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<p>Maryland's Montgomery County is one of the richest in the nation. The county stretches from the edges of Washington D.C., out past the McMansions in Potomac to the sprawling horse farms in Sunshine and beyond.</p>
<p>The median income in Montgomery County is $95,965, placing it 11th nationwide, according to the 2012 American Community Survey (in all there are eight counties around D.C. in the top 15).</p>
<p>So, they're rich in Montgomery County. But the county would lose some 47,000 jobs in just five years if the minimum wage went to $15, The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/study-montgomery-would-lose-47000-jobs-by-2022-if-minimum-wage-went-to-15/2017/08/01/e8470998-76c9-11e7-9eac-d56bd5568db8_story.html?hpid=hp_local-news_mocominwage-840pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&amp;utm_term=.bc140b3bd140" type="external">reported</a> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/study-montgomery-would-lose-47000-jobs-by-2022-if-minimum-wage-went-to-15/2017/08/01/e8470998-76c9-11e7-9eac-d56bd5568db8_story.html?hpid=hp_local-news_mocominwage-840pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&amp;utm_term=.bc140b3bd140" type="external">.</a> Of course, many of those jobs would be low-wage positions.</p>
<p>County Executive Isiah Leggett, a Democrat, ordered the study in January after he vetoed an increase to the minimum wage.</p>
<p>Last week, county council member Marc Elrich introduced a new bill to bring the hourly minimum wage up from the current $11.50 to $15. The bill attempted to address opponents’ concerns about the impact of an increase by giving nonprofit organizations, adult day-care providers and companies with fewer than 26 employees until 2022, instead of 2020, to raise wages.</p>
<p>The business community and others who oppose a higher minimum wage criticized Elrich for proposing the legislation days before the study was due. But proponents of raising the wage questioned the value of the study, conducted by the Philadelphia-based economic consulting group PFM, since it asked employers to predict what would happen instead of looking at the impact of an actual wage hike.</p>
<p>PFM found that increasing the minimum wage to $15 would result in an aggregate loss of $396.5 million of income in the county by 2022 as businesses laid off employees, cut remaining employee hours and benefits, and suspended plans to invest in new locations and hire additional workers.</p>
<p>“We can’t minimize some of the impacts outlined here,” said Leggett, who explained his decision to veto the earlier bill by saying he was worried that the wage hike would hurt the county’s economy. “Even if it’s not 47,000 jobs lost, even if it’s half that, those are some startling numbers. You can’t discount ­it all.”</p>
<p>In all, raising the minimum wage to $15 would result in the loss of $396.5 million of income in the county by 2022.</p>
<p>And even Democrats — or smart ones — know what a $15 minimum wage would do to low-income workers.</p> | STUDY: One Of Richest U.S. Counties Would Lose 47,000 Jobs If Minimum Wage Raised to $15 | true | https://dailywire.com/news/19383/study-one-richest-us-counties-would-lose-47000-joseph-curl | 2017-08-06 | 0right
| STUDY: One Of Richest U.S. Counties Would Lose 47,000 Jobs If Minimum Wage Raised to $15
<p>Maryland's Montgomery County is one of the richest in the nation. The county stretches from the edges of Washington D.C., out past the McMansions in Potomac to the sprawling horse farms in Sunshine and beyond.</p>
<p>The median income in Montgomery County is $95,965, placing it 11th nationwide, according to the 2012 American Community Survey (in all there are eight counties around D.C. in the top 15).</p>
<p>So, they're rich in Montgomery County. But the county would lose some 47,000 jobs in just five years if the minimum wage went to $15, The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/study-montgomery-would-lose-47000-jobs-by-2022-if-minimum-wage-went-to-15/2017/08/01/e8470998-76c9-11e7-9eac-d56bd5568db8_story.html?hpid=hp_local-news_mocominwage-840pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&amp;utm_term=.bc140b3bd140" type="external">reported</a> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/study-montgomery-would-lose-47000-jobs-by-2022-if-minimum-wage-went-to-15/2017/08/01/e8470998-76c9-11e7-9eac-d56bd5568db8_story.html?hpid=hp_local-news_mocominwage-840pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&amp;utm_term=.bc140b3bd140" type="external">.</a> Of course, many of those jobs would be low-wage positions.</p>
<p>County Executive Isiah Leggett, a Democrat, ordered the study in January after he vetoed an increase to the minimum wage.</p>
<p>Last week, county council member Marc Elrich introduced a new bill to bring the hourly minimum wage up from the current $11.50 to $15. The bill attempted to address opponents’ concerns about the impact of an increase by giving nonprofit organizations, adult day-care providers and companies with fewer than 26 employees until 2022, instead of 2020, to raise wages.</p>
<p>The business community and others who oppose a higher minimum wage criticized Elrich for proposing the legislation days before the study was due. But proponents of raising the wage questioned the value of the study, conducted by the Philadelphia-based economic consulting group PFM, since it asked employers to predict what would happen instead of looking at the impact of an actual wage hike.</p>
<p>PFM found that increasing the minimum wage to $15 would result in an aggregate loss of $396.5 million of income in the county by 2022 as businesses laid off employees, cut remaining employee hours and benefits, and suspended plans to invest in new locations and hire additional workers.</p>
<p>“We can’t minimize some of the impacts outlined here,” said Leggett, who explained his decision to veto the earlier bill by saying he was worried that the wage hike would hurt the county’s economy. “Even if it’s not 47,000 jobs lost, even if it’s half that, those are some startling numbers. You can’t discount ­it all.”</p>
<p>In all, raising the minimum wage to $15 would result in the loss of $396.5 million of income in the county by 2022.</p>
<p>And even Democrats — or smart ones — know what a $15 minimum wage would do to low-income workers.</p> | 1,900 |
<p>And with his foreign-born multi-lingual wife standing right next to him. She speaks English with an accent, too.</p>
<p>You know, maybe we can get Donald Trump to quit the presidency. Since Bobby Moynihan is no longer on SNL, Trump could go on that show, let Alec Baldwin continue to play him, while Donald plays Drunk Uncle. Because as you can see from the video above, he's perfect for it.</p>
<p>And it gets worse.</p> | Trump Announces Hispanic Heritage Month While Mocking Accents | true | http://crooksandliars.com/2017/10/trump-announces-hispanic-heritage-month | 2017-10-06 | 4left
| Trump Announces Hispanic Heritage Month While Mocking Accents
<p>And with his foreign-born multi-lingual wife standing right next to him. She speaks English with an accent, too.</p>
<p>You know, maybe we can get Donald Trump to quit the presidency. Since Bobby Moynihan is no longer on SNL, Trump could go on that show, let Alec Baldwin continue to play him, while Donald plays Drunk Uncle. Because as you can see from the video above, he's perfect for it.</p>
<p>And it gets worse.</p> | 1,901 |
<p>The new year is shaping up to be huge for the Washington Scandals Rugby Team. In May they had to Nashville for the Bingham Cup. (Photo by Kevin Majoros)</p>
<p>It was another stellar year for the LGBT sports teams of Washington. The strength of the sports community can be seen in the performances of the athletes when they travel nationally and internationally to compete. The social aspect of the community continues to expand as many of the teams are sharing mixers and the athletes are crossing over to other sports.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.scandalsrfc.org" type="external">Washington Scandals Rugby Football Club</a> continued their path of competing in tournaments and arranging matches with other rugby clubs. This fall they traveled to Charleston, S.C.; New York City and Atlanta. In May, the Scandals will go to Nashville for the Bingham Cup.</p>
<p>It was a great first year for <a href="http://dcpvl.org" type="external">D.C. Pride Volleyball League</a> as they completed their first two seasons of their competitive league and hosted open play on Wednesday nights. They also hosted the Rehoboth Beach Open and Presidents Pride Cup tournaments.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://dcgffl.org" type="external">D.C. Gay Flag Football League</a> had another great year wrapping up two more seasons, traveling to tournaments and hosting Beach Bowl in July in Rehoboth Beach, Del. In October they will host Gay Bowl XVI and welcome teams from all over the country.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.swimdcac.org" type="external">District of Columbia Aquatics Club</a> again hosted the Maryland Swim for Life open water race, the Columbus Classic and traveled to the EuroGames in Stockholm, Sweden where they won 125 medals. In August they will travel to Edmonton, Canada for the International Gay &amp; Lesbian Aquatics Championships.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ski-bums.org" type="external">Ski Bums</a> spent 2015 skiing and snowboarding in powder around the United States and other parts of the world. International trips in 2016 include New Zealand, Japan, Italy and British Columbia. National trips to Montana, New York, Vermont, Oregon and Montana are also being booked. This year’s D.C. day trip will be announced soon.</p>
<p><a href="http://capssoftball.leagueapps.com" type="external">Chesapeake and Potomac Softball</a> sent multiple teams to the Gay Softball World Series in Columbus, Ohio in August where the D.C. Union team took third place. They also continued to provide league play in the open division and women’s division. They hosted their annual MAGIC Tournament and traveled to New Orleans; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Providence, R.I.; and Orlando, Fla., for more tournament action.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.dcstrokes.org" type="external">D.C. Strokes Rowing Club</a> continued with multiple rowing programs and hosted the 22nd annual Stonewall Regatta bringing about 400 rowers to D.C. The Strokes raced sprints and head races throughout the year and had a great showing at the U.S. Masters Rowing Championships in August in Camden, N.J.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.capital-tennis.org" type="external">Capital Tennis Association</a> hosted Capital Classic XXIII and the event was once again live streamed on the CCE Sports Network. The group continues to host 20 leagues across four seasons and players have been traveling to tournaments around the world on the Gay &amp; Lesbian Tennis Alliance World Tour</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.federaltriangles.org" type="external">Federal Triangles Soccer Club</a> continued to host their annual tournaments, the Women’s Indoor Cup, the Rehoboth Beach Classic and the Turkey Bowl along with the Summer of Freedom soccer league. The squads also traveled to tournaments and in August they sent two teams to the 2015 IGLFA North American Championship II in Verona, Wis., and won in the championship match. This year’s United Night OUT at RFK Stadium, which is co-hosted by the Triangles, drew 500 members from the LGBT community.</p>
<p>Women’s full tackle football with the <a href="http://www.washingtonprodigy.com" type="external">Washington Prodigy</a> is a part of the Team D.C. Night OUT series. The Prodigy plays in the Independent Women’s Football League and competes against teams along the eastern seaboard.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://teamdcbasketball.leagueapps.com" type="external">D.C. Sentinels</a> continue to host the Washington D.C. Gay Basketball League along with pickup games twice a week. They also traveled to tournaments in Chicago, San Diego and Dallas.</p>
<p><a href="http://stonewallsports.leagueapps.com" type="external">Stonewall Sports</a> offered league play in four different sports, Stonewall Kickball, Stonewall Bocce, Stonewall Darts and Stonewall Dodgeball. Stonewall Kickball traveled to Las Vegas for tournament action and this past July hosted the Stonewall Kickball Summer Tournament.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.wetskins.org/w/" type="external">Washington Wetskins</a>water polo players hosted the Columbus Day Classic tournament and also traveled to various tournaments throughout the country. They also traveled to the EuroGames in Stockholm, Sweden where they took fifth place in the competitive division.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.dcfrontrunners.org" type="external">D.C. Front Runners</a> hosted the third annual Pride Run 5K drawing about 1,200 runners as part of the Capital Pride events.&#160; They continue to offer their walk, run and racing series and several of their runners competed throughout the region in races.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.carabowling.org" type="external">Capital Area Rainbowlers Association</a> continues to host nine fall/winter leagues along with three summer leagues. Along with hosting their annual Capital Holiday Invitational Tournament, the bowlers traveled the region competing in tournaments.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Capital Tennis Association</a> <a href="" type="internal">CAPS</a> <a href="" type="internal">CARA</a> <a href="" type="internal">Chesapeake and Potomac Softball</a> <a href="" type="internal">D.C. Gay Flag Football League</a> <a href="" type="internal">DC Front Runners</a> <a href="" type="internal">DC pride volleyball league</a> <a href="" type="internal">DC sentinels</a> <a href="" type="internal">DC Strokes Rowing Club</a> <a href="" type="internal">District of Columbia Aquatics Club</a> <a href="" type="internal">Federal Triangles Soccer Club</a> <a href="" type="internal">Ski-Bums</a> <a href="" type="internal">Stonewall Sports</a> <a href="" type="internal">Washington Prodigy</a> <a href="" type="internal">Washington Scandals Rugby Football Club</a> <a href="" type="internal">washington wet skins</a></p> | YEAR IN REVIEW 2015: Sports (Victories at home and abroad) | false | http://washingtonblade.com/2015/12/30/year-in-review-2015-sports-victories-at-home-and-abroad/ | 3left-center
| YEAR IN REVIEW 2015: Sports (Victories at home and abroad)
<p>The new year is shaping up to be huge for the Washington Scandals Rugby Team. In May they had to Nashville for the Bingham Cup. (Photo by Kevin Majoros)</p>
<p>It was another stellar year for the LGBT sports teams of Washington. The strength of the sports community can be seen in the performances of the athletes when they travel nationally and internationally to compete. The social aspect of the community continues to expand as many of the teams are sharing mixers and the athletes are crossing over to other sports.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.scandalsrfc.org" type="external">Washington Scandals Rugby Football Club</a> continued their path of competing in tournaments and arranging matches with other rugby clubs. This fall they traveled to Charleston, S.C.; New York City and Atlanta. In May, the Scandals will go to Nashville for the Bingham Cup.</p>
<p>It was a great first year for <a href="http://dcpvl.org" type="external">D.C. Pride Volleyball League</a> as they completed their first two seasons of their competitive league and hosted open play on Wednesday nights. They also hosted the Rehoboth Beach Open and Presidents Pride Cup tournaments.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://dcgffl.org" type="external">D.C. Gay Flag Football League</a> had another great year wrapping up two more seasons, traveling to tournaments and hosting Beach Bowl in July in Rehoboth Beach, Del. In October they will host Gay Bowl XVI and welcome teams from all over the country.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.swimdcac.org" type="external">District of Columbia Aquatics Club</a> again hosted the Maryland Swim for Life open water race, the Columbus Classic and traveled to the EuroGames in Stockholm, Sweden where they won 125 medals. In August they will travel to Edmonton, Canada for the International Gay &amp; Lesbian Aquatics Championships.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ski-bums.org" type="external">Ski Bums</a> spent 2015 skiing and snowboarding in powder around the United States and other parts of the world. International trips in 2016 include New Zealand, Japan, Italy and British Columbia. National trips to Montana, New York, Vermont, Oregon and Montana are also being booked. This year’s D.C. day trip will be announced soon.</p>
<p><a href="http://capssoftball.leagueapps.com" type="external">Chesapeake and Potomac Softball</a> sent multiple teams to the Gay Softball World Series in Columbus, Ohio in August where the D.C. Union team took third place. They also continued to provide league play in the open division and women’s division. They hosted their annual MAGIC Tournament and traveled to New Orleans; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Providence, R.I.; and Orlando, Fla., for more tournament action.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.dcstrokes.org" type="external">D.C. Strokes Rowing Club</a> continued with multiple rowing programs and hosted the 22nd annual Stonewall Regatta bringing about 400 rowers to D.C. The Strokes raced sprints and head races throughout the year and had a great showing at the U.S. Masters Rowing Championships in August in Camden, N.J.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.capital-tennis.org" type="external">Capital Tennis Association</a> hosted Capital Classic XXIII and the event was once again live streamed on the CCE Sports Network. The group continues to host 20 leagues across four seasons and players have been traveling to tournaments around the world on the Gay &amp; Lesbian Tennis Alliance World Tour</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.federaltriangles.org" type="external">Federal Triangles Soccer Club</a> continued to host their annual tournaments, the Women’s Indoor Cup, the Rehoboth Beach Classic and the Turkey Bowl along with the Summer of Freedom soccer league. The squads also traveled to tournaments and in August they sent two teams to the 2015 IGLFA North American Championship II in Verona, Wis., and won in the championship match. This year’s United Night OUT at RFK Stadium, which is co-hosted by the Triangles, drew 500 members from the LGBT community.</p>
<p>Women’s full tackle football with the <a href="http://www.washingtonprodigy.com" type="external">Washington Prodigy</a> is a part of the Team D.C. Night OUT series. The Prodigy plays in the Independent Women’s Football League and competes against teams along the eastern seaboard.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://teamdcbasketball.leagueapps.com" type="external">D.C. Sentinels</a> continue to host the Washington D.C. Gay Basketball League along with pickup games twice a week. They also traveled to tournaments in Chicago, San Diego and Dallas.</p>
<p><a href="http://stonewallsports.leagueapps.com" type="external">Stonewall Sports</a> offered league play in four different sports, Stonewall Kickball, Stonewall Bocce, Stonewall Darts and Stonewall Dodgeball. Stonewall Kickball traveled to Las Vegas for tournament action and this past July hosted the Stonewall Kickball Summer Tournament.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.wetskins.org/w/" type="external">Washington Wetskins</a>water polo players hosted the Columbus Day Classic tournament and also traveled to various tournaments throughout the country. They also traveled to the EuroGames in Stockholm, Sweden where they took fifth place in the competitive division.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.dcfrontrunners.org" type="external">D.C. Front Runners</a> hosted the third annual Pride Run 5K drawing about 1,200 runners as part of the Capital Pride events.&#160; They continue to offer their walk, run and racing series and several of their runners competed throughout the region in races.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.carabowling.org" type="external">Capital Area Rainbowlers Association</a> continues to host nine fall/winter leagues along with three summer leagues. Along with hosting their annual Capital Holiday Invitational Tournament, the bowlers traveled the region competing in tournaments.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Capital Tennis Association</a> <a href="" type="internal">CAPS</a> <a href="" type="internal">CARA</a> <a href="" type="internal">Chesapeake and Potomac Softball</a> <a href="" type="internal">D.C. Gay Flag Football League</a> <a href="" type="internal">DC Front Runners</a> <a href="" type="internal">DC pride volleyball league</a> <a href="" type="internal">DC sentinels</a> <a href="" type="internal">DC Strokes Rowing Club</a> <a href="" type="internal">District of Columbia Aquatics Club</a> <a href="" type="internal">Federal Triangles Soccer Club</a> <a href="" type="internal">Ski-Bums</a> <a href="" type="internal">Stonewall Sports</a> <a href="" type="internal">Washington Prodigy</a> <a href="" type="internal">Washington Scandals Rugby Football Club</a> <a href="" type="internal">washington wet skins</a></p> | 1,902 |
|
<p>Following Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election, global exchange traded products attracted record inflows fueled by U.S. equities. Global ETPs, which are comprised of both exchange traded funds and exchange traded notes, saw $56 billion in inflows over November, the best month since December 2014, according to a BlackRock note. Most of the… <a href="http://www.etftrends.com/2016/12/global-etps-attract-record-flows-on-heels-of-trump-victory/" type="external">Click to read more at ETFtrends.com. Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | Global ETPs Attract Record Flows on Heels of Trump Victory | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/12/20/global-etps-attract-record-flows-on-heels-trump-victory.html | 2016-12-20 | 0right
| Global ETPs Attract Record Flows on Heels of Trump Victory
<p>Following Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election, global exchange traded products attracted record inflows fueled by U.S. equities. Global ETPs, which are comprised of both exchange traded funds and exchange traded notes, saw $56 billion in inflows over November, the best month since December 2014, according to a BlackRock note. Most of the… <a href="http://www.etftrends.com/2016/12/global-etps-attract-record-flows-on-heels-of-trump-victory/" type="external">Click to read more at ETFtrends.com. Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | 1,903 |
<p />
<p>Not only do I not watch TV anymore (or, so far), I haven’t had premium cable for years. So I missed that some morons out there are, for some reason, heckling Maher about Kucinich or 9/11 or how crappy the reception from Mars is since their aluminum foil hats got dinged. Check out <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/01/16/kucinichsupporting-heckl_n_81815.html" type="external">this HuffPo link</a> to his recent appearance on Leno. The piece has lots of other great links to Maher-hating, too. Definitely check the one where he personally leaves the stage to help security give these orifices the bum’s rush. Their mamas didn’t raise them right and certainly didn’t raise them to be intelligent cuz Maher’s the wrong hombre to f with, intellectually or physically. I love his line to security: “Don’t be gentle with them. Ass-kicking is what’s called for.”</p>
<p>There’s a time and a place for everything, protest included, and a talk show audience is neither.</p>
<p /> | Please Tase Them, Bro! What’s With Heckling Bill Maher? | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2008/01/please-tase-them-bro-whats-heckling-bill-maher/ | 2008-01-17 | 4left
| Please Tase Them, Bro! What’s With Heckling Bill Maher?
<p />
<p>Not only do I not watch TV anymore (or, so far), I haven’t had premium cable for years. So I missed that some morons out there are, for some reason, heckling Maher about Kucinich or 9/11 or how crappy the reception from Mars is since their aluminum foil hats got dinged. Check out <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/01/16/kucinichsupporting-heckl_n_81815.html" type="external">this HuffPo link</a> to his recent appearance on Leno. The piece has lots of other great links to Maher-hating, too. Definitely check the one where he personally leaves the stage to help security give these orifices the bum’s rush. Their mamas didn’t raise them right and certainly didn’t raise them to be intelligent cuz Maher’s the wrong hombre to f with, intellectually or physically. I love his line to security: “Don’t be gentle with them. Ass-kicking is what’s called for.”</p>
<p>There’s a time and a place for everything, protest included, and a talk show audience is neither.</p>
<p /> | 1,904 |
<p />
<p>Dana Zzyym (Photo courtesy of Lambda Legal)</p>
<p />
<p>Dana Zzyym, a U.S. Navy veteran who is the associate director of the U.S. affiliate of the Organization Intersex International, applied for a passport in 2014 in order to travel to Mexico City for a conference. The State Department told Zzyym it denied the passport application because it was “unable to fulfill your request to list your sex as ‘X.’”</p>
<p>Zzyym provided the Colorado Passport Agency with additional documentation in order to prove their intersex identity with the State Department with their second passport application. The State Department also denied it.</p>
<p>Lambda Legal in 2015 filed a federal lawsuit on Zzyym’s behalf in the U.S. District Court for the District of Cololrado, arguing the State Department’s passport denial violates the constitution and federal law.</p>
<p>Judge R. Brooke Jackson <a href="" type="internal">ruled in favor</a> of Zzyym last November. Lambda Legal on Tuesday said in a press release the State Department notified Zzyym on May 1 that it was unable to issue them “an accurate passport.”</p>
<p>“My work as an advocate for the&#160;intersex&#160;community is incredibly important to me, and I’m unable to do my job because I don’t have a passport,” said Zzyym in the Lambda Legal press release. “The State Department is in effect forcing me to lie about who I am, and I’m not going to do that. No one should be forced to lie about who they are.”</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Dana Zzyym</a> <a href="" type="internal">intersex</a> <a href="" type="internal">Lambda Legal</a> <a href="" type="internal">State Department</a></p> | Federal court reopens intersex passport applicant case | false | http://washingtonblade.com/2017/06/28/federal-court-reopens-intersex-passport-applicant-case/ | 3left-center
| Federal court reopens intersex passport applicant case
<p />
<p>Dana Zzyym (Photo courtesy of Lambda Legal)</p>
<p />
<p>Dana Zzyym, a U.S. Navy veteran who is the associate director of the U.S. affiliate of the Organization Intersex International, applied for a passport in 2014 in order to travel to Mexico City for a conference. The State Department told Zzyym it denied the passport application because it was “unable to fulfill your request to list your sex as ‘X.’”</p>
<p>Zzyym provided the Colorado Passport Agency with additional documentation in order to prove their intersex identity with the State Department with their second passport application. The State Department also denied it.</p>
<p>Lambda Legal in 2015 filed a federal lawsuit on Zzyym’s behalf in the U.S. District Court for the District of Cololrado, arguing the State Department’s passport denial violates the constitution and federal law.</p>
<p>Judge R. Brooke Jackson <a href="" type="internal">ruled in favor</a> of Zzyym last November. Lambda Legal on Tuesday said in a press release the State Department notified Zzyym on May 1 that it was unable to issue them “an accurate passport.”</p>
<p>“My work as an advocate for the&#160;intersex&#160;community is incredibly important to me, and I’m unable to do my job because I don’t have a passport,” said Zzyym in the Lambda Legal press release. “The State Department is in effect forcing me to lie about who I am, and I’m not going to do that. No one should be forced to lie about who they are.”</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Dana Zzyym</a> <a href="" type="internal">intersex</a> <a href="" type="internal">Lambda Legal</a> <a href="" type="internal">State Department</a></p> | 1,905 |
|
<p>Nearly a year ago on Monday, December 22, 2009, at the Kingston fossil fuel plant in Eastern Tennessee, a fly ash impoundment collapsed and within minutes released 5.4 million cubic yards of toxic fly ash into the Emory River and over 300 acres of land. The spill damaged numerous homes, destroyed a portion of a rail line and covered a portion of a highway. Fortunately there were no fatalities, but the lives of hundreds of nearby residents were severely altered, some forever, by one of the worst in environmental disaster in our nation’s history. The TVA estimates that it will cost rate- payers more than one billion dollars for the clean-up effort.</p>
<p>Equally troubling is the TVA’s inept response to the disaster. A response so reckless it will undoubtedly be recorded in the annals of disaster history as what not to do in the wake of calamity. In the aftermath of the Exxon-Valdez oil spill (1989) there appeared a number of case studies criticizing Exxon’s response to the spill, describing their response as a classic management case study of how not to response to a catastrophe. In light of the TVA’s flawed response to the ash spill, in years to come their failure will certainly be viewed as yet another textbook case of how not to respond to crisis.</p>
<p>The Agency’s response has been more than simply flawed. The TVA’s tactical response to the disaster has been to manufacture doubt and uncertainty to keep the public confused and avoid environmental compliance and accountability. Their ability to pursue this strategy calls into question the regulatory powers of state and federal agencies.</p>
<p>As a result of this kind of an approach, their credibility has been severely questioned by many and some would argue that in weeks and months that followed the agency has squandered whatever credibility they had left.</p>
<p>The question remains if the TVA can recover their credibility and actually be perceived as having eventually taken the necessary steps to repair the damage to both the affected families and the environment. Even though the TVA appears to have, somewhat reluctantly, taken some modest steps in recent months the jury is still out on whether they will be able to restore their image and whether or not they have truly reformed or are merely undertaking yet another public relations campaign to repair their image and avoid transparency.</p>
<p>From the beginning they appeared to down play the event. In the first early hours in the media and on their websites they referred to the disaster as an “ash slide”. Their early statements also underestimated the damage considerably by reporting that an estimated 1.8 million cubic yards of coal ash was spilled but they were later forced to issue a correction when radar analysis revealed the amount to be 5.4 cubic million yards.</p>
<p>Tom Kilgore, TVA CEO referred to the disaster as an “inconvenience” and TVA Senior Vice President for Environmental Policy, Anda Ray, astonishingly refused to call the spill an environmental disaster since in her mind coal waste is “inert”. Instead, she described the event as “a challenging event to restore the community back to normalcy”</p>
<p>The efforts to downplay the disaster continued as Tom Kilgore prematurely declared the situation as “safe”. In his statement he said, “chemicals in the ash spill are of concern, but the situation is probably safe.” A statement made long before there was as any scientific evidence to support such a claim. Then Gilbert Francis Jr. an agency spokesperson made a statement to the press saying that ash spill materials “do contain some heavy metals within it, but it is not toxic or anything.” These statements are ironic in light of a later <a href="" type="internal">internal report</a> that would criticize the TVA for having “relegated [ash] to the status of garbage at a landfill rather than treating it as a potential hazard to the public and the environment.”</p>
<p>Journalists, environmentalists, public health specialists and independent scientists wondered how the TVA could make such assertions when extensive scientific studies had not yet to been conducted. Whether or not there was imminent harm to public health or the environment seemed in some people’s minds to be an open question that required more extensive investigation rather than hasty pronouncements.</p>
<p>In the wake of most disasters there often is an “informational vacuum” and research demonstrates that too often responsible parties hastily attempt to fill this vacuum with incomplete or misinformation before all the information and research is readily available to fully inform the public.</p>
<p>These initial missteps cascaded into a series of missteps or calculated manuvers. To some observers it soon began to appear that the TVA either didn’t comprehend the severity of the event or was trying desperately to deny its severity and downplay it. In the coming weeks and months the TVA’s handling of the event seemed in the eyes of some, if not many, to swing wildly out of control. The question in some minds was “how could an agency as large, as powerful, as the TVA falter again and again and appear to take such a reckless approach.</p>
<p>In addition to the false start described above, many of the TVA’s responses called in to question “who was in charge?” As well as why the agency seemed to have so much difficulty in recovering. Among many of the missteps too numerous to mention were:</p>
<p>* To the shock of many, the TVA did not implement a National Incident Management System in accordance with Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5. The failure of which severely hampered emergency response communications with county, state and federal agency. In light of our nation’s national disaster response to 9/11 and all the implemented in response to this national tragedy it was shocking and disturbing to many that an agency the size of the TVA, was not prepared to interactive with a system so vital to our nation’s security. The idea that an agency with had so many major dams, fossil fuel plants, and nuclear facilities was unprepared to communicate and interact with NIMS was startling to seasoned disaster responders.</p>
<p>* Uncertainties, doubts, and concern increased in many peoples’ mind when independent researchers began reporting test results that conflicted with the TVA’s test results. Doubt and concern increased when the TVA severely restricted access to the afflicted area and prevented independent testing. Whether or not the move was surreptitious, it appeared to be so in the eyes of many. As the disparity in the risk evaluations grew and residents learned more about the potential health risks, concerns about health increased, as did concerns about long-term harm to the environment. One resident affected by the spill stated, “The TVA tends to dance around the issue and not tell you direct answers. Another resident, who attended the TVA’s public meetings argued, “The TVA will sand bag you with tons of irrelevant data but will not answer your questions.”</p>
<p>* The TVA’s credibility was further eroded when an internal memo prepared by the agency’s public relations staff, labeled, “risk assessment talking points” was leaked to inadvertently emailed to the Associated Press. The memo stated that the coal ash spill was best described as a “sudden accidental release” rather than “catastrophic.” The memo further advised that to remove from any future statements the word, “risk to public health and risk to the environment” as the reason for monitoring water quality. A discussion of fly ash was revised to note that it consists of “inert” materials and is not harmful to the environment.” Suspicions about the TVA’s statements grew in the minds of some journalists as well as the families affected by the spill. As an internal TVA report would later state, “repeated efforts by the media to learn anything about the TVA’s culpability were met with artful dodges” thereby confirming earlier suspicions about the TVA’s motives.</p>
<p>* Doubts and suspicions were galvanized in some minds when in the summer of 2009 the TVA’s inspector general released <a href="" type="internal">a report</a> that claimed that the TVA had ignored several decades of warnings that could have prevented the tragedy from occurring.</p>
<p>* The report went on to assert that the TVA made a conscious effort to suppress certain facts. In commenting on the TVA’s failure to investigate and report management practices that contributed to the spill the IG’s report states: ” the fact that the TVA would not review management practices may have contributed to the failure, but would instead tightly circumscribe the scope of the review to intentionally avoid revealing any evidence that would suggest culpability on the part of the TVA: “In fact, it would appear that TVA management made a conscious decision to present to the public only facts that supported an absence of liability for TVA for the Kingston spill”.</p>
<p>* The report continues by exploring the issue further and stating that the agency’s dilemma appears to have been accountability versus litigation. The IG’s report suggests that one the one hand the TVA could have conducted a “diligent” review of TVA management practices and a technical examination of the failed impoundment structure and release their findings to the public or decide on a second choice which the report characterizes as to “circle the wagons” by only publishing favorable press releases and “attempt to minimize its legal liability.” Both choices, the report argues are value judgments. While the inspector general’s office does not have definitive information about how the decision was made the report suggests it would appear the TVA made the latter choice. If true, this is indeed unfortunate since, aside from the public’s right to know, research demonstrates that the lack of transparency in the wake of disasters creates undo uncertainty and anxiety in the minds of those most affected by the tragedy. Decisions like this underscore the fact that it is not always science the drives decision-making process in the wake of disasters but rather politics and the culture of organizations.</p>
<p>* Finally, just this month the Environmental Integrity Project has just released new data, which in their words “paints an even grimmer picture of the coal ash disaster. Based on <a href="" type="internal">reports</a> filed with the Environmental Protection Agency by the TVA, the ash spill “dumped an estimated 140,000 pounds of arsenic into the Emory River-more than twice the reported amount discharged in U.S. waterways from all power plants in 2007.”</p>
<p>* The Toxics Release Inventory filed by TVA with the EPA also reports that other toxic pollutants, such as vanadium, chromium, lead, manganese, and nickel were deposited in the river at levels higher than twice the amount of reported amounts discharged in 2007 by all U.S. power plants into U.S. waterways. Not only is the shear amount of these toxic pollutants disturbing and troublesome, but also the fact that while the TVA reported these discharges, at some point in time, to the EPA, they failed to be transparent and report the same facts to the general public. Why did it take a report issued by an independent organization to make these amounts and their potential consequences known to the general public? Why has the TVA itself failed to do so? As we await the agency’s response to these findings one cannot help but wonder if the TVA in its denial is not about to generate another media spin designed to create uncertainty.</p>
<p>Richard Moore, the TVA’s Inspector General, recently testified before the United States House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. In his <a href="" type="internal">statements</a> he recounts some of his earlier findings on the failure of the TVA in responding to the ash spill disaster and outlines current attempts by the TVA to remedy their failures. Moore believes the TVA is “marching in the right direction based on actions implemented and/or initiated to-date.” Although, he does caution: “it is too early to determine whether these will be sufficient to overcome a legacy of culture resistant to change.”</p>
<p>What worries me is that many decades of disaster research clearly demonstrate that in the wake of disasters, many lessons are learned, but seldom if ever are they implemented, even when corporations or government announce their attention to do so.</p>
<p>One thing is clear. The remedy to the TVA’s mishandling of the disaster requires more than a restructuring of management. If significant changes within the TVA corporate culture are to succeed, there must be recognition that even though science and technology are integral to responding to environmental disasters (which in this case seems to be the camouflage under which the TVA is hiding), research has demonstrated that the instinct to rely solely on an ‘engineering fix’ does not work. The TVA must recognize that the sociocultural issues within the agency and the affected communities cannot be ignored if they are to respond effectively to disasters and prevent them from happening in the future.</p>
<p>More importantly, given the TVA’s careless response to the ash spill disaster and its poor environmental record across the board (See the Environmental Integrity Project’s <a href="http://www.environmentalintegrity.org/pdf/newsreports/EIP_TVA_Report_FINAL.pdf" type="external">scathing report</a>) it has become increasingly obvious that aside from a major sea change within it’s organizational structure the TVA must held more accountable to the EPA and Congressional oversight and be denied its unique status as a “federal” agency which shields it from being held more accountable. In short, it is time to redress the asymmetrical power relationship between an environmental polluter like the TVA and the federal agencies that are mandated to protect the environment and the public’s health.</p>
<p>GREGORY V. BUTTON, PhD is a faculty member at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville who has been researching disasters for over three decades. He is currently writing a book about the TVA Ash Spill titled, “When Ashes Flowed Like Water”. He can be contacted at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | The TVA Ash Spill One Year Later: Lessons Learned | true | https://counterpunch.org/2009/12/16/the-tva-ash-spill-one-year-later-lessons-learned/ | 2009-12-16 | 4left
| The TVA Ash Spill One Year Later: Lessons Learned
<p>Nearly a year ago on Monday, December 22, 2009, at the Kingston fossil fuel plant in Eastern Tennessee, a fly ash impoundment collapsed and within minutes released 5.4 million cubic yards of toxic fly ash into the Emory River and over 300 acres of land. The spill damaged numerous homes, destroyed a portion of a rail line and covered a portion of a highway. Fortunately there were no fatalities, but the lives of hundreds of nearby residents were severely altered, some forever, by one of the worst in environmental disaster in our nation’s history. The TVA estimates that it will cost rate- payers more than one billion dollars for the clean-up effort.</p>
<p>Equally troubling is the TVA’s inept response to the disaster. A response so reckless it will undoubtedly be recorded in the annals of disaster history as what not to do in the wake of calamity. In the aftermath of the Exxon-Valdez oil spill (1989) there appeared a number of case studies criticizing Exxon’s response to the spill, describing their response as a classic management case study of how not to response to a catastrophe. In light of the TVA’s flawed response to the ash spill, in years to come their failure will certainly be viewed as yet another textbook case of how not to respond to crisis.</p>
<p>The Agency’s response has been more than simply flawed. The TVA’s tactical response to the disaster has been to manufacture doubt and uncertainty to keep the public confused and avoid environmental compliance and accountability. Their ability to pursue this strategy calls into question the regulatory powers of state and federal agencies.</p>
<p>As a result of this kind of an approach, their credibility has been severely questioned by many and some would argue that in weeks and months that followed the agency has squandered whatever credibility they had left.</p>
<p>The question remains if the TVA can recover their credibility and actually be perceived as having eventually taken the necessary steps to repair the damage to both the affected families and the environment. Even though the TVA appears to have, somewhat reluctantly, taken some modest steps in recent months the jury is still out on whether they will be able to restore their image and whether or not they have truly reformed or are merely undertaking yet another public relations campaign to repair their image and avoid transparency.</p>
<p>From the beginning they appeared to down play the event. In the first early hours in the media and on their websites they referred to the disaster as an “ash slide”. Their early statements also underestimated the damage considerably by reporting that an estimated 1.8 million cubic yards of coal ash was spilled but they were later forced to issue a correction when radar analysis revealed the amount to be 5.4 cubic million yards.</p>
<p>Tom Kilgore, TVA CEO referred to the disaster as an “inconvenience” and TVA Senior Vice President for Environmental Policy, Anda Ray, astonishingly refused to call the spill an environmental disaster since in her mind coal waste is “inert”. Instead, she described the event as “a challenging event to restore the community back to normalcy”</p>
<p>The efforts to downplay the disaster continued as Tom Kilgore prematurely declared the situation as “safe”. In his statement he said, “chemicals in the ash spill are of concern, but the situation is probably safe.” A statement made long before there was as any scientific evidence to support such a claim. Then Gilbert Francis Jr. an agency spokesperson made a statement to the press saying that ash spill materials “do contain some heavy metals within it, but it is not toxic or anything.” These statements are ironic in light of a later <a href="" type="internal">internal report</a> that would criticize the TVA for having “relegated [ash] to the status of garbage at a landfill rather than treating it as a potential hazard to the public and the environment.”</p>
<p>Journalists, environmentalists, public health specialists and independent scientists wondered how the TVA could make such assertions when extensive scientific studies had not yet to been conducted. Whether or not there was imminent harm to public health or the environment seemed in some people’s minds to be an open question that required more extensive investigation rather than hasty pronouncements.</p>
<p>In the wake of most disasters there often is an “informational vacuum” and research demonstrates that too often responsible parties hastily attempt to fill this vacuum with incomplete or misinformation before all the information and research is readily available to fully inform the public.</p>
<p>These initial missteps cascaded into a series of missteps or calculated manuvers. To some observers it soon began to appear that the TVA either didn’t comprehend the severity of the event or was trying desperately to deny its severity and downplay it. In the coming weeks and months the TVA’s handling of the event seemed in the eyes of some, if not many, to swing wildly out of control. The question in some minds was “how could an agency as large, as powerful, as the TVA falter again and again and appear to take such a reckless approach.</p>
<p>In addition to the false start described above, many of the TVA’s responses called in to question “who was in charge?” As well as why the agency seemed to have so much difficulty in recovering. Among many of the missteps too numerous to mention were:</p>
<p>* To the shock of many, the TVA did not implement a National Incident Management System in accordance with Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5. The failure of which severely hampered emergency response communications with county, state and federal agency. In light of our nation’s national disaster response to 9/11 and all the implemented in response to this national tragedy it was shocking and disturbing to many that an agency the size of the TVA, was not prepared to interactive with a system so vital to our nation’s security. The idea that an agency with had so many major dams, fossil fuel plants, and nuclear facilities was unprepared to communicate and interact with NIMS was startling to seasoned disaster responders.</p>
<p>* Uncertainties, doubts, and concern increased in many peoples’ mind when independent researchers began reporting test results that conflicted with the TVA’s test results. Doubt and concern increased when the TVA severely restricted access to the afflicted area and prevented independent testing. Whether or not the move was surreptitious, it appeared to be so in the eyes of many. As the disparity in the risk evaluations grew and residents learned more about the potential health risks, concerns about health increased, as did concerns about long-term harm to the environment. One resident affected by the spill stated, “The TVA tends to dance around the issue and not tell you direct answers. Another resident, who attended the TVA’s public meetings argued, “The TVA will sand bag you with tons of irrelevant data but will not answer your questions.”</p>
<p>* The TVA’s credibility was further eroded when an internal memo prepared by the agency’s public relations staff, labeled, “risk assessment talking points” was leaked to inadvertently emailed to the Associated Press. The memo stated that the coal ash spill was best described as a “sudden accidental release” rather than “catastrophic.” The memo further advised that to remove from any future statements the word, “risk to public health and risk to the environment” as the reason for monitoring water quality. A discussion of fly ash was revised to note that it consists of “inert” materials and is not harmful to the environment.” Suspicions about the TVA’s statements grew in the minds of some journalists as well as the families affected by the spill. As an internal TVA report would later state, “repeated efforts by the media to learn anything about the TVA’s culpability were met with artful dodges” thereby confirming earlier suspicions about the TVA’s motives.</p>
<p>* Doubts and suspicions were galvanized in some minds when in the summer of 2009 the TVA’s inspector general released <a href="" type="internal">a report</a> that claimed that the TVA had ignored several decades of warnings that could have prevented the tragedy from occurring.</p>
<p>* The report went on to assert that the TVA made a conscious effort to suppress certain facts. In commenting on the TVA’s failure to investigate and report management practices that contributed to the spill the IG’s report states: ” the fact that the TVA would not review management practices may have contributed to the failure, but would instead tightly circumscribe the scope of the review to intentionally avoid revealing any evidence that would suggest culpability on the part of the TVA: “In fact, it would appear that TVA management made a conscious decision to present to the public only facts that supported an absence of liability for TVA for the Kingston spill”.</p>
<p>* The report continues by exploring the issue further and stating that the agency’s dilemma appears to have been accountability versus litigation. The IG’s report suggests that one the one hand the TVA could have conducted a “diligent” review of TVA management practices and a technical examination of the failed impoundment structure and release their findings to the public or decide on a second choice which the report characterizes as to “circle the wagons” by only publishing favorable press releases and “attempt to minimize its legal liability.” Both choices, the report argues are value judgments. While the inspector general’s office does not have definitive information about how the decision was made the report suggests it would appear the TVA made the latter choice. If true, this is indeed unfortunate since, aside from the public’s right to know, research demonstrates that the lack of transparency in the wake of disasters creates undo uncertainty and anxiety in the minds of those most affected by the tragedy. Decisions like this underscore the fact that it is not always science the drives decision-making process in the wake of disasters but rather politics and the culture of organizations.</p>
<p>* Finally, just this month the Environmental Integrity Project has just released new data, which in their words “paints an even grimmer picture of the coal ash disaster. Based on <a href="" type="internal">reports</a> filed with the Environmental Protection Agency by the TVA, the ash spill “dumped an estimated 140,000 pounds of arsenic into the Emory River-more than twice the reported amount discharged in U.S. waterways from all power plants in 2007.”</p>
<p>* The Toxics Release Inventory filed by TVA with the EPA also reports that other toxic pollutants, such as vanadium, chromium, lead, manganese, and nickel were deposited in the river at levels higher than twice the amount of reported amounts discharged in 2007 by all U.S. power plants into U.S. waterways. Not only is the shear amount of these toxic pollutants disturbing and troublesome, but also the fact that while the TVA reported these discharges, at some point in time, to the EPA, they failed to be transparent and report the same facts to the general public. Why did it take a report issued by an independent organization to make these amounts and their potential consequences known to the general public? Why has the TVA itself failed to do so? As we await the agency’s response to these findings one cannot help but wonder if the TVA in its denial is not about to generate another media spin designed to create uncertainty.</p>
<p>Richard Moore, the TVA’s Inspector General, recently testified before the United States House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. In his <a href="" type="internal">statements</a> he recounts some of his earlier findings on the failure of the TVA in responding to the ash spill disaster and outlines current attempts by the TVA to remedy their failures. Moore believes the TVA is “marching in the right direction based on actions implemented and/or initiated to-date.” Although, he does caution: “it is too early to determine whether these will be sufficient to overcome a legacy of culture resistant to change.”</p>
<p>What worries me is that many decades of disaster research clearly demonstrate that in the wake of disasters, many lessons are learned, but seldom if ever are they implemented, even when corporations or government announce their attention to do so.</p>
<p>One thing is clear. The remedy to the TVA’s mishandling of the disaster requires more than a restructuring of management. If significant changes within the TVA corporate culture are to succeed, there must be recognition that even though science and technology are integral to responding to environmental disasters (which in this case seems to be the camouflage under which the TVA is hiding), research has demonstrated that the instinct to rely solely on an ‘engineering fix’ does not work. The TVA must recognize that the sociocultural issues within the agency and the affected communities cannot be ignored if they are to respond effectively to disasters and prevent them from happening in the future.</p>
<p>More importantly, given the TVA’s careless response to the ash spill disaster and its poor environmental record across the board (See the Environmental Integrity Project’s <a href="http://www.environmentalintegrity.org/pdf/newsreports/EIP_TVA_Report_FINAL.pdf" type="external">scathing report</a>) it has become increasingly obvious that aside from a major sea change within it’s organizational structure the TVA must held more accountable to the EPA and Congressional oversight and be denied its unique status as a “federal” agency which shields it from being held more accountable. In short, it is time to redress the asymmetrical power relationship between an environmental polluter like the TVA and the federal agencies that are mandated to protect the environment and the public’s health.</p>
<p>GREGORY V. BUTTON, PhD is a faculty member at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville who has been researching disasters for over three decades. He is currently writing a book about the TVA Ash Spill titled, “When Ashes Flowed Like Water”. He can be contacted at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 1,906 |
<p>What will the future of television look like? Well, we know that on-demand video will be big (something <a href="http://www.tivo.com" type="external">TiVo</a> users have experienced for years). And in a speech to analysts at a Deutsche Bank Securities Media Telecom Conference, Walt Disney Co. future CEO (as of October 2005) Robert Iger provided a hint where the TV networks are heading. (Disney owns ABC-TV.)As <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000947971" type="external">reported by the Hollywood Reporter</a>, Iger "spoke of possible initiatives like a 'Desperate Housewives Plus,' whereby consumers would buy an episode a day after it airs, though the purchased episode would include omitted scenes and 'a few more bells and whistles.'"And here's a really smart statement from Iger: "(We will) not allow management of traditional businesses to get in the way of very, very important migration to new-media platforms."</p> | Glimpsing the Future of TV | false | https://poynter.org/news/glimpsing-future-tv | 2005-06-08 | 2least
| Glimpsing the Future of TV
<p>What will the future of television look like? Well, we know that on-demand video will be big (something <a href="http://www.tivo.com" type="external">TiVo</a> users have experienced for years). And in a speech to analysts at a Deutsche Bank Securities Media Telecom Conference, Walt Disney Co. future CEO (as of October 2005) Robert Iger provided a hint where the TV networks are heading. (Disney owns ABC-TV.)As <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000947971" type="external">reported by the Hollywood Reporter</a>, Iger "spoke of possible initiatives like a 'Desperate Housewives Plus,' whereby consumers would buy an episode a day after it airs, though the purchased episode would include omitted scenes and 'a few more bells and whistles.'"And here's a really smart statement from Iger: "(We will) not allow management of traditional businesses to get in the way of very, very important migration to new-media platforms."</p> | 1,907 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The state Supreme Court has upheld the murder conviction of a Taos man who was re-tried after the court overturned his initial conviction for the shooting death of a teenager.</p>
<p>In the latest appeal by Orlando Torrez, the court concluded there was enough evidence to support his convictions of felony murder, shooting at a dwelling and evidence tampering.</p>
<p><a href="http://bit.ly/1aL50iT" type="external">The court also ruled last month</a> there was no violation of Torrez’s right against double jeopardy.</p>
<p>Torrez was sentenced to life in prison for the death of 19-year-old Danica Concha. She was hit by a bullet from a gunfight that broke out at a 2003 Halloween party in Taos. Another woman was wounded.</p>
<p>The court ordered a new trial in 2009 because testimony about gangs was wrongly allowed as evidence.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Court upholds convictions in 2003 Taos murder | false | https://abqjournal.com/218727/court-upholds-convictions-in-2003-taos-murder.html | 2least
| Court upholds convictions in 2003 Taos murder
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The state Supreme Court has upheld the murder conviction of a Taos man who was re-tried after the court overturned his initial conviction for the shooting death of a teenager.</p>
<p>In the latest appeal by Orlando Torrez, the court concluded there was enough evidence to support his convictions of felony murder, shooting at a dwelling and evidence tampering.</p>
<p><a href="http://bit.ly/1aL50iT" type="external">The court also ruled last month</a> there was no violation of Torrez’s right against double jeopardy.</p>
<p>Torrez was sentenced to life in prison for the death of 19-year-old Danica Concha. She was hit by a bullet from a gunfight that broke out at a 2003 Halloween party in Taos. Another woman was wounded.</p>
<p>The court ordered a new trial in 2009 because testimony about gangs was wrongly allowed as evidence.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 1,908 |
|
<p>Russian officials beg to differ with Western critics who claim that Russia’s ongoing presence in the Georgian port town of Poti violates the terms of the cease-fire agreement between the neighboring nations, insisting that the remaining Russian forces are of the peacekeeping, not the combative, variety.</p>
<p>BBC:</p>
<p>Gen Nogovitsyn, who said Russia was not the Soviet Union or the Evil Empire, accused Georgia of preparing acts of sabotage in South Ossetia and preparing troops for “further actions”.</p>
<p>He also warned that should the US start rearming the Georgian army, Russia might enlarge its peacekeeping force.</p>
<p />
<p>Moscow intends to maintain what it describes as a peacekeeping presence of 2,600 troops in “buffer zones” around Abkhazia and South Ossetia.</p>
<p><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7578250.stm" type="external">Read more</a></p> | Russia Remains in Georgia Port | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/russia-remains-in-georgia-port/ | 2008-08-23 | 4left
| Russia Remains in Georgia Port
<p>Russian officials beg to differ with Western critics who claim that Russia’s ongoing presence in the Georgian port town of Poti violates the terms of the cease-fire agreement between the neighboring nations, insisting that the remaining Russian forces are of the peacekeeping, not the combative, variety.</p>
<p>BBC:</p>
<p>Gen Nogovitsyn, who said Russia was not the Soviet Union or the Evil Empire, accused Georgia of preparing acts of sabotage in South Ossetia and preparing troops for “further actions”.</p>
<p>He also warned that should the US start rearming the Georgian army, Russia might enlarge its peacekeeping force.</p>
<p />
<p>Moscow intends to maintain what it describes as a peacekeeping presence of 2,600 troops in “buffer zones” around Abkhazia and South Ossetia.</p>
<p><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7578250.stm" type="external">Read more</a></p> | 1,909 |
<p />
<p>This stuff sickens me. The thought that human beings like this walk among us is just disgusting. However, the real problem is not knowing how to prevent them from getting to the point of losing their humanity like this and committing such heinous crimes against the innocent. The cycle is brutal and dark…and it’s a scary thing.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>This 40 year-old mother from Kentucky has been convicted and sentenced to 16 years in prison for the crimes she committed. They include charges of incest, sodomy and sexual abuse involving her young son.</p>
<p>Stop reading now if you don’t want your mind <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4200308/Mom-gets-16-years-incest-sodomy-sex-abuse-son.html" type="external">violated by this story…</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>John Hawkins's book 101 Things All Young Adults Should Know is filled with lessons that newly minted adults need in order to get the most out of life. Gleaned from a lifetime of trial, error, and writing it down, Hawkins provides advice everyone can benefit from in short, digestible chapters.</p>
<p>Jefferson Circuit County Judge Olu Stevens has put out the order on this mother to register as a sex offender for the remaining time of her life. The woman was arrested in October of 2015 on not one, but 5 counts of first-degree sexual abuse, two counts of sodomy and one count of incest after the investigation on her came back with damning evidence of her crimes.</p>
<p>According to her arrest report, the then 38 year-old mother had admitted to performing oral sex on her own son and engaging in other inappropriate activities with the child (yes, a child) between September 2012 and September 2015.</p>
<p>On October 27th of 2015, the grand jury on her case indicted her for the admitted crime of sexual contact with her son during the ages 4 to 7.</p>
<p>‘It’s unimaginable the suffering this victim endured and will endure. This court action held accountable the victim’s abuser and brought some justice for the crimes against the victim,’ Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear said in a press release announcing the plea deal that was cited by the Louisville Courier-Journal.</p>
<p>Currently this monster, who does not deserve the right to be a mother, is out on $2,500 cash bond and has been since 2015.</p>
<p /> | HORROR: Mom Caught Having Sex With Young Son Learns Her Fate | true | http://rightwingnews.com/corruption/horror-mom-caught-sex-young-son-learns-fate/ | 2018-02-20 | 0right
| HORROR: Mom Caught Having Sex With Young Son Learns Her Fate
<p />
<p>This stuff sickens me. The thought that human beings like this walk among us is just disgusting. However, the real problem is not knowing how to prevent them from getting to the point of losing their humanity like this and committing such heinous crimes against the innocent. The cycle is brutal and dark…and it’s a scary thing.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>This 40 year-old mother from Kentucky has been convicted and sentenced to 16 years in prison for the crimes she committed. They include charges of incest, sodomy and sexual abuse involving her young son.</p>
<p>Stop reading now if you don’t want your mind <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4200308/Mom-gets-16-years-incest-sodomy-sex-abuse-son.html" type="external">violated by this story…</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>John Hawkins's book 101 Things All Young Adults Should Know is filled with lessons that newly minted adults need in order to get the most out of life. Gleaned from a lifetime of trial, error, and writing it down, Hawkins provides advice everyone can benefit from in short, digestible chapters.</p>
<p>Jefferson Circuit County Judge Olu Stevens has put out the order on this mother to register as a sex offender for the remaining time of her life. The woman was arrested in October of 2015 on not one, but 5 counts of first-degree sexual abuse, two counts of sodomy and one count of incest after the investigation on her came back with damning evidence of her crimes.</p>
<p>According to her arrest report, the then 38 year-old mother had admitted to performing oral sex on her own son and engaging in other inappropriate activities with the child (yes, a child) between September 2012 and September 2015.</p>
<p>On October 27th of 2015, the grand jury on her case indicted her for the admitted crime of sexual contact with her son during the ages 4 to 7.</p>
<p>‘It’s unimaginable the suffering this victim endured and will endure. This court action held accountable the victim’s abuser and brought some justice for the crimes against the victim,’ Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear said in a press release announcing the plea deal that was cited by the Louisville Courier-Journal.</p>
<p>Currently this monster, who does not deserve the right to be a mother, is out on $2,500 cash bond and has been since 2015.</p>
<p /> | 1,910 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index released Wednesday rose to 44 in May from 41 in April. The increase for May was the first month-to-month gain since December.</p>
<p>Measures of interest by prospective buyers and current sales conditions also improved from April’s reading.</p>
<p>Readings below 50 suggest negative sentiment about the housing market. The last time the index was at 50 or higher was in April 2006.</p>
<p>Concerns over rising costs for land, building materials and labor dimmed builders’ confidence in recent months. April’s reading, which was revised one point lower this month, marked the lowest confidence level since October.</p>
<p>Until December, the index had been steadily trending higher going back to October 2011, when it was 17. Overall, though, it remains well above the January 2009 low of 8, adding to mounting evidence of a sustained housing recovery.</p>
<p>The latest builder confidence index, based on responses from 290 builders, reflects the healthier sales trends many homebuilders are enjoying.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Even so, homebuilders continue to grapple with the legacy of the housing downturn.</p>
<p>During the roughly six years since the housing bubble burst, about 1.4 million residential construction jobs vanished, while land development – when raw land is prepared for home construction – slowed sharply.</p>
<p>In addition, suppliers of building materials sharply reduced their stockpiles and have been slow in adjusting to the resurgent demand for lumber and other goods.</p>
<p>That translates to higher construction costs and heated competition for ready-to-build land.</p>
<p /> | Builders’ outlook improves in May | false | https://abqjournal.com/199564/builders-outlook-improves-in-may.html | 2least
| Builders’ outlook improves in May
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index released Wednesday rose to 44 in May from 41 in April. The increase for May was the first month-to-month gain since December.</p>
<p>Measures of interest by prospective buyers and current sales conditions also improved from April’s reading.</p>
<p>Readings below 50 suggest negative sentiment about the housing market. The last time the index was at 50 or higher was in April 2006.</p>
<p>Concerns over rising costs for land, building materials and labor dimmed builders’ confidence in recent months. April’s reading, which was revised one point lower this month, marked the lowest confidence level since October.</p>
<p>Until December, the index had been steadily trending higher going back to October 2011, when it was 17. Overall, though, it remains well above the January 2009 low of 8, adding to mounting evidence of a sustained housing recovery.</p>
<p>The latest builder confidence index, based on responses from 290 builders, reflects the healthier sales trends many homebuilders are enjoying.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Even so, homebuilders continue to grapple with the legacy of the housing downturn.</p>
<p>During the roughly six years since the housing bubble burst, about 1.4 million residential construction jobs vanished, while land development – when raw land is prepared for home construction – slowed sharply.</p>
<p>In addition, suppliers of building materials sharply reduced their stockpiles and have been slow in adjusting to the resurgent demand for lumber and other goods.</p>
<p>That translates to higher construction costs and heated competition for ready-to-build land.</p>
<p /> | 1,911 |
|
<p>FAIRFIELD, Conn. (AP) - Adam Grant hit five 3-pointers and scored 26 points and Bryant snapped an 11-game losing streak in beating Sacred Heart 79-74 on Saturday.</p>
<p>Grant, who scored 16 points in the second half, was 5 of 7 from the arc. Sabastian Townes added 21 points and Ikenna Ndugba 18 with three 3-pointers.</p>
<p>Townes snapped a tie with two free throws, Monty Urmilevicius made a free throw and Ndugba added two more at the line for a 77-71 lead with a minute left. Mario Matasovic hit a 3-pointer for the Pioneers but Sacred Heart's Charles Tucker missed the front end of a one-and-one and Ndugba added two more free throws to clinch the win.</p>
<p>The Bulldogs (2-15, 1-3 Northeast) took a 40-34 lead at halftime behind 11 points each from Townes and Ndugba but Sean Hoehn scored Sacred Heart's first five points of the second half to begin a 15-5 run.</p>
<p>Joseph Lopez scored 20 points and De'von Barnett 17 for Sacred Heart (6-11, 1-3).</p>
<p>FAIRFIELD, Conn. (AP) - Adam Grant hit five 3-pointers and scored 26 points and Bryant snapped an 11-game losing streak in beating Sacred Heart 79-74 on Saturday.</p>
<p>Grant, who scored 16 points in the second half, was 5 of 7 from the arc. Sabastian Townes added 21 points and Ikenna Ndugba 18 with three 3-pointers.</p>
<p>Townes snapped a tie with two free throws, Monty Urmilevicius made a free throw and Ndugba added two more at the line for a 77-71 lead with a minute left. Mario Matasovic hit a 3-pointer for the Pioneers but Sacred Heart's Charles Tucker missed the front end of a one-and-one and Ndugba added two more free throws to clinch the win.</p>
<p>The Bulldogs (2-15, 1-3 Northeast) took a 40-34 lead at halftime behind 11 points each from Townes and Ndugba but Sean Hoehn scored Sacred Heart's first five points of the second half to begin a 15-5 run.</p>
<p>Joseph Lopez scored 20 points and De'von Barnett 17 for Sacred Heart (6-11, 1-3).</p> | Grant scores 26, Bryant snaps 11-game losing streak, 79-74 | false | https://apnews.com/amp/8562593242e64bdb9a37d4ca17506ddc | 2018-01-06 | 2least
| Grant scores 26, Bryant snaps 11-game losing streak, 79-74
<p>FAIRFIELD, Conn. (AP) - Adam Grant hit five 3-pointers and scored 26 points and Bryant snapped an 11-game losing streak in beating Sacred Heart 79-74 on Saturday.</p>
<p>Grant, who scored 16 points in the second half, was 5 of 7 from the arc. Sabastian Townes added 21 points and Ikenna Ndugba 18 with three 3-pointers.</p>
<p>Townes snapped a tie with two free throws, Monty Urmilevicius made a free throw and Ndugba added two more at the line for a 77-71 lead with a minute left. Mario Matasovic hit a 3-pointer for the Pioneers but Sacred Heart's Charles Tucker missed the front end of a one-and-one and Ndugba added two more free throws to clinch the win.</p>
<p>The Bulldogs (2-15, 1-3 Northeast) took a 40-34 lead at halftime behind 11 points each from Townes and Ndugba but Sean Hoehn scored Sacred Heart's first five points of the second half to begin a 15-5 run.</p>
<p>Joseph Lopez scored 20 points and De'von Barnett 17 for Sacred Heart (6-11, 1-3).</p>
<p>FAIRFIELD, Conn. (AP) - Adam Grant hit five 3-pointers and scored 26 points and Bryant snapped an 11-game losing streak in beating Sacred Heart 79-74 on Saturday.</p>
<p>Grant, who scored 16 points in the second half, was 5 of 7 from the arc. Sabastian Townes added 21 points and Ikenna Ndugba 18 with three 3-pointers.</p>
<p>Townes snapped a tie with two free throws, Monty Urmilevicius made a free throw and Ndugba added two more at the line for a 77-71 lead with a minute left. Mario Matasovic hit a 3-pointer for the Pioneers but Sacred Heart's Charles Tucker missed the front end of a one-and-one and Ndugba added two more free throws to clinch the win.</p>
<p>The Bulldogs (2-15, 1-3 Northeast) took a 40-34 lead at halftime behind 11 points each from Townes and Ndugba but Sean Hoehn scored Sacred Heart's first five points of the second half to begin a 15-5 run.</p>
<p>Joseph Lopez scored 20 points and De'von Barnett 17 for Sacred Heart (6-11, 1-3).</p> | 1,912 |
<p>TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A Florida contractor says he was attacked by a bobcat inside a woman’s condo, but the animal’s owner says her feline is no predator, just a 10-pound domestic longhair kitty named Calli.</p>
<p>The contractor, Marcos Hernandez, filed a lawsuit in Tampa on Dec. 19, alleging condo owner Christine Lee illegally kept a bobcat inside her unit. He said a bobcat scratched him on May 16, causing serious injuries after he entered the condo to conduct a fire safety inspection.</p>
<p>Hernandez was in the condo alone, Lee said, something that shouldn’t have happened. She said an employee from the building was supposed to accompany him inside.</p>
<p>“This has gotten so blown out of proportion, it’s ridiculous,” Lee said.</p>
<p>According to the lawsuit, Hernandez said he was attacked by an unleashed bobcat and suffered permanent injuries. He’s seeking a jury trial and unspecified damages. Hernandez said Lee had a duty to provide a safe environment and failed to warn him about the bobcat.</p>
<p>Lee said that’s nonsense. She only has a fluffy, tortoiseshell-colored housecat and a sleeker black cat named Max. She doesn’t know which cat may have scratched Hernandez, but Max’s color would likely rule him out.</p>
<p>She has not yet retained an attorney.</p>
<p>“I’m not denying he got scratched, what he was doing to get scratched, I don’t know,” she said, adding that when she arrived home that day, Calli was “cowering and scared.” Max was underneath her bed.</p>
<p>Calli, who is 3 1/2, is friendly, Lee said. But “just like any animal, she is guarded. If they feel threatened, they may attack, scratch or bite.”</p>
<p>Soon after the incident, she was informed by building management that Hernandez had been scratched, but she hadn’t heard of the lawsuit until this week, when the Tampa Bay Times first wrote about the case and <a href="http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/civil/Feline-at-center-of-Skypoint-lawsuit-is-not-a-bobcat-owner-says_164201178" type="external">took a photo</a> of Calli. Hernandez is also suing the condo building’s owner.</p>
<p>Lee said she has never owned a bobcat.</p>
<p>“A bobcat does look much different than this. They’re much bigger than this 10-pound little thing,” she said. “It’s a litigious society and here we are.”</p>
<p>According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, wild bobcats in the state are about twice the size of a domestic cat, up to about 35 pounds. They are tan to yellowish brown, with dark spots. A wildlife official visited Lee’s apartment on Thursday, the newspaper report.</p>
<p>Hernandez’ attorney’s office said they were not going to comment at this time.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow <a href="http://twitter.com/tamaralush" type="external">Tamara Lush on Twitter</a></p>
<p>TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A Florida contractor says he was attacked by a bobcat inside a woman’s condo, but the animal’s owner says her feline is no predator, just a 10-pound domestic longhair kitty named Calli.</p>
<p>The contractor, Marcos Hernandez, filed a lawsuit in Tampa on Dec. 19, alleging condo owner Christine Lee illegally kept a bobcat inside her unit. He said a bobcat scratched him on May 16, causing serious injuries after he entered the condo to conduct a fire safety inspection.</p>
<p>Hernandez was in the condo alone, Lee said, something that shouldn’t have happened. She said an employee from the building was supposed to accompany him inside.</p>
<p>“This has gotten so blown out of proportion, it’s ridiculous,” Lee said.</p>
<p>According to the lawsuit, Hernandez said he was attacked by an unleashed bobcat and suffered permanent injuries. He’s seeking a jury trial and unspecified damages. Hernandez said Lee had a duty to provide a safe environment and failed to warn him about the bobcat.</p>
<p>Lee said that’s nonsense. She only has a fluffy, tortoiseshell-colored housecat and a sleeker black cat named Max. She doesn’t know which cat may have scratched Hernandez, but Max’s color would likely rule him out.</p>
<p>She has not yet retained an attorney.</p>
<p>“I’m not denying he got scratched, what he was doing to get scratched, I don’t know,” she said, adding that when she arrived home that day, Calli was “cowering and scared.” Max was underneath her bed.</p>
<p>Calli, who is 3 1/2, is friendly, Lee said. But “just like any animal, she is guarded. If they feel threatened, they may attack, scratch or bite.”</p>
<p>Soon after the incident, she was informed by building management that Hernandez had been scratched, but she hadn’t heard of the lawsuit until this week, when the Tampa Bay Times first wrote about the case and <a href="http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/civil/Feline-at-center-of-Skypoint-lawsuit-is-not-a-bobcat-owner-says_164201178" type="external">took a photo</a> of Calli. Hernandez is also suing the condo building’s owner.</p>
<p>Lee said she has never owned a bobcat.</p>
<p>“A bobcat does look much different than this. They’re much bigger than this 10-pound little thing,” she said. “It’s a litigious society and here we are.”</p>
<p>According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, wild bobcats in the state are about twice the size of a domestic cat, up to about 35 pounds. They are tan to yellowish brown, with dark spots. A wildlife official visited Lee’s apartment on Thursday, the newspaper report.</p>
<p>Hernandez’ attorney’s office said they were not going to comment at this time.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow <a href="http://twitter.com/tamaralush" type="external">Tamara Lush on Twitter</a></p> | Man alleges bobcat attack; condo owner says it was housecat | false | https://apnews.com/faea4c44585c419c9a9c99c61c828105 | 2018-01-05 | 2least
| Man alleges bobcat attack; condo owner says it was housecat
<p>TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A Florida contractor says he was attacked by a bobcat inside a woman’s condo, but the animal’s owner says her feline is no predator, just a 10-pound domestic longhair kitty named Calli.</p>
<p>The contractor, Marcos Hernandez, filed a lawsuit in Tampa on Dec. 19, alleging condo owner Christine Lee illegally kept a bobcat inside her unit. He said a bobcat scratched him on May 16, causing serious injuries after he entered the condo to conduct a fire safety inspection.</p>
<p>Hernandez was in the condo alone, Lee said, something that shouldn’t have happened. She said an employee from the building was supposed to accompany him inside.</p>
<p>“This has gotten so blown out of proportion, it’s ridiculous,” Lee said.</p>
<p>According to the lawsuit, Hernandez said he was attacked by an unleashed bobcat and suffered permanent injuries. He’s seeking a jury trial and unspecified damages. Hernandez said Lee had a duty to provide a safe environment and failed to warn him about the bobcat.</p>
<p>Lee said that’s nonsense. She only has a fluffy, tortoiseshell-colored housecat and a sleeker black cat named Max. She doesn’t know which cat may have scratched Hernandez, but Max’s color would likely rule him out.</p>
<p>She has not yet retained an attorney.</p>
<p>“I’m not denying he got scratched, what he was doing to get scratched, I don’t know,” she said, adding that when she arrived home that day, Calli was “cowering and scared.” Max was underneath her bed.</p>
<p>Calli, who is 3 1/2, is friendly, Lee said. But “just like any animal, she is guarded. If they feel threatened, they may attack, scratch or bite.”</p>
<p>Soon after the incident, she was informed by building management that Hernandez had been scratched, but she hadn’t heard of the lawsuit until this week, when the Tampa Bay Times first wrote about the case and <a href="http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/civil/Feline-at-center-of-Skypoint-lawsuit-is-not-a-bobcat-owner-says_164201178" type="external">took a photo</a> of Calli. Hernandez is also suing the condo building’s owner.</p>
<p>Lee said she has never owned a bobcat.</p>
<p>“A bobcat does look much different than this. They’re much bigger than this 10-pound little thing,” she said. “It’s a litigious society and here we are.”</p>
<p>According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, wild bobcats in the state are about twice the size of a domestic cat, up to about 35 pounds. They are tan to yellowish brown, with dark spots. A wildlife official visited Lee’s apartment on Thursday, the newspaper report.</p>
<p>Hernandez’ attorney’s office said they were not going to comment at this time.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow <a href="http://twitter.com/tamaralush" type="external">Tamara Lush on Twitter</a></p>
<p>TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A Florida contractor says he was attacked by a bobcat inside a woman’s condo, but the animal’s owner says her feline is no predator, just a 10-pound domestic longhair kitty named Calli.</p>
<p>The contractor, Marcos Hernandez, filed a lawsuit in Tampa on Dec. 19, alleging condo owner Christine Lee illegally kept a bobcat inside her unit. He said a bobcat scratched him on May 16, causing serious injuries after he entered the condo to conduct a fire safety inspection.</p>
<p>Hernandez was in the condo alone, Lee said, something that shouldn’t have happened. She said an employee from the building was supposed to accompany him inside.</p>
<p>“This has gotten so blown out of proportion, it’s ridiculous,” Lee said.</p>
<p>According to the lawsuit, Hernandez said he was attacked by an unleashed bobcat and suffered permanent injuries. He’s seeking a jury trial and unspecified damages. Hernandez said Lee had a duty to provide a safe environment and failed to warn him about the bobcat.</p>
<p>Lee said that’s nonsense. She only has a fluffy, tortoiseshell-colored housecat and a sleeker black cat named Max. She doesn’t know which cat may have scratched Hernandez, but Max’s color would likely rule him out.</p>
<p>She has not yet retained an attorney.</p>
<p>“I’m not denying he got scratched, what he was doing to get scratched, I don’t know,” she said, adding that when she arrived home that day, Calli was “cowering and scared.” Max was underneath her bed.</p>
<p>Calli, who is 3 1/2, is friendly, Lee said. But “just like any animal, she is guarded. If they feel threatened, they may attack, scratch or bite.”</p>
<p>Soon after the incident, she was informed by building management that Hernandez had been scratched, but she hadn’t heard of the lawsuit until this week, when the Tampa Bay Times first wrote about the case and <a href="http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/civil/Feline-at-center-of-Skypoint-lawsuit-is-not-a-bobcat-owner-says_164201178" type="external">took a photo</a> of Calli. Hernandez is also suing the condo building’s owner.</p>
<p>Lee said she has never owned a bobcat.</p>
<p>“A bobcat does look much different than this. They’re much bigger than this 10-pound little thing,” she said. “It’s a litigious society and here we are.”</p>
<p>According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, wild bobcats in the state are about twice the size of a domestic cat, up to about 35 pounds. They are tan to yellowish brown, with dark spots. A wildlife official visited Lee’s apartment on Thursday, the newspaper report.</p>
<p>Hernandez’ attorney’s office said they were not going to comment at this time.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow <a href="http://twitter.com/tamaralush" type="external">Tamara Lush on Twitter</a></p> | 1,913 |
<p>The conflict’s recent history is well known. In the early 1980s, a rash of guerrilla kidnapping and extortion led to local alliances of drug traffickers, emerald smugglers, large landowners, multinational corporations, industrial groups and Colombia’s police and military forces. These groups formed paramilitary units such as the infamous Death to Kidnappers (MAS).</p>
<p>Ever since, these death squads have carried out most of the war’s killing, and they’ve functioned in close coordination with the nation’s U.S.-backed security forces (despite occasional objections from some officials, including Colombia’s human rights ombudsperson and its attorney general). In the 1990s, most of the death squads joined forces in a national rightwing federation, the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC).</p>
<p>What’s understood less is that government support for paramilitary organizations is a tradition that dates back more than half a century. Mary Roldán’s new book, <a href="" type="internal">Blood and Fire: La Violencia in Antioquia, Colombia, 1946-1953</a> (Duke), makes a strong case that government links to paramilitary groups are nothing new and that “recent and past periods of violence are inextricably intertwined.”</p>
<p>Even before the 1948 assassination of Liberal Party leader Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, the ruling Conservative Party was busy laying a legal basis for armed civilian squads known as “contrachusmas.” These squads attacked popular Liberals, inaugurating “La Violencia,” as Colombians refer to the mid-century years. Contrachusma deployment was coordinated by appointed Conservative mayors, many with criminal records.</p>
<p>The government also arranged civilian “police” units on the municipal level. Assistance for the deployments came from regular police forces, Conservative Party bosses and even priests. Using civilians gave the government plausible deniability at a rock-bottom price, since training amounted to little more than handing out .38 Specials.</p>
<p>In response to contrachusma attacks and massacres, a Liberal faction and other besieged Colombians organized “self-defense” groups. Years of partisan clashes, and eventually military bombings, led many of these groups to form the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in 1964. But the state-sponsored terror persisted, making it nearly impossible for the FARC and other guerrilla groups to demobilize.</p>
<p>Roldán shows that “La Violencia” was not a natural development but, rather, the direct consequence of state-sponsored repression. The death squads were both a principal cause and sustaining force of the bloodshed.</p>
<p>The question is how long the government will be allowed to go on supporting death squads. Barring pressure from the United States, it looks like the preacher had it right: “That thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done.”</p>
<p>W. JOHN GREEN is a senior research fellow at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs in Washington, D.C., and author of <a href="" type="internal">Gaitanismo, Left Liberalism, and Popular Mobilization in Colombia</a>(University of Florida, 2003).</p>
<p>This column was originally published by Colombia Week; subscribe for free by writing to <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Colombia’s Dirty War | true | https://counterpunch.org/2003/09/04/colombia-s-dirty-war/ | 2003-09-04 | 4left
| Colombia’s Dirty War
<p>The conflict’s recent history is well known. In the early 1980s, a rash of guerrilla kidnapping and extortion led to local alliances of drug traffickers, emerald smugglers, large landowners, multinational corporations, industrial groups and Colombia’s police and military forces. These groups formed paramilitary units such as the infamous Death to Kidnappers (MAS).</p>
<p>Ever since, these death squads have carried out most of the war’s killing, and they’ve functioned in close coordination with the nation’s U.S.-backed security forces (despite occasional objections from some officials, including Colombia’s human rights ombudsperson and its attorney general). In the 1990s, most of the death squads joined forces in a national rightwing federation, the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC).</p>
<p>What’s understood less is that government support for paramilitary organizations is a tradition that dates back more than half a century. Mary Roldán’s new book, <a href="" type="internal">Blood and Fire: La Violencia in Antioquia, Colombia, 1946-1953</a> (Duke), makes a strong case that government links to paramilitary groups are nothing new and that “recent and past periods of violence are inextricably intertwined.”</p>
<p>Even before the 1948 assassination of Liberal Party leader Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, the ruling Conservative Party was busy laying a legal basis for armed civilian squads known as “contrachusmas.” These squads attacked popular Liberals, inaugurating “La Violencia,” as Colombians refer to the mid-century years. Contrachusma deployment was coordinated by appointed Conservative mayors, many with criminal records.</p>
<p>The government also arranged civilian “police” units on the municipal level. Assistance for the deployments came from regular police forces, Conservative Party bosses and even priests. Using civilians gave the government plausible deniability at a rock-bottom price, since training amounted to little more than handing out .38 Specials.</p>
<p>In response to contrachusma attacks and massacres, a Liberal faction and other besieged Colombians organized “self-defense” groups. Years of partisan clashes, and eventually military bombings, led many of these groups to form the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in 1964. But the state-sponsored terror persisted, making it nearly impossible for the FARC and other guerrilla groups to demobilize.</p>
<p>Roldán shows that “La Violencia” was not a natural development but, rather, the direct consequence of state-sponsored repression. The death squads were both a principal cause and sustaining force of the bloodshed.</p>
<p>The question is how long the government will be allowed to go on supporting death squads. Barring pressure from the United States, it looks like the preacher had it right: “That thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done.”</p>
<p>W. JOHN GREEN is a senior research fellow at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs in Washington, D.C., and author of <a href="" type="internal">Gaitanismo, Left Liberalism, and Popular Mobilization in Colombia</a>(University of Florida, 2003).</p>
<p>This column was originally published by Colombia Week; subscribe for free by writing to <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 1,914 |
<p>Both the school administration and its citizens task force on federal Title I should take a bow. Together, they brought new sense, equity and confidence to a program that has been a point of racially charged contention.</p>
<p>Hispanic leaders long have complained that the formula Chicago used to distribute some $125 million in Title I each year was stacked against them. By relying heavily on welfare data, the formula overlooked poor Hispanics who don’t qualify because of their immigrant status, advocates argued. In 1995, a group of principals from largely Hispanic schools petitioned the Reform Board to take up the issue. The administration then pulled together a task force of knowledgeable individuals, gave it time for serious work and accepted its recommendations even though they create some problems of their own.</p>
<p>Membership on the task force was tilted toward the Hispanic cause, but the group did not vote for special treatment. As a Catalyst computer analysis shows, Hispanic-majority schools gained, but only slightly and not beyond what their presence in the school system would warrant.</p>
<p>The biggest strike for equity came with a change that, in effect, took magnet schools off the recipient list. No disrespect intended, but magnet schools don’t need extra money as much as neighborhood schools do. The reason they got it was because Chicago’s old Title I formula considered the poverty level of school neighborhoods, as well as the poverty level of student bodies. As a result, Beasley Magnet, for example, whose free-lunch count is a relatively low 61 percent, got $467,000 because it sits across the street from Robert Taylor Homes.</p>
<p>As Hispanics had wanted, the new formula also gives greater weight to free-lunch counts and less to welfare counts. Combined with the new focus on student bodies, this change threw high schools for a loop. Fifty-three came up losers, with 20 losing out entirely. However, the problem rests more with the schools than with the formula: High school kids shy away from turning in the forms that qualify them for free and reduced-price lunches. Take Englewood High School, for example; its feeder schools have poverty rates in the 90-percent range while only 67 percent of its own students signed up for free lunch.</p>
<p>In another plus, the new formula continues the practice of giving proportionately more money to schools with higher concentrations of poor children. Some argue for a flat per-pupil amount, which is how state Chapter 1 is distributed. But that would shortchange high-poverty schools, which face much higher hurdles in educating students.</p>
<p>Elsewhere in this issue, the news is more troubling. In both Opinions and Chronicles, the lingering anger and confusion over the administration’s handling of probation and remediation come through loud and clear. A principal complains about a tardy assessment report, which he says is off base. A teacher says her school administration has turned hostile. In a common complaint, a parent says, “Instead of talking to folks, [CEO Paul] Vallas decided to hold a press conference. Kinks had not been worked out. In fact, it is still being developed as we speak.”</p>
<p>Despite the blunders, schools appear to be buckling down. But still there’s the risk that this forward movement will dissipate into cynicism and funny numbers as probation enters the consequences stage. As one student observes, “They’re dropping kids from school every day,” which serves to boost test scores. The experience of federal Title I suggests that probation and remediation would benefit from a task force of their own—to set standards that win the confidence of people working in the schools.</p>
<p>AWARD WINNER Every year, the International Reading Association gives just one print media award. This year, Elizabeth Duffrin won it for her comprehensive package of articles on Direct Instruction, which appeared in the September 1996 issue of Catalyst. Liz is in great company. Recent winners include writers for the Los Angeles Times, U.S. News &amp; World Report, Parents Magazine, Newsweek and Education Week. Our issue on Direct Instruction was made possible by a generous grant from the Robert R. McCormick Tribune Foundation.</p> | Title I wins confidence, not so probation | false | http://chicagoreporter.com/title-i-wins-confidence-not-so-probation/ | 2005-07-25 | 3left-center
| Title I wins confidence, not so probation
<p>Both the school administration and its citizens task force on federal Title I should take a bow. Together, they brought new sense, equity and confidence to a program that has been a point of racially charged contention.</p>
<p>Hispanic leaders long have complained that the formula Chicago used to distribute some $125 million in Title I each year was stacked against them. By relying heavily on welfare data, the formula overlooked poor Hispanics who don’t qualify because of their immigrant status, advocates argued. In 1995, a group of principals from largely Hispanic schools petitioned the Reform Board to take up the issue. The administration then pulled together a task force of knowledgeable individuals, gave it time for serious work and accepted its recommendations even though they create some problems of their own.</p>
<p>Membership on the task force was tilted toward the Hispanic cause, but the group did not vote for special treatment. As a Catalyst computer analysis shows, Hispanic-majority schools gained, but only slightly and not beyond what their presence in the school system would warrant.</p>
<p>The biggest strike for equity came with a change that, in effect, took magnet schools off the recipient list. No disrespect intended, but magnet schools don’t need extra money as much as neighborhood schools do. The reason they got it was because Chicago’s old Title I formula considered the poverty level of school neighborhoods, as well as the poverty level of student bodies. As a result, Beasley Magnet, for example, whose free-lunch count is a relatively low 61 percent, got $467,000 because it sits across the street from Robert Taylor Homes.</p>
<p>As Hispanics had wanted, the new formula also gives greater weight to free-lunch counts and less to welfare counts. Combined with the new focus on student bodies, this change threw high schools for a loop. Fifty-three came up losers, with 20 losing out entirely. However, the problem rests more with the schools than with the formula: High school kids shy away from turning in the forms that qualify them for free and reduced-price lunches. Take Englewood High School, for example; its feeder schools have poverty rates in the 90-percent range while only 67 percent of its own students signed up for free lunch.</p>
<p>In another plus, the new formula continues the practice of giving proportionately more money to schools with higher concentrations of poor children. Some argue for a flat per-pupil amount, which is how state Chapter 1 is distributed. But that would shortchange high-poverty schools, which face much higher hurdles in educating students.</p>
<p>Elsewhere in this issue, the news is more troubling. In both Opinions and Chronicles, the lingering anger and confusion over the administration’s handling of probation and remediation come through loud and clear. A principal complains about a tardy assessment report, which he says is off base. A teacher says her school administration has turned hostile. In a common complaint, a parent says, “Instead of talking to folks, [CEO Paul] Vallas decided to hold a press conference. Kinks had not been worked out. In fact, it is still being developed as we speak.”</p>
<p>Despite the blunders, schools appear to be buckling down. But still there’s the risk that this forward movement will dissipate into cynicism and funny numbers as probation enters the consequences stage. As one student observes, “They’re dropping kids from school every day,” which serves to boost test scores. The experience of federal Title I suggests that probation and remediation would benefit from a task force of their own—to set standards that win the confidence of people working in the schools.</p>
<p>AWARD WINNER Every year, the International Reading Association gives just one print media award. This year, Elizabeth Duffrin won it for her comprehensive package of articles on Direct Instruction, which appeared in the September 1996 issue of Catalyst. Liz is in great company. Recent winners include writers for the Los Angeles Times, U.S. News &amp; World Report, Parents Magazine, Newsweek and Education Week. Our issue on Direct Instruction was made possible by a generous grant from the Robert R. McCormick Tribune Foundation.</p> | 1,915 |
<p />
<p>You may need life insurance after getting married or having a child, but do you need it from the day you're born? Advocates of juvenile life insurance say "yes" and hail the policies as financial planning essentials, while critics argue they're a waste of money.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Just like grown-up life insurance, two types of policies are available for kids: juvenile term insurance, which provides coverage until age 23 or 25 and offers the family a death benefit to cover unexpected funeral expenses for the child; and juvenile permanent insurance, which includes both a death benefit and a savings reserve that builds "cash value" as the child ages. Here's what a family needs to know.</p>
<p>Child death benefit pros and cons</p>
<p>Companies offering juvenile term life insurance talk about how the policies can provide a family with "peace of mind" by offering financial assistance -- namely, a death benefit -- "if the worst were to happen" to the child.</p>
<p>Juvenile term policies are sold on the idea that the death benefit is not designed to replace income, as it would be for an adult, but instead is geared toward covering burial and funeral costs if a child passes away.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Pros: Funerals are expensive. According to the most recent survey by the National Funeral Directors Association, the average cost is about $4,300, and that doesn't even include casket and cemetery expenses.</p>
<p>Cons: Chances are remote that a parent would ever need to pay for a child's funeral. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that only 0.03% of U.S. children die between the ages of 1 and 4. And then, for children ages 5 through 14, that mortality rate drops by about half.</p>
<p>Since the death of a child is so unlikely, purchasing juvenile life insurance strictly to cover potential funeral costs is "very short-term thinking," says J. Robert Hunter, director of insurance for the Consumer Federation of America, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group based in Washington, D.C.</p>
<p>If families are concerned about covering unexpected funeral costs, Hunter says, they'd be better off creating a college savings fund and pulling from that if needed, rather than purchasing a juvenile life insurance policy.</p>
<p>Savings component pros and cons</p>
<p>The real advantage of a juvenile life policy is for saving, says Jack Dolan, spokesman for the American Council of Life Insurers, a Washington, D.C.-based trade group.</p>
<p>"What we see more clearly year after year is that the savings in a cash-value life insurance policy provide a good, solid return. And, particularly when you're in a low-interest-rate environment, it becomes an attractive means of saving," he says.</p>
<p>Pros: Dolan points out that the insurance plans offer tax-deferred growth, and many come with guaranteed returns, meaning your money will increase regardless of what happens in the financial markets as long as you keep making premium payments.</p>
<p>Unlike money kept in other savings vehicles for children, such as 529 college savings plans and Coverdell Education Savings Accounts, a juvenile life insurance policy's cash value doesn't have to be used solely for education but can be used by a grown child for other purposes, such as wedding expenses or to launch a business.</p>
<p>An added bonus is that children who have permanent, cash-value life insurance won't have to worry about qualifying for a policy as an adult, adds James Garfinkel, the founder and CEO of New York-based New Amsterdam Life and a director of the nonprofit Juvenile Life Insurance Foundation.</p>
<p>"(Juvenile insurance) guarantees the future insurability of the child, regardless of their future health, lifestyle or residence," Garfinkel says. "It's issued without any physical exam whatsoever."</p>
<p>Cons: Cash-value life insurance comes with fees, service charges and commissions that can prevent a policy from generating any actual returns for at least a decade, acknowledges Garfinkel. He says the rewards come over the long haul.</p>
<p>Hunter says the fee structure of juvenile policies makes it difficult to understand what a child's policy is really worth.</p>
<p>"It's much better to put money in some kind of an investment account to build to college years," he says. "It's much more understandable. It's much more transparent."</p>
<p>If putting money aside for college is indeed the goal, 529 prepaid tuition and college savings plans can generate returns more quickly than juvenile life insurance, and some of those plans offer state tax incentives or matching grant money that isn't available with the insurance policies.</p> | Does Your Kid Need Juvenile Life Insurance? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/03/05/does-your-kid-need-juvenile-life-insurance.html | 2016-03-04 | 0right
| Does Your Kid Need Juvenile Life Insurance?
