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<p>Shares of some top credit card companies are up at 10 a.m.:</p>
<p>American Express Co. rose $.71 or .7 percent, to $95.58.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Capital One Financial Corp. rose $.42 or .5 percent, to $83.02.</p>
<p>Discover Financial Services rose $.58 or .9 percent, to $62.56.</p>
<p>Mastercard rose $1.34 or 1.8 percent, to $74.81.</p>
<p>Visa Inc. rose $3.34 or 1.6 percent, to $214.05.</p> | Credit Card companies shares up at 10 a.m. | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2014/12/11/credit-card-companies-shares-up-at-10-am.html | 2016-03-05 | 0right
| Credit Card companies shares up at 10 a.m.
<p>Shares of some top credit card companies are up at 10 a.m.:</p>
<p>American Express Co. rose $.71 or .7 percent, to $95.58.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Capital One Financial Corp. rose $.42 or .5 percent, to $83.02.</p>
<p>Discover Financial Services rose $.58 or .9 percent, to $62.56.</p>
<p>Mastercard rose $1.34 or 1.8 percent, to $74.81.</p>
<p>Visa Inc. rose $3.34 or 1.6 percent, to $214.05.</p> | 2,400 |
<p>The Palestinian state has now become the universal standard for all solutions to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The international community applauds the concept. President Bush proudly proclaims it as his “vision”. The Israelis have come to it belatedly, after years of steadfast refusal and rejection.</p>
<p>Today Israel’s prime minister, Ehud Olmert, not only supports the idea but proclaims it as an existential Israeli interest: without it, Israel is fated to disappear under dire assault from the ever-expanding Arab population in both Israel and the occupied territories. This apparent human tide may yet bring disaster to the Jewish state, by demanding equal civil rights to those of the Jews themselves.</p>
<p>But statehood as such is a relatively recent addition to Palestinian aspirations. The main Palestinian impetus after the disaster of 1948 was that of “return”; it was more about reversing the loss of Arab land and patrimony, than the fulfilment of classical post-colonial self-determination, via statehood.</p>
<p>Driven into national concussion by the catastrophic forced displacement of 1948 and up until the mid-1960s, the sense of a separate “Palestinian” national identity all but disappeared. This “lost consciousness” was only reversed by the emergence of Fatah under Yasser Arafat in the Arab diaspora in the late 1950s.</p>
<p>It was only after the 1967 debacle that a new Palestinian national identity began to take shape. At its core was the notion of the armed struggle as a galvanising force. Armed struggle, according to Fatah, restored Palestinian dignity and gave the Palestinians a say in determining their future.</p>
<p>Statehood and state building had no real place in this scheme. Indeed, the first tentative proposals to establish a state in Palestine (ie the West Bank) were rejected as defeatist and a betrayal of the national cause. This was certainly not an exercise in institution building, land acquisition and state building by stealth, as in the Zionist movement before 1948. After the 1973 war, Fatah’s leaders turned to the notion again. This was largely the result of a realistic reading of the balance of power and a recognition of the limits of what force, on the part of the Arab states or Palestinian irregulars, was likely to achieve. Eventually, in 1988, Arafat himself backed the idea of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders as a historic compromise; Israel behind these borders would get 77% of Mandatory Palestine, and the Palestinians would be reconciled to the remaining 23%.</p>
<p>Today, the Palestinian state is largely a punitive construct devised by the Palestinians’ worst historical enemies: Israel and its implacable ally, the US. The intention behind the state today is to constrain Palestinian aspirations territorially, to force them to give up on their moral rights, renege on their history and submit to Israel’s diktats on fundamental issues of sovereignty.</p>
<p>Its core is the rump Palestinian Authority that is now fundamentally sustained by the IDF presence on the West Bank. The PA is increasingly being turned into an accoutrement of Israeli occupation; its function is to serve Israeli security interests as designated by Israel itself and the US military teams that have been overseeing the buildup of Palestinian security forces.</p>
<p>It is very unclear how an independent state can be built on the spears of the very force that is occupying it. Or how state institutions can be constructed while the occupation continues to determine every aspect of Palestinian life.</p>
<p>The notion of a state was an offshoot of the Palestinian struggle and not its nodal point. Nonetheless, there was a period from the mid-1970s onwards when the state could have represented the point where Palestinian national aspirations met the boundaries of what is possible.</p>
<p>Now this concept is less attractive than ever. Olmert demands of Palestinians that they must give up their history. President Bush decides for them what their borders and rights must be. And Tony Blair wags a finger and tells Palestinians that they won’t get a state at all unless, it meets his high standards (sic) of governance .</p>
<p>The temptation is to say, thanks, but no thanks. Under such circumstances, Palestinians may just opt for something else. They could evoke Olmert’s worst nightmare and call for a more equitable and fair resolution that is built on a different basis; one of mutual respect, equality and mutuality, and a sense of genuine partnership in sharing the land.</p>
<p>Or Palestinians could simply continue to say no to a state that does nothing to address its basic needs. Either way, its hard to see how Israel can win this struggle in the long term.</p>
<p>AHMAD SAMIH KHALIDI is a senior associate member of St Antony’s College, Oxford <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Why a Palestinian "State" is a Punitive Construct | true | https://counterpunch.org/2007/12/15/why-a-palestinian-quot-state-quot-is-a-punitive-construct/ | 2007-12-15 | 4left
| Why a Palestinian "State" is a Punitive Construct
<p>The Palestinian state has now become the universal standard for all solutions to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The international community applauds the concept. President Bush proudly proclaims it as his “vision”. The Israelis have come to it belatedly, after years of steadfast refusal and rejection.</p>
<p>Today Israel’s prime minister, Ehud Olmert, not only supports the idea but proclaims it as an existential Israeli interest: without it, Israel is fated to disappear under dire assault from the ever-expanding Arab population in both Israel and the occupied territories. This apparent human tide may yet bring disaster to the Jewish state, by demanding equal civil rights to those of the Jews themselves.</p>
<p>But statehood as such is a relatively recent addition to Palestinian aspirations. The main Palestinian impetus after the disaster of 1948 was that of “return”; it was more about reversing the loss of Arab land and patrimony, than the fulfilment of classical post-colonial self-determination, via statehood.</p>
<p>Driven into national concussion by the catastrophic forced displacement of 1948 and up until the mid-1960s, the sense of a separate “Palestinian” national identity all but disappeared. This “lost consciousness” was only reversed by the emergence of Fatah under Yasser Arafat in the Arab diaspora in the late 1950s.</p>
<p>It was only after the 1967 debacle that a new Palestinian national identity began to take shape. At its core was the notion of the armed struggle as a galvanising force. Armed struggle, according to Fatah, restored Palestinian dignity and gave the Palestinians a say in determining their future.</p>
<p>Statehood and state building had no real place in this scheme. Indeed, the first tentative proposals to establish a state in Palestine (ie the West Bank) were rejected as defeatist and a betrayal of the national cause. This was certainly not an exercise in institution building, land acquisition and state building by stealth, as in the Zionist movement before 1948. After the 1973 war, Fatah’s leaders turned to the notion again. This was largely the result of a realistic reading of the balance of power and a recognition of the limits of what force, on the part of the Arab states or Palestinian irregulars, was likely to achieve. Eventually, in 1988, Arafat himself backed the idea of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders as a historic compromise; Israel behind these borders would get 77% of Mandatory Palestine, and the Palestinians would be reconciled to the remaining 23%.</p>
<p>Today, the Palestinian state is largely a punitive construct devised by the Palestinians’ worst historical enemies: Israel and its implacable ally, the US. The intention behind the state today is to constrain Palestinian aspirations territorially, to force them to give up on their moral rights, renege on their history and submit to Israel’s diktats on fundamental issues of sovereignty.</p>
<p>Its core is the rump Palestinian Authority that is now fundamentally sustained by the IDF presence on the West Bank. The PA is increasingly being turned into an accoutrement of Israeli occupation; its function is to serve Israeli security interests as designated by Israel itself and the US military teams that have been overseeing the buildup of Palestinian security forces.</p>
<p>It is very unclear how an independent state can be built on the spears of the very force that is occupying it. Or how state institutions can be constructed while the occupation continues to determine every aspect of Palestinian life.</p>
<p>The notion of a state was an offshoot of the Palestinian struggle and not its nodal point. Nonetheless, there was a period from the mid-1970s onwards when the state could have represented the point where Palestinian national aspirations met the boundaries of what is possible.</p>
<p>Now this concept is less attractive than ever. Olmert demands of Palestinians that they must give up their history. President Bush decides for them what their borders and rights must be. And Tony Blair wags a finger and tells Palestinians that they won’t get a state at all unless, it meets his high standards (sic) of governance .</p>
<p>The temptation is to say, thanks, but no thanks. Under such circumstances, Palestinians may just opt for something else. They could evoke Olmert’s worst nightmare and call for a more equitable and fair resolution that is built on a different basis; one of mutual respect, equality and mutuality, and a sense of genuine partnership in sharing the land.</p>
<p>Or Palestinians could simply continue to say no to a state that does nothing to address its basic needs. Either way, its hard to see how Israel can win this struggle in the long term.</p>
<p>AHMAD SAMIH KHALIDI is a senior associate member of St Antony’s College, Oxford <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 2,401 |
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<p />
<p>RUIDOSO – Some say New Mexico has five seasons, the fifth and least celebrated being fire season, which runs roughly from April until monsoons arrive, hopefully, in July.</p>
<p>After last year, when the Little Bear Fire wreaked havoc across 44,000 acres north of Ruidoso, destroying more than 250 structures in the process to claim the title, by one measure, of the most destructive fire in state history, area residents are a bit wary about the upcoming season.</p>
<p>But they are not standing still.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The Forest Service has treated, with a combination of prescribed burns and tree thinning operations, about 8,000 acres in the Lincoln National Forest since last fire season, and partnered with other entities like the Mescalero Apache tribe on projects to better safeguard communities.</p>
<p>Ruidoso officials are continuing a decade-old effort to make the city more “firewise” by requiring residents to create defensible space around homes and thin trees from densely grown properties.</p>
<p>The fresh lumber of a new home under construction contrasts with the surroundings, burned in last spring’s Little Bear fire that devastated 44,000 acres in the Ruidoso area. (Jim Thompson/Albuquerque Journal.)</p>
<p>Earlier this month, the first hotshot crews arrived in the area, ready to respond if a wildfire breaks out.</p>
<p>The outlook for the fire season so far is grim. The drought has lasted roughly 12 years, interrupted three years ago by a two-year stretch of average rainfall.</p>
<p>Despite the severe outlook, Chad Stewart, the fire and timber staff officer for the Lincoln National Forest, said the fire season appears to him to be shaping up as an “average year for us.”</p>
<p>But, he added, “That doesn’t mean we won’t be busy… Our average is pretty high.” The Lincoln averages about 30 wildfires per year. In the entire southeast corner of the state, there were about 300 wildfires in 2012.</p>
<p>Persistent drought has left the forest dry and vulnerable to fire sparked by lightning, the usual ignition source in the West, but it’s anyone’s guess whether a fire, fueled by spring wind, might spin out of control.</p>
<p>The Little Bear fire caused, conservatively, more than $22.5 million in losses of homes and depressed value to undeveloped land, and cost more than $19.4 million to fight. It was ignited by a lightning strike on June 4 in a wilderness area, and while the Forest Service tried to suppress the fire from the start, gusting winds caused it to spin out of control on June 8.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Dave Warnack, the Lincoln’s Smokey Bear District ranger in Ruidoso, said the effects of the drought on fire behavior were “profound.”</p>
<p>The Bonita Park Nazarene Camp and Conference Center, where 90 percent of the structures on the property were destroyed, is getting a new events center and manufactured homes for the staff. (Jim Thompson/Albuquerque Journal.)</p>
<p>Around town, people have enlisted the resort town’s 18 tree-cutting services to thin out properties clogged with trees.</p>
<p>“There’s not anything we can do to stop the fires from coming generally,” said Robert Vance, a retired El Paso firefighter who is a member of the Bonito Volunteer Fire Department and works part time with a tree-thinning service called TLC Trees. “All we can do is prepare ourselves and our equipment, make sure we’re as ready as we can be.”</p>
<p>Vance was working with a tree-thinning outfit recently cutting down five large trees on the property of Ruidoso resident Ike Burns. A city worker had marked the trees to cut. “It needed to happen,” Burns said. “We got a couple of snows (over the winter), but not heavy snows. . . . Everybody needs to be careful.”</p>
<p>In 2002, after Ruidoso had been designated the most vulnerable community in the state to wildfire, the village council passed several ordinances requiring property owners to reduce hazardous fuels on their land. The ordinances were aimed at creating defensible space of 30 feet around homes and thinning stands of trees.</p>
<p>The ordinances represented a break from Ruidoso’s recent past. Ponderosa pines had been treated as precious by the part-time residents, who own about three-fourths of the homes in town and many of whom are Texans seeking refuge from the heat of the lowlands. Before the ordinances, a homeowner needed city approval before cutting down any tree greater than five inches in diameter, said Dick Cooke, Ruidoso’s director of forestry.</p>
<p>“It’s come full circle,” said Eddie Saenz, a city forestry technician.</p>
<p>Even today, however, it is not uncommon in Ruidoso’s Upper Canyon, an area with one road in and out, to see homes with trees growing through a porch or deck or the eaves.</p>
<p>Cooke said the village’s firewise program, which treats about 1,000 acres of land per year, has been successful.</p>
<p>“We are probably about 65 percent complete, and we’ve gotten most of the critical areas done,” Cooke said. “From the forest fuels standpoint, we are not in too bad a shape.”</p>
<p>Cooke said he is fine-tuning an updated version of the ordinance that will focus on the distance between trees, rather than capping the square footage of trees on a particular property. The change is aimed at reducing the likelihood of trees spreading a wildfire crown to crown.</p>
<p>Forest managers prefer fires to stay on the ground, where flames can burn up pine needles, dead trees and smaller trees, creating more open spaces. So Ruidoso forestry technicians push homeowners to space trees through thinning and prune remaining trees up to six feet from the ground, or 25 percent of the height of the tree, to prevent ground flames from climbing into a tree’s canopy.</p>
<p>Despite the cooperation among government agencies, friction remains between the Forest Service and local residents, many of whom blame the federal agency, and environmentalists, for allowing the Lincoln and other national forests to grow so thick that fire danger is high.</p>
<p>But there appears to be increasing cooperation. The Forest Service signed an agreement earlier this month allowing Otero County to cut trees and remove slash on 167 acres of forest west of Cloudcroft.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, locals are trying to return to pre-Little Bear normal. That’s not easy in a place like the Bonita Park Nazarene Camp and Conference Center, where the Little Bear destroyed nearly 90 percent, or 138, of the 154 structures on the 200-acre camp property owned by the Church of the Nazarene.</p>
<p>Still, camp operations continue. Brenda Garber, the camp’s human resource director who lost her home to the fire last year, bought one of the few that survived. In January, the camp installed a handful of manufactured homes to house its staff, and two privately owned homes are under construction. The camp is raising funds to build a new 36,000-square-foot events center.</p>
<p>“We’re just learning what the new normal is,” Garber said.</p>
<p>Warnack said government officials are doing all they can, given the constraints of limited funding for forest treatment.</p>
<p>“The fact is that we live right in the middle of a ponderosa pine forest, and it’s going to take a long time for public lands managed by agencies and private lands managed by individuals to get to more resilient conditions,” Warnack said.</p>
<p>— This article appeared on page B01 of the Albuquerque Journal</p> | Fire fear | false | https://abqjournal.com/183807/after-a-massive-blaze-burned-44000-acres-near-ruidoso-last-year-people-in-southeast-nm-are-taking-extra-precautions.html | 2013-03-31 | 2least
| Fire fear
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<p />
<p>RUIDOSO – Some say New Mexico has five seasons, the fifth and least celebrated being fire season, which runs roughly from April until monsoons arrive, hopefully, in July.</p>
<p>After last year, when the Little Bear Fire wreaked havoc across 44,000 acres north of Ruidoso, destroying more than 250 structures in the process to claim the title, by one measure, of the most destructive fire in state history, area residents are a bit wary about the upcoming season.</p>
<p>But they are not standing still.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The Forest Service has treated, with a combination of prescribed burns and tree thinning operations, about 8,000 acres in the Lincoln National Forest since last fire season, and partnered with other entities like the Mescalero Apache tribe on projects to better safeguard communities.</p>
<p>Ruidoso officials are continuing a decade-old effort to make the city more “firewise” by requiring residents to create defensible space around homes and thin trees from densely grown properties.</p>
<p>The fresh lumber of a new home under construction contrasts with the surroundings, burned in last spring’s Little Bear fire that devastated 44,000 acres in the Ruidoso area. (Jim Thompson/Albuquerque Journal.)</p>
<p>Earlier this month, the first hotshot crews arrived in the area, ready to respond if a wildfire breaks out.</p>
<p>The outlook for the fire season so far is grim. The drought has lasted roughly 12 years, interrupted three years ago by a two-year stretch of average rainfall.</p>
<p>Despite the severe outlook, Chad Stewart, the fire and timber staff officer for the Lincoln National Forest, said the fire season appears to him to be shaping up as an “average year for us.”</p>
<p>But, he added, “That doesn’t mean we won’t be busy… Our average is pretty high.” The Lincoln averages about 30 wildfires per year. In the entire southeast corner of the state, there were about 300 wildfires in 2012.</p>
<p>Persistent drought has left the forest dry and vulnerable to fire sparked by lightning, the usual ignition source in the West, but it’s anyone’s guess whether a fire, fueled by spring wind, might spin out of control.</p>
<p>The Little Bear fire caused, conservatively, more than $22.5 million in losses of homes and depressed value to undeveloped land, and cost more than $19.4 million to fight. It was ignited by a lightning strike on June 4 in a wilderness area, and while the Forest Service tried to suppress the fire from the start, gusting winds caused it to spin out of control on June 8.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Dave Warnack, the Lincoln’s Smokey Bear District ranger in Ruidoso, said the effects of the drought on fire behavior were “profound.”</p>
<p>The Bonita Park Nazarene Camp and Conference Center, where 90 percent of the structures on the property were destroyed, is getting a new events center and manufactured homes for the staff. (Jim Thompson/Albuquerque Journal.)</p>
<p>Around town, people have enlisted the resort town’s 18 tree-cutting services to thin out properties clogged with trees.</p>
<p>“There’s not anything we can do to stop the fires from coming generally,” said Robert Vance, a retired El Paso firefighter who is a member of the Bonito Volunteer Fire Department and works part time with a tree-thinning service called TLC Trees. “All we can do is prepare ourselves and our equipment, make sure we’re as ready as we can be.”</p>
<p>Vance was working with a tree-thinning outfit recently cutting down five large trees on the property of Ruidoso resident Ike Burns. A city worker had marked the trees to cut. “It needed to happen,” Burns said. “We got a couple of snows (over the winter), but not heavy snows. . . . Everybody needs to be careful.”</p>
<p>In 2002, after Ruidoso had been designated the most vulnerable community in the state to wildfire, the village council passed several ordinances requiring property owners to reduce hazardous fuels on their land. The ordinances were aimed at creating defensible space of 30 feet around homes and thinning stands of trees.</p>
<p>The ordinances represented a break from Ruidoso’s recent past. Ponderosa pines had been treated as precious by the part-time residents, who own about three-fourths of the homes in town and many of whom are Texans seeking refuge from the heat of the lowlands. Before the ordinances, a homeowner needed city approval before cutting down any tree greater than five inches in diameter, said Dick Cooke, Ruidoso’s director of forestry.</p>
<p>“It’s come full circle,” said Eddie Saenz, a city forestry technician.</p>
<p>Even today, however, it is not uncommon in Ruidoso’s Upper Canyon, an area with one road in and out, to see homes with trees growing through a porch or deck or the eaves.</p>
<p>Cooke said the village’s firewise program, which treats about 1,000 acres of land per year, has been successful.</p>
<p>“We are probably about 65 percent complete, and we’ve gotten most of the critical areas done,” Cooke said. “From the forest fuels standpoint, we are not in too bad a shape.”</p>
<p>Cooke said he is fine-tuning an updated version of the ordinance that will focus on the distance between trees, rather than capping the square footage of trees on a particular property. The change is aimed at reducing the likelihood of trees spreading a wildfire crown to crown.</p>
<p>Forest managers prefer fires to stay on the ground, where flames can burn up pine needles, dead trees and smaller trees, creating more open spaces. So Ruidoso forestry technicians push homeowners to space trees through thinning and prune remaining trees up to six feet from the ground, or 25 percent of the height of the tree, to prevent ground flames from climbing into a tree’s canopy.</p>
<p>Despite the cooperation among government agencies, friction remains between the Forest Service and local residents, many of whom blame the federal agency, and environmentalists, for allowing the Lincoln and other national forests to grow so thick that fire danger is high.</p>
<p>But there appears to be increasing cooperation. The Forest Service signed an agreement earlier this month allowing Otero County to cut trees and remove slash on 167 acres of forest west of Cloudcroft.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, locals are trying to return to pre-Little Bear normal. That’s not easy in a place like the Bonita Park Nazarene Camp and Conference Center, where the Little Bear destroyed nearly 90 percent, or 138, of the 154 structures on the 200-acre camp property owned by the Church of the Nazarene.</p>
<p>Still, camp operations continue. Brenda Garber, the camp’s human resource director who lost her home to the fire last year, bought one of the few that survived. In January, the camp installed a handful of manufactured homes to house its staff, and two privately owned homes are under construction. The camp is raising funds to build a new 36,000-square-foot events center.</p>
<p>“We’re just learning what the new normal is,” Garber said.</p>
<p>Warnack said government officials are doing all they can, given the constraints of limited funding for forest treatment.</p>
<p>“The fact is that we live right in the middle of a ponderosa pine forest, and it’s going to take a long time for public lands managed by agencies and private lands managed by individuals to get to more resilient conditions,” Warnack said.</p>
<p>— This article appeared on page B01 of the Albuquerque Journal</p> | 2,402 |
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
<p>A Jewish woman and her baby were recently assaulted in France, by an attacker who was shouting anti-Semitic slurs.</p>
<p>The incident occurred Tuesday when the attacker shook the stroller the 27-year-old woman was pushing. Her 6-month-old baby was still inside, according to the Drancy-based National Bureau for Vigilance Against Anti-Semitism (BNVCA). The child’s mother said that the attacker was a woman in her 50s who had a typically European complexion and features, from what she could tell.</p>
<p>The attacker shouted, “Dirty Jewess, enough with your children already, you Jews have too many children, screw you.”</p>
<p>The mother said that the assailant continued to insult her in front of onlookers who did absolutely nothing to intervene as the stroller was violently shaken, amidst a district in central Paris.</p>
<p>Sammy Ghozlan, the founder of the BNVCA said the mother has filed a complaint with police.</p>
<p>“We ask police to make all the efforts necessary to identify and arrest the attacker,” Ghozlan demanded.</p>
<p>“The anti-Semitism which persists despite all the measures taken is causing great distress to many Jewish citizens, who are contemplating their future in our country.”</p>
<p>The SPCJ, the French Jewish community’s watchdog on anti-Semitism, recorded 423 anti-Semitic incidents last year alone. This was a 31% decrease from the number recorded the previous year, but that isn’t saying much since that still made it 8% higher than the number recorded in 2011. These attacks have been on the rise throughout Europe and in France in particular.</p>
<p>(Article by&#160; <a href="http://www.hashlamah.com" type="external">M.B. David</a>)</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Jewish Mother and Baby Attacked in Paris | true | http://politicalblindspot.com/jewish-mother-and-baby-attacked-in-paris/ | 2014-05-18 | 4left
| Jewish Mother and Baby Attacked in Paris
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
<p>A Jewish woman and her baby were recently assaulted in France, by an attacker who was shouting anti-Semitic slurs.</p>
<p>The incident occurred Tuesday when the attacker shook the stroller the 27-year-old woman was pushing. Her 6-month-old baby was still inside, according to the Drancy-based National Bureau for Vigilance Against Anti-Semitism (BNVCA). The child’s mother said that the attacker was a woman in her 50s who had a typically European complexion and features, from what she could tell.</p>
<p>The attacker shouted, “Dirty Jewess, enough with your children already, you Jews have too many children, screw you.”</p>
<p>The mother said that the assailant continued to insult her in front of onlookers who did absolutely nothing to intervene as the stroller was violently shaken, amidst a district in central Paris.</p>
<p>Sammy Ghozlan, the founder of the BNVCA said the mother has filed a complaint with police.</p>
<p>“We ask police to make all the efforts necessary to identify and arrest the attacker,” Ghozlan demanded.</p>
<p>“The anti-Semitism which persists despite all the measures taken is causing great distress to many Jewish citizens, who are contemplating their future in our country.”</p>
<p>The SPCJ, the French Jewish community’s watchdog on anti-Semitism, recorded 423 anti-Semitic incidents last year alone. This was a 31% decrease from the number recorded the previous year, but that isn’t saying much since that still made it 8% higher than the number recorded in 2011. These attacks have been on the rise throughout Europe and in France in particular.</p>
<p>(Article by&#160; <a href="http://www.hashlamah.com" type="external">M.B. David</a>)</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 2,403 |
<p>Washington PostCNN chief news executive Eason Jordan says he's "surprised and disappointed" by criticism of his revelation that he withheld information about how Saddam Hussein's regime had intimidated, tortured and killed Iraqis who had helped CNN over the years. "Some critics say if I had told my Iraq horror stories sooner, I would have saved thousands of lives," he says in <a href="" type="internal">a staff memo</a>. "How they come to that conclusion I don't know." Jordan says he wrote his NYT <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/11/opinion/11JORD.html" type="external">op-ed piece</a> "to provide a record of one person's experiences with the brutality of the Iraqi regime and to ensure we maintain CNN's long record of reporting on atrocities around the world, even if in these cases we could do so only years later to protect the lives of innocent people." &gt; <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26640-2003Apr14.html" type="external">A Washington Post editorial says:</a> "If CNN did not fully disclose what it knew about the Baathist regime, and if CNN deliberately kept its coverage bland and inoffensive, that would help explain why the regime was not perceived to be as ruthless as it in fact was, in the Arab world and elsewhere." (Washington Post) &gt; <a href="http://www.bostonphoenix.com/medialog/2003_04_13_archive.asp#200149356" type="external">Alex Jones tells Dan Kennedy:</a> "I think [Jordan] made choices that every news organization has to make in a tough situation. What I question is whether the access that he was essentially making that bargain for was at too dear a price. (Boston Phoenix Media Log) &gt; <a href="http://washtimes.com/op-ed/20030415-91009640.htm" type="external">Ex-CNN contract reporter Peter Collins says</a> Jordan's op-ed piece "brought back memories for me." (Washington Times)</p> | CNN's Jordan: I did the right thing by withholding Iraq info | false | https://poynter.org/news/cnns-jordan-i-did-right-thing-withholding-iraq-info | 2003-04-15 | 2least
| CNN's Jordan: I did the right thing by withholding Iraq info
<p>Washington PostCNN chief news executive Eason Jordan says he's "surprised and disappointed" by criticism of his revelation that he withheld information about how Saddam Hussein's regime had intimidated, tortured and killed Iraqis who had helped CNN over the years. "Some critics say if I had told my Iraq horror stories sooner, I would have saved thousands of lives," he says in <a href="" type="internal">a staff memo</a>. "How they come to that conclusion I don't know." Jordan says he wrote his NYT <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/11/opinion/11JORD.html" type="external">op-ed piece</a> "to provide a record of one person's experiences with the brutality of the Iraqi regime and to ensure we maintain CNN's long record of reporting on atrocities around the world, even if in these cases we could do so only years later to protect the lives of innocent people." &gt; <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26640-2003Apr14.html" type="external">A Washington Post editorial says:</a> "If CNN did not fully disclose what it knew about the Baathist regime, and if CNN deliberately kept its coverage bland and inoffensive, that would help explain why the regime was not perceived to be as ruthless as it in fact was, in the Arab world and elsewhere." (Washington Post) &gt; <a href="http://www.bostonphoenix.com/medialog/2003_04_13_archive.asp#200149356" type="external">Alex Jones tells Dan Kennedy:</a> "I think [Jordan] made choices that every news organization has to make in a tough situation. What I question is whether the access that he was essentially making that bargain for was at too dear a price. (Boston Phoenix Media Log) &gt; <a href="http://washtimes.com/op-ed/20030415-91009640.htm" type="external">Ex-CNN contract reporter Peter Collins says</a> Jordan's op-ed piece "brought back memories for me." (Washington Times)</p> | 2,404 |
<p>TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Former Arizona Wildcats offensive lineman Warner Smith has died after a more than three-year battle with Lou Gehrig's disease. He was 44.</p>
<p>The university said Smith died Tuesday.</p>
<p>Smith was a four-year starter and senior team captain for Arizona and a two-time All-Pac-10 honoree as a guard.</p>
<p>During his career from 1991-1994, the Wildcats compiled a 28-18-1 overall record and appeared in three bowl games including the 1994 Fiesta Bowl when Arizona beat 10th-ranked Miami 29-0 to cap the program's first 10-win season.</p>
<p>School officials say Smith was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in 2014.</p>
<p>A native of San Manuel, Arizona, Smith is survived by his wife Becky, 6-year-old daughter Carlee and other family members.</p>
<p>Funeral plans are pending.</p>
<p>TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Former Arizona Wildcats offensive lineman Warner Smith has died after a more than three-year battle with Lou Gehrig's disease. He was 44.</p>
<p>The university said Smith died Tuesday.</p>
<p>Smith was a four-year starter and senior team captain for Arizona and a two-time All-Pac-10 honoree as a guard.</p>
<p>During his career from 1991-1994, the Wildcats compiled a 28-18-1 overall record and appeared in three bowl games including the 1994 Fiesta Bowl when Arizona beat 10th-ranked Miami 29-0 to cap the program's first 10-win season.</p>
<p>School officials say Smith was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in 2014.</p>
<p>A native of San Manuel, Arizona, Smith is survived by his wife Becky, 6-year-old daughter Carlee and other family members.</p>
<p>Funeral plans are pending.</p> | Former Arizona lineman Warner Smith dies at age 44 | false | https://apnews.com/amp/d3c22be7fbd845ba9c989ff80fb048eb | 2018-01-03 | 2least
| Former Arizona lineman Warner Smith dies at age 44
<p>TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Former Arizona Wildcats offensive lineman Warner Smith has died after a more than three-year battle with Lou Gehrig's disease. He was 44.</p>
<p>The university said Smith died Tuesday.</p>
<p>Smith was a four-year starter and senior team captain for Arizona and a two-time All-Pac-10 honoree as a guard.</p>
<p>During his career from 1991-1994, the Wildcats compiled a 28-18-1 overall record and appeared in three bowl games including the 1994 Fiesta Bowl when Arizona beat 10th-ranked Miami 29-0 to cap the program's first 10-win season.</p>
<p>School officials say Smith was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in 2014.</p>
<p>A native of San Manuel, Arizona, Smith is survived by his wife Becky, 6-year-old daughter Carlee and other family members.</p>
<p>Funeral plans are pending.</p>
<p>TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Former Arizona Wildcats offensive lineman Warner Smith has died after a more than three-year battle with Lou Gehrig's disease. He was 44.</p>
<p>The university said Smith died Tuesday.</p>
<p>Smith was a four-year starter and senior team captain for Arizona and a two-time All-Pac-10 honoree as a guard.</p>
<p>During his career from 1991-1994, the Wildcats compiled a 28-18-1 overall record and appeared in three bowl games including the 1994 Fiesta Bowl when Arizona beat 10th-ranked Miami 29-0 to cap the program's first 10-win season.</p>
<p>School officials say Smith was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in 2014.</p>
<p>A native of San Manuel, Arizona, Smith is survived by his wife Becky, 6-year-old daughter Carlee and other family members.</p>
<p>Funeral plans are pending.</p> | 2,405 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The modest plaster statue, without legs or arms, traveled several days by boat, plane and bus from its altar in the impoverished western town of Bojaya to reach Villavicencio, a city chosen by Francis to deliver a message of reconciliation because of its proximity to some of the heaviest fighting during the half-century armed conflict.</p>
<p>The Friday meeting and prayer of reconciliation are perhaps the highlights of Francis’ five-day visit to Colombia, bringing together some 6,000 victims of the conflict as well as a former guerrillas and members of state security forces. The pope is to beatify two Colombian priests killed during guerrilla warfare, declaring them martyrs who were killed out of hatred for the Catholic faith.</p>
<p>Presiding over the event will be Bojaya’s Christ statue — perhaps the most powerful reminder of the senseless political violence that left an estimated 220,000 people dead.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Some 300 Afro-Colombian residents were sheltering in the church — the town’ only concrete building — when it was hit by a mortar launched by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia during a three-way firefight in 2002 with right-wing militias and the army. At least 79 people died and 100 were injured.</p>
<p>“This is the Christ of peace,” said Rosa Mosquera, a 52-year-old Bojaya resident who still has wounds from the day.</p>
<p>“It’s an image that says ‘look at me,’ despondent, without arms or legs, and shedding blood like its people,” Mosquera told The Associated Press during a brief stop in Bogota while on her own personal pilgrimage to Villavicencio for the meeting with Francis. “But we’ve got to keep going, not remain on our knees crying.”</p>
<p>Father Antun Ramos, then the priest at the church built by local farmers in the 1960s, pulled the Christ from the rubble a day after the bombing and with combat still raging all around.</p>
<p>“The floor was really humid. I grabbed the Christ and gave it a cleaning. It was the only thing I took and from that moment I felt it would become a symbol for posterity,” said Ramos, who himself exemplifies the prominent role the Roman Catholic clergy has played in Colombia’s conflict, especially in far-flung areas neglected by the state, such as Bojaya. “The way it was left is the way people felt.”</p>
<p>Today, Bojaya’s church has been rebuilt, and as in many towns hardest hit by the conflict, residents seem to have let go of any bitterness. In a referendum last year, 96 percent of the town’s residents voted in favor of the peace deal — a far cry from national results, where Colombians, many of them far removed from the conflict, voted by a narrow margin to defeat the original deal. Later, the accord was modified and approved by congress.</p>
<p>President Juan Manuel Santos visited Bojaya shortly after winning the Nobel Peace Prize last year, attending a Mass where he said he would donate his almost $1 million prize to assist victims of the conflict. In a show of appreciation for his pursuit of peace, residents gave him a replica of the Christ statue. FARC leaders also visited the town twice, seeking forgiveness and discussing projects to help the community.</p>
<p>Many of the victims present at Friday’s ceremony come from battle-weary towns near Villavicencio — a jungle-covered area still marred by unexploded land mines, unmarked mass graves and abandoned semi-destroyed hamlets.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Flor Sosa said her two children, ages 11 and 12, were taken from her by the FARC in 1998 as peace talks were taking place nearby her hometown of La Macarena. When she pleaded for their safe return, local commanders threatened to kill her and hit her in the stomach even though she was several months pregnant.</p>
<p>A year later she fled to Villavicencio, adding to the ranks of the estimated 7 million Colombians displaced by the conflict. She never saw her children again, but believes they died because the rebels sometimes took children and trained them for war, though it’s not clear that happened to Sosa’s.</p>
<p>Like many victims, she’s grateful for the pope’s support and thinks his presence can help Colombia heal. But she also has serious doubts about the FARC’s commitment to abiding by the accord’s requirements that they confess their crimes and compensate victims. She also fears for threats from other armed groups still lurking.</p>
<p>“Reconciliation is very difficult. I first want them to turn over the bodies of my children and tell me the truth,” said Sosa, holding back tears. “You can pray for reconciliation, but if the other person doesn’t admit what they did, take responsibility for their many mistakes, then it’s hard to believe them and forgive.”</p>
<p>—</p>
<p>Follow Tobella on Twitter: https://twitter.com/albatobella</p> | Christ statue mutilated by war to receive papal blessing | false | https://abqjournal.com/1059820/christ-statue-mutilated-by-war-to-receive-papal-blessing.html | 2017-09-07 | 2least
| Christ statue mutilated by war to receive papal blessing
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The modest plaster statue, without legs or arms, traveled several days by boat, plane and bus from its altar in the impoverished western town of Bojaya to reach Villavicencio, a city chosen by Francis to deliver a message of reconciliation because of its proximity to some of the heaviest fighting during the half-century armed conflict.</p>
<p>The Friday meeting and prayer of reconciliation are perhaps the highlights of Francis’ five-day visit to Colombia, bringing together some 6,000 victims of the conflict as well as a former guerrillas and members of state security forces. The pope is to beatify two Colombian priests killed during guerrilla warfare, declaring them martyrs who were killed out of hatred for the Catholic faith.</p>
<p>Presiding over the event will be Bojaya’s Christ statue — perhaps the most powerful reminder of the senseless political violence that left an estimated 220,000 people dead.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Some 300 Afro-Colombian residents were sheltering in the church — the town’ only concrete building — when it was hit by a mortar launched by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia during a three-way firefight in 2002 with right-wing militias and the army. At least 79 people died and 100 were injured.</p>
<p>“This is the Christ of peace,” said Rosa Mosquera, a 52-year-old Bojaya resident who still has wounds from the day.</p>
<p>“It’s an image that says ‘look at me,’ despondent, without arms or legs, and shedding blood like its people,” Mosquera told The Associated Press during a brief stop in Bogota while on her own personal pilgrimage to Villavicencio for the meeting with Francis. “But we’ve got to keep going, not remain on our knees crying.”</p>
<p>Father Antun Ramos, then the priest at the church built by local farmers in the 1960s, pulled the Christ from the rubble a day after the bombing and with combat still raging all around.</p>
<p>“The floor was really humid. I grabbed the Christ and gave it a cleaning. It was the only thing I took and from that moment I felt it would become a symbol for posterity,” said Ramos, who himself exemplifies the prominent role the Roman Catholic clergy has played in Colombia’s conflict, especially in far-flung areas neglected by the state, such as Bojaya. “The way it was left is the way people felt.”</p>
<p>Today, Bojaya’s church has been rebuilt, and as in many towns hardest hit by the conflict, residents seem to have let go of any bitterness. In a referendum last year, 96 percent of the town’s residents voted in favor of the peace deal — a far cry from national results, where Colombians, many of them far removed from the conflict, voted by a narrow margin to defeat the original deal. Later, the accord was modified and approved by congress.</p>
<p>President Juan Manuel Santos visited Bojaya shortly after winning the Nobel Peace Prize last year, attending a Mass where he said he would donate his almost $1 million prize to assist victims of the conflict. In a show of appreciation for his pursuit of peace, residents gave him a replica of the Christ statue. FARC leaders also visited the town twice, seeking forgiveness and discussing projects to help the community.</p>
<p>Many of the victims present at Friday’s ceremony come from battle-weary towns near Villavicencio — a jungle-covered area still marred by unexploded land mines, unmarked mass graves and abandoned semi-destroyed hamlets.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Flor Sosa said her two children, ages 11 and 12, were taken from her by the FARC in 1998 as peace talks were taking place nearby her hometown of La Macarena. When she pleaded for their safe return, local commanders threatened to kill her and hit her in the stomach even though she was several months pregnant.</p>
<p>A year later she fled to Villavicencio, adding to the ranks of the estimated 7 million Colombians displaced by the conflict. She never saw her children again, but believes they died because the rebels sometimes took children and trained them for war, though it’s not clear that happened to Sosa’s.</p>
<p>Like many victims, she’s grateful for the pope’s support and thinks his presence can help Colombia heal. But she also has serious doubts about the FARC’s commitment to abiding by the accord’s requirements that they confess their crimes and compensate victims. She also fears for threats from other armed groups still lurking.</p>
<p>“Reconciliation is very difficult. I first want them to turn over the bodies of my children and tell me the truth,” said Sosa, holding back tears. “You can pray for reconciliation, but if the other person doesn’t admit what they did, take responsibility for their many mistakes, then it’s hard to believe them and forgive.”</p>
<p>—</p>
<p>Follow Tobella on Twitter: https://twitter.com/albatobella</p> | 2,406 |
<p>John Seiler:</p>
<p>I just got a mailer from from <a href="http://www.campaignmoney.com/political/527/jobspac_a_coalition_of_california_employers.asp" type="external">JobsPAC, a 527 organization</a>, touting&#160;Republican Mike Villines, who’s running for insurance commissioner. The group <a href="http://www.baycitizen.org/blogs/pulse-of-the-bay/industry-dollars-try-take-down-candidate/" type="external">reportedly is funded</a> with insurance-industry money, from companies that don’t like Democratic opponent Dave Jones.</p>
<p>It pillories his opponent as: “Dave Jones — Just Another Tax and Spend Politician….A Career Politician Who Spends and Taxes Too Much…Largest Tax Hike in State History…Dave Jones voted to raise your taxes by $37 billion during the worst recession in a generation and with unemployment above 10%. Since Jones’s tax hike, California’s unemployment rate rose to 13%. Source: ABX3 3, 2009.”</p>
<p>But it was Villines who provided the key, Republican vote for that tax increase! As Assembly Republican leader, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Villines" type="external">according to Wikipedia</a>, “Villines’ leadership was key to the February 2009 Budget Deal…. He was recognized by members of both political parties for his willingness to pursue a bipartisan solution to rapidly expanding crisis despite the risk to his political career.”</p>
<p>His treachery to California taxpayers even won him the big-government John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, which is falsely named because <a href="http://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHNU_enUS345US345&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;q=kennedy+tax+cuts#q=kennedy+tax+cuts&amp;hl=en&amp;rlz=1C1CHNU_enUS345US345&amp;prmd=ivn&amp;source=univ&amp;tbs=vid:1&amp;tbo=u&amp;ei=OLLATMvUCZPmsQOz_oDUCw&amp;sa=X&amp;oi=video_result_group&amp;ct=title&amp;resnum=6&amp;ved=0CD4QqwQwBQ&amp;fp=a91849b65777758f" type="external">JFK actually</a> <a href="http://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHNU_enUS345US345&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;q=kennedy+tax+cuts#q=kennedy+tax+cuts&amp;hl=en&amp;rlz=1C1CHNU_enUS345US345&amp;prmd=ivn&amp;source=univ&amp;tbs=vid:1&amp;tbo=u&amp;ei=OLLATMvUCZPmsQOz_oDUCw&amp;sa=X&amp;oi=video_result_group&amp;ct=title&amp;resnum=6&amp;ved=0CD4QqwQwBQ&amp;fp=a91849b65777758f" type="external">cut</a> <a href="http://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHNU_enUS345US345&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;q=kennedy+tax+cuts#q=kennedy+tax+cuts&amp;hl=en&amp;rlz=1C1CHNU_enUS345US345&amp;prmd=ivn&amp;source=univ&amp;tbs=vid:1&amp;tbo=u&amp;ei=OLLATMvUCZPmsQOz_oDUCw&amp;sa=X&amp;oi=video_result_group&amp;ct=title&amp;resnum=6&amp;ved=0CD4QqwQwBQ&amp;fp=a91849b65777758f" type="external">taxes</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.jfklibrary.org/Education+and+Public+Programs/Profile+in+Courage+Award/Award+Recipients/Karen+Bass+David+Cogdill+Darrell+Steinberg+and+Michael+Villines/Acceptance+Speech+by+Michael+Villines.htm" type="external">In his sycophantic acceptance speech</a>, Villines said of his sellout on taxes:</p>
<p>Most of us will reach a defining moment, where we gain a new level of understanding and learn a lot about ourselves….</p>
<p>For me, there was nothing more fiscally or socially irresponsible than inaction…especially when we knew the facts.</p>
<p>I was determined not to let California fail and to the best I could to solve the problem</p>
<p>And so I worked with Dave, Karen, Darrell and&#160; Governor Schwarzenneger to craft a budget compromise.</p>
<p>It wasn’t easy.&#160; Our budget was one that we all disliked.</p>
<p>But in the end, we believed it was practical, fair, and the only way to get California on the road to recovery.</p>
<p>It was not until I faced this moment that I learned a great deal about politics and myself.</p>
<p>I learned there can be a big difference between practical truth and ideological truth.</p>
<p>I gained a new understanding of what it means to make choices that are not black and white.</p>
<p>I learned that courage is taking the hard road even when there is an easy way out.</p>
<p>And I gained a real understanding of what politics should be – putting the interests of the people ahead of what’s easy or best for my career.</p>
<p>Of course, here we are 20 months after his tax-increase sellout, and there’s no “recovery” in sight. Unemployment still is more than 2 percentage points higher than the national average. And it has risen from 10.5 percent in February 2009, when the tax increase was passed because of Villines’ sellout, to 12.4 percent today.</p>
<p>And as to “courage” and “putting the interests of the people ahead of what’s easy or best for my career,” he’s now trying to lie his way into another government job.</p>
<p>Jones also is terrible. But he never advertised himself as something other than what he is: a tax-increasing socialist Democrat.</p>
<p>Villines’ sellout was so big that it almost cost him his GOP primary election against no-name Brian FitzGerald, who lost by just 16,436 votes.</p>
<p>Treachery needs to be punished. Let’s hope Villines loses on Nov. 2.</p>
<p>OCT. 21</p> | Pro-Tax Villines Slams Taxes | false | https://calwatchdog.com/2010/10/21/pro-villines-mailer/ | 2018-10-20 | 3left-center
| Pro-Tax Villines Slams Taxes
<p>John Seiler:</p>
<p>I just got a mailer from from <a href="http://www.campaignmoney.com/political/527/jobspac_a_coalition_of_california_employers.asp" type="external">JobsPAC, a 527 organization</a>, touting&#160;Republican Mike Villines, who’s running for insurance commissioner. The group <a href="http://www.baycitizen.org/blogs/pulse-of-the-bay/industry-dollars-try-take-down-candidate/" type="external">reportedly is funded</a> with insurance-industry money, from companies that don’t like Democratic opponent Dave Jones.</p>
<p>It pillories his opponent as: “Dave Jones — Just Another Tax and Spend Politician….A Career Politician Who Spends and Taxes Too Much…Largest Tax Hike in State History…Dave Jones voted to raise your taxes by $37 billion during the worst recession in a generation and with unemployment above 10%. Since Jones’s tax hike, California’s unemployment rate rose to 13%. Source: ABX3 3, 2009.”</p>
<p>But it was Villines who provided the key, Republican vote for that tax increase! As Assembly Republican leader, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Villines" type="external">according to Wikipedia</a>, “Villines’ leadership was key to the February 2009 Budget Deal…. He was recognized by members of both political parties for his willingness to pursue a bipartisan solution to rapidly expanding crisis despite the risk to his political career.”</p>
<p>His treachery to California taxpayers even won him the big-government John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, which is falsely named because <a href="http://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHNU_enUS345US345&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;q=kennedy+tax+cuts#q=kennedy+tax+cuts&amp;hl=en&amp;rlz=1C1CHNU_enUS345US345&amp;prmd=ivn&amp;source=univ&amp;tbs=vid:1&amp;tbo=u&amp;ei=OLLATMvUCZPmsQOz_oDUCw&amp;sa=X&amp;oi=video_result_group&amp;ct=title&amp;resnum=6&amp;ved=0CD4QqwQwBQ&amp;fp=a91849b65777758f" type="external">JFK actually</a> <a href="http://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHNU_enUS345US345&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;q=kennedy+tax+cuts#q=kennedy+tax+cuts&amp;hl=en&amp;rlz=1C1CHNU_enUS345US345&amp;prmd=ivn&amp;source=univ&amp;tbs=vid:1&amp;tbo=u&amp;ei=OLLATMvUCZPmsQOz_oDUCw&amp;sa=X&amp;oi=video_result_group&amp;ct=title&amp;resnum=6&amp;ved=0CD4QqwQwBQ&amp;fp=a91849b65777758f" type="external">cut</a> <a href="http://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHNU_enUS345US345&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;q=kennedy+tax+cuts#q=kennedy+tax+cuts&amp;hl=en&amp;rlz=1C1CHNU_enUS345US345&amp;prmd=ivn&amp;source=univ&amp;tbs=vid:1&amp;tbo=u&amp;ei=OLLATMvUCZPmsQOz_oDUCw&amp;sa=X&amp;oi=video_result_group&amp;ct=title&amp;resnum=6&amp;ved=0CD4QqwQwBQ&amp;fp=a91849b65777758f" type="external">taxes</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.jfklibrary.org/Education+and+Public+Programs/Profile+in+Courage+Award/Award+Recipients/Karen+Bass+David+Cogdill+Darrell+Steinberg+and+Michael+Villines/Acceptance+Speech+by+Michael+Villines.htm" type="external">In his sycophantic acceptance speech</a>, Villines said of his sellout on taxes:</p>
<p>Most of us will reach a defining moment, where we gain a new level of understanding and learn a lot about ourselves….</p>
<p>For me, there was nothing more fiscally or socially irresponsible than inaction…especially when we knew the facts.</p>
<p>I was determined not to let California fail and to the best I could to solve the problem</p>
<p>And so I worked with Dave, Karen, Darrell and&#160; Governor Schwarzenneger to craft a budget compromise.</p>
<p>It wasn’t easy.&#160; Our budget was one that we all disliked.</p>
<p>But in the end, we believed it was practical, fair, and the only way to get California on the road to recovery.</p>
<p>It was not until I faced this moment that I learned a great deal about politics and myself.</p>
<p>I learned there can be a big difference between practical truth and ideological truth.</p>
<p>I gained a new understanding of what it means to make choices that are not black and white.</p>
<p>I learned that courage is taking the hard road even when there is an easy way out.</p>
<p>And I gained a real understanding of what politics should be – putting the interests of the people ahead of what’s easy or best for my career.</p>
<p>Of course, here we are 20 months after his tax-increase sellout, and there’s no “recovery” in sight. Unemployment still is more than 2 percentage points higher than the national average. And it has risen from 10.5 percent in February 2009, when the tax increase was passed because of Villines’ sellout, to 12.4 percent today.</p>
<p>And as to “courage” and “putting the interests of the people ahead of what’s easy or best for my career,” he’s now trying to lie his way into another government job.</p>
<p>Jones also is terrible. But he never advertised himself as something other than what he is: a tax-increasing socialist Democrat.</p>
<p>Villines’ sellout was so big that it almost cost him his GOP primary election against no-name Brian FitzGerald, who lost by just 16,436 votes.</p>
<p>Treachery needs to be punished. Let’s hope Villines loses on Nov. 2.</p>
<p>OCT. 21</p> | 2,407 |
<p>Mitt Romney <a href="" type="external">said that he had paid around 13% in taxes annually the past few years, calling false the charge by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid</a> that Romney won’t release his tax returns because they show he paid no income tax in the past decade.</p>
<p>But, Romney was careful not to say that he had paid income tax in the past few years. And, it was income tax that Reid was talking about.</p>
<p>Romney also said he was mystified as to why his tax returns were an issue, given the problems the country faces.</p>
<p>But Romney exemplifies the problem that the country faces. The top 1% of income earners, in the upper sector of which Romney falls, has seen its annual share of national income go from 10% only a few decades ago to over 20% today.</p>
<p><a href="/images/2012/08/top1pct1.jpg" type="external" /> (Courtesy <a href="http://ricks.foreignpolicy.com/FunStuff" type="external">Tom Ricks</a>)</p>
<p>At the same time, the marginal tax rate that this enormously wealthy but small group of some 1.2 million people pay has plummeted to its lowest levels in decades (and much of the tax benefit goes to the richest 400 persons):</p>
<p />
<p>Hmm. Small group of people taking much more of national income but paying much less in taxes? What could go wrong?</p>
<p>Thus, the Bush-Cheney tax cuts on the very wealthy have made a significant contribution to our annual budget deficits (Clinton had balanced the budget before Bush and Cheney gave billions away to their rich friends).</p>
<p>Romney paid 13% in federal taxes, but middle class people pay over twice that. Romney and his <a href="" type="external">wealthy buddies have snarfed up much of the income growth that the US has seen in the past two decades</a>, leaving nothing for the middle class.</p>
<p>In fact the average wage of the average worker has declined in the past decade for the first time since WW II.</p>
<p><a href="/images/2012/08/hrlywage1.jpg" type="external" /> (Courtesy <a href="" type="external">this site</a></p>
<p>And, taxes on wage earners have not fallen the same way the tax rates for investors have fallen. Plus the essentials of middle class life such as college tuition, have skyrocketed, in large part because government doesn’t subvent them the way it used to.</p>
<p>So Mitt Romney’s tax breaks and those of the top 1% like him, are a large part of the cause of persistent high budget deficits:</p>
<p />
<p>That is why, Mr. Romney, your tax returns are more than personal information about you. They are icons of the growing inequality of America, both in income distribution and in tax rates. Your secretary paid a higher percentage of her income in taxes than you did. And, your tax cuts are harming government’s ability to function, creating artificial crises.</p>
<p>It really is is all about you this time.</p> | Mr. Romney, Here’s why Your Tax Returns Matter | true | http://juancole.com/2012/08/mr-romney-heres-why-your-tax-returns-matter.html | 2012-08-17 | 4left
| Mr. Romney, Here’s why Your Tax Returns Matter
<p>Mitt Romney <a href="" type="external">said that he had paid around 13% in taxes annually the past few years, calling false the charge by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid</a> that Romney won’t release his tax returns because they show he paid no income tax in the past decade.</p>
<p>But, Romney was careful not to say that he had paid income tax in the past few years. And, it was income tax that Reid was talking about.</p>
<p>Romney also said he was mystified as to why his tax returns were an issue, given the problems the country faces.</p>
<p>But Romney exemplifies the problem that the country faces. The top 1% of income earners, in the upper sector of which Romney falls, has seen its annual share of national income go from 10% only a few decades ago to over 20% today.</p>
<p><a href="/images/2012/08/top1pct1.jpg" type="external" /> (Courtesy <a href="http://ricks.foreignpolicy.com/FunStuff" type="external">Tom Ricks</a>)</p>
<p>At the same time, the marginal tax rate that this enormously wealthy but small group of some 1.2 million people pay has plummeted to its lowest levels in decades (and much of the tax benefit goes to the richest 400 persons):</p>
<p />
<p>Hmm. Small group of people taking much more of national income but paying much less in taxes? What could go wrong?</p>
<p>Thus, the Bush-Cheney tax cuts on the very wealthy have made a significant contribution to our annual budget deficits (Clinton had balanced the budget before Bush and Cheney gave billions away to their rich friends).</p>
<p>Romney paid 13% in federal taxes, but middle class people pay over twice that. Romney and his <a href="" type="external">wealthy buddies have snarfed up much of the income growth that the US has seen in the past two decades</a>, leaving nothing for the middle class.</p>
<p>In fact the average wage of the average worker has declined in the past decade for the first time since WW II.</p>
<p><a href="/images/2012/08/hrlywage1.jpg" type="external" /> (Courtesy <a href="" type="external">this site</a></p>
<p>And, taxes on wage earners have not fallen the same way the tax rates for investors have fallen. Plus the essentials of middle class life such as college tuition, have skyrocketed, in large part because government doesn’t subvent them the way it used to.</p>
<p>So Mitt Romney’s tax breaks and those of the top 1% like him, are a large part of the cause of persistent high budget deficits:</p>
<p />
<p>That is why, Mr. Romney, your tax returns are more than personal information about you. They are icons of the growing inequality of America, both in income distribution and in tax rates. Your secretary paid a higher percentage of her income in taxes than you did. And, your tax cuts are harming government’s ability to function, creating artificial crises.</p>
<p>It really is is all about you this time.</p> | 2,408 |
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<p />
<p>Last season: 9-3; lost to Goddard in Class 4A semifinals</p>
<p>Returning starters: 1 offense, 1 defense</p>
<p>Key players: Dane Authement, sr. (5-10, 185, C/DE); Brendan Fulton, sr. (6-2, 150, WR); Ryan Kline, sr. (5-10, 165, QB); O’Maury Samuels, soph. (5-10, 175, RB); Dominic Mariano, jr. (5-9, 150, ATH/OLB); Kevin Payne, sr. (5-11, 190, OL/DL); Marcos Salcido, sr. (6-0, 160, WR); Anthony Sanchez, jr. (6-1, 160, QB); Nico Sanchez, jr. (6-0, 210, OL/DL).</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Outlook: The Tigers were decimated by graduation, losing 22 seniors and 20 starters, making rookie head coach Trantham’s job all the more difficult. The Tigers’ new district includes an up-and-coming Centennial, as well as longtime rival Belen and a Valencia team that seems to be peaking.</p>
<p>2014 Schedule</p>
<p>(x-denotes District 3-5A game)</p>
<p>Aug. 29 at Farmington, 7 p.m.</p>
<p>Sept. 5 at Alamogordo, 7 p.m.</p>
<p>Sept. 12 Goddard, 7 p.m.</p>
<p>Sept. 18 at Rio Grande (M), 7 p.m.</p>
<p>Sept. 26 Del Norte, 7 p.m.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Oct. 3 IDLE</p>
<p>x-Oct. 10 Centennial, 7 p.m.</p>
<p>x-Oct. 17 at Santa Teresa, 7 p.m.</p>
<p>x-Oct. 24 at Belen, 7 p.m.</p>
<p>x-Oct. 31 Chaparral, 7 p.m.</p>
<p>x-Nov. 7 Valencia, 7 p.m.</p>
<p>(M) – Milne Stadium</p>
<p>Circle the date: Before the Tigers get to their big two, Belen and Valencia, they’ve got to deal with a rising new program in Centennial – led by former Manzano coach Aaron Ocampo – for the district opener.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Los Lunas at a glance | false | https://abqjournal.com/443778/los-lunas-at-a-glance.html | 2least
| Los Lunas at a glance
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<p />
<p>Last season: 9-3; lost to Goddard in Class 4A semifinals</p>
<p>Returning starters: 1 offense, 1 defense</p>
<p>Key players: Dane Authement, sr. (5-10, 185, C/DE); Brendan Fulton, sr. (6-2, 150, WR); Ryan Kline, sr. (5-10, 165, QB); O’Maury Samuels, soph. (5-10, 175, RB); Dominic Mariano, jr. (5-9, 150, ATH/OLB); Kevin Payne, sr. (5-11, 190, OL/DL); Marcos Salcido, sr. (6-0, 160, WR); Anthony Sanchez, jr. (6-1, 160, QB); Nico Sanchez, jr. (6-0, 210, OL/DL).</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Outlook: The Tigers were decimated by graduation, losing 22 seniors and 20 starters, making rookie head coach Trantham’s job all the more difficult. The Tigers’ new district includes an up-and-coming Centennial, as well as longtime rival Belen and a Valencia team that seems to be peaking.</p>
<p>2014 Schedule</p>
<p>(x-denotes District 3-5A game)</p>
<p>Aug. 29 at Farmington, 7 p.m.</p>
<p>Sept. 5 at Alamogordo, 7 p.m.</p>
<p>Sept. 12 Goddard, 7 p.m.</p>
<p>Sept. 18 at Rio Grande (M), 7 p.m.</p>
<p>Sept. 26 Del Norte, 7 p.m.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Oct. 3 IDLE</p>
<p>x-Oct. 10 Centennial, 7 p.m.</p>
<p>x-Oct. 17 at Santa Teresa, 7 p.m.</p>
<p>x-Oct. 24 at Belen, 7 p.m.</p>
<p>x-Oct. 31 Chaparral, 7 p.m.</p>
<p>x-Nov. 7 Valencia, 7 p.m.</p>
<p>(M) – Milne Stadium</p>
<p>Circle the date: Before the Tigers get to their big two, Belen and Valencia, they’ve got to deal with a rising new program in Centennial – led by former Manzano coach Aaron Ocampo – for the district opener.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 2,409 |
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<p>This Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014, photo, shows a display of Scotch tape, a 3M brand, in a Walmart store in Robinson Township, Pa. 3M reports quarterly earnings on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)</p>
<p>3M says its fourth-quarter earnings jumped more than 11 percent, fueled in part by a revenue gain from the Post-it note maker's industrial business.</p>
<p>Its earnings topped expectations, but its revenue was short. Its shares slipped in premarket trading.</p>
<p>The Maplewood, Minn., company said Thursday it earned $1.1 billion, or $1.62 per share, in the quarter ended Dec. 31. That is up from $991 million, or $1.41 per share, a year ago.</p>
<p>Revenue rose 2.5 percent to $7.57 billion from $7.38 billion.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Analysts forecast earnings of $1.61 per share on $7.73 billion in revenue.</p>
<p>3M also makes reflective coatings for signs and glues and adhesives, and its products are used in a variety of industries.</p>
<p>It says revenue from its industrial business climbed 6.1 percent to $2.6 billion, driven by gains for advanced materials, aerospace and automotive aftermarket products.</p>
<p>3M Co. shares slipped 75 cents to $129.50 in premarket trading about 45 minutes ahead of the market opening.</p> | 3M 4Q profit climbs more than 11 percent | false | https://abqjournal.com/345131/3m-4q-profit-climbs-more-than-11-percent.html | 2least
| 3M 4Q profit climbs more than 11 percent
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<p>This Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014, photo, shows a display of Scotch tape, a 3M brand, in a Walmart store in Robinson Township, Pa. 3M reports quarterly earnings on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)</p>
<p>3M says its fourth-quarter earnings jumped more than 11 percent, fueled in part by a revenue gain from the Post-it note maker's industrial business.</p>
<p>Its earnings topped expectations, but its revenue was short. Its shares slipped in premarket trading.</p>
<p>The Maplewood, Minn., company said Thursday it earned $1.1 billion, or $1.62 per share, in the quarter ended Dec. 31. That is up from $991 million, or $1.41 per share, a year ago.</p>
<p>Revenue rose 2.5 percent to $7.57 billion from $7.38 billion.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Analysts forecast earnings of $1.61 per share on $7.73 billion in revenue.</p>
<p>3M also makes reflective coatings for signs and glues and adhesives, and its products are used in a variety of industries.</p>
<p>It says revenue from its industrial business climbed 6.1 percent to $2.6 billion, driven by gains for advanced materials, aerospace and automotive aftermarket products.</p>
<p>3M Co. shares slipped 75 cents to $129.50 in premarket trading about 45 minutes ahead of the market opening.</p> | 2,410 |
|
<p>By Bob Allen</p>
<p>A judge in Florida has changed probation terms for a preacher who is a registered sex offender to allow the former Southern Baptist pastor to minister to children in his church.</p>
<p>Darrell Gilyard, 52, began preaching at Christ Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla., shortly after his release from prison in December 2011 for sex crimes against two minor girls at his previous church. It made international news when the church barred children from worship, because Gilyard’s <a href="http://offender.fdle.state.fl.us/offender/flyer.do?personId=67523" type="external">probation</a> prohibited him from having contact with minors.</p>
<p>Recently, <a href="http://www.news4jax.com/New-probation-guidelines-for-sex-offender-pastor/25560234" type="external">according</a> to Jacksonville television station WJXT, a judge agreed to modify the probation so Gilyard can “minister to children under the age of 18 as long as the children are supervised by an adult other than the defendant.”</p>
<p>Gilyard pleaded guilty in 2009 to lewd or lascivious conduct and molestation involving two girls younger than 16. His 2007 resignation after 15 years as pastor of Jacksonville’s Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church, a 7,000-member predominantly African-American congregation, marked the fifth pastorate he lost due to allegations of sexual misconduct.</p>
<p>A native of Palatka, Fla., Gilyard rose to fame in the Southern Baptist Convention in the late 1980s under the mentorship of former SBC presidents Jerry Vines and Paige Patterson. Jerry Falwell’s pulpit gave Gilyard a platform to share on national television his dramatic testimony of growing up a homeless orphan who lived under a bridge, a story that was later discredited.</p>
<p>The attention helped Gilyard attain several pastorates, until confidence in him eroded after a series of sex scandals in the early 1990s. The Dallas Morning News published <a href="http://stopbaptistpredators.org/article/darrell_gilyard2.html" type="external">stories</a> in 1991 saying dozens of women had accused Gilyard of sexual misconduct, with some alleging rape.</p>
<p>Gilyard&#160; <a href="http://www.smbcjax.com/AboutUs.aspx" type="external">began</a> as pastor of Shiloh Metropolitan Community Church in April 1993. He <a href="archives/item/3081-update-baptist-pastor-gilyard-arrested-for-sex-messages-to-teens#.U1pzwZUU_IU" type="external">resigned</a> Jan. 4, 2008, after a member of the congregation filed a police report claiming Gilyard sent sexually explicit text messages to her daughter.</p>
<p>Gilyard was arrested Jan. 14, 2008, and charged with two counts of lewd and lascivious conduct. He <a href="archives/item/4096-former-rising-star-preacher-pleads-guilty-to-molestation#.U1p0-pUU_IU" type="external">pleaded</a> guilty May 21, 2009, to molesting one girl and sending lewd text messages to another.</p>
<p>Gilyard completed a three-year prison sentence on Dec. 28, 2011. Four weeks later he <a href="http://members.jacksonville.com/news/metro/2012-02-04/story/jacksonville-pastor-convicted-sex-crimes-back-pulpit" type="external">took</a> the pulpit at Christ Tabernacle Baptist Church, prompting community <a href="http://www.news4jax.com/news/Disagreement-over-sex-offender-protests/8762318" type="external">protests</a> and a visit from Jacksonville Baptist Association, which resulted in an <a href="ministry/people/item/7221-baptist-association-asks-church-with-sex-offender-preacher-to-leave#.U1p6tpUU_IV" type="external">agreement</a> that the church would “leave the fellowship” of the Southern Baptist Convention regional affiliate.</p>
<p>Previous stories:</p>
<p><a href="ministry/people/item/7221-baptist-association-asks-church-with-sex-offender-preacher-to-leave#.U1pfVpUU_IU" type="external">Baptist association asks church with sex-offender preacher to leave</a></p>
<p><a href="ministry/people/item/7193-children-turned-away-from-church-while-sex-offender-preaches#.U1pfeZUU_IU" type="external">Children turned away from church while sex offender preaches</a></p>
<p><a href="culture/social-issues/item/7046-gilyard-hasnt-ruled-out-starting-new-church#.U1pflpUU_IU" type="external">Gilyard hasn’t ruled out starting new church</a></p>
<p><a href="culture/social-issues/item/7039-clergy-sex-offender-released-from-prison#.U1pfupUU_IU" type="external">Clergy sex offender released from prison</a></p>
<p><a href="archives/item/4642-former-high-profile-preacher-admits-to-fathering-child#.U1ph7JUU_IU" type="external">Former high-profile preacher admits to fathering child</a></p>
<p><a href="archives/item/4096-former-rising-star-preacher-pleads-guilty-to-molestation#.U1pgOZUU_IU" type="external">Former rising star preacher pleads guilty to molestation</a></p>
<p><a href="archives/item/3081-update-baptist-pastor-gilyard-arrested-for-sex-messages-to-teens#.U1pgspUU_IU" type="external">Baptist pastor Gilyard arrested for sex messages to teens</a></p>
<p><a href="archives/item/3076-gilyard-once-darling-of-sbc-elites-again-forced-to-resign-over-sex#.U1pgzpUU_IU" type="external">Gilyard, once darling of SBC elites, again forced to resign over sex</a></p> | Probation terms altered to permit sex offender pastor to minister to children | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/sex-offender-pastor-can-minister-to-children/ | 3left-center
| Probation terms altered to permit sex offender pastor to minister to children
<p>By Bob Allen</p>
<p>A judge in Florida has changed probation terms for a preacher who is a registered sex offender to allow the former Southern Baptist pastor to minister to children in his church.</p>
<p>Darrell Gilyard, 52, began preaching at Christ Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla., shortly after his release from prison in December 2011 for sex crimes against two minor girls at his previous church. It made international news when the church barred children from worship, because Gilyard’s <a href="http://offender.fdle.state.fl.us/offender/flyer.do?personId=67523" type="external">probation</a> prohibited him from having contact with minors.</p>
<p>Recently, <a href="http://www.news4jax.com/New-probation-guidelines-for-sex-offender-pastor/25560234" type="external">according</a> to Jacksonville television station WJXT, a judge agreed to modify the probation so Gilyard can “minister to children under the age of 18 as long as the children are supervised by an adult other than the defendant.”</p>
<p>Gilyard pleaded guilty in 2009 to lewd or lascivious conduct and molestation involving two girls younger than 16. His 2007 resignation after 15 years as pastor of Jacksonville’s Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church, a 7,000-member predominantly African-American congregation, marked the fifth pastorate he lost due to allegations of sexual misconduct.</p>
<p>A native of Palatka, Fla., Gilyard rose to fame in the Southern Baptist Convention in the late 1980s under the mentorship of former SBC presidents Jerry Vines and Paige Patterson. Jerry Falwell’s pulpit gave Gilyard a platform to share on national television his dramatic testimony of growing up a homeless orphan who lived under a bridge, a story that was later discredited.</p>
<p>The attention helped Gilyard attain several pastorates, until confidence in him eroded after a series of sex scandals in the early 1990s. The Dallas Morning News published <a href="http://stopbaptistpredators.org/article/darrell_gilyard2.html" type="external">stories</a> in 1991 saying dozens of women had accused Gilyard of sexual misconduct, with some alleging rape.</p>
<p>Gilyard&#160; <a href="http://www.smbcjax.com/AboutUs.aspx" type="external">began</a> as pastor of Shiloh Metropolitan Community Church in April 1993. He <a href="archives/item/3081-update-baptist-pastor-gilyard-arrested-for-sex-messages-to-teens#.U1pzwZUU_IU" type="external">resigned</a> Jan. 4, 2008, after a member of the congregation filed a police report claiming Gilyard sent sexually explicit text messages to her daughter.</p>
<p>Gilyard was arrested Jan. 14, 2008, and charged with two counts of lewd and lascivious conduct. He <a href="archives/item/4096-former-rising-star-preacher-pleads-guilty-to-molestation#.U1p0-pUU_IU" type="external">pleaded</a> guilty May 21, 2009, to molesting one girl and sending lewd text messages to another.</p>
<p>Gilyard completed a three-year prison sentence on Dec. 28, 2011. Four weeks later he <a href="http://members.jacksonville.com/news/metro/2012-02-04/story/jacksonville-pastor-convicted-sex-crimes-back-pulpit" type="external">took</a> the pulpit at Christ Tabernacle Baptist Church, prompting community <a href="http://www.news4jax.com/news/Disagreement-over-sex-offender-protests/8762318" type="external">protests</a> and a visit from Jacksonville Baptist Association, which resulted in an <a href="ministry/people/item/7221-baptist-association-asks-church-with-sex-offender-preacher-to-leave#.U1p6tpUU_IV" type="external">agreement</a> that the church would “leave the fellowship” of the Southern Baptist Convention regional affiliate.</p>
<p>Previous stories:</p>
<p><a href="ministry/people/item/7221-baptist-association-asks-church-with-sex-offender-preacher-to-leave#.U1pfVpUU_IU" type="external">Baptist association asks church with sex-offender preacher to leave</a></p>
<p><a href="ministry/people/item/7193-children-turned-away-from-church-while-sex-offender-preaches#.U1pfeZUU_IU" type="external">Children turned away from church while sex offender preaches</a></p>
<p><a href="culture/social-issues/item/7046-gilyard-hasnt-ruled-out-starting-new-church#.U1pflpUU_IU" type="external">Gilyard hasn’t ruled out starting new church</a></p>
<p><a href="culture/social-issues/item/7039-clergy-sex-offender-released-from-prison#.U1pfupUU_IU" type="external">Clergy sex offender released from prison</a></p>
<p><a href="archives/item/4642-former-high-profile-preacher-admits-to-fathering-child#.U1ph7JUU_IU" type="external">Former high-profile preacher admits to fathering child</a></p>
<p><a href="archives/item/4096-former-rising-star-preacher-pleads-guilty-to-molestation#.U1pgOZUU_IU" type="external">Former rising star preacher pleads guilty to molestation</a></p>
<p><a href="archives/item/3081-update-baptist-pastor-gilyard-arrested-for-sex-messages-to-teens#.U1pgspUU_IU" type="external">Baptist pastor Gilyard arrested for sex messages to teens</a></p>
<p><a href="archives/item/3076-gilyard-once-darling-of-sbc-elites-again-forced-to-resign-over-sex#.U1pgzpUU_IU" type="external">Gilyard, once darling of SBC elites, again forced to resign over sex</a></p> | 2,411 |
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<p>In his classic work, The General Theory, published in the depths of the 1930s Depression, John Maynard Keynes famously observed that “Speculators may do no harm as bubbles on a steady stream of enterprise. But the position is serious when enterprise becomes the bubble on a whirlpool of speculation. When the capital development of a country becomes a by-product of the activities of a casino, the job is likely to be ill-done.”</p>
<p>Keynes’s Depression-forged insights have been routinely reaffirmed over the subsequent 70 years of global capitalist history, not least during the current movements of decline, revival, and renewed drop in the value of the dollar in global currency markets. And as Keynes emphasized, the main issue here is not merely the behavior of financial markets, which never has been more rational or socially redeeming than Las Vegas or Monte Carlo (as was obvious during the Wall Street bubble years under Clinton). The real issue is rather how the behavior of financial markets define the limits of acceptable economic policies about things that matter well beyond the confines of the casino, like unemployment, the distribution of income, and the economic possibilities for our children.</p>
<p>In a piece last April in CounterPunch, I wrote that “Between January 2002 and December 2004, the dollar fell by 34 percent relative to the euro, and 22 percent relative to the Japanese yen. The prospect is for the dollar to keep declining at least through 2005.” I was accurate then in describing what the prospect had been at that moment. But in fact, between April and August, events have rendered that prospect increasingly uncertain. Between May 1 and July 1 of this year, the dollar rose by 7.7 percent against the euro and by 6.3 percent against the yen. Then, between July 4 and August 15, the dollar fell back by 3.7 percent against the euro and 2.1 percent against the yen, before rising again to roughly their July levels by October 1.</p>
<p>One of the main points of my April piece was to explore the factors that would work against the continued dollar decline that proceeded through 2002 ­ 2004, and would, more generally, produce a more uncertain future path for the dollar than was being widely asserted at the time. The first and most straightforward factor that I had mentioned was that U.S. policymakers themselves would not passively allow a dollar collapse. I said then that the key policy tool for the U.S. to support the dollar against the darkening opinion of global currency speculators was to raise interest rates-i.e. sweetening the interest rate returns for global bond purchasers if they keep holding their wealth in U.S. dollar bonds. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has done just that in the ensuing months, having pushed up the Fed’s main monetary policy rate (the federal funds rate) from 2.75 to 3.75 percent just since April, and with promises of more increases to come.</p>
<p>I also said that any movement among European policy makers away from the neoliberal policy agenda that has prevailed for roughly two decades would spook currency markets and push the euro down against the dollar. Neoliberalism in Europe, including low government deficits and high interest rates, have conspired to maintain unemployment in the range of 10 percent for a most of the past 20 years in most European countries.</p>
<p>European elites appear just as committed to neoliberalism today as they were in April. But the European people have made it clear that they’ve had enough. The most vehement expression of this sentiment came when voters in France and the Netherlands both decisively rejected the European Union constitution last May. Global currency speculators did not miss this unequivocal message from the European voters, even while European politicians expressed disgust over the people’s irresponsibility. The EU’s then President Jean-Claude Junker of Luxembourg declared that “This evening, Europe no longer inspires people to dream.”</p>
<p>A third change in the global currency landscape since April was something I did not discuss in the earlier piece ­ the decision last July by the Chinese to allow their currency, the yuan, to adjust slightly upward relative to the dollar. The Bush administration had been lobbying heavily for the Chinese to make this move, given that a low-valued yuan helps the Chinese to keep pushing cheap imports onto the shelves of Wal-Marts and the rest of the U.S. market. This makes the U.S. trade deficit-our purchases of imports in excess of our sales of exports-grow correspondingly. The trade deficit, in turn, along with the federal government’s $400 billion budget deficit, are the primary forces pushing the dollar onto its downward trajectory in the first place.</p>
<p>U.S. policymakers have long complained that the Chinese haven’t truly embraced the rules of neoliberal global capitalism, giving themselves an unfair advantage by holding down the value of the yuan. This is entirely true. For decades now, the Chinese have been ignoring neoliberal precepts in this and many other ways, through which disdain they have produced something approximating to the fastest rate of sustained economic growth in world history. One would think that this new Chinese gesture­ and to date nobody,including probably the Chinese themselves, knows whether this move amounts to more than a token nod in behalf of U.S. sensibilities ­ will immediately work to nudge the dollar back onto the downward path that prevailed between 2002 and 2004, at least at first. This is because with the dollar now being less valuable relative to the yuan, it is correspondingly also less valuable for everyone else in the world that has been using dollars to purchase imports from China. However, if a more expensive yuan does contribute to a smaller U.S. trade deficit, the net result from the smaller trade deficit could be to push the dollar back up.</p>
<p>Still another possibility is that, with the dollar cheapened relative to the yuan, the Chinese may then decide to stop purchasing U.S. government bonds as heavily as they have done the past few years. The purpose of U.S. bond purchases by the Chinese (along with an even more voracious customer, the Japanese) was to prevent the dollar from falling too rapidly, which would thereby render Chinese products more expensive in the U.S. market. However if the Chinese did decide to cut back on their U.S. bond purchases, this would produce serious downward pressures on the dollar against the euro and other currencies, not simply against the yuan. Alan Greenspan would then likely push U.S. interest rates still higher in self-defense. The U.S., in short, may not find themselves entirely enamored with the exchange rate policy they wished for from China.</p>
<p>Such uncertainly is the very stuff on which the global currency casino thrives. Is the dollar going to keep rising, as it did between April and July, or return to its downward trajectory of the previous two years? The dice keep rolling. As Lord Keynes, again, famously remarked, “on such matters, we simply do not know.”</p>
<p>Still, whether or not the dollar continues falling was not the main question I posed last April. My main concern was rather, would a dollar decline be good or bad news? Nothing has changed since April to undermine my basic point then, which is, there is no simple answer to that question, not least because the question inevitably itself pushes us well beyond the environs of the financial market casino. We can’t consider whether a dollar decline is good or bad news without asking, “for whom?” Wall Street? U.S. manufacturers? U.S. workers? French, Dutch or Chinese capitalists or workers? How about South African workers? The answers don’t break down easily along well-defined political lines.</p>
<p>Thus, under neoliberalism, U.S. workers have been badly hurt by the U.S. trade deficit and globalization more generally, since it increasingly places them in competition for jobs with workers elsewhere. U.S. workers therefore benefit from a weaker dollar, since a weak dollar makes it easier to sell U.S. products in foreign markets and harder for imports to compete with U.S.-based manufacturers. But U.S. workers would benefit far more from an anti-neoliberal commitment to full employment policies in the U.S., something akin to what the French and Dutch voters appeared to be effectively endorsing in May. A full employment program in the U.S., as well as France and the Netherlands, would also benefit workers in other countries as well, including those in poor countries. If governments in rich countries were committed to creating jobs for their residents, then differences over trade policies and exchange rates ­ the struggle to ‘beggar-thy-neighbor,’ to create more jobs at home by taking jobs away from neighboring countries­ would diminish to a second-order problem.</p>
<p>But as long as exchange rates and trade policy remain a first-order problem, the U.S. does face a serious and unavoidable trap, which is the legitimate source of the hand-wringing about the dollar’s decline from 2002 to 2004. Even without the help of the Japanese and Chinese purchasing U.S. government bonds at their recent heavy rates, the U.S. can probably counteract the long-term downward pressure on the dollar generated by our persistent trade and budget deficits. But the Fed will have to keep raising U.S. interest rates to accomplish this. Persistently rising interest rates will then push the U.S. toward recession, especially given that the U.S. housing market bubble is founded on this now cracking foundation of low interest rates.</p>
<p>The threat of recession therefore hangs heavily over the remainder of the Bush -2/Greenspan era, with the fundamental problems extending well beyond simply the ups and downs of the dollar. But this should be no surprise, given that Bush/Greenspan, just as with Clinton/Greenspan, have never wavered in behalf of a fundamentally neoliberal agenda. The real issue is therefore the one that that French and Dutch voters pushed into the faces of Europe’s elites last May: how long will neoliberalism continue to call the shots, defining the limits of acceptable economic policy?</p>
<p>The answer to that question, ultimately, is about politics and not economics. Neoliberalism will continue to make the material circumstances of life worse for the overwhelming majority of people throughout the world. But the Alan Greenspans of the world also know how to prevent full-blown economic meltdowns. Opponents of neoliberalism therefore can’t simply wait for Greenspan and company (including his successor, to be named soon) to slip up and allow a calamity to happen. The historical transition away from 25 years of neoliberal ascendancy will only come when the “no” to neoliberalism votes, such as in France and the Netherlands, can be transformed into positive and successful programs and movements throughout the world.</p>
<p>ROBERT POLLIN is professor of economic and founding co-director of the <a href="http://www.umass.edu/peri/" type="external">Political Economy Research Institute</a> at the University of Massachuesetts-Amherst. His groundbreaking book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1844675343/counterpunchmaga" type="external">Contours of Descent: US Economic Fractures and the Landscape of Global Austerity,</a>has just be released in paperback by Verso with a new afterward. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p>
<p>A recent interview with Pollin can be read <a href="http://www.umass.edu/peri/programs/globalization/contours/interview.htm" type="external">at the PERI site</a>.</p>
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<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
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<p>CLARIFICATION</p>
<p>ALEXANDER COCKBURN, JEFFREY ST CLAIR, BECKY GRANT AND THE INSTITUTE FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF JOURNALISTIC CLARITY, COUNTERPUNCH</p>
<p>We published an article entitled “A Saudiless Arabia” by Wayne Madsen dated October 22, 2002 (the “Article”), on the website of the Institute for the Advancement of Journalistic Clarity, CounterPunch, www.counterpunch.org (the “Website”).</p>
<p>Although it was not our intention, counsel for Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi has advised us the Article suggests, or could be read as suggesting, that Mr Al Amoudi has funded, supported, or is in some way associated with, the terrorist activities of Osama bin Laden and the Al Qaeda terrorist network.</p>
<p>We do not have any evidence connecting Mr Al Amoudi with terrorism.</p>
<p>As a result of an exchange of communications with Mr Al Amoudi’s lawyers, we have removed the Article from the Website.</p>
<p>We are pleased to clarify the position.</p>
<p>August 17, 2005</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Is the Dollar Still Falling? | true | https://counterpunch.org/2005/10/06/is-the-dollar-still-falling/ | 2005-10-06 | 4left
| Is the Dollar Still Falling?
