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<p>CHICAGO (AP) — An army of snowplows was deployed to clear Chicago area roads after a winter storm left the region covered with a thick blanket of snow and the harsh conditions had left roads so slippery that authorities well south of the city were urging people not to drive unless it was absolutely necessary.</p>
<p>By mid-afternoon on Monday, as much as five inches of snow had fallen in some areas. The hundreds of city and state snowplows were trying to clear off roadways as police agencies were responding to dozens of traffic accidents.</p>
<p>The weather was affecting air travel as well. By mid-afternoon, Chicago’s Department of Aviation reported that there had been nearly 150 flights canceled at the city’s two major airports.</p>
<p>CHICAGO (AP) — An army of snowplows was deployed to clear Chicago area roads after a winter storm left the region covered with a thick blanket of snow and the harsh conditions had left roads so slippery that authorities well south of the city were urging people not to drive unless it was absolutely necessary.</p>
<p>By mid-afternoon on Monday, as much as five inches of snow had fallen in some areas. The hundreds of city and state snowplows were trying to clear off roadways as police agencies were responding to dozens of traffic accidents.</p>
<p>The weather was affecting air travel as well. By mid-afternoon, Chicago’s Department of Aviation reported that there had been nearly 150 flights canceled at the city’s two major airports.</p> | Chicago area sees as much as 5 inches of snow | false | https://apnews.com/250a219dbb3d45f6a4d71a338f6bb276 | 2018-01-15 | 2least
| Chicago area sees as much as 5 inches of snow
<p>CHICAGO (AP) — An army of snowplows was deployed to clear Chicago area roads after a winter storm left the region covered with a thick blanket of snow and the harsh conditions had left roads so slippery that authorities well south of the city were urging people not to drive unless it was absolutely necessary.</p>
<p>By mid-afternoon on Monday, as much as five inches of snow had fallen in some areas. The hundreds of city and state snowplows were trying to clear off roadways as police agencies were responding to dozens of traffic accidents.</p>
<p>The weather was affecting air travel as well. By mid-afternoon, Chicago’s Department of Aviation reported that there had been nearly 150 flights canceled at the city’s two major airports.</p>
<p>CHICAGO (AP) — An army of snowplows was deployed to clear Chicago area roads after a winter storm left the region covered with a thick blanket of snow and the harsh conditions had left roads so slippery that authorities well south of the city were urging people not to drive unless it was absolutely necessary.</p>
<p>By mid-afternoon on Monday, as much as five inches of snow had fallen in some areas. The hundreds of city and state snowplows were trying to clear off roadways as police agencies were responding to dozens of traffic accidents.</p>
<p>The weather was affecting air travel as well. By mid-afternoon, Chicago’s Department of Aviation reported that there had been nearly 150 flights canceled at the city’s two major airports.</p> | 2,900 |
<p>San Francisco has <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/11/15/ROTC.TMP" type="external">banned</a> the Junior ROTC program (JROTC) from the city’s high schools. (For a report on related initiatives, see “ <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/006/381ngctp.asp?pg=1" type="external">San Francisco to Army: Drop Dead</a>.”) The No Child Left Behind Act includes a provision denying federal funds to schools that bar military recruiters. If that provision of NCLBA applies here, then the administration must enforce it. If, on the other hand, JROTC is not technically classed as “recruitment,” then the coverage of the Solomon Amendment (for universities) and the No Child Left Behind Act (for K-12) needs to be expanded by congress to include both the ROTC and the JROTC.</p>
<p>The administration and the (formerly) Republican congress have dropped the ball on this issue. First, let’s give credit where credit is due. The Bush administration has enforced the Solomon Amendment’s application to law school recruitment, and has very successfully defended against a legal challenge to the Solomon Amendment, winning a unanimous decision in the Supreme Court. (The Solomon Amendment denies federal funds to colleges and universities that bar military recruiters.) For all this, the administration deserves our praise. Congress and the president are also to be credited for inserting a recruitment protection provision in the No Child Left Behind Act.</p>
<p>Having said all that, many of America’s finest colleges and universities are still barring the ROTC, while continuing to pocket millions of dollars in federal aid. This should not be permitted. Either the Solomon Amendment and No Child Left Behind should be invoked against bans on ROTC and JROTC programs (which are de facto forms of recruitment), or the definition of what counts as recruitment should be formally expanded by congress to include ROTC and JROTC.</p>
<p>This is both the right thing to do, and a winning political issue. Yet (despite the positive actions cited above) both the administration and the Republicans in congress have largely downplayed and neglected the ROTC/JROTC issue. Establishment Republicans seem to believe that the days of Bill Bennett and Lynn Cheney are long past. No need to use the bully pulpit to take on campus outrages, like the exclusion of our armed forces by colleges that suck up multi-millions of taxpayer dollars at the public trough. The administration seems to believe that these public battles distract from big issues like the war on terror and social security reform. In fact, highlighting bans of ROTC and JROTC helps expose the motives of the harshest critics of the war on terror, who also happen to be the core supporters of Howard Dean, Nancy Pelosi, and Ned Lamont.</p>
<p>So Republicans in congress, are you listening? Why not force the Democrats to accept or reject revisions to the Solomon Amendment and No Child Left Behind Act? Why not force those who would bar ROTC and JROTC to surrender their federal subsidies? Are you listening Republican presidential candidates? Why not run on a pledge to bring ROTC back to our college campuses, and JROTC back to San Francisco, by forcing those who ban these organizations to surrender their federal subsides?</p>
<p>While we’re at it, Republican presidential candidates, why not pledge to appoint a Secretary of Education and/or an NEH head who will use the bully pulpit to foreground the problems of our colleges and universities? If President Bush could run on a pledge to appoint Supreme Court justices modeled on Scalia and Thomas, why not also run on a pledge to appoint higher education officials modeled on William Bennett and Lynn Cheney? How wrong (and politically foolish) of us it’s been to have given up on this critical aspect of Reagan era conservatism.</p> | San Francisco’s Ban on the Junior ROTC | false | https://eppc.org/publications/san-franciscos-ban-on-the-junior-rotc/ | 1right-center
| San Francisco’s Ban on the Junior ROTC
<p>San Francisco has <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/11/15/ROTC.TMP" type="external">banned</a> the Junior ROTC program (JROTC) from the city’s high schools. (For a report on related initiatives, see “ <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/006/381ngctp.asp?pg=1" type="external">San Francisco to Army: Drop Dead</a>.”) The No Child Left Behind Act includes a provision denying federal funds to schools that bar military recruiters. If that provision of NCLBA applies here, then the administration must enforce it. If, on the other hand, JROTC is not technically classed as “recruitment,” then the coverage of the Solomon Amendment (for universities) and the No Child Left Behind Act (for K-12) needs to be expanded by congress to include both the ROTC and the JROTC.</p>
<p>The administration and the (formerly) Republican congress have dropped the ball on this issue. First, let’s give credit where credit is due. The Bush administration has enforced the Solomon Amendment’s application to law school recruitment, and has very successfully defended against a legal challenge to the Solomon Amendment, winning a unanimous decision in the Supreme Court. (The Solomon Amendment denies federal funds to colleges and universities that bar military recruiters.) For all this, the administration deserves our praise. Congress and the president are also to be credited for inserting a recruitment protection provision in the No Child Left Behind Act.</p>
<p>Having said all that, many of America’s finest colleges and universities are still barring the ROTC, while continuing to pocket millions of dollars in federal aid. This should not be permitted. Either the Solomon Amendment and No Child Left Behind should be invoked against bans on ROTC and JROTC programs (which are de facto forms of recruitment), or the definition of what counts as recruitment should be formally expanded by congress to include ROTC and JROTC.</p>
<p>This is both the right thing to do, and a winning political issue. Yet (despite the positive actions cited above) both the administration and the Republicans in congress have largely downplayed and neglected the ROTC/JROTC issue. Establishment Republicans seem to believe that the days of Bill Bennett and Lynn Cheney are long past. No need to use the bully pulpit to take on campus outrages, like the exclusion of our armed forces by colleges that suck up multi-millions of taxpayer dollars at the public trough. The administration seems to believe that these public battles distract from big issues like the war on terror and social security reform. In fact, highlighting bans of ROTC and JROTC helps expose the motives of the harshest critics of the war on terror, who also happen to be the core supporters of Howard Dean, Nancy Pelosi, and Ned Lamont.</p>
<p>So Republicans in congress, are you listening? Why not force the Democrats to accept or reject revisions to the Solomon Amendment and No Child Left Behind Act? Why not force those who would bar ROTC and JROTC to surrender their federal subsidies? Are you listening Republican presidential candidates? Why not run on a pledge to bring ROTC back to our college campuses, and JROTC back to San Francisco, by forcing those who ban these organizations to surrender their federal subsides?</p>
<p>While we’re at it, Republican presidential candidates, why not pledge to appoint a Secretary of Education and/or an NEH head who will use the bully pulpit to foreground the problems of our colleges and universities? If President Bush could run on a pledge to appoint Supreme Court justices modeled on Scalia and Thomas, why not also run on a pledge to appoint higher education officials modeled on William Bennett and Lynn Cheney? How wrong (and politically foolish) of us it’s been to have given up on this critical aspect of Reagan era conservatism.</p> | 2,901 |
|
<p>By Tim Radford, Climate News Network</p>
<p />
<p>&#160; &#160; Depletion of aquifers adds to pressures on farmers in drought-stricken areas such as California. (General Physics Laboratory via Flickr)</p>
<p>This Creative Commons-licensed piece first appeared at <a href="http://www.climatenewsnetwork.net/stress-on-water-resources-threatens-lives-and-livelihoods/" type="external">Climate News Network</a>.</p>
<p />
<p>LONDON — The planet’s great subterranean stores of water are running out — and nobody can be sure how much remains to supply billions of people in the future.</p>
<p>Satellite instruments used to measure the flow from 37 underground aquifers between 2003 and 2013 have revealed that at least <a href="http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-06/uoc--at061615.php" type="external">one-third of them were seriously stressed</a> — with little or almost no natural replenishment.</p>
<p>The research was conducted by scientists from California and the US space agency NASA, who report in the journal <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2015WR017349/full" type="external">Water Resources Research</a> that they used data from NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites to calculate what is happening to aquifers.</p>
<p>The two satellites measure variations in the gravitational pull of the planet’s surface, and have already revealed <a href="http://www.climatenewsnetwork.net/science-puzzles-over-recent-rapid-antarctic-thaw/" type="external">changes in the mass of ice sheets</a> on the planetary surface. But buried water, too, has mass, and changes in the mass of bedrock in known aquifer regions would therefore offer a guide to depletion.</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, the researchers found that those regions that are already driest were drawing most heavily on the groundwater below the surface.</p>
<p>The Arabian aquifer system — the principal water source for 60 million people — is the worst stressed, followed by the Indus Basin of north-west India and Pakistan, and then the Murzuk-Djado basin in northern Africa.</p>
<p>The scientists warn that climate change — a consequence of increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions from the human combustion of fossil fuels — and population growth will make things worse.</p>
<p>“What happens when a highly-stressed aquifer is located in a region with socioeconomic or political tensions that can’t supplement declining water supplies fast enough?” asks Alexandra Richey, who conducted the research as a <a href="http://uci.edu/" type="external">University of California Irvine</a> doctoral student. “We’re trying to raise red flags now to pinpoint where active management today could protect future lives and livelihoods.”</p>
<p>Her colleague, <a href="http://jayfamiglietti.com/" type="external">hydrologist James Famiglietti</a>, identified his own home state of California as a cause for concern because it is in the grip of an extended drought that threatens agriculture.</p>
<p>“As we’re seeing in California right now, we rely much more heavily on groundwater during drought,” he says. “When examining the sustainability of a region’s water resources, we absolutely must account for that dependence.”</p>
<p>Groundwater accumulates slowly in the underlying bedrock over millennia. There is no problem if it is withdrawn slowly, but human population has exploded threefold in one human lifetime, and water use has risen even faster.</p>
<p>Research like this is a demonstration of ways to address a supply problem — but there is more work to be done.</p>
<p>In a second study in Water Resources Research, the same team examined the challenge of trying to calculate the <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2015WR017351/full" type="external">rates at which aquifers are being emptied</a>, and the uncertainties as to how much might remain in them.</p>
<p>In the Northwest Sahara, for instance, estimates of the projected “time to depletion” varied from 10 years to 21,000 years. “In a water-scarce society,” Richey says, “we can no longer tolerate this level of uncertainty, especially since groundwater is disappearing so rapidly.”</p>
<p>Professor Famiglietti concludes: “I believe we need to explore the world’s aquifers as if they had the same value as oil reserves. We need to drill for water in the same way that we drill for other resources.”</p>
<p /> | Stress on Water Resources Threatens Lives and Livelihoods | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/stress-on-water-resources-threatens-lives-and-livelihoods/ | 2015-06-29 | 4left
| Stress on Water Resources Threatens Lives and Livelihoods
<p>By Tim Radford, Climate News Network</p>
<p />
<p>&#160; &#160; Depletion of aquifers adds to pressures on farmers in drought-stricken areas such as California. (General Physics Laboratory via Flickr)</p>
<p>This Creative Commons-licensed piece first appeared at <a href="http://www.climatenewsnetwork.net/stress-on-water-resources-threatens-lives-and-livelihoods/" type="external">Climate News Network</a>.</p>
<p />
<p>LONDON — The planet’s great subterranean stores of water are running out — and nobody can be sure how much remains to supply billions of people in the future.</p>
<p>Satellite instruments used to measure the flow from 37 underground aquifers between 2003 and 2013 have revealed that at least <a href="http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-06/uoc--at061615.php" type="external">one-third of them were seriously stressed</a> — with little or almost no natural replenishment.</p>
<p>The research was conducted by scientists from California and the US space agency NASA, who report in the journal <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2015WR017349/full" type="external">Water Resources Research</a> that they used data from NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites to calculate what is happening to aquifers.</p>
<p>The two satellites measure variations in the gravitational pull of the planet’s surface, and have already revealed <a href="http://www.climatenewsnetwork.net/science-puzzles-over-recent-rapid-antarctic-thaw/" type="external">changes in the mass of ice sheets</a> on the planetary surface. But buried water, too, has mass, and changes in the mass of bedrock in known aquifer regions would therefore offer a guide to depletion.</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, the researchers found that those regions that are already driest were drawing most heavily on the groundwater below the surface.</p>
<p>The Arabian aquifer system — the principal water source for 60 million people — is the worst stressed, followed by the Indus Basin of north-west India and Pakistan, and then the Murzuk-Djado basin in northern Africa.</p>
<p>The scientists warn that climate change — a consequence of increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions from the human combustion of fossil fuels — and population growth will make things worse.</p>
<p>“What happens when a highly-stressed aquifer is located in a region with socioeconomic or political tensions that can’t supplement declining water supplies fast enough?” asks Alexandra Richey, who conducted the research as a <a href="http://uci.edu/" type="external">University of California Irvine</a> doctoral student. “We’re trying to raise red flags now to pinpoint where active management today could protect future lives and livelihoods.”</p>
<p>Her colleague, <a href="http://jayfamiglietti.com/" type="external">hydrologist James Famiglietti</a>, identified his own home state of California as a cause for concern because it is in the grip of an extended drought that threatens agriculture.</p>
<p>“As we’re seeing in California right now, we rely much more heavily on groundwater during drought,” he says. “When examining the sustainability of a region’s water resources, we absolutely must account for that dependence.”</p>
<p>Groundwater accumulates slowly in the underlying bedrock over millennia. There is no problem if it is withdrawn slowly, but human population has exploded threefold in one human lifetime, and water use has risen even faster.</p>
<p>Research like this is a demonstration of ways to address a supply problem — but there is more work to be done.</p>
<p>In a second study in Water Resources Research, the same team examined the challenge of trying to calculate the <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2015WR017351/full" type="external">rates at which aquifers are being emptied</a>, and the uncertainties as to how much might remain in them.</p>
<p>In the Northwest Sahara, for instance, estimates of the projected “time to depletion” varied from 10 years to 21,000 years. “In a water-scarce society,” Richey says, “we can no longer tolerate this level of uncertainty, especially since groundwater is disappearing so rapidly.”</p>
<p>Professor Famiglietti concludes: “I believe we need to explore the world’s aquifers as if they had the same value as oil reserves. We need to drill for water in the same way that we drill for other resources.”</p>
<p /> | 2,902 |
<p>The Secret Service is bracing for&#160;the impending appointment of a new&#160;director, but this time round will be different. Normally, the director comes from within the&#160;service. Trump is planning to change that by appointing someone&#160;with a senior military rank and an outsider.</p>
<p>Agents and officers are expecting Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, a retired Marine general and former head of U.S. Central Command, to tap another general to head the Secret Service and help reform the agency and impose more rigorous and even-handed discipline, according to two knowledgeable sources.</p>
<p>– <a href="http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/exclusive-secret-service-braces-for-outsider-director-from-the-military/article/2618315#.WNUCAepLiYw.twitter" type="external">Washington Examiner</a></p>
<p>The announcement is expected in the next week.</p>
<p>There have been a lot of&#160;serious security lapses recently. The most serious of these was when a fence jumper was able to walk around the White House South Lawn for nearly 17 minutes without being detected.</p>
<p>In addition, the Secret Service has suffered a string of embarrassing mistakes over the past month. In one, a special agent had her laptop with floor plans for Trump tower stolen out of her car in Brooklyn overnight. In another, two senior agents took photos of Trump’s sleeping eight-year-old grandson.</p>
<p>There are other concerns as well:</p>
<p>The Secret Service in recent years has a recent history of uneven punishment. Agents and officers describe a “culture of corruption” in which senior officers close to the 8th floor at headquarters, where the top managers have their offices, often escape the same disciplinary measures rank-and-file agents and officers would for similar misconduct.</p>
<p>The uneven discipline and tight-knit atmosphere at the agency has contributed to severe morale problems that have led to an exodus of agents and officers to other government agencies.</p>
<p>It’s no wonder Trump wants some new blood in the mix. Someone who will actually take the job seriously.</p> | Trump is About to Do Something That No Other President Has in Modern History, Do You Agree With His Actions? | true | http://girlsjustwannahaveguns.com/trump-something-no-president-modern-history-agree-actions/ | 0right
| Trump is About to Do Something That No Other President Has in Modern History, Do You Agree With His Actions?
<p>The Secret Service is bracing for&#160;the impending appointment of a new&#160;director, but this time round will be different. Normally, the director comes from within the&#160;service. Trump is planning to change that by appointing someone&#160;with a senior military rank and an outsider.</p>
<p>Agents and officers are expecting Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, a retired Marine general and former head of U.S. Central Command, to tap another general to head the Secret Service and help reform the agency and impose more rigorous and even-handed discipline, according to two knowledgeable sources.</p>
<p>– <a href="http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/exclusive-secret-service-braces-for-outsider-director-from-the-military/article/2618315#.WNUCAepLiYw.twitter" type="external">Washington Examiner</a></p>
<p>The announcement is expected in the next week.</p>
<p>There have been a lot of&#160;serious security lapses recently. The most serious of these was when a fence jumper was able to walk around the White House South Lawn for nearly 17 minutes without being detected.</p>
<p>In addition, the Secret Service has suffered a string of embarrassing mistakes over the past month. In one, a special agent had her laptop with floor plans for Trump tower stolen out of her car in Brooklyn overnight. In another, two senior agents took photos of Trump’s sleeping eight-year-old grandson.</p>
<p>There are other concerns as well:</p>
<p>The Secret Service in recent years has a recent history of uneven punishment. Agents and officers describe a “culture of corruption” in which senior officers close to the 8th floor at headquarters, where the top managers have their offices, often escape the same disciplinary measures rank-and-file agents and officers would for similar misconduct.</p>
<p>The uneven discipline and tight-knit atmosphere at the agency has contributed to severe morale problems that have led to an exodus of agents and officers to other government agencies.</p>
<p>It’s no wonder Trump wants some new blood in the mix. Someone who will actually take the job seriously.</p> | 2,903 |
|
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>A funny mix of people are fighting to preserve the remains of a once-bustling immigrant neighborhood on Washington Street in lower Manhattan.</p>
<p>Carl Antoun has this infectious, youthful excitement for New York City history. He’s a third-generation Lebanese-American.</p>
<p>“I remember when I was young going to the World Trade Center, just to see it like any tourist would," he said. "My grandma and aunts would point down the street and say 'That’s where our history started in this country.' "</p>
<p>Todd Fine, a Harvard-trained historian is inspired by the neighborhood’s literary history.</p>
<p>“This neighborhood was the birthplace of a very significant Arab literary movement,” Fine said. “A number of writers — some of them we know very well, like Khalil Gibran, who’s a phenomenon — but others like Ameen Rihani, Mikhail Naimy, are lesser known. But they’re still very well-known in the Arab world.”</p>
<p>Joe Svehlak is a verbose New York City historian and tour guide whose Moravian ancestors immigrated to the neighborhood in 1912.</p>
<p>“There is no other neighborhood in New York that mixed these various different ethnicities as well as this neighborhood mixed it,” Svehlak said.</p>
<p>That these three should find common cause in saving an old building says a lot about the neighborhood that used to be here.</p>
<p>In the 19th century, the neighborhood, which covered Manhattan south of the World Trade Center site and west of Broadway, was the first stop for many immigrants arriving from Central and Eastern Europe, Greece and Ireland.</p>
<p>By the 1880s, large numbers of immigrants from present-day Syria and Lebanon were also arriving. The neighborhood came to be known as “Little Syria.” To the immigrants coming from the Arab Middle East it was also called “The Mother Colony,” since so many of them started their lives in the U.S. here.</p>
<p>Importing and textile stores lined the streets, along with tea shops and restaurants. A 1917 survey counted 27 nationalities living in the area. Joe Svehlak’s mother attended school in the neighborhood around this time.</p>
<p>“The first day she was a girl of 7 years old, not speaking a word of English and the only thing she recognized was her name being called. But she was in the class with the Irish, Lebanese, Syrians, with Italians, with Poles, with Ukrainians and as a result of that these young kids who were immigrants learned from each other and they became friends with each other.”</p>
<p>The vestiges of the immigrant neighborhood are nearly all gone — swept away first by the building of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel in the 1940s, then by World Trade Center construction.</p>
<p>But one church, established on Washington Street by Arab immigrants, mostly Christian, remains. It once housed St. George’s Syrian Catholic church, and is now an official city landmark. To its right is a construction site that will soon sprout a 50-story tower.</p>
<p>To its left is a six-story brick building which, in the 1920s, was a community center for the neighborhood. Fine, Antoun, Svehlak and their “Save Washington Street” group are trying to preserve this building. It’s currently owned by the same developers who are building the 50-story tower. They wouldn’t discuss their plans for the building, and New York City has declined to declare it a landmark.</p>
<p>National Arab-American organizations are getting behind the “Save Washington Street” effort.</p>
<p>“We want to say ‘Yes, we’ve been here for a long time, we’ve been contributing to these communities,’ ” said Devon Akmon, Deputy Director of Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Mich.</p>
<p>The museum is putting together an exhibit on the neighborhood. He said recognizing the area’s Arab-American history is particularly important because of its proximity to the World Trade Center site and the Park 51 Islamic center.</p>
<p>“The story in general is really quite moving to me in a lot of ways. I’m a third-generation Lebanese-American, my family came here to Detroit not New York. But just all that’s happened in New York. We see this exhibit and these buildings as a way of both healing and educating.” Akmon said.</p>
<p>A poignant reminder of this history turned up in the rubble of the World Trade Center site: In early 2002, workers there found remnants of another Arab-Christian landmark — the 100-year-old cornerstone of St. Joseph’s Maronite Church.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | New Yorkers trying to save lower Manhattan's history as Little Syria | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-01-23/new-yorkers-trying-save-lower-manhattans-history-little-syria | 2012-01-23 | 3left-center
| New Yorkers trying to save lower Manhattan's history as Little Syria
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>A funny mix of people are fighting to preserve the remains of a once-bustling immigrant neighborhood on Washington Street in lower Manhattan.</p>
<p>Carl Antoun has this infectious, youthful excitement for New York City history. He’s a third-generation Lebanese-American.</p>
<p>“I remember when I was young going to the World Trade Center, just to see it like any tourist would," he said. "My grandma and aunts would point down the street and say 'That’s where our history started in this country.' "</p>
<p>Todd Fine, a Harvard-trained historian is inspired by the neighborhood’s literary history.</p>
<p>“This neighborhood was the birthplace of a very significant Arab literary movement,” Fine said. “A number of writers — some of them we know very well, like Khalil Gibran, who’s a phenomenon — but others like Ameen Rihani, Mikhail Naimy, are lesser known. But they’re still very well-known in the Arab world.”</p>
<p>Joe Svehlak is a verbose New York City historian and tour guide whose Moravian ancestors immigrated to the neighborhood in 1912.</p>
<p>“There is no other neighborhood in New York that mixed these various different ethnicities as well as this neighborhood mixed it,” Svehlak said.</p>
<p>That these three should find common cause in saving an old building says a lot about the neighborhood that used to be here.</p>
<p>In the 19th century, the neighborhood, which covered Manhattan south of the World Trade Center site and west of Broadway, was the first stop for many immigrants arriving from Central and Eastern Europe, Greece and Ireland.</p>
<p>By the 1880s, large numbers of immigrants from present-day Syria and Lebanon were also arriving. The neighborhood came to be known as “Little Syria.” To the immigrants coming from the Arab Middle East it was also called “The Mother Colony,” since so many of them started their lives in the U.S. here.</p>
<p>Importing and textile stores lined the streets, along with tea shops and restaurants. A 1917 survey counted 27 nationalities living in the area. Joe Svehlak’s mother attended school in the neighborhood around this time.</p>
<p>“The first day she was a girl of 7 years old, not speaking a word of English and the only thing she recognized was her name being called. But she was in the class with the Irish, Lebanese, Syrians, with Italians, with Poles, with Ukrainians and as a result of that these young kids who were immigrants learned from each other and they became friends with each other.”</p>
<p>The vestiges of the immigrant neighborhood are nearly all gone — swept away first by the building of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel in the 1940s, then by World Trade Center construction.</p>
<p>But one church, established on Washington Street by Arab immigrants, mostly Christian, remains. It once housed St. George’s Syrian Catholic church, and is now an official city landmark. To its right is a construction site that will soon sprout a 50-story tower.</p>
<p>To its left is a six-story brick building which, in the 1920s, was a community center for the neighborhood. Fine, Antoun, Svehlak and their “Save Washington Street” group are trying to preserve this building. It’s currently owned by the same developers who are building the 50-story tower. They wouldn’t discuss their plans for the building, and New York City has declined to declare it a landmark.</p>
<p>National Arab-American organizations are getting behind the “Save Washington Street” effort.</p>
<p>“We want to say ‘Yes, we’ve been here for a long time, we’ve been contributing to these communities,’ ” said Devon Akmon, Deputy Director of Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Mich.</p>
<p>The museum is putting together an exhibit on the neighborhood. He said recognizing the area’s Arab-American history is particularly important because of its proximity to the World Trade Center site and the Park 51 Islamic center.</p>
<p>“The story in general is really quite moving to me in a lot of ways. I’m a third-generation Lebanese-American, my family came here to Detroit not New York. But just all that’s happened in New York. We see this exhibit and these buildings as a way of both healing and educating.” Akmon said.</p>
<p>A poignant reminder of this history turned up in the rubble of the World Trade Center site: In early 2002, workers there found remnants of another Arab-Christian landmark — the 100-year-old cornerstone of St. Joseph’s Maronite Church.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 2,904 |
<p>In one of Morocco's worst road accidents, 42 people were killed early Tuesday when a passenger bus plunged into a ravine in the country's mountainous south, the <a href="http://www.ianslive.in/index.php?param=news/Morocco_bus_accident-389023/LatestNews/31" type="external">Indo-Asian News Service</a> reported.</p>
<p>A further 24 people were injured in the accident, which occurred at 2 a.m. local time, as the bus was traveling from the city of Zagora, around 60 miles south of Marrakesh, a popular tourist hub.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/120901/nj-teen-dies-after-sticking-head-out-party-bus" type="external">NJ teen dies after sticking head out of a party bus</a></p>
<p>Local officials said the vehicle fell 150 meters (490ft) into the ravine, not far from the city of Ouarzazate, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19475412" type="external">the BBC</a>reported.</p>
<p>According to IANS, 37 people were killed instantly, while a further five died in hospital. Most of the victims were transported to the Ibn Tofail hospital in Marrakesh, while at least three were treated in Ouarzazate.</p>
<p>Morocco's roads rate as among the most dangerous in Africa, with Transport Ministry figures showing 4,200 deaths last year.&#160;</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/news/regions/africa/morocco/the-reality-western-sahara" type="external">The Reality of Western Sahara</a></p> | Morocco: Many dead after passenger bus plunges into ravine | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-09-04/morocco-many-dead-after-passenger-bus-plunges-ravine | 2012-09-04 | 3left-center
| Morocco: Many dead after passenger bus plunges into ravine
<p>In one of Morocco's worst road accidents, 42 people were killed early Tuesday when a passenger bus plunged into a ravine in the country's mountainous south, the <a href="http://www.ianslive.in/index.php?param=news/Morocco_bus_accident-389023/LatestNews/31" type="external">Indo-Asian News Service</a> reported.</p>
<p>A further 24 people were injured in the accident, which occurred at 2 a.m. local time, as the bus was traveling from the city of Zagora, around 60 miles south of Marrakesh, a popular tourist hub.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/120901/nj-teen-dies-after-sticking-head-out-party-bus" type="external">NJ teen dies after sticking head out of a party bus</a></p>
<p>Local officials said the vehicle fell 150 meters (490ft) into the ravine, not far from the city of Ouarzazate, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19475412" type="external">the BBC</a>reported.</p>
<p>According to IANS, 37 people were killed instantly, while a further five died in hospital. Most of the victims were transported to the Ibn Tofail hospital in Marrakesh, while at least three were treated in Ouarzazate.</p>
<p>Morocco's roads rate as among the most dangerous in Africa, with Transport Ministry figures showing 4,200 deaths last year.&#160;</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/news/regions/africa/morocco/the-reality-western-sahara" type="external">The Reality of Western Sahara</a></p> | 2,905 |
<p>By Leslie Thatcher &amp; Henry A. Giroux, TruthoutThis interview first appeared at <a href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/17047-laboratories-of-democracy-an-interview-with-henry-giroux" type="external">Truthout</a>.Leslie Thatcher for Truthout: You have authored over 50 books, all of which deal with education in one form or another and most of which deal with the problems of youth; how would you define the specific focus of America’s Education Deficit and the War on Youth?</p>
<p>The focus of this book is on the growing economic, political and cultural gap that has emerged in the United States between political leaders elected to govern and the citizenry whom they represent. It is also about the pernicious gap between ruling financial and corporate elites and the rest of society and how it has intensified the growth of a political and cultural landscape that is as anti-intellectual and devoid of a culture of questioning as it is authoritarian. I argue in this book that the deepening political, economic and moral deficit in America is inextricably connected to an education deficit, which is currently impacting young people most of all by starving them of both the economic resources and the formative educational experiences required to help them develop into knowledgeable and engaged citizens. The book begins with the premise that the crisis of schooling cannot be disconnected from the economic crisis – fueled by endless wars, a bloated military-industrial complex, and vast disparities in wealth and income. I argue throughout the book that as the United States proceeds headlong on a reckless course of civic illiteracy, which serves to legitimate and bolster a malignant gap in income, wealth and power, the end point is sure to entail the destruction of current and future possibilities for developing the educational institutions and formative culture that advance the imperatives of justice and democracy.</p>
<p>The book takes up the theme of the educational deficit by analyzing how recent attacks on youth can be linked to systemic attempts by a corporate and financial elite, conservative think tanks, and other right-wing forces to dismantle the social state and undermine opportunities for critical education, civic courage, and actions that make a world more just and democratic. These attacks range from the militarization of schools and the reduction in social services to the ongoing criminalization of a wide range of youth and adult behaviors and an increasing disinvestment in policies that would provide jobs, health care, and a future for young people.</p>
<p>Examining the regressive educational apparatuses, conservative politics, and cultures of cynicism that have dominated the United States in recent years, America’s Education Deficit and the War on Youth describes and analyzes how American society is increasingly infused by real and symbolic forms of violence promoted by a range of intersecting forces, including neoliberal policymaking, militarization, religious fanaticism, corporate elitism, the violation of civil liberties, unconstitutional forms of surveillance, the disinvestment in public and higher education, and persistent racism. Despite widespread calls for electoral reform, the nation has arrived at such a crisis in governance that it cannot possibly begin to redress prevailing issues through political reform alone. Education must be taken seriously as a matter of primary importance among anyone who believes in the promise of US democracy.</p>
<p />
<p>In addition to documenting the authoritarian and morally malicious policies and actions of a government beholden to corporate, religious and military interests, America’s Education Deficit and the War on Youth invites the reader to consider the possibilities for democratic renewal embodied by the ongoing actions of various modes of resistance that are emerging among young people, workers, feminists, and other individual and social movements that are demonstrating the importance of critical education, hope, and peaceful resistance against a creeping authoritarianism. All but abandoned by the adult generation, youth, with others are beginning to take matters into their own hands and are teaching themselves the power of democratic expression in a society that has all but relinquished its claim to democracy.</p>
<p>You dedicate the book to teachers everywhere, but also to the memory of Roger Simon. How does that memory influence the book?</p>
<p>The book could not have been written without the presence of having Roger Simon as one of my best friends and colleagues for over thirty years. He was a brilliant scholar whose work extended from critical pedagogy and public memory to higher education and museum studies, among other fields. His archive of work, along with his book Teaching Against the Grain, which is one of the great classics of critical pedagogy and educational theory, have provided me with a rich theoretical framework over the past few decades. Roger taught me about humility and what it meant to approach one’s life and work with a high degree of self-reflection and a deep regard for others. He taught me that friendship was more important than one’s career and that the fullness of our lives should be played out in our compassion with and for others. And he taught me that justice and ethics were central not only to politics and pedagogy but also to how we understood who we were and what it meant to be in the world. All of these qualities have helped me to think through the nature of my own work and also the importance of addressing the suffering, deprivations and struggles young people now face and which they are engaging. We taught each other how to turn away from the poison of political purity, how to laugh, how to approach disagreements with each other as gifts rather than marks of enmity, and we were always reminding each other that the best conversations took place along with the taste of decent wine and the sensuality of good music. Dedicating the book to him was a small gift to a friend whose memory, work, words and friendship have left an indelible mark on me and whose presence I will never forget.</p>
<p>One of your constant themes, building on the work of Zygmunt Bauman, is the disposability of populations. How have neoliberalism’s expanding targets in the last 30 years demonstrated that everyone is ultimately disposable whenever anyone is?</p>
<p>Since the 1970s, there has been an intensification of the anti-democratic pressures of neoliberal policies. What is particularly new is the way in which immigrants, poor minorities and vast numbers of the working and middle classes are increasingly denied any social provisions as a result of an already eviscerated social contract and the degree to which they are no longer viewed as central to how the United States defines its future. Keeping up with the Joneses has been replaced with the struggle to simply survive – and mimics a neo-Hobbesian world in which the politics of disposability has replaced the most minimal elements of the welfare state. With the growth of finance capital, a global shift in power, and a move from a society of producers to a society of consumers, American society took a turn to the dark side, one that eviscerated any pretense to democracy and condemned millions of people to a life of perpetual suffering, hardship and misery. Under the dictates of a neoliberal society, not only are resources and consumer goods thrown away, but human beings are now also considered excess to be relegated to the garbage can of society. In other words, we do not just throw away goods but also people.</p>
<p>For instance, as I point out in the book, low-income and poor minority youth, in particular, are no longer the register where society reveals its dreams for a just and equitable future. On the contrary, such youth increasingly symbolize a space where neoliberal society reveals its nightmares and invokes a culture of cruelty that appears more savage than its full embrace of the ethos of greed. Within neoliberal narratives, youth are either defined as a consumer market, advertisements for such a market, or they symbolize trouble – a generation who do not have problems but are the problem.The mall and the prison have become the preeminent institutions and spaces for symbolizing what the future holds for young people as they experience either the soft war of commodification or the hard war of hyper-punitiveness and possible incarceration. This shift in how American society talks about young people marginalized by race, class and ethnicity betrays a great deal about what is increasingly new about the economic, social, cultural and political landscape of American society and its growing disinvestment in the common good, democratic public spheres, the social state, and democracy itself. Long-term planning and the institutional structures that support it are now relegated to the imperatives of privatization, deregulation, flexibility and short-term investments. Social bonds have been shredded as a result of the ongoing elimination of social protections provided by the welfare state, just as the current neoliberal mantra places an emphasis on individual solutions to socially produced problems. Heightened expectations and progressive visions pale and are smashed next to the normalization of market-driven government policies that wipe out pensions, eliminate quality health care, raise college tuition, and produce a harsh world of joblessness and despair, while giving millions to mega corporations, financial services, banks and the military. The logic of disposability now threatens anyone who cannot fulfill their role as a consumer, provide unquestioned support to established corporate and political bastions of power, willingly accept the capitalist drive for profits regardless of the social costs, and accommodate a notion of the public sphere that is largely white, male and deeply conservative.</p>
<p>What we have seen in the last thirty years is the shredding of all vestiges of the social contract, especially those policies that emerged out of the New Deal and the Great Society. These older programs and modes of governance addressed the importance of the common good, embodied a social contract, however flawed, that served, as Robert O’Self has pointed out, “as the basic architecture of our collective responsibility to ensure that Americans share in a decent life.”(1) This appeal to our collective destiny and shared responsibilities has been replaced by a market-driven ideology and mode of politics that now privatizes, commodifies, atomizes and taints mostly everything it touches.</p>
<p>Under the older forms of liberalism there was an agreement between labor and capital that workers had to be protected with decent pensions and working conditions, the future of young people demanded certain social investments, the elderly needed health care and social benefits to protect them from dire poverty and illnesses and workers needed retirement funds to allow them to have a decent life once they reached a certain age. Today, all of these policies and social provisions are viewed as extravagant and the people who receive them are increasingly demonized, especially by right-wing politicians. Under the auspices of a neoliberal notion of austerity, these populations have become a burden rather than an embodiment of a society’s commitment to the social good. Consequently, large and diverse members of the public now inhabit a zone of disposability and a future of terminal exclusion. The reality of redundancy, excess, and disposability, rather than the promise of getting ahead, has become the new normal in American society.</p>
<p>You preface your discussion of the four fundamentalisms with a section on the culture of cruelty: All fundamentalisms seem to share the cruelty of excluding non-believers who are either to be converted or disposed of?</p>
<p>One feature of the savage neoliberal worldview that has a grip on American society, if not most of the larger world, is a commitment to a form of political purity in which all relationships are reduced to a friend/enemy binary. The cheerleaders for neoliberalism and a host of other fundamentalisms live in circles of certainty and are deeply suspicious of anyone who dares to think critically, asks damaging questions, holds power accountable or challenges the existing order. More often than not, the response to those who dare dissent, speak out and question dominant power relations, especially on the part of the state, involves the increased use of state violence, the threat of incarceration and even the threat of assassination – as exemplified in the revelation of an Obama government-sponsored kill list. Fear and the all-engulfing encirclement of the war on terror and the permanent warfare state have not only narrowed and militarized the parameters of civility, dialogue and thoughtfulness, but have largely rendered them pathological, if not dangerous. Such a response is evident in the violence waged against peaceful student protesters, the imprisonment of whistleblowers, the rise of the punishing state and imprisonment binge, the ongoing drug war that is as racist as it is undemocratic and the transformation of public schools into either malls with their myriad forms of advertisement and corporate culture or, more brutally, into models of prison culture.</p>
<p>The culture of cruelty that has been ratcheted up with great intensity since the election of Ronald Reagan to the presidency in 1980 provides the symbolic registers for viewing some populations as excess, redundant and disposable. In fact, the language of disposability has become central to a growing culture of cruelty in which it is stated without apology that “the poor in America have it too easy because they have refrigerators and televisions … Poor black and brown children should be given mops and brooms and put in veritable work houses like Dickensian street urchins … Electric fences should be used to kill ‘illegal’ immigrants.”(2) Those populations who are poor, homeless, lacking work, sick, or racially other are now described as a scourge on the American character and are defined in less than human terms, stripped of their rights, and relieved of the promise of the safety and security once offered by the social contract. There is more at work here than the poverty of public discourse. There is also a hardening of the culture in which the shift away from public values and democratic politics is matched by a growing education deficit and an American style form of authoritarianism. Theodor W. Adorno was right when he argued: “I consider the survival of [fascism] within democracy to be potentially more menacing that the survival of fascist tendencies against democracy.”(3)</p>
<p>The culture of cruelty is also, in part, produced by the dominant neoliberal assumption that politics is an extension of war – a view that reduces politics to a disembodied form of military metaphysics. In this scenario, all disagreements are viewed as acts of violence demanding that those who do not share one’s values or beliefs be considered an enemy, threat or someone who has to be destroyed. This Hobbesian-inspired culture of cruelty is also an outgrowth of a market-driven philosophy in which economics are removed from matters of ethics, morality and social costs. Within this discourse, society as a construct disappears and politics is no longer about the language of the common good, public values or the public interest. Ruthless competition, crushing the enemy and embracing a survival of the fittest ethos have become the new normal dominating American culture.</p>
<p>We now live in a society in which the mass surveillance of Americans by the government makes clear that the distinction between the innocent and guilty, suspects and non-suspects, terrorists and non-terrorists has broken down. Shared fears have replaced shared responsibilities. Consequently, public values, compassion, care for the other, and a robust sense of social responsibility vanish from the political and educational landscape, ushering in a spirit of meanness and harshness that further contributes to the hardening of the culture. Neoliberalism, in this discourse, has created a formative culture in which violence now becomes the most important element of power in mediating social relationships. And as the bonds of trust are replaced by the bonds of fear and humiliation, all forms of dependency and trust are viewed with suspicion – making it easier for a society to inhabit a formative culture in which many Americans seem to delight in human suffering, a particularly pathological mentality at this time when so many Americans are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, homelessness, joblessness and utter despair.How does the education deficit contribute to the gap you identify between “the people and institutions elected to govern and the citizenry they represent?” How does the education deficit translate into a democracy deficit and vice versa?</p>
<p>No democracy can survive without a formative culture that offers the public the opportunity to broaden their knowledge, skills, and values in ways that enhance and expand their capacities to think critically, imagine otherwise, create the conditions for shared responsibilities, and hold power accountable. A vibrant formative culture expands the critical educative nature of all cultural apparatuses – from schools to the old and new media – as part of a wider project of enabling people to be able to assume the role of critical agents, thinking subjects, and critically engaged citizens willing to learn how to govern rather than merely govern and to able to care for the other. Education becomes central to any viable notion of politics because it provides the tools to enable people, as C. Wright Mills reminded us, to translate private troubles into public concerns. Neoliberalism has created the conditions in which civic literacy and moral responsibility disappear. This Jeffersonian ideal of education providing the conditions to produce an informed citizenry is now under siege at every level of society in which knowledge is produced and circulated. Moral indifference now replaces social responsibility just as civic literacy is now replaced by the idiocy of celebrity culture, the anti-intellectualism embraced by a commodity based-culture, and the current utterly instrumental and repressive view of education.</p>