<p />
<p>You may need life insurance after getting married or having a child, but do you need it from the day you're born? Advocates of juvenile life insurance say "yes" and hail the policies as financial planning essentials, while critics argue they're a waste of money.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Just like grown-up life insurance, two types of policies are available for kids: juvenile term insurance, which provides coverage until age 23 or 25 and offers the family a death benefit to cover unexpected funeral expenses for the child; and juvenile permanent insurance, which includes both a death benefit and a savings reserve that builds "cash value" as the child ages. Here's what a family needs to know.</p>
<p>Child death benefit pros and cons</p>
<p>Companies offering juvenile term life insurance talk about how the policies can provide a family with "peace of mind" by offering financial assistance -- namely, a death benefit -- "if the worst were to happen" to the child.</p>
<p>Juvenile term policies are sold on the idea that the death benefit is not designed to replace income, as it would be for an adult, but instead is geared toward covering burial and funeral costs if a child passes away.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Pros: Funerals are expensive. According to the most recent survey by the National Funeral Directors Association, the average cost is about $4,300, and that doesn't even include casket and cemetery expenses.</p>
<p>Cons: Chances are remote that a parent would ever need to pay for a child's funeral. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that only 0.03% of U.S. children die between the ages of 1 and 4. And then, for children ages 5 through 14, that mortality rate drops by about half.</p>
<p>Since the death of a child is so unlikely, purchasing juvenile life insurance strictly to cover potential funeral costs is "very short-term thinking," says J. Robert Hunter, director of insurance for the Consumer Federation of America, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group based in Washington, D.C.</p>
<p>If families are concerned about covering unexpected funeral costs, Hunter says, they'd be better off creating a college savings fund and pulling from that if needed, rather than purchasing a juvenile life insurance policy.</p>
<p>Savings component pros and cons</p>
<p>The real advantage of a juvenile life policy is for saving, says Jack Dolan, spokesman for the American Council of Life Insurers, a Washington, D.C.-based trade group.</p>
<p>"What we see more clearly year after year is that the savings in a cash-value life insurance policy provide a good, solid return. And, particularly when you're in a low-interest-rate environment, it becomes an attractive means of saving," he says.</p>
<p>Pros: Dolan points out that the insurance plans offer tax-deferred growth, and many come with guaranteed returns, meaning your money will increase regardless of what happens in the financial markets as long as you keep making premium payments.</p>
<p>Unlike money kept in other savings vehicles for children, such as 529 college savings plans and Coverdell Education Savings Accounts, a juvenile life insurance policy's cash value doesn't have to be used solely for education but can be used by a grown child for other purposes, such as wedding expenses or to launch a business.</p>
<p>An added bonus is that children who have permanent, cash-value life insurance won't have to worry about qualifying for a policy as an adult, adds James Garfinkel, the founder and CEO of New York-based New Amsterdam Life and a director of the nonprofit Juvenile Life Insurance Foundation.</p>
<p>"(Juvenile insurance) guarantees the future insurability of the child, regardless of their future health, lifestyle or residence," Garfinkel says. "It's issued without any physical exam whatsoever."</p>
<p>Cons: Cash-value life insurance comes with fees, service charges and commissions that can prevent a policy from generating any actual returns for at least a decade, acknowledges Garfinkel. He says the rewards come over the long haul.</p>
<p>Hunter says the fee structure of juvenile policies makes it difficult to understand what a child's policy is really worth.</p>
<p>"It's much better to put money in some kind of an investment account to build to college years," he says. "It's much more understandable. It's much more transparent."</p>
<p>If putting money aside for college is indeed the goal, 529 prepaid tuition and college savings plans can generate returns more quickly than juvenile life insurance, and some of those plans offer state tax incentives or matching grant money that isn't available with the insurance policies.</p> | 1,916 |
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.bankrate.com/finance/consumer-index/financial-security-charts-0513.aspx?pid=p:foxbz" type="external">Financial Security Index Charts Opens a New Window.</a> Americans' Spending Guarded But Optimistic</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The slowness of the recovery is keeping Americans' optimism in check, according to mixed indicators from Bankrate's May 2013 Financial Security Index.</p>
<p>U.S. consumers felt better about their overall financial security in May, versus a year ago, for the third straight month. But they're still worried about their savings reserves and refuse to spend more on vacations and dining out despite saving more money at the pump.</p>
<p>"It's indicative of the type of recovery that we have," says Greg McBride, CFA, senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com. "Consumers are certainly not swinging from the chandeliers, but they are feeling better."</p>
<p>The index registered at 100.2, just breaching positive territory in May. That marked the first time the index remained in positive territory for three months in a row since the index was created in December 2010. A reading above 100 indicates a positive feeling of financial security, versus the year before.</p>
<p>But the index also captured consumers' caution as economic growth inches along. May's reading was down from 100.4 in April and from the all-time high of 101.5 in March. More Americans felt worse about their savings than a year ago, and an unusual decline in gas prices this spring couldn't convince them to spend more on discretionary items.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Gas prices fell nearly 26 cents per gallon from the last week of February to the end of April, the first time that's occurred in a decade. Gas prices typically rise from the end of winter to the beginning of summer. But only 17% of consumers said they increased their purchases on nonessentials due to the decline. A whopping 80% didn't spend more, according to the survey.</p>
<p>The savings they received shouldn't be overblown. Drivers found an extra 45 cents per day in their wallets because of the decline in prices. That's only $13.50 more per month in a consumer's pocket, not enough to cover a restaurant bill, let alone compensate for the loss of income from higher payroll taxes.</p>
<p>And Americans are driving less, anyway, as a way to save money. Demand for gasoline was at the lowest four-week level to start May since 1999, says Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service.</p>
<p>"There's a lot less discretionary driving and spending," Kloza says. "If I were in a cave looking at these numbers, I would think they are indicative of a swoon, particularly in the last two months. That's really unusual."</p>
<p>Americans still face stiff headwinds as the economy slowly recovers. The sequester cuts in government spending are starting to ripple through the economy, and many consumers are still adjusting to the higher payroll taxes.</p>
<p>"People have less money to spend," says Chris Christopher, senior principal economist at IHS Global Insight. "When you don't have as much money, you hold back."</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bankrate.com/finance/video/life-money/americans-feelings-financial-security-0513.aspx?pid=p:foxbz" type="external">Watch Greg McBride's analysis of the poll results Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>The latest data from the Federal Reserve showed credit card balances decreased 2.4% in March. Consumer spending also slowed to 0.2% in March, down from 0.7% in February, according to the Commerce Department.</p>
<p>Americans stashed away less, too. The savings rate in March was at levels not seen since the beginning of the recession in December 2007. That could help explain why a third of consumers feel less comfortable with their savings versus last year, according to Bankrate's index, along with dismally low yields on savings instruments.</p>
<p>But the index's positive reading reveals that the outlook is far from bleak. Consumers reported improvement in job security and net worth along with increased comfort with their debt. Respondents also felt their overall financial situation was better than last year, too.</p>
<p>Outside the Bankrate index, broader indicators are also showing an improving economy. Standard and Poor's 500 index and the Dow Jones industrial average both reached record highs in the last month. And home sales and housing prices continue to rise in a meaningful rebound. Interest rates also remain attractively low for borrowers.</p>
<p>"The economy is improving at a pace reminiscent of stop-and-go traffic," McBride says. "No one will mistake this as an economy that is cruising along at top speed. But nor is it one that is stalling out."</p>
<p>Copyright 2013, Bankrate Inc.</p> | Slow Recovery has Americans Guarded but Optimistic | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/05/20/slow-recovery-has-americans-guarded-but-optimistic.html | 2016-03-05 | 0right
| Slow Recovery has Americans Guarded but Optimistic
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.bankrate.com/finance/consumer-index/financial-security-charts-0513.aspx?pid=p:foxbz" type="external">Financial Security Index Charts Opens a New Window.</a> Americans' Spending Guarded But Optimistic</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The slowness of the recovery is keeping Americans' optimism in check, according to mixed indicators from Bankrate's May 2013 Financial Security Index.</p>
<p>U.S. consumers felt better about their overall financial security in May, versus a year ago, for the third straight month. But they're still worried about their savings reserves and refuse to spend more on vacations and dining out despite saving more money at the pump.</p>
<p>"It's indicative of the type of recovery that we have," says Greg McBride, CFA, senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com. "Consumers are certainly not swinging from the chandeliers, but they are feeling better."</p>
<p>The index registered at 100.2, just breaching positive territory in May. That marked the first time the index remained in positive territory for three months in a row since the index was created in December 2010. A reading above 100 indicates a positive feeling of financial security, versus the year before.</p>
<p>But the index also captured consumers' caution as economic growth inches along. May's reading was down from 100.4 in April and from the all-time high of 101.5 in March. More Americans felt worse about their savings than a year ago, and an unusual decline in gas prices this spring couldn't convince them to spend more on discretionary items.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Gas prices fell nearly 26 cents per gallon from the last week of February to the end of April, the first time that's occurred in a decade. Gas prices typically rise from the end of winter to the beginning of summer. But only 17% of consumers said they increased their purchases on nonessentials due to the decline. A whopping 80% didn't spend more, according to the survey.</p>
<p>The savings they received shouldn't be overblown. Drivers found an extra 45 cents per day in their wallets because of the decline in prices. That's only $13.50 more per month in a consumer's pocket, not enough to cover a restaurant bill, let alone compensate for the loss of income from higher payroll taxes.</p>
<p>And Americans are driving less, anyway, as a way to save money. Demand for gasoline was at the lowest four-week level to start May since 1999, says Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service.</p>
<p>"There's a lot less discretionary driving and spending," Kloza says. "If I were in a cave looking at these numbers, I would think they are indicative of a swoon, particularly in the last two months. That's really unusual."</p>
<p>Americans still face stiff headwinds as the economy slowly recovers. The sequester cuts in government spending are starting to ripple through the economy, and many consumers are still adjusting to the higher payroll taxes.</p>
<p>"People have less money to spend," says Chris Christopher, senior principal economist at IHS Global Insight. "When you don't have as much money, you hold back."</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bankrate.com/finance/video/life-money/americans-feelings-financial-security-0513.aspx?pid=p:foxbz" type="external">Watch Greg McBride's analysis of the poll results Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>The latest data from the Federal Reserve showed credit card balances decreased 2.4% in March. Consumer spending also slowed to 0.2% in March, down from 0.7% in February, according to the Commerce Department.</p>
<p>Americans stashed away less, too. The savings rate in March was at levels not seen since the beginning of the recession in December 2007. That could help explain why a third of consumers feel less comfortable with their savings versus last year, according to Bankrate's index, along with dismally low yields on savings instruments.</p>
<p>But the index's positive reading reveals that the outlook is far from bleak. Consumers reported improvement in job security and net worth along with increased comfort with their debt. Respondents also felt their overall financial situation was better than last year, too.</p>
<p>Outside the Bankrate index, broader indicators are also showing an improving economy. Standard and Poor's 500 index and the Dow Jones industrial average both reached record highs in the last month. And home sales and housing prices continue to rise in a meaningful rebound. Interest rates also remain attractively low for borrowers.</p>
<p>"The economy is improving at a pace reminiscent of stop-and-go traffic," McBride says. "No one will mistake this as an economy that is cruising along at top speed. But nor is it one that is stalling out."</p>
<p>Copyright 2013, Bankrate Inc.</p> | 1,917 |
<p>Think fast, what's the capital of Romania?</p>
<p>In an extremely informal survey at the Dunkin Donut's across the street from our newsroom we put the question to Herman Cadena as he stood in line for his coffee.</p>
<p>"Belgrade?" he said.</p>
<p>Cadena isn't alone. Many people confuse their Eastern European capitals. The most frequent mix-up is between the capital of Hungary, Budapest, and the capital of Romania, Bucharest.</p>
<p>There is a long list of outsiders who have confused the two including Michael Jackson, the lead singers of Iron Maiden and Metallica, even Lenny Kravitz didn't know.</p>
<p>Last year a group of 400 soccer fans from Spain chartered a flight to the 2012 Europa League Final in Budapest except the actual final was in Bucharest.</p>
<p>"This is a very old problem for Romania this confusion, you know, it's taken place for a very long time," says Romanian copywriter Sebastian Olar.</p>
<p>Olar's client the Romanian candy company ROM was sick of the confusion. The company made it its mission to end the confusion and market its chocolate, which has the name of Romania's capital stamped into each bar.</p>
<p>The confusion is by no means one-sided. Budapest resident Ben Fischer remembers watching the television one day when big news broke about a Hungarian political scandal.</p>
<p>"There were foreign news agencies reporting on it and quite a few of them in Budapest said, 'I'm here live in Bucharest,'" said Fisher.</p>
<p>However says Fischer, the annoyance that Hungarians and Romanians feel about the confusion might stem from even deeper historical issues going back to WWI.</p>
<p>"Transylvania was taken away from Hungary and given to Romania, and 100 years later people in Hungary have not giving that back," said Fischer.</p>
<p>While the borders between the countries have fluxuated, Budapest and Bucharest haven't changed hands; Hungarian and Romanian, the languages spoken in these cities, come from completely different family trees. So locals know the difference but the rest of us, well…it seems that ROM chocolate has got their work cut out for them.</p> | Bucharest NOT Budapest: One Romanian Chocolatier Starts a Campaign to Combat the Confusion | false | https://pri.org/stories/2013-08-14/bucharest-not-budapest-one-romanian-chocolatier-starts-campaign-combat-confusion | 2013-08-14 | 3left-center
| Bucharest NOT Budapest: One Romanian Chocolatier Starts a Campaign to Combat the Confusion
<p>Think fast, what's the capital of Romania?</p>
<p>In an extremely informal survey at the Dunkin Donut's across the street from our newsroom we put the question to Herman Cadena as he stood in line for his coffee.</p>
<p>"Belgrade?" he said.</p>
<p>Cadena isn't alone. Many people confuse their Eastern European capitals. The most frequent mix-up is between the capital of Hungary, Budapest, and the capital of Romania, Bucharest.</p>
<p>There is a long list of outsiders who have confused the two including Michael Jackson, the lead singers of Iron Maiden and Metallica, even Lenny Kravitz didn't know.</p>
<p>Last year a group of 400 soccer fans from Spain chartered a flight to the 2012 Europa League Final in Budapest except the actual final was in Bucharest.</p>
<p>"This is a very old problem for Romania this confusion, you know, it's taken place for a very long time," says Romanian copywriter Sebastian Olar.</p>
<p>Olar's client the Romanian candy company ROM was sick of the confusion. The company made it its mission to end the confusion and market its chocolate, which has the name of Romania's capital stamped into each bar.</p>
<p>The confusion is by no means one-sided. Budapest resident Ben Fischer remembers watching the television one day when big news broke about a Hungarian political scandal.</p>
<p>"There were foreign news agencies reporting on it and quite a few of them in Budapest said, 'I'm here live in Bucharest,'" said Fisher.</p>
<p>However says Fischer, the annoyance that Hungarians and Romanians feel about the confusion might stem from even deeper historical issues going back to WWI.</p>
<p>"Transylvania was taken away from Hungary and given to Romania, and 100 years later people in Hungary have not giving that back," said Fischer.</p>
<p>While the borders between the countries have fluxuated, Budapest and Bucharest haven't changed hands; Hungarian and Romanian, the languages spoken in these cities, come from completely different family trees. So locals know the difference but the rest of us, well…it seems that ROM chocolate has got their work cut out for them.</p> | 1,918 |
<p />
<p>The stock market was mixed on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq Composite continuing to gain ground even as the Dow and S&amp;P 500 posted modest declines. Flat industrial production and prices at the producer level threw cold water on investor expectations for stronger economic growth, and a decline in mortgage applications reflected the recent jump in interest rates. Yet some stocks still managed to post solid gains, and Fossil Group (NASDAQ: FOSL), Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD), and Danaos (NYSE: DAC) were among the best performers on the day. Below, we'll look more closely at these stocks to tell you why they did so well.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Image source: Fossil Group.</p>
<p>Fossil Group climbed 8% after receiving an upgrade from analysts at KeyBanc Capital Markets. The analyst company hinged its positive call on the watchmaker on Fossil's initiatives to continue building up its presence in the market for wearable devices. The upgrade, which took Fossil from underweight to overweight, asserts that Fossil is ready to turn around what has been a long period of falling earnings, and early reports suggest that some of its higher-end wearable devices are satisfying shoppers. Given how much the stock has suffered, many believe that Fossil has great turnaround potential if it can find a way to tap into its brand value more effectively. Wearables might be exactly that opportunity going forward.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Advanced Micro Devices was up 10% in the wake of news that a key server graphics processing unit would become part of the cloud platform that Google offers to its customers. AMD has had recent success in the gaming console space, but its ability to break into the cloud computing market has been more limited, and AMD's primary rival has been far more successful in working its way into data centers for cloud computing applications in the past. With the move, however, AMD will start seeing its FirePro S9300 x2 server GPU show up in certain Google services, and investors hope that the exposure will be a game-changer for Advanced Micro in its competitive efforts against its closest GPU rivals. Investors will want to keep a close eye on AMD to see if the reality of this move lives up to the hype that today's stock-price advance suggests.</p>
<p>Finally, Danaos gained 9%. The shipping company was just one of many companies in the industry that posted sharp advances, with DryShips in particular having halted trading of its stock in light of massive increases in its share price. In the wake of competitor Hanjin Shipping's bankruptcy, Danaos and its peers faced investor concerns about overcapacity in the market. Yet an increase in the Baltic Dry Index has raised prospects for dry-bulk shipping companies, and for whatever reason, some investors seem to believe that after such a long period of rock-bottom shipping rates, a recovery could help lift the entire industry higher -- even for container-focused ships like the ones that Danaos specializes in operating. That remains to be seen, but for now, the sector is locked in a frenzied run-up that could eventually crash back down to earth as fast as it gained.</p>
<p>Forget the 2016 Election: 10 stocks we like better than Fossil Donald Trump was just elected president, and volatility is up. But here's why you should ignore the election:</p>
<p>Investing geniuses Tom and David Gardner have spent a long time beating the market no matter who's in the White House. In fact, 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%2Fecap-foolcom-bbn-election%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0000468%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6454%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=9c14809f-8f1d-4081-a017-d4cd4687cfb9&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">ten best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Fossil 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%2Fecap-foolcom-bbn-election%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0000468%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6454%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=9c14809f-8f1d-4081-a017-d4cd4687cfb9&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 November 7, 2016</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFGalagan/info.aspx" type="external">Dan Caplinger Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Fossil. 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> | Why Fossil Group, Advanced Micro Devices, and Danaos Jumped Today | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/11/16/why-fossil-group-advanced-micro-devices-and-danaos-jumped-today.html | 2016-11-16 | 0right
| Why Fossil Group, Advanced Micro Devices, and Danaos Jumped Today
<p />
<p>The stock market was mixed on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq Composite continuing to gain ground even as the Dow and S&amp;P 500 posted modest declines. Flat industrial production and prices at the producer level threw cold water on investor expectations for stronger economic growth, and a decline in mortgage applications reflected the recent jump in interest rates. Yet some stocks still managed to post solid gains, and Fossil Group (NASDAQ: FOSL), Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD), and Danaos (NYSE: DAC) were among the best performers on the day. Below, we'll look more closely at these stocks to tell you why they did so well.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Image source: Fossil Group.</p>
<p>Fossil Group climbed 8% after receiving an upgrade from analysts at KeyBanc Capital Markets. The analyst company hinged its positive call on the watchmaker on Fossil's initiatives to continue building up its presence in the market for wearable devices. The upgrade, which took Fossil from underweight to overweight, asserts that Fossil is ready to turn around what has been a long period of falling earnings, and early reports suggest that some of its higher-end wearable devices are satisfying shoppers. Given how much the stock has suffered, many believe that Fossil has great turnaround potential if it can find a way to tap into its brand value more effectively. Wearables might be exactly that opportunity going forward.</p>
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<p>Advanced Micro Devices was up 10% in the wake of news that a key server graphics processing unit would become part of the cloud platform that Google offers to its customers. AMD has had recent success in the gaming console space, but its ability to break into the cloud computing market has been more limited, and AMD's primary rival has been far more successful in working its way into data centers for cloud computing applications in the past. With the move, however, AMD will start seeing its FirePro S9300 x2 server GPU show up in certain Google services, and investors hope that the exposure will be a game-changer for Advanced Micro in its competitive efforts against its closest GPU rivals. Investors will want to keep a close eye on AMD to see if the reality of this move lives up to the hype that today's stock-price advance suggests.</p>
<p>Finally, Danaos gained 9%. The shipping company was just one of many companies in the industry that posted sharp advances, with DryShips in particular having halted trading of its stock in light of massive increases in its share price. In the wake of competitor Hanjin Shipping's bankruptcy, Danaos and its peers faced investor concerns about overcapacity in the market. Yet an increase in the Baltic Dry Index has raised prospects for dry-bulk shipping companies, and for whatever reason, some investors seem to believe that after such a long period of rock-bottom shipping rates, a recovery could help lift the entire industry higher -- even for container-focused ships like the ones that Danaos specializes in operating. That remains to be seen, but for now, the sector is locked in a frenzied run-up that could eventually crash back down to earth as fast as it gained.</p>
<p>Forget the 2016 Election: 10 stocks we like better than Fossil Donald Trump was just elected president, and volatility is up. But here's why you should ignore the election:</p>
<p>Investing geniuses Tom and David Gardner have spent a long time beating the market no matter who's in the White House. In fact, 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%2Fecap-foolcom-bbn-election%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0000468%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6454%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=9c14809f-8f1d-4081-a017-d4cd4687cfb9&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">ten best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Fossil 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%2Fecap-foolcom-bbn-election%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0000468%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6454%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=9c14809f-8f1d-4081-a017-d4cd4687cfb9&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 November 7, 2016</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFGalagan/info.aspx" type="external">Dan Caplinger Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Fossil. 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> | 1,919 |
<p>A teenager with scruffy hair and a huge grin on his face holds a sign. “Smile,” the banner reads. “You’re in Benghazi.”</p>
<p>Tawfik Bensaud was proud to display that message of hope from his hometown. That was back in 2012, when hope was still in large supply in Libya.</p>
<p>Noor, a friend of Tawfik, says Tawfik stayed true to the message in good times and bad — unlike many others.</p>
<p>“To be honest, everyone backed out ages ago,” Noor says. “He was the only person that was still hopeful, and he was the only person that kept going.”</p>
<p>Together, Noor and Tawfik had marched for peace, picked up trash and gotten people out to vote. But as the city turned more violent, Tawfik’s friends started leaving Benghazi. Noor and her family followed suit two months ago, but Tawfik wouldn’t budge.</p>
<p>“Every single time I’ve spoken to him, even when I left Libya, I called him and told him it’s getting scary and you need to take care,” she says. “He always said the same thing — he always said that everything is gonna be fine. We have to have faith, we have to keep going ... Because he believed in his cause and he had principles."</p>
<p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/20/teenaged-libyan-peace-activists-assassinations-benghazi-libya-tripoli" type="external">Tawfik was shot dead on Friday.</a>&#160;He was in a car with a fellow activist — also in his teens, and also fatally hit. Eight more people were murdered in the city that day — five of them were military officers.</p>
<p>"He was never a violent person," Noor says. "I’m sure he never actually believed that someone would go out to hurt him.”</p>
<p>Noor says Benghazi has seen its share of violence in 2012, but Friday’s rampage marks an all-time low.</p>
<p>“Everybody I’ve been in contact with is either in a funeral, going to the funeral, or coming back from a different funeral," she says. "So everyone is just in a state of grief right now, and I’m fearful that there’s nothing we can do about it. We used to think we could always do something about it, we could always help, but people are starting to lose hope.”</p>
<p>Most of the killings in Benghazi are political. No one has been held accountable for a single death since 2011, so nobody knows for sure who’s behind the violence. But the 10 people&#160;targeted on Friday did have one thing in common — they stood against radical Islamist militias that have taken root in eastern Libya since the revolution.</p>
<p>Last June, Ansar al-Sharia, the al-Qaeda franchise in the country, declared Benghazi a caliphate. Residents say the militants have checkpoints outside of the city that control who goes in and out.</p>
<p>The militias are not as visible inside Benghazi, and their power doesn’t yet compare to the likes of ISIS, but many fear the situation is heading there.&#160;Faraj Alrabhi says Ansar al-Sharia’s campaign of terror has already depleted the city of its civil society.</p>
<p>“You cannot find the police — no police, no military, no university, no media," he says. "You cannot talk in the media because you will lose your life — no judge, nothing.”</p>
<p>Alrabhi, an engineer, refers to his hometown as “Benghazistan.”&#160;“We are saving our places, our residence by ourselves, by our guns," he says. "What happens for us now, it doesn’t happen even when Gaddafi was in power, really.”</p>
<p>He believes the only way to tackle militants is by force, and supports the one man who’s led the charge against them.&#160;Last May, Khalifa Hiftar, a former general, launched an offensive against Ansar al-Sharia in the city. He blamed Libyan authorities for turning a blind eye to the violence and ordered airstrikes against the militants without authorization from the government.</p>
<p>Amal Bayu, a member of parliament from Benghazi who was elected in June, says Hiftar stood up when everyone else backed down.&#160;But Hiftar’s offensive also escalated the violence and turned Benghazi into a war zone. Bayu’s family paid a heavy price in the clashes — her nine-year-old nephew was killed by a rocket last month.</p>
<p>Noor, Tawfik’s friend, says it was a mistake to attack radical groups with small forces and little support. “It’s just not the right way," she argues. "When you’re strong enough, when you have more unity, when you have backup from your government, from [parliament] — then you can have one unified move against people who are causing terror in the city.”</p>
<p>Noor says Tawfik held a different view, and the two had long debates on the subject.</p>
<p>She also remembers her friend as the teenager he was.&#160;On Facebook, he had posted his wish list for 2014. Among the items: “Change my mobile; learn to play the guitar; grow up.”</p> | The death of a teen activist marks a new low in Benghazi's violence | false | https://pri.org/stories/2014-09-22/death-teen-activist-marks-new-low-benghazis-violence | 2014-09-22 | 3left-center
| The death of a teen activist marks a new low in Benghazi's violence
<p>A teenager with scruffy hair and a huge grin on his face holds a sign. “Smile,” the banner reads. “You’re in Benghazi.”</p>
<p>Tawfik Bensaud was proud to display that message of hope from his hometown. That was back in 2012, when hope was still in large supply in Libya.</p>
<p>Noor, a friend of Tawfik, says Tawfik stayed true to the message in good times and bad — unlike many others.</p>
<p>“To be honest, everyone backed out ages ago,” Noor says. “He was the only person that was still hopeful, and he was the only person that kept going.”</p>
<p>Together, Noor and Tawfik had marched for peace, picked up trash and gotten people out to vote. But as the city turned more violent, Tawfik’s friends started leaving Benghazi. Noor and her family followed suit two months ago, but Tawfik wouldn’t budge.</p>
<p>“Every single time I’ve spoken to him, even when I left Libya, I called him and told him it’s getting scary and you need to take care,” she says. “He always said the same thing — he always said that everything is gonna be fine. We have to have faith, we have to keep going ... Because he believed in his cause and he had principles."</p>
<p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/20/teenaged-libyan-peace-activists-assassinations-benghazi-libya-tripoli" type="external">Tawfik was shot dead on Friday.</a>&#160;He was in a car with a fellow activist — also in his teens, and also fatally hit. Eight more people were murdered in the city that day — five of them were military officers.</p>
<p>"He was never a violent person," Noor says. "I’m sure he never actually believed that someone would go out to hurt him.”</p>
<p>Noor says Benghazi has seen its share of violence in 2012, but Friday’s rampage marks an all-time low.</p>
<p>“Everybody I’ve been in contact with is either in a funeral, going to the funeral, or coming back from a different funeral," she says. "So everyone is just in a state of grief right now, and I’m fearful that there’s nothing we can do about it. We used to think we could always do something about it, we could always help, but people are starting to lose hope.”</p>
<p>Most of the killings in Benghazi are political. No one has been held accountable for a single death since 2011, so nobody knows for sure who’s behind the violence. But the 10 people&#160;targeted on Friday did have one thing in common — they stood against radical Islamist militias that have taken root in eastern Libya since the revolution.</p>
<p>Last June, Ansar al-Sharia, the al-Qaeda franchise in the country, declared Benghazi a caliphate. Residents say the militants have checkpoints outside of the city that control who goes in and out.</p>
<p>The militias are not as visible inside Benghazi, and their power doesn’t yet compare to the likes of ISIS, but many fear the situation is heading there.&#160;Faraj Alrabhi says Ansar al-Sharia’s campaign of terror has already depleted the city of its civil society.</p>
<p>“You cannot find the police — no police, no military, no university, no media," he says. "You cannot talk in the media because you will lose your life — no judge, nothing.”</p>
<p>Alrabhi, an engineer, refers to his hometown as “Benghazistan.”&#160;“We are saving our places, our residence by ourselves, by our guns," he says. "What happens for us now, it doesn’t happen even when Gaddafi was in power, really.”</p>
<p>He believes the only way to tackle militants is by force, and supports the one man who’s led the charge against them.&#160;Last May, Khalifa Hiftar, a former general, launched an offensive against Ansar al-Sharia in the city. He blamed Libyan authorities for turning a blind eye to the violence and ordered airstrikes against the militants without authorization from the government.</p>
<p>Amal Bayu, a member of parliament from Benghazi who was elected in June, says Hiftar stood up when everyone else backed down.&#160;But Hiftar’s offensive also escalated the violence and turned Benghazi into a war zone. Bayu’s family paid a heavy price in the clashes — her nine-year-old nephew was killed by a rocket last month.</p>
<p>Noor, Tawfik’s friend, says it was a mistake to attack radical groups with small forces and little support. “It’s just not the right way," she argues. "When you’re strong enough, when you have more unity, when you have backup from your government, from [parliament] — then you can have one unified move against people who are causing terror in the city.”</p>
<p>Noor says Tawfik held a different view, and the two had long debates on the subject.</p>
<p>She also remembers her friend as the teenager he was.&#160;On Facebook, he had posted his wish list for 2014. Among the items: “Change my mobile; learn to play the guitar; grow up.”</p> | 1,920 |
<p>Donald Trump arrived in Puerto Rico with the first lady and showered praise on the governor of Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria and the various members of the government who assisted in the recovery. Yet, he pointedly ignored San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz, and it gets worse.</p>
<p>The thin-skinned leader of the free world heavily criticized the mayor and continues to hold a heavy grudge against her. She was the only one who did not get an opportunity to speak, and officials placed her at the end of the table, out of the camera’s eye.</p>
<p>Cruz criticized 45 on television and he rained down a storm of poisonous tweets on her head. According to <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/san-juan-mayor-silenced-white-house-hurricane-maria-emergency-relief-puerto-rico-a7979856.html" type="external">The Independent</a>, she responded:</p>
<p>‘”I have mouths to feed and frankly, sir, you can insult me all you want. I can take it. But when you call my people ingrates — it’s more&#160;than an utter insult, it is a sublime acknowledgment that you don’t know our hearts,” she said. “I respect the office of the presidency of the&#160;United States, but I expect whoever holds it to respect the people I represent. … Talking about ingrates, to me that is an insult, it is&#160;indignity and perhaps I will accomplish more out on the streets saving lives.”‘</p>
<p>Mayor Cruz speculated that the president’s tweets were to “spite” her. She said:</p>
<p>‘This is not a “let me see how I can dress [it] up to exaggerate” thing and it pains me that some people can’t see it. And it pains me that some people refuse to provide whatever they can provide. Just to spite us.’</p>
<p>The White House administration was snarky, saying Cruz was “too busy” doing interviews on television to participate in the hurricane relief. Nevermind that she had been wading through raw sewage to help her people. They did invite her to join a White House conference call on Monday to discuss the response to the hurricane damage.</p>
<p>Then, they muted her line so that she could not join the conversation. Homeland Security adviser Tom Bossert focused the discussion on how the federal government could improve how it handles hurricanes.</p>
<p>Mayor Cruz told the Independent she had a “listening capacity only.”</p>
<p>‘I was invited to participate in a conference via a text. I did. When I went into the call it said you are allowed in a listening capacity only … so I listened.’</p>
<p>Check out this video of Donald Trump saying how well his efforts in Puerto Rico went via CNN:</p>
<p />
<p>Featured Image via <a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/license/855911042" type="external">Getty Images/Joe Raedle</a>.</p> | Puerto Rico Mayor Allowed In Conference Call With Trump; He’s Just Made One Demand | true | http://bipartisanreport.com/2017/10/03/puerto-rico-mayor-allowed-in-conference-call-with-trump-hes-just-made-one-demand/ | 2017-10-03 | 4left
| Puerto Rico Mayor Allowed In Conference Call With Trump; He’s Just Made One Demand
<p>Donald Trump arrived in Puerto Rico with the first lady and showered praise on the governor of Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria and the various members of the government who assisted in the recovery. Yet, he pointedly ignored San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz, and it gets worse.</p>
<p>The thin-skinned leader of the free world heavily criticized the mayor and continues to hold a heavy grudge against her. She was the only one who did not get an opportunity to speak, and officials placed her at the end of the table, out of the camera’s eye.</p>
<p>Cruz criticized 45 on television and he rained down a storm of poisonous tweets on her head. According to <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/san-juan-mayor-silenced-white-house-hurricane-maria-emergency-relief-puerto-rico-a7979856.html" type="external">The Independent</a>, she responded:</p>
<p>‘”I have mouths to feed and frankly, sir, you can insult me all you want. I can take it. But when you call my people ingrates — it’s more&#160;than an utter insult, it is a sublime acknowledgment that you don’t know our hearts,” she said. “I respect the office of the presidency of the&#160;United States, but I expect whoever holds it to respect the people I represent. … Talking about ingrates, to me that is an insult, it is&#160;indignity and perhaps I will accomplish more out on the streets saving lives.”‘</p>
<p>Mayor Cruz speculated that the president’s tweets were to “spite” her. She said:</p>
<p>‘This is not a “let me see how I can dress [it] up to exaggerate” thing and it pains me that some people can’t see it. And it pains me that some people refuse to provide whatever they can provide. Just to spite us.’</p>
<p>The White House administration was snarky, saying Cruz was “too busy” doing interviews on television to participate in the hurricane relief. Nevermind that she had been wading through raw sewage to help her people. They did invite her to join a White House conference call on Monday to discuss the response to the hurricane damage.</p>
<p>Then, they muted her line so that she could not join the conversation. Homeland Security adviser Tom Bossert focused the discussion on how the federal government could improve how it handles hurricanes.</p>
<p>Mayor Cruz told the Independent she had a “listening capacity only.”</p>
<p>‘I was invited to participate in a conference via a text. I did. When I went into the call it said you are allowed in a listening capacity only … so I listened.’</p>
<p>Check out this video of Donald Trump saying how well his efforts in Puerto Rico went via CNN:</p>
<p />
<p>Featured Image via <a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/license/855911042" type="external">Getty Images/Joe Raedle</a>.</p> | 1,921 |
<p>North Korea detained a U.S. citizen on Saturday while attempting to leave the capital city Pyongyang, for unknown reasons.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/23/asia/american-detained-in-north-korea/" type="external">According to CNN</a>, Kim Jong, an american professor at Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, was at the airport preparing to travel with his with wife to China when he was detained by Korean authorities.</p>
<p>Korean officials have not yet offered an explanation for apprehending Jong or any idea of how long he will be detained. Martina Aberg, deputy chief of mission for the Embassy of Sweden notified the U.S. on Saturday and offered a statement to CNN.</p>
<p>“He was prevented from getting on the flight out of Pyongyang,” said Aberg. “We don’t comment further than this.”</p>
<p>Jong is <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/nkorea-detains-us-citizen-3rd-american-held-46965542" type="external">one of three detainees that are presently being imprisoned&#160;</a>by North Korea while attempting to leave from Pyongyang’s airport, with each previous case resulting in harsh punishments being passed down.</p>
<p>Otto Warmbier, a university of Virginia student, was detained last year in January for <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=7&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjygpG89LrTAhXC1CYKHbDMCTAQFghOMAY&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fnews%2Fotto-warmbier%2F&amp;usg=AFQjCNFQNoraebgEVBrYjb6ZlA4g8M4XnA&amp;sig2=r-8ed3k_OXaJmY9FxD9s-A" type="external">allegedly removing a political sign from a hotel wall</a>, consequently, he was sentenced to 15 years.</p>
<p>Kim Dong Chul, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was arrested in October 2015 <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=2&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0ahUKEwj8oKqm9LrTAhVIQiYKHXLyCC8QFggrMAE&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fnews%2Fworld-asia-36166998&amp;usg=AFQjCNHefSQ6TT0CZ36YM84BHQ8nAt9tiA&amp;sig2=rncJb0i2fBkMktQlCorM0Q" type="external">on espionage charges and was sentenced to 10 years.</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | North Korea just detained an American professor | true | http://resistancereport.com/world/north-korea-just-detained-american-professor/ | 2017-04-23 | 4left
| North Korea just detained an American professor
<p>North Korea detained a U.S. citizen on Saturday while attempting to leave the capital city Pyongyang, for unknown reasons.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/23/asia/american-detained-in-north-korea/" type="external">According to CNN</a>, Kim Jong, an american professor at Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, was at the airport preparing to travel with his with wife to China when he was detained by Korean authorities.</p>
<p>Korean officials have not yet offered an explanation for apprehending Jong or any idea of how long he will be detained. Martina Aberg, deputy chief of mission for the Embassy of Sweden notified the U.S. on Saturday and offered a statement to CNN.</p>
<p>“He was prevented from getting on the flight out of Pyongyang,” said Aberg. “We don’t comment further than this.”</p>
<p>Jong is <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/nkorea-detains-us-citizen-3rd-american-held-46965542" type="external">one of three detainees that are presently being imprisoned&#160;</a>by North Korea while attempting to leave from Pyongyang’s airport, with each previous case resulting in harsh punishments being passed down.</p>
<p>Otto Warmbier, a university of Virginia student, was detained last year in January for <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=7&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjygpG89LrTAhXC1CYKHbDMCTAQFghOMAY&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fnews%2Fotto-warmbier%2F&amp;usg=AFQjCNFQNoraebgEVBrYjb6ZlA4g8M4XnA&amp;sig2=r-8ed3k_OXaJmY9FxD9s-A" type="external">allegedly removing a political sign from a hotel wall</a>, consequently, he was sentenced to 15 years.</p>
<p>Kim Dong Chul, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was arrested in October 2015 <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=2&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0ahUKEwj8oKqm9LrTAhVIQiYKHXLyCC8QFggrMAE&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fnews%2Fworld-asia-36166998&amp;usg=AFQjCNHefSQ6TT0CZ36YM84BHQ8nAt9tiA&amp;sig2=rncJb0i2fBkMktQlCorM0Q" type="external">on espionage charges and was sentenced to 10 years.</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 1,922 |
<p>In the wake of the botched NYC terrorist attack, President Donald Trump has called for an end to the so-called “chain migration” and told Congress to act in order to thwart future incidents like the one carried out in a tunnel in midtown Manhattan.</p>
<p>Trump issued a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/12/11/statement-president-donald-j-trump-regarding-todays-attack-new-york-city" type="external">statement</a> Monday after the morning’s terrorist attack, allegedly carried out by Bangladeshi-native and Brooklyn resident Akayed Ullah. He detonated a pipe bomb in the 42nd Street passageway tunnel in midtown Manhattan, injuring himself and three others.</p>
<p>“Today’s terror suspect entered our country through extended-family chain migration, which is incompatible with national security,” Trump said. “America must fix its lax immigration system, which allows far too many dangerous, inadequately vetted people to access our country.”</p>
<p>“Congress must end chain migration,” the president empgasized, referring to the program whereby immigrants enter the US through the sponsorship of relatives already established in the country.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/usa/412795-ullah-motives-suspected-terror-attack-nyc/" type="external" /></p>
<p>Trump also called on Congress to “act on my Administration’s other proposals to enhance domestic security, including increasing the number of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.”</p>
<p>He stated that Congress needs to enhance “the arrest and detention authorities for immigration officers” and end the “fraud and abuse in our immigration system.”</p>
<p>Trump also spoke about his travel ban in the statement, which prohibits nationals from eight countries from entering the US. He called the ban an important step in reaching his goal to reform the US immigration system, which he says “allows far too many dangerous, inadequately vetted people to access our country.”</p>
<p>Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Trump was “exactly correct about the changes we need,” in his own statement Monday.</p>
<p>“We have now seen two terrorist attacks in New York City in less than two months that were carried out by people who came here as the result of our failed immigration policies that do not serve the national interest – the diversity lottery and chain migration,” Sessions said.</p>
<p>“The 20-year-old son of the sister of a US citizen should not get priority to come to this country ahead of someone who is high-skilled, well educated, has learned English, and is likely to assimilate and flourish here,” Sessions said further.</p>
<p />
<p>NEW: Family of Port Authority bomber Akayed Ullah say they are “heartbroken by the violence,” before pivoting to law enforcement officials, saying they are “outraged,” by their previous behavior of unrelated incidents. <a href="https://t.co/5Z8P5wbile" type="external">pic.twitter.com/5Z8P5wbile</a></p>
<p>— Terror Today (@TerrorToday) <a href="https://twitter.com/TerrorToday/status/940370870664613888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" type="external">December 12, 2017</a></p>
<p />
<p>White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders took questions from the press regarding the Monday morning attack, and was asked if the incident would inspire other terror-related events.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/usa/412732-manhattan-explosion-terrorist-attack/" type="external">READ MORE:&#160;New York police confirm terrorist attack in Manhattan, suspect inspired by ISIS</a></p>
<p>Sanders said that Trump is currently “concerned that Congress, particularly Dems, have failed to take action” in some areas where authorities could have prevented Monday’s attack from happening.</p>
<p>She said the Department of Homeland Security has confirmed Ullah came to the US on a chain migration-related F-43 family visa in 2011. <a href="https://www.rt.com/usa/412732-manhattan-explosion-terrorist-attack/" type="external">F-43 visas</a> apply to children or brothers or sisters of US citizens who are at least 21 years old.</p>
<p>Monday’s terror attack comes on the heels of another attack carried out by <a href="https://www.rt.com/usa/408511-us-charges-saipov-isis-terrorism-support/" type="external">Sayfullo Saipov</a>, a native from Uzbekistan, drove a rented van into a bike path in Manhattan on October 31, killing eight and injuring several others.</p> | Trump says ‘chain migration’ led to NYC terrorist attack, wants family visas abolished | false | https://newsline.com/trump-says-chain-migration-led-to-nyc-terrorist-attack-wants-family-visas-abolished/ | 2017-12-11 | 1right-center
| Trump says ‘chain migration’ led to NYC terrorist attack, wants family visas abolished
<p>In the wake of the botched NYC terrorist attack, President Donald Trump has called for an end to the so-called “chain migration” and told Congress to act in order to thwart future incidents like the one carried out in a tunnel in midtown Manhattan.</p>
<p>Trump issued a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/12/11/statement-president-donald-j-trump-regarding-todays-attack-new-york-city" type="external">statement</a> Monday after the morning’s terrorist attack, allegedly carried out by Bangladeshi-native and Brooklyn resident Akayed Ullah. He detonated a pipe bomb in the 42nd Street passageway tunnel in midtown Manhattan, injuring himself and three others.</p>
<p>“Today’s terror suspect entered our country through extended-family chain migration, which is incompatible with national security,” Trump said. “America must fix its lax immigration system, which allows far too many dangerous, inadequately vetted people to access our country.”</p>
<p>“Congress must end chain migration,” the president empgasized, referring to the program whereby immigrants enter the US through the sponsorship of relatives already established in the country.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/usa/412795-ullah-motives-suspected-terror-attack-nyc/" type="external" /></p>
<p>Trump also called on Congress to “act on my Administration’s other proposals to enhance domestic security, including increasing the number of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.”</p>
<p>He stated that Congress needs to enhance “the arrest and detention authorities for immigration officers” and end the “fraud and abuse in our immigration system.”</p>
<p>Trump also spoke about his travel ban in the statement, which prohibits nationals from eight countries from entering the US. He called the ban an important step in reaching his goal to reform the US immigration system, which he says “allows far too many dangerous, inadequately vetted people to access our country.”</p>
<p>Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Trump was “exactly correct about the changes we need,” in his own statement Monday.</p>
<p>“We have now seen two terrorist attacks in New York City in less than two months that were carried out by people who came here as the result of our failed immigration policies that do not serve the national interest – the diversity lottery and chain migration,” Sessions said.</p>
<p>“The 20-year-old son of the sister of a US citizen should not get priority to come to this country ahead of someone who is high-skilled, well educated, has learned English, and is likely to assimilate and flourish here,” Sessions said further.</p>
<p />
<p>NEW: Family of Port Authority bomber Akayed Ullah say they are “heartbroken by the violence,” before pivoting to law enforcement officials, saying they are “outraged,” by their previous behavior of unrelated incidents. <a href="https://t.co/5Z8P5wbile" type="external">pic.twitter.com/5Z8P5wbile</a></p>
<p>— Terror Today (@TerrorToday) <a href="https://twitter.com/TerrorToday/status/940370870664613888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" type="external">December 12, 2017</a></p>
<p />
<p>White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders took questions from the press regarding the Monday morning attack, and was asked if the incident would inspire other terror-related events.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/usa/412732-manhattan-explosion-terrorist-attack/" type="external">READ MORE:&#160;New York police confirm terrorist attack in Manhattan, suspect inspired by ISIS</a></p>
<p>Sanders said that Trump is currently “concerned that Congress, particularly Dems, have failed to take action” in some areas where authorities could have prevented Monday’s attack from happening.</p>
<p>She said the Department of Homeland Security has confirmed Ullah came to the US on a chain migration-related F-43 family visa in 2011. <a href="https://www.rt.com/usa/412732-manhattan-explosion-terrorist-attack/" type="external">F-43 visas</a> apply to children or brothers or sisters of US citizens who are at least 21 years old.</p>
<p>Monday’s terror attack comes on the heels of another attack carried out by <a href="https://www.rt.com/usa/408511-us-charges-saipov-isis-terrorism-support/" type="external">Sayfullo Saipov</a>, a native from Uzbekistan, drove a rented van into a bike path in Manhattan on October 31, killing eight and injuring several others.</p> | 1,923 |
<p>As families in 14 countries anxiously awaited word on missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, the airline issued another statement Saturday afternoon that offered little new information.</p>
<p>The flight from Kuala Lumpur, carrying 227 passengers from 14 countries — including two infants — and 12 crew members, <a href="" type="internal">broke contact with Subang Air Traffic Control</a> in Malaysia at 2:40 a.m. (1:40 p.m. ET Friday). It still hadn't been heard from almost 13 hours later.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.malaysiaairlines.com/my/en/site/dark-site.html" type="external">Here's the full statement from Malaysia Airlines</a>:</p>
<p>We regret to announce that Subang Traffic Control lost contact with flight MH370 at 2:40 am today.</p>
<p>We are currently working with international authorities on the search and rescue mission and as at 1400 hours, 08 March 2014, we have no information on the location of the airline.</p>
<p>MH370 is a Boeing 777-200 aircraft on a code share with China Southern Airlines. It departed Kuala Lumpur at 12.41 am today for Beijing. The aircraft was scheduled to land at Beijing International Airport at 6.30am local Beijing time. The flight had a total number of 227 passengers and 12 crew members. The passengers were from 14 different countries, most of whom are from China.</p>
<p>Our team is currently calling family members of passengers to keep them updated on the situation and our focus now is to work with the emergency responders and the authorities. We are sending a MH team to support the families of passengers at Beijing. The airline will continue to publish regular updates on the situation.</p>
<p>Our thoughts and prayers are with all passengers, our crew and their family members.</p> | ‘We have no information’ – Malaysia Airlines | false | http://nbcnews.com/storyline/missing-jet/we-have-no-information-malaysia-airlines-n47671 | 2014-03-08 | 3left-center
| ‘We have no information’ – Malaysia Airlines
<p>As families in 14 countries anxiously awaited word on missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, the airline issued another statement Saturday afternoon that offered little new information.</p>
<p>The flight from Kuala Lumpur, carrying 227 passengers from 14 countries — including two infants — and 12 crew members, <a href="" type="internal">broke contact with Subang Air Traffic Control</a> in Malaysia at 2:40 a.m. (1:40 p.m. ET Friday). It still hadn't been heard from almost 13 hours later.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.malaysiaairlines.com/my/en/site/dark-site.html" type="external">Here's the full statement from Malaysia Airlines</a>:</p>
<p>We regret to announce that Subang Traffic Control lost contact with flight MH370 at 2:40 am today.</p>
<p>We are currently working with international authorities on the search and rescue mission and as at 1400 hours, 08 March 2014, we have no information on the location of the airline.</p>
<p>MH370 is a Boeing 777-200 aircraft on a code share with China Southern Airlines. It departed Kuala Lumpur at 12.41 am today for Beijing. The aircraft was scheduled to land at Beijing International Airport at 6.30am local Beijing time. The flight had a total number of 227 passengers and 12 crew members. The passengers were from 14 different countries, most of whom are from China.</p>
<p>Our team is currently calling family members of passengers to keep them updated on the situation and our focus now is to work with the emergency responders and the authorities. We are sending a MH team to support the families of passengers at Beijing. The airline will continue to publish regular updates on the situation.</p>
<p>Our thoughts and prayers are with all passengers, our crew and their family members.</p> | 1,924 |
<p>When I placed my gown gently in the overhead compartment, the stewardess asked if I was going to a wedding.</p>
<p>Nope. More like the exact opposite of a wedding: the AVN awards. Also known as the Adult Video News awards or colloquially, “The Porn Oscars,” at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas.</p>
<p />
<p>I’m not in porn, nor am I a sex worker, but everyone I met leading up to and at the awards thought I was. It was my first time at AVN and I was there to walk my buddy James Deen, everybody’s favorite male porn star (not to feed his ego), down the red carpet as a sort of emotional support animal.</p>
<p>Deen and I met in 2011 when I <a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="http://100interviews.com/post/7046660690/7" type="external">interviewed him for my blog</a>. The interview was the first in-depth profile of Deen and he hadn’t yet reached the levels of mainstream notoriety that he has now. It helped that the interview was also pretty steamy, and made our immediate friend chemistry evident. But there’s no such thing as “just friends” on the Internet, and stories insinuating we’d slept together popped up on the New York Observer and gossip Tumblrs.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Then, he and I fell out of touch for a couple of years until I moved to Los Angeles last year. Since 2011, Twitter and Instagram have both become commonplace and so if there were titters about the nature of our relationship before, now the ‘ship was sailing into ship town. I get asked about our relationship on my Tumblr and in emails regularly. His assistant also fields questions about us. Eventually we embraced “fake dating” and decided it would be amusing to walk the carpet together.</p>
<p>A week before, he, my sister, and I went shopping together in Beverly Hills for the white dress I wore on the red carpet and later stored on that plane. The male retail worker at Yves St Laurent patted him on the back, winking that he knew who he was. The female retail workers at BCBG gritted their teeth when I said I was looking for a dress for AVN. Deen and my sister called our shopping trip “a real Pretty Woman moment.” On my way into a dressing room, Deen smirked and stayed silent as I nervously explained “the porn awards” to a confounded employee. Later, he told me that people in the industry call people not in porn “civilians” the way soldiers would refer to non-soldiers.</p>
<p>No surprise: Civilians treat you differently when they assume you’re in porn.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>At the expo preceding the awards, it’s a Comic Con of porn. Deen has his own merchandise booth where he sells replicas of his penis, movies like PornoRomance and Anal Day, and stickers with cartoon pandas on them. Deen fans (or Deenagers), who don’t look that different from the type of people that would be at Comic Con, come by and meet him, taking photos and getting spanked. The other booths advertise weed-based lubricant, German BDSM companies, cam girls, and various lesbian shenanigans.</p>
<p>By being in and around AVN, consent to touch me is implied. On the showroom floor, strangers run their fingers through my purple hair when they compliment it. Men push past me in the crowds with their hands firmly around my waist or rub my back in greeting. There are zero physical boundaries.</p>
<p />
<p>As you might imagine, it wasn’t much different in the strip club. The night before the awards, I went to Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club with a journalist friend and her boyfriend and saw porn goddesses Kayden Kross, Joanna Angel and Allie Haze dance. My cab driver originally drove me around back because he thought I was a stripper, which was the second most flattering thing that’s ever happened to me. (The first was two years ago when a woman at the mall thought my hair was extensions.) It’s a typical strip club experience: fake boobs in my face, too much money spent, vodka til the early morning. Mostly, I felt badly for the regular strippers (including one little person stripper who slayed the pole) because they had to compete for tips with the superstars of porn.</p>
<p>Once again, even though I’m not in porn—and was wearing jeans and a sweater, not that it should matter—the men attending the show felt free to touch me. One grabbed my hand as I walked by the stage to get my attention and then wouldn’t let me go back up to where my friends were sitting in the Fleshlight-sponsored VIP area. There were strippers around that he was allowed to touch and that permission, it seemed, extended to female patrons. “Maybe he thinks you’re a cam girl,” my friend suggested, because of my bright hair and large tattoos. If you have to touch a woman at this strip club, though, dude, maybe touch the strippers?</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The next day, when I walked the red carpet with Deen, the media was confused about who I was. Many assumed I was a new starlet they hadn’t heard of yet. I could tell because they said so, and also they asked me invasive questions like if I’m wearing underwear (I said “Spanx, thanks”), and what fictional character I’d most want to fuck (“Hermione Granger.”) These are all questions that, if asked of Emma Stone or Jennifer Lawrence on the red carpet, would have caused an uproar on feminist Twitter, but at AVN they are standard queries. We’re all public property, no one more so than the performers.</p>
<p>Yet part of me enjoys how open everyone is about their sexuality. Deen has said I’m his prudest friend, which is not a word that has ever been used to describe me. Among my other friends, I’m the person chided for “TMI” violations. But here I feel a sense of ease. There’s nothing I could say that would upset anyone. I’m just a civilian, after all.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The actual awards show was expertly hosted by porn stars Tommy Pistol and Alexis Texas. It included a musical number that namechecked Neil Patrick Harris and a running joke about how Pistol has never fucked Texas. (I guess because unlike the real Texas, she has…gun control…Get it?) They were assisted by comedian and non-porn performer Danielle Stewart, who competently handled a thankless job. She made a joke about being the only one with pubic hair, which rubbed some performers near me the wrong way. (The impression I got was that bush is making a comeback. If you’re going to joke about porn at the Porn Oscars, maybe don’t go so broad with the comedy.)</p>
<p>The rap duo Rae Sremmurd performed “No Flex Zone” and “No Type” and performers got up on the stage to dance with them, which was my first real look at what everyone was wearing. There was one performer whose slits were so high up that she flashed her vagina when she moved, and one woman walked the red carpet naked with a website called Pervout.com painted on her butt. Another was wrapped in red rope in some form of a dress with black X’s over her nipples.</p>
<p>Deen ended up winning Mainstream Star Of The Year and Favorite Male Porn Star. Afterwards, I got too drunk in the casino and apparently told Deen he “wasn’t my dad” when he tried to shush me. We laughed and hung out and talked to fans. I posted photos of us on Instagram and opened a renewed floodgate of random commenters wondering if we were finally dating or “how it felt to be fucked by a porn star” as if our friendship—or what we do with our bodies—is any of their business.</p>
<p>While walking around that weekend, four different guys asked if I’d take a photo with them, and it was expected that I comply even though I wasn’t there as a performer. (I’m not sure why—just for being hot?) You don’t even have to be in porn to become part of the AVN showcase. You’re a girl at a porn convention. You belong to everyone.</p>
<p>In the morning, on the ride to the airport, my taxi driver asked me, even though I never said I was a porn star, “how the awards went for me.”</p>
<p>“They were fun,” I replied. “I won a lot.”</p>
<p>Gaby Dunn is a writer, comedian, YouTuber, and journalist in Los Angeles. Her porn name would be Baby Fillmore.</p> | What I Learned From Going to the Adult Film Oscars With the King of Porn | true | http://talkingpointsmemo.com/theslice/i-went-to-the-avn-awards-porn-oscars-with-james-deen | 4left
| What I Learned From Going to the Adult Film Oscars With the King of Porn
<p>When I placed my gown gently in the overhead compartment, the stewardess asked if I was going to a wedding.</p>
<p>Nope. More like the exact opposite of a wedding: the AVN awards. Also known as the Adult Video News awards or colloquially, “The Porn Oscars,” at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas.</p>
<p />
<p>I’m not in porn, nor am I a sex worker, but everyone I met leading up to and at the awards thought I was. It was my first time at AVN and I was there to walk my buddy James Deen, everybody’s favorite male porn star (not to feed his ego), down the red carpet as a sort of emotional support animal.</p>
<p>Deen and I met in 2011 when I <a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="http://100interviews.com/post/7046660690/7" type="external">interviewed him for my blog</a>. The interview was the first in-depth profile of Deen and he hadn’t yet reached the levels of mainstream notoriety that he has now. It helped that the interview was also pretty steamy, and made our immediate friend chemistry evident. But there’s no such thing as “just friends” on the Internet, and stories insinuating we’d slept together popped up on the New York Observer and gossip Tumblrs.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Then, he and I fell out of touch for a couple of years until I moved to Los Angeles last year. Since 2011, Twitter and Instagram have both become commonplace and so if there were titters about the nature of our relationship before, now the ‘ship was sailing into ship town. I get asked about our relationship on my Tumblr and in emails regularly. His assistant also fields questions about us. Eventually we embraced “fake dating” and decided it would be amusing to walk the carpet together.</p>
<p>A week before, he, my sister, and I went shopping together in Beverly Hills for the white dress I wore on the red carpet and later stored on that plane. The male retail worker at Yves St Laurent patted him on the back, winking that he knew who he was. The female retail workers at BCBG gritted their teeth when I said I was looking for a dress for AVN. Deen and my sister called our shopping trip “a real Pretty Woman moment.” On my way into a dressing room, Deen smirked and stayed silent as I nervously explained “the porn awards” to a confounded employee. Later, he told me that people in the industry call people not in porn “civilians” the way soldiers would refer to non-soldiers.</p>
<p>No surprise: Civilians treat you differently when they assume you’re in porn.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>At the expo preceding the awards, it’s a Comic Con of porn. Deen has his own merchandise booth where he sells replicas of his penis, movies like PornoRomance and Anal Day, and stickers with cartoon pandas on them. Deen fans (or Deenagers), who don’t look that different from the type of people that would be at Comic Con, come by and meet him, taking photos and getting spanked. The other booths advertise weed-based lubricant, German BDSM companies, cam girls, and various lesbian shenanigans.</p>
<p>By being in and around AVN, consent to touch me is implied. On the showroom floor, strangers run their fingers through my purple hair when they compliment it. Men push past me in the crowds with their hands firmly around my waist or rub my back in greeting. There are zero physical boundaries.</p>
<p />
<p>As you might imagine, it wasn’t much different in the strip club. The night before the awards, I went to Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club with a journalist friend and her boyfriend and saw porn goddesses Kayden Kross, Joanna Angel and Allie Haze dance. My cab driver originally drove me around back because he thought I was a stripper, which was the second most flattering thing that’s ever happened to me. (The first was two years ago when a woman at the mall thought my hair was extensions.) It’s a typical strip club experience: fake boobs in my face, too much money spent, vodka til the early morning. Mostly, I felt badly for the regular strippers (including one little person stripper who slayed the pole) because they had to compete for tips with the superstars of porn.</p>
<p>Once again, even though I’m not in porn—and was wearing jeans and a sweater, not that it should matter—the men attending the show felt free to touch me. One grabbed my hand as I walked by the stage to get my attention and then wouldn’t let me go back up to where my friends were sitting in the Fleshlight-sponsored VIP area. There were strippers around that he was allowed to touch and that permission, it seemed, extended to female patrons. “Maybe he thinks you’re a cam girl,” my friend suggested, because of my bright hair and large tattoos. If you have to touch a woman at this strip club, though, dude, maybe touch the strippers?</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The next day, when I walked the red carpet with Deen, the media was confused about who I was. Many assumed I was a new starlet they hadn’t heard of yet. I could tell because they said so, and also they asked me invasive questions like if I’m wearing underwear (I said “Spanx, thanks”), and what fictional character I’d most want to fuck (“Hermione Granger.”) These are all questions that, if asked of Emma Stone or Jennifer Lawrence on the red carpet, would have caused an uproar on feminist Twitter, but at AVN they are standard queries. We’re all public property, no one more so than the performers.</p>
<p>Yet part of me enjoys how open everyone is about their sexuality. Deen has said I’m his prudest friend, which is not a word that has ever been used to describe me. Among my other friends, I’m the person chided for “TMI” violations. But here I feel a sense of ease. There’s nothing I could say that would upset anyone. I’m just a civilian, after all.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The actual awards show was expertly hosted by porn stars Tommy Pistol and Alexis Texas. It included a musical number that namechecked Neil Patrick Harris and a running joke about how Pistol has never fucked Texas. (I guess because unlike the real Texas, she has…gun control…Get it?) They were assisted by comedian and non-porn performer Danielle Stewart, who competently handled a thankless job. She made a joke about being the only one with pubic hair, which rubbed some performers near me the wrong way. (The impression I got was that bush is making a comeback. If you’re going to joke about porn at the Porn Oscars, maybe don’t go so broad with the comedy.)</p>
<p>The rap duo Rae Sremmurd performed “No Flex Zone” and “No Type” and performers got up on the stage to dance with them, which was my first real look at what everyone was wearing. There was one performer whose slits were so high up that she flashed her vagina when she moved, and one woman walked the red carpet naked with a website called Pervout.com painted on her butt. Another was wrapped in red rope in some form of a dress with black X’s over her nipples.</p>
<p>Deen ended up winning Mainstream Star Of The Year and Favorite Male Porn Star. Afterwards, I got too drunk in the casino and apparently told Deen he “wasn’t my dad” when he tried to shush me. We laughed and hung out and talked to fans. I posted photos of us on Instagram and opened a renewed floodgate of random commenters wondering if we were finally dating or “how it felt to be fucked by a porn star” as if our friendship—or what we do with our bodies—is any of their business.</p>
<p>While walking around that weekend, four different guys asked if I’d take a photo with them, and it was expected that I comply even though I wasn’t there as a performer. (I’m not sure why—just for being hot?) You don’t even have to be in porn to become part of the AVN showcase. You’re a girl at a porn convention. You belong to everyone.</p>
<p>In the morning, on the ride to the airport, my taxi driver asked me, even though I never said I was a porn star, “how the awards went for me.”</p>
<p>“They were fun,” I replied. “I won a lot.”</p>
<p>Gaby Dunn is a writer, comedian, YouTuber, and journalist in Los Angeles. Her porn name would be Baby Fillmore.</p> | 1,925 |
|
<p>On Thursday night's The Rachel Maddow Show, the MSNBC host was accidentally called "sir" by New Jersey Democrat, Rep. Bill Pascrell.</p>
<p>“Congressman, thanks for being with us tonight, sir,” said Maddow to Pascrell.</p>
<p>“Thank you, sir," he said, before quickly correcting himself. “Ma’am.”</p>
<p>Maddow, to her credit, handled it perfectly. The MSNBC host immediately let out a laugh; even joking about how frequently she gets misgendered.</p>
<p>“It’s all right, I answer to both," she said. "It’s actually quite convenient in unexpected places. You’d be surprised.”</p>
<p>WATCH:</p>
<p>However, Maddow did make a fool of herself earlier in the week, when she breathlessly announced that she was going to release President Donald Trump's tax returns. Instead of exposing Trump as a tax-shielding Scrooge McDuck with nefarious ties to Russia, she <a href="" type="internal">revealed</a>that the president is an upstanding citizen who paid a whopping $36 million in income tax in 2005 alone.</p>
<p>Oops!</p> | WATCH: Maddow Gets Misgendered | true | https://dailywire.com/news/14518/watch-maddow-gets-misgendered-amanda-prestigiacomo | 2017-03-17 | 0right
| WATCH: Maddow Gets Misgendered
<p>On Thursday night's The Rachel Maddow Show, the MSNBC host was accidentally called "sir" by New Jersey Democrat, Rep. Bill Pascrell.</p>
<p>“Congressman, thanks for being with us tonight, sir,” said Maddow to Pascrell.</p>
<p>“Thank you, sir," he said, before quickly correcting himself. “Ma’am.”</p>
<p>Maddow, to her credit, handled it perfectly. The MSNBC host immediately let out a laugh; even joking about how frequently she gets misgendered.</p>
<p>“It’s all right, I answer to both," she said. "It’s actually quite convenient in unexpected places. You’d be surprised.”</p>
<p>WATCH:</p>
<p>However, Maddow did make a fool of herself earlier in the week, when she breathlessly announced that she was going to release President Donald Trump's tax returns. Instead of exposing Trump as a tax-shielding Scrooge McDuck with nefarious ties to Russia, she <a href="" type="internal">revealed</a>that the president is an upstanding citizen who paid a whopping $36 million in income tax in 2005 alone.</p>
<p>Oops!</p> | 1,926 |
<p><a href="" type="internal" />Nearly everyone knows what the NRA (National Rifle Association) is, and Senator Ted Cruz <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2015/04/10/cruz-nra-come-and-take-it/" type="external">is no exception</a>. The most powerful gun lobbying group in the United States, the NRA enjoys the support of conservative politicians like Ted Cruz, and even some moderate Democrats in red states. At any gun show you go to, you’ll find them recruiting members, and any hunting or fishing website will likely show you ads from the NRA as well.</p>
<p>While the NRA is the organization most people think of when the subject of guns and gun lobbyists come up, there is another one which is even more extreme than the NRA – and Senator Ted Cruz is helping them with fundraising efforts. This isn’t an isolated incident, either. Ted Cruz has <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/larry-pratt-immigration-reform-and-ted-cruz-s-loyalty" type="external">a documented history</a> of working with Larry Pratt, the executive director of Gun Owners of America.</p>
<p>If you haven’t heard of Larry Pratt and Gun Owners of America before, let’s take a look at their organization and why it is so concerning that a serious presidential candidate is fundraising for them.</p>
<p>Via Right Wing Watch:</p>
<p>GOA is, in the words of the Southern Poverty Law Center, “a more radical alternative to the National Rifle Association,” which through an absolutist stance against any and all gun regulation has helped to push both the NRA and the gun debate to the right and away from any possible compromise.</p>
<p>But what’s most troubling about GOA is the radicalism of its executive director, Larry Pratt, who has ties to white supremacists and the militia movement and whose insurrectionist&#160;view of the Second Amendment is bolstered by a steady stream of conspiracy theories, many of them directed at President Obama. Just this weekend, for instance, Pratt speculated that although the president has tried to remove “pro-American” officers from the military, he has not gotten all of them, so if he were to try to commandeer the military as his own private defense force he would likely meet with a violent insurrection. ( <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/ted-cruz-raises-money-radical-gun-group-fight-obamas-left-wing-hatred-your-liberty" type="external">Source</a>)</p>
<p>Larry Pratt has previously stated that <a href="" type="internal">President Obama was like Hitler</a> and wanted to take away everyone’s guns. He later followed up that statement by claiming the Second Amendment was <a href="" type="internal">intended for use</a> against people like President Obama.</p>
<p>White supremacist groups have been cheering Donald Trump’s increasingly xenophobic rhetoric, but the <a href="http://quietmike.org/2015/12/14/the-right-wing-patriot-movement-finally-has-a-voice/" type="external">right-wing patriot movement’s</a> true hero is Ted Cruz who has been <a href="" type="internal">carefully following</a> behind Trump, just waiting for his campaign to finally sputter out. It’s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/cruz-campaign-credits-psychological-data-and-analytics-for-its-rising-success/2015/12/13/4cb0baf8-9dc5-11e5-bce4-708fe33e3288_story.html?tid=pm_politics_pop_b" type="external">a strategy</a> that has paid off as Ted Cruz has capitalized on the free-fall of Dr. Ben Carson to <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/13/politics/ted-cruz-donald-trump-iowa-poll/index.html" type="external">jump ahead</a> of Trump in some Iowa polls.</p>
<p>The chances are very real that Ted Cruz will end up being the Republican nominee. He has the money and the campaign staff around the country to make it happen, better than any other candidate. He has tapped the chairman of GOA to lead his campaign’s “Second Amendment Coalition” which removes all doubt that there is clear coordination between the white supremacist-friendly Gun Owners of America and Ted Cruz.</p>
<p>Donald Trump will eventually fade away or run third party, which is why I am not overly concerned with him. The quiet networking between Ted Cruz and the most radical members of the far-right is what <a href="" type="internal">should scare the hell out of everyone</a>.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="" type="internal">Ted Cruz Ally Larry Pratt Says The Second Amendment 'Was Designed For People Just Like The President'</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">I Am A White Gun Owner, And I Hate The NRA</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Hypocrite Ted Cruz Might Be a Big Fan of Background Checks for At Least One Gun Owner</a></p>
<p>0 Facebook comments</p> | Ted Cruz Is Raising Money For A Gun Group With Ties To White Supremacists | true | http://forwardprogressives.com/ted-cruz-raising-money-gun-group-ties-white-supremacists/ | 2015-12-14 | 4left
| Ted Cruz Is Raising Money For A Gun Group With Ties To White Supremacists
<p><a href="" type="internal" />Nearly everyone knows what the NRA (National Rifle Association) is, and Senator Ted Cruz <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2015/04/10/cruz-nra-come-and-take-it/" type="external">is no exception</a>. The most powerful gun lobbying group in the United States, the NRA enjoys the support of conservative politicians like Ted Cruz, and even some moderate Democrats in red states. At any gun show you go to, you’ll find them recruiting members, and any hunting or fishing website will likely show you ads from the NRA as well.</p>
<p>While the NRA is the organization most people think of when the subject of guns and gun lobbyists come up, there is another one which is even more extreme than the NRA – and Senator Ted Cruz is helping them with fundraising efforts. This isn’t an isolated incident, either. Ted Cruz has <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/larry-pratt-immigration-reform-and-ted-cruz-s-loyalty" type="external">a documented history</a> of working with Larry Pratt, the executive director of Gun Owners of America.</p>
<p>If you haven’t heard of Larry Pratt and Gun Owners of America before, let’s take a look at their organization and why it is so concerning that a serious presidential candidate is fundraising for them.</p>
<p>Via Right Wing Watch:</p>
<p>GOA is, in the words of the Southern Poverty Law Center, “a more radical alternative to the National Rifle Association,” which through an absolutist stance against any and all gun regulation has helped to push both the NRA and the gun debate to the right and away from any possible compromise.</p>
<p>But what’s most troubling about GOA is the radicalism of its executive director, Larry Pratt, who has ties to white supremacists and the militia movement and whose insurrectionist&#160;view of the Second Amendment is bolstered by a steady stream of conspiracy theories, many of them directed at President Obama. Just this weekend, for instance, Pratt speculated that although the president has tried to remove “pro-American” officers from the military, he has not gotten all of them, so if he were to try to commandeer the military as his own private defense force he would likely meet with a violent insurrection. ( <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/ted-cruz-raises-money-radical-gun-group-fight-obamas-left-wing-hatred-your-liberty" type="external">Source</a>)</p>
<p>Larry Pratt has previously stated that <a href="" type="internal">President Obama was like Hitler</a> and wanted to take away everyone’s guns. He later followed up that statement by claiming the Second Amendment was <a href="" type="internal">intended for use</a> against people like President Obama.</p>
<p>White supremacist groups have been cheering Donald Trump’s increasingly xenophobic rhetoric, but the <a href="http://quietmike.org/2015/12/14/the-right-wing-patriot-movement-finally-has-a-voice/" type="external">right-wing patriot movement’s</a> true hero is Ted Cruz who has been <a href="" type="internal">carefully following</a> behind Trump, just waiting for his campaign to finally sputter out. It’s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/cruz-campaign-credits-psychological-data-and-analytics-for-its-rising-success/2015/12/13/4cb0baf8-9dc5-11e5-bce4-708fe33e3288_story.html?tid=pm_politics_pop_b" type="external">a strategy</a> that has paid off as Ted Cruz has capitalized on the free-fall of Dr. Ben Carson to <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/13/politics/ted-cruz-donald-trump-iowa-poll/index.html" type="external">jump ahead</a> of Trump in some Iowa polls.</p>
<p>The chances are very real that Ted Cruz will end up being the Republican nominee. He has the money and the campaign staff around the country to make it happen, better than any other candidate. He has tapped the chairman of GOA to lead his campaign’s “Second Amendment Coalition” which removes all doubt that there is clear coordination between the white supremacist-friendly Gun Owners of America and Ted Cruz.</p>
<p>Donald Trump will eventually fade away or run third party, which is why I am not overly concerned with him. The quiet networking between Ted Cruz and the most radical members of the far-right is what <a href="" type="internal">should scare the hell out of everyone</a>.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="" type="internal">Ted Cruz Ally Larry Pratt Says The Second Amendment 'Was Designed For People Just Like The President'</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">I Am A White Gun Owner, And I Hate The NRA</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Hypocrite Ted Cruz Might Be a Big Fan of Background Checks for At Least One Gun Owner</a></p>
<p>0 Facebook comments</p> | 1,927 |
<p>Among the issues in American politics that inspire the most ideological fervor these days, stem cells and missile defense are at the top of the list. Missile defense has a long history: To conservative Republicans, it is a fixture of the Reagan legacy, of American strength, independence, and nuclear realism in the post-Cold War world. To liberal Democrats, missile defense is destabilizing, hegemonic, unworkable, and unwise. It will provoke a new arms race and a new age of nuclear brinkmanship. Besides which, terrorists can always attack us with nuclear car bombs anyway.</p>
<p>The issue of stem cells is new-a continuation of the moral and political divide over abortion, but with perhaps even greater complexity and significance. Pro-lifers see research on embryonic stem cells as involving the utilitarian destruction of the unborn. And they see it as the gateway to the darker, more ambitious modern genetic project of designing our descendants and challenging our mortality. Among the supporters of this research, the pro-capitalists and many “soft” pro-lifers foresee staggering benefits that far outweigh any associated evil. The pro-choicers see no evil at all, only a great humanitarian opportunity to extend individual health and autonomy.</p>
<p>What is interesting, though, are the parallel claims and counterclaims made by those who advocate or reject these emerging technologies. The advocates proclaim: If we lift the respective bans-the ABM treaty and the NIH regulations barring federal funding of embryonic stem cell research-technological miracles will follow. The skeptics proclaim: These technologies are untested, immoral, and irresponsible. On each issue, the pro-technology faction asserts not only the virtue of deploying either missile defense or stem cells, but the necessity of doing so-lest terrorists attack us or diseases kill us</p>
<p>And usually-here is perhaps the most interesting point of all-the advocates of one technology reject the other. That is, missile-defense hawks, who tend to be conservatives, are usually stem cell doves; stem cell hawks, who tend to be liberals, are usually missile-defense doves. There are exceptions, but the discontinuity is common enough to be worth considering.</p>
<p>Perhaps not surprisingly, the two subjects are seldom discussed in the same political breath. But the relationship between the politics of nuclear weapons and the politics of the new biology is fundamental: Both stem cell research and missile defense force concrete judgments about whether modern technology enhances life or threatens it, whether it expands freedom or destroys it. Both inspire grand fears about where modern technology is leading us. Both raise questions about whether we can control what we create and what we are, and about whether such control is desirable, undesirable, or tragically necessary.</p>
<p>For conservatives in particular, these issues present a riddle-especially for those who seek both to augment American greatness and power, on the one hand, and to demand of the nation a technological reticence, a reverence for the unmanageable mystery of creation, and a spirit of restraint and acceptance in the face of suffering, on the other. These conservatives seem to want a “just hegemony” in international affairs, built on America’s will to set the world right. But when it comes to the irrationalities and inevitability of suffering, disability, sickness, and death, they ask the nation to adopt, as bioethicist Gilbert Meilaender eloquently puts it, “the posture of one who waits, who knows his fundamental neediness and dependence.”</p>
<p>In short, they seek both the posture of the heroic statesman and the posture of man as witness. American conservatism, at its best, cultivates both, in deference to a paradox inherent in the human condition. But politically, it is not enough simply to lift the ban on weapons-builders and maintain the ban on medical researchers, declaring oneself pro-defense and pro-life. Rather, this conservative disposition must be seen to make sense.</p>
<p>For the fact is, as Meilaender and others have suggested, the philosophical problems posed by our willingness to fight just wars and our desire to cure diseases are not very different. Both endeavors confront us with seemingly impossible questions: When may we take life to affirm life? Can embryos ever be justly sacrificed to help the sick and dying? Are discarded embryos acceptable “collateral damage” in the war against disease? When does courage require of us that we endure our fate, and when that we exert the will to set the world right? How and when should we use power to extend the “pursuit of happiness,” be it American power overseas or medical power at home? In short: How much goodness and how much justice can men achieve here and now? And when does wisdom require a heroic acceptance of tragedy, forbearance rather than “progress” and “solutions”?</p>
<p>In my view, building a missile defense system and halting all embryonic stem cell research are the moral and realistic choices. But those who adopt this set of positions must recognize the grand wagers they rest on: namely, that a nuclear attack is possible but not inevitable; that missile defense is workable and will deter our enemies rather than embolden them; that the biological quest to overcome suffering-to set the world right by ending disease and perfecting imperfection-is somehow misguided; and that the further down this path we go, the less able we will be to accept, endure, and redeem our mortality and to love and honor the imperfect among us, which in the end means all of us. This treating of life as a problem to be solved has given us the modern capacity to cure disease, but also our increasing penchant for euthanasia, assisted suicide, mass Prozac, and selective abortions.</p>
<p>Certainly, these two conservative positions (pro-missile defense and American power, anti-embryonic stem cell research) are difficult to reconcile-the one a mobilization of modern technology, the other a call to rein it in. To acknowledge the force of the opposing views-the futility of fighting nuclear weapons with more weapons, the rightness of extending the lives of the sick and the dying even at the cost of destroying “mere cells”-is a necessity.</p>
<p>Perhaps the answer, if there is one, lies in America’s exceptional conservatism, which in the past has inspired both the will to fight tyranny and the wisdom to acknowledge man’s limits, and hence his longing for transcendent redemption or justice. To ask comfortable citizens to give their lives defending freedom around the world; to ask the sick and dying to love the mystery of life more than their own lives-both require a courageous commitment to something larger than self-interest. For a purely political conservatism oriented toward giving the voters what they want, such demands are a losing strategy. For a philosophically grounded conservatism willing to risk demanding from people the sacrifices of which they are capable, these issues are an exceptional opportunity.</p>
<p>Source Notes Copyright: 2001 The Weekly Standard</p> | Of Missile Defense and Stem Cells | false | https://eppc.org/publications/of-missile-defense-and-stem-cells/ | 1right-center
| Of Missile Defense and Stem Cells
<p>Among the issues in American politics that inspire the most ideological fervor these days, stem cells and missile defense are at the top of the list. Missile defense has a long history: To conservative Republicans, it is a fixture of the Reagan legacy, of American strength, independence, and nuclear realism in the post-Cold War world. To liberal Democrats, missile defense is destabilizing, hegemonic, unworkable, and unwise. It will provoke a new arms race and a new age of nuclear brinkmanship. Besides which, terrorists can always attack us with nuclear car bombs anyway.</p>
<p>The issue of stem cells is new-a continuation of the moral and political divide over abortion, but with perhaps even greater complexity and significance. Pro-lifers see research on embryonic stem cells as involving the utilitarian destruction of the unborn. And they see it as the gateway to the darker, more ambitious modern genetic project of designing our descendants and challenging our mortality. Among the supporters of this research, the pro-capitalists and many “soft” pro-lifers foresee staggering benefits that far outweigh any associated evil. The pro-choicers see no evil at all, only a great humanitarian opportunity to extend individual health and autonomy.</p>
<p>What is interesting, though, are the parallel claims and counterclaims made by those who advocate or reject these emerging technologies. The advocates proclaim: If we lift the respective bans-the ABM treaty and the NIH regulations barring federal funding of embryonic stem cell research-technological miracles will follow. The skeptics proclaim: These technologies are untested, immoral, and irresponsible. On each issue, the pro-technology faction asserts not only the virtue of deploying either missile defense or stem cells, but the necessity of doing so-lest terrorists attack us or diseases kill us</p>
<p>And usually-here is perhaps the most interesting point of all-the advocates of one technology reject the other. That is, missile-defense hawks, who tend to be conservatives, are usually stem cell doves; stem cell hawks, who tend to be liberals, are usually missile-defense doves. There are exceptions, but the discontinuity is common enough to be worth considering.</p>
<p>Perhaps not surprisingly, the two subjects are seldom discussed in the same political breath. But the relationship between the politics of nuclear weapons and the politics of the new biology is fundamental: Both stem cell research and missile defense force concrete judgments about whether modern technology enhances life or threatens it, whether it expands freedom or destroys it. Both inspire grand fears about where modern technology is leading us. Both raise questions about whether we can control what we create and what we are, and about whether such control is desirable, undesirable, or tragically necessary.</p>
<p>For conservatives in particular, these issues present a riddle-especially for those who seek both to augment American greatness and power, on the one hand, and to demand of the nation a technological reticence, a reverence for the unmanageable mystery of creation, and a spirit of restraint and acceptance in the face of suffering, on the other. These conservatives seem to want a “just hegemony” in international affairs, built on America’s will to set the world right. But when it comes to the irrationalities and inevitability of suffering, disability, sickness, and death, they ask the nation to adopt, as bioethicist Gilbert Meilaender eloquently puts it, “the posture of one who waits, who knows his fundamental neediness and dependence.”</p>
<p>In short, they seek both the posture of the heroic statesman and the posture of man as witness. American conservatism, at its best, cultivates both, in deference to a paradox inherent in the human condition. But politically, it is not enough simply to lift the ban on weapons-builders and maintain the ban on medical researchers, declaring oneself pro-defense and pro-life. Rather, this conservative disposition must be seen to make sense.</p>
<p>For the fact is, as Meilaender and others have suggested, the philosophical problems posed by our willingness to fight just wars and our desire to cure diseases are not very different. Both endeavors confront us with seemingly impossible questions: When may we take life to affirm life? Can embryos ever be justly sacrificed to help the sick and dying? Are discarded embryos acceptable “collateral damage” in the war against disease? When does courage require of us that we endure our fate, and when that we exert the will to set the world right? How and when should we use power to extend the “pursuit of happiness,” be it American power overseas or medical power at home? In short: How much goodness and how much justice can men achieve here and now? And when does wisdom require a heroic acceptance of tragedy, forbearance rather than “progress” and “solutions”?</p>
<p>In my view, building a missile defense system and halting all embryonic stem cell research are the moral and realistic choices. But those who adopt this set of positions must recognize the grand wagers they rest on: namely, that a nuclear attack is possible but not inevitable; that missile defense is workable and will deter our enemies rather than embolden them; that the biological quest to overcome suffering-to set the world right by ending disease and perfecting imperfection-is somehow misguided; and that the further down this path we go, the less able we will be to accept, endure, and redeem our mortality and to love and honor the imperfect among us, which in the end means all of us. This treating of life as a problem to be solved has given us the modern capacity to cure disease, but also our increasing penchant for euthanasia, assisted suicide, mass Prozac, and selective abortions.</p>
<p>Certainly, these two conservative positions (pro-missile defense and American power, anti-embryonic stem cell research) are difficult to reconcile-the one a mobilization of modern technology, the other a call to rein it in. To acknowledge the force of the opposing views-the futility of fighting nuclear weapons with more weapons, the rightness of extending the lives of the sick and the dying even at the cost of destroying “mere cells”-is a necessity.</p>