<p>In his classic work, The General Theory, published in the depths of the 1930s Depression, John Maynard Keynes famously observed that “Speculators may do no harm as bubbles on a steady stream of enterprise. But the position is serious when enterprise becomes the bubble on a whirlpool of speculation. When the capital development of a country becomes a by-product of the activities of a casino, the job is likely to be ill-done.”</p>
<p>Keynes’s Depression-forged insights have been routinely reaffirmed over the subsequent 70 years of global capitalist history, not least during the current movements of decline, revival, and renewed drop in the value of the dollar in global currency markets. And as Keynes emphasized, the main issue here is not merely the behavior of financial markets, which never has been more rational or socially redeeming than Las Vegas or Monte Carlo (as was obvious during the Wall Street bubble years under Clinton). The real issue is rather how the behavior of financial markets define the limits of acceptable economic policies about things that matter well beyond the confines of the casino, like unemployment, the distribution of income, and the economic possibilities for our children.</p>
<p>In a piece last April in CounterPunch, I wrote that “Between January 2002 and December 2004, the dollar fell by 34 percent relative to the euro, and 22 percent relative to the Japanese yen. The prospect is for the dollar to keep declining at least through 2005.” I was accurate then in describing what the prospect had been at that moment. But in fact, between April and August, events have rendered that prospect increasingly uncertain. Between May 1 and July 1 of this year, the dollar rose by 7.7 percent against the euro and by 6.3 percent against the yen. Then, between July 4 and August 15, the dollar fell back by 3.7 percent against the euro and 2.1 percent against the yen, before rising again to roughly their July levels by October 1.</p>
<p>One of the main points of my April piece was to explore the factors that would work against the continued dollar decline that proceeded through 2002 ­ 2004, and would, more generally, produce a more uncertain future path for the dollar than was being widely asserted at the time. The first and most straightforward factor that I had mentioned was that U.S. policymakers themselves would not passively allow a dollar collapse. I said then that the key policy tool for the U.S. to support the dollar against the darkening opinion of global currency speculators was to raise interest rates-i.e. sweetening the interest rate returns for global bond purchasers if they keep holding their wealth in U.S. dollar bonds. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has done just that in the ensuing months, having pushed up the Fed’s main monetary policy rate (the federal funds rate) from 2.75 to 3.75 percent just since April, and with promises of more increases to come.</p>
<p>I also said that any movement among European policy makers away from the neoliberal policy agenda that has prevailed for roughly two decades would spook currency markets and push the euro down against the dollar. Neoliberalism in Europe, including low government deficits and high interest rates, have conspired to maintain unemployment in the range of 10 percent for a most of the past 20 years in most European countries.</p>
<p>European elites appear just as committed to neoliberalism today as they were in April. But the European people have made it clear that they’ve had enough. The most vehement expression of this sentiment came when voters in France and the Netherlands both decisively rejected the European Union constitution last May. Global currency speculators did not miss this unequivocal message from the European voters, even while European politicians expressed disgust over the people’s irresponsibility. The EU’s then President Jean-Claude Junker of Luxembourg declared that “This evening, Europe no longer inspires people to dream.”</p>
<p>A third change in the global currency landscape since April was something I did not discuss in the earlier piece ­ the decision last July by the Chinese to allow their currency, the yuan, to adjust slightly upward relative to the dollar. The Bush administration had been lobbying heavily for the Chinese to make this move, given that a low-valued yuan helps the Chinese to keep pushing cheap imports onto the shelves of Wal-Marts and the rest of the U.S. market. This makes the U.S. trade deficit-our purchases of imports in excess of our sales of exports-grow correspondingly. The trade deficit, in turn, along with the federal government’s $400 billion budget deficit, are the primary forces pushing the dollar onto its downward trajectory in the first place.</p>
<p>U.S. policymakers have long complained that the Chinese haven’t truly embraced the rules of neoliberal global capitalism, giving themselves an unfair advantage by holding down the value of the yuan. This is entirely true. For decades now, the Chinese have been ignoring neoliberal precepts in this and many other ways, through which disdain they have produced something approximating to the fastest rate of sustained economic growth in world history. One would think that this new Chinese gesture­ and to date nobody,including probably the Chinese themselves, knows whether this move amounts to more than a token nod in behalf of U.S. sensibilities ­ will immediately work to nudge the dollar back onto the downward path that prevailed between 2002 and 2004, at least at first. This is because with the dollar now being less valuable relative to the yuan, it is correspondingly also less valuable for everyone else in the world that has been using dollars to purchase imports from China. However, if a more expensive yuan does contribute to a smaller U.S. trade deficit, the net result from the smaller trade deficit could be to push the dollar back up.</p>
<p>Still another possibility is that, with the dollar cheapened relative to the yuan, the Chinese may then decide to stop purchasing U.S. government bonds as heavily as they have done the past few years. The purpose of U.S. bond purchases by the Chinese (along with an even more voracious customer, the Japanese) was to prevent the dollar from falling too rapidly, which would thereby render Chinese products more expensive in the U.S. market. However if the Chinese did decide to cut back on their U.S. bond purchases, this would produce serious downward pressures on the dollar against the euro and other currencies, not simply against the yuan. Alan Greenspan would then likely push U.S. interest rates still higher in self-defense. The U.S., in short, may not find themselves entirely enamored with the exchange rate policy they wished for from China.</p>
<p>Such uncertainly is the very stuff on which the global currency casino thrives. Is the dollar going to keep rising, as it did between April and July, or return to its downward trajectory of the previous two years? The dice keep rolling. As Lord Keynes, again, famously remarked, “on such matters, we simply do not know.”</p>
<p>Still, whether or not the dollar continues falling was not the main question I posed last April. My main concern was rather, would a dollar decline be good or bad news? Nothing has changed since April to undermine my basic point then, which is, there is no simple answer to that question, not least because the question inevitably itself pushes us well beyond the environs of the financial market casino. We can’t consider whether a dollar decline is good or bad news without asking, “for whom?” Wall Street? U.S. manufacturers? U.S. workers? French, Dutch or Chinese capitalists or workers? How about South African workers? The answers don’t break down easily along well-defined political lines.</p>
<p>Thus, under neoliberalism, U.S. workers have been badly hurt by the U.S. trade deficit and globalization more generally, since it increasingly places them in competition for jobs with workers elsewhere. U.S. workers therefore benefit from a weaker dollar, since a weak dollar makes it easier to sell U.S. products in foreign markets and harder for imports to compete with U.S.-based manufacturers. But U.S. workers would benefit far more from an anti-neoliberal commitment to full employment policies in the U.S., something akin to what the French and Dutch voters appeared to be effectively endorsing in May. A full employment program in the U.S., as well as France and the Netherlands, would also benefit workers in other countries as well, including those in poor countries. If governments in rich countries were committed to creating jobs for their residents, then differences over trade policies and exchange rates ­ the struggle to ‘beggar-thy-neighbor,’ to create more jobs at home by taking jobs away from neighboring countries­ would diminish to a second-order problem.</p>
<p>But as long as exchange rates and trade policy remain a first-order problem, the U.S. does face a serious and unavoidable trap, which is the legitimate source of the hand-wringing about the dollar’s decline from 2002 to 2004. Even without the help of the Japanese and Chinese purchasing U.S. government bonds at their recent heavy rates, the U.S. can probably counteract the long-term downward pressure on the dollar generated by our persistent trade and budget deficits. But the Fed will have to keep raising U.S. interest rates to accomplish this. Persistently rising interest rates will then push the U.S. toward recession, especially given that the U.S. housing market bubble is founded on this now cracking foundation of low interest rates.</p>
<p>The threat of recession therefore hangs heavily over the remainder of the Bush -2/Greenspan era, with the fundamental problems extending well beyond simply the ups and downs of the dollar. But this should be no surprise, given that Bush/Greenspan, just as with Clinton/Greenspan, have never wavered in behalf of a fundamentally neoliberal agenda. The real issue is therefore the one that that French and Dutch voters pushed into the faces of Europe’s elites last May: how long will neoliberalism continue to call the shots, defining the limits of acceptable economic policy?</p>
<p>The answer to that question, ultimately, is about politics and not economics. Neoliberalism will continue to make the material circumstances of life worse for the overwhelming majority of people throughout the world. But the Alan Greenspans of the world also know how to prevent full-blown economic meltdowns. Opponents of neoliberalism therefore can’t simply wait for Greenspan and company (including his successor, to be named soon) to slip up and allow a calamity to happen. The historical transition away from 25 years of neoliberal ascendancy will only come when the “no” to neoliberalism votes, such as in France and the Netherlands, can be transformed into positive and successful programs and movements throughout the world.</p>
<p>ROBERT POLLIN is professor of economic and founding co-director of the <a href="http://www.umass.edu/peri/" type="external">Political Economy Research Institute</a> at the University of Massachuesetts-Amherst. His groundbreaking book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1844675343/counterpunchmaga" type="external">Contours of Descent: US Economic Fractures and the Landscape of Global Austerity,</a>has just be released in paperback by Verso with a new afterward. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p>
<p>A recent interview with Pollin can be read <a href="http://www.umass.edu/peri/programs/globalization/contours/interview.htm" type="external">at the PERI site</a>.</p>
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<p>&#160;</p>
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<p>&#160;</p>
<p>CLARIFICATION</p>
<p>ALEXANDER COCKBURN, JEFFREY ST CLAIR, BECKY GRANT AND THE INSTITUTE FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF JOURNALISTIC CLARITY, COUNTERPUNCH</p>
<p>We published an article entitled “A Saudiless Arabia” by Wayne Madsen dated October 22, 2002 (the “Article”), on the website of the Institute for the Advancement of Journalistic Clarity, CounterPunch, www.counterpunch.org (the “Website”).</p>
<p>Although it was not our intention, counsel for Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi has advised us the Article suggests, or could be read as suggesting, that Mr Al Amoudi has funded, supported, or is in some way associated with, the terrorist activities of Osama bin Laden and the Al Qaeda terrorist network.</p>
<p>We do not have any evidence connecting Mr Al Amoudi with terrorism.</p>
<p>As a result of an exchange of communications with Mr Al Amoudi’s lawyers, we have removed the Article from the Website.</p>
<p>We are pleased to clarify the position.</p>
<p>August 17, 2005</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 2,412 |
<p />
<p>Carmakers and suppliers gave widely differing timelines for the introduction of self-driving vehicles on Thursday, showing the uncertainties surrounding the technology as well as a split between cautious established players and bullish new entrants.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Chipmaker Nvidia , facing direct competition with the world's top chipmaker after Intel's $15 billion deal to buy autonomous driving technology firm Mobileye this week, gave the most optimistic predictions.</p>
<p>Chief Executive Jen-Hsun Huang forecast carmakers may speed up their plans in the light of technological advances and that fully self-driving cars could be on the road by 2025.</p>
<p>"Because of deep learning, because of AI (artificial intelligence) computing, we've really supercharged our roadmap to autonomous vehicles," he said in a keynote speech to the Bosch Connected World conference in Berlin.</p>
<p>Germany's Bosch [ROBG.UL], however, the world's biggest automotive supplier, gave a timetable as much as six years longer to get to the final stage before fully autonomous vehicles, and declined even to forecast when a totally self-driving car might take to the streets.</p>
<p>Progress is fraught by issues including who is liable when a self-driving car has an accident, bringing down the costs of sensor technology and guarding against hacking.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>"Of course, we still have to prove that an autonomous car does better in driving and has less accidents than a human being," Bosch CEO Volkmar Denner told a news conference.</p>
<p>Nvidia has applied its market-leading expertise in high-end computer graphics to the intense visualization and simulation needs of autonomous cars, and has been working on artificial intelligence - teaching computers to learn to write their own software code - for a decade.</p>
<p>"No human could write enough code to capture the vast diversity and complexity that we do so easily, called driving," said Huang.</p>
<p>Together with Bosch executives, Huang presented a prototype AI on-board computer that is expected to go into production by the beginning of the next decade. The computer will use Nvidia's processing power to interpret data gathered by Bosch sensors.</p>
<p>DEGREES OF AUTONOMY</p>
<p>On the way to fully self-driving cars, levels of autonomy have been defined, with most cars on the road today at level two and Tesla ready to switch from level four to five - full autonomy - as soon as it is permitted to do so.</p>
<p>Level three means drivers can turn away in well-understood environments such as motorway driving but must be ready to take back control, while level four means the automated system can control the vehicle in most environments.</p>
<p>Independent technology analyst Richard Windsor wrote in a note this week he doubted automakers would have autonomous vehicles leaving factories by a typical self-imposed deadline of 2020, mainly because the liability issue was unresolved.</p>
<p>"This is good news for the automotive industry which is notoriously slow to adapt to and implement new technology as it will have more time to defend its position against the new entrants," he wrote.</p>
<p>But Nvidia's Huang said he expected to have chips available for level three automated driving by the end of this year and in customers' cars on the road by the end of 2018, with level four chips following the same pattern a year later.</p>
<p>That is at least a year ahead of the plans of most carmakers that have an autonomous-driving strategy.</p>
<p>The head of autonomous driving at BMW told the conference the luxury carmaker was on its way to deliver a level three autonomous car in 2021, but could produce level four or five autonomous cars in the same year.</p>
<p>"We believe we have the chance to make level three, level four and level five doable," he said. He told Reuters the decision on which levels to release would depend in part on the market, and that cars with more autonomy might first be produced in small batches for single fleets.</p>
<p>Bosch said it saw level three vehicles being released with its on-board computer at the end of the decade, and level four driving not before 2025.</p>
<p>Uber [UBER.UL], Baidu and Google spin-off Waymo are testing self-driving taxis, while carmakers including Volvo, Audi and Ford expect to have level four cars on the road by 2020 or 2021.</p>
<p>Nvidia's Huang predicted those plans would speed up: "In the near future, you're going to see these schedules pull in."</p>
<p>(This version of the story was refiled to fix the spelling of the CEO's name in paragraph 3 to Jen-Hsun Huang from Jens-Hsun Huang)</p>
<p>(Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Mark Potter)</p> | Car industry players diverge on timescale for self-driving cars | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/03/16/car-industry-players-diverge-on-timescale-for-self-driving-cars.html | 2017-03-17 | 0right
| Car industry players diverge on timescale for self-driving cars
<p />
<p>Carmakers and suppliers gave widely differing timelines for the introduction of self-driving vehicles on Thursday, showing the uncertainties surrounding the technology as well as a split between cautious established players and bullish new entrants.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Chipmaker Nvidia , facing direct competition with the world's top chipmaker after Intel's $15 billion deal to buy autonomous driving technology firm Mobileye this week, gave the most optimistic predictions.</p>
<p>Chief Executive Jen-Hsun Huang forecast carmakers may speed up their plans in the light of technological advances and that fully self-driving cars could be on the road by 2025.</p>
<p>"Because of deep learning, because of AI (artificial intelligence) computing, we've really supercharged our roadmap to autonomous vehicles," he said in a keynote speech to the Bosch Connected World conference in Berlin.</p>
<p>Germany's Bosch [ROBG.UL], however, the world's biggest automotive supplier, gave a timetable as much as six years longer to get to the final stage before fully autonomous vehicles, and declined even to forecast when a totally self-driving car might take to the streets.</p>
<p>Progress is fraught by issues including who is liable when a self-driving car has an accident, bringing down the costs of sensor technology and guarding against hacking.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>"Of course, we still have to prove that an autonomous car does better in driving and has less accidents than a human being," Bosch CEO Volkmar Denner told a news conference.</p>
<p>Nvidia has applied its market-leading expertise in high-end computer graphics to the intense visualization and simulation needs of autonomous cars, and has been working on artificial intelligence - teaching computers to learn to write their own software code - for a decade.</p>
<p>"No human could write enough code to capture the vast diversity and complexity that we do so easily, called driving," said Huang.</p>
<p>Together with Bosch executives, Huang presented a prototype AI on-board computer that is expected to go into production by the beginning of the next decade. The computer will use Nvidia's processing power to interpret data gathered by Bosch sensors.</p>
<p>DEGREES OF AUTONOMY</p>
<p>On the way to fully self-driving cars, levels of autonomy have been defined, with most cars on the road today at level two and Tesla ready to switch from level four to five - full autonomy - as soon as it is permitted to do so.</p>
<p>Level three means drivers can turn away in well-understood environments such as motorway driving but must be ready to take back control, while level four means the automated system can control the vehicle in most environments.</p>
<p>Independent technology analyst Richard Windsor wrote in a note this week he doubted automakers would have autonomous vehicles leaving factories by a typical self-imposed deadline of 2020, mainly because the liability issue was unresolved.</p>
<p>"This is good news for the automotive industry which is notoriously slow to adapt to and implement new technology as it will have more time to defend its position against the new entrants," he wrote.</p>
<p>But Nvidia's Huang said he expected to have chips available for level three automated driving by the end of this year and in customers' cars on the road by the end of 2018, with level four chips following the same pattern a year later.</p>
<p>That is at least a year ahead of the plans of most carmakers that have an autonomous-driving strategy.</p>
<p>The head of autonomous driving at BMW told the conference the luxury carmaker was on its way to deliver a level three autonomous car in 2021, but could produce level four or five autonomous cars in the same year.</p>
<p>"We believe we have the chance to make level three, level four and level five doable," he said. He told Reuters the decision on which levels to release would depend in part on the market, and that cars with more autonomy might first be produced in small batches for single fleets.</p>
<p>Bosch said it saw level three vehicles being released with its on-board computer at the end of the decade, and level four driving not before 2025.</p>
<p>Uber [UBER.UL], Baidu and Google spin-off Waymo are testing self-driving taxis, while carmakers including Volvo, Audi and Ford expect to have level four cars on the road by 2020 or 2021.</p>
<p>Nvidia's Huang predicted those plans would speed up: "In the near future, you're going to see these schedules pull in."</p>
<p>(This version of the story was refiled to fix the spelling of the CEO's name in paragraph 3 to Jen-Hsun Huang from Jens-Hsun Huang)</p>
<p>(Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Mark Potter)</p> | 2,413 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>NEW YORK — Hurricane Maria has thrown Puerto Rico’s already messy economic recovery plans into disarray.</p>
<p>For now, the focus has shifted from Puerto Rico’s financial woes to meeting the basic needs of its 3.5 million people, many of whom still lack adequate food, water and power more than a week since the Category 4 hurricane laid waste to the U.S. territory. But as Puerto Rico emerges from the worst of the disaster, it will still face a $74 billion public debt load and a decade-old economic recession that has sent hundreds of thousands of islanders fleeing to the U.S. mainland.</p>
<p>The hurricane has interrupted court proceedings and mediation efforts with creditors aimed at restructuring the debt. The destruction will severely disrupt revenue flows and force a recalculation of a fiscal plan, painfully negotiated with federal oversight board appointed to oversee Puerto Rico’s finances. While there is some potential for federal recovery money and insurance payouts to jolt a stagnant economy, much depends on how much aid Congress will approve.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>President Donald Trump on Friday promised the rebuilding effort “will end up being one of the biggest ever.” With so many unknowns, however, economists are unsure if there will be any silver lining for Puerto Rico.</p>
<p>“Generally, what we find is that natural disasters are just temporary problems and in most cases after the rebuilding, things revert to the long-term trends,” said David Hitchcock, an analyst with S&amp;P. “Unfortunately, the longer-term trends already weren’t very good.”</p>
<p>Here are some things to watch as Puerto Rico confronts the dual challenges of natural disaster and economic chaos.</p>
<p>FISCAL RECOVERY PLAN IN LIMBO</p>
<p>Puerto Rico’s efforts to put its finances in order were mired in controversy, lawsuits and street protests. Now, the island must rethink everything. The oversight board appointed by Congress approved a 10-year spending plan in March that chipped away at the government’s debt load while cutting employee benefits and raising service fees. The plan must now be revised to take into account expected revenue losses and a drop in economic output.</p>
<p>Tax collection is certain to plummet, especially if more Puerto Ricans flee to the mainland. And nobody will be paying their electric or water bills anytime soon. The Puerto Rican Power authority says it could take months to completely restore power. Revenue from manufacturing and tourism will also fall.</p>
<p>“The oversight board has to revisit the whole fiscal plan and make a determination based on the new reality,” said Rep. Nydia Velasquez, a New York Democrat who was born on the island. “Puerto Rico today is totally different from the Puerto Rico of a week ago.”</p>
<p>Jose Luis Cedeno, a spokesman for the board, said “all options are on the table.” For now, the board has authorized $1 billion of the current budget to be diverted for hurricane relief. That’s a fraction of the tens of billions of dollars that the hurricane is expected to cost.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>BONDHOLDERS IN THE LURCH</p>
<p>The disaster is bad news for the island’s investors, mostly mutual funds and hedge funds that bought distressed Puerto Rican bonds at a discount in hopes of making a profit. Creditors can expect delays in the restructuring process and will come under pressure to accept even more reduced payments, said Ted Hampton, an analyst with Moody’s Investor Service.</p>
<p>Faced with multiplying lawsuits from creditors, Puerto Rico sought a form of bankruptcy protection in May. The federal judge who is overseeing that process, Laura Taylor Swain, indefinitely postponed a key Oct. 4 hearing because the hurricane paralyzed the island.</p>
<p>Funds earmarked for debt repayment could be reduced under a revised spending plan. Those were already low at $800 million a year, a fraction of the $35 billion due over the next decade.</p>
<p>Brad Setser, a former top Treasury Department official who worked on Puerto Rico’s debt crisis, said the oversight board could allow the territory to “zero out debt service for the next few years and divert all available cash to cover its critical short-term needs.”</p>
<p>“There is no way Puerto Rico can pay its debts right now,” Setser wrote in a blog post for the Council on Foreign Relations.</p>
<p>The Puerto Rican government brushed aside one group of creditors who jumped in this week with new offer, accusing them of trying to take advantage of the disaster to cut their losses.</p>
<p>The bondholders, who hold 40 percent of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority’s $9 billion debt, offered to extend a new credit line through what’s known as debtor-in-possession financing. That would have helped fund the power company’s repairs while also giving the new bonds priority over other creditors in the restructuring proceedings.</p>
<p>The bondholders group replied they were disappointed in the “outright rejection of our loan offer without any discussion or counter-proposal.”</p>
<p>But it’s not just hedge funds and mutual funds left hanging. About a fifth of Puerto Rico’s debt is held by individuals who bought the bonds because they are exempt from state, local and federal taxes and had long been considered safe.</p>
<p>WHAT CONGRESS CAN DO</p>
<p>Puerto Rico’s fundamental challenge is its decade-long inability to generate economic growth. The decline began in 2006 when Congress repealed a tax exemption that helped turn Puerto Rico into a global manufacturing hub, especially for pharmaceuticals.</p>
<p>Hurricane Maria has dimmed already bleak prospects for a turnaround.</p>
<p>There is some that hope federal relief funds and insurance payouts can help pull Puerto Rico out of its quagmire. While cautioning that Puerto Rico “faces new risks and economic uncertainty,” a Moody’s analysis said “federal relief funding in the wake of hurricanes Irma and Maria could offset some of Puerto Rico’s financial challenges and help spur renewed economic growth.”</p>
<p>But Puerto Rico was so broke to begin with that is difficult to know how much extra money will be left over after storm repairs. Even before the hurricane, the Puerto Rican power authority had estimated it would need $4 billion to upgrade aging infrastructure that was already causing frequent blackouts. Tens of millions of dollars were needed to fill overflowing landfills that make it unbearable to be outdoors in some towns.</p>
<p>Much depends on Congress, which is expected to take up a supplemental spending bill to help both Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.</p>
<p>After facing accusations that it was underestimating Puerto Rico’s plight, the Trump administration has been ramping up aid efforts. Heeding pleas that Puerto Rico was in no position to finance much of the relief efforts, the government agreed to pick up 100 percent of the costs of emergency assistance. U.S. states and territories typically cover 25 percent of the costs.</p>
<p>Trump, who has been criticized for mentioning Puerto Rico’s Wall Street debt in a time of crisis, brought it up again in a speech Friday.</p>
<p>“Ultimately the government of Puerto Rico will have to work with us to determine how this massive rebuilding effort — it will end up being one of the biggest ever — will be funded and organized, and what we will do with the tremendous amount of existing debt already on the island,” Trump said. “We will not rest, however, until the people of Puerto Rico are safe.”</p>
<p>__________</p>
<p>Associated Press Writer Nancy Benac in Washington contributed to this story.</p> | Maria dims Puerto Rico’s bleak economic outlook | false | https://abqjournal.com/1070888/maria-dims-puerto-ricos-bleak-economic-outlook.html | 2017-09-29 | 2least
| Maria dims Puerto Rico’s bleak economic outlook
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>NEW YORK — Hurricane Maria has thrown Puerto Rico’s already messy economic recovery plans into disarray.</p>
<p>For now, the focus has shifted from Puerto Rico’s financial woes to meeting the basic needs of its 3.5 million people, many of whom still lack adequate food, water and power more than a week since the Category 4 hurricane laid waste to the U.S. territory. But as Puerto Rico emerges from the worst of the disaster, it will still face a $74 billion public debt load and a decade-old economic recession that has sent hundreds of thousands of islanders fleeing to the U.S. mainland.</p>
<p>The hurricane has interrupted court proceedings and mediation efforts with creditors aimed at restructuring the debt. The destruction will severely disrupt revenue flows and force a recalculation of a fiscal plan, painfully negotiated with federal oversight board appointed to oversee Puerto Rico’s finances. While there is some potential for federal recovery money and insurance payouts to jolt a stagnant economy, much depends on how much aid Congress will approve.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>President Donald Trump on Friday promised the rebuilding effort “will end up being one of the biggest ever.” With so many unknowns, however, economists are unsure if there will be any silver lining for Puerto Rico.</p>
<p>“Generally, what we find is that natural disasters are just temporary problems and in most cases after the rebuilding, things revert to the long-term trends,” said David Hitchcock, an analyst with S&amp;P. “Unfortunately, the longer-term trends already weren’t very good.”</p>
<p>Here are some things to watch as Puerto Rico confronts the dual challenges of natural disaster and economic chaos.</p>
<p>FISCAL RECOVERY PLAN IN LIMBO</p>
<p>Puerto Rico’s efforts to put its finances in order were mired in controversy, lawsuits and street protests. Now, the island must rethink everything. The oversight board appointed by Congress approved a 10-year spending plan in March that chipped away at the government’s debt load while cutting employee benefits and raising service fees. The plan must now be revised to take into account expected revenue losses and a drop in economic output.</p>
<p>Tax collection is certain to plummet, especially if more Puerto Ricans flee to the mainland. And nobody will be paying their electric or water bills anytime soon. The Puerto Rican Power authority says it could take months to completely restore power. Revenue from manufacturing and tourism will also fall.</p>
<p>“The oversight board has to revisit the whole fiscal plan and make a determination based on the new reality,” said Rep. Nydia Velasquez, a New York Democrat who was born on the island. “Puerto Rico today is totally different from the Puerto Rico of a week ago.”</p>
<p>Jose Luis Cedeno, a spokesman for the board, said “all options are on the table.” For now, the board has authorized $1 billion of the current budget to be diverted for hurricane relief. That’s a fraction of the tens of billions of dollars that the hurricane is expected to cost.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>BONDHOLDERS IN THE LURCH</p>
<p>The disaster is bad news for the island’s investors, mostly mutual funds and hedge funds that bought distressed Puerto Rican bonds at a discount in hopes of making a profit. Creditors can expect delays in the restructuring process and will come under pressure to accept even more reduced payments, said Ted Hampton, an analyst with Moody’s Investor Service.</p>
<p>Faced with multiplying lawsuits from creditors, Puerto Rico sought a form of bankruptcy protection in May. The federal judge who is overseeing that process, Laura Taylor Swain, indefinitely postponed a key Oct. 4 hearing because the hurricane paralyzed the island.</p>
<p>Funds earmarked for debt repayment could be reduced under a revised spending plan. Those were already low at $800 million a year, a fraction of the $35 billion due over the next decade.</p>
<p>Brad Setser, a former top Treasury Department official who worked on Puerto Rico’s debt crisis, said the oversight board could allow the territory to “zero out debt service for the next few years and divert all available cash to cover its critical short-term needs.”</p>
<p>“There is no way Puerto Rico can pay its debts right now,” Setser wrote in a blog post for the Council on Foreign Relations.</p>
<p>The Puerto Rican government brushed aside one group of creditors who jumped in this week with new offer, accusing them of trying to take advantage of the disaster to cut their losses.</p>
<p>The bondholders, who hold 40 percent of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority’s $9 billion debt, offered to extend a new credit line through what’s known as debtor-in-possession financing. That would have helped fund the power company’s repairs while also giving the new bonds priority over other creditors in the restructuring proceedings.</p>
<p>The bondholders group replied they were disappointed in the “outright rejection of our loan offer without any discussion or counter-proposal.”</p>
<p>But it’s not just hedge funds and mutual funds left hanging. About a fifth of Puerto Rico’s debt is held by individuals who bought the bonds because they are exempt from state, local and federal taxes and had long been considered safe.</p>
<p>WHAT CONGRESS CAN DO</p>
<p>Puerto Rico’s fundamental challenge is its decade-long inability to generate economic growth. The decline began in 2006 when Congress repealed a tax exemption that helped turn Puerto Rico into a global manufacturing hub, especially for pharmaceuticals.</p>
<p>Hurricane Maria has dimmed already bleak prospects for a turnaround.</p>
<p>There is some that hope federal relief funds and insurance payouts can help pull Puerto Rico out of its quagmire. While cautioning that Puerto Rico “faces new risks and economic uncertainty,” a Moody’s analysis said “federal relief funding in the wake of hurricanes Irma and Maria could offset some of Puerto Rico’s financial challenges and help spur renewed economic growth.”</p>
<p>But Puerto Rico was so broke to begin with that is difficult to know how much extra money will be left over after storm repairs. Even before the hurricane, the Puerto Rican power authority had estimated it would need $4 billion to upgrade aging infrastructure that was already causing frequent blackouts. Tens of millions of dollars were needed to fill overflowing landfills that make it unbearable to be outdoors in some towns.</p>
<p>Much depends on Congress, which is expected to take up a supplemental spending bill to help both Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.</p>
<p>After facing accusations that it was underestimating Puerto Rico’s plight, the Trump administration has been ramping up aid efforts. Heeding pleas that Puerto Rico was in no position to finance much of the relief efforts, the government agreed to pick up 100 percent of the costs of emergency assistance. U.S. states and territories typically cover 25 percent of the costs.</p>
<p>Trump, who has been criticized for mentioning Puerto Rico’s Wall Street debt in a time of crisis, brought it up again in a speech Friday.</p>
<p>“Ultimately the government of Puerto Rico will have to work with us to determine how this massive rebuilding effort — it will end up being one of the biggest ever — will be funded and organized, and what we will do with the tremendous amount of existing debt already on the island,” Trump said. “We will not rest, however, until the people of Puerto Rico are safe.”</p>
<p>__________</p>
<p>Associated Press Writer Nancy Benac in Washington contributed to this story.</p> | 2,414 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>In this file photo, McDonald\’s CEO Steve Easterbrook demonstrates an order kiosk in New York City. (Associated Press photo)</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The first McDonald’s in the state to offer self-service kiosks will celebrate its grand re-opening Saturday at the renovated location at San Pedro and Lomas.</p>
<p>Customers will use the two kiosks to place their orders, which will then be delivered to their tables.</p>
<p>The 5,000-square-foot restaurant was one of the original McDonald’s in the state.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | ABQ McDonald’s to get self-service kiosks | false | https://abqjournal.com/984644/abq-mcdonalds-to-get-self-service-kiosks.html | 2least
| ABQ McDonald’s to get self-service kiosks
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>In this file photo, McDonald\’s CEO Steve Easterbrook demonstrates an order kiosk in New York City. (Associated Press photo)</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The first McDonald’s in the state to offer self-service kiosks will celebrate its grand re-opening Saturday at the renovated location at San Pedro and Lomas.</p>
<p>Customers will use the two kiosks to place their orders, which will then be delivered to their tables.</p>
<p>The 5,000-square-foot restaurant was one of the original McDonald’s in the state.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 2,415 |
|
<p>LOUISVILLE (KY)The Courier-JournalBy PETER SMITH <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a> The Courier-Journal</p>
<p>Two men accusing a priest of sexual abuse are calling on the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville to reverse its decision to return him to ministry, saying they would be willing to tell their stories to the church board that reviews such cases.</p>
<p>Archbishop Thomas C. Kelly last week returned the Rev. Donald Ryan to his post as pastor of St. Denis Church after the archdiocese's review board concluded that it could not substantiate the abuse claims made against him in lawsuits filed in April.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>Ryan celebrated Mass this past weekend for the first time since being placed on leave in April and was warmly welcomed by his parish council.</p>
<p>But at an emotional news conference last night at the office of their attorney, the plaintiffs — Raymond Wilberding and Richard Lanham — continued to maintain that Ryan abused them while they were boys attending St. Columba Church in the 1960s.</p>
<p>"It just baffles me that the church has apologized to me and has acknowledged in public and print that I was a victim, and now they're telling me I'm a half-ass victim," said Wilberding, 46. "I'm not buying that."</p>
<p>Ryan could not be reached late last night.</p> | 2 accusers unhappy at return of priest | false | https://poynter.org/news/2-accusers-unhappy-return-priest | 2003-10-28 | 2least
| 2 accusers unhappy at return of priest
<p>LOUISVILLE (KY)The Courier-JournalBy PETER SMITH <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a> The Courier-Journal</p>
<p>Two men accusing a priest of sexual abuse are calling on the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville to reverse its decision to return him to ministry, saying they would be willing to tell their stories to the church board that reviews such cases.</p>
<p>Archbishop Thomas C. Kelly last week returned the Rev. Donald Ryan to his post as pastor of St. Denis Church after the archdiocese's review board concluded that it could not substantiate the abuse claims made against him in lawsuits filed in April.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>Ryan celebrated Mass this past weekend for the first time since being placed on leave in April and was warmly welcomed by his parish council.</p>
<p>But at an emotional news conference last night at the office of their attorney, the plaintiffs — Raymond Wilberding and Richard Lanham — continued to maintain that Ryan abused them while they were boys attending St. Columba Church in the 1960s.</p>
<p>"It just baffles me that the church has apologized to me and has acknowledged in public and print that I was a victim, and now they're telling me I'm a half-ass victim," said Wilberding, 46. "I'm not buying that."</p>
<p>Ryan could not be reached late last night.</p> | 2,416 |
<p>Published time: 14 Sep, 2017 14:47</p>
<p>A police officer repeatedly used her stun gun on a pregnant woman during a traffic stop in Mississippi. She was struck in the abdomen despite repeatedly pleading with officers not to hurt her.</p>
<p>Aviana White, 27, was in her brother’s car when he was pulled over for speeding and allegedly driving without a license on Monday, reports the <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article173028961.html" type="external">Miami Herald</a>.</p>
<p>White shouted “Wait, I’m pregnant,” and “Don’t Tase me, I’m pregnant!” eyewitness Alicia Burton, who captured some of the violent arrest on camera, told the Miami Herald.</p>
<p>“That was a situation that escalated that didn’t have to escalate the way it did,” Burton added.</p>
<p>WARNING: The following video contains explicit language. Viewer discretion advised.</p>
<p>Police Chief Tim Hendricks claims that the officer in charge became wary of White as the traffic stop progressed, as she was defiant and created a “heightened sense of awareness” after refusing to give her name.</p>
<p>It later emerged that White had an outstanding arrest warrant from 2014 for misdemeanor domestic violence.</p>
<p>The Pass Christian Police Department reportedly has four videotapes of the incident, which it’s declining to release as the criminal case against White is ongoing.</p>
<p>RT.com has reached out to the police department for comment.</p>
<p>After visiting the local hospital for a checkup, White did not show up for a pre-arranged interview with the police Tuesday morning. She was later arrested and charged with the felony of assaulting a police officer.</p>
<p>“She was very defiant with the officer, and that’s what led up to this,” Hendricks said. “The officer asked her repeatedly to stay in the car and she refused to do that.”</p>
<p>“I think the charges are justified,” he added.</p> | ‘Don’t tase me, I’m pregnant!’: Police deploy stun gun on mother-to-be (VIDEO) | false | https://newsline.com/dont-tase-me-im-pregnant-police-deploy-stun-gun-on-mother-to-be-video/ | 2017-09-14 | 1right-center
| ‘Don’t tase me, I’m pregnant!’: Police deploy stun gun on mother-to-be (VIDEO)
<p>Published time: 14 Sep, 2017 14:47</p>
<p>A police officer repeatedly used her stun gun on a pregnant woman during a traffic stop in Mississippi. She was struck in the abdomen despite repeatedly pleading with officers not to hurt her.</p>
<p>Aviana White, 27, was in her brother’s car when he was pulled over for speeding and allegedly driving without a license on Monday, reports the <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article173028961.html" type="external">Miami Herald</a>.</p>
<p>White shouted “Wait, I’m pregnant,” and “Don’t Tase me, I’m pregnant!” eyewitness Alicia Burton, who captured some of the violent arrest on camera, told the Miami Herald.</p>
<p>“That was a situation that escalated that didn’t have to escalate the way it did,” Burton added.</p>
<p>WARNING: The following video contains explicit language. Viewer discretion advised.</p>
<p>Police Chief Tim Hendricks claims that the officer in charge became wary of White as the traffic stop progressed, as she was defiant and created a “heightened sense of awareness” after refusing to give her name.</p>
<p>It later emerged that White had an outstanding arrest warrant from 2014 for misdemeanor domestic violence.</p>
<p>The Pass Christian Police Department reportedly has four videotapes of the incident, which it’s declining to release as the criminal case against White is ongoing.</p>
<p>RT.com has reached out to the police department for comment.</p>
<p>After visiting the local hospital for a checkup, White did not show up for a pre-arranged interview with the police Tuesday morning. She was later arrested and charged with the felony of assaulting a police officer.</p>
<p>“She was very defiant with the officer, and that’s what led up to this,” Hendricks said. “The officer asked her repeatedly to stay in the car and she refused to do that.”</p>
<p>“I think the charges are justified,” he added.</p> | 2,417 |
<p>I’m a huge fan of Individual Retirement Accounts for a multitude of reasons, but a main reason is that your investments can increase quick thanks to the tax-sheltered or tax-free growth they offer. They’re also wonderful assets to bequeath to heirs because the tax advantages they offer pass to your beneficiary.</p>
<p>I’m not alone: today there is more money in IRAs than in any other kind of retirement account- from government pensions to 401(k)s.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>According to the Investment Company Institute (ICI), nearly 49 million American households include one or more IRA owners. “Traditional” IRAs remain the most common with one out of three households owning at least one. But Roth IRAs, which first became available 15 years ago, are steadily gaining in popularity and can now be found in 17% of all households.</p>
<p>Are You “Traditional”?</p>
<p>Anyone can contribute to a traditional IRA, which was first introduced in 1974. This type of account offers the benefit of tax-deferred growth; you don’t owe income tax on the gains your investments earn until you withdraw them, presumably years in the future when you are retired.</p>
<p>If you meet the income requirement, you can deduct your annual contribution when computing your federal taxes. (1) On the other hand, if your income exceeds the limit, you can still make an after-tax, i.e. non-deductible, contribution.(2) Keep in mind that if you are married, it’s your joint income that matters--not how much you as an individual earn. Whether or not you can deduct your contribution, the earnings that your investments make grow tax-deferred.(3)</p>
<p>Is “Roth” Right for You?</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Roth IRAs reverse the tax treatment and you don’t have the option to deduct your contributions. However, if you meet the income requirements, all of the gains your investments earn can be withdrawn completely tax-free.</p>
<p>Roth IRA withdrawals have other advantages, such as reducing the taxation of Social Security benefits and the chance you’ll be hit with the new 3.8% Medicare surtax.</p>
<p>Follow the Money</p>
<p>Of course, making an annual contribution to either type of IRA requires having the extra cash to do so. According to ICI, in tax year 2011, “Although most U.S. households were eligible to make contributions, few did so. Only 16 percent of U.S. households contributed to any type of IRA.” In reality, most of the money in IRAs comes from rollovers, investments that are transferred from employer-sponsored retirement accounts when someone changes jobs or retires.</p>
<p>In fact, the primary reason people roll over retirement money to an IRA is that they want to continue to get the tax advantages their investments received when they were in their company plan.</p>
<p>Got Cash?</p>
<p>If you want to make an IRA contribution for 2012, you must do it before April 15. The maximum amount is $5,000. Individuals age 50 or older can add another $1,000, for a total of $6,000. Keep in mind that this is the most you can contribute; you don’t have to max out.</p>
<p>IRA contribution amounts are periodically adjusted for inflation, and starting with 2013 contributions, the maximum goes up to $5,500. The so-called “catch up” contribution will remain the same, i.e. $1,000. The window for making a 2013 contribution to an IRA runs from Jan. 1, 2013 through April 15, 2014.</p>
<p>But why wait until the last minute? The reality is, most of us don’t usually have an extra $5,500 sitting around on any given date. And if we did, we’d probably spend it on something offering more immediate gratification- a vacation, to reduce debt, etc.</p>
<p>The Auto-Pilot IRA</p>
<p>A less painful way to make your IRA contribution is to set up an automatic payment. You simply decide how much you can afford to what you can afford to pay each month- $100? $400? On the day you choose, this amount will be electronically deducted from your bank account by your IRA custodian. When April 15th rolls around next year, you don’t have to worry about coming up with a chunk of cash.</p>
<p>No Salary? No Problem! (If You’re Married)</p>
<p>If you are married and one spouse- for whatever reason- is not participating in the paid workforce, an IRA offers that individual the opportunity of having their own retirement account. You can qualify to contribute to a “spousal IRA” based upon the income that your partner is earning.</p>
<p>Kids Working?</p>
<p>If your adult-aged child plans to work over the summer, he or she can have an IRA. A tax-free Roth would be an excellent option because the money isn’t necessarily locked up until you’re 59½. After five years, qualified withdrawals would be tax and penalty-free in case money were needed for graduate school or a first-time home.</p>
<p>Of course, the best scenario is for the investments to remain in the account until retirement. Assuming an annual return of 7%, a single contribution of $5,000 made with summer break earnings this year, would grow to more than $105,000 45 years from now when your college student is approaching retirement. And if that $5,000 was in a Roth IRA, every cent would be tax-free.</p>
<p>If your college student will be working during summer break, why not propose that mom and dad offer to match-- up to the maximum- whatever their student contributes to an IRA? Or, parents or grandparents might fund the entire contribution to a traditional IRA and the student could take the tax deduction.</p>
<p>Opening an IRA for a qualifying child is a way to begin a conversation with a young adult about a variety of real-life financial issues- such as the need to save for retirement, investing in general and the value of compounding.</p>
<p>1. Most, but not all, states allow you to deduct a contribution to a traditional IRA, so check with a tax professional familiar with the laws of your state of residence. 2. The most current information on IRAs- including the income limits for both traditional and Roth accounts- can be found in <a href="http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p590.pdf" type="external">IRS Publication 590 Opens a New Window.</a>,&#160; 3. Your after-tax contributions are not subject to income tax again when withdrawn.</p> | Why Bother Contributing to an IRA? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/04/01/why-bother-contributing-to-ira-and-other-related-questions.html | 2016-03-06 | 0right
| Why Bother Contributing to an IRA?
<p>I’m a huge fan of Individual Retirement Accounts for a multitude of reasons, but a main reason is that your investments can increase quick thanks to the tax-sheltered or tax-free growth they offer. They’re also wonderful assets to bequeath to heirs because the tax advantages they offer pass to your beneficiary.</p>
<p>I’m not alone: today there is more money in IRAs than in any other kind of retirement account- from government pensions to 401(k)s.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>According to the Investment Company Institute (ICI), nearly 49 million American households include one or more IRA owners. “Traditional” IRAs remain the most common with one out of three households owning at least one. But Roth IRAs, which first became available 15 years ago, are steadily gaining in popularity and can now be found in 17% of all households.</p>
<p>Are You “Traditional”?</p>
<p>Anyone can contribute to a traditional IRA, which was first introduced in 1974. This type of account offers the benefit of tax-deferred growth; you don’t owe income tax on the gains your investments earn until you withdraw them, presumably years in the future when you are retired.</p>
<p>If you meet the income requirement, you can deduct your annual contribution when computing your federal taxes. (1) On the other hand, if your income exceeds the limit, you can still make an after-tax, i.e. non-deductible, contribution.(2) Keep in mind that if you are married, it’s your joint income that matters--not how much you as an individual earn. Whether or not you can deduct your contribution, the earnings that your investments make grow tax-deferred.(3)</p>
<p>Is “Roth” Right for You?</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Roth IRAs reverse the tax treatment and you don’t have the option to deduct your contributions. However, if you meet the income requirements, all of the gains your investments earn can be withdrawn completely tax-free.</p>
<p>Roth IRA withdrawals have other advantages, such as reducing the taxation of Social Security benefits and the chance you’ll be hit with the new 3.8% Medicare surtax.</p>
<p>Follow the Money</p>
<p>Of course, making an annual contribution to either type of IRA requires having the extra cash to do so. According to ICI, in tax year 2011, “Although most U.S. households were eligible to make contributions, few did so. Only 16 percent of U.S. households contributed to any type of IRA.” In reality, most of the money in IRAs comes from rollovers, investments that are transferred from employer-sponsored retirement accounts when someone changes jobs or retires.</p>
<p>In fact, the primary reason people roll over retirement money to an IRA is that they want to continue to get the tax advantages their investments received when they were in their company plan.</p>
<p>Got Cash?</p>
<p>If you want to make an IRA contribution for 2012, you must do it before April 15. The maximum amount is $5,000. Individuals age 50 or older can add another $1,000, for a total of $6,000. Keep in mind that this is the most you can contribute; you don’t have to max out.</p>
<p>IRA contribution amounts are periodically adjusted for inflation, and starting with 2013 contributions, the maximum goes up to $5,500. The so-called “catch up” contribution will remain the same, i.e. $1,000. The window for making a 2013 contribution to an IRA runs from Jan. 1, 2013 through April 15, 2014.</p>
<p>But why wait until the last minute? The reality is, most of us don’t usually have an extra $5,500 sitting around on any given date. And if we did, we’d probably spend it on something offering more immediate gratification- a vacation, to reduce debt, etc.</p>
<p>The Auto-Pilot IRA</p>
<p>A less painful way to make your IRA contribution is to set up an automatic payment. You simply decide how much you can afford to what you can afford to pay each month- $100? $400? On the day you choose, this amount will be electronically deducted from your bank account by your IRA custodian. When April 15th rolls around next year, you don’t have to worry about coming up with a chunk of cash.</p>
<p>No Salary? No Problem! (If You’re Married)</p>
<p>If you are married and one spouse- for whatever reason- is not participating in the paid workforce, an IRA offers that individual the opportunity of having their own retirement account. You can qualify to contribute to a “spousal IRA” based upon the income that your partner is earning.</p>
<p>Kids Working?</p>
<p>If your adult-aged child plans to work over the summer, he or she can have an IRA. A tax-free Roth would be an excellent option because the money isn’t necessarily locked up until you’re 59½. After five years, qualified withdrawals would be tax and penalty-free in case money were needed for graduate school or a first-time home.</p>
<p>Of course, the best scenario is for the investments to remain in the account until retirement. Assuming an annual return of 7%, a single contribution of $5,000 made with summer break earnings this year, would grow to more than $105,000 45 years from now when your college student is approaching retirement. And if that $5,000 was in a Roth IRA, every cent would be tax-free.</p>
<p>If your college student will be working during summer break, why not propose that mom and dad offer to match-- up to the maximum- whatever their student contributes to an IRA? Or, parents or grandparents might fund the entire contribution to a traditional IRA and the student could take the tax deduction.</p>
<p>Opening an IRA for a qualifying child is a way to begin a conversation with a young adult about a variety of real-life financial issues- such as the need to save for retirement, investing in general and the value of compounding.</p>
<p>1. Most, but not all, states allow you to deduct a contribution to a traditional IRA, so check with a tax professional familiar with the laws of your state of residence. 2. The most current information on IRAs- including the income limits for both traditional and Roth accounts- can be found in <a href="http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p590.pdf" type="external">IRS Publication 590 Opens a New Window.</a>,&#160; 3. Your after-tax contributions are not subject to income tax again when withdrawn.</p> | 2,418 |
<p>By Ken Camp</p>
<p>In a nation where mass incarceration policies have devastated poor and minority communities, people of faith and hope can bring about change, an advocate for criminal justice reform told a&#160; <a href="http://www.baylor.edu/" type="external">Baylor University</a>&#160;crowd.</p>
<p>“Injustice prevails where hopelessness persists,” said Bryan Stevenson, founding executive director of the&#160; <a href="http://eji.org/" type="external">Equal Justice Initiative</a>&#160;and author of Just Mercy. He spoke as part of a lecture series sponsored by Baylor’s Academy for Leadership Development.&#160;</p>
<p>Potential change agents need to understand the “power of proximity,” Stevenson said. When people see poverty and injustice for themselves, it changes them and they want to change society, he said.</p>
<p>“My career has been defined by my choice to be proximate,” said Stevenson, a Harvard Law School graduate who provides legal representation to death-row inmates and defendants treated unjustly due to their race, socio-economic status or age.</p>
<p>“The United States is a very different place today than it was 40 years ago,” he said, noting the incarcerated population has increased from 300,000 to 2.3 million in that time, and a disproportionate number are poor and racial minorities.</p>
<p>About 10,000 children are housed in adult jails and prisons, where they are at least five times more likely to be sexually assaulted than if they were in juvenile facilities, he noted. More than a dozen states have no minimum age for trying children as adults.</p>
<p>“We have allowed this big gap to exist” that enables privileged Americans to ignore vulnerable children who engage in destructive behavior because they have grown up in an atmosphere of abuse, neglect, violence and crushing poverty, he said.</p>
<p>Insulated from the reality of the daily lives of those children, the privileged find it easy to judge them as adults rather than recognize “all children are children,” he added.</p>
<p>Change the narrative</p>
<p>Meaningful transformation in the United States will require a willingness to “change the narrative,” Stevenson said.</p>
<p>“We’ve got to understand the narrative that sustains the status quo,” he said, adding, “it is a narrative rooted in the politics of fear and anger.”</p>
<p>Unlike other nations with a history of slavery, the United States uniquely created a narrative of racial differentiation and white supremacy to provide moral justification for it, he said.</p>
<p>Because Americans failed to address that underlying narrative, emancipation did not immediately result in justice for African-Americans.</p>
<p>“I don’t think slavery ended. I believe it just evolved,” he said, pointing to decades of what he described as terrorism against African-Americans.</p>
<p>Legacy of terror</p>
<p>Citing the Equal Justice Initiative’s recently released report, <a href="http://www.eji.org/lynchinginamerica" type="external">“Lynching in America: Confronting the Legacy of Racial Terror,”</a> Stevenson pointed to 20 lynching incidents in the Waco area — where Baylor is located&#160;—&#160;between the end of Reconstruction and 1950. &#160;</p>
<p />
<p>Surrounding McLennan County had the second-highest number of African-American lynchings among Texas counties, and it ranked No. 18 nationally, according to the report.</p>
<p>The Equal Justice Initiative wants to “change the visual landscape” by erecting markers acknowledging where lynchings occurred and the slave trade flourished — particularly in states that continue to honor the Confederacy, Stevenson said.</p>
<p>Maintain hope</p>
<p>Potential agents of change must exercise the faith necessary to maintain hope, he insisted.</p>
<p>“You’ve got to find a way to hold onto your hope. … Hope, for me, is believing in things you haven’t seen. … Stay hopeful about what you can do,” he said.</p>
<p>Hope-filled people need to exercise the courage and discipline to seek justice rather than seek comfort, he concluded.</p>
<p>“In order to change the world, you sometimes have to choose to do uncomfortable things. You have to choose to be in places that are uncomfortable,” he said.</p>
<p>Surrounded by brokenness</p>
<p>Working in the criminal justice system means being “surrounded by brokenness,” and that can be disheartening, he acknowledged. But Stevenson found courage and hope to continue when he examined himself and came to the conclusion: “I do what I do because I am broken, too.”</p>
<p>Proximity to hurting people, willingness to confront and change narratives of fear and anger, and tenacious hopefulness in seemingly hopeless and uncomfortable situations can leave a person broken, he said.</p>
<p>“But in that pain, you will understand something important,” he said. “You won’t see that big gulf between you and the broken. You will see yourself in their eyes.”</p>
<p>Change the metric</p>
<p>Stevenson challenged his audience to “change the metric” for measuring success. He recalled an encounter with an elderly man confined to a wheelchair.</p>
<p>“Do you know what you are doing? I’ll tell you what you’re doing. You’re beating the drum for justice,” the man told him.</p>
<p>Drawing Stevenson close, he proceeded to point to scars he collected during civil rights marches in Selma and Birmingham and registering black voters in the South.</p>
<p>“When people look at me, they think I’m just some old man in a wheelchair covered in cuts and bruises and scars. I’m going to tell you something,” he said. “These aren’t my cuts. These aren’t my bruises. These aren’t my scars. These are my medals of honor.”</p> | People of faith key to healing wounds of mass incarceration, expert says | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/people-of-faith-key-to-healing-wounds-of-mass-incarceration-expert-says/ | 3left-center
| People of faith key to healing wounds of mass incarceration, expert says
<p>By Ken Camp</p>
<p>In a nation where mass incarceration policies have devastated poor and minority communities, people of faith and hope can bring about change, an advocate for criminal justice reform told a&#160; <a href="http://www.baylor.edu/" type="external">Baylor University</a>&#160;crowd.</p>
<p>“Injustice prevails where hopelessness persists,” said Bryan Stevenson, founding executive director of the&#160; <a href="http://eji.org/" type="external">Equal Justice Initiative</a>&#160;and author of Just Mercy. He spoke as part of a lecture series sponsored by Baylor’s Academy for Leadership Development.&#160;</p>
<p>Potential change agents need to understand the “power of proximity,” Stevenson said. When people see poverty and injustice for themselves, it changes them and they want to change society, he said.</p>
<p>“My career has been defined by my choice to be proximate,” said Stevenson, a Harvard Law School graduate who provides legal representation to death-row inmates and defendants treated unjustly due to their race, socio-economic status or age.</p>
<p>“The United States is a very different place today than it was 40 years ago,” he said, noting the incarcerated population has increased from 300,000 to 2.3 million in that time, and a disproportionate number are poor and racial minorities.</p>
<p>About 10,000 children are housed in adult jails and prisons, where they are at least five times more likely to be sexually assaulted than if they were in juvenile facilities, he noted. More than a dozen states have no minimum age for trying children as adults.</p>
<p>“We have allowed this big gap to exist” that enables privileged Americans to ignore vulnerable children who engage in destructive behavior because they have grown up in an atmosphere of abuse, neglect, violence and crushing poverty, he said.</p>
<p>Insulated from the reality of the daily lives of those children, the privileged find it easy to judge them as adults rather than recognize “all children are children,” he added.</p>
<p>Change the narrative</p>
<p>Meaningful transformation in the United States will require a willingness to “change the narrative,” Stevenson said.</p>
<p>“We’ve got to understand the narrative that sustains the status quo,” he said, adding, “it is a narrative rooted in the politics of fear and anger.”</p>
<p>Unlike other nations with a history of slavery, the United States uniquely created a narrative of racial differentiation and white supremacy to provide moral justification for it, he said.</p>
<p>Because Americans failed to address that underlying narrative, emancipation did not immediately result in justice for African-Americans.</p>
<p>“I don’t think slavery ended. I believe it just evolved,” he said, pointing to decades of what he described as terrorism against African-Americans.</p>
<p>Legacy of terror</p>
<p>Citing the Equal Justice Initiative’s recently released report, <a href="http://www.eji.org/lynchinginamerica" type="external">“Lynching in America: Confronting the Legacy of Racial Terror,”</a> Stevenson pointed to 20 lynching incidents in the Waco area — where Baylor is located&#160;—&#160;between the end of Reconstruction and 1950. &#160;</p>
<p />
<p>Surrounding McLennan County had the second-highest number of African-American lynchings among Texas counties, and it ranked No. 18 nationally, according to the report.</p>
<p>The Equal Justice Initiative wants to “change the visual landscape” by erecting markers acknowledging where lynchings occurred and the slave trade flourished — particularly in states that continue to honor the Confederacy, Stevenson said.</p>
<p>Maintain hope</p>
<p>Potential agents of change must exercise the faith necessary to maintain hope, he insisted.</p>
<p>“You’ve got to find a way to hold onto your hope. … Hope, for me, is believing in things you haven’t seen. … Stay hopeful about what you can do,” he said.</p>
<p>Hope-filled people need to exercise the courage and discipline to seek justice rather than seek comfort, he concluded.</p>
<p>“In order to change the world, you sometimes have to choose to do uncomfortable things. You have to choose to be in places that are uncomfortable,” he said.</p>
<p>Surrounded by brokenness</p>
<p>Working in the criminal justice system means being “surrounded by brokenness,” and that can be disheartening, he acknowledged. But Stevenson found courage and hope to continue when he examined himself and came to the conclusion: “I do what I do because I am broken, too.”</p>
<p>Proximity to hurting people, willingness to confront and change narratives of fear and anger, and tenacious hopefulness in seemingly hopeless and uncomfortable situations can leave a person broken, he said.</p>
<p>“But in that pain, you will understand something important,” he said. “You won’t see that big gulf between you and the broken. You will see yourself in their eyes.”</p>
<p>Change the metric</p>
<p>Stevenson challenged his audience to “change the metric” for measuring success. He recalled an encounter with an elderly man confined to a wheelchair.</p>
<p>“Do you know what you are doing? I’ll tell you what you’re doing. You’re beating the drum for justice,” the man told him.</p>
<p>Drawing Stevenson close, he proceeded to point to scars he collected during civil rights marches in Selma and Birmingham and registering black voters in the South.</p>
<p>“When people look at me, they think I’m just some old man in a wheelchair covered in cuts and bruises and scars. I’m going to tell you something,” he said. “These aren’t my cuts. These aren’t my bruises. These aren’t my scars. These are my medals of honor.”</p> | 2,419 |
|
<p>BOSTON (AP) — Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou had a violent history of first-round finishes.</p>
<p>By the time their heavyweight bout reached the fifth round, Miocic and Ngannou huffed, puffed and trudged around the cage without a knockout in sight. Miocic set the UFC heavyweight record with his third straight successful title defense, turning the anticipated slugfest against Ngannou into a methodical and masterful ground-and-pound bout to win the main event of UFC 220 at TD Garden.</p>
<p>Miocic won 50-44 on all three scorecards early Sunday and was never seriously tested by the raw and unrefined Ngannou.</p>
<p />
<p>Miocic (18-2) and Ngannou (11-2) had UFC fans buzzing with perhaps the most-hyped heavyweight title bout since Brock Lesnar was the class of the division. Both fighters built their reputations on the strength of nasty knockouts, and Ngannou was coming off a GIF-worthy KO just seven weeks ago.</p>
<p>Both fighters were winded by the third round and Ngannou looked sleepy as he whiffed on a few blows in the fifth.</p>
<p>In the first round, the fight seemed like it could reach epic slugfest proportions. Miocic and Ngannou tagged each other several times, leaving each fighter staggered and seemingly on the brink of trouble.</p>
<p>“He’s a tough dude. Caught me in the first round but I took control,” Miocic said.</p>
<p>The fight never really picked up from there. Miocic spent the rest of the fight just banging away as Ngannou mostly covered up, hoping for one last desperate knockout punch.</p>
<p>Ngannou, a Cameroon native who this week criticized President Donald Trump for his profane description of African countries, never found that reserve power.</p>
<p>“I think I underestimated (him) a little bit,” said Ngannou, whose rise from homeless to heavyweight contender captivated a sport eager for a new star.</p>
<p>Miocic beat Fabrício Werdum to win the heavyweight title in May 2016, and followed with wins against Alistair Overeem, Junior dos Santos and now Ngannou to slug his way into the record book.</p>
<p>Miocic could lay claim as UFC’s greatest heavyweight.</p>
<p>“I mean I’m not the scariest, but I’m the baddest,” he said.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>CORMIER DEFENDS</p>
<p />
<p>Daniel Cormier locked a choke hold on Volkan Oezdemir with such force that the crowd exploded when the horn sounded to end the first round, thinking the fight was over.</p>
<p>Not yet.</p>
<p>Oezdemir was saved from submission briefly. But the inevitable defeat was just moments away.</p>
<p>With a Boston crowd roaring and chanting his initials, Cormier showed why he’s the best active light heavyweight fighter in UFC and dominated Oezdemir via TKO to retain the 205-pound belt.</p>
<p>Cormier raised his hands in triumph as UFC President Dana White wrapped the title belt around his waist. Cormier dropped to his knees on the canvas and said this fight was the validation he needed to prove he was worthy of being called champion.</p>
<p>The 38-year-old Cormier was awarded the light heavyweight title after Jon Jones was stripped of the championship when he failed his latest doping test. Cormier has failed to beat Jones in two bouts and could not shake the stigma of those outcomes.</p>
<p>Against Oezdemir, Cormier proved worthy of the title.</p>
<p>Cormier pinned Oezdemir against the canvas early in the second and finished him off with a series of shots to the face.</p>
<p>“I’ve lost twice to Jon Jones,” Cormier said. “I said coming in here that I felt like I was fighting for a vacant title again. I got the job done, so I’m the UFC champion again. I can’t ignore what happened in July. I’m a competitor. Even though I came in here as a champ, I needed a win to feel like one.”</p>
<p>UFC stripped Jones of the title after the California State Athletic Commission changed the result of Jones’ stoppage of Cormier at UFC 214 in July to a no-contest. Jones tested positive for the banned steroid Turinabol.</p>
<p>Cormier lamented leading up to the fight that he would never again fight Jones.</p>
<p>“I’ve done everything right and I’ve just been dragged down by this guy constantly,” Cormier said.</p>
<p>White suggested Cormier return to the heavyweight division and fight Stipe. But Cormier said he had little interest in the bout and friend and training partner Cain Velasquez should be next in line for a title fight.</p>
<p>Oezdemir got almost no reaction from the Boston crowd as he walked out draped in the Swiss flag. Cormier, known for getting split reactions, had fans standing on their feet, snapping pics and cheering. He took a lap around the canvas with his right arm raised in triumph, backed by “Let’s go DC!” chants.</p>
<p>“I proved I’m worthy of being called champion, but Volkan’s on that level,” Cormier said. “Every guy who makes it to this point is on the level. Volkan Oezdemir, I leave a piece of myself with every opponent. I’m glad you can take a piece back with you to Switzerland.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>UNDERCARD FUN</p>
<p />
<p>The TD Garden was packed and lit from the opening preliminary bout and the card was sprinkled with Massachusetts fighters to pander to the local crowd.</p>
<p>UFC grabbed hold of the Boston sports scene for a few hours Saturday night on the eve of the New England Patriots’ appearance in the AFC title game with a chance to go to the Super Bowl. The bars that surrounded the arena had UFC banners waving on a windy night. White, who lived in Boston for 10 years, is a die-hard city sports fan and attended a Celtics game this week and was set to attend the Patriots game Sunday. But for White, the main event of the week clearly took place inside the octagon, where the undisputed light heavyweight and heavyweight championships were defended on the same card for the first time since 2003.</p>
<p>UFC 220 featured two quick contenders for KO off the year — remember, Ngannou’s spectacular KO of Overeem happened in early December.</p>
<p />
<p>Abdul Razak Alhassan caught Sabah Homasi flush with a right uppercut in the first for one of the more spectacular knockouts in recent UFC history to win a welterweight bout. Razak Alhassan knocked Homasi cold with a vicious right that brought a gasp from the crowd and left Homasi motionless on his back for a couple of minutes. He eventually needed assistance to sit on a stool in his corner. Trainers placed bags of ice on his back and neck.</p>
<p>Razak Alhassan already beat Homasi in a controversial stoppage at UFC 218. The outcome of the immediate rematch left no doubt.</p>
<p>Calvin Kattar, a New England fighter who gave a shoutout to the Patriots, broke open a close fight against Shane Burgos and won via TKO in the third. Kattar staggered Burgos with a series of blows and nailed an uppercut that put Burgos on his back. Burgos absorbed more blows and briefly escaped until referee Dan Miragliotta stopped the fight.</p>
<p>BOSTON (AP) — Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou had a violent history of first-round finishes.</p>
<p>By the time their heavyweight bout reached the fifth round, Miocic and Ngannou huffed, puffed and trudged around the cage without a knockout in sight. Miocic set the UFC heavyweight record with his third straight successful title defense, turning the anticipated slugfest against Ngannou into a methodical and masterful ground-and-pound bout to win the main event of UFC 220 at TD Garden.</p>
<p>Miocic won 50-44 on all three scorecards early Sunday and was never seriously tested by the raw and unrefined Ngannou.</p>
<p />
<p>Miocic (18-2) and Ngannou (11-2) had UFC fans buzzing with perhaps the most-hyped heavyweight title bout since Brock Lesnar was the class of the division. Both fighters built their reputations on the strength of nasty knockouts, and Ngannou was coming off a GIF-worthy KO just seven weeks ago.</p>
<p>Both fighters were winded by the third round and Ngannou looked sleepy as he whiffed on a few blows in the fifth.</p>
<p>In the first round, the fight seemed like it could reach epic slugfest proportions. Miocic and Ngannou tagged each other several times, leaving each fighter staggered and seemingly on the brink of trouble.</p>
<p>“He’s a tough dude. Caught me in the first round but I took control,” Miocic said.</p>
<p>The fight never really picked up from there. Miocic spent the rest of the fight just banging away as Ngannou mostly covered up, hoping for one last desperate knockout punch.</p>
<p>Ngannou, a Cameroon native who this week criticized President Donald Trump for his profane description of African countries, never found that reserve power.</p>
<p>“I think I underestimated (him) a little bit,” said Ngannou, whose rise from homeless to heavyweight contender captivated a sport eager for a new star.</p>
<p>Miocic beat Fabrício Werdum to win the heavyweight title in May 2016, and followed with wins against Alistair Overeem, Junior dos Santos and now Ngannou to slug his way into the record book.</p>
<p>Miocic could lay claim as UFC’s greatest heavyweight.</p>
<p>“I mean I’m not the scariest, but I’m the baddest,” he said.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>CORMIER DEFENDS</p>
<p />
<p>Daniel Cormier locked a choke hold on Volkan Oezdemir with such force that the crowd exploded when the horn sounded to end the first round, thinking the fight was over.</p>
<p>Not yet.</p>
<p>Oezdemir was saved from submission briefly. But the inevitable defeat was just moments away.</p>
<p>With a Boston crowd roaring and chanting his initials, Cormier showed why he’s the best active light heavyweight fighter in UFC and dominated Oezdemir via TKO to retain the 205-pound belt.</p>
<p>Cormier raised his hands in triumph as UFC President Dana White wrapped the title belt around his waist. Cormier dropped to his knees on the canvas and said this fight was the validation he needed to prove he was worthy of being called champion.</p>
<p>The 38-year-old Cormier was awarded the light heavyweight title after Jon Jones was stripped of the championship when he failed his latest doping test. Cormier has failed to beat Jones in two bouts and could not shake the stigma of those outcomes.</p>
<p>Against Oezdemir, Cormier proved worthy of the title.</p>
<p>Cormier pinned Oezdemir against the canvas early in the second and finished him off with a series of shots to the face.</p>
<p>“I’ve lost twice to Jon Jones,” Cormier said. “I said coming in here that I felt like I was fighting for a vacant title again. I got the job done, so I’m the UFC champion again. I can’t ignore what happened in July. I’m a competitor. Even though I came in here as a champ, I needed a win to feel like one.”</p>
<p>UFC stripped Jones of the title after the California State Athletic Commission changed the result of Jones’ stoppage of Cormier at UFC 214 in July to a no-contest. Jones tested positive for the banned steroid Turinabol.</p>
<p>Cormier lamented leading up to the fight that he would never again fight Jones.</p>
<p>“I’ve done everything right and I’ve just been dragged down by this guy constantly,” Cormier said.</p>
<p>White suggested Cormier return to the heavyweight division and fight Stipe. But Cormier said he had little interest in the bout and friend and training partner Cain Velasquez should be next in line for a title fight.</p>
<p>Oezdemir got almost no reaction from the Boston crowd as he walked out draped in the Swiss flag. Cormier, known for getting split reactions, had fans standing on their feet, snapping pics and cheering. He took a lap around the canvas with his right arm raised in triumph, backed by “Let’s go DC!” chants.</p>
<p>“I proved I’m worthy of being called champion, but Volkan’s on that level,” Cormier said. “Every guy who makes it to this point is on the level. Volkan Oezdemir, I leave a piece of myself with every opponent. I’m glad you can take a piece back with you to Switzerland.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>UNDERCARD FUN</p>
<p />
<p>The TD Garden was packed and lit from the opening preliminary bout and the card was sprinkled with Massachusetts fighters to pander to the local crowd.</p>
<p>UFC grabbed hold of the Boston sports scene for a few hours Saturday night on the eve of the New England Patriots’ appearance in the AFC title game with a chance to go to the Super Bowl. The bars that surrounded the arena had UFC banners waving on a windy night. White, who lived in Boston for 10 years, is a die-hard city sports fan and attended a Celtics game this week and was set to attend the Patriots game Sunday. But for White, the main event of the week clearly took place inside the octagon, where the undisputed light heavyweight and heavyweight championships were defended on the same card for the first time since 2003.</p>
<p>UFC 220 featured two quick contenders for KO off the year — remember, Ngannou’s spectacular KO of Overeem happened in early December.</p>
<p />
<p>Abdul Razak Alhassan caught Sabah Homasi flush with a right uppercut in the first for one of the more spectacular knockouts in recent UFC history to win a welterweight bout. Razak Alhassan knocked Homasi cold with a vicious right that brought a gasp from the crowd and left Homasi motionless on his back for a couple of minutes. He eventually needed assistance to sit on a stool in his corner. Trainers placed bags of ice on his back and neck.</p>
<p>Razak Alhassan already beat Homasi in a controversial stoppage at UFC 218. The outcome of the immediate rematch left no doubt.</p>
<p>Calvin Kattar, a New England fighter who gave a shoutout to the Patriots, broke open a close fight against Shane Burgos and won via TKO in the third. Kattar staggered Burgos with a series of blows and nailed an uppercut that put Burgos on his back. Burgos absorbed more blows and briefly escaped until referee Dan Miragliotta stopped the fight.</p> | Miocic, Cormier defend heaviest titles at UFC 220 | false | https://apnews.com/6b7322b6c0c94efaa9eec3f4422b8744 | 2018-01-21 | 2least
| Miocic, Cormier defend heaviest titles at UFC 220
<p>BOSTON (AP) — Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou had a violent history of first-round finishes.</p>
<p>By the time their heavyweight bout reached the fifth round, Miocic and Ngannou huffed, puffed and trudged around the cage without a knockout in sight. Miocic set the UFC heavyweight record with his third straight successful title defense, turning the anticipated slugfest against Ngannou into a methodical and masterful ground-and-pound bout to win the main event of UFC 220 at TD Garden.</p>
<p>Miocic won 50-44 on all three scorecards early Sunday and was never seriously tested by the raw and unrefined Ngannou.</p>
<p />
<p>Miocic (18-2) and Ngannou (11-2) had UFC fans buzzing with perhaps the most-hyped heavyweight title bout since Brock Lesnar was the class of the division. Both fighters built their reputations on the strength of nasty knockouts, and Ngannou was coming off a GIF-worthy KO just seven weeks ago.</p>
<p>Both fighters were winded by the third round and Ngannou looked sleepy as he whiffed on a few blows in the fifth.</p>
<p>In the first round, the fight seemed like it could reach epic slugfest proportions. Miocic and Ngannou tagged each other several times, leaving each fighter staggered and seemingly on the brink of trouble.</p>
<p>“He’s a tough dude. Caught me in the first round but I took control,” Miocic said.</p>
<p>The fight never really picked up from there. Miocic spent the rest of the fight just banging away as Ngannou mostly covered up, hoping for one last desperate knockout punch.</p>
<p>Ngannou, a Cameroon native who this week criticized President Donald Trump for his profane description of African countries, never found that reserve power.</p>
<p>“I think I underestimated (him) a little bit,” said Ngannou, whose rise from homeless to heavyweight contender captivated a sport eager for a new star.</p>
<p>Miocic beat Fabrício Werdum to win the heavyweight title in May 2016, and followed with wins against Alistair Overeem, Junior dos Santos and now Ngannou to slug his way into the record book.</p>
<p>Miocic could lay claim as UFC’s greatest heavyweight.</p>
<p>“I mean I’m not the scariest, but I’m the baddest,” he said.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>CORMIER DEFENDS</p>
<p />
<p>Daniel Cormier locked a choke hold on Volkan Oezdemir with such force that the crowd exploded when the horn sounded to end the first round, thinking the fight was over.</p>
<p>Not yet.</p>
<p>Oezdemir was saved from submission briefly. But the inevitable defeat was just moments away.</p>
<p>With a Boston crowd roaring and chanting his initials, Cormier showed why he’s the best active light heavyweight fighter in UFC and dominated Oezdemir via TKO to retain the 205-pound belt.</p>
<p>Cormier raised his hands in triumph as UFC President Dana White wrapped the title belt around his waist. Cormier dropped to his knees on the canvas and said this fight was the validation he needed to prove he was worthy of being called champion.</p>
<p>The 38-year-old Cormier was awarded the light heavyweight title after Jon Jones was stripped of the championship when he failed his latest doping test. Cormier has failed to beat Jones in two bouts and could not shake the stigma of those outcomes.</p>
<p>Against Oezdemir, Cormier proved worthy of the title.</p>
<p>Cormier pinned Oezdemir against the canvas early in the second and finished him off with a series of shots to the face.</p>
<p>“I’ve lost twice to Jon Jones,” Cormier said. “I said coming in here that I felt like I was fighting for a vacant title again. I got the job done, so I’m the UFC champion again. I can’t ignore what happened in July. I’m a competitor. Even though I came in here as a champ, I needed a win to feel like one.”</p>
<p>UFC stripped Jones of the title after the California State Athletic Commission changed the result of Jones’ stoppage of Cormier at UFC 214 in July to a no-contest. Jones tested positive for the banned steroid Turinabol.</p>
<p>Cormier lamented leading up to the fight that he would never again fight Jones.</p>
<p>“I’ve done everything right and I’ve just been dragged down by this guy constantly,” Cormier said.</p>
<p>White suggested Cormier return to the heavyweight division and fight Stipe. But Cormier said he had little interest in the bout and friend and training partner Cain Velasquez should be next in line for a title fight.</p>
<p>Oezdemir got almost no reaction from the Boston crowd as he walked out draped in the Swiss flag. Cormier, known for getting split reactions, had fans standing on their feet, snapping pics and cheering. He took a lap around the canvas with his right arm raised in triumph, backed by “Let’s go DC!” chants.</p>
<p>“I proved I’m worthy of being called champion, but Volkan’s on that level,” Cormier said. “Every guy who makes it to this point is on the level. Volkan Oezdemir, I leave a piece of myself with every opponent. I’m glad you can take a piece back with you to Switzerland.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>UNDERCARD FUN</p>
<p />
<p>The TD Garden was packed and lit from the opening preliminary bout and the card was sprinkled with Massachusetts fighters to pander to the local crowd.</p>
<p>UFC grabbed hold of the Boston sports scene for a few hours Saturday night on the eve of the New England Patriots’ appearance in the AFC title game with a chance to go to the Super Bowl. The bars that surrounded the arena had UFC banners waving on a windy night. White, who lived in Boston for 10 years, is a die-hard city sports fan and attended a Celtics game this week and was set to attend the Patriots game Sunday. But for White, the main event of the week clearly took place inside the octagon, where the undisputed light heavyweight and heavyweight championships were defended on the same card for the first time since 2003.</p>
<p>UFC 220 featured two quick contenders for KO off the year — remember, Ngannou’s spectacular KO of Overeem happened in early December.</p>
<p />
<p>Abdul Razak Alhassan caught Sabah Homasi flush with a right uppercut in the first for one of the more spectacular knockouts in recent UFC history to win a welterweight bout. Razak Alhassan knocked Homasi cold with a vicious right that brought a gasp from the crowd and left Homasi motionless on his back for a couple of minutes. He eventually needed assistance to sit on a stool in his corner. Trainers placed bags of ice on his back and neck.</p>
<p>Razak Alhassan already beat Homasi in a controversial stoppage at UFC 218. The outcome of the immediate rematch left no doubt.</p>
<p>Calvin Kattar, a New England fighter who gave a shoutout to the Patriots, broke open a close fight against Shane Burgos and won via TKO in the third. Kattar staggered Burgos with a series of blows and nailed an uppercut that put Burgos on his back. Burgos absorbed more blows and briefly escaped until referee Dan Miragliotta stopped the fight.</p>
<p>BOSTON (AP) — Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou had a violent history of first-round finishes.</p>
<p>By the time their heavyweight bout reached the fifth round, Miocic and Ngannou huffed, puffed and trudged around the cage without a knockout in sight. Miocic set the UFC heavyweight record with his third straight successful title defense, turning the anticipated slugfest against Ngannou into a methodical and masterful ground-and-pound bout to win the main event of UFC 220 at TD Garden.</p>
<p>Miocic won 50-44 on all three scorecards early Sunday and was never seriously tested by the raw and unrefined Ngannou.</p>
<p />
<p>Miocic (18-2) and Ngannou (11-2) had UFC fans buzzing with perhaps the most-hyped heavyweight title bout since Brock Lesnar was the class of the division. Both fighters built their reputations on the strength of nasty knockouts, and Ngannou was coming off a GIF-worthy KO just seven weeks ago.</p>
<p>Both fighters were winded by the third round and Ngannou looked sleepy as he whiffed on a few blows in the fifth.</p>
<p>In the first round, the fight seemed like it could reach epic slugfest proportions. Miocic and Ngannou tagged each other several times, leaving each fighter staggered and seemingly on the brink of trouble.</p>
<p>“He’s a tough dude. Caught me in the first round but I took control,” Miocic said.</p>
<p>The fight never really picked up from there. Miocic spent the rest of the fight just banging away as Ngannou mostly covered up, hoping for one last desperate knockout punch.</p>
<p>Ngannou, a Cameroon native who this week criticized President Donald Trump for his profane description of African countries, never found that reserve power.</p>
<p>“I think I underestimated (him) a little bit,” said Ngannou, whose rise from homeless to heavyweight contender captivated a sport eager for a new star.</p>
<p>Miocic beat Fabrício Werdum to win the heavyweight title in May 2016, and followed with wins against Alistair Overeem, Junior dos Santos and now Ngannou to slug his way into the record book.</p>
<p>Miocic could lay claim as UFC’s greatest heavyweight.</p>
<p>“I mean I’m not the scariest, but I’m the baddest,” he said.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>CORMIER DEFENDS</p>
<p />
<p>Daniel Cormier locked a choke hold on Volkan Oezdemir with such force that the crowd exploded when the horn sounded to end the first round, thinking the fight was over.</p>
<p>Not yet.</p>
<p>Oezdemir was saved from submission briefly. But the inevitable defeat was just moments away.</p>
<p>With a Boston crowd roaring and chanting his initials, Cormier showed why he’s the best active light heavyweight fighter in UFC and dominated Oezdemir via TKO to retain the 205-pound belt.</p>
<p>Cormier raised his hands in triumph as UFC President Dana White wrapped the title belt around his waist. Cormier dropped to his knees on the canvas and said this fight was the validation he needed to prove he was worthy of being called champion.</p>
<p>The 38-year-old Cormier was awarded the light heavyweight title after Jon Jones was stripped of the championship when he failed his latest doping test. Cormier has failed to beat Jones in two bouts and could not shake the stigma of those outcomes.</p>
<p>Against Oezdemir, Cormier proved worthy of the title.</p>
<p>Cormier pinned Oezdemir against the canvas early in the second and finished him off with a series of shots to the face.</p>
<p>“I’ve lost twice to Jon Jones,” Cormier said. “I said coming in here that I felt like I was fighting for a vacant title again. I got the job done, so I’m the UFC champion again. I can’t ignore what happened in July. I’m a competitor. Even though I came in here as a champ, I needed a win to feel like one.”</p>
<p>UFC stripped Jones of the title after the California State Athletic Commission changed the result of Jones’ stoppage of Cormier at UFC 214 in July to a no-contest. Jones tested positive for the banned steroid Turinabol.</p>
<p>Cormier lamented leading up to the fight that he would never again fight Jones.</p>
<p>“I’ve done everything right and I’ve just been dragged down by this guy constantly,” Cormier said.</p>
<p>White suggested Cormier return to the heavyweight division and fight Stipe. But Cormier said he had little interest in the bout and friend and training partner Cain Velasquez should be next in line for a title fight.</p>
<p>Oezdemir got almost no reaction from the Boston crowd as he walked out draped in the Swiss flag. Cormier, known for getting split reactions, had fans standing on their feet, snapping pics and cheering. He took a lap around the canvas with his right arm raised in triumph, backed by “Let’s go DC!” chants.</p>
<p>“I proved I’m worthy of being called champion, but Volkan’s on that level,” Cormier said. “Every guy who makes it to this point is on the level. Volkan Oezdemir, I leave a piece of myself with every opponent. I’m glad you can take a piece back with you to Switzerland.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>UNDERCARD FUN</p>
<p />
<p>The TD Garden was packed and lit from the opening preliminary bout and the card was sprinkled with Massachusetts fighters to pander to the local crowd.</p>
<p>UFC grabbed hold of the Boston sports scene for a few hours Saturday night on the eve of the New England Patriots’ appearance in the AFC title game with a chance to go to the Super Bowl. The bars that surrounded the arena had UFC banners waving on a windy night. White, who lived in Boston for 10 years, is a die-hard city sports fan and attended a Celtics game this week and was set to attend the Patriots game Sunday. But for White, the main event of the week clearly took place inside the octagon, where the undisputed light heavyweight and heavyweight championships were defended on the same card for the first time since 2003.</p>
<p>UFC 220 featured two quick contenders for KO off the year — remember, Ngannou’s spectacular KO of Overeem happened in early December.</p>
<p />
<p>Abdul Razak Alhassan caught Sabah Homasi flush with a right uppercut in the first for one of the more spectacular knockouts in recent UFC history to win a welterweight bout. Razak Alhassan knocked Homasi cold with a vicious right that brought a gasp from the crowd and left Homasi motionless on his back for a couple of minutes. He eventually needed assistance to sit on a stool in his corner. Trainers placed bags of ice on his back and neck.</p>
<p>Razak Alhassan already beat Homasi in a controversial stoppage at UFC 218. The outcome of the immediate rematch left no doubt.</p>
<p>Calvin Kattar, a New England fighter who gave a shoutout to the Patriots, broke open a close fight against Shane Burgos and won via TKO in the third. Kattar staggered Burgos with a series of blows and nailed an uppercut that put Burgos on his back. Burgos absorbed more blows and briefly escaped until referee Dan Miragliotta stopped the fight.</p> | 2,420 |
<p>Shawn Helton <a href="http://wp.me/p3bwni-kG0" type="external">21st Century Wire</a></p>
<p>In the wake of the distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks that targeted many online companies and news agencies last week such as Amazon, Netflix, CNN and The New York Times, we learned&#160;that the threat intelligence firm <a href="https://www.flashpoint-intel.com/" type="external">Flashpoint</a>&#160;assumed the lead&#160;public relations role in the media after the event – just as they did following the highly suspicious Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando this past&#160;the summer.&#160;</p>
<p>Flashpoint is said to be investigating the nature of the alleged ‘hacker’&#160; <a href="" type="internal">DDoS attacks</a> against the networks of the internet traffic management company <a href="http://dyn.com/" type="external">Dyn</a> and many others just days ago.</p>
<p>Later in this report, we’ll focus our attention on the uncanny ties between the firm Flashpoint, the <a href="" type="internal">Orlando Shooting</a> and the massive internet related outage this past week.</p>
<p>But first things first, let’s review elements of the recent DDoS attack in America…</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /> ‘CYBER GAMES’ – The&#160;DDoS attack story falls in line with a designer western political agenda. (Photo Illustration 21WIRE’s Shawn Helton)</p>
<p>On October 21st, the technology blog <a href="https://www.engadget.com/2016/10/21/mirai-botnet-hacked-cameras-routers-internet-outage/" type="external">Engadget discussed the cyber attacks</a> that led to an internet outage across America and other parts of the world:</p>
<p>“Today’s nation-wide internet outage was enabled thanks to a Mirai botnet that hacked into connected home devices, according to security intelligence company Flashpoint. The distributed denial of service attack targeted Dyn, a large domain name server, and took down Twitter, Spotify, Reddit, The New York Times, Pinterest, PayPal and other major websites.</p>
<p>“Flashpoint has observed Mirai attack commands issued against Dyn infrastructure,” Flashpoint writes. “Analysts are still investigating the potential impact of this activity and it is not yet clear if other botnets are involved.”</p>
<p>The Engadget article mentioned above, further explained that security experts had been prepping the public for an eventual Mirai malware attack since its code open-source was leaked:</p>
<p>“The author of the Mirai malware made its code open-source, and security experts have been warning of a possible large-scale attack since this information came to light.”</p>
<p>In another <a href="https://krebsonsecurity.com/2016/10/source-code-for-iot-botnet-mirai-released/" type="external">media supplied back story</a>&#160;the&#160;coming ‘launch’ of Mirai was discussed through the security based website managed by Brian Krebs, on KrebsOnSecurity – who ironically, have&#160; <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Krebs" type="external">twice been the victim of cyber attacks over the years</a>:</p>
<p>“The source code that powers the “Internet of Things” (IoT) botnet responsible for launching the historically large&#160;distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack against KrebsOnSecurity last month has been publicly released.”</p>
<p>Interestingly, according to Bradley Barth, a senior reporter for the IT security <a href="http://www.scmagazine.com/leaked-mirai-source-code-already-being-tested-in-wild-analysis-suggests/article/547313/" type="external">online magazine SC</a>, the Mirai (supposedly leaked on September 30th) contains a very unique subset of characteristics that will not attack certain IP addresses such as the Department of Defense (DoD), the US Postal Service and consumer giant General Electric (GE) due to its coding:</p>
