on-the-Manchester-derby.aspx" type="external">according to the team website.</a> “You will speak about what they did well and what they are good at but they scored two goals out of nothing, with rebounds – really, two easy goals.”</p>
<p>United has another Premier League affair at 3 p.m. Wednesday against Bournemouth at Old Trafford.</p> | Romelu Lukaku: Manchester United star assists two goals for Manchester City | false | https://newsline.com/romelu-lukaku-manchester-united-star-assists-two-goals-for-manchester-city/ | 2017-12-11 | 1 |
<p>The Republican grab for Congress is being funded by a pack of wolves masquerading as a herd of sheep.</p>
<p>How sweet and innocent they seem, these mysterious organizations with names like Americans for Job Security. Who could argue with that? Who wants job insecurity?</p>
<p>It turns out, according to The Washington Post, that an entity called Americans for Job Security has made nearly $7.5 million in “independent” campaign expenditures this year, with 88 percent of that total going to support Republican candidates. Who’s putting up all that money? You’ll never know, because Americans for Job Security — which calls itself a “business association” — doesn’t have to disclose the source of its funding.</p>
<p>Likewise, the American Future Fund has spent $6.8 million on campaigns this year, with every penny of that money benefiting Republicans. The patriotically named group — and, really, who doesn’t want America to have a future? — is based in Iowa and has never before been a big player in the Great Game of campaign finance. Now, suddenly, it has a king’s ransom to throw around.</p>
<p />
<p>Whose money is it? The American Future Fund won’t tell you.</p>
<p>And then there’s American Crossroads, which at least is being “advised” by some people you’ve heard of — Republican strategists Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie. This group has spent $5.6 million so far, but is just getting started: American Crossroads says it will spend an astounding $50 million in this election cycle.</p>
<p>You will not be surprised to hear that all of this money is being used to try to oust Democrats and replace them with Republicans. And where is the money coming from? Silly of you to ask. There is no limit to the amount that an individual, corporation or trade association can give to American Crossroads — but the group is not required to tell you who those deep-pockets donors might be.</p>
<p>Democrats are doing the same sort of thing, or trying to. But Republicans are outspending Democrats by 7 to 1 in this kind of “independent” campaign spending. So while Democratic candidates enjoy a big advantage in official campaign funding — the kind that has limits and disclosure requirements — this edge is blunted by the wave of “independent” GOP cash.</p>
<p>According to the Post, $80 million has been spent thus far on midterm election campaigns by these shadowy “independent” groups — as opposed to just $16 million at this point in the 2006 midterm cycle.</p>
<p>I put “independent” in quotes because this spending is anything but. Officially, groups such as Americans for Job Security and American Crossroads are not allowed to spend on behalf of specific candidates; rather, they are supposed to confine themselves to such anodyne activities as highlighting issues and advocating policy positions. In practice, however, this gives them the latitude to attack one candidate — a Democrat, say — for his or her position on health care, financial reform or whatever.</p>
<p>There can be no overt coordination between these groups and any specific candidates, but there doesn’t have to be. The political operatives in charge of the American Future Fund, for example, can read a map of congressional districts as well as anybody else. All they have to do is identify a potentially vulnerable Democrat and start pouring in the cash, mostly to buy television ads accusing the incumbent of being an enemy of all that America holds dear — and, gasp, a friend of Nancy Pelosi.</p>
<p>The Supreme Court made all this possible with its ruling earlier this year, in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which legalized unlimited campaign spending by corporations, unions, trade associations and other such entities. And the independent-expenditure groups with the patriotic names are often structured as nonprofits, which means they are not required to disclose their donors publicly.</p>
<p>The result is a system in which oil companies opposed to an energy bill that would begin to steer the country away from fossil fuels, or Wall Street firms who want to undo financial regulatory reform and return to the days of the Big Casino, or gazillionaires who want to keep George W. Bush’s tax breaks can all spend as much as they like to try to buy Congress for the Republican Party.</p>
<p>And they can do it secretly, in the dark, without anyone knowing. It’s bad enough that public offices can be purchased. It’s unconscionable that we can’t even know who the buyers are.</p>
<p>Eugene Robinson’s e-mail address is eugenerobinson(at)washpost.com.</p>
<p>© 2010, Washington Post Writers Group</p> | The Cash Cow of Anonymity | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/the-cash-cow-of-anonymity/ | 2010-10-05 | 4 |
<p>U.S. President Donald Trump called Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro a “bad liar” and threatened “strong and swift economic actions” if he follows through with his plan to rewrite his country’s Constitution.</p>
<p>Maduro plans to replace Venezuela’s National Assembly, which is controlled by his opponents, with a Constituent Assembly that could re-write the Constitution. A referendum on the issue is scheduled for the end of the month, although last Sunday 7.2 million rejected the proposal in an unofficial, non-binding referendum.</p>
<p>“Yesterday, the Venezuelan people again made clear that they stand for democracy, freedom, and rule of law,” Trump said in a statement on Monday, <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/18/politics/trump-threatens-sanctions-on-bad-leader-maduro/index.html" type="external">CNN reports.</a></p>
<p>“Yet their strong and courageous actions continue to be ignored by a bad leader who dreams of becoming a dictator. The United States will not stand by as Venezuela crumbles. If the Maduro regime imposes its Constituent Assembly on July 30, the United States will take strong and swift economic actions,” he added.</p>
<p>“The United States once again calls for free and fair elections and stands with the people of Venezuela in their quest to restore their country to a full and prosperous democracy.”</p>
<p>On Monday, Venezuelan opposition leaders began a call for a 24-hour nationwide strike in protest of Maduro’s plan.</p>
<p>“We call on the whole country to launch a 24-hour national strike this Thursday, a massive, non-violent protest, as a way to pressure the government and to prepare for the final steps, which will be next week, to confront this fraud … and to restore constitutional order,” said opposition leader Freddy Guevara, according to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/woman-killed-4-injured-as-violence-erupts-at-venezuela-vote/2017/07/16/a7c1fb92-6a8c-11e7-abbc-a53480672286_story.html" type="external">The Washington Post.</a></p> | Trump: Maduro a 'Bad Liar,' Floats Tougher Sanctions | false | https://newsline.com/trump-maduro-a-bad-liar-floats-tougher-sanctions/ | 2017-07-18 | 1 |
<p>The god bleeds.</p>
<p>2016 Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump has led all national polling since the day he jumped into the race. No longer. According to a New York Times/CBS News poll released Tuesday, Trump has now fallen to second against insurgent candidate Dr. Ben Carson, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/10/27/poll-watch-ben-carson-edges-ahead-nationally-in-timescbs-news-poll/" type="external">26 percent to 22 percent</a>. The margin of error for the poll was 6 percent.</p>
<p>Those two candidates far outpoll anyone else in the field. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) comes in at 8 percent, with flailing former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and Carly Fiorina at 7 percent; Senators Rand Paul (R-KY) and Ted Cruz (R-TX), as well as former Governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas and Governor John Kasich of Ohio clocking in at 4 percent.</p>
<p>As I’ve written repeatedly in recent weeks, Carson’s candidacy has gained steam for good reason: he says politically incorrect things in a gentle way, and he takes positions that are strong and unwavering on issues ranging from the value of the Second Amendment to abortion. Meanwhile, Trump is all over the place on the issues.</p>
<p>There’s also the matter of personality. Trump grates. He’s entertaining in doses, but like salt, too much at once can spoil the soup. Carson’s persona is far more bland, but he doesn’t alienate the same way Trump does – and he delivers doses of pepper that spice up the proceedings. He rarely attacks his fellow Republicans, spending more time expounding the value of religious conservatism than blasting the Iraq War, even though both he and Trump oppose its prosecution.</p>
<p>Will Carson fade?</p>
<p>As a frontrunner, he could face scrutiny that will unravel him – he’s given rotten answers on issues ranging from the <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0CB4QFjAAahUKEwjz-cbPuOPIAhVBS2MKHcl8DV0&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonexaminer.com%2Fcarson-continues-opposition-to-iraq-afghanistan-wars%2Farticle%2F2574376&amp;usg=AFQjCNGf1vElUARN7qRHkBhBv-e3xOiZNw&amp;sig2=YT6Ng5K8vT-GzpFRy5cZzw" type="external">Afghanistan war</a> to the <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/241449-ben-carson-backs-raising-minimum-wage" type="external">federal minimum wage</a>. So far, any gaffes have been shrugged off by followers as a candidate learning the ropes. He won’t have such leeway once he’s seen as a possible nominee, rather than a contender.</p>
<p>Even if Carson drops, however, Trump may not recover. His strongest recommendation thus far has been his victory streak: no one has touched him. Will he be able to recover once he’s been knocked off his horse?</p>
<p>If Trump can’t recover, Carson’s rise could presage a revolving wheel of poll leaders similar to the one we saw in 2012. If so, Marco Rubio would be the likely beneficiary, since he is a smooth politician with heavy establishment support and palatability to the conservative right. But for the moment, Carson’s in control of the wheel. It’s up to him whether he gives it up.</p> | The God Bleeds: Trump Drops Behind Carson in Polls | true | https://dailywire.com/news/721/god-bleeds-trump-drops-behind-carson-polls-ben-shapiro | 2015-10-27 | 0 |
<p>your email</p>