<p>When civic literacy declines and the attacks on civic values intensify, the commanding institutions of society are divorced from matters of ethics, social responsibility and civic engagement. One consequence is the emergence of a kind of anti-politics in which the discourses of privatization, possessive individualism and crass materialism inundate every aspect of social life, making it easy for people to lose their faith in the critical function of civic education and the culture of an open and substantive democracy. As public spaces are transformed into spaces of consumption, the formative cultures that provide the preconditions for critical thought and agency crucial to any viable notion of democracy are eviscerated. Under such circumstances, civil society, along with critical thought, if not politics itself, cannot be sustained and become short-lived, fickle and ephemeral. At the same time, it becomes more difficult for individuals to comprehend what they have in common with others and what it means to be held together by shared responsibilities rather than by shared fears and competitive struggles.</p>
<p>As someone educated in economics and also with quite fond memories of the real markets I grew up with – Philadelphia’s Italian market and the Reading Station Farmer’s market – I am a little put off by references to “market fundamentalism.” For me one of the problems of the economy is that today’s markets are in no way “free,” but rigged by corporate influence. And the essential condition in classical economics for market performance – perfect information – is impossible when corporations buy “facts” by financing scientific studies with rigged results. That makes your other term “casino capitalism” quite generous: Shouldn’t it be “rigged casino capitalism?” and what do you think of “capitalist fundamentalism?”</p>
<p>I used the term market fundamentalism to highlight the ways in which the market has become a template to organize all aspects of society. In doing so, I attempted to make a distinction between a market economy and a market society. In a market economy, the forces that drive the market are subordinate to larger democratic political forces and corporations do not have the driving force or power to replace political sovereignty with a form of market sovereignty.</p>
<p>On the other hand, a market society is one in which any democratic vision of a just society and good life have been replaced by the totalizing notion that the only framing mechanisms available in which one can address such questions are now supplied by market modes of governance, ideology, values and policies. Under a market society, pedagogy produces political quietism; the quest to survive for many Americans becomes the order of the day; the experience of a better life is replaced by the trauma of trying to stay alive, and as Lauren Berlant points out, in such a society in which the good life is only possible within a market society “one can only imagine oneself as a solitary agent”(4) In measuring everything by the accumulation of capital and the yardstick of profit, market societies erode the effective dimensions of solidarity and the public good while emptying the language of democracy of any substantive meaning. And in doing so, the notion of a free market is oxymoronic and gives way to the swindle of individual choice and a notion of market freedom that seeks to maximize one’s self interest. As I point out in the book, a market society signals not only a change in values and policies but a revolution in the restructuring of politics and modes of governing in which the ideas and institutional basis of the welfare state, along with the social provisions which supported it, are gradually eliminated.</p>
<p>You write “changing consciousness is not the same as altering the institutional basis of oppression and institutional reform cannot take place without a change in consciousness that recognizes the need to reinvent the conditions and practices that would make this possible.” What is the way out of this vicious circle? Many of our contributors rely on new institutional arrangements to change consciousness; do you think that alone would work?</p>
<p>My argument is that democratic reform and structural change are impossible without a transformation in individual and collective consciousness and values. Until people unlearn the values, ideologies and sedimented desires that allow for the internalization of their own subjugation, neoliberalism along with racism and other forms of oppression will be normalized, viewed as common sense, self-evident, and hence removed from critical inquiry. Without a change in consciousness, it becomes difficult for people to recognize the predatory and pernicious ideologies and effects of a savage casino capitalism that has a real stake in promoting injustice, diverse modes of oppression, a full-fledged assault on the environment, and the increasing rise of the warfare state. Regardless of the ruthless forms that state and corporate power assume, such practices have to be legitimated, and this speaks to the necessity of progressives and others grasping what Stuart Hall has called “a sense of politics being educative, of politics changing the way people see things.”(5) At stake here is the need to recognize that education should be at the center of any viable notion of critical politics in that it is crucial to changing the ways in which people define themselves, their relationships to others and to the larger world.</p>
<p>United action demands a change in collective consciousness, which can only take place through a struggle within and over the commanding cultural apparatuses that constitute the major educative forces of our time. Such a struggle must address the primacy of fighting for those formative cultures and public spheres that make a real democracy possible – spheres that enable individuals to think beyond the discourse of compromise and conduct struggles on the mutually informed terrains of civic literacy, education and power. This is why the struggle for creating the conditions for informed, socially responsible and engaged citizens should be at the heart of any new attempt to reclaim the language of critical thinking, civic courage, social engagement and the promise of a democracy to come.Instead of embracing neoliberal public pedagogy with its emphasis on privatization, commodification, self-interest and unchecked individualism, Americans need to gain control of existing institutions such as public and higher education in order to counter such ideologies and practices. At the same time, progressives need to struggle vigorously to create alternative educational programs, modes of public pedagogy and communities of care and compassion that promote cultures of deliberation, critical exchange, questioning and thoughtfulness across a wide number of cultural and institutional sites. But the educational task is only the first step in creating a new vision of politics, democracy and economic justice. In order to challenge successfully the neoliberal assumption that a corporate-dominated market society represents the essence of democracy, there is a need to create broad-based social movements that can fight for critical infrastructures, alternative institutions, new community-based modes of communication, and participatory forms of democracy. Everything must be done to rethink politics in light of the current separation of local politics from global forms of power. Any politics that matters must create new institutions for preventing global powers from shaping local and global politics. Americans need a new sense of utopia, one that recreates the coordinates of the real and the possible – an adoption of what I have called educated hope. An informed consciousness and a radical vision of a new sense of democracy suggests that people move into the streets, engage in civil disobedience, create organizations that are not merely defensive, refuse ideological dogmatism, and create robust and democratic institutions that mirror the radical imagination and serve the basic needs of those marginalized by race and class.</p>
<p>Given the power and the money behind what you call “public pedagogy” and our constant immersion in it, don’t you consider the level of resistance amazing; I mean the degree to which people don’t believe what the media is screaming at them. On the other hand, I guess all too many have internalized a sense of being alone in their skepticism and unable to change the way things are?</p>
<p>The current resistance to neoliberal public pedagogy – especially among young people – offers a ray of hope and proves once again that power is never defined exclusively by the parameters of domination. At the same time, while there is a great deal of skepticism and disbelief about the public pedagogy of those institutions that commercially carpet-bomb our children, try to fashion citizenship as simply an obligation of consumerism, and celebrate violence as sport, fantasy and spectacle of entertainment, too many Americans have internalized the assumption that there is no alternative to society as it is currently constructed, that their desires can only exist with the demands of the market, and that their suffering, hardships and successes are simply a function of individual choice and responsibility. Hopefully, the growing resistance to casino capitalism will be matched by the political and pedagogical need to be creative in teaching people how to unlearn their attachments to the cruel injustices perpetrated through market ideologies, values, policies, and modes of governance. We also need to be creative in developing a language of both critique and hope, one that is as meaningful as it is critical and transformative. How we are shaped as consuming and militarized subjects is a crucial political and pedagogical question that must be addressed by any viable social and educational movement. And as Alain Badiou reminds us, “For a politics of emancipation, the enemy that is to be feared most is not repression at the hands of the established order. It is the interiority of nihilism, and the unbounded cruelty that can come with emptiness.”(6)</p>
<p>Digging into what you write about schooling and formal education, how can one further education as a moral and political practice when respect has been eliminated from social relations?</p>
<p>I think this is an interesting question because once education becomes instrumentalized, transformed into training for the workplace, or reduced to the mind-numbing misery of teaching for the test, those pedagogies and values that encourage students to take risks, engage in critical, creative and collaborative thinking, care for the other, and cultivate a deep commitment to the public good begin to vanish from our educational institutions, if not public discourse. This stripping of education as a public good and transforming it into a private right has been going on for a long time, as was evident in the emergence of neoliberal polices aimed at disinvesting funds and resources from public education from the late 1970s on. The attack on public and higher education was also made clear in the culture wars of the 1980s and in the more recent attack by right-wing politicians, pundits and anti-public intellectuals on teachers who have been labeled as lazy bureaucrats, welfare queens and moochers rather than dedicated public servants. The historical forces behind these attacks need to be made visible in order to reclaim education as a public good, teachers as public intellectuals, and students as a valuable social, cultural and political resource rather than as clients and consumers. The public needs to be convinced that early childhood education, public education and higher education are crucial for a democracy to survive and that, as Erica Shaker has argued, educated societies are more healthy, equitable and democratic. Education as a moral and political practice needs to be tied to the conviction that education for everyone is crucial for an open society and culture of democracy that values equity, justice, conviction, and a culture of civic responsibility.</p>
<p>Isn’t the absence of respect behind the push for “quantitative measures” and the denigration of professional judgment, not only in teaching but in other professions as well?</p>
<p>There is more being lost in the push for quantitative measures than a loss of respect for teachers, students and professional judgment. What is also being lost is the power of the public to develop, finance, maintain and protect educational institutions that are public and crucial to creating engaged and critical citizens and sustaining the formative cultures necessary for the ongoing development of democratization. The war against public schools, higher education and professionalization of the best kind is really about politics and power, with respect being but one element of collateral damage. Respect is not quantifiable; it does not increase the bottom line; it does not produce narrow forms of agency, and in the end, it is an impediment to the neoliberal project of privatization, deregulation, commodification and the production of a passive and accommodating public. The hedge fund managers, billionaires such as the Koch brothers and the Bill Gates liberals could care less about the notion of respect because what they really want is concentrated power, control over American society’s commanding institutions, and new markets to sell their junk and endless array of products. They not only devalue respect but also the kind of humanistic political and educational culture that produces responsible and critically engaged citizens. In their ravenous struggle for concentrated power, they corrode public spaces, reinforce wide disparities in income and wealth, turbo-charge a culture of cruelty, reproduce racist practices, and corrupt any democratic rendering of politics.Didn’t teachers open themselves up for attack when they used the agency acquired through strong teachers’ unions in the service of self-interest rather than modeling critical pedagogy? And hasn’t that begun to change? How would you contrast the real versus the ostensible goals of education “reformers”? What has to happen now? And concretely, what must each of us do?</p>
<p>The narrative about the contemporary assault on public schools doesn’t begin with the failings of public schools. One can’t even talk about them in such monolithic terms; some are outstanding and some are a disgrace, which is largely the result of a funding structure that has always been deeply unequal. But a critical understanding of the current war on public and higher education might begin in the seventies when right-wing billionaires and ideologues decided that the biggest problem with public schools was not that they were failing – but that they were public. The so-called new “reformers” are really radicals who want to transform the entire structure of public and higher education to serve elite, corporate and military interests. The project that informs their understanding of education is anti-humanistic, unjust, iniquitous and authoritarian in its attack on all things public, which also includes public servants such as teachers and especially teachers’ unions. The so-called new “reformers” are thoroughly ideological, politicized and market-driven missionaries who camouflage their intentions and their interests by advancing elements of a progressive discourse to push their deeply conservative agenda. Terms like “freedom,” “choice,” “equity” and “democracy” are emptied of meaningful content and bandied about in order to promote the neoliberal script of privatization, standardization, high stakes testing, commodification and unchecked competition. The new reformers are reactionaries who assume the posture of committed, avant garde patron saints of educational renewal. But in reality they are a new breed of philanthro-capitalists looking to dictate the educational experiences of entire generations of students – their aptitudes, their competencies, their consciousness, their aspirations – and make a lot of money at the same time. They are as disingenuous as they are backward looking. The new “reformers” are, in reality, pushing an old right-wing attack on schools and teachers. According to them, teachers are the problem because they lack accountability and unions promote a self-interested bureaucracy. Underlying this claim is a refusal to address how larger structural issues such as racism, income inequality and exploding poverty impact on school failings or how they should be reformed in light of these forces. Fixing public education is reduced to bashing teachers, unions, public servants, and funneling taxpayer money “away from the public school system’s priorities (hiring teachers, training teachers, reducing class size, etc.) and into the private sector (replacing teachers with computers, replacing public schools with privately run charter schools, etc.).”(7) The alleged new “reformers” are in reality a mix of conservative billionaires, hedge fund managers, bankers and right-wing ideologues that constitute an anti-public education movement that has produced “just another get-rich-quick scheme shrouded in the veneer of altruism.”</p>
<p>Unlike current “reformers,” those who advocate egalitarian reforms – who promote education as the practice of freedom – are well aware that if public schools are going to improve, they have to be defined and appropriately funded. Such schools should serve as laboratories of democracy, critical and accommodating spaces where young people have access to the expertise, skills and experience that both deepen their understanding of history, the arts, sciences – of humanistic traditions and archives in general – and the new world of advanced technologies, digital communications and screen culture. The acquisition and mastery of such diverse technologies, knowledge and skills are important not only so young people can find meaningful work but also so they can determine judiciously and rigorously their appropriate and inappropriate uses. In short, so they can rise to the level of critical and engaged citizens of the world.</p>
<p>Public schools must be defended as public goods that benefit not just individual children and their parents but an entire society. Critical reformers must also fight to protect teacher autonomy, struggle for equitable modes of financing, and recognize that any talk about improving schools under conditions of alleged austerity has to include an analysis of the failed domestic war on drugs and the wars abroad and the devastating effects they have had on such basic social services by diverting funds from public schools and increasingly criminalizing the behavior of low-income white and poor minority students. True reformers have to fight against the neoliberal onslaught on teachers, unions, curricula, diverse modes of accountability, and reclaim democratic values and civic education as crucial for creating quality public schools. The most important starting point for creating genuine educational reform is the necessity of acknowledging that the crisis of education cannot be separated from the war on youth, the rise of the neoliberal state, the war on terrorism, and the ongoing financialization and militarization of the entire society. To not understand these basic connections is to misrecognize the real drivers in shaping currently proposed changes and misdiagnose meaningful educational reform. Those market and corporate forces that now undermine public education in the name of fixing it have little to do with democracy and critical teaching and learning, except to weaken both as part of a larger corporate restructuring and militarization of public education as a securitized, profit-based entity. Battling against those forces clearly puts one on the side of genuine educational reform.</p>
<p>In strategic terms what would this mean? In my view, genuine educational reform should begin with rejecting the financing of schools through local taxes, which is fundamentally out of step with the funding models for public education in every other advanced, industrialized nation. Moreover, the struggle over the proper funding of public education should coincide with the struggle for smaller schools and classes, more resources, and more full time quality teachers – which would also entail a robust commitment to critical and comprehensive teacher education and so a rejection of its current debased state. Schooling is a public necessity that is as important as national defense and should be funded as such. Secondly, all attempts at the privatization and corporatization of schools must be rejected so as to make education truly public and widely accessible, removed from those who see it largely as another source of profits harnessed to corporate power. Schools must be defined as democratic public spheres and not simply as sites whose worth is determined by the morally truncated, narrow instrumental standards of measurable utility. Teachers need to work under conditions that provide them with the autonomy that enables them to take risks, be creative, and draw upon a range of educational approaches and pedagogies. Schools must be defined as sites of political and moral practice deeply involved in the production of democratic agents. Moreover, matters of vision, agency, and support should be connected to the struggle against those pedagogies of repression that reduce teaching to the imperatives of standardization and testing. We need modes of pedagogy that enliven the imagination, create thoughtful and curious students, incorporate an ethic of civic responsibility, and teach the practice of freedom. That means connecting pedagogy to the histories, experiences, and narratives that young people bring to any learning situation – the very educative contexts denied by the standardization juggernaut. Pedagogy should not mimic economic models with their reductionist worship of method, stripped of any sense of morality or social context. Instead, pedagogy should provide the conditions for students to invest in robust and critical forms of self and social agency. Pedagogy is not a neutral method, but a deeply political practice that is always connected to the acquisition of agency, a practice that demands that educators be vigilant about what identities are being produced under what conditions and for what purposes.</p>
<p>Critical educators, in concert with concerned citizens, need to raise the bar so as to demand modes of education in which teachers are knowledgeable and reflexive, function as agents of civic education, and create pedagogies that are provocative and illuminating in their ability to get students to come to terms with their own power as individual and social agents. Any viable mode of critical pedagogy must treat young people with respect and enable them to develop their own voice and sense of agency, and do so in an environment that is thoughtful, critical, humane and challenging. In the end, I think it is reasonable to argue, as I do in this book, that education at all levels is the fundamental precondition that makes democratic politics possible, provides a space where meaningful histories, voices and cultural differences can flourish, and enables students to grow intellectually and morally, reflect critically about their relationship with others, and interrogate thoughtfully their relationship with the broader society and the larger world. I make no apologies in arguing that the project that informs this book furthers the attempt to establish a connection between learning and social change, educate young people to be able to translate private troubles into broader social considerations, and create the pedagogical conditions for the development of a formative culture that expands and deepens the possibilities of a democratic society. The Education Deficit and the War on Youth is a call for educators and others to organize collectively both within and outside of schools to further develop the ideas, values and institutions necessary to sustain a world where justice prevails and individual and collective consciousness does not fall asleep.</p>
<p /> | The Educational Deficit and the War on Youth | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/the-educational-deficit-and-the-war-on-youth/ | 2013-06-20 | 4left
| The Educational Deficit and the War on Youth
<p>By Leslie Thatcher &amp; Henry A. Giroux, TruthoutThis interview first appeared at <a href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/17047-laboratories-of-democracy-an-interview-with-henry-giroux" type="external">Truthout</a>.Leslie Thatcher for Truthout: You have authored over 50 books, all of which deal with education in one form or another and most of which deal with the problems of youth; how would you define the specific focus of America’s Education Deficit and the War on Youth?</p>
<p>The focus of this book is on the growing economic, political and cultural gap that has emerged in the United States between political leaders elected to govern and the citizenry whom they represent. It is also about the pernicious gap between ruling financial and corporate elites and the rest of society and how it has intensified the growth of a political and cultural landscape that is as anti-intellectual and devoid of a culture of questioning as it is authoritarian. I argue in this book that the deepening political, economic and moral deficit in America is inextricably connected to an education deficit, which is currently impacting young people most of all by starving them of both the economic resources and the formative educational experiences required to help them develop into knowledgeable and engaged citizens. The book begins with the premise that the crisis of schooling cannot be disconnected from the economic crisis – fueled by endless wars, a bloated military-industrial complex, and vast disparities in wealth and income. I argue throughout the book that as the United States proceeds headlong on a reckless course of civic illiteracy, which serves to legitimate and bolster a malignant gap in income, wealth and power, the end point is sure to entail the destruction of current and future possibilities for developing the educational institutions and formative culture that advance the imperatives of justice and democracy.</p>
<p>The book takes up the theme of the educational deficit by analyzing how recent attacks on youth can be linked to systemic attempts by a corporate and financial elite, conservative think tanks, and other right-wing forces to dismantle the social state and undermine opportunities for critical education, civic courage, and actions that make a world more just and democratic. These attacks range from the militarization of schools and the reduction in social services to the ongoing criminalization of a wide range of youth and adult behaviors and an increasing disinvestment in policies that would provide jobs, health care, and a future for young people.</p>
<p>Examining the regressive educational apparatuses, conservative politics, and cultures of cynicism that have dominated the United States in recent years, America’s Education Deficit and the War on Youth describes and analyzes how American society is increasingly infused by real and symbolic forms of violence promoted by a range of intersecting forces, including neoliberal policymaking, militarization, religious fanaticism, corporate elitism, the violation of civil liberties, unconstitutional forms of surveillance, the disinvestment in public and higher education, and persistent racism. Despite widespread calls for electoral reform, the nation has arrived at such a crisis in governance that it cannot possibly begin to redress prevailing issues through political reform alone. Education must be taken seriously as a matter of primary importance among anyone who believes in the promise of US democracy.</p>
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<p>In addition to documenting the authoritarian and morally malicious policies and actions of a government beholden to corporate, religious and military interests, America’s Education Deficit and the War on Youth invites the reader to consider the possibilities for democratic renewal embodied by the ongoing actions of various modes of resistance that are emerging among young people, workers, feminists, and other individual and social movements that are demonstrating the importance of critical education, hope, and peaceful resistance against a creeping authoritarianism. All but abandoned by the adult generation, youth, with others are beginning to take matters into their own hands and are teaching themselves the power of democratic expression in a society that has all but relinquished its claim to democracy.</p>
<p>You dedicate the book to teachers everywhere, but also to the memory of Roger Simon. How does that memory influence the book?</p>
<p>The book could not have been written without the presence of having Roger Simon as one of my best friends and colleagues for over thirty years. He was a brilliant scholar whose work extended from critical pedagogy and public memory to higher education and museum studies, among other fields. His archive of work, along with his book Teaching Against the Grain, which is one of the great classics of critical pedagogy and educational theory, have provided me with a rich theoretical framework over the past few decades. Roger taught me about humility and what it meant to approach one’s life and work with a high degree of self-reflection and a deep regard for others. He taught me that friendship was more important than one’s career and that the fullness of our lives should be played out in our compassion with and for others. And he taught me that justice and ethics were central not only to politics and pedagogy but also to how we understood who we were and what it meant to be in the world. All of these qualities have helped me to think through the nature of my own work and also the importance of addressing the suffering, deprivations and struggles young people now face and which they are engaging. We taught each other how to turn away from the poison of political purity, how to laugh, how to approach disagreements with each other as gifts rather than marks of enmity, and we were always reminding each other that the best conversations took place along with the taste of decent wine and the sensuality of good music. Dedicating the book to him was a small gift to a friend whose memory, work, words and friendship have left an indelible mark on me and whose presence I will never forget.</p>
<p>One of your constant themes, building on the work of Zygmunt Bauman, is the disposability of populations. How have neoliberalism’s expanding targets in the last 30 years demonstrated that everyone is ultimately disposable whenever anyone is?</p>
<p>Since the 1970s, there has been an intensification of the anti-democratic pressures of neoliberal policies. What is particularly new is the way in which immigrants, poor minorities and vast numbers of the working and middle classes are increasingly denied any social provisions as a result of an already eviscerated social contract and the degree to which they are no longer viewed as central to how the United States defines its future. Keeping up with the Joneses has been replaced with the struggle to simply survive – and mimics a neo-Hobbesian world in which the politics of disposability has replaced the most minimal elements of the welfare state. With the growth of finance capital, a global shift in power, and a move from a society of producers to a society of consumers, American society took a turn to the dark side, one that eviscerated any pretense to democracy and condemned millions of people to a life of perpetual suffering, hardship and misery. Under the dictates of a neoliberal society, not only are resources and consumer goods thrown away, but human beings are now also considered excess to be relegated to the garbage can of society. In other words, we do not just throw away goods but also people.</p>
<p>For instance, as I point out in the book, low-income and poor minority youth, in particular, are no longer the register where society reveals its dreams for a just and equitable future. On the contrary, such youth increasingly symbolize a space where neoliberal society reveals its nightmares and invokes a culture of cruelty that appears more savage than its full embrace of the ethos of greed. Within neoliberal narratives, youth are either defined as a consumer market, advertisements for such a market, or they symbolize trouble – a generation who do not have problems but are the problem.The mall and the prison have become the preeminent institutions and spaces for symbolizing what the future holds for young people as they experience either the soft war of commodification or the hard war of hyper-punitiveness and possible incarceration. This shift in how American society talks about young people marginalized by race, class and ethnicity betrays a great deal about what is increasingly new about the economic, social, cultural and political landscape of American society and its growing disinvestment in the common good, democratic public spheres, the social state, and democracy itself. Long-term planning and the institutional structures that support it are now relegated to the imperatives of privatization, deregulation, flexibility and short-term investments. Social bonds have been shredded as a result of the ongoing elimination of social protections provided by the welfare state, just as the current neoliberal mantra places an emphasis on individual solutions to socially produced problems. Heightened expectations and progressive visions pale and are smashed next to the normalization of market-driven government policies that wipe out pensions, eliminate quality health care, raise college tuition, and produce a harsh world of joblessness and despair, while giving millions to mega corporations, financial services, banks and the military. The logic of disposability now threatens anyone who cannot fulfill their role as a consumer, provide unquestioned support to established corporate and political bastions of power, willingly accept the capitalist drive for profits regardless of the social costs, and accommodate a notion of the public sphere that is largely white, male and deeply conservative.</p>
<p>What we have seen in the last thirty years is the shredding of all vestiges of the social contract, especially those policies that emerged out of the New Deal and the Great Society. These older programs and modes of governance addressed the importance of the common good, embodied a social contract, however flawed, that served, as Robert O’Self has pointed out, “as the basic architecture of our collective responsibility to ensure that Americans share in a decent life.”(1) This appeal to our collective destiny and shared responsibilities has been replaced by a market-driven ideology and mode of politics that now privatizes, commodifies, atomizes and taints mostly everything it touches.</p>
<p>Under the older forms of liberalism there was an agreement between labor and capital that workers had to be protected with decent pensions and working conditions, the future of young people demanded certain social investments, the elderly needed health care and social benefits to protect them from dire poverty and illnesses and workers needed retirement funds to allow them to have a decent life once they reached a certain age. Today, all of these policies and social provisions are viewed as extravagant and the people who receive them are increasingly demonized, especially by right-wing politicians. Under the auspices of a neoliberal notion of austerity, these populations have become a burden rather than an embodiment of a society’s commitment to the social good. Consequently, large and diverse members of the public now inhabit a zone of disposability and a future of terminal exclusion. The reality of redundancy, excess, and disposability, rather than the promise of getting ahead, has become the new normal in American society.</p>
<p>You preface your discussion of the four fundamentalisms with a section on the culture of cruelty: All fundamentalisms seem to share the cruelty of excluding non-believers who are either to be converted or disposed of?</p>
<p>One feature of the savage neoliberal worldview that has a grip on American society, if not most of the larger world, is a commitment to a form of political purity in which all relationships are reduced to a friend/enemy binary. The cheerleaders for neoliberalism and a host of other fundamentalisms live in circles of certainty and are deeply suspicious of anyone who dares to think critically, asks damaging questions, holds power accountable or challenges the existing order. More often than not, the response to those who dare dissent, speak out and question dominant power relations, especially on the part of the state, involves the increased use of state violence, the threat of incarceration and even the threat of assassination – as exemplified in the revelation of an Obama government-sponsored kill list. Fear and the all-engulfing encirclement of the war on terror and the permanent warfare state have not only narrowed and militarized the parameters of civility, dialogue and thoughtfulness, but have largely rendered them pathological, if not dangerous. Such a response is evident in the violence waged against peaceful student protesters, the imprisonment of whistleblowers, the rise of the punishing state and imprisonment binge, the ongoing drug war that is as racist as it is undemocratic and the transformation of public schools into either malls with their myriad forms of advertisement and corporate culture or, more brutally, into models of prison culture.</p>
<p>The culture of cruelty that has been ratcheted up with great intensity since the election of Ronald Reagan to the presidency in 1980 provides the symbolic registers for viewing some populations as excess, redundant and disposable. In fact, the language of disposability has become central to a growing culture of cruelty in which it is stated without apology that “the poor in America have it too easy because they have refrigerators and televisions … Poor black and brown children should be given mops and brooms and put in veritable work houses like Dickensian street urchins … Electric fences should be used to kill ‘illegal’ immigrants.”(2) Those populations who are poor, homeless, lacking work, sick, or racially other are now described as a scourge on the American character and are defined in less than human terms, stripped of their rights, and relieved of the promise of the safety and security once offered by the social contract. There is more at work here than the poverty of public discourse. There is also a hardening of the culture in which the shift away from public values and democratic politics is matched by a growing education deficit and an American style form of authoritarianism. Theodor W. Adorno was right when he argued: “I consider the survival of [fascism] within democracy to be potentially more menacing that the survival of fascist tendencies against democracy.”(3)</p>
<p>The culture of cruelty is also, in part, produced by the dominant neoliberal assumption that politics is an extension of war – a view that reduces politics to a disembodied form of military metaphysics. In this scenario, all disagreements are viewed as acts of violence demanding that those who do not share one’s values or beliefs be considered an enemy, threat or someone who has to be destroyed. This Hobbesian-inspired culture of cruelty is also an outgrowth of a market-driven philosophy in which economics are removed from matters of ethics, morality and social costs. Within this discourse, society as a construct disappears and politics is no longer about the language of the common good, public values or the public interest. Ruthless competition, crushing the enemy and embracing a survival of the fittest ethos have become the new normal dominating American culture.</p>
<p>We now live in a society in which the mass surveillance of Americans by the government makes clear that the distinction between the innocent and guilty, suspects and non-suspects, terrorists and non-terrorists has broken down. Shared fears have replaced shared responsibilities. Consequently, public values, compassion, care for the other, and a robust sense of social responsibility vanish from the political and educational landscape, ushering in a spirit of meanness and harshness that further contributes to the hardening of the culture. Neoliberalism, in this discourse, has created a formative culture in which violence now becomes the most important element of power in mediating social relationships. And as the bonds of trust are replaced by the bonds of fear and humiliation, all forms of dependency and trust are viewed with suspicion – making it easier for a society to inhabit a formative culture in which many Americans seem to delight in human suffering, a particularly pathological mentality at this time when so many Americans are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, homelessness, joblessness and utter despair.How does the education deficit contribute to the gap you identify between “the people and institutions elected to govern and the citizenry they represent?” How does the education deficit translate into a democracy deficit and vice versa?</p>
<p>No democracy can survive without a formative culture that offers the public the opportunity to broaden their knowledge, skills, and values in ways that enhance and expand their capacities to think critically, imagine otherwise, create the conditions for shared responsibilities, and hold power accountable. A vibrant formative culture expands the critical educative nature of all cultural apparatuses – from schools to the old and new media – as part of a wider project of enabling people to be able to assume the role of critical agents, thinking subjects, and critically engaged citizens willing to learn how to govern rather than merely govern and to able to care for the other. Education becomes central to any viable notion of politics because it provides the tools to enable people, as C. Wright Mills reminded us, to translate private troubles into public concerns. Neoliberalism has created the conditions in which civic literacy and moral responsibility disappear. This Jeffersonian ideal of education providing the conditions to produce an informed citizenry is now under siege at every level of society in which knowledge is produced and circulated. Moral indifference now replaces social responsibility just as civic literacy is now replaced by the idiocy of celebrity culture, the anti-intellectualism embraced by a commodity based-culture, and the current utterly instrumental and repressive view of education.</p>
<p>When civic literacy declines and the attacks on civic values intensify, the commanding institutions of society are divorced from matters of ethics, social responsibility and civic engagement. One consequence is the emergence of a kind of anti-politics in which the discourses of privatization, possessive individualism and crass materialism inundate every aspect of social life, making it easy for people to lose their faith in the critical function of civic education and the culture of an open and substantive democracy. As public spaces are transformed into spaces of consumption, the formative cultures that provide the preconditions for critical thought and agency crucial to any viable notion of democracy are eviscerated. Under such circumstances, civil society, along with critical thought, if not politics itself, cannot be sustained and become short-lived, fickle and ephemeral. At the same time, it becomes more difficult for individuals to comprehend what they have in common with others and what it means to be held together by shared responsibilities rather than by shared fears and competitive struggles.</p>
<p>As someone educated in economics and also with quite fond memories of the real markets I grew up with – Philadelphia’s Italian market and the Reading Station Farmer’s market – I am a little put off by references to “market fundamentalism.” For me one of the problems of the economy is that today’s markets are in no way “free,” but rigged by corporate influence. And the essential condition in classical economics for market performance – perfect information – is impossible when corporations buy “facts” by financing scientific studies with rigged results. That makes your other term “casino capitalism” quite generous: Shouldn’t it be “rigged casino capitalism?” and what do you think of “capitalist fundamentalism?”</p>
<p>I used the term market fundamentalism to highlight the ways in which the market has become a template to organize all aspects of society. In doing so, I attempted to make a distinction between a market economy and a market society. In a market economy, the forces that drive the market are subordinate to larger democratic political forces and corporations do not have the driving force or power to replace political sovereignty with a form of market sovereignty.</p>
<p>On the other hand, a market society is one in which any democratic vision of a just society and good life have been replaced by the totalizing notion that the only framing mechanisms available in which one can address such questions are now supplied by market modes of governance, ideology, values and policies. Under a market society, pedagogy produces political quietism; the quest to survive for many Americans becomes the order of the day; the experience of a better life is replaced by the trauma of trying to stay alive, and as Lauren Berlant points out, in such a society in which the good life is only possible within a market society “one can only imagine oneself as a solitary agent”(4) In measuring everything by the accumulation of capital and the yardstick of profit, market societies erode the effective dimensions of solidarity and the public good while emptying the language of democracy of any substantive meaning. And in doing so, the notion of a free market is oxymoronic and gives way to the swindle of individual choice and a notion of market freedom that seeks to maximize one’s self interest. As I point out in the book, a market society signals not only a change in values and policies but a revolution in the restructuring of politics and modes of governing in which the ideas and institutional basis of the welfare state, along with the social provisions which supported it, are gradually eliminated.</p>
<p>You write “changing consciousness is not the same as altering the institutional basis of oppression and institutional reform cannot take place without a change in consciousness that recognizes the need to reinvent the conditions and practices that would make this possible.” What is the way out of this vicious circle? Many of our contributors rely on new institutional arrangements to change consciousness; do you think that alone would work?</p>
<p>My argument is that democratic reform and structural change are impossible without a transformation in individual and collective consciousness and values. Until people unlearn the values, ideologies and sedimented desires that allow for the internalization of their own subjugation, neoliberalism along with racism and other forms of oppression will be normalized, viewed as common sense, self-evident, and hence removed from critical inquiry. Without a change in consciousness, it becomes difficult for people to recognize the predatory and pernicious ideologies and effects of a savage casino capitalism that has a real stake in promoting injustice, diverse modes of oppression, a full-fledged assault on the environment, and the increasing rise of the warfare state. Regardless of the ruthless forms that state and corporate power assume, such practices have to be legitimated, and this speaks to the necessity of progressives and others grasping what Stuart Hall has called “a sense of politics being educative, of politics changing the way people see things.”(5) At stake here is the need to recognize that education should be at the center of any viable notion of critical politics in that it is crucial to changing the ways in which people define themselves, their relationships to others and to the larger world.</p>
<p>United action demands a change in collective consciousness, which can only take place through a struggle within and over the commanding cultural apparatuses that constitute the major educative forces of our time. Such a struggle must address the primacy of fighting for those formative cultures and public spheres that make a real democracy possible – spheres that enable individuals to think beyond the discourse of compromise and conduct struggles on the mutually informed terrains of civic literacy, education and power. This is why the struggle for creating the conditions for informed, socially responsible and engaged citizens should be at the heart of any new attempt to reclaim the language of critical thinking, civic courage, social engagement and the promise of a democracy to come.Instead of embracing neoliberal public pedagogy with its emphasis on privatization, commodification, self-interest and unchecked individualism, Americans need to gain control of existing institutions such as public and higher education in order to counter such ideologies and practices. At the same time, progressives need to struggle vigorously to create alternative educational programs, modes of public pedagogy and communities of care and compassion that promote cultures of deliberation, critical exchange, questioning and thoughtfulness across a wide number of cultural and institutional sites. But the educational task is only the first step in creating a new vision of politics, democracy and economic justice. In order to challenge successfully the neoliberal assumption that a corporate-dominated market society represents the essence of democracy, there is a need to create broad-based social movements that can fight for critical infrastructures, alternative institutions, new community-based modes of communication, and participatory forms of democracy. Everything must be done to rethink politics in light of the current separation of local politics from global forms of power. Any politics that matters must create new institutions for preventing global powers from shaping local and global politics. Americans need a new sense of utopia, one that recreates the coordinates of the real and the possible – an adoption of what I have called educated hope. An informed consciousness and a radical vision of a new sense of democracy suggests that people move into the streets, engage in civil disobedience, create organizations that are not merely defensive, refuse ideological dogmatism, and create robust and democratic institutions that mirror the radical imagination and serve the basic needs of those marginalized by race and class.</p>
<p>Given the power and the money behind what you call “public pedagogy” and our constant immersion in it, don’t you consider the level of resistance amazing; I mean the degree to which people don’t believe what the media is screaming at them. On the other hand, I guess all too many have internalized a sense of being alone in their skepticism and unable to change the way things are?</p>
<p>The current resistance to neoliberal public pedagogy – especially among young people – offers a ray of hope and proves once again that power is never defined exclusively by the parameters of domination. At the same time, while there is a great deal of skepticism and disbelief about the public pedagogy of those institutions that commercially carpet-bomb our children, try to fashion citizenship as simply an obligation of consumerism, and celebrate violence as sport, fantasy and spectacle of entertainment, too many Americans have internalized the assumption that there is no alternative to society as it is currently constructed, that their desires can only exist with the demands of the market, and that their suffering, hardships and successes are simply a function of individual choice and responsibility. Hopefully, the growing resistance to casino capitalism will be matched by the political and pedagogical need to be creative in teaching people how to unlearn their attachments to the cruel injustices perpetrated through market ideologies, values, policies, and modes of governance. We also need to be creative in developing a language of both critique and hope, one that is as meaningful as it is critical and transformative. How we are shaped as consuming and militarized subjects is a crucial political and pedagogical question that must be addressed by any viable social and educational movement. And as Alain Badiou reminds us, “For a politics of emancipation, the enemy that is to be feared most is not repression at the hands of the established order. It is the interiority of nihilism, and the unbounded cruelty that can come with emptiness.”(6)</p>
<p>Digging into what you write about schooling and formal education, how can one further education as a moral and political practice when respect has been eliminated from social relations?</p>
<p>I think this is an interesting question because once education becomes instrumentalized, transformed into training for the workplace, or reduced to the mind-numbing misery of teaching for the test, those pedagogies and values that encourage students to take risks, engage in critical, creative and collaborative thinking, care for the other, and cultivate a deep commitment to the public good begin to vanish from our educational institutions, if not public discourse. This stripping of education as a public good and transforming it into a private right has been going on for a long time, as was evident in the emergence of neoliberal polices aimed at disinvesting funds and resources from public education from the late 1970s on. The attack on public and higher education was also made clear in the culture wars of the 1980s and in the more recent attack by right-wing politicians, pundits and anti-public intellectuals on teachers who have been labeled as lazy bureaucrats, welfare queens and moochers rather than dedicated public servants. The historical forces behind these attacks need to be made visible in order to reclaim education as a public good, teachers as public intellectuals, and students as a valuable social, cultural and political resource rather than as clients and consumers. The public needs to be convinced that early childhood education, public education and higher education are crucial for a democracy to survive and that, as Erica Shaker has argued, educated societies are more healthy, equitable and democratic. Education as a moral and political practice needs to be tied to the conviction that education for everyone is crucial for an open society and culture of democracy that values equity, justice, conviction, and a culture of civic responsibility.</p>
<p>Isn’t the absence of respect behind the push for “quantitative measures” and the denigration of professional judgment, not only in teaching but in other professions as well?</p>