<p>“An Imperva analysis of the source code revealed several unique traits, including a hardcoded blacklist of IPs that the adversary did not want to attack, perhaps in order to keep a low profile. Some of these IPs belonged to the Department of Defense, the U.S. Postal Service and General Electric (GE).”</p>
<p>Though SC claims that the makers of Mirai may have been trying to keep a low profile, the recent DDoS attack attributed to the malware was as high-profile as you can get – so this begs the question, what was the real reason the malware creators put an IP blockade on the DoD, the Postal Service and GE?</p>
<p>Is it possible the malware originated from whitehat hackers associated with the US government, or from a major US defense contractor like GE?</p>
<p><a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/websites-down-possible-cyber-attack-230145" type="external">Politico disclosed</a>that the hacktivist avatar known as the ‘ <a href="https://twitter.com/newworldhacking" type="external">New World Hackers</a>‘ and Anonymous (now a ubiquitous brand which could be anyone or anything) were responsible for the DDoS attack on&#160;Twitter and others, adding that “U.S. officials preached caution, arguing there is still scant evidence to determine who is behind the attack, warning that both groups have falsely taken credit for high-profile attacks in the past.”</p>
<p>Flashpoint then declared that&#160;the group were “imposters,” as the article then referenced Obama’s recent <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/08/us/politics/us-formally-accuses-russia-of-stealing-dnc-emails.html?_r=0" type="external">far-fetched claims</a> that Russia is somehow ‘meddling’ with US elections through proxy hackers – once again, without offering any&#160;definitive proof.</p>
<p>Mainstream media pundits, including those&#160;at CNN, were also quick to dismiss the New World Hackers as an ‘illegitimate group’ who had “falsely taken credit for hacks in the past.”</p>
<p>Less than 24 hours after the nationwide DDoS cyberattack, former&#160;Homeland Security Advisor&#160;to United States President George W. Bush,&#160;Fran Townsend,&#160;(left photo) reignited the ever popular&#160;‘blame Russia’ meme (as we predicted) in a <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-world-hackers-claims-responsibility-internet-disruption-cyberattack/" type="external">CBS article</a>:</p>
<p>“CBS News homeland security consultant Fran Townsend pointed to Russia as a possible instigator.</p>
<p>“Is this sort of a brushback pitch from the Russians sending us a message that we should be pretty careful about engaging in this sort of cyberactivity with them because they are very capable,” she said.”</p>
<p>Townsend, also made the <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/nice-france-bastille-day-terror-attack-fran-townsend-michael-morell-truck-isis-tactic/" type="external">rounds on media</a> after the bizarre anomaly ridden <a href="" type="internal">Nice Attack</a>,&#160;pushing the mainstream narrative.</p>
<p>In our <a href="" type="internal">first report</a>&#160;regarding the alleged&#160;hack on America, we discussed the DDoS event and how it would be politicized by the media and US officials to blame Russia, feeding into the false claims that the Kremlin is somehow tampering with the 2016 US elections. We also talked about how the incident might be used to push a newer and more restrictive&#160;Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and its Senate doppelgänger, the&#160;PROTECT IP Act aka PIPA – dual provisions aimed at restricting the use of copyrighted material on the internet, which could have vast implications on free speech. It is also important to reiterate that one of the main issues concerning the US government as the cyberspshere grows is ISP ‘governance’ which is code for making ISP comply to any unlawful requests by Federal authorities – including cutting internet access to individuals or organizations deemed to be ‘undesirable’ by the state.</p>
<p>Last week’s choreographed cyber attack on popular websites and companies that allegedly spread through the Mirai botnet&#160;malware via the Internet of Things (IoT), has opened up&#160;another aspect of the story. This part of the narrative, appears to prey on the fears of the general public as IoT devices have become increasingly connected, setting the stage for new security protocols and new cyber security products to be conveniently rolled out at any future date following a cyber crisis.</p>
<p>It should be mentioned that the security firm Flashpoint&#160;was front and center (along with the internet performance company DYN) – weighing in on the situation&#160; <a href="" type="internal">prior to any US intelligence agency</a> making an official statement.</p>
<p>Flashpoint operates as an intelligence watchdog, as well as an intelligence asset, in addition to playing a PR role for some recent large-scale incidents – but who are they really?</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /> ‘PUZZLE PIECE’ – &#160;The security firm Flashpoint delves into the deep dark web for its clients. Screen Shot Image Source: ( <a href="https://www.flashpoint-intel.com/" type="external">flashpoint-intel</a>.com)</p>
<p>Meet Flashpoint</p>
<p>According to Flashpoint’s own website, they are a private cybersecurity firm that is composed of a&#160;“…diverse crew of white-hat hackers, engineers, analysts, salespeople, marketers, and operations specialists [who] are fearlessly problem-solving as we change the way organizations evaluate risk.”</p>
<p>The clandestine firm adds that their “premium Business Risk Intelligence solutions afford superlative access and visibility into opaque areas of the Internet, empowering our clients to defend themselves against various cyber and physical threats.”</p>
<p>While looking into Flashpoint’s investor section, we learn that the&#160;American venture capital firm <a href="http://greycroft.com/about/" type="external">Greycroft Partners</a>&#160;is listed among those contributing to the security firm. It turns out that Greycroft is also a large campaign contributor to the Clinton campaign, as discussed by <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hillary-clinton-hedge-fund_us_564a7530e4b06037734a8f0d" type="external">Huffinton Post</a>:</p>
<p>“At least eight hedge funders are <a href="https://www.hillaryclinton.com/about/hillblazers/" type="external">listed as Clinton fundraisers</a>, collecting more than $100,000 each for the campaign. These include Blair Effron of Centerview Partners, Marc Lasry of Avenue Capital Group, Orin Kramer of Boston Provident, Charles Myers of Evercore, Deven Parekh of Insight Venture Partners, Alan Patricof of Greycroft Partners, and Lisa Perry, who is married to Perry Capital CEO Richard Perry.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /> ‘FLARE UP’ – Here’s Flashpoint’s mission statement. (Screen Shot Image Source:&#160;( <a href="https://www.flashpoint-intel.com/" type="external">flashpoint-intel</a>.com)</p>
<p>While Greycroft‘s contributions to the Clinton campaign are somewhat of a sidebar to the recent internet outage attack, it does represent another uncanny business and political connection that links a secretive firm (Flashpoint) that appears to be taking a large role in steering the public’s perception over certain incidents occurring in America. You have to wonder if this is really just a coincidence?</p>
<p>By this, we&#160;can see just how tight the elite inner circle is, with a small collective of corporate and media gatekeeper – and their political operatives – all carefully stage-managing the narrative around almost every high-profile controversial event in America, and also in Europe too.</p>
<p>From America’s largest mass shooting to America’s largest Internet outage?</p>
<p>On June 24th,&#160;less than two weeks after the Orlando shooting at Pulse Nightclub, Flashpoint was said to <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/orlando-nightclub-massacre/al-qaeda-orlando-shooter-should-have-targeted-whites-n598576" type="external">have acted</a> as a ‘translator’ for al Qaeda’s terror publication Inspire, which&#160;according to the security-based firm, appeared to be ‘claiming some responsibility’ for the shooting even though the purported shooter&#160;Omar Mateen was allegedly linked to ISIS.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/orlando-nightclub-massacre/al-qaeda-orlando-shooter-should-have-targeted-whites-n598576" type="external">NBC report</a> stated the following on June 24th:</p>
<p>“Flashpoint co-founder Evan Kohlmann, an NBC terrorism analyst pointed out that even though Mateen cited ISIS as the inspiration for the attack, al Qaeda seemed to be claiming some responsibility because it has called for “lone wolf” attacks against the West.”</p>
<p>“Kohlmann said the statement — which lauded Mateen as a heroic “lone jihad” holy warrior — appears to be an official Inspire release. But he said it was far less professional than others, including one after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings that went to great lengths to praise the Tsarnaev brothers, who said they learned to make their explosive devices from another Inspire publication.”</p>
<p>The purported terror publication Inspire has come under fire in recent years as some critics charge that the magazine may actually be a <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/iran-cia-writes-al-qaeda-magazine-inspire/story?id=14632504" type="external">CIA creation</a>, something which is echoed through its ties to the&#160; <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/anwar-al-awlaki-radical-islamic-cleric-wanted-cia-ate-lunch-pentagon-9-11-report-article-1.190917" type="external">dubious AQAP terror operation</a>.</p>
<p>During our summertime investigation into the suspicious events at the Orlando Pulse nightclub, we found evidence that&#160;Omar Mateen’s worldwide security firm <a href="http://www.g4s.us/" type="external">G4S</a>&#160;was a client of the crisis staging company called <a href="http://crisiscast.com/" type="external">Crisis Cast</a>.&#160;The following is a passage from that report:</p>
<p>“Truth is often stranger than fiction when looking at the bizarre phenomena surrounding many mass casualty incidents – and the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting was no exception.</p>
<p>It was recently revealed that the world’s largest security firm G4S, who had employed the man named in the Orlando pulse nightclub shooting, Omar Mateen –&#160;is a client of the&#160;mass casualty staging company called&#160;CrisisCast.”</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /> ‘STAGING REALITY’ – CrisisCast specializes in replicating mass casualty events. (Screen Shot Image Source&#160; <a href="http://crisiscast.com/" type="external">crisiscast</a>)</p>
<p>Casting Crisis &amp; Training for Disaster</p>
<p>“The heavily-stylized company <a href="http://crisiscast.com/" type="external">CrisisCast</a>, appears to be a revamped version of the&#160; <a href="https://memoryholeblog.com/2015/06/19/where-have-all-the-crisis-actors-gone/" type="external">Visionbox Crisis Actors</a>&#160;project (a crisis actor production emerging after Sandy Hook), with a professional team of actors, elaborate film crews, expert producers and theatrical effects makeup squads mimicking real-life injuries (additional prosthetics) – all focused to deliver a simulated crisis-likereality to the public,&#160;later to be managed accordingly through their public relations division via various forms of social media.”</p>
<p>RELATED: <a href="" type="internal">(VIDEO) ‘Active Shooter’ and ‘Terror’ Drills: The Truth WILL Shock You</a></p>
<p>Interestingly, another client listed on the Crisis Cast website appeared to be another company named Flashpoint, apparently unrelated to the internet based security firm…</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /> ‘MILITARIZED’ – Another company also called Flashpoint, was tacitly connected to the Orlando shooting via Crisis Cast. (Screen Shot Image Source&#160; <a href="http://crisiscast.com/" type="external">crisiscast</a>)</p>
<p>There is nothing concrete linking the two Flashpoint companies but the very fact that both are tied to the Orlando shooting, albeit in an opaque way, suggests there could be some deeper connection.</p>
<p>Is “Flashpoint – Reality Based Training,” the militarized counterpart to the cybersecurity firm Flashpoint?</p>
<p>Here’s <a href="http://www.flashpointrbt.com/rbt-exercises/" type="external">Flashpoint – Reality Based Training</a> describing the reality they construct for their clients, which appears to fall in line with the internet based Flashpoint:</p>
<p>“Environments will need to become more realistic – the sights, sounds and smells will increase in fidelity.&#160; We believe the requirement for combined live and virtual events will increase and that these will be networked geographically by governments, military and NGOs. We also anticipate an increase in the requirement for us to track trainees and deliver accurate after-action reviews as part of our Reality Based Training.”</p>
<p>What’s next in a world with designed outcomes, false narratives, uncanny connections and staged crises?</p>
<p>All we have to do is follow the money.</p>
<p>READ MORE ORLANDO SHOOTING NEWS AT: <a href="" type="internal">21st Century Wire Orlando Files</a></p>
<p>SUPPORT OUR&#160;WORK –&#160;SUBSCRIBE &amp; BECOME A&#160;MEMBER&#160; <a href="https://21wire.tv/membership/plans/" type="external">@21WIRE.TV</a></p> | Insider Firm ‘FlashPoint’ tied to Orlando Shooting, Now Investigating DDoS Hack on America | true | http://21stcenturywire.com/2016/10/25/insider-firm-flashpoint-tied-to-orlando-shooting-investigating-ddos-hack-on-america/ | 2016-10-25 | 4left
| Insider Firm ‘FlashPoint’ tied to Orlando Shooting, Now Investigating DDoS Hack on America
<p>Shawn Helton <a href="http://wp.me/p3bwni-kG0" type="external">21st Century Wire</a></p>
<p>In the wake of the distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks that targeted many online companies and news agencies last week such as Amazon, Netflix, CNN and The New York Times, we learned&#160;that the threat intelligence firm <a href="https://www.flashpoint-intel.com/" type="external">Flashpoint</a>&#160;assumed the lead&#160;public relations role in the media after the event – just as they did following the highly suspicious Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando this past&#160;the summer.&#160;</p>
<p>Flashpoint is said to be investigating the nature of the alleged ‘hacker’&#160; <a href="" type="internal">DDoS attacks</a> against the networks of the internet traffic management company <a href="http://dyn.com/" type="external">Dyn</a> and many others just days ago.</p>
<p>Later in this report, we’ll focus our attention on the uncanny ties between the firm Flashpoint, the <a href="" type="internal">Orlando Shooting</a> and the massive internet related outage this past week.</p>
<p>But first things first, let’s review elements of the recent DDoS attack in America…</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /> ‘CYBER GAMES’ – The&#160;DDoS attack story falls in line with a designer western political agenda. (Photo Illustration 21WIRE’s Shawn Helton)</p>
<p>On October 21st, the technology blog <a href="https://www.engadget.com/2016/10/21/mirai-botnet-hacked-cameras-routers-internet-outage/" type="external">Engadget discussed the cyber attacks</a> that led to an internet outage across America and other parts of the world:</p>
<p>“Today’s nation-wide internet outage was enabled thanks to a Mirai botnet that hacked into connected home devices, according to security intelligence company Flashpoint. The distributed denial of service attack targeted Dyn, a large domain name server, and took down Twitter, Spotify, Reddit, The New York Times, Pinterest, PayPal and other major websites.</p>
<p>“Flashpoint has observed Mirai attack commands issued against Dyn infrastructure,” Flashpoint writes. “Analysts are still investigating the potential impact of this activity and it is not yet clear if other botnets are involved.”</p>
<p>The Engadget article mentioned above, further explained that security experts had been prepping the public for an eventual Mirai malware attack since its code open-source was leaked:</p>
<p>“The author of the Mirai malware made its code open-source, and security experts have been warning of a possible large-scale attack since this information came to light.”</p>
<p>In another <a href="https://krebsonsecurity.com/2016/10/source-code-for-iot-botnet-mirai-released/" type="external">media supplied back story</a>&#160;the&#160;coming ‘launch’ of Mirai was discussed through the security based website managed by Brian Krebs, on KrebsOnSecurity – who ironically, have&#160; <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Krebs" type="external">twice been the victim of cyber attacks over the years</a>:</p>
<p>“The source code that powers the “Internet of Things” (IoT) botnet responsible for launching the historically large&#160;distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack against KrebsOnSecurity last month has been publicly released.”</p>
<p>Interestingly, according to Bradley Barth, a senior reporter for the IT security <a href="http://www.scmagazine.com/leaked-mirai-source-code-already-being-tested-in-wild-analysis-suggests/article/547313/" type="external">online magazine SC</a>, the Mirai (supposedly leaked on September 30th) contains a very unique subset of characteristics that will not attack certain IP addresses such as the Department of Defense (DoD), the US Postal Service and consumer giant General Electric (GE) due to its coding:</p>
<p>“An Imperva analysis of the source code revealed several unique traits, including a hardcoded blacklist of IPs that the adversary did not want to attack, perhaps in order to keep a low profile. Some of these IPs belonged to the Department of Defense, the U.S. Postal Service and General Electric (GE).”</p>
<p>Though SC claims that the makers of Mirai may have been trying to keep a low profile, the recent DDoS attack attributed to the malware was as high-profile as you can get – so this begs the question, what was the real reason the malware creators put an IP blockade on the DoD, the Postal Service and GE?</p>
<p>Is it possible the malware originated from whitehat hackers associated with the US government, or from a major US defense contractor like GE?</p>
<p><a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/websites-down-possible-cyber-attack-230145" type="external">Politico disclosed</a>that the hacktivist avatar known as the ‘ <a href="https://twitter.com/newworldhacking" type="external">New World Hackers</a>‘ and Anonymous (now a ubiquitous brand which could be anyone or anything) were responsible for the DDoS attack on&#160;Twitter and others, adding that “U.S. officials preached caution, arguing there is still scant evidence to determine who is behind the attack, warning that both groups have falsely taken credit for high-profile attacks in the past.”</p>
<p>Flashpoint then declared that&#160;the group were “imposters,” as the article then referenced Obama’s recent <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/08/us/politics/us-formally-accuses-russia-of-stealing-dnc-emails.html?_r=0" type="external">far-fetched claims</a> that Russia is somehow ‘meddling’ with US elections through proxy hackers – once again, without offering any&#160;definitive proof.</p>
<p>Mainstream media pundits, including those&#160;at CNN, were also quick to dismiss the New World Hackers as an ‘illegitimate group’ who had “falsely taken credit for hacks in the past.”</p>
<p>Less than 24 hours after the nationwide DDoS cyberattack, former&#160;Homeland Security Advisor&#160;to United States President George W. Bush,&#160;Fran Townsend,&#160;(left photo) reignited the ever popular&#160;‘blame Russia’ meme (as we predicted) in a <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-world-hackers-claims-responsibility-internet-disruption-cyberattack/" type="external">CBS article</a>:</p>
<p>“CBS News homeland security consultant Fran Townsend pointed to Russia as a possible instigator.</p>
<p>“Is this sort of a brushback pitch from the Russians sending us a message that we should be pretty careful about engaging in this sort of cyberactivity with them because they are very capable,” she said.”</p>
<p>Townsend, also made the <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/nice-france-bastille-day-terror-attack-fran-townsend-michael-morell-truck-isis-tactic/" type="external">rounds on media</a> after the bizarre anomaly ridden <a href="" type="internal">Nice Attack</a>,&#160;pushing the mainstream narrative.</p>
<p>In our <a href="" type="internal">first report</a>&#160;regarding the alleged&#160;hack on America, we discussed the DDoS event and how it would be politicized by the media and US officials to blame Russia, feeding into the false claims that the Kremlin is somehow tampering with the 2016 US elections. We also talked about how the incident might be used to push a newer and more restrictive&#160;Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and its Senate doppelgänger, the&#160;PROTECT IP Act aka PIPA – dual provisions aimed at restricting the use of copyrighted material on the internet, which could have vast implications on free speech. It is also important to reiterate that one of the main issues concerning the US government as the cyberspshere grows is ISP ‘governance’ which is code for making ISP comply to any unlawful requests by Federal authorities – including cutting internet access to individuals or organizations deemed to be ‘undesirable’ by the state.</p>
<p>Last week’s choreographed cyber attack on popular websites and companies that allegedly spread through the Mirai botnet&#160;malware via the Internet of Things (IoT), has opened up&#160;another aspect of the story. This part of the narrative, appears to prey on the fears of the general public as IoT devices have become increasingly connected, setting the stage for new security protocols and new cyber security products to be conveniently rolled out at any future date following a cyber crisis.</p>
<p>It should be mentioned that the security firm Flashpoint&#160;was front and center (along with the internet performance company DYN) – weighing in on the situation&#160; <a href="" type="internal">prior to any US intelligence agency</a> making an official statement.</p>
<p>Flashpoint operates as an intelligence watchdog, as well as an intelligence asset, in addition to playing a PR role for some recent large-scale incidents – but who are they really?</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /> ‘PUZZLE PIECE’ – &#160;The security firm Flashpoint delves into the deep dark web for its clients. Screen Shot Image Source: ( <a href="https://www.flashpoint-intel.com/" type="external">flashpoint-intel</a>.com)</p>
<p>Meet Flashpoint</p>
<p>According to Flashpoint’s own website, they are a private cybersecurity firm that is composed of a&#160;“…diverse crew of white-hat hackers, engineers, analysts, salespeople, marketers, and operations specialists [who] are fearlessly problem-solving as we change the way organizations evaluate risk.”</p>
<p>The clandestine firm adds that their “premium Business Risk Intelligence solutions afford superlative access and visibility into opaque areas of the Internet, empowering our clients to defend themselves against various cyber and physical threats.”</p>
<p>While looking into Flashpoint’s investor section, we learn that the&#160;American venture capital firm <a href="http://greycroft.com/about/" type="external">Greycroft Partners</a>&#160;is listed among those contributing to the security firm. It turns out that Greycroft is also a large campaign contributor to the Clinton campaign, as discussed by <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hillary-clinton-hedge-fund_us_564a7530e4b06037734a8f0d" type="external">Huffinton Post</a>:</p>
<p>“At least eight hedge funders are <a href="https://www.hillaryclinton.com/about/hillblazers/" type="external">listed as Clinton fundraisers</a>, collecting more than $100,000 each for the campaign. These include Blair Effron of Centerview Partners, Marc Lasry of Avenue Capital Group, Orin Kramer of Boston Provident, Charles Myers of Evercore, Deven Parekh of Insight Venture Partners, Alan Patricof of Greycroft Partners, and Lisa Perry, who is married to Perry Capital CEO Richard Perry.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /> ‘FLARE UP’ – Here’s Flashpoint’s mission statement. (Screen Shot Image Source:&#160;( <a href="https://www.flashpoint-intel.com/" type="external">flashpoint-intel</a>.com)</p>
<p>While Greycroft‘s contributions to the Clinton campaign are somewhat of a sidebar to the recent internet outage attack, it does represent another uncanny business and political connection that links a secretive firm (Flashpoint) that appears to be taking a large role in steering the public’s perception over certain incidents occurring in America. You have to wonder if this is really just a coincidence?</p>
<p>By this, we&#160;can see just how tight the elite inner circle is, with a small collective of corporate and media gatekeeper – and their political operatives – all carefully stage-managing the narrative around almost every high-profile controversial event in America, and also in Europe too.</p>
<p>From America’s largest mass shooting to America’s largest Internet outage?</p>
<p>On June 24th,&#160;less than two weeks after the Orlando shooting at Pulse Nightclub, Flashpoint was said to <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/orlando-nightclub-massacre/al-qaeda-orlando-shooter-should-have-targeted-whites-n598576" type="external">have acted</a> as a ‘translator’ for al Qaeda’s terror publication Inspire, which&#160;according to the security-based firm, appeared to be ‘claiming some responsibility’ for the shooting even though the purported shooter&#160;Omar Mateen was allegedly linked to ISIS.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/orlando-nightclub-massacre/al-qaeda-orlando-shooter-should-have-targeted-whites-n598576" type="external">NBC report</a> stated the following on June 24th:</p>
<p>“Flashpoint co-founder Evan Kohlmann, an NBC terrorism analyst pointed out that even though Mateen cited ISIS as the inspiration for the attack, al Qaeda seemed to be claiming some responsibility because it has called for “lone wolf” attacks against the West.”</p>
<p>“Kohlmann said the statement — which lauded Mateen as a heroic “lone jihad” holy warrior — appears to be an official Inspire release. But he said it was far less professional than others, including one after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings that went to great lengths to praise the Tsarnaev brothers, who said they learned to make their explosive devices from another Inspire publication.”</p>
<p>The purported terror publication Inspire has come under fire in recent years as some critics charge that the magazine may actually be a <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/iran-cia-writes-al-qaeda-magazine-inspire/story?id=14632504" type="external">CIA creation</a>, something which is echoed through its ties to the&#160; <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/anwar-al-awlaki-radical-islamic-cleric-wanted-cia-ate-lunch-pentagon-9-11-report-article-1.190917" type="external">dubious AQAP terror operation</a>.</p>
<p>During our summertime investigation into the suspicious events at the Orlando Pulse nightclub, we found evidence that&#160;Omar Mateen’s worldwide security firm <a href="http://www.g4s.us/" type="external">G4S</a>&#160;was a client of the crisis staging company called <a href="http://crisiscast.com/" type="external">Crisis Cast</a>.&#160;The following is a passage from that report:</p>
<p>“Truth is often stranger than fiction when looking at the bizarre phenomena surrounding many mass casualty incidents – and the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting was no exception.</p>
<p>It was recently revealed that the world’s largest security firm G4S, who had employed the man named in the Orlando pulse nightclub shooting, Omar Mateen –&#160;is a client of the&#160;mass casualty staging company called&#160;CrisisCast.”</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /> ‘STAGING REALITY’ – CrisisCast specializes in replicating mass casualty events. (Screen Shot Image Source&#160; <a href="http://crisiscast.com/" type="external">crisiscast</a>)</p>
<p>Casting Crisis &amp; Training for Disaster</p>
<p>“The heavily-stylized company <a href="http://crisiscast.com/" type="external">CrisisCast</a>, appears to be a revamped version of the&#160; <a href="https://memoryholeblog.com/2015/06/19/where-have-all-the-crisis-actors-gone/" type="external">Visionbox Crisis Actors</a>&#160;project (a crisis actor production emerging after Sandy Hook), with a professional team of actors, elaborate film crews, expert producers and theatrical effects makeup squads mimicking real-life injuries (additional prosthetics) – all focused to deliver a simulated crisis-likereality to the public,&#160;later to be managed accordingly through their public relations division via various forms of social media.”</p>
<p>RELATED: <a href="" type="internal">(VIDEO) ‘Active Shooter’ and ‘Terror’ Drills: The Truth WILL Shock You</a></p>
<p>Interestingly, another client listed on the Crisis Cast website appeared to be another company named Flashpoint, apparently unrelated to the internet based security firm…</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /> ‘MILITARIZED’ – Another company also called Flashpoint, was tacitly connected to the Orlando shooting via Crisis Cast. (Screen Shot Image Source&#160; <a href="http://crisiscast.com/" type="external">crisiscast</a>)</p>
<p>There is nothing concrete linking the two Flashpoint companies but the very fact that both are tied to the Orlando shooting, albeit in an opaque way, suggests there could be some deeper connection.</p>
<p>Is “Flashpoint – Reality Based Training,” the militarized counterpart to the cybersecurity firm Flashpoint?</p>
<p>Here’s <a href="http://www.flashpointrbt.com/rbt-exercises/" type="external">Flashpoint – Reality Based Training</a> describing the reality they construct for their clients, which appears to fall in line with the internet based Flashpoint:</p>
<p>“Environments will need to become more realistic – the sights, sounds and smells will increase in fidelity.&#160; We believe the requirement for combined live and virtual events will increase and that these will be networked geographically by governments, military and NGOs. We also anticipate an increase in the requirement for us to track trainees and deliver accurate after-action reviews as part of our Reality Based Training.”</p>
<p>What’s next in a world with designed outcomes, false narratives, uncanny connections and staged crises?</p>
<p>All we have to do is follow the money.</p>
<p>READ MORE ORLANDO SHOOTING NEWS AT: <a href="" type="internal">21st Century Wire Orlando Files</a></p>
<p>SUPPORT OUR&#160;WORK –&#160;SUBSCRIBE &amp; BECOME A&#160;MEMBER&#160; <a href="https://21wire.tv/membership/plans/" type="external">@21WIRE.TV</a></p> | 2,421 |
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<p>WASHINGTON — Emerging from his first meeting with President Donald Trump, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Monday he was assured the U.S. will accelerate its support for his country’s struggle against the Islamic State group.</p>
<p>“I think they are prepared to do more” than the administration of President Barack Obama, he said. Obama was reluctant to commit large numbers of U.S. troops to combatting IS in Iraq, but his approach, which relied on training and supporting local forces, has succeeded in pushing the militants out of much of the territory they once held.</p>
<p>Speaking at a Washington think tank shortly after his White House visit, al-Abadi said he got the impression that the Trump administration will take a more aggressive approach, although he did not say what that might entail.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“I think this administration wants to be more engaged in fighting terrorism,” he said. “I sense a difference in terms of being head-to-head with terrorism.” He added, however, that military force is not necessarily the most effective tool. “There are better ways for defeating terrorism.”</p>
<p>Asked whether he had seen specific Trump administration improvements to the previous administration’s approach, al-Abadi said: “To be honest, I haven’t seen a full plan. I know there is a plan. I haven’t seen it. We have our own plan.”</p>
<p>Defense Secretary Jim Mattis recently presented Trump with the outlines of a comprehensive approach to defeating IS and other extremist groups on a global scale, but specifics are yet to be worked out. Officials have indicated that the approach is unlikely to depart radically from the Obama strategy, at least with regard to the ongoing efforts in Iraq and Syria.</p>
<p>Al-Abadi appeared at the U.S. Institute of Peace, a federally funded think tank. The prime minister spoke optimistically of completing the recapture of Iraqi lands still held by IS. He said government forces, working effectively with Kurdish forces known as Peshmerga and supported by American airpower and military advisers, are on the brink of fully liberating Mosul, the northern city that has been the Islamic State group’s main Iraqi stronghold since 2014.</p>
<p>He spoke later at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce dinner with U.S. business executives, along with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.</p>
<p>In brief remarks in the presence of reporters during al-Abadi’s White House visit, Trump raised his frequently stated objections to the Iran nuclear deal negotiated by his predecessor, but did not talk specifically about how he intends to support Iraq.</p>
<p>“One of the things I did ask is, ‘Why did President Obama sign that agreement with Iran?’ because nobody has been able to figure that one out,” Trump said. “But maybe someday we’ll be able to figure that one out.”</p>
<p>Trump said he hopes to address the “vacuum” that was created when IS moved into Iraq and added that “we shouldn’t have gone in” to Iraq in the first place.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>In readout of the pair’s meeting, the White House said the United States and Iraq “stand fully committed to a comprehensive partnership, rooted in mutual respect” and agreed to “pursue a long-term partnership to decisively root out terrorism from Iraq and strengthen the Iraqi military and other key institutions.”</p>
<p>“Although ISIS/Da’esh remains a dangerous enemy, we are confident it will be defeated,” they said.</p>
<p>Trump campaigned on a promise to dramatically ramp up the assault on IS and has vowed to eradicate it.</p>
<p>Trump greeted al-Abadi in the Oval Office shortly after FBI Director James Comey said the FBI and Justice Department have no information to substantiate Trump’s claims that Obama wiretapped him before the election. As reporters were leaving, al-Abadi leaned over to Trump and said jokingly, “We have nothing to do with the wiretap.”</p>
<p>In his think tank appearance later, al-Abadi again struck a humorous note at Trump’s expense. After expressing hope that Iraq will succeed in ending decades of internal conflict, he said his country should be wary of partitioning areas along ethnic or religious lines as some have recommended.</p>
<p>“We have to build bridges with others and work with others to be more secure,” he said. “Otherwise, what do you do? You build walls? What do you do?” He then grinned widely at the allusion — intended or not — to Trump’s plan to erect a wall on the border with Mexico.</p>
<p>Later this week al-Abadi will be attending a 68-nation meeting to discuss the coalition against the Islamic State group.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Lolita Baldor contributed to this report.</p> | Iraqi leader: Trump to accelerate support | false | https://abqjournal.com/972620/trump-to-meet-iraqi-premier-as-anti-is-policy-takes-shape.html | 2017-03-20 | 2least
| Iraqi leader: Trump to accelerate support
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<p>WASHINGTON — Emerging from his first meeting with President Donald Trump, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Monday he was assured the U.S. will accelerate its support for his country’s struggle against the Islamic State group.</p>
<p>“I think they are prepared to do more” than the administration of President Barack Obama, he said. Obama was reluctant to commit large numbers of U.S. troops to combatting IS in Iraq, but his approach, which relied on training and supporting local forces, has succeeded in pushing the militants out of much of the territory they once held.</p>
<p>Speaking at a Washington think tank shortly after his White House visit, al-Abadi said he got the impression that the Trump administration will take a more aggressive approach, although he did not say what that might entail.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“I think this administration wants to be more engaged in fighting terrorism,” he said. “I sense a difference in terms of being head-to-head with terrorism.” He added, however, that military force is not necessarily the most effective tool. “There are better ways for defeating terrorism.”</p>
<p>Asked whether he had seen specific Trump administration improvements to the previous administration’s approach, al-Abadi said: “To be honest, I haven’t seen a full plan. I know there is a plan. I haven’t seen it. We have our own plan.”</p>
<p>Defense Secretary Jim Mattis recently presented Trump with the outlines of a comprehensive approach to defeating IS and other extremist groups on a global scale, but specifics are yet to be worked out. Officials have indicated that the approach is unlikely to depart radically from the Obama strategy, at least with regard to the ongoing efforts in Iraq and Syria.</p>
<p>Al-Abadi appeared at the U.S. Institute of Peace, a federally funded think tank. The prime minister spoke optimistically of completing the recapture of Iraqi lands still held by IS. He said government forces, working effectively with Kurdish forces known as Peshmerga and supported by American airpower and military advisers, are on the brink of fully liberating Mosul, the northern city that has been the Islamic State group’s main Iraqi stronghold since 2014.</p>
<p>He spoke later at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce dinner with U.S. business executives, along with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.</p>
<p>In brief remarks in the presence of reporters during al-Abadi’s White House visit, Trump raised his frequently stated objections to the Iran nuclear deal negotiated by his predecessor, but did not talk specifically about how he intends to support Iraq.</p>
<p>“One of the things I did ask is, ‘Why did President Obama sign that agreement with Iran?’ because nobody has been able to figure that one out,” Trump said. “But maybe someday we’ll be able to figure that one out.”</p>
<p>Trump said he hopes to address the “vacuum” that was created when IS moved into Iraq and added that “we shouldn’t have gone in” to Iraq in the first place.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>In readout of the pair’s meeting, the White House said the United States and Iraq “stand fully committed to a comprehensive partnership, rooted in mutual respect” and agreed to “pursue a long-term partnership to decisively root out terrorism from Iraq and strengthen the Iraqi military and other key institutions.”</p>
<p>“Although ISIS/Da’esh remains a dangerous enemy, we are confident it will be defeated,” they said.</p>
<p>Trump campaigned on a promise to dramatically ramp up the assault on IS and has vowed to eradicate it.</p>
<p>Trump greeted al-Abadi in the Oval Office shortly after FBI Director James Comey said the FBI and Justice Department have no information to substantiate Trump’s claims that Obama wiretapped him before the election. As reporters were leaving, al-Abadi leaned over to Trump and said jokingly, “We have nothing to do with the wiretap.”</p>
<p>In his think tank appearance later, al-Abadi again struck a humorous note at Trump’s expense. After expressing hope that Iraq will succeed in ending decades of internal conflict, he said his country should be wary of partitioning areas along ethnic or religious lines as some have recommended.</p>
<p>“We have to build bridges with others and work with others to be more secure,” he said. “Otherwise, what do you do? You build walls? What do you do?” He then grinned widely at the allusion — intended or not — to Trump’s plan to erect a wall on the border with Mexico.</p>
<p>Later this week al-Abadi will be attending a 68-nation meeting to discuss the coalition against the Islamic State group.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Lolita Baldor contributed to this report.</p> | 2,422 |
<p>On Thursday night, Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski appeared on the obscenely Trump-friendly “The Sean Hannity Show” in his first interview after being <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/13/politics/corey-lewandowski-donald-trump-charges-dropped/" type="external">cleared of a charge of misdemeanor battery</a> against former Breitbart News reporter Michelle Fields. Speaking to Hannity live, Lewandowski equated grabbing and bruising a female reporter with simply being politically incorrect.</p>
<p>Law enforcement calls it a charge of battery, Lewandowski calls it being politically incorrect. Tomato, tomahto.</p>
<p>The campaign manager, seemingly viewing himself as a martyr of sorts, a sacrifice offered up to combat the politically correct Left, whined to Hannity that “[e]verything is politically correct nowadays,” after the Fox News host essentially lamented the same sentiment concerning the incident.</p>
<p>“What’s interesting to me is, you’re saying you’ve never met her before, you’ve never talked to her before, and they tried to make a big deal over that fact that, well, maybe he didn’t yank her to the ground, but he said he didn’t touch her, and the tape shows that he might have touched her,” started Hannity, laying the ground work for the “politically correctness” excuse for Lewandowski. “And I’ve looked at that point and said ‘Is that where we’ve gotten to in this campaign?’” said Hannity.</p>
<p>“Well, it’s not just the campaign, it’s this notion of politically correctness,” replied Lewandowski. “Everything is politically correct nowadays, and I think what people have to remember, when they take a look back is, ‘What are we doing right now?’ Everything is so politically correct,” he said, adding, in a tone of befuddlement, that he even “politely” said “excuse me” and “thank you” when he grabbed Fields.</p>
<p>Lewandowski also expressed immense gratitude to Trump for his “loyalty” to him. “I’m glad it’s behind us, I’m glad there’s no charges moving forward,” he added.</p>
<p>"Everything is politically correct nowadays."</p>
<p>Corey Lewandowski on grabbing Michelle Fields</p>
<p>“I try to look at this as objectively as possible,” said Hannity during the live exchange, while incredibly keeping a straight face. He continued, reading off Fields’ original statement where she claimed that she was “grabbed” and “jolted backward.” Hannity proclaimed: “That’s just not on the tape.”</p>
<p>Hannity, resisting all journalistic integrity, neglected to ask Lewandowski why an apology was never issued to Fields, as she claims is all she wanted, or even bring up the disgusting <a href="http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2016/03/29/flashback-donald-trump-says-michelle-fields-made-up-story-about-being-grabbed-by-campaign-manager-n2140534" type="external">smear campaign</a> Lewandowski participated in against the former Breitbart reporter. The Fox News host even glossed over Lewandowski’s lie that he never touched Fields.</p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/MichelleFields" type="external">@MichelleFields</a> you are totally delusional. I never touched you. As a matter of fact, I have never even met you.</p> | Lewandowski Tells Hannity That Grabbing And Bruising A Female Reporter Is Just Being Politically Incorrect | true | https://dailywire.com/news/4993/lewandowski-tells-hannity-grabbing-and-bruising-amanda-prestigiacomo | 2016-04-15 | 0right
| Lewandowski Tells Hannity That Grabbing And Bruising A Female Reporter Is Just Being Politically Incorrect
<p>On Thursday night, Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski appeared on the obscenely Trump-friendly “The Sean Hannity Show” in his first interview after being <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/13/politics/corey-lewandowski-donald-trump-charges-dropped/" type="external">cleared of a charge of misdemeanor battery</a> against former Breitbart News reporter Michelle Fields. Speaking to Hannity live, Lewandowski equated grabbing and bruising a female reporter with simply being politically incorrect.</p>
<p>Law enforcement calls it a charge of battery, Lewandowski calls it being politically incorrect. Tomato, tomahto.</p>
<p>The campaign manager, seemingly viewing himself as a martyr of sorts, a sacrifice offered up to combat the politically correct Left, whined to Hannity that “[e]verything is politically correct nowadays,” after the Fox News host essentially lamented the same sentiment concerning the incident.</p>
<p>“What’s interesting to me is, you’re saying you’ve never met her before, you’ve never talked to her before, and they tried to make a big deal over that fact that, well, maybe he didn’t yank her to the ground, but he said he didn’t touch her, and the tape shows that he might have touched her,” started Hannity, laying the ground work for the “politically correctness” excuse for Lewandowski. “And I’ve looked at that point and said ‘Is that where we’ve gotten to in this campaign?’” said Hannity.</p>
<p>“Well, it’s not just the campaign, it’s this notion of politically correctness,” replied Lewandowski. “Everything is politically correct nowadays, and I think what people have to remember, when they take a look back is, ‘What are we doing right now?’ Everything is so politically correct,” he said, adding, in a tone of befuddlement, that he even “politely” said “excuse me” and “thank you” when he grabbed Fields.</p>
<p>Lewandowski also expressed immense gratitude to Trump for his “loyalty” to him. “I’m glad it’s behind us, I’m glad there’s no charges moving forward,” he added.</p>
<p>"Everything is politically correct nowadays."</p>
<p>Corey Lewandowski on grabbing Michelle Fields</p>
<p>“I try to look at this as objectively as possible,” said Hannity during the live exchange, while incredibly keeping a straight face. He continued, reading off Fields’ original statement where she claimed that she was “grabbed” and “jolted backward.” Hannity proclaimed: “That’s just not on the tape.”</p>
<p>Hannity, resisting all journalistic integrity, neglected to ask Lewandowski why an apology was never issued to Fields, as she claims is all she wanted, or even bring up the disgusting <a href="http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2016/03/29/flashback-donald-trump-says-michelle-fields-made-up-story-about-being-grabbed-by-campaign-manager-n2140534" type="external">smear campaign</a> Lewandowski participated in against the former Breitbart reporter. The Fox News host even glossed over Lewandowski’s lie that he never touched Fields.</p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/MichelleFields" type="external">@MichelleFields</a> you are totally delusional. I never touched you. As a matter of fact, I have never even met you.</p> | 2,423 |
<p>With Oracle Corp.'s shares hitting all-time highs this summer, the company Thursday reported earnings that gave investors further reason for optimism about the company's efforts to reinvent itself.</p>
<p>The 40-year-old seller of business software has spent billions of dollars over the past few years in an effort to transform into a post-millennium company selling web-based, on-demand computing services known as the cloud. That investment appears to be paying off as Oracle's cloud business again drove growth during the company's fiscal first quarter.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Sales of business software, delivered over the internet as a service rose 62% to $1.07 billion. Sales of the services used by software developers to build applications on the cloud, called platform-as-a-service and infrastructure-as-a-service, increased by 28% to $400 million.</p>
<p>Last quarter, Oracle began reporting its software-as-a-service figures separately, a sign the business has become more competitive, analysts said. But the company has now combined reporting on its platform and infrastructure businesses, making it harder to determine how each is performing.</p>
<p>"Our cloud applications business continues to grow more than twice as fast as Salesforce.com," Oracle Chief Executive Mark Hurd said in a statement, referring to the company's main cloud competitor.</p>
<p>The Redwood City, Calif., company said revenue rose 7% to $9.19 billion. Earnings rose 21% to $2.21 billion, or 52 cents a share, from $1.83 billion, or 43 cents a share, a year earlier. When adjusted for stock-based compensation and other items, earnings were 62 cents a share, up from 55 cents a share a year earlier.</p>
<p>Analysts had expected Oracle to earn 60 cents a share on an adjusted basis, on revenue of $9 billion, according to a survey of analysts by Thomson Reuters Corp.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The trick for Oracle is to build its cloud business even as its legacy software-licensing business declines, said Ross MacMillan, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets LLC.</p>
<p>That is particularly important in the platform-as-a-service and infrastructure-as-a-service businesses, where Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp. dominate, he said. Customers who choose to run Oracle's software on Amazon or Microsoft's cloud will be encouraged to buy more services from those vendors, rather than Oracle, Mr. MacMillan said.</p>
<p>Originally skeptical of cloud computing, Oracle has taken steps to become a cloud competitor in recent years. Last year, it spent $9.3 billion on NetSuite, a seller of business software delivered over the internet. Oracle also has set up a cloud-engineering center in downtown Seattle, not far from Microsoft and Amazon.</p>
<p>Oracle sold $4.57 billion worth of cloud services -- accounting for 12% of its revenue -- last year. That was up from $2.85 billion, or 8%, the previous year. In the first quarter, cloud services accounted for 16% of revenue.</p>
<p>Oracle also has benefited from the fact that its legacy software business hasn't declined as quickly as analysts had expected, Mr. MacMillan said. Sales of Oracle's traditional on-premise software products, which are installed and run at a customer's location, accounted for 65% of the company's business in the latest period, bringing in $5.92 billion, a 1.6% increase from the year-ago period.</p>
<p>"There are still a lot of customers who chose to deliver on-premise today," Mr. MacMillan said.</p>
<p>Oracle shares, which set a record high of $53.14 during regular trading Thursday, rose 1.3% to $53.50 in after-hours trading.</p>
<p>Write to Robert McMillan at [email protected] and Maria Armental at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>September 14, 2017 17:01 ET (21:01 GMT)</p> | Oracle Delivers Revenue and Profit Increases -- Update | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/09/14/oracle-delivers-revenue-and-profit-increases-update.html | 2017-09-14 | 0right
| Oracle Delivers Revenue and Profit Increases -- Update
<p>With Oracle Corp.'s shares hitting all-time highs this summer, the company Thursday reported earnings that gave investors further reason for optimism about the company's efforts to reinvent itself.</p>
<p>The 40-year-old seller of business software has spent billions of dollars over the past few years in an effort to transform into a post-millennium company selling web-based, on-demand computing services known as the cloud. That investment appears to be paying off as Oracle's cloud business again drove growth during the company's fiscal first quarter.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Sales of business software, delivered over the internet as a service rose 62% to $1.07 billion. Sales of the services used by software developers to build applications on the cloud, called platform-as-a-service and infrastructure-as-a-service, increased by 28% to $400 million.</p>
<p>Last quarter, Oracle began reporting its software-as-a-service figures separately, a sign the business has become more competitive, analysts said. But the company has now combined reporting on its platform and infrastructure businesses, making it harder to determine how each is performing.</p>
<p>"Our cloud applications business continues to grow more than twice as fast as Salesforce.com," Oracle Chief Executive Mark Hurd said in a statement, referring to the company's main cloud competitor.</p>
<p>The Redwood City, Calif., company said revenue rose 7% to $9.19 billion. Earnings rose 21% to $2.21 billion, or 52 cents a share, from $1.83 billion, or 43 cents a share, a year earlier. When adjusted for stock-based compensation and other items, earnings were 62 cents a share, up from 55 cents a share a year earlier.</p>
<p>Analysts had expected Oracle to earn 60 cents a share on an adjusted basis, on revenue of $9 billion, according to a survey of analysts by Thomson Reuters Corp.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The trick for Oracle is to build its cloud business even as its legacy software-licensing business declines, said Ross MacMillan, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets LLC.</p>
<p>That is particularly important in the platform-as-a-service and infrastructure-as-a-service businesses, where Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp. dominate, he said. Customers who choose to run Oracle's software on Amazon or Microsoft's cloud will be encouraged to buy more services from those vendors, rather than Oracle, Mr. MacMillan said.</p>
<p>Originally skeptical of cloud computing, Oracle has taken steps to become a cloud competitor in recent years. Last year, it spent $9.3 billion on NetSuite, a seller of business software delivered over the internet. Oracle also has set up a cloud-engineering center in downtown Seattle, not far from Microsoft and Amazon.</p>
<p>Oracle sold $4.57 billion worth of cloud services -- accounting for 12% of its revenue -- last year. That was up from $2.85 billion, or 8%, the previous year. In the first quarter, cloud services accounted for 16% of revenue.</p>
<p>Oracle also has benefited from the fact that its legacy software business hasn't declined as quickly as analysts had expected, Mr. MacMillan said. Sales of Oracle's traditional on-premise software products, which are installed and run at a customer's location, accounted for 65% of the company's business in the latest period, bringing in $5.92 billion, a 1.6% increase from the year-ago period.</p>
<p>"There are still a lot of customers who chose to deliver on-premise today," Mr. MacMillan said.</p>
<p>Oracle shares, which set a record high of $53.14 during regular trading Thursday, rose 1.3% to $53.50 in after-hours trading.</p>
<p>Write to Robert McMillan at [email protected] and Maria Armental at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>September 14, 2017 17:01 ET (21:01 GMT)</p> | 2,424 |
<p />
<p>Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) has reportedly finalized a deal to purchase video game startup Twitch for around $1 billion, according to VentureBeat. Acquisition talks were first reported by Variety in May.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The report says that Google’s YouTube division is in charge of the acquisition -- in fact, <a href="" type="internal">YouTube has been in talks about expanding its video offerings</a> for at least the past month.</p>
<p>Twitch, which was founded in 2011, is a social video platform for “gamers," with more than 50 million video game enthusiasts connecting on the site each month to watch and communicate about digital games.</p>
<p>The site has become quite the hit with gamers, as users spend an average of 106 minutes per day on Twitch. The video game site says it has 1.1 million users broadcasting video content.</p>
<p>Google and Twitch did not respond for comment.</p>
<p>The startup has raised about $35 million from Bessemer Venture Partners, WestSummit Capital, Thrive Capital, Draper Associates and Alsop Louie Partners.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Google has purchased over two dozen companies this year. Of note, it acquired home automation company Nest Labs for $3.2 billion and artificial intelligence company DeepMind for $500 million.</p>
<p>Google shares are up 32% this past year. They close Friday at $589.</p> | Did Google Spend $1B on a Video Game Startup? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2014/07/25/did-google-just-spend-1-billion-on-video-game-startup.html | 2016-03-06 | 0right
| Did Google Spend $1B on a Video Game Startup?
<p />
<p>Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) has reportedly finalized a deal to purchase video game startup Twitch for around $1 billion, according to VentureBeat. Acquisition talks were first reported by Variety in May.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The report says that Google’s YouTube division is in charge of the acquisition -- in fact, <a href="" type="internal">YouTube has been in talks about expanding its video offerings</a> for at least the past month.</p>
<p>Twitch, which was founded in 2011, is a social video platform for “gamers," with more than 50 million video game enthusiasts connecting on the site each month to watch and communicate about digital games.</p>
<p>The site has become quite the hit with gamers, as users spend an average of 106 minutes per day on Twitch. The video game site says it has 1.1 million users broadcasting video content.</p>
<p>Google and Twitch did not respond for comment.</p>
<p>The startup has raised about $35 million from Bessemer Venture Partners, WestSummit Capital, Thrive Capital, Draper Associates and Alsop Louie Partners.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Google has purchased over two dozen companies this year. Of note, it acquired home automation company Nest Labs for $3.2 billion and artificial intelligence company DeepMind for $500 million.</p>
<p>Google shares are up 32% this past year. They close Friday at $589.</p> | 2,425 |
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center is investigating the transfer of fetal tissue by a faculty member to a private medical research company in Michigan.</p>
<p>Health Sciences Center spokeswoman Alex Sanchez confirmed the internal investigation Friday after it was first <a href="https://www.abqjournal.com/1114863/unm-suspends-physicians-research-during-investigation.html" type="external">reported</a> by the Albuquerque Journal. She said the inquiry began in the fall but she declined to provide any details.</p>
<p>"While we always strive to be transparent, and believe research must be conducted according to the highest ethical and legal standards, we cannot compromise the integrity of the investigative process by releasing details at this time," she said in a statement.</p>
<p>According to documents obtained by the newspaper, officials suspended Robin Ohls' research duties and barred her from her lab in October after learning she had acquired fetal tissue for months from the Southwestern Women's Options abortion clinic and transferred it to Zietchick Research Institute LLC.</p>
<p>Health Sciences Center staff discovered the practice after Ohls asked if the company could reimburse the university to help cover the costs of a lab assistant who had spent time preparing samples for transport.</p>
<p>An internal memo indicates Health Sciences Center staff had concerns that the issue being raised would potentially infringe on the university's policy to not buy or sell human tissue. There were also concerns that approvals and protocols had not been followed.</p>
<p>Ohls on Friday referred questions about the matter to the Health Sciences Center.</p>
<p>News of the internal investigation comes a day after the New Mexico Attorney General's Office announced that civil and criminal inquiries uncovered insufficient evidence that any state laws were broken by the transfer of fetal tissue from Southwestern Women's Options to the university.</p>
<p>The Albuquerque clinic, one of the nation's few providers of late-term abortions, has in the past provided the Health Sciences Center with tissue from aborted fetuses for medical research.</p>
<p>The clinic and university officials have repeatedly said the transfers are legal, but anti-abortion advocates and others have complained that women electing to receive abortions at Southwestern Women's Options did not have enough information to consent to the procedure.</p>
<p>The university was among the research entities investigated by a special U.S. congressional committee that was created in 2015 to look into the practices of Planned Parenthood and the world of fetal tissue research. The Republican-led committee forwarded its findings to the state attorney general's office in 2016.</p>
<p>At issue in New Mexico were statutes that cover anatomical donations and clinical research activities involving fetuses. State law prohibits the purchase or sale of human organs or tissue for "valuable consideration."</p>
<p>The attorney general's office found the tissue transferred from the clinic was used for research and education.</p>
<p>Clinic spokeswoman Heather Brewer said when a woman decides to have an abortion, she may also decide to donate fetal tissue for research.</p>
<p>"Southwestern Women's Options has worked, in compliance with all rules and regulations, with the University of New Mexico to facilitate such tissue donations for life-saving medical research," she said in a statement.</p>
<p>U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-New Mexico, on Thursday alleged there were violations, pointing to a pending case against the clinic in state district court that focuses on consent. He also noted that the U.S. Justice Department is looking into the issue.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Albuquerque Journal, <a href="http://www.abqjournal.com" type="external">http://www.abqjournal.com</a></p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center is investigating the transfer of fetal tissue by a faculty member to a private medical research company in Michigan.</p>
<p>Health Sciences Center spokeswoman Alex Sanchez confirmed the internal investigation Friday after it was first <a href="https://www.abqjournal.com/1114863/unm-suspends-physicians-research-during-investigation.html" type="external">reported</a> by the Albuquerque Journal. She said the inquiry began in the fall but she declined to provide any details.</p>
<p>"While we always strive to be transparent, and believe research must be conducted according to the highest ethical and legal standards, we cannot compromise the integrity of the investigative process by releasing details at this time," she said in a statement.</p>
<p>According to documents obtained by the newspaper, officials suspended Robin Ohls' research duties and barred her from her lab in October after learning she had acquired fetal tissue for months from the Southwestern Women's Options abortion clinic and transferred it to Zietchick Research Institute LLC.</p>
<p>Health Sciences Center staff discovered the practice after Ohls asked if the company could reimburse the university to help cover the costs of a lab assistant who had spent time preparing samples for transport.</p>
<p>An internal memo indicates Health Sciences Center staff had concerns that the issue being raised would potentially infringe on the university's policy to not buy or sell human tissue. There were also concerns that approvals and protocols had not been followed.</p>
<p>Ohls on Friday referred questions about the matter to the Health Sciences Center.</p>
<p>News of the internal investigation comes a day after the New Mexico Attorney General's Office announced that civil and criminal inquiries uncovered insufficient evidence that any state laws were broken by the transfer of fetal tissue from Southwestern Women's Options to the university.</p>
<p>The Albuquerque clinic, one of the nation's few providers of late-term abortions, has in the past provided the Health Sciences Center with tissue from aborted fetuses for medical research.</p>
<p>The clinic and university officials have repeatedly said the transfers are legal, but anti-abortion advocates and others have complained that women electing to receive abortions at Southwestern Women's Options did not have enough information to consent to the procedure.</p>
<p>The university was among the research entities investigated by a special U.S. congressional committee that was created in 2015 to look into the practices of Planned Parenthood and the world of fetal tissue research. The Republican-led committee forwarded its findings to the state attorney general's office in 2016.</p>
<p>At issue in New Mexico were statutes that cover anatomical donations and clinical research activities involving fetuses. State law prohibits the purchase or sale of human organs or tissue for "valuable consideration."</p>
<p>The attorney general's office found the tissue transferred from the clinic was used for research and education.</p>
<p>Clinic spokeswoman Heather Brewer said when a woman decides to have an abortion, she may also decide to donate fetal tissue for research.</p>
<p>"Southwestern Women's Options has worked, in compliance with all rules and regulations, with the University of New Mexico to facilitate such tissue donations for life-saving medical research," she said in a statement.</p>
<p>U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-New Mexico, on Thursday alleged there were violations, pointing to a pending case against the clinic in state district court that focuses on consent. He also noted that the U.S. Justice Department is looking into the issue.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Albuquerque Journal, <a href="http://www.abqjournal.com" type="external">http://www.abqjournal.com</a></p> | University launches investigation into fetal tissue transfer | false | https://apnews.com/amp/f10bf7c2ef3647d69aad9bb0ba29ffb4 | 2018-01-05 | 2least
| University launches investigation into fetal tissue transfer
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center is investigating the transfer of fetal tissue by a faculty member to a private medical research company in Michigan.</p>
<p>Health Sciences Center spokeswoman Alex Sanchez confirmed the internal investigation Friday after it was first <a href="https://www.abqjournal.com/1114863/unm-suspends-physicians-research-during-investigation.html" type="external">reported</a> by the Albuquerque Journal. She said the inquiry began in the fall but she declined to provide any details.</p>
<p>"While we always strive to be transparent, and believe research must be conducted according to the highest ethical and legal standards, we cannot compromise the integrity of the investigative process by releasing details at this time," she said in a statement.</p>
<p>According to documents obtained by the newspaper, officials suspended Robin Ohls' research duties and barred her from her lab in October after learning she had acquired fetal tissue for months from the Southwestern Women's Options abortion clinic and transferred it to Zietchick Research Institute LLC.</p>
<p>Health Sciences Center staff discovered the practice after Ohls asked if the company could reimburse the university to help cover the costs of a lab assistant who had spent time preparing samples for transport.</p>
<p>An internal memo indicates Health Sciences Center staff had concerns that the issue being raised would potentially infringe on the university's policy to not buy or sell human tissue. There were also concerns that approvals and protocols had not been followed.</p>
<p>Ohls on Friday referred questions about the matter to the Health Sciences Center.</p>
<p>News of the internal investigation comes a day after the New Mexico Attorney General's Office announced that civil and criminal inquiries uncovered insufficient evidence that any state laws were broken by the transfer of fetal tissue from Southwestern Women's Options to the university.</p>
<p>The Albuquerque clinic, one of the nation's few providers of late-term abortions, has in the past provided the Health Sciences Center with tissue from aborted fetuses for medical research.</p>
<p>The clinic and university officials have repeatedly said the transfers are legal, but anti-abortion advocates and others have complained that women electing to receive abortions at Southwestern Women's Options did not have enough information to consent to the procedure.</p>
<p>The university was among the research entities investigated by a special U.S. congressional committee that was created in 2015 to look into the practices of Planned Parenthood and the world of fetal tissue research. The Republican-led committee forwarded its findings to the state attorney general's office in 2016.</p>
<p>At issue in New Mexico were statutes that cover anatomical donations and clinical research activities involving fetuses. State law prohibits the purchase or sale of human organs or tissue for "valuable consideration."</p>
<p>The attorney general's office found the tissue transferred from the clinic was used for research and education.</p>
<p>Clinic spokeswoman Heather Brewer said when a woman decides to have an abortion, she may also decide to donate fetal tissue for research.</p>
<p>"Southwestern Women's Options has worked, in compliance with all rules and regulations, with the University of New Mexico to facilitate such tissue donations for life-saving medical research," she said in a statement.</p>
<p>U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-New Mexico, on Thursday alleged there were violations, pointing to a pending case against the clinic in state district court that focuses on consent. He also noted that the U.S. Justice Department is looking into the issue.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Albuquerque Journal, <a href="http://www.abqjournal.com" type="external">http://www.abqjournal.com</a></p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center is investigating the transfer of fetal tissue by a faculty member to a private medical research company in Michigan.</p>
<p>Health Sciences Center spokeswoman Alex Sanchez confirmed the internal investigation Friday after it was first <a href="https://www.abqjournal.com/1114863/unm-suspends-physicians-research-during-investigation.html" type="external">reported</a> by the Albuquerque Journal. She said the inquiry began in the fall but she declined to provide any details.</p>
<p>"While we always strive to be transparent, and believe research must be conducted according to the highest ethical and legal standards, we cannot compromise the integrity of the investigative process by releasing details at this time," she said in a statement.</p>
<p>According to documents obtained by the newspaper, officials suspended Robin Ohls' research duties and barred her from her lab in October after learning she had acquired fetal tissue for months from the Southwestern Women's Options abortion clinic and transferred it to Zietchick Research Institute LLC.</p>
<p>Health Sciences Center staff discovered the practice after Ohls asked if the company could reimburse the university to help cover the costs of a lab assistant who had spent time preparing samples for transport.</p>
<p>An internal memo indicates Health Sciences Center staff had concerns that the issue being raised would potentially infringe on the university's policy to not buy or sell human tissue. There were also concerns that approvals and protocols had not been followed.</p>
<p>Ohls on Friday referred questions about the matter to the Health Sciences Center.</p>
<p>News of the internal investigation comes a day after the New Mexico Attorney General's Office announced that civil and criminal inquiries uncovered insufficient evidence that any state laws were broken by the transfer of fetal tissue from Southwestern Women's Options to the university.</p>
<p>The Albuquerque clinic, one of the nation's few providers of late-term abortions, has in the past provided the Health Sciences Center with tissue from aborted fetuses for medical research.</p>
<p>The clinic and university officials have repeatedly said the transfers are legal, but anti-abortion advocates and others have complained that women electing to receive abortions at Southwestern Women's Options did not have enough information to consent to the procedure.</p>
<p>The university was among the research entities investigated by a special U.S. congressional committee that was created in 2015 to look into the practices of Planned Parenthood and the world of fetal tissue research. The Republican-led committee forwarded its findings to the state attorney general's office in 2016.</p>
<p>At issue in New Mexico were statutes that cover anatomical donations and clinical research activities involving fetuses. State law prohibits the purchase or sale of human organs or tissue for "valuable consideration."</p>
<p>The attorney general's office found the tissue transferred from the clinic was used for research and education.</p>
<p>Clinic spokeswoman Heather Brewer said when a woman decides to have an abortion, she may also decide to donate fetal tissue for research.</p>
<p>"Southwestern Women's Options has worked, in compliance with all rules and regulations, with the University of New Mexico to facilitate such tissue donations for life-saving medical research," she said in a statement.</p>
<p>U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-New Mexico, on Thursday alleged there were violations, pointing to a pending case against the clinic in state district court that focuses on consent. He also noted that the U.S. Justice Department is looking into the issue.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Albuquerque Journal, <a href="http://www.abqjournal.com" type="external">http://www.abqjournal.com</a></p> | 2,426 |
<p>Book Review</p>
<p>Bernard Duterme et al. <a href="http://www.syllepse.net/lng_FR_srub_24_iprod_607-zapatisme-la-rebellion-qui-dure.html" type="external">Zapatisme: la rébellion qui dure</a>. Alternatives du Sud. Paris: Centre Tricontinental and Éditions Syllepse, 2014. Chronology. Notes. Index. 205pp.</p>
<p>All of those who are interested in social movements, especially indigenous movements, in Latin America and in particular in the Zapastista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) will want to read this important collection of essays published in French by experts and analysts from several countries:&#160;Zapatisme: la rebellion qui dure (Zapatismo: the Rebellion that Lasts). (Those who do not read French can, using the authors’ names given below, find English or Spanish language versions of some of the essays in this collection on line at various sites.) This book is part of the excellent Alternatives du Sud (Alternatives of the South) series which publishes four titles each year dealing with issues and movements in the Global South. Other recent books (also all in French) are titled: Narco-traffic: The “Drug War” in Question; The State of Resistances in the South: Peasant Movements; Social Welfare in the South: The Challenges of a New Impetus; and, Mining Industries: Extraction at any Price?</p>
<p>Zapatisme is a reflection on the Zapatista movement on the twentieth anniversary of the Chiapas Rebellion which it led in 1994. The occasion for writing several of these essays was the authors’ participation in one of the Escuelita zapatista (Zapatistas Little School) sessions held in August and December 2013 and in January 2014. In those escuelitas rank-and-file Zapatistas explained to those in attendance, many of whom were illustrious foreign intellectuals, the Zapatista movement’s new perspectives. The authors of these accounts of the schools and the movement are people who place themselves on the side of the indigenous people in their struggle for social justice and wish to encourage others to do so as well. These essays, based not only on the authors’ expertise but also on their observations of the movement, provide us not only with an update but also with a reflection on its past experience and its current status, and, therefore, allow us to form an opinion about its likely future.</p>
<p>I find this a tremendously informative book, though, in general, I am in fundamental disagreement with the authors’ outlook. The editor, Bernard Duterme, and the authors—Gilberto López y Rivas, Neil Harvey, Alejandra Aquino Moreschi, Raúl Zibechi, Jérôme Baschet, Sylvia Marcos, Gustavo Esteva, Alicia Castellanos Guerrero, and Fernando Matamoros Ponce—tend to find in the Zapatista experience an admirable struggle for social justice and in some cases suggest it may represent some sort of model for other movements in other contexts. They largely ignore the important question of whether or not it represents a model for revolutionary leadership and action, which was the EZLN’s starting point when it was founded in 1983. I recently published my more critical <a href="" type="internal">assessment of the Zapatista movement</a> and can only say that information gleaned from this book only strengthens my doubts about the EZLN, its usefulness as a model for other movements, and especially its autonomist strategy. The most romantic accounts in this collection, however, also lead me to question the methods of some of the authors, who it seems to me, make bold assertions without any actual evidence to support their claims.&#160;&#160; &#160;</p>
<p>As often happens with a collection of this sort, there is almost inevitably a good deal of repetition as the authors recount the basic history of the Zapatista movement: the early origins of the group, the Chiapas Rebellion of 1994, the Mexican government’s initial military response, the early negotiations under Bishop Samuel Ruiz’s mediation, the San Andrés Accords of 1996, the Zapatistas 5,000 envoys who went throughout the country to demand respect for that treaty in 1999, the Zapatista speakers to the Mexican Congress in 2000, the “Other Campaign” during the election period of 2006 when Sub-Comandante Marcos and others toured the country to speak against capitalism, and most recently the Zapatistas’ Little Schools. The book was published just before <a href="" type="internal">Sub-Comandante Marcos announced</a> what was either merely a name change or his stepping down from leadership of the group.</p>
<p>Several of the essays also recount the authors’ experience with the Escuelita: staying in the homes of the Mayan peasants and attending the school taught by indigenous teachers using a modest set of texts produced for the occasion. The authors who participated listened to the teachers’ explanation of how the Zapatistas are working to create autonomous communities and a broader autonomous society, that is, one that does not depend on the Mexican state and the political parties which have always treated the indigenous people poorly and have held them in contempt. Their autonomous communities also appear as an egalitarian and democratic alternative to capitalism. Some of the authors, rather than providing much analysis, spend most of their time simply sharing or expatiating on the teachers’ views and asserting their support and admiration for this project.</p>
<p>The most interesting essays, however, are those that deal with the difficulties and challenges that the Zapatistas have encountered and the ways they have responded to them. The mythic idea held by some in the first days of the rebellion that the indigenous people were united in their opposition to the Mexican government and capitalism was, of course, never true. Many indigenous people had other stronger identifications: to their tribal group, to Catholicism or Evangelical Christianity, to the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), or simply to the status quo, which, however bad, was “the devil they knew.” The Mexican PRI government in power at the time, as it deployed the army or mobilized party loyalists to harass the Zapatistas, played upon such divisions and worked to accentuate them. Indigenous communities became even more divided. To escape government attack, the Zapatistas fled to the mountain forests and established temporary villages there, even more poverty-stricken than their original homes. Some of the essays take up these problematic situations.</p>
<p>One fascinating chapter by Alejandra Aquino Moreschi, “The Trajectory of a Zapatista Militant: From Engagement to Disengagement,” traces the experience of Pedro and his wife Ana, explaining how they became involved in the movement and why they eventually left it. Pedro, who came from the village of Agua María, was born in 1971, married at about the age of 16, becoming an adult member of his community, and joined the movement at the age of 19. Four years later he participated in the Chiapas Rebellion and subsequently became a Zapatista militant, continually taking on greater responsibilities. When the Mexican Army invaded Zapatista territory in 1995, he and his wife and the rest of their community fled to the mountains to create a clandestine village, Agua Maria-in-Exile, living there for six years. Finally when in 2000 they returned to Agua Maria, they found that it had been totally destroyed. Meanwhile, new issues had developed: many Chiapanecos were migrating to the United States to work, and coming back with stories of greater opportunity en el norte. The political parties and government agents were offering resources to Zapatistas who would leave their organization, while at the same time there was the implicit threat of hostile neighbors. The long exhausting years of struggle, the destruction of their homes, and the growing divisions in the Zapatista community as people began to leave the movement, left them demoralized, and Pedro and Ana also quit. Still, they would not participate in any government program, as some former Zapatistas did, refusing, for example, government offers of materials to improve their housing. A chapter such as that one gives the reader enormous insights into the whole trajectory of the movement’s experience, into the admirable character of the Zapatista militants and the difficulties they faced, including what seemed to some the hardest challenge of all, deciding to leave the movement which had provided their political and personal identity for years.&#160;</p>
<p>The Central Question: What is Autonomy?</p>
<p>The central issue that this book presents to the reader is the Zapatista strategy of building autonomous communities. What is meant by “autonomy”? Several of the chapters describe how the Zapatistas answer this question. They define autonomy as the creation of villages and ideally regions that are entirely separate from the government. They refuse to join or work for any political party, arguing that the parties are all corrupt, and they will have nothing to do with government social welfare or development programs, not wanting to become politically beholden. One has to say that their view of the political institutions is certainly correct and their fear of political manipulation well founded. So they have decided that they will not send their children to the government schools, arguing that the mestizo teachers who live in urban areas and drive automobiles to the school look down on the indigenous communities and their students. They will not go to the government hospitals and health clinics, except in extreme cases, arguing that the doctors there do not treat them well or provide them decent care. They refuse government material aid for the improvement of their homes and villages, arguing that if they take it they are expected to work for the ruling political party. Unlike the historic parties of the left, they do not fight through social movements, coalitions, and political parties to take control of these institutions and force them to serve them fairly. They reject dependency on government institutions for the alternative of community self-sufficiency.</p>
<p>Alternatively, then, the Zapatistas build their own homes and villages, run their own schools, and maintain their own health program. Several of the authors suggest that this is a good policy because it empowers the indigenous people, and especially women, allowing them to create their own institutions and run them democratically. Yet, in general, the authors refuse to ask what this choice means for the indigenous people in these communities. Raúl Zibechi, for example, describes the health system, explaining how each group of eight families chooses a team of three health workers who have been trained by the community, usually mostly women: a woman who prepares cures from medicinal plants, an indigenous “osteopath,” and what is described as a “wise woman.” Zibechi suggests that because women are generally the health workers, by taking on this responsibility they develop as stronger and more equal members of the community. That may be. But one would like to know, does this do anything for community health? Do autonomous community health workers keep their communities healthy? Are they able to prevent illness? Can they cure disease? Are they improving community health overall? Where is the epidemiology? How do Zapatista autonomous communities compare with non-autonomous communities in areas of inoculations, prevalence of contagious disease, chronic disease, infant mortality, and longevity? It does not even occur to Zibechi to ask these questions, much less to answer them.</p>
<p>He similarly describes the education system whose teachers, similarly trained by the community, have been chosen to teach the children. The facilities, he admits, are pathetic, yet how much better this is, he writes, than the government schools with their mestizo teachers who drive to work from town. We know that these are communities with high levels of illiteracy, with low levels of educational achievement—sixth grade is a common level—and with few trained professionals. Yet Zibechi never asks, how well educated are these teachers? He never tells us how far the students get in school, though he does mention the lack of high schools. He never tells us if the students learn to read, write, do math and algebra, or learn something of chemistry and physics. But, of course, it may not be important, because as other writers in this collection mention, they are principally living in communities engaging in subsistence agriculture. With the education they are receiving, they may never have any alternative. Surely self-reliance and self-respect are important achievements, but any reasonable assessment has to look at the impact on health and education outcomes as well. Zibechi, in my view, does a disservice both to the Zapatistas and to those who want to better understand what is happening in the Zapatista communities by providing no hard information on the issues he take up.</p>
<p>What about autonomy for women? Sylvia Marcos’ essay “The Zapatistas’ Revolutionary Women’s Law Twenty Years Later” is somewhat useful. The laws, first published in 1994, gave women the rights to full equality in the society and to the fulfillment of their basic needs. Marcos actually took key passages of the law and went among women in Zapatista communities to ask them how the law was being fulfilled and found that women had varying opinions about how well their society was living up to these laws. While Marcos’ survey is useful, one would still like to have some actual facts here. One of the historic problems of women in Chiapas and in Central America (and, of course, other societies as well), is that men get drunk and then beat up their wives. One would like to know to what degree the women’s laws have ameliorated these practices of domestic abuse. Or to take another example, the law says women have the right to determine how many children they will have, but do they have access to birth control information, to diaphragms and contraceptive jelly, inter-uterine devices or pills? And what about the right to abortion should birth control fail? And what about prenatal care if a woman decides to have a child? The team of village health workers clearly would not be able to provide any of these things, though the government health clinics can and do. One would have liked Marcos to ask these questions or present data from other researchers on these matters.</p>
<p>Reading these essays, one sees that the price of self-sufficiency is clearly very high, yet the value of the Zapatistas’ autonomy is not clear. The initial Chiapas Rebellion and the Zapatistas on-going struggles forced the country to recognize the poverty and oppression of the indigenous Mayan people and led the government to build more roads, to improve housing, to build hospitals and medical clinics, and more schools in Chiapas. There is also a large and powerful social movement,&#160; the dissidents of the teachers union, led by the National Coordinating Committee (la CNTE) of the Mexican Teachers Union (el SNTE), which is especially strong in the state of Chiapas fighting for the right of teachers and communities to control the schools. Yet the Zapatistas do not join the fight to make these potentially valuable, though flawed, social institutions respond to the people, including the indigenous people. One has to wonder whether or not their autonomist strategy represents the best path forward for the indigenous people. And equally important, is it a strategy for social change for Mexico? &#160;</p>
<p>Two other things in particular disturbed me about the Zapatista model as discussed in this book. First is the fact that only one of the authors, Jérôme Baschet in his essay “The Construction of Autonomy: The Lessons of the Zapatista Little School,” touches on the role of the Zapatista military command (CCRI) and its influence in the civilian communities. He quotes one of one of the members of the Council of Good Government as saying, “They are the ones who guide us.” The guerrillas, as Baschet acknowledges, have enormous prestige. Yet he has little more to say about the question. One wonders: Who is really in charge here? The guerrillas or the community leaders? Which is subordinate to the other? The question of the role of these armed men is one that is ignored by virtually all of the other contributors to the book.</p>
<p>The second issue of concern is what seems to be the Zapatista organization’s almost total control of the lives of its members as described by several of the essayists. Anthropologists have frequently noted the almost totalitarian character of traditional societies guided by hundreds of unwritten but absolutely determinant laws of behavior. And all cultures, including our own American consumerist society, have their myriad unwritten laws of comportment that guide people in their everyday interactions with others of different genders, classes, and ethnicities. As described by the authors of this volume, Zapatista militants were expected to undertake all sorts of responsibilities in their personal, village, and broader community lives as activist, leaders, or participants in the military organization. Their lives were full of their responsibilities to the Zapatista organization. Perhaps this is simply the collective consciousness and labor they value as opposed to our capitalist society’s individualism. Still, the descriptions, scattered throughout the book, reminded me of the life of various religious and political sects with their constant meetings and activities that separate their members from the rest of society and immerse them in a world of their own. &#160;&#160;</p>
<p>The authors of this book are good people who place themselves on the side of the indigenous, the exploited and oppressed, but it is disappointing that most of them in doing so, hesitated to ask themselves and their Zapatista hosts more penetrating questions. So we have a book that is informative in its own way, almost in spite of itself, on might say, but useful as long as we the readers ask the hard questions.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Zaptatistas: The Costs of Autonomy | true | http://newpol.org/content/zaptatistas-costs-autonomy | 4left
| Zaptatistas: The Costs of Autonomy
<p>Book Review</p>
<p>Bernard Duterme et al. <a href="http://www.syllepse.net/lng_FR_srub_24_iprod_607-zapatisme-la-rebellion-qui-dure.html" type="external">Zapatisme: la rébellion qui dure</a>. Alternatives du Sud. Paris: Centre Tricontinental and Éditions Syllepse, 2014. Chronology. Notes. Index. 205pp.</p>
<p>All of those who are interested in social movements, especially indigenous movements, in Latin America and in particular in the Zapastista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) will want to read this important collection of essays published in French by experts and analysts from several countries:&#160;Zapatisme: la rebellion qui dure (Zapatismo: the Rebellion that Lasts). (Those who do not read French can, using the authors’ names given below, find English or Spanish language versions of some of the essays in this collection on line at various sites.) This book is part of the excellent Alternatives du Sud (Alternatives of the South) series which publishes four titles each year dealing with issues and movements in the Global South. Other recent books (also all in French) are titled: Narco-traffic: The “Drug War” in Question; The State of Resistances in the South: Peasant Movements; Social Welfare in the South: The Challenges of a New Impetus; and, Mining Industries: Extraction at any Price?</p>
<p>Zapatisme is a reflection on the Zapatista movement on the twentieth anniversary of the Chiapas Rebellion which it led in 1994. The occasion for writing several of these essays was the authors’ participation in one of the Escuelita zapatista (Zapatistas Little School) sessions held in August and December 2013 and in January 2014. In those escuelitas rank-and-file Zapatistas explained to those in attendance, many of whom were illustrious foreign intellectuals, the Zapatista movement’s new perspectives. The authors of these accounts of the schools and the movement are people who place themselves on the side of the indigenous people in their struggle for social justice and wish to encourage others to do so as well. These essays, based not only on the authors’ expertise but also on their observations of the movement, provide us not only with an update but also with a reflection on its past experience and its current status, and, therefore, allow us to form an opinion about its likely future.</p>
<p>I find this a tremendously informative book, though, in general, I am in fundamental disagreement with the authors’ outlook. The editor, Bernard Duterme, and the authors—Gilberto López y Rivas, Neil Harvey, Alejandra Aquino Moreschi, Raúl Zibechi, Jérôme Baschet, Sylvia Marcos, Gustavo Esteva, Alicia Castellanos Guerrero, and Fernando Matamoros Ponce—tend to find in the Zapatista experience an admirable struggle for social justice and in some cases suggest it may represent some sort of model for other movements in other contexts. They largely ignore the important question of whether or not it represents a model for revolutionary leadership and action, which was the EZLN’s starting point when it was founded in 1983. I recently published my more critical <a href="" type="internal">assessment of the Zapatista movement</a> and can only say that information gleaned from this book only strengthens my doubts about the EZLN, its usefulness as a model for other movements, and especially its autonomist strategy. The most romantic accounts in this collection, however, also lead me to question the methods of some of the authors, who it seems to me, make bold assertions without any actual evidence to support their claims.&#160;&#160; &#160;</p>
<p>As often happens with a collection of this sort, there is almost inevitably a good deal of repetition as the authors recount the basic history of the Zapatista movement: the early origins of the group, the Chiapas Rebellion of 1994, the Mexican government’s initial military response, the early negotiations under Bishop Samuel Ruiz’s mediation, the San Andrés Accords of 1996, the Zapatistas 5,000 envoys who went throughout the country to demand respect for that treaty in 1999, the Zapatista speakers to the Mexican Congress in 2000, the “Other Campaign” during the election period of 2006 when Sub-Comandante Marcos and others toured the country to speak against capitalism, and most recently the Zapatistas’ Little Schools. The book was published just before <a href="" type="internal">Sub-Comandante Marcos announced</a> what was either merely a name change or his stepping down from leadership of the group.</p>
<p>Several of the essays also recount the authors’ experience with the Escuelita: staying in the homes of the Mayan peasants and attending the school taught by indigenous teachers using a modest set of texts produced for the occasion. The authors who participated listened to the teachers’ explanation of how the Zapatistas are working to create autonomous communities and a broader autonomous society, that is, one that does not depend on the Mexican state and the political parties which have always treated the indigenous people poorly and have held them in contempt. Their autonomous communities also appear as an egalitarian and democratic alternative to capitalism. Some of the authors, rather than providing much analysis, spend most of their time simply sharing or expatiating on the teachers’ views and asserting their support and admiration for this project.</p>
<p>The most interesting essays, however, are those that deal with the difficulties and challenges that the Zapatistas have encountered and the ways they have responded to them. The mythic idea held by some in the first days of the rebellion that the indigenous people were united in their opposition to the Mexican government and capitalism was, of course, never true. Many indigenous people had other stronger identifications: to their tribal group, to Catholicism or Evangelical Christianity, to the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), or simply to the status quo, which, however bad, was “the devil they knew.” The Mexican PRI government in power at the time, as it deployed the army or mobilized party loyalists to harass the Zapatistas, played upon such divisions and worked to accentuate them. Indigenous communities became even more divided. To escape government attack, the Zapatistas fled to the mountain forests and established temporary villages there, even more poverty-stricken than their original homes. Some of the essays take up these problematic situations.</p>
<p>One fascinating chapter by Alejandra Aquino Moreschi, “The Trajectory of a Zapatista Militant: From Engagement to Disengagement,” traces the experience of Pedro and his wife Ana, explaining how they became involved in the movement and why they eventually left it. Pedro, who came from the village of Agua María, was born in 1971, married at about the age of 16, becoming an adult member of his community, and joined the movement at the age of 19. Four years later he participated in the Chiapas Rebellion and subsequently became a Zapatista militant, continually taking on greater responsibilities. When the Mexican Army invaded Zapatista territory in 1995, he and his wife and the rest of their community fled to the mountains to create a clandestine village, Agua Maria-in-Exile, living there for six years. Finally when in 2000 they returned to Agua Maria, they found that it had been totally destroyed. Meanwhile, new issues had developed: many Chiapanecos were migrating to the United States to work, and coming back with stories of greater opportunity en el norte. The political parties and government agents were offering resources to Zapatistas who would leave their organization, while at the same time there was the implicit threat of hostile neighbors. The long exhausting years of struggle, the destruction of their homes, and the growing divisions in the Zapatista community as people began to leave the movement, left them demoralized, and Pedro and Ana also quit. Still, they would not participate in any government program, as some former Zapatistas did, refusing, for example, government offers of materials to improve their housing. A chapter such as that one gives the reader enormous insights into the whole trajectory of the movement’s experience, into the admirable character of the Zapatista militants and the difficulties they faced, including what seemed to some the hardest challenge of all, deciding to leave the movement which had provided their political and personal identity for years.&#160;</p>
<p>The Central Question: What is Autonomy?</p>