<p>your name</p>
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<p>message</p>
<p>captcha</p>
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<p>The Chicago Teachers Unions has gained wild popularity on Facebook. &#160; (WBEZ Chicago)</p>
<p>Every week, In These Times rounds up the labor coverage that we missed the week before. Please send stories to [email protected] .</p>
<p>In a major labor victory, Wisconsin circuit court Judge Juan Colas, who <a href="http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines/15889392.html" type="external">immigrated to the United States from Colombia at age 5</a>, has struck down key parts of Gov. Scott Walker’s anti-union law. Colas’ decision restores collective bargaining rights for city, county and school-district employees, but still maintains the anti-collective bargaining law for state and University of Wisconsin&#160;employees.</p>
<p>Colas&#160; <a href="http://www.thewheelerreport.com/releases/September12/0914/0914mtivwalker.pdf" type="external">ruled</a>&#160;that as it was applied to municipal and school-district employees, the law violated both the United States Constitution and the Wisconsin State Constitution. From the&#160; <a href="http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/judge-throws-out-walkers-union-bargaining-law-3h6s8fp-169834626.html" type="external">Wisconsin Journal Sentinel</a>:</p>
<p>Colas ruled that the law violated workers' constitutional rights by denying to union workers certain powers available to their nonunion counterparts. The decision could still be overturned on appeal--the Supreme Court has already restored the law once in June 2011 after it was blocked by a different Dane County judge earlier that year.</p>
<p>"The decision essentially creates the (2011) status quo for municipal employees and school district employees because it declared that the essential provisions of Act 10 to be unconstitutional," said Lester Pines, an attorney for the Madison teachers and city of Milwaukee employees who are plaintiffs.</p>
<p>School districts and local officials will have to return to the bargaining table with their workers in a much more significant way. The decision raises a host of questions about changes in pay, benefits and work rules that have taken place in the meantime while bargaining was essentially dead.</p>
<p>Under Walker's law, both the state and local governments were prohibited from bargaining over anything besides a cost of living salary adjustment. Other issues such as health benefits, pensions, workplace safety and other work rules were strictly off limits.</p>
<p>Those can all now be bargained.</p>
<p>Polling in Chicago has shown that city residents back the Chicago Teachers Union in its strike against Chicago Public Schools. One explanation may come from the CTU's savvy use of social media to reach out directly to community members. From&#160; <a href="http://www.wbez.org/blogs/bez/2012-09/social-media-acts-megaphone-and-sword-ctu-strike-102437" type="external">WBEZ</a>:</p>
<p>The union picked up 16,000 new Facebook fans since the strike began. As an administrator of a Facebook page, I can attest that is a very enviable traffic graph. For the CTU, this activity didn't come by accident. [CTU Social Media and Video Director&#160;Kenzo] Shibata says he's been training union members for months. "We have focused a lot of attention on social media through this strike. We knew that we could not rely completely on traditional media to tell the story, so we empowered our members to become citizen journalists on the ground," Shibata said in an email interview.</p>
<p>He praises union leadership for being forward looking in changing his position from Publications Editor to New Media Specialist. He considers himself an "online organizer." The union claims close to 30,000 members and has more than that total backing their Facebook page. Those fans have been successful at their online activism since more than 81,000 Facebook users have been talking about CTU.</p>
<p>What have those activists been doing on social media? For one, they've been making photos like this go viral. Shibata says they've also been sharing a video the union made in August called "Chicago Teachers Union Vs. Astroturf Billionaires." The union made this video specifically for members to share on social media and it has clearly influenced the agenda of many of the marches and signs. Their Facebook fans have also been sharing photos and videos of those marches (including some adaptations of "Call Me Maybe").</p>
<p>Inspired by OWS, workers at Hot &amp; Crusty Bakery In New York City have won an important victory in keeping their bakery open after Occupying for a week. From&#160; <a href="http://jacobinmag.com/2012/09/in-immigrant-struggle-occupys-presence-still-felt/" type="external">Jacobin&#160;magazine</a>:</p>
<p>Fed up with long hours, abuse and sub-minimum wages, some of the workers eventually ended up at Zucotti Park after starting a free eight-week organizing crash course at the Laundry Workers Center (another grassroots institution about to celebrate its first birthday). Some of the employees then joined the Immigrant Worker Justice Working Group, an OWS committee formed to address the lack of immigrant voices in Occupy. Through that milieu, the workers complemented their grassroots campaign by plugging in to New York’s mushrooming activist network.</p>
<p>“The community support and the Occupy support in this campaign were absolutely critical,” said Nastaran Mohit, an organizer with the Laundry Workers Center. Occupiers and other activists provided a solid “community support system,” she said. They helped spread the word about the campaign, and attended demonstrations on short notice.</p>
<p>A recent lawsuit about farmworkers employed as subcontracted workers have far reaching effects to combat a growing trend of wage theft. From&#160; <a href="http://prospect.org/article/common-dirt-0?utm_source=twitter_socialflow" type="external">the&#160;American Prospect</a>:</p>
<p>Farm-labor contractors give American produce growers what companies like China’s Foxconn offer to Apple: a way to outsource a costly and complicated part of the business, often saving money in the process and creating a firewall between the brand and the working conditions under which its products are made. “The contractor system makes it very difficult to enforce wage and hour laws because the idea is that the grower says, ‘It’s not me, it’s him. It’s the contractor. I had nothing to do with this,’” says Rob Williams, director of the Migrant Farmworker Justice Project of Florida Legal Services and a leading farm-labor advocate. The case by Villalobos and Gomez, their lawyers say, offers a textbook example of abuse within the contracting system.</p>
<p>Unlike most farm-labor cases filed each year, Villalobos is a “collective action” suit. This designation broadens the case beyond the named plaintiffs and opens the case to any worker who can prove he or she experienced the same treatment at the hands of the defendants between 2008 and 2011. “We’re expecting it will cover hundreds if not thousands of workers,” says Megan Beaman, an attorney for California Rural Legal Assistance, the nonprofit farmworker advocacy group that filed the suit in U.S. District Court. If the court finds in favor of Villalobos and Gomez on all counts, the award per client could reach tens of thousands of dollars. Multiplied across hundreds of workers, this could be enough to “deter other employers from creating those same conditions,” Beaman says. The case, in other words, isn’t just about claiming back wages for its plaintiffs but about challenging the broader culture of abuse in their workplace.</p>
<p>Although the case is limited to agricultural workers, other industries may be closely watching it. By naming the grower as a defendant, the case confronts one of the thorniest problems facing American workers: the rise of subcontracted labor and the question of who is responsible when abuse occurs. “If you think about the jobs we can’t outsource and will stay here, that’s where you see a lot of subcontracting going on,” says Catherine Ruckelshaus, legal co-director of the National Employment Law Project, a policy advocacy group. Subcontracting has sprawled into other low-wage jobs in construction, janitorial, security, health-care, housekeeping, and warehouse industries, often at name-brand companies like Amazon and Wal-Mart. “It’s kind of like Whac-A-Mole. If you go after the smaller-level contractors, they just pop up again on another site,” says Ruckelshaus. “You have to go up to the next level—or the level above—to make the patterns change.”</p>
<p>IBEW’s pension fund this week sued Wal-Mart over its alleged role in the Mexican bribery scandal.&#160; <a href="http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/walmart-shareholders-sue-company-bribery-allegations-35756/" type="external">From Indiana Public Media</a>:</p>
<p>In April, the New York Times published an investigative article that said Wal-Mart’s Mexico subsidiary had been bribing Mexican officials to obtain store construction permits.</p>
<p>That sparked the California State Teachers’ Retirement System or CalSTRS and the city of New York to file suit against Wal-Mart directors, saying they breached their fiduciary duties to the company’s shareholders by covering up the scandal.</p>
<p>Then they asked a much smaller shareholder, Indiana Electrical Workers Pension Trust Fund IBEW, to join their suit.</p>
<p>The IBEW funds’ attorney Stuart Grant says the other plaintiffs were relying heavily on information from the New York Times article for their suit, but the Indiana pension fund properly requested company information that could reveal whether the executives knew about the bribery. And that information, Grant says, could hold up better in court.</p>
<p>“They used the tool at hand to make a demand on the company for its books and records so that they could have the accurate facts in order to put together a complaint that would withstand scrutiny,” he says.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
<p>&#160;</p> | Wisconsin Anti-Union Law Struck Down; Chicago Teachers Rock Social Media; Victory at Hot & Crusty | true | http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/13857/wisconsin_anti-union_struck_down_chicago_teachers_use_social_media_victory/ | 2012-09-14 | 4 |
<p />
<p>The First Lady in her Jason Wu gown at the Youth Inaugural Ball.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>During the president's address to a joint session of Congress.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>On the cover of Vogue's March issue.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Meeting with students from L'Academie de Cuisine in the White House kitchen.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The President and First Lady attend a dinner for US governors.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>At a celebration in honor of Stevie Wonder's Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The official White House portrait taken in the Blue Room.</p>