<p>Perhaps the answer, if there is one, lies in America’s exceptional conservatism, which in the past has inspired both the will to fight tyranny and the wisdom to acknowledge man’s limits, and hence his longing for transcendent redemption or justice. To ask comfortable citizens to give their lives defending freedom around the world; to ask the sick and dying to love the mystery of life more than their own lives-both require a courageous commitment to something larger than self-interest. For a purely political conservatism oriented toward giving the voters what they want, such demands are a losing strategy. For a philosophically grounded conservatism willing to risk demanding from people the sacrifices of which they are capable, these issues are an exceptional opportunity.</p>
<p>Source Notes Copyright: 2001 The Weekly Standard</p> | 1,928 |
|
<p>Caitlan Coleman and Josh Boyle were abducted in Afghanistan by the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani network back in 2012. They have three children, all of whom were born in captivity.</p>
<p>The family has finally been freed from their five-year nightmare, and is now in Pakistan while plans are underway to take them home by plane. However, Fox News <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/10/12/american-caitlin-coleman-family-freed-from-afghanistan-captors.html" type="external">reports</a>, the husband Boyle doesn’t want to return to the United States, and is requesting that the family be delivered to Canada instead.</p>
<p>Advertisement - story continues below</p>
<p><a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/3798807/canadian-joshua-boyle-taliban-rescued/" type="external">According to</a> Global News, Boyle is a Canadian citizen while Coleman was born in the United States, but the report doesn’t make clear whether the family had settled in Canada prior to their ordeal, having married in 2011, not long before the trip that ended in their abduction. According to the White House, the United States is open to their request to be taken to Canada instead.</p>
<p>First, some background on the family’s horrible plight:</p>
<p>The two vanished after setting off in the summer of 2012 for a journey that took them to Russia, the central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, and then to Afghanistan.</p>
<p>Coleman’s parents, Jim and Lyn Coleman, had previously last heard from their son-in-law on Oct. 8, 2012, from an Internet cafe in what Josh described as an “unsafe” part of Afghanistan […]</p>
<p>In [a] 2016 YouTube [hostage] video, Coleman refers to “the Kafkaesque nightmare in which we find ourselves” and urges “governments on both sides” to reach a deal for their freedom. She then adds: “My children have seen their mother defiled.”</p>
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<p>And the circumstances of their release:</p>
<p>Pakistan’s armed forces said in a statement an operation was undertaken by Pakistani forces based on actionable intelligence provided by U.S. authorities. U.S. intelligence agencies had reportedly been tracking the hostages and shared the location with Pakistani counterparts when the hostages shifted into Pakistani territory Wednesday.</p>
<p>But a source told Fox News that U.S. officials had been working on the release for a long time and had been placing pressure on the Pakistani government — the Haqqani network has ties to Pakistan’s intelligence services. The U.S., however, did not pay for the hostage release and no other hostages were released in a quid-pro-quo, sources said.</p>
<p>So why don’t they want to come home?</p>
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<p>Boyle is refusing to board an American military plane in Pakistan waiting to take them home, fearing he’ll be arrested, a U.S. official said. Some officials say Roberts is fearful of perhaps being sent to Guantanamo Bay, based off his background.</p>
<p>Boyle was previously married to the sister of Omar Khadr, a Canadian man who spent 10 years at Guantanamo Bay after being captured in 2002 in a firefight at an Al Qaeda compound in Afghanistan.</p>
<p>The Canadian-born Khadr was 15 in 2002 when he tossed a grenade in a firefight that killed U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Speer, a special forces medic.</p>
<p>Based on the information Fox presents, it sounds like Boyle’s connection to Khadr is worth looking into, but not enough that the feds would put him in Gitmo. However, while his fear may seem paranoid, it’s worth considering the propaganda his captors spent years feeding his family about what the Great Satan USA is supposedly capable of.</p>
<p>What do you think of this story? Share your thoughts in the comments below.</p>
<p>What do you think? Scroll down to comment below.</p> | Freed Hostages REFUSE to Return to The USA Over Fears of Gitmo | true | http://thefederalistpapers.org/us/freed-hostages-refuse-return-usa-fears-gitmo | 0right
| Freed Hostages REFUSE to Return to The USA Over Fears of Gitmo
<p>Caitlan Coleman and Josh Boyle were abducted in Afghanistan by the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani network back in 2012. They have three children, all of whom were born in captivity.</p>
<p>The family has finally been freed from their five-year nightmare, and is now in Pakistan while plans are underway to take them home by plane. However, Fox News <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/10/12/american-caitlin-coleman-family-freed-from-afghanistan-captors.html" type="external">reports</a>, the husband Boyle doesn’t want to return to the United States, and is requesting that the family be delivered to Canada instead.</p>
<p>Advertisement - story continues below</p>
<p><a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/3798807/canadian-joshua-boyle-taliban-rescued/" type="external">According to</a> Global News, Boyle is a Canadian citizen while Coleman was born in the United States, but the report doesn’t make clear whether the family had settled in Canada prior to their ordeal, having married in 2011, not long before the trip that ended in their abduction. According to the White House, the United States is open to their request to be taken to Canada instead.</p>
<p>First, some background on the family’s horrible plight:</p>
<p>The two vanished after setting off in the summer of 2012 for a journey that took them to Russia, the central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, and then to Afghanistan.</p>
<p>Coleman’s parents, Jim and Lyn Coleman, had previously last heard from their son-in-law on Oct. 8, 2012, from an Internet cafe in what Josh described as an “unsafe” part of Afghanistan […]</p>
<p>In [a] 2016 YouTube [hostage] video, Coleman refers to “the Kafkaesque nightmare in which we find ourselves” and urges “governments on both sides” to reach a deal for their freedom. She then adds: “My children have seen their mother defiled.”</p>
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<p>And the circumstances of their release:</p>
<p>Pakistan’s armed forces said in a statement an operation was undertaken by Pakistani forces based on actionable intelligence provided by U.S. authorities. U.S. intelligence agencies had reportedly been tracking the hostages and shared the location with Pakistani counterparts when the hostages shifted into Pakistani territory Wednesday.</p>
<p>But a source told Fox News that U.S. officials had been working on the release for a long time and had been placing pressure on the Pakistani government — the Haqqani network has ties to Pakistan’s intelligence services. The U.S., however, did not pay for the hostage release and no other hostages were released in a quid-pro-quo, sources said.</p>
<p>So why don’t they want to come home?</p>
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<p>Boyle is refusing to board an American military plane in Pakistan waiting to take them home, fearing he’ll be arrested, a U.S. official said. Some officials say Roberts is fearful of perhaps being sent to Guantanamo Bay, based off his background.</p>
<p>Boyle was previously married to the sister of Omar Khadr, a Canadian man who spent 10 years at Guantanamo Bay after being captured in 2002 in a firefight at an Al Qaeda compound in Afghanistan.</p>
<p>The Canadian-born Khadr was 15 in 2002 when he tossed a grenade in a firefight that killed U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Speer, a special forces medic.</p>
<p>Based on the information Fox presents, it sounds like Boyle’s connection to Khadr is worth looking into, but not enough that the feds would put him in Gitmo. However, while his fear may seem paranoid, it’s worth considering the propaganda his captors spent years feeding his family about what the Great Satan USA is supposedly capable of.</p>
<p>What do you think of this story? Share your thoughts in the comments below.</p>
<p>What do you think? Scroll down to comment below.</p> | 1,929 |
|
<p />
<p>U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued a statement Monday saying a processing system outage caused delays at various airports.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>&#160;CBP officers continued processing international travelers using "alternative procedures" until the system came back online but waits were longer than usual at some airports, according to the statement.</p>
<p>&#160;Officers still had access to national security databases and all travelers were screened according to security standards during the outage, the CBP said.</p>
<p>&#160;The release does not give a cause for the disruption but said it doesn't seem to be malicious.</p>
<p>&#160;In Atlanta, CBP public affairs officer Robert Brisley said the outage at the city's airport lasted about an hour from late afternoon into early evening. He said that officers were working to recover quickly afterward but even short outages can lead to backups at the airport, one of the world's busiest.</p>
<p>&#160;He said the agency apologizes to travelers who were delayed getting into the country after long flights.</p> | Officials: Customs System Outage Causes Waits at Airports | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/01/03/officials-customs-system-outage-causes-waits-at-airports.html | 2017-01-03 | 0right
| Officials: Customs System Outage Causes Waits at Airports
<p />
<p>U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued a statement Monday saying a processing system outage caused delays at various airports.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>&#160;CBP officers continued processing international travelers using "alternative procedures" until the system came back online but waits were longer than usual at some airports, according to the statement.</p>
<p>&#160;Officers still had access to national security databases and all travelers were screened according to security standards during the outage, the CBP said.</p>
<p>&#160;The release does not give a cause for the disruption but said it doesn't seem to be malicious.</p>
<p>&#160;In Atlanta, CBP public affairs officer Robert Brisley said the outage at the city's airport lasted about an hour from late afternoon into early evening. He said that officers were working to recover quickly afterward but even short outages can lead to backups at the airport, one of the world's busiest.</p>
<p>&#160;He said the agency apologizes to travelers who were delayed getting into the country after long flights.</p> | 1,930 |
<p>The NFL needs to switch their slogan #TAKEAKNEE to #TAKEASEAT, beg their fans to forgive them for disrespecting the flag, and focus their energy on getting fans to return to games, or risk seeing their stadiums turn into ghost towns.</p>
<p>Over the last year, the NFL's viewership and ratings have sunk to <a href="" type="internal">dismal levels</a>, with polls showing that only 46% now view the NFL positively. Compare that to four years ago when the NFL's approval rating stood at a comfortable 64%.</p>
<p>Halfway through the season, the NFL has shown no signs of improvement. Players kneeling during the National Anthem with no repercussions have taken a toll, as ticket sales and images from games demonstrate.</p>
<p>Here are a few shots from this weekend from games that, regardless of the appeal or lack thereof of the matchups, were far more empty than the NFL is used to seeing pre-#TAKEAKNEE:</p>
<p>The San Francisco 49ers — where the #TAKEAKNEE controversy originated when Colin Kaepernick declared that he was "not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color" — appears to have it the worst. No surprise though, considering the team now has a record of 0-9.</p> | #TAKEASEAT: NFL Stadiums Are Turning Into Ghost Towns | true | https://dailywire.com/news/23208/takeaseat-nfl-stadiums-are-turning-ghost-towns-paul-bois | 2017-11-06 | 0right
| #TAKEASEAT: NFL Stadiums Are Turning Into Ghost Towns
<p>The NFL needs to switch their slogan #TAKEAKNEE to #TAKEASEAT, beg their fans to forgive them for disrespecting the flag, and focus their energy on getting fans to return to games, or risk seeing their stadiums turn into ghost towns.</p>
<p>Over the last year, the NFL's viewership and ratings have sunk to <a href="" type="internal">dismal levels</a>, with polls showing that only 46% now view the NFL positively. Compare that to four years ago when the NFL's approval rating stood at a comfortable 64%.</p>
<p>Halfway through the season, the NFL has shown no signs of improvement. Players kneeling during the National Anthem with no repercussions have taken a toll, as ticket sales and images from games demonstrate.</p>
<p>Here are a few shots from this weekend from games that, regardless of the appeal or lack thereof of the matchups, were far more empty than the NFL is used to seeing pre-#TAKEAKNEE:</p>
<p>The San Francisco 49ers — where the #TAKEAKNEE controversy originated when Colin Kaepernick declared that he was "not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color" — appears to have it the worst. No surprise though, considering the team now has a record of 0-9.</p> | 1,931 |
<p>BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade chief said on Monday that the World Trade Organization is losing its focus on trade negotiations in favor of litigation and needed to rethink how it defines developing economies.</p>
<p>“We need to clarify our understanding of development within the WTO. We cannot sustain a situation in which new rules can only apply to a few and that others will be given a pass in the name of self-proclaimed development status,” U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told the opening session of the WTO’s ministerial meeting in Buenos Aires.</p>
<p />
<p>Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.</p> | Lighthizer says WTO losing focus, must rethink development | false | https://newsline.com/lighthizer-says-wto-losing-focus-must-rethink-development/ | 2017-12-11 | 1right-center
| Lighthizer says WTO losing focus, must rethink development
<p>BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade chief said on Monday that the World Trade Organization is losing its focus on trade negotiations in favor of litigation and needed to rethink how it defines developing economies.</p>
<p>“We need to clarify our understanding of development within the WTO. We cannot sustain a situation in which new rules can only apply to a few and that others will be given a pass in the name of self-proclaimed development status,” U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told the opening session of the WTO’s ministerial meeting in Buenos Aires.</p>
<p />
<p>Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.</p> | 1,932 |
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<p />
<p>More from ABQJournal.com</p>
<p>Nine shootings by deputies in four months raise alarm… continue reading »</p>
<p>The DOJ investigation included a review of 20 police shootings over a four-year period and concluded that in many cases that level of force wasn’t justified.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>But the public outcry and subsequent reform effort underway by Albuquerque police weren’t strictly related to the number of shootings. There were other issues as well. Among them:</p>
<p>– In the years leading up to the DOJ’s findings, the city had paid out more than $23 million in settlements and court judgments in civil rights cases brought by the families of people fatally shot by APD and by people subjected to excessive force.</p>
<p>– Family members of several people fatally shot by APD filed formal complaints with the DOJ asking for criminal civil rights investigations into the deaths of their loved ones prior to the investigation’s being launched in 2012.</p>
<p>– The District Attorney’s Office procedure for reviewing police shootings before a grand jury was shown to be a “rubber stamp” when audiotapes of the grand jury were released to the Journal that showed officers were not questioned when their testimony was contradicted by physical evidence found in autopsies. That practice was changed in 2012.</p>
<p>– State District Court judges in several civil lawsuits found APD officers’ testimony wasn’t credible because their testimony was contradicted by physical evidence. Those cases included those brought by the families of Kenneth Ellis III and Christopher Torres, who were shot and killed in 2010 and 2011, respectively.</p>
<p>– In 2011, the Albuquerque City Council voted to request a DOJ investigation of APD’s use of force. That measure was vetoed by Mayor Richard J. Berry, who opted for an internal reform effort. The DOJ eventually launched its investigation the next year.</p>
<p>Albuquerque police, as part of the reform effort, developed a use-of-force policy that’s been approved by the DOJ and a federal judge, and the policy can be examined regularly through internal review boards created within the department as part of the reform effort.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Fatal shootings was not the only issue facing APD | false | https://abqjournal.com/1097892/fatal-shootings-was-not-the-only-issue-facing-apd.html | 2least
| Fatal shootings was not the only issue facing APD
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>More from ABQJournal.com</p>
<p>Nine shootings by deputies in four months raise alarm… continue reading »</p>
<p>The DOJ investigation included a review of 20 police shootings over a four-year period and concluded that in many cases that level of force wasn’t justified.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>But the public outcry and subsequent reform effort underway by Albuquerque police weren’t strictly related to the number of shootings. There were other issues as well. Among them:</p>
<p>– In the years leading up to the DOJ’s findings, the city had paid out more than $23 million in settlements and court judgments in civil rights cases brought by the families of people fatally shot by APD and by people subjected to excessive force.</p>
<p>– Family members of several people fatally shot by APD filed formal complaints with the DOJ asking for criminal civil rights investigations into the deaths of their loved ones prior to the investigation’s being launched in 2012.</p>
<p>– The District Attorney’s Office procedure for reviewing police shootings before a grand jury was shown to be a “rubber stamp” when audiotapes of the grand jury were released to the Journal that showed officers were not questioned when their testimony was contradicted by physical evidence found in autopsies. That practice was changed in 2012.</p>
<p>– State District Court judges in several civil lawsuits found APD officers’ testimony wasn’t credible because their testimony was contradicted by physical evidence. Those cases included those brought by the families of Kenneth Ellis III and Christopher Torres, who were shot and killed in 2010 and 2011, respectively.</p>
<p>– In 2011, the Albuquerque City Council voted to request a DOJ investigation of APD’s use of force. That measure was vetoed by Mayor Richard J. Berry, who opted for an internal reform effort. The DOJ eventually launched its investigation the next year.</p>
<p>Albuquerque police, as part of the reform effort, developed a use-of-force policy that’s been approved by the DOJ and a federal judge, and the policy can be examined regularly through internal review boards created within the department as part of the reform effort.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 1,933 |
|
<p>I recently received a text message from my friend proclaiming, with several exclamation points, that her son had achieved a 2110 on his practice SAT!!!!! That score will put him in the 98th percentile — equivalent to over 1400 on the old 1600 scale. My friend and her husband, both college-educated, revolved their lives around nurturing and enriching their kids’ lives – living in a good public school district, supporting their schoolwork, supervising their homework, volunteering in their school and extra-curricular activities, from orchestra to Boy Scouts, and …choosing to spend $3,000 on Kaplan SAT prep. They want the best for their son. They’ve saved for college, they’ve spent strategically on school-related expenses, and it’s paying off, especially in his SAT scores. So what’s the problem?</p>
<p />
<p>One problem is such performance is so unequally distributed. The richest students, many of whom can also afford additional test preparation, <a href="http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2012/08/29/the-correlation-between-income-and-sat-scores/" type="external">score the highest</a> on this standardized test. To try to make success on the test more equitable and the content more relevant to what students learn in school and need for careers, the College Board announced last month it would be <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/05/living/sat-test-changes-schools/index.html" type="external">revamping of the SAT</a>. Among the changes are the elimination of the required essay and obscure esoteric vocabulary (“SAT words”), a return to the 1600 scale, free online prep through Khan Academy and fee waivers for income-eligible students to send scores to four colleges. In essence, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/06/education/major-changes-in-sat-announced-by-college-board.html?_r=1" type="external">the changes</a> should reduce the advantage my friend’s son gets for having affluent parents who can afford, among other resources, Kaplan prep classes.</p>
<p>While arguments abound about whether the changes are good or bad or <a href="http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/high-school-notes/2014/03/10/sat-changes-may-not-level-playing-field-for-low-income-students" type="external">will or won’t level the playing field</a>, I disagree with the prominent focus on the SAT altogether. As detailed in <a href="http://www.sup.org/book.cgi?book_id=5637+5638+" type="external">The Power of Privilege</a>, the strongest predictor of SAT score — by far — is family socioeconomic status (SES). And the strongest predictor of college performance is <a href="http://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/toolboxrevisit/index.html?exp=3" type="external">rigor of high school curriculum</a>, not SAT scores. This is especially true for underrepresented minorities, for whom <a href="http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1118660579.html" type="external">the SAT is a poor predictor of college success</a> and whose high school contexts often poorly prepare them for and (deliberately or not) reinforce low expectations for achievement on standardized college-entrance exams tests, as <a href="https://www.coe.arizona.edu/sites/default/files/circumscribed_agency_3.pdf" type="external">my own research</a> shows.</p>
<p>So why do colleges continue to use the SAT despite the fact that it is such a problematic yardstick with which to measure merit? The answer: It’s easy, and it’s easily manipulated into admissions formulas used by colleges to <a href="http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674034945" type="external">fashion an incoming class</a> reflecting their preferred income, geographic, racial, and athletic mix. The more we think about the SAT, the less we think about fluid and opaque admissions practices at work at a range of institutions – from less selective state to highly selective private universities. The truth is, SAT scores have been stretched, bent, and conveniently applied throughout our history to achieve the will of post-secondary institutions to select the students they prefer, especially elite colleges.</p>
<p>When the SAT began being administered in 1926, it originally leveled the playing field briefly for Jewish students who faced discriminatory admissions practices and quotas to limit their <a href="http://www.hmhco.com/shop/books/The-Chosen/9780618773558" type="external">enrollments into Ivy League colleges</a>. A backlash quickly followed, as elite colleges implemented a return to more subjective tactics to exclude Jews and downgrade the weighting of the SAT score in their admissions priorities. Then, activism in the 1960s and the push for affirmative action led to a de-prioritizing of the test to raise the proportions of African-Americans in our nation’s elite institutions. Yet those proportions remain tiny since the SAT rapidly regained prominence in admissions practices after these short-lived efforts, and exclusive high schools still dominate their admissions pools. Today, students of East Asian descent score higher than whites on the SAT, and now many colleges are <a href="http://onpoint.wbur.org/2013/03/11/asian-discrimination" type="external">discriminating against Asians</a> to reduce the proportion of Asians in their admissions pools. It’s a pervasive enough problem that <a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/10/12/asian-american-students-perceive-bias-university-admissions-and-counselors-want" type="external">some Asians leave their racial/ethnic identity blank</a>, or put “white” if they don’t have Asian surnames.</p>
<p>Of course, the SAT can facilitate upward mobility, and my partner and I are proof. For us, our high SAT scores served as a lever, heightening our chances for post-secondary access despite our less-than-affluent, non-college-educated parents who couldn’t provide the same level of support and resources my friend’s son and many other students receive. Our high test scores catapulted us into good universities and was in part why I qualified for a full scholarship. Today, I’m a professor and he is an attorney.</p>
<p>However, we are more an exception than the norm, as the SAT is so highly correlated with <a href="http://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentId=16925" type="external">family income</a>. And the SAT has been used repeatedly to deliberately manipulate racial and ethnic enrollments. So, whether one agrees with the planned changes to the SAT or not, I see the renewed focus on the test as just further legitimizing an education testing industry that profits from what is largely a stratification and selection tool. The changes, and the debate surrounding them, reinscribe the test’s legitimacy.</p>
<p>Why, then, do we continue to view this anxiety-producing, highly inequitable test as a legitimate proxy for who deserves admission? We should be focusing more attention, resources, and energy on expanding opportunities for high quality rigorous high school coursework to increase the likelihood of college success for more students. It is the time and effort invested in such coursework that prepares students for college success – not the time and money they spend preparing for the SAT.</p>
<p>Regina Deil-Amen is an associate professor at the University of Arizona, co-author of the book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/After-Admission-College-Access-Success/dp/0871547554" type="external">After Admission: From College Access to College Success</a>, and a Public Voices Fellow with The OpEd Project —</p>
<p>Photo: <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/" type="external">Shutterstock</a>/zimmytws</p> | The Real Problem With The SAT Is That We Emphasize It Too Much | true | http://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/the-real-problem-with-the-sat-is-that-we-emphasize-it-too-much | 4left
| The Real Problem With The SAT Is That We Emphasize It Too Much
<p>I recently received a text message from my friend proclaiming, with several exclamation points, that her son had achieved a 2110 on his practice SAT!!!!! That score will put him in the 98th percentile — equivalent to over 1400 on the old 1600 scale. My friend and her husband, both college-educated, revolved their lives around nurturing and enriching their kids’ lives – living in a good public school district, supporting their schoolwork, supervising their homework, volunteering in their school and extra-curricular activities, from orchestra to Boy Scouts, and …choosing to spend $3,000 on Kaplan SAT prep. They want the best for their son. They’ve saved for college, they’ve spent strategically on school-related expenses, and it’s paying off, especially in his SAT scores. So what’s the problem?</p>
<p />
<p>One problem is such performance is so unequally distributed. The richest students, many of whom can also afford additional test preparation, <a href="http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2012/08/29/the-correlation-between-income-and-sat-scores/" type="external">score the highest</a> on this standardized test. To try to make success on the test more equitable and the content more relevant to what students learn in school and need for careers, the College Board announced last month it would be <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/05/living/sat-test-changes-schools/index.html" type="external">revamping of the SAT</a>. Among the changes are the elimination of the required essay and obscure esoteric vocabulary (“SAT words”), a return to the 1600 scale, free online prep through Khan Academy and fee waivers for income-eligible students to send scores to four colleges. In essence, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/06/education/major-changes-in-sat-announced-by-college-board.html?_r=1" type="external">the changes</a> should reduce the advantage my friend’s son gets for having affluent parents who can afford, among other resources, Kaplan prep classes.</p>
<p>While arguments abound about whether the changes are good or bad or <a href="http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/high-school-notes/2014/03/10/sat-changes-may-not-level-playing-field-for-low-income-students" type="external">will or won’t level the playing field</a>, I disagree with the prominent focus on the SAT altogether. As detailed in <a href="http://www.sup.org/book.cgi?book_id=5637+5638+" type="external">The Power of Privilege</a>, the strongest predictor of SAT score — by far — is family socioeconomic status (SES). And the strongest predictor of college performance is <a href="http://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/toolboxrevisit/index.html?exp=3" type="external">rigor of high school curriculum</a>, not SAT scores. This is especially true for underrepresented minorities, for whom <a href="http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1118660579.html" type="external">the SAT is a poor predictor of college success</a> and whose high school contexts often poorly prepare them for and (deliberately or not) reinforce low expectations for achievement on standardized college-entrance exams tests, as <a href="https://www.coe.arizona.edu/sites/default/files/circumscribed_agency_3.pdf" type="external">my own research</a> shows.</p>
<p>So why do colleges continue to use the SAT despite the fact that it is such a problematic yardstick with which to measure merit? The answer: It’s easy, and it’s easily manipulated into admissions formulas used by colleges to <a href="http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674034945" type="external">fashion an incoming class</a> reflecting their preferred income, geographic, racial, and athletic mix. The more we think about the SAT, the less we think about fluid and opaque admissions practices at work at a range of institutions – from less selective state to highly selective private universities. The truth is, SAT scores have been stretched, bent, and conveniently applied throughout our history to achieve the will of post-secondary institutions to select the students they prefer, especially elite colleges.</p>
<p>When the SAT began being administered in 1926, it originally leveled the playing field briefly for Jewish students who faced discriminatory admissions practices and quotas to limit their <a href="http://www.hmhco.com/shop/books/The-Chosen/9780618773558" type="external">enrollments into Ivy League colleges</a>. A backlash quickly followed, as elite colleges implemented a return to more subjective tactics to exclude Jews and downgrade the weighting of the SAT score in their admissions priorities. Then, activism in the 1960s and the push for affirmative action led to a de-prioritizing of the test to raise the proportions of African-Americans in our nation’s elite institutions. Yet those proportions remain tiny since the SAT rapidly regained prominence in admissions practices after these short-lived efforts, and exclusive high schools still dominate their admissions pools. Today, students of East Asian descent score higher than whites on the SAT, and now many colleges are <a href="http://onpoint.wbur.org/2013/03/11/asian-discrimination" type="external">discriminating against Asians</a> to reduce the proportion of Asians in their admissions pools. It’s a pervasive enough problem that <a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/10/12/asian-american-students-perceive-bias-university-admissions-and-counselors-want" type="external">some Asians leave their racial/ethnic identity blank</a>, or put “white” if they don’t have Asian surnames.</p>
<p>Of course, the SAT can facilitate upward mobility, and my partner and I are proof. For us, our high SAT scores served as a lever, heightening our chances for post-secondary access despite our less-than-affluent, non-college-educated parents who couldn’t provide the same level of support and resources my friend’s son and many other students receive. Our high test scores catapulted us into good universities and was in part why I qualified for a full scholarship. Today, I’m a professor and he is an attorney.</p>
<p>However, we are more an exception than the norm, as the SAT is so highly correlated with <a href="http://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentId=16925" type="external">family income</a>. And the SAT has been used repeatedly to deliberately manipulate racial and ethnic enrollments. So, whether one agrees with the planned changes to the SAT or not, I see the renewed focus on the test as just further legitimizing an education testing industry that profits from what is largely a stratification and selection tool. The changes, and the debate surrounding them, reinscribe the test’s legitimacy.</p>
<p>Why, then, do we continue to view this anxiety-producing, highly inequitable test as a legitimate proxy for who deserves admission? We should be focusing more attention, resources, and energy on expanding opportunities for high quality rigorous high school coursework to increase the likelihood of college success for more students. It is the time and effort invested in such coursework that prepares students for college success – not the time and money they spend preparing for the SAT.</p>
<p>Regina Deil-Amen is an associate professor at the University of Arizona, co-author of the book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/After-Admission-College-Access-Success/dp/0871547554" type="external">After Admission: From College Access to College Success</a>, and a Public Voices Fellow with The OpEd Project —</p>
<p>Photo: <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/" type="external">Shutterstock</a>/zimmytws</p> | 1,934 |
|
<p>Jeff Malet/ZUMA</p>
<p />
<p>When Donald Trump swings by Dr. Mehmet Oz’s TV studio in New York on Wednesday to <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/trump-dr-oz-health-records-227965" type="external">tape</a> an episode about the Republican presidential candidate’s health that is scheduled to air Thursday, the two should find a lot of common ground. Beyond their status as reality TV stars, they share a history of peddling questionable nutritional supplements.</p>
<p>Dr. Oz—who by most accounts is a skilled cardiothoracic surgeon when he’s actually practicing medicine—has used his show to promote dubious medical advice and products. “Much of the advice Oz offers is sensible, and is rooted solidly in scientific literature,” the New Yorker‘s Michael Specter wrote in a <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/02/04/the-operator" type="external">2013 profile of Oz</a>. “That is why the rest of what he does is so hard to understand. Oz is an experienced surgeon, yet almost daily he employs words that serious scientists shun, like ‘startling,’ ‘breakthrough,’ ‘radical,’ ‘revolutionary,’ and ‘miracle.’ There are miracle drinks and miracle meal plans and miracles to stop aging and miracles to fight fat.”</p>
<p>In 2014, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) ripped into Oz at a congressional hearing, accusing him of hyping unproven weight-loss supplements as cure-alls. “The scientific community is almost monolithic against you in terms of the efficacy of the three products that you called ‘miracles,'” McCaskill <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/17/dr-oz-congress_n_5504209.html" type="external">said</a>. “When you call a product a miracle, and it’s something you can buy, and it’s something that gives people false hope, I just don’t understand why you needed to go there.” Oz&#160;defended himself at the hearing by pointing out that he does not officially endorse these products or market them outside of his show. “I recognize that oftentimes they don’t have the scientific muster to present as fact,” he said, “but nevertheless I would give my audience the advice I give my family all the time, and I have given my family these products.”</p>
<p>Trump is no stranger to dubious health schemes. One of his many branding business ventures was the Trump Network, a multi-level marketing company that promised consumers a customized regimen of dietary supplements. As <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2016/03/02/donald-trump-vitamin-company/" type="external">reported in an investigation by STAT‘s Ike Swetlitz</a>, Trump licensed his name and family crest in 2009 to an existing set of products from a company named Ideal Health. The marquee item on sale was a home urine test that customers could ship to the Trump Network in order to receive a set of vitamins supposedly tailored to their needs. Except as STAT noted in its investigation, there was no science behind it or peer-reviewed evidence to back up its claims. (The products didn’t require Food and Drug Administration approval.) These packages weren’t cheap either. The initial test and first month’s supply <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/432468/trump-networks-failure-harmed-small-investors" type="external">ran</a>&#160;$139.95, with subsequent months costing $69.95.</p>
<p>Trump didn’t own the company, but he lent his full endorsement to the business. In March 2011, he tweeted that the Trump Network’s products could help people lead “better lives.”</p>
<p />
<p>He even cut a video touting the genius of the Trump Network—though it was mostly a jumble of vague, meaningless business-speak about how you could make a bunch of money selling the products rather than an endorsement of the vitamins from a health standpoint. “Americans need a new plan, they need a new dream,” he said. “The Trump Network wants to give millions of people renewed hope and with an exciting plan to opt out of the recession.”</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Update: The episode was initially billed as a big reveal of Trump’s full medical records, but on Wednesday the Trump campaign said that Oz won’t be getting a hold of Trump’s medical records ahead of the taping and that Trump won’t be revealing his records on the show. <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/14/media/dr-oz-donald-trump-taping/index.html" type="external">According to CNN</a>, Trump and Oz will just be discussing Trump’s “physical activity, dietary habits, and broader health-related issues.”</p>
<p>Update 2: It looks like Trump changed his mind. In a clip <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/video/trump-releases-medical-records-to-dr-oz-765027395721" type="external">released</a> by the show Wednesday afternoon, Trump pulled&#160;out the papers documenting his most recent physical, and handed&#160;the records over to Oz. While a few details have <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/14/media/dr-oz-donald-trump-taping/" type="external">leaked</a> thanks to members of the show’s studio audience, we’ll have to wait until the episode airs Thursday to learn just how detailed Trump went in revealing his health history.</p>
<p /> | What Donald Trump and Dr. Oz Have in Common | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2016/09/donald-trump-dr-oz/ | 2016-09-14 | 4left
| What Donald Trump and Dr. Oz Have in Common
<p>Jeff Malet/ZUMA</p>
<p />
<p>When Donald Trump swings by Dr. Mehmet Oz’s TV studio in New York on Wednesday to <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/trump-dr-oz-health-records-227965" type="external">tape</a> an episode about the Republican presidential candidate’s health that is scheduled to air Thursday, the two should find a lot of common ground. Beyond their status as reality TV stars, they share a history of peddling questionable nutritional supplements.</p>
<p>Dr. Oz—who by most accounts is a skilled cardiothoracic surgeon when he’s actually practicing medicine—has used his show to promote dubious medical advice and products. “Much of the advice Oz offers is sensible, and is rooted solidly in scientific literature,” the New Yorker‘s Michael Specter wrote in a <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/02/04/the-operator" type="external">2013 profile of Oz</a>. “That is why the rest of what he does is so hard to understand. Oz is an experienced surgeon, yet almost daily he employs words that serious scientists shun, like ‘startling,’ ‘breakthrough,’ ‘radical,’ ‘revolutionary,’ and ‘miracle.’ There are miracle drinks and miracle meal plans and miracles to stop aging and miracles to fight fat.”</p>
<p>In 2014, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) ripped into Oz at a congressional hearing, accusing him of hyping unproven weight-loss supplements as cure-alls. “The scientific community is almost monolithic against you in terms of the efficacy of the three products that you called ‘miracles,'” McCaskill <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/17/dr-oz-congress_n_5504209.html" type="external">said</a>. “When you call a product a miracle, and it’s something you can buy, and it’s something that gives people false hope, I just don’t understand why you needed to go there.” Oz&#160;defended himself at the hearing by pointing out that he does not officially endorse these products or market them outside of his show. “I recognize that oftentimes they don’t have the scientific muster to present as fact,” he said, “but nevertheless I would give my audience the advice I give my family all the time, and I have given my family these products.”</p>
<p>Trump is no stranger to dubious health schemes. One of his many branding business ventures was the Trump Network, a multi-level marketing company that promised consumers a customized regimen of dietary supplements. As <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2016/03/02/donald-trump-vitamin-company/" type="external">reported in an investigation by STAT‘s Ike Swetlitz</a>, Trump licensed his name and family crest in 2009 to an existing set of products from a company named Ideal Health. The marquee item on sale was a home urine test that customers could ship to the Trump Network in order to receive a set of vitamins supposedly tailored to their needs. Except as STAT noted in its investigation, there was no science behind it or peer-reviewed evidence to back up its claims. (The products didn’t require Food and Drug Administration approval.) These packages weren’t cheap either. The initial test and first month’s supply <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/432468/trump-networks-failure-harmed-small-investors" type="external">ran</a>&#160;$139.95, with subsequent months costing $69.95.</p>
<p>Trump didn’t own the company, but he lent his full endorsement to the business. In March 2011, he tweeted that the Trump Network’s products could help people lead “better lives.”</p>
<p />
<p>He even cut a video touting the genius of the Trump Network—though it was mostly a jumble of vague, meaningless business-speak about how you could make a bunch of money selling the products rather than an endorsement of the vitamins from a health standpoint. “Americans need a new plan, they need a new dream,” he said. “The Trump Network wants to give millions of people renewed hope and with an exciting plan to opt out of the recession.”</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Update: The episode was initially billed as a big reveal of Trump’s full medical records, but on Wednesday the Trump campaign said that Oz won’t be getting a hold of Trump’s medical records ahead of the taping and that Trump won’t be revealing his records on the show. <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/14/media/dr-oz-donald-trump-taping/index.html" type="external">According to CNN</a>, Trump and Oz will just be discussing Trump’s “physical activity, dietary habits, and broader health-related issues.”</p>
<p>Update 2: It looks like Trump changed his mind. In a clip <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/video/trump-releases-medical-records-to-dr-oz-765027395721" type="external">released</a> by the show Wednesday afternoon, Trump pulled&#160;out the papers documenting his most recent physical, and handed&#160;the records over to Oz. While a few details have <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/14/media/dr-oz-donald-trump-taping/" type="external">leaked</a> thanks to members of the show’s studio audience, we’ll have to wait until the episode airs Thursday to learn just how detailed Trump went in revealing his health history.</p>
<p /> | 1,935 |
<p />
<p />
<p>Joaquin Phoenix went on Letterman Wednesday night, ostensibly to promote his new movie Two Lovers, but it was his combative, monosyllabic appearance that <a href="http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&amp;ct=us/0-0&amp;fp=49931eb0070dbe74&amp;ei=b-OTSdSzCorGlQTB34mxCg&amp;url=http%3A//www.chicagotribune.com/chi-lettermanphoenixlink%2C0%2C3672479.storylink&amp;cid=1303128278&amp;usg=AFQjCNFqjnop6D_6izFAZ84w5jRLFPP5CA" type="external">made news</a>. The Walk the Line actor seemed to get perturbed that the audience didn’t take <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hxiiJp-0-ZQCoOOJLWOS8Cd7yIawD968NHUO0" type="external">his hip-hop career</a> seriously, just about got in a fight with Paul Shaffer, and stuck his gum to Dave’s desk, in addition to being all shades-and-beardy. Honestly, I try to reserve my Riff postings for actual, somewhat serious arts and culture news (and French techno tunes I think are awesome), but this really must be seen to be believed. Is he doing a shoot-the-moon, Andy Kaufman bit, or is he just trying to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_(mythology)" type="external">burn up his feathers and nest</a> so he can emerge anew? Only time, and the new J-Pho album, will tell.</p> | Joaquin Phoenix Gets All Fawcetty On Letterman | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2009/02/joaquin-phoenix-gets-all-fawcetty-letterman/ | 2009-02-12 | 4left
| Joaquin Phoenix Gets All Fawcetty On Letterman
<p />
<p />
<p>Joaquin Phoenix went on Letterman Wednesday night, ostensibly to promote his new movie Two Lovers, but it was his combative, monosyllabic appearance that <a href="http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&amp;ct=us/0-0&amp;fp=49931eb0070dbe74&amp;ei=b-OTSdSzCorGlQTB34mxCg&amp;url=http%3A//www.chicagotribune.com/chi-lettermanphoenixlink%2C0%2C3672479.storylink&amp;cid=1303128278&amp;usg=AFQjCNFqjnop6D_6izFAZ84w5jRLFPP5CA" type="external">made news</a>. The Walk the Line actor seemed to get perturbed that the audience didn’t take <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hxiiJp-0-ZQCoOOJLWOS8Cd7yIawD968NHUO0" type="external">his hip-hop career</a> seriously, just about got in a fight with Paul Shaffer, and stuck his gum to Dave’s desk, in addition to being all shades-and-beardy. Honestly, I try to reserve my Riff postings for actual, somewhat serious arts and culture news (and French techno tunes I think are awesome), but this really must be seen to be believed. Is he doing a shoot-the-moon, Andy Kaufman bit, or is he just trying to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_(mythology)" type="external">burn up his feathers and nest</a> so he can emerge anew? Only time, and the new J-Pho album, will tell.</p> | 1,936 |
<p>On Friday, the media lost its collective mind after Republicans killed a Democratic amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would have forced the federal government to withdraw funding from any contractor “discriminating” against LGBT people. Originally, the amendment drew a 217 to 206 “aye” vote – but after Republicans whipped the chamber, the amendment failed on a 212 to 213 vote. As <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/280542-dems-cry-foul-after-house-gop-votes-down-lgbt-measure" type="external">The Hill</a> reported, “GOP leaders held the vote open as they pressured members to change sides.” The amendment, sponsored by Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY), who is gay, was intended to crack down on religious contractors as well as contractors who would not hire or fired employees who were gay or transgender; it was a direct counter to another amendment that would have protected religious companies from discrimination on the basis of religion.</p>
<p>The media’s constant insistence that the federal government must override religious objections to homosexuality and business objection to hiring the mentally ill is beyond irritating – it’s downright fascistic. It’s far more “discriminatory” to use the power of government to violate religious freedom than it is to allow private actors to contract with those they see fit. And leveraging federal dollars to back the scientific fiction that men can become women, and punishing companies that refuse to comply with that fiction – that’s “discrimination” too.</p>
<p>But the media ignore the issue entirely, instead stating that those who refuse to hire gays and lesbians – presumably including religious organizations – must be made to heel.</p>
<p>And that’s the way this will play in the press. Democrats are trying to “stop” discrimination by cracking down on companies that disagree with them on both religious and scientific grounds. Republicans are standing in favor of discrimination. Never mind that Democrats are using a defense bill to propagate the LGBT agenda. This is all about the cruelty of Republicans, as always.</p>
<p>This is why Republicans should have championed their original amendment to the bill, and forced Democrats to defend why they want to harm Christian companies operating according to Biblical principles, as well as businesses concerned if their male general manager shows up on Monday claiming to be a female. But Democrats are never forced to defend themselves.</p> | It’s Textbook ‘Discrimination’ To Force Employers To Violate Their Religious Principles, Hire The Mentally Ill | true | https://dailywire.com/news/5907/its-textbook-discrimination-force-employers-ben-shapiro | 2016-05-20 | 0right
| It’s Textbook ‘Discrimination’ To Force Employers To Violate Their Religious Principles, Hire The Mentally Ill
<p>On Friday, the media lost its collective mind after Republicans killed a Democratic amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would have forced the federal government to withdraw funding from any contractor “discriminating” against LGBT people. Originally, the amendment drew a 217 to 206 “aye” vote – but after Republicans whipped the chamber, the amendment failed on a 212 to 213 vote. As <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/280542-dems-cry-foul-after-house-gop-votes-down-lgbt-measure" type="external">The Hill</a> reported, “GOP leaders held the vote open as they pressured members to change sides.” The amendment, sponsored by Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY), who is gay, was intended to crack down on religious contractors as well as contractors who would not hire or fired employees who were gay or transgender; it was a direct counter to another amendment that would have protected religious companies from discrimination on the basis of religion.</p>
<p>The media’s constant insistence that the federal government must override religious objections to homosexuality and business objection to hiring the mentally ill is beyond irritating – it’s downright fascistic. It’s far more “discriminatory” to use the power of government to violate religious freedom than it is to allow private actors to contract with those they see fit. And leveraging federal dollars to back the scientific fiction that men can become women, and punishing companies that refuse to comply with that fiction – that’s “discrimination” too.</p>
<p>But the media ignore the issue entirely, instead stating that those who refuse to hire gays and lesbians – presumably including religious organizations – must be made to heel.</p>
<p>And that’s the way this will play in the press. Democrats are trying to “stop” discrimination by cracking down on companies that disagree with them on both religious and scientific grounds. Republicans are standing in favor of discrimination. Never mind that Democrats are using a defense bill to propagate the LGBT agenda. This is all about the cruelty of Republicans, as always.</p>
<p>This is why Republicans should have championed their original amendment to the bill, and forced Democrats to defend why they want to harm Christian companies operating according to Biblical principles, as well as businesses concerned if their male general manager shows up on Monday claiming to be a female. But Democrats are never forced to defend themselves.</p> | 1,937 |
<p>Katy Grimes: Should the state of California accept its own IOU’s as tax and fee payments?</p>
<p>AB 1506 authored by Assemblyman Joel Anderson, R-El Cajon, would, require a state agency to accept, from&#160;a person or entity, a state IOU or registered warrant (or&#160;other similar evidence of indebtedness issued by the Controller) for the payment of any&#160;obligations owed by that payee to that state agency.</p>
<p>In short, this bill will allow anyone who has received an IOU from the state, to pay taxes, DMV fees, and the like, with the IOU.</p>
<p>At a Governmental Organization committee hearing yesterday, Anderson said that the state issues IOU’s in lieu of paychecks, or payments to vendors, but then insists taxpayers and businesses pay taxes and fees on time or risk hefty penalties. Anderson said that taxpayers and businesses cannot pay taxes or fees to the state when they haven’t been paid what is owed to them by the state.</p>
<p>He’s giving the state a taste of its own medicine.</p>
<p>The bill passed out of the committee 9-0. This should be interesting to follow.</p>
<p>IOU Franchise tax board…</p> | "IOU" A Tax Payment | false | https://calwatchdog.com/2010/06/23/iou-a-tax-payment/ | 2018-06-20 | 3left-center
| "IOU" A Tax Payment
<p>Katy Grimes: Should the state of California accept its own IOU’s as tax and fee payments?</p>
<p>AB 1506 authored by Assemblyman Joel Anderson, R-El Cajon, would, require a state agency to accept, from&#160;a person or entity, a state IOU or registered warrant (or&#160;other similar evidence of indebtedness issued by the Controller) for the payment of any&#160;obligations owed by that payee to that state agency.</p>
<p>In short, this bill will allow anyone who has received an IOU from the state, to pay taxes, DMV fees, and the like, with the IOU.</p>
<p>At a Governmental Organization committee hearing yesterday, Anderson said that the state issues IOU’s in lieu of paychecks, or payments to vendors, but then insists taxpayers and businesses pay taxes and fees on time or risk hefty penalties. Anderson said that taxpayers and businesses cannot pay taxes or fees to the state when they haven’t been paid what is owed to them by the state.</p>
<p>He’s giving the state a taste of its own medicine.</p>
<p>The bill passed out of the committee 9-0. This should be interesting to follow.</p>
<p>IOU Franchise tax board…</p> | 1,938 |
<p><a href="" type="internal">CME Group</a> Inc will buy back up to $750 million of shares over the next year, the giant exchange operator said on Monday.</p>
<p>CME's decision to spend its extra cash on a share buyback program suggests CEO Craig Donohue is sticking to his commitment to returning capital to shareholders and staying out of the merger frenzy that has gripped competitors.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>NYSE Euronext in February agreed to a friendly takeover by Deutsche Boerse AG. <a href="" type="internal">Nasdaq OMX Group</a> and IntercontinentalExchange Inc are trying to break up that merger with their own unsolicated offer to buy NYSE.</p>
<p>CME will buy back shares "subject to market conditions," it said.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | CME to Buy Back $750M of Shares | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2011/05/09/cme-buy-750m-shares.html | 2016-01-28 | 0right
| CME to Buy Back $750M of Shares
<p><a href="" type="internal">CME Group</a> Inc will buy back up to $750 million of shares over the next year, the giant exchange operator said on Monday.</p>
<p>CME's decision to spend its extra cash on a share buyback program suggests CEO Craig Donohue is sticking to his commitment to returning capital to shareholders and staying out of the merger frenzy that has gripped competitors.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>NYSE Euronext in February agreed to a friendly takeover by Deutsche Boerse AG. <a href="" type="internal">Nasdaq OMX Group</a> and IntercontinentalExchange Inc are trying to break up that merger with their own unsolicated offer to buy NYSE.</p>
<p>CME will buy back shares "subject to market conditions," it said.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | 1,939 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>Singer-songwriter Martin Sexton is touring in support of his latest album, “Mixtape of the Open Road.”</p>
<p>SANTA FE, N.M. — It’s all about mixing it up for Martin Sexton.</p>
<p>For years, the singer-songwriter stayed in one lane when writing albums. This time around, Sexton decided to pay homage to the mixtapes that he’s been given over the years.</p>
<p>“I find comfort and lots of inspiration in mixtapes,” he says during an email interview. “They represent a certain time in life for me.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Sexton worked for months preparing “Mixtape of the Open Road.” The album was released in February. He describes it as one that blazes through all territories of style as you cruise through time and place.</p>
<p />
<p>He says the record is a charm bracelet of 12 gems all strung together with the golden thread.</p>
<p>“I’ve been on the road for the majority of my adult life,” he says. “These are songs that would go along the way.”</p>
<p>Sexton, an upstate New Yorker, left home with $75 and a Stratocaster to chase his musical dreams singing in the streets of Harvard Square in Cambridge, Mass., gradually and independently working his way to the premier venues of North America.</p>
<p>For nearly two decades, he’s made waves in the music industry through the release of his 10 albums.</p>
<p>“It’s important for me to tell stories,” he says. “That is what is behind my music. A story for all to understand.”</p>
<p>Sexton is not only a musician, but now heads his own record label, KTR. He says it’s a journey to balance both the label and his career but he is up for any challenge.</p>
<p>In fact, Sexton recently was challenged by his 16-year-old daughter, Devon, to cover One Direction’s hit “Story of My Life.”</p>
<p>“I enjoy doing covers, and still put them in my set,” he says.</p>
<p /> | 12 gems: Martin Sexton has released a set of songs he takes wherever he goes | false | https://abqjournal.com/554385/santa-fe-singersongwriter-19.html | 2least
| 12 gems: Martin Sexton has released a set of songs he takes wherever he goes
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>Singer-songwriter Martin Sexton is touring in support of his latest album, “Mixtape of the Open Road.”</p>
<p>SANTA FE, N.M. — It’s all about mixing it up for Martin Sexton.</p>
<p>For years, the singer-songwriter stayed in one lane when writing albums. This time around, Sexton decided to pay homage to the mixtapes that he’s been given over the years.</p>
<p>“I find comfort and lots of inspiration in mixtapes,” he says during an email interview. “They represent a certain time in life for me.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Sexton worked for months preparing “Mixtape of the Open Road.” The album was released in February. He describes it as one that blazes through all territories of style as you cruise through time and place.</p>
<p />
<p>He says the record is a charm bracelet of 12 gems all strung together with the golden thread.</p>
<p>“I’ve been on the road for the majority of my adult life,” he says. “These are songs that would go along the way.”</p>
<p>Sexton, an upstate New Yorker, left home with $75 and a Stratocaster to chase his musical dreams singing in the streets of Harvard Square in Cambridge, Mass., gradually and independently working his way to the premier venues of North America.</p>
<p>For nearly two decades, he’s made waves in the music industry through the release of his 10 albums.</p>
<p>“It’s important for me to tell stories,” he says. “That is what is behind my music. A story for all to understand.”</p>
<p>Sexton is not only a musician, but now heads his own record label, KTR. He says it’s a journey to balance both the label and his career but he is up for any challenge.</p>
<p>In fact, Sexton recently was challenged by his 16-year-old daughter, Devon, to cover One Direction’s hit “Story of My Life.”</p>
<p>“I enjoy doing covers, and still put them in my set,” he says.</p>
<p /> | 1,940 |
|
<p>Miami Herald Former Cartersville, Ga. <a href="http://www.daily-tribune.com/" type="external">Daily Tribune News</a> associate managing editor Chris Cecil plagiarized from at least eight Leonard Pitts' columns. Pitts writes: "The thefts ranged from the pilfering of the lead from a gangsta rap column to the wholesale heist of an entire piece I did about Bill Cosby. In that instance, you essentially took my name off and slapped yours on." Cecil was fired on Thursday.</p> | Georgia newsman fired after lifting from columnist Pitts | false | https://poynter.org/news/georgia-newsman-fired-after-lifting-columnist-pitts | 2005-06-03 | 2least
| Georgia newsman fired after lifting from columnist Pitts
<p>Miami Herald Former Cartersville, Ga. <a href="http://www.daily-tribune.com/" type="external">Daily Tribune News</a> associate managing editor Chris Cecil plagiarized from at least eight Leonard Pitts' columns. Pitts writes: "The thefts ranged from the pilfering of the lead from a gangsta rap column to the wholesale heist of an entire piece I did about Bill Cosby. In that instance, you essentially took my name off and slapped yours on." Cecil was fired on Thursday.</p> | 1,941 |
<p>Inter Milan's crisis deepened as it was held to a 0-0 draw at home by Lazio on Saturday to leave it without a win in four league matches.</p>
<p>Inter was undefeated and top of Serie A only two weeks ago. But it is now seven points behind leader Napoli and six below Juventus, which won 3-1 at relegation-threatened Hellas Verona.</p>
<p>Roma is two points further back after a 1-1 draw with Sassuolo, while Lazio remained fifth.</p>
<p>The two capital sides have played a match less than the top three.</p>
<p>"When you're part of a team like Inter there are no alibis or excuses, we just have to get good results," Inter coach Luciano Spalletti said. "For the moment we're meeting our targets, which means that the group is working hard."</p>
<p>Inter moved top of Serie A with a credible 0-0 draw at Juventus on Dec. 9. However, that was mainly down to the performance of goalkeeper Samir Handanovic, and its struggles in front of goal have continued.</p>
<p>Three days later, Inter needed penalties to get past third-division Pordenone in the Italian Cup after a goalless draw. That was followed by league losses to Udinese (3-1) and Sassuolo (1-0) before Wednesday's surprise Cup defeat to AC Milan.</p>
<p>Inter has scored just one goal in its past six matches in all competitions.</p>
<p>It was the visitors who went closest to scoring at the end of the first half when Inter midfielder Borja Valero attempted to head clear Lazio's corner and it came off the crossbar.</p>
<p>Valero almost scored at the right end for Inter but Lazio goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha did well to turn his effort onto the post.</p>
<p>Lazio was awarded a penalty on the hour mark but, after reviewing the incident on video (VAR), the referee revoked his decision as Ciro Immobile's cross had hit Milan Skriniar's leg before bouncing up onto his arm so the handball was involuntary.</p>
<p>"My appraisal of VAR is completely negative because it takes emotions out of football, now you don't even celebrate after a goal," Lazio coach Simone Inzaghi said. "We would've had an extra seven points this season without VAR."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>DYBALA'S BACK</p>
<p>Paulo Dybala broke his goal drought by scoring two goals to help Juventus keep up the pressure on Napoli at the top of Serie A by beating Hellas Verona 3-1.</p>
<p>Dybala hadn't scored in the league since Nov. 19 but he restored Juve's lead in the 72nd and doubled his tally five minutes later.</p>
<p>Earlier, former Juventus player Martin Caceres had canceled out Blaise Matuidi's opener.</p>
<p>Juventus bettered one of its own Serie A records, having now scored in 23 consecutive away matches.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>ROMA FALTERS</p>
<p>Sassuolo was revitalized under new coach Giuseppe Iachini and had won its previous three league matches, but fell behind in the 31st minute against Roma when Edin Dzeko rolled the ball across the area for an unmarked Lorenzo Pellegrini to fire into the far bottom corner.</p>
<p>Pellegrini left Sassuolo in the offseason along with current Roma coach Eusebio Di Francesco.</p>
<p>Simone Missiroli headed in the equalizer in the 78th</p>
<p>Edin Dzeko had a goal for Roma ruled out for offside as did Alessandro Florenzi, who was making his 200th appearance for the club.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>FIRST-EVER WIN</p>
<p>Benevento recorded its first Serie A victory with a 1-0 win over Chievo Verona.</p>
<p>Benevento had the worst start to a season in modern history among Europe's five major leagues, losing 17 of its previous 18 matches in its debut season in Serie A.</p>
<p>Massimo Coda netted the historic goal for Benevento in the 64th minute, flicking Marco D'Alessandro's chipped pass beyond Chievo goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino.</p>
<p>Benevento picked up its first Serie A point at the beginning of the month when goalkeeper Alberto Brignoli's injury-time equalizer secured a 2-2 draw against Milan.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>OTHER MATCHES</p>
<p>Teenage goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma marked his 100th appearance for Milan by helping it rescue a 1-1 draw at Fiorentina.</p>
<p>Donnarumma made several crucial saves, notably palming Gil Dias' header onto the crossbar from close range in first-half injury time.</p>
<p>Hakan Calhanoglu scored for Milan to cancel out Giovanni Simeone's opener.</p>
<p>Elsewhere, Cagliari upset Atalanta 2-1, while Udinese won at Bologna by the same score. Sampdoria beat Spal 2-0 and Torino drew 0-0 with Genoa.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP Serie A coverage: <a href="" type="internal">https://apnews.com/tag/SerieA</a></p>
<p>Inter Milan's crisis deepened as it was held to a 0-0 draw at home by Lazio on Saturday to leave it without a win in four league matches.</p>
<p>Inter was undefeated and top of Serie A only two weeks ago. But it is now seven points behind leader Napoli and six below Juventus, which won 3-1 at relegation-threatened Hellas Verona.</p>
<p>Roma is two points further back after a 1-1 draw with Sassuolo, while Lazio remained fifth.</p>
<p>The two capital sides have played a match less than the top three.</p>
<p>"When you're part of a team like Inter there are no alibis or excuses, we just have to get good results," Inter coach Luciano Spalletti said. "For the moment we're meeting our targets, which means that the group is working hard."</p>
<p>Inter moved top of Serie A with a credible 0-0 draw at Juventus on Dec. 9. However, that was mainly down to the performance of goalkeeper Samir Handanovic, and its struggles in front of goal have continued.</p>
<p>Three days later, Inter needed penalties to get past third-division Pordenone in the Italian Cup after a goalless draw. That was followed by league losses to Udinese (3-1) and Sassuolo (1-0) before Wednesday's surprise Cup defeat to AC Milan.</p>
<p>Inter has scored just one goal in its past six matches in all competitions.</p>
<p>It was the visitors who went closest to scoring at the end of the first half when Inter midfielder Borja Valero attempted to head clear Lazio's corner and it came off the crossbar.</p>
<p>Valero almost scored at the right end for Inter but Lazio goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha did well to turn his effort onto the post.</p>
<p>Lazio was awarded a penalty on the hour mark but, after reviewing the incident on video (VAR), the referee revoked his decision as Ciro Immobile's cross had hit Milan Skriniar's leg before bouncing up onto his arm so the handball was involuntary.</p>
<p>"My appraisal of VAR is completely negative because it takes emotions out of football, now you don't even celebrate after a goal," Lazio coach Simone Inzaghi said. "We would've had an extra seven points this season without VAR."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>DYBALA'S BACK</p>
<p>Paulo Dybala broke his goal drought by scoring two goals to help Juventus keep up the pressure on Napoli at the top of Serie A by beating Hellas Verona 3-1.</p>
<p>Dybala hadn't scored in the league since Nov. 19 but he restored Juve's lead in the 72nd and doubled his tally five minutes later.</p>
<p>Earlier, former Juventus player Martin Caceres had canceled out Blaise Matuidi's opener.</p>
<p>Juventus bettered one of its own Serie A records, having now scored in 23 consecutive away matches.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>ROMA FALTERS</p>
<p>Sassuolo was revitalized under new coach Giuseppe Iachini and had won its previous three league matches, but fell behind in the 31st minute against Roma when Edin Dzeko rolled the ball across the area for an unmarked Lorenzo Pellegrini to fire into the far bottom corner.</p>
<p>Pellegrini left Sassuolo in the offseason along with current Roma coach Eusebio Di Francesco.</p>
<p>Simone Missiroli headed in the equalizer in the 78th</p>
<p>Edin Dzeko had a goal for Roma ruled out for offside as did Alessandro Florenzi, who was making his 200th appearance for the club.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>FIRST-EVER WIN</p>
<p>Benevento recorded its first Serie A victory with a 1-0 win over Chievo Verona.</p>
<p>Benevento had the worst start to a season in modern history among Europe's five major leagues, losing 17 of its previous 18 matches in its debut season in Serie A.</p>
<p>Massimo Coda netted the historic goal for Benevento in the 64th minute, flicking Marco D'Alessandro's chipped pass beyond Chievo goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino.</p>
<p>Benevento picked up its first Serie A point at the beginning of the month when goalkeeper Alberto Brignoli's injury-time equalizer secured a 2-2 draw against Milan.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>OTHER MATCHES</p>
<p>Teenage goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma marked his 100th appearance for Milan by helping it rescue a 1-1 draw at Fiorentina.</p>
<p>Donnarumma made several crucial saves, notably palming Gil Dias' header onto the crossbar from close range in first-half injury time.</p>
<p>Hakan Calhanoglu scored for Milan to cancel out Giovanni Simeone's opener.</p>
<p>Elsewhere, Cagliari upset Atalanta 2-1, while Udinese won at Bologna by the same score. Sampdoria beat Spal 2-0 and Torino drew 0-0 with Genoa.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP Serie A coverage: <a href="" type="internal">https://apnews.com/tag/SerieA</a></p> | Inter without a win in 4 league games after draw with Lazio | false | https://apnews.com/amp/c2b132f549164f10ae5b5279afd9684d | 2017-12-30 | 2least
| Inter without a win in 4 league games after draw with Lazio
<p>Inter Milan's crisis deepened as it was held to a 0-0 draw at home by Lazio on Saturday to leave it without a win in four league matches.</p>
<p>Inter was undefeated and top of Serie A only two weeks ago. But it is now seven points behind leader Napoli and six below Juventus, which won 3-1 at relegation-threatened Hellas Verona.</p>
<p>Roma is two points further back after a 1-1 draw with Sassuolo, while Lazio remained fifth.</p>
<p>The two capital sides have played a match less than the top three.</p>
<p>"When you're part of a team like Inter there are no alibis or excuses, we just have to get good results," Inter coach Luciano Spalletti said. "For the moment we're meeting our targets, which means that the group is working hard."</p>
<p>Inter moved top of Serie A with a credible 0-0 draw at Juventus on Dec. 9. However, that was mainly down to the performance of goalkeeper Samir Handanovic, and its struggles in front of goal have continued.</p>
<p>Three days later, Inter needed penalties to get past third-division Pordenone in the Italian Cup after a goalless draw. That was followed by league losses to Udinese (3-1) and Sassuolo (1-0) before Wednesday's surprise Cup defeat to AC Milan.</p>
<p>Inter has scored just one goal in its past six matches in all competitions.</p>
<p>It was the visitors who went closest to scoring at the end of the first half when Inter midfielder Borja Valero attempted to head clear Lazio's corner and it came off the crossbar.</p>
<p>Valero almost scored at the right end for Inter but Lazio goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha did well to turn his effort onto the post.</p>
<p>Lazio was awarded a penalty on the hour mark but, after reviewing the incident on video (VAR), the referee revoked his decision as Ciro Immobile's cross had hit Milan Skriniar's leg before bouncing up onto his arm so the handball was involuntary.</p>
<p>"My appraisal of VAR is completely negative because it takes emotions out of football, now you don't even celebrate after a goal," Lazio coach Simone Inzaghi said. "We would've had an extra seven points this season without VAR."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>DYBALA'S BACK</p>
<p>Paulo Dybala broke his goal drought by scoring two goals to help Juventus keep up the pressure on Napoli at the top of Serie A by beating Hellas Verona 3-1.</p>
<p>Dybala hadn't scored in the league since Nov. 19 but he restored Juve's lead in the 72nd and doubled his tally five minutes later.</p>
<p>Earlier, former Juventus player Martin Caceres had canceled out Blaise Matuidi's opener.</p>
<p>Juventus bettered one of its own Serie A records, having now scored in 23 consecutive away matches.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>ROMA FALTERS</p>
<p>Sassuolo was revitalized under new coach Giuseppe Iachini and had won its previous three league matches, but fell behind in the 31st minute against Roma when Edin Dzeko rolled the ball across the area for an unmarked Lorenzo Pellegrini to fire into the far bottom corner.</p>
<p>Pellegrini left Sassuolo in the offseason along with current Roma coach Eusebio Di Francesco.</p>
<p>Simone Missiroli headed in the equalizer in the 78th</p>
<p>Edin Dzeko had a goal for Roma ruled out for offside as did Alessandro Florenzi, who was making his 200th appearance for the club.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>FIRST-EVER WIN</p>
<p>Benevento recorded its first Serie A victory with a 1-0 win over Chievo Verona.</p>
<p>Benevento had the worst start to a season in modern history among Europe's five major leagues, losing 17 of its previous 18 matches in its debut season in Serie A.</p>
<p>Massimo Coda netted the historic goal for Benevento in the 64th minute, flicking Marco D'Alessandro's chipped pass beyond Chievo goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino.</p>
<p>Benevento picked up its first Serie A point at the beginning of the month when goalkeeper Alberto Brignoli's injury-time equalizer secured a 2-2 draw against Milan.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>OTHER MATCHES</p>
<p>Teenage goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma marked his 100th appearance for Milan by helping it rescue a 1-1 draw at Fiorentina.</p>
<p>Donnarumma made several crucial saves, notably palming Gil Dias' header onto the crossbar from close range in first-half injury time.</p>
<p>Hakan Calhanoglu scored for Milan to cancel out Giovanni Simeone's opener.</p>
<p>Elsewhere, Cagliari upset Atalanta 2-1, while Udinese won at Bologna by the same score. Sampdoria beat Spal 2-0 and Torino drew 0-0 with Genoa.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP Serie A coverage: <a href="" type="internal">https://apnews.com/tag/SerieA</a></p>
<p>Inter Milan's crisis deepened as it was held to a 0-0 draw at home by Lazio on Saturday to leave it without a win in four league matches.</p>
<p>Inter was undefeated and top of Serie A only two weeks ago. But it is now seven points behind leader Napoli and six below Juventus, which won 3-1 at relegation-threatened Hellas Verona.</p>
<p>Roma is two points further back after a 1-1 draw with Sassuolo, while Lazio remained fifth.</p>
<p>The two capital sides have played a match less than the top three.</p>
<p>"When you're part of a team like Inter there are no alibis or excuses, we just have to get good results," Inter coach Luciano Spalletti said. "For the moment we're meeting our targets, which means that the group is working hard."</p>
<p>Inter moved top of Serie A with a credible 0-0 draw at Juventus on Dec. 9. However, that was mainly down to the performance of goalkeeper Samir Handanovic, and its struggles in front of goal have continued.</p>
<p>Three days later, Inter needed penalties to get past third-division Pordenone in the Italian Cup after a goalless draw. That was followed by league losses to Udinese (3-1) and Sassuolo (1-0) before Wednesday's surprise Cup defeat to AC Milan.</p>
<p>Inter has scored just one goal in its past six matches in all competitions.</p>
<p>It was the visitors who went closest to scoring at the end of the first half when Inter midfielder Borja Valero attempted to head clear Lazio's corner and it came off the crossbar.</p>
<p>Valero almost scored at the right end for Inter but Lazio goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha did well to turn his effort onto the post.</p>
<p>Lazio was awarded a penalty on the hour mark but, after reviewing the incident on video (VAR), the referee revoked his decision as Ciro Immobile's cross had hit Milan Skriniar's leg before bouncing up onto his arm so the handball was involuntary.</p>
<p>"My appraisal of VAR is completely negative because it takes emotions out of football, now you don't even celebrate after a goal," Lazio coach Simone Inzaghi said. "We would've had an extra seven points this season without VAR."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>DYBALA'S BACK</p>
<p>Paulo Dybala broke his goal drought by scoring two goals to help Juventus keep up the pressure on Napoli at the top of Serie A by beating Hellas Verona 3-1.</p>
<p>Dybala hadn't scored in the league since Nov. 19 but he restored Juve's lead in the 72nd and doubled his tally five minutes later.</p>
<p>Earlier, former Juventus player Martin Caceres had canceled out Blaise Matuidi's opener.</p>
<p>Juventus bettered one of its own Serie A records, having now scored in 23 consecutive away matches.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>ROMA FALTERS</p>
<p>Sassuolo was revitalized under new coach Giuseppe Iachini and had won its previous three league matches, but fell behind in the 31st minute against Roma when Edin Dzeko rolled the ball across the area for an unmarked Lorenzo Pellegrini to fire into the far bottom corner.</p>
<p>Pellegrini left Sassuolo in the offseason along with current Roma coach Eusebio Di Francesco.</p>
<p>Simone Missiroli headed in the equalizer in the 78th</p>
<p>Edin Dzeko had a goal for Roma ruled out for offside as did Alessandro Florenzi, who was making his 200th appearance for the club.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>FIRST-EVER WIN</p>
<p>Benevento recorded its first Serie A victory with a 1-0 win over Chievo Verona.</p>
<p>Benevento had the worst start to a season in modern history among Europe's five major leagues, losing 17 of its previous 18 matches in its debut season in Serie A.</p>
<p>Massimo Coda netted the historic goal for Benevento in the 64th minute, flicking Marco D'Alessandro's chipped pass beyond Chievo goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino.</p>
<p>Benevento picked up its first Serie A point at the beginning of the month when goalkeeper Alberto Brignoli's injury-time equalizer secured a 2-2 draw against Milan.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>OTHER MATCHES</p>
<p>Teenage goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma marked his 100th appearance for Milan by helping it rescue a 1-1 draw at Fiorentina.</p>
<p>Donnarumma made several crucial saves, notably palming Gil Dias' header onto the crossbar from close range in first-half injury time.</p>
<p>Hakan Calhanoglu scored for Milan to cancel out Giovanni Simeone's opener.</p>
<p>Elsewhere, Cagliari upset Atalanta 2-1, while Udinese won at Bologna by the same score. Sampdoria beat Spal 2-0 and Torino drew 0-0 with Genoa.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP Serie A coverage: <a href="" type="internal">https://apnews.com/tag/SerieA</a></p> | 1,942 |
<p>“The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.”</p>
<p>Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky</p>
<p>More evidence of the death of human rights in Haiti has been unfolding this month as additional information comes out about the December 1, 2004 massacre in the Haitian National Penitentiary. The most recent troubling news is contained in a detailed investigation into the massacre conducted by the respected Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH). www.ijdh.org</p>
<p>The IJDH report confirms the deteriorating condition of Haiti’s prisons in the face of dramatic increases in the number of Haitians who have been imprisoned without trials. The report concludes with reports that many more prisoners in the Haitian National Penitentiary may have been murdered earlier this month than the government admits – some eyewitnesses estimate dozens of prisoners were killed.</p>
<p>Haitian officials initially reported that seven prisoners were killed and dozens more shot by guards in the course of putting down a prison protest at the penitentiary. Officials have refused to give out an official list with the names of the persons killed either to the public or to family members. No independent investigation into the killings has been allowed.</p>
<p>The IJDH report is the most comprehensive investigation of the prison situation to date.</p>
<p>One eyewitness testified that he saw the bodies of 20 to 25 dead prisoners. Another guessed that he saw more than 60 prisoners killed.</p>
<p>IJDH notes that “for most of the dead, their assassination was the last in a long string of human rights violations. Only one in fifty is likely to have actually been convicted of committing a crime. The vast majority were likely arrested illegally without a warrant and detained on vague charges with no evidence in their file and no chance of judicial review of the detention.”</p>
<p>During the forced removal of the elected President of Haiti, Jean Bertrand Aristide, the jails and prisons of Haiti were emptied. The unelected government has been filling them up with people associated with Aristide. In fact, the Catholic Church’s Justice and Peace Commission estimates that there may be as many as 700 political prisoners in Haiti.</p>
<p>My own recent experience in Haiti bears this out. I have been in the Haitian National Penitentiary several times in the past four months. It is a massive old concrete prison located right in the heart of downtown Port au Prince.</p>
<p>It was there that I visited with Prime Minister Yvon Neptune and Minister of the Interior Jocelerme Privert in their cells. I visited Harold Severe, the former Mayor of Port au Prince, in the prison yard. I met with my client, Fr. Gerard Jean-Juste, several times in the warden’s office. The conditions in the prison are very bad. And there are many, many people there who have never seen, and likely never will see, a judge.</p>
<p>I have witnessed the prison population grow more than 20% in my short time in Haiti. When I first visited the penitentiary, in late September of this year, there were 868 people in the prison, 21 of whom had been convicted of a crime. Prison officials advised me that “most had never seen a judge and do not know when they will see a judge.” (See full report of Pax Christi USA Fall 2004 Human Rights Visit to Haiti at www.paxchristiusa.org ). In early December, nine weeks later, the penitentiary held 1041 people, 22 of whom had seen a judge.</p>
<p>This situation is not a surprise to international authorities. In late November, the UN Security Council expressed its concerns about arbitrary arrests and detentions in Haiti and called for the release of political prisoners. In November 2004, the United Nations official in charge of helping reform Haiti’s prisons quit his job in frustration. “It was worse than I have ever seen,” UN official Jacques Dyotte told Reed Lindsay of the Toronto Sun. The paper reported that floor space so tight that prisoners must take turns sleeping in shifts.</p>
<p>The IJDH report calls for an independent investigation by the United Nations that includes: autopsies of all prisoners killed; forensic medical exams of all injured prisoners and guards; independent interviews with prisoners and guards that include confidentiality protections for all those who seek it; examination of all records of the incident. Human rights groups and journalists should be given access to this material.</p>
<p>Right now in Haiti there are many prison cells holding over 20 prisoners. Many of these same cells have no beds and no toilets. The people in those cells have little chance of ever seeing a judge. Right now there are hundreds of families in Haiti who do not even know if family members in the national penitentiary are dead or alive.</p>
<p>The IJDH is correct, when it concludes in the final sentence of their investigation: “An effective investigation of the December 1 events becomes, therefore, not a test of investigative skill and resources as much as a test of investigative will.”</p>
<p>These prisoners and their conditions are not hidden. Many are out in the open. The United Nations knows about them. The Organization of American States knows about them. The United States government knows about them.</p>
<p>Human rights are dying in Haiti, who will do more than watch?</p>
<p>Dostoevsky’s quote above that “the degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons” is not an indictment of Haiti only. Dostoevksy is also speaking to the UN, the OAS, and to our government in the US, and ultimately to us.</p>
<p>(For a complete copy of the report on the Massacre at the Haitian National Penitentiary go to the website of the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti <a href="http://www.ijdh.org/" type="external">www.ijdh.org</a> ).</p>
<p>BILL QUIGLEY, a law professor at Loyola University New Orleans School of Law, has visited Haiti four times in the last three months as one of the attorneys representing the recently freed Fr. Gerard Jean-Juste. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Death Watch for Human Rights in Haiti | true | https://counterpunch.org/2004/12/23/death-watch-for-human-rights-in-haiti/ | 2004-12-23 | 4left
| Death Watch for Human Rights in Haiti
<p>“The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.”</p>
<p>Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky</p>
<p>More evidence of the death of human rights in Haiti has been unfolding this month as additional information comes out about the December 1, 2004 massacre in the Haitian National Penitentiary. The most recent troubling news is contained in a detailed investigation into the massacre conducted by the respected Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH). www.ijdh.org</p>
<p>The IJDH report confirms the deteriorating condition of Haiti’s prisons in the face of dramatic increases in the number of Haitians who have been imprisoned without trials. The report concludes with reports that many more prisoners in the Haitian National Penitentiary may have been murdered earlier this month than the government admits – some eyewitnesses estimate dozens of prisoners were killed.</p>
<p>Haitian officials initially reported that seven prisoners were killed and dozens more shot by guards in the course of putting down a prison protest at the penitentiary. Officials have refused to give out an official list with the names of the persons killed either to the public or to family members. No independent investigation into the killings has been allowed.</p>
<p>The IJDH report is the most comprehensive investigation of the prison situation to date.</p>
<p>One eyewitness testified that he saw the bodies of 20 to 25 dead prisoners. Another guessed that he saw more than 60 prisoners killed.</p>
<p>IJDH notes that “for most of the dead, their assassination was the last in a long string of human rights violations. Only one in fifty is likely to have actually been convicted of committing a crime. The vast majority were likely arrested illegally without a warrant and detained on vague charges with no evidence in their file and no chance of judicial review of the detention.”</p>
<p>During the forced removal of the elected President of Haiti, Jean Bertrand Aristide, the jails and prisons of Haiti were emptied. The unelected government has been filling them up with people associated with Aristide. In fact, the Catholic Church’s Justice and Peace Commission estimates that there may be as many as 700 political prisoners in Haiti.</p>
<p>My own recent experience in Haiti bears this out. I have been in the Haitian National Penitentiary several times in the past four months. It is a massive old concrete prison located right in the heart of downtown Port au Prince.</p>
<p>It was there that I visited with Prime Minister Yvon Neptune and Minister of the Interior Jocelerme Privert in their cells. I visited Harold Severe, the former Mayor of Port au Prince, in the prison yard. I met with my client, Fr. Gerard Jean-Juste, several times in the warden’s office. The conditions in the prison are very bad. And there are many, many people there who have never seen, and likely never will see, a judge.</p>
<p>I have witnessed the prison population grow more than 20% in my short time in Haiti. When I first visited the penitentiary, in late September of this year, there were 868 people in the prison, 21 of whom had been convicted of a crime. Prison officials advised me that “most had never seen a judge and do not know when they will see a judge.” (See full report of Pax Christi USA Fall 2004 Human Rights Visit to Haiti at www.paxchristiusa.org ). In early December, nine weeks later, the penitentiary held 1041 people, 22 of whom had seen a judge.</p>
<p>This situation is not a surprise to international authorities. In late November, the UN Security Council expressed its concerns about arbitrary arrests and detentions in Haiti and called for the release of political prisoners. In November 2004, the United Nations official in charge of helping reform Haiti’s prisons quit his job in frustration. “It was worse than I have ever seen,” UN official Jacques Dyotte told Reed Lindsay of the Toronto Sun. The paper reported that floor space so tight that prisoners must take turns sleeping in shifts.</p>
<p>The IJDH report calls for an independent investigation by the United Nations that includes: autopsies of all prisoners killed; forensic medical exams of all injured prisoners and guards; independent interviews with prisoners and guards that include confidentiality protections for all those who seek it; examination of all records of the incident. Human rights groups and journalists should be given access to this material.</p>
<p>Right now in Haiti there are many prison cells holding over 20 prisoners. Many of these same cells have no beds and no toilets. The people in those cells have little chance of ever seeing a judge. Right now there are hundreds of families in Haiti who do not even know if family members in the national penitentiary are dead or alive.</p>
<p>The IJDH is correct, when it concludes in the final sentence of their investigation: “An effective investigation of the December 1 events becomes, therefore, not a test of investigative skill and resources as much as a test of investigative will.”</p>
<p>These prisoners and their conditions are not hidden. Many are out in the open. The United Nations knows about them. The Organization of American States knows about them. The United States government knows about them.</p>
<p>Human rights are dying in Haiti, who will do more than watch?</p>
<p>Dostoevsky’s quote above that “the degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons” is not an indictment of Haiti only. Dostoevksy is also speaking to the UN, the OAS, and to our government in the US, and ultimately to us.</p>
<p>(For a complete copy of the report on the Massacre at the Haitian National Penitentiary go to the website of the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti <a href="http://www.ijdh.org/" type="external">www.ijdh.org</a> ).</p>
<p>BILL QUIGLEY, a law professor at Loyola University New Orleans School of Law, has visited Haiti four times in the last three months as one of the attorneys representing the recently freed Fr. Gerard Jean-Juste. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 1,943 |
<p>Refusing to acknowledge any linkage between between Islamic terrorism, Muslims, and Islam, New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton implied that both Donald Trump and Senator Ted Cruz made law enforcement more difficult via their political statements. Conflating mass killing incidents with politically motivated terrorism, Bratton then drew false parallels between different categories of threats to push for “gun control.”</p>
<p>Speaking with CNN’s Don Lemon on Monday, the law enforcement veteran and Democrat was asked to respond to recent statements made by Trump about the risks posed by Islamic terrorism via existing policies Muslim immigration and refugee admission.</p>
<p>“America is a very safe place, particularly compared to the rest of the world,” said Bratton. But we have our incidents, as we know. We have had more than our share of mass killings. Some committed by inspired terrorists, but the vast majority committed by American citizens living here who have access to firearms.”</p>
<p>Invoking the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Bratton deployed the left-wing narrative of the Second Amendment as a greater threat to national security that Islamic terrorism. Also embedded in Bratton’s comment is an attempt to obfuscate the centrality of Islam and Muslims to contemporary threats of terrorism, pointing to a non-terrorist mass murder committed by a non-Muslim white man as some sort of counterweight to the Islamic terrorist attack in San Bernardino.</p>
<p>Continuing his prevarication, Bratton attempted to play down the threat of Islamic terrorism and its overlap with Muslims and Islam by pointing to non-political domestic crimes committed by Americans.</p>
<p>“So, the bigger threat at the moment is from our own citizens than from those abroad,” said Bratton.</p>
<p>In January, Hillary Clinton accepted the premise that “white terrorism and extremism” is as much a threat to Americans as Islamic terrorism, also pushing for further erosion of the Second Amendment to quell “gun violence.”</p>
<p>Bratton also implied that Muslims were less likely to assist law enforcement in counterterrorism efforts as a result of "anti-Muslim rhetoric," deploying a narrative favored by <a href="" type="internal">left-wing</a> <a href="" type="internal">media</a>and <a href="" type="internal">top</a> <a href="" type="internal">Democrats</a>.</p>
<p>In an <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ted-cruz-absolutely-war-terror-article-1.2578821?cid=bitly" type="external">op-ed</a> published in left-wing newspaper The New York Daily News, Bratton asserted that ideology has no impact on the efficacy of law enforcement. In other words, the political vision and values of policymakers is irrelevant in an analysis of the success or failures of security apparatuses. “Political correctness,” implies Bratton, has no bearing on his execution of his responsibilities.</p>
<p>Follow Robert Kraychik on <a href="https://twitter.com/kr3ch3k" type="external">Twitter</a>.</p> | NYPD Police Chief: Second Amendment Greater Threat Than Islamic Terrorism | true | https://dailywire.com/news/4466/nypd-police-chief-second-amendment-greater-threat-robert-kraychik | 2016-03-28 | 0right
| NYPD Police Chief: Second Amendment Greater Threat Than Islamic Terrorism
<p>Refusing to acknowledge any linkage between between Islamic terrorism, Muslims, and Islam, New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton implied that both Donald Trump and Senator Ted Cruz made law enforcement more difficult via their political statements. Conflating mass killing incidents with politically motivated terrorism, Bratton then drew false parallels between different categories of threats to push for “gun control.”</p>
<p>Speaking with CNN’s Don Lemon on Monday, the law enforcement veteran and Democrat was asked to respond to recent statements made by Trump about the risks posed by Islamic terrorism via existing policies Muslim immigration and refugee admission.</p>
<p>“America is a very safe place, particularly compared to the rest of the world,” said Bratton. But we have our incidents, as we know. We have had more than our share of mass killings. Some committed by inspired terrorists, but the vast majority committed by American citizens living here who have access to firearms.”</p>
<p>Invoking the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Bratton deployed the left-wing narrative of the Second Amendment as a greater threat to national security that Islamic terrorism. Also embedded in Bratton’s comment is an attempt to obfuscate the centrality of Islam and Muslims to contemporary threats of terrorism, pointing to a non-terrorist mass murder committed by a non-Muslim white man as some sort of counterweight to the Islamic terrorist attack in San Bernardino.</p>
<p>Continuing his prevarication, Bratton attempted to play down the threat of Islamic terrorism and its overlap with Muslims and Islam by pointing to non-political domestic crimes committed by Americans.</p>
<p>“So, the bigger threat at the moment is from our own citizens than from those abroad,” said Bratton.</p>
<p>In January, Hillary Clinton accepted the premise that “white terrorism and extremism” is as much a threat to Americans as Islamic terrorism, also pushing for further erosion of the Second Amendment to quell “gun violence.”</p>
<p>Bratton also implied that Muslims were less likely to assist law enforcement in counterterrorism efforts as a result of "anti-Muslim rhetoric," deploying a narrative favored by <a href="" type="internal">left-wing</a> <a href="" type="internal">media</a>and <a href="" type="internal">top</a> <a href="" type="internal">Democrats</a>.</p>
<p>In an <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ted-cruz-absolutely-war-terror-article-1.2578821?cid=bitly" type="external">op-ed</a> published in left-wing newspaper The New York Daily News, Bratton asserted that ideology has no impact on the efficacy of law enforcement. In other words, the political vision and values of policymakers is irrelevant in an analysis of the success or failures of security apparatuses. “Political correctness,” implies Bratton, has no bearing on his execution of his responsibilities.</p>
<p>Follow Robert Kraychik on <a href="https://twitter.com/kr3ch3k" type="external">Twitter</a>.</p> | 1,944 |
<p>&#160;</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" />Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to spend the lion’s share of cap-and-trade auction revenue on the high-speed rail project won’t help the state meet its goal of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions by 2020, according to a recent <a href="http://www.lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/2953" type="external">Legislative Analyst’s Office report</a>. It could actually make things worse during construction.</p>
<p>Brown wants to spend $250 million of the $850 million cap-and-trade revenue expected in the 2014-15 fiscal year on high-speed rail construction. After that he wants one-third of all cap-and-trade revenue to be spent on high-speed rail.</p>
<p>The revenue could total around $15 billion by 2020, according to the LAO, citing economists’ estimates. That would provide about $5 billion for high-speed rail by 2020 with funding continuing until the project is done.</p>
<p>AB32, the&#160; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Warming_Solutions_Act_of_2006" type="external">California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006</a>, requires California to reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.</p>
<p>But spending $5 billion of cap-and-trade money on the bullet train won’t do anything to meet that target, because the train won’t be operational until 2022. In the meantime, its construction is expected to produce 30,000 metric tons of greenhouse-gas emissions, according to the LAO.</p>
<p>Thousands of trees will be planted in the Central Valley to offset those emissions. But that might not be enough, according to the LAO.</p>
<p>The official estimate of high-speed rail construction emissions does “not include emissions associated with the production of construction materials, which suggests that the amount of emissions requiring mitigation could be much higher than currently planned,” the report states.</p>
<p>“Therefore, it is possible that the construction of the IOS [initial operating segment] may result in a net increase in greenhouse-gas emissions, even when accounting for proposed offsets.”</p>
