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<p>Swiss slopestyle star Andri Ragettli shows he has the moves on and off skis. Video of him training in the gym has been a big hit on social media. The teenage skier hopes to win an Olympic medal at the Winter Games in Pyeongchang. (Jan. 24)</p>
<p>Swiss slopestyle star Andri Ragettli shows he has the moves on and off skis. Video of him training in the gym has been a big hit on social media. The teenage skier hopes to win an Olympic medal at the Winter Games in Pyeongchang. (Jan. 24)</p> | Swiss Olympian Attracts Fans On and Off Snow | false | https://apnews.com/amp/a73955948a8e49398b8e88ebddef55df | 2018-01-24 | 2least
| Swiss Olympian Attracts Fans On and Off Snow
<p>Swiss slopestyle star Andri Ragettli shows he has the moves on and off skis. Video of him training in the gym has been a big hit on social media. The teenage skier hopes to win an Olympic medal at the Winter Games in Pyeongchang. (Jan. 24)</p>
<p>Swiss slopestyle star Andri Ragettli shows he has the moves on and off skis. Video of him training in the gym has been a big hit on social media. The teenage skier hopes to win an Olympic medal at the Winter Games in Pyeongchang. (Jan. 24)</p> | 1,300 |
<p />
<p>A District of Columbia Superior Court judge approved a government warrant on Thursday seeking data from an anti-Trump website related to Inauguration Day riots, but he added protections to safeguard "innocent users."</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>An a hearing, Chief Judge Robert Morin said DreamHost, a Los Angeles-based web hosting company, must turn over data about visitors to the website disruptj20.org, which is a home to political activists who organized protests at the time of Donald Trump's inauguration as U.S. president in January.</p>
<p>Morin, who will oversee review of the data, said the government must explain what protocols it will use to make sure the data of "innocent users" is not seized by prosecutors.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Robert Iafolla; Editing by David Alexander)</p> | D.C. judge approves government warrant for data from anti-Trump website | true | http://foxbusiness.com/politics/2017/08/24/d-c-judge-approves-government-warrant-for-data-from-anti-trump-website.html | 2017-08-24 | 0right
| D.C. judge approves government warrant for data from anti-Trump website
<p />
<p>A District of Columbia Superior Court judge approved a government warrant on Thursday seeking data from an anti-Trump website related to Inauguration Day riots, but he added protections to safeguard "innocent users."</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>An a hearing, Chief Judge Robert Morin said DreamHost, a Los Angeles-based web hosting company, must turn over data about visitors to the website disruptj20.org, which is a home to political activists who organized protests at the time of Donald Trump's inauguration as U.S. president in January.</p>
<p>Morin, who will oversee review of the data, said the government must explain what protocols it will use to make sure the data of "innocent users" is not seized by prosecutors.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Robert Iafolla; Editing by David Alexander)</p> | 1,301 |
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<p>Perhaps the brightest of the gems is J.S. Bach's "Magnificat."</p>
<p>Guillermo Figueroa is the artistic director of The Figueroa Music and Arts Project, which will present a concert next Sunday. (Jim Thompson/Albuquerque Journal)</p>
<p>"It's one of the great choral works, though it's relatively short. - But that is sort of what we built everything around," said Guillermo Figueroa, artistic director of the Figueroa Music and Arts Project. "There are pieces like this that I always wanted to do."</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The Figueroa Project's chamber orchestra and the choirs of the Cathedral Church of St. John will perform in concert at the cathedral, which Figueroa said is an excellent setting for the choral work.</p>
<p>Soloists in the "Magnificat" are soprano Szilvia Schranz, mezzo-soprano Sarah Weiler, tenor Jason Vest and baritone Edmund Connolly.</p>
<p>Works by four other Baroque composers also are on the program. One is Antonio Vivaldi's "Concerto for Three Violins."</p>
<p>"This is a great piece. It's beautiful and very virtuosic," Figueroa said.</p>
<p>The three violinists are Figueroa, David Felberg and Sarah Tasker.</p>
<p>Another work is one of Arcangelo Corelli's Concerti Grossi. Figueroa said he chose "a bright, happy Concerto Grosso, not mellow. I just picked one that would fit with the occasion and not interfere with what goes afterwards."</p>
<p>George Frideric Handel's Organ Concerto, Opus 4 No. 3 also is on the program. The Handel will feature Maxine Th'venot, the cathedral's director of music, on organ.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>"It's so wonderful to have such a phenomenal player and a terrific organ at the church," Figueroa said. "That's why this program made so much sense. I don't know if the concerto has ever been played in Albuquerque."</p>
<p>The fifth work is Franz Joseph Haydn's "Little Organ Mass."</p>
<p>Figueroa said that Haydn wrote the work at the age of 17 and "it shows the promise of things to come."</p>
<p>The concert is part of the Friends of Cathedral Music Series.</p>
<p /> | Figueroa group, choirs join for Baroque gems | false | https://abqjournal.com/343067/figueroa-group-choirs-join-for-baroque-gems.html | 2least
| Figueroa group, choirs join for Baroque gems
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<p />
<p>Perhaps the brightest of the gems is J.S. Bach's "Magnificat."</p>
<p>Guillermo Figueroa is the artistic director of The Figueroa Music and Arts Project, which will present a concert next Sunday. (Jim Thompson/Albuquerque Journal)</p>
<p>"It's one of the great choral works, though it's relatively short. - But that is sort of what we built everything around," said Guillermo Figueroa, artistic director of the Figueroa Music and Arts Project. "There are pieces like this that I always wanted to do."</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The Figueroa Project's chamber orchestra and the choirs of the Cathedral Church of St. John will perform in concert at the cathedral, which Figueroa said is an excellent setting for the choral work.</p>
<p>Soloists in the "Magnificat" are soprano Szilvia Schranz, mezzo-soprano Sarah Weiler, tenor Jason Vest and baritone Edmund Connolly.</p>
<p>Works by four other Baroque composers also are on the program. One is Antonio Vivaldi's "Concerto for Three Violins."</p>
<p>"This is a great piece. It's beautiful and very virtuosic," Figueroa said.</p>
<p>The three violinists are Figueroa, David Felberg and Sarah Tasker.</p>
<p>Another work is one of Arcangelo Corelli's Concerti Grossi. Figueroa said he chose "a bright, happy Concerto Grosso, not mellow. I just picked one that would fit with the occasion and not interfere with what goes afterwards."</p>
<p>George Frideric Handel's Organ Concerto, Opus 4 No. 3 also is on the program. The Handel will feature Maxine Th'venot, the cathedral's director of music, on organ.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>"It's so wonderful to have such a phenomenal player and a terrific organ at the church," Figueroa said. "That's why this program made so much sense. I don't know if the concerto has ever been played in Albuquerque."</p>
<p>The fifth work is Franz Joseph Haydn's "Little Organ Mass."</p>
<p>Figueroa said that Haydn wrote the work at the age of 17 and "it shows the promise of things to come."</p>
<p>The concert is part of the Friends of Cathedral Music Series.</p>
<p /> | 1,302 |
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<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>A high school student in Georgia was going to receive a full athletic scholarship for college. But now he will not even graduate on time since he was suspended last week. What did he do? Last month,&#160;17-year-old Sam McNair of Duluth High School hugged his teacher.</p>
<p>McNair was found guilty of violating the school’s sexual harassment rules. The hug was captured on video by a surveillance camera. The teacher reported him, claiming that his lips and cheek “touched” the back of her neck. McNair, however, flatly denies that anything other than a normal hug was given, saying that “Something so innocent can be perceived as something totally opposite.”</p>
<p>The video makes it clear that the teacher did not appreciate the hug, as she appears to push the student away.&#160;Local&#160;KCTV reported, that the teacher claims she warned him that hugs were inappropriate but McNail says that was not true, and he had never hugged her before. If he had a problem with hugging people against their will, his mother says, why wasn’t she notified? “He’s a senior. He plays football and was getting ready for lacrosse and you’re stripping him of even getting a full scholarship for athletics for college,” April McNair explained.</p>
<p>“I have five months left in my senior year. I don’t see why they would take that away from me,” the 17-year-old McNair added.</p>
<p>A spokesperson for Gwinnett County Public Schools, Sloan Roach,&#160;declined comment. Watch the video below and let us know if you think this was a fair decision or not?</p>
<p />
<p>(Article by James Achisa; image via&#160;KCTV)</p> | High School Student Suspended For Hugging Teacher, Loses Scholarship, Won’t Graduate On Time | true | http://politicalblindspot.com/high-school-student-suspended-for-hugging-teacher-loses-scholarship-wont-graduate-on-time/ | 2013-12-15 | 4left
| High School Student Suspended For Hugging Teacher, Loses Scholarship, Won’t Graduate On Time
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>A high school student in Georgia was going to receive a full athletic scholarship for college. But now he will not even graduate on time since he was suspended last week. What did he do? Last month,&#160;17-year-old Sam McNair of Duluth High School hugged his teacher.</p>
<p>McNair was found guilty of violating the school’s sexual harassment rules. The hug was captured on video by a surveillance camera. The teacher reported him, claiming that his lips and cheek “touched” the back of her neck. McNair, however, flatly denies that anything other than a normal hug was given, saying that “Something so innocent can be perceived as something totally opposite.”</p>
<p>The video makes it clear that the teacher did not appreciate the hug, as she appears to push the student away.&#160;Local&#160;KCTV reported, that the teacher claims she warned him that hugs were inappropriate but McNail says that was not true, and he had never hugged her before. If he had a problem with hugging people against their will, his mother says, why wasn’t she notified? “He’s a senior. He plays football and was getting ready for lacrosse and you’re stripping him of even getting a full scholarship for athletics for college,” April McNair explained.</p>
<p>“I have five months left in my senior year. I don’t see why they would take that away from me,” the 17-year-old McNair added.</p>
<p>A spokesperson for Gwinnett County Public Schools, Sloan Roach,&#160;declined comment. Watch the video below and let us know if you think this was a fair decision or not?</p>
<p />
<p>(Article by James Achisa; image via&#160;KCTV)</p> | 1,303 |
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<p>WASHINGTON – Teachers are heroes, not villains, and it’s time to stop demonizing them.</p>
<p>It has become fashionable to blame all of society’s manifold sins and wickedness on “teachers unions,” as if it were possible to separate these supposedly evil organizations from the dedicated public servants who belong to them. News flash: Collective bargaining is not the problem, and taking that right away from teachers will not fix the schools.</p>
<p>It is true that teachers in Chicago have dug in their heels against Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s demands for “reform,” some of which are not unreasonable. I’d dig in, too, if I were constantly being lectured by self-righteous crusaders whose knowledge of the inner-city schools crisis comes from a Hollywood movie.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The problems that afflict public education go far beyond what George W. Bush memorably called “the soft bigotry of low expectations.” They go beyond whatever measure of institutional sclerosis may be attributed to tenure, beyond the inevitable cases of burnout, beyond the fact that teachers in some jurisdictions actually earn halfway decent salaries.</p>
<p>The fact is that teachers are being saddled with absurdly high expectations. Some studies have shown a correlation between student performance and teacher “effectiveness,” depending how this elusive quality is measured. But there is a whole body of academic literature proving the stronger correlation between student performance and a much more important variable: family income.</p>
<p>Yes, I’m talking about poverty. Sorry to be so gauche, but when teachers point out the relationship between income and achievement, they’re not shirking responsibility. They’re just stating an inconvenient truth.</p>
<p>According to figures compiled by the College Board, students from families making more than $200,000 score more than 300 points higher on the SAT, on average, than students from families making less than $20,000 a year. There is, in fact, a clear relationship all the way along the scale: Each increment in higher family income translates into points on the test.</p>
<p>Professor Sean Reardon of Stanford University’s Center for Education Policy Analysis concluded in a recent study that the achievement gap between high-income and low-income students is actually widening. It is unclear why this might be happening; maybe it is due to increased income inequality, maybe the relationship between income and achievement has somehow become stronger, maybe there is some other reason.</p>
<p>Whatever the cause, our society’s answer seems to be: Beat up the teachers.</p>
<p>The brie-and-chablis “reform” movement would have us believe that most of the teachers in low-income, low-performing schools are incompetent – and, by extension, that most of the teachers in upper-crust schools, where students perform well, are paragons of pedagogical virtue.</p>
<p>But some of the most dedicated and talented teachers I’ve ever met were working in “failing” inner-city schools. And yes, in award-winning schools where, as in Lake Wobegon, “all the children are above average,” I’ve met some unimaginative hacks who should never be allowed near a classroom.</p>
<p>It is reasonable to hold teachers accountable for their performance. But it is not reasonable – or, in the end, productive – to hold them accountable for factors that lie far beyond their control. It is fair to insist that teachers approach their jobs with the assumption that every single child, rich or poor, can succeed. It is not fair to expect teachers to correct all the imbalances and remedy all the pathologies that result from growing inequality in our society.</p>
<p>You didn’t see any of this reality in “Waiting for ‘Superman,’ ” the 2010 documentary that argued we should “solve” the education crisis by establishing more charter schools and, of course, stomping the teachers unions. You won’t see it later this month in “Won’t Back Down,” starring Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal, which argues for “parent trigger” laws designed to produce yet more charter schools and yet more teacher-bashing.</p>
<p>I’ve always considered myself an apostate from liberal orthodoxy on the subject of education. I have no fundamental objection to charter schools, as long as they produce results. I believe in the centrality and primacy of public education, but I believe it’s immoral to tell parents, in effect, “Too bad for your kids, but we’ll fix the schools someday.”</p>
<p>But portraying teachers as villains doesn’t help a single child. Ignoring the reasons for the education gap in this country is no way to close it. And there’s a better way to learn about the crisis than going to the movies. Visit a school instead.</p>
<p>Robinson’s columns can be read at ABQjournal.com/opinion – look for the syndicated columnist link. Email: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>; copyright, Washington Post Writers Group.</p> | Teachers Make Easy Scapegoat | false | https://abqjournal.com/131520/teachers-make-easy-scapegoat.html | 2012-09-18 | 2least
| Teachers Make Easy Scapegoat
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<p />
<p>WASHINGTON – Teachers are heroes, not villains, and it’s time to stop demonizing them.</p>
<p>It has become fashionable to blame all of society’s manifold sins and wickedness on “teachers unions,” as if it were possible to separate these supposedly evil organizations from the dedicated public servants who belong to them. News flash: Collective bargaining is not the problem, and taking that right away from teachers will not fix the schools.</p>
<p>It is true that teachers in Chicago have dug in their heels against Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s demands for “reform,” some of which are not unreasonable. I’d dig in, too, if I were constantly being lectured by self-righteous crusaders whose knowledge of the inner-city schools crisis comes from a Hollywood movie.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The problems that afflict public education go far beyond what George W. Bush memorably called “the soft bigotry of low expectations.” They go beyond whatever measure of institutional sclerosis may be attributed to tenure, beyond the inevitable cases of burnout, beyond the fact that teachers in some jurisdictions actually earn halfway decent salaries.</p>
<p>The fact is that teachers are being saddled with absurdly high expectations. Some studies have shown a correlation between student performance and teacher “effectiveness,” depending how this elusive quality is measured. But there is a whole body of academic literature proving the stronger correlation between student performance and a much more important variable: family income.</p>
<p>Yes, I’m talking about poverty. Sorry to be so gauche, but when teachers point out the relationship between income and achievement, they’re not shirking responsibility. They’re just stating an inconvenient truth.</p>
<p>According to figures compiled by the College Board, students from families making more than $200,000 score more than 300 points higher on the SAT, on average, than students from families making less than $20,000 a year. There is, in fact, a clear relationship all the way along the scale: Each increment in higher family income translates into points on the test.</p>
<p>Professor Sean Reardon of Stanford University’s Center for Education Policy Analysis concluded in a recent study that the achievement gap between high-income and low-income students is actually widening. It is unclear why this might be happening; maybe it is due to increased income inequality, maybe the relationship between income and achievement has somehow become stronger, maybe there is some other reason.</p>
<p>Whatever the cause, our society’s answer seems to be: Beat up the teachers.</p>
<p>The brie-and-chablis “reform” movement would have us believe that most of the teachers in low-income, low-performing schools are incompetent – and, by extension, that most of the teachers in upper-crust schools, where students perform well, are paragons of pedagogical virtue.</p>
<p>But some of the most dedicated and talented teachers I’ve ever met were working in “failing” inner-city schools. And yes, in award-winning schools where, as in Lake Wobegon, “all the children are above average,” I’ve met some unimaginative hacks who should never be allowed near a classroom.</p>
<p>It is reasonable to hold teachers accountable for their performance. But it is not reasonable – or, in the end, productive – to hold them accountable for factors that lie far beyond their control. It is fair to insist that teachers approach their jobs with the assumption that every single child, rich or poor, can succeed. It is not fair to expect teachers to correct all the imbalances and remedy all the pathologies that result from growing inequality in our society.</p>
<p>You didn’t see any of this reality in “Waiting for ‘Superman,’ ” the 2010 documentary that argued we should “solve” the education crisis by establishing more charter schools and, of course, stomping the teachers unions. You won’t see it later this month in “Won’t Back Down,” starring Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal, which argues for “parent trigger” laws designed to produce yet more charter schools and yet more teacher-bashing.</p>
<p>I’ve always considered myself an apostate from liberal orthodoxy on the subject of education. I have no fundamental objection to charter schools, as long as they produce results. I believe in the centrality and primacy of public education, but I believe it’s immoral to tell parents, in effect, “Too bad for your kids, but we’ll fix the schools someday.”</p>
<p>But portraying teachers as villains doesn’t help a single child. Ignoring the reasons for the education gap in this country is no way to close it. And there’s a better way to learn about the crisis than going to the movies. Visit a school instead.</p>
<p>Robinson’s columns can be read at ABQjournal.com/opinion – look for the syndicated columnist link. Email: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>; copyright, Washington Post Writers Group.</p> | 1,304 |
<p />
<p>Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers withdrew his name from consideration as the next chairman of the Federal Reserve, citing concerns about a potentially caustic confirmation process.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Summers was considered a leading contender for the top job at the central bank to replace current chief Ben Bernanke.</p>
<p>"I have reluctantly concluded that any possible confirmation process for me would be acrimonious and would not serve the interest of the Federal Reserve," Summers said in a letter to President Barack Obama.</p>
<p>Obama said in a statement late Sunday Summers was "a critical member of my team as we faced down the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and it was in no small part because of his expertise, wisdom, and leadership that we wrestled the economy back to growth and made the kind of progress we are seeing today."</p>
<p>The president added, "I will always be grateful to Larry for his tireless work and service on behalf of his country, and I look forward to continuing to seek his guidance and counsel in the future."</p>
<p>Stocks Rally as Yellen Emerges as Front-Runner</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Todd Schoenberger, managing director at LandColt Capital, said Summers’ exit paves the way for a more dovish Janet Yellen to take the top spot at the central bank. Still, he said a Fed Chief Summers would have been a better choice, praising him for his “legendary” ability to go against the grain and do what he believes is in the best interest of the nation’s economy.</p>
<p>“Wall Street will praise the idea that a decision on Yellen is imminent, and that she is most likely to continue to stay with the current Bernanke thesis. &#160;But the country is, once again, entering treacherous territory and questions will soon be asked why four rounds of QE hasn't produced enough juice to ignite a robust economy,” Schoenberger said.</p>
<p>The news ricocheted across financial markets, with stocks in the U.S. rallying 1% on the back of the news on Monday. Meanwhile, traders bid up American debt, sending the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond slumping 0.098-percentage point to 2.789%.</p>
<p>The move was "mainly due to Mr. Summers’ publicly stated views suggested he was likely to be less accommodative than the current front-runner, Vice Chair Janet Yellen," analysts at Barclays told clients on Monday.</p> | Summers Withdraws Name for Fed Chief | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/09/15/reports-summers-withdraws-name-for-fed-chief.html | 2016-03-03 | 0right
| Summers Withdraws Name for Fed Chief
<p />
<p>Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers withdrew his name from consideration as the next chairman of the Federal Reserve, citing concerns about a potentially caustic confirmation process.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Summers was considered a leading contender for the top job at the central bank to replace current chief Ben Bernanke.</p>
<p>"I have reluctantly concluded that any possible confirmation process for me would be acrimonious and would not serve the interest of the Federal Reserve," Summers said in a letter to President Barack Obama.</p>
<p>Obama said in a statement late Sunday Summers was "a critical member of my team as we faced down the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and it was in no small part because of his expertise, wisdom, and leadership that we wrestled the economy back to growth and made the kind of progress we are seeing today."</p>
<p>The president added, "I will always be grateful to Larry for his tireless work and service on behalf of his country, and I look forward to continuing to seek his guidance and counsel in the future."</p>
<p>Stocks Rally as Yellen Emerges as Front-Runner</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Todd Schoenberger, managing director at LandColt Capital, said Summers’ exit paves the way for a more dovish Janet Yellen to take the top spot at the central bank. Still, he said a Fed Chief Summers would have been a better choice, praising him for his “legendary” ability to go against the grain and do what he believes is in the best interest of the nation’s economy.</p>
<p>“Wall Street will praise the idea that a decision on Yellen is imminent, and that she is most likely to continue to stay with the current Bernanke thesis. &#160;But the country is, once again, entering treacherous territory and questions will soon be asked why four rounds of QE hasn't produced enough juice to ignite a robust economy,” Schoenberger said.</p>
<p>The news ricocheted across financial markets, with stocks in the U.S. rallying 1% on the back of the news on Monday. Meanwhile, traders bid up American debt, sending the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond slumping 0.098-percentage point to 2.789%.</p>
<p>The move was "mainly due to Mr. Summers’ publicly stated views suggested he was likely to be less accommodative than the current front-runner, Vice Chair Janet Yellen," analysts at Barclays told clients on Monday.</p> | 1,305 |
<p>The Supreme Court of Connecticut joined the ranks of California and Massachusetts on Friday to (finally) legalize same-sex marriage. The decision comes at a potentially prickly time as the presidential election looms, although both John McCain and Barack Obama have, so far, exerted little rhetorical effort to make gay rights a wedge issue in the campaign.</p>
<p>MSNBC.com:</p>
<p>Connecticut's Supreme Court ruled Friday that same-sex couples have the right to marry, making that state the third behind Massachusetts and California to legalize such unions.</p>
<p>The divided court ruled 4-3 that gay and lesbian couples cannot be denied the freedom to marry under the state constitution, and Connecticut's civil unions law does not provide those couples with the same rights as heterosexual couples.</p>
<p />
<p>"I can't believe it. We're thrilled, we're absolutely overjoyed. We're finally going to be able, after 33 years, to get married," said Janet Peck of Colchester, who was a plaintiff with her partner, Carole Conklin.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27117467/" type="external">Read more</a></p> | Conn. Court Overturns Anti-Gay Marriage Law | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/conn-court-overturns-anti-gay-marriage-law/ | 2008-10-10 | 4left
| Conn. Court Overturns Anti-Gay Marriage Law
<p>The Supreme Court of Connecticut joined the ranks of California and Massachusetts on Friday to (finally) legalize same-sex marriage. The decision comes at a potentially prickly time as the presidential election looms, although both John McCain and Barack Obama have, so far, exerted little rhetorical effort to make gay rights a wedge issue in the campaign.</p>
<p>MSNBC.com:</p>
<p>Connecticut's Supreme Court ruled Friday that same-sex couples have the right to marry, making that state the third behind Massachusetts and California to legalize such unions.</p>
<p>The divided court ruled 4-3 that gay and lesbian couples cannot be denied the freedom to marry under the state constitution, and Connecticut's civil unions law does not provide those couples with the same rights as heterosexual couples.</p>
<p />
<p>"I can't believe it. We're thrilled, we're absolutely overjoyed. We're finally going to be able, after 33 years, to get married," said Janet Peck of Colchester, who was a plaintiff with her partner, Carole Conklin.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27117467/" type="external">Read more</a></p> | 1,306 |
<p />
<p>The end of the world as we know it is coming.</p>
<p>You’ve likely heard this before, especially from the growing number of voices in the alternative news and preparedness communities. Often dismissed as conspiracy theory or outright lunacy, there is a growing body of evidence that suggests these fringe thinkers may well be on to something.</p>
<p>Despite assurances from most political leaders, experts and researchers who argue that we live in a stable and sustainable world, a new study utilizing mathematical models developed by NASA’s&#160;Goddard Space Flight Center may confirm our worst fears.</p>
<p>According to the&#160; <a href="http://www.sesync.org/sites/default/files/resources/motesharrei-rivas-kalnay.pdf" type="external">Socio Economic Synthesis Center</a>, which led the study’s research team and was made up of well respected natural and social scientists from various U.S.-based universities,&#160;society as it exists today is decades, perhaps just years, from a complete collapse of our way of life.</p>
<p>Given economic&#160;strati cation, collapse is very difficult to avoid and requires major policy changes, including major&#160;reductions in inequality and population growth rates.&#160;Even in the absence of economic strati cation,&#160;collapse can still occur if depletion per capita is too high. However, collapse can be avoided&#160;and population can reach equilibrium if the per capita rate of depletion of nature is reduced to a&#160;sustainable level, and if resources are distributed in a reasonably equitable fashion.&#160;( <a href="http://www.sesync.org/sites/default/files/resources/motesharrei-rivas-kalnay.pdf" type="external">SESC</a>&#160;via&#160; <a href="http://www.stevequayle.com/" type="external">Steve Quayle</a>)</p>
<p>The study cites scores of historical examples of civilization collapse dating back thousands of years. Given the facts it is clear that humanity’s long sought after Utopian society is a goal that is simply unachievable. Every five hundred years or so, the whole system simply falls apart.</p>
<p>There are widespread concerns that current trends in population and resource-use are unsustainable,&#160;but the possibilities of an overshoot and collapse remain unclear and controversial.</p>
<p>How&#160;real is the possibility of a societal collapse?</p>
<p>Can complex, advanced civilizations really collapse?&#160;</p>
<p>It is common to portray human history as a relentless and inevitable trend toward greater levels&#160;of social complexity, political organization, and economic specialization, with the development of&#160;more complex and capable technologies supporting ever-growing population, all sustained by the&#160;mobilization of ever-increasing quantities of material, energy, and information. Yet this is not&#160;inevitable.</p>
<p>In fact, cases where this seemingly near-universal, long-term trend has been severely&#160;disrupted by a precipitous&#160;collapse often lasting centuries have been quite common.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>This brings up the question of whether modern civilization is similarly susceptible. It may&#160;seem reasonable to believe that modern civilization, armed with its greater technological capacity,&#160;scientific knowledge, and energy resources, will be able to survive and endure whatever crises&#160;historical societies succumbed to.</p>
<p>But the brief overview of collapses demonstrates not only the&#160;ubiquity of the phenomenon, but also the extent to which advanced, complex, and powerful societies&#160;are susceptible to collapse.</p>
<p>In short, the mathematical models utilized to determine the results of the study indicate that there are two key causes for what the authors call an “irreversible” collapse.</p>
<p>First, with the earth’s population now over 7 billion people our civilization is burning through resources faster than they can be replenished, and the burden of paid “non-workers” (i.e. those who are given resources for performing no actual function in society) leads to a complete break down in the system.</p>
<p>We can see how an&#160;irreversible&#160;Type-N (full) collapse&#160;of Population, Nature, and Wealth can occur due to over-depletion of natural&#160;resources as a result of high depletion per capita.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>Workers and Non-Workers with&#160;the same level of consumption, i.e., with no economic strati cation.&#160;The Non-Workers in these&#160;scenarios could represent a range of societal roles from students, retirees, and disabled people,&#160;to intellectuals, managers, and other non-productive sectors.&#160;In this case, the Workers have to&#160;deplete enough of Nature to support both the Non-Workers and themselves.</p>
<p>Second, and this may come as no surprise, “elite” members of society are accumulating whatever available resources there are in an effort to maintain control over the “commoners.”</p>
<p>The Elite population starts growing&#160;significantly… hence depleting the Wealth and causing the system to collapse.</p>
<p>Under this scenario, the system collapses due to worker scarcity even though natural resources are&#160;still abundant, but because the depletion rate is optimal, it takes more than 400 years after the&#160;Wealth reaches a maximum for the society to collapse.</p>
<p>In this example, Commoners die out first&#160;and Elites disappear later.&#160;This scenario shows that in a society that is otherwise sustainable, the&#160;highly unequal consumption of elites will still cause a collapse.&#160;This scenario is an example of a Type-L collapse in which both Population and Wealth collapse&#160;but Nature recovers.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>The Elites eventually consume too much, resulting&#160;in a famine among Commoners that eventually causes the collapse of society. It is important to&#160;note that this Type-L collapse is due to an inequality-induced famine that causes a loss of workers,&#160;rather than a collapse of Nature. Despite appearing initially to be the same as the sustainable&#160;optimal solution obtained in the absence of Elites, economic strati cation changes the fi nal result:&#160;Elites’ consumption keeps growing until the society collapses.The Mayan collapse in which&#160;population never recovered even though nature did recover is an example of a Type-L collapse</p>
<p>There are several other scenarios outlined in the study, but the above two are seemingly the ones that may be responsible for the coming collapse of our own civilization.</p>
<p>In America,&#160; <a href="http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/19-signs-of-very-serious-economic-trouble-on-the-horizon" type="external">nearly 50%</a>&#160;of the population&#160; <a href="http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/shock-interview-welfare-recipient-i-get-to-sit-home-i-get-to-smoke-weed-we-still-gonna-get-paid_11202013" type="external">produces nothing</a>, yet receives <a href="" type="internal">payment in the form of money, goods and services</a>. This takes resources out of the hands of those who actually produce these resources.</p>
<p>Furthermore, it should be obvious that elite members of society simply take what they want through force, whether by <a href="" type="internal">taxation</a> or criminal activity (as defined by natural law), putting even more strain on the system.</p>
<p>Over time, the debt builds and pulls forward wealth from generations ahead, resources are depleted, and costs begin to reach levels that are simply unsustainable for everyone, including the elites who attempt to amass as much as they can.</p>
<p>In the end, we all suffer the same fate.</p>
<p>According to this and other studies, like one recently published by the&#160;UK Government Office of Science and entitled&#160; <a href="http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/goscience/docs/p/perfect-storm-paper.pdf" type="external">A Perfect Storm of Global Events</a>, we are very quickly approaching the breaking point. Over the next fifteen years, it is predicted that the strain could become so burdensome on society that the system will crack and eventually break down.</p>
<p>The result will be famine, war, and what some refer to as a “die off.” This will affect all segments of society.</p>
<p>Naturally, there will be those who survive, and it will likely be the people who are able to develop their own&#160; <a href="http://theorganicprepper.ca/" type="external">sustainable environments</a>&#160;on a personal, familial or communal level. These people may have taken steps to not only&#160; <a href="http://readynutrition.com/resources/52-weeks-to-preparedness-an-introduction_19072011/" type="external">prepare for long-term crises</a>, but to&#160; <a href="http://readynutrition.com/resources/category/homestead/" type="external">develop sustainable practices</a>&#160;that will allow them to&#160; <a href="http://readynutrition.com/resources/category/homestead/" type="external">produce their own food</a>&#160;and energy.</p>
<p>The mathematics being cited here have been seen time and again in other studies, and they don’t bode well for human civilization as we know it today.</p>
<p>With seven billion people on the planet, a massively unproductive non-workforce, and the greed of the elite, it is only a matter of time before something breaks and there is a real possibility that our&#160; <a href="http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/very-real-danger-of-collapse-could-be-so-severe-i-dont-think-our-civilization-could-survive-it_07172012" type="external">civilization will not be able to survive it</a>.</p>
<p>The scary version? According to these studies, the consequences will be felt within most of our lifetimes.</p>
<p>Mac Slavo is the Editor of <a href="http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/nasa-models-predict-total-societal-collapse-irreversible_03252014" type="external">SHTFplan.com</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p />
<p /> | NASA Models Predict Total Societal Collapse: “Irreversible” | true | http://dcclothesline.com/2014/03/26/nasa-models-predict-total-societal-collapse-irreversible/ | 2014-03-26 | 0right
| NASA Models Predict Total Societal Collapse: “Irreversible”
<p />
<p>The end of the world as we know it is coming.</p>
<p>You’ve likely heard this before, especially from the growing number of voices in the alternative news and preparedness communities. Often dismissed as conspiracy theory or outright lunacy, there is a growing body of evidence that suggests these fringe thinkers may well be on to something.</p>
<p>Despite assurances from most political leaders, experts and researchers who argue that we live in a stable and sustainable world, a new study utilizing mathematical models developed by NASA’s&#160;Goddard Space Flight Center may confirm our worst fears.</p>
<p>According to the&#160; <a href="http://www.sesync.org/sites/default/files/resources/motesharrei-rivas-kalnay.pdf" type="external">Socio Economic Synthesis Center</a>, which led the study’s research team and was made up of well respected natural and social scientists from various U.S.-based universities,&#160;society as it exists today is decades, perhaps just years, from a complete collapse of our way of life.</p>
<p>Given economic&#160;strati cation, collapse is very difficult to avoid and requires major policy changes, including major&#160;reductions in inequality and population growth rates.&#160;Even in the absence of economic strati cation,&#160;collapse can still occur if depletion per capita is too high. However, collapse can be avoided&#160;and population can reach equilibrium if the per capita rate of depletion of nature is reduced to a&#160;sustainable level, and if resources are distributed in a reasonably equitable fashion.&#160;( <a href="http://www.sesync.org/sites/default/files/resources/motesharrei-rivas-kalnay.pdf" type="external">SESC</a>&#160;via&#160; <a href="http://www.stevequayle.com/" type="external">Steve Quayle</a>)</p>
<p>The study cites scores of historical examples of civilization collapse dating back thousands of years. Given the facts it is clear that humanity’s long sought after Utopian society is a goal that is simply unachievable. Every five hundred years or so, the whole system simply falls apart.</p>
<p>There are widespread concerns that current trends in population and resource-use are unsustainable,&#160;but the possibilities of an overshoot and collapse remain unclear and controversial.</p>
<p>How&#160;real is the possibility of a societal collapse?</p>
<p>Can complex, advanced civilizations really collapse?&#160;</p>
<p>It is common to portray human history as a relentless and inevitable trend toward greater levels&#160;of social complexity, political organization, and economic specialization, with the development of&#160;more complex and capable technologies supporting ever-growing population, all sustained by the&#160;mobilization of ever-increasing quantities of material, energy, and information. Yet this is not&#160;inevitable.</p>
<p>In fact, cases where this seemingly near-universal, long-term trend has been severely&#160;disrupted by a precipitous&#160;collapse often lasting centuries have been quite common.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>This brings up the question of whether modern civilization is similarly susceptible. It may&#160;seem reasonable to believe that modern civilization, armed with its greater technological capacity,&#160;scientific knowledge, and energy resources, will be able to survive and endure whatever crises&#160;historical societies succumbed to.</p>
<p>But the brief overview of collapses demonstrates not only the&#160;ubiquity of the phenomenon, but also the extent to which advanced, complex, and powerful societies&#160;are susceptible to collapse.</p>
<p>In short, the mathematical models utilized to determine the results of the study indicate that there are two key causes for what the authors call an “irreversible” collapse.</p>
<p>First, with the earth’s population now over 7 billion people our civilization is burning through resources faster than they can be replenished, and the burden of paid “non-workers” (i.e. those who are given resources for performing no actual function in society) leads to a complete break down in the system.</p>
<p>We can see how an&#160;irreversible&#160;Type-N (full) collapse&#160;of Population, Nature, and Wealth can occur due to over-depletion of natural&#160;resources as a result of high depletion per capita.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>Workers and Non-Workers with&#160;the same level of consumption, i.e., with no economic strati cation.&#160;The Non-Workers in these&#160;scenarios could represent a range of societal roles from students, retirees, and disabled people,&#160;to intellectuals, managers, and other non-productive sectors.&#160;In this case, the Workers have to&#160;deplete enough of Nature to support both the Non-Workers and themselves.</p>
<p>Second, and this may come as no surprise, “elite” members of society are accumulating whatever available resources there are in an effort to maintain control over the “commoners.”</p>
<p>The Elite population starts growing&#160;significantly… hence depleting the Wealth and causing the system to collapse.</p>
<p>Under this scenario, the system collapses due to worker scarcity even though natural resources are&#160;still abundant, but because the depletion rate is optimal, it takes more than 400 years after the&#160;Wealth reaches a maximum for the society to collapse.</p>
<p>In this example, Commoners die out first&#160;and Elites disappear later.&#160;This scenario shows that in a society that is otherwise sustainable, the&#160;highly unequal consumption of elites will still cause a collapse.&#160;This scenario is an example of a Type-L collapse in which both Population and Wealth collapse&#160;but Nature recovers.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>The Elites eventually consume too much, resulting&#160;in a famine among Commoners that eventually causes the collapse of society. It is important to&#160;note that this Type-L collapse is due to an inequality-induced famine that causes a loss of workers,&#160;rather than a collapse of Nature. Despite appearing initially to be the same as the sustainable&#160;optimal solution obtained in the absence of Elites, economic strati cation changes the fi nal result:&#160;Elites’ consumption keeps growing until the society collapses.The Mayan collapse in which&#160;population never recovered even though nature did recover is an example of a Type-L collapse</p>
<p>There are several other scenarios outlined in the study, but the above two are seemingly the ones that may be responsible for the coming collapse of our own civilization.</p>
<p>In America,&#160; <a href="http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/19-signs-of-very-serious-economic-trouble-on-the-horizon" type="external">nearly 50%</a>&#160;of the population&#160; <a href="http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/shock-interview-welfare-recipient-i-get-to-sit-home-i-get-to-smoke-weed-we-still-gonna-get-paid_11202013" type="external">produces nothing</a>, yet receives <a href="" type="internal">payment in the form of money, goods and services</a>. This takes resources out of the hands of those who actually produce these resources.</p>
<p>Furthermore, it should be obvious that elite members of society simply take what they want through force, whether by <a href="" type="internal">taxation</a> or criminal activity (as defined by natural law), putting even more strain on the system.</p>
<p>Over time, the debt builds and pulls forward wealth from generations ahead, resources are depleted, and costs begin to reach levels that are simply unsustainable for everyone, including the elites who attempt to amass as much as they can.</p>
<p>In the end, we all suffer the same fate.</p>
<p>According to this and other studies, like one recently published by the&#160;UK Government Office of Science and entitled&#160; <a href="http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/goscience/docs/p/perfect-storm-paper.pdf" type="external">A Perfect Storm of Global Events</a>, we are very quickly approaching the breaking point. Over the next fifteen years, it is predicted that the strain could become so burdensome on society that the system will crack and eventually break down.</p>
<p>The result will be famine, war, and what some refer to as a “die off.” This will affect all segments of society.</p>
<p>Naturally, there will be those who survive, and it will likely be the people who are able to develop their own&#160; <a href="http://theorganicprepper.ca/" type="external">sustainable environments</a>&#160;on a personal, familial or communal level. These people may have taken steps to not only&#160; <a href="http://readynutrition.com/resources/52-weeks-to-preparedness-an-introduction_19072011/" type="external">prepare for long-term crises</a>, but to&#160; <a href="http://readynutrition.com/resources/category/homestead/" type="external">develop sustainable practices</a>&#160;that will allow them to&#160; <a href="http://readynutrition.com/resources/category/homestead/" type="external">produce their own food</a>&#160;and energy.</p>
<p>The mathematics being cited here have been seen time and again in other studies, and they don’t bode well for human civilization as we know it today.</p>
<p>With seven billion people on the planet, a massively unproductive non-workforce, and the greed of the elite, it is only a matter of time before something breaks and there is a real possibility that our&#160; <a href="http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/very-real-danger-of-collapse-could-be-so-severe-i-dont-think-our-civilization-could-survive-it_07172012" type="external">civilization will not be able to survive it</a>.</p>
<p>The scary version? According to these studies, the consequences will be felt within most of our lifetimes.</p>
<p>Mac Slavo is the Editor of <a href="http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/nasa-models-predict-total-societal-collapse-irreversible_03252014" type="external">SHTFplan.com</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p />
<p /> | 1,307 |
<p>The New York Times <a href="https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/09/15/world/europe/uk-london-underground-tube-explosion.html?_r=0" type="external">reports</a>:</p>
<p>Britain was hit by another terrorist attack on Friday morning, when a crude device exploded on a crowded London Underground train, injuring several commuters, sowing panic, disrupting service and drawing a heavy response from armed police officers and emergency workers.</p>
<p>The explosion occurred at 8:20 a.m. on a District Line train as it left the Parsons Green station in Southwest London. “This was a detonation of an improvised explosive device,” Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, a top counterterorrism official, said at a news conference. He urged anyone who saw what had happened, or had taken photos or videos of the bombing, to come forward.</p>
<p>The authorities immediately beefed up security around the transit system, as hundreds of police officers and detectives combed the scene for clues. At least 18 people were taken to hospitals. Several of them were apparently injured as panicked commuters fled. None had life-threatening injuries.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
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<p />
<p /> | Terror Attack On London Tube, 18 Minor Injuries | true | http://joemygod.com/2017/09/15/terror-attack-london-tube-18-minor-injuries/ | 2017-09-15 | 4left
| Terror Attack On London Tube, 18 Minor Injuries
<p>The New York Times <a href="https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/09/15/world/europe/uk-london-underground-tube-explosion.html?_r=0" type="external">reports</a>:</p>
<p>Britain was hit by another terrorist attack on Friday morning, when a crude device exploded on a crowded London Underground train, injuring several commuters, sowing panic, disrupting service and drawing a heavy response from armed police officers and emergency workers.</p>
<p>The explosion occurred at 8:20 a.m. on a District Line train as it left the Parsons Green station in Southwest London. “This was a detonation of an improvised explosive device,” Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, a top counterterorrism official, said at a news conference. He urged anyone who saw what had happened, or had taken photos or videos of the bombing, to come forward.</p>
<p>The authorities immediately beefed up security around the transit system, as hundreds of police officers and detectives combed the scene for clues. At least 18 people were taken to hospitals. Several of them were apparently injured as panicked commuters fled. None had life-threatening injuries.</p>
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<p /> | 1,308 |
<p>It’s becoming more and more apparent that Omar Mateen’s attack on the Orlando nightclub was intricately&#160;planned and thought-out well in advance before carried&#160;the fateful morning of June 12.</p>
<p>So his choice to donate blood last month might have been Mateen’s&#160;demented&#160;way to ensure that any survivors of the massacre would forever be personally marked, having his&#160;blood forever flowing their their veins. The OneBlood donation center confirmed that the shooter donated blood, after one employee recognized Mateen from a recent drive a little over a month ago. The donation center was used to supply the blood that was later used to save the lives of those injured in the bloody attack.</p>
<p />
<p>“OneBlood has learned that Omar Mateen donated blood at a mobile blood drive in Ft. Pierce, Florida, on May 29,” OneBlood vice president Susan Forbes said in a statement to ABC News. “All facets of the donation were in our normal parameters for blood donation, including screening questions and post-donation blood testing. A staff member recognized Mateen’s face from media photos and told their supervisor.”</p>
<p>OneBlood confirmed that donated blood can be used for up to 42 days after its donated, placing Mateen’s donation well within that time window.</p>
<p>Following the shooting, the center became a center point for the local community,&#160;as hundreds lined up to donate blood in the hopes of saving the victims.</p>
<p />
<p>It’s obvious that&#160;Mateen did not care about his fellow man, as he was so callously able walk into a nightclub and gun down 49 innocent people. So I truly doubt that his blood donation was out of the kindness of his heart. It sounds to me like this man was demented in more ways than one, fully-knowing that his blood donation&#160;would later be injected into the veins of the terrified individuals who survived his bloody and psychotic massacre.</p>
<p>H/T [ <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Health/orlando-gunman-donated-blood-weeks-prior-shooting/story?id=39873117" type="external">ABC News</a>]</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
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<p /> | DEMENTED: Orlando Survivors Have Omar Mateen’s Blood Coursing Through Their Veins | true | http://fury.news/2016/06/demented-survivors-orlando-attack-omar-mateens-blood-coursing-veins/ | 2016-06-16 | 0right
| DEMENTED: Orlando Survivors Have Omar Mateen’s Blood Coursing Through Their Veins
<p>It’s becoming more and more apparent that Omar Mateen’s attack on the Orlando nightclub was intricately&#160;planned and thought-out well in advance before carried&#160;the fateful morning of June 12.</p>
<p>So his choice to donate blood last month might have been Mateen’s&#160;demented&#160;way to ensure that any survivors of the massacre would forever be personally marked, having his&#160;blood forever flowing their their veins. The OneBlood donation center confirmed that the shooter donated blood, after one employee recognized Mateen from a recent drive a little over a month ago. The donation center was used to supply the blood that was later used to save the lives of those injured in the bloody attack.</p>
<p />
<p>“OneBlood has learned that Omar Mateen donated blood at a mobile blood drive in Ft. Pierce, Florida, on May 29,” OneBlood vice president Susan Forbes said in a statement to ABC News. “All facets of the donation were in our normal parameters for blood donation, including screening questions and post-donation blood testing. A staff member recognized Mateen’s face from media photos and told their supervisor.”</p>
<p>OneBlood confirmed that donated blood can be used for up to 42 days after its donated, placing Mateen’s donation well within that time window.</p>
<p>Following the shooting, the center became a center point for the local community,&#160;as hundreds lined up to donate blood in the hopes of saving the victims.</p>
<p />
<p>It’s obvious that&#160;Mateen did not care about his fellow man, as he was so callously able walk into a nightclub and gun down 49 innocent people. So I truly doubt that his blood donation was out of the kindness of his heart. It sounds to me like this man was demented in more ways than one, fully-knowing that his blood donation&#160;would later be injected into the veins of the terrified individuals who survived his bloody and psychotic massacre.</p>
<p>H/T [ <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Health/orlando-gunman-donated-blood-weeks-prior-shooting/story?id=39873117" type="external">ABC News</a>]</p>
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<p /> | 1,309 |
<p><a href="" type="internal" />Whether we are talking about the Bush years or Obama’s current term, the federal government has grown exponentially. &#160;Under Bush, we got <a href="http://ideas.time.com/2012/01/12/lets-not-weaken-it-an-exclusive-interview-with-george-w-bush-on-nclb/" type="external">No Child Left Behind</a>, the <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1007/6564.html" type="external">Patriot Act</a>, and we saw ungodly amount of money spent on the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/09/september-11-homeland-security-spending_n_953288.html" type="external">Department of Homeland Security</a>. Under Obama, the federal government has taken ahold of health care laws, the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/27/patriot-act-extension-signed-obama-autopen_n_867851.html" type="external">Patriot Act has been extended</a>, and most <a href="" type="internal">recently, Obama signed a bill</a>that would give the executive emergency powers to “take over” the internet. &#160;But according to a recent poll, Americans want less government and more freedom. &#160;From <a href="http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/july_2012/66_believe_u_s_has_too_much_government_power_too_little_freedom" type="external">Rasmussen Reports</a>:</p>
<p>Today, however, 66% of Likely U.S. Voters believe that there is too much government power and too little individual freedom. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just eight percent (8%) believe the opposite to be true. Twenty-two percent (22%) think the balance is about right.</p>
<p>What do you think? &#160;Has our government got to big? &#160;Do we need more freedom?</p> | Rasmussen: Americans want Less Government, More Freedom | false | https://ivn.us/2012/07/16/rasmussen-americans-want-less-government-more-freedom/ | 2012-07-16 | 2least
| Rasmussen: Americans want Less Government, More Freedom
<p><a href="" type="internal" />Whether we are talking about the Bush years or Obama’s current term, the federal government has grown exponentially. &#160;Under Bush, we got <a href="http://ideas.time.com/2012/01/12/lets-not-weaken-it-an-exclusive-interview-with-george-w-bush-on-nclb/" type="external">No Child Left Behind</a>, the <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1007/6564.html" type="external">Patriot Act</a>, and we saw ungodly amount of money spent on the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/09/september-11-homeland-security-spending_n_953288.html" type="external">Department of Homeland Security</a>. Under Obama, the federal government has taken ahold of health care laws, the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/27/patriot-act-extension-signed-obama-autopen_n_867851.html" type="external">Patriot Act has been extended</a>, and most <a href="" type="internal">recently, Obama signed a bill</a>that would give the executive emergency powers to “take over” the internet. &#160;But according to a recent poll, Americans want less government and more freedom. &#160;From <a href="http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/july_2012/66_believe_u_s_has_too_much_government_power_too_little_freedom" type="external">Rasmussen Reports</a>:</p>
<p>Today, however, 66% of Likely U.S. Voters believe that there is too much government power and too little individual freedom. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just eight percent (8%) believe the opposite to be true. Twenty-two percent (22%) think the balance is about right.</p>
<p>What do you think? &#160;Has our government got to big? &#160;Do we need more freedom?</p> | 1,310 |
<p>After an initial <a href="https://mic.com/articles/152935/colin-kaepernick-was-criticized-for-not-speaking-publicly-now-he-s-facing-backlash-for-it#.m7VNpJNOT" type="external">backlash</a> and a flurry of bad press, it appears that San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's symbolic protest during "The Star-Spangled Banner" is really catching on.</p>
<p>Kaepernick has been deliberately not standing at NFL games during the national anthem of the United States <a href="http://go.redirectingat.com/?id=38395X1020950&amp;site=huffingtonpost.com/sports&amp;xs=1&amp;isjs=1&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nfl.com%2Fnews%2Fstory%2F0ap3000000691077%2Farticle%2Fcolin-kaepernick-explains-protest-of-national-anthem&amp;xguid=28589f374a590dd36037e9d75e80df58&amp;xuuid=c84ed7b09a30b4503e15e16f1d4ef98f&amp;xsessid=9851afff450817451d3c7823c2829245&amp;xcreo=0&amp;xed=0&amp;sref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fentry%2Fnational-anthem-protest-seahawks_us_57d30e04e4b00642712d7c90%3Fsection%3D%26&amp;xtz=240&amp;abp=1" type="external">because of the history of racial oppression in the country</a>, and more specifically the recent spate of unarmed black men killed under suspicious circumstances.</p>
<p>During the NFL's first weekend of regular season games—and ironically on the 15th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001—a number of players demonstrated solidarity with the 49ers star through silent demonstrations while the song was played:</p>
<p>After days of speculation that the entire Seattle Seahawks squad would sit out the national anthem, all 53 members of the team and their coach Pete Carroll linked arms in a display of unity during the song.</p>
<p>"I spoke with the players, and they realize that 9/11 is a very important day in our nation's history. The Seahawks, and probably every team, will be honoring those who serve in camouflage and also those in blue who served on such a difficult day," Nate Boyer, a former Green Beret who had a short stint with the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent last season, told <a href="http://foxsportsradio.iheart.com/articles/the-locker-room-486404/nate-boyer-comments-on-seattle-seahawks-15089400/" type="external">Fox Sports Radio</a>.</p>
<p>"Shortly after 9/11, our country seemed more unified than I had ever experienced and was the most unified it has been since I have been alive. Since that date, we have grown farther apart in our unity," Boyer said. "Standing together this Sunday is key to making progress. What the team will do is a powerful sign of unification."</p>
<p>"It has to be a team-first approach in order to get anything done," he added. "Whether it is Kaepernick's mission-changing policy or changing things on the field, you have to be unified."</p>
<p>Even though the Seahawks' demonstration has received widespread praise, not everyone was pleased with the increasing outspokenness of NFL stars.</p>
<p>“Dear @NFL Any player wants to boycott the anthem on 9/11 should be asked to remain in the locker room until kick off. It’s not their moment,” <a href="https://twitter.com/RobLowe/status/774794641489223680" type="external">wrote</a> actor Rob Lowe on Twitter.</p>
<p>Supermodel Kate Upton went even further, calling NFL player protests on the 9/11 anniversary "horrific" in a <a href="http://www.ew.com/article/2016/09/11/kate-upton-nfl-anthem" type="external">lengthy Instagram post</a>. “Sitting or kneeling down during the national anthem is a disgrace to those people who have served and currently serve our country,” Upton <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BKO8_ZGA87r/" type="external">wrote</a>.</p>
<p>"Protest all you want and use social media all you want. However, during the nearly two minutes when that song is playing, I believe everyone should put their hands on their heart and be proud of our country for we are all truly blessed,” she added, before citing the election of Barack Obama as the first African-American U.S. president as proof that the country has turned a corner on race.</p>
<p>After receiving considerable pushback on social media, Upton conceded that the justice system is <a href="https://twitter.com/KateUpton/status/775153280259350528" type="external">"corrupt."</a></p>
<p>Meanwhile, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who is <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/why-donald-trump-always-ready-some-football" type="external">infamous for weighing in on sports matters</a>, made his displeasure with the weekend's activities known during a "Fox and Friends" call-in appearance early on Monday.</p>
<p>"I think it's a lack of respect for our country. I think it's a lack of appreciation for our country and it's a very sad thing. I've never seen anything quite like it actually," Trump said.</p>
<p>Related: <a href="" type="internal">Colin Kaepernick's Protest is Part of Long Sports Tradition</a></p>
<p>Trump went on to repeat <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/293722-trump-kaepernick-should-find-another-country" type="external">his past suggestion</a> that Kaepernick and like-minded football stars "should try another country, see if they like it better."</p>
<p>"See if they'll make 20 million dollars a year for being the second string quarterback," the Republican presidential nominee added in a direct dig at Kaepernick's diminished status on the football field.</p>
<p>As for the official franchises and the league itself, the leadership of the NFL has walked a much more egalitarian line when it comes to the political protests of players.</p>
<p>For instance, in an <a href="https://twitter.com/MiamiDolphins/status/775064548906704897/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" type="external">official statement</a>, the Miami Dolphins said that while they encourage members of their organization to stand during the anthem, they also "recognize that it's an individual's right to reflect during the anthem in different ways."</p>
<p>NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, <a href="" type="internal">no stranger to controversy himself</a>, has said that while he doesn't necessarily support the statements and protests of Kaepernick and company personally, he is pleased that the league has been able to accommodate their freedom of speech.</p>
<p>"We play a role in society, an important role in society. We understand that," Goodell <a href="http://www.today.com/news/nfl-chief-roger-goodell-he-proud-colin-kaepernick-s-anthem-t102733" type="external">told NBC's Matt Lauer</a> last week prior to the games on Sunday. "We're careful about that because we still believe that at the bottom people come to enjoy the sport, they come to enjoy the game. But they recognize the importance that the NFL plays in our society. And we all have to be responsible for that."</p>
<p>"We encourage our players to be respectful," Goodell added. "But they also have rights and we have to respect that."</p>
<p>However, outside the NFL, athletes may not enjoy the same protections that professionals enjoy. Rodney Axson, a 16-year-old high school football player from Ohio, has reportedly been <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/hs-player-protest-anthem-receiving-vile-racist-threats-article-1.2787325" type="external">subjected to racial slurs and threats</a> because he chose to take a knee during the anthem as an homage to Kaepernick.</p> | Colin Kaepernick National Anthem Protest Catches On in NFL | false | http://nbcnews.com/news/us-news/colin-kaepernick-national-anthem-protest-catches-nfl-n646671 | 2016-09-12 | 3left-center
| Colin Kaepernick National Anthem Protest Catches On in NFL
<p>After an initial <a href="https://mic.com/articles/152935/colin-kaepernick-was-criticized-for-not-speaking-publicly-now-he-s-facing-backlash-for-it#.m7VNpJNOT" type="external">backlash</a> and a flurry of bad press, it appears that San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's symbolic protest during "The Star-Spangled Banner" is really catching on.</p>
<p>Kaepernick has been deliberately not standing at NFL games during the national anthem of the United States <a href="http://go.redirectingat.com/?id=38395X1020950&amp;site=huffingtonpost.com/sports&amp;xs=1&amp;isjs=1&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nfl.com%2Fnews%2Fstory%2F0ap3000000691077%2Farticle%2Fcolin-kaepernick-explains-protest-of-national-anthem&amp;xguid=28589f374a590dd36037e9d75e80df58&amp;xuuid=c84ed7b09a30b4503e15e16f1d4ef98f&amp;xsessid=9851afff450817451d3c7823c2829245&amp;xcreo=0&amp;xed=0&amp;sref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fentry%2Fnational-anthem-protest-seahawks_us_57d30e04e4b00642712d7c90%3Fsection%3D%26&amp;xtz=240&amp;abp=1" type="external">because of the history of racial oppression in the country</a>, and more specifically the recent spate of unarmed black men killed under suspicious circumstances.</p>
<p>During the NFL's first weekend of regular season games—and ironically on the 15th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001—a number of players demonstrated solidarity with the 49ers star through silent demonstrations while the song was played:</p>
<p>After days of speculation that the entire Seattle Seahawks squad would sit out the national anthem, all 53 members of the team and their coach Pete Carroll linked arms in a display of unity during the song.</p>
<p>"I spoke with the players, and they realize that 9/11 is a very important day in our nation's history. The Seahawks, and probably every team, will be honoring those who serve in camouflage and also those in blue who served on such a difficult day," Nate Boyer, a former Green Beret who had a short stint with the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent last season, told <a href="http://foxsportsradio.iheart.com/articles/the-locker-room-486404/nate-boyer-comments-on-seattle-seahawks-15089400/" type="external">Fox Sports Radio</a>.</p>
<p>"Shortly after 9/11, our country seemed more unified than I had ever experienced and was the most unified it has been since I have been alive. Since that date, we have grown farther apart in our unity," Boyer said. "Standing together this Sunday is key to making progress. What the team will do is a powerful sign of unification."</p>
<p>"It has to be a team-first approach in order to get anything done," he added. "Whether it is Kaepernick's mission-changing policy or changing things on the field, you have to be unified."</p>
<p>Even though the Seahawks' demonstration has received widespread praise, not everyone was pleased with the increasing outspokenness of NFL stars.</p>
<p>“Dear @NFL Any player wants to boycott the anthem on 9/11 should be asked to remain in the locker room until kick off. It’s not their moment,” <a href="https://twitter.com/RobLowe/status/774794641489223680" type="external">wrote</a> actor Rob Lowe on Twitter.</p>
<p>Supermodel Kate Upton went even further, calling NFL player protests on the 9/11 anniversary "horrific" in a <a href="http://www.ew.com/article/2016/09/11/kate-upton-nfl-anthem" type="external">lengthy Instagram post</a>. “Sitting or kneeling down during the national anthem is a disgrace to those people who have served and currently serve our country,” Upton <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BKO8_ZGA87r/" type="external">wrote</a>.</p>
<p>"Protest all you want and use social media all you want. However, during the nearly two minutes when that song is playing, I believe everyone should put their hands on their heart and be proud of our country for we are all truly blessed,” she added, before citing the election of Barack Obama as the first African-American U.S. president as proof that the country has turned a corner on race.</p>
<p>After receiving considerable pushback on social media, Upton conceded that the justice system is <a href="https://twitter.com/KateUpton/status/775153280259350528" type="external">"corrupt."</a></p>
<p>Meanwhile, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who is <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/why-donald-trump-always-ready-some-football" type="external">infamous for weighing in on sports matters</a>, made his displeasure with the weekend's activities known during a "Fox and Friends" call-in appearance early on Monday.</p>
<p>"I think it's a lack of respect for our country. I think it's a lack of appreciation for our country and it's a very sad thing. I've never seen anything quite like it actually," Trump said.</p>
<p>Related: <a href="" type="internal">Colin Kaepernick's Protest is Part of Long Sports Tradition</a></p>
<p>Trump went on to repeat <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/293722-trump-kaepernick-should-find-another-country" type="external">his past suggestion</a> that Kaepernick and like-minded football stars "should try another country, see if they like it better."</p>
<p>"See if they'll make 20 million dollars a year for being the second string quarterback," the Republican presidential nominee added in a direct dig at Kaepernick's diminished status on the football field.</p>
<p>As for the official franchises and the league itself, the leadership of the NFL has walked a much more egalitarian line when it comes to the political protests of players.</p>
<p>For instance, in an <a href="https://twitter.com/MiamiDolphins/status/775064548906704897/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" type="external">official statement</a>, the Miami Dolphins said that while they encourage members of their organization to stand during the anthem, they also "recognize that it's an individual's right to reflect during the anthem in different ways."</p>
<p>NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, <a href="" type="internal">no stranger to controversy himself</a>, has said that while he doesn't necessarily support the statements and protests of Kaepernick and company personally, he is pleased that the league has been able to accommodate their freedom of speech.</p>
<p>"We play a role in society, an important role in society. We understand that," Goodell <a href="http://www.today.com/news/nfl-chief-roger-goodell-he-proud-colin-kaepernick-s-anthem-t102733" type="external">told NBC's Matt Lauer</a> last week prior to the games on Sunday. "We're careful about that because we still believe that at the bottom people come to enjoy the sport, they come to enjoy the game. But they recognize the importance that the NFL plays in our society. And we all have to be responsible for that."</p>
<p>"We encourage our players to be respectful," Goodell added. "But they also have rights and we have to respect that."</p>
<p>However, outside the NFL, athletes may not enjoy the same protections that professionals enjoy. Rodney Axson, a 16-year-old high school football player from Ohio, has reportedly been <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/hs-player-protest-anthem-receiving-vile-racist-threats-article-1.2787325" type="external">subjected to racial slurs and threats</a> because he chose to take a knee during the anthem as an homage to Kaepernick.</p> | 1,311 |
<p>RENO, Nev. (AP) — Nevada's basketball team has climbed back into The Associated Press Top 25.</p>
<p>The Wolf Pack are ranked No. 23 in the AP poll released on Monday. They beat Mountain West Conference foe Boise State 74-68 in Reno on Saturday to improve to 18-3 on the season, 7-0 in the league.</p>
<p>Nevada received 190 total points in the poll, one more than No. 24 Rhode Island, a team it beat earlier this year. Tennessee is ranked 22nd with 260 points.</p>
<p>As of last week, the Wolf Pack's RPI rating was the 17th best in the country. Their three losses have come at the hands of Texas Tech, which is ranked 14th in this week's poll, TCU and San Francisco.</p>
<p>They travel to Wyoming Wednesday night and play their next game at home against Fresno State on Jan. 31.</p>
<p>RENO, Nev. (AP) — Nevada's basketball team has climbed back into The Associated Press Top 25.</p>
<p>The Wolf Pack are ranked No. 23 in the AP poll released on Monday. They beat Mountain West Conference foe Boise State 74-68 in Reno on Saturday to improve to 18-3 on the season, 7-0 in the league.</p>
<p>Nevada received 190 total points in the poll, one more than No. 24 Rhode Island, a team it beat earlier this year. Tennessee is ranked 22nd with 260 points.</p>
<p>As of last week, the Wolf Pack's RPI rating was the 17th best in the country. Their three losses have come at the hands of Texas Tech, which is ranked 14th in this week's poll, TCU and San Francisco.</p>
<p>They travel to Wyoming Wednesday night and play their next game at home against Fresno State on Jan. 31.</p> | Nevada back in AP Top 25 poll; No. 23 | false | https://apnews.com/amp/58ac2add47a449b6963224bb9ca5dd46 | 2018-01-22 | 2least
| Nevada back in AP Top 25 poll; No. 23
<p>RENO, Nev. (AP) — Nevada's basketball team has climbed back into The Associated Press Top 25.</p>
<p>The Wolf Pack are ranked No. 23 in the AP poll released on Monday. They beat Mountain West Conference foe Boise State 74-68 in Reno on Saturday to improve to 18-3 on the season, 7-0 in the league.</p>
<p>Nevada received 190 total points in the poll, one more than No. 24 Rhode Island, a team it beat earlier this year. Tennessee is ranked 22nd with 260 points.</p>
<p>As of last week, the Wolf Pack's RPI rating was the 17th best in the country. Their three losses have come at the hands of Texas Tech, which is ranked 14th in this week's poll, TCU and San Francisco.</p>
<p>They travel to Wyoming Wednesday night and play their next game at home against Fresno State on Jan. 31.</p>
<p>RENO, Nev. (AP) — Nevada's basketball team has climbed back into The Associated Press Top 25.</p>
<p>The Wolf Pack are ranked No. 23 in the AP poll released on Monday. They beat Mountain West Conference foe Boise State 74-68 in Reno on Saturday to improve to 18-3 on the season, 7-0 in the league.</p>
<p>Nevada received 190 total points in the poll, one more than No. 24 Rhode Island, a team it beat earlier this year. Tennessee is ranked 22nd with 260 points.</p>
<p>As of last week, the Wolf Pack's RPI rating was the 17th best in the country. Their three losses have come at the hands of Texas Tech, which is ranked 14th in this week's poll, TCU and San Francisco.</p>
<p>They travel to Wyoming Wednesday night and play their next game at home against Fresno State on Jan. 31.</p> | 1,312 |
<p>Carol Rosenberg/Miami Herald via ZUMA Press</p>
<p />
<p>Guantánamo Bay Naval Base is home to a military prison, and now, a growing stray cat population.</p>
<p>In March, a nonprofit billing itself as <a href="https://www.facebook.com/operationgitmeow/" type="external">Operation Git-Meow</a> issued a request to start an adopt-a-cat program to help connect feral cats with new homes. Last year, almost 200 feral cats at Guantánamo underwent euthanasia because the military base had no alternative method to address the cat population, according to the <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/guantanamo/article145522514.html" type="external">Miami Herald</a>.</p>
<p>Under current policy, the base is bound to the practice of “trap, neuter, and release.” However, a percentage of Guantánamo’s stray cat population may be euthanized if deemed too ill, injured, or dangerous to the general public. The navy base commander Capt. Dave Culpepper rejected the formal proposal to create a rescue program for cats, citing regulations and a lack of authority over the matter. Instead, Culpepper’s team is “committed to maintaining an animal control program as guided by Navy and Department of Defense regulations and ensuring all species are legally and humanely managed,” the commander’s spokesperson, Julie Ann Ripley, told the Miami Herald.</p>
<p>Guantánamo, leased on 45 square miles of Cuban land, is home to a controversial U.S. military detention camp that has housed hundreds of prisoners as part of the War on Terror since <a href="https://www.aclu.org/feature/close-guantanamo" type="external">2002</a>. The prison now holds 41 prisoners, and some 5,500 people live and work on the naval base.</p>
<p>Operation Git-Meow—a play on Guantánamo’s nickname, Gitmo—intends to appeal the decision to the Department of the Navy, putting forward a “no-cost solution” that would include volunteer veterinarians and other experts who can vaccinate and sterilize the cats. The group has even drafted an <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3673387-NSGB-Package-RE-Animal-Abuse-and-Neglect-Order.html" type="external">anti-animal cruelty</a> rule to contend with the growing ill treatment of animals at the base. The proposal, if implemented, would be free for taxpayers.</p>
<p>“Based upon the unique situation at Naval Station Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, an aggressive trap, neuter, vaccinate, and release program funded by our organization would be a far more effective approach than simply trapping and killing the cats,” Meredith Ayan from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals International <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/guantanamo/article145522514.html" type="external">told</a> the Miami Herald.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p /> | Operation Git-Meow Wants to Save the Feral Cats of Guantánamo | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2017/04/operation-git-meow-adopt-cat-program-gitmo/ | 2017-04-20 | 4left
| Operation Git-Meow Wants to Save the Feral Cats of Guantánamo
<p>Carol Rosenberg/Miami Herald via ZUMA Press</p>
<p />
<p>Guantánamo Bay Naval Base is home to a military prison, and now, a growing stray cat population.</p>
<p>In March, a nonprofit billing itself as <a href="https://www.facebook.com/operationgitmeow/" type="external">Operation Git-Meow</a> issued a request to start an adopt-a-cat program to help connect feral cats with new homes. Last year, almost 200 feral cats at Guantánamo underwent euthanasia because the military base had no alternative method to address the cat population, according to the <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/guantanamo/article145522514.html" type="external">Miami Herald</a>.</p>
<p>Under current policy, the base is bound to the practice of “trap, neuter, and release.” However, a percentage of Guantánamo’s stray cat population may be euthanized if deemed too ill, injured, or dangerous to the general public. The navy base commander Capt. Dave Culpepper rejected the formal proposal to create a rescue program for cats, citing regulations and a lack of authority over the matter. Instead, Culpepper’s team is “committed to maintaining an animal control program as guided by Navy and Department of Defense regulations and ensuring all species are legally and humanely managed,” the commander’s spokesperson, Julie Ann Ripley, told the Miami Herald.</p>
<p>Guantánamo, leased on 45 square miles of Cuban land, is home to a controversial U.S. military detention camp that has housed hundreds of prisoners as part of the War on Terror since <a href="https://www.aclu.org/feature/close-guantanamo" type="external">2002</a>. The prison now holds 41 prisoners, and some 5,500 people live and work on the naval base.</p>
<p>Operation Git-Meow—a play on Guantánamo’s nickname, Gitmo—intends to appeal the decision to the Department of the Navy, putting forward a “no-cost solution” that would include volunteer veterinarians and other experts who can vaccinate and sterilize the cats. The group has even drafted an <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3673387-NSGB-Package-RE-Animal-Abuse-and-Neglect-Order.html" type="external">anti-animal cruelty</a> rule to contend with the growing ill treatment of animals at the base. The proposal, if implemented, would be free for taxpayers.</p>
<p>“Based upon the unique situation at Naval Station Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, an aggressive trap, neuter, vaccinate, and release program funded by our organization would be a far more effective approach than simply trapping and killing the cats,” Meredith Ayan from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals International <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/guantanamo/article145522514.html" type="external">told</a> the Miami Herald.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p /> | 1,313 |
<p>Producer-actress <a href="http://variety.com/tag/roma-downey/" type="external">Roma Downey</a> has raised the curtain on her long-gestating LightWorkers website designed to offer uplifting and inspirational content.</p>
<p>The project is a joint venture with MGM, which secured Downey’s <a href="http://variety.com/tag/lightworkers-media/" type="external">LightWorkers Media</a> banner in 2015 as part of its acquisition of Mark Burnett’s United Artists Media Group.</p>
<p>Downey has assembled a team of about 25 staffers who are creating and curating short-form editorial and video content for the LightWorkers.com website, based out of an office in Culver City.</p>
<p>Downey’s goal is to offer users a respite from the tumultuous news of the day with “snackable” offerings that are unabashedly feel-good in nature. There is a spiritual element to some of the material but it is not an overtly religious venture. The content ranges from celebrity interviews — Downey used her Irish credentials to land musician Van Morrison for a rare video chat — to stories of the achievements of everyday people to socially conscious endeavors around the world.</p>
<p>“People are hungry for stories of hope,” Downey told Variety. “They want to engage with short-form content that is snackable and shareable. I think in the future (videos) of two to five minutes is going to be the sweet spot of storytelling.”</p>
<p>LightWorkers is advertising supported, with Carnival Cruise’s Fathom line signing on as charter sponsor.</p>
<p>Prior to the website launch this week, LightWorkers seeded the concept with a series “37 Seconds of Good News” distributed via Facebook. Those short-form vids have generated more than 21 million views to date with no promotion.</p>
<p>Downey and her team have been working on stocking the website with content for more than a year. They also have staffers combing the web for outside material that falls into the LightWorkers wheelhouse. Downey noted that unlike a movie or TV show, a website is a continuous work in progress.</p>
<p>“It’s an exciting challenge,” she said. “This is just the beginning.”</p>
<p>Downey’s hope is that LightWorkers will evolve into a community of users that extends beyond the website. There may be opportunities for long-form content down the road, but for now she is focused on attracting an audience with small doses of joyful material.</p>
<p>“I want to build a community of hope, to get people in that strong place where we can help each other,” she said. “In that sense of belonging we are reminded that we are a community. Today more than ever that’s so important.”</p>
<p>Here’s a sampling of LightWorkers series:</p>
<p>Tough But Fair with Michelle McKinney Hammond</p>
<p>Bestselling author and expert life and relationship coach Michelle McKinney Hammond provides a quick-talking, 45-second burst of actionable advice to live a better life, be a better friend, have more success in love and think positively through life’s challenges in this 16-episode series. Michelle is tough but fair—the motivator you never knew you always needed.</p>
<p>I Struggle. I Rise.</p>
<p>These profiles of key influencers in entertainment, sports and ministry reveal what they’ve learned from overcoming obstacles in their lives. Interview subjects include fashion blogger and model Lauren Scruggs, pastors and authors Chad and Julia Veach and boxer and WBC champion Heather Hardy. No matter how tragic the story, these mini-docs provide a feeling of hope and inspiration to viewers struggling with their own life challenges.</p>
<p>Giftable</p>
<p>Giftable is a series of thoughtful DIYs featuring Julianna Strickland and Natasha Feldman, two best friends who have mastered the art of gift-giving. One part cooking series and one part creative gift box inspiration, the results are what Pinterest and Instagram were made for: unique, adorable and full-of-personality presents that will make you want to be more thoughtful for the loved ones in your life.</p>
<p>Celebrity Interviews</p>
<p>You might think you know your favorite celebrity, but you’ve never seen them like this. Our interview series goes beyond the standard line of questioning, getting to the heart of what makes a person tick, from their unique perspective on life to their work ethic and everything in between.</p>
<p>In My Day</p>
<p>Everyone has something to share, but in our world where news travels at the speed of a tweet, the stories of the Baby Boomer and Silent generations are a bit more analog than what we’re used to. This series captures the insights and intelligence of regular people through compelling storytelling, ensuring that our generations and the ones still to come will have a direct line to connect with the wisdom of their elders.</p>
<p>Truthmark</p>
<p>Aaron and Viergeni White, a husband and wife youth ministry team, share their unique perspective in two-minute spoken word slam poetry performances, covering everything from happiness in the age of consumerism to the joys of parenthood.</p>
<p>Welcome to Brooklyn</p>
<p>Oregon native Brooklyn Wagner has a lot to say – about people, relationships and celebrating the small things – in this quirky, stream-of-consciousness peek inside her delightfully realistic and optimistic brain.</p>
<p>The Golden Rule</p>
<p>From inner city teens giving their time to keep their neighborhoods clean, to “volunteer cuddlers” who spend their days with babies in the NICU, this uplifting series spotlights everyday people doing extraordinary things. This is life by the Golden Rule – to do unto others as you would have them do unto you.</p>
<p>Craftitude</p>
<p>Do you have an attitude for crafting? Even the most DIY-phobic among us won’t be able to resist this delightfully inspiring series designed to take the guesswork out of answering the age-old question: What should I do with my kids today? Each episode shows simple step-by-step instructions for a unique hands-on craft, noting which important skills it will also teach the little ones. Craft on!</p>
<p>Get Read</p>
<p>For anyone who thinks it’s taboo to discuss religion, this thoughtful book club series will change your mind. Our diverse and passionate panel tackles tough issues from classics and new releases alike, all while pulling out the practical teachings from each of the books they’ve read. Their conversations are real – never preachy – and they’re the perfect entry point to starting your own deliberations with friends and chiming in on ours on social.</p>
<p>Welcome to Adulting</p>
<p>New York Times bestselling author, new mom and record-holding former women’s soccer player at LSU, Mo Isom gives viewers an unfiltered peek at just how messy life can be when you’re playing hard and juggling a lot of balls. She gives 2-minute snippets of her life as a speaker, blogger, wife and mom in this new series.</p>
<p>Office Guinea Pigs</p>
<p>You’ve seen it, you’ve heard about it, you’ve probably Googled it to get the real scoop… if you’re curious about a bizarre new beauty product, our office guinea pigs have done the dirty work for you. Watch, cringe, laugh, share, rinse and repeat – from bubbling face masks to charcoal toothpaste to female face shaving (yes, it’s a thing), we’ll try anything. And yes, we all actually work at LightWorkers… if you thought your office bonding rituals were weird, we’ll bet they don’t ask you to show off your blackheads to the world!</p> | Roma Downey, MGM Unveil LightWorkers Digital Media Venture | false | https://newsline.com/roma-downey-mgm-unveil-lightworkers-digital-media-venture/ | 2017-09-27 | 1right-center
| Roma Downey, MGM Unveil LightWorkers Digital Media Venture
<p>Producer-actress <a href="http://variety.com/tag/roma-downey/" type="external">Roma Downey</a> has raised the curtain on her long-gestating LightWorkers website designed to offer uplifting and inspirational content.</p>
<p>The project is a joint venture with MGM, which secured Downey’s <a href="http://variety.com/tag/lightworkers-media/" type="external">LightWorkers Media</a> banner in 2015 as part of its acquisition of Mark Burnett’s United Artists Media Group.</p>
<p>Downey has assembled a team of about 25 staffers who are creating and curating short-form editorial and video content for the LightWorkers.com website, based out of an office in Culver City.</p>
<p>Downey’s goal is to offer users a respite from the tumultuous news of the day with “snackable” offerings that are unabashedly feel-good in nature. There is a spiritual element to some of the material but it is not an overtly religious venture. The content ranges from celebrity interviews — Downey used her Irish credentials to land musician Van Morrison for a rare video chat — to stories of the achievements of everyday people to socially conscious endeavors around the world.</p>
<p>“People are hungry for stories of hope,” Downey told Variety. “They want to engage with short-form content that is snackable and shareable. I think in the future (videos) of two to five minutes is going to be the sweet spot of storytelling.”</p>
<p>LightWorkers is advertising supported, with Carnival Cruise’s Fathom line signing on as charter sponsor.</p>
<p>Prior to the website launch this week, LightWorkers seeded the concept with a series “37 Seconds of Good News” distributed via Facebook. Those short-form vids have generated more than 21 million views to date with no promotion.</p>
<p>Downey and her team have been working on stocking the website with content for more than a year. They also have staffers combing the web for outside material that falls into the LightWorkers wheelhouse. Downey noted that unlike a movie or TV show, a website is a continuous work in progress.</p>
<p>“It’s an exciting challenge,” she said. “This is just the beginning.”</p>
<p>Downey’s hope is that LightWorkers will evolve into a community of users that extends beyond the website. There may be opportunities for long-form content down the road, but for now she is focused on attracting an audience with small doses of joyful material.</p>
<p>“I want to build a community of hope, to get people in that strong place where we can help each other,” she said. “In that sense of belonging we are reminded that we are a community. Today more than ever that’s so important.”</p>
<p>Here’s a sampling of LightWorkers series:</p>
<p>Tough But Fair with Michelle McKinney Hammond</p>
<p>Bestselling author and expert life and relationship coach Michelle McKinney Hammond provides a quick-talking, 45-second burst of actionable advice to live a better life, be a better friend, have more success in love and think positively through life’s challenges in this 16-episode series. Michelle is tough but fair—the motivator you never knew you always needed.</p>
<p>I Struggle. I Rise.</p>
<p>These profiles of key influencers in entertainment, sports and ministry reveal what they’ve learned from overcoming obstacles in their lives. Interview subjects include fashion blogger and model Lauren Scruggs, pastors and authors Chad and Julia Veach and boxer and WBC champion Heather Hardy. No matter how tragic the story, these mini-docs provide a feeling of hope and inspiration to viewers struggling with their own life challenges.</p>
<p>Giftable</p>
<p>Giftable is a series of thoughtful DIYs featuring Julianna Strickland and Natasha Feldman, two best friends who have mastered the art of gift-giving. One part cooking series and one part creative gift box inspiration, the results are what Pinterest and Instagram were made for: unique, adorable and full-of-personality presents that will make you want to be more thoughtful for the loved ones in your life.</p>
<p>Celebrity Interviews</p>
<p>You might think you know your favorite celebrity, but you’ve never seen them like this. Our interview series goes beyond the standard line of questioning, getting to the heart of what makes a person tick, from their unique perspective on life to their work ethic and everything in between.</p>
<p>In My Day</p>
<p>Everyone has something to share, but in our world where news travels at the speed of a tweet, the stories of the Baby Boomer and Silent generations are a bit more analog than what we’re used to. This series captures the insights and intelligence of regular people through compelling storytelling, ensuring that our generations and the ones still to come will have a direct line to connect with the wisdom of their elders.</p>
<p>Truthmark</p>
<p>Aaron and Viergeni White, a husband and wife youth ministry team, share their unique perspective in two-minute spoken word slam poetry performances, covering everything from happiness in the age of consumerism to the joys of parenthood.</p>
<p>Welcome to Brooklyn</p>
<p>Oregon native Brooklyn Wagner has a lot to say – about people, relationships and celebrating the small things – in this quirky, stream-of-consciousness peek inside her delightfully realistic and optimistic brain.</p>
<p>The Golden Rule</p>
<p>From inner city teens giving their time to keep their neighborhoods clean, to “volunteer cuddlers” who spend their days with babies in the NICU, this uplifting series spotlights everyday people doing extraordinary things. This is life by the Golden Rule – to do unto others as you would have them do unto you.</p>
<p>Craftitude</p>
<p>Do you have an attitude for crafting? Even the most DIY-phobic among us won’t be able to resist this delightfully inspiring series designed to take the guesswork out of answering the age-old question: What should I do with my kids today? Each episode shows simple step-by-step instructions for a unique hands-on craft, noting which important skills it will also teach the little ones. Craft on!</p>
<p>Get Read</p>
<p>For anyone who thinks it’s taboo to discuss religion, this thoughtful book club series will change your mind. Our diverse and passionate panel tackles tough issues from classics and new releases alike, all while pulling out the practical teachings from each of the books they’ve read. Their conversations are real – never preachy – and they’re the perfect entry point to starting your own deliberations with friends and chiming in on ours on social.</p>
<p>Welcome to Adulting</p>
<p>New York Times bestselling author, new mom and record-holding former women’s soccer player at LSU, Mo Isom gives viewers an unfiltered peek at just how messy life can be when you’re playing hard and juggling a lot of balls. She gives 2-minute snippets of her life as a speaker, blogger, wife and mom in this new series.</p>
<p>Office Guinea Pigs</p>
<p>You’ve seen it, you’ve heard about it, you’ve probably Googled it to get the real scoop… if you’re curious about a bizarre new beauty product, our office guinea pigs have done the dirty work for you. Watch, cringe, laugh, share, rinse and repeat – from bubbling face masks to charcoal toothpaste to female face shaving (yes, it’s a thing), we’ll try anything. And yes, we all actually work at LightWorkers… if you thought your office bonding rituals were weird, we’ll bet they don’t ask you to show off your blackheads to the world!</p> | 1,314 |
<p>From debit card fees to overdraft charges, consumers need clearer policies from their banks to understand checking accounts, according to a report released by the Pew Charitable Trust.</p>
<p>The report identified seven “best” practices and 11 “good” practices that protect consumers by ensuring banks properly disclose relevant information, reduce or eliminate overdraft fees, and provide fair dispute resolution.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The extent to which banks are transparent varies considerably. Out of the 36 banks considered by Pew, eight of them had 12 or more good and best practices combined, with Ally Bank following the most practices. Meanwhile, six banks followed with five or fewer. First Niagara, which observed no best practices and only five good practices, had the lowest possible score.</p>
<p>These are America’s least transparent banks.</p>
<p>6. BBVA Compass &gt; Number of best practices: 1 &gt; Number of good practices: 4 &gt; Total assets: $740 billion (Compass Bancshares) &gt; Primary region: South, Southwest</p>
<p>BBVA Compass is a subsidiary of Compass Bancshares Inc., which has a presence in more than 30 countries worldwide and has about $740 billion in assets. The bank had some of the worst policies and transparency among all banks, following just one of seven best practices and only four of the 11 good practices that were outlined by Pew. For instance, unlike a majority of the 36 banks surveyed, the bank did not prohibit or limit the reordering of transactions, which is often used by banks to generate more overdraft penalties. This was despite the fact that in July 2012, the bank agreed to pay $11.5 million to settle allegations that it manipulated checking-account transactions in order to garner more overdraft fees.</p>
<p>5. First Tennessee &gt; Number of best practices: 1 &gt; Number of good practices: 4 &gt; Total assets: $25.2 billion (First Horizon) &gt; Primary region: Tennessee</p>
<p>First Tennessee, a subsidiary of First Horizon National Corp. (NYSE: FHN), operates 180 branches exclusively in Tennessee. First Tennessee was among a minority of all banks surveyed that did not disclose a specific fee for an overdraft transfer — a policy that allows people to avoid overdrafting by automatically transferring money from another designated account. It was also one of just a small group of banks not to offer an opportunity for customers to opt-out of arbitration, a dispute resolution process taking place outside of the courtroom. On the positive side, it was the only bank among the least transparent that allowed overdrafts up to a certain amount before an overdraft fee was triggered.</p>
<p>Also Read: Ten Brands That Will Disappear in 2014</p>
<p>4. Sovereign Bank &gt; Number of best practices: 1 &gt; Number of good practices: 4 &gt; Total assets: $1.2 trillion (Santander) &gt; Primary region: Nationwide</p>
<p>Sovereign Bank is a subsidiary of Santander Group, one of the largest banks in Spain. Sovereign operates more than 750 branches and 2,300 ATMs across the country. It was one of just two banks out of all 36 measured that did not adhere to a single best or good practice meant to help customers avoid overdraft charges. For example, it was one of a small handful of banks to not include a limit on the number of overdraft fees it charged per day, a policy aimed to help prevent people from incurring massive charges for minor overdrafts.</p>
<p>To view the complete list of <a href="http://247wallst.com/2013/06/04/americas-least-customer-friendly-banks/" type="external">the least transparent banks Opens a New Window.</a>, please visit 24/7 Wall St.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | Banks Hiding the Most from Customers | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2013/06/04/banks-hiding-most-from-customers.html | 2016-03-02 | 0right
| Banks Hiding the Most from Customers
<p>From debit card fees to overdraft charges, consumers need clearer policies from their banks to understand checking accounts, according to a report released by the Pew Charitable Trust.</p>
<p>The report identified seven “best” practices and 11 “good” practices that protect consumers by ensuring banks properly disclose relevant information, reduce or eliminate overdraft fees, and provide fair dispute resolution.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The extent to which banks are transparent varies considerably. Out of the 36 banks considered by Pew, eight of them had 12 or more good and best practices combined, with Ally Bank following the most practices. Meanwhile, six banks followed with five or fewer. First Niagara, which observed no best practices and only five good practices, had the lowest possible score.</p>
<p>These are America’s least transparent banks.</p>
<p>6. BBVA Compass &gt; Number of best practices: 1 &gt; Number of good practices: 4 &gt; Total assets: $740 billion (Compass Bancshares) &gt; Primary region: South, Southwest</p>
<p>BBVA Compass is a subsidiary of Compass Bancshares Inc., which has a presence in more than 30 countries worldwide and has about $740 billion in assets. The bank had some of the worst policies and transparency among all banks, following just one of seven best practices and only four of the 11 good practices that were outlined by Pew. For instance, unlike a majority of the 36 banks surveyed, the bank did not prohibit or limit the reordering of transactions, which is often used by banks to generate more overdraft penalties. This was despite the fact that in July 2012, the bank agreed to pay $11.5 million to settle allegations that it manipulated checking-account transactions in order to garner more overdraft fees.</p>
<p>5. First Tennessee &gt; Number of best practices: 1 &gt; Number of good practices: 4 &gt; Total assets: $25.2 billion (First Horizon) &gt; Primary region: Tennessee</p>
<p>First Tennessee, a subsidiary of First Horizon National Corp. (NYSE: FHN), operates 180 branches exclusively in Tennessee. First Tennessee was among a minority of all banks surveyed that did not disclose a specific fee for an overdraft transfer — a policy that allows people to avoid overdrafting by automatically transferring money from another designated account. It was also one of just a small group of banks not to offer an opportunity for customers to opt-out of arbitration, a dispute resolution process taking place outside of the courtroom. On the positive side, it was the only bank among the least transparent that allowed overdrafts up to a certain amount before an overdraft fee was triggered.</p>
<p>Also Read: Ten Brands That Will Disappear in 2014</p>
<p>4. Sovereign Bank &gt; Number of best practices: 1 &gt; Number of good practices: 4 &gt; Total assets: $1.2 trillion (Santander) &gt; Primary region: Nationwide</p>
<p>Sovereign Bank is a subsidiary of Santander Group, one of the largest banks in Spain. Sovereign operates more than 750 branches and 2,300 ATMs across the country. It was one of just two banks out of all 36 measured that did not adhere to a single best or good practice meant to help customers avoid overdraft charges. For example, it was one of a small handful of banks to not include a limit on the number of overdraft fees it charged per day, a policy aimed to help prevent people from incurring massive charges for minor overdrafts.</p>
<p>To view the complete list of <a href="http://247wallst.com/2013/06/04/americas-least-customer-friendly-banks/" type="external">the least transparent banks Opens a New Window.</a>, please visit 24/7 Wall St.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | 1,315 |
<p>It’s the kind of mashup only the crazy Internet boomers of the ’90s could cook up: Why don’t Microsoft — or MSN rather — and NBC get married? Now that Keith Olbermann is off to college, the romance just isn’t there anymore.</p>
<p>Comcast owns NBC now, and it wants more flexibility with its increasingly vital Web property. Microsoft, meanwhile, says it would prefer to have an open relationship with other news gatherers. So the cable giant cut a check, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/16/business/media/msnbccom-renamed-nbcnewscom-as-microsoft-and-nbc-divorce.html?_r=1&amp;smid=tw-share" type="external">reportedly</a>along the lines of $300 million, and the two are going their separate ways. Comcast will keep the site, which has already been renamed NBCNews.com. After a decent interval, MSNBC.com will relaunch as a portal exclusive to the TV channel, which looks like it will retain the mouthful of a name.</p>
<p>I took a tour of CNN’s Internet division back in 1996, the same year AOL 3.0 came out for Windows 95. CNN knew way back then, when blinking fonts were the cutting edge of HTML, that the Internet was the future of news, and so did two of its competitors. A few days before my tour, Microsoft and NBC had just launched their joint-venture — a cable news channel and website that had CNN in its cross hairs.</p>
<p>On TV it’s mostly a <a href="http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/07/13/cable-news-ratings-for-thursday-july-12-2012/141512/" type="external">wash</a> and Microsoft dumped its stake in that end of the business years ago. On the Web, according to comScore by way of The New York Times, CNN still leads the upstart with 56 million unique monthly visitors to MSNBC’s 50. Of course, both operations would be blindsided by blogs, Twitter and other disruptive technologies, but that kind of traffic isn’t anything to dismiss.</p>
<p />
<p>I’m glad Microsoft and NBC are finally parting ways. It was a loveless marriage arranged out of greed and maybe even a little anxiety. To the degree it was successful, sites like The Huffington Post and Reddit now make it look so much easier, while old fogeys such as The New York Times and The Washington Post do it with more class. Still, you have to hand credit to the corporate pioneers of online news, which staked their reputations and resources on the thing when a lot of their peers still thought fax machines were revolutionary.</p>
<p>The unforeseen development of the cable channel into a Democrat-friendly alternative to Fox News is the surprisingly stable product of this dysfunctional family, but has only added to the confusion for people who type MSNBC into their browser. Leave it up to Google to figure out whether they want headlines or Rachel Maddow clips.</p>
<p>There’s a lot of concern out there about the quality of news, and a great deal of fear over the survival of professional information gatherers. So whatever the product, I take it as a good sign that Comcast just spent $300 million to buy a news site and Microsoft plans to use some of that money <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/16/business/media/msnbccom-renamed-nbcnewscom-as-microsoft-and-nbc-divorce.html?_r=1&amp;smid=tw-share" type="external">“to go out and build a world-class news team.”</a></p>
<p>Rest in peace, MSNBC. May your offspring prosper.</p>
<p>— Posted by <a href="" type="internal">Peter Z. Scheer</a></p> | MSNBC Divorce: Microsoft Moves On With $300 Million | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/msnbc-divorce-microsoft-moves-on-with-300-million/ | 2012-07-16 | 4left
| MSNBC Divorce: Microsoft Moves On With $300 Million
<p>It’s the kind of mashup only the crazy Internet boomers of the ’90s could cook up: Why don’t Microsoft — or MSN rather — and NBC get married? Now that Keith Olbermann is off to college, the romance just isn’t there anymore.</p>
<p>Comcast owns NBC now, and it wants more flexibility with its increasingly vital Web property. Microsoft, meanwhile, says it would prefer to have an open relationship with other news gatherers. So the cable giant cut a check, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/16/business/media/msnbccom-renamed-nbcnewscom-as-microsoft-and-nbc-divorce.html?_r=1&amp;smid=tw-share" type="external">reportedly</a>along the lines of $300 million, and the two are going their separate ways. Comcast will keep the site, which has already been renamed NBCNews.com. After a decent interval, MSNBC.com will relaunch as a portal exclusive to the TV channel, which looks like it will retain the mouthful of a name.</p>
<p>I took a tour of CNN’s Internet division back in 1996, the same year AOL 3.0 came out for Windows 95. CNN knew way back then, when blinking fonts were the cutting edge of HTML, that the Internet was the future of news, and so did two of its competitors. A few days before my tour, Microsoft and NBC had just launched their joint-venture — a cable news channel and website that had CNN in its cross hairs.</p>
<p>On TV it’s mostly a <a href="http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/07/13/cable-news-ratings-for-thursday-july-12-2012/141512/" type="external">wash</a> and Microsoft dumped its stake in that end of the business years ago. On the Web, according to comScore by way of The New York Times, CNN still leads the upstart with 56 million unique monthly visitors to MSNBC’s 50. Of course, both operations would be blindsided by blogs, Twitter and other disruptive technologies, but that kind of traffic isn’t anything to dismiss.</p>
<p />
<p>I’m glad Microsoft and NBC are finally parting ways. It was a loveless marriage arranged out of greed and maybe even a little anxiety. To the degree it was successful, sites like The Huffington Post and Reddit now make it look so much easier, while old fogeys such as The New York Times and The Washington Post do it with more class. Still, you have to hand credit to the corporate pioneers of online news, which staked their reputations and resources on the thing when a lot of their peers still thought fax machines were revolutionary.</p>
<p>The unforeseen development of the cable channel into a Democrat-friendly alternative to Fox News is the surprisingly stable product of this dysfunctional family, but has only added to the confusion for people who type MSNBC into their browser. Leave it up to Google to figure out whether they want headlines or Rachel Maddow clips.</p>
<p>There’s a lot of concern out there about the quality of news, and a great deal of fear over the survival of professional information gatherers. So whatever the product, I take it as a good sign that Comcast just spent $300 million to buy a news site and Microsoft plans to use some of that money <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/16/business/media/msnbccom-renamed-nbcnewscom-as-microsoft-and-nbc-divorce.html?_r=1&amp;smid=tw-share" type="external">“to go out and build a world-class news team.”</a></p>
<p>Rest in peace, MSNBC. May your offspring prosper.</p>
<p>— Posted by <a href="" type="internal">Peter Z. Scheer</a></p> | 1,316 |
<p>Usually at year’s end, we’re supposed to look back at events just passed — and forward, in prediction mode, to the year to come. But just look around you! This moment is so extraordinary that it has hardly registered. People in thousands of communities across the United States and elsewhere are living in public, experimenting with direct democracy, calling things by their true names, and obliging the media and politicians to do the same.</p>
<p>The breadth of this movement is one thing, its depth another. It has rejected not just the particulars of our economic system, but the whole set of moral and emotional assumptions on which it’s based. Take the pair&#160; <a href="" type="internal">shown in a photograph</a>&#160;from Occupy Austin in Texas.&#160; The amiable-looking elderlywoman is holding a sign whose computer-printed words say, “Money has stolen our vote.” The older man next to her with the baseball cap is holding a sign handwritten on cardboard that states, “We are our brothers’ keeper.”</p>
<p>The photo of the two of them offers just a peek into a single moment in the remarkable period we’re living through and the astonishing movement that’s drawn in… well, if not 99% of us, then a striking enough percentage: everyone from teen pop superstar Miley Cyrus with her&#160; <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sdT679VKj4" type="external">Occupy-homage video</a>&#160;to Alaska Yup’ik elder Esther Green ice-fishing and&#160; <a href="" type="internal">holding a sign</a>&#160;that says&#160;“Yirqa Kuik”&#160;in big letters, with the translation — “occupy the river” — in little ones below.</p>
<p><a type="external" href="" />The woman with the stolen-votes sign is referring to them. Her companion is talking about us, all of us, and our fundamental principles. His sign comes straight out of Genesis, a denial of what that competitive entrepreneur Cain said to God after foreclosing on his brother Abel’s life. He was not, he claimed, his brother’s keeper; we are not, he insisted, beholden to each other, but separate, isolated, each of us for ourselves.</p>
<p>Think of Cain as the first Social Darwinist and this Occupier in Austin as his opposite, claiming, no,&#160;our&#160;operating system should be love; we are all connected; we must take care of each other. And this movement, he’s saying, is about what the Argentinian uprising that began a decade ago, on December 19, 2001, called&#160;politica afectiva, the politics of affection.</p>
<p>If it’s a movement about love, it’s also about the money they so unjustly took, and continue to take, from us — and about the fact that, right now, money and love are at war with each other. After all, in the American heartland, people are <a href="" type="internal">beginning</a>&#160;to be&#160; <a href="" type="internal">imprisoned for debt</a>, while the Occupy movement is arguing for debt forgiveness, renegotiation, and debt jubilees.</p>
<p>Sometimes love, or at least decency, wins. &#160;One morning late last month, 75-year-old Josephine Tolbert, who ran a daycare center from her modest San Francisco home, returned after dropping a child off at school only to find that she and the other children were locked out because she was behind in her mortgage payments. True Compass LLC, who bought her place in a short sale while she thought she was still negotiating with Bank of America, would not allow her back into her home of almost four decades, even to get her medicines or diapers for the children.</p>
<p>We demonstrated at her home and at True Compass’s shabby offices while they hid within, and students from Occupy San Francisco State University demonstrated outside a True Compass-owned restaurant on behalf of this African-American grandmother. Thanks to this solidarity and the media attention it garnered, Tolbert has collected her keys, moved back in, and is renegotiating the terms of her mortgage.</p>
<p>Hundreds of other foreclosure victims are now being defended by local branches of the Occupy movement, from West Oakland to North Minneapolis. As New York writer, filmmaker, and Occupier Astra Taylor puts it,</p>
<p>Not only does the occupation of abandoned foreclosed homes connect the dots between Wall Street and Main Street, it can also lead to swift and tangible victories, something movements desperately need for momentum to be maintained. The banks, it seems, are softer targets than one might expect because so many cases are rife with legal irregularities and outright criminality. With one in five homes facing foreclosure and filings showing no sign of slowing down in the next few years, the number of people touched by the mortgage crisis — whether because they have lost their homes or because their homes are now underwater — truly boggles the mind.”</p>
<p>If what’s been happening locally and globally has some of the characteristics of an uprising, then there has never been one quite so pervasive — from the scientists holding an Occupy sign in&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Antarctica</a>&#160;to Occupy presences in places as far-flung as New Zealand and Australia, São Paulo, Frankfurt, London, Toronto, Los Angeles, and Reykjavik. And don’t forget the tiniest places, either. The other morning at the Oakland docks for the West Coast port shutdown demonstrations, I met three members of Occupy Amador County, a small rural area in California’s Sierra Nevada.&#160; Its largest town, Jackson, has a little over 4,000 inhabitants, which hasn’t stopped it from having regular outdoor Friday evening Occupy meetings.</p>