<p>There is more being lost in the push for quantitative measures than a loss of respect for teachers, students and professional judgment. What is also being lost is the power of the public to develop, finance, maintain and protect educational institutions that are public and crucial to creating engaged and critical citizens and sustaining the formative cultures necessary for the ongoing development of democratization. The war against public schools, higher education and professionalization of the best kind is really about politics and power, with respect being but one element of collateral damage. Respect is not quantifiable; it does not increase the bottom line; it does not produce narrow forms of agency, and in the end, it is an impediment to the neoliberal project of privatization, deregulation, commodification and the production of a passive and accommodating public. The hedge fund managers, billionaires such as the Koch brothers and the Bill Gates liberals could care less about the notion of respect because what they really want is concentrated power, control over American society’s commanding institutions, and new markets to sell their junk and endless array of products. They not only devalue respect but also the kind of humanistic political and educational culture that produces responsible and critically engaged citizens. In their ravenous struggle for concentrated power, they corrode public spaces, reinforce wide disparities in income and wealth, turbo-charge a culture of cruelty, reproduce racist practices, and corrupt any democratic rendering of politics.Didn’t teachers open themselves up for attack when they used the agency acquired through strong teachers’ unions in the service of self-interest rather than modeling critical pedagogy? And hasn’t that begun to change? How would you contrast the real versus the ostensible goals of education “reformers”? What has to happen now? And concretely, what must each of us do?</p>
<p>The narrative about the contemporary assault on public schools doesn’t begin with the failings of public schools. One can’t even talk about them in such monolithic terms; some are outstanding and some are a disgrace, which is largely the result of a funding structure that has always been deeply unequal. But a critical understanding of the current war on public and higher education might begin in the seventies when right-wing billionaires and ideologues decided that the biggest problem with public schools was not that they were failing – but that they were public. The so-called new “reformers” are really radicals who want to transform the entire structure of public and higher education to serve elite, corporate and military interests. The project that informs their understanding of education is anti-humanistic, unjust, iniquitous and authoritarian in its attack on all things public, which also includes public servants such as teachers and especially teachers’ unions. The so-called new “reformers” are thoroughly ideological, politicized and market-driven missionaries who camouflage their intentions and their interests by advancing elements of a progressive discourse to push their deeply conservative agenda. Terms like “freedom,” “choice,” “equity” and “democracy” are emptied of meaningful content and bandied about in order to promote the neoliberal script of privatization, standardization, high stakes testing, commodification and unchecked competition. The new reformers are reactionaries who assume the posture of committed, avant garde patron saints of educational renewal. But in reality they are a new breed of philanthro-capitalists looking to dictate the educational experiences of entire generations of students – their aptitudes, their competencies, their consciousness, their aspirations – and make a lot of money at the same time. They are as disingenuous as they are backward looking. The new “reformers” are, in reality, pushing an old right-wing attack on schools and teachers. According to them, teachers are the problem because they lack accountability and unions promote a self-interested bureaucracy. Underlying this claim is a refusal to address how larger structural issues such as racism, income inequality and exploding poverty impact on school failings or how they should be reformed in light of these forces. Fixing public education is reduced to bashing teachers, unions, public servants, and funneling taxpayer money “away from the public school system’s priorities (hiring teachers, training teachers, reducing class size, etc.) and into the private sector (replacing teachers with computers, replacing public schools with privately run charter schools, etc.).”(7) The alleged new “reformers” are in reality a mix of conservative billionaires, hedge fund managers, bankers and right-wing ideologues that constitute an anti-public education movement that has produced “just another get-rich-quick scheme shrouded in the veneer of altruism.”</p>
<p>Unlike current “reformers,” those who advocate egalitarian reforms – who promote education as the practice of freedom – are well aware that if public schools are going to improve, they have to be defined and appropriately funded. Such schools should serve as laboratories of democracy, critical and accommodating spaces where young people have access to the expertise, skills and experience that both deepen their understanding of history, the arts, sciences – of humanistic traditions and archives in general – and the new world of advanced technologies, digital communications and screen culture. The acquisition and mastery of such diverse technologies, knowledge and skills are important not only so young people can find meaningful work but also so they can determine judiciously and rigorously their appropriate and inappropriate uses. In short, so they can rise to the level of critical and engaged citizens of the world.</p>
<p>Public schools must be defended as public goods that benefit not just individual children and their parents but an entire society. Critical reformers must also fight to protect teacher autonomy, struggle for equitable modes of financing, and recognize that any talk about improving schools under conditions of alleged austerity has to include an analysis of the failed domestic war on drugs and the wars abroad and the devastating effects they have had on such basic social services by diverting funds from public schools and increasingly criminalizing the behavior of low-income white and poor minority students. True reformers have to fight against the neoliberal onslaught on teachers, unions, curricula, diverse modes of accountability, and reclaim democratic values and civic education as crucial for creating quality public schools. The most important starting point for creating genuine educational reform is the necessity of acknowledging that the crisis of education cannot be separated from the war on youth, the rise of the neoliberal state, the war on terrorism, and the ongoing financialization and militarization of the entire society. To not understand these basic connections is to misrecognize the real drivers in shaping currently proposed changes and misdiagnose meaningful educational reform. Those market and corporate forces that now undermine public education in the name of fixing it have little to do with democracy and critical teaching and learning, except to weaken both as part of a larger corporate restructuring and militarization of public education as a securitized, profit-based entity. Battling against those forces clearly puts one on the side of genuine educational reform.</p>
<p>In strategic terms what would this mean? In my view, genuine educational reform should begin with rejecting the financing of schools through local taxes, which is fundamentally out of step with the funding models for public education in every other advanced, industrialized nation. Moreover, the struggle over the proper funding of public education should coincide with the struggle for smaller schools and classes, more resources, and more full time quality teachers – which would also entail a robust commitment to critical and comprehensive teacher education and so a rejection of its current debased state. Schooling is a public necessity that is as important as national defense and should be funded as such. Secondly, all attempts at the privatization and corporatization of schools must be rejected so as to make education truly public and widely accessible, removed from those who see it largely as another source of profits harnessed to corporate power. Schools must be defined as democratic public spheres and not simply as sites whose worth is determined by the morally truncated, narrow instrumental standards of measurable utility. Teachers need to work under conditions that provide them with the autonomy that enables them to take risks, be creative, and draw upon a range of educational approaches and pedagogies. Schools must be defined as sites of political and moral practice deeply involved in the production of democratic agents. Moreover, matters of vision, agency, and support should be connected to the struggle against those pedagogies of repression that reduce teaching to the imperatives of standardization and testing. We need modes of pedagogy that enliven the imagination, create thoughtful and curious students, incorporate an ethic of civic responsibility, and teach the practice of freedom. That means connecting pedagogy to the histories, experiences, and narratives that young people bring to any learning situation – the very educative contexts denied by the standardization juggernaut. Pedagogy should not mimic economic models with their reductionist worship of method, stripped of any sense of morality or social context. Instead, pedagogy should provide the conditions for students to invest in robust and critical forms of self and social agency. Pedagogy is not a neutral method, but a deeply political practice that is always connected to the acquisition of agency, a practice that demands that educators be vigilant about what identities are being produced under what conditions and for what purposes.</p>
<p>Critical educators, in concert with concerned citizens, need to raise the bar so as to demand modes of education in which teachers are knowledgeable and reflexive, function as agents of civic education, and create pedagogies that are provocative and illuminating in their ability to get students to come to terms with their own power as individual and social agents. Any viable mode of critical pedagogy must treat young people with respect and enable them to develop their own voice and sense of agency, and do so in an environment that is thoughtful, critical, humane and challenging. In the end, I think it is reasonable to argue, as I do in this book, that education at all levels is the fundamental precondition that makes democratic politics possible, provides a space where meaningful histories, voices and cultural differences can flourish, and enables students to grow intellectually and morally, reflect critically about their relationship with others, and interrogate thoughtfully their relationship with the broader society and the larger world. I make no apologies in arguing that the project that informs this book furthers the attempt to establish a connection between learning and social change, educate young people to be able to translate private troubles into broader social considerations, and create the pedagogical conditions for the development of a formative culture that expands and deepens the possibilities of a democratic society. The Education Deficit and the War on Youth is a call for educators and others to organize collectively both within and outside of schools to further develop the ideas, values and institutions necessary to sustain a world where justice prevails and individual and collective consciousness does not fall asleep.</p>
<p /> | 2,906 |
<p>CANYON, Texas (AP) — An Amarillo man has been convicted of murder in in the 2014 beating and shooting death of one of his ex-wives.</p>
<p>A Randall County jury in Canyon, Texas, returned its verdict Thursday on Jeremy Spielbauer. The same jury could imprison him for the rest of his life.</p>
<p>Prosecutors had sought a capital murder conviction, which would have denied him the chance of parole from a life sentence.</p>
<p>The body of Robin Spielbauer of Amarillo was found in April 2014 in a ditch. A woman married to Jeremy Spielbauer at the time of the slaying was charged with capital murder but the count was later dropped.</p>
<p>Prosecutors cited cellphone records in dismissing the case against Katie Spielbauer. She divorced her husband after her arrest and resumed using her maiden name, Katie Phipps.</p>
<p>CANYON, Texas (AP) — An Amarillo man has been convicted of murder in in the 2014 beating and shooting death of one of his ex-wives.</p>
<p>A Randall County jury in Canyon, Texas, returned its verdict Thursday on Jeremy Spielbauer. The same jury could imprison him for the rest of his life.</p>
<p>Prosecutors had sought a capital murder conviction, which would have denied him the chance of parole from a life sentence.</p>
<p>The body of Robin Spielbauer of Amarillo was found in April 2014 in a ditch. A woman married to Jeremy Spielbauer at the time of the slaying was charged with capital murder but the count was later dropped.</p>
<p>Prosecutors cited cellphone records in dismissing the case against Katie Spielbauer. She divorced her husband after her arrest and resumed using her maiden name, Katie Phipps.</p> | Amarillo man convicted of murdering ex-wife in 2014 | false | https://apnews.com/975c9a5040bb4c88909123716f05226f | 2018-01-25 | 2least
| Amarillo man convicted of murdering ex-wife in 2014
<p>CANYON, Texas (AP) — An Amarillo man has been convicted of murder in in the 2014 beating and shooting death of one of his ex-wives.</p>
<p>A Randall County jury in Canyon, Texas, returned its verdict Thursday on Jeremy Spielbauer. The same jury could imprison him for the rest of his life.</p>
<p>Prosecutors had sought a capital murder conviction, which would have denied him the chance of parole from a life sentence.</p>
<p>The body of Robin Spielbauer of Amarillo was found in April 2014 in a ditch. A woman married to Jeremy Spielbauer at the time of the slaying was charged with capital murder but the count was later dropped.</p>
<p>Prosecutors cited cellphone records in dismissing the case against Katie Spielbauer. She divorced her husband after her arrest and resumed using her maiden name, Katie Phipps.</p>
<p>CANYON, Texas (AP) — An Amarillo man has been convicted of murder in in the 2014 beating and shooting death of one of his ex-wives.</p>
<p>A Randall County jury in Canyon, Texas, returned its verdict Thursday on Jeremy Spielbauer. The same jury could imprison him for the rest of his life.</p>
<p>Prosecutors had sought a capital murder conviction, which would have denied him the chance of parole from a life sentence.</p>
<p>The body of Robin Spielbauer of Amarillo was found in April 2014 in a ditch. A woman married to Jeremy Spielbauer at the time of the slaying was charged with capital murder but the count was later dropped.</p>
<p>Prosecutors cited cellphone records in dismissing the case against Katie Spielbauer. She divorced her husband after her arrest and resumed using her maiden name, Katie Phipps.</p> | 2,907 |
<p />
<p>The baby boomer generation includes Americans born between 1946 and 1964, or those that are between 52 and 70 years of age now. With this generation at or near Social Security age, there are some critical facts baby boomers should know about the financial state of Social Security, potential reforms, and recent changes to the rules.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>There has been no shortage of media coverage about Social Security's financial state, especially since it's a hot-button political issue right now. While Social Security isn't in the best financial shape, much of this coverage has overstated the problem, even referring to Social Security as bankrupt and "out of money."</p>
<p>Fortunately, it's not that much of an extreme situation...yet. There is still money in the Social Security trust fund, and while the system is projected to start operating at a deficit shortly, the trust fund isn't projected to run out of money until 2034.</p>
<p>I believe Congress will eventually step in and fix the problem, but even if the trust fund does run out, there is still payroll tax revenue coming in. In the worst-case scenario, Social Security will only be able to pay three-quarters of promised benefits after 2034. This wouldn't be a good situation by any means, but it's important to know the true extent of the funding problem.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Now, as I said in the previous section, Social Security isn't sustainable in its current form and the trust fund is expected to be depleted by 2034. So, it's fair to assume that something will be done to either increase the amount of money flowing into Social Security or to reduce the benefits flowing out.</p>
<p>However, it's important to be aware that there has been no serious effort from either side of the political spectrum to reduce baby boomers' Social Security benefits. Even most Republicans generally want to preserve Social Security for current retirees and Americans close to retirement age, which is typically defined as 50 or older.</p>
<p>Not only that, but benefit reductions of any kind are extremely unpopular among Americans. In fact, 77% of Americans wouldn't mind a tax increase if it preserved Social Security, so this is the most likely type of Social Security reform that will ultimately gain political traction.</p>
<p>One of the most popular <a href="http://www.fool.com/retirement/general/2016/05/30/what-just-happened-to-social-security-spousal-bene.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Social Security strategies Opens a New Window.</a> used by married couples is the file-and-suspend strategy, which, unfortunately for many, has been eliminated as of April 30, 2016.</p>
<p>Under this strategy, a worker could file for their own Social Security benefits at their normal retirement age, then immediately suspend them in order to let them continue to grow. Meanwhile, their spouse could collect a spousal benefit on the primary earner's work record -- since technically, the condition was that the primary worker filed for benefits.</p>
<p>The primary worker could then reinstate the suspended benefits at age 70 (or sooner) at a permanently higher rate, even though a spousal benefit had been paid all along.</p>
<p>Now, this is no longer an option. Benefit suspension is still available, but no benefits can be paid out on the work record of an individual who is not actively receiving benefits. There is an exception in the case of divorced spouses, but this loophole affects many couples' options.</p>
<p>Another major loophole that has been closed recently is known as deemed filing. In years past, an individual could choose to file for just a spousal benefit while allowing their own retirement benefit to keep growing.</p>
<p>Now, if you apply for one type of Social Security retirement benefit, you'll be deemed to have applied for both, and the higher of the two will be automatically paid out. For example, if you claim a spousal benefit at age 62, you'll also be filing for your own benefit at the same time, so be sure to take this into consideration so you don't inadvertently have your retirement benefit permanently reduced.</p>
<p>Unlike the file-and-suspend loophole closure, if you turned 62 on or before January 1, 2016, you are grandfathered in. You do have the ability to file for a spousal benefit while not simultaneously applying for your own retirement benefit.</p>
<p>As a final point, it's important for baby boomers to know how their <a href="http://www.fool.com/retirement/general/2016/05/20/how-social-security-wages-determine-your-retiremen.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">benefits are calculated Opens a New Window.</a>, as it can help make the decision of when to retire a little easier.</p>
<p>Essentially, the Social Security Administration takes your highest 35 inflation-indexed years of Social Security taxable earnings to determine your lifetime monthly average. Then, this average is applied to a formula that determines your benefit:</p>
<p>This determines your benefit at your full (normal) retirement age, and is reduced or increased if you file before or after this age.</p>
<p>The point is that if you're deciding whether to retire early or work another few years, it's important to realize that you get a double-bonus for waiting. As I mentioned already, your benefit increases if you wait longer to file. In addition to this, working another year or two could boost your 35-year average. In other words, since most people earn more later in their career, an extra year of work means that your lowest-earning year will no longer be counted when determining your benefit.</p>
<p>Now, if you want to file as early as possible, there's absolutely nothing wrong with doing so. However, it's important to be aware of the full and permanent effect of early or late Social Security on your retirement benefits.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/retirement/2016/06/06/5-facts-about-social-security-benefits-baby-boomer.aspx" type="external">5 Facts About Social Security Benefits Baby Boomers Should Know Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p>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> | 5 Facts About Social Security Benefits Baby Boomers Should Know | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/06/06/5-facts-about-social-security-benefits-baby-boomers-should-know.html | 2016-06-06 | 0right
| 5 Facts About Social Security Benefits Baby Boomers Should Know
<p />
<p>The baby boomer generation includes Americans born between 1946 and 1964, or those that are between 52 and 70 years of age now. With this generation at or near Social Security age, there are some critical facts baby boomers should know about the financial state of Social Security, potential reforms, and recent changes to the rules.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>There has been no shortage of media coverage about Social Security's financial state, especially since it's a hot-button political issue right now. While Social Security isn't in the best financial shape, much of this coverage has overstated the problem, even referring to Social Security as bankrupt and "out of money."</p>
<p>Fortunately, it's not that much of an extreme situation...yet. There is still money in the Social Security trust fund, and while the system is projected to start operating at a deficit shortly, the trust fund isn't projected to run out of money until 2034.</p>
<p>I believe Congress will eventually step in and fix the problem, but even if the trust fund does run out, there is still payroll tax revenue coming in. In the worst-case scenario, Social Security will only be able to pay three-quarters of promised benefits after 2034. This wouldn't be a good situation by any means, but it's important to know the true extent of the funding problem.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Now, as I said in the previous section, Social Security isn't sustainable in its current form and the trust fund is expected to be depleted by 2034. So, it's fair to assume that something will be done to either increase the amount of money flowing into Social Security or to reduce the benefits flowing out.</p>
<p>However, it's important to be aware that there has been no serious effort from either side of the political spectrum to reduce baby boomers' Social Security benefits. Even most Republicans generally want to preserve Social Security for current retirees and Americans close to retirement age, which is typically defined as 50 or older.</p>
<p>Not only that, but benefit reductions of any kind are extremely unpopular among Americans. In fact, 77% of Americans wouldn't mind a tax increase if it preserved Social Security, so this is the most likely type of Social Security reform that will ultimately gain political traction.</p>
<p>One of the most popular <a href="http://www.fool.com/retirement/general/2016/05/30/what-just-happened-to-social-security-spousal-bene.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Social Security strategies Opens a New Window.</a> used by married couples is the file-and-suspend strategy, which, unfortunately for many, has been eliminated as of April 30, 2016.</p>
<p>Under this strategy, a worker could file for their own Social Security benefits at their normal retirement age, then immediately suspend them in order to let them continue to grow. Meanwhile, their spouse could collect a spousal benefit on the primary earner's work record -- since technically, the condition was that the primary worker filed for benefits.</p>
<p>The primary worker could then reinstate the suspended benefits at age 70 (or sooner) at a permanently higher rate, even though a spousal benefit had been paid all along.</p>
<p>Now, this is no longer an option. Benefit suspension is still available, but no benefits can be paid out on the work record of an individual who is not actively receiving benefits. There is an exception in the case of divorced spouses, but this loophole affects many couples' options.</p>
<p>Another major loophole that has been closed recently is known as deemed filing. In years past, an individual could choose to file for just a spousal benefit while allowing their own retirement benefit to keep growing.</p>
<p>Now, if you apply for one type of Social Security retirement benefit, you'll be deemed to have applied for both, and the higher of the two will be automatically paid out. For example, if you claim a spousal benefit at age 62, you'll also be filing for your own benefit at the same time, so be sure to take this into consideration so you don't inadvertently have your retirement benefit permanently reduced.</p>
<p>Unlike the file-and-suspend loophole closure, if you turned 62 on or before January 1, 2016, you are grandfathered in. You do have the ability to file for a spousal benefit while not simultaneously applying for your own retirement benefit.</p>
<p>As a final point, it's important for baby boomers to know how their <a href="http://www.fool.com/retirement/general/2016/05/20/how-social-security-wages-determine-your-retiremen.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">benefits are calculated Opens a New Window.</a>, as it can help make the decision of when to retire a little easier.</p>
<p>Essentially, the Social Security Administration takes your highest 35 inflation-indexed years of Social Security taxable earnings to determine your lifetime monthly average. Then, this average is applied to a formula that determines your benefit:</p>
<p>This determines your benefit at your full (normal) retirement age, and is reduced or increased if you file before or after this age.</p>
<p>The point is that if you're deciding whether to retire early or work another few years, it's important to realize that you get a double-bonus for waiting. As I mentioned already, your benefit increases if you wait longer to file. In addition to this, working another year or two could boost your 35-year average. In other words, since most people earn more later in their career, an extra year of work means that your lowest-earning year will no longer be counted when determining your benefit.</p>
<p>Now, if you want to file as early as possible, there's absolutely nothing wrong with doing so. However, it's important to be aware of the full and permanent effect of early or late Social Security on your retirement benefits.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/retirement/2016/06/06/5-facts-about-social-security-benefits-baby-boomer.aspx" type="external">5 Facts About Social Security Benefits Baby Boomers Should Know Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p>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> | 2,908 |
<p><a href="" type="internal" />Scrambling for workable models found elsewhere in resources policy, some analysts have begun to argue&#160;that California should regulate markets for water.</p>
<p>At Bloomberg View, for instance, the editors made a splash with a recommendation drawn from Australia’s approach to limited water. “The system sets an annual cap on the amount of water that can be used without threatening future supply, then breaks that amount into entitlements for different users, which they can trade, temporarily or permanently,” they <a href="http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-05-15/can-california-have-a-water-market-" type="external">wrote</a>.</p>
<p>“California, like most other U.S. states, also lets farmers buy and sell their water rights, to each other or to cities. But the transactions are not supported by a transparent online marketplace (though laws passed last year will help track water use). And they’re bogged down by red tape and other costs. The volume of trading shows it. From 2006 to 2010, agricultural districts or urban water utilities bought only about 3 percent of the water used in California’s San Joaquin Valley, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.”</p>
<p>In some ways, the creation of formal water market in California would be reminiscent of&#160;the cap-and-trade regime already well underway in&#160;pricing carbon emissions. That has raised questions about the level of complexity involved in taking on the project.</p>
<p>As one carbon trading expert has indicated, Californians can and do already trade water, but not within the sort of Australian-style system sophisticated enough to address water allocations at the statewide level. “It’s the equivalent of someone driving around and talking to ranchers and asking them if they want to sell their water,” McKenzie Funk <a href="http://www.npr.org/2015/04/18/400573611/a-water-markets-might-work-in-california" type="external">told</a> NPR. “To have this sort of hyper-efficient, computer-driven water market I think could help if it sends a price signal. But to set it up would be a mess.”</p>
<p>On the other hand, some observers noted, more efficient water markets could be opened up simply by stripping away the favoritism embedded in current regulations, rather than adding layers of new policy.</p>
<p>Water pricing in California has long been shaped by regulatory distortions. As Shikha Dalmia <a href="http://theweek.com/articles/550126/marketbased-solution-californias-water-crisis" type="external">noted</a> at The Week, “Although residential users pay more for water than farmers, they still pay below-market prices. Sacramento homes pay a flat rate for their water, no matter how much they consume. They don’t even have meters. In Fresno, which gets less than 11 inches of rain a year, monthly water bills for families are sometimes only&#160;a third&#160;of those in Boston, which gets four times more rain.”</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" />Meanwhile, agricultural users have enjoyed cut-rate water for decades. Writing in favor of water markets at the Sacramento Bee, Lawrence McQuillan and Aaron White <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article19269969.html" type="external">cast</a> blame at&#160;“California’s 1930s federal Central Valley Project and 1960s State Water Project,” which “provide water to contractors at heavily subsidized prices. Farmers in parts of California are consuming subsidized water at $20 per acre-foot that is worth more than $2,000 per acre-foot in urban areas.”</p>
<p>Although Dalmia agreed that shifting “overnight” to full market pricing was “probably not doable,” she argued that California’s biggest water users, who benefit the most from market distortions, should bear the biggest cuts in the interim.</p>
<p>As policymakers puzzle over California’s pricing regime, some proposed solutions have muddied once-reliable partisan lines on issues as fundamental as tax policy.&#160;At National Review, for instance, two co-authors recently made the case for slapping a special water inefficiency tax on organic farmers. The logic, <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/418509/how-taxing-organic-products-could-solve-californias-water-shortage-terry-l-anderson" type="external">wrote</a> Terry Anderson and Henry Miller, is that “organic agriculture uses more of critical inputs — labor, land and water — than conventional agriculture. Taxation would reduce the demand for water-wasting organic products relative to non-organic alternatives, and thereby reduce some of the pressure on California’s dwindling water supplies.”</p>
<p>With few, if any, policy analysts pushing for a hands-off approach to California’s water woes,&#160;prospects for&#160;fresh legislation amid the state’s ongoing drought seemed set to brighten.</p> | Analysts look to water markets to fight CA drought | false | https://calwatchdog.com/2015/05/21/analysts-look-water-markets-fight-ca-drought/ | 2018-05-20 | 3left-center
| Analysts look to water markets to fight CA drought
<p><a href="" type="internal" />Scrambling for workable models found elsewhere in resources policy, some analysts have begun to argue&#160;that California should regulate markets for water.</p>
<p>At Bloomberg View, for instance, the editors made a splash with a recommendation drawn from Australia’s approach to limited water. “The system sets an annual cap on the amount of water that can be used without threatening future supply, then breaks that amount into entitlements for different users, which they can trade, temporarily or permanently,” they <a href="http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-05-15/can-california-have-a-water-market-" type="external">wrote</a>.</p>
<p>“California, like most other U.S. states, also lets farmers buy and sell their water rights, to each other or to cities. But the transactions are not supported by a transparent online marketplace (though laws passed last year will help track water use). And they’re bogged down by red tape and other costs. The volume of trading shows it. From 2006 to 2010, agricultural districts or urban water utilities bought only about 3 percent of the water used in California’s San Joaquin Valley, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.”</p>
<p>In some ways, the creation of formal water market in California would be reminiscent of&#160;the cap-and-trade regime already well underway in&#160;pricing carbon emissions. That has raised questions about the level of complexity involved in taking on the project.</p>
<p>As one carbon trading expert has indicated, Californians can and do already trade water, but not within the sort of Australian-style system sophisticated enough to address water allocations at the statewide level. “It’s the equivalent of someone driving around and talking to ranchers and asking them if they want to sell their water,” McKenzie Funk <a href="http://www.npr.org/2015/04/18/400573611/a-water-markets-might-work-in-california" type="external">told</a> NPR. “To have this sort of hyper-efficient, computer-driven water market I think could help if it sends a price signal. But to set it up would be a mess.”</p>
<p>On the other hand, some observers noted, more efficient water markets could be opened up simply by stripping away the favoritism embedded in current regulations, rather than adding layers of new policy.</p>
<p>Water pricing in California has long been shaped by regulatory distortions. As Shikha Dalmia <a href="http://theweek.com/articles/550126/marketbased-solution-californias-water-crisis" type="external">noted</a> at The Week, “Although residential users pay more for water than farmers, they still pay below-market prices. Sacramento homes pay a flat rate for their water, no matter how much they consume. They don’t even have meters. In Fresno, which gets less than 11 inches of rain a year, monthly water bills for families are sometimes only&#160;a third&#160;of those in Boston, which gets four times more rain.”</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" />Meanwhile, agricultural users have enjoyed cut-rate water for decades. Writing in favor of water markets at the Sacramento Bee, Lawrence McQuillan and Aaron White <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article19269969.html" type="external">cast</a> blame at&#160;“California’s 1930s federal Central Valley Project and 1960s State Water Project,” which “provide water to contractors at heavily subsidized prices. Farmers in parts of California are consuming subsidized water at $20 per acre-foot that is worth more than $2,000 per acre-foot in urban areas.”</p>
<p>Although Dalmia agreed that shifting “overnight” to full market pricing was “probably not doable,” she argued that California’s biggest water users, who benefit the most from market distortions, should bear the biggest cuts in the interim.</p>
<p>As policymakers puzzle over California’s pricing regime, some proposed solutions have muddied once-reliable partisan lines on issues as fundamental as tax policy.&#160;At National Review, for instance, two co-authors recently made the case for slapping a special water inefficiency tax on organic farmers. The logic, <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/418509/how-taxing-organic-products-could-solve-californias-water-shortage-terry-l-anderson" type="external">wrote</a> Terry Anderson and Henry Miller, is that “organic agriculture uses more of critical inputs — labor, land and water — than conventional agriculture. Taxation would reduce the demand for water-wasting organic products relative to non-organic alternatives, and thereby reduce some of the pressure on California’s dwindling water supplies.”</p>
<p>With few, if any, policy analysts pushing for a hands-off approach to California’s water woes,&#160;prospects for&#160;fresh legislation amid the state’s ongoing drought seemed set to brighten.</p> | 2,909 |
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<p>UNM VOLLEYBALL By Ken Sickenger Journal Staff Writer</p>
<p>Jeff Nelson had looked forward to Wednesday for a long time.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>As it turned out, Nov. 14 more than lived up to the sixth-year University of New Mexico volleyball coach’s expectations. His program signed three standout high school prep recruits – all of them from in-state high schools.</p>
<p>La Cueva’s Julia Warren, Cleveland’s Cassie House and Tatum’s Devanne Sours made it official with National Letters of Intent on Wednesday. All three will compete in this weeks State High School Volleyball Championships then turn their focus on becoming Lobo teammates.</p>
<p>Nelson has always had New Mexicans on his roster, but he said this group is unique.</p>
<p>“All three of these kids are ranked among the top 200 recruits in the nation (by prepvolleyball.com),” Nelson said. “They’re probably the premiere class ever to come from New Mexico and definitely the best class since I’ve been here.”</p>
<p>Wednesday proved particularly eventful for Warren, a 6-foot-1 outside hitter. A few hours after signing with UNM, Warren learned she was named to the Under Armour 2012-13 All-America Team, as a second-team selection.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“I was so excited I almost started crying,” Warren said. “It’s such a blessing. I have to focus totally on state now, but it’s been an amazing day.”</p>
<p>Warren and House have been in the UNM pipeline for quite a while, both having verbally committed as sophomores. Sours committed after attending a Lobo camp last summer.</p>
<p>“All three of them could have gone to other big programs,” Nelson said, “but we’re very glad they chose to stay. There’s a great chance all three girls could play here right away.”</p>
<p>Warren served as a captain of a USA Junior National Training Team during the summer and was recruited by such big-name programs as Texas, Florida, North Carolina and Michigan. She was recently ranked No. 69 among prepvolleyball.com’s national senior recruits.</p>
<p>“Julia’s always had athletic talent,” La Cueva coach Greg Nunley said, “but what’s turned her into a great volleyball player is determination. She just has put hours and hours and hours into it.”</p>
<p>House, a 6-2 middle and outside hitter, is a New Mexico Juniors club teammate of Warren’s. She also competed for the USA Junior National Training Team and was a state champion high jumper last spring.</p>
<p>“Cassie is just big and physical and hits the ball so hard,” Nelson said. “She’s kind of the ideal volleyball athlete.”</p>
<p>Sours, a three-time Class 1A Player of the Year (so far), managed to slip under some programs’ radar playing for tiny Tatum. The 6-2 outside hitter did not play club volleyball, but her Coyotes will seek a fourth straight state title this week.</p>
<p>“Devanne is tall, lean and dynamic at the net,” Nelson said. “Even with no club experience, she’ll be a difference-maker.”</p>
<p>NOTES: Nelson couldn’t help wishing his three signees were available tonight as UNM hosts Nevada. Junior libero Miquella Lovato (concussion) is questionable for tonight’s match against the Wolf Pack (4-23, 1-13 Mountain West), which could leave the Lobos (19-10, 6-6) with eight players for a third straight match. As part of UNM’s Howl for Hunger promotion, fans donating two canned food items will be admitted for $3. — This article appeared on page D3 of the Albuquerque Journal</p> | 3 In-State Players Sign With Lobos | false | https://abqjournal.com/238202/3-instate-players-sign-with-lobos.html | 2least
| 3 In-State Players Sign With Lobos
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<p />
<p>UNM VOLLEYBALL By Ken Sickenger Journal Staff Writer</p>
<p>Jeff Nelson had looked forward to Wednesday for a long time.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>As it turned out, Nov. 14 more than lived up to the sixth-year University of New Mexico volleyball coach’s expectations. His program signed three standout high school prep recruits – all of them from in-state high schools.</p>
<p>La Cueva’s Julia Warren, Cleveland’s Cassie House and Tatum’s Devanne Sours made it official with National Letters of Intent on Wednesday. All three will compete in this weeks State High School Volleyball Championships then turn their focus on becoming Lobo teammates.</p>
<p>Nelson has always had New Mexicans on his roster, but he said this group is unique.</p>
<p>“All three of these kids are ranked among the top 200 recruits in the nation (by prepvolleyball.com),” Nelson said. “They’re probably the premiere class ever to come from New Mexico and definitely the best class since I’ve been here.”</p>
<p>Wednesday proved particularly eventful for Warren, a 6-foot-1 outside hitter. A few hours after signing with UNM, Warren learned she was named to the Under Armour 2012-13 All-America Team, as a second-team selection.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“I was so excited I almost started crying,” Warren said. “It’s such a blessing. I have to focus totally on state now, but it’s been an amazing day.”</p>
<p>Warren and House have been in the UNM pipeline for quite a while, both having verbally committed as sophomores. Sours committed after attending a Lobo camp last summer.</p>
<p>“All three of them could have gone to other big programs,” Nelson said, “but we’re very glad they chose to stay. There’s a great chance all three girls could play here right away.”</p>
<p>Warren served as a captain of a USA Junior National Training Team during the summer and was recruited by such big-name programs as Texas, Florida, North Carolina and Michigan. She was recently ranked No. 69 among prepvolleyball.com’s national senior recruits.</p>
<p>“Julia’s always had athletic talent,” La Cueva coach Greg Nunley said, “but what’s turned her into a great volleyball player is determination. She just has put hours and hours and hours into it.”</p>
<p>House, a 6-2 middle and outside hitter, is a New Mexico Juniors club teammate of Warren’s. She also competed for the USA Junior National Training Team and was a state champion high jumper last spring.</p>
<p>“Cassie is just big and physical and hits the ball so hard,” Nelson said. “She’s kind of the ideal volleyball athlete.”</p>
<p>Sours, a three-time Class 1A Player of the Year (so far), managed to slip under some programs’ radar playing for tiny Tatum. The 6-2 outside hitter did not play club volleyball, but her Coyotes will seek a fourth straight state title this week.</p>
<p>“Devanne is tall, lean and dynamic at the net,” Nelson said. “Even with no club experience, she’ll be a difference-maker.”</p>
<p>NOTES: Nelson couldn’t help wishing his three signees were available tonight as UNM hosts Nevada. Junior libero Miquella Lovato (concussion) is questionable for tonight’s match against the Wolf Pack (4-23, 1-13 Mountain West), which could leave the Lobos (19-10, 6-6) with eight players for a third straight match. As part of UNM’s Howl for Hunger promotion, fans donating two canned food items will be admitted for $3. — This article appeared on page D3 of the Albuquerque Journal</p> | 2,910 |
|
<p>Radon should be tested for in the home say Canadian health officials.</p>
<p>Radon, a leading cause of lung cancer, is a radioactive gas that occurs naturally and can leak into the home through cracks, <a href="http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/get-your-home-tested-for-radon-health-canada-urges-1.1020530" type="external">said CTV News</a>.</p>
<p>The gas cannot be seen or smelled but it is easily tested for.</p>
<p>Canadian health officials said that the home should be tested with a monitor for three months beginning in fall when windows and doors are kept closed.</p>
<p>"It can be fixed. It's easy to fix. And while it's not cheap, it's not super expensive either," Kelley Bush, chief of radon education and awareness at Health Canada, <a href="http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Health+Canada+urges+testing+homes+radon+leading+cause+lung+cancer/7483287/story.html" type="external">told the Canadian Press</a>.</p>
<p>A recent survey of Canadians showed that only one percent of the population knew about the lung cancer danger of radon exposure.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/121101/amsterdam-drops-ban-tourists-cannabis-cafes" type="external">Amsterdam drops ban on tourists in cannabis cafes</a></p>
<p>Radon levels depend on many factors, <a href="http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Health+Canada+urges+testing+homes+radon+leading+cause+lung+cancer/7483287/story.html" type="external">the Canadian Press pointed out</a>, including levels of uranium in the soil around the home and the type of soil.</p>
<p>The levels of radon always vary depending on the location of the home.</p>
<p>"If we could say it was one thing, in one place it would be a lot easier for Health Canada to get people to actually do something about it," Bush said, <a href="http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Health+Canada+urges+testing+homes+radon+leading+cause+lung+cancer/7483287/story.html" type="external">according to the Canadian Press</a>.</p>
<p>"The only thing we can say is everyone should test, because it's really the only way to know."</p>
<p>Commercial tests for radon can be purchased at hardware stores.</p> | Radon tests in the home recommended by health officials | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-11-01/radon-tests-home-recommended-health-officials | 2012-11-01 | 3left-center
| Radon tests in the home recommended by health officials
<p>Radon should be tested for in the home say Canadian health officials.</p>
<p>Radon, a leading cause of lung cancer, is a radioactive gas that occurs naturally and can leak into the home through cracks, <a href="http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/get-your-home-tested-for-radon-health-canada-urges-1.1020530" type="external">said CTV News</a>.</p>
<p>The gas cannot be seen or smelled but it is easily tested for.</p>
<p>Canadian health officials said that the home should be tested with a monitor for three months beginning in fall when windows and doors are kept closed.</p>
<p>"It can be fixed. It's easy to fix. And while it's not cheap, it's not super expensive either," Kelley Bush, chief of radon education and awareness at Health Canada, <a href="http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Health+Canada+urges+testing+homes+radon+leading+cause+lung+cancer/7483287/story.html" type="external">told the Canadian Press</a>.</p>
<p>A recent survey of Canadians showed that only one percent of the population knew about the lung cancer danger of radon exposure.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/121101/amsterdam-drops-ban-tourists-cannabis-cafes" type="external">Amsterdam drops ban on tourists in cannabis cafes</a></p>
<p>Radon levels depend on many factors, <a href="http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Health+Canada+urges+testing+homes+radon+leading+cause+lung+cancer/7483287/story.html" type="external">the Canadian Press pointed out</a>, including levels of uranium in the soil around the home and the type of soil.</p>
<p>The levels of radon always vary depending on the location of the home.</p>
<p>"If we could say it was one thing, in one place it would be a lot easier for Health Canada to get people to actually do something about it," Bush said, <a href="http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Health+Canada+urges+testing+homes+radon+leading+cause+lung+cancer/7483287/story.html" type="external">according to the Canadian Press</a>.</p>
<p>"The only thing we can say is everyone should test, because it's really the only way to know."</p>
<p>Commercial tests for radon can be purchased at hardware stores.</p> | 2,911 |
<p />
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Juno Therapeutics (NASDAQ: JUNO), a clinical-stage biotech, shed 12.3% of its value in March, according to data from <a href="https://www.spcapitaliq.com/" type="external">S&amp;P Global Market Intelligence Opens a New Window.</a>. This double-digit move lower was sparked by the company's decision to mothball its lead chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell cancer immunotherapy, JCAR015, for safety reasons.</p>
<p>Specifically, this experimental cell therapy was in an ongoing pivotal-stage trial for adults with relapsed/refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), but a handful of patient deaths led the company to discontinue its development at the start of March.</p>
<p>Image Source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Not long ago, Juno was nipping at the heels of Novartis(NYSE: NVS) and Kite Pharma(NASDAQ: KITE) in the race to be the first company to bring one of these powerful new cell therapies to market for a hard-to-treat form of blood cancer.</p>
<p>However, Novartis recently announced that theFDA has accepted and granted priority review designation to the application for Novartis' CAR-T candidate CTL019 as a potentialtreatment for both pediatric and adult patients afflicted with relapsed/refractory ALL. And Kite has now completed the rolling BLA submission for its lead CAR-T candidate,axicabtagene ciloleucel, as a treatment for patients with relapsed or refractory aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma.</p>
<p>The point is that Juno has fallen well off pace in the CAR-T race, which may make it tougher for the company to carve out a profitable niche moving forward.</p>
<p>Having said that, Juno is far from a lost cause. The company is hoping to redeem itself with its next-generation CAR-T product candidate JCAR017. If all goes as planned, Juno's rather optimistic goal is to have JCAR017 on the market by as early as late next year as a treatment forpatients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.</p>
<p>While the biotech's lofty clinical and regulatory aspirations aren't out of the realm of possibility, the fact of the matter is that the CAR-T space is quickly filling up with would-be competitors, even beyond Novartis and Kite. In other words, if JCAR017 does fail, Juno might turn out to be an afterthought in this rapidly emerging niche cancer market.</p>
<p>As harsh as that may sound, the market appears to be coming to a similar conclusion. Juno's stock, after all, is only trading at around 3 times the company's last stated cash position, which is odd for a biotech with a pipeline chock-full of high-value cell therapies.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Juno TherapeuticsWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=edebd9b7-3448-4ff4-8470-c5a574b7153a&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 Juno Therapeutics wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=edebd9b7-3448-4ff4-8470-c5a574b7153a&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 April 3, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/gbudwell/info.aspx" type="external">George Budwell Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Juno Therapeutics. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Why Juno Therapeutics Stock Slumped in March | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/04/08/why-juno-therapeutics-stock-slumped-in-march.html | 2017-04-08 | 0right
| Why Juno Therapeutics Stock Slumped in March
<p />
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Juno Therapeutics (NASDAQ: JUNO), a clinical-stage biotech, shed 12.3% of its value in March, according to data from <a href="https://www.spcapitaliq.com/" type="external">S&amp;P Global Market Intelligence Opens a New Window.</a>. This double-digit move lower was sparked by the company's decision to mothball its lead chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell cancer immunotherapy, JCAR015, for safety reasons.</p>
<p>Specifically, this experimental cell therapy was in an ongoing pivotal-stage trial for adults with relapsed/refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), but a handful of patient deaths led the company to discontinue its development at the start of March.</p>
<p>Image Source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Not long ago, Juno was nipping at the heels of Novartis(NYSE: NVS) and Kite Pharma(NASDAQ: KITE) in the race to be the first company to bring one of these powerful new cell therapies to market for a hard-to-treat form of blood cancer.</p>
<p>However, Novartis recently announced that theFDA has accepted and granted priority review designation to the application for Novartis' CAR-T candidate CTL019 as a potentialtreatment for both pediatric and adult patients afflicted with relapsed/refractory ALL. And Kite has now completed the rolling BLA submission for its lead CAR-T candidate,axicabtagene ciloleucel, as a treatment for patients with relapsed or refractory aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma.</p>
<p>The point is that Juno has fallen well off pace in the CAR-T race, which may make it tougher for the company to carve out a profitable niche moving forward.</p>
<p>Having said that, Juno is far from a lost cause. The company is hoping to redeem itself with its next-generation CAR-T product candidate JCAR017. If all goes as planned, Juno's rather optimistic goal is to have JCAR017 on the market by as early as late next year as a treatment forpatients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.</p>
<p>While the biotech's lofty clinical and regulatory aspirations aren't out of the realm of possibility, the fact of the matter is that the CAR-T space is quickly filling up with would-be competitors, even beyond Novartis and Kite. In other words, if JCAR017 does fail, Juno might turn out to be an afterthought in this rapidly emerging niche cancer market.</p>
<p>As harsh as that may sound, the market appears to be coming to a similar conclusion. Juno's stock, after all, is only trading at around 3 times the company's last stated cash position, which is odd for a biotech with a pipeline chock-full of high-value cell therapies.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Juno TherapeuticsWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=edebd9b7-3448-4ff4-8470-c5a574b7153a&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 Juno Therapeutics wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=edebd9b7-3448-4ff4-8470-c5a574b7153a&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 April 3, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/gbudwell/info.aspx" type="external">George Budwell Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Juno Therapeutics. 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> | 2,912 |