<p>State legislators, including some Democrats, are concerned that Brown’s cap-and-trade spending plan shortchanges other programs that could actually help the state meet its 2020 greenhouse-gas target. Many are concerned that the cap-and-trade revenue will not be spent cost-effectively.</p>
<p>And some are concerned that California’s struggling residents and businesses will be hit hard as cap-and-trade ratchets up the cost of energy in coming years.</p>
<p>“I’m from the Inland Empire. Many businesses are having a tough time getting permits to expand and grow their business,” said <a href="http://sd32.senate.ca.gov/" type="external">Sen. Norma Torres</a>, D-Pomona, at the Feb. 13 <a href="http://sbud.senate.ca.gov/" type="external">Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee</a> hearing. “We have double-digit unemployment. So I know that my community is paying into this program to fund all of these feel-good, look-good, long-term issues.”</p>
<p><a href="http://calsta.ca.gov/" type="external">California Transportation Agency</a> <a href="http://www.calsta.ca.gov/Kelly_Bio.htm" type="external">Secretary Brian Kelly</a> defended the prioritization of high-speed rail in Brown’s spending plan, saying it will pay off in the long run. He cited a high-speed rail line from Madrid to Seville in Spain that accounts for 90 percent of the trips in that route.</p>
<p>“The investment of cap-and-trade funds in the development of high-speed rail in California is, in our view, an appropriate use of these funds due to the transformative nature of the project and the corresponding reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions from operating a high-speed rail system,” Kelly said.</p>
<p>“Greenhouse-gas benefits of this mode shift are dramatic. On a per-passenger, per-mile basis, high-speed rail emits a fraction of the greenhouse gas compared to more carbon-intensive bus, automobile and air travel.”</p>
<p>Spending cap-and-trade revenue on high-speed rail does present a risk of a legal challenge, said <a href="http://www.law.ucla.edu/faculty/all-faculty-profiles/program-directors/Pages/cara-horowitz.aspx" type="external">Cara Horowitz</a>, executive director of the <a href="http://www.law.ucla.edu/centers-programs/emmett-center-on-climate-change-and-the-environment/Pages/default.aspx" type="external">Emmett Center on Climate Change and the Environment</a> at UCLA Law School. But she doesn’t consider it a significant risk.</p>
<p>“The touchstone legal question is: Do the funds facilitate the reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions?” Horowitz said. “And projects are generally riskier if it’s harder to show that they will in fact result in greenhouse-gas emission reductions. So [for example] if there’s a project that only has marginal greenhouse-gas reductions benefit or they occur far, far out in the future.</p>
<p>“In the budget today, the risk is probably greatest for high-speed rail. But the risk is not so great. I think high-speed rail is not a risky project to spend funds on legally speaking. It will reduce greenhouse-gas emissions in the medium term if not the short term, and those reductions will be significant.”</p>
<p>Horowitz added that the state isn’t obligated to spend AB32 revenue cost-effectively or in ways that it would maximize greenhouse-gas reductions.</p>
<p>“The state has a significant amount of legal flexibility in choosing how to spend the funds,” she said.</p>
<p>State officials have apparently taken advantage of that flexibility in carving up how the money would be spent.</p>
<p>“Admittedly there was a little bit of an art to it,” said <a href="http://www.dof.ca.gov/" type="external">Department of Finance</a> Assistant Program Budget Manager Matt Almy. “There were a lot of different factors and lenses and considerations. This art was informed by science.”</p>
<p>But the scientific method might not have been rigorously adhered to. There is little information on how much each cap-and-trade-funded program is expected to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.</p>
<p>There was a desire “to get funding out the door for projects on the ground quickly,” said Almy. “One of the reasons we are funding a lot of existing programs was for that reason. Some programs have methodologies in place. The budget includes positions for ARB [Air Resources Board] to develop and refine those. And then there’s a reporting mechanism.”</p>
<p>But waiting a year to report the results of the cost-effectiveness of the programs concerns both the LAO and nearly every member on the Senate budget committee, including Chairman <a href="http://sd11.senate.ca.gov/" type="external">Mark Leno</a>, D-San Francisco.</p>
<p>“It might make sense to have metrics developed before funds are actually distributed,” Leno said. “It’s important to maximize the greenhouse-gas emission reductions. It would seem logical to make sure that those metrics are in place before we even determine how they should be spent. And then use metrics to measure the success of those programs.”</p>
<p><a href="http://district14.cssrc.us/" type="external">Sen. Tom Berryhill</a>, R-Modesto, sought to pin down Kelly on the benefit of spending $250 million in the next year on high-speed rail construction.</p>
<p>“It is my concern, and the concern of our [Republican] caucus, that the cap-and-trade program is going to be extracting billions of dollars out of our economy,” Berryhill said. “It’s an economy that is still struggling to recover, certainly in the Central Valley for sure. All of this in order to implement a plan that contains actually very little information on actual greenhouse-gas emission reductions that will be achieved.</p>
<p>“So my question is: Is the $250 million for high-speed rail, for environmental planning, right-of-way acquisition and construction, are the benefits of this $250 million as they relate to reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, are they actually quantified anywhere in this program? Have you got a best guess as to exactly what those emission reductions are going to be?”</p>
<p>Kelly responded, “On a dollar-per-dollar basis with the first $250 million, I do not.”</p>
<p>There is a similar lack of cost-benefit information for much of the rest of the $600 billion in cap-and-trade revenue that Brown plans to spend in the next year. It divides into three areas:</p>
<p>While state officials are anticipating the cash infusion coming their way, Berryhill is worried about the forgotten man who gets stuck with the tab. He asked analyst <a href="http://www.lao.ca.gov/Staff/AssignmentDetail/222" type="external">Tiffany Roberts</a>, “Do you have any concerns for the impacts on small businesses what this AB 32 is going to have with the fees and fines and revenue loss?”</p>
<p>Roberts responded that the LAO has not analyzed the impact on small businesses, but she guaranteed that there will be an impact.</p>
<p>“We would just say that as you move forward, you would want to think about the impact of the program as a whole in terms of economy wide impact,” Roberts said. “To the extent that you put a price on carbon, you are by design increasing the cost of energy.</p>
<p>“So the intent of the program is to send a price signal. So to the extent that you are doing that, entities will feel that, whether they are consumers, ratepayers, businesses or the economy as a whole.”</p>
<p>Berryhill said, “Oh, they are definitely going to feel it. I mean, there’s many different small businesses that are going to get hurt by this thing, if not ruined. But one in specific, the trucking industry, what this AB32 is basically doing to our trucking industry – there will be no small truckers. Because no one can afford the retrofits and everything else that’s going on.</p>
<p>“So I think you’re going to see, instead of us trying to help the small business sectors, we are killing the small business sectors. And it’s going to make everything big, corporate America before this thing is said and done.”</p>
<p>The best use of cap-and-trade funds would be to return them to the state’s largest greenhouse-gas producing companies and agencies that are paying into it, said Dorothy Rothrock representing the <a href="http://www.cmta.net/" type="external">California Manufacturers and Technology Association</a>.</p>
<p>“The monies are coming to you from manufacturers who are already struggling in this state to maintain very competitive operations,” she said. “It’s not clear that they can pass those costs onto customers. So they are often having to absorb those costs in their operations.</p>
<p>“We don’t believe that AB32 grants authority to auction allowances to ARB. If it is allowed, there may be constraints on the use of those funds to get the benefit back to the source of those monies. We think that sending those monies back to manufacturers to use to reduce their emissions to meet the AB32 goals would be the tightest nexus between the source of the money and a good use in AB32. It will minimize your litigation risk.”</p>
<p><a href="http://sbud.senate.ca.gov/subcommittee2" type="external">Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 2</a> has scheduled a hearing for April 3 to consider Brown’s cap-and-trade spending plan in more detail.</p> | LAO: Bullet train could increase greenhouse gases by 2020 | false | https://calwatchdog.com/2014/03/04/lao-bullet-train-could-increase-greenhouse-gases-by-2020/ | 2018-03-20 | 3left-center
| LAO: Bullet train could increase greenhouse gases by 2020
<p>&#160;</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" />Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to spend the lion’s share of cap-and-trade auction revenue on the high-speed rail project won’t help the state meet its goal of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions by 2020, according to a recent <a href="http://www.lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/2953" type="external">Legislative Analyst’s Office report</a>. It could actually make things worse during construction.</p>
<p>Brown wants to spend $250 million of the $850 million cap-and-trade revenue expected in the 2014-15 fiscal year on high-speed rail construction. After that he wants one-third of all cap-and-trade revenue to be spent on high-speed rail.</p>
<p>The revenue could total around $15 billion by 2020, according to the LAO, citing economists’ estimates. That would provide about $5 billion for high-speed rail by 2020 with funding continuing until the project is done.</p>
<p>AB32, the&#160; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Warming_Solutions_Act_of_2006" type="external">California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006</a>, requires California to reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.</p>
<p>But spending $5 billion of cap-and-trade money on the bullet train won’t do anything to meet that target, because the train won’t be operational until 2022. In the meantime, its construction is expected to produce 30,000 metric tons of greenhouse-gas emissions, according to the LAO.</p>
<p>Thousands of trees will be planted in the Central Valley to offset those emissions. But that might not be enough, according to the LAO.</p>
<p>The official estimate of high-speed rail construction emissions does “not include emissions associated with the production of construction materials, which suggests that the amount of emissions requiring mitigation could be much higher than currently planned,” the report states.</p>
<p>“Therefore, it is possible that the construction of the IOS [initial operating segment] may result in a net increase in greenhouse-gas emissions, even when accounting for proposed offsets.”</p>
<p>State legislators, including some Democrats, are concerned that Brown’s cap-and-trade spending plan shortchanges other programs that could actually help the state meet its 2020 greenhouse-gas target. Many are concerned that the cap-and-trade revenue will not be spent cost-effectively.</p>
<p>And some are concerned that California’s struggling residents and businesses will be hit hard as cap-and-trade ratchets up the cost of energy in coming years.</p>
<p>“I’m from the Inland Empire. Many businesses are having a tough time getting permits to expand and grow their business,” said <a href="http://sd32.senate.ca.gov/" type="external">Sen. Norma Torres</a>, D-Pomona, at the Feb. 13 <a href="http://sbud.senate.ca.gov/" type="external">Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee</a> hearing. “We have double-digit unemployment. So I know that my community is paying into this program to fund all of these feel-good, look-good, long-term issues.”</p>
<p><a href="http://calsta.ca.gov/" type="external">California Transportation Agency</a> <a href="http://www.calsta.ca.gov/Kelly_Bio.htm" type="external">Secretary Brian Kelly</a> defended the prioritization of high-speed rail in Brown’s spending plan, saying it will pay off in the long run. He cited a high-speed rail line from Madrid to Seville in Spain that accounts for 90 percent of the trips in that route.</p>
<p>“The investment of cap-and-trade funds in the development of high-speed rail in California is, in our view, an appropriate use of these funds due to the transformative nature of the project and the corresponding reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions from operating a high-speed rail system,” Kelly said.</p>
<p>“Greenhouse-gas benefits of this mode shift are dramatic. On a per-passenger, per-mile basis, high-speed rail emits a fraction of the greenhouse gas compared to more carbon-intensive bus, automobile and air travel.”</p>
<p>Spending cap-and-trade revenue on high-speed rail does present a risk of a legal challenge, said <a href="http://www.law.ucla.edu/faculty/all-faculty-profiles/program-directors/Pages/cara-horowitz.aspx" type="external">Cara Horowitz</a>, executive director of the <a href="http://www.law.ucla.edu/centers-programs/emmett-center-on-climate-change-and-the-environment/Pages/default.aspx" type="external">Emmett Center on Climate Change and the Environment</a> at UCLA Law School. But she doesn’t consider it a significant risk.</p>
<p>“The touchstone legal question is: Do the funds facilitate the reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions?” Horowitz said. “And projects are generally riskier if it’s harder to show that they will in fact result in greenhouse-gas emission reductions. So [for example] if there’s a project that only has marginal greenhouse-gas reductions benefit or they occur far, far out in the future.</p>
<p>“In the budget today, the risk is probably greatest for high-speed rail. But the risk is not so great. I think high-speed rail is not a risky project to spend funds on legally speaking. It will reduce greenhouse-gas emissions in the medium term if not the short term, and those reductions will be significant.”</p>
<p>Horowitz added that the state isn’t obligated to spend AB32 revenue cost-effectively or in ways that it would maximize greenhouse-gas reductions.</p>
<p>“The state has a significant amount of legal flexibility in choosing how to spend the funds,” she said.</p>
<p>State officials have apparently taken advantage of that flexibility in carving up how the money would be spent.</p>
<p>“Admittedly there was a little bit of an art to it,” said <a href="http://www.dof.ca.gov/" type="external">Department of Finance</a> Assistant Program Budget Manager Matt Almy. “There were a lot of different factors and lenses and considerations. This art was informed by science.”</p>
<p>But the scientific method might not have been rigorously adhered to. There is little information on how much each cap-and-trade-funded program is expected to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.</p>
<p>There was a desire “to get funding out the door for projects on the ground quickly,” said Almy. “One of the reasons we are funding a lot of existing programs was for that reason. Some programs have methodologies in place. The budget includes positions for ARB [Air Resources Board] to develop and refine those. And then there’s a reporting mechanism.”</p>
<p>But waiting a year to report the results of the cost-effectiveness of the programs concerns both the LAO and nearly every member on the Senate budget committee, including Chairman <a href="http://sd11.senate.ca.gov/" type="external">Mark Leno</a>, D-San Francisco.</p>
<p>“It might make sense to have metrics developed before funds are actually distributed,” Leno said. “It’s important to maximize the greenhouse-gas emission reductions. It would seem logical to make sure that those metrics are in place before we even determine how they should be spent. And then use metrics to measure the success of those programs.”</p>
<p><a href="http://district14.cssrc.us/" type="external">Sen. Tom Berryhill</a>, R-Modesto, sought to pin down Kelly on the benefit of spending $250 million in the next year on high-speed rail construction.</p>
<p>“It is my concern, and the concern of our [Republican] caucus, that the cap-and-trade program is going to be extracting billions of dollars out of our economy,” Berryhill said. “It’s an economy that is still struggling to recover, certainly in the Central Valley for sure. All of this in order to implement a plan that contains actually very little information on actual greenhouse-gas emission reductions that will be achieved.</p>
<p>“So my question is: Is the $250 million for high-speed rail, for environmental planning, right-of-way acquisition and construction, are the benefits of this $250 million as they relate to reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, are they actually quantified anywhere in this program? Have you got a best guess as to exactly what those emission reductions are going to be?”</p>
<p>Kelly responded, “On a dollar-per-dollar basis with the first $250 million, I do not.”</p>
<p>There is a similar lack of cost-benefit information for much of the rest of the $600 billion in cap-and-trade revenue that Brown plans to spend in the next year. It divides into three areas:</p>
<p>While state officials are anticipating the cash infusion coming their way, Berryhill is worried about the forgotten man who gets stuck with the tab. He asked analyst <a href="http://www.lao.ca.gov/Staff/AssignmentDetail/222" type="external">Tiffany Roberts</a>, “Do you have any concerns for the impacts on small businesses what this AB 32 is going to have with the fees and fines and revenue loss?”</p>
<p>Roberts responded that the LAO has not analyzed the impact on small businesses, but she guaranteed that there will be an impact.</p>
<p>“We would just say that as you move forward, you would want to think about the impact of the program as a whole in terms of economy wide impact,” Roberts said. “To the extent that you put a price on carbon, you are by design increasing the cost of energy.</p>
<p>“So the intent of the program is to send a price signal. So to the extent that you are doing that, entities will feel that, whether they are consumers, ratepayers, businesses or the economy as a whole.”</p>
<p>Berryhill said, “Oh, they are definitely going to feel it. I mean, there’s many different small businesses that are going to get hurt by this thing, if not ruined. But one in specific, the trucking industry, what this AB32 is basically doing to our trucking industry – there will be no small truckers. Because no one can afford the retrofits and everything else that’s going on.</p>
<p>“So I think you’re going to see, instead of us trying to help the small business sectors, we are killing the small business sectors. And it’s going to make everything big, corporate America before this thing is said and done.”</p>
<p>The best use of cap-and-trade funds would be to return them to the state’s largest greenhouse-gas producing companies and agencies that are paying into it, said Dorothy Rothrock representing the <a href="http://www.cmta.net/" type="external">California Manufacturers and Technology Association</a>.</p>
<p>“The monies are coming to you from manufacturers who are already struggling in this state to maintain very competitive operations,” she said. “It’s not clear that they can pass those costs onto customers. So they are often having to absorb those costs in their operations.</p>
<p>“We don’t believe that AB32 grants authority to auction allowances to ARB. If it is allowed, there may be constraints on the use of those funds to get the benefit back to the source of those monies. We think that sending those monies back to manufacturers to use to reduce their emissions to meet the AB32 goals would be the tightest nexus between the source of the money and a good use in AB32. It will minimize your litigation risk.”</p>
<p><a href="http://sbud.senate.ca.gov/subcommittee2" type="external">Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 2</a> has scheduled a hearing for April 3 to consider Brown’s cap-and-trade spending plan in more detail.</p> | 1,945 |
<p>DETROIT (AP) — Police say a suburban Detroit police officer chased an unarmed man on foot and fatally shot him during a struggle in a backyard in Detroit.</p>
<p>Detroit police Chief James Craig says the Dearborn officer recognized the 36-year-old man, who was wanted in Redford Township and also suspected in a theft earlier Wednesday in Dearborn.</p>
<p>He says the officer’s uniform was torn during the struggle and equipment was off his belt. Dearborn police Chief Ron Haddad declined to say much about the officer, who was taken to a hospital for his injuries.</p>
<p>Haddad says the shooting is “extremely tragic,” and he offered condolences to the family of the victim. The man was not immediately identified.</p>
<p>DETROIT (AP) — Police say a suburban Detroit police officer chased an unarmed man on foot and fatally shot him during a struggle in a backyard in Detroit.</p>
<p>Detroit police Chief James Craig says the Dearborn officer recognized the 36-year-old man, who was wanted in Redford Township and also suspected in a theft earlier Wednesday in Dearborn.</p>
<p>He says the officer’s uniform was torn during the struggle and equipment was off his belt. Dearborn police Chief Ron Haddad declined to say much about the officer, who was taken to a hospital for his injuries.</p>
<p>Haddad says the shooting is “extremely tragic,” and he offered condolences to the family of the victim. The man was not immediately identified.</p> | Man killed in Detroit during struggle with Dearborn officer | false | https://apnews.com/f1d284b2a6c0439e86637a7f3653cecb | 2015-12-24 | 2least
| Man killed in Detroit during struggle with Dearborn officer
<p>DETROIT (AP) — Police say a suburban Detroit police officer chased an unarmed man on foot and fatally shot him during a struggle in a backyard in Detroit.</p>
<p>Detroit police Chief James Craig says the Dearborn officer recognized the 36-year-old man, who was wanted in Redford Township and also suspected in a theft earlier Wednesday in Dearborn.</p>
<p>He says the officer’s uniform was torn during the struggle and equipment was off his belt. Dearborn police Chief Ron Haddad declined to say much about the officer, who was taken to a hospital for his injuries.</p>
<p>Haddad says the shooting is “extremely tragic,” and he offered condolences to the family of the victim. The man was not immediately identified.</p>
<p>DETROIT (AP) — Police say a suburban Detroit police officer chased an unarmed man on foot and fatally shot him during a struggle in a backyard in Detroit.</p>
<p>Detroit police Chief James Craig says the Dearborn officer recognized the 36-year-old man, who was wanted in Redford Township and also suspected in a theft earlier Wednesday in Dearborn.</p>
<p>He says the officer’s uniform was torn during the struggle and equipment was off his belt. Dearborn police Chief Ron Haddad declined to say much about the officer, who was taken to a hospital for his injuries.</p>
<p>Haddad says the shooting is “extremely tragic,” and he offered condolences to the family of the victim. The man was not immediately identified.</p> | 1,946 |
<p>OKLAHOMAThe OklahomanAn Oklahoma County man is asking an Oklahoma County district judge to order a Roman Catholic priest and the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City to pay compensatory and punitive damages in excess of $50,000 plus attorney fees for injuring his reputation, good name and occupation.</p>
<p>Tim Ryan, who filed the lawsuit Friday, said that in May 2002 he called and reported "inappropriate activities" by the Rev. James Mickus to the archdiocese's confidential telephone line set up to hear allegations of abuse.</p>
<p>According to the lawsuit, Ryan said church officials did not respond to his call, but instead violated his confidence and informed members of the public, including the media, of his allegations against Mickus.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>Ryan, in the lawsuit, said the attorney acting on behalf of the archdiocese held news conferences and gave statements identifying him by name and thus injured his "good name, reputation, and business and causing plaintiff grievous mental suffering and humiliation."</p> | County man seeks damages against priest, archdiocese | false | https://poynter.org/news/county-man-seeks-damages-against-priest-archdiocese | 2003-05-29 | 2least
| County man seeks damages against priest, archdiocese
<p>OKLAHOMAThe OklahomanAn Oklahoma County man is asking an Oklahoma County district judge to order a Roman Catholic priest and the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City to pay compensatory and punitive damages in excess of $50,000 plus attorney fees for injuring his reputation, good name and occupation.</p>
<p>Tim Ryan, who filed the lawsuit Friday, said that in May 2002 he called and reported "inappropriate activities" by the Rev. James Mickus to the archdiocese's confidential telephone line set up to hear allegations of abuse.</p>
<p>According to the lawsuit, Ryan said church officials did not respond to his call, but instead violated his confidence and informed members of the public, including the media, of his allegations against Mickus.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>Ryan, in the lawsuit, said the attorney acting on behalf of the archdiocese held news conferences and gave statements identifying him by name and thus injured his "good name, reputation, and business and causing plaintiff grievous mental suffering and humiliation."</p> | 1,947 |
<p>A barge was leaking heavy fuel oil into the Houston Ship Channel after colliding with a large ship on Saturday, authorities said.</p>
<p>The barge, which was under tow, was carrying 924,000 gallons of fuel oil in several tanks, but only one tank was damaged by the collision with the 585-foot bulk carrier Summer Wind, the Coast Guard said.</p>
<p>The damaged tank had a capacity of 164,000 gallons and “to our knowledge the tank was full," said Michael Lambert, spokesman for the Texas General Land Office.</p>
<p>The collision occurred when the motor vessel Miss Susan was towing the barge from Texas City to Bolivar. The barge and tow boat’s owner, Kirby Inland Marine, was working with the Coast Guard on a response.</p>
<p>There were conflicting reports on injuries. The Coast Guard said there were none, but the Texas General Land Office said there were two minor injuries, and t <a href="http://www.galvestondailynews.com/free/article_6340123e-b1fc-11e3-987d-0017a43b2370.html" type="external">he Galveston Daily News reported</a> that Texas City Homeland Security Director Bruce Clawson said two crew members were treated for exposure to fumes.</p>
<p>Aerial photos showed a heavy sheen of oil leaking from the damaged barge, which was sinking low in the water. The Coast Guard said it was uncertain how much fuel had spilled into the 50-mile channel, which runs about 50 miles from Houston out toward the Gulf of Mexico.</p>
<p>Jim Suydam, another spokesman for the Texas General Land Office, told The Associated Press that the oil on the barge was "sticky, gooey, thick, tarry stuff."</p>
<p>"That stuff is terrible to have to clean up," he told the AP.</p>
<p>NBC News' Jay Blackman and Ali Fateh contributed to this report.</p> | Barge Leaks ‘Sticky, Tarry’ Oil After Ship Collision | false | http://nbcnews.com/news/us-news/barge-leaks-sticky-tarry-oil-after-ship-collision-n59731 | 2014-03-23 | 3left-center
| Barge Leaks ‘Sticky, Tarry’ Oil After Ship Collision
<p>A barge was leaking heavy fuel oil into the Houston Ship Channel after colliding with a large ship on Saturday, authorities said.</p>
<p>The barge, which was under tow, was carrying 924,000 gallons of fuel oil in several tanks, but only one tank was damaged by the collision with the 585-foot bulk carrier Summer Wind, the Coast Guard said.</p>
<p>The damaged tank had a capacity of 164,000 gallons and “to our knowledge the tank was full," said Michael Lambert, spokesman for the Texas General Land Office.</p>
<p>The collision occurred when the motor vessel Miss Susan was towing the barge from Texas City to Bolivar. The barge and tow boat’s owner, Kirby Inland Marine, was working with the Coast Guard on a response.</p>
<p>There were conflicting reports on injuries. The Coast Guard said there were none, but the Texas General Land Office said there were two minor injuries, and t <a href="http://www.galvestondailynews.com/free/article_6340123e-b1fc-11e3-987d-0017a43b2370.html" type="external">he Galveston Daily News reported</a> that Texas City Homeland Security Director Bruce Clawson said two crew members were treated for exposure to fumes.</p>
<p>Aerial photos showed a heavy sheen of oil leaking from the damaged barge, which was sinking low in the water. The Coast Guard said it was uncertain how much fuel had spilled into the 50-mile channel, which runs about 50 miles from Houston out toward the Gulf of Mexico.</p>
<p>Jim Suydam, another spokesman for the Texas General Land Office, told The Associated Press that the oil on the barge was "sticky, gooey, thick, tarry stuff."</p>
<p>"That stuff is terrible to have to clean up," he told the AP.</p>
<p>NBC News' Jay Blackman and Ali Fateh contributed to this report.</p> | 1,948 |
<p>Romenesko Memos | DenisHorgan.com Hartford Courant editor Brian Toolan has told Denis Horgan to stop his denishorgan.com postings. Horgan <a href="http://www.denishorgan.com" type="external">says</a> in his final entry: "Despite the fact that this page is operated on my own time and at my own expense, that it does not compete with the newspaper or draw upon any of its resources, the editor has ruled that its operation is a conflict of interest. It is not my role to explain this decision, one with which I disagree deeply, but I have no option but to suspend the column or commentary activities here." &gt; <a href="http://www.hartfordadvocate.com/gbase/News/content?oid=oid:7921" type="external">Horgan wrote last month:</a> "I'm not sure how this will be received but I certainly think that it is worth a try." (Hartford Advocate) &gt; <a href="" type="internal">SF Chron fires columnist Norr for filing false sick leave claim (Letters)</a></p> | Hartford Courant editor tells staffer to end weblog postings | false | https://poynter.org/news/hartford-courant-editor-tells-staffer-end-weblog-postings | 2003-04-23 | 2least
| Hartford Courant editor tells staffer to end weblog postings
<p>Romenesko Memos | DenisHorgan.com Hartford Courant editor Brian Toolan has told Denis Horgan to stop his denishorgan.com postings. Horgan <a href="http://www.denishorgan.com" type="external">says</a> in his final entry: "Despite the fact that this page is operated on my own time and at my own expense, that it does not compete with the newspaper or draw upon any of its resources, the editor has ruled that its operation is a conflict of interest. It is not my role to explain this decision, one with which I disagree deeply, but I have no option but to suspend the column or commentary activities here." &gt; <a href="http://www.hartfordadvocate.com/gbase/News/content?oid=oid:7921" type="external">Horgan wrote last month:</a> "I'm not sure how this will be received but I certainly think that it is worth a try." (Hartford Advocate) &gt; <a href="" type="internal">SF Chron fires columnist Norr for filing false sick leave claim (Letters)</a></p> | 1,949 |
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<p>JERUSALEM — An Israeli chief rabbi on Monday implored Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak up about a recent wave of anti-Semitism and Jewish cemetery vandalism in the United States.</p>
<p>Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef called on Netanyahu and Israeli diplomats “not to be silent about the phenomenon of Jewish cemetery desecration.”</p>
<p>Yosef spoke at a ceremony marking a deadly 1992 bombing at the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires.</p>
<p>Netanyahu is usually vocal against global anti-Semitism but issued a muted response to recent acts targeting U.S Jewish institutions. Critics in Israel say Netanyahu may be looking to protect his ally, President Donald Trump, who is accused of stirring up xenophobia.</p>
<p>“We have to raise a very clear voice to work as much as possible to stop these anti-Semitic acts,” Yosef said.</p>
<p>Netanyahu’s office issued a statement later saying Trump phoned him Monday evening and that Netanyahu thanked Trump for his strong stance against anti-Semitism in his speech last week.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Top Israeli rabbi tells PM to act against US anti-Semitism | false | https://abqjournal.com/962867/top-israeli-rabbi-tells-pm-to-act-against-us-anti-semitism.html | 2least
| Top Israeli rabbi tells PM to act against US anti-Semitism
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<p>JERUSALEM — An Israeli chief rabbi on Monday implored Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak up about a recent wave of anti-Semitism and Jewish cemetery vandalism in the United States.</p>
<p>Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef called on Netanyahu and Israeli diplomats “not to be silent about the phenomenon of Jewish cemetery desecration.”</p>
<p>Yosef spoke at a ceremony marking a deadly 1992 bombing at the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires.</p>
<p>Netanyahu is usually vocal against global anti-Semitism but issued a muted response to recent acts targeting U.S Jewish institutions. Critics in Israel say Netanyahu may be looking to protect his ally, President Donald Trump, who is accused of stirring up xenophobia.</p>
<p>“We have to raise a very clear voice to work as much as possible to stop these anti-Semitic acts,” Yosef said.</p>
<p>Netanyahu’s office issued a statement later saying Trump phoned him Monday evening and that Netanyahu thanked Trump for his strong stance against anti-Semitism in his speech last week.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 1,950 |
|
<p>This is home to the airline training center and all of Lufthansa's pilots come through here and learn their first lessons here. The Vice President of the comapny says we're here because of the weather which allows them to fly all year. Now pilots are first weeded out in Germany but eventually move on to Arizona for a six month training session before finishing in Germany. Students carry their materials in their rolling suitcases. Most business is done in English, the language the pilots use in the cockpit. This woman says it's good not to have distractions. This fellow student just passed the test and can now fly solo. The method of training pilots from the ground up is a stark contrast to US methods where many pilots or ex-military or worked for many years in commercial flying. This official says there's a worldwide pilot shortage right now and Lufthansa's model is a possible approach for domestic companies in the US.</p> | Germans fly the skies of Arizona | false | https://pri.org/stories/2008-02-12/germans-fly-skies-arizona | 2008-02-12 | 3left-center
| Germans fly the skies of Arizona
<p>This is home to the airline training center and all of Lufthansa's pilots come through here and learn their first lessons here. The Vice President of the comapny says we're here because of the weather which allows them to fly all year. Now pilots are first weeded out in Germany but eventually move on to Arizona for a six month training session before finishing in Germany. Students carry their materials in their rolling suitcases. Most business is done in English, the language the pilots use in the cockpit. This woman says it's good not to have distractions. This fellow student just passed the test and can now fly solo. The method of training pilots from the ground up is a stark contrast to US methods where many pilots or ex-military or worked for many years in commercial flying. This official says there's a worldwide pilot shortage right now and Lufthansa's model is a possible approach for domestic companies in the US.</p> | 1,951 |
<p>How did we get here? The numbers are chilling: 2.2 million people behind bars, another 4.7 million on parole or probation. Even small-town cops are armed like soldiers, with a thoroughly militarized southern border.</p>
<p>The common leftist explanation for this is “the prison-industrial complex,” suggesting that the buildup is largely privatized and has been driven by parasitic corporate lobbying. But the facts don’t support an economistic explanation. Private prisons only control 8 percent of prison beds. Nor do for-profit corporations use much prison labor. Nor even are guards’ unions, though strong in a few important states, driving the buildup.</p>
<p>The vast majority of the American police state remains firmly within the public sector. But this does not mean the criminal justice buildup has nothing to do with capitalism. At its heart, the new American repression is very much about the restoration and maintenance of ruling class power.</p>
<p>American society and economy have from the start evolved through forms of racialized violence, but criminal justice was not always so politically central. For the better part of a century after the end of <a href="" type="internal">Reconstruction</a> in the 1870s, the national incarceration rate hovered at around 100 to 110 per 100,000. But then, in the early 1970s, the incarceration rate began a precipitous and continual climb upward.</p>
<p>The great criminal justice expansion began as a federal government reaction to the society-wide rebellion of the late 1960s. It was a crucible in which white supremacy, corporate power, capitalism, and the legitimacy of the US government, at home and abroad, all faced profound crisis. The Civil Rights Movement had transmogrified into the Black Power movement.</p>
<p>“Third World” Marxist and nationalist groups like the Black Panthers and the Young Lords began arming. During riots in Newark, Watts, and Chicago, black people shot back at cops and the National Guard; in Detroit, urban “hillbillies”&#160;— poor white Southerners who had also been displaced by the mechanization of agriculture&#160;— fought alongside their black neighbors. Transwomen, drag queens, and gay men fought the cops who came to raid the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village. Women organized, filed successful lawsuits, and staged large protests against discrimination.</p>
<p>Even the US Army was in rebellion. In Vietnam draftee insubordination took the form of increasing drug use, combat refusals, and even “fragging” — the murder of overly gung-ho officers.</p>
<p>Added to all this was the increasingly regular rioting that gripped America’s inner cities. Every summer from 1964 through the mid-1970s saw a riot season, in which multiple major American cities were wracked by massive, violent, fiery, spontaneous uprisings of mostly, but not exclusively, unemployed and underemployed African-American youth. Cops were shot, whole commercial districts were looted and burnt, and all of it was captured on TV.</p>
<p>Importantly, these domestic social explosions hurt US imperialism abroad. In the context of the Cold War, burning cities put the lie to official American mythologies. If capitalism and liberal democracy were so much better than socialism, why were black people in America so furious?</p>
<p>In 1967 the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, known as the Kerner Commission, <a href="http://faculty.washington.edu/qtaylor/documents_us/Kerner%20Report.htm" type="external">found that</a> in every single case the precipitating cause of the riots was police brutality. Furthermore, the commission found that police tactical incompetence usually made things worse.</p>
<p>It was in response to this panorama of formal and informal rebellion&#160;— and law enforcement’s apparent inability to stop it&#160;— that the massive criminal justice crackdown began. The opening move was President Johnson’s <a href="http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/spl/42usc3789d.php" type="external">Omnibus Crime and Safe Streets Act of 1968</a>.</p>
<p>Congress passed the bill literally in the shadow of smoke from yet another riot&#160;— this one in outrage at the murder of Dr Martin Luther King. From the passage of the Omnibus Crime and Safe Streets Act of 1968 emerged a new super agency, the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration ( <a href="http://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/423.html" type="external">LEAA</a>), which over the next ten years spent a billion dollars annually rationalizing and retooling state and local law enforcement.</p>
<p>It was thanks to the LEAA that American police forces first obtained computers, helicopters, body armor, military-grade weapons, SWAT teams, shoulder radios, and paramilitary training, and started new militaristic forms of interagency cooperation. The LEAA also pushed literacy requirements and basic competency tests for police officers. In other words, the LEAA was simultaneously an attempt to modernize American policing&#160;and to&#160;intensify and expand it.</p>
<p>If Johnson laid the groundwork for the crackdown, Sunbelt Republicans perfected the rhetoric. Sen.&#160;Barry Goldwater of Arizona linked the redistributive efforts of the New Deal and War on Poverty to criminal violence: “If it is entirely proper for the government to take away from some to give to others, then won’t some be led to believe that they can rightfully take from anyone who has more than they? No wonder law and order has broken down, mob violence has engulfed great American cities, and our wives feel unsafe in the streets.”</p>
<p>Here were the old demonizing tropes of white racism. Black people were cast as dangerous, ignorant, unworthy of full citizenship, and thus in need of state repression. As Nixon’s chief of staff, H.R. Haldeman, put it in his diary: “[The President] emphasized that you have to face that the whole problem is really the blacks. The key is to devise a system that recognizes this while not appearing to.” A federal war on heroin followed and with it came new laws like the <a href="http://repository.law.umich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1025&amp;context=mjrl" type="external">RICO Act</a> that empowered prosecutors. At the same time Nixon began his appeal to “ <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?153819-1/silent-majority-speech" type="external">the silent majority</a>,” a group not named as white but understood as such.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, as part of police modernization, counterinsurgency became the framework. One law enforcement journal, describing what would become the locked-down ghetto of the near future, advised: “Techniques to control the people include individual and family identification, curfews, travel permits, static and mobile checkpoint operations, and the prevention of assemblies or rallies.”</p>
<p>The article went on to describe rising crime rates as a precursor to revolution, and lauded the “value of an effective police organization&#160;— both civil and military&#160;— in maintaining law and order, whether in California, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, or the rice paddies and jungles of Viet-Nam.”</p> | The Making of the American Police State | true | https://jacobinmag.com/2015/07/incarceration-capitalism-black-lives-matter/ | 2018-10-07 | 4left
| The Making of the American Police State
<p>How did we get here? The numbers are chilling: 2.2 million people behind bars, another 4.7 million on parole or probation. Even small-town cops are armed like soldiers, with a thoroughly militarized southern border.</p>
<p>The common leftist explanation for this is “the prison-industrial complex,” suggesting that the buildup is largely privatized and has been driven by parasitic corporate lobbying. But the facts don’t support an economistic explanation. Private prisons only control 8 percent of prison beds. Nor do for-profit corporations use much prison labor. Nor even are guards’ unions, though strong in a few important states, driving the buildup.</p>
<p>The vast majority of the American police state remains firmly within the public sector. But this does not mean the criminal justice buildup has nothing to do with capitalism. At its heart, the new American repression is very much about the restoration and maintenance of ruling class power.</p>
<p>American society and economy have from the start evolved through forms of racialized violence, but criminal justice was not always so politically central. For the better part of a century after the end of <a href="" type="internal">Reconstruction</a> in the 1870s, the national incarceration rate hovered at around 100 to 110 per 100,000. But then, in the early 1970s, the incarceration rate began a precipitous and continual climb upward.</p>
<p>The great criminal justice expansion began as a federal government reaction to the society-wide rebellion of the late 1960s. It was a crucible in which white supremacy, corporate power, capitalism, and the legitimacy of the US government, at home and abroad, all faced profound crisis. The Civil Rights Movement had transmogrified into the Black Power movement.</p>
<p>“Third World” Marxist and nationalist groups like the Black Panthers and the Young Lords began arming. During riots in Newark, Watts, and Chicago, black people shot back at cops and the National Guard; in Detroit, urban “hillbillies”&#160;— poor white Southerners who had also been displaced by the mechanization of agriculture&#160;— fought alongside their black neighbors. Transwomen, drag queens, and gay men fought the cops who came to raid the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village. Women organized, filed successful lawsuits, and staged large protests against discrimination.</p>
<p>Even the US Army was in rebellion. In Vietnam draftee insubordination took the form of increasing drug use, combat refusals, and even “fragging” — the murder of overly gung-ho officers.</p>
<p>Added to all this was the increasingly regular rioting that gripped America’s inner cities. Every summer from 1964 through the mid-1970s saw a riot season, in which multiple major American cities were wracked by massive, violent, fiery, spontaneous uprisings of mostly, but not exclusively, unemployed and underemployed African-American youth. Cops were shot, whole commercial districts were looted and burnt, and all of it was captured on TV.</p>
<p>Importantly, these domestic social explosions hurt US imperialism abroad. In the context of the Cold War, burning cities put the lie to official American mythologies. If capitalism and liberal democracy were so much better than socialism, why were black people in America so furious?</p>
<p>In 1967 the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, known as the Kerner Commission, <a href="http://faculty.washington.edu/qtaylor/documents_us/Kerner%20Report.htm" type="external">found that</a> in every single case the precipitating cause of the riots was police brutality. Furthermore, the commission found that police tactical incompetence usually made things worse.</p>
<p>It was in response to this panorama of formal and informal rebellion&#160;— and law enforcement’s apparent inability to stop it&#160;— that the massive criminal justice crackdown began. The opening move was President Johnson’s <a href="http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/spl/42usc3789d.php" type="external">Omnibus Crime and Safe Streets Act of 1968</a>.</p>
<p>Congress passed the bill literally in the shadow of smoke from yet another riot&#160;— this one in outrage at the murder of Dr Martin Luther King. From the passage of the Omnibus Crime and Safe Streets Act of 1968 emerged a new super agency, the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration ( <a href="http://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/423.html" type="external">LEAA</a>), which over the next ten years spent a billion dollars annually rationalizing and retooling state and local law enforcement.</p>
<p>It was thanks to the LEAA that American police forces first obtained computers, helicopters, body armor, military-grade weapons, SWAT teams, shoulder radios, and paramilitary training, and started new militaristic forms of interagency cooperation. The LEAA also pushed literacy requirements and basic competency tests for police officers. In other words, the LEAA was simultaneously an attempt to modernize American policing&#160;and to&#160;intensify and expand it.</p>
<p>If Johnson laid the groundwork for the crackdown, Sunbelt Republicans perfected the rhetoric. Sen.&#160;Barry Goldwater of Arizona linked the redistributive efforts of the New Deal and War on Poverty to criminal violence: “If it is entirely proper for the government to take away from some to give to others, then won’t some be led to believe that they can rightfully take from anyone who has more than they? No wonder law and order has broken down, mob violence has engulfed great American cities, and our wives feel unsafe in the streets.”</p>
<p>Here were the old demonizing tropes of white racism. Black people were cast as dangerous, ignorant, unworthy of full citizenship, and thus in need of state repression. As Nixon’s chief of staff, H.R. Haldeman, put it in his diary: “[The President] emphasized that you have to face that the whole problem is really the blacks. The key is to devise a system that recognizes this while not appearing to.” A federal war on heroin followed and with it came new laws like the <a href="http://repository.law.umich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1025&amp;context=mjrl" type="external">RICO Act</a> that empowered prosecutors. At the same time Nixon began his appeal to “ <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?153819-1/silent-majority-speech" type="external">the silent majority</a>,” a group not named as white but understood as such.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, as part of police modernization, counterinsurgency became the framework. One law enforcement journal, describing what would become the locked-down ghetto of the near future, advised: “Techniques to control the people include individual and family identification, curfews, travel permits, static and mobile checkpoint operations, and the prevention of assemblies or rallies.”</p>
<p>The article went on to describe rising crime rates as a precursor to revolution, and lauded the “value of an effective police organization&#160;— both civil and military&#160;— in maintaining law and order, whether in California, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, or the rice paddies and jungles of Viet-Nam.”</p> | 1,952 |
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<p />
<p>Industry leaders came together at a commercial space conference this week, the International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight.</p>
<p>“If I look at no more than five years, I think all our companies are flying commercially,” said Brett Alexander, director of business development and strategy at Blue Origin, the commercial space venture owned by Amazon.com billionaire Jeff Bezos.</p>
<p>That means providing passengers three to four minutes of “suborbital microgravity flight time,” he said. Blue Origin isn’t taking reservations yet but “collectively” – industrywide – “there are almost 1,000 reservations now,” he said.</p>
<p>Khaki Rodway, director of payload sales and operations for XCOR Aerospace, said five years may sound like a long time, but it’s really not. “XCOR is talking about having multiple vehicles in multiple locations,” she said.</p>
<p>New Mexico hopes to capture a number of those flights at Spaceport America, where anchor tenant Virgin Galactic plans to launch. President Steve Isakowitz said the company hopes to have flown all 640 current ticket holders – who are paying $200,000 to $250,000 a pop – within the first three years of flying.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“I think as we get flying, as XCOR gets flying, we’re not fighting over the pie but over increasing the size of the pie,” he said. “The people who have signed up are the adventurers … but I think there is an even bigger crowd standing behind them.”</p>
<p>Isakowitz said the company expects to shift some operations to New Mexico “in the next weeks and months.”</p>
<p>Also at the conference, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said the company could make its first rocket launch at Spaceport America in December. The company will send up its Grasshopper reusable rocket for high-altitude testing.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Execs say commercial spaceflights looking up | false | https://abqjournal.com/283789/execs-say-commercial-spaceflights-looking-up.html | 2013-10-18 | 2least
| Execs say commercial spaceflights looking up
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<p />
<p>Industry leaders came together at a commercial space conference this week, the International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight.</p>
<p>“If I look at no more than five years, I think all our companies are flying commercially,” said Brett Alexander, director of business development and strategy at Blue Origin, the commercial space venture owned by Amazon.com billionaire Jeff Bezos.</p>
<p>That means providing passengers three to four minutes of “suborbital microgravity flight time,” he said. Blue Origin isn’t taking reservations yet but “collectively” – industrywide – “there are almost 1,000 reservations now,” he said.</p>
<p>Khaki Rodway, director of payload sales and operations for XCOR Aerospace, said five years may sound like a long time, but it’s really not. “XCOR is talking about having multiple vehicles in multiple locations,” she said.</p>
<p>New Mexico hopes to capture a number of those flights at Spaceport America, where anchor tenant Virgin Galactic plans to launch. President Steve Isakowitz said the company hopes to have flown all 640 current ticket holders – who are paying $200,000 to $250,000 a pop – within the first three years of flying.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“I think as we get flying, as XCOR gets flying, we’re not fighting over the pie but over increasing the size of the pie,” he said. “The people who have signed up are the adventurers … but I think there is an even bigger crowd standing behind them.”</p>
<p>Isakowitz said the company expects to shift some operations to New Mexico “in the next weeks and months.”</p>
<p>Also at the conference, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said the company could make its first rocket launch at Spaceport America in December. The company will send up its Grasshopper reusable rocket for high-altitude testing.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 1,953 |
<p>Shedding light on issues of government corruption, state officials indirectly involved in the violation of its own citizens’ rights, or sectors of the nation’s elite hiring killers to eliminate their adversaries would, in many countries, be on the front pages of any press or headline any television news channel; however, this is not necessarily the case within the country of Colombia. Rather than seeing these issues presented in the media or awards being given to those involved in such investigative journalism, Colombia witnesses the dismissal, incarceration, or even deaths of those involved in exposing information that places the Colombian state or the elite in a critical light.</p>
<p>While Colombia has the highest number of journalist killed by paramilitary death squads in the world, it was the Colombian state that recently acted against one well-known journalist. On the evening of November 19th, Colombia’s secret police (Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad, DAS) detained Freddy Muñoz Altamirano, a Colombian-based journalist and correspondent for teleSUR [a multi-state-owned news channel located in Caracas]. Recognized throughout Latin America for his investigative reporting on the forced displacement of Colombian civilians at the hands of state and paramilitary forces, Muñoz was arrested on charges of ‘rebellion and terrorism’ relating to ‘terrorist attacks’ in Cartagena and Barranquilla during 2002.</p>
<p>Since its appearance in the fall of 2005, teleSUR has presented critical reports on the Uribe administration’s security policies within Colombia garnishing widespread attention across Latin America. However, the actions of the Colombian state and the DAS have undoubtedly eroded the channels regional legitimacy as an information medium outside the Western/US-dominated services (e.g. CNN, FOX News, etc.). Dan Feder (2006) goes a step further and argues that the state’s actions depict an even larger “attack on the independent and critical press” in the fact that such charges open the door to state and extra-state violence.</p>
<p>Being publicly accused of “terrorism” is often an invitation for assassination attempts in Colombia, where armed paramilitary groups rush to take out anyone who can be portrayed as an “insurgent.” At the very least, the Colombian government, in allowing the press to discover the accusations against Muñoz has made a very heavy-handed attempt to discredit an accomplished journalist who has exposed the ugly side of the Colombian and U.S. governments’ war against leftwing rebels.</p>
<p>The silencing of critical reporting in Colombia is not a new issue but rather a systemic policy deeply entrenched within the country’s contemporary political history. Dating back to the 1950s, the Colombian state passed legislation that enabled the suppression of popular discourse by controlling media information via Decree 3000. Passed in 1954, Decree 3000 legalized the government’s ability to suppress what the press could and could not divulge to the general population (Martz, 1962: 198). While such conditions have remained constant there has nevertheless been an observable increase in the systemic repression of open public thought and critical media commentaries since the election of Álvaro Uribe Vélez to the presidency in 2002.</p>
<p>While countless socioeconomic issues have arisen over the past several years, such as increased spending related to the civil war, mass protests towards neoliberal bilateral trade agreements with the United States, and the failed paramilitary demobilization of Law 975, a significant reduction in the presentation of such conditions has been realized in much of Colombia’s popular mediums of communication. Such facts demonstrate a systemic decline in impartial media coverage when concerning state-based economic restructuring, extreme security policies, and the falling socioeconomic conditions of the Colombian majority. The manner in which these constraints are maintained are not merely in the growth of monopoly ownership over the means of information but also the state’s direct hegemony over the mediums of information through coercion and consent.</p>
<p>For over a decade, social justice advocate Father Javier Giraldo (1996: 22-23) has stated that sectors of Colombia’s elite politically-aligned media-owners almost exclusively obtain their information on sociopolitical issues from either the government or the armed forces. Utilizing such a biased information centre therefore leads to a practice of misinformation that is subsequently reproduced by other smaller media conglomerates, outlets, or localized mediums. Leech (2005) has too noted that with Uribe’s rise to power “journalists have become hyperdependent on official [state] sources, which has resulted in an increasingly distorted coverage of the conflict”. In 2004, one of Colombia’s most renowned sociologists illustrated the expansion of such centralizing activities which filter information through the hands of the state. Alfredo Molano cited how the flow of information is increasingly being blocked by the military who are no longer allowing journalists to even enter regions of conflict.</p>
<p>This kind of control leaves the public essentially blind, and no one knows what happens in these areas. There is a very tight control over information in Colombia, and it gets tighter every day. Ninety, maybe one hundred percent of the news about the conflict or about public order in general are literally produced by the army. So one never completely knows what is going on (Molano as quoted in Feder, 2004).</p>
<p>Even Canada’s former political counsellor with the Canadian Embassy in Bogotá, Nicolas Coghlan, has shared his concerns about the Colombian army’s manipulation of the media to induce a manufactured reality in the purpose of supporting the state’s manipulation and exploitation of political opponents (Coghlan, 2004: 13).</p>
<p>One of the methods in which the state has promoted the actual suppression of journalists is best described by Doug Stokes. In 2005, Stokes (2005: 108-109) specifically criticized the Uribe government for becoming more than opponents to the free press but structurally reactionary in methods of silencing – or threatening to silence – those within the media critical of the state.</p>
<p>Uribe is also pushing for tighter control of the Colombian media by seeking to pass laws which censor reporting on Colombian ‘counter terrorism measures’ and Colombian military activity. One of the ‘anti-terrorism’ bills seeks to hand down sentences of eight to twelve years in prison for anyone who publishes statistics considered ‘counterproductive to the fight against terrorism’, as well as the possible ‘suspension’ of the media outlet in question. These sanctions will apply to anybody who divulges ‘reports that could hamper the effective implementation of military and police operations, endanger the lives of public forces personnel or private individuals’, or commits other acts that undermine public order, ‘while boosting the position or image of the enemy’ . . . The media censorship laws also mean that the reporting of human rights abuses will be harder (Stokes, 2005: 108-109).</p>
<p>From a more cultural perspective Leech (2005) contends that as a result of the state’s hegemonic presence, journalists have been restricted through a fear of political reactionary aggression or occupational reprimand.</p>
<p>… the reality of the country’s conflict is rarely reflected in the mainstream media is largely due to the way journalists operate in Colombia. Foreign reporters mostly cover the country’s civil conflict from the safety of the capital Bogotá, rarely venturing into dangerous rural zones except on press junkets organized by the Colombian military or the US embassy.</p>
<p>Eberto Díaz Montes and Juan Efrain Mendiza (2006) pronounced that the persecution of Muñoz once again demonstrates “that the prevailing regime in Colombia violates all the fundamental rights of the citizens, especially when they are left-of-centre”. The President and General Secretary of La Federación Nacional Sindical Unitaria Agropecuaria (FENSUAGRO) went on to state that the voices of those inside the media (and society) are increasingly allowed to only transmit ideas that are in alliance with those of the state and if one publishes another realm of truth they are immediately exposed to the persecution of the regime.</p>
<p>The Uribe administration increasingly resembles not only a state that restricts the right of information and press freedom, but, more disturbing, a governing body that limits the actual human right to disseminate information relating to state policy and the suffering of the countries masses. It is hoped that the Muñoz incarceration is not long and that justice will be found.</p>
<p>JAMES J. BRITTAIN teaches in the Department of Sociology at the University of New Brunswick. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>Works Cited;</p>
<p>Coghlan, Nicholas (2004) The Saddest Country: On Assignment in Colombia. Montreal, QC: McGill-Queen’s University Press.</p>
<p>Díaz Montes, Eberto and Juan Efrain Mendiza (2006) ¡Pronta Libertad Para Freddy Muñoz! (21 de Noviembre de 2006). Bogotá, DC: Comunicado Público.</p>
<p>Feder, Dan (2004) “Increasing Repression, U.S. Intervention, and Popular Opposition in Colombia: A Conversation with Colombian Authentic Journalist Alfredo Molano” June 28 On-Line <a href="" type="internal">http://www.narconews.com/Issue33/article1003.html</a> Accessed June 29, 2004.</p>
<p>Feder, Dan (2006) “Telesur Journalist Arrested and Accused of “Terrorism” in Colombia” November 20 On-Line http://narcosphere.narconews.com/story/2006/11/20/211346/16 Accessed November 21, 2006.</p>
<p>Giraldo, Javier (1996) Colombia: The Genocidal Democracy. Monroe ME: Common Courage Press.</p>
<p>Leech, Garry M. (2005) “Blanket Coverage” Oxford Forum Issue 2.</p>
<p>Martz, John D. (1962) Colombia: A contemporary political survey. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.</p>
<p>Stokes, Doug (2005) America’s Other War: Terrorizing Colombia. London, UK: Zed Books.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | The Arrest of Journalist Freddie Muñoz | true | https://counterpunch.org/2006/11/25/the-arrest-of-journalist-freddie-mu-ntilde-oz/ | 2006-11-25 | 4left
| The Arrest of Journalist Freddie Muñoz
<p>Shedding light on issues of government corruption, state officials indirectly involved in the violation of its own citizens’ rights, or sectors of the nation’s elite hiring killers to eliminate their adversaries would, in many countries, be on the front pages of any press or headline any television news channel; however, this is not necessarily the case within the country of Colombia. Rather than seeing these issues presented in the media or awards being given to those involved in such investigative journalism, Colombia witnesses the dismissal, incarceration, or even deaths of those involved in exposing information that places the Colombian state or the elite in a critical light.</p>
<p>While Colombia has the highest number of journalist killed by paramilitary death squads in the world, it was the Colombian state that recently acted against one well-known journalist. On the evening of November 19th, Colombia’s secret police (Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad, DAS) detained Freddy Muñoz Altamirano, a Colombian-based journalist and correspondent for teleSUR [a multi-state-owned news channel located in Caracas]. Recognized throughout Latin America for his investigative reporting on the forced displacement of Colombian civilians at the hands of state and paramilitary forces, Muñoz was arrested on charges of ‘rebellion and terrorism’ relating to ‘terrorist attacks’ in Cartagena and Barranquilla during 2002.</p>
<p>Since its appearance in the fall of 2005, teleSUR has presented critical reports on the Uribe administration’s security policies within Colombia garnishing widespread attention across Latin America. However, the actions of the Colombian state and the DAS have undoubtedly eroded the channels regional legitimacy as an information medium outside the Western/US-dominated services (e.g. CNN, FOX News, etc.). Dan Feder (2006) goes a step further and argues that the state’s actions depict an even larger “attack on the independent and critical press” in the fact that such charges open the door to state and extra-state violence.</p>
<p>Being publicly accused of “terrorism” is often an invitation for assassination attempts in Colombia, where armed paramilitary groups rush to take out anyone who can be portrayed as an “insurgent.” At the very least, the Colombian government, in allowing the press to discover the accusations against Muñoz has made a very heavy-handed attempt to discredit an accomplished journalist who has exposed the ugly side of the Colombian and U.S. governments’ war against leftwing rebels.</p>
<p>The silencing of critical reporting in Colombia is not a new issue but rather a systemic policy deeply entrenched within the country’s contemporary political history. Dating back to the 1950s, the Colombian state passed legislation that enabled the suppression of popular discourse by controlling media information via Decree 3000. Passed in 1954, Decree 3000 legalized the government’s ability to suppress what the press could and could not divulge to the general population (Martz, 1962: 198). While such conditions have remained constant there has nevertheless been an observable increase in the systemic repression of open public thought and critical media commentaries since the election of Álvaro Uribe Vélez to the presidency in 2002.</p>
<p>While countless socioeconomic issues have arisen over the past several years, such as increased spending related to the civil war, mass protests towards neoliberal bilateral trade agreements with the United States, and the failed paramilitary demobilization of Law 975, a significant reduction in the presentation of such conditions has been realized in much of Colombia’s popular mediums of communication. Such facts demonstrate a systemic decline in impartial media coverage when concerning state-based economic restructuring, extreme security policies, and the falling socioeconomic conditions of the Colombian majority. The manner in which these constraints are maintained are not merely in the growth of monopoly ownership over the means of information but also the state’s direct hegemony over the mediums of information through coercion and consent.</p>
<p>For over a decade, social justice advocate Father Javier Giraldo (1996: 22-23) has stated that sectors of Colombia’s elite politically-aligned media-owners almost exclusively obtain their information on sociopolitical issues from either the government or the armed forces. Utilizing such a biased information centre therefore leads to a practice of misinformation that is subsequently reproduced by other smaller media conglomerates, outlets, or localized mediums. Leech (2005) has too noted that with Uribe’s rise to power “journalists have become hyperdependent on official [state] sources, which has resulted in an increasingly distorted coverage of the conflict”. In 2004, one of Colombia’s most renowned sociologists illustrated the expansion of such centralizing activities which filter information through the hands of the state. Alfredo Molano cited how the flow of information is increasingly being blocked by the military who are no longer allowing journalists to even enter regions of conflict.</p>
<p>This kind of control leaves the public essentially blind, and no one knows what happens in these areas. There is a very tight control over information in Colombia, and it gets tighter every day. Ninety, maybe one hundred percent of the news about the conflict or about public order in general are literally produced by the army. So one never completely knows what is going on (Molano as quoted in Feder, 2004).</p>
<p>Even Canada’s former political counsellor with the Canadian Embassy in Bogotá, Nicolas Coghlan, has shared his concerns about the Colombian army’s manipulation of the media to induce a manufactured reality in the purpose of supporting the state’s manipulation and exploitation of political opponents (Coghlan, 2004: 13).</p>
<p>One of the methods in which the state has promoted the actual suppression of journalists is best described by Doug Stokes. In 2005, Stokes (2005: 108-109) specifically criticized the Uribe government for becoming more than opponents to the free press but structurally reactionary in methods of silencing – or threatening to silence – those within the media critical of the state.</p>
<p>Uribe is also pushing for tighter control of the Colombian media by seeking to pass laws which censor reporting on Colombian ‘counter terrorism measures’ and Colombian military activity. One of the ‘anti-terrorism’ bills seeks to hand down sentences of eight to twelve years in prison for anyone who publishes statistics considered ‘counterproductive to the fight against terrorism’, as well as the possible ‘suspension’ of the media outlet in question. These sanctions will apply to anybody who divulges ‘reports that could hamper the effective implementation of military and police operations, endanger the lives of public forces personnel or private individuals’, or commits other acts that undermine public order, ‘while boosting the position or image of the enemy’ . . . The media censorship laws also mean that the reporting of human rights abuses will be harder (Stokes, 2005: 108-109).</p>
<p>From a more cultural perspective Leech (2005) contends that as a result of the state’s hegemonic presence, journalists have been restricted through a fear of political reactionary aggression or occupational reprimand.</p>
<p>… the reality of the country’s conflict is rarely reflected in the mainstream media is largely due to the way journalists operate in Colombia. Foreign reporters mostly cover the country’s civil conflict from the safety of the capital Bogotá, rarely venturing into dangerous rural zones except on press junkets organized by the Colombian military or the US embassy.</p>
<p>Eberto Díaz Montes and Juan Efrain Mendiza (2006) pronounced that the persecution of Muñoz once again demonstrates “that the prevailing regime in Colombia violates all the fundamental rights of the citizens, especially when they are left-of-centre”. The President and General Secretary of La Federación Nacional Sindical Unitaria Agropecuaria (FENSUAGRO) went on to state that the voices of those inside the media (and society) are increasingly allowed to only transmit ideas that are in alliance with those of the state and if one publishes another realm of truth they are immediately exposed to the persecution of the regime.</p>
<p>The Uribe administration increasingly resembles not only a state that restricts the right of information and press freedom, but, more disturbing, a governing body that limits the actual human right to disseminate information relating to state policy and the suffering of the countries masses. It is hoped that the Muñoz incarceration is not long and that justice will be found.</p>
<p>JAMES J. BRITTAIN teaches in the Department of Sociology at the University of New Brunswick. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>Works Cited;</p>
<p>Coghlan, Nicholas (2004) The Saddest Country: On Assignment in Colombia. Montreal, QC: McGill-Queen’s University Press.</p>
<p>Díaz Montes, Eberto and Juan Efrain Mendiza (2006) ¡Pronta Libertad Para Freddy Muñoz! (21 de Noviembre de 2006). Bogotá, DC: Comunicado Público.</p>
<p>Feder, Dan (2004) “Increasing Repression, U.S. Intervention, and Popular Opposition in Colombia: A Conversation with Colombian Authentic Journalist Alfredo Molano” June 28 On-Line <a href="" type="internal">http://www.narconews.com/Issue33/article1003.html</a> Accessed June 29, 2004.</p>
<p>Feder, Dan (2006) “Telesur Journalist Arrested and Accused of “Terrorism” in Colombia” November 20 On-Line http://narcosphere.narconews.com/story/2006/11/20/211346/16 Accessed November 21, 2006.</p>
<p>Giraldo, Javier (1996) Colombia: The Genocidal Democracy. Monroe ME: Common Courage Press.</p>
<p>Leech, Garry M. (2005) “Blanket Coverage” Oxford Forum Issue 2.</p>
<p>Martz, John D. (1962) Colombia: A contemporary political survey. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.</p>
<p>Stokes, Doug (2005) America’s Other War: Terrorizing Colombia. London, UK: Zed Books.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 1,954 |
<p>From Vacaville Reporter:</p>
<p>California lawmakers introduced a bipartisan measure Friday to save community redevelopment agencies from immediate elimination, but it's not certain if they have backing from legislative leaders or Gov. Jerry Brown.</p>
<p>Sen. Alex Padilla, a Los Angeles Democrat, said he and other lawmakers want to extend the Feb. 1 deadline for closing some 400 redevelopment agencies throughout the state. He said an extension to April 15 is needed to give agencies time to figure out how to work with the state to continue existing economic development projects and establish a process for handing off assets and liabilities.</p>
<p>Lawmakers voted to eliminate the agencies in their budget package last summer as a way to funnel the property taxes they generate toward local services. The move was proposed by the governor and upheld last month by the state Supreme Court.</p>
<p>Editors note: this effort is hardly "bipartisan."</p>
<p><a href="http://www.thereporter.com/rss/ci_19742362?source=rss" type="external">(Read Full Article)</a> <a href="" type="internal" /></p> | Democrats propose new Redevelopment bill | false | http://capoliticalreview.com/trending/lawmakers-propose-extending-rdas/ | 2012-01-15 | 1right-center
| Democrats propose new Redevelopment bill
<p>From Vacaville Reporter:</p>
<p>California lawmakers introduced a bipartisan measure Friday to save community redevelopment agencies from immediate elimination, but it's not certain if they have backing from legislative leaders or Gov. Jerry Brown.</p>
<p>Sen. Alex Padilla, a Los Angeles Democrat, said he and other lawmakers want to extend the Feb. 1 deadline for closing some 400 redevelopment agencies throughout the state. He said an extension to April 15 is needed to give agencies time to figure out how to work with the state to continue existing economic development projects and establish a process for handing off assets and liabilities.</p>
<p>Lawmakers voted to eliminate the agencies in their budget package last summer as a way to funnel the property taxes they generate toward local services. The move was proposed by the governor and upheld last month by the state Supreme Court.</p>
<p>Editors note: this effort is hardly "bipartisan."</p>
<p><a href="http://www.thereporter.com/rss/ci_19742362?source=rss" type="external">(Read Full Article)</a> <a href="" type="internal" /></p> | 1,955 |
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>What: Shares of the clinical-stage biotechJuno Therapeutics gained as much as 30% in pre-market trading today on the news that the FDA lifted the clinical hold on its lead product candidateJCAR015, a novel form of cellular therapy known aschimeric antigen receptor T cells (or CAR-T for short). The rival CAR-T developerKite Pharma is also benefiting from this news, with its shares up by nearly double digits in pre-market trading.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>To get the study back on track, Juno requested to modify the trial protocol by excluding the chemotherapyfludarabine from the pre-conditioning regimen.As a refresher, <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/07/08/car-t-stocks-time-to-panic.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Juno's stock plummeted last Friday Opens a New Window.</a> after the company disclosed that the FDA placed a clinical hold on JCAR015 following two patient deaths in the therapy's ongoing mid-stage trial in adult patients with relapsed or refractory B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).</p>
<p>So what:Right after the hold was made public, Juno immediately suggested that the addition of fludarabine to the trial's protocol was the main culprit in these deaths. And, apparently, the FDA is in agreement, given that the hold was lifted in only a matter of days.</p>
<p>Now what:Juno's stated goal is to be among the first to bring a CAR-T therapy to market -- perhaps following closely behind Kite's KTE-C19 as a possible treatment foraggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Now that this clinical hold has been lifted, Juno may indeed be able to achieve this lofty goal. But the company's rather aggressive commercialization strategy is going to depend on JCAR015's ability to continue to produce unprecedented response rates in ALL without the use of fludarabine.</p>
<p>As CAR-T therapies in general have been plagued by safety concerns pretty much from the get-go, I'm not convinced there's a compelling reason to rush into these speculative biotech stocks right now. After all, Kite and Juno are both working on refining their CAR-T product pipelines in light of these outstanding safety issues, and it's still unclear if CAR-Ts will turn out to be viable first lines of therapy.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/07/13/heres-why-juno-therapeutics-stock-is-bolting-highe.aspx" type="external">Here's Why Juno Therapeutics' Stock Is Bolting Higher Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/gbudwell/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">George Budwell Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Juno Therapeutics. 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> | Here's Why Juno Therapeutics' Stock Is Bolting Higher | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/07/13/here-why-juno-therapeutics-stock-is-bolting-higher.html | 2016-07-13 | 0right
| Here's Why Juno Therapeutics' Stock Is Bolting Higher
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>What: Shares of the clinical-stage biotechJuno Therapeutics gained as much as 30% in pre-market trading today on the news that the FDA lifted the clinical hold on its lead product candidateJCAR015, a novel form of cellular therapy known aschimeric antigen receptor T cells (or CAR-T for short). The rival CAR-T developerKite Pharma is also benefiting from this news, with its shares up by nearly double digits in pre-market trading.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>To get the study back on track, Juno requested to modify the trial protocol by excluding the chemotherapyfludarabine from the pre-conditioning regimen.As a refresher, <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/07/08/car-t-stocks-time-to-panic.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Juno's stock plummeted last Friday Opens a New Window.</a> after the company disclosed that the FDA placed a clinical hold on JCAR015 following two patient deaths in the therapy's ongoing mid-stage trial in adult patients with relapsed or refractory B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).</p>
<p>So what:Right after the hold was made public, Juno immediately suggested that the addition of fludarabine to the trial's protocol was the main culprit in these deaths. And, apparently, the FDA is in agreement, given that the hold was lifted in only a matter of days.</p>
<p>Now what:Juno's stated goal is to be among the first to bring a CAR-T therapy to market -- perhaps following closely behind Kite's KTE-C19 as a possible treatment foraggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Now that this clinical hold has been lifted, Juno may indeed be able to achieve this lofty goal. But the company's rather aggressive commercialization strategy is going to depend on JCAR015's ability to continue to produce unprecedented response rates in ALL without the use of fludarabine.</p>
<p>As CAR-T therapies in general have been plagued by safety concerns pretty much from the get-go, I'm not convinced there's a compelling reason to rush into these speculative biotech stocks right now. After all, Kite and Juno are both working on refining their CAR-T product pipelines in light of these outstanding safety issues, and it's still unclear if CAR-Ts will turn out to be viable first lines of therapy.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/07/13/heres-why-juno-therapeutics-stock-is-bolting-highe.aspx" type="external">Here's Why Juno Therapeutics' Stock Is Bolting Higher Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/gbudwell/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">George Budwell Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Juno Therapeutics. 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> | 1,956 |
<p>WASHINGTON/MOSCOW, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Major global technology providers SAP, Symantec and McAfee have allowed Russian authorities to hunt for vulnerabilities in software deeply embedded across the U.S. government, a Reuters investigation has found.</p>
<p>The practice potentially jeopardizes the security of computer networks in at least a dozen federal agencies, U.S. lawmakers and security experts said. It involves more companies and a broader swath of the government than previously reported. In order to sell in the Russian market, the tech companies let a Russian defense agency scour the inner workings, or source code, of some of their products. Russian authorities say the reviews are necessary to detect flaws that could be exploited by hackers. (Graphic: tmsnrt.rs/2sZudWT)</p>
<p>But those same products protect some of the most sensitive areas of the U.S government, including the Pentagon, NASA, the State Department, the FBI and the intelligence community, against hacking by sophisticated cyber adversaries like Russia.</p>
<p>Reuters revealed in October that Hewlett Packard Enterprise software known as ArcSight, used to help secure the Pentagon’s computers, had been reviewed by a Russian military contractor with close ties to Russia’s security services.</p>
<p>Now, a Reuters review of hundreds of U.S. federal procurement documents and Russian regulatory records shows that the potential risks to the U.S. government from Russian source code reviews are more widespread.</p>
<p>Beyond the Pentagon, ArcSight is used in at least seven other agencies, including the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the State Department's intelligence unit, the review showed. Additionally, products made by SAP, Symantec and McAfee and reviewed by Russian authorities are used in at least eight agencies. Some agencies use more than one of the four products. (Graphic: <a href="http://tmsnrt.rs/2C30rp8" type="external">tmsnrt.rs/2C30rp8</a>)</p>
<p>McAfee, SAP, Symantec and Micro Focus, the British firm that now owns ArcSight, all said that any source code reviews were conducted under the software maker’s supervision in secure facilities where the code could not be removed or altered. The process does not compromise product security, they said. Amid growing concerns over the process, Symantec and McAfee no longer allow such reviews and Micro Focus moved to sharply restrict them late last year.</p>
<p>The Pentagon said in a previously unreported letter ( <a href="http://tmsnrt.rs/2C6o2p2" type="external">tmsnrt.rs/2C6o2p2</a>) to Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen that source code reviews by Russia and China “may aid such countries in discovering vulnerabilities in those products."</p>
<p>Reuters has not found any instances where a source code review played a role in a cyberattack, and some security experts say hackers are more likely to find other ways to infiltrate network systems.</p>
<p>But the Pentagon is not alone in expressing concern. Private sector cyber experts, former U.S. security officials and some U.S. tech companies told Reuters that allowing Russia to review the source code may expose unknown vulnerabilities that could be used to undermine U.S. network defenses.</p>
<p>“Even letting people look at source code for a minute is incredibly dangerous,” said Steve Quane, executive vice president for network defense at Trend Micro, which sells TippingPoint security software to the U.S. military.</p>
<p>Worried about those risks to the U.S. government, Trend Micro has refused to allow the Russians to conduct a source code review of TippingPoint, Quane said.</p>
<p>Quane said top security researchers can quickly spot exploitable vulnerabilities just by examining source code.</p>
<p>“We know there are people who can do that, because we have people like that who work for us,” he said.</p> OPENING THE DOOR
<p>Many of the Russian reviews have occurred since 2014, when U.S.-Russia relations plunged to new lows following Moscow’s annexation of Crimea. Western nations have accused Russia of sharply escalating its use of cyber attacks during that time, an allegation Moscow denies.</p>
<p>Some U.S. lawmakers worry source code reviews could be yet another entry point for Moscow to wage cyberattacks.</p>
<p>“I fear that access to our security infrastructure - whether it be overt or covert - by adversaries may have already opened the door to harmful security vulnerabilities,” Shaheen told Reuters.</p>
<p>In its Dec. 7 letter to Shaheen, the Pentagon said it was “exploring the feasibility” of requiring vendors to disclose when they have allowed foreign governments to access source code. Shaheen had questioned the Pentagon about the practice following the Reuters report on ArcSight, which also prompted Micro Focus to say it would restrict government source code reviews in the future. HPE said none of its current products have undergone Russian source code review.</p>
<p>Lamar Smith, the Republican chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, said legislation to better secure the federal cybersecurity supply chain was clearly needed.</p>
<p>Most U.S. government agencies declined to comment when asked whether they were aware technology installed within their networks had been inspected by Russian military contractors. Others said security was of paramount concern but that they could not comment on the use of specific software.</p>
<p>A Pentagon spokeswoman said it continually monitors the commercial technology it uses for security weaknesses.</p> NO PENCILS ALLOWED
<p>Tech companies wanting to access Russia’s large market are often required to seek certification for their products from Russian agencies, including the FSB security service and Russia’s Federal Service for Technical and Export Control (FSTEC), a defense agency tasked with countering cyber espionage.</p>
<p>FSTEC declined to comment and the FSB did not respond to requests for comment. The Kremlin referred all questions to the FSB and FSTEC.</p>
<p>FSTEC often requires companies to permit a Russian government contractor to test the software’s source code.</p>
<p>SAP HANA, a database system, underwent a source code review in order to obtain certification in 2016, according to Russian regulatory records. The software stores and analyzes information for the State Department, Internal Revenue Service, NASA and the Army.</p>
<p>An SAP spokeswoman said any source code reviews were conducted in a secure, company-supervised facility where recording devices or even pencils are “are strictly forbidden.”</p>
<p>“All governments and governmental organizations are treated the same with no exceptions,” the spokeswoman said.</p>
<p>While some companies have since stopped allowing Russia to review source code in their products, the same products often remain embedded in the U.S. government, which can take decades to upgrade technology.</p>
<p>Security concerns caused Symantec to halt all government source code reviews in 2016, the company’s chief executive told Reuters in October. But Symantec Endpoint Protection antivirus software, which was reviewed by Russia in 2012, remains in use by the Pentagon, the FBI, and the Social Security Administration, among other agencies, according to federal contracting records reviewed by Reuters.</p>
<p>In a statement, a Symantec spokeswoman said the newest version of Endpoint Protection, released in late 2016, never underwent a source code review and that the earlier version has received numerous updates since being tested by Russia. The California-based company said it had no reason to believe earlier reviews had compromised product security. Symantec continued to sell the older version through 2017 and will provide updates through 2019.</p>
<p>McAfee also announced last year that it would no longer allow government-mandated source code reviews.</p>
<p>The cyber firm’s Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) software was reviewed in 2015 by a Moscow-based government contractor, Echelon, on behalf of FSTEC, according to Russian regulatory documents. McAfee confirmed this.</p>
<p>The Treasury Department and Defense Security Service, a Pentagon agency tasked with guarding the military’s classified information, continue to rely on the product to protect their networks, contracting records show.</p>
<p>McAfee declined to comment, citing customer confidentiality agreements, but it has previously said the Russian reviews are conducted at company-owned premises in the United States.</p> ‘YOU CAN’T TRUST ANYONE’
<p>On its website, Echelon describes itself as an official laboratory of the FSB, FSTEC, and Russia’s defense ministry. Alexey Markov, the president of Echelon, which also inspected the source code for ArcSight, said U.S. companies often initially expressed concerns about the certification process.</p>
<p>“Did they have any? Absolutely!!” Markov wrote in an email.</p>
<p>“The less the person making the decision understands about programming, the more paranoia they have. However, in the process of clarifying the details of performing the certification procedure, the dangers and risks are smoothed out.”</p>
<p>Markov said his team always informs tech companies before handing over any discovered vulnerabilities to Russian authorities, allowing the firms to fix the detected flaw. The source code reviews of products “significantly improves their safety,” he said.</p>
<p>Chris Inglis, the former deputy director of the National Security Agency, the United States’ premier electronic spy agency, disagrees.</p>
<p>“When you’re sitting at the table with card sharks, you can’t trust anyone,” he said. “I wouldn’t show anybody the code.”</p>
<p>Reporting by Dustin Volz and Joel Schectman in Washington and Jack Stubbs in Moscow.; Editing by Jonathan Weber and Ross Colvin</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>PARIS (Reuters) - France said on Wednesday it will take Google ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=GOOGL.O" type="external">GOOGL.O</a>) and Apple ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=AAPL.O" type="external">AAPL.O</a>) to court and seek fines of 2 million euros ($2.5 million) over what it termed “abusive” contractual terms imposed by the tech giants on startups and developers.</p> The Google logo is seen at the "Station F" start up campus in Paris, France, February 15, 2018. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
<p>Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told RTL radio he had been made aware that Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google unilaterally imposed prices and contract changes on developers selling software on Google Play and Apple’s App Store.</p>
<p>“I will therefore be taking Google and Apple to the Paris commercial court for abusive trade practices,” Le Maire said.</p>
<p>“As powerful as they are, Google and Apple should not be able to treat our startups and our developers the way they currently do.”</p> Slideshow (2 Images)
<p>France’s DGCCRF consumer fraud watchdog confirmed in a subsequent statement that it had begun legal action against the U.S. technology groups.</p>
<p>Google spokeswoman Mathilde Mechin said: “We believe our terms comply with French laws and are looking forward to making our case in court.” An Apple spokeswoman did not respond to requests for comment.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=GOOGL.O" type="external">Alphabet Inc</a> 1152.18 GOOGL.O Nasdaq +12.27 (+1.08%) GOOGL.O AAPL.O FB.O AMZN.O
<p>Le Maire also said he expected the European Union to close tax loopholes that benefit Google, Apple, Facebook ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=FB.O" type="external">FB.O</a>) and Amazon ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=AMZN.O" type="external">AMZN.O</a>) by the start of 2019. Brussels is currently examining measures to improve the taxation of overseas tech giants’ online business in European markets.</p>
<p>($1 = 0.8093 euros)</p>
<p>Reporting by Laurence Frost and Julie Carriat; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>BOCA RATON, Fla. (Reuters) - Cryptocurrency exchange operator Coinfloor said on Wednesday it will launch a futures exchange for digital assets that will include the first physically delivered bitcoin futures contracts next month.</p> A token of the virtual currency Bitcoin is seen placed on a monitor that displays binary digits in this illustration picture, December 8, 2017. Picture taken December 8. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
<p>The new London-based trading platform, known as CoinfloorEX, is aimed at hedge funds, proprietary trading firms and sophisticated retail investors, as well as cryptocurrency miners, Mark Lamb, co-founder of Coinfloor, said in an interview.</p>
<p>“When you talk to the liquidity providers, they all say the same thing, which is they want a physically delivered futures contract so they can hedge their exposure across exchanges,” he said on the sidelines of the Futures Industry Association’s annual conference in Boca Raton, Florida.</p>
<p>Some traditional futures exchanges, including those run by Cboe Global Markets Inc and CME Group Inc, already offer bitcoin futures. But they are cash settled, meaning the actual cryptocurrency does not change hands.</p>
<p>Many proprietary trading firms and large investors have voiced concerns that the cash-settled process can be manipulated too easily, as bad actors can attempt to move the price of the indexes or auctions on spot exchanges that set the futures prices in their favor, Lamb said.</p>
<p>The first physically delivered contract launches in April.</p>
<p>Coinfloor, which includes the closely held Chicago-based proprietary trading firm DRW among its investors, was started in 2013 and runs the largest UK-based cryptocurrency spot exchange in London and another spot exchange Gibraltar.</p>
<p>Reporting by John McCrank in Boca Raton, Florida; Editing by Dan Grebler</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>KRANJ, Slovenia (Reuters) - The first monument to the blockchain technology that underpins crypto-currencies took center stage on Tuesday on a roundabout in Slovenia, authorities in the country’s fourth largest city said.</p> People attend the opening ceremony of world's first public Bitcoin monument, placed at a roundabout connecting two roads at the city centre in Kranj, Slovenia, March 13, 2018. REUTERS/Borut Zivulovic
<p>Weighing three tonnes and with a diameter of about seven meters the circular metal sculpture was unveiled next to the courthouse in Kranj, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the capital Ljubljana.</p> Slideshow (3 Images)
<p>The design, featuring the ‘B’ symbol crossed by two vertical lines that represents both blockchain and the bitcoin currency, was chosen by popular demand.</p>
<p>“We asked citizens on our Facebook page to decide what to place in the new roundabout and this was one of the first ideas we received... Kranj has a lot of companies dealing with high technology,” mayor Bostjan Trilar told Reuters.</p>
<p>The monument was paid for by two local firms that use blockchain technology, a software company 3fs and digital currency exchange Bitstamp.</p>
<p>Reporting By Marja Novak; editing by John Stonestreet</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>LONDON (Reuters) - Britain said it was considering taxing the revenues of internet companies like Facebook ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=FB.O" type="external">FB.O</a>) and Google ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=GOOGL.O" type="external">GOOGL.O</a>) until international tax rules are changed to cope with digital firms that can shift sales and profits between jurisdictions.</p> A giant logo is seen at Facebook's headquarters in London, Britain, December 4, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville
<p>Finance minister Philip Hammond said on Tuesday he had published a paper setting out proposals for taxing global digital firms before a meeting with his G20 counterparts later this week.</p>
<p>Big internet companies have previously paid little tax in Europe, typically by channeling sales via countries such as Ireland and Luxembourg, which have light-touch tax regimes.</p>
<p>The European Union has proposed taxing tech giants between 1 and 5 percent of revenue based on where users are located, according to a draft Commision document seen by Reuters last month.</p>
<p>The tax should apply to companies selling user-targeted online ads or providing advertisement space, with revenues above 750 million euros ($922 million) worldwide and with EU digital revenues of at least 10 million euros, according to the document.</p>
<p>Both Google and Facebook have changed the way they account for their activity in Britain, resulting in a rise in corporate tax paid.</p>
<p>But Facebook UK’s tax charge for 2016, for example, was 5.1 million pounds ($7.09 million), only a modest increase on the 4.2 million pounds level in 2015. Its revenue in Britain in 2016 was 842 million pounds.</p>
<p>“In the autumn we published a paper on taxing large digital businesses in the global economy and today we follow up with a publication that explores potential solutions,” Hammond said when he delivered an update on the government’s finances.</p>
<p>Late last year the government also raised the possibility of imposing new taxes on tech giants unless they do more to combat online extremism by taking down material aimed at radicalising people or helping them to prepare attacks. Britain suffered a series of Islamist attacks last year that killed a total of 36 people, excluding the attackers.</p> The Google logo is seen at the "Station F" start up campus in Paris, France, February 15, 2018. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
<p>The government said on Tuesday it favored reforming the international corporate tax framework, but acknowledged that achieving consensus and creating detailed proposals would be difficult.</p>
<p>“In the absence of such reform, there is a need to consider interim measures such as revenue-based taxes,” it said.</p>
<p>Any changes would have to be targeted to protect start-ups and growth companies, it said, but it was clear that there was a challenge that needs to be solved.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=FB.O" type="external">Facebook Inc</a> 182.31 FB.O Nasdaq +0.43 (+0.24%) FB.O GOOGL.O
<p>“The current misalignment between where digital businesses are taxed and where they create value threatens to undermine the fairness, sustainability and public acceptability of the corporate tax system,” it said, adding that it intended working closely with the EU and international partners on the issue.</p>
<p>TechUK, a group representing more than 950 tech firms, said corporate tax was highly complex, and the government needed to consider the risk of unintended consequences that could result from moving to a revenue-based tax approach.</p>
<p>“However, it remains the case that international cooperation and coordination are key,” it said. “Unilateral action in this area continues to risk cutting across international efforts at the OECD.”</p>
<p>Britain’s Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) said a revenue-based option would be “extremely unwelcome”.</p>
<p>“We should work with the OECD and work up a properly agreed global solution,” said ACCA’s head of taxation Chas Roy-Chowdhury. “A fully engineered solution rather than an half-baked idea should be the way forward.”</p>
<p>Britain also said on Tuesday it would consult on a new mechanism for collecting value-added-tax (VAT) for online sales.</p>
<p>($1 = 0.7196 pounds)</p>