<p>A little girl in a red parka at the Oakland docks was carrying a sign with a quote from blind-deaf-and-articulate early twentieth-century role model Helen Keller that said, “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt within the heart.” Why quote Keller at a demonstration focused on labor and economics? The answer is clear enough: because Occupy has some of the emotional resonance of a spiritual, as well as a political, movement.&#160; Like those other upheavals it’s aligned with in Spain, Greece, Iceland (where they’re actually&#160; <a href="" type="internal">jailing bankers</a>), Britain, Egypt, Syria, Tunisia, Libya, Chile, and most recently Russia, it wants to ask basic questions: What matters? Who matters? Who decides? On what principles?</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="" type="internal" />Stop for a moment and consider just how unforeseen and unforeseeable all of this was when, on December 17, 2010, Mohamed Bouazizi, a Tunisian vegetable vendor in Sidi Bouzid, an out-of-the-way, impoverished city,&#160; <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175455/tomgram%3A_rebecca_solnit%2C_this_land_is_your_%28occupied%29_land" type="external">immolated himself</a>. He was protesting the dead-end life that the 1% economy run by Tunisia’s autocratic ruler Zine Ben Ali and his&#160; <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/archive/175346/juan_cole_the_corruption_game" type="external">corrupt family</a>&#160;allotted him, and the police brutality that went with it, two things that have remained front and center ever since. Above all, as his mother has&#160; <a href="" type="internal">since testified</a>, he was for human dignity, for a world, that is, where the primary system of value is not money.</p>
<p>“Compassion is our new currency,” was the message&#160; <a href="http://jeremyayres.tumblr.com/" type="external">scrawled</a>&#160;on a pizza-box lid at Occupy Wall Street in Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan — held by a pensive-looking young man in Jeremy Ayers’s great photo portrait. &#160;But what can you buy with compassion?</p>
<p>Quite a lot, it turns out, including a global movement, and even pizza, which can arrive at that movement’s campground as a gift of solidarity. &#160;A few days into Occupy Wall Street’s surprise success, a call for pizza went out and $2,600 in pizzas came in within an hour, just as earlier this year the occupiers of Wisconsin’s state house had been&#160; <a href="" type="internal">copiously supplied</a>&#160;with pizza — including pies paid for and dispatched by Egyptian revolutionaries.</p>
<p>The Return of the Disappeared</p>
<p>During the 1970s and 1980s dictatorship and death-squad era in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, and Central America, the term “the disappeared” came to cover those who were kidnapped, held in secret, tortured, and then often executed in secret. So many decades later, their fates are often still being deciphered.</p>
<p>In the United States, the disappeared also exist, not thanks to a brutal army or paramilitaries, but to a brutal economy.&#160; When you lose your job, you vanish from the workplace and sooner or later arrive at emptiness in your day, your identity, your wallet, your ability to participate in a commercial society. When you lose your home, you disappear from familiar spaces: the block, the neighborhood, the rolls of homeowners.&#160;&#160; Often, you vanish in shame, leaving behind friends and acquaintances.</p>
<p>At the actions to support some of the 1,500 mostly African-American homeowners being foreclosed upon in southeastern San Francisco, several of them described how they had to overcome a powerful sense of shame simply to speak up, no less defend themselves or join this movement. In the U.S., failure is always supposed to be individual, not systemic, and so it tends to produce a sense of personal devastation that leaves its victims feeling alone and lying low, even though they are among legions of others.</p>
<p>The people who destroyed our economy through their bottomless greed are, on the other hand, shameless — as shameless as the CEOs whose compensation shot up&#160; <a href="" type="internal">36%</a>&#160;in 2010, during this deep and grinding recession. Compassion is definitely not their currency.</p>
<p>The word “occupy” itself speaks powerfully to the American disappeared and the very idea of disappearance.&#160; It speaks to those who have lost their occupation or the home they occupied. In its many meanings, it’s a big tent. It means to fill a space, take possession of it, employ oneself, busy oneself, fill time.&#160; (In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the verb had a meaning so sexual it fell out of common use.)&#160; It describes the state of being present that the Occupy movement’s General Assemblies and tent camps have lived out, a space in which — as Mohamed Bouazizi might have dreamed it — the disappeared can reappear with dignity.</p>
<p>Occupy has also created a space in which people of all kinds can coexist, from the&#160; <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/archive/175457/barbara_ehrenreich_homeless_in_america" type="external">homeless</a>&#160;to the tenured, from the inner city to&#160; <a href="http://www.readersupportednews.org/opinion2/441-occupy/8948-occupy-the-food-system" type="external">the agrarian</a>. Coexisting in public with likeminded strangers and acquaintances is one of the great foundations and experiences of democracy, which is why dictatorships ban gatherings and groups — and why our First Amendment guarantee of the right of the people peaceably to assemble is being tested more strongly today than in any recent moment in American history. Nearly every Occupy has at its center regular meetings of a&#160; <a href="http://www.nycga.net/about/" type="external">General Assembly</a>. These are experiments in direct democracy that have been messy, exasperating and miraculous: arenas in which everyone is invited to be heard, to have a voice, to be a member, to shape the future. Occupy is first of all a conversation among ourselves.</p>
<p>To occupy also means to show up, to be present — a radically unplugged experience for a digital generation. Today, the term is being applied to any place where one plans to be present, geographically or metaphorically: Occupy Wall Street, occupy the food system,&#160; <a href="" type="internal">occupy your heart</a>. The&#160;ad hoc&#160;invention of the people’s mic by the occupiers of Zuccotti Park, which requires everyone to listen, repeat, and amplify what’s being said, has only strengthened this sense of presence. You can’t text or half-listen if your task is to repeat everything, so that everyone hears and understands. You become the keeper of your brother’s or sister’s voice as you repeat their words.</p>
<p>It’s a triumph of the here and now — and it’s everywhere: the&#160; <a href="http://www.youthradio.org/news/student-human-mic-disrupts-uc-regents-meeting-about-budget" type="external">Regents of the University of California</a>&#160;are mic-checked, politicians are mic-checked, the <a href="" type="internal">Durban Climate Conference</a>&#160;in South Africa had occupiers and mic-check moments. Activism had long been in dire need of new modes of doing things, and this year it got them.</p>
<p>A Mouthful of Truth</p>
<p>Before the Occupy movement arrived on the scene, political dialogue and media chatter in this country seemed to be arriving from a warped parallel universe. Tiny government expenditures were denounced, while the vortex sucking our economy dry was rarely addressed; hard-working immigrants were portrayed as deadbeats; people who did nothing were anointed as “job creators”; the trashed economy and massive suffering were overlooked, while politicians jousted over (and pundits pontificated about) the deficit; class war was only called class war when someone other than the ruling class waged it. It’s as though we were trying to navigate Las Vegas with a tattered map of medieval Byzantium — via, that is, a broken language in which everything and everyone got lost.</p>
<p>Then Occupy arrived and, as if swept by some strange pandemic, a contagious virus of truth-telling, everyone was suddenly obliged to call things by their real names and talk about actual problems. The blather about the deficit was replaced by acknowledgments of grotesque economic inequality. Greed was called greed, and once it had its true name, it became intolerable, as had racism when the Civil Rights Movement named it and made it evident to those who weren’t suffering from it directly. The vast scale of suffering around student debt and tuition hikes, foreclosures, unemployment, wage stagnation, medical costs, and the other afflictions of the normal American suddenly moved to the top of the news, and once exposed to the light, these, too, became intolerable.</p>
<p>If the solutions to the nightmares being named are neither near nor easy, naming things, describing reality with some accuracy, is at least a crucial first step. &#160;Informing ourselves as citizens is another.&#160; Aspects of our&#160; <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175478/tomgram%3A_engelhardt%2C_the_1%25_election/" type="external">not-quite-democracy</a>&#160;that were once almost invisible are now on the table for discussion — and for opposition, notably corporate personhood, the legal status that gives corporations the rights, but not the obligations and vulnerabilities, of citizens. (One oft-repeated Occupier sign says, “I’ll believe corporations are people when Texas puts one to death.”)</p>
<p>The Los Angeles City Council passed a measure calling for an end to corporate personhood, the first big city to join the Move to Amend campaign against corporate personhood and against the 2009 Supreme Court&#160;Citizens Unitedruling that gave corporations unlimited ability to insert their cash in our political campaigns. Occupy actions across the country are planned for January 20th, the second anniversary of&#160;Citizens United. Vermont’s independent Senator Bernie Sanders, who’s been speaking the truth alone for a long time, introduced a&#160; <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/198343-sanders-offers-constitutional-amendment-to-strip-corporations-of-first-amendment-rights" type="external">constitutional amendment</a>&#160;to repeal&#160;Citizens United&#160;and limit corporate power in the Senate, while Congressman Ted Deutch (D-FL) introduced a similar measure in the House.</p>
<p>Only a few years ago, hardly anyone knew what corporate personhood was.&#160; Now, signs denouncing it are common.&#160; Similarly, at Occupy events, people make it clear that they know about the New Deal-era financial reform measure known as&#160; <a href="http://occupywallst.org/forum/break-up-the-banks-the-glass-steagall-act/" type="external">the Glass-Steagall Act</a>, which was partially repealed in 1999, removing the wall between commercial and investment banks; that they know about the proposed financial transfer tax, nicknamed the&#160; <a href="http://robinhoodtax.org/" type="external">Robin Hood Tax</a>, that would raise billions with a tiny levy on every financial transaction; that they understand many of the means by which the 1% were enriched and the rest of us robbed.</p>
<p>This represents a striking learning curve. A new language of truth, debate about what actually matters, an informed citizenry: that’s no small thing. But we need more.</p>
<p>We Are the 99.999%</p>
<p>I was myself so caught up in the Occupy movement that I stopped paying my usual attention to the war over the climate — until I was brought up short by the <a href="" type="internal">catastrophic failure</a>&#160;of the climate negotiations in Durban, South Africa. There, earlier this month, the most powerful and carbon-polluting countries&#160; <a href="" type="internal">managed to avoid</a>&#160;taking any timely and substantial measures to keep the climate from heating up and the Earth from slipping into unstoppable chaotic change.</p>
<p>It’s our nature to be more compelled by immediate human suffering than by remote systemic problems. Only this problem isn’t anywhere near as remote as many Americans imagine.&#160; It’s already creating human suffering on a large scale and will create far more. Many of the&#160; <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/archive/175419/christian_parenti_reading_the_world_in_a_loaf_of_bread" type="external">food crises</a>&#160;of the past decade are tied to climate change, and in Africa thousands are dying of climate-related chaos. The floods, fires, storms, and heat waves of the past few years are climate change coming to call earlier than expected in the U.S.</p>
<p>In the most immediate sense, Occupy may have weakened the climate movement by focusing many of us on the urgent suffering of our brothers, our neighbors, our democracy. In the end, however, it could strengthen that movement with its new tactics, alliances, spirit, and language of truth. After all, why have we been unable to make the major changes required to limit greenhouse gases in the atmosphere? The answer is a word suddenly in wide circulation: greed. Responding adequately to this crisis would benefit every living thing. When it comes to climate change, after all, we are the 99.999%.</p>
<p>But the international .001% who profit immeasurably from the carbon economy — the oil and coal tycoons, industrialists, and politicians whose strings they pull — are against this change. For decades, they’ve managed to propagandize many Americans, in and out of government, into climate denial, spreading lies about the science and economics of climate change, and undermining any possible legislation and international negotiations to ameliorate it. And if you think the eviction of elderly homeowners is brutal, think of it as a tiny foreshadowing of the displacement and disappearance of people, communities, nations, species, habitats. Climate change threatens to foreclose on all of us.</p>
<p>The groups working on climate change now, notably&#160; <a href="" type="internal">350.org</a>&#160;and Tar Sands Action, have done astonishing things already. Most recently, with the help of native Canadians, local activists, and alternative media, they&#160; <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/archive/175468/bill_mckibben_puncturing_the_pipeline" type="external">very nearly managed</a>&#160;to kill the single scariest and biggest North American threat to the climate: the tar sands pipeline that would go from Canada to Texas. It’s been a remarkable show of organizing power and popular will. Occupy the Climate may need to come next.</p>
<p>Maybe Occupy Wall Street and its thousands of spin-offs have built the foundation for it. But perhaps the greatest gift that it and the other movements of 2011 have given us is a sharpening of our perceptions — and our conflicts. So much more is out in the open now, including the greed, the brutality with which entities from the Egyptian army to the Oakland police impose the will of rulers, and most of all the deep generosity of spirit that is behind, within, and around these insurgencies and their activists. None of these movements is perfect, and individuals within them are not always the greatest keepers of their brothers and sisters.&#160; But one thing couldn’t be clearer: compassion is our new currency.</p>
<p>Nothing has been more moving to me than this desire, realized imperfectly but repeatedly, to connect across differences, to be a community, to make a better world, to embrace each other. This desire is what lies behind those messy camps, those raucous demonstrations, those cardboard signs and long conversations. Young activists have spoken to me about the extraordinary richness of their experiences at Occupy, and they call it love.</p>
<p>In the spirit of calling things by their true names, let me summon up the description that Ella Baker and Martin Luther King used for the great communities of activists who stood up for civil rights half a century ago:&#160; <a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/a-conspiracy-of-hope/the-beloved-community-of-martin-luther-king" type="external">the beloved community</a>. Many who were active then never forgot the deep bonds and deep meaning they found in that struggle. We — and the word “we” encompasses more of us than ever before — have found those things, too, and this year we have come close to something unprecedented, a beloved community that circles the globe.</p>
<p>Rebecca Solnit&#160;is the author of 13 books,&#160; <a href="" type="internal">A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities that Arise in Disaster</a>, and this year’s&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Infinite City: A San Francisco Atlas</a>.&#160;</p> | Return of the Disappeared | true | https://counterpunch.org/2011/12/22/return-of-the-disappeared/ | 2011-12-22 | 4left
| Return of the Disappeared
<p>Usually at year’s end, we’re supposed to look back at events just passed — and forward, in prediction mode, to the year to come. But just look around you! This moment is so extraordinary that it has hardly registered. People in thousands of communities across the United States and elsewhere are living in public, experimenting with direct democracy, calling things by their true names, and obliging the media and politicians to do the same.</p>
<p>The breadth of this movement is one thing, its depth another. It has rejected not just the particulars of our economic system, but the whole set of moral and emotional assumptions on which it’s based. Take the pair&#160; <a href="" type="internal">shown in a photograph</a>&#160;from Occupy Austin in Texas.&#160; The amiable-looking elderlywoman is holding a sign whose computer-printed words say, “Money has stolen our vote.” The older man next to her with the baseball cap is holding a sign handwritten on cardboard that states, “We are our brothers’ keeper.”</p>
<p>The photo of the two of them offers just a peek into a single moment in the remarkable period we’re living through and the astonishing movement that’s drawn in… well, if not 99% of us, then a striking enough percentage: everyone from teen pop superstar Miley Cyrus with her&#160; <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sdT679VKj4" type="external">Occupy-homage video</a>&#160;to Alaska Yup’ik elder Esther Green ice-fishing and&#160; <a href="" type="internal">holding a sign</a>&#160;that says&#160;“Yirqa Kuik”&#160;in big letters, with the translation — “occupy the river” — in little ones below.</p>
<p><a type="external" href="" />The woman with the stolen-votes sign is referring to them. Her companion is talking about us, all of us, and our fundamental principles. His sign comes straight out of Genesis, a denial of what that competitive entrepreneur Cain said to God after foreclosing on his brother Abel’s life. He was not, he claimed, his brother’s keeper; we are not, he insisted, beholden to each other, but separate, isolated, each of us for ourselves.</p>
<p>Think of Cain as the first Social Darwinist and this Occupier in Austin as his opposite, claiming, no,&#160;our&#160;operating system should be love; we are all connected; we must take care of each other. And this movement, he’s saying, is about what the Argentinian uprising that began a decade ago, on December 19, 2001, called&#160;politica afectiva, the politics of affection.</p>
<p>If it’s a movement about love, it’s also about the money they so unjustly took, and continue to take, from us — and about the fact that, right now, money and love are at war with each other. After all, in the American heartland, people are <a href="" type="internal">beginning</a>&#160;to be&#160; <a href="" type="internal">imprisoned for debt</a>, while the Occupy movement is arguing for debt forgiveness, renegotiation, and debt jubilees.</p>
<p>Sometimes love, or at least decency, wins. &#160;One morning late last month, 75-year-old Josephine Tolbert, who ran a daycare center from her modest San Francisco home, returned after dropping a child off at school only to find that she and the other children were locked out because she was behind in her mortgage payments. True Compass LLC, who bought her place in a short sale while she thought she was still negotiating with Bank of America, would not allow her back into her home of almost four decades, even to get her medicines or diapers for the children.</p>
<p>We demonstrated at her home and at True Compass’s shabby offices while they hid within, and students from Occupy San Francisco State University demonstrated outside a True Compass-owned restaurant on behalf of this African-American grandmother. Thanks to this solidarity and the media attention it garnered, Tolbert has collected her keys, moved back in, and is renegotiating the terms of her mortgage.</p>
<p>Hundreds of other foreclosure victims are now being defended by local branches of the Occupy movement, from West Oakland to North Minneapolis. As New York writer, filmmaker, and Occupier Astra Taylor puts it,</p>
<p>Not only does the occupation of abandoned foreclosed homes connect the dots between Wall Street and Main Street, it can also lead to swift and tangible victories, something movements desperately need for momentum to be maintained. The banks, it seems, are softer targets than one might expect because so many cases are rife with legal irregularities and outright criminality. With one in five homes facing foreclosure and filings showing no sign of slowing down in the next few years, the number of people touched by the mortgage crisis — whether because they have lost their homes or because their homes are now underwater — truly boggles the mind.”</p>
<p>If what’s been happening locally and globally has some of the characteristics of an uprising, then there has never been one quite so pervasive — from the scientists holding an Occupy sign in&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Antarctica</a>&#160;to Occupy presences in places as far-flung as New Zealand and Australia, São Paulo, Frankfurt, London, Toronto, Los Angeles, and Reykjavik. And don’t forget the tiniest places, either. The other morning at the Oakland docks for the West Coast port shutdown demonstrations, I met three members of Occupy Amador County, a small rural area in California’s Sierra Nevada.&#160; Its largest town, Jackson, has a little over 4,000 inhabitants, which hasn’t stopped it from having regular outdoor Friday evening Occupy meetings.</p>
<p>A little girl in a red parka at the Oakland docks was carrying a sign with a quote from blind-deaf-and-articulate early twentieth-century role model Helen Keller that said, “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt within the heart.” Why quote Keller at a demonstration focused on labor and economics? The answer is clear enough: because Occupy has some of the emotional resonance of a spiritual, as well as a political, movement.&#160; Like those other upheavals it’s aligned with in Spain, Greece, Iceland (where they’re actually&#160; <a href="" type="internal">jailing bankers</a>), Britain, Egypt, Syria, Tunisia, Libya, Chile, and most recently Russia, it wants to ask basic questions: What matters? Who matters? Who decides? On what principles?</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="" type="internal" />Stop for a moment and consider just how unforeseen and unforeseeable all of this was when, on December 17, 2010, Mohamed Bouazizi, a Tunisian vegetable vendor in Sidi Bouzid, an out-of-the-way, impoverished city,&#160; <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175455/tomgram%3A_rebecca_solnit%2C_this_land_is_your_%28occupied%29_land" type="external">immolated himself</a>. He was protesting the dead-end life that the 1% economy run by Tunisia’s autocratic ruler Zine Ben Ali and his&#160; <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/archive/175346/juan_cole_the_corruption_game" type="external">corrupt family</a>&#160;allotted him, and the police brutality that went with it, two things that have remained front and center ever since. Above all, as his mother has&#160; <a href="" type="internal">since testified</a>, he was for human dignity, for a world, that is, where the primary system of value is not money.</p>
<p>“Compassion is our new currency,” was the message&#160; <a href="http://jeremyayres.tumblr.com/" type="external">scrawled</a>&#160;on a pizza-box lid at Occupy Wall Street in Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan — held by a pensive-looking young man in Jeremy Ayers’s great photo portrait. &#160;But what can you buy with compassion?</p>
<p>Quite a lot, it turns out, including a global movement, and even pizza, which can arrive at that movement’s campground as a gift of solidarity. &#160;A few days into Occupy Wall Street’s surprise success, a call for pizza went out and $2,600 in pizzas came in within an hour, just as earlier this year the occupiers of Wisconsin’s state house had been&#160; <a href="" type="internal">copiously supplied</a>&#160;with pizza — including pies paid for and dispatched by Egyptian revolutionaries.</p>
<p>The Return of the Disappeared</p>
<p>During the 1970s and 1980s dictatorship and death-squad era in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, and Central America, the term “the disappeared” came to cover those who were kidnapped, held in secret, tortured, and then often executed in secret. So many decades later, their fates are often still being deciphered.</p>
<p>In the United States, the disappeared also exist, not thanks to a brutal army or paramilitaries, but to a brutal economy.&#160; When you lose your job, you vanish from the workplace and sooner or later arrive at emptiness in your day, your identity, your wallet, your ability to participate in a commercial society. When you lose your home, you disappear from familiar spaces: the block, the neighborhood, the rolls of homeowners.&#160;&#160; Often, you vanish in shame, leaving behind friends and acquaintances.</p>
<p>At the actions to support some of the 1,500 mostly African-American homeowners being foreclosed upon in southeastern San Francisco, several of them described how they had to overcome a powerful sense of shame simply to speak up, no less defend themselves or join this movement. In the U.S., failure is always supposed to be individual, not systemic, and so it tends to produce a sense of personal devastation that leaves its victims feeling alone and lying low, even though they are among legions of others.</p>
<p>The people who destroyed our economy through their bottomless greed are, on the other hand, shameless — as shameless as the CEOs whose compensation shot up&#160; <a href="" type="internal">36%</a>&#160;in 2010, during this deep and grinding recession. Compassion is definitely not their currency.</p>
<p>The word “occupy” itself speaks powerfully to the American disappeared and the very idea of disappearance.&#160; It speaks to those who have lost their occupation or the home they occupied. In its many meanings, it’s a big tent. It means to fill a space, take possession of it, employ oneself, busy oneself, fill time.&#160; (In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the verb had a meaning so sexual it fell out of common use.)&#160; It describes the state of being present that the Occupy movement’s General Assemblies and tent camps have lived out, a space in which — as Mohamed Bouazizi might have dreamed it — the disappeared can reappear with dignity.</p>
<p>Occupy has also created a space in which people of all kinds can coexist, from the&#160; <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/archive/175457/barbara_ehrenreich_homeless_in_america" type="external">homeless</a>&#160;to the tenured, from the inner city to&#160; <a href="http://www.readersupportednews.org/opinion2/441-occupy/8948-occupy-the-food-system" type="external">the agrarian</a>. Coexisting in public with likeminded strangers and acquaintances is one of the great foundations and experiences of democracy, which is why dictatorships ban gatherings and groups — and why our First Amendment guarantee of the right of the people peaceably to assemble is being tested more strongly today than in any recent moment in American history. Nearly every Occupy has at its center regular meetings of a&#160; <a href="http://www.nycga.net/about/" type="external">General Assembly</a>. These are experiments in direct democracy that have been messy, exasperating and miraculous: arenas in which everyone is invited to be heard, to have a voice, to be a member, to shape the future. Occupy is first of all a conversation among ourselves.</p>
<p>To occupy also means to show up, to be present — a radically unplugged experience for a digital generation. Today, the term is being applied to any place where one plans to be present, geographically or metaphorically: Occupy Wall Street, occupy the food system,&#160; <a href="" type="internal">occupy your heart</a>. The&#160;ad hoc&#160;invention of the people’s mic by the occupiers of Zuccotti Park, which requires everyone to listen, repeat, and amplify what’s being said, has only strengthened this sense of presence. You can’t text or half-listen if your task is to repeat everything, so that everyone hears and understands. You become the keeper of your brother’s or sister’s voice as you repeat their words.</p>
<p>It’s a triumph of the here and now — and it’s everywhere: the&#160; <a href="http://www.youthradio.org/news/student-human-mic-disrupts-uc-regents-meeting-about-budget" type="external">Regents of the University of California</a>&#160;are mic-checked, politicians are mic-checked, the <a href="" type="internal">Durban Climate Conference</a>&#160;in South Africa had occupiers and mic-check moments. Activism had long been in dire need of new modes of doing things, and this year it got them.</p>
<p>A Mouthful of Truth</p>
<p>Before the Occupy movement arrived on the scene, political dialogue and media chatter in this country seemed to be arriving from a warped parallel universe. Tiny government expenditures were denounced, while the vortex sucking our economy dry was rarely addressed; hard-working immigrants were portrayed as deadbeats; people who did nothing were anointed as “job creators”; the trashed economy and massive suffering were overlooked, while politicians jousted over (and pundits pontificated about) the deficit; class war was only called class war when someone other than the ruling class waged it. It’s as though we were trying to navigate Las Vegas with a tattered map of medieval Byzantium — via, that is, a broken language in which everything and everyone got lost.</p>
<p>Then Occupy arrived and, as if swept by some strange pandemic, a contagious virus of truth-telling, everyone was suddenly obliged to call things by their real names and talk about actual problems. The blather about the deficit was replaced by acknowledgments of grotesque economic inequality. Greed was called greed, and once it had its true name, it became intolerable, as had racism when the Civil Rights Movement named it and made it evident to those who weren’t suffering from it directly. The vast scale of suffering around student debt and tuition hikes, foreclosures, unemployment, wage stagnation, medical costs, and the other afflictions of the normal American suddenly moved to the top of the news, and once exposed to the light, these, too, became intolerable.</p>
<p>If the solutions to the nightmares being named are neither near nor easy, naming things, describing reality with some accuracy, is at least a crucial first step. &#160;Informing ourselves as citizens is another.&#160; Aspects of our&#160; <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175478/tomgram%3A_engelhardt%2C_the_1%25_election/" type="external">not-quite-democracy</a>&#160;that were once almost invisible are now on the table for discussion — and for opposition, notably corporate personhood, the legal status that gives corporations the rights, but not the obligations and vulnerabilities, of citizens. (One oft-repeated Occupier sign says, “I’ll believe corporations are people when Texas puts one to death.”)</p>
<p>The Los Angeles City Council passed a measure calling for an end to corporate personhood, the first big city to join the Move to Amend campaign against corporate personhood and against the 2009 Supreme Court&#160;Citizens Unitedruling that gave corporations unlimited ability to insert their cash in our political campaigns. Occupy actions across the country are planned for January 20th, the second anniversary of&#160;Citizens United. Vermont’s independent Senator Bernie Sanders, who’s been speaking the truth alone for a long time, introduced a&#160; <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/198343-sanders-offers-constitutional-amendment-to-strip-corporations-of-first-amendment-rights" type="external">constitutional amendment</a>&#160;to repeal&#160;Citizens United&#160;and limit corporate power in the Senate, while Congressman Ted Deutch (D-FL) introduced a similar measure in the House.</p>
<p>Only a few years ago, hardly anyone knew what corporate personhood was.&#160; Now, signs denouncing it are common.&#160; Similarly, at Occupy events, people make it clear that they know about the New Deal-era financial reform measure known as&#160; <a href="http://occupywallst.org/forum/break-up-the-banks-the-glass-steagall-act/" type="external">the Glass-Steagall Act</a>, which was partially repealed in 1999, removing the wall between commercial and investment banks; that they know about the proposed financial transfer tax, nicknamed the&#160; <a href="http://robinhoodtax.org/" type="external">Robin Hood Tax</a>, that would raise billions with a tiny levy on every financial transaction; that they understand many of the means by which the 1% were enriched and the rest of us robbed.</p>
<p>This represents a striking learning curve. A new language of truth, debate about what actually matters, an informed citizenry: that’s no small thing. But we need more.</p>
<p>We Are the 99.999%</p>
<p>I was myself so caught up in the Occupy movement that I stopped paying my usual attention to the war over the climate — until I was brought up short by the <a href="" type="internal">catastrophic failure</a>&#160;of the climate negotiations in Durban, South Africa. There, earlier this month, the most powerful and carbon-polluting countries&#160; <a href="" type="internal">managed to avoid</a>&#160;taking any timely and substantial measures to keep the climate from heating up and the Earth from slipping into unstoppable chaotic change.</p>
<p>It’s our nature to be more compelled by immediate human suffering than by remote systemic problems. Only this problem isn’t anywhere near as remote as many Americans imagine.&#160; It’s already creating human suffering on a large scale and will create far more. Many of the&#160; <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/archive/175419/christian_parenti_reading_the_world_in_a_loaf_of_bread" type="external">food crises</a>&#160;of the past decade are tied to climate change, and in Africa thousands are dying of climate-related chaos. The floods, fires, storms, and heat waves of the past few years are climate change coming to call earlier than expected in the U.S.</p>
<p>In the most immediate sense, Occupy may have weakened the climate movement by focusing many of us on the urgent suffering of our brothers, our neighbors, our democracy. In the end, however, it could strengthen that movement with its new tactics, alliances, spirit, and language of truth. After all, why have we been unable to make the major changes required to limit greenhouse gases in the atmosphere? The answer is a word suddenly in wide circulation: greed. Responding adequately to this crisis would benefit every living thing. When it comes to climate change, after all, we are the 99.999%.</p>
<p>But the international .001% who profit immeasurably from the carbon economy — the oil and coal tycoons, industrialists, and politicians whose strings they pull — are against this change. For decades, they’ve managed to propagandize many Americans, in and out of government, into climate denial, spreading lies about the science and economics of climate change, and undermining any possible legislation and international negotiations to ameliorate it. And if you think the eviction of elderly homeowners is brutal, think of it as a tiny foreshadowing of the displacement and disappearance of people, communities, nations, species, habitats. Climate change threatens to foreclose on all of us.</p>
<p>The groups working on climate change now, notably&#160; <a href="" type="internal">350.org</a>&#160;and Tar Sands Action, have done astonishing things already. Most recently, with the help of native Canadians, local activists, and alternative media, they&#160; <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/archive/175468/bill_mckibben_puncturing_the_pipeline" type="external">very nearly managed</a>&#160;to kill the single scariest and biggest North American threat to the climate: the tar sands pipeline that would go from Canada to Texas. It’s been a remarkable show of organizing power and popular will. Occupy the Climate may need to come next.</p>
<p>Maybe Occupy Wall Street and its thousands of spin-offs have built the foundation for it. But perhaps the greatest gift that it and the other movements of 2011 have given us is a sharpening of our perceptions — and our conflicts. So much more is out in the open now, including the greed, the brutality with which entities from the Egyptian army to the Oakland police impose the will of rulers, and most of all the deep generosity of spirit that is behind, within, and around these insurgencies and their activists. None of these movements is perfect, and individuals within them are not always the greatest keepers of their brothers and sisters.&#160; But one thing couldn’t be clearer: compassion is our new currency.</p>
<p>Nothing has been more moving to me than this desire, realized imperfectly but repeatedly, to connect across differences, to be a community, to make a better world, to embrace each other. This desire is what lies behind those messy camps, those raucous demonstrations, those cardboard signs and long conversations. Young activists have spoken to me about the extraordinary richness of their experiences at Occupy, and they call it love.</p>
<p>In the spirit of calling things by their true names, let me summon up the description that Ella Baker and Martin Luther King used for the great communities of activists who stood up for civil rights half a century ago:&#160; <a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/a-conspiracy-of-hope/the-beloved-community-of-martin-luther-king" type="external">the beloved community</a>. Many who were active then never forgot the deep bonds and deep meaning they found in that struggle. We — and the word “we” encompasses more of us than ever before — have found those things, too, and this year we have come close to something unprecedented, a beloved community that circles the globe.</p>
<p>Rebecca Solnit&#160;is the author of 13 books,&#160; <a href="" type="internal">A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities that Arise in Disaster</a>, and this year’s&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Infinite City: A San Francisco Atlas</a>.&#160;</p> | 1,317 |
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<p />
<p>Room rentals and fees helped resorts generate income of almost $979 million from total revenues of $25.2 billion in the year ended last June 30, the state Gaming Control Board said.</p>
<p>That compared with a net loss of almost $662 million on revenues of $24.6 billion a year earlier.</p>
<p>Casinos across the state recorded net income for the first time since fiscal 2008, board analyst Michael Lawton said Thursday, amid a trend that continues to tilt away from gambling and toward restaurant, retail, entertainment and room rental business.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“It’s been a long road to get back in the black,” Lawton said. “It’s good not only because it’s net income for the first time, but because it’s net income in all areas across the board.”</p>
<p>The revenue figure came in just 0.1 percent below the record $25.3 billion in total recorded in fiscal 2007, Lawton added.</p>
<p>The comprehensive annual report, dubbed the Gaming Abstract, was made public Wednesday. It includes more than 200 pages of data about 273 casinos in the state that grossed $1 million or more in gambling revenues. Topics include number of employees, room occupancy rates and gambling revenue per square foot of casino space.</p>
<p>The report found that 70 casinos owned by public companies statewide accounted for 78 percent of the total.</p>
<p>The report came amid reports of growth from Las Vegas tourism and airport officials.</p>
<p>McCarran International Airport was on pace in December to top the record 45 million passengers handled in 2015. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported a record number of tourists, 42.9 million, in 2016.</p>
<p>The abstract includes data from casinos statewide, on the Las Vegas Strip, in downtown Las Vegas, along Boulder Highway in Las Vegas and in the Reno-Washoe County areas.</p>
<p>The most dramatic change was on the Strip, said David Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“Nevada casino resorts have always been about more than just gambling,” Schwartz said in an analysis of the report. He pointed to hotel rooms, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, entertainment venues and retail shopping.</p>
<p>“The revenue pattern of the industry has shifted,” he said.</p>
<p>Lawton said the last time gambling revenues accounted for half the profit on the Strip was in the 1997-98 fiscal year.</p>
<p>This year, gambling revenues dropped to 34.2 percent of the total, the lowest percentage ever and a decrease from 34.9 percent last year. Gambling revenue in 1990, by comparison, made up about 58 percent of the total.</p>
<p>Schwartz said that while Las Vegas Strip casinos made about 2 percent more money in fiscal 2016 than they did in 2015, gambling revenues were up less than a quarter of a percent.</p>
<p>Room revenues, by comparison, grew almost 8 percent, and food revenues grew almost 3 percent, he said.</p> | Nevada casinos turn profit in fiscal 2016; first since 2008 | false | https://abqjournal.com/926584/nevada-casinos-turn-profit-in-fiscal-2016-first-since-2008.html | 2017-01-12 | 2least
| Nevada casinos turn profit in fiscal 2016; first since 2008
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<p />
<p>Room rentals and fees helped resorts generate income of almost $979 million from total revenues of $25.2 billion in the year ended last June 30, the state Gaming Control Board said.</p>
<p>That compared with a net loss of almost $662 million on revenues of $24.6 billion a year earlier.</p>
<p>Casinos across the state recorded net income for the first time since fiscal 2008, board analyst Michael Lawton said Thursday, amid a trend that continues to tilt away from gambling and toward restaurant, retail, entertainment and room rental business.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“It’s been a long road to get back in the black,” Lawton said. “It’s good not only because it’s net income for the first time, but because it’s net income in all areas across the board.”</p>
<p>The revenue figure came in just 0.1 percent below the record $25.3 billion in total recorded in fiscal 2007, Lawton added.</p>
<p>The comprehensive annual report, dubbed the Gaming Abstract, was made public Wednesday. It includes more than 200 pages of data about 273 casinos in the state that grossed $1 million or more in gambling revenues. Topics include number of employees, room occupancy rates and gambling revenue per square foot of casino space.</p>
<p>The report found that 70 casinos owned by public companies statewide accounted for 78 percent of the total.</p>
<p>The report came amid reports of growth from Las Vegas tourism and airport officials.</p>
<p>McCarran International Airport was on pace in December to top the record 45 million passengers handled in 2015. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported a record number of tourists, 42.9 million, in 2016.</p>
<p>The abstract includes data from casinos statewide, on the Las Vegas Strip, in downtown Las Vegas, along Boulder Highway in Las Vegas and in the Reno-Washoe County areas.</p>
<p>The most dramatic change was on the Strip, said David Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“Nevada casino resorts have always been about more than just gambling,” Schwartz said in an analysis of the report. He pointed to hotel rooms, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, entertainment venues and retail shopping.</p>
<p>“The revenue pattern of the industry has shifted,” he said.</p>
<p>Lawton said the last time gambling revenues accounted for half the profit on the Strip was in the 1997-98 fiscal year.</p>
<p>This year, gambling revenues dropped to 34.2 percent of the total, the lowest percentage ever and a decrease from 34.9 percent last year. Gambling revenue in 1990, by comparison, made up about 58 percent of the total.</p>
<p>Schwartz said that while Las Vegas Strip casinos made about 2 percent more money in fiscal 2016 than they did in 2015, gambling revenues were up less than a quarter of a percent.</p>
<p>Room revenues, by comparison, grew almost 8 percent, and food revenues grew almost 3 percent, he said.</p> | 1,318 |
<p>Music mogul Russell Simmons said on Instagram that he plans to defend himself a day after a New York Times story published claims by three women saying he raped them.</p>
<p>The allegations in the Times' Wednesday report stem from the 1980s and 1990s. Simmons denied the allegations Wednesday and again on Thursday.</p>
<p>"Today, I begin to properly defend myself. I will prove without any doubt that I am innocent of all rape charges," Simmons wrote Thursday on Instagram.</p>
<p>Simmons posted his words under a photo that read #NotMe, explaining that he isn't trying to going against the anti-harassment movement #MeToo, where millions have shared their stories about being sexually harassed and assaulted.</p>
<p>"My intention is not to diminish the #MeToo movement in any way, but instead hold my accusers accountable," he wrote. "Again, this is not a movement against or even in conjunction with #MeToo. It's just a statement about my innocence."</p>
<p>Also on Thursday, the New York Police Department confirmed that it is investigating the rape claims and are reaching out to the alleged victims.</p>
<p>"Our detectives are in the process of reviewing that information," Deputy Chief Timothy Trainor said in a statement.</p>
<p>The allegations in the Times story weren't the first to hit Simmons. Model Keri Claussen Khalighi said Simmons coerced her to perform a sex act and later penetrated her without her consent in 1991. Simmons said the sex with Klalighi was consensual.</p>
<p>"Today, I will focus on 'The Original Sin' (Keri Claussen), the claim that created this insane pile," Simmons wrote on Instagram. "Stay tuned! We'll share information today."</p>
<p>He also said "and tomorrow the case of Jenny Lumet," referring to the screenwriter who said Simmons had sex with her more than two decades ago despite her repeated demands that he stop. Simmons said he had a different memory of the night but apologized. Following Lumet's claims, HBO said it would edit out any link to Simmons in its "All Def Comedy" show.</p>
<p>Simmons founded Def Jam Recordings with mega-producer Rick Rubin in 1984. It made stars of such hip-hop artists as LL Cool J, Slick Rick, The Beastie Boys and Public Enemy.</p>
<p>This Associated Press contributed to this report.</p> | Russell Simmons took to Instagram to 'defend' himself following rape claims | false | https://circa.com/story/2017/12/14/hollywood/russell-simmons-says-he-will-defend-himself-following-rape-claims | 2017-12-15 | 1right-center
| Russell Simmons took to Instagram to 'defend' himself following rape claims
<p>Music mogul Russell Simmons said on Instagram that he plans to defend himself a day after a New York Times story published claims by three women saying he raped them.</p>
<p>The allegations in the Times' Wednesday report stem from the 1980s and 1990s. Simmons denied the allegations Wednesday and again on Thursday.</p>
<p>"Today, I begin to properly defend myself. I will prove without any doubt that I am innocent of all rape charges," Simmons wrote Thursday on Instagram.</p>
<p>Simmons posted his words under a photo that read #NotMe, explaining that he isn't trying to going against the anti-harassment movement #MeToo, where millions have shared their stories about being sexually harassed and assaulted.</p>
<p>"My intention is not to diminish the #MeToo movement in any way, but instead hold my accusers accountable," he wrote. "Again, this is not a movement against or even in conjunction with #MeToo. It's just a statement about my innocence."</p>
<p>Also on Thursday, the New York Police Department confirmed that it is investigating the rape claims and are reaching out to the alleged victims.</p>
<p>"Our detectives are in the process of reviewing that information," Deputy Chief Timothy Trainor said in a statement.</p>
<p>The allegations in the Times story weren't the first to hit Simmons. Model Keri Claussen Khalighi said Simmons coerced her to perform a sex act and later penetrated her without her consent in 1991. Simmons said the sex with Klalighi was consensual.</p>
<p>"Today, I will focus on 'The Original Sin' (Keri Claussen), the claim that created this insane pile," Simmons wrote on Instagram. "Stay tuned! We'll share information today."</p>
<p>He also said "and tomorrow the case of Jenny Lumet," referring to the screenwriter who said Simmons had sex with her more than two decades ago despite her repeated demands that he stop. Simmons said he had a different memory of the night but apologized. Following Lumet's claims, HBO said it would edit out any link to Simmons in its "All Def Comedy" show.</p>
<p>Simmons founded Def Jam Recordings with mega-producer Rick Rubin in 1984. It made stars of such hip-hop artists as LL Cool J, Slick Rick, The Beastie Boys and Public Enemy.</p>
<p>This Associated Press contributed to this report.</p> | 1,319 |
<p>It’s easy enough to mock — or maybe get on your high horse about — the fact that “ <a href="http://variety.com/t/get-out/" type="external">Get Out</a>,” <a href="http://variety.com/t/jordan-peele/" type="external">Jordan Peele</a>’s brilliantly creepy and enthralling lightning-rod racial thriller, is now in the running to be nominated for Best Comedy or Musical, rather than Best Drama, at the 2018 Golden Globe Awards. The movie, of course, is neither a comedy nor a musical. (Discuss.) It’s drama of the most riveting and original kind, one that sucks you into a vortex of (justified) paranoia, turning into a nightmare that suggests a forbidden “Twilight Zone” written by James Baldwin and staged by the Roman Polanski of “Rosemary’s Baby,” with a ghostly touch of “Mandigo.”</p>
<p>Tempting as it might be to blame the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for this particular screw-up, it was the film’s distributor, Universal, that chose to submit “ <a href="http://variety.com/2017/film/awards/get-out-jordan-peele-awards-contender-1202614958/" type="external">Get Out</a>” for Best Comedy or Musical, doing so without Peele’s knowledge. That accounts for why he first commented on the issue, to Eric Kohn of IndieWire, in a way that was critical (“We don’t want our truth trivialized. The label of comedy is often a trivial thing. The real question is, what are you laughing at?”), only to wind up making a quick peace with the studio decision in a statement that ran on Deadline (“At the end of the day, call ‘Get Out’ horror, comedy, drama, action or documentary, I don’t care. Whatever you call it, just know it’s our truth”). The waters of social media got into a brief boil, but the attitude now seems to be: If <a href="http://variety.com/2017/film/awards/awards-directors-in-the-mix-1202614765/" type="external">Jordan Peele</a> is cool with this, then why shouldn’t everyone else be?</p>
<p>Everyone probably should, though the pesky and dated Golden Globe categories (drama! comedy! musical!), which sound like they’re offering accolades to ’70s daytime variety shows, can be a useful pop-culture barometer even when they’re wrong. The last time the Globes provoked a Best Comedy or Musical kerfuffle was in 2013, when “American Hustle” was nominated in the category. In that case, the movie had its share of laughs, so you could argue that it qualified, but “American Hustle” was also a swirling vertiginous panorama of sleaze and corruption — no more a “comedy,” really, than “GoodFellas” or “Pulp Fiction.” The nomination seemed, in its way, to be trivializing what was left of ambitious mid-budget movie culture.</p>
<p>The nudging of “Get Out” into the Comedy or Musical category may be a slipshod gaffe (or a ruse calculated to increase the film’s awards chances), but it doesn’t feel quite that simple, since the mistake, as Peele initially suggested, carries a telltale overtone of racial pigeonholing. It says, implicitly, that when you’re watching a highly entertaining commercial thriller about African-Americans, how could there not be something funny about it?</p>
<p>Yet given that no one takes <a href="http://variety.com/t/the-golden-globes/" type="external">the Golden Globes</a> too seriously, there’s a lesson here that extends beyond the Globes’ schlock categories. The shoehorning of “Get Out” into the Comedy or Musical slot, while certainly patronizing, is also a kind of code, a shorthand for the following idea: “It’s not a serious movie. It’s a genre movie.” And that’s a perception that “Get Out” will need to overcome during awards season. You could say, quite rightly, that it’s a horror film (as, indeed, “Rosemary’s Baby” was), but the problem with that formulation is that the very phrase “horror film” now carries the connotation of something bloody and juvenile and over-the-top. That’s why the Peele-endorsed description of calling it a “social thriller” is so much better.</p>
<p>Whatever you call it, “Get Out” is now going to have to contend with the larger prejudice that says that a movie that’s this much of a gripping, suck-in-your-breath experience of dread and violence and kinky sinister racist mind games is too much of a pop sensation to qualify as the kind of “serious movie” the Academy Awards traditionally nominate. In that sense, it will have to battle the same kind of middlebrow art-vs.-mainstream pop thinking that “The Dark Knight” did (and that movie, in the end, failed to vault over the anti-pop prejudices of voters). It’s a grand irony indeed that Hollywood has a long and fabled track record of honoring message movies about race. “Get Out” fits right in with those films, or should, except that it’s more scandalously honest in its perceptions, made from inside the experience it’s about. It’s a racial funhouse mirror that turns the liberal message of&#160; “tolerance” on its head.</p>
<p>One reason why “Get Out” may have been mislabeled as a comedy is that horror today often works the same way comedy does, as a kind of heartless transaction with the audience, one that places us on the other side of a divide from the people on screen.</p>
<p>Drama, on the other hand, invites the flow of empathy. To experience “Get Out” not as a buy-your-ticket-and-get-your-jolts genre film, but as a bona fide drama, is to say that what Daniel Kaluuya’s photographer is going through isn’t just a “ride” but a combustible projection of the psychology of black and white interactions at a time that’s too thick with well-meaning piety to allow those dynamics to be talked about in the public square. In the era of Black Lives Matter, “Get Out” is the key nightmare vision of what’s really going on when black lives&#160;don’t&#160;matter. The movie could use some year-end love from critics’ groups to find its proper place at the awards banquet. But if that happens, what the critics will be doing isn’t just their usual honoring of a work of art. They’ll be opening a great many minds to what a work of art is that doesn’t necessarily (at least to everybody) look like one.</p> | ‘Get Out’ and the Golden Globes: A Lesson Not to Laugh At | false | https://newsline.com/get-out-and-the-golden-globes-a-lesson-not-to-laugh-at/ | 2017-11-19 | 1right-center
| ‘Get Out’ and the Golden Globes: A Lesson Not to Laugh At
<p>It’s easy enough to mock — or maybe get on your high horse about — the fact that “ <a href="http://variety.com/t/get-out/" type="external">Get Out</a>,” <a href="http://variety.com/t/jordan-peele/" type="external">Jordan Peele</a>’s brilliantly creepy and enthralling lightning-rod racial thriller, is now in the running to be nominated for Best Comedy or Musical, rather than Best Drama, at the 2018 Golden Globe Awards. The movie, of course, is neither a comedy nor a musical. (Discuss.) It’s drama of the most riveting and original kind, one that sucks you into a vortex of (justified) paranoia, turning into a nightmare that suggests a forbidden “Twilight Zone” written by James Baldwin and staged by the Roman Polanski of “Rosemary’s Baby,” with a ghostly touch of “Mandigo.”</p>
<p>Tempting as it might be to blame the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for this particular screw-up, it was the film’s distributor, Universal, that chose to submit “ <a href="http://variety.com/2017/film/awards/get-out-jordan-peele-awards-contender-1202614958/" type="external">Get Out</a>” for Best Comedy or Musical, doing so without Peele’s knowledge. That accounts for why he first commented on the issue, to Eric Kohn of IndieWire, in a way that was critical (“We don’t want our truth trivialized. The label of comedy is often a trivial thing. The real question is, what are you laughing at?”), only to wind up making a quick peace with the studio decision in a statement that ran on Deadline (“At the end of the day, call ‘Get Out’ horror, comedy, drama, action or documentary, I don’t care. Whatever you call it, just know it’s our truth”). The waters of social media got into a brief boil, but the attitude now seems to be: If <a href="http://variety.com/2017/film/awards/awards-directors-in-the-mix-1202614765/" type="external">Jordan Peele</a> is cool with this, then why shouldn’t everyone else be?</p>
<p>Everyone probably should, though the pesky and dated Golden Globe categories (drama! comedy! musical!), which sound like they’re offering accolades to ’70s daytime variety shows, can be a useful pop-culture barometer even when they’re wrong. The last time the Globes provoked a Best Comedy or Musical kerfuffle was in 2013, when “American Hustle” was nominated in the category. In that case, the movie had its share of laughs, so you could argue that it qualified, but “American Hustle” was also a swirling vertiginous panorama of sleaze and corruption — no more a “comedy,” really, than “GoodFellas” or “Pulp Fiction.” The nomination seemed, in its way, to be trivializing what was left of ambitious mid-budget movie culture.</p>
<p>The nudging of “Get Out” into the Comedy or Musical category may be a slipshod gaffe (or a ruse calculated to increase the film’s awards chances), but it doesn’t feel quite that simple, since the mistake, as Peele initially suggested, carries a telltale overtone of racial pigeonholing. It says, implicitly, that when you’re watching a highly entertaining commercial thriller about African-Americans, how could there not be something funny about it?</p>
<p>Yet given that no one takes <a href="http://variety.com/t/the-golden-globes/" type="external">the Golden Globes</a> too seriously, there’s a lesson here that extends beyond the Globes’ schlock categories. The shoehorning of “Get Out” into the Comedy or Musical slot, while certainly patronizing, is also a kind of code, a shorthand for the following idea: “It’s not a serious movie. It’s a genre movie.” And that’s a perception that “Get Out” will need to overcome during awards season. You could say, quite rightly, that it’s a horror film (as, indeed, “Rosemary’s Baby” was), but the problem with that formulation is that the very phrase “horror film” now carries the connotation of something bloody and juvenile and over-the-top. That’s why the Peele-endorsed description of calling it a “social thriller” is so much better.</p>
<p>Whatever you call it, “Get Out” is now going to have to contend with the larger prejudice that says that a movie that’s this much of a gripping, suck-in-your-breath experience of dread and violence and kinky sinister racist mind games is too much of a pop sensation to qualify as the kind of “serious movie” the Academy Awards traditionally nominate. In that sense, it will have to battle the same kind of middlebrow art-vs.-mainstream pop thinking that “The Dark Knight” did (and that movie, in the end, failed to vault over the anti-pop prejudices of voters). It’s a grand irony indeed that Hollywood has a long and fabled track record of honoring message movies about race. “Get Out” fits right in with those films, or should, except that it’s more scandalously honest in its perceptions, made from inside the experience it’s about. It’s a racial funhouse mirror that turns the liberal message of&#160; “tolerance” on its head.</p>
<p>One reason why “Get Out” may have been mislabeled as a comedy is that horror today often works the same way comedy does, as a kind of heartless transaction with the audience, one that places us on the other side of a divide from the people on screen.</p>
<p>Drama, on the other hand, invites the flow of empathy. To experience “Get Out” not as a buy-your-ticket-and-get-your-jolts genre film, but as a bona fide drama, is to say that what Daniel Kaluuya’s photographer is going through isn’t just a “ride” but a combustible projection of the psychology of black and white interactions at a time that’s too thick with well-meaning piety to allow those dynamics to be talked about in the public square. In the era of Black Lives Matter, “Get Out” is the key nightmare vision of what’s really going on when black lives&#160;don’t&#160;matter. The movie could use some year-end love from critics’ groups to find its proper place at the awards banquet. But if that happens, what the critics will be doing isn’t just their usual honoring of a work of art. They’ll be opening a great many minds to what a work of art is that doesn’t necessarily (at least to everybody) look like one.</p> | 1,320 |
<p>Geoffrey Pyatt, the US ambassador to Ukraine, reportedly took to the streets of Kyiv to direct traffic&#160;on Tuesday&#160;— the&#160; <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/18/us-ukraine-idUSBREA1G0OU20140218" type="external">bloodiest day</a>&#160;of clashes seen in Ukraine since the former Soviet republic won its independence over 22 years ago.</p>
<p>Pyatt, who been criticized for the United States’ role in Ukraine, apparently decided to help protesters who were driving into EuroMaidan — the name Kyiv's Independence Square has earned over the course of the demonstrations.</p>
<p>Pyatt confirmed on Twitter that he was directing traffic during the mayhem and was trying to "get downtown where the work is."</p>
<p />
<p>“From this moment on, the USA holds [President] Yanukovych responsible for everything that happens in Ukraine,” Pyatt told Zerkalo Nedeli newspaper after talks with Ukraine's Foreign Ministry,&#160; <a href="http://rt.com/news/kiev-clashes-rioters-police-571/" type="external">according to RT.</a></p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/russia/140219/what-ukraine-olympians-have-say-about-the-violence" type="external">This is what Ukraine's Olympians have to say about the violence at home</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/07/world/europe/us-points-to-russia-as-diplomats-private-call-is-posted-on-web.html?_r=0" type="external">The United States came under fire recently</a>&#160;after a recording of a private phone call between Pyatt and Assistant Secretary for European Affairs Victoria Nuland was&#160; <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSxaa-67yGM#t=230" type="external">leaked online</a>.</p>
<p>The conversation allegedly centered on a behind-the-scenes deal to end the political unrest in Ukraine. One particular sound bite proved to be particularly controversial: “F*** the E.U.,” Nuland seemed to say.</p>
<p>“Yeah, exactly,” Mr. Pyatt agreed.</p>
<p>In the exchange, both diplomats seemed frustrated that European leaders had not done more to put pressure on President Yanukovych to respond to protesters.</p>
<p />
<p /> | The American ambassador to Ukraine spent part of Tuesday night directing traffic (VIDEO) | false | https://pri.org/stories/2014-02-19/american-ambassador-ukraine-spent-part-tuesday-night-directing-traffic-video | 2014-02-19 | 3left-center
| The American ambassador to Ukraine spent part of Tuesday night directing traffic (VIDEO)
<p>Geoffrey Pyatt, the US ambassador to Ukraine, reportedly took to the streets of Kyiv to direct traffic&#160;on Tuesday&#160;— the&#160; <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/18/us-ukraine-idUSBREA1G0OU20140218" type="external">bloodiest day</a>&#160;of clashes seen in Ukraine since the former Soviet republic won its independence over 22 years ago.</p>
<p>Pyatt, who been criticized for the United States’ role in Ukraine, apparently decided to help protesters who were driving into EuroMaidan — the name Kyiv's Independence Square has earned over the course of the demonstrations.</p>
<p>Pyatt confirmed on Twitter that he was directing traffic during the mayhem and was trying to "get downtown where the work is."</p>
<p />
<p>“From this moment on, the USA holds [President] Yanukovych responsible for everything that happens in Ukraine,” Pyatt told Zerkalo Nedeli newspaper after talks with Ukraine's Foreign Ministry,&#160; <a href="http://rt.com/news/kiev-clashes-rioters-police-571/" type="external">according to RT.</a></p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/russia/140219/what-ukraine-olympians-have-say-about-the-violence" type="external">This is what Ukraine's Olympians have to say about the violence at home</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/07/world/europe/us-points-to-russia-as-diplomats-private-call-is-posted-on-web.html?_r=0" type="external">The United States came under fire recently</a>&#160;after a recording of a private phone call between Pyatt and Assistant Secretary for European Affairs Victoria Nuland was&#160; <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSxaa-67yGM#t=230" type="external">leaked online</a>.</p>
<p>The conversation allegedly centered on a behind-the-scenes deal to end the political unrest in Ukraine. One particular sound bite proved to be particularly controversial: “F*** the E.U.,” Nuland seemed to say.</p>
<p>“Yeah, exactly,” Mr. Pyatt agreed.</p>
<p>In the exchange, both diplomats seemed frustrated that European leaders had not done more to put pressure on President Yanukovych to respond to protesters.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 1,321 |
<p>MONTREAL (AP) — Jonathan Drouin had a goal and two assists, and the Montreal Canadiens ended Colorado’s 10-game winning streak Tuesday night with a 4-2 victory over the Avalanche.</p>
<p>Nicolas Deslauriers, Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher also scored for the Canadiens. Carey Price made 20 saves for his 14th win of the season.</p>
<p>Nathan MacKinnon and J.T. Compher scored late in the third period for the Avalanche, who lost for the first time in 2018. Colorado’s previous defeat came against Arizona on Dec. 27.</p>
<p>Jonathan Bernier stopped 36 shots but dropped to 0-7-2 in Montreal. The former Toronto Maple Leafs goalie is 1-10-3 vs. the Canadiens.</p>
<p>Montreal outshot Colorado 40-22 and won for only the second time in six games.</p>
<p>BRUINS 3, DEVILS 2</p>
<p>BOSTON (AP) — Brad Marchand had a goal and an assist, and Boston kept surging toward the All-Star break with a win over New Jersey.</p>
<p>Patrice Bergeron and Riley Nash also scored for the Bruins, who won their fourth straight and improved to 13-0-4 in their last 17 games. Tuukka Rask stopped 37 shots as Boston won again despite being outshot 39-24.</p>
<p>Miles Wood and Damon Severson scored for New Jersey, which has lost three straight in regulation for the first time this season. Cory Schneider made 17 saves in the first two periods and Ken Appleby stopped the only four shots he faced in the third for the slumping Devils, who are 2-6-3 in the last 11.</p>
<p>LIGHTNING 4, PREDATORS 3, OT</p>
<p>NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Yanni Gourde scored 1:45 into overtime to give Tampa Bay a victory over Nashville.</p>
<p>Chris Kunitz had a goal and two assists, and Vladislav Namestnikov and Steven Stamkos also scored as the NHL-leading Lightning won their second straight. Louis Domingue stopped 30 shots.</p>
<p>Ryan Ellis, Viktor Arvidsson and P.K. Subban scored for the Predators, who had their five-game winning streak snapped. Juuse Saros finished with 27 saves.</p>
<p>Stamkos tied the score 3-all on a slap shot from the left side with 2:12 remaining in regulation.</p>
<p>FLYERS 3, RED WINGS 2, OT</p>
<p>DETROIT (AP) — Travis Konecny scored 27 seconds into overtime to lift Philadelphia over Detroit.</p>
<p>The goal stood up after a video review, which determined Konecny was not offside when he got the puck near the blue line after Dylan Larkin lost it along the boards.</p>
<p>Jakub Voracek scored a tiebreaking goal in the last minute of the second period and assisted on Andrew MacDonald’s goal late in the first for the Flyers. Brian Elliott stopped 19 shots.</p>
<p>The Flyers have won four straight, for the second time this month, and 16 of 22 to surge into the playoff race.</p>
<p>Jonathan Ericsson and Frans Nielsen scored for the Red Wings. Detroit has lost five of seven, pushing the franchise closer to missing the playoffs in consecutive season for the first time since a five-year drought from 1979-83.</p>
<p>Petr Mrazek, coming off consecutive shutouts, made 28 saves.</p>
<p>PENGUINS 3, HURRICANES 1</p>
<p>PITTSBURGH (AP) — Dominik Simon and Jean-Sebastien Dea scored 76 seconds apart in the second period, fellow rookie Casey DeSmith made 34 saves and Pittsburgh beat Carolina.</p>
<p>Jake Guentzel added a goal midway through the third and Sidney Crosby extended the NHL’s longest active point streak to eight games for Pittsburgh, which has won six of eight.</p>
<p>Derek Ryan had the goal for the Hurricanes, who have lost four of five and are 2-6-0 since beating the Penguins twice in a week spanning the New Year.</p>
<p>BLUES 3, SENATORS 0</p>
<p>ST. LOUIS (AP) — Carter Hutton made 25 saves for his 10th career shutout and St. Louis got goals from Vladimir Sobotka and Vladimir Tarasenko to beat struggling Ottawa.</p>
<p>Brayden Schenn, who also had an assist, added an empty-net goal for his 20th of the season.</p>
<p>The game was a bounce-back effort for Hutton, pulled after giving up three goals on 12 shots in Saturday’s 5-2 loss to Arizona.</p>
<p>Hutton, normally the Blues’ backup, started for the fourth consecutive game and eighth in the last 10. He earned his second shutout this season.</p>
<p>The Blues have earned at least one point in 11 of their last 12 games against Ottawa (7-1-4). St. Louis had lost four straight home games to the Senators before snapping that skid.</p>
<p>The loss was Ottawa’s fourth in a row overall.</p>
<p>STARS 6, PANTHERS 1</p>
<p>DALLAS (AP) — Alexander Radulov had two goals and an assist to lead Dallas past Florida in a penalty-filled game.</p>
<p>Devin Shore had a goal and an assist, and Jamie Benn, Mattias Janmark and Tykler Pitlick also scored for the Stars, who improved to 4-0-1 in their last five games. Ben Bishop made 33 saves.</p>
<p>Aaron Ekblad scored for the Panthers, and rookie Harri Sateri had 30 saves after James Reimer was injured 3:48 into the game.</p>
<p>Florida, mired in a 2-5-2 slump, lost three players during the game. In addition to Reimer, Alexander Petrovic and Micheal Haley were ejected after receiving game misconducts.</p>
<p>Radulov and Benn extended their point streaks to eight games. They each have 20 goals this season.</p>
<p>SABRES 5, OILERS 0</p>
<p>EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Jack Eichel had a goal and three assists, Ryan O’Reilly scored twice and Buffalo earned an easy win over Edmonton.</p>
<p>Sam Reinhart had a goal and two assists and Zemgus Girgensons also scored for the last-place Sabres, who won their second game in a row for just the second time this season. The other time was in late October.</p>
<p>Robin Lehner made 33 saves for his second shutout of the season.</p>
<p>Cam Talbot stopped 18 of 22 shots before Al Montoya relieved for the Oilers, who had a three-game winning streak snapped. It was the sixth time this season Edmonton has been shut out.</p>
<p>GOLDEN KNIGHTS 6, BLUE JACKETS 3</p>
<p>LAS VEGAS (AP) — William Karlsson scored two goals against his former team, Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 29 shots and Vegas beat Columbus.</p>
<p>Brad Hunt, Colin Miller, James Neal and Erik Haula also scored for the Golden Knights, while Jonathan Marchessault added two assists.</p>
<p>With the win, the Pacific Division leaders stayed right behind NHL-best Tampa Bay, which defeated Nashville 4-3 in overtime. The Lightning have 69 points to top the overall standings, and expansion Vegas is second with 68.</p>
<p>The Blue Jackets, playing for just the second time in 12 days, got goals from Markus Nutivaara, Josh Anderson and Matt Calvert. Sergei Bobrovsky made 32 saves.</p>
<p>Karlsson was selected from the Blue Jackets during the expansion draft last June.</p>
<p>DUCKS 6, RANGERS 3</p>
<p>ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Andrew Cogliano and Adam Henrique capped Anaheim’s four-goal first period against slumping New York.</p>
<p>Ryan Getzlaf had a goal and an assist, Corey Perry added a goal and an assist, and Rickard Rakell and J.T. Brown also scored to help the Ducks win for the fourth time in six games. John Gibson stopped 41 shots.</p>
<p>Rick Nash had two goals, and Michael Grabner also scored for the Rangers, losers of six of their last eight. New York goalie Henrik Lundqvist was pulled after giving up three goals on seven shots over the first 16:21, after Cogliano scored the tiebreaking goal.</p>
<p>JETS 5, SHARKS 4, OT</p>
<p>SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Bryan Little scored his second goal of the game 18 seconds into overtime, lifting Winnipeg over San Jose.</p>
<p>Joel Armia also scored twice and Mathieu Perreault had a goal to help the Jets win their third straight and fifth in the last seven. Connor Hellebuyck finished with 29 saves.</p>
<p>Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture, Chris Tierney and Timo Meier scored for the Sharks, who lost for the second time in seven games. Aaron Dell had 18 saves.</p>
<p>CANUCKS 6, KINGS 2</p>
<p>VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Loui Eriksson led Vancouver’s early outburst with two goals and an assist in the first six minutes, Brock Boeser scored twice in the second period and the Canucks cruised past Los Angeles.</p>
<p>Thomas Vanek, with a goal and two assists, and Sven Baertschi provided the rest of the offense for Vancouver, which got 30 saves from Jacob Markstrom. Bo Horvat and Alexander Edler each added two assists for the Canucks, who were playing at home for the first time in three weeks.</p>
<p>Anze Kopitar had a goal and an assist, and Alex Iafallo also scored for the Kings. Jonathan Quick allowed five goals on 19 shots, including four on 11 attempts in the first 9:58. Darcy Kuemper relieved Quick with the score 5-1 early in the second.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP NHL: <a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="" type="internal">https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey</a></p>
<p>MONTREAL (AP) — Jonathan Drouin had a goal and two assists, and the Montreal Canadiens ended Colorado’s 10-game winning streak Tuesday night with a 4-2 victory over the Avalanche.</p>
<p>Nicolas Deslauriers, Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher also scored for the Canadiens. Carey Price made 20 saves for his 14th win of the season.</p>
<p>Nathan MacKinnon and J.T. Compher scored late in the third period for the Avalanche, who lost for the first time in 2018. Colorado’s previous defeat came against Arizona on Dec. 27.</p>
<p>Jonathan Bernier stopped 36 shots but dropped to 0-7-2 in Montreal. The former Toronto Maple Leafs goalie is 1-10-3 vs. the Canadiens.</p>
<p>Montreal outshot Colorado 40-22 and won for only the second time in six games.</p>
<p>BRUINS 3, DEVILS 2</p>
<p>BOSTON (AP) — Brad Marchand had a goal and an assist, and Boston kept surging toward the All-Star break with a win over New Jersey.</p>
<p>Patrice Bergeron and Riley Nash also scored for the Bruins, who won their fourth straight and improved to 13-0-4 in their last 17 games. Tuukka Rask stopped 37 shots as Boston won again despite being outshot 39-24.</p>
<p>Miles Wood and Damon Severson scored for New Jersey, which has lost three straight in regulation for the first time this season. Cory Schneider made 17 saves in the first two periods and Ken Appleby stopped the only four shots he faced in the third for the slumping Devils, who are 2-6-3 in the last 11.</p>
<p>LIGHTNING 4, PREDATORS 3, OT</p>
<p>NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Yanni Gourde scored 1:45 into overtime to give Tampa Bay a victory over Nashville.</p>
<p>Chris Kunitz had a goal and two assists, and Vladislav Namestnikov and Steven Stamkos also scored as the NHL-leading Lightning won their second straight. Louis Domingue stopped 30 shots.</p>
<p>Ryan Ellis, Viktor Arvidsson and P.K. Subban scored for the Predators, who had their five-game winning streak snapped. Juuse Saros finished with 27 saves.</p>
<p>Stamkos tied the score 3-all on a slap shot from the left side with 2:12 remaining in regulation.</p>
<p>FLYERS 3, RED WINGS 2, OT</p>
<p>DETROIT (AP) — Travis Konecny scored 27 seconds into overtime to lift Philadelphia over Detroit.</p>
<p>The goal stood up after a video review, which determined Konecny was not offside when he got the puck near the blue line after Dylan Larkin lost it along the boards.</p>
<p>Jakub Voracek scored a tiebreaking goal in the last minute of the second period and assisted on Andrew MacDonald’s goal late in the first for the Flyers. Brian Elliott stopped 19 shots.</p>
<p>The Flyers have won four straight, for the second time this month, and 16 of 22 to surge into the playoff race.</p>
<p>Jonathan Ericsson and Frans Nielsen scored for the Red Wings. Detroit has lost five of seven, pushing the franchise closer to missing the playoffs in consecutive season for the first time since a five-year drought from 1979-83.</p>
<p>Petr Mrazek, coming off consecutive shutouts, made 28 saves.</p>
<p>PENGUINS 3, HURRICANES 1</p>
<p>PITTSBURGH (AP) — Dominik Simon and Jean-Sebastien Dea scored 76 seconds apart in the second period, fellow rookie Casey DeSmith made 34 saves and Pittsburgh beat Carolina.</p>
<p>Jake Guentzel added a goal midway through the third and Sidney Crosby extended the NHL’s longest active point streak to eight games for Pittsburgh, which has won six of eight.</p>
<p>Derek Ryan had the goal for the Hurricanes, who have lost four of five and are 2-6-0 since beating the Penguins twice in a week spanning the New Year.</p>
<p>BLUES 3, SENATORS 0</p>
<p>ST. LOUIS (AP) — Carter Hutton made 25 saves for his 10th career shutout and St. Louis got goals from Vladimir Sobotka and Vladimir Tarasenko to beat struggling Ottawa.</p>
<p>Brayden Schenn, who also had an assist, added an empty-net goal for his 20th of the season.</p>
<p>The game was a bounce-back effort for Hutton, pulled after giving up three goals on 12 shots in Saturday’s 5-2 loss to Arizona.</p>
<p>Hutton, normally the Blues’ backup, started for the fourth consecutive game and eighth in the last 10. He earned his second shutout this season.</p>
<p>The Blues have earned at least one point in 11 of their last 12 games against Ottawa (7-1-4). St. Louis had lost four straight home games to the Senators before snapping that skid.</p>
<p>The loss was Ottawa’s fourth in a row overall.</p>
<p>STARS 6, PANTHERS 1</p>
<p>DALLAS (AP) — Alexander Radulov had two goals and an assist to lead Dallas past Florida in a penalty-filled game.</p>
<p>Devin Shore had a goal and an assist, and Jamie Benn, Mattias Janmark and Tykler Pitlick also scored for the Stars, who improved to 4-0-1 in their last five games. Ben Bishop made 33 saves.</p>
<p>Aaron Ekblad scored for the Panthers, and rookie Harri Sateri had 30 saves after James Reimer was injured 3:48 into the game.</p>
<p>Florida, mired in a 2-5-2 slump, lost three players during the game. In addition to Reimer, Alexander Petrovic and Micheal Haley were ejected after receiving game misconducts.</p>
<p>Radulov and Benn extended their point streaks to eight games. They each have 20 goals this season.</p>
<p>SABRES 5, OILERS 0</p>
<p>EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Jack Eichel had a goal and three assists, Ryan O’Reilly scored twice and Buffalo earned an easy win over Edmonton.</p>
<p>Sam Reinhart had a goal and two assists and Zemgus Girgensons also scored for the last-place Sabres, who won their second game in a row for just the second time this season. The other time was in late October.</p>
<p>Robin Lehner made 33 saves for his second shutout of the season.</p>
<p>Cam Talbot stopped 18 of 22 shots before Al Montoya relieved for the Oilers, who had a three-game winning streak snapped. It was the sixth time this season Edmonton has been shut out.</p>
<p>GOLDEN KNIGHTS 6, BLUE JACKETS 3</p>
<p>LAS VEGAS (AP) — William Karlsson scored two goals against his former team, Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 29 shots and Vegas beat Columbus.</p>
<p>Brad Hunt, Colin Miller, James Neal and Erik Haula also scored for the Golden Knights, while Jonathan Marchessault added two assists.</p>
<p>With the win, the Pacific Division leaders stayed right behind NHL-best Tampa Bay, which defeated Nashville 4-3 in overtime. The Lightning have 69 points to top the overall standings, and expansion Vegas is second with 68.</p>
<p>The Blue Jackets, playing for just the second time in 12 days, got goals from Markus Nutivaara, Josh Anderson and Matt Calvert. Sergei Bobrovsky made 32 saves.</p>
<p>Karlsson was selected from the Blue Jackets during the expansion draft last June.</p>
<p>DUCKS 6, RANGERS 3</p>
<p>ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Andrew Cogliano and Adam Henrique capped Anaheim’s four-goal first period against slumping New York.</p>
<p>Ryan Getzlaf had a goal and an assist, Corey Perry added a goal and an assist, and Rickard Rakell and J.T. Brown also scored to help the Ducks win for the fourth time in six games. John Gibson stopped 41 shots.</p>
<p>Rick Nash had two goals, and Michael Grabner also scored for the Rangers, losers of six of their last eight. New York goalie Henrik Lundqvist was pulled after giving up three goals on seven shots over the first 16:21, after Cogliano scored the tiebreaking goal.</p>
<p>JETS 5, SHARKS 4, OT</p>
<p>SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Bryan Little scored his second goal of the game 18 seconds into overtime, lifting Winnipeg over San Jose.</p>
<p>Joel Armia also scored twice and Mathieu Perreault had a goal to help the Jets win their third straight and fifth in the last seven. Connor Hellebuyck finished with 29 saves.</p>
<p>Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture, Chris Tierney and Timo Meier scored for the Sharks, who lost for the second time in seven games. Aaron Dell had 18 saves.</p>
<p>CANUCKS 6, KINGS 2</p>
<p>VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Loui Eriksson led Vancouver’s early outburst with two goals and an assist in the first six minutes, Brock Boeser scored twice in the second period and the Canucks cruised past Los Angeles.</p>
<p>Thomas Vanek, with a goal and two assists, and Sven Baertschi provided the rest of the offense for Vancouver, which got 30 saves from Jacob Markstrom. Bo Horvat and Alexander Edler each added two assists for the Canucks, who were playing at home for the first time in three weeks.</p>
<p>Anze Kopitar had a goal and an assist, and Alex Iafallo also scored for the Kings. Jonathan Quick allowed five goals on 19 shots, including four on 11 attempts in the first 9:58. Darcy Kuemper relieved Quick with the score 5-1 early in the second.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP NHL: <a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="" type="internal">https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey</a></p> | Avalanche lose 4-2 to Canadiens, ending 10-game win streak | false | https://apnews.com/34c99cd999a940f0b5e46f54ffda4f99 | 2018-01-24 | 2least
| Avalanche lose 4-2 to Canadiens, ending 10-game win streak
<p>MONTREAL (AP) — Jonathan Drouin had a goal and two assists, and the Montreal Canadiens ended Colorado’s 10-game winning streak Tuesday night with a 4-2 victory over the Avalanche.</p>
<p>Nicolas Deslauriers, Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher also scored for the Canadiens. Carey Price made 20 saves for his 14th win of the season.</p>
<p>Nathan MacKinnon and J.T. Compher scored late in the third period for the Avalanche, who lost for the first time in 2018. Colorado’s previous defeat came against Arizona on Dec. 27.</p>
<p>Jonathan Bernier stopped 36 shots but dropped to 0-7-2 in Montreal. The former Toronto Maple Leafs goalie is 1-10-3 vs. the Canadiens.</p>
<p>Montreal outshot Colorado 40-22 and won for only the second time in six games.</p>
<p>BRUINS 3, DEVILS 2</p>
<p>BOSTON (AP) — Brad Marchand had a goal and an assist, and Boston kept surging toward the All-Star break with a win over New Jersey.</p>
<p>Patrice Bergeron and Riley Nash also scored for the Bruins, who won their fourth straight and improved to 13-0-4 in their last 17 games. Tuukka Rask stopped 37 shots as Boston won again despite being outshot 39-24.</p>
<p>Miles Wood and Damon Severson scored for New Jersey, which has lost three straight in regulation for the first time this season. Cory Schneider made 17 saves in the first two periods and Ken Appleby stopped the only four shots he faced in the third for the slumping Devils, who are 2-6-3 in the last 11.</p>
<p>LIGHTNING 4, PREDATORS 3, OT</p>
<p>NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Yanni Gourde scored 1:45 into overtime to give Tampa Bay a victory over Nashville.</p>
<p>Chris Kunitz had a goal and two assists, and Vladislav Namestnikov and Steven Stamkos also scored as the NHL-leading Lightning won their second straight. Louis Domingue stopped 30 shots.</p>
<p>Ryan Ellis, Viktor Arvidsson and P.K. Subban scored for the Predators, who had their five-game winning streak snapped. Juuse Saros finished with 27 saves.</p>
<p>Stamkos tied the score 3-all on a slap shot from the left side with 2:12 remaining in regulation.</p>
<p>FLYERS 3, RED WINGS 2, OT</p>
<p>DETROIT (AP) — Travis Konecny scored 27 seconds into overtime to lift Philadelphia over Detroit.</p>
<p>The goal stood up after a video review, which determined Konecny was not offside when he got the puck near the blue line after Dylan Larkin lost it along the boards.</p>
<p>Jakub Voracek scored a tiebreaking goal in the last minute of the second period and assisted on Andrew MacDonald’s goal late in the first for the Flyers. Brian Elliott stopped 19 shots.</p>
<p>The Flyers have won four straight, for the second time this month, and 16 of 22 to surge into the playoff race.</p>
<p>Jonathan Ericsson and Frans Nielsen scored for the Red Wings. Detroit has lost five of seven, pushing the franchise closer to missing the playoffs in consecutive season for the first time since a five-year drought from 1979-83.</p>
<p>Petr Mrazek, coming off consecutive shutouts, made 28 saves.</p>
<p>PENGUINS 3, HURRICANES 1</p>
<p>PITTSBURGH (AP) — Dominik Simon and Jean-Sebastien Dea scored 76 seconds apart in the second period, fellow rookie Casey DeSmith made 34 saves and Pittsburgh beat Carolina.</p>
<p>Jake Guentzel added a goal midway through the third and Sidney Crosby extended the NHL’s longest active point streak to eight games for Pittsburgh, which has won six of eight.</p>
<p>Derek Ryan had the goal for the Hurricanes, who have lost four of five and are 2-6-0 since beating the Penguins twice in a week spanning the New Year.</p>
<p>BLUES 3, SENATORS 0</p>
<p>ST. LOUIS (AP) — Carter Hutton made 25 saves for his 10th career shutout and St. Louis got goals from Vladimir Sobotka and Vladimir Tarasenko to beat struggling Ottawa.</p>
<p>Brayden Schenn, who also had an assist, added an empty-net goal for his 20th of the season.</p>
<p>The game was a bounce-back effort for Hutton, pulled after giving up three goals on 12 shots in Saturday’s 5-2 loss to Arizona.</p>
<p>Hutton, normally the Blues’ backup, started for the fourth consecutive game and eighth in the last 10. He earned his second shutout this season.</p>
<p>The Blues have earned at least one point in 11 of their last 12 games against Ottawa (7-1-4). St. Louis had lost four straight home games to the Senators before snapping that skid.</p>
<p>The loss was Ottawa’s fourth in a row overall.</p>
<p>STARS 6, PANTHERS 1</p>
<p>DALLAS (AP) — Alexander Radulov had two goals and an assist to lead Dallas past Florida in a penalty-filled game.</p>
<p>Devin Shore had a goal and an assist, and Jamie Benn, Mattias Janmark and Tykler Pitlick also scored for the Stars, who improved to 4-0-1 in their last five games. Ben Bishop made 33 saves.</p>
<p>Aaron Ekblad scored for the Panthers, and rookie Harri Sateri had 30 saves after James Reimer was injured 3:48 into the game.</p>
<p>Florida, mired in a 2-5-2 slump, lost three players during the game. In addition to Reimer, Alexander Petrovic and Micheal Haley were ejected after receiving game misconducts.</p>
<p>Radulov and Benn extended their point streaks to eight games. They each have 20 goals this season.</p>
<p>SABRES 5, OILERS 0</p>
<p>EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Jack Eichel had a goal and three assists, Ryan O’Reilly scored twice and Buffalo earned an easy win over Edmonton.</p>
<p>Sam Reinhart had a goal and two assists and Zemgus Girgensons also scored for the last-place Sabres, who won their second game in a row for just the second time this season. The other time was in late October.</p>
<p>Robin Lehner made 33 saves for his second shutout of the season.</p>
<p>Cam Talbot stopped 18 of 22 shots before Al Montoya relieved for the Oilers, who had a three-game winning streak snapped. It was the sixth time this season Edmonton has been shut out.</p>
<p>GOLDEN KNIGHTS 6, BLUE JACKETS 3</p>
<p>LAS VEGAS (AP) — William Karlsson scored two goals against his former team, Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 29 shots and Vegas beat Columbus.</p>
<p>Brad Hunt, Colin Miller, James Neal and Erik Haula also scored for the Golden Knights, while Jonathan Marchessault added two assists.</p>
<p>With the win, the Pacific Division leaders stayed right behind NHL-best Tampa Bay, which defeated Nashville 4-3 in overtime. The Lightning have 69 points to top the overall standings, and expansion Vegas is second with 68.</p>
<p>The Blue Jackets, playing for just the second time in 12 days, got goals from Markus Nutivaara, Josh Anderson and Matt Calvert. Sergei Bobrovsky made 32 saves.</p>
<p>Karlsson was selected from the Blue Jackets during the expansion draft last June.</p>
<p>DUCKS 6, RANGERS 3</p>
<p>ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Andrew Cogliano and Adam Henrique capped Anaheim’s four-goal first period against slumping New York.</p>
<p>Ryan Getzlaf had a goal and an assist, Corey Perry added a goal and an assist, and Rickard Rakell and J.T. Brown also scored to help the Ducks win for the fourth time in six games. John Gibson stopped 41 shots.</p>
<p>Rick Nash had two goals, and Michael Grabner also scored for the Rangers, losers of six of their last eight. New York goalie Henrik Lundqvist was pulled after giving up three goals on seven shots over the first 16:21, after Cogliano scored the tiebreaking goal.</p>
<p>JETS 5, SHARKS 4, OT</p>
<p>SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Bryan Little scored his second goal of the game 18 seconds into overtime, lifting Winnipeg over San Jose.</p>
<p>Joel Armia also scored twice and Mathieu Perreault had a goal to help the Jets win their third straight and fifth in the last seven. Connor Hellebuyck finished with 29 saves.</p>
<p>Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture, Chris Tierney and Timo Meier scored for the Sharks, who lost for the second time in seven games. Aaron Dell had 18 saves.</p>
<p>CANUCKS 6, KINGS 2</p>
<p>VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Loui Eriksson led Vancouver’s early outburst with two goals and an assist in the first six minutes, Brock Boeser scored twice in the second period and the Canucks cruised past Los Angeles.</p>
<p>Thomas Vanek, with a goal and two assists, and Sven Baertschi provided the rest of the offense for Vancouver, which got 30 saves from Jacob Markstrom. Bo Horvat and Alexander Edler each added two assists for the Canucks, who were playing at home for the first time in three weeks.</p>
<p>Anze Kopitar had a goal and an assist, and Alex Iafallo also scored for the Kings. Jonathan Quick allowed five goals on 19 shots, including four on 11 attempts in the first 9:58. Darcy Kuemper relieved Quick with the score 5-1 early in the second.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP NHL: <a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="" type="internal">https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey</a></p>
<p>MONTREAL (AP) — Jonathan Drouin had a goal and two assists, and the Montreal Canadiens ended Colorado’s 10-game winning streak Tuesday night with a 4-2 victory over the Avalanche.</p>
<p>Nicolas Deslauriers, Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher also scored for the Canadiens. Carey Price made 20 saves for his 14th win of the season.</p>
<p>Nathan MacKinnon and J.T. Compher scored late in the third period for the Avalanche, who lost for the first time in 2018. Colorado’s previous defeat came against Arizona on Dec. 27.</p>
<p>Jonathan Bernier stopped 36 shots but dropped to 0-7-2 in Montreal. The former Toronto Maple Leafs goalie is 1-10-3 vs. the Canadiens.</p>
<p>Montreal outshot Colorado 40-22 and won for only the second time in six games.</p>
<p>BRUINS 3, DEVILS 2</p>
<p>BOSTON (AP) — Brad Marchand had a goal and an assist, and Boston kept surging toward the All-Star break with a win over New Jersey.</p>
<p>Patrice Bergeron and Riley Nash also scored for the Bruins, who won their fourth straight and improved to 13-0-4 in their last 17 games. Tuukka Rask stopped 37 shots as Boston won again despite being outshot 39-24.</p>
<p>Miles Wood and Damon Severson scored for New Jersey, which has lost three straight in regulation for the first time this season. Cory Schneider made 17 saves in the first two periods and Ken Appleby stopped the only four shots he faced in the third for the slumping Devils, who are 2-6-3 in the last 11.</p>
<p>LIGHTNING 4, PREDATORS 3, OT</p>
<p>NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Yanni Gourde scored 1:45 into overtime to give Tampa Bay a victory over Nashville.</p>
<p>Chris Kunitz had a goal and two assists, and Vladislav Namestnikov and Steven Stamkos also scored as the NHL-leading Lightning won their second straight. Louis Domingue stopped 30 shots.</p>
<p>Ryan Ellis, Viktor Arvidsson and P.K. Subban scored for the Predators, who had their five-game winning streak snapped. Juuse Saros finished with 27 saves.</p>
<p>Stamkos tied the score 3-all on a slap shot from the left side with 2:12 remaining in regulation.</p>
<p>FLYERS 3, RED WINGS 2, OT</p>
<p>DETROIT (AP) — Travis Konecny scored 27 seconds into overtime to lift Philadelphia over Detroit.</p>
<p>The goal stood up after a video review, which determined Konecny was not offside when he got the puck near the blue line after Dylan Larkin lost it along the boards.</p>
<p>Jakub Voracek scored a tiebreaking goal in the last minute of the second period and assisted on Andrew MacDonald’s goal late in the first for the Flyers. Brian Elliott stopped 19 shots.</p>
<p>The Flyers have won four straight, for the second time this month, and 16 of 22 to surge into the playoff race.</p>
<p>Jonathan Ericsson and Frans Nielsen scored for the Red Wings. Detroit has lost five of seven, pushing the franchise closer to missing the playoffs in consecutive season for the first time since a five-year drought from 1979-83.</p>
<p>Petr Mrazek, coming off consecutive shutouts, made 28 saves.</p>
<p>PENGUINS 3, HURRICANES 1</p>
<p>PITTSBURGH (AP) — Dominik Simon and Jean-Sebastien Dea scored 76 seconds apart in the second period, fellow rookie Casey DeSmith made 34 saves and Pittsburgh beat Carolina.</p>
<p>Jake Guentzel added a goal midway through the third and Sidney Crosby extended the NHL’s longest active point streak to eight games for Pittsburgh, which has won six of eight.</p>
<p>Derek Ryan had the goal for the Hurricanes, who have lost four of five and are 2-6-0 since beating the Penguins twice in a week spanning the New Year.</p>
<p>BLUES 3, SENATORS 0</p>
<p>ST. LOUIS (AP) — Carter Hutton made 25 saves for his 10th career shutout and St. Louis got goals from Vladimir Sobotka and Vladimir Tarasenko to beat struggling Ottawa.</p>
<p>Brayden Schenn, who also had an assist, added an empty-net goal for his 20th of the season.</p>
<p>The game was a bounce-back effort for Hutton, pulled after giving up three goals on 12 shots in Saturday’s 5-2 loss to Arizona.</p>
<p>Hutton, normally the Blues’ backup, started for the fourth consecutive game and eighth in the last 10. He earned his second shutout this season.</p>
<p>The Blues have earned at least one point in 11 of their last 12 games against Ottawa (7-1-4). St. Louis had lost four straight home games to the Senators before snapping that skid.</p>
<p>The loss was Ottawa’s fourth in a row overall.</p>
<p>STARS 6, PANTHERS 1</p>
<p>DALLAS (AP) — Alexander Radulov had two goals and an assist to lead Dallas past Florida in a penalty-filled game.</p>
<p>Devin Shore had a goal and an assist, and Jamie Benn, Mattias Janmark and Tykler Pitlick also scored for the Stars, who improved to 4-0-1 in their last five games. Ben Bishop made 33 saves.</p>
<p>Aaron Ekblad scored for the Panthers, and rookie Harri Sateri had 30 saves after James Reimer was injured 3:48 into the game.</p>
<p>Florida, mired in a 2-5-2 slump, lost three players during the game. In addition to Reimer, Alexander Petrovic and Micheal Haley were ejected after receiving game misconducts.</p>
<p>Radulov and Benn extended their point streaks to eight games. They each have 20 goals this season.</p>
<p>SABRES 5, OILERS 0</p>
<p>EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Jack Eichel had a goal and three assists, Ryan O’Reilly scored twice and Buffalo earned an easy win over Edmonton.</p>
<p>Sam Reinhart had a goal and two assists and Zemgus Girgensons also scored for the last-place Sabres, who won their second game in a row for just the second time this season. The other time was in late October.</p>
<p>Robin Lehner made 33 saves for his second shutout of the season.</p>
<p>Cam Talbot stopped 18 of 22 shots before Al Montoya relieved for the Oilers, who had a three-game winning streak snapped. It was the sixth time this season Edmonton has been shut out.</p>
<p>GOLDEN KNIGHTS 6, BLUE JACKETS 3</p>
<p>LAS VEGAS (AP) — William Karlsson scored two goals against his former team, Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 29 shots and Vegas beat Columbus.</p>
<p>Brad Hunt, Colin Miller, James Neal and Erik Haula also scored for the Golden Knights, while Jonathan Marchessault added two assists.</p>
<p>With the win, the Pacific Division leaders stayed right behind NHL-best Tampa Bay, which defeated Nashville 4-3 in overtime. The Lightning have 69 points to top the overall standings, and expansion Vegas is second with 68.</p>
<p>The Blue Jackets, playing for just the second time in 12 days, got goals from Markus Nutivaara, Josh Anderson and Matt Calvert. Sergei Bobrovsky made 32 saves.</p>
<p>Karlsson was selected from the Blue Jackets during the expansion draft last June.</p>
<p>DUCKS 6, RANGERS 3</p>
<p>ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Andrew Cogliano and Adam Henrique capped Anaheim’s four-goal first period against slumping New York.</p>
<p>Ryan Getzlaf had a goal and an assist, Corey Perry added a goal and an assist, and Rickard Rakell and J.T. Brown also scored to help the Ducks win for the fourth time in six games. John Gibson stopped 41 shots.</p>
<p>Rick Nash had two goals, and Michael Grabner also scored for the Rangers, losers of six of their last eight. New York goalie Henrik Lundqvist was pulled after giving up three goals on seven shots over the first 16:21, after Cogliano scored the tiebreaking goal.</p>
<p>JETS 5, SHARKS 4, OT</p>
<p>SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Bryan Little scored his second goal of the game 18 seconds into overtime, lifting Winnipeg over San Jose.</p>
<p>Joel Armia also scored twice and Mathieu Perreault had a goal to help the Jets win their third straight and fifth in the last seven. Connor Hellebuyck finished with 29 saves.</p>
<p>Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture, Chris Tierney and Timo Meier scored for the Sharks, who lost for the second time in seven games. Aaron Dell had 18 saves.</p>
<p>CANUCKS 6, KINGS 2</p>
<p>VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Loui Eriksson led Vancouver’s early outburst with two goals and an assist in the first six minutes, Brock Boeser scored twice in the second period and the Canucks cruised past Los Angeles.</p>
<p>Thomas Vanek, with a goal and two assists, and Sven Baertschi provided the rest of the offense for Vancouver, which got 30 saves from Jacob Markstrom. Bo Horvat and Alexander Edler each added two assists for the Canucks, who were playing at home for the first time in three weeks.</p>
<p>Anze Kopitar had a goal and an assist, and Alex Iafallo also scored for the Kings. Jonathan Quick allowed five goals on 19 shots, including four on 11 attempts in the first 9:58. Darcy Kuemper relieved Quick with the score 5-1 early in the second.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP NHL: <a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="" type="internal">https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey</a></p> | 1,322 |
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<p>I thought of TOBL when I read in General Surgery News (online) that a group of well-intentioned folks in Colorado – Parents Against Underage Smartphones (PAUS) – are lobbying state lawmakers to draft a law that would prevent smartphone sales to children under 13. Their rationale is certainly unimpeachable: they maintain that smartphone use in pre- and young teens quickly becomes an obsession that can harm ongoing brain development, hinder social skills and even create addiction. The best research confirms all of that.</p>
<p>The Colorado law would create a bureaucracy that would be charged with enforcing said law, which, needless to say, cannot be done with any reliability. The proposed law would require smartphone retailers to ask the age of the primary user before making a sale. The question then becomes: What prevents the purchaser (presumably a parent) from telling a lie? Does Colorado then create another law that imposes fines on parents who break the law and/or requires them to attend technology education programs? No, I’m not kidding. Those who govern us cannot, it seems, resist any opportunity to expand the powers of the state.</p>
<p>This legislation, should it pass, will be paid for with taxes, which means that nearly everyone in Colorado will be punished because many of those who have children (a) want their children to like them, (b) cannot manage to articulate the word “no,” (c) prefer, when it comes to childrearing issues, to take the easy way out, (d) all of the above. The answer, of course, is (d).</p>
<p>It is not even clear that the folks at PAUS understand that the solution to the smartphone problem is for parents to take FULL responsibility for it and not allow them, period. When parents ask what I think about simply restricting their use, I ask, “Why would you want the hassle?” No smartphone, no need to police it. Much easier on all concerned – even the child in question – to simply confiscate and make sure it permanently disappears. And, yes, some parents prefer to stick their heads – and even most of their bodies – in the ground. No law is going to change that, not one that a rational judge would find constitutional, anyway.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>John Rosemond’s website is www.johnrosemond.com; readers may send him email at [email protected]; due to the volume of mail, not every question will be answered.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
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<p /> | Parents, not laws, can solve any kids + smartphone concerns | false | https://abqjournal.com/1048103/parents-not-laws-can-solve-kids-smartphone-concerns.html | 2least
| Parents, not laws, can solve any kids + smartphone concerns
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<p />
<p>I thought of TOBL when I read in General Surgery News (online) that a group of well-intentioned folks in Colorado – Parents Against Underage Smartphones (PAUS) – are lobbying state lawmakers to draft a law that would prevent smartphone sales to children under 13. Their rationale is certainly unimpeachable: they maintain that smartphone use in pre- and young teens quickly becomes an obsession that can harm ongoing brain development, hinder social skills and even create addiction. The best research confirms all of that.</p>
<p>The Colorado law would create a bureaucracy that would be charged with enforcing said law, which, needless to say, cannot be done with any reliability. The proposed law would require smartphone retailers to ask the age of the primary user before making a sale. The question then becomes: What prevents the purchaser (presumably a parent) from telling a lie? Does Colorado then create another law that imposes fines on parents who break the law and/or requires them to attend technology education programs? No, I’m not kidding. Those who govern us cannot, it seems, resist any opportunity to expand the powers of the state.</p>
<p>This legislation, should it pass, will be paid for with taxes, which means that nearly everyone in Colorado will be punished because many of those who have children (a) want their children to like them, (b) cannot manage to articulate the word “no,” (c) prefer, when it comes to childrearing issues, to take the easy way out, (d) all of the above. The answer, of course, is (d).</p>
<p>It is not even clear that the folks at PAUS understand that the solution to the smartphone problem is for parents to take FULL responsibility for it and not allow them, period. When parents ask what I think about simply restricting their use, I ask, “Why would you want the hassle?” No smartphone, no need to police it. Much easier on all concerned – even the child in question – to simply confiscate and make sure it permanently disappears. And, yes, some parents prefer to stick their heads – and even most of their bodies – in the ground. No law is going to change that, not one that a rational judge would find constitutional, anyway.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>John Rosemond’s website is www.johnrosemond.com; readers may send him email at [email protected]; due to the volume of mail, not every question will be answered.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
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<p />
<p>Apr. 20, 2001</p>
<p><a href="http://www.prospect.org/print/V12/8/kuttner-r.html" type="external">Tax cut costing Bush his majority — American Prospect</a> “George W. Bush is losing his working majority in Congress,” according to Robert Kuttner. “The only surprise is that it took so long.” As details of Bush’s budget begin seeping into the public consciousness, the massive spending cuts necessary to make room for the proposed tax decrease are hitting close to home with almost every constituency. As a result, says Kuttner, the administration can no longer assume that its GOP faithful will necessarily shepherd the budget package through.</p>
<p><a href="http://prorev.com/progthings.htm" type="external">How to survive the Bush years — Progressive Review</a> The irrepressible Sam Smith has a list of things progressives can do to fight the Bush agenda. It’s the same list Smith made 12 years ago when Bush Sr. was elected. “Unfortunately, it’s still applicable,” Smith writes. Among his suggestions: “Go for redemption rather than recrimination,” and “Be serious, not solemn.”</p>
<p>Apr. 19, 2001</p>
<p><a href="http://www.dallasobserver.com/issues/2001-04-19/filler.html" type="external">Molly Ivins’ parting shot — Dallas Observer</a> Texas lip Molly Ivins is leaving the Ft. Worth Star Telegram, and she’s using the press attention to take yet more potshots at the former governor she dubbed “Shrub,” and at the Washington press corps: “Everyone knows the man has no clue, but no one there has the courage to say it. I mean, good gawd, the man is as he always has been: barely adequate.”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/2000elect/other/bush/ambassadors/index.asp" type="external">How much is that ambassadorship in the window? — Opensecrets.org</a> Sure, you suspect that the cushy appointments in any administration constitute payback in one form or another. But check out how much these ambassadorship nominees coughed up in campaign contributions in 2000:</p>
<p>(Thanks to <a href="http://www.frictionmagazine.com" type="external">Friction Magazine</a> for the tip.)</p>
<p><a href="http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0401/041301m1.htm" type="external">Norton may be held in contempt in BIA case — Government Executive</a> A group of Native Americans has filed a lawsuit alleging that Interior Secretary Gale Norton failed to comply with a federal court order in a four-year-old lawsuit involving the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ management of individual trust funds for Native Americans. Norton could face contempt-of-court charges.</p>
<p>Apr. 18, 2001</p>
<p><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/bush/story/0,7369,473152,00.html" type="external">Jeb asks big bro for enviro exemption — The Guardian (UK)</a> Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida has asked his elder brother, the president, for a little favor: Could Florida maybe please be exempted from federal laws governing safe drinking water? Seems the state’s rapid growth is causing underground water tables to drop precipitously, and Jeb would like permission to inject untreated rain- and wastewater into the ground to create subterranean reservoirs.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/politics/337465_libraries_13na.html" type="external">Laura loves libraries, George guts them — Dallas Morning News</a> First Lady Laura Bush, a former school librarian, kicked off a nationwide campaign for public libraries in early April. The following week, her hubby released a budget that proposes to cut $39 million from federal for libraries.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nandotimes.com/opinions/story/0,1098,500473823-500726862-504105848-0,%2000.html" type="external">Bureaucrats must breed — Nando Times</a> If a stealth provision in Bush’s proposed budget survives Congress, the 1.2 million female federal employees will lose insurance coverage for contraception. The men in the administration’s employ, however, will keep their coverage for Viagra. As Bonnie Erbe points out, “contraception prevents unplanned pregnancies, which in turn lowers the rate of abortion — a goal of many Americans, including the president.”</p>
<p>Apr. 17, 2001</p>
<p><a href="http://www.missoulanews.com/News/News.asp?no=1630" type="external">Save the Arctic, trash the Rockies — The Missoula News</a> A Presidential task force featuring Gale Norton and Dick Cheney recently announced plans to lift the moratorium on oil and gas exploration in the Lewis and Clark National Forest in the Rocky Mountains. The administration can open the area to drilling without consulting Congress, a luxury it doesn’t enjoy with the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Montanans overwhelmingly supported the moratorium when it was implemented under the Clinton administration.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.observer.com/pages/conason.asp" type="external">Bush’s fuzzy budget math — The Observer</a> Joe Conason says “the slippery calculations that underlie George W. Bush’s budget are like the selective counting that put him in office.” The spending cuts called for in the document are being framed as “reform,” when in fact, says Conason, they are just a way to free up money for Bush’s ill-advised tax cut at the expense of crucial domestic programs.</p>
<p><a href="http://chicagotribune.com/leisure/printedition/article/0,2669,SAV-0104170015,FF.%20html" type="external">What Dubya and Puff Daddy know — The Chicago Tribune</a> The reigning chiefs of American politics and American rap might not appear to have much in common, but both do appreciate the power of nicknames. George W. Bush uses them to signal hisaffection, or lack thereof, for those in his administration and Congress. Bush has been on the receiving end, too — Molly Ivins labelled him both “Dubya” and “Shrub.” Puff Daddy, aka Sean Combs, realizes that a certain fluidity in one’s identity can be a powerful tool for reinventing oneself (although there are drawbacks — ask the artist formerly known as The Artist Formerly Known As Prince). Puffy, recently acquitted on weapons charges, has renamed himself P. Diddy.</p>
<p>Apr. 16, 2001</p>
<p><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/bush/story/0,7369,472072,00.html" type="external">Greetings from Orwell, Alaska — The Guardian (UK)</a> Ian Thomas, a high-tech cartographer at the US Geological Survey, may be “mapmaking’s first modern martyr.” Thomas lost his job after posting a map on the Internet that depicted caribou migratory patterns in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, including a popular calf-birthing spot called “Area 1002.” Unfortunately for Thomas (and the caribou), the Bush administration and oil companies also have their eyes on Area 1002 — as a potential oilfield. His boss claims the problem was the map’s inaccuracy, but shortly after Thomas got the boot, other government information about Area 1002 vanished from the Web.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/magazine/mag_6_30_01/barnes_art_6_30_01.asp" type="external">What’s in Bush’s Cabinet? Hypocrisy! — The Weekly Standard</a> The conservative Weekly Standard is appalled by what it sees as President Bush’s hypocritical use of affirmative action in filling cabinet and advisor spots. One aggrieved job candidate even wrote to the White House, the Standard reports, saying he “never expected a Republican Bush administration to treat white males so shabbily.”</p>
<p /> | The Bush Files | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2001/04/bush-files-7/ | 2001-04-20 | 4left
| The Bush Files
<p />
<p>Apr. 20, 2001</p>
<p><a href="http://www.prospect.org/print/V12/8/kuttner-r.html" type="external">Tax cut costing Bush his majority — American Prospect</a> “George W. Bush is losing his working majority in Congress,” according to Robert Kuttner. “The only surprise is that it took so long.” As details of Bush’s budget begin seeping into the public consciousness, the massive spending cuts necessary to make room for the proposed tax decrease are hitting close to home with almost every constituency. As a result, says Kuttner, the administration can no longer assume that its GOP faithful will necessarily shepherd the budget package through.</p>
<p><a href="http://prorev.com/progthings.htm" type="external">How to survive the Bush years — Progressive Review</a> The irrepressible Sam Smith has a list of things progressives can do to fight the Bush agenda. It’s the same list Smith made 12 years ago when Bush Sr. was elected. “Unfortunately, it’s still applicable,” Smith writes. Among his suggestions: “Go for redemption rather than recrimination,” and “Be serious, not solemn.”</p>
<p>Apr. 19, 2001</p>
<p><a href="http://www.dallasobserver.com/issues/2001-04-19/filler.html" type="external">Molly Ivins’ parting shot — Dallas Observer</a> Texas lip Molly Ivins is leaving the Ft. Worth Star Telegram, and she’s using the press attention to take yet more potshots at the former governor she dubbed “Shrub,” and at the Washington press corps: “Everyone knows the man has no clue, but no one there has the courage to say it. I mean, good gawd, the man is as he always has been: barely adequate.”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/2000elect/other/bush/ambassadors/index.asp" type="external">How much is that ambassadorship in the window? — Opensecrets.org</a> Sure, you suspect that the cushy appointments in any administration constitute payback in one form or another. But check out how much these ambassadorship nominees coughed up in campaign contributions in 2000:</p>
<p>(Thanks to <a href="http://www.frictionmagazine.com" type="external">Friction Magazine</a> for the tip.)</p>
<p><a href="http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0401/041301m1.htm" type="external">Norton may be held in contempt in BIA case — Government Executive</a> A group of Native Americans has filed a lawsuit alleging that Interior Secretary Gale Norton failed to comply with a federal court order in a four-year-old lawsuit involving the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ management of individual trust funds for Native Americans. Norton could face contempt-of-court charges.</p>
<p>Apr. 18, 2001</p>
<p><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/bush/story/0,7369,473152,00.html" type="external">Jeb asks big bro for enviro exemption — The Guardian (UK)</a> Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida has asked his elder brother, the president, for a little favor: Could Florida maybe please be exempted from federal laws governing safe drinking water? Seems the state’s rapid growth is causing underground water tables to drop precipitously, and Jeb would like permission to inject untreated rain- and wastewater into the ground to create subterranean reservoirs.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/politics/337465_libraries_13na.html" type="external">Laura loves libraries, George guts them — Dallas Morning News</a> First Lady Laura Bush, a former school librarian, kicked off a nationwide campaign for public libraries in early April. The following week, her hubby released a budget that proposes to cut $39 million from federal for libraries.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nandotimes.com/opinions/story/0,1098,500473823-500726862-504105848-0,%2000.html" type="external">Bureaucrats must breed — Nando Times</a> If a stealth provision in Bush’s proposed budget survives Congress, the 1.2 million female federal employees will lose insurance coverage for contraception. The men in the administration’s employ, however, will keep their coverage for Viagra. As Bonnie Erbe points out, “contraception prevents unplanned pregnancies, which in turn lowers the rate of abortion — a goal of many Americans, including the president.”</p>