<p /> | Michelle's Right to Bare Arms | true | https://thedailybeast.com/michelles-right-to-bare-arms | 2018-10-03 | 4 |
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<p>In fact, she’s been undertaking a home renovation during her downtime.</p>
<p>“I just moved into a house in Louisiana,” she says. “I’m talking to Sheetrockers, and it’s a lot of work. I won’t ever do this again. Next time, I will buy a ready-made house. I watch too much TV and those home renovation shows. I thought to myself, ‘I can do this.’ They say it’s not easy, and I can tell you, it has not been easy at all.”</p>
<p>Fish is a blues singer-songwriter and guitarist. She will be one of the nearly 20 musicians performing at this year’s</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>¡ Globalquerque! at the National Hispanic Cultural Center this weekend.</p>
<p>Jojo Abot</p>
<p>There will be 17 artists who will perform over the course of two days. The performances are held in the Fountain Courtyard, the Albuquerque Journal Theatre and the Plaza Mayor at the NHCC. The will also be a free Global Fiesta of daytime programming at the NHCC.</p>
<p>She grew up in Kansas City, Mo., where she started out playing drums and eventually made her way to playing guitar.</p>
<p>Fish has made music her own way all the way up to her current album, “Chills and Fever.”</p>
<p>Nacha Mendez)</p>
<p>While she’s well-known as a purveyor of blues, having been lauded by such legends as Buddy Guy, the Royal Southern Brotherhood and Luther Dickinson, her real love is simply raw, scrappy rock ‘n’ roll.</p>
<p>“I grew up on it,” she insists. “Working with Luther on my last album further instilled that spirit in me. It made me realize just how much that basic, unfettered sound means to me, and how well it ties into soul music, R&amp;B, country and so many other forms of music that are essential even today.”</p>
<p>Trio da Kali</p>
<p>It’s little wonder that when it came time to record her new album, “Chills &amp; Fever,” Fish set her sights on Detroit, the home of soul, Motown and legendary R&amp;B, as well as the much edgier rock ‘n’ roll of Iggy Pop, Jack White, and The White Stripes.</p>
<p>It was there that she joined forces with members of the Detroit Cobras, a band whose insurgent ethic has made them darlings of the Midwest punk/blues scene.</p>
<p>Bideew Bou Bess</p>
<p>The two entities – which included Joe Mazzola on guitar, Steve Nawara on bass, Kenny Tudrick on drums and Bob Mervak on keys, and the New Orleans horn section featuring Mark Levron and Travis Blotsky on trumpet and saxophone – bonded over a common love of classic soul and rollicking rhythms, so much so that the results testify to a seemingly timeless template.</p>
<p>“I listened to a lot of soul music, and I dug deep into people like Otis Redding and Ray Charles,” Fish says. “I was also influenced by people like north Mississippi’s R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough. It’s a less restrained style of music than the sound people may be used to hearing from me, it’s definitely a different facet of my personality.”</p>
<p />
<p /> | Hooked on blues: Guitarist Samantha Fish performing at ¡Globalquerque! | false | https://abqjournal.com/1066689/guitarist-samantha-fish-performing-at-globalquerque.html | 2 |
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<p>Claims of Russian influence over the Brexit referendum are being disproved time and time and again. New research by the University of Oxford has further undermined the British government’s allegations.</p>
<p>The Oxford Internet Institute has found 105 Russia-based accounts tweeted almost 16,000 times before Brexit. It cannot, however, be proven how many times and by how many users the tweets were seen.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/uk/413460-johnson-russia-brexit-trolls/" type="external" /></p>
<p>In the tangled web of Twitter – which has more than 900 million accounts – and at a time when millions of opinions were being bandied about on Brexit, it does not seem very likely these tweets had a huge impact.</p>
<p>Facebook has already revealed Russia-based agencies paid just 73p ($0.91) for ad content during the Brexit referendum period. Despite the inquiry finding minimal involvement from within Russia, instead of accepting the findings, MPs accused Facebook of blundering the probe.</p>
<p>The Oxford Internet Institute has become just the latest research unit to say it found there was minimal interference. Researchers found the tweets were sent out over two weeks in 2016.</p>
<p>It could not be proven how many people saw them, as researchers concluded the number of accounts which were set up was “not significant” and could not have realistically impacted the vote.</p>
<p>The researchers found 0.6 percent of the links shared via tweets with Brexit hashtags were from known Russian sources. The tweets, Twitter said, were accessed around 200 times.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/uk/413249-big-reveal-twitter-lists-just/" type="external" /></p>
<p>Vidya Narayanan, a researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute computational propaganda project, said there was no “significant Russian activity.”</p>
<p>“We’ve tried to collect accounts from very different sources,” she said. “It is important that we have found there seems to not be much Russian activism with Brexit.”</p>
<p>Twitter is now being urged to hold an inquiry and publish the results as the row over whether Moscow meddled in Brexit drags on without concrete evidence.</p>
<p>Samantha Bradshaw from the Oxford Internet Institute told the UK’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee that social media companies, which have denied evidence of Russian interference, are the only ones with the hard facts.</p>
<p>“We can’t look at the actual account and trace back their IP address and figure out where they are located in the world we don’t have the capacity for those kind of forensics,” she said.</p>
<p>“Social media companies would have that information.”</p>
<p>Professor Kalina Bontcheva, professor of text analysis at the University of Sheffield, raised concerns about Russian bots at the committee. The professor also admitted to carrying out research for BuzzFeed, a renowned Russophobe publication.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/uk/412991-facebook-russia-brexit-vote/" type="external" /></p>
<p>Professor Bontcheva said their investigation with Buzzfeed actually led to evidence tweets probably did not impact Brexit voters.</p>
<p>She said: “We did not find an awful lot of activity from those accounts.</p>
<p>“There were 3,200 tweets coming from these accounts, about 26 percent of those were coming from 45 new accounts we identified, however one important aspect that has to be mentioned here is that those 45 new accounts were tweeting in German.</p>
<p>“Actually the likely impact of those 800 tweets on the British voter I would say not very likely to have been significant.”</p>
<p>Damian Collins, chair of the Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport Select Committee, said Twitter’s response was “inadequate” because it found only RT’s London bureau had tweeted about Brexit.</p>
<p>Of those six tweets, half were actually sent after the ballots were cast, and all of them were promos for news coverage, as RT has a UK bureau and Brexit was the biggest story of the day.</p>
<p>It appears, however, that the committee chairman will just not have it. Collins went as far as claiming other people knew more about Twitter than Twitter.</p>
<p>“It seems odd that so far we have received more information about activities that have taken place on your platform from journalists and academics than from you,” he said in a letter to chief executive Jack Dorsey.</p>
<p>Google said it had found no evidence of Russia-funded activity before the Brexit vote.Narayanan argued blogs and unofficial news organizations were far more damaging to the Brexit vote – around seven times greater than the news shared from Russian sources.</p>
<p>In what has been labeled “junk news,” sites were set up which spread false and misleading articles.</p>
<p>[embedded content]</p> | Oxford researchers latest to insist there’s no evidence Russia influenced Brexit | false | https://newsline.com/oxford-researchers-latest-to-insist-theres-no-evidence-russia-influenced-brexit/ | 2017-12-19 | 1 |
<p />
<p>Credit card balances fell by nearly $6 billion in October, as consumers and banks worked to keep revolving debt levels down.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>On Tuesday, the Federal Reserve's G.19 consumer credit report showed that card balances tumbled 8.4% in October. That marked the 26th straight month that revolving debt levels -- made up nearly entirely of credit card balances -- have fallen.</p>
<p>"Peoplehave been much more budget conscious," says Donna Rockin, director of the Duman Microenterprise Center at Jewish Vocational Services of Chicago. Cardholders have been using plastic less, paying down balances, transferring debt to lower interest rate cards and trying to use cash, she says.</p>
<p>Revolving debt levels dropped to $800.5 billion in October from $806.1 billion in September, plunging $173.1 billion from their August 2008 peak of $973.6 billion. That means the ordinary credit cardholder has substantially lower balances. Among families, the average U.S. household with credit card debt -- of which government data says there are about 54 million -- has eliminated roughly $3,205 in credit card debt.</p>
<p>Debt levels as a whole rose, however. Overall consumer debt went up 1.7% to $2.399 trillion in October. The overall debt number includes both revolving credit and nonrevolving debt, which includes auto loans, student loans and loans for mobile homes, boats and trailers.</p>
<p>The economic slump has taken a toll on credit card balances. Some cardholders decided to shelve their plastic or increase efforts to pay off debt. Meanwhile, as struggling cardholders failed to pay their bills amid the downturn, banks increasingly <a href="http://www.creditcards.com/glossary/term-chargeoff.php?aid=52aae854" type="external">charged off Opens a New Window.</a> those accounts, removing those unpaid debts from lenders' books.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Some analysts believe the worst of those charge-offs have past. Moody's Investors Service says that falling card <a href="http://www.creditcards.com/glossary/term-delinquent-account.php?aid=52aae854" type="external">delinquencies Opens a New Window.</a> will result in lower charge-off rates during 2011. "What remains in the wake of the credit crisis are accounts with comparatively stronger credit profiles," Moody's Vice President and Senior Analyst Luisa De Gaetan said in a company report.</p>