<p>Reporting by Paul Sandle and James Davey; editing by David Stamp</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | INSIGHT-Tech firms let Russia probe software widely used by U.S. government France to sue Google, Apple over developer contracts: minister UK-based Coinfloor to launch physically settled bitcoin futures Slovenia claims world's first blockchain monument Britain to consider taxing digital giants' revenue | false | https://reuters.com/article/usa-cyber-russia/insight-tech-firms-let-russia-probe-software-widely-used-by-us-government-idUSL1N1OD2GV | 2018-01-25 | 2least
| INSIGHT-Tech firms let Russia probe software widely used by U.S. government France to sue Google, Apple over developer contracts: minister UK-based Coinfloor to launch physically settled bitcoin futures Slovenia claims world's first blockchain monument Britain to consider taxing digital giants' revenue
<p>WASHINGTON/MOSCOW, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Major global technology providers SAP, Symantec and McAfee have allowed Russian authorities to hunt for vulnerabilities in software deeply embedded across the U.S. government, a Reuters investigation has found.</p>
<p>The practice potentially jeopardizes the security of computer networks in at least a dozen federal agencies, U.S. lawmakers and security experts said. It involves more companies and a broader swath of the government than previously reported. In order to sell in the Russian market, the tech companies let a Russian defense agency scour the inner workings, or source code, of some of their products. Russian authorities say the reviews are necessary to detect flaws that could be exploited by hackers. (Graphic: tmsnrt.rs/2sZudWT)</p>
<p>But those same products protect some of the most sensitive areas of the U.S government, including the Pentagon, NASA, the State Department, the FBI and the intelligence community, against hacking by sophisticated cyber adversaries like Russia.</p>
<p>Reuters revealed in October that Hewlett Packard Enterprise software known as ArcSight, used to help secure the Pentagon’s computers, had been reviewed by a Russian military contractor with close ties to Russia’s security services.</p>
<p>Now, a Reuters review of hundreds of U.S. federal procurement documents and Russian regulatory records shows that the potential risks to the U.S. government from Russian source code reviews are more widespread.</p>
<p>Beyond the Pentagon, ArcSight is used in at least seven other agencies, including the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the State Department's intelligence unit, the review showed. Additionally, products made by SAP, Symantec and McAfee and reviewed by Russian authorities are used in at least eight agencies. Some agencies use more than one of the four products. (Graphic: <a href="http://tmsnrt.rs/2C30rp8" type="external">tmsnrt.rs/2C30rp8</a>)</p>
<p>McAfee, SAP, Symantec and Micro Focus, the British firm that now owns ArcSight, all said that any source code reviews were conducted under the software maker’s supervision in secure facilities where the code could not be removed or altered. The process does not compromise product security, they said. Amid growing concerns over the process, Symantec and McAfee no longer allow such reviews and Micro Focus moved to sharply restrict them late last year.</p>
<p>The Pentagon said in a previously unreported letter ( <a href="http://tmsnrt.rs/2C6o2p2" type="external">tmsnrt.rs/2C6o2p2</a>) to Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen that source code reviews by Russia and China “may aid such countries in discovering vulnerabilities in those products."</p>
<p>Reuters has not found any instances where a source code review played a role in a cyberattack, and some security experts say hackers are more likely to find other ways to infiltrate network systems.</p>
<p>But the Pentagon is not alone in expressing concern. Private sector cyber experts, former U.S. security officials and some U.S. tech companies told Reuters that allowing Russia to review the source code may expose unknown vulnerabilities that could be used to undermine U.S. network defenses.</p>
<p>“Even letting people look at source code for a minute is incredibly dangerous,” said Steve Quane, executive vice president for network defense at Trend Micro, which sells TippingPoint security software to the U.S. military.</p>
<p>Worried about those risks to the U.S. government, Trend Micro has refused to allow the Russians to conduct a source code review of TippingPoint, Quane said.</p>
<p>Quane said top security researchers can quickly spot exploitable vulnerabilities just by examining source code.</p>
<p>“We know there are people who can do that, because we have people like that who work for us,” he said.</p> OPENING THE DOOR
<p>Many of the Russian reviews have occurred since 2014, when U.S.-Russia relations plunged to new lows following Moscow’s annexation of Crimea. Western nations have accused Russia of sharply escalating its use of cyber attacks during that time, an allegation Moscow denies.</p>
<p>Some U.S. lawmakers worry source code reviews could be yet another entry point for Moscow to wage cyberattacks.</p>
<p>“I fear that access to our security infrastructure - whether it be overt or covert - by adversaries may have already opened the door to harmful security vulnerabilities,” Shaheen told Reuters.</p>
<p>In its Dec. 7 letter to Shaheen, the Pentagon said it was “exploring the feasibility” of requiring vendors to disclose when they have allowed foreign governments to access source code. Shaheen had questioned the Pentagon about the practice following the Reuters report on ArcSight, which also prompted Micro Focus to say it would restrict government source code reviews in the future. HPE said none of its current products have undergone Russian source code review.</p>
<p>Lamar Smith, the Republican chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, said legislation to better secure the federal cybersecurity supply chain was clearly needed.</p>
<p>Most U.S. government agencies declined to comment when asked whether they were aware technology installed within their networks had been inspected by Russian military contractors. Others said security was of paramount concern but that they could not comment on the use of specific software.</p>
<p>A Pentagon spokeswoman said it continually monitors the commercial technology it uses for security weaknesses.</p> NO PENCILS ALLOWED
<p>Tech companies wanting to access Russia’s large market are often required to seek certification for their products from Russian agencies, including the FSB security service and Russia’s Federal Service for Technical and Export Control (FSTEC), a defense agency tasked with countering cyber espionage.</p>
<p>FSTEC declined to comment and the FSB did not respond to requests for comment. The Kremlin referred all questions to the FSB and FSTEC.</p>
<p>FSTEC often requires companies to permit a Russian government contractor to test the software’s source code.</p>
<p>SAP HANA, a database system, underwent a source code review in order to obtain certification in 2016, according to Russian regulatory records. The software stores and analyzes information for the State Department, Internal Revenue Service, NASA and the Army.</p>
<p>An SAP spokeswoman said any source code reviews were conducted in a secure, company-supervised facility where recording devices or even pencils are “are strictly forbidden.”</p>
<p>“All governments and governmental organizations are treated the same with no exceptions,” the spokeswoman said.</p>
<p>While some companies have since stopped allowing Russia to review source code in their products, the same products often remain embedded in the U.S. government, which can take decades to upgrade technology.</p>
<p>Security concerns caused Symantec to halt all government source code reviews in 2016, the company’s chief executive told Reuters in October. But Symantec Endpoint Protection antivirus software, which was reviewed by Russia in 2012, remains in use by the Pentagon, the FBI, and the Social Security Administration, among other agencies, according to federal contracting records reviewed by Reuters.</p>
<p>In a statement, a Symantec spokeswoman said the newest version of Endpoint Protection, released in late 2016, never underwent a source code review and that the earlier version has received numerous updates since being tested by Russia. The California-based company said it had no reason to believe earlier reviews had compromised product security. Symantec continued to sell the older version through 2017 and will provide updates through 2019.</p>
<p>McAfee also announced last year that it would no longer allow government-mandated source code reviews.</p>
<p>The cyber firm’s Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) software was reviewed in 2015 by a Moscow-based government contractor, Echelon, on behalf of FSTEC, according to Russian regulatory documents. McAfee confirmed this.</p>
<p>The Treasury Department and Defense Security Service, a Pentagon agency tasked with guarding the military’s classified information, continue to rely on the product to protect their networks, contracting records show.</p>
<p>McAfee declined to comment, citing customer confidentiality agreements, but it has previously said the Russian reviews are conducted at company-owned premises in the United States.</p> ‘YOU CAN’T TRUST ANYONE’
<p>On its website, Echelon describes itself as an official laboratory of the FSB, FSTEC, and Russia’s defense ministry. Alexey Markov, the president of Echelon, which also inspected the source code for ArcSight, said U.S. companies often initially expressed concerns about the certification process.</p>
<p>“Did they have any? Absolutely!!” Markov wrote in an email.</p>
<p>“The less the person making the decision understands about programming, the more paranoia they have. However, in the process of clarifying the details of performing the certification procedure, the dangers and risks are smoothed out.”</p>
<p>Markov said his team always informs tech companies before handing over any discovered vulnerabilities to Russian authorities, allowing the firms to fix the detected flaw. The source code reviews of products “significantly improves their safety,” he said.</p>
<p>Chris Inglis, the former deputy director of the National Security Agency, the United States’ premier electronic spy agency, disagrees.</p>
<p>“When you’re sitting at the table with card sharks, you can’t trust anyone,” he said. “I wouldn’t show anybody the code.”</p>
<p>Reporting by Dustin Volz and Joel Schectman in Washington and Jack Stubbs in Moscow.; Editing by Jonathan Weber and Ross Colvin</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>PARIS (Reuters) - France said on Wednesday it will take Google ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=GOOGL.O" type="external">GOOGL.O</a>) and Apple ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=AAPL.O" type="external">AAPL.O</a>) to court and seek fines of 2 million euros ($2.5 million) over what it termed “abusive” contractual terms imposed by the tech giants on startups and developers.</p> The Google logo is seen at the "Station F" start up campus in Paris, France, February 15, 2018. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
<p>Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told RTL radio he had been made aware that Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google unilaterally imposed prices and contract changes on developers selling software on Google Play and Apple’s App Store.</p>
<p>“I will therefore be taking Google and Apple to the Paris commercial court for abusive trade practices,” Le Maire said.</p>
<p>“As powerful as they are, Google and Apple should not be able to treat our startups and our developers the way they currently do.”</p> Slideshow (2 Images)
<p>France’s DGCCRF consumer fraud watchdog confirmed in a subsequent statement that it had begun legal action against the U.S. technology groups.</p>
<p>Google spokeswoman Mathilde Mechin said: “We believe our terms comply with French laws and are looking forward to making our case in court.” An Apple spokeswoman did not respond to requests for comment.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=GOOGL.O" type="external">Alphabet Inc</a> 1152.18 GOOGL.O Nasdaq +12.27 (+1.08%) GOOGL.O AAPL.O FB.O AMZN.O
<p>Le Maire also said he expected the European Union to close tax loopholes that benefit Google, Apple, Facebook ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=FB.O" type="external">FB.O</a>) and Amazon ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=AMZN.O" type="external">AMZN.O</a>) by the start of 2019. Brussels is currently examining measures to improve the taxation of overseas tech giants’ online business in European markets.</p>
<p>($1 = 0.8093 euros)</p>
<p>Reporting by Laurence Frost and Julie Carriat; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>BOCA RATON, Fla. (Reuters) - Cryptocurrency exchange operator Coinfloor said on Wednesday it will launch a futures exchange for digital assets that will include the first physically delivered bitcoin futures contracts next month.</p> A token of the virtual currency Bitcoin is seen placed on a monitor that displays binary digits in this illustration picture, December 8, 2017. Picture taken December 8. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
<p>The new London-based trading platform, known as CoinfloorEX, is aimed at hedge funds, proprietary trading firms and sophisticated retail investors, as well as cryptocurrency miners, Mark Lamb, co-founder of Coinfloor, said in an interview.</p>
<p>“When you talk to the liquidity providers, they all say the same thing, which is they want a physically delivered futures contract so they can hedge their exposure across exchanges,” he said on the sidelines of the Futures Industry Association’s annual conference in Boca Raton, Florida.</p>
<p>Some traditional futures exchanges, including those run by Cboe Global Markets Inc and CME Group Inc, already offer bitcoin futures. But they are cash settled, meaning the actual cryptocurrency does not change hands.</p>
<p>Many proprietary trading firms and large investors have voiced concerns that the cash-settled process can be manipulated too easily, as bad actors can attempt to move the price of the indexes or auctions on spot exchanges that set the futures prices in their favor, Lamb said.</p>
<p>The first physically delivered contract launches in April.</p>
<p>Coinfloor, which includes the closely held Chicago-based proprietary trading firm DRW among its investors, was started in 2013 and runs the largest UK-based cryptocurrency spot exchange in London and another spot exchange Gibraltar.</p>
<p>Reporting by John McCrank in Boca Raton, Florida; Editing by Dan Grebler</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>KRANJ, Slovenia (Reuters) - The first monument to the blockchain technology that underpins crypto-currencies took center stage on Tuesday on a roundabout in Slovenia, authorities in the country’s fourth largest city said.</p> People attend the opening ceremony of world's first public Bitcoin monument, placed at a roundabout connecting two roads at the city centre in Kranj, Slovenia, March 13, 2018. REUTERS/Borut Zivulovic
<p>Weighing three tonnes and with a diameter of about seven meters the circular metal sculpture was unveiled next to the courthouse in Kranj, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the capital Ljubljana.</p> Slideshow (3 Images)
<p>The design, featuring the ‘B’ symbol crossed by two vertical lines that represents both blockchain and the bitcoin currency, was chosen by popular demand.</p>
<p>“We asked citizens on our Facebook page to decide what to place in the new roundabout and this was one of the first ideas we received... Kranj has a lot of companies dealing with high technology,” mayor Bostjan Trilar told Reuters.</p>
<p>The monument was paid for by two local firms that use blockchain technology, a software company 3fs and digital currency exchange Bitstamp.</p>
<p>Reporting By Marja Novak; editing by John Stonestreet</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>LONDON (Reuters) - Britain said it was considering taxing the revenues of internet companies like Facebook ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=FB.O" type="external">FB.O</a>) and Google ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=GOOGL.O" type="external">GOOGL.O</a>) until international tax rules are changed to cope with digital firms that can shift sales and profits between jurisdictions.</p> A giant logo is seen at Facebook's headquarters in London, Britain, December 4, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville
<p>Finance minister Philip Hammond said on Tuesday he had published a paper setting out proposals for taxing global digital firms before a meeting with his G20 counterparts later this week.</p>
<p>Big internet companies have previously paid little tax in Europe, typically by channeling sales via countries such as Ireland and Luxembourg, which have light-touch tax regimes.</p>
<p>The European Union has proposed taxing tech giants between 1 and 5 percent of revenue based on where users are located, according to a draft Commision document seen by Reuters last month.</p>
<p>The tax should apply to companies selling user-targeted online ads or providing advertisement space, with revenues above 750 million euros ($922 million) worldwide and with EU digital revenues of at least 10 million euros, according to the document.</p>
<p>Both Google and Facebook have changed the way they account for their activity in Britain, resulting in a rise in corporate tax paid.</p>
<p>But Facebook UK’s tax charge for 2016, for example, was 5.1 million pounds ($7.09 million), only a modest increase on the 4.2 million pounds level in 2015. Its revenue in Britain in 2016 was 842 million pounds.</p>
<p>“In the autumn we published a paper on taxing large digital businesses in the global economy and today we follow up with a publication that explores potential solutions,” Hammond said when he delivered an update on the government’s finances.</p>
<p>Late last year the government also raised the possibility of imposing new taxes on tech giants unless they do more to combat online extremism by taking down material aimed at radicalising people or helping them to prepare attacks. Britain suffered a series of Islamist attacks last year that killed a total of 36 people, excluding the attackers.</p> The Google logo is seen at the "Station F" start up campus in Paris, France, February 15, 2018. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
<p>The government said on Tuesday it favored reforming the international corporate tax framework, but acknowledged that achieving consensus and creating detailed proposals would be difficult.</p>
<p>“In the absence of such reform, there is a need to consider interim measures such as revenue-based taxes,” it said.</p>
<p>Any changes would have to be targeted to protect start-ups and growth companies, it said, but it was clear that there was a challenge that needs to be solved.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=FB.O" type="external">Facebook Inc</a> 182.31 FB.O Nasdaq +0.43 (+0.24%) FB.O GOOGL.O
<p>“The current misalignment between where digital businesses are taxed and where they create value threatens to undermine the fairness, sustainability and public acceptability of the corporate tax system,” it said, adding that it intended working closely with the EU and international partners on the issue.</p>
<p>TechUK, a group representing more than 950 tech firms, said corporate tax was highly complex, and the government needed to consider the risk of unintended consequences that could result from moving to a revenue-based tax approach.</p>
<p>“However, it remains the case that international cooperation and coordination are key,” it said. “Unilateral action in this area continues to risk cutting across international efforts at the OECD.”</p>
<p>Britain’s Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) said a revenue-based option would be “extremely unwelcome”.</p>
<p>“We should work with the OECD and work up a properly agreed global solution,” said ACCA’s head of taxation Chas Roy-Chowdhury. “A fully engineered solution rather than an half-baked idea should be the way forward.”</p>
<p>Britain also said on Tuesday it would consult on a new mechanism for collecting value-added-tax (VAT) for online sales.</p>
<p>($1 = 0.7196 pounds)</p>
<p>Reporting by Paul Sandle and James Davey; editing by David Stamp</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | 1,957 |
<p>The fate of the American family has become news. Even casual exposure to the media reveals this recurring preoccupation. Throughout television and the popular movies, the public is bombarded with themes of incest, divorce, runaways, parental abandonment, nonmarital cohabitation, and generational struggle. Prime-time family programs no longer shy away from the graphic presentation of these issues; special reports and regular spots on daily newscasts seek to convince us of the pervasiveness of these dislocations. There is furthermore a constant escalation: the most disturbing statistics, the first litigation of its kind, the highest level of abuse, the strangest form of living arrangement, and so forth. The worst of these forecasts are repeated in the more serious work of scholars and prestigious commissions; one prominent sociologist, for example, wrote not long ago: "At the present accelerating rate of depletion, the United States will run out of families not long after it runs out of oil."</p>
<p /> | New Shapes of Family Life | true | https://dissentmagazine.org/article/new-shapes-of-family-life | 2018-03-20 | 4left
| New Shapes of Family Life
<p>The fate of the American family has become news. Even casual exposure to the media reveals this recurring preoccupation. Throughout television and the popular movies, the public is bombarded with themes of incest, divorce, runaways, parental abandonment, nonmarital cohabitation, and generational struggle. Prime-time family programs no longer shy away from the graphic presentation of these issues; special reports and regular spots on daily newscasts seek to convince us of the pervasiveness of these dislocations. There is furthermore a constant escalation: the most disturbing statistics, the first litigation of its kind, the highest level of abuse, the strangest form of living arrangement, and so forth. The worst of these forecasts are repeated in the more serious work of scholars and prestigious commissions; one prominent sociologist, for example, wrote not long ago: "At the present accelerating rate of depletion, the United States will run out of families not long after it runs out of oil."</p>
<p /> | 1,958 |
<p />
<p>Or does it simply justify assaulting any woman who rejects seclusion?</p>
<p>If you’re a woman and have spent any time in urban centers (i.e. lots of walking and public transportation) you know whereof you speak when it comes to street harassment. It is a measure of how entrenched male privilege is that men can sit down to dinner with a house full of female loved ones without having to know that someone masturbated onto her coat that day or whispered disgusting things in her ear. It’s so pervasive, so dismissed—boys will be boys, heh, heh—it goes unmentioned and unredressed.</p>
<p>This explains why nearly naked, hysterical women got turned away by uniformed cops during the 2000 <a href="http://archives.cnn.com/2000/US/06/13/central.park.assaults/" type="external">Central Park wilding</a> and why the police will do little about street harassment that stays this side of bloodshed. I shudder for the day my 4 year old baby has to walk the streets alone. She happens to be gorgeous, much better looking than your daughters, but all that matters is that she’s female. In fact, God help the ugly, fat or disfigured ones; they catch pure, unadulterated hell for daring to walk around being unasthetically pleasing to Joe Bob with his beer belly and no job or Joe Corporate with his comb-over and pointless <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunder_Mifflin" type="external">Dunder Mifflin</a> gig. I once spent four months profiling a prison inmate and being escorted to and from, like all visitors, by trustees at the minimum security facility. I swear to God, those guys spent the entire time (profil-ee included) hitting on me speed-date-from-hell style, with all the finesse of <a href="http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&amp;videoid=23764997" type="external">Lothar of The Hill People</a>. THEY WERE IN PRISON but still felt totally free to harass me. Think I’m overreacting to the supposed prevelance of male privilege? Check this lede for the piece linked to (below) on female-only trains in Japan:</p>
<p>Since Japan is a very small country with too many people inhabiting it, Japanese women often suffer from sexual harassment in public transport.</p>
<p>Anyone out there take Logic for Dummies? Male Privilege 101?</p>
<p>Society’s attitude toward street harassment is like its to heat and high humidity except that that’s no one’s fault and no one calls you a feminazi for objecting to them. The only good thing I find about winter is the big, baggy coat I can disappear into for a blessed few months each year and largely escape the dreaded male gaze. Because that’s the kind of cowards street harassers are; they’ll threaten you with rape on an anonymous bus or street corner, not so much in the middle of the office where they just might be held accountable. But what to do about it? Screen a billion cops to find one million who take street harassment seriously? Get men to actually ‘see’ street harassment when it happens one bus seat over and STAND UP? Nah, better to just hide women behind either a veil (too medieval, too barbarian) or with separate but equal segregation (just right!).</p>
<p>Jessica Valenti, guest blogging at <a href="http://www.thenation.com/blogs/passingthrough?bid=769" type="external">The Nation</a>, takes a look at one nation’s answer to public male harassment, which is much like <a href="http://english.pravda.ru/news/society/21-08-2006/84007-groping-0" type="external">Japan’s</a>:</p>
<p>Last week Mexico City unveiled women-only buses as a way to battle the increasing sexual harassment on public transportation.</p>
<p>Some men treat women so badly that the subway system has long had ladies-only cars during rush hour, with police segregating the sexes on the platforms.</p>
<p>But that hasn’t helped women forced to rely on packed buses, by far the city’s most-used form of public transportation—until this week.</p>
<p>Acting on complaints from women’s groups, the city rolled out “ladies only” buses, complete with pink signs in the windshields to wave off the men.</p>
<p>Pink signs, huh? I’m all for safe spaces for women, but is segregation really an answer to sexism? I’ve written about this trend of women-only spaces before, most recently for The Guardian, and I still fail to see how this is anything but a temporary solution to a systemic problem.</p>
<p>I’m not about to demand that women refuse to board segregated public transportation. I’d willingly add an extra hour to my day to be able to read, or God forbid close my eyes, without some Neanderthal invading my personal space oozing “whatchou readin,’ baby?” Then, “Bitch, you better answer me!” I am about to say, though, that there’s no way Mexico, Japan or anyplace else on this planet has enough purdah transportation for all it’s women and woe betide the ones of us who either don’t know about or can’t manage to snag some chicks-only transpo that day; open season. She was asking for it, otherwise she’d have taken the vagina train.</p>
<p>Man, this topic gets my goat. I’ve written bitterly about <a href="http://www.salon.com/news/feature/1999/05/21/harassment/index.html?source=search&amp;aim=/news/feature" type="external">street harassment</a>, perhaps the world’s most frequent unredressed social ill, for all the good it did. Here’s a good street harassment <a href="http://hkearl.com/thesis/resources.htm" type="external">resource</a>, especially from a feminist legal perspective and, last but far from least, the totally awesome <a href="http://hollabacknyc.blogspot.com/" type="external">Holla Back NYC</a> in which the pigs are called out and as humiliated as our puny societal give-a-damn-reflex will allow.</p>
<p>Were I an irresponsible journalist, I’d recommend that the women of the world learn the gentle art of <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/living/columnists/ana_veciana_suarez//story/384365.html" type="external">the stun gun</a>. If no one “sees” a horde of loud drunks stalking you, surely they won’t see them suddenly crumple to the ground in agony either. But I’m a responsible journalist and several states outlaw stun guns. They also outlaw assault, i.e street harassment. Let’s find out which you’re likeliest to get away with.</p>
<p>Or, women could take <a href="http://madsilence.wordpress.com/2007/10/24/urban-camouflage-japanese-style/" type="external">another page from Japan</a>. Don’t worry, it won’t reflect on men (our cities are just too overcrowded!), just highlight your determination to “take responsibility for your own actions”. Just as men are required to do, right?</p>
<p /> | When and Where We Enter, Male Chauvinist Pigs Follow: Is ‘Purdah’ the Answer to Male Privilege? | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2008/01/when-and-where-we-enter-male-chauvinist-pigs-follow-purdah-answer-male-privilege/ | 2008-01-29 | 4left
| When and Where We Enter, Male Chauvinist Pigs Follow: Is ‘Purdah’ the Answer to Male Privilege?
<p />
<p>Or does it simply justify assaulting any woman who rejects seclusion?</p>
<p>If you’re a woman and have spent any time in urban centers (i.e. lots of walking and public transportation) you know whereof you speak when it comes to street harassment. It is a measure of how entrenched male privilege is that men can sit down to dinner with a house full of female loved ones without having to know that someone masturbated onto her coat that day or whispered disgusting things in her ear. It’s so pervasive, so dismissed—boys will be boys, heh, heh—it goes unmentioned and unredressed.</p>
<p>This explains why nearly naked, hysterical women got turned away by uniformed cops during the 2000 <a href="http://archives.cnn.com/2000/US/06/13/central.park.assaults/" type="external">Central Park wilding</a> and why the police will do little about street harassment that stays this side of bloodshed. I shudder for the day my 4 year old baby has to walk the streets alone. She happens to be gorgeous, much better looking than your daughters, but all that matters is that she’s female. In fact, God help the ugly, fat or disfigured ones; they catch pure, unadulterated hell for daring to walk around being unasthetically pleasing to Joe Bob with his beer belly and no job or Joe Corporate with his comb-over and pointless <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunder_Mifflin" type="external">Dunder Mifflin</a> gig. I once spent four months profiling a prison inmate and being escorted to and from, like all visitors, by trustees at the minimum security facility. I swear to God, those guys spent the entire time (profil-ee included) hitting on me speed-date-from-hell style, with all the finesse of <a href="http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&amp;videoid=23764997" type="external">Lothar of The Hill People</a>. THEY WERE IN PRISON but still felt totally free to harass me. Think I’m overreacting to the supposed prevelance of male privilege? Check this lede for the piece linked to (below) on female-only trains in Japan:</p>
<p>Since Japan is a very small country with too many people inhabiting it, Japanese women often suffer from sexual harassment in public transport.</p>
<p>Anyone out there take Logic for Dummies? Male Privilege 101?</p>
<p>Society’s attitude toward street harassment is like its to heat and high humidity except that that’s no one’s fault and no one calls you a feminazi for objecting to them. The only good thing I find about winter is the big, baggy coat I can disappear into for a blessed few months each year and largely escape the dreaded male gaze. Because that’s the kind of cowards street harassers are; they’ll threaten you with rape on an anonymous bus or street corner, not so much in the middle of the office where they just might be held accountable. But what to do about it? Screen a billion cops to find one million who take street harassment seriously? Get men to actually ‘see’ street harassment when it happens one bus seat over and STAND UP? Nah, better to just hide women behind either a veil (too medieval, too barbarian) or with separate but equal segregation (just right!).</p>
<p>Jessica Valenti, guest blogging at <a href="http://www.thenation.com/blogs/passingthrough?bid=769" type="external">The Nation</a>, takes a look at one nation’s answer to public male harassment, which is much like <a href="http://english.pravda.ru/news/society/21-08-2006/84007-groping-0" type="external">Japan’s</a>:</p>
<p>Last week Mexico City unveiled women-only buses as a way to battle the increasing sexual harassment on public transportation.</p>
<p>Some men treat women so badly that the subway system has long had ladies-only cars during rush hour, with police segregating the sexes on the platforms.</p>
<p>But that hasn’t helped women forced to rely on packed buses, by far the city’s most-used form of public transportation—until this week.</p>
<p>Acting on complaints from women’s groups, the city rolled out “ladies only” buses, complete with pink signs in the windshields to wave off the men.</p>
<p>Pink signs, huh? I’m all for safe spaces for women, but is segregation really an answer to sexism? I’ve written about this trend of women-only spaces before, most recently for The Guardian, and I still fail to see how this is anything but a temporary solution to a systemic problem.</p>
<p>I’m not about to demand that women refuse to board segregated public transportation. I’d willingly add an extra hour to my day to be able to read, or God forbid close my eyes, without some Neanderthal invading my personal space oozing “whatchou readin,’ baby?” Then, “Bitch, you better answer me!” I am about to say, though, that there’s no way Mexico, Japan or anyplace else on this planet has enough purdah transportation for all it’s women and woe betide the ones of us who either don’t know about or can’t manage to snag some chicks-only transpo that day; open season. She was asking for it, otherwise she’d have taken the vagina train.</p>
<p>Man, this topic gets my goat. I’ve written bitterly about <a href="http://www.salon.com/news/feature/1999/05/21/harassment/index.html?source=search&amp;aim=/news/feature" type="external">street harassment</a>, perhaps the world’s most frequent unredressed social ill, for all the good it did. Here’s a good street harassment <a href="http://hkearl.com/thesis/resources.htm" type="external">resource</a>, especially from a feminist legal perspective and, last but far from least, the totally awesome <a href="http://hollabacknyc.blogspot.com/" type="external">Holla Back NYC</a> in which the pigs are called out and as humiliated as our puny societal give-a-damn-reflex will allow.</p>
<p>Were I an irresponsible journalist, I’d recommend that the women of the world learn the gentle art of <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/living/columnists/ana_veciana_suarez//story/384365.html" type="external">the stun gun</a>. If no one “sees” a horde of loud drunks stalking you, surely they won’t see them suddenly crumple to the ground in agony either. But I’m a responsible journalist and several states outlaw stun guns. They also outlaw assault, i.e street harassment. Let’s find out which you’re likeliest to get away with.</p>
<p>Or, women could take <a href="http://madsilence.wordpress.com/2007/10/24/urban-camouflage-japanese-style/" type="external">another page from Japan</a>. Don’t worry, it won’t reflect on men (our cities are just too overcrowded!), just highlight your determination to “take responsibility for your own actions”. Just as men are required to do, right?</p>
<p /> | 1,959 |
<p />
<p>Six years after the disappearance of Washington’s second-most famous intern, Chandra Levy’s former paramour and ex-congressman Gary Condit <a href="http://www.modbee.com/local/story/78364.html" type="external">is back in the news</a>. On Sept. 24, an Arizona judge ordered Condit to pay $43,000 in legal fees to the editor and publisher of the tiny Sonoran News for bringing a frivolous libel suit against the paper, which had no libel insurance. Condit has filed a host of similar suits against other publications that covered the Levy investigation, most of which have since been dropped.</p>
<p>Serial plaintiff Condit is also about to become a defendant. The Modesto Bee reports that his Baskin-Robbins franchise has flopped, and his former business partners are about to sue him over his role in the meltdown.</p>
<p /> | Gary Condit Refuses to Go Quietly | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2007/09/gary-condit-refuses-go-quietly/ | 2007-09-28 | 4left
| Gary Condit Refuses to Go Quietly
<p />
<p>Six years after the disappearance of Washington’s second-most famous intern, Chandra Levy’s former paramour and ex-congressman Gary Condit <a href="http://www.modbee.com/local/story/78364.html" type="external">is back in the news</a>. On Sept. 24, an Arizona judge ordered Condit to pay $43,000 in legal fees to the editor and publisher of the tiny Sonoran News for bringing a frivolous libel suit against the paper, which had no libel insurance. Condit has filed a host of similar suits against other publications that covered the Levy investigation, most of which have since been dropped.</p>
<p>Serial plaintiff Condit is also about to become a defendant. The Modesto Bee reports that his Baskin-Robbins franchise has flopped, and his former business partners are about to sue him over his role in the meltdown.</p>
<p /> | 1,960 |
<p>(Reuters) – A plan to demolish a derelict NFL stadium near Detroit went awry on Sunday when a deafening series of blasts failed to topple the Pontiac Silverdome, to the frustration of officials and the bemusement of a crowd gathered to watch the spectacle.</p>
<p>Fans of the Detroit Lions, the team that called the Silverdome home until moving to a downtown stadium after the 2001 season, joked on social media that the failed implosion was by no means the first time they found themselves leaving the stadium parking lot disappointed. The Lions have not won a National Football League championship since 1957, the league’s second longest title drought.</p>
<p>“Guess the Silverdome went through one too many implosions in its history,” the sports desk of the Detroit Free Press wrote on Twitter.</p>
<p>Live video footage of the planned demolition, which Pontiac city officials said was to make way for new development, was broadcast online on Sunday morning for nostalgic fans and those who enjoy watching large structures collapsing in smoke.</p>
<p>What they saw, according to clips posted online, was plumes of smoke exploding out at regular intervals around the stadium’s perimeter with a smattering of loud bangs.</p>
<p>After the smoke wreathed upward and faded, the stadium was still standing proud, looking little different from what it has since its 1975 opening.</p>
<p>Demolition officials were quick to state the obvious. “That didn’t work,” one official onsite said to two colleagues, the Detroit Free Press reported.</p>
<p>Demolition officials said about 10 percent of the charges had failed to detonate, perhaps because of a wiring issue, the newspaper reported.</p>
<p>“Unless we find something in the next few hours researching the wiring, we will take it down mechanically,” Rick Cuppetilli, the Adamo Group’s executive vice president, told the Free Press. “We haven’t found the wire yet. It’s going to take us a while to research it all.” Gravity may yet belatedly pull it down anyway, he added.</p>
<p>Pontiac Mayor Diedre Waterman, who witnessed the failed implosion, told reporters that the stadium’s tenacity gave people “a chance to share their memories and their nostalgia a little bit longer than we expected.”</p>
<p>The stadium also hosted the 1982 Super Bowl and major bands like Led Zeppelin. It reopened in 2010 for various sporting events until its roof collapsed in 2013.</p>
<p>Still, the mayor said, she wanted the stadium down. “We didn’t want it sitting here as a blight property,” she said.</p>
<p />
<p>Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.</p> | Suburban Detroit stadium still standing tall after implosion fizzles | false | https://newsline.com/suburban-detroit-stadium-still-standing-tall-after-implosion-fizzles/ | 2017-12-03 | 1right-center
| Suburban Detroit stadium still standing tall after implosion fizzles
<p>(Reuters) – A plan to demolish a derelict NFL stadium near Detroit went awry on Sunday when a deafening series of blasts failed to topple the Pontiac Silverdome, to the frustration of officials and the bemusement of a crowd gathered to watch the spectacle.</p>
<p>Fans of the Detroit Lions, the team that called the Silverdome home until moving to a downtown stadium after the 2001 season, joked on social media that the failed implosion was by no means the first time they found themselves leaving the stadium parking lot disappointed. The Lions have not won a National Football League championship since 1957, the league’s second longest title drought.</p>
<p>“Guess the Silverdome went through one too many implosions in its history,” the sports desk of the Detroit Free Press wrote on Twitter.</p>
<p>Live video footage of the planned demolition, which Pontiac city officials said was to make way for new development, was broadcast online on Sunday morning for nostalgic fans and those who enjoy watching large structures collapsing in smoke.</p>
<p>What they saw, according to clips posted online, was plumes of smoke exploding out at regular intervals around the stadium’s perimeter with a smattering of loud bangs.</p>
<p>After the smoke wreathed upward and faded, the stadium was still standing proud, looking little different from what it has since its 1975 opening.</p>
<p>Demolition officials were quick to state the obvious. “That didn’t work,” one official onsite said to two colleagues, the Detroit Free Press reported.</p>
<p>Demolition officials said about 10 percent of the charges had failed to detonate, perhaps because of a wiring issue, the newspaper reported.</p>
<p>“Unless we find something in the next few hours researching the wiring, we will take it down mechanically,” Rick Cuppetilli, the Adamo Group’s executive vice president, told the Free Press. “We haven’t found the wire yet. It’s going to take us a while to research it all.” Gravity may yet belatedly pull it down anyway, he added.</p>
<p>Pontiac Mayor Diedre Waterman, who witnessed the failed implosion, told reporters that the stadium’s tenacity gave people “a chance to share their memories and their nostalgia a little bit longer than we expected.”</p>
<p>The stadium also hosted the 1982 Super Bowl and major bands like Led Zeppelin. It reopened in 2010 for various sporting events until its roof collapsed in 2013.</p>
<p>Still, the mayor said, she wanted the stadium down. “We didn’t want it sitting here as a blight property,” she said.</p>
<p />
<p>Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.</p> | 1,961 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Of course, it doesn’t cost anything to wish, and many people often never get what they wish for, anyway.</p>
<p>But that could change today for many people who suddenly find that money is waiting for them, if only they claim it.</p>
<p>Today’s Albuquerque Journal contains a 30-page list of legal notices starting on Page I-1, listing the names and last known addresses of people who have unclaimed money being held for them by the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department.</p>
<p>According to Stephanie Dennis, supervisor of the department’s Unclaimed Property Office, the state is holding nearly $133 million in unclaimed funds belonging to nearly 45,000 individuals. More than 17,000 of those names, mostly people from Bernalillo County, are in today’s Journal listings, she said.</p>
<p>The unclaimed funds are from inactive checking and saving accounts, income tax returns, uncashed payroll checks, insurance awards and insurance overpayments, credit card overpayments, cellphone and utility company rebates, money from gift cards, cashier’s checks, money orders, stocks, securities, mutual funds, safe deposit boxes, and more.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Some of these funds, Dennis said, have been sitting unclaimed since the 1970s. The largest single sum waiting to be claimed is $634,000.</p>
<p>So before you dismiss that wish for extra cash, read today’s newspaper. Wishes sometimes do come true.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Find out if NM has your cash | false | https://abqjournal.com/503289/state-have-your-cash.html | 2least
| Find out if NM has your cash
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Of course, it doesn’t cost anything to wish, and many people often never get what they wish for, anyway.</p>
<p>But that could change today for many people who suddenly find that money is waiting for them, if only they claim it.</p>
<p>Today’s Albuquerque Journal contains a 30-page list of legal notices starting on Page I-1, listing the names and last known addresses of people who have unclaimed money being held for them by the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department.</p>
<p>According to Stephanie Dennis, supervisor of the department’s Unclaimed Property Office, the state is holding nearly $133 million in unclaimed funds belonging to nearly 45,000 individuals. More than 17,000 of those names, mostly people from Bernalillo County, are in today’s Journal listings, she said.</p>
<p>The unclaimed funds are from inactive checking and saving accounts, income tax returns, uncashed payroll checks, insurance awards and insurance overpayments, credit card overpayments, cellphone and utility company rebates, money from gift cards, cashier’s checks, money orders, stocks, securities, mutual funds, safe deposit boxes, and more.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Some of these funds, Dennis said, have been sitting unclaimed since the 1970s. The largest single sum waiting to be claimed is $634,000.</p>
<p>So before you dismiss that wish for extra cash, read today’s newspaper. Wishes sometimes do come true.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 1,962 |
|
<p>KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Police in Los Angeles have arrested a man they suspect made a hoax emergency call that resulted in a SWAT police officer fatally shooting a man at the door of his own home in Kansas, law enforcement officials said Saturday.</p>
<p>Wichita Deputy Police Chief Troy Livingston on Friday characterized the hoax call as “swatting” in which a “prankster” called 911 with a fake story about a shooting and kidnapping to draw a SWAT team to the victim’s address. Authorities haven’t released the name of the man who was killed Thursday, but relatives have identified him as 28-year-old Andrew Finch.</p>
<p>Tyler Barriss, 25, is suspected of making that call and was arrested in Los Angeles on Friday, according to the Los Angeles Police Department and the Wichita Police Department in statements emailed early Saturday afternoon.</p>
<p>Officer Paul Cruz, a spokesman for the Wichita police, said the two city police departments are working with the FBI on the case, but provided no further details including on possible charges or extradition.</p>
<p>In audio of the 911 call played by Wichita police at a news conference on Friday, a man said he shot his father in the head and that he was holding his mother and a sibling at gunpoint. The caller, speaking with relative calm, also said he poured gasoline inside the home “and I might just set it on fire.”</p>
<p>Officers subsequently surrounded the home at the address the caller provided and prepared for a hostage situation. When Finch went to the door, police told him to put his hands up and move slowly.</p>
<p>But Livingston said the man moved a hand toward his waistband — a common place where guns are concealed. An officer, fearing the man was reaching for a gun, fired a single shot. Finch died a few minutes later at a hospital. Livingston said Finch was unarmed.</p>
<p>The officer, a seven-year veteran of the department, is on paid leave pending the investigation.</p>
<p>Lisa Finch on Friday told reporters “that cop murdered my son over a false report in the first place.”</p>
<p>In addition to the 911 call, police also released a brief video of body camera footage from another officer at the scene. It was difficult to see clearly what happened.</p>
<p>Dexerto, an online news service focused on gaming, reported that the series of events began with an online argument over a $1 or $2 wager in a “Call of Duty” game on UMG Gaming, which operates online tournaments including one involving “Call of Duty.”</p>
<p>Livingston said investigators were tracking online leads, and a law enforcement official who earlier confirmed Barriss’ arrest said the shooting stemmed from a dispute over “Call of Duty.” The official wasn’t authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke to The Associated Press Saturday on condition of anonymity.</p>
<p>The official said Barriss believed a person involved in the dispute lived at the address, but that investigators don’t believe Finch was the intended target. Finch’s mother said her son was not a gamer.</p>
<p>The official said it wasn’t clear if Barriss was involved in the dispute or if he had been recruited to make the false call.</p>
<p>Court records show Barriss was convicted in 2016 on two counts of making a false bomb report to a TV station in Glendale, California, and sent to Los Angeles County jail for two years. Jail records show he was released in January.</p>
<p>The FBI estimates that roughly 400 cases of swatting occur annually, with some using caller ID spoofing to disguise their number. An FBI supervisor in Kansas City, Missouri, which covers all of Kansas, said the agency joined in the investigation at the request of local police.</p>
<p>In other cases of apparent swatting, three families in Florida in January had to evacuate their homes after a detective received an anonymous email claiming bombs had been placed at the address.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Balsamo reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press writer Jim Salter contributed to this report from St. Louis.</p>
<p>___</p>
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<p>KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Police in Los Angeles have arrested a man they suspect made a hoax emergency call that resulted in a SWAT police officer fatally shooting a man at the door of his own home in Kansas, law enforcement officials said Saturday.</p>
<p>Wichita Deputy Police Chief Troy Livingston on Friday characterized the hoax call as “swatting” in which a “prankster” called 911 with a fake story about a shooting and kidnapping to draw a SWAT team to the victim’s address. Authorities haven’t released the name of the man who was killed Thursday, but relatives have identified him as 28-year-old Andrew Finch.</p>
<p>Tyler Barriss, 25, is suspected of making that call and was arrested in Los Angeles on Friday, according to the Los Angeles Police Department and the Wichita Police Department in statements emailed early Saturday afternoon.</p>
<p>Officer Paul Cruz, a spokesman for the Wichita police, said the two city police departments are working with the FBI on the case, but provided no further details including on possible charges or extradition.</p>
<p>In audio of the 911 call played by Wichita police at a news conference on Friday, a man said he shot his father in the head and that he was holding his mother and a sibling at gunpoint. The caller, speaking with relative calm, also said he poured gasoline inside the home “and I might just set it on fire.”</p>
<p>Officers subsequently surrounded the home at the address the caller provided and prepared for a hostage situation. When Finch went to the door, police told him to put his hands up and move slowly.</p>
<p>But Livingston said the man moved a hand toward his waistband — a common place where guns are concealed. An officer, fearing the man was reaching for a gun, fired a single shot. Finch died a few minutes later at a hospital. Livingston said Finch was unarmed.</p>
<p>The officer, a seven-year veteran of the department, is on paid leave pending the investigation.</p>
<p>Lisa Finch on Friday told reporters “that cop murdered my son over a false report in the first place.”</p>
<p>In addition to the 911 call, police also released a brief video of body camera footage from another officer at the scene. It was difficult to see clearly what happened.</p>
<p>Dexerto, an online news service focused on gaming, reported that the series of events began with an online argument over a $1 or $2 wager in a “Call of Duty” game on UMG Gaming, which operates online tournaments including one involving “Call of Duty.”</p>
<p>Livingston said investigators were tracking online leads, and a law enforcement official who earlier confirmed Barriss’ arrest said the shooting stemmed from a dispute over “Call of Duty.” The official wasn’t authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke to The Associated Press Saturday on condition of anonymity.</p>
<p>The official said Barriss believed a person involved in the dispute lived at the address, but that investigators don’t believe Finch was the intended target. Finch’s mother said her son was not a gamer.</p>
<p>The official said it wasn’t clear if Barriss was involved in the dispute or if he had been recruited to make the false call.</p>
<p>Court records show Barriss was convicted in 2016 on two counts of making a false bomb report to a TV station in Glendale, California, and sent to Los Angeles County jail for two years. Jail records show he was released in January.</p>
<p>The FBI estimates that roughly 400 cases of swatting occur annually, with some using caller ID spoofing to disguise their number. An FBI supervisor in Kansas City, Missouri, which covers all of Kansas, said the agency joined in the investigation at the request of local police.</p>
<p>In other cases of apparent swatting, three families in Florida in January had to evacuate their homes after a detective received an anonymous email claiming bombs had been placed at the address.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Balsamo reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press writer Jim Salter contributed to this report from St. Louis.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Sign up for the AP’s weekly newsletter showcasing our best reporting from the Midwest and Texas: <a href="http://apne.ws/2u1RMfv" type="external" /> <a href="http://apne.ws/2u1RMfv" type="external">http://apne.ws/2u1RMfv</a></p> | California man arrested after fatal Kansas police shooting | false | https://apnews.com/e49b190ef60a4c51ab947fea7aba8fa5 | 2017-12-30 | 2least
| California man arrested after fatal Kansas police shooting
<p>KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Police in Los Angeles have arrested a man they suspect made a hoax emergency call that resulted in a SWAT police officer fatally shooting a man at the door of his own home in Kansas, law enforcement officials said Saturday.</p>
<p>Wichita Deputy Police Chief Troy Livingston on Friday characterized the hoax call as “swatting” in which a “prankster” called 911 with a fake story about a shooting and kidnapping to draw a SWAT team to the victim’s address. Authorities haven’t released the name of the man who was killed Thursday, but relatives have identified him as 28-year-old Andrew Finch.</p>
<p>Tyler Barriss, 25, is suspected of making that call and was arrested in Los Angeles on Friday, according to the Los Angeles Police Department and the Wichita Police Department in statements emailed early Saturday afternoon.</p>
<p>Officer Paul Cruz, a spokesman for the Wichita police, said the two city police departments are working with the FBI on the case, but provided no further details including on possible charges or extradition.</p>
<p>In audio of the 911 call played by Wichita police at a news conference on Friday, a man said he shot his father in the head and that he was holding his mother and a sibling at gunpoint. The caller, speaking with relative calm, also said he poured gasoline inside the home “and I might just set it on fire.”</p>
<p>Officers subsequently surrounded the home at the address the caller provided and prepared for a hostage situation. When Finch went to the door, police told him to put his hands up and move slowly.</p>
<p>But Livingston said the man moved a hand toward his waistband — a common place where guns are concealed. An officer, fearing the man was reaching for a gun, fired a single shot. Finch died a few minutes later at a hospital. Livingston said Finch was unarmed.</p>
<p>The officer, a seven-year veteran of the department, is on paid leave pending the investigation.</p>
<p>Lisa Finch on Friday told reporters “that cop murdered my son over a false report in the first place.”</p>
<p>In addition to the 911 call, police also released a brief video of body camera footage from another officer at the scene. It was difficult to see clearly what happened.</p>
<p>Dexerto, an online news service focused on gaming, reported that the series of events began with an online argument over a $1 or $2 wager in a “Call of Duty” game on UMG Gaming, which operates online tournaments including one involving “Call of Duty.”</p>
<p>Livingston said investigators were tracking online leads, and a law enforcement official who earlier confirmed Barriss’ arrest said the shooting stemmed from a dispute over “Call of Duty.” The official wasn’t authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke to The Associated Press Saturday on condition of anonymity.</p>
<p>The official said Barriss believed a person involved in the dispute lived at the address, but that investigators don’t believe Finch was the intended target. Finch’s mother said her son was not a gamer.</p>
<p>The official said it wasn’t clear if Barriss was involved in the dispute or if he had been recruited to make the false call.</p>
<p>Court records show Barriss was convicted in 2016 on two counts of making a false bomb report to a TV station in Glendale, California, and sent to Los Angeles County jail for two years. Jail records show he was released in January.</p>
<p>The FBI estimates that roughly 400 cases of swatting occur annually, with some using caller ID spoofing to disguise their number. An FBI supervisor in Kansas City, Missouri, which covers all of Kansas, said the agency joined in the investigation at the request of local police.</p>
<p>In other cases of apparent swatting, three families in Florida in January had to evacuate their homes after a detective received an anonymous email claiming bombs had been placed at the address.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Balsamo reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press writer Jim Salter contributed to this report from St. Louis.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Sign up for the AP’s weekly newsletter showcasing our best reporting from the Midwest and Texas: <a href="http://apne.ws/2u1RMfv" type="external" /> <a href="http://apne.ws/2u1RMfv" type="external">http://apne.ws/2u1RMfv</a></p>
<p>KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Police in Los Angeles have arrested a man they suspect made a hoax emergency call that resulted in a SWAT police officer fatally shooting a man at the door of his own home in Kansas, law enforcement officials said Saturday.</p>
<p>Wichita Deputy Police Chief Troy Livingston on Friday characterized the hoax call as “swatting” in which a “prankster” called 911 with a fake story about a shooting and kidnapping to draw a SWAT team to the victim’s address. Authorities haven’t released the name of the man who was killed Thursday, but relatives have identified him as 28-year-old Andrew Finch.</p>
<p>Tyler Barriss, 25, is suspected of making that call and was arrested in Los Angeles on Friday, according to the Los Angeles Police Department and the Wichita Police Department in statements emailed early Saturday afternoon.</p>
<p>Officer Paul Cruz, a spokesman for the Wichita police, said the two city police departments are working with the FBI on the case, but provided no further details including on possible charges or extradition.</p>
<p>In audio of the 911 call played by Wichita police at a news conference on Friday, a man said he shot his father in the head and that he was holding his mother and a sibling at gunpoint. The caller, speaking with relative calm, also said he poured gasoline inside the home “and I might just set it on fire.”</p>
<p>Officers subsequently surrounded the home at the address the caller provided and prepared for a hostage situation. When Finch went to the door, police told him to put his hands up and move slowly.</p>
<p>But Livingston said the man moved a hand toward his waistband — a common place where guns are concealed. An officer, fearing the man was reaching for a gun, fired a single shot. Finch died a few minutes later at a hospital. Livingston said Finch was unarmed.</p>
<p>The officer, a seven-year veteran of the department, is on paid leave pending the investigation.</p>
<p>Lisa Finch on Friday told reporters “that cop murdered my son over a false report in the first place.”</p>
<p>In addition to the 911 call, police also released a brief video of body camera footage from another officer at the scene. It was difficult to see clearly what happened.</p>
<p>Dexerto, an online news service focused on gaming, reported that the series of events began with an online argument over a $1 or $2 wager in a “Call of Duty” game on UMG Gaming, which operates online tournaments including one involving “Call of Duty.”</p>
<p>Livingston said investigators were tracking online leads, and a law enforcement official who earlier confirmed Barriss’ arrest said the shooting stemmed from a dispute over “Call of Duty.” The official wasn’t authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke to The Associated Press Saturday on condition of anonymity.</p>
<p>The official said Barriss believed a person involved in the dispute lived at the address, but that investigators don’t believe Finch was the intended target. Finch’s mother said her son was not a gamer.</p>
<p>The official said it wasn’t clear if Barriss was involved in the dispute or if he had been recruited to make the false call.</p>
<p>Court records show Barriss was convicted in 2016 on two counts of making a false bomb report to a TV station in Glendale, California, and sent to Los Angeles County jail for two years. Jail records show he was released in January.</p>
<p>The FBI estimates that roughly 400 cases of swatting occur annually, with some using caller ID spoofing to disguise their number. An FBI supervisor in Kansas City, Missouri, which covers all of Kansas, said the agency joined in the investigation at the request of local police.</p>
<p>In other cases of apparent swatting, three families in Florida in January had to evacuate their homes after a detective received an anonymous email claiming bombs had been placed at the address.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Balsamo reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press writer Jim Salter contributed to this report from St. Louis.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Sign up for the AP’s weekly newsletter showcasing our best reporting from the Midwest and Texas: <a href="http://apne.ws/2u1RMfv" type="external" /> <a href="http://apne.ws/2u1RMfv" type="external">http://apne.ws/2u1RMfv</a></p> | 1,963 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Police in Tennessee are searching for a suspect who shot an officer three times.</p>
<p>Chattanooga Police Department spokeswoman Elisa Myzal says at least one of the shots Thursday hit the officer in the arm, and none of his injuries are life-threatening. He was treated at a hospital and released.</p>
<p>Police Chief Fred Fletcher says the officer was shot while checking to see if someone was squatting in an abandoned building.</p>
<p>Myzel says authorities are using helicopters and drones to try to find the suspect, who Fletcher said could be armed and dangerous.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Chattanooga police seek suspect who shot officer 3 times | false | https://abqjournal.com/899670/chattanooga-police-seek-suspect-who-shot-officer-3-times.html | 2016-12-01 | 2least
| Chattanooga police seek suspect who shot officer 3 times
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Police in Tennessee are searching for a suspect who shot an officer three times.</p>
<p>Chattanooga Police Department spokeswoman Elisa Myzal says at least one of the shots Thursday hit the officer in the arm, and none of his injuries are life-threatening. He was treated at a hospital and released.</p>
<p>Police Chief Fred Fletcher says the officer was shot while checking to see if someone was squatting in an abandoned building.</p>
<p>Myzel says authorities are using helicopters and drones to try to find the suspect, who Fletcher said could be armed and dangerous.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 1,964 |
<p>The undisguised, ultra-rightist biases of Fox News are all too familiar to anyone who is paying attention. Particularly since the election of Donald Trump, who has built the Fox Team into a partisan media border wall that works ferociously to defend him no matter how dishonest or disgusting his behavior. Trump even treats Fox as <a href="" type="internal">his recruiting pool</a> White House personnel.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/NewsCorpse/posts/2076137832401001" type="external" /></p>
<p>However, there is one outpost of semi-sanity on the network that occasionally diverts from the Fox gospel. Afternoon anchor Shepard Smith has been known to propound actual facts in contrast to the deliberate lies and propaganda that infect the rest of Fox’s roster. Notably, he presented a <a href="https://youtu.be/8vCjyWlpmEY" type="external">reality-based summary</a> of the Uranium One issue that many Fox squawking heads twisted into a perverse anti-Hillary Clinton harangue. He has also offered a more <a href="https://youtu.be/rdcppVPa4CQ" type="external">compassionate view</a> of victims of gun violence than is generally exhibited by Fox’s NRA shills. These sort of segments have made Smith the most hated man on Fox News by Fox News viewers.</p>
<p>Predictably, the news that Smith <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/fox-news-signsshepard-smith-new-multiyear-deal-1094727" type="external">just signed</a> a new, multiyear contract with Fox News has landed with a thud among the Fox faithful who have been clamoring for him to fired. And a recent <a href="http://time.com/longform/shepard-smith-fox-news/" type="external">profile</a> of Smith by Time Magazine wherein he expressed some candid opinions about his employer and colleagues isn’t going to make them any happier. Smith differentiated his role as a journalist with that of the “entertainers” who populate Fox’s primetime:</p>
<p>“We serve different masters. We work for different reporting chains, we have different rules. They don’t really have rules on the opinion side. They can say whatever they want. If it’s their opinion. I don’t really watch a lot of opinion programming. I’m busy.” […]</p>
<p>“I get it,” he says, “that some of our opinion programming is there strictly to be entertaining. I get that. I don’t work there. I wouldn’t work there.”</p>
<p>Smith is right. And his characterization of much of Fox’s programming as entertainment is consistent with what Fox News executives have said. News Corpse reported in 2015 a variety of admissions by Fox that they are <a href="" type="internal">not really in the news business</a>. Among them the confession that Fox founder and CEO, the late Roger Ailes, gave to the Hollywood Reporter. He dismissed talk that Fox competed with other news networks, instead insisting that “We’re competing with TNT and USA and ESPN.”</p>
<p>But Smith’s remarks did not go unnoticed by his network-mate, Sean Hannity. As the Fox host most fiercely infatuated with Trump, Hannity took offense at being trivialized as an entertainer. He tweeted this response to Smith:</p>
<p />
<p>Smith never mentioned Hannity in his profile, but Hannity had no reservations making this feud personal. His indignation is hysterical considering that he broke none of the stories he itemized in his tweet. He merely regurgitated them from other sources that were even more fringe than he is (Breitbart, Infowars, Gateway Pundit, etc.). And then he has the gall to sign off with Fox’s brand new slogan, “Real News.” Fox <a href="https://twitter.com/NewsCorpse/status/973287749645082624" type="external">posted a promo</a> for the new tagline that warned “It’s about to get REAL.” Which kind of implies that it’s been bullshit up until now.</p>
<p>Another problem with Hannity trash-talking Smith is that Hannity himself has denied being a journalist. Or maybe this calmly phrased tweet was just misunderstood:</p>
<p />
<p>Inquiring minds want to know: If Hannity is not a “journalist jackass,” then what kind of jackass is he? It’s almost impossible to tell because he keeps contradicting himself. <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/video/2017/08/07/contrary-past-protestation-sean-hannity-announces-im-journalist/217546" type="external">On his radio show</a> last August he insisted that “I’m a journalist but I’m an advocacy journalist.” Apparently Hannity is whatever he says he is at the time he’s saying it. Like most of what comes out of his mouth, it cannot be taken seriously or relied upon to be operative an hour later.</p>
<p>Poor Hannity must be terribly disturbed by how badly he is being <a href="" type="internal">crushed by MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow</a> lately. He was moved by Fox to directly compete with her a few months ago, but they may be regretting that now. All it did was affirm how weak he is as a TV personality. And while there are a lot of Fox viewers who would like to see Smith fired, there are many more American who would prefer that Hannity is sent packing. And you can help by signing on here: <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/fox-news-signsshepard-smith-new-multiyear-deal-1094727" type="external">Stop Hannity</a>.</p>
<p>How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QSSMOES/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=B00QSSMOES&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=newscorpsecom-20&amp;linkId=TLI6JC2OYE22MUTS" type="external">Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.</a> Available now at Amazon.</p> | Popcorn Time: War Breaks Out at Fox News Between Shepard Smith and Sean Hannity | true | http://newscorpse.com/ncWP/?p%3D34304 | 4left
| Popcorn Time: War Breaks Out at Fox News Between Shepard Smith and Sean Hannity
<p>The undisguised, ultra-rightist biases of Fox News are all too familiar to anyone who is paying attention. Particularly since the election of Donald Trump, who has built the Fox Team into a partisan media border wall that works ferociously to defend him no matter how dishonest or disgusting his behavior. Trump even treats Fox as <a href="" type="internal">his recruiting pool</a> White House personnel.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/NewsCorpse/posts/2076137832401001" type="external" /></p>
<p>However, there is one outpost of semi-sanity on the network that occasionally diverts from the Fox gospel. Afternoon anchor Shepard Smith has been known to propound actual facts in contrast to the deliberate lies and propaganda that infect the rest of Fox’s roster. Notably, he presented a <a href="https://youtu.be/8vCjyWlpmEY" type="external">reality-based summary</a> of the Uranium One issue that many Fox squawking heads twisted into a perverse anti-Hillary Clinton harangue. He has also offered a more <a href="https://youtu.be/rdcppVPa4CQ" type="external">compassionate view</a> of victims of gun violence than is generally exhibited by Fox’s NRA shills. These sort of segments have made Smith the most hated man on Fox News by Fox News viewers.</p>
<p>Predictably, the news that Smith <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/fox-news-signsshepard-smith-new-multiyear-deal-1094727" type="external">just signed</a> a new, multiyear contract with Fox News has landed with a thud among the Fox faithful who have been clamoring for him to fired. And a recent <a href="http://time.com/longform/shepard-smith-fox-news/" type="external">profile</a> of Smith by Time Magazine wherein he expressed some candid opinions about his employer and colleagues isn’t going to make them any happier. Smith differentiated his role as a journalist with that of the “entertainers” who populate Fox’s primetime:</p>
<p>“We serve different masters. We work for different reporting chains, we have different rules. They don’t really have rules on the opinion side. They can say whatever they want. If it’s their opinion. I don’t really watch a lot of opinion programming. I’m busy.” […]</p>
<p>“I get it,” he says, “that some of our opinion programming is there strictly to be entertaining. I get that. I don’t work there. I wouldn’t work there.”</p>
<p>Smith is right. And his characterization of much of Fox’s programming as entertainment is consistent with what Fox News executives have said. News Corpse reported in 2015 a variety of admissions by Fox that they are <a href="" type="internal">not really in the news business</a>. Among them the confession that Fox founder and CEO, the late Roger Ailes, gave to the Hollywood Reporter. He dismissed talk that Fox competed with other news networks, instead insisting that “We’re competing with TNT and USA and ESPN.”</p>
<p>But Smith’s remarks did not go unnoticed by his network-mate, Sean Hannity. As the Fox host most fiercely infatuated with Trump, Hannity took offense at being trivialized as an entertainer. He tweeted this response to Smith:</p>
<p />
<p>Smith never mentioned Hannity in his profile, but Hannity had no reservations making this feud personal. His indignation is hysterical considering that he broke none of the stories he itemized in his tweet. He merely regurgitated them from other sources that were even more fringe than he is (Breitbart, Infowars, Gateway Pundit, etc.). And then he has the gall to sign off with Fox’s brand new slogan, “Real News.” Fox <a href="https://twitter.com/NewsCorpse/status/973287749645082624" type="external">posted a promo</a> for the new tagline that warned “It’s about to get REAL.” Which kind of implies that it’s been bullshit up until now.</p>
<p>Another problem with Hannity trash-talking Smith is that Hannity himself has denied being a journalist. Or maybe this calmly phrased tweet was just misunderstood:</p>
<p />
<p>Inquiring minds want to know: If Hannity is not a “journalist jackass,” then what kind of jackass is he? It’s almost impossible to tell because he keeps contradicting himself. <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/video/2017/08/07/contrary-past-protestation-sean-hannity-announces-im-journalist/217546" type="external">On his radio show</a> last August he insisted that “I’m a journalist but I’m an advocacy journalist.” Apparently Hannity is whatever he says he is at the time he’s saying it. Like most of what comes out of his mouth, it cannot be taken seriously or relied upon to be operative an hour later.</p>
<p>Poor Hannity must be terribly disturbed by how badly he is being <a href="" type="internal">crushed by MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow</a> lately. He was moved by Fox to directly compete with her a few months ago, but they may be regretting that now. All it did was affirm how weak he is as a TV personality. And while there are a lot of Fox viewers who would like to see Smith fired, there are many more American who would prefer that Hannity is sent packing. And you can help by signing on here: <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/fox-news-signsshepard-smith-new-multiyear-deal-1094727" type="external">Stop Hannity</a>.</p>
<p>How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QSSMOES/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=B00QSSMOES&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=newscorpsecom-20&amp;linkId=TLI6JC2OYE22MUTS" type="external">Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.</a> Available now at Amazon.</p> | 1,965 |
|
<p>BEIRUT (AP) - President Bashar Assad reshuffled his government Monday replacing the ministers of defense, information and industry, Syria's state news agency SANA reported.</p>
<p>SANA did not give a reason for the government reshuffle that comes at a time when Assad's forces have been gaining ground over the past two years under the cover of Russian airstrikes and with the help of Iran-backed fighters.</p>
<p>It said army commander Gen. Ali Ayoub has been named defense minister replacing Fahd Jassem al-Freij who had held the post since 2012. Ayoub had been the army chief of staff since July 2012 until he became defense minister.</p>
<p>The agency added that Imad Sarah has been named information minister while Mohammed Mazen Youssef was chosen as the new minister of industry.</p>
<p>The announcement came as different parts of Syria witnessed violence, mostly in the suburbs of the capital Damascus and northwestern Syria, where troops are on the offensive on the southern edge of Idlib province.</p>
<p>Heavy clashes broke out between Syrian government forces and insurgents east of Damascus when troops tried to reach under the cover of a dozen airstrikes a force trapped inside, opposition activists said.</p>
<p>The clashes have been ongoing for three days but on Sunday, rebels backed by al-Qaida-linked fighters attacked troops and pro-government gunmen capturing parts of a military installation and surrounding a force inside.</p>
<p>The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Syria-based activist Mazen al-Shami said Monday's fighting was concentrated inside the military installation near the suburb of Harasta, where the government force has been trapped.</p>
<p>The Observatory said the Syrian air force conducted at least a dozen airstrikes on Harasta and nearby suburbs. Al-Shami reported dozens of airstrikes. He said the government brought in reinforcements overnight and is trying to reach the trapped force.</p>
<p>The Observatory said three days of violence in the suburbs of Damascus known as eastern Ghouta has killed 35 civilians, as well as 24 government troops and 29 insurgents.</p>
<p>An official with the ultraconservative Ahrar al-Sham insurgent group said the government is negotiating the passage of its fighters trapped in the military installation. The official, who asked not to be named because of the secrecy of the talks said the negotiations are in their preliminary stages.</p>
<p>Syria's state media did not mention the trapped force but blamed insurgents for the violence saying that they are firing shells into government-controlled areas killing at least one civilian.</p>
<p>The U.N. says government forces are holding nearly 400,000 people under siege in eastern Ghouta. The region was once a hotbed of protest against President Bashar Assad's government.</p>
<p>____</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Philip Issa in Beirut contributed to this report.</p>
<p>BEIRUT (AP) - President Bashar Assad reshuffled his government Monday replacing the ministers of defense, information and industry, Syria's state news agency SANA reported.</p>
<p>SANA did not give a reason for the government reshuffle that comes at a time when Assad's forces have been gaining ground over the past two years under the cover of Russian airstrikes and with the help of Iran-backed fighters.</p>
<p>It said army commander Gen. Ali Ayoub has been named defense minister replacing Fahd Jassem al-Freij who had held the post since 2012. Ayoub had been the army chief of staff since July 2012 until he became defense minister.</p>
<p>The agency added that Imad Sarah has been named information minister while Mohammed Mazen Youssef was chosen as the new minister of industry.</p>
<p>The announcement came as different parts of Syria witnessed violence, mostly in the suburbs of the capital Damascus and northwestern Syria, where troops are on the offensive on the southern edge of Idlib province.</p>
<p>Heavy clashes broke out between Syrian government forces and insurgents east of Damascus when troops tried to reach under the cover of a dozen airstrikes a force trapped inside, opposition activists said.</p>
<p>The clashes have been ongoing for three days but on Sunday, rebels backed by al-Qaida-linked fighters attacked troops and pro-government gunmen capturing parts of a military installation and surrounding a force inside.</p>
<p>The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Syria-based activist Mazen al-Shami said Monday's fighting was concentrated inside the military installation near the suburb of Harasta, where the government force has been trapped.</p>
<p>The Observatory said the Syrian air force conducted at least a dozen airstrikes on Harasta and nearby suburbs. Al-Shami reported dozens of airstrikes. He said the government brought in reinforcements overnight and is trying to reach the trapped force.</p>
<p>The Observatory said three days of violence in the suburbs of Damascus known as eastern Ghouta has killed 35 civilians, as well as 24 government troops and 29 insurgents.</p>
<p>An official with the ultraconservative Ahrar al-Sham insurgent group said the government is negotiating the passage of its fighters trapped in the military installation. The official, who asked not to be named because of the secrecy of the talks said the negotiations are in their preliminary stages.</p>
<p>Syria's state media did not mention the trapped force but blamed insurgents for the violence saying that they are firing shells into government-controlled areas killing at least one civilian.</p>
<p>The U.N. says government forces are holding nearly 400,000 people under siege in eastern Ghouta. The region was once a hotbed of protest against President Bashar Assad's government.</p>
<p>____</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Philip Issa in Beirut contributed to this report.</p> | State media says Syrian president reshuffles government | false | https://apnews.com/00cd92fd39254f08bf1e5632aae7700f | 2018-01-01 | 2least
| State media says Syrian president reshuffles government
<p>BEIRUT (AP) - President Bashar Assad reshuffled his government Monday replacing the ministers of defense, information and industry, Syria's state news agency SANA reported.</p>
<p>SANA did not give a reason for the government reshuffle that comes at a time when Assad's forces have been gaining ground over the past two years under the cover of Russian airstrikes and with the help of Iran-backed fighters.</p>
<p>It said army commander Gen. Ali Ayoub has been named defense minister replacing Fahd Jassem al-Freij who had held the post since 2012. Ayoub had been the army chief of staff since July 2012 until he became defense minister.</p>
<p>The agency added that Imad Sarah has been named information minister while Mohammed Mazen Youssef was chosen as the new minister of industry.</p>
<p>The announcement came as different parts of Syria witnessed violence, mostly in the suburbs of the capital Damascus and northwestern Syria, where troops are on the offensive on the southern edge of Idlib province.</p>
<p>Heavy clashes broke out between Syrian government forces and insurgents east of Damascus when troops tried to reach under the cover of a dozen airstrikes a force trapped inside, opposition activists said.</p>
<p>The clashes have been ongoing for three days but on Sunday, rebels backed by al-Qaida-linked fighters attacked troops and pro-government gunmen capturing parts of a military installation and surrounding a force inside.</p>
<p>The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Syria-based activist Mazen al-Shami said Monday's fighting was concentrated inside the military installation near the suburb of Harasta, where the government force has been trapped.</p>
<p>The Observatory said the Syrian air force conducted at least a dozen airstrikes on Harasta and nearby suburbs. Al-Shami reported dozens of airstrikes. He said the government brought in reinforcements overnight and is trying to reach the trapped force.</p>
<p>The Observatory said three days of violence in the suburbs of Damascus known as eastern Ghouta has killed 35 civilians, as well as 24 government troops and 29 insurgents.</p>
<p>An official with the ultraconservative Ahrar al-Sham insurgent group said the government is negotiating the passage of its fighters trapped in the military installation. The official, who asked not to be named because of the secrecy of the talks said the negotiations are in their preliminary stages.</p>
<p>Syria's state media did not mention the trapped force but blamed insurgents for the violence saying that they are firing shells into government-controlled areas killing at least one civilian.</p>
<p>The U.N. says government forces are holding nearly 400,000 people under siege in eastern Ghouta. The region was once a hotbed of protest against President Bashar Assad's government.</p>
<p>____</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Philip Issa in Beirut contributed to this report.</p>
<p>BEIRUT (AP) - President Bashar Assad reshuffled his government Monday replacing the ministers of defense, information and industry, Syria's state news agency SANA reported.</p>
<p>SANA did not give a reason for the government reshuffle that comes at a time when Assad's forces have been gaining ground over the past two years under the cover of Russian airstrikes and with the help of Iran-backed fighters.</p>
<p>It said army commander Gen. Ali Ayoub has been named defense minister replacing Fahd Jassem al-Freij who had held the post since 2012. Ayoub had been the army chief of staff since July 2012 until he became defense minister.</p>
<p>The agency added that Imad Sarah has been named information minister while Mohammed Mazen Youssef was chosen as the new minister of industry.</p>
<p>The announcement came as different parts of Syria witnessed violence, mostly in the suburbs of the capital Damascus and northwestern Syria, where troops are on the offensive on the southern edge of Idlib province.</p>
<p>Heavy clashes broke out between Syrian government forces and insurgents east of Damascus when troops tried to reach under the cover of a dozen airstrikes a force trapped inside, opposition activists said.</p>
<p>The clashes have been ongoing for three days but on Sunday, rebels backed by al-Qaida-linked fighters attacked troops and pro-government gunmen capturing parts of a military installation and surrounding a force inside.</p>
<p>The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Syria-based activist Mazen al-Shami said Monday's fighting was concentrated inside the military installation near the suburb of Harasta, where the government force has been trapped.</p>
<p>The Observatory said the Syrian air force conducted at least a dozen airstrikes on Harasta and nearby suburbs. Al-Shami reported dozens of airstrikes. He said the government brought in reinforcements overnight and is trying to reach the trapped force.</p>
<p>The Observatory said three days of violence in the suburbs of Damascus known as eastern Ghouta has killed 35 civilians, as well as 24 government troops and 29 insurgents.</p>
<p>An official with the ultraconservative Ahrar al-Sham insurgent group said the government is negotiating the passage of its fighters trapped in the military installation. The official, who asked not to be named because of the secrecy of the talks said the negotiations are in their preliminary stages.</p>
<p>Syria's state media did not mention the trapped force but blamed insurgents for the violence saying that they are firing shells into government-controlled areas killing at least one civilian.</p>
<p>The U.N. says government forces are holding nearly 400,000 people under siege in eastern Ghouta. The region was once a hotbed of protest against President Bashar Assad's government.</p>
<p>____</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Philip Issa in Beirut contributed to this report.</p> | 1,966 |
<p>Beiersdorf AG (BEI.XE) said Thursday that its nine-month group sales for the year to date stood at 5.28 billion euros ($6.22 billion), as it lifted its group-sales forecast following a strong third-quarter performance.</p>
<p>The German skin-care company said that consumer sales for the period ending Sept. 30 rose organically by 3.9% to EUR4.34 billion, adding that all core brands contributed. Nivea and Eucerin sales rose 3.7% and 2.4%, respectively, it said.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Tesa sales rose to EUR945 million compared with EUR855 million a year earlier.</p>
<p>Beiersdorf backed its earnings forecast for the year, but lifted its group-sales forecast and now expects 4%-5% sales growth in 2017.</p>
<p>Write to Anthony Shevlin at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>October 26, 2017 02:44 ET (06:44 GMT)</p> | Beiersdorf Nine Month Sales EUR5.28 Billion; Lifts Sales Forecast | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/10/26/beiersdorf-nine-month-sales-eur5-28-billion-lifts-sales-forecast.html | 2017-10-26 | 0right
| Beiersdorf Nine Month Sales EUR5.28 Billion; Lifts Sales Forecast
<p>Beiersdorf AG (BEI.XE) said Thursday that its nine-month group sales for the year to date stood at 5.28 billion euros ($6.22 billion), as it lifted its group-sales forecast following a strong third-quarter performance.</p>
<p>The German skin-care company said that consumer sales for the period ending Sept. 30 rose organically by 3.9% to EUR4.34 billion, adding that all core brands contributed. Nivea and Eucerin sales rose 3.7% and 2.4%, respectively, it said.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Tesa sales rose to EUR945 million compared with EUR855 million a year earlier.</p>
<p>Beiersdorf backed its earnings forecast for the year, but lifted its group-sales forecast and now expects 4%-5% sales growth in 2017.</p>
<p>Write to Anthony Shevlin at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>October 26, 2017 02:44 ET (06:44 GMT)</p> | 1,967 |
<p>Carolyn Kaster/AP</p>
<p />
<p>After drawing sharp criticism on Monday, the State Department deleted a <a href="https://archive.is/ZjifA" type="external">web article</a> that showcased the President’s Mar-a-Lago estate and private club. The post, which had been available on the department’s ShareAmerica site since April 4, highlighted the compound’s “style and taste” while noting the central role the oceanside property has played in Trump’s presidency, having hosted state visits by Chinese president Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://archive.is/ZjifA" type="external">post</a>‘s tone was questioned after it gained wide notice on social media. “This reads almost as if it’s an advertisement for the private club,” says Jordan Libowitz, Communications Director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). “This makes you question whether there were ulterior motives in mind.”</p>
<p><a href="https://share.america.gov/mar-a-lago-winter-white-house/" type="external">ShareAmerica</a>, a State Department public diplomacy project that creates social media friendly stories about US politics, culture, and places, characterizes itself as a “platform for sharing compelling stories and images that spark discussion and debate on important topics like democracy, freedom of expression, innovation, entrepreneurship, education, and the role of civil society.” The Mar-a-Lago article was shared by the U.S. Embassy in London’s website, and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/EconAtState/posts/1386160144810068" type="external">promoted</a> by the Facebook page of the State Department’s Bureau of Economic &amp; Business Affairs.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://archive.is/ZjifA" type="external">post</a> drew the ire of Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon):</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>“It’s somewhat out of the ordinary for government websites to be talking about current businesses of the sitting president. That’s not a situation we’ve really seen before,” says Libowitz.</p>
<p>A State Department official provided Mother Jones a short statement after deleting the post late on Monday: “The intention of the article was to inform the public about where the President has been hosting world leaders. We regret any misperception and have removed the post.”</p>
<p>Since his inauguration, Trump has spent 25 days at the club at a hefty cost to taxpayers and local residents. Mar-a-Lago’s initiation fee jumped to $200,000 around the same time that Trump entered office.</p>
<p>The ShareAmerica article included an outline of the estate’s history, noting that the original owner—the cereal titan Marjorie Merriweather Post—willed her Palm Beach, Florida compound to the US government, hoping it would be used as a presidential retreat. At the time, the 114-room mansion was rejected as being unsuitable. In 1985, Trump purchased the residence, refurbished it, and reopened it as a private club in 1995. The now-deleted ShareAmerica post frames Trump’s 2016 election victory as fulfilling the original owner’s plan: “Post’s dream of a winter White House came true with Trump’s election in 2016.”</p>
<p /> | State Department Pulls Post Gushing About Mar-a-Lago | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2017/04/trump-mar-lago-estate-state-dept-promotion-1/ | 2017-04-24 | 4left
| State Department Pulls Post Gushing About Mar-a-Lago
<p>Carolyn Kaster/AP</p>
<p />
<p>After drawing sharp criticism on Monday, the State Department deleted a <a href="https://archive.is/ZjifA" type="external">web article</a> that showcased the President’s Mar-a-Lago estate and private club. The post, which had been available on the department’s ShareAmerica site since April 4, highlighted the compound’s “style and taste” while noting the central role the oceanside property has played in Trump’s presidency, having hosted state visits by Chinese president Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://archive.is/ZjifA" type="external">post</a>‘s tone was questioned after it gained wide notice on social media. “This reads almost as if it’s an advertisement for the private club,” says Jordan Libowitz, Communications Director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). “This makes you question whether there were ulterior motives in mind.”</p>
<p><a href="https://share.america.gov/mar-a-lago-winter-white-house/" type="external">ShareAmerica</a>, a State Department public diplomacy project that creates social media friendly stories about US politics, culture, and places, characterizes itself as a “platform for sharing compelling stories and images that spark discussion and debate on important topics like democracy, freedom of expression, innovation, entrepreneurship, education, and the role of civil society.” The Mar-a-Lago article was shared by the U.S. Embassy in London’s website, and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/EconAtState/posts/1386160144810068" type="external">promoted</a> by the Facebook page of the State Department’s Bureau of Economic &amp; Business Affairs.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://archive.is/ZjifA" type="external">post</a> drew the ire of Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon):</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>“It’s somewhat out of the ordinary for government websites to be talking about current businesses of the sitting president. That’s not a situation we’ve really seen before,” says Libowitz.</p>
<p>A State Department official provided Mother Jones a short statement after deleting the post late on Monday: “The intention of the article was to inform the public about where the President has been hosting world leaders. We regret any misperception and have removed the post.”</p>
<p>Since his inauguration, Trump has spent 25 days at the club at a hefty cost to taxpayers and local residents. Mar-a-Lago’s initiation fee jumped to $200,000 around the same time that Trump entered office.</p>
<p>The ShareAmerica article included an outline of the estate’s history, noting that the original owner—the cereal titan Marjorie Merriweather Post—willed her Palm Beach, Florida compound to the US government, hoping it would be used as a presidential retreat. At the time, the 114-room mansion was rejected as being unsuitable. In 1985, Trump purchased the residence, refurbished it, and reopened it as a private club in 1995. The now-deleted ShareAmerica post frames Trump’s 2016 election victory as fulfilling the original owner’s plan: “Post’s dream of a winter White House came true with Trump’s election in 2016.”</p>
<p /> | 1,968 |
<p />
<p>The global cybersecurity market could grow from $122.45 billion todayto $202.36 billion by 2021, according to a new report from Research and Markets. The firm believes that growth will be driven by an increase of connected objects across the Internet of Things, relaxed BYOD (bring your own device) policies at work, and the need for tighter application security.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>It also estimates that the banking, financial services, and insurance market vertical will experience the highest growth due to the rising adoption of web and mobile apps, and that the Asia Pacific region will experience the highest growth as growing markets like China and India deploy more cybersecurity solutions.</p>
<p>That forecast sounds bullish, but investors should also examine these four other stats to understand how rapidly the cybersecurity market could grow within the next few years.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Nearly 178 million personal records were exposed in data breaches in 2015, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center. Nearly 70% of those breaches occurred in the healthcare sector, and almost 20% occurred at government/military agencies.</p>
<p>These organizations will likely increase their cybersecurity budgets considerably in the near future, which means more business for "best in breed" perimeter defense companies like FireEye(NASDAQ: FEYE) and Palo Alto Networks (NYSE: PANW).FireEye's threat prevention platform identifies incoming threats before they strike, and Palo Alto's next-gen firewalls prevent them from reaching internal networks.</p>
<p>Larger companies with bundled security solutions -- like Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) and Symantec (NASDAQ: SYMC) -- will also likely see stronger demand for their security appliances and services.</p>
<p>The global cost of handling cyberattacks is expected to rise from $400 billion in 2015 to $2.1 trillion by 2019, according to estimates fromLloyd's and Juniper Research. That includes direct damage as well as post-attack disruptions. Payroll giant ADP, hard drive maker Seagate, the FBI, the IRS, and the Department of Homeland Security -- which were allstruck by data breaches this year -- all know how costly these attacks can be.</p>
<p>While larger companies and organizations are gradually responding to these threats, Cisco's 2016 Annual Security Report found that just 29% of small to medium-sized businesses used basic security tools like configuration and patching to prevent breaches -- down from 39% in 2014.</p>
<p>Despite that apparent complacence, 52% of respondents in CyberEdge Group's 2015 <a href="https://www.bluecoat.com/sites/default/files/documents/files/CyberEdge_2015_CDR_Report.pdf" type="external">Cyberthreat Defense Report Opens a New Window.</a> believed that their companies would be hit by successful cyberattacks within the year. That fear is certainly justified -- Symantec, best known to consumers as the maker of Norton Antivirus, recently discovered that three quarters of all websites had exploitable vulnerabilities.</p>
<p>Companies like Symantec are also evolving into "all-in-one" guardians for these businesses and organizations. Symantec <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/06/16/why-symantec-corporation-paid-46-billion-for-blue.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">recently acquired Opens a New Window.</a> security firm Blue Coat to add its network and cloud protection services to its core portfolio of security solutions for PCs, data centers, and emails. That move makes it an "end-to-end" security provider which offers "layers" or protection, which previously required services from multiple vendors.</p>
<p>43% of data breaches were caused internally, according to a reportfrom Intel Security last September. Half of those breaches were accidental, caused by poor security practices, while the other half were intentional -- caused by disgruntled employees and malicious insiders.</p>
<p>Although internal data breaches are rising, most cybersecurity companies only focus on external threats with firewalls and threat prevention systems. The standout performer in the internal data breach market is CyberArk (NASDAQ: CYBR), the market leader in PAM (privileged account management) solutions. CyberArk's platform <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/10/05/why-investors-are-paying-a-premium-for-cyberark-so.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">locks down Opens a New Window.</a> compromised systems and quarantines internal threats before they can spread to other parts of the network.</p>
<p>Investing in most cybersecurity stocks today isn't for queasy investors, since many of these high-growth players have high valuations, low profits, and are prone to wild price swings. However, less risk-averse investors should still keep one or two cybersecurity stocks in their long term portfolio since the market still remains ripe for long-term growth and consolidation.</p>
<p>A secret billion-dollar stock opportunity The world's biggest tech company forgot to show you something, but a few Wall Street analysts and the Fool didn't miss a beat: There's a small company that's powering their brand-new gadgets and the coming revolution in technology. And we think its stock price has nearly unlimited room to run for early in-the-know investors! To be one of them, <a href="http://www.fool.com/mms/mark/ecap-foolcom-apple-wearable?aid=6965&amp;source=irbeditxt0000017&amp;ftm_cam=rb-wearable-d&amp;ftm_pit=2668&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">just click here Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFSunLion/info.aspx" type="external">Leo Sun Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Cisco Systems and CyberArk Software. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends FireEye. The Motley Fool recommends Automatic Data Processing, Cisco Systems, CyberArk Software, Intel, and Palo Alto Networks. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/motley.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 4 Cybersecurity Stats That Will Blow You Away | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/11/13/4-cybersecurity-stats-that-will-blow-away.html | 2016-11-13 | 0right