<p>Apr. 17, 2001</p>
<p><a href="http://www.missoulanews.com/News/News.asp?no=1630" type="external">Save the Arctic, trash the Rockies — The Missoula News</a> A Presidential task force featuring Gale Norton and Dick Cheney recently announced plans to lift the moratorium on oil and gas exploration in the Lewis and Clark National Forest in the Rocky Mountains. The administration can open the area to drilling without consulting Congress, a luxury it doesn’t enjoy with the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Montanans overwhelmingly supported the moratorium when it was implemented under the Clinton administration.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.observer.com/pages/conason.asp" type="external">Bush’s fuzzy budget math — The Observer</a> Joe Conason says “the slippery calculations that underlie George W. Bush’s budget are like the selective counting that put him in office.” The spending cuts called for in the document are being framed as “reform,” when in fact, says Conason, they are just a way to free up money for Bush’s ill-advised tax cut at the expense of crucial domestic programs.</p>
<p><a href="http://chicagotribune.com/leisure/printedition/article/0,2669,SAV-0104170015,FF.%20html" type="external">What Dubya and Puff Daddy know — The Chicago Tribune</a> The reigning chiefs of American politics and American rap might not appear to have much in common, but both do appreciate the power of nicknames. George W. Bush uses them to signal hisaffection, or lack thereof, for those in his administration and Congress. Bush has been on the receiving end, too — Molly Ivins labelled him both “Dubya” and “Shrub.” Puff Daddy, aka Sean Combs, realizes that a certain fluidity in one’s identity can be a powerful tool for reinventing oneself (although there are drawbacks — ask the artist formerly known as The Artist Formerly Known As Prince). Puffy, recently acquitted on weapons charges, has renamed himself P. Diddy.</p>
<p>Apr. 16, 2001</p>
<p><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/bush/story/0,7369,472072,00.html" type="external">Greetings from Orwell, Alaska — The Guardian (UK)</a> Ian Thomas, a high-tech cartographer at the US Geological Survey, may be “mapmaking’s first modern martyr.” Thomas lost his job after posting a map on the Internet that depicted caribou migratory patterns in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, including a popular calf-birthing spot called “Area 1002.” Unfortunately for Thomas (and the caribou), the Bush administration and oil companies also have their eyes on Area 1002 — as a potential oilfield. His boss claims the problem was the map’s inaccuracy, but shortly after Thomas got the boot, other government information about Area 1002 vanished from the Web.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/magazine/mag_6_30_01/barnes_art_6_30_01.asp" type="external">What’s in Bush’s Cabinet? Hypocrisy! — The Weekly Standard</a> The conservative Weekly Standard is appalled by what it sees as President Bush’s hypocritical use of affirmative action in filling cabinet and advisor spots. One aggrieved job candidate even wrote to the White House, the Standard reports, saying he “never expected a Republican Bush administration to treat white males so shabbily.”</p>
<p /> | 1,324 |
<p>Sen. John Kerry (remember him?) has penned an Op-Ed for The Washington Post, taking issue with President Bush’s — and by extension, John McCain’s — argument that engaging in talks with Iran would constitute a dangerous gesture of “appeasement.” The No. 1 reason Kerry thinks the GOP leaders’ stance is wrong? Well, “In short, not talking to Iran has failed. Miserably.”</p>
<p>John Kerry in The Washington Post:</p>
<p>Bush engages in self-deception arguing that not engaging Iran has worked. In fact, Iran has grown stronger: continuing to master the nuclear fuel cycle; arming militias in Iraq and Lebanon; bolstering extremist anti-Israeli proxies. It has embraced Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and spends lavishly to rebuild Afghanistan, gaining influence across the region.</p>
<p>Instead of backing Bush’s toxic rhetoric, McCain should have called George H.W. Bush’s secretary of state, James Baker. After years of stonewalling, the administration grudgingly tested the Baker-Hamilton report’s recommendation and opened talks with Iran — albeit low-level dialogue restricted to the subject of Iraq. Is James Baker an appeaser, too?</p>
<p />
<p>While the president attacks political opponents from the Knesset, responsible members of his own administration meet face to face with Iranians. Yes, Ahmadinejad’s words often are abhorrent, and often Iran has played a poisonous role in Middle East politics. But when our ambassador to Iraq meets with his Iranian counterpart, he isn’t courting “the false comfort of appeasement” — he is facing the reality that Iran exerts influence in Iraq. That’s why Defense Secretary Bob Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have called for engaging Iran. Appeasers all? Nonsense.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/23/AR2008052302170.html?hpid=opinionsbox1" type="external">Read more</a></p> | Kerry: U.S., Iran Have Plenty to Talk About | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/kerry-u-s-iran-have-plenty-to-talk-about/ | 2008-05-25 | 4left
| Kerry: U.S., Iran Have Plenty to Talk About
<p>Sen. John Kerry (remember him?) has penned an Op-Ed for The Washington Post, taking issue with President Bush’s — and by extension, John McCain’s — argument that engaging in talks with Iran would constitute a dangerous gesture of “appeasement.” The No. 1 reason Kerry thinks the GOP leaders’ stance is wrong? Well, “In short, not talking to Iran has failed. Miserably.”</p>
<p>John Kerry in The Washington Post:</p>
<p>Bush engages in self-deception arguing that not engaging Iran has worked. In fact, Iran has grown stronger: continuing to master the nuclear fuel cycle; arming militias in Iraq and Lebanon; bolstering extremist anti-Israeli proxies. It has embraced Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and spends lavishly to rebuild Afghanistan, gaining influence across the region.</p>
<p>Instead of backing Bush’s toxic rhetoric, McCain should have called George H.W. Bush’s secretary of state, James Baker. After years of stonewalling, the administration grudgingly tested the Baker-Hamilton report’s recommendation and opened talks with Iran — albeit low-level dialogue restricted to the subject of Iraq. Is James Baker an appeaser, too?</p>
<p />
<p>While the president attacks political opponents from the Knesset, responsible members of his own administration meet face to face with Iranians. Yes, Ahmadinejad’s words often are abhorrent, and often Iran has played a poisonous role in Middle East politics. But when our ambassador to Iraq meets with his Iranian counterpart, he isn’t courting “the false comfort of appeasement” — he is facing the reality that Iran exerts influence in Iraq. That’s why Defense Secretary Bob Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have called for engaging Iran. Appeasers all? Nonsense.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/23/AR2008052302170.html?hpid=opinionsbox1" type="external">Read more</a></p> | 1,325 |
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<p>TOKYO — Fresh off a decisive election victory, Japan’s leader pledged Monday to tackle what he called Japan’s two national crises: the military threat from North Korea and an aging and shrinking population.</p>
<p>Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said at a news conference that he is committed to protect the Japanese people’s prosperity and peace from any contingency. He also referred to Japanese people who were abducted years ago and are believed to still be held by North Korea.</p>
<p>“I will pursue decisive and strong diplomacy to tackle North Korea’s missile, nuclear and abduction issues and put further pressure to get it to change its policy,” he said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>His ruling coalition got voters’ endorsement to stay in power in elections for Japan’s more powerful lower house Sunday.</p>
<p>Abe said Japan’s decreasing population and aging is “the biggest challenge” for his Abenomics policy aimed at Japan’s economic recovery from deflation. “The problem is progressing by the minute, and we cannot afford waiting around.”</p>
<p>He promised a comprehensive package by the end of the year to deal with Japan’s demographic challenges, including investments in education, productivity improvements and pension system reform.</p>
<p>Abe’s ultra-conservative Liberal Democratic Party and a small coalition partner together secured 313 seats in the 465-member lower house, passing the 310-barrier for a two-thirds majority.</p>
<p>Abe said the result showed “strong support” from the people and thanked them for backing stability and his government’s policies.</p>
<p>The victory boosts Abe’s chances of winning another three-year term next September as leader of the Liberal Democratic Party. That could extend his premiership to 2021, giving him more time to try to win a reluctant public over to his longtime goal of revising Japan’s pacifist constitution.</p>
<p>In the immediate term, the win likely means a continuation of the policies Abe has pursued since he took office in December 2012 — a hard line on North Korea, close ties with Washington, including more purchase of American missile interceptors, as well as a super-loose monetary policy and push for nuclear energy. Stocks rose in Tokyo on Monday morning.</p>
<p>Abe said he will have “deep discussion” on North Korean policies with President Donald Trump during his planned Nov. 5-7 visit in Japan.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Abe’s ruling coalition already has a two-thirds majority in the less powerful upper house. Having a so-called supermajority in both houses gives them virtually a free hand to push even divisive policies and legislation.</p>
<p>That would also increase Abe’s chances for achieving a constitutional revision, a goal his party and its nationalist supporters have advocated for years. They view the 1947 constitution as the legacy of Japan’s defeat in World War II and an imposition of the victor’s world order and values. The charter renounces the use of force in international conflicts and limits Japan’s troops to self-defense, although Japan has a well-equipped modern military that works closely with the U.S.</p>
<p>Any change to Japan’s constitution, which has never been amended, requires approval first by two-thirds of parliament, and then in a public referendum. Polls indicate that the Japanese public remains opposed to amendment.</p>
<p>The win indicates Abe has bounced back from the summer, when support ratings for his Cabinet plunged to 30 percent after accusations of government favoritism to people connected to him. For the first time since he took office nearly five years ago, he appeared vulnerable as both party leader and prime minister.</p>
<p>The ruling coalition’s victory reflects as much the lack of viable alternatives as support for Abe. Turnout was just 54 percent, as typhoon rains lashed much of the country.</p>
<p>Abe dissolved the lower house less than a month ago, forcing the snap election. Analysts saw it as an attempt to solidify his political standing at a time when the opposition was in disarray and his support ratings had improved somewhat.</p>
<p>His plan was briefly upstaged by the launch of a new conservative opposition party by populist Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike. But initial excitement faded, and the Party of Hope took only 49 seats. Another new party, the liberal-leaning Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, won 55 seats and looks to be the biggest opposition grouping.</p>
<p>Koike said Monday that she faced during an “iron ceiling” during the election campaign, one tougher than the “glass ceiling” she broke when she became Tokyo’s first female governor and lead her regional party to win big in the city assembly election.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Ken Moritsugu contributed to this report.</p> | After election win, Abe prioritizes North Korea, aging Japan | false | https://abqjournal.com/1081768/after-election-win-abe-prioritizes-north-korea-aging-japan.html | 2017-10-23 | 2least
| After election win, Abe prioritizes North Korea, aging Japan
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>TOKYO — Fresh off a decisive election victory, Japan’s leader pledged Monday to tackle what he called Japan’s two national crises: the military threat from North Korea and an aging and shrinking population.</p>
<p>Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said at a news conference that he is committed to protect the Japanese people’s prosperity and peace from any contingency. He also referred to Japanese people who were abducted years ago and are believed to still be held by North Korea.</p>
<p>“I will pursue decisive and strong diplomacy to tackle North Korea’s missile, nuclear and abduction issues and put further pressure to get it to change its policy,” he said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>His ruling coalition got voters’ endorsement to stay in power in elections for Japan’s more powerful lower house Sunday.</p>
<p>Abe said Japan’s decreasing population and aging is “the biggest challenge” for his Abenomics policy aimed at Japan’s economic recovery from deflation. “The problem is progressing by the minute, and we cannot afford waiting around.”</p>
<p>He promised a comprehensive package by the end of the year to deal with Japan’s demographic challenges, including investments in education, productivity improvements and pension system reform.</p>
<p>Abe’s ultra-conservative Liberal Democratic Party and a small coalition partner together secured 313 seats in the 465-member lower house, passing the 310-barrier for a two-thirds majority.</p>
<p>Abe said the result showed “strong support” from the people and thanked them for backing stability and his government’s policies.</p>
<p>The victory boosts Abe’s chances of winning another three-year term next September as leader of the Liberal Democratic Party. That could extend his premiership to 2021, giving him more time to try to win a reluctant public over to his longtime goal of revising Japan’s pacifist constitution.</p>
<p>In the immediate term, the win likely means a continuation of the policies Abe has pursued since he took office in December 2012 — a hard line on North Korea, close ties with Washington, including more purchase of American missile interceptors, as well as a super-loose monetary policy and push for nuclear energy. Stocks rose in Tokyo on Monday morning.</p>
<p>Abe said he will have “deep discussion” on North Korean policies with President Donald Trump during his planned Nov. 5-7 visit in Japan.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Abe’s ruling coalition already has a two-thirds majority in the less powerful upper house. Having a so-called supermajority in both houses gives them virtually a free hand to push even divisive policies and legislation.</p>
<p>That would also increase Abe’s chances for achieving a constitutional revision, a goal his party and its nationalist supporters have advocated for years. They view the 1947 constitution as the legacy of Japan’s defeat in World War II and an imposition of the victor’s world order and values. The charter renounces the use of force in international conflicts and limits Japan’s troops to self-defense, although Japan has a well-equipped modern military that works closely with the U.S.</p>
<p>Any change to Japan’s constitution, which has never been amended, requires approval first by two-thirds of parliament, and then in a public referendum. Polls indicate that the Japanese public remains opposed to amendment.</p>
<p>The win indicates Abe has bounced back from the summer, when support ratings for his Cabinet plunged to 30 percent after accusations of government favoritism to people connected to him. For the first time since he took office nearly five years ago, he appeared vulnerable as both party leader and prime minister.</p>
<p>The ruling coalition’s victory reflects as much the lack of viable alternatives as support for Abe. Turnout was just 54 percent, as typhoon rains lashed much of the country.</p>
<p>Abe dissolved the lower house less than a month ago, forcing the snap election. Analysts saw it as an attempt to solidify his political standing at a time when the opposition was in disarray and his support ratings had improved somewhat.</p>
<p>His plan was briefly upstaged by the launch of a new conservative opposition party by populist Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike. But initial excitement faded, and the Party of Hope took only 49 seats. Another new party, the liberal-leaning Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, won 55 seats and looks to be the biggest opposition grouping.</p>
<p>Koike said Monday that she faced during an “iron ceiling” during the election campaign, one tougher than the “glass ceiling” she broke when she became Tokyo’s first female governor and lead her regional party to win big in the city assembly election.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Ken Moritsugu contributed to this report.</p> | 1,326 |
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<p>HOUSTON (AP) — The Southern Baptist Convention is expected to take a stand against the Boy Scouts of America’s acceptance of gay members at the denomination’s annual meeting in Houston this week.</p>
<p>Leaders of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination had fought against the change and warned Scouting leaders that allowing gay members could mean Southern Baptist churches would no longer sponsor troops.</p>
<p>Resolutions for the annual meeting were to be presented today and many observers expect one of them to address the Boy Scouts’ new policy in some way.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Because all Southern Baptist churches are independent, the denomination cannot force a church to drop ties with the Scouts. However, churches occasionally are kicked out of the convention for practices considered incompatible with Southern Baptist beliefs.</p>
<p>Former Southern Baptist President Bryant Wright recently announced that the church where he is pastor, Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta, Ga., would stop sponsoring a troop after 13 years. Wright explained in a video posted on the church’s website that the problem with the new policy is not that it would allow gay Scouts, but that it would not allow Scout masters to counsel those Scouts to “live a life of sexual purity according to Scripture.”</p>
<p>The new policy, Wright said, “condones homosexuality as being consistent with the Scout oath of duty to God and moral uprightness.”</p>
<p>In all, about 70 percent of the 116,000 Scout units in the United States are sponsored by religious organizations. Many of those groups have decided to continue sponsoring troops. That includes the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which sponsors more Scout units than any other organization, serving about 430,000 boys.</p>
<p>The United Methodist Church is the second-largest sponsor serving about 363,000 boys. The denomination’s National Director of Scouting Ministries, Larry Coppock, is sending a letter this week that advises leaders to continue sponsoring troops.</p>
<p>“There are disheartened and disappointed people on both sides of the membership issue, but it is time to move forward and continue to promote scouting as a youth ministry,” he wrote.</p>
<p>On Tuesday, a delegate to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting made a motion asking the group’s Executive Committee appoint a task force to look into Scouting alternatives. That motion was referred to a committee, but leaders could still offer a resolution on the issue Wednesday.</p>
<p>The Southern Baptist Convention already has a youth group for boys called Royal Ambassadors, and there could be a call to expand that program.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Online:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.sbcannualmeeting.net/sbc13/" type="external">http://www.sbcannualmeeting.net/sbc13/</a></p> | So. Baptists to address gay scouting | false | https://abqjournal.com/209532/so-baptists-to-address-gay-scouting.html | 2013-06-12 | 2least
| So. Baptists to address gay scouting
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>HOUSTON (AP) — The Southern Baptist Convention is expected to take a stand against the Boy Scouts of America’s acceptance of gay members at the denomination’s annual meeting in Houston this week.</p>
<p>Leaders of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination had fought against the change and warned Scouting leaders that allowing gay members could mean Southern Baptist churches would no longer sponsor troops.</p>
<p>Resolutions for the annual meeting were to be presented today and many observers expect one of them to address the Boy Scouts’ new policy in some way.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Because all Southern Baptist churches are independent, the denomination cannot force a church to drop ties with the Scouts. However, churches occasionally are kicked out of the convention for practices considered incompatible with Southern Baptist beliefs.</p>
<p>Former Southern Baptist President Bryant Wright recently announced that the church where he is pastor, Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta, Ga., would stop sponsoring a troop after 13 years. Wright explained in a video posted on the church’s website that the problem with the new policy is not that it would allow gay Scouts, but that it would not allow Scout masters to counsel those Scouts to “live a life of sexual purity according to Scripture.”</p>
<p>The new policy, Wright said, “condones homosexuality as being consistent with the Scout oath of duty to God and moral uprightness.”</p>
<p>In all, about 70 percent of the 116,000 Scout units in the United States are sponsored by religious organizations. Many of those groups have decided to continue sponsoring troops. That includes the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which sponsors more Scout units than any other organization, serving about 430,000 boys.</p>
<p>The United Methodist Church is the second-largest sponsor serving about 363,000 boys. The denomination’s National Director of Scouting Ministries, Larry Coppock, is sending a letter this week that advises leaders to continue sponsoring troops.</p>
<p>“There are disheartened and disappointed people on both sides of the membership issue, but it is time to move forward and continue to promote scouting as a youth ministry,” he wrote.</p>
<p>On Tuesday, a delegate to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting made a motion asking the group’s Executive Committee appoint a task force to look into Scouting alternatives. That motion was referred to a committee, but leaders could still offer a resolution on the issue Wednesday.</p>
<p>The Southern Baptist Convention already has a youth group for boys called Royal Ambassadors, and there could be a call to expand that program.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Online:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.sbcannualmeeting.net/sbc13/" type="external">http://www.sbcannualmeeting.net/sbc13/</a></p> | 1,327 |
<p />
<p>On the day that the Mahdi Army’s bloody rebellion rolled across southern Iraq, Salman Sharif Duaffar, like most of his countrymen, was taken by surprise. Duaffar, 35, a former Shiite mujahid who last summer returned from six years of exile in Iran, is a major political player in Nasiriya, a tumbledown city of 590,000 on the Euphrates River. For months, Duaffar and his colleagues on the 36-member provincial council had listened to the threats of Islamic radicals loyal to Moqtada al-Sadr, the fiery young cleric based in the holy Shiite city of Najaf. But the Mahdi’s posturing always stopped short of violence, and Duaffar had come to believe that Sadr’s militia was mostly the stuff of bluster.</p>
<p>But on a sultry afternoon in early April, as Duaffar and his aides were discussing the plan of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) to transfer some power to Iraqis on June 30, the Mahdi Army took to the streets. Dressed in black, clutching Kalashnikovs and rocket-propelled grenade launchers, some 200 militants poured through Nasiriya in an angry rampage that mirrored those taking place in other Iraqi cities. It was the CPA that had put spark to Mahdi powder by shuttering Al Hawza, Sadr’s fiercely anti-Coalition newspaper — a gesture that unwittingly echoed the brutal repression Shiites had suffered under Saddam Hussein. Once the rioting had begun, the CPA added gasoline to the fire by arresting a top Sadr aide for complicity in the murder of a moderate, U.S.-backed cleric in Najaf a year earlier. As the subsequent wave of carnage and kidnappings swept over Iraq, Sadr’s men seized Nasiriya’s two suspension bridges over the Euphrates, fired on the Italian carabinieri patrolling the city, chased out the CPA administrators, and forced shops and schools to close down. “Things unraveled fast,” Duaffar told me a few days later, as he sat in the heavily fortified provincial government headquarters. “The situation was completely out of control.”</p>
<p>As a key member of the security committee, Duaffar volunteered to try to restore order. He united several rival parties into an emergency committee and played intermediary between the Sadr organization and the local Italian military command, running messages back and forth through the tense streets. Meanwhile, Italian troops battled Sadr’s militia across the Euphrates, killing at least 15 Iraqis. The Italian commander declared a dusk-to-dawn curfew but had difficulties spreading the word; his troops opened fire on a car caught out after dark, killing nine civilians. The U.S. Marines were poised to assault the city, something that Duaffar and others feared could turn Nasiriya into another Fallujah. Finally, after days of shuttle diplomacy, in which Duaffar and tribal elders cajoled and threatened the local Sadr cleric, the Mahdi Army withdrew.</p>
<p>It was now several days after the chaos subsided, but the city remained on edge. The streets outside the provincial headquarters were barricaded by armored personnel carriers and unsmiling Italian troops, whom Iraqis call “chicken men” — a reference to the black feather that sticks jauntily from their helmets. The chicken men had just dynamited Sadr’s office into a pile of rubble to prevent the Mahdi Army from regrouping there. “That served no purpose. It only aggravated things,” said Duaffar. “It seems the Italians were acting on American orders. We can only hope that it doesn’t lead to repercussions.”</p>
<p>Acting as a voice of moderation is a relatively new role for Duaffar. Seven and a half years ago, he and three fellow Shiite guerrillas carried out one of the most brazen attacks against the Baathist regime in its history: the ambush of Uday Hussein as he drove his Porsche through Baghdad traffic. The 1996 assassination attempt left Saddam’s reviled son crippled and reportedly impotent, and made the unknown assailants folk heroes. Months after escaping into the marshes surrounding Nasiriya, two of Duaffar’s accomplices were tracked down and executed by Saddam’s henchmen, along with every male member of their immediate families. Duaffar’s father and seven brothers were also killed. He fled to Iran, where he lived in exile and helped run the 15th of Shaban Islamic Movement, named for the day the 1991 Shiite uprising against Saddam broke out. After the fall of Baghdad, Duaffar returned to Nasiriya and exchanged his guns for politics. Now he and his movement are angling for a role on both the regional and national stages as Iraqis prepare, fitfully, to govern themselves.</p>
<p>Nasiriya, Duaffar’s power base, is located 13 miles east of the ruins of the famed ziggurat of Ur, an ancient civilization that sprang up in the fertile crescent more than 5,000 years ago. Nasiriya is the traditional site of the Garden of Eden and, according to Genesis, the place from which Abraham’s father, Terah, led his tribe into the land of Canaan. In subsequent centuries, the city was occupied by a succession of conquerors — Assyrian, Babylonian, Macedonian, Roman, Persian, Mongolian, Arabian, and Ottoman, who were ousted in July 1915, when the British army seized Nasiriya, a critical victory in its Mesopotamian campaign. In more recent years, Nasiriya was a center of Shiite opposition to the Baathist dictatorship and the gateway to the marshes where Shiite guerrillas established clandestine bases. Nasiriya is also where the two major roads between Basra and Baghdad converge, and thus was fiercely defended by Saddam fedayeen when the U.S. military stormed across the Kuwaiti border in March 2003. It was here that Pfc. Jessica Lynch and her comrades from the Army’s 507th Maintenance Company made their fatal wrong turn, wandering unprotected into the heart of enemy territory. Eleven U.S. soldiers died and six, including Lynch, were captured. Days later, the Marines fought a fierce battle with the fedayeen that destroyed most of the buildings along the river.</p>
<p>Nasiriya’s scars show. The local CPA administrator calls it “the worst town in Iraq.” Mosquitoes swarm over ubiquitous pools of stagnant water. Battered orange-and-white taxis bounce along potholed streets devoid of greenery, and everywhere piles of burning garbage send plumes of smoke into the sky. Yet amid this squalid misery, signs of both a religious and political rebirth abound. The city is awash in billboards for the Iraqi National Accord Movement, the Iraqi National Congress, the Supreme Council of Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), Martyr Said Sadr’s Office, the Iraqi Nation-al Unity Gathering, the Dawa Party, and 30 other new parties and movements. Where murals celebrating Saddam once stood, now hang colorful portraits of clerics who, dead or alive, dominate Shiite politics — Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, 73, Iraq’s most influential cleric; the martyred Ayatollah Mohammed Baqr al-Hakim, the founder of SCIRI who was killed by a car bomb in August 2003; and Ayatollah Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr, father of Moqtada, murdered with two of his sons by a Saddam hit squad in Najaf in 1999.</p>
<p>I first met Duaffar in mid-February; he was working out of a bungalow on Nasiriya’s outskirts — a quiet, palm-lined street inhabited by the city’s business and political elite. In a spartan, second-floor office, he sat with his hands clasped at a simple wooden desk, clear of adornment except for a plastic vase with a single white rose. Under Saddam, Duaffar recalled, “Nasiriya suffered the most of any single place in Iraq. Most of the mass graves are in this area. The city was destroyed. We were denied jobs, education.” Duaffar is a thin, somber-looking man with a trim black beard and intense green eyes that gaze out from behind wire spectacles. Clad that afternoon in a black cotton jacket, black pants, and black shirt, he cut an austere, intensely focused figure. It was not difficult to imagine him as a young revolutionary, steely with purpose as he plotted the deaths of his enemies. Now he seemed fired up with a new sense of mission, and his voice began to rise accordingly. “This is the place where global civilization started! They say the father of the prophets, Abraham, was born here. All the parties in Iraq rose here. We should make Nasiriya live and breathe again for the sake of humanity.”</p>
<p>At the time of this meeting, Nasiriya had already become a crucial battleground between two visions of Shiite Islam — the pro-Iranian theocracy pushed by the Iran-backed Sadr and his many followers, and the secular, tolerant state that Duaffar and his group say they support. Days earlier, in what was an ominous foreshadowing of the April rebellion, Sadr’s extremists had surrounded provincial headquarters, demanding that the governor sack all members of the CPA-appointed local council and hold direct popular elections immediately. The governor refused, claiming that a direct vote would be premature, and — after he brought in armed tribesmen to protect him and issued his foes an ultimatum — the threat of violence receded, for the moment. “The extremists threatened us,” Duaffar told me. “This is not logic. This is not Islam. This is dictatorship.”</p>
<p>Duaffar was jostling to fill the political vacuum left by the collapse of the Baathist regime. In this he had many rivals, especially the better-funded Badr Organization. The armed wing of the SCIRI, the Badr Brigade had followed Ayatollah Hakim triumphantly across the Iranian border from decades of exile there in May 2003, and today the whole Badr operation was by far the best established of the Shiite political movements, having started charities, youth groups, security patrols, a “Martyrs of the Shrine” religious education program, and 22 branch offices in Thiqar Province alone. Their head-quarters was a dilapidated two-story brown stucco building along the Euphrates that once was the Baath regional seat of power, and when I visited it on a Friday morning, a crowd of locals was pushing past Kalashnikov-clutching guards at the front gate. Peering into a small upstairs room, I watched a Badr official peeling off crisp notes from a stack of $50 bills and dispensing them to eager supplicants; my photographer tried to snap a picture but was pulled away by our escort. CPA officials later told me that the money “almost certainly” came from the group’s Iranian sponsors — a fact the Badr Organization is not eager to advertise. The local Badr director insisted that his group was “moderate” and rejected the hardline Shiism espoused by the Iranian theocracy.</p>
<p>But the real threat to Duaffar — and all the city’s moderates — came from Sadr’s following. At their outdoor mosque along the Euphrates, I watched as a thousand people attended an afternoon sermon of Sheikh Aws al-Khafaji, the black-bearded director of Sadr’s southern offices who’d later lead the Mahdi on their rampage of Nasiriya. He pulled a scimitar from a golden scabbard and brandished it before the crowd, mostly unemployed young men with a sprinkling of Mahdi militants. “No America, no Israel!” he cried. To a roar of approval, the sheikh then denounced CPA administrator L. Paul Bremer, making a pun on the Arabic words safeer — “ambassador” — and safer, “unreliable person.”</p>
<p>Duaffar’s 15th of Shaban Islamic Movement had also seized prime real estate along the Euphrates, turning an abandoned state-owned hotel into a walk-in center for aggrieved constituents. The five-story building was peppered with grenade blasts and bullet holes. Looters had stolen the furniture, the windowpanes, the electric fixtures. Even the stone tiles of the lobby floor had been torn out, exposing concrete and dirt beneath. Five bearded men sat around the broken stump of the lobby’s marble fountain, casually leaning their AK-47s against wooden chairs as they took in an Italian football match on a small black-and-white TV.</p>
<p>In contrast to the bustle at the Badr office, almost nobody entered the hotel during the two hours I was there. Despite Duaffar’s folk hero status, the 15th of Shaban, most of whose mujahideen had remained in Iraq throughout Saddam’s dictatorship, was struggling for funding against more radical, foreign-funded groups. Duaffar acknowledged that reality with undisguised bitterness. “Our struggle inside Iraq was exploited by people who were outside,” he said, alluding to SCIRI and Dawa, two major Shiite parties that operated from Iran during Saddam’s time. “When the regime struck our jihadi bases in the marshes, all the Islamic parties outside Iraq made press conferences and said, ‘We should support our brothers, make donations.’ But the money went right into their own bank accounts.”</p>
<p>By April, when I caught up with Duaffar again, he was clearly shaken by the Sadr uprising and subsequent chaos. He remained grateful to the United States for removing Saddam — “There’s construction taking place, citizens can express their opinions openly. We lived in a much darker place at the time of the gang of Saddam” — but felt that the occupiers had badly botched things. “The American forces bear the full responsibility for what happened,” he said. “They should never have shut down Al Hawza. They failed to act wisely, and they gave Moqtada a lot of power.” Whether or not the U.S. military made good on its promise to “kill or capture” Sadr, Duaffar predicted more struggle and bloodshed ahead; indeed, Sadr’s militia and the Italians resumed fighting in mid-May. “Time is getting close [for the turnover],” Duaffar told me. “We still have to prove that Iraqis can bear the responsibility.”</p>
<p>Duaffar was born in 1969 in Shatra, a town of 90,000 located just north of Nasiriya. Duaffar remembers his youth as a time of promise for Iraq, when the Baath regime lavished oil wealth on schools, highways, and other projects. But his optimism soured with the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq war. His oldest brother, a major, was killed at the front in 1983. Another brother disappeared in fierce fighting around Basra two years later, leaving behind a small son. “At the end of the war, we had achieved nothing,” he says. “I took a 180-degree turn away from the regime. Two years later, the war in Kuwait started. Saddam made the same mistakes, sacrificed a lot of people, and left nothing but destruction.”</p>
<p>At the time of the first Gulf War, Duaffar was studying electrical engineering in Shatra. When President George H.W. Bush exhorted the Shiites to rise up against Saddam, Duaffar and his fellow students chased out Shatra’s governor and occupied Baath Party headquarters for two weeks. But the expected support from the Americans never arrived. “That’s when the random executions started,” he says bitterly. “Many of my friends were shot.” Duaffar and other survivors retreated to the marshes southeast of Nasiriya, a vast expanse of lagoons, canals, reeds, and palm forests more than three times the size of the Everglades. To punish the Shiites for rising up, Saddam’s regime dammed the Tigris and Euphrates, and drained the marshes. Fishermen lost their livelihoods, and much of the population was driven out to squalid displacement centers in Basra and other cities. Duaffar and the rest of the 15th of Shaban stayed and plotted.</p>
<p>In 1996, armed with false identification papers, Duaffar moved to Baghdad and hooked up with a small cell surveilling Saddam’s inner circle, including Vice President Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri, who is now suspected of leading the resistance in the Sunni Triangle. “We had eight teams of operatives, with between five and ten people in each group,” Duaffar told me. “We used a different cell every day, so that the security forces wouldn’t see the same faces.”</p>
<p>Duaffar’s cell soon settled on Uday Hussein as their primary target. “Uday had violated the honor of many women,” he explained. “He was a killer. Plus, Saddam had been preparing him to be the next caliph. All this was reason enough to sacrifice our lives so that Uday would die.” Uday was also chosen because he was predictable. Every Thursday evening at around seven o’clock, he and a friend cruised the wealthy neighborhood of Mansour for beautiful young women. Uday would stop his car — often a cherry-red Porsche — in front of a popular ice cream parlor or another favored restaurant or nightclub. The accomplice would get out and make his selection while Uday circled. The woman, usually too frightened to resist, would be dragged by Uday’s procurer into the car to her certain rape, and possible death.</p>
<p>Although the neighborhood was riddled with agents of the Mukhabarat intelligence service, Duaffar was undeterred. He returned to the marshes to recruit three other assassins, all originally from Thiqar Province: Moayyad al-Baghdadi, Abdul Hussein al-Shadri, and his brother Tahseen al-Shadri. Secreting automatic rifles, pistols, and ammunition beneath the rear seat of a Volkswagen, they drove to Baghdad in September 1996 and rented a house. “It was a martyrdom operation,” Duaffar told me. “We believed there was a 99 percent chance that we’d die.”</p>
<p>Duaffar took the cell to Mansour several times. “I wanted them to see Uday, to give them a psychological uplift, to overcome their fear,” he said. Thursday, November 7, they loaded their weapons in the VW and set out for Mansour. But Uday didn’t show up that night, nor the following four Thursdays. “We thought, ‘Was the regime aware of us?'” Duaffar told me. “We considered calling it off and retreating to the marshes, but then we realized that if the regime had known, it would have acted immediately.” (They’d later learn that as head of Iraq’s Olympic Committee, Uday was putting in long hours micromanaging — and torturing — the national soccer team.)</p>
<p>Finally, on the evening of Thursday, December 12, 1996, Uday reappeared. He dropped his companion in front of the ice cream parlor and made a slow circuit — it was a balmy night and the streets and sidewalks were packed — around the block. Their Kalashnikovs concealed in nylon tennis bags, the two Shadri brothers stood in front of the parlor as Duaffar played lookout. As the Porsche turned the corner, Duaffar signaled to the gunmen by scratching his head. The Shadri brothers pulled out their guns and sprayed the Porsche with 50 bullets, hitting Uday with 17 rounds. Duaffar and his accomplices ducked down an alley, discarded the weapons, climbed into the VW that Baghdadi had kept idling, and drove away. The attack lasted less than a minute.</p>
<p>Iraqi security forces detained everyone in Mansour and cordoned off Baghdad. But Duaffar’s team managed to slip south to the marshes. Eighteen months later, however, Iraqi agents captured Abdul Hussein al-Shadri while he was on a mission in Baghdad; he was tortured and executed. To this day, Duaffar doesn’t know how Shadri was compromised. Upon learning that Shadri had given their names under torture, Duaffar and his two remaining co-conspirators fled to Iran. Meanwhile, Saddam’s troops rounded up their families. “I didn’t have enough time to take them,” Duaffar says softly. “I was in the marshes, and it was impossible for me to communicate with them.”</p>
<p>Duaffar’s 74-year-old father, 70-year-old mother, and seven brothers were incarcerated at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison. “They let my mother out after six months, and they told her they would release them all the next day,” Duaffar told me. He paused for a moment, tapping his fingers on his desk. “But they executed them instead. I got married in Iran and one week later I read about the executions of my father and seven brothers in an Iranian newspaper. That was my honeymoon.” Baghdadi’s father and four brothers were also arrested and shot. And Tahseen al-Shadri was shot dead in Tehran on December 15, 2002, apparently by an Iraqi hit squad.</p>
<p>When I asked Duaffar whether he thought that the deaths of every male member of his immediate family were an acceptable price to pay for crippling Uday Hussein, he didn’t show a flicker of doubt. “Yes, it was worth it,” he said. “Because we avenged all of Uday’s crimes. His cruelty was not limited to women. Everyone in Iraq suffered from his cruel acts. Sure, I did not want to sacrifice my family. I thought I’d die a martyr, but the fates had a different idea.”</p>
<p>Duaffar only returned to Shatra last July, seeing his mother for the first time in 13 years. His wife and two small children soon joined him. Since then, he has divided his time between politicking in Nasiriya and rebuilding his house, which was blown up by Saddam’s forces the day that his family was arrested.</p>
<p>When i last visited Duaffar, he wanted me to see the marshes where he had hidden and plotted for years. “You’ll see how we lived in those days, when Saddam’s army was chasing us,” he told me. “But now everything is different. The marshes are coming back to life, just like the rest of Iraq.” But, he added darkly, these waters of renewal “could also be used in the wrong ways.” He was busy with his politics, so at dawn I set forth with his longtime comrade, Abu Muhammad, a handsome, broad-shouldered man of 42 with a gray-flecked beard. We headed southeast through a bleak, pancake-flat landscape of stagnant water, seas of mud, dull-brown cinder-block houses, and minarets. After an hour’s drive, we reached the edge of the marshes. The Tigris and Euphrates were nourishing the region again, thanks to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and a few fishermen were out in wooden longboats, casting nets into the shallow water. Abu Muhammad smiled at the sight of them.</p>
<p>Just past the first lagoons we arrived in Garmat Beni Saeed, a ramshackle town crisscrossed by murky canals. On the veranda of a crumbling white stucco building — the local headquarters of the 15th of Shaban — I was startled to see the glowering visage of Ayatollah Khomeini on a poster. Shishkha Shinyar, the local leader, a large-nosed man with a red-checked kaffiyeh turbaned atop his head, told me that his group saw no real distinction between the late Iranian leader and Iraq’s Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, who is usually described as a moderate. “If Sistani gives us a fatwa against the Americans, then everybody will join that jihad,” he said, as the dozen other men in the room nodded their assent. But Shinyar was careful to distance their movement from the theocratic dictatorship imposed by Khomeini: “Our history, our blood, our flesh are different from those of the people of Iran.” It seemed as if the 15th of Shaban still hadn’t decided which way to turn and was hedging its bets on the future. Like most members of the movement, Shinyar was dismissive of the far better funded and better organized exile groups: “We are the people of Iraq. We sacrificed more than all the other movements. Most of the mass graves in this region were from the 15th of Shaban.”</p>
<p>The entire region had been subject to the systematic ravages of Saddam Hussein. After the regime drained the marshes, it burned the olive grass and reeds that the Shiite rebels used to conceal themselves. It knocked down the palm and eucalyptus forests, and bulldozed and torched the thatched huts of local villagers who provided shelter to the rebels. Abu Muhammad led me into the marshes, down narrow causeways running past newly formed seas dappled by mudflats and clumps of golden reeds. “This used to be a dry part of the marsh,” he said. “We used to walk over it, but now you see it is filling up.” Snowy herons skimmed low over the water, and choruses of warbling frogs emanated from clusters of lily pads. Sparkles of light danced off the lagoon as black-veiled women punted by in longboats.</p>
<p>It was a bucolic scene, but not all was well in the marshes. The local tribes were up in arms over fishermen who were using battery-charged metal coils to kill every fish within a 10-foot radius. The devices were devastating the nascent stocks, threatening to wipe out the industry before it got off the ground. Tribal elders had recently persuaded Sistani to deliver a fatwa forbidding the use of the coils, but many fishermen were ignoring the order. The only means of prosecuting the offenders was through the tribal courts, because Iraq’s judicial system was barely functioning even in its cities. Judging by the number of fishermen I observed with car batteries in their longboats, the tribal courts weren’t acting as much of a deterrent.</p>
<p>Returning to Nasiriya that afternoon, I realized that Duaffar was correct. Iraq in the post-Saddam era is a lot like the marshes: The old dams have been broken, but the waters are yet unchanneled. The country is bursting with a sense of renewal, but is also lawless and prey to violent shock waves that can easily wipe out any progress. From the marsh fisherman on up to Sadr’s Mahdi Army and the United States’ prison atrocities and ham-fisted policies, many forces threaten to tear apart Iraq’s fragile social fabric. Without an effective police force or democratic institutions, Nasiriya — like the rest of the country — is being held together by people such as Duaffar, who seem to recognize that the alternative to compromise is violent fragmentation or a return to dictatorship. “We [the 15th of Shaban] have an open way of thinking,” Duaffar insists. “We are not extremists. Islam respects freedom, differences, opposite opinions. That is the kind of Iraq we are striving for.” Now, as the United States prepared to relinquish some administrative control to an inchoate Iraqi leadership, there was simply no way to tell how well that fabric would hold together — or what it would look like in the end.</p>
<p /> | From Militant to Moderate | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2004/07/militant-moderate/ | 2018-07-01 | 4left
| From Militant to Moderate
<p />
<p>On the day that the Mahdi Army’s bloody rebellion rolled across southern Iraq, Salman Sharif Duaffar, like most of his countrymen, was taken by surprise. Duaffar, 35, a former Shiite mujahid who last summer returned from six years of exile in Iran, is a major political player in Nasiriya, a tumbledown city of 590,000 on the Euphrates River. For months, Duaffar and his colleagues on the 36-member provincial council had listened to the threats of Islamic radicals loyal to Moqtada al-Sadr, the fiery young cleric based in the holy Shiite city of Najaf. But the Mahdi’s posturing always stopped short of violence, and Duaffar had come to believe that Sadr’s militia was mostly the stuff of bluster.</p>
<p>But on a sultry afternoon in early April, as Duaffar and his aides were discussing the plan of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) to transfer some power to Iraqis on June 30, the Mahdi Army took to the streets. Dressed in black, clutching Kalashnikovs and rocket-propelled grenade launchers, some 200 militants poured through Nasiriya in an angry rampage that mirrored those taking place in other Iraqi cities. It was the CPA that had put spark to Mahdi powder by shuttering Al Hawza, Sadr’s fiercely anti-Coalition newspaper — a gesture that unwittingly echoed the brutal repression Shiites had suffered under Saddam Hussein. Once the rioting had begun, the CPA added gasoline to the fire by arresting a top Sadr aide for complicity in the murder of a moderate, U.S.-backed cleric in Najaf a year earlier. As the subsequent wave of carnage and kidnappings swept over Iraq, Sadr’s men seized Nasiriya’s two suspension bridges over the Euphrates, fired on the Italian carabinieri patrolling the city, chased out the CPA administrators, and forced shops and schools to close down. “Things unraveled fast,” Duaffar told me a few days later, as he sat in the heavily fortified provincial government headquarters. “The situation was completely out of control.”</p>
<p>As a key member of the security committee, Duaffar volunteered to try to restore order. He united several rival parties into an emergency committee and played intermediary between the Sadr organization and the local Italian military command, running messages back and forth through the tense streets. Meanwhile, Italian troops battled Sadr’s militia across the Euphrates, killing at least 15 Iraqis. The Italian commander declared a dusk-to-dawn curfew but had difficulties spreading the word; his troops opened fire on a car caught out after dark, killing nine civilians. The U.S. Marines were poised to assault the city, something that Duaffar and others feared could turn Nasiriya into another Fallujah. Finally, after days of shuttle diplomacy, in which Duaffar and tribal elders cajoled and threatened the local Sadr cleric, the Mahdi Army withdrew.</p>
<p>It was now several days after the chaos subsided, but the city remained on edge. The streets outside the provincial headquarters were barricaded by armored personnel carriers and unsmiling Italian troops, whom Iraqis call “chicken men” — a reference to the black feather that sticks jauntily from their helmets. The chicken men had just dynamited Sadr’s office into a pile of rubble to prevent the Mahdi Army from regrouping there. “That served no purpose. It only aggravated things,” said Duaffar. “It seems the Italians were acting on American orders. We can only hope that it doesn’t lead to repercussions.”</p>
<p>Acting as a voice of moderation is a relatively new role for Duaffar. Seven and a half years ago, he and three fellow Shiite guerrillas carried out one of the most brazen attacks against the Baathist regime in its history: the ambush of Uday Hussein as he drove his Porsche through Baghdad traffic. The 1996 assassination attempt left Saddam’s reviled son crippled and reportedly impotent, and made the unknown assailants folk heroes. Months after escaping into the marshes surrounding Nasiriya, two of Duaffar’s accomplices were tracked down and executed by Saddam’s henchmen, along with every male member of their immediate families. Duaffar’s father and seven brothers were also killed. He fled to Iran, where he lived in exile and helped run the 15th of Shaban Islamic Movement, named for the day the 1991 Shiite uprising against Saddam broke out. After the fall of Baghdad, Duaffar returned to Nasiriya and exchanged his guns for politics. Now he and his movement are angling for a role on both the regional and national stages as Iraqis prepare, fitfully, to govern themselves.</p>
<p>Nasiriya, Duaffar’s power base, is located 13 miles east of the ruins of the famed ziggurat of Ur, an ancient civilization that sprang up in the fertile crescent more than 5,000 years ago. Nasiriya is the traditional site of the Garden of Eden and, according to Genesis, the place from which Abraham’s father, Terah, led his tribe into the land of Canaan. In subsequent centuries, the city was occupied by a succession of conquerors — Assyrian, Babylonian, Macedonian, Roman, Persian, Mongolian, Arabian, and Ottoman, who were ousted in July 1915, when the British army seized Nasiriya, a critical victory in its Mesopotamian campaign. In more recent years, Nasiriya was a center of Shiite opposition to the Baathist dictatorship and the gateway to the marshes where Shiite guerrillas established clandestine bases. Nasiriya is also where the two major roads between Basra and Baghdad converge, and thus was fiercely defended by Saddam fedayeen when the U.S. military stormed across the Kuwaiti border in March 2003. It was here that Pfc. Jessica Lynch and her comrades from the Army’s 507th Maintenance Company made their fatal wrong turn, wandering unprotected into the heart of enemy territory. Eleven U.S. soldiers died and six, including Lynch, were captured. Days later, the Marines fought a fierce battle with the fedayeen that destroyed most of the buildings along the river.</p>
<p>Nasiriya’s scars show. The local CPA administrator calls it “the worst town in Iraq.” Mosquitoes swarm over ubiquitous pools of stagnant water. Battered orange-and-white taxis bounce along potholed streets devoid of greenery, and everywhere piles of burning garbage send plumes of smoke into the sky. Yet amid this squalid misery, signs of both a religious and political rebirth abound. The city is awash in billboards for the Iraqi National Accord Movement, the Iraqi National Congress, the Supreme Council of Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), Martyr Said Sadr’s Office, the Iraqi Nation-al Unity Gathering, the Dawa Party, and 30 other new parties and movements. Where murals celebrating Saddam once stood, now hang colorful portraits of clerics who, dead or alive, dominate Shiite politics — Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, 73, Iraq’s most influential cleric; the martyred Ayatollah Mohammed Baqr al-Hakim, the founder of SCIRI who was killed by a car bomb in August 2003; and Ayatollah Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr, father of Moqtada, murdered with two of his sons by a Saddam hit squad in Najaf in 1999.</p>
<p>I first met Duaffar in mid-February; he was working out of a bungalow on Nasiriya’s outskirts — a quiet, palm-lined street inhabited by the city’s business and political elite. In a spartan, second-floor office, he sat with his hands clasped at a simple wooden desk, clear of adornment except for a plastic vase with a single white rose. Under Saddam, Duaffar recalled, “Nasiriya suffered the most of any single place in Iraq. Most of the mass graves are in this area. The city was destroyed. We were denied jobs, education.” Duaffar is a thin, somber-looking man with a trim black beard and intense green eyes that gaze out from behind wire spectacles. Clad that afternoon in a black cotton jacket, black pants, and black shirt, he cut an austere, intensely focused figure. It was not difficult to imagine him as a young revolutionary, steely with purpose as he plotted the deaths of his enemies. Now he seemed fired up with a new sense of mission, and his voice began to rise accordingly. “This is the place where global civilization started! They say the father of the prophets, Abraham, was born here. All the parties in Iraq rose here. We should make Nasiriya live and breathe again for the sake of humanity.”</p>
<p>At the time of this meeting, Nasiriya had already become a crucial battleground between two visions of Shiite Islam — the pro-Iranian theocracy pushed by the Iran-backed Sadr and his many followers, and the secular, tolerant state that Duaffar and his group say they support. Days earlier, in what was an ominous foreshadowing of the April rebellion, Sadr’s extremists had surrounded provincial headquarters, demanding that the governor sack all members of the CPA-appointed local council and hold direct popular elections immediately. The governor refused, claiming that a direct vote would be premature, and — after he brought in armed tribesmen to protect him and issued his foes an ultimatum — the threat of violence receded, for the moment. “The extremists threatened us,” Duaffar told me. “This is not logic. This is not Islam. This is dictatorship.”</p>
<p>Duaffar was jostling to fill the political vacuum left by the collapse of the Baathist regime. In this he had many rivals, especially the better-funded Badr Organization. The armed wing of the SCIRI, the Badr Brigade had followed Ayatollah Hakim triumphantly across the Iranian border from decades of exile there in May 2003, and today the whole Badr operation was by far the best established of the Shiite political movements, having started charities, youth groups, security patrols, a “Martyrs of the Shrine” religious education program, and 22 branch offices in Thiqar Province alone. Their head-quarters was a dilapidated two-story brown stucco building along the Euphrates that once was the Baath regional seat of power, and when I visited it on a Friday morning, a crowd of locals was pushing past Kalashnikov-clutching guards at the front gate. Peering into a small upstairs room, I watched a Badr official peeling off crisp notes from a stack of $50 bills and dispensing them to eager supplicants; my photographer tried to snap a picture but was pulled away by our escort. CPA officials later told me that the money “almost certainly” came from the group’s Iranian sponsors — a fact the Badr Organization is not eager to advertise. The local Badr director insisted that his group was “moderate” and rejected the hardline Shiism espoused by the Iranian theocracy.</p>
<p>But the real threat to Duaffar — and all the city’s moderates — came from Sadr’s following. At their outdoor mosque along the Euphrates, I watched as a thousand people attended an afternoon sermon of Sheikh Aws al-Khafaji, the black-bearded director of Sadr’s southern offices who’d later lead the Mahdi on their rampage of Nasiriya. He pulled a scimitar from a golden scabbard and brandished it before the crowd, mostly unemployed young men with a sprinkling of Mahdi militants. “No America, no Israel!” he cried. To a roar of approval, the sheikh then denounced CPA administrator L. Paul Bremer, making a pun on the Arabic words safeer — “ambassador” — and safer, “unreliable person.”</p>
<p>Duaffar’s 15th of Shaban Islamic Movement had also seized prime real estate along the Euphrates, turning an abandoned state-owned hotel into a walk-in center for aggrieved constituents. The five-story building was peppered with grenade blasts and bullet holes. Looters had stolen the furniture, the windowpanes, the electric fixtures. Even the stone tiles of the lobby floor had been torn out, exposing concrete and dirt beneath. Five bearded men sat around the broken stump of the lobby’s marble fountain, casually leaning their AK-47s against wooden chairs as they took in an Italian football match on a small black-and-white TV.</p>
<p>In contrast to the bustle at the Badr office, almost nobody entered the hotel during the two hours I was there. Despite Duaffar’s folk hero status, the 15th of Shaban, most of whose mujahideen had remained in Iraq throughout Saddam’s dictatorship, was struggling for funding against more radical, foreign-funded groups. Duaffar acknowledged that reality with undisguised bitterness. “Our struggle inside Iraq was exploited by people who were outside,” he said, alluding to SCIRI and Dawa, two major Shiite parties that operated from Iran during Saddam’s time. “When the regime struck our jihadi bases in the marshes, all the Islamic parties outside Iraq made press conferences and said, ‘We should support our brothers, make donations.’ But the money went right into their own bank accounts.”</p>
<p>By April, when I caught up with Duaffar again, he was clearly shaken by the Sadr uprising and subsequent chaos. He remained grateful to the United States for removing Saddam — “There’s construction taking place, citizens can express their opinions openly. We lived in a much darker place at the time of the gang of Saddam” — but felt that the occupiers had badly botched things. “The American forces bear the full responsibility for what happened,” he said. “They should never have shut down Al Hawza. They failed to act wisely, and they gave Moqtada a lot of power.” Whether or not the U.S. military made good on its promise to “kill or capture” Sadr, Duaffar predicted more struggle and bloodshed ahead; indeed, Sadr’s militia and the Italians resumed fighting in mid-May. “Time is getting close [for the turnover],” Duaffar told me. “We still have to prove that Iraqis can bear the responsibility.”</p>
<p>Duaffar was born in 1969 in Shatra, a town of 90,000 located just north of Nasiriya. Duaffar remembers his youth as a time of promise for Iraq, when the Baath regime lavished oil wealth on schools, highways, and other projects. But his optimism soured with the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq war. His oldest brother, a major, was killed at the front in 1983. Another brother disappeared in fierce fighting around Basra two years later, leaving behind a small son. “At the end of the war, we had achieved nothing,” he says. “I took a 180-degree turn away from the regime. Two years later, the war in Kuwait started. Saddam made the same mistakes, sacrificed a lot of people, and left nothing but destruction.”</p>
<p>At the time of the first Gulf War, Duaffar was studying electrical engineering in Shatra. When President George H.W. Bush exhorted the Shiites to rise up against Saddam, Duaffar and his fellow students chased out Shatra’s governor and occupied Baath Party headquarters for two weeks. But the expected support from the Americans never arrived. “That’s when the random executions started,” he says bitterly. “Many of my friends were shot.” Duaffar and other survivors retreated to the marshes southeast of Nasiriya, a vast expanse of lagoons, canals, reeds, and palm forests more than three times the size of the Everglades. To punish the Shiites for rising up, Saddam’s regime dammed the Tigris and Euphrates, and drained the marshes. Fishermen lost their livelihoods, and much of the population was driven out to squalid displacement centers in Basra and other cities. Duaffar and the rest of the 15th of Shaban stayed and plotted.</p>
<p>In 1996, armed with false identification papers, Duaffar moved to Baghdad and hooked up with a small cell surveilling Saddam’s inner circle, including Vice President Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri, who is now suspected of leading the resistance in the Sunni Triangle. “We had eight teams of operatives, with between five and ten people in each group,” Duaffar told me. “We used a different cell every day, so that the security forces wouldn’t see the same faces.”</p>
<p>Duaffar’s cell soon settled on Uday Hussein as their primary target. “Uday had violated the honor of many women,” he explained. “He was a killer. Plus, Saddam had been preparing him to be the next caliph. All this was reason enough to sacrifice our lives so that Uday would die.” Uday was also chosen because he was predictable. Every Thursday evening at around seven o’clock, he and a friend cruised the wealthy neighborhood of Mansour for beautiful young women. Uday would stop his car — often a cherry-red Porsche — in front of a popular ice cream parlor or another favored restaurant or nightclub. The accomplice would get out and make his selection while Uday circled. The woman, usually too frightened to resist, would be dragged by Uday’s procurer into the car to her certain rape, and possible death.</p>
<p>Although the neighborhood was riddled with agents of the Mukhabarat intelligence service, Duaffar was undeterred. He returned to the marshes to recruit three other assassins, all originally from Thiqar Province: Moayyad al-Baghdadi, Abdul Hussein al-Shadri, and his brother Tahseen al-Shadri. Secreting automatic rifles, pistols, and ammunition beneath the rear seat of a Volkswagen, they drove to Baghdad in September 1996 and rented a house. “It was a martyrdom operation,” Duaffar told me. “We believed there was a 99 percent chance that we’d die.”</p>
<p>Duaffar took the cell to Mansour several times. “I wanted them to see Uday, to give them a psychological uplift, to overcome their fear,” he said. Thursday, November 7, they loaded their weapons in the VW and set out for Mansour. But Uday didn’t show up that night, nor the following four Thursdays. “We thought, ‘Was the regime aware of us?'” Duaffar told me. “We considered calling it off and retreating to the marshes, but then we realized that if the regime had known, it would have acted immediately.” (They’d later learn that as head of Iraq’s Olympic Committee, Uday was putting in long hours micromanaging — and torturing — the national soccer team.)</p>
<p>Finally, on the evening of Thursday, December 12, 1996, Uday reappeared. He dropped his companion in front of the ice cream parlor and made a slow circuit — it was a balmy night and the streets and sidewalks were packed — around the block. Their Kalashnikovs concealed in nylon tennis bags, the two Shadri brothers stood in front of the parlor as Duaffar played lookout. As the Porsche turned the corner, Duaffar signaled to the gunmen by scratching his head. The Shadri brothers pulled out their guns and sprayed the Porsche with 50 bullets, hitting Uday with 17 rounds. Duaffar and his accomplices ducked down an alley, discarded the weapons, climbed into the VW that Baghdadi had kept idling, and drove away. The attack lasted less than a minute.</p>
<p>Iraqi security forces detained everyone in Mansour and cordoned off Baghdad. But Duaffar’s team managed to slip south to the marshes. Eighteen months later, however, Iraqi agents captured Abdul Hussein al-Shadri while he was on a mission in Baghdad; he was tortured and executed. To this day, Duaffar doesn’t know how Shadri was compromised. Upon learning that Shadri had given their names under torture, Duaffar and his two remaining co-conspirators fled to Iran. Meanwhile, Saddam’s troops rounded up their families. “I didn’t have enough time to take them,” Duaffar says softly. “I was in the marshes, and it was impossible for me to communicate with them.”</p>
<p>Duaffar’s 74-year-old father, 70-year-old mother, and seven brothers were incarcerated at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison. “They let my mother out after six months, and they told her they would release them all the next day,” Duaffar told me. He paused for a moment, tapping his fingers on his desk. “But they executed them instead. I got married in Iran and one week later I read about the executions of my father and seven brothers in an Iranian newspaper. That was my honeymoon.” Baghdadi’s father and four brothers were also arrested and shot. And Tahseen al-Shadri was shot dead in Tehran on December 15, 2002, apparently by an Iraqi hit squad.</p>
<p>When I asked Duaffar whether he thought that the deaths of every male member of his immediate family were an acceptable price to pay for crippling Uday Hussein, he didn’t show a flicker of doubt. “Yes, it was worth it,” he said. “Because we avenged all of Uday’s crimes. His cruelty was not limited to women. Everyone in Iraq suffered from his cruel acts. Sure, I did not want to sacrifice my family. I thought I’d die a martyr, but the fates had a different idea.”</p>
<p>Duaffar only returned to Shatra last July, seeing his mother for the first time in 13 years. His wife and two small children soon joined him. Since then, he has divided his time between politicking in Nasiriya and rebuilding his house, which was blown up by Saddam’s forces the day that his family was arrested.</p>
<p>When i last visited Duaffar, he wanted me to see the marshes where he had hidden and plotted for years. “You’ll see how we lived in those days, when Saddam’s army was chasing us,” he told me. “But now everything is different. The marshes are coming back to life, just like the rest of Iraq.” But, he added darkly, these waters of renewal “could also be used in the wrong ways.” He was busy with his politics, so at dawn I set forth with his longtime comrade, Abu Muhammad, a handsome, broad-shouldered man of 42 with a gray-flecked beard. We headed southeast through a bleak, pancake-flat landscape of stagnant water, seas of mud, dull-brown cinder-block houses, and minarets. After an hour’s drive, we reached the edge of the marshes. The Tigris and Euphrates were nourishing the region again, thanks to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and a few fishermen were out in wooden longboats, casting nets into the shallow water. Abu Muhammad smiled at the sight of them.</p>
<p>Just past the first lagoons we arrived in Garmat Beni Saeed, a ramshackle town crisscrossed by murky canals. On the veranda of a crumbling white stucco building — the local headquarters of the 15th of Shaban — I was startled to see the glowering visage of Ayatollah Khomeini on a poster. Shishkha Shinyar, the local leader, a large-nosed man with a red-checked kaffiyeh turbaned atop his head, told me that his group saw no real distinction between the late Iranian leader and Iraq’s Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, who is usually described as a moderate. “If Sistani gives us a fatwa against the Americans, then everybody will join that jihad,” he said, as the dozen other men in the room nodded their assent. But Shinyar was careful to distance their movement from the theocratic dictatorship imposed by Khomeini: “Our history, our blood, our flesh are different from those of the people of Iran.” It seemed as if the 15th of Shaban still hadn’t decided which way to turn and was hedging its bets on the future. Like most members of the movement, Shinyar was dismissive of the far better funded and better organized exile groups: “We are the people of Iraq. We sacrificed more than all the other movements. Most of the mass graves in this region were from the 15th of Shaban.”</p>
<p>The entire region had been subject to the systematic ravages of Saddam Hussein. After the regime drained the marshes, it burned the olive grass and reeds that the Shiite rebels used to conceal themselves. It knocked down the palm and eucalyptus forests, and bulldozed and torched the thatched huts of local villagers who provided shelter to the rebels. Abu Muhammad led me into the marshes, down narrow causeways running past newly formed seas dappled by mudflats and clumps of golden reeds. “This used to be a dry part of the marsh,” he said. “We used to walk over it, but now you see it is filling up.” Snowy herons skimmed low over the water, and choruses of warbling frogs emanated from clusters of lily pads. Sparkles of light danced off the lagoon as black-veiled women punted by in longboats.</p>
<p>It was a bucolic scene, but not all was well in the marshes. The local tribes were up in arms over fishermen who were using battery-charged metal coils to kill every fish within a 10-foot radius. The devices were devastating the nascent stocks, threatening to wipe out the industry before it got off the ground. Tribal elders had recently persuaded Sistani to deliver a fatwa forbidding the use of the coils, but many fishermen were ignoring the order. The only means of prosecuting the offenders was through the tribal courts, because Iraq’s judicial system was barely functioning even in its cities. Judging by the number of fishermen I observed with car batteries in their longboats, the tribal courts weren’t acting as much of a deterrent.</p>
<p>Returning to Nasiriya that afternoon, I realized that Duaffar was correct. Iraq in the post-Saddam era is a lot like the marshes: The old dams have been broken, but the waters are yet unchanneled. The country is bursting with a sense of renewal, but is also lawless and prey to violent shock waves that can easily wipe out any progress. From the marsh fisherman on up to Sadr’s Mahdi Army and the United States’ prison atrocities and ham-fisted policies, many forces threaten to tear apart Iraq’s fragile social fabric. Without an effective police force or democratic institutions, Nasiriya — like the rest of the country — is being held together by people such as Duaffar, who seem to recognize that the alternative to compromise is violent fragmentation or a return to dictatorship. “We [the 15th of Shaban] have an open way of thinking,” Duaffar insists. “We are not extremists. Islam respects freedom, differences, opposite opinions. That is the kind of Iraq we are striving for.” Now, as the United States prepared to relinquish some administrative control to an inchoate Iraqi leadership, there was simply no way to tell how well that fabric would hold together — or what it would look like in the end.</p>
<p /> | 1,328 |
<p>Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has leapt at the opportunity to chide the British government over its handling of recent <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/united-kingdom/110807/massive-riot-sweeps-london" type="external">riots in major UK cities</a> which pitched police against angry mobs of youth looting, burning, robbing and creating havoc after the fatal shooting of a young man in north London.</p>
<p>Iran has gone all out in its effort to get back at the UK government's regular condemnation of Iran's dismal human rights records, in particular its brutal crushing of protesters after the disputed 2009 elections.</p>
<p>As well as calling for the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/aug/10/uk-riots-iran-un-mahmoud-ahmadinejad." type="external">UN Security Council to intervene</a> over the British government's handling of the riots, Iran has offered to send a team of experts to investigate potential human rights abuses.</p>
<p>His proposal met by stony silence from the UN, Ahmadinejad criticized the international body saying: "What else should happen for the Security Council to react and condemn one of its own members?"</p>
<p>"If one percent of this happens in countries that oppose the West, they scream until they are hoarse," he said.</p>
<p>Ahmadinejad denounced the British government for its "violent suppression" of the protesters on state radio and called for an end to what he described as the "killing and brutal beating" of "the opposition" angry with the government's financial policies.</p>
<p>"The real opposition are the people who are beaten up and killed on the streets of London, those whose voices are not heard by anyone," he said.</p>
<p>Mimicking moves by some European embassies in Tehran who opened their doors for opposition protesters during the 2009 crackdown, some conservative websites in Iran called on the Iranian embassy in London to offer refuge to "UK protesters in need of protection".</p>
<p>The Iranian foreign ministry has also issued travel warnings advising against any unnecessary travel to the UK.</p>
<p>However the irony that the rioters in the UK were violent and suffered no crackdown and the protestors in Iran, as well as other countries, have been peaceful and were killed is not lost on the Iranian opposition, which has accused the regime of hypocrisy and opportunism in "deliberately portraying rioting and looting as political protests".</p>
<p>Iran is not alone at having a jab at Britain. It's only Arab ally, the Syrian regime, which has been heavily criticized for its brutal crackdown on protesters, has also been <a href="http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16048312" type="external">quick to chime in</a>: "To hear the Prime Minister of England describing the riots and the rioters in England by using the term 'gangs', while they don't allow us to use the same term for the armed groups and the terrorist groups in my country - this is hypocrisy. This is arrogance," said Bashar Jaafari, Syria's ambassador to the UN.</p>
<p>Egypt too, according to <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/09/us-britain-riot-reaction-idUSTRE7784Q220110809" type="external">Reuters</a>, could not resist making a jab at Britain, Egypt's former colonizer.</p>
<p>"We will send Egyptian NGOs (to London) to check it out,? said an Egyptian official, in reference to Westerners who monitored Mubarak's attempts to quell protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square.</p>
<p>Using the same phrase that Britain, America, France and Russia among others used against Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, Libya's Prime Minister said British Prime Minister David Cameron had "lost legitimacy" in the wake of the riots.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Iran calls for UN to intervene in UK riots | false | https://pri.org/stories/2011-08-12/iran-calls-un-intervene-uk-riots | 2011-08-12 | 3left-center
| Iran calls for UN to intervene in UK riots
<p>Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has leapt at the opportunity to chide the British government over its handling of recent <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/united-kingdom/110807/massive-riot-sweeps-london" type="external">riots in major UK cities</a> which pitched police against angry mobs of youth looting, burning, robbing and creating havoc after the fatal shooting of a young man in north London.</p>
<p>Iran has gone all out in its effort to get back at the UK government's regular condemnation of Iran's dismal human rights records, in particular its brutal crushing of protesters after the disputed 2009 elections.</p>
<p>As well as calling for the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/aug/10/uk-riots-iran-un-mahmoud-ahmadinejad." type="external">UN Security Council to intervene</a> over the British government's handling of the riots, Iran has offered to send a team of experts to investigate potential human rights abuses.</p>
<p>His proposal met by stony silence from the UN, Ahmadinejad criticized the international body saying: "What else should happen for the Security Council to react and condemn one of its own members?"</p>
<p>"If one percent of this happens in countries that oppose the West, they scream until they are hoarse," he said.</p>
<p>Ahmadinejad denounced the British government for its "violent suppression" of the protesters on state radio and called for an end to what he described as the "killing and brutal beating" of "the opposition" angry with the government's financial policies.</p>
<p>"The real opposition are the people who are beaten up and killed on the streets of London, those whose voices are not heard by anyone," he said.</p>
<p>Mimicking moves by some European embassies in Tehran who opened their doors for opposition protesters during the 2009 crackdown, some conservative websites in Iran called on the Iranian embassy in London to offer refuge to "UK protesters in need of protection".</p>
<p>The Iranian foreign ministry has also issued travel warnings advising against any unnecessary travel to the UK.</p>
<p>However the irony that the rioters in the UK were violent and suffered no crackdown and the protestors in Iran, as well as other countries, have been peaceful and were killed is not lost on the Iranian opposition, which has accused the regime of hypocrisy and opportunism in "deliberately portraying rioting and looting as political protests".</p>
<p>Iran is not alone at having a jab at Britain. It's only Arab ally, the Syrian regime, which has been heavily criticized for its brutal crackdown on protesters, has also been <a href="http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16048312" type="external">quick to chime in</a>: "To hear the Prime Minister of England describing the riots and the rioters in England by using the term 'gangs', while they don't allow us to use the same term for the armed groups and the terrorist groups in my country - this is hypocrisy. This is arrogance," said Bashar Jaafari, Syria's ambassador to the UN.</p>
<p>Egypt too, according to <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/09/us-britain-riot-reaction-idUSTRE7784Q220110809" type="external">Reuters</a>, could not resist making a jab at Britain, Egypt's former colonizer.</p>
<p>"We will send Egyptian NGOs (to London) to check it out,? said an Egyptian official, in reference to Westerners who monitored Mubarak's attempts to quell protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square.</p>
<p>Using the same phrase that Britain, America, France and Russia among others used against Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, Libya's Prime Minister said British Prime Minister David Cameron had "lost legitimacy" in the wake of the riots.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 1,329 |
<p>New U.S. auto loans jumped to the highest level in eight years this spring, fueled by a big increase in lending to risky borrowers.</p>
<p>Yet the Federal Reserve Bank of New York says in a new report that loans to borrowers with shoddy credit, also known as subprime lending, still make up a smaller proportion of total auto loans than before the Great Recession.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Federal banking regulators have raised concerns in recent months over the rapid increase in subprime auto lending. Such loans could lead to more defaults, harming banks and consumers. The Justice Department is also investigating General Motors' financing arm over its subprime lending practices.</p>
<p>Yet the report stops short of recommending specific steps and says only that the New York Fed will "continue to monitor" the issue.</p> | New York Fed: US auto loans rise to highest level since 2006, fueled by subprime lending | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2014/08/14/new-york-fed-us-auto-loans-rise-to-highest-level-since-2006-fueled-by-subprime.html | 2016-03-09 | 0right
| New York Fed: US auto loans rise to highest level since 2006, fueled by subprime lending
<p>New U.S. auto loans jumped to the highest level in eight years this spring, fueled by a big increase in lending to risky borrowers.</p>
<p>Yet the Federal Reserve Bank of New York says in a new report that loans to borrowers with shoddy credit, also known as subprime lending, still make up a smaller proportion of total auto loans than before the Great Recession.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Federal banking regulators have raised concerns in recent months over the rapid increase in subprime auto lending. Such loans could lead to more defaults, harming banks and consumers. The Justice Department is also investigating General Motors' financing arm over its subprime lending practices.</p>
<p>Yet the report stops short of recommending specific steps and says only that the New York Fed will "continue to monitor" the issue.</p> | 1,330 |
<p>TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency will hire a consultant to do an additional review on greenhouse-gas emissions related to a proposed liquefied natural gas plant in Tacoma.</p>
<p>The News Tribune <a href="http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article196502779.html" type="external">reports</a> the agency announced the plan to do a supplemental environmental impact statement Wednesday.</p>
<p>The study would need to be finished before builder Puget Sound Energy could get a required air permit for the project.</p>
<p>Results of the study also could potentially change the outcome of the permit application.</p>
<p>Clean air agency compliance director Steve Van Slyke says they're looking for a quantitative analysis of the greenhouse-gas emission effect downstream of the plant and upstream of the plant.</p>
<p>Protesters, including the Puyallup Tribe, are calling for a halt to construction citing environmental concerns.</p>
<p>Puget Sound Energy spokesman Grant Ringel says the company is disappointed by the delay but confident it will clear the additional hurdles.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The News Tribune, <a href="http://www.thenewstribune.com" type="external">http://www.thenewstribune.com</a></p>
<p>TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency will hire a consultant to do an additional review on greenhouse-gas emissions related to a proposed liquefied natural gas plant in Tacoma.</p>
<p>The News Tribune <a href="http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article196502779.html" type="external">reports</a> the agency announced the plan to do a supplemental environmental impact statement Wednesday.</p>
<p>The study would need to be finished before builder Puget Sound Energy could get a required air permit for the project.</p>
<p>Results of the study also could potentially change the outcome of the permit application.</p>
<p>Clean air agency compliance director Steve Van Slyke says they're looking for a quantitative analysis of the greenhouse-gas emission effect downstream of the plant and upstream of the plant.</p>
<p>Protesters, including the Puyallup Tribe, are calling for a halt to construction citing environmental concerns.</p>
<p>Puget Sound Energy spokesman Grant Ringel says the company is disappointed by the delay but confident it will clear the additional hurdles.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The News Tribune, <a href="http://www.thenewstribune.com" type="external">http://www.thenewstribune.com</a></p> | Tacoma natural gas plant faces delay for extra scrutiny | false | https://apnews.com/amp/5a61cef4040f47c09dc855ac23c9bc89 | 2018-01-25 | 2least
| Tacoma natural gas plant faces delay for extra scrutiny
<p>TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency will hire a consultant to do an additional review on greenhouse-gas emissions related to a proposed liquefied natural gas plant in Tacoma.</p>
<p>The News Tribune <a href="http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article196502779.html" type="external">reports</a> the agency announced the plan to do a supplemental environmental impact statement Wednesday.</p>
<p>The study would need to be finished before builder Puget Sound Energy could get a required air permit for the project.</p>
<p>Results of the study also could potentially change the outcome of the permit application.</p>
<p>Clean air agency compliance director Steve Van Slyke says they're looking for a quantitative analysis of the greenhouse-gas emission effect downstream of the plant and upstream of the plant.</p>
<p>Protesters, including the Puyallup Tribe, are calling for a halt to construction citing environmental concerns.</p>
<p>Puget Sound Energy spokesman Grant Ringel says the company is disappointed by the delay but confident it will clear the additional hurdles.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The News Tribune, <a href="http://www.thenewstribune.com" type="external">http://www.thenewstribune.com</a></p>
<p>TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency will hire a consultant to do an additional review on greenhouse-gas emissions related to a proposed liquefied natural gas plant in Tacoma.</p>
<p>The News Tribune <a href="http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article196502779.html" type="external">reports</a> the agency announced the plan to do a supplemental environmental impact statement Wednesday.</p>
<p>The study would need to be finished before builder Puget Sound Energy could get a required air permit for the project.</p>
<p>Results of the study also could potentially change the outcome of the permit application.</p>
<p>Clean air agency compliance director Steve Van Slyke says they're looking for a quantitative analysis of the greenhouse-gas emission effect downstream of the plant and upstream of the plant.</p>
<p>Protesters, including the Puyallup Tribe, are calling for a halt to construction citing environmental concerns.</p>
<p>Puget Sound Energy spokesman Grant Ringel says the company is disappointed by the delay but confident it will clear the additional hurdles.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The News Tribune, <a href="http://www.thenewstribune.com" type="external">http://www.thenewstribune.com</a></p> | 1,331 |
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<p>New Mexico Tech biotechnology student Danielle Turner, who presented the university’s new antibacterial cream to Innovate New Mexico participants, is shown here at work in the universitys biosafety lab. (Courtesy of NM Tech)</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — New Mexico’s national labs and research universities pitched a dozen new technologies to investors and entrepreneurs at the state’s fourth Innovate New Mexico showcase on Tuesday.</p>
<p>The event at Sandia Casino’s Golf Club unites scientists, engineers and technology transfer professionals to build interest among potential funders and corporate partners to take emerging lab and university innovation to market.</p>
<p>The initiative, begun in spring 2016 as a twice-annual event, attracted about 150 participants this time, including angel investors, venture capitalists, and corporate technology scouts from the U.S. and other countries.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Presenters unveiled a broad range of cutting-edge advances, such as:</p>
<p>n a topical cream that kills antibiotic-resistant bacteria in skin infections, developed by New Mexico Tech in Socorro.</p>
<p>n a novel genetic engineering technique to improve alfalfa crop growth and yields from New Mexico State University.</p>
<p>n a Sandia National Laboratories process to add indentations on the surfaces of vehicles, ships and aircraft to reduce friction from turbulence and increase fuel efficiency.</p>
<p>n a method to make solar cells on spacecraft more robust to prolong operation in harsh space conditions, developed by the University of New Mexico and the Air Force Research Laboratory.</p>
<p>Investors said they were impressed by the scope and potential impact of technologies on display, and by the ability of all six New Mexico labs and research universities to work together to promote innovation.</p>
<p>“The raw talent and innovation that exists here is impressive,” said McLain Southworth of San Francisco-based Crosslink Capital. “The way they’ve organized everything together in one event is about the most effective process I’ve seen in these types of lab and university presentations. It’s a winning strategy that could help New Mexico become the next big tech hub.”</p>
<p>Louis Berneman, founding partner of Philadelphia-based venture firm Osage University Partners, said attracting venture investment is extremely difficult given the intense competition among startups nationally.</p>
<p>“We look for transformative, paradigm-shifting technologies,” Berneman told conference participants. “…We’re impressed with what we’ve seen here. Albuquerque and New Mexico have real opportunities coming out of the research institutions.”</p>
<p>One technology, the process for making solar cells on spacecraft more robust, already attracted an initial investment from the New Mexico Angels, which recently formed a new startup to take it to market. That company, Ozasda Energy LLC, emerged from stealth mode for the first time at the conference.</p> | Innovate NM flaunts cutting-edge technology | false | https://abqjournal.com/1079222/innovate-nm-flaunts-cutting-edge-technology.html | 2least
| Innovate NM flaunts cutting-edge technology
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>New Mexico Tech biotechnology student Danielle Turner, who presented the university’s new antibacterial cream to Innovate New Mexico participants, is shown here at work in the universitys biosafety lab. (Courtesy of NM Tech)</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — New Mexico’s national labs and research universities pitched a dozen new technologies to investors and entrepreneurs at the state’s fourth Innovate New Mexico showcase on Tuesday.</p>
<p>The event at Sandia Casino’s Golf Club unites scientists, engineers and technology transfer professionals to build interest among potential funders and corporate partners to take emerging lab and university innovation to market.</p>
<p>The initiative, begun in spring 2016 as a twice-annual event, attracted about 150 participants this time, including angel investors, venture capitalists, and corporate technology scouts from the U.S. and other countries.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Presenters unveiled a broad range of cutting-edge advances, such as:</p>
<p>n a topical cream that kills antibiotic-resistant bacteria in skin infections, developed by New Mexico Tech in Socorro.</p>
<p>n a novel genetic engineering technique to improve alfalfa crop growth and yields from New Mexico State University.</p>
<p>n a Sandia National Laboratories process to add indentations on the surfaces of vehicles, ships and aircraft to reduce friction from turbulence and increase fuel efficiency.</p>
<p>n a method to make solar cells on spacecraft more robust to prolong operation in harsh space conditions, developed by the University of New Mexico and the Air Force Research Laboratory.</p>
<p>Investors said they were impressed by the scope and potential impact of technologies on display, and by the ability of all six New Mexico labs and research universities to work together to promote innovation.</p>
<p>“The raw talent and innovation that exists here is impressive,” said McLain Southworth of San Francisco-based Crosslink Capital. “The way they’ve organized everything together in one event is about the most effective process I’ve seen in these types of lab and university presentations. It’s a winning strategy that could help New Mexico become the next big tech hub.”</p>
<p>Louis Berneman, founding partner of Philadelphia-based venture firm Osage University Partners, said attracting venture investment is extremely difficult given the intense competition among startups nationally.</p>
<p>“We look for transformative, paradigm-shifting technologies,” Berneman told conference participants. “…We’re impressed with what we’ve seen here. Albuquerque and New Mexico have real opportunities coming out of the research institutions.”</p>
<p>One technology, the process for making solar cells on spacecraft more robust, already attracted an initial investment from the New Mexico Angels, which recently formed a new startup to take it to market. That company, Ozasda Energy LLC, emerged from stealth mode for the first time at the conference.</p> | 1,332 |
|
<p>(Image courtesy of Seal Press)</p>
<p>‘Equally Wed’&#160; &#160; By Kirsten Palladino, foreword by Lance Bass and Michael Turchin &#160; Seal Press &#160; $17.99 &#160; 263 pages</p>
<p>Your beloved asked. And you said “yes.”</p>
<p>That’s all it took: so simple, yet so momentous and now you’re getting married. That’s nothing new these days; LGBT couples have weddings all the time, so how do you make yours special? With the new book “Equally Wed” by Kirsten Palladino, your vows will wow.</p>
<p>Like many, Palladino grew up dreaming of the perfect wedding. She could just picture it, but making it happen started out wrong.</p>
<p>When she got engaged to her now-wife, Maria, and went looking for help getting started, she could only find books for straight couples. That was definitely not going to work, so the Palladinos created an online wedding magazine and this book.</p>
<p>So you just got engaged. As you might guess, there’s a lot of planning that goes into a wedding, starting with whom (and how) you tell about it. Palladino advocates being gentle with family members who may feel uncomfortable. She says, “give them some time” and know how to decide to invite them or not.</p>
<p>Time management will be your friend in this process, so find a system that works for you and be faithful to it. Keep phone numbers, contracts, ideas, lists, worksheets and budgets in the same place, and keep track of all gifts received. Take a look at Palladino’s list of possible items needed, then remember that nothing there is mandatory.</p>
<p>Decide on the kind of wedding you want, the venue you’ve dreamed about and the size of your ceremony. Remember that age and gender of attendants isn’t cast in stone and the only requisite for attire is comfort. Know what questions to ask the “wedding pros” you need to make your day special: a planner, photographer, videographer, the officiant, baker, bartenders and your DJ. Remember that flowers are optional or you both can carry bouquets; in fact, your decorations and what you carry down the aisle can be anything unique to the two of you. Personalize the ceremony in ways that make you happy; there are all kinds of options and it’s your wedding.</p>
<p>Ever since you were small, you’ve dreamed of getting married but, if you don’t have a model to follow, it can be hard to know where to start and where to get what you want. “Equally Wed” shows prospective “grides” and “brooms” the path.</p>
<p>Beginning with gender-neutral terms for wedding participants, author Kirsten Palladino progresses through the year-plus-long preparations for the perfect wedding and beyond. Prospective newlyweds will find lists and bullet points that are useful and reminders for things they may never have considered, including ideas that may seem to fall into an “over-the-top” category. Still, Palladino stresses that individualization is what makes a wedding special and that “Something will go wrong on your wedding day,” but nobody can ruin it unless you let them.</p>
<p>This is an easy-to-use book that covers all bases, from “will you?” to “I do.” If there’s a wedding in your future and you need a starting point, “Equally Wed” is a great place to start.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Equally Wed</a> <a href="" type="internal">Kirsten Pallardino</a> <a href="" type="internal">Lance Bass</a> <a href="" type="internal">Michael Turchin</a></p> | ‘Equally Wed’ helps same-sex couples navigate heteronormative wedding industry | false | http://washingtonblade.com/2017/07/22/equally-wed-book-review/ | 3left-center
| ‘Equally Wed’ helps same-sex couples navigate heteronormative wedding industry
<p>(Image courtesy of Seal Press)</p>
<p>‘Equally Wed’&#160; &#160; By Kirsten Palladino, foreword by Lance Bass and Michael Turchin &#160; Seal Press &#160; $17.99 &#160; 263 pages</p>
<p>Your beloved asked. And you said “yes.”</p>
<p>That’s all it took: so simple, yet so momentous and now you’re getting married. That’s nothing new these days; LGBT couples have weddings all the time, so how do you make yours special? With the new book “Equally Wed” by Kirsten Palladino, your vows will wow.</p>
<p>Like many, Palladino grew up dreaming of the perfect wedding. She could just picture it, but making it happen started out wrong.</p>
<p>When she got engaged to her now-wife, Maria, and went looking for help getting started, she could only find books for straight couples. That was definitely not going to work, so the Palladinos created an online wedding magazine and this book.</p>
<p>So you just got engaged. As you might guess, there’s a lot of planning that goes into a wedding, starting with whom (and how) you tell about it. Palladino advocates being gentle with family members who may feel uncomfortable. She says, “give them some time” and know how to decide to invite them or not.</p>
<p>Time management will be your friend in this process, so find a system that works for you and be faithful to it. Keep phone numbers, contracts, ideas, lists, worksheets and budgets in the same place, and keep track of all gifts received. Take a look at Palladino’s list of possible items needed, then remember that nothing there is mandatory.</p>
<p>Decide on the kind of wedding you want, the venue you’ve dreamed about and the size of your ceremony. Remember that age and gender of attendants isn’t cast in stone and the only requisite for attire is comfort. Know what questions to ask the “wedding pros” you need to make your day special: a planner, photographer, videographer, the officiant, baker, bartenders and your DJ. Remember that flowers are optional or you both can carry bouquets; in fact, your decorations and what you carry down the aisle can be anything unique to the two of you. Personalize the ceremony in ways that make you happy; there are all kinds of options and it’s your wedding.</p>
<p>Ever since you were small, you’ve dreamed of getting married but, if you don’t have a model to follow, it can be hard to know where to start and where to get what you want. “Equally Wed” shows prospective “grides” and “brooms” the path.</p>
<p>Beginning with gender-neutral terms for wedding participants, author Kirsten Palladino progresses through the year-plus-long preparations for the perfect wedding and beyond. Prospective newlyweds will find lists and bullet points that are useful and reminders for things they may never have considered, including ideas that may seem to fall into an “over-the-top” category. Still, Palladino stresses that individualization is what makes a wedding special and that “Something will go wrong on your wedding day,” but nobody can ruin it unless you let them.</p>
<p>This is an easy-to-use book that covers all bases, from “will you?” to “I do.” If there’s a wedding in your future and you need a starting point, “Equally Wed” is a great place to start.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Equally Wed</a> <a href="" type="internal">Kirsten Pallardino</a> <a href="" type="internal">Lance Bass</a> <a href="" type="internal">Michael Turchin</a></p> | 1,333 |
|
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<p />
<p>The 2014 Horse of the Year and the young challenger are set to face off in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.</p>
<p>The 1 ¼-mile Classic worth $6 million is the richest of 13 races to be run Saturday at Santa Anita, the ninth time the track has hosted the world championships. The race will be shown live in prime time on NBC.</p>
<p>California Chrome is the early even-money favorite with a chance to expand his career earnings of more than $13.4 million, which already make the 5-year-old horse the richest in North American history.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Arrogate is a late-developing 3-year-old gray colt who didn’t run as a juvenile. His first start didn’t come until April, when he finished third. He’s won his four subsequent starts by over 23 lengths.</p>
<p>“His record speaks for itself,” his jockey Mike Smith said. “He’s been training unbelievably. He’ll need to repeat the race he ran in the Travers to beat California Chrome and the others, but he’s got the talent.”</p>
<p>Arrogate drew the far outside post in the 10-horse field. He is the 5-2 second choice and will try to deliver a record third straight victory in the Classic for trainer Bob Baffert as the only 3-year-old in the race.</p>
<p>California Chrome will break from post No. 4 under Victor Espinoza, who rode American Pharoah to Triple Crown glory last year.</p>
<p>“He’s going to be very difficult to outrun,” Smith said. “If there’s anyone that has a chance to upset the apple cart, I think I’m on the right horse.”</p>
<p>California Chrome finished third in the Classic two years ago at the end of his 3-year-old season, in which he won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness and finished in a dead-heat for fourth in the Belmont.</p>
<p>“He only got beaten a neck, but he wasn’t at his best mentally,” trainer Art Sherman said of Chrome’s previous Classic run. “He shipped around a lot that year and went through the Triple Crown races. There’s such a difference between how he’s coming into this year’s Classic and then.</p>
<p>“Now he’s got his game face on when he gets to the paddock. He’s all business; he knows what he has to do. He brings his ‘A’ game. Chrome is bigger and stronger than ever. The way he runs now, he’s become a push button horse; he’ll do whatever Victor asks of him,” Sherman said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Arrogate exploded onto the national scene in the Travers in August, winning by 13 ¼ lengths at Saratoga while setting a track record in the process.</p>
<p>“He’ll have to be really good to beat Chrome,” Baffert said. “Now I know how the other guys felt last year when I had American Pharoah.”</p>
<p>Baffert won last year’s Classic with Triple Crown champion American Pharoah and the 2014 edition with Bayern.</p>
<p>Besides Arrogate, Baffert will saddle Jockey Club Gold Cup winner Hoppertunity in the Classic.</p>
<p>Other Classic starters are: last year’s runner-up Effinex; Met Mile and Whitney winner Frosted; Keen Ice (fourth last year); Gold Cup winner Melatonin; Shaman Ghost; War Story; and Win the Space.</p>
<p>In the $2 million Filly &amp; Mare Turf, Lady Eli tries to continue her successful return from a life-threatening illness as the early 5-2 favorite for the 1 ¼-mile race.</p>
<p>The 4-year-old filly’s career was stalled for 13 months because of laminitis, a hoof ailment that led to the death of 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro. Lady Eli, winner of the 2014 BC Juvenile Fillies Turf, beat the odds and returned in late August to finish second in the Ballston Spa at Saratoga.</p>
<p>She followed that up with a victory in the Flower Bowl Invitational at Belmont last month. Her owners plan to keep her racing next year.</p>
<p>“It already is an incredible story, but it would have an incredible new chapter if she is able to do this,” trainer Chad Brown said. “It would secure her place in history as one of the all-time greats.”</p>
<p>In Saturday’s other Breeders’ Cup races:</p>
<p>— Trained by Baffert, Noted and Quoted is the early 9-2 favorite in the 12-horse field for the $2 million Juvenile Fillies.</p>
<p>— Masochistic is the early 2-1 favorite in the $1.5 million Sprint.</p>
<p>— Ireland-bred Obviously is the early 6-1 favorite in the $1 million Turf Sprint that includes Undrafted, co-owned by former NFL star receiver Wes Welker.</p>
<p>— Not This Time is the early 7-2 favorite for the $2 million Juvenile, whose winner is often tabbed as the winter favorite for next year’s Kentucky Derby. The 2-year-old colt is trained by Dale Romans and ridden by fellow Kentuckian Robby Albarado. The 11-horse field includes Syndergaard, named for New York Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard. Three-time Juvenile winner Baffert saddles Klimt.</p>
<p>— Britain-bred Flintshire is the early 5-2 favorite for the $4 million Turf, a race typically dominated by European-based runners. Flintshire is one of two entries trained by the New York-based Brown, along with Money Multiplier. Irishman Aidan O’Brien also has two entries: Found and Highland Reel. Both are co-second choices at 3-1.</p>
<p>— Haveyougoneaway is the early 3-1 favorite in the $1 million Filly &amp; Mare Sprint. Brown has a pair of entries: Irish Jasper and Wavell Avenue.</p>
<p>— Ireland-bred Limato is the 7-2 early choice for the $2 million Mile. O’Brien saddles three horses: Alice Springs, Cougar Mountain and Hit It a Bomb.</p> | Arrogate looks to upset California Chrome in Breeders’ Cup | false | https://abqjournal.com/882469/arrogate-looks-for-spring-upset-in-breeders-cup-classic.html | 2016-11-04 | 2least
| Arrogate looks to upset California Chrome in Breeders’ Cup
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The 2014 Horse of the Year and the young challenger are set to face off in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.</p>
<p>The 1 ¼-mile Classic worth $6 million is the richest of 13 races to be run Saturday at Santa Anita, the ninth time the track has hosted the world championships. The race will be shown live in prime time on NBC.</p>
<p>California Chrome is the early even-money favorite with a chance to expand his career earnings of more than $13.4 million, which already make the 5-year-old horse the richest in North American history.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Arrogate is a late-developing 3-year-old gray colt who didn’t run as a juvenile. His first start didn’t come until April, when he finished third. He’s won his four subsequent starts by over 23 lengths.</p>
<p>“His record speaks for itself,” his jockey Mike Smith said. “He’s been training unbelievably. He’ll need to repeat the race he ran in the Travers to beat California Chrome and the others, but he’s got the talent.”</p>
<p>Arrogate drew the far outside post in the 10-horse field. He is the 5-2 second choice and will try to deliver a record third straight victory in the Classic for trainer Bob Baffert as the only 3-year-old in the race.</p>
<p>California Chrome will break from post No. 4 under Victor Espinoza, who rode American Pharoah to Triple Crown glory last year.</p>
<p>“He’s going to be very difficult to outrun,” Smith said. “If there’s anyone that has a chance to upset the apple cart, I think I’m on the right horse.”</p>
<p>California Chrome finished third in the Classic two years ago at the end of his 3-year-old season, in which he won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness and finished in a dead-heat for fourth in the Belmont.</p>
<p>“He only got beaten a neck, but he wasn’t at his best mentally,” trainer Art Sherman said of Chrome’s previous Classic run. “He shipped around a lot that year and went through the Triple Crown races. There’s such a difference between how he’s coming into this year’s Classic and then.</p>
<p>“Now he’s got his game face on when he gets to the paddock. He’s all business; he knows what he has to do. He brings his ‘A’ game. Chrome is bigger and stronger than ever. The way he runs now, he’s become a push button horse; he’ll do whatever Victor asks of him,” Sherman said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Arrogate exploded onto the national scene in the Travers in August, winning by 13 ¼ lengths at Saratoga while setting a track record in the process.</p>
<p>“He’ll have to be really good to beat Chrome,” Baffert said. “Now I know how the other guys felt last year when I had American Pharoah.”</p>
<p>Baffert won last year’s Classic with Triple Crown champion American Pharoah and the 2014 edition with Bayern.</p>
<p>Besides Arrogate, Baffert will saddle Jockey Club Gold Cup winner Hoppertunity in the Classic.</p>
<p>Other Classic starters are: last year’s runner-up Effinex; Met Mile and Whitney winner Frosted; Keen Ice (fourth last year); Gold Cup winner Melatonin; Shaman Ghost; War Story; and Win the Space.</p>
<p>In the $2 million Filly &amp; Mare Turf, Lady Eli tries to continue her successful return from a life-threatening illness as the early 5-2 favorite for the 1 ¼-mile race.</p>
<p>The 4-year-old filly’s career was stalled for 13 months because of laminitis, a hoof ailment that led to the death of 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro. Lady Eli, winner of the 2014 BC Juvenile Fillies Turf, beat the odds and returned in late August to finish second in the Ballston Spa at Saratoga.</p>
<p>She followed that up with a victory in the Flower Bowl Invitational at Belmont last month. Her owners plan to keep her racing next year.</p>
<p>“It already is an incredible story, but it would have an incredible new chapter if she is able to do this,” trainer Chad Brown said. “It would secure her place in history as one of the all-time greats.”</p>
<p>In Saturday’s other Breeders’ Cup races:</p>
<p>— Trained by Baffert, Noted and Quoted is the early 9-2 favorite in the 12-horse field for the $2 million Juvenile Fillies.</p>
<p>— Masochistic is the early 2-1 favorite in the $1.5 million Sprint.</p>
<p>— Ireland-bred Obviously is the early 6-1 favorite in the $1 million Turf Sprint that includes Undrafted, co-owned by former NFL star receiver Wes Welker.</p>
<p>— Not This Time is the early 7-2 favorite for the $2 million Juvenile, whose winner is often tabbed as the winter favorite for next year’s Kentucky Derby. The 2-year-old colt is trained by Dale Romans and ridden by fellow Kentuckian Robby Albarado. The 11-horse field includes Syndergaard, named for New York Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard. Three-time Juvenile winner Baffert saddles Klimt.</p>
<p>— Britain-bred Flintshire is the early 5-2 favorite for the $4 million Turf, a race typically dominated by European-based runners. Flintshire is one of two entries trained by the New York-based Brown, along with Money Multiplier. Irishman Aidan O’Brien also has two entries: Found and Highland Reel. Both are co-second choices at 3-1.</p>
<p>— Haveyougoneaway is the early 3-1 favorite in the $1 million Filly &amp; Mare Sprint. Brown has a pair of entries: Irish Jasper and Wavell Avenue.</p>
<p>— Ireland-bred Limato is the 7-2 early choice for the $2 million Mile. O’Brien saddles three horses: Alice Springs, Cougar Mountain and Hit It a Bomb.</p> | 1,334 |
<p />
<p>Netflix shares have performed phenomenally in the last few years, surging more than tenfold since bottoming out in late 2012. Yet Netflix stock has fallen considerably in 2016, as domestic growth has started to slow and international growth hasn't been quite as fast as some bulls had hoped.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Netflix Stock Performance, data by <a href="http://ycharts.com" type="external">YCharts</a></p>
<p>It is virtually inevitable that growth will gradually slow in the coming years as Netflix starts to saturate its most successful markets. As that happens, it will become critical for Netflix to generate strong earnings and cash flow to justify its high valuation. To do that, it will need to do a better job of controlling costs than it has managed thus far.</p>
<p>When people discuss cost inflation at Netflix, they mainly focus on content costs. Indeed, Netflix plans to spend about $5 billion on content this year -- and $6 billion when measured on a cash basis. Content costs appear to be rising at an annual rate of about 30% -- slightly faster than Netflix's revenue growth rate.</p>
<p>However, a significant portion of this content cost growth relates to Netflix's rapid expansion into new international markets. In the U.S., Netflix has consistently grown revenue faster than content costs in recent years. This has allowed it to expand its domestic contribution margin from 14.3% in the first quarter of 2013 to 35.5% last quarter.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Netflix's investments in original content have also put upward pressure on its content costs. But in the long run, Netflix's focus on originals should actually help it control its content costs. Whereas third-party content owners can demand more money as Netflix grows, it costs the same amount to film an original series regardless of whether Netflix has 50 million or 150 million subscribers.</p>
<p>Netflix has been spending a lot of money on original content lately. Image source: The Motley Fool.</p>
<p>As Netflix builds out its stable of original content and as its new international markets mature, content cost growth should start to slow relative to revenue growth. That will allow Netflix to start growing its earnings.</p>
<p>Overhead costs get less attention from analysts. In the past two years, Netflix has accelerated its spending on technology and development in order to support international growth and improvements to its streaming platform. General and administrative expenses have also skyrocketed due to Netflix's original content push and its international growth.</p>
<p>In total, technology and development spending soared 72% between 2013 and 2015, while general and administrative expenses more than doubled. Together, these two line items rose from 13% of Netflix's revenue in 2013 to 16% of revenue in 2015.</p>
<p>Both of these expense items have continued to soar in 2016. In Q1, technology and development costs jumped 42% year over year while general and administrative expenses rose 39%. That far outstripped Netflix's revenue growth of 24%.</p>
<p>Clearly, some of Netflix's overhead cost growth can be traced directly to the increasing pace of its international expansion. Now that Netflix is available in almost every country, this source of cost inflation should be more moderate.</p>
<p>Still, it's somewhat concerning that Netflix hasn't been able to control these costs better. Overhead expenses are typically a key source of operating leverage for growth companies: It's usually possible to keep these cost items growing slower than revenue. Even taking Netflix's international growth into account, the 143% increase in overhead costs between Q1 2013 and Q1 2016 calls the company's financial discipline into question.</p>
<p>To generate the massive earnings growth that it needs to justify its sky-high valuation, Netflix will need to leverage content costs and overhead costs over the next decade.</p>
<p>For the time being, content costs are likely to continue rising at a rapid pace as Netflix invests in more original content as well as localized content for some of its new markets. On the other hand, with Netflix now available in nearly every market across the globe, the company no longer has an excuse for 30%-40% year-over-year increases in overhead costs.</p>
<p>Over the next several quarters, I will be closely monitoring Netflix's overhead costs. Getting these costs under control would be a clear sign that Netflix is successfully transitioning toward a focus on earnings growth rather than just spending freely to maximize subscriber growth.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/06/22/can-netflix-rein-in-skyrocketing-costs.aspx" type="external">Can Netflix Rein in Skyrocketing Costs?</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFGemHunter/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Adam Levine-Weinberg</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Netflix. 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</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</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</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</a>.</p> | Can Netflix Rein in Skyrocketing Costs? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/06/22/can-netflix-rein-in-skyrocketing-costs.html | 2016-06-22 | 0right
| Can Netflix Rein in Skyrocketing Costs?