<p>Holiday shopping rebounds, but credit remains crunched&#160;&#160;With the holidays approaching, cardholders who survived the crisis appear to be using their plastic once more. Marketing research firm <a href="http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2010/12/Cyber_Monday_Hangover_U.S._Online_Spending_Growth_Softens_After_Strong_Early_Week_Performance" type="external">comScore Opens a New Window.</a> reported that e-commerce on Cyber Monday -- which kicks off the work week following Thanksgiving -- showed a flurry of shopping activity, with a record $1.028 billion in online spending.</p>
<p>Still, not all credit cardholders will find charging comes easy. FICO's quarterly survey of bank risk professionals revealed a gap between credit demand and supply, which could make putting charges on plastic difficult well into next year.</p>
<p>FICO's survey, conducted by the Professional Risk Managers' International Association (PRMIA), found that 42% of respondents expect an increase in the amount of credit requested by consumers over the next six months, while only 31% of respondents predict the amount of new credit offered by lenders will increase. Additionally, 39% of respondents foresee tighter approval criteria for consumer credit. Just 13%, meanwhile, expect approval criteria to loosen.</p>
<p>"We continue to see a significant gap between expectations for credit demand and credit supply," Dr. Andrew Jennings, chief research officer at FICO and head of FICO Labs, said in a <a href="http://www.collectionsrecon.com/press-releases/fico-survey-finds-persistent-credit-gap-facing-consumers-and-small-business-owners/" type="external">company press release Opens a New Window.</a>. "Until lenders put the problems in their mortgage portfolios behind them and see sustained growth in private-sector employment, the credit gap is unlikely to close. In the near term, this could have a negative impact on spending during the holiday shopping season, which would be a big blow to an already-fragile economy."</p>
<p>But some experts are more concerned that cardholders keep debt levels low. "I hope it continues, because I don't want people to wake up Jan.1 with a ton of debt," says JVS' Rockin. "My personal holiday wish is that they spend wisely."</p>
<p>More from CreditCards.com:</p> | Consumer Credit Card Balances Continue to Decline in October | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2010/12/07/consumer-credit-card-balances-continue-decline-october.html | 2016-03-17 | 0 |
<p>A group of Seattle men, claiming to be Antifa, say they hunted down a man wearing a Nazi armband using social media, and then attacked him on the street, leaving him unconscious.</p>
<p>According to the <a href="http://www.bizpacreview.com/2017/09/19/antifa-vigilantes-hunt-punch-man-nazi-armband-seattle-alarming-cheers-social-media-537934" type="external">group's social media posts</a>, a "submitter" sent them a photo of the apparent Nazi, sitting on a Seattle bus. A Twitter user affiliated with the Antifa group claimed the man, who was dressed in a black leather jacket and jeans, was harassing a black man during his commute. The picture shows the man listening to music on giant headphones.</p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AntiFascistAlert?src=hash" type="external">#AntiFascistAlert</a> Nazi shit head seen on D line headed to downtown <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Seattle?src=hash" type="external">#Seattle</a> Submitter said they were harassing a black man on the bus <a href="https://t.co/ianQUnyCsC" type="external">pic.twitter.com/ianQUnyCsC</a></p>
<p>Another Twitter user, by the name @teethinclaws, then sent out a tweet asking Seattle Antifa members to track down the Nazi and for any information from other Twitter users on the man or his whereabouts.</p>
<p>Not long after, the Antifa group posted video of themselves confronting and sucker-punching the man, knocking him out, and leaving him on the street. They cross-posted the video to YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit to lavish praise.</p>
<p>Fair warning: the video does contain a lot of profanity and some violence (as well as what appears to be a Nazi), so you may not want to watch it at work.</p>
<p />
<p>The original Tweeter, @teethinclaws, spoke to Buzzfeed. “I would say that we successfully identified, tracked, and coordinated to neutralize a clear and present danger to Seattle,” @teethinclaws said. “I, for one, applaud the anonymous hero.”</p>
<p>When asked if the group of assailants had identified the apparent Nazi, @teethinclaws said the next mission for Antifa is to dox the man and publicize his identity.</p>
<p>It is, of course, hard to feel sorry for the guy wearing the Nazi armband. It's pretty clear he ascribes to a reprehensible set of values and ideals, and if he's really displaying the swastika out in public, he's definitely proud of his disgusting beliefs.</p>
<p>But that doesn't mean he deserved to be tracked down and punched in the face while unarmed; he has a First Amendment right to sport that swastika armband, even if Antifa believes the symbol is "hate speech" and constitutes a "threat" — an interpretation of the Bill of Rights that decades of Supreme Court precedent simply doesn't support.</p>
<p>As for doxing him, well, it doesn't seem like the guy is hiding that he's a fan of Hitler. But Antifa doesn't discern between people sporting actual swastika armbands and literally anyone who disagrees with their progressive political platform — a point they've driven home time and again.</p>
<p>Commentator Megan McCardle called Antifa's values into question over the attack.</p>
<p>Social media, not typically made up of First Amendment scholars, despite the nature of the medium, went wild for the video, making the "Nazi punchers" viral, though a handful of people on Facebook and Twitter questioned Antifa's actions — and even the validity of the video.</p> | Antifa Hunts Down And Punches Seattle Man Sporting A Nazi Armband | true | https://dailywire.com/news/21282/antifa-hunts-down-and-punches-seattle-man-sporting-emily-zanotti | 2017-09-19 | 0 |
<p>A row about how much top British politicians and officials knew about interest rate rigging will intensify on Monday as the man tipped to be the next Bank of England governor reveals what he told Barclays when it fiddled its figures.</p>
<p>Paul Tucker, deputy governor of the Bank of England, will appear before lawmakers examining Barclays and other banks suspected of manipulating Libor, the interbank lending rate that underpins trillions of dollars of contracts around the globe. He appears at 1530 GMT.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Earlier this month, Barclays was fined a record $450 million by U.S. and UK regulators for conspiring to rig Libor rates between 2005 and 2009, plunging the bank into crisis and triggering a brawl between politicians over who was to blame.</p>
<p>Brussels also stepped up its involvement in the probe and said it intends to propose new rules that would criminalise the manipulation of indexes such as Libor.</p>
<p>"We need to draw lessons from the Libor case," said a spokesman for Michel Barnier, the EU Commissioner in charge of financial regulation. "We intend to close the regulatory gap in our proposed market abuse legislation by including the direct manipulation of market indexes such as Libor."</p>
<p>The BoE's Tucker asked to appear before the lawmakers' panel to clarify his position after questions over his role in the scandal. Barclays is among more than a dozen global banks under investigation by authorities in North America, Europe and Japan, but the only one so far to admit wrongdoing.</p>
<p>Barclays says some of its traders tried to manipulate Libor to improve their trading positions, and also says it wrongly lowered its estimates of the interest it paid other banks at the height of the financial crisis in 2008, to make its health appear better in comparison.</p>
<p>An internal email released by Barclays last week drew Tucker into the scandal, showing that in October 2008 Tucker told Bob Diamond, then Barclays investment bank boss and later its CEO, that top officials questioned why Barclays rates were so high.</p>
<p>"Mr Tucker stated the levels of calls he was receiving from Whitehall were 'senior' and that while he was certain we did not need advice, that it did not always need to be the case that we appeared as high as we have recently," Diamond wrote in 2008.</p>
<p>Barclays has said Diamond's deputy, Jerry del Missier, understood Tucker's comments as a green light to fiddle rates.</p>
<p>Diamond deflected blame from Tucker last week, telling the Treasury Select Committee he did not take Tucker's warning as an instruction to lower Libor estimates, and that del Missier had misunderstood it.</p>
<p>Diamond and del Missier quit Barclays on Tuesday. Several sources have said the BoE and financial regulator had made clear they wanted Diamond to go.</p>
<p>The Bank of England declined to comment on Diamond's note. Before it was released, a bank spokesman said: "It is nonsense to suggest that the Bank of England was aware of any impropriety in the setting of Libor." Tucker has not commented himself.</p>
<p>MORE TESTIMONY</p>
<p>Britain's Finance Minister George Osborne has said people close to then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown were implicated.</p>
<p>Osborne's Conservatives-led coalition replaced Brown's Labour government in 2010. Labour has angrily denied Osborne's accusation of complicity, leading to heated exchanges on the floor of the House of Commons.</p>
<p>Tucker's appearance before the Treasury Select Committee will be followed the next day by Marcus Agius, who quit as Barclays chairman on Monday to take the heat off Diamond, but then became executive chairman when Diamond left. Agius will stay until a replacement is found.</p>
<p>Adair Turner, chairman of the Financial Services Authority, could also be called to appear later in the week.</p>
<p>The scandal - complete with emails showing bankers boasting of fiddling figures and congratulating each other with offers of champagne - has sparked fierce criticism about the financial industry in general and Barclays in particular.</p>
<p>Politicians say Diamond fostered an aggressive culture of excessive risk-taking, and have raised the threat of more political and regulatory intrusion in its operations. New pressure could force the bank to shrink or hive off its investment banking arm.</p>