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<p />
<p>He is one of six defendants charged with defrauding the Food Stamp Program in a 32-count indictment filed in Aug. 2014.</p>
<p>Between Sept. 2009 to May 2010, Escobedo, conspired with Joseph Martin Padilla, 35, Wilfredo Lopez, 48, Joshua Moya, 35, Justin Quintana, 30, and Veronica Hernandez, 43, to defraud the United States through the unauthorized use of Food Stamp benefits, according to the indictment.</p>
<p>Padilla, at the time, worked as a Family Assistance Analyst in the Human Services Department, where he was responsible for determining applicants’ eligibility and benefit level for SNAP benefits.</p>
<p>Padilla used names and personal identifiers he obtained from his co-defendants to establish fraudulent SNAP accounts, sometimes in exchange for cash or other things of value, according to the indictment. Padilla also established and used a fraudulent SNAP account to fraudulently obtain approximately $1,468 in SNAP benefits for himself. Padilla established 25 separate fake SNAP accounts through which the United States was defrauded of approximately $45,263.00 in SNAP benefits.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Escobedo pled guilty last April to one count of the indictment and admitted that he paid Padilla to process a SNAP benefit application in Escobedo’s name even though Escobedo was ineligible.</p>
<p>Four of Escobedo’s co-defendants, including Padilla, have entered guilty pleas and have been sentenced. The fifth co-defendant, Veronica Hernandez, completed a pre-trial diversion program and charges were dropped.</p>
<p>This case was investigated by the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Office of Inspector General for New Mexico Human Services, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean J. Sullivan.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Fifth defendant in NM food stamp fraud sentenced | false | https://abqjournal.com/933931/fifth-defendant-in-nm-food-stamp-fraud-sentenced.html | 2least
| Fifth defendant in NM food stamp fraud sentenced
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<p />
<p>He is one of six defendants charged with defrauding the Food Stamp Program in a 32-count indictment filed in Aug. 2014.</p>
<p>Between Sept. 2009 to May 2010, Escobedo, conspired with Joseph Martin Padilla, 35, Wilfredo Lopez, 48, Joshua Moya, 35, Justin Quintana, 30, and Veronica Hernandez, 43, to defraud the United States through the unauthorized use of Food Stamp benefits, according to the indictment.</p>
<p>Padilla, at the time, worked as a Family Assistance Analyst in the Human Services Department, where he was responsible for determining applicants’ eligibility and benefit level for SNAP benefits.</p>
<p>Padilla used names and personal identifiers he obtained from his co-defendants to establish fraudulent SNAP accounts, sometimes in exchange for cash or other things of value, according to the indictment. Padilla also established and used a fraudulent SNAP account to fraudulently obtain approximately $1,468 in SNAP benefits for himself. Padilla established 25 separate fake SNAP accounts through which the United States was defrauded of approximately $45,263.00 in SNAP benefits.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Escobedo pled guilty last April to one count of the indictment and admitted that he paid Padilla to process a SNAP benefit application in Escobedo’s name even though Escobedo was ineligible.</p>
<p>Four of Escobedo’s co-defendants, including Padilla, have entered guilty pleas and have been sentenced. The fifth co-defendant, Veronica Hernandez, completed a pre-trial diversion program and charges were dropped.</p>
<p>This case was investigated by the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Office of Inspector General for New Mexico Human Services, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean J. Sullivan.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 2,913 |
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<p />
<p>This cartoon requires Macromedia’s Flash Player. If you don’t see the cartoon above, <a href="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" type="external">download the player here</a>.</p>
<p>Mark Fiore is an editorial cartoonist and animator whose work has appeared in the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Examiner, and dozens of other publications. He is an active member of the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists, and has a <a href="http://www.markfiore.com" type="external">web site</a> featuring his work.</p>
<p /> | Not So Simple | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2003/12/not-so-simple/ | 2003-12-04 | 4left
| Not So Simple
<p />
<p>This cartoon requires Macromedia’s Flash Player. If you don’t see the cartoon above, <a href="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" type="external">download the player here</a>.</p>
<p>Mark Fiore is an editorial cartoonist and animator whose work has appeared in the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Examiner, and dozens of other publications. He is an active member of the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists, and has a <a href="http://www.markfiore.com" type="external">web site</a> featuring his work.</p>
<p /> | 2,914 |
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<p><a href="" type="internal" />Jonathan Rodriguez is going out with a bang his senior year. The 17-year-old Deming High School Drum Major will be in New York City this November playing his clarinet with the Great American Marching Band in the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.</p>
<p>The only student chosen to represent New Mexico, Rodriguez will play alongside fellow students from other states in the largest televised marching parade in the United States. Rodriguez has spent his entire secondary education — and even before — in music through the Deming Public Schools. He began as a sixth grader at Deming Intermediate School.</p>
<p>In May, he applied for and was accepted to march in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. He was notified in June.</p>
<p>The Macy’s Great American Marching Band comprises the top high school music students from every state. Directed by Dr. Richard Good of Auburn University and hosted by Music Festivals, this group marches annually in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It is open to all students, grades 9-12, through auditions or special invitation based on participation in noteworthy programs such as the Concert All-State Band. Rodriguez participated in All-State in Albuquerque in November of last year.</p>
<p>Jonathan is the son of Alicia Planas and Jaime Rodriguez. His grandparents are Lilly and Manny Rodriguez.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | J.J. to march in Macy’s holiday parade | false | https://abqjournal.com/480360/j-j-to-march-in-macys-holiday-parade.html | 2least
| J.J. to march in Macy’s holiday parade
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<p><a href="" type="internal" />Jonathan Rodriguez is going out with a bang his senior year. The 17-year-old Deming High School Drum Major will be in New York City this November playing his clarinet with the Great American Marching Band in the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.</p>
<p>The only student chosen to represent New Mexico, Rodriguez will play alongside fellow students from other states in the largest televised marching parade in the United States. Rodriguez has spent his entire secondary education — and even before — in music through the Deming Public Schools. He began as a sixth grader at Deming Intermediate School.</p>
<p>In May, he applied for and was accepted to march in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. He was notified in June.</p>
<p>The Macy’s Great American Marching Band comprises the top high school music students from every state. Directed by Dr. Richard Good of Auburn University and hosted by Music Festivals, this group marches annually in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It is open to all students, grades 9-12, through auditions or special invitation based on participation in noteworthy programs such as the Concert All-State Band. Rodriguez participated in All-State in Albuquerque in November of last year.</p>
<p>Jonathan is the son of Alicia Planas and Jaime Rodriguez. His grandparents are Lilly and Manny Rodriguez.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 2,915 |
|
<p>Here’s something to ‘like.’</p>
<p>Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of social media giant Facebook and his wife, Priscilla Chan, were the most generous American donors in the country in 2013, with a gift of $992.2 million worth of Facebook stock to a Silicon Valley education foundation, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s Philanthropy 50 list. The pair is the youngest ever to top the list.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>This year, the Chronicle of Philanthropy ( <a href="http://philanthropy.com/section/Philanthropy-50/370/" type="external">http://philanthropy.com/section/Philanthropy-50/370/</a>) reports that gifts by living donors totals about as much as they had in the past two years combined.</p>
<p>The top 50 contributors on the list made a total of $7.7 billion in 2013, along with pledge of $2.9 billion, the biweekly newspaper reports.</p>
<p>Here’s a look at the top five, and how they donated their cash last year.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Facebook’s IPO may have seemed like a fumble earlier this year, but Zuckerberg and his wife were highly-generous with the networking giant’s stock.</p>
<p>The couple gave 18 million shares of stock, valued at $992.2 million, to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation in 2013. They donated the same amount of Facebook shares in 2012 to the fund, the Chronicle reports.</p>
<p>Mitchell donated approximately $750 million to the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation last year. This foundation was established by George and his wife in 1978 and supports a variety of nonprofits throughout Texas, the Chronicle reports.</p>
<p>Mitchell, who was the founder of Mitchell Energy and Development, an oil and natural gas explore, passed away in July at 94 and left the donation to his charity.</p>
<p>The Nike co-founder chairman and his wife donated $500 million to the Oregon Health &amp; Science University Foundation on the condition that university officials will raise an additional $500 million from other donors over the next two years.</p>
<p>The donations will endow a research project to detect deadly cancers as well fund recruitment of top faculty and research staff, scholarships to grad students, new equipment and more clinical trials, according to the Chronicle.</p>
<p>The former New York City Mayor and billionaire gave a total of $452 million to arts, education, environment and public health-nonprofits, as well as programs aimed to help city governments around the world to locate and test new ideas to make local government more efficient.</p>
<p>The Chronicle reports that Bloomberg has said he plans to spend more time focusing on his philanthropy efforts now that he is out of office after more than a decade serving as mayor of the Big Apple.</p>
<p>This power couple gave $235.8 million to the Laura and John Arnold Foundation last year. John founded the hedge fund Centaurus Energy and Laura is a former corporate lawyer.</p>
<p>The foundation was created in 2008 and supports programs to improve the reliability of scientific research, K-12 public education, the criminal justice system and public-policy practices, according to the Chronicle’s report.</p> | Meet the 5 Most Generous Americans in 2013 | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2014/02/10/meet-5-most-generous-americans-in-2013.html | 2016-06-14 | 0right
| Meet the 5 Most Generous Americans in 2013
<p>Here’s something to ‘like.’</p>
<p>Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of social media giant Facebook and his wife, Priscilla Chan, were the most generous American donors in the country in 2013, with a gift of $992.2 million worth of Facebook stock to a Silicon Valley education foundation, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s Philanthropy 50 list. The pair is the youngest ever to top the list.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>This year, the Chronicle of Philanthropy ( <a href="http://philanthropy.com/section/Philanthropy-50/370/" type="external">http://philanthropy.com/section/Philanthropy-50/370/</a>) reports that gifts by living donors totals about as much as they had in the past two years combined.</p>
<p>The top 50 contributors on the list made a total of $7.7 billion in 2013, along with pledge of $2.9 billion, the biweekly newspaper reports.</p>
<p>Here’s a look at the top five, and how they donated their cash last year.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Facebook’s IPO may have seemed like a fumble earlier this year, but Zuckerberg and his wife were highly-generous with the networking giant’s stock.</p>
<p>The couple gave 18 million shares of stock, valued at $992.2 million, to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation in 2013. They donated the same amount of Facebook shares in 2012 to the fund, the Chronicle reports.</p>
<p>Mitchell donated approximately $750 million to the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation last year. This foundation was established by George and his wife in 1978 and supports a variety of nonprofits throughout Texas, the Chronicle reports.</p>
<p>Mitchell, who was the founder of Mitchell Energy and Development, an oil and natural gas explore, passed away in July at 94 and left the donation to his charity.</p>
<p>The Nike co-founder chairman and his wife donated $500 million to the Oregon Health &amp; Science University Foundation on the condition that university officials will raise an additional $500 million from other donors over the next two years.</p>
<p>The donations will endow a research project to detect deadly cancers as well fund recruitment of top faculty and research staff, scholarships to grad students, new equipment and more clinical trials, according to the Chronicle.</p>
<p>The former New York City Mayor and billionaire gave a total of $452 million to arts, education, environment and public health-nonprofits, as well as programs aimed to help city governments around the world to locate and test new ideas to make local government more efficient.</p>
<p>The Chronicle reports that Bloomberg has said he plans to spend more time focusing on his philanthropy efforts now that he is out of office after more than a decade serving as mayor of the Big Apple.</p>
<p>This power couple gave $235.8 million to the Laura and John Arnold Foundation last year. John founded the hedge fund Centaurus Energy and Laura is a former corporate lawyer.</p>
<p>The foundation was created in 2008 and supports programs to improve the reliability of scientific research, K-12 public education, the criminal justice system and public-policy practices, according to the Chronicle’s report.</p> | 2,916 |
<p>Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says the U.S. seeks a diplomatic resolution in the nuclear standoff with North Korea, but he’s declining to comment on whether the White House is considering limited military action against Pyongyang. (Jan. 16)</p>
<p>Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says the U.S. seeks a diplomatic resolution in the nuclear standoff with North Korea, but he’s declining to comment on whether the White House is considering limited military action against Pyongyang. (Jan. 16)</p> | Tillerson: Nuclear North Korea Threat Growing | false | https://apnews.com/d080cb32a7b04bafbda7562dda641802 | 2018-01-17 | 2least
| Tillerson: Nuclear North Korea Threat Growing
<p>Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says the U.S. seeks a diplomatic resolution in the nuclear standoff with North Korea, but he’s declining to comment on whether the White House is considering limited military action against Pyongyang. (Jan. 16)</p>
<p>Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says the U.S. seeks a diplomatic resolution in the nuclear standoff with North Korea, but he’s declining to comment on whether the White House is considering limited military action against Pyongyang. (Jan. 16)</p> | 2,917 |
<p>Few people in the U.S. would publicly advocate the need for children as young as 12 to marry; yet, Governor Chris Christie not only believes religious freedom erases Western mores about child marriage, he codified that personal belief for New Jersey residents — by vetoing <a href="http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2016/Bills/A3500/3091_R1.HTM" type="external">a bill</a> which would have banned the practice, outright.</p>
<p>“I agree that protecting the well-being, dignity, and freedom of minors is vital,” Christie opined, “but the severe bar this bill creates is not necessary to address the concerns voiced by the bill’s proponents and does not comport with the sensibilities and, in some cases, the religious customs, of the people of this State.”</p>
<p>Christie stunned lawmakers in his conditional refusal to sign into law <a href="http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2016/Bills/A3500/3091_R1.HTM" type="external">A3091</a>, which would have barred “persons under age 18 from marrying or entering into a civil union,” according to its text.</p>
<p>According to Politico, Republican Assemblywoman Nancy Munoz — a legislator from Christie’s own party — led sponsorship of the bill, which garnered virtually full support from the New Jersey Senate and Assembly, after <a href="http://www.politico.com/states/new-jersey/story/2017/05/11/ban-on-child-marriages-conditionally-vetoed-by-christie-111987" type="external">hearing</a> “compelling” anecdotal testimony from minors who had been forced into marriage under religious pretenses.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, Christie proffered religion as a central focus to rubber-stamping the continuation of legal child marriage in his state.</p>
<p>“Underage marriage is widespread in the United States, where about 170,000 children were wed between 2000 and 2010 in 38 of the 50 states where data was available, according to activists,” Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trafficking-childmarriage-idUSKBN1872VB" type="external">reports</a>.</p>
<p>image: http://pixel.watch/qut7</p>
<p>“Although age 18 is the minimum for marriage in most of the nation, every state has legal loopholes allowing children to wed.”</p>
<p>Indeed, definitive reasons may exist for minors to marry — opposition cited pregnancy or that 17-year-olds may enlist in the military with parental consent — but the law as it stands allows children under the age of 16 to wed with permission of a family court judge.</p>
<p>“An exclusion without exceptions would violate the cultures and traditions of some communities in New Jersey based on religious traditions,” Christie <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/new-jersey-chris-christie-child-marriage-ban-fails-religious-custom-a7735616.html" type="external">explained</a>.</p>
<p>While maturity cannot be dictated by age, detractors feel the potential for abuse, mental health concerns, and the inherent rights of minors overwhelmingly preclude the dictates of any religious doctrine — leaving the legality of underage marriage untouched while exceptions are debated seems unwise.</p>
<p>Reuters notes, “Studies have shown that child marriage is associated with mental health problems, poverty and increased high school drop-out rates.”</p>
<p>“The shocking truth is that child marriage is legal right now in New Jersey, and it’s shocking that thousands of children have been married here recently, most of them minor girls married to adult men,” Fraidy Reiss, executive director of the nonprofit Unchained At Last, <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2017/05/12/christie-vetoes-bill-that-would-outlaw-child-marriage-in-nj/" type="external">told</a> the state’s Assembly last year.</p>
<p>Reiss also noted, <a href="http://www.politico.com/states/new-jersey/story/2017/05/11/ban-on-child-marriages-conditionally-vetoed-by-christie-111987" type="external">reports</a> Politico, “that almost 3,500 marriages involving at least one partner under 18 took place in New Jersey from 1995 to 2012. Of those, 163 involved at least one spouse 15 or younger. Most were religious arranged marriages.”</p>
<p>New Jersey isn’t alone, by far, in allowing teens — and, in some instances, preteens — to wed, though Americans would be shocked at a comparison to the rest of the planet.</p>
<p>Although the age at which each state allows exceptions for minors to marry varies greatly, several, including Massachusetts, will give the green light for the marriage of children as young as 12 to a partner — but that prospective spouse rarely also is underage.</p>
<p>Most often, child marriages involve underage adolescent girls and men decades their senior.</p>
<p>“In Virginia itself,” The Independent <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/child-marriage-chart-reveals-girls-can-still-get-married-at-12-in-some-parts-of-the-us-as-lawmakers-a6921246.html" type="external">reported</a> in March, “according to state health statistics, more than 4,500 minors were married between 2000 and 2013, including about 220 who were 15 or younger.”</p>
<p>That any of the United States permit 12-year-olds to wed puts the nation on a questionable level <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/child-marriage-chart-reveals-girls-can-still-get-married-at-12-in-some-parts-of-the-us-as-lawmakers-a6921246.html" type="external">matched</a> only by war-torn Yemen and opprobrious human rights-abuser, Saudi Arabia.</p>
<p>Perhaps unsurprisingly, anti-choice activists rallied against the bill under the auspices pregnant youth should be allowed to marry under because it would be better for offspring.</p>
<p>Although the governor’s refusal to sign A3091 leaves New Jersey in line with multiple U.S. states on the topic, his conditional veto came with the proposal to ban marriage entirely for those under 16 years of age and require consent from a judge before 16- and 17-year-olds could wed.</p>
<p>“It is disingenuous to hold that a 16-year-old may never consent to marriage, although New Jersey law permits the very same 16-year-old to consent to sex or obtain an abortion without so much as parental knowledge, let alone consent,” Christie, quoted by Politico, <a href="http://www.politico.com/states/new-jersey/story/2017/05/11/ban-on-child-marriages-conditionally-vetoed-by-christie-111987" type="external">asserted</a> in the veto. “That inconsistency in logic undercuts the alleged logic of an outright ban.”</p>
<p>Munoz — bewildered, disappointed, and unsure precisely how to proceed — retained measured optimism in the governor’s suggestions that the restrictions on child marriage may still find their way into the New Jersey law books.</p>
<p>“It’s not an absolute veto, which is good,” she told Reuters.</p>
<p>Christie would likely sign the bill into law should legislators append its text to include his recommendations on age-specific exceptions.</p> | To Protect Religious Freedom, NJ Governor Guarantees Old Men Can Marry Children | false | https://studionewsnetwork.com/news/protect-religious-freedom-nj-governor-guarantees-old-men-can-marry-children/ | 2017-05-15 | 3left-center
| To Protect Religious Freedom, NJ Governor Guarantees Old Men Can Marry Children
<p>Few people in the U.S. would publicly advocate the need for children as young as 12 to marry; yet, Governor Chris Christie not only believes religious freedom erases Western mores about child marriage, he codified that personal belief for New Jersey residents — by vetoing <a href="http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2016/Bills/A3500/3091_R1.HTM" type="external">a bill</a> which would have banned the practice, outright.</p>
<p>“I agree that protecting the well-being, dignity, and freedom of minors is vital,” Christie opined, “but the severe bar this bill creates is not necessary to address the concerns voiced by the bill’s proponents and does not comport with the sensibilities and, in some cases, the religious customs, of the people of this State.”</p>
<p>Christie stunned lawmakers in his conditional refusal to sign into law <a href="http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2016/Bills/A3500/3091_R1.HTM" type="external">A3091</a>, which would have barred “persons under age 18 from marrying or entering into a civil union,” according to its text.</p>
<p>According to Politico, Republican Assemblywoman Nancy Munoz — a legislator from Christie’s own party — led sponsorship of the bill, which garnered virtually full support from the New Jersey Senate and Assembly, after <a href="http://www.politico.com/states/new-jersey/story/2017/05/11/ban-on-child-marriages-conditionally-vetoed-by-christie-111987" type="external">hearing</a> “compelling” anecdotal testimony from minors who had been forced into marriage under religious pretenses.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, Christie proffered religion as a central focus to rubber-stamping the continuation of legal child marriage in his state.</p>
<p>“Underage marriage is widespread in the United States, where about 170,000 children were wed between 2000 and 2010 in 38 of the 50 states where data was available, according to activists,” Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trafficking-childmarriage-idUSKBN1872VB" type="external">reports</a>.</p>
<p>image: http://pixel.watch/qut7</p>
<p>“Although age 18 is the minimum for marriage in most of the nation, every state has legal loopholes allowing children to wed.”</p>
<p>Indeed, definitive reasons may exist for minors to marry — opposition cited pregnancy or that 17-year-olds may enlist in the military with parental consent — but the law as it stands allows children under the age of 16 to wed with permission of a family court judge.</p>
<p>“An exclusion without exceptions would violate the cultures and traditions of some communities in New Jersey based on religious traditions,” Christie <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/new-jersey-chris-christie-child-marriage-ban-fails-religious-custom-a7735616.html" type="external">explained</a>.</p>
<p>While maturity cannot be dictated by age, detractors feel the potential for abuse, mental health concerns, and the inherent rights of minors overwhelmingly preclude the dictates of any religious doctrine — leaving the legality of underage marriage untouched while exceptions are debated seems unwise.</p>
<p>Reuters notes, “Studies have shown that child marriage is associated with mental health problems, poverty and increased high school drop-out rates.”</p>
<p>“The shocking truth is that child marriage is legal right now in New Jersey, and it’s shocking that thousands of children have been married here recently, most of them minor girls married to adult men,” Fraidy Reiss, executive director of the nonprofit Unchained At Last, <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2017/05/12/christie-vetoes-bill-that-would-outlaw-child-marriage-in-nj/" type="external">told</a> the state’s Assembly last year.</p>
<p>Reiss also noted, <a href="http://www.politico.com/states/new-jersey/story/2017/05/11/ban-on-child-marriages-conditionally-vetoed-by-christie-111987" type="external">reports</a> Politico, “that almost 3,500 marriages involving at least one partner under 18 took place in New Jersey from 1995 to 2012. Of those, 163 involved at least one spouse 15 or younger. Most were religious arranged marriages.”</p>
<p>New Jersey isn’t alone, by far, in allowing teens — and, in some instances, preteens — to wed, though Americans would be shocked at a comparison to the rest of the planet.</p>
<p>Although the age at which each state allows exceptions for minors to marry varies greatly, several, including Massachusetts, will give the green light for the marriage of children as young as 12 to a partner — but that prospective spouse rarely also is underage.</p>
<p>Most often, child marriages involve underage adolescent girls and men decades their senior.</p>
<p>“In Virginia itself,” The Independent <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/child-marriage-chart-reveals-girls-can-still-get-married-at-12-in-some-parts-of-the-us-as-lawmakers-a6921246.html" type="external">reported</a> in March, “according to state health statistics, more than 4,500 minors were married between 2000 and 2013, including about 220 who were 15 or younger.”</p>
<p>That any of the United States permit 12-year-olds to wed puts the nation on a questionable level <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/child-marriage-chart-reveals-girls-can-still-get-married-at-12-in-some-parts-of-the-us-as-lawmakers-a6921246.html" type="external">matched</a> only by war-torn Yemen and opprobrious human rights-abuser, Saudi Arabia.</p>
<p>Perhaps unsurprisingly, anti-choice activists rallied against the bill under the auspices pregnant youth should be allowed to marry under because it would be better for offspring.</p>
<p>Although the governor’s refusal to sign A3091 leaves New Jersey in line with multiple U.S. states on the topic, his conditional veto came with the proposal to ban marriage entirely for those under 16 years of age and require consent from a judge before 16- and 17-year-olds could wed.</p>
<p>“It is disingenuous to hold that a 16-year-old may never consent to marriage, although New Jersey law permits the very same 16-year-old to consent to sex or obtain an abortion without so much as parental knowledge, let alone consent,” Christie, quoted by Politico, <a href="http://www.politico.com/states/new-jersey/story/2017/05/11/ban-on-child-marriages-conditionally-vetoed-by-christie-111987" type="external">asserted</a> in the veto. “That inconsistency in logic undercuts the alleged logic of an outright ban.”</p>
<p>Munoz — bewildered, disappointed, and unsure precisely how to proceed — retained measured optimism in the governor’s suggestions that the restrictions on child marriage may still find their way into the New Jersey law books.</p>
<p>“It’s not an absolute veto, which is good,” she told Reuters.</p>
<p>Christie would likely sign the bill into law should legislators append its text to include his recommendations on age-specific exceptions.</p> | 2,918 |
<p>Did rapper Nicki Minaj just endorse <a href="" type="internal">Mitt Romney</a> — in song? “I’m a Republican voting for Mitt Romney,&#160;You lazy bitches are fucking up the economy,” sings Minaj, the Trinidad-born singer who is either 27 or 29.</p>
<p>“On a surprising verse from&#160; <a href="http://rapdose.com/2012/09/03/lil-wayne-dedication-4-mixtape-download" type="external">Lil Wayne‘s&#160;Dedication 4&#160;mixtape</a>,&#160;Nicki Minaj&#160;rapped a line referencing&#160;Mitt Romney&#160;over&#160;Kanye West&#160;and&#160;G.O.O.D. Music‘s ‘Mercy’ instrumental,” the website <a href="http://rapdose.com/2012/09/03/nicki-minaj-endorses-mitt-romney-on-lil-waynes-dedication-4-mixtape" type="external">RapDose</a> first reported. “During the verse&#160;Nicki Minaj&#160;reveals that she will vote for&#160;Mitt Romney&#160;in the upcoming election and says that she is a republican [sic].”</p>
<p />
<p>Of course, it could have been satire…</p>
<p><a href="http://gawker.com/5940157/did-nicki-minaj-really-endorse-mitt-romney?utm_campaign=socialflow_gawker_twitter&amp;utm_source=gawker_twitter&amp;utm_medium=socialflow" type="external">Gawker</a> notes:</p>
<p>OK, taken at face value, she’s pretty clearly&#160; <a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/click/2012/09/nicki-minaj-raps-im-voting-for-romney-134254.html" type="external">pulling for Romney</a>. But how do we know Nicki Minaj isn’t just being ironic?</p>
<p>Maybe the first half of the verse is Minaj&#160;quoting&#160;a Republican, rather than speaking for herself, in which case the “lazy bitches” “fucking up the economy” would be the Republicans, not the Obama administration.</p>
<p>And maybe Nicki Minaj’s political opinions will have no bearing on the election. It’s frankly too soon to say.</p>
<p>But a Gawker reader <a href="http://gawker.com/5940157/did-nicki-minaj-really-endorse-mitt-romney?utm_campaign=socialflow_gawker_twitter&amp;utm_source=gawker_twitter&amp;utm_medium=socialflow&amp;post=52384409" type="external">notes</a>:</p>
<p>The verse is not satire, and she is not “quoting a Republican, rather than speaking for herself”. She is boasting about her own success while calling out the “lazy bitches fucking up the economy” –&gt;(Obama/Democrats). Nicki Minaj is the 11th most followed person on Twitter with over 14 million followers. Her endorsement will likely have limited influence, but this election will be decided by the slimmest of margins. If Obama is going to win in November he needs a HUGE turnout by young voters. On February 27, 1968 Lyndon Johnson uttered the phrase “If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost Middle America.” – The question we should now ask: If Obama has lost Nicki Minaj, is he losing the youth vote?</p>
<p>That might be a stretch.</p>
<p />
<p>Image: Nicki Minaj by&#160; <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/macsurak/" type="external">Christopher Macsurak</a></p>
<p>Tagged as: <a href="" type="internal">calling</a>, <a href="" type="internal">endorses romney</a>, <a href="" type="internal">human migration</a>, <a href="" type="internal">kanye west</a>, <a href="" type="internal">laziness</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Mitt Romney</a>, <a href="" type="internal">nicki</a>, <a href="" type="internal">nicki minaj</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Obama</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Politics</a>, <a href="" type="internal">rappers</a>, <a href="" type="internal">romney</a>, <a href="" type="internal">the church of jesus christ of latter day saints</a>, <a href="" type="internal">united states</a>, <a href="" type="internal">vote for mitt romney</a></p>
<p>Friends:</p>
<p>We invite you to <a href="http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=001whLQo73KzGhEjdskYG07rHNy_XoDDkSBBO4INZHx6oD9kfp2yeeQAJeMQUu9oTviZa0VEl5k0rNiLifxlZsOFScMz8rVGmIaN-FFOO3GTKc%3D" type="external">sign up for our new mailing list</a>, and&#160; <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=TheNewCivilRightsMovement&amp;amp;loc=en_US" type="external">subscribe to The New Civil Rights Movement via email</a> or <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/thenewcivilrightsmovement" type="external">RSS</a>.</p>
<p>Also, please&#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-New-Civil-Rights-Movement/358168880614" type="external">like us on Facebook</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/gaycivilrights" type="external">follow us on Twitter</a>!</p> | Nicki Minaj Endorses Romney By Calling Obama Administration ‘Lazy Bitches’? | true | http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/nicki-minaj-endorses-romney-by-calling-obama-administration-lazy-bitches/politics/2012/09/04/48205 | 2012-09-04 | 4left
| Nicki Minaj Endorses Romney By Calling Obama Administration ‘Lazy Bitches’?
<p>Did rapper Nicki Minaj just endorse <a href="" type="internal">Mitt Romney</a> — in song? “I’m a Republican voting for Mitt Romney,&#160;You lazy bitches are fucking up the economy,” sings Minaj, the Trinidad-born singer who is either 27 or 29.</p>
<p>“On a surprising verse from&#160; <a href="http://rapdose.com/2012/09/03/lil-wayne-dedication-4-mixtape-download" type="external">Lil Wayne‘s&#160;Dedication 4&#160;mixtape</a>,&#160;Nicki Minaj&#160;rapped a line referencing&#160;Mitt Romney&#160;over&#160;Kanye West&#160;and&#160;G.O.O.D. Music‘s ‘Mercy’ instrumental,” the website <a href="http://rapdose.com/2012/09/03/nicki-minaj-endorses-mitt-romney-on-lil-waynes-dedication-4-mixtape" type="external">RapDose</a> first reported. “During the verse&#160;Nicki Minaj&#160;reveals that she will vote for&#160;Mitt Romney&#160;in the upcoming election and says that she is a republican [sic].”</p>
<p />
<p>Of course, it could have been satire…</p>
<p><a href="http://gawker.com/5940157/did-nicki-minaj-really-endorse-mitt-romney?utm_campaign=socialflow_gawker_twitter&amp;utm_source=gawker_twitter&amp;utm_medium=socialflow" type="external">Gawker</a> notes:</p>
<p>OK, taken at face value, she’s pretty clearly&#160; <a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/click/2012/09/nicki-minaj-raps-im-voting-for-romney-134254.html" type="external">pulling for Romney</a>. But how do we know Nicki Minaj isn’t just being ironic?</p>
<p>Maybe the first half of the verse is Minaj&#160;quoting&#160;a Republican, rather than speaking for herself, in which case the “lazy bitches” “fucking up the economy” would be the Republicans, not the Obama administration.</p>
<p>And maybe Nicki Minaj’s political opinions will have no bearing on the election. It’s frankly too soon to say.</p>
<p>But a Gawker reader <a href="http://gawker.com/5940157/did-nicki-minaj-really-endorse-mitt-romney?utm_campaign=socialflow_gawker_twitter&amp;utm_source=gawker_twitter&amp;utm_medium=socialflow&amp;post=52384409" type="external">notes</a>:</p>
<p>The verse is not satire, and she is not “quoting a Republican, rather than speaking for herself”. She is boasting about her own success while calling out the “lazy bitches fucking up the economy” –&gt;(Obama/Democrats). Nicki Minaj is the 11th most followed person on Twitter with over 14 million followers. Her endorsement will likely have limited influence, but this election will be decided by the slimmest of margins. If Obama is going to win in November he needs a HUGE turnout by young voters. On February 27, 1968 Lyndon Johnson uttered the phrase “If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost Middle America.” – The question we should now ask: If Obama has lost Nicki Minaj, is he losing the youth vote?</p>
<p>That might be a stretch.</p>
<p />
<p>Image: Nicki Minaj by&#160; <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/macsurak/" type="external">Christopher Macsurak</a></p>
<p>Tagged as: <a href="" type="internal">calling</a>, <a href="" type="internal">endorses romney</a>, <a href="" type="internal">human migration</a>, <a href="" type="internal">kanye west</a>, <a href="" type="internal">laziness</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Mitt Romney</a>, <a href="" type="internal">nicki</a>, <a href="" type="internal">nicki minaj</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Obama</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Politics</a>, <a href="" type="internal">rappers</a>, <a href="" type="internal">romney</a>, <a href="" type="internal">the church of jesus christ of latter day saints</a>, <a href="" type="internal">united states</a>, <a href="" type="internal">vote for mitt romney</a></p>
<p>Friends:</p>
<p>We invite you to <a href="http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=001whLQo73KzGhEjdskYG07rHNy_XoDDkSBBO4INZHx6oD9kfp2yeeQAJeMQUu9oTviZa0VEl5k0rNiLifxlZsOFScMz8rVGmIaN-FFOO3GTKc%3D" type="external">sign up for our new mailing list</a>, and&#160; <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=TheNewCivilRightsMovement&amp;amp;loc=en_US" type="external">subscribe to The New Civil Rights Movement via email</a> or <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/thenewcivilrightsmovement" type="external">RSS</a>.</p>
<p>Also, please&#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-New-Civil-Rights-Movement/358168880614" type="external">like us on Facebook</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/gaycivilrights" type="external">follow us on Twitter</a>!</p> | 2,919 |
<p>After firing its embattled co-founder amid a flood of sexual harassment, assault, and rape allegations, The Weinstein Company has managed to secure a large infusion of cash from a private equity firm "to provide comfort to our critical distribution, production and talent partners around the world."</p>
<p>According to the <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41641419" type="external">BBC</a>, The Weinstein Co. has "entered a preliminary deal with US private equity firm Colony Capital," the same group that purchased the Weinstein-founded Miramax from Disney in 2010. The investment firm said in a statement Monday that it has agreed to inject funds immediately into TWC as part of a significant equity deal.</p>
<p>The news comes as TWC faces a PR crisis that threatens to bring the influential, award-winning entertainment company crashing down.</p>
<p>Colony Capital Executive Chairman Thomas J Barrack, Jr., announced the deal on Monday. "We are pleased to invest in The Weinstein Company and to help it move forward," said Barrack in a statement. "We will help return the company to its rightful iconic position in the independent film and television industry."</p>
<p>TWC board member Tarak Ben Ammar issued a statement on the deal as well, insisting the partnership would "stabilize" the company and "provide comfort" to its various partners around the world. "We believe that Colony's investment and sponsorship will help stabilize the company's current operations, as well as provide comfort to our critical distribution, production and talent partners around the world," said Ammar.</p>
<p>BBC notes that Colony Capital is already a "major player" in the film industry, in large part because of its purchase of Miramax from Disney in 2010, which has resulted in partnerships with several entertainment platforms. The firm manages funds topping $50 billion.</p>
<p>In an emotional and at times brutally honest <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/bob-weinstein-gets-emotional-depraved-harvey-saving-company-his-waking-nightmare-1048905" type="external">interview</a> with The Hollywood Reporter published Saturday, Weinstein's brother, Bob Weinstein, who co-founded both Miramax and TWC with this brother and who served as a board member of TWC, revealed that he had voted to fire his brother and urged the Academy to revoke his brother's membership. He also provided some glimpses behind the curtain at TWC, which he made clear was fighting to figure out a way forward after the devastating allegations against its co-founder.</p>
<p>Asked about Harvey's reported attempts to fight his firing, his brother said, "He can fight. It will be a losing fight." He also noted that Harvey continues to maintain his ownership interest in the company, but the board was working to "sever that."</p>
<p>"It can't be done that quickly," said Bob. "But I am on it 24/7 and so is David Glasser and so is the board of directors that remain and so are the shareholders. This is being dealt with."</p>
<p>He also insisted that the board was not aware of " <a href="" type="internal">the extent</a>" of his brother's behavior with women. Bob said he does not believe his brother feels "an ounce" of remorse for his actions. The total number of alleged victims of either rape, sexual harassment or assault has now topped <a href="http://ew.com/movies/women-accused-harvey-weinstein-sexual-misconduct/harvey-weinsteins-accusers/" type="external">forty</a>; so far <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-4981326/British-actress-fifth-women-accuse-Weinstein-rape.html" type="external">five women</a> have accused the producer of rape.</p> | Weinstein Company To Get Large Infusion Of Cash | true | https://dailywire.com/news/22302/weinstein-company-get-large-infusion-cash-james-barrett | 2017-10-16 | 0right
| Weinstein Company To Get Large Infusion Of Cash
<p>After firing its embattled co-founder amid a flood of sexual harassment, assault, and rape allegations, The Weinstein Company has managed to secure a large infusion of cash from a private equity firm "to provide comfort to our critical distribution, production and talent partners around the world."</p>
<p>According to the <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41641419" type="external">BBC</a>, The Weinstein Co. has "entered a preliminary deal with US private equity firm Colony Capital," the same group that purchased the Weinstein-founded Miramax from Disney in 2010. The investment firm said in a statement Monday that it has agreed to inject funds immediately into TWC as part of a significant equity deal.</p>
<p>The news comes as TWC faces a PR crisis that threatens to bring the influential, award-winning entertainment company crashing down.</p>
<p>Colony Capital Executive Chairman Thomas J Barrack, Jr., announced the deal on Monday. "We are pleased to invest in The Weinstein Company and to help it move forward," said Barrack in a statement. "We will help return the company to its rightful iconic position in the independent film and television industry."</p>
<p>TWC board member Tarak Ben Ammar issued a statement on the deal as well, insisting the partnership would "stabilize" the company and "provide comfort" to its various partners around the world. "We believe that Colony's investment and sponsorship will help stabilize the company's current operations, as well as provide comfort to our critical distribution, production and talent partners around the world," said Ammar.</p>
<p>BBC notes that Colony Capital is already a "major player" in the film industry, in large part because of its purchase of Miramax from Disney in 2010, which has resulted in partnerships with several entertainment platforms. The firm manages funds topping $50 billion.</p>
<p>In an emotional and at times brutally honest <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/bob-weinstein-gets-emotional-depraved-harvey-saving-company-his-waking-nightmare-1048905" type="external">interview</a> with The Hollywood Reporter published Saturday, Weinstein's brother, Bob Weinstein, who co-founded both Miramax and TWC with this brother and who served as a board member of TWC, revealed that he had voted to fire his brother and urged the Academy to revoke his brother's membership. He also provided some glimpses behind the curtain at TWC, which he made clear was fighting to figure out a way forward after the devastating allegations against its co-founder.</p>
<p>Asked about Harvey's reported attempts to fight his firing, his brother said, "He can fight. It will be a losing fight." He also noted that Harvey continues to maintain his ownership interest in the company, but the board was working to "sever that."</p>
<p>"It can't be done that quickly," said Bob. "But I am on it 24/7 and so is David Glasser and so is the board of directors that remain and so are the shareholders. This is being dealt with."</p>
<p>He also insisted that the board was not aware of " <a href="" type="internal">the extent</a>" of his brother's behavior with women. Bob said he does not believe his brother feels "an ounce" of remorse for his actions. The total number of alleged victims of either rape, sexual harassment or assault has now topped <a href="http://ew.com/movies/women-accused-harvey-weinstein-sexual-misconduct/harvey-weinsteins-accusers/" type="external">forty</a>; so far <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-4981326/British-actress-fifth-women-accuse-Weinstein-rape.html" type="external">five women</a> have accused the producer of rape.</p> | 2,920 |
<p>Some things just have to be seen to be believed – and even then it’s not always believable. Other times it takes too strong a stomach to even sit through the unbelievable thing. Sean Hannity of Fox News has generously provided examples of all of the above.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/NewsCorpse/posts/2079972622017522" type="external" /></p>
<p>On Monday morning Hannity visited his colleagues at Fox and Friends to unload a pile defenses for his beleaguered Messiah, Donald Trump. The world around the President must seem to be falling apart as new revelations concerning his unsavory connections to Russia keep spilling out. Trump himself is in pure panic mode and is posting tweets that affirm his guilty conscience. So he is in dire need of a valiant defender to come to his aid. Unfortunately, all he has is the Doofus Squad on Fox and Friends and Sean Hannity.</p>
<p>Hannity’s segment with the “Curvy Couch” potatoes went off the rails from the start. What follows is his run-on, addled-brain meltdown just as it occurred on the air. Buckle in (video below):</p>
<p>“You’ve got the whole issue of Christopher Steele. You know, all this talk about Trump/Russia collusion, the only person that colluded in that campaign with the Russians, was Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton bought and paid for what turned out to be Russian lies. She fixes a primary election against Bernie. Then Hillary has a criminal investigation fixed for her. She tries to use Russian lies she pays for and funnels through Perkins Coie to Fusion GPS to hire a British foreign outsider who uses Russian contacts. Then the worst part of this whole story is then that unverified uncorroborated dossier is then brought before a FISA court when a FISA application, and three subsequent renewal applications to spy on a campaign associate and ostensibly the Trump campaign. Nobody told that judge, or any of those four judges, how it’s possible that Hillary paid for that. They never told them.”</p>
<p>And inhale. Before anyone hurts themselves trying to absorb that, here is a brief summary: Hillary Clinton bought a dossier on Trump that was mean.</p>
<p>That’s really all there is to it. Hannity just repeated the same issues with different words for two minutes. And none of it was true. Neither Clinton nor her campaign colluded with Russians. They did partially fund research that was started by the right-wing Free Beacon. And the firm that conducted the research hired a respected former British intelligence professional to collect information from Russian sources.</p>
<p>And what Hannity calls “the worst part of this whole story” was a blatant lie. Much, but not all, of the Steele dossier was verified. None of of it was found to be false. The FISA court was, in fact, told that the dossier was partially funded by political partisans. Even Devin Nunes, who chaired the hopelessly biased Intelligence Committee inquiry, admitted that in his Republican report. And it was not the sole – or even main – justification for the FISA warrant. What’s more, Hannity proves that he doesn’t understand the FISA application process. The renewals are required every ninety days and may not use justifications that were cited in previous applications. So the dossier could only have been used once, not four times.</p>
<p>Sadly, the people who watch Hannity and Fox and Friends will never be told about these factual details. They will only hear the rapid-fire allegations that they can’t logically follow, and the fear in Hannity’s voice. And that will be enough for them to be certain that these crackpot conspiracy theories are true. After all, the glassy-eyed disciples of Trump are no more sane than Hannity is.</p>
<p>How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QSSMOES/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=B00QSSMOES&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=newscorpsecom-20&amp;linkId=TLI6JC2OYE22MUTS" type="external">Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.</a> Available now at Amazon.</p>
<p /> | Sean Hannity Lost What Was Left of His Alleged Mind in Bonkers Fox and Friends Spot | true | http://newscorpse.com/ncWP/?p%3D33957 | 4left
| Sean Hannity Lost What Was Left of His Alleged Mind in Bonkers Fox and Friends Spot
<p>Some things just have to be seen to be believed – and even then it’s not always believable. Other times it takes too strong a stomach to even sit through the unbelievable thing. Sean Hannity of Fox News has generously provided examples of all of the above.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/NewsCorpse/posts/2079972622017522" type="external" /></p>
<p>On Monday morning Hannity visited his colleagues at Fox and Friends to unload a pile defenses for his beleaguered Messiah, Donald Trump. The world around the President must seem to be falling apart as new revelations concerning his unsavory connections to Russia keep spilling out. Trump himself is in pure panic mode and is posting tweets that affirm his guilty conscience. So he is in dire need of a valiant defender to come to his aid. Unfortunately, all he has is the Doofus Squad on Fox and Friends and Sean Hannity.</p>
<p>Hannity’s segment with the “Curvy Couch” potatoes went off the rails from the start. What follows is his run-on, addled-brain meltdown just as it occurred on the air. Buckle in (video below):</p>
<p>“You’ve got the whole issue of Christopher Steele. You know, all this talk about Trump/Russia collusion, the only person that colluded in that campaign with the Russians, was Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton bought and paid for what turned out to be Russian lies. She fixes a primary election against Bernie. Then Hillary has a criminal investigation fixed for her. She tries to use Russian lies she pays for and funnels through Perkins Coie to Fusion GPS to hire a British foreign outsider who uses Russian contacts. Then the worst part of this whole story is then that unverified uncorroborated dossier is then brought before a FISA court when a FISA application, and three subsequent renewal applications to spy on a campaign associate and ostensibly the Trump campaign. Nobody told that judge, or any of those four judges, how it’s possible that Hillary paid for that. They never told them.”</p>
<p>And inhale. Before anyone hurts themselves trying to absorb that, here is a brief summary: Hillary Clinton bought a dossier on Trump that was mean.</p>
<p>That’s really all there is to it. Hannity just repeated the same issues with different words for two minutes. And none of it was true. Neither Clinton nor her campaign colluded with Russians. They did partially fund research that was started by the right-wing Free Beacon. And the firm that conducted the research hired a respected former British intelligence professional to collect information from Russian sources.</p>
<p>And what Hannity calls “the worst part of this whole story” was a blatant lie. Much, but not all, of the Steele dossier was verified. None of of it was found to be false. The FISA court was, in fact, told that the dossier was partially funded by political partisans. Even Devin Nunes, who chaired the hopelessly biased Intelligence Committee inquiry, admitted that in his Republican report. And it was not the sole – or even main – justification for the FISA warrant. What’s more, Hannity proves that he doesn’t understand the FISA application process. The renewals are required every ninety days and may not use justifications that were cited in previous applications. So the dossier could only have been used once, not four times.</p>
<p>Sadly, the people who watch Hannity and Fox and Friends will never be told about these factual details. They will only hear the rapid-fire allegations that they can’t logically follow, and the fear in Hannity’s voice. And that will be enough for them to be certain that these crackpot conspiracy theories are true. After all, the glassy-eyed disciples of Trump are no more sane than Hannity is.</p>