<p>The central issue that this book presents to the reader is the Zapatista strategy of building autonomous communities. What is meant by “autonomy”? Several of the chapters describe how the Zapatistas answer this question. They define autonomy as the creation of villages and ideally regions that are entirely separate from the government. They refuse to join or work for any political party, arguing that the parties are all corrupt, and they will have nothing to do with government social welfare or development programs, not wanting to become politically beholden. One has to say that their view of the political institutions is certainly correct and their fear of political manipulation well founded. So they have decided that they will not send their children to the government schools, arguing that the mestizo teachers who live in urban areas and drive automobiles to the school look down on the indigenous communities and their students. They will not go to the government hospitals and health clinics, except in extreme cases, arguing that the doctors there do not treat them well or provide them decent care. They refuse government material aid for the improvement of their homes and villages, arguing that if they take it they are expected to work for the ruling political party. Unlike the historic parties of the left, they do not fight through social movements, coalitions, and political parties to take control of these institutions and force them to serve them fairly. They reject dependency on government institutions for the alternative of community self-sufficiency.</p>
<p>Alternatively, then, the Zapatistas build their own homes and villages, run their own schools, and maintain their own health program. Several of the authors suggest that this is a good policy because it empowers the indigenous people, and especially women, allowing them to create their own institutions and run them democratically. Yet, in general, the authors refuse to ask what this choice means for the indigenous people in these communities. Raúl Zibechi, for example, describes the health system, explaining how each group of eight families chooses a team of three health workers who have been trained by the community, usually mostly women: a woman who prepares cures from medicinal plants, an indigenous “osteopath,” and what is described as a “wise woman.” Zibechi suggests that because women are generally the health workers, by taking on this responsibility they develop as stronger and more equal members of the community. That may be. But one would like to know, does this do anything for community health? Do autonomous community health workers keep their communities healthy? Are they able to prevent illness? Can they cure disease? Are they improving community health overall? Where is the epidemiology? How do Zapatista autonomous communities compare with non-autonomous communities in areas of inoculations, prevalence of contagious disease, chronic disease, infant mortality, and longevity? It does not even occur to Zibechi to ask these questions, much less to answer them.</p>
<p>He similarly describes the education system whose teachers, similarly trained by the community, have been chosen to teach the children. The facilities, he admits, are pathetic, yet how much better this is, he writes, than the government schools with their mestizo teachers who drive to work from town. We know that these are communities with high levels of illiteracy, with low levels of educational achievement—sixth grade is a common level—and with few trained professionals. Yet Zibechi never asks, how well educated are these teachers? He never tells us how far the students get in school, though he does mention the lack of high schools. He never tells us if the students learn to read, write, do math and algebra, or learn something of chemistry and physics. But, of course, it may not be important, because as other writers in this collection mention, they are principally living in communities engaging in subsistence agriculture. With the education they are receiving, they may never have any alternative. Surely self-reliance and self-respect are important achievements, but any reasonable assessment has to look at the impact on health and education outcomes as well. Zibechi, in my view, does a disservice both to the Zapatistas and to those who want to better understand what is happening in the Zapatista communities by providing no hard information on the issues he take up.</p>
<p>What about autonomy for women? Sylvia Marcos’ essay “The Zapatistas’ Revolutionary Women’s Law Twenty Years Later” is somewhat useful. The laws, first published in 1994, gave women the rights to full equality in the society and to the fulfillment of their basic needs. Marcos actually took key passages of the law and went among women in Zapatista communities to ask them how the law was being fulfilled and found that women had varying opinions about how well their society was living up to these laws. While Marcos’ survey is useful, one would still like to have some actual facts here. One of the historic problems of women in Chiapas and in Central America (and, of course, other societies as well), is that men get drunk and then beat up their wives. One would like to know to what degree the women’s laws have ameliorated these practices of domestic abuse. Or to take another example, the law says women have the right to determine how many children they will have, but do they have access to birth control information, to diaphragms and contraceptive jelly, inter-uterine devices or pills? And what about the right to abortion should birth control fail? And what about prenatal care if a woman decides to have a child? The team of village health workers clearly would not be able to provide any of these things, though the government health clinics can and do. One would have liked Marcos to ask these questions or present data from other researchers on these matters.</p>
<p>Reading these essays, one sees that the price of self-sufficiency is clearly very high, yet the value of the Zapatistas’ autonomy is not clear. The initial Chiapas Rebellion and the Zapatistas on-going struggles forced the country to recognize the poverty and oppression of the indigenous Mayan people and led the government to build more roads, to improve housing, to build hospitals and medical clinics, and more schools in Chiapas. There is also a large and powerful social movement,&#160; the dissidents of the teachers union, led by the National Coordinating Committee (la CNTE) of the Mexican Teachers Union (el SNTE), which is especially strong in the state of Chiapas fighting for the right of teachers and communities to control the schools. Yet the Zapatistas do not join the fight to make these potentially valuable, though flawed, social institutions respond to the people, including the indigenous people. One has to wonder whether or not their autonomist strategy represents the best path forward for the indigenous people. And equally important, is it a strategy for social change for Mexico? &#160;</p>
<p>Two other things in particular disturbed me about the Zapatista model as discussed in this book. First is the fact that only one of the authors, Jérôme Baschet in his essay “The Construction of Autonomy: The Lessons of the Zapatista Little School,” touches on the role of the Zapatista military command (CCRI) and its influence in the civilian communities. He quotes one of one of the members of the Council of Good Government as saying, “They are the ones who guide us.” The guerrillas, as Baschet acknowledges, have enormous prestige. Yet he has little more to say about the question. One wonders: Who is really in charge here? The guerrillas or the community leaders? Which is subordinate to the other? The question of the role of these armed men is one that is ignored by virtually all of the other contributors to the book.</p>
<p>The second issue of concern is what seems to be the Zapatista organization’s almost total control of the lives of its members as described by several of the essayists. Anthropologists have frequently noted the almost totalitarian character of traditional societies guided by hundreds of unwritten but absolutely determinant laws of behavior. And all cultures, including our own American consumerist society, have their myriad unwritten laws of comportment that guide people in their everyday interactions with others of different genders, classes, and ethnicities. As described by the authors of this volume, Zapatista militants were expected to undertake all sorts of responsibilities in their personal, village, and broader community lives as activist, leaders, or participants in the military organization. Their lives were full of their responsibilities to the Zapatista organization. Perhaps this is simply the collective consciousness and labor they value as opposed to our capitalist society’s individualism. Still, the descriptions, scattered throughout the book, reminded me of the life of various religious and political sects with their constant meetings and activities that separate their members from the rest of society and immerse them in a world of their own. &#160;&#160;</p>
<p>The authors of this book are good people who place themselves on the side of the indigenous, the exploited and oppressed, but it is disappointing that most of them in doing so, hesitated to ask themselves and their Zapatista hosts more penetrating questions. So we have a book that is informative in its own way, almost in spite of itself, on might say, but useful as long as we the readers ask the hard questions.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 2,427 |
|
<p>A pro marijuana legalization activist went on the South African cable news program&#160;The Newsroom and&#160; <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/2015/05/watch-pro-pot-activist-runs-completely-out-of-fcks-to-give-and-smokes-a-joint-on-live-tv/" type="external">lit a joint on live television</a> recently.</p>
<p>The man who lit the joint seen around the world is named Andre du Plessis. He is a cannabis activist who was invited to debate the country’s Central Drug Authority, David Bayever, on the show. The host begins the debate by asking Bayever if South Africa will be left behind the rest of the global movement that seeks to legalize marijuana. Bayever responds, saying that xenophobia may play a large part in the disruption of pro-pot legislation.</p>
<p>Agitated, Plessis interjects, claiming that Bayever’s remarks are just an attempt to gloss over ineptitude found in Central Drug Authority. Plessis says:</p>
<p>“The Central Drug Authority is eleven years late in presenting its position paper. Please don’t bring xenophobia into this as a form of an excuse for being late doing your job.”</p>
<p>Bayever, responds, saying that he will not debate Plessis on that point. He continues talking to the host of the show, all the while in the background Plessis calmly lights up what appears to be a joint.</p>
<p>Turning to Plessis the host asks him if he has anything else he wished to add to the debate. Plessis, now much calmer than he was at the beginning of the debate, exhales a cloud of smoke directly at the camera and says:</p>
<p>“I think that’s all I’ve got to say.”</p>
<p>This video is important. It reminds the world that the effort to legalize marijuana is global. The United States unleashed reefer madness on the world, resulting in disastrous policy in nearly every country in the world. Luckily, things are not only changing for the better in the U.S; they are changing for the better around the world.</p>
<p>You can watch the news segment below, in full.</p>
<p />
<p>Featured Image Credit: Screenshot via <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sw_0GZdTJQA" type="external">YouTube</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Watch This Pot Activist Smoke A Joint On Live Cable News (VIDEO) | true | http://addictinginfo.org/2015/05/13/smoke-weed-on-news/ | 2015-05-13 | 4left
| Watch This Pot Activist Smoke A Joint On Live Cable News (VIDEO)
<p>A pro marijuana legalization activist went on the South African cable news program&#160;The Newsroom and&#160; <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/2015/05/watch-pro-pot-activist-runs-completely-out-of-fcks-to-give-and-smokes-a-joint-on-live-tv/" type="external">lit a joint on live television</a> recently.</p>
<p>The man who lit the joint seen around the world is named Andre du Plessis. He is a cannabis activist who was invited to debate the country’s Central Drug Authority, David Bayever, on the show. The host begins the debate by asking Bayever if South Africa will be left behind the rest of the global movement that seeks to legalize marijuana. Bayever responds, saying that xenophobia may play a large part in the disruption of pro-pot legislation.</p>
<p>Agitated, Plessis interjects, claiming that Bayever’s remarks are just an attempt to gloss over ineptitude found in Central Drug Authority. Plessis says:</p>
<p>“The Central Drug Authority is eleven years late in presenting its position paper. Please don’t bring xenophobia into this as a form of an excuse for being late doing your job.”</p>
<p>Bayever, responds, saying that he will not debate Plessis on that point. He continues talking to the host of the show, all the while in the background Plessis calmly lights up what appears to be a joint.</p>
<p>Turning to Plessis the host asks him if he has anything else he wished to add to the debate. Plessis, now much calmer than he was at the beginning of the debate, exhales a cloud of smoke directly at the camera and says:</p>
<p>“I think that’s all I’ve got to say.”</p>
<p>This video is important. It reminds the world that the effort to legalize marijuana is global. The United States unleashed reefer madness on the world, resulting in disastrous policy in nearly every country in the world. Luckily, things are not only changing for the better in the U.S; they are changing for the better around the world.</p>
<p>You can watch the news segment below, in full.</p>
<p />
<p>Featured Image Credit: Screenshot via <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sw_0GZdTJQA" type="external">YouTube</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 2,428 |
<p>Most voters want Congress to allow undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children a path to citizenship in the U.S., according to a <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/13/dreamers-daca-citizenship-poll-242630" type="external">Politico/Morning Consult poll</a> released Wednesday.</p>
<p>The poll was conducted after U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the winding down of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protected the “Dreamers” who were brought to the U.S. as children.</p>
<p>In the poll:</p>
<p>Those who support the Dreamers are not only Democrats—68 percent of voters in the poll who said they voted for President Donald Trump want Congress to pass a law to let the Dreamers stay, the Politico poll report said.</p>
<p>House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., will meet with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and other Democratic leaders Wednesday to discuss options for protecting Dreamers, <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/12/dreamers-house-republican-leadership-242635" type="external">according to a Politico report Tuesday</a>.</p>
<p>The poll was conducted among 1,976 registered voters from Sept. 7 to Sept. 11, with a sampling error of plus or minus 2 points, the report said.</p> | Poll: Most Voters Want DACA Recipients Protected From Deportation | false | https://newsline.com/poll-most-voters-want-daca-recipients-protected-from-deportation/ | 2017-09-13 | 1right-center
| Poll: Most Voters Want DACA Recipients Protected From Deportation
<p>Most voters want Congress to allow undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children a path to citizenship in the U.S., according to a <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/13/dreamers-daca-citizenship-poll-242630" type="external">Politico/Morning Consult poll</a> released Wednesday.</p>
<p>The poll was conducted after U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the winding down of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protected the “Dreamers” who were brought to the U.S. as children.</p>
<p>In the poll:</p>
<p>Those who support the Dreamers are not only Democrats—68 percent of voters in the poll who said they voted for President Donald Trump want Congress to pass a law to let the Dreamers stay, the Politico poll report said.</p>
<p>House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., will meet with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and other Democratic leaders Wednesday to discuss options for protecting Dreamers, <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/12/dreamers-house-republican-leadership-242635" type="external">according to a Politico report Tuesday</a>.</p>
<p>The poll was conducted among 1,976 registered voters from Sept. 7 to Sept. 11, with a sampling error of plus or minus 2 points, the report said.</p> | 2,429 |
<p>In a hilarious moment that's making its way across the internet, a <a href="http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/clip/12370965/what-the-grand-master-bruce-silva-breaks-bricks-and-then" type="external">Hawaii News Now</a> reporter ruins what was supposed to be an impressive demonstration of strength and skill by a local "Grand Master" of Shaolin Kung Fu.</p>
<p>In the segment (below), anchor <a href="http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/11380702/steve-uyehara" type="external">Steve Uyehara</a> introduces Bruce Silva, a Kung Fu teacher who is promoting his upcoming event, the Black Dragon World Record Exhibition. Silva has set up three separate concrete block structures to break and wow the audience. What he wasn't expecting was for Uyehara to be so full of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z0_n7tGnK0" type="external">"Chi" power</a> that his mere presence was enough to destabilize the solid slabs at the atomic level. It's truly the only explanation.</p>
<p>A YouTube version below:</p>
<p>In the clip Silva says that the first brick is 21.2 lbs, and he breaks it with a glass that he's gently holding to prove his ability to focus his "power."</p>
<p>"That's incredible," the anchor exclaims as he walks to the second stack of blocks. And then in a perfect local news moment, right in the middle of the reporter saying "these are real bricks," he barely touches them - and they crumble completely.</p>
<p>The Grand Master quickly asks, "How'd you do that?" as the reporter doubles over, unable to contain his laughter.</p>
<p>It's live TV so the show must go on. The guru then breaks what he says is 110 lbs of bricks with his head, but not before telling the reporter not to touch them.</p>
<p>Exit tip from karate expert Master Ken who explains why "Kung Fu Fighting Drills Don't Work":</p>
<p>Silva later chopped the cake the news station gave him commemorating his first appearance on their show. Sharing is caring:</p>
<p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/cake-karate-chop-26ufhQnOMg38vTcIM" type="external">via GIPHY</a></p> | LOL: Reporter Accidentally Exposes Karate Master As Fraud On Live TV | true | https://dailywire.com/news/10032/lol-reporter-accidentally-exposes-karate-master-chase-stephens | 2016-10-19 | 0right
| LOL: Reporter Accidentally Exposes Karate Master As Fraud On Live TV
<p>In a hilarious moment that's making its way across the internet, a <a href="http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/clip/12370965/what-the-grand-master-bruce-silva-breaks-bricks-and-then" type="external">Hawaii News Now</a> reporter ruins what was supposed to be an impressive demonstration of strength and skill by a local "Grand Master" of Shaolin Kung Fu.</p>
<p>In the segment (below), anchor <a href="http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/11380702/steve-uyehara" type="external">Steve Uyehara</a> introduces Bruce Silva, a Kung Fu teacher who is promoting his upcoming event, the Black Dragon World Record Exhibition. Silva has set up three separate concrete block structures to break and wow the audience. What he wasn't expecting was for Uyehara to be so full of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z0_n7tGnK0" type="external">"Chi" power</a> that his mere presence was enough to destabilize the solid slabs at the atomic level. It's truly the only explanation.</p>
<p>A YouTube version below:</p>
<p>In the clip Silva says that the first brick is 21.2 lbs, and he breaks it with a glass that he's gently holding to prove his ability to focus his "power."</p>
<p>"That's incredible," the anchor exclaims as he walks to the second stack of blocks. And then in a perfect local news moment, right in the middle of the reporter saying "these are real bricks," he barely touches them - and they crumble completely.</p>
<p>The Grand Master quickly asks, "How'd you do that?" as the reporter doubles over, unable to contain his laughter.</p>
<p>It's live TV so the show must go on. The guru then breaks what he says is 110 lbs of bricks with his head, but not before telling the reporter not to touch them.</p>
<p>Exit tip from karate expert Master Ken who explains why "Kung Fu Fighting Drills Don't Work":</p>
<p>Silva later chopped the cake the news station gave him commemorating his first appearance on their show. Sharing is caring:</p>
<p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/cake-karate-chop-26ufhQnOMg38vTcIM" type="external">via GIPHY</a></p> | 2,430 |
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>The Super Bowl Sunday papers are full of news about the big NFL matchup/capitalist spectacle. Baseball being my sport, I dont really care who wins the game and will probably watch very little of it. The other headlines concern a contest which is definitely not as equally matched as the Super Bowl, but for which much more is at stake. That is the impending war on Iraq. Mr. Powell, that great diplomat, is quoted as saying the US will go it alone, with or without its twelve (or is it ten) allies. The time for diplomacy, say White House officials, is up. Now, I don’t know what dictionary the Bushes (Daddy and son) use, but Marriam-Websters defines diplomacy as : 1 : the art and practice of conducting negotiations between nations 2 : skill in handling affairs without arousing hostility : TACT.</p>
<p>From my view as a peace-loving citizen of the world, I haven’t seen many aspects of either definition one or two applied in the belligerent threats emanating from inside the Beltway. If making threats and deadlines (that are just plain impractical) is diplomacy, then why bother? Why not just go straight to war whenever a country wants something from another? That’s what big mean kids do to other kids on the playground. There have been no negotiations, artful or otherwise, between the US and Iraq. Negotiations can only occur when both parties are willing to negotiate and the US is on record as stating that there is nothing to negotiate. As for handling affairs without arousing hostility, well, I rest my case.</p>
<p>So, on Tuesday the world will hear Dubya tell a series of lies and half-truths which will be his reasons to kill people in Iraq. He will insist that this exercise in mass murder is an honorable endeavor and important to the freedom of the world. Many Americans will believe him, especially the ones in Congress. After all, they are willing to grasp at anything that would justify their timid and half-baked vote for war in September 2001 and October 2002. It’s not like there is any evidence that justifies killing thousands of Iraqis. Indeed, a senior administration official in the Sunday Boston Globe said that the documents that the White House claims to have (but can not show anyone) “do not include irrefutable evidence that Hussein has stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction.”</p>
<p>What this means is that the US government is sending men and women over to Iraq to launch a murderous attack on the people of that country because it does not have evidence that it is doing anything wrong. I tell you, I wouldnt want these men and women sitting on my jury. Even if the US did have evidence that Iraq was in violation of UN resolutions, the way to enforce agreement is by insisting that it destroy the offending weapons and programs, not by killing Iraqi citizens.</p>
<p>Of course, all this assumes that the US or the UN as it currently exists has any right at all to pass and enforce resolutions as blatantly unbalanced as those against Iraq. It is not the only country with weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East. Indeed, the United States military probably has more of these types of weapons in the region than any other country and they aren’t keeping them there for self defense. In fact, the only reason they are there is to attack Iraq, Afghanistan and any other country the warmakers in Washington feel it might be necessary to destroy. Israel, too, has several weapons of this nature. Like the US, they do not have to answer to the UN either.</p>
<p>To get back to the football game, if the rules of the game were applied between the goalposts the same way they are currently applied in world affairs, and if the Raiders were the US (rather appropriate) and the Buccaneers were Iraq, then the referees would never call a penalty against the Raiders and make up penalties against the Buccaneers. In addition, the coin toss would be rigged in the Raiders favor, they would always get the ball in Buccaneer territory, and they would start the game with seven points already on the board.</p>
<p>Hope you enjoyed the game. Go Team!</p>
<p>RON JACOBS lives in Burlington, VT. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Iraq War as Football Game | true | https://counterpunch.org/2003/01/25/iraq-war-as-football-game/ | 2003-01-25 | 4left
| Iraq War as Football Game
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>The Super Bowl Sunday papers are full of news about the big NFL matchup/capitalist spectacle. Baseball being my sport, I dont really care who wins the game and will probably watch very little of it. The other headlines concern a contest which is definitely not as equally matched as the Super Bowl, but for which much more is at stake. That is the impending war on Iraq. Mr. Powell, that great diplomat, is quoted as saying the US will go it alone, with or without its twelve (or is it ten) allies. The time for diplomacy, say White House officials, is up. Now, I don’t know what dictionary the Bushes (Daddy and son) use, but Marriam-Websters defines diplomacy as : 1 : the art and practice of conducting negotiations between nations 2 : skill in handling affairs without arousing hostility : TACT.</p>
<p>From my view as a peace-loving citizen of the world, I haven’t seen many aspects of either definition one or two applied in the belligerent threats emanating from inside the Beltway. If making threats and deadlines (that are just plain impractical) is diplomacy, then why bother? Why not just go straight to war whenever a country wants something from another? That’s what big mean kids do to other kids on the playground. There have been no negotiations, artful or otherwise, between the US and Iraq. Negotiations can only occur when both parties are willing to negotiate and the US is on record as stating that there is nothing to negotiate. As for handling affairs without arousing hostility, well, I rest my case.</p>
<p>So, on Tuesday the world will hear Dubya tell a series of lies and half-truths which will be his reasons to kill people in Iraq. He will insist that this exercise in mass murder is an honorable endeavor and important to the freedom of the world. Many Americans will believe him, especially the ones in Congress. After all, they are willing to grasp at anything that would justify their timid and half-baked vote for war in September 2001 and October 2002. It’s not like there is any evidence that justifies killing thousands of Iraqis. Indeed, a senior administration official in the Sunday Boston Globe said that the documents that the White House claims to have (but can not show anyone) “do not include irrefutable evidence that Hussein has stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction.”</p>
<p>What this means is that the US government is sending men and women over to Iraq to launch a murderous attack on the people of that country because it does not have evidence that it is doing anything wrong. I tell you, I wouldnt want these men and women sitting on my jury. Even if the US did have evidence that Iraq was in violation of UN resolutions, the way to enforce agreement is by insisting that it destroy the offending weapons and programs, not by killing Iraqi citizens.</p>
<p>Of course, all this assumes that the US or the UN as it currently exists has any right at all to pass and enforce resolutions as blatantly unbalanced as those against Iraq. It is not the only country with weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East. Indeed, the United States military probably has more of these types of weapons in the region than any other country and they aren’t keeping them there for self defense. In fact, the only reason they are there is to attack Iraq, Afghanistan and any other country the warmakers in Washington feel it might be necessary to destroy. Israel, too, has several weapons of this nature. Like the US, they do not have to answer to the UN either.</p>
<p>To get back to the football game, if the rules of the game were applied between the goalposts the same way they are currently applied in world affairs, and if the Raiders were the US (rather appropriate) and the Buccaneers were Iraq, then the referees would never call a penalty against the Raiders and make up penalties against the Buccaneers. In addition, the coin toss would be rigged in the Raiders favor, they would always get the ball in Buccaneer territory, and they would start the game with seven points already on the board.</p>
<p>Hope you enjoyed the game. Go Team!</p>
<p>RON JACOBS lives in Burlington, VT. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 2,431 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>doubleheader</p>
<p>Radio: 610 AM</p>
<p>Probable starters: Isotopes RHP Carlos Frias (5-4, 5.10) vs. Aces RHP Trevor Cahill (0-1, 6.14); second game, Isotopes TBA vs. Aces TBA.</p>
<p>Promotion: Laker Girls</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Thursday: The Isotopes fell 6-3 in 14 innings to visiting Reno in a game that went final just as the Journal went to press.&#160; Albuquerque trailed 3-0 after seven innings and got a two-out, game-tying home run from Walter Ibarra to send it to extras.</p>
<p>Transactions: OF Brian Cavazos-Galvez and C John Cannon rejoined the Isotopes on Thursday. OF Joc Pederson was placed on the disabled list with right shoulder inflammation. Cavazos-Galvez was on the Isotopes’ opening day roster and appeared in five games, picking up one hit. The former UNM Lobo was sent to Double-A Chattanooga on April 11 and hit .227 with two home runs in 64 games.</p>
<p>Pederson injured his shoulder Tuesday diving for a ball in short right-center field against the Iowa Cubs.</p>
<p>This and that: The Isotopes continue their five-game, four-day homestand today against Reno (the Arizona Diamondbacks affiliate). Both today and Saturday will feature postgame fireworks. … Today’s games are a straight doubleheader, meaning one ticket for both games. … The Los Angeles Laker Girls will sign autographs and perform between innings today. The weekend concludes with a silent auction for special jerseys that will be worn Sunday as part of the Isotopes’ breast cancer awareness game.</p> | ‘Topes today | false | https://abqjournal.com/421650/topes-today-262.html | 2least
| ‘Topes today
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>doubleheader</p>
<p>Radio: 610 AM</p>
<p>Probable starters: Isotopes RHP Carlos Frias (5-4, 5.10) vs. Aces RHP Trevor Cahill (0-1, 6.14); second game, Isotopes TBA vs. Aces TBA.</p>
<p>Promotion: Laker Girls</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Thursday: The Isotopes fell 6-3 in 14 innings to visiting Reno in a game that went final just as the Journal went to press.&#160; Albuquerque trailed 3-0 after seven innings and got a two-out, game-tying home run from Walter Ibarra to send it to extras.</p>
<p>Transactions: OF Brian Cavazos-Galvez and C John Cannon rejoined the Isotopes on Thursday. OF Joc Pederson was placed on the disabled list with right shoulder inflammation. Cavazos-Galvez was on the Isotopes’ opening day roster and appeared in five games, picking up one hit. The former UNM Lobo was sent to Double-A Chattanooga on April 11 and hit .227 with two home runs in 64 games.</p>
<p>Pederson injured his shoulder Tuesday diving for a ball in short right-center field against the Iowa Cubs.</p>
<p>This and that: The Isotopes continue their five-game, four-day homestand today against Reno (the Arizona Diamondbacks affiliate). Both today and Saturday will feature postgame fireworks. … Today’s games are a straight doubleheader, meaning one ticket for both games. … The Los Angeles Laker Girls will sign autographs and perform between innings today. The weekend concludes with a silent auction for special jerseys that will be worn Sunday as part of the Isotopes’ breast cancer awareness game.</p> | 2,432 |
|
<p>BRINKLEY, Ark. (AP) - Four people have been shot at an apartment complex in eastern Arkansas, and investigators say one of the victims has died.</p>
<p>Arkansas State Police said 33-year-old Xavier Parish of Brinkley died in the Thursday morning shooting and that Brinkley police had taken a 43-year-old man into custody. The shooting occurred at an apartment complex near a commercial area on the north side of Brinkley, about 60 miles (96 kilometers) east of Little Rock.</p>
<p>Brinkley police responding to the shooting found four people with gunshot wounds. The Forrest City Times-Herald reported that one of the injured was in critical condition and that another victim had only been grazed by a bullet. The other victim's injury was not considered life-threatening. Television station KATV in Little Rock reported that the victim in critical condition was a woman, while the others with non-life-threatening injuries were a man and a woman. No children were involved.</p>
<p>The sheriff's office said it appeared the shooting occurred in a common area and not inside an apartment.</p>
<p>State police said Parish was also known as Xavier Parker.</p>
<p>The killing was Monroe County's first since 2016.</p>
<p>BRINKLEY, Ark. (AP) - Four people have been shot at an apartment complex in eastern Arkansas, and investigators say one of the victims has died.</p>
<p>Arkansas State Police said 33-year-old Xavier Parish of Brinkley died in the Thursday morning shooting and that Brinkley police had taken a 43-year-old man into custody. The shooting occurred at an apartment complex near a commercial area on the north side of Brinkley, about 60 miles (96 kilometers) east of Little Rock.</p>
<p>Brinkley police responding to the shooting found four people with gunshot wounds. The Forrest City Times-Herald reported that one of the injured was in critical condition and that another victim had only been grazed by a bullet. The other victim's injury was not considered life-threatening. Television station KATV in Little Rock reported that the victim in critical condition was a woman, while the others with non-life-threatening injuries were a man and a woman. No children were involved.</p>
<p>The sheriff's office said it appeared the shooting occurred in a common area and not inside an apartment.</p>
<p>State police said Parish was also known as Xavier Parker.</p>
<p>The killing was Monroe County's first since 2016.</p> | Police say 1 dead, 3 hurt in eastern Arkansas shooting | false | https://apnews.com/amp/6aaddf8666e74e1a939f4d623782ab4c | 2018-01-05 | 2least
| Police say 1 dead, 3 hurt in eastern Arkansas shooting
<p>BRINKLEY, Ark. (AP) - Four people have been shot at an apartment complex in eastern Arkansas, and investigators say one of the victims has died.</p>
<p>Arkansas State Police said 33-year-old Xavier Parish of Brinkley died in the Thursday morning shooting and that Brinkley police had taken a 43-year-old man into custody. The shooting occurred at an apartment complex near a commercial area on the north side of Brinkley, about 60 miles (96 kilometers) east of Little Rock.</p>
<p>Brinkley police responding to the shooting found four people with gunshot wounds. The Forrest City Times-Herald reported that one of the injured was in critical condition and that another victim had only been grazed by a bullet. The other victim's injury was not considered life-threatening. Television station KATV in Little Rock reported that the victim in critical condition was a woman, while the others with non-life-threatening injuries were a man and a woman. No children were involved.</p>
<p>The sheriff's office said it appeared the shooting occurred in a common area and not inside an apartment.</p>
<p>State police said Parish was also known as Xavier Parker.</p>
<p>The killing was Monroe County's first since 2016.</p>
<p>BRINKLEY, Ark. (AP) - Four people have been shot at an apartment complex in eastern Arkansas, and investigators say one of the victims has died.</p>
<p>Arkansas State Police said 33-year-old Xavier Parish of Brinkley died in the Thursday morning shooting and that Brinkley police had taken a 43-year-old man into custody. The shooting occurred at an apartment complex near a commercial area on the north side of Brinkley, about 60 miles (96 kilometers) east of Little Rock.</p>
<p>Brinkley police responding to the shooting found four people with gunshot wounds. The Forrest City Times-Herald reported that one of the injured was in critical condition and that another victim had only been grazed by a bullet. The other victim's injury was not considered life-threatening. Television station KATV in Little Rock reported that the victim in critical condition was a woman, while the others with non-life-threatening injuries were a man and a woman. No children were involved.</p>
<p>The sheriff's office said it appeared the shooting occurred in a common area and not inside an apartment.</p>
<p>State police said Parish was also known as Xavier Parker.</p>
<p>The killing was Monroe County's first since 2016.</p> | 2,433 |
<p>LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday afternoon’s drawing of the Arkansas Lottery’s “Cash 4 Midday” game were:</p>
<p>0-4-1-9</p>
<p>(zero, four, one, nine)</p>
<p>LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday afternoon’s drawing of the Arkansas Lottery’s “Cash 4 Midday” game were:</p>
<p>0-4-1-9</p>
<p>(zero, four, one, nine)</p> | Winning numbers drawn in ‘Cash 4 Midday’ game | false | https://apnews.com/341480e0d8fa49d3bed9d53372bc8575 | 2017-12-28 | 2least
| Winning numbers drawn in ‘Cash 4 Midday’ game
<p>LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday afternoon’s drawing of the Arkansas Lottery’s “Cash 4 Midday” game were:</p>
<p>0-4-1-9</p>
<p>(zero, four, one, nine)</p>
<p>LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday afternoon’s drawing of the Arkansas Lottery’s “Cash 4 Midday” game were:</p>
<p>0-4-1-9</p>
<p>(zero, four, one, nine)</p> | 2,434 |
<p>In an excerpt from an upcoming book, the history behind the iconic cube on 5th Avenue finally gets to see the light of day. Not only is the flagship Apple Store on Fifth Avenue open, quite literally, 24/7 every single day of the year, it’s located beneath the large and eye-catching glass cube that is, believe it or not, one of the more commonly photographed landmarks in all of New York City.</p>
<p>The history begins well before the store opening in 2006. The real estate for the store was purchased by NYC real estate developer Harry B. Macklowe in 2003 when he acquired the gargantuan General Motors Building for a then-record setting $1.4 billion. The GM property housed an unused plaza, “a rather useless open space that extended from the front entrance to Fifth Avenue.”</p>
<p>Macklowe felt that the transformation of the property lay with Apple, which was several years into Steve Jobs’s second stint as CEO and looking to break out into retail sales. He pestered George Blankenship, Apple’s vice-president of real estate, for a meeting with Jobs which occurred in November 2003.</p>
<p>Out in Cupertino, Macklowe and Jobs hit it off immediately. “He’s wearing this black turtleneck, he’s wearing black jeans … it was terrific. The Apple team started talking about a flagship store that would be groundbreaking in almost every aspect,” he said. “It would be open 24/7.” The cube itself, that was reportedly part of Jobs’ vision. The designers and architects involved opted for a 32×32 foot cube.</p>
<p>The entire backstory behind the cube’s development has never been told and is well worth checking out in its entirety. The excerpt was taken from an upcoming book on the full history of the GM Building.</p>
<p /> | The history behind Apple’s iconic Fifth Avenue Cube now available | false | http://natmonitor.com/2014/09/30/the-history-behind-apples-iconic-fifth-avenue-cube-now-available/ | 2014-09-30 | 3left-center
| The history behind Apple’s iconic Fifth Avenue Cube now available
<p>In an excerpt from an upcoming book, the history behind the iconic cube on 5th Avenue finally gets to see the light of day. Not only is the flagship Apple Store on Fifth Avenue open, quite literally, 24/7 every single day of the year, it’s located beneath the large and eye-catching glass cube that is, believe it or not, one of the more commonly photographed landmarks in all of New York City.</p>
<p>The history begins well before the store opening in 2006. The real estate for the store was purchased by NYC real estate developer Harry B. Macklowe in 2003 when he acquired the gargantuan General Motors Building for a then-record setting $1.4 billion. The GM property housed an unused plaza, “a rather useless open space that extended from the front entrance to Fifth Avenue.”</p>
<p>Macklowe felt that the transformation of the property lay with Apple, which was several years into Steve Jobs’s second stint as CEO and looking to break out into retail sales. He pestered George Blankenship, Apple’s vice-president of real estate, for a meeting with Jobs which occurred in November 2003.</p>
<p>Out in Cupertino, Macklowe and Jobs hit it off immediately. “He’s wearing this black turtleneck, he’s wearing black jeans … it was terrific. The Apple team started talking about a flagship store that would be groundbreaking in almost every aspect,” he said. “It would be open 24/7.” The cube itself, that was reportedly part of Jobs’ vision. The designers and architects involved opted for a 32×32 foot cube.</p>
<p>The entire backstory behind the cube’s development has never been told and is well worth checking out in its entirety. The excerpt was taken from an upcoming book on the full history of the GM Building.</p>
<p /> | 2,435 |
<p />
<p>As utilities struggle with slowing demand growth, competition from rooftop solar, falling returns in their wholesale businesses, and even the shutdown of hundreds of power plants, they should take any kind of good news they can get. One of the best things that could happen to the utility business might be electric vehicles (EVs). Yet few utilities talk about it as a growth driver long term.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>I think EVs are one of the best opportunities utilities have for growth in the next decade, and if utilities are smart, they'll find a way to make EVs a moneymaker. But the idea of innovation in utilities may be as novel as the electric car itself.</p>
<p>If you're a U.S. utility, the first thing you want is people to use more electricity.Electric vehicles by definitionneed electricity, so utilities should push for as many EVs on the road as possible, plain and simple. But that's not where the opportunity to make money on EVs ends.</p>
<p>Utilities are looking for ways to balance supply and demand, especially as rooftop solar becomes more common.EVs could play a big role in making the grid more reliable and cost-efficient. Southern California Edison, a division of Edison International , has a pilot program that's testing the idea of curtailing charging EVs when grid demand is high. Customers will have the option to charge normally regardless of price, allow curtailment if grid demand is high, or draw a lower level of energy that has less demand on the grid, taking longer to charge. If the program is successful, it could be possible to provide the energy customers need in their EVs while putting less strain on the grid at peak times.</p>
<p>It's also possible for an EV to send energy to the grid if demand is high enough. Maybe using your $100,000 Tesla MotorsModel S like a battery to charge and dischargeevery day doesn't make sense, but if there's a financial incentive to use your car as a supply of energy at times of very high demand, maybe an EV owner would take that revenue from time to time. No matter the demand response dynamic that EVs play in the electric grid, they could make it less costly and more reliable for utilities to run the grid.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Image source: Tesla Motors.</p>
<p>Another opportunity in EVs is in the charging infrastructure, which has so far proven to be complex and disjointed to build out. Tesla Motors is building out its own charger networks, but as more EVs from Chevy, Nissan, BMW, VW, and others hit the road, there could be a need for both short- and long-duration charging networks across the country -- not to mention ones that support the different plugs different manufacturers are using. As the suppliers of electricity, this could be a key role for utilities.</p>
<p>Pacific Gas &amp; Electric , SCE, and Sempra Energy's San Diego Gas &amp; Electric all have plans to build EV charging infrastructures throughout California. And in some cases, the utility will even be able to rate-base the cost, charging all customers for the chargers. That's great for the utility, even though it's probably not great for non-EV customers paying for the infrastructure.</p>
<p>As the de facto testing grounds for the EV revolution, California will be a key location to watch for other utilities across the country. The state's utilities will likely need a way to balance their financial and regulatory might in building out infrastructure while also balancing competition. And that's a unique position for utilities to be in.</p>
<p>Whether it's demand response, energy storage, or charging-station ownership, utilities are going to have to find a way to adapt their businesses to compete in the future of energy. I don't think it makes sense to rate-base EV assets, which would given them guaranteed returns paid for all customers. So, creative solutions may be needed.</p>
<p>At the end of the day, if utilities can find a way to participate in the EV charging business, it could be a boon for them long term. EVs will drive a big increase in consumption of electricity and that would be great for business. Plus, they may make the grid more stable. However, business-model innovation hasn't exactly been utilities' strong suit over the past century. Sogetting utilities to buy into the idea that they need to adapt to make money on EVs may be easier said than done.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/05/21/how-utilities-benefit-electric-vehicle-revolution.aspx" type="external">How Utilities Can Reap the Most Benefit From the Electric Vehicle Revolution Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFFlushDraw/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Travis Hoium Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Tesla Motors. The Motley Fool recommends BMW and General Motors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | How Utilities Can Reap the Most Benefit From the Electric Vehicle Revolution | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/05/21/how-utilities-can-reap-most-benefit-from-electric-vehicle-revolution.html | 2016-05-21 | 0right
| How Utilities Can Reap the Most Benefit From the Electric Vehicle Revolution
<p />
<p>As utilities struggle with slowing demand growth, competition from rooftop solar, falling returns in their wholesale businesses, and even the shutdown of hundreds of power plants, they should take any kind of good news they can get. One of the best things that could happen to the utility business might be electric vehicles (EVs). Yet few utilities talk about it as a growth driver long term.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>I think EVs are one of the best opportunities utilities have for growth in the next decade, and if utilities are smart, they'll find a way to make EVs a moneymaker. But the idea of innovation in utilities may be as novel as the electric car itself.</p>
<p>If you're a U.S. utility, the first thing you want is people to use more electricity.Electric vehicles by definitionneed electricity, so utilities should push for as many EVs on the road as possible, plain and simple. But that's not where the opportunity to make money on EVs ends.</p>
<p>Utilities are looking for ways to balance supply and demand, especially as rooftop solar becomes more common.EVs could play a big role in making the grid more reliable and cost-efficient. Southern California Edison, a division of Edison International , has a pilot program that's testing the idea of curtailing charging EVs when grid demand is high. Customers will have the option to charge normally regardless of price, allow curtailment if grid demand is high, or draw a lower level of energy that has less demand on the grid, taking longer to charge. If the program is successful, it could be possible to provide the energy customers need in their EVs while putting less strain on the grid at peak times.</p>
<p>It's also possible for an EV to send energy to the grid if demand is high enough. Maybe using your $100,000 Tesla MotorsModel S like a battery to charge and dischargeevery day doesn't make sense, but if there's a financial incentive to use your car as a supply of energy at times of very high demand, maybe an EV owner would take that revenue from time to time. No matter the demand response dynamic that EVs play in the electric grid, they could make it less costly and more reliable for utilities to run the grid.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Image source: Tesla Motors.</p>
<p>Another opportunity in EVs is in the charging infrastructure, which has so far proven to be complex and disjointed to build out. Tesla Motors is building out its own charger networks, but as more EVs from Chevy, Nissan, BMW, VW, and others hit the road, there could be a need for both short- and long-duration charging networks across the country -- not to mention ones that support the different plugs different manufacturers are using. As the suppliers of electricity, this could be a key role for utilities.</p>
<p>Pacific Gas &amp; Electric , SCE, and Sempra Energy's San Diego Gas &amp; Electric all have plans to build EV charging infrastructures throughout California. And in some cases, the utility will even be able to rate-base the cost, charging all customers for the chargers. That's great for the utility, even though it's probably not great for non-EV customers paying for the infrastructure.</p>
<p>As the de facto testing grounds for the EV revolution, California will be a key location to watch for other utilities across the country. The state's utilities will likely need a way to balance their financial and regulatory might in building out infrastructure while also balancing competition. And that's a unique position for utilities to be in.</p>
<p>Whether it's demand response, energy storage, or charging-station ownership, utilities are going to have to find a way to adapt their businesses to compete in the future of energy. I don't think it makes sense to rate-base EV assets, which would given them guaranteed returns paid for all customers. So, creative solutions may be needed.</p>
<p>At the end of the day, if utilities can find a way to participate in the EV charging business, it could be a boon for them long term. EVs will drive a big increase in consumption of electricity and that would be great for business. Plus, they may make the grid more stable. However, business-model innovation hasn't exactly been utilities' strong suit over the past century. Sogetting utilities to buy into the idea that they need to adapt to make money on EVs may be easier said than done.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/05/21/how-utilities-benefit-electric-vehicle-revolution.aspx" type="external">How Utilities Can Reap the Most Benefit From the Electric Vehicle Revolution Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFFlushDraw/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Travis Hoium Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Tesla Motors. The Motley Fool recommends BMW and General Motors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 2,436 |
<p>On Sunday, Donald Trump and Mike Pence appeared on&#160;60 Minutes&#160;in their first joint interview since it was announced that the Indiana governor was going to be Trump’s running mate.</p>
<p>And, wow, this was one of the most awkward things I’ve ever watched. <a href="" type="internal">This Trump/Pence team</a> might rank up there with McCain/Palin as one of the most “odd couples” we’ve ever had in politics. I know it’s tough for many folks reading this to sit through any sort of Trump speech or interview, but I would encourage everyone to watch this disaster.</p>
<p>In case you don’t have time, or the desire to do so, I’ll summarize some of the best parts.</p>
<p>One of the first idiotic moments came when Trump stated that he was going to “declare war on ISIS,” yet he would only&#160;send “very few troops” in on the ground. Ignoring the fact that&#160;Congress&#160;declares war – not the president – he apparently doesn’t understand that if you&#160;don’t&#160;send in enough ground forces to get the job done, our troops are going to get stretched thin, fatigued — and slaughtered. This was classic Trump trying to talk big about ISIS, proving that he doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about.</p>
<p>Then when the war in Iraq was brought up, 60 Minutes’&#160;Leslie Stahl mentioned the fact&#160;that Pence actually voted&#160;for&#160;the war when he was a member of Congress.</p>
<p>“I don’t care,” Trump said.</p>
<p>“What do you mean you don’t care?,” Stahl responded.</p>
<p>“It was a long time ago,” he replied. “And they were also misled.”</p>
<p>Stahl, obviously taken aback by Trump’s remarks, then reminded him that&#160;he had used Hillary Clinton’s vote on Iraq frequently throughout his campaign as a sign of her “bad judgement.” At which point he essentially said that Pence was allowed to make a mistake but Hillary wasn’t.</p>
<p>You really can’t make this stuff up.</p>
<p>When religion was brought up, Trump claimed that “he’s religious” because he won the evangelical vote. By that “logic,” since he’s winning the white supremacist vote, (using his own logic)&#160;that means he’s also a racist.</p>
<p>Leslie Stahl then asked Pence (who’s spoken out against negative campaigning) what she thought of Trump’s negative attacks and name calling. Pence tried to provide a half-assed non-answer to her question, only to have Trump cut him off (as he did throughout this entire thing) to&#160;provide his own non-answer to her question.</p>
<p>At one point, when Pence was asked whether or not he disagreed with <a href="" type="internal">comments Trump made</a>where he said he didn’t think Sen. John McCain was a war hero, Trump literally said to the Indiana governor,&#160;“You could say yes. That’s okay. On that one you could say yes. It’s fine.”</p>
<p>Wow.</p>
<p>I have&#160;never seen anything like this where a presidential candidate was basically telling his running mate&#160;that it was okay if they&#160;answered a question honestly. Not only that, but despite telling him it was alright for him to be honest about that question&#160;—&#160;he never let Pence actually answer. Trump cutting off Pence was a common theme throughout this interview.</p>
<p>Stahl then&#160;brought up the fact that Mike Pence has been very pro-trade agreements, including the TPP, while Trump has based a large part of his campaigning saying that these agreements represent a “rape of our country.” At which point both men tried to do what they had done many times throughout this interview and dance around their&#160;obvious differences in policy beliefs, with both men claiming that Trump isn’t against free trade, he “just wants better deals.”</p>
<p>When the&#160;topic of torture was brought up, Pence was asked whether or not he backs&#160;Trump’s support of waterboarding and “a hell of a lot more.” He more or less refused to provide a direct answer as to whether or not he supports torture. A simple question turned into a rather incoherent word salad of the Indiana governor seemingly doing anything and everything he could to not provide a “yes” or “no” answer to a very direct question.</p>
<p>Perhaps the best part of this whole interview occurred when Stahl said that most people don’t view Trump as a “humble man.” He disputed this point, claiming he is actually quite humble.</p>
<p>“I think I am, actually, humble,” Trump replied. “I think I’m much more humble than you would understand.”</p>
<p>Yes, the person who&#160;constantly brags about himself, his success, his supposed wealth and has his name written all over practically everything he owns&#160;stated, with a straight face, that he’s actually a very humble person.</p>
<p>Like I said, this interview was one of the most awkward, unintentionally comical and ridiculous things I’ve ever watched. Normally sitting through <a href="" type="internal">an interview with Donald Trump</a> would make my skin crawl, but this thing was so bizarre that it was actually entertaining.</p>
<p>These two men couldn’t be more different and they have absolutely no chemistry. This might go down as one of the most disastrous presidential tickets in U.S. history.</p>
<p>This interview was absolutely humiliating for Republicans and the Republican party as a whole. Sadly, it’s an embarrassing moment for our nation as well.</p>
<p>Watch it below <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com" type="external">via CBS News</a>:</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p><a href="" type="internal">5 Reasons Why Trump Picking Mike Pence Was the Saddest Moment of His Campaign</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Trump's Speech Introducing Pence as His VP Choice Was an Embarrassing Train Wreck (Video)</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Mike Pence's Latest Attack on Hillary Clinton is so Absurd it Left Me Speechless (Video)</a></p>
<p>0 Facebook comments</p> | The First Donald Trump/Mike Pence Interview was Humiliating for the Republican Party (Video) | true | http://forwardprogressives.com/first-donald-trumpmike-pence-interview-humiliating-republican-party-video/ | 2016-07-18 | 4left
| The First Donald Trump/Mike Pence Interview was Humiliating for the Republican Party (Video)
<p>On Sunday, Donald Trump and Mike Pence appeared on&#160;60 Minutes&#160;in their first joint interview since it was announced that the Indiana governor was going to be Trump’s running mate.</p>
<p>And, wow, this was one of the most awkward things I’ve ever watched. <a href="" type="internal">This Trump/Pence team</a> might rank up there with McCain/Palin as one of the most “odd couples” we’ve ever had in politics. I know it’s tough for many folks reading this to sit through any sort of Trump speech or interview, but I would encourage everyone to watch this disaster.</p>
<p>In case you don’t have time, or the desire to do so, I’ll summarize some of the best parts.</p>
<p>One of the first idiotic moments came when Trump stated that he was going to “declare war on ISIS,” yet he would only&#160;send “very few troops” in on the ground. Ignoring the fact that&#160;Congress&#160;declares war – not the president – he apparently doesn’t understand that if you&#160;don’t&#160;send in enough ground forces to get the job done, our troops are going to get stretched thin, fatigued — and slaughtered. This was classic Trump trying to talk big about ISIS, proving that he doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about.</p>
<p>Then when the war in Iraq was brought up, 60 Minutes’&#160;Leslie Stahl mentioned the fact&#160;that Pence actually voted&#160;for&#160;the war when he was a member of Congress.</p>
<p>“I don’t care,” Trump said.</p>
<p>“What do you mean you don’t care?,” Stahl responded.</p>
<p>“It was a long time ago,” he replied. “And they were also misled.”</p>
<p>Stahl, obviously taken aback by Trump’s remarks, then reminded him that&#160;he had used Hillary Clinton’s vote on Iraq frequently throughout his campaign as a sign of her “bad judgement.” At which point he essentially said that Pence was allowed to make a mistake but Hillary wasn’t.</p>
<p>You really can’t make this stuff up.</p>
<p>When religion was brought up, Trump claimed that “he’s religious” because he won the evangelical vote. By that “logic,” since he’s winning the white supremacist vote, (using his own logic)&#160;that means he’s also a racist.</p>
<p>Leslie Stahl then asked Pence (who’s spoken out against negative campaigning) what she thought of Trump’s negative attacks and name calling. Pence tried to provide a half-assed non-answer to her question, only to have Trump cut him off (as he did throughout this entire thing) to&#160;provide his own non-answer to her question.</p>
<p>At one point, when Pence was asked whether or not he disagreed with <a href="" type="internal">comments Trump made</a>where he said he didn’t think Sen. John McCain was a war hero, Trump literally said to the Indiana governor,&#160;“You could say yes. That’s okay. On that one you could say yes. It’s fine.”</p>
<p>Wow.</p>
<p>I have&#160;never seen anything like this where a presidential candidate was basically telling his running mate&#160;that it was okay if they&#160;answered a question honestly. Not only that, but despite telling him it was alright for him to be honest about that question&#160;—&#160;he never let Pence actually answer. Trump cutting off Pence was a common theme throughout this interview.</p>
<p>Stahl then&#160;brought up the fact that Mike Pence has been very pro-trade agreements, including the TPP, while Trump has based a large part of his campaigning saying that these agreements represent a “rape of our country.” At which point both men tried to do what they had done many times throughout this interview and dance around their&#160;obvious differences in policy beliefs, with both men claiming that Trump isn’t against free trade, he “just wants better deals.”</p>
<p>When the&#160;topic of torture was brought up, Pence was asked whether or not he backs&#160;Trump’s support of waterboarding and “a hell of a lot more.” He more or less refused to provide a direct answer as to whether or not he supports torture. A simple question turned into a rather incoherent word salad of the Indiana governor seemingly doing anything and everything he could to not provide a “yes” or “no” answer to a very direct question.</p>
<p>Perhaps the best part of this whole interview occurred when Stahl said that most people don’t view Trump as a “humble man.” He disputed this point, claiming he is actually quite humble.</p>
<p>“I think I am, actually, humble,” Trump replied. “I think I’m much more humble than you would understand.”</p>
<p>Yes, the person who&#160;constantly brags about himself, his success, his supposed wealth and has his name written all over practically everything he owns&#160;stated, with a straight face, that he’s actually a very humble person.</p>
<p>Like I said, this interview was one of the most awkward, unintentionally comical and ridiculous things I’ve ever watched. Normally sitting through <a href="" type="internal">an interview with Donald Trump</a> would make my skin crawl, but this thing was so bizarre that it was actually entertaining.</p>
<p>These two men couldn’t be more different and they have absolutely no chemistry. This might go down as one of the most disastrous presidential tickets in U.S. history.</p>
<p>This interview was absolutely humiliating for Republicans and the Republican party as a whole. Sadly, it’s an embarrassing moment for our nation as well.</p>
<p>Watch it below <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com" type="external">via CBS News</a>:</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p><a href="" type="internal">5 Reasons Why Trump Picking Mike Pence Was the Saddest Moment of His Campaign</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Trump's Speech Introducing Pence as His VP Choice Was an Embarrassing Train Wreck (Video)</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Mike Pence's Latest Attack on Hillary Clinton is so Absurd it Left Me Speechless (Video)</a></p>
<p>0 Facebook comments</p> | 2,437 |
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>SYDNEY (Reuters) - Resource stocks were on a roll in Asia on Thursday as oil prices hit heights not seen since late 2014 and ignited a rally across commodities, though the potential boost to inflation globally also put some pressure on fixed-income assets.</p> FILE PHOTO: Market prices are reflected in a glass window at the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) in Tokyo, Japan, February 6, 2018. REUTERS/Toru Hanai
<p>Brent crude futures climbed another 37 cents to stand at $73.85 a barrel, adding to a 2.7 percent jump overnight. U.S. crude gained 26 cents to $68.73.</p>
<p>The surge came on a Reuters report that OPEC's new price hawk Saudi Arabia would be happy for crude to rise to $80 or even $100, a sign Riyadh will seek no changes to a supply-cutting deal even though the agreement's original target is within sight.</p>
<p>"The Saudis and their colleagues in OPEC need higher oil for their fiscal positions and the Kingdom is on a bold - and costly - reform program," said Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at CFD and FX provider AxiTrader.</p>
<p>"So, they might continue to squeeze the lemon while they have the chance and the hand."</p>
<p>The leap in oil combined with fears that sanctions on Russia could hit supplies of other commodities to light a fire under the entire sector. Aluminum prices reached their highest since 2011, alumina touched an all-time peak and nickel jumped the most in 6-1/2 years.</p>
<p>Such increases, if sustained, could fuel inflationary pressures and investors hedged by selling sovereign bonds.</p>
<p>Yields on U.S. two-year Treasuries stood at levels last visited in 2008 at 2.43 percent.</p> EXTRA ENERGY
<p>Resource stocks were the big winners, driving Chinese blue chips up 1.1 percent. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.9 percent, with energy up over 2.6 percent.</p>
<p>Japan's Nikkei faded late in the day to end up 0.15 percent, but basic materials and utilities both climbed more than 2 percent.</p>
<p>The bullish sentiment in markets comes amid wider optimism about economic growth. The global economy is expected to expand this year at its fastest pace since 2010, the latest Reuters polls of over 500 economists worldwide suggest, but trade protectionism could quickly slow it down.</p>
<p>Investors were also relieved that no new U.S. demands on trade came out of a summit between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump.</p>
<p>E-Mini futures for the S&amp;P 500 rose 0.1 percent, as did futures for the FTSE.</p>
<p>Wall Street had also seen hefty gains in the energy and industrial indexes, though that was offset by softness in sectors such as consumer staples and financials.</p>
<p>IBM's 7.5 percent drop was the biggest drag on the S&amp;P after the technology company's quarterly profit margins missed Wall Street targets.</p>
<p>The Dow ended down 0.16 percent, while the S&amp;P 500 gained 0.08 percent and the Nasdaq 0.19 percent.</p>
<p>In currency markets, the U.S. dollar remained range bound with its index a fraction firmer at 89.669. It gained a touch on the yen to 107.46 yen, but stayed short of recent peaks at 107.78.</p>
<p>The euro hovered at $1.2374, within striking distance of the week's top of $1.2413.</p>
<p>The strength in commodity prices helped the Australian dollar easily weather unexpectedly soft jobs data, with employment rising by a meager 4,900 in March.</p>
<p>Figures out from New Zealand also showed annual inflation there had slowed to just 1.1 percent in the first quarter, underlining expectations that interest rates would remain at record lows for many more months to come.</p>
<p>Editing by Sam Holmes &amp; Shri Navaratnam</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&amp;P 500 eked out a small gain while the Dow declined after a volatile trading session on Wednesday, with weakness in sectors such as consumer staples and financials offsetting strong gains in the energy and industrial indexes.</p>
<p>Higher oil prices boosted energy stocks while transport stocks such as CSX Corp helped the industrial sector. But IBM's ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=IBM.N" type="external">IBM.N</a>) 7.5 percent drop was the biggest drag on the S&amp;P after the technology company's quarterly profit margins missed Wall Street targets.</p>
<p>"There's a lot of headlines pulling the market in different directions. The most notable is energy prices pulling that sector higher," said David Joy, chief market strategist at Ameriprise in Boston.</p>
<p>Joy attributed a drop in financial stocks to a flattening yield curve in U.S. treasuries.</p>
<p>"Earnings and the yield curve are the two biggest influences," said Joy, adding that "transports are very strong today which is a very good sign for the economy."</p>
<p>No. 3 U.S. railroad operator CSX ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=CSX.O" type="external">CSX.O</a>) jumped 7.8 percent after topping profit estimates. Its news lifted other railroads, and helped to push the Dow Jones Transport index .DJT up 1.7 percent.</p>
<p>Also United Continental ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=UAL.N" type="external">UAL.N</a>) gained 4.8 percent and lifted other airline stocks after reporting a better-than-expected quarterly profit.</p>
<p>Trading was choppy, with the Dow swinging between positive and negative territory while the S&amp;P 500 gave up most of its gains in the last few minutes of trading.</p>
<p>The Dow Jones Industrial Average <a href="/finance/markets/index?symbol=.DJI" type="external">.DJI</a> fell 38.56 points, or 0.16 percent, to 24,748.07, the S&amp;P 500 <a href="/finance/markets/index?symbol=.SPX" type="external">.SPX</a> gained 2.25 points, or 0.08 percent, to 2,708.64 and the Nasdaq Composite <a href="/finance/markets/index?symbol=.IXIC" type="external">.IXIC</a> added 14.14 points, or 0.19 percent, to 7,295.24.</p>
<p>In late afternoon trade the S&amp;P briefly lost ground after a Federal Reserve report said robust business borrowing, rising consumer spending, and tight labor markets indicated the U.S. economy is on track for continued growth, with trade war risks being the one big outlier.</p>
<p>However, Mark Heppenstall, chief investment officer at Penn Mutual Asset Management in Horsham, Pennsylvania, said investors were hopeful for a positive outcome with China.</p>
<p>"China trade tensions seem to have moved to the back burner," he said. "Earnings are part of the equation as well. The bar was high. There was a risk expectations would outpace what comes through but generally earnings have been favorable."</p>
<p>Wall Street expects S&amp;P 500 first-quarter earnings to grow 19.4 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data.</p> FILE PHOTO: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., March 29, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
<p>Oil futures CLc1 settled up 2.9 percent due to a decline in U.S. crude inventories and after sources signaled top exporter Saudi Arabia wants to see crude prices closer to $100 a barrel. The S&amp;P energy sector .SPNY was up 1.6 percent. [O/R]</p>
<p>The CBOE Volatility index .VIX ended up 0.35 point at 15.60, its first daily increase after six days of declines.</p>
<p>Lam Research ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=LRCX.O" type="external">LRCX.O</a>) fell 4 percent on analyst concerns about a slowdown in demand for its chip equipment.</p>
<p>The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index .SOX finished down 1 percent.</p>
<p>Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.26-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.09-to-1 ratio favored advancers.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=IBM.N" type="external">International Business Machines Corp</a> 148.79 IBM.N New York Stock Exchange -12.12 (-7.53%) IBM.N CSX.O UAL.N .DJI .SPX
<p>The S&amp;P 500 posted 39 new 52-week highs and two new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 131 new highs and 36 new lows.</p>
<p>On U.S. exchanges 6.46 billion shares changed hands, compared to the almost 7 billion average for the last 20 days.</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernadette Baum and James Dalgleish</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>(Reuters) - Procter &amp; Gamble Co will acquire the consumer health business of Merck KGaA for about 3.4 billion euros ($4.2 billion), giving it vitamin brands such as Seven Seas and greater exposure to Latin American and Asian markets.</p> FILE PHOTO - The logo of Dow Jones Industrial Average stock market index listed company Procter &amp; Gamble (PG) is seen on a tube of toothpaste in Los Angeles, California, United States, April 25, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
<p>Procter &amp; Gamble (P&amp;G), whose stable of brands include Pampers diapers, Gillette razors and Vicks cough and cold products, said on Thursday that the acquisition had been agreed and would enable it to expand its portfolio of consumer healthcare products. Merck's unit also includes vitamin brands such as Femibion, Neurobion and Nasivin.</p>
<p>The purchase price for Merck's business suggests that the German company climbed down from price demands of as much as 4 billion euros, which sources told Reuters had deterred initial suitors such as Nestle, Perrigo and Stada owners Bain and Cinven.</p>
<p>Morgan Stanley analyst Vincent Meunier said the price still implied a valuation of 4.7 times sales and around 19 times operating profit (EBITDA) for the business, at the high end of recent deals seen in the sector.</p>
<p>"This will help (Merck) focus on its pharma unit and refurbish its pipeline," he said.</p>
<p>Shares in Merck rose 2.9 percent to the top of the German blue-chip DAX index in pre-market trade at brokerage Lang &amp; Schwarz.</p>
<p>P&amp;G also announced it would also terminate its consumer care joint venture with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, PGT Healthcare, on July 1, saying P&amp;G and Teva's strategies were no longer aligned.</p>
<p>Merck said the divestment of its consumer health business did not change its goal of keeping net sales of its established prescription drugs, such as Erbitux against cancer and multiple sclerosis treatment Rebif, organically stable until 2022.</p>
<p>It will issue guidance for 2018 to reflect the sale of the consumer healthcare business when it publishes first-quarter financial results on May 15, it said in presentation slides <a href="https://www.merckgroup.com/content/dam/web/corporate/non-images/investors/events-and-presentations/webcasts-and-presentations/2018/en/CH_Disposal_Slides_Final.pdf." type="external">here</a></p>
<p>It expects the sale to P&amp;G to close by the fourth quarter.</p>
<p>About 3,300 Merck employees, mainly from the consumer health unit, could move to P&amp;G upon completion of the transaction.</p>
<p>As part of the deal, P&amp;G will buy a majority stake in the German company's Indian consumer health business, Merck Ltd, and subsequently make a mandatory tender offer to minority shareholders.</p>
<p>The deal does not yet include Merck's French consumer health business, for which P&amp;G has made a binding offer, Merck said.</p>
<p>JP Morgan acted as financial adviser to Merck on the transaction, and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer was legal adviser.</p>
<p>Reporting by Shalini Nagarajan in Bengaluru; Ludwig Burger and Maria Sheahan in Frankfurt; Editing by Sunil Nair/Gopakumar Warrier/Susan Fenton</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil futures jumped nearly 3 percent on Wednesday on a decline in U.S. crude inventories and after sources signaled top exporter Saudi Arabia wants to see the crude price closer to $100 a barrel.</p> FILE PHOTO: An oil well is seen near Denver, Colorado February 2, 2015. REUTERS/Rick Wilking
<p>OPEC's new price hawk Saudi Arabia would be happy for crude to rise to $80 or even $100, three industry sources said, a sign Riyadh will seek no changes to a supply-cutting deal even though the agreement's original target is within sight.</p>
<p>Brent crude futures LCOc1 settled at $73.48 a barrel, up $1.90, or 2.7 percent. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures CLc1 gained $1.95, or 2.9 percent, to settle at $68.47 a barrel, their highest since late 2014.</p>
<p>Prices were supported as U.S. oil stockpiles fell across the board last week with gasoline and distillates drawing down more than expected on stronger demand, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.</p>
<p>Crude inventories dropped by 1.1 million barrels as a result of a decline of 1.3 million barrels per day in net crude imports.</p>
<p>"This may be one of the most bullish reports in some time, with the across-the-board declines in inventories," said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital Management in New York.</p>
<p>"Beyond the headlines, gasoline demand was very strong, virtually summer-like, and crude oil exports are climbed back toward 2 million bpd at 1.75 million."</p>
<p>Buying in anticipation of the report started late Tuesday, said Brian LaRose, a technical analyst with United-ICAP.</p>
<p>The market also found support in expectation that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' production cuts will be sustained. OPEC and 10 rival producers have curbed output by a joint 1.8 million bpd since January 2017 and pledged to do so until the end of this year.</p>
<p>OPEC's ministerial committee tasked with monitoring the group's supply-cutting deal with non-OPEC countries, led by Russia, meets in the Saudi city of Jeddah on Friday.</p>
<p>"Despite an oil price of over $70 per barrel and the fact that the oversupply has been eliminated, a phase-out of the production cuts will not be on the agenda," Commerzbank oil analyst Carsten Fritsch said.</p>
<p>Oil has been supported by the perception among investors that tensions in the Middle East could lead to supply disruptions, including renewed U.S. sanctions against Iran, as well as falling output in crisis-hit Venezuela.</p>
<p>Dutch bank ING said in a note to clients that Brent had risen back above $70 in April "due to geopolitical risks along with some fundamentally bullish developments in the market".</p>
<p>It raised its average 2018 price forecast for Brent to $66.50 from $60.25, and its 2018 WTI forecast to $62.50 from $57.75.</p>
<p>For next year, however, ING expects lower prices due to rising U.S. crude output, which has jumped by a quarter since mid-2016.</p>
<p>(GRAPHIC: Brent, WTI crude futures price curve - <a href="https://reut.rs/2vnKJCe" type="external">reut.rs/2vnKJCe</a>)</p>
<a href="https://reut.rs/2vnKJCe" type="external" />
<p>(GRAPHIC: OPEC members' compliance with crude output cut - <a href="https://reut.rs/2J6lmGZ" type="external">reut.rs/2J6lmGZ</a>)</p>
<a href="https://reut.rs/2J6lmGZ" type="external" />
<p>Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein in SINGAPORE and Amanda Cooper in LONDON; Editing by Marguerita Choy and David Evans</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | SE Asia Stocks-Vietnam slides; Indonesia marks new closing high Commodities, resource stocks ride oil surge in Asia Energy, transport stocks lift Wall Street, IBM drags P&G to buy German Merck's consumer health unit for $4.2 billion Oil jumps 3 percent on Saudi price target, U.S stockpiles | false | https://reuters.com/article/southeast-asia-stocks/se-asia-stocks-vietnam-slides-indonesia-marks-new-closing-high-idUSL3N1PC3AV | 2018-01-17 | 2least
| SE Asia Stocks-Vietnam slides; Indonesia marks new closing high Commodities, resource stocks ride oil surge in Asia Energy, transport stocks lift Wall Street, IBM drags P&G to buy German Merck's consumer health unit for $4.2 billion Oil jumps 3 percent on Saudi price target, U.S stockpiles
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>SYDNEY (Reuters) - Resource stocks were on a roll in Asia on Thursday as oil prices hit heights not seen since late 2014 and ignited a rally across commodities, though the potential boost to inflation globally also put some pressure on fixed-income assets.</p> FILE PHOTO: Market prices are reflected in a glass window at the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) in Tokyo, Japan, February 6, 2018. REUTERS/Toru Hanai
<p>Brent crude futures climbed another 37 cents to stand at $73.85 a barrel, adding to a 2.7 percent jump overnight. U.S. crude gained 26 cents to $68.73.</p>
<p>The surge came on a Reuters report that OPEC's new price hawk Saudi Arabia would be happy for crude to rise to $80 or even $100, a sign Riyadh will seek no changes to a supply-cutting deal even though the agreement's original target is within sight.</p>
<p>"The Saudis and their colleagues in OPEC need higher oil for their fiscal positions and the Kingdom is on a bold - and costly - reform program," said Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at CFD and FX provider AxiTrader.</p>
<p>"So, they might continue to squeeze the lemon while they have the chance and the hand."</p>
<p>The leap in oil combined with fears that sanctions on Russia could hit supplies of other commodities to light a fire under the entire sector. Aluminum prices reached their highest since 2011, alumina touched an all-time peak and nickel jumped the most in 6-1/2 years.</p>
<p>Such increases, if sustained, could fuel inflationary pressures and investors hedged by selling sovereign bonds.</p>
<p>Yields on U.S. two-year Treasuries stood at levels last visited in 2008 at 2.43 percent.</p> EXTRA ENERGY
<p>Resource stocks were the big winners, driving Chinese blue chips up 1.1 percent. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.9 percent, with energy up over 2.6 percent.</p>
<p>Japan's Nikkei faded late in the day to end up 0.15 percent, but basic materials and utilities both climbed more than 2 percent.</p>
<p>The bullish sentiment in markets comes amid wider optimism about economic growth. The global economy is expected to expand this year at its fastest pace since 2010, the latest Reuters polls of over 500 economists worldwide suggest, but trade protectionism could quickly slow it down.</p>
<p>Investors were also relieved that no new U.S. demands on trade came out of a summit between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump.</p>
<p>E-Mini futures for the S&amp;P 500 rose 0.1 percent, as did futures for the FTSE.</p>
<p>Wall Street had also seen hefty gains in the energy and industrial indexes, though that was offset by softness in sectors such as consumer staples and financials.</p>
<p>IBM's 7.5 percent drop was the biggest drag on the S&amp;P after the technology company's quarterly profit margins missed Wall Street targets.</p>
<p>The Dow ended down 0.16 percent, while the S&amp;P 500 gained 0.08 percent and the Nasdaq 0.19 percent.</p>
<p>In currency markets, the U.S. dollar remained range bound with its index a fraction firmer at 89.669. It gained a touch on the yen to 107.46 yen, but stayed short of recent peaks at 107.78.</p>
<p>The euro hovered at $1.2374, within striking distance of the week's top of $1.2413.</p>
<p>The strength in commodity prices helped the Australian dollar easily weather unexpectedly soft jobs data, with employment rising by a meager 4,900 in March.</p>
<p>Figures out from New Zealand also showed annual inflation there had slowed to just 1.1 percent in the first quarter, underlining expectations that interest rates would remain at record lows for many more months to come.</p>
<p>Editing by Sam Holmes &amp; Shri Navaratnam</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&amp;P 500 eked out a small gain while the Dow declined after a volatile trading session on Wednesday, with weakness in sectors such as consumer staples and financials offsetting strong gains in the energy and industrial indexes.</p>
<p>Higher oil prices boosted energy stocks while transport stocks such as CSX Corp helped the industrial sector. But IBM's ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=IBM.N" type="external">IBM.N</a>) 7.5 percent drop was the biggest drag on the S&amp;P after the technology company's quarterly profit margins missed Wall Street targets.</p>
<p>"There's a lot of headlines pulling the market in different directions. The most notable is energy prices pulling that sector higher," said David Joy, chief market strategist at Ameriprise in Boston.</p>
<p>Joy attributed a drop in financial stocks to a flattening yield curve in U.S. treasuries.</p>
<p>"Earnings and the yield curve are the two biggest influences," said Joy, adding that "transports are very strong today which is a very good sign for the economy."</p>
<p>No. 3 U.S. railroad operator CSX ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=CSX.O" type="external">CSX.O</a>) jumped 7.8 percent after topping profit estimates. Its news lifted other railroads, and helped to push the Dow Jones Transport index .DJT up 1.7 percent.</p>
<p>Also United Continental ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=UAL.N" type="external">UAL.N</a>) gained 4.8 percent and lifted other airline stocks after reporting a better-than-expected quarterly profit.</p>
<p>Trading was choppy, with the Dow swinging between positive and negative territory while the S&amp;P 500 gave up most of its gains in the last few minutes of trading.</p>
<p>The Dow Jones Industrial Average <a href="/finance/markets/index?symbol=.DJI" type="external">.DJI</a> fell 38.56 points, or 0.16 percent, to 24,748.07, the S&amp;P 500 <a href="/finance/markets/index?symbol=.SPX" type="external">.SPX</a> gained 2.25 points, or 0.08 percent, to 2,708.64 and the Nasdaq Composite <a href="/finance/markets/index?symbol=.IXIC" type="external">.IXIC</a> added 14.14 points, or 0.19 percent, to 7,295.24.</p>
<p>In late afternoon trade the S&amp;P briefly lost ground after a Federal Reserve report said robust business borrowing, rising consumer spending, and tight labor markets indicated the U.S. economy is on track for continued growth, with trade war risks being the one big outlier.</p>
<p>However, Mark Heppenstall, chief investment officer at Penn Mutual Asset Management in Horsham, Pennsylvania, said investors were hopeful for a positive outcome with China.</p>
<p>"China trade tensions seem to have moved to the back burner," he said. "Earnings are part of the equation as well. The bar was high. There was a risk expectations would outpace what comes through but generally earnings have been favorable."</p>
<p>Wall Street expects S&amp;P 500 first-quarter earnings to grow 19.4 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data.</p> FILE PHOTO: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., March 29, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
<p>Oil futures CLc1 settled up 2.9 percent due to a decline in U.S. crude inventories and after sources signaled top exporter Saudi Arabia wants to see crude prices closer to $100 a barrel. The S&amp;P energy sector .SPNY was up 1.6 percent. [O/R]</p>
<p>The CBOE Volatility index .VIX ended up 0.35 point at 15.60, its first daily increase after six days of declines.</p>
<p>Lam Research ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=LRCX.O" type="external">LRCX.O</a>) fell 4 percent on analyst concerns about a slowdown in demand for its chip equipment.</p>
<p>The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index .SOX finished down 1 percent.</p>
<p>Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.26-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.09-to-1 ratio favored advancers.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=IBM.N" type="external">International Business Machines Corp</a> 148.79 IBM.N New York Stock Exchange -12.12 (-7.53%) IBM.N CSX.O UAL.N .DJI .SPX
<p>The S&amp;P 500 posted 39 new 52-week highs and two new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 131 new highs and 36 new lows.</p>
<p>On U.S. exchanges 6.46 billion shares changed hands, compared to the almost 7 billion average for the last 20 days.</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernadette Baum and James Dalgleish</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>(Reuters) - Procter &amp; Gamble Co will acquire the consumer health business of Merck KGaA for about 3.4 billion euros ($4.2 billion), giving it vitamin brands such as Seven Seas and greater exposure to Latin American and Asian markets.</p> FILE PHOTO - The logo of Dow Jones Industrial Average stock market index listed company Procter &amp; Gamble (PG) is seen on a tube of toothpaste in Los Angeles, California, United States, April 25, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
<p>Procter &amp; Gamble (P&amp;G), whose stable of brands include Pampers diapers, Gillette razors and Vicks cough and cold products, said on Thursday that the acquisition had been agreed and would enable it to expand its portfolio of consumer healthcare products. Merck's unit also includes vitamin brands such as Femibion, Neurobion and Nasivin.</p>
<p>The purchase price for Merck's business suggests that the German company climbed down from price demands of as much as 4 billion euros, which sources told Reuters had deterred initial suitors such as Nestle, Perrigo and Stada owners Bain and Cinven.</p>
<p>Morgan Stanley analyst Vincent Meunier said the price still implied a valuation of 4.7 times sales and around 19 times operating profit (EBITDA) for the business, at the high end of recent deals seen in the sector.</p>
<p>"This will help (Merck) focus on its pharma unit and refurbish its pipeline," he said.</p>
<p>Shares in Merck rose 2.9 percent to the top of the German blue-chip DAX index in pre-market trade at brokerage Lang &amp; Schwarz.</p>
<p>P&amp;G also announced it would also terminate its consumer care joint venture with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, PGT Healthcare, on July 1, saying P&amp;G and Teva's strategies were no longer aligned.</p>
<p>Merck said the divestment of its consumer health business did not change its goal of keeping net sales of its established prescription drugs, such as Erbitux against cancer and multiple sclerosis treatment Rebif, organically stable until 2022.</p>
<p>It will issue guidance for 2018 to reflect the sale of the consumer healthcare business when it publishes first-quarter financial results on May 15, it said in presentation slides <a href="https://www.merckgroup.com/content/dam/web/corporate/non-images/investors/events-and-presentations/webcasts-and-presentations/2018/en/CH_Disposal_Slides_Final.pdf." type="external">here</a></p>
<p>It expects the sale to P&amp;G to close by the fourth quarter.</p>
<p>About 3,300 Merck employees, mainly from the consumer health unit, could move to P&amp;G upon completion of the transaction.</p>
<p>As part of the deal, P&amp;G will buy a majority stake in the German company's Indian consumer health business, Merck Ltd, and subsequently make a mandatory tender offer to minority shareholders.</p>
<p>The deal does not yet include Merck's French consumer health business, for which P&amp;G has made a binding offer, Merck said.</p>
<p>JP Morgan acted as financial adviser to Merck on the transaction, and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer was legal adviser.</p>
<p>Reporting by Shalini Nagarajan in Bengaluru; Ludwig Burger and Maria Sheahan in Frankfurt; Editing by Sunil Nair/Gopakumar Warrier/Susan Fenton</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil futures jumped nearly 3 percent on Wednesday on a decline in U.S. crude inventories and after sources signaled top exporter Saudi Arabia wants to see the crude price closer to $100 a barrel.</p> FILE PHOTO: An oil well is seen near Denver, Colorado February 2, 2015. REUTERS/Rick Wilking
<p>OPEC's new price hawk Saudi Arabia would be happy for crude to rise to $80 or even $100, three industry sources said, a sign Riyadh will seek no changes to a supply-cutting deal even though the agreement's original target is within sight.</p>
<p>Brent crude futures LCOc1 settled at $73.48 a barrel, up $1.90, or 2.7 percent. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures CLc1 gained $1.95, or 2.9 percent, to settle at $68.47 a barrel, their highest since late 2014.</p>
<p>Prices were supported as U.S. oil stockpiles fell across the board last week with gasoline and distillates drawing down more than expected on stronger demand, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.</p>
<p>Crude inventories dropped by 1.1 million barrels as a result of a decline of 1.3 million barrels per day in net crude imports.</p>
<p>"This may be one of the most bullish reports in some time, with the across-the-board declines in inventories," said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital Management in New York.</p>
<p>"Beyond the headlines, gasoline demand was very strong, virtually summer-like, and crude oil exports are climbed back toward 2 million bpd at 1.75 million."</p>
<p>Buying in anticipation of the report started late Tuesday, said Brian LaRose, a technical analyst with United-ICAP.</p>
<p>The market also found support in expectation that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' production cuts will be sustained. OPEC and 10 rival producers have curbed output by a joint 1.8 million bpd since January 2017 and pledged to do so until the end of this year.</p>
<p>OPEC's ministerial committee tasked with monitoring the group's supply-cutting deal with non-OPEC countries, led by Russia, meets in the Saudi city of Jeddah on Friday.</p>
<p>"Despite an oil price of over $70 per barrel and the fact that the oversupply has been eliminated, a phase-out of the production cuts will not be on the agenda," Commerzbank oil analyst Carsten Fritsch said.</p>
<p>Oil has been supported by the perception among investors that tensions in the Middle East could lead to supply disruptions, including renewed U.S. sanctions against Iran, as well as falling output in crisis-hit Venezuela.</p>
<p>Dutch bank ING said in a note to clients that Brent had risen back above $70 in April "due to geopolitical risks along with some fundamentally bullish developments in the market".</p>
<p>It raised its average 2018 price forecast for Brent to $66.50 from $60.25, and its 2018 WTI forecast to $62.50 from $57.75.</p>
<p>For next year, however, ING expects lower prices due to rising U.S. crude output, which has jumped by a quarter since mid-2016.</p>
<p>(GRAPHIC: Brent, WTI crude futures price curve - <a href="https://reut.rs/2vnKJCe" type="external">reut.rs/2vnKJCe</a>)</p>
<a href="https://reut.rs/2vnKJCe" type="external" />
<p>(GRAPHIC: OPEC members' compliance with crude output cut - <a href="https://reut.rs/2J6lmGZ" type="external">reut.rs/2J6lmGZ</a>)</p>
<a href="https://reut.rs/2J6lmGZ" type="external" />
<p>Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein in SINGAPORE and Amanda Cooper in LONDON; Editing by Marguerita Choy and David Evans</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | 2,438 |
<p />
<p />
<p>Got skills? May not in a decade or two, depending on your industry. Either that or the skills you have will have become irrelevant as disruption reshapes the face of the global workforce. According to a recent report from McKinsey &amp; Company, up to 375 million members of the global workforce will be out of a job due to automation by 2030. That's some 15% of every working adult who may need to switch job categories and acquire new skills in order to maintain "relevant" in a world that seems to be progressing at exponential rates. Another 400 to 800 million may be replaced entirely by automation.</p>
<p>Historically speaking, technology has generally raised productivity and provided new jobs. Here in the United States, the number of agriculture based jobs experienced a sharp decrease between 1850 and 1970. Within the same duration, however, overall employment grew. With each new era in industrialization from steam to electricity to electronics to broadband and beyond, job displacement has been an issue. Rudolph Valentino and other giants of the silver screen lost work when the silent era gave way to "the talkies." That's not to mention the theater organists. With the rise of automation making entire job fields obsolete, the question will be whether people will be able to successfully compete in a brave, new world with strange, required skillsets.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The occupational shift is an inevitability but some analysts remain optimistic that new job creation will manage to offset the enormous disruption of automation. This paradigm shift won't just hit the first world, either. People thought Buckminster Fuller had gone daft when he predicted in the 70's that India and China would experience an economic renaissance as we move to an electronic society, but that is part of what we're seeing. Unpredictable environments will be shielded for a time. Gardeners and plumbers who have to exercise intuition. Jobs requiring human interaction like teaching will become more in-demand however. Physically demanding jobs like construction, fast food work or factory work as well as jobs that require a lot of data processing such as bankers and accountant will likely be hit hard by the changes.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>Another category of jobs whose demand should grow in the age of automation is related to high-level logical reasoning and emotional skills. In other words, "soft skills" will become increasingly marketable. Accounting and financial reporting are out, management and human relations are in. Some highly lucrative fields like law and medicine could soon be automated. Automation is indubitably on the rise, and humanity is making the slow creep towards a semi-conscious technological fascism. There are those who mark a growing isolation and decline in community and family involvement that plays into the growing mental health crisis. One wonders will the therapists (sure to be in high demand for those who can afford them) be androids as well?</p>
<p />
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/global-themes/future-of-organizations-and-work/what-the-future-of-work-will-mean-for-jobs-skills-and-wages" type="external">mckinsey.com/global-themes/future-of-organizations-and-work/what-the-future-of-work-will-mean-for-jobs-skills-and-wages</a></p> | Automation Could Replace 800 Million Humans by 2030 | true | http://thegoldwater.com/news/12932-Automation-Could-Replace-800-Million-Humans-by-2030 | 2017-11-29 | 0right
| Automation Could Replace 800 Million Humans by 2030
<p />
<p />
<p>Got skills? May not in a decade or two, depending on your industry. Either that or the skills you have will have become irrelevant as disruption reshapes the face of the global workforce. According to a recent report from McKinsey &amp; Company, up to 375 million members of the global workforce will be out of a job due to automation by 2030. That's some 15% of every working adult who may need to switch job categories and acquire new skills in order to maintain "relevant" in a world that seems to be progressing at exponential rates. Another 400 to 800 million may be replaced entirely by automation.</p>
<p>Historically speaking, technology has generally raised productivity and provided new jobs. Here in the United States, the number of agriculture based jobs experienced a sharp decrease between 1850 and 1970. Within the same duration, however, overall employment grew. With each new era in industrialization from steam to electricity to electronics to broadband and beyond, job displacement has been an issue. Rudolph Valentino and other giants of the silver screen lost work when the silent era gave way to "the talkies." That's not to mention the theater organists. With the rise of automation making entire job fields obsolete, the question will be whether people will be able to successfully compete in a brave, new world with strange, required skillsets.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The occupational shift is an inevitability but some analysts remain optimistic that new job creation will manage to offset the enormous disruption of automation. This paradigm shift won't just hit the first world, either. People thought Buckminster Fuller had gone daft when he predicted in the 70's that India and China would experience an economic renaissance as we move to an electronic society, but that is part of what we're seeing. Unpredictable environments will be shielded for a time. Gardeners and plumbers who have to exercise intuition. Jobs requiring human interaction like teaching will become more in-demand however. Physically demanding jobs like construction, fast food work or factory work as well as jobs that require a lot of data processing such as bankers and accountant will likely be hit hard by the changes.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>Another category of jobs whose demand should grow in the age of automation is related to high-level logical reasoning and emotional skills. In other words, "soft skills" will become increasingly marketable. Accounting and financial reporting are out, management and human relations are in. Some highly lucrative fields like law and medicine could soon be automated. Automation is indubitably on the rise, and humanity is making the slow creep towards a semi-conscious technological fascism. There are those who mark a growing isolation and decline in community and family involvement that plays into the growing mental health crisis. One wonders will the therapists (sure to be in high demand for those who can afford them) be androids as well?</p>
<p />