<p>Diamond says Barclays was unfairly targeted for agreeing to accept blame for a practice that was widespread in the industry.</p>
<p>Barclays is the only bank to settle in what has been a long-running Libor investigation involving more than a dozen banks, including UBS, Deutsche Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland.</p>
<p>Britain's fraud squad took up the case on Friday, raising the prospect of criminal prosecutions, and sources told Reuters that Germany's markets regulator had launched a probe into Deutsche Bank.</p>
<p>Two Deutsche Bank employees were suspended and left the bank in late 2011 after an examination of whether staff were involved in manipulating interbank lending rates, two sources at Deutsche Bank said, declining to reveal their identity.</p>
<p>Deutsche Bank declined to comment, referring to its last quarterly report, which said it has received subpoenas and requests for information from U.S. and European authorities in connection with setting interbank rates between 2005 and 2011.</p>
<p>UBS declined to comment beyond its last quarterly filing, which said it was being investigated over whether there were improper attempts to manipulate Libor, and it had been granted conditional leniency or immunity for co-operating.</p>
<p>RBS has said "certain members" of the bank are alleged to have individually or collectively manipulated Libor. It declined further comment.</p>
<p>Libor, or the London interbank offered rate, is compiled from estimates by large international banks of how much they believe they have to pay to borrow from each other. It is used for $550 trillion of interest rate derivatives contracts and influences rates on mortgages, student loans and credit cards.</p>
<p>The rates submitted by banks are compiled by Thomson Reuters , parent company of Reuters, on behalf of the British Bankers' Association.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | BoE's Tucker to Testify on Libor Scandal | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2012/07/09/boe-tucker-to-testify-on-libor-scandal.html | 2016-01-26 | 0 |
<p>Christina Hoff Sommers <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2012/12/you-can-give-a-boy-a-doll-but-you-cant-make-him-play-with-it/265977/" type="external">catalogues</a> efforts in Sweden to destroy the notion of gender:</p>
<p>Egalia, a new state-sponsored pre-school in Stockholm, is dedicated to the total obliteration of the male and female distinction. There are no boys and girls at Egalia—just "friends" and "buddies." Classic fairy tales like Cinderella and Snow White have been replaced by tales of two male giraffes who parent abandoned crocodile eggs. The Swedish Green Party would like Egalia to be the norm: It has suggested placing gender watchdogs in all of the nation's preschools. "Egalia gives [children] a fantastic opportunity to be whoever they want to be," says one excited teacher. (It is probably necessary to add that this is not an Orwellian satire or a right-wing fantasy: This school actually exists.) ...</p>
<p>The Swedes are treating gender-conforming children the way we once treated gender-variant children. Formerly called "tomboy girls" and "sissy boys" in the medical literature, these kids are persistently attracted to the toys of the opposite sex. They will often remain fixated on the "wrong" toys despite relentless, often cruel pressure from parents, doctors, and peers. Their total immersion in sex-stereotyped culture—a non-stop Toys"R"Us indoctrination—seems to have little effect on their passion for the toys of the opposite sex. There was a time when a boy who displayed a persistent aversion to trucks and rough play and a fixation on frilly dolls or princess paraphernalia would have been considered a candidate for behavior modification therapy. Today, most experts encourage tolerance, understanding, and acceptance: just leave him alone and let him play as he wants. The Swedes should extend the same tolerant understanding to the gender identity and preferences of the vast majority of children.</p> | Can You Make Boys Play with Dolls? | true | https://thedailybeast.com/can-you-make-boys-play-with-dolls | 2018-10-04 | 4 |
<p>AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ These Texas lotteries were drawn Thursday:</p>
<p>All or Nothing Day</p>
<p>01-02-03-09-11-12-15-16-20-21-22-24</p>
<p>(one, two, three, nine, eleven, twelve, fifteen, sixteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-four)</p>
<p>All or Nothing Evening</p>
<p>02-03-05-09-13-14-15-16-17-18-21-23</p>
<p>(two, three, five, nine, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, twenty-one, twenty-three)</p>
<p>All or Nothing Morning</p>
<p>01-02-03-04-06-07-11-13-14-19-20-24</p>
<p>(one, two, three, four, six, seven, eleven, thirteen, fourteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-four)</p>
<p>All or Nothing Night</p>
<p>02-05-07-09-10-11-12-14-15-19-20-23</p>
<p>(two, five, seven, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, fourteen, fifteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-three)</p>
<p>Cash 5</p>
<p>04-05-11-22-31</p>
<p>(four, five, eleven, twenty-two, thirty-one)</p>
<p>Daily 4 Day</p>
<p>4-1-9-2, Sum It Up: 16</p>
<p>(four, one, nine, two; Sum It Up: sixteen)</p>
<p>Daily 4 Evening</p>
<p>3-4-0-8, Sum It Up: 15</p>
<p>(three, four, zero, eight; Sum It Up: fifteen)</p>
<p>Daily 4 Morning</p>
<p>8-9-3-9, Sum It Up: 29</p>
<p>(eight, nine, three, nine; Sum It Up: twenty-nine)</p>
<p>Daily 4 Night</p>
<p>4-5-9-6, Sum It Up: 24</p>
<p>(four, five, nine, six; Sum It Up: twenty-four)</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $418 million</p>
<p>Pick 3 Day</p>
<p>0-2-8, Sum It Up: 10</p>
<p>(zero, two, eight; Sum It Up: ten)</p>
<p>Pick 3 Evening</p>
<p>4-5-2, Sum It Up: 11</p>
<p>(four, five, two; Sum It Up: eleven)</p>
<p>Pick 3 Morning</p>
<p>2-2-0, Sum It Up: 4</p>
<p>(two, two, zero; Sum It Up: four)</p>
<p>Pick 3 Night</p>
<p>1-9-7, Sum It Up: 17</p>
<p>(one, nine, seven; Sum It Up: seventeen)</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $550 million</p>
<p>Triple Chance</p>
<p>11-12-13-20-29-30-32-38-47-53</p>
<p>(eleven, twelve, thirteen, twenty, twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-two, thirty-eight, forty-seven, fifty-three)</p>
<p>Two Step</p>
<p>17-18-27-35, Bonus: 28</p>
<p>(seventeen, eighteen, twenty-seven, thirty-five; Bonus: twenty-eight)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $225,000</p>
<p>AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ These Texas lotteries were drawn Thursday:</p>
<p>All or Nothing Day</p>
<p>01-02-03-09-11-12-15-16-20-21-22-24</p>
<p>(one, two, three, nine, eleven, twelve, fifteen, sixteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-four)</p>
<p>All or Nothing Evening</p>
<p>02-03-05-09-13-14-15-16-17-18-21-23</p>
<p>(two, three, five, nine, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, twenty-one, twenty-three)</p>
<p>All or Nothing Morning</p>
<p>01-02-03-04-06-07-11-13-14-19-20-24</p>
<p>(one, two, three, four, six, seven, eleven, thirteen, fourteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-four)</p>
<p>All or Nothing Night</p>
<p>02-05-07-09-10-11-12-14-15-19-20-23</p>
<p>(two, five, seven, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, fourteen, fifteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-three)</p>
<p>Cash 5</p>
<p>04-05-11-22-31</p>
<p>(four, five, eleven, twenty-two, thirty-one)</p>
<p>Daily 4 Day</p>
<p>4-1-9-2, Sum It Up: 16</p>
<p>(four, one, nine, two; Sum It Up: sixteen)</p>
<p>Daily 4 Evening</p>
<p>3-4-0-8, Sum It Up: 15</p>
<p>(three, four, zero, eight; Sum It Up: fifteen)</p>
<p>Daily 4 Morning</p>
<p>8-9-3-9, Sum It Up: 29</p>
<p>(eight, nine, three, nine; Sum It Up: twenty-nine)</p>
<p>Daily 4 Night</p>
<p>4-5-9-6, Sum It Up: 24</p>
<p>(four, five, nine, six; Sum It Up: twenty-four)</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $418 million</p>
<p>Pick 3 Day</p>
<p>0-2-8, Sum It Up: 10</p>
<p>(zero, two, eight; Sum It Up: ten)</p>
<p>Pick 3 Evening</p>
<p>4-5-2, Sum It Up: 11</p>
<p>(four, five, two; Sum It Up: eleven)</p>
<p>Pick 3 Morning</p>
<p>2-2-0, Sum It Up: 4</p>
<p>(two, two, zero; Sum It Up: four)</p>
<p>Pick 3 Night</p>
<p>1-9-7, Sum It Up: 17</p>
<p>(one, nine, seven; Sum It Up: seventeen)</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $550 million</p>
<p>Triple Chance</p>
<p>11-12-13-20-29-30-32-38-47-53</p>
<p>(eleven, twelve, thirteen, twenty, twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-two, thirty-eight, forty-seven, fifty-three)</p>
<p>Two Step</p>
<p>17-18-27-35, Bonus: 28</p>
<p>(seventeen, eighteen, twenty-seven, thirty-five; Bonus: twenty-eight)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $225,000</p> | TX Lottery | false | https://apnews.com/amp/3f90e79aa32e4644b04b6ee7abd9635a | 2018-01-05 | 2 |
<p>LONDON (AP) — London plans to beef up its police presence and closed down some roads for New Year's Eve after a year marked by repeated extremist attacks.</p>
<p>The Metropolitan Police said Thursday there's no specific threat to the city's massive celebration, which is focused on a fireworks display over the River Thames, but says the public should be vigilant.</p>
<p>Superintendent Nick Aldworth says both overt and covert protection methods will be used and revelers should expect to see armed police and vehicle barriers. Aldworth says police are asking the public to be patient on New Year's Eve because there will be many checkpoints in place.</p>
<p>Police say tickets for London's fireworks display have all been sold out and that those without a ticket should consider watching the event on television.</p>
<p>LONDON (AP) — London plans to beef up its police presence and closed down some roads for New Year's Eve after a year marked by repeated extremist attacks.</p>
<p>The Metropolitan Police said Thursday there's no specific threat to the city's massive celebration, which is focused on a fireworks display over the River Thames, but says the public should be vigilant.</p>
<p>Superintendent Nick Aldworth says both overt and covert protection methods will be used and revelers should expect to see armed police and vehicle barriers. Aldworth says police are asking the public to be patient on New Year's Eve because there will be many checkpoints in place.</p>
<p>Police say tickets for London's fireworks display have all been sold out and that those without a ticket should consider watching the event on television.</p> | London to beef up its police presence on New Year's Eve | false | https://apnews.com/amp/e4186c3e946b455b8550c87f9e1680f7 | 2017-12-28 | 2 |