<p />
<p>Netflix shares have performed phenomenally in the last few years, surging more than tenfold since bottoming out in late 2012. Yet Netflix stock has fallen considerably in 2016, as domestic growth has started to slow and international growth hasn't been quite as fast as some bulls had hoped.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Netflix Stock Performance, data by <a href="http://ycharts.com" type="external">YCharts</a></p>
<p>It is virtually inevitable that growth will gradually slow in the coming years as Netflix starts to saturate its most successful markets. As that happens, it will become critical for Netflix to generate strong earnings and cash flow to justify its high valuation. To do that, it will need to do a better job of controlling costs than it has managed thus far.</p>
<p>When people discuss cost inflation at Netflix, they mainly focus on content costs. Indeed, Netflix plans to spend about $5 billion on content this year -- and $6 billion when measured on a cash basis. Content costs appear to be rising at an annual rate of about 30% -- slightly faster than Netflix's revenue growth rate.</p>
<p>However, a significant portion of this content cost growth relates to Netflix's rapid expansion into new international markets. In the U.S., Netflix has consistently grown revenue faster than content costs in recent years. This has allowed it to expand its domestic contribution margin from 14.3% in the first quarter of 2013 to 35.5% last quarter.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Netflix's investments in original content have also put upward pressure on its content costs. But in the long run, Netflix's focus on originals should actually help it control its content costs. Whereas third-party content owners can demand more money as Netflix grows, it costs the same amount to film an original series regardless of whether Netflix has 50 million or 150 million subscribers.</p>
<p>Netflix has been spending a lot of money on original content lately. Image source: The Motley Fool.</p>
<p>As Netflix builds out its stable of original content and as its new international markets mature, content cost growth should start to slow relative to revenue growth. That will allow Netflix to start growing its earnings.</p>
<p>Overhead costs get less attention from analysts. In the past two years, Netflix has accelerated its spending on technology and development in order to support international growth and improvements to its streaming platform. General and administrative expenses have also skyrocketed due to Netflix's original content push and its international growth.</p>
<p>In total, technology and development spending soared 72% between 2013 and 2015, while general and administrative expenses more than doubled. Together, these two line items rose from 13% of Netflix's revenue in 2013 to 16% of revenue in 2015.</p>
<p>Both of these expense items have continued to soar in 2016. In Q1, technology and development costs jumped 42% year over year while general and administrative expenses rose 39%. That far outstripped Netflix's revenue growth of 24%.</p>
<p>Clearly, some of Netflix's overhead cost growth can be traced directly to the increasing pace of its international expansion. Now that Netflix is available in almost every country, this source of cost inflation should be more moderate.</p>
<p>Still, it's somewhat concerning that Netflix hasn't been able to control these costs better. Overhead expenses are typically a key source of operating leverage for growth companies: It's usually possible to keep these cost items growing slower than revenue. Even taking Netflix's international growth into account, the 143% increase in overhead costs between Q1 2013 and Q1 2016 calls the company's financial discipline into question.</p>
<p>To generate the massive earnings growth that it needs to justify its sky-high valuation, Netflix will need to leverage content costs and overhead costs over the next decade.</p>
<p>For the time being, content costs are likely to continue rising at a rapid pace as Netflix invests in more original content as well as localized content for some of its new markets. On the other hand, with Netflix now available in nearly every market across the globe, the company no longer has an excuse for 30%-40% year-over-year increases in overhead costs.</p>
<p>Over the next several quarters, I will be closely monitoring Netflix's overhead costs. Getting these costs under control would be a clear sign that Netflix is successfully transitioning toward a focus on earnings growth rather than just spending freely to maximize subscriber growth.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/06/22/can-netflix-rein-in-skyrocketing-costs.aspx" type="external">Can Netflix Rein in Skyrocketing Costs?</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFGemHunter/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Adam Levine-Weinberg</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Netflix. 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</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</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</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</a>.</p> | 1,335 |
<p>President <a href="/topics/donald-j-trump/" type="external">Trump</a> responded Monday to the mass shooting in <a href="/topics/las-vegas/" type="external">Las Vegas</a> that killed more than 50 people, expressing condolences and sympathies.</p>
<p>"My warmest condolences and sympathies to the victims and families of the terrible <a href="/topics/las-vegas/" type="external">Las Vegas</a> shooting. God bless you!" <a href="/topics/donald-j-trump/" type="external">Mr. Trump</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/914810093874671617" type="external">tweeted</a>.</p>
<p>White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the president had been briefed on the "horrific tragedy in <a href="/topics/las-vegas/" type="external">Las Vegas</a>."</p>
<p>"We are monitoring the situation closely and offer our full support to state and local officials. All of those affected are in our thoughts and prayers," she said in a statement.</p>
<p>The machine-gun attack at a country music festival late Sunday was the deadliest shooting in U.S. history.</p>
<p>Copyright - 2018 The Washington Times, LLC. <a href="http://license.icopyright.net/3.7280?icx_id=/news/2017/oct/2/donald-trump-responds-las-vegas-shooting-offers-co/" type="external">Click here for reprint permission</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Click to Read More</p>
<p>Click to Hide</p> | Trump responds to Las Vegas shooting, offers condolences | true | http://washingtontimes.com/news/2017/oct/2/donald-trump-responds-las-vegas-shooting-offers-co/ | 2017-10-02 | 0right
| Trump responds to Las Vegas shooting, offers condolences
<p>President <a href="/topics/donald-j-trump/" type="external">Trump</a> responded Monday to the mass shooting in <a href="/topics/las-vegas/" type="external">Las Vegas</a> that killed more than 50 people, expressing condolences and sympathies.</p>
<p>"My warmest condolences and sympathies to the victims and families of the terrible <a href="/topics/las-vegas/" type="external">Las Vegas</a> shooting. God bless you!" <a href="/topics/donald-j-trump/" type="external">Mr. Trump</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/914810093874671617" type="external">tweeted</a>.</p>
<p>White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the president had been briefed on the "horrific tragedy in <a href="/topics/las-vegas/" type="external">Las Vegas</a>."</p>
<p>"We are monitoring the situation closely and offer our full support to state and local officials. All of those affected are in our thoughts and prayers," she said in a statement.</p>
<p>The machine-gun attack at a country music festival late Sunday was the deadliest shooting in U.S. history.</p>
<p>Copyright - 2018 The Washington Times, LLC. <a href="http://license.icopyright.net/3.7280?icx_id=/news/2017/oct/2/donald-trump-responds-las-vegas-shooting-offers-co/" type="external">Click here for reprint permission</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Click to Read More</p>
<p>Click to Hide</p> | 1,336 |
<p>Vanessa Williams is going to be a bride. The actress announced that she and her boyfriend, Jim Skrip, have gotten engaged. This will be the third marriage for Williams who was married to Ramon Hervey and NBA player Rick Fox.</p>
<p>Williams new fiancee is in real estate and was once an accountant “back in the day” according to Williams.</p>
<p>The actress, 51, announced her engagement on the Queen Latifah show, where she was asked about the diamond on her left hand by the host.</p>
<p>“Vanessa, I have been trying to have a conversation ladies and gents, but I’m blinded by the light coming from that bling ring on your finger,” Latifah said, <a href="http://www.bet.com/news/celebrities/2014/09/27/vanessa-williams-engaged-to-jim-skrip.html" type="external">according to &#160;BET.</a></p>
<p>“I have had a lot of good things happen. I turned 50 when we were in rehearsal on Broadway, I just got engaged a couple of weeks ago. It has been a lot of blessings on this trip,” Williams replied.</p>
<p>Williams met Skrip while on vacation in Egypt two years ago and apparently they have been going strong ever since.</p>
<p>As Williams quipped, you never know where you will meet the person you marry. It turns out that the pair met in Egypt but really were only six hours away from each other back home.</p>
<p>It’s wonderful to see Williams happy and ready to try marriage again. She is currently promoting her tour with the revival of A Trip To The Bountiful. No wedding date has been announced as of yet.</p>
<p>Congrats to the couple and many happy returns!</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p /> | Vanessa Williams to wed boyfriend Jim Skrip | false | http://natmonitor.com/2014/09/27/vanessa-williams-to-wed-boyfriend-jim-skrip/ | 2014-09-27 | 3left-center
| Vanessa Williams to wed boyfriend Jim Skrip
<p>Vanessa Williams is going to be a bride. The actress announced that she and her boyfriend, Jim Skrip, have gotten engaged. This will be the third marriage for Williams who was married to Ramon Hervey and NBA player Rick Fox.</p>
<p>Williams new fiancee is in real estate and was once an accountant “back in the day” according to Williams.</p>
<p>The actress, 51, announced her engagement on the Queen Latifah show, where she was asked about the diamond on her left hand by the host.</p>
<p>“Vanessa, I have been trying to have a conversation ladies and gents, but I’m blinded by the light coming from that bling ring on your finger,” Latifah said, <a href="http://www.bet.com/news/celebrities/2014/09/27/vanessa-williams-engaged-to-jim-skrip.html" type="external">according to &#160;BET.</a></p>
<p>“I have had a lot of good things happen. I turned 50 when we were in rehearsal on Broadway, I just got engaged a couple of weeks ago. It has been a lot of blessings on this trip,” Williams replied.</p>
<p>Williams met Skrip while on vacation in Egypt two years ago and apparently they have been going strong ever since.</p>
<p>As Williams quipped, you never know where you will meet the person you marry. It turns out that the pair met in Egypt but really were only six hours away from each other back home.</p>
<p>It’s wonderful to see Williams happy and ready to try marriage again. She is currently promoting her tour with the revival of A Trip To The Bountiful. No wedding date has been announced as of yet.</p>
<p>Congrats to the couple and many happy returns!</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p /> | 1,337 |
<p>The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., the state-owned housing insurer, expects Canada's booming housing market to slow in the next two years, according a new outlook issued Thursday.</p>
<p>Slowing economic growth and rising mortgage rates will cause housing starts to drop by 2019, compared with this year, and existing home sales will also likely fall, said the outlook. Meanwhile, price increases will moderate, the CMHC said.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>For the past two years, Canada's housing market has been experiencing what many call bubble-like conditions, particularly in Vancouver and Toronto. The CMHC's outlook Thursday suggests that the peak of the housing market may have passed.</p>
<p>Mortgage rates have been rising lately as the country's central bank raises borrowing costs, which will "restrain" existing home sales and dampen price increases, the CMHC said.</p>
<p>Average home prices rose almost 11% in 2016, and could rise another 4.3% this year, based on the agency's top-range forecast. While increases will likely continue in 2018 and 2019, prices could only rise 0.16% in 2018 and 2.4% in 2019, according to the top range of CMHC forecasts.</p>
<p>Declining starts and slowing price increases partly reflect attempts by the Canada's banking watchdog, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, and the provinces of British Columbia and Ontario, to take the air out of booming markets.</p>
<p>The CMHC's forecast of lower starts is "certainly partly a reflection of policy," said Bob Dugan, the CMHC's chief economist. "There's a bit of cooling in demand."</p>
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<p>In a separate assessment of current conditions, also issued Thursday, the CMHC noted "a degree of vulnerability at the national level, due to moderate overvaluation and price acceleration."</p>
<p>The agency cited housing markets in Toronto and Vancouver as "highly vulnerable," and cautioned about overbuilding in Calgary and Edmonton and in St. John's, Newfoundland. The agency cited a growing backlog of new and unsold homes in those cities.</p>
<p>Nationally, the agency expects housing starts to range between 206,300 and 214,900 this year, but then fall to between 192,300 to 203,800 units by 2019.</p>
<p>The CMHC said it expected Canada's GDP to grow between 2.4% and 3.2% this year, but drop to between 1% and 2.4% by 2019. Meanwhile, immigration, which has been close to record levels in 2016, should fall back to more normal levels, which could reduce demand for housing.</p>
<p>The agency warned that its forecasts could be thrown off if interest rates or unemployment rates jumped more than expected. Meanwhile, it said price increases in major markets in Vancouver and Toronto are outpacing income and population growth.</p>
<p>"This adds considerable uncertainty over how the housing market will adjust to these imbalances," the CMHC said.</p>
<p>Write to Vipal Monga at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>October 26, 2017 15:08 ET (19:08 GMT)</p> | Canada State-Owned Mortgage Insurer Projects Housing Starts to Slow by 2019 -- Update | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/10/26/canada-state-owned-mortgage-insurer-projects-housing-starts-to-slow-by-2019-update.html | 2017-10-26 | 0right
| Canada State-Owned Mortgage Insurer Projects Housing Starts to Slow by 2019 -- Update
<p>The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., the state-owned housing insurer, expects Canada's booming housing market to slow in the next two years, according a new outlook issued Thursday.</p>
<p>Slowing economic growth and rising mortgage rates will cause housing starts to drop by 2019, compared with this year, and existing home sales will also likely fall, said the outlook. Meanwhile, price increases will moderate, the CMHC said.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>For the past two years, Canada's housing market has been experiencing what many call bubble-like conditions, particularly in Vancouver and Toronto. The CMHC's outlook Thursday suggests that the peak of the housing market may have passed.</p>
<p>Mortgage rates have been rising lately as the country's central bank raises borrowing costs, which will "restrain" existing home sales and dampen price increases, the CMHC said.</p>
<p>Average home prices rose almost 11% in 2016, and could rise another 4.3% this year, based on the agency's top-range forecast. While increases will likely continue in 2018 and 2019, prices could only rise 0.16% in 2018 and 2.4% in 2019, according to the top range of CMHC forecasts.</p>
<p>Declining starts and slowing price increases partly reflect attempts by the Canada's banking watchdog, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, and the provinces of British Columbia and Ontario, to take the air out of booming markets.</p>
<p>The CMHC's forecast of lower starts is "certainly partly a reflection of policy," said Bob Dugan, the CMHC's chief economist. "There's a bit of cooling in demand."</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>In a separate assessment of current conditions, also issued Thursday, the CMHC noted "a degree of vulnerability at the national level, due to moderate overvaluation and price acceleration."</p>
<p>The agency cited housing markets in Toronto and Vancouver as "highly vulnerable," and cautioned about overbuilding in Calgary and Edmonton and in St. John's, Newfoundland. The agency cited a growing backlog of new and unsold homes in those cities.</p>
<p>Nationally, the agency expects housing starts to range between 206,300 and 214,900 this year, but then fall to between 192,300 to 203,800 units by 2019.</p>
<p>The CMHC said it expected Canada's GDP to grow between 2.4% and 3.2% this year, but drop to between 1% and 2.4% by 2019. Meanwhile, immigration, which has been close to record levels in 2016, should fall back to more normal levels, which could reduce demand for housing.</p>
<p>The agency warned that its forecasts could be thrown off if interest rates or unemployment rates jumped more than expected. Meanwhile, it said price increases in major markets in Vancouver and Toronto are outpacing income and population growth.</p>
<p>"This adds considerable uncertainty over how the housing market will adjust to these imbalances," the CMHC said.</p>
<p>Write to Vipal Monga at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>October 26, 2017 15:08 ET (19:08 GMT)</p> | 1,338 |
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<p>The board at a special meeting on Friday unanimously approved a grant to ensure that candidates for statewide judicial office and the Public Regulation Commission get 100 percent of what they're eligible for under the law.</p>
<p>The secretary of state had said previously that the candidates would be getting only 68 percent because of a shortfall in the Public Election Fund.</p>
<p>Winter's office calculated that the seven candidates - for Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals and the PRC - are eligible for $997,259 for the primary and general elections.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>But the fund had a balance of only $682,520, so the board came up with the remaining $314,739.</p>
<p>"I'm grateful for their approval of this grant, because it allows us to carry out our duties," Winter said in a statement.</p>
<p>The fund is fed by sources including proceeds from unclaimed property - the biggest contributor, at $1.2 million - along with leftover public financing money from previous election cycles, various fees on utilities and qualifying contributions, the $5 donations candidates have to collect to be eligible for public financing.</p>
<p>Since 2010, the Legislature has used millions of dollars from the Public Election Fund to pay for other election-related costs.</p>
<p>In the current budget year, for example, the fund started out with nearly $500,000 and took in more than $1.4 million. But the Legislature appropriated $1.25 million of that to the secretary of state's operating budget, leaving just $682,520 in the fund.</p>
<p>There's a formula in law for determining how much candidates are eligible for, based on the number of voters who can cast ballots in their races.</p>
<p>For the primary election, it's geared to the number of voters in the candidate's party in a district or statewide. For the general election, it's based on the total number of voters in the district or state. Candidates in uncontested primaries or general elections get half of what they otherwise would and judges running for retention - rather than in partisan elections - don't qualify.</p>
<p>The system is voluntary. This year, the candidates using public financing are Supreme Court Justice Judith Nakamura, a Republican, and her challenger, Democrat Michael Vigil of the state Court of Appeals; Court of Appeals Judge Stephen French, a Republican, and his challenger, Democrat Julie Vargas; PRC Commissioner Karen Montoya and Cynthia Hall, both Democrats running for a District 1 seat; and PRC Commissioner Valerie Espinoza, who is unopposed.</p>
<p />
<p /> | $300K grant to fund seven candidates' campaigns | false | https://abqjournal.com/746344/board-of-finance-gives-secretary-of-state-money-for-publicly-financed-candidates.html | 2016-03-25 | 2least
| $300K grant to fund seven candidates' campaigns
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<p />
<p>The board at a special meeting on Friday unanimously approved a grant to ensure that candidates for statewide judicial office and the Public Regulation Commission get 100 percent of what they're eligible for under the law.</p>
<p>The secretary of state had said previously that the candidates would be getting only 68 percent because of a shortfall in the Public Election Fund.</p>
<p>Winter's office calculated that the seven candidates - for Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals and the PRC - are eligible for $997,259 for the primary and general elections.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>But the fund had a balance of only $682,520, so the board came up with the remaining $314,739.</p>
<p>"I'm grateful for their approval of this grant, because it allows us to carry out our duties," Winter said in a statement.</p>
<p>The fund is fed by sources including proceeds from unclaimed property - the biggest contributor, at $1.2 million - along with leftover public financing money from previous election cycles, various fees on utilities and qualifying contributions, the $5 donations candidates have to collect to be eligible for public financing.</p>
<p>Since 2010, the Legislature has used millions of dollars from the Public Election Fund to pay for other election-related costs.</p>
<p>In the current budget year, for example, the fund started out with nearly $500,000 and took in more than $1.4 million. But the Legislature appropriated $1.25 million of that to the secretary of state's operating budget, leaving just $682,520 in the fund.</p>
<p>There's a formula in law for determining how much candidates are eligible for, based on the number of voters who can cast ballots in their races.</p>
<p>For the primary election, it's geared to the number of voters in the candidate's party in a district or statewide. For the general election, it's based on the total number of voters in the district or state. Candidates in uncontested primaries or general elections get half of what they otherwise would and judges running for retention - rather than in partisan elections - don't qualify.</p>
<p>The system is voluntary. This year, the candidates using public financing are Supreme Court Justice Judith Nakamura, a Republican, and her challenger, Democrat Michael Vigil of the state Court of Appeals; Court of Appeals Judge Stephen French, a Republican, and his challenger, Democrat Julie Vargas; PRC Commissioner Karen Montoya and Cynthia Hall, both Democrats running for a District 1 seat; and PRC Commissioner Valerie Espinoza, who is unopposed.</p>
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<p />
<p>City leaders voted Tuesday to abolish an ordinance on dancing, the Tulsa World ( <a href="http://bit.ly/2lprhhr" type="external">http://bit.ly/2lprhhr</a> ) reported. The dance ordinance, with a penalty of $25, prohibited dance halls within 500 feet of a church or public school.</p>
<p>In February, resident Joni Insabella decided to host a dance above her store, which is within 500 feet of a church. The city’s Chamber of Commerce posted about the event and called Insabella a rule breaker on Facebook and accused her of getting special treatment, because of her husband, who’s the city’s attorney.</p>
<p>“We wanted just a good, clean, fun event. As I said, we know we’re in the Bible Belt. We weren’t having alcohol or anything. We just wanted it to be fun for the community,” Insabella said.</p>
<p>After the event was canceled, Mayor Jennifer Clason decided to look over the ordinance.</p>
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<p>Clason, the city’s first female mayor, said when the dance ban resurfaced it received national attention for its similarity to the 1980s film “Footloose,” which tells the story of a small town banning dancing and rock music. She said prior to the cancelled event, she’d never heard of the ordinance preventing dancing.</p>
<p>Previously, dances were held at the city’s churches and schools without repercussions, said Clason.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Tulsa World, <a href="http://www.tulsaworld.com" type="external">http://www.tulsaworld.com</a></p> | Henryetta abolishes decades-old dance ban | false | https://abqjournal.com/955732/henryetta-abolishes-decades-old-dance-ban-2.html | 2least
| Henryetta abolishes decades-old dance ban
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<p />
<p>City leaders voted Tuesday to abolish an ordinance on dancing, the Tulsa World ( <a href="http://bit.ly/2lprhhr" type="external">http://bit.ly/2lprhhr</a> ) reported. The dance ordinance, with a penalty of $25, prohibited dance halls within 500 feet of a church or public school.</p>
<p>In February, resident Joni Insabella decided to host a dance above her store, which is within 500 feet of a church. The city’s Chamber of Commerce posted about the event and called Insabella a rule breaker on Facebook and accused her of getting special treatment, because of her husband, who’s the city’s attorney.</p>
<p>“We wanted just a good, clean, fun event. As I said, we know we’re in the Bible Belt. We weren’t having alcohol or anything. We just wanted it to be fun for the community,” Insabella said.</p>
<p>After the event was canceled, Mayor Jennifer Clason decided to look over the ordinance.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Clason, the city’s first female mayor, said when the dance ban resurfaced it received national attention for its similarity to the 1980s film “Footloose,” which tells the story of a small town banning dancing and rock music. She said prior to the cancelled event, she’d never heard of the ordinance preventing dancing.</p>
<p>Previously, dances were held at the city’s churches and schools without repercussions, said Clason.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Tulsa World, <a href="http://www.tulsaworld.com" type="external">http://www.tulsaworld.com</a></p> | 1,340 |
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<p>After tumbling immediately following Election Day, the dollar-denominated funds such as the iShares J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF (NYSEArca: EMB) have been decent performers this year, but investors may want to review their exposure emerging markets debt. Some market observers are concerned the emerging markets bond trade is becoming a crowded trade. While… <a href="http://www.etftrends.com/2017/02/a-cautious-view-on-emerging-markets-bond-etfs/" type="external">Click to read more at ETFtrends.com. Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | A Cautious View on Emerging Markets Bond ETFs | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/02/27/cautious-view-on-emerging-markets-bond-etfs.html | 2017-02-27 | 0right
| A Cautious View on Emerging Markets Bond ETFs
<p>After tumbling immediately following Election Day, the dollar-denominated funds such as the iShares J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF (NYSEArca: EMB) have been decent performers this year, but investors may want to review their exposure emerging markets debt. Some market observers are concerned the emerging markets bond trade is becoming a crowded trade. While… <a href="http://www.etftrends.com/2017/02/a-cautious-view-on-emerging-markets-bond-etfs/" type="external">Click to read more at ETFtrends.com. Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | 1,341 |
<p>Back in October, I <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/united-kingdom/111025/manchester-united-manchester-city-premier-league-billionaire" type="external">reported</a> on how billionaires were taking over England's Premier League, the most watched soccer league in the world. The article focused on how Sheikh Mansour of Abu Dhabi had pumped billions into also-ran Manchester City in an attempt to take-over English soccer from cross-town rivals Manchester United own by the American billionaire Glazer family.</p>
<p>Last night money got its come-uppance as <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/dec/07/manchester-united-champions-league-base" type="external">United</a> and <a href="http://www.telegraph.coester-City-manager-Roberto-Mancini-vows-to-return-to-Champions-League-stronger-next-year.html.uk/sport/football/competitions/champions-league/8941142/Manch" type="external">City</a> were both knocked out of the European Champions' League, the most lucrative annual competition in the world.</p>
<p>Two London teams, Chelsea and Arsenal, are still in it to win it.&#160; Like Nick Hornby, I am an <a href="http://www.arsenal.com/home" type="external">Arsenal</a> supporter who lives close to their stadium. The schadenfreude in my neighborhood this morning tastes wonderful.</p> | European soccer: money can't buy happiness | false | https://pri.org/stories/2011-12-08/european-soccer-money-cant-buy-happiness | 2011-12-08 | 3left-center
| European soccer: money can't buy happiness
<p>Back in October, I <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/united-kingdom/111025/manchester-united-manchester-city-premier-league-billionaire" type="external">reported</a> on how billionaires were taking over England's Premier League, the most watched soccer league in the world. The article focused on how Sheikh Mansour of Abu Dhabi had pumped billions into also-ran Manchester City in an attempt to take-over English soccer from cross-town rivals Manchester United own by the American billionaire Glazer family.</p>
<p>Last night money got its come-uppance as <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/dec/07/manchester-united-champions-league-base" type="external">United</a> and <a href="http://www.telegraph.coester-City-manager-Roberto-Mancini-vows-to-return-to-Champions-League-stronger-next-year.html.uk/sport/football/competitions/champions-league/8941142/Manch" type="external">City</a> were both knocked out of the European Champions' League, the most lucrative annual competition in the world.</p>
<p>Two London teams, Chelsea and Arsenal, are still in it to win it.&#160; Like Nick Hornby, I am an <a href="http://www.arsenal.com/home" type="external">Arsenal</a> supporter who lives close to their stadium. The schadenfreude in my neighborhood this morning tastes wonderful.</p> | 1,342 |
<p />
<p />
<p>A tiny three-month-old puppy was found after it was abandoned in a Las Vegas airport with a heartbreaking note alongside it explaining how the owner had "no other option" but to leave the precious miniature Chihuahua behind.</p>
<p>The puppy, named Chewy, was found all alone over the holiday weekend in a Las Vegas International Airport bathroom with a scribbled handwritten note that said Chewy's owner was a victim of domestic abuse and could not afford to bring her loved pet alongside her on the flight.</p>
<p>The scrawled handwriting on the note read, "My owner was in an abusive relationship and couldn't afford to get me on the flight. She didn't want to leave me with all her heart but she has no other option."</p>
<p>The tearfully heartbreaking letter went on to say that the former owner's ex-boyfriend was abusive and they were in a fight in which he kicked the dog and now "he has a big knot on his head."</p>
<p>Airport officials who wanted to show compassion gave Chewy to Connie and Millie's Dog Rescue in Las Vegas where since his arrival they have received several dozen offers for adoption in what they call a "tremendous interest" in the Chihuahua.</p>
<p>The rescue group posted a photo on Facebook of the dog along with the handwritten note from his old owner and Chewy's story quickly went viral.</p>
<p>The rescue group wrote in the post, "Please share in hopes that his mom sees this, that she was brave to leave and that he will have a great life."</p>
<p>An update on the group's Facebook page says there was 'tremendous interest' in Chewy and the group is compiling all of the interest forms and will go through them all before finding Chewy his new permanent loving home.</p>
<p />
<p>Source</p>
<p><a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/07/05/puppy-abandoned-in-las-vegas-airport-with-heartbreaking-letter.html" type="external">foxnews.com/us/2017/07/05/puppy-abandoned-in-las-vegas-airport-with-heartbreaking-letter.html</a></p> | The Letter Found w/ This Abandoned Puppy Will Make You Cry | true | http://thegoldwater.com/news/4772-The-Letter-Found-w-This-Abandoned-Puppy-Will-Make-You-Cry | 2017-07-06 | 0right
| The Letter Found w/ This Abandoned Puppy Will Make You Cry
<p />
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<p>A tiny three-month-old puppy was found after it was abandoned in a Las Vegas airport with a heartbreaking note alongside it explaining how the owner had "no other option" but to leave the precious miniature Chihuahua behind.</p>
<p>The puppy, named Chewy, was found all alone over the holiday weekend in a Las Vegas International Airport bathroom with a scribbled handwritten note that said Chewy's owner was a victim of domestic abuse and could not afford to bring her loved pet alongside her on the flight.</p>
<p>The scrawled handwriting on the note read, "My owner was in an abusive relationship and couldn't afford to get me on the flight. She didn't want to leave me with all her heart but she has no other option."</p>
<p>The tearfully heartbreaking letter went on to say that the former owner's ex-boyfriend was abusive and they were in a fight in which he kicked the dog and now "he has a big knot on his head."</p>
<p>Airport officials who wanted to show compassion gave Chewy to Connie and Millie's Dog Rescue in Las Vegas where since his arrival they have received several dozen offers for adoption in what they call a "tremendous interest" in the Chihuahua.</p>
<p>The rescue group posted a photo on Facebook of the dog along with the handwritten note from his old owner and Chewy's story quickly went viral.</p>
<p>The rescue group wrote in the post, "Please share in hopes that his mom sees this, that she was brave to leave and that he will have a great life."</p>
<p>An update on the group's Facebook page says there was 'tremendous interest' in Chewy and the group is compiling all of the interest forms and will go through them all before finding Chewy his new permanent loving home.</p>
<p />
<p>Source</p>
<p><a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/07/05/puppy-abandoned-in-las-vegas-airport-with-heartbreaking-letter.html" type="external">foxnews.com/us/2017/07/05/puppy-abandoned-in-las-vegas-airport-with-heartbreaking-letter.html</a></p> | 1,343 |
<p>The Great Recession has fundamentally changed the employment landscape in this country.</p>
<p>According to the <a href="http://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.us.htm" type="external">Bureau of Labor Statistics</a>, the 9.5% rate of national unemployment for June is unchanged from this time a year ago.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>For adult women, unemployment is actually up from 7.6% in June 2009 to 7.8% in June of this year. Additionally, there are nearly 7 million American workers who have been out of work for longer than six months. This is substantially higher than at any point during the recession.</p>
<p>When it comes to recent graduates, the National Association of Colleges and Employers reported only 39% of graduating college seniors had job offers this year, a rate virtually unchanged from 2009.</p>
<p>According to a survey conducted by <a href="http://www.collegrad.com/press/" type="external">CollegeGrad.com</a>, this rate drove 80% of new graduates to move back home in 2009, an unappealing prospect for cash-strapped parents. The fact is many economists fear we are entering a “jobless recovery,” which means we are going to have to start thinking differently.</p>
<p>The reality is the old rules no longer apply. We are entering into an age of <a href="http://www.drwoody.com" type="external">career entrepreneurialism,</a> an age where careers are no longer pursued, they are created. Whether you are unemployed, underemployed, or looking to make a change, career success in the “New Economy” is going to require personal accountability and proactive planning.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The number of defined job slots available continues to dwindle, which means you’re going to have to start getting more creative and ultimately more competitive. Regardless of your circumstances, it’s going to be up to you to find a way to make it happen. In one way, shape, or form, every entrepreneur has their own personal plan and so should you.</p>
<p>Creating a YOU Plan</p>
<p>Creating a personalized business plan for your career, called a “ <a href="http://www.theyouplan.com/" type="external">You Plan</a>,” requires asking yourself serious introspective questions and making tough choices.</p>
<p>Developing your own plan starts with taking stock of who you are and the assets you have at your disposal. Once you have a handle on yourself, it’s time to think about the brand package you need to create and then develop a roadmap for taking it to market.</p>
<p>You are a VIP: Start by Looking Inward</p>
<p>To understand who you are and your assets think about three things: values, intrinsics, and passions, or VIPs. Before you can make a series push to get out there and make your next career move, you need to have a firm handle on your VIPs.</p>
<p>Your VIPs are important because they represent the essence of who you are and what you are capable of. Before you can create a brand package, you must have a firm grasp on what you bring to the table. Consider that:</p>
<p>• Your values are what drive your decision making, they are your compass</p>
<p>• Your intrinsics are what you bring to the table, they are your value proposition</p>
<p>• Your passions are what generate your energy and enthusiasm, they are what people see</p>
<p>People tend to think they have a good handle on their VIPs, but try and seriously answer three questions:</p>
<p>• What are my Values?&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;• What are my Intrinsics?&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;• What are my Passions?</p>
<p>Package Your Essence or Brand</p>
<p>If you can answer the three VIP questions, you’ve answered the larger question of what you are about. The next step is to create a brand package.</p>
<p>Personal branding is about taking the essence of who you are and packaging it in a way that makes sense to potential employers and consumers. Getting your message across will require simple yet high impact sound bites. When developing your brand message make sure you:</p>
<p>• Establish your credibility</p>
<p>• Demonstrate your value</p>
<p>• Show that you stand out</p>
<p>Draw a Roadmap</p>
<p>At the end of the day this is all academic if you don’t have a roadmap. As a job seeker back on the market, you are now in sales for you. Creating a roadmap is about setting goals, establishing metrics, and taking deliberate action. You should have a clear set of activities with daily, weekly, and monthly goals. Even simple things like the number of networking events you’ll attend or the old contacts you’ll reach out to can be a great start.</p>
<p>Creating a You Plan isn’t easy and it shouldn’t be. However, it is a critical first step in creating a successful career. Keep in mind, would an NFL coach field a team on Sunday without a game plan? Would an airline pilot take off with a plane full of passengers and no flight plan? Would a general take to the battlefield without a strategy? I think not!</p>
<p>Michael “ <a href="http://www.drwoody.com/" type="external">Dr. Woody</a>” Woodward, PhD is a CEC certified professional coach who holds a PhD in organizational psychology. Dr. Woody is founder of the consulting firm <a href="http://www.humancapitalintegrated.com/" type="external">HCI</a> and author of the new book <a href="http://www.theyouplan.com/" type="external">The YOU Plan: A 5-step Guide to Taking Charge of Your Career in the New Economy.</a></p> | Career Entrepreneurialism the New Economy | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2010/08/16/career-entrepreneurialism-new-economy.html | 2016-03-23 | 0right
| Career Entrepreneurialism the New Economy
<p>The Great Recession has fundamentally changed the employment landscape in this country.</p>
<p>According to the <a href="http://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.us.htm" type="external">Bureau of Labor Statistics</a>, the 9.5% rate of national unemployment for June is unchanged from this time a year ago.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>For adult women, unemployment is actually up from 7.6% in June 2009 to 7.8% in June of this year. Additionally, there are nearly 7 million American workers who have been out of work for longer than six months. This is substantially higher than at any point during the recession.</p>
<p>When it comes to recent graduates, the National Association of Colleges and Employers reported only 39% of graduating college seniors had job offers this year, a rate virtually unchanged from 2009.</p>
<p>According to a survey conducted by <a href="http://www.collegrad.com/press/" type="external">CollegeGrad.com</a>, this rate drove 80% of new graduates to move back home in 2009, an unappealing prospect for cash-strapped parents. The fact is many economists fear we are entering a “jobless recovery,” which means we are going to have to start thinking differently.</p>
<p>The reality is the old rules no longer apply. We are entering into an age of <a href="http://www.drwoody.com" type="external">career entrepreneurialism,</a> an age where careers are no longer pursued, they are created. Whether you are unemployed, underemployed, or looking to make a change, career success in the “New Economy” is going to require personal accountability and proactive planning.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The number of defined job slots available continues to dwindle, which means you’re going to have to start getting more creative and ultimately more competitive. Regardless of your circumstances, it’s going to be up to you to find a way to make it happen. In one way, shape, or form, every entrepreneur has their own personal plan and so should you.</p>
<p>Creating a YOU Plan</p>
<p>Creating a personalized business plan for your career, called a “ <a href="http://www.theyouplan.com/" type="external">You Plan</a>,” requires asking yourself serious introspective questions and making tough choices.</p>
<p>Developing your own plan starts with taking stock of who you are and the assets you have at your disposal. Once you have a handle on yourself, it’s time to think about the brand package you need to create and then develop a roadmap for taking it to market.</p>
<p>You are a VIP: Start by Looking Inward</p>
<p>To understand who you are and your assets think about three things: values, intrinsics, and passions, or VIPs. Before you can make a series push to get out there and make your next career move, you need to have a firm handle on your VIPs.</p>
<p>Your VIPs are important because they represent the essence of who you are and what you are capable of. Before you can create a brand package, you must have a firm grasp on what you bring to the table. Consider that:</p>
<p>• Your values are what drive your decision making, they are your compass</p>
<p>• Your intrinsics are what you bring to the table, they are your value proposition</p>
<p>• Your passions are what generate your energy and enthusiasm, they are what people see</p>
<p>People tend to think they have a good handle on their VIPs, but try and seriously answer three questions:</p>
<p>• What are my Values?&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;• What are my Intrinsics?&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;• What are my Passions?</p>
<p>Package Your Essence or Brand</p>
<p>If you can answer the three VIP questions, you’ve answered the larger question of what you are about. The next step is to create a brand package.</p>
<p>Personal branding is about taking the essence of who you are and packaging it in a way that makes sense to potential employers and consumers. Getting your message across will require simple yet high impact sound bites. When developing your brand message make sure you:</p>
<p>• Establish your credibility</p>
<p>• Demonstrate your value</p>
<p>• Show that you stand out</p>
<p>Draw a Roadmap</p>
<p>At the end of the day this is all academic if you don’t have a roadmap. As a job seeker back on the market, you are now in sales for you. Creating a roadmap is about setting goals, establishing metrics, and taking deliberate action. You should have a clear set of activities with daily, weekly, and monthly goals. Even simple things like the number of networking events you’ll attend or the old contacts you’ll reach out to can be a great start.</p>
<p>Creating a You Plan isn’t easy and it shouldn’t be. However, it is a critical first step in creating a successful career. Keep in mind, would an NFL coach field a team on Sunday without a game plan? Would an airline pilot take off with a plane full of passengers and no flight plan? Would a general take to the battlefield without a strategy? I think not!</p>
<p>Michael “ <a href="http://www.drwoody.com/" type="external">Dr. Woody</a>” Woodward, PhD is a CEC certified professional coach who holds a PhD in organizational psychology. Dr. Woody is founder of the consulting firm <a href="http://www.humancapitalintegrated.com/" type="external">HCI</a> and author of the new book <a href="http://www.theyouplan.com/" type="external">The YOU Plan: A 5-step Guide to Taking Charge of Your Career in the New Economy.</a></p> | 1,344 |
<p>Iago: He thinks men honest That do but seem to be so.</p>
<p>Othello</p>
<p>The war on Iraq won’t be remembered for how it was waged so much as for how it was sold. It was a propaganda war, a war of perception management, where loaded phrases, such as “weapons of mass destruction” and “rogue state,” were hurled like precision weapons at the target audience: us.</p>
<p>To understand the Iraq war you don’t need to consult generals, but reformed spin doctors or, even better, two of the most seasoned investigators into the dark arts of political propaganda, John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton.</p>
<p>Stauber and Rampton run PR Watch, the Madison, Wisconsin-based group that keeps tabs on the nefarious schemes of the global PR industry to sugarcoat useless, costly and dangerous products. They have also written three of the most important non-fiction books of the last decade. In 1995, they published <a href="" type="internal">Toxic Sludge is Good For You</a>, a detailed expose of how the PR industry plots and executes campaigns to greenwash corporate malfeasance. This was followed by the prescient and disturbing <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1567511112/counterpunchmaga" type="external">Mad Cow USA</a>. Last year, they produced <a href="" type="internal">Trust Us We’re Experts</a>, a grim and exacting account of the way scientists-for-hire are deployed to rationalize the risks of dangerous products and smear opponents as know-nothings and worrywarts.</p>
<p>Now comes their exquisitely timed <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1585422762/counterpunchmaga" type="external">Weapons of Mass Deception: The Uses of Propaganda in Bush’s War on Iraq</a>. Here Stauber and Rampton give us an immediate history, a real-time deconstruction of the mechanics of the Bush war machine. This lushly documented book is a chilling catalog of lies and deceptions, which shows the press contretemps over the Niger yellowcake forgeries to be but a minor distraction given the outlandish frauds pullulating daily from the White House and the Pentagon. The history Rampton and Stauber recounts is every bit as ground breaking as Chomsky and Herman’s Manufacturing Consent and War Without Mercy, John Dower’s riveting account of the vile uses of propaganda against Japan during World War II. Weapons of Mass Deceptions shreds the lies, and the motives behind them, as they were being told and describes the techniques of the cover-up as they were being spun.</p>
<p>Stauber and Rampton cut through the accumulated media fog to reveal how the war on Saddam was conceived and how the media battle plan developed and deployed. The identify the key players behind the scenes who stage-managed the countdown to war and follow their paper trails back through the murky corridors of Washington where politics, corporate spin and psy-ops spooks cohabit.</p>
<p>Most of this book was written well before the invasion of Iraq. Yet, the story it relates is only now being nibbled at by the mainstream press, which had done so much to promote the vaporous deceptions of the Bush administration. Stauber and Rampton expose the gaping holes in the Bush administration’s war brief and shine an unforgiving light on the neo-con ministers, such as Paul Wolfowitz, Douglas Feith and Richard Perle, who concocted the war in the sebaceous quadrants of the White House and the Pentagon, over the objections of the senior analysts at the CIA and State Department.</p>
<p>The two journalists also trace in comic detail the picaresque journey of Tony Blair’s plagiarized dossier on Iraq, from a grad student’s website to a cut-and-paste job in the prime minister’s bombastic speech to the House of Commons. Blair, stubborn and verbose, paid a price for his grandiose puffery. Bush, who looted whole passages from Blair’s speech for his own clumsy presentations, has skated freely through the tempest. Why?</p>
<p>Stauber and Rampton offer the best explanation to date. Unlike Blair, the Bush team never wanted to present a legal case for war. They had no interest in making any of their allegations about Iraq hold up to a standard of proof. The real effort was aimed at amping up the mood for war by using the psychology of fear.</p>
<p>Facts were never important to the Bush team. They were disposable nuggets that could be discarded at will and replaced by whatever new rationale that played favorably with their polls and focus groups. The war was about weapons of mass destruction one week, al-Qaeda the next. When neither allegation could be substantiated on the ground, the fall back position became the mass graves (many from the Iran/Iraq war supported by the US) proving that Saddam was an evil thug who deserved to be toppled. The motto of the Bush pr machine was: Move on. Don’t explain. Say anything to conceal the perfidy behind the real motives for war. Never look back. Accuse the questioners of harboring unpatriotic sensibilities. Eventually, even the cagey Wolfowitz admitted that the official case for war was made mainly to make the invasion palatable not to justify it.</p>
<p>The Bush claque of neo-con hawks viewed the Iraq war a product and, just like a new pair of Nikes, it required a roll-out campaign to soften up the consumers. Stauber and Rampton demonstrate in convincing and step-by-step detail how the same techniques (and often the same PR gurus) that have been used to hawk cigarettes, SUVs and nuclear waste dumps were deployed to retail the Iraq war.</p>
<p>To peddle the invasion, Donald Rumsfeld and Colin Powell and company recruited public relations gurus into top-level jobs at the Pentagon and the State Department. These spin meisters soon had more say over how the rationale for war on Iraq should be presented than intelligence agencies and career diplomats. If the intelligence didn’t fit the script, it was either shaded, retooled or junked.</p>
<p>Take Charlotte Beers who Powell tapped as Undersecretary of State in the post-9/11 world. Beers wasn’t a diplomat. She wasn’t even a politician. She was the grand diva of spin, known on the business and gossip pages as “the queen of Madison Avenue.” On the strength of two advertising campaigns, one for Uncle Ben’s Rice and another for Head and Shoulder’s dandruff shampoo, Beers rocketed to the top of the heap in the PR world, heading two giant PR houses Ogilvey and Mathers as well as J. Walter Thompson.</p>
<p>At the state department, Beers, who had met Powell in 1995 when they both served on the board of Gulf Airstream, worked at, in Powell’s words, “the branding of US foreign policy.” She extracted more than $500 million from congress for her Brand America campaign, which largely focused on beaming US propaganda into the Muslim world, much of it directed at teens.</p>
<p>“Public diplomacy is a vital new arm in what will combat terrorism over time,” said Beers. “All of a sudden we are in this position of redefining who America is, not only for ourselves, but for the outside world.” Note the rapt attention Beers pays to the manipulation of perception, as opposed, say, to alterations of US policy.</p>
<p>Old-fashioned diplomacy involves direct communication between representatives of nations, a conversational give and take, often fraught with deception (see April Glaspie), but an exchange none-the-less. Public diplomacy, as defined by Beers, is something else entirely. It’s a one-way street, a unilateral broadcast of American propaganda directly to the public, domestic and international-a kind of informational carpet bombing.</p>
<p>The themes of her campaigns were as simplistic and flimsy as a Bush press conference. The American incursions into Afghanistan and Iraq were all about bringing the balm of “freedom” to oppressed peoples. Hence, the title of the US war: Operation Iraqi Freedom, where cruise missiles were depicted as instruments of liberation. Bush himself distilled the Beers equation to its bizarre essence: “This war is about peace.”</p>
<p>Beers quietly resigned her post a few weeks before the first volley of tomahawk missiles battered Baghdad. From her point of view, the war itself was already won, the fireworks of shock and awe were all after play.</p>
<p>Over at the Pentagon, Donald Rumsfeld drafted Victoria “Torie” Clarke as his director of public affairs. Clarke knew the ropes inside the Beltway. Prior to becoming Rumsfeld’s mouthpiece, she had commanded one of the world’s great parlors for powerbrokers: Hill and Knowlton’s DC office.</p>
<p>Almost immediately upon taking up her new gig Clarke convened regular meetings with a select group of Washington’s top private PR specialists and lobbyists to develop a marketing plan for the Pentagon’s forthcoming terror wars. The group was filled with heavy-hitters and was strikingly bi-partisan in composition. She called it the Rumsfeld Group and it included PR executive Sheila Tate, columnist Rich Galen, and Republican political consultant Rich Galen.</p>
<p>The brain trust also boasted top Democratic fixer Tommy Boggs, brother of NPR’s Cokie Roberts and son of the late Congressman Hale Boggs of Arkansas. At the very time Boggs was conferring with top Pentagon brass on how to frame the war on terror, he was also working feverishly for the royal family of Saudi Arabia. In 2002 alone, the Saudis paid his Qorvis PR firm $20.2 million to protect its interests in Washington. In the wake of hostile press coverage following the exposure of Saudi links to the 9/11 hijackers, the royal family needed all the well-placed help it could buy. The seem to have gotten their money’s worth. Boggs’ felicitous influence peddling may help to explain why the damning references to Saudi funding of al-Qaeda were redacted from the recent congressional report on the investigation into intelligence failures and 9/11.</p>
<p>According to the trade publication PR Week, the Rumsfeld Group sent “messaging advice” to the Pentagon. The group told Clarke and Rumsfeld that in order to get the American public to buy into the war on terrorism they needed to suggest a link to nation states, not just nebulous groups such as al-Qaeda. In other words, there needed to be a fixed target for the military campaigns, some distant place to drop cruise missiles and cluster bombs. They suggested the notion (already embedded in Rumsfeld’s mind) of playing up the notion of so-called rogue states as the real masters of terrorism. Thus was born the Axis of Evil, which, of course, wasn’t an “axis” at all, since two of the states, Iran and Iraq hated each other, and neither had anything at all to do with the third, North Korea.</p>
<p>Tens of millions in federal money were poured into private public relations and media firms working to craft and broadcast the Bush dictat that Saddam had to be taken out before the Iraqi dictator blew up the world by dropping chemical and nuclear bombs from long-range drones. Many of these pr executives and image consultants were old friends of the high priests in the Bush inner sanctum. Indeed they were veterans, like Cheney and Powell, of the previous war against Iraq, another engagement that was more spin that combat.</p>
<p>At the top of the list was John Rendon, head of the DC firm the Rendon Group. Rendon is one of Washington’s heaviest hitters, a Beltway fixer who never let political affiliation stand in the way of an assignment. Rendon served as a media consultant for both Michael Dukakis and Jimmy Carter, as well as Reagan and George H.W. Bush. Whenever the Pentagon wanted to go to war, he offered his services at a price. During Desert Storm Rendon pulled in $100,000 a month from the Kuwaiti royal family. He followed this up with a $23 million contract from the CIA to produce anti-Saddam propaganda in the region.</p>
<p>As part of this CIA project, Rendon created and named the Iraqi National Congress and tapped his friend Ahmed Chalabi, the shady financier, to head the organization.</p>
<p>Shortly after 9/11, the Pentagon handed the Rendon Group another big assignment: public relations for the US bombing of Afghanistan. Rendon was also deeply involved in the planning and public relations for the pre-emptive war on Iraq, though both Rendon and the Pentagon refuse to disclose the details of the group’s work there.</p>
<p>But it’s not hard to detect the manipulative hand of Rendon behind many of the Iraq war’s signature events, including the toppling of the Saddam statue (by US troops and Chalabi associates) and videotape of jubilant Iraqis waving American flags as the Third Infantry rolled by them. Rendon had pulled off the same stunt in the first Gulf War, handing out American flags to Kuwaitis and herding the media to the orchestrated demonstration. “Where do you think they got those American flags?” clucked Rendon in 1991. “That was my assignment.”</p>
<p>The Rendon Group may also have had played a role in pushing the phony intelligence that has now come back to haunt the Bush administration. In December of 2002, Robert Dreyfuss reported that the inner circle of the Bush White House preferred the intelligence coming from Chalabi and his associated to that being proffered by analysts at the CIA.</p>
<p>So Rendon and his circle represented a new kind of off-the-shelf psy-ops, the privatization of official propaganda. “I am not a national security strategist or a military tactician,” said Rendon. “I am a politician, and a person who uses communication to meet public policy or corporate policy objectives. In fact, I am an information warrior and a perception manager.”</p>
<p>What exactly, pray tell, is perception management? Well, the Pentagon defines it this way: “actions to convey and/or deny selected information and indicators to foreign audiences to influence their emotions, motives and objective reasoning.”</p>
<p>In other words, lying about the intentions of the US government. In a rare display of public frankness, the Pentagon actually let slip its plan (developed by Rendon) to establish a high-level den inside the Department Defense for perception management. They called it the Office of Strategic Influence and among its many missions was to plant false stories in the press.</p>
<p>Nothing stirs the corporate media into outbursts of pious outrage like an official government memo bragging about how the media is manipulated for political objectives. So the New York Times and Washington Post threw indignant fits about the Office of Strategic Influence, the Pentagon shut down the operation and the press gloated with satisfaction on its victory. Yet, Rumsfeld told the Pentagon press corps that will he was killing the office, the same devious work would continue. “You can have the corpse,” said Rumsfeld. “You can have the name. But I’m going to keep doing every single thing that needs to be done. And I have.”</p>
<p>At a diplomatic level, despite the hired guns and the planted stories, this image war was lost. It failed to convince even America’s most fervent allies and dependent client states that Iraq posed much of a threat. It failed to win the blessing of the UN and even NATO, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Washington. At the end of the day, the vaunted coalition of the willing consisted of Britain, Spain, Italy, Australia, and a cohort of former Soviet bloc nations. Even so the citizens of the nations that cast their lot with the US overwhelmingly opposed the war.</p>
<p>Domestically, it was a different story. A population traumatized by terror threats and shattered economy became easy prey for the saturation bombing of the Bush message that Iraq was a terrorist state linked to al-Qaeda that was only minutes away from launching attacks on America with weapons of mass destruction.</p>
<p>Americans were the victims of an elaborate con job, pelted with a daily barrage of threat inflation, distortions, deceptions and lies. Not about tactics or strategy or war plans. But about justifications for war. The lies were aimed not at confusing Saddam’s regime, but the American people. By the start of the war, 66 percent of Americans thought Saddam Hussein was behind 9/11 and 79 percent thought he was close to having a nuclear weapon.</p>
<p>Of course, the closest Saddam came to possessing a nuke was a rusting gas centrifuge buried for 13 years in the garden of Mahdi Obeidi, a retired Iraqi scientist. Iraq didn’t have any weaponized chemical or biological weapons. In fact, it didn’t even possess any SCUD missiles, despite erroneous reports fed by Pentagon pr flacks alleging that it had fired SCUDs into Kuwait.</p>
<p>This charade wouldn’t have worked without a gullible or a complicit press corps. Victoria Clarke, who developed the Pentagon plan for embedded reports, put it succinctly a few weeks before the war began: “Media coverage of any future operation will to a large extent shape public perception.”</p>
<p>During the Vietnam war, tv images of maimed GIs and napalmed villages suburbanized opposition to the war and helped hasten the US withdrawal. The Bush gang meant to turn the Vietnam phenomenon on its head by using tv as a force to propel the US into a war that no one really wanted.</p>
<p>What the Pentagon sought was a new kind of living room war, where instead of photos of mangled soldiers and dead Iraqi kids, they could control the images Americans viewed and to a large extent the content of the stories. By embedding reporters inside selected divisions, Clarke believed the Pentagon could count on the reporters to build relationships with the troops and to feel dependent on them for their own safety. It worked, naturally. One reporter for a national network trembled on camera that the US army functioned as “our protectors.” The late David Bloom of NBC confessed on the air that he was willing to do “anything and everything they can ask of us.”</p>
<p>When the Pentagon needed a heroic story, the press obliged. Jessica Lynch became the war’s first instant celebrity. Here was a neo-gothic tale of a steely young woman wounded in a fierce battled, captured and tortured by ruthless enemies and dramatically saved from certain death by a team of self-less rescuers, knights in camo and nightvision goggles. Of course, nearly every detail of her heroic adventure proved to be as fictive and maudlin as any made-for-tv-movie. But the ordeal of Private Lynch, which dominated the news for more than a week, served its purpose: to distract attention from a stalled campaign that was beginning to look at lot riskier than the American public had been hoodwinked into believing.</p>
<p>The Lynch story was fed to the eager press by a Pentagon operation called Combat Camera, the Army network of photographers, videographers and editors that sends 800 photos and 25 video clips a day to the media. The editors at Combat Camera carefully culled the footage to present the Pentagon’s montage of the war, eliding such unsettling images as collateral damage, cluster bombs, dead children and US soldiers, napalm strikes and disgruntled troops.</p>
<p>“A lot of our imagery will have a big impact on world opinion,” predicted Lt. Jane Larogue, director of Combat Camera in Iraq. She was right. But as the hot war turned into an even hotter occupation, the Pentagon, despite airy rhetoric from occupation supremo Paul Bremer about about installing democratic institutions such as a free press, moved to tighten its monopoly on the flow images out of Iraq. First, it tried to shut down Al Jazeera, the Arab news channel. Then the Pentagon intimated that it would like to see all foreign tv news crews banished from Baghdad.</p>
<p>Few newspapers fanned the hysteria about the threat posed by Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction as sedulously as did the Washington Post. In the months leading up to the war, the Post’s pro-war op-eds outnumbered the anti-war columns by a 3 to 1 margin.</p>
<p>Back in 1988, the Post felt much differently about Saddam and his weapons of mass destruction. When reports trickled out about the gassing of Iranian troops, the Washington Post editorial page shrugged off the massacres, calling the mass poisonings “a quirk of war.”</p>
<p>The Bush team displayed a similar amnesia. When Iraq used chemical weapons in grisly attacks on Iran, the US government not only didn’t object, it encouraged Saddam. Anything to punish Iran was the message coming from the White House. Donald Rumsfeld himself was sent as President Ronald Reagan’s personal envoy to Baghdad. Rumsfeld conveyed the bold message than an Iraq defeat would be viewed as a “strategic setback for the United States.” This sleazy alliance was sealed with a handshake caught on videotape. When CNN reporter Jamie McIntyre replayed the footage for Rumsfeld in the spring of 2003, the secretary of defense snapped, “Where’d you get that? Iraqi television?”</p>
<p>The current crop of Iraq hawks also saw Saddam much differently then. Take the writer Laura Mylroie, sometime colleague of the New York Times’ Judy Miller, who persists in peddling the ludicrous conspiracy that Iraq was behind the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.</p>
<p>How times have changed. In 1987, Mylroie felt downright cuddly toward Saddam. She penned an article for the New Republic titled Back Iraq: Time for a US Tilt in the Mideast, arguing that the US should publicly embrace Saddam’s secular regime as a bulwark against the Islamic fundamentalists in Iran. The co-author of this mesmerizing weave of wonkery was none other than the minor demon himself, Daniel Pipes, perhaps the nation’s most bellicose Islamophobe. “The American weapons that Iraq could make good use of include remotely scatterable and anti-personnel mines and counterartillery radar,” wrote Mylroie and Pipes. “The United States might also consider upgrading intelligence it is supplying Baghdad.”</p>
<p>In the roll-out for the war, Mylroie seemed to be everywhere hawking the invasion of Iraq. She would often appear on two or three different networks in the same day. How did the reporter manage this feat? She had help in the form of Eleana Benador, the media placement guru who runs Benador Associates. Born in Peru, Benador parlayed her skills as a linguist into a lucrative career as media relations whiz for the Washington foreign policy elite. She also oversees the Middle East Forum, a fanatically pro-Zionist white paper mill. Her clients include some of the nation’s most fervid hawks, including Michael Ledeen, Charles Krauthammer, Al Haig, Max Boot, Daniel Pipes, Richard Perle and Judy Miller. During the Iraq war, Benador’s assignment was to embed this squadron of pro-war zealots into the national media, on talk shows and op-ed pages.</p>
<p>Benador not only got them the gigs, she also crafted the message and made sure they all stayed on the same theme. “There are some things, you just have to state them in a different way, in a slightly different way,” said Benador. “If not people get scared.” Scared of intentions of their own government.</p>
<p>It could have been different. All of the holes in the Bush administration’s gossamer case for war detailed by Stauber and Rampton (and other independent journalists) were right there for the mainstream press to unearth and expose. Instead, the US press, just like the oil companies, cravenly sought to commercialize the Iraq war and profit from the invasions. They didn’t want to deal with uncomfortable facts or present voices of dissent.</p>
<p>Nothing sums up this unctuous approach more brazenly than MSNBC’s firing of liberal talk show host Phil Donahue on the eve of the war. The network replaced the Donahue show with a running segment called Countdown: Iraq, featuring the usual nightly coterie of retired generals, security flacks and other cheerleaders for invasion. The network’s executives blamed the cancellation on sagging ratings. In fact, during its run Donahue’s show attracted more viewers than any other program on the network. The real reason for the pre-emptive strike on Donahue was spelled out in an internal memo from anxious executives at NBC. Donahue, the memo said, offered “a difficult face for NBC in a time of war. He seems to delight in presenting guests who are anti-war, anti-Bush and skeptical of the administration’s motives.”</p>
<p>The memo warned that Donahue’s show risked tarring MSNBC as an unpatriotic network, “a home for liberal anti-war agenda at the same time that our competitors are waving the flag at every opportunity.” So, with scarcely a second thought, the honchos at MSNBC gave Donahue the boot and hoisted the battle flag.</p>
<p>It’s war that sells.</p>
<p>There’s a helluva caveat, of course. Once you buy it, the merchants of war accept no returns.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | War Pimps | true | https://counterpunch.org/2003/08/14/war-pimps/ | 2003-08-14 | 4left
| War Pimps
<p>Iago: He thinks men honest That do but seem to be so.</p>
<p>Othello</p>
<p>The war on Iraq won’t be remembered for how it was waged so much as for how it was sold. It was a propaganda war, a war of perception management, where loaded phrases, such as “weapons of mass destruction” and “rogue state,” were hurled like precision weapons at the target audience: us.</p>
<p>To understand the Iraq war you don’t need to consult generals, but reformed spin doctors or, even better, two of the most seasoned investigators into the dark arts of political propaganda, John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton.</p>
<p>Stauber and Rampton run PR Watch, the Madison, Wisconsin-based group that keeps tabs on the nefarious schemes of the global PR industry to sugarcoat useless, costly and dangerous products. They have also written three of the most important non-fiction books of the last decade. In 1995, they published <a href="" type="internal">Toxic Sludge is Good For You</a>, a detailed expose of how the PR industry plots and executes campaigns to greenwash corporate malfeasance. This was followed by the prescient and disturbing <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1567511112/counterpunchmaga" type="external">Mad Cow USA</a>. Last year, they produced <a href="" type="internal">Trust Us We’re Experts</a>, a grim and exacting account of the way scientists-for-hire are deployed to rationalize the risks of dangerous products and smear opponents as know-nothings and worrywarts.</p>
<p>Now comes their exquisitely timed <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1585422762/counterpunchmaga" type="external">Weapons of Mass Deception: The Uses of Propaganda in Bush’s War on Iraq</a>. Here Stauber and Rampton give us an immediate history, a real-time deconstruction of the mechanics of the Bush war machine. This lushly documented book is a chilling catalog of lies and deceptions, which shows the press contretemps over the Niger yellowcake forgeries to be but a minor distraction given the outlandish frauds pullulating daily from the White House and the Pentagon. The history Rampton and Stauber recounts is every bit as ground breaking as Chomsky and Herman’s Manufacturing Consent and War Without Mercy, John Dower’s riveting account of the vile uses of propaganda against Japan during World War II. Weapons of Mass Deceptions shreds the lies, and the motives behind them, as they were being told and describes the techniques of the cover-up as they were being spun.</p>
<p>Stauber and Rampton cut through the accumulated media fog to reveal how the war on Saddam was conceived and how the media battle plan developed and deployed. The identify the key players behind the scenes who stage-managed the countdown to war and follow their paper trails back through the murky corridors of Washington where politics, corporate spin and psy-ops spooks cohabit.</p>
<p>Most of this book was written well before the invasion of Iraq. Yet, the story it relates is only now being nibbled at by the mainstream press, which had done so much to promote the vaporous deceptions of the Bush administration. Stauber and Rampton expose the gaping holes in the Bush administration’s war brief and shine an unforgiving light on the neo-con ministers, such as Paul Wolfowitz, Douglas Feith and Richard Perle, who concocted the war in the sebaceous quadrants of the White House and the Pentagon, over the objections of the senior analysts at the CIA and State Department.</p>
<p>The two journalists also trace in comic detail the picaresque journey of Tony Blair’s plagiarized dossier on Iraq, from a grad student’s website to a cut-and-paste job in the prime minister’s bombastic speech to the House of Commons. Blair, stubborn and verbose, paid a price for his grandiose puffery. Bush, who looted whole passages from Blair’s speech for his own clumsy presentations, has skated freely through the tempest. Why?</p>
<p>Stauber and Rampton offer the best explanation to date. Unlike Blair, the Bush team never wanted to present a legal case for war. They had no interest in making any of their allegations about Iraq hold up to a standard of proof. The real effort was aimed at amping up the mood for war by using the psychology of fear.</p>
<p>Facts were never important to the Bush team. They were disposable nuggets that could be discarded at will and replaced by whatever new rationale that played favorably with their polls and focus groups. The war was about weapons of mass destruction one week, al-Qaeda the next. When neither allegation could be substantiated on the ground, the fall back position became the mass graves (many from the Iran/Iraq war supported by the US) proving that Saddam was an evil thug who deserved to be toppled. The motto of the Bush pr machine was: Move on. Don’t explain. Say anything to conceal the perfidy behind the real motives for war. Never look back. Accuse the questioners of harboring unpatriotic sensibilities. Eventually, even the cagey Wolfowitz admitted that the official case for war was made mainly to make the invasion palatable not to justify it.</p>
<p>The Bush claque of neo-con hawks viewed the Iraq war a product and, just like a new pair of Nikes, it required a roll-out campaign to soften up the consumers. Stauber and Rampton demonstrate in convincing and step-by-step detail how the same techniques (and often the same PR gurus) that have been used to hawk cigarettes, SUVs and nuclear waste dumps were deployed to retail the Iraq war.</p>
<p>To peddle the invasion, Donald Rumsfeld and Colin Powell and company recruited public relations gurus into top-level jobs at the Pentagon and the State Department. These spin meisters soon had more say over how the rationale for war on Iraq should be presented than intelligence agencies and career diplomats. If the intelligence didn’t fit the script, it was either shaded, retooled or junked.</p>
<p>Take Charlotte Beers who Powell tapped as Undersecretary of State in the post-9/11 world. Beers wasn’t a diplomat. She wasn’t even a politician. She was the grand diva of spin, known on the business and gossip pages as “the queen of Madison Avenue.” On the strength of two advertising campaigns, one for Uncle Ben’s Rice and another for Head and Shoulder’s dandruff shampoo, Beers rocketed to the top of the heap in the PR world, heading two giant PR houses Ogilvey and Mathers as well as J. Walter Thompson.</p>
<p>At the state department, Beers, who had met Powell in 1995 when they both served on the board of Gulf Airstream, worked at, in Powell’s words, “the branding of US foreign policy.” She extracted more than $500 million from congress for her Brand America campaign, which largely focused on beaming US propaganda into the Muslim world, much of it directed at teens.</p>
<p>“Public diplomacy is a vital new arm in what will combat terrorism over time,” said Beers. “All of a sudden we are in this position of redefining who America is, not only for ourselves, but for the outside world.” Note the rapt attention Beers pays to the manipulation of perception, as opposed, say, to alterations of US policy.</p>
<p>Old-fashioned diplomacy involves direct communication between representatives of nations, a conversational give and take, often fraught with deception (see April Glaspie), but an exchange none-the-less. Public diplomacy, as defined by Beers, is something else entirely. It’s a one-way street, a unilateral broadcast of American propaganda directly to the public, domestic and international-a kind of informational carpet bombing.</p>
<p>The themes of her campaigns were as simplistic and flimsy as a Bush press conference. The American incursions into Afghanistan and Iraq were all about bringing the balm of “freedom” to oppressed peoples. Hence, the title of the US war: Operation Iraqi Freedom, where cruise missiles were depicted as instruments of liberation. Bush himself distilled the Beers equation to its bizarre essence: “This war is about peace.”</p>
<p>Beers quietly resigned her post a few weeks before the first volley of tomahawk missiles battered Baghdad. From her point of view, the war itself was already won, the fireworks of shock and awe were all after play.</p>
<p>Over at the Pentagon, Donald Rumsfeld drafted Victoria “Torie” Clarke as his director of public affairs. Clarke knew the ropes inside the Beltway. Prior to becoming Rumsfeld’s mouthpiece, she had commanded one of the world’s great parlors for powerbrokers: Hill and Knowlton’s DC office.</p>
<p>Almost immediately upon taking up her new gig Clarke convened regular meetings with a select group of Washington’s top private PR specialists and lobbyists to develop a marketing plan for the Pentagon’s forthcoming terror wars. The group was filled with heavy-hitters and was strikingly bi-partisan in composition. She called it the Rumsfeld Group and it included PR executive Sheila Tate, columnist Rich Galen, and Republican political consultant Rich Galen.</p>
<p>The brain trust also boasted top Democratic fixer Tommy Boggs, brother of NPR’s Cokie Roberts and son of the late Congressman Hale Boggs of Arkansas. At the very time Boggs was conferring with top Pentagon brass on how to frame the war on terror, he was also working feverishly for the royal family of Saudi Arabia. In 2002 alone, the Saudis paid his Qorvis PR firm $20.2 million to protect its interests in Washington. In the wake of hostile press coverage following the exposure of Saudi links to the 9/11 hijackers, the royal family needed all the well-placed help it could buy. The seem to have gotten their money’s worth. Boggs’ felicitous influence peddling may help to explain why the damning references to Saudi funding of al-Qaeda were redacted from the recent congressional report on the investigation into intelligence failures and 9/11.</p>
<p>According to the trade publication PR Week, the Rumsfeld Group sent “messaging advice” to the Pentagon. The group told Clarke and Rumsfeld that in order to get the American public to buy into the war on terrorism they needed to suggest a link to nation states, not just nebulous groups such as al-Qaeda. In other words, there needed to be a fixed target for the military campaigns, some distant place to drop cruise missiles and cluster bombs. They suggested the notion (already embedded in Rumsfeld’s mind) of playing up the notion of so-called rogue states as the real masters of terrorism. Thus was born the Axis of Evil, which, of course, wasn’t an “axis” at all, since two of the states, Iran and Iraq hated each other, and neither had anything at all to do with the third, North Korea.</p>
<p>Tens of millions in federal money were poured into private public relations and media firms working to craft and broadcast the Bush dictat that Saddam had to be taken out before the Iraqi dictator blew up the world by dropping chemical and nuclear bombs from long-range drones. Many of these pr executives and image consultants were old friends of the high priests in the Bush inner sanctum. Indeed they were veterans, like Cheney and Powell, of the previous war against Iraq, another engagement that was more spin that combat.</p>
<p>At the top of the list was John Rendon, head of the DC firm the Rendon Group. Rendon is one of Washington’s heaviest hitters, a Beltway fixer who never let political affiliation stand in the way of an assignment. Rendon served as a media consultant for both Michael Dukakis and Jimmy Carter, as well as Reagan and George H.W. Bush. Whenever the Pentagon wanted to go to war, he offered his services at a price. During Desert Storm Rendon pulled in $100,000 a month from the Kuwaiti royal family. He followed this up with a $23 million contract from the CIA to produce anti-Saddam propaganda in the region.</p>
<p>As part of this CIA project, Rendon created and named the Iraqi National Congress and tapped his friend Ahmed Chalabi, the shady financier, to head the organization.</p>
<p>Shortly after 9/11, the Pentagon handed the Rendon Group another big assignment: public relations for the US bombing of Afghanistan. Rendon was also deeply involved in the planning and public relations for the pre-emptive war on Iraq, though both Rendon and the Pentagon refuse to disclose the details of the group’s work there.</p>
<p>But it’s not hard to detect the manipulative hand of Rendon behind many of the Iraq war’s signature events, including the toppling of the Saddam statue (by US troops and Chalabi associates) and videotape of jubilant Iraqis waving American flags as the Third Infantry rolled by them. Rendon had pulled off the same stunt in the first Gulf War, handing out American flags to Kuwaitis and herding the media to the orchestrated demonstration. “Where do you think they got those American flags?” clucked Rendon in 1991. “That was my assignment.”</p>
<p>The Rendon Group may also have had played a role in pushing the phony intelligence that has now come back to haunt the Bush administration. In December of 2002, Robert Dreyfuss reported that the inner circle of the Bush White House preferred the intelligence coming from Chalabi and his associated to that being proffered by analysts at the CIA.</p>
<p>So Rendon and his circle represented a new kind of off-the-shelf psy-ops, the privatization of official propaganda. “I am not a national security strategist or a military tactician,” said Rendon. “I am a politician, and a person who uses communication to meet public policy or corporate policy objectives. In fact, I am an information warrior and a perception manager.”</p>
<p>What exactly, pray tell, is perception management? Well, the Pentagon defines it this way: “actions to convey and/or deny selected information and indicators to foreign audiences to influence their emotions, motives and objective reasoning.”</p>
<p>In other words, lying about the intentions of the US government. In a rare display of public frankness, the Pentagon actually let slip its plan (developed by Rendon) to establish a high-level den inside the Department Defense for perception management. They called it the Office of Strategic Influence and among its many missions was to plant false stories in the press.</p>
<p>Nothing stirs the corporate media into outbursts of pious outrage like an official government memo bragging about how the media is manipulated for political objectives. So the New York Times and Washington Post threw indignant fits about the Office of Strategic Influence, the Pentagon shut down the operation and the press gloated with satisfaction on its victory. Yet, Rumsfeld told the Pentagon press corps that will he was killing the office, the same devious work would continue. “You can have the corpse,” said Rumsfeld. “You can have the name. But I’m going to keep doing every single thing that needs to be done. And I have.”</p>
<p>At a diplomatic level, despite the hired guns and the planted stories, this image war was lost. It failed to convince even America’s most fervent allies and dependent client states that Iraq posed much of a threat. It failed to win the blessing of the UN and even NATO, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Washington. At the end of the day, the vaunted coalition of the willing consisted of Britain, Spain, Italy, Australia, and a cohort of former Soviet bloc nations. Even so the citizens of the nations that cast their lot with the US overwhelmingly opposed the war.</p>
<p>Domestically, it was a different story. A population traumatized by terror threats and shattered economy became easy prey for the saturation bombing of the Bush message that Iraq was a terrorist state linked to al-Qaeda that was only minutes away from launching attacks on America with weapons of mass destruction.</p>
<p>Americans were the victims of an elaborate con job, pelted with a daily barrage of threat inflation, distortions, deceptions and lies. Not about tactics or strategy or war plans. But about justifications for war. The lies were aimed not at confusing Saddam’s regime, but the American people. By the start of the war, 66 percent of Americans thought Saddam Hussein was behind 9/11 and 79 percent thought he was close to having a nuclear weapon.</p>
<p>Of course, the closest Saddam came to possessing a nuke was a rusting gas centrifuge buried for 13 years in the garden of Mahdi Obeidi, a retired Iraqi scientist. Iraq didn’t have any weaponized chemical or biological weapons. In fact, it didn’t even possess any SCUD missiles, despite erroneous reports fed by Pentagon pr flacks alleging that it had fired SCUDs into Kuwait.</p>
<p>This charade wouldn’t have worked without a gullible or a complicit press corps. Victoria Clarke, who developed the Pentagon plan for embedded reports, put it succinctly a few weeks before the war began: “Media coverage of any future operation will to a large extent shape public perception.”</p>
<p>During the Vietnam war, tv images of maimed GIs and napalmed villages suburbanized opposition to the war and helped hasten the US withdrawal. The Bush gang meant to turn the Vietnam phenomenon on its head by using tv as a force to propel the US into a war that no one really wanted.</p>
<p>What the Pentagon sought was a new kind of living room war, where instead of photos of mangled soldiers and dead Iraqi kids, they could control the images Americans viewed and to a large extent the content of the stories. By embedding reporters inside selected divisions, Clarke believed the Pentagon could count on the reporters to build relationships with the troops and to feel dependent on them for their own safety. It worked, naturally. One reporter for a national network trembled on camera that the US army functioned as “our protectors.” The late David Bloom of NBC confessed on the air that he was willing to do “anything and everything they can ask of us.”</p>
<p>When the Pentagon needed a heroic story, the press obliged. Jessica Lynch became the war’s first instant celebrity. Here was a neo-gothic tale of a steely young woman wounded in a fierce battled, captured and tortured by ruthless enemies and dramatically saved from certain death by a team of self-less rescuers, knights in camo and nightvision goggles. Of course, nearly every detail of her heroic adventure proved to be as fictive and maudlin as any made-for-tv-movie. But the ordeal of Private Lynch, which dominated the news for more than a week, served its purpose: to distract attention from a stalled campaign that was beginning to look at lot riskier than the American public had been hoodwinked into believing.</p>
<p>The Lynch story was fed to the eager press by a Pentagon operation called Combat Camera, the Army network of photographers, videographers and editors that sends 800 photos and 25 video clips a day to the media. The editors at Combat Camera carefully culled the footage to present the Pentagon’s montage of the war, eliding such unsettling images as collateral damage, cluster bombs, dead children and US soldiers, napalm strikes and disgruntled troops.</p>
<p>“A lot of our imagery will have a big impact on world opinion,” predicted Lt. Jane Larogue, director of Combat Camera in Iraq. She was right. But as the hot war turned into an even hotter occupation, the Pentagon, despite airy rhetoric from occupation supremo Paul Bremer about about installing democratic institutions such as a free press, moved to tighten its monopoly on the flow images out of Iraq. First, it tried to shut down Al Jazeera, the Arab news channel. Then the Pentagon intimated that it would like to see all foreign tv news crews banished from Baghdad.</p>
<p>Few newspapers fanned the hysteria about the threat posed by Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction as sedulously as did the Washington Post. In the months leading up to the war, the Post’s pro-war op-eds outnumbered the anti-war columns by a 3 to 1 margin.</p>
<p>Back in 1988, the Post felt much differently about Saddam and his weapons of mass destruction. When reports trickled out about the gassing of Iranian troops, the Washington Post editorial page shrugged off the massacres, calling the mass poisonings “a quirk of war.”</p>
<p>The Bush team displayed a similar amnesia. When Iraq used chemical weapons in grisly attacks on Iran, the US government not only didn’t object, it encouraged Saddam. Anything to punish Iran was the message coming from the White House. Donald Rumsfeld himself was sent as President Ronald Reagan’s personal envoy to Baghdad. Rumsfeld conveyed the bold message than an Iraq defeat would be viewed as a “strategic setback for the United States.” This sleazy alliance was sealed with a handshake caught on videotape. When CNN reporter Jamie McIntyre replayed the footage for Rumsfeld in the spring of 2003, the secretary of defense snapped, “Where’d you get that? Iraqi television?”</p>
<p>The current crop of Iraq hawks also saw Saddam much differently then. Take the writer Laura Mylroie, sometime colleague of the New York Times’ Judy Miller, who persists in peddling the ludicrous conspiracy that Iraq was behind the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.</p>
<p>How times have changed. In 1987, Mylroie felt downright cuddly toward Saddam. She penned an article for the New Republic titled Back Iraq: Time for a US Tilt in the Mideast, arguing that the US should publicly embrace Saddam’s secular regime as a bulwark against the Islamic fundamentalists in Iran. The co-author of this mesmerizing weave of wonkery was none other than the minor demon himself, Daniel Pipes, perhaps the nation’s most bellicose Islamophobe. “The American weapons that Iraq could make good use of include remotely scatterable and anti-personnel mines and counterartillery radar,” wrote Mylroie and Pipes. “The United States might also consider upgrading intelligence it is supplying Baghdad.”</p>
<p>In the roll-out for the war, Mylroie seemed to be everywhere hawking the invasion of Iraq. She would often appear on two or three different networks in the same day. How did the reporter manage this feat? She had help in the form of Eleana Benador, the media placement guru who runs Benador Associates. Born in Peru, Benador parlayed her skills as a linguist into a lucrative career as media relations whiz for the Washington foreign policy elite. She also oversees the Middle East Forum, a fanatically pro-Zionist white paper mill. Her clients include some of the nation’s most fervid hawks, including Michael Ledeen, Charles Krauthammer, Al Haig, Max Boot, Daniel Pipes, Richard Perle and Judy Miller. During the Iraq war, Benador’s assignment was to embed this squadron of pro-war zealots into the national media, on talk shows and op-ed pages.</p>
<p>Benador not only got them the gigs, she also crafted the message and made sure they all stayed on the same theme. “There are some things, you just have to state them in a different way, in a slightly different way,” said Benador. “If not people get scared.” Scared of intentions of their own government.</p>
<p>It could have been different. All of the holes in the Bush administration’s gossamer case for war detailed by Stauber and Rampton (and other independent journalists) were right there for the mainstream press to unearth and expose. Instead, the US press, just like the oil companies, cravenly sought to commercialize the Iraq war and profit from the invasions. They didn’t want to deal with uncomfortable facts or present voices of dissent.</p>
<p>Nothing sums up this unctuous approach more brazenly than MSNBC’s firing of liberal talk show host Phil Donahue on the eve of the war. The network replaced the Donahue show with a running segment called Countdown: Iraq, featuring the usual nightly coterie of retired generals, security flacks and other cheerleaders for invasion. The network’s executives blamed the cancellation on sagging ratings. In fact, during its run Donahue’s show attracted more viewers than any other program on the network. The real reason for the pre-emptive strike on Donahue was spelled out in an internal memo from anxious executives at NBC. Donahue, the memo said, offered “a difficult face for NBC in a time of war. He seems to delight in presenting guests who are anti-war, anti-Bush and skeptical of the administration’s motives.”</p>
<p>The memo warned that Donahue’s show risked tarring MSNBC as an unpatriotic network, “a home for liberal anti-war agenda at the same time that our competitors are waving the flag at every opportunity.” So, with scarcely a second thought, the honchos at MSNBC gave Donahue the boot and hoisted the battle flag.</p>
<p>It’s war that sells.</p>
<p>There’s a helluva caveat, of course. Once you buy it, the merchants of war accept no returns.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 1,345 |
<p><a href="" type="internal">21st Century Wire</a> says…</p>
<p>Our weekly documentary film curated by the editorial team at 21WIRE.</p>
<p>This month, the story of Myanmar’s (Burma) ethnic minority <a href="" type="internal">Rohingya refugee crisis</a> is dominating news headlines. To better understand the current crisis, it’s important to examine the history of political upheavals in the country. We’ve found this film which details some aspects of the country’s recent power struggles, including mass civil unrest and violent military junta from the 1960s to 1990s.</p>
<p>“A prison without bars, over a million Burmese citizens have been forced out of their homes and thousands upon thousands have been massacred &amp; tortured, as well as subjected to slavery. In Inside Burma: Land Of Fear (1996), John Pilger goes undercover to expose the treacherous slavery that thrives in modern day Burma.” Watch:</p>
<p>. Run time: 50 min Narrated &amp; Directed by: John Pilger Distributor: ITV (1996)</p>
<p>SEE MORE SUNDAY SCREENINGS <a href="" type="internal">HERE</a></p>
<p>SUPPORT OUR&#160;WORK BY SUBSCRIBING &amp; BECOMING A MEMBER&#160; <a href="https://21wire.tv/membership/plans/" type="external">@21WIRE.TV</a></p> | SUNDAY SCREENING: Inside Burma: Land Of Fear (1996) | true | http://21stcenturywire.com/2017/09/17/sunday-screening-inside-burma-land-fear-1996/ | 2017-09-17 | 4left
| SUNDAY SCREENING: Inside Burma: Land Of Fear (1996)
<p><a href="" type="internal">21st Century Wire</a> says…</p>
<p>Our weekly documentary film curated by the editorial team at 21WIRE.</p>
<p>This month, the story of Myanmar’s (Burma) ethnic minority <a href="" type="internal">Rohingya refugee crisis</a> is dominating news headlines. To better understand the current crisis, it’s important to examine the history of political upheavals in the country. We’ve found this film which details some aspects of the country’s recent power struggles, including mass civil unrest and violent military junta from the 1960s to 1990s.</p>
<p>“A prison without bars, over a million Burmese citizens have been forced out of their homes and thousands upon thousands have been massacred &amp; tortured, as well as subjected to slavery. In Inside Burma: Land Of Fear (1996), John Pilger goes undercover to expose the treacherous slavery that thrives in modern day Burma.” Watch:</p>
<p>. Run time: 50 min Narrated &amp; Directed by: John Pilger Distributor: ITV (1996)</p>
<p>SEE MORE SUNDAY SCREENINGS <a href="" type="internal">HERE</a></p>
<p>SUPPORT OUR&#160;WORK BY SUBSCRIBING &amp; BECOMING A MEMBER&#160; <a href="https://21wire.tv/membership/plans/" type="external">@21WIRE.TV</a></p> | 1,346 |
<p />
<p>The Obama/Hillary Counter-terrorism policies are a ticking time bomb for the United States. Included in this is their immigration and refugee vetting policies. Cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2016.</p>
<p>More A.F. Branco Cartoons at <a href="http://netrightdaily.com/category/cartoons/branco-toons/" type="external">Net Right Daily</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://patriotdepot.com/comically-incorrect-a-collection-of-politically-incorrect-comics-volume-1/" type="external">A.F.Branco Coffee Table Book</a> &lt;—- Order Here!</p>
<p><a href="http://paypal.me/AntonioBranco" type="external">Donations/Tips accepted and appreciated</a>&#160;– &#160;$1.00 – $5.00 – $10 – $100 – &#160;it all helps to fund this website and keep the cartoons coming. –&#160;THANK YOU!</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Ready to Blow | true | http://comicallyincorrect.com/2016/09/20/hillary-counter-terrorism/ | 2016-09-20 | 0right
| Ready to Blow
<p />
<p>The Obama/Hillary Counter-terrorism policies are a ticking time bomb for the United States. Included in this is their immigration and refugee vetting policies. Cartoon by A.F. Branco ©2016.</p>
<p>More A.F. Branco Cartoons at <a href="http://netrightdaily.com/category/cartoons/branco-toons/" type="external">Net Right Daily</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://patriotdepot.com/comically-incorrect-a-collection-of-politically-incorrect-comics-volume-1/" type="external">A.F.Branco Coffee Table Book</a> &lt;—- Order Here!</p>
<p><a href="http://paypal.me/AntonioBranco" type="external">Donations/Tips accepted and appreciated</a>&#160;– &#160;$1.00 – $5.00 – $10 – $100 – &#160;it all helps to fund this website and keep the cartoons coming. –&#160;THANK YOU!</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 1,347 |
<p>Published time: 5 Oct, 2017 15:53</p>
<p>MPs from Libya’s eastern-based parliament have demanded an apology from British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson after he said all the Mediterranean city of Sirte needs to do to become the next Dubai is remove all the “dead bodies.”</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/uk/405688-boris-johnson-libya-joke/" type="external" /></p>
<p>Johnson told a fringe meeting at the Conservative annual conference this week that British investors have the “brilliant vision” to turn Sirte, the former stronghold of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), into the next Dubai.</p>
<p>“I look at Libya, it’s an incredible country,” Johnson told the meeting.</p>
<p>“There’s a group of UK business people, actually, some wonderful guys who want to invest in Sirte on the coast, near where Gaddafi was captured and executed as some of you may have seen.</p>
<p>“They have got a brilliant vision to turn Sirte into the next Dubai.</p>
<p>“The only thing they have got to do is clear the dead bodies away,” he said, before breaking into a laughter.</p>
<p>The committee for foreign affairs and international cooperation of Libya’s House of Representatives (HOR) called the comments “unacceptable,” and demanded that the foreign secretary apologize.</p>
<p>The body said it considers it a “violation of Libyan sovereignty to talk about British businessmen investing there.”</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/uk/405530-brexit-boris-johnson-sack/" type="external" /></p>
<p>“The committee demands a clarification from the British prime minister and an apology to the Libyan people,” the statement said, according to Reuters.</p>
<p>Johnson’s remark stirred public outcry, including calls from Tory MP Heidi Allen for him to be sacked.</p>
<p>“100 percent unacceptable from anyone, let alone foreign sec. Boris must be sacked for this. He does not represent my party,” Allen tweeted.</p>
<p>Johnson defended himself, however, saying he was referring to the dead bodies of IS fighters.</p>
<p>While saying it was not an “appropriate choice of words,” a Downing Street source said the PM had already shelved the matter.</p>
<p>Libya, backed by US troops, reclaimed Sirte, which had become the main IS stronghold in North Africa, after a six-month battle last year.</p>
<p>The coastal city is now struggling to rebuild after being severely damaged during the campaign.</p> | Libyan MPs say Boris Johnson must apologize for ‘dead bodies’ comment | false | https://newsline.com/libyan-mps-say-boris-johnson-must-apologize-for-dead-bodies-comment/ | 2017-10-05 | 1right-center
| Libyan MPs say Boris Johnson must apologize for ‘dead bodies’ comment
<p>Published time: 5 Oct, 2017 15:53</p>
<p>MPs from Libya’s eastern-based parliament have demanded an apology from British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson after he said all the Mediterranean city of Sirte needs to do to become the next Dubai is remove all the “dead bodies.”</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/uk/405688-boris-johnson-libya-joke/" type="external" /></p>
<p>Johnson told a fringe meeting at the Conservative annual conference this week that British investors have the “brilliant vision” to turn Sirte, the former stronghold of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), into the next Dubai.</p>
<p>“I look at Libya, it’s an incredible country,” Johnson told the meeting.</p>
<p>“There’s a group of UK business people, actually, some wonderful guys who want to invest in Sirte on the coast, near where Gaddafi was captured and executed as some of you may have seen.</p>
<p>“They have got a brilliant vision to turn Sirte into the next Dubai.</p>
<p>“The only thing they have got to do is clear the dead bodies away,” he said, before breaking into a laughter.</p>
<p>The committee for foreign affairs and international cooperation of Libya’s House of Representatives (HOR) called the comments “unacceptable,” and demanded that the foreign secretary apologize.</p>
<p>The body said it considers it a “violation of Libyan sovereignty to talk about British businessmen investing there.”</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/uk/405530-brexit-boris-johnson-sack/" type="external" /></p>
<p>“The committee demands a clarification from the British prime minister and an apology to the Libyan people,” the statement said, according to Reuters.</p>
<p>Johnson’s remark stirred public outcry, including calls from Tory MP Heidi Allen for him to be sacked.</p>
<p>“100 percent unacceptable from anyone, let alone foreign sec. Boris must be sacked for this. He does not represent my party,” Allen tweeted.</p>
<p>Johnson defended himself, however, saying he was referring to the dead bodies of IS fighters.</p>
<p>While saying it was not an “appropriate choice of words,” a Downing Street source said the PM had already shelved the matter.</p>
<p>Libya, backed by US troops, reclaimed Sirte, which had become the main IS stronghold in North Africa, after a six-month battle last year.</p>
<p>The coastal city is now struggling to rebuild after being severely damaged during the campaign.</p> | 1,348 |
<p />
<p>The cast and crew of “Orange is the New Black” delivered a message to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Friday.</p>
<p>Lea DeLaria (Big Boo) posted a photo of a few of the cast members and crew wearing matching T-shirts that read “Vaginas Against Trump.”&#160;Taryn Manning (Tiffany “Pennsatucky” Doggett), Emma Myles (Leanne Taylor) and Beth Dover (Linda Ferguson) were included in the photo.</p>
<p>The shirts were in reference to a barrage of sexual misconduct allegations against Trump following controversial lewd <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-recorded-having-extremely-lewd-conversation-about-women-in-2005/2016/10/07/3b9ce776-8cb4-11e6-bf8a-3d26847eeed4_story.html" type="external">comments</a>&#160;captured on leaked audio from 2005.</p>
<p>“When you’re a star they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the pussy,” Trump told former “Access Hollywood” host Billy Bush. “You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait.”</p>
<p>“CAST &amp; CREW OF OITNB SAYS FUCK YOU TRUMP” DeLaria captioned the photo.</p>
<p>“Orange is the New Black” returns in 2017.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Beth Dover</a> <a href="" type="internal">Donald Trump</a> <a href="" type="internal">Emma Myles</a> <a href="" type="internal">Lea DeLaria</a> <a href="" type="internal">Orange is the New Black</a> <a href="" type="internal">Taryn Manning</a></p> | ‘Orange is the New Black’ cast and crew wears anti-Trump shirts | false | http://washingtonblade.com/2016/10/17/orange-new-black-cast-crew-wears-anti-trump-shirts/ | 3left-center
| ‘Orange is the New Black’ cast and crew wears anti-Trump shirts
<p />
<p>The cast and crew of “Orange is the New Black” delivered a message to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Friday.</p>
<p>Lea DeLaria (Big Boo) posted a photo of a few of the cast members and crew wearing matching T-shirts that read “Vaginas Against Trump.”&#160;Taryn Manning (Tiffany “Pennsatucky” Doggett), Emma Myles (Leanne Taylor) and Beth Dover (Linda Ferguson) were included in the photo.</p>
<p>The shirts were in reference to a barrage of sexual misconduct allegations against Trump following controversial lewd <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-recorded-having-extremely-lewd-conversation-about-women-in-2005/2016/10/07/3b9ce776-8cb4-11e6-bf8a-3d26847eeed4_story.html" type="external">comments</a>&#160;captured on leaked audio from 2005.</p>
<p>“When you’re a star they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the pussy,” Trump told former “Access Hollywood” host Billy Bush. “You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait.”</p>
<p>“CAST &amp; CREW OF OITNB SAYS FUCK YOU TRUMP” DeLaria captioned the photo.</p>
<p>“Orange is the New Black” returns in 2017.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Beth Dover</a> <a href="" type="internal">Donald Trump</a> <a href="" type="internal">Emma Myles</a> <a href="" type="internal">Lea DeLaria</a> <a href="" type="internal">Orange is the New Black</a> <a href="" type="internal">Taryn Manning</a></p> | 1,349 |
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<p />
<p>He addressed the court on a day of often emotional testimony from family members about his troubled childhood and from a psychologist who said Manning felt extreme mental pressure in the “hyper-masculine” military because of his gender-identity disorder – his feeling that he was a woman trapped in a man’s body.</p>
<p>“I am sorry that my actions hurt people. I’m sorry that they hurt the United States,” he said as he began.</p>
<p>The soldier said that he understood what he was doing but that he did not believe at the time that leaking a mountain of classified information to the anti-secrecy website would cause harm to the U.S.</p>
<p>Though he often showed little reaction to court proceedings during most of the two and a half month court-martial, Manning appeared to struggle to contain his emotions several times Wednesday during testimony from his sister, an aunt and two mental health counselors, one who treated him and another who diagnosed him with several problems.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Manning, 25, could be sentenced to 90 years in prison for the leaks, which occurred while he was working as an Army intelligence analyst in Iraq in 2010.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Manning pleads for leniency in hearing | false | https://abqjournal.com/247500/manning-pleads-for-leniency-in-hearing.html | 2013-08-15 | 2least
| Manning pleads for leniency in hearing
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<p />
<p>He addressed the court on a day of often emotional testimony from family members about his troubled childhood and from a psychologist who said Manning felt extreme mental pressure in the “hyper-masculine” military because of his gender-identity disorder – his feeling that he was a woman trapped in a man’s body.</p>
<p>“I am sorry that my actions hurt people. I’m sorry that they hurt the United States,” he said as he began.</p>
<p>The soldier said that he understood what he was doing but that he did not believe at the time that leaking a mountain of classified information to the anti-secrecy website would cause harm to the U.S.</p>
<p>Though he often showed little reaction to court proceedings during most of the two and a half month court-martial, Manning appeared to struggle to contain his emotions several times Wednesday during testimony from his sister, an aunt and two mental health counselors, one who treated him and another who diagnosed him with several problems.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Manning, 25, could be sentenced to 90 years in prison for the leaks, which occurred while he was working as an Army intelligence analyst in Iraq in 2010.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 1,350 |
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<p>HONOLULU — Driverless trucks. Factory robots. Delivery drones. Virtual personal assistants.</p>
<p>As technological innovations increasingly edge into the workplace, many people fear that robots and machines are destined to take jobs that human beings have held for decades. For many affected workers, retraining might be out of reach –unavailable, unaffordable or inadequate.</p>
<p>What then?</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Enter the idea of a universal basic income, the notion that everyone should be able to receive a stream of income to live on, regardless of their employment or economic status.</p>
<p>It isn’t an idea that seems likely to gain traction nationally in the current political environment. But in some politically liberal corners of the country, including Hawaii and the San Francisco Bay area, the idea of distributing a guaranteed income has begun to gain support.</p>
<p>Over the past two decades, automation has reduced the need for workers, especially in such blue-collar sectors as manufacturing, warehousing and mining. Many of the jobs that remain demand higher education or advanced technological skills. It helps explain why just 55 percent of Americans with no more than a high school diploma are employed, down from 60 percent just before the Great Recession.</p>
<p>Hawaii state lawmakers have voted to explore the idea of a universal basic income in light of research suggesting that a majority of waiter, cook and building cleaning jobs — vital to Hawaii’s tourism-dependent economy — will eventually be replaced by machines. A crucial question — who exactly would pay for the program? — has yet to be determined. But support for the idea has taken root.</p>
<p>“Our economy is changing far more rapidly than anybody’s expected,” said state Rep. Chris Lee, who introduced legislation to consider a guaranteed universal income.</p>
<p>Lee said he felt it’s important “to be sure that everybody will benefit from the technological revolution that we’re seeing to make sure no one’s left behind.”</p>
<p>Here are some questions and answers:</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>WHAT IS A UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME?</p>
<p>In a state or nation with universal basic income, every adult would receive a uniform fixed amount that would be deemed enough to meet basic needs. The idea gained some currency in the 1960s and 1970s, with proponents ranging from Martin Luther King Jr. to President Richard Nixon, who proposed a “negative income tax” similar to basic income. It failed to pass Congress.</p>
<p>Recently, some technology leaders have been breathing new life — and money — into the idea. Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and others have promoted the idea as a way to address the potential loss of many transportation, manufacturing, retail and customer service jobs to automation and artificial intelligence.</p>
<p>Even some economists who welcome technological change to make workplaces more efficient note that the pace of innovation in coming years is likely to accelerate. Community colleges and retraining centers could find it difficult to keep up. Supporters of a universal basic income say the money would cushion the economic pain for the affected workers.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>WHERE WOULD THE MONEY COME FROM?</p>
<p>In the long run, that would likely be decided by political leaders. For now, philanthropic organizations founded by technology entrepreneurs have begun putting money into pilot programs to provide basic income. The Economic Security Project, co-led by Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes and others, committed $10 million over two years to basic income projects.</p>
<p>A trial program in Kenya, led by the U.S. group GiveDirectly, is funded mainly funded by Google; the Omidyar Network started by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar; and GoodVentures, co-led by Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz.</p>
<p>Providing a basic income in expensive countries like the United States would, of course, be far costlier.</p>
<p>Tom Yamachika, president of the Tax Foundation of Hawaii, a nonprofit dedicated to limited taxes and fairness, has estimated that if all Hawaii residents were given $10,000 annually, it would cost about $10 billion a year, which he says Hawaii can’t afford given its $20 billion in unfunded pension liabilities.</p>
<p>“Basic income is such a broad subject, it could encompass hundreds of different kinds of mechanisms to help families,” Lee said. “You don’t have to enact the entire thing in one massive program. You can take bits and pieces that make sense.”</p>
<p>Karl Widerquist, co-founder of the U.S. Basic Income Guarantee Network, an informal group that promotes the idea of a basic income, suggests that Hawaii could collect a property tax from hotels, businesses and residents that could be redistributed to residents.</p>
<p>“If people in Alaska deserve an oil dividend, why don’t the people of Hawaii deserve a beach dividend?” he asked.</p>
<p>Other proponents suggest replacing part of the nation’s web of social support programs with a universal basic income.</p>
<p>Some, like Natalie Foster, co-chairwoman of the Economic Security Project, say they think that if universal income took off in the U.S., it would begin incrementally — perhaps by taxing carbon emissions and distributing the money as basic income, an idea explored in California and Washington D.C.</p>
<p>A study by the Roosevelt Institute, a left-leaning think tank, found that distributing a universal income by increasing the federal debt would expand the economy because of the stimulating effects of the additional cash.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>WHERE DOES UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME EXIST NOW?</p>
<p>Not on a large scale in the United States. But the idea is being pursued in small trials overseas. The program that New York-based GiveDirectly has established in Kenya is distributing $22 a month to residents of a village for the next 12 years — roughly what residents need to buy essentials.</p>
<p>The group says one goal is to assess whether people will change their behavior if they know they will enjoy a guaranteed income for an extended time. GiveDirectly is distributing money to 100 people and plans to expand to 26,000 recipients once the group reaches its $30 million funding goal, said Paul Niehaus, a co-founder.</p>
<p>“We had someone say, ‘I used to work this job in Nairobi as a security guard because it was the only way I could pay for my kids’ education, but now that I have this basic income I can afford to move back and actually live with my family again,’ ” he said.</p>
<p>In Oakland, California, Y Combinator, a startup incubator, is giving about $1,500 a month to a handful of people selected randomly and will soon expand distribution to 100 recipients. It eventually plans to provide $1,000 monthly to 1,000 people and study how recipients spend their time and how their financial health and well-being are affected.</p>
<p>Finland is distributing money to 2,000 randomly selected people. It hopes to learn how it might adapt its social security system to a changing workplace, incentivize people to work and simplify the bureaucracy of benefits.</p>
<p>In India, which is also considering distributing a universal basic income, the transportation minister has said the country would ban driverless cars because they would imperil people’s jobs, according to The Times of India.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AND IN THE UNITED STATES?</p>
<p>Republican-leaning Alaska has long distributed revenue from oil extraction to its residents in payments ranging from about $1,000 to $2,000 annually.</p>
<p>A study commissioned by the Economic Security Project found that 72 percent of Alaskans saved the money for essentials, emergencies, debt payments, retirement or education. Just 1 percent said that receiving the oil dividend had made them likely to work less.</p>
<p>“People are very supportive of the dividend,” Foster said. “They don’t see it as a handout; they see it as their right as an Alaskan to receive the income from the oil royalties.”</p>
<p>In Hawaii, a group of politicians, economists, social services providers, business and union representatives will meet in the fall to begin gathering data. They’ll examine Hawaii’s economy and its exposure to disruption and automation and how those trends could affect social safety nets, Lee said. After that, they’ll explore whether it makes sense to offer full or partial universal income.</p>
<p>“It could very well mean that it would be significantly cheaper to look at other options rather than let our existing services be overwhelmed by a changing economy,” Lee said.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>WHAT DO CRITICS SAY?</p>
<p>Aside from the cost, some detractors say they fear that distributing free money could diminish some people’s work ethic and productivity.</p>
<p>In Hawaii, with one of the nation’s worst homelessness rates, some worry that basic income would attract unemployed people to move to the island.</p>
<p>“A lot of poor people move here anyway, because they don’t freeze,” Yamachika said. “This won’t help.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP Economics Writer Christopher Rugaber in Washington contributed to this report.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Stories in the AP’s Future of Work series are available here: https://apnews.com/tag/FutureofWork</p>
<p>This story is part of Future of Work, an Associated Press series that explores how workplaces across the U.S. and the world are being transformed by technology and global pressures. As more employers move, shrink or revamp their work sites, many employees are struggling to adapt. At the same time, workers with in-demand skills or knowledge are benefiting. Advanced training, education or know-how is becoming a required ticket to the 21st-century workplace.</p> | As robots edge into workplace, free money idea takes hold | false | https://abqjournal.com/1057068/fear-of-robots-taking-jobs-spurs-a-bold-idea-guaranteed-pay.html | 2017-09-04 | 2least
| As robots edge into workplace, free money idea takes hold
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<p>HONOLULU — Driverless trucks. Factory robots. Delivery drones. Virtual personal assistants.</p>
<p>As technological innovations increasingly edge into the workplace, many people fear that robots and machines are destined to take jobs that human beings have held for decades. For many affected workers, retraining might be out of reach –unavailable, unaffordable or inadequate.</p>
<p>What then?</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Enter the idea of a universal basic income, the notion that everyone should be able to receive a stream of income to live on, regardless of their employment or economic status.</p>
<p>It isn’t an idea that seems likely to gain traction nationally in the current political environment. But in some politically liberal corners of the country, including Hawaii and the San Francisco Bay area, the idea of distributing a guaranteed income has begun to gain support.</p>
<p>Over the past two decades, automation has reduced the need for workers, especially in such blue-collar sectors as manufacturing, warehousing and mining. Many of the jobs that remain demand higher education or advanced technological skills. It helps explain why just 55 percent of Americans with no more than a high school diploma are employed, down from 60 percent just before the Great Recession.</p>
<p>Hawaii state lawmakers have voted to explore the idea of a universal basic income in light of research suggesting that a majority of waiter, cook and building cleaning jobs — vital to Hawaii’s tourism-dependent economy — will eventually be replaced by machines. A crucial question — who exactly would pay for the program? — has yet to be determined. But support for the idea has taken root.</p>
<p>“Our economy is changing far more rapidly than anybody’s expected,” said state Rep. Chris Lee, who introduced legislation to consider a guaranteed universal income.</p>
<p>Lee said he felt it’s important “to be sure that everybody will benefit from the technological revolution that we’re seeing to make sure no one’s left behind.”</p>
<p>Here are some questions and answers:</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>WHAT IS A UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME?</p>
<p>In a state or nation with universal basic income, every adult would receive a uniform fixed amount that would be deemed enough to meet basic needs. The idea gained some currency in the 1960s and 1970s, with proponents ranging from Martin Luther King Jr. to President Richard Nixon, who proposed a “negative income tax” similar to basic income. It failed to pass Congress.</p>
<p>Recently, some technology leaders have been breathing new life — and money — into the idea. Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and others have promoted the idea as a way to address the potential loss of many transportation, manufacturing, retail and customer service jobs to automation and artificial intelligence.</p>
<p>Even some economists who welcome technological change to make workplaces more efficient note that the pace of innovation in coming years is likely to accelerate. Community colleges and retraining centers could find it difficult to keep up. Supporters of a universal basic income say the money would cushion the economic pain for the affected workers.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>WHERE WOULD THE MONEY COME FROM?</p>
<p>In the long run, that would likely be decided by political leaders. For now, philanthropic organizations founded by technology entrepreneurs have begun putting money into pilot programs to provide basic income. The Economic Security Project, co-led by Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes and others, committed $10 million over two years to basic income projects.</p>
<p>A trial program in Kenya, led by the U.S. group GiveDirectly, is funded mainly funded by Google; the Omidyar Network started by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar; and GoodVentures, co-led by Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz.</p>
<p>Providing a basic income in expensive countries like the United States would, of course, be far costlier.</p>
<p>Tom Yamachika, president of the Tax Foundation of Hawaii, a nonprofit dedicated to limited taxes and fairness, has estimated that if all Hawaii residents were given $10,000 annually, it would cost about $10 billion a year, which he says Hawaii can’t afford given its $20 billion in unfunded pension liabilities.</p>
<p>“Basic income is such a broad subject, it could encompass hundreds of different kinds of mechanisms to help families,” Lee said. “You don’t have to enact the entire thing in one massive program. You can take bits and pieces that make sense.”</p>
<p>Karl Widerquist, co-founder of the U.S. Basic Income Guarantee Network, an informal group that promotes the idea of a basic income, suggests that Hawaii could collect a property tax from hotels, businesses and residents that could be redistributed to residents.</p>
<p>“If people in Alaska deserve an oil dividend, why don’t the people of Hawaii deserve a beach dividend?” he asked.</p>
<p>Other proponents suggest replacing part of the nation’s web of social support programs with a universal basic income.</p>
<p>Some, like Natalie Foster, co-chairwoman of the Economic Security Project, say they think that if universal income took off in the U.S., it would begin incrementally — perhaps by taxing carbon emissions and distributing the money as basic income, an idea explored in California and Washington D.C.</p>
<p>A study by the Roosevelt Institute, a left-leaning think tank, found that distributing a universal income by increasing the federal debt would expand the economy because of the stimulating effects of the additional cash.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>WHERE DOES UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME EXIST NOW?</p>
<p>Not on a large scale in the United States. But the idea is being pursued in small trials overseas. The program that New York-based GiveDirectly has established in Kenya is distributing $22 a month to residents of a village for the next 12 years — roughly what residents need to buy essentials.</p>
<p>The group says one goal is to assess whether people will change their behavior if they know they will enjoy a guaranteed income for an extended time. GiveDirectly is distributing money to 100 people and plans to expand to 26,000 recipients once the group reaches its $30 million funding goal, said Paul Niehaus, a co-founder.</p>
<p>“We had someone say, ‘I used to work this job in Nairobi as a security guard because it was the only way I could pay for my kids’ education, but now that I have this basic income I can afford to move back and actually live with my family again,’ ” he said.</p>
<p>In Oakland, California, Y Combinator, a startup incubator, is giving about $1,500 a month to a handful of people selected randomly and will soon expand distribution to 100 recipients. It eventually plans to provide $1,000 monthly to 1,000 people and study how recipients spend their time and how their financial health and well-being are affected.</p>
<p>Finland is distributing money to 2,000 randomly selected people. It hopes to learn how it might adapt its social security system to a changing workplace, incentivize people to work and simplify the bureaucracy of benefits.</p>
<p>In India, which is also considering distributing a universal basic income, the transportation minister has said the country would ban driverless cars because they would imperil people’s jobs, according to The Times of India.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AND IN THE UNITED STATES?</p>
<p>Republican-leaning Alaska has long distributed revenue from oil extraction to its residents in payments ranging from about $1,000 to $2,000 annually.</p>
<p>A study commissioned by the Economic Security Project found that 72 percent of Alaskans saved the money for essentials, emergencies, debt payments, retirement or education. Just 1 percent said that receiving the oil dividend had made them likely to work less.</p>
<p>“People are very supportive of the dividend,” Foster said. “They don’t see it as a handout; they see it as their right as an Alaskan to receive the income from the oil royalties.”</p>
<p>In Hawaii, a group of politicians, economists, social services providers, business and union representatives will meet in the fall to begin gathering data. They’ll examine Hawaii’s economy and its exposure to disruption and automation and how those trends could affect social safety nets, Lee said. After that, they’ll explore whether it makes sense to offer full or partial universal income.</p>
<p>“It could very well mean that it would be significantly cheaper to look at other options rather than let our existing services be overwhelmed by a changing economy,” Lee said.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>WHAT DO CRITICS SAY?</p>
<p>Aside from the cost, some detractors say they fear that distributing free money could diminish some people’s work ethic and productivity.</p>
<p>In Hawaii, with one of the nation’s worst homelessness rates, some worry that basic income would attract unemployed people to move to the island.</p>
<p>“A lot of poor people move here anyway, because they don’t freeze,” Yamachika said. “This won’t help.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP Economics Writer Christopher Rugaber in Washington contributed to this report.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Stories in the AP’s Future of Work series are available here: https://apnews.com/tag/FutureofWork</p>
<p>This story is part of Future of Work, an Associated Press series that explores how workplaces across the U.S. and the world are being transformed by technology and global pressures. As more employers move, shrink or revamp their work sites, many employees are struggling to adapt. At the same time, workers with in-demand skills or knowledge are benefiting. Advanced training, education or know-how is becoming a required ticket to the 21st-century workplace.</p> | 1,351 |
<p>Ralph Northam, left, and Tom Perriello at a debate in MaySteve Helber/AP</p>
<p>Let’s get this out of the way: Contrary to what you may have read <a href="https://twitter.com/NewRepublic/status/874290214474326018" type="external">on Twitter</a>, neither Hillary Clinton nor Bernie Sanders is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor of Virginia. Tuesday’s primary between Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam and former Rep. Tom Perriello is less a referendum on what happened in last year’s presidential contest&#160;than it is the&#160;first in a long&#160;series of debates that will play out over the next two years.</p>
<p>The clearest fault-line in the race to succeed Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe is not between&#160;Bernie and Hillary, but rather between&#160;Virginia Democratic leaders and national ones. As Northam noted on the campaign trail, he was endorsed by every Democratic member of the state legislature, the governor, the state attorney general, and most of the state’s Democratic congressional delegation. There is an undeniable inertia to incumbency, especially when things are going well, and he is running on a platform that, at least in Virginia—an increasingly blue state where McAuliffe ran and won on gun control—has met with a series of statewide successes.</p>
<p>Perriello, who entered the race in January—long after Northam appeared to have the nomination locked up—is the darling of national Democratic leaders and activist groups. Sanders and his organization, Our Revolution, has endorsed Perriello. So has Jon Lovett, the former&#160;Obama speechwriter who co-hosts the popular&#160;Pod Save America podcast;&#160;Lovett&#160;went door-knocking with the ex-congressman earlier this month. Although Obama himself&#160;has stayed quiet, 30 of his&#160;former staffers signed onto a letter endorsing Perriello, and Perriello&#160;is airing ads around the state featuring Obama stumping for him in Charlottesville seven years ago.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Perriello’s wonky economic populism and his opposition to new natural-gas pipelines in the state helped endear him to Berniecrats. But the life-force of his candidacy has been the difficult&#160;votes he cast for key&#160;Obama agenda items, such as the Affordable Care Act and a doomed&#160;cap-and-trade bill that would have restricted greenhouse gas emissions. The Left may look back on Obamacare as a missed opportunity, but on the eve of the 2010 tea party wave, Perriello—a freshman congressman in a conservative district—stuck his neck out in a way that plenty of other Democrats&#160;didn’t, and Obama-ites haven’t forgotten it.</p>
<p>From the perspective of progressives, both Northam and Perriello&#160;have blemishes on their records that make&#160;them imperfect fits for the roles that have been ascribed to them. Northam, ostensibly the party man, voted for George W. Bush twice and said at a debate ahead of his 2011 re-election to the state Senate that <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ralph-northam-virginia-health-care-right_us_5914c196e4b0031e737c3356" type="external">health care is a “privilege.”</a> (Northam now calls it a “right.”) Perriello received an <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/once-a-rated-by-nra-va-gubernatorial-candidate-calls-group-nut-job-extremists/2017/01/13/c2a0da04-d9bf-11e6-b8b2-cb5164beba6b_story.html" type="external">“A”-rating</a> from the NRA as a congressman and voted for the anti-abortion “Stupak amendment” to the Affordable Care Act. (He has since renounced the Stupak vote and condemned the NRA.)</p>
<p>Finding deeper meaning in the Virginia Democratic primary is difficult because politics is complicated.&#160;The fact that Perriello caught fire after entering a race whose outcome seemed to pre-ordained speaks to the anxieties and unrest among Democrats. The fact that Northam might still hold on tell us something, too—about the strength of national mood swings in places where Democrats are already doing pretty well. This is the first close Democratic primary since 2016, not the last; gubernatorial primaries next year in Florida, Illinois, and California might tell us something different.</p>
<p>Just as revealing as the fact that the Democratic primary is chaotic is the fact that the Republican primary isn’t. Corey Stewart, a <a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/05/15/why-corey-stewart-thinks-the-lost-cause-is-a-winning-strategy-215138" type="external">Confederate sympathizer</a> from Minnesota by way of California who had been Donald Trump’s state chairman, sought to make a race of it by promising to protect century-old monuments to Civil War generals. But former lobbyist and RNC chairman Ed Gillespie, himself a Trump supporter, has been the presumptive nominee since he entered the race.</p>
<p>Gillespie’s ascendancy in the state party is also the latest step in a decades-long Beltway-ization of Virginia politics. If Gillespie wins in November, he would be the third national party chair to hold the post in the last 10 years. He would be a fitting successor to Terry McAuliffe—two career fundraisers and lobbyists who served concurrently as party chairs during the 2004 election. Perriello, who represented a rural South Side district in Congress before moving to Arlington, doesn’t fit the same bill as Gillespie, but his DC credentials include a stint as president of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, the archetype of Beltway progressivism.</p>
<p>The Democratic party is in the midst of a transformation that will not end on Tuesday or for a long time after. But on the south shore of the Potomac, Republicans seem just fine with their swamp.</p>
<p>Courtesy of our friends at <a href="https://decisiondeskhq.com/" type="external">Decision Desk HQ</a>, you can follow the results from Virginia live once the polls close at 7 p.m. ETD.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Everyone Keeps Saying Tuesday’s Virginia Election Is About Bernie and Hillary. It’s Not That Simple. | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2017/06/northam-perriello-bernie-hillary-virginia-primary-results/ | 2017-06-12 | 4left
| Everyone Keeps Saying Tuesday’s Virginia Election Is About Bernie and Hillary. It’s Not That Simple.