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/global-themes/future-of-organizations-and-work/what-the-future-of-work-will-mean-for-jobs-skills-and-wages" type="external">mckinsey.com/global-themes/future-of-organizations-and-work/what-the-future-of-work-will-mean-for-jobs-skills-and-wages</a></p> | 2,439 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Michael Wayne Prudhomme, an 18-year-old who goes by “Smoke,” has been charged with child abuse resulting in great bodily harm. He is being held without bond and made his first appearance in Metropolitan Court on Saturday morning.</p>
<p>A criminal complaint filed in court said that police <a href="" type="internal" />were called to Lovelace Women’s Hospital on Nov. 22 on a report of a child with burn’s to his face. The child was transferred to University of New Mexico Hospital, where the medical team reported that he had severe and extensive wounds to his scalp, forehead, ears, behind the ears and neck. There was bruising under the toddler’s jaw, right cheek and forehead and he also had a broken wrist.</p>
<p>A criminal complaint filed in Metro Court said police were called to Lovelace Women’s Hospital on Nov. 22 on a report of a child with burns to his face. The child was transferred to University of New Mexico Hospital, where the medical team reported that he had severe and extensive wounds to his scalp, forehead, ears, behind the ears and neck. There was bruising under the toddler’s jaw, right cheek and forehead, and he also had a broken wrist, the complaint said.</p>
<p>The child’s mother said she had left her son in Prudhomme’s sole care at an apartment where they were staying that morning and then went to work. He started texting her about four hours later, saying that the child was injured, according to the complaint.</p>
<p>Witnesses at the apartment told police that Prudhomme gave the child a bath, and when he rubbed him with a towel afterward the baby’s skin started peeling off.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Prudhomme and one of the witnesses took the child to Lovelace. But Prudhomme quickly left the hospital and police weren’t able to locate him, according to the complaint.</p>
<p>Doctors told a detective that the child’s injuries appear to have been caused by forcing the baby’s head under hot-flowing liquid, according to the complaint, and will require skin grafting and likely leave permanent scarring.</p>
<p>At one point while the child was hospitalized, his swelling became so profound that he had to be moved to the pediatric intensive care unit because of concerns that his airway could be compromised, according to the complaint.</p>
<p />
<p /> | ABQ man charged with abuse in case of burned child | false | https://abqjournal.com/927941/man-accused-of-burning-girlfriends-toddler.html | 2017-01-14 | 2least
| ABQ man charged with abuse in case of burned child
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<p />
<p>Michael Wayne Prudhomme, an 18-year-old who goes by “Smoke,” has been charged with child abuse resulting in great bodily harm. He is being held without bond and made his first appearance in Metropolitan Court on Saturday morning.</p>
<p>A criminal complaint filed in court said that police <a href="" type="internal" />were called to Lovelace Women’s Hospital on Nov. 22 on a report of a child with burn’s to his face. The child was transferred to University of New Mexico Hospital, where the medical team reported that he had severe and extensive wounds to his scalp, forehead, ears, behind the ears and neck. There was bruising under the toddler’s jaw, right cheek and forehead and he also had a broken wrist.</p>
<p>A criminal complaint filed in Metro Court said police were called to Lovelace Women’s Hospital on Nov. 22 on a report of a child with burns to his face. The child was transferred to University of New Mexico Hospital, where the medical team reported that he had severe and extensive wounds to his scalp, forehead, ears, behind the ears and neck. There was bruising under the toddler’s jaw, right cheek and forehead, and he also had a broken wrist, the complaint said.</p>
<p>The child’s mother said she had left her son in Prudhomme’s sole care at an apartment where they were staying that morning and then went to work. He started texting her about four hours later, saying that the child was injured, according to the complaint.</p>
<p>Witnesses at the apartment told police that Prudhomme gave the child a bath, and when he rubbed him with a towel afterward the baby’s skin started peeling off.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Prudhomme and one of the witnesses took the child to Lovelace. But Prudhomme quickly left the hospital and police weren’t able to locate him, according to the complaint.</p>
<p>Doctors told a detective that the child’s injuries appear to have been caused by forcing the baby’s head under hot-flowing liquid, according to the complaint, and will require skin grafting and likely leave permanent scarring.</p>
<p>At one point while the child was hospitalized, his swelling became so profound that he had to be moved to the pediatric intensive care unit because of concerns that his airway could be compromised, according to the complaint.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 2,440 |
<p>Hillary Clinton strategist Bob Beckel appeared on on Fox calling for the assassination of <a href="" type="internal">Julian Assange</a> — a blatant urge for violence against the Wikileaks founder in direct contradiction of every possible natural and government law.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Wikileaks</a>, of course, has published several damning caches of documents showing Clinton in none-too-favorable light — including <a href="http://theantimedia.org/julian-assange-wikileaks-will-publish-the-emails-to-finally-indict-hillary/" type="external">emails</a> from her controversially-employed private server as well as <a href="" type="internal">communications from the DNC</a> which <a href="http://theantimedia.org/dnc-emails-democrats-rigged-primary/" type="external">proved</a> her campaign <a href="http://theantimedia.org/wikileaks-media-dnc-hillary/" type="external">colluded</a> with mainstream media.</p>
<p>“I mean, a dead man can’t leak stuff,” Beckel chillingly <a href="https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/763380671796678656" type="external">noted</a> of Assange. “The guy’s a traitor, a treasonist, and … and he has broken every law in the United States. The guy ought to be — and I’m not for the death penalty — so, if I’m not for the death penalty, there’s only one way to do it, illegally shoot the son of a bitch.”</p>
<p />
<p>That’s right: A <a href="" type="internal">Democratic National Committee</a> strategist — knowing Clinton’s reputation has been profoundly damaged by revelations brought to light by Wikileaks — feels Assange’s defiance of the law is so egregious, someone should take it up a notch by “illegally” assassinating the organization’s founder.</p>
<p>Apparently getting caught red-handed as the DNC now clearly has been, requires an altogether insane response of death outside the provisions of law.</p>
<p>But, as if Beckel’s outlandish statement weren’t inflammatory enough, <a href="http://www.politico.com/staff/michael-grunwald" type="external">senior staff writer for Politico</a> Michael Grunwald took to Twitter to compound the madness, which Wikileaks happily <a href="https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/763402372680908800" type="external">retweeted</a>.</p>
<p>“I can’t wait to write a defense of the drone strike that takes out Julian Assange,” <a href="https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/763402372680908800/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" type="external">Grunwald arrogantly asserted</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Politico, it must be noted, appeared prominently in the <a href="http://thefreethoughtproject.com/clinton-hires-disgraced-wasserman/" type="external">DNC</a> leak for working in tandem with Clinton campaign staff to ensure articles would display Hillary in the best light possible — one journalist even shared an article with Hillary’s campaign staff prior to submitting it to editors.</p>
<p>Prior to these explosive calls to hunt down and kill Assange, the Wikileaks head <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kp7FkLBRpKg" type="external">appeared</a> on Dutch outlet <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kp7FkLBRpKg" type="external">Niewsurr</a>, where he seemed to suggest murdered DNC staffer <a href="" type="internal">Seth Rich</a> had been a source of the leaks so infuriating Beckel and Grunwald.</p>
<p>“I’m suggesting that our sources take risks and they are — they become concerned to see things occurring like that,” Assange said of Rich, who was murdered early in the morning in what authorities have thus far insisted was a robbery — though there were no witnesses to his killing to back up or refute that claim.</p>
<p>“ <a href="" type="internal">We have to understand how high the stakes are in the United States</a>,” Assange <a href="http://www.inquisitr.com/3403647/wikileaks-tweets-evidence-that-american-political-strategist-and-a-national-correspondent-called-for-julian-assange-to-be-assassinated/" type="external">continued</a> when pressed by the host if he was implying foul play in Rich’s untimely death. “Our sources are — you know, our sources face serious risks. That’s why they come to us. So we can protect their anonymity.”</p>
<p />
<p>Assange has repeatedly refused to reveal Wikileaks’ sources, as a rule — a policy the organization prides itself on — and in keeping with that, refused to reveal with certainty whether or not <a href="" type="internal">Rich</a> had indeed been the source of any leaks.</p>
<p>Rumors about Rich have certainly run the gamut on social media, but several suspicious circumstances must be considered. As Underground Reporter <a href="http://undergroundreporter.org/assange-implies-dnc-seth-rich-wikileaks-source/" type="external">noted</a>, Rich had reportedly been slated to testify in one investigation of Clinton. And <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/police-identify-man-fatally-shot-in-bloomingdale/2016/07/11/4236fd1a-4754-11e6-90a8-fb84201e0645_story.html" type="external">according to</a> the Washington Post, Rich had been investigating possible instances of fraud and voter suppression perpetrated by the DNC.</p>
<p>Assange, as <a href="http://thefreethoughtproject.com/julian-assange-suggest-murdered-rich/" type="external">The Free Thought Project noted</a>, has additionally <a href="" type="internal">offered a reward of $20,000</a> for information leading to the conviction of Rich’s murderer.</p>
<p>Perhaps the call for Assange’s assassination by a Clinton lackey shouldn’t come as much of a surprise given the aforementioned extenuating circumstances — but it certainly lends yet more credence to growing sentiment that Hillary Clinton and her cadre of establishment supporters will quite literally <a href="" type="internal">stop at nothing</a> to ensure she reaches the White House.</p>
<p>Courtesy of <a href="http://thefreethoughtproject.com/illegally-clinton-assange-assassinate/" type="external">The Free Thought Project</a></p>
<p />
<p /> | “Illegally Shoot the Son of a Bitch” — Clinton Strategist Calls for Assassination of Julian Assange on TV | true | http://dcclothesline.com/2016/08/11/illegally-shoot-the-son-of-a-bitch-clinton-strategist-calls-for-assassination-of-julian-assange-on-tv/ | 2016-08-11 | 0right
| “Illegally Shoot the Son of a Bitch” — Clinton Strategist Calls for Assassination of Julian Assange on TV
<p>Hillary Clinton strategist Bob Beckel appeared on on Fox calling for the assassination of <a href="" type="internal">Julian Assange</a> — a blatant urge for violence against the Wikileaks founder in direct contradiction of every possible natural and government law.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Wikileaks</a>, of course, has published several damning caches of documents showing Clinton in none-too-favorable light — including <a href="http://theantimedia.org/julian-assange-wikileaks-will-publish-the-emails-to-finally-indict-hillary/" type="external">emails</a> from her controversially-employed private server as well as <a href="" type="internal">communications from the DNC</a> which <a href="http://theantimedia.org/dnc-emails-democrats-rigged-primary/" type="external">proved</a> her campaign <a href="http://theantimedia.org/wikileaks-media-dnc-hillary/" type="external">colluded</a> with mainstream media.</p>
<p>“I mean, a dead man can’t leak stuff,” Beckel chillingly <a href="https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/763380671796678656" type="external">noted</a> of Assange. “The guy’s a traitor, a treasonist, and … and he has broken every law in the United States. The guy ought to be — and I’m not for the death penalty — so, if I’m not for the death penalty, there’s only one way to do it, illegally shoot the son of a bitch.”</p>
<p />
<p>That’s right: A <a href="" type="internal">Democratic National Committee</a> strategist — knowing Clinton’s reputation has been profoundly damaged by revelations brought to light by Wikileaks — feels Assange’s defiance of the law is so egregious, someone should take it up a notch by “illegally” assassinating the organization’s founder.</p>
<p>Apparently getting caught red-handed as the DNC now clearly has been, requires an altogether insane response of death outside the provisions of law.</p>
<p>But, as if Beckel’s outlandish statement weren’t inflammatory enough, <a href="http://www.politico.com/staff/michael-grunwald" type="external">senior staff writer for Politico</a> Michael Grunwald took to Twitter to compound the madness, which Wikileaks happily <a href="https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/763402372680908800" type="external">retweeted</a>.</p>
<p>“I can’t wait to write a defense of the drone strike that takes out Julian Assange,” <a href="https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/763402372680908800/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" type="external">Grunwald arrogantly asserted</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Politico, it must be noted, appeared prominently in the <a href="http://thefreethoughtproject.com/clinton-hires-disgraced-wasserman/" type="external">DNC</a> leak for working in tandem with Clinton campaign staff to ensure articles would display Hillary in the best light possible — one journalist even shared an article with Hillary’s campaign staff prior to submitting it to editors.</p>
<p>Prior to these explosive calls to hunt down and kill Assange, the Wikileaks head <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kp7FkLBRpKg" type="external">appeared</a> on Dutch outlet <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kp7FkLBRpKg" type="external">Niewsurr</a>, where he seemed to suggest murdered DNC staffer <a href="" type="internal">Seth Rich</a> had been a source of the leaks so infuriating Beckel and Grunwald.</p>
<p>“I’m suggesting that our sources take risks and they are — they become concerned to see things occurring like that,” Assange said of Rich, who was murdered early in the morning in what authorities have thus far insisted was a robbery — though there were no witnesses to his killing to back up or refute that claim.</p>
<p>“ <a href="" type="internal">We have to understand how high the stakes are in the United States</a>,” Assange <a href="http://www.inquisitr.com/3403647/wikileaks-tweets-evidence-that-american-political-strategist-and-a-national-correspondent-called-for-julian-assange-to-be-assassinated/" type="external">continued</a> when pressed by the host if he was implying foul play in Rich’s untimely death. “Our sources are — you know, our sources face serious risks. That’s why they come to us. So we can protect their anonymity.”</p>
<p />
<p>Assange has repeatedly refused to reveal Wikileaks’ sources, as a rule — a policy the organization prides itself on — and in keeping with that, refused to reveal with certainty whether or not <a href="" type="internal">Rich</a> had indeed been the source of any leaks.</p>
<p>Rumors about Rich have certainly run the gamut on social media, but several suspicious circumstances must be considered. As Underground Reporter <a href="http://undergroundreporter.org/assange-implies-dnc-seth-rich-wikileaks-source/" type="external">noted</a>, Rich had reportedly been slated to testify in one investigation of Clinton. And <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/police-identify-man-fatally-shot-in-bloomingdale/2016/07/11/4236fd1a-4754-11e6-90a8-fb84201e0645_story.html" type="external">according to</a> the Washington Post, Rich had been investigating possible instances of fraud and voter suppression perpetrated by the DNC.</p>
<p>Assange, as <a href="http://thefreethoughtproject.com/julian-assange-suggest-murdered-rich/" type="external">The Free Thought Project noted</a>, has additionally <a href="" type="internal">offered a reward of $20,000</a> for information leading to the conviction of Rich’s murderer.</p>
<p>Perhaps the call for Assange’s assassination by a Clinton lackey shouldn’t come as much of a surprise given the aforementioned extenuating circumstances — but it certainly lends yet more credence to growing sentiment that Hillary Clinton and her cadre of establishment supporters will quite literally <a href="" type="internal">stop at nothing</a> to ensure she reaches the White House.</p>
<p>Courtesy of <a href="http://thefreethoughtproject.com/illegally-clinton-assange-assassinate/" type="external">The Free Thought Project</a></p>
<p />
<p /> | 2,441 |
<p>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,&#160;the wildly popular late-80s and early-90s cartoon&#160;franchise,&#160;got a reboot last summer in American movie theaters.&#160;</p>
<p>The theme song for Michael Bay’s bombastic take on the half-shelled heroes,&#160;“ <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaACrT6Ydik" type="external">Shell&#160;Shocked</a>,” is&#160;performed by&#160;Juicy J, Wiz Khalifa and Ty Dolla $ign. In the US, these guys are at the top of the charts. But in&#160;Japan, they're relatively unknown.&#160;</p>
<p>So Japanese distributors took&#160;the music and handed it to a watered-down rap group called&#160; <a href="http://www.ripslyme.com/" type="external">Rip Slyme</a>. These guys are not Japan's&#160;answer to&#160;Juicy J. They wear <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-aQT9lsX7I" type="external">matching costumes</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXVu-Wt1TQA" type="external">dance on treadmills</a> in their music videos. Their squeaky clean pop aesthetic makes them marketable and safe, which is the key; in Japan, the hip-hop you know from the US just doesn’t&#160;sell.</p>
<p>Dexter Thomas, a professor at Cornell University who studies Japanese hip-hop, says&#160;it’s because the Japanese just don’t think they have&#160;any business doing hip-hop.</p>
<p>“In general, the average Japanese person, regardless of age, thinks Japanese hip-hop is a little weird," he says. "That’s not to say they think hip-hop is weird, but they think the idea of a Japanese person doing it is strange.&#160;I think the main reason is because hip-hop is considered black music, and why would a Japanese person do black music? Lots of people think that doesn't make any sense. They think that if you’re going to listen to anything, then you should be listening to the original black people.”</p>
<p>Thomas says&#160;there’s a pretty big discussion about this within the Japanese hip-hop scene,&#160;and it’s driving lots of would-be artists nuts. But this fear of appropriating&#160;or imitating "black" music is also giving one Japanese rapper named Kohh&#160;a space all to himself.</p>
<p>“One of the things that makes Kohh interesting to the Japanese scene is that he grew up very poor," Thomas says. "He saw a lot of drug use; he’s seen killings, a lot of violence. It’s a world that exists in Japan but isn’t really seen in the mainstream at all.”</p>
<p>One of Kohh’s songs in particular,&#160;titled "I'm Not Worried About Being Poor,"&#160;openly embraces his rough upbringing.&#160;Thomas said that portrayal&#160;strikes a chord with the hip-hop audience.</p>
<p>“You could be a kid in a fairly well-to-do area in Tokyo —&#160;you’re listening to Kohh’s music and you realize that here is somebody who also lives in Tokyo, maybe 20 minutes away from me, who lived a completely different life than I did, and I think that’s pretty jarring for a lot of people.” he says.</p>
<p>In an&#160;interview with Vice Japan, Kohh lamented&#160;how small his country's&#160;hip-hop scene is. It&#160;doesn’t get any notice&#160;on mainstream TV, he complained,&#160;but he hopes to be the one to change all that.</p>
<p>That’s not so far-fetched. Kohh and his crew have hooked up with an influential music producer, and Thomas thinks&#160;it won’t be long —&#160;maybe even just a matter of months —&#160;before Kohh gets noticed here in the US.</p>
<p>“There’s been a few artists here and there who’ve done little things that made a bit of a splash in the underground, but we could have an actual hit on our hands featuring a Japanese artist," Thomas says. "And that would be the first time. That would be really cool, I think."</p> | Rapper Kohh shows a side of Japan that is often ignored | false | https://pri.org/stories/2015-03-05/japanese-rapper-kohh-shows-side-japan-his-country-often-ignores | 2015-03-05 | 3left-center
| Rapper Kohh shows a side of Japan that is often ignored
<p>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,&#160;the wildly popular late-80s and early-90s cartoon&#160;franchise,&#160;got a reboot last summer in American movie theaters.&#160;</p>
<p>The theme song for Michael Bay’s bombastic take on the half-shelled heroes,&#160;“ <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaACrT6Ydik" type="external">Shell&#160;Shocked</a>,” is&#160;performed by&#160;Juicy J, Wiz Khalifa and Ty Dolla $ign. In the US, these guys are at the top of the charts. But in&#160;Japan, they're relatively unknown.&#160;</p>
<p>So Japanese distributors took&#160;the music and handed it to a watered-down rap group called&#160; <a href="http://www.ripslyme.com/" type="external">Rip Slyme</a>. These guys are not Japan's&#160;answer to&#160;Juicy J. They wear <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-aQT9lsX7I" type="external">matching costumes</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXVu-Wt1TQA" type="external">dance on treadmills</a> in their music videos. Their squeaky clean pop aesthetic makes them marketable and safe, which is the key; in Japan, the hip-hop you know from the US just doesn’t&#160;sell.</p>
<p>Dexter Thomas, a professor at Cornell University who studies Japanese hip-hop, says&#160;it’s because the Japanese just don’t think they have&#160;any business doing hip-hop.</p>
<p>“In general, the average Japanese person, regardless of age, thinks Japanese hip-hop is a little weird," he says. "That’s not to say they think hip-hop is weird, but they think the idea of a Japanese person doing it is strange.&#160;I think the main reason is because hip-hop is considered black music, and why would a Japanese person do black music? Lots of people think that doesn't make any sense. They think that if you’re going to listen to anything, then you should be listening to the original black people.”</p>
<p>Thomas says&#160;there’s a pretty big discussion about this within the Japanese hip-hop scene,&#160;and it’s driving lots of would-be artists nuts. But this fear of appropriating&#160;or imitating "black" music is also giving one Japanese rapper named Kohh&#160;a space all to himself.</p>
<p>“One of the things that makes Kohh interesting to the Japanese scene is that he grew up very poor," Thomas says. "He saw a lot of drug use; he’s seen killings, a lot of violence. It’s a world that exists in Japan but isn’t really seen in the mainstream at all.”</p>
<p>One of Kohh’s songs in particular,&#160;titled "I'm Not Worried About Being Poor,"&#160;openly embraces his rough upbringing.&#160;Thomas said that portrayal&#160;strikes a chord with the hip-hop audience.</p>
<p>“You could be a kid in a fairly well-to-do area in Tokyo —&#160;you’re listening to Kohh’s music and you realize that here is somebody who also lives in Tokyo, maybe 20 minutes away from me, who lived a completely different life than I did, and I think that’s pretty jarring for a lot of people.” he says.</p>
<p>In an&#160;interview with Vice Japan, Kohh lamented&#160;how small his country's&#160;hip-hop scene is. It&#160;doesn’t get any notice&#160;on mainstream TV, he complained,&#160;but he hopes to be the one to change all that.</p>
<p>That’s not so far-fetched. Kohh and his crew have hooked up with an influential music producer, and Thomas thinks&#160;it won’t be long —&#160;maybe even just a matter of months —&#160;before Kohh gets noticed here in the US.</p>
<p>“There’s been a few artists here and there who’ve done little things that made a bit of a splash in the underground, but we could have an actual hit on our hands featuring a Japanese artist," Thomas says. "And that would be the first time. That would be really cool, I think."</p> | 2,442 |
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<p>DENVER — Federal investigators say a plane crash at a Colorado mountain airport in 2014 was likely caused by the pilots’ failure to control the corporate-style jet after an unstabilized approach to landing.</p>
<p>The Denver Post reports ( <a href="http://dpo.st/2oBLO0r)" type="external">http://dpo.st/2oBLO0r)</a> the co-pilot, Sergio Carranza Brabata, was killed in the crash at Aspen-Pitkin County Airport. A pilot and passenger were injured. The three men were from Mexico and had been flying to Aspen from Tucson, Arizona, when the plane slammed into the runway.</p>
<p>The National Transportation Safety Board blamed the flight crew’s actions for the crash in a report released last week.</p>
<p>The report says additional flight time for the pilots, who had little experience flying the twin-jet Bombardier CL 600, would have improved their decision-making while they attempted to land amid powerful wind gusts.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Denver Post, <a href="http://www.denverpost.com" type="external">http://www.denverpost.com</a></p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Fatal Colorado plane crash blamed on pilots’ actions | false | https://abqjournal.com/992333/fatal-colorado-plane-crash-blamed-on-pilots-actions.html | 2least
| Fatal Colorado plane crash blamed on pilots’ actions
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>DENVER — Federal investigators say a plane crash at a Colorado mountain airport in 2014 was likely caused by the pilots’ failure to control the corporate-style jet after an unstabilized approach to landing.</p>
<p>The Denver Post reports ( <a href="http://dpo.st/2oBLO0r)" type="external">http://dpo.st/2oBLO0r)</a> the co-pilot, Sergio Carranza Brabata, was killed in the crash at Aspen-Pitkin County Airport. A pilot and passenger were injured. The three men were from Mexico and had been flying to Aspen from Tucson, Arizona, when the plane slammed into the runway.</p>
<p>The National Transportation Safety Board blamed the flight crew’s actions for the crash in a report released last week.</p>
<p>The report says additional flight time for the pilots, who had little experience flying the twin-jet Bombardier CL 600, would have improved their decision-making while they attempted to land amid powerful wind gusts.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Denver Post, <a href="http://www.denverpost.com" type="external">http://www.denverpost.com</a></p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 2,443 |
|
<p>UNITED NATIONS — Ukraine's ousted leader Viktor Yanukovych has sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin requesting that he use Russia's military to restore law and order in Ukraine, Moscow's U.N. envoy told a stormy meeting of the Security Council on Monday.</p>
<p>"Under the influence of Western countries, there are open acts of terror and violence," Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin read from the letter in an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council.</p>
<p>"People are being persecuted for language and political reasons," he read. "So in this regard I would call on the president of Russia, Mr. Putin, asking him to use the armed forces of the Russian Federation to establish legitimacy, peace, law and order, stability and defending the people of Ukraine."</p>
<p>Churkin held up a copy of the letter for council members to see during a heated council session in which Western envoys and the Russian ambassador hurled allegations at each other for two and a half hours. He said the letter was dated March 1.</p>
<p>After the Russian ambassador spoke, U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power dismissed Russian claims that Russian-speaking Ukrainians were under threat in the eastern regions of the former Soviet republic.</p>
<p>"There is no evidence that ethnic Russians are in danger," she told the 15-nation council, which is holding its third emergency session on Ukraine in four days, this time at the request of Russia.</p>
<p>Power said there was "no legal basis" for Russia to justify its military deployments in Ukraine through an invitation from the regional prime minister of the Crimea, adding only Ukraine's parliament could do that.</p>
<p>Churkin rejected Power's denials and said she appeared to have gotten all her information about Ukraine "from U.S. TV". He repeated Moscow's view that Yanukovych is Ukraine's legitimate leader, not interim President Oleksandr Turchynov.</p>
<p>Rejecting Russian allegation of acts of terrorism, British Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant said: "It is clear that these claims have simply been fabricated to justify Russian military action."</p>
<p>—Reuters</p> | Ousted Ukrainian President Asked For Russian Troops, Envoy Says | false | http://nbcnews.com/storyline/ukraine-crisis/ousted-ukrainian-president-asked-russian-troops-envoy-says-n43506 | 2014-03-04 | 3left-center
| Ousted Ukrainian President Asked For Russian Troops, Envoy Says
<p>UNITED NATIONS — Ukraine's ousted leader Viktor Yanukovych has sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin requesting that he use Russia's military to restore law and order in Ukraine, Moscow's U.N. envoy told a stormy meeting of the Security Council on Monday.</p>
<p>"Under the influence of Western countries, there are open acts of terror and violence," Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin read from the letter in an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council.</p>
<p>"People are being persecuted for language and political reasons," he read. "So in this regard I would call on the president of Russia, Mr. Putin, asking him to use the armed forces of the Russian Federation to establish legitimacy, peace, law and order, stability and defending the people of Ukraine."</p>
<p>Churkin held up a copy of the letter for council members to see during a heated council session in which Western envoys and the Russian ambassador hurled allegations at each other for two and a half hours. He said the letter was dated March 1.</p>
<p>After the Russian ambassador spoke, U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power dismissed Russian claims that Russian-speaking Ukrainians were under threat in the eastern regions of the former Soviet republic.</p>
<p>"There is no evidence that ethnic Russians are in danger," she told the 15-nation council, which is holding its third emergency session on Ukraine in four days, this time at the request of Russia.</p>
<p>Power said there was "no legal basis" for Russia to justify its military deployments in Ukraine through an invitation from the regional prime minister of the Crimea, adding only Ukraine's parliament could do that.</p>
<p>Churkin rejected Power's denials and said she appeared to have gotten all her information about Ukraine "from U.S. TV". He repeated Moscow's view that Yanukovych is Ukraine's legitimate leader, not interim President Oleksandr Turchynov.</p>
<p>Rejecting Russian allegation of acts of terrorism, British Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant said: "It is clear that these claims have simply been fabricated to justify Russian military action."</p>
<p>—Reuters</p> | 2,444 |
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<p>NEW YORK — Wal-Mart plans to add about 10,000 retail jobs in the U.S. as it opens new stores and expands existing locations. The world’s biggest retailer said Tuesday that its plans will also generate about 24,000 construction jobs.</p>
<p>The jobs will come from the opening of 59 new, expanded and relocated Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club locations as well as e-commerce services that were previously announced.</p>
<p>Wal-Mart is opening fewer stores this year, but still adding jobs as it offers more positions in online grocery pickup, trainers for its new academies for hourly workers and construction jobs for remodels.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The rate is consistent with previous hiring in recent years, says Lorenzo Lopez, a Wal-Mart spokesman. Media reports have also said, however, that Wal-Mart plans to cut hundreds or even about 1,000 jobs at its corporate headquarters by the end of the month.</p>
<p>Wal-Mart typically announces job plans early in the year, analysts say. Tuesday’s announcement marks the latest in a series of announcements from companies that may want to get into the good graces of President-elect Donald Trump, who will be taking office on Friday and has called out companies for not keeping jobs in the U.S., analysts say.</p>
<p>“Everyone is trying to curry favor with the new administration in terms of getting a better corporate tax landscape and gaining favor with the new administration,” said Ken Perkins, president of Retail Metrics LLC, a research firm.</p>
<p>General Motors announced plans Tuesday to invest $1 billion in U.S. factories and hire thousands of new white-collar jobs, moves that have been in the works for years but were made public after attacks from Trump.</p>
<p>And Amazon.com announced last week that it would add 100,000 full-time jobs over the next 18 months. The increased hiring was tied to already-announced plans to build more distribution centers and other facilities. Amazon said its U.S. workforce has grown from 30,000 in 2011 to more than 180,000 by the end of this year. By comparison, Wal-Mart employs about 2.4 million people worldwide, including 1.5 million in the United States.</p>
<p>Trump thanked General Motors and Wal-Mart on Twitter for “starting the big push back in the U.S.” and took credit for bringing jobs “back into the U.S.” However, Wal-Mart store jobs and construction wouldn’t have moved elsewhere anyway.</p>
<p>Wal-Mart has been looking to trim costs and expenses as it tries to be more nimble and compete better with Amazon. It announced early last year it would close 154 U.S. store locations, and this summer eliminated 7,000 back-office positions.</p>
<p>Other retailers have recently announced store closings and layoffs. Macy’s, for example, is closing nearly 70 stores, cutting 10,000 jobs.</p>
<p>Wal-Mart reiterated it plans $6.8 billion in capital investments in the U.S. in the fiscal year that begins Feb. 1. Wal-Mart, which imports a majority of its goods from China and other countries, has been publicizing efforts to bring some of the manufacturing back in the U.S. over the past few years. In 2013, it committed an additional $250 billion in American-made sourced and assembled goods through 2023.</p>
<p>It announced Tuesday that the Walmart Foundation, its nonprofit arm, would provide grants to six universities toward innovations in the textile industry.</p>
<p>Wal-Mart has 11,593 stores in 28 countries. The Bentonville, Arkansas-based chain saw its online sales improve in the third-quarter and profit beat Wall Street’s expectations. It also raised the low end of its full-year profit outlook.</p>
<p>________</p>
<p>Follow Anne D’Innocenzio: http//twitter.com/ADInnocenzio</p> | Wal-Mart to add about 10,000 retail jobs in the US | false | https://abqjournal.com/929209/wal-mart-to-add-about-10000-retail-jobs-in-the-us.html | 2017-01-17 | 2least
| Wal-Mart to add about 10,000 retail jobs in the US
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<p>NEW YORK — Wal-Mart plans to add about 10,000 retail jobs in the U.S. as it opens new stores and expands existing locations. The world’s biggest retailer said Tuesday that its plans will also generate about 24,000 construction jobs.</p>
<p>The jobs will come from the opening of 59 new, expanded and relocated Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club locations as well as e-commerce services that were previously announced.</p>
<p>Wal-Mart is opening fewer stores this year, but still adding jobs as it offers more positions in online grocery pickup, trainers for its new academies for hourly workers and construction jobs for remodels.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The rate is consistent with previous hiring in recent years, says Lorenzo Lopez, a Wal-Mart spokesman. Media reports have also said, however, that Wal-Mart plans to cut hundreds or even about 1,000 jobs at its corporate headquarters by the end of the month.</p>
<p>Wal-Mart typically announces job plans early in the year, analysts say. Tuesday’s announcement marks the latest in a series of announcements from companies that may want to get into the good graces of President-elect Donald Trump, who will be taking office on Friday and has called out companies for not keeping jobs in the U.S., analysts say.</p>
<p>“Everyone is trying to curry favor with the new administration in terms of getting a better corporate tax landscape and gaining favor with the new administration,” said Ken Perkins, president of Retail Metrics LLC, a research firm.</p>
<p>General Motors announced plans Tuesday to invest $1 billion in U.S. factories and hire thousands of new white-collar jobs, moves that have been in the works for years but were made public after attacks from Trump.</p>
<p>And Amazon.com announced last week that it would add 100,000 full-time jobs over the next 18 months. The increased hiring was tied to already-announced plans to build more distribution centers and other facilities. Amazon said its U.S. workforce has grown from 30,000 in 2011 to more than 180,000 by the end of this year. By comparison, Wal-Mart employs about 2.4 million people worldwide, including 1.5 million in the United States.</p>
<p>Trump thanked General Motors and Wal-Mart on Twitter for “starting the big push back in the U.S.” and took credit for bringing jobs “back into the U.S.” However, Wal-Mart store jobs and construction wouldn’t have moved elsewhere anyway.</p>
<p>Wal-Mart has been looking to trim costs and expenses as it tries to be more nimble and compete better with Amazon. It announced early last year it would close 154 U.S. store locations, and this summer eliminated 7,000 back-office positions.</p>
<p>Other retailers have recently announced store closings and layoffs. Macy’s, for example, is closing nearly 70 stores, cutting 10,000 jobs.</p>
<p>Wal-Mart reiterated it plans $6.8 billion in capital investments in the U.S. in the fiscal year that begins Feb. 1. Wal-Mart, which imports a majority of its goods from China and other countries, has been publicizing efforts to bring some of the manufacturing back in the U.S. over the past few years. In 2013, it committed an additional $250 billion in American-made sourced and assembled goods through 2023.</p>
<p>It announced Tuesday that the Walmart Foundation, its nonprofit arm, would provide grants to six universities toward innovations in the textile industry.</p>
<p>Wal-Mart has 11,593 stores in 28 countries. The Bentonville, Arkansas-based chain saw its online sales improve in the third-quarter and profit beat Wall Street’s expectations. It also raised the low end of its full-year profit outlook.</p>
<p>________</p>
<p>Follow Anne D’Innocenzio: http//twitter.com/ADInnocenzio</p> | 2,445 |
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<p />
<p>The company filed "exceptions," or objections, on Thursday to hearing examiner Carolyn Glick's recommended decision that the PRC reject PNM's rate request as "incomplete." The examiner said on April 17 that the utility did not include enough information about how PNM calculated estimated costs that it wants to recover through higher rates starting in 2016. Glick also said that the utility did not make all documentation accessible electronically, which she said is a prerequisite in the case for PRC staff and intervening parties to fully vet the validity of PNM's cost estimates.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>In response, the company said its filing is complete and meets the standards required of it in rate cases.</p>
<p>"We believe that the company has provided information and detail beyond what is actually required for these types of cases and our filing today provides comprehensive support for our position," said PNM Vice President for Public Policy Ron Darnell in a statement.</p>
<p>The company said a recent filing by another utility at the PRC was accepted even though that company provided information similar to what PNM has submitted. As a result, the company said the hearing examiner is wrongly imposing a "heightened standard" on PNM. In addition, rather than force PNM to refile its rate case, the utility requests that it be allowed to file supplemental testimony and exhibits to correct any deficiencies the commission may find, modifying the procedural schedule if needed to accommodate additional submissions.</p>
<p>"Requiring the company to re-file the case would cause an unnecessary and potentially costly delay," Darnell said. "We believe the hearing examiner's recommendations are not consistent with the commission's rules and precedents."</p>
<p>The issue will likely go before the commission sometime in May.</p>
<p>Responses to PNM's exceptions and those submitted by other parties are due by May 5, Glick told the Journal.</p>
<p>"After that, at an open meeting, I will brief commissioners on my recommended decision," Glick said. "The PRC attorney and the office of the general counsel will also present all exceptions to them. Then the commission will vote on whether to accept the recommended decision."</p> | PNM tells regulators it shouldn't have to refile rate case | false | https://abqjournal.com/577632/pnm-tells-regulators-it-shouldnt-have-to-refile-rate-case.html | 2least
| PNM tells regulators it shouldn't have to refile rate case
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<p />
<p>The company filed "exceptions," or objections, on Thursday to hearing examiner Carolyn Glick's recommended decision that the PRC reject PNM's rate request as "incomplete." The examiner said on April 17 that the utility did not include enough information about how PNM calculated estimated costs that it wants to recover through higher rates starting in 2016. Glick also said that the utility did not make all documentation accessible electronically, which she said is a prerequisite in the case for PRC staff and intervening parties to fully vet the validity of PNM's cost estimates.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>In response, the company said its filing is complete and meets the standards required of it in rate cases.</p>
<p>"We believe that the company has provided information and detail beyond what is actually required for these types of cases and our filing today provides comprehensive support for our position," said PNM Vice President for Public Policy Ron Darnell in a statement.</p>
<p>The company said a recent filing by another utility at the PRC was accepted even though that company provided information similar to what PNM has submitted. As a result, the company said the hearing examiner is wrongly imposing a "heightened standard" on PNM. In addition, rather than force PNM to refile its rate case, the utility requests that it be allowed to file supplemental testimony and exhibits to correct any deficiencies the commission may find, modifying the procedural schedule if needed to accommodate additional submissions.</p>
<p>"Requiring the company to re-file the case would cause an unnecessary and potentially costly delay," Darnell said. "We believe the hearing examiner's recommendations are not consistent with the commission's rules and precedents."</p>
<p>The issue will likely go before the commission sometime in May.</p>
<p>Responses to PNM's exceptions and those submitted by other parties are due by May 5, Glick told the Journal.</p>
<p>"After that, at an open meeting, I will brief commissioners on my recommended decision," Glick said. "The PRC attorney and the office of the general counsel will also present all exceptions to them. Then the commission will vote on whether to accept the recommended decision."</p> | 2,446 |
|
<p>By Frank Pingue</p>
<p>(Reuters) – NFL Players Association Executive Director DeMaurice Smith will attend meetings next week where team owners will discuss the issue of player protests during the U.S. national anthem, the two sides said on Wednesday.</p>
<p>NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell invited Smith to the Oct. 17-18 meetings in New York, where the issue of some players kneeling in protest when the anthem is played before each game is expected to command much attention.</p>
<p>“There has been no change in the current policy regarding the anthem,” the two sides said in a statement. “The agenda will be a continuation of how to make progress on the important social issues that players have vocalized.</p>
<p>“Everyone who is part of our NFL community has a tremendous respect for our country, our flag, our anthem and our military, and we are coming together to deal with these issues in a civil and constructive way.”</p>
<p>The protests, in a league where African-Americans make up the majority of players, have continued through the season, with some players kneeling and others standing arm-in-arm in solidarity.</p>
<p>The gesture is intended to call attention to what protesting players see as a pattern of racism in the treatment of African-Americans by U.S. police.</p>
<p>The issue has been exacerbated after U.S. President Donald Trump said last month that players who did not stand during the anthem should be fired, prompting many NFL players to kneel and lock arms in solidarity.</p>
<p>The NFL requires players to stand for the anthem and face the American flag, but no player has been disciplined for a protest.</p>
<p>League spokesman Joe Lockhart, speaking during a conference call on Tuesday, said the issue had overshadowed the season and owners would discuss it in the hopes of getting “back to football”.</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> | League invites NFLPA to join anthem discussion | false | https://newsline.com/league-invites-nflpa-to-join-anthem-discussion/ | 2017-10-11 | 1right-center
| League invites NFLPA to join anthem discussion
<p>By Frank Pingue</p>
<p>(Reuters) – NFL Players Association Executive Director DeMaurice Smith will attend meetings next week where team owners will discuss the issue of player protests during the U.S. national anthem, the two sides said on Wednesday.</p>
<p>NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell invited Smith to the Oct. 17-18 meetings in New York, where the issue of some players kneeling in protest when the anthem is played before each game is expected to command much attention.</p>
<p>“There has been no change in the current policy regarding the anthem,” the two sides said in a statement. “The agenda will be a continuation of how to make progress on the important social issues that players have vocalized.</p>
<p>“Everyone who is part of our NFL community has a tremendous respect for our country, our flag, our anthem and our military, and we are coming together to deal with these issues in a civil and constructive way.”</p>
<p>The protests, in a league where African-Americans make up the majority of players, have continued through the season, with some players kneeling and others standing arm-in-arm in solidarity.</p>
<p>The gesture is intended to call attention to what protesting players see as a pattern of racism in the treatment of African-Americans by U.S. police.</p>
<p>The issue has been exacerbated after U.S. President Donald Trump said last month that players who did not stand during the anthem should be fired, prompting many NFL players to kneel and lock arms in solidarity.</p>
<p>The NFL requires players to stand for the anthem and face the American flag, but no player has been disciplined for a protest.</p>
<p>League spokesman Joe Lockhart, speaking during a conference call on Tuesday, said the issue had overshadowed the season and owners would discuss it in the hopes of getting “back to football”.</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> | 2,447 |
<p>Residents of Harris County, Texas, awoke Sunday to horrific but familiar news: A domestic abuser had <a href="http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Reports-Five-children-three-adults-shot-dead-in-6433574.php" type="external">murdered</a> his ex-girlfriend. This time, the details were especially grim: Using a gun he reportedly <a href="http://www.click2houston.com/news/source-accused-mass-killer-david-conley-inside-home-for-14-hours-before-surrendering/34639842" type="external">bought online</a>, 48-year-old David Conley killed Victoria Jackson, her partner, and her six children, the oldest&#160;of whom was fathered by Conley. All eight victims were discovered by police in Jackson’s home, each bound and with a gunshot wound to the head. According to authorities, Conley terrorized them for hours before their deaths.</p>
<p>The Texas county of four million, which includes the city of Houston, is no stranger to domestic violence&#160;homicides: For several years, more women were murdered in domestic situations in Harris County than in any other county in the state. In 2012 alone, 30 women were killed in domestic violence murders in Harris County; in 2014, the total of 19 women killed was surpassed by Dallas County, according to an <a href="http://www.tcfv.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/factsheet.pdf" type="external">analysis</a> by the Texas Council on Family Violence. In July of that year, Harris County resident Ronald Lee Haskell was accused of fatally shooting his ex-sister-in-law Katie Stay, her husband, and four of the couple’s five children. Haskell had been previously charged with domestic assault and his ex-wife <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2014/07/restraining-order-ronald-lee-haskell" type="external">had acquired a protective order</a>&#160;against him. He <a href="http://www.khou.com/story/news/investigations/2014/09/09/court-records-reveal-haskell-planned-and-plotted-cross-country-trip-shooting-rampage/15359063/" type="external">committed the crime with a stolen handgun</a>.</p>
<p>In 2013, 119 Texas women were killed by an intimate partner, as were an additional 17 bystanders or witnesses to these attacks. Of those victims, 58 percent were shot.</p>
<p>Conley had an extensive criminal history, including cocaine possession and multiple domestic violence offenses. In 2010, Jackson filed a report alleging that Conley&#160;held a knife to her throat and wrapped a cord around her baby’s neck, the Houston Chronicle reports. In 2013, after Conley was again arrested for assaulting Jackson, she received an emergency protective order against him. Because of the chaotic environment, a couple of months later the Department of Family Protective Services <a href="http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/CPS-sought-in-2013-to-remove-the-6-children-6436594.php" type="external">filed a lawsuit</a> to remove the six children from the home, but it was dismissed in 2014. Conley also struggled with bipolar disorder, according to Jackson’s brother.</p>
<p>While Conley was barred from possessing or purchasing a firearm due to his criminal history, he managed to acquire the firearm used in last weekend’s attack online, according to a local news station citing an unnamed police source. Although federal law requires gun dealers to perform background checks on purchasers when doing business over the Internet as with any other sale, unlicensed sellers in Texas are <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2013/08/05/is-it-really-so-easy-to-buy-a-gun-over-the-internet/" type="external">not&#160;required</a> to conduct checks on such sales. The website that facilitated the purchase of the gun used in the shooting has not been identified by authorities.</p>
<p>In Texas, anyone who is subject to a domestic violence protective order is prohibited from possessing a firearm, and those convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors are prohibited from possessing guns for five years. This is weaker than the current federal standard: The <a href="http://www.justice.gov/usam/criminal-resource-manual-1117-restrictions-possession-firearms-individuals-convicted" type="external">Lautenberg Amendment</a>, passed in 1996, mandates a lifetime firearm ban for misdemeanor domestic violence convictions — unless an offender is pardoned or had their criminal record expunged. However, the ATF is responsible for investigating prohibited purchasers and ordering the surrender of their firearms. The organization has only&#160;two field divisions in Texas, which together are responsible for the <a href="http://www.tcfv.org/resources-home/facts-and-statistics/" type="external">approximately 185,000</a> <a href="http://www.tcfv.org/resources-home/facts-and-statistics/" type="external">&#160;incidents</a> <a href="http://www.tcfv.org/resources-home/facts-and-statistics/" type="external">of family violence</a> that occur on average&#160;in the state each year, making firearms retrieval an uphill battle.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/johns-hopkins-center-for-gun-policy-and-research/publications/RemovingGunsfromIPVOffenders7Oct09.pdf" type="external">Several states</a> require local police to seize firearms when temporary or permanent protective orders have been issued, and some rely on the accused offender to turn in his or her weapons. But the criteria varies depending on each state. Texas, for its part, does not have a mandatory gun seizure law for domestic abusers. To counteract this, some counties have installed their own rules: Dallas County police have teamed up with a <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/domestic-violence-offenders-dallas-are-surrendering-guns-under-new-program-n366796" type="external">private gun range</a> to confiscate firearms from convicted batterers. When a protective order is issued <a href="http://res.dallasnews.com/interactives/2014_deadlyaffection/part5_related/" type="external">in Travis County</a>, the Sheriff’s Department asks abusers to hand in their firearms. Bexar County has a similar program. Harris County had a relinquishment program for one year, in 2011, but <a href="http://www.ncdsv.org/images/HCDVCC_Accessing-the-PO-Process-in-Harris-County_9-2014.pdf" type="external">it was discontinued</a> due to litigation, according to the Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council.</p>
<p>[Photo: AP/David J. Phillip]</p> | Mass Family Shooting in Texas Highlights County’s Domestic Violence Problem | false | https://thetrace.org/2015/08/texas-domestic-violence-shooting/ | 2015-08-12 | 3left-center
| Mass Family Shooting in Texas Highlights County’s Domestic Violence Problem
<p>Residents of Harris County, Texas, awoke Sunday to horrific but familiar news: A domestic abuser had <a href="http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Reports-Five-children-three-adults-shot-dead-in-6433574.php" type="external">murdered</a> his ex-girlfriend. This time, the details were especially grim: Using a gun he reportedly <a href="http://www.click2houston.com/news/source-accused-mass-killer-david-conley-inside-home-for-14-hours-before-surrendering/34639842" type="external">bought online</a>, 48-year-old David Conley killed Victoria Jackson, her partner, and her six children, the oldest&#160;of whom was fathered by Conley. All eight victims were discovered by police in Jackson’s home, each bound and with a gunshot wound to the head. According to authorities, Conley terrorized them for hours before their deaths.</p>
<p>The Texas county of four million, which includes the city of Houston, is no stranger to domestic violence&#160;homicides: For several years, more women were murdered in domestic situations in Harris County than in any other county in the state. In 2012 alone, 30 women were killed in domestic violence murders in Harris County; in 2014, the total of 19 women killed was surpassed by Dallas County, according to an <a href="http://www.tcfv.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/factsheet.pdf" type="external">analysis</a> by the Texas Council on Family Violence. In July of that year, Harris County resident Ronald Lee Haskell was accused of fatally shooting his ex-sister-in-law Katie Stay, her husband, and four of the couple’s five children. Haskell had been previously charged with domestic assault and his ex-wife <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2014/07/restraining-order-ronald-lee-haskell" type="external">had acquired a protective order</a>&#160;against him. He <a href="http://www.khou.com/story/news/investigations/2014/09/09/court-records-reveal-haskell-planned-and-plotted-cross-country-trip-shooting-rampage/15359063/" type="external">committed the crime with a stolen handgun</a>.</p>
<p>In 2013, 119 Texas women were killed by an intimate partner, as were an additional 17 bystanders or witnesses to these attacks. Of those victims, 58 percent were shot.</p>
<p>Conley had an extensive criminal history, including cocaine possession and multiple domestic violence offenses. In 2010, Jackson filed a report alleging that Conley&#160;held a knife to her throat and wrapped a cord around her baby’s neck, the Houston Chronicle reports. In 2013, after Conley was again arrested for assaulting Jackson, she received an emergency protective order against him. Because of the chaotic environment, a couple of months later the Department of Family Protective Services <a href="http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/CPS-sought-in-2013-to-remove-the-6-children-6436594.php" type="external">filed a lawsuit</a> to remove the six children from the home, but it was dismissed in 2014. Conley also struggled with bipolar disorder, according to Jackson’s brother.</p>
<p>While Conley was barred from possessing or purchasing a firearm due to his criminal history, he managed to acquire the firearm used in last weekend’s attack online, according to a local news station citing an unnamed police source. Although federal law requires gun dealers to perform background checks on purchasers when doing business over the Internet as with any other sale, unlicensed sellers in Texas are <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2013/08/05/is-it-really-so-easy-to-buy-a-gun-over-the-internet/" type="external">not&#160;required</a> to conduct checks on such sales. The website that facilitated the purchase of the gun used in the shooting has not been identified by authorities.</p>
<p>In Texas, anyone who is subject to a domestic violence protective order is prohibited from possessing a firearm, and those convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors are prohibited from possessing guns for five years. This is weaker than the current federal standard: The <a href="http://www.justice.gov/usam/criminal-resource-manual-1117-restrictions-possession-firearms-individuals-convicted" type="external">Lautenberg Amendment</a>, passed in 1996, mandates a lifetime firearm ban for misdemeanor domestic violence convictions — unless an offender is pardoned or had their criminal record expunged. However, the ATF is responsible for investigating prohibited purchasers and ordering the surrender of their firearms. The organization has only&#160;two field divisions in Texas, which together are responsible for the <a href="http://www.tcfv.org/resources-home/facts-and-statistics/" type="external">approximately 185,000</a> <a href="http://www.tcfv.org/resources-home/facts-and-statistics/" type="external">&#160;incidents</a> <a href="http://www.tcfv.org/resources-home/facts-and-statistics/" type="external">of family violence</a> that occur on average&#160;in the state each year, making firearms retrieval an uphill battle.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/johns-hopkins-center-for-gun-policy-and-research/publications/RemovingGunsfromIPVOffenders7Oct09.pdf" type="external">Several states</a> require local police to seize firearms when temporary or permanent protective orders have been issued, and some rely on the accused offender to turn in his or her weapons. But the criteria varies depending on each state. Texas, for its part, does not have a mandatory gun seizure law for domestic abusers. To counteract this, some counties have installed their own rules: Dallas County police have teamed up with a <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/domestic-violence-offenders-dallas-are-surrendering-guns-under-new-program-n366796" type="external">private gun range</a> to confiscate firearms from convicted batterers. When a protective order is issued <a href="http://res.dallasnews.com/interactives/2014_deadlyaffection/part5_related/" type="external">in Travis County</a>, the Sheriff’s Department asks abusers to hand in their firearms. Bexar County has a similar program. Harris County had a relinquishment program for one year, in 2011, but <a href="http://www.ncdsv.org/images/HCDVCC_Accessing-the-PO-Process-in-Harris-County_9-2014.pdf" type="external">it was discontinued</a> due to litigation, according to the Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council.</p>
<p>[Photo: AP/David J. Phillip]</p> | 2,448 |
<p>LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — The chief executive of Liverpool, who restored stability to a club that was on the brink of bankruptcy six years ago, has decided to leave the role next year.</p>
<p>Ian Ayre oversaw the transition from the financially troubled ownership of American businessmen Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr. to the takeover by John Henry's Fenway Sports Group in 2010.</p>
<p>FSG, which also owns baseball's Boston Red Sox, wanted Ayre to remain as CEO beyond the end of his current contract.</p>
<p>"We asked him on several occasions to take some time to reconsider his decision, but have been unable to convince him to remain as CEO beyond May 2017," owner Henry, chairman Tom Werner and president Mike Gordon said in a joint statement. "We will at some point in the near future begin identifying and recruiting a worthy successor to continue to build on the outstanding foundations which have been laid by Ian.</p>
<p>"Under his leadership, we have seen Liverpool transform from a club that was on the brink of bankruptcy, to one which today enjoys strong financial and operational health."</p>
<p>Ayre first joined Liverpool under Hicks and Gillett in 2007, rising from commercial director to CEO.</p>
<p>"I believe the end of next season is the right time to pass the CEO baton on to a new person, who will take on the challenges and opportunities with a fresh enthusiasm and vigor," Ayre said.</p>
<p>Juergen Klopp's Liverpool is eighth in the Premier League but still in contention for the Europa League.</p>
<p>Liverpool won the last of its then-record 18 league titles in 1990 before Manchester United climbed to 20 titles while dominating English football from 1993 to 2013.</p>
<p>LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — The chief executive of Liverpool, who restored stability to a club that was on the brink of bankruptcy six years ago, has decided to leave the role next year.</p>
<p>Ian Ayre oversaw the transition from the financially troubled ownership of American businessmen Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr. to the takeover by John Henry's Fenway Sports Group in 2010.</p>
<p>FSG, which also owns baseball's Boston Red Sox, wanted Ayre to remain as CEO beyond the end of his current contract.</p>
<p>"We asked him on several occasions to take some time to reconsider his decision, but have been unable to convince him to remain as CEO beyond May 2017," owner Henry, chairman Tom Werner and president Mike Gordon said in a joint statement. "We will at some point in the near future begin identifying and recruiting a worthy successor to continue to build on the outstanding foundations which have been laid by Ian.</p>
<p>"Under his leadership, we have seen Liverpool transform from a club that was on the brink of bankruptcy, to one which today enjoys strong financial and operational health."</p>
<p>Ayre first joined Liverpool under Hicks and Gillett in 2007, rising from commercial director to CEO.</p>
<p>"I believe the end of next season is the right time to pass the CEO baton on to a new person, who will take on the challenges and opportunities with a fresh enthusiasm and vigor," Ayre said.</p>
<p>Juergen Klopp's Liverpool is eighth in the Premier League but still in contention for the Europa League.</p>
<p>Liverpool won the last of its then-record 18 league titles in 1990 before Manchester United climbed to 20 titles while dominating English football from 1993 to 2013.</p> | Chief executive to leave Liverpool after restoring stability | false | https://apnews.com/amp/18f9a87d11ba4f4a985c532c097ea52f | 2016-03-15 | 2least
| Chief executive to leave Liverpool after restoring stability
<p>LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — The chief executive of Liverpool, who restored stability to a club that was on the brink of bankruptcy six years ago, has decided to leave the role next year.</p>
<p>Ian Ayre oversaw the transition from the financially troubled ownership of American businessmen Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr. to the takeover by John Henry's Fenway Sports Group in 2010.</p>
<p>FSG, which also owns baseball's Boston Red Sox, wanted Ayre to remain as CEO beyond the end of his current contract.</p>
<p>"We asked him on several occasions to take some time to reconsider his decision, but have been unable to convince him to remain as CEO beyond May 2017," owner Henry, chairman Tom Werner and president Mike Gordon said in a joint statement. "We will at some point in the near future begin identifying and recruiting a worthy successor to continue to build on the outstanding foundations which have been laid by Ian.</p>
<p>"Under his leadership, we have seen Liverpool transform from a club that was on the brink of bankruptcy, to one which today enjoys strong financial and operational health."</p>
<p>Ayre first joined Liverpool under Hicks and Gillett in 2007, rising from commercial director to CEO.</p>
<p>"I believe the end of next season is the right time to pass the CEO baton on to a new person, who will take on the challenges and opportunities with a fresh enthusiasm and vigor," Ayre said.</p>
<p>Juergen Klopp's Liverpool is eighth in the Premier League but still in contention for the Europa League.</p>
<p>Liverpool won the last of its then-record 18 league titles in 1990 before Manchester United climbed to 20 titles while dominating English football from 1993 to 2013.</p>
<p>LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — The chief executive of Liverpool, who restored stability to a club that was on the brink of bankruptcy six years ago, has decided to leave the role next year.</p>
<p>Ian Ayre oversaw the transition from the financially troubled ownership of American businessmen Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr. to the takeover by John Henry's Fenway Sports Group in 2010.</p>
<p>FSG, which also owns baseball's Boston Red Sox, wanted Ayre to remain as CEO beyond the end of his current contract.</p>
<p>"We asked him on several occasions to take some time to reconsider his decision, but have been unable to convince him to remain as CEO beyond May 2017," owner Henry, chairman Tom Werner and president Mike Gordon said in a joint statement. "We will at some point in the near future begin identifying and recruiting a worthy successor to continue to build on the outstanding foundations which have been laid by Ian.</p>
<p>"Under his leadership, we have seen Liverpool transform from a club that was on the brink of bankruptcy, to one which today enjoys strong financial and operational health."</p>
<p>Ayre first joined Liverpool under Hicks and Gillett in 2007, rising from commercial director to CEO.</p>
<p>"I believe the end of next season is the right time to pass the CEO baton on to a new person, who will take on the challenges and opportunities with a fresh enthusiasm and vigor," Ayre said.</p>
<p>Juergen Klopp's Liverpool is eighth in the Premier League but still in contention for the Europa League.</p>
<p>Liverpool won the last of its then-record 18 league titles in 1990 before Manchester United climbed to 20 titles while dominating English football from 1993 to 2013.</p> | 2,449 |
<p><a href="http://variety.com/t/india/" type="external">India</a>’s largest cinema operator, <a href="http://variety.com/t/pvr/" type="external">PVR</a> Limited is to buy a minority stake in <a href="http://variety.com/t/ipic/" type="external">iPic</a> Gold Class Entertainment, the U.S. luxury theaters circuit.</p>
<p>The deal was announced to the Bombay Stock Exchange on Thursday after being approved by the <a href="http://variety.com/2016/film/asia/indian-multiplex-leader-pvr-expands-4dx-rollout-1201942909/" type="external">PVR</a> board of directors.</p>
<p>Neither the scale of the finance, nor the size of the share stake were revealed. However, PVR said that its chairman and MD Ajay Bijli is expected to be granted a seat on <a href="http://variety.com/2016/film/news/netflix-ipic-1201879058/" type="external">iPic</a>’s board following the company’s initial public offering. IPic has previously announced plans to file a Regulation A+ IPO.</p>
<p>IPic, which is based in Washington State, operates a casual restaurant, a bar and 16 luxury theaters, with a combined 121 screens, in 10 states. “iPic’s multi-faceted guest experience of dining, drinking and watching a movie in a luxurious setting, supported by ever changing Hollywood movies and other non-traditional content (such as concerts and eGaming) has helped to create a differentiated brand,” PVR said in its statement.</p>
<p>IPic last year grabbed headlines following a deal with Netflix that saw it announce plans to screen 10 movies in its theaters simultaneously with their debut on the streaming platform. The National Association of Theater Owners warned against breaking down the traditional release windows.</p>
<p /> | India’s PVR Buys Stake in iPic U.S. Luxury Theater Chain | false | https://newsline.com/indias-pvr-buys-stake-in-ipic-u-s-luxury-theater-chain/ | 2017-11-16 | 1right-center
| India’s PVR Buys Stake in iPic U.S. Luxury Theater Chain
<p><a href="http://variety.com/t/india/" type="external">India</a>’s largest cinema operator, <a href="http://variety.com/t/pvr/" type="external">PVR</a> Limited is to buy a minority stake in <a href="http://variety.com/t/ipic/" type="external">iPic</a> Gold Class Entertainment, the U.S. luxury theaters circuit.</p>
<p>The deal was announced to the Bombay Stock Exchange on Thursday after being approved by the <a href="http://variety.com/2016/film/asia/indian-multiplex-leader-pvr-expands-4dx-rollout-1201942909/" type="external">PVR</a> board of directors.</p>
<p>Neither the scale of the finance, nor the size of the share stake were revealed. However, PVR said that its chairman and MD Ajay Bijli is expected to be granted a seat on <a href="http://variety.com/2016/film/news/netflix-ipic-1201879058/" type="external">iPic</a>’s board following the company’s initial public offering. IPic has previously announced plans to file a Regulation A+ IPO.</p>
<p>IPic, which is based in Washington State, operates a casual restaurant, a bar and 16 luxury theaters, with a combined 121 screens, in 10 states. “iPic’s multi-faceted guest experience of dining, drinking and watching a movie in a luxurious setting, supported by ever changing Hollywood movies and other non-traditional content (such as concerts and eGaming) has helped to create a differentiated brand,” PVR said in its statement.</p>
<p>IPic last year grabbed headlines following a deal with Netflix that saw it announce plans to screen 10 movies in its theaters simultaneously with their debut on the streaming platform. The National Association of Theater Owners warned against breaking down the traditional release windows.</p>
<p /> | 2,450 |
<p>Here’s video of an NYPD officer throwing a <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/mixed-media/2014/09/nypd-pregnant-woman-video-sandra-amezquita" type="external">six-months pregnant woman to the ground</a>. (Trigger warning)</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.salon.com/2014/09/24/feminisms_ugly_internal_clash_why_its_future_is_not_up_to_white_women/" type="external">A wonderful piece by Brittney Cooper</a>: “The future of feminism can not be left to the hands of white women.”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.salon.com/2014/09/23/denver_area_students_walk_out_of_school_in_protest/?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=socialflow" type="external">Denver high school students stage a walkout</a>&#160;to protest a school board proposal to censor what they’re taught in history class to ensure that it promotes “citizenship, patriotism, essentials and benefits of the free-market system, respect for authority and respect for individual rights” and doesn’t “encourage or condone civil disorder, social strike or disregard of the law.”</p>
<p>Men who join fraternities&#160; <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/24/rape-sexual-assault-ban-frats" type="external">are three times more likely to rape</a>&#160;than other college men.</p>
<p>Meghan Daum’s moving New Yorker essay on&#160; <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/29/difference-maker" type="external">deciding not to have kids</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-29306346" type="external">Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone</a>&#160;is speak out against sexism in Indian media.</p> | Daily Feminist Cheat Sheet | true | http://feministing.com/2014/09/24/daily-feminist-cheat-sheet-416/ | 4left
| Daily Feminist Cheat Sheet
<p>Here’s video of an NYPD officer throwing a <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/mixed-media/2014/09/nypd-pregnant-woman-video-sandra-amezquita" type="external">six-months pregnant woman to the ground</a>. (Trigger warning)</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.salon.com/2014/09/24/feminisms_ugly_internal_clash_why_its_future_is_not_up_to_white_women/" type="external">A wonderful piece by Brittney Cooper</a>: “The future of feminism can not be left to the hands of white women.”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.salon.com/2014/09/23/denver_area_students_walk_out_of_school_in_protest/?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=socialflow" type="external">Denver high school students stage a walkout</a>&#160;to protest a school board proposal to censor what they’re taught in history class to ensure that it promotes “citizenship, patriotism, essentials and benefits of the free-market system, respect for authority and respect for individual rights” and doesn’t “encourage or condone civil disorder, social strike or disregard of the law.”</p>
<p>Men who join fraternities&#160; <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/24/rape-sexual-assault-ban-frats" type="external">are three times more likely to rape</a>&#160;than other college men.</p>
<p>Meghan Daum’s moving New Yorker essay on&#160; <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/29/difference-maker" type="external">deciding not to have kids</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-29306346" type="external">Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone</a>&#160;is speak out against sexism in Indian media.</p> | 2,451 |
|
<p />
<p>President Barack Obama <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/27/us/politics/27court.html?_r=1&amp;hp" type="external">will nominate</a> Sonia Sotomayor, a judge on the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, to the Supreme Court, numerous sources are reporting. What you <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/27/us/politics/27court.html?_r=1&amp;hp" type="external">need to know right now</a>:</p>
<p>Judge Sotomayor, 54, who has served for more than a decade on the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals based in New York City, would become the nation’s 111th justice, replacing <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/david_h_souter/index.html?inline=nyt-per" type="external">David H. Souter</a>, who is retiring after 19 years on the bench. Although Justice Souter was appointed by the first President George Bush, he became a mainstay of the liberal faction on the court and so his replacement by Judge Sotomayor likely would not shift the overall balance of power.</p>
<p>But her appointment would add a second woman to the nine-member court and give Hispanics their first seat.</p>
<p>President Obama is set to announce the nomination in a statement at 10:15 EST. More on this as it develops.</p>
<p /> | Obama to Nominate Sonia Sotomayor to Supreme Court | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2009/05/obama-nominate-sonia-sotomayor-supreme-court/ | 2009-05-26 | 4left
| Obama to Nominate Sonia Sotomayor to Supreme Court
<p />
<p>President Barack Obama <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/27/us/politics/27court.html?_r=1&amp;hp" type="external">will nominate</a> Sonia Sotomayor, a judge on the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, to the Supreme Court, numerous sources are reporting. What you <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/27/us/politics/27court.html?_r=1&amp;hp" type="external">need to know right now</a>:</p>
<p>Judge Sotomayor, 54, who has served for more than a decade on the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals based in New York City, would become the nation’s 111th justice, replacing <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/david_h_souter/index.html?inline=nyt-per" type="external">David H. Souter</a>, who is retiring after 19 years on the bench. Although Justice Souter was appointed by the first President George Bush, he became a mainstay of the liberal faction on the court and so his replacement by Judge Sotomayor likely would not shift the overall balance of power.</p>
<p>But her appointment would add a second woman to the nine-member court and give Hispanics their first seat.</p>
<p>President Obama is set to announce the nomination in a statement at 10:15 EST. More on this as it develops.</p>
<p /> | 2,452 |
<p>Back at It:</p>
<p>President Obama is campaigning after being off the trail for a few days to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. On Thursday, Obama made stops in the battleground states of Wisconsin, Colorado and Nevada. ( <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2012/11/01/obama-campaign-trail/1674413/" type="external">Read more</a>)</p>
<p>Vote of Confidence: In a surprise announcement, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has endorsed Barack Obama. Bloomberg, an independent, has been highly critical of the president and Republican nominee Mitt Romney. He said his decision was influenced by Hurricane Sandy and the issue of climate change. ( <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/02/nyregion/bloomberg-endorses-obama-saying-hurricane-sandy-affected-decision.html?hp=&amp;adxnnl=1&amp;adxnnlx=1351796739-XErskhZYU0+D+Y85PzqB9A&amp;_r=1&amp;" type="external">Read more</a>)</p>
<p>Turning Tricks: New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, a Democrat who is up for re-election, has been accused by two women of paying for sex during a trip to the Dominican Republic this year. The two women say Menendez offered them each $500 for sex, but ended up paying only $100. Needless to say, Republicans, ever forgetful of the David Vitter and Larry Craig episodes, are pouncing on this. ( <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/trending/2012/11/01/bob_menendez_scandal_new_jersey_senate_candidate_hired_prostitutes_in_the.html" type="external">Read more</a>)</p>
<p />
<p>More GOP Rape Comments: The list of Republicans saying idiotic things about rape continues to grow. The latest addition: Washington congressional candidate John Koster, who said at a fundraiser over the weekend, “Incest is so rare, I mean it’s so rare. But the rape thing, you know, I know a woman who was raped and kept the child, gave it up for adoption and doesn’t regret it. In fact, she’s a big pro-life proponent. But, on the rape thing it’s like, how does putting more violence onto a woman’s body and taking the life of an innocent child that’s a consequence of this crime, how does that make it better?” The “rape thing”? Number of days it’s been since a Republican has made a stupid comment about rape: zero. ( <a href="http://blogs.seattletimes.com/politicsnorthwest/2012/10/31/koster-speaks-frankly-about-abortion-and-the-rape-thing/" type="external">Read more</a>)</p>
<p>Akin’s Rape Ad: Speaking of Republicans who have made ignorant remarks about rape, Todd Akin is trying to target women with a new ad that features a rape survivor. The Missouri GOP Senate candidate has made a push for conservative female voters after his controversial comments in August in which he said women rarely get pregnant as a result of “legitimate rape.” ( <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/01/todd-akin-ad_n_2059088.html" type="external">Read more</a>)</p>
<p>IVF Exception: In Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann’s warped and twisted world, rape victims would not get an exception to her personhood amendment, but those who undergo in vitro fertilization would. As rapper and writer Dessa tweeted, “Bachmann seems to recognize that she’s more likely receive a vote from a rich woman in fertility treatment than she is from rape victim.” That seems to matter when you’re locked in a tight re-election battle. ( <a href="http://updates.jezebel.com/post/34778751651/michele-bachmann-thinks-personhood-amendment-shouldn%E2%80%99t" type="external">Read more</a>)</p>
<p>Video of the Day: Mitt Romney supporters do not believe in global warming, as evidenced by how they responded to this climate change “heckler” at a recent Romney rally.</p>
<p />
<p /> | More Michele Bachmann Hypocrisy, the Latest Political Sex Scandal, and More | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/more-michele-bachmann-hypocrisy-the-latest-political-sex-scandal-and-more/ | 2012-11-02 | 4left
| More Michele Bachmann Hypocrisy, the Latest Political Sex Scandal, and More
<p>Back at It:</p>
<p>President Obama is campaigning after being off the trail for a few days to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. On Thursday, Obama made stops in the battleground states of Wisconsin, Colorado and Nevada. ( <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2012/11/01/obama-campaign-trail/1674413/" type="external">Read more</a>)</p>
<p>Vote of Confidence: In a surprise announcement, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has endorsed Barack Obama. Bloomberg, an independent, has been highly critical of the president and Republican nominee Mitt Romney. He said his decision was influenced by Hurricane Sandy and the issue of climate change. ( <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/02/nyregion/bloomberg-endorses-obama-saying-hurricane-sandy-affected-decision.html?hp=&amp;adxnnl=1&amp;adxnnlx=1351796739-XErskhZYU0+D+Y85PzqB9A&amp;_r=1&amp;" type="external">Read more</a>)</p>
<p>Turning Tricks: New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, a Democrat who is up for re-election, has been accused by two women of paying for sex during a trip to the Dominican Republic this year. The two women say Menendez offered them each $500 for sex, but ended up paying only $100. Needless to say, Republicans, ever forgetful of the David Vitter and Larry Craig episodes, are pouncing on this. ( <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/trending/2012/11/01/bob_menendez_scandal_new_jersey_senate_candidate_hired_prostitutes_in_the.html" type="external">Read more</a>)</p>
<p />
<p>More GOP Rape Comments: The list of Republicans saying idiotic things about rape continues to grow. The latest addition: Washington congressional candidate John Koster, who said at a fundraiser over the weekend, “Incest is so rare, I mean it’s so rare. But the rape thing, you know, I know a woman who was raped and kept the child, gave it up for adoption and doesn’t regret it. In fact, she’s a big pro-life proponent. But, on the rape thing it’s like, how does putting more violence onto a woman’s body and taking the life of an innocent child that’s a consequence of this crime, how does that make it better?” The “rape thing”? Number of days it’s been since a Republican has made a stupid comment about rape: zero. ( <a href="http://blogs.seattletimes.com/politicsnorthwest/2012/10/31/koster-speaks-frankly-about-abortion-and-the-rape-thing/" type="external">Read more</a>)</p>
<p>Akin’s Rape Ad: Speaking of Republicans who have made ignorant remarks about rape, Todd Akin is trying to target women with a new ad that features a rape survivor. The Missouri GOP Senate candidate has made a push for conservative female voters after his controversial comments in August in which he said women rarely get pregnant as a result of “legitimate rape.” ( <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/01/todd-akin-ad_n_2059088.html" type="external">Read more</a>)</p>
<p>IVF Exception: In Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann’s warped and twisted world, rape victims would not get an exception to her personhood amendment, but those who undergo in vitro fertilization would. As rapper and writer Dessa tweeted, “Bachmann seems to recognize that she’s more likely receive a vote from a rich woman in fertility treatment than she is from rape victim.” That seems to matter when you’re locked in a tight re-election battle. ( <a href="http://updates.jezebel.com/post/34778751651/michele-bachmann-thinks-personhood-amendment-shouldn%E2%80%99t" type="external">Read more</a>)</p>
<p>Video of the Day: Mitt Romney supporters do not believe in global warming, as evidenced by how they responded to this climate change “heckler” at a recent Romney rally.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 2,453 |
<p />
<p />
<p>Ever since the first President Bush held up a bag of crack at a 1989 press conference, the federal government has spent many millions of dollars on <a href="http://www.mediacampaign.org/" type="external">anti-drug advertising campaigns</a> targeted at teenagers. All those fried-egg spots (“This is your brain on drugs”) have been the butt of many a teenage joke, and as it turned out, they were highly effective at actually <a href="http://www.nida.nih.gov/DESPR/Westat/" type="external">encouraging kids to smoke pot</a>.</p>
<p>Some new anti-drug ads now airing in Montana, however, might actually be working, perhaps because they weren’t made by dorks in Washington. The new campaign was produced by the <a href="http://www.montanameth.org/View_Ads/print.php" type="external">Montana Meth Project</a>, a private group founded by a local rancher. The ads are way edgier than anything the drug czar’s office ever came up with, including one featuring a near-naked girl in a hotel room after her boyfriend pimps her for drug money and another of some kids dumping an unconscious girl on a hospital driveway before speeding away.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.kansascity.com/105/story/340096.html" type="external">A new study suggests</a> that Montana’s ads have reduced teen meth use in the state by 45 percent, a figure compelling enough for the White House to get on the bandwagon and broadcast Montana’s graphic ads in other states.</p>
<p /> | Anti-Drug Ads That Might Actually Work | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2007/10/anti-drug-ads-might-actually-work/ | 2007-10-31 | 4left
| Anti-Drug Ads That Might Actually Work
<p />
<p />
<p>Ever since the first President Bush held up a bag of crack at a 1989 press conference, the federal government has spent many millions of dollars on <a href="http://www.mediacampaign.org/" type="external">anti-drug advertising campaigns</a> targeted at teenagers. All those fried-egg spots (“This is your brain on drugs”) have been the butt of many a teenage joke, and as it turned out, they were highly effective at actually <a href="http://www.nida.nih.gov/DESPR/Westat/" type="external">encouraging kids to smoke pot</a>.</p>
<p>Some new anti-drug ads now airing in Montana, however, might actually be working, perhaps because they weren’t made by dorks in Washington. The new campaign was produced by the <a href="http://www.montanameth.org/View_Ads/print.php" type="external">Montana Meth Project</a>, a private group founded by a local rancher. The ads are way edgier than anything the drug czar’s office ever came up with, including one featuring a near-naked girl in a hotel room after her boyfriend pimps her for drug money and another of some kids dumping an unconscious girl on a hospital driveway before speeding away.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.kansascity.com/105/story/340096.html" type="external">A new study suggests</a> that Montana’s ads have reduced teen meth use in the state by 45 percent, a figure compelling enough for the White House to get on the bandwagon and broadcast Montana’s graphic ads in other states.</p>
<p /> | 2,454 |
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<p />
<p>There are many reasons for this, but three of the most important ones are: (1) They lack a well-thought-out business plan; (2) they do not know whether to raise debt or equity; and (3) they do not understand which kind of buyer/investor to reach out to - either a strategic buyer or a financial buyer. Knowing the key differences between how these two groups think can help you improve your chances of a successful outcome.</p>
<p>Strategic buyers/investors are operating companies that sell products and/or services. Some may be your competitors, suppliers or customers. Others could be unrelated to your company's specific business, but are looking to grow in your market space to diversify their revenue sources.</p>
<p>Financial buyers/investors are private equity firms (also known as "financial sponsors"), venture capital firms, hedge funds, family investment offices and ultra-high-net-worth individuals. These firms and individuals make investments in companies expecting a significant return on their investments. They identify privately owned companies with solid growth records, consistent earnings, strong management teams, attractive future growth opportunities and sustainable competitive advantages.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Strategic and financial buyers have fundamentally different goals. Therefore, the way they approach a business purchase or investment can differ significantly. Below are six major ways that these two groups differ when considering a potential purchase or investment.</p>
<p>1. Strategic buyers evaluate acquisitions largely in the context of how the business will "fit in" with their existing companies and business units. For example, as part of their due diligence and analysis, strategic acquirers will focus on to whom products or services are sold. They will examine market segments, economies of scale in your manufacturing processes and your intellectual property that could give them a competitive advantage.</p>
<p>2. Conversely, financial buyers won't be integrating your business into a larger company, so they generally evaluate an opportunity as a standalone business. In addition, they often buy businesses with debt, which causes them to scrutinize the business's capacity to generate cash flow to service the debt and to ensure that the company can generate an acceptable ROI. Strategic buyers focus heavily on synergies and integration capabilities, whereas financial buyers focus heavily on standalone cash-generating capability and earnings growth capacity.</p>
<p>3. Strategic buyers are usually more up to speed on your industry, its competitive landscape and current trends. They will spend less time deciding on the attractiveness of the overall industry and more time on how your business fits in with their corporate strategy. Conversely, financial buyers typically build a comprehensive macro view of the industry and a micro view of your company within the industry. This macro view analysis might ultimately determine that they do not want to invest in any company in a given industry.</p>
<p>4. Strategic buyers focus less on the strength of your company's existing "back-office" infrastructure as these functions will often be eliminated during the post-transaction integration phase. Since financial buyers will need this back-office infrastructure to endure post-transaction, they will scrutinize it during the due diligence process and often seek to strengthen such infrastructure post-acquisition.</p>
<p>5. Strategic buyers often intend to own an acquired business indefinitely. Therefore, they fully integrate the company into their existing business. Financial buyers typically have an investment time horizon from four to seven years, at which point they seek to sell/exit the acquired business. Financial buyers will be more sensitive to business-cycle risk than strategic buyers.</p>
<p>6. Financial buyers are in the business of making acquisitions. It is one of their core competencies to execute deals in a timely and efficient fashion. Strategic buyers may not have a dedicated M&amp;A team. Therefore, a strategic buyer may be encumbered by slow-moving boards of directors, bureaucratic committees and conflicts with senior management.</p>
<p>From my experience, the factors and processes that strategic buyers employ can often take longer than with financial buyers. Regardless of which buyer category you choose, be prepared for a six- to 12-month thorough preparation process before you decide to sell.</p>
<p>Gary Miller is the managing director of the Consulting Division of SDR Ventures, a Denver-based investment banking firm. Contact: 720-221-9220 or [email protected].</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p /> | Executive's Desk: Strategic, financial buyers often have differing goals | false | https://abqjournal.com/690727/strategic-financial-buyers-often-have-differing-goals.html | 2least
| Executive's Desk: Strategic, financial buyers often have differing goals
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<p />
<p>There are many reasons for this, but three of the most important ones are: (1) They lack a well-thought-out business plan; (2) they do not know whether to raise debt or equity; and (3) they do not understand which kind of buyer/investor to reach out to - either a strategic buyer or a financial buyer. Knowing the key differences between how these two groups think can help you improve your chances of a successful outcome.</p>
<p>Strategic buyers/investors are operating companies that sell products and/or services. Some may be your competitors, suppliers or customers. Others could be unrelated to your company's specific business, but are looking to grow in your market space to diversify their revenue sources.</p>
<p>Financial buyers/investors are private equity firms (also known as "financial sponsors"), venture capital firms, hedge funds, family investment offices and ultra-high-net-worth individuals. These firms and individuals make investments in companies expecting a significant return on their investments. They identify privately owned companies with solid growth records, consistent earnings, strong management teams, attractive future growth opportunities and sustainable competitive advantages.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Strategic and financial buyers have fundamentally different goals. Therefore, the way they approach a business purchase or investment can differ significantly. Below are six major ways that these two groups differ when considering a potential purchase or investment.</p>
<p>1. Strategic buyers evaluate acquisitions largely in the context of how the business will "fit in" with their existing companies and business units. For example, as part of their due diligence and analysis, strategic acquirers will focus on to whom products or services are sold. They will examine market segments, economies of scale in your manufacturing processes and your intellectual property that could give them a competitive advantage.</p>
<p>2. Conversely, financial buyers won't be integrating your business into a larger company, so they generally evaluate an opportunity as a standalone business. In addition, they often buy businesses with debt, which causes them to scrutinize the business's capacity to generate cash flow to service the debt and to ensure that the company can generate an acceptable ROI. Strategic buyers focus heavily on synergies and integration capabilities, whereas financial buyers focus heavily on standalone cash-generating capability and earnings growth capacity.</p>
<p>3. Strategic buyers are usually more up to speed on your industry, its competitive landscape and current trends. They will spend less time deciding on the attractiveness of the overall industry and more time on how your business fits in with their corporate strategy. Conversely, financial buyers typically build a comprehensive macro view of the industry and a micro view of your company within the industry. This macro view analysis might ultimately determine that they do not want to invest in any company in a given industry.</p>
<p>4. Strategic buyers focus less on the strength of your company's existing "back-office" infrastructure as these functions will often be eliminated during the post-transaction integration phase. Since financial buyers will need this back-office infrastructure to endure post-transaction, they will scrutinize it during the due diligence process and often seek to strengthen such infrastructure post-acquisition.</p>
<p>5. Strategic buyers often intend to own an acquired business indefinitely. Therefore, they fully integrate the company into their existing business. Financial buyers typically have an investment time horizon from four to seven years, at which point they seek to sell/exit the acquired business. Financial buyers will be more sensitive to business-cycle risk than strategic buyers.</p>
<p>6. Financial buyers are in the business of making acquisitions. It is one of their core competencies to execute deals in a timely and efficient fashion. Strategic buyers may not have a dedicated M&amp;A team. Therefore, a strategic buyer may be encumbered by slow-moving boards of directors, bureaucratic committees and conflicts with senior management.</p>
<p>From my experience, the factors and processes that strategic buyers employ can often take longer than with financial buyers. Regardless of which buyer category you choose, be prepared for a six- to 12-month thorough preparation process before you decide to sell.</p>
<p>Gary Miller is the managing director of the Consulting Division of SDR Ventures, a Denver-based investment banking firm. Contact: 720-221-9220 or [email protected].</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p /> | 2,455 |
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<p>FRANKFURT, Germany — New rules to protect investors, improve market transparency and honesty and prevent another financial crisis went into effect on Wednesday in Europe.</p>
<p>The regulations are more than a million paragraphs long, took six years to write and approve and had to be delayed by a year. And despite Wednesday’s start date, they still haven’t been passed into national law by more than half the European Union’s 28 member states.</p>
<p>The so-called MiFID II rules will have broad impact on how stocks, bonds and investments are traded. Here’s a look at the new regulations, known in full as the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>SON OF MiFID</p>
<p>MiFID II is the successor to an earlier, narrow set of MiFID rules which went into force in November 2007 — just ahead of the global financial crisis that included the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers. The crisis quickly convinced European Union leaders that they needed a much more comprehensive set of rules to prevent another disaster. The new regime was approved in 2014, and was originally expected to take effect at the start of 2017. It was delayed a year after regulators said they would not be ready in time for the complex legislation.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>TRANSPARENCY</p>
<p>Transparency and investor protection are key aspects of the new rules, which aim to ensure that investment firms act in accordance with the best interests of their clients when providing services. For instance, companies developing new investment products must define their target customers to ensure they are not marketed to investors for whom they are unsuitable. All internal and external electronic communications and phone conversations have to be recorded, and, if necessary, provided to customers. Financial firms must disclose without being asked the total costs of products and services and the impact of costs on investment gains, and detail individual customer costs on request.</p>