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<p>The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s southeast division said in September that it had procured “the best available science” to assess the state of red wolves it managed in captivity and in eastern North Carolina, and the science showed that their genetic purity would be lost unless most of the wild wolves were captured and paired with those in zoos. It was a major blow to a 30-year effort to reintroduce an animal that once roamed the entire southeastern United States before human expansion and hunting nearly wiped them out.</p>
<p>But in a rebuke that conservationists called embarrassing to Fish and Wildlife, and that questions its will to move forward with a reintroduction that North Carolina land owners oppose, the four scientists who conducted the research on which the agency relied fired off a letter Tuesday saying the justification for the new plan was full of “alarming misinterpretations.”</p>
<p>The genetic purity of red wolves in captivity is not at risk, said Lisa Faust, the author of the research and vice president of conservation and science at Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo. Furthermore, contrary to Fish and Wildlife’s assessment, there is no danger of red wolves going extinct under the current management plan.</p>
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<p>Faust and environmentalists said the federal government’s argument that wolves in captivity are in danger of extinction was a slap in the face of the agency’s partners who maintain breeding populations at zoos nationwide. At least two of the researchers who conducted the red wolf population viability analysis, or PVA, are intimately involved in the captive breeding program.</p>
<p>“It was frustrating to me that they used the science this way,” Faust said. “We knew we needed to respond right away. I think that certainly the people in (captive breeding) were proud of that program, which is extremely well managed. We hold it up as a flagship restoration program.”</p>
<p>Fish and Wildlife partnered with scientists and conservation groups from the outset of its vow to fulfill a wish by Congress 30 years ago to restore red wolves to at least a portion of their historic habitat in the southeast. A few wild wolves were bred with captive wolves at zoos and a small population was set free at the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge.</p>
<p>The program was considered a success until the population started to decline around 2010. Conflicts with land owners who considered wolves a threat arose. Although the wolves were protected, the state allowed hunters to shoot coyotes, leading to wolves being shot dead by hunters who claimed they made a mistake. Funding for the program was cut, and some of its managers, feeling under siege, quit or accepted reassignments.</p>
<p>Two weeks after Fish and Wildlife announced its new management plan, a federal-district court in North Carolina sided with a coalition of environmental groups that fought the agency’s decision to permit land owners to kill wolves they considered a nuisance. The court ruled that for that to happen the landowners and agency must prove the wolf is a direct threat to humans and livestock.</p>
<p>For many conservationists, the funding cuts, staff reductions, kill permits, and the use of science it paid for and was misinterpreted are proof that Fish and Wildlife is backing away from restoring red wolves.</p>
<p>Jeff Fleming, a spokesman for Fish and Wildlife’s southeast region, characterized the discrepancy as different interpretations of the science Faust and her team submitted. “We appreciate the feedback,” he said. Fish and Wildlife believe that the genetic purity of the wolves needs to be higher than the marker determined by the research.</p>
<p>“We’re going to move forward,” Fleming said, and “this will be taken into account as we move forward” with a process that could take more than a year to complete and implement. “I don’t know if it’s a disagreement.”</p>
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<p>That’s exactly what it is, said Ben Prater, southeast program director for Defenders of Wildlife, a nonprofit group that until March was one of Fish and Wildlife’s partners in the red wolf recovery program. When Cindy Dohner, Fish and Wildlife’s southeast regional director, announced the proposal for a new red wolf management plan and cited the science he had read, Prater was taken aback.</p>
<p>“The science – many of us looked at it – was fairly clear. We were astonished that they saw that the captive population was in dire straits,” Prater said. “I think to have claimed that the captive population was somehow in trouble flies in the face of the work done by the species survival program over the last 30 years. This was an award-winning program. Their mandates are based on science, and it’s very disappointing to see this misinterpretation.”</p>
<p>Ron Sutherland of the Wildlands Network, another nonprofit conservation group that observes red wolves, wondered if Fish and Wildlife’s decision was based more on politics than science.</p>
<p>“I think the most likely scenario is they wanted to go on the retreat for political reasons and budget reasons, and they needed some gauze of credibility, so they said the captive population was at risk of extinction,” Sutherland said. “But the report said exactly the opposite.”</p>
<p>Fleming flatly disagreed. “If everything they’re saying was true, we wouldn’t be doing any of what we’re doing,” he said. “We discovered years ago that we were doing things that were inconsistent with the rule” that governs the protection of endangered species.</p>
<p>Namely, Fleming said, some of the promises made to land owners that wolves would be more carefully managed were broken, and they had reason to complain. “We need land owners, conservationists and everyone to know we’re going to do what we say we’re going to do.” He expressed frustration with conservationists. “This kind of stuff is not constructive.”</p>
<p>But, said Prater and Sutherland, Fleming’s perspective that the conclusions of the research team were left to interpretation, is not credible. “If anybody knows their science, it’s the team that researched it,” Sutherland said, “and if they’re saying Fish and Wildlife got it 100 percent backward, that’s just what they’re saying.”</p>
<p>wolves</p> | Scientists say the government’s new plan to manage red wolves is ‘backward’ | false | https://abqjournal.com/870724/scientists-say-the-governments-new-plan-to-manage-red-wolves-is-backward.html | 2016-10-19 | 2 |
<p>CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. (AP) — Hundreds of people gathered in western Wisconsin to remember a local woman who died in a charter plane crash in Costa Rica on New Year’s Eve.</p>
<p>Amanda Geissler, 33, was one of 10 Americans killed in the Dec. 31 crash. Two Costa Rican pilots also died. She was working as a guide for the California-based adventure travel company Backroads.</p>
<p>A funeral was held for Geissler on Sunday followed by a memorial get-together at a local lodge in Chippewa Falls, where she had most recently lived, <a href="http://www.weau.com/content/news/Family--friends-celebrate-the-life-of-Amanda-Geissler-469292833.html" type="external">WEAU-TV reported</a> . Geissler also was born there and graduated from high school in Thorp. She played basketball for the University of Wisconsin-Stout and later lived in St. Paul and Eden Prairie, Minnesota.</p>
<p>Family and friends on Sunday remembered the outgoing nature of Geissler, who loved adventure and traveled the world. She once ran a marathon on the Great Wall of China.</p>
<p>Donations for the <a href="http://www.horanfuneralhome.com/obituary/amanda-geissler" type="external">Amanda Geissler Memorial Fund</a> are being accepted through Horan Funeral Home in Chippewa Falls. The family hopes to start a foundation in her honor.</p>
<p>Authorities are investigating whether strong winds or some sort of mechanical failure was responsible for the plane crash. The Nature Air charter took off from a private air strip and there was no communication between the pilot and a control tower.</p>
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<p>Information from: WEAU-TV, <a href="http://www.weau.com" type="external" /> <a href="http://www.weau.com" type="external">http://www.weau.com</a></p>
<p>CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. (AP) — Hundreds of people gathered in western Wisconsin to remember a local woman who died in a charter plane crash in Costa Rica on New Year’s Eve.</p>
<p>Amanda Geissler, 33, was one of 10 Americans killed in the Dec. 31 crash. Two Costa Rican pilots also died. She was working as a guide for the California-based adventure travel company Backroads.</p>
<p>A funeral was held for Geissler on Sunday followed by a memorial get-together at a local lodge in Chippewa Falls, where she had most recently lived, <a href="http://www.weau.com/content/news/Family--friends-celebrate-the-life-of-Amanda-Geissler-469292833.html" type="external">WEAU-TV reported</a> . Geissler also was born there and graduated from high school in Thorp. She played basketball for the University of Wisconsin-Stout and later lived in St. Paul and Eden Prairie, Minnesota.</p>
<p>Family and friends on Sunday remembered the outgoing nature of Geissler, who loved adventure and traveled the world. She once ran a marathon on the Great Wall of China.</p>
<p>Donations for the <a href="http://www.horanfuneralhome.com/obituary/amanda-geissler" type="external">Amanda Geissler Memorial Fund</a> are being accepted through Horan Funeral Home in Chippewa Falls. The family hopes to start a foundation in her honor.</p>
<p>Authorities are investigating whether strong winds or some sort of mechanical failure was responsible for the plane crash. The Nature Air charter took off from a private air strip and there was no communication between the pilot and a control tower.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: WEAU-TV, <a href="http://www.weau.com" type="external" /> <a href="http://www.weau.com" type="external">http://www.weau.com</a></p> | Wisconsin service held for Costa Rica plane crash victim | false | https://apnews.com/ae7f5d31abca47388cd71f1f5b42b4cf | 2018-01-15 | 2 |
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<p>The just released scorecard from AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, ranks New Mexico overall 28th in the nation, based on 25 indicators in five key categories: Affordability and access; choice of setting and provider; quality of life and care; support for family caregivers; and, effective transitions between nursing homes, hospitals and homes.</p>
<p>We experienced a 3 percent improvement to 51.4 percent in the number of adults age 21 plus who have disabilities and are receiving Medicaid, said AARP state director Gene Varela. New Mexico is ranked 23 in this measurement.</p>