<p>Ralph Northam, left, and Tom Perriello at a debate in MaySteve Helber/AP</p>
<p>Let’s get this out of the way: Contrary to what you may have read <a href="https://twitter.com/NewRepublic/status/874290214474326018" type="external">on Twitter</a>, neither Hillary Clinton nor Bernie Sanders is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor of Virginia. Tuesday’s primary between Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam and former Rep. Tom Perriello is less a referendum on what happened in last year’s presidential contest&#160;than it is the&#160;first in a long&#160;series of debates that will play out over the next two years.</p>
<p>The clearest fault-line in the race to succeed Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe is not between&#160;Bernie and Hillary, but rather between&#160;Virginia Democratic leaders and national ones. As Northam noted on the campaign trail, he was endorsed by every Democratic member of the state legislature, the governor, the state attorney general, and most of the state’s Democratic congressional delegation. There is an undeniable inertia to incumbency, especially when things are going well, and he is running on a platform that, at least in Virginia—an increasingly blue state where McAuliffe ran and won on gun control—has met with a series of statewide successes.</p>
<p>Perriello, who entered the race in January—long after Northam appeared to have the nomination locked up—is the darling of national Democratic leaders and activist groups. Sanders and his organization, Our Revolution, has endorsed Perriello. So has Jon Lovett, the former&#160;Obama speechwriter who co-hosts the popular&#160;Pod Save America podcast;&#160;Lovett&#160;went door-knocking with the ex-congressman earlier this month. Although Obama himself&#160;has stayed quiet, 30 of his&#160;former staffers signed onto a letter endorsing Perriello, and Perriello&#160;is airing ads around the state featuring Obama stumping for him in Charlottesville seven years ago.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Perriello’s wonky economic populism and his opposition to new natural-gas pipelines in the state helped endear him to Berniecrats. But the life-force of his candidacy has been the difficult&#160;votes he cast for key&#160;Obama agenda items, such as the Affordable Care Act and a doomed&#160;cap-and-trade bill that would have restricted greenhouse gas emissions. The Left may look back on Obamacare as a missed opportunity, but on the eve of the 2010 tea party wave, Perriello—a freshman congressman in a conservative district—stuck his neck out in a way that plenty of other Democrats&#160;didn’t, and Obama-ites haven’t forgotten it.</p>
<p>From the perspective of progressives, both Northam and Perriello&#160;have blemishes on their records that make&#160;them imperfect fits for the roles that have been ascribed to them. Northam, ostensibly the party man, voted for George W. Bush twice and said at a debate ahead of his 2011 re-election to the state Senate that <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ralph-northam-virginia-health-care-right_us_5914c196e4b0031e737c3356" type="external">health care is a “privilege.”</a> (Northam now calls it a “right.”) Perriello received an <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/once-a-rated-by-nra-va-gubernatorial-candidate-calls-group-nut-job-extremists/2017/01/13/c2a0da04-d9bf-11e6-b8b2-cb5164beba6b_story.html" type="external">“A”-rating</a> from the NRA as a congressman and voted for the anti-abortion “Stupak amendment” to the Affordable Care Act. (He has since renounced the Stupak vote and condemned the NRA.)</p>
<p>Finding deeper meaning in the Virginia Democratic primary is difficult because politics is complicated.&#160;The fact that Perriello caught fire after entering a race whose outcome seemed to pre-ordained speaks to the anxieties and unrest among Democrats. The fact that Northam might still hold on tell us something, too—about the strength of national mood swings in places where Democrats are already doing pretty well. This is the first close Democratic primary since 2016, not the last; gubernatorial primaries next year in Florida, Illinois, and California might tell us something different.</p>
<p>Just as revealing as the fact that the Democratic primary is chaotic is the fact that the Republican primary isn’t. Corey Stewart, a <a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/05/15/why-corey-stewart-thinks-the-lost-cause-is-a-winning-strategy-215138" type="external">Confederate sympathizer</a> from Minnesota by way of California who had been Donald Trump’s state chairman, sought to make a race of it by promising to protect century-old monuments to Civil War generals. But former lobbyist and RNC chairman Ed Gillespie, himself a Trump supporter, has been the presumptive nominee since he entered the race.</p>
<p>Gillespie’s ascendancy in the state party is also the latest step in a decades-long Beltway-ization of Virginia politics. If Gillespie wins in November, he would be the third national party chair to hold the post in the last 10 years. He would be a fitting successor to Terry McAuliffe—two career fundraisers and lobbyists who served concurrently as party chairs during the 2004 election. Perriello, who represented a rural South Side district in Congress before moving to Arlington, doesn’t fit the same bill as Gillespie, but his DC credentials include a stint as president of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, the archetype of Beltway progressivism.</p>
<p>The Democratic party is in the midst of a transformation that will not end on Tuesday or for a long time after. But on the south shore of the Potomac, Republicans seem just fine with their swamp.</p>
<p>Courtesy of our friends at <a href="https://decisiondeskhq.com/" type="external">Decision Desk HQ</a>, you can follow the results from Virginia live once the polls close at 7 p.m. ETD.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 1,352 |
<p>Edward “Buzz” Palmer has been at this moment before. When he first saw the July 28, 1967 <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=1lUEAAAAMBAJ&amp;pg=PP1&amp;dq=life+newark+predictable+insurrection&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiMhZuhq8HJAhVGOCYKHTddAv0Q6AEIHDAA#v=onepage&amp;q=green&amp;f=false" type="external">cover of Life magazine</a>—a black boy lying dead in the street, shot by police—Palmer was a young black police officer in a racially divided city, working in a department that still segregated its squad cars.</p>
<p>“It was the times,” Palmer explains. “The times create the conditions. King had been assassinated, Malcolm X had been assassinated. What it pointed out was the need for the black community to be protected. We saw all this killing going on.”</p>
<p>Palmer was moved by the image to <a href="" type="internal">form the Afro-American Patrolmen’s League</a>, the first African-American police organization of its kind. He spent two years in the department before handing the role over to Pat Hill, who quickly had her own challenges to face.</p>
<p>“I knew the culture of the police department when I went in,” Hill said. “I knew the disparity in treatment of black officers, and I spent a lot of my time fighting against policies in the department.”</p>
<p>A call for more black police officers</p>
<p>Last Wednesday morning, Hill stood with other retired black police officers at a news conference to call for the hiring of more black officers and a federal investigation into the Chicago Police Department and the Independent Police Review Authority, the civilian body tasked with investigating complaints of police misconduct. Since then, Mayor Rahm Emanuel has replaced the head of IPRA, and U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch has announced a civil rights investigation of the police department.</p>
<p>At their news conference, the retired officers cited the persistent under-representation of African-Americans in CPD as a root cause of tensions between black neighborhoods and the police department. According to police records, the CPD is 23 percent black, compared with 33 percent of the total Chicago population.</p>
<p>The news conference came three days after the firing of former police Superintendent Garry McCarthy, and 10 days after the release of a dashcam video that shows <a href="" type="internal">17-year-old Laquan McDonald being shot 16 times</a> by <a href="http://cpdb.co/data/LjdvZA/police-misconduct-in-chicago" type="external">CPD Officer Jason Van Dyke</a>. The shooting, captured and repeated on an unending loop online and on TV, was yet another moment of historical reflection for Hill.</p>
<p>“For me this is about the third time. It’s the third go-around. Certain concessions are always made and everything goes back to being business as usual: scandals, police brutality [and] discrimination in the department,” she said. “ I can’t be as optimistic as a person who’s going through it for the first time.”</p>
<p>Like the cover of Life Magazine in 1967, Hill said the latest symbol of police misconduct — the image of McDonald; a black boy lying dead in the street, shot by police — is yet another moment of striking cruelty and a call for meaningful reform.</p>
<p>Much like the ousting of McCarthy, past Chicago police scandals have also led to resignations and promises of reform. In 2007, CPD superintendent Philip Cline resigned amid an uproar over video footage of Chicago police beatings. The film included a widely-circulated Youtube clip of an off-duty officer beating a female bartender on the Northwest Side. Ten years before, superintendent Matt Rodriguez announced his retirement amid a series of scandals, including police corruption and brutality allegations.</p>
<p>A system of oppression</p>
<p>Hill and Palmer sought to reform the department through diversifying its ranks, but young black activists today argue that policing itself is oppressive.</p>
<p>“As a black cop or brown cop, you are in a position of power over the group of people you are policing,” Janae Bonsu of <a href="http://byp100.org/" type="external">The Black Youth Project 100</a> told The Chicago Reporter last month. “Black police antagonize us. Black police still profile us.”</p>
<p>Palmer and Hill agree that the problem is systemic — “violence has a handmaiden, and the handmaiden is poverty” as Palmer puts it. But Hill takes issue with the idea that an officer’s race doesn’t matter for the community they work in.</p>
<p>“So many young people — so many young black people especially — are taking the initiative to be heard. In that respect that’s a positive,” she said. But the young activists weren’t there in 1967, she noted — while being actively engaged in the current moment, they lack the historical perspective that comes with age.</p>
<p>“They really can’t take it too far [back] … There’s a big difference between white police and black police. Our upbringing is totally different and we’re treated differently. We’re suspended and punished at a higher rate — we’re scrutinized differently.”</p>
<p>David Lemieux, a retired black police officer and 26-year veteran of CPD, added to the chorus of calls for systemic change and improved relations between police and the public.</p>
<p>“In order for there to be any change in the relations between the community and the police, the infrastructure has to be saturated with people that represent the community,” he said. “The village needs warriors to protect it, not settlers to occupy it. Who are the boots on the ground? That’s what’s important.”</p>
<p>Hill noted that while Wednesday’s news conference achieved its goal of having black officers speak out, it failed to comment on the systemic nature of racism in the Chicago Police Department by focusing too closely on a single individual.</p>
<p>A similar issue is raised in <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/dec/02/chicago-police-garry-mccarthy-laquan-mcdonald" type="external">the handling of McCarthy by Emanuel</a>. Hill and others didn’t support McCarthy’s hiring when he was confirmed in 2012 and while she agrees with his dismissal, she sees the way politicians are “kicking him on the way down” as political posturing.</p>
<p>“I don’t think it’s about one individual,” she said. “I think it’s important for black officers currently in the department and retired to take positions on this because the black community needs that.”</p>
<p>Palmer and Hill also agree that the black community needs the Black Lives Matter movement, including Chicago-based groups like BYP100.</p>
<p>“We’re living in a new era,” Palmer explained. “One of the reasons why things always died down was because blacks did not have access to the media. Now they have access to social media. When Ferguson went up the newspapers didn’t cover it, but all at once all these young people were on their smartphones and they got a million hits and people had to pay attention to it.”</p>
<p>He added, “This is not an issue that is going to go away.”</p>
<p>This report was published in collaboration with <a href="http://citybureau.org/" type="external">City Bureau</a>, a Chicago-based journalism lab. Additional reporting by William Cabaniss.</p> | For black officers in Chicago, city’s police crisis calls for action | false | http://chicagoreporter.com/for-black-officers-in-chicago-citys-police-crisis-calls-for-action/ | 2015-12-07 | 3left-center
| For black officers in Chicago, city’s police crisis calls for action
<p>Edward “Buzz” Palmer has been at this moment before. When he first saw the July 28, 1967 <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=1lUEAAAAMBAJ&amp;pg=PP1&amp;dq=life+newark+predictable+insurrection&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiMhZuhq8HJAhVGOCYKHTddAv0Q6AEIHDAA#v=onepage&amp;q=green&amp;f=false" type="external">cover of Life magazine</a>—a black boy lying dead in the street, shot by police—Palmer was a young black police officer in a racially divided city, working in a department that still segregated its squad cars.</p>
<p>“It was the times,” Palmer explains. “The times create the conditions. King had been assassinated, Malcolm X had been assassinated. What it pointed out was the need for the black community to be protected. We saw all this killing going on.”</p>
<p>Palmer was moved by the image to <a href="" type="internal">form the Afro-American Patrolmen’s League</a>, the first African-American police organization of its kind. He spent two years in the department before handing the role over to Pat Hill, who quickly had her own challenges to face.</p>
<p>“I knew the culture of the police department when I went in,” Hill said. “I knew the disparity in treatment of black officers, and I spent a lot of my time fighting against policies in the department.”</p>
<p>A call for more black police officers</p>
<p>Last Wednesday morning, Hill stood with other retired black police officers at a news conference to call for the hiring of more black officers and a federal investigation into the Chicago Police Department and the Independent Police Review Authority, the civilian body tasked with investigating complaints of police misconduct. Since then, Mayor Rahm Emanuel has replaced the head of IPRA, and U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch has announced a civil rights investigation of the police department.</p>
<p>At their news conference, the retired officers cited the persistent under-representation of African-Americans in CPD as a root cause of tensions between black neighborhoods and the police department. According to police records, the CPD is 23 percent black, compared with 33 percent of the total Chicago population.</p>
<p>The news conference came three days after the firing of former police Superintendent Garry McCarthy, and 10 days after the release of a dashcam video that shows <a href="" type="internal">17-year-old Laquan McDonald being shot 16 times</a> by <a href="http://cpdb.co/data/LjdvZA/police-misconduct-in-chicago" type="external">CPD Officer Jason Van Dyke</a>. The shooting, captured and repeated on an unending loop online and on TV, was yet another moment of historical reflection for Hill.</p>
<p>“For me this is about the third time. It’s the third go-around. Certain concessions are always made and everything goes back to being business as usual: scandals, police brutality [and] discrimination in the department,” she said. “ I can’t be as optimistic as a person who’s going through it for the first time.”</p>
<p>Like the cover of Life Magazine in 1967, Hill said the latest symbol of police misconduct — the image of McDonald; a black boy lying dead in the street, shot by police — is yet another moment of striking cruelty and a call for meaningful reform.</p>
<p>Much like the ousting of McCarthy, past Chicago police scandals have also led to resignations and promises of reform. In 2007, CPD superintendent Philip Cline resigned amid an uproar over video footage of Chicago police beatings. The film included a widely-circulated Youtube clip of an off-duty officer beating a female bartender on the Northwest Side. Ten years before, superintendent Matt Rodriguez announced his retirement amid a series of scandals, including police corruption and brutality allegations.</p>
<p>A system of oppression</p>
<p>Hill and Palmer sought to reform the department through diversifying its ranks, but young black activists today argue that policing itself is oppressive.</p>
<p>“As a black cop or brown cop, you are in a position of power over the group of people you are policing,” Janae Bonsu of <a href="http://byp100.org/" type="external">The Black Youth Project 100</a> told The Chicago Reporter last month. “Black police antagonize us. Black police still profile us.”</p>
<p>Palmer and Hill agree that the problem is systemic — “violence has a handmaiden, and the handmaiden is poverty” as Palmer puts it. But Hill takes issue with the idea that an officer’s race doesn’t matter for the community they work in.</p>
<p>“So many young people — so many young black people especially — are taking the initiative to be heard. In that respect that’s a positive,” she said. But the young activists weren’t there in 1967, she noted — while being actively engaged in the current moment, they lack the historical perspective that comes with age.</p>
<p>“They really can’t take it too far [back] … There’s a big difference between white police and black police. Our upbringing is totally different and we’re treated differently. We’re suspended and punished at a higher rate — we’re scrutinized differently.”</p>
<p>David Lemieux, a retired black police officer and 26-year veteran of CPD, added to the chorus of calls for systemic change and improved relations between police and the public.</p>
<p>“In order for there to be any change in the relations between the community and the police, the infrastructure has to be saturated with people that represent the community,” he said. “The village needs warriors to protect it, not settlers to occupy it. Who are the boots on the ground? That’s what’s important.”</p>
<p>Hill noted that while Wednesday’s news conference achieved its goal of having black officers speak out, it failed to comment on the systemic nature of racism in the Chicago Police Department by focusing too closely on a single individual.</p>
<p>A similar issue is raised in <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/dec/02/chicago-police-garry-mccarthy-laquan-mcdonald" type="external">the handling of McCarthy by Emanuel</a>. Hill and others didn’t support McCarthy’s hiring when he was confirmed in 2012 and while she agrees with his dismissal, she sees the way politicians are “kicking him on the way down” as political posturing.</p>
<p>“I don’t think it’s about one individual,” she said. “I think it’s important for black officers currently in the department and retired to take positions on this because the black community needs that.”</p>
<p>Palmer and Hill also agree that the black community needs the Black Lives Matter movement, including Chicago-based groups like BYP100.</p>
<p>“We’re living in a new era,” Palmer explained. “One of the reasons why things always died down was because blacks did not have access to the media. Now they have access to social media. When Ferguson went up the newspapers didn’t cover it, but all at once all these young people were on their smartphones and they got a million hits and people had to pay attention to it.”</p>
<p>He added, “This is not an issue that is going to go away.”</p>
<p>This report was published in collaboration with <a href="http://citybureau.org/" type="external">City Bureau</a>, a Chicago-based journalism lab. Additional reporting by William Cabaniss.</p> | 1,353 |
<p>Washington Post Vice President Dick Cheney yukked it up at the Radio &amp; Television Correspondents' Association dinner ("Except for the occasional heart attack, I never felt better"), then got serious. "Frankly, at the outset, I was a skeptic about embedding," he said. "But I must say I've become a convert. ... You did a great job. You ate with our troops, lived with our troops, and some fine journalists like David Bloom and Michael Kelly died alongside our troops serving a profession they loved, and our country deeply feels their absence."</p> | Cheney says embedded war reporters did a great job | false | https://poynter.org/news/cheney-says-embedded-war-reporters-did-great-job | 2003-06-05 | 2least
| Cheney says embedded war reporters did a great job
<p>Washington Post Vice President Dick Cheney yukked it up at the Radio &amp; Television Correspondents' Association dinner ("Except for the occasional heart attack, I never felt better"), then got serious. "Frankly, at the outset, I was a skeptic about embedding," he said. "But I must say I've become a convert. ... You did a great job. You ate with our troops, lived with our troops, and some fine journalists like David Bloom and Michael Kelly died alongside our troops serving a profession they loved, and our country deeply feels their absence."</p> | 1,354 |
<p />
<p>Reaction from the internet has been predictably scathing. Steve Maviglio of the California Majority Report <a href="http://www.camajorityreport.com/index.php?module=articles&amp;func=display&amp;aid=4897&amp;ptid=9" type="external">says</a> the proposal is “unenforceable, overzealous, and probably unconstitutional, “shows a fundamental misunderstanding of online political communication,” and is “a curious decision considering the FPPC’s absence of action to slow the virtually unregulated flow of big money into elections in our state.”</p>
<p>For example, if you work on a campaign and tweet about it on your personal Facebook page or share an article, then you’ll need to be reported to the FPPC. It means that an assistant at a major campaign firm or an ad agency has to be reported for uploading something to a website — and include the name of the websites, blogs, or social media site.</p>
<p>Maviglio is quite correct. The proposal mandates that deeply detailed accounts be kept of every online posting, tweet, Facebook status, and blog post if the person has received money from a campaign, as specified in the proposed regulation.</p>
<p>§ 18421.5. <a href="http://www.fppc.ca.gov/legal/proposed-regs/18421.5.pdf" type="external">Reporting an Expenditure for Paid Online Communications</a>.</p>
<p>(a) When reporting an itemized expenditure pursuant to Sections 84211(k) or 3 84303, a committee, pursuant to Section 82013(a), must include amounts paid to any person who engages in activities such as the following, on the committee’s behalf:</p>
<p>1) Providing content for or posting on a web site or a web log (commonly known as a “blog”), whether one’s own or another’s;</p>
<p>2) Providing content for or posting on any social media site, including but not limited to Facebook and Twitter;</p>
<p>3) Creating video content to be posted online.</p>
<p>(b) When reporting these expenditures, whether the payment is made directly or through a third party, committees must include as much specificity as possible, including the amount of the payment, the payee, the name of the person providing services, and the name of the Internet publication, blog or website and the URL on which the communications are published.</p>
<p>FPPC Chair Ann Ravel says she feels strongly about this issue and that the public has a right to know if political campaigns are paying journalists to write on the internet. Others feel the regulation would be pointless because it is unenforceable, unwieldy, and would produce mountains of paperwork with few demonstrable results. Ethical bloggers already do disclose where their money comes from and compared to the total amount of money in politics, payments to bloggers are minuscule.</p> | California Proposes Campaigns Disclose Payments to Bloggers | false | https://ivn.us/2012/09/15/california-proposes-campaigns-disclose-payments-to-bloggers/ | 2012-09-15 | 2least
| California Proposes Campaigns Disclose Payments to Bloggers
<p />
<p>Reaction from the internet has been predictably scathing. Steve Maviglio of the California Majority Report <a href="http://www.camajorityreport.com/index.php?module=articles&amp;func=display&amp;aid=4897&amp;ptid=9" type="external">says</a> the proposal is “unenforceable, overzealous, and probably unconstitutional, “shows a fundamental misunderstanding of online political communication,” and is “a curious decision considering the FPPC’s absence of action to slow the virtually unregulated flow of big money into elections in our state.”</p>
<p>For example, if you work on a campaign and tweet about it on your personal Facebook page or share an article, then you’ll need to be reported to the FPPC. It means that an assistant at a major campaign firm or an ad agency has to be reported for uploading something to a website — and include the name of the websites, blogs, or social media site.</p>
<p>Maviglio is quite correct. The proposal mandates that deeply detailed accounts be kept of every online posting, tweet, Facebook status, and blog post if the person has received money from a campaign, as specified in the proposed regulation.</p>
<p>§ 18421.5. <a href="http://www.fppc.ca.gov/legal/proposed-regs/18421.5.pdf" type="external">Reporting an Expenditure for Paid Online Communications</a>.</p>
<p>(a) When reporting an itemized expenditure pursuant to Sections 84211(k) or 3 84303, a committee, pursuant to Section 82013(a), must include amounts paid to any person who engages in activities such as the following, on the committee’s behalf:</p>
<p>1) Providing content for or posting on a web site or a web log (commonly known as a “blog”), whether one’s own or another’s;</p>
<p>2) Providing content for or posting on any social media site, including but not limited to Facebook and Twitter;</p>
<p>3) Creating video content to be posted online.</p>
<p>(b) When reporting these expenditures, whether the payment is made directly or through a third party, committees must include as much specificity as possible, including the amount of the payment, the payee, the name of the person providing services, and the name of the Internet publication, blog or website and the URL on which the communications are published.</p>
<p>FPPC Chair Ann Ravel says she feels strongly about this issue and that the public has a right to know if political campaigns are paying journalists to write on the internet. Others feel the regulation would be pointless because it is unenforceable, unwieldy, and would produce mountains of paperwork with few demonstrable results. Ethical bloggers already do disclose where their money comes from and compared to the total amount of money in politics, payments to bloggers are minuscule.</p> | 1,355 |
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<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Middle school students are invited to attend one of two Arte Encantado weekly sessions this summer at the Albuquerque BioPark, Albuquerque Museum and Explora.</p>
<p>The program, sponsored by the city, "draws connections between art, ecology and science," according to a news release.</p>
<p>Separate sessions begin on June 9 and June 16, and run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. The fee is $25 per week; lunch and snacks are provided.</p>
<p>For more information, contact Dana Feldman at 768-3528 or <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Art programs start June 9 and 16 | false | https://abqjournal.com/391175/art-programs-start-june-9-and-16.html | 2least
| Art programs start June 9 and 16
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Middle school students are invited to attend one of two Arte Encantado weekly sessions this summer at the Albuquerque BioPark, Albuquerque Museum and Explora.</p>
<p>The program, sponsored by the city, "draws connections between art, ecology and science," according to a news release.</p>
<p>Separate sessions begin on June 9 and June 16, and run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. The fee is $25 per week; lunch and snacks are provided.</p>
<p>For more information, contact Dana Feldman at 768-3528 or <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 1,356 |
|
<p>An Arkansas regulatory panel voted Wednesday to ban the use of an herbicide for part of next year after the weed killer drew complaints from farmers across several states who say it has drifted onto their crops and caused widespread damage.</p>
<p>The Arkansas Plant Board on Wednesday approved prohibiting the use of dicamba in the state between April 16 and Oct. 31. The ban includes several exemptions, including for pastures and home use, and now heads to a legislative panel.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Dicamba has been around for decades, but problems arose over the past couple of years as farmers began to use it on soybean and cotton fields where they planted new seeds engineered to be resistant to the herbicide. Because it can easily evaporate after being applied, the chemical sometimes settles on neighboring fields. The state earlier this year approved a temporary ban on the herbicide's sale and use, and has received nearly 1,000 complaints this year about dicamba.</p>
<p>"I think that this has caused farmer to turn against farmer and people in the community not trusting the farmers near their yards, near their vegetable gardens," said Kerin Hawkins, whose brother, Mike Wallace, was a soybean farmer allegedly shot by a worker from a nearby farm where the chemical had been sprayed. "Everyone's afraid of getting damage from this chemical."</p>
<p>Monsanto, which last month sued Arkansas for previously banning its dicamba weed killer, criticized the panel for the latest restriction and said the move will deprive farmers of a needed tool to protect crops. The company left open the possibility of amending its lawsuit or filing another challenge over the new ban.</p>
<p>"Once again, the plant board has acted in an arbitrary fashion and placed Arkansas farmers for the second year in a row at a tremendous disadvantage," said Scott Partridge, Monsanto's vice president for global strategy.</p>
<p>Last month, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it had reached a deal with Monsanto along with BASF and DuPont, which also make dicamba herbicides, for new voluntary restrictions for the weed killer's use. Under the deal, dicamba products will be labeled as "restricted use" beginning with the 2018 growing season, requiring additional training and certifications for workers applying the product to crops.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The new federal rules also limit when and how the herbicide can be sprayed, such as time of day and when maximum winds are blowing below 10 mph. Farmers will be required to maintain specific records showing their compliance with the new restrictions.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Andrew DeMillo on Twitter at www.twiter.com/ademillo</p> | Arkansas panel backs ban of herbicide dicamba | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/11/08/arkansas-panel-backs-ban-herbicide-dicamba.html | 2017-11-08 | 0right
| Arkansas panel backs ban of herbicide dicamba
<p>An Arkansas regulatory panel voted Wednesday to ban the use of an herbicide for part of next year after the weed killer drew complaints from farmers across several states who say it has drifted onto their crops and caused widespread damage.</p>
<p>The Arkansas Plant Board on Wednesday approved prohibiting the use of dicamba in the state between April 16 and Oct. 31. The ban includes several exemptions, including for pastures and home use, and now heads to a legislative panel.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Dicamba has been around for decades, but problems arose over the past couple of years as farmers began to use it on soybean and cotton fields where they planted new seeds engineered to be resistant to the herbicide. Because it can easily evaporate after being applied, the chemical sometimes settles on neighboring fields. The state earlier this year approved a temporary ban on the herbicide's sale and use, and has received nearly 1,000 complaints this year about dicamba.</p>
<p>"I think that this has caused farmer to turn against farmer and people in the community not trusting the farmers near their yards, near their vegetable gardens," said Kerin Hawkins, whose brother, Mike Wallace, was a soybean farmer allegedly shot by a worker from a nearby farm where the chemical had been sprayed. "Everyone's afraid of getting damage from this chemical."</p>
<p>Monsanto, which last month sued Arkansas for previously banning its dicamba weed killer, criticized the panel for the latest restriction and said the move will deprive farmers of a needed tool to protect crops. The company left open the possibility of amending its lawsuit or filing another challenge over the new ban.</p>
<p>"Once again, the plant board has acted in an arbitrary fashion and placed Arkansas farmers for the second year in a row at a tremendous disadvantage," said Scott Partridge, Monsanto's vice president for global strategy.</p>
<p>Last month, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it had reached a deal with Monsanto along with BASF and DuPont, which also make dicamba herbicides, for new voluntary restrictions for the weed killer's use. Under the deal, dicamba products will be labeled as "restricted use" beginning with the 2018 growing season, requiring additional training and certifications for workers applying the product to crops.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The new federal rules also limit when and how the herbicide can be sprayed, such as time of day and when maximum winds are blowing below 10 mph. Farmers will be required to maintain specific records showing their compliance with the new restrictions.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Andrew DeMillo on Twitter at www.twiter.com/ademillo</p> | 1,357 |
<p>One year ago, Candido Ortiz was released from prison after spending nearly 27 years behind bars for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm. His sentence, originally 49 years, was cut short by clemency granted by President Barack Obama in the final days of his presidency. Ortiz, one of 1,715 nonviolent offenders granted clemency by former President Obama, just celebrated his first week as the owner and head chef of El Sabor del Cafe in Jersey City, New Jersey.</p>
<p>Ortiz spent much of his time in jail serving as a prison chef. "I learned how to cook because I like to eat," Ortiz says. "I've been working with food seven days a week, 365 days a year, and I've been doing that for the past 27 years."</p>
<p>Under the Department of Justice Clemency Initiative, nonviolent offenders who served at least 10 years could petition to get their sentences commuted to match current sentencing laws. "It was the most beautiful thing that happened to me in my life," Ortiz says. "If I was not getting out last Christmas, my release date was going to be 2035. At the age of 80 years."</p>
<p />
<p>Since his release, Ortiz has been working with the New Jersey Re-Entry Program, a group headed by former NJ Governor Jim McGreevey that aims to support former inmate's assimilation process. "Ortiz has spent a lot of time in the federal penitentiary, in the federal system serving as a chef," McGreevey says. "Within a weeks time, we had him working as a short order cook at a local cafe. And then helped to raise the necessary dollars for him to make a down payment for restaurant."</p>
<p>There are currently more than two million people in American prisons or jails -- 25 percent of the world's incarcerated population.</p>
<p /> | An ex-prisoner released by Obama clemency just opened his own restaurant | false | https://circa.com/story/2018/01/08/nation/candido-ortiz-an-ex-prisoner-released-by-obama-clemency-just-opened-his-own-restaurant | 2018-01-08 | 1right-center
| An ex-prisoner released by Obama clemency just opened his own restaurant
<p>One year ago, Candido Ortiz was released from prison after spending nearly 27 years behind bars for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm. His sentence, originally 49 years, was cut short by clemency granted by President Barack Obama in the final days of his presidency. Ortiz, one of 1,715 nonviolent offenders granted clemency by former President Obama, just celebrated his first week as the owner and head chef of El Sabor del Cafe in Jersey City, New Jersey.</p>
<p>Ortiz spent much of his time in jail serving as a prison chef. "I learned how to cook because I like to eat," Ortiz says. "I've been working with food seven days a week, 365 days a year, and I've been doing that for the past 27 years."</p>
<p>Under the Department of Justice Clemency Initiative, nonviolent offenders who served at least 10 years could petition to get their sentences commuted to match current sentencing laws. "It was the most beautiful thing that happened to me in my life," Ortiz says. "If I was not getting out last Christmas, my release date was going to be 2035. At the age of 80 years."</p>
<p />
<p>Since his release, Ortiz has been working with the New Jersey Re-Entry Program, a group headed by former NJ Governor Jim McGreevey that aims to support former inmate's assimilation process. "Ortiz has spent a lot of time in the federal penitentiary, in the federal system serving as a chef," McGreevey says. "Within a weeks time, we had him working as a short order cook at a local cafe. And then helped to raise the necessary dollars for him to make a down payment for restaurant."</p>
<p>There are currently more than two million people in American prisons or jails -- 25 percent of the world's incarcerated population.</p>
<p /> | 1,358 |
<p>BOSTON (AP) - Former President Barack Obama will speak at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference on Feb. 23 to discuss his time in office and the next chapter in his life.</p>
<p>The conference announced Friday night <a href="https://twitter.com/SloanSportsConf/status/949455023574011904" type="external">on Twitter</a> that Obama, an avid sports fan, would make an appearance.</p>
<p>MIT has held the conference annually since 2007, hosting industry professionals to discuss the role of analytics in sports. This year, Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman are scheduled to speak. Also on the list of speakers - retired baseball star Alex Rodriguez, FiveThirtyEight founder Nate Silver and Los Angeles Clippers owner and former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.</p>
<p>Obama routinely filled out NCAA Tournament brackets on ESPN during his presidency. His White House press secretary, Josh Earnest, once said Obama would consider being part of the ownership group for an NBA franchise.</p>
<p>BOSTON (AP) - Former President Barack Obama will speak at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference on Feb. 23 to discuss his time in office and the next chapter in his life.</p>
<p>The conference announced Friday night <a href="https://twitter.com/SloanSportsConf/status/949455023574011904" type="external">on Twitter</a> that Obama, an avid sports fan, would make an appearance.</p>
<p>MIT has held the conference annually since 2007, hosting industry professionals to discuss the role of analytics in sports. This year, Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman are scheduled to speak. Also on the list of speakers - retired baseball star Alex Rodriguez, FiveThirtyEight founder Nate Silver and Los Angeles Clippers owner and former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.</p>
<p>Obama routinely filled out NCAA Tournament brackets on ESPN during his presidency. His White House press secretary, Josh Earnest, once said Obama would consider being part of the ownership group for an NBA franchise.</p> | Obama to speak at MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference | false | https://apnews.com/amp/36e679ff7e124c4399f46bf95d1a780a | 2018-01-06 | 2least
| Obama to speak at MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference
<p>BOSTON (AP) - Former President Barack Obama will speak at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference on Feb. 23 to discuss his time in office and the next chapter in his life.</p>
<p>The conference announced Friday night <a href="https://twitter.com/SloanSportsConf/status/949455023574011904" type="external">on Twitter</a> that Obama, an avid sports fan, would make an appearance.</p>
<p>MIT has held the conference annually since 2007, hosting industry professionals to discuss the role of analytics in sports. This year, Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman are scheduled to speak. Also on the list of speakers - retired baseball star Alex Rodriguez, FiveThirtyEight founder Nate Silver and Los Angeles Clippers owner and former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.</p>
<p>Obama routinely filled out NCAA Tournament brackets on ESPN during his presidency. His White House press secretary, Josh Earnest, once said Obama would consider being part of the ownership group for an NBA franchise.</p>
<p>BOSTON (AP) - Former President Barack Obama will speak at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference on Feb. 23 to discuss his time in office and the next chapter in his life.</p>
<p>The conference announced Friday night <a href="https://twitter.com/SloanSportsConf/status/949455023574011904" type="external">on Twitter</a> that Obama, an avid sports fan, would make an appearance.</p>
<p>MIT has held the conference annually since 2007, hosting industry professionals to discuss the role of analytics in sports. This year, Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman are scheduled to speak. Also on the list of speakers - retired baseball star Alex Rodriguez, FiveThirtyEight founder Nate Silver and Los Angeles Clippers owner and former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.</p>
<p>Obama routinely filled out NCAA Tournament brackets on ESPN during his presidency. His White House press secretary, Josh Earnest, once said Obama would consider being part of the ownership group for an NBA franchise.</p> | 1,359 |
<p />
<p>Image source: TASER International.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>What: Shares of Taser and body camera company TASER International jumped as much as 18% in morning trading Monday after the company reported earnings. By midday, shares had settled to about a 12% gain.</p>
<p>So what: Fourth-quarter revenue at TASER rose 19.7% to $56.0 million and net income was flat at $5.1, or $0.09 per share. Analysts were only expecting $50.5 million in revenue and $0.04 per share in earnings.</p>
<p>Strong results were driven by the adoption of the Axon 2 body camera and Evidence.com subscriptions. Axon segment revenue jumped 47% from a year ago to $9.4 million, and there is now $159.0 million in future contracted revenue in the segment as well.</p>
<p>Now what: Adoption of body cameras and cloud-based evidence backup is taking hold, but it's not going to become standard overnight. We're just starting to see some of the country's largest law enforcement groups adopt these platforms, and there's still a lot of growth potential for TASER International ahead. Recently, the company has invested heavily in new product offerings and a sales teams to match.</p>
<p>Given the recent traction and the improving line of products, I think this company has a bright future ahead as a law enforcement supplier.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/02/29/why-taser-international-inc-shares-popped-18-today.aspx" type="external">Why TASER International, Inc.'s Shares Popped 18% Today Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFFlushDraw/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Travis Hoium Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Taser International. The Motley Fool recommends Taser International. 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> | Why TASER International, Inc.'s Shares Popped 18% Today | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/02/29/why-taser-international-inc-shares-popped-18-today.html | 2016-03-27 | 0right
| Why TASER International, Inc.'s Shares Popped 18% Today
<p />
<p>Image source: TASER International.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>What: Shares of Taser and body camera company TASER International jumped as much as 18% in morning trading Monday after the company reported earnings. By midday, shares had settled to about a 12% gain.</p>
<p>So what: Fourth-quarter revenue at TASER rose 19.7% to $56.0 million and net income was flat at $5.1, or $0.09 per share. Analysts were only expecting $50.5 million in revenue and $0.04 per share in earnings.</p>
<p>Strong results were driven by the adoption of the Axon 2 body camera and Evidence.com subscriptions. Axon segment revenue jumped 47% from a year ago to $9.4 million, and there is now $159.0 million in future contracted revenue in the segment as well.</p>
<p>Now what: Adoption of body cameras and cloud-based evidence backup is taking hold, but it's not going to become standard overnight. We're just starting to see some of the country's largest law enforcement groups adopt these platforms, and there's still a lot of growth potential for TASER International ahead. Recently, the company has invested heavily in new product offerings and a sales teams to match.</p>
<p>Given the recent traction and the improving line of products, I think this company has a bright future ahead as a law enforcement supplier.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/02/29/why-taser-international-inc-shares-popped-18-today.aspx" type="external">Why TASER International, Inc.'s Shares Popped 18% Today Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFFlushDraw/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Travis Hoium Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Taser International. The Motley Fool recommends Taser International. 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> | 1,360 |
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<p />
<p>British Prime Minister David Cameron, who spoke to the presidents of both countries in the very public dispute, said he had grounded all British flights to and from the Sinai Peninsula because of "intelligence and information" indicating a bomb was the probable reason a Metrojet Airbus A321-200 plane had crashed Saturday in the desert.</p>
<p>British and U.S. officials, guided primarily by intelligence intercepts and satellite imagery, have suggested gingerly it might have been the work of the extremist Islamic State group and its affiliates in the Sinai.</p>
<p>"We don't know for certain that it was a terrorist bomb - (but it's a) strong possibility," Cameron said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi later stood beside him at a news conference following an awkward meeting. Cameron also spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin to explain that concern for the safety of British citizens had led the government to go public with its suspicions about a bomb.</p>
<p>Russia and Egypt insist the investigation into the crash must run its course before any conclusion is reached. The Metrojet plane crashed 23 minutes after taking off from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh for St. Petersburg with mostly Russians aboard.</p>
<p>The dispute arose after the U.S. and British intelligence was disclosed Wednesday, just as el-Sissi was heading to London on a previously planned visit - his first as president.</p>
<p>Russia complained that intelligence gathered by London and Washington about its jetliner has not been made available.</p>
<p>If Britain had information about a bomb on the plane, it's "really shocking" that hasn't been shared with Russia, said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, speaking in Moscow.</p>
<p>British officials declined to say what intelligence was shared with other countries.</p>
<p>U.S. and British leaders have stopped short of a categorical assignment of blame in the crash, but Cameron said it is "more likely than not" that the cause was a bomb.</p>
<p>President Barack Obama said the U.S. was taking "very seriously" the possibility that a bomb brought down the plane. His comments, in an interview with a Seattle radio station, followed an earlier statement by White House spokesman Josh Earnest, who said the U.S. can't rule out the possibility of terrorism.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The Islamic State group, which has not generally pursued "spectacular" attacks outside its base in Syria, has claimed responsibility for bringing down the plane, but Russian and Egyptian officials say the claim was not credible.</p>
<p>Russia is conducting an air war in Syria against Islamic State militants who have promised retaliation.</p>
<p>Egypt stands to lose millions of dollars from its vital tourism industry. Its tourism minister, Hisham Zaazou, met with British officials in London to persuade them to reconsider the decision to suspend flights to Sharm el-Sheikh, the Egyptian state-run news agency MENA reported.</p>
<p>Caught in the middle are thousands of tourists stranded in Sharm el-Sheikh, unable to return home because flights have been suspended due to security concerns.</p>
<p>Britain sent a security team to the Sharm el-Sheikh airport to determine what changes are needed to make travel there safe, but Egyptian officials maintain there is nothing wrong with the facility, which each year welcomes thousands of tourists to the resort beside the crystal-clear Red Sea.</p>
<p>British Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin told Parliament that Egypt must put in tighter, long-term security measures before British flights will resume flying there on a regular basis. Short-term measures, including different luggage-handing arrangements, would allow the estimated 20,000 British citizens in the Sharm el-Sheikh area to fly home, he said.</p>
<p>El-Sissi said British officials had sent a security team to evaluate the airport 10 months ago and were satisfied with the results.</p>
<p>"They checked the security actions, they were happy with that," he told a Downing Street news conference through an interpreter.</p>
<p>Egypt condemned the British travel ban as an overreaction. Minister of Civil Aviation Hossam Kamal insisted the country's airports meet international security standards and said talk of a bomb was unsupported.</p>
<p>"The investigation team does not have yet any evidence or data confirming this hypothesis," he said.</p>
<p>The Kremlin said Putin told Cameron it was necessary to rely on data yielded by the official crash investigation.</p>
<p>Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said it was mere speculation to single out one possible explanation at this early point in the inquiry.</p>
<p>"One cannot rule out a single theory, but at this point there are no reasons to voice just one theory as reliable - only investigators can do that," Peskov said in Moscow.</p>
<p>Russia's top aviation official, Alexander Neradko, said investigators are pursuing several theories into the crash, including looking for traces of explosives on victims' bodies, their baggage and the plane debris, as well as studying other "aspects linked to a possible terrorist attack."</p>
<p>He said the investigation is likely to take several months.</p>
<p>Metrojet suspended all flights of Airbus A321 jets in its fleet after the crash. The company has ruled out a pilot error or a technical fault as a possible cause, drawing criticism from Russian officials for speaking with such certainty too soon.</p>
<p>Images from U.S. satellites detected heat around the jet just before it went down Saturday, two U.S. officials told The Associated Press. The infrared activity could mean several things, including a bomb blast or an engine exploding because of a mechanical breakdown.</p>
<p>Another U.S. official briefed on the Metrojet crash told the AP that intercepted communications played a role in the tentative conclusion that the Islamic State group's Sinai affiliate had planted an explosive on the flight.</p>
<p>The official added that intelligence analysts don't believe the operation was ordered by Islamic State leaders in Raqqa, Syria, but was possibly planned and executed by its affiliate in the Sinai. The U.S. officials all spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss intelligence matters publicly.</p>
<p>Philip Baum, editor of Aviation Security International, said a bomb could be placed on a plane in a variety of ways, including by someone with access or by those on catering teams or maintenance crews.</p>
<p>"The options are almost too many to consider," he said in a telephone interview from Gambia.</p>
<p>Several airlines announced plans to start flying tourists from Sharm el-Sheikh on Friday.</p>
<p>EasyJet said it will run nine flights from the Red Sea resort to London and one to Milan, while Monarch will have two scheduled flights and three additional flights. Neither carrier is operating passenger flights from the U.K. to Sharm el-Sheikh.</p>
<p>Cameron's office said additional security measures will be in place, including only allowing passengers to carry hand baggage, while checked luggage will be transported separately.</p>
<p>The government has said it could take a week to 10 days to bring home the 20,000 British tourists.</p>
<p>Italy's civil aviation authority said it asked Italian airlines to conduct their own extra security checks at the airport as a precaution.</p>
<p>At the airport, travelers lined up as usual for metal detectors, searches of luggage and X-rayed baggage.</p>
<p>"Belgium authorities are telling me that it's not safe in Egypt and they have to cancel the flight for safety reasons, which I think it is stupid because it is safe and there is no problem at all," said Belgian tourist Bart Tecker.</p>
<p>Anger among travelers may be boiling over. Emma Smyth said there was at least one confrontation between staff at the Aqua Blue hotel and a distraught English family that didn't want to pay for its extra days of lodging.</p>
<p>"The hotel set a charge and the tourists cannot understand why they are being charged," she said. "They said they should be allowed to stay, and with that, one man grabbed one of the managers - they ripped his shirt, ripped his name-badge off and everything."</p>
<p>Very different emotions were on display in Russia.</p>
<p>In the ancient city of Veliky Novgorod, 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of St. Petersburg, family and friends said a tearful goodbye to 60-year-old Nina Lushchenko, the first victim to be buried.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writers Brian Rohan in Luxor, Egypt; Ken Dilanian in Washington, Jill Lawless and Danica Kirka in London; Nataliya Vasilyeva and Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow; and Dmitry Lovetsky in Veliky Novgorod, Russia, contributed to this story.</p> | Russia, Egypt dismiss suggestions a bomb caused crash | false | https://abqjournal.com/671243/russia-egypt-dismiss-suggestions-a-bomb-caused-crash.html | 2015-11-05 | 2least
| Russia, Egypt dismiss suggestions a bomb caused crash
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<p />
<p>British Prime Minister David Cameron, who spoke to the presidents of both countries in the very public dispute, said he had grounded all British flights to and from the Sinai Peninsula because of "intelligence and information" indicating a bomb was the probable reason a Metrojet Airbus A321-200 plane had crashed Saturday in the desert.</p>
<p>British and U.S. officials, guided primarily by intelligence intercepts and satellite imagery, have suggested gingerly it might have been the work of the extremist Islamic State group and its affiliates in the Sinai.</p>
<p>"We don't know for certain that it was a terrorist bomb - (but it's a) strong possibility," Cameron said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi later stood beside him at a news conference following an awkward meeting. Cameron also spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin to explain that concern for the safety of British citizens had led the government to go public with its suspicions about a bomb.</p>
<p>Russia and Egypt insist the investigation into the crash must run its course before any conclusion is reached. The Metrojet plane crashed 23 minutes after taking off from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh for St. Petersburg with mostly Russians aboard.</p>
<p>The dispute arose after the U.S. and British intelligence was disclosed Wednesday, just as el-Sissi was heading to London on a previously planned visit - his first as president.</p>
<p>Russia complained that intelligence gathered by London and Washington about its jetliner has not been made available.</p>
<p>If Britain had information about a bomb on the plane, it's "really shocking" that hasn't been shared with Russia, said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, speaking in Moscow.</p>
<p>British officials declined to say what intelligence was shared with other countries.</p>
<p>U.S. and British leaders have stopped short of a categorical assignment of blame in the crash, but Cameron said it is "more likely than not" that the cause was a bomb.</p>
<p>President Barack Obama said the U.S. was taking "very seriously" the possibility that a bomb brought down the plane. His comments, in an interview with a Seattle radio station, followed an earlier statement by White House spokesman Josh Earnest, who said the U.S. can't rule out the possibility of terrorism.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The Islamic State group, which has not generally pursued "spectacular" attacks outside its base in Syria, has claimed responsibility for bringing down the plane, but Russian and Egyptian officials say the claim was not credible.</p>
<p>Russia is conducting an air war in Syria against Islamic State militants who have promised retaliation.</p>
<p>Egypt stands to lose millions of dollars from its vital tourism industry. Its tourism minister, Hisham Zaazou, met with British officials in London to persuade them to reconsider the decision to suspend flights to Sharm el-Sheikh, the Egyptian state-run news agency MENA reported.</p>
<p>Caught in the middle are thousands of tourists stranded in Sharm el-Sheikh, unable to return home because flights have been suspended due to security concerns.</p>
<p>Britain sent a security team to the Sharm el-Sheikh airport to determine what changes are needed to make travel there safe, but Egyptian officials maintain there is nothing wrong with the facility, which each year welcomes thousands of tourists to the resort beside the crystal-clear Red Sea.</p>
<p>British Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin told Parliament that Egypt must put in tighter, long-term security measures before British flights will resume flying there on a regular basis. Short-term measures, including different luggage-handing arrangements, would allow the estimated 20,000 British citizens in the Sharm el-Sheikh area to fly home, he said.</p>
<p>El-Sissi said British officials had sent a security team to evaluate the airport 10 months ago and were satisfied with the results.</p>
<p>"They checked the security actions, they were happy with that," he told a Downing Street news conference through an interpreter.</p>
<p>Egypt condemned the British travel ban as an overreaction. Minister of Civil Aviation Hossam Kamal insisted the country's airports meet international security standards and said talk of a bomb was unsupported.</p>
<p>"The investigation team does not have yet any evidence or data confirming this hypothesis," he said.</p>
<p>The Kremlin said Putin told Cameron it was necessary to rely on data yielded by the official crash investigation.</p>
<p>Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said it was mere speculation to single out one possible explanation at this early point in the inquiry.</p>
<p>"One cannot rule out a single theory, but at this point there are no reasons to voice just one theory as reliable - only investigators can do that," Peskov said in Moscow.</p>
<p>Russia's top aviation official, Alexander Neradko, said investigators are pursuing several theories into the crash, including looking for traces of explosives on victims' bodies, their baggage and the plane debris, as well as studying other "aspects linked to a possible terrorist attack."</p>
<p>He said the investigation is likely to take several months.</p>
<p>Metrojet suspended all flights of Airbus A321 jets in its fleet after the crash. The company has ruled out a pilot error or a technical fault as a possible cause, drawing criticism from Russian officials for speaking with such certainty too soon.</p>
<p>Images from U.S. satellites detected heat around the jet just before it went down Saturday, two U.S. officials told The Associated Press. The infrared activity could mean several things, including a bomb blast or an engine exploding because of a mechanical breakdown.</p>
<p>Another U.S. official briefed on the Metrojet crash told the AP that intercepted communications played a role in the tentative conclusion that the Islamic State group's Sinai affiliate had planted an explosive on the flight.</p>
<p>The official added that intelligence analysts don't believe the operation was ordered by Islamic State leaders in Raqqa, Syria, but was possibly planned and executed by its affiliate in the Sinai. The U.S. officials all spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss intelligence matters publicly.</p>
<p>Philip Baum, editor of Aviation Security International, said a bomb could be placed on a plane in a variety of ways, including by someone with access or by those on catering teams or maintenance crews.</p>
<p>"The options are almost too many to consider," he said in a telephone interview from Gambia.</p>
<p>Several airlines announced plans to start flying tourists from Sharm el-Sheikh on Friday.</p>
<p>EasyJet said it will run nine flights from the Red Sea resort to London and one to Milan, while Monarch will have two scheduled flights and three additional flights. Neither carrier is operating passenger flights from the U.K. to Sharm el-Sheikh.</p>
<p>Cameron's office said additional security measures will be in place, including only allowing passengers to carry hand baggage, while checked luggage will be transported separately.</p>
<p>The government has said it could take a week to 10 days to bring home the 20,000 British tourists.</p>
<p>Italy's civil aviation authority said it asked Italian airlines to conduct their own extra security checks at the airport as a precaution.</p>
<p>At the airport, travelers lined up as usual for metal detectors, searches of luggage and X-rayed baggage.</p>
<p>"Belgium authorities are telling me that it's not safe in Egypt and they have to cancel the flight for safety reasons, which I think it is stupid because it is safe and there is no problem at all," said Belgian tourist Bart Tecker.</p>
<p>Anger among travelers may be boiling over. Emma Smyth said there was at least one confrontation between staff at the Aqua Blue hotel and a distraught English family that didn't want to pay for its extra days of lodging.</p>
<p>"The hotel set a charge and the tourists cannot understand why they are being charged," she said. "They said they should be allowed to stay, and with that, one man grabbed one of the managers - they ripped his shirt, ripped his name-badge off and everything."</p>
<p>Very different emotions were on display in Russia.</p>
<p>In the ancient city of Veliky Novgorod, 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of St. Petersburg, family and friends said a tearful goodbye to 60-year-old Nina Lushchenko, the first victim to be buried.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writers Brian Rohan in Luxor, Egypt; Ken Dilanian in Washington, Jill Lawless and Danica Kirka in London; Nataliya Vasilyeva and Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow; and Dmitry Lovetsky in Veliky Novgorod, Russia, contributed to this story.</p> | 1,361 |
<p>Data from Baker Hughes Friday revealed that the <a href="http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=79687&amp;p=irol-rigcountsoverview" type="external">number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil Opens a New Window.</a> rose by 7 to 609 rigs this week. That marked the seventh weekly increase in a row. The total active U.S. rig count, which includes oil and natural-gas rigs, also rose by 2 to 756, according to Baker Hughes. April West Texas Intermediate crude was up 53 cents, or 1%, at $53.14 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was little changed from the level it traded at before the data.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2017 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | Baker Hughes Data Show Another Weekly Rise In U.S. Oil-rig Count | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/03/03/baker-hughes-data-show-another-weekly-rise-in-us-oil-rig-count.html | 2017-03-16 | 0right
| Baker Hughes Data Show Another Weekly Rise In U.S. Oil-rig Count
<p>Data from Baker Hughes Friday revealed that the <a href="http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=79687&amp;p=irol-rigcountsoverview" type="external">number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil Opens a New Window.</a> rose by 7 to 609 rigs this week. That marked the seventh weekly increase in a row. The total active U.S. rig count, which includes oil and natural-gas rigs, also rose by 2 to 756, according to Baker Hughes. April West Texas Intermediate crude was up 53 cents, or 1%, at $53.14 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was little changed from the level it traded at before the data.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2017 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | 1,362 |
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<p>PHOENIX — Former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio was unable to cite any evidence on the witness stand Wednesday to back up his now-dismissed animal cruelty case against one of U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake’s sons in the 2014 deaths of 21 dogs.</p>
<p>The former six-term sheriff of metro Phoenix told jurors he felt his detectives had gathered the proper evidence to recommend charges after the dogs died of heat exhaustion. He repeatedly declined to explain his confidence in the investigation into Austin Flake and his then-wife Logan Brown, who were caring for the animals at a kennel operated by Brown’s parents.</p>
<p>“Once again, I don’t have the nuts and bolts,” Arpaio said. “The detectives handled it.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Arpaio was the first witness to testify in the malicious-prosecution lawsuit filed by Flake and Brown. It alleges Arpaio pursued charges against them to do political damage to the Republican senator from Arizona and gain publicity for himself.</p>
<p>They say the criminal case caused them emotional distress and contributed to the demise of their marriage.</p>
<p>Under questioning from Arpaio attorney Jeffrey Leonard, the former sheriff said he didn’t pressure his investigators or prosecutors to bring charges.</p>
<p>The case against the Flakes was dismissed at the request of prosecutors, and the owners of the kennel pleaded guilty to animal cruelty charges after an expert determined the facility’s air conditioner failed because the operators didn’t properly maintain it.</p>
<p>The media-savvy lawman also was grilled over his motivations in publicizing the investigation, saying he spoke out about the dog deaths because it was a serious matter and reporters were asking about the case.</p>
<p>He downplayed the number of news conferences he called to discuss the case and was unable to explain why he told reporters shortly after the investigation began that the deaths were suspicious, when his spokesman had called them a tragic accident a day earlier.</p>
<p>“What turned it from tragic accident to highly suspicious in 24 hours?” asked Stephen Montoya, an attorney representing Flake and his ex-wife.</p>
<p>“I don’t know,” Arpaio answered. “Maybe someone had an opinion.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>His low-key demeanor during the trial contrasted with the blustery style he had shown through the years in his news conferences and political events. His voice wasn’t booming in court as it often is before TV cameras. He instead spoke in a subdued voice.</p>
<p>Jurors were played a 22-minute video of a September 2014 news conference in which Arpaio announced that he was recommending charges against the Flakes and kennel operators.</p>
<p>Montoya asked Arpaio about speaking to another gathering of reporters just days after the deaths and displaying photos of the dead dogs.</p>
<p>Arpaio said he didn’t consider the gathering to be a news conference and explained that it grew out questions reporters had about a news release his office sent about the investigation. The event was held at a podium in the sheriff’s office where Arpaio regularly spoke to reporters.</p>
<p>The only mention of Sen. Flake during the testimony so far came when Montoya asked Arpaio whether he knew that making a criminal case against the son of a U.S. senator would bring national and international media attention.</p>
<p>“I don’t know,” Arpaio said, adding that he doesn’t care about the last names of the people his office investigated.</p>
<p>Arpaio declined to say whether his recommendation to charge the Flakes was a mistake, given that a judge has since ruled that there was no probable cause to charge them.</p>
<p>Lawyers for Austin Flake and Brown have said previously that the senator drew Arpaio’s ire by disagreeing with the sheriff over immigration and criticizing the movement that questioned the authenticity of then-President Barack Obama’s birth certificate.</p>
<p>Arpaio was known for carrying out dozens of large-scale immigration crackdowns and conducting a five-year investigation of Obama’s birth record.</p>
<p>The sheriff’s attorneys are expected to get a chance later Wednesday to question their client on the stand.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Jacques Billeaud at twitter.com/jacquesbilleaud. His work can be found at https://www.apnews.com/search/jacques%20billeaud .</p> | Arpaio unable to cite evidence in case vs. Sen. Flake’s son | false | https://abqjournal.com/1102666/malicious-prosecution-suit-against-joe-arpaio-goes-to-trial.html | 2017-12-06 | 2least
| Arpaio unable to cite evidence in case vs. Sen. Flake’s son
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>PHOENIX — Former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio was unable to cite any evidence on the witness stand Wednesday to back up his now-dismissed animal cruelty case against one of U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake’s sons in the 2014 deaths of 21 dogs.</p>
<p>The former six-term sheriff of metro Phoenix told jurors he felt his detectives had gathered the proper evidence to recommend charges after the dogs died of heat exhaustion. He repeatedly declined to explain his confidence in the investigation into Austin Flake and his then-wife Logan Brown, who were caring for the animals at a kennel operated by Brown’s parents.</p>
<p>“Once again, I don’t have the nuts and bolts,” Arpaio said. “The detectives handled it.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Arpaio was the first witness to testify in the malicious-prosecution lawsuit filed by Flake and Brown. It alleges Arpaio pursued charges against them to do political damage to the Republican senator from Arizona and gain publicity for himself.</p>
<p>They say the criminal case caused them emotional distress and contributed to the demise of their marriage.</p>
<p>Under questioning from Arpaio attorney Jeffrey Leonard, the former sheriff said he didn’t pressure his investigators or prosecutors to bring charges.</p>
<p>The case against the Flakes was dismissed at the request of prosecutors, and the owners of the kennel pleaded guilty to animal cruelty charges after an expert determined the facility’s air conditioner failed because the operators didn’t properly maintain it.</p>
<p>The media-savvy lawman also was grilled over his motivations in publicizing the investigation, saying he spoke out about the dog deaths because it was a serious matter and reporters were asking about the case.</p>
<p>He downplayed the number of news conferences he called to discuss the case and was unable to explain why he told reporters shortly after the investigation began that the deaths were suspicious, when his spokesman had called them a tragic accident a day earlier.</p>
<p>“What turned it from tragic accident to highly suspicious in 24 hours?” asked Stephen Montoya, an attorney representing Flake and his ex-wife.</p>
<p>“I don’t know,” Arpaio answered. “Maybe someone had an opinion.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>His low-key demeanor during the trial contrasted with the blustery style he had shown through the years in his news conferences and political events. His voice wasn’t booming in court as it often is before TV cameras. He instead spoke in a subdued voice.</p>
<p>Jurors were played a 22-minute video of a September 2014 news conference in which Arpaio announced that he was recommending charges against the Flakes and kennel operators.</p>
<p>Montoya asked Arpaio about speaking to another gathering of reporters just days after the deaths and displaying photos of the dead dogs.</p>
<p>Arpaio said he didn’t consider the gathering to be a news conference and explained that it grew out questions reporters had about a news release his office sent about the investigation. The event was held at a podium in the sheriff’s office where Arpaio regularly spoke to reporters.</p>
<p>The only mention of Sen. Flake during the testimony so far came when Montoya asked Arpaio whether he knew that making a criminal case against the son of a U.S. senator would bring national and international media attention.</p>
<p>“I don’t know,” Arpaio said, adding that he doesn’t care about the last names of the people his office investigated.</p>
<p>Arpaio declined to say whether his recommendation to charge the Flakes was a mistake, given that a judge has since ruled that there was no probable cause to charge them.</p>
<p>Lawyers for Austin Flake and Brown have said previously that the senator drew Arpaio’s ire by disagreeing with the sheriff over immigration and criticizing the movement that questioned the authenticity of then-President Barack Obama’s birth certificate.</p>
<p>Arpaio was known for carrying out dozens of large-scale immigration crackdowns and conducting a five-year investigation of Obama’s birth record.</p>
<p>The sheriff’s attorneys are expected to get a chance later Wednesday to question their client on the stand.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Jacques Billeaud at twitter.com/jacquesbilleaud. His work can be found at https://www.apnews.com/search/jacques%20billeaud .</p> | 1,363 |
<p>Like most biotechs without a drug generating revenue, ImmunoGen's (NASDAQ: IMGN) third-quarter earnings were a review of what it's accomplished and a look at what investors can expect in the future.</p>
<p>Fortunately, it's been a productive year for the company in terms of shoring up its balance sheet. Unfortunately, investors still have a ways to go before the revenue will start rolling in.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>ImmunoGen still has one more drug -- coltuximab ravtansine, which targets CD19 -- that it's interested in monetizing, but Mark Enyedy, ImmunoGen's president and CEO, said in the earnings call that investors shouldn't hold their breath:</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>While data from Forward I won't be available for awhile, investors will get to see some clinical data on IMGN779 at the American Society of Hematology meeting next month. The <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/11/01/why-immunogen-inc-got-burned-into-ash-today.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=5fc30ee2-c57e-11e7-88d1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">abstract Opens a New Window.</a> didn't have much efficacy data, but management said updated data will be presented at the meeting.</p>
<p>Looking further down the line, efficacy data testing mirvetuximab&#160;combinations from the Forward II trial will be released next year, with the mirvetuximab and Keytruda combination announced at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology meeting in March, and the combination with Avastin reported at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in June.</p>
<p>At the very least, the combination data is a backup plan if the Forward I trial fails. Best-case scenario, it offers an opportunity to expand sales of mirvetuximab, going after patients beyond the platinum-resistant ovarian cancer cases being tested in Forward I.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than ImmunoGenWhen 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=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-static%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=05e90b22-1a9f-404f-8190-61c0206c560c&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=5fc30ee2-c57e-11e7-88d1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and ImmunoGen wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-static%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=05e90b22-1a9f-404f-8190-61c0206c560c&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=5fc30ee2-c57e-11e7-88d1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of November 6, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFBiologyFool/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=5fc30ee2-c57e-11e7-88d1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Brian Orelli Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends ImmunoGen. 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;referring_guid=5fc30ee2-c57e-11e7-88d1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | ImmunoGen, Inc. Moves Forward | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/11/10/immunogen-inc-moves-forward.html | 2017-11-10 | 0right
| ImmunoGen, Inc. Moves Forward
<p>Like most biotechs without a drug generating revenue, ImmunoGen's (NASDAQ: IMGN) third-quarter earnings were a review of what it's accomplished and a look at what investors can expect in the future.</p>
<p>Fortunately, it's been a productive year for the company in terms of shoring up its balance sheet. Unfortunately, investors still have a ways to go before the revenue will start rolling in.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>ImmunoGen still has one more drug -- coltuximab ravtansine, which targets CD19 -- that it's interested in monetizing, but Mark Enyedy, ImmunoGen's president and CEO, said in the earnings call that investors shouldn't hold their breath:</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>While data from Forward I won't be available for awhile, investors will get to see some clinical data on IMGN779 at the American Society of Hematology meeting next month. The <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/11/01/why-immunogen-inc-got-burned-into-ash-today.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=5fc30ee2-c57e-11e7-88d1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">abstract Opens a New Window.</a> didn't have much efficacy data, but management said updated data will be presented at the meeting.</p>
<p>Looking further down the line, efficacy data testing mirvetuximab&#160;combinations from the Forward II trial will be released next year, with the mirvetuximab and Keytruda combination announced at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology meeting in March, and the combination with Avastin reported at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in June.</p>
<p>At the very least, the combination data is a backup plan if the Forward I trial fails. Best-case scenario, it offers an opportunity to expand sales of mirvetuximab, going after patients beyond the platinum-resistant ovarian cancer cases being tested in Forward I.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than ImmunoGenWhen 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=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-static%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=05e90b22-1a9f-404f-8190-61c0206c560c&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=5fc30ee2-c57e-11e7-88d1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and ImmunoGen wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-static%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=05e90b22-1a9f-404f-8190-61c0206c560c&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=5fc30ee2-c57e-11e7-88d1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of November 6, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFBiologyFool/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=5fc30ee2-c57e-11e7-88d1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Brian Orelli Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends ImmunoGen. 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;referring_guid=5fc30ee2-c57e-11e7-88d1-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 1,364 |
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<p>Skandera has been a controversial figure since Martinez tapped her to head the state Public Education Department more than two years ago, and she has not been confirmed by the Senate. During the latest legislative session, hours of hearings were held in the Senate Rules Committee, but no vote was ever taken.</p>
<p>Senate Rules Committee Chairwoman Linda Lopez, D-Albuquerque, has said the committee needs more information before it can vote, and that hearings will continue throughout the year.</p>
<p>Martinez has been critical of the Senate’s failure to vote on Skandera’s confirmation. Earlier this month, she told reporters that “a lot of politics have been played” during the confirmation process.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>That was part of Martinez’s response to a reporter’s question about why Skandera is now referred to on the PED website and in news releases as the secretary of education, instead of secretary-designate.</p>
<p>Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto, D-Albuquerque, and a member of the Rules Committee, said he sympathizes with the governor but feels it is inappropriate for Skandera to drop the “designate” from her title.</p>
<p>“I understand the governor and the secretary-designate’s frustration about the process,” he said. “I think there are probably more respectful ways for them to make a statement, other than taking a title that suggests she has been confirmed, when in fact she has not.”</p>
<p>Martinez spokesman Enrique Knell said last month the change reflects the governor’s faith in Skandera.</p>
<p>“Legislators and the media can keep calling her Secretary designate if they wish, but Governor Martinez considers Hanna her Secretary of Public Education,” Knell said in a written statement. He said Skandera “has been in the job for more than 2 years and the Rules Committee has had ample opportunity to give her a vote on the Senate floor.”</p>
<p>Senate Minority Leader Stuart Ingle, R-Portales, said he does not mind that Skandera has dropped the “designate” from her title, because she is performing the job, and has gone through hours of hearings without receiving a vote.</p>
<p>“She hasn’t been confirmed by the Senate, but she’s still there,” Ingle said. “She’s the Cabinet officer of the governor.”</p>
<p>This week, state Democratic Party Chairman Sam Bregman called the decision to drop designate from Skandera’s title a “display of arrogance” and a “flagrant abuse of power,” and called for Skandera to resign.</p>
<p>Bregman said Skandera doesn’t have the Senate support she needs to legally serve, calling her “unqualified and unconfirmable.”</p>
<p>Bregman said the change in Skandera’s title shows disdain for the laws of New Mexico.</p>
<p>“She has bestowed the title ‘secretary of education’ upon herself because she dislikes the process,” Bregman wrote.</p>
<p>A Martinez spokesman and the chairman of the state Republican Party were dismissive of Bregman’s statement with Knell calling it “the same tired partisan attacks by those who are trying to maintain a status quo in education in New Mexico that has failed our kids for far too long.”</p> | Gov.: Skandera now ‘secretary of education’ | false | https://abqjournal.com/200610/gov-skandera-now-secretary-of-education.html | 2013-05-18 | 2least
| Gov.: Skandera now ‘secretary of education’
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<p />
<p>Skandera has been a controversial figure since Martinez tapped her to head the state Public Education Department more than two years ago, and she has not been confirmed by the Senate. During the latest legislative session, hours of hearings were held in the Senate Rules Committee, but no vote was ever taken.</p>
<p>Senate Rules Committee Chairwoman Linda Lopez, D-Albuquerque, has said the committee needs more information before it can vote, and that hearings will continue throughout the year.</p>
<p>Martinez has been critical of the Senate’s failure to vote on Skandera’s confirmation. Earlier this month, she told reporters that “a lot of politics have been played” during the confirmation process.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>That was part of Martinez’s response to a reporter’s question about why Skandera is now referred to on the PED website and in news releases as the secretary of education, instead of secretary-designate.</p>
<p>Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto, D-Albuquerque, and a member of the Rules Committee, said he sympathizes with the governor but feels it is inappropriate for Skandera to drop the “designate” from her title.</p>
<p>“I understand the governor and the secretary-designate’s frustration about the process,” he said. “I think there are probably more respectful ways for them to make a statement, other than taking a title that suggests she has been confirmed, when in fact she has not.”</p>
<p>Martinez spokesman Enrique Knell said last month the change reflects the governor’s faith in Skandera.</p>
<p>“Legislators and the media can keep calling her Secretary designate if they wish, but Governor Martinez considers Hanna her Secretary of Public Education,” Knell said in a written statement. He said Skandera “has been in the job for more than 2 years and the Rules Committee has had ample opportunity to give her a vote on the Senate floor.”</p>
<p>Senate Minority Leader Stuart Ingle, R-Portales, said he does not mind that Skandera has dropped the “designate” from her title, because she is performing the job, and has gone through hours of hearings without receiving a vote.</p>
<p>“She hasn’t been confirmed by the Senate, but she’s still there,” Ingle said. “She’s the Cabinet officer of the governor.”</p>
<p>This week, state Democratic Party Chairman Sam Bregman called the decision to drop designate from Skandera’s title a “display of arrogance” and a “flagrant abuse of power,” and called for Skandera to resign.</p>
<p>Bregman said Skandera doesn’t have the Senate support she needs to legally serve, calling her “unqualified and unconfirmable.”</p>
<p>Bregman said the change in Skandera’s title shows disdain for the laws of New Mexico.</p>
<p>“She has bestowed the title ‘secretary of education’ upon herself because she dislikes the process,” Bregman wrote.</p>
<p>A Martinez spokesman and the chairman of the state Republican Party were dismissive of Bregman’s statement with Knell calling it “the same tired partisan attacks by those who are trying to maintain a status quo in education in New Mexico that has failed our kids for far too long.”</p> | 1,365 |
<p>It used to be just a trickle, a steady drip-drip of hate mail which arrived once a week, castigating me for reporting on the killing of innocent Lebanese under Israeli air raids or for suggesting that Arabs–as well as Israelis–wanted peace in the Middle East. It began to change in the late 1990s. Typical was the letter which arrived after I wrote my eyewitness account of the 1996 slaughter by Israeli gunners of 108 refugees sheltering in the UN base in the Lebanese town of Qana.</p>
<p>“I do not like or admire anti-Semites,” it began. “Hitler was one of the most famous in recent history”. Yet compared to the avalanche of vicious, threatening letters and openly violent statements that we journalists receive today, this was comparatively mild. For the internet seems to have turned those who do not like to hear the truth about the Middle East into a community of haters, sending venomous letters not only to myself but to any reporter who dares to criticise Israel–or American policy in the Middle East.</p>
<p>There was always, in the past, a limit to this hatred. Letters would be signed with the writer’s address. Or if not, they would be so-ill-written as to be illegible. Not any more. In 26 years in the Middle East, I have never read so many vile and intimidating messages addressed to me. Many now demand my death. And last week, the Hollywood actor John Malkovich did just that, telling the Cambridge Union that he would like to shoot me.</p>
<p>How, I ask myself, did it come to this? Slowly but surely, the hate has turned to incitement, the incitement into death threats, the walls of propriety and legality gradually pulled down so that a reporter can be abused, his family defamed, his beating at the hands of an angry crowd greeted with laughter and insults in the pages of an American newspaper, his life cheapened and made vulnerable by an actor who–without even saying why–says he wants to kill me.</p>
<p>Much of this disgusting nonsense comes from men and women who say they are defending Israel, although I have to say that I have never in my life received a rude or insulting letter from Israel itself. Israelis sometimes express their criticism of my reporting–and sometimes their praise–but they have never stooped to the filth and obscenities which I now receive.</p>
<p>“Your mother was Eichmann’s daughter,” was one of the most recent of these. My mother Peggy, who died after a long battle with Parkinson’s three and a half years ago, was in fact an RAF radio repair operator on Spitfires at the height of the Battle of Britain in 1940.</p>
<p>The events of 11 September turned the hate mail white hot. That day, in an airliner high over the Atlantic that had just turned back from its routing to America, I wrote an article for The Independent, pointing out that there would be an attempt in the coming days to prevent anyone asking why the crimes against humanity in New York and Washington had occurred. Dictating my report from the aircraft’s satellite phone, I wrote about the history of deceit in the Middle East, the growing Arab anger at the deaths of thousands of Iraqi children under US-supported sanctions, and the continued occupation of Palestinian land in the West Bank and Gaza by America’s Israeli ally. I didn’t blame Israel. I suggested that Osama bin Laden was responsible.</p>
<p>But the e-mails that poured into The Independent over the next few days bordered on the inflammatory. The attacks on America were caused by “hate itself, of precisely the obsessive and dehumanising kind that Fisk and Bin Laden have been spreading,” said a letter from a Professor Judea Pearl of UCLA. I was, he claimed, “drooling venom” and a professional “hate peddler”. Another missive, signed Ellen Popper, announced that I was “in cahoots with the archterrorist” Bin Laden. Mark Guon labelled me “a total nut-case”. I was “psychotic,” according to Lillie and Barry Weiss. Brandon Heller of San Diego informed me that “you are actually supporting evil itself”.</p>
<p>It got worse. On an Irish radio show, a Harvard professor–infuriated by my asking about the motives for the atrocities of 11 September–condemned me as a “liar” and a “dangerous man” and announced that “anti-Americanism”–whatever that is–was the same as anti-Semitism. Not only was it wicked to suggest that someone might have had reasons, however deranged, to commit the mass slaughter. It was even more appalling to suggest what these reasons might be. To criticise the United States was to be a Jew-hater, a racist, a Nazi.</p>
<p>And so it went on. In early December, I was almost killed by a crowd of Afghan refugees who were enraged by the recent slaughter of their relatives in American B-52 air-raids. I wrote an account of my beating, adding that I could not blame my attackers, that if I had suffered their grief, I would have done the same. There was no end to the abuse that came then.</p>
<p>In The Wall Street Journal, Mark Steyn wrote an article under a headline saying that a “multiculturalist”–me–had “got his due.” Cards arrived bearing the names of London “whipping” parlours. The Independent’s web-site received an e-mail suggesting that I was a paedophile. Among several vicious Christmas cards was one bearing the legend of the 12 Days of Christmas and the following note inside: “Robert Fiske (sic)–aka Lord Haw Haw of the Middle East and a leading anti-semite &amp; proto-fascist Islamophile propagandist. Here’s hoping 2002 finds you deep in Gehenna (Hell), Osama bin Laden on your right, Mullah Omar on your left. Yours, Ishmael Zetin.”</p>
<p>Since Ariel Sharon’s offensive in the West Bank, provoked by the Palestinians’ wicked suicide bombing, a new theme has emerged. Reporters who criticise Israel are to blame for inciting anti-Semites to burn synagogues. Thus it is not Israel’s brutality and occupation that provokes the sick and cruel people who attack Jewish institutions, synagogues and cemeteries. We journalists are to blame.</p>
<p>Almost anyone who criticises US or Israeli policy in the Middle East is now in this free-fire zone. My own colleague in Jerusalem, Phil Reeves, is one of them. So are two of the BBCs’ reporters in Israel, along with Suzanne Goldenberg of The Guardian. And take Jennifer Loewenstein, a human rights worker in Gaza–who is herself Jewish and who wrote a condemnation of those who claim that Palestinians are deliberately sacrificing their children. She swiftly received the following e-mail: “BITCH. I can smell you from afar. You are a bitch and you have Arab blood in you. Your mother is a fucking Arab. At least, for God’s sake, change your fucking name. Ben Aviram.”</p>
<p>Does this kind of filth have an effect on others? I fear it does. Only days after Malkovich announced that he wanted to shoot me, a website claimed that the actor’s words were “a brazen attempt at queue-jumping”. The site contained an animation of my own face being violently punched by a fist and a caption which said: “I understand why they’re beating the shit out of me.”</p>
<p>Thus a disgusting remark by an actor in the Cambridge Union led to a website suggesting that others were even more eager to kill me. Malkovich was not questioned by the police. He might, I suppose, be refused any further visas to Britain until he explains or apologises for his vile remarks. But the damage has been done. As journalists, our lives are now forfeit to the internet haters. If we want a quiet life, we will just have to toe the line, stop criticising Israel or America. Or just stop writing altogether.</p> | Why Does John Malkovich Want to Kill Me? | true | https://counterpunch.org/2002/05/13/why-does-john-malkovich-want-to-kill-me/ | 2002-05-13 | 4left
| Why Does John Malkovich Want to Kill Me?