<p>It requires lots of new data fields to record trades, and requires every trading company to apply for an identifying number that should help regulators crack down on market abuses.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>SHEDDING LIGHT</p>
<p>The rules aim to push more trading onto public exchanges, where everyone can see the prices at which trades have been made. They will try to limit trading in so-called dark pools — trading forums not accessible to the general public — and over the counter trading, in which assets are priced and traded among dealers off major exchanges with fewer rules and less transparency. There are also new rules on computer and high-speed trading to keep them from destabilizing financial markets.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>HOT COMMODITIES</p>
<p>The new rules aim to limit speculation in commodities such as oil, metals, and agricultural products to prevent financial speculation that can send food prices soaring. To do that, it introduces a harmonized EU-wide system that puts limits on the size of investor positions in derivatives based on commodities. Derivatives are financial products that are based on an underlying asset.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>IN PRACTICE</p>
<p>Countries that have fully implemented the directive by passing its provisions into national law and communicated that to Brussels are: Austria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Slovakia and the United Kingdom. The others either haven’t passed the measures in full or haven’t communicated what they’ve done.</p> | New EU rules aim to protect investors, strengthen markets | false | https://abqjournal.com/1114097/new-eu-rules-aim-to-protect-investors-strengthen-markets.html | 2018-01-03 | 2least
| New EU rules aim to protect investors, strengthen markets
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>FRANKFURT, Germany — New rules to protect investors, improve market transparency and honesty and prevent another financial crisis went into effect on Wednesday in Europe.</p>
<p>The regulations are more than a million paragraphs long, took six years to write and approve and had to be delayed by a year. And despite Wednesday’s start date, they still haven’t been passed into national law by more than half the European Union’s 28 member states.</p>
<p>The so-called MiFID II rules will have broad impact on how stocks, bonds and investments are traded. Here’s a look at the new regulations, known in full as the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>SON OF MiFID</p>
<p>MiFID II is the successor to an earlier, narrow set of MiFID rules which went into force in November 2007 — just ahead of the global financial crisis that included the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers. The crisis quickly convinced European Union leaders that they needed a much more comprehensive set of rules to prevent another disaster. The new regime was approved in 2014, and was originally expected to take effect at the start of 2017. It was delayed a year after regulators said they would not be ready in time for the complex legislation.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>TRANSPARENCY</p>
<p>Transparency and investor protection are key aspects of the new rules, which aim to ensure that investment firms act in accordance with the best interests of their clients when providing services. For instance, companies developing new investment products must define their target customers to ensure they are not marketed to investors for whom they are unsuitable. All internal and external electronic communications and phone conversations have to be recorded, and, if necessary, provided to customers. Financial firms must disclose without being asked the total costs of products and services and the impact of costs on investment gains, and detail individual customer costs on request.</p>
<p>It requires lots of new data fields to record trades, and requires every trading company to apply for an identifying number that should help regulators crack down on market abuses.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>SHEDDING LIGHT</p>
<p>The rules aim to push more trading onto public exchanges, where everyone can see the prices at which trades have been made. They will try to limit trading in so-called dark pools — trading forums not accessible to the general public — and over the counter trading, in which assets are priced and traded among dealers off major exchanges with fewer rules and less transparency. There are also new rules on computer and high-speed trading to keep them from destabilizing financial markets.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>HOT COMMODITIES</p>
<p>The new rules aim to limit speculation in commodities such as oil, metals, and agricultural products to prevent financial speculation that can send food prices soaring. To do that, it introduces a harmonized EU-wide system that puts limits on the size of investor positions in derivatives based on commodities. Derivatives are financial products that are based on an underlying asset.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>IN PRACTICE</p>
<p>Countries that have fully implemented the directive by passing its provisions into national law and communicated that to Brussels are: Austria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Slovakia and the United Kingdom. The others either haven’t passed the measures in full or haven’t communicated what they’ve done.</p> | 2,456 |
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<p>DETROIT - It appears that United Auto Workers union members have voted down a four-year contract deal with Fiat Chrysler.</p>
<p>Members at large assembly plants in Toledo, Ohio, and Sterling Heights, Michigan, rejected the pact in voting Tuesday.</p>
<p>Most other factories also turned down the contract. A final vote total could be announced later Wednesday after balloting ends at a factory in Belvidere, Illinois.</p>
<p>Plant-level union leaders were summoned to Detroit for a meeting Thursday to decide the next move.</p>
<p>About 40,000 union Fiat Chrysler employees have been working under a contract extension since Sept. 14. The new deal had pay raises but didn't end a lower wage rate for those hired after 2007. Workers also are concerned about shifting car production to Mexico and replacing it with trucks and SUVs.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | UAW workers appear to have rejected Fiat Chrysler contract | false | https://abqjournal.com/651484/uaw-workers-appear-to-have-rejected-fiat-chrysler-contract.html | 2least
| UAW workers appear to have rejected Fiat Chrysler contract
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<p>DETROIT - It appears that United Auto Workers union members have voted down a four-year contract deal with Fiat Chrysler.</p>
<p>Members at large assembly plants in Toledo, Ohio, and Sterling Heights, Michigan, rejected the pact in voting Tuesday.</p>
<p>Most other factories also turned down the contract. A final vote total could be announced later Wednesday after balloting ends at a factory in Belvidere, Illinois.</p>
<p>Plant-level union leaders were summoned to Detroit for a meeting Thursday to decide the next move.</p>
<p>About 40,000 union Fiat Chrysler employees have been working under a contract extension since Sept. 14. The new deal had pay raises but didn't end a lower wage rate for those hired after 2007. Workers also are concerned about shifting car production to Mexico and replacing it with trucks and SUVs.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 2,457 |
|
<p>I am writing from the heart of the Jewish community in Montreal, one of the most powerful, well organized, diverse (heavily Sephardic) and liberal Jewish communities in North America. The community is active, particularly the Jewish Public Library and community campus, which serves not only the Jewish community, but the entire working-class, heavily Arab-Palestinian and Lebanese for the most part – and North African community of Cote De Neiges. Indeed, Montreal may be the only place in the world in which Jews and Palestinians live in peace.</p>
<p>As Israeli Prime Minister Sharon started his current assault on the Palestinian Occupied Territories it brought back memories of Saddam in Kuwait as well as Sharon’s own criminal actions in Lebanon. A mutual friend of mine who happens to be serving in the IDF [Israeli military] recently told me that this was “a war for the settlers.” Liberal, secular Israelis, even in the IDF know that Sharon has always seen the Palestinian territories as part of Israel, and they quietly curse him for supporting those settlements, many of which are populated by Russian Mafia figures. In the Jewish Diaspora, even the most strident Zionists, such as Thomas Friedman say that these settlements “threaten the heart of the Zionist enterprise.”</p>
<p>Ariel Sharon has not only gone too far, he has made us all ashamed that these crimes are being committed in our names – whether we identify ourselves as Zionists or not, we are all Jews! An Orthodox friend of mine, hearing of Israel’s desecration of Mosques and Churches in the wake of an attack on a Synagogue in France, told me that what Israel is doing is basically against the very precepts of Judaism.</p>
<p>Indeed, Israel’s actions are very non-Jewish. While Israel is the Jewish state, it is based on an ethnic nationalism that was foisted upon us by European racists, culminating in the Holocaust. Israel’s current despicable actions are actually in the context of many post-colonial second-world autocracies. For Israel to call itself a democracy is uniquely appropriate in the era of Mugabe and Bush.</p>
<p>The most obvious example of Israel’s absolutely non-Jewish actions is the violation of good old, “love thy neighbor.” There are countless examples, particularly in the book of Solomon, that deal with what could modernly be referred to as International Law. As far as my understanding goes, in using the bible as a historical legislative document, if a man attacks the Hebrew people, only that man can be punished, not his family and not his tribe. Further references to the Jewish concept of social justice can be attained through a perusal of the Talmud, the Kabballah (not dissimilar to Sufism) and particularly in the works of Maimonodes, who incidentally wrote his greatest work in Arabic.</p>
<p>Another friend of mine, a spokesperson for my university’s Hillel organization is miserable that despite the collective view that Sharon had gone too far, he could not publicly criticize Ariel Sharon, because of the nearly Stalinist Jewish community rule that one cannot criticize Israel outside of Israel if one is speaking for the community. So the world gets a perception that we are all at best quiet apologists for state-terror. Morally bankrupt as it may be, if the masses associate Islam with the likes of Bin Laden, my friend – and I – feared that Judaism would be associated with the likes of Sharon. He felt that he was between a rock and a hard place. How could one defend such brutality?</p>
<p>I am not hopeless. Semites have lived together for thousands of years, sometimes fighting, but more often sharing their different strains of olives. I long to see the day when Jews and Palestinians can build a true, inclusive Pan-Semitism. Some may say I am idealistic, but I believe this will turn out to be a truism. We have to live together. There is no other way.</p>
<p>Jordy Cummings is a graduate student at Concordia University and may be reached at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p> | Not in My Name Anymore | true | https://counterpunch.org/2002/04/08/not-in-my-name-anymore/ | 2002-04-08 | 4left
| Not in My Name Anymore
<p>I am writing from the heart of the Jewish community in Montreal, one of the most powerful, well organized, diverse (heavily Sephardic) and liberal Jewish communities in North America. The community is active, particularly the Jewish Public Library and community campus, which serves not only the Jewish community, but the entire working-class, heavily Arab-Palestinian and Lebanese for the most part – and North African community of Cote De Neiges. Indeed, Montreal may be the only place in the world in which Jews and Palestinians live in peace.</p>
<p>As Israeli Prime Minister Sharon started his current assault on the Palestinian Occupied Territories it brought back memories of Saddam in Kuwait as well as Sharon’s own criminal actions in Lebanon. A mutual friend of mine who happens to be serving in the IDF [Israeli military] recently told me that this was “a war for the settlers.” Liberal, secular Israelis, even in the IDF know that Sharon has always seen the Palestinian territories as part of Israel, and they quietly curse him for supporting those settlements, many of which are populated by Russian Mafia figures. In the Jewish Diaspora, even the most strident Zionists, such as Thomas Friedman say that these settlements “threaten the heart of the Zionist enterprise.”</p>
<p>Ariel Sharon has not only gone too far, he has made us all ashamed that these crimes are being committed in our names – whether we identify ourselves as Zionists or not, we are all Jews! An Orthodox friend of mine, hearing of Israel’s desecration of Mosques and Churches in the wake of an attack on a Synagogue in France, told me that what Israel is doing is basically against the very precepts of Judaism.</p>
<p>Indeed, Israel’s actions are very non-Jewish. While Israel is the Jewish state, it is based on an ethnic nationalism that was foisted upon us by European racists, culminating in the Holocaust. Israel’s current despicable actions are actually in the context of many post-colonial second-world autocracies. For Israel to call itself a democracy is uniquely appropriate in the era of Mugabe and Bush.</p>
<p>The most obvious example of Israel’s absolutely non-Jewish actions is the violation of good old, “love thy neighbor.” There are countless examples, particularly in the book of Solomon, that deal with what could modernly be referred to as International Law. As far as my understanding goes, in using the bible as a historical legislative document, if a man attacks the Hebrew people, only that man can be punished, not his family and not his tribe. Further references to the Jewish concept of social justice can be attained through a perusal of the Talmud, the Kabballah (not dissimilar to Sufism) and particularly in the works of Maimonodes, who incidentally wrote his greatest work in Arabic.</p>
<p>Another friend of mine, a spokesperson for my university’s Hillel organization is miserable that despite the collective view that Sharon had gone too far, he could not publicly criticize Ariel Sharon, because of the nearly Stalinist Jewish community rule that one cannot criticize Israel outside of Israel if one is speaking for the community. So the world gets a perception that we are all at best quiet apologists for state-terror. Morally bankrupt as it may be, if the masses associate Islam with the likes of Bin Laden, my friend – and I – feared that Judaism would be associated with the likes of Sharon. He felt that he was between a rock and a hard place. How could one defend such brutality?</p>
<p>I am not hopeless. Semites have lived together for thousands of years, sometimes fighting, but more often sharing their different strains of olives. I long to see the day when Jews and Palestinians can build a true, inclusive Pan-Semitism. Some may say I am idealistic, but I believe this will turn out to be a truism. We have to live together. There is no other way.</p>
<p>Jordy Cummings is a graduate student at Concordia University and may be reached at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p> | 2,458 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>In this Monday, May 22, 2017 photo, a pedestrian walks along Haight Street as a tour bus passes in San Francisco. The 50th anniversary of the “Summer of Love” highlights how San Francisco has changed into a city that artists can no longer afford. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)</p>
<p>SAN FRANCISCO — They came for the music, the mind-bending drugs, to resist the Vietnam War and 1960s American orthodoxy, or simply to escape summer boredom. And they left an enduring legacy.</p>
<p>This season marks the 50th anniversary of that legendary “Summer of Love,” when throngs of American youth descended on San Francisco to join a cultural revolution.</p>
<p>Thinking back on 1967, Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead recalls a creative explosion that sprouted from fissures in American society. That summer marked a pivot point in rock-and-roll history, he says, but it was about much more than the music.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“There was a spirit in the air,” said Weir, who dropped out of high school and then helped form the Grateful Dead in 1965. “We figured that if enough of us got together and put our hearts and minds to it, we could make anything happen.”</p>
<p>San Francisco, now a hub of technology and unrecognizable from its grittier, more freewheeling former self, is taking the anniversary seriously. Hoping for another invasion of visitors — this time with tourist dollars — the city is celebrating with museum exhibits, music and film festivals, Summer of Love-inspired dance parties and lecture panels. Hotels are offering discount packages that include “psychedelic cocktails,” “Love Bus” tours, tie-dyed tote bags and bubble wands.</p>
<p>The city’s travel bureau, which is coordinating the effort, calls it an “exhilarating celebration of the most iconic cultural event in San Francisco history.”</p>
<p>One thing the anniversary makes clear is that what happened here in the 1960s could never happen in San Francisco today, simply because struggling artists can’t afford the city anymore. In the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, which was ground zero for the counterculture, two-bedroom apartments now rent for $5,000 a month. San Francisco remains a magnet for young people, but even those earning six-figure Silicon Valley salaries complain about the cost of living.</p>
<p>In the mid-1960s, rent in Haight-Ashbury was extremely cheap, Weir, now 69, told The Associated Press.</p>
<p>“That attracted artists and bohemians in general because the bohemian community tended to move in where they could afford it,” he said.</p>
<p>During those years, the Grateful Dead shared a spacious Victorian on Ashbury Street. Janis Joplin lived down the street. Across from her was Joe McDonald, of the psychedelic rock band Country Joe and the Fish.</p>
<p>Jefferson Airplane eventually bought a house a few blocks away on Fulton Street, where they hosted legendary, wild parties.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“The music is what everyone seems to remember, but it was a lot more than that,” said David Freiberg, 75, a singer and bassist for Quicksilver Messenger Service who later joined Jefferson Airplane. “It was artists, poets, musicians, all the beautiful shops of clothes and hippie food stores. It was a whole community.”</p>
<p>The bands dropped by each other’s houses and played music nearby, often in free outdoor concerts at Golden Gate Park and its eastward extension known as the Panhandle. Their exciting new breed of folk, jazz and blues-inspired electrical music became known as the San Francisco Sound. Several of its most influential local acts — the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Big Brother and the Holding Company, which launched Joplin’s career — shot to fame during the summer’s three-day Monterey Pop Festival.</p>
<p>One song in particular served as a national invitation to hippies across the land. “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair),” written by John Phillips of the Mamas &amp; the Papas and sung by Scott McKenzie, came out in May 1967. It bolted up the charts and was used to help promote the Monterey festival that June.</p>
<p>“Every fantasy about the summer of ’67 that was ever created — peace, joy, love, nonviolence, wear flowers in your hair and fantastic music — was real at Monterey. It was bliss,” said Dennis McNally, the Grateful Dead’s longtime publicist and official biographer who has curated an exhibit at the California Historical Society that runs through Sept. 10.</p>
<p>The exhibit, “On the Road to the Summer of Love,” explains how that epic summer came about and why San Francisco was its inevitable home. McNally uncovered 100 photographs, some never seen publicly, that trace San Francisco’s contrarian roots to the Beat poets of the 1950s, followed by civil rights demonstrations and the Free Speech Movement at the University of California, Berkeley in the early 1960s.</p>
<p>The national media paid little attention to San Francisco’s psychedelic community until January 1967, when poets and bands joined forces for the “Human Be-In,” a Golden Gate Park gathering that unexpectedly drew about 50,000 people, McNally said. It was there that psychologist and LSD-advocate Timothy Leary stood on stage and delivered his famous mantra: “Turn on. Tune In. Drop out.”</p>
<p>“After the media got hold, it just exploded,” McNally said. “Suddenly, a flood descends on Haight Street. Every bored high school kid — and that’s all of them — is saying, ‘How do I get to San Francisco?'”</p>
<p>An exhaustive exhibit at San Francisco’s de Young museum, “The Summer of Love Experience,” offers a feel-good trip back in time. There’s a psychedelic light show, a 1960s soundtrack and galleries with iconic concert posters, classic photographs and hippie chic fashions worn by Joplin, Jerry Garcia and others. It runs through Aug. 20.</p>
<p>But that summer’s invasion carried a dark cloud. Tens of thousands of youths looking for free love and drugs flooded into San Francisco, living in the streets, begging for food. Parents journeyed to the city in search of their young runaways. An epidemic of toxic psychedelics and harder drugs hit the streets.</p>
<p>“Every loose nut and bolt in America rattled out here to San Francisco, and it got pretty messy,” Weir said.</p>
<p>The longtimers saw it as the end of an era, but one that shaped history.</p>
<p>“We created a mindset that became intrinsic to the fabric of America today,” said Country Joe McDonald, now 75. “Every single thing we did was adapted, folded into America — gender attitudes, ecological attitudes, the invention of rock and roll.”</p>
<p>Half a century later, McDonald, who lives in Berkeley, feels the rumblings of history repeating itself.</p>
<p>UC Berkeley is again at the center of a free speech debate, albeit of a different nature. Discontent with the U.S. government and President Donald Trump has stirred the largest protests he’s seen since the Vietnam War. In the women’s marches across America, he felt echoes of the Summer of Love.</p>
<p>“I think there’s a similarity,” McDonald said, drawing a parallel to the massive anti-Trump turnout marked by nonviolence, playful pink protest hats, creative signs and a determination to change the country’s political course. “Both were about saying goodbye to the past and hello to the future.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Jocelyn Gecker on Twitter at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/jgecker" type="external">www.twitter.com/jgecker</a></p> | San Francisco revels, reflects as Summer of Love turns 50 | false | https://abqjournal.com/1017004/san-francisco-marks-50-years-since-legendary-summer-of-love.html | 2017-06-12 | 2least
| San Francisco revels, reflects as Summer of Love turns 50
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<p>In this Monday, May 22, 2017 photo, a pedestrian walks along Haight Street as a tour bus passes in San Francisco. The 50th anniversary of the “Summer of Love” highlights how San Francisco has changed into a city that artists can no longer afford. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)</p>
<p>SAN FRANCISCO — They came for the music, the mind-bending drugs, to resist the Vietnam War and 1960s American orthodoxy, or simply to escape summer boredom. And they left an enduring legacy.</p>
<p>This season marks the 50th anniversary of that legendary “Summer of Love,” when throngs of American youth descended on San Francisco to join a cultural revolution.</p>
<p>Thinking back on 1967, Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead recalls a creative explosion that sprouted from fissures in American society. That summer marked a pivot point in rock-and-roll history, he says, but it was about much more than the music.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“There was a spirit in the air,” said Weir, who dropped out of high school and then helped form the Grateful Dead in 1965. “We figured that if enough of us got together and put our hearts and minds to it, we could make anything happen.”</p>
<p>San Francisco, now a hub of technology and unrecognizable from its grittier, more freewheeling former self, is taking the anniversary seriously. Hoping for another invasion of visitors — this time with tourist dollars — the city is celebrating with museum exhibits, music and film festivals, Summer of Love-inspired dance parties and lecture panels. Hotels are offering discount packages that include “psychedelic cocktails,” “Love Bus” tours, tie-dyed tote bags and bubble wands.</p>
<p>The city’s travel bureau, which is coordinating the effort, calls it an “exhilarating celebration of the most iconic cultural event in San Francisco history.”</p>
<p>One thing the anniversary makes clear is that what happened here in the 1960s could never happen in San Francisco today, simply because struggling artists can’t afford the city anymore. In the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, which was ground zero for the counterculture, two-bedroom apartments now rent for $5,000 a month. San Francisco remains a magnet for young people, but even those earning six-figure Silicon Valley salaries complain about the cost of living.</p>
<p>In the mid-1960s, rent in Haight-Ashbury was extremely cheap, Weir, now 69, told The Associated Press.</p>
<p>“That attracted artists and bohemians in general because the bohemian community tended to move in where they could afford it,” he said.</p>
<p>During those years, the Grateful Dead shared a spacious Victorian on Ashbury Street. Janis Joplin lived down the street. Across from her was Joe McDonald, of the psychedelic rock band Country Joe and the Fish.</p>
<p>Jefferson Airplane eventually bought a house a few blocks away on Fulton Street, where they hosted legendary, wild parties.</p>
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<p>“The music is what everyone seems to remember, but it was a lot more than that,” said David Freiberg, 75, a singer and bassist for Quicksilver Messenger Service who later joined Jefferson Airplane. “It was artists, poets, musicians, all the beautiful shops of clothes and hippie food stores. It was a whole community.”</p>
<p>The bands dropped by each other’s houses and played music nearby, often in free outdoor concerts at Golden Gate Park and its eastward extension known as the Panhandle. Their exciting new breed of folk, jazz and blues-inspired electrical music became known as the San Francisco Sound. Several of its most influential local acts — the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Big Brother and the Holding Company, which launched Joplin’s career — shot to fame during the summer’s three-day Monterey Pop Festival.</p>
<p>One song in particular served as a national invitation to hippies across the land. “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair),” written by John Phillips of the Mamas &amp; the Papas and sung by Scott McKenzie, came out in May 1967. It bolted up the charts and was used to help promote the Monterey festival that June.</p>
<p>“Every fantasy about the summer of ’67 that was ever created — peace, joy, love, nonviolence, wear flowers in your hair and fantastic music — was real at Monterey. It was bliss,” said Dennis McNally, the Grateful Dead’s longtime publicist and official biographer who has curated an exhibit at the California Historical Society that runs through Sept. 10.</p>
<p>The exhibit, “On the Road to the Summer of Love,” explains how that epic summer came about and why San Francisco was its inevitable home. McNally uncovered 100 photographs, some never seen publicly, that trace San Francisco’s contrarian roots to the Beat poets of the 1950s, followed by civil rights demonstrations and the Free Speech Movement at the University of California, Berkeley in the early 1960s.</p>
<p>The national media paid little attention to San Francisco’s psychedelic community until January 1967, when poets and bands joined forces for the “Human Be-In,” a Golden Gate Park gathering that unexpectedly drew about 50,000 people, McNally said. It was there that psychologist and LSD-advocate Timothy Leary stood on stage and delivered his famous mantra: “Turn on. Tune In. Drop out.”</p>
<p>“After the media got hold, it just exploded,” McNally said. “Suddenly, a flood descends on Haight Street. Every bored high school kid — and that’s all of them — is saying, ‘How do I get to San Francisco?'”</p>
<p>An exhaustive exhibit at San Francisco’s de Young museum, “The Summer of Love Experience,” offers a feel-good trip back in time. There’s a psychedelic light show, a 1960s soundtrack and galleries with iconic concert posters, classic photographs and hippie chic fashions worn by Joplin, Jerry Garcia and others. It runs through Aug. 20.</p>
<p>But that summer’s invasion carried a dark cloud. Tens of thousands of youths looking for free love and drugs flooded into San Francisco, living in the streets, begging for food. Parents journeyed to the city in search of their young runaways. An epidemic of toxic psychedelics and harder drugs hit the streets.</p>
<p>“Every loose nut and bolt in America rattled out here to San Francisco, and it got pretty messy,” Weir said.</p>
<p>The longtimers saw it as the end of an era, but one that shaped history.</p>
<p>“We created a mindset that became intrinsic to the fabric of America today,” said Country Joe McDonald, now 75. “Every single thing we did was adapted, folded into America — gender attitudes, ecological attitudes, the invention of rock and roll.”</p>
<p>Half a century later, McDonald, who lives in Berkeley, feels the rumblings of history repeating itself.</p>
<p>UC Berkeley is again at the center of a free speech debate, albeit of a different nature. Discontent with the U.S. government and President Donald Trump has stirred the largest protests he’s seen since the Vietnam War. In the women’s marches across America, he felt echoes of the Summer of Love.</p>
<p>“I think there’s a similarity,” McDonald said, drawing a parallel to the massive anti-Trump turnout marked by nonviolence, playful pink protest hats, creative signs and a determination to change the country’s political course. “Both were about saying goodbye to the past and hello to the future.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Jocelyn Gecker on Twitter at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/jgecker" type="external">www.twitter.com/jgecker</a></p> | 2,459 |
<p />
<p />
<p>More often, we kill girlfriends, husbands, children, parents, friends–and ourselves. Handgun advocates tell us that simply owning a firearm deters criminals and increases home security. Maybe that would wash if the stats were, say, 10 to 1. But 130 to 1? In fact, having a gun in your house makes it three times more likely that you or someone you care about will be murdered by a family member or intimate partner. That doesn’t fit anyone’s definition of security.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>63 commit suicide with firearms</p>
<p>60 are killed in homicides by firearms (see <a href="#homicide" type="external">note</a>)</p>
<p>6 die in firearm accidents</p>
<p>1 firearm death is undetermined</p>
<p>Cristina McDonald, 17, was out partying with friends in an abandoned quarry. As she sat in a van talking to a friend, a boy she barely knew accidentally shot her in the head with a .22 rifle. Allegedly, the rifle jammed while he was taking shots at beer cans. Mc Donald died the following day.</p>
<p>Rebecca Julian, 6, was shot and killed when a gun accidentally discharged while she played with her brother and a friend, both 5, in a garage near her home. The investigating officer said the shotgun was “leaned up against the wall” and “accessible to the children.”</p>
<p>Glen Fernandez, 29, shot and killed his wife, Sabrina, 25, and their children, Sabrina, 6, and Glen, 5, before shooting himself with a handgun he had purchased to protect his family. Fernandez, who had no criminal record, was distraught because his wife had asked him to leave.</p>
<p>Keith Rainey, 24, was visiting a neighborhood convenience store when he was caught in the crossfire of a drive-by retaliatory shooting. A Navy veteran who served in Japan, Rainey bled to death after the bullet penetrated his chest.</p>
<p>Writer Leo Damore, 65, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His most renowned book, Senatorial Privilege: The Chappaquiddick Cover-Up, sold more than a million copies and made the New York Times bestseller list. Damore was despondent over a divorce.</p>
<p>Notes:</p>
<p><a type="external" href="">Definition of homicide</a>: injuries inflicted with intent to kill by another person (includes a statistically insignificant number due to legal interventions by law enforcement).</p>
<p><a type="external" href="">Definition of justified</a> civilian homicide (self-defense): The killing of a felon during the commission of a felony, by a private citizen.</p>
<p>Compiled by the Violence Policy Center; FBI, Department of Health &amp; Human Services 1993 statistics.</p>
<p /> | Who We Kill | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/1996/03/who-we-kill/ | 2018-03-01 | 4left
| Who We Kill
<p />
<p />
<p>More often, we kill girlfriends, husbands, children, parents, friends–and ourselves. Handgun advocates tell us that simply owning a firearm deters criminals and increases home security. Maybe that would wash if the stats were, say, 10 to 1. But 130 to 1? In fact, having a gun in your house makes it three times more likely that you or someone you care about will be murdered by a family member or intimate partner. That doesn’t fit anyone’s definition of security.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>63 commit suicide with firearms</p>
<p>60 are killed in homicides by firearms (see <a href="#homicide" type="external">note</a>)</p>
<p>6 die in firearm accidents</p>
<p>1 firearm death is undetermined</p>
<p>Cristina McDonald, 17, was out partying with friends in an abandoned quarry. As she sat in a van talking to a friend, a boy she barely knew accidentally shot her in the head with a .22 rifle. Allegedly, the rifle jammed while he was taking shots at beer cans. Mc Donald died the following day.</p>
<p>Rebecca Julian, 6, was shot and killed when a gun accidentally discharged while she played with her brother and a friend, both 5, in a garage near her home. The investigating officer said the shotgun was “leaned up against the wall” and “accessible to the children.”</p>
<p>Glen Fernandez, 29, shot and killed his wife, Sabrina, 25, and their children, Sabrina, 6, and Glen, 5, before shooting himself with a handgun he had purchased to protect his family. Fernandez, who had no criminal record, was distraught because his wife had asked him to leave.</p>
<p>Keith Rainey, 24, was visiting a neighborhood convenience store when he was caught in the crossfire of a drive-by retaliatory shooting. A Navy veteran who served in Japan, Rainey bled to death after the bullet penetrated his chest.</p>
<p>Writer Leo Damore, 65, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His most renowned book, Senatorial Privilege: The Chappaquiddick Cover-Up, sold more than a million copies and made the New York Times bestseller list. Damore was despondent over a divorce.</p>
<p>Notes:</p>
<p><a type="external" href="">Definition of homicide</a>: injuries inflicted with intent to kill by another person (includes a statistically insignificant number due to legal interventions by law enforcement).</p>
<p><a type="external" href="">Definition of justified</a> civilian homicide (self-defense): The killing of a felon during the commission of a felony, by a private citizen.</p>
<p>Compiled by the Violence Policy Center; FBI, Department of Health &amp; Human Services 1993 statistics.</p>
<p /> | 2,460 |
<p>The days of you dragging your luggage through airport terminals may soon be over. We got a taste of the travel tech of the future by trying the auto-follow robotic carry-on bag by Chinese company ForwardX.</p>
<p>"I can bring a Starbucks [in one hand] and use my cell phone [in the other hand], and I don’t even have to look to my luggage," founder of the company Qiou told Circa.</p>
<p>Codenamed the CX-1, the bag uses four-wheel drive to zip around and a combination of face recognition and a smart tracking band to know whom to follow. It also has obstacle avoidance not unlike a self-driving car, and responds to gesture controls.</p>
<p>The smarts for the suitcase are provided by a small circuit board, a battery – about as big as "a normal battery pack" – and a camera for tracking.</p>
<p>The production model will wind up weighing about the same as a regular piece of luggage, the company says.</p>
<p>During our demo, the CX-1 prototype followed a little slower than you’d probably like – and sometimes didn’t follow at all.</p>
<p>But ForwardX says it’s still working out some kinks and promises faster speeds with more reliable tracking.</p>
<p>"I think that will be a rabbit," Qiou explained. "It'll be [7 mph], more friendly and easier to use."</p>
<p>The robot suitcase is planned for a mid-2018 at a yet-to-be-determined price.</p> | This self-driving luggage can follow you around the airport | false | https://circa.com/story/2018/01/17/products/this-self-driving-luggage-can-follow-you-around-the-airport | 2018-01-17 | 1right-center
| This self-driving luggage can follow you around the airport
<p>The days of you dragging your luggage through airport terminals may soon be over. We got a taste of the travel tech of the future by trying the auto-follow robotic carry-on bag by Chinese company ForwardX.</p>
<p>"I can bring a Starbucks [in one hand] and use my cell phone [in the other hand], and I don’t even have to look to my luggage," founder of the company Qiou told Circa.</p>
<p>Codenamed the CX-1, the bag uses four-wheel drive to zip around and a combination of face recognition and a smart tracking band to know whom to follow. It also has obstacle avoidance not unlike a self-driving car, and responds to gesture controls.</p>
<p>The smarts for the suitcase are provided by a small circuit board, a battery – about as big as "a normal battery pack" – and a camera for tracking.</p>
<p>The production model will wind up weighing about the same as a regular piece of luggage, the company says.</p>
<p>During our demo, the CX-1 prototype followed a little slower than you’d probably like – and sometimes didn’t follow at all.</p>
<p>But ForwardX says it’s still working out some kinks and promises faster speeds with more reliable tracking.</p>
<p>"I think that will be a rabbit," Qiou explained. "It'll be [7 mph], more friendly and easier to use."</p>
<p>The robot suitcase is planned for a mid-2018 at a yet-to-be-determined price.</p> | 2,461 |
<p>Residents of New York City can now&#160; <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2016/05/24/new-york-city-lets-you-choose-from-31-different-gender-identities/" type="external">select</a>from&#160;among 31 different gender identities, and businesses that don't&#160;respect and accommodate an individual's chosen gender identity risk incurring six-figure fines under rules implemented by the city's Commission on Human Rights.</p>
<p>The list of identities includes options such as "gender bender," "two spirit," "third sex," "androgynous," "gender gifted," and "pangender." The city does not provide a guide to or definitions of the gender identities.</p>
<p>A city official told The Daily Caller on background that <a href="http://www.nyc.gov/html/cchr/downloads/pdf/publications/GenderID_Card2015.pdf" type="external">the list</a> of gender identities are all protected by the city's anti-discrimination laws. The source also said the list is not exhaustive.</p>
<p>Exhausting perhaps, but not exhaustive.</p>
<p>The gender identity "guidance" was issued by NYC in December 2015.</p>
<p>Seth Hoy, the Human Rights Commission's press secretary gave the following statement to The Daily Caller:</p>
<p>The Commission's legal guidance on gender identity protections under the NYC Human Rights Law addresses situations in which individuals intentionally and repeatedly target transgender and gender non-conforming people. Accidentally misusing a transgender person's preferred pronoun is not a violation of the law and will not result in a fine. The Commission issued this guidance last year so that employers and individuals understand what the law says and to ensure that every transgender individual in New York City is treated with the respect and dignity they deserve.</p>
<p>Because someone who demands that businesses accommodate&#160;the "gender gifted" or "two spirit"&#160;gender identity&#160;certainly deserves respect and dignity.</p> | In NYC, You Can Chose from 31 Different Gender Identities | true | http://truthrevolt.org/news/nyc-you-can-chose-31-different-gender-identities | 2018-10-06 | 0right
| In NYC, You Can Chose from 31 Different Gender Identities
<p>Residents of New York City can now&#160; <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2016/05/24/new-york-city-lets-you-choose-from-31-different-gender-identities/" type="external">select</a>from&#160;among 31 different gender identities, and businesses that don't&#160;respect and accommodate an individual's chosen gender identity risk incurring six-figure fines under rules implemented by the city's Commission on Human Rights.</p>
<p>The list of identities includes options such as "gender bender," "two spirit," "third sex," "androgynous," "gender gifted," and "pangender." The city does not provide a guide to or definitions of the gender identities.</p>
<p>A city official told The Daily Caller on background that <a href="http://www.nyc.gov/html/cchr/downloads/pdf/publications/GenderID_Card2015.pdf" type="external">the list</a> of gender identities are all protected by the city's anti-discrimination laws. The source also said the list is not exhaustive.</p>
<p>Exhausting perhaps, but not exhaustive.</p>
<p>The gender identity "guidance" was issued by NYC in December 2015.</p>
<p>Seth Hoy, the Human Rights Commission's press secretary gave the following statement to The Daily Caller:</p>
<p>The Commission's legal guidance on gender identity protections under the NYC Human Rights Law addresses situations in which individuals intentionally and repeatedly target transgender and gender non-conforming people. Accidentally misusing a transgender person's preferred pronoun is not a violation of the law and will not result in a fine. The Commission issued this guidance last year so that employers and individuals understand what the law says and to ensure that every transgender individual in New York City is treated with the respect and dignity they deserve.</p>
<p>Because someone who demands that businesses accommodate&#160;the "gender gifted" or "two spirit"&#160;gender identity&#160;certainly deserves respect and dignity.</p> | 2,462 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>ABQjournal’s <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/auto/journal/ski/nm/" type="external">ski report</a> shows New Mexico resorts total as:</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Correction: Silverton Mountain officials say the number reported for Silverton in the following release should be 48 inches, not 78.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Denver, Colo. – January 29, 2013 – Old Man Winter made a significant powder play this week giving the Colorado ski season a major boost. Several days of consistent snowfall in Colorado’s high country was capped off this morning with accumulations totaling as much as 6 feet in some areas. Every resort received new snow and double digit snow totals were reported at many resorts throughout Colorado Ski Country from Aspen to Wolf Creek.</p>
<p>With 78 inches, Silverton Mountain in Southwest Colorado received the most snow from the storm. Neighboring Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort was the next major benefactor registering 37 inches, just edging out Wolf Creek where 36 inches fell. And on the Western Slope, Colorado Ski Country USA Gem resort Powderhorn racked up 33 inches so far this week.</p>
<p>Steamboat resort in Northwest Colorado captured just over 26 inches, while Telluride in Southwest Colorado welcomed 23 inches. In the Central Mountains Sunlight Mountain saw 20 inches fall, Monarch boasted 18 inches, and Crested Butte 17 inches. Aspen Highlands and Snowmass both reported 12 inches of new snow from the storm while Aspen and Buttermilk both reported 8 inches.</p>
<p>The powder didn’t stop there. Howelsen Hill received 7 inches, and closer to the Front Range, both Winter Park and Loveland stacked up 6.5 inches of fresh snow. Copper Mountain compiled an even 6 inches, Arapahoe Basin collected 5 inches and Ski Cooper gathered 4 inches. Ski Granby Ranch and Eldora both benefited from a few inches of new snow as well.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>And this from the&#160; team at Purgatory:</p>
<p>More than Three Feet of Powder Falls at Purgatory in 72 Hours!</p>
<p>DURANGO, Colo. – Mother Nature smiled down at Durango Mountain Resort and dumped more than 3 feet of snow in just 72 hours. From Saturday morning to Monday evening, the series of storms dropped 37 inches of snow at Purgatory, creating an epic alpine nirvana.</p>
<p>“The conditions are incredible. The 15 inches of dense snow from Saturday’s storm made a perfect base layer which is now buried under 22 inches of low density snow,” stated Sven Brunso, vice president of Sales and Marketing at Durango Mountain Resort. “The temperatures dropped on Monday and it was coming down hard again all day long. Today is crisp and clear and Purgatory is a picture perfect winter playground.”</p>
<p>During the month of January, more than four and a half feet – or 55 inches – fell at Purgatory. The mid-mountain snow depth is currently 60 inches, making it tied as the second largest base of all Colorado ski areas and the most of any Colorado or New Mexico ski resorts. Purgatory has 100 percent of the mountain open and with the latest storms, skiers and riders can expect a fantastic powder experience and sunny, bluebird days this week!</p> | 48 Inches of Snow in Silverton; 37 in Durango | false | https://abqjournal.com/164363/78-inches-of-snow-in-silverton-36-in-durango.html | 2013-01-29 | 2least
| 48 Inches of Snow in Silverton; 37 in Durango
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>ABQjournal’s <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/auto/journal/ski/nm/" type="external">ski report</a> shows New Mexico resorts total as:</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Correction: Silverton Mountain officials say the number reported for Silverton in the following release should be 48 inches, not 78.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Denver, Colo. – January 29, 2013 – Old Man Winter made a significant powder play this week giving the Colorado ski season a major boost. Several days of consistent snowfall in Colorado’s high country was capped off this morning with accumulations totaling as much as 6 feet in some areas. Every resort received new snow and double digit snow totals were reported at many resorts throughout Colorado Ski Country from Aspen to Wolf Creek.</p>
<p>With 78 inches, Silverton Mountain in Southwest Colorado received the most snow from the storm. Neighboring Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort was the next major benefactor registering 37 inches, just edging out Wolf Creek where 36 inches fell. And on the Western Slope, Colorado Ski Country USA Gem resort Powderhorn racked up 33 inches so far this week.</p>
<p>Steamboat resort in Northwest Colorado captured just over 26 inches, while Telluride in Southwest Colorado welcomed 23 inches. In the Central Mountains Sunlight Mountain saw 20 inches fall, Monarch boasted 18 inches, and Crested Butte 17 inches. Aspen Highlands and Snowmass both reported 12 inches of new snow from the storm while Aspen and Buttermilk both reported 8 inches.</p>
<p>The powder didn’t stop there. Howelsen Hill received 7 inches, and closer to the Front Range, both Winter Park and Loveland stacked up 6.5 inches of fresh snow. Copper Mountain compiled an even 6 inches, Arapahoe Basin collected 5 inches and Ski Cooper gathered 4 inches. Ski Granby Ranch and Eldora both benefited from a few inches of new snow as well.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>And this from the&#160; team at Purgatory:</p>
<p>More than Three Feet of Powder Falls at Purgatory in 72 Hours!</p>
<p>DURANGO, Colo. – Mother Nature smiled down at Durango Mountain Resort and dumped more than 3 feet of snow in just 72 hours. From Saturday morning to Monday evening, the series of storms dropped 37 inches of snow at Purgatory, creating an epic alpine nirvana.</p>
<p>“The conditions are incredible. The 15 inches of dense snow from Saturday’s storm made a perfect base layer which is now buried under 22 inches of low density snow,” stated Sven Brunso, vice president of Sales and Marketing at Durango Mountain Resort. “The temperatures dropped on Monday and it was coming down hard again all day long. Today is crisp and clear and Purgatory is a picture perfect winter playground.”</p>
<p>During the month of January, more than four and a half feet – or 55 inches – fell at Purgatory. The mid-mountain snow depth is currently 60 inches, making it tied as the second largest base of all Colorado ski areas and the most of any Colorado or New Mexico ski resorts. Purgatory has 100 percent of the mountain open and with the latest storms, skiers and riders can expect a fantastic powder experience and sunny, bluebird days this week!</p> | 2,463 |
<p />
<p>The city of Los Angeles will host the 2028 Summer Olympics after reaching an agreement with the International Olympic Committee, according to a <a href="http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-2028-olympics-deal-20170731-story.html" type="external">Los Angeles Times Opens a New Window.</a> report Monday.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The deal’s terms were not immediately available. The L.A. Olympic Committee previously said hosting costs would amount to roughly $5.3 billion, according to projections released last December.</p>
<p>The IOC has yet to formally comment on the situation, though the LA Times notes a statement is expected later on Monday.</p>
<p>Los Angeles’ agreement to host the 2028 Olympics effectively awards to the 2024 games to Paris, France, the only other city remaining in the bid process. In a rare move, IOC officials opted earlier this month to award hosting rights to both cities, citing the strength of their respective bids.</p>
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<p>Aside from 2028, Los Angeles previously hosted the Olympics in 1932 and 1984. It will mark the first time since the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia that a U.S. city hosted the summer games.</p>
<p>President Trump was a strong supporter of bringing the Olympics back to Los Angeles. Trump tweeted last month that he was “working hard” to secure hosting rights for an American city.</p> | Los Angeles to host 2028 Olympics: report | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/07/31/los-angeles-to-host-2028-olympics-report.html | 2017-07-31 | 0right
| Los Angeles to host 2028 Olympics: report
<p />
<p>The city of Los Angeles will host the 2028 Summer Olympics after reaching an agreement with the International Olympic Committee, according to a <a href="http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-2028-olympics-deal-20170731-story.html" type="external">Los Angeles Times Opens a New Window.</a> report Monday.</p>
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<p>The deal’s terms were not immediately available. The L.A. Olympic Committee previously said hosting costs would amount to roughly $5.3 billion, according to projections released last December.</p>
<p>The IOC has yet to formally comment on the situation, though the LA Times notes a statement is expected later on Monday.</p>
<p>Los Angeles’ agreement to host the 2028 Olympics effectively awards to the 2024 games to Paris, France, the only other city remaining in the bid process. In a rare move, IOC officials opted earlier this month to award hosting rights to both cities, citing the strength of their respective bids.</p>
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<p>Aside from 2028, Los Angeles previously hosted the Olympics in 1932 and 1984. It will mark the first time since the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia that a U.S. city hosted the summer games.</p>
<p>President Trump was a strong supporter of bringing the Olympics back to Los Angeles. Trump tweeted last month that he was “working hard” to secure hosting rights for an American city.</p> | 2,464 |
<p />
<p>Article created by the <a href="http://www.americanprogress.org" type="external">the Center for American Progress</a>.</p>
<p>The members of the media buzzed late last week over the disclosure that a high-ranking CIA official, Mary McCarthy, had been fired by the agency for admitting to being Dana Priest’s source for her <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/01/AR2005110101644.html" type="external">Pulitzer prize-winning articles</a> in November detailing allegations of secret CIA prisons across the globe.</p>
<p>Slight problem though: McCarthy claims that not only was she innocent of the leak, she didn’t even have access to the information in question. But at even the whiff of someone disagreeing with the president, the right-wing media went into attack mode, with Rush Limbaugh summing up the conventional wisdom which held that the press had a double standard in covering this leak, compared to their coverage of Scooter Libby’s alleged leaking of CIA operative Valerie Plame’s name. On his April 24 show, Limbaugh called the two leaks “part of a giant concocted scheme to bring down the Bush administration, particularly in the elections of 2004.”</p>
<p>Limbaugh was (for him) appropriately apoplectic over reports in which reporters referred to McCarthy as a “whistleblower.” He whined, “If you’re a Republican and you leak, why, you’re a leaker, you’re a criminal. If you’re a Democrat, you’re a whistleblower, a hero, a potential Time magazine Person of the Year.” Human Events, which was defining right-wing as over the top when Limbaugh was still in diapers, also tried to tie McCarthy to the Plame/Wilson/Libby case. The first paper to give Ann Coulter a home base naturally reached for the “traitor” appellation — and insisted “50 years after communist infiltration at the State Department, there exists, still, in high places of government leftist ideologues whose allegiance is not to the United States as a sovereign nation with its own interests but to a utopian ideology.” That’s right: Commies.</p>
<p>Issues of guilt and innocence aside, what these right-wing self-styled patriots purposely ignore is the obvious difference between someone who leaks information for patently patriotic ends — i.e., stopping their nation from the crime of creating a secret gulag or lying the nation into war, and those who do so for narrow, partisan political gain, as Libby, Bush, Cheney and possibly Rove did. In the Libby case, the Bush administration made a decision to out a CIA agent in order to discredit her husband’s refutation of the president’s phony State of the Union claim of a potential acquisition of uranium by Saddam Hussein from the African nation of Niger. In McCarthy’s case, what she’s accused of is letting the nation know what its government was doing against international law but in its citizens’ names.</p>
<p>Writing in the National Journal Tuesday, reporter Murray Waas <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/01/AR2005110101644.html" type="external">quoted</a> a “former senior intelligence official” at the CIA as saying that in McCarthy’s position, she was expected to talk to the press on occasion and that, “Mary is somebody that they are using to set an example.” Writing <a href="http://www.tpmcafe.com/node/29176" type="external">on TPM Café,</a> former intelligence official Larry Johnson explained, “What we are witnessing is a political purge of the CIA. The Bush Administration is working to expel and isolate any intelligence officer who does not toe the line and profess allegiance to George. It is no longer about protecting and defending the Constitution. No. It is about protecting the indefensible reputation of George Bush.”</p>
<p>Ignored amidst much of the hoopla surrounding McCarthy and Rove, was <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/04/21/60minutes/main1527749.shtml" type="external">the report</a> on CBS’ “60 Minutes” on Friday in which Tyler Drumheller — a 26-year veteran of the CIA — came forward to claim that, in the run up to the invasion of Iraq, the Bush administration actively played up intelligence that fit the president’s decision to go to war, while ignoring intelligence that did not. Of course we knew this. But consider the source. Drumheller was the CIA’s top official and head of covert operations in Europe until he retired a year ago. He told CBS that he witnessed firsthand how the White House publicized certain intelligence that supported its case while ignoring the rest. “The idea of going after Iraq was U.S. policy,” he said. “It was going to happen one way or the other.”</p>
<p>The crux of Drumheller’s complaint revolves around Naji Sabri, Iraq’s foreign minister. In the fall of 2002, he turned CIA informant and revealed Iraqi military secrets. While the Bush administration was initially excited about the source, Sabri told his CIA handlers that Iraq had no active WMD program and no real nuclear program. After that, Drumheller discovered, “The group that was dealing with preparation for the Iraq war came back and said they’re no longer interested. And we said, ‘Well, what about the intel?’ And they said, ‘Well, this isn’t about intel anymore. This is about regime change.’” While the White House refused to comment on Drumheller’s accusations, Secretary of State Condi Rice has said, according to CBS, that Sabri was merely one source, “and therefore his information wasn’t reliable.”</p>
<p>Excuse me. Wasn’t that drunken, unreliable fellow, “Screw—,” um, “Curveball,” the infamous Iraqi source controlled by the German intelligence agency who warned of his unreliability, “merely one source?” And yet Colin Powell’s infamous February 2003 Security Council speech relied heavily on the nonsense he was selling because it fit perfectly with the nonsense Powell, Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld were retailing before the world.</p>
<p>And yet once again, we’re being told, the problem is not with the administration, but with the media. The American people have been to this movie before. It’s cost them thousands of lives, trillions of dollars and the respect of the world. This time, however, nobody’s buying.</p>
<p>Author’s note: In last week’s “Think Again,” I wrote “The Washington Post’s David Finkel’s series on a U.S. funded program to promote democracy in Yemen…exposed the sordid reality behind the Bush administration rhetoric of democracy promotion, demonstrating the messy reality it faces where the proverbial rubber hits the road.” I apologize if the imprecision of my language implied a criticism of the hard work done by the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs and particularly its people on the ground in Yemen. My intended point was that Finkel’s three-part study demonstrated the intense difficulties of democracy building programs, as the president’s careless rhetoric would appear to suggest. NDI’s efforts in Yemen were unfortunately thwarted by local conditions, but I remain filled with awe and admiration for their commitment to a worthy — perhaps impossible — goal.</p>
<p /> | Do As We Say… | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2006/05/do-we-say/ | 2006-05-02 | 4left
| Do As We Say…
<p />
<p>Article created by the <a href="http://www.americanprogress.org" type="external">the Center for American Progress</a>.</p>
<p>The members of the media buzzed late last week over the disclosure that a high-ranking CIA official, Mary McCarthy, had been fired by the agency for admitting to being Dana Priest’s source for her <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/01/AR2005110101644.html" type="external">Pulitzer prize-winning articles</a> in November detailing allegations of secret CIA prisons across the globe.</p>
<p>Slight problem though: McCarthy claims that not only was she innocent of the leak, she didn’t even have access to the information in question. But at even the whiff of someone disagreeing with the president, the right-wing media went into attack mode, with Rush Limbaugh summing up the conventional wisdom which held that the press had a double standard in covering this leak, compared to their coverage of Scooter Libby’s alleged leaking of CIA operative Valerie Plame’s name. On his April 24 show, Limbaugh called the two leaks “part of a giant concocted scheme to bring down the Bush administration, particularly in the elections of 2004.”</p>
<p>Limbaugh was (for him) appropriately apoplectic over reports in which reporters referred to McCarthy as a “whistleblower.” He whined, “If you’re a Republican and you leak, why, you’re a leaker, you’re a criminal. If you’re a Democrat, you’re a whistleblower, a hero, a potential Time magazine Person of the Year.” Human Events, which was defining right-wing as over the top when Limbaugh was still in diapers, also tried to tie McCarthy to the Plame/Wilson/Libby case. The first paper to give Ann Coulter a home base naturally reached for the “traitor” appellation — and insisted “50 years after communist infiltration at the State Department, there exists, still, in high places of government leftist ideologues whose allegiance is not to the United States as a sovereign nation with its own interests but to a utopian ideology.” That’s right: Commies.</p>
<p>Issues of guilt and innocence aside, what these right-wing self-styled patriots purposely ignore is the obvious difference between someone who leaks information for patently patriotic ends — i.e., stopping their nation from the crime of creating a secret gulag or lying the nation into war, and those who do so for narrow, partisan political gain, as Libby, Bush, Cheney and possibly Rove did. In the Libby case, the Bush administration made a decision to out a CIA agent in order to discredit her husband’s refutation of the president’s phony State of the Union claim of a potential acquisition of uranium by Saddam Hussein from the African nation of Niger. In McCarthy’s case, what she’s accused of is letting the nation know what its government was doing against international law but in its citizens’ names.</p>
<p>Writing in the National Journal Tuesday, reporter Murray Waas <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/01/AR2005110101644.html" type="external">quoted</a> a “former senior intelligence official” at the CIA as saying that in McCarthy’s position, she was expected to talk to the press on occasion and that, “Mary is somebody that they are using to set an example.” Writing <a href="http://www.tpmcafe.com/node/29176" type="external">on TPM Café,</a> former intelligence official Larry Johnson explained, “What we are witnessing is a political purge of the CIA. The Bush Administration is working to expel and isolate any intelligence officer who does not toe the line and profess allegiance to George. It is no longer about protecting and defending the Constitution. No. It is about protecting the indefensible reputation of George Bush.”</p>
<p>Ignored amidst much of the hoopla surrounding McCarthy and Rove, was <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/04/21/60minutes/main1527749.shtml" type="external">the report</a> on CBS’ “60 Minutes” on Friday in which Tyler Drumheller — a 26-year veteran of the CIA — came forward to claim that, in the run up to the invasion of Iraq, the Bush administration actively played up intelligence that fit the president’s decision to go to war, while ignoring intelligence that did not. Of course we knew this. But consider the source. Drumheller was the CIA’s top official and head of covert operations in Europe until he retired a year ago. He told CBS that he witnessed firsthand how the White House publicized certain intelligence that supported its case while ignoring the rest. “The idea of going after Iraq was U.S. policy,” he said. “It was going to happen one way or the other.”</p>
<p>The crux of Drumheller’s complaint revolves around Naji Sabri, Iraq’s foreign minister. In the fall of 2002, he turned CIA informant and revealed Iraqi military secrets. While the Bush administration was initially excited about the source, Sabri told his CIA handlers that Iraq had no active WMD program and no real nuclear program. After that, Drumheller discovered, “The group that was dealing with preparation for the Iraq war came back and said they’re no longer interested. And we said, ‘Well, what about the intel?’ And they said, ‘Well, this isn’t about intel anymore. This is about regime change.’” While the White House refused to comment on Drumheller’s accusations, Secretary of State Condi Rice has said, according to CBS, that Sabri was merely one source, “and therefore his information wasn’t reliable.”</p>
<p>Excuse me. Wasn’t that drunken, unreliable fellow, “Screw—,” um, “Curveball,” the infamous Iraqi source controlled by the German intelligence agency who warned of his unreliability, “merely one source?” And yet Colin Powell’s infamous February 2003 Security Council speech relied heavily on the nonsense he was selling because it fit perfectly with the nonsense Powell, Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld were retailing before the world.</p>
<p>And yet once again, we’re being told, the problem is not with the administration, but with the media. The American people have been to this movie before. It’s cost them thousands of lives, trillions of dollars and the respect of the world. This time, however, nobody’s buying.</p>
<p>Author’s note: In last week’s “Think Again,” I wrote “The Washington Post’s David Finkel’s series on a U.S. funded program to promote democracy in Yemen…exposed the sordid reality behind the Bush administration rhetoric of democracy promotion, demonstrating the messy reality it faces where the proverbial rubber hits the road.” I apologize if the imprecision of my language implied a criticism of the hard work done by the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs and particularly its people on the ground in Yemen. My intended point was that Finkel’s three-part study demonstrated the intense difficulties of democracy building programs, as the president’s careless rhetoric would appear to suggest. NDI’s efforts in Yemen were unfortunately thwarted by local conditions, but I remain filled with awe and admiration for their commitment to a worthy — perhaps impossible — goal.</p>
<p /> | 2,465 |
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. construction spending climbed in April to the highest level in more than six years, fueled by healthy gains in housing, government spending and non-residential construction.</p>
<p>Construction spending advanced 2.2 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1 trillion, the highest level since November 2008, the Commerce Department said Monday. Spending had risen a more modest 0.5 percent in March.</p>
<p>The gain included a 0.6 percent rise in residential construction and a 3.1 percent jump in non-residential activity such as office buildings, hotels and shopping centers. Government projects increased 3.3 percent, reflecting the biggest jump in spending on state and local projects in three years.</p>
<p>Economists are looking for construction to provide solid support to the economy this year.</p>
<p>The April advance was the biggest one-month gain in three years and left construction activity more than 4 percent above where it was a year ago.</p>
<p>The construction industry has struggled to come back from the Great Recession, which hit builders hard.</p>
<p>The April expansion in home building followed two lackluster months. Both single-family homes and apartment building showed gains in April.</p>
<p>The increase in spending on government projects reflected a strong 3.9 percent jump in state and local projects, the biggest monthly increase since April 2013. That strength offset a 3.6 percent decline in federal spending.</p>
<p>The construction industry appears to be emerging from a soft patch in recent months when activity was curtailed by an unusually severe winter in many parts of the country.</p>
<p>The government reported last week that the overall economy, as measured by the gross domestic product, shrank at an annual rate of 0.7 percent in the January-March quarter. Economists are forecasting a rebound to growth of around 2.5 percent in the current April-June quarter.</p>
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. construction spending climbed in April to the highest level in more than six years, fueled by healthy gains in housing, government spending and non-residential construction.</p>
<p>Construction spending advanced 2.2 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1 trillion, the highest level since November 2008, the Commerce Department said Monday. Spending had risen a more modest 0.5 percent in March.</p>
<p>The gain included a 0.6 percent rise in residential construction and a 3.1 percent jump in non-residential activity such as office buildings, hotels and shopping centers. Government projects increased 3.3 percent, reflecting the biggest jump in spending on state and local projects in three years.</p>
<p>Economists are looking for construction to provide solid support to the economy this year.</p>
<p>The April advance was the biggest one-month gain in three years and left construction activity more than 4 percent above where it was a year ago.</p>
<p>The construction industry has struggled to come back from the Great Recession, which hit builders hard.</p>
<p>The April expansion in home building followed two lackluster months. Both single-family homes and apartment building showed gains in April.</p>
<p>The increase in spending on government projects reflected a strong 3.9 percent jump in state and local projects, the biggest monthly increase since April 2013. That strength offset a 3.6 percent decline in federal spending.</p>
<p>The construction industry appears to be emerging from a soft patch in recent months when activity was curtailed by an unusually severe winter in many parts of the country.</p>
<p>The government reported last week that the overall economy, as measured by the gross domestic product, shrank at an annual rate of 0.7 percent in the January-March quarter. Economists are forecasting a rebound to growth of around 2.5 percent in the current April-June quarter.</p> | US construction jumped 2.2 percent in April | false | https://apnews.com/amp/544564d85d534730ad3cbcc09d65be07 | 2015-06-01 | 2least
| US construction jumped 2.2 percent in April
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. construction spending climbed in April to the highest level in more than six years, fueled by healthy gains in housing, government spending and non-residential construction.</p>
<p>Construction spending advanced 2.2 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1 trillion, the highest level since November 2008, the Commerce Department said Monday. Spending had risen a more modest 0.5 percent in March.</p>
<p>The gain included a 0.6 percent rise in residential construction and a 3.1 percent jump in non-residential activity such as office buildings, hotels and shopping centers. Government projects increased 3.3 percent, reflecting the biggest jump in spending on state and local projects in three years.</p>
<p>Economists are looking for construction to provide solid support to the economy this year.</p>
<p>The April advance was the biggest one-month gain in three years and left construction activity more than 4 percent above where it was a year ago.</p>
<p>The construction industry has struggled to come back from the Great Recession, which hit builders hard.</p>
<p>The April expansion in home building followed two lackluster months. Both single-family homes and apartment building showed gains in April.</p>
<p>The increase in spending on government projects reflected a strong 3.9 percent jump in state and local projects, the biggest monthly increase since April 2013. That strength offset a 3.6 percent decline in federal spending.</p>
<p>The construction industry appears to be emerging from a soft patch in recent months when activity was curtailed by an unusually severe winter in many parts of the country.</p>
<p>The government reported last week that the overall economy, as measured by the gross domestic product, shrank at an annual rate of 0.7 percent in the January-March quarter. Economists are forecasting a rebound to growth of around 2.5 percent in the current April-June quarter.</p>
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. construction spending climbed in April to the highest level in more than six years, fueled by healthy gains in housing, government spending and non-residential construction.</p>
<p>Construction spending advanced 2.2 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1 trillion, the highest level since November 2008, the Commerce Department said Monday. Spending had risen a more modest 0.5 percent in March.</p>
<p>The gain included a 0.6 percent rise in residential construction and a 3.1 percent jump in non-residential activity such as office buildings, hotels and shopping centers. Government projects increased 3.3 percent, reflecting the biggest jump in spending on state and local projects in three years.</p>
<p>Economists are looking for construction to provide solid support to the economy this year.</p>
<p>The April advance was the biggest one-month gain in three years and left construction activity more than 4 percent above where it was a year ago.</p>
<p>The construction industry has struggled to come back from the Great Recession, which hit builders hard.</p>
<p>The April expansion in home building followed two lackluster months. Both single-family homes and apartment building showed gains in April.</p>
<p>The increase in spending on government projects reflected a strong 3.9 percent jump in state and local projects, the biggest monthly increase since April 2013. That strength offset a 3.6 percent decline in federal spending.</p>
<p>The construction industry appears to be emerging from a soft patch in recent months when activity was curtailed by an unusually severe winter in many parts of the country.</p>
<p>The government reported last week that the overall economy, as measured by the gross domestic product, shrank at an annual rate of 0.7 percent in the January-March quarter. Economists are forecasting a rebound to growth of around 2.5 percent in the current April-June quarter.</p> | 2,466 |
<p>Colombian families whose relatives were massacred by paramilitaries cannot sue the Chiquita Brands fruit company in federal court, the 11th Circuit United States Court of Appeals <a href="http://www.courthousenews.com/2014/07/29/chiquita.pdf" type="external">ruled</a> last week. The victims charged that Chiquita was responsible for the deaths by funding a right-wing paramilitary group.</p>
<p>A panel of judges decided the victims did not have standing in U.S. court, even though the North Carolina-based banana giant pled guilty to U.S. criminal charges in 2007. The victims were claiming potentially billions of dollars in damages from the company.</p>
<p>The ruling was a big victory for the banana giant — and for the rights of American companies to finance international terrorism.</p>
<p>In a general statement sent to ThinkProgress, a Chiquita spokesman said, “Chiquita has long maintained that these cases do not belong in the U.S. courts and that the claims should be dismissed. We are gratified that the U.S. Court of Appeals has now agreed with us.”</p>
<p>As for the families whose loved ones were murdered, Chiquita says it has “great sympathy for the Colombians who suffered at the hands of these Colombian armed groups” but asserts “the responsibility for the violent crimes committed in that country belongs to the perpetrators, not the innocent people and companies they extorted.”</p>
<p>The perpetrators, in this case, are the United Auto-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), the paramilitary umbrella group responsible for the most heinous human rights atrocities committed over the course of Colombia’s 50-year armed conflict.</p>
<p>By its own account, Chiquita made at least 100 payments — $1.7 million in total — to the AUC between 1997 and 2004. In the decade prior to that, the company had maintained a similar arrangement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the nominally leftist rebel group chased out of the region by the combined (and coordinated) efforts of the AUC and Colombian military.</p>
<p>During that period, Colombia’s banana-growing region became the key battleground in the armed conflict, which had already degenerated into “by far the biggest humanitarian catastrophe of the Western Hemisphere,” in the words of then-UN Undersecretary for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland. <a href="http://www.verdadabierta.com/victimas-seccion/asesinatos-colectivos/859-ni-las-balas-acabaron-con-sintrainagro" type="external">Civilian populations</a> throughout the Uraba region — and journalists, <a href="http://www.ens.org.co/aa/img_upload/45bdec76fa6b8848acf029430d10bb5a/cuaderno_19.pdf" type="external">labor organizers</a>, human rights advocates, community leaders, and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Walking-Ghosts-Guerrilla-Politics-Colombia/dp/041593303X" type="external">left-leaning politicians</a>, in particular — were targeted as part of a crude but effective paramilitary total war.</p>
<p>Between 1997 and 2004, 3,778 people were murdered in Uraba, with an additional 60,000 forced into what is now the <a href="http://colombiareports.co/5-7-million-internally-displaced-colombians-idcm-report/" type="external">second-largest</a> internally displaced population in the world. Between 1991 and 2006, 668 unionists were killed from the main banana-workers union alone, according to the National Union School.</p>
<p>If the testimony of several former high-level paramilitaries can be believed, Chiquita played an integral role in the formation of Uraba’s so-called <a href="http://www.verdadabierta.com/tierras/despojo-de-tierras/4260-la-empresa-criminal-para-despojar-tierras" type="external">Quintuple Alliance</a>, a sprawling conspiracy made up of politicians and public servants, large landowners and business interests, military officials, paramilitaries, and narcotraffickers. This would at least partly explain why, <a href="http://www.verdadabierta.com/justicia-y-paz/juicios/604-bloque-elmer-cardenas/4871-tribunal-de-justicia-y-paz-pide-que-se-investigue-a-banadex-sa" type="external">in 2001</a>, some 3,400 AK-47 assault rifles sent to the AUC from <a href="http://www.salon.com/2011/11/25/the_iran_contra_scandal_25_years_later/" type="external">Nicaragua</a>n trafficking partners were unloaded by a Chiquita subsidiary on a Chiquita dock, the same dock where a company official had recently paid $30,000 in <a href="http://dlib.nyu.edu/undercover/sites/dlib.nyu.edu.undercover/files/documents/uploads/editors/power-money-control.pdf" type="external">bribe</a> money to Colombian customs officials.</p>
<p>In its 2007 <a href="http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB340/20070313_sentencing_memo.pdf" type="external">settlement</a> with the Justice Department, Chiquita assured it never received “any actual security services or actual security equipment in exchange for the [AUC] payments.” Instead, the company says it paid the AUC out of concern for its employees — something it was not generally inclined to express through things like wage increases, favorable labor conditions, or a pesticide-free work environment, according to former members of the banana-workers union.</p>
<p>The invaluable National Security Archive has since released <a href="about:invalid#zSoyz" type="external">[AS2]</a>over 5,500 pages of internal company communications and legal findings indicating that, at the very least, Chiquita was aware that the payments could be breaking the law. Chiquita’s own legal counsel had warned, for instance, that any indirect benefits received from the payments, regardless of intent or knowledge, would be enough to expose the company to criminal liability and that any extortion exemption would be nullified by the repeated nature of the transactions.</p>
<p>Chiquita’s “sensitive payments” continued for two years after the AUC was officially labeled a “foreign terrorist organization” by the State Department in 2001 and for another 10 months after the company entered into talks with the Justice Department, the same time it claims to have become aware of the designation. (Of the $1.7 million total the company reportedly paid to the AUC, <a href="http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2007/March/07_nsd_161.html" type="external">$300,000</a> was sent following the start of negotiations with the Justice Department.)</p>
<p>The company, having knowingly and repeatedly approved transactions its own lawyers were flagging, also went to great lengths to disguise the payments, using special vocabulary in company accounting records and various intermediaries on the ground in Colombia, including elements of the alleged Quintuple Alliance.</p>
<p>Signed in 2007, the Justice Department agreement required Chiquita to pay $25 million in fines for having financed terrorism, $15 million less than the company reaped selling its Colombian subsidiary, its most profitable holding at the time. None of the <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2009/04/27/story1.html?page=all" type="external">dozen high-level officials</a>who approved the payments has been prosecuted since. Nor have any reparations been paid to the victims, over 2,000 of whom have joined in seeking multi-billion-dollar damages against the company.</p>
<p>“We’re pitching it to the middle,” said Terry Collingsworth, one of the chief litigators for the Chiquita victims, in an interview with ThinkProgress. “Not only did they know, but they benefited from it.”</p>
<p>In the past decade, Collingsworth has brought similar suits against <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2003/jul/24/marketingandpr.colombia" type="external">Coca Cola</a>, <a href="http://www.verdadabierta.com/lideres-de-tierras/1270-dole-tambien-financio-paramilitares-en-colombia-segun-demanda-semanacom" type="external">Dole Fruits</a>, and <a href="http://colombiareports.co/drummond-glencore-blood-coal/" type="external">the Drummond Company</a> — all also accused of paramilitary ties in northern Colombia — using an obscure piece of 18th-century anti-piracy legislation to “give teeth to international human rights law in the U.S. legal system.”</p>
<p>The precedence at stake is potentially enormous, once you consider the <a href="http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB4/" type="external">track</a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bananas-United-Fruit-Company-Shaped/dp/1841958816?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1208555120&amp;sr=1-1" type="external">record</a> multinationals like <a href="http://bailey83221.livejournal.com/75717.html" type="external">Chiquita</a> have been dragging around for <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/02/books/review/Kurtz-Phelan-t.html?_r=1&amp;" type="external">years</a> now. But the Chiquita suit, to date, has been decided not on the question of individual merit, but rather on what appears to be a radical ideological <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/17/AR2009041702859.html" type="external">opposition</a> to the <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/04/13/agenda-21-the-un-conspiracy-that-just-won-t-die.html" type="external">legitimacy</a> of international human rights law in the first place.</p>
<p>Building on a recent Samuel Alito-Clarence Thomas <a href="http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/kiobel-v-royal-dutch-petroleum/" type="external">concurrence</a> so extreme not even Antonin Scalia would sign onto it, Justice David Sentele, a Reagan appointee sitting in on the 11th Circuit, <a href="http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca11/12-14898/12-14898-2014-07-24.html" type="external">ruled</a> that the Chiquita suit lacked jurisdiction on its face, because “all the relevant conduct […] took place outside of the United States.”</p>
<p>“This opinion is shockingly negligent in terms of just actually dealing with the facts and dealing with the issues,” said Collingsworth, who is confident the decision will be overturned on review or appeal. “It’s almost flippant in terms of just gleefully throwing the case out.”</p> | How Chiquita Bananas Undermined The Global War On Terror | true | http://thinkprogress.org/world/2014/08/02/3466915/chiquita-colombia-ruling/ | 2014-08-02 | 4left
| How Chiquita Bananas Undermined The Global War On Terror
<p>Colombian families whose relatives were massacred by paramilitaries cannot sue the Chiquita Brands fruit company in federal court, the 11th Circuit United States Court of Appeals <a href="http://www.courthousenews.com/2014/07/29/chiquita.pdf" type="external">ruled</a> last week. The victims charged that Chiquita was responsible for the deaths by funding a right-wing paramilitary group.</p>
<p>A panel of judges decided the victims did not have standing in U.S. court, even though the North Carolina-based banana giant pled guilty to U.S. criminal charges in 2007. The victims were claiming potentially billions of dollars in damages from the company.</p>
<p>The ruling was a big victory for the banana giant — and for the rights of American companies to finance international terrorism.</p>
<p>In a general statement sent to ThinkProgress, a Chiquita spokesman said, “Chiquita has long maintained that these cases do not belong in the U.S. courts and that the claims should be dismissed. We are gratified that the U.S. Court of Appeals has now agreed with us.”</p>
<p>As for the families whose loved ones were murdered, Chiquita says it has “great sympathy for the Colombians who suffered at the hands of these Colombian armed groups” but asserts “the responsibility for the violent crimes committed in that country belongs to the perpetrators, not the innocent people and companies they extorted.”</p>
<p>The perpetrators, in this case, are the United Auto-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), the paramilitary umbrella group responsible for the most heinous human rights atrocities committed over the course of Colombia’s 50-year armed conflict.</p>
<p>By its own account, Chiquita made at least 100 payments — $1.7 million in total — to the AUC between 1997 and 2004. In the decade prior to that, the company had maintained a similar arrangement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the nominally leftist rebel group chased out of the region by the combined (and coordinated) efforts of the AUC and Colombian military.</p>
<p>During that period, Colombia’s banana-growing region became the key battleground in the armed conflict, which had already degenerated into “by far the biggest humanitarian catastrophe of the Western Hemisphere,” in the words of then-UN Undersecretary for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland. <a href="http://www.verdadabierta.com/victimas-seccion/asesinatos-colectivos/859-ni-las-balas-acabaron-con-sintrainagro" type="external">Civilian populations</a> throughout the Uraba region — and journalists, <a href="http://www.ens.org.co/aa/img_upload/45bdec76fa6b8848acf029430d10bb5a/cuaderno_19.pdf" type="external">labor organizers</a>, human rights advocates, community leaders, and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Walking-Ghosts-Guerrilla-Politics-Colombia/dp/041593303X" type="external">left-leaning politicians</a>, in particular — were targeted as part of a crude but effective paramilitary total war.</p>
<p>Between 1997 and 2004, 3,778 people were murdered in Uraba, with an additional 60,000 forced into what is now the <a href="http://colombiareports.co/5-7-million-internally-displaced-colombians-idcm-report/" type="external">second-largest</a> internally displaced population in the world. Between 1991 and 2006, 668 unionists were killed from the main banana-workers union alone, according to the National Union School.</p>
<p>If the testimony of several former high-level paramilitaries can be believed, Chiquita played an integral role in the formation of Uraba’s so-called <a href="http://www.verdadabierta.com/tierras/despojo-de-tierras/4260-la-empresa-criminal-para-despojar-tierras" type="external">Quintuple Alliance</a>, a sprawling conspiracy made up of politicians and public servants, large landowners and business interests, military officials, paramilitaries, and narcotraffickers. This would at least partly explain why, <a href="http://www.verdadabierta.com/justicia-y-paz/juicios/604-bloque-elmer-cardenas/4871-tribunal-de-justicia-y-paz-pide-que-se-investigue-a-banadex-sa" type="external">in 2001</a>, some 3,400 AK-47 assault rifles sent to the AUC from <a href="http://www.salon.com/2011/11/25/the_iran_contra_scandal_25_years_later/" type="external">Nicaragua</a>n trafficking partners were unloaded by a Chiquita subsidiary on a Chiquita dock, the same dock where a company official had recently paid $30,000 in <a href="http://dlib.nyu.edu/undercover/sites/dlib.nyu.edu.undercover/files/documents/uploads/editors/power-money-control.pdf" type="external">bribe</a> money to Colombian customs officials.</p>
<p>In its 2007 <a href="http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB340/20070313_sentencing_memo.pdf" type="external">settlement</a> with the Justice Department, Chiquita assured it never received “any actual security services or actual security equipment in exchange for the [AUC] payments.” Instead, the company says it paid the AUC out of concern for its employees — something it was not generally inclined to express through things like wage increases, favorable labor conditions, or a pesticide-free work environment, according to former members of the banana-workers union.</p>
<p>The invaluable National Security Archive has since released <a href="about:invalid#zSoyz" type="external">[AS2]</a>over 5,500 pages of internal company communications and legal findings indicating that, at the very least, Chiquita was aware that the payments could be breaking the law. Chiquita’s own legal counsel had warned, for instance, that any indirect benefits received from the payments, regardless of intent or knowledge, would be enough to expose the company to criminal liability and that any extortion exemption would be nullified by the repeated nature of the transactions.</p>
<p>Chiquita’s “sensitive payments” continued for two years after the AUC was officially labeled a “foreign terrorist organization” by the State Department in 2001 and for another 10 months after the company entered into talks with the Justice Department, the same time it claims to have become aware of the designation. (Of the $1.7 million total the company reportedly paid to the AUC, <a href="http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2007/March/07_nsd_161.html" type="external">$300,000</a> was sent following the start of negotiations with the Justice Department.)</p>
<p>The company, having knowingly and repeatedly approved transactions its own lawyers were flagging, also went to great lengths to disguise the payments, using special vocabulary in company accounting records and various intermediaries on the ground in Colombia, including elements of the alleged Quintuple Alliance.</p>
<p>Signed in 2007, the Justice Department agreement required Chiquita to pay $25 million in fines for having financed terrorism, $15 million less than the company reaped selling its Colombian subsidiary, its most profitable holding at the time. None of the <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2009/04/27/story1.html?page=all" type="external">dozen high-level officials</a>who approved the payments has been prosecuted since. Nor have any reparations been paid to the victims, over 2,000 of whom have joined in seeking multi-billion-dollar damages against the company.</p>
<p>“We’re pitching it to the middle,” said Terry Collingsworth, one of the chief litigators for the Chiquita victims, in an interview with ThinkProgress. “Not only did they know, but they benefited from it.”</p>
<p>In the past decade, Collingsworth has brought similar suits against <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2003/jul/24/marketingandpr.colombia" type="external">Coca Cola</a>, <a href="http://www.verdadabierta.com/lideres-de-tierras/1270-dole-tambien-financio-paramilitares-en-colombia-segun-demanda-semanacom" type="external">Dole Fruits</a>, and <a href="http://colombiareports.co/drummond-glencore-blood-coal/" type="external">the Drummond Company</a> — all also accused of paramilitary ties in northern Colombia — using an obscure piece of 18th-century anti-piracy legislation to “give teeth to international human rights law in the U.S. legal system.”</p>
<p>The precedence at stake is potentially enormous, once you consider the <a href="http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB4/" type="external">track</a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bananas-United-Fruit-Company-Shaped/dp/1841958816?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1208555120&amp;sr=1-1" type="external">record</a> multinationals like <a href="http://bailey83221.livejournal.com/75717.html" type="external">Chiquita</a> have been dragging around for <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/02/books/review/Kurtz-Phelan-t.html?_r=1&amp;" type="external">years</a> now. But the Chiquita suit, to date, has been decided not on the question of individual merit, but rather on what appears to be a radical ideological <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/17/AR2009041702859.html" type="external">opposition</a> to the <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/04/13/agenda-21-the-un-conspiracy-that-just-won-t-die.html" type="external">legitimacy</a> of international human rights law in the first place.</p>
<p>Building on a recent Samuel Alito-Clarence Thomas <a href="http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/kiobel-v-royal-dutch-petroleum/" type="external">concurrence</a> so extreme not even Antonin Scalia would sign onto it, Justice David Sentele, a Reagan appointee sitting in on the 11th Circuit, <a href="http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca11/12-14898/12-14898-2014-07-24.html" type="external">ruled</a> that the Chiquita suit lacked jurisdiction on its face, because “all the relevant conduct […] took place outside of the United States.”</p>
<p>“This opinion is shockingly negligent in terms of just actually dealing with the facts and dealing with the issues,” said Collingsworth, who is confident the decision will be overturned on review or appeal. “It’s almost flippant in terms of just gleefully throwing the case out.”</p> | 2,467 |
<p>Despite his scathing remarks about President Donald Trump and his family in an upcoming book, former White House adviser Steve Bannon called Trump "a great man" on his satellite radio show Wednesday night and said he still supports the president. (Jan. 4)</p>
<p>Despite his scathing remarks about President Donald Trump and his family in an upcoming book, former White House adviser Steve Bannon called Trump "a great man" on his satellite radio show Wednesday night and said he still supports the president. (Jan. 4)</p> | On Radio Show, Bannon Calls Trump 'A Great Man' | false | https://apnews.com/d61ea2c060be452b82a9ed95f76fff75 | 2018-01-04 | 2least
| On Radio Show, Bannon Calls Trump 'A Great Man'
<p>Despite his scathing remarks about President Donald Trump and his family in an upcoming book, former White House adviser Steve Bannon called Trump "a great man" on his satellite radio show Wednesday night and said he still supports the president. (Jan. 4)</p>
<p>Despite his scathing remarks about President Donald Trump and his family in an upcoming book, former White House adviser Steve Bannon called Trump "a great man" on his satellite radio show Wednesday night and said he still supports the president. (Jan. 4)</p> | 2,468 |
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<p>DENVER — New U.S. Census figures show Colorado had the country’s eighth-fastest growing population this year.</p>
<p>The Denver Post reported Wednesday that Colorado added more than 77,000 residents this past year, bringing its total population to just over 5.6 million as of July 1.</p>
<p>The Census estimates that about 30,000 of those residents came from natural increases, or the difference between births and deaths. The remainder is estimated to have come from net migration, or the difference between people moving into the state and those leaving it.</p>
<p>The influx of residents was lower than last year, when the state’s population increased by 90,000.</p>
<p>The Census found that the states with the top population growth between July 2016 and July 2017 were Idaho, Nevada and then Utah.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Denver Post, <a href="http://www.denverpost.com" type="external">http://www.denverpost.com</a></p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Colorado boasts country’s 8th-fastest growing population | false | https://abqjournal.com/1109568/colorado-boasts-countrys-8th-fastest-growing-population.html | 2least
| Colorado boasts country’s 8th-fastest growing population
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>DENVER — New U.S. Census figures show Colorado had the country’s eighth-fastest growing population this year.</p>
<p>The Denver Post reported Wednesday that Colorado added more than 77,000 residents this past year, bringing its total population to just over 5.6 million as of July 1.</p>
<p>The Census estimates that about 30,000 of those residents came from natural increases, or the difference between births and deaths. The remainder is estimated to have come from net migration, or the difference between people moving into the state and those leaving it.</p>
<p>The influx of residents was lower than last year, when the state’s population increased by 90,000.</p>
<p>The Census found that the states with the top population growth between July 2016 and July 2017 were Idaho, Nevada and then Utah.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Denver Post, <a href="http://www.denverpost.com" type="external">http://www.denverpost.com</a></p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 2,469 |
|
<p>Project Veritas has a big target for its latest sting operation: "The Most Trusted Name in News." The head of Project Veritas, James O'Keefe, announced this week that on Thursday he will be releasing "WikiLeaks style" what he says is "hundreds of hours of tape from within the establishment media" revealing the egregious political bias of the MSM, particularly Donald Trump's nemesis, CNN.</p>
<p>O'Keefe teased the release of what he suggested would be damning footage on Sean Hannity's radio show on Tuesday.</p>
<p>"In the next 48 hours, Project Veritas, like Wikileaks, will be releasing hundreds of hours of tape from within the establishment media," O'Keefe <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4250422/James-O-Keefe-release-hours-newsroom-footage.html#ixzz4ZVXKzxPK" type="external">told</a> Hannity (audio below). "Our next target is in fact, the media."</p>
<p>"How long have you been working on this?" asked Hannity, who was one of Trump's most loyal supporters among the high-profile conservative radio pundits during the election.</p>
<p>"We've had people on the inside come to us," said O'Keefe. "Just like Julian Assange has people come to him, we've had people, sources come to us and give us information, and we're going to be releasing it 'Wikileaks Style' this week."</p>
<p>When Hannity pressed him to give some names about which particularly organizations he was exposing, O'Keefe replied, "It's one that Trump has really been talking about. You can probably use your imagination."</p>
<p>Hannity concluded "CNN," which O'Keefe confirmed on Wednesday in a tweet: ​</p>
<p>As the Daily Wire has <a href="" type="internal">chronicled</a>, O'Keefe has been very active over the last year, exposing voter fraud, the lack of security at the southern border, and, his most significant project of last year, exposing the planned criminal activity of the DisruptJ20 group.</p>
<p>More from the Daily Wire on O'Keefe and Project Veritas:</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">WATCH: CNN Smears O'Keefe in Attempt to Discredit Vids Exposing Voter Fraud</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">REVEALED: Dems Engage in Voter Fraud, Stir Up Violence</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">VIDEO: Leftists Plot Criminal Acts to Disrupt Trump Inaugural Ball</a></p> | Is James O'Keefe About To Take Down The Mainstream Media With #CNNLeaks? | true | https://dailywire.com/news/13772/james-okeefe-about-take-down-mainstream-media-james-barrett | 2017-02-23 | 0right
| Is James O'Keefe About To Take Down The Mainstream Media With #CNNLeaks?