<p>“What that means is more people have become eligible for services under the Medicaid expansion” that was part of the Affordable Care Act, and in applying for that “they realized that they were eligible for long term care services.”</p>
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<p>Under the “choice of setting and provider” category, 64.1 percent of Medicaid funds go toward long term services and support services, giving New Mexico a ranking of third.</p>
<p>“New Mexico has been willing to put Medicaid and other state funds into allowing people to remain in their homes and receive long term services there, as opposed to going into facilities,” Varela said.</p>
<p>New Mexico is ranked second in the nation in the number of home health and personal care aides per 100 adults 18-plus with disabilities. We now have 33 per 100, up from 28 per 100 in the last AARP study done in 2014, Varela said.</p>
<p>Under the “support for family care givers” category, New Mexico is ranked 30th overall, and 32nd in “supporting working caregivers.”</p>
<p>“The vast majority of older New Mexicans want to live independently at home as they age, but because the cost of long term-care remains unaffordable for most middle income families, this can only be done with the help of unpaid family caregivers,” Varela said.</p>
<p>More than 419,000 residents help their aging parents, spouses and other loved ones to stay at home by providing assistance with bathing and dressing, transportation, finances, wound care, injections, and more. The value of this unpaid care is estimated at $3.1 billion.</p>
<p>“We need to figure out how to support them, and not necessarily with monetary compensation, but with things like flexible working hours and being able to use sick leave or vacation hours for caregiving duties,” Varela said.</p>
<p>New Mexico has a dismal ranking of 49th in the indicator for “affordability and access to long-term services and supports,” based on the cost of nursing home care and long term care insurance, he said.</p>
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<p /> | NM ranked 28th for long-term care | false | https://abqjournal.com/1021577/aarp-new-mexico-ranks-28th-in-nation-in-long-term-care.html | 2017-06-21 | 2 |
<p>By Aviva Chomsky, TomDispatchThis piece first appeared at TomDispatch. Read Tom Engelhardt’s introduction <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175885/tomgram%3A_aviva_chomsky%2C_what%27s_at_stake_in_the_border_debate/#more" type="external">here</a>.</p>
<p>Call it irony or call it a nightmare, but the “crisis” of Central American children crossing the U.S.-Mexican border, which lasted for months amid fervent and angry debate, is now fading from the news.&#160; The media stories have been legion, the words expended many.&#160; And yet, as the “crisis” leaves town, as the sound and fury die down and attention shifts elsewhere (even though the children <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/08/07/number-of-unaccompanied-children-crossing-texas-border-dropped-sharply-in-july-obama-administration-says/" type="external">continue to arrive</a>), the real factors that would have made sense of what’s been happening remain essentially untouched and largely unmentioned.&#160; It couldn’t be stranger — or sadder.</p>
<p>Since late June 2014, the “surge” of those thousands of desperate children entering this country has been in the news.&#160; Sensational stories were followed by fervent demonstrations and counter-demonstrations with emotions running high.&#160; And it’s not a debate that stayed near the southern border either.&#160; In my home state, Massachusetts, Governor Deval Patrick tearfully offered to detain some of the children — and that was somehow turned into a humanitarian gesture that liberals applauded and anti-immigrant activists decried.&#160; Meanwhile the mayor of Lynn, a city north of Boston, echoed nativists on the border, announcing that her town didn’t want any more immigrants.&#160; The months of this sort of emotion, partisanship, and one-upmanship have, however, diverted attention from the real issues.&#160; As so often is the case, there is so much more to the story than what we’ve been hearing in the news.</p>
<p>As labor journalist David Bacon has <a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/06/26/tea-party-and-border-patrol-spin-the-story-of-children-in-detention/" type="external">shown</a>, the children-at-the-border story was first brought to the attention of the media by anti-immigrant organizations, beginning with the radical right-wing Breitbart News Network in Texas.&#160; Their narrative focused on President Obama’s supposed failure to control the border, his timid gestures aimed at granting temporary legal status to some undocumented youth through the <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/08/15/5-facts-about-the-deferred-action-for-childhood-arrivals-program/" type="external">Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program</a>, the attempts of Congressional liberals to promote what they called “comprehensive immigration reform,” and of course those children “invading” the U.S.</p>
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<p>In fact, there was nothing new about the so-called surge.&#160; Rather, the Breitbart Network turned a long-term issue into a “crisis” for political reasons, and the media, politicians, and organizations on both sides of the political spectrum took the bait.</p>
<p>Breitbart’s Texas bureau chief Brandon Darby “ignited a national firestorm,” the network <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-Texas/2014/06/14/Breitbart-Brandon-Darby-Inhumane-Open-Border-Policy-Creates-Humanitarian-Crisis" type="external">claimed proudly</a>, when he released a set of exclusive photos of overcrowded detention facilities for child detainees.&#160; Darby did not explain how he was able to gain access to what he called “internal federal government photos.”&#160; He did, however, provide an explanation for what Breitbart called the “invasion”: the children “know they will not be turned away and that they will be provided for.”&#160; In other words, it was the fault of Obama, the Democrats, and the liberals.&#160; The stage was set for a Republican and populist backlash.</p>
<p>Pro-Obama voices like Deval Patrick and some immigrant rights organizations played right into the sensationalist nativist narrative.&#160; “There’s a humanitarian reason to try to find a solution, try to find a way to help,” Patrick <a href="http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/07/16/patrick-says-will-try-find-ways-for-mass-host-immigrant-children/ivsf0tVmqJKYHDAGtQ50FP/story.html%20asserted.%20%20With%20public%20tears,%20he%20http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/07/18/patrick-speak-friday-migrant-housing/KNbWL2DTtAO2nTvxGP9ixL/story.html" type="external">stated</a>, insisting that at stake was an issue of “love of country and lessons of faith” — and that it was explicitly not a political issue.</p>
<p>Massachusetts Republican politicians, like Lynn’s Mayor Judith Kennedy Flanagan, <a href="http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/26016031/lynn-officials-illegal-immigrant-children-are-stressing-city-services" type="external">complained</a> instead about the impact on their communities, turning a fiscal problem into an occasion for xenophobia.&#160; “It’s gotten to the point where the school system is overwhelmed, our health department is overwhelmed, the city’s budget is being [un]sustainably altered in order [to] accommodate all of these admissions in the school department,” she stated.&#160; State Representative Mark Lombardo <a href="http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/26121379/protesters-gather-at-anti-illegal-immigration-rally-at-state-house" type="external">concurred</a>: “We just can’t afford it. We’re not adequately taking care of our own children; our own veterans, our own families who are struggling here in Massachusetts. We gotta put American families first.”</p>
<p>Hundreds of protesters <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2014/07/26/hundreds-attend-anti-illegal-immigration-rally-beacon-hill/tEgyzS5TE5Z6YiI8VBP6aP/story.html" type="external">rallied</a> on the Boston Common on July 26th demanding that the country put “Americans before illegals.”&#160; It was easy for wealthy liberals, many commentators added, to foist the children on poor communities, but what about the domestic poor, the homeless, the veterans who can’t get access to medical services?&#160; Why, under such circumstances, should we direct resources to Central American children?&#160; (Such Republican racial identity-based appeals to the white working class <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1595587071/ref=nosim/?tag=nationbooks08-20" type="external">date back</a> to the presidency of Richard Nixon.)</p>
<p>Which Central America?</p>
<p>These two seemingly clashing narratives — the moral, humanitarian imperative to help children in need and the plight of strapped cities and Americans in need — turn out to neatly complement each other.&#160; Both play the game of victimology in the service of party politics.&#160; Each asks essentially the same question: Do Republicans or Democrats get more points for defending the neediest victims?&#160; Each side claims the humanitarian high ground, while both conveniently avoid looking at the political economy of the problem they lament — and that they have, over many decades, collaborated in creating.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, many liberals and some immigrant rights organizations have failed to offer their own analysis that reached beyond generalized good will and support for the Democrats. &#160;“We stand for justice and we care for all children in need!” the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MIRACoalition" type="external">declared</a> wholeheartedly, but not very illuminatingly.&#160; In addition to “standing up for all kids,” the purpose of its August 7th counter-rally seemed to be simply to support Patrick’s offer to create temporary detention centers in Massachusetts.&#160; Unfortunately, by disseminating Breitbart’s dramatic photos and adopting the right’s basic narrative, liberals missed an opportunity to go beyond a sterile debate and take a more meaningful look at the structural issues at stake.</p>
<p>In fact, the so-called “crisis” of these last months is anything but new, while the “debate” over where to temporarily detain the children is beside the point.&#160; The number of Central American youths crossing the U.S.-Mexican border has been rising steadily since 2000.&#160; Figures for minors apprehended at the border have gone up from a few thousand a year as the twenty-first century began, to 6,000-8,000 annually through 2011, 13,625 in 2012, and 24,668 in 2013. &#160;A <a href="http://www.uchastings.edu/centers/cgrs-docs/treacherous_journey_cgrs_kind_report.pdf" type="external">study</a> released in February 2014 predicted that as many as 60,000 children were likely to be apprehended this year.&#160; The overwhelming of U.S. detention facilities was, in this sense, predictable.&#160; So Darby’s June news scoop should hardly have been a surprise, if anyone other than specialists had been paying attention.</p>