| 4 Cybersecurity Stats That Will Blow You Away
<p />
<p>The global cybersecurity market could grow from $122.45 billion todayto $202.36 billion by 2021, according to a new report from Research and Markets. The firm believes that growth will be driven by an increase of connected objects across the Internet of Things, relaxed BYOD (bring your own device) policies at work, and the need for tighter application security.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>It also estimates that the banking, financial services, and insurance market vertical will experience the highest growth due to the rising adoption of web and mobile apps, and that the Asia Pacific region will experience the highest growth as growing markets like China and India deploy more cybersecurity solutions.</p>
<p>That forecast sounds bullish, but investors should also examine these four other stats to understand how rapidly the cybersecurity market could grow within the next few years.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Nearly 178 million personal records were exposed in data breaches in 2015, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center. Nearly 70% of those breaches occurred in the healthcare sector, and almost 20% occurred at government/military agencies.</p>
<p>These organizations will likely increase their cybersecurity budgets considerably in the near future, which means more business for "best in breed" perimeter defense companies like FireEye(NASDAQ: FEYE) and Palo Alto Networks (NYSE: PANW).FireEye's threat prevention platform identifies incoming threats before they strike, and Palo Alto's next-gen firewalls prevent them from reaching internal networks.</p>
<p>Larger companies with bundled security solutions -- like Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) and Symantec (NASDAQ: SYMC) -- will also likely see stronger demand for their security appliances and services.</p>
<p>The global cost of handling cyberattacks is expected to rise from $400 billion in 2015 to $2.1 trillion by 2019, according to estimates fromLloyd's and Juniper Research. That includes direct damage as well as post-attack disruptions. Payroll giant ADP, hard drive maker Seagate, the FBI, the IRS, and the Department of Homeland Security -- which were allstruck by data breaches this year -- all know how costly these attacks can be.</p>
<p>While larger companies and organizations are gradually responding to these threats, Cisco's 2016 Annual Security Report found that just 29% of small to medium-sized businesses used basic security tools like configuration and patching to prevent breaches -- down from 39% in 2014.</p>
<p>Despite that apparent complacence, 52% of respondents in CyberEdge Group's 2015 <a href="https://www.bluecoat.com/sites/default/files/documents/files/CyberEdge_2015_CDR_Report.pdf" type="external">Cyberthreat Defense Report Opens a New Window.</a> believed that their companies would be hit by successful cyberattacks within the year. That fear is certainly justified -- Symantec, best known to consumers as the maker of Norton Antivirus, recently discovered that three quarters of all websites had exploitable vulnerabilities.</p>
<p>Companies like Symantec are also evolving into "all-in-one" guardians for these businesses and organizations. Symantec <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/06/16/why-symantec-corporation-paid-46-billion-for-blue.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">recently acquired Opens a New Window.</a> security firm Blue Coat to add its network and cloud protection services to its core portfolio of security solutions for PCs, data centers, and emails. That move makes it an "end-to-end" security provider which offers "layers" or protection, which previously required services from multiple vendors.</p>
<p>43% of data breaches were caused internally, according to a reportfrom Intel Security last September. Half of those breaches were accidental, caused by poor security practices, while the other half were intentional -- caused by disgruntled employees and malicious insiders.</p>
<p>Although internal data breaches are rising, most cybersecurity companies only focus on external threats with firewalls and threat prevention systems. The standout performer in the internal data breach market is CyberArk (NASDAQ: CYBR), the market leader in PAM (privileged account management) solutions. CyberArk's platform <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/10/05/why-investors-are-paying-a-premium-for-cyberark-so.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">locks down Opens a New Window.</a> compromised systems and quarantines internal threats before they can spread to other parts of the network.</p>
<p>Investing in most cybersecurity stocks today isn't for queasy investors, since many of these high-growth players have high valuations, low profits, and are prone to wild price swings. However, less risk-averse investors should still keep one or two cybersecurity stocks in their long term portfolio since the market still remains ripe for long-term growth and consolidation.</p>
<p>A secret billion-dollar stock opportunity The world's biggest tech company forgot to show you something, but a few Wall Street analysts and the Fool didn't miss a beat: There's a small company that's powering their brand-new gadgets and the coming revolution in technology. And we think its stock price has nearly unlimited room to run for early in-the-know investors! To be one of them, <a href="http://www.fool.com/mms/mark/ecap-foolcom-apple-wearable?aid=6965&amp;source=irbeditxt0000017&amp;ftm_cam=rb-wearable-d&amp;ftm_pit=2668&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">just click here Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFSunLion/info.aspx" type="external">Leo Sun Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Cisco Systems and CyberArk Software. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends FireEye. The Motley Fool recommends Automatic Data Processing, Cisco Systems, CyberArk Software, Intel, and Palo Alto Networks. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/motley.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 1,969 |
<p />
<p>Video streaming service Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) will join Reddit, Kickstarter and thousands of other websites on Wednesday in an online protest that calls for strong U.S. rules to ensure equal treatment of Internet traffic.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The Federal Communications Commission is considering "net neutrality" rules that critics worry could lead to fast lanes for websites that pay broadband providers for quicker delivery, and slow lanes for companies that do not pay.</p>
<p>On Wednesday, Netflix and other websites will display a spinning icon that represents a slow-loading Internet, with a link to more information about the FCC's proposal. On Netflix, the icon will appear on the Netflix.com home pages for members and non-members. No videos will be slowed.</p>
<p>Thousands of other websites will display the spinning icon, according to a statement from consumer group Free Press, one of the organizers of the online protest.</p>
<p>Internet campaigns have impacted policy issues in the past. In 2012, a massive online mobilization of Internet users and major websites helped sink U.S. anti-piracy legislation.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)</p> | Netflix Joins Online Protest on U.S. Net Neutrality | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2014/09/08/netflix-joins-online-protest-on-us-net-neutrality.html | 2016-03-06 | 0right
| Netflix Joins Online Protest on U.S. Net Neutrality
<p />
<p>Video streaming service Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) will join Reddit, Kickstarter and thousands of other websites on Wednesday in an online protest that calls for strong U.S. rules to ensure equal treatment of Internet traffic.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The Federal Communications Commission is considering "net neutrality" rules that critics worry could lead to fast lanes for websites that pay broadband providers for quicker delivery, and slow lanes for companies that do not pay.</p>
<p>On Wednesday, Netflix and other websites will display a spinning icon that represents a slow-loading Internet, with a link to more information about the FCC's proposal. On Netflix, the icon will appear on the Netflix.com home pages for members and non-members. No videos will be slowed.</p>
<p>Thousands of other websites will display the spinning icon, according to a statement from consumer group Free Press, one of the organizers of the online protest.</p>
<p>Internet campaigns have impacted policy issues in the past. In 2012, a massive online mobilization of Internet users and major websites helped sink U.S. anti-piracy legislation.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)</p> | 1,970 |
<p>Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence released 10 years of tax returns on Friday evening, a disclosure that Donald Trump, his partner on the Republican ticket, has so far declined to make.</p>
<p>The returns from the Pence family date from 2006 until 2015. And they show that - unlike Trump's -- Mike Pence's finances are relatively routine.</p>
<p>Last year, Pence's gross adjusted income was $113,026; he paid an effective tax rate of 12.4 percent and gave about $9,000 to charity, according to the campaign.</p>
<p>Joe Perry, national partner in charge of tax and business services at Marcum LLP, said that Pence's taxes show "a return that an average family would file."</p>
<p>Since 2006, the family's income has fluctuated between about $188,000 in 2010 to just north of $110,000 now. In 2015, the family's earnings were its lowest in the last 10 years.</p>
<p>Perry noted that Pence's charitable giving is significant particularly compared to many more wealthy taxpayers.</p>
<p>"I have clients who make substantially more money than he does, and his charitable contributions exceed what mine would give," he said.</p>
<p>Critics have called on Trump to release his tax records, which he says he will do only upon completion of an IRS audit. But Trump also suggested this week that he would immediately release his tax returns if Hillary Clinton releases emails she deleted on her private server.</p>
<p>Craig Holman of Public Citizen, a nonpartisan watchdog organization, said that Pence's returns showed no surprises and demonstrated that the family has not grown its wealth while in public service.</p>
<p>"Everything we see in Pence's tax returns are very likely to stand in stark contrast to Trump's tax returns, which apparently is why Trump's taxes remain a secret today and no doubt will continue to be a secret long after the election," he said.</p>
<p>Karen Pence, who in recent years ran a watercolor and crafts business that made nearly no money, used to bring in up to $35,000 toward the family income while the family resided in the DC area during her husband’s tenure in Congress. She worked as a teacher at private Christian schools in the Virginia area.</p>
<p>Pence foreshadowed his rather mundane tax returns during a speech at the Reagan Presidential Library on Thursday, citing Harry Truman as once saying “an honest public servant can’t become rich in politics.” He followed by noting, “The Pences pass that test.”</p>
<p>It appears Pence has not profited — outside of his salary as congressman and governor — off of his time in public office, based on the ten years of returns he released on Friday.</p>
<p>Pence, who now lives in the governor’s mansion in Indianapolis, often jokes on the campaign trail that he is quite similar to his running mate, Donald Trump — except for the amount of money in their bank accounts.</p>
<p>“I always tell people — I mean, but for a whole lot of zeroes, he and I have an awful lot in common,” Pence cracked on Thursday.</p> | Mike Pence Releases 10 Years of Tax Returns | false | http://nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/mike-pence-releases-10-years-tax-returns-n645921 | 2016-09-10 | 3left-center
| Mike Pence Releases 10 Years of Tax Returns
<p>Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence released 10 years of tax returns on Friday evening, a disclosure that Donald Trump, his partner on the Republican ticket, has so far declined to make.</p>
<p>The returns from the Pence family date from 2006 until 2015. And they show that - unlike Trump's -- Mike Pence's finances are relatively routine.</p>
<p>Last year, Pence's gross adjusted income was $113,026; he paid an effective tax rate of 12.4 percent and gave about $9,000 to charity, according to the campaign.</p>
<p>Joe Perry, national partner in charge of tax and business services at Marcum LLP, said that Pence's taxes show "a return that an average family would file."</p>
<p>Since 2006, the family's income has fluctuated between about $188,000 in 2010 to just north of $110,000 now. In 2015, the family's earnings were its lowest in the last 10 years.</p>
<p>Perry noted that Pence's charitable giving is significant particularly compared to many more wealthy taxpayers.</p>
<p>"I have clients who make substantially more money than he does, and his charitable contributions exceed what mine would give," he said.</p>
<p>Critics have called on Trump to release his tax records, which he says he will do only upon completion of an IRS audit. But Trump also suggested this week that he would immediately release his tax returns if Hillary Clinton releases emails she deleted on her private server.</p>
<p>Craig Holman of Public Citizen, a nonpartisan watchdog organization, said that Pence's returns showed no surprises and demonstrated that the family has not grown its wealth while in public service.</p>
<p>"Everything we see in Pence's tax returns are very likely to stand in stark contrast to Trump's tax returns, which apparently is why Trump's taxes remain a secret today and no doubt will continue to be a secret long after the election," he said.</p>
<p>Karen Pence, who in recent years ran a watercolor and crafts business that made nearly no money, used to bring in up to $35,000 toward the family income while the family resided in the DC area during her husband’s tenure in Congress. She worked as a teacher at private Christian schools in the Virginia area.</p>
<p>Pence foreshadowed his rather mundane tax returns during a speech at the Reagan Presidential Library on Thursday, citing Harry Truman as once saying “an honest public servant can’t become rich in politics.” He followed by noting, “The Pences pass that test.”</p>
<p>It appears Pence has not profited — outside of his salary as congressman and governor — off of his time in public office, based on the ten years of returns he released on Friday.</p>
<p>Pence, who now lives in the governor’s mansion in Indianapolis, often jokes on the campaign trail that he is quite similar to his running mate, Donald Trump — except for the amount of money in their bank accounts.</p>
<p>“I always tell people — I mean, but for a whole lot of zeroes, he and I have an awful lot in common,” Pence cracked on Thursday.</p> | 1,971 |
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<p>SANTA FE, N.M. - State Auditor Tim Keller says New Mexico is making progress toward balancing its government checkbook after an estimated $100 million discrepancy was reported last year.</p>
<p>The Office of the State Auditor announced Monday that the discrepancy is now about $4.1 million between the state's general ledger and actual balances in bank accounts.</p>
<p>The accounting problems have been traced to software adopted by the state in 2007.</p>
<p>The assessment of the state's 2015 general ledger was completed by an Albuquerque-based consultant.</p>
<p>The report finds that it may not be possible to reconcile some account activity between July 2003 and January 2013 because of incomplete data. The report found that state financial statements are now presented fairly.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | New Mexico cleans up its unbalanced checkbook | false | https://abqjournal.com/700856/new-mexico-cleans-up-its-unbalanced-checkbook.html | 2least
| New Mexico cleans up its unbalanced checkbook
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<p>SANTA FE, N.M. - State Auditor Tim Keller says New Mexico is making progress toward balancing its government checkbook after an estimated $100 million discrepancy was reported last year.</p>
<p>The Office of the State Auditor announced Monday that the discrepancy is now about $4.1 million between the state's general ledger and actual balances in bank accounts.</p>
<p>The accounting problems have been traced to software adopted by the state in 2007.</p>
<p>The assessment of the state's 2015 general ledger was completed by an Albuquerque-based consultant.</p>
<p>The report finds that it may not be possible to reconcile some account activity between July 2003 and January 2013 because of incomplete data. The report found that state financial statements are now presented fairly.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 1,972 |
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<p>Lake Mary police officers were still investigating the encounter as a domestic dispute, but no charges had been filed Monday afternoon. Shellie Zimmerman left the house after being questioned by police. George Zimmerman remained there into early evening, and his attorney denied any wrongdoing by his client.</p>
<p>Shellie Zimmerman, who has filed for divorce, initially told a 911 dispatcher that her husband had his hand on his gun as he sat in his car outside the home she was at with her father. She said she was scared because she wasn’t sure what Zimmerman was capable of doing. But hours later she changed her story and said she never saw a firearm, Lake Mary Police Chief Steve Bracknell said.</p>
<p>For the time being, “domestic violence can’t be invoked because she has changed her story and says she didn’t see a firearm,” Bracknell said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>On the 911 call, Shellie Zimmerman is sobbing and repeating “Oh my God” as she talks to a police dispatcher. She yells at her father to get inside the house, saying Zimmerman may start shooting at them.</p>
<p>“He’s threatening all of us with a firearm. … He punched my dad in the nose,” Shellie Zimmerman said on the call. “I don’t know what he’s capable of. I’m really scared.”</p>
<p>She also said he grabbed an iPad from her hand and smashed it.</p>
<p>Zimmerman’s attorney, Mark O’Mara, said his client never threatened his estranged wife and her father with a gun and never punched his father-in-law.</p>
<p>Shellie Zimmerman had collected most of her belongings Saturday from the house where they both had been staying until she moved out. But she had returned unexpectedly Monday to gather the remaining items. Emotions got out of control, but neither side is filing charges against the other, O’Mara said.</p>
<p>“I know the 911 tape suggests that Shellie was saying something but I think that was heightened emotions,” O’Mara said. “There may have been some pushing and touching. That happens a lot in divorce situations. … Nobody was injured.”</p>
<p>Her father also declined to press charges, the police chief said.</p>
<p>Prosecutors could still build a case based on surveillance video from cameras outside the house and also video from the squad cars of officers who responded. Florida law allows police officers to arrest someone for domestic violence without the consent of the victim.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Police spokesman Zach Hudson said the estranged husband and wife were blaming each other for being the aggressor and that police officers were sorting through their accounts.</p>
<p>Shellie Zimmerman in her divorce filing last week said she and her husband had separated a month after he was acquitted of any crime for fatally shooting the 17-year-old Martin in Sanford, not far from where Monday’s investigation happened.</p>
<p>Shellie Zimmerman asked the dispatcher to send an ambulance to check her father out. A fire department ambulance arrived at the house but nobody needed to be transported, Hudson said.</p>
<p>In an interview with ABC’s “Good Morning America” that aired last Friday, Zimmerman said her husband left her with “a bunch of pieces of broken glass” after the acquittal. She said he only stayed in their house three or four nights since the trial ended and that they even tried counseling. But she moved out Aug. 13.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Police get call about Zimmerman | false | https://abqjournal.com/260284/police-get-call-about-zimmerman.html | 2013-09-10 | 2least
| Police get call about Zimmerman
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<p />
<p>Lake Mary police officers were still investigating the encounter as a domestic dispute, but no charges had been filed Monday afternoon. Shellie Zimmerman left the house after being questioned by police. George Zimmerman remained there into early evening, and his attorney denied any wrongdoing by his client.</p>
<p>Shellie Zimmerman, who has filed for divorce, initially told a 911 dispatcher that her husband had his hand on his gun as he sat in his car outside the home she was at with her father. She said she was scared because she wasn’t sure what Zimmerman was capable of doing. But hours later she changed her story and said she never saw a firearm, Lake Mary Police Chief Steve Bracknell said.</p>
<p>For the time being, “domestic violence can’t be invoked because she has changed her story and says she didn’t see a firearm,” Bracknell said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>On the 911 call, Shellie Zimmerman is sobbing and repeating “Oh my God” as she talks to a police dispatcher. She yells at her father to get inside the house, saying Zimmerman may start shooting at them.</p>
<p>“He’s threatening all of us with a firearm. … He punched my dad in the nose,” Shellie Zimmerman said on the call. “I don’t know what he’s capable of. I’m really scared.”</p>
<p>She also said he grabbed an iPad from her hand and smashed it.</p>
<p>Zimmerman’s attorney, Mark O’Mara, said his client never threatened his estranged wife and her father with a gun and never punched his father-in-law.</p>
<p>Shellie Zimmerman had collected most of her belongings Saturday from the house where they both had been staying until she moved out. But she had returned unexpectedly Monday to gather the remaining items. Emotions got out of control, but neither side is filing charges against the other, O’Mara said.</p>
<p>“I know the 911 tape suggests that Shellie was saying something but I think that was heightened emotions,” O’Mara said. “There may have been some pushing and touching. That happens a lot in divorce situations. … Nobody was injured.”</p>
<p>Her father also declined to press charges, the police chief said.</p>
<p>Prosecutors could still build a case based on surveillance video from cameras outside the house and also video from the squad cars of officers who responded. Florida law allows police officers to arrest someone for domestic violence without the consent of the victim.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Police spokesman Zach Hudson said the estranged husband and wife were blaming each other for being the aggressor and that police officers were sorting through their accounts.</p>
<p>Shellie Zimmerman in her divorce filing last week said she and her husband had separated a month after he was acquitted of any crime for fatally shooting the 17-year-old Martin in Sanford, not far from where Monday’s investigation happened.</p>
<p>Shellie Zimmerman asked the dispatcher to send an ambulance to check her father out. A fire department ambulance arrived at the house but nobody needed to be transported, Hudson said.</p>
<p>In an interview with ABC’s “Good Morning America” that aired last Friday, Zimmerman said her husband left her with “a bunch of pieces of broken glass” after the acquittal. She said he only stayed in their house three or four nights since the trial ended and that they even tried counseling. But she moved out Aug. 13.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 1,973 |
<p>WASHINGTON — With its larger-than-life characters and head-spinning plot twists, the presidential campaign is easily the best reality show on television: Will Barack Obama find a way to connect with Latino voters? Can John McCain somehow mollify all those angry conservatives? Could Hillary Clinton, after raising more than $100 million, run out of money?</p>
<p>The drama is so compelling that it’s easy to lose sight of why this election is so important. This week, George W. Bush reminded us how grievously he has wounded our nation’s ideals, values and standing in the world — and how big a challenge the next president will face in repairing the damage.</p>
<p>On Tuesday, authorized by the White House, CIA Director Michael Hayden gave Congress the fullest account so far of the CIA’s use of waterboarding, which the administration calls an “interrogation technique” but which international agreements — and plain English — call torture.</p>
<p>Think about that. Did you ever imagine that we would have a president who uses legalistic euphemisms and craven rationalizations to justify strapping prisoners down and subjecting them to simulated drowning? A president who claims the right to use waterboarding, and God knows what other “techniques,” in the future if he wants?</p>
<p />
<p>This is a moral outrage, people. At least, it should be. There simply cannot be any kind of pro-and-con debate over the use of torture — whatever anodyne phrase you hide it behind — by agents of the United States government on persons in custody. Torture is not debatable. It is forbidden by U.S. and international law. It is a vile implement used by tinhorn despots, not by the elected leaders of great democracies.</p>
<p>Hayden told the Senate Intelligence Committee that waterboarding was used on captured al-Qaida leaders Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaidah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri. All, I am confident, are bad people who wish to do great harm to the United States. But torture, in addition to being morally reprehensible, yields unreliable information — people will say basically anything they think their interrogators want to hear, anything that will make the torture stop.</p>
<p>I’m sure the CIA extracted some truth as a result of these waterboarding sessions. But I’m also sure the questioners came away with falsehoods, exaggerations and fantasies. I believe the many professional interrogators who say there are better ways of getting useful information out of uncooperative subjects.</p>
<p>Is waterboarding really torture? In describing the practice, Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell said this recently to The New Yorker: “If I had water draining into my nose, oh God, I just can’t imagine how painful! Whether it’s torture by anybody else’s definition, for me it would be torture.”</p>
<p>McConnell subsequently clarified his remarks, maintaining that “the United States does not engage in torture. We do use enhanced interrogation techniques.”</p>
<p>That’s what this whole sickening exercise in semantics is about: covering the administration’s backside. Waterboarding has been around for a long time, and it has always been considered torture. If the practice were legal, the CIA wouldn’t have destroyed its videotapes of waterboarding sessions. CIA officials worried at the time about possible legal exposure, not just for the agents who did the waterboarding but for the whole chain of command.</p>
<p>That chain begins at the White House, where Bush takes the position that waterboarding is perfectly legal, even though it is currently banned, and that it could be used again if deemed necessary. To acknowledge the truth would be to admit that crimes were committed; those crimes would have to be investigated, the perpetrators would have to be charged, and, yes, people might have to go to jail — unless Bush gives absolution, as he leaves office, in the form of a pardon.</p>
<p>Both of the leading Democratic candidates, Clinton and Obama, pledge to renew our government’s absolute prohibition against torture. So does the Republican front-runner, McCain, who has been much more forthright on the issue than his GOP opponents. McCain experienced torture as a prisoner of war in Vietnam; he is passionate about this issue and knows it is a matter of right and wrong, with no gray area between.</p>
<p>On torture and all the other excesses — arbitrary detention, electronic surveillance, Guantanamo — the next president should feel obliged to give a full accounting of the Bush administration’s disgraceful transgressions. Then he or she will begin the task of assuring the world that such things will not happen again.</p>
<p>Eugene Robinson’s e-mail address is eugenerobinson(at)washpost.com.</p>
<p>© 2008, Washington Post Writers Group</p> | Tortured Semantics | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/tortured-semantics/ | 2008-02-09 | 4left
| Tortured Semantics
<p>WASHINGTON — With its larger-than-life characters and head-spinning plot twists, the presidential campaign is easily the best reality show on television: Will Barack Obama find a way to connect with Latino voters? Can John McCain somehow mollify all those angry conservatives? Could Hillary Clinton, after raising more than $100 million, run out of money?</p>
<p>The drama is so compelling that it’s easy to lose sight of why this election is so important. This week, George W. Bush reminded us how grievously he has wounded our nation’s ideals, values and standing in the world — and how big a challenge the next president will face in repairing the damage.</p>
<p>On Tuesday, authorized by the White House, CIA Director Michael Hayden gave Congress the fullest account so far of the CIA’s use of waterboarding, which the administration calls an “interrogation technique” but which international agreements — and plain English — call torture.</p>
<p>Think about that. Did you ever imagine that we would have a president who uses legalistic euphemisms and craven rationalizations to justify strapping prisoners down and subjecting them to simulated drowning? A president who claims the right to use waterboarding, and God knows what other “techniques,” in the future if he wants?</p>
<p />
<p>This is a moral outrage, people. At least, it should be. There simply cannot be any kind of pro-and-con debate over the use of torture — whatever anodyne phrase you hide it behind — by agents of the United States government on persons in custody. Torture is not debatable. It is forbidden by U.S. and international law. It is a vile implement used by tinhorn despots, not by the elected leaders of great democracies.</p>
<p>Hayden told the Senate Intelligence Committee that waterboarding was used on captured al-Qaida leaders Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaidah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri. All, I am confident, are bad people who wish to do great harm to the United States. But torture, in addition to being morally reprehensible, yields unreliable information — people will say basically anything they think their interrogators want to hear, anything that will make the torture stop.</p>
<p>I’m sure the CIA extracted some truth as a result of these waterboarding sessions. But I’m also sure the questioners came away with falsehoods, exaggerations and fantasies. I believe the many professional interrogators who say there are better ways of getting useful information out of uncooperative subjects.</p>
<p>Is waterboarding really torture? In describing the practice, Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell said this recently to The New Yorker: “If I had water draining into my nose, oh God, I just can’t imagine how painful! Whether it’s torture by anybody else’s definition, for me it would be torture.”</p>
<p>McConnell subsequently clarified his remarks, maintaining that “the United States does not engage in torture. We do use enhanced interrogation techniques.”</p>
<p>That’s what this whole sickening exercise in semantics is about: covering the administration’s backside. Waterboarding has been around for a long time, and it has always been considered torture. If the practice were legal, the CIA wouldn’t have destroyed its videotapes of waterboarding sessions. CIA officials worried at the time about possible legal exposure, not just for the agents who did the waterboarding but for the whole chain of command.</p>
<p>That chain begins at the White House, where Bush takes the position that waterboarding is perfectly legal, even though it is currently banned, and that it could be used again if deemed necessary. To acknowledge the truth would be to admit that crimes were committed; those crimes would have to be investigated, the perpetrators would have to be charged, and, yes, people might have to go to jail — unless Bush gives absolution, as he leaves office, in the form of a pardon.</p>
<p>Both of the leading Democratic candidates, Clinton and Obama, pledge to renew our government’s absolute prohibition against torture. So does the Republican front-runner, McCain, who has been much more forthright on the issue than his GOP opponents. McCain experienced torture as a prisoner of war in Vietnam; he is passionate about this issue and knows it is a matter of right and wrong, with no gray area between.</p>
<p>On torture and all the other excesses — arbitrary detention, electronic surveillance, Guantanamo — the next president should feel obliged to give a full accounting of the Bush administration’s disgraceful transgressions. Then he or she will begin the task of assuring the world that such things will not happen again.</p>
<p>Eugene Robinson’s e-mail address is eugenerobinson(at)washpost.com.</p>
<p>© 2008, Washington Post Writers Group</p> | 1,974 |
<p>Easter Sunday — the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ — is for Christians the culmination of their community life, expressing the heart of their faith. But among Baptists and other evangelicals, an intentional period of preparation for their holiest day is often understated or absent — in contrast to Christmas, the other great Christian observance, typically the focus of elaborate church festivities for weeks prior to Dec. 25.</p>
<p>Many Baptists are seeking to reclaim that pre-Easter focus — historically called Lent — which has been an integral part of many Christians’ experience since the earliest years of the church.</p>
<p>“It’s a biblical thing, not a made-up Catholic thing,” says Kyle Henderson, pastor of <a href="http://lovingtheworld.com/" type="external">First Baptist Church</a> in Athens, Texas, acknowledging a robust Baptist suspicion of spiritual practices seen as too closely associated with the Roman Catholic Church or its distant cousins, the Anglicans.</p>
<p>Lost treasure</p>
<p>Some Baptists say they sense those suspicions&#160;— in part a legacy of the Protestant Reformation — have left them with a diminished spiritual vocabulary.</p>
<p>“There is an uneasy sense that something got lost,” says <a href="http://www.phyllistickle.com/index.html" type="external">Phyllis Tickle</a>, whose 2008 book, The Great Emergence, chronicles the blurring of denominational distinctions in late 20th- and early 21st-century American Christianity.</p>
<p>Every 500 years or so, says Tickle, the church metaphorically holds a great rummage sale, “getting rid of the junk that we believe no longer has value and finding treasures stuck in the attic because we didn’t want them or were too naïve to know their true worth.”</p>
<p>The Reformation was one of those rummage sales and the current “great convergence” is another, she maintains. For evangelicals, the long-forgotten treasures in the attic include a wide array of spiritual disciplines — including Lent — with roots in the church’s first centuries.</p>
<p>For Sterling Severns, discovering Lent and other seasons of the Christian year was “an eye-opening experience,” which he encountered at the first church he served after graduating from seminary.</p>
<p>“It tapped into something in me that surprised me,” says Severns, now pastor of <a href="http://tbcrichmond.org/tbc/" type="external">Tabernacle Baptist Church</a> in Richmond, Va. “I remember I almost felt as if I’d been let in on a great secret.”</p>
<p>Lenten practice</p>
<p>Lent — a 40-day period of fasting and self-sacrifice preceding Resurrection Sunday — began as early as the second century, probably as a period of preparation for new Christians who were to be baptized on Easter. Eventually the entire Christian community, not just baptismal candidates, observed the fast. Among Christians in Western Europe it universally began on Ash Wednesday and culminated in Holy Week — the days just before Easter that include Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday.</p>
<p>After more than a millennium as an essential element of spiritual formation, Lent and other spiritual practices were reduced in importance as unbiblical innovations by the Protestant Reformers and eliminated entirely by the Baptists who emerged from their influence. Today some Baptists who are recovering disciplines like Lent say they’re struck by their spiritual richness.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.fbcrichmond.org/" type="external">First Baptist Church</a> in Richmond, Va., inaugurates Lent with an Ash Wednesday service — in which the ash of burnt palm branches are imposed on worshipers foreheads — and in the last week includes a contemplative service, involving a rhythm of Scripture and devotional readings, silences and meditative songs.</p>
<p>“I’m surprised at how much our folks have embraced [the services],” says Lynn Turner, senior associate pastor at First Baptist, who is staff liaison for the events. “Not just accept — embrace.”</p>
<p>Turner attributes that response in part to the use of prolonged silences.</p>
<p />
<p>“It’s simply a time to be quiet,” she said. “Complete silence is a form of prayer we almost never use. We don’t have periods of sustained silence — of even three to five minutes — in our traditional worship services. The rhythm of the contemplative service is different.”</p>
<p>“Lent gives us another song to sing as a congregation,” said Keith Herron, pastor of <a href="http://www.holmeswood.org/" type="external">Holmeswood Baptist Church</a> in Kansas City, Mo. “It leads us to the tomb, but it doesn’t spring the door open too quickly.”</p>
<p>Holmeswood observed Lent for years before it began an Ash Wednesday service, but Herron said an intentional, mid-week start to the season has enhanced the church’s approach.</p>
<p>“Ash Wednesday is a decidedly darker theme that might not work on Sunday morning,” he said. But engaging that somber theme helps “round out a wider version of our story.”</p>
<p>“The evangelical trap is to have too many answers which jump around the puddle of the darker themes,” said Herron. “Lent allows us to jump into the puddle — not to be obsessed with it, but to realize there is a darker theme that we have to acknowledge. It speaks against the superficiality that will not embrace the full story.”</p>
<p>Season of the Cross</p>
<p>While Baptists in the East Texas region that includes Athens may not warm up to the idea of observing Lent, congregants at First Baptist wholeheartedly embrace periods of spiritual self-examination, confession and prayer during what they call the “Season of the Cross” in the weeks leading up to Easter.</p>
<p>“Lent is not a biblical word, and it can be a disturbing word for some people who didn’t grow up that that tradition,” Pastor Henderson said. “I don’t care about our people being committed to Lent. I care a lot about them being committed to Lenten ideas.”</p>
<p>First Baptist in Athens does not rigidly adhere to a liturgical Christian calendar, but Henderson estimates he has led some sort of Ash Wednesday observance during his 14 years at the church — normally during a regularly scheduled Wednesday evening prayer service.</p>
<p>Typically, the service involves members writing their sins on slips of paper, collecting and burning the folded pieces of paper, and having their foreheads marked with the sign of the cross using those ashes.</p>
<p>Touching the emotions</p>
<p>Baptists involved in intentional preparation for Easter — whether referred to as Lent or some other name — view it as an effective tool for teaching and spiritual formation.</p>
<p>“I quit doing a Super Bowl Sunday years ago because what does that say about us as a church?” said Chuck Warnock, pastor of <a href="http://chathambc.wordpress.com/" type="external">Chatham (Va.) Baptist Church</a>. “We Christians have our big Sunday. Our super Sunday is Easter. And we need to get ready for it by doing more than just planning a special hour-long service. We need to prepare our people.”</p>
<p>Lenten practices can help Baptists get in touch with an often-neglected side of worship — the emotional dimension, said Bill Tillman, who holds the T.B. Maston Chair of Christian Ethics and teachers spiritual formation at Hardin Simmons University’s <a href="http://www.logsdonseminary.org/" type="external">Logsdon Seminary</a> in Abilene, Texas.</p>
<p>“It’s appropriate to grieve over one’s sins and to grieve the death of Jesus. At the same time, Easter should be the ultimate celebration for Christians,” he said. “Spiritual disciplines are things that can help people get into the emotional side of their faith practice, experiencing grief and delight.”</p>
<p>The Lenten season, as a key part of the Christian calendar, helps Christians move through the salvation story in an orderly way and incorporate the rhythms of the Christian year into daily living, he noted. “People are looking for reference points,” he said.</p>
<p>This year, <a href="http://www.2bcliberty.org/" type="external">Second Baptist Church</a> in Liberty, Mo., will focus on a different spiritual practice each week of Lent, said pastor Jason Edwards.</p>
<p>“I’ve been influenced by writers like Dorothy Bass who have reminded us that many of the things we do together as a faith community are spiritual practices that shape our lives,” said Edwards. “The practice of organizing our year on the rhythm of the Christian calendar is in this vein. It shapes our lives and our faith communities.”</p>
<p>“The rhythm of the Christian year takes us into the rhythm of Christ’s life,” he added. “We are embodying Christ’s story as a community. We’re living it.”</p>
<p>Teaching time</p>
<p>Severns called Ash Wednesday “a teaching day.”</p>
<p>&#160;“Our service is way of teaching people what it means” — a key consideration in a church which had never observed Lent before Severns was called as pastor.</p>
<p>“I was really nervous about the imposition of ashes the first time we did it. But we found way more people came than we expected, and that included the older generation — traditional Baptists — who fell in love with it.”</p>
<p>Severns, an artist whose photography is exhibited in the church, uses photos to remind the congregation of its sense of community. Images of all congregants whom he has shot over the past seven years — now including some who have died and children who have grown — are projected on a wall throughout the service.</p>
<p>“We pull out all the stops to enhance our sense of unity as a community,” he says.</p>
<p>Community is essential to spiritual formation at <a href="http://mosaicaustin.org/" type="external">Mosaic</a>, a congregation in Austin, Texas, with Baptist ties and roots in the city’s lively artistic scene. In recent conversations held between Mosaic’s leadership and its worshippers to determine how the church had contributed to spiritual development, one theme emerged repeatedly, said pastor Don Vanderslice.</p>
<p>“It was how important observing the Christian year — including Lent — had been in their spiritual formation,” he said. “Focusing on the seasons of the church year reminds us that the spiritual life is a journey. … The idea behind journey or pilgrimage is that we’re going somewhere, and not just landing on a holiday here and there. When we follow the Christian calendar, we’re saying something about our priorities and about our lives, holistically and spiritually. It says a lot about us. And the calendar gives us a way of remembering our story.”</p>
<p>For Henderson, Ash Wednesday is a two-fold teaching experience.&#160; First, he emphasizes the Old Testament meaning of bearing a mark and using ashes as a sign of repentance. At the same time, he explains the meaning of terms such as Lent so members who did not grow up in churches that follow liturgical practices will understand what fellow Christians do during the weeks leading to Easter.</p>
<p>“It’s a way to connect to the broader Christian world,” he said.</p>
<p>Focus on the cross</p>
<p>The Athens church marks the Season of the Cross by erecting two crosses — a 9-foot cross suspended by ropes in the middle of the sanctuary to help worshippers focus and a 30-foot cross outside on the church grounds to draw the attention of people who pass by.</p>
<p>Worship services during the weeks leading to Easter include a progressively greater emphasis on the cross, Henderson noted. Small-group Bible studies also focus on themes appropriate to the emphasis.</p>
<p>“There’s a change in the tone of the worship services. They are more introspective, with seasons of confession. They tend to be quieter, and our contemporary service features more unplugged acoustic music than usual,” he said.</p>
<p>This year, the church will set up two stations in the sanctuary where people can write down confessions of sin and prayer requests during worship services, then leave them tucked away.</p>
<p>“It’s sort of like a Wailing Wall where people leave their prayer requests,” Henderson explained. “It is a physical, tactile experience. We try to involve all the senses.”</p>
<p>Some years, the church observes the Lord’s Supper on Maundy Thursday — the Thursday prior to Easter, when Jesus instituted the ordinance — and incorporates teaching about the Passover. Typically, a 7 a.m. service on Good Friday will involve members moving through the Stations of the Cross, reading Scripture and reflecting at each location.</p>
<p>On the evening before Easter, church members gather at the church to decorate the outdoor cross with flowers so it will be covered when people see it the next morning.</p>
<p>Warnock says Lent and other elements of the Christian year can be a counter-cultural response to society’s pressures.</p>
<p>“The fact is, if we don’t have some kind of spiritual calendar, then we cede our entire lives to the secular calendar or the sports calendar or the shopping calendar,” he said. “No matter what you call it or whether your follow all its intricacies, it’s a calendar that speaks to our spiritual walk and development.”</p>
<p>A counter-cultural response also resonates at Mosaic — and withits musicians, painters, designers and writers. “Throughout the year we draw attention to the fact that what we do in worship distinguishes us from the rest of the culture,” said Vanderslice. “We measure our time differently. It’s a radical way of marking time and embracing what Christians for 2,000 years have felt was valuable.”</p>
<p>“We need liturgy that calls us out of the fast pace of our American culture and invites us to enter into the paces of Sabbath, reflection, confession, purging and repentance,” said Edwards. “Lent helps us with this.”</p>
<p>Robert Dilday is managing editor of the Religious Herald. Ken Camp is managing editor of the Baptist Standard.</p> | Spiritual preparation for Easter not just a ‘Catholic thing,’ say observers | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/spiritualpreparationforeasternotjustacatholicthingsayobservers/ | 3left-center
| Spiritual preparation for Easter not just a ‘Catholic thing,’ say observers
<p>Easter Sunday — the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ — is for Christians the culmination of their community life, expressing the heart of their faith. But among Baptists and other evangelicals, an intentional period of preparation for their holiest day is often understated or absent — in contrast to Christmas, the other great Christian observance, typically the focus of elaborate church festivities for weeks prior to Dec. 25.</p>
<p>Many Baptists are seeking to reclaim that pre-Easter focus — historically called Lent — which has been an integral part of many Christians’ experience since the earliest years of the church.</p>
<p>“It’s a biblical thing, not a made-up Catholic thing,” says Kyle Henderson, pastor of <a href="http://lovingtheworld.com/" type="external">First Baptist Church</a> in Athens, Texas, acknowledging a robust Baptist suspicion of spiritual practices seen as too closely associated with the Roman Catholic Church or its distant cousins, the Anglicans.</p>
<p>Lost treasure</p>
<p>Some Baptists say they sense those suspicions&#160;— in part a legacy of the Protestant Reformation — have left them with a diminished spiritual vocabulary.</p>
<p>“There is an uneasy sense that something got lost,” says <a href="http://www.phyllistickle.com/index.html" type="external">Phyllis Tickle</a>, whose 2008 book, The Great Emergence, chronicles the blurring of denominational distinctions in late 20th- and early 21st-century American Christianity.</p>
<p>Every 500 years or so, says Tickle, the church metaphorically holds a great rummage sale, “getting rid of the junk that we believe no longer has value and finding treasures stuck in the attic because we didn’t want them or were too naïve to know their true worth.”</p>
<p>The Reformation was one of those rummage sales and the current “great convergence” is another, she maintains. For evangelicals, the long-forgotten treasures in the attic include a wide array of spiritual disciplines — including Lent — with roots in the church’s first centuries.</p>
<p>For Sterling Severns, discovering Lent and other seasons of the Christian year was “an eye-opening experience,” which he encountered at the first church he served after graduating from seminary.</p>
<p>“It tapped into something in me that surprised me,” says Severns, now pastor of <a href="http://tbcrichmond.org/tbc/" type="external">Tabernacle Baptist Church</a> in Richmond, Va. “I remember I almost felt as if I’d been let in on a great secret.”</p>
<p>Lenten practice</p>
<p>Lent — a 40-day period of fasting and self-sacrifice preceding Resurrection Sunday — began as early as the second century, probably as a period of preparation for new Christians who were to be baptized on Easter. Eventually the entire Christian community, not just baptismal candidates, observed the fast. Among Christians in Western Europe it universally began on Ash Wednesday and culminated in Holy Week — the days just before Easter that include Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday.</p>
<p>After more than a millennium as an essential element of spiritual formation, Lent and other spiritual practices were reduced in importance as unbiblical innovations by the Protestant Reformers and eliminated entirely by the Baptists who emerged from their influence. Today some Baptists who are recovering disciplines like Lent say they’re struck by their spiritual richness.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.fbcrichmond.org/" type="external">First Baptist Church</a> in Richmond, Va., inaugurates Lent with an Ash Wednesday service — in which the ash of burnt palm branches are imposed on worshipers foreheads — and in the last week includes a contemplative service, involving a rhythm of Scripture and devotional readings, silences and meditative songs.</p>
<p>“I’m surprised at how much our folks have embraced [the services],” says Lynn Turner, senior associate pastor at First Baptist, who is staff liaison for the events. “Not just accept — embrace.”</p>
<p>Turner attributes that response in part to the use of prolonged silences.</p>
<p />
<p>“It’s simply a time to be quiet,” she said. “Complete silence is a form of prayer we almost never use. We don’t have periods of sustained silence — of even three to five minutes — in our traditional worship services. The rhythm of the contemplative service is different.”</p>
<p>“Lent gives us another song to sing as a congregation,” said Keith Herron, pastor of <a href="http://www.holmeswood.org/" type="external">Holmeswood Baptist Church</a> in Kansas City, Mo. “It leads us to the tomb, but it doesn’t spring the door open too quickly.”</p>
<p>Holmeswood observed Lent for years before it began an Ash Wednesday service, but Herron said an intentional, mid-week start to the season has enhanced the church’s approach.</p>
<p>“Ash Wednesday is a decidedly darker theme that might not work on Sunday morning,” he said. But engaging that somber theme helps “round out a wider version of our story.”</p>
<p>“The evangelical trap is to have too many answers which jump around the puddle of the darker themes,” said Herron. “Lent allows us to jump into the puddle — not to be obsessed with it, but to realize there is a darker theme that we have to acknowledge. It speaks against the superficiality that will not embrace the full story.”</p>
<p>Season of the Cross</p>
<p>While Baptists in the East Texas region that includes Athens may not warm up to the idea of observing Lent, congregants at First Baptist wholeheartedly embrace periods of spiritual self-examination, confession and prayer during what they call the “Season of the Cross” in the weeks leading up to Easter.</p>
<p>“Lent is not a biblical word, and it can be a disturbing word for some people who didn’t grow up that that tradition,” Pastor Henderson said. “I don’t care about our people being committed to Lent. I care a lot about them being committed to Lenten ideas.”</p>
<p>First Baptist in Athens does not rigidly adhere to a liturgical Christian calendar, but Henderson estimates he has led some sort of Ash Wednesday observance during his 14 years at the church — normally during a regularly scheduled Wednesday evening prayer service.</p>
<p>Typically, the service involves members writing their sins on slips of paper, collecting and burning the folded pieces of paper, and having their foreheads marked with the sign of the cross using those ashes.</p>
<p>Touching the emotions</p>
<p>Baptists involved in intentional preparation for Easter — whether referred to as Lent or some other name — view it as an effective tool for teaching and spiritual formation.</p>
<p>“I quit doing a Super Bowl Sunday years ago because what does that say about us as a church?” said Chuck Warnock, pastor of <a href="http://chathambc.wordpress.com/" type="external">Chatham (Va.) Baptist Church</a>. “We Christians have our big Sunday. Our super Sunday is Easter. And we need to get ready for it by doing more than just planning a special hour-long service. We need to prepare our people.”</p>
<p>Lenten practices can help Baptists get in touch with an often-neglected side of worship — the emotional dimension, said Bill Tillman, who holds the T.B. Maston Chair of Christian Ethics and teachers spiritual formation at Hardin Simmons University’s <a href="http://www.logsdonseminary.org/" type="external">Logsdon Seminary</a> in Abilene, Texas.</p>
<p>“It’s appropriate to grieve over one’s sins and to grieve the death of Jesus. At the same time, Easter should be the ultimate celebration for Christians,” he said. “Spiritual disciplines are things that can help people get into the emotional side of their faith practice, experiencing grief and delight.”</p>
<p>The Lenten season, as a key part of the Christian calendar, helps Christians move through the salvation story in an orderly way and incorporate the rhythms of the Christian year into daily living, he noted. “People are looking for reference points,” he said.</p>
<p>This year, <a href="http://www.2bcliberty.org/" type="external">Second Baptist Church</a> in Liberty, Mo., will focus on a different spiritual practice each week of Lent, said pastor Jason Edwards.</p>
<p>“I’ve been influenced by writers like Dorothy Bass who have reminded us that many of the things we do together as a faith community are spiritual practices that shape our lives,” said Edwards. “The practice of organizing our year on the rhythm of the Christian calendar is in this vein. It shapes our lives and our faith communities.”</p>
<p>“The rhythm of the Christian year takes us into the rhythm of Christ’s life,” he added. “We are embodying Christ’s story as a community. We’re living it.”</p>
<p>Teaching time</p>
<p>Severns called Ash Wednesday “a teaching day.”</p>
<p>&#160;“Our service is way of teaching people what it means” — a key consideration in a church which had never observed Lent before Severns was called as pastor.</p>
<p>“I was really nervous about the imposition of ashes the first time we did it. But we found way more people came than we expected, and that included the older generation — traditional Baptists — who fell in love with it.”</p>
<p>Severns, an artist whose photography is exhibited in the church, uses photos to remind the congregation of its sense of community. Images of all congregants whom he has shot over the past seven years — now including some who have died and children who have grown — are projected on a wall throughout the service.</p>
<p>“We pull out all the stops to enhance our sense of unity as a community,” he says.</p>
<p>Community is essential to spiritual formation at <a href="http://mosaicaustin.org/" type="external">Mosaic</a>, a congregation in Austin, Texas, with Baptist ties and roots in the city’s lively artistic scene. In recent conversations held between Mosaic’s leadership and its worshippers to determine how the church had contributed to spiritual development, one theme emerged repeatedly, said pastor Don Vanderslice.</p>
<p>“It was how important observing the Christian year — including Lent — had been in their spiritual formation,” he said. “Focusing on the seasons of the church year reminds us that the spiritual life is a journey. … The idea behind journey or pilgrimage is that we’re going somewhere, and not just landing on a holiday here and there. When we follow the Christian calendar, we’re saying something about our priorities and about our lives, holistically and spiritually. It says a lot about us. And the calendar gives us a way of remembering our story.”</p>
<p>For Henderson, Ash Wednesday is a two-fold teaching experience.&#160; First, he emphasizes the Old Testament meaning of bearing a mark and using ashes as a sign of repentance. At the same time, he explains the meaning of terms such as Lent so members who did not grow up in churches that follow liturgical practices will understand what fellow Christians do during the weeks leading to Easter.</p>
<p>“It’s a way to connect to the broader Christian world,” he said.</p>
<p>Focus on the cross</p>
<p>The Athens church marks the Season of the Cross by erecting two crosses — a 9-foot cross suspended by ropes in the middle of the sanctuary to help worshippers focus and a 30-foot cross outside on the church grounds to draw the attention of people who pass by.</p>
<p>Worship services during the weeks leading to Easter include a progressively greater emphasis on the cross, Henderson noted. Small-group Bible studies also focus on themes appropriate to the emphasis.</p>
<p>“There’s a change in the tone of the worship services. They are more introspective, with seasons of confession. They tend to be quieter, and our contemporary service features more unplugged acoustic music than usual,” he said.</p>
<p>This year, the church will set up two stations in the sanctuary where people can write down confessions of sin and prayer requests during worship services, then leave them tucked away.</p>
<p>“It’s sort of like a Wailing Wall where people leave their prayer requests,” Henderson explained. “It is a physical, tactile experience. We try to involve all the senses.”</p>
<p>Some years, the church observes the Lord’s Supper on Maundy Thursday — the Thursday prior to Easter, when Jesus instituted the ordinance — and incorporates teaching about the Passover. Typically, a 7 a.m. service on Good Friday will involve members moving through the Stations of the Cross, reading Scripture and reflecting at each location.</p>
<p>On the evening before Easter, church members gather at the church to decorate the outdoor cross with flowers so it will be covered when people see it the next morning.</p>
<p>Warnock says Lent and other elements of the Christian year can be a counter-cultural response to society’s pressures.</p>
<p>“The fact is, if we don’t have some kind of spiritual calendar, then we cede our entire lives to the secular calendar or the sports calendar or the shopping calendar,” he said. “No matter what you call it or whether your follow all its intricacies, it’s a calendar that speaks to our spiritual walk and development.”</p>
<p>A counter-cultural response also resonates at Mosaic — and withits musicians, painters, designers and writers. “Throughout the year we draw attention to the fact that what we do in worship distinguishes us from the rest of the culture,” said Vanderslice. “We measure our time differently. It’s a radical way of marking time and embracing what Christians for 2,000 years have felt was valuable.”</p>
<p>“We need liturgy that calls us out of the fast pace of our American culture and invites us to enter into the paces of Sabbath, reflection, confession, purging and repentance,” said Edwards. “Lent helps us with this.”</p>
<p>Robert Dilday is managing editor of the Religious Herald. Ken Camp is managing editor of the Baptist Standard.</p> | 1,975 |
|
<p>Here they go again.&#160;&#160;In an act of breathtaking bureaucratic indifference, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is moving to effectively dismantle the Progressive Programming Facility at California State Prison – Los Angeles County.&#160;&#160;This time they’re couching it as a part of their giant “blueprint” ( <a href="http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/" type="external">www.cdcr.ca.gov</a>):&#160;nothing personal, not against the program, just a way to slip out from under federal court control.</p>
<p>And here we go again, too.&#160;&#160;The community of men on this yard, the only fully functional, standards-based facility in the state’s tottering empire of concrete and steel, have peacefully organized to overturn this terrible, shortsighted decision.&#160;&#160;Along with our friends and families, and with the help of many influential people both inside and outside the prison system, we’ve produced a simple, cost-effective, easy-to-implement proposal that’s been hand delivered to Secretary of Corrections Matthew Cate and mailed to the leading figures in the state government.</p>
<p>There is an online petition that can be accessed, along with the other documents relevant to this matter at:&#160; <a href="http://www.prisonhonorprogram.org/" type="external">www.prisonhonorprogram.org</a>.</p>
<p>In years past, we’ve fought campaigns to save the program because administrators at the prison level wanted to end it, and other times because administrators at headquarters level wanted to end it.&#160;&#160;In all these previous cases the issue was the program’s highly successful repudiation of the punitive, get tough, negative reinforcement model of corrections.&#160;&#160;The prison bosses couldn’t countenance the idea of running a prison yard on mushy ideas like restoration, rehabilitation, and rewarding positive behavior.</p>
<p>We had the great good fortune of attracting the attention of former California State Senator Gloria Romero who immediately understood exactly what we were trying to accomplish.&#160;&#160;I’m sure it helped that she had been a psychology professor prior to entering electoral politics.&#160;&#160;Before this state’s draconian term limits knocked her out of office she shepherded a bill through both houses of the legislature that would have mandated honor programs throughout the prison system.&#160;&#160;The only <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1934633941/counterpunchmaga" type="external" />opposition came from the bosses at the top – even the notoriously hard-line guards’ union supported the bill.&#160;&#160;But Arnold Schwarzenegger, in one of his many acts of ignorance in regards to the prisons, vetoed it.</p>
<p>Maybe it was an event of Karmic significance, maybe it was simply on account of his epic failure as a manager, but the same big boss that publicly stated his revulsion at associating the word honor with prisoners – thus the vaguely Orwellian Progressive Programming Facility – abruptly “retired” from his position.</p>
<p>His replacement, current holder of the least enviable position in California’s government, is a marked improvement.&#160;&#160;He’s a well-educated outsider to the lifer prison bureaucrats who seems to genuinely want to bring real change to the prisons.&#160;&#160;I’ve met him on several occasions, and I like him.&#160;&#160;(And that’s not something I often or easily say about any prison chieftain.)</p>
<p>The trouble is he’s riding a mostly uncontrollable beast that could throw him at any point.&#160;&#160;As another high official I also rather like once told me, the rehabilitation side of the house means well, but the other side, the enforcers, still run the show.&#160;&#160;And, in the minds of the enforcers, this program by whatever name constitutes a pain the ass, at best.</p>
<p>So, every chance they get they take.&#160;&#160;Every chance to upend rehabilitative programs is seized upon and this situation is no different.&#160;&#160;The prison system is under federal court order to lower the population from a staggering 200% of capacity to a mere 137.5%.&#160;&#160;To accomplish this grand task the administrators developed their grand plan.&#160;&#160;I’ve read it.&#160;&#160;It’s very detailed, right down to the ultimate composition and function of each building in every prison.</p>
<p>But it’s painfully obvious the planners haven’t studied Prussian military theorist Count Helmuth von Multke who wrote in 1880, “No plan of operations reaches with any certainty beyond the first encounter with the enemy’s main force.”</p>
<p>In this case, the enemy is reality on the ground.&#160;&#160;Prisons are tricky places to operate.&#160;&#160;Things can go bad and get out of hand without much apparent warning.&#160;But the people walking down the tiers, sitting in the chow halls, and taking laps around the track on the yard, they know when a prison is falling apart, and why.&#160;&#160;Those same people, the prisoners, also know what works, what will transform anarchy and violence into peaceful productivity.</p>
<p>Planners, by their very nature, don’t tend to come down to the yard, or eat in the chow halls, or walk down a tier very often, and they never talk to prisoners.</p>
<p>Someone, regardless, had to sign off on the final plan before it was published.&#160;&#160;Someone had to decide that there would be no beds for standards-based programming, of either the progressive or the honorable kind, in Los Angeles County, from which spring close to half the state’s prisoners.&#160;&#160;Someone had to sign off on the decision to effectively kill off this program.</p>
<p>And that’s why we’ll keep on fighting for the kind of fundamental reform that can, and should, transform this prison system.</p>
<p>And that’s why I’ll keep writing and asking the world on the other side of the fences to become involved in this struggle which is actually about&#160;their&#160;prison system.</p>
<p>Please go to&#160; <a href="http://www.prisonhonorprogram.org/" type="external">www.prisonhonorprogram.org</a>&#160;and sign the online petition.&#160;&#160;If you’ve got the time and the inclination, read about the history of the Honor Program/Progressive Programming Facility and get involved in the long term struggle to change the prisons,&#160;your prisons, into places where men and women go to pay their debt to society and have the opportunity to become better people in the process.</p>
<p>Kenneth E. Hartman&#160;has served more than 32 continuous years in the California prison system.&#160;&#160;He is the award-winning author of&#160;Mother California: A Story of Redemption Behind Bars&#160;(Atlas &amp; Co. 2009), and has been published widely in newspapers and magazines around the country.&#160;&#160;Ken is the founder and chairman of The Steering Committee for the Honor Program.&#160;&#160;(For more, see:&#160; <a href="http://www.prisonhonorprogram.org/" type="external">www.prisonhonorprogram.org</a>.)&#160;&#160;He is also a charter member of the National Advisory Board of Californians United for a Responsible Budget, an organization dedicated to shrinking the prison-industrial complex.&#160;&#160;(For more, see:&#160; <a href="http://www.curbprisonspending.org/" type="external">www.curbprisonspending.org</a>.)&#160;He can be contacted indirectly at:&#160; <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.&#160;&#160;For more information, see:&#160; <a href="http://www.kennethehartman.com/" type="external">www.kennethehartman.com</a>.</p> | The Ongoing Struggle for Prison Reform | true | https://counterpunch.org/2012/07/20/the-ongoing-struggle-for-prison-reform/ | 2012-07-20 | 4left
| The Ongoing Struggle for Prison Reform
<p>Here they go again.&#160;&#160;In an act of breathtaking bureaucratic indifference, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is moving to effectively dismantle the Progressive Programming Facility at California State Prison – Los Angeles County.&#160;&#160;This time they’re couching it as a part of their giant “blueprint” ( <a href="http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/" type="external">www.cdcr.ca.gov</a>):&#160;nothing personal, not against the program, just a way to slip out from under federal court control.</p>
<p>And here we go again, too.&#160;&#160;The community of men on this yard, the only fully functional, standards-based facility in the state’s tottering empire of concrete and steel, have peacefully organized to overturn this terrible, shortsighted decision.&#160;&#160;Along with our friends and families, and with the help of many influential people both inside and outside the prison system, we’ve produced a simple, cost-effective, easy-to-implement proposal that’s been hand delivered to Secretary of Corrections Matthew Cate and mailed to the leading figures in the state government.</p>
<p>There is an online petition that can be accessed, along with the other documents relevant to this matter at:&#160; <a href="http://www.prisonhonorprogram.org/" type="external">www.prisonhonorprogram.org</a>.</p>
<p>In years past, we’ve fought campaigns to save the program because administrators at the prison level wanted to end it, and other times because administrators at headquarters level wanted to end it.&#160;&#160;In all these previous cases the issue was the program’s highly successful repudiation of the punitive, get tough, negative reinforcement model of corrections.&#160;&#160;The prison bosses couldn’t countenance the idea of running a prison yard on mushy ideas like restoration, rehabilitation, and rewarding positive behavior.</p>
<p>We had the great good fortune of attracting the attention of former California State Senator Gloria Romero who immediately understood exactly what we were trying to accomplish.&#160;&#160;I’m sure it helped that she had been a psychology professor prior to entering electoral politics.&#160;&#160;Before this state’s draconian term limits knocked her out of office she shepherded a bill through both houses of the legislature that would have mandated honor programs throughout the prison system.&#160;&#160;The only <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1934633941/counterpunchmaga" type="external" />opposition came from the bosses at the top – even the notoriously hard-line guards’ union supported the bill.&#160;&#160;But Arnold Schwarzenegger, in one of his many acts of ignorance in regards to the prisons, vetoed it.</p>
<p>Maybe it was an event of Karmic significance, maybe it was simply on account of his epic failure as a manager, but the same big boss that publicly stated his revulsion at associating the word honor with prisoners – thus the vaguely Orwellian Progressive Programming Facility – abruptly “retired” from his position.</p>
<p>His replacement, current holder of the least enviable position in California’s government, is a marked improvement.&#160;&#160;He’s a well-educated outsider to the lifer prison bureaucrats who seems to genuinely want to bring real change to the prisons.&#160;&#160;I’ve met him on several occasions, and I like him.&#160;&#160;(And that’s not something I often or easily say about any prison chieftain.)</p>
<p>The trouble is he’s riding a mostly uncontrollable beast that could throw him at any point.&#160;&#160;As another high official I also rather like once told me, the rehabilitation side of the house means well, but the other side, the enforcers, still run the show.&#160;&#160;And, in the minds of the enforcers, this program by whatever name constitutes a pain the ass, at best.</p>
<p>So, every chance they get they take.&#160;&#160;Every chance to upend rehabilitative programs is seized upon and this situation is no different.&#160;&#160;The prison system is under federal court order to lower the population from a staggering 200% of capacity to a mere 137.5%.&#160;&#160;To accomplish this grand task the administrators developed their grand plan.&#160;&#160;I’ve read it.&#160;&#160;It’s very detailed, right down to the ultimate composition and function of each building in every prison.</p>
<p>But it’s painfully obvious the planners haven’t studied Prussian military theorist Count Helmuth von Multke who wrote in 1880, “No plan of operations reaches with any certainty beyond the first encounter with the enemy’s main force.”</p>
<p>In this case, the enemy is reality on the ground.&#160;&#160;Prisons are tricky places to operate.&#160;&#160;Things can go bad and get out of hand without much apparent warning.&#160;But the people walking down the tiers, sitting in the chow halls, and taking laps around the track on the yard, they know when a prison is falling apart, and why.&#160;&#160;Those same people, the prisoners, also know what works, what will transform anarchy and violence into peaceful productivity.</p>
<p>Planners, by their very nature, don’t tend to come down to the yard, or eat in the chow halls, or walk down a tier very often, and they never talk to prisoners.</p>
<p>Someone, regardless, had to sign off on the final plan before it was published.&#160;&#160;Someone had to decide that there would be no beds for standards-based programming, of either the progressive or the honorable kind, in Los Angeles County, from which spring close to half the state’s prisoners.&#160;&#160;Someone had to sign off on the decision to effectively kill off this program.</p>
<p>And that’s why we’ll keep on fighting for the kind of fundamental reform that can, and should, transform this prison system.</p>
<p>And that’s why I’ll keep writing and asking the world on the other side of the fences to become involved in this struggle which is actually about&#160;their&#160;prison system.</p>
<p>Please go to&#160; <a href="http://www.prisonhonorprogram.org/" type="external">www.prisonhonorprogram.org</a>&#160;and sign the online petition.&#160;&#160;If you’ve got the time and the inclination, read about the history of the Honor Program/Progressive Programming Facility and get involved in the long term struggle to change the prisons,&#160;your prisons, into places where men and women go to pay their debt to society and have the opportunity to become better people in the process.</p>
<p>Kenneth E. Hartman&#160;has served more than 32 continuous years in the California prison system.&#160;&#160;He is the award-winning author of&#160;Mother California: A Story of Redemption Behind Bars&#160;(Atlas &amp; Co. 2009), and has been published widely in newspapers and magazines around the country.&#160;&#160;Ken is the founder and chairman of The Steering Committee for the Honor Program.&#160;&#160;(For more, see:&#160; <a href="http://www.prisonhonorprogram.org/" type="external">www.prisonhonorprogram.org</a>.)&#160;&#160;He is also a charter member of the National Advisory Board of Californians United for a Responsible Budget, an organization dedicated to shrinking the prison-industrial complex.&#160;&#160;(For more, see:&#160; <a href="http://www.curbprisonspending.org/" type="external">www.curbprisonspending.org</a>.)&#160;He can be contacted indirectly at:&#160; <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.&#160;&#160;For more information, see:&#160; <a href="http://www.kennethehartman.com/" type="external">www.kennethehartman.com</a>.</p> | 1,976 |
<p>Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellAP Photo/Carolyn Kaster</p>
<p>When politicians come knocking on Bill Miller’s door, he usually has big checks to deliver. But lately, Miller, a Republican lobbyist in Austin, Texas, says the major donors he advises on how and when to make their campaign contributions are not taking out their checkbooks. At all.&#160;</p>
<p>“I’m not saying they’ve cut them off for good, but they have cut them off temporarily,” Miller says. “This conversation has been repeated more than a few times, ‘Not going to give right now, Bill, I’m just mad. Nah, not going to give right now.'”</p>
<p>The reason, Miller says, is the failure of Republicans to accomplish much of anything in Washington, from their whiff on Obamacare to their ongoing wrangling over tax reform. Donors are livid, particularly because Republicans control both chambers of Congress and the White House and have still floundered.</p>
<p>Dan Eberhart, the CEO of Canary, an Arizona-based oil drilling services company, is one of them. Eberhart,&#160;who describes himself as “a frustrated GOP establishment donor,” helped bundle donations for several GOP presidential candidates in 2016 and estimates he donated about $200,000 in the last election to campaigns and super-PACs. Much of that, he directed to the Republican Party itself: $70,000 to the Republican National Committee and $15,000 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the party’s campaign arm supporting Senate candidates. This year, he’s holding back. He donated $2,500 to the NRSC in September but says he will refrain from more serious donations until he at least sees action on tax reform. A Senate vote on the legislation could come as early as this week.&#160;</p>
<p>“I don’t know why donors should give to the NRSC until tax reform is passed,” Eberhart says. “Thanks for [Supreme Court Justice Neil] Gorsuch, but you haven’t otherwise used the majority.”</p>
<p>Donor dissatisfaction has translated into meager Republican fundraising hauls. Monthly fundraising totals for the NRSC, which is closely aligned with the Senate leadership, have dropped steeply. Through the first six months of 2017, the NRSC raised an average of $4.6 million per month. But since July, after the GOP’s effort to repeal Obamacare flopped, it has raised an average of $2.1 million.&#160;</p>
<p>The Republican National Committee has fared better but also appears to be suffering. In October, the RNC raised about $9.1 million, far more than the $3.9 million raised by its Democratic equivalent. But it was the committee’s second-lowest month of fundraising this year, making up less than half of what it raised in January, when enthusiasm for President Donald Trump and a GOP-controlled Congress was at its peak.</p>
<p>Eberhart’s ire is targeted at the Senate, but&#160;Miller says the anger from donors he knows is wider and deeper—and worse than the numbers reflect. There are too many “black holes,” such as super-PACs and dark-money groups, to fully grasp the scale of the drop-off, he says, but it is significant.&#160;</p>
<p>“I just know in my experience, the people I’ve talked to write big checks, and big checks to a lot of different places and a lot of different people, and they’re not writing any checks to anybody—to anyone, anywhere,” he says. “They’re kind of put off generally down the line. They might do some things a little more locally, but the national thing? Nah. Nothing. Flat.”</p>
<p>Fundraising pleas from Republican politicians are falling on deaf ears, Miller says. Donors just want action. And even the passage of a tax bill may not be enough to convince donors to get back on the bandwagon anytime soon.&#160;</p>
<p>“The tax bill they’ve got now, it will help, because you’ve done something, and taxes are a big deal to a lot of people,” he says. “Is it a cure? No. It’s a salve.” After he began publicly making critical comments in the press about the GOP-controlled Congress for failing to heed its donors’ wishes, Eberhart says, he got calls from four Republican senators asking him to reconsider. None of them convinced him.&#160;</p>
<p>Perhaps more dangerous for Republican leaders is that Stephen Bannon, Trump’s ousted strategist who has declared war on the GOP establishment, has been sidling up to donors, including Eberhart, who says he’s spoken to the Breitbart head numerous times. Eberhart says Bannon hasn’t hit him up for cash yet, but he’s been impressed with Bannon’s vision.</p>
<p>“He has not asked me for money,” Eberhart says. “I am not naive in the sense that I don’t think that’s not coming, but literally when I met with him, he hasn’t seemed that worried about it. He was focused on policy, tax reform, and results.”</p>
<p>Bannon’s pivot to fundraising mode may already be happening. Axios <a href="https://www.axios.com/steve-bannons-new-group-2510881591.html" type="external">reported</a>&#160;last week that Bannon had established a politically active nonprofit—a dark-money group—to fundraise and promote his agenda.&#160;</p>
<p>The signs are ominous for Republican leaders, Miller says. “If they’re not worried, they’re stupid,” he says. “Or crazy. Or both.”</p> | Republican Donors Are Mad as Hell and Closing Their Checkbooks | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2017/11/republican-donors-are-mad-as-hell-and-closing-their-checkbooks/ | 2017-11-30 | 4left
| Republican Donors Are Mad as Hell and Closing Their Checkbooks
<p>Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellAP Photo/Carolyn Kaster</p>
<p>When politicians come knocking on Bill Miller’s door, he usually has big checks to deliver. But lately, Miller, a Republican lobbyist in Austin, Texas, says the major donors he advises on how and when to make their campaign contributions are not taking out their checkbooks. At all.&#160;</p>
<p>“I’m not saying they’ve cut them off for good, but they have cut them off temporarily,” Miller says. “This conversation has been repeated more than a few times, ‘Not going to give right now, Bill, I’m just mad. Nah, not going to give right now.'”</p>
<p>The reason, Miller says, is the failure of Republicans to accomplish much of anything in Washington, from their whiff on Obamacare to their ongoing wrangling over tax reform. Donors are livid, particularly because Republicans control both chambers of Congress and the White House and have still floundered.</p>
<p>Dan Eberhart, the CEO of Canary, an Arizona-based oil drilling services company, is one of them. Eberhart,&#160;who describes himself as “a frustrated GOP establishment donor,” helped bundle donations for several GOP presidential candidates in 2016 and estimates he donated about $200,000 in the last election to campaigns and super-PACs. Much of that, he directed to the Republican Party itself: $70,000 to the Republican National Committee and $15,000 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the party’s campaign arm supporting Senate candidates. This year, he’s holding back. He donated $2,500 to the NRSC in September but says he will refrain from more serious donations until he at least sees action on tax reform. A Senate vote on the legislation could come as early as this week.&#160;</p>
<p>“I don’t know why donors should give to the NRSC until tax reform is passed,” Eberhart says. “Thanks for [Supreme Court Justice Neil] Gorsuch, but you haven’t otherwise used the majority.”</p>
<p>Donor dissatisfaction has translated into meager Republican fundraising hauls. Monthly fundraising totals for the NRSC, which is closely aligned with the Senate leadership, have dropped steeply. Through the first six months of 2017, the NRSC raised an average of $4.6 million per month. But since July, after the GOP’s effort to repeal Obamacare flopped, it has raised an average of $2.1 million.&#160;</p>
<p>The Republican National Committee has fared better but also appears to be suffering. In October, the RNC raised about $9.1 million, far more than the $3.9 million raised by its Democratic equivalent. But it was the committee’s second-lowest month of fundraising this year, making up less than half of what it raised in January, when enthusiasm for President Donald Trump and a GOP-controlled Congress was at its peak.</p>
<p>Eberhart’s ire is targeted at the Senate, but&#160;Miller says the anger from donors he knows is wider and deeper—and worse than the numbers reflect. There are too many “black holes,” such as super-PACs and dark-money groups, to fully grasp the scale of the drop-off, he says, but it is significant.&#160;</p>
<p>“I just know in my experience, the people I’ve talked to write big checks, and big checks to a lot of different places and a lot of different people, and they’re not writing any checks to anybody—to anyone, anywhere,” he says. “They’re kind of put off generally down the line. They might do some things a little more locally, but the national thing? Nah. Nothing. Flat.”</p>
<p>Fundraising pleas from Republican politicians are falling on deaf ears, Miller says. Donors just want action. And even the passage of a tax bill may not be enough to convince donors to get back on the bandwagon anytime soon.&#160;</p>
<p>“The tax bill they’ve got now, it will help, because you’ve done something, and taxes are a big deal to a lot of people,” he says. “Is it a cure? No. It’s a salve.” After he began publicly making critical comments in the press about the GOP-controlled Congress for failing to heed its donors’ wishes, Eberhart says, he got calls from four Republican senators asking him to reconsider. None of them convinced him.&#160;</p>
<p>Perhaps more dangerous for Republican leaders is that Stephen Bannon, Trump’s ousted strategist who has declared war on the GOP establishment, has been sidling up to donors, including Eberhart, who says he’s spoken to the Breitbart head numerous times. Eberhart says Bannon hasn’t hit him up for cash yet, but he’s been impressed with Bannon’s vision.</p>
<p>“He has not asked me for money,” Eberhart says. “I am not naive in the sense that I don’t think that’s not coming, but literally when I met with him, he hasn’t seemed that worried about it. He was focused on policy, tax reform, and results.”</p>
<p>Bannon’s pivot to fundraising mode may already be happening. Axios <a href="https://www.axios.com/steve-bannons-new-group-2510881591.html" type="external">reported</a>&#160;last week that Bannon had established a politically active nonprofit—a dark-money group—to fundraise and promote his agenda.&#160;</p>
<p>The signs are ominous for Republican leaders, Miller says. “If they’re not worried, they’re stupid,” he says. “Or crazy. Or both.”</p> | 1,977 |
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<p>FILE – This file image made from video posted on a militant website Saturday, July 5, 2014, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, purports to show the leader of the Islamic State group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, delivering a sermon at a mosque in Iraq. On Sunday, Nov. 9, 2014, Iraqi officials and state television said al-Baghdadi has been wounded in an airstrike in western Iraq. An Interior Ministry intelligence official told The Associated Press on Sunday that the strike happened early Saturday in the town of Qaim in Iraq’s Anbar province. (AP Photo/Militant video, File)</p>
<p>BEIRUT — The leader of the Islamic State group said it will fight to the last man, in a strident audio recording released Thursday that was his first public statement since a U.S.-led alliance launched airstrikes against his fighters in Iraq and Syria.</p>
<p>The statement was posted online six days after Iraqi officials told The Associated Press that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was wounded in an airstrike in Iraq. It was not clear whether the recording was made before or after the incident.</p>
<p>In the 17-minute recording, al-Baghdadi vowed to fight the “crusader campaign” to the bitter end.</p>
<p>“God has ordered us to fight,” he said. “For that reason the soldiers of the Islamic State are fighting… they will never leave fighting, even if only one soldier remains. They will never leave fighting, because they reject humiliation.”</p>
<p>The recording, released on social media networks, appeared authentic, and the voice appeared to match that in previous recordings released by the group.</p>
<p>The self-styled caliph called on Muslims to wage holy war everywhere, and to attack and kill “apostates” in Saudi Arabia and Yemen specifically. An earlier audio recording from al-Baghdadi is believed to have inspired militants in Algeria to kill and behead a French national.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | IS group leader says will fight to last man | false | https://abqjournal.com/495719/is-group-leader-says-will-fight-to-last-man.html | 2least
| IS group leader says will fight to last man
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>FILE – This file image made from video posted on a militant website Saturday, July 5, 2014, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, purports to show the leader of the Islamic State group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, delivering a sermon at a mosque in Iraq. On Sunday, Nov. 9, 2014, Iraqi officials and state television said al-Baghdadi has been wounded in an airstrike in western Iraq. An Interior Ministry intelligence official told The Associated Press on Sunday that the strike happened early Saturday in the town of Qaim in Iraq’s Anbar province. (AP Photo/Militant video, File)</p>
<p>BEIRUT — The leader of the Islamic State group said it will fight to the last man, in a strident audio recording released Thursday that was his first public statement since a U.S.-led alliance launched airstrikes against his fighters in Iraq and Syria.</p>
<p>The statement was posted online six days after Iraqi officials told The Associated Press that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was wounded in an airstrike in Iraq. It was not clear whether the recording was made before or after the incident.</p>
<p>In the 17-minute recording, al-Baghdadi vowed to fight the “crusader campaign” to the bitter end.</p>
<p>“God has ordered us to fight,” he said. “For that reason the soldiers of the Islamic State are fighting… they will never leave fighting, even if only one soldier remains. They will never leave fighting, because they reject humiliation.”</p>
<p>The recording, released on social media networks, appeared authentic, and the voice appeared to match that in previous recordings released by the group.</p>
<p>The self-styled caliph called on Muslims to wage holy war everywhere, and to attack and kill “apostates” in Saudi Arabia and Yemen specifically. An earlier audio recording from al-Baghdadi is believed to have inspired militants in Algeria to kill and behead a French national.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 1,978 |
|
<p />
<p>Baby boomers who started their own small business and are ready to hand over the reins should choose their successor with careful thought.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Launching and running a successful business requires a lot of hard work, planning and dedication and these qualities need to be present in the succession process. Consider this: an estimated eight million baby boomer business owners are at or nearing retirement, according to <a href="http://wealthmanagement.com/retirement-planning/here-come-boomer-biz-owners" type="external">a report, Opens a New Window.</a> and if they want their business legacy to live on, they need to find the best possible candidate to take over.</p>
<p>Avi Kestenbaum, partner and co-chair of the Trusts &amp; Estates Department at New York law firm Meltzer, Lippe, Goldstein &amp; Breitstone, says only 30% of family businesses successfully pass to the second generation, 12% to the third and 4% to fourth generation. Succession planning is often the most complex part of the estate planning process and without proper planning and execution of a succession plan, there could be trouble ahead for family businesses.</p>
<p>"The three biggest mistakes well-meaning families and estate planners routinely make create more problems than they solve." He says that 85% of the crises faced by family businesses focus around the issue of succession, underlying the need for boomers to take this process serious.</p>
<p>Kestenbaum offers the following tips to create a family business succession plan to make sure the transition from one generation to the next is seamless:</p>
<p>Boomer: What are the three biggest mistakes in estate planning and what are some solutions?</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Kestenbaum: The biggest mistake is the failure to understand the difference between probate vs. non-probate assets and the ramifications of not understanding this difference. Probate assets pass under a will. Non-probate assets such as IRAs and life insurance policies pass by beneficiary designation and/or operation of law, such as a joint account holder with rights of survivorship. Another example is a home that might be jointly owned: Not recognizing this important distinction could mean a will that is substantially irrelevant and assets that would pass to someone not intended.</p>
<p>Another large mistake often occurs with tax apportionment clauses. If a state or federal estate tax is due, from which assets are these taxes paid? The will or trust will often have provisions dealing with this. If not, state law governs, but often times there are conflicting provisions and/or not well thought out provisions. For example, two children may receive assets, but one child pays all the estate taxes due on both assets ----and might ultimately receive nothing or much less than the other due to the taxes paid out of his portion. This could also occur if the IRS later asserts a gift or estate tax that wasn’t contemplated and the provisions require all taxes to be paid out of a certain portion of the estate.</p>
<p>Leaving substantial assets outright to beneficiaries, even when they reach certain ages, can be a big mistake. These beneficiaries might later have a creditor problem, divorce, or other financial issues and the assets could be taken away from them. Or they might be financially irresponsible or become lazy by receiving too much at once. Furthermore, they may have their own estate tax issues someday. Instead, let the assets pass in trust for the beneficiaries. The trusts can be drafted very flexibly and even allow the beneficiary to appoint his or her own trustees or serve as co-trustee. This depends on the wishes of the creator of the trust as to how flexible the trust should be.</p>
<p>Boomer: Should your family be involved in business succession discussions?</p>
<p>Kestenbaum: Generally speaking my answer is "absolutely not" even though the textbook answer is "yes". No good generally comes out of this meeting. It usually leads to more discord, jealousies and accusations. As Jerry Seinfeld says, "there is no such thing as fun for the whole family." Parents need to be strong and unwavering about their decisions and make them while they are still vibrant. Also, the decisions must be implemented while the parents are still living so everyone gets used to the business running with the succession plan the parents have drawn up. This way there is a smooth transition upon their death or incapacity. One on one meetings and being sensitive to the children is certainly always recommended, and in rare circumstances, perhaps the entire family meeting might be helpful.</p>
<p>Boomer: How can you integrate a non-family CEO into a family business?</p>
<p>Kestenbaum: If a non-family CEO is going to take over, he or she should be integrated into the business while the boomer owner(s) is still strong, vibrant and involved in the business. It should not be done as a direct insult to their children.</p>
<p>I often recommend a structure similar to a public company, where perhaps no one person has total authority and there are real boards and leadership committees. Sometimes there can even be a company board and a family board. It really depends on the situation. It is worth noting that there is a business model called "self-management" which essentially discards the typical hierarchical business model into more of a team approach, which might be helpful to assure business longevity.</p>
<p>Boomer: Where can one look for professional help with business succession planning?</p>
<p>Kestenbaum: Many estate planning attorneys have experience in this area, but there should be a team approach: an accountant, insurance professional and &#160;banker should all be involved with a “quarterback” from the list taking the lead.</p>
<p>There are outside consultants who also claim to have special expertise in this area, and even a psychologist might be helpful at times. Reading books and articles on the subject is also informative, but this is a complicated area that when done properly, blends tax planning, business acumen, legal structures, psychology and emotional intelligence. In most circumstances, this is very difficult. Keys to success include choosing the right advisor, and the parents being open and not afraid to make difficult decisions.</p> | Tips for Boomers Looking to Hand Down the Family Business | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/10/31/tips-for-boomers-looking-to-hand-down-family-business.html | 2016-03-06 | 0right
| Tips for Boomers Looking to Hand Down the Family Business
<p />
<p>Baby boomers who started their own small business and are ready to hand over the reins should choose their successor with careful thought.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Launching and running a successful business requires a lot of hard work, planning and dedication and these qualities need to be present in the succession process. Consider this: an estimated eight million baby boomer business owners are at or nearing retirement, according to <a href="http://wealthmanagement.com/retirement-planning/here-come-boomer-biz-owners" type="external">a report, Opens a New Window.</a> and if they want their business legacy to live on, they need to find the best possible candidate to take over.</p>
<p>Avi Kestenbaum, partner and co-chair of the Trusts &amp; Estates Department at New York law firm Meltzer, Lippe, Goldstein &amp; Breitstone, says only 30% of family businesses successfully pass to the second generation, 12% to the third and 4% to fourth generation. Succession planning is often the most complex part of the estate planning process and without proper planning and execution of a succession plan, there could be trouble ahead for family businesses.</p>
<p>"The three biggest mistakes well-meaning families and estate planners routinely make create more problems than they solve." He says that 85% of the crises faced by family businesses focus around the issue of succession, underlying the need for boomers to take this process serious.</p>
<p>Kestenbaum offers the following tips to create a family business succession plan to make sure the transition from one generation to the next is seamless:</p>
<p>Boomer: What are the three biggest mistakes in estate planning and what are some solutions?</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Kestenbaum: The biggest mistake is the failure to understand the difference between probate vs. non-probate assets and the ramifications of not understanding this difference. Probate assets pass under a will. Non-probate assets such as IRAs and life insurance policies pass by beneficiary designation and/or operation of law, such as a joint account holder with rights of survivorship. Another example is a home that might be jointly owned: Not recognizing this important distinction could mean a will that is substantially irrelevant and assets that would pass to someone not intended.</p>
<p>Another large mistake often occurs with tax apportionment clauses. If a state or federal estate tax is due, from which assets are these taxes paid? The will or trust will often have provisions dealing with this. If not, state law governs, but often times there are conflicting provisions and/or not well thought out provisions. For example, two children may receive assets, but one child pays all the estate taxes due on both assets ----and might ultimately receive nothing or much less than the other due to the taxes paid out of his portion. This could also occur if the IRS later asserts a gift or estate tax that wasn’t contemplated and the provisions require all taxes to be paid out of a certain portion of the estate.</p>
<p>Leaving substantial assets outright to beneficiaries, even when they reach certain ages, can be a big mistake. These beneficiaries might later have a creditor problem, divorce, or other financial issues and the assets could be taken away from them. Or they might be financially irresponsible or become lazy by receiving too much at once. Furthermore, they may have their own estate tax issues someday. Instead, let the assets pass in trust for the beneficiaries. The trusts can be drafted very flexibly and even allow the beneficiary to appoint his or her own trustees or serve as co-trustee. This depends on the wishes of the creator of the trust as to how flexible the trust should be.</p>
<p>Boomer: Should your family be involved in business succession discussions?</p>
<p>Kestenbaum: Generally speaking my answer is "absolutely not" even though the textbook answer is "yes". No good generally comes out of this meeting. It usually leads to more discord, jealousies and accusations. As Jerry Seinfeld says, "there is no such thing as fun for the whole family." Parents need to be strong and unwavering about their decisions and make them while they are still vibrant. Also, the decisions must be implemented while the parents are still living so everyone gets used to the business running with the succession plan the parents have drawn up. This way there is a smooth transition upon their death or incapacity. One on one meetings and being sensitive to the children is certainly always recommended, and in rare circumstances, perhaps the entire family meeting might be helpful.</p>
<p>Boomer: How can you integrate a non-family CEO into a family business?</p>
<p>Kestenbaum: If a non-family CEO is going to take over, he or she should be integrated into the business while the boomer owner(s) is still strong, vibrant and involved in the business. It should not be done as a direct insult to their children.</p>
<p>I often recommend a structure similar to a public company, where perhaps no one person has total authority and there are real boards and leadership committees. Sometimes there can even be a company board and a family board. It really depends on the situation. It is worth noting that there is a business model called "self-management" which essentially discards the typical hierarchical business model into more of a team approach, which might be helpful to assure business longevity.</p>
<p>Boomer: Where can one look for professional help with business succession planning?</p>