<p>Project Veritas has a big target for its latest sting operation: "The Most Trusted Name in News." The head of Project Veritas, James O'Keefe, announced this week that on Thursday he will be releasing "WikiLeaks style" what he says is "hundreds of hours of tape from within the establishment media" revealing the egregious political bias of the MSM, particularly Donald Trump's nemesis, CNN.</p>
<p>O'Keefe teased the release of what he suggested would be damning footage on Sean Hannity's radio show on Tuesday.</p>
<p>"In the next 48 hours, Project Veritas, like Wikileaks, will be releasing hundreds of hours of tape from within the establishment media," O'Keefe <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4250422/James-O-Keefe-release-hours-newsroom-footage.html#ixzz4ZVXKzxPK" type="external">told</a> Hannity (audio below). "Our next target is in fact, the media."</p>
<p>"How long have you been working on this?" asked Hannity, who was one of Trump's most loyal supporters among the high-profile conservative radio pundits during the election.</p>
<p>"We've had people on the inside come to us," said O'Keefe. "Just like Julian Assange has people come to him, we've had people, sources come to us and give us information, and we're going to be releasing it 'Wikileaks Style' this week."</p>
<p>When Hannity pressed him to give some names about which particularly organizations he was exposing, O'Keefe replied, "It's one that Trump has really been talking about. You can probably use your imagination."</p>
<p>Hannity concluded "CNN," which O'Keefe confirmed on Wednesday in a tweet: ​</p>
<p>As the Daily Wire has <a href="" type="internal">chronicled</a>, O'Keefe has been very active over the last year, exposing voter fraud, the lack of security at the southern border, and, his most significant project of last year, exposing the planned criminal activity of the DisruptJ20 group.</p>
<p>More from the Daily Wire on O'Keefe and Project Veritas:</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">WATCH: CNN Smears O'Keefe in Attempt to Discredit Vids Exposing Voter Fraud</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">REVEALED: Dems Engage in Voter Fraud, Stir Up Violence</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">VIDEO: Leftists Plot Criminal Acts to Disrupt Trump Inaugural Ball</a></p> | 2,470 |
<p>Kassy Dillon, <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=9912" type="external">Campus Reform</a></p>
<p>&lt;img class="aligncenter wp-image-544991" src="http://www.bizpacreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/SS-Good-vs-evil.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="466" srcset="http://www.bizpacreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/SS-Good-vs-evil.jpg 500w, http://www.bizpacreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/SS-Good-vs-evil-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /&gt;</p>
<p>Amherst College is offering a course this semester exploring why “some women become right-wing leaders” while others “fight for the rights of women.”</p>
<p><a href="https://www.amherst.edu/academiclife/departments/courses/1718F/SWAG/SWAG-400-1718F" type="external">According to the course description</a>, the seminar will explore “the consequences of neoliberalism, cultural conservatism, Islamophobia, and anti-immigrant sentiments for women of different social and economic strata as well as women’s divergent political responses.”</p>
<p>The description then elaborates on the nature of the divergence, saying that some women gravitate toward the “right-wing”—about which it provides no additional context—whereas others join “progressive forces,” whose activities it charitably describes as “anti-racist” and focused on defending the rights of others.</p>
<p>“Why have some women become prominent right wing leaders and activists while others have allied with leftist, anti-racist, and other progressive forces to fight for the rights of women and other marginalized groups?” the description asks.</p>
<p>“How have transnational forces influenced both forms of women’s activism?” it adds. “To what extent are there cross-national similarities in the impact of the far right surge on women, gender, and sexuality?”</p>
<p>The course description notes that the course will draw on different regions of the world, but with “particular attention to India and the U.S.”</p>
<p>Required textbooks for the course include&#160; <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Strangers-Their-Own-Land-Mourning/dp/1620972255" type="external">Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right</a>, by Arlie Russell Hochschild; and&#160; <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Handmaids-Tale-Classic-Collection/dp/1480560103" type="external">The Handmaid’s Tale</a>, a dystopian book by Margaret Atwood about a patriarchal America run by religious zealots.</p>
<p>The class is offered yearly through the Sexuality, Women’s &amp; and Gender Studies Department, and the topic varies with each iteration. This year, it will be taught by Department Chair&#160; <a href="https://www.amherst.edu/people/facstaff/abasu" type="external">Amrita Basu</a>.</p>
<p>Campus Reform&#160;reached out to Basu for additional information about the course, but she was not available for comment.</p>
<p>Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&#160; <a href="http://www.twitter.com/kassydillon" type="external">@kassydillon</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Biased new college course will dive into why some women become mean ‘right-wing leaders’ | true | http://bizpacreview.com/2017/10/06/biased-new-college-course-will-dive-women-become-mean-right-wing-leaders-544961 | 2017-10-06 | 0right
| Biased new college course will dive into why some women become mean ‘right-wing leaders’
<p>Kassy Dillon, <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=9912" type="external">Campus Reform</a></p>
<p>&lt;img class="aligncenter wp-image-544991" src="http://www.bizpacreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/SS-Good-vs-evil.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="466" srcset="http://www.bizpacreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/SS-Good-vs-evil.jpg 500w, http://www.bizpacreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/SS-Good-vs-evil-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /&gt;</p>
<p>Amherst College is offering a course this semester exploring why “some women become right-wing leaders” while others “fight for the rights of women.”</p>
<p><a href="https://www.amherst.edu/academiclife/departments/courses/1718F/SWAG/SWAG-400-1718F" type="external">According to the course description</a>, the seminar will explore “the consequences of neoliberalism, cultural conservatism, Islamophobia, and anti-immigrant sentiments for women of different social and economic strata as well as women’s divergent political responses.”</p>
<p>The description then elaborates on the nature of the divergence, saying that some women gravitate toward the “right-wing”—about which it provides no additional context—whereas others join “progressive forces,” whose activities it charitably describes as “anti-racist” and focused on defending the rights of others.</p>
<p>“Why have some women become prominent right wing leaders and activists while others have allied with leftist, anti-racist, and other progressive forces to fight for the rights of women and other marginalized groups?” the description asks.</p>
<p>“How have transnational forces influenced both forms of women’s activism?” it adds. “To what extent are there cross-national similarities in the impact of the far right surge on women, gender, and sexuality?”</p>
<p>The course description notes that the course will draw on different regions of the world, but with “particular attention to India and the U.S.”</p>
<p>Required textbooks for the course include&#160; <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Strangers-Their-Own-Land-Mourning/dp/1620972255" type="external">Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right</a>, by Arlie Russell Hochschild; and&#160; <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Handmaids-Tale-Classic-Collection/dp/1480560103" type="external">The Handmaid’s Tale</a>, a dystopian book by Margaret Atwood about a patriarchal America run by religious zealots.</p>
<p>The class is offered yearly through the Sexuality, Women’s &amp; and Gender Studies Department, and the topic varies with each iteration. This year, it will be taught by Department Chair&#160; <a href="https://www.amherst.edu/people/facstaff/abasu" type="external">Amrita Basu</a>.</p>
<p>Campus Reform&#160;reached out to Basu for additional information about the course, but she was not available for comment.</p>
<p>Follow the author of this article on Twitter:&#160; <a href="http://www.twitter.com/kassydillon" type="external">@kassydillon</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 2,471 |
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>By ANDREW MIGA 11/14/12 09:15 AM ET EST</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" />WASHINGTON -- Independent Senator-elect Angus King of Maine says he has decided to caucus with Democrats, which will add to the party's voting edge. His decision ends months of speculation about which party he would align with.</p>
<p>The former Maine governor was elected last week to replace retiring Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe, a prominent centrist. GOP and conservative super PACs spent millions of dollars to attack King during the campaign for Snowe's seat.</p>
<p>With King joining their caucus, Democrats will have a 55 to 45 edge in the Senate.</p>
<p>King said Wednesday that caucusing with Democrats will still allow him to take independent positions on issues.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/14/angus-king-to-caucus-senate_n_2122002.html" type="external">Angus King To Caucus With Senate Democrats</a></p> | Angus King To Caucus With Senate Democrats | true | http://egbertowillies.com/2012/11/14/angus-king-to-caucus-with-senate-democrats/ | 2012-11-14 | 4left
| Angus King To Caucus With Senate Democrats
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>By ANDREW MIGA 11/14/12 09:15 AM ET EST</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" />WASHINGTON -- Independent Senator-elect Angus King of Maine says he has decided to caucus with Democrats, which will add to the party's voting edge. His decision ends months of speculation about which party he would align with.</p>
<p>The former Maine governor was elected last week to replace retiring Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe, a prominent centrist. GOP and conservative super PACs spent millions of dollars to attack King during the campaign for Snowe's seat.</p>
<p>With King joining their caucus, Democrats will have a 55 to 45 edge in the Senate.</p>
<p>King said Wednesday that caucusing with Democrats will still allow him to take independent positions on issues.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/14/angus-king-to-caucus-senate_n_2122002.html" type="external">Angus King To Caucus With Senate Democrats</a></p> | 2,472 |
<p>TROY, Ala. (AP) — Parents of an Alabama teenager said Friday that their handcuffed son was severely beaten during a run-in with police and they want answers from authorities about what happened.</p>
<p>The mother of 17-year-old Ulysses Wilkerson posted an image of her son’s bruised and swollen face on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/angela.williams.9678" type="external">Facebook</a> and the photo was widely shared on social media. Wilkerson, who is black, was walking behind a downtown business in the city of Troy when he was startled by police on the night of Dec. 23, representatives for the family said in a statement. He ran from the officers and when police caught up to him, they beat him, the family said.</p>
<p>“As a mother I was shocked devastated and horrified to see my son this way,” Angela Williams said Friday at a news conference with other family members. Some of them wore All Lives Matter T-shirts and occasionally wiped away tears.</p>
<p>Police said they used force after Wilkerson reached into his waistband for what they feared might be a weapon, Pike County District Attorney Tom Anderson <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/28/us/troy-alabama-police-beating-teen-ulysses-wilkerson/index.html" type="external">told CNN</a> . Wilkerson was charged with resisting arrest and obstructing governmental operations, both misdemeanors, city officials said.</p>
<p>The mayor of Troy, Jason Reeves, said he asked for the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency to review the incident. He said the officer involved has been placed on leave.</p>
<p>“I thought it was important for the state to ... give an independent assessment of the matter,” Reeves said in a statement.</p>
<p>Wilkerson’s eye socket was broken in three places and his face was severely swollen, his family said.</p>
<p>Pastor Kenneth Glasgow, a local activist who is working with the family, said the teen has few memories about what happened.</p>
<p>“He remembers one thing, a big tall white officer kicking him in the face. He remembers that,” Glasgow said.</p>
<p>While Wilkerson is African-American and remembers being kicked by a white officer, the family stressed that it was not a racial issue. Glasgow said the family didn’t care about the race of the police officer.</p>
<p>Troy is a city of about 19,000 people, some 50 miles south of the state capital of Montgomery. About 55 percent of the population is white and 39 percent African-American, according to the 2010 Census. The city’s main employer is Troy University.</p>
<p>“The mother asks for justice. The father asks for justice. He didn’t care if he was white, black purple or polka dotted. ... It’s not about black and white. It’s about right and wrong,” Glasgow said.</p>
<p>Attorneys for the family said Troy police owe the “community answers and transparency.”</p>
<p>“Where is the dash cam footage? Where is the body camera footage? Ulysses’ family and the community deserve answers,” the attorneys said.</p>
<p>The lawyers include Ben Crump, who represented the family of Trayvon Martin, a black teenager who was killed by George Zimmerman in Florida, and Michael Brown, a 17-year-old African-American who was shot to death by police in Ferguson, Missouri. Zimmerman was acquitted and the Ferguson officer, Darren Wilson, was not indicted.</p>
<p>TROY, Ala. (AP) — Parents of an Alabama teenager said Friday that their handcuffed son was severely beaten during a run-in with police and they want answers from authorities about what happened.</p>
<p>The mother of 17-year-old Ulysses Wilkerson posted an image of her son’s bruised and swollen face on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/angela.williams.9678" type="external">Facebook</a> and the photo was widely shared on social media. Wilkerson, who is black, was walking behind a downtown business in the city of Troy when he was startled by police on the night of Dec. 23, representatives for the family said in a statement. He ran from the officers and when police caught up to him, they beat him, the family said.</p>
<p>“As a mother I was shocked devastated and horrified to see my son this way,” Angela Williams said Friday at a news conference with other family members. Some of them wore All Lives Matter T-shirts and occasionally wiped away tears.</p>
<p>Police said they used force after Wilkerson reached into his waistband for what they feared might be a weapon, Pike County District Attorney Tom Anderson <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/28/us/troy-alabama-police-beating-teen-ulysses-wilkerson/index.html" type="external">told CNN</a> . Wilkerson was charged with resisting arrest and obstructing governmental operations, both misdemeanors, city officials said.</p>
<p>The mayor of Troy, Jason Reeves, said he asked for the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency to review the incident. He said the officer involved has been placed on leave.</p>
<p>“I thought it was important for the state to ... give an independent assessment of the matter,” Reeves said in a statement.</p>
<p>Wilkerson’s eye socket was broken in three places and his face was severely swollen, his family said.</p>
<p>Pastor Kenneth Glasgow, a local activist who is working with the family, said the teen has few memories about what happened.</p>
<p>“He remembers one thing, a big tall white officer kicking him in the face. He remembers that,” Glasgow said.</p>
<p>While Wilkerson is African-American and remembers being kicked by a white officer, the family stressed that it was not a racial issue. Glasgow said the family didn’t care about the race of the police officer.</p>
<p>Troy is a city of about 19,000 people, some 50 miles south of the state capital of Montgomery. About 55 percent of the population is white and 39 percent African-American, according to the 2010 Census. The city’s main employer is Troy University.</p>
<p>“The mother asks for justice. The father asks for justice. He didn’t care if he was white, black purple or polka dotted. ... It’s not about black and white. It’s about right and wrong,” Glasgow said.</p>
<p>Attorneys for the family said Troy police owe the “community answers and transparency.”</p>
<p>“Where is the dash cam footage? Where is the body camera footage? Ulysses’ family and the community deserve answers,” the attorneys said.</p>
<p>The lawyers include Ben Crump, who represented the family of Trayvon Martin, a black teenager who was killed by George Zimmerman in Florida, and Michael Brown, a 17-year-old African-American who was shot to death by police in Ferguson, Missouri. Zimmerman was acquitted and the Ferguson officer, Darren Wilson, was not indicted.</p> | Mother: Alabama police beat black 17-year-old son | false | https://apnews.com/25ea3ae6c9c049d9b7569c6050c9df9b | 2017-12-29 | 2least
| Mother: Alabama police beat black 17-year-old son
<p>TROY, Ala. (AP) — Parents of an Alabama teenager said Friday that their handcuffed son was severely beaten during a run-in with police and they want answers from authorities about what happened.</p>
<p>The mother of 17-year-old Ulysses Wilkerson posted an image of her son’s bruised and swollen face on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/angela.williams.9678" type="external">Facebook</a> and the photo was widely shared on social media. Wilkerson, who is black, was walking behind a downtown business in the city of Troy when he was startled by police on the night of Dec. 23, representatives for the family said in a statement. He ran from the officers and when police caught up to him, they beat him, the family said.</p>
<p>“As a mother I was shocked devastated and horrified to see my son this way,” Angela Williams said Friday at a news conference with other family members. Some of them wore All Lives Matter T-shirts and occasionally wiped away tears.</p>
<p>Police said they used force after Wilkerson reached into his waistband for what they feared might be a weapon, Pike County District Attorney Tom Anderson <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/28/us/troy-alabama-police-beating-teen-ulysses-wilkerson/index.html" type="external">told CNN</a> . Wilkerson was charged with resisting arrest and obstructing governmental operations, both misdemeanors, city officials said.</p>
<p>The mayor of Troy, Jason Reeves, said he asked for the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency to review the incident. He said the officer involved has been placed on leave.</p>
<p>“I thought it was important for the state to ... give an independent assessment of the matter,” Reeves said in a statement.</p>
<p>Wilkerson’s eye socket was broken in three places and his face was severely swollen, his family said.</p>
<p>Pastor Kenneth Glasgow, a local activist who is working with the family, said the teen has few memories about what happened.</p>
<p>“He remembers one thing, a big tall white officer kicking him in the face. He remembers that,” Glasgow said.</p>
<p>While Wilkerson is African-American and remembers being kicked by a white officer, the family stressed that it was not a racial issue. Glasgow said the family didn’t care about the race of the police officer.</p>
<p>Troy is a city of about 19,000 people, some 50 miles south of the state capital of Montgomery. About 55 percent of the population is white and 39 percent African-American, according to the 2010 Census. The city’s main employer is Troy University.</p>
<p>“The mother asks for justice. The father asks for justice. He didn’t care if he was white, black purple or polka dotted. ... It’s not about black and white. It’s about right and wrong,” Glasgow said.</p>
<p>Attorneys for the family said Troy police owe the “community answers and transparency.”</p>
<p>“Where is the dash cam footage? Where is the body camera footage? Ulysses’ family and the community deserve answers,” the attorneys said.</p>
<p>The lawyers include Ben Crump, who represented the family of Trayvon Martin, a black teenager who was killed by George Zimmerman in Florida, and Michael Brown, a 17-year-old African-American who was shot to death by police in Ferguson, Missouri. Zimmerman was acquitted and the Ferguson officer, Darren Wilson, was not indicted.</p>
<p>TROY, Ala. (AP) — Parents of an Alabama teenager said Friday that their handcuffed son was severely beaten during a run-in with police and they want answers from authorities about what happened.</p>
<p>The mother of 17-year-old Ulysses Wilkerson posted an image of her son’s bruised and swollen face on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/angela.williams.9678" type="external">Facebook</a> and the photo was widely shared on social media. Wilkerson, who is black, was walking behind a downtown business in the city of Troy when he was startled by police on the night of Dec. 23, representatives for the family said in a statement. He ran from the officers and when police caught up to him, they beat him, the family said.</p>
<p>“As a mother I was shocked devastated and horrified to see my son this way,” Angela Williams said Friday at a news conference with other family members. Some of them wore All Lives Matter T-shirts and occasionally wiped away tears.</p>
<p>Police said they used force after Wilkerson reached into his waistband for what they feared might be a weapon, Pike County District Attorney Tom Anderson <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/28/us/troy-alabama-police-beating-teen-ulysses-wilkerson/index.html" type="external">told CNN</a> . Wilkerson was charged with resisting arrest and obstructing governmental operations, both misdemeanors, city officials said.</p>
<p>The mayor of Troy, Jason Reeves, said he asked for the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency to review the incident. He said the officer involved has been placed on leave.</p>
<p>“I thought it was important for the state to ... give an independent assessment of the matter,” Reeves said in a statement.</p>
<p>Wilkerson’s eye socket was broken in three places and his face was severely swollen, his family said.</p>
<p>Pastor Kenneth Glasgow, a local activist who is working with the family, said the teen has few memories about what happened.</p>
<p>“He remembers one thing, a big tall white officer kicking him in the face. He remembers that,” Glasgow said.</p>
<p>While Wilkerson is African-American and remembers being kicked by a white officer, the family stressed that it was not a racial issue. Glasgow said the family didn’t care about the race of the police officer.</p>
<p>Troy is a city of about 19,000 people, some 50 miles south of the state capital of Montgomery. About 55 percent of the population is white and 39 percent African-American, according to the 2010 Census. The city’s main employer is Troy University.</p>
<p>“The mother asks for justice. The father asks for justice. He didn’t care if he was white, black purple or polka dotted. ... It’s not about black and white. It’s about right and wrong,” Glasgow said.</p>
<p>Attorneys for the family said Troy police owe the “community answers and transparency.”</p>
<p>“Where is the dash cam footage? Where is the body camera footage? Ulysses’ family and the community deserve answers,” the attorneys said.</p>
<p>The lawyers include Ben Crump, who represented the family of Trayvon Martin, a black teenager who was killed by George Zimmerman in Florida, and Michael Brown, a 17-year-old African-American who was shot to death by police in Ferguson, Missouri. Zimmerman was acquitted and the Ferguson officer, Darren Wilson, was not indicted.</p> | 2,473 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>AMARILLO, Texas - Forecasters say a dust storm about 100-miles wide blanketed much of the Texas Panhandle before moving on and dissipating.</p>
<p>The National Weather Service says a cold front that moved through Tuesday night had winds of up to 60 mph and spread dirt picked up from Colorado and Kansas.</p>
<p>Forecaster Nicholas Fenner (FEN?-er) in Amarillo said Wednesday that dry conditions in Texas contributed to the dust storm that towered about 2,000 feet. Fenner says the dust storm also reached the Oklahoma Panhandle.</p>
<p>He says the dust was so heavy that evidence of the storm turned up on National Weather Service radar, with the system reaching as far south as Lubbock.</p>
<p>The Texas Department of Public Safety had no reports Wednesday of any road closures or anyone hurt from the dust storm.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Dust storm 100-miles wide blankets much of Texas Panhandle | false | https://abqjournal.com/752424/dust-storm-100-miles-wide-blankets-much-of-texas-panhandle.html | 2least
| Dust storm 100-miles wide blankets much of Texas Panhandle
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>AMARILLO, Texas - Forecasters say a dust storm about 100-miles wide blanketed much of the Texas Panhandle before moving on and dissipating.</p>
<p>The National Weather Service says a cold front that moved through Tuesday night had winds of up to 60 mph and spread dirt picked up from Colorado and Kansas.</p>
<p>Forecaster Nicholas Fenner (FEN?-er) in Amarillo said Wednesday that dry conditions in Texas contributed to the dust storm that towered about 2,000 feet. Fenner says the dust storm also reached the Oklahoma Panhandle.</p>
<p>He says the dust was so heavy that evidence of the storm turned up on National Weather Service radar, with the system reaching as far south as Lubbock.</p>
<p>The Texas Department of Public Safety had no reports Wednesday of any road closures or anyone hurt from the dust storm.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 2,474 |
|
<p>CHICAGO (AP) — The Latest on an appeal hearing in Chicago on the Trump administration's policy seeking to tie federal grants to enforcement of immigration laws (all times local):</p>
<p>11:15 a.m.</p>
<p>Oral arguments before an appeals court have focused on whether President Donald Trump's administration was overstepping its authority by withholding public safety grants from sanctuary cities, such as Chicago, unless they fully enforce immigration laws.</p>
<p>The case before a three-judge panel at the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday stems from a city of Chicago lawsuit. The Justice Department appealed to the Chicago-based 7th Circuit in a bid to reverse a lower-court ruling temporarily freezing the policy. That freeze applies nationally.</p>
<p>Judge Ilana Rovner asked if the Trump administration was unduly expanding its powers at the expense of states' rights. She suggested it was by threatening to withhold grants and "conscripting" city police to enforce federal laws.</p>
<p>Government lawyers argued the administration has authority to apply that pressure.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>9:50 a.m.</p>
<p>An appeals court will hear arguments on a Trump administration request to reverse a lower-court ruling temporarily freezing its policy of withholding public-safety grants from sanctuary cities that don't fully enforce immigration laws.</p>
<p>The hearing Friday at the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals focuses on whether the administration exceeded its authority in setting new conditions not in legislation establishing the program. The case stems from a Chicago lawsuit.</p>
<p>U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber's freeze applies to all 50 states. The Trump administration says, at worst, it should only apply to Chicago.</p>
<p>In a related case, U.S. District Judge William Orrick in California in November blocked President Donald Trump's executive order nationwide that cut funds to sanctuary cities, saying Trump can't set new conditions on spending OK'd by Congress.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>This story has been corrected to show that the judge's last name is spelled Leinenweber, not Leinenwebber.</p>
<p>CHICAGO (AP) — The Latest on an appeal hearing in Chicago on the Trump administration's policy seeking to tie federal grants to enforcement of immigration laws (all times local):</p>
<p>11:15 a.m.</p>
<p>Oral arguments before an appeals court have focused on whether President Donald Trump's administration was overstepping its authority by withholding public safety grants from sanctuary cities, such as Chicago, unless they fully enforce immigration laws.</p>
<p>The case before a three-judge panel at the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday stems from a city of Chicago lawsuit. The Justice Department appealed to the Chicago-based 7th Circuit in a bid to reverse a lower-court ruling temporarily freezing the policy. That freeze applies nationally.</p>
<p>Judge Ilana Rovner asked if the Trump administration was unduly expanding its powers at the expense of states' rights. She suggested it was by threatening to withhold grants and "conscripting" city police to enforce federal laws.</p>
<p>Government lawyers argued the administration has authority to apply that pressure.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>9:50 a.m.</p>
<p>An appeals court will hear arguments on a Trump administration request to reverse a lower-court ruling temporarily freezing its policy of withholding public-safety grants from sanctuary cities that don't fully enforce immigration laws.</p>
<p>The hearing Friday at the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals focuses on whether the administration exceeded its authority in setting new conditions not in legislation establishing the program. The case stems from a Chicago lawsuit.</p>
<p>U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber's freeze applies to all 50 states. The Trump administration says, at worst, it should only apply to Chicago.</p>
<p>In a related case, U.S. District Judge William Orrick in California in November blocked President Donald Trump's executive order nationwide that cut funds to sanctuary cities, saying Trump can't set new conditions on spending OK'd by Congress.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>This story has been corrected to show that the judge's last name is spelled Leinenweber, not Leinenwebber.</p> | The Latest: Court hears arguments in sanctuary-cities case | false | https://apnews.com/amp/c9b890c85fb94762bf598c3d3b9eb778 | 2018-01-19 | 2least
| The Latest: Court hears arguments in sanctuary-cities case
<p>CHICAGO (AP) — The Latest on an appeal hearing in Chicago on the Trump administration's policy seeking to tie federal grants to enforcement of immigration laws (all times local):</p>
<p>11:15 a.m.</p>
<p>Oral arguments before an appeals court have focused on whether President Donald Trump's administration was overstepping its authority by withholding public safety grants from sanctuary cities, such as Chicago, unless they fully enforce immigration laws.</p>
<p>The case before a three-judge panel at the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday stems from a city of Chicago lawsuit. The Justice Department appealed to the Chicago-based 7th Circuit in a bid to reverse a lower-court ruling temporarily freezing the policy. That freeze applies nationally.</p>
<p>Judge Ilana Rovner asked if the Trump administration was unduly expanding its powers at the expense of states' rights. She suggested it was by threatening to withhold grants and "conscripting" city police to enforce federal laws.</p>
<p>Government lawyers argued the administration has authority to apply that pressure.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>9:50 a.m.</p>
<p>An appeals court will hear arguments on a Trump administration request to reverse a lower-court ruling temporarily freezing its policy of withholding public-safety grants from sanctuary cities that don't fully enforce immigration laws.</p>
<p>The hearing Friday at the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals focuses on whether the administration exceeded its authority in setting new conditions not in legislation establishing the program. The case stems from a Chicago lawsuit.</p>
<p>U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber's freeze applies to all 50 states. The Trump administration says, at worst, it should only apply to Chicago.</p>
<p>In a related case, U.S. District Judge William Orrick in California in November blocked President Donald Trump's executive order nationwide that cut funds to sanctuary cities, saying Trump can't set new conditions on spending OK'd by Congress.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>This story has been corrected to show that the judge's last name is spelled Leinenweber, not Leinenwebber.</p>
<p>CHICAGO (AP) — The Latest on an appeal hearing in Chicago on the Trump administration's policy seeking to tie federal grants to enforcement of immigration laws (all times local):</p>
<p>11:15 a.m.</p>
<p>Oral arguments before an appeals court have focused on whether President Donald Trump's administration was overstepping its authority by withholding public safety grants from sanctuary cities, such as Chicago, unless they fully enforce immigration laws.</p>
<p>The case before a three-judge panel at the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday stems from a city of Chicago lawsuit. The Justice Department appealed to the Chicago-based 7th Circuit in a bid to reverse a lower-court ruling temporarily freezing the policy. That freeze applies nationally.</p>
<p>Judge Ilana Rovner asked if the Trump administration was unduly expanding its powers at the expense of states' rights. She suggested it was by threatening to withhold grants and "conscripting" city police to enforce federal laws.</p>
<p>Government lawyers argued the administration has authority to apply that pressure.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>9:50 a.m.</p>
<p>An appeals court will hear arguments on a Trump administration request to reverse a lower-court ruling temporarily freezing its policy of withholding public-safety grants from sanctuary cities that don't fully enforce immigration laws.</p>
<p>The hearing Friday at the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals focuses on whether the administration exceeded its authority in setting new conditions not in legislation establishing the program. The case stems from a Chicago lawsuit.</p>
<p>U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber's freeze applies to all 50 states. The Trump administration says, at worst, it should only apply to Chicago.</p>
<p>In a related case, U.S. District Judge William Orrick in California in November blocked President Donald Trump's executive order nationwide that cut funds to sanctuary cities, saying Trump can't set new conditions on spending OK'd by Congress.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>This story has been corrected to show that the judge's last name is spelled Leinenweber, not Leinenwebber.</p> | 2,475 |
<p>Ramesshwar Kuchankar decided that the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee was where he would take his own life. He did, on November 28 in Panderkauda, Yavatmal. Ten days later, Dinesh Ghughul was shot dead by the police at the Wani cotton market in the same district. And Pundalik Girsawle walked into the premises of the agricultural officer, Wani, and killed himself there 12 days after Ghughul’s death.</p>
<p>Kuchankar was 27, Ghughul was 38, and Girsawle 45. Different people in several ways. Yet they represent the same new – and growing – trend in Vidharbha’s farm deaths [in the state of Maharashtra, east of Mumbai]. More and more such farmers are directly blaming state policy – not drought or floods – for their misery. Some confront the Government in tragic ways. Where Girsawle and Kuchankar chose to commit suicide was in itself a statement. And for some months now, the suicide notes of farmers are talking directly to Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and even to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.</p>
<p>“Don’t blame my family for my action,” says the suicide note of young Kuchankar. “I will never forgive anybody who does.” He perhaps foresaw a standard government explanation of farm suicides: “family dispute.” And in one poignant sentence, addresses the 19-year-old girl he had wed just six months ago: “Pratibha, I am sorry. Please get remarried.” He blames the procurement price for cotton as the source of farmers’ distress. “We are fed up with the delay in procurement and crashing prices. This will further aggravate the situation.”</p>
<p>His message to Mr. Deshmukh: “Mr. Chief Minister give us the price.” And to Home Minister R.R. Patil “if you do not give us a price of Rs.3,000 per quintal, suicides will surge.” Kuchankar wrote: “The cotton price has fallen to Rs.1,990 a quintal. We cannot manage with that. Which is why I am giving up my life.” The suicide note is a bunch of anguished scribbles across a sheet of paper.</p>
<p>Pundalik Girsawle chose the Agricultural Office in Wani to make his point. He was seeking Rs.4,800 to buy a bullock cart under the Prime Minister’s relief package. He had seen four years of crop failure. His home being close to the Tejapur forest, wild animals devastated his fields. Household health expenses were rising. He sought the agricultural officer’s aid.</p>
<p>“He went to that office 15 times,” his mother Parvatabai told us in Tejapur. “Look, he even sold one of the doors he had bought for this house. Why? To pay for his frequent bus tickets to Wani. But someone there demanded a bribe. When he threatened to commit suicide, they told him `you do what you like.’ He was shattered.” He chose that very office as the site of his suicide.</p>
<p>Neighbours allege that the cheque for some Rs.4,400 [approx 45 rupees to US$1] found on his body “was planted there to cover up the racket his suicide exposed.” His five-member family now depends on the Rs.30 his widow Sunita brings in on those days she can find work. “What happens to Pundalik’s three daughters,” asks Parvatabai. They are aged 14, 12, and 10. Meanwhile, officials declared it a “non-distress” suicide. A view echoed in sections of the media that had never been to the village or met his family.</p>
<p>“There is no way the government can record these two as farm suicides,” says Kishore Tiwari of the Vidharbha Jan Andolan Samiti. “Acceptance would highlight their words and actions – which directly implicate and expose the government and its policies. Hence they have to be called fake and the families denied compensation.”</p>
<p>In August the suicide note of cotton grower Ramakrishna Lonkar in Wardha district had made news. “After the Prime Minister’s visit and announcements of a fresh crop loan, I thought I could live again,” Lonkar wrote. But, he concluded, he found nothing had changed on the credit front. Or on other policies. The same month saw Sahebrao Adhao of Amravati district paint a picture of usury, debt, and land-grab in his suicide note. Yet again, a victim had captured the failure of both system and policy in writing.</p>
<p>“This trend now causes huge trouble for the government,” says Mr. Tiwari. “All the cover-ups and paid-for bogus `studies’ finding other causes for the deaths are destroyed when the farmer explains in detail why he is killing himself. And points a finger at the government’s wrong policies.”</p>
<p>Dinesh Ghughul’s case is more complex. “He was not part of the protests that burst out in Wani that day,” says his widow Savita at their home in Mendoli village. Huge delays in cotton procurement angered farmers. Just 56 procurement centres were at work where there had been 300 three years ago. In the chaos that followed, Ghughul fell to police bullets. “He went to Wani to sell his cotton. Why kill him for that,” she asked Mr. R.R. Patil. “He told me, `what has happened has happened. But now let us help you and your family.'” The huge public anger meant this family got some compensation for the loss of its bread-winner. But it is in bad shape. And it has only an APL card. The family feels the protest that led to his death was a statement. That it captured his own plight even if he was not part of it.</p>
<p>Farmers’ suicides in Vidharbha go on relentlessly. The first three weeks of January saw over 50. The State Government’s own website has conceded over 1,400 suicides in just six districts of the region during 2006. However, the figures are kept down by increasing, each month, the “rate of rejection” of suicides. That is, the government argues that most of these suicides are not due to agrarian distress but “other causes.” Such as family disputes, drunkenness, and the like.</p>
<p>Rejecting most of the deaths as “not eligible” for compensation helps “slow down” the number of suicides. On paper at least. The VJAS points out that the “rejection rate” has risen every month since the Prime Minister’s visit last June. “And yet,” says Mr. Tiwari, “the suicides go up. Just look at their own total figure.” The government’s website concedes — on the basis of the biggest ever survey done in Vidharbha which covered close to ten million farmers — that over three qarters of these are in distress in these six districts. And that nearly two million are in “maximum distress.” That distress is showing. And the farmers taking their own lives are making no secret of who they blame for it.</p>
<p>P. SAINATH is the rural affairs editor of The Hindu (where this piece initially ran) and the author of Everybody Loves a Good Drought. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Two Million in "Maximum Distress" | true | https://counterpunch.org/2007/02/24/two-million-in-quot-maximum-distress-quot/ | 2007-02-24 | 4left
| Two Million in "Maximum Distress"
<p>Ramesshwar Kuchankar decided that the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee was where he would take his own life. He did, on November 28 in Panderkauda, Yavatmal. Ten days later, Dinesh Ghughul was shot dead by the police at the Wani cotton market in the same district. And Pundalik Girsawle walked into the premises of the agricultural officer, Wani, and killed himself there 12 days after Ghughul’s death.</p>
<p>Kuchankar was 27, Ghughul was 38, and Girsawle 45. Different people in several ways. Yet they represent the same new – and growing – trend in Vidharbha’s farm deaths [in the state of Maharashtra, east of Mumbai]. More and more such farmers are directly blaming state policy – not drought or floods – for their misery. Some confront the Government in tragic ways. Where Girsawle and Kuchankar chose to commit suicide was in itself a statement. And for some months now, the suicide notes of farmers are talking directly to Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and even to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.</p>
<p>“Don’t blame my family for my action,” says the suicide note of young Kuchankar. “I will never forgive anybody who does.” He perhaps foresaw a standard government explanation of farm suicides: “family dispute.” And in one poignant sentence, addresses the 19-year-old girl he had wed just six months ago: “Pratibha, I am sorry. Please get remarried.” He blames the procurement price for cotton as the source of farmers’ distress. “We are fed up with the delay in procurement and crashing prices. This will further aggravate the situation.”</p>
<p>His message to Mr. Deshmukh: “Mr. Chief Minister give us the price.” And to Home Minister R.R. Patil “if you do not give us a price of Rs.3,000 per quintal, suicides will surge.” Kuchankar wrote: “The cotton price has fallen to Rs.1,990 a quintal. We cannot manage with that. Which is why I am giving up my life.” The suicide note is a bunch of anguished scribbles across a sheet of paper.</p>
<p>Pundalik Girsawle chose the Agricultural Office in Wani to make his point. He was seeking Rs.4,800 to buy a bullock cart under the Prime Minister’s relief package. He had seen four years of crop failure. His home being close to the Tejapur forest, wild animals devastated his fields. Household health expenses were rising. He sought the agricultural officer’s aid.</p>
<p>“He went to that office 15 times,” his mother Parvatabai told us in Tejapur. “Look, he even sold one of the doors he had bought for this house. Why? To pay for his frequent bus tickets to Wani. But someone there demanded a bribe. When he threatened to commit suicide, they told him `you do what you like.’ He was shattered.” He chose that very office as the site of his suicide.</p>
<p>Neighbours allege that the cheque for some Rs.4,400 [approx 45 rupees to US$1] found on his body “was planted there to cover up the racket his suicide exposed.” His five-member family now depends on the Rs.30 his widow Sunita brings in on those days she can find work. “What happens to Pundalik’s three daughters,” asks Parvatabai. They are aged 14, 12, and 10. Meanwhile, officials declared it a “non-distress” suicide. A view echoed in sections of the media that had never been to the village or met his family.</p>
<p>“There is no way the government can record these two as farm suicides,” says Kishore Tiwari of the Vidharbha Jan Andolan Samiti. “Acceptance would highlight their words and actions – which directly implicate and expose the government and its policies. Hence they have to be called fake and the families denied compensation.”</p>
<p>In August the suicide note of cotton grower Ramakrishna Lonkar in Wardha district had made news. “After the Prime Minister’s visit and announcements of a fresh crop loan, I thought I could live again,” Lonkar wrote. But, he concluded, he found nothing had changed on the credit front. Or on other policies. The same month saw Sahebrao Adhao of Amravati district paint a picture of usury, debt, and land-grab in his suicide note. Yet again, a victim had captured the failure of both system and policy in writing.</p>
<p>“This trend now causes huge trouble for the government,” says Mr. Tiwari. “All the cover-ups and paid-for bogus `studies’ finding other causes for the deaths are destroyed when the farmer explains in detail why he is killing himself. And points a finger at the government’s wrong policies.”</p>
<p>Dinesh Ghughul’s case is more complex. “He was not part of the protests that burst out in Wani that day,” says his widow Savita at their home in Mendoli village. Huge delays in cotton procurement angered farmers. Just 56 procurement centres were at work where there had been 300 three years ago. In the chaos that followed, Ghughul fell to police bullets. “He went to Wani to sell his cotton. Why kill him for that,” she asked Mr. R.R. Patil. “He told me, `what has happened has happened. But now let us help you and your family.'” The huge public anger meant this family got some compensation for the loss of its bread-winner. But it is in bad shape. And it has only an APL card. The family feels the protest that led to his death was a statement. That it captured his own plight even if he was not part of it.</p>
<p>Farmers’ suicides in Vidharbha go on relentlessly. The first three weeks of January saw over 50. The State Government’s own website has conceded over 1,400 suicides in just six districts of the region during 2006. However, the figures are kept down by increasing, each month, the “rate of rejection” of suicides. That is, the government argues that most of these suicides are not due to agrarian distress but “other causes.” Such as family disputes, drunkenness, and the like.</p>
<p>Rejecting most of the deaths as “not eligible” for compensation helps “slow down” the number of suicides. On paper at least. The VJAS points out that the “rejection rate” has risen every month since the Prime Minister’s visit last June. “And yet,” says Mr. Tiwari, “the suicides go up. Just look at their own total figure.” The government’s website concedes — on the basis of the biggest ever survey done in Vidharbha which covered close to ten million farmers — that over three qarters of these are in distress in these six districts. And that nearly two million are in “maximum distress.” That distress is showing. And the farmers taking their own lives are making no secret of who they blame for it.</p>
<p>P. SAINATH is the rural affairs editor of The Hindu (where this piece initially ran) and the author of Everybody Loves a Good Drought. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 2,476 |
<p><a href="" type="internal">Mitt Romney</a> has at last vanquished <a href="" type="internal">his zombie opponents</a> and locked up the Republican presidential nomination. Polls <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/us/general_election_romney_vs_obama-1171.html" type="external">show Romney</a> eating away at President Obama’s lead in a head-to-head matchup, now at 3.3 percentage points, according to <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/us/general_election_romney_vs_obama-1171.html" type="external">RealClearPolitics‘ polling average</a>. When it comes to the <a href="" type="internal">campaign cash fight</a>, however, Obama is trouncing Romney, as new fundraising numbers from the first months of 2012 make clear.</p>
<p>Here’s the most eye-popping stat:&#160;By the end of March, Obama’s reelection effort had <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-04-21/obama-had-10-times-more-money-than-romney-for-campaign" type="external">10 times</a> more money in the bank than Romney’s campaign, $104.1 million to $10.1 million. Looking at the entire 2012 campaign, Obama’s haul is now at $196.6 million, while Romney’s is at $88.7 million. Below, we’ve visualized the January-to-March fundraising totals for the Obama and Romney campaigns, the Democratic and Republican National Committees, and a handful of key super-PACs. One takeaway: Democrats may be dominating the traditional campaign and party cash grab, but GOPers, <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0312/74506.html" type="external">led by Karl Rove</a>, are dominating the outside-money battle.</p>
<p /> | Obama Whomps Romney in 2012’s Campaign Cash Grab (So Far) | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2012/04/mitt-romney-barack-obama-fundraising-2012/ | 2012-04-23 | 4left
| Obama Whomps Romney in 2012’s Campaign Cash Grab (So Far)
<p><a href="" type="internal">Mitt Romney</a> has at last vanquished <a href="" type="internal">his zombie opponents</a> and locked up the Republican presidential nomination. Polls <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/us/general_election_romney_vs_obama-1171.html" type="external">show Romney</a> eating away at President Obama’s lead in a head-to-head matchup, now at 3.3 percentage points, according to <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/us/general_election_romney_vs_obama-1171.html" type="external">RealClearPolitics‘ polling average</a>. When it comes to the <a href="" type="internal">campaign cash fight</a>, however, Obama is trouncing Romney, as new fundraising numbers from the first months of 2012 make clear.</p>
<p>Here’s the most eye-popping stat:&#160;By the end of March, Obama’s reelection effort had <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-04-21/obama-had-10-times-more-money-than-romney-for-campaign" type="external">10 times</a> more money in the bank than Romney’s campaign, $104.1 million to $10.1 million. Looking at the entire 2012 campaign, Obama’s haul is now at $196.6 million, while Romney’s is at $88.7 million. Below, we’ve visualized the January-to-March fundraising totals for the Obama and Romney campaigns, the Democratic and Republican National Committees, and a handful of key super-PACs. One takeaway: Democrats may be dominating the traditional campaign and party cash grab, but GOPers, <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0312/74506.html" type="external">led by Karl Rove</a>, are dominating the outside-money battle.</p>
<p /> | 2,477 |
<p>Larry May has written a book on crimes against humanity that provides careful analysis of the core issues for anyone - whether lawyer, moral or political philosopher, or plain citizen - interested in this subject. The book is divided into four parts. In the first two, May explores the philosophical underpinnings of the concept of crimes against humanity, arguing for his own preferred version of it, and he examines some of the most relevant norms of international law. The third and fourth parts are then concerned with matters of (roughly) application: here he discusses, amongst other topics, difficulties in prosecuting individuals putatively responsible for crimes against humanity (including genocide), the idea of the international rule of law, and what there is to be said for amnesty and reconciliation programmes. Although there is much of interest in these later sections of the book, my review will focus on the argument of its first two parts: that is, on the philosophical case the author lays out and the normative principles central to it. His approach to thinking about crimes against humanity is, so I shall contend, at once instructive and flawed.</p>
<p>View the full article <a href="" type="internal">here</a></p> | Crimes Against Humanity: A Normative Account | true | https://dissentmagazine.org/democratiya_article/crimes-against-humanity-a-normative-account | 4left
| Crimes Against Humanity: A Normative Account
<p>Larry May has written a book on crimes against humanity that provides careful analysis of the core issues for anyone - whether lawyer, moral or political philosopher, or plain citizen - interested in this subject. The book is divided into four parts. In the first two, May explores the philosophical underpinnings of the concept of crimes against humanity, arguing for his own preferred version of it, and he examines some of the most relevant norms of international law. The third and fourth parts are then concerned with matters of (roughly) application: here he discusses, amongst other topics, difficulties in prosecuting individuals putatively responsible for crimes against humanity (including genocide), the idea of the international rule of law, and what there is to be said for amnesty and reconciliation programmes. Although there is much of interest in these later sections of the book, my review will focus on the argument of its first two parts: that is, on the philosophical case the author lays out and the normative principles central to it. His approach to thinking about crimes against humanity is, so I shall contend, at once instructive and flawed.</p>
<p>View the full article <a href="" type="internal">here</a></p> | 2,478 |
|
<p>Mourners, visitors and public figures converged in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania to observe the anniversary of Sept. 11 at or near the sites where the terrorist attacks took place six years ago.</p>
<p>The New York Times:</p>
<p>At 8:46 a.m., the moment the first plane struck the North Tower, a bell was sounded, as it has for six years now, and the gathered masses bowed their heads.</p>
<p>“On that day, we felt isolated, but not for long, and not from each other,” Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said. “New Yorkers rushed to the site, not knowing which place was safe or if there was more danger ahead. They weren’t sure of anything except that they had to be here. Six years have passed, and our place is still by your side.” In Washington, unlike previous anniversaries of the attack, President Bush spent the day in the city after attending a service at St. John’s Episcopal Church and holding a moment of silence on the South Lawn of the White House.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/12/nyregion/11service.html?_r=1&amp;hp&amp;oref=slogin" type="external">Read more</a></p> | Services Mark Sixth Anniversary of 9/11 | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/services-mark-sixth-anniversary-of-911/ | 2007-09-12 | 4left
| Services Mark Sixth Anniversary of 9/11
<p>Mourners, visitors and public figures converged in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania to observe the anniversary of Sept. 11 at or near the sites where the terrorist attacks took place six years ago.</p>
<p>The New York Times:</p>
<p>At 8:46 a.m., the moment the first plane struck the North Tower, a bell was sounded, as it has for six years now, and the gathered masses bowed their heads.</p>
<p>“On that day, we felt isolated, but not for long, and not from each other,” Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said. “New Yorkers rushed to the site, not knowing which place was safe or if there was more danger ahead. They weren’t sure of anything except that they had to be here. Six years have passed, and our place is still by your side.” In Washington, unlike previous anniversaries of the attack, President Bush spent the day in the city after attending a service at St. John’s Episcopal Church and holding a moment of silence on the South Lawn of the White House.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/12/nyregion/11service.html?_r=1&amp;hp&amp;oref=slogin" type="external">Read more</a></p> | 2,479 |
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<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Kids are off for a week. What to do?</p>
<p>The Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum, 9201 Balloon Museum Drive NE, is hosting “Spring Break Family Day” from 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesday, March 13. The event is a great time to learn about flight, from the balloons that fill Albuquerque’s skies to the kites that dance in the spring winds. The fun includes family entertainment, balloon artists, kite-making workshops and, if the weather permits, a remote-controlled balloon demonstration.</p>
<p>Admission is $4 adults, $3 New Mexico residents with valid ID, $1 children ages 4-12 and free for children 3 and under. Balloon Museum Foundation Members receive free admission, too.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Spring break fun for the family | false | https://abqjournal.com/175793/spring-break-fun-for-the-family.html | 2013-03-08 | 2least
| Spring break fun for the family
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<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Kids are off for a week. What to do?</p>
<p>The Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum, 9201 Balloon Museum Drive NE, is hosting “Spring Break Family Day” from 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesday, March 13. The event is a great time to learn about flight, from the balloons that fill Albuquerque’s skies to the kites that dance in the spring winds. The fun includes family entertainment, balloon artists, kite-making workshops and, if the weather permits, a remote-controlled balloon demonstration.</p>
<p>Admission is $4 adults, $3 New Mexico residents with valid ID, $1 children ages 4-12 and free for children 3 and under. Balloon Museum Foundation Members receive free admission, too.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 2,480 |
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<p />
<p>New Mexico State University bee expert Carol Sutherland recently provided the answer: “They were Africanized, all right.”</p>
<p>Samples of dead bees were collected by Doña Ana County horticulture extension agent Jeff Anderson, who in turn gave them to Sutherland. They were sent for genetic testing at Oklahoma State University.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The bees attacked the crew on July 18, as workers attempted to remove a dead cottonwood tree on the property of the historic Alameda House. Authorities shut down a section of nearby Alameda Boulevard for the better part of a day, as part of the incident response. And nearby residents were urged to stay indoors until the bees settled down.</p>
<p>“We were lucky to get a sample of bees from this incident,” Sutherland said. “Usually, taking a sample is the last thing anyone wants to do after a bee incident.”</p>
<p>Two workers were hospitalized. A 52-year-old man suffered numerous stings and was listed at first in “critical but stable” condition. He recovered. A second 30-year-old man was released from the hospital the same day.</p>
<p>On the day of the bee attack, Anderson said he was alerted as part of the county’s emergency response network.</p>
<p>Authorities were seeking expertise about how best to deal with the bees. A day later, the owner of the property collected some of the bees and gave them to Anderson.</p>
<p>With the aggressiveness of the attack and the numbers that swarmed the tree cutter, Anderson said he suspected the insects were the Africanized bees.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“It was a pretty dangerous situation,” he said.</p>
<p>Sutherland has said the hazard of Africanized honey bees stems from the intensity of the attack. They tend to pursue a victim more relentlessly and in greater numbers than their counterparts, European honey bees.</p>
<p>The venom of Africanized bees isn’t more potent than other bees, but, because they sting in greater numbers, the overall amount can overwhelm a person’s body, experts said.</p>
<p>For people who are allergic, even a single sting from a European bee can cause serious problems, Anderson said.</p>
<p>The two types of bees have a similar physical appearance, and genetic testing is the best way to tell them apart. — This article appeared on page C1 of the Albuquerque Journal</p> | Test shows bees in July attack in Las Cruces were Africanized | false | https://abqjournal.com/155965/test-shows-bees-in-july-attack-in-las-cruces-were-africanized.html | 2012-12-27 | 2least
| Test shows bees in July attack in Las Cruces were Africanized
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<p />
<p>New Mexico State University bee expert Carol Sutherland recently provided the answer: “They were Africanized, all right.”</p>
<p>Samples of dead bees were collected by Doña Ana County horticulture extension agent Jeff Anderson, who in turn gave them to Sutherland. They were sent for genetic testing at Oklahoma State University.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The bees attacked the crew on July 18, as workers attempted to remove a dead cottonwood tree on the property of the historic Alameda House. Authorities shut down a section of nearby Alameda Boulevard for the better part of a day, as part of the incident response. And nearby residents were urged to stay indoors until the bees settled down.</p>
<p>“We were lucky to get a sample of bees from this incident,” Sutherland said. “Usually, taking a sample is the last thing anyone wants to do after a bee incident.”</p>
<p>Two workers were hospitalized. A 52-year-old man suffered numerous stings and was listed at first in “critical but stable” condition. He recovered. A second 30-year-old man was released from the hospital the same day.</p>
<p>On the day of the bee attack, Anderson said he was alerted as part of the county’s emergency response network.</p>
<p>Authorities were seeking expertise about how best to deal with the bees. A day later, the owner of the property collected some of the bees and gave them to Anderson.</p>
<p>With the aggressiveness of the attack and the numbers that swarmed the tree cutter, Anderson said he suspected the insects were the Africanized bees.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“It was a pretty dangerous situation,” he said.</p>
<p>Sutherland has said the hazard of Africanized honey bees stems from the intensity of the attack. They tend to pursue a victim more relentlessly and in greater numbers than their counterparts, European honey bees.</p>
<p>The venom of Africanized bees isn’t more potent than other bees, but, because they sting in greater numbers, the overall amount can overwhelm a person’s body, experts said.</p>
<p>For people who are allergic, even a single sting from a European bee can cause serious problems, Anderson said.</p>
<p>The two types of bees have a similar physical appearance, and genetic testing is the best way to tell them apart. — This article appeared on page C1 of the Albuquerque Journal</p> | 2,481 |
<p />
<p>Apple Inc (NASDAQ:APPL) has asked the Indian government to extend tax breaks to its suppliers if India seeks to become a manufacturing hub for iPhones and its components.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Government officials say meeting this request would require a new policy that applies fairly to other device makers, too.</p>
<p>The U.S. tech giant has been in talks with Indian officials since May of last year, when CEO Tim Cook and Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to set up a production base in the country that goes beyond just assembling the devices, as happens today.</p>
<p>The two sides have been discussing a list of "prerequisites" that Apple submitted in October, including duty exemption on raw materials for manufacturing components and capital equipment for 15 years for it to make iPhones from scratch in India.</p>
<p>The company has told the government it would be bringing in a host of these ancillary units when it sets up operations to cater to India, one of the world's fastest growing smartphone markets, a top government official said.</p>
<p>"They want the same treatment to be given to the component manufacturers; the tax concessions, they want everything. But then some kind of policy will have to be evolved," the official said.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Apple declined to comment.</p>
<p>The demand could further delay Apple's plans to penetrate the Indian market, the world's third largest for smartphones behind the United States and China, but where it has only a 2 percent share.</p>
<p>The company is looking to India after sales in the Greater China region, once a major growth driver, slid 14 percent year-on-year to $10.7 billion in the three months ended April 1.</p>
<p>In May, Apple, working with Taiwanese contract manufacturer Winstron, began assembling the iPhone SE in Bengaluru.</p>
<p>The plan that Modi and Cook ordered the two sides to work on, however, envisages manufacturing a full range of iPhones for the domestic market, as well as for export.</p>
<p>Ecosystem for Handsets</p>
<p>For India, which would only be the second iPhone production center after China, such an investment would be a big win for Modi's Make-in-India campaign.</p>
<p>It would also spawn a vast network of suppliers, in the way that India's auto ancillary sector took off to feed Maruti Suzuki India's (MRTI.NS) production line over three decades ago.</p>
<p>Another official, who has led efforts to secure foreign investment in the manufacturing sector, said Apple's proposal to build its phones in India was being examined favorably by the government.</p>
<p>"My view is that India needs to support Apple to create an ecosystem, which was done for Maruti. This helped to build the automobile and auto component industry in India," the official said, seeking anonymity in line with government policy.</p>
<p>"Initial support will pay rich dividends in the long run and facilitate innovation, design and manufacturing of electronics components in India," the official added.</p>
<p>Apple competitors such as South Korea's Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and China's Oppo could also benefit from a broader policy review as they, too, currently have predominantly assembly operations in India.</p>
<p>Another government official familiar with the matter said it would be difficult for India to agree to Apple's request for a customs holiday for just its own operations in India.</p>
<p>Customs duties have already been slashed in order to make India a hub for handset assembly lines, the official said.</p>
<p>That move has encouraged phone makers to set up such facilities in India, and so the duty structure cannot be changed for one company, the official said.</p>
<p>Reporting by Sanjeev Miglani and Paritosh Bansal, with additional reporting by Sankalp Phartiyal in MUMBAI and Rajesh Kumar Singh in NEW DELHI; Editing by Ian Geoghegan</p> | Apple seeks tax breaks for suppliers to make iPhones in India: sources | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/08/01/apple-seeks-tax-breaks-for-suppliers-to-make-iphones-in-india-sources.html | 2017-08-01 | 0right
| Apple seeks tax breaks for suppliers to make iPhones in India: sources
<p />
<p>Apple Inc (NASDAQ:APPL) has asked the Indian government to extend tax breaks to its suppliers if India seeks to become a manufacturing hub for iPhones and its components.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Government officials say meeting this request would require a new policy that applies fairly to other device makers, too.</p>
<p>The U.S. tech giant has been in talks with Indian officials since May of last year, when CEO Tim Cook and Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to set up a production base in the country that goes beyond just assembling the devices, as happens today.</p>
<p>The two sides have been discussing a list of "prerequisites" that Apple submitted in October, including duty exemption on raw materials for manufacturing components and capital equipment for 15 years for it to make iPhones from scratch in India.</p>
<p>The company has told the government it would be bringing in a host of these ancillary units when it sets up operations to cater to India, one of the world's fastest growing smartphone markets, a top government official said.</p>
<p>"They want the same treatment to be given to the component manufacturers; the tax concessions, they want everything. But then some kind of policy will have to be evolved," the official said.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Apple declined to comment.</p>
<p>The demand could further delay Apple's plans to penetrate the Indian market, the world's third largest for smartphones behind the United States and China, but where it has only a 2 percent share.</p>
<p>The company is looking to India after sales in the Greater China region, once a major growth driver, slid 14 percent year-on-year to $10.7 billion in the three months ended April 1.</p>
<p>In May, Apple, working with Taiwanese contract manufacturer Winstron, began assembling the iPhone SE in Bengaluru.</p>
<p>The plan that Modi and Cook ordered the two sides to work on, however, envisages manufacturing a full range of iPhones for the domestic market, as well as for export.</p>
<p>Ecosystem for Handsets</p>
<p>For India, which would only be the second iPhone production center after China, such an investment would be a big win for Modi's Make-in-India campaign.</p>
<p>It would also spawn a vast network of suppliers, in the way that India's auto ancillary sector took off to feed Maruti Suzuki India's (MRTI.NS) production line over three decades ago.</p>
<p>Another official, who has led efforts to secure foreign investment in the manufacturing sector, said Apple's proposal to build its phones in India was being examined favorably by the government.</p>
<p>"My view is that India needs to support Apple to create an ecosystem, which was done for Maruti. This helped to build the automobile and auto component industry in India," the official said, seeking anonymity in line with government policy.</p>
<p>"Initial support will pay rich dividends in the long run and facilitate innovation, design and manufacturing of electronics components in India," the official added.</p>
<p>Apple competitors such as South Korea's Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and China's Oppo could also benefit from a broader policy review as they, too, currently have predominantly assembly operations in India.</p>
<p>Another government official familiar with the matter said it would be difficult for India to agree to Apple's request for a customs holiday for just its own operations in India.</p>
<p>Customs duties have already been slashed in order to make India a hub for handset assembly lines, the official said.</p>
<p>That move has encouraged phone makers to set up such facilities in India, and so the duty structure cannot be changed for one company, the official said.</p>
<p>Reporting by Sanjeev Miglani and Paritosh Bansal, with additional reporting by Sankalp Phartiyal in MUMBAI and Rajesh Kumar Singh in NEW DELHI; Editing by Ian Geoghegan</p> | 2,482 |
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>“He must be removed from the stage of history, ” said the Israeli Defense Minister the other day in regards to Yassir Arafat. He went on to say that the world now considers Minister Abbas the leader of Palestine. This statement got me to wondering if this world that recognized Mr. Abbas was the same world that recognized that the war in Iraq was over. Or maybe it’s the world that thinks George Bush was honestly elected to the office he now holds. Then again, it could be the world that is convinced that the globalization of capitalism is helping the poor people of the world get rich.</p>
<p>All I know is it’s not the world I live in. I’ve never been a fan of Mr. Arafat, mostly because I’ve always disliked his nationalist politics that border on the reactionary. In addition, his early support of terror as a political/military tactic has always seemed morally questionable and politically ignorant. Furthermore, his distaste for the grassroots that appears at times to be based on a fundamental mistrust has helped to keep the Palestinian people in the morass they are in. Indeed, it could be argued that this apparent mistrust is a fundamental reason his branch of the Palestinian movement chose terror as a military strategy. Nonetheless, he does represent a substantial portion of the Palestinian’s hopes in today’s world, which is exactly why the Israeli government would love to render him irrelevant. If their words don’t do so, one wonders what their next move might be. Whatever it turns out to be, it won’t be pretty.</p>
<p>Americans and Israelis who support their respective governments are in for a rude awakening. Military occupations do not foster docility. Even the Nazis faced constant resistance. It’s our present day shame that the government claiming to represent the people most hated by the Nazis (Israel) and the government (U.S.) who did much to free them and their compatriots from their hell are now the governments most often compared to their former enemy.</p>
<p>I receive responses to my commentaries and articles from people around the world. Besides those who write only to threaten my person and attack my masculinity, there are a number from folks who opposed the US war on Iraq and other parts of the world but disagree with my call for an immediate withdrawal of all US forces. Their usual reasons for their opposition include the fear of potential chaos and a return of Saddam Hussein. None of them address the fact that it is the Iraqis who are demanding that the US pull out of their country. That fact should be reason enough. The US was not invited in, nor was it invited to stay after it finished its blitzkrieg attack. Indeed, the resistance to its presence is greater now than at that time. Not only is it greater, but it is growing increasingly more deadly, just like in the West Bank and Gaza, which has been occupied by Israel for more than thirty-five years. You’d think we would learn.</p>
<p>The arrogance implicit in Israel’s stance regarding Arafat is also present in the rhetoric of the regime in Washington, DC. Now that they see their Iraq strategy stumbling badly–so badly, in fact, that it could ruin their hopes of another four years of their reign–they have made statements to the effect that they would like other governments to commit troops to the colonization of Iraq. Despite the US newspaper headlines implying that these new troops would be under UN control, this is not the case. Indeed, if one reads the statements from the US administration one thing will be immediately clear. I quote the Washington Post: “What remains key is that the US remain in charge of the operation,” a senior defense official said. Any government who honestly believes that their soldiers will be anything but substitute targets for the GIs the resistance would rather be shooting at is beyond foolish. One can only assume that these regimes are hoping to get some substantial crumbs from the Empire’s table in return for the sacrifice of their citizens. History tells us otherwise, but it also tells us that governments are only too free with the lives of those poor souls who fill their militaries.</p>
<p>The government of Bush and Oberfuehrer Rumsfeld has no intention of sharing the military command, the colonial government, or the oil of Iraq with any other nation or people, including the Iraqis. This has been clear since well before the war in Iraq. Despite this, there are some governments in the world who would like to be involved in this imperial folly. The only way their megalomania will be stopped is if the people of every nation make it clear to their governments that collaboration with the Bush regime will mean their removal from the stage of history. Who knows, but Tony Blair may be able to explain this better than I can in a couple more weeks. One can only hope.</p>
<p>RON JACOBS is author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1859841678/counterpunchmaga" type="external">The Way the Wind Blew: a history of the Weather Underground</a>.</p>
<p>He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | The Stage of History | true | https://counterpunch.org/2003/09/05/the-stage-of-history/ | 2003-09-05 | 4left
| The Stage of History
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>“He must be removed from the stage of history, ” said the Israeli Defense Minister the other day in regards to Yassir Arafat. He went on to say that the world now considers Minister Abbas the leader of Palestine. This statement got me to wondering if this world that recognized Mr. Abbas was the same world that recognized that the war in Iraq was over. Or maybe it’s the world that thinks George Bush was honestly elected to the office he now holds. Then again, it could be the world that is convinced that the globalization of capitalism is helping the poor people of the world get rich.</p>
<p>All I know is it’s not the world I live in. I’ve never been a fan of Mr. Arafat, mostly because I’ve always disliked his nationalist politics that border on the reactionary. In addition, his early support of terror as a political/military tactic has always seemed morally questionable and politically ignorant. Furthermore, his distaste for the grassroots that appears at times to be based on a fundamental mistrust has helped to keep the Palestinian people in the morass they are in. Indeed, it could be argued that this apparent mistrust is a fundamental reason his branch of the Palestinian movement chose terror as a military strategy. Nonetheless, he does represent a substantial portion of the Palestinian’s hopes in today’s world, which is exactly why the Israeli government would love to render him irrelevant. If their words don’t do so, one wonders what their next move might be. Whatever it turns out to be, it won’t be pretty.</p>
<p>Americans and Israelis who support their respective governments are in for a rude awakening. Military occupations do not foster docility. Even the Nazis faced constant resistance. It’s our present day shame that the government claiming to represent the people most hated by the Nazis (Israel) and the government (U.S.) who did much to free them and their compatriots from their hell are now the governments most often compared to their former enemy.</p>
<p>I receive responses to my commentaries and articles from people around the world. Besides those who write only to threaten my person and attack my masculinity, there are a number from folks who opposed the US war on Iraq and other parts of the world but disagree with my call for an immediate withdrawal of all US forces. Their usual reasons for their opposition include the fear of potential chaos and a return of Saddam Hussein. None of them address the fact that it is the Iraqis who are demanding that the US pull out of their country. That fact should be reason enough. The US was not invited in, nor was it invited to stay after it finished its blitzkrieg attack. Indeed, the resistance to its presence is greater now than at that time. Not only is it greater, but it is growing increasingly more deadly, just like in the West Bank and Gaza, which has been occupied by Israel for more than thirty-five years. You’d think we would learn.</p>
<p>The arrogance implicit in Israel’s stance regarding Arafat is also present in the rhetoric of the regime in Washington, DC. Now that they see their Iraq strategy stumbling badly–so badly, in fact, that it could ruin their hopes of another four years of their reign–they have made statements to the effect that they would like other governments to commit troops to the colonization of Iraq. Despite the US newspaper headlines implying that these new troops would be under UN control, this is not the case. Indeed, if one reads the statements from the US administration one thing will be immediately clear. I quote the Washington Post: “What remains key is that the US remain in charge of the operation,” a senior defense official said. Any government who honestly believes that their soldiers will be anything but substitute targets for the GIs the resistance would rather be shooting at is beyond foolish. One can only assume that these regimes are hoping to get some substantial crumbs from the Empire’s table in return for the sacrifice of their citizens. History tells us otherwise, but it also tells us that governments are only too free with the lives of those poor souls who fill their militaries.</p>
<p>The government of Bush and Oberfuehrer Rumsfeld has no intention of sharing the military command, the colonial government, or the oil of Iraq with any other nation or people, including the Iraqis. This has been clear since well before the war in Iraq. Despite this, there are some governments in the world who would like to be involved in this imperial folly. The only way their megalomania will be stopped is if the people of every nation make it clear to their governments that collaboration with the Bush regime will mean their removal from the stage of history. Who knows, but Tony Blair may be able to explain this better than I can in a couple more weeks. One can only hope.</p>
<p>RON JACOBS is author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1859841678/counterpunchmaga" type="external">The Way the Wind Blew: a history of the Weather Underground</a>.</p>
<p>He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 2,483 |
<p />
<p>Beer and wine giant Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ) will announce its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings results on Thursday, April 6. Its stock has trailed the market over the past 12 months but outperfomed broader indexes over a longer time horizon. In the past five years, Constellation Brands has gained 600%, compared to an approximately 70% increase for the S&amp;P 500.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Below, we'll take a close look at three major indicators that investors should watch on Thursday as signs that the company's long-term momentum is on track.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Sales grew at a double-digit pace through the first three quarters of the year, and the biggest contributor to that progress has been surging beer sales. Constellation Brands owns the rights to Corona, the most popular imported beer in the U.S., in addition to a few other hit franchises such as Modelo and Pacifico. Together these brands make the company the leader in the premium imported-beer segment.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Beer sales rose 16% last quarter (compared to a 5% boost for wine) as the company soaked up more market share from rivals like Anheuser-Busch InBev, which posted a slight decline in its global beer volume in early March but also enjoyed strong growth in its Stella Artois U.S. import. InBev is targeting the premium beer segment that has produced some of the best gains for Constellation Brands, and this week, investors will get an update on just how well those brands are holding up to the increased competition.</p>
<p>Constellation Brands executives are projecting the beer business to expand by between 16% and 17% for the fiscal year, while the wine and spirits segments will rise at about half that pace.</p>
<p>As encouraging as market share gains can be, they're even more exciting when paired with rising average prices. And that's exactly what Constellation Brands has achieved lately. Despite increased marketing spending, earnings bounced higher by 12% last quarter as operating margin ticked up 40 basis points to 29.4% of sales.</p>
<p>Executives plan to keep growing profitability, which already matches AB InBev's comparable figure. To that end, CEO Rob Sands and his team recently sold off their Canadian wine business as part of that strategy, as Sands put it, "to focus on premium, margin accretive, growth opportunities."</p>
<p>Image source: Constellation Brands.</p>
<p>Unlike its massive global rivals, Constellation Brands has more room to drive its results through acquisitions. Its $3 billion, 2013 deal with AB InBev for the U.S. rights to the Corona and Modelo brands proved pivotal to its recent growth. While opportunities of that magnitude don't come along very often, management has kept up that strategy with several smaller purchases, including last quarter's acquisition of Charles Smith Wines and the High West Distillery.</p>
<p>Constellation Brands is also shelling out billions expanding its production capacity -- especially in the premium Mexican beer category -- and those investments should begin paying dividends over the next few years through steadily rising sales volumes and improving operating margin.</p>
<p>The company will likely provide a detailed outlook for fiscal 2017 that includes projections for sales and profits, as well as operating cash flow and capital expenditures. An aggressive volume forecast that predicts another year of gains in the mid-single digits should help put some bullish momentum behind the stock. Alternatively, if Constellation Brands sees sales or profit growth slowing due to rising competitive threats, the recent slowdown will likely continue.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Constellation BrandsWhen 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=fa1ad3a7-ab1b-4770-8180-9086f8747b6a&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 Constellation Brands 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=fa1ad3a7-ab1b-4770-8180-9086f8747b6a&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of February 6, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFSigma/info.aspx" type="external">Demitrios Kalogeropoulos Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Anheuser-Busch InBev NV. 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> | What to Watch When Constellation Brands Inc. Posts Earnings This Week | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/04/03/what-to-watch-when-constellation-brands-inc-posts-earnings-this-week.html | 2017-04-03 | 0right
| What to Watch When Constellation Brands Inc. Posts Earnings This Week
<p />
<p>Beer and wine giant Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ) will announce its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings results on Thursday, April 6. Its stock has trailed the market over the past 12 months but outperfomed broader indexes over a longer time horizon. In the past five years, Constellation Brands has gained 600%, compared to an approximately 70% increase for the S&amp;P 500.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Below, we'll take a close look at three major indicators that investors should watch on Thursday as signs that the company's long-term momentum is on track.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Sales grew at a double-digit pace through the first three quarters of the year, and the biggest contributor to that progress has been surging beer sales. Constellation Brands owns the rights to Corona, the most popular imported beer in the U.S., in addition to a few other hit franchises such as Modelo and Pacifico. Together these brands make the company the leader in the premium imported-beer segment.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Beer sales rose 16% last quarter (compared to a 5% boost for wine) as the company soaked up more market share from rivals like Anheuser-Busch InBev, which posted a slight decline in its global beer volume in early March but also enjoyed strong growth in its Stella Artois U.S. import. InBev is targeting the premium beer segment that has produced some of the best gains for Constellation Brands, and this week, investors will get an update on just how well those brands are holding up to the increased competition.</p>