<p>It used to be just a trickle, a steady drip-drip of hate mail which arrived once a week, castigating me for reporting on the killing of innocent Lebanese under Israeli air raids or for suggesting that Arabs–as well as Israelis–wanted peace in the Middle East. It began to change in the late 1990s. Typical was the letter which arrived after I wrote my eyewitness account of the 1996 slaughter by Israeli gunners of 108 refugees sheltering in the UN base in the Lebanese town of Qana.</p>
<p>“I do not like or admire anti-Semites,” it began. “Hitler was one of the most famous in recent history”. Yet compared to the avalanche of vicious, threatening letters and openly violent statements that we journalists receive today, this was comparatively mild. For the internet seems to have turned those who do not like to hear the truth about the Middle East into a community of haters, sending venomous letters not only to myself but to any reporter who dares to criticise Israel–or American policy in the Middle East.</p>
<p>There was always, in the past, a limit to this hatred. Letters would be signed with the writer’s address. Or if not, they would be so-ill-written as to be illegible. Not any more. In 26 years in the Middle East, I have never read so many vile and intimidating messages addressed to me. Many now demand my death. And last week, the Hollywood actor John Malkovich did just that, telling the Cambridge Union that he would like to shoot me.</p>
<p>How, I ask myself, did it come to this? Slowly but surely, the hate has turned to incitement, the incitement into death threats, the walls of propriety and legality gradually pulled down so that a reporter can be abused, his family defamed, his beating at the hands of an angry crowd greeted with laughter and insults in the pages of an American newspaper, his life cheapened and made vulnerable by an actor who–without even saying why–says he wants to kill me.</p>
<p>Much of this disgusting nonsense comes from men and women who say they are defending Israel, although I have to say that I have never in my life received a rude or insulting letter from Israel itself. Israelis sometimes express their criticism of my reporting–and sometimes their praise–but they have never stooped to the filth and obscenities which I now receive.</p>
<p>“Your mother was Eichmann’s daughter,” was one of the most recent of these. My mother Peggy, who died after a long battle with Parkinson’s three and a half years ago, was in fact an RAF radio repair operator on Spitfires at the height of the Battle of Britain in 1940.</p>
<p>The events of 11 September turned the hate mail white hot. That day, in an airliner high over the Atlantic that had just turned back from its routing to America, I wrote an article for The Independent, pointing out that there would be an attempt in the coming days to prevent anyone asking why the crimes against humanity in New York and Washington had occurred. Dictating my report from the aircraft’s satellite phone, I wrote about the history of deceit in the Middle East, the growing Arab anger at the deaths of thousands of Iraqi children under US-supported sanctions, and the continued occupation of Palestinian land in the West Bank and Gaza by America’s Israeli ally. I didn’t blame Israel. I suggested that Osama bin Laden was responsible.</p>
<p>But the e-mails that poured into The Independent over the next few days bordered on the inflammatory. The attacks on America were caused by “hate itself, of precisely the obsessive and dehumanising kind that Fisk and Bin Laden have been spreading,” said a letter from a Professor Judea Pearl of UCLA. I was, he claimed, “drooling venom” and a professional “hate peddler”. Another missive, signed Ellen Popper, announced that I was “in cahoots with the archterrorist” Bin Laden. Mark Guon labelled me “a total nut-case”. I was “psychotic,” according to Lillie and Barry Weiss. Brandon Heller of San Diego informed me that “you are actually supporting evil itself”.</p>
<p>It got worse. On an Irish radio show, a Harvard professor–infuriated by my asking about the motives for the atrocities of 11 September–condemned me as a “liar” and a “dangerous man” and announced that “anti-Americanism”–whatever that is–was the same as anti-Semitism. Not only was it wicked to suggest that someone might have had reasons, however deranged, to commit the mass slaughter. It was even more appalling to suggest what these reasons might be. To criticise the United States was to be a Jew-hater, a racist, a Nazi.</p>
<p>And so it went on. In early December, I was almost killed by a crowd of Afghan refugees who were enraged by the recent slaughter of their relatives in American B-52 air-raids. I wrote an account of my beating, adding that I could not blame my attackers, that if I had suffered their grief, I would have done the same. There was no end to the abuse that came then.</p>
<p>In The Wall Street Journal, Mark Steyn wrote an article under a headline saying that a “multiculturalist”–me–had “got his due.” Cards arrived bearing the names of London “whipping” parlours. The Independent’s web-site received an e-mail suggesting that I was a paedophile. Among several vicious Christmas cards was one bearing the legend of the 12 Days of Christmas and the following note inside: “Robert Fiske (sic)–aka Lord Haw Haw of the Middle East and a leading anti-semite &amp; proto-fascist Islamophile propagandist. Here’s hoping 2002 finds you deep in Gehenna (Hell), Osama bin Laden on your right, Mullah Omar on your left. Yours, Ishmael Zetin.”</p>
<p>Since Ariel Sharon’s offensive in the West Bank, provoked by the Palestinians’ wicked suicide bombing, a new theme has emerged. Reporters who criticise Israel are to blame for inciting anti-Semites to burn synagogues. Thus it is not Israel’s brutality and occupation that provokes the sick and cruel people who attack Jewish institutions, synagogues and cemeteries. We journalists are to blame.</p>
<p>Almost anyone who criticises US or Israeli policy in the Middle East is now in this free-fire zone. My own colleague in Jerusalem, Phil Reeves, is one of them. So are two of the BBCs’ reporters in Israel, along with Suzanne Goldenberg of The Guardian. And take Jennifer Loewenstein, a human rights worker in Gaza–who is herself Jewish and who wrote a condemnation of those who claim that Palestinians are deliberately sacrificing their children. She swiftly received the following e-mail: “BITCH. I can smell you from afar. You are a bitch and you have Arab blood in you. Your mother is a fucking Arab. At least, for God’s sake, change your fucking name. Ben Aviram.”</p>
<p>Does this kind of filth have an effect on others? I fear it does. Only days after Malkovich announced that he wanted to shoot me, a website claimed that the actor’s words were “a brazen attempt at queue-jumping”. The site contained an animation of my own face being violently punched by a fist and a caption which said: “I understand why they’re beating the shit out of me.”</p>
<p>Thus a disgusting remark by an actor in the Cambridge Union led to a website suggesting that others were even more eager to kill me. Malkovich was not questioned by the police. He might, I suppose, be refused any further visas to Britain until he explains or apologises for his vile remarks. But the damage has been done. As journalists, our lives are now forfeit to the internet haters. If we want a quiet life, we will just have to toe the line, stop criticising Israel or America. Or just stop writing altogether.</p> | 1,366 |
<p />
<p>It's earnings season on Wall Street, and just yesterday, Under Armour (NYSE: UA) reported a blockbuster quarter featuring 22% revenue growth -- and 28% growth in profits. So naturally, Wall Street...downgraded Under Armour stock.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Yes, you read that right. But just as we saw with <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/10/25/visa-beats-earnings-suffers-downgrade-what-you-nee.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Visa's downgrade yesterday Opens a New Window.</a>, Wall Street isn't acting quite as irrationally as it sounds. Under Armour may have beat estimates for fiscal Q3, earning $0.29 per share where analysts had expected to see only $0.25. But analysts are skipping past that fact, and focusing instead on the company's guidance for future earnings.</p>
<p>They don't like what they see. Here are three reasons why not.</p>
<p>Under Armour is lacing up for a long race. Wall Street just wishes it could run a bit faster. Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Under Armour grew its earnings 28% on 22% better revenue last quarter, which suggests strong (and strengthening) profit margins at the stock. Regardless, as fellow Fool <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/10/25/under-armour-inc-shares-drop-after-earnings-heres.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Jason Hall Opens a New Window.</a> pointed out yesterday, 22% revenue growth was "the slowest rate of growth the company has delivered in six years."</p>
<p>The news gets worse. While Under Armour management insists it will end this year with 24% growth in revenue for the full year, operating income will grow only 8% to 9%. Looking out to 2018, management is sticking with its promise to pull in $7.5 billion in annual revenue, but no longer believes it will earn its hoped-for $800 million in operating profit.</p>
<p>Indeed, <a href="http://thefly.com/news.php?symbol=UA" type="external">TheFly.com Opens a New Window.</a> reports that profits will only grow in the "mid-teens" over the next couple of years -- about half the rate of profit growth we saw in Q3.</p>
<p>This abrupt slowdown in profit growth has Wall Street worried. This morning, analystsat <a href="http://caps.fool.com/player/trackcowenandco.aspx" type="external">Cowen Opens a New Window.</a> announced they are removing their outperform rating on Under Armour stock, and downgrading the stock to market perform. (Analystsat Stifel Nicolaus and William Blair are doing the same.)</p>
<p>Why all the pessimism? As reported on <a href="http://www.streetinsider.com/Analyst+Comments/UPDATE%3A+Cowen+Downgrades+Under+Armour%2C+Inc.+%28UA%29+to+Market+Perform/12167333.html" type="external">StreetInsider.com Opens a New Window.</a>, Cowen believes there's a "structural change" at work in Under Armour's business model, where "retail partners, in a slowing N. American market, are managing leaner inventory profiles." This bottleneck in the supply chain is preventing Under Armour from "selling in" as much product as it would like to sell, as quickly as it would like to sell it. At the same time, at the retail level, consumers are demanding "faster flows" of new products, requiring constant tweaks to the products Under Armour offers, but preventing it from profiting fully from each new product as it comes out.</p>
<p>This, warns Cowen, implies that Under Armour will suffer "margin contraction into 2018" at least, and possibly longer than that.</p>
<p>According to Cowen, this all results in "a more competitive industry and lack of margin expansion" hobbling Under Armour's business, and necessitates "a multiyear cut" in earnings expectations for Under Armour stock. Whether you focus on earnings per share, return on invested capital, or free cash flow ( <a href="https://www.capitaliq.com/" type="external">S&amp;P Global Market Intelligence Opens a New Window.</a> shows no FCF generated since 2014), the analyst simply doesn't believe that Under Armour can earn enough to produce "meaningful upside" to the stock's current price through 2020.</p>
<p>Translation: Under Armour stock could be dead money for years.</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=2667&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>Fool contributor <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFDitty/info.aspx" type="external">Rich Smith Opens a New Window.</a>does not own shares of, nor is he short, any company named above. You can find him on <a href="http://caps.fool.com/" type="external">Motley Fool CAPS Opens a New Window.</a>, publicly pontificating under the handle <a href="http://caps.fool.com/ViewPlayer.aspx?t=01002844399633209838" type="external">TMFDitty Opens a New Window.</a>, where he currently ranks No. 324 out of more than 75,000 rated members.</p>
<p>The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Under Armour (A shares). Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/motley.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Under Armour Outperforms, Gets Downgraded: What You Need to Know | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/10/26/under-armour-outperforms-gets-downgraded-what-need-to-know.html | 2016-10-26 | 0right
| Under Armour Outperforms, Gets Downgraded: What You Need to Know
<p />
<p>It's earnings season on Wall Street, and just yesterday, Under Armour (NYSE: UA) reported a blockbuster quarter featuring 22% revenue growth -- and 28% growth in profits. So naturally, Wall Street...downgraded Under Armour stock.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Yes, you read that right. But just as we saw with <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/10/25/visa-beats-earnings-suffers-downgrade-what-you-nee.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Visa's downgrade yesterday Opens a New Window.</a>, Wall Street isn't acting quite as irrationally as it sounds. Under Armour may have beat estimates for fiscal Q3, earning $0.29 per share where analysts had expected to see only $0.25. But analysts are skipping past that fact, and focusing instead on the company's guidance for future earnings.</p>
<p>They don't like what they see. Here are three reasons why not.</p>
<p>Under Armour is lacing up for a long race. Wall Street just wishes it could run a bit faster. Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Under Armour grew its earnings 28% on 22% better revenue last quarter, which suggests strong (and strengthening) profit margins at the stock. Regardless, as fellow Fool <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/10/25/under-armour-inc-shares-drop-after-earnings-heres.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Jason Hall Opens a New Window.</a> pointed out yesterday, 22% revenue growth was "the slowest rate of growth the company has delivered in six years."</p>
<p>The news gets worse. While Under Armour management insists it will end this year with 24% growth in revenue for the full year, operating income will grow only 8% to 9%. Looking out to 2018, management is sticking with its promise to pull in $7.5 billion in annual revenue, but no longer believes it will earn its hoped-for $800 million in operating profit.</p>
<p>Indeed, <a href="http://thefly.com/news.php?symbol=UA" type="external">TheFly.com Opens a New Window.</a> reports that profits will only grow in the "mid-teens" over the next couple of years -- about half the rate of profit growth we saw in Q3.</p>
<p>This abrupt slowdown in profit growth has Wall Street worried. This morning, analystsat <a href="http://caps.fool.com/player/trackcowenandco.aspx" type="external">Cowen Opens a New Window.</a> announced they are removing their outperform rating on Under Armour stock, and downgrading the stock to market perform. (Analystsat Stifel Nicolaus and William Blair are doing the same.)</p>
<p>Why all the pessimism? As reported on <a href="http://www.streetinsider.com/Analyst+Comments/UPDATE%3A+Cowen+Downgrades+Under+Armour%2C+Inc.+%28UA%29+to+Market+Perform/12167333.html" type="external">StreetInsider.com Opens a New Window.</a>, Cowen believes there's a "structural change" at work in Under Armour's business model, where "retail partners, in a slowing N. American market, are managing leaner inventory profiles." This bottleneck in the supply chain is preventing Under Armour from "selling in" as much product as it would like to sell, as quickly as it would like to sell it. At the same time, at the retail level, consumers are demanding "faster flows" of new products, requiring constant tweaks to the products Under Armour offers, but preventing it from profiting fully from each new product as it comes out.</p>
<p>This, warns Cowen, implies that Under Armour will suffer "margin contraction into 2018" at least, and possibly longer than that.</p>
<p>According to Cowen, this all results in "a more competitive industry and lack of margin expansion" hobbling Under Armour's business, and necessitates "a multiyear cut" in earnings expectations for Under Armour stock. Whether you focus on earnings per share, return on invested capital, or free cash flow ( <a href="https://www.capitaliq.com/" type="external">S&amp;P Global Market Intelligence Opens a New Window.</a> shows no FCF generated since 2014), the analyst simply doesn't believe that Under Armour can earn enough to produce "meaningful upside" to the stock's current price through 2020.</p>
<p>Translation: Under Armour stock could be dead money for years.</p>
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<p>Fool contributor <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFDitty/info.aspx" type="external">Rich Smith Opens a New Window.</a>does not own shares of, nor is he short, any company named above. You can find him on <a href="http://caps.fool.com/" type="external">Motley Fool CAPS Opens a New Window.</a>, publicly pontificating under the handle <a href="http://caps.fool.com/ViewPlayer.aspx?t=01002844399633209838" type="external">TMFDitty Opens a New Window.</a>, where he currently ranks No. 324 out of more than 75,000 rated members.</p>
<p>The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Under Armour (A shares). Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/motley.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 1,367 |
<p>On Friday afternoon, after days of speculation about whether Donald Trump would debate Bernie Sanders, Trump ended the suspense, backing out:</p>
<p>Based on the fact that the Democratic nominating process is totally rigged and Crooked Hillary Clinton and Deborah Wasserman Schultz will not allow Bernie Sanders to win, and now that I am the presumptive Republican nominee, it seems inappropriate that I would debate the second place finisher. Likewise, the networks want to make a killing on these events and are not proving to be too generous to charitable causes, in this case, women’s health issues. Therefore, as much as I want to debate Bernie Sanders – and it would be an easy payday – I will wait to debate the first place finisher in the Democratic Party, probably Crooked Hillary Clinton, or whoever it may be.</p>
<p>The statement is so incoherent that it had to be written personally by Trump. So he won’t debate Sanders because Sanders is likely to finish second, but he might finish first, so at that point he’d debate him. Sure.</p>
<p>It’s also filled with falsehoods, as per the usual routine. Traction and Scale CEO Richie Hecker personally offered to put up $10 million to sponsor the debate, with the money going to charity; Trump obviously turned that down. Two different television networks offered to host the debate. Trump could easily have held the debate in a public forum, invited the cameras, sold tickets for $100 a pop in a stadium, found some sponsors, and raised $10 million for charity himself. He didn’t.</p>
<p>As I mentioned yesterday, the initial notion of a Trump/Sanders debate was brilliant. <a href="" type="internal">Trump should have done it</a>:</p>
<p>It would be a smart move for both, which is why Sanders immediately took Trump up on it. It would be great for Sanders because it would elevate him above Hillary Clinton; the left would automatically declare him the debate’s big winner, and he’d suddenly look like the man unafraid to take on The Orange Godking. It would be great for Trump because Trump would be able to reach out to Sanders voters, a crowd he’s been trying to draw; he’d also be slapping at Hillary Clinton and treating her like an afterthought, which is a key part of his campaign strategy.</p>
<p>Trump backed out, though. Bernie Sanders’ campaign manager stated, “It may be that, you know, there may be some chickening out or, you know, an unwillingness to stand on stage and really debate with Bernie Sanders because they know Bernie Sanders is going to do quite well in that debate, frankly.”</p>
<p>It’s tough not to read it that way. But it won’t matter in the end – Trump’s the nominee, Hillary’s the one who will oppose him, and it’s their debates that will matter.</p> | Dang It: Trump Won't Debate Sanders After All | true | https://dailywire.com/news/6123/dang-it-trump-wont-debate-sanders-after-all-ben-shapiro | 2016-05-27 | 0right
| Dang It: Trump Won't Debate Sanders After All
<p>On Friday afternoon, after days of speculation about whether Donald Trump would debate Bernie Sanders, Trump ended the suspense, backing out:</p>
<p>Based on the fact that the Democratic nominating process is totally rigged and Crooked Hillary Clinton and Deborah Wasserman Schultz will not allow Bernie Sanders to win, and now that I am the presumptive Republican nominee, it seems inappropriate that I would debate the second place finisher. Likewise, the networks want to make a killing on these events and are not proving to be too generous to charitable causes, in this case, women’s health issues. Therefore, as much as I want to debate Bernie Sanders – and it would be an easy payday – I will wait to debate the first place finisher in the Democratic Party, probably Crooked Hillary Clinton, or whoever it may be.</p>
<p>The statement is so incoherent that it had to be written personally by Trump. So he won’t debate Sanders because Sanders is likely to finish second, but he might finish first, so at that point he’d debate him. Sure.</p>
<p>It’s also filled with falsehoods, as per the usual routine. Traction and Scale CEO Richie Hecker personally offered to put up $10 million to sponsor the debate, with the money going to charity; Trump obviously turned that down. Two different television networks offered to host the debate. Trump could easily have held the debate in a public forum, invited the cameras, sold tickets for $100 a pop in a stadium, found some sponsors, and raised $10 million for charity himself. He didn’t.</p>
<p>As I mentioned yesterday, the initial notion of a Trump/Sanders debate was brilliant. <a href="" type="internal">Trump should have done it</a>:</p>
<p>It would be a smart move for both, which is why Sanders immediately took Trump up on it. It would be great for Sanders because it would elevate him above Hillary Clinton; the left would automatically declare him the debate’s big winner, and he’d suddenly look like the man unafraid to take on The Orange Godking. It would be great for Trump because Trump would be able to reach out to Sanders voters, a crowd he’s been trying to draw; he’d also be slapping at Hillary Clinton and treating her like an afterthought, which is a key part of his campaign strategy.</p>
<p>Trump backed out, though. Bernie Sanders’ campaign manager stated, “It may be that, you know, there may be some chickening out or, you know, an unwillingness to stand on stage and really debate with Bernie Sanders because they know Bernie Sanders is going to do quite well in that debate, frankly.”</p>
<p>It’s tough not to read it that way. But it won’t matter in the end – Trump’s the nominee, Hillary’s the one who will oppose him, and it’s their debates that will matter.</p> | 1,368 |
<p>The 13-year-old girl, named Savannah, spoke on 7 May in Eagle Mountain, Utah, during a once-a-month portion of Sunday services in which members are encouraged to share feelings and beliefs.Photo Credit: Screen Capture</p>
<p>A video of a young Mormon girl in&#160; <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/utah" type="external">Utah</a>&#160;telling her congregation that she is gay and still loved by God, before her microphone is turned off by local church leaders, has sparked a new round of discussions about how the religion handles LGBTQ issues.</p>
<p>The 13-year-old girl, named Savannah, spoke on 7 May in Eagle Mountain, Utah, during a once-a-month portion of Sunday services in which members are encouraged to share feelings and beliefs.</p>
<p>“They did not mess up when they gave me freckles or when they made me to be gay,” she said, wearing a white shirt and red tie. “God loves me just this way.”</p>
<p>Her mother, Heather Kester, said her daughter was passionate about coming out in church to be a voice and example for other LGBTQ children who struggle for acceptance within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Heather Kester asked that Savannah’s full name be withheld to protect her privacy.</p>
<p>The Mormon religion is one of many conservative faith groups upholding theological opposition to same-sex relationships amid widespread social acceptance and the US supreme court’s 2015 decision legalizing gay marriage.</p>
<p>The video, which Kester said was taken by a friend of Savannah’s who came to support her, was circulated online this month and featured in a Mormon LGBTQ podcast. While some consider Savannah a hero, other Mormons are upset that her speech was videotaped and is being circulated by critics of the church.</p>
<p>Judd Law, the lay bishop who leads the congregation south of Salt Lake City, said in a statement that Savannah was a “brave young girl” and that the congregation was making sure she and her family feel loved. But he said the unauthorized recording and a “disruptive demonstration” by a group of non-Mormon adults who were there were “problematic”.</p>
<p>“We do not politics in our chapels,” Law said, “and exploiting this recording for political purposes is inconsistent with the nature of our worship services.”</p>
<p>Law, who was not at the service, did not address or explain the decision by two of his counselors to cut the microphone.</p>
<p>Savannah read from written notes from the pulpit. Kester said she is not Mormon, but her husband is and Savannah has been raised in the religion.</p>
<p>“I do not choose to be this way and this is not a fad,” Savannah said in her remarks in church. “I cannot make someone else gay … I believe that God wants us to treat each other with kindness, even if people are different, especially if they are different.”</p>
<p>Her microphone was muted after about two minutes – shortly after she said she was not a “horrible sinner” and that she someday hoped to have a partner, get married and have a family. She turned around to listen to something a man in a suit told her and then was walked down from the pulpit. Kester said her daughter came and cried in her lap. She told her she was beautiful and that God loved her, Kester said.</p>
<p>“I was devastated for her,” said Kester, adding: “I was angry at how that was handled.”</p>
<p />
<p>In 2008, the Utah-based Mormon church was the subject of a critical backlash after helping lead the fight for California’s Proposition 8 constitutional ban on gay marriage. Religious leaders then sought to develop a more empathetic tone on LGBTQ matters. That was interrupted in 2015 when the church adopted rules banning children living with gay parents from being baptized until the age of 18.</p>
<p>In October, church leaders updated a website created in 2012 to let members know that that attraction to people of the same sex is not a sin or a measure of their faithfulness and may never go away. But the church also reminded members that having gay sex violates fundamental doctrinal beliefs that will not change.</p>
<p>Scott Gordon, president of FairMormon, a volunteer organization that supports the church, said it would have been OK for Savannah to come out as gay during testimony, but that she crossed the line when she mischaracterized church teachings by saying God would want her to have a partner and get married.</p>
<p>“While you can believe almost anything you want to believe, you can’t preach it from the pulpit,” Gordon said.</p>
<p>Britt Jones, a bisexual Mormon who runs a podcast called “I like to look for Rainbows” that featured Savannah’s story, said church leaders should have allowed Savannah to finish.</p>
<p>“Queer issues don’t get talked about in the church enough,” said Jones, who is married to a woman and has children. “It was really brave and really admirable, particularly for somebody that young, that she not only wanted to talk about it herself but be a voice for others suffering in silence.”</p> | Mormon Girl Who Says She Is Gay Has Microphone Cut Off, Stirring Protest | true | http://alternet.org/human-rights/mormon-girl-who-says-she-gay-has-microphone-cut-stirring-protest | 2017-06-24 | 4left
| Mormon Girl Who Says She Is Gay Has Microphone Cut Off, Stirring Protest
<p>The 13-year-old girl, named Savannah, spoke on 7 May in Eagle Mountain, Utah, during a once-a-month portion of Sunday services in which members are encouraged to share feelings and beliefs.Photo Credit: Screen Capture</p>
<p>A video of a young Mormon girl in&#160; <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/utah" type="external">Utah</a>&#160;telling her congregation that she is gay and still loved by God, before her microphone is turned off by local church leaders, has sparked a new round of discussions about how the religion handles LGBTQ issues.</p>
<p>The 13-year-old girl, named Savannah, spoke on 7 May in Eagle Mountain, Utah, during a once-a-month portion of Sunday services in which members are encouraged to share feelings and beliefs.</p>
<p>“They did not mess up when they gave me freckles or when they made me to be gay,” she said, wearing a white shirt and red tie. “God loves me just this way.”</p>
<p>Her mother, Heather Kester, said her daughter was passionate about coming out in church to be a voice and example for other LGBTQ children who struggle for acceptance within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Heather Kester asked that Savannah’s full name be withheld to protect her privacy.</p>
<p>The Mormon religion is one of many conservative faith groups upholding theological opposition to same-sex relationships amid widespread social acceptance and the US supreme court’s 2015 decision legalizing gay marriage.</p>
<p>The video, which Kester said was taken by a friend of Savannah’s who came to support her, was circulated online this month and featured in a Mormon LGBTQ podcast. While some consider Savannah a hero, other Mormons are upset that her speech was videotaped and is being circulated by critics of the church.</p>
<p>Judd Law, the lay bishop who leads the congregation south of Salt Lake City, said in a statement that Savannah was a “brave young girl” and that the congregation was making sure she and her family feel loved. But he said the unauthorized recording and a “disruptive demonstration” by a group of non-Mormon adults who were there were “problematic”.</p>
<p>“We do not politics in our chapels,” Law said, “and exploiting this recording for political purposes is inconsistent with the nature of our worship services.”</p>
<p>Law, who was not at the service, did not address or explain the decision by two of his counselors to cut the microphone.</p>
<p>Savannah read from written notes from the pulpit. Kester said she is not Mormon, but her husband is and Savannah has been raised in the religion.</p>
<p>“I do not choose to be this way and this is not a fad,” Savannah said in her remarks in church. “I cannot make someone else gay … I believe that God wants us to treat each other with kindness, even if people are different, especially if they are different.”</p>
<p>Her microphone was muted after about two minutes – shortly after she said she was not a “horrible sinner” and that she someday hoped to have a partner, get married and have a family. She turned around to listen to something a man in a suit told her and then was walked down from the pulpit. Kester said her daughter came and cried in her lap. She told her she was beautiful and that God loved her, Kester said.</p>
<p>“I was devastated for her,” said Kester, adding: “I was angry at how that was handled.”</p>
<p />
<p>In 2008, the Utah-based Mormon church was the subject of a critical backlash after helping lead the fight for California’s Proposition 8 constitutional ban on gay marriage. Religious leaders then sought to develop a more empathetic tone on LGBTQ matters. That was interrupted in 2015 when the church adopted rules banning children living with gay parents from being baptized until the age of 18.</p>
<p>In October, church leaders updated a website created in 2012 to let members know that that attraction to people of the same sex is not a sin or a measure of their faithfulness and may never go away. But the church also reminded members that having gay sex violates fundamental doctrinal beliefs that will not change.</p>
<p>Scott Gordon, president of FairMormon, a volunteer organization that supports the church, said it would have been OK for Savannah to come out as gay during testimony, but that she crossed the line when she mischaracterized church teachings by saying God would want her to have a partner and get married.</p>
<p>“While you can believe almost anything you want to believe, you can’t preach it from the pulpit,” Gordon said.</p>
<p>Britt Jones, a bisexual Mormon who runs a podcast called “I like to look for Rainbows” that featured Savannah’s story, said church leaders should have allowed Savannah to finish.</p>
<p>“Queer issues don’t get talked about in the church enough,” said Jones, who is married to a woman and has children. “It was really brave and really admirable, particularly for somebody that young, that she not only wanted to talk about it herself but be a voice for others suffering in silence.”</p> | 1,369 |
<p>MADRID (AP) — Victor "Vitolo" Machin and Luciano Vietto scored on their starting debuts as Atletico Madrid and Valencia cruised into the Copa del Rey quarterfinals on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Vietto scored three times — including one from near midfield — to help Valencia rout Las Palmas 4-0 and advance 5-1 on aggregate. Vitolo scored his first goal for Atletico as it defeated third-division team Lleida 3-0 and advanced 7-0 on aggregate.</p>
<p>Yannick Carrasco and Kevin Gameiro also got on the scoresheet for Atletico, which was without most of its regular starters.</p>
<p>Vitolo was making his second appearance for Atletico since returning from a loan to Las Palmas. He was signed by Atletico last offseason but couldn't play until now because the Spanish club was temporarily banned by FIFA from registering new players.</p>
<p>"It was moving," Vitolo said. "I couldn't have asked for more in my debut in front of our fans."</p>
<p>Carrasco opened the scoring in the second half after an assist by Diego Costa, and Gameiro and Vitolo added on toward the end. Vitolo's maiden goal came after a perfect long pass by Fernando Torres.</p>
<p>Costa played because he was suspended only in the Spanish league after <a href="" type="internal">being red-carded</a> for celebrating a goal too close to the fans last weekend.</p>
<p>Atletico has conceded only once in its last six matches in all competitions.</p>
<p>VIETTO'S SHOW</p>
<p>Recently arrived on a loan from Atletico, Vietto debuted as a starter for Valencia after being a late substitute against Girona in the Spanish league last weekend.</p>
<p>The Argentine player scored once in the first half and twice in the second, with his last goal a shot from more than 40 meters after recovering a ball just ahead of the midfield circle and seeing the goalkeeper out of position.</p>
<p>"It's hard to explain, I hadn't scored in nearly a year and then I score three times," Vietto said. "Hopefully I will remain with this kind of confidence."</p>
<p>Vietto had the best season of his career with Villarreal in 2014-15, scoring 20, but since then he has disappointed in two stints at Atletico and on loan at Sevilla.</p>
<p>Nemanja Maksimovic scored Valencia's other goal at Mestalla Stadium.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP Spanish soccer coverage: <a href="" type="internal">https://apnews.com/tag/LaLiga</a></p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Tales Azzoni on Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/tazzoni" type="external">http://twitter.com/tazzoni</a></p>
<p>MADRID (AP) — Victor "Vitolo" Machin and Luciano Vietto scored on their starting debuts as Atletico Madrid and Valencia cruised into the Copa del Rey quarterfinals on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Vietto scored three times — including one from near midfield — to help Valencia rout Las Palmas 4-0 and advance 5-1 on aggregate. Vitolo scored his first goal for Atletico as it defeated third-division team Lleida 3-0 and advanced 7-0 on aggregate.</p>
<p>Yannick Carrasco and Kevin Gameiro also got on the scoresheet for Atletico, which was without most of its regular starters.</p>
<p>Vitolo was making his second appearance for Atletico since returning from a loan to Las Palmas. He was signed by Atletico last offseason but couldn't play until now because the Spanish club was temporarily banned by FIFA from registering new players.</p>
<p>"It was moving," Vitolo said. "I couldn't have asked for more in my debut in front of our fans."</p>
<p>Carrasco opened the scoring in the second half after an assist by Diego Costa, and Gameiro and Vitolo added on toward the end. Vitolo's maiden goal came after a perfect long pass by Fernando Torres.</p>
<p>Costa played because he was suspended only in the Spanish league after <a href="" type="internal">being red-carded</a> for celebrating a goal too close to the fans last weekend.</p>
<p>Atletico has conceded only once in its last six matches in all competitions.</p>
<p>VIETTO'S SHOW</p>
<p>Recently arrived on a loan from Atletico, Vietto debuted as a starter for Valencia after being a late substitute against Girona in the Spanish league last weekend.</p>
<p>The Argentine player scored once in the first half and twice in the second, with his last goal a shot from more than 40 meters after recovering a ball just ahead of the midfield circle and seeing the goalkeeper out of position.</p>
<p>"It's hard to explain, I hadn't scored in nearly a year and then I score three times," Vietto said. "Hopefully I will remain with this kind of confidence."</p>
<p>Vietto had the best season of his career with Villarreal in 2014-15, scoring 20, but since then he has disappointed in two stints at Atletico and on loan at Sevilla.</p>
<p>Nemanja Maksimovic scored Valencia's other goal at Mestalla Stadium.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP Spanish soccer coverage: <a href="" type="internal">https://apnews.com/tag/LaLiga</a></p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Tales Azzoni on Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/tazzoni" type="external">http://twitter.com/tazzoni</a></p> | Atletico and Valencia cruise into Copa del Rey quarterfinals | false | https://apnews.com/amp/762619f440c942129e86ed9429e344b1 | 2018-01-09 | 2least
| Atletico and Valencia cruise into Copa del Rey quarterfinals
<p>MADRID (AP) — Victor "Vitolo" Machin and Luciano Vietto scored on their starting debuts as Atletico Madrid and Valencia cruised into the Copa del Rey quarterfinals on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Vietto scored three times — including one from near midfield — to help Valencia rout Las Palmas 4-0 and advance 5-1 on aggregate. Vitolo scored his first goal for Atletico as it defeated third-division team Lleida 3-0 and advanced 7-0 on aggregate.</p>
<p>Yannick Carrasco and Kevin Gameiro also got on the scoresheet for Atletico, which was without most of its regular starters.</p>
<p>Vitolo was making his second appearance for Atletico since returning from a loan to Las Palmas. He was signed by Atletico last offseason but couldn't play until now because the Spanish club was temporarily banned by FIFA from registering new players.</p>
<p>"It was moving," Vitolo said. "I couldn't have asked for more in my debut in front of our fans."</p>
<p>Carrasco opened the scoring in the second half after an assist by Diego Costa, and Gameiro and Vitolo added on toward the end. Vitolo's maiden goal came after a perfect long pass by Fernando Torres.</p>
<p>Costa played because he was suspended only in the Spanish league after <a href="" type="internal">being red-carded</a> for celebrating a goal too close to the fans last weekend.</p>
<p>Atletico has conceded only once in its last six matches in all competitions.</p>
<p>VIETTO'S SHOW</p>
<p>Recently arrived on a loan from Atletico, Vietto debuted as a starter for Valencia after being a late substitute against Girona in the Spanish league last weekend.</p>
<p>The Argentine player scored once in the first half and twice in the second, with his last goal a shot from more than 40 meters after recovering a ball just ahead of the midfield circle and seeing the goalkeeper out of position.</p>
<p>"It's hard to explain, I hadn't scored in nearly a year and then I score three times," Vietto said. "Hopefully I will remain with this kind of confidence."</p>
<p>Vietto had the best season of his career with Villarreal in 2014-15, scoring 20, but since then he has disappointed in two stints at Atletico and on loan at Sevilla.</p>
<p>Nemanja Maksimovic scored Valencia's other goal at Mestalla Stadium.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP Spanish soccer coverage: <a href="" type="internal">https://apnews.com/tag/LaLiga</a></p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Tales Azzoni on Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/tazzoni" type="external">http://twitter.com/tazzoni</a></p>
<p>MADRID (AP) — Victor "Vitolo" Machin and Luciano Vietto scored on their starting debuts as Atletico Madrid and Valencia cruised into the Copa del Rey quarterfinals on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Vietto scored three times — including one from near midfield — to help Valencia rout Las Palmas 4-0 and advance 5-1 on aggregate. Vitolo scored his first goal for Atletico as it defeated third-division team Lleida 3-0 and advanced 7-0 on aggregate.</p>
<p>Yannick Carrasco and Kevin Gameiro also got on the scoresheet for Atletico, which was without most of its regular starters.</p>
<p>Vitolo was making his second appearance for Atletico since returning from a loan to Las Palmas. He was signed by Atletico last offseason but couldn't play until now because the Spanish club was temporarily banned by FIFA from registering new players.</p>
<p>"It was moving," Vitolo said. "I couldn't have asked for more in my debut in front of our fans."</p>
<p>Carrasco opened the scoring in the second half after an assist by Diego Costa, and Gameiro and Vitolo added on toward the end. Vitolo's maiden goal came after a perfect long pass by Fernando Torres.</p>
<p>Costa played because he was suspended only in the Spanish league after <a href="" type="internal">being red-carded</a> for celebrating a goal too close to the fans last weekend.</p>
<p>Atletico has conceded only once in its last six matches in all competitions.</p>
<p>VIETTO'S SHOW</p>
<p>Recently arrived on a loan from Atletico, Vietto debuted as a starter for Valencia after being a late substitute against Girona in the Spanish league last weekend.</p>
<p>The Argentine player scored once in the first half and twice in the second, with his last goal a shot from more than 40 meters after recovering a ball just ahead of the midfield circle and seeing the goalkeeper out of position.</p>
<p>"It's hard to explain, I hadn't scored in nearly a year and then I score three times," Vietto said. "Hopefully I will remain with this kind of confidence."</p>
<p>Vietto had the best season of his career with Villarreal in 2014-15, scoring 20, but since then he has disappointed in two stints at Atletico and on loan at Sevilla.</p>
<p>Nemanja Maksimovic scored Valencia's other goal at Mestalla Stadium.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP Spanish soccer coverage: <a href="" type="internal">https://apnews.com/tag/LaLiga</a></p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Tales Azzoni on Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/tazzoni" type="external">http://twitter.com/tazzoni</a></p> | 1,370 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>SANTA FE - A Santa Fe man was arrested Sunday in the Rancho Viejo subdivision of Santa Fe for criminal sexual contact of a minor and false imprisonment, according to a criminal complaint.</p>
<p>Joseph Crumbacher</p>
<p>Joseph Crumbacher, 37, was charged and booked without incident after Santa Fe County deputies were called to a home in reference to criminal sexual contact of a 7-year-old female.</p>
<p>Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office spokesman Juan Rios said the department could only provide the criminal complaint and not the police report because detectives are still investigating the incident.</p>
<p>Crumbacher is being held at the Santa Fe County jail on a $20,000 cash-only bond. No further details are available at this time.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Santa Fe man charged with criminal sexual contact of 7-year-old girl | false | https://abqjournal.com/644082/santa-fe-man-charged-with-criminal-sexual-contact-of-7-year-old-girl.html | 2least
| Santa Fe man charged with criminal sexual contact of 7-year-old girl
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>SANTA FE - A Santa Fe man was arrested Sunday in the Rancho Viejo subdivision of Santa Fe for criminal sexual contact of a minor and false imprisonment, according to a criminal complaint.</p>
<p>Joseph Crumbacher</p>
<p>Joseph Crumbacher, 37, was charged and booked without incident after Santa Fe County deputies were called to a home in reference to criminal sexual contact of a 7-year-old female.</p>
<p>Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office spokesman Juan Rios said the department could only provide the criminal complaint and not the police report because detectives are still investigating the incident.</p>
<p>Crumbacher is being held at the Santa Fe County jail on a $20,000 cash-only bond. No further details are available at this time.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 1,371 |
|
<p />
<p>Minneapolis was my home for four years, as it was for many of us who just graduated from the University of Minnesota this May. Some of us have moved away, but wherever this community resides now, we share something in common. We’re worried about Minneapolis. I used to cross the Minneapolis bridge that <a href="/mojoblog/archives/2007/08/5054_a_castrophe_of.html" type="external">collapsed last night</a> every week and never once gave the safety of the bridge a second thought. It’s a big, sturdy bridge. I didn’t think there was anything to worry about.</p>
<p>But I guess I was wrong. I read that the bridge collapsed minutes after it happened and immediately sent text messages to two of my best friends who still live in the area. Thankfully they were safe; one had actually yet to hear about the disaster. I was not alone in this panic. Minneapolis friends and families flooded house and cell phone lines so much that area phone numbers reportedly weren’t working. Some, like me, were able to connect with people but the not-so-lucky ones are still <a href="http://www.twincities.com/ci_6526315" type="external">painfully waiting</a> for a snippet of any news at all.</p>
<p>Today, divers searched through submerged debris, citizens poured over news reports, and officials made plans to investigate similar bridges in the area. Police are planning to put the bridge back together, as if made of puzzle pieces, to determine what caused the collapse. Bush has made $5 million available to the city to remove debris and organize traffic and is planning on <a href="http://www.startribune.com/10204/story/1340603.html" type="external">visiting the site</a> Saturday. And, in the meantime, people want answers, and they’re not getting them.</p>
<p>But there are some places where people can start to look for answers. My former student newspaper, the <a href="http://www.mndaily.com/" type="external">Minnesota Daily</a> is providing up-to-date news, photos, videos, and <a href="http://www.mndaily.com/articles/2007/08/01/72161" type="external">commentary</a> on the developing situation. I highly encourage you to turn to some of the most thorough and comprehensive coverage available right now, coming from whom some consider to be unlikely candidates: students.</p>
<p>—Anna Weggel</p>
<p /> | Minneapolis Residents Look for Answers | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2007/08/minneapolis-residents-look-answers/ | 2007-08-03 | 4left
| Minneapolis Residents Look for Answers
<p />
<p>Minneapolis was my home for four years, as it was for many of us who just graduated from the University of Minnesota this May. Some of us have moved away, but wherever this community resides now, we share something in common. We’re worried about Minneapolis. I used to cross the Minneapolis bridge that <a href="/mojoblog/archives/2007/08/5054_a_castrophe_of.html" type="external">collapsed last night</a> every week and never once gave the safety of the bridge a second thought. It’s a big, sturdy bridge. I didn’t think there was anything to worry about.</p>
<p>But I guess I was wrong. I read that the bridge collapsed minutes after it happened and immediately sent text messages to two of my best friends who still live in the area. Thankfully they were safe; one had actually yet to hear about the disaster. I was not alone in this panic. Minneapolis friends and families flooded house and cell phone lines so much that area phone numbers reportedly weren’t working. Some, like me, were able to connect with people but the not-so-lucky ones are still <a href="http://www.twincities.com/ci_6526315" type="external">painfully waiting</a> for a snippet of any news at all.</p>
<p>Today, divers searched through submerged debris, citizens poured over news reports, and officials made plans to investigate similar bridges in the area. Police are planning to put the bridge back together, as if made of puzzle pieces, to determine what caused the collapse. Bush has made $5 million available to the city to remove debris and organize traffic and is planning on <a href="http://www.startribune.com/10204/story/1340603.html" type="external">visiting the site</a> Saturday. And, in the meantime, people want answers, and they’re not getting them.</p>
<p>But there are some places where people can start to look for answers. My former student newspaper, the <a href="http://www.mndaily.com/" type="external">Minnesota Daily</a> is providing up-to-date news, photos, videos, and <a href="http://www.mndaily.com/articles/2007/08/01/72161" type="external">commentary</a> on the developing situation. I highly encourage you to turn to some of the most thorough and comprehensive coverage available right now, coming from whom some consider to be unlikely candidates: students.</p>
<p>—Anna Weggel</p>
<p /> | 1,372 |
<p>According to public choice theory, citizens exercise leverage over their government by using the vote as a major tool. This theory discounts the weight of corporate media power in influencing citizen consciousness, Votergate scandals which amount to stolen elections, or elected leaders who fail to respond to voter choices. But the vote can still be powerful, particularly when parties feel the need to be accountable to public choices. The power of the vote has been diluted by: (a) the present duopoly of power (Republicrats), (b) the kind of Orwellian patriotism that “protects” troops by sending them on impossible missions; and (c) the fossilized violence of Bush electoral victories based on theft (2000) and fear (2004).</p>
<p>The Democrats’ failure to stop Bush represents an important civics lesson. Voting is reduced to a diffused signaling system (rather than a means of power) when political parties are owned or limited by corporate and Pentagon power. Thus, those suggesting that the cave in to Bush is a scandal are in denial. The scandal has been in the making for decades. It dates from the postwar permanent war economy which the most responsible historians know began during World War II. At that point, various constituencies weaned on war money (from defense contractors, to industrial unions and university scientists) decided that defense addiction was a worthwhile bargain.</p>
<p>If we are to reclaim our government, we must return to the very idea of what a state is. As Thomas Paine remarked in Rights of Man, “government is nothing more than a national association acting on the principles of society.” In other words, the American Revolution created an accountability system linked to yeoman farmers, among others, in which the machinery of the government, linked to the association of people, created accountability. This accountability was renewed during key points in U.S. history, like during the Populist Movement, the 1930s, and the New Left.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>The Three Filters: Foundations, Established Media and Status Quo Democrats</p>
<p>Why can’t contemporary movements similarly promote accountability? One could point to the growing power of mega-transnational corporations and politicians who increasingly resemble commodities. Yet, the independent character of social movements and social change organizations is itself increasingly compromised.</p>
<p>The ability of citizens’ to accumulate economic, media and political capital is blocked by various filtering systems. Today’s social movements, often serialized and atomized by professionalism and deal making with established foundations, corporate media and entrenched political parties, dilute their ability to support popular will. Power is diluted by exchanges and deals because the contemporary social movement (very much like the Democratic Party itself) can not generate its own capital or power accumulation system.</p>
<p>Economic capital often comes from a check written for a 501C3 organization by an established foundation or wealthy patron with limited political horizons. Media capital is similarly accessed by fitting into the established frames, with the dominant paradigm being intellectual Taylorism, i.e. the political dots of environmental decay, militarism and the sabotage of democracy remain unconnected. Political capital also comes by making deals with established Congressional leaders, particularly status quo Democrats, who take complicated realities and atomize them into committee perogratives and assignments. As a result, the multifaceted military society is treated as a “defense issue,” not an opportunity cost against equitable economic development, environmental renewal, the expansion of social services and even a sensible civilian-based industrial policy. As Marcus Raskin noted in Being and Doing, the average citizen is subjected to various forms of “colonization.”</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>What is to Be Done?: From Political Amnesia to Democratic Fundamentals</p>
<p>The Internet promises a direct way to sidestep political leaders and potentially allows citizens to accumulate economic, media and political capital directly. Problem is the Internet is not an ideology or even a political philosophy. This form is not necessarily married to any specific radical or even democratic content. Instead, it can be used by Right, Left and Center. It is in fact now being used to support presidential campaigns that often seem more diversionary than enlightening. In any case, the very knowledge of the design of democratic forms is increasingly becoming obsolete, much like the depleted skills of various machinists, craft workers and artisans we sometimes read about in the business pages.</p>
<p>Those outraged by Congressional powerlessness have several options. First, the intellectuals might go back to democratic fundamentals. We could return to some fundamentalist thinkers like Thomas Jefferson, Paul Goodman, Henry Wallace, C. Wright Mills, Simone Weil, Hannah Arendt, W. E. Du Bois, Malcolm X or any number of thinkers who gave us some basic ideas about accountability structures and how to design and promote them. Unfortunately, these thinkers’ ideas have become passé in the face of “identity politics,” post-modernism, and a revisionist version of anarchism. Malcolm’s ideas about the mosque as mobilization center, Du Bois endorsement of cooperatives, Goodman’s ideas about radical media, Arendt’s notions about local democratic action are lost to a social amnesia process. Instead of figuring out how to transcend the burdens of racism, sexism and exploitation, the power structures corresponding to these are simply deconstructed. The alternatives require reconstruction, but that is not on many intellectuals’ agenda.</p>
<p>Second, political organizers who are not in despair might try to figure out how to form a bridge between the ideas of such forgotten intellectuals and the average citizen. Perhaps if local organizers developed sufficient computer skills in sufficient numbers, they could sidestep the colonization process created by “the three filters” and political amnesia. They could build their own means of raising money, organizing citizens, and helping to educate them about their choices.</p>
<p>Third, visionary politicians of all political parties, foundations, journalists, intellectuals and activists-among others-ought to create “study circles,” teach ins, town meetings and other kinds of democratic interventions. We need to begin a local process of renewing democracy from below. These strategies are a far cry from simply voting and attending mass street demonstrations-both representing another form of “the spectacle” that render citizens passive entities expected to follow the tracks of entrenched leaders and bankrupt policies.</p>
<p>Finally, unaffiliated and under-organized citizens may be confused as to who or what to turn to. They are caught between various professionalized and co-opted cultures in established groups which often offer very little sense of hope. In contrast, the Democratic Party’s failures represent is part of an ongoing legitimacy crisis confronting the U.S. state. Democratic political entrepreneurs should exploit this crisis and rebuild U.S. democracy before it’s too late.</p>
<p>JONATHAN M. FELDMAN is a lecturer at Stockholm University and part of the network, <a href="http://www.economicreconstruction.com/" type="external">www.economicreconstruction.com</a>. He is author of a forthcoming article in Social Text, “From Warfare State to ‘Shadow State’: Militarism, Economic Depletion and Reconstruction.”</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Congress and the Iraq War Vote | true | https://counterpunch.org/2007/05/26/congress-and-the-iraq-war-vote/ | 2007-05-26 | 4left
| Congress and the Iraq War Vote
<p>According to public choice theory, citizens exercise leverage over their government by using the vote as a major tool. This theory discounts the weight of corporate media power in influencing citizen consciousness, Votergate scandals which amount to stolen elections, or elected leaders who fail to respond to voter choices. But the vote can still be powerful, particularly when parties feel the need to be accountable to public choices. The power of the vote has been diluted by: (a) the present duopoly of power (Republicrats), (b) the kind of Orwellian patriotism that “protects” troops by sending them on impossible missions; and (c) the fossilized violence of Bush electoral victories based on theft (2000) and fear (2004).</p>
<p>The Democrats’ failure to stop Bush represents an important civics lesson. Voting is reduced to a diffused signaling system (rather than a means of power) when political parties are owned or limited by corporate and Pentagon power. Thus, those suggesting that the cave in to Bush is a scandal are in denial. The scandal has been in the making for decades. It dates from the postwar permanent war economy which the most responsible historians know began during World War II. At that point, various constituencies weaned on war money (from defense contractors, to industrial unions and university scientists) decided that defense addiction was a worthwhile bargain.</p>
<p>If we are to reclaim our government, we must return to the very idea of what a state is. As Thomas Paine remarked in Rights of Man, “government is nothing more than a national association acting on the principles of society.” In other words, the American Revolution created an accountability system linked to yeoman farmers, among others, in which the machinery of the government, linked to the association of people, created accountability. This accountability was renewed during key points in U.S. history, like during the Populist Movement, the 1930s, and the New Left.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>The Three Filters: Foundations, Established Media and Status Quo Democrats</p>
<p>Why can’t contemporary movements similarly promote accountability? One could point to the growing power of mega-transnational corporations and politicians who increasingly resemble commodities. Yet, the independent character of social movements and social change organizations is itself increasingly compromised.</p>
<p>The ability of citizens’ to accumulate economic, media and political capital is blocked by various filtering systems. Today’s social movements, often serialized and atomized by professionalism and deal making with established foundations, corporate media and entrenched political parties, dilute their ability to support popular will. Power is diluted by exchanges and deals because the contemporary social movement (very much like the Democratic Party itself) can not generate its own capital or power accumulation system.</p>
<p>Economic capital often comes from a check written for a 501C3 organization by an established foundation or wealthy patron with limited political horizons. Media capital is similarly accessed by fitting into the established frames, with the dominant paradigm being intellectual Taylorism, i.e. the political dots of environmental decay, militarism and the sabotage of democracy remain unconnected. Political capital also comes by making deals with established Congressional leaders, particularly status quo Democrats, who take complicated realities and atomize them into committee perogratives and assignments. As a result, the multifaceted military society is treated as a “defense issue,” not an opportunity cost against equitable economic development, environmental renewal, the expansion of social services and even a sensible civilian-based industrial policy. As Marcus Raskin noted in Being and Doing, the average citizen is subjected to various forms of “colonization.”</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>What is to Be Done?: From Political Amnesia to Democratic Fundamentals</p>
<p>The Internet promises a direct way to sidestep political leaders and potentially allows citizens to accumulate economic, media and political capital directly. Problem is the Internet is not an ideology or even a political philosophy. This form is not necessarily married to any specific radical or even democratic content. Instead, it can be used by Right, Left and Center. It is in fact now being used to support presidential campaigns that often seem more diversionary than enlightening. In any case, the very knowledge of the design of democratic forms is increasingly becoming obsolete, much like the depleted skills of various machinists, craft workers and artisans we sometimes read about in the business pages.</p>
<p>Those outraged by Congressional powerlessness have several options. First, the intellectuals might go back to democratic fundamentals. We could return to some fundamentalist thinkers like Thomas Jefferson, Paul Goodman, Henry Wallace, C. Wright Mills, Simone Weil, Hannah Arendt, W. E. Du Bois, Malcolm X or any number of thinkers who gave us some basic ideas about accountability structures and how to design and promote them. Unfortunately, these thinkers’ ideas have become passé in the face of “identity politics,” post-modernism, and a revisionist version of anarchism. Malcolm’s ideas about the mosque as mobilization center, Du Bois endorsement of cooperatives, Goodman’s ideas about radical media, Arendt’s notions about local democratic action are lost to a social amnesia process. Instead of figuring out how to transcend the burdens of racism, sexism and exploitation, the power structures corresponding to these are simply deconstructed. The alternatives require reconstruction, but that is not on many intellectuals’ agenda.</p>
<p>Second, political organizers who are not in despair might try to figure out how to form a bridge between the ideas of such forgotten intellectuals and the average citizen. Perhaps if local organizers developed sufficient computer skills in sufficient numbers, they could sidestep the colonization process created by “the three filters” and political amnesia. They could build their own means of raising money, organizing citizens, and helping to educate them about their choices.</p>
<p>Third, visionary politicians of all political parties, foundations, journalists, intellectuals and activists-among others-ought to create “study circles,” teach ins, town meetings and other kinds of democratic interventions. We need to begin a local process of renewing democracy from below. These strategies are a far cry from simply voting and attending mass street demonstrations-both representing another form of “the spectacle” that render citizens passive entities expected to follow the tracks of entrenched leaders and bankrupt policies.</p>
<p>Finally, unaffiliated and under-organized citizens may be confused as to who or what to turn to. They are caught between various professionalized and co-opted cultures in established groups which often offer very little sense of hope. In contrast, the Democratic Party’s failures represent is part of an ongoing legitimacy crisis confronting the U.S. state. Democratic political entrepreneurs should exploit this crisis and rebuild U.S. democracy before it’s too late.</p>
<p>JONATHAN M. FELDMAN is a lecturer at Stockholm University and part of the network, <a href="http://www.economicreconstruction.com/" type="external">www.economicreconstruction.com</a>. He is author of a forthcoming article in Social Text, “From Warfare State to ‘Shadow State’: Militarism, Economic Depletion and Reconstruction.”</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 1,373 |
<p><a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="http://www.freep.com/article/20120616/NEWS06/206160471/-Vagina-Monologues-coming-to-Capitol-to-protest-muzzle-on-legislators" type="external">The Detroit Free Press</a> today reported that Michigan women legislators will be joined by Eve Ensler, author of “The Vagina Monologues,” in a performance of the play on the steps of the state capitol in Lansing.</p>
<p>The performance is in reaction to the indefinite banning of two Democratic women legislators for using the word vagina while speaking on the house floor. State Rep. Lisa Brown (D-West Bloomfield) spoke out against Michigan’s new anti-abortion law, saying, “I have not asked you to adopt and adhere to my religious beliefs. Why are you asking me to adopt yours? And finally, Mr. Speaker, I’m flattered that you’re all so interested in my vagina, but no means no.”</p>
<p />
<p>The mostly male Republican caucus went into an immediate uproar and banned Brown and Rep. Barb Byrum (D-Onondaga) from speaking on the house floor.</p>
<p>Rep. Mike Callton (R-Nashville) said, “What she said was offensive. It was so offensive, I don’t even want to say it in front of women. I would not say it in mixed company.”</p>
<p>The unreasoning and puritanical stance of the Republicans in the Michigan Legislature has infuriated women and they are hitting back. At least nine female legislators, author Eve Ensler and actresses from around the state will assemble on the steps of the state capitol on Monday, June 18 to perform “The Vagina Monologues.” It is slated to run from 5:00pm until 8:00pm EDT.</p>
<p>In an announcement on its Facebook page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/268583796582574" type="external">VAGINAS TAKE BACK THE CAPITOL</a>, the performance will feature Ensler and Michigan lawmakers Sen. Rebekah Warren (D-Ann Arbor), Sen. Gretchen Whitmer (D-East Lansing), Rep. Barb Byrum (D- Onondaga), Rep. Stacy Erwin Oakes (D-Saginaw), Rep. Dian Slavens (D- Canton Township), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D- Detroit), Rep. Lisa Brown (D-West Bloomfield), Rep. Vicki Barnett (D-Farmington Hills) and Rep. Joan Bauer (D-Lansing) “with more announced soon!”</p>
<p>A glance at the newly produced Facebook page shows that women across the country have answered the call, with carpooling requests from as far away as North Carolina.</p>
<p>With only a few days planning, it will indeed be an interesting evening in Michigan’s capitol, where women will take the “dirty word” vagina and shout it out for all to hear. This is but the first of many events that will undoubtedly take place across the country in reaction to a concerted conservative attempt to roll back the rights of women.</p>
<p>Ann Werner is a blogger and the author of two thrillers and two works of non-fiction. You can view her work at <a href="http://arkstories.com" type="external">ARK Stories</a>.</p>
<p>Visit her on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/MsWerner" type="external">@MsWerner</a> and Facebook <a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/profile.php?id=100001286958371" type="external">Author Ann Werner</a></p>
<p /> | Michigan Women Lawmakers To Perform The Vagina Monologues On The Steps Of The State Capitol | true | http://addictinginfo.org/2012/06/16/v/ | 2012-06-16 | 4left
| Michigan Women Lawmakers To Perform The Vagina Monologues On The Steps Of The State Capitol
<p><a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="http://www.freep.com/article/20120616/NEWS06/206160471/-Vagina-Monologues-coming-to-Capitol-to-protest-muzzle-on-legislators" type="external">The Detroit Free Press</a> today reported that Michigan women legislators will be joined by Eve Ensler, author of “The Vagina Monologues,” in a performance of the play on the steps of the state capitol in Lansing.</p>
<p>The performance is in reaction to the indefinite banning of two Democratic women legislators for using the word vagina while speaking on the house floor. State Rep. Lisa Brown (D-West Bloomfield) spoke out against Michigan’s new anti-abortion law, saying, “I have not asked you to adopt and adhere to my religious beliefs. Why are you asking me to adopt yours? And finally, Mr. Speaker, I’m flattered that you’re all so interested in my vagina, but no means no.”</p>
<p />
<p>The mostly male Republican caucus went into an immediate uproar and banned Brown and Rep. Barb Byrum (D-Onondaga) from speaking on the house floor.</p>
<p>Rep. Mike Callton (R-Nashville) said, “What she said was offensive. It was so offensive, I don’t even want to say it in front of women. I would not say it in mixed company.”</p>
<p>The unreasoning and puritanical stance of the Republicans in the Michigan Legislature has infuriated women and they are hitting back. At least nine female legislators, author Eve Ensler and actresses from around the state will assemble on the steps of the state capitol on Monday, June 18 to perform “The Vagina Monologues.” It is slated to run from 5:00pm until 8:00pm EDT.</p>
<p>In an announcement on its Facebook page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/268583796582574" type="external">VAGINAS TAKE BACK THE CAPITOL</a>, the performance will feature Ensler and Michigan lawmakers Sen. Rebekah Warren (D-Ann Arbor), Sen. Gretchen Whitmer (D-East Lansing), Rep. Barb Byrum (D- Onondaga), Rep. Stacy Erwin Oakes (D-Saginaw), Rep. Dian Slavens (D- Canton Township), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D- Detroit), Rep. Lisa Brown (D-West Bloomfield), Rep. Vicki Barnett (D-Farmington Hills) and Rep. Joan Bauer (D-Lansing) “with more announced soon!”</p>
<p>A glance at the newly produced Facebook page shows that women across the country have answered the call, with carpooling requests from as far away as North Carolina.</p>
<p>With only a few days planning, it will indeed be an interesting evening in Michigan’s capitol, where women will take the “dirty word” vagina and shout it out for all to hear. This is but the first of many events that will undoubtedly take place across the country in reaction to a concerted conservative attempt to roll back the rights of women.</p>
<p>Ann Werner is a blogger and the author of two thrillers and two works of non-fiction. You can view her work at <a href="http://arkstories.com" type="external">ARK Stories</a>.</p>
<p>Visit her on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/MsWerner" type="external">@MsWerner</a> and Facebook <a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/profile.php?id=100001286958371" type="external">Author Ann Werner</a></p>
<p /> | 1,374 |
<p>PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening’s drawing of the Oregon Lottery’s “Lucky Lines” game were:</p>
<p>01-06-09-16-FREE-20-22-28-32</p>
<p>(one, six, nine, sixteen, FREE, twenty, twenty-two, twenty-eight, thirty-two)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $18,000</p>
<p>PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening’s drawing of the Oregon Lottery’s “Lucky Lines” game were:</p>
<p>01-06-09-16-FREE-20-22-28-32</p>
<p>(one, six, nine, sixteen, FREE, twenty, twenty-two, twenty-eight, thirty-two)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $18,000</p> | Winning numbers drawn in ‘Lucky Lines’ game | false | https://apnews.com/7269237fa5c3467fa9859d69b8473be3 | 2018-01-12 | 2least
| Winning numbers drawn in ‘Lucky Lines’ game
<p>PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening’s drawing of the Oregon Lottery’s “Lucky Lines” game were:</p>
<p>01-06-09-16-FREE-20-22-28-32</p>
<p>(one, six, nine, sixteen, FREE, twenty, twenty-two, twenty-eight, thirty-two)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $18,000</p>
<p>PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening’s drawing of the Oregon Lottery’s “Lucky Lines” game were:</p>
<p>01-06-09-16-FREE-20-22-28-32</p>
<p>(one, six, nine, sixteen, FREE, twenty, twenty-two, twenty-eight, thirty-two)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $18,000</p> | 1,375 |
<p>Americans are increasingly turning to the internet to make their purchases, creating a $808 billion market last year. Retailers all want a slice of this pie, so they're beefing up their delivery offerings to compete on delivery deals. More and more of us expect our packages to arrive quickly and for a low fee -- or even free.</p>
<p>In this clip from <a href="http://www.fool.com/podcasts/industry-focus?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Industry Focus: Consumer Goods Opens a New Window.</a>, Motley Fool analysts Vincent Shen and Sarah Priestley talk about this competitive flashpoint for retailers and what it means for the commercial drone market.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>A full transcript follows the video.</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=2667&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>This podcast was recorded on Sept. 20, 2016.</p>
<p>Vincent Shen: Obviously been a huge trend for e-commerce, which is the impact of delivery, and you mentioned AmazonAir, and the fact that a lot of e-commerce retailers are challenging the traditional retailers, and challenging consumers to think that maybe, "It's easier for me to order something, essentially, from the comfort of my couch than it is to make the drive 10 minutes, 15 minutes," or even farther for some people, as we'll get to, "to go to the store to buy something."</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Sarah Priestley: Yeah, absolutely. And I think it's, for a long time, been the preserve of sci-fi movies, but now it's starting to become a reality. I don't know how quickly it will actually happen for consumers. But if you look, in 2015, just business-to-consumer -- so, excluding business-to-business -- the online retail market was $808 billion. There is a huge amount of consumer expectation over how quickly they're going to receive those packages. I think that's, essentially, created a huge pressure point, and a competitive pressure point, for retailers and how they're competing over free delivery -- which obviously is not free for them -- and immediate delivery, which is what we're talking about now.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFSarahp/info.aspx" type="external">Sarah Priestley Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFJourneyMan/info.aspx" type="external">Vincent Shen Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon.com. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/motley.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Are Consumers' Delivery Expectations Driving Drones? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/09/29/are-consumers-delivery-expectations-driving-drones.html | 2016-09-29 | 0right
| Are Consumers' Delivery Expectations Driving Drones?
<p>Americans are increasingly turning to the internet to make their purchases, creating a $808 billion market last year. Retailers all want a slice of this pie, so they're beefing up their delivery offerings to compete on delivery deals. More and more of us expect our packages to arrive quickly and for a low fee -- or even free.</p>
<p>In this clip from <a href="http://www.fool.com/podcasts/industry-focus?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Industry Focus: Consumer Goods Opens a New Window.</a>, Motley Fool analysts Vincent Shen and Sarah Priestley talk about this competitive flashpoint for retailers and what it means for the commercial drone market.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>A full transcript follows the video.</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=2667&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>This podcast was recorded on Sept. 20, 2016.</p>
<p>Vincent Shen: Obviously been a huge trend for e-commerce, which is the impact of delivery, and you mentioned AmazonAir, and the fact that a lot of e-commerce retailers are challenging the traditional retailers, and challenging consumers to think that maybe, "It's easier for me to order something, essentially, from the comfort of my couch than it is to make the drive 10 minutes, 15 minutes," or even farther for some people, as we'll get to, "to go to the store to buy something."</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Sarah Priestley: Yeah, absolutely. And I think it's, for a long time, been the preserve of sci-fi movies, but now it's starting to become a reality. I don't know how quickly it will actually happen for consumers. But if you look, in 2015, just business-to-consumer -- so, excluding business-to-business -- the online retail market was $808 billion. There is a huge amount of consumer expectation over how quickly they're going to receive those packages. I think that's, essentially, created a huge pressure point, and a competitive pressure point, for retailers and how they're competing over free delivery -- which obviously is not free for them -- and immediate delivery, which is what we're talking about now.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFSarahp/info.aspx" type="external">Sarah Priestley Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFJourneyMan/info.aspx" type="external">Vincent Shen Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon.com. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/motley.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 1,376 |
<p>Photo by U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv | <a href="" type="internal">CC BY 2.0</a></p>
<p>Israeli jets and ground-to-ground missile attacks on targets in the outskirts of Damascus are a mark of Israel’s heightened concern as President Bashar al-Assad comes close to winning the civil war in Syria. Israel’s security cabinet has held meetings several times in recent days to discuss how it should respond to the “day-after” the war as Syria returns to Mr Assad’s control and to Iran’s expanded influence in Syria according to Israeli television reports.</p>
<p>Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel’s policy was to stop Hezbollah moving “game-changing weapons” out of Syria into Lebanon. “We back it [the policy] up as necessary with action,” he added. Israel has carried out more than 100 air strikes against Syrian Army and Hezbollah arms depots and military facilities in the past six years.</p>
<p>The strikes are a sign that Israel is trying to adjust to likely new developments in Syria in 2018: as the end of the civil war comes in sight, Hezbollah and the Syrian armed forces, both battle hardened by the war, will no longer be tied down by fighting and could be deployed to confront Israel.</p>
<p>The Syrian war is by no means over, but the success of the coalition that includes Iran, Syria, Lebanese Hezbollah and Iraqi Shia forces means that the balance of power in the region is swinging against Israel.</p>
<p>The Syrian Army is advancing swiftly without much resistance into the largest remaining rebel enclave in province of Idlib south west of Aleppo, in an offensive launched a week ago. Backed by artillery and air strikes, Syrian units are fighting Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), formerly known as the al Nusra Front and once the Syrian arm of al-Qaeda, which is dominant in the province. Other rebel groups complain that HTS is refusing to cooperate with them&#160;in holding back government forces.</p>
<p>The Syrian Army and air force are also battering Eastern Ghouta, the other large rebel enclave just east of Damascus, the capture of which would give Mr Assad full control of the capital and the area round it, something he has not enjoyed since 2011.</p>
<p>Although the long-term success of Syrian government forces looks inevitable, it will take them time to re-establish central control. The Syrian Kurds – who captured Isis’s de facto capital Raqqa&#160;in October backed by US-led air strikes&#160;–&#160;control a great swathe of territory east of the Euphrates. They need to keep US support, including several bases in Kurdish-held territory, as a guarantee against Turkish military intervention or an offensive by Syrian forces. At the same time, they look to a long-term agreement with Damascus which would guarantee their autonomy.</p>
<p>Israel is concerned about the return of the Syrian Army to parts of southern Syria close to Israel as it tries to reopen the road to Jordan. There is a US-Russian agreement arranged by President Vladimir Putin that Hezbollah and Iranian backed forces will not approach within 25 miles of the Israeli-Syrian front line in the Golan.</p>
<p>But Mr Assad is likely to be less reliant on the support,&#160;and more independent of the wishes, of his two main allies, Russia and Iran, as he gets close to victory.</p>
<p>The latest Israeli air strikes and the angry Syrian response show that both sides are muscle-flexing. But, while the Israelis have an interest in preventing Hezbollah acquiring a substantial arsenal of long-range missiles that could reach far into Israel, neither side has an interest in going to war which would cause a lot of destruction but produce no winner, as in 2006 when Israel fought Hezbollah in Lebanon.</p>
<p>Israel has received vociferous backing from President Trump and the US but the Israelis must wonder – along with the rest of the world – how much Mr Trump’s supportive tweets are really worth. Even his recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is not an unalloyed gain for Israel since it changes nothing much on the ground, but it has put the Israeli-Palestinian issue back at the top of the political agenda in the Middle East to a degree not seen since 9/11 and the start of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.</p>
<p>The Israeli air strikes are not necessarily a precursor to a wider military conflict, but they do show that Israel believes it can no longer stay on the margins of the Syrian war. As the conflict comes to an end that&#160; is bound to be messy, Israel wants&#160;to be a leading player in shaping its final outcome.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Israel Launches Airstrikes on Syria, as Assad’s Forces Near Victory | true | https://counterpunch.org/2018/01/10/israel-launches-airstrikes-on-syria-as-assads-forces-near-victory/ | 2018-01-10 | 4left
| Israel Launches Airstrikes on Syria, as Assad’s Forces Near Victory
<p>Photo by U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv | <a href="" type="internal">CC BY 2.0</a></p>
<p>Israeli jets and ground-to-ground missile attacks on targets in the outskirts of Damascus are a mark of Israel’s heightened concern as President Bashar al-Assad comes close to winning the civil war in Syria. Israel’s security cabinet has held meetings several times in recent days to discuss how it should respond to the “day-after” the war as Syria returns to Mr Assad’s control and to Iran’s expanded influence in Syria according to Israeli television reports.</p>
<p>Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel’s policy was to stop Hezbollah moving “game-changing weapons” out of Syria into Lebanon. “We back it [the policy] up as necessary with action,” he added. Israel has carried out more than 100 air strikes against Syrian Army and Hezbollah arms depots and military facilities in the past six years.</p>
<p>The strikes are a sign that Israel is trying to adjust to likely new developments in Syria in 2018: as the end of the civil war comes in sight, Hezbollah and the Syrian armed forces, both battle hardened by the war, will no longer be tied down by fighting and could be deployed to confront Israel.</p>
<p>The Syrian war is by no means over, but the success of the coalition that includes Iran, Syria, Lebanese Hezbollah and Iraqi Shia forces means that the balance of power in the region is swinging against Israel.</p>
<p>The Syrian Army is advancing swiftly without much resistance into the largest remaining rebel enclave in province of Idlib south west of Aleppo, in an offensive launched a week ago. Backed by artillery and air strikes, Syrian units are fighting Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), formerly known as the al Nusra Front and once the Syrian arm of al-Qaeda, which is dominant in the province. Other rebel groups complain that HTS is refusing to cooperate with them&#160;in holding back government forces.</p>
<p>The Syrian Army and air force are also battering Eastern Ghouta, the other large rebel enclave just east of Damascus, the capture of which would give Mr Assad full control of the capital and the area round it, something he has not enjoyed since 2011.</p>
<p>Although the long-term success of Syrian government forces looks inevitable, it will take them time to re-establish central control. The Syrian Kurds – who captured Isis’s de facto capital Raqqa&#160;in October backed by US-led air strikes&#160;–&#160;control a great swathe of territory east of the Euphrates. They need to keep US support, including several bases in Kurdish-held territory, as a guarantee against Turkish military intervention or an offensive by Syrian forces. At the same time, they look to a long-term agreement with Damascus which would guarantee their autonomy.</p>
<p>Israel is concerned about the return of the Syrian Army to parts of southern Syria close to Israel as it tries to reopen the road to Jordan. There is a US-Russian agreement arranged by President Vladimir Putin that Hezbollah and Iranian backed forces will not approach within 25 miles of the Israeli-Syrian front line in the Golan.</p>
<p>But Mr Assad is likely to be less reliant on the support,&#160;and more independent of the wishes, of his two main allies, Russia and Iran, as he gets close to victory.</p>
<p>The latest Israeli air strikes and the angry Syrian response show that both sides are muscle-flexing. But, while the Israelis have an interest in preventing Hezbollah acquiring a substantial arsenal of long-range missiles that could reach far into Israel, neither side has an interest in going to war which would cause a lot of destruction but produce no winner, as in 2006 when Israel fought Hezbollah in Lebanon.</p>
<p>Israel has received vociferous backing from President Trump and the US but the Israelis must wonder – along with the rest of the world – how much Mr Trump’s supportive tweets are really worth. Even his recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is not an unalloyed gain for Israel since it changes nothing much on the ground, but it has put the Israeli-Palestinian issue back at the top of the political agenda in the Middle East to a degree not seen since 9/11 and the start of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.</p>
<p>The Israeli air strikes are not necessarily a precursor to a wider military conflict, but they do show that Israel believes it can no longer stay on the margins of the Syrian war. As the conflict comes to an end that&#160; is bound to be messy, Israel wants&#160;to be a leading player in shaping its final outcome.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 1,377 |
<p>Congress has decided to impose <a href="" type="internal">sanctions on Syria</a>, thereby cooperating with the Bush administration’s program for regime change in Damascus and the complete remaking of the Middle East. I think that’s unreasonable, and just another step on a “road to Damascus” that doesn’t lead to Jesus (see Acts 9:3-9) but to more <a href="" type="internal">hell à la Iraq</a>.</p>
<p>If one were to propose a modest strategy to resist that effort, one might begin by exploring ways to buy Syrian beer. In doing so one might express solidarity with the Syrian people targeted for attack, while promoting international cultural exchange.</p>
<p>Syrian beer? You ask incredulously. They’re not supposed to have that sort of thing, being Muslims and all. But in fact the <a href="" type="internal">Syrians in ancient times pioneered in brewing</a>. Today 10% of the Syrian population is Christian, and there are even small Jewish communities in Damascus and Aleppo; these folks of course face no religious ban on alcohol. Muslims do, theoretically, face such a ban, but Syria (like Saddam’s Iraq) is a secular state, and the government so vilified by the Bush administration could care less if good Muslims want to chug down a couple cold ones on a hot day while watching the World Cup or washing the car, or whatever.</p>
<p>Now, I can’t give specific information about how to order Syrian beer, because I’m a law-abiding citizen, and I know that while Syria retains diplomatic representation in Washington it’s still considered a “terror-sponsoring” nation, and I’m aware that according to some extremely vague and stupid laws in this country, if I give “material support” to a “terrorist organization” (which is whatever the government wants that to be) I could be arrested just for advocating Syrian beer consumption. I mean, even though the bill hasn’t gone into effect yet, they could say that the Syrian breweries I’m suggesting one might hypothetically patronize (see how carefully I’m choosing my words?) are connected to terrorism (just because they’re Syrian), and so my suggestion itself would be advocacy of terrorism. I have a wife and kids, so I can’t do more than what I’m doing here, which is to suggest you surf the net and pursue the theoretical possibility of procuring some Syrian brews to share with your friends; show your solidarity with the good, decent innocent people of the next neocon-targeted nation; and generate in your next back-yard barbecue some discussion of the complexity of the world the Manichaean Bushites want to split neatly in two. Just imagine:</p>
<p>“Whatcha got there?” Your neighbor will ask curiously.</p>
<p>“Oh, this? Pretty decent lager.”</p>
<p>“What’s the writing on it?”</p>
<p>“Arabic. It’s a Syrian brew, actually.”</p>
<p>“No shit. They don’t drink in those countries.”</p>
<p>“Sure ‘nuf they do. They invented the stuff, y’know”</p>
<p>“Not! Germans invented beer.”</p>
<p>“Wrong. Arabs were brewing it <a href="http://www.highfiber.com/~bohemond/Bootshop/horn.html" type="external">a thousand years before the first European</a> chugged it down from a drinking horn…”</p>
<p>Then, seizing the opportunity to politically educate your friend, you can go on to explain that the Baathist Party governing Syria (and Saddam’s Iraq) is committed to secularism, which means not enforcing Islamic law, and maybe drive home the more important point that these secularists targeted by the religious fundamentalists now in power in the U.S. (who often lie, very deliberately, about the Middle East) actually have nothing to do with al-Qaeda and its program.</p>
<p>If I were to advise you on how to acquire your Syrian beer (which again I won’t do, lest I violate some anti-terrorism law), I’d suggest you first go to the website <a href="" type="internal">www.bottledbeer.co.uk</a>and become familiar with the Syrian products available. Reviewer Silk Tork is harsh on Barada, which he judges a “foul, sewerage filled trickle,” but some of your friends and neighbors might like that, everybody being different. Al-Chark on the other hand is (in Tork’s estimation) “a wonderful beerastonishingly excellent,” flavored with pineapple and grapefruit. Just 4.6% alcohol. It sounds to me rather like a Sam Adams Summer Ale, but I haven’t tried it yet. I haven’t found information on Dunia, a Syrian Pilsner, but I’m sure with some web-surfing you can get details.</p>
<p>I can’t find, on the net, an easy way to order cases of al-Chark. So if Syria weren’t being targeted for the neocons; and if I didn’t risk arrest for supporting terrorism in so doing, I’d suggest the following procedure. Fax the Syrian Embassy in Washington (there still is one) at 202-234-9548. Write something like:</p>
<p>To whom it may concern:</p>
<p>I am interested in acquiring information about how to legally procure the beer labeled “al-Chark” produced in your country, which I understand has a fine international reputation. I would like to buy at least one case, not only to expand my knowledge of world beers in doing so, but to also take a stand against the thoroughly unfair, bellicose policies that the government ruling my country is taking towards yours.</p>
<p>I would greatly appreciate any help you could lend me in this cultural exchange activity.</p>
<p>With all best wishes to the Syrian people,</p>
<p>[name]</p>
<p>I don’t know if it will be possible to order directly from Syria. Maybe the embassy will point you to some European or Canadian distributors.</p>
<p>GARY LEUPP is Professor of History at Tufts University, and Adjunct Professor of Comparative Religion. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | On Purchasing Syrian Beer | true | https://counterpunch.org/2003/12/06/on-purchasing-syrian-beer/ | 2003-12-06 | 4left
| On Purchasing Syrian Beer
<p>Congress has decided to impose <a href="" type="internal">sanctions on Syria</a>, thereby cooperating with the Bush administration’s program for regime change in Damascus and the complete remaking of the Middle East. I think that’s unreasonable, and just another step on a “road to Damascus” that doesn’t lead to Jesus (see Acts 9:3-9) but to more <a href="" type="internal">hell à la Iraq</a>.</p>
<p>If one were to propose a modest strategy to resist that effort, one might begin by exploring ways to buy Syrian beer. In doing so one might express solidarity with the Syrian people targeted for attack, while promoting international cultural exchange.</p>
<p>Syrian beer? You ask incredulously. They’re not supposed to have that sort of thing, being Muslims and all. But in fact the <a href="" type="internal">Syrians in ancient times pioneered in brewing</a>. Today 10% of the Syrian population is Christian, and there are even small Jewish communities in Damascus and Aleppo; these folks of course face no religious ban on alcohol. Muslims do, theoretically, face such a ban, but Syria (like Saddam’s Iraq) is a secular state, and the government so vilified by the Bush administration could care less if good Muslims want to chug down a couple cold ones on a hot day while watching the World Cup or washing the car, or whatever.</p>
<p>Now, I can’t give specific information about how to order Syrian beer, because I’m a law-abiding citizen, and I know that while Syria retains diplomatic representation in Washington it’s still considered a “terror-sponsoring” nation, and I’m aware that according to some extremely vague and stupid laws in this country, if I give “material support” to a “terrorist organization” (which is whatever the government wants that to be) I could be arrested just for advocating Syrian beer consumption. I mean, even though the bill hasn’t gone into effect yet, they could say that the Syrian breweries I’m suggesting one might hypothetically patronize (see how carefully I’m choosing my words?) are connected to terrorism (just because they’re Syrian), and so my suggestion itself would be advocacy of terrorism. I have a wife and kids, so I can’t do more than what I’m doing here, which is to suggest you surf the net and pursue the theoretical possibility of procuring some Syrian brews to share with your friends; show your solidarity with the good, decent innocent people of the next neocon-targeted nation; and generate in your next back-yard barbecue some discussion of the complexity of the world the Manichaean Bushites want to split neatly in two. Just imagine:</p>
<p>“Whatcha got there?” Your neighbor will ask curiously.</p>
<p>“Oh, this? Pretty decent lager.”</p>
<p>“What’s the writing on it?”</p>
<p>“Arabic. It’s a Syrian brew, actually.”</p>
<p>“No shit. They don’t drink in those countries.”</p>
<p>“Sure ‘nuf they do. They invented the stuff, y’know”</p>
<p>“Not! Germans invented beer.”</p>
<p>“Wrong. Arabs were brewing it <a href="http://www.highfiber.com/~bohemond/Bootshop/horn.html" type="external">a thousand years before the first European</a> chugged it down from a drinking horn…”</p>
<p>Then, seizing the opportunity to politically educate your friend, you can go on to explain that the Baathist Party governing Syria (and Saddam’s Iraq) is committed to secularism, which means not enforcing Islamic law, and maybe drive home the more important point that these secularists targeted by the religious fundamentalists now in power in the U.S. (who often lie, very deliberately, about the Middle East) actually have nothing to do with al-Qaeda and its program.</p>
<p>If I were to advise you on how to acquire your Syrian beer (which again I won’t do, lest I violate some anti-terrorism law), I’d suggest you first go to the website <a href="" type="internal">www.bottledbeer.co.uk</a>and become familiar with the Syrian products available. Reviewer Silk Tork is harsh on Barada, which he judges a “foul, sewerage filled trickle,” but some of your friends and neighbors might like that, everybody being different. Al-Chark on the other hand is (in Tork’s estimation) “a wonderful beerastonishingly excellent,” flavored with pineapple and grapefruit. Just 4.6% alcohol. It sounds to me rather like a Sam Adams Summer Ale, but I haven’t tried it yet. I haven’t found information on Dunia, a Syrian Pilsner, but I’m sure with some web-surfing you can get details.</p>
<p>I can’t find, on the net, an easy way to order cases of al-Chark. So if Syria weren’t being targeted for the neocons; and if I didn’t risk arrest for supporting terrorism in so doing, I’d suggest the following procedure. Fax the Syrian Embassy in Washington (there still is one) at 202-234-9548. Write something like:</p>
<p>To whom it may concern:</p>
<p>I am interested in acquiring information about how to legally procure the beer labeled “al-Chark” produced in your country, which I understand has a fine international reputation. I would like to buy at least one case, not only to expand my knowledge of world beers in doing so, but to also take a stand against the thoroughly unfair, bellicose policies that the government ruling my country is taking towards yours.</p>
<p>I would greatly appreciate any help you could lend me in this cultural exchange activity.</p>
<p>With all best wishes to the Syrian people,</p>
<p>[name]</p>
<p>I don’t know if it will be possible to order directly from Syria. Maybe the embassy will point you to some European or Canadian distributors.</p>
<p>GARY LEUPP is Professor of History at Tufts University, and Adjunct Professor of Comparative Religion. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 1,378 |
<p />
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>In theory, there are no givens when it comes to investing in the stock market. If there were, we would all be rich and retired on the beach by now.</p>
<p>But the closest thing the stock market does have to a "certainty" is that market valuations, as a whole, tend to increase over time. Since 1950, based on <a href="http://www.fool.com/retirement/general/2016/01/18/the-only-chart-that-matters-during-a-stock-market.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">data aggregated by Yardeni Research Opens a New Window.</a>, there have been 35 corrections of at least 10% when rounded to the nearest integer. In each and every instance since 1950 the stock market has rallied -- within weeks, months, or in rarer cases, years -- to completely erase any trace of a downturn. This means any notable sell-offs in the global stock market, such as what happened following the Brexit vote, tend to be a good time to long-term investors to pick up stocks "on the cheap."</p>
<p>However, blindly buying assets that are perceived to be trading at "a good value" could be a mistake. Value traps, which are assets that look appealing based on a combination of metrics that could include price-to-earnings ratio, price-to-book ratio, or cash flow can be portfolio wreckers. If you aren't digging deep enough to understand why assets are priced the way they are, you could be missing the big picture.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Here are three of (what I perceive to be) the biggest investing value traps you'll want to avoid.</p>
<p>U.S. Treasury bonds are considered to be among the safest investments in the world since they're backed by the full faith of the United States government.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>But interest on today's bonds is a far cry from what your parents and grandparents were able to garner. A precipitously long period of near record-low interest rates, as well as three rounds of quantitative easing that saw the Federal Reserve buying long-term U.S. Treasuries in an effort to keep interest rates down (remember, bond prices and bond yields are inverse to one another, so buying bonds pushes bond prices higher and yields lower) have the 30-year U.S. T-bond at a yield of just 2.24% through July 1, 2016.</p>
<p>On one hand, income-seeking investors might be eager to lock up a 2.24% yield given the recent stock market volatility. Then again, if we dig deeper we can see just how egregious a value trap the 30-year T-bond has become. The nominal inflation rate over the past 100 years has been north of 3%, meaning over 30 years there's a decent chance the 2.24% return could lose purchasing power to inflation. Furthermore, you'd need to hold for a full 30 years to realize the benefits of a long-term T-bond. Selling early, especially if yields rise, would result in your receiving far less of your principal back than you put in.</p>
<p>Yes, a long-term Treasury bond provides you with a guaranteed nominal return, but it's a dangerous value trap that could wind up costing you real money relative to inflation.</p>
<p>As a whole, the European banking sector appears downright cheap. Following the Brexit-related swoon, there are a bounty of EU-based banks trading at single-digit forward P/E ratios that could make investors drool. These include Deutsche Bank , at just 7.3 times forward earnings, and Banco Santander at 8.5 times next year's profit forecast.</p>
<p>But the European Union is a veritable mess following Britain's vote to leave the 28-nation organization, which means there aren't any near-term catalysts to suggest that things are going to get better for these aforementioned banks, or the sector as a whole, any time soon.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>For example, Deutsche Bank is undergoing a complete revamp of its operations, with 2016 marking its peak year of restructuring. It's eliminating jobs in order to cut costs and attempting to simplify its business by selling off some aspects of its investment banking business. Recently, following the release of the 2016 Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (CCAR) by the Federal Reserve, Deutsche Bank was announced as one of two banks out of 32 that didn't pass the stress test. In other words, the Fed views Deutsche Bank as being undercapitalized.</p>
<p>For Spain's Banco Santander, the other bank that failed to pass the Fed's stress test, the big issue has been the ongoing underperformance of the Spanish economy. The loss of the U.K. from the EU exposes countries like Spain, Italy, and Greece, which have weaker economies and higher debt levels. These countries have become reliant on the stability of the EU to prop them up. Without Britain, there's once again uncertainty surrounding the possibility that Spain's economy could sink, which would have an adverse impact on Banco Santander.</p>
<p>What's more, Brexit probably crushes any chances lending rates had of heading higher. The German 10-year Bund currently has a negative yield, which requires German banks to pay the European Central Bank to hold cash! With no interest rate hikes on the horizon, interest-based income is likely to be stagnant for EU banks as a whole.</p>
<p>European banks look to be anything but a value right now.</p>
<p>The last investing value trap to avoid is being suckered in by companies with low current P/E ratios or high dividend yields that have recently reported an investment-thesis-altering event. Two cases in point that come to mind are Staples and Valeant Pharmaceuticals .</p>
<p>On the surface, office supply superstore Staples looks like an income or value investor's dream stock. It's trading at less than 10 times next year's profit expectations, and it's paying out a 5.6% yield, which is more than twice the current rate of inflation (and the interest on the 30-year T-bond).</p>
<p>Image source: Mike Mozart via Flickr.</p>
<p>But there's a reason Staples is valued so cheaply. In May, a federal judge officially blocked the merger between Staples and Office Depot that would have better allowed the two to compete against e-commerce giants like Amazon.com, which are undercutting traditional office supply stores on price and providing convenience to consumers who can shop from home. Without this cost-saving merger with Office Depot, Staples has reverted to plan B, which is to essentially close a bunch of stores, lay off workers, and continue to try to build up its direct-to-consumer sales. While cutting costs can help it maintain margins, fewer stores mean less revenue and less profits. That could call its generous dividend into question at some point down the road. With no clear growth catalysts, Staples looks like a potential portfolio wrecker.</p>
<p>Something similar could be said for drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals, which is trading at a forward P/E of 2.6 -- and no, that's not a misprint. Its price/earnings to growth ratio of 0.4 and low forward P/E would imply to investors that Valeant could be an incredible bargain. Dig below the surface, however, and you'll see otherwise.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Valeant's business model from a year ago has essentially been blown up compared to what it is now. There are multiple probes looking into the company's drug-pricing practices, which could affect its pricing power, and Valeant is swimming in $31.3 billion in debt without access to additional lines of credit. Valeant's primary mode of growth had been to acquire new products or companies with the use of debt, but with its business model under a regulatory microscope, it's been unable to keep the M&amp;A engine running. Now, with its profit forecasts falling and its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization)dangerously close to breaching debt covenants, it has little choice but to turn to asset sales. Mind you, it's no secret that Valeant is in trouble, so don't expect these asset sales to produce anywhere near a fair market value.</p>