<p>Kestenbaum: Many estate planning attorneys have experience in this area, but there should be a team approach: an accountant, insurance professional and &#160;banker should all be involved with a “quarterback” from the list taking the lead.</p>
<p>There are outside consultants who also claim to have special expertise in this area, and even a psychologist might be helpful at times. Reading books and articles on the subject is also informative, but this is a complicated area that when done properly, blends tax planning, business acumen, legal structures, psychology and emotional intelligence. In most circumstances, this is very difficult. Keys to success include choosing the right advisor, and the parents being open and not afraid to make difficult decisions.</p> | 1,979 |
<p />
<p />
<p><a href="" type="internal">Rob Portman</a>, a conservative, sitting U.S. Senator currently serving Ohio, Thursday announced he supports same-sex marriage, mentioning his 21-year old gay son as his motivation. Portman, whom many considered as a possible running mate for <a href="" type="internal">Mitt Romney</a> last year, has repeatedly received a “0″ rating, the lowest possible, from the Human Rights Campaign ( <a href="" type="internal">HRC</a>) for his position on LGBT issues. Portman has served in both the House and the Senate, and voted both for DOMA — the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 that bans the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages — and for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.</p>
<p>Portman, who has supported the Tea Party, did not sign a recent amicus brief 131 Republicans sent asking the Supreme Court to support same-sex marriage.</p>
<p>READ:&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Who Are The 131 Republicans Asking SCOTUS To Support Gay Marriage? — List And Full Brief</a></p>
<p>“I’m announcing today a change of heart on an issue that a lot of people feel strongly about that has to do with gay couples’ opportunity to marry,” Portman said in <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/15/politics/portman-gay-marriage/index.html?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_allpolitics+(RSS%3A+Politics)" type="external">a CNN interview</a>:</p>
<p>“I’ve come to the conclusion that for me, personally, I think this is something that we should allow people to do, to get married, and to have the joy and stability of marriage that I’ve had for over 26 years. That I want all of my children to have, including our son, who is gay,” said Portman.</p>
<p>Will Portman told his father and mother he is gay two years ago, when he was a freshman at Yale University.</p>
<p>“My son came to Jane, my wife, and I, told us that he was gay, and that it was not a choice, and that it’s just part of who he is, and that’s who he’d been that way for as long as he could remember,” said Portman.</p>
<p>What was the Republican senator’s reaction?</p>
<p>“Love. Support,” responded Portman.</p>
<p>And complete surprise. He told CNN that he never suspected that his son was gay. Portman says his son, now a junior in college, helped him work through his decision to announce his change in position on gay marriage and blessed the idea of publicly announcing Will Portman’s sexuality.</p>
<p>“I think he’s happy and, you know, proud that we’ve come to this point, but he let it be my decision just as you know, it’s going to be his decision as to the role he plays going forward in this whole issue,” said Portman.</p>
<p>Until now, this was a secret to most people in politics, but not everyone. Last year, when Romney was vetting Portman to be his running mate, the Ohio Republican informed both Romney and his top campaign advisers that he has a gay son.</p>
<p>“I told Mitt Romney everything,” said Portman with a laugh. “That process is, intrusive would be one way to put it. But, no, yeah, I told him everything.”</p>
<p>Portman, who was ultimately passed over as the GOP vice-presidential candidate in favor of Rep. Paul Ryan, said the fact that his son is gay was not the deal breaker for Romney. How does he know?</p>
<p>“Well, because they told me,” said Portman.</p>
<p>Portman whose focus is fiscal issues, says he won’t be introducing marriage equality or other LGBT civil rights legislation.</p>
<p>“Portman, who backed the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act now under review by the U.S. Supreme Court, said he now thinks parts of that bill should be repealed, though he hasn’t considered introducing such legislation himself because economic policy issues are his specialty,” the <a href="http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2013/03/sen_rob_portman_comes_out_in_f.html" type="external">Cleveland Plain Dealer</a> reports:</p>
<p>Portman said he believes that same-sex couples who marry legally in states where it’s allowed should get the federal benefits that are granted to heterosexual married couples but aren’t currently extended to gay married couples because of DOMA, such as the ability to file joint tax returns. Family law has traditionally been a state responsibility, Portman says, so the federal definition of marriage should not preempt state marriage laws.</p>
<p>If Ohio voters were to reconsider the gay marriage ban they adopted in 2004, Portman said he might support it, depending on its wording, though he would not be likely to take a leadership role on the issue just as he didn’t take a leadership role in 2004. He stressed that he doesn’t want to force his views on others, and that religious institutions shouldn’t be forced to perform weddings or recognize marriages they don’t condone.</p>
<p />
<p>Tagged as: <a href="" type="internal">Gay Marriage</a>, <a href="" type="internal">lgbt</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Marriage Equality</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Ohio</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Rob Portman</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Same-Sex Marriage</a>, <a href="" type="internal">SCOTUS</a>, <a href="" type="internal">son</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Support</a></p>
<p>Friends:</p>
<p>We invite you to <a href="http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=001whLQo73KzGhEjdskYG07rHNy_XoDDkSBBO4INZHx6oD9kfp2yeeQAJeMQUu9oTviZa0VEl5k0rNiLifxlZsOFScMz8rVGmIaN-FFOO3GTKc%3D" type="external">sign up for our new mailing list</a>, and&#160; <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=TheNewCivilRightsMovement&amp;amp;loc=en_US" type="external">subscribe to The New Civil Rights Movement via email</a> or <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/thenewcivilrightsmovement" type="external">RSS</a>.</p>
<p>Also, please&#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-New-Civil-Rights-Movement/358168880614" type="external">like us on Facebook</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/gaycivilrights" type="external">follow us on Twitter</a>!</p> | Conservative Republican US Senator Announces Support For Same-Sex Marriage | true | http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/conservative-republican-us-senator-announces-support-for-same-sex-marriage/politics/2013/03/15/62560 | 2013-03-15 | 4left
| Conservative Republican US Senator Announces Support For Same-Sex Marriage
<p />
<p />
<p><a href="" type="internal">Rob Portman</a>, a conservative, sitting U.S. Senator currently serving Ohio, Thursday announced he supports same-sex marriage, mentioning his 21-year old gay son as his motivation. Portman, whom many considered as a possible running mate for <a href="" type="internal">Mitt Romney</a> last year, has repeatedly received a “0″ rating, the lowest possible, from the Human Rights Campaign ( <a href="" type="internal">HRC</a>) for his position on LGBT issues. Portman has served in both the House and the Senate, and voted both for DOMA — the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 that bans the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages — and for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.</p>
<p>Portman, who has supported the Tea Party, did not sign a recent amicus brief 131 Republicans sent asking the Supreme Court to support same-sex marriage.</p>
<p>READ:&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Who Are The 131 Republicans Asking SCOTUS To Support Gay Marriage? — List And Full Brief</a></p>
<p>“I’m announcing today a change of heart on an issue that a lot of people feel strongly about that has to do with gay couples’ opportunity to marry,” Portman said in <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/15/politics/portman-gay-marriage/index.html?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_allpolitics+(RSS%3A+Politics)" type="external">a CNN interview</a>:</p>
<p>“I’ve come to the conclusion that for me, personally, I think this is something that we should allow people to do, to get married, and to have the joy and stability of marriage that I’ve had for over 26 years. That I want all of my children to have, including our son, who is gay,” said Portman.</p>
<p>Will Portman told his father and mother he is gay two years ago, when he was a freshman at Yale University.</p>
<p>“My son came to Jane, my wife, and I, told us that he was gay, and that it was not a choice, and that it’s just part of who he is, and that’s who he’d been that way for as long as he could remember,” said Portman.</p>
<p>What was the Republican senator’s reaction?</p>
<p>“Love. Support,” responded Portman.</p>
<p>And complete surprise. He told CNN that he never suspected that his son was gay. Portman says his son, now a junior in college, helped him work through his decision to announce his change in position on gay marriage and blessed the idea of publicly announcing Will Portman’s sexuality.</p>
<p>“I think he’s happy and, you know, proud that we’ve come to this point, but he let it be my decision just as you know, it’s going to be his decision as to the role he plays going forward in this whole issue,” said Portman.</p>
<p>Until now, this was a secret to most people in politics, but not everyone. Last year, when Romney was vetting Portman to be his running mate, the Ohio Republican informed both Romney and his top campaign advisers that he has a gay son.</p>
<p>“I told Mitt Romney everything,” said Portman with a laugh. “That process is, intrusive would be one way to put it. But, no, yeah, I told him everything.”</p>
<p>Portman, who was ultimately passed over as the GOP vice-presidential candidate in favor of Rep. Paul Ryan, said the fact that his son is gay was not the deal breaker for Romney. How does he know?</p>
<p>“Well, because they told me,” said Portman.</p>
<p>Portman whose focus is fiscal issues, says he won’t be introducing marriage equality or other LGBT civil rights legislation.</p>
<p>“Portman, who backed the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act now under review by the U.S. Supreme Court, said he now thinks parts of that bill should be repealed, though he hasn’t considered introducing such legislation himself because economic policy issues are his specialty,” the <a href="http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2013/03/sen_rob_portman_comes_out_in_f.html" type="external">Cleveland Plain Dealer</a> reports:</p>
<p>Portman said he believes that same-sex couples who marry legally in states where it’s allowed should get the federal benefits that are granted to heterosexual married couples but aren’t currently extended to gay married couples because of DOMA, such as the ability to file joint tax returns. Family law has traditionally been a state responsibility, Portman says, so the federal definition of marriage should not preempt state marriage laws.</p>
<p>If Ohio voters were to reconsider the gay marriage ban they adopted in 2004, Portman said he might support it, depending on its wording, though he would not be likely to take a leadership role on the issue just as he didn’t take a leadership role in 2004. He stressed that he doesn’t want to force his views on others, and that religious institutions shouldn’t be forced to perform weddings or recognize marriages they don’t condone.</p>
<p />
<p>Tagged as: <a href="" type="internal">Gay Marriage</a>, <a href="" type="internal">lgbt</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Marriage Equality</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Ohio</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Rob Portman</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Same-Sex Marriage</a>, <a href="" type="internal">SCOTUS</a>, <a href="" type="internal">son</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Support</a></p>
<p>Friends:</p>
<p>We invite you to <a href="http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=001whLQo73KzGhEjdskYG07rHNy_XoDDkSBBO4INZHx6oD9kfp2yeeQAJeMQUu9oTviZa0VEl5k0rNiLifxlZsOFScMz8rVGmIaN-FFOO3GTKc%3D" type="external">sign up for our new mailing list</a>, and&#160; <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=TheNewCivilRightsMovement&amp;amp;loc=en_US" type="external">subscribe to The New Civil Rights Movement via email</a> or <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/thenewcivilrightsmovement" type="external">RSS</a>.</p>
<p>Also, please&#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-New-Civil-Rights-Movement/358168880614" type="external">like us on Facebook</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/gaycivilrights" type="external">follow us on Twitter</a>!</p> | 1,980 |
<p>BY: <a href="" type="internal">Cameron Cawthorne</a> July 7, 2017 11:25 am</p>
<p>President Donald Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday at the G-20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, and&#160;Trump kicked off the highly anticipated bilateral meeting by telling&#160;him, "It's an honor to be with you."</p>
<p>Neither&#160;of the world leaders, who were accompanied by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, offered any specifics of what they would be discussing during their bilateral meeting.</p>
<p>"President Putin and I have been discussing various things, and I think it's going very well. We've had some very, very good talks. We are going to have a talk now and obviously that will continue," Trump said. "But we look forward to a lot of very positive things happening for Russia, for the United States, and for everybody concerned, and it's an honor to be with you."</p>
<p>Putin shared the same cordial sentiment, through a translator, to Trump and said that the two leaders "will really need personal meetings" to resolve their policy differences.</p>
<p>"We have spoken on the phone with you several times before on very important bilateral and international issues. But phone conversation is never enough," Putin said. "I’m delighted to be able to meet you personally, Mr. President. And I hope, as you have said, our meeting will yield positive result."</p>
<p>Trump and Putin informally met earlier Friday morning on the sidelines of the G-20 summit alongside other leaders, according to several news sources on social media.</p>
<p>Trump was optimistic going into the meeting with Putin, as he voiced on Twitter that he would "represent our country well and fight for its interests."</p> | Trump to Putin: ‘It’s an Honor to Be With You’ | true | http://freebeacon.com/politics/trump-tells-putin-honor-to-be-with-you/ | 2017-07-07 | 0right
| Trump to Putin: ‘It’s an Honor to Be With You’
<p>BY: <a href="" type="internal">Cameron Cawthorne</a> July 7, 2017 11:25 am</p>
<p>President Donald Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday at the G-20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, and&#160;Trump kicked off the highly anticipated bilateral meeting by telling&#160;him, "It's an honor to be with you."</p>
<p>Neither&#160;of the world leaders, who were accompanied by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, offered any specifics of what they would be discussing during their bilateral meeting.</p>
<p>"President Putin and I have been discussing various things, and I think it's going very well. We've had some very, very good talks. We are going to have a talk now and obviously that will continue," Trump said. "But we look forward to a lot of very positive things happening for Russia, for the United States, and for everybody concerned, and it's an honor to be with you."</p>
<p>Putin shared the same cordial sentiment, through a translator, to Trump and said that the two leaders "will really need personal meetings" to resolve their policy differences.</p>
<p>"We have spoken on the phone with you several times before on very important bilateral and international issues. But phone conversation is never enough," Putin said. "I’m delighted to be able to meet you personally, Mr. President. And I hope, as you have said, our meeting will yield positive result."</p>
<p>Trump and Putin informally met earlier Friday morning on the sidelines of the G-20 summit alongside other leaders, according to several news sources on social media.</p>
<p>Trump was optimistic going into the meeting with Putin, as he voiced on Twitter that he would "represent our country well and fight for its interests."</p> | 1,981 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>With apologies to “The Wizard of Oz,” Spanish Colonial artist and scholar Charles Carrillo prefers a more Southwestern approach to casting.</p>
<p>Try jackrabbits and buffalo and jaguars.</p>
<p>In a nod to the 100th anniversary of the birth of composer Benjamin Britten, the Santa Fe Opera will stage “Noah’s Flood” at 4 and 6 p.m. Saturday and at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Sunday in O’Shaughnessy Hall on the lower opera grounds. Carrillo designed both the sets and the costumes. Thirty-five masked children head the cast, chosen after a series of auditions last spring. The singers are from Los Alamos, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Rio Rancho and Corrales. The Albuquerque Youth Symphony will provide the music.</p>
<p>Britten wrote the opera, based on a 15th century Chester mystery play, in 1958 at Orford Church, Suffolk. The colorful pageant features children in all the animal roles parading into the ark two-by-two. The piece is one of several Britten based on Biblical subjects.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>This marks Carrillo’s second involvement with the opera. In 2011, Santa Fe staged “Shoes for Santo Niño,” based on the book by Peggy Pond Church, which he illustrated.</p>
<p>“Anyone would want to collaborate with him,” said stage director Kathleen Clawson, who teaches courses in musical theater at the University of New Mexico.</p>
<p>Clawson envisioned “Noah’s Flood” taking place in New Mexico. It’s not that far-fetched, she said. Scientists have discovered seashells on top of the Sandia Crest.</p>
<p>“(Carrillo’s) work is exquisite and he’s a New Mexican,” she said. “His work is informed by his vast education and his knowledge of anthropology and New Mexican traditions.</p>
<p>“Every time I would suggest something to him, he would bring back brilliant designs,” she added.</p>
<p>With sets and critters that are decidedly New Mexican, Carrillo jumped at the chance to fulfill a long-dormant dream when he received the commission a year ago.</p>
<p>“It’s totally different for me,” the famed Santa Fe santero said. “This is my first time.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Carrillo was familiar with the opera, seeing it both on PBS and YouTube. Each version reflected a European take on the scenery and costumes.</p>
<p>Clawson asked for sketches with no restrictive parameters. Carrillo’s first thought was to localize the animal actors. Instead of the requisite African wildlife, he transferred his species to the high desert.</p>
<p>‘I said, ‘I want to turn this whole thing upside down’,” Carrillo said. “I want to set Noah’s Ark in the Southwest. They said, ‘Go for it.'”</p>
<p>So he submitted watercolor sketches of bison, coyotes, elk and deer, as well as mice and rats, not knowing what the reaction would be. He thought of his initial 8 1/2-by-11-inch drawings as preliminary.</p>
<p>“They said, ‘No, we’re going to do exactly what you drew,'” he said. “I didn’t know they were taking it that seriously.”</p>
<p>Noah’s house is made of adobe. It measures about 12 feet by 40 feet. The animal masks are made of papier mâché.</p>
<p>The gardens on the opera grounds informed the color scheme, according to Clawson.</p>
<p>“We have the colors of the rainbow,” she said.</p>
<p>The rainbow has an important role in Britten’s opera. God sends the flood to punish the wicked, then he delivers a rainbow as a sign it will never happen again.</p>
<p>As his imagination soared, Carrillo wanted to spritz the audience (Britten referred to them as the “congregation”) with the opera grounds’ sprinklers during the storm sequence.</p>
<p>“It was more of a Disneyland effect,” he acknowledged. “They said they didn’t have the budget.”</p>
<p>Noah also uses Spanish colonial tools, including a staff called a “desjarratadera.”</p>
<p>“It’s a really long pole with a half moon over it,” he explained.</p>
<p>Not only did Carrillo transplant the opera to New Mexico, he chose an otherworldly color scheme in place of the standard browns and grays and blacks.</p>
<p>“I wanted it to be out of this world,” he said. “It’s the Southwest-meets-Mesopotamia.”</p>
<p>“We just looked at the beautiful colors at the opera,” Clawson added. “I wanted it to be a storybook.”</p>
<p>As a result, the buffalo is turquoise and silver. The jaguar is light blue with dark brown spots. The deer is orange/red with blue antlers. A camel is required by the script, so Carrillo colored it pink.</p>
<p>Even the single domestic animal wore the fantastic color scheme.</p>
<p>“There’s a blue beagle with sad eyes,” he said.</p>
<p>“It’s a children’s opera,” Carrillo continued, “and I wanted it to be fun and colorful. I wanted it to be extravagant.”</p>
<p>The opera requires audience participation. Before it starts, the cast teaches the “congregation” three hymns.</p>
<p>In medieval times, the play was performed by the Water Carriers Guild at local music festivals.</p>
<p>“Britten chose to do the opera in the same way —— it was a mix of amateurs and professionals,” Clawson said.</p>
<p>Carrillo hopes this weekend’s event will signal a new career angle.</p>
<p>He mused about designing sets for everything from “Carmen” to “Cinderella.”</p>
<p>” ‘Madame Butterfly,'” he added, ” —— instead of Japanese, I would put them in pueblo mantas.”</p>
<p />
<p /> | Kids lead cast as artist puts N.M.touch on Britten opera | false | https://abqjournal.com/244795/southwest.html | 2013-08-09 | 2least
| Kids lead cast as artist puts N.M.touch on Britten opera
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>With apologies to “The Wizard of Oz,” Spanish Colonial artist and scholar Charles Carrillo prefers a more Southwestern approach to casting.</p>
<p>Try jackrabbits and buffalo and jaguars.</p>
<p>In a nod to the 100th anniversary of the birth of composer Benjamin Britten, the Santa Fe Opera will stage “Noah’s Flood” at 4 and 6 p.m. Saturday and at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Sunday in O’Shaughnessy Hall on the lower opera grounds. Carrillo designed both the sets and the costumes. Thirty-five masked children head the cast, chosen after a series of auditions last spring. The singers are from Los Alamos, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Rio Rancho and Corrales. The Albuquerque Youth Symphony will provide the music.</p>
<p>Britten wrote the opera, based on a 15th century Chester mystery play, in 1958 at Orford Church, Suffolk. The colorful pageant features children in all the animal roles parading into the ark two-by-two. The piece is one of several Britten based on Biblical subjects.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>This marks Carrillo’s second involvement with the opera. In 2011, Santa Fe staged “Shoes for Santo Niño,” based on the book by Peggy Pond Church, which he illustrated.</p>
<p>“Anyone would want to collaborate with him,” said stage director Kathleen Clawson, who teaches courses in musical theater at the University of New Mexico.</p>
<p>Clawson envisioned “Noah’s Flood” taking place in New Mexico. It’s not that far-fetched, she said. Scientists have discovered seashells on top of the Sandia Crest.</p>
<p>“(Carrillo’s) work is exquisite and he’s a New Mexican,” she said. “His work is informed by his vast education and his knowledge of anthropology and New Mexican traditions.</p>
<p>“Every time I would suggest something to him, he would bring back brilliant designs,” she added.</p>
<p>With sets and critters that are decidedly New Mexican, Carrillo jumped at the chance to fulfill a long-dormant dream when he received the commission a year ago.</p>
<p>“It’s totally different for me,” the famed Santa Fe santero said. “This is my first time.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Carrillo was familiar with the opera, seeing it both on PBS and YouTube. Each version reflected a European take on the scenery and costumes.</p>
<p>Clawson asked for sketches with no restrictive parameters. Carrillo’s first thought was to localize the animal actors. Instead of the requisite African wildlife, he transferred his species to the high desert.</p>
<p>‘I said, ‘I want to turn this whole thing upside down’,” Carrillo said. “I want to set Noah’s Ark in the Southwest. They said, ‘Go for it.'”</p>
<p>So he submitted watercolor sketches of bison, coyotes, elk and deer, as well as mice and rats, not knowing what the reaction would be. He thought of his initial 8 1/2-by-11-inch drawings as preliminary.</p>
<p>“They said, ‘No, we’re going to do exactly what you drew,'” he said. “I didn’t know they were taking it that seriously.”</p>
<p>Noah’s house is made of adobe. It measures about 12 feet by 40 feet. The animal masks are made of papier mâché.</p>
<p>The gardens on the opera grounds informed the color scheme, according to Clawson.</p>
<p>“We have the colors of the rainbow,” she said.</p>
<p>The rainbow has an important role in Britten’s opera. God sends the flood to punish the wicked, then he delivers a rainbow as a sign it will never happen again.</p>
<p>As his imagination soared, Carrillo wanted to spritz the audience (Britten referred to them as the “congregation”) with the opera grounds’ sprinklers during the storm sequence.</p>
<p>“It was more of a Disneyland effect,” he acknowledged. “They said they didn’t have the budget.”</p>
<p>Noah also uses Spanish colonial tools, including a staff called a “desjarratadera.”</p>
<p>“It’s a really long pole with a half moon over it,” he explained.</p>
<p>Not only did Carrillo transplant the opera to New Mexico, he chose an otherworldly color scheme in place of the standard browns and grays and blacks.</p>
<p>“I wanted it to be out of this world,” he said. “It’s the Southwest-meets-Mesopotamia.”</p>
<p>“We just looked at the beautiful colors at the opera,” Clawson added. “I wanted it to be a storybook.”</p>
<p>As a result, the buffalo is turquoise and silver. The jaguar is light blue with dark brown spots. The deer is orange/red with blue antlers. A camel is required by the script, so Carrillo colored it pink.</p>
<p>Even the single domestic animal wore the fantastic color scheme.</p>
<p>“There’s a blue beagle with sad eyes,” he said.</p>
<p>“It’s a children’s opera,” Carrillo continued, “and I wanted it to be fun and colorful. I wanted it to be extravagant.”</p>
<p>The opera requires audience participation. Before it starts, the cast teaches the “congregation” three hymns.</p>
<p>In medieval times, the play was performed by the Water Carriers Guild at local music festivals.</p>
<p>“Britten chose to do the opera in the same way —— it was a mix of amateurs and professionals,” Clawson said.</p>
<p>Carrillo hopes this weekend’s event will signal a new career angle.</p>
<p>He mused about designing sets for everything from “Carmen” to “Cinderella.”</p>
<p>” ‘Madame Butterfly,'” he added, ” —— instead of Japanese, I would put them in pueblo mantas.”</p>
<p />
<p /> | 1,982 |
<p>CINCINNATI (AP) — After consecutive road losses, No. 10 Xavier was back home and back in form.</p>
<p>Trevon Bluiett emerged from his shooting slump with 24 points, <a href="https://twitter.com/XavierMBB/status/952299269179899905" type="external">Kaiser Gates</a> responded to getting dropped from the starting lineup by scoring 16, and the Musketeers routed No. 25 Creighton 92-70 on Saturday.</p>
<p><a href="https://collegebasketball.ap.org/teams/xavier" type="external">The Musketeers</a> (16-3, 4-2 Big East) shook up their starting lineup after back-to-back road losses at <a href="https://collegebasketball.ap.org/article/providence-upsets-no-5-xavier-81-72" type="external">Providence</a> and <a href="https://collegebasketball.ap.org/article/booth-scores-21-no-1-villanova-routs-no-10-xavier-89-65" type="external">No. 1 Villanova</a> . They had this one in hand all the way, pulling ahead by 27 points midway through the second half.</p>
<p>“I think we played with a little incentive today,” coach Chris Mack said. “I think we played with our backs against the wall.”</p>
<p><a href="https://collegebasketball.ap.org/teams/creighton" type="external">The Bluejays</a> (14-3, 4-2) gave up a season high in points and took their most lopsided loss. All of Creighton’s losses have come against teams that were ranked in the Top 25 at the time — Baylor, Gonzaga and Seton Hall along with Xavier.</p>
<p>“This is different for us,” coach Greg McDermott said. “This is really the first time we’ve gotten spanked, so it’s a new experience for us and hopefully something we’re committed to not being part of the rest of the season.”</p>
<p>Marcus Foster and Mitch Ballock scored 16 points apiece for the Bluejays.</p>
<p>“We made a lot of mental errors,” Ballock said. “We got a little lazy with the ball. I think we underestimated Xavier.”</p>
<p>Gates was dropped from the starting lineup after scoring a total of three points and taking only four shots during the two road losses. He came off the bench and had 11 points with seven rebounds as Xavier surged ahead 50-34 by halftime, the most points the Bluejays have allowed in an opening half this season.</p>
<p>“I came off the bench because I wasn’t producing properly,” Gates said. “I just wanted to play hard. I was a little more aggressive. I didn’t miss open shots.”</p>
<p>Mack got his 202nd win as Xavier’s coach, tying Pete Gillen for the school record. Mack played for Gillen at Xavier.</p>
<p>“It’s really about the players,” Mack said.</p>
<p>BIG PICTURE</p>
<p>Creighton: The Bluejays lead the Big East in scoring defense, allowing 73 points per game. They’ve held eight teams under 70 points. Xavier hit the 70-point mark with 10 minutes left.</p>
<p>Xavier: The Musketeers need their top scorer to get back in form. Bluiett has fought through shoulder and knee injuries and was shooting only 34 percent from the field in the last four games. He went 9 of 16 from the field, including 5 of 7 from beyond the arc.</p>
<p>PERFECT PLACE</p>
<p>Creighton was trying to become the first visiting team with four victories at the Cintas Center, which opened in 2000. Instead, Xavier improved to 12-0 at home this season.</p>
<p>EARLY EXITS</p>
<p>Creighton’s front line had a rough day. Forwards Martin Krampelj and Toby Hegner fouled out with more than 5 minutes left. The combined for only six points and eight rebounds. Krampelj had double-doubles in four of the last five games.</p>
<p>“We got bullied today,” McDermott said.</p>
<p>SLOW STARTS</p>
<p>Xavier fell into a habit of slow starts — set up by missed shots — at the start of games. They missed their first six shots Saturday, but relaxed once a couple of them fell. Xavier wound up shooting 48 percent from the field and going 11 of 24 from beyond the arc, the most 3s it has made in a Big East game this season.</p>
<p>HELPING HAND</p>
<p>Xavier had 14 assists in the big opening half, more than it had in either of the last two games overall.</p>
<p>GIVING IT AWAY</p>
<p>Creighton was among the league’s best at taking care of the ball, but wound up with a season-high 20 turnovers, which set up 21 of Xavier’s points.</p>
<p>“We didn’t really have it from the start,” McDermott said. “We had five turnovers before the first media timeout. We’ve been one of the best in the country at not turning it over. Some of it was the pressure and the length of Xavier, but some of it was our foolishness.”</p>
<p>WOUNDED MUSKETEER</p>
<p>Forward Tyrique Jones hurt his right hand in practice and didn’t play.</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>The Bluejays host No. 13 Seton Hall on Wednesday. They lost at Seton Hall 90-84 on Dec. 28 in their league opener.</p>
<p>The Musketeers host St. John’s on Wednesday.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP college basketball: <a href="https://collegebasketball.ap.org" type="external">https://collegebasketball.ap.org</a></p>
<p>CINCINNATI (AP) — After consecutive road losses, No. 10 Xavier was back home and back in form.</p>
<p>Trevon Bluiett emerged from his shooting slump with 24 points, <a href="https://twitter.com/XavierMBB/status/952299269179899905" type="external">Kaiser Gates</a> responded to getting dropped from the starting lineup by scoring 16, and the Musketeers routed No. 25 Creighton 92-70 on Saturday.</p>
<p><a href="https://collegebasketball.ap.org/teams/xavier" type="external">The Musketeers</a> (16-3, 4-2 Big East) shook up their starting lineup after back-to-back road losses at <a href="https://collegebasketball.ap.org/article/providence-upsets-no-5-xavier-81-72" type="external">Providence</a> and <a href="https://collegebasketball.ap.org/article/booth-scores-21-no-1-villanova-routs-no-10-xavier-89-65" type="external">No. 1 Villanova</a> . They had this one in hand all the way, pulling ahead by 27 points midway through the second half.</p>
<p>“I think we played with a little incentive today,” coach Chris Mack said. “I think we played with our backs against the wall.”</p>
<p><a href="https://collegebasketball.ap.org/teams/creighton" type="external">The Bluejays</a> (14-3, 4-2) gave up a season high in points and took their most lopsided loss. All of Creighton’s losses have come against teams that were ranked in the Top 25 at the time — Baylor, Gonzaga and Seton Hall along with Xavier.</p>
<p>“This is different for us,” coach Greg McDermott said. “This is really the first time we’ve gotten spanked, so it’s a new experience for us and hopefully something we’re committed to not being part of the rest of the season.”</p>
<p>Marcus Foster and Mitch Ballock scored 16 points apiece for the Bluejays.</p>
<p>“We made a lot of mental errors,” Ballock said. “We got a little lazy with the ball. I think we underestimated Xavier.”</p>
<p>Gates was dropped from the starting lineup after scoring a total of three points and taking only four shots during the two road losses. He came off the bench and had 11 points with seven rebounds as Xavier surged ahead 50-34 by halftime, the most points the Bluejays have allowed in an opening half this season.</p>
<p>“I came off the bench because I wasn’t producing properly,” Gates said. “I just wanted to play hard. I was a little more aggressive. I didn’t miss open shots.”</p>
<p>Mack got his 202nd win as Xavier’s coach, tying Pete Gillen for the school record. Mack played for Gillen at Xavier.</p>
<p>“It’s really about the players,” Mack said.</p>
<p>BIG PICTURE</p>
<p>Creighton: The Bluejays lead the Big East in scoring defense, allowing 73 points per game. They’ve held eight teams under 70 points. Xavier hit the 70-point mark with 10 minutes left.</p>
<p>Xavier: The Musketeers need their top scorer to get back in form. Bluiett has fought through shoulder and knee injuries and was shooting only 34 percent from the field in the last four games. He went 9 of 16 from the field, including 5 of 7 from beyond the arc.</p>
<p>PERFECT PLACE</p>
<p>Creighton was trying to become the first visiting team with four victories at the Cintas Center, which opened in 2000. Instead, Xavier improved to 12-0 at home this season.</p>
<p>EARLY EXITS</p>
<p>Creighton’s front line had a rough day. Forwards Martin Krampelj and Toby Hegner fouled out with more than 5 minutes left. The combined for only six points and eight rebounds. Krampelj had double-doubles in four of the last five games.</p>
<p>“We got bullied today,” McDermott said.</p>
<p>SLOW STARTS</p>
<p>Xavier fell into a habit of slow starts — set up by missed shots — at the start of games. They missed their first six shots Saturday, but relaxed once a couple of them fell. Xavier wound up shooting 48 percent from the field and going 11 of 24 from beyond the arc, the most 3s it has made in a Big East game this season.</p>
<p>HELPING HAND</p>
<p>Xavier had 14 assists in the big opening half, more than it had in either of the last two games overall.</p>
<p>GIVING IT AWAY</p>
<p>Creighton was among the league’s best at taking care of the ball, but wound up with a season-high 20 turnovers, which set up 21 of Xavier’s points.</p>
<p>“We didn’t really have it from the start,” McDermott said. “We had five turnovers before the first media timeout. We’ve been one of the best in the country at not turning it over. Some of it was the pressure and the length of Xavier, but some of it was our foolishness.”</p>
<p>WOUNDED MUSKETEER</p>
<p>Forward Tyrique Jones hurt his right hand in practice and didn’t play.</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>The Bluejays host No. 13 Seton Hall on Wednesday. They lost at Seton Hall 90-84 on Dec. 28 in their league opener.</p>
<p>The Musketeers host St. John’s on Wednesday.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP college basketball: <a href="https://collegebasketball.ap.org" type="external">https://collegebasketball.ap.org</a></p> | Bluiett has 24, No. 10 Xavier routs No. 25 Creighton 92-70 | false | https://apnews.com/05ba39a7428044349ca76cd4329b8e02 | 2018-01-13 | 2least
| Bluiett has 24, No. 10 Xavier routs No. 25 Creighton 92-70
<p>CINCINNATI (AP) — After consecutive road losses, No. 10 Xavier was back home and back in form.</p>
<p>Trevon Bluiett emerged from his shooting slump with 24 points, <a href="https://twitter.com/XavierMBB/status/952299269179899905" type="external">Kaiser Gates</a> responded to getting dropped from the starting lineup by scoring 16, and the Musketeers routed No. 25 Creighton 92-70 on Saturday.</p>
<p><a href="https://collegebasketball.ap.org/teams/xavier" type="external">The Musketeers</a> (16-3, 4-2 Big East) shook up their starting lineup after back-to-back road losses at <a href="https://collegebasketball.ap.org/article/providence-upsets-no-5-xavier-81-72" type="external">Providence</a> and <a href="https://collegebasketball.ap.org/article/booth-scores-21-no-1-villanova-routs-no-10-xavier-89-65" type="external">No. 1 Villanova</a> . They had this one in hand all the way, pulling ahead by 27 points midway through the second half.</p>
<p>“I think we played with a little incentive today,” coach Chris Mack said. “I think we played with our backs against the wall.”</p>
<p><a href="https://collegebasketball.ap.org/teams/creighton" type="external">The Bluejays</a> (14-3, 4-2) gave up a season high in points and took their most lopsided loss. All of Creighton’s losses have come against teams that were ranked in the Top 25 at the time — Baylor, Gonzaga and Seton Hall along with Xavier.</p>
<p>“This is different for us,” coach Greg McDermott said. “This is really the first time we’ve gotten spanked, so it’s a new experience for us and hopefully something we’re committed to not being part of the rest of the season.”</p>
<p>Marcus Foster and Mitch Ballock scored 16 points apiece for the Bluejays.</p>
<p>“We made a lot of mental errors,” Ballock said. “We got a little lazy with the ball. I think we underestimated Xavier.”</p>
<p>Gates was dropped from the starting lineup after scoring a total of three points and taking only four shots during the two road losses. He came off the bench and had 11 points with seven rebounds as Xavier surged ahead 50-34 by halftime, the most points the Bluejays have allowed in an opening half this season.</p>
<p>“I came off the bench because I wasn’t producing properly,” Gates said. “I just wanted to play hard. I was a little more aggressive. I didn’t miss open shots.”</p>
<p>Mack got his 202nd win as Xavier’s coach, tying Pete Gillen for the school record. Mack played for Gillen at Xavier.</p>
<p>“It’s really about the players,” Mack said.</p>
<p>BIG PICTURE</p>
<p>Creighton: The Bluejays lead the Big East in scoring defense, allowing 73 points per game. They’ve held eight teams under 70 points. Xavier hit the 70-point mark with 10 minutes left.</p>
<p>Xavier: The Musketeers need their top scorer to get back in form. Bluiett has fought through shoulder and knee injuries and was shooting only 34 percent from the field in the last four games. He went 9 of 16 from the field, including 5 of 7 from beyond the arc.</p>
<p>PERFECT PLACE</p>
<p>Creighton was trying to become the first visiting team with four victories at the Cintas Center, which opened in 2000. Instead, Xavier improved to 12-0 at home this season.</p>
<p>EARLY EXITS</p>
<p>Creighton’s front line had a rough day. Forwards Martin Krampelj and Toby Hegner fouled out with more than 5 minutes left. The combined for only six points and eight rebounds. Krampelj had double-doubles in four of the last five games.</p>
<p>“We got bullied today,” McDermott said.</p>
<p>SLOW STARTS</p>
<p>Xavier fell into a habit of slow starts — set up by missed shots — at the start of games. They missed their first six shots Saturday, but relaxed once a couple of them fell. Xavier wound up shooting 48 percent from the field and going 11 of 24 from beyond the arc, the most 3s it has made in a Big East game this season.</p>
<p>HELPING HAND</p>
<p>Xavier had 14 assists in the big opening half, more than it had in either of the last two games overall.</p>
<p>GIVING IT AWAY</p>
<p>Creighton was among the league’s best at taking care of the ball, but wound up with a season-high 20 turnovers, which set up 21 of Xavier’s points.</p>
<p>“We didn’t really have it from the start,” McDermott said. “We had five turnovers before the first media timeout. We’ve been one of the best in the country at not turning it over. Some of it was the pressure and the length of Xavier, but some of it was our foolishness.”</p>
<p>WOUNDED MUSKETEER</p>
<p>Forward Tyrique Jones hurt his right hand in practice and didn’t play.</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>The Bluejays host No. 13 Seton Hall on Wednesday. They lost at Seton Hall 90-84 on Dec. 28 in their league opener.</p>
<p>The Musketeers host St. John’s on Wednesday.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP college basketball: <a href="https://collegebasketball.ap.org" type="external">https://collegebasketball.ap.org</a></p>
<p>CINCINNATI (AP) — After consecutive road losses, No. 10 Xavier was back home and back in form.</p>
<p>Trevon Bluiett emerged from his shooting slump with 24 points, <a href="https://twitter.com/XavierMBB/status/952299269179899905" type="external">Kaiser Gates</a> responded to getting dropped from the starting lineup by scoring 16, and the Musketeers routed No. 25 Creighton 92-70 on Saturday.</p>
<p><a href="https://collegebasketball.ap.org/teams/xavier" type="external">The Musketeers</a> (16-3, 4-2 Big East) shook up their starting lineup after back-to-back road losses at <a href="https://collegebasketball.ap.org/article/providence-upsets-no-5-xavier-81-72" type="external">Providence</a> and <a href="https://collegebasketball.ap.org/article/booth-scores-21-no-1-villanova-routs-no-10-xavier-89-65" type="external">No. 1 Villanova</a> . They had this one in hand all the way, pulling ahead by 27 points midway through the second half.</p>
<p>“I think we played with a little incentive today,” coach Chris Mack said. “I think we played with our backs against the wall.”</p>
<p><a href="https://collegebasketball.ap.org/teams/creighton" type="external">The Bluejays</a> (14-3, 4-2) gave up a season high in points and took their most lopsided loss. All of Creighton’s losses have come against teams that were ranked in the Top 25 at the time — Baylor, Gonzaga and Seton Hall along with Xavier.</p>
<p>“This is different for us,” coach Greg McDermott said. “This is really the first time we’ve gotten spanked, so it’s a new experience for us and hopefully something we’re committed to not being part of the rest of the season.”</p>
<p>Marcus Foster and Mitch Ballock scored 16 points apiece for the Bluejays.</p>
<p>“We made a lot of mental errors,” Ballock said. “We got a little lazy with the ball. I think we underestimated Xavier.”</p>
<p>Gates was dropped from the starting lineup after scoring a total of three points and taking only four shots during the two road losses. He came off the bench and had 11 points with seven rebounds as Xavier surged ahead 50-34 by halftime, the most points the Bluejays have allowed in an opening half this season.</p>
<p>“I came off the bench because I wasn’t producing properly,” Gates said. “I just wanted to play hard. I was a little more aggressive. I didn’t miss open shots.”</p>
<p>Mack got his 202nd win as Xavier’s coach, tying Pete Gillen for the school record. Mack played for Gillen at Xavier.</p>
<p>“It’s really about the players,” Mack said.</p>
<p>BIG PICTURE</p>
<p>Creighton: The Bluejays lead the Big East in scoring defense, allowing 73 points per game. They’ve held eight teams under 70 points. Xavier hit the 70-point mark with 10 minutes left.</p>
<p>Xavier: The Musketeers need their top scorer to get back in form. Bluiett has fought through shoulder and knee injuries and was shooting only 34 percent from the field in the last four games. He went 9 of 16 from the field, including 5 of 7 from beyond the arc.</p>
<p>PERFECT PLACE</p>
<p>Creighton was trying to become the first visiting team with four victories at the Cintas Center, which opened in 2000. Instead, Xavier improved to 12-0 at home this season.</p>
<p>EARLY EXITS</p>
<p>Creighton’s front line had a rough day. Forwards Martin Krampelj and Toby Hegner fouled out with more than 5 minutes left. The combined for only six points and eight rebounds. Krampelj had double-doubles in four of the last five games.</p>
<p>“We got bullied today,” McDermott said.</p>
<p>SLOW STARTS</p>
<p>Xavier fell into a habit of slow starts — set up by missed shots — at the start of games. They missed their first six shots Saturday, but relaxed once a couple of them fell. Xavier wound up shooting 48 percent from the field and going 11 of 24 from beyond the arc, the most 3s it has made in a Big East game this season.</p>
<p>HELPING HAND</p>
<p>Xavier had 14 assists in the big opening half, more than it had in either of the last two games overall.</p>
<p>GIVING IT AWAY</p>
<p>Creighton was among the league’s best at taking care of the ball, but wound up with a season-high 20 turnovers, which set up 21 of Xavier’s points.</p>
<p>“We didn’t really have it from the start,” McDermott said. “We had five turnovers before the first media timeout. We’ve been one of the best in the country at not turning it over. Some of it was the pressure and the length of Xavier, but some of it was our foolishness.”</p>
<p>WOUNDED MUSKETEER</p>
<p>Forward Tyrique Jones hurt his right hand in practice and didn’t play.</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>The Bluejays host No. 13 Seton Hall on Wednesday. They lost at Seton Hall 90-84 on Dec. 28 in their league opener.</p>
<p>The Musketeers host St. John’s on Wednesday.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP college basketball: <a href="https://collegebasketball.ap.org" type="external">https://collegebasketball.ap.org</a></p> | 1,983 |
<p />
<p />
<p>Paul Jay, is CEO and Senior Editor of The Real News Network. He currently lives in Baltimore, Maryland. Prior to TRNN, Jay was for ten seasons the creator and Executive Producer of CBC Newsworld's flagship debate programs, CounterSpin and FaceOff.</p>
<p>Jay has produced and directed more than 20 major documentary films including "Return to Kandahar", "Lost in Las Vegas" and "Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows", a feature length documentary, that was screened in 25 major festivals and won more than a dozen awards. It's been called "one of the most acclaimed Canadian films in years" (Eye Magazine), "A tale as bizarre as Kafka and as tragic as Shakespeare" (Ottawa Citizen) and "one of the best films of 1998" (Peter Plagens, art critic for Newsweek).</p>
<p>A past chair of the Documentary Organization of Canada, Jay is the founding chair of Hot Docs!, the Canadian International Documentary Film Festival.</p>
<p /> | Go Local to Go Global | true | http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option%3Dcom_content%26task%3Dview%26id%3D31%26Itemid%3D74%26jumival%3D12743 | 2014-12-02 | 4left
| Go Local to Go Global
<p />
<p />
<p>Paul Jay, is CEO and Senior Editor of The Real News Network. He currently lives in Baltimore, Maryland. Prior to TRNN, Jay was for ten seasons the creator and Executive Producer of CBC Newsworld's flagship debate programs, CounterSpin and FaceOff.</p>
<p>Jay has produced and directed more than 20 major documentary films including "Return to Kandahar", "Lost in Las Vegas" and "Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows", a feature length documentary, that was screened in 25 major festivals and won more than a dozen awards. It's been called "one of the most acclaimed Canadian films in years" (Eye Magazine), "A tale as bizarre as Kafka and as tragic as Shakespeare" (Ottawa Citizen) and "one of the best films of 1998" (Peter Plagens, art critic for Newsweek).</p>
<p>A past chair of the Documentary Organization of Canada, Jay is the founding chair of Hot Docs!, the Canadian International Documentary Film Festival.</p>
<p /> | 1,984 |
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<p />
<p>It’s an event that has become a tradition in Grants. The 18th annual La Fiesta de Colores will take place at the St. Teresa Community Center, 400 E. High St. in Grants beginning at 1:30 p.m. today and events run through 3 p.m. Sunday, May 5. The fiesta will feature more than 40 New Mexican artists who will not only display their individual art but will demonstrate their artistic talents to the public, as well. In addition, a Hispanic Art Show will include a performing arts matinee featuring talented New Mexican and Mexican musicians and dancers. For more information and to get a full schedule, visit <a href="http://www.lafiestadecolores.com" type="external">lafiestadecolores.com</a>.</p>
<p>One man’s trash is another’s artwork</p>
<p>It’s fashion for a cause. University of New Mexico School of Architecture and Planning students will host “re-Fashion: The Art of Trash” at 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 6 at George Pearl Hall, across from the Frontier Restaurant. The fashion show will display garments that explore ideas about gender, empowerment, identity, exposure and surrealism. It also includes a performance by the Disciples of Chaos Dance Company. All of this was accomplished in the spirit of sustainability with trash. As an added challenge, the studio’s instructor, Noreen Richards, required the use of trash and downcycled materials. The event is free and open to the public.</p>
<p>Catch up, down, all-around act</p>
<p>Acrobatics, dance and aerial performances. What more could you ask for? Wise Fool New Mexico is presenting the world premiere of “SeeSaw” at 8 tonight and 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, May 4 at the Santa Fe Railyard Park. “SeeSaw” combines daring physical dexterity with visual splendor in a 30-minute performance that articulates a timely story of migration, displacement and the reclamation of “home.” Performers, who include veteran performers Amy Bertucci-Nieto, Amy Christian, Serena Rascon, Esther deMonteflores, Deollo Johnson and Nikesha Breeze, will fly, jump, climb and tumble in an effort to illustrate resiliency and adaptation. All performances are free to the public.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Hey, hey, hey, it’s Bill Cosby</p>
<p>He’s one of America’s most beloved comedians of all time. Yes, it’s Bill Cosby. Cosby will perform at 8 tonight at Legends Theater at Route 66 Casino, 14500 W. Central. Cosby broke TV’s racial barrier with “I Spy,” becoming the first African-American to co-star on a TV series while winning three consecutive Emmys. He also created the cartoon, “Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids,” which aired during the 1970s. Yet, his greatest contribution to culture is his long-running TV show, “The Cosby Show,” which was a staple in the ratings for its entire run. Tickets for the show are $35-$75 at <a href="http://www.holdmyticket.com" type="external">holdmyticket.com</a> or 886-1251.</p>
<p>A chance for kids to show off talents</p>
<p>Kids, get ready. It’s variety show time. The Outpost Performance Space, 201 Yale SE, is hosting its “Kids Variety Show” at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 4. The shows are an Outpost tradition and are for and by kids of all ages and levels. The shows feature dance, music, comedy, theater and more. The show will feature the Outpost Home School Opera Program plus other performers. Call 268-0044 to reserve a performance slot for a student or child. Adults must accompany the child. For more information, visit <a href="http://www.outpostspace.org" type="external">outpostspace.org</a>.</p> | Top Billing | false | https://abqjournal.com/195148/top-billing-5.html | 2013-05-03 | 2least
| Top Billing
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<p />
<p>It’s an event that has become a tradition in Grants. The 18th annual La Fiesta de Colores will take place at the St. Teresa Community Center, 400 E. High St. in Grants beginning at 1:30 p.m. today and events run through 3 p.m. Sunday, May 5. The fiesta will feature more than 40 New Mexican artists who will not only display their individual art but will demonstrate their artistic talents to the public, as well. In addition, a Hispanic Art Show will include a performing arts matinee featuring talented New Mexican and Mexican musicians and dancers. For more information and to get a full schedule, visit <a href="http://www.lafiestadecolores.com" type="external">lafiestadecolores.com</a>.</p>
<p>One man’s trash is another’s artwork</p>
<p>It’s fashion for a cause. University of New Mexico School of Architecture and Planning students will host “re-Fashion: The Art of Trash” at 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 6 at George Pearl Hall, across from the Frontier Restaurant. The fashion show will display garments that explore ideas about gender, empowerment, identity, exposure and surrealism. It also includes a performance by the Disciples of Chaos Dance Company. All of this was accomplished in the spirit of sustainability with trash. As an added challenge, the studio’s instructor, Noreen Richards, required the use of trash and downcycled materials. The event is free and open to the public.</p>
<p>Catch up, down, all-around act</p>
<p>Acrobatics, dance and aerial performances. What more could you ask for? Wise Fool New Mexico is presenting the world premiere of “SeeSaw” at 8 tonight and 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, May 4 at the Santa Fe Railyard Park. “SeeSaw” combines daring physical dexterity with visual splendor in a 30-minute performance that articulates a timely story of migration, displacement and the reclamation of “home.” Performers, who include veteran performers Amy Bertucci-Nieto, Amy Christian, Serena Rascon, Esther deMonteflores, Deollo Johnson and Nikesha Breeze, will fly, jump, climb and tumble in an effort to illustrate resiliency and adaptation. All performances are free to the public.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Hey, hey, hey, it’s Bill Cosby</p>
<p>He’s one of America’s most beloved comedians of all time. Yes, it’s Bill Cosby. Cosby will perform at 8 tonight at Legends Theater at Route 66 Casino, 14500 W. Central. Cosby broke TV’s racial barrier with “I Spy,” becoming the first African-American to co-star on a TV series while winning three consecutive Emmys. He also created the cartoon, “Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids,” which aired during the 1970s. Yet, his greatest contribution to culture is his long-running TV show, “The Cosby Show,” which was a staple in the ratings for its entire run. Tickets for the show are $35-$75 at <a href="http://www.holdmyticket.com" type="external">holdmyticket.com</a> or 886-1251.</p>
<p>A chance for kids to show off talents</p>
<p>Kids, get ready. It’s variety show time. The Outpost Performance Space, 201 Yale SE, is hosting its “Kids Variety Show” at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 4. The shows are an Outpost tradition and are for and by kids of all ages and levels. The shows feature dance, music, comedy, theater and more. The show will feature the Outpost Home School Opera Program plus other performers. Call 268-0044 to reserve a performance slot for a student or child. Adults must accompany the child. For more information, visit <a href="http://www.outpostspace.org" type="external">outpostspace.org</a>.</p> | 1,985 |
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<p />
<p>SANTA FE, N.M. — State Attorney General and 2014 gubernatorial candidate Gary King is off and running — in more ways than one.</p>
<p>In his first finance report of the gubernatorial campaign, King reported raising $115,691 in contributions and lending his committee another $45,506.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The Democrat reported spending $37,432 on fundraising fees and expenses, which works out to about 32 cents spent for each dollar raised. Hard to imagine that’s a formula for long-term success.</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, King, a twice-elected attorney general, tapped his connections in the legal profession, with lawyers and law firms donating more than $63,000.</p>
<p>The lawyer donations came from the District of Columbia and several states, including California, New York, Florida and Texas.</p>
<p>The fattest contribution was $10,000 from the personal-injury law firm of Heard Robins Cloud &amp; Black, which has offices in Santa Fe, Houston and Baton Rouge, La. The law firm and partner Bill Robins are major-league contributors to Democratic candidates in New Mexico.</p>
<p>King’s campaign finance report covered the period from April 2 to Oct. 1, but he didn’t start raising money until June. As of Oct. 1, his committee had a balance of nearly $110,000. Republican Gov. Susana Martinez has said she will seek re-election in 2014. Her committee had $1.2 million in the bank as of Oct. 1. King is the first announced candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor.</p>
<p>Double duty</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>King’s campaign finance report shows longtime political operative Cordy Medina receiving a salary from his committee. That’s noteworthy, because Medina also works in the AG’s front office, where taxpayers pay her more than $62,000 a year as an administrative assistant.</p>
<p>“I do know that she is specifically prohibited from doing any campaign activities while on the clock for the AGO,” King spokesman Phil Sisneros said.</p>
<p>Medina is a so-called exempt employee, meaning her job isn’t part of the merit-based civil service system and she serves in the position at the will of King.</p>
<p>It’s hard to tell how much the King campaign is paying Medina. She received about $3,750 in salary over a period of about 3 1/2 months. Medina’s apparent duties include arranging the campaign’s participation in community parades. In addition to salary, she also received more than $4,000 in reimbursements for parade expenses.</p>
<p>A bad mix</p>
<p>Medina might not be able to campaign during her day job, but it’s clear her boss is mixing the two. Two weeks ago, King announced he would investigate complaints about the alleged use of misinformation to suppress the vote in the November election. The AG’s announcement followed a complaint from a left wing-funded group about a Republican Party official in Sandoval County.</p>
<p>King’s release had a clear ring of politics. He called on Gov. Martinez and her fellow Republican Secretary of State Dianna Duran to join him in repudiating voter suppression tactics. Sisneros, the AG’s spokesman, has since followed up, writing on his official blog that, “Interestingly … both (Martinez and Duran) have remained largely silent on the matter.”</p>
<p>It makes you wonder whether King’s investigation is less about voter suppression and more about scoring political points by attacking the Republican Party and his possible opponent in 2014.</p>
<p>UpFront is a daily front-page news and opinion column. Comment directly to Thom Cole at <a href="" type="internal">[email protected]</a> or 505-992-6280 in Santa Fe. Go to ABQjournal.com/letters/new to submit a letter to the editor.</p> | State Attorney General Puts on Running Shoes | false | https://abqjournal.com/140986/state-attorney-general-puts-on-running-shoes.html | 2012-10-24 | 2least
| State Attorney General Puts on Running Shoes
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>SANTA FE, N.M. — State Attorney General and 2014 gubernatorial candidate Gary King is off and running — in more ways than one.</p>
<p>In his first finance report of the gubernatorial campaign, King reported raising $115,691 in contributions and lending his committee another $45,506.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The Democrat reported spending $37,432 on fundraising fees and expenses, which works out to about 32 cents spent for each dollar raised. Hard to imagine that’s a formula for long-term success.</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, King, a twice-elected attorney general, tapped his connections in the legal profession, with lawyers and law firms donating more than $63,000.</p>
<p>The lawyer donations came from the District of Columbia and several states, including California, New York, Florida and Texas.</p>
<p>The fattest contribution was $10,000 from the personal-injury law firm of Heard Robins Cloud &amp; Black, which has offices in Santa Fe, Houston and Baton Rouge, La. The law firm and partner Bill Robins are major-league contributors to Democratic candidates in New Mexico.</p>
<p>King’s campaign finance report covered the period from April 2 to Oct. 1, but he didn’t start raising money until June. As of Oct. 1, his committee had a balance of nearly $110,000. Republican Gov. Susana Martinez has said she will seek re-election in 2014. Her committee had $1.2 million in the bank as of Oct. 1. King is the first announced candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor.</p>
<p>Double duty</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>King’s campaign finance report shows longtime political operative Cordy Medina receiving a salary from his committee. That’s noteworthy, because Medina also works in the AG’s front office, where taxpayers pay her more than $62,000 a year as an administrative assistant.</p>
<p>“I do know that she is specifically prohibited from doing any campaign activities while on the clock for the AGO,” King spokesman Phil Sisneros said.</p>
<p>Medina is a so-called exempt employee, meaning her job isn’t part of the merit-based civil service system and she serves in the position at the will of King.</p>
<p>It’s hard to tell how much the King campaign is paying Medina. She received about $3,750 in salary over a period of about 3 1/2 months. Medina’s apparent duties include arranging the campaign’s participation in community parades. In addition to salary, she also received more than $4,000 in reimbursements for parade expenses.</p>
<p>A bad mix</p>
<p>Medina might not be able to campaign during her day job, but it’s clear her boss is mixing the two. Two weeks ago, King announced he would investigate complaints about the alleged use of misinformation to suppress the vote in the November election. The AG’s announcement followed a complaint from a left wing-funded group about a Republican Party official in Sandoval County.</p>
<p>King’s release had a clear ring of politics. He called on Gov. Martinez and her fellow Republican Secretary of State Dianna Duran to join him in repudiating voter suppression tactics. Sisneros, the AG’s spokesman, has since followed up, writing on his official blog that, “Interestingly … both (Martinez and Duran) have remained largely silent on the matter.”</p>
<p>It makes you wonder whether King’s investigation is less about voter suppression and more about scoring political points by attacking the Republican Party and his possible opponent in 2014.</p>
<p>UpFront is a daily front-page news and opinion column. Comment directly to Thom Cole at <a href="" type="internal">[email protected]</a> or 505-992-6280 in Santa Fe. Go to ABQjournal.com/letters/new to submit a letter to the editor.</p> | 1,986 |
<p />
<p><a href="" type="internal">a katz</a>&#160;|&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Shutterstock.com</a></p>
<p />
<p>According to the <a href="" type="internal">Associated Press</a>, roughly 50 police officers and their supporters rallied to protest a Black Lives Matter (BLM) banner that has been hanging outside City Hall in the predominantly white and historically working class Boston suburb of Somerville for a year. The primarily Caucasian haters of the banner chanted “All lives matter!,” “Take it down!,” and “Cops lives matter!” It was part of the “Blue Lives Matter” movement.</p>
<p>According to the president of the Somerville Police Employees Association, the banner sends an “exclusionary message” and “implies that Somerville police officers are somehow responsible for racially motivated decision-making against minorities.”</p>
<p>A local white firefighter claimed that BLM had become “almost synonymous with killing cops.” He’s talking the line taken by the decrepit white supremacist Rudolph Guliani (a close Donald Trump ally and adviser) on FOX News.</p>
<p>But BLM is “almost synonymous with killing cops” only in the minds of people who can’t differentiate between a civil rights movement two lone gunmen. Yes, two mentally unhinged Black military veterans – one in Dallas and one in Baton Rouge – got pushed over the edge by recent videos of Black men being senselessly killed by white police officers. And yes, the ongoing epidemic of such shootings is what drove the rise of BLM. But, no, BLM activists have never advocated “killing cops.” They have gone to great lengths to distance themselves from such actions.</p>
<p>Who says that white and-or Asian and/Latino and/or Arab and/or Native American and/or indeed that all lives don’t matter when one says that Black lives do matter? Nobody.</p>
<p>When Black men in Memphis and other Southern cities in the 1960s marched as part of the Civil Rights Movement with signs saying “I am a Man,” did they thereby proclaim that white men weren’t men?&#160; Of course they didn’t.</p>
<p>When you raise your female child to understand that she is a worthy and valuable person, does that mean you teach her to believe that a male child isn’t? Of course it doesn’t.</p>
<p>When you argue for the rights of children and say, perhaps, that children matter, maybe even that children, do you thereby argue or even remotely suggest that adults don’t matter? No, of course you don’t.</p>
<p>If you are religious and patriotic and say “God Bless America,” does that mean that also and at the same time “God Damn all other nations?”</p>
<p>Of course “all lives matter.” Only a moral idiot would say otherwise. The problem is that, with perhaps the exception of the nation’s small remaining population of Native Americans, the lives of no racial or ethnic group seem to matter less to America’s soulless capitalist and imperial system than do those of Black Americans.&#160; &#160;The slogan “Black Lives Matter” emerged in response to the endemic police shooting of young Black adults, young Black men especially, who are gunned down by mostly white law enforcement officers with shocking regularity in the U.S. – once every 28 hours on average.</p>
<p>The statistics of racial disparity in poverty, disease, mortality, wealth, joblessness, incarceration, felony marking, education, execution, and more are stark. Nobody is more savagely concentrated in highly segregated high-poverty, no-job ghettoes, in under-funded and inferior schools, and in mass jails and prisons than are Black Americans. It’s not even close</p>
<p>Do lower and working class whites ever get shot down by the police?&#160; Do they ever get incarcerated and criminally marked?&#160; Of course they do, but the likelihood of Americans in other groups – especially whites – getting shot, imprisoned, executed, frisked, traffic-stopped, home-invaded, ripped off, beaten and harassed by police, and felony branded is much, much slighter than it is when it comes to Black people.</p>
<p>The main problem with the dominant white mindset isn’t denial of the disparities themselves (though there’s plenty of white ignorance and denial on that score) but denial of the ubiquitous societal racism that causes them. “They brought it on themselves” is the standard viewpoint of majority white Americans who tell me “Racism? What racism, dude? Hey, man, the President of the United States is Black!”</p>
<p>The problem is that, leaving aside the epic bigotry that even Obama’s race-downplaying and “color-blind” presidency has elicited, it’s not really about the skin tone of the president or for that matter about the color of the U.S. Attorney General or the color of a corporate CEO or a television news anchor or football coach. It’s about the relentlessly racialized day-to-day functioning of core social structures and institutions including the labor market, the workplace. the financial system, the real estate market, the educational system, the social welfare system, the electoral system, and the criminal justice system.&#160; And across these and other key societal spaces, study after study documents the persistence of an ongoing and often stark anti-Black racial bias, discrimination, and neglect.&#160; It all grinds on, Obama notwithstanding, atop a cold white refusal to acknowledge, much less pay reparations for the incalculable compound price to Black America of centuries of Black chattel Slavery and nearly a century of formal Jim Crow segregation and disenfranchisement in the South – this along with the de facto segregation in the 20th and 21st century urban North and racial-ethnic cleansing across the rural and small town North in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (Google up the term “sundown towns”).</p>
<p>But so what if the current corporate-imperial president is half-Black? The next U.S. president – Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Jill Stein, and Gary Johnson – is going to be fully Caucasian. And the half-white Obama has had incredibly little to say about and against racism during his time in the “bully pulpit.” &#160;His “Black but not like Jesse” and “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” candidacy was predicated on calculated, post-racial distancing from any serious confrontation with American racism, deeply understood. He has in the White House continued his early and ugly habit of giving poor and working class Blacks (“cousin Pookie”) nasty neoliberal lectures on their own supposed personal and cultural responsibility for their presence at the bottom of the nation’s steep socioeconomic pyramids. He also lectures Blacks on their obligation to respect “law and order” in a nation that repeatedly exonerates police officers who murder young Black people with impunity. Truth be told, Obama has been a calamity for the struggle for Black equality on numerous levels, including the cloaking power his presence in the White House has provided for persistent societal racism.</p>
<p>A white “all lives matter” e-mailer asked me last spring if I had seen then recent news reports and data about rising white middle-aged working class mortality in the U.S. (increasing at a significantly higher rate than that of any other group in the nation.) Yes, I told him, I had seen and been quite astounded by the reports and findings. I told my e-mail correspondent that the disturbing research was indicative of how millions upon millions of white blue- and grey-collar men have been turned into “surplus Americans” – people shorn of “productive [employable] engagement with society” – by global capitalism (the same system that brought us chattel slavery).</p>
<p>But it’s important to keep some comparative perspective, I added. Middle-aged blacks still have a much higher mortality rate than whites: &#160;581 per 100,000, compared to 415 for whites.</p>
<p>When the research paper documenting the rising mortality of working class whites came out last year, Ronald Lee, a leading University of California demography researcher, spoke to the New York Times. “Seldom have I felt as affected by a paper,” Lee said. “It seems so sad.”&#160;&#160;The “it” that caused the academic’s melancholy was the increase in white death due largely to substance abuse and suicide, not the persistently higher Black mortality.&#160; White lives matter more in U.S. culture.</p>
<p>When the startling data on declining white working class life expectancy hit the headlines, there were no lectures from Obama or anyone else on white working and lower class folks’ personal and cultural responsibility for their increasingly deadly dire straits – this despite the fact that alcohol abuse and illegal drug use were shown to have played major roles in the rising white mortality.</p>
<p>It’s at this point that many whites I’ve interacted with on the race issue in the last two years like to play what they think is their ace in the hole. “If Blacks want to say that ‘Black Lives Matter,’ then why don’t they stop killing each other so much?” These whites talk about Black-on-Black crime and how more young Blacks get killed and shot by other young Blacks than by police officers.</p>
<p>But endemic intra-Back violence in the U.S. takes places within a white-Imposed context of racially concentrated poverty, joblessness and hyper-segregation that White America simply refuses (with too few oddball exceptions like this writer) to acknowledge. Does anyone seriously think that droves of gun- and drug-mad and militarism-backing white Americans wouldn’t be gunning each other down on an epic scale if they were the minority group piled up on top of itself in jobless, opportunity-free ghettoes, reservations, prisons, and jails, branded by the color of their skins and the ubiquitous lifelong stigma of criminal records? The resulting white-on-white slaughter that would occur on a regular basis in the great Caucasian ghettoes and reservations would make current Black-on-Black (and Native American-on- Native American and Latino-on-Latino) violence look mild by comparison. &#160;For what it’s worth, Europeans whites have been known to shoot and carve each other up on a pretty grand scale in history. If you don’t believe me just Google up “Thirty Years War,” “Seven Years War,” “Napoleonic Wars,” “World War One” and “World War Two.”</p>
<p>Do police officers have a public relations problem – a widespread sense among Americans that their lives and tribulations don’t matter? Hardly. Gallup regularly reports that police departments and police rank at the top – along with the military – of the list of American institutions and professions that U.S. citizens hold in high respect. Along with soldiers and small businessmen, cops are held in extremely high public regard, unlike, say, lawyers, Congresspersons, “community organizers,” and “civil rights activists.”</p>
<p>And just how dangerous is police work? In the wake of the retaliatory revenge shootings of police in Dallas and Baton Rouge, major politicians both Blue and Red can’t seem to say enough about how the heroically hazardous nature of police work. But cops don’t even make it on to the federal government’s list of the ten most fatality-plagued occupations in the nation. Those top ten are, in order of death risk: loggers, fishers, airline pilots, roofers, structural iron and steel workers, garbage and recycling workers, electric power installers and repairers, truck drivers, farmers/ranchers, and construction laborers. In 2014, the AFL-CIO reports, 4821 workers were killed on the job in the United States and an estimated 50,000 died from occupational diseases. Police did not make up an especially significant part of this terrible toll. Do Logger Lives Matter?</p>
<p>Maybe we need a Workers Lives Matter Movement. Oh wait, we do, sort of, My bad. It’s called the labor movement and it has expanded most and reached its greatest power when it has recognized the legitimacy of the struggles for Black and other minority civil rights like those being fought today by Black Lives Matter. That’s something for the rank and file in the Somerville Police Employees Association to think about as the “wages of whiteness” they’ve embraced with a Blue tint continue to fade before the skyrocketing wealth of the privileged financial Few. The predominantly white corporate and financial elite loves to see the multicultural working class majority mired in racial and other forms of internal division. This is something the Somerville cops’ U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) tried to tell people about at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) last week:</p>
<p>“‘Divide and Conquer’ is an old story in America. Dr. Martin Luther King knew it. After his march from Selma to Montgomery, he spoke of how segregation was created to keep people divided. Instead of higher wages for workers, Dr. King described how poor whites in the South were fed Jim Crow, which told a poor white worker that, ‘No matter how bad off he was, at least he was a white man, better than the black man.’ Racial hatred was part of keeping the powerful on top….When we turn on each other, bankers can run our economy for Wall Street, oil companies can fight off clean energy, and giant corporations can ship the last good jobs overseas…When we turn on each other, rich guys like Trump can push through more tax breaks for themselves and then we’ll never have enough money to support our schools, or rebuild our highways, or invest in our kids’ future…When we turn on each other, we can’t unite to fight back against a rigged system.”</p>
<p>It’s a good point, even if Warren is a leader in a Wall Street-captive party that will never seriously advance the organization of workers across racial lines to fight the rich. Building such organization is the job of rank and file working people, including even some police officers. White people falling prey to the authoritarian, divisive, and racism-denying sentiments at the dark heart of the “All Lives Matter” and “Blue Lives Matter” slogans is part of why the working class is so weak and battered in New Gilded Age America, where – as Bernie Sanders noted yet again at the DNC – the top tenth of the U.S. One Percent owns nearly as much wealth as the nation’s bottom ninety percent.</p>
<p>In Somerville, a banner hangs over the police department honoring the slain officers of Dallas and Baton Rouge.</p> | Black, White, and Blue: Working Class Self-Defeat in Somerville | true | https://counterpunch.org/2016/08/01/black-white-and-blue-working-class-self-defeat-in-somerville/ | 2016-08-01 | 4left
| Black, White, and Blue: Working Class Self-Defeat in Somerville
<p />
<p><a href="" type="internal">a katz</a>&#160;|&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Shutterstock.com</a></p>
<p />
<p>According to the <a href="" type="internal">Associated Press</a>, roughly 50 police officers and their supporters rallied to protest a Black Lives Matter (BLM) banner that has been hanging outside City Hall in the predominantly white and historically working class Boston suburb of Somerville for a year. The primarily Caucasian haters of the banner chanted “All lives matter!,” “Take it down!,” and “Cops lives matter!” It was part of the “Blue Lives Matter” movement.</p>
<p>According to the president of the Somerville Police Employees Association, the banner sends an “exclusionary message” and “implies that Somerville police officers are somehow responsible for racially motivated decision-making against minorities.”</p>
<p>A local white firefighter claimed that BLM had become “almost synonymous with killing cops.” He’s talking the line taken by the decrepit white supremacist Rudolph Guliani (a close Donald Trump ally and adviser) on FOX News.</p>
<p>But BLM is “almost synonymous with killing cops” only in the minds of people who can’t differentiate between a civil rights movement two lone gunmen. Yes, two mentally unhinged Black military veterans – one in Dallas and one in Baton Rouge – got pushed over the edge by recent videos of Black men being senselessly killed by white police officers. And yes, the ongoing epidemic of such shootings is what drove the rise of BLM. But, no, BLM activists have never advocated “killing cops.” They have gone to great lengths to distance themselves from such actions.</p>
<p>Who says that white and-or Asian and/Latino and/or Arab and/or Native American and/or indeed that all lives don’t matter when one says that Black lives do matter? Nobody.</p>
<p>When Black men in Memphis and other Southern cities in the 1960s marched as part of the Civil Rights Movement with signs saying “I am a Man,” did they thereby proclaim that white men weren’t men?&#160; Of course they didn’t.</p>
<p>When you raise your female child to understand that she is a worthy and valuable person, does that mean you teach her to believe that a male child isn’t? Of course it doesn’t.</p>
<p>When you argue for the rights of children and say, perhaps, that children matter, maybe even that children, do you thereby argue or even remotely suggest that adults don’t matter? No, of course you don’t.</p>
<p>If you are religious and patriotic and say “God Bless America,” does that mean that also and at the same time “God Damn all other nations?”</p>
<p>Of course “all lives matter.” Only a moral idiot would say otherwise. The problem is that, with perhaps the exception of the nation’s small remaining population of Native Americans, the lives of no racial or ethnic group seem to matter less to America’s soulless capitalist and imperial system than do those of Black Americans.&#160; &#160;The slogan “Black Lives Matter” emerged in response to the endemic police shooting of young Black adults, young Black men especially, who are gunned down by mostly white law enforcement officers with shocking regularity in the U.S. – once every 28 hours on average.</p>
<p>The statistics of racial disparity in poverty, disease, mortality, wealth, joblessness, incarceration, felony marking, education, execution, and more are stark. Nobody is more savagely concentrated in highly segregated high-poverty, no-job ghettoes, in under-funded and inferior schools, and in mass jails and prisons than are Black Americans. It’s not even close</p>
<p>Do lower and working class whites ever get shot down by the police?&#160; Do they ever get incarcerated and criminally marked?&#160; Of course they do, but the likelihood of Americans in other groups – especially whites – getting shot, imprisoned, executed, frisked, traffic-stopped, home-invaded, ripped off, beaten and harassed by police, and felony branded is much, much slighter than it is when it comes to Black people.</p>
<p>The main problem with the dominant white mindset isn’t denial of the disparities themselves (though there’s plenty of white ignorance and denial on that score) but denial of the ubiquitous societal racism that causes them. “They brought it on themselves” is the standard viewpoint of majority white Americans who tell me “Racism? What racism, dude? Hey, man, the President of the United States is Black!”</p>
<p>The problem is that, leaving aside the epic bigotry that even Obama’s race-downplaying and “color-blind” presidency has elicited, it’s not really about the skin tone of the president or for that matter about the color of the U.S. Attorney General or the color of a corporate CEO or a television news anchor or football coach. It’s about the relentlessly racialized day-to-day functioning of core social structures and institutions including the labor market, the workplace. the financial system, the real estate market, the educational system, the social welfare system, the electoral system, and the criminal justice system.&#160; And across these and other key societal spaces, study after study documents the persistence of an ongoing and often stark anti-Black racial bias, discrimination, and neglect.&#160; It all grinds on, Obama notwithstanding, atop a cold white refusal to acknowledge, much less pay reparations for the incalculable compound price to Black America of centuries of Black chattel Slavery and nearly a century of formal Jim Crow segregation and disenfranchisement in the South – this along with the de facto segregation in the 20th and 21st century urban North and racial-ethnic cleansing across the rural and small town North in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (Google up the term “sundown towns”).</p>
<p>But so what if the current corporate-imperial president is half-Black? The next U.S. president – Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Jill Stein, and Gary Johnson – is going to be fully Caucasian. And the half-white Obama has had incredibly little to say about and against racism during his time in the “bully pulpit.” &#160;His “Black but not like Jesse” and “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” candidacy was predicated on calculated, post-racial distancing from any serious confrontation with American racism, deeply understood. He has in the White House continued his early and ugly habit of giving poor and working class Blacks (“cousin Pookie”) nasty neoliberal lectures on their own supposed personal and cultural responsibility for their presence at the bottom of the nation’s steep socioeconomic pyramids. He also lectures Blacks on their obligation to respect “law and order” in a nation that repeatedly exonerates police officers who murder young Black people with impunity. Truth be told, Obama has been a calamity for the struggle for Black equality on numerous levels, including the cloaking power his presence in the White House has provided for persistent societal racism.</p>
<p>A white “all lives matter” e-mailer asked me last spring if I had seen then recent news reports and data about rising white middle-aged working class mortality in the U.S. (increasing at a significantly higher rate than that of any other group in the nation.) Yes, I told him, I had seen and been quite astounded by the reports and findings. I told my e-mail correspondent that the disturbing research was indicative of how millions upon millions of white blue- and grey-collar men have been turned into “surplus Americans” – people shorn of “productive [employable] engagement with society” – by global capitalism (the same system that brought us chattel slavery).</p>
<p>But it’s important to keep some comparative perspective, I added. Middle-aged blacks still have a much higher mortality rate than whites: &#160;581 per 100,000, compared to 415 for whites.</p>
<p>When the research paper documenting the rising mortality of working class whites came out last year, Ronald Lee, a leading University of California demography researcher, spoke to the New York Times. “Seldom have I felt as affected by a paper,” Lee said. “It seems so sad.”&#160;&#160;The “it” that caused the academic’s melancholy was the increase in white death due largely to substance abuse and suicide, not the persistently higher Black mortality.&#160; White lives matter more in U.S. culture.</p>
<p>When the startling data on declining white working class life expectancy hit the headlines, there were no lectures from Obama or anyone else on white working and lower class folks’ personal and cultural responsibility for their increasingly deadly dire straits – this despite the fact that alcohol abuse and illegal drug use were shown to have played major roles in the rising white mortality.</p>
<p>It’s at this point that many whites I’ve interacted with on the race issue in the last two years like to play what they think is their ace in the hole. “If Blacks want to say that ‘Black Lives Matter,’ then why don’t they stop killing each other so much?” These whites talk about Black-on-Black crime and how more young Blacks get killed and shot by other young Blacks than by police officers.</p>
<p>But endemic intra-Back violence in the U.S. takes places within a white-Imposed context of racially concentrated poverty, joblessness and hyper-segregation that White America simply refuses (with too few oddball exceptions like this writer) to acknowledge. Does anyone seriously think that droves of gun- and drug-mad and militarism-backing white Americans wouldn’t be gunning each other down on an epic scale if they were the minority group piled up on top of itself in jobless, opportunity-free ghettoes, reservations, prisons, and jails, branded by the color of their skins and the ubiquitous lifelong stigma of criminal records? The resulting white-on-white slaughter that would occur on a regular basis in the great Caucasian ghettoes and reservations would make current Black-on-Black (and Native American-on- Native American and Latino-on-Latino) violence look mild by comparison. &#160;For what it’s worth, Europeans whites have been known to shoot and carve each other up on a pretty grand scale in history. If you don’t believe me just Google up “Thirty Years War,” “Seven Years War,” “Napoleonic Wars,” “World War One” and “World War Two.”</p>
<p>Do police officers have a public relations problem – a widespread sense among Americans that their lives and tribulations don’t matter? Hardly. Gallup regularly reports that police departments and police rank at the top – along with the military – of the list of American institutions and professions that U.S. citizens hold in high respect. Along with soldiers and small businessmen, cops are held in extremely high public regard, unlike, say, lawyers, Congresspersons, “community organizers,” and “civil rights activists.”</p>
<p>And just how dangerous is police work? In the wake of the retaliatory revenge shootings of police in Dallas and Baton Rouge, major politicians both Blue and Red can’t seem to say enough about how the heroically hazardous nature of police work. But cops don’t even make it on to the federal government’s list of the ten most fatality-plagued occupations in the nation. Those top ten are, in order of death risk: loggers, fishers, airline pilots, roofers, structural iron and steel workers, garbage and recycling workers, electric power installers and repairers, truck drivers, farmers/ranchers, and construction laborers. In 2014, the AFL-CIO reports, 4821 workers were killed on the job in the United States and an estimated 50,000 died from occupational diseases. Police did not make up an especially significant part of this terrible toll. Do Logger Lives Matter?</p>
<p>Maybe we need a Workers Lives Matter Movement. Oh wait, we do, sort of, My bad. It’s called the labor movement and it has expanded most and reached its greatest power when it has recognized the legitimacy of the struggles for Black and other minority civil rights like those being fought today by Black Lives Matter. That’s something for the rank and file in the Somerville Police Employees Association to think about as the “wages of whiteness” they’ve embraced with a Blue tint continue to fade before the skyrocketing wealth of the privileged financial Few. The predominantly white corporate and financial elite loves to see the multicultural working class majority mired in racial and other forms of internal division. This is something the Somerville cops’ U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) tried to tell people about at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) last week:</p>
<p>“‘Divide and Conquer’ is an old story in America. Dr. Martin Luther King knew it. After his march from Selma to Montgomery, he spoke of how segregation was created to keep people divided. Instead of higher wages for workers, Dr. King described how poor whites in the South were fed Jim Crow, which told a poor white worker that, ‘No matter how bad off he was, at least he was a white man, better than the black man.’ Racial hatred was part of keeping the powerful on top….When we turn on each other, bankers can run our economy for Wall Street, oil companies can fight off clean energy, and giant corporations can ship the last good jobs overseas…When we turn on each other, rich guys like Trump can push through more tax breaks for themselves and then we’ll never have enough money to support our schools, or rebuild our highways, or invest in our kids’ future…When we turn on each other, we can’t unite to fight back against a rigged system.”</p>
<p>It’s a good point, even if Warren is a leader in a Wall Street-captive party that will never seriously advance the organization of workers across racial lines to fight the rich. Building such organization is the job of rank and file working people, including even some police officers. White people falling prey to the authoritarian, divisive, and racism-denying sentiments at the dark heart of the “All Lives Matter” and “Blue Lives Matter” slogans is part of why the working class is so weak and battered in New Gilded Age America, where – as Bernie Sanders noted yet again at the DNC – the top tenth of the U.S. One Percent owns nearly as much wealth as the nation’s bottom ninety percent.</p>
<p>In Somerville, a banner hangs over the police department honoring the slain officers of Dallas and Baton Rouge.</p> | 1,987 |
<p>AT&amp;T Inc. plans to sell $22.5 billion of corporate debt in seven tranches on Thursday to finance its $85 billion blockbuster deal to acquire Time Warner, according to the Financial Times. But the touted figure could change as the deal is finalized. The merger between Time Warner and AT&amp;T has yet to be completed and is undergoing regulatory scrutiny from the Justice Department. AT&amp;T shares soared after reporting earnings above Wall Street expectations on Wednesday. Analysts say the offering should receive plenty of bids as demand for high-grade corporate credits has been hot, with spreads tightening to record lows.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2017 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | AT&T Set To Unfurl Largest Corporate Bond Sale This Year For Time Warner Purchase | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/07/27/att-set-to-unfurl-largest-corporate-bond-sale-this-year-for-time-warner.html | 2017-07-27 | 0right
| AT&T Set To Unfurl Largest Corporate Bond Sale This Year For Time Warner Purchase
<p>AT&amp;T Inc. plans to sell $22.5 billion of corporate debt in seven tranches on Thursday to finance its $85 billion blockbuster deal to acquire Time Warner, according to the Financial Times. But the touted figure could change as the deal is finalized. The merger between Time Warner and AT&amp;T has yet to be completed and is undergoing regulatory scrutiny from the Justice Department. AT&amp;T shares soared after reporting earnings above Wall Street expectations on Wednesday. Analysts say the offering should receive plenty of bids as demand for high-grade corporate credits has been hot, with spreads tightening to record lows.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2017 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | 1,988 |
<p>&lt;a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=20450143&amp;src=id"&gt;Bryan Busovicki&lt;/a&gt;/Shutterstock</p>
<p />
<p>For all the problems facing the United States in the early years of the 21st century—mission creep, gridlock, <a href="http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2013/07/cat_poop_may_be_vast_and_underappreciated_public_health_threat_scientists_warn.html" type="external">cat poop</a>—the unlawful quartering of soldiers in Americans’ homes during times of peace is one we’ve managed to avoid. The Third Amendment, which bans quartering, was adopted in 1791 in response to British conduct during the American Revolution. Since then, quartering hasn’t been a significant problem. Just take it from the Onion, which a few years ago heralded the unparalleled success of the “ <a href="http://www.theonion.com/articles/third-amendment-rights-group-celebrates-another-su,2296/" type="external">National Anti-Quartering Association</a>,” the nation’s most successful civil rights lobbying group. Until now, anyway.</p>
<p>Last week, a homeowner in Henderson, Nevada, <a href="http://reason.com/blog/2013/07/05/nevada-family-says-police-occupation-vio" type="external">filed a lawsuit</a> in federal court alleging that police had violated his Third Amendment rights by forcibly entering his home to gain a “tactical advantage” in resolving a domestic violence incident next door. But it’s not clear that police officers would count as “soldiers” under the Third Amendment (in the one similar case I found, the court rejected that idea), nor is it clear whether the Third Amendment <a href="https://www.legal.com/constitutional-law/second-amendment/60-mcdonald-v-chicago-alito?showall=&amp;start=8" type="external">applies</a> to the states at all.</p>
<p>With the exception of a cameo in the landmark case Griswold v. Connecticut, which established a constitutional right to privacy, Third Amendment lawsuits have been limited to bizarre claims about airplane flight paths, cattle ranches, and rent control. Rent control? Rent control. Here’s a look:</p>
<p>Bennett v. Wainwright, US District Court for the District of Maine, 2007</p>
<p>Topic: Police raids.</p>
<p>Argument: The plaintiffs argued that a police raid that ended with a resident being shot and killed by a state trooper constituted an illegal occupation.</p>
<p>Ruling: “There is no sense in which a single state trooper and several deputy sheriffs can be considered ‘soldiers’ within the meaning of that word as it is used in the amendment nor in which the use of a house presumably owned by one of the plaintiffs for a period of fewer than 24 hours could be construed as ‘quartering’ within the scope of the amendment.”</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Johnson v. United States, US District Court for the Western District of Texas, 2001</p>
<p />
<p>Topic: Chemical storage.</p>
<p>Argument: “Plaintiffs essentially contend the defendant United States of America, while doing its best in the military defense of its citizens, nevertheless quartered its chemicals on plaintiffs’ properties without permission or reasonable compensation, leaving a toxic footprint on the earth.” In the words of the plaintiffs, they had been “invaded and occupied by toxic chemicals.”</p>
<p>Ruling: Court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Custer County Auction Association v. Garvey, US Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, 2001</p>
<p />
<p>Topic: Airplanes.</p>
<p>Argument: “Petitioners insist they have a Third Amendment right ‘to refuse military aircraft training in airspace within the immediate reaches of their property,’ and that military overflights occurring in the immediate reaches of their property during peacetime, and without their consent, ‘are per se unconstitutional.'”</p>
<p>Ruling: “We simply do not believe the Framers intended the Third Amendment to be used to prevent the military from regulated, lawful use of airspace above private property without the property owners’ consent.”</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Ramirez de Arellano v. Weinberger, US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, 1984</p>
<p>Topic: Cows.</p>
<p>Argument: “Temistocles Ramirez de Arellano (Ramirez), a United States citizen, claims that the Secretaries of State and Defense are operating a large military facility for training Salvadoran soldiers on his private [cattle] ranch without permission or lawful authority, in violation of the Constitution.”</p>
<p>Ruling: The case was dismissed.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Engblom v. Carey, US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, 1981</p>
<p />
<p>Topic: Prison housing.</p>
<p>Argument: “[P]laintiffs-appellants contend that their due process and Third Amendment rights were violated during a statewide strike of correction officers in April and May of 1979 when they were evicted from their facility-residences without notice or hearing and their residences were used to house members of the National Guard without their consent.”</p>
<p>Ruling: “[Plaintiffs] must have known that substitute personnel would be required during a strike. Since they are employees of a prison, they may properly be charged with knowledge of the risks and limitations on their ‘rights’ as occupants of prison housing.”</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Securities Investor Protection Corp. v. Executive Securities Corp., US District Court for the Southern District of New York, 1977</p>
<p />
<p>Topic: Subpoenas.</p>
<p>Argument: Trustee for a securities firm couldn’t be compelled to testify by subpoena because that would constitute unlawful quartering. (It didn’t make sense to us, either.)</p>
<p>Ruling: “The Court will not address itself at any length to Bertoli’s claim of privilege based on the first, third, fourth, sixth, eighth, ninth and fourteenth amendments, since they are completely inapposite under the facts and circumstances of this case.”</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Jones v. Secretary of Defense, US District Court for the District of Minnesota, 1972</p>
<p />
<p>Topic: Marching with Vice President Spiro Agnew.</p>
<p>Argument: Army reservists were compelled against their will to march in a civil parade with political candidates they opposed.</p>
<p>Ruling: “By no stretch of the imagination can it be said that the reservists in this action are being banded together to execute the civil or criminal laws of the United States or of a state or county. Equally inapposite is plaintiffs’ claim that the parade order violates the Third Amendment of the constitution, which prohibits the quartering of soldiers in peace time without the owner’s consent, or other specific Constitutional provisions.”</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>United States v. Valenzuela, US District Court for the Southern District of California, 1951</p>
<p />
<p>Topic: Rent control.</p>
<p>Argument: “The 1947 House and Rent Act as amended and extended is and always was the incubator and hatchery of swarms of bureaucrats to be quartered as storm troopers upon the people in violation of Amendment III of the United States Constitution.”</p>
<p>Ruling: “The Housing and Rent Act of 1947 does not violate constitutional provisions that no soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law, on ground that the act is an incubator and hatchery of swarms of bureaucrats to be quartered as storm troopers on the people.”</p>
<p>Given the nature of the Third Amendment, if the Supreme Court ever does comes around to making a broad interpretive ruling on the armed occupation of civilian homes, we’ll probably have bigger problems on our hands. For now, we need to talk about those cats.</p>
<p /> | A Nevada Man Says His 3rd Amendment Rights Were Violated. Wait, What? | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2013/07/brief-history-third-amendment-cases/ | 2013-07-11 | 4left
| A Nevada Man Says His 3rd Amendment Rights Were Violated. Wait, What?