<p>Constellation Brands executives are projecting the beer business to expand by between 16% and 17% for the fiscal year, while the wine and spirits segments will rise at about half that pace.</p>
<p>As encouraging as market share gains can be, they're even more exciting when paired with rising average prices. And that's exactly what Constellation Brands has achieved lately. Despite increased marketing spending, earnings bounced higher by 12% last quarter as operating margin ticked up 40 basis points to 29.4% of sales.</p>
<p>Executives plan to keep growing profitability, which already matches AB InBev's comparable figure. To that end, CEO Rob Sands and his team recently sold off their Canadian wine business as part of that strategy, as Sands put it, "to focus on premium, margin accretive, growth opportunities."</p>
<p>Image source: Constellation Brands.</p>
<p>Unlike its massive global rivals, Constellation Brands has more room to drive its results through acquisitions. Its $3 billion, 2013 deal with AB InBev for the U.S. rights to the Corona and Modelo brands proved pivotal to its recent growth. While opportunities of that magnitude don't come along very often, management has kept up that strategy with several smaller purchases, including last quarter's acquisition of Charles Smith Wines and the High West Distillery.</p>
<p>Constellation Brands is also shelling out billions expanding its production capacity -- especially in the premium Mexican beer category -- and those investments should begin paying dividends over the next few years through steadily rising sales volumes and improving operating margin.</p>
<p>The company will likely provide a detailed outlook for fiscal 2017 that includes projections for sales and profits, as well as operating cash flow and capital expenditures. An aggressive volume forecast that predicts another year of gains in the mid-single digits should help put some bullish momentum behind the stock. Alternatively, if Constellation Brands sees sales or profit growth slowing due to rising competitive threats, the recent slowdown will likely continue.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Constellation BrandsWhen 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=fa1ad3a7-ab1b-4770-8180-9086f8747b6a&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 Constellation Brands 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=fa1ad3a7-ab1b-4770-8180-9086f8747b6a&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of February 6, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFSigma/info.aspx" type="external">Demitrios Kalogeropoulos Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Anheuser-Busch InBev NV. 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> | 2,484 |
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<p />
<p><a href="https://d3el53au0d7w62.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Marvel-08-08-13.jpg" type="external" />The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan agreed with a lower court judge who denied claims by the family of Jack Kirby, the legendary artist who died in 1994 and whose work spanned more than half a century.</p>
<p>Kirby’s heirs in California and New York wanted to terminate Marvel’s copyrights from 2014 through 2019 to comics published from 1958 to 1963.</p>
<p>Marvel Worldwide Inc. sued in January 2010 to prevent it, leading U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon in July 2011 to conclude the work was done “for hire,” a legal term that rendered the heirs’ claims invalid.</p>
<p>She said the 1909 copyright law that applies to the case presumed that Marvel was considered the author and owner of Kirby’s creations because the characters were made at Marvel’s expense.</p>
<p>The appeals court agreed, saying that when “Kirby sat down to draw, then, it was not in the hope that Marvel or some other publisher might one day be interested enough in them to buy, but with the expectation, established through their ongoing, mutually beneficial relationship, that Marvel would pay him.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>It added: “Kirby’s completed pencil drawings, moreover, were generally not free-standing creative works, marketable to any publisher as a finished or nearly finished product. They build on pre-existing titles and themes that Marvel had expended resources to establish — and in which Marvel held rights — and they required both creative contributions and production work that Marvel supplied. That the works are now valuable is therefore in substantial part a function of Marvel’s expenditures over and above the flat rate it paid Kirby for his drawings.”</p>
<p>The appeals court traced the early history of Marvel, noting that it fell on hard times due to bad business decisions in the 1940s and 1950s but did well again after the release of the first issues of “The Fantastic Four” in 1961.</p>
<p>Other comics in the case included “The Mighty Thor,” ”The X-Men,” ”The Avengers,” ”Ant-Man,” ”Nick Fury” and “The Rawhide Kid.”</p>
<p>In a statement, Marvel said: “We are gratified by the appellate court’s definitive ruling that there is no legitimate basis to terminate our ownership of the copyrights at issue.”</p>
<p>Lawyers for the Kirby family did not immediately return messages seeking comment.</p> | NY court: Marvel can keep Spider-Man, X-Men comics | false | https://abqjournal.com/244480/ny-court-marvel-can-keep-spider-man-x-men-comics.html | 2013-08-08 | 2least
| NY court: Marvel can keep Spider-Man, X-Men comics
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<p />
<p><a href="https://d3el53au0d7w62.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Marvel-08-08-13.jpg" type="external" />The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan agreed with a lower court judge who denied claims by the family of Jack Kirby, the legendary artist who died in 1994 and whose work spanned more than half a century.</p>
<p>Kirby’s heirs in California and New York wanted to terminate Marvel’s copyrights from 2014 through 2019 to comics published from 1958 to 1963.</p>
<p>Marvel Worldwide Inc. sued in January 2010 to prevent it, leading U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon in July 2011 to conclude the work was done “for hire,” a legal term that rendered the heirs’ claims invalid.</p>
<p>She said the 1909 copyright law that applies to the case presumed that Marvel was considered the author and owner of Kirby’s creations because the characters were made at Marvel’s expense.</p>
<p>The appeals court agreed, saying that when “Kirby sat down to draw, then, it was not in the hope that Marvel or some other publisher might one day be interested enough in them to buy, but with the expectation, established through their ongoing, mutually beneficial relationship, that Marvel would pay him.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>It added: “Kirby’s completed pencil drawings, moreover, were generally not free-standing creative works, marketable to any publisher as a finished or nearly finished product. They build on pre-existing titles and themes that Marvel had expended resources to establish — and in which Marvel held rights — and they required both creative contributions and production work that Marvel supplied. That the works are now valuable is therefore in substantial part a function of Marvel’s expenditures over and above the flat rate it paid Kirby for his drawings.”</p>
<p>The appeals court traced the early history of Marvel, noting that it fell on hard times due to bad business decisions in the 1940s and 1950s but did well again after the release of the first issues of “The Fantastic Four” in 1961.</p>
<p>Other comics in the case included “The Mighty Thor,” ”The X-Men,” ”The Avengers,” ”Ant-Man,” ”Nick Fury” and “The Rawhide Kid.”</p>
<p>In a statement, Marvel said: “We are gratified by the appellate court’s definitive ruling that there is no legitimate basis to terminate our ownership of the copyrights at issue.”</p>
<p>Lawyers for the Kirby family did not immediately return messages seeking comment.</p> | 2,485 |
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<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Snow delayed delivery Tuesday morning of the Albuquerque Journal in Gallup.</p>
<p>Carriers will deliver today’s papers with Wednesday home delivery, said Albuquerque Publishing Co. circulation director Robert Rivera.</p>
<p>More from ABQJournal.com</p>
<p>Latest weather conditions and forecast for ABQ weather… continue reading »</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Note to our readers: Weather delays papers in Gallup | false | https://abqjournal.com/897907/note-to-our-readers-weather-delays-papers-in-gallup.html | 2least
| Note to our readers: Weather delays papers in Gallup
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<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Snow delayed delivery Tuesday morning of the Albuquerque Journal in Gallup.</p>
<p>Carriers will deliver today’s papers with Wednesday home delivery, said Albuquerque Publishing Co. circulation director Robert Rivera.</p>
<p>More from ABQJournal.com</p>
<p>Latest weather conditions and forecast for ABQ weather… continue reading »</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 2,486 |
|
<p>NEW YORK - The euro fell to a two-year low against the dollar on Tuesday as news of a bailout agreement for Spain was offset by concern that a German court could delay Europe's new bailout fund.</p>
<p>European stock markets, however, rose after euro zone finance ministers agreed to release the first 30 billion euros ($37 billion) of bailout funds for Spain's troubled lenders by the end of July.</p>
<p>Oil prices extended losses in the afternoon with Brent crude falling back below $100 a barrel after data showed China imported less crude oil last month, while Norway's government ordered an end to an oil workers' strike that had threatened production.</p>
<p>Germany's top court began a hearing into whether the euro zone's fund, known as the European Stability Mechanism, and planned changes to the region's budget rules are compatible with German law.</p>
<p>German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told the court that any significant delay in approving the measures could fuel financial market turbulence. Spanish and Italian government bond yields eased, while European stocks ended up nearly 1 percent.</p>
<p>Approval would pave the way for funds to be used more flexibly to ease the European debt crisis, but a delay of more than a few weeks would slow an already protracted process of implementation of the key bailout fund, and possibly pressure the euro and equities.</p>
<p>"People have been selling into bounces as euro sentiment remains very low," said Marc Chandler, global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman in New York.</p>
<p>"Euro weakness is partly a reflection of the unresolved issues in the euro zone and there is also a limit to how much the European Central Bank can ease, so now we are seeing easing through the currency," he said.</p>
<p>The common currency fell as low as $1.2233, its lowest since July 1, 2010. It last traded at $1.2257, down 0.5 percent. The euro fell to 97.20 yen and last traded down 0.7 percent at 97.37, according to Reuters data.</p>
<p>Euro zone ministers decided to grant Spain an extra year, until 2014, to reach its deficit-reduction target, but made no apparent progress on how the bloc's new rescue fund, the ESM, will be used to help lower Madrid's elevated borrowing costs.</p>
<p>U.S. stock indexes did not fare as well as their European counterparts as Wall Street was hurt by several profit warnings from technology companies.</p>
<p>China, the world's second-largest economy, curtailed imports in June in further evidence that Europe's three-year-long debt crisis is dragging down economic activity around the world.</p>
<p>Annual import growth was 6.3 percent in June, far short of the 12.7 percent forecast by economists, and the 12.7 percent achieved in May.</p>
<p>Brent crude oil fell $2.37 to $97.94 a barrel, while U.S. crude settled at $83.91 a barrel, down $2.08.</p>
<p>U.S. stocks, after trading modestly lower for much of the day, saw declines accelerate in the mid-afternoon as shares of chip makers fell.</p>
<p>The Dow Jones industrial average fell 92.25 points, or 0.72 percent, to 12,644.04. The Standard &amp; Poor's 500 Index lost 11.51 points, or 0.85 percent, to 1,340.95. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 30.24 points, or 1.03 percent, to 2,901.53.</p>
<p>"The market is slowly adapting to the reality that we are going into a global recession. Today is the perfect example of that. Materials, energy and technology sectors are all down while defensive sectors are up," said James Dailey, portfolio manager of TEAM Asset Strategy Fund in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.</p>
<p>Weak earnings and pre-announcements "are really starting to hit the market," he said.</p>
<p>Advanced Micro Devices tumbled 11 percent to $5.00 after the chipmaker slashed its outlook for second-quarter revenue. Applied Materials Inc lost 2.6 percent to $10.72 after it said it expects to miss its full-year estimates.</p>
<p>European shares rose in choppy and light trade. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 index closed up 0.9 percent at 1,039.12. The MSCI world equity index dipped 0.1 percent.</p> | Euro hits two-year low and oil falls | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-07-10/euro-hits-two-year-low-and-oil-falls | 2012-07-10 | 3left-center
| Euro hits two-year low and oil falls
<p>NEW YORK - The euro fell to a two-year low against the dollar on Tuesday as news of a bailout agreement for Spain was offset by concern that a German court could delay Europe's new bailout fund.</p>
<p>European stock markets, however, rose after euro zone finance ministers agreed to release the first 30 billion euros ($37 billion) of bailout funds for Spain's troubled lenders by the end of July.</p>
<p>Oil prices extended losses in the afternoon with Brent crude falling back below $100 a barrel after data showed China imported less crude oil last month, while Norway's government ordered an end to an oil workers' strike that had threatened production.</p>
<p>Germany's top court began a hearing into whether the euro zone's fund, known as the European Stability Mechanism, and planned changes to the region's budget rules are compatible with German law.</p>
<p>German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told the court that any significant delay in approving the measures could fuel financial market turbulence. Spanish and Italian government bond yields eased, while European stocks ended up nearly 1 percent.</p>
<p>Approval would pave the way for funds to be used more flexibly to ease the European debt crisis, but a delay of more than a few weeks would slow an already protracted process of implementation of the key bailout fund, and possibly pressure the euro and equities.</p>
<p>"People have been selling into bounces as euro sentiment remains very low," said Marc Chandler, global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman in New York.</p>
<p>"Euro weakness is partly a reflection of the unresolved issues in the euro zone and there is also a limit to how much the European Central Bank can ease, so now we are seeing easing through the currency," he said.</p>
<p>The common currency fell as low as $1.2233, its lowest since July 1, 2010. It last traded at $1.2257, down 0.5 percent. The euro fell to 97.20 yen and last traded down 0.7 percent at 97.37, according to Reuters data.</p>
<p>Euro zone ministers decided to grant Spain an extra year, until 2014, to reach its deficit-reduction target, but made no apparent progress on how the bloc's new rescue fund, the ESM, will be used to help lower Madrid's elevated borrowing costs.</p>
<p>U.S. stock indexes did not fare as well as their European counterparts as Wall Street was hurt by several profit warnings from technology companies.</p>
<p>China, the world's second-largest economy, curtailed imports in June in further evidence that Europe's three-year-long debt crisis is dragging down economic activity around the world.</p>
<p>Annual import growth was 6.3 percent in June, far short of the 12.7 percent forecast by economists, and the 12.7 percent achieved in May.</p>
<p>Brent crude oil fell $2.37 to $97.94 a barrel, while U.S. crude settled at $83.91 a barrel, down $2.08.</p>
<p>U.S. stocks, after trading modestly lower for much of the day, saw declines accelerate in the mid-afternoon as shares of chip makers fell.</p>
<p>The Dow Jones industrial average fell 92.25 points, or 0.72 percent, to 12,644.04. The Standard &amp; Poor's 500 Index lost 11.51 points, or 0.85 percent, to 1,340.95. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 30.24 points, or 1.03 percent, to 2,901.53.</p>
<p>"The market is slowly adapting to the reality that we are going into a global recession. Today is the perfect example of that. Materials, energy and technology sectors are all down while defensive sectors are up," said James Dailey, portfolio manager of TEAM Asset Strategy Fund in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.</p>
<p>Weak earnings and pre-announcements "are really starting to hit the market," he said.</p>
<p>Advanced Micro Devices tumbled 11 percent to $5.00 after the chipmaker slashed its outlook for second-quarter revenue. Applied Materials Inc lost 2.6 percent to $10.72 after it said it expects to miss its full-year estimates.</p>
<p>European shares rose in choppy and light trade. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 index closed up 0.9 percent at 1,039.12. The MSCI world equity index dipped 0.1 percent.</p> | 2,487 |
<p>LAS VEGAS (AP) — A grand jury will consider the involuntary manslaughter case against a former Las Vegas police officer in the neck-hold death of an unarmed man outside a Strip casino last May, prosecutors told a judge Thursday.</p>
<p>The former officer, Kenneth Lopera, did not appear in court for a brief hearing, at which prosecutors told the judge they plan to seek an indictment in the May 2017 asphyxiation death of 40-year-old Tashii Brown.</p>
<p>Justice of the Peace Cynthia Cruz gave prosecutors until March 26 to take the case to the grand jury.</p>
<p>The panel could revise charges filed last June against Lopera, who became the first Las Vegas police officer in 27 years to be charged with involuntary manslaughter. He was dismissed from the department in September.</p>
<p>Lopera, 32, also is accused of felony oppression under color of office. He could face up to eight years in prison if he is convicted of both charges. He remains free on $6,000 bail.</p>
<p>Steve Grammas, head of the police union representing the former officer, said he expects the grand jury to find that Lopera didn't cause Brown's death and that Brown died of other health problems and the influence of methamphetamine.</p>
<p>"We had hoped a grand jury would hear this case," Grammas said.</p>
<p>The development drew criticism from American Civil Liberties Union executive Tod Story, who accused prosecutors of "wavering under pressure from the police union."</p>
<p>Gary Peck, a longtime Nevada civil rights advocate, called it "unfortunate that the wheels of justice grind so slowly when we are dealing with an issue of critical importance to the community."</p>
<p>Clark County Coroner John Fudenberg ruled last June that Brown died of "asphyxia due to police restraint," and called the death a homicide. He also listed as "significant contributing conditions" that Brown had an enlarged heart and was under the influence of methamphetamine.</p>
<p>Brown, who also used the name Tashii Farmer, approached Lopera and his patrol partner in a coffee shop at The Venetian, telling them he thought people were after him, police have said. He then ran through employees-only hallways and out a rear entrance.</p>
<p>Lopera chased Brown, and video from the officer's body camera and casino security views show him using a stun gun on Brown seven times, punching him more than 10 times and putting him in what a police supervisors called an unapproved chokehold for a minute and 13 seconds.</p>
<p>Police said the number of shocks violated department policy and the neck hold differed from an approved method taught to officers to render combative people unconscious.</p>
<p>Sheriff Joe Lombardo, who leads Las Vegas police, announced in September that the agency was changing use-of-force policies to stop routine use of neck holds.</p>
<p>Many other police departments prohibit officers from using the technique unless they are in a life-or-death struggle.</p>
<p>Records show that from 2012 to 2016, Los Angeles officers reported using neck holds just seven times. Las Vegas police, by comparison, reported using the technique 274 times during the same five-year period.</p>
<p>LAS VEGAS (AP) — A grand jury will consider the involuntary manslaughter case against a former Las Vegas police officer in the neck-hold death of an unarmed man outside a Strip casino last May, prosecutors told a judge Thursday.</p>
<p>The former officer, Kenneth Lopera, did not appear in court for a brief hearing, at which prosecutors told the judge they plan to seek an indictment in the May 2017 asphyxiation death of 40-year-old Tashii Brown.</p>
<p>Justice of the Peace Cynthia Cruz gave prosecutors until March 26 to take the case to the grand jury.</p>
<p>The panel could revise charges filed last June against Lopera, who became the first Las Vegas police officer in 27 years to be charged with involuntary manslaughter. He was dismissed from the department in September.</p>
<p>Lopera, 32, also is accused of felony oppression under color of office. He could face up to eight years in prison if he is convicted of both charges. He remains free on $6,000 bail.</p>
<p>Steve Grammas, head of the police union representing the former officer, said he expects the grand jury to find that Lopera didn't cause Brown's death and that Brown died of other health problems and the influence of methamphetamine.</p>
<p>"We had hoped a grand jury would hear this case," Grammas said.</p>
<p>The development drew criticism from American Civil Liberties Union executive Tod Story, who accused prosecutors of "wavering under pressure from the police union."</p>
<p>Gary Peck, a longtime Nevada civil rights advocate, called it "unfortunate that the wheels of justice grind so slowly when we are dealing with an issue of critical importance to the community."</p>
<p>Clark County Coroner John Fudenberg ruled last June that Brown died of "asphyxia due to police restraint," and called the death a homicide. He also listed as "significant contributing conditions" that Brown had an enlarged heart and was under the influence of methamphetamine.</p>
<p>Brown, who also used the name Tashii Farmer, approached Lopera and his patrol partner in a coffee shop at The Venetian, telling them he thought people were after him, police have said. He then ran through employees-only hallways and out a rear entrance.</p>
<p>Lopera chased Brown, and video from the officer's body camera and casino security views show him using a stun gun on Brown seven times, punching him more than 10 times and putting him in what a police supervisors called an unapproved chokehold for a minute and 13 seconds.</p>
<p>Police said the number of shocks violated department policy and the neck hold differed from an approved method taught to officers to render combative people unconscious.</p>
<p>Sheriff Joe Lombardo, who leads Las Vegas police, announced in September that the agency was changing use-of-force policies to stop routine use of neck holds.</p>
<p>Many other police departments prohibit officers from using the technique unless they are in a life-or-death struggle.</p>
<p>Records show that from 2012 to 2016, Los Angeles officers reported using neck holds just seven times. Las Vegas police, by comparison, reported using the technique 274 times during the same five-year period.</p> | Prosecutor: Grand jury to get Vegas police manslaughter case | false | https://apnews.com/amp/e730396b124948dfa9ee79978a301547 | 2018-01-25 | 2least
| Prosecutor: Grand jury to get Vegas police manslaughter case
<p>LAS VEGAS (AP) — A grand jury will consider the involuntary manslaughter case against a former Las Vegas police officer in the neck-hold death of an unarmed man outside a Strip casino last May, prosecutors told a judge Thursday.</p>
<p>The former officer, Kenneth Lopera, did not appear in court for a brief hearing, at which prosecutors told the judge they plan to seek an indictment in the May 2017 asphyxiation death of 40-year-old Tashii Brown.</p>
<p>Justice of the Peace Cynthia Cruz gave prosecutors until March 26 to take the case to the grand jury.</p>
<p>The panel could revise charges filed last June against Lopera, who became the first Las Vegas police officer in 27 years to be charged with involuntary manslaughter. He was dismissed from the department in September.</p>
<p>Lopera, 32, also is accused of felony oppression under color of office. He could face up to eight years in prison if he is convicted of both charges. He remains free on $6,000 bail.</p>
<p>Steve Grammas, head of the police union representing the former officer, said he expects the grand jury to find that Lopera didn't cause Brown's death and that Brown died of other health problems and the influence of methamphetamine.</p>
<p>"We had hoped a grand jury would hear this case," Grammas said.</p>
<p>The development drew criticism from American Civil Liberties Union executive Tod Story, who accused prosecutors of "wavering under pressure from the police union."</p>
<p>Gary Peck, a longtime Nevada civil rights advocate, called it "unfortunate that the wheels of justice grind so slowly when we are dealing with an issue of critical importance to the community."</p>
<p>Clark County Coroner John Fudenberg ruled last June that Brown died of "asphyxia due to police restraint," and called the death a homicide. He also listed as "significant contributing conditions" that Brown had an enlarged heart and was under the influence of methamphetamine.</p>
<p>Brown, who also used the name Tashii Farmer, approached Lopera and his patrol partner in a coffee shop at The Venetian, telling them he thought people were after him, police have said. He then ran through employees-only hallways and out a rear entrance.</p>
<p>Lopera chased Brown, and video from the officer's body camera and casino security views show him using a stun gun on Brown seven times, punching him more than 10 times and putting him in what a police supervisors called an unapproved chokehold for a minute and 13 seconds.</p>
<p>Police said the number of shocks violated department policy and the neck hold differed from an approved method taught to officers to render combative people unconscious.</p>
<p>Sheriff Joe Lombardo, who leads Las Vegas police, announced in September that the agency was changing use-of-force policies to stop routine use of neck holds.</p>
<p>Many other police departments prohibit officers from using the technique unless they are in a life-or-death struggle.</p>
<p>Records show that from 2012 to 2016, Los Angeles officers reported using neck holds just seven times. Las Vegas police, by comparison, reported using the technique 274 times during the same five-year period.</p>
<p>LAS VEGAS (AP) — A grand jury will consider the involuntary manslaughter case against a former Las Vegas police officer in the neck-hold death of an unarmed man outside a Strip casino last May, prosecutors told a judge Thursday.</p>
<p>The former officer, Kenneth Lopera, did not appear in court for a brief hearing, at which prosecutors told the judge they plan to seek an indictment in the May 2017 asphyxiation death of 40-year-old Tashii Brown.</p>
<p>Justice of the Peace Cynthia Cruz gave prosecutors until March 26 to take the case to the grand jury.</p>
<p>The panel could revise charges filed last June against Lopera, who became the first Las Vegas police officer in 27 years to be charged with involuntary manslaughter. He was dismissed from the department in September.</p>
<p>Lopera, 32, also is accused of felony oppression under color of office. He could face up to eight years in prison if he is convicted of both charges. He remains free on $6,000 bail.</p>
<p>Steve Grammas, head of the police union representing the former officer, said he expects the grand jury to find that Lopera didn't cause Brown's death and that Brown died of other health problems and the influence of methamphetamine.</p>
<p>"We had hoped a grand jury would hear this case," Grammas said.</p>
<p>The development drew criticism from American Civil Liberties Union executive Tod Story, who accused prosecutors of "wavering under pressure from the police union."</p>
<p>Gary Peck, a longtime Nevada civil rights advocate, called it "unfortunate that the wheels of justice grind so slowly when we are dealing with an issue of critical importance to the community."</p>
<p>Clark County Coroner John Fudenberg ruled last June that Brown died of "asphyxia due to police restraint," and called the death a homicide. He also listed as "significant contributing conditions" that Brown had an enlarged heart and was under the influence of methamphetamine.</p>
<p>Brown, who also used the name Tashii Farmer, approached Lopera and his patrol partner in a coffee shop at The Venetian, telling them he thought people were after him, police have said. He then ran through employees-only hallways and out a rear entrance.</p>
<p>Lopera chased Brown, and video from the officer's body camera and casino security views show him using a stun gun on Brown seven times, punching him more than 10 times and putting him in what a police supervisors called an unapproved chokehold for a minute and 13 seconds.</p>
<p>Police said the number of shocks violated department policy and the neck hold differed from an approved method taught to officers to render combative people unconscious.</p>
<p>Sheriff Joe Lombardo, who leads Las Vegas police, announced in September that the agency was changing use-of-force policies to stop routine use of neck holds.</p>
<p>Many other police departments prohibit officers from using the technique unless they are in a life-or-death struggle.</p>
<p>Records show that from 2012 to 2016, Los Angeles officers reported using neck holds just seven times. Las Vegas police, by comparison, reported using the technique 274 times during the same five-year period.</p> | 2,488 |
<p>(Reuters) – The Miami Dolphins will not play their season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home on Sunday due to the potential impact of Hurricane Irma on South Florida, the NFL said on Tuesday.</p>
<p>“In the interest of public safety in light of the current state of emergency, the NFL, in consultation with state and local officials as well as both clubs, has decided that playing an NFL game in South Florida this week is not appropriate,” the league said in a statement.</p>
<p>The NFL said it is considering other options, including playing the game on Sunday at a neutral site or in Miami later this season.</p>
<p>The Dolphins were originally scheduled to kick off their 2017 campaign at 1 p.m. ET (1700 GMT) on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium.</p>
<p>Irma, which could be the second powerful storm to thrash the United States in as many weeks, is expected to reach southern Florida on Saturday.</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> | Dolphins will not play at home on Sunday due to Irma | false | https://newsline.com/dolphins-will-not-play-at-home-on-sunday-due-to-irma/ | 2017-09-05 | 1right-center
| Dolphins will not play at home on Sunday due to Irma
<p>(Reuters) – The Miami Dolphins will not play their season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home on Sunday due to the potential impact of Hurricane Irma on South Florida, the NFL said on Tuesday.</p>
<p>“In the interest of public safety in light of the current state of emergency, the NFL, in consultation with state and local officials as well as both clubs, has decided that playing an NFL game in South Florida this week is not appropriate,” the league said in a statement.</p>
<p>The NFL said it is considering other options, including playing the game on Sunday at a neutral site or in Miami later this season.</p>
<p>The Dolphins were originally scheduled to kick off their 2017 campaign at 1 p.m. ET (1700 GMT) on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium.</p>
<p>Irma, which could be the second powerful storm to thrash the United States in as many weeks, is expected to reach southern Florida on Saturday.</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> | 2,489 |
<p>The Hippo, a long-standing LGBT nightlife staple slated to close later this year, went all out with their float at the 40th annual Baltimore Pride Parade. (Washington Blade photo by Antwan J. Thompson)</p>
<p>The 40th annual Baltimore Pride Parade was held on Saturday, July 25, 2015 along Cathedral Street. <a href="" type="internal" />(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key and Antwan J. Thompson)</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Baltimore</a> <a href="" type="internal">Baltimore Pride</a> <a href="" type="internal">Maryland</a> <a href="" type="internal">Pride2015</a></p> | PHOTOS: Baltimore Pride Parade | false | http://washingtonblade.com/2015/07/27/photos-2015-baltimore-pride-parade/ | 3left-center
| PHOTOS: Baltimore Pride Parade
<p>The Hippo, a long-standing LGBT nightlife staple slated to close later this year, went all out with their float at the 40th annual Baltimore Pride Parade. (Washington Blade photo by Antwan J. Thompson)</p>
<p>The 40th annual Baltimore Pride Parade was held on Saturday, July 25, 2015 along Cathedral Street. <a href="" type="internal" />(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key and Antwan J. Thompson)</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Baltimore</a> <a href="" type="internal">Baltimore Pride</a> <a href="" type="internal">Maryland</a> <a href="" type="internal">Pride2015</a></p> | 2,490 |
|
<p>Gore Vidal is the author of twenty-two novels and has written films including the classics Ben-Hur and Suddenly, Last Summer. He is recently the author of The Last Empire and Inventing a Nation.</p>
<p>Gore Vidal is the author of twenty-two novels and has written films including the classics Ben-Hur and Suddenly, Last Summer. He is recently the author of The Last Empire and Inventing a Nation.</p>
<p /> | Gore Vidal: On TheREALnews Pt. 1 | true | http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option%3Dcom_content%26task%3Dview%26id%3D31%26Itemid%3D74%26jumival%3D8653 | 2007-04-06 | 4left
| Gore Vidal: On TheREALnews Pt. 1
<p>Gore Vidal is the author of twenty-two novels and has written films including the classics Ben-Hur and Suddenly, Last Summer. He is recently the author of The Last Empire and Inventing a Nation.</p>
<p>Gore Vidal is the author of twenty-two novels and has written films including the classics Ben-Hur and Suddenly, Last Summer. He is recently the author of The Last Empire and Inventing a Nation.</p>
<p /> | 2,491 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Your cover letter could be the first thing a prospective employer reads before scanning your résumé or reviewing your job application. Take advantage of the opportunity to provide a professional, well-written first impression when you apply for each job. Investing the time and attention to detail in your letters will help you move to the top of the employer’s candidate list, and there are several things you can do before you begin to write.</p>
<p>Cover letters serve as both a chance to market yourself as a potential employee and as an introduction to your résumé. Before you focus on your letter, work on creating or updating your résumé. You will not simply restate your résumé in your cover letter, but you want to ensure that you have consistent information being provided to the employer in both documents. Check and verify your job titles, names of companies, contact information and dates of employment, and keep a copy of your résumé handy as you work on your cover letter.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>A cover letter should accompany your résumé but should be more than just a summary of it. It is the chance to grab the interest of the hiring manager or interviewer, and explain or expand on your top qualifications and achievements as related to the potential job. Before you begin to write, make a list of your top strengths, talents, skills and experience based on your résumé and from examples during your career. This may include your accomplishments at a previous job or situations where you exhibited strong leadership or teamwork skills. Brainstorm all the things that you believe make you an excellent potential employee.</p>
<p>Once you have the top things you would like to highlight about yourself, you will need to relate this information to the job, company and industry. Review the job posting, and write down the key job requirements and qualifications. Put yourself in the employer’s shoes, and think about what you would be looking for if you were screening job applicants.</p>
<p>Also research basic information about the company, including the history, culture, products or services, and location or headquarters information. Know the basics about the industry or field in which you are applying. With all of this information, you will be able to cross-match your top skills, qualifications and directly relate it to this job.</p>
<p>If you have never written a cover letter before, look at examples online before you begin to draft your own. You may even be able to find a cover letter template or example within your specific industry or career field. Looking at examples is only to help you get started, though. Do not copy an example letter or template word for word as it should only be a starting point.</p>
<p>If you need additional help writing your cover letter, see if your local Workforce Connection Center offers any cover letter and résumé workshops. A link to all the centers around the state can be found at <a href="http://www.dws.state.nm.us" type="external">www.dws.state.nm.us</a>.</p>
<p>All of this preparation to begin writing your cover letter will not only help you to successfully compose an introduction to your qualifications and résumé, but also prepares you for future interviews. Being knowledgeable, confident and professional in your cover letter will carry throughout your job hunt and will make you stand out as a strong candidate for the job.</p>
<p>This is a regular column written by the N.M. Department of Workforce Solutions. For more information, go to <a href="http://www.dws.state.nm.us" type="external">www.dws.state.nm.us</a>.</p> | Tailor your cover letter to impress | false | https://abqjournal.com/167515/tailor-your-cover-letter-to-impress.html | 2013-02-10 | 2least
| Tailor your cover letter to impress
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Your cover letter could be the first thing a prospective employer reads before scanning your résumé or reviewing your job application. Take advantage of the opportunity to provide a professional, well-written first impression when you apply for each job. Investing the time and attention to detail in your letters will help you move to the top of the employer’s candidate list, and there are several things you can do before you begin to write.</p>
<p>Cover letters serve as both a chance to market yourself as a potential employee and as an introduction to your résumé. Before you focus on your letter, work on creating or updating your résumé. You will not simply restate your résumé in your cover letter, but you want to ensure that you have consistent information being provided to the employer in both documents. Check and verify your job titles, names of companies, contact information and dates of employment, and keep a copy of your résumé handy as you work on your cover letter.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>A cover letter should accompany your résumé but should be more than just a summary of it. It is the chance to grab the interest of the hiring manager or interviewer, and explain or expand on your top qualifications and achievements as related to the potential job. Before you begin to write, make a list of your top strengths, talents, skills and experience based on your résumé and from examples during your career. This may include your accomplishments at a previous job or situations where you exhibited strong leadership or teamwork skills. Brainstorm all the things that you believe make you an excellent potential employee.</p>
<p>Once you have the top things you would like to highlight about yourself, you will need to relate this information to the job, company and industry. Review the job posting, and write down the key job requirements and qualifications. Put yourself in the employer’s shoes, and think about what you would be looking for if you were screening job applicants.</p>
<p>Also research basic information about the company, including the history, culture, products or services, and location or headquarters information. Know the basics about the industry or field in which you are applying. With all of this information, you will be able to cross-match your top skills, qualifications and directly relate it to this job.</p>
<p>If you have never written a cover letter before, look at examples online before you begin to draft your own. You may even be able to find a cover letter template or example within your specific industry or career field. Looking at examples is only to help you get started, though. Do not copy an example letter or template word for word as it should only be a starting point.</p>
<p>If you need additional help writing your cover letter, see if your local Workforce Connection Center offers any cover letter and résumé workshops. A link to all the centers around the state can be found at <a href="http://www.dws.state.nm.us" type="external">www.dws.state.nm.us</a>.</p>
<p>All of this preparation to begin writing your cover letter will not only help you to successfully compose an introduction to your qualifications and résumé, but also prepares you for future interviews. Being knowledgeable, confident and professional in your cover letter will carry throughout your job hunt and will make you stand out as a strong candidate for the job.</p>
<p>This is a regular column written by the N.M. Department of Workforce Solutions. For more information, go to <a href="http://www.dws.state.nm.us" type="external">www.dws.state.nm.us</a>.</p> | 2,492 |
<p>OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Right fielder Josh Reddick has reached agreement on a $6.575 million, one-year contract with the Oakland Athletics to avoid salary arbitration.</p>
<p>Oakland also settled with right-hander Fernando Rodriguez on a $1.05 million, one-year deal Friday. He asked for $1.05 million and paperwork necessitated the club offer the same salary.</p>
<p>Reddick batted .272 with 20 homers — his second-highest total in seven major league seasons — and 77 RBIs in 149 games last season for the A's. An AL Gold Glover in right field in 2012, Reddick was limited to 114 and 109 games in the 2013 and '14 seasons before bouncing back healthy last year. He dealt with a nagging right knee injury in '14.</p>
<p>Rodriguez went 4-2 with a 3.84 ERA in 56 appearances and 58 2-3 innings with Oakland in 2015.</p>
<p>OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Right fielder Josh Reddick has reached agreement on a $6.575 million, one-year contract with the Oakland Athletics to avoid salary arbitration.</p>
<p>Oakland also settled with right-hander Fernando Rodriguez on a $1.05 million, one-year deal Friday. He asked for $1.05 million and paperwork necessitated the club offer the same salary.</p>
<p>Reddick batted .272 with 20 homers — his second-highest total in seven major league seasons — and 77 RBIs in 149 games last season for the A's. An AL Gold Glover in right field in 2012, Reddick was limited to 114 and 109 games in the 2013 and '14 seasons before bouncing back healthy last year. He dealt with a nagging right knee injury in '14.</p>
<p>Rodriguez went 4-2 with a 3.84 ERA in 56 appearances and 58 2-3 innings with Oakland in 2015.</p> | Right fielder Reddick gets $6.575M, one-year deal from A's | false | https://apnews.com/amp/3921670c667f42d8afea435cfafbed62 | 2016-01-15 | 2least
| Right fielder Reddick gets $6.575M, one-year deal from A's
<p>OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Right fielder Josh Reddick has reached agreement on a $6.575 million, one-year contract with the Oakland Athletics to avoid salary arbitration.</p>
<p>Oakland also settled with right-hander Fernando Rodriguez on a $1.05 million, one-year deal Friday. He asked for $1.05 million and paperwork necessitated the club offer the same salary.</p>
<p>Reddick batted .272 with 20 homers — his second-highest total in seven major league seasons — and 77 RBIs in 149 games last season for the A's. An AL Gold Glover in right field in 2012, Reddick was limited to 114 and 109 games in the 2013 and '14 seasons before bouncing back healthy last year. He dealt with a nagging right knee injury in '14.</p>
<p>Rodriguez went 4-2 with a 3.84 ERA in 56 appearances and 58 2-3 innings with Oakland in 2015.</p>
<p>OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Right fielder Josh Reddick has reached agreement on a $6.575 million, one-year contract with the Oakland Athletics to avoid salary arbitration.</p>
<p>Oakland also settled with right-hander Fernando Rodriguez on a $1.05 million, one-year deal Friday. He asked for $1.05 million and paperwork necessitated the club offer the same salary.</p>
<p>Reddick batted .272 with 20 homers — his second-highest total in seven major league seasons — and 77 RBIs in 149 games last season for the A's. An AL Gold Glover in right field in 2012, Reddick was limited to 114 and 109 games in the 2013 and '14 seasons before bouncing back healthy last year. He dealt with a nagging right knee injury in '14.</p>
<p>Rodriguez went 4-2 with a 3.84 ERA in 56 appearances and 58 2-3 innings with Oakland in 2015.</p> | 2,493 |
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<p>Rio Rancho Public Schools spokeswoman Kim Vesely said a lockdown at Stapleton Elementary School in Rio Rancho was “a false alarm.”</p>
<p>Vesely said the schools were on a two-hour delay because of the cold weather which meant school staff had to reset a bell system.</p>
<p>When they reset the system it inadvertently turned on the emergency bell system instead of the regular system, triggering a lockdown action.</p>
<p>Vesely said the lockdown procedure was essentially like a drill.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Lockdown at Stapleton Elementary Was False Alarm | false | https://abqjournal.com/160479/lockdown-at-stapleton-elementary-was-false-alarm.html | 2least
| Lockdown at Stapleton Elementary Was False Alarm
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>Rio Rancho Public Schools spokeswoman Kim Vesely said a lockdown at Stapleton Elementary School in Rio Rancho was “a false alarm.”</p>
<p>Vesely said the schools were on a two-hour delay because of the cold weather which meant school staff had to reset a bell system.</p>
<p>When they reset the system it inadvertently turned on the emergency bell system instead of the regular system, triggering a lockdown action.</p>
<p>Vesely said the lockdown procedure was essentially like a drill.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 2,494 |
|
<p>In the modern world, plastic products are so common that hardly anyone keeps track of how much they use and discard.</p>
<p>But no matter how well a country manages its recycling, a significant amount of plastic ends up in the environment — especially in waterways. It's estimated that by 2050, the seas will contain more plastic than fish. The consequences of this could be harsher to humanity than climate change, as we detail in our in-depth report, <a href="" type="internal">"Climate change, meet your apocalyptic twin: oceans poisoned by plastic</a>."</p>
<p>So, how much plastic do you throw away or recycle? Calculate your average with this tool, then compare your number with the rest of the world.</p> | Plastic trash is a big problem. How much do you throw away? (QUIZ) | false | https://pri.org/stories/2016-12-19/plastic-trash-big-problem-how-much-do-you-throw-away-quiz | 2016-12-20 | 3left-center
| Plastic trash is a big problem. How much do you throw away? (QUIZ)
<p>In the modern world, plastic products are so common that hardly anyone keeps track of how much they use and discard.</p>
<p>But no matter how well a country manages its recycling, a significant amount of plastic ends up in the environment — especially in waterways. It's estimated that by 2050, the seas will contain more plastic than fish. The consequences of this could be harsher to humanity than climate change, as we detail in our in-depth report, <a href="" type="internal">"Climate change, meet your apocalyptic twin: oceans poisoned by plastic</a>."</p>
<p>So, how much plastic do you throw away or recycle? Calculate your average with this tool, then compare your number with the rest of the world.</p> | 2,495 |
<p>There's an old adage that says, "Don't speak ill of the dead." Unfortunately, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor didn't get the memo.</p>
<p>In a speech to students at the University of Minnesota on Monday, the Leftist jurist shared her thoughts about hitting her now-deceased colleague with a baseball bat.</p>
<p>"There are things he's said on the bench where if I had a baseball bat, I might have used it," stated the Obama-appointed judge.</p>
<p>After divulging her revenge-induced fantasy of violence, Sotomayor went on to suggest that political opponents need to work together to find "common ground."</p>
<p>"If you keep that in mind, you can resolve almost any issue, because you can find that common ground to interact with each other," she <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/sotomayor-thought-hitting-scalia-baseball-bat-article-1.2835556" type="external">added</a>.</p>
<p>While Sotomayor would likely categorize her remarks about Scalia as a joke, if recent events on college campuses are any indication, some students may take her at face value.</p>
<p>Violence against political opponents isn't just an abstraction, but it's a reality on many "progressive" university campuses. Fueled by racial and gender grievances some students, otherwise known as Social Justice Warriors, have taken it upon themselves to enforce de facto blasphemy laws based on the diktat of "feelings," at times by physical means. Under the fascist philosophy of "microaggressions," offensive words, yes words, can and should be counteracted with physical violence. Daily Wire editor-in-chief Ben Shapiro <a href="" type="internal">explains</a>:</p>
<p>Now, the beautiful thing about microaggressions is the term itself: microaggressions. They aren't "micro-offensive statements." Or "micro-insults." They're tiny aggressions, almost physical in nature. Such aggressions, as with all aggressions, call for punishment. Calling a transgender female - a man who thinks he is a woman - "sir" is <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/video/2015/07/16/watch-tur-threatens-to-send-shapiro-home-in-an-ambulance-during-jenner-discussion/" type="external">grounds for legal battery</a>, according to the left, because it is simply too microaggressive. Words may not break our bones, but they justify sticks and stones.</p>
<p>So when a sitting justice on the Supreme Court of the United States tells highly-volatile university students indoctrinated by the cultish chants of "microaggression," "white privilege," and "implicit bias," that she fantasized about hitting her conservative colleague with a baseball bat on the court bench, don't be surprised if Louisville sluggers start appearing at events hosted by conservative student groups.</p> | Justice Sotomayor: I Fantasized About Hitting Scalia With A Baseball Bat | true | https://dailywire.com/news/10045/justice-sotomayor-i-fantasized-about-hitting-michael-qazvini | 2016-10-18 | 0right
| Justice Sotomayor: I Fantasized About Hitting Scalia With A Baseball Bat
<p>There's an old adage that says, "Don't speak ill of the dead." Unfortunately, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor didn't get the memo.</p>
<p>In a speech to students at the University of Minnesota on Monday, the Leftist jurist shared her thoughts about hitting her now-deceased colleague with a baseball bat.</p>
<p>"There are things he's said on the bench where if I had a baseball bat, I might have used it," stated the Obama-appointed judge.</p>
<p>After divulging her revenge-induced fantasy of violence, Sotomayor went on to suggest that political opponents need to work together to find "common ground."</p>
<p>"If you keep that in mind, you can resolve almost any issue, because you can find that common ground to interact with each other," she <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/sotomayor-thought-hitting-scalia-baseball-bat-article-1.2835556" type="external">added</a>.</p>
<p>While Sotomayor would likely categorize her remarks about Scalia as a joke, if recent events on college campuses are any indication, some students may take her at face value.</p>
<p>Violence against political opponents isn't just an abstraction, but it's a reality on many "progressive" university campuses. Fueled by racial and gender grievances some students, otherwise known as Social Justice Warriors, have taken it upon themselves to enforce de facto blasphemy laws based on the diktat of "feelings," at times by physical means. Under the fascist philosophy of "microaggressions," offensive words, yes words, can and should be counteracted with physical violence. Daily Wire editor-in-chief Ben Shapiro <a href="" type="internal">explains</a>:</p>
<p>Now, the beautiful thing about microaggressions is the term itself: microaggressions. They aren't "micro-offensive statements." Or "micro-insults." They're tiny aggressions, almost physical in nature. Such aggressions, as with all aggressions, call for punishment. Calling a transgender female - a man who thinks he is a woman - "sir" is <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/video/2015/07/16/watch-tur-threatens-to-send-shapiro-home-in-an-ambulance-during-jenner-discussion/" type="external">grounds for legal battery</a>, according to the left, because it is simply too microaggressive. Words may not break our bones, but they justify sticks and stones.</p>
<p>So when a sitting justice on the Supreme Court of the United States tells highly-volatile university students indoctrinated by the cultish chants of "microaggression," "white privilege," and "implicit bias," that she fantasized about hitting her conservative colleague with a baseball bat on the court bench, don't be surprised if Louisville sluggers start appearing at events hosted by conservative student groups.</p> | 2,496 |
<p>Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry</p>
<p>SUNDANCE SELECTS</p>
<p>91 minutes</p>
<p>Knowing what fate has in store for the Chinese dissident artist gives Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry a foreboding air. At the outset, we see Ai, revered for his work at the Beijing Olympics, fearlessly tallying kids killed in the Sichuan earthquake thanks to shoddily built schools. He sues a cop who hits him on the head, documenting each bureaucratic step with cameras and tweets. And when the authorities demolish his studio, he holds a public “celebration.” With each act, you wonder if this will be the one that lands him in solitary, where he will spend 81 days for “tax evasion.” Lockup costs Ai some of his swagger, but the deluge of donations to pay his fine speaks to his inspirational clout and social-media mojo.</p>
<p>This review originally appeared in our <a href="" type="internal">July/August issue</a> of Mother Jones.&#160;</p> | Short Takes: “Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry” | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2012/07/film-review-ai-weiwei-never-sorry/ | 2012-07-25 | 4left
| Short Takes: “Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry”
<p>Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry</p>
<p>SUNDANCE SELECTS</p>
<p>91 minutes</p>
<p>Knowing what fate has in store for the Chinese dissident artist gives Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry a foreboding air. At the outset, we see Ai, revered for his work at the Beijing Olympics, fearlessly tallying kids killed in the Sichuan earthquake thanks to shoddily built schools. He sues a cop who hits him on the head, documenting each bureaucratic step with cameras and tweets. And when the authorities demolish his studio, he holds a public “celebration.” With each act, you wonder if this will be the one that lands him in solitary, where he will spend 81 days for “tax evasion.” Lockup costs Ai some of his swagger, but the deluge of donations to pay his fine speaks to his inspirational clout and social-media mojo.</p>
<p>This review originally appeared in our <a href="" type="internal">July/August issue</a> of Mother Jones.&#160;</p> | 2,497 |
<p><a href="" type="internal">21st Century Wire</a> says…</p>
<p>The very fabric of British political society is being torn into pieces with an apparently never-ending stream of&#160;scandals.</p>
<p>Top British Labour Party figure Jack Straw and Sir Malcolm Rifkind, overseer of British intelligence agencies, have been caught on camera offering political influence for cash.</p>
<p>The scandal goes all the way to the top.</p>
<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Straw" type="external">Jack Straw</a> boasted that he could operate ‘under the radar‘ and would do so for at least £5000 ($7700) per day. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_Rifkind" type="external">Rifkind</a> suggested that he could offer ‘useful access‘ to the British political system for the right price.</p>
<p>Who exactly has benefited from these services? Who else is offering a similar service? To what extent is British policy, foreign and domestic, shaped by external oligarchic interests? Have British intelligence agencies been compromised due to these activities?</p>
<p>This comes in the wake of <a href="" type="internal">numerous banking</a>&#160;and <a href="" type="internal">sexual abuse</a> scandals. Moreover, the nation’s <a href="" type="internal">austerity cuts are now going to be killing people</a>. How much more damage can the British political system sustain before it collapses?</p>
<p>Follow us here: <a href="http://twitter.com/21WIRE" type="external">http://twitter.com/21WIRE</a></p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/investigations/11411007/Jack-Straw-and-Sir-Malcolm-Rifkind-in-latest-cash-for-access-scandal.html" type="external">The Telegraph</a></p>
<p />
<p>Two former foreign secretaries are exposed for their involvement in a new “cash for access” scandal.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/investigations/11428082/Jack-Straw-A-Labour-grandee.html" type="external">Jack Straw</a>&#160;and&#160; <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/investigations/11428081/Sir-Malcolm-Rifkind-The-suave-Scot-with-a-sharp-mind.html" type="external">Sir Malcolm Rifkind</a>&#160;offered to use their positions as politicians on behalf of a fictitious Chinese company in return for payments of at least £5,000 per day.</p>
<p />
<p>Mr Straw, one of&#160; <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/" type="external">Labour</a>’s most senior figures, boasted that he operated “under the radar” to use his influence to change&#160; <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/" type="external">European Union</a>&#160;rules on behalf of a commodity firm which pays him £60,000 a year. He has been suspended from the Labour party following the disclosures.</p>
<p />
<p>And he claimed to have used “charm and menace” to convince the Ukrainian prime minister to change laws on behalf of the same firm. Mr Straw also used his Commons office to conduct meetings about possible consultancy work — a potential breach of rules. And he suggested that his Commons researcher had worked on his private business matters, raising further questions.</p>
<p />
<p>Sir Malcolm, who oversees Britain’s intelligence agencies on behalf of Parliament, said he could arrange “useful access” to every British ambassador in the world because of his status…</p>
<p><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/investigations/11411007/Jack-Straw-and-Sir-Malcolm-Rifkind-in-latest-cash-for-access-scandal.html" type="external">Continue reading the full story on The Telegraph</a></p>
<p>READ MORE ON OLIGARCHY&#160;AT:&#160; <a href="" type="internal">21st Century Wire Oligarchy&#160;Files</a></p> | OLIGARCHY: Top British Politicians Offer Influence For Cash | true | http://21stcenturywire.com/2015/02/23/oligarchy-top-british-politicians-offer-influence-for-cash/ | 2015-02-23 | 4left
| OLIGARCHY: Top British Politicians Offer Influence For Cash
<p><a href="" type="internal">21st Century Wire</a> says…</p>
<p>The very fabric of British political society is being torn into pieces with an apparently never-ending stream of&#160;scandals.</p>
<p>Top British Labour Party figure Jack Straw and Sir Malcolm Rifkind, overseer of British intelligence agencies, have been caught on camera offering political influence for cash.</p>
<p>The scandal goes all the way to the top.</p>
<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Straw" type="external">Jack Straw</a> boasted that he could operate ‘under the radar‘ and would do so for at least £5000 ($7700) per day. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_Rifkind" type="external">Rifkind</a> suggested that he could offer ‘useful access‘ to the British political system for the right price.</p>
<p>Who exactly has benefited from these services? Who else is offering a similar service? To what extent is British policy, foreign and domestic, shaped by external oligarchic interests? Have British intelligence agencies been compromised due to these activities?</p>
<p>This comes in the wake of <a href="" type="internal">numerous banking</a>&#160;and <a href="" type="internal">sexual abuse</a> scandals. Moreover, the nation’s <a href="" type="internal">austerity cuts are now going to be killing people</a>. How much more damage can the British political system sustain before it collapses?</p>
<p>Follow us here: <a href="http://twitter.com/21WIRE" type="external">http://twitter.com/21WIRE</a></p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/investigations/11411007/Jack-Straw-and-Sir-Malcolm-Rifkind-in-latest-cash-for-access-scandal.html" type="external">The Telegraph</a></p>
<p />
<p>Two former foreign secretaries are exposed for their involvement in a new “cash for access” scandal.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/investigations/11428082/Jack-Straw-A-Labour-grandee.html" type="external">Jack Straw</a>&#160;and&#160; <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/investigations/11428081/Sir-Malcolm-Rifkind-The-suave-Scot-with-a-sharp-mind.html" type="external">Sir Malcolm Rifkind</a>&#160;offered to use their positions as politicians on behalf of a fictitious Chinese company in return for payments of at least £5,000 per day.</p>
<p />
<p>Mr Straw, one of&#160; <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/" type="external">Labour</a>’s most senior figures, boasted that he operated “under the radar” to use his influence to change&#160; <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/" type="external">European Union</a>&#160;rules on behalf of a commodity firm which pays him £60,000 a year. He has been suspended from the Labour party following the disclosures.</p>
<p />
<p>And he claimed to have used “charm and menace” to convince the Ukrainian prime minister to change laws on behalf of the same firm. Mr Straw also used his Commons office to conduct meetings about possible consultancy work — a potential breach of rules. And he suggested that his Commons researcher had worked on his private business matters, raising further questions.</p>
<p />
<p>Sir Malcolm, who oversees Britain’s intelligence agencies on behalf of Parliament, said he could arrange “useful access” to every British ambassador in the world because of his status…</p>
<p><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/investigations/11411007/Jack-Straw-and-Sir-Malcolm-Rifkind-in-latest-cash-for-access-scandal.html" type="external">Continue reading the full story on The Telegraph</a></p>
<p>READ MORE ON OLIGARCHY&#160;AT:&#160; <a href="" type="internal">21st Century Wire Oligarchy&#160;Files</a></p> | 2,498 |
<p>Jennifer Lawrence: Sony Hack Revealed That&#160;"Every Man I Was Working With" Had&#160;A&#160;Higher Salary.&#160;In an essay for Lena Dunham's October 13&#160;Lenny Letter&#160;e-newsletter,&#160;Lawrence discussed how she "had earned significantly less than her male co-stars Jeremy Renner, Christian Bale and Bradley Cooper" for her starring &#160;role in the film&#160;American Hustle. As NPR reported:</p>
<p>The criticism Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence has lobbed at herself for not pushing for a higher fee to star in the film&#160;American Hustle&#160;is reverberating in Hollywood and beyond.</p>
<p>In an essay for Lena Dunham's&#160;Lenny Letter&#160;e-newsletter, Lawrence explained that after the Sony hack -- which revealed documents showing Lawrence had earned significantly less than her male co-stars Jeremy Renner, Christian Bale and Bradley Cooper -- she didn't get mad at the studio.</p>
<p>"I got mad at myself," Lawrence wrote. "I failed as a negotiator because I gave up early."</p>
<p>The star of the Hunger Games franchise said she hesitated to negotiate aggressively because she didn't want to come across as abrasive or too demanding -- a fear, she mused, that probably is linked to gender conditioning. Lawrence wrote: "I didn't want to seem 'difficult' or 'spoiled.' At the time, that seemed like a fine idea, until I saw the payroll on the Internet and realized every man I was working with definitely didn't worry about being 'difficult' or 'spoiled.'" [NPR,&#160; <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/10/15/448954732/jennifer-lawrence-hits-a-nerve-with-essay-on-hollywoods-gender-pay-gap" type="external">10/15/15</a>]</p>
<p>Fox's Hegseth Suggested "Political Correctness" Behind Lawrence's Claim, Points Out She "Made $52 Million Last Year."&#160;On the October 19 edition of Fox News'&#160;Fox &amp; Friends, co-host Pete Hegseth attributed Lawrence's comments to "political correctness," jumping to point out that the actress "made $52 million last year." Contributor Meghan McCain added that while she was "all for women getting equal pay ... I also think women have to fight for what we want":</p>
<p>PETE HEGSETH: Speaking of political correctness, actor Bradley Cooper is teaming up now with female actresses, saying they're not being paid the equivalent what he's being paid specifically, and actress Jennifer Lawrence who made $52 million last year. What's your take on pay inequality?</p>
<p>BRIAN KILMEADE: And he'll give some of his pay for her.&#160;</p>
<p>MEGHAN MCCAIN: I'm all for women getting equal pay for men obviously, but I also think women we have to fight for what we want. You have to fight for what you think your value is and not all of us are going to have a Bradley Cooper here to bail us out and you know, come in and get paid as much as I'm going to get paid. So I think this is sort of like Hollywood fantasyland -- which is fantastic for Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper. But for the average American woman who is just working a normal job you have to go in to your employers and fight for what you think your worth is,&#160;for better or for worse. [Fox News,&#160;Fox &amp; Friends,&#160; <a href="/embed/clips/2015/10/19/42645/fnc-ff-20151019-lawrence" type="external">10/19/15</a>]</p>
<p>Fox's&#160;Earhardt&#160;Dismissed Role Of Pay Inequality In Lawrence's Earnings. &#160;During the October 19 edition of Fox News'&#160;Fox &amp; Friends First, co-host&#160;Ainsley Earhardt&#160;claimed that "there might be a reason why" Lawrence made less than her male counterparts in films, highlighting a report claiming the actress "showed up late to filming and&#160;she worked&#160;fewer days than the other actors":</p>
<p>HEATHER CHILDERS: Well, you know how Jennifer Lawrence, she&#160;has complained,&#160;we've heard her talking&#160;about earning less than her&#160;American Hustle&#160;co-stars?</p>
<p>[CLIP OF AMERICAN HUSTLE]</p>
<p>AINSLEY EARHARDT: Turns out there might be a reason why. Deadline is reporting she showed up late to filming and&#160;she&#160;worked&#160;fewer days than the other actors. Lawrence says she didn't want to fight about her salary because she didn't want to come off as difficult or spoiled. [Fox News,&#160;Fox &amp; Friends First,&#160; <a href="/embed/clips/2015/10/19/42646/fnc-fff-20151019-lawrence" type="external">10/19/15</a>]</p>
<p>Fox Guest: "I Really Don't Think The Wage Gap Is Something&#160;That&#160;Jennifer Lawrence Can Be Blaming Here."&#160;Speaking about Lawrence's article on the October 15 edition of Fox News'&#160;Fox &amp; Friends, guest Ashley Pratte questioned celebrities who speak out against the gender pay gap, asserting that she didn't "think the wage gap is something&#160;that&#160;Jennifer Lawrence can be blaming here," later falsely attributing pay discrepancies between men and women to women's "choices":</p>
<p>ASHLEY PRATTE: I would almost say oh the irony, another Hollywood actress coming out and saying something about her wage when you know they act like "champions" for the equal pay movement. Which is what we saw at the Oscars, when Patricia Arquette got up there and then you saw Meryl Streep clapping uncontrollably. And this is just something that doesn't resonate with middle America and the women that are out there in the workforce. Studies actually show that young women, yes while negotiating is difficult for women, for the most part, women are educated and when you look at young women coming out of college who are actually outperforming our male counterparts in a lot of large cities all across this country. So I really don't think the wage gap is something that Jennifer Lawrence can be blaming here and calling it discrimination. [Fox News,&#160;Fox &amp; Friends,&#160; <a href="/embed/clips/2015/10/19/42650/fnc-ff-20151015-lawrence" type="external">10/15/15</a>]</p>
<p>New York Post&#160;Dismissed Lawrence: She Used "Fuzzy Math When She Griped That She Was The Victim Of Sexism" And Pay Inequality.&#160;In an October 19 article,&#160;The New York Post's Page Six gossip section&#160;glossed over the role of the the gender pay gap in Lawrence's career, instead attributing the discrepancy to "fuzzy math":</p>
<p>Jennifer Lawrence, the world's highest-paid actress, used fuzzy math when she griped that she was the victim of sexism and didn't earn as much as her male co-stars in "American Hustle," it was reported&#160;Sunday.</p>
<p>The 25-year-old Oscar winner came to the project late in the game and worked half as many days as co-stars Christian Bale and Bradley Cooper, according to the Web site Deadline.</p>
<p>Lawrence also failed to note the handsome windfall that followed the hit film, which snagged 10 Oscar nominations and increased her cachet with its success, the site said. She scored big time afterward, including netting $20 million for the sci-fi adventure "Passengers" out next year -- or an estimated $5 million to $7 million more than her male co-star, Chris Pratt. [The New York Post,&#160; <a href="http://pagesix.com/2015/10/19/this-might-be-why-j-law-earned-less-than-her-male-co-stars/" type="external">10/19/15</a>]</p>
<p>RedState: Jennifer Lawrence's Discussion Of Pay Inequality Is "A Bratty Display" And An Example Of Of How "Claims Of Pay Inequality Are Oftentimes Not The Complete Story."&#160;RedState dismissed the pay inequality in light of Lawrence's essay, claiming that it was a "bratty display from a&#160;wealthy&#160;youngster" and claiming that "it is illegal to pay a woman less than a man solely based on gender" and that other "factors" are actually at play instead:&#160;</p>
<p>I remember my reaction included an eye-roll and probably a yawn. The Patricia Arquettes, Jennifer Lawrences, and Gwyneth Paltrows of the world (who once said "I am who I am. I can't pretend to be somebody who makes $25,000 a year"), are not mouthpieces for regular women. What's more, they muddy the discussion by appealing only to emotion, not facts. It is illegal to pay a woman less than a man solely based on gender. (See The Equal Pay Act of 1963.) Factors such as education, experience, ability, skill, and availability will all impact someone's salary. In the case of comparing men vs. women in the real world, much of the pay inequality outcry looks at the life of a career, sees a woman makes less, and outrage ensues. Over the life of a career, though, a woman's time on the job may be much less, as family and maternity responsibilities call her away.</p>
<p>[...]</p>
<p>I scanned the Lenny's Letter post Jennifer did recently, and I'm just not seeing any mention of this pay disparity over her male costar for this movie. Hmm. It's almost as if she speaks out on "inequality" when it best suits her and her agenda. As for the pay inequality she raged on about recently, it concerns the movie American Hustle. I saw this movie, and Jennifer is most definitely in fewer scenes than the male actors. So, maybe she was paid just for the work she did? Not sure about you, Middle American, but that sounds fair to me.</p>
<p>Not only is Jennifer Lawrence's complaint a bratty display from a wealthy youngster, but it highlights that claims of pay inequality are oftentimes not the complete story, and Hollywood is the least appropriate voice on the subject. [RedState.com,&#160; <a href="http://www.redstate.com/2015/10/17/thanks-hollywood-dont-care-say-pay-inequality/" type="external">10/17/15</a>]</p>
<p>Breitbart News' John Nolte: Lawrence Should "Go To The Library, Crack Open A Book, And Read About How Much Better Women Were Treated" When&#160;"Conservative Republicans&#160;Ran Everything." &#160;Breitbart news' John Nolte commented on Lawrence's essay by claiming the actress was "blam[ing] America for her personal inadequacies" and that she should "go to the library, crack open a book, and read about how much better women were treated in your industry" when "conservative republicans ran everything":</p>
<p>What happened to the strong, talented, independent, decent Jennifer Lawrence? What kind of values are these that she now judges her own self-worth with a pay check as opposed to issues of conscience regarding and caring for her personal and professional relationships?</p>
<p>And naturally, Lena Dunham's LawrencePuppet blames America for her personal inadequacies. At no time will LawrencePuppet be allowed to acknowledge The Truth -- that the industry in which she works is run exclusively by LEFTISTS, &#160;and has been for 50 years.</p>
<p>LawrencePuppet will not be allowed to show the moral courage required to say out loud what we all know is the truth: That if she is being screwed, she is being screwed by supporters of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.</p>
<p>Hey J-Law, if you can get over yourself and away from PredatorDunham, go to the library, crack open a book, and read about how much better women were treated in your industry during the studio era when "patriarchal" conservative Republicans ran everything with an iron fist. You know, the pre-feminist era. [Breitbart News,&#160; <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/big-hollywood/2015/10/13/lena-dunham-turns-jennifer-lawrence-into-an-ahole/" type="external">10/13/15</a>]</p>
<p>Breitbart News' Ben Shapiro Lamented That Lawrence Is Being Hailed As&#160;"A Hero" When She Is "Whining About A Bad Contract."&#160;In an October 14 tweet, Breitbart News editor-at-large Ben Shapiro complained that Lawrence is being lauded as "a hero for whining about a bad contract":</p>
<p>[Twitter.com,&#160; <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/654504892246036480" type="external">10/14/15</a>]</p>
<p>Dana Loesch: Jennifer Lawrence Dealt With A "Self Esteem Issue," Not "Sexism."&#160;In an October 14 tweet linking to Lawrence's article, The Blaze's Dana Loesch claimed the actress had a "self esteem issue" and wasn't dealing with "sexism":</p>
<p>[Twitter.com,&#160; <a href="https://twitter.com/DLoesch/status/654374298413477889" type="external">10/14/15</a>]</p> | Conservatives Dismiss Jennifer Lawrence's Experience With The Gender Pay Gap | true | http://mediamatters.org/research/2015/10/19/conservatives-dismiss-jennifer-lawrences-experi/206265 | 2015-10-19 | 4left
| Conservatives Dismiss Jennifer Lawrence's Experience With The Gender Pay Gap
<p>Jennifer Lawrence: Sony Hack Revealed That&#160;"Every Man I Was Working With" Had&#160;A&#160;Higher Salary.&#160;In an essay for Lena Dunham's October 13&#160;Lenny Letter&#160;e-newsletter,&#160;Lawrence discussed how she "had earned significantly less than her male co-stars Jeremy Renner, Christian Bale and Bradley Cooper" for her starring &#160;role in the film&#160;American Hustle. As NPR reported:</p>
<p>The criticism Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence has lobbed at herself for not pushing for a higher fee to star in the film&#160;American Hustle&#160;is reverberating in Hollywood and beyond.</p>
<p>In an essay for Lena Dunham's&#160;Lenny Letter&#160;e-newsletter, Lawrence explained that after the Sony hack -- which revealed documents showing Lawrence had earned significantly less than her male co-stars Jeremy Renner, Christian Bale and Bradley Cooper -- she didn't get mad at the studio.</p>
<p>"I got mad at myself," Lawrence wrote. "I failed as a negotiator because I gave up early."</p>
<p>The star of the Hunger Games franchise said she hesitated to negotiate aggressively because she didn't want to come across as abrasive or too demanding -- a fear, she mused, that probably is linked to gender conditioning. Lawrence wrote: "I didn't want to seem 'difficult' or 'spoiled.' At the time, that seemed like a fine idea, until I saw the payroll on the Internet and realized every man I was working with definitely didn't worry about being 'difficult' or 'spoiled.'" [NPR,&#160; <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/10/15/448954732/jennifer-lawrence-hits-a-nerve-with-essay-on-hollywoods-gender-pay-gap" type="external">10/15/15</a>]</p>
<p>Fox's Hegseth Suggested "Political Correctness" Behind Lawrence's Claim, Points Out She "Made $52 Million Last Year."&#160;On the October 19 edition of Fox News'&#160;Fox &amp; Friends, co-host Pete Hegseth attributed Lawrence's comments to "political correctness," jumping to point out that the actress "made $52 million last year." Contributor Meghan McCain added that while she was "all for women getting equal pay ... I also think women have to fight for what we want":</p>
<p>PETE HEGSETH: Speaking of political correctness, actor Bradley Cooper is teaming up now with female actresses, saying they're not being paid the equivalent what he's being paid specifically, and actress Jennifer Lawrence who made $52 million last year. What's your take on pay inequality?</p>
<p>BRIAN KILMEADE: And he'll give some of his pay for her.&#160;</p>
<p>MEGHAN MCCAIN: I'm all for women getting equal pay for men obviously, but I also think women we have to fight for what we want. You have to fight for what you think your value is and not all of us are going to have a Bradley Cooper here to bail us out and you know, come in and get paid as much as I'm going to get paid. So I think this is sort of like Hollywood fantasyland -- which is fantastic for Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper. But for the average American woman who is just working a normal job you have to go in to your employers and fight for what you think your worth is,&#160;for better or for worse. [Fox News,&#160;Fox &amp; Friends,&#160; <a href="/embed/clips/2015/10/19/42645/fnc-ff-20151019-lawrence" type="external">10/19/15</a>]</p>
<p>Fox's&#160;Earhardt&#160;Dismissed Role Of Pay Inequality In Lawrence's Earnings. &#160;During the October 19 edition of Fox News'&#160;Fox &amp; Friends First, co-host&#160;Ainsley Earhardt&#160;claimed that "there might be a reason why" Lawrence made less than her male counterparts in films, highlighting a report claiming the actress "showed up late to filming and&#160;she worked&#160;fewer days than the other actors":</p>
<p>HEATHER CHILDERS: Well, you know how Jennifer Lawrence, she&#160;has complained,&#160;we've heard her talking&#160;about earning less than her&#160;American Hustle&#160;co-stars?</p>
<p>[CLIP OF AMERICAN HUSTLE]</p>
<p>AINSLEY EARHARDT: Turns out there might be a reason why. Deadline is reporting she showed up late to filming and&#160;she&#160;worked&#160;fewer days than the other actors. Lawrence says she didn't want to fight about her salary because she didn't want to come off as difficult or spoiled. [Fox News,&#160;Fox &amp; Friends First,&#160; <a href="/embed/clips/2015/10/19/42646/fnc-fff-20151019-lawrence" type="external">10/19/15</a>]</p>
<p>Fox Guest: "I Really Don't Think The Wage Gap Is Something&#160;That&#160;Jennifer Lawrence Can Be Blaming Here."&#160;Speaking about Lawrence's article on the October 15 edition of Fox News'&#160;Fox &amp; Friends, guest Ashley Pratte questioned celebrities who speak out against the gender pay gap, asserting that she didn't "think the wage gap is something&#160;that&#160;Jennifer Lawrence can be blaming here," later falsely attributing pay discrepancies between men and women to women's "choices":</p>
<p>ASHLEY PRATTE: I would almost say oh the irony, another Hollywood actress coming out and saying something about her wage when you know they act like "champions" for the equal pay movement. Which is what we saw at the Oscars, when Patricia Arquette got up there and then you saw Meryl Streep clapping uncontrollably. And this is just something that doesn't resonate with middle America and the women that are out there in the workforce. Studies actually show that young women, yes while negotiating is difficult for women, for the most part, women are educated and when you look at young women coming out of college who are actually outperforming our male counterparts in a lot of large cities all across this country. So I really don't think the wage gap is something that Jennifer Lawrence can be blaming here and calling it discrimination. [Fox News,&#160;Fox &amp; Friends,&#160; <a href="/embed/clips/2015/10/19/42650/fnc-ff-20151015-lawrence" type="external">10/15/15</a>]</p>
<p>New York Post&#160;Dismissed Lawrence: She Used "Fuzzy Math When She Griped That She Was The Victim Of Sexism" And Pay Inequality.&#160;In an October 19 article,&#160;The New York Post's Page Six gossip section&#160;glossed over the role of the the gender pay gap in Lawrence's career, instead attributing the discrepancy to "fuzzy math":</p>
<p>Jennifer Lawrence, the world's highest-paid actress, used fuzzy math when she griped that she was the victim of sexism and didn't earn as much as her male co-stars in "American Hustle," it was reported&#160;Sunday.</p>
<p>The 25-year-old Oscar winner came to the project late in the game and worked half as many days as co-stars Christian Bale and Bradley Cooper, according to the Web site Deadline.</p>
<p>Lawrence also failed to note the handsome windfall that followed the hit film, which snagged 10 Oscar nominations and increased her cachet with its success, the site said. She scored big time afterward, including netting $20 million for the sci-fi adventure "Passengers" out next year -- or an estimated $5 million to $7 million more than her male co-star, Chris Pratt. [The New York Post,&#160; <a href="http://pagesix.com/2015/10/19/this-might-be-why-j-law-earned-less-than-her-male-co-stars/" type="external">10/19/15</a>]</p>
<p>RedState: Jennifer Lawrence's Discussion Of Pay Inequality Is "A Bratty Display" And An Example Of Of How "Claims Of Pay Inequality Are Oftentimes Not The Complete Story."&#160;RedState dismissed the pay inequality in light of Lawrence's essay, claiming that it was a "bratty display from a&#160;wealthy&#160;youngster" and claiming that "it is illegal to pay a woman less than a man solely based on gender" and that other "factors" are actually at play instead:&#160;</p>
<p>I remember my reaction included an eye-roll and probably a yawn. The Patricia Arquettes, Jennifer Lawrences, and Gwyneth Paltrows of the world (who once said "I am who I am. I can't pretend to be somebody who makes $25,000 a year"), are not mouthpieces for regular women. What's more, they muddy the discussion by appealing only to emotion, not facts. It is illegal to pay a woman less than a man solely based on gender. (See The Equal Pay Act of 1963.) Factors such as education, experience, ability, skill, and availability will all impact someone's salary. In the case of comparing men vs. women in the real world, much of the pay inequality outcry looks at the life of a career, sees a woman makes less, and outrage ensues. Over the life of a career, though, a woman's time on the job may be much less, as family and maternity responsibilities call her away.</p>
<p>[...]</p>
<p>I scanned the Lenny's Letter post Jennifer did recently, and I'm just not seeing any mention of this pay disparity over her male costar for this movie. Hmm. It's almost as if she speaks out on "inequality" when it best suits her and her agenda. As for the pay inequality she raged on about recently, it concerns the movie American Hustle. I saw this movie, and Jennifer is most definitely in fewer scenes than the male actors. So, maybe she was paid just for the work she did? Not sure about you, Middle American, but that sounds fair to me.</p>
<p>Not only is Jennifer Lawrence's complaint a bratty display from a wealthy youngster, but it highlights that claims of pay inequality are oftentimes not the complete story, and Hollywood is the least appropriate voice on the subject. [RedState.com,&#160; <a href="http://www.redstate.com/2015/10/17/thanks-hollywood-dont-care-say-pay-inequality/" type="external">10/17/15</a>]</p>
<p>Breitbart News' John Nolte: Lawrence Should "Go To The Library, Crack Open A Book, And Read About How Much Better Women Were Treated" When&#160;"Conservative Republicans&#160;Ran Everything." &#160;Breitbart news' John Nolte commented on Lawrence's essay by claiming the actress was "blam[ing] America for her personal inadequacies" and that she should "go to the library, crack open a book, and read about how much better women were treated in your industry" when "conservative republicans ran everything":</p>
<p>What happened to the strong, talented, independent, decent Jennifer Lawrence? What kind of values are these that she now judges her own self-worth with a pay check as opposed to issues of conscience regarding and caring for her personal and professional relationships?</p>
<p>And naturally, Lena Dunham's LawrencePuppet blames America for her personal inadequacies. At no time will LawrencePuppet be allowed to acknowledge The Truth -- that the industry in which she works is run exclusively by LEFTISTS, &#160;and has been for 50 years.</p>
<p>LawrencePuppet will not be allowed to show the moral courage required to say out loud what we all know is the truth: That if she is being screwed, she is being screwed by supporters of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.</p>
<p>Hey J-Law, if you can get over yourself and away from PredatorDunham, go to the library, crack open a book, and read about how much better women were treated in your industry during the studio era when "patriarchal" conservative Republicans ran everything with an iron fist. You know, the pre-feminist era. [Breitbart News,&#160; <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/big-hollywood/2015/10/13/lena-dunham-turns-jennifer-lawrence-into-an-ahole/" type="external">10/13/15</a>]</p>
<p>Breitbart News' Ben Shapiro Lamented That Lawrence Is Being Hailed As&#160;"A Hero" When She Is "Whining About A Bad Contract."&#160;In an October 14 tweet, Breitbart News editor-at-large Ben Shapiro complained that Lawrence is being lauded as "a hero for whining about a bad contract":</p>
<p>[Twitter.com,&#160; <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/654504892246036480" type="external">10/14/15</a>]</p>
<p>Dana Loesch: Jennifer Lawrence Dealt With A "Self Esteem Issue," Not "Sexism."&#160;In an October 14 tweet linking to Lawrence's article, The Blaze's Dana Loesch claimed the actress had a "self esteem issue" and wasn't dealing with "sexism":</p>
<p>[Twitter.com,&#160; <a href="https://twitter.com/DLoesch/status/654374298413477889" type="external">10/14/15</a>]</p> | 2,499 |
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