<p>Long story short, companies with thesis-altering events can be dangerous value traps.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/07/06/3-gigantic-investing-value-traps-youd-be-wise-to-a.aspx" type="external">3 Gigantic Investing Value Traps You'd Be Wise to Avoid Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFUltraLong/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Sean Williams Opens a New Window.</a>has no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen name <a href="http://caps.fool.com/player/tmfultralong.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">TMFUltraLong Opens a New Window.</a>, and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/TMFUltraLong" type="external">@TMFUltraLong Opens a New Window.</a>.The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon.com and Valeant Pharmaceuticals. 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> | 3 Gigantic Investing Value Traps You'd Be Wise to Avoid | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/07/06/3-gigantic-investing-value-traps-youd-be-wise-to-avoid.html | 2016-07-06 | 0right
| 3 Gigantic Investing Value Traps You'd Be Wise to Avoid
<p />
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>In theory, there are no givens when it comes to investing in the stock market. If there were, we would all be rich and retired on the beach by now.</p>
<p>But the closest thing the stock market does have to a "certainty" is that market valuations, as a whole, tend to increase over time. Since 1950, based on <a href="http://www.fool.com/retirement/general/2016/01/18/the-only-chart-that-matters-during-a-stock-market.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">data aggregated by Yardeni Research Opens a New Window.</a>, there have been 35 corrections of at least 10% when rounded to the nearest integer. In each and every instance since 1950 the stock market has rallied -- within weeks, months, or in rarer cases, years -- to completely erase any trace of a downturn. This means any notable sell-offs in the global stock market, such as what happened following the Brexit vote, tend to be a good time to long-term investors to pick up stocks "on the cheap."</p>
<p>However, blindly buying assets that are perceived to be trading at "a good value" could be a mistake. Value traps, which are assets that look appealing based on a combination of metrics that could include price-to-earnings ratio, price-to-book ratio, or cash flow can be portfolio wreckers. If you aren't digging deep enough to understand why assets are priced the way they are, you could be missing the big picture.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Here are three of (what I perceive to be) the biggest investing value traps you'll want to avoid.</p>
<p>U.S. Treasury bonds are considered to be among the safest investments in the world since they're backed by the full faith of the United States government.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>But interest on today's bonds is a far cry from what your parents and grandparents were able to garner. A precipitously long period of near record-low interest rates, as well as three rounds of quantitative easing that saw the Federal Reserve buying long-term U.S. Treasuries in an effort to keep interest rates down (remember, bond prices and bond yields are inverse to one another, so buying bonds pushes bond prices higher and yields lower) have the 30-year U.S. T-bond at a yield of just 2.24% through July 1, 2016.</p>
<p>On one hand, income-seeking investors might be eager to lock up a 2.24% yield given the recent stock market volatility. Then again, if we dig deeper we can see just how egregious a value trap the 30-year T-bond has become. The nominal inflation rate over the past 100 years has been north of 3%, meaning over 30 years there's a decent chance the 2.24% return could lose purchasing power to inflation. Furthermore, you'd need to hold for a full 30 years to realize the benefits of a long-term T-bond. Selling early, especially if yields rise, would result in your receiving far less of your principal back than you put in.</p>
<p>Yes, a long-term Treasury bond provides you with a guaranteed nominal return, but it's a dangerous value trap that could wind up costing you real money relative to inflation.</p>
<p>As a whole, the European banking sector appears downright cheap. Following the Brexit-related swoon, there are a bounty of EU-based banks trading at single-digit forward P/E ratios that could make investors drool. These include Deutsche Bank , at just 7.3 times forward earnings, and Banco Santander at 8.5 times next year's profit forecast.</p>
<p>But the European Union is a veritable mess following Britain's vote to leave the 28-nation organization, which means there aren't any near-term catalysts to suggest that things are going to get better for these aforementioned banks, or the sector as a whole, any time soon.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>For example, Deutsche Bank is undergoing a complete revamp of its operations, with 2016 marking its peak year of restructuring. It's eliminating jobs in order to cut costs and attempting to simplify its business by selling off some aspects of its investment banking business. Recently, following the release of the 2016 Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (CCAR) by the Federal Reserve, Deutsche Bank was announced as one of two banks out of 32 that didn't pass the stress test. In other words, the Fed views Deutsche Bank as being undercapitalized.</p>
<p>For Spain's Banco Santander, the other bank that failed to pass the Fed's stress test, the big issue has been the ongoing underperformance of the Spanish economy. The loss of the U.K. from the EU exposes countries like Spain, Italy, and Greece, which have weaker economies and higher debt levels. These countries have become reliant on the stability of the EU to prop them up. Without Britain, there's once again uncertainty surrounding the possibility that Spain's economy could sink, which would have an adverse impact on Banco Santander.</p>
<p>What's more, Brexit probably crushes any chances lending rates had of heading higher. The German 10-year Bund currently has a negative yield, which requires German banks to pay the European Central Bank to hold cash! With no interest rate hikes on the horizon, interest-based income is likely to be stagnant for EU banks as a whole.</p>
<p>European banks look to be anything but a value right now.</p>
<p>The last investing value trap to avoid is being suckered in by companies with low current P/E ratios or high dividend yields that have recently reported an investment-thesis-altering event. Two cases in point that come to mind are Staples and Valeant Pharmaceuticals .</p>
<p>On the surface, office supply superstore Staples looks like an income or value investor's dream stock. It's trading at less than 10 times next year's profit expectations, and it's paying out a 5.6% yield, which is more than twice the current rate of inflation (and the interest on the 30-year T-bond).</p>
<p>Image source: Mike Mozart via Flickr.</p>
<p>But there's a reason Staples is valued so cheaply. In May, a federal judge officially blocked the merger between Staples and Office Depot that would have better allowed the two to compete against e-commerce giants like Amazon.com, which are undercutting traditional office supply stores on price and providing convenience to consumers who can shop from home. Without this cost-saving merger with Office Depot, Staples has reverted to plan B, which is to essentially close a bunch of stores, lay off workers, and continue to try to build up its direct-to-consumer sales. While cutting costs can help it maintain margins, fewer stores mean less revenue and less profits. That could call its generous dividend into question at some point down the road. With no clear growth catalysts, Staples looks like a potential portfolio wrecker.</p>
<p>Something similar could be said for drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals, which is trading at a forward P/E of 2.6 -- and no, that's not a misprint. Its price/earnings to growth ratio of 0.4 and low forward P/E would imply to investors that Valeant could be an incredible bargain. Dig below the surface, however, and you'll see otherwise.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Valeant's business model from a year ago has essentially been blown up compared to what it is now. There are multiple probes looking into the company's drug-pricing practices, which could affect its pricing power, and Valeant is swimming in $31.3 billion in debt without access to additional lines of credit. Valeant's primary mode of growth had been to acquire new products or companies with the use of debt, but with its business model under a regulatory microscope, it's been unable to keep the M&amp;A engine running. Now, with its profit forecasts falling and its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization)dangerously close to breaching debt covenants, it has little choice but to turn to asset sales. Mind you, it's no secret that Valeant is in trouble, so don't expect these asset sales to produce anywhere near a fair market value.</p>
<p>Long story short, companies with thesis-altering events can be dangerous value traps.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/07/06/3-gigantic-investing-value-traps-youd-be-wise-to-a.aspx" type="external">3 Gigantic Investing Value Traps You'd Be Wise to Avoid Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFUltraLong/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Sean Williams Opens a New Window.</a>has no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen name <a href="http://caps.fool.com/player/tmfultralong.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">TMFUltraLong Opens a New Window.</a>, and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/TMFUltraLong" type="external">@TMFUltraLong Opens a New Window.</a>.The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon.com and Valeant Pharmaceuticals. 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> | 1,379 |
<p>After months of <a href="" type="internal">failing</a> to get off the ground, the GOP’s Stop Trump movement is in a mad dash to throw the frontrunner off his path to the 2016 nomination, and the March 15 primaries set up a major — if not final — deadline.</p>
<p>Republican elites — Mitt Romney chief among them — are angling to block Trump by urging the three remaining non-Trump candidates to stay in the race and harvest delegates in states where they might have an advantage in order to deny Trump the majority of delegates necessary to win the nomination. Marco Rubio’s performance in Florida next week is the plan’s linchpin.</p>
<p />
<p>“Given the current delegate selection process, that means that I’d vote for Marco Rubio in Florida and for John Kasich in Ohio, and for Ted Cruz or whoever has the best chance to beat Mr. Trump in a given state,” Romney said, in a major anti-Trump speech last week.</p>
<p>The anti-Trump forces’ <a href="" type="internal">idea</a> that Trump can be replaced with an acceptable alternative if the GOP can drag the primary out until a July contested convention is a long shot by their own admission. But the immediate problem is Florida and where Rubio will keep fighting to stop Trump after next week.</p>
<p>“What is his premise of his candidacy if he loses [there]? ‘I am here to stop Trump and try to contribute to him being below 50 percent here and there? That is a tough case to make and those are not great applause lines,” said Ed Rogers, a longtime Republican strategist. “If he loses Florida, his affirmative case in the race is over.”</p>
<p>Some unnamed Rubio backers <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/07/politics/marco-rubio-campaign-weighs-getting-out/index.html" type="external">have even told CNN</a> that there is division among those affiliated with the campaign whether he’s better off dropping out before Florida, for the sake of his political future. (The Rubio camp denied that report.)</p>
<p>After weeks of a Trump domination in Florida polls, Rubio has shown signs of closing the gap. But if he cannot make it across the finish line in time, it’s hard to see how the establishment’s favorite son survives or rationalizes his candidacy after an embarrassing loss at home. Polling shows Trump leading Rubio by nearly 10 percentage points in the state, <a href="" type="internal">according to TPM’s PollTracker Average.</a> And while anti-Trump forces are trying to play catchup and pour millions in Florida to keep Rubio viable, it’s still looking like a risky bet.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/03/inside-gops-late-push-to-stop-trump-220349" type="external">According to a Politico report,</a>Trump foes have already spent $10 million against the New York billionaire in Florida and sources said they hoped to spend an additional $15 million before next week’s primary. But the state – with its 10 major media markets – is one of the most expensive places in the county to attempt a barrage-style ad campaign against a teflon candidate like Trump who has so far been immune to attacks.</p>
<p>“I do think it gets much harder after March 15,” said David McIntosh, the president for the Club For Growth, which was one of the first organized groups to run ads against Trump. “Winning those winner-takes-all states will be very important.”</p>
<p>Kasich, meanwhile, has a better chance of stopping Trump in winner-take-all Ohio. But without a Rubio win in Florida, Trump still is in <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/first-read-why-trump-s-delegate-lead-could-be-narrower-n533216" type="external">striking distance</a> to win the nomination before the convention, as Kasich has lagged in the more moderate <a href="" type="internal">Midwestern states</a> where his supporters had argued he would have the upper hand over the New York real estate magnate.</p>
<p>Cruz, a party troublemaker, has bucked any notion of cooperating with a master plan to defeat Trump. And the primary calendar map worsens for him as the race goes on.</p>
<p>“From a math perspective, taking the delegates in Florida and Ohio out of the Trump column really reduces his being on track to get to 1,237. It makes the whole idea of getting to a contested convention a lot more mathematically viable,” said Scott Jennings, a political consultant who was affiliated with Jeb Bush’s campaign, before the former Florida governor dropped out.</p>
<p>Jennings added that aside from the delegate math, a Trump victory over Rubio and/or Kasich also adds to the “momentum argument.”</p>
<p>“So March 15 is a high stakes poker game because you’ve got these winner-take-all states, and you’re going to try to go all in to win them. And, if you lose then you get nothing, other than a bad few days of headlines about how you lost your home state,” Jennings said.</p>
<p>A Florida loss would be crushing for Rubio and the “stop Trump” efforts at large. For one, Rubio will have a tough time justifying his presence in the race, having only won contests Minnesota and Puerto Rico, among the 31 that will have been held by mid-next week. And that could be a pull on fundraising.</p>
<p>“I just don’t think he has enough history with donors. He has been in the Senate for five years,” Rogers said. “I have never seen an account of him having nurtured a small donor base that will stick with him no matter what. He is kind of new to the scene.”</p>
<p>And Florida, with its 99 delegates, was supposed to present the opportunity to take the biggest dent of out Trump’s burgeoning delegate count. Only California has more winner-take-all delegates up for grabs.</p>
<p>Scott Reed, the chief political strategist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, seemed skeptical that the Rubio campaign could stay alive until California.</p>
<p>“They have no infrastructure,” Reed <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/bad-strategy-poorly-run-campaign-are-killing-marco-rubios-chances/2016/03/06/d9a77e54-e246-11e5-846c-10191d1fc4ec_story.html?postshare=101457310788742&amp;tid=ss_tw" type="external">told the Washington Post.</a> “His campaign hasn’t been able to keep up with his candidacy. . . . They don’t have the operation in the states to help him get over the top. He should be a finalist going all the way to California, and he’s not.”</p> | Why A Rubio Loss In Florida Would Be Awful For #NeverTrump | true | http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/rubios-do-or-die-moment-in-florida | 4left
| Why A Rubio Loss In Florida Would Be Awful For #NeverTrump
<p>After months of <a href="" type="internal">failing</a> to get off the ground, the GOP’s Stop Trump movement is in a mad dash to throw the frontrunner off his path to the 2016 nomination, and the March 15 primaries set up a major — if not final — deadline.</p>
<p>Republican elites — Mitt Romney chief among them — are angling to block Trump by urging the three remaining non-Trump candidates to stay in the race and harvest delegates in states where they might have an advantage in order to deny Trump the majority of delegates necessary to win the nomination. Marco Rubio’s performance in Florida next week is the plan’s linchpin.</p>
<p />
<p>“Given the current delegate selection process, that means that I’d vote for Marco Rubio in Florida and for John Kasich in Ohio, and for Ted Cruz or whoever has the best chance to beat Mr. Trump in a given state,” Romney said, in a major anti-Trump speech last week.</p>
<p>The anti-Trump forces’ <a href="" type="internal">idea</a> that Trump can be replaced with an acceptable alternative if the GOP can drag the primary out until a July contested convention is a long shot by their own admission. But the immediate problem is Florida and where Rubio will keep fighting to stop Trump after next week.</p>
<p>“What is his premise of his candidacy if he loses [there]? ‘I am here to stop Trump and try to contribute to him being below 50 percent here and there? That is a tough case to make and those are not great applause lines,” said Ed Rogers, a longtime Republican strategist. “If he loses Florida, his affirmative case in the race is over.”</p>
<p>Some unnamed Rubio backers <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/07/politics/marco-rubio-campaign-weighs-getting-out/index.html" type="external">have even told CNN</a> that there is division among those affiliated with the campaign whether he’s better off dropping out before Florida, for the sake of his political future. (The Rubio camp denied that report.)</p>
<p>After weeks of a Trump domination in Florida polls, Rubio has shown signs of closing the gap. But if he cannot make it across the finish line in time, it’s hard to see how the establishment’s favorite son survives or rationalizes his candidacy after an embarrassing loss at home. Polling shows Trump leading Rubio by nearly 10 percentage points in the state, <a href="" type="internal">according to TPM’s PollTracker Average.</a> And while anti-Trump forces are trying to play catchup and pour millions in Florida to keep Rubio viable, it’s still looking like a risky bet.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/03/inside-gops-late-push-to-stop-trump-220349" type="external">According to a Politico report,</a>Trump foes have already spent $10 million against the New York billionaire in Florida and sources said they hoped to spend an additional $15 million before next week’s primary. But the state – with its 10 major media markets – is one of the most expensive places in the county to attempt a barrage-style ad campaign against a teflon candidate like Trump who has so far been immune to attacks.</p>
<p>“I do think it gets much harder after March 15,” said David McIntosh, the president for the Club For Growth, which was one of the first organized groups to run ads against Trump. “Winning those winner-takes-all states will be very important.”</p>
<p>Kasich, meanwhile, has a better chance of stopping Trump in winner-take-all Ohio. But without a Rubio win in Florida, Trump still is in <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/first-read-why-trump-s-delegate-lead-could-be-narrower-n533216" type="external">striking distance</a> to win the nomination before the convention, as Kasich has lagged in the more moderate <a href="" type="internal">Midwestern states</a> where his supporters had argued he would have the upper hand over the New York real estate magnate.</p>
<p>Cruz, a party troublemaker, has bucked any notion of cooperating with a master plan to defeat Trump. And the primary calendar map worsens for him as the race goes on.</p>
<p>“From a math perspective, taking the delegates in Florida and Ohio out of the Trump column really reduces his being on track to get to 1,237. It makes the whole idea of getting to a contested convention a lot more mathematically viable,” said Scott Jennings, a political consultant who was affiliated with Jeb Bush’s campaign, before the former Florida governor dropped out.</p>
<p>Jennings added that aside from the delegate math, a Trump victory over Rubio and/or Kasich also adds to the “momentum argument.”</p>
<p>“So March 15 is a high stakes poker game because you’ve got these winner-take-all states, and you’re going to try to go all in to win them. And, if you lose then you get nothing, other than a bad few days of headlines about how you lost your home state,” Jennings said.</p>
<p>A Florida loss would be crushing for Rubio and the “stop Trump” efforts at large. For one, Rubio will have a tough time justifying his presence in the race, having only won contests Minnesota and Puerto Rico, among the 31 that will have been held by mid-next week. And that could be a pull on fundraising.</p>
<p>“I just don’t think he has enough history with donors. He has been in the Senate for five years,” Rogers said. “I have never seen an account of him having nurtured a small donor base that will stick with him no matter what. He is kind of new to the scene.”</p>
<p>And Florida, with its 99 delegates, was supposed to present the opportunity to take the biggest dent of out Trump’s burgeoning delegate count. Only California has more winner-take-all delegates up for grabs.</p>
<p>Scott Reed, the chief political strategist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, seemed skeptical that the Rubio campaign could stay alive until California.</p>
<p>“They have no infrastructure,” Reed <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/bad-strategy-poorly-run-campaign-are-killing-marco-rubios-chances/2016/03/06/d9a77e54-e246-11e5-846c-10191d1fc4ec_story.html?postshare=101457310788742&amp;tid=ss_tw" type="external">told the Washington Post.</a> “His campaign hasn’t been able to keep up with his candidacy. . . . They don’t have the operation in the states to help him get over the top. He should be a finalist going all the way to California, and he’s not.”</p> | 1,380 |
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<p>Crews have started demolishing Detroit's Packard auto factory complex, more than 50 years after the last car was produced there.</p>
<p>Heavy machinery tore chunks of wood, brick and concrete from the hulking plant on Friday.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>A developer from Peru bid $405,000 for the property during a tax foreclosure auction last year. Fernando Palazuelo hopes to breathe new life into the 40 blighted acres with homes, retail, offices, recreation and light industry.</p>
<p>British graffiti artist Banksy is credited with painting a mural at the site with the message, "I remember when all this was trees."</p>
<p>The art was moved to a gallery, but Palazuelo would like to get it back.</p> | Crews start demolishing old Packard factory, long a symbol of Detroit blight | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2014/10/17/crews-start-demolishing-old-packard-factory-long-symbol-detroit-blight.html | 2016-03-05 | 0right
| Crews start demolishing old Packard factory, long a symbol of Detroit blight
<p>Crews have started demolishing Detroit's Packard auto factory complex, more than 50 years after the last car was produced there.</p>
<p>Heavy machinery tore chunks of wood, brick and concrete from the hulking plant on Friday.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>A developer from Peru bid $405,000 for the property during a tax foreclosure auction last year. Fernando Palazuelo hopes to breathe new life into the 40 blighted acres with homes, retail, offices, recreation and light industry.</p>
<p>British graffiti artist Banksy is credited with painting a mural at the site with the message, "I remember when all this was trees."</p>
<p>The art was moved to a gallery, but Palazuelo would like to get it back.</p> | 1,381 |
<p>Mr. President, can you clarify what you mean in your executive orders on immigration when you direct the Department of Homeland Security to prioritize&#160;the deportations of certain classes of people?</p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/01/25/presidential-executive-order-enhancing-public-safety-interior-united" type="external">one of the orders</a> that Donald Trump&#160;signed last week, he&#160;set priorities for whom immigration officials should put at the top of their list for deportation. As expected, undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes&#160;are high on the list, as they were under President Barack Obama. But some of the language in Trump's new order is extremely broad, and would include legal permanent residents as well as&#160;people agents simply deem to be threats. Here's the section, in particular that has raised questions:</p>
<p>Sec. 5. &#160;Enforcement Priorities. &#160;In executing faithfully the immigration laws of the United States, the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) shall prioritize for removal those aliens described by the Congress in sections 212(a)(2), (a)(3), and (a)(6)(C), 235, and 237(a)(2) and (4) of the INA (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2), (a)(3), and (a)(6)(C), 1225, and 1227(a)(2) and (4)), as well as removable aliens who:&#160;</p>
<p>(a) &#160;Have been convicted of any criminal offense;</p>
<p>(b) &#160;Have been charged with any criminal offense, where such charge has not been resolved;&#160;</p>
<p>(c) &#160;Have committed acts that constitute a chargeable criminal offense;</p>
<p>(d) &#160;Have engaged in fraud or willful misrepresentation in connection with any official matter or application before a governmental agency;&#160;</p>
<p>(e) &#160;Have abused any program related to receipt of public benefits;</p>
<p>(f) &#160;Are subject to a final order of removal, but who have not complied with their legal obligation to depart the United States; or</p>
<p>(g) &#160;In the judgment of an immigration officer, otherwise pose a risk to public safety or national security.</p>
<p>We know that a legal resident, no matter how long they have lived in the US, becomes a "removable alien" when they are convicted of a crime. <a href="" type="internal">Laws passed in 1996</a> significantly expanded the range of deportable offenses, to include misdemeanors such as marijuana possession or writing a bad check, while restricting judges’ discretion. However, what is unclear about this "Enhancing Public Safety"&#160;order is whether the Trump administration&#160;intends for the federal immigration agency's priorities to be to seek out and deport legal permanent residents who have committed low-level crimes.</p>
<p>We know this happened during the Obama administration — see the stories of <a href="" type="internal">Arnold Giammarco</a>, <a href="http://www.npr.org/2016/04/09/473503408/immigrant-felons-and-deportation-one-grandmothers-case-for-pardon" type="external">Maria Sanchez</a> and the story of <a href="http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-stellin-deportation-legal-immigrants-20160821-snap-story.html" type="external">a man from Northern Ireland who was deported 11 years after getting into a bar fight</a> — however, is it Trump's&#160;intention to aggressively pursue these immigrants who are here legally?</p>
<p>We are already hearing reports that <a href="https://twitter.com/Law_Mana/status/825341992934727680" type="external">Border Patrol is scrutinizing legal permanent residents at the&#160;borders</a>. Federal courts have supended the Trump administration's effort to deport people who have <a href="" type="internal">arrived to&#160;the US with valid travel documents</a>, which was part of the order to ban refugees and people from certain Muslim-majority countries that Trump signed on Friday. That order has not yet been published on the White House website, but was made <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/27/us/politics/refugee-muslim-executive-order-trump.html?_r=0" type="external">available by The New York Times</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/28/politics/donald-trump-travel-ban/index.html" type="external">CNN has reported</a>&#160;that the White House overruled a determination by&#160;the Department of Homeland Security that the new restrictions should not apply to legal permanent residents. Customs and Border Patrol continued to tell airlines they were giving extra scrutiny to legal permanent residents into Saturday.</p>
<p>César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández, an immigration and criminal law professor at the University of Denver,&#160;points out that one part of the&#160;set of priorities in Trump's Wednesday order&#160;is in conflict with existing laws. "Green card holders [another term&#160;for legal permanent residents] cannot be deported solely on the basis of a criminal charge without a conviction," he explains.</p>
<p>Yet this list of priorities says that anyone — even if they have not been formally charged with a crime — can be prioritized for deportation. It also grants immigration officials broad leeway to make judgements on who can be deported.</p>
<p>"The notion that we can even understand this as setting forth a series of enforcement priorities is somewhat akin to 'alternative facts,'" says&#160;Anil Kalhan, who specializes in immigration law at Drexel University in Philadelphia. "I read that [Section 5(g)]&#160;as an invitation for immigration officers around the country to exercise their authority any way they want."</p>
<p>The order also calls for an expansion of detention facilities, which García Hernández says is a way to make people who have a legal basis to stay in the US give up those rights. "Most people in detention are not able to get an attorney," including legal permanent residents, he says. "If you don't have an attorney by your side you may not know to argue that you haven't been convicted of a crime and are not deportable."</p>
<p>Also:&#160; <a href="" type="internal">In New York City, lawyers make all the difference for immigrant detainees facing deportation</a></p>
<p>"Being in detention is the worst thing you can possibly think of," he says. Even if there is a valid legal argument, "sometimes clients say, 'All I care about is getting out of here.'" Then they sign documents accepting their own&#160;deportations.</p>
<p>The Migration Policy Institute reports that there are <a href="http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/green-card-holders-and-legal-immigration-united-states-1" type="external">almost 13 million legal permenent residents in the US</a>. Most&#160;were admitted to join family already here, while others were granted papers to work or to escape violence. The US is home, where they have families, properties and livelihoods for these people who applied to come to this country to stay.</p>
<p>So our question today is, are you, Mr. Trump, prioritizing the deportation of lawful residents? Are you giving immigration agents free rein to choose who they want to pursue for deportation? Do you have priorities for who will be deported beyond the broad strokes of this executive order?</p>
<p>Over President Donald Trump's roughly first 100 days, we are&#160;asking him questions that our audience wants answers to. Join the project by tweeting this question to <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump" type="external">@realDonaldTrump</a> with the hashtag #100Days100Qs. Check out <a href="" type="internal">question #4</a>, which was also about deportation and detention of immigrants. See all of the questions at&#160; <a href="" type="internal">pri.org/100questions</a>.</p> | #7. @realdonaldtrump: In addition to undocumented immigrants, are you prioritizing deportation of lawful US residents? #100Days100Qs | false | https://pri.org/stories/2017-01-29/7-realdonaldtrump-addition-undocumented-immigrants-are-you-prioritizing | 2017-01-29 | 3left-center
| #7. @realdonaldtrump: In addition to undocumented immigrants, are you prioritizing deportation of lawful US residents? #100Days100Qs
<p>Mr. President, can you clarify what you mean in your executive orders on immigration when you direct the Department of Homeland Security to prioritize&#160;the deportations of certain classes of people?</p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/01/25/presidential-executive-order-enhancing-public-safety-interior-united" type="external">one of the orders</a> that Donald Trump&#160;signed last week, he&#160;set priorities for whom immigration officials should put at the top of their list for deportation. As expected, undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes&#160;are high on the list, as they were under President Barack Obama. But some of the language in Trump's new order is extremely broad, and would include legal permanent residents as well as&#160;people agents simply deem to be threats. Here's the section, in particular that has raised questions:</p>
<p>Sec. 5. &#160;Enforcement Priorities. &#160;In executing faithfully the immigration laws of the United States, the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) shall prioritize for removal those aliens described by the Congress in sections 212(a)(2), (a)(3), and (a)(6)(C), 235, and 237(a)(2) and (4) of the INA (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2), (a)(3), and (a)(6)(C), 1225, and 1227(a)(2) and (4)), as well as removable aliens who:&#160;</p>
<p>(a) &#160;Have been convicted of any criminal offense;</p>
<p>(b) &#160;Have been charged with any criminal offense, where such charge has not been resolved;&#160;</p>
<p>(c) &#160;Have committed acts that constitute a chargeable criminal offense;</p>
<p>(d) &#160;Have engaged in fraud or willful misrepresentation in connection with any official matter or application before a governmental agency;&#160;</p>
<p>(e) &#160;Have abused any program related to receipt of public benefits;</p>
<p>(f) &#160;Are subject to a final order of removal, but who have not complied with their legal obligation to depart the United States; or</p>
<p>(g) &#160;In the judgment of an immigration officer, otherwise pose a risk to public safety or national security.</p>
<p>We know that a legal resident, no matter how long they have lived in the US, becomes a "removable alien" when they are convicted of a crime. <a href="" type="internal">Laws passed in 1996</a> significantly expanded the range of deportable offenses, to include misdemeanors such as marijuana possession or writing a bad check, while restricting judges’ discretion. However, what is unclear about this "Enhancing Public Safety"&#160;order is whether the Trump administration&#160;intends for the federal immigration agency's priorities to be to seek out and deport legal permanent residents who have committed low-level crimes.</p>
<p>We know this happened during the Obama administration — see the stories of <a href="" type="internal">Arnold Giammarco</a>, <a href="http://www.npr.org/2016/04/09/473503408/immigrant-felons-and-deportation-one-grandmothers-case-for-pardon" type="external">Maria Sanchez</a> and the story of <a href="http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-stellin-deportation-legal-immigrants-20160821-snap-story.html" type="external">a man from Northern Ireland who was deported 11 years after getting into a bar fight</a> — however, is it Trump's&#160;intention to aggressively pursue these immigrants who are here legally?</p>
<p>We are already hearing reports that <a href="https://twitter.com/Law_Mana/status/825341992934727680" type="external">Border Patrol is scrutinizing legal permanent residents at the&#160;borders</a>. Federal courts have supended the Trump administration's effort to deport people who have <a href="" type="internal">arrived to&#160;the US with valid travel documents</a>, which was part of the order to ban refugees and people from certain Muslim-majority countries that Trump signed on Friday. That order has not yet been published on the White House website, but was made <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/27/us/politics/refugee-muslim-executive-order-trump.html?_r=0" type="external">available by The New York Times</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/28/politics/donald-trump-travel-ban/index.html" type="external">CNN has reported</a>&#160;that the White House overruled a determination by&#160;the Department of Homeland Security that the new restrictions should not apply to legal permanent residents. Customs and Border Patrol continued to tell airlines they were giving extra scrutiny to legal permanent residents into Saturday.</p>
<p>César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández, an immigration and criminal law professor at the University of Denver,&#160;points out that one part of the&#160;set of priorities in Trump's Wednesday order&#160;is in conflict with existing laws. "Green card holders [another term&#160;for legal permanent residents] cannot be deported solely on the basis of a criminal charge without a conviction," he explains.</p>
<p>Yet this list of priorities says that anyone — even if they have not been formally charged with a crime — can be prioritized for deportation. It also grants immigration officials broad leeway to make judgements on who can be deported.</p>
<p>"The notion that we can even understand this as setting forth a series of enforcement priorities is somewhat akin to 'alternative facts,'" says&#160;Anil Kalhan, who specializes in immigration law at Drexel University in Philadelphia. "I read that [Section 5(g)]&#160;as an invitation for immigration officers around the country to exercise their authority any way they want."</p>
<p>The order also calls for an expansion of detention facilities, which García Hernández says is a way to make people who have a legal basis to stay in the US give up those rights. "Most people in detention are not able to get an attorney," including legal permanent residents, he says. "If you don't have an attorney by your side you may not know to argue that you haven't been convicted of a crime and are not deportable."</p>
<p>Also:&#160; <a href="" type="internal">In New York City, lawyers make all the difference for immigrant detainees facing deportation</a></p>
<p>"Being in detention is the worst thing you can possibly think of," he says. Even if there is a valid legal argument, "sometimes clients say, 'All I care about is getting out of here.'" Then they sign documents accepting their own&#160;deportations.</p>
<p>The Migration Policy Institute reports that there are <a href="http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/green-card-holders-and-legal-immigration-united-states-1" type="external">almost 13 million legal permenent residents in the US</a>. Most&#160;were admitted to join family already here, while others were granted papers to work or to escape violence. The US is home, where they have families, properties and livelihoods for these people who applied to come to this country to stay.</p>
<p>So our question today is, are you, Mr. Trump, prioritizing the deportation of lawful residents? Are you giving immigration agents free rein to choose who they want to pursue for deportation? Do you have priorities for who will be deported beyond the broad strokes of this executive order?</p>
<p>Over President Donald Trump's roughly first 100 days, we are&#160;asking him questions that our audience wants answers to. Join the project by tweeting this question to <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump" type="external">@realDonaldTrump</a> with the hashtag #100Days100Qs. Check out <a href="" type="internal">question #4</a>, which was also about deportation and detention of immigrants. See all of the questions at&#160; <a href="" type="internal">pri.org/100questions</a>.</p> | 1,382 |
<p />
<p><a href="" type="internal">GameStop</a> (NYSE:GME) revealed a narrowed second-quarter profit on weak hardware and software sales, though it still reiterated its fiscal view and expressed optimism over digital sales.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The worlds largest multichannel video game retailer posted net income of $30.9 million, or 22 cents a share, compared with $40.3 million, or 26 cents a share, in the same quarter last year.</p>
<p>The results were just ahead of average analyst estimates polled by Thomson Reuters of 21 cents.</p>
<p>Revenue for the three months ended July 30 was $1.74 billion, down 3.1% from $1.8 billion a year ago, missing the Streets view of $1.81 billion. Fueling the decline was a 9.1% in sales at stores open more than a year.</p>
<p>While pre-owned sales increased 12% and digital sales grew sharply above the companys own expectations by 69%, results were impacted by softer demand for new hardware and software.</p>
<p>GameStops resilient retail model enabled us to achieve our earnings plan despite a challenging period for the industry, the companys chief executive, Paul Raines, said in a statement. Through the back half of the year, we expect industry software sales to accelerate based on an exciting title line-up.</p>
<p>For the current quarter, GameStop predicts earnings in the range of 38 cents to 41 cents a share. <a href="" type="internal">Wall Street</a> is expecting earnings of 38 cents. For the full-year, the company reiterated its view between $2.82 and $2.92 a share, which is in line with analyst views of $2.87.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | GameStop 2Q Profit Slips on Weak Hardware Sales | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2011/08/18/gamestop-2q-profit-slips-on-weak-hardware-sales.html | 2016-01-28 | 0right
| GameStop 2Q Profit Slips on Weak Hardware Sales
<p />
<p><a href="" type="internal">GameStop</a> (NYSE:GME) revealed a narrowed second-quarter profit on weak hardware and software sales, though it still reiterated its fiscal view and expressed optimism over digital sales.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The worlds largest multichannel video game retailer posted net income of $30.9 million, or 22 cents a share, compared with $40.3 million, or 26 cents a share, in the same quarter last year.</p>
<p>The results were just ahead of average analyst estimates polled by Thomson Reuters of 21 cents.</p>
<p>Revenue for the three months ended July 30 was $1.74 billion, down 3.1% from $1.8 billion a year ago, missing the Streets view of $1.81 billion. Fueling the decline was a 9.1% in sales at stores open more than a year.</p>
<p>While pre-owned sales increased 12% and digital sales grew sharply above the companys own expectations by 69%, results were impacted by softer demand for new hardware and software.</p>
<p>GameStops resilient retail model enabled us to achieve our earnings plan despite a challenging period for the industry, the companys chief executive, Paul Raines, said in a statement. Through the back half of the year, we expect industry software sales to accelerate based on an exciting title line-up.</p>
<p>For the current quarter, GameStop predicts earnings in the range of 38 cents to 41 cents a share. <a href="" type="internal">Wall Street</a> is expecting earnings of 38 cents. For the full-year, the company reiterated its view between $2.82 and $2.92 a share, which is in line with analyst views of $2.87.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | 1,383 |
<p />
<p>In October, when Apple announced its redesigned Mac Pro, the company boasted that it would be assembled in the U.S. This was a curious about-face for the Cupertino, Calif.-based tech giant whose success has been inextricably linked to shoulder-to-shoulder assembly lines in China. In addition, as the&#160;New York Times&#160;reported, at a private dinner in February 2011, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs told President Obama, "Those jobs aren't coming back."</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Indeed, they haven't. And they won't.</p>
<p>According to statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the manufacturing industry lost 2.3 million&#160;jobs&#160;in the most recent recession. Since then, factories have only regained 526,000 jobs, a sad sign of Jobs' visionary nature. A promotional video on the Mac Pro's assembly&#160;clearly shows what led Apple to produce the new computers in the U.S.:&#160;robots, not people. An ambidextrous Fanuc M-710iC swings the Mac Pro's machined aluminum casing from station to station. The metal is polished by Guyson Corporation's blast-finishing robots. And components are placed on the circuit boards by Jot Automation machines.</p>
<p>Of course there are humans milling about, but not nearly as many as at Foxconn in China. When contacted, Apple declined to comment.</p>
<p>The growing use of&#160;robots&#160;in the workforce isn't just happening at Apple. From Kiva Systems droids fulfilling Amazon warehouse orders, to telepresence robots zipping through offices and conference halls, robots are suddenly everywhere. Though they weren't necessarily programmed to destroy jobs, some experts believe machine-caused mass unemployment is possible. According to a Sept. 2013 Oxford University study, computerization puts&#160; <a href="http://www.futuretech.ox.ac.uk/sites/futuretech.ox.ac.uk/files/The_Future_of_Employment_OMS_Working_Paper_1.pdf" type="external">47 percent of total U.S. employment at risk of termination Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Related:&#160; <a href="http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/230237" type="external">Google Gets Serious About Robots Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Not to sound like a paranoid android, but it's 2014. Shouldn't John Connor be all over this by now, in an epic battle like in the&#160;Terminator&#160;movies?</p>
<p>Perhaps small businesses will take up the fight this year. Since the recession, small firms have accounted for 67 percent of net new jobs, and have created more than 12 million positions in the past 10 years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While on a day-to-day basis, small firms undoubtedly view themselves as making widgets, brewing beverages, cooking meals or building software, but the reality is these organizations are also in the business of creating employment.</p>
<p>Sure, larger companies like Apple and Amazon put people to work, but they are also programmed to meet investors' expectations. One of the most effective ways to increase profit is to reduce overhead. And wages are among companies' largest expenses, which makes eliminating personnel an efficient way to cut costs. That's why corporations started outsourcing labor to foreign countries a decade ago, and while they'll begin in-sourcing work to robots over the next 10 years. Long term, the savings of shifting from human to robot labor will allow them to attain their growth goals.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, small businesses will scramble to keep up. But instead of joining the robot workforce, entrepreneurs can firewall their operations by cyborg-proofing their companies. According to the Oxford study, "occupations that involve complex perception and manipulation tasks, creative intelligence tasks, and social intelligence tasks are unlikely to be substituted by computer capital over the next decade or two." So the key to defeating robots -- in the movies and in real life -- is doing what they can't.</p>
<p>The Oxford study discusses how robots are unable to compete with humans in areas of perception and manipulation, creativity and social intelligence. In recent years, workarounds have helped robots make headway in perception. For example, Kiva robots can navigate Amazon's warehouse by sensing stickers on the floor. But it's difficult for them to make adjustments. If a package is dropped on the warehouse floor, for instance, the droid can't pick it up. Meanwhile, social intelligence -- especially tasks involving negotiation, persuasion and care -- hasn't evolved yet, either, as anyone who has ever screamed at Siri can attest.</p>
<p>Related:&#160; <a href="http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/230671" type="external">Intel Wants to Make Computers Think More Like Humans Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>To survive the robot invasion, small businesses need to maximize consumer reliance on these innate human abilities, as well as highlight them within their company's products and services.&#160;According to the Oxford research, companies that ply in fine arts, originality, negotiation, persuasion, social perceptiveness and assisting or caring for others are in the least danger of being overtaken by Schwarzenegger-like T-800 cybernetic organisms. Unfortunately, those with cramped work spaces or that deal in manual/finger dexterity are most likely to be assimilated by the borg.</p>
<p>But one thing the&#160;Terminator&#160;franchise has shown is that whatever people do to fight the future, robots always have a way of saying, "I'll be back." As a result, smart entrepreneurs shouldn't blindly rage against the machines. Instead, they should position their businesses to make sure that technology is working for -- not against -- their companies. Robots can be great for working in hard-to-reach locales, like the ocean floor, or under dangerous conditions, like bomb defusing. But placing them in easy-to-find settings like coffee shops to perform humanistic jobs like being a barista is counter-intuitive. Sure, the beverage might cost $4.75, but the smiles are free and have much more potential to keep customers coming back for more.</p>
<p>In fact, in its quest to make the perfect cup of coffee,&#160;Briggo&#160;is developing an automated coffee shop -- a concept so efficient, you'd think Starbucks would have already invented it. No way says Starbucks Chief Executive Howard Schultz:&#160;" <a href="http://kplu.org/post/robot-baristas-heres-starbucks-ceo-schultzs-take" type="external">I cannot envision Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;a time at Starbucks where we would have machines of any kind that would replace the people who are engaging with our customers." If you don't believe him, just check out the Starbucks app. While you can pay via smartphone, you still have to order in person.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, not everyone is as interested in giving their company a human touch.&#160;The Economist&#160;reported&#160;as far back as 2011 that Foxconn had&#160;planned to "hire" 1 million robots&#160;for it factory floors. But the Chinese company has also&#160;invested in a manufacturing facility&#160;in Harrisburg, Pa., upping the staff from 30 to 500 people. Located near Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute, the factory is building -- you guessed it -- more robots.</p>
<p>Related:&#160; <a href="http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/229643" type="external">Intel's Futurist: We'll Soon Be Living In Computers Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>This post originally appeared at&#160; <a href="http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/230887" type="external">Entrepreneur Opens a New Window.</a>. Copyright 2014.</p>
<p>Portland, Ore.-based writer John Patrick Pullen has covered travel, business and tech for publications including&#160;Entrepreneur,&#160;Fortune,&#160;The Magazine, and&#160;Wired. Find him at&#160; <a href="http://www.jppullen.com/" type="external">www.jppullen.com Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Time to Revolt Against the 'Robot Uprising?' | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2014/01/27/time-to-revolt-against-robot-uprising.html | 2016-04-07 | 0right
| Time to Revolt Against the 'Robot Uprising?'
<p />
<p>In October, when Apple announced its redesigned Mac Pro, the company boasted that it would be assembled in the U.S. This was a curious about-face for the Cupertino, Calif.-based tech giant whose success has been inextricably linked to shoulder-to-shoulder assembly lines in China. In addition, as the&#160;New York Times&#160;reported, at a private dinner in February 2011, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs told President Obama, "Those jobs aren't coming back."</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Indeed, they haven't. And they won't.</p>
<p>According to statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the manufacturing industry lost 2.3 million&#160;jobs&#160;in the most recent recession. Since then, factories have only regained 526,000 jobs, a sad sign of Jobs' visionary nature. A promotional video on the Mac Pro's assembly&#160;clearly shows what led Apple to produce the new computers in the U.S.:&#160;robots, not people. An ambidextrous Fanuc M-710iC swings the Mac Pro's machined aluminum casing from station to station. The metal is polished by Guyson Corporation's blast-finishing robots. And components are placed on the circuit boards by Jot Automation machines.</p>
<p>Of course there are humans milling about, but not nearly as many as at Foxconn in China. When contacted, Apple declined to comment.</p>
<p>The growing use of&#160;robots&#160;in the workforce isn't just happening at Apple. From Kiva Systems droids fulfilling Amazon warehouse orders, to telepresence robots zipping through offices and conference halls, robots are suddenly everywhere. Though they weren't necessarily programmed to destroy jobs, some experts believe machine-caused mass unemployment is possible. According to a Sept. 2013 Oxford University study, computerization puts&#160; <a href="http://www.futuretech.ox.ac.uk/sites/futuretech.ox.ac.uk/files/The_Future_of_Employment_OMS_Working_Paper_1.pdf" type="external">47 percent of total U.S. employment at risk of termination Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Related:&#160; <a href="http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/230237" type="external">Google Gets Serious About Robots Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Not to sound like a paranoid android, but it's 2014. Shouldn't John Connor be all over this by now, in an epic battle like in the&#160;Terminator&#160;movies?</p>
<p>Perhaps small businesses will take up the fight this year. Since the recession, small firms have accounted for 67 percent of net new jobs, and have created more than 12 million positions in the past 10 years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While on a day-to-day basis, small firms undoubtedly view themselves as making widgets, brewing beverages, cooking meals or building software, but the reality is these organizations are also in the business of creating employment.</p>
<p>Sure, larger companies like Apple and Amazon put people to work, but they are also programmed to meet investors' expectations. One of the most effective ways to increase profit is to reduce overhead. And wages are among companies' largest expenses, which makes eliminating personnel an efficient way to cut costs. That's why corporations started outsourcing labor to foreign countries a decade ago, and while they'll begin in-sourcing work to robots over the next 10 years. Long term, the savings of shifting from human to robot labor will allow them to attain their growth goals.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, small businesses will scramble to keep up. But instead of joining the robot workforce, entrepreneurs can firewall their operations by cyborg-proofing their companies. According to the Oxford study, "occupations that involve complex perception and manipulation tasks, creative intelligence tasks, and social intelligence tasks are unlikely to be substituted by computer capital over the next decade or two." So the key to defeating robots -- in the movies and in real life -- is doing what they can't.</p>
<p>The Oxford study discusses how robots are unable to compete with humans in areas of perception and manipulation, creativity and social intelligence. In recent years, workarounds have helped robots make headway in perception. For example, Kiva robots can navigate Amazon's warehouse by sensing stickers on the floor. But it's difficult for them to make adjustments. If a package is dropped on the warehouse floor, for instance, the droid can't pick it up. Meanwhile, social intelligence -- especially tasks involving negotiation, persuasion and care -- hasn't evolved yet, either, as anyone who has ever screamed at Siri can attest.</p>
<p>Related:&#160; <a href="http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/230671" type="external">Intel Wants to Make Computers Think More Like Humans Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>To survive the robot invasion, small businesses need to maximize consumer reliance on these innate human abilities, as well as highlight them within their company's products and services.&#160;According to the Oxford research, companies that ply in fine arts, originality, negotiation, persuasion, social perceptiveness and assisting or caring for others are in the least danger of being overtaken by Schwarzenegger-like T-800 cybernetic organisms. Unfortunately, those with cramped work spaces or that deal in manual/finger dexterity are most likely to be assimilated by the borg.</p>
<p>But one thing the&#160;Terminator&#160;franchise has shown is that whatever people do to fight the future, robots always have a way of saying, "I'll be back." As a result, smart entrepreneurs shouldn't blindly rage against the machines. Instead, they should position their businesses to make sure that technology is working for -- not against -- their companies. Robots can be great for working in hard-to-reach locales, like the ocean floor, or under dangerous conditions, like bomb defusing. But placing them in easy-to-find settings like coffee shops to perform humanistic jobs like being a barista is counter-intuitive. Sure, the beverage might cost $4.75, but the smiles are free and have much more potential to keep customers coming back for more.</p>
<p>In fact, in its quest to make the perfect cup of coffee,&#160;Briggo&#160;is developing an automated coffee shop -- a concept so efficient, you'd think Starbucks would have already invented it. No way says Starbucks Chief Executive Howard Schultz:&#160;" <a href="http://kplu.org/post/robot-baristas-heres-starbucks-ceo-schultzs-take" type="external">I cannot envision Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;a time at Starbucks where we would have machines of any kind that would replace the people who are engaging with our customers." If you don't believe him, just check out the Starbucks app. While you can pay via smartphone, you still have to order in person.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, not everyone is as interested in giving their company a human touch.&#160;The Economist&#160;reported&#160;as far back as 2011 that Foxconn had&#160;planned to "hire" 1 million robots&#160;for it factory floors. But the Chinese company has also&#160;invested in a manufacturing facility&#160;in Harrisburg, Pa., upping the staff from 30 to 500 people. Located near Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute, the factory is building -- you guessed it -- more robots.</p>
<p>Related:&#160; <a href="http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/229643" type="external">Intel's Futurist: We'll Soon Be Living In Computers Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>This post originally appeared at&#160; <a href="http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/230887" type="external">Entrepreneur Opens a New Window.</a>. Copyright 2014.</p>
<p>Portland, Ore.-based writer John Patrick Pullen has covered travel, business and tech for publications including&#160;Entrepreneur,&#160;Fortune,&#160;The Magazine, and&#160;Wired. Find him at&#160; <a href="http://www.jppullen.com/" type="external">www.jppullen.com Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 1,384 |
<p />
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>For the better part of a year now, shares of Priceline Group (NASDAQ: PCLN) have been relentlessly pushing through to new all-time highs. After reporting on its fourth-quarter and full-year 2016 business results, the stock jumped again and is now nearing the $2,000 per share mark.</p>
<p>Data by <a href="http://ycharts.com" type="external">YCharts</a>.</p>
<p>Priceline's steep revenue growth trajectory flattened a bit in 2015 and early last year. Overseas economic woes and political uncertainty all played a factor, and share prices spent some time moving sideways for a while. Sales growth has resumed its aggressive rise once again in more recent quarters.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Data by <a href="http://ycharts.com" type="external">YCharts</a>.</p>
<p>The company also wrapped up a search for a new CEO that began last spring, opting to go with the group's Executive Vice President of Corporate Development Glenn Fogel. The reason? Chairman of the Board and Interim CEO Jeffrey Boyd explained:</p>
<p>In other words, Priceline is happy to keep using the same formula. And why not, as full-year 2016 revenue increased 16.5%. Excluding a big impairment charge taken in the third quarter on the Open Table acquisition from a few years back, profits increased 21%.</p>
<p>Also in recent news was Priceline's purchase of travel metasearch engine Momondo Group. The acquisition will ring up for $550 million in cash and will come under the supervision of Priceline's own metasearch site, Kayak. The goal of the addition is to help Kayak expand in Europe, which happens to be Momondo's home base.</p>
<p>Image source: Momondo.</p>
<p>This is the biggest deal Priceline has inked since the aforementioned Open Table acquisition in 2014. The bill on that deal was $2.6 billion, a much heftier sum for Open Table's $225 million in revenue during that year. Momondo did just over $100 million in 2016 at current exchange rates, so Priceline's purchase this time around looks like more favorable terms.</p>
<p>Moving on from acquisition activity, management's outlook for 2017 so far looks bright. CEO Fogel said the focus will be, as it has been as of late, on growing its supply of bookable properties, investing money in its online platforms to increase ease of use, and efficient marketing. For the first quarter, those efforts are expected to translate into a 17% to 22% increase in gross travel bookings from last year.</p>
<p>All the positive business news and results have pushed Priceline's shares to new peaks, but that doesn't mean this ship has sailed. As I outlined <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/01/14/3-reasons-the-priceline-group-can-keep-growing.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">here Opens a New Window.</a>, there are several reasons for continued optimism.</p>
<p>Priceline estimates that the global travel industry does over $1 trillion a year in business, putting the travel group's market share at a minuscule less than 1%. Booking online is also a very small portion of that overall figure, with only about a third of accommodations like hotels and rentals being reserved online. Both of those figures leave plenty of room for the company to grow.</p>
<p>Analysts' average expectations are that Priceline's profits will grow another 13% this year and by an average of 17% in each of the next five years. That is a rosy outlook for a $10 billion-a-year-plus company. However, Priceline owns a big head start on developing user interfaces over smaller competition like Trip Advisor, and it has a deeper presence in the growing international online travel market than rival Expedia (Expedia did 43% of business overseas last year to Priceline's 87% at last report).</p>
<p>The Priceline Group has been a high-flying growth company for over a decade now, and it looks like that run could continue unabated.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Priceline GroupWhen 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=615f68ad-2552-49ea-b96b-b322c854b513&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 Priceline Group wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=615f68ad-2552-49ea-b96b-b322c854b513&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of February 6, 2017.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/nrossolillo/info.aspx" type="external">Nicholas Rossolillo Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Priceline Group. 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> | Why Is Priceline's Stock at All-Time Highs? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/03/11/why-is-priceline-stock-at-all-time-highs.html | 2017-03-17 | 0right
| Why Is Priceline's Stock at All-Time Highs?
<p />
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>For the better part of a year now, shares of Priceline Group (NASDAQ: PCLN) have been relentlessly pushing through to new all-time highs. After reporting on its fourth-quarter and full-year 2016 business results, the stock jumped again and is now nearing the $2,000 per share mark.</p>
<p>Data by <a href="http://ycharts.com" type="external">YCharts</a>.</p>
<p>Priceline's steep revenue growth trajectory flattened a bit in 2015 and early last year. Overseas economic woes and political uncertainty all played a factor, and share prices spent some time moving sideways for a while. Sales growth has resumed its aggressive rise once again in more recent quarters.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Data by <a href="http://ycharts.com" type="external">YCharts</a>.</p>
<p>The company also wrapped up a search for a new CEO that began last spring, opting to go with the group's Executive Vice President of Corporate Development Glenn Fogel. The reason? Chairman of the Board and Interim CEO Jeffrey Boyd explained:</p>
<p>In other words, Priceline is happy to keep using the same formula. And why not, as full-year 2016 revenue increased 16.5%. Excluding a big impairment charge taken in the third quarter on the Open Table acquisition from a few years back, profits increased 21%.</p>
<p>Also in recent news was Priceline's purchase of travel metasearch engine Momondo Group. The acquisition will ring up for $550 million in cash and will come under the supervision of Priceline's own metasearch site, Kayak. The goal of the addition is to help Kayak expand in Europe, which happens to be Momondo's home base.</p>
<p>Image source: Momondo.</p>
<p>This is the biggest deal Priceline has inked since the aforementioned Open Table acquisition in 2014. The bill on that deal was $2.6 billion, a much heftier sum for Open Table's $225 million in revenue during that year. Momondo did just over $100 million in 2016 at current exchange rates, so Priceline's purchase this time around looks like more favorable terms.</p>
<p>Moving on from acquisition activity, management's outlook for 2017 so far looks bright. CEO Fogel said the focus will be, as it has been as of late, on growing its supply of bookable properties, investing money in its online platforms to increase ease of use, and efficient marketing. For the first quarter, those efforts are expected to translate into a 17% to 22% increase in gross travel bookings from last year.</p>
<p>All the positive business news and results have pushed Priceline's shares to new peaks, but that doesn't mean this ship has sailed. As I outlined <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/01/14/3-reasons-the-priceline-group-can-keep-growing.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">here Opens a New Window.</a>, there are several reasons for continued optimism.</p>
<p>Priceline estimates that the global travel industry does over $1 trillion a year in business, putting the travel group's market share at a minuscule less than 1%. Booking online is also a very small portion of that overall figure, with only about a third of accommodations like hotels and rentals being reserved online. Both of those figures leave plenty of room for the company to grow.</p>
<p>Analysts' average expectations are that Priceline's profits will grow another 13% this year and by an average of 17% in each of the next five years. That is a rosy outlook for a $10 billion-a-year-plus company. However, Priceline owns a big head start on developing user interfaces over smaller competition like Trip Advisor, and it has a deeper presence in the growing international online travel market than rival Expedia (Expedia did 43% of business overseas last year to Priceline's 87% at last report).</p>
<p>The Priceline Group has been a high-flying growth company for over a decade now, and it looks like that run could continue unabated.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Priceline GroupWhen 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=615f68ad-2552-49ea-b96b-b322c854b513&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 Priceline Group wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=615f68ad-2552-49ea-b96b-b322c854b513&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of February 6, 2017.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/nrossolillo/info.aspx" type="external">Nicholas Rossolillo Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Priceline Group. 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> | 1,385 |
<p>&#160;&#160; Mary Compton, who edits the informative and unique website <a href="http://www.teachersolidarity.com" type="external">www.teachersolidarity.com</a>, tracking struggles globally to defend public education, teaching, and teachers unions, gives us a strikingly different - and more hopeful - take on Oaxaca and teacher unionism in Mexico than a recent <a href="" type="internal">New Politics blog</a>.&#160; Compton’s analysis is informed by first-hand contact with union activists throughout the global South, including Mexico, as well as work of respected Mexican activist/scholars like <a href="ices.library.ubc.ca/index.php/criticaled/article/view/185946" type="external">Hugo Aboites</a>, Professor of Education at the Autonomous Metropolitan University in the City of México (UACM), who in &#160;May 2014, was elected Rector of UACM for the period of 2014-2018. Aboites has been tracking the neoliberal project in Mexican education for <a href="http://fairtest.org/testing-craziness-mexico" type="external">decades</a>.&#160; Compton’s &#160;23 August 2015 blog&#160; about Oaxaca is reprinted below. I should add that Oaxaca’s teachers are fighting against policies pushed by the World Bank in all of Latin America, including the wholesale firing of the teaching force. A critique Mary and I have written of this World Bank document, <a href="http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2014/01/19798994/great-teachers-raise-student-learning-latin-america-caribbean" type="external">Great Teachers</a>, will appear shortly. (Pictured here is a school in Oaxaca.)</p>
<p>The democratic teachers of Oaxaca in Mexico are continuing their determined defence of public education, and defying the provocations of the state. As we <a href="http://www.teachersolidarity.com/blog/oaxaca-teachers-fight-to-defend-democratic-education" type="external">reported</a> last month, the government of Pena Nieto has moved thousands of security forces into Oaxaca, in an effort to defeat the teachers, who have proved themselves both to be determined fighters against the efforts to privatise and standardise education, as well as world leaders in the development of indigenous and bilingual education.&#160;</p>
<p>The government and the right wing media in Mexico and the US have framed Nieto's actions as, in the words of the <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/mexico-takes-on-militant-teachers-in-oaxaca-1440026579" type="external">Wall Street Journal</a>: 'the most important part of President&#160;Enrique Peña Nieto’s agenda to raise Mexico’s long-term living standards.' In fact it is part of a determined campaign by neoliberal 'reformers' in the country to destroy democratic education and the possibility of harnessing the power of education to develop critical thinking and resistance to the onslaught of capital. At the same time, the reforms will divert much of the public money used to finance education into private hands, while forcing parents to take more responsibility for funding their children's schools.The abduction of the 43 student teachers in neighbouring Guerrero state almost a year ago, was the most extreme manifestation of these policies.</p>
<p>The government's attempts at provocation in Oaxaca have so far failed however. They were planning to fire Oaxaca teachers who struck at the beginning of the school year this week, so instead the teachers have started the new year early. At the same time, they plan to continue peaceful civil disobedience to the demands of education reform, as they continue to promote democratic and critical education.</p>
<p>The teachers union, the CNTE, in other states as well, is meanwhile undertaking&#160; <a href="http://www.nssoaxaca.com/estado/31-general/130148-combinara-cnte-clases-y-protestas" type="external">programmes</a> of meetings with parents and communities to let them know exactly what Nieto's reforms &#160;will mean to them, not least in increasing demands for money. They also point out the pitiable state of many Mexican public schools, particularly in rural areas, as education budgets are cut. The campaign will be accompanied by protests in many towns, against the 'reforms' and for the return of the 43 missing student teachers from Ayotzinapa.</p>
<p>The teachers of Oaxaca have always been an inspiration to teachers globally who are resisting corporate education reform. The tactic which they are now employing, of simply carrying on with their vision of education in defiance of the new orders will be watched with interest by us all. It brings to mind the words of the arch education 'reformer' Michael Barber, chief education adviser to Pearson, who wrote of UK teachers who were resistant to one of his dictatorial reform efforts, at a time when he was a government adviser: 'what if in spite of all the training that had already taken place, the primary teachers of England just carried on doing what they'd always done? What would government do then? How powerless would I (sic) be? To be ignored: surely a worse fate than to be resisted.'&#160;</p>
<p><a href="http://www.teachersolidarity.com/blog/oaxaca-teachers-continue-their-defence-of-public-education" type="external">http://www.teachersolidarity.com/blog/oaxaca-teachers-continue-their-defence-of-public-education</a></p>
<p>You can follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/drloisweiner" type="external">twitter</a>&#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lois.weiner.5" type="external">Facebook</a>, as well as my blog here at <a href="" type="internal">New Politics</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p><a href="/filter/tips" type="external">More information about formatting options</a></p> | In solidarity with Oaxaca's teachers | true | http://newpol.org/content/solidarity-oaxacas-teachers | 4left
| In solidarity with Oaxaca's teachers
<p>&#160;&#160; Mary Compton, who edits the informative and unique website <a href="http://www.teachersolidarity.com" type="external">www.teachersolidarity.com</a>, tracking struggles globally to defend public education, teaching, and teachers unions, gives us a strikingly different - and more hopeful - take on Oaxaca and teacher unionism in Mexico than a recent <a href="" type="internal">New Politics blog</a>.&#160; Compton’s analysis is informed by first-hand contact with union activists throughout the global South, including Mexico, as well as work of respected Mexican activist/scholars like <a href="ices.library.ubc.ca/index.php/criticaled/article/view/185946" type="external">Hugo Aboites</a>, Professor of Education at the Autonomous Metropolitan University in the City of México (UACM), who in &#160;May 2014, was elected Rector of UACM for the period of 2014-2018. Aboites has been tracking the neoliberal project in Mexican education for <a href="http://fairtest.org/testing-craziness-mexico" type="external">decades</a>.&#160; Compton’s &#160;23 August 2015 blog&#160; about Oaxaca is reprinted below. I should add that Oaxaca’s teachers are fighting against policies pushed by the World Bank in all of Latin America, including the wholesale firing of the teaching force. A critique Mary and I have written of this World Bank document, <a href="http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2014/01/19798994/great-teachers-raise-student-learning-latin-america-caribbean" type="external">Great Teachers</a>, will appear shortly. (Pictured here is a school in Oaxaca.)</p>
<p>The democratic teachers of Oaxaca in Mexico are continuing their determined defence of public education, and defying the provocations of the state. As we <a href="http://www.teachersolidarity.com/blog/oaxaca-teachers-fight-to-defend-democratic-education" type="external">reported</a> last month, the government of Pena Nieto has moved thousands of security forces into Oaxaca, in an effort to defeat the teachers, who have proved themselves both to be determined fighters against the efforts to privatise and standardise education, as well as world leaders in the development of indigenous and bilingual education.&#160;</p>
<p>The government and the right wing media in Mexico and the US have framed Nieto's actions as, in the words of the <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/mexico-takes-on-militant-teachers-in-oaxaca-1440026579" type="external">Wall Street Journal</a>: 'the most important part of President&#160;Enrique Peña Nieto’s agenda to raise Mexico’s long-term living standards.' In fact it is part of a determined campaign by neoliberal 'reformers' in the country to destroy democratic education and the possibility of harnessing the power of education to develop critical thinking and resistance to the onslaught of capital. At the same time, the reforms will divert much of the public money used to finance education into private hands, while forcing parents to take more responsibility for funding their children's schools.The abduction of the 43 student teachers in neighbouring Guerrero state almost a year ago, was the most extreme manifestation of these policies.</p>
<p>The government's attempts at provocation in Oaxaca have so far failed however. They were planning to fire Oaxaca teachers who struck at the beginning of the school year this week, so instead the teachers have started the new year early. At the same time, they plan to continue peaceful civil disobedience to the demands of education reform, as they continue to promote democratic and critical education.</p>
<p>The teachers union, the CNTE, in other states as well, is meanwhile undertaking&#160; <a href="http://www.nssoaxaca.com/estado/31-general/130148-combinara-cnte-clases-y-protestas" type="external">programmes</a> of meetings with parents and communities to let them know exactly what Nieto's reforms &#160;will mean to them, not least in increasing demands for money. They also point out the pitiable state of many Mexican public schools, particularly in rural areas, as education budgets are cut. The campaign will be accompanied by protests in many towns, against the 'reforms' and for the return of the 43 missing student teachers from Ayotzinapa.</p>
<p>The teachers of Oaxaca have always been an inspiration to teachers globally who are resisting corporate education reform. The tactic which they are now employing, of simply carrying on with their vision of education in defiance of the new orders will be watched with interest by us all. It brings to mind the words of the arch education 'reformer' Michael Barber, chief education adviser to Pearson, who wrote of UK teachers who were resistant to one of his dictatorial reform efforts, at a time when he was a government adviser: 'what if in spite of all the training that had already taken place, the primary teachers of England just carried on doing what they'd always done? What would government do then? How powerless would I (sic) be? To be ignored: surely a worse fate than to be resisted.'&#160;</p>
<p><a href="http://www.teachersolidarity.com/blog/oaxaca-teachers-continue-their-defence-of-public-education" type="external">http://www.teachersolidarity.com/blog/oaxaca-teachers-continue-their-defence-of-public-education</a></p>
<p>You can follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/drloisweiner" type="external">twitter</a>&#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lois.weiner.5" type="external">Facebook</a>, as well as my blog here at <a href="" type="internal">New Politics</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p><a href="/filter/tips" type="external">More information about formatting options</a></p> | 1,386 |
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<p>Brian Cahn/ZUMA</p>
<p />
<p>After her two leading rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/18/politics/martin-omalley-all-lives-matter/" type="external">became</a> <a href="http://www.vox.com/2015/8/11/9127653/bernie-sanders-black-lives-matter" type="external">targets</a> of&#160;the Black Lives Matter movement, Hillary Clinton came armed with policy arguments when she met with members of the African-American activist group last week. The protesters from&#160;Massachusetts had shown up too late to disrupt the Clinton event&#160;in New Hampshire,&#160;but Clinton’s campaign arranged a short meeting afterward. A video of the session appeared last night on&#160;MSNBC and subsequently&#160;on YouTube via&#160;GOOD Magazine.</p>
<p>Clinton encouraged the activists to present a more coherent policy prescription for helping black people, telling them, “Let’s get an agenda that addresses as much of the problem as we can.” The agenda she laid out included housing programs, job opportunities, and one specific policy that has become a rallying cry among social justice activists: “Ban the Box.”</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The argument behind the <a href="http://bantheboxcampaign.org/" type="external">Ban the Box campaign</a> is simple. Many job applications currently include a small box that potential employees must check if they’ve been convicted of a crime. It’s a tool employers frequently use to weed out applicants. This makes it significantly harder for people with a criminal record to land a job: <a href="http://scholar.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/pager/wp-content/uploads/pager_ajs.pdf" type="external">Studies</a> have <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3583356/" type="external">shown</a> that men who said they had criminal records were 50 percent less likely to hear back from an employer, and the effect is more pronounced for black men. <a href="http://www.nij.gov/topics/corrections/reentry/pages/employment.aspx" type="external">According</a> to the National Institute of Justice, between 60 and 75 percent of ex-offenders cannot find a job within a year of being released from prison.</p>
<p>Clinton’s Democratic opponents Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley have already both <a href="https://martinomalley.com/policy/criminal-justice/" type="external">explicitly</a> <a href="https://berniesanders.com/issues/racial-justice/" type="external">endorsed</a> banning the box in the position papers they released on criminal and racial justice.</p>
<p>Unlike Sanders and O’Malley, Clinton has yet to put forward a comprehensive plan for criminal justice reform. The Clinton campaign didn’t respond to a request to clarify Clinton’s views on Ban the Box, but in an earlier speech the same day as her meeting with the activists, she touted the idea. “At the end of the day, people can make their own judgment” on whether to hire someone, she told a man in the audience who had been convicted of murder and struggled to find a job after being released.&#160;“But you shouldn’t be automatically disqualified.”&#160;She went on to explain what banning the box would allow: “You can get through the process and then, before somebody has to make a decision about you, you tell them. So they’re looking at you not as a statistic, but as a person. If you have the skills and the personality and the other qualities that might lead them to give you a job, you wouldn’t be eliminated at the very beginning.”</p>
<p /> | Clinton Endorses a Proposal to Help Ex-Cons Find Work | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2015/08/hillary-clinton-ban-box/ | 2015-08-18 | 4left
| Clinton Endorses a Proposal to Help Ex-Cons Find Work
<p>Brian Cahn/ZUMA</p>
<p />
<p>After her two leading rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/18/politics/martin-omalley-all-lives-matter/" type="external">became</a> <a href="http://www.vox.com/2015/8/11/9127653/bernie-sanders-black-lives-matter" type="external">targets</a> of&#160;the Black Lives Matter movement, Hillary Clinton came armed with policy arguments when she met with members of the African-American activist group last week. The protesters from&#160;Massachusetts had shown up too late to disrupt the Clinton event&#160;in New Hampshire,&#160;but Clinton’s campaign arranged a short meeting afterward. A video of the session appeared last night on&#160;MSNBC and subsequently&#160;on YouTube via&#160;GOOD Magazine.</p>
<p>Clinton encouraged the activists to present a more coherent policy prescription for helping black people, telling them, “Let’s get an agenda that addresses as much of the problem as we can.” The agenda she laid out included housing programs, job opportunities, and one specific policy that has become a rallying cry among social justice activists: “Ban the Box.”</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The argument behind the <a href="http://bantheboxcampaign.org/" type="external">Ban the Box campaign</a> is simple. Many job applications currently include a small box that potential employees must check if they’ve been convicted of a crime. It’s a tool employers frequently use to weed out applicants. This makes it significantly harder for people with a criminal record to land a job: <a href="http://scholar.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/pager/wp-content/uploads/pager_ajs.pdf" type="external">Studies</a> have <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3583356/" type="external">shown</a> that men who said they had criminal records were 50 percent less likely to hear back from an employer, and the effect is more pronounced for black men. <a href="http://www.nij.gov/topics/corrections/reentry/pages/employment.aspx" type="external">According</a> to the National Institute of Justice, between 60 and 75 percent of ex-offenders cannot find a job within a year of being released from prison.</p>
<p>Clinton’s Democratic opponents Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley have already both <a href="https://martinomalley.com/policy/criminal-justice/" type="external">explicitly</a> <a href="https://berniesanders.com/issues/racial-justice/" type="external">endorsed</a> banning the box in the position papers they released on criminal and racial justice.</p>
<p>Unlike Sanders and O’Malley, Clinton has yet to put forward a comprehensive plan for criminal justice reform. The Clinton campaign didn’t respond to a request to clarify Clinton’s views on Ban the Box, but in an earlier speech the same day as her meeting with the activists, she touted the idea. “At the end of the day, people can make their own judgment” on whether to hire someone, she told a man in the audience who had been convicted of murder and struggled to find a job after being released.&#160;“But you shouldn’t be automatically disqualified.”&#160;She went on to explain what banning the box would allow: “You can get through the process and then, before somebody has to make a decision about you, you tell them. So they’re looking at you not as a statistic, but as a person. If you have the skills and the personality and the other qualities that might lead them to give you a job, you wouldn’t be eliminated at the very beginning.”</p>
<p /> | 1,387 |
<p>Since adding the feature in April, 2016, the Whatsapp app (or really its parent, Facebook) has paraded its “end to end encryption” as the reason to use it above all other smartphone message applications. It can handle calls, messages, video, files and just about everything any computer can and, because it’s encrypted end to end, nobody can read, see or hear any of it unless you want them to.</p>
<p>The pitch has worked; over a billion people now use the app and it is particularly prominent among people who need encryption — the computer protocol that makes reading your message impossible for anyone but the person you’re sending it to.</p>
<p>Activists, particularly, use Whatsapp to communicate everything from places for emergency demonstrations to important announcements to the latest information about their personal lives. Whatsapp is, in effect, a universe of communications for a billion people. It does everything and everything it does is encrypted. With Whatsapp, they’ve been saying, you are safe from intrusion and spying.</p>
<p>The problem is, you’re not safe at all; the encryption can easily be broken. That news, first made public in the Guardian [1], has provoked a public gasp and a joust between developers and activists covered by journalists who, anxious to provide both “sides”, cloud the issue more than clarify.</p>
<p>Unlike many other debates, there aren’t two sides to this story. Whatsapp is not safe because its encryption has a huge exploit (or weakness): a product of what the company says is an attempt to make life a lot simpler for its users. Basically, it rewrites the keys used for encryption without telling you and that means a third party (like the government) can decrypt what you’ve written.</p>
<p>This takes a bit of explanation. First, the basics…</p>
<p>Encryption uses keys — long, random strings of numbers and symbols and letters that make no sense and cannot be guessed. You get two: a public key and a private key. When you send me an encrypted message, the encryption program garbles it beyond comprehension using my public key, which your email client downloaded (and saved) before sending me your first message.</p>
<p>When I get the email, I use my private key to decrypt it. If I don’t have the private key, the email from you is unreadable: the garble the program turned it into. I apply my key and your message to me is magically transformed to human language. Unlike my public key that is all over the place, my private key is on my computer (or phone) and nowhere else.</p>
<p>That’s the security and that’s how the keys work in encryption.</p>
<p>Whatsapp works the same way except for one thing. When using an encryption program (like Signal) on my phone, when I change keys, I know the keys have been changed. When you change yours, I’ll get a notification the moment I try to send you a new email because it detects the key change and sends the warning.</p>
<p>With Whatsapp, if you turn off or break your phone, Facebook holds any messages sent to you. Then, if your phone comes back with a new key, Facebook sends a request to anyone who sent you a message asking them to re-encrypt the message to the new key.</p>
<p>But here’s the problem. Say I sent you a bunch of messages using your old key while your phone is turned off. Those messages are stored by Whatsapp and not delivered until you to turn the phone on. When you do that, and the new key is generated, the messages are decrypted by this new key. In other words, the message I sent to your original key (which I know was yours) is now picked up and decrypted by this other key that I don’t know and haven’t verified.</p>
<p>What’s more, Whatsapp doesn’t tell you it did this on your phone unless you turn on the notification (which people rarely do) and even then it tells you after it’s generated the new key and sent the old messages with it. You learn you’ve been hacked after they hacked you. Privacy advocates are crying blooding murder: Whatsapp has touted its end to end encryption and now we find that it has a “backdoor” (a way of getting into the app without using normal passcode protection).</p>
<p>Why is this important? Because it’s not secure enryption.</p>
<p>The federal government and its spying agencies like the National Security Agency and the FBI have a history of demanding that companies that store data decrypt it when a user’s data is encrypted. This is what happened with Apple computer in February, 2016 [2]. The government wanted it to decrypt the cell phone of the suspect in the San Bernadino terrorist attacks and Apple said it couldn’t break the encryption. The government found a way to do it but, up to then, it had been pressuring Apple to get its developers to develop a decryption method.</p>
<p>That dispute went to court. This time, were a demand made on Facebook for Whatsapp info, there would be no such defense. Facebook has a way of decrypting these messages. All if has to do is generate a new key for a phone and share it with a government spy and wait until the phone is turned off. In fact, cellphones can be disrupted and forced off remotely. The data isn’t safe.</p>
<p>Would such a thing happen? That’s been one of the two issues being hotly debate over the Internet by the app’s developers and just about everyone else.</p>
<p>The debate’s been clouded by the developer’s assertion that this isn’t a backdoor at all. They knew exactly what they were building into the app and did so to make encryption easier: a worthy goal given how complicated encryption can be for the average user.</p>
<p>WhatsApp itself issued a statement to the Guardian: “WhatsApp does not give governments a ‘backdoor’ into its systems and would fight any government request to create a backdoor.”</p>
<p>The problem says my colleague and comrade Jamie McClelland [3] in his superb blog “Current Working Directory” is that the government doesn’t have to ask. The backdoor’s already there. “…using the default installation, your end-to-end encrypted message could be intercepted and decrypted without you or the party you are communicating with knowing it,” he explains. “How is this not a back door?”</p>
<p>But McClelland, and many others, point out something even more disturbing: the complete lack of warning when keys are changed. “Why in the world would you distribute a client that not only has the ability to suppress such warnings, but has it enabled by default?”</p>
<p>That addresses the developers’ second argument. The issue, they say, isn’t what “could” happen but what “would” happen. Facebook insists that, were the government to demand its data, it would refuse.</p>
<p>It’s a laughable contention because Facebook is one of the most intercepted and data-captured protocols in the world. The government captures Facebook data regularly and it admits as much. Facebook doesn’t protest, claiming that its social media application is public and so protecting it makes no sense. So why in the world would it take a different position here when the circumstances are basically the same and, as Jamie points out, why would you enable the suppression of those warnings by default in the first place? Who, exactly, are you keeping in the dark?</p>
<p>What’s more, they may not need cooperation from the company. Government hackers and criminal data thieves are notorious for successfully hacking systems that have vulnerabilities without any permission. And Whatsapp, by all accounts, now has a big one.</p>
<p>Given what we already know about the blanket, constitution-dismissing surveillance under the Obama administration and what we can expect from the Presidency of a rights-dismissive, paranoid crypto-fascist like Donald Trump, do you really want to use this app on your phone?</p>
<p>While not as robust in features, an app like Signal can encrypt text reliably and should in the toolbox of every activist (or person for that matter) using a cellphone. Whatsapp should not.</p> | The Whattsapp Scandal | true | https://counterpunch.org/2017/01/18/the-whattsapp-scandal/ | 2017-01-18 | 4left
| The Whattsapp Scandal
<p>Since adding the feature in April, 2016, the Whatsapp app (or really its parent, Facebook) has paraded its “end to end encryption” as the reason to use it above all other smartphone message applications. It can handle calls, messages, video, files and just about everything any computer can and, because it’s encrypted end to end, nobody can read, see or hear any of it unless you want them to.</p>
<p>The pitch has worked; over a billion people now use the app and it is particularly prominent among people who need encryption — the computer protocol that makes reading your message impossible for anyone but the person you’re sending it to.</p>
<p>Activists, particularly, use Whatsapp to communicate everything from places for emergency demonstrations to important announcements to the latest information about their personal lives. Whatsapp is, in effect, a universe of communications for a billion people. It does everything and everything it does is encrypted. With Whatsapp, they’ve been saying, you are safe from intrusion and spying.</p>
<p>The problem is, you’re not safe at all; the encryption can easily be broken. That news, first made public in the Guardian [1], has provoked a public gasp and a joust between developers and activists covered by journalists who, anxious to provide both “sides”, cloud the issue more than clarify.</p>
<p>Unlike many other debates, there aren’t two sides to this story. Whatsapp is not safe because its encryption has a huge exploit (or weakness): a product of what the company says is an attempt to make life a lot simpler for its users. Basically, it rewrites the keys used for encryption without telling you and that means a third party (like the government) can decrypt what you’ve written.</p>
<p>This takes a bit of explanation. First, the basics…</p>
<p>Encryption uses keys — long, random strings of numbers and symbols and letters that make no sense and cannot be guessed. You get two: a public key and a private key. When you send me an encrypted message, the encryption program garbles it beyond comprehension using my public key, which your email client downloaded (and saved) before sending me your first message.</p>
<p>When I get the email, I use my private key to decrypt it. If I don’t have the private key, the email from you is unreadable: the garble the program turned it into. I apply my key and your message to me is magically transformed to human language. Unlike my public key that is all over the place, my private key is on my computer (or phone) and nowhere else.</p>
<p>That’s the security and that’s how the keys work in encryption.</p>
<p>Whatsapp works the same way except for one thing. When using an encryption program (like Signal) on my phone, when I change keys, I know the keys have been changed. When you change yours, I’ll get a notification the moment I try to send you a new email because it detects the key change and sends the warning.</p>
<p>With Whatsapp, if you turn off or break your phone, Facebook holds any messages sent to you. Then, if your phone comes back with a new key, Facebook sends a request to anyone who sent you a message asking them to re-encrypt the message to the new key.</p>
<p>But here’s the problem. Say I sent you a bunch of messages using your old key while your phone is turned off. Those messages are stored by Whatsapp and not delivered until you to turn the phone on. When you do that, and the new key is generated, the messages are decrypted by this new key. In other words, the message I sent to your original key (which I know was yours) is now picked up and decrypted by this other key that I don’t know and haven’t verified.</p>
<p>What’s more, Whatsapp doesn’t tell you it did this on your phone unless you turn on the notification (which people rarely do) and even then it tells you after it’s generated the new key and sent the old messages with it. You learn you’ve been hacked after they hacked you. Privacy advocates are crying blooding murder: Whatsapp has touted its end to end encryption and now we find that it has a “backdoor” (a way of getting into the app without using normal passcode protection).</p>
<p>Why is this important? Because it’s not secure enryption.</p>
<p>The federal government and its spying agencies like the National Security Agency and the FBI have a history of demanding that companies that store data decrypt it when a user’s data is encrypted. This is what happened with Apple computer in February, 2016 [2]. The government wanted it to decrypt the cell phone of the suspect in the San Bernadino terrorist attacks and Apple said it couldn’t break the encryption. The government found a way to do it but, up to then, it had been pressuring Apple to get its developers to develop a decryption method.</p>
<p>That dispute went to court. This time, were a demand made on Facebook for Whatsapp info, there would be no such defense. Facebook has a way of decrypting these messages. All if has to do is generate a new key for a phone and share it with a government spy and wait until the phone is turned off. In fact, cellphones can be disrupted and forced off remotely. The data isn’t safe.</p>
<p>Would such a thing happen? That’s been one of the two issues being hotly debate over the Internet by the app’s developers and just about everyone else.</p>
<p>The debate’s been clouded by the developer’s assertion that this isn’t a backdoor at all. They knew exactly what they were building into the app and did so to make encryption easier: a worthy goal given how complicated encryption can be for the average user.</p>
<p>WhatsApp itself issued a statement to the Guardian: “WhatsApp does not give governments a ‘backdoor’ into its systems and would fight any government request to create a backdoor.”</p>
<p>The problem says my colleague and comrade Jamie McClelland [3] in his superb blog “Current Working Directory” is that the government doesn’t have to ask. The backdoor’s already there. “…using the default installation, your end-to-end encrypted message could be intercepted and decrypted without you or the party you are communicating with knowing it,” he explains. “How is this not a back door?”</p>
<p>But McClelland, and many others, point out something even more disturbing: the complete lack of warning when keys are changed. “Why in the world would you distribute a client that not only has the ability to suppress such warnings, but has it enabled by default?”</p>
<p>That addresses the developers’ second argument. The issue, they say, isn’t what “could” happen but what “would” happen. Facebook insists that, were the government to demand its data, it would refuse.</p>
<p>It’s a laughable contention because Facebook is one of the most intercepted and data-captured protocols in the world. The government captures Facebook data regularly and it admits as much. Facebook doesn’t protest, claiming that its social media application is public and so protecting it makes no sense. So why in the world would it take a different position here when the circumstances are basically the same and, as Jamie points out, why would you enable the suppression of those warnings by default in the first place? Who, exactly, are you keeping in the dark?</p>
<p>What’s more, they may not need cooperation from the company. Government hackers and criminal data thieves are notorious for successfully hacking systems that have vulnerabilities without any permission. And Whatsapp, by all accounts, now has a big one.</p>
<p>Given what we already know about the blanket, constitution-dismissing surveillance under the Obama administration and what we can expect from the Presidency of a rights-dismissive, paranoid crypto-fascist like Donald Trump, do you really want to use this app on your phone?</p>
<p>While not as robust in features, an app like Signal can encrypt text reliably and should in the toolbox of every activist (or person for that matter) using a cellphone. Whatsapp should not.</p> | 1,388 |
<p />
<p>On the back of today’s <a href="" type="internal">Mother Jones investigation</a> into the government’s $75 billion, largely taxpayer-funded foreclosure relief program—a program shaping up to be a massive bust yet doling out millions and even billions to some questionable mortgage servicers—the Center for Public Integrity has released <a href="http://www.publicintegrity.org/investigations/economic_meltdown/articles/entry/1629/" type="external">its own analysis of the program</a>, the <a href="http://makinghomeaffordable.gov/modification_eligibility.html" type="external">Home Affordable Modification&#160;Program</a>. CPI found that of the top 25 HAMP servicers, at least 21 “were heavily involved in the subprime lending industry.” Of the tens of billions allocated to HAMP, much “is going directly to the same financial institutions that helped create the subprime mortgage mess in the first place,”&#160;says CIP executive director Bill Buzenberg. The fox, in other words, is guarding the heavily mortgaged hen house.</p>
<p>By all measurements, HAMP has been a bust. As I&#160;write in a story published today on MotherJones.com:</p>
<p>Industry experts are now questioning how many of the program’s estimated 235,000 modifications will actually benefit homeowners in the long term, and say that homeowners clamoring to participate in HAMP have created an industrywide logjam for mortgage servicers, resulting in substantial delays and backed-up customer service support. …</p>
<p>The Treasury’s first servicer performance report ( <a href="http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/docs/MHA_public_report.pdf" type="external">PDF</a>), covering March to July 2009, found that servicers had offered modifications to just 15 percent of eligible delinquent homeowners, and initiated them for just 9 percent of that group…&#160; Lawmakers in Washington, including Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), chairman of the powerful House financial services committee,&#160; <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&amp;sid=ahyJ3X92DO8s" type="external">have begun to voice doubts</a> over whether HAMP servicers are doing enough to help homeowners. Now Frank and Durbin <a href="http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2009/08/03/durbin-housing-interview/" type="external">are</a> <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2009/08/04/barney-frank-threatens-return-of-cram-down-legislation/" type="external">revisiting</a> the idea of allowing bankruptcy court judges to modify mortgage terms, an option called “cramdown” that the <a href="http://washingtonindependent.com/42220/white-house-silence-paved-way-for-cramdown-crash" type="external">Senate rejected</a> earlier this year.</p>
<p>I cite the questionable backgrounds of several HAMP&#160;mortgage servicers, some of whom are <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090805/ap_on_bi_ge/us_mortgage_middlemen" type="external">subjects</a> of <a href="http://www.lieffcabraser.com/ocwen.htm" type="external">lawsuits</a> for shoddy lending practices and have <a href="http://www.orlando.bbb.org/codbrep.html?wlcl=y&amp;id=13002055" type="external">received</a> <a href="http://www.la.bbb.org/BusinessReport.aspx?CompanyID=100018450" type="external">failing</a> grades from the Better Business Bureau. In today’s story, I also question whether the program will ultimately help that many homeowners given the poor records of some of HAMP’s servicers and the horror stories their customers tell in trying to deal with the servicers. But don’t just take my word for it: You can read homeowners’ own scathing testimonials about HAMP&#160;servicer Saxon Mortgage Services at <a href="http://saxonwatch.com/" type="external">SaxonWatch.com</a>.</p>
<p>Like today’s story, CPI’s findings call into question whether HAMP will ever meet expectations. HAMP may be a good faith effort by the government, but as plenty of consumer advocates, attorneys, and lawmakers have said, if the administration wants to truly help homeowners, bringing back “cramdown”—when bankruptcy court judges modify the terms of mortgages to make them more affordable—is more necessary than ever before.</p>
<p /> | The Destroyers to the Rescue? | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2009/08/destroyers-rescue/ | 2009-08-26 | 4left
| The Destroyers to the Rescue?