<p>How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QSSMOES/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=B00QSSMOES&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=newscorpsecom-20&amp;linkId=TLI6JC2OYE22MUTS" type="external">Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.</a> Available now at Amazon.</p>
<p /> | 2,921 |
|
<p>For antifascists, violence is self-defense, because the far-right movements constitute direct threats to their existence and safety, as well as the existence and safety of their communities.</p>
<p>After a fascist march in Charlottesville, Va. left one anti-Nazi protester dead and 19 others wounded, there has been widespread criticism of President Donald Trump’s failure to forcefully denounce white supremacists. However, this condemnation has rarely included a genuine understanding of the actions of antifascist protesters in Charlottesville and elsewhere, creating a continued justification for the “both sides” argument that paints antifascists, or antifa, as equivalent to the white supremacists they oppose.</p>
<p>As a researcher who has attended numerous political and social events with antifascist involvement, and interviewed many antifascists, it is clear to me that politicians and pundits are drawing a false equivalence between white supremacist and antifa actions—and ignoring the direct threat posed by supremacists that motivates antifascist responses. Antifascists often serve as the first line of defense when police and civil society fail to protect marginalized groups from fascist threat. Their actions must be understood in that context.</p>
<p>The flaw in the “both sides” position is that the violent protest actions of antifa are equivalent to the violent actions of white supremacists. A brief examination of the two movements’ approaches to violence points to the fallacy of comparing the two.</p>
<p>For white nationalists, neo-Nazis, the “alt-right” and others in that camp, violence is an end in itself. The ideology that they adhere to not only calls for the violent elimination of any group that falls outside of their narrow conception of normalcy, but also sees violence as the ultimate goal. From classical fascism to self-styled white nationalist social clubs like the Proud Boys, the use of violence is understood to be the means by which one’s goals are achieved. When even the most moderate position the alt-right or fascist movement can take is racial separation or nationalism through forcible repatriation and strict border control, including forced deportations and racialized exclusions, that movement is inherently violent.</p>
<p>But it doesn’t stop there. The “alt-right” is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/23/alt-right-online-humor-as-a-weapon-facism" type="external">marked</a> by its strategic deployment of symbols and Internet meme culture toward its political agenda. This culture is defined by its violent symbolism, from venerating individuals fighting antifa such as Kyle <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/141766/unlikely-rise-alt-right-hero" type="external">“Based Stickman” Chapman</a> to <a href="http://www.wehuntedthemammoth.com/2016/06/17/memeday-if-donald-trump-offers-you-a-free-helicopter-ride-say-no/" type="external">the use</a> of “helicopter ride” memes, referential to the murderous Pinochet regime to threatening leftists and antifascists to celebrating the death of Heather Heyer. This is a movement that laughs at the use of violence and encourages its participants to engage in violence as a self-righteous indulgence and source of gratification.</p>
<p>We can juxtapose antifa’s use of violent tactics with the way in which the far-right understands violence.&#160; Antifascists are focused on a singular goal as described by their movement name: opposing fascism. The antifascist strategy relies on a variety of tactics.&#160;As Spencer Sunshine <a href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/39128-the-changing-face-of-anti-fascism" type="external">points out</a> in his history and profile of antifa groups, “antifascists have greatly increased their work on intelligence gathering, doxing and pressure tactics.”</p>
<p>Street confrontations are only a small part of the activity engaged in by antifascists. Antifa more often relies on gathering information about white supremacists and bigots, then confronts them through public shaming. Antifascists who were interviewed and responded to surveys as part of my <a href="https://www.academia.edu/31567091/The_Good_Fight_Variations_in_Explanations_of_the_Tactical_Choices_Made_by_Activists_Who_Confront_Organized_White_Supremacists" type="external">dissertation research</a> conducted in 2007 and 2008 consistently expressed support for nonviolent tactics, in addition to an escalation of tactics as necessary to stop supremacist events, organizing, and recruitment efforts. It would be a mischaracterization to claim that antifa oppose nonviolence. Instead, it is more accurate to say that antifa often justifiably view nonviolence as ineffective against a movement that is violent at its core, and participants who seem to lack any semblance of a conscience. This is the essence of antifascist use of violence.</p>
<p>Unlike the various supremacist movements that treat violence as valid political expression, antifa treat violence as a defensive tactic against an opposing movement that leverages violence. For antifascists, violence is self-defense, because the far-right movements constitute direct threats to their existence and safety, as well as the existence and safety of their communities.</p>
<p>My research found that antifascists who were willing to engage in violent action were also more likely to face direct or indirect threats from white supremacists as a result of personal identity, political ideology, or spatial proximity. Antifa are often much more diverse than the black-clad, young, presumably white male so often assumed by their representations. The antifa who I interviewed often felt a personal threat from the ideology of white supremacist groups because their sexual orientation, gender identity, race, or religion was a target of supremacist violence.&#160; These individuals saw their antifascism as a means of personal self-defense against a group that was targeting them for everyday violence and ultimately violent elimination. Even the white, heterosexual, cisgender men observed a certain amount of personal threat because they are viewed as “race traitors” or “cucks” as a result of their antifascist activism.</p>
<p>The hyper-awareness of such targeting is partially a result of political activism on the part of these individuals that is distinct from their antifascist work. Antifa activists aren’t solely concerned with opposing and stopping far-right movements: They are often involved in movements for racial justice, LGBTQ rights and leftist ideological campaigns for racial and economic justice through radical transformation of society inspired by communism or anarchism. These positions are identified by the far-right as political opponents who are to be eliminated by acts of extreme violence. Antifascism becomes not only a form of personal defense, but also a defense of the political activity that one is involved in. White supremacists and other far-right activists threaten progressive bookstores, organizing and social spaces, LGBTQ events and spaces, as well as places of worship that have included African-American churches, synagogues, mosques and Sikh temples.</p>
<p>Finally, many people choose antifa’s militant tactics because they find themselves much more likely to have some form of contact with white supremacists. Many of the antifascists in my research came to this form of activism because they were involved in punk and other underground music subcultures that were viewed as recruiting grounds by white supremacists. Their activism developed out of the threat of violence that racists brought into those subcultures. Subcultural antifascists come to embrace violent tactics because white supremacists do not leave subcultural spaces when asked nicely or confronted nonviolently. The same holds true when white supremacists threaten political, social and cultural spaces. Their purpose is to intimidate, and violent confrontation by antifa is often the only means of reducing or ending that threat.</p>
<p>The position that antifascist use of violent confrontational tactics is equivalent to the violence of the far-right reflects a lack of understanding of both fascist violence and the threat faced by antifa, and by diverse communities in general. Whereas supremacist movements treat violence as their ultimate goal, antifa approach it as a necessary tactic in self-defense. This position of self-defense is the product of the very real threat the white supremacists pose to antifascists and numerous other groups. Antifa come to understand that threat because their personal identities, as well as their political activism, are targeted by fascist violence. And they are more likely to actually face that violence than the average individual. By understanding the sense of threat observed by antifa, we can gain a greater context for their actions.</p>
<p>Stanislav Vysotsky is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Criminology at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Dr. Vysotsky’s research focuses on the conflict between supremacist groups in contemporary American society and their militant antifascist opposition through ethnographic and interview research with antifascist activists, in order to understand the relationship between threat, space, subculture, and social movement activism.</p> | Drawing Equivalencies Between Fascists and Anti-Fascists Is Not Just Wrong—It’s Dangerous | true | http://inthesetimes.com/article/20427/false-equivalency-white-supremacist-nazis-fascists-antifa-Charlottesville | 2017-08-15 | 4left
| Drawing Equivalencies Between Fascists and Anti-Fascists Is Not Just Wrong—It’s Dangerous
<p>For antifascists, violence is self-defense, because the far-right movements constitute direct threats to their existence and safety, as well as the existence and safety of their communities.</p>
<p>After a fascist march in Charlottesville, Va. left one anti-Nazi protester dead and 19 others wounded, there has been widespread criticism of President Donald Trump’s failure to forcefully denounce white supremacists. However, this condemnation has rarely included a genuine understanding of the actions of antifascist protesters in Charlottesville and elsewhere, creating a continued justification for the “both sides” argument that paints antifascists, or antifa, as equivalent to the white supremacists they oppose.</p>
<p>As a researcher who has attended numerous political and social events with antifascist involvement, and interviewed many antifascists, it is clear to me that politicians and pundits are drawing a false equivalence between white supremacist and antifa actions—and ignoring the direct threat posed by supremacists that motivates antifascist responses. Antifascists often serve as the first line of defense when police and civil society fail to protect marginalized groups from fascist threat. Their actions must be understood in that context.</p>
<p>The flaw in the “both sides” position is that the violent protest actions of antifa are equivalent to the violent actions of white supremacists. A brief examination of the two movements’ approaches to violence points to the fallacy of comparing the two.</p>
<p>For white nationalists, neo-Nazis, the “alt-right” and others in that camp, violence is an end in itself. The ideology that they adhere to not only calls for the violent elimination of any group that falls outside of their narrow conception of normalcy, but also sees violence as the ultimate goal. From classical fascism to self-styled white nationalist social clubs like the Proud Boys, the use of violence is understood to be the means by which one’s goals are achieved. When even the most moderate position the alt-right or fascist movement can take is racial separation or nationalism through forcible repatriation and strict border control, including forced deportations and racialized exclusions, that movement is inherently violent.</p>
<p>But it doesn’t stop there. The “alt-right” is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/23/alt-right-online-humor-as-a-weapon-facism" type="external">marked</a> by its strategic deployment of symbols and Internet meme culture toward its political agenda. This culture is defined by its violent symbolism, from venerating individuals fighting antifa such as Kyle <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/141766/unlikely-rise-alt-right-hero" type="external">“Based Stickman” Chapman</a> to <a href="http://www.wehuntedthemammoth.com/2016/06/17/memeday-if-donald-trump-offers-you-a-free-helicopter-ride-say-no/" type="external">the use</a> of “helicopter ride” memes, referential to the murderous Pinochet regime to threatening leftists and antifascists to celebrating the death of Heather Heyer. This is a movement that laughs at the use of violence and encourages its participants to engage in violence as a self-righteous indulgence and source of gratification.</p>
<p>We can juxtapose antifa’s use of violent tactics with the way in which the far-right understands violence.&#160; Antifascists are focused on a singular goal as described by their movement name: opposing fascism. The antifascist strategy relies on a variety of tactics.&#160;As Spencer Sunshine <a href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/39128-the-changing-face-of-anti-fascism" type="external">points out</a> in his history and profile of antifa groups, “antifascists have greatly increased their work on intelligence gathering, doxing and pressure tactics.”</p>
<p>Street confrontations are only a small part of the activity engaged in by antifascists. Antifa more often relies on gathering information about white supremacists and bigots, then confronts them through public shaming. Antifascists who were interviewed and responded to surveys as part of my <a href="https://www.academia.edu/31567091/The_Good_Fight_Variations_in_Explanations_of_the_Tactical_Choices_Made_by_Activists_Who_Confront_Organized_White_Supremacists" type="external">dissertation research</a> conducted in 2007 and 2008 consistently expressed support for nonviolent tactics, in addition to an escalation of tactics as necessary to stop supremacist events, organizing, and recruitment efforts. It would be a mischaracterization to claim that antifa oppose nonviolence. Instead, it is more accurate to say that antifa often justifiably view nonviolence as ineffective against a movement that is violent at its core, and participants who seem to lack any semblance of a conscience. This is the essence of antifascist use of violence.</p>
<p>Unlike the various supremacist movements that treat violence as valid political expression, antifa treat violence as a defensive tactic against an opposing movement that leverages violence. For antifascists, violence is self-defense, because the far-right movements constitute direct threats to their existence and safety, as well as the existence and safety of their communities.</p>
<p>My research found that antifascists who were willing to engage in violent action were also more likely to face direct or indirect threats from white supremacists as a result of personal identity, political ideology, or spatial proximity. Antifa are often much more diverse than the black-clad, young, presumably white male so often assumed by their representations. The antifa who I interviewed often felt a personal threat from the ideology of white supremacist groups because their sexual orientation, gender identity, race, or religion was a target of supremacist violence.&#160; These individuals saw their antifascism as a means of personal self-defense against a group that was targeting them for everyday violence and ultimately violent elimination. Even the white, heterosexual, cisgender men observed a certain amount of personal threat because they are viewed as “race traitors” or “cucks” as a result of their antifascist activism.</p>
<p>The hyper-awareness of such targeting is partially a result of political activism on the part of these individuals that is distinct from their antifascist work. Antifa activists aren’t solely concerned with opposing and stopping far-right movements: They are often involved in movements for racial justice, LGBTQ rights and leftist ideological campaigns for racial and economic justice through radical transformation of society inspired by communism or anarchism. These positions are identified by the far-right as political opponents who are to be eliminated by acts of extreme violence. Antifascism becomes not only a form of personal defense, but also a defense of the political activity that one is involved in. White supremacists and other far-right activists threaten progressive bookstores, organizing and social spaces, LGBTQ events and spaces, as well as places of worship that have included African-American churches, synagogues, mosques and Sikh temples.</p>
<p>Finally, many people choose antifa’s militant tactics because they find themselves much more likely to have some form of contact with white supremacists. Many of the antifascists in my research came to this form of activism because they were involved in punk and other underground music subcultures that were viewed as recruiting grounds by white supremacists. Their activism developed out of the threat of violence that racists brought into those subcultures. Subcultural antifascists come to embrace violent tactics because white supremacists do not leave subcultural spaces when asked nicely or confronted nonviolently. The same holds true when white supremacists threaten political, social and cultural spaces. Their purpose is to intimidate, and violent confrontation by antifa is often the only means of reducing or ending that threat.</p>
<p>The position that antifascist use of violent confrontational tactics is equivalent to the violence of the far-right reflects a lack of understanding of both fascist violence and the threat faced by antifa, and by diverse communities in general. Whereas supremacist movements treat violence as their ultimate goal, antifa approach it as a necessary tactic in self-defense. This position of self-defense is the product of the very real threat the white supremacists pose to antifascists and numerous other groups. Antifa come to understand that threat because their personal identities, as well as their political activism, are targeted by fascist violence. And they are more likely to actually face that violence than the average individual. By understanding the sense of threat observed by antifa, we can gain a greater context for their actions.</p>
<p>Stanislav Vysotsky is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Criminology at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Dr. Vysotsky’s research focuses on the conflict between supremacist groups in contemporary American society and their militant antifascist opposition through ethnographic and interview research with antifascist activists, in order to understand the relationship between threat, space, subculture, and social movement activism.</p> | 2,922 |
<p>FOX Business: The Power to Prosper</p>
<p>Stock-index futures were little changed on Monday as traders paid close attention to Europe, where political advances over the weekend failed to stem anxiety over the region's sovereign debt debacle.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Today's Markets</p>
<p>As of 8:45 a.m. ET, <a href="" type="internal">Dow Jones</a> Industrial Average futures rose 11 points to 12,123, S&amp;P 500 futures slid 2.8 points to 1,259 and <a href="" type="internal">Nasdaq</a> 100 futures gained 0.25 point to 2,350.</p>
<p>Market participants have been fixated on Europe for weeks as single headlines have caused triple-digit spikes and plunges on the Dow repeatedly. &#160;Last week, a late-week rally offset a powerful selloff, knocking the broad S&amp;P 500 and <a href="" type="internal">Nasdaq</a> indices into the green for the year, joining the blue chips, which were already in positive territory.</p>
<p>"Europe breathed a sigh of relief over the weekend," analysts at Nomura wrote in a note to clients on Monday.</p>
<p>Italy's lower house of Parliament passed a critical budget-reform bill on Saturday that paved the way for its scandal-ridden premier Silvio Berlusconi to resign. &#160;Former <a href="" type="internal">European Union</a> Competition Commissioner Mario Monti was tapped to run an emergency unity government that will seek to cut the euro zone's third-biggest economy's $2.6 trillion in public debt, and, perhaps more importantly, restore market credibility in the country.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>An auction of Italian bonds held early Monday showed investors remained skittish. &#160;The $4 billion swath of 5-year notes was sold at a yield of 6.29% -- the highest in 14 years. &#160;Still, investors demanded 1.47 times the amount of bonds offered, that compares to a weaker 1.34 times in the previous auction.</p>
<p>The higher the yield the country pays, the more expensive it becomes for it to refinance the billions of euros in debt it needs to refinance this year, and the greater the chances it will need a rescue like Greece, Portugal and Ireland.</p>
<p>Traders will still be paying attention to Greece, a much smaller economy, where newly-minted Prime Minister Lucas Papademos was working to forge a government to ensure the country does what is necessary to receive rescue aid it needs to avert a default. &#160;However, the leader of the New Democracy conservative party, Antonis Samaras, said Monday his coalition would not support new austerity measures demanded by international lenders.</p>
<p>European blue chips sunk 1.6%, while the euro plummeted 1.2% to $1.365. U.S. Treasury yields, meanwhile, pointed modestly higher. &#160;The 10-year note yields 2.075% from 2.057%.</p>
<p>Energy markets were broadly to the downside. &#160;The benchmark crude oil contract traded in New York fell 93 cents, or 0.94%, to $98.04 a barrel. &#160;Wholesale RBOB gasoline fell 3 cents, or 1.3%, to $2.57 a gallon.</p>
<p>In metals, gold dropped $9.50, or 0.53%, to $1,779 a troy ounce.</p>
<p>Corporate News</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Berkshire Hathaway</a> has acquired a 5.5% stake in <a href="" type="internal">IBM</a> (NYSE:IBM) for $10.7 billion, the firm's biggest investment in a technology company to date.</p>
<p>Lowe's (NYSE:LOW) posted quarterly results that topped Wall Street's forecast on both the top and bottom line.</p>
<p>Foreign Markets</p>
<p>European blue chips sunk 1.6%, the English FTSE 100 fell 0.75% to 5,504 and the <a href="" type="internal">German DAX</a> slid 1.1% to 5,988.</p>
<p>In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei 225 jumped 1.1% to 8,604 and the Chinese Hang Seng soared 1.9% to 19,508.</p> | Stock Futures Steady as Traders Focus on Europe | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2011/11/14/stock-futures-steady-as-traders-focus-on-europe.html | 2016-03-07 | 0right
| Stock Futures Steady as Traders Focus on Europe
<p>FOX Business: The Power to Prosper</p>
<p>Stock-index futures were little changed on Monday as traders paid close attention to Europe, where political advances over the weekend failed to stem anxiety over the region's sovereign debt debacle.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Today's Markets</p>
<p>As of 8:45 a.m. ET, <a href="" type="internal">Dow Jones</a> Industrial Average futures rose 11 points to 12,123, S&amp;P 500 futures slid 2.8 points to 1,259 and <a href="" type="internal">Nasdaq</a> 100 futures gained 0.25 point to 2,350.</p>
<p>Market participants have been fixated on Europe for weeks as single headlines have caused triple-digit spikes and plunges on the Dow repeatedly. &#160;Last week, a late-week rally offset a powerful selloff, knocking the broad S&amp;P 500 and <a href="" type="internal">Nasdaq</a> indices into the green for the year, joining the blue chips, which were already in positive territory.</p>
<p>"Europe breathed a sigh of relief over the weekend," analysts at Nomura wrote in a note to clients on Monday.</p>
<p>Italy's lower house of Parliament passed a critical budget-reform bill on Saturday that paved the way for its scandal-ridden premier Silvio Berlusconi to resign. &#160;Former <a href="" type="internal">European Union</a> Competition Commissioner Mario Monti was tapped to run an emergency unity government that will seek to cut the euro zone's third-biggest economy's $2.6 trillion in public debt, and, perhaps more importantly, restore market credibility in the country.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>An auction of Italian bonds held early Monday showed investors remained skittish. &#160;The $4 billion swath of 5-year notes was sold at a yield of 6.29% -- the highest in 14 years. &#160;Still, investors demanded 1.47 times the amount of bonds offered, that compares to a weaker 1.34 times in the previous auction.</p>
<p>The higher the yield the country pays, the more expensive it becomes for it to refinance the billions of euros in debt it needs to refinance this year, and the greater the chances it will need a rescue like Greece, Portugal and Ireland.</p>
<p>Traders will still be paying attention to Greece, a much smaller economy, where newly-minted Prime Minister Lucas Papademos was working to forge a government to ensure the country does what is necessary to receive rescue aid it needs to avert a default. &#160;However, the leader of the New Democracy conservative party, Antonis Samaras, said Monday his coalition would not support new austerity measures demanded by international lenders.</p>
<p>European blue chips sunk 1.6%, while the euro plummeted 1.2% to $1.365. U.S. Treasury yields, meanwhile, pointed modestly higher. &#160;The 10-year note yields 2.075% from 2.057%.</p>
<p>Energy markets were broadly to the downside. &#160;The benchmark crude oil contract traded in New York fell 93 cents, or 0.94%, to $98.04 a barrel. &#160;Wholesale RBOB gasoline fell 3 cents, or 1.3%, to $2.57 a gallon.</p>
<p>In metals, gold dropped $9.50, or 0.53%, to $1,779 a troy ounce.</p>
<p>Corporate News</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Berkshire Hathaway</a> has acquired a 5.5% stake in <a href="" type="internal">IBM</a> (NYSE:IBM) for $10.7 billion, the firm's biggest investment in a technology company to date.</p>
<p>Lowe's (NYSE:LOW) posted quarterly results that topped Wall Street's forecast on both the top and bottom line.</p>
<p>Foreign Markets</p>
<p>European blue chips sunk 1.6%, the English FTSE 100 fell 0.75% to 5,504 and the <a href="" type="internal">German DAX</a> slid 1.1% to 5,988.</p>
<p>In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei 225 jumped 1.1% to 8,604 and the Chinese Hang Seng soared 1.9% to 19,508.</p> | 2,923 |
<p>President Donald Trump was reportedly skimpy on the details of the now-failed American Health Care Act in a meeting with conservative Republicans Thursday, apparently telling them to “forget about the little shit,” multiple unnamed sources <a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/03/obamacare-vote-paul-ryan-health-care-ahca-replacement-failure-trump-214947" type="external">told Politico</a>.</p>
<p />
<p>The report described a meeting that Trump had with members of the Freedom Caucus, in which members pelted him with “wonkish concerns” about specific aspects of the Republicans’ bill to repeal and replace Obamacare. Trump cut them off, according to the report, wanting to keep it simple.</p>
<p>“Forget about the little shit,” Trump said, unnamed sources told Politico.”Let’s focus on the big picture here.”</p>
<p>That reportedly did not sit well with members in attendance.</p>
<p>“We’re talking about one-fifth of our economy,” an unnamed member told Politico’s Tim Alberta.</p>
<p>The report is in line with others that have said Trump does not like to be bogged down with many <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/intelligence-briefings-trump-prefers-little-possible" type="external">details and prefers short intelligence briefings made up of bullet points.</a></p>
<p>Members of the Freedom caucus reportedly also took issue with Trump when he apparently “called out” Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) during a meeting earlier that week with the GOP conference, joking that he may have to “come after” Meadows if he didn’t vote for the bill. He then reportedly said that he thought Meadows, a longtime Trump ally would “get on board.”</p>
<p>“That was the biggest mistake the president could have made,” an unnamed Freedom Caucus member told Politico. “Mark desperately wanted to get to yes, and Trump made it impossible for him. If he flipped after that he would look incredibly weak.</p>
<p>Ultimately, Freedom Caucus members, as well as some moderate Republicans, did not get on board with the legislation, which was pulled on Friday after not getting enough support.</p> | Report: Trump Told Freedom Caucus To ‘Forget The Little S***’ In Repeal Bill | true | http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-freedom-caucus-little-stuff-concern | 4left
| Report: Trump Told Freedom Caucus To ‘Forget The Little S***’ In Repeal Bill
<p>President Donald Trump was reportedly skimpy on the details of the now-failed American Health Care Act in a meeting with conservative Republicans Thursday, apparently telling them to “forget about the little shit,” multiple unnamed sources <a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/03/obamacare-vote-paul-ryan-health-care-ahca-replacement-failure-trump-214947" type="external">told Politico</a>.</p>
<p />
<p>The report described a meeting that Trump had with members of the Freedom Caucus, in which members pelted him with “wonkish concerns” about specific aspects of the Republicans’ bill to repeal and replace Obamacare. Trump cut them off, according to the report, wanting to keep it simple.</p>
<p>“Forget about the little shit,” Trump said, unnamed sources told Politico.”Let’s focus on the big picture here.”</p>
<p>That reportedly did not sit well with members in attendance.</p>
<p>“We’re talking about one-fifth of our economy,” an unnamed member told Politico’s Tim Alberta.</p>
<p>The report is in line with others that have said Trump does not like to be bogged down with many <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/intelligence-briefings-trump-prefers-little-possible" type="external">details and prefers short intelligence briefings made up of bullet points.</a></p>
<p>Members of the Freedom caucus reportedly also took issue with Trump when he apparently “called out” Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) during a meeting earlier that week with the GOP conference, joking that he may have to “come after” Meadows if he didn’t vote for the bill. He then reportedly said that he thought Meadows, a longtime Trump ally would “get on board.”</p>
<p>“That was the biggest mistake the president could have made,” an unnamed Freedom Caucus member told Politico. “Mark desperately wanted to get to yes, and Trump made it impossible for him. If he flipped after that he would look incredibly weak.</p>
<p>Ultimately, Freedom Caucus members, as well as some moderate Republicans, did not get on board with the legislation, which was pulled on Friday after not getting enough support.</p> | 2,924 |
|
<p>(Reuters) - Hurricane Maria strengthened into a potentially catastrophic Category 5 hurricane at the top of the five-step Saffir-Simpson wind scale as it swept across the Caribbean on Monday night, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.</p>
<p>Hurricane Maria was about 15 miles (25 km) east-southeast of Dominica, with maximum sustained winds of 160 miles per hour (260 km per hour), the NHC said in its latest advisory.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>"Some additional strengthening is possible tonight, but some fluctuations in intensity are likely during the next day or two," the Miami-based weather forecaster said.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Swati Verma in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler)</p> | Hurricane Maria now a top Category 5 storm: US Hurricane Center | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/09/18/hurricane-maria-now-top-category-5-storm-us-hurricane-center.html | 2017-09-18 | 0right
| Hurricane Maria now a top Category 5 storm: US Hurricane Center
<p>(Reuters) - Hurricane Maria strengthened into a potentially catastrophic Category 5 hurricane at the top of the five-step Saffir-Simpson wind scale as it swept across the Caribbean on Monday night, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.</p>
<p>Hurricane Maria was about 15 miles (25 km) east-southeast of Dominica, with maximum sustained winds of 160 miles per hour (260 km per hour), the NHC said in its latest advisory.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>"Some additional strengthening is possible tonight, but some fluctuations in intensity are likely during the next day or two," the Miami-based weather forecaster said.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Swati Verma in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler)</p> | 2,925 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Tommy Rodella: Was convicted in U.S. District Court on Sept. 26</p>
<p>It contends that Tafoya testified he was not working at his job at Easter Seals Santa Maria El Mirador in Española at the time of trial because of stress, but that he actually had been on administrative leave because of accusations that he was “physically abusive to an elderly female patient” and was fired on Aug. 27.</p>
<p>“This evidence, whether or not it was known to the prosecution, contradicts Mr. Tafoya’s sworn testimony and would be relevant to impeach the depiction of him as a peace-loving caregiver,” said the motion.</p>
<p>Neither Tafoya or anyone from El Mirador could be reached late Friday.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Rodella was convicted by a U.S. District Court jury in Albuquerque on Sept. 26 of violating Tafoya’s civil rights by roughing him up during a March traffic dispute when the then-sheriff and his son pursued and pulled Tafoya from his vehicle.</p>
<p>Tafoya, 26, testified he did not know who the two men were and that he tried to get away because they were chasing him in their private vehicle. Rodella, who was not in uniform, called uniformed officers to arrest Tafoya.</p>
<p>Rodella is incarcerated and faces a 17-year prison term when sentenced on Dec. 26.</p>
<p>In his motion, attorney Robert Gorence states that three new witnesses came forward after the five-day trial “with information that would have been critical for the jury to hear to evaluate the credibility of both Mr. Tafoya and Ms. Dominguez.”</p>
<p>Renee Dominguez, a friend of Tafoya, testified at the trial that she helped him write a statement of the event, and questioned him on the sequence and details of the encounter.</p>
<p>“After the trial, a neighbor and friend of Ms. Dominguez contacted the Rodella family and relayed that Ms. Dominguez had a history of dishonesty and fraud,” the motion states. In the pleadings, Gorence states Dominguez was fired from two jobs, once for stealing money from a cash register, and that she tried to acquire employment under a fictitious name after the second firing.</p>
<p>According to the motion, Dominguez was not on the witness list and the defense did not object to her testimony after a web search showed she had no criminal convictions. “Her testimony was crucial to corroborate Mr. Tafoya’s testimony that he had a black eye, as well as Mr. Tafoya’s two-page typed statement, which was admitted as substantive evidence … .”</p>
<p>Gorence is seeking an evidentiary hearing to use the court’s subpoena powers to obtain employment records for Dominguez. If the jury had been aware of the new information, they could have evaluated the testimony of Tafoya and Dominguez in a different light, the motion said.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Rodella attorney accuses witness of perjury, files for new trial | false | https://abqjournal.com/482063/rodella-jum-herery-ppppppp.html | 2least
| Rodella attorney accuses witness of perjury, files for new trial
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<p>Tommy Rodella: Was convicted in U.S. District Court on Sept. 26</p>
<p>It contends that Tafoya testified he was not working at his job at Easter Seals Santa Maria El Mirador in Española at the time of trial because of stress, but that he actually had been on administrative leave because of accusations that he was “physically abusive to an elderly female patient” and was fired on Aug. 27.</p>
<p>“This evidence, whether or not it was known to the prosecution, contradicts Mr. Tafoya’s sworn testimony and would be relevant to impeach the depiction of him as a peace-loving caregiver,” said the motion.</p>
<p>Neither Tafoya or anyone from El Mirador could be reached late Friday.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Rodella was convicted by a U.S. District Court jury in Albuquerque on Sept. 26 of violating Tafoya’s civil rights by roughing him up during a March traffic dispute when the then-sheriff and his son pursued and pulled Tafoya from his vehicle.</p>
<p>Tafoya, 26, testified he did not know who the two men were and that he tried to get away because they were chasing him in their private vehicle. Rodella, who was not in uniform, called uniformed officers to arrest Tafoya.</p>
<p>Rodella is incarcerated and faces a 17-year prison term when sentenced on Dec. 26.</p>
<p>In his motion, attorney Robert Gorence states that three new witnesses came forward after the five-day trial “with information that would have been critical for the jury to hear to evaluate the credibility of both Mr. Tafoya and Ms. Dominguez.”</p>
<p>Renee Dominguez, a friend of Tafoya, testified at the trial that she helped him write a statement of the event, and questioned him on the sequence and details of the encounter.</p>
<p>“After the trial, a neighbor and friend of Ms. Dominguez contacted the Rodella family and relayed that Ms. Dominguez had a history of dishonesty and fraud,” the motion states. In the pleadings, Gorence states Dominguez was fired from two jobs, once for stealing money from a cash register, and that she tried to acquire employment under a fictitious name after the second firing.</p>
<p>According to the motion, Dominguez was not on the witness list and the defense did not object to her testimony after a web search showed she had no criminal convictions. “Her testimony was crucial to corroborate Mr. Tafoya’s testimony that he had a black eye, as well as Mr. Tafoya’s two-page typed statement, which was admitted as substantive evidence … .”</p>
<p>Gorence is seeking an evidentiary hearing to use the court’s subpoena powers to obtain employment records for Dominguez. If the jury had been aware of the new information, they could have evaluated the testimony of Tafoya and Dominguez in a different light, the motion said.</p>
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<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A day after the University of New Mexico regents gave thumbs up to six of seven inaugural members of the Innovate ABQ board of directors and said another was under consideration, a Bernalillo County spokesman said the County Commission fully expects to be given a seat at the table.</p>
<p>“Some Bernalillo County officials were a little surprised today to learn that the county was not included in the list of people appointed to the Innovate ABQ board, but we expect that will change sometime in the near future,” spokesman Andrew Lenderman told the Journal.</p>
<p>He noted the commission, in February, unanimously approved supporting the business district with $1 million. The measure included strong clawback provisions and requires that the funds be distributed on a cost-reimbursement basis, among other accountability measures.</p>
<p>“I can tell you that the commitment to this worthy economic development project was a significant commitment by the Bernalillo County commissioners, Lenderman said.</p>
<p>Innovate ABQ, a partnership among local government, business and education communities led by UNM, calls for developing a center at Central and Broadway that will include a high-tech business incubator, live-work space and an academy for entrepreneurs. Albuquerque has committed $2 million to the project, and other public and private sector partners have also committed funding.</p>
<p>The directors approved Wednesday include Mayor Richard Berry, three people affiliated with UNM, a New Mexico Educators Federal Credit Union executive and the past president of Technology Ventures Corp. The regents briefly discussed a seventh potential member, Pat Vincent-Collawn, CEO of PNM Resources, but said they wanted more time to evaluate her background and any potential for conflicts of interest since Innovate ABQ will be a prime user of electricity.</p>
<p />
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | County surprised it has been left off Innovate ABQ board | false | https://abqjournal.com/489108/county-surprised-it-has-been-left-off-innovate-abq-board.html | 2014-10-31 | 2least
| County surprised it has been left off Innovate ABQ board
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<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A day after the University of New Mexico regents gave thumbs up to six of seven inaugural members of the Innovate ABQ board of directors and said another was under consideration, a Bernalillo County spokesman said the County Commission fully expects to be given a seat at the table.</p>
<p>“Some Bernalillo County officials were a little surprised today to learn that the county was not included in the list of people appointed to the Innovate ABQ board, but we expect that will change sometime in the near future,” spokesman Andrew Lenderman told the Journal.</p>
<p>He noted the commission, in February, unanimously approved supporting the business district with $1 million. The measure included strong clawback provisions and requires that the funds be distributed on a cost-reimbursement basis, among other accountability measures.</p>
<p>“I can tell you that the commitment to this worthy economic development project was a significant commitment by the Bernalillo County commissioners, Lenderman said.</p>
<p>Innovate ABQ, a partnership among local government, business and education communities led by UNM, calls for developing a center at Central and Broadway that will include a high-tech business incubator, live-work space and an academy for entrepreneurs. Albuquerque has committed $2 million to the project, and other public and private sector partners have also committed funding.</p>
<p>The directors approved Wednesday include Mayor Richard Berry, three people affiliated with UNM, a New Mexico Educators Federal Credit Union executive and the past president of Technology Ventures Corp. The regents briefly discussed a seventh potential member, Pat Vincent-Collawn, CEO of PNM Resources, but said they wanted more time to evaluate her background and any potential for conflicts of interest since Innovate ABQ will be a prime user of electricity.</p>
<p />
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 2,927 |
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<p>But State District Judge Michael Vigil told the Journal on Friday that he did recall a hearing in which the youth’s attorney said the boy had broken into a home to retrieve a tape allegedly depicting sexual abuse.</p>
<p>Vigil said he was informed about a tape in the presence of an attorney with the District Attorney’s Office “and that’s who I would have informed (of the suspected abuse) anyway,” he said, in explaining why he didn’t report it to anyone.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, with their own police officers accused of ignoring the victim’s claims, the Santa Fe Police Department has opened an internal investigation, according to Lt. Louis Carlos.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Carlos said the law is “very clear” that anyone who knows or has a reasonable suspicion of abuse is required to report it.</p>
<p>State law indicates that “everyone, including … a law enforcement officer (and) a judge presiding during a hearing” must report child abuse or neglect if they know or have a suspicion that it occurred. Failure to do so is a misdemeanor criminal offense.</p>
<p>Under the claims of a petition to release the youth – now 18 years old – from custody, Santa Fe Police officers, a judge, an assistant district attorney and the victim’s own defense attorney failed to make such a report after the alleged victim said he was abused by Jacob Pinto, 43.</p>
<p>Judge Vigil, who is named in the petition, denied that he saw a physical copy of the video or that he failed to report the suspected abuse. An amended complaint does state Vigil did not see a physical copy of this recording.</p>
<p>However, Vigil said during an interview that the existence of a tape depicting abuse was discussed by Brooke Gamble, the youth’s attorney, in front of himself and Assistant District Attorney Sarah Piltch at a detention hearing. He could not remember the exact date of this hearing, saying that the child was a “frequent flyer” of the juvenile court system, but based on his description and court documents it may have taken place before January 2011.</p>
<p>Vigil said, “This is what I remember of the case: I remember that the child was in front of me on a detention matter and Ms. Gamble raised at the bench with the D.A. present and the probation officer present that the child was alleging that the reason he had committed – I think it was a burglary – was that he was trying to retrieve this tape.”</p>
<p>Gamble said her client reported the abuse to police officers, Vigil said.</p>
<p>Vigil said he did not report the video because, to his knowledge, the police and the District Attorney’s Office, which can order an investigation into the claim, already knew about it. Therefore, he said he did not think he was guilty of the misdemeanor crime of failing to report the suspected abuse.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“I mean, who would I report it to?” Vigil said.</p>
<p>Gamble earlier said she never had a copy of the video, but she could not be reached for a follow-up comment on the hearing Vigil spoke of.</p>
<p>DA denies wrong-doing</p>
<p>Vigil’s claims regarding the case differ from those made by the District Attorney’s Office, which indicate that Piltch had no knowledge of criminal activity against the child.</p>
<p>Piltch did not return a call seeking comment, but her boss, District Attorney Angela “Spence” Pacheco, said her attorney did not see a copy of the recording, nor did she know of any alleged abuse against the child. She said that if Gamble had known, she would have acted on that knowledge in defense of her client.</p>
<p>Pacheco accused the media of reporting as fact the claims made in the petition.</p>
<p>“I’m very angry about it,” she said. “I am very angry because Sarah didn’t do anything improper. You guys need to quit believing everything you read in a filing by another attorney who was clearly reckless in doing that.”</p>
<p>The petition states the boy stole this video, which shows him shirtless while sounds of someone apparently masturbating can be heard, from Pinto in September 2010. The boy was arrested when he returned to the home seeking more evidence of abuse about four weeks later, according to the petition. During his arrest, the boy told police that Pinto, who now faces criminal sexual contact charges filed in March, was a sexual predator.</p>
<p>Carlos said the police department is investigating the officers accused of ignoring the boy’s claim. Under state law, local police, the Children, Youth and Families Department or a tribal entity must be informed of suspected child abuse and police must file a written report and ensure prompt investigation of the report.</p>
<p>“We are conducting an internal investigation to look into those matters and those accusations that the child made through his attorney (with regard to those police officers),” Carlos said.</p>
<p>However, he added that the criminal investigation is focused on Pinto and has not yet turned to the question of whether anyone failed to report their suspicion of abuse.</p>
<p>“If the investigation leads us to have probable cause to believe adults knew about this and failed to report it, that’s something we’ll have to revisit when we get there,” he said. “That’s sort of on the back burner right now.”</p>
<p>It was the boy’s juvenile probation officer who informed Carlos of this recording.</p>
<p>Pinto was charged in March with criminal sexual contact of a minor, kidnapping and other counts for his encounter with the alleged victim in the petition. However, police allege Pinto may have sexually exploited boys dating as far back as 1989.</p> | Lawyer: Abuse Report Ignored | false | https://abqjournal.com/115898/lawyer-abuse-report-ignored.html | 2012-06-30 | 2least
| Lawyer: Abuse Report Ignored
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<p />
<p>But State District Judge Michael Vigil told the Journal on Friday that he did recall a hearing in which the youth’s attorney said the boy had broken into a home to retrieve a tape allegedly depicting sexual abuse.</p>
<p>Vigil said he was informed about a tape in the presence of an attorney with the District Attorney’s Office “and that’s who I would have informed (of the suspected abuse) anyway,” he said, in explaining why he didn’t report it to anyone.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, with their own police officers accused of ignoring the victim’s claims, the Santa Fe Police Department has opened an internal investigation, according to Lt. Louis Carlos.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Carlos said the law is “very clear” that anyone who knows or has a reasonable suspicion of abuse is required to report it.</p>
<p>State law indicates that “everyone, including … a law enforcement officer (and) a judge presiding during a hearing” must report child abuse or neglect if they know or have a suspicion that it occurred. Failure to do so is a misdemeanor criminal offense.</p>
<p>Under the claims of a petition to release the youth – now 18 years old – from custody, Santa Fe Police officers, a judge, an assistant district attorney and the victim’s own defense attorney failed to make such a report after the alleged victim said he was abused by Jacob Pinto, 43.</p>
<p>Judge Vigil, who is named in the petition, denied that he saw a physical copy of the video or that he failed to report the suspected abuse. An amended complaint does state Vigil did not see a physical copy of this recording.</p>
<p>However, Vigil said during an interview that the existence of a tape depicting abuse was discussed by Brooke Gamble, the youth’s attorney, in front of himself and Assistant District Attorney Sarah Piltch at a detention hearing. He could not remember the exact date of this hearing, saying that the child was a “frequent flyer” of the juvenile court system, but based on his description and court documents it may have taken place before January 2011.</p>
<p>Vigil said, “This is what I remember of the case: I remember that the child was in front of me on a detention matter and Ms. Gamble raised at the bench with the D.A. present and the probation officer present that the child was alleging that the reason he had committed – I think it was a burglary – was that he was trying to retrieve this tape.”</p>
<p>Gamble said her client reported the abuse to police officers, Vigil said.</p>
<p>Vigil said he did not report the video because, to his knowledge, the police and the District Attorney’s Office, which can order an investigation into the claim, already knew about it. Therefore, he said he did not think he was guilty of the misdemeanor crime of failing to report the suspected abuse.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“I mean, who would I report it to?” Vigil said.</p>
<p>Gamble earlier said she never had a copy of the video, but she could not be reached for a follow-up comment on the hearing Vigil spoke of.</p>
<p>DA denies wrong-doing</p>
<p>Vigil’s claims regarding the case differ from those made by the District Attorney’s Office, which indicate that Piltch had no knowledge of criminal activity against the child.</p>
<p>Piltch did not return a call seeking comment, but her boss, District Attorney Angela “Spence” Pacheco, said her attorney did not see a copy of the recording, nor did she know of any alleged abuse against the child. She said that if Gamble had known, she would have acted on that knowledge in defense of her client.</p>
<p>Pacheco accused the media of reporting as fact the claims made in the petition.</p>
<p>“I’m very angry about it,” she said. “I am very angry because Sarah didn’t do anything improper. You guys need to quit believing everything you read in a filing by another attorney who was clearly reckless in doing that.”</p>
<p>The petition states the boy stole this video, which shows him shirtless while sounds of someone apparently masturbating can be heard, from Pinto in September 2010. The boy was arrested when he returned to the home seeking more evidence of abuse about four weeks later, according to the petition. During his arrest, the boy told police that Pinto, who now faces criminal sexual contact charges filed in March, was a sexual predator.</p>
<p>Carlos said the police department is investigating the officers accused of ignoring the boy’s claim. Under state law, local police, the Children, Youth and Families Department or a tribal entity must be informed of suspected child abuse and police must file a written report and ensure prompt investigation of the report.</p>
<p>“We are conducting an internal investigation to look into those matters and those accusations that the child made through his attorney (with regard to those police officers),” Carlos said.</p>
<p>However, he added that the criminal investigation is focused on Pinto and has not yet turned to the question of whether anyone failed to report their suspicion of abuse.</p>
<p>“If the investigation leads us to have probable cause to believe adults knew about this and failed to report it, that’s something we’ll have to revisit when we get there,” he said. “That’s sort of on the back burner right now.”</p>
<p>It was the boy’s juvenile probation officer who informed Carlos of this recording.</p>
<p>Pinto was charged in March with criminal sexual contact of a minor, kidnapping and other counts for his encounter with the alleged victim in the petition. However, police allege Pinto may have sexually exploited boys dating as far back as 1989.</p> | 2,928 |
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<p>Sophomore cornerback Devonta Tabannah has been suspended for the remainder of the 2012 season, Lobos football coach Bob Davie said after Monday evening’s practice.</p>
<p>Davie did not specify the reason for the suspension, saying, “He made a bad decision.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“It’s just the right thing to do,” Davie said. “By letting him play, I’m enabling to continue that behavior, and I’m not going to do that.”</p>
<p>The suspension is not related to Tabannah’s DWI arrest in August, Davie said, or in any way related to a legal matter. Tabannah was suspended for 10 days after his arrest and missed the Lobos’ first two games before being reinstated.</p>
<p>Since then, Tabannah, a 5-foot-10, 171-pounder from Oxon Hill, Md., has played in four games and made five tackles, one for a 3-yard loss.</p>
<p>The loss of any defensive back is a potentially devastating blow to a team that’s extremely thin in that area</p>
<p>Senior cornerback DeShawn Mills underwent season- and career-ending knee surgery after six games. Cornerback Julian Lewis was lost to injury and free safety Zoey Williams dismissed from the team before the season started.</p>
<p>Tabannah is listed as Destry Berry’s backup at left cornerback, and Davie said he probably would have gotten a significant amount of playing time on Saturday against Wyoming.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“But I just can’t (overlook) this,” he said. “… We’ll revisit him next semester.”</p>
<p>RAYMER HONORED: Senior strong safety Matt Raymer was accorded honorable-mention defensive back of the week honors from College Football Performance Awards for his performance last Saturday in the Lobos’ 35-7 loss at UNLV.</p>
<p>Raymer tied a career high with nine tackles, intercepted a pass and forced two fumbles against the Rebels.</p>
<p>Davie on Sunday noted that Raymer also had a couple of misplays in Las Vegas, but, added, “You’ve got to love him. He is what he is, and he gives you everything he has.”</p>
<p>Raymer, 5-foot-9 and 188 pounds, is a Manzano graduate and a former walk-on.</p>
<p>GAUTSCHE’S WORK LOAD: Davie said he wants to reduce the number of snaps that Cole Gautsche, his true freshman quarterback, takes during a game.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>At UNLV, the Lobos ran 71 plays. Gautsche was in the game for at least 60 of those, rushing 11 times for 35 yards and taking numerous hits on the option, whether he had the ball or not.</p>
<p>Davie said he felt Gautsche became “a little big fatigued, a little beaten down” as the game wore on. “I think we have to be smart moving forward and limit his snaps a little bit.”</p>
<p>That could mean more action for backup quarterback Quinton McCown, or more wildcat-formation plays with wide receiver Lamaar Thomas or running back Kasey Carrier taking a direct snap from center.</p>
<p>Senior quarterback B.R. Holbrook suffered a shoulder separation during the Lobos’ 49-32 loss to Fresno State on Oct. 27. Holbrook likely will not play again, though he’s hoping to return for the season finale at Colorado State on Nov. 24.</p>
<p>INJURY REPORT: Sophomore Tevin Newman is the likely starter at one outside linebacker spot in place of junior Rashad Rainey, who suffered a high ankle sprain early in the UNLV game.</p>
<p>Newman, who had won a starting spot in spring practice before breaking an ankle, was in on four tackles against the Rebels and returned an interception for 19 yards.</p>
<p>Davie said senior A.J. Butler, who has been playing inside linebacker, could be moved to the outside.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Lobos Suspend Cornerback | false | https://abqjournal.com/238129/lobos-suspend-cornerback.html | 2least
| Lobos Suspend Cornerback
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<p />
<p>Sophomore cornerback Devonta Tabannah has been suspended for the remainder of the 2012 season, Lobos football coach Bob Davie said after Monday evening’s practice.</p>
<p>Davie did not specify the reason for the suspension, saying, “He made a bad decision.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“It’s just the right thing to do,” Davie said. “By letting him play, I’m enabling to continue that behavior, and I’m not going to do that.”</p>
<p>The suspension is not related to Tabannah’s DWI arrest in August, Davie said, or in any way related to a legal matter. Tabannah was suspended for 10 days after his arrest and missed the Lobos’ first two games before being reinstated.</p>
<p>Since then, Tabannah, a 5-foot-10, 171-pounder from Oxon Hill, Md., has played in four games and made five tackles, one for a 3-yard loss.</p>
<p>The loss of any defensive back is a potentially devastating blow to a team that’s extremely thin in that area</p>
<p>Senior cornerback DeShawn Mills underwent season- and career-ending knee surgery after six games. Cornerback Julian Lewis was lost to injury and free safety Zoey Williams dismissed from the team before the season started.</p>
<p>Tabannah is listed as Destry Berry’s backup at left cornerback, and Davie said he probably would have gotten a significant amount of playing time on Saturday against Wyoming.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“But I just can’t (overlook) this,” he said. “… We’ll revisit him next semester.”</p>
<p>RAYMER HONORED: Senior strong safety Matt Raymer was accorded honorable-mention defensive back of the week honors from College Football Performance Awards for his performance last Saturday in the Lobos’ 35-7 loss at UNLV.</p>
<p>Raymer tied a career high with nine tackles, intercepted a pass and forced two fumbles against the Rebels.</p>
<p>Davie on Sunday noted that Raymer also had a couple of misplays in Las Vegas, but, added, “You’ve got to love him. He is what he is, and he gives you everything he has.”</p>
<p>Raymer, 5-foot-9 and 188 pounds, is a Manzano graduate and a former walk-on.</p>
<p>GAUTSCHE’S WORK LOAD: Davie said he wants to reduce the number of snaps that Cole Gautsche, his true freshman quarterback, takes during a game.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>At UNLV, the Lobos ran 71 plays. Gautsche was in the game for at least 60 of those, rushing 11 times for 35 yards and taking numerous hits on the option, whether he had the ball or not.</p>
<p>Davie said he felt Gautsche became “a little big fatigued, a little beaten down” as the game wore on. “I think we have to be smart moving forward and limit his snaps a little bit.”</p>
<p>That could mean more action for backup quarterback Quinton McCown, or more wildcat-formation plays with wide receiver Lamaar Thomas or running back Kasey Carrier taking a direct snap from center.</p>
<p>Senior quarterback B.R. Holbrook suffered a shoulder separation during the Lobos’ 49-32 loss to Fresno State on Oct. 27. Holbrook likely will not play again, though he’s hoping to return for the season finale at Colorado State on Nov. 24.</p>
<p>INJURY REPORT: Sophomore Tevin Newman is the likely starter at one outside linebacker spot in place of junior Rashad Rainey, who suffered a high ankle sprain early in the UNLV game.</p>
<p>Newman, who had won a starting spot in spring practice before breaking an ankle, was in on four tackles against the Rebels and returned an interception for 19 yards.</p>
<p>Davie said senior A.J. Butler, who has been playing inside linebacker, could be moved to the outside.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 2,929 |
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<p>SANTA FE, N.M. — As the fence starting to go up around the hallway seating area for Cleopatra Cafe in the Design Center, passersby began to wonder.</p>
<p>Do the patrons need to be caged in? Do they get too excited when the belly-dancing starts? Or is it meant to keep out other diners who were trespassing on their territory?</p>
<p>The mystery has been solved. The Middle Eastern eatery has gotten a beer and wine license, and the vagaries of the state liquor laws require that the area where drinking is allowed be firmly separated from where it isn’t.</p>
<p>But it still looks odd.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Cleopatra Cafe fences in its patrons — blame it on the beer | false | https://abqjournal.com/498653/cleopatras-cafe-fences-in-its-patrons-blame-it-on-the-beer.html | 2least
| Cleopatra Cafe fences in its patrons — blame it on the beer
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<p>SANTA FE, N.M. — As the fence starting to go up around the hallway seating area for Cleopatra Cafe in the Design Center, passersby began to wonder.</p>
<p>Do the patrons need to be caged in? Do they get too excited when the belly-dancing starts? Or is it meant to keep out other diners who were trespassing on their territory?</p>
<p>The mystery has been solved. The Middle Eastern eatery has gotten a beer and wine license, and the vagaries of the state liquor laws require that the area where drinking is allowed be firmly separated from where it isn’t.</p>
<p>But it still looks odd.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 2,930 |
|
<p>“ <a href="http://variety.com/t/ghosted/" type="external">Ghosted</a>” has been picked up for six more episodes at <a href="http://variety.com/t/fox/" type="external">Fox</a>,&#160;Variety has learned.</p>
<p>With the additional episode order, the first season of the sci-fi comedy series will run for 16 episodes total. In addition, “The Office” alum Paul Lieberstein is joining the show as executive producer and showrunner, taking over for Kevin Etten.</p>
<p>The series stars Craig Robinson and Adam Scott as a former LAPD detective and a genius true believer in the paranormal&#160;who are recruited by a secret government agency known as The Bureau Underground. Each week, they investigate supernatural phenomenon in an attempt to protect the human race. The series also stars Ally Walker, Adeel Akhtar, and Amber Stevens West.</p>
<p>The series is produced by 20th Century <a href="http://variety.com/2017/tv/features/duffer-brothers-stranger-things-1202621133/" type="external">Fox</a> Television and was created by Tom Gormican. Robinson, Scott, Naomi Scott, Mark Schulman, Oly Obst, Lieberstein, and Gormican serve as executive producers. Jonathan Krisel directed the pilot, on which he also served as an executive producer.</p>
<p>The series is currently averaging a 1.1 rating in adults 18-49 and 2.8 million viewers per episode in Nielsen’s Live+Same Day ratings.</p>
<p>Fox previously gave an early <a href="http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/seth-macfarlanes-the-orville-1202605463/" type="external">Season 2 renewal to Seth MacFarlane’s “The Orville.”</a> With the additional episode order for “The Orville,” the only other Fox freshman series awaiting word on its fate is the 20th Century Fox-Marvel series “The Gifted.”</p>
<p /> | ‘Ghosted’ Picked Up for Six Additional Episodes at Fox, Enlists New Showrunner | false | https://newsline.com/ghosted-picked-up-for-six-additional-episodes-at-fox-enlists-new-showrunner/ | 2017-11-29 | 1right-center
| ‘Ghosted’ Picked Up for Six Additional Episodes at Fox, Enlists New Showrunner
<p>“ <a href="http://variety.com/t/ghosted/" type="external">Ghosted</a>” has been picked up for six more episodes at <a href="http://variety.com/t/fox/" type="external">Fox</a>,&#160;Variety has learned.</p>
<p>With the additional episode order, the first season of the sci-fi comedy series will run for 16 episodes total. In addition, “The Office” alum Paul Lieberstein is joining the show as executive producer and showrunner, taking over for Kevin Etten.</p>
<p>The series stars Craig Robinson and Adam Scott as a former LAPD detective and a genius true believer in the paranormal&#160;who are recruited by a secret government agency known as The Bureau Underground. Each week, they investigate supernatural phenomenon in an attempt to protect the human race. The series also stars Ally Walker, Adeel Akhtar, and Amber Stevens West.</p>
<p>The series is produced by 20th Century <a href="http://variety.com/2017/tv/features/duffer-brothers-stranger-things-1202621133/" type="external">Fox</a> Television and was created by Tom Gormican. Robinson, Scott, Naomi Scott, Mark Schulman, Oly Obst, Lieberstein, and Gormican serve as executive producers. Jonathan Krisel directed the pilot, on which he also served as an executive producer.</p>
<p>The series is currently averaging a 1.1 rating in adults 18-49 and 2.8 million viewers per episode in Nielsen’s Live+Same Day ratings.</p>
<p>Fox previously gave an early <a href="http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/seth-macfarlanes-the-orville-1202605463/" type="external">Season 2 renewal to Seth MacFarlane’s “The Orville.”</a> With the additional episode order for “The Orville,” the only other Fox freshman series awaiting word on its fate is the 20th Century Fox-Marvel series “The Gifted.”</p>
<p /> | 2,931 |
<p />
<p>U.S. President Barack Obama and John Boehner, the top Republican in Washington, met at the White House on Monday to try to reach a budget deal that would head off steep tax hikes and spending cuts that could push the economy into recession next year.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The 45-minute meeting is a further sign that talks to avert the "fiscal cliff" could be yielding progress after weeks of stalemate.</p>
<p>Boehner, the speaker of the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, has edged closer to Obama's demand to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans. But the two sides have yet to make headway on tough issues on entitlements, like the Medicare health insurance program for seniors.</p>
<p>Boehner has agreed to a tax increase for those earning over $1 million annually, while Obama wants that threshold set at $250,000. His offer knocks down a key Republican road block, and the question now boils down to what Obama will offer in return.</p>
<p>The two sides face a deadline of Dec. 31, when $600 billion in across-the-board spending cuts and tax hikes are due to kick in.</p>
<p>Even if the two men agree to a deal this week, they may not have enough time to get it passed before the New Year. In that case, they might agree to extend the deadline by a few weeks.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Republicans understand that the clock is ticking and they are confident that Boehner will get a deal they can support in the coming days, a senior House Republican aide said.</p>
<p>Boehner "won't sign off on a deal that doesn't have enough votes to get through," the aide said.</p>
<p>Investors have been cheered by signs of progress. The Standard &amp; Poor's 500 index was up 0.87 percent at midday.</p>
<p>"The fiscal cliff is starting to get ironed out," said Frank Davis, director of sales and trading at LEK Securities.</p> | Boehner, Obama Meet as Fiscal Cliff Looms | true | http://foxbusiness.com/politics/2012/12/17/boehner-obama-meet-on-fiscal-cliff.html | 2016-03-03 | 0right
| Boehner, Obama Meet as Fiscal Cliff Looms
<p />
<p>U.S. President Barack Obama and John Boehner, the top Republican in Washington, met at the White House on Monday to try to reach a budget deal that would head off steep tax hikes and spending cuts that could push the economy into recession next year.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The 45-minute meeting is a further sign that talks to avert the "fiscal cliff" could be yielding progress after weeks of stalemate.</p>
<p>Boehner, the speaker of the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, has edged closer to Obama's demand to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans. But the two sides have yet to make headway on tough issues on entitlements, like the Medicare health insurance program for seniors.</p>
<p>Boehner has agreed to a tax increase for those earning over $1 million annually, while Obama wants that threshold set at $250,000. His offer knocks down a key Republican road block, and the question now boils down to what Obama will offer in return.</p>
<p>The two sides face a deadline of Dec. 31, when $600 billion in across-the-board spending cuts and tax hikes are due to kick in.</p>
<p>Even if the two men agree to a deal this week, they may not have enough time to get it passed before the New Year. In that case, they might agree to extend the deadline by a few weeks.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Republicans understand that the clock is ticking and they are confident that Boehner will get a deal they can support in the coming days, a senior House Republican aide said.</p>
<p>Boehner "won't sign off on a deal that doesn't have enough votes to get through," the aide said.</p>
<p>Investors have been cheered by signs of progress. The Standard &amp; Poor's 500 index was up 0.87 percent at midday.</p>
<p>"The fiscal cliff is starting to get ironed out," said Frank Davis, director of sales and trading at LEK Securities.</p> | 2,932 |
<p>HHS Secretary Dr. Tom Price on efforts to get hospitals up and running after Irma and the future of health care reform.</p>
<p>Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) is the latest member of Congress to join a growing list of Democrats co-sponsoring Sen. Bernie Sanders’ ‘Medicare for all’ bill.&#160; Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Tom Price weighed in on whether the bill has a chance of passing, telling the FOX Business Network’s Dagen McDowell on Mornings with Maria, “Well, I would hope not.&#160; And I think that the vast majority of the American people would hope not.&#160; And it’s not because we don’t think folks ought to have health care. We do. It’s important though that that health care be patient-centered and not government-centered.”</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>According to Price, even though everyone should have access to health coverage, Medicare is not the answer.</p>
<p>“All of us want folks to, everybody, to have health care and health coverage but in Medicare, there are one out of eight physicians in this nation who ought to be seeing Medicare patients who don’t because of the rules and the regulations through Medicare.”</p>
<p>The focus in Washington, D.C. has shifted to tax reform, but Price says health care reform is still a priority, telling McDowell, “Repeal and replace is an absolute necessity.”</p>
<p>Price wasn’t&#160;optimistic about achieving health care reform in the short term though.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>“It takes an act of Congress to move us in the right direction on health care and sadly, we haven’t seen that act of Congress yet.&#160; So, [that’s] what we continue to challenge folks to do in the House and the Senate.&#160; The House passed a bill, the Senate needs to pay attention and make sure they’re able to pass a bill as well.&#160; It doesn’t look promising in the near term.”</p> | Health care reform doesn't look promising in the near term: HHS Secretary Price | true | http://foxbusiness.com/politics/2017/09/12/health-care-reform-doesnt-look-promising-in-near-term-hhs-secretary-price.html | 2017-09-12 | 0right
| Health care reform doesn't look promising in the near term: HHS Secretary Price
<p>HHS Secretary Dr. Tom Price on efforts to get hospitals up and running after Irma and the future of health care reform.</p>
<p>Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) is the latest member of Congress to join a growing list of Democrats co-sponsoring Sen. Bernie Sanders’ ‘Medicare for all’ bill.&#160; Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Tom Price weighed in on whether the bill has a chance of passing, telling the FOX Business Network’s Dagen McDowell on Mornings with Maria, “Well, I would hope not.&#160; And I think that the vast majority of the American people would hope not.&#160; And it’s not because we don’t think folks ought to have health care. We do. It’s important though that that health care be patient-centered and not government-centered.”</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>According to Price, even though everyone should have access to health coverage, Medicare is not the answer.</p>
<p>“All of us want folks to, everybody, to have health care and health coverage but in Medicare, there are one out of eight physicians in this nation who ought to be seeing Medicare patients who don’t because of the rules and the regulations through Medicare.”</p>
<p>The focus in Washington, D.C. has shifted to tax reform, but Price says health care reform is still a priority, telling McDowell, “Repeal and replace is an absolute necessity.”</p>
<p>Price wasn’t&#160;optimistic about achieving health care reform in the short term though.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>“It takes an act of Congress to move us in the right direction on health care and sadly, we haven’t seen that act of Congress yet.&#160; So, [that’s] what we continue to challenge folks to do in the House and the Senate.&#160; The House passed a bill, the Senate needs to pay attention and make sure they’re able to pass a bill as well.&#160; It doesn’t look promising in the near term.”</p> | 2,933 |
<p />
<p>Because sometimes you don’t just want this house—you want all of them. The third installment of Interiors Now, edited by Margit J. Mayer and Ian Phillips, showcases 35 new residences across the globe. From bungalows filled with custom-made Jonathan Adler designs to a lap pool in a Yucatán-style home in Mexico, here are some envy-inspiring home designs.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>In this Paris apartment&#160;designed by Joseph Dirand, the arched shape of the living room window is echoed in the rounded shape of a Jean Prouvé table and plush Jean Royère seating.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>This print-heavy bungalow in Shelter Island, New York,&#160;is the work of of style gurus Jonathan Adler and <a href="/content/dailybeast/contributors/simon-doonan.html" type="external">Simon Doonan</a>. The yellow cone lights were brought from Paris, but the sofa, brass coffee tables, and aerated concrete screen are all custom made.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>One dinner party, coming right up. Faye Toogood designed this clean eat-in kitchen for a London townhouse.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>New and old converge in a living room of a London townhouse, designed for a young couple&#160;by Faye Toogood.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>We're dizzy just looking at this. Dubbed “In Bed with Pollock,” this bedroom is in a New York duplex apartment designed by Doug Meyer.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>A gorilla made from 7,500 coat hangers by British artist David Mach keeps watch over this suburban Paris house.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>A concrete hearth and brightly patterned floor tiles are the focus of the living room in this multi-textured <a href="/content/dailybeast/galleries/2013/03/04/the-city-sao-paulo-brazil-photos.html" type="external">São Paulo</a> home. Behind the wooden sliding doors is the bedroom wing.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>A long and narrow lap pool leads from the Yucatán-style main house and the newly built add-on in Merida, Mexico.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>This Manhattan loft’s master bedroom is the picture of simplicity.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Designer Melinda Ritz crafted this light and airy bedroom in a Beverly Hills mansion. Notice the artist’s easel serving as a TV stand.</p>
<p /> | OMG, I Want This House: Fabulous Homes From Paris to Sao Paulo (PHOTOS) | true | https://thedailybeast.com/omg-i-want-this-house-fabulous-homes-from-paris-to-sao-paulo-photos | 2018-10-04 | 4left
| OMG, I Want This House: Fabulous Homes From Paris to Sao Paulo (PHOTOS)
<p />
<p>Because sometimes you don’t just want this house—you want all of them. The third installment of Interiors Now, edited by Margit J. Mayer and Ian Phillips, showcases 35 new residences across the globe. From bungalows filled with custom-made Jonathan Adler designs to a lap pool in a Yucatán-style home in Mexico, here are some envy-inspiring home designs.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>In this Paris apartment&#160;designed by Joseph Dirand, the arched shape of the living room window is echoed in the rounded shape of a Jean Prouvé table and plush Jean Royère seating.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>This print-heavy bungalow in Shelter Island, New York,&#160;is the work of of style gurus Jonathan Adler and <a href="/content/dailybeast/contributors/simon-doonan.html" type="external">Simon Doonan</a>. The yellow cone lights were brought from Paris, but the sofa, brass coffee tables, and aerated concrete screen are all custom made.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>One dinner party, coming right up. Faye Toogood designed this clean eat-in kitchen for a London townhouse.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>New and old converge in a living room of a London townhouse, designed for a young couple&#160;by Faye Toogood.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>We're dizzy just looking at this. Dubbed “In Bed with Pollock,” this bedroom is in a New York duplex apartment designed by Doug Meyer.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>A gorilla made from 7,500 coat hangers by British artist David Mach keeps watch over this suburban Paris house.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>A concrete hearth and brightly patterned floor tiles are the focus of the living room in this multi-textured <a href="/content/dailybeast/galleries/2013/03/04/the-city-sao-paulo-brazil-photos.html" type="external">São Paulo</a> home. Behind the wooden sliding doors is the bedroom wing.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>A long and narrow lap pool leads from the Yucatán-style main house and the newly built add-on in Merida, Mexico.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>This Manhattan loft’s master bedroom is the picture of simplicity.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Designer Melinda Ritz crafted this light and airy bedroom in a Beverly Hills mansion. Notice the artist’s easel serving as a TV stand.</p>
<p /> | 2,934 |
<p />
<p>Don't try to catch a falling knife.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>That's good advice literally -- and figuratively when it comes to buying stocks. You never know if a plunging stock will go down a lot more. Three stocks that have certainly fallen this year are Alexion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ALXN), Valeant Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: VRX), and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VRTX). Are these stocks like falling knives -- or could they be the biggest comeback opportunities of 2017?</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Alexion's stock has fallen around 40% this year. The biotech badly missed Wall Street earnings expectations in the first quarter and followed up with another miss in the second quarter. In June, Alexion announced disappointing results from a late-stage study evaluating Soliris in treating refractory generalized myasthenia gravis, adebilitatingneuromuscular disease.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>More recently, Alexion had to delay filing its 10-Q report for the third quarter because of an internal investigation into allegations of improper sales practices.Just weeks after the announcement of this investigation, the company's CEO and CFO were gone. Although Alexion didn't state that these executive departures were related to the investigation, the timing raised suspicions that there was a connection.</p>
<p>Can Alexion recover from these issues? Probably so. The biotech still plans to move forward with submitting Soliris for regulatory approval in treating refractory generalized myasthenia gravis.Sales for Soliris are still booming, and additional indications could be on the way.</p>
<p>The company expects to wrap up the investigation soon. As of Dec. 12, Alexion's Audit and Finance Committee had not found any issues that would require the company to restate previous financial statements. Alexion also anticipated submitting its third-quarter 10-Q report no later than January 2017.</p>
<p>Valeant's stock began imploding in 2015. The carnage carried over into this year, with the stock losing 85% of its value.</p>
<p>The drugmaker faces many challenges, but the biggest by far is its massive debt totaling more than $30 billion. Valeant went on a multiyear shopping spree, scooping up smaller companies left and right. That spending is now catching up with the company at a time when Valeant has a black eye over its pricing policies.</p>
<p>Valeant has made some good moves to address its public relations disaster over jacking up its drug prices. The company replaced its CEO, brought in new board members, and has a revamped executive team. Valeant cut the costs for several of its drugs and also implemented <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/10/27/is-valeant-pharmaceuticals-now-a-drug-pricing-role.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">sweeping drug-pricing changes Opens a New Window.</a>. But the debt problem remains.</p>
<p>The company plans to sell off non-core assets. That should allow it to pay down around $5 billion of its debt. Valeant also has a rapidly growing product in Xifaxan, plus solid potential with several pipeline candidates, particularly autoimmune disease drug brodalumab.</p>
<p>Vertex Pharmaceuticals' share price has dropped around 40% in 2016. While the company reported growing revenue and net income, it wasn't enough to satisfy Wall Street.</p>
<p>Cystic fibrosis drug Orkambi has driven Vertex's improved financial numbers, but also been a factor the stock's decline. Vertex reported in April that 15% of patients discontinued taking Orkambi within three months because of respiratory adverse events. That's much higher than the 5% discontinuation rate seen in clinical studies of the drug.</p>
<p>A few months later, Vertex revealed lower-than-expected compliance rates for Orkambi. That news bothered investors, although the company did explain that patients were not discontinuing the drug but were instead refilling their prescriptions more slowly than anticipated.</p>
<p>The company also experienced setbacks with other products. In February, Vertex announced that the FDA had turned down approval for Kalydeco in treating patients age 2 or older with one of 23 residual function mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene.In August, the company canceled a late-stage study ofVX-661 in combination with Kalydeco in treating cystic fibrosis patients with specific residual function mutations.</p>
<p>For Vertex, the key to a rebound will be for Orkambi's sales to increase as much as analysts expect. The company's efforts to improve patient compliance rates in the U.S. should help. Finalizing reimbursement with several European countries is another important component to Vertex's success.</p>
<p>Can Alexion, Valeant, and Vertex mount comebacks in 2017? It's possible.</p>
<p>I think Valeant will face the most difficult path. Even if the company sells its non-core assets and pays down some of its debt, there will still be a huge amount of debt remaining. Valeant's CEO, Joe Papa, has said that his company is " <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/11/18/is-valeant-pharmaceuticals-the-turnaround-opportun.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">the turnaround opportunity of a lifetime Opens a New Window.</a>." He could be right, but I suspect the odds of that turnaround happening next year aren't great.</p>
<p>Vertex could very well have a much better year in 2017. Sales for Orkambi and Kalydeco should continue to grow. A little bit of good news for Vertex could go a long way in helping the stock to bounce back.</p>
<p>That leaves Alexion. If the company's internal investigation doesn't reveal anything too serious, I think the biotech's stock will soar. Of these three companies, Alexion is in the best shape from a financial perspective. My hunch is that, barring any major scandals resulting from the investigation, this biotech could be one of the biggest comeback winners of 2017.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Alexion Pharmaceuticals When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=d2a2e03c-b789-428f-a841-b5a07ea0d380&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 Alexion Pharmaceuticals 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=d2a2e03c-b789-428f-a841-b5a07ea0d380&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of Nov. 7, 2016</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFFishBiz/info.aspx" type="external">Keith Speights Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Valeant Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool recommends Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/motley.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Are These 3 Stocks the Biggest Comeback Opportunities of 2017? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/12/22/are-these-3-stocks-biggest-comeback-opportunities-2017.html | 2016-12-22 | 0right
| Are These 3 Stocks the Biggest Comeback Opportunities of 2017?
<p />
<p>Don't try to catch a falling knife.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>That's good advice literally -- and figuratively when it comes to buying stocks. You never know if a plunging stock will go down a lot more. Three stocks that have certainly fallen this year are Alexion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ALXN), Valeant Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: VRX), and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VRTX). Are these stocks like falling knives -- or could they be the biggest comeback opportunities of 2017?</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Alexion's stock has fallen around 40% this year. The biotech badly missed Wall Street earnings expectations in the first quarter and followed up with another miss in the second quarter. In June, Alexion announced disappointing results from a late-stage study evaluating Soliris in treating refractory generalized myasthenia gravis, adebilitatingneuromuscular disease.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>More recently, Alexion had to delay filing its 10-Q report for the third quarter because of an internal investigation into allegations of improper sales practices.Just weeks after the announcement of this investigation, the company's CEO and CFO were gone. Although Alexion didn't state that these executive departures were related to the investigation, the timing raised suspicions that there was a connection.</p>
<p>Can Alexion recover from these issues? Probably so. The biotech still plans to move forward with submitting Soliris for regulatory approval in treating refractory generalized myasthenia gravis.Sales for Soliris are still booming, and additional indications could be on the way.</p>
<p>The company expects to wrap up the investigation soon. As of Dec. 12, Alexion's Audit and Finance Committee had not found any issues that would require the company to restate previous financial statements. Alexion also anticipated submitting its third-quarter 10-Q report no later than January 2017.</p>
<p>Valeant's stock began imploding in 2015. The carnage carried over into this year, with the stock losing 85% of its value.</p>
<p>The drugmaker faces many challenges, but the biggest by far is its massive debt totaling more than $30 billion. Valeant went on a multiyear shopping spree, scooping up smaller companies left and right. That spending is now catching up with the company at a time when Valeant has a black eye over its pricing policies.</p>
<p>Valeant has made some good moves to address its public relations disaster over jacking up its drug prices. The company replaced its CEO, brought in new board members, and has a revamped executive team. Valeant cut the costs for several of its drugs and also implemented <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/10/27/is-valeant-pharmaceuticals-now-a-drug-pricing-role.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">sweeping drug-pricing changes Opens a New Window.</a>. But the debt problem remains.</p>
<p>The company plans to sell off non-core assets. That should allow it to pay down around $5 billion of its debt. Valeant also has a rapidly growing product in Xifaxan, plus solid potential with several pipeline candidates, particularly autoimmune disease drug brodalumab.</p>
<p>Vertex Pharmaceuticals' share price has dropped around 40% in 2016. While the company reported growing revenue and net income, it wasn't enough to satisfy Wall Street.</p>
<p>Cystic fibrosis drug Orkambi has driven Vertex's improved financial numbers, but also been a factor the stock's decline. Vertex reported in April that 15% of patients discontinued taking Orkambi within three months because of respiratory adverse events. That's much higher than the 5% discontinuation rate seen in clinical studies of the drug.</p>
<p>A few months later, Vertex revealed lower-than-expected compliance rates for Orkambi. That news bothered investors, although the company did explain that patients were not discontinuing the drug but were instead refilling their prescriptions more slowly than anticipated.</p>
<p>The company also experienced setbacks with other products. In February, Vertex announced that the FDA had turned down approval for Kalydeco in treating patients age 2 or older with one of 23 residual function mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene.In August, the company canceled a late-stage study ofVX-661 in combination with Kalydeco in treating cystic fibrosis patients with specific residual function mutations.</p>
<p>For Vertex, the key to a rebound will be for Orkambi's sales to increase as much as analysts expect. The company's efforts to improve patient compliance rates in the U.S. should help. Finalizing reimbursement with several European countries is another important component to Vertex's success.</p>
<p>Can Alexion, Valeant, and Vertex mount comebacks in 2017? It's possible.</p>
<p>I think Valeant will face the most difficult path. Even if the company sells its non-core assets and pays down some of its debt, there will still be a huge amount of debt remaining. Valeant's CEO, Joe Papa, has said that his company is " <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/11/18/is-valeant-pharmaceuticals-the-turnaround-opportun.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">the turnaround opportunity of a lifetime Opens a New Window.</a>." He could be right, but I suspect the odds of that turnaround happening next year aren't great.</p>
<p>Vertex could very well have a much better year in 2017. Sales for Orkambi and Kalydeco should continue to grow. A little bit of good news for Vertex could go a long way in helping the stock to bounce back.</p>
<p>That leaves Alexion. If the company's internal investigation doesn't reveal anything too serious, I think the biotech's stock will soar. Of these three companies, Alexion is in the best shape from a financial perspective. My hunch is that, barring any major scandals resulting from the investigation, this biotech could be one of the biggest comeback winners of 2017.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Alexion Pharmaceuticals When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=d2a2e03c-b789-428f-a841-b5a07ea0d380&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 Alexion Pharmaceuticals 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=d2a2e03c-b789-428f-a841-b5a07ea0d380&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of Nov. 7, 2016</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFFishBiz/info.aspx" type="external">Keith Speights Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Valeant Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool recommends Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/motley.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 2,935 |
<p>John Kiriakou is a former CIA counterterrorism officer, a former senior investigator for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and a bestselling author. He was recently released from prison after serving 23 months of a 30 month sentence for exposing the CIA's illegal torture program.</p>
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<p /> AARON MATE: It's the Real News. I'm Aaron Mate. Chelsea Manning is celebrated around the world for exposing the secrets of U.S. foreign policy, including war crimes, and going to prison for it, all the while standing up for her rights as a trans woman. One of the most prestigious U.S. schools has taken a different view. The Harvard Kennedy School has rescinded an invitation to Manning as a Visiting Fellow after a backlash led by current and former officials.
<p /> Former CIA deputy director Michael Morell resigned as a Harvard Fellow in protest, writing, "I have an obligation to my conscience." The current CIA director, Mike Pompeo, withdrew from a Harvard forum where he was set to speak. Pompeo said, "It has everything to do with her identity as a traitor to the U.S. and my loyalty to the officers of the CIA." This prompted Harvard Kennedy School dean Douglas Elmendorf to announce he would still invite Manning to speak on campus, but he's withdrawing her designation as a Visiting Fellow. Elmendorf wrote, "I see more clearly now that many people view a Visiting Fellow title as an honorific, so we should weigh that consideration when offering invitations."
<p /> Joining me is someone who knows about the consequences of government whistleblowing. John Kiriakou is a former CIA analyst who exposed the agency's torture program and became the only official jailed in connection with it. John, welcome.
<p />JOHN KIRIAKOU: Thanks for having me. Happy to be with you again.
<p />AARON MATE: Thank you for joining us. Your reaction to Harvard's decision?
<p />JOHN KIRIAKOU: To tell you the truth, I was disgusted by Harvard and by its decision for a couple of reasons. It was bad enough that the John F. Kennedy School of Government disinvited Chelsea Manning, but then to try to justify its actions, it dug itself deeper in a hole. CIA director Mike Pompeo made a ridiculous, hypocritical statement today, or yesterday I should say, saying that Harvard had traded someone who had served his country with respect and dignity for someone who had committed treason against her country. That is preposterous.
<p /> Let me tell you why. I worked for 14 and a half years with Mike Morell. I know Mike Morell well. Mike Morell was instrumental in implementing the CIA's torture program. Mike Morell was instrumental in implementing CIA's program of secret prisons around the world. Mike Morell was instrumental in implementing the CIA's extraordinary rendition program, which is just an extralegal kidnapping program. That is not serving your country with respect and with dignity. That is committing international crimes against humanity. I would trade Mike Morell for Chelsea Manning any day of the week. Harvard made a grave mistake.
<p />AARON MATE: John, the irony there in looking at Morell's record, if you look at the letter that he wrote, as I read, explaining why he was resigning in protest of the invitation to Manning, he said, "I have an obligation to my conscience."
<p />JOHN KIRIAKOU: Sorry, I don't mean to laugh out loud, but it's laughable. Where was his conscience when we were murdering people during interrogations at the CIA? Where was his conscience when we were creating these dungeons in foreign countries to torture people in? He had no conscience. Now his conscience tells him that he can't serve, not even in the same program, but in the same school with a whistleblower, a woman who meets the very definition of whistleblowing, which is bringing to light any evidence of waste, fraud, abuse, or illegality? That's exactly what Chelsea Manning did.
<p />AARON MATE: Let me also read to you more from Mike Pompeo, the director of the CIA who you mentioned. He wrote in defending Morell's decision, "It has everything to do with her identity as a traitor to the United States of America and my loyalty to the officers of the CIA." Accusing Manning of treason, that's a charge that she was not convicted of.
<p />JOHN KIRIAKOU: No. Mike Pompeo isn't as smart as he would like to think that he is. There's of course a legal definition of treason, and Chelsea Manning's actions bear no resemblance whatsoever to the constitutional definition of treason. Mike Pompeo is a politician, and he's a politician who is in over his head. He's out of his element. He simply doesn't know what he's talking about.
<p />AARON MATE: John, if you could help me do a little bit of psychoanalysis here, what do you think goes on in the minds of people like Mike Morell, Mike Pompeo, all those who are so outraged, so livid over granting someone like Chelsea Manning, who stood up for her conscience and went to jail for it, granting her a relatively mild honor, a visiting fellowship? It's not like she got the Nobel Peace Prize, which of course many people think she should get. What do you think goes on in their minds when they see this happen, and why do they react so angrily in response?
<p />JOHN KIRIAKOU: I think that the likes of Morell and Pompeo and Tenet and Phil Mudd and Steve Capus and all these other people, Jose Rodriguez, all these other people who have been implicated in the CIA's torture program, and other extrajudicial programs, have to double down. They have made decisions over the courses of their CIA careers that are indefensible, but when they die and their obituaries are written, the first thing that's going to be mentioned is these programs. They have to repeat this lie over and over and over again that things like the torture program, and the rendition program, and the secret prisons were legal, and somehow benefited the American people, and kept the country safe. They have to keep repeating that lie, hoping that if they say it enough times, the American people will finally come to believe it. When someone like Chelsea Manning gets, as you say, this very not that big of a deal honor, to be a Visiting Fellow at Harvard, the torturers have to double down.
<p />AARON MATE: Right. Finally, John, you're talking about how these people will be remembered, and remembered for the crimes that they oversaw. The reason that they'll be remembered for that if that happens is because people exposed it, people like Manning and people like yourself. I'm wondering, seeing how Manning is treated now and of course with the prison sentence, you also went to prison. I'm wondering if you could talk about just the difficulty of being a whistleblower, where you face such punishment not only after you're caught for the act but then society, people in power, still continue to treat you with scorn and disdain.
<p />JOHN KIRIAKOU: Yeah. Unless your name is Scooter Libby, for example, or David Petraeus, unless you're a friend of the president or you have four shiny stars on your shoulder, you're pretty well ruined. The goal is not just to give you a year or two or seven in prison. The goal is to ruin you permanently, not just because they don't like you, but because they want to make an example of you so that other people don't take your cue and blow the whistle on waste, fraud, abuse, and illegality. It's whistleblowers that bring down these illegal programs, and the powers that be in places like the CIA or the White House or the Pentagon won't stand for it.
<p />AARON MATE: John Kiriakou is the former CIA analyst who went to prison for exposing the torture program. Now he's the co-host of the show Loud and Clear with Brian Becker on Radio Sputnik. John, thanks very much.
<p />JOHN KIRIAKOU: My pleasure. Thanks for having me.
<p />AARON MATE: Thank you for joining us on the Real News. | CIA Whistleblower: Harvard Picks Torture Apologists Over Chelsea Manning | true | http://therealnews.com/t2/story%3A20004%3ACIA-Whistleblower%253A-Harvard-Picks-Torture-Apologists-Over-Chelsea-Manning | 2017-09-15 | 4left
| CIA Whistleblower: Harvard Picks Torture Apologists Over Chelsea Manning
<p>John Kiriakou is a former CIA counterterrorism officer, a former senior investigator for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and a bestselling author. He was recently released from prison after serving 23 months of a 30 month sentence for exposing the CIA's illegal torture program.</p>
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<p />
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<p /> AARON MATE: It's the Real News. I'm Aaron Mate. Chelsea Manning is celebrated around the world for exposing the secrets of U.S. foreign policy, including war crimes, and going to prison for it, all the while standing up for her rights as a trans woman. One of the most prestigious U.S. schools has taken a different view. The Harvard Kennedy School has rescinded an invitation to Manning as a Visiting Fellow after a backlash led by current and former officials.
<p /> Former CIA deputy director Michael Morell resigned as a Harvard Fellow in protest, writing, "I have an obligation to my conscience." The current CIA director, Mike Pompeo, withdrew from a Harvard forum where he was set to speak. Pompeo said, "It has everything to do with her identity as a traitor to the U.S. and my loyalty to the officers of the CIA." This prompted Harvard Kennedy School dean Douglas Elmendorf to announce he would still invite Manning to speak on campus, but he's withdrawing her designation as a Visiting Fellow. Elmendorf wrote, "I see more clearly now that many people view a Visiting Fellow title as an honorific, so we should weigh that consideration when offering invitations."
<p /> Joining me is someone who knows about the consequences of government whistleblowing. John Kiriakou is a former CIA analyst who exposed the agency's torture program and became the only official jailed in connection with it. John, welcome.
<p />JOHN KIRIAKOU: Thanks for having me. Happy to be with you again.
<p />AARON MATE: Thank you for joining us. Your reaction to Harvard's decision?
<p />JOHN KIRIAKOU: To tell you the truth, I was disgusted by Harvard and by its decision for a couple of reasons. It was bad enough that the John F. Kennedy School of Government disinvited Chelsea Manning, but then to try to justify its actions, it dug itself deeper in a hole. CIA director Mike Pompeo made a ridiculous, hypocritical statement today, or yesterday I should say, saying that Harvard had traded someone who had served his country with respect and dignity for someone who had committed treason against her country. That is preposterous.
<p /> Let me tell you why. I worked for 14 and a half years with Mike Morell. I know Mike Morell well. Mike Morell was instrumental in implementing the CIA's torture program. Mike Morell was instrumental in implementing CIA's program of secret prisons around the world. Mike Morell was instrumental in implementing the CIA's extraordinary rendition program, which is just an extralegal kidnapping program. That is not serving your country with respect and with dignity. That is committing international crimes against humanity. I would trade Mike Morell for Chelsea Manning any day of the week. Harvard made a grave mistake.
<p />AARON MATE: John, the irony there in looking at Morell's record, if you look at the letter that he wrote, as I read, explaining why he was resigning in protest of the invitation to Manning, he said, "I have an obligation to my conscience."
<p />JOHN KIRIAKOU: Sorry, I don't mean to laugh out loud, but it's laughable. Where was his conscience when we were murdering people during interrogations at the CIA? Where was his conscience when we were creating these dungeons in foreign countries to torture people in? He had no conscience. Now his conscience tells him that he can't serve, not even in the same program, but in the same school with a whistleblower, a woman who meets the very definition of whistleblowing, which is bringing to light any evidence of waste, fraud, abuse, or illegality? That's exactly what Chelsea Manning did.
<p />AARON MATE: Let me also read to you more from Mike Pompeo, the director of the CIA who you mentioned. He wrote in defending Morell's decision, "It has everything to do with her identity as a traitor to the United States of America and my loyalty to the officers of the CIA." Accusing Manning of treason, that's a charge that she was not convicted of.
<p />JOHN KIRIAKOU: No. Mike Pompeo isn't as smart as he would like to think that he is. There's of course a legal definition of treason, and Chelsea Manning's actions bear no resemblance whatsoever to the constitutional definition of treason. Mike Pompeo is a politician, and he's a politician who is in over his head. He's out of his element. He simply doesn't know what he's talking about.
<p />AARON MATE: John, if you could help me do a little bit of psychoanalysis here, what do you think goes on in the minds of people like Mike Morell, Mike Pompeo, all those who are so outraged, so livid over granting someone like Chelsea Manning, who stood up for her conscience and went to jail for it, granting her a relatively mild honor, a visiting fellowship? It's not like she got the Nobel Peace Prize, which of course many people think she should get. What do you think goes on in their minds when they see this happen, and why do they react so angrily in response?
<p />JOHN KIRIAKOU: I think that the likes of Morell and Pompeo and Tenet and Phil Mudd and Steve Capus and all these other people, Jose Rodriguez, all these other people who have been implicated in the CIA's torture program, and other extrajudicial programs, have to double down. They have made decisions over the courses of their CIA careers that are indefensible, but when they die and their obituaries are written, the first thing that's going to be mentioned is these programs. They have to repeat this lie over and over and over again that things like the torture program, and the rendition program, and the secret prisons were legal, and somehow benefited the American people, and kept the country safe. They have to keep repeating that lie, hoping that if they say it enough times, the American people will finally come to believe it. When someone like Chelsea Manning gets, as you say, this very not that big of a deal honor, to be a Visiting Fellow at Harvard, the torturers have to double down.
<p />AARON MATE: Right. Finally, John, you're talking about how these people will be remembered, and remembered for the crimes that they oversaw. The reason that they'll be remembered for that if that happens is because people exposed it, people like Manning and people like yourself. I'm wondering, seeing how Manning is treated now and of course with the prison sentence, you also went to prison. I'm wondering if you could talk about just the difficulty of being a whistleblower, where you face such punishment not only after you're caught for the act but then society, people in power, still continue to treat you with scorn and disdain.
<p />JOHN KIRIAKOU: Yeah. Unless your name is Scooter Libby, for example, or David Petraeus, unless you're a friend of the president or you have four shiny stars on your shoulder, you're pretty well ruined. The goal is not just to give you a year or two or seven in prison. The goal is to ruin you permanently, not just because they don't like you, but because they want to make an example of you so that other people don't take your cue and blow the whistle on waste, fraud, abuse, and illegality. It's whistleblowers that bring down these illegal programs, and the powers that be in places like the CIA or the White House or the Pentagon won't stand for it.
<p />AARON MATE: John Kiriakou is the former CIA analyst who went to prison for exposing the torture program. Now he's the co-host of the show Loud and Clear with Brian Becker on Radio Sputnik. John, thanks very much.
<p />JOHN KIRIAKOU: My pleasure. Thanks for having me.
<p />AARON MATE: Thank you for joining us on the Real News. | 2,936 |
<p>Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu gave a fumbling&#160;cable news host a lesson in basic Middle East Politics&#160;during a&#160;Sunday&#160;CNN broadcast.</p>
<p>When “State of the Union” host Candy Crowley attempted a question criticizing the American-educated Israeli leader about his unwillingness to negotiate with the new “unity” government of Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas and the Hamas terrorist organization, Netanyahu stopped her dead in her tracks, according to the <a href="http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2014/04/27/netanyahu-abbas-doing-damage-control/" type="external">CNN video</a>.</p>
<p>“Sorry, Candy, whoa,” he said. “No, Candy, no, no, I’m sorry. I heard that. I hear people write that up, but in fact, it’s the very opposite.”</p>
<p />
<p>Netanyahu then proceeded to educate the silly-looking host, saying:</p>
<p>“I said right from the start, I said, look, I could wait until President Abbas recognizes – represents the entire Palestinian people. But in this case, we will wait until eternity, and we won’t have peace. Si chose deliberately, openly, specifically, and explicitly to negotiate with that part of the Palestinian people that said it was willing to make peace with Israel. I said, we’re not going to try to include the other part that seeks our extermination. And that’s what I did. I have been very consistent on this. Now that he’s joined them, I say this. Look, unity for peace is good. Unity with Hamas that seeks to exterminate Israel, the opposite of peace, is bad…I negotiate with those who are willing to make peace with my country, I will not negotiate with those who seek to exterminate peace with my country, whether they sit in the front office or the back office. That’s not where I’m going to go.”</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Cops: ’This is not a public place right here, this is ours’</a></p>
<p>A stuttering Crowley then summed up Netanyahu’s position by suggesting that he was saying a top representative of Hamas would have to renounce violence and recognize Israel for Israel to return to the negotiating table, or Abbas would have to forego a unity government.</p>
<p>Netanyahu called that a fair summation, saying the ball was in Abbas’ court.</p>
<p>Video from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbTGYZx6dWs" type="external">Washington Free Beacon</a></p> | ‘Sorry, Candy, Whoa!’: CNN Candy Crowley no match for Bibi Netanyahu | true | http://bizpacreview.com/2014/04/29/sorry-candy-whoa-cnn-candy-crowley-no-match-for-bibi-netanyahu-115668 | 2014-04-29 | 0right
| ‘Sorry, Candy, Whoa!’: CNN Candy Crowley no match for Bibi Netanyahu
<p>Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu gave a fumbling&#160;cable news host a lesson in basic Middle East Politics&#160;during a&#160;Sunday&#160;CNN broadcast.</p>
<p>When “State of the Union” host Candy Crowley attempted a question criticizing the American-educated Israeli leader about his unwillingness to negotiate with the new “unity” government of Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas and the Hamas terrorist organization, Netanyahu stopped her dead in her tracks, according to the <a href="http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2014/04/27/netanyahu-abbas-doing-damage-control/" type="external">CNN video</a>.</p>
<p>“Sorry, Candy, whoa,” he said. “No, Candy, no, no, I’m sorry. I heard that. I hear people write that up, but in fact, it’s the very opposite.”</p>
<p />
<p>Netanyahu then proceeded to educate the silly-looking host, saying:</p>
<p>“I said right from the start, I said, look, I could wait until President Abbas recognizes – represents the entire Palestinian people. But in this case, we will wait until eternity, and we won’t have peace. Si chose deliberately, openly, specifically, and explicitly to negotiate with that part of the Palestinian people that said it was willing to make peace with Israel. I said, we’re not going to try to include the other part that seeks our extermination. And that’s what I did. I have been very consistent on this. Now that he’s joined them, I say this. Look, unity for peace is good. Unity with Hamas that seeks to exterminate Israel, the opposite of peace, is bad…I negotiate with those who are willing to make peace with my country, I will not negotiate with those who seek to exterminate peace with my country, whether they sit in the front office or the back office. That’s not where I’m going to go.”</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Cops: ’This is not a public place right here, this is ours’</a></p>
<p>A stuttering Crowley then summed up Netanyahu’s position by suggesting that he was saying a top representative of Hamas would have to renounce violence and recognize Israel for Israel to return to the negotiating table, or Abbas would have to forego a unity government.</p>
<p>Netanyahu called that a fair summation, saying the ball was in Abbas’ court.</p>
<p>Video from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbTGYZx6dWs" type="external">Washington Free Beacon</a></p> | 2,937 |
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<p>WASHINGTON — The Senate’s top Democrat said Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s refusal to release his tax returns is going to make this year’s promised overhaul of the tax code “much harder.”</p>
<p>Sen. Chuck Schumer says Trump is opening himself to second guessing about his motives for supporting different policies and that the average American will think he’s making changes because “it’s good for him.”</p>
<p>Schumer, D-N.Y., said voters are “going to say, ‘Oh, he’s not doing that because it’s good for me, he’s doing it because it’s good for him.’ So for his own good, he ought to make them public. And the big mystery is why he hasn’t.”</p>
<p>Trump, a billionaire real estate magnate, is the first presidential candidate in decades who has refused to release his tax returns. Critics say Trump’s lack of transparency means the public doesn’t have enough information to determine whether his moves as president could represent a conflict of interest.</p>
<p>“I think he just has an obligation to come clean. When you clean up the swamp, it’s not keeping things secret and it applies to yourself,” Schumer said.</p>
<p>White House Press secretary Sean Spicer said Monday that Trump’s financial disclosures are more revealing than his tax returns and that middle class people are more concerned with their own tax bills than with seeing Trump’s taxes.</p>
<p>Trump has promised to cut taxes for middle income workers. His administration is grappling with how to handle the tax issue in the wake of last month’s failure to deliver on promises to repeal and replace President Barack Obama’s health care law.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Dems: Trump’s tax secrecy complicates legislative overhaul | false | https://abqjournal.com/986178/dems-trumps-tax-secrecy-complicates-legislative-overhaul.html | 2017-04-11 | 2least
| Dems: Trump’s tax secrecy complicates legislative overhaul
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<p>WASHINGTON — The Senate’s top Democrat said Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s refusal to release his tax returns is going to make this year’s promised overhaul of the tax code “much harder.”</p>
<p>Sen. Chuck Schumer says Trump is opening himself to second guessing about his motives for supporting different policies and that the average American will think he’s making changes because “it’s good for him.”</p>
<p>Schumer, D-N.Y., said voters are “going to say, ‘Oh, he’s not doing that because it’s good for me, he’s doing it because it’s good for him.’ So for his own good, he ought to make them public. And the big mystery is why he hasn’t.”</p>
<p>Trump, a billionaire real estate magnate, is the first presidential candidate in decades who has refused to release his tax returns. Critics say Trump’s lack of transparency means the public doesn’t have enough information to determine whether his moves as president could represent a conflict of interest.</p>
<p>“I think he just has an obligation to come clean. When you clean up the swamp, it’s not keeping things secret and it applies to yourself,” Schumer said.</p>
<p>White House Press secretary Sean Spicer said Monday that Trump’s financial disclosures are more revealing than his tax returns and that middle class people are more concerned with their own tax bills than with seeing Trump’s taxes.</p>
<p>Trump has promised to cut taxes for middle income workers. His administration is grappling with how to handle the tax issue in the wake of last month’s failure to deliver on promises to repeal and replace President Barack Obama’s health care law.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 2,938 |
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<p>In summer 2009, Senators Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and James Inhofe (R-Okla.) <a href="http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/07/combative-start-to-senate-climate-hearings/" type="external">butted heads</a> in what was to be the last Senate hearing on climate change for three years. Then, the debate was over pending climate change legislation, with both sides firing off the usual arguments: obstructionism by the right and overspending by the left. The two powerhouse legislators <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/aug/01/climate-change-extreme-weather-congress" type="external">locked horns again yesterday</a> on climate change for the first time since then, but this time the argument amongst members of the <a href="http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&amp;Hearing_ID=c0293eca-802a-23ad-4706-02abdbf7f7c3" type="external">Senate Environment &amp; Public Works Committee</a> was back to climate kindergarten: Is it actually happening?</p>
<p>Fortunately, there were actually a few climate scientists on hand, including IPCC lead author Christopher Field and Harvard oceanographer James McCarthy, along with John Christy, an Alabama climatologist tapped by Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) to lead the denial side. Later, the panel heard from a trio of business and civic planning officials, who testified on the public health risks posed by climate change and on ways private enterprise can adapt (or not).</p>
<p /> | Highlight Reel: Senate Climate Change Smackdown | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2012/08/video-highlights-senate-hearing-climate-change/ | 2012-08-02 | 4left
| Highlight Reel: Senate Climate Change Smackdown
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<p />
<p />
<p>In summer 2009, Senators Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and James Inhofe (R-Okla.) <a href="http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/07/combative-start-to-senate-climate-hearings/" type="external">butted heads</a> in what was to be the last Senate hearing on climate change for three years. Then, the debate was over pending climate change legislation, with both sides firing off the usual arguments: obstructionism by the right and overspending by the left. The two powerhouse legislators <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/aug/01/climate-change-extreme-weather-congress" type="external">locked horns again yesterday</a> on climate change for the first time since then, but this time the argument amongst members of the <a href="http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&amp;Hearing_ID=c0293eca-802a-23ad-4706-02abdbf7f7c3" type="external">Senate Environment &amp; Public Works Committee</a> was back to climate kindergarten: Is it actually happening?</p>
<p>Fortunately, there were actually a few climate scientists on hand, including IPCC lead author Christopher Field and Harvard oceanographer James McCarthy, along with John Christy, an Alabama climatologist tapped by Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) to lead the denial side. Later, the panel heard from a trio of business and civic planning officials, who testified on the public health risks posed by climate change and on ways private enterprise can adapt (or not).</p>
<p /> | 2,939 |
<p>Awwww, poor Jim Webb. He's just so annoyed about the lack of time he got on the debates. So annoyed, in fact, that he fired off an email blast to the three subscribers on his list.</p>
<p>“That debate was, I’m going to be very frank, rigged in terms of who was going to get the time on the floor by the way that Anderson Cooper was selecting people to supposedly respond to something someone else said,” Webb explained. “I even turned around to Bernie Sanders at one point and said, ‘Bernie! Say my name, will you? Just say my name!'”</p>
<p>Aside from Cooper, Sanders and Clinton, Webb never called out any of the people in charge of the debate by name. There were no O’Malley-esque, passive-aggressive insults slung at Democratic National Convention Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, for example. Still, the ex-Virginia senator felt compelled to explain his apparent anger — despite being unable to <a href="http://www.mediaite.com/online/jim-webb-actually-killed-a-whole-lotta-guys/" type="external">kill anyone</a>.</p>
<p>“It’s very difficult to win a debate when you don’t have the opportunity to speak with the same amount of time on issues as the others did.”</p>
<p>Hang on, Jim! The Waaaahmbulance is right around the corner.</p> | I'm Guessing Jim Webb Isn't In For Adding More Debates | true | http://crooksandliars.com/2015/10/im-guessing-jim-webb-isnt-adding-more | 2015-10-16 | 4left
| I'm Guessing Jim Webb Isn't In For Adding More Debates
<p>Awwww, poor Jim Webb. He's just so annoyed about the lack of time he got on the debates. So annoyed, in fact, that he fired off an email blast to the three subscribers on his list.</p>
<p>“That debate was, I’m going to be very frank, rigged in terms of who was going to get the time on the floor by the way that Anderson Cooper was selecting people to supposedly respond to something someone else said,” Webb explained. “I even turned around to Bernie Sanders at one point and said, ‘Bernie! Say my name, will you? Just say my name!'”</p>
<p>Aside from Cooper, Sanders and Clinton, Webb never called out any of the people in charge of the debate by name. There were no O’Malley-esque, passive-aggressive insults slung at Democratic National Convention Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, for example. Still, the ex-Virginia senator felt compelled to explain his apparent anger — despite being unable to <a href="http://www.mediaite.com/online/jim-webb-actually-killed-a-whole-lotta-guys/" type="external">kill anyone</a>.</p>
<p>“It’s very difficult to win a debate when you don’t have the opportunity to speak with the same amount of time on issues as the others did.”</p>
<p>Hang on, Jim! The Waaaahmbulance is right around the corner.</p> | 2,940 |
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<p />
<p>Christopher Ortega of Albuquerque caught and released a 20½-inch, 5.2-pound, largemouth bass April 5 on the Albuquerque Drain. He was using a weighted gold and red Clouser minnow and fishing the area between Paseo and Montaño.</p>
<p>Kyle Deavers of Racine, Wis., caught and released a 20-inch rainbow trout Saturday on the Rio Mora. He was using pink shrimp Pautzke eggs and Mountain Wildfire Fire Bait. He also caught and released a 20-inch walleye April 2 on the Rio Grande. He was fishing the river below Elephant Butte and using a live chartreuse Fire Dye minnow.</p>
<p>George Romero of Clovis caught a 29-inch catfish April 7 at Bosque Redondo. He was using night crawlers.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>On the Rio Grande, Kris Flores of Las Cruces caught and released a 4-pound largemouth bass April 2. He was using a live blue Fire Dye minnow. … Joe Vallejos of Sandia Park caught and released a 4-pound largemouth bass April 2. He was using a live chartreuse Fire Dye minnow.</p>
<p>AROUND THE STATE</p>
<p>ISLETA LAKES: Fishing is slow, but anglers are still catching trout on salmon peach, green garlic, and chartreuse. Catfish are starting to become more active. We will begin our channel catfish season in preparation for Easter weekend. Our fishing hours are 6:30 a.m.-7 p.m., seven days a week.</p>
<p>Carlos Trujillo, Isleta Lakes &amp; RV Park</p>
<p>SANDIA LAKES: Fishing at Lakes 1 and 2 has been good for trout. Anglers are having the most success using garlic PowerBait, salmon peach PowerBait, and pistol petes. We will have our annual Easter Egg Hunt on Sunday at 1 p.m. We are on our summer hours, open 7 a.m.-7 p.m. every day.</p>
<p>Desiree Benavidez</p>
<p>NAMBE PUEBLO LAKE: The water is high, and fishing is fair. Fish are biting on PowerBait.</p>
<p>NOTES from GAME &amp; FISH: Trout fishing at TINGLEY BEACH’S Central and Youth ponds was very good using PowerBait, Gulp eggs, marshmallows, salmon eggs, homemade dough bait, Super Dupers, Kastmasters and Pistol Petes.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Chris Ortega reported catching and releasing several rainbow trout while fishing the ALBUQUERQUE DRAIN between Paseo and Montaño. He was using egg patterns trailed by green- and copper-colored nymphs.</p>
<p>Fishing at FENTON LAKE was good using worms, lime green PowerBait, woolly buggers, Super Dupers and Pistol Petes for trout.</p>
<p>At CHARETTE LAKES, fishing was very good using PowerBait for trout.</p>
<p>Trout fishing at LAKE MALOYA was good using green garlic PowerBait and black and olive woolly buggers.</p>
<p>At MONASTERY LAKE, fishing was good using Pistol Petes, San Juan worms, PowerBait and salmon eggs for trout.</p>
<p>Streamflow on the PECOS RIVER near Pecos on Monday was 146 cfs. Fishing was fair to good using San Juan worms, copper John Barrs, salmon eggs, Blue Fire Brine shrimp, corn, Garlic Salmon Egg Fire Bait and worms for trout.</p>
<p>Bank fishing at EAGLE NEST LAKE was good using salmon eggs and PowerBait for rainbow trout.</p>
<p>Streamflow on the CIMARRON RIVER below Eagle Nest Lake on Monday was .20 cfs. Trout fishing was good using red San Juan worms, green copper John Barrs, worms and drifted salmon eggs. Trout fishing at the Gravel Pit Lakes was very good for anglers using salmon peach and garlic PowerBait, worms and gold and black Panther Martins.</p>
<p>At STORRIE LAKE, fishing was fair to good using PowerBait and salmon eggs for trout.</p>
<p>As of Monday, streamflow on the RIO MORA near Terrero was 39 cfs. Fishing was very good using worms, Fire Bait, PowerBait and salmon eggs for trout.</p>
<p>Streamflow on the RIO GRANDE on Monday at the Taos Junction Bridge was 715 cfs. Fishing in the Taos area was good using caddis dries and nymphs and poundmeisters for trout.</p>
<p>Fishing at EAGLE ROCK LAKE was very good using Pink Shrimp and Silver Label salmon eggs, Fire Bait and PowerBait for rainbow trout.</p>
<p>Streamflow on the SAN JUAN RIVER from Navajo Reservoir on Monday was 479 cfs. Trout fishing through the quality waters was fair to good using red larva, OJs, red annelids, bead-head pheasant tail nymphs and olive and brown woolly buggers. Fishing through the bait waters was good using night crawlers, PowerBait, woolly buggers, copper John Barrs, jerk baits and Kastmasters.</p>
<p>At ELEPHANT BUTTE LAKE, fishing was slow to fair using jigs, tubes, senkos, grubs, swim baits, crank baits and jerk baits for largemouth bass and smallmouth bass. Fishing was good using cut bait, prepared baits and liver for catfish.</p>
<p>Streamflow on the RIO GRANDE below Elephant Butte on Monday morning was 1,300 cfs. Fishing was fair to good using grubs, spoons and live Fire Dye minnows for largemouth bass and walleye.</p>
<p>Fishing at GRINDSTONE RESERVOIR was very good using worms, salmon eggs, garlic PowerBait and spoons for trout.</p>
<p>At GLENWOOD POND, fishing was good using PowerBait and salmon eggs for trout.</p>
<p>Fishing at EL RITO CREEK was very good using PowerBait, salmon eggs, worms, small spoons and Pistol Petes for trout.</p>
<p /> | Fishing Line | false | https://abqjournal.com/987241/fishing-line-261.html | 2least
| Fishing Line
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<p />
<p>Christopher Ortega of Albuquerque caught and released a 20½-inch, 5.2-pound, largemouth bass April 5 on the Albuquerque Drain. He was using a weighted gold and red Clouser minnow and fishing the area between Paseo and Montaño.</p>
<p>Kyle Deavers of Racine, Wis., caught and released a 20-inch rainbow trout Saturday on the Rio Mora. He was using pink shrimp Pautzke eggs and Mountain Wildfire Fire Bait. He also caught and released a 20-inch walleye April 2 on the Rio Grande. He was fishing the river below Elephant Butte and using a live chartreuse Fire Dye minnow.</p>
<p>George Romero of Clovis caught a 29-inch catfish April 7 at Bosque Redondo. He was using night crawlers.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>On the Rio Grande, Kris Flores of Las Cruces caught and released a 4-pound largemouth bass April 2. He was using a live blue Fire Dye minnow. … Joe Vallejos of Sandia Park caught and released a 4-pound largemouth bass April 2. He was using a live chartreuse Fire Dye minnow.</p>
<p>AROUND THE STATE</p>
<p>ISLETA LAKES: Fishing is slow, but anglers are still catching trout on salmon peach, green garlic, and chartreuse. Catfish are starting to become more active. We will begin our channel catfish season in preparation for Easter weekend. Our fishing hours are 6:30 a.m.-7 p.m., seven days a week.</p>
<p>Carlos Trujillo, Isleta Lakes &amp; RV Park</p>
<p>SANDIA LAKES: Fishing at Lakes 1 and 2 has been good for trout. Anglers are having the most success using garlic PowerBait, salmon peach PowerBait, and pistol petes. We will have our annual Easter Egg Hunt on Sunday at 1 p.m. We are on our summer hours, open 7 a.m.-7 p.m. every day.</p>
<p>Desiree Benavidez</p>
<p>NAMBE PUEBLO LAKE: The water is high, and fishing is fair. Fish are biting on PowerBait.</p>
<p>NOTES from GAME &amp; FISH: Trout fishing at TINGLEY BEACH’S Central and Youth ponds was very good using PowerBait, Gulp eggs, marshmallows, salmon eggs, homemade dough bait, Super Dupers, Kastmasters and Pistol Petes.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Chris Ortega reported catching and releasing several rainbow trout while fishing the ALBUQUERQUE DRAIN between Paseo and Montaño. He was using egg patterns trailed by green- and copper-colored nymphs.</p>
<p>Fishing at FENTON LAKE was good using worms, lime green PowerBait, woolly buggers, Super Dupers and Pistol Petes for trout.</p>
<p>At CHARETTE LAKES, fishing was very good using PowerBait for trout.</p>
<p>Trout fishing at LAKE MALOYA was good using green garlic PowerBait and black and olive woolly buggers.</p>
<p>At MONASTERY LAKE, fishing was good using Pistol Petes, San Juan worms, PowerBait and salmon eggs for trout.</p>
<p>Streamflow on the PECOS RIVER near Pecos on Monday was 146 cfs. Fishing was fair to good using San Juan worms, copper John Barrs, salmon eggs, Blue Fire Brine shrimp, corn, Garlic Salmon Egg Fire Bait and worms for trout.</p>
<p>Bank fishing at EAGLE NEST LAKE was good using salmon eggs and PowerBait for rainbow trout.</p>
<p>Streamflow on the CIMARRON RIVER below Eagle Nest Lake on Monday was .20 cfs. Trout fishing was good using red San Juan worms, green copper John Barrs, worms and drifted salmon eggs. Trout fishing at the Gravel Pit Lakes was very good for anglers using salmon peach and garlic PowerBait, worms and gold and black Panther Martins.</p>
<p>At STORRIE LAKE, fishing was fair to good using PowerBait and salmon eggs for trout.</p>
<p>As of Monday, streamflow on the RIO MORA near Terrero was 39 cfs. Fishing was very good using worms, Fire Bait, PowerBait and salmon eggs for trout.</p>
<p>Streamflow on the RIO GRANDE on Monday at the Taos Junction Bridge was 715 cfs. Fishing in the Taos area was good using caddis dries and nymphs and poundmeisters for trout.</p>
<p>Fishing at EAGLE ROCK LAKE was very good using Pink Shrimp and Silver Label salmon eggs, Fire Bait and PowerBait for rainbow trout.</p>
<p>Streamflow on the SAN JUAN RIVER from Navajo Reservoir on Monday was 479 cfs. Trout fishing through the quality waters was fair to good using red larva, OJs, red annelids, bead-head pheasant tail nymphs and olive and brown woolly buggers. Fishing through the bait waters was good using night crawlers, PowerBait, woolly buggers, copper John Barrs, jerk baits and Kastmasters.</p>
<p>At ELEPHANT BUTTE LAKE, fishing was slow to fair using jigs, tubes, senkos, grubs, swim baits, crank baits and jerk baits for largemouth bass and smallmouth bass. Fishing was good using cut bait, prepared baits and liver for catfish.</p>
<p>Streamflow on the RIO GRANDE below Elephant Butte on Monday morning was 1,300 cfs. Fishing was fair to good using grubs, spoons and live Fire Dye minnows for largemouth bass and walleye.</p>
<p>Fishing at GRINDSTONE RESERVOIR was very good using worms, salmon eggs, garlic PowerBait and spoons for trout.</p>
<p>At GLENWOOD POND, fishing was good using PowerBait and salmon eggs for trout.</p>
<p>Fishing at EL RITO CREEK was very good using PowerBait, salmon eggs, worms, small spoons and Pistol Petes for trout.</p>
<p /> | 2,941 |
|
<p>PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - A legislative panel has approved a bill that would require companies to inform South Dakota residents whose personal information was taken in a data breach.</p>
<p>The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 7-0 Tuesday to advance Attorney General Marty Jackley's bill.</p>
<p>It would require residents be notified within 60 days of a breach's discovery unless the company and attorney general determine it likely wouldn't harm the affected people.</p>
<p>The plan would also require companies to inform the attorney general if a breach affected over 250 residents.</p>
<p>Companies regulated by federal law that have procedures for a security breach that follow the rules of their primary regulator would be deemed in compliance with the proposed law.</p>
<p>Jackley has said the state needs a fair reporting law that requires consumers to be notified about the loss of their information.</p>
<p>PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - A legislative panel has approved a bill that would require companies to inform South Dakota residents whose personal information was taken in a data breach.</p>
<p>The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 7-0 Tuesday to advance Attorney General Marty Jackley's bill.</p>
<p>It would require residents be notified within 60 days of a breach's discovery unless the company and attorney general determine it likely wouldn't harm the affected people.</p>
<p>The plan would also require companies to inform the attorney general if a breach affected over 250 residents.</p>
<p>Companies regulated by federal law that have procedures for a security breach that follow the rules of their primary regulator would be deemed in compliance with the proposed law.</p>
<p>Jackley has said the state needs a fair reporting law that requires consumers to be notified about the loss of their information.</p> | South Dakota Senate panel approves data breach legislation | false | https://apnews.com/388826eb94f6463a935575bb4f6dbf59 | 2018-01-23 | 2least
| South Dakota Senate panel approves data breach legislation
<p>PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - A legislative panel has approved a bill that would require companies to inform South Dakota residents whose personal information was taken in a data breach.</p>
<p>The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 7-0 Tuesday to advance Attorney General Marty Jackley's bill.</p>
<p>It would require residents be notified within 60 days of a breach's discovery unless the company and attorney general determine it likely wouldn't harm the affected people.</p>
<p>The plan would also require companies to inform the attorney general if a breach affected over 250 residents.</p>
<p>Companies regulated by federal law that have procedures for a security breach that follow the rules of their primary regulator would be deemed in compliance with the proposed law.</p>
<p>Jackley has said the state needs a fair reporting law that requires consumers to be notified about the loss of their information.</p>
<p>PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - A legislative panel has approved a bill that would require companies to inform South Dakota residents whose personal information was taken in a data breach.</p>
<p>The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 7-0 Tuesday to advance Attorney General Marty Jackley's bill.</p>
<p>It would require residents be notified within 60 days of a breach's discovery unless the company and attorney general determine it likely wouldn't harm the affected people.</p>
<p>The plan would also require companies to inform the attorney general if a breach affected over 250 residents.</p>
<p>Companies regulated by federal law that have procedures for a security breach that follow the rules of their primary regulator would be deemed in compliance with the proposed law.</p>
<p>Jackley has said the state needs a fair reporting law that requires consumers to be notified about the loss of their information.</p> | 2,942 |
<p />
<p>The path leading to commercial eugenics will be paved with good inventions. Contemporary gene research focuses on admirable quests to cure diseases and defects, but how these advances will be applied may alter both our DNA and our definition of defect. For instance, in the ’80s, both Genentech and Eli Lilly received patents for a genetically engineered growth hormone intended to treat the more than 50,000 people with dwarfism in the U.S. Today, the hormone is one of the most frequently prescribed gene therapies available, and both firms have mounted an aggressive PR campaign to redefine normal shortness as an “illness.” Disease, it seems, is in the eye of the patent holder.</p>
<p>Cultural biases have often led to differences being labeled “defects,” and while we’ve come a long way since southpaws were burned at the stake, we want medicine to make us more than healthy; we want it to make us perfect. And when cosmetic medicine meets genetic manipulation, the results—for those who can afford them—could be far from superficial.</p>
<p>Color Me Nordic She’ll be blond. Blond is the most popular hair dye in the U.S.; even kids show the same preferences: The flaxen-haired original Barbie outsells racially and ethnically diverse dolls. Eye color will suggest an equally chilly heritage (blue is the No. 1 colored contact lens color). She won’t need prescription contacts, and save for the occasional fashion accoutrement, specs won’t be necessary.</p>
<p>Structurally Sound Her facial structure will probably conform to what anthropologists say the standard of beauty is for women in most cultures: large prominent eyes, wide cheekbones, big lips, and a tapered jawline. The male ideal, on the other hand, requires a square jaw and chin, and a powerful brow (think Superman).</p>
<p>On the Button She’ll have a pert nose. Social critic Camille Paglia recently wrote that she hoped “the wonderful, strong, sharp nose of ‘The X-Files’ star Gillian Anderson will become a new plastic-surgery model for American girls, with their tedious Sandra Dee button-nose fetish.” Fat chance. Short and perky is still the choice among the 46,000 American women who had their noses bobbed in 1996.</p>
<p />
<p>All Men Are Created Equilateral Her features will be balanced. The off-kilter angularity of supermodel Christy Turlington aside, research shows that those we find attractive have strong facial symmetry. True, parents-to-be are unlikely to be won over by the research that suggests that even-featured people have more sex partners. But expectant couples hardly need a doctor to tell them that attractive (i.e., symmetrical) people are more likely to earn more money and be better liked.</p>
<p>The Last Days of the Wonderbra She’ll be well-endowed. With nearly 122,000 women a year getting breast implants, the market for an “all natural” bust can only grow. The Cambridge, Mass.-based company Reprogenesis plans to create whole breasts out of a woman’s own breast cells. Ostensibly, this will benefit women who undergo mastectomies (103,000 a year), but CEO James McNab told the Dallas Morning News he was hoping for a market closer to 250,000 a year.</p>
<p>The Other Hand She may be ambidextrous. Some theorize that left-handed people have readier access to the creative side of their brain (note the artistry of such lefties as Presidents Reagan, Bush, and Clinton, as well as Leonardo da Vinci and Jim Carrey). But they’ve also been labeled “defective,” and they’ve been regularly punished by makers of school desks, airline seats, and scissors. Given the choice, will parents give their children an easy right or a hard left?</p>
<p>It’s as Easy as ABC She’ll be smart. In 1996, Americans spent $40 billion on supplemental “consumer education,” proving that parents are already willing to shell out plenty in order to upgrade their own and their children’s aptitude. Who can doubt that they will seize the opportunity to enhance intelligence in utero?</p>
<p>The Belle Curve She’ll be shapely. Gene cosmetologists may have to tailor their female-fashioning slightly for different markets, but an hourglass figure is universally admired. Based on studies of males from Africa, the Azores, Hong Kong, India, the Netherlands, and the U.S., psychologist Devendra Singh found that while the women men considered attractive might vary in size from Anna Nicole Smith to Twiggy, all had waists considerably narrower than their hips.</p>
<p>Legs Up to Here She’ll have slender thighs. Only a plastic surgery lobby could bemoan the genetic elimination of most women’s “problem area.” Liposuction is the most widely performed cosmetic surgery procedure, with 149,000 people sucked and tucked in 1997.</p>
<p>Pretty Is as Pretty Does She’ll be nice. Some research indicates that the genetic trait that makes people more impulsive might also make them more prone to commit violent crimes. Expectant parents might alter an embryo’s DNA in order to steer their kid straight. Staying straight is another story: Few dispute that homosexuality is at least partly inherited, but the tangle of factors that determine sexual orientation has most experts admitting that no single gene turns gayness “on.”</p>
<p /> | Next Year’s Model | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/1998/05/next-years-model/ | 2018-05-01 | 4left
| Next Year’s Model
<p />
<p>The path leading to commercial eugenics will be paved with good inventions. Contemporary gene research focuses on admirable quests to cure diseases and defects, but how these advances will be applied may alter both our DNA and our definition of defect. For instance, in the ’80s, both Genentech and Eli Lilly received patents for a genetically engineered growth hormone intended to treat the more than 50,000 people with dwarfism in the U.S. Today, the hormone is one of the most frequently prescribed gene therapies available, and both firms have mounted an aggressive PR campaign to redefine normal shortness as an “illness.” Disease, it seems, is in the eye of the patent holder.</p>
<p>Cultural biases have often led to differences being labeled “defects,” and while we’ve come a long way since southpaws were burned at the stake, we want medicine to make us more than healthy; we want it to make us perfect. And when cosmetic medicine meets genetic manipulation, the results—for those who can afford them—could be far from superficial.</p>
<p>Color Me Nordic She’ll be blond. Blond is the most popular hair dye in the U.S.; even kids show the same preferences: The flaxen-haired original Barbie outsells racially and ethnically diverse dolls. Eye color will suggest an equally chilly heritage (blue is the No. 1 colored contact lens color). She won’t need prescription contacts, and save for the occasional fashion accoutrement, specs won’t be necessary.</p>
<p>Structurally Sound Her facial structure will probably conform to what anthropologists say the standard of beauty is for women in most cultures: large prominent eyes, wide cheekbones, big lips, and a tapered jawline. The male ideal, on the other hand, requires a square jaw and chin, and a powerful brow (think Superman).</p>
<p>On the Button She’ll have a pert nose. Social critic Camille Paglia recently wrote that she hoped “the wonderful, strong, sharp nose of ‘The X-Files’ star Gillian Anderson will become a new plastic-surgery model for American girls, with their tedious Sandra Dee button-nose fetish.” Fat chance. Short and perky is still the choice among the 46,000 American women who had their noses bobbed in 1996.</p>
<p />
<p>All Men Are Created Equilateral Her features will be balanced. The off-kilter angularity of supermodel Christy Turlington aside, research shows that those we find attractive have strong facial symmetry. True, parents-to-be are unlikely to be won over by the research that suggests that even-featured people have more sex partners. But expectant couples hardly need a doctor to tell them that attractive (i.e., symmetrical) people are more likely to earn more money and be better liked.</p>
<p>The Last Days of the Wonderbra She’ll be well-endowed. With nearly 122,000 women a year getting breast implants, the market for an “all natural” bust can only grow. The Cambridge, Mass.-based company Reprogenesis plans to create whole breasts out of a woman’s own breast cells. Ostensibly, this will benefit women who undergo mastectomies (103,000 a year), but CEO James McNab told the Dallas Morning News he was hoping for a market closer to 250,000 a year.</p>
<p>The Other Hand She may be ambidextrous. Some theorize that left-handed people have readier access to the creative side of their brain (note the artistry of such lefties as Presidents Reagan, Bush, and Clinton, as well as Leonardo da Vinci and Jim Carrey). But they’ve also been labeled “defective,” and they’ve been regularly punished by makers of school desks, airline seats, and scissors. Given the choice, will parents give their children an easy right or a hard left?</p>
<p>It’s as Easy as ABC She’ll be smart. In 1996, Americans spent $40 billion on supplemental “consumer education,” proving that parents are already willing to shell out plenty in order to upgrade their own and their children’s aptitude. Who can doubt that they will seize the opportunity to enhance intelligence in utero?</p>
<p>The Belle Curve She’ll be shapely. Gene cosmetologists may have to tailor their female-fashioning slightly for different markets, but an hourglass figure is universally admired. Based on studies of males from Africa, the Azores, Hong Kong, India, the Netherlands, and the U.S., psychologist Devendra Singh found that while the women men considered attractive might vary in size from Anna Nicole Smith to Twiggy, all had waists considerably narrower than their hips.</p>
<p>Legs Up to Here She’ll have slender thighs. Only a plastic surgery lobby could bemoan the genetic elimination of most women’s “problem area.” Liposuction is the most widely performed cosmetic surgery procedure, with 149,000 people sucked and tucked in 1997.</p>
<p>Pretty Is as Pretty Does She’ll be nice. Some research indicates that the genetic trait that makes people more impulsive might also make them more prone to commit violent crimes. Expectant parents might alter an embryo’s DNA in order to steer their kid straight. Staying straight is another story: Few dispute that homosexuality is at least partly inherited, but the tangle of factors that determine sexual orientation has most experts admitting that no single gene turns gayness “on.”</p>
<p /> | 2,943 |
<p>U.S. stocks finished slightly higher Thursday, led by technology companies and drugmakers. After a big move the day before, that was enough to take stocks back to record highs.</p>
<p>On Thursday:</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The Standard &amp; Poor's 500 index gained 3.02 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,510.06.</p>
<p>The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 40.49 points, or 0.2 percent, to 22,381.20.</p>
<p>The Nasdaq composite edged up 0.19 points to 6,453.45.</p>
<p>The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company added 3.97 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,488.79.</p>
<p>For the week:</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The S&amp;P 500 is up 7.84 points, or 0.3 percent.</p>
<p>The Dow is up 31.61 points, or 0.1 percent.</p>
<p>The Nasdaq is up 26.53 points, or 0.4 percent.</p>
<p>The Russell 2000 is up 38.01 points, or 2.6 percent.</p>
<p>For the year:</p>
<p>The S&amp;P 500 is up 271.23 points, or 12.1 percent.</p>
<p>The Dow is up 2,618.60 points, or 13.3 percent.</p>
<p>The Nasdaq is up 1,070.33 points, or 19.9 percent.</p>
<p>The Russell 2000 is up 131.66 points, or 9.7 percent.</p> | How major US stock market indexes fared Thursday | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/09/07/how-major-us-stock-market-indexes-fared-thursday.html | 2017-09-28 | 0right
| How major US stock market indexes fared Thursday
<p>U.S. stocks finished slightly higher Thursday, led by technology companies and drugmakers. After a big move the day before, that was enough to take stocks back to record highs.</p>
<p>On Thursday:</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The Standard &amp; Poor's 500 index gained 3.02 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,510.06.</p>
<p>The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 40.49 points, or 0.2 percent, to 22,381.20.</p>
<p>The Nasdaq composite edged up 0.19 points to 6,453.45.</p>
<p>The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company added 3.97 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,488.79.</p>
<p>For the week:</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The S&amp;P 500 is up 7.84 points, or 0.3 percent.</p>
<p>The Dow is up 31.61 points, or 0.1 percent.</p>
<p>The Nasdaq is up 26.53 points, or 0.4 percent.</p>
<p>The Russell 2000 is up 38.01 points, or 2.6 percent.</p>
<p>For the year:</p>
<p>The S&amp;P 500 is up 271.23 points, or 12.1 percent.</p>
<p>The Dow is up 2,618.60 points, or 13.3 percent.</p>
<p>The Nasdaq is up 1,070.33 points, or 19.9 percent.</p>
<p>The Russell 2000 is up 131.66 points, or 9.7 percent.</p> | 2,944 |
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<p>Santa Fe National Forest has released a list of open and closed recreation areas including campgrounds. Here’s the press release listing what’s open and what’s closed: &#160;</p>
<p>The Santa Fe National Forest has begun its process of reopening developed recreational facilities that were closed during the government shutdown.&#160; We expect to reopen developed sites by the weekend after employees have had the chance to evaluate the cleanliness and safety of each individual facility and open locked gates and restrooms.&#160; During the fall we normally winterize and close some developed recreation sites, therefore some places will remain closed for the season.&#160; Other areas are still closed due to impacts from flooding.</p>
<p>The following recreation sites will be open by the weekend:</p>
<p>Española Ranger District</p>
<p>Big Tesuque Campground</p>
<p>Aspen Basin Campground</p>
<p>Restrooms at the day use areas along Hyde Park road are open</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Jemez Ranger District</p>
<p>Jemez Falls Campground (Loop 3)</p>
<p>Vista Linda Campground</p>
<p>Battleship Rock Picnic Area (Lower area)</p>
<p>Spanish Queen Picnic Area</p>
<p>Battleship Rock Trailhead</p>
<p>East Fork Trailhead</p>
<p>Jemez Falls Trailhead</p>
<p>Las Conchas Trailhead</p>
<p>Upper Jemez/San Antonio River(s) fishing accesses (Rincon, Dark Canyon)</p>
<p>San Diego Overlook</p>
<p>Spence Hot Springs</p>
<p>Walatowa Visitor’s Center</p>
<p>Pecos/Las Vegas Ranger District</p>
<p>In Pecos Canyon:</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>East Side (Gallinas):</p>
<p>El Porvenir Campground</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>The following areas are closed for the season:</p>
<p>Coyote Ranger District</p>
<p>Rio Chama Campground</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Cuba Ranger District</p>
<p>Las Vacas Campground</p>
<p>Clear Creek Campground</p>
<p>Restrooms at the San Gregorio Trailhead</p>
<p>Española Ranger District</p>
<p>Black Canyon Campground</p>
<p>Jemez Ranger District</p>
<p>Jemez Falls Campground (Loops 1,2 &amp; 4)</p>
<p>Paliza Family Campground</p>
<p>Paliza Group Campground</p>
<p>Redondo Campground</p>
<p>San Antonio Campground</p>
<p>Battleship Rock Picnic Area (Upper area)</p>
<p>Jemez Falls Group Picnic Area</p>
<p>La Cueva Picnic Area</p>
<p>Las Conchas Picnic Area/Fishing Access</p>
<p>Seven Springs Picnic Area</p>
<p>Lower Jemez River Fishing Accesses (La Junta, Las Casita, San Diego, River’s Bend, Bluffs)</p>
<p>Pecos Ranger District</p>
<p>Field Tract Campground (due to construction)</p>
<p>Other closures due to flooding impacts:</p>
<p>Española Ranger District</p>
<p>Caja del Rio area:&#160; Although the area has dried up, road repairs needs to be done before it can be reopened.&#160; The public can access the restricted area on foot, mountain bike and on horseback.&#160; Motor vehicles are not allowed:</p>
<p>·&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; on Forest Road 24 or any Forest Service secondary roads in the restricted area;</p>
<p>·&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; off National Forest System roads in the restricted area; or</p>
<p>·&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; on trails in the restricted area.</p>
<p>Jemez Ranger District</p>
<p>Forest Road 266 is drivable but the road is not passable at Hondo Canyon.</p>
<p>Forest Road 289 is drivable but is not passable at the lower end of Cochiti and cannot be used as a thru road.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Pecos Ranger District</p>
<p>In Pecos Canyon:&#160; Forest Road 122/Holy Ghost Campground</p>
<p>East Side (Gallinas): &#160;EV Long Campground; Forest Road 263/Gallinas Canyon Rd.</p>
<p>We have resumed sales of fuelwood permits which are available during the week at the Supervisor’s Office in Santa Fe as well as our ranger stations in Coyote, Cuba, Jemez, Española, Pecos and Las Vegas.&#160; Fuelwood permits are also available at the Walatowa Visitor Center on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.</p>
<p>Thank you for your patience as we complete the process of reopening our facilities.&#160; We are happy you can now fully enjoy everything the Santa Fe National Forest has to offer and hopefully get outdoors to see the beautiful fall colors.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Forest Service reopens campgrounds, picnic areas in New Mexico’s Santa Fe Forest | false | https://abqjournal.com/283993/forest-service-reopens-campgrounds-picnic-areas-in-new-mexicos-santa-fe-forest.html | 2least
| Forest Service reopens campgrounds, picnic areas in New Mexico’s Santa Fe Forest
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>Santa Fe National Forest has released a list of open and closed recreation areas including campgrounds. Here’s the press release listing what’s open and what’s closed: &#160;</p>
<p>The Santa Fe National Forest has begun its process of reopening developed recreational facilities that were closed during the government shutdown.&#160; We expect to reopen developed sites by the weekend after employees have had the chance to evaluate the cleanliness and safety of each individual facility and open locked gates and restrooms.&#160; During the fall we normally winterize and close some developed recreation sites, therefore some places will remain closed for the season.&#160; Other areas are still closed due to impacts from flooding.</p>
<p>The following recreation sites will be open by the weekend:</p>
<p>Española Ranger District</p>
<p>Big Tesuque Campground</p>
<p>Aspen Basin Campground</p>
<p>Restrooms at the day use areas along Hyde Park road are open</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Jemez Ranger District</p>
<p>Jemez Falls Campground (Loop 3)</p>
<p>Vista Linda Campground</p>
<p>Battleship Rock Picnic Area (Lower area)</p>
<p>Spanish Queen Picnic Area</p>
<p>Battleship Rock Trailhead</p>
<p>East Fork Trailhead</p>
<p>Jemez Falls Trailhead</p>
<p>Las Conchas Trailhead</p>
<p>Upper Jemez/San Antonio River(s) fishing accesses (Rincon, Dark Canyon)</p>
<p>San Diego Overlook</p>
<p>Spence Hot Springs</p>
<p>Walatowa Visitor’s Center</p>
<p>Pecos/Las Vegas Ranger District</p>
<p>In Pecos Canyon:</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>East Side (Gallinas):</p>
<p>El Porvenir Campground</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>The following areas are closed for the season:</p>
<p>Coyote Ranger District</p>
<p>Rio Chama Campground</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Cuba Ranger District</p>
<p>Las Vacas Campground</p>
<p>Clear Creek Campground</p>
<p>Restrooms at the San Gregorio Trailhead</p>
<p>Española Ranger District</p>
<p>Black Canyon Campground</p>
<p>Jemez Ranger District</p>
<p>Jemez Falls Campground (Loops 1,2 &amp; 4)</p>
<p>Paliza Family Campground</p>
<p>Paliza Group Campground</p>
<p>Redondo Campground</p>
<p>San Antonio Campground</p>
<p>Battleship Rock Picnic Area (Upper area)</p>
<p>Jemez Falls Group Picnic Area</p>
<p>La Cueva Picnic Area</p>
<p>Las Conchas Picnic Area/Fishing Access</p>
<p>Seven Springs Picnic Area</p>
<p>Lower Jemez River Fishing Accesses (La Junta, Las Casita, San Diego, River’s Bend, Bluffs)</p>
<p>Pecos Ranger District</p>
<p>Field Tract Campground (due to construction)</p>
<p>Other closures due to flooding impacts:</p>
<p>Española Ranger District</p>
<p>Caja del Rio area:&#160; Although the area has dried up, road repairs needs to be done before it can be reopened.&#160; The public can access the restricted area on foot, mountain bike and on horseback.&#160; Motor vehicles are not allowed:</p>
<p>·&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; on Forest Road 24 or any Forest Service secondary roads in the restricted area;</p>
<p>·&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; off National Forest System roads in the restricted area; or</p>
<p>·&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; on trails in the restricted area.</p>
<p>Jemez Ranger District</p>
<p>Forest Road 266 is drivable but the road is not passable at Hondo Canyon.</p>
<p>Forest Road 289 is drivable but is not passable at the lower end of Cochiti and cannot be used as a thru road.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Pecos Ranger District</p>
<p>In Pecos Canyon:&#160; Forest Road 122/Holy Ghost Campground</p>
<p>East Side (Gallinas): &#160;EV Long Campground; Forest Road 263/Gallinas Canyon Rd.</p>
<p>We have resumed sales of fuelwood permits which are available during the week at the Supervisor’s Office in Santa Fe as well as our ranger stations in Coyote, Cuba, Jemez, Española, Pecos and Las Vegas.&#160; Fuelwood permits are also available at the Walatowa Visitor Center on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.</p>
<p>Thank you for your patience as we complete the process of reopening our facilities.&#160; We are happy you can now fully enjoy everything the Santa Fe National Forest has to offer and hopefully get outdoors to see the beautiful fall colors.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 2,945 |
|
<p>It’s not just San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and Police Chief Greg Suhr facing sharp criticism. Now another top city official is under fire: Fire&#160;Chief Joanne Hayes-White, who is accused of being unresponsive to public concerns, indifferent to complaints from the rank-and-file and borderline incompetent in improving long-standing problems within the San Francisco Fire Department.</p>
<p>Hayes-White’s defenders depict the criticism as being ginned up by the fire union to gain advantage in ongoing debates about pay, staffing and hiring. But KQED’s reporting suggests that there is <a href="http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2016/04/14/s-f-firefighter-leaders-say-morale-is-a-problem-and-the-chief-should-go" type="external">more in play</a> than just political jousting.</p>
<p>Over the last 16 months the department has come under criticism for doing a <a href="http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/02/13/source-exits-blocked-in-fatal-mission-district-fire" type="external">weak job of documenting fire safety violations</a> in the city’s older apartment buildings after a series of deadly fires. It has also come under scrutiny for moving too slowly to reduce a <a href="http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/06/23/san-francisco-fire-department-faces-four-year-investigation-backlog" type="external">backlog of hundreds of fire investigations</a> going back several years.</p>
<p>Hayes-White, who was appointed fire chief in 2004 and by some <a href="http://www.firerescue1.com/fire-news/105096-meet-the-chief-joanne-hayes-white-san-francisco-fire-department/" type="external">accounts</a>is the longest-serving fire chief of a large city in the U.S., can’t say she inherited her department’s problems. A San Francisco native, she joined the department in 1990 after graduating from the University of Santa Clara and quickly moved up the ranks, being promoted to lieutenant in 1993, captain in 1996 and then acting battalion chief that same year.</p>
<p>During her 26 years with SFPD, the quality of department management has been increasingly questioned.</p>
<p>Last June, <a href="http://civilgrandjury.sfgov.org/2014_2015/14-15_CGJ_Report_SFFD_What_Does_the_Future_Hold_%207_16_15v2.pdf" type="external">a civil grand jury report</a> found, among other things, the Fire Department’s emergency medical response times fail to meet state standards, in part because of “a chronic lack of serviceable ambulances.” The grand jury also found that half the department’s ambulance fleet exceeded its expected service life of 10 years and that the agency lacks a strategic plan for replacing ambulances and other emergency equipment. …</p>
<p>One high-profile example of the equipment problems: the failure of the department’s “jaws of life” devices after last November’s <a href="http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/11/13/injuries-reported-in-toursit-bus-crash-near-s-f-s-union-square" type="external">tour bus crash in Union Square</a>.</p>
<p>The complex tools, used to cut open vehicles in which victims are trapped, <a href="http://www.ktvu.com/news/53963934-story" type="external">were unable</a> to cut through the high-grade steel of vehicles involved in the accident.</p>
<p>That’s also from KQED.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Mayor Lee appears to be the ultimate <a href="" type="internal">target</a>of an influence-peddling corruption investigation by&#160;San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon that is apparently piggybacking on information from the far-reaching FBI probe that led to the corruption convictions of former state Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, and legendary Chinatown gang figure Raymond “Shrimp Boy” Chow, among others. In January, Gascon arrested two former employees of the city’s Human Rights Commission and alleged they had tried to sell access to Lee to an undercover agent.</p>
<p>Police Chief Suhr faces multiple problems. On Feb. 1, the Justice Department launched a <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-sanfrancisco-police-investigation-idUSKCN0VA1EI" type="external">probe</a>into his department after complaints from the ACLU and African-American groups over police violence. In December, cellphone videos caught officers shooting to death Mario Woods, a 26-year-old crime suspect, as he walked away from them toward an open area. The contention that Woods was an immediate threat to public safety has drawn broad ridicule.</p>
<p>Suhr has faced criticism from both sides: from officers who say he doesn’t stick up for them in an era in which police feel under siege and from activists who say he has condoned bad behavior for years.</p>
<p>Suhr is also caught in the middle in a scandal that began a year ago over text messages showing officers using racist and racially charged language. Activists wants the 14 officers involved to be fired. Suhr’s most prominent response has been to ask his officers to make a <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2016/0130/San-Francisco-police-take-anti-racism-vow.-Will-it-work-video" type="external">seven-point pledge</a> not to be racist and intolerant.</p>
<p>But a fresh round of racist texts from another group of officers emerged late last month, prompting national <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/01/us/more-racist-and-homophobic-texts-by-san-francisco-police-are-found.html" type="external">coverage</a>of the disarray within Suhr’s department. Gascon, the DA, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/01/us/more-racist-and-homophobic-texts-by-san-francisco-police-are-found.html?_r=0" type="external">told</a>The New York Times that he had profound questions about the SFPD’s internal culture, given that “officers involved in the new case were sending offensive texts even as the city investigated 14 of their colleagues last year for sending and receiving similar messages.”</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Another top San Francisco official under fire | false | https://calwatchdog.com/2016/04/18/another-top-san-francisco-official-fire/ | 2018-04-20 | 3left-center
| Another top San Francisco official under fire
<p>It’s not just San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and Police Chief Greg Suhr facing sharp criticism. Now another top city official is under fire: Fire&#160;Chief Joanne Hayes-White, who is accused of being unresponsive to public concerns, indifferent to complaints from the rank-and-file and borderline incompetent in improving long-standing problems within the San Francisco Fire Department.</p>
<p>Hayes-White’s defenders depict the criticism as being ginned up by the fire union to gain advantage in ongoing debates about pay, staffing and hiring. But KQED’s reporting suggests that there is <a href="http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2016/04/14/s-f-firefighter-leaders-say-morale-is-a-problem-and-the-chief-should-go" type="external">more in play</a> than just political jousting.</p>
<p>Over the last 16 months the department has come under criticism for doing a <a href="http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/02/13/source-exits-blocked-in-fatal-mission-district-fire" type="external">weak job of documenting fire safety violations</a> in the city’s older apartment buildings after a series of deadly fires. It has also come under scrutiny for moving too slowly to reduce a <a href="http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/06/23/san-francisco-fire-department-faces-four-year-investigation-backlog" type="external">backlog of hundreds of fire investigations</a> going back several years.</p>
<p>Hayes-White, who was appointed fire chief in 2004 and by some <a href="http://www.firerescue1.com/fire-news/105096-meet-the-chief-joanne-hayes-white-san-francisco-fire-department/" type="external">accounts</a>is the longest-serving fire chief of a large city in the U.S., can’t say she inherited her department’s problems. A San Francisco native, she joined the department in 1990 after graduating from the University of Santa Clara and quickly moved up the ranks, being promoted to lieutenant in 1993, captain in 1996 and then acting battalion chief that same year.</p>
<p>During her 26 years with SFPD, the quality of department management has been increasingly questioned.</p>
<p>Last June, <a href="http://civilgrandjury.sfgov.org/2014_2015/14-15_CGJ_Report_SFFD_What_Does_the_Future_Hold_%207_16_15v2.pdf" type="external">a civil grand jury report</a> found, among other things, the Fire Department’s emergency medical response times fail to meet state standards, in part because of “a chronic lack of serviceable ambulances.” The grand jury also found that half the department’s ambulance fleet exceeded its expected service life of 10 years and that the agency lacks a strategic plan for replacing ambulances and other emergency equipment. …</p>
<p>One high-profile example of the equipment problems: the failure of the department’s “jaws of life” devices after last November’s <a href="http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/11/13/injuries-reported-in-toursit-bus-crash-near-s-f-s-union-square" type="external">tour bus crash in Union Square</a>.</p>
<p>The complex tools, used to cut open vehicles in which victims are trapped, <a href="http://www.ktvu.com/news/53963934-story" type="external">were unable</a> to cut through the high-grade steel of vehicles involved in the accident.</p>
<p>That’s also from KQED.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Mayor Lee appears to be the ultimate <a href="" type="internal">target</a>of an influence-peddling corruption investigation by&#160;San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon that is apparently piggybacking on information from the far-reaching FBI probe that led to the corruption convictions of former state Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, and legendary Chinatown gang figure Raymond “Shrimp Boy” Chow, among others. In January, Gascon arrested two former employees of the city’s Human Rights Commission and alleged they had tried to sell access to Lee to an undercover agent.</p>
<p>Police Chief Suhr faces multiple problems. On Feb. 1, the Justice Department launched a <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-sanfrancisco-police-investigation-idUSKCN0VA1EI" type="external">probe</a>into his department after complaints from the ACLU and African-American groups over police violence. In December, cellphone videos caught officers shooting to death Mario Woods, a 26-year-old crime suspect, as he walked away from them toward an open area. The contention that Woods was an immediate threat to public safety has drawn broad ridicule.</p>
<p>Suhr has faced criticism from both sides: from officers who say he doesn’t stick up for them in an era in which police feel under siege and from activists who say he has condoned bad behavior for years.</p>
<p>Suhr is also caught in the middle in a scandal that began a year ago over text messages showing officers using racist and racially charged language. Activists wants the 14 officers involved to be fired. Suhr’s most prominent response has been to ask his officers to make a <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2016/0130/San-Francisco-police-take-anti-racism-vow.-Will-it-work-video" type="external">seven-point pledge</a> not to be racist and intolerant.</p>
<p>But a fresh round of racist texts from another group of officers emerged late last month, prompting national <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/01/us/more-racist-and-homophobic-texts-by-san-francisco-police-are-found.html" type="external">coverage</a>of the disarray within Suhr’s department. Gascon, the DA, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/01/us/more-racist-and-homophobic-texts-by-san-francisco-police-are-found.html?_r=0" type="external">told</a>The New York Times that he had profound questions about the SFPD’s internal culture, given that “officers involved in the new case were sending offensive texts even as the city investigated 14 of their colleagues last year for sending and receiving similar messages.”</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 2,946 |
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>With the Supreme Court set to hear arguments for and against making marriage equality the law of the land, there’s been <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/2015/04/same-sex-marriage-us-supreme-court-has-few-choices-but-to-end-the-debate/" type="external">a lot of analysis</a>, most of it legal, all of it pointless:</p>
<p>Constitutional lawyers, however, are confident enough in the imminent future of nationwide marriage equality to insist that anything less would require an extraordinarily complex – even unprecedented – reading in stark contrast with the court’s recent history and occasionally overt political leanings.</p>
<p>Between the clever way the cases have been set up and the overwhelming pressure to answer to public demand, the end of state gay marriage bans is not just inevitable, court watchers say – the nine justices may be left with no other choice.</p>
<p>The idea here is that ruling against same-sex marriage would require the conservative justices (who else would it be?) to rule against state-sanctioned marriage in general and/or deny that the LGBT community is protected by the 14th Amendment.</p>
<p>But if John Roberts and the other right-wing lunatics on the SCOTUS want to rule against marriage equality while claiming it doesn’t affect gays or marriage, they will. This is the same court that handed down a <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2010/12/04/bush-v-gore-decision-looks-even-more-disgraceful-10-years-later.html" type="external">ludicrously narrow ruling</a> in order to give George W. Bush the presidency. This is the same five&#160;conservative “champions” of state’s rights that overruled the laws of Florida for the express purpose of stopping a perfectly legal and completely reasonable recount. Legal precedent means absolutely nothing to them. Logic and reality mean absolutely nothing to them. This is possibly the most partisan and politically motivated court in American history.</p>
<p>And that is why the Supreme Court will vote to make marriage equality the law of the land.</p>
<p>That might seem counter-intuitive at first. Wouldn’t the conservatives on the bench&#160;support Republican legislative efforts to make bigotry and hatred into law? Sure, if they thought that would be in the best interest of the Republican Party. Had this case gone to the Court in <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/02/24/elec04.prez.bush.marriage/" type="external">2004</a>, they would have leapt at the chance to codify discrimination against the LGBT community with a smile on their faces and a song in their hearts.</p>
<p>But that was then and this is now.</p>
<p>As always, conservatives were on the wrong side of history. Right now, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/poll-gay-marriage-support-at-record-high/2015/04/22/f6548332-e92a-11e4-aae1-d642717d8afa_story.html" type="external">over 60 percent of the country</a>supports gay rights. Staking your ground as the one who hates homosexuals the most, a necessary strategy for GOP primaries, is becoming a crippling blow in general elections. Just like the average American recoiled from open racism against blacks, they’re now recoiling from open anti-gay bigotry. Even Corporate America has decided that bigotry is bad for business as Indiana’s Republican governor, Mike Pence, found out when he tried to make it legal to discriminate against homosexuals.</p>
<p>Any and every Republican not in a blood-red gerrymandered district that openly espouses anti-gay views is putting himself at risk. Marriage equality has become a cudgel for liberals and Democrats to bash Republicans with. But at the same time, if Republicans drop the crusade against The Gay, their hate-filled base will destroy them. If the Supreme Court rules&#160;against&#160;marriage equality, Republicans MUST keep fighting that battle and it will cost them in the general elections.</p>
<p>If, on the other hand, the SCOTUS makes marriage equality and LGBT rights the law of the land, Republicans can drop the issue and blame the Court. It’s that simple. Scalia will put up the token stink about it and that will be it. Republicans will still make some noise for an election or two but they’ll quietly drop it in purple states because the issue is a loser.</p>
<p>It’s also worth noting that the Court will not strike down <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/obamacare-back-before-high-court-today/2015/03/03/6dff31a4-c1ec-11e4-9271-610273846239_story.html" type="external">the subsidies for Obamacare</a> for the exact same reason: It would be a disaster for Republicans. The fix to the bill would be simple but Republicans won’t be able to do it because their base would, again, flay them alive. Millions of people would lose their insurance and everyone would blame Republicans for not passing the simple fix. Rock, meet hard place. It would be an electoral disaster going into the 2016 election cycle. There is no chance of the conservatives on the Court handing such a potent weapon to Democrats.</p>
<p>Usually, we can rely on the conservative wing of the Supreme Court to against the best interests of the American public but in these two instances, they really don’t have a choice but to do what’s best for the country. Oh, how that must sting their egos.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p> | This Is Why The Supreme Court Is Going To Rule In Favor Of Marriage Equality | true | http://addictinginfo.org/2015/04/27/this-is-why-the-supreme-court-is-going-to-rule-in-favor-of-marriage-equality/ | 2015-04-27 | 4left
| This Is Why The Supreme Court Is Going To Rule In Favor Of Marriage Equality
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>With the Supreme Court set to hear arguments for and against making marriage equality the law of the land, there’s been <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/2015/04/same-sex-marriage-us-supreme-court-has-few-choices-but-to-end-the-debate/" type="external">a lot of analysis</a>, most of it legal, all of it pointless:</p>
<p>Constitutional lawyers, however, are confident enough in the imminent future of nationwide marriage equality to insist that anything less would require an extraordinarily complex – even unprecedented – reading in stark contrast with the court’s recent history and occasionally overt political leanings.</p>
<p>Between the clever way the cases have been set up and the overwhelming pressure to answer to public demand, the end of state gay marriage bans is not just inevitable, court watchers say – the nine justices may be left with no other choice.</p>
<p>The idea here is that ruling against same-sex marriage would require the conservative justices (who else would it be?) to rule against state-sanctioned marriage in general and/or deny that the LGBT community is protected by the 14th Amendment.</p>
<p>But if John Roberts and the other right-wing lunatics on the SCOTUS want to rule against marriage equality while claiming it doesn’t affect gays or marriage, they will. This is the same court that handed down a <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2010/12/04/bush-v-gore-decision-looks-even-more-disgraceful-10-years-later.html" type="external">ludicrously narrow ruling</a> in order to give George W. Bush the presidency. This is the same five&#160;conservative “champions” of state’s rights that overruled the laws of Florida for the express purpose of stopping a perfectly legal and completely reasonable recount. Legal precedent means absolutely nothing to them. Logic and reality mean absolutely nothing to them. This is possibly the most partisan and politically motivated court in American history.</p>
<p>And that is why the Supreme Court will vote to make marriage equality the law of the land.</p>
<p>That might seem counter-intuitive at first. Wouldn’t the conservatives on the bench&#160;support Republican legislative efforts to make bigotry and hatred into law? Sure, if they thought that would be in the best interest of the Republican Party. Had this case gone to the Court in <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/02/24/elec04.prez.bush.marriage/" type="external">2004</a>, they would have leapt at the chance to codify discrimination against the LGBT community with a smile on their faces and a song in their hearts.</p>
<p>But that was then and this is now.</p>
<p>As always, conservatives were on the wrong side of history. Right now, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/poll-gay-marriage-support-at-record-high/2015/04/22/f6548332-e92a-11e4-aae1-d642717d8afa_story.html" type="external">over 60 percent of the country</a>supports gay rights. Staking your ground as the one who hates homosexuals the most, a necessary strategy for GOP primaries, is becoming a crippling blow in general elections. Just like the average American recoiled from open racism against blacks, they’re now recoiling from open anti-gay bigotry. Even Corporate America has decided that bigotry is bad for business as Indiana’s Republican governor, Mike Pence, found out when he tried to make it legal to discriminate against homosexuals.</p>
<p>Any and every Republican not in a blood-red gerrymandered district that openly espouses anti-gay views is putting himself at risk. Marriage equality has become a cudgel for liberals and Democrats to bash Republicans with. But at the same time, if Republicans drop the crusade against The Gay, their hate-filled base will destroy them. If the Supreme Court rules&#160;against&#160;marriage equality, Republicans MUST keep fighting that battle and it will cost them in the general elections.</p>
<p>If, on the other hand, the SCOTUS makes marriage equality and LGBT rights the law of the land, Republicans can drop the issue and blame the Court. It’s that simple. Scalia will put up the token stink about it and that will be it. Republicans will still make some noise for an election or two but they’ll quietly drop it in purple states because the issue is a loser.</p>
<p>It’s also worth noting that the Court will not strike down <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/obamacare-back-before-high-court-today/2015/03/03/6dff31a4-c1ec-11e4-9271-610273846239_story.html" type="external">the subsidies for Obamacare</a> for the exact same reason: It would be a disaster for Republicans. The fix to the bill would be simple but Republicans won’t be able to do it because their base would, again, flay them alive. Millions of people would lose their insurance and everyone would blame Republicans for not passing the simple fix. Rock, meet hard place. It would be an electoral disaster going into the 2016 election cycle. There is no chance of the conservatives on the Court handing such a potent weapon to Democrats.</p>
<p>Usually, we can rely on the conservative wing of the Supreme Court to against the best interests of the American public but in these two instances, they really don’t have a choice but to do what’s best for the country. Oh, how that must sting their egos.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p> | 2,947 |
<p>Stocks slumped on Thursday with the Dow in a triple-digit fall and the Nasdaq dropping over 2 percent as biotech and technology shares declined and investors sought dividend-paying stocks and shed those viewed as risky.</p>
<p>The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 127 points lower in early afternoon trading, the S&amp;P 500 shed 22 points and the Nasdaq was 93 points, or 2.2 percent, down.</p>
<p>Big-name momentum stocks including Tesla Motors, Facebook, Google, Priceline, and Amazon.com declined, along with biotechnology companies.</p>
<p>"Clearly investors are nervous about high-flying momentum stocks. There is a rethink on whether better earnings and economic data will support a resumption of the momentum that was driving biotechnology and higher-flying technology stocks earlier in the year," said Kate Warne, investment strategist at Edward Jones.</p>
<p>After a two-day winning streak, investors appeared to ignore a Labor Department report that weekly jobless claims dropped to the lowest level in nearly seven years. Government data showed that initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 32,000 to 300,000 last week, below expectations and the lowest since May 2007.</p>
<p>A separate report had import prices rising 0.6 percent last month after an unrevised 0.9 percent in February.</p>
<p>The dollar turned lower against the currencies of major U.S. trading partners; the 10-year Treasury yield used in determining mortgage rates and other consumer loans fell 6 basis points to 2.63 percent.</p>
<p>On the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for June delivery gained $14.40, or 1.1 percent, to $1,320.30 an ounce, while crude-oil futures for May delivery fell 11 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $103.49 a barrel.</p>
<p>Stocks soared on Wednesday, with the Dow adding 180 points, after minutes from the Federal Reserve's last session offset concern about when the central bank would raise interest rates.</p> | Dow in Triple-Digit Drop and Nasdaq Down 2% in Tech Selloff | false | http://nbcnews.com/business/markets/dow-triple-digit-drop-nasdaq-down-2-tech-selloff-n76741 | 2014-04-10 | 3left-center
| Dow in Triple-Digit Drop and Nasdaq Down 2% in Tech Selloff
<p>Stocks slumped on Thursday with the Dow in a triple-digit fall and the Nasdaq dropping over 2 percent as biotech and technology shares declined and investors sought dividend-paying stocks and shed those viewed as risky.</p>
<p>The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 127 points lower in early afternoon trading, the S&amp;P 500 shed 22 points and the Nasdaq was 93 points, or 2.2 percent, down.</p>
<p>Big-name momentum stocks including Tesla Motors, Facebook, Google, Priceline, and Amazon.com declined, along with biotechnology companies.</p>
<p>"Clearly investors are nervous about high-flying momentum stocks. There is a rethink on whether better earnings and economic data will support a resumption of the momentum that was driving biotechnology and higher-flying technology stocks earlier in the year," said Kate Warne, investment strategist at Edward Jones.</p>
<p>After a two-day winning streak, investors appeared to ignore a Labor Department report that weekly jobless claims dropped to the lowest level in nearly seven years. Government data showed that initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 32,000 to 300,000 last week, below expectations and the lowest since May 2007.</p>
<p>A separate report had import prices rising 0.6 percent last month after an unrevised 0.9 percent in February.</p>
<p>The dollar turned lower against the currencies of major U.S. trading partners; the 10-year Treasury yield used in determining mortgage rates and other consumer loans fell 6 basis points to 2.63 percent.</p>
<p>On the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for June delivery gained $14.40, or 1.1 percent, to $1,320.30 an ounce, while crude-oil futures for May delivery fell 11 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $103.49 a barrel.</p>
<p>Stocks soared on Wednesday, with the Dow adding 180 points, after minutes from the Federal Reserve's last session offset concern about when the central bank would raise interest rates.</p> | 2,948 |
<p>UTAHThe SpectrumIN OUR VIEW</p>
<p>Prosecutors in the case against former Hildale police officer Rodney Hans Holm, convicted of two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a 16- or 17-year-old girl and one count of bigamy, said sentencing of the member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints would "send a message."</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the penalty imposed by Fifth District Court Judge G. Rand Beacham sent the wrong message.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>Holm, who was 32 when he married a 16-year-old girl, his third wife, was given a slap on the wrists when Beacham sentenced him to one year in the Washington County jail on a work-release program. Found guilty of three third-degree felonies, he could have spent the next 15 years of his life behind bars.</p>
<p>In issuing the sentence, Beacham said he doesn't believe the government should make a person change their religious convictions. Sadly, he missed the point.</p> | Holm's term too light given crime's severity | false | https://poynter.org/news/holms-term-too-light-given-crimes-severity | 2003-10-14 | 2least
| Holm's term too light given crime's severity
<p>UTAHThe SpectrumIN OUR VIEW</p>
<p>Prosecutors in the case against former Hildale police officer Rodney Hans Holm, convicted of two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a 16- or 17-year-old girl and one count of bigamy, said sentencing of the member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints would "send a message."</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the penalty imposed by Fifth District Court Judge G. Rand Beacham sent the wrong message.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>Holm, who was 32 when he married a 16-year-old girl, his third wife, was given a slap on the wrists when Beacham sentenced him to one year in the Washington County jail on a work-release program. Found guilty of three third-degree felonies, he could have spent the next 15 years of his life behind bars.</p>
<p>In issuing the sentence, Beacham said he doesn't believe the government should make a person change their religious convictions. Sadly, he missed the point.</p> | 2,949 |
<p />
<p>My old friend Boyd Huppert, who is certainly one of the finest storytellers in local TV, <a href="http://kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=72386" type="external">sent me a fun story</a> on how restaurants in Minnesota are trying to sneak one past customers. The story has national applications.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>You have to understand that Minnesotans love to eat a local fish called a "walleye." It is in fact the state fish. But KARE-11 TV found that lots of restaurants are secretly substituting an imported fish and are calling it "walleye."</p>
<p>I have seen similar findings all over the place.</p>
<p>How big is this in the United States? Very big if you read a report from <a href="http://sst.ifas.ufl.edu/22ndAnn/file08.pdf" type="external">the National Marine Fisheries Service National Seafood Inspection Laboratory</a>&#160;that found that up to 80 percent of all red snappers were mislabeled. That's just the beginning.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.choice.com.au/viewArticle.aspx?id=103891&amp;catId=100384&amp;tid=100008&amp;p=1" type="external">In Australia,</a> for example, tests have shown that up to one fourth of some species are mislabeled.</p>
<p>As Boyd points out:</p>
<p>The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has a name for what the restaurants are doing. It's species substitution, and it's against the law. The FDA publishes a list of <a href="http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~frf/seaintro.html" type="external">acceptable market names</a> for fish sold in the United States.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~frf/rfe0.html" type="external">FDA even produced a photographic guide</a> to help merchants correctly ID fish.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>In almost half of the country, <a href="http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5053098/" type="external">it is illegal</a> for wineries to ship directly to consumers. It is against the law in 24 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee,Texas, Utah, and Vermont.</p>
<p>In Florida,Kentucky, Tennessee, and Utah, such shipments are a felony. Some states not only prohibit purchasing wine from out of state they even bar you from buying wine in other states and shipping it to yourself at home.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Winemakers, particularly smaller enterprises with niche markets, are in favor of Internet sales and direct shipping. Twenty members of Congress and five states have filed briefs in favor of direct shipping. So have two Nobel Prize-winning economists from the University of California.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>In 2003, wine shipments from all sources rose five percent at 627 million gallons. California accounts for 67 percent of the total market. While wine producers have increased, the number of distributors has decreased.</p>
<p>There are more than 25,000 wine labels in the United States but only about 500 of them are available in the larger market. Distributors fail to keep pace with new products and the ban on direct shipping prevents small wineries from benefiting from high-technology marketing. Online retail sales are growing at 10 times the rate of their "brick-and-mortar" counterparts.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.cbsnewyork.com/" type="external">WCBS in New York is the first place I have seen this story</a>. The station says thieves are&#160;robbing <a href="http://cars.about.com/od/newcarreviews/fr/04_lexrx_tst.htm" type="external">Lexus SUV</a> owners blind. The thieves are after the high-end headlights on the vehicles. The station reported that from Westchester to Connecticut and every place in between cops are being flooded with reports about thieves hitting even in the daylight. The station said that the thieves can steal the lights without setting off alarms.</p>
<p>In some places like White Plains, police are even contacting all Lexus SUV owners and are forewarning them. You should check to see if this is happening where you are.</p>
<p><a href="http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/news/7onyourside/wabc_7side_091503headlights.html" type="external">Last year, WABC-TV in New York</a> reported on a wave of headlight thefts involving Nissan cars that had the high intensity lights.</p>
<p>In March, <a href="http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:PIwdNO5j-NQJ:www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/8138421.htm+headlight+theft&amp;hl=en" type="external">The Philadelphia Inquirer</a> reported on a lawsuit involving the Nissan lights. That story said that replacing Maxima headlights can cost $1,800 but can go as high as $5,000 if the thieves damage the car. <a href="http://www.autotoys.com/New_Tech/DIY_2000/Maxima_Add_on_alarm/Nissan_Maxima_add_On_alarm.html" type="external">Nissan produced a theft deterrent kit.</a></p>
<p>I have seen <a href="http://carpundit.typepad.com/carpundit/2004/05/audi_headlight_.html" type="external">conversations on bulletin boards</a> about other high-end cars, such as Audis, that have been hit by headlight thieves.</p>
<p>So far, <a href="http://www.progressive.com/newsroom/Xenon_headlights.asp" type="external">insurance companies do not appear ready</a> to jack up premiums based on the thefts.&#160;</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>We are always looking for your great ideas. <a href="" type="internal">Send Al</a> a few sentences and hot links.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Editor's Note: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas, edited story excerpts, and other materials from a variety of websites, as well as original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly from another source, it will be attributed, and a link will be provided, whenever possible.</p> | Monday Edition: Fake Fish | false | https://poynter.org/news/monday-edition-fake-fish | 2004-12-02 | 2least
| Monday Edition: Fake Fish
<p />
<p>My old friend Boyd Huppert, who is certainly one of the finest storytellers in local TV, <a href="http://kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=72386" type="external">sent me a fun story</a> on how restaurants in Minnesota are trying to sneak one past customers. The story has national applications.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>You have to understand that Minnesotans love to eat a local fish called a "walleye." It is in fact the state fish. But KARE-11 TV found that lots of restaurants are secretly substituting an imported fish and are calling it "walleye."</p>
<p>I have seen similar findings all over the place.</p>
<p>How big is this in the United States? Very big if you read a report from <a href="http://sst.ifas.ufl.edu/22ndAnn/file08.pdf" type="external">the National Marine Fisheries Service National Seafood Inspection Laboratory</a>&#160;that found that up to 80 percent of all red snappers were mislabeled. That's just the beginning.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.choice.com.au/viewArticle.aspx?id=103891&amp;catId=100384&amp;tid=100008&amp;p=1" type="external">In Australia,</a> for example, tests have shown that up to one fourth of some species are mislabeled.</p>
<p>As Boyd points out:</p>
<p>The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has a name for what the restaurants are doing. It's species substitution, and it's against the law. The FDA publishes a list of <a href="http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~frf/seaintro.html" type="external">acceptable market names</a> for fish sold in the United States.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~frf/rfe0.html" type="external">FDA even produced a photographic guide</a> to help merchants correctly ID fish.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>In almost half of the country, <a href="http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5053098/" type="external">it is illegal</a> for wineries to ship directly to consumers. It is against the law in 24 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee,Texas, Utah, and Vermont.</p>
<p>In Florida,Kentucky, Tennessee, and Utah, such shipments are a felony. Some states not only prohibit purchasing wine from out of state they even bar you from buying wine in other states and shipping it to yourself at home.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Winemakers, particularly smaller enterprises with niche markets, are in favor of Internet sales and direct shipping. Twenty members of Congress and five states have filed briefs in favor of direct shipping. So have two Nobel Prize-winning economists from the University of California.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>In 2003, wine shipments from all sources rose five percent at 627 million gallons. California accounts for 67 percent of the total market. While wine producers have increased, the number of distributors has decreased.</p>
<p>There are more than 25,000 wine labels in the United States but only about 500 of them are available in the larger market. Distributors fail to keep pace with new products and the ban on direct shipping prevents small wineries from benefiting from high-technology marketing. Online retail sales are growing at 10 times the rate of their "brick-and-mortar" counterparts.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.cbsnewyork.com/" type="external">WCBS in New York is the first place I have seen this story</a>. The station says thieves are&#160;robbing <a href="http://cars.about.com/od/newcarreviews/fr/04_lexrx_tst.htm" type="external">Lexus SUV</a> owners blind. The thieves are after the high-end headlights on the vehicles. The station reported that from Westchester to Connecticut and every place in between cops are being flooded with reports about thieves hitting even in the daylight. The station said that the thieves can steal the lights without setting off alarms.</p>
<p>In some places like White Plains, police are even contacting all Lexus SUV owners and are forewarning them. You should check to see if this is happening where you are.</p>
<p><a href="http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/news/7onyourside/wabc_7side_091503headlights.html" type="external">Last year, WABC-TV in New York</a> reported on a wave of headlight thefts involving Nissan cars that had the high intensity lights.</p>
<p>In March, <a href="http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:PIwdNO5j-NQJ:www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/8138421.htm+headlight+theft&amp;hl=en" type="external">The Philadelphia Inquirer</a> reported on a lawsuit involving the Nissan lights. That story said that replacing Maxima headlights can cost $1,800 but can go as high as $5,000 if the thieves damage the car. <a href="http://www.autotoys.com/New_Tech/DIY_2000/Maxima_Add_on_alarm/Nissan_Maxima_add_On_alarm.html" type="external">Nissan produced a theft deterrent kit.</a></p>
<p>I have seen <a href="http://carpundit.typepad.com/carpundit/2004/05/audi_headlight_.html" type="external">conversations on bulletin boards</a> about other high-end cars, such as Audis, that have been hit by headlight thieves.</p>
<p>So far, <a href="http://www.progressive.com/newsroom/Xenon_headlights.asp" type="external">insurance companies do not appear ready</a> to jack up premiums based on the thefts.&#160;</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>We are always looking for your great ideas. <a href="" type="internal">Send Al</a> a few sentences and hot links.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Editor's Note: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas, edited story excerpts, and other materials from a variety of websites, as well as original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly from another source, it will be attributed, and a link will be provided, whenever possible.</p> | 2,950 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Officials say a fire that damaged electrical wiring at Marshall University’s football stadium in West Virginia has been ruled arson.</p>
<p>The Herald-Dispatch reports ( <a href="http://bit.ly/2egbPPN" type="external">http://bit.ly/2egbPPN</a> ) state Fire Marshal’s spokesman Tim Chastain says they’re offering a $5,000 reward to those with information leading to an arrest in connection with the Sunday night fire at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.</p>
<p>Huntington Fire Chief Carl Eastham says crews responded to the scene after receiving reports of the flames. A business owner said several of his portable restroom and hand washing stations were set on fire.</p>
<p>Officials say flames from the plastic units, placed against a fence outside the stadium, spread up a light tower.</p>
<p>University spokesman Scott Morehouse says it’s possible the damage could affect the start time for Saturday’s game with Charlotte if there’s considerable damage to the lights.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Herald-Dispatch, <a href="http://www.herald-dispatch.com" type="external">http://www.herald-dispatch.com</a></p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Fire at Marshall University’s football stadium ruled arson | false | https://abqjournal.com/869468/fire-at-marshall-universitys-football-stadium-ruled-arson.html | 2least
| Fire at Marshall University’s football stadium ruled arson
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Officials say a fire that damaged electrical wiring at Marshall University’s football stadium in West Virginia has been ruled arson.</p>
<p>The Herald-Dispatch reports ( <a href="http://bit.ly/2egbPPN" type="external">http://bit.ly/2egbPPN</a> ) state Fire Marshal’s spokesman Tim Chastain says they’re offering a $5,000 reward to those with information leading to an arrest in connection with the Sunday night fire at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.</p>
<p>Huntington Fire Chief Carl Eastham says crews responded to the scene after receiving reports of the flames. A business owner said several of his portable restroom and hand washing stations were set on fire.</p>
<p>Officials say flames from the plastic units, placed against a fence outside the stadium, spread up a light tower.</p>
<p>University spokesman Scott Morehouse says it’s possible the damage could affect the start time for Saturday’s game with Charlotte if there’s considerable damage to the lights.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Herald-Dispatch, <a href="http://www.herald-dispatch.com" type="external">http://www.herald-dispatch.com</a></p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 2,951 |
|
<p>This up and coming Lebanese designer says this is her best seller, and comes in all kinds of colors: these pocketbooks made with swatches of the keffiyeh. Different patterns mean different things and can show political affiliations. At $250 each she can barely keep these on the shelves, because this is the first time the West, or anyone outside the Middle East, has been interested, she says. Keffiyehs are sold all over the place in Beirut. This American was walking in a tourist area this week and she bought a pile of keffiyehs for family and friends back in the U.S. Her friends say this is something that people associate with the Middle East and don't know what it's about. This local college student just was bought a keffiyeh for a holiday present from his mother. He says he doesn't think at all about what the symbolism of the keffiyeh means, and that's offputting for the million or so Palestinians living in Lebanon. This man says the keffiyeh is just for Palestinians. This man says the black and white keffiyeh means one thing: that Palestinians suffered at the hands of Israel. He says if you don't get that, don't wear one. They're not very touchy about people wearing keffiyehs in other colors, they hope in fact that it sparks discussion. The keffiyeh has actually been in fashion for decades, but some in America still regard it as �Jihadi chic.� However the keffiyeh has been used for many political purposes. And that's why this man who runs a head shop of sorts in Lebanon refuses to sell the keffiyeh. For the moment there is no shortage to buy the popular scarf.</p> | The Keffiyeh issue and fashion | false | https://pri.org/stories/2008-12-23/keffiyeh-issue-and-fashion | 2008-12-23 | 3left-center
| The Keffiyeh issue and fashion
<p>This up and coming Lebanese designer says this is her best seller, and comes in all kinds of colors: these pocketbooks made with swatches of the keffiyeh. Different patterns mean different things and can show political affiliations. At $250 each she can barely keep these on the shelves, because this is the first time the West, or anyone outside the Middle East, has been interested, she says. Keffiyehs are sold all over the place in Beirut. This American was walking in a tourist area this week and she bought a pile of keffiyehs for family and friends back in the U.S. Her friends say this is something that people associate with the Middle East and don't know what it's about. This local college student just was bought a keffiyeh for a holiday present from his mother. He says he doesn't think at all about what the symbolism of the keffiyeh means, and that's offputting for the million or so Palestinians living in Lebanon. This man says the keffiyeh is just for Palestinians. This man says the black and white keffiyeh means one thing: that Palestinians suffered at the hands of Israel. He says if you don't get that, don't wear one. They're not very touchy about people wearing keffiyehs in other colors, they hope in fact that it sparks discussion. The keffiyeh has actually been in fashion for decades, but some in America still regard it as �Jihadi chic.� However the keffiyeh has been used for many political purposes. And that's why this man who runs a head shop of sorts in Lebanon refuses to sell the keffiyeh. For the moment there is no shortage to buy the popular scarf.</p> | 2,952 |
<p>HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana State Prison Warden Michael Fletcher was fired before the end of his 12-month probationary period.</p>
<p>Department of Corrections spokeswoman Judy Beck confirmed the firing Tuesday, but did not give a reason.</p>
<p>Fletcher's hiring was announced in March 2017. The previous warden, Leroy Kirkegard, retired on April 14.</p>
<p>He came to Montana after serving as superintendent of a maximum security juvenile detention facility in Las Vegas. He also previously served as warden of operations at the Ely State Prison, a maximum-security facility in rural Nevada.</p>
<p>HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana State Prison Warden Michael Fletcher was fired before the end of his 12-month probationary period.</p>
<p>Department of Corrections spokeswoman Judy Beck confirmed the firing Tuesday, but did not give a reason.</p>
<p>Fletcher's hiring was announced in March 2017. The previous warden, Leroy Kirkegard, retired on April 14.</p>
<p>He came to Montana after serving as superintendent of a maximum security juvenile detention facility in Las Vegas. He also previously served as warden of operations at the Ely State Prison, a maximum-security facility in rural Nevada.</p> | Montana State Prison warden fired | false | https://apnews.com/amp/956baefb16d647088a2c39d80347170b | 2018-01-23 | 2least
| Montana State Prison warden fired
<p>HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana State Prison Warden Michael Fletcher was fired before the end of his 12-month probationary period.</p>
<p>Department of Corrections spokeswoman Judy Beck confirmed the firing Tuesday, but did not give a reason.</p>
<p>Fletcher's hiring was announced in March 2017. The previous warden, Leroy Kirkegard, retired on April 14.</p>
<p>He came to Montana after serving as superintendent of a maximum security juvenile detention facility in Las Vegas. He also previously served as warden of operations at the Ely State Prison, a maximum-security facility in rural Nevada.</p>
<p>HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana State Prison Warden Michael Fletcher was fired before the end of his 12-month probationary period.</p>
<p>Department of Corrections spokeswoman Judy Beck confirmed the firing Tuesday, but did not give a reason.</p>
<p>Fletcher's hiring was announced in March 2017. The previous warden, Leroy Kirkegard, retired on April 14.</p>
<p>He came to Montana after serving as superintendent of a maximum security juvenile detention facility in Las Vegas. He also previously served as warden of operations at the Ely State Prison, a maximum-security facility in rural Nevada.</p> | 2,953 |
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<p>VINA DEL MAR, Chile — Representatives from countries that signed the failed Trans-Pacific Partnership began meeting Tuesday to discuss a possible new regional trade deal.</p>
<p>Senior officials from the 12 countries of the TPP, plus China, Colombia and South Korea, gathered in the seaside resort city of Vina del Mar. It’s the first time the nations have met since President Donald Trump withdrew from the U.S. from the deal.</p>
<p>Chilean Foreign Minister Heraldo Munoz said the Asia-Pacific meeting is an opportunity to send a strong signal for free trade and against protectionism. But he warned that the talks in Chile are just a first step and might not yield a new trade pact.</p>
<p>The TPP was a centerpiece of U.S. economic policy in Asia during the administration of President Barack Obama. Trump has said he prefers bilateral deals. The White House has said he plans to focus on seeking individual deals with the 11 other nations in the failed partnership, a group representing roughly 13.5 percent of the global economy, according to the World Bank.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Chile Pacific Trade meeting seeks new path after failed TPP | false | https://abqjournal.com/968787/chile-pacific-trade-meeting-seeks-new-path-after-failed-tpp.html | 2017-03-14 | 2least
| Chile Pacific Trade meeting seeks new path after failed TPP
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<p>VINA DEL MAR, Chile — Representatives from countries that signed the failed Trans-Pacific Partnership began meeting Tuesday to discuss a possible new regional trade deal.</p>
<p>Senior officials from the 12 countries of the TPP, plus China, Colombia and South Korea, gathered in the seaside resort city of Vina del Mar. It’s the first time the nations have met since President Donald Trump withdrew from the U.S. from the deal.</p>
<p>Chilean Foreign Minister Heraldo Munoz said the Asia-Pacific meeting is an opportunity to send a strong signal for free trade and against protectionism. But he warned that the talks in Chile are just a first step and might not yield a new trade pact.</p>
<p>The TPP was a centerpiece of U.S. economic policy in Asia during the administration of President Barack Obama. Trump has said he prefers bilateral deals. The White House has said he plans to focus on seeking individual deals with the 11 other nations in the failed partnership, a group representing roughly 13.5 percent of the global economy, according to the World Bank.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 2,954 |
<p>JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — A veteran New Jersey police officer who allegedly ran over a suspect twice with his patrol SUV during a chase last summer has been charged with assault by auto.</p>
<p>Hudson County prosecutors say Jersey City Sgt. John Ransom was arrested Friday.</p>
<p>The charge stems from an Aug. 6 chase in Jersey City. Authorities say the suspect ran into a park, where he was allegedly struck in an incident caught on surveillance cameras.</p>
<p>The man suffered a fracture to his face along with cuts to his body and head. He was charged with drug possession and was sentenced to two years of probation in September.</p>
<p>Ransom has served on the force for more than 20 years. It wasn't known Saturday iof he's retained an attorney.</p>
<p>JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — A veteran New Jersey police officer who allegedly ran over a suspect twice with his patrol SUV during a chase last summer has been charged with assault by auto.</p>
<p>Hudson County prosecutors say Jersey City Sgt. John Ransom was arrested Friday.</p>
<p>The charge stems from an Aug. 6 chase in Jersey City. Authorities say the suspect ran into a park, where he was allegedly struck in an incident caught on surveillance cameras.</p>
<p>The man suffered a fracture to his face along with cuts to his body and head. He was charged with drug possession and was sentenced to two years of probation in September.</p>
<p>Ransom has served on the force for more than 20 years. It wasn't known Saturday iof he's retained an attorney.</p> | Prosecutors: Officer twice ran over suspect during chase | false | https://apnews.com/amp/ea5f9bb8c78d40af82bfe1b8424fcb16 | 2018-01-13 | 2least
| Prosecutors: Officer twice ran over suspect during chase
<p>JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — A veteran New Jersey police officer who allegedly ran over a suspect twice with his patrol SUV during a chase last summer has been charged with assault by auto.</p>
<p>Hudson County prosecutors say Jersey City Sgt. John Ransom was arrested Friday.</p>
<p>The charge stems from an Aug. 6 chase in Jersey City. Authorities say the suspect ran into a park, where he was allegedly struck in an incident caught on surveillance cameras.</p>
<p>The man suffered a fracture to his face along with cuts to his body and head. He was charged with drug possession and was sentenced to two years of probation in September.</p>
<p>Ransom has served on the force for more than 20 years. It wasn't known Saturday iof he's retained an attorney.</p>
<p>JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — A veteran New Jersey police officer who allegedly ran over a suspect twice with his patrol SUV during a chase last summer has been charged with assault by auto.</p>
<p>Hudson County prosecutors say Jersey City Sgt. John Ransom was arrested Friday.</p>
<p>The charge stems from an Aug. 6 chase in Jersey City. Authorities say the suspect ran into a park, where he was allegedly struck in an incident caught on surveillance cameras.</p>
<p>The man suffered a fracture to his face along with cuts to his body and head. He was charged with drug possession and was sentenced to two years of probation in September.</p>
<p>Ransom has served on the force for more than 20 years. It wasn't known Saturday iof he's retained an attorney.</p> | 2,955 |
<p>Jan 18 (Reuters) - Fitch:</p>
<p>* FITCH REVISES COSTA RICA’S OUTLOOK TO NEGATIVE; AFFIRMS RATINGS AT ‘BB’</p>
<p>* FITCH ON COSTA RICA SAYS RATING OUTLOOKS HAVE BEEN REVISED TO NEGATIVE FROM STABLE</p>
<p>* FITCH SAYS NEGATIVE OUTLOOK REFLECTS COSTA RICA’S DIMINISHED FLEXIBILITY TO FINANCE ITS RISING BUDGET DEFICITS AND PUBLIC DEBT BURDEN</p>
<p>* FITCH SAYS PROLONGED DELAYS IN ADDRESSING COSTA RICA’S FISCAL IMBALANCE WILL AMPLIFY COSTS OF FUTURE ADJUSTMENTS &amp; RAISE RISKS TO GROWTH</p>
<p>* FITCH SAYS NEGATIVE OUTLOOK ALSO REFLECTS COSTA RICA’S “PERSISTENT INSTITUTIONAL GRIDLOCK PREVENTING PROGRESS ON REFORMS TO CORRECT FISCAL IMBALANCE”</p>
<p>* FITCH SAYS EXPECTS COSTA RICA WILL BE ABLE TO MANAGE ITS LIQUIDITY SITUATION</p>
<p>* ‍FITCH ON COSTA RICA SAYS TIGHTENING MARKET CONDITIONS AND PERSISTENT INSTITUTIONAL OBSTACLES POINT TO GROWING FUNDING CHALLENGES​ Source text for Eikon:</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice’s inspector general disclosed a report on Friday that concluded that former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe had repeatedly misled investigators about his role in giving information to a reporter.</p> FILE PHOTO: Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe testifies before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) in Washington, U.S., June 7, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
<p>The report, delivered to lawmakers on Friday, details an investigation that U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions cited when he fired McCabe last month, hours before McCabe was set to retire and receive his full pension.</p>
<p>President Donald Trump had accused McCabe of bias, and the president’s critics said McCabe was being fired as part of a Republican effort to discredit a federal probe into alleged ties between Russia and the Trump presidential campaign.</p>
<p>The report, authored by inspector general Michael Horowitz, says McCabe “lacked candor” in conversations with then FBI Director James Comey and other officials about his role in providing information to a Wall Street Journal reporter about an probe into Hillary Clinton.</p>
<p>McCabe, who has argued he was being singled out because he was a witness into whether Trump tried to obstruct the federal probe, said in a statement on Friday he was authorized to share that information with reporters and had not intentionally misled anyone.</p>
<p>“McCabe had no motive to lie or mislead about media contacts he had the authority to direct,” McCabe’s lawyer, Michael Bromwich, said in an emailed statement.</p>
<p>Reporting by Nathan Layne in Washington; Editing by Bernadette Baum and David Gregorio</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday pardoned former George W. Bush administration official Lewis “Scooter” Libby, who years ago was convicted of lying in an investigation of the unmasking of a CIA agent, in a step that Democrats immediately criticized.</p>
<p>In an arc running from the Iraq war to today, Democrats linked the Libby pardon to Trump’s bitter feud with James Comey, who was fired by Trump as FBI director last year, and to a widening investigation of possible links between the Trump campaign and Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Trump’s former national security adviser and ex-campaign chairman are among those who have been indicted in the continuing Russia investigation.</p>
<p>The Libby pardon followed by only hours Trump’s Friday morning Twitter attack against Comey, in which he called the former FBI chief a liar and a leaker.</p>
<p>Excerpts of Comey’s new book, “A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership,” give an unflattering portrayal of Trump and have been widely reported in the media this week.</p>
<p>Before heading the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Comey was deputy attorney general during the Bush administration and during that time he appointed a special counsel to prosecute a legal case that led to Libby’s guilty verdict in 2007.</p>
<p>“I don’t know Mr. Libby,” Trump said in a White House statement, “but for years I have heard that he has been treated unfairly. Hopefully, this full pardon will help rectify a very sad portion of his life.”</p>
<p>Libby could not immediately be reached for comment.</p>
<p>Conservative Republicans had been pushing for a pardon for Libby for years after former Vice President Dick Cheney was unable to persuade Bush to do it late in his presidency. Bush did, however, commute Libby’s 2 1/2-year prison sentence.</p>
<p>Libby, chief of staff to Cheney during the run-up and early years of the Iraq war, was found guilty in 2007 of lying and obstructing an investigation into who blew the cover of CIA officer Valerie Plame, whose husband had criticized the Iraq war.</p> ‘TROUBLING SIGNAL’
<p>“President Trump’s pardon of Scooter Libby makes clear his contempt for the rule of law,” House of Representatives Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said in a statement. “This pardon sends a troubling signal to the president’s allies that obstructing justice will be rewarded.”</p>
<p>Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said the Libby pardon was Trump’s way “of sending a message to those implicated in the Russia investigation: You have my back and I’ll have yours.”</p>
<p>The Libby pardon coincided with the arrival in the White House of John Bolton as Trump’s new national security adviser. Bolton was a key Bush administration advocate, along with Cheney and Libby, of the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.</p> FILE PHOTO: Lewis "Scooter" Libby listens as his attorney speaks to the media at the U.S. Federal Courthouse in Washington March 6, 2007. REUTERS/Jim Bourg/Files
<p>Bush spokesman Freddy Ford said, “President Bush is pleased for Scooter and his family.”</p>
<p>Cheney’s daughter Liz Cheney tweeted: “Scooter Libby is a good, honorable and innocent man who was the victim of prosecutorial misconduct and a miscarriage of justice. Thank you @realDonaldTrump for righting a terrible wrong.”</p>
<p>Trump has been attacking the FBI amid the investigation of his 2016 presidential campaign for possible links to Russian meddling in the 2016 election.</p>
<p>Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chairman, and a key Manafort associate are among those who have been indicted in the Russian meddling probe run by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.</p>
<p>White House aides said earlier this week that Trump was fuming over FBI raids related to the investigation on Monday of the office and home of his personal attorney, Michael Cohen.</p> FILE PHOTO: Lewis "Scooter" Libby, former chief of staff to U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, is greeted by photographers as he departs a federal courthouse at the end of the third day of his perjury trial in Washington,U.S., February 23, 2007. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/Files
<p>Trump has repeatedly called Mueller’s probe a “witch hunt” and he and Russia have both denied any wrongdoing.</p>
<p>It was the second high-profile pardon of Trump’s tenure. Last year, he pardoned Joe Arpaio, a former Arizona sheriff who campaigned for Trump, less than a month after he was convicted of criminal contempt in a case involving racial profiling.</p>
<p>Reporting by Steve Holland, Justin Mitchell and Makini Brice; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh, Bernadette Baum and Bill Trott</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s pardon of former George W. Bush administration official Lewis “Scooter” Libby on Friday has nothing to do with Trump’s views on Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into possible ties between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign, a White House spokeswoman said.</p> FILE PHOTO: Lewis "Scooter" Libby listens as his attorney speaks to the media at the U.S. Federal Courthouse in Washington March 6, 2007. REUTERS/Jim Bourg/Files
<p>“One thing has nothing to do with the other and every case should be reviewed on its own merits. Pardoning Libby was the right thing to do after the principle witness recanted her testimony,” spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in response to a question at a regular news briefing.</p>
<p>Reporting by Steve Holland; Writing by Eric Walsh; Editing by Cynthia Osterman</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>(Reuters) - A lawyer for adult film star Stormy Daniels argued in a court hearing on Friday that materials seized by federal investigators from U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer may concern his client, who claims the president slept with her.</p>
<p>Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, has said she was paid $130,000 to keep quiet about a sexual encounter with the president.</p>
<p>“We have every reason to believe that some of the documents that were seized relate to my client,” the lawyer Michael Avenatti told U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood at a hearing in Manhattan federal court.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-usa-trump-russia-cohen-filing/trump-attorney-michael-cohen-under-criminal-investigation-court-filing-idUSKBN1HK2O8" type="external">Trump attorney Michael Cohen under criminal investigation: court filing</a>
<p>Avenatti said he should be allowed to represent the interests of Daniels.</p>
<p>The hearing concerned a motion by Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, for an order restraining federal prosecutors from using materials seized in Monday’s FBI raid of his offices.</p>
<p>The raids followed a referral by U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who for nearly a year has been looking into whether Trump’s presidential campaign colluded with Russia.</p>
<p>A source familiar with the matter said this week that FBI agents were looking in those raids for information on payments to Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal.</p>
<p>Investigators were also looking into whether there was a broader pattern of tax fraud, wire fraud, tax evasion, money laundering and other crimes in Cohen’s private dealings, including his work for Trump and some real estate transactions that involved Russian buyers and prices that appeared to be well above market values, the source said.</p>
<p>Wood said at the hearing that Cohen’s lawyers are asking that they be allowed a first pass at the materials, so they can identify what is irrelevant or protected by attorney-client privilege. Alternatively, they have suggested that Wood appoint a neutral “special master” for the task.</p>
<p>Prosecutors have said that a team of their own lawyers, known as a “taint team,” should conduct the first review.</p> Michael Avenatti, attorney for Stormy Daniels, is pictured outside the Manhattan Federal Court in New York City, New York, U.S., April 13, 2018. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
<p>A lawyer for Trump, Joanna Hendon, said at Friday’s hearing, the president had “an acute interest” in the case. She asked to file a brief for the president by Sunday night. She said she would oppose having prosecutors review the documents first.</p>
<p>“There’s an appearance of fairness problem here,” she said.</p>
<p>Tom McKay, a federal prosecutor, stressed that the president does not deserve special treatment, and that his interest in attorney-client privilege was “no different” from anyone else’s.</p> Slideshow (6 Images)
<p>Wood ordered the lawyers to return at 2 p.m. on Friday for further discussion. Another hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. Monday, after Trump’s lawyers submit their brief.</p>
<p>“The last thing a trial team wants is to be subject to suppression based on a breach of the attorney-client privilege that could have been avoided,” said Jacob Frenkel, a Washington lawyer who is not involved in the case.</p>
<p>Monday’s raid infuriated Trump, who has called Mueller’s investigation a “witch hunt.” He stepped up the attacks after the raids, but said on Thursday he was cooperating with authorities. Moscow has also denied any wrongdoing.</p>
<p>Reporting by Karen Freifeld, Brendan Pierson and Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Frances Kerry and Susan Thomas</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | BRIEF-Fitch Revises Costa Rica's Outlook To Negative; Affirms Ratings At 'BB' DOJ inspector general report cites FBI's McCabe for misconduct Trump pardons ex-Cheney aide Lewis 'Scooter' Libby White House says Libby pardon unrelated to Russia investigation Stormy Daniels' lawyer joins fight over Trump lawyer's files | false | https://reuters.com/article/brief-fitch-revises-costa-ricas-outlook/brief-fitch-revises-costa-ricas-outlook-to-negative-affirms-ratings-at-bb-idUSFWN1PD1E1 | 2018-01-18 | 2least
| BRIEF-Fitch Revises Costa Rica's Outlook To Negative; Affirms Ratings At 'BB' DOJ inspector general report cites FBI's McCabe for misconduct Trump pardons ex-Cheney aide Lewis 'Scooter' Libby White House says Libby pardon unrelated to Russia investigation Stormy Daniels' lawyer joins fight over Trump lawyer's files
<p>Jan 18 (Reuters) - Fitch:</p>
<p>* FITCH REVISES COSTA RICA’S OUTLOOK TO NEGATIVE; AFFIRMS RATINGS AT ‘BB’</p>
<p>* FITCH ON COSTA RICA SAYS RATING OUTLOOKS HAVE BEEN REVISED TO NEGATIVE FROM STABLE</p>
<p>* FITCH SAYS NEGATIVE OUTLOOK REFLECTS COSTA RICA’S DIMINISHED FLEXIBILITY TO FINANCE ITS RISING BUDGET DEFICITS AND PUBLIC DEBT BURDEN</p>
<p>* FITCH SAYS PROLONGED DELAYS IN ADDRESSING COSTA RICA’S FISCAL IMBALANCE WILL AMPLIFY COSTS OF FUTURE ADJUSTMENTS &amp; RAISE RISKS TO GROWTH</p>
<p>* FITCH SAYS NEGATIVE OUTLOOK ALSO REFLECTS COSTA RICA’S “PERSISTENT INSTITUTIONAL GRIDLOCK PREVENTING PROGRESS ON REFORMS TO CORRECT FISCAL IMBALANCE”</p>
<p>* FITCH SAYS EXPECTS COSTA RICA WILL BE ABLE TO MANAGE ITS LIQUIDITY SITUATION</p>
<p>* ‍FITCH ON COSTA RICA SAYS TIGHTENING MARKET CONDITIONS AND PERSISTENT INSTITUTIONAL OBSTACLES POINT TO GROWING FUNDING CHALLENGES​ Source text for Eikon:</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice’s inspector general disclosed a report on Friday that concluded that former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe had repeatedly misled investigators about his role in giving information to a reporter.</p> FILE PHOTO: Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe testifies before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) in Washington, U.S., June 7, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
<p>The report, delivered to lawmakers on Friday, details an investigation that U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions cited when he fired McCabe last month, hours before McCabe was set to retire and receive his full pension.</p>
<p>President Donald Trump had accused McCabe of bias, and the president’