<p>The situation is not really hard to grasp.&#160; There are three main reasons that Central American youth are crossing the border: they are fleeing lack of opportunity; they are fleeing violence; and they are seeking to reunite with parents and other family members already in the United States.&#160; Although the media talk about “Central American children,” almost all of the detainees are, in fact, coming from only three of the six countries of Central America:&#160; Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.&#160; There are almost none from Belize, Nicaragua, or Costa Rica.&#160; Anybody who remembers the 1980s can probably guess why.&#160; The enormous quantities of military “aid” that the United States poured into Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras helped create an environment of violently enforced inequality whose bitter fruits are still being reaped.</p>
<p>Under a series of laws and court decisions since the 1990s, minors from Central America are granted special treatment when caught crossing the border.&#160; Rather than being deported like Mexican children (who cross in the same numbers and for similar reasons), Central American youth are turned over to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), which holds them in its own facilities (rather than U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers) and provides them with services while it locates and investigates family members to whom they could be released.&#160; At that point, a lengthy hearing process begins to determine whether each minor is eligible for immigration relief.&#160; If not, she or he will be deported.&#160; These children are termed “unaccompanied” because they cross the border without parents or legal guardians, but the vast majority of them do have family in the U.S. and are coming to join them.</p>
<p>Deval Patrick and Judith Flanagan are talking past each other by focusing on different parts of this process.&#160; Patrick offered to find a facility in the state to house the youth during the few weeks when they are in the custody of the ORR and fully funded by the federal government.&#160; His “solution” is, in that sense, a cheap kind of “humanitarianism.”&#160; Flanagan and the anti-immigrant demonstrators are complaining about the costs to communities like Lynn, where hundreds of undocumented Guatemalan children have indeed been released to family members.&#160; They have a point.&#160; As many online commentators have indicated, undocumented families tend to live in poor urban areas like Lynn that are already struggling with severe underfunding.&#160; In other words, they are the communities least equipped to provide the kinds of locally mandated services like education that the newcomers need.</p>
<p>Why the Children Are Coming?</p>
<p>So what’s the real crisis and can it be solved?</p>
<p>Let’s start with what’s truly at stake here.&#160; First, U.S. policies directly led to today’s crises in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.&#160; Since Washington orchestrated the overthrow of the reformist, democratically elected government of Jacobo Arbenz in Guatemala in 1954, it has consistently cultivated repressive military regimes, savagely repressed peasant and popular movements for social change, and imposed economic policies including so-called free trade ones that favor foreign investors and have proven devastating to the rural and urban poor.</p>
<p>Refugees from U.S.-sponsored dirty wars in Guatemala and El Salvador — mostly peasants whose communities had been subjected to scorched-earth policies and the depredations of right-wing death squads — began to pour into the United States in the 1980s.&#160; The refugee flood from Honduras didn’t begin until the United States supported a military coup against that country’s elected leftist president in 2009.&#160; The youths crossing the border today are often the children and grandchildren of those initial refugees, and are fleeing the endemic violence and economic destruction left behind by the wars and the devastation that resulted from them.&#160; In other words, the policies that led to the present “crisis” were promoted over the decades with similar degrees of enthusiasm by Republicans and Democrats.</p>
<p>Second, an enormous demand for undocumented labor had already drawn the parents of many of these children to the United States where they clean houses and yards, wash dishes, and grow and process food.&#160; Their underpaid labor helps sustain the U.S. economy.&#160; For generations, this country’s immigration policy has focused on using Mexicans and Central Americans as “workers” without granting them legal and human rights.&#160; But workers are people and people have children.&#160; In other words, the present crisis stems in part from the way our economy depends on separating parents from their children in order to exploit their cheap labor — and then our horror or dismay when they want to be reunited.</p>
<p>Finally, the communities and school systems that the federal government expects to receive the border-crossing youth need more federal support.&#160; Many of the locales receiving immigrants are indeed in crisis.&#160; If, thanks to federal legislation and federal agencies, these children are being released in large numbers to communities in which schools are already underfunded, then the federal government should guarantee the services that it requires communities to provide them.&#160; Instead of <a href="http://www.immigrationforum.org/images/uploads/MathofImmigrationDetention.pdf" type="external">spending</a> billions of dollars annually underwriting detention, deportation, and the further militarization of the borderlands, it should direct those funds to fulfilling human needs.</p>
<p>Immigrant rights organizations should be criticizing both parties for their policies in Central America (including President Obama’s free trade agenda), their economic and immigration policies (that criminalize workers), and the ways they are pitting immigrant youth against poor Americans in a struggle for scarce resources.</p>
<p>Of course, that’s not how the story is being told.&#160; Instead, our politicians, the media, and various organizations have simply been posturing.&#160; Arguments that take the “humanitarian” position and those that use the “crisis” to try to undermine the administration’s flimsy gestures towards relief for undocumented youth, as well as those that protest the potential impact on communities like Lynn, are sadly incomplete.&#160; We are in the midst of a series of crises that are perfectly real.&#160; They just aren’t the ones that either side is talking about.</p>
<p>Aviva Chomsky’s most recent book is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0807001678/ref=nosim/?tag=tomdispatch-20" type="external">Undocumented: How Immigration Became Illegal</a> (Beacon Press, 2014). She is professor of history and coordinator of Latin American studies at Salem State University in Massachusetts.</p>
<p />
<p>Follow TomDispatch on Twitter and join us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/tomdispatch" type="external">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://tomdispatch.tumblr.com/" type="external">Tumblr</a>. Check out the newest Dispatch Book, Rebecca Solnit’s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1608463869/ref=nosim/?tag=tomdispatch-20" type="external">Men Explain Things to Me</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 2014 Aviva Chomsky</p> | The Real Story Behind the 'Invasion' of the Children | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/the-real-story-behind-the-invasion-of-the-children/ | 2014-08-25 | 4 |
<p>There are plenty of reasons to be wary of Neil Gorsuch.</p>
<p>In the more than three thousand cases he’s decided on the Tenth&#160;Circuit Court of Appeals, Gorsuch has slanted <a href="" type="internal">decidedly right</a>. He has actively defended the death penalty, opposes assisted suicide, and generally supports “tough-on-crime” laws. A religious conservative, he’d almost certainly try to curtail abortion and other reproductive rights as a Supreme Court justice. And if his <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/20/us/politics/judge-gorsuch-supreme-court-confirmation-hearings.html?_r=0" type="external">confirmation hearings</a> this week go&#160;according to plan, he’d be approved at the age of forty-nine — setting him up for a decades-long tenure on the nation’s highest court.</p>
<p>Perhaps most troubling, however, is the originalist philosophy that Gorsuch — who comes <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/18/us/politics/neil-gorsuch-supreme-court-conservatives.html" type="external">hand-picked</a> from the right-wing Federalist Society — espouses to justify his conservative decisions.</p>
<p>Leftists <a href="" type="internal">are justifiably hesitant</a> about inveighing against particular judicial philosophies. Training our rhetoric fire on one especially abhorrent school of thought can cause us to lose sight of the <a href="" type="internal">undemocratic nature</a> of the entire juridical edifice. Condemning individual justices can lead us to <a href="" type="internal">vest hope</a> in a body that has played a central role in sustaining and cementing inequality and racism.</p>
<p>The streets — <a href="" type="internal">not the courts</a> — are the locus of the Left’s power.</p>
<p>But originalism, especially its modern textualist variant, poses a particularly insidious ideological barrier to social change.</p>
<p>Reactionaries love originalist textualism because it allows them to push their agenda while claiming they’re soberly interpreting the law. It’s what makes judges like Gorsuch so dangerous. They don’t just hand down&#160;bad decisions — they do so while insisting that there is no other way to reason about the law that isn’t judicial activism.</p>
<p>Conservatives&#160;are eager to cast originalism as the platonic ideal of objective thinking. We shouldn’t let them.</p>
<p>Our new issue, “ <a href="" type="internal">Journey to the Dark Side</a>,” is out now. <a href="" type="internal">Subscribe</a> today.</p> | The Lies of Originalism | true | https://jacobinmag.com/2017/03/gorsuch-trump-confirmation-hearing-supreme-court-scalia/ | 2018-10-05 | 4 |
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