<p />
<p>On the back of today’s <a href="" type="internal">Mother Jones investigation</a> into the government’s $75 billion, largely taxpayer-funded foreclosure relief program—a program shaping up to be a massive bust yet doling out millions and even billions to some questionable mortgage servicers—the Center for Public Integrity has released <a href="http://www.publicintegrity.org/investigations/economic_meltdown/articles/entry/1629/" type="external">its own analysis of the program</a>, the <a href="http://makinghomeaffordable.gov/modification_eligibility.html" type="external">Home Affordable Modification&#160;Program</a>. CPI found that of the top 25 HAMP servicers, at least 21 “were heavily involved in the subprime lending industry.” Of the tens of billions allocated to HAMP, much “is going directly to the same financial institutions that helped create the subprime mortgage mess in the first place,”&#160;says CIP executive director Bill Buzenberg. The fox, in other words, is guarding the heavily mortgaged hen house.</p>
<p>By all measurements, HAMP has been a bust. As I&#160;write in a story published today on MotherJones.com:</p>
<p>Industry experts are now questioning how many of the program’s estimated 235,000 modifications will actually benefit homeowners in the long term, and say that homeowners clamoring to participate in HAMP have created an industrywide logjam for mortgage servicers, resulting in substantial delays and backed-up customer service support. …</p>
<p>The Treasury’s first servicer performance report ( <a href="http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/docs/MHA_public_report.pdf" type="external">PDF</a>), covering March to July 2009, found that servicers had offered modifications to just 15 percent of eligible delinquent homeowners, and initiated them for just 9 percent of that group…&#160; Lawmakers in Washington, including Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), chairman of the powerful House financial services committee,&#160; <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&amp;sid=ahyJ3X92DO8s" type="external">have begun to voice doubts</a> over whether HAMP servicers are doing enough to help homeowners. Now Frank and Durbin <a href="http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2009/08/03/durbin-housing-interview/" type="external">are</a> <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2009/08/04/barney-frank-threatens-return-of-cram-down-legislation/" type="external">revisiting</a> the idea of allowing bankruptcy court judges to modify mortgage terms, an option called “cramdown” that the <a href="http://washingtonindependent.com/42220/white-house-silence-paved-way-for-cramdown-crash" type="external">Senate rejected</a> earlier this year.</p>
<p>I cite the questionable backgrounds of several HAMP&#160;mortgage servicers, some of whom are <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090805/ap_on_bi_ge/us_mortgage_middlemen" type="external">subjects</a> of <a href="http://www.lieffcabraser.com/ocwen.htm" type="external">lawsuits</a> for shoddy lending practices and have <a href="http://www.orlando.bbb.org/codbrep.html?wlcl=y&amp;id=13002055" type="external">received</a> <a href="http://www.la.bbb.org/BusinessReport.aspx?CompanyID=100018450" type="external">failing</a> grades from the Better Business Bureau. In today’s story, I also question whether the program will ultimately help that many homeowners given the poor records of some of HAMP’s servicers and the horror stories their customers tell in trying to deal with the servicers. But don’t just take my word for it: You can read homeowners’ own scathing testimonials about HAMP&#160;servicer Saxon Mortgage Services at <a href="http://saxonwatch.com/" type="external">SaxonWatch.com</a>.</p>
<p>Like today’s story, CPI’s findings call into question whether HAMP will ever meet expectations. HAMP may be a good faith effort by the government, but as plenty of consumer advocates, attorneys, and lawmakers have said, if the administration wants to truly help homeowners, bringing back “cramdown”—when bankruptcy court judges modify the terms of mortgages to make them more affordable—is more necessary than ever before.</p>
<p /> | 1,389 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The Texan who rode to worldwide glory in seven Tour de France wins, mostly sporting U.S. Postal Service logos, is trying to stop the government from collecting $100 million in damages it says he owes taxpayers for lost promotional value after he admitted to doping.</p>
<p>Armstrong argues that the Postal Service got more than its money’s worth as his sponsor from 2000 to 2004 and was at court as his four attorneys pressed the point, sunglasses folded on the table in front of him, jotting notes and leafing through case exhibits.</p>
<p>The long-running and complicated federal fraud suit involving Armstrong dates to 2000 and has gone through more twists and turns than the Alpine climbs and switchbacks that once established his reputation.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>But the point of Wednesday’s two-hour hearing was simple, as the team shielding Armstrong, 45, tried to have most of the lawsuit tossed.</p>
<p>Whatever Armstrong’s moral failings, his attorneys insisted, the government has not shown that those flaws offset tens of millions of dollars in media exposure, new market share and customer revenue that the Postal Service gained by backing him.</p>
<p>The high stakes in play was evident at the courtroom door where the schedule for the case listed 20 lawyers for the various sides present, including Joyce Branda, the deputy assistant attorney general in charge of the commercial litigation branch.</p>
<p>Armstrong conceded in 2013 that he had used performance enhancing drugs despite years of strenuous denials in the face of persistent rumors. He was stripped by cycling authorities of the seven Tour de France championships he had won from 1999 through 2005.</p>
<p>The government has asked for triple damages for its $32.3 million sponsorship of Armstrong’s U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team. The government entered the legal fray when it joined a 2010 whistleblower lawsuit brought by Armstrong’s former teammate Floyd Landis.</p>
<p>“Bottom line: USPS got more than it paid for and is not a victim of fraud,” lead defense lawyer Elliot Peters argued in court, quoting a 2012 email sent by a Postal Service advertising executive to William Henderson, the U.S. postmaster general from 1998 to 2001.</p>
<p>Peters said a Postal Service presentation drafted in November 2003 estimated that the service reaped $109 million in media exposure and $4 million to $6 million in other benefits from its support of Armstrong through what was then Tailwind Sports.</p>
<p>U.S. District Judge Christopher “Casey” Cooper of Washington pushed the issue, asking lawyers for the Justice Department and for Landis “is there any evidence from which a juror can infer the Postal Service lost revenue as a result?” he said. Or were lawyers who want the suit to move forward counting on appealing to potential jurors’ “common sense,” Cooper continued dryly.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The Postal Service had not done a study of the financial hit or other impacts after Armstrong said he cheated, said David Finkelstein, a lawyer in the Justice Department’s civil fraud section.</p>
<p>But Finkelstein noted that plenty of people had read about the damaging news.</p>
<p>Finkelstein cited 1.5 billion views of negative media reports and 154 billion social media impressions of Armstrong’s admissions, along with testimony by two experts that the sponsorship has been rendered valueless.</p>
<p>He also called attention to the swift dumping of Armstrong by other sponsors in 2012 after they determined his endorsement had no “commercial value.”</p>
<p>Landis did not attend the hearing, but his lead lawyer, Paul Scott of San Francisco, urged the court to view Armstrong’s conduct through the broader lens of the “moral taint” cast by his years-long deception of doping authorities and the public, and his role as what Landis asserts was chief conspirator and enforcer of a massive fraud that enriched Armstrong and his sports ventures and turned him into a celebrity.</p>
<p>“This was the greatest doping conspiracy in the history of sport. It included lies, intimidation and the use of illegal drugs,” Scott argued.</p>
<p>Armstrong benefited from taxpayer backing, Scott said, likening the onetime global star to a government contractor who uses child labor to produce uniforms for the U.S. military, or a contractor who shares sensitive technology with a banned country.</p>
<p>Not punishing Armstrong’s operations would “reward them for concealing fraud,” Scott said, sending the message that “if you keep it quiet for long enough, then you don’t have to pay it back. That is not good public policy.”</p>
<p>U.S. prosecutors pursued criminal doping allegations against Armstrong from 2010 until dropping the investigation case in February 2012. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that October accusing Armstrong of leading “the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen” and banned him from the sport.</p>
<p>Armstrong declined to comment outside the courthouse after the hearing, including about why he attended a proceeding where his presence was not required.</p>
<p>Cooper did not say when he would rule on several motions by both sides that would narrow the case.</p>
<p>However, if Cooper allows the case to proceed but agrees with Armstrong’s lawyers’ request to dismiss the government’s demand for triple damages, it could cut potential penalties from $100 million to civil fines of less than $500,000.</p>
<p>A trial is not expected until next year at the earliest.</p>
<p>armstrong</p> | Lance Armstrong’s latest race: Outrunning a $100M fraud claim in US court | false | https://abqjournal.com/880891/lance-armstrongs-latest-race-outrunning-a-100m-fraud-claim-in-us-court.html | 2016-11-02 | 2least
| Lance Armstrong’s latest race: Outrunning a $100M fraud claim in US court
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<p />
<p>The Texan who rode to worldwide glory in seven Tour de France wins, mostly sporting U.S. Postal Service logos, is trying to stop the government from collecting $100 million in damages it says he owes taxpayers for lost promotional value after he admitted to doping.</p>
<p>Armstrong argues that the Postal Service got more than its money’s worth as his sponsor from 2000 to 2004 and was at court as his four attorneys pressed the point, sunglasses folded on the table in front of him, jotting notes and leafing through case exhibits.</p>
<p>The long-running and complicated federal fraud suit involving Armstrong dates to 2000 and has gone through more twists and turns than the Alpine climbs and switchbacks that once established his reputation.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>But the point of Wednesday’s two-hour hearing was simple, as the team shielding Armstrong, 45, tried to have most of the lawsuit tossed.</p>
<p>Whatever Armstrong’s moral failings, his attorneys insisted, the government has not shown that those flaws offset tens of millions of dollars in media exposure, new market share and customer revenue that the Postal Service gained by backing him.</p>
<p>The high stakes in play was evident at the courtroom door where the schedule for the case listed 20 lawyers for the various sides present, including Joyce Branda, the deputy assistant attorney general in charge of the commercial litigation branch.</p>
<p>Armstrong conceded in 2013 that he had used performance enhancing drugs despite years of strenuous denials in the face of persistent rumors. He was stripped by cycling authorities of the seven Tour de France championships he had won from 1999 through 2005.</p>
<p>The government has asked for triple damages for its $32.3 million sponsorship of Armstrong’s U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team. The government entered the legal fray when it joined a 2010 whistleblower lawsuit brought by Armstrong’s former teammate Floyd Landis.</p>
<p>“Bottom line: USPS got more than it paid for and is not a victim of fraud,” lead defense lawyer Elliot Peters argued in court, quoting a 2012 email sent by a Postal Service advertising executive to William Henderson, the U.S. postmaster general from 1998 to 2001.</p>
<p>Peters said a Postal Service presentation drafted in November 2003 estimated that the service reaped $109 million in media exposure and $4 million to $6 million in other benefits from its support of Armstrong through what was then Tailwind Sports.</p>
<p>U.S. District Judge Christopher “Casey” Cooper of Washington pushed the issue, asking lawyers for the Justice Department and for Landis “is there any evidence from which a juror can infer the Postal Service lost revenue as a result?” he said. Or were lawyers who want the suit to move forward counting on appealing to potential jurors’ “common sense,” Cooper continued dryly.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The Postal Service had not done a study of the financial hit or other impacts after Armstrong said he cheated, said David Finkelstein, a lawyer in the Justice Department’s civil fraud section.</p>
<p>But Finkelstein noted that plenty of people had read about the damaging news.</p>
<p>Finkelstein cited 1.5 billion views of negative media reports and 154 billion social media impressions of Armstrong’s admissions, along with testimony by two experts that the sponsorship has been rendered valueless.</p>
<p>He also called attention to the swift dumping of Armstrong by other sponsors in 2012 after they determined his endorsement had no “commercial value.”</p>
<p>Landis did not attend the hearing, but his lead lawyer, Paul Scott of San Francisco, urged the court to view Armstrong’s conduct through the broader lens of the “moral taint” cast by his years-long deception of doping authorities and the public, and his role as what Landis asserts was chief conspirator and enforcer of a massive fraud that enriched Armstrong and his sports ventures and turned him into a celebrity.</p>
<p>“This was the greatest doping conspiracy in the history of sport. It included lies, intimidation and the use of illegal drugs,” Scott argued.</p>
<p>Armstrong benefited from taxpayer backing, Scott said, likening the onetime global star to a government contractor who uses child labor to produce uniforms for the U.S. military, or a contractor who shares sensitive technology with a banned country.</p>
<p>Not punishing Armstrong’s operations would “reward them for concealing fraud,” Scott said, sending the message that “if you keep it quiet for long enough, then you don’t have to pay it back. That is not good public policy.”</p>
<p>U.S. prosecutors pursued criminal doping allegations against Armstrong from 2010 until dropping the investigation case in February 2012. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that October accusing Armstrong of leading “the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen” and banned him from the sport.</p>
<p>Armstrong declined to comment outside the courthouse after the hearing, including about why he attended a proceeding where his presence was not required.</p>
<p>Cooper did not say when he would rule on several motions by both sides that would narrow the case.</p>
<p>However, if Cooper allows the case to proceed but agrees with Armstrong’s lawyers’ request to dismiss the government’s demand for triple damages, it could cut potential penalties from $100 million to civil fines of less than $500,000.</p>
<p>A trial is not expected until next year at the earliest.</p>
<p>armstrong</p> | 1,390 |
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<p />
<p>Remember when the most notable thing about the Hiland Theater was its status as a dumpy, energy- and money-sucking drain on Bernalillo County taxpayers?</p>
<p>No more. The National Dance Institute has revamped much of the space — and revamped education in the metro area along with it. Tonight more than 500 elementary students from Adobe Acres, Comanche, Eubank, Montezuma and Navajo elementaries will put that transformation to music on stage as part of NDI’s fundraising gala.</p>
<p>Navajo’s principal, Tracy Herrera, says the school has “been involved with the program for about 16 years. It’s outstanding. It really does teach excellence to children, discipline and working hard. And it ends each year with a wonderful performance.”</p>
<p>Russell Baker, the executive director of NDI New Mexico, says excellence transcends performance and gets students to focus on working hard, doing their best, never giving up and being healthy in body, mind and spirit.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Students now have a space worthy of their efforts — as part of its 30-year lease deal with Bernalillo County, NDI has raised more than $10.5 million toward its $13 million capital campaign goal from private donors and county, state and federal government. The group has remodeled the Hiland’s 600-seat theater and lobby and built five dance studios and temporary office space. Additional work will convert the west side and second floor with permanent administrative and artistic offices, technical and support space, additional dance studios and storage.</p>
<p>But tonight it’s about paying tribute to the Hiland’s history as a movie theater. And to local elementary students ability to bring songs from “Grease,” “Oklahoma!” and “The Jungle Book,” among others, to life. And especially to the real lesson being taught at the Hiland: developing young people’s life skills along with their talent.</p>
<p>This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.</p> | Editorial: NDI Re-Connecting Hiland to Community | false | https://abqjournal.com/107653/ndi-reconnecting-hiland-to-community.html | 2012-05-19 | 2least
| Editorial: NDI Re-Connecting Hiland to Community
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Remember when the most notable thing about the Hiland Theater was its status as a dumpy, energy- and money-sucking drain on Bernalillo County taxpayers?</p>
<p>No more. The National Dance Institute has revamped much of the space — and revamped education in the metro area along with it. Tonight more than 500 elementary students from Adobe Acres, Comanche, Eubank, Montezuma and Navajo elementaries will put that transformation to music on stage as part of NDI’s fundraising gala.</p>
<p>Navajo’s principal, Tracy Herrera, says the school has “been involved with the program for about 16 years. It’s outstanding. It really does teach excellence to children, discipline and working hard. And it ends each year with a wonderful performance.”</p>
<p>Russell Baker, the executive director of NDI New Mexico, says excellence transcends performance and gets students to focus on working hard, doing their best, never giving up and being healthy in body, mind and spirit.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Students now have a space worthy of their efforts — as part of its 30-year lease deal with Bernalillo County, NDI has raised more than $10.5 million toward its $13 million capital campaign goal from private donors and county, state and federal government. The group has remodeled the Hiland’s 600-seat theater and lobby and built five dance studios and temporary office space. Additional work will convert the west side and second floor with permanent administrative and artistic offices, technical and support space, additional dance studios and storage.</p>
<p>But tonight it’s about paying tribute to the Hiland’s history as a movie theater. And to local elementary students ability to bring songs from “Grease,” “Oklahoma!” and “The Jungle Book,” among others, to life. And especially to the real lesson being taught at the Hiland: developing young people’s life skills along with their talent.</p>
<p>This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.</p> | 1,391 |
<p>“There’s been three or four reports from passengers that Israelis then went out with their credit cards and bought beer with it.” That’s what Greta Berlin of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla told me about what happened with the possessions of people who were on the seven boats of the Flotilla.</p>
<p>The deaths so far have been given major attention (nine at the moment and two so badly injured that they’re unlikely to live). The 40 or 50 wounded or beaten (many in Israeli jails) less so. For those who appreciated last week’s CounterPunch piece by the amazing Kenneth Nichols O’Keefe they should see <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeUhwELoKWo&amp;feature=player_embedded" type="external">his interview</a> when bloodied and beaten as he was let out of Israeli custody.</p>
<p>However, the facts about what the Israelis did with the personal possessions of the passengers have received scant notice. This can be summed up in a few words: theft, malicious destruction and seizure.</p>
<p>First there’s good news, the supplies. It’s reported that the U.N. will transport ” the entire cargo” of the Turkish ships to Gaza. Hopefully the same will happen with the supplies from the non-Turkish ships. It’s a bitter triumph for the Free Gaza Movement and a sign that despite the thousands organized by the Israeli soccer club Betar to spew hatred in front of the Turkish Embassy in Israel and the opinion polls there showing overwhelming support for the raid, Netanyahu is rational enough to see he has to make a concession.</p>
<p>What about the personal property, cameras, computers, Iphones, and luggage? According to Greta Berlin some of the electronics were returned, all smashed up. Others were not given back at all. The Israelis selectively used snippets of passenger video to advance their case that the poor Israelis rappelling from the skies were set upon by well armed terrorists. The rest of the videotape and flash memory cards are kept back, no doubt for THE INVESTIGATION or perhaps they were pre-emptively “lost”.</p>
<p>Berlin said she received a report from a lawyer working for a Turkish organization that over $3.5 million dollars in equipment had been destroyed. Clothing, personal items. If a passenger wants to see if their luggage was returned they can go to a Turkish warehouse and pick though the suitcases packed with random clothing and gear and see what they can recover.</p>
<p>They flat out stole money and credit cards. Not a dime has been returned of the cash and as has been mentioned some security officials are merrily tippling their Lowenbraus and laughing at their unwitting benefactors.</p>
<p>Many of the passports have not been returned, especially those from Palestinian Israelis. Now, whatever could they do with passports? What Mossad bunker have they been shipped to be examined and refashioned for use in the next assassination?</p>
<p>Then there are the ships, big expensive ships this time, not the little boats of the first few voyages. They sit in Ashdod harbor. Supposedly they were to be returned to Turkey within ten days. The Free Gaza Movement is afraid the Israelis will demand they first sign a pledge never to use them again to bring things to Gaza. They won’t sign any such pledge of shame. They will be going back. Right now the ships sit in the port along a Free Gaza ship the Israeli navy stole last year.</p>
<p>Stealing is not such a big thing. Look at the olive trees that now dot the settlements, fine decorations. It used to be that the Israeli pioneers would plant fir trees of Europe “to make the desert bloom”. But with all the olive trees available, with the hundreds of thousands being bulldozed out as they army builds the Wall and whatnot, why just waste them, why not put them to good use. So the fashion is established.</p>
<p>Why doesn’t Netanyahu get it over with? Remove the Star of David and blue bars from the Israeli flag and hoist up the Jolly Roger.</p>
<p>Piracy pays.</p>
<p>The fly in the ointment is the fact that the Flotilla Massacre survivors are speaking out. Or they’re trying to. Several of the survivors are attempting to speak at the U.N. and at events in the U.S. However, a group of powerful NYC politicians are demanding the U.S. State Department keep them out. No, it’s not neo-cons slandering the survivors as having “ties” with terrorists. It’s what passes for New York liberals.</p>
<p>The New York Daily News says Representative Carolyn Maloney has pledged to deliver a petition with more than 23,000 signatures demanding the State Department do visa checks of Mavi Marmara ship passengers planning a speaking tour. The Congresswoman says she’s defending the country from “Hamas”. At the press conference Congressman Jerome Nadler made the claim that the IHH which organized the Turkish ships “has long been known for its ties to Hamas and al-Qaeda”.</p>
<p>The paper quotes Harlem Congressman Charlie Rangel as saying, “Use extra caution. Take this threat seriously.” What threat, the threat that survivors might rip through the steady stream of Israeli propaganda? What irony. We have the Congressman from Harlem defending the outrageous lies of a country headed by a President (Shimon Peres) who in the heyday of apartheid offered to sell nuclear weapons to South Africa. This foremost Black Congressman pledges on his website “unwavering support” to a country where racism (against Palestinians) is open and pervasive.</p>
<p>Malcolm and Martin must be spinning in their graves.</p>
<p>STANLEY HELLER is host of the news magazine “The Struggle” which can be seen at <a href="http://www.TheStruggle.org" type="external">www.TheStruggle.org</a> He can be reached at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p><a href="http://greentags.bigcartel.com/" type="external">WORDS THAT STICK</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
<p /> | Grand Theft Flotilla | true | https://counterpunch.org/2010/06/18/grand-theft-flotilla/ | 2010-06-18 | 4left
| Grand Theft Flotilla
<p>“There’s been three or four reports from passengers that Israelis then went out with their credit cards and bought beer with it.” That’s what Greta Berlin of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla told me about what happened with the possessions of people who were on the seven boats of the Flotilla.</p>
<p>The deaths so far have been given major attention (nine at the moment and two so badly injured that they’re unlikely to live). The 40 or 50 wounded or beaten (many in Israeli jails) less so. For those who appreciated last week’s CounterPunch piece by the amazing Kenneth Nichols O’Keefe they should see <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeUhwELoKWo&amp;feature=player_embedded" type="external">his interview</a> when bloodied and beaten as he was let out of Israeli custody.</p>
<p>However, the facts about what the Israelis did with the personal possessions of the passengers have received scant notice. This can be summed up in a few words: theft, malicious destruction and seizure.</p>
<p>First there’s good news, the supplies. It’s reported that the U.N. will transport ” the entire cargo” of the Turkish ships to Gaza. Hopefully the same will happen with the supplies from the non-Turkish ships. It’s a bitter triumph for the Free Gaza Movement and a sign that despite the thousands organized by the Israeli soccer club Betar to spew hatred in front of the Turkish Embassy in Israel and the opinion polls there showing overwhelming support for the raid, Netanyahu is rational enough to see he has to make a concession.</p>
<p>What about the personal property, cameras, computers, Iphones, and luggage? According to Greta Berlin some of the electronics were returned, all smashed up. Others were not given back at all. The Israelis selectively used snippets of passenger video to advance their case that the poor Israelis rappelling from the skies were set upon by well armed terrorists. The rest of the videotape and flash memory cards are kept back, no doubt for THE INVESTIGATION or perhaps they were pre-emptively “lost”.</p>
<p>Berlin said she received a report from a lawyer working for a Turkish organization that over $3.5 million dollars in equipment had been destroyed. Clothing, personal items. If a passenger wants to see if their luggage was returned they can go to a Turkish warehouse and pick though the suitcases packed with random clothing and gear and see what they can recover.</p>
<p>They flat out stole money and credit cards. Not a dime has been returned of the cash and as has been mentioned some security officials are merrily tippling their Lowenbraus and laughing at their unwitting benefactors.</p>
<p>Many of the passports have not been returned, especially those from Palestinian Israelis. Now, whatever could they do with passports? What Mossad bunker have they been shipped to be examined and refashioned for use in the next assassination?</p>
<p>Then there are the ships, big expensive ships this time, not the little boats of the first few voyages. They sit in Ashdod harbor. Supposedly they were to be returned to Turkey within ten days. The Free Gaza Movement is afraid the Israelis will demand they first sign a pledge never to use them again to bring things to Gaza. They won’t sign any such pledge of shame. They will be going back. Right now the ships sit in the port along a Free Gaza ship the Israeli navy stole last year.</p>
<p>Stealing is not such a big thing. Look at the olive trees that now dot the settlements, fine decorations. It used to be that the Israeli pioneers would plant fir trees of Europe “to make the desert bloom”. But with all the olive trees available, with the hundreds of thousands being bulldozed out as they army builds the Wall and whatnot, why just waste them, why not put them to good use. So the fashion is established.</p>
<p>Why doesn’t Netanyahu get it over with? Remove the Star of David and blue bars from the Israeli flag and hoist up the Jolly Roger.</p>
<p>Piracy pays.</p>
<p>The fly in the ointment is the fact that the Flotilla Massacre survivors are speaking out. Or they’re trying to. Several of the survivors are attempting to speak at the U.N. and at events in the U.S. However, a group of powerful NYC politicians are demanding the U.S. State Department keep them out. No, it’s not neo-cons slandering the survivors as having “ties” with terrorists. It’s what passes for New York liberals.</p>
<p>The New York Daily News says Representative Carolyn Maloney has pledged to deliver a petition with more than 23,000 signatures demanding the State Department do visa checks of Mavi Marmara ship passengers planning a speaking tour. The Congresswoman says she’s defending the country from “Hamas”. At the press conference Congressman Jerome Nadler made the claim that the IHH which organized the Turkish ships “has long been known for its ties to Hamas and al-Qaeda”.</p>
<p>The paper quotes Harlem Congressman Charlie Rangel as saying, “Use extra caution. Take this threat seriously.” What threat, the threat that survivors might rip through the steady stream of Israeli propaganda? What irony. We have the Congressman from Harlem defending the outrageous lies of a country headed by a President (Shimon Peres) who in the heyday of apartheid offered to sell nuclear weapons to South Africa. This foremost Black Congressman pledges on his website “unwavering support” to a country where racism (against Palestinians) is open and pervasive.</p>
<p>Malcolm and Martin must be spinning in their graves.</p>
<p>STANLEY HELLER is host of the news magazine “The Struggle” which can be seen at <a href="http://www.TheStruggle.org" type="external">www.TheStruggle.org</a> He can be reached at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p><a href="http://greentags.bigcartel.com/" type="external">WORDS THAT STICK</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
<p /> | 1,392 |
<p>BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) - A federal judge has dismissed a Pennsylvania lawsuit against the peeps who make marshmallow Peeps.</p>
<p>The Morning Call newspaper <a href="http://www.mcall.com/business/mc-just-born-lawsuit-dismissed-20180102-story.html" type="external">reports</a> U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Schmehl ruled last week the Just Born Quality Confections company in Bethlehem failed to prove about 400 union employees violated a no-strike clause when they walked off the job Sept. 7, 2016.</p>
<p>The company also makes Mike and Ike candies and had said the strike was timed to hurt production of Peeps, which are typically made in the fall for the following Easter sales.</p>
<p>Most employees returned to work in October 2016, but no new contract has been reached.</p>
<p>The president of the Local 6 union says "it was a frivolous lawsuit from the beginning."</p>
<p>Just Born had sought unspecified monetary damages. Spokesman Matt Pye says the company will appeal.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Morning Call, <a href="http://www.mcall.com" type="external">http://www.mcall.com</a></p>
<p>BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) - A federal judge has dismissed a Pennsylvania lawsuit against the peeps who make marshmallow Peeps.</p>
<p>The Morning Call newspaper <a href="http://www.mcall.com/business/mc-just-born-lawsuit-dismissed-20180102-story.html" type="external">reports</a> U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Schmehl ruled last week the Just Born Quality Confections company in Bethlehem failed to prove about 400 union employees violated a no-strike clause when they walked off the job Sept. 7, 2016.</p>
<p>The company also makes Mike and Ike candies and had said the strike was timed to hurt production of Peeps, which are typically made in the fall for the following Easter sales.</p>
<p>Most employees returned to work in October 2016, but no new contract has been reached.</p>
<p>The president of the Local 6 union says "it was a frivolous lawsuit from the beginning."</p>
<p>Just Born had sought unspecified monetary damages. Spokesman Matt Pye says the company will appeal.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Morning Call, <a href="http://www.mcall.com" type="external">http://www.mcall.com</a></p> | Judge dismisses lawsuit over Peeps candy workers' strike | false | https://apnews.com/amp/d91bc87deb6548a986008dc0ca5d6824 | 2018-01-03 | 2least
| Judge dismisses lawsuit over Peeps candy workers' strike
<p>BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) - A federal judge has dismissed a Pennsylvania lawsuit against the peeps who make marshmallow Peeps.</p>
<p>The Morning Call newspaper <a href="http://www.mcall.com/business/mc-just-born-lawsuit-dismissed-20180102-story.html" type="external">reports</a> U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Schmehl ruled last week the Just Born Quality Confections company in Bethlehem failed to prove about 400 union employees violated a no-strike clause when they walked off the job Sept. 7, 2016.</p>
<p>The company also makes Mike and Ike candies and had said the strike was timed to hurt production of Peeps, which are typically made in the fall for the following Easter sales.</p>
<p>Most employees returned to work in October 2016, but no new contract has been reached.</p>
<p>The president of the Local 6 union says "it was a frivolous lawsuit from the beginning."</p>
<p>Just Born had sought unspecified monetary damages. Spokesman Matt Pye says the company will appeal.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Morning Call, <a href="http://www.mcall.com" type="external">http://www.mcall.com</a></p>
<p>BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) - A federal judge has dismissed a Pennsylvania lawsuit against the peeps who make marshmallow Peeps.</p>
<p>The Morning Call newspaper <a href="http://www.mcall.com/business/mc-just-born-lawsuit-dismissed-20180102-story.html" type="external">reports</a> U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Schmehl ruled last week the Just Born Quality Confections company in Bethlehem failed to prove about 400 union employees violated a no-strike clause when they walked off the job Sept. 7, 2016.</p>
<p>The company also makes Mike and Ike candies and had said the strike was timed to hurt production of Peeps, which are typically made in the fall for the following Easter sales.</p>
<p>Most employees returned to work in October 2016, but no new contract has been reached.</p>
<p>The president of the Local 6 union says "it was a frivolous lawsuit from the beginning."</p>
<p>Just Born had sought unspecified monetary damages. Spokesman Matt Pye says the company will appeal.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Morning Call, <a href="http://www.mcall.com" type="external">http://www.mcall.com</a></p> | 1,393 |
<p>MADRID (AP) — Iran's foreign minister called Tuesday for a peace plan for war-torn Yemen that includes humanitarian aid, dialogue and the formation of a broad-based Yemeni government after a proposed cease-fire already rejected by Saudi Arabia.</p>
<p>Saudi Arabia has been carrying out airstrikes in Yemen against the Houthi rebels who control the capital, Sanaa.</p>
<p>Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said no preconditions as to who would run Yemen can be imposed before dialogue begins with the country's different factions, because doing so "will prolong the disaster."</p>
<p>During a visit to Madrid, Zarif did not address Saudi claims that Tehran has been giving the Houthis military support.</p>
<p>Zarif also reiterated Iran's position that sanctions against his country must be removed when a final deal is reached on its nuclear program.</p>
<p>Iran and six powers, including the United States, reached a framework agreement earlier this month to curb Tehran's nuclear activities.</p>
<p>Zarif said a first post-framework meeting on the deal would be held next Tuesday, when experts would meet "to look at the text and start drafting." He did not specify a venue.</p>
<p>American and European officials said Monday that a meeting was likely next week without naming a day or city.</p>
<p>Zarif sought to scotch concerns expressed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Iran still intends to develop a nuclear weapon.</p>
<p>Netanyahu has harshly criticized the framework deal, saying it would give Iran relief from sanctions while leaving its nuclear program largely intact.</p>
<p>"If (Netanyahu) believes that our nuclear program is an existential threat then he should heave a sigh of relief that everyone is watching this program," Zarif said.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Barry Hatton in Lisbon contributed to this report.</p>
<p>MADRID (AP) — Iran's foreign minister called Tuesday for a peace plan for war-torn Yemen that includes humanitarian aid, dialogue and the formation of a broad-based Yemeni government after a proposed cease-fire already rejected by Saudi Arabia.</p>
<p>Saudi Arabia has been carrying out airstrikes in Yemen against the Houthi rebels who control the capital, Sanaa.</p>
<p>Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said no preconditions as to who would run Yemen can be imposed before dialogue begins with the country's different factions, because doing so "will prolong the disaster."</p>
<p>During a visit to Madrid, Zarif did not address Saudi claims that Tehran has been giving the Houthis military support.</p>
<p>Zarif also reiterated Iran's position that sanctions against his country must be removed when a final deal is reached on its nuclear program.</p>
<p>Iran and six powers, including the United States, reached a framework agreement earlier this month to curb Tehran's nuclear activities.</p>
<p>Zarif said a first post-framework meeting on the deal would be held next Tuesday, when experts would meet "to look at the text and start drafting." He did not specify a venue.</p>
<p>American and European officials said Monday that a meeting was likely next week without naming a day or city.</p>
<p>Zarif sought to scotch concerns expressed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Iran still intends to develop a nuclear weapon.</p>
<p>Netanyahu has harshly criticized the framework deal, saying it would give Iran relief from sanctions while leaving its nuclear program largely intact.</p>
<p>"If (Netanyahu) believes that our nuclear program is an existential threat then he should heave a sigh of relief that everyone is watching this program," Zarif said.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Barry Hatton in Lisbon contributed to this report.</p> | Iran minister defines Yemen peace plan details | false | https://apnews.com/amp/4cd5c9913606427eaf56250e92a62d17 | 2015-04-14 | 2least
| Iran minister defines Yemen peace plan details
<p>MADRID (AP) — Iran's foreign minister called Tuesday for a peace plan for war-torn Yemen that includes humanitarian aid, dialogue and the formation of a broad-based Yemeni government after a proposed cease-fire already rejected by Saudi Arabia.</p>
<p>Saudi Arabia has been carrying out airstrikes in Yemen against the Houthi rebels who control the capital, Sanaa.</p>
<p>Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said no preconditions as to who would run Yemen can be imposed before dialogue begins with the country's different factions, because doing so "will prolong the disaster."</p>
<p>During a visit to Madrid, Zarif did not address Saudi claims that Tehran has been giving the Houthis military support.</p>
<p>Zarif also reiterated Iran's position that sanctions against his country must be removed when a final deal is reached on its nuclear program.</p>
<p>Iran and six powers, including the United States, reached a framework agreement earlier this month to curb Tehran's nuclear activities.</p>
<p>Zarif said a first post-framework meeting on the deal would be held next Tuesday, when experts would meet "to look at the text and start drafting." He did not specify a venue.</p>
<p>American and European officials said Monday that a meeting was likely next week without naming a day or city.</p>
<p>Zarif sought to scotch concerns expressed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Iran still intends to develop a nuclear weapon.</p>
<p>Netanyahu has harshly criticized the framework deal, saying it would give Iran relief from sanctions while leaving its nuclear program largely intact.</p>
<p>"If (Netanyahu) believes that our nuclear program is an existential threat then he should heave a sigh of relief that everyone is watching this program," Zarif said.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Barry Hatton in Lisbon contributed to this report.</p>
<p>MADRID (AP) — Iran's foreign minister called Tuesday for a peace plan for war-torn Yemen that includes humanitarian aid, dialogue and the formation of a broad-based Yemeni government after a proposed cease-fire already rejected by Saudi Arabia.</p>
<p>Saudi Arabia has been carrying out airstrikes in Yemen against the Houthi rebels who control the capital, Sanaa.</p>
<p>Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said no preconditions as to who would run Yemen can be imposed before dialogue begins with the country's different factions, because doing so "will prolong the disaster."</p>
<p>During a visit to Madrid, Zarif did not address Saudi claims that Tehran has been giving the Houthis military support.</p>
<p>Zarif also reiterated Iran's position that sanctions against his country must be removed when a final deal is reached on its nuclear program.</p>
<p>Iran and six powers, including the United States, reached a framework agreement earlier this month to curb Tehran's nuclear activities.</p>
<p>Zarif said a first post-framework meeting on the deal would be held next Tuesday, when experts would meet "to look at the text and start drafting." He did not specify a venue.</p>
<p>American and European officials said Monday that a meeting was likely next week without naming a day or city.</p>
<p>Zarif sought to scotch concerns expressed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Iran still intends to develop a nuclear weapon.</p>
<p>Netanyahu has harshly criticized the framework deal, saying it would give Iran relief from sanctions while leaving its nuclear program largely intact.</p>
<p>"If (Netanyahu) believes that our nuclear program is an existential threat then he should heave a sigh of relief that everyone is watching this program," Zarif said.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Barry Hatton in Lisbon contributed to this report.</p> | 1,394 |
<p>In this episode of <a href="https://www.fool.com/podcasts/answers/?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=44ed222a-7299-11e7-8f62-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Motley Fool Answers</a>, Alison Southwick and Robert Brokamp are joined by senior Motley Fool analyst Simon Erickson to talk about the disruptive trends of artificial intelligence, robotics, and automation. Recent studies conclude that huge numbers of U.S. workers will see their jobs -- or parts of them -- delegated to machines in the next few decades. That will mean great things for efficiency and possibly even society, but how can an individual prepare for the rise of the robots? What jobs are safe? And where should a Foolish investor put his or her money to capitalize on this revolutionary redistribution of work.</p>
<p>A full transcript follows the video.</p>
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<p>Alison Southwick: This is Motley Fool Answers. I'm Alison Southwick, and I'm joined, as always, by Robert Brokamp, personal-finance expert here at The Motley Fool.</p>
<p>Robert Brokamp: Greetings, Alison.</p>
<p>Southwick: Hello! In this week's episode we're going to enlist the help of Motley Fool senior analyst Simon Erickson to help us understand the disruptive trend of automation and AI. Self-driving cars, drones, Alexa! What will it mean for your job and your portfolio? We'll also answer your question about investing in an artificial-intelligence ETF. All that and more, on this week's episode of Motley Fool Answers.</p>
<p>It's time for "Answers Answers," and today's question comes from John. John writes, "I've been looking at artificial-intelligence ETFs and/or mutual funds. I see this is an industry that is only beginning to show its potential and will carry into the future with high rewards. Are there any recommendations on such funds that I should look into, and what should I look at when comparing funds? Thank you. A big fan of your podcast. John."</p>
<p>And joining us to help answer that question is Simon Erickson.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Hi, Simon!</p>
<p>Simon Erickson: Hello, Alison. Hey, Bro. Glad to be here. I feel like I'm in a roomful of celebrities. Thanks for having me on the program.</p>
<p>Southwick: It's great to have you.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Oh, stop, you.</p>
<p>Southwick: Simon, you work on Motley Fool Explorer for Supernova and you are a big, I don't know, techie, nerdy, AI, robotics-following kind of guy.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Are you human?</p>
<p>Erickson: I like the techie part of that the most.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Are you human? That's what I want to know.</p>
<p>Erickson: Yeah, we're looking for the biggest trends that the market's going after for the future.</p>
<p>Southwick: So we brought you in not only to answer this question, but also for our main segment here. But for now let's stick to the question. John wants to find an AI ETF or mutual fund. Where should he look?</p>
<p>Erickson: One that we would recommend is Robo Global. The ticker for that is ROBO, John. It's an ETF that actually does exactly what you're describing. It's tracking a variety of robotics and automation-equipment companies, which we think is a pretty interesting class right now. There's a lot of stuff going on with robotics, and there's a lot of companies making a lot of money off that. That would be one opportunity, I think.</p>
<p>Southwick: This is a pretty nascent sort of industry. Is this the only game in town, or are there other ones to look at?</p>
<p>Erickson: There's a lot of individual stocks, too. When we're talking about ETFs, that's one idea. Of course, we've got a lot of companies we can discuss. Individual equities that are really more focused on robotics and stuff like that.</p>
<p>Brokamp: I'll just throw in a few basic principles about picking funds in general. Cost always matters, and whenever you have a specialized fund or ETF, it's always going to be a higher-cost type of thing, so be prepared for that.</p>
<p>Also, a lot of these things -- depending on the sector that you're looking at -- I would look at the concentration, meaning how many companies does it own and how much of the fund is invested in the top 10 holdings? Some of these are going to be more diversified than others. Especially when you have an emerging industry like this, it could be really riding on the fates of like three to five companies, and that I would say is probably less ideal than something that's a little more diversified.</p>
<p>Erickson: Good point. Eighty-five holdings in this one. Management fee of 0.95%. Bro, you're the expert on analyzing the funds, but at an overview it looks like it's in the right sector for sure.</p>
<p>Brokamp: And it's certainly higher than if you were looking at a regular old index fund. You just have to be prepared for that when you look at a fund like this.</p>
<p>Southwick: Hey, here's a fun stat.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Yes, what's that stat?</p>
<p>Southwick: You're going to find this stat terrifying; however, I find it intriguing and Simon's going to find it ... I don't know.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Stimulating.</p>
<p>Southwick: Stimulating. So, according to PwC, 40% of jobs in the U.S. may be vulnerable to replacement by robots in the next 15 years.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Just 15 years?</p>
<p>Southwick: Just. See, you've got 15 years before you're out of a job, Robert Brokamp. I'm going to get a robot to sit in that chair and say, "Buy an index fund!"</p>
<p>Erickson: The Brobot.</p>
<p>Brokamp: A Brobot! There you go.</p>
<p>Southwick:&#160;"Buy and hold!"</p>
<p>Brokamp: Both you and my wife will buy one.</p>
<p>Southwick:&#160;"Pay attention to fees!" This show's going to be amazing.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Is that how I sound? Thank you very much.</p>
<p>Southwick: No, that's how the Brobot will sound. So apparently the U.S., more than other countries, is at risk of losing jobs to automation. Thirty percent of jobs in the United Kingdom, compared to 35% in Germany and, surprisingly, 21% in Japan -- my theory is it's because they've already replaced so many people with robots. They love their robots over there.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Yes, that's true.</p>
<p>Southwick: Joining us to help unpack what could be a terrifying stat is Simon Erickson. You heard him on "Answers Answers" just now. "As heard on 'Answers Answers.'"&#160;He's stuck around to help us unpack the potentially very disruptive industry of AI, automation, and robotics. So Simon, thank you for joining us.</p>
<p>Erickson: Glad to be, here. Thanks for having me, Alison.</p>
<p>Southwick: All right, Bro. You're going to kick off our discussion.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Well, I'm not an expert on this, but I read articles about it here and there, and as you folks know, and long-term listeners know, I'm kind of an awfulizer. I'm always scanning the universe for what's going to be the worst-case scenario and what's going to ruin my life.</p>
<p>So when I see these headlines about robots taking over everything, and headlines about Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking saying that AI is going to destroy humankind, it catches my attention. So while I'm not an expert, I have read things here and there, and then I know Simon covers it, so I thought, "Let's invite him and see if he can make me feel at least a little better."</p>
<p>Erickson: Less awful.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Less awful, yes.</p>
<p>Erickson: Got it. OK.</p>
<p>Southwick: Let's go.</p>
<p>Brokamp: There's two components here, really. First of all, is your job safe, and second of all, what about your portfolio? Is it safe, and how can you profit from this if this really is an emerging trend? So let's start with jobs. Alison presented some stats. I've read similar stats from other folks as well. Some of them have broken up not into specific jobs but different job types, like the skills that you do: physical skills, information gathering, information processing, being empathetic, and things like that.</p>
<p>For example, one study said that about 45% of tasks today could be automated. Even 20% to 30% of a CEO's job could be automated if we wanted to do that. What do you think?</p>
<p>Erickson: The way that I think about that -- I looked at the same study, too. McKinsey did a pretty thorough study on this. It said all these jobs are at risk, but I think the way to frame this is you're not replacing human beings. You're replacing the work that people are doing today.</p>
<p>And robots, for a lot of that work, can be more efficient and a lower cost for companies. Companies will make financial decisions based on return on investment, and I think that a lot of that work like you described, Bro, especially physical labor. Anything that might be data collection and processing. Stuff like that could be more efficiently done by robots, which frees people up to do other things.</p>
<p>Some of the tasks that we saw that really are the least susceptible to having robots disrupt include managing others, or having expertise in certain fields, just like we've seen things over time. We saw that the plow replaced a lot of physical farming hours. The internet replaced librarian hours. And in the coming years, maybe we're going to see self-driving cars replace a lot of taxi driver hours.</p>
<p>For society as a whole, these are pretty big gains that are letting us do other things with that time, but it is replacing jobs that are shifting to other things now. That's the way that I frame it.</p>
<p>Brokamp: And that's the challenge. Can these people who are doing these jobs go find other jobs? One of the reports that I read from Morningstar&#160;pointed out that first of all -- this is something we all heard -- that the wage of the middle-income household or worker hasn't really grown. Part of that is because the classic middle-income factory worker for a lot of the last century was someone who is doing one of these jobs that has now since been replaced by robots.</p>
<p>And while some of these jobs that will be eliminated, people will be able to find other jobs, will they be able to make the same amount of income? Or will there be so many jobs that the income inequality will be even greater? What does that look like? Who's going to profit from this change? Will it be people who own capital? Who own stocks? Those are some of the concerns people have.</p>
<p>Erickson: The first robots we used were just replacing physical labor. Machines could pick up things that were heavier, which people couldn't lift with their arms. Then over time, computers got better at processing and remembering things -- as my wife likes to remind me that I always forget at the grocery store -- and now the next phase is going to be robots processing and programming each other. So they're actually training other robots to do things.</p>
<p>And it's scary, because we don't know what that's going to look like, but there will be opportunities that we didn't have before that will happen with this as well.</p>
<p>Brokamp: And it's not just going to be sort of lower-wage jobs, right? You think 30 years ago what was considered a pretty good white-collar job was preparing taxes. Then came TurboTax. Travel agents -- no longer need them. Now they have computers that can look at X-rays and by some studies they actually do a better job than humans do. There are now some computers that not only assist with surgery -- which we've had for years now -- but can actually do the surgery.</p>
<p>So that's part of my concern. As someone who's a father with kids, where do I tell my kids to look to the future in terms of their professions and their human capital?</p>
<p>Southwick:&#160;Yeah, I was reading an article in The Economist about this. The quote that stood out was, "What determines vulnerability to automation is not so much whether the work concerned is manual or white collar, but whether or not it is routine."</p>
<p>Erickson: And cost per labor hour. What percentage of a company's costs are related to labor? Does it make sense for them to invest in a robot?&#160;Universal Robots is now saying that their $40,000 robots have a payback period of 200 days. That's quick for a capital investment decision. You're going to see more and more of that here in the states. You're already seeing Tesla&#160;automate basically all of its car manufacturing, and China, too. There's an arms race, almost, in buying robots across the world right now. China's just got such capacity that they want these, and there's a huge demand for them.</p>
<p>Southwick: To Bro's point -- as if your kids are going to take your advice anyway on what they should be when they grow up -- where do you see safety as far as future employment? What is safe from automation? Aside from being charming podcast hosts?</p>
<p>Erickson: It's going to be a tool for people to make decisions. AI -- anything that's able to find more data more quickly for you to make decisions. We're still going to have managers. Robots aren't going to be in the boardroom or making decisions for companies. You're still going to need people, human beings, to do that stuff. This is just a tool to make management more effective.</p>
<p>Brokamp:&#160;Yeah. The research I've done indicates that the more your job relies on human interaction, empathy, persuasion, the safer you're going to be. So that is management, but it's also healthcare workers who are actually dealing with the patients. Education, surprisingly, has come up frequently as a safe job. That surprised me at first, because I thought kids could sit at a computer and learn. But as a former teacher, I also know that it takes a lot of human interaction, skills, and analysis to say, "This kid is learning. Isn't learning. What can we do for them?"</p>
<p>And then the other things that seem to be safer, at least at this point, are anything that relies on some sort of creativity. At this point they've gotten computers to design some things. They've gotten computers to write articles, even, but it's not at the same quality as a human.</p>
<p>Erickson:&#160;Yeah. And Alison, the expert comment, too. There's still going to be experts in every field. One of them is going to be the medical field. You're now seeing robotic surgery going into the operating room, which is helping to have smaller incisions, have better patient recoveries, fewer readmissions. If you're a surgeon, that's what you want. You want the patient's outcome to be the best possible. That's a tool that's being used for somebody that's trained on that to use it for their job more effectively. I think we're going to see a lot more of that kind of stuff, too.</p>
<p>Brokamp: There's the question of what computers can do and there's the question of what people want them to do. We could probably automate a lot of healthcare, but do you want a computer to come into your hospital room after the surgery and talk to you about what happened, or do you still want that human interaction from a doctor or nurse helping you?</p>
<p>Southwick: That's one of the cases for why there will always be financial advisors, Bro. You can sleep well at night because hearing another person say you're doing OK, you're going to be OK is better than hearing a robot say "you are fine."</p>
<p>Erickson: That didn't make me feel fine. That voice didn't work for me.</p>
<p>Southwick: You want to hear that warmth and that empathy. A Brobot's not going to be able to deliver what a Bro can.</p>
<p>Brokamp: And I am heartened by these organizations with people like Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking. They're coming up with these parameters on artificial intelligence. I love it when you read it, because they really are worried about artificial intelligence becoming so smart that it develops a will of its own and it sort of takes over. That they're going to build these things with basically kill switches, where if things get out of control, someone can push that red button and turn everything off. Read any articles about that. It's pretty fascinating. Maybe a little scary, but fascinating.</p>
<p>One thing that I did find somewhat heartening is the argument that if everyone were out of a job, there'd be no demand for goods or services. You've got to still have people who have jobs, who have money to buy things. So society is going to come up with some way to make sure everyone's OK.</p>
<p>If you read about this stuff, you'll start reading more and more about some sort of universal basic income, for example, where everyone in the country gets a certain amount of money whether they're working or not. Everyone is assured at least a certain amount of money. And it surprised me how many libertarians are actually behind this.</p>
<p>You'll hear other things. Bill Gates thinks -- and I think Robert Shiller as well -- that every time a robot takes over a job, if we get to a really bad point, that robot has to pay taxes. I think the example Bill Gates gave was if someone's earning $50,000 a year, they're paying taxes. A robot comes and takes that job, we lose tax revenue. That robot should have to pay taxes, which will pay for the training of the person who lost the job so that they can get a new job. So it will be very interesting to see how all this plays out over the next 15 years, apparently.</p>
<p>Erickson: And generally we want companies to be more efficient. Like if they're saving costs, stuff can get cheaper over time. That can be higher salaries for people. Better for stock investors. A variety of good things can come out of that.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Let's move on to our portfolio. So if people believe this is a trend, this is a way to enhance the performance of your portfolio. Maybe you're frightened now and you know that your portfolio has to get bigger so you can retire sooner. What can you do about that, Simon?</p>
<p>Erickson: Well, I've got a list of 73 ideas, here, Bro, that we can go through on how to play this trend. Just kidding, of course. Or am I? The first is I think that consumer applications are going to be one of the big things that you're going to see robotics in. One of the original for this was iRobot. Have either of you ever had a Roomba?</p>
<p>Southwick: No.</p>
<p>Erickson: The vacuum?</p>
<p>Brokamp: No, I used to do Zumba. Is that the same thing?</p>
<p>Erickson: I think that's similar, maybe. The Roomba is the best-selling vacuum in the United States this past year.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Really?</p>
<p>Erickson: It's completely robotic. It goes around your house. It vacuums for you. Saves you the time that you used to go around and vacuum the floors.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Have they gotten better?</p>
<p>Erickson: They have, because of spatial awareness. Because robots now can make sense of where they are and what they see more and more. So rather than just having an algorithm where it keeps running into something over and over --</p>
<p>Brokamp: That's what I saw, but it's been probably a few years since I've seen one.</p>
<p>Erickson: We had the original model, and I was just picking hair out of the Roomba the entire time. It didn't work well for me, either, but they've gotten significantly better. China and Japan -- they're growing 30% a year in both of those countries. They really love these things.</p>
<p>I think anything that generally saves you time of tasks you don't really want to do, there's a price point for everybody on that, whatever that number is, and when the costs start coming down for these, people will start investing more money in robotic helpers around the house.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Buck Hartzell, who's been on our show and works at the Fool, has a self-propelled lawn mower. He just turns it on and it goes around the lawn and cuts the lawn for him.</p>
<p>Erickson: The other idea I have for this is logistics and warehousing. You're seeing a lot of companies -- Amazon&#160;is one of the leaders in this. It invests in robots to do a lot of the inventory management. They bought a company called Kiva Systems five years ago. Spent a little less than $1 billion for that acquisition, and they started using these in their fulfillment centers to pick up products and then fulfill the logistics. Ship them out to everybody that buys stuff on Amazon.</p>
<p>This is pretty amazing when you think about it. They're expecting each fulfillment center to save about $22 million, and when you multiply that by 110 different fulfillment centers, that's $2 billion a year for Amazon. That's about 7% of their total overhead costs just from applying robots. They're one of the early leaders. You're going to see other people following in their path for that one as well.</p>
<p>And then the other one that we talked a lot about over in Explorer is just the disruption of the transportation industry right now.</p>
<p>The average fare that I saw per mile for a taxi across the United States is about $2.50, and the majority of that is actually going to the labor cost ... to pay the driver for spending the time to drive you around. A self-driving car is estimated to get that cost per mile down to about a quarter. Maybe $0.30 a mile. And when you think about that, if you're taking a 10-mile trip, that's maybe $3.00. That's something Google&#160;will subsidize to have your attention for a short amount of time, just like an advertising placement would be today. So it's opening up new business ideas.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Wow. As a father of a 16-year-old who's learning to drive now, I wish this was already going on, because the thought of my kid being out on the road terrifies me.</p>
<p>Southwick: It's kind of crazy how companies like Uber and other ride-share companies -- the future is people you don't know driving you around in your cars. But companies like Uber are already investing in self-driving technology. They're already trying to put their workforce out of work. Which is kind of crazy. It's like, yes, they already recognize that we rely on people to drive you around, but it's not always going to be like that.</p>
<p>Erickson: And there is some societal good for that, too, right? I mean, if we can reduce the number of accidents, have self-driving cars that don't drive frantically and crazily all over the roads, maybe that's a win for everybody, too. In addition, a lot of companies will make a lot of money off it.</p>
<p>Southwick: I feel like people have been talking about self-driving cars, and flying cars, and other advancements in cars since the first car was made.</p>
<p>Brokamp: It's The Jetsons.</p>
<p>Southwick:&#160;Why now are we seeing, why now do we feel that self-driving cars -- what happened? What was the technological leap forward that's like, "No. this is imminent"? That this is not science fiction anymore?</p>
<p>Erickson:&#160;Yeah, sure. First of all, go back and watch The Jetsons again. A lot of that stuff is actually coming true now, and I think they were really ahead of their time. To answer your question, really it's just the better machine vision, which can now make sense of everything that is around it. And deep learning is really the keyword of what's going on here.</p>
<p>Before, machines couldn't really understand what they were seeing around them. Now we're at a point where self-driving cars, through different inputs, can make sense of seeing, "This is a stop sign. This is a kid walking in front of me." And the algorithms, the stuff behind the scenes, can process, "What am I supposed to do?" We actually rode in one of Google's self-driving cars last month out in Mountain View.</p>
<p>Southwick: Was it terrifying?</p>
<p>Erickson: It was completely normal.</p>
<p>Southwick: No, you were terrified. The moment he pushed the button and said --</p>
<p>Brokamp: So you got in the car and then it drove you somewhere?</p>
<p>Erickson: True story. Honest to God, we were out in a self-driving car and there was an accident on the road between two non-self-driving cars.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Well, there's no question that people are horrible. Let's make that clear.</p>
<p>Southwick: That's not up for debate.</p>
<p>Erickson: There was a gentleman in a truck that was stepping out of his vehicle. He might have had a fist as he was walking toward the other car. The self-driving car recognized that was out of the ordinary of what its algorithms were telling it. It slowed down, approached with caution, and then when it realized it was safe, continued to go ahead.</p>
<p>Brokamp: If two self-driving cars hit each other, do they get in a fight? Because that would be kind of cool. They turn into Transformers...</p>
<p>Erickson: And they argue in code.</p>
<p>Brokamp: So you weren't scared at all.</p>
<p>Erickson: At first when I got in I was like, "How is this going to go?" I had no idea what to expect. There was literally a gentleman holding a laptop that was the brains of the car on the passenger side of the front seat. And within two minutes I was completely comfortable. And the residents of Mountain View are kind of used to seeing the self-driving car drive all the time. It wasn't a big deal for them, either.</p>
<p>So again, that's an application that you're going to start seeing. I think it's going to come in pockets and roll out a little bit at a time, but that's a lot of savings for motorists everywhere.</p>
<p>Southwick: Who's going to win the self-driving-car race, because everyone's got one?</p>
<p>Brokamp: Even the traditional car manufacturers --</p>
<p>Southwick: Everyone who's got money to throw at the problem has one.</p>
<p>Erickson: Yes, it's a good question, really. I mean, you kind of see Detroit's trying to sell cars. They're trying to sell the torque and the engine size to people that want to drive it.</p>
<p>Southwick: It's called the ... oh! I thought the name of the car was the Torque. I was like, "Ugh. We need to have a word with their branding in front of it. I don't want to buy a Torque."</p>
<p>Brokamp: It's the same as The Monkees. There's the Nesmith, the Jones.</p>
<p>Erickson: But they're selling the car that we step on the accelerator. You're going, like a sports car. And then Silicon Valley is trying to completely replace the driver altogether to minimize accidents. So there's going to be somewhere of a middle ground between those two.</p>
<p>Southwick: But TBD, who's winning?</p>
<p>Erickson: There's going to be a lot of companies that run the platform that make sense of what's going on. I think NVIDIA is definitely one of my front-runners right now for that, just because they have the graphics processing units that really are the brains that are telling the car what to do.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Final question about this. Whenever you have this type of emerging technology and an emerging trend, people want to invest in it and sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't. Like 3D printing or the internet. For all that stuff, stocks went up very high. Some of them turned out, like Amazon, to be very great investments. Some of them didn't. So based on what's now going on and these types of investments, have they gotten ahead of themselves or is this now still a decent time to get in?</p>
<p>Erickson: I think that's a very good question to ask, because you have to respect the hype cycle, which basically tells you when you're starting to see a zillion media headlines, that typically means companies could be overvalued. We could be getting ahead of ourselves. We're not actually going to see this as soon as everybody thinks we're going to, but then again, you see a lot of stuff catch on really quickly. NVIDIA tripled their data-center revenue year over year.</p>
<p>The question that I always go back to -- is X Company making it very easy for their customers to use whatever it is they're trying to sell? Is this applicable? Why do I care if I'm buying something from this company, and can I easily ease it into the workflow that I've already got, or do I have to screw up my entire business to do that?</p>
<p>And so for robotics companies, that's a return-on-investment question that has to be integratable into what you're already doing. For self-driving cars it's, "Can I have a model that's a self-driving car that people still want to buy?" I think that's the way around the hype cycle. It's like is this actually useful to the people that want to buy it?</p>
<p>Southwick: Where should people go if they want to learn more about investing, or just in general about automation and AI? What's a good place for them to go to learn more?</p>
<p>Erickson: To Motley Fool Explorer, of course! That's a great way. You know, there's a lot of stuff. We mentioned the McKinsey studies. There's a lot of robotics studies that are out there right now. Maybe peruse some of those and see if there's anything that's interesting.</p>
<p>Southwick: Just keep an eye on the headlines.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Even in my study, there wasn't like one place you go to, although McKinsey has sort of taken the lead on it.</p>
<p>Erickson: Yes, Carnegie Mellon is coming out with a lot of cool stuff from an academic perspective. It goes into the industry itself, and then companies' annual reports. We read through what they're working on. That gives us a bunch of ideas.</p>
<p>Southwick: Let's have a disclaimer. The Motley Fool may have formal recommendations, or not, for the stocks we talked about on the show. Don't buy and sell stocks based solely on what you heard here. All right, Simon. Can you stick around for a little bit of robotic fun?</p>
<p>Erickson: I can!</p>
<p>Brokamp:&#160;"Yes, he can, Alison." I'm trying out for the Brobot job. I hope I get it.</p>
<p>Southwick: I'm pulling for you. Do you need a friend?</p>
<p>The robot uprising is upon us, and cropping up in the oddest of places, so we're going to test your robot smarts. These are all stories that I read in the last week alone about the magical step forward we're all taking in robotics.</p>
<p>Brokamp: I assume you got it off the internet, right? So they've got to be true.</p>
<p>Southwick: I got these off legitimate news sources.</p>
<p>Brokamp: OK, go ahead.</p>
<p>Southwick: Who wants to take the first question?</p>
<p>Brokamp: I'll take the first one.</p>
<p>Southwick: This is good. This is perfect for you. A robot priest named BlessU-2 is the latest and most pious technology built in the small German town of Wittenberg, as reported in The Guardian -- a legitimate news source -- just last month. The robot has a touchscreen chest, two arms, and a head. It offers blessings in a choice of German, English, French, Spanish, or Polish, and worshipers can choose between a male or female voice. That's pretty progressive.</p>
<p>Brokamp: A female priest? All right. What kind of craziness is this?</p>
<p>Southwick: Question. BlessU-2 was created to commemorate 500 years since what event happened in that same town of Wittenberg?</p>
<p>Brokamp: Martin Luther nailed the theses up on the church ...</p>
<p>Southwick: Correct!</p>
<p>Brokamp: ... door. Hey! There you go.</p>
<p>Southwick: Kicked off the Reformation. Created as a way to get people talking about the future of the church -- considering where it's come in the last 500 years. It was not the first holy robot. In 2016, a Buddhist temple on the edge of Beijing developed a robot monk that could chant mantras and explain basic tenets of the religion.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Well, what do you know?</p>
<p>Southwick: So it's a good thing you didn't go into the priesthood, because you would have been replaced by a robot.</p>
<p>Brokamp: That's right. For listeners who don't know, I did spend a year or two studying to be a priest. That's the reference there.</p>
<p>Southwick: All right, Simon. Here's yours. The world's first operational police robot made its debut just last month in Dubai. He dons a police cap, rides on wheels, and has a computer touchscreen in his chest where you can ask a question, report a crime, or inquire about a speeding ticket. It speaks six languages and can read facial expressions. It's also equipped with a camera that transmits live images to a central operations room, and it can identify subjects wanted by police. The question is, if all goes as planned, what percent of Dubai's police force will be robots by 2030?</p>
<p>Erickson: 2030?</p>
<p>Southwick: Closest without going over.</p>
<p>Erickson: I will go with two-thirds. 66%.</p>
<p>Southwick: Whoa! No! Wow, that's aggressive. Just 25%.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Really?</p>
<p>Southwick: They expect their robot police force to be 25% of the total police force.</p>
<p>Erickson: That is impressive.</p>
<p>Southwick: Ready?</p>
<p>Brokamp: I'm ready.</p>
<p>Southwick: Good news. Here's one job that robots are having a hard time replacing. Two restaurants in Guangzhou, China, that made use of robotic waiters have closed down, and a third remain open but have given all but one of the robots the sack. Can you name one of the three things that the robots were notably bad at which led them to getting fired?</p>
<p>Brokamp: Let's see. Getting the right order to the right person. So the person who ordered the hamburger -- that it's placed in front of that person and not somebody else.</p>
<p>Southwick: OK, you could have literally said anything that a waiter needs to do. The robots could not carry soup or other food without spilling it. They couldn't pour beverages, like tea -- that would be bad.</p>
<p>Brokamp: That would be tough.</p>
<p>Southwick: And they also couldn't take orders.</p>
<p>Brokamp: That's a tough one, too.</p>
<p>Erickson: Worst waiter ever.</p>
<p>Southwick: Each robot cost the equivalent of about 7,000 U.S. dollars, and they required constant repairs. According to the owner of the restaurant, the only thing that the robots were good for was getting customers through the door. He said, "Robots can attract plenty of customers, but they definitely can't reduce the need for human labor."</p>
<p>Last one. This one I'm going to giggle a lot over, so just be prepared. Maybe you're debating between Ferndale or English Apple, but have you considered Stanky Bean? Recently, research scientist Janelle Shane gave a computer a list of about 7,700 what to see if a neural network could do a better job of coming up with names? What did this researcher put into the computer to see if it could name better than we do?</p>
<p>Erickson: Movie titles.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Band names.</p>
<p>Southwick: We are Stanky Bean! Thank you, Detroit! No. The answer is paint colors. So for this experiment, Janelle Shane gave the neural network a list of 7,700 Sherwin-Williams&#160;paint colors along with their RGB value -- so red-green-blue -- and then she asked them to invent new paint colors and give them attractive names. The answer is decidedly hilarious.</p>
<p>Stanky Bean is one of the names. It's a rather lovely mauve color. There were names like Burple Simp. Bank -- I can't believe I'm giggling over this -- Bank Butt was a color. That is also a pink color. Caring Tan is one. Light of Blast. Burf Pink. Rose Hork. Homestar Brown.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Sherwin-Williams employees, your jobs are safe.</p>
<p>Southwick: Dondarf is a lovely periwinkle blue. Apparently the computer couldn't really... Grass Bat is red. Sorry, Dorkwood. Stoner Blue is actually a nice color. Turdly.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Stoner Blue. I think that has marketable potential.</p>
<p>Southwick: I think it does, too. There is one that's just called Sink.</p>
<p>Erickson: The best of the list, actually.</p>
<p>Southwick: I don't know. Bank Butt makes me laugh pretty hard. So there you go. Some jobs, yes, are at risk of being lost to robots, but being a server or naming and creating paint colors -- solid jobs for the Brokamp kids to go into. Unless they can't beat Snowbonk or Clardic Fug.</p>
<p>Erickson: Or Police in Dubai. That's safe, too.</p>
<p>Brokamp: That's true, too.</p>
<p>Erickson: At least three-quarters.</p>
<p>Brokamp: That was my conclusion from that. You know what? If I lose this job I can always be a cop in Dubai.</p>
<p>Erickson: There you go.</p>
<p>Southwick: Simon, thank you for joining us today. This has been a fun discussion and you're not scared anymore, are you? Robert?</p>
<p>Brokamp: I'm not scared for myself as much as my kids. I just want to make sure that I steer them in a direction in which they have a future.</p>
<p>Southwick: They're going to be fine. Even if they're English majors, they're going to be fine. That's all that matters.</p>
<p>Rick Engdahl: Have them make robots.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Well, that's what Lucas will do, but I don't know about the other two.</p>
<p>Southwick: Again, thank you for joining us, Simon. That's the show! Summer is upon us, which means you're going to start going on vacation, and when you go on vacation, please won't you consider sending us a postcard? So far we've heard from listeners from such exotic places as the Maldives and Bartlesville, Okla., and I love them both equally, so please send us your postcards this summer, because I love getting them.</p>
<p>Also, I realize it can be a pain to mail something while you're on vacation, so I will happily accept postcards that were purchased on location and then mailed once you're back home. I don't think that's cheating.</p>
<p>Brokamp: And where should they be mailed, Alison?</p>
<p>Southwick: Hey! They should be sent to The Motley Fool, care of one of us. That's fine. Pick your favorite.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Alison! Alison!</p>
<p>Southwick: 2000 Duke Street, 2nd floor, Alexandria, VA, 22314. And thank you to the -- I don't know -- over 100 people who have sent postcards in so far. I really do love each and every one.</p>
<p>Brokamp: We do. It's a lot of fun.</p>
<p>Southwick: They bring us a lot of joy. The show is edited robotically by Rick Engdahl. Our email is <a href="http://mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>. For Robert Brokamp, I'm Alison Southwick. Stay Foolish, everybody!</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFAlison/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=44ed222a-7299-11e7-8f62-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Alison Southwick</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFBro/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=44ed222a-7299-11e7-8f62-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Robert Brokamp, CFP</a> owns shares of Tesla. <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFInnovator/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=44ed222a-7299-11e7-8f62-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Simon Erickson</a> owns shares of Amazon and Tesla. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon, iRobot, and Tesla. The Motley Fool recommends Sherwin-Williams. 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=44ed222a-7299-11e7-8f62-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy</a>.</p> | What You Can Do to Prepare for the AI-Powered, Robot-Driven Work Revolution | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/07/29/what-can-do-to-prepare-for-ai-powered-robot-driven-work-revolution.html | 2017-07-29 | 0right
| What You Can Do to Prepare for the AI-Powered, Robot-Driven Work Revolution
<p>In this episode of <a href="https://www.fool.com/podcasts/answers/?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=44ed222a-7299-11e7-8f62-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Motley Fool Answers</a>, Alison Southwick and Robert Brokamp are joined by senior Motley Fool analyst Simon Erickson to talk about the disruptive trends of artificial intelligence, robotics, and automation. Recent studies conclude that huge numbers of U.S. workers will see their jobs -- or parts of them -- delegated to machines in the next few decades. That will mean great things for efficiency and possibly even society, but how can an individual prepare for the rise of the robots? What jobs are safe? And where should a Foolish investor put his or her money to capitalize on this revolutionary redistribution of work.</p>
<p>A full transcript follows the video.</p>
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<p>This video was recorded on June 13, 2017.</p>
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<p>Alison Southwick: This is Motley Fool Answers. I'm Alison Southwick, and I'm joined, as always, by Robert Brokamp, personal-finance expert here at The Motley Fool.</p>
<p>Robert Brokamp: Greetings, Alison.</p>
<p>Southwick: Hello! In this week's episode we're going to enlist the help of Motley Fool senior analyst Simon Erickson to help us understand the disruptive trend of automation and AI. Self-driving cars, drones, Alexa! What will it mean for your job and your portfolio? We'll also answer your question about investing in an artificial-intelligence ETF. All that and more, on this week's episode of Motley Fool Answers.</p>
<p>It's time for "Answers Answers," and today's question comes from John. John writes, "I've been looking at artificial-intelligence ETFs and/or mutual funds. I see this is an industry that is only beginning to show its potential and will carry into the future with high rewards. Are there any recommendations on such funds that I should look into, and what should I look at when comparing funds? Thank you. A big fan of your podcast. John."</p>
<p>And joining us to help answer that question is Simon Erickson.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Hi, Simon!</p>
<p>Simon Erickson: Hello, Alison. Hey, Bro. Glad to be here. I feel like I'm in a roomful of celebrities. Thanks for having me on the program.</p>
<p>Southwick: It's great to have you.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Oh, stop, you.</p>
<p>Southwick: Simon, you work on Motley Fool Explorer for Supernova and you are a big, I don't know, techie, nerdy, AI, robotics-following kind of guy.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Are you human?</p>
<p>Erickson: I like the techie part of that the most.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Are you human? That's what I want to know.</p>
<p>Erickson: Yeah, we're looking for the biggest trends that the market's going after for the future.</p>
<p>Southwick: So we brought you in not only to answer this question, but also for our main segment here. But for now let's stick to the question. John wants to find an AI ETF or mutual fund. Where should he look?</p>
<p>Erickson: One that we would recommend is Robo Global. The ticker for that is ROBO, John. It's an ETF that actually does exactly what you're describing. It's tracking a variety of robotics and automation-equipment companies, which we think is a pretty interesting class right now. There's a lot of stuff going on with robotics, and there's a lot of companies making a lot of money off that. That would be one opportunity, I think.</p>
<p>Southwick: This is a pretty nascent sort of industry. Is this the only game in town, or are there other ones to look at?</p>
<p>Erickson: There's a lot of individual stocks, too. When we're talking about ETFs, that's one idea. Of course, we've got a lot of companies we can discuss. Individual equities that are really more focused on robotics and stuff like that.</p>
<p>Brokamp: I'll just throw in a few basic principles about picking funds in general. Cost always matters, and whenever you have a specialized fund or ETF, it's always going to be a higher-cost type of thing, so be prepared for that.</p>
<p>Also, a lot of these things -- depending on the sector that you're looking at -- I would look at the concentration, meaning how many companies does it own and how much of the fund is invested in the top 10 holdings? Some of these are going to be more diversified than others. Especially when you have an emerging industry like this, it could be really riding on the fates of like three to five companies, and that I would say is probably less ideal than something that's a little more diversified.</p>
<p>Erickson: Good point. Eighty-five holdings in this one. Management fee of 0.95%. Bro, you're the expert on analyzing the funds, but at an overview it looks like it's in the right sector for sure.</p>
<p>Brokamp: And it's certainly higher than if you were looking at a regular old index fund. You just have to be prepared for that when you look at a fund like this.</p>
<p>Southwick: Hey, here's a fun stat.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Yes, what's that stat?</p>
<p>Southwick: You're going to find this stat terrifying; however, I find it intriguing and Simon's going to find it ... I don't know.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Stimulating.</p>
<p>Southwick: Stimulating. So, according to PwC, 40% of jobs in the U.S. may be vulnerable to replacement by robots in the next 15 years.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Just 15 years?</p>
<p>Southwick: Just. See, you've got 15 years before you're out of a job, Robert Brokamp. I'm going to get a robot to sit in that chair and say, "Buy an index fund!"</p>
<p>Erickson: The Brobot.</p>
<p>Brokamp: A Brobot! There you go.</p>
<p>Southwick:&#160;"Buy and hold!"</p>
<p>Brokamp: Both you and my wife will buy one.</p>
<p>Southwick:&#160;"Pay attention to fees!" This show's going to be amazing.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Is that how I sound? Thank you very much.</p>
<p>Southwick: No, that's how the Brobot will sound. So apparently the U.S., more than other countries, is at risk of losing jobs to automation. Thirty percent of jobs in the United Kingdom, compared to 35% in Germany and, surprisingly, 21% in Japan -- my theory is it's because they've already replaced so many people with robots. They love their robots over there.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Yes, that's true.</p>
<p>Southwick: Joining us to help unpack what could be a terrifying stat is Simon Erickson. You heard him on "Answers Answers" just now. "As heard on 'Answers Answers.'"&#160;He's stuck around to help us unpack the potentially very disruptive industry of AI, automation, and robotics. So Simon, thank you for joining us.</p>
<p>Erickson: Glad to be, here. Thanks for having me, Alison.</p>
<p>Southwick: All right, Bro. You're going to kick off our discussion.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Well, I'm not an expert on this, but I read articles about it here and there, and as you folks know, and long-term listeners know, I'm kind of an awfulizer. I'm always scanning the universe for what's going to be the worst-case scenario and what's going to ruin my life.</p>
<p>So when I see these headlines about robots taking over everything, and headlines about Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking saying that AI is going to destroy humankind, it catches my attention. So while I'm not an expert, I have read things here and there, and then I know Simon covers it, so I thought, "Let's invite him and see if he can make me feel at least a little better."</p>
<p>Erickson: Less awful.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Less awful, yes.</p>
<p>Erickson: Got it. OK.</p>
<p>Southwick: Let's go.</p>
<p>Brokamp: There's two components here, really. First of all, is your job safe, and second of all, what about your portfolio? Is it safe, and how can you profit from this if this really is an emerging trend? So let's start with jobs. Alison presented some stats. I've read similar stats from other folks as well. Some of them have broken up not into specific jobs but different job types, like the skills that you do: physical skills, information gathering, information processing, being empathetic, and things like that.</p>
<p>For example, one study said that about 45% of tasks today could be automated. Even 20% to 30% of a CEO's job could be automated if we wanted to do that. What do you think?</p>
<p>Erickson: The way that I think about that -- I looked at the same study, too. McKinsey did a pretty thorough study on this. It said all these jobs are at risk, but I think the way to frame this is you're not replacing human beings. You're replacing the work that people are doing today.</p>
<p>And robots, for a lot of that work, can be more efficient and a lower cost for companies. Companies will make financial decisions based on return on investment, and I think that a lot of that work like you described, Bro, especially physical labor. Anything that might be data collection and processing. Stuff like that could be more efficiently done by robots, which frees people up to do other things.</p>
<p>Some of the tasks that we saw that really are the least susceptible to having robots disrupt include managing others, or having expertise in certain fields, just like we've seen things over time. We saw that the plow replaced a lot of physical farming hours. The internet replaced librarian hours. And in the coming years, maybe we're going to see self-driving cars replace a lot of taxi driver hours.</p>
<p>For society as a whole, these are pretty big gains that are letting us do other things with that time, but it is replacing jobs that are shifting to other things now. That's the way that I frame it.</p>
<p>Brokamp: And that's the challenge. Can these people who are doing these jobs go find other jobs? One of the reports that I read from Morningstar&#160;pointed out that first of all -- this is something we all heard -- that the wage of the middle-income household or worker hasn't really grown. Part of that is because the classic middle-income factory worker for a lot of the last century was someone who is doing one of these jobs that has now since been replaced by robots.</p>
<p>And while some of these jobs that will be eliminated, people will be able to find other jobs, will they be able to make the same amount of income? Or will there be so many jobs that the income inequality will be even greater? What does that look like? Who's going to profit from this change? Will it be people who own capital? Who own stocks? Those are some of the concerns people have.</p>
<p>Erickson: The first robots we used were just replacing physical labor. Machines could pick up things that were heavier, which people couldn't lift with their arms. Then over time, computers got better at processing and remembering things -- as my wife likes to remind me that I always forget at the grocery store -- and now the next phase is going to be robots processing and programming each other. So they're actually training other robots to do things.</p>
<p>And it's scary, because we don't know what that's going to look like, but there will be opportunities that we didn't have before that will happen with this as well.</p>
<p>Brokamp: And it's not just going to be sort of lower-wage jobs, right? You think 30 years ago what was considered a pretty good white-collar job was preparing taxes. Then came TurboTax. Travel agents -- no longer need them. Now they have computers that can look at X-rays and by some studies they actually do a better job than humans do. There are now some computers that not only assist with surgery -- which we've had for years now -- but can actually do the surgery.</p>
<p>So that's part of my concern. As someone who's a father with kids, where do I tell my kids to look to the future in terms of their professions and their human capital?</p>
<p>Southwick:&#160;Yeah, I was reading an article in The Economist about this. The quote that stood out was, "What determines vulnerability to automation is not so much whether the work concerned is manual or white collar, but whether or not it is routine."</p>
<p>Erickson: And cost per labor hour. What percentage of a company's costs are related to labor? Does it make sense for them to invest in a robot?&#160;Universal Robots is now saying that their $40,000 robots have a payback period of 200 days. That's quick for a capital investment decision. You're going to see more and more of that here in the states. You're already seeing Tesla&#160;automate basically all of its car manufacturing, and China, too. There's an arms race, almost, in buying robots across the world right now. China's just got such capacity that they want these, and there's a huge demand for them.</p>
<p>Southwick: To Bro's point -- as if your kids are going to take your advice anyway on what they should be when they grow up -- where do you see safety as far as future employment? What is safe from automation? Aside from being charming podcast hosts?</p>
<p>Erickson: It's going to be a tool for people to make decisions. AI -- anything that's able to find more data more quickly for you to make decisions. We're still going to have managers. Robots aren't going to be in the boardroom or making decisions for companies. You're still going to need people, human beings, to do that stuff. This is just a tool to make management more effective.</p>
<p>Brokamp:&#160;Yeah. The research I've done indicates that the more your job relies on human interaction, empathy, persuasion, the safer you're going to be. So that is management, but it's also healthcare workers who are actually dealing with the patients. Education, surprisingly, has come up frequently as a safe job. That surprised me at first, because I thought kids could sit at a computer and learn. But as a former teacher, I also know that it takes a lot of human interaction, skills, and analysis to say, "This kid is learning. Isn't learning. What can we do for them?"</p>
<p>And then the other things that seem to be safer, at least at this point, are anything that relies on some sort of creativity. At this point they've gotten computers to design some things. They've gotten computers to write articles, even, but it's not at the same quality as a human.</p>
<p>Erickson:&#160;Yeah. And Alison, the expert comment, too. There's still going to be experts in every field. One of them is going to be the medical field. You're now seeing robotic surgery going into the operating room, which is helping to have smaller incisions, have better patient recoveries, fewer readmissions. If you're a surgeon, that's what you want. You want the patient's outcome to be the best possible. That's a tool that's being used for somebody that's trained on that to use it for their job more effectively. I think we're going to see a lot more of that kind of stuff, too.</p>
<p>Brokamp: There's the question of what computers can do and there's the question of what people want them to do. We could probably automate a lot of healthcare, but do you want a computer to come into your hospital room after the surgery and talk to you about what happened, or do you still want that human interaction from a doctor or nurse helping you?</p>
<p>Southwick: That's one of the cases for why there will always be financial advisors, Bro. You can sleep well at night because hearing another person say you're doing OK, you're going to be OK is better than hearing a robot say "you are fine."</p>
<p>Erickson: That didn't make me feel fine. That voice didn't work for me.</p>
<p>Southwick: You want to hear that warmth and that empathy. A Brobot's not going to be able to deliver what a Bro can.</p>
<p>Brokamp: And I am heartened by these organizations with people like Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking. They're coming up with these parameters on artificial intelligence. I love it when you read it, because they really are worried about artificial intelligence becoming so smart that it develops a will of its own and it sort of takes over. That they're going to build these things with basically kill switches, where if things get out of control, someone can push that red button and turn everything off. Read any articles about that. It's pretty fascinating. Maybe a little scary, but fascinating.</p>
<p>One thing that I did find somewhat heartening is the argument that if everyone were out of a job, there'd be no demand for goods or services. You've got to still have people who have jobs, who have money to buy things. So society is going to come up with some way to make sure everyone's OK.</p>
<p>If you read about this stuff, you'll start reading more and more about some sort of universal basic income, for example, where everyone in the country gets a certain amount of money whether they're working or not. Everyone is assured at least a certain amount of money. And it surprised me how many libertarians are actually behind this.</p>
<p>You'll hear other things. Bill Gates thinks -- and I think Robert Shiller as well -- that every time a robot takes over a job, if we get to a really bad point, that robot has to pay taxes. I think the example Bill Gates gave was if someone's earning $50,000 a year, they're paying taxes. A robot comes and takes that job, we lose tax revenue. That robot should have to pay taxes, which will pay for the training of the person who lost the job so that they can get a new job. So it will be very interesting to see how all this plays out over the next 15 years, apparently.</p>
<p>Erickson: And generally we want companies to be more efficient. Like if they're saving costs, stuff can get cheaper over time. That can be higher salaries for people. Better for stock investors. A variety of good things can come out of that.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Let's move on to our portfolio. So if people believe this is a trend, this is a way to enhance the performance of your portfolio. Maybe you're frightened now and you know that your portfolio has to get bigger so you can retire sooner. What can you do about that, Simon?</p>
<p>Erickson: Well, I've got a list of 73 ideas, here, Bro, that we can go through on how to play this trend. Just kidding, of course. Or am I? The first is I think that consumer applications are going to be one of the big things that you're going to see robotics in. One of the original for this was iRobot. Have either of you ever had a Roomba?</p>
<p>Southwick: No.</p>
<p>Erickson: The vacuum?</p>
<p>Brokamp: No, I used to do Zumba. Is that the same thing?</p>
<p>Erickson: I think that's similar, maybe. The Roomba is the best-selling vacuum in the United States this past year.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Really?</p>
<p>Erickson: It's completely robotic. It goes around your house. It vacuums for you. Saves you the time that you used to go around and vacuum the floors.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Have they gotten better?</p>
<p>Erickson: They have, because of spatial awareness. Because robots now can make sense of where they are and what they see more and more. So rather than just having an algorithm where it keeps running into something over and over --</p>
<p>Brokamp: That's what I saw, but it's been probably a few years since I've seen one.</p>
<p>Erickson: We had the original model, and I was just picking hair out of the Roomba the entire time. It didn't work well for me, either, but they've gotten significantly better. China and Japan -- they're growing 30% a year in both of those countries. They really love these things.</p>
<p>I think anything that generally saves you time of tasks you don't really want to do, there's a price point for everybody on that, whatever that number is, and when the costs start coming down for these, people will start investing more money in robotic helpers around the house.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Buck Hartzell, who's been on our show and works at the Fool, has a self-propelled lawn mower. He just turns it on and it goes around the lawn and cuts the lawn for him.</p>
<p>Erickson: The other idea I have for this is logistics and warehousing. You're seeing a lot of companies -- Amazon&#160;is one of the leaders in this. It invests in robots to do a lot of the inventory management. They bought a company called Kiva Systems five years ago. Spent a little less than $1 billion for that acquisition, and they started using these in their fulfillment centers to pick up products and then fulfill the logistics. Ship them out to everybody that buys stuff on Amazon.</p>
<p>This is pretty amazing when you think about it. They're expecting each fulfillment center to save about $22 million, and when you multiply that by 110 different fulfillment centers, that's $2 billion a year for Amazon. That's about 7% of their total overhead costs just from applying robots. They're one of the early leaders. You're going to see other people following in their path for that one as well.</p>
<p>And then the other one that we talked a lot about over in Explorer is just the disruption of the transportation industry right now.</p>
<p>The average fare that I saw per mile for a taxi across the United States is about $2.50, and the majority of that is actually going to the labor cost ... to pay the driver for spending the time to drive you around. A self-driving car is estimated to get that cost per mile down to about a quarter. Maybe $0.30 a mile. And when you think about that, if you're taking a 10-mile trip, that's maybe $3.00. That's something Google&#160;will subsidize to have your attention for a short amount of time, just like an advertising placement would be today. So it's opening up new business ideas.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Wow. As a father of a 16-year-old who's learning to drive now, I wish this was already going on, because the thought of my kid being out on the road terrifies me.</p>
<p>Southwick: It's kind of crazy how companies like Uber and other ride-share companies -- the future is people you don't know driving you around in your cars. But companies like Uber are already investing in self-driving technology. They're already trying to put their workforce out of work. Which is kind of crazy. It's like, yes, they already recognize that we rely on people to drive you around, but it's not always going to be like that.</p>
<p>Erickson: And there is some societal good for that, too, right? I mean, if we can reduce the number of accidents, have self-driving cars that don't drive frantically and crazily all over the roads, maybe that's a win for everybody, too. In addition, a lot of companies will make a lot of money off it.</p>
<p>Southwick: I feel like people have been talking about self-driving cars, and flying cars, and other advancements in cars since the first car was made.</p>
<p>Brokamp: It's The Jetsons.</p>
<p>Southwick:&#160;Why now are we seeing, why now do we feel that self-driving cars -- what happened? What was the technological leap forward that's like, "No. this is imminent"? That this is not science fiction anymore?</p>
<p>Erickson:&#160;Yeah, sure. First of all, go back and watch The Jetsons again. A lot of that stuff is actually coming true now, and I think they were really ahead of their time. To answer your question, really it's just the better machine vision, which can now make sense of everything that is around it. And deep learning is really the keyword of what's going on here.</p>
<p>Before, machines couldn't really understand what they were seeing around them. Now we're at a point where self-driving cars, through different inputs, can make sense of seeing, "This is a stop sign. This is a kid walking in front of me." And the algorithms, the stuff behind the scenes, can process, "What am I supposed to do?" We actually rode in one of Google's self-driving cars last month out in Mountain View.</p>
<p>Southwick: Was it terrifying?</p>
<p>Erickson: It was completely normal.</p>
<p>Southwick: No, you were terrified. The moment he pushed the button and said --</p>
<p>Brokamp: So you got in the car and then it drove you somewhere?</p>
<p>Erickson: True story. Honest to God, we were out in a self-driving car and there was an accident on the road between two non-self-driving cars.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Well, there's no question that people are horrible. Let's make that clear.</p>
<p>Southwick: That's not up for debate.</p>
<p>Erickson: There was a gentleman in a truck that was stepping out of his vehicle. He might have had a fist as he was walking toward the other car. The self-driving car recognized that was out of the ordinary of what its algorithms were telling it. It slowed down, approached with caution, and then when it realized it was safe, continued to go ahead.</p>
<p>Brokamp: If two self-driving cars hit each other, do they get in a fight? Because that would be kind of cool. They turn into Transformers...</p>
<p>Erickson: And they argue in code.</p>
<p>Brokamp: So you weren't scared at all.</p>
<p>Erickson: At first when I got in I was like, "How is this going to go?" I had no idea what to expect. There was literally a gentleman holding a laptop that was the brains of the car on the passenger side of the front seat. And within two minutes I was completely comfortable. And the residents of Mountain View are kind of used to seeing the self-driving car drive all the time. It wasn't a big deal for them, either.</p>
<p>So again, that's an application that you're going to start seeing. I think it's going to come in pockets and roll out a little bit at a time, but that's a lot of savings for motorists everywhere.</p>
<p>Southwick: Who's going to win the self-driving-car race, because everyone's got one?</p>
<p>Brokamp: Even the traditional car manufacturers --</p>
<p>Southwick: Everyone who's got money to throw at the problem has one.</p>
<p>Erickson: Yes, it's a good question, really. I mean, you kind of see Detroit's trying to sell cars. They're trying to sell the torque and the engine size to people that want to drive it.</p>
<p>Southwick: It's called the ... oh! I thought the name of the car was the Torque. I was like, "Ugh. We need to have a word with their branding in front of it. I don't want to buy a Torque."</p>
<p>Brokamp: It's the same as The Monkees. There's the Nesmith, the Jones.</p>
<p>Erickson: But they're selling the car that we step on the accelerator. You're going, like a sports car. And then Silicon Valley is trying to completely replace the driver altogether to minimize accidents. So there's going to be somewhere of a middle ground between those two.</p>
<p>Southwick: But TBD, who's winning?</p>
<p>Erickson: There's going to be a lot of companies that run the platform that make sense of what's going on. I think NVIDIA is definitely one of my front-runners right now for that, just because they have the graphics processing units that really are the brains that are telling the car what to do.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Final question about this. Whenever you have this type of emerging technology and an emerging trend, people want to invest in it and sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't. Like 3D printing or the internet. For all that stuff, stocks went up very high. Some of them turned out, like Amazon, to be very great investments. Some of them didn't. So based on what's now going on and these types of investments, have they gotten ahead of themselves or is this now still a decent time to get in?</p>
<p>Erickson: I think that's a very good question to ask, because you have to respect the hype cycle, which basically tells you when you're starting to see a zillion media headlines, that typically means companies could be overvalued. We could be getting ahead of ourselves. We're not actually going to see this as soon as everybody thinks we're going to, but then again, you see a lot of stuff catch on really quickly. NVIDIA tripled their data-center revenue year over year.</p>
<p>The question that I always go back to -- is X Company making it very easy for their customers to use whatever it is they're trying to sell? Is this applicable? Why do I care if I'm buying something from this company, and can I easily ease it into the workflow that I've already got, or do I have to screw up my entire business to do that?</p>
<p>And so for robotics companies, that's a return-on-investment question that has to be integratable into what you're already doing. For self-driving cars it's, "Can I have a model that's a self-driving car that people still want to buy?" I think that's the way around the hype cycle. It's like is this actually useful to the people that want to buy it?</p>
<p>Southwick: Where should people go if they want to learn more about investing, or just in general about automation and AI? What's a good place for them to go to learn more?</p>
<p>Erickson: To Motley Fool Explorer, of course! That's a great way. You know, there's a lot of stuff. We mentioned the McKinsey studies. There's a lot of robotics studies that are out there right now. Maybe peruse some of those and see if there's anything that's interesting.</p>
<p>Southwick: Just keep an eye on the headlines.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Even in my study, there wasn't like one place you go to, although McKinsey has sort of taken the lead on it.</p>
<p>Erickson: Yes, Carnegie Mellon is coming out with a lot of cool stuff from an academic perspective. It goes into the industry itself, and then companies' annual reports. We read through what they're working on. That gives us a bunch of ideas.</p>
<p>Southwick: Let's have a disclaimer. The Motley Fool may have formal recommendations, or not, for the stocks we talked about on the show. Don't buy and sell stocks based solely on what you heard here. All right, Simon. Can you stick around for a little bit of robotic fun?</p>
<p>Erickson: I can!</p>
<p>Brokamp:&#160;"Yes, he can, Alison." I'm trying out for the Brobot job. I hope I get it.</p>
<p>Southwick: I'm pulling for you. Do you need a friend?</p>
<p>The robot uprising is upon us, and cropping up in the oddest of places, so we're going to test your robot smarts. These are all stories that I read in the last week alone about the magical step forward we're all taking in robotics.</p>
<p>Brokamp: I assume you got it off the internet, right? So they've got to be true.</p>
<p>Southwick: I got these off legitimate news sources.</p>
<p>Brokamp: OK, go ahead.</p>
<p>Southwick: Who wants to take the first question?</p>
<p>Brokamp: I'll take the first one.</p>
<p>Southwick: This is good. This is perfect for you. A robot priest named BlessU-2 is the latest and most pious technology built in the small German town of Wittenberg, as reported in The Guardian -- a legitimate news source -- just last month. The robot has a touchscreen chest, two arms, and a head. It offers blessings in a choice of German, English, French, Spanish, or Polish, and worshipers can choose between a male or female voice. That's pretty progressive.</p>
<p>Brokamp: A female priest? All right. What kind of craziness is this?</p>
<p>Southwick: Question. BlessU-2 was created to commemorate 500 years since what event happened in that same town of Wittenberg?</p>
<p>Brokamp: Martin Luther nailed the theses up on the church ...</p>
<p>Southwick: Correct!</p>
<p>Brokamp: ... door. Hey! There you go.</p>
<p>Southwick: Kicked off the Reformation. Created as a way to get people talking about the future of the church -- considering where it's come in the last 500 years. It was not the first holy robot. In 2016, a Buddhist temple on the edge of Beijing developed a robot monk that could chant mantras and explain basic tenets of the religion.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Well, what do you know?</p>
<p>Southwick: So it's a good thing you didn't go into the priesthood, because you would have been replaced by a robot.</p>
<p>Brokamp: That's right. For listeners who don't know, I did spend a year or two studying to be a priest. That's the reference there.</p>
<p>Southwick: All right, Simon. Here's yours. The world's first operational police robot made its debut just last month in Dubai. He dons a police cap, rides on wheels, and has a computer touchscreen in his chest where you can ask a question, report a crime, or inquire about a speeding ticket. It speaks six languages and can read facial expressions. It's also equipped with a camera that transmits live images to a central operations room, and it can identify subjects wanted by police. The question is, if all goes as planned, what percent of Dubai's police force will be robots by 2030?</p>
<p>Erickson: 2030?</p>
<p>Southwick: Closest without going over.</p>
<p>Erickson: I will go with two-thirds. 66%.</p>
<p>Southwick: Whoa! No! Wow, that's aggressive. Just 25%.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Really?</p>
<p>Southwick: They expect their robot police force to be 25% of the total police force.</p>
<p>Erickson: That is impressive.</p>
<p>Southwick: Ready?</p>
<p>Brokamp: I'm ready.</p>
<p>Southwick: Good news. Here's one job that robots are having a hard time replacing. Two restaurants in Guangzhou, China, that made use of robotic waiters have closed down, and a third remain open but have given all but one of the robots the sack. Can you name one of the three things that the robots were notably bad at which led them to getting fired?</p>
<p>Brokamp: Let's see. Getting the right order to the right person. So the person who ordered the hamburger -- that it's placed in front of that person and not somebody else.</p>
<p>Southwick: OK, you could have literally said anything that a waiter needs to do. The robots could not carry soup or other food without spilling it. They couldn't pour beverages, like tea -- that would be bad.</p>
<p>Brokamp: That would be tough.</p>
<p>Southwick: And they also couldn't take orders.</p>
<p>Brokamp: That's a tough one, too.</p>
<p>Erickson: Worst waiter ever.</p>
<p>Southwick: Each robot cost the equivalent of about 7,000 U.S. dollars, and they required constant repairs. According to the owner of the restaurant, the only thing that the robots were good for was getting customers through the door. He said, "Robots can attract plenty of customers, but they definitely can't reduce the need for human labor."</p>
<p>Last one. This one I'm going to giggle a lot over, so just be prepared. Maybe you're debating between Ferndale or English Apple, but have you considered Stanky Bean? Recently, research scientist Janelle Shane gave a computer a list of about 7,700 what to see if a neural network could do a better job of coming up with names? What did this researcher put into the computer to see if it could name better than we do?</p>
<p>Erickson: Movie titles.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Band names.</p>
<p>Southwick: We are Stanky Bean! Thank you, Detroit! No. The answer is paint colors. So for this experiment, Janelle Shane gave the neural network a list of 7,700 Sherwin-Williams&#160;paint colors along with their RGB value -- so red-green-blue -- and then she asked them to invent new paint colors and give them attractive names. The answer is decidedly hilarious.</p>
<p>Stanky Bean is one of the names. It's a rather lovely mauve color. There were names like Burple Simp. Bank -- I can't believe I'm giggling over this -- Bank Butt was a color. That is also a pink color. Caring Tan is one. Light of Blast. Burf Pink. Rose Hork. Homestar Brown.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Sherwin-Williams employees, your jobs are safe.</p>
<p>Southwick: Dondarf is a lovely periwinkle blue. Apparently the computer couldn't really... Grass Bat is red. Sorry, Dorkwood. Stoner Blue is actually a nice color. Turdly.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Stoner Blue. I think that has marketable potential.</p>
<p>Southwick: I think it does, too. There is one that's just called Sink.</p>
<p>Erickson: The best of the list, actually.</p>
<p>Southwick: I don't know. Bank Butt makes me laugh pretty hard. So there you go. Some jobs, yes, are at risk of being lost to robots, but being a server or naming and creating paint colors -- solid jobs for the Brokamp kids to go into. Unless they can't beat Snowbonk or Clardic Fug.</p>
<p>Erickson: Or Police in Dubai. That's safe, too.</p>
<p>Brokamp: That's true, too.</p>
<p>Erickson: At least three-quarters.</p>
<p>Brokamp: That was my conclusion from that. You know what? If I lose this job I can always be a cop in Dubai.</p>
<p>Erickson: There you go.</p>
<p>Southwick: Simon, thank you for joining us today. This has been a fun discussion and you're not scared anymore, are you? Robert?</p>
<p>Brokamp: I'm not scared for myself as much as my kids. I just want to make sure that I steer them in a direction in which they have a future.</p>
<p>Southwick: They're going to be fine. Even if they're English majors, they're going to be fine. That's all that matters.</p>
<p>Rick Engdahl: Have them make robots.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Well, that's what Lucas will do, but I don't know about the other two.</p>
<p>Southwick: Again, thank you for joining us, Simon. That's the show! Summer is upon us, which means you're going to start going on vacation, and when you go on vacation, please won't you consider sending us a postcard? So far we've heard from listeners from such exotic places as the Maldives and Bartlesville, Okla., and I love them both equally, so please send us your postcards this summer, because I love getting them.</p>
<p>Also, I realize it can be a pain to mail something while you're on vacation, so I will happily accept postcards that were purchased on location and then mailed once you're back home. I don't think that's cheating.</p>
<p>Brokamp: And where should they be mailed, Alison?</p>
<p>Southwick: Hey! They should be sent to The Motley Fool, care of one of us. That's fine. Pick your favorite.</p>
<p>Brokamp: Alison! Alison!</p>
<p>Southwick: 2000 Duke Street, 2nd floor, Alexandria, VA, 22314. And thank you to the -- I don't know -- over 100 people who have sent postcards in so far. I really do love each and every one.</p>
<p>Brokamp: We do. It's a lot of fun.</p>
<p>Southwick: They bring us a lot of joy. The show is edited robotically by Rick Engdahl. Our email is <a href="http://mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>. For Robert Brokamp, I'm Alison Southwick. Stay Foolish, everybody!</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFAlison/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=44ed222a-7299-11e7-8f62-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Alison Southwick</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFBro/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=44ed222a-7299-11e7-8f62-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Robert Brokamp, CFP</a> owns shares of Tesla. <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFInnovator/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=44ed222a-7299-11e7-8f62-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Simon Erickson</a> owns shares of Amazon and Tesla. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon, iRobot, and Tesla. The Motley Fool recommends Sherwin-Williams. 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=44ed222a-7299-11e7-8f62-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy</a>.</p> | 1,395 |
<p><a href="http://pienews.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ICE.jpg" type="external" />The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement released nearly 40,000 convicted criminal aliens who were awaiting the outcome of deportation proceedings while in detention, according to a recent report by the The criminals' infractions include convictions for drunk or drugged driving, aggravated assault, flight escape, dangerous drugs, vehicle theft, [?]</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/377768/report-ice-releases-36k-convicted-criminals-awaiting-deportation-andrew-johnson" type="external">Click here to view original web page at www.nationalreview.com</a></p>
<p /> | Report: ICE Releases 36K Convicted Criminals Awaiting Deportation | true | http://politicalillusionsexposed.com/report-ice-releases-36k-convicted-criminals-awaiting-deportation/ | 0right
| Report: ICE Releases 36K Convicted Criminals Awaiting Deportation
<p><a href="http://pienews.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ICE.jpg" type="external" />The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement released nearly 40,000 convicted criminal aliens who were awaiting the outcome of deportation proceedings while in detention, according to a recent report by the The criminals' infractions include convictions for drunk or drugged driving, aggravated assault, flight escape, dangerous drugs, vehicle theft, [?]</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/377768/report-ice-releases-36k-convicted-criminals-awaiting-deportation-andrew-johnson" type="external">Click here to view original web page at www.nationalreview.com</a></p>
<p /> | 1,396 |
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<p>SANTA FE — Santa Fe Police say a woman accidentally drove car into Jambo Cafe during the lunch rush, leaving “several” with injuries.</p>
<p>SFPD spokesman Greg Gurule said a woman stepped on her accelerator instead of her brake in the parking lot of the College Plaza Shopping center at Cerrillos Road and St. Michael’s Drive around noon Thursday and drove into the restaurant.</p>
<p>Gurule didn’t have an exact number of people hurt but said injuries were not life-threatening, although some people suffered broken legs. He said police were still investigating the crash. Gurule didn’t immediately have information about the woman.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Jambo+Cafe/@35.660491,-105.9800917,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m12!1m6!3m5!1s0x87185a7db359be6f:0x7cd572711ea34d33!2sJambo+Cafe!8m2!3d35.6604867!4d-105.977903!3m4!1s0x87185a7db359be6f:0x7cd572711ea34d33!8m2!3d35.6604867!4d-105.977903" type="external" /></p>
<p>More from ABQJournal.com</p>
<p>Jambo Cafe taking over former Weck's… continue reading »</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Woman drives into Santa Fe’s Jambo Cafe, leaves several injured | false | https://abqjournal.com/960693/woman-drives-into-jambo-cafe-leaves-several-injured.html | 2017-03-02 | 2least
| Woman drives into Santa Fe’s Jambo Cafe, leaves several injured
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<p>SANTA FE — Santa Fe Police say a woman accidentally drove car into Jambo Cafe during the lunch rush, leaving “several” with injuries.</p>
<p>SFPD spokesman Greg Gurule said a woman stepped on her accelerator instead of her brake in the parking lot of the College Plaza Shopping center at Cerrillos Road and St. Michael’s Drive around noon Thursday and drove into the restaurant.</p>
<p>Gurule didn’t have an exact number of people hurt but said injuries were not life-threatening, although some people suffered broken legs. He said police were still investigating the crash. Gurule didn’t immediately have information about the woman.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Jambo+Cafe/@35.660491,-105.9800917,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m12!1m6!3m5!1s0x87185a7db359be6f:0x7cd572711ea34d33!2sJambo+Cafe!8m2!3d35.6604867!4d-105.977903!3m4!1s0x87185a7db359be6f:0x7cd572711ea34d33!8m2!3d35.6604867!4d-105.977903" type="external" /></p>
<p>More from ABQJournal.com</p>
<p>Jambo Cafe taking over former Weck's… continue reading »</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 1,397 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>WASHINGTON — Promoted as needed relief for the middle class, the Senate Republican tax overhaul actually would increase taxes for some 13.8 million moderate-income American households, a nonpartisan analysis showed Monday.</p>
<p>The assessment by Congress’ Joint Committee on Taxation emerged as the Senate’s tax-writing committee began wading through the measure, working toward the first major revamp of the tax system in some 30 years.</p>
<p>Barging into the carefully calibrated work that House and Senate Republicans have done, President Donald Trump called for a steeper tax cut for wealthy Americans and pressed GOP leaders to add a contentious health care change to the already complex mix.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Trump’s latest tweet injected a dose of uncertainty into the process as the Republicans try to deliver on his top legislative priority. He commended GOP leaders for getting the tax legislation closer to passage in recent weeks and then said, “Cut top rate to 35% w/all of the rest going to middle income cuts?”</p>
<p>That puts him at odds with the House legislation that leaves the top rate at 39.6 percent and the Senate bill as written, with the top rate at 38.5 percent.</p>
<p>Trump also said, “Now how about ending the unfair &amp; highly unpopular individual mandate in (Obama)care and reducing taxes even further?”</p>
<p>Overall, the legislation would deeply cut corporate taxes, double the standard deduction used by most Americans, and limit or repeal completely the federal deduction for state and local property, income and sales taxes. It carries high political stakes for Trump and Republican leaders in Congress, who view passage of tax cuts as critical to the GOP preserving its majorities at the polls next year.</p>
<p>With few votes to spare, Republican leaders hope to finalize a tax overhaul by Christmas and send the legislation to Trump for his signature.</p>
<p>The key House leader on the effort, Rep. Kevin Brady, said he’s “very confident” that Republicans “do and will have the votes to pass” the measure this week.</p>
<p>Brady, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said he doesn’t expect major changes to the bill as it moves to a final vote in the House. Still, he said Trump’s call for removing the requirement to have health insurance as part of the tax agreement “remains under consideration.”</p>
<p>Trump and the Republicans have promoted the legislation as a boon to the middle class, bringing tax relief to people with moderate incomes and boosting the economy to create new jobs.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“This bill is not a massive tax cut for the wealthy. … This is not a big giveaway to corporations,” Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, insisted as the panel had its first day of debate on the Senate measure.</p>
<p>Hatch also downplayed the analysis by congressional tax experts showing a tax increase for several million U.S. households under the Senate proposal. Hatch said “a relatively small minority of taxpayers could see a slight increase in their taxes.”</p>
<p>The committee’s senior Democrat, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, said the legislation has become “a massive handout to multinational corporations and a bonanza for tax cheats and powerful political donors.”</p>
<p>The analysis found that the Senate measure would actually increase taxes in 2019 for 13.8 million households earning less than $200,000 a year. That group, about 10 percent of all U.S. taxpayers, would face tax increases of $100 to $500 in 2019. There also would be increases greater than $500 for a number of taxpayers, especially those with incomes between $75,000 and $200,000. By 2025, 21.4 million households would have steeper tax bills.</p>
<p>The analysts previously found a similar magnitude of tax increases under the House bill.</p>
<p>Neither bill includes a repeal of the so-called individual mandate of Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, the requirement that Americans get health insurance or face a penalty. Several top Republicans have warned that including the provision, as Trump wants, would draw opposition and make passage tougher.</p>
<p>A key moderate Republican in the Senate said it’s too early to say whether including repeal of the insurance mandate would cost her vote on the tax bill. “I’m going to see what the Finance Committee winds up with and what we do on the (Senate) floor,” said Sen. Susan Collins of Maine.</p>
<p>Collins did say she opposed Trump’s idea of reducing the top tax rate for the wealthiest earners.</p>
<p>Among the biggest differences in the two bills that have emerged: the House bill allows homeowners to deduct up to $10,000 in property taxes while the Senate proposal unveiled by GOP leaders last week eliminates the entire deduction. Both versions would eliminate deductions for state and local income taxes and sales taxes.</p>
<p>Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., asked whether the Senate’s proposed repeal of the property tax deduction could bring higher taxes for some middle-class Americans, acknowledged there would be some taxpayers who end up with higher tax bills.</p>
<p>“Any way you cut it, there is a possibility that some taxpayers would get a higher rate,” McConnell told reporters after a forum in Louisville, Kentucky, with local business owners and employees. “You can’t craft any tax bill that guarantees that every single taxpayer in America gets a tax break. What I’m telling you is the overall majority of taxpayers in every bracket would get relief.”</p>
<p>____</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Bruce Schreiner in Louisville and Kevin Freking in Washington contributed to this report</p>
<p>__</p>
<p>This story has been corrected to show that the Joint Committee on Taxation is nonpartisan not bipartisan</p> | Analysis says Senate bill would hike taxes for 13.8 million | false | https://abqjournal.com/1091790/chairman-house-wont-agree-to-nix-property-tax-deduction.html | 2017-11-13 | 2least
| Analysis says Senate bill would hike taxes for 13.8 million
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>WASHINGTON — Promoted as needed relief for the middle class, the Senate Republican tax overhaul actually would increase taxes for some 13.8 million moderate-income American households, a nonpartisan analysis showed Monday.</p>
<p>The assessment by Congress’ Joint Committee on Taxation emerged as the Senate’s tax-writing committee began wading through the measure, working toward the first major revamp of the tax system in some 30 years.</p>
<p>Barging into the carefully calibrated work that House and Senate Republicans have done, President Donald Trump called for a steeper tax cut for wealthy Americans and pressed GOP leaders to add a contentious health care change to the already complex mix.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Trump’s latest tweet injected a dose of uncertainty into the process as the Republicans try to deliver on his top legislative priority. He commended GOP leaders for getting the tax legislation closer to passage in recent weeks and then said, “Cut top rate to 35% w/all of the rest going to middle income cuts?”</p>
<p>That puts him at odds with the House legislation that leaves the top rate at 39.6 percent and the Senate bill as written, with the top rate at 38.5 percent.</p>
<p>Trump also said, “Now how about ending the unfair &amp; highly unpopular individual mandate in (Obama)care and reducing taxes even further?”</p>
<p>Overall, the legislation would deeply cut corporate taxes, double the standard deduction used by most Americans, and limit or repeal completely the federal deduction for state and local property, income and sales taxes. It carries high political stakes for Trump and Republican leaders in Congress, who view passage of tax cuts as critical to the GOP preserving its majorities at the polls next year.</p>
<p>With few votes to spare, Republican leaders hope to finalize a tax overhaul by Christmas and send the legislation to Trump for his signature.</p>
<p>The key House leader on the effort, Rep. Kevin Brady, said he’s “very confident” that Republicans “do and will have the votes to pass” the measure this week.</p>
<p>Brady, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said he doesn’t expect major changes to the bill as it moves to a final vote in the House. Still, he said Trump’s call for removing the requirement to have health insurance as part of the tax agreement “remains under consideration.”</p>
<p>Trump and the Republicans have promoted the legislation as a boon to the middle class, bringing tax relief to people with moderate incomes and boosting the economy to create new jobs.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“This bill is not a massive tax cut for the wealthy. … This is not a big giveaway to corporations,” Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, insisted as the panel had its first day of debate on the Senate measure.</p>
<p>Hatch also downplayed the analysis by congressional tax experts showing a tax increase for several million U.S. households under the Senate proposal. Hatch said “a relatively small minority of taxpayers could see a slight increase in their taxes.”</p>
<p>The committee’s senior Democrat, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, said the legislation has become “a massive handout to multinational corporations and a bonanza for tax cheats and powerful political donors.”</p>
<p>The analysis found that the Senate measure would actually increase taxes in 2019 for 13.8 million households earning less than $200,000 a year. That group, about 10 percent of all U.S. taxpayers, would face tax increases of $100 to $500 in 2019. There also would be increases greater than $500 for a number of taxpayers, especially those with incomes between $75,000 and $200,000. By 2025, 21.4 million households would have steeper tax bills.</p>
<p>The analysts previously found a similar magnitude of tax increases under the House bill.</p>
<p>Neither bill includes a repeal of the so-called individual mandate of Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, the requirement that Americans get health insurance or face a penalty. Several top Republicans have warned that including the provision, as Trump wants, would draw opposition and make passage tougher.</p>
<p>A key moderate Republican in the Senate said it’s too early to say whether including repeal of the insurance mandate would cost her vote on the tax bill. “I’m going to see what the Finance Committee winds up with and what we do on the (Senate) floor,” said Sen. Susan Collins of Maine.</p>
<p>Collins did say she opposed Trump’s idea of reducing the top tax rate for the wealthiest earners.</p>
<p>Among the biggest differences in the two bills that have emerged: the House bill allows homeowners to deduct up to $10,000 in property taxes while the Senate proposal unveiled by GOP leaders last week eliminates the entire deduction. Both versions would eliminate deductions for state and local income taxes and sales taxes.</p>
<p>Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., asked whether the Senate’s proposed repeal of the property tax deduction could bring higher taxes for some middle-class Americans, acknowledged there would be some taxpayers who end up with higher tax bills.</p>
<p>“Any way you cut it, there is a possibility that some taxpayers would get a higher rate,” McConnell told reporters after a forum in Louisville, Kentucky, with local business owners and employees. “You can’t craft any tax bill that guarantees that every single taxpayer in America gets a tax break. What I’m telling you is the overall majority of taxpayers in every bracket would get relief.”</p>
<p>____</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Bruce Schreiner in Louisville and Kevin Freking in Washington contributed to this report</p>
<p>__</p>
<p>This story has been corrected to show that the Joint Committee on Taxation is nonpartisan not bipartisan</p> | 1,398 |
<p />
<p />
<p>Seventeen people have been killed with another eight being wounded by three gunmen according to witnesses at the small cafe in Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou. The city center has already been sealed off by the army and the US embassy there has warned citizens to stay away from the area of the attack. Last year, a Jihadist attack on a near-bye cafe left thirty people dead in January making the area is no stranger to violence.</p>
<p />
<p>The Communication Minister REmis Dandjinou could not say how many assailants were involved at the time of his statement but he did have this to say, "they are confined to one part of the building they attacked. Security and elite forces are conducting an operation". The shooting occurred shortly after 9:00 p.m. on Sunday night on the busy street of Kwame Knrumah Avenue in Ouagadougou. Two locations appear to have been attacked in particular Hotel Bravia and the Aziz Istanbul Restaurant.</p>
<p />
<p>A government statement quoted by the AFP news agency said, "the attack claimed 17 victims, their nationalities are yet to be confirmed, and eight injured." It is unclear which nationalities the victims were but the attack bears a striking resembling to one that occurred last year in January. That attack occurred at the nearby Cappuccino Restaurant and Splendid Hotel, also located on the same street as today's senseless, violent attack. The attack last year was claimed by Al Qaeda but no one has come forward to claim responsibility for this evenings attack at this time.</p>
<p />
<p>Source: <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-40920338" type="external">bbc.com/news/world-africa-40920338</a></p> | 17 People Have Been Killed in Terror Attack at African Cafe | true | http://thegoldwater.com/news/6536-17-People-Have-Been-Killed-in-Terror-Attack-at-African-Cafe | 2017-08-14 | 0right
| 17 People Have Been Killed in Terror Attack at African Cafe
<p />
<p />
<p>Seventeen people have been killed with another eight being wounded by three gunmen according to witnesses at the small cafe in Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou. The city center has already been sealed off by the army and the US embassy there has warned citizens to stay away from the area of the attack. Last year, a Jihadist attack on a near-bye cafe left thirty people dead in January making the area is no stranger to violence.</p>
<p />
<p>The Communication Minister REmis Dandjinou could not say how many assailants were involved at the time of his statement but he did have this to say, "they are confined to one part of the building they attacked. Security and elite forces are conducting an operation". The shooting occurred shortly after 9:00 p.m. on Sunday night on the busy street of Kwame Knrumah Avenue in Ouagadougou. Two locations appear to have been attacked in particular Hotel Bravia and the Aziz Istanbul Restaurant.</p>
<p />
<p>A government statement quoted by the AFP news agency said, "the attack claimed 17 victims, their nationalities are yet to be confirmed, and eight injured." It is unclear which nationalities the victims were but the attack bears a striking resembling to one that occurred last year in January. That attack occurred at the nearby Cappuccino Restaurant and Splendid Hotel, also located on the same street as today's senseless, violent attack. The attack last year was claimed by Al Qaeda but no one has come forward to claim responsibility for this evenings attack at this time.</p>
<p />
<p>Source: <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-40920338" type="external">bbc.com/news/world-africa-40920338</a></p> | 1,399 |
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