<p>&lt;a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=20450143&amp;src=id"&gt;Bryan Busovicki&lt;/a&gt;/Shutterstock</p>
<p />
<p>For all the problems facing the United States in the early years of the 21st century—mission creep, gridlock, <a href="http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2013/07/cat_poop_may_be_vast_and_underappreciated_public_health_threat_scientists_warn.html" type="external">cat poop</a>—the unlawful quartering of soldiers in Americans’ homes during times of peace is one we’ve managed to avoid. The Third Amendment, which bans quartering, was adopted in 1791 in response to British conduct during the American Revolution. Since then, quartering hasn’t been a significant problem. Just take it from the Onion, which a few years ago heralded the unparalleled success of the “ <a href="http://www.theonion.com/articles/third-amendment-rights-group-celebrates-another-su,2296/" type="external">National Anti-Quartering Association</a>,” the nation’s most successful civil rights lobbying group. Until now, anyway.</p>
<p>Last week, a homeowner in Henderson, Nevada, <a href="http://reason.com/blog/2013/07/05/nevada-family-says-police-occupation-vio" type="external">filed a lawsuit</a> in federal court alleging that police had violated his Third Amendment rights by forcibly entering his home to gain a “tactical advantage” in resolving a domestic violence incident next door. But it’s not clear that police officers would count as “soldiers” under the Third Amendment (in the one similar case I found, the court rejected that idea), nor is it clear whether the Third Amendment <a href="https://www.legal.com/constitutional-law/second-amendment/60-mcdonald-v-chicago-alito?showall=&amp;start=8" type="external">applies</a> to the states at all.</p>
<p>With the exception of a cameo in the landmark case Griswold v. Connecticut, which established a constitutional right to privacy, Third Amendment lawsuits have been limited to bizarre claims about airplane flight paths, cattle ranches, and rent control. Rent control? Rent control. Here’s a look:</p>
<p>Bennett v. Wainwright, US District Court for the District of Maine, 2007</p>
<p>Topic: Police raids.</p>
<p>Argument: The plaintiffs argued that a police raid that ended with a resident being shot and killed by a state trooper constituted an illegal occupation.</p>
<p>Ruling: “There is no sense in which a single state trooper and several deputy sheriffs can be considered ‘soldiers’ within the meaning of that word as it is used in the amendment nor in which the use of a house presumably owned by one of the plaintiffs for a period of fewer than 24 hours could be construed as ‘quartering’ within the scope of the amendment.”</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Johnson v. United States, US District Court for the Western District of Texas, 2001</p>
<p />
<p>Topic: Chemical storage.</p>
<p>Argument: “Plaintiffs essentially contend the defendant United States of America, while doing its best in the military defense of its citizens, nevertheless quartered its chemicals on plaintiffs’ properties without permission or reasonable compensation, leaving a toxic footprint on the earth.” In the words of the plaintiffs, they had been “invaded and occupied by toxic chemicals.”</p>
<p>Ruling: Court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Custer County Auction Association v. Garvey, US Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, 2001</p>
<p />
<p>Topic: Airplanes.</p>
<p>Argument: “Petitioners insist they have a Third Amendment right ‘to refuse military aircraft training in airspace within the immediate reaches of their property,’ and that military overflights occurring in the immediate reaches of their property during peacetime, and without their consent, ‘are per se unconstitutional.'”</p>
<p>Ruling: “We simply do not believe the Framers intended the Third Amendment to be used to prevent the military from regulated, lawful use of airspace above private property without the property owners’ consent.”</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Ramirez de Arellano v. Weinberger, US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, 1984</p>
<p>Topic: Cows.</p>
<p>Argument: “Temistocles Ramirez de Arellano (Ramirez), a United States citizen, claims that the Secretaries of State and Defense are operating a large military facility for training Salvadoran soldiers on his private [cattle] ranch without permission or lawful authority, in violation of the Constitution.”</p>
<p>Ruling: The case was dismissed.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Engblom v. Carey, US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, 1981</p>
<p />
<p>Topic: Prison housing.</p>
<p>Argument: “[P]laintiffs-appellants contend that their due process and Third Amendment rights were violated during a statewide strike of correction officers in April and May of 1979 when they were evicted from their facility-residences without notice or hearing and their residences were used to house members of the National Guard without their consent.”</p>
<p>Ruling: “[Plaintiffs] must have known that substitute personnel would be required during a strike. Since they are employees of a prison, they may properly be charged with knowledge of the risks and limitations on their ‘rights’ as occupants of prison housing.”</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Securities Investor Protection Corp. v. Executive Securities Corp., US District Court for the Southern District of New York, 1977</p>
<p />
<p>Topic: Subpoenas.</p>
<p>Argument: Trustee for a securities firm couldn’t be compelled to testify by subpoena because that would constitute unlawful quartering. (It didn’t make sense to us, either.)</p>
<p>Ruling: “The Court will not address itself at any length to Bertoli’s claim of privilege based on the first, third, fourth, sixth, eighth, ninth and fourteenth amendments, since they are completely inapposite under the facts and circumstances of this case.”</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Jones v. Secretary of Defense, US District Court for the District of Minnesota, 1972</p>
<p />
<p>Topic: Marching with Vice President Spiro Agnew.</p>
<p>Argument: Army reservists were compelled against their will to march in a civil parade with political candidates they opposed.</p>
<p>Ruling: “By no stretch of the imagination can it be said that the reservists in this action are being banded together to execute the civil or criminal laws of the United States or of a state or county. Equally inapposite is plaintiffs’ claim that the parade order violates the Third Amendment of the constitution, which prohibits the quartering of soldiers in peace time without the owner’s consent, or other specific Constitutional provisions.”</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>United States v. Valenzuela, US District Court for the Southern District of California, 1951</p>
<p />
<p>Topic: Rent control.</p>
<p>Argument: “The 1947 House and Rent Act as amended and extended is and always was the incubator and hatchery of swarms of bureaucrats to be quartered as storm troopers upon the people in violation of Amendment III of the United States Constitution.”</p>
<p>Ruling: “The Housing and Rent Act of 1947 does not violate constitutional provisions that no soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law, on ground that the act is an incubator and hatchery of swarms of bureaucrats to be quartered as storm troopers on the people.”</p>
<p>Given the nature of the Third Amendment, if the Supreme Court ever does comes around to making a broad interpretive ruling on the armed occupation of civilian homes, we’ll probably have bigger problems on our hands. For now, we need to talk about those cats.</p>
<p /> | 1,989 |
<p><a href="https://z5h64q92x9.net/proxy_u/ru-en.en/https/colonelcassad.livejournal.com/3696871.html" type="external">https://z5h64q92x9.net/proxy_u/ru-en.en/https/colonelcassad.livejournal.com/3696871.html</a></p>
<p />
<p>Continuing the theme about the revelation of Erdogan and the USA <a href="https://z5h64q92x9.net/proxy_u/ru-en.en/https/colonelcassad.livejournal.com/3695756.html" type="external">https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/3695756.html</a> As I wrote 5 days ago <a href="https://z5h64q92x9.net/proxy_u/ru-en.en/https/colonelcassad.livejournal.com/3686771.html" type="external">https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/3686771.html</a> the issue of the deployment of Turkish troops in Idlib quite clearly is on the agenda. <a type="external" href="" /> Erdogan last night in an interview with Reuters <a href="http://reuters.com/article/us-turkey-usa-erdogan-exlusive/exclusive-turkey-to-deploy-troops-inside-syrias-idlib-erdogan-idUSKCN1BW2PT" type="external">https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-usa-erdogan-exlusive/exclusive-turkey-to-deploy-troops-inside-syrias-idlib-erdogan-idUSKCN1BW2PT</a> said that the question of sending Turkish troops into Syria in Idlib province has already been agreed with Russia that in principle it was obvious after the beginning of the concentration of Turkish troops in the district of Hatay immediately after the signing of the next document in Astana. According to Erdogan, Turkey will provide security inside Idlib (which includes cleaning of the “Al-Nusra” that prevent the truce by Pro-Turkish militants with the Syrian government), and Russia will provide the outer perimeter security (which is now reflected in the increased air strikes on the positions of militants in the South-East of Idlib). The question on the deployment of Turkish troops in Idlib has seen since August, as part of the negotiations of Turkey with Russia and Iran.</p>
<p>Anti-Turkish inscriptions in Idlib. The militants suspect something.</p>
<p>The agreement on de-escalation Turkey regards as a promising idea in which to achieve peace in Idlib (and simultaneously to remove the Saudi competitors, resulting in fighters in Idlib which are more or less controlled by the Turkish army and intelligence). Specific details of the development of the situation in Idlib, will be worked out after the meeting between Erdoğan and Putin in Ankara. The issue of troops in Idlib will be voted in the Turkish Parliament today, after which the Turkish army will start operations in the border area to oust militants “Al-Nusra”. For the last days to the border were moved several tens of heavy vehicles, including 10 tanks.</p>
<p />
<p>About the novelty of this picture, not sure, but for illustration let it be, as the M-60 is the backbone of the armored units that are scheduled to be in Idlib.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>About Syrian Kurds, Erdogan expressed less obviously, because apparently consent to the invasion of Afrin he is from Russia and has not received. However, at the Atlantic Council said <a href="https://z5h64q92x9.net/proxy_u/ru-en.en/www.lepoint.fr/monde/la-turquie-et-ses-rivaux-unis-dans-leur-hostilite-a-un-etat-kurde-21-09-2017-2158659_24.php" type="external">http://www.lepoint.fr/monde/la-turquie-et-ses-rivaux-unis-dans-leur-hostilite-a-un-etat-kurde-21-09-2017-2158659_24.php</a> that Turkey have long departed from the policy of attempting removal of Assad and now are more inclined to interact with it (via Russia and Iran), on the basis of shared reluctance to see in Syria a Kurdish state. Erdogan also announced that Turkey is preparing sanctions against Iraqi Kurdistan in the event of a referendum on secession from Iraq. In General, the statements of the Turkish political leadership is clearly seen that Ankara has found common ground with Tehran on the issue of military-political pressure on the Kurds with the aim of preserving the territorial integrity of Iraq. At least for now.</p>
<p>Turkish troops on the border of Iraqi Kurdistan. They enter Iraq issue will be resolved today.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>In addition, Turkey requires from the US to extradite Gulen (suspected of organizing a failed coup attempt in 2016) and to stop supporting the Kurdish terrorist YPG. The US it is of course unlikely to go in this direction. Apparently Erdogan got a taste of his new role and in every way shows that he is an independent player who decides how he should develop relations with Russia and the United States that pretty unnerving his allies accustomed to expect obediance to the governing and guiding the views from Washington. But Erdogan after he came to the Russian-Iranian coalition and broke the pots of Berlin, clearly not ready to accept such a role, demonstrating independence and a kind of political and military machismo.</p>
<p>The title photo of the gunman in Khan Sheyhun firing at Russian planes.</p>
<p />
<p>PS. And Yes, important news from the Eastern Hama. Syrian sources <a href="http://almasdarnews.com/article/breaking-isis-agrees-surrender-territory-rural-hama-syrian-army/" type="external">https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/breaking-isis-agrees-surrender-territory-rural-hama-syrian-army/</a> that the militants sought out on Mayadin. Approximately 1,000 remaining fighters would be evacuated in the province of Deir ez-Zor to Madina. The evacuation of rebels from the Eastern Hama will take about a week, and then the Eastern part of the province will be fully liberated and come under the control of the Syrian government. Similar negotiations are now held with the militants in Eastern HOMS. If they succeed, then by the end of September, the stub boiler will cease to exist.</p>
<p>Work continues on the transfer of Turkish armored vehicles to the Turkish-Syrian border, where Turkey shares a border with Idlib. Apparently they are really preparing the deployment of Turkish troops in the Western districts of Idlib to take control of the border and remove "Al-Nusra".</p>
<p>In "Analysis"</p>
<p>In the evening, reports appeared (mostly on pro-Turkish resources) that Russia allegedly relinquished military police forces from Afrin in those areas where the invasion of the Turkish army and the militants controlled by it can be started, and in the canton there are supposedly only 14 personnel. According to other…</p>
<p>In "Analysis"</p>
<p>As expected, the killer of the Russian Ambassador Charles was a mere instrument in the hands of other forces. Today, "al-Nusra" and Co. have claimed responsibility for the murder of Charles.</p>
<p>In "Analysis"</p> | The Turkish army will enter Idlib | Colonel Cassad | true | https://4threvolutionarywar.wordpress.com/2017/09/22/the-turkish-army-will-enter-idlib-colonel-cassad/ | 2017-09-22 | 4left
| The Turkish army will enter Idlib | Colonel Cassad
<p><a href="https://z5h64q92x9.net/proxy_u/ru-en.en/https/colonelcassad.livejournal.com/3696871.html" type="external">https://z5h64q92x9.net/proxy_u/ru-en.en/https/colonelcassad.livejournal.com/3696871.html</a></p>
<p />
<p>Continuing the theme about the revelation of Erdogan and the USA <a href="https://z5h64q92x9.net/proxy_u/ru-en.en/https/colonelcassad.livejournal.com/3695756.html" type="external">https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/3695756.html</a> As I wrote 5 days ago <a href="https://z5h64q92x9.net/proxy_u/ru-en.en/https/colonelcassad.livejournal.com/3686771.html" type="external">https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/3686771.html</a> the issue of the deployment of Turkish troops in Idlib quite clearly is on the agenda. <a type="external" href="" /> Erdogan last night in an interview with Reuters <a href="http://reuters.com/article/us-turkey-usa-erdogan-exlusive/exclusive-turkey-to-deploy-troops-inside-syrias-idlib-erdogan-idUSKCN1BW2PT" type="external">https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-usa-erdogan-exlusive/exclusive-turkey-to-deploy-troops-inside-syrias-idlib-erdogan-idUSKCN1BW2PT</a> said that the question of sending Turkish troops into Syria in Idlib province has already been agreed with Russia that in principle it was obvious after the beginning of the concentration of Turkish troops in the district of Hatay immediately after the signing of the next document in Astana. According to Erdogan, Turkey will provide security inside Idlib (which includes cleaning of the “Al-Nusra” that prevent the truce by Pro-Turkish militants with the Syrian government), and Russia will provide the outer perimeter security (which is now reflected in the increased air strikes on the positions of militants in the South-East of Idlib). The question on the deployment of Turkish troops in Idlib has seen since August, as part of the negotiations of Turkey with Russia and Iran.</p>
<p>Anti-Turkish inscriptions in Idlib. The militants suspect something.</p>
<p>The agreement on de-escalation Turkey regards as a promising idea in which to achieve peace in Idlib (and simultaneously to remove the Saudi competitors, resulting in fighters in Idlib which are more or less controlled by the Turkish army and intelligence). Specific details of the development of the situation in Idlib, will be worked out after the meeting between Erdoğan and Putin in Ankara. The issue of troops in Idlib will be voted in the Turkish Parliament today, after which the Turkish army will start operations in the border area to oust militants “Al-Nusra”. For the last days to the border were moved several tens of heavy vehicles, including 10 tanks.</p>
<p />
<p>About the novelty of this picture, not sure, but for illustration let it be, as the M-60 is the backbone of the armored units that are scheduled to be in Idlib.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>About Syrian Kurds, Erdogan expressed less obviously, because apparently consent to the invasion of Afrin he is from Russia and has not received. However, at the Atlantic Council said <a href="https://z5h64q92x9.net/proxy_u/ru-en.en/www.lepoint.fr/monde/la-turquie-et-ses-rivaux-unis-dans-leur-hostilite-a-un-etat-kurde-21-09-2017-2158659_24.php" type="external">http://www.lepoint.fr/monde/la-turquie-et-ses-rivaux-unis-dans-leur-hostilite-a-un-etat-kurde-21-09-2017-2158659_24.php</a> that Turkey have long departed from the policy of attempting removal of Assad and now are more inclined to interact with it (via Russia and Iran), on the basis of shared reluctance to see in Syria a Kurdish state. Erdogan also announced that Turkey is preparing sanctions against Iraqi Kurdistan in the event of a referendum on secession from Iraq. In General, the statements of the Turkish political leadership is clearly seen that Ankara has found common ground with Tehran on the issue of military-political pressure on the Kurds with the aim of preserving the territorial integrity of Iraq. At least for now.</p>
<p>Turkish troops on the border of Iraqi Kurdistan. They enter Iraq issue will be resolved today.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>In addition, Turkey requires from the US to extradite Gulen (suspected of organizing a failed coup attempt in 2016) and to stop supporting the Kurdish terrorist YPG. The US it is of course unlikely to go in this direction. Apparently Erdogan got a taste of his new role and in every way shows that he is an independent player who decides how he should develop relations with Russia and the United States that pretty unnerving his allies accustomed to expect obediance to the governing and guiding the views from Washington. But Erdogan after he came to the Russian-Iranian coalition and broke the pots of Berlin, clearly not ready to accept such a role, demonstrating independence and a kind of political and military machismo.</p>
<p>The title photo of the gunman in Khan Sheyhun firing at Russian planes.</p>
<p />
<p>PS. And Yes, important news from the Eastern Hama. Syrian sources <a href="http://almasdarnews.com/article/breaking-isis-agrees-surrender-territory-rural-hama-syrian-army/" type="external">https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/breaking-isis-agrees-surrender-territory-rural-hama-syrian-army/</a> that the militants sought out on Mayadin. Approximately 1,000 remaining fighters would be evacuated in the province of Deir ez-Zor to Madina. The evacuation of rebels from the Eastern Hama will take about a week, and then the Eastern part of the province will be fully liberated and come under the control of the Syrian government. Similar negotiations are now held with the militants in Eastern HOMS. If they succeed, then by the end of September, the stub boiler will cease to exist.</p>
<p>Work continues on the transfer of Turkish armored vehicles to the Turkish-Syrian border, where Turkey shares a border with Idlib. Apparently they are really preparing the deployment of Turkish troops in the Western districts of Idlib to take control of the border and remove "Al-Nusra".</p>
<p>In "Analysis"</p>
<p>In the evening, reports appeared (mostly on pro-Turkish resources) that Russia allegedly relinquished military police forces from Afrin in those areas where the invasion of the Turkish army and the militants controlled by it can be started, and in the canton there are supposedly only 14 personnel. According to other…</p>
<p>In "Analysis"</p>
<p>As expected, the killer of the Russian Ambassador Charles was a mere instrument in the hands of other forces. Today, "al-Nusra" and Co. have claimed responsibility for the murder of Charles.</p>
<p>In "Analysis"</p> | 1,990 |
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<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — University of New Mexico wide receivers coach Taylor Stubblefield is leaving the Lobos for a similar position at Wake Forest, coachingsearch.com has reported.</p>
<p>Neither New Mexico nor Wake Forest has announced Stubblefield is going or coming, but his name and bio have disappeared from UNM’s athletics website.</p>
<p>Recently, Lobos running backs coach DeAndre Smith left for Syracuse. UNM has yet to announce that Smith is gone, but his bio, too, no longer appears on golobos.com.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Stubblefield Moving On | false | https://abqjournal.com/238770/stubblefield-moving-on.html | 2least
| Stubblefield Moving On
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<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — University of New Mexico wide receivers coach Taylor Stubblefield is leaving the Lobos for a similar position at Wake Forest, coachingsearch.com has reported.</p>
<p>Neither New Mexico nor Wake Forest has announced Stubblefield is going or coming, but his name and bio have disappeared from UNM’s athletics website.</p>
<p>Recently, Lobos running backs coach DeAndre Smith left for Syracuse. UNM has yet to announce that Smith is gone, but his bio, too, no longer appears on golobos.com.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 1,991 |
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<p>It was a message Francis has hinted at in his first week as pontiff, when his gestures of simplicity often spoke louder than his words. But on a day when he had the world’s economic, political and religious leadership sitting before him on the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica for the official start of his papacy, Francis made his point clear.</p>
<p>“Please,” he told them. “Let us be protectors of creation, protectors of God’s plan inscribed in nature, protectors of one another and of the environment.”</p>
<p>The Argentine native is the first pope from Latin America and the first named for the 13th-century friar St. Francis of Assisi, whose life’s work was to care for nature, the poor and most disadvantaged.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The Vatican said between 150,000-200,000 people attended the Mass, held under bright blue skies after days of chilly rain and featuring flag-waving fans from around the world.</p>
<p>In Buenos Aires, thousands of people packed the central Plaza di Mayo square to watch the ceremony on giant TV screens, erupting in joy when Francis called them from Rome, his words broadcast over loudspeakers.</p>
<p>“I want to ask a favor,” Francis told them. “I want to ask you to walk together, and take care of one another. … And don’t forget that this bishop who is far away loves you very much. Pray for me.”</p>
<p>Back in Rome, Francis was interrupted by applause several times during his homily, including when he urged the faithful not to allow “omens of destruction,” hatred, envy and pride to “defile our lives.”</p>
<p>Francis said the role of the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics is to open his arms and protect all of humanity, but “especially the poorest, the weakest, the least important, those whom Matthew lists in the final judgment on love: the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick and those in prison.”</p>
<p>“Today amid so much darkness we need to see the light of hope and to be men and women who bring hope to others,” he said. “To protect creation, to protect every man and every woman, to look upon them with tenderness and love, is to open up a horizon of hope, it is to let a shaft of light break through the heavy clouds.”</p>
<p>After the celebrations die down, Francis has his work cut out for him as he confronts a church in crisis: Retired Pope Benedict XVI spent eight years trying to reverse the decline of Christianity in Europe, without much success.</p>
<p>While growing in Africa and Asia, the Catholic Church has been stained in Europe, Australia and the Americas by sexual abuse scandals. Closer to home, Francis is facing serious management shortcomings in a Vatican bureaucracy in dire need of reform.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Francis hasn’t offered any hint of how he might tackle those greater problems, focusing instead on crowd-pleasing messages and gestures that signal a total shift in priority and personality from his German theologian predecessor.</p>
<p>On Wednesday, Francis may give a hint about his ecumenical intentions, as he holds an audience with Christian delegations who attended his installation. On Friday, he will put his foreign policy chops on display in an address to the ambassadors accredited to the Holy See.</p>
<p>Saturday he calls on Benedict XVI at Castel Gandolfo, the papal retreat south of Rome, and Sunday celebrates Palm Sunday Mass, another major celebration in St. Peter’s Square.</p>
<p>He then presides over all the rites of Holy Week, capped by Easter Sunday Mass on March 31, when Christians mark the resurrection of Christ, an evocative start to a pontificate.</p>
<p>Francis, 76, thrilled the crowd at the start of the Mass by taking a long round-about through the sun-drenched piazza, shouting “Ciao!” at well-wishers and kissing babies handed up to him.</p>
<p>At one point, as he neared a group of people in wheelchairs, he signaled for the jeep to stop, hopped off, and went to bless a disabled man held up to the barricade by an aide and kiss him on his forehead. It was a gesture from a man whose short papacy so far is becoming defined by such spontaneous forays into the crowd that seem to surprise and concern his security guards.</p>
<p>“I like him because he loves the poor,” said 7-year-old Pietro Loretti, who attended the Mass from Barletta in southern Italy. Another child in the crowd, 9-year-old Benedetta Vergetti from Cervetri near Rome, also skipped school to attend.</p>
<p>“I like him because he’s sweet like my Dad.”</p>
<p>The blue and white flags from Argentina fluttered above the crowd, which Italian media initially estimated could reach 1 million. Civil protection crews closed the main streets leading to the square to traffic and set up barricades for nearly a mile (two kilometers) along the route to try to control the masses and allow official delegations through.</p>
<p>At the start of the Mass, Francis received a gold-plated silver fisherman’s ring symbolizing the papacy and a woolen stole symbolizing his role as shepherd of his flock. The ring was something of a hand-me-down, first offered to Pope Paul VI, the pope who presided over the latter half of the Second Vatican Council, the meetings that brought the Church into the modern world.</p>
<p>Francis also received vows of obedience from a half-dozen cardinals — a potent symbol given Benedict XVI is still alive and was reportedly watching the proceedings on TV.</p>
<p>A cardinal intoned the rite of inauguration, saying: “The Good Shepherd charged Peter to feed his lambs and his sheep; today you succeed him as the bishop of this church.”</p>
<p>Some 132 official delegations attended, including more than a half-dozen heads of state from Latin America, a sign of the significance of the election for the region. Francis’s determination that his pontificate would be focused on the poor has resonance in a poverty-stricken region that counts 40 percent of the world’s Catholics.</p>
<p>In the VIP section was German Chancellor Angela Merkel, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, the Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, Taiwanese President Ying-Jeou Ma, Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, Prince Albert of Monaco and Bahrain Prince Sheik Abdullah bin Haman bin Isa Alkhalifa, among others. All told, six sovereign rulers, 31 heads of state, three princes and 11 heads of government were attending, the Vatican said.</p>
<p>Francis directed his homily to them, saying: “We must not be afraid of goodness or even tenderness!”</p>
<p>After the Mass, Francis stood in a receiving line for nearly two hours to greet each of the government delegations in St. Peter’s Basilica, chatting warmly and animatedly with each one, kissing the few youngsters who came along with their parents and occasionally blessing a rosary given to him. Unlike his predecessors, he did so in just his white cassock, not the red cape.</p>
<p>Among the religious VIPs attending was the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, Bartholomew I, who became the first patriarch from the Istanbul-based church to attend a papal investiture since the two branches of Christianity split nearly 1,000 years ago. Also attending for the first time was the chief rabbi of Rome. Their presence underscores the broad hopes for ecumenical and interfaith dialogue in this new papacy given Francis’ own work for improved relations.</p>
<p>In a gesture to Christians in the East, the pope prayed with Eastern rite Catholic patriarchs and archbishops before the tomb of St. Peter at the start of the Mass and the Gospel was chanted in Greek rather than the traditional Latin.</p>
<p>But it is Francis’ history of living with the poor and working for them while archbishop of Buenos Aires that seems to have resonated with ordinary Catholics who say they are hopeful that Francis can inspire a new generation of faithful who have fallen away from the church.</p>
<p>“As an Argentine, he was our cardinal. It’s a great joy for us,” said Edoardo Fernandez Mendia, from the Argentine Pampas who was in the crowd. “I would have never imagined that it was going to be him.”</p>
<p>Recalling another great moment in Argentine history, when soccer great Diego Maradona scored an improbable goal in the 1986 World Cup, he said: “And for the second time, the Hand of God came to Argentina.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Reporter Daniela Petroff contributed.</p> | Pope: Protect nature, the poor, the weak | false | https://abqjournal.com/180107/pope-protect-nature-the-poor-the-weak.html | 2013-03-19 | 2least
| Pope: Protect nature, the poor, the weak
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<p />
<p>It was a message Francis has hinted at in his first week as pontiff, when his gestures of simplicity often spoke louder than his words. But on a day when he had the world’s economic, political and religious leadership sitting before him on the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica for the official start of his papacy, Francis made his point clear.</p>
<p>“Please,” he told them. “Let us be protectors of creation, protectors of God’s plan inscribed in nature, protectors of one another and of the environment.”</p>
<p>The Argentine native is the first pope from Latin America and the first named for the 13th-century friar St. Francis of Assisi, whose life’s work was to care for nature, the poor and most disadvantaged.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The Vatican said between 150,000-200,000 people attended the Mass, held under bright blue skies after days of chilly rain and featuring flag-waving fans from around the world.</p>
<p>In Buenos Aires, thousands of people packed the central Plaza di Mayo square to watch the ceremony on giant TV screens, erupting in joy when Francis called them from Rome, his words broadcast over loudspeakers.</p>
<p>“I want to ask a favor,” Francis told them. “I want to ask you to walk together, and take care of one another. … And don’t forget that this bishop who is far away loves you very much. Pray for me.”</p>
<p>Back in Rome, Francis was interrupted by applause several times during his homily, including when he urged the faithful not to allow “omens of destruction,” hatred, envy and pride to “defile our lives.”</p>
<p>Francis said the role of the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics is to open his arms and protect all of humanity, but “especially the poorest, the weakest, the least important, those whom Matthew lists in the final judgment on love: the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick and those in prison.”</p>
<p>“Today amid so much darkness we need to see the light of hope and to be men and women who bring hope to others,” he said. “To protect creation, to protect every man and every woman, to look upon them with tenderness and love, is to open up a horizon of hope, it is to let a shaft of light break through the heavy clouds.”</p>
<p>After the celebrations die down, Francis has his work cut out for him as he confronts a church in crisis: Retired Pope Benedict XVI spent eight years trying to reverse the decline of Christianity in Europe, without much success.</p>
<p>While growing in Africa and Asia, the Catholic Church has been stained in Europe, Australia and the Americas by sexual abuse scandals. Closer to home, Francis is facing serious management shortcomings in a Vatican bureaucracy in dire need of reform.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Francis hasn’t offered any hint of how he might tackle those greater problems, focusing instead on crowd-pleasing messages and gestures that signal a total shift in priority and personality from his German theologian predecessor.</p>
<p>On Wednesday, Francis may give a hint about his ecumenical intentions, as he holds an audience with Christian delegations who attended his installation. On Friday, he will put his foreign policy chops on display in an address to the ambassadors accredited to the Holy See.</p>
<p>Saturday he calls on Benedict XVI at Castel Gandolfo, the papal retreat south of Rome, and Sunday celebrates Palm Sunday Mass, another major celebration in St. Peter’s Square.</p>
<p>He then presides over all the rites of Holy Week, capped by Easter Sunday Mass on March 31, when Christians mark the resurrection of Christ, an evocative start to a pontificate.</p>
<p>Francis, 76, thrilled the crowd at the start of the Mass by taking a long round-about through the sun-drenched piazza, shouting “Ciao!” at well-wishers and kissing babies handed up to him.</p>
<p>At one point, as he neared a group of people in wheelchairs, he signaled for the jeep to stop, hopped off, and went to bless a disabled man held up to the barricade by an aide and kiss him on his forehead. It was a gesture from a man whose short papacy so far is becoming defined by such spontaneous forays into the crowd that seem to surprise and concern his security guards.</p>
<p>“I like him because he loves the poor,” said 7-year-old Pietro Loretti, who attended the Mass from Barletta in southern Italy. Another child in the crowd, 9-year-old Benedetta Vergetti from Cervetri near Rome, also skipped school to attend.</p>
<p>“I like him because he’s sweet like my Dad.”</p>
<p>The blue and white flags from Argentina fluttered above the crowd, which Italian media initially estimated could reach 1 million. Civil protection crews closed the main streets leading to the square to traffic and set up barricades for nearly a mile (two kilometers) along the route to try to control the masses and allow official delegations through.</p>
<p>At the start of the Mass, Francis received a gold-plated silver fisherman’s ring symbolizing the papacy and a woolen stole symbolizing his role as shepherd of his flock. The ring was something of a hand-me-down, first offered to Pope Paul VI, the pope who presided over the latter half of the Second Vatican Council, the meetings that brought the Church into the modern world.</p>
<p>Francis also received vows of obedience from a half-dozen cardinals — a potent symbol given Benedict XVI is still alive and was reportedly watching the proceedings on TV.</p>
<p>A cardinal intoned the rite of inauguration, saying: “The Good Shepherd charged Peter to feed his lambs and his sheep; today you succeed him as the bishop of this church.”</p>
<p>Some 132 official delegations attended, including more than a half-dozen heads of state from Latin America, a sign of the significance of the election for the region. Francis’s determination that his pontificate would be focused on the poor has resonance in a poverty-stricken region that counts 40 percent of the world’s Catholics.</p>
<p>In the VIP section was German Chancellor Angela Merkel, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, the Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, Taiwanese President Ying-Jeou Ma, Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, Prince Albert of Monaco and Bahrain Prince Sheik Abdullah bin Haman bin Isa Alkhalifa, among others. All told, six sovereign rulers, 31 heads of state, three princes and 11 heads of government were attending, the Vatican said.</p>
<p>Francis directed his homily to them, saying: “We must not be afraid of goodness or even tenderness!”</p>
<p>After the Mass, Francis stood in a receiving line for nearly two hours to greet each of the government delegations in St. Peter’s Basilica, chatting warmly and animatedly with each one, kissing the few youngsters who came along with their parents and occasionally blessing a rosary given to him. Unlike his predecessors, he did so in just his white cassock, not the red cape.</p>
<p>Among the religious VIPs attending was the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, Bartholomew I, who became the first patriarch from the Istanbul-based church to attend a papal investiture since the two branches of Christianity split nearly 1,000 years ago. Also attending for the first time was the chief rabbi of Rome. Their presence underscores the broad hopes for ecumenical and interfaith dialogue in this new papacy given Francis’ own work for improved relations.</p>
<p>In a gesture to Christians in the East, the pope prayed with Eastern rite Catholic patriarchs and archbishops before the tomb of St. Peter at the start of the Mass and the Gospel was chanted in Greek rather than the traditional Latin.</p>
<p>But it is Francis’ history of living with the poor and working for them while archbishop of Buenos Aires that seems to have resonated with ordinary Catholics who say they are hopeful that Francis can inspire a new generation of faithful who have fallen away from the church.</p>
<p>“As an Argentine, he was our cardinal. It’s a great joy for us,” said Edoardo Fernandez Mendia, from the Argentine Pampas who was in the crowd. “I would have never imagined that it was going to be him.”</p>
<p>Recalling another great moment in Argentine history, when soccer great Diego Maradona scored an improbable goal in the 1986 World Cup, he said: “And for the second time, the Hand of God came to Argentina.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Reporter Daniela Petroff contributed.</p> | 1,992 |
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<p />
<p>Some 85,000 copies of the book have been sold since it was first published a year ago, according to the Munich-based Institute for Contemporary History. The publisher spent years adding comments to Hitler’s original text in an effort to highlight his propaganda and mistakes.</p>
<p>The institute said in late 2015 that it planned an initial print run of up to 4,000 copies and wasn’t sure whether more would be printed. In April, however, the book topped the weekly Der Spiegel’s non-fiction best-seller list.</p>
<p>The bulky two-volume edition, titled “Hitler, Mein Kampf: A Critical Edition,” weighs in at 1,948 pages and costs a hefty 59 euros ($62). It was the first version to be published in Germany since the end of World War II.</p>
<p>Before the copyright on “Mein Kampf held by Bavaria’s state finance ministry expired at the end of 2015, the ministry had used it prevent the publication of new editions in the country.</p>
<p>Despite its incendiary and anti-Semitic content, the book wasn’t actually banned in Germany and could be found online, in secondhand bookshops and in libraries.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The Institute for Contemporary History said fears that the new publication might help make Hitler’s ideology socially acceptable had proven unfounded.</p>
<p>“On the contrary, the discussion about Hitler’s world view and how to deal with his propaganda offered the opportunity to look at the disastrous roots and consequences at a time when authoritarian political ideas and right-wing slogans are again gaining followers,” Andreas Wirsching, the institute’s director, said.</p>
<p>German authorities have made clear they won’t tolerate new versions without annotations.</p>
<p>A far-right publisher announced last year that it planned to produce an edition “without annoying commentary,” prompting an investigation of suspected incitement. Prosecutors say there’s no indication that the book actually went on sale.</p> | Annotated version of Hitler’s ‘Mein Kampf’ a hit in Germany | false | https://abqjournal.com/919711/annotated-version-of-hitlers-mein-kampf-a-hit-in-germany.html | 2017-01-03 | 2least
| Annotated version of Hitler’s ‘Mein Kampf’ a hit in Germany
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<p />
<p>Some 85,000 copies of the book have been sold since it was first published a year ago, according to the Munich-based Institute for Contemporary History. The publisher spent years adding comments to Hitler’s original text in an effort to highlight his propaganda and mistakes.</p>
<p>The institute said in late 2015 that it planned an initial print run of up to 4,000 copies and wasn’t sure whether more would be printed. In April, however, the book topped the weekly Der Spiegel’s non-fiction best-seller list.</p>
<p>The bulky two-volume edition, titled “Hitler, Mein Kampf: A Critical Edition,” weighs in at 1,948 pages and costs a hefty 59 euros ($62). It was the first version to be published in Germany since the end of World War II.</p>
<p>Before the copyright on “Mein Kampf held by Bavaria’s state finance ministry expired at the end of 2015, the ministry had used it prevent the publication of new editions in the country.</p>
<p>Despite its incendiary and anti-Semitic content, the book wasn’t actually banned in Germany and could be found online, in secondhand bookshops and in libraries.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The Institute for Contemporary History said fears that the new publication might help make Hitler’s ideology socially acceptable had proven unfounded.</p>
<p>“On the contrary, the discussion about Hitler’s world view and how to deal with his propaganda offered the opportunity to look at the disastrous roots and consequences at a time when authoritarian political ideas and right-wing slogans are again gaining followers,” Andreas Wirsching, the institute’s director, said.</p>
<p>German authorities have made clear they won’t tolerate new versions without annotations.</p>
<p>A far-right publisher announced last year that it planned to produce an edition “without annoying commentary,” prompting an investigation of suspected incitement. Prosecutors say there’s no indication that the book actually went on sale.</p> | 1,993 |
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<p>file image</p>
<p>SANTA FE, N.M. — Snowplows are working to clear northern New Mexico highways of a snow and ice from a major winter storm.</p>
<p>Some highways in the region are reported to have fair to difficult driving conditions.</p>
<p>The National Weather Service says snow levels will continue to drop Wednesday, with the most significant impacts expected overnight.</p>
<p>According to the forecasters, areas along and east of the central mountain chain will be hardest hit by heavy snow Wednesday.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Strong winds are expected to develop Wednesday night in the middle Rio Grande Valley the upper Tularosa Valley.</p>
<p>The forecast calls for snowfall to increasing hit southern New Mexico Thursday, and winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories will continue through Thursday.</p>
<p>Clovis police warn motorists to expect white-out conditions and up to 14 inches of snow.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Snowplows working northern New Mexico highways | false | https://abqjournal.com/529425/difficult-conditions-reported-on-some-new-mexico-highways.html | 2015-01-21 | 2least
| Snowplows working northern New Mexico highways
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<p>file image</p>
<p>SANTA FE, N.M. — Snowplows are working to clear northern New Mexico highways of a snow and ice from a major winter storm.</p>
<p>Some highways in the region are reported to have fair to difficult driving conditions.</p>
<p>The National Weather Service says snow levels will continue to drop Wednesday, with the most significant impacts expected overnight.</p>
<p>According to the forecasters, areas along and east of the central mountain chain will be hardest hit by heavy snow Wednesday.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Strong winds are expected to develop Wednesday night in the middle Rio Grande Valley the upper Tularosa Valley.</p>
<p>The forecast calls for snowfall to increasing hit southern New Mexico Thursday, and winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories will continue through Thursday.</p>
<p>Clovis police warn motorists to expect white-out conditions and up to 14 inches of snow.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 1,994 |
<p />
<p>At one time,Pengrowth Energy was one of the dividend darlings of the Canadian oil sector. However, due to tax law changes and persistently weak oil and gas prices, the company's dividend-paying days are over, at least until it gets back on its feet again. In order to do that, it must address its biggest problem: its balance sheet. Not only is Pengrowth dangerously close to breaching its debt covenants, but it has looming debt maturities that need to be addressed.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Close to hitting the limitPengrowth Energy has taken its balance sheet woes very seriously. It has significantly reduced capex spending in order to generate some excess cash flow to pay down debt. Last year, for example, it slashed spending to a mere $184 million, which is down substantially from the $904 million it spent in 2014, andwhen combined with a significant reduction in its dividend, enabled the company to use $280 million in cash flow for debt repayment. Furthermore, the company has completed a number of asset sales, including $211 million last year, which were also applied to debt repayment.</p>
<p>This year, it made another round of deep cuts, including reducing capex spending to just $60 million to $70 million, while also suspending the dividend to free up even more cash flow. At current commodity prices, the company anticipates being able to apply $280 million of that freed-up cash flow to debt reduction. Despite all that progress, it is still getting dangerously close to hitting the covenant limits on its debt, which is shown on the slide below:</p>
<p>Image source: Pengrowth Energy Corporation investor presentation.</p>
<p>The good news is that the company isn't expected to go over its limits, and that's based on oil staying much weaker than it is at the moment. That being said, it is looking to make sure it avoids breaching these limits by planning to sell another $300 million in assets this year in order to further reduce its debt.</p>
<p>Despite the concern, it's in much better shape than rival Penn West Petroleum , which is projected to breach its debt covenant as early as the end of the second quarter. In fact, Penn West Petroleum's senior debt-to-EBITDA ratio is already a hefty 4.6 times, which is a lot higher than Pengrowth's and dangerously close to the company's 5.0 times covenant. It's a limit that it has already had amended in the past and one it's seeking to have amended again so it doesn't default. Seeking an amendment is a path that Pengrowth could pursue if it needed some extra breathing room on its financial covenants.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The looming maturityAs things stand right now, Pengrowth Energy won't default on its debt covenants this year and likely won't need to amend them in order to avoid a default. However, it still has another balance sheet concern on the horizon -- its 2017 note and convertible debenture maturities, which are shown on the following slide:</p>
<p>Image source: Pengrowth Energy Corporation investor presentation.</p>
<p>As noted on that slide, the company has $537 million in borrowings to address over the next year. It hopes to generate $355 million in cash flow that can be used to address the bulk of this maturity, especially if it's able to make early offers to retire some of this debt at a discount. Otherwise, it will need to succeed on asset sales in order to extinguish this debt when it comes due. Asset sales seem to be the chosen path for debt reduction in the sector, with Penn West Petroleum also hoping to sell additional non-core assets this year in order to address its own balance sheet woes.</p>
<p>Investor takeawayPengrowth Energy has a debt problem, which it's hoping to address in 2016. In order to do so, it has significantly cut back spending while also suspending its dividend in order to generate excess cash flow. On top of that, it is hoping to sell assets in order to push its debt reduction plans over the top so that it can survive the downturn without having to restructure through bankruptcy. Successful asset sales are the key to overcoming this problem because it would enable the company to address its looming debt maturity, while also pushing it back from the brink of breaching its debt convents.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/03/15/the-biggest-problem-with-pengrowth-energy-corporat.aspx" type="external">The Biggest Problem With Pengrowth Energy Corporation Stock Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFmd19/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Matt DiLallo Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=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> | The Biggest Problem With Pengrowth Energy Corporation Stock | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/03/15/biggest-problem-with-pengrowth-energy-corporation-stock.html | 2016-03-15 | 0right
| The Biggest Problem With Pengrowth Energy Corporation Stock
<p />
<p>At one time,Pengrowth Energy was one of the dividend darlings of the Canadian oil sector. However, due to tax law changes and persistently weak oil and gas prices, the company's dividend-paying days are over, at least until it gets back on its feet again. In order to do that, it must address its biggest problem: its balance sheet. Not only is Pengrowth dangerously close to breaching its debt covenants, but it has looming debt maturities that need to be addressed.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Close to hitting the limitPengrowth Energy has taken its balance sheet woes very seriously. It has significantly reduced capex spending in order to generate some excess cash flow to pay down debt. Last year, for example, it slashed spending to a mere $184 million, which is down substantially from the $904 million it spent in 2014, andwhen combined with a significant reduction in its dividend, enabled the company to use $280 million in cash flow for debt repayment. Furthermore, the company has completed a number of asset sales, including $211 million last year, which were also applied to debt repayment.</p>
<p>This year, it made another round of deep cuts, including reducing capex spending to just $60 million to $70 million, while also suspending the dividend to free up even more cash flow. At current commodity prices, the company anticipates being able to apply $280 million of that freed-up cash flow to debt reduction. Despite all that progress, it is still getting dangerously close to hitting the covenant limits on its debt, which is shown on the slide below:</p>
<p>Image source: Pengrowth Energy Corporation investor presentation.</p>
<p>The good news is that the company isn't expected to go over its limits, and that's based on oil staying much weaker than it is at the moment. That being said, it is looking to make sure it avoids breaching these limits by planning to sell another $300 million in assets this year in order to further reduce its debt.</p>
<p>Despite the concern, it's in much better shape than rival Penn West Petroleum , which is projected to breach its debt covenant as early as the end of the second quarter. In fact, Penn West Petroleum's senior debt-to-EBITDA ratio is already a hefty 4.6 times, which is a lot higher than Pengrowth's and dangerously close to the company's 5.0 times covenant. It's a limit that it has already had amended in the past and one it's seeking to have amended again so it doesn't default. Seeking an amendment is a path that Pengrowth could pursue if it needed some extra breathing room on its financial covenants.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The looming maturityAs things stand right now, Pengrowth Energy won't default on its debt covenants this year and likely won't need to amend them in order to avoid a default. However, it still has another balance sheet concern on the horizon -- its 2017 note and convertible debenture maturities, which are shown on the following slide:</p>
<p>Image source: Pengrowth Energy Corporation investor presentation.</p>
<p>As noted on that slide, the company has $537 million in borrowings to address over the next year. It hopes to generate $355 million in cash flow that can be used to address the bulk of this maturity, especially if it's able to make early offers to retire some of this debt at a discount. Otherwise, it will need to succeed on asset sales in order to extinguish this debt when it comes due. Asset sales seem to be the chosen path for debt reduction in the sector, with Penn West Petroleum also hoping to sell additional non-core assets this year in order to address its own balance sheet woes.</p>
<p>Investor takeawayPengrowth Energy has a debt problem, which it's hoping to address in 2016. In order to do so, it has significantly cut back spending while also suspending its dividend in order to generate excess cash flow. On top of that, it is hoping to sell assets in order to push its debt reduction plans over the top so that it can survive the downturn without having to restructure through bankruptcy. Successful asset sales are the key to overcoming this problem because it would enable the company to address its looming debt maturity, while also pushing it back from the brink of breaching its debt convents.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/03/15/the-biggest-problem-with-pengrowth-energy-corporat.aspx" type="external">The Biggest Problem With Pengrowth Energy Corporation Stock Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFmd19/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Matt DiLallo Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=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> | 1,995 |
<p>This image was used through a creative commons agreement with Flikr user AMagill</p>
<p />
<p>Recent college graduates with dreams of post-degree grandeur are being pummelled by the recession and forced to live with the reality of how much their degrees cost and how difficult it is to use them right now.</p>
<p>A <a href="http://projectonstudentdebt.org/wp-content/uploads/pub/classof2008.pdf" type="external">report</a>released this week by The Project on Student Debt shows that 2008 college graduates owe and average of $23,200 on their educations, a figure 25 percent higher than what their older brothers and sisters owed when they graduated from college in 2004. On top of double-digit debt, the report also cites unpublished numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that show how seriously college graduates are being affected by unemployment. In the third quarter of 2008, the unemployment rate for graduates ages 20 to 24 was 7.6 percent. One year later, the rate has jumped to an all-time high of 10.6 percent.</p>
<p>The report also breaks down average student debt by state on a user-friendly <a href="http://projectonstudentdebt.org/state_by_state-data.php" type="external">map</a>which shows a concentration of high averages in the Northeast and a concentration of low averages in the West. The District of Columbia ($29,793), Iowa ($28,174) and Connecticut ($26,138) have the highest averages while Utah ($13,041), Hawaii ($15,156) and Kentucky ($15,951) have the lowest. Though the report deals in averages, there are many students who owe much more than their state’s average, and the number of students who owe twice the national average has been creeping up over the past few years.</p>
<p /> | College Grads Owe an Average $23,200 in Student Debt | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2009/12/college-grads-owe-average-23200-student-debt/ | 2009-12-03 | 4left
| College Grads Owe an Average $23,200 in Student Debt
<p>This image was used through a creative commons agreement with Flikr user AMagill</p>
<p />
<p>Recent college graduates with dreams of post-degree grandeur are being pummelled by the recession and forced to live with the reality of how much their degrees cost and how difficult it is to use them right now.</p>
<p>A <a href="http://projectonstudentdebt.org/wp-content/uploads/pub/classof2008.pdf" type="external">report</a>released this week by The Project on Student Debt shows that 2008 college graduates owe and average of $23,200 on their educations, a figure 25 percent higher than what their older brothers and sisters owed when they graduated from college in 2004. On top of double-digit debt, the report also cites unpublished numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that show how seriously college graduates are being affected by unemployment. In the third quarter of 2008, the unemployment rate for graduates ages 20 to 24 was 7.6 percent. One year later, the rate has jumped to an all-time high of 10.6 percent.</p>
<p>The report also breaks down average student debt by state on a user-friendly <a href="http://projectonstudentdebt.org/state_by_state-data.php" type="external">map</a>which shows a concentration of high averages in the Northeast and a concentration of low averages in the West. The District of Columbia ($29,793), Iowa ($28,174) and Connecticut ($26,138) have the highest averages while Utah ($13,041), Hawaii ($15,156) and Kentucky ($15,951) have the lowest. Though the report deals in averages, there are many students who owe much more than their state’s average, and the number of students who owe twice the national average has been creeping up over the past few years.</p>
<p /> | 1,996 |
<p>The neoconservative ideology of US world hegemony is driving the US and its vassals into conflict with Russia and China.</p>
<p>What must the world think watching the US presidential campaign? Over time US political campaigns have become more unreal and less related to voters’ concerns, but the current one is so unreal as to be absurd.</p>
<p>The offshoring of American jobs by global corporations and the deregulation of the US financial system have resulted in American economic failure. One might think that this would be an issue in a presidential campaign.</p>
<p>The neoconservative ideology of US world hegemony is driving the US and its vassals into conflict with Russia and China. The risks of nuclear war are higher than at any previous time in history. One might think that this also would be an issue in a presidential campaign.</p>
<p>Instead, the issues are Trump’s legal use of tax laws and his non-hostile attitude toward President Putin of Russia.</p>
<p>One might think that the issue would be Hillary’s extremely hostile attitude toward Putin (“the new Hitler”), which promises conflict with a major nuclear power.</p>
<p>As for benefitting from tax laws, Pat Buchanan pointed out that Hillary used to her benefit a loss almost as large as Trump’s and during the Arkansas years Hillary even took a tax deduction for itemized pieces of used clothing donated to a charity, including $2 for one of Bill’s used underpants.</p>
<p>The vice presidential “debate” revealed that the Democratic Party’s candidate is so ignorant that he thinks Putin, who is democratically elected and has enormous public support, is a dictator.</p>
<p>Here is what we know about the two presidential candidates. Hillary has a long list of scandals from Whitewater and Vince Foster to Benghazi and violation of national security protocols. She is bought-and-paid-for by the oligarchs on Wall Street, in the mega-banks, and in the military-security complex as well as by foreign interests. The proof is the Clinton’s $120 million personal fortune and the $1,600 million in their foundation. Goldman Sachs did not pay Hillary $675,000 for three 20-minute speeches for the wisdom contained in the speeches.</p>
<p>What we know about Trump is that the oligarchic establishment cannot stand him and has ordered the Ministry of Propaganda, a.k.a., the US media, to destroy him.</p>
<p>Clearly, Hillary is the candidate of the One Percent, and Trump is the candidate for the rest of us.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, about half of the 99 percent is too dumb to know this.</p>
<p>Moreover, if Trump were to end up in the White House, it doesn’t mean he could prevail over the oligarchy.</p>
<p>The oligarchy is entrenched in Washington with control over economic and foreign policy positions, think tanks and other lobbyists, and the media.</p>
<p>The people control nothing.</p>
<p>What does the world think when they see Donald Trump damned because he doesn’t want war with Russia or the American economy moved offshore?</p>
<p>Where in American politics do Washington’s European, British, Canadian, Australian, and Japanese vassals see leadership worthy of their sacrifice of sovereignty and independent foreign policy? Where do they even see a modicum of intelligence?</p>
<p>Why does the world look to the most stupid, vile, arrogant, corrupt and murderous government on the planet for leadership?</p>
<p>War is the only destination to which Washington can lead.</p> | Washington Leads the World to War | false | http://foreignpolicyjournal.com/2016/10/06/washington-leads-the-world-to-war/ | 2016-10-06 | 1right-center
| Washington Leads the World to War
<p>The neoconservative ideology of US world hegemony is driving the US and its vassals into conflict with Russia and China.</p>
<p>What must the world think watching the US presidential campaign? Over time US political campaigns have become more unreal and less related to voters’ concerns, but the current one is so unreal as to be absurd.</p>
<p>The offshoring of American jobs by global corporations and the deregulation of the US financial system have resulted in American economic failure. One might think that this would be an issue in a presidential campaign.</p>
<p>The neoconservative ideology of US world hegemony is driving the US and its vassals into conflict with Russia and China. The risks of nuclear war are higher than at any previous time in history. One might think that this also would be an issue in a presidential campaign.</p>
<p>Instead, the issues are Trump’s legal use of tax laws and his non-hostile attitude toward President Putin of Russia.</p>
<p>One might think that the issue would be Hillary’s extremely hostile attitude toward Putin (“the new Hitler”), which promises conflict with a major nuclear power.</p>
<p>As for benefitting from tax laws, Pat Buchanan pointed out that Hillary used to her benefit a loss almost as large as Trump’s and during the Arkansas years Hillary even took a tax deduction for itemized pieces of used clothing donated to a charity, including $2 for one of Bill’s used underpants.</p>
<p>The vice presidential “debate” revealed that the Democratic Party’s candidate is so ignorant that he thinks Putin, who is democratically elected and has enormous public support, is a dictator.</p>
<p>Here is what we know about the two presidential candidates. Hillary has a long list of scandals from Whitewater and Vince Foster to Benghazi and violation of national security protocols. She is bought-and-paid-for by the oligarchs on Wall Street, in the mega-banks, and in the military-security complex as well as by foreign interests. The proof is the Clinton’s $120 million personal fortune and the $1,600 million in their foundation. Goldman Sachs did not pay Hillary $675,000 for three 20-minute speeches for the wisdom contained in the speeches.</p>
<p>What we know about Trump is that the oligarchic establishment cannot stand him and has ordered the Ministry of Propaganda, a.k.a., the US media, to destroy him.</p>
<p>Clearly, Hillary is the candidate of the One Percent, and Trump is the candidate for the rest of us.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, about half of the 99 percent is too dumb to know this.</p>
<p>Moreover, if Trump were to end up in the White House, it doesn’t mean he could prevail over the oligarchy.</p>
<p>The oligarchy is entrenched in Washington with control over economic and foreign policy positions, think tanks and other lobbyists, and the media.</p>
<p>The people control nothing.</p>
<p>What does the world think when they see Donald Trump damned because he doesn’t want war with Russia or the American economy moved offshore?</p>
<p>Where in American politics do Washington’s European, British, Canadian, Australian, and Japanese vassals see leadership worthy of their sacrifice of sovereignty and independent foreign policy? Where do they even see a modicum of intelligence?</p>
<p>Why does the world look to the most stupid, vile, arrogant, corrupt and murderous government on the planet for leadership?</p>
<p>War is the only destination to which Washington can lead.</p> | 1,997 |
<p />
<p>Last December, I highlighted MeetMe (NASDAQ: MEET) as a <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/12/07/3-tech-stocks-that-could-make-you-rich.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">potentially undervalued Opens a New Window.</a> growth play in a frothy market. The social networking app maker posted eye-popping numbers last quarter -- 32% annual growth in monthly active users (MAUs), 20% growth in total revenues, and 30% non-GAAP earnings growth.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Analysts expect MeetMe's revenue and non-GAAP earnings to respectively rise 38% and 16% next year. Yet the stock trades at just 7 times trailing earnings and 10 times forward earnings. Let's take a look at the five key reasons investors aren't buying MeetMe's growth story, despite its high growth figures and low valuations.</p>
<p>MeetMe's mobile app. Image source: Google Play.</p>
<p>MeetMe lets users find new people in their area to chat with, similar to Match's (NASDAQ: MTCH) Tinder. While there's nothing inherently sinister about the app, there have been multiple reports of MeetMe being used by sexual predators.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>In 2014, the City of San Francisco sued MeetMe for the unlawful publication of minors' profiles, photos, and geolocation data, and claimed thatthe app "enabled" sexual predators to find their victims. The city cited several cases involving adult men and minors in which MeetMe was used. MeetMe settled the case for $200,000 thefollowing year, agreeing to clarify and simplify its user agreements and settings, and reducing the amount of data displayed on minors to their city and state.</p>
<p>But the cases involving MeetMe didn't cease -- last February, a Buffalo man wascharged with multiple counts of child pornography after using MeetMe to find minors. MeetMe's troubles raised red flags at Tinder, which hiked its age limit from 13 to 18 last June. Yet MeetMe still hasn't followed suit, presumably because it would lose a large portion of its users.</p>
<p>You'd think that big companies would be reluctant to advertise on MeetMe, but plenty of big brands still advertise on the app. That's because MeetMe generates most of its ad revenues from programmatic ads delivered by Twitter's (NYSE: TWTR) MoPub.</p>
<p>This means that MoPub's customers simply pick a demographic -- in MeetMe's case, younger users and Millennials -- and the platform feeds the ads to various apps. This means that many companies probably don't realize that their ads are appearing on MeetMe.</p>
<p>Therefore, a common bear thesis is that MoPub could decide to drop MeetMe due to violations of its terms of service, or advertisers could ask MoPub to pull their ads from the controversial app. There's no evidence either of these scenarios will occur, but it raises a troubling question -- if MeetMe's reputation worsens, can it still keep growing its ad revenues?</p>
<p>In its 10-K filing for fiscal 2015, MeetMe admitsthat its business will suffer if it is "unable to maintain a good relationship" with Apple and Alphabet's Google. It notes that its app could be pulled from their app stores "if we violate" or the companies believe "that we have violated" their terms and conditions.</p>
<p>The bulls might believe that's just a typical "risk factor" warning, but MeetMe admits in the same filing that "on more than one occasion," Apple rejected its app "because of user generated content and other concerns." This indicates that another high-profile lawsuit could knock MeetMe out of the app stores and kill its business.</p>
<p>MeetMe arrived before Tinder, which was initially launched in 2012. But over the past five years, mainstream interest in MeetMe waned in correlation with Tinder's growth, as seen in this chart from Google Trends:</p>
<p>Image source: Google.</p>
<p>That decline also explains why MeetMe acquired its competitor Skout lastOctober. That move boosted the company's MAU count from about 5 million to8.5 million, and greatly inflated MeetMe's top and bottom line growth for fiscal 2016.</p>
<p>If MeetMe is as undervalued as the fundamentals suggest, you'd expect insiders to be loading up on shares. However, MeetMe CEO Geoffrey Cook justsold 250,000 shares (16% of his entire position) at an average price of $5.02.</p>
<p>Including Cook's sales, insiders sold1.96 million shares over the past 12 months, but only bought 334,000 shares. It's understandable that MeetMe's insiders would sell after the stock's 50% rally over the past 12 months, but it also indicates that its upside potential could be limited.</p>
<p>The main lesson here is to always look beyond the valuations and growth forecasts. On the surface, MeetMe looks like a rapidly growing social app maker trading at a discount to its peers. But dig deeper, and you'll see an app that's struggling to prove that it's not a tool for criminals while remaining relevant against Tinder, which dominates the space withover 50 million active users.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than MeetMe When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=ad30e6ed-4778-4d38-9119-29c7cc8b500d&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 MeetMe 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=ad30e6ed-4778-4d38-9119-29c7cc8b500d&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 January 4, 2017</p>
<p>Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFSunLion/info.aspx" type="external">Leo Sun Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Apple, and Twitter. The Motley Fool has the following options: long January 2018 $90 calls on Apple and short January 2018 $95 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool recommends Match 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> | 5 Reasons I Don't Buy MeetMe's Growth Story | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/01/31/5-reasons-dont-buy-meetme-growth-story.html | 2017-01-31 | 0right
| 5 Reasons I Don't Buy MeetMe's Growth Story
<p />
<p>Last December, I highlighted MeetMe (NASDAQ: MEET) as a <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/12/07/3-tech-stocks-that-could-make-you-rich.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">potentially undervalued Opens a New Window.</a> growth play in a frothy market. The social networking app maker posted eye-popping numbers last quarter -- 32% annual growth in monthly active users (MAUs), 20% growth in total revenues, and 30% non-GAAP earnings growth.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Analysts expect MeetMe's revenue and non-GAAP earnings to respectively rise 38% and 16% next year. Yet the stock trades at just 7 times trailing earnings and 10 times forward earnings. Let's take a look at the five key reasons investors aren't buying MeetMe's growth story, despite its high growth figures and low valuations.</p>
<p>MeetMe's mobile app. Image source: Google Play.</p>
<p>MeetMe lets users find new people in their area to chat with, similar to Match's (NASDAQ: MTCH) Tinder. While there's nothing inherently sinister about the app, there have been multiple reports of MeetMe being used by sexual predators.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>In 2014, the City of San Francisco sued MeetMe for the unlawful publication of minors' profiles, photos, and geolocation data, and claimed thatthe app "enabled" sexual predators to find their victims. The city cited several cases involving adult men and minors in which MeetMe was used. MeetMe settled the case for $200,000 thefollowing year, agreeing to clarify and simplify its user agreements and settings, and reducing the amount of data displayed on minors to their city and state.</p>
<p>But the cases involving MeetMe didn't cease -- last February, a Buffalo man wascharged with multiple counts of child pornography after using MeetMe to find minors. MeetMe's troubles raised red flags at Tinder, which hiked its age limit from 13 to 18 last June. Yet MeetMe still hasn't followed suit, presumably because it would lose a large portion of its users.</p>
<p>You'd think that big companies would be reluctant to advertise on MeetMe, but plenty of big brands still advertise on the app. That's because MeetMe generates most of its ad revenues from programmatic ads delivered by Twitter's (NYSE: TWTR) MoPub.</p>
<p>This means that MoPub's customers simply pick a demographic -- in MeetMe's case, younger users and Millennials -- and the platform feeds the ads to various apps. This means that many companies probably don't realize that their ads are appearing on MeetMe.</p>
<p>Therefore, a common bear thesis is that MoPub could decide to drop MeetMe due to violations of its terms of service, or advertisers could ask MoPub to pull their ads from the controversial app. There's no evidence either of these scenarios will occur, but it raises a troubling question -- if MeetMe's reputation worsens, can it still keep growing its ad revenues?</p>
<p>In its 10-K filing for fiscal 2015, MeetMe admitsthat its business will suffer if it is "unable to maintain a good relationship" with Apple and Alphabet's Google. It notes that its app could be pulled from their app stores "if we violate" or the companies believe "that we have violated" their terms and conditions.</p>
<p>The bulls might believe that's just a typical "risk factor" warning, but MeetMe admits in the same filing that "on more than one occasion," Apple rejected its app "because of user generated content and other concerns." This indicates that another high-profile lawsuit could knock MeetMe out of the app stores and kill its business.</p>
<p>MeetMe arrived before Tinder, which was initially launched in 2012. But over the past five years, mainstream interest in MeetMe waned in correlation with Tinder's growth, as seen in this chart from Google Trends:</p>
<p>Image source: Google.</p>
<p>That decline also explains why MeetMe acquired its competitor Skout lastOctober. That move boosted the company's MAU count from about 5 million to8.5 million, and greatly inflated MeetMe's top and bottom line growth for fiscal 2016.</p>
<p>If MeetMe is as undervalued as the fundamentals suggest, you'd expect insiders to be loading up on shares. However, MeetMe CEO Geoffrey Cook justsold 250,000 shares (16% of his entire position) at an average price of $5.02.</p>
<p>Including Cook's sales, insiders sold1.96 million shares over the past 12 months, but only bought 334,000 shares. It's understandable that MeetMe's insiders would sell after the stock's 50% rally over the past 12 months, but it also indicates that its upside potential could be limited.</p>
<p>The main lesson here is to always look beyond the valuations and growth forecasts. On the surface, MeetMe looks like a rapidly growing social app maker trading at a discount to its peers. But dig deeper, and you'll see an app that's struggling to prove that it's not a tool for criminals while remaining relevant against Tinder, which dominates the space withover 50 million active users.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than MeetMe When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=ad30e6ed-4778-4d38-9119-29c7cc8b500d&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 MeetMe 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=ad30e6ed-4778-4d38-9119-29c7cc8b500d&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 January 4, 2017</p>
<p>Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFSunLion/info.aspx" type="external">Leo Sun Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Apple, and Twitter. The Motley Fool has the following options: long January 2018 $90 calls on Apple and short January 2018 $95 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool recommends Match 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> | 1,998 |
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<p>YUMA, Ariz. — A solar-powered drone backed by Facebook that could one day provide worldwide internet access has quietly completed a test flight in Arizona after an earlier attempt ended with a crash landing.</p>
<p>Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s long-term plan for the drone, called Aquila, is to have it and others provide internet access to 4 billion people around the world who are currently in the dark.</p>
<p>“When Aquila is ready, it will be a fleet of solar-powered planes that will beam internet connectivity across the world,” he wrote Thursday on Facebook.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The drone’s second flight was completed in May at Yuma Proving Ground, The Yuma Sun reported ( <a href="http://bit.ly/2tzuWhB" type="external">http://bit.ly/2tzuWhB</a> ).</p>
<p>The drone flew with more sensors, new spoilers and a horizontal propeller stopping system to help it better land after the crash in December. It was in the air for an hour and 46 minutes and elevated 3,000 feet (910 meters).</p>
<p>The drone flew with the engineering team watching a live stream from a helicopter chasing the drone, said Martin Luis Gomez, Facebook’s director of aeronautical platforms.</p>
<p>The team was thrilled with the outcome, Gomez said.</p>
<p>“The improvements we implemented based on Aquila’s performance during its first test flight made a significant difference in this flight,” he said.</p>
<p>The drone weighs about 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms) and has a longer wingspan than a Boeing 747.</p>
<p>The drone runs mostly on autopilot, but there are manned ground crews to manage certain maneuvers.</p>
<p>“We successfully gathered a lot of data to help us optimize Aquila’s efficiency,” Zuckerberg said. “No one has ever built an unmanned airplane that will fly for months at a time, so we need to tune every detail to get this right.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Sun, <a href="http://www.yumasun.com" type="external">http://www.yumasun.com</a></p> | Facebook drone could one day provide global internet access | false | https://abqjournal.com/1027007/facebooks-solar-powered-drone-lands-gracefully-in-arizona.html | 2017-07-02 | 2least
| Facebook drone could one day provide global internet access
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>YUMA, Ariz. — A solar-powered drone backed by Facebook that could one day provide worldwide internet access has quietly completed a test flight in Arizona after an earlier attempt ended with a crash landing.</p>
<p>Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s long-term plan for the drone, called Aquila, is to have it and others provide internet access to 4 billion people around the world who are currently in the dark.</p>
<p>“When Aquila is ready, it will be a fleet of solar-powered planes that will beam internet connectivity across the world,” he wrote Thursday on Facebook.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The drone’s second flight was completed in May at Yuma Proving Ground, The Yuma Sun reported ( <a href="http://bit.ly/2tzuWhB" type="external">http://bit.ly/2tzuWhB</a> ).</p>
<p>The drone flew with more sensors, new spoilers and a horizontal propeller stopping system to help it better land after the crash in December. It was in the air for an hour and 46 minutes and elevated 3,000 feet (910 meters).</p>
<p>The drone flew with the engineering team watching a live stream from a helicopter chasing the drone, said Martin Luis Gomez, Facebook’s director of aeronautical platforms.</p>
<p>The team was thrilled with the outcome, Gomez said.</p>
<p>“The improvements we implemented based on Aquila’s performance during its first test flight made a significant difference in this flight,” he said.</p>
<p>The drone weighs about 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms) and has a longer wingspan than a Boeing 747.</p>
<p>The drone runs mostly on autopilot, but there are manned ground crews to manage certain maneuvers.</p>
<p>“We successfully gathered a lot of data to help us optimize Aquila’s efficiency,” Zuckerberg said. “No one has ever built an unmanned airplane that will fly for months at a time, so we need to tune every detail to get this right.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Sun, <a href="http://www.yumasun.com" type="external">http://www.yumasun.com</a></p> | 1,999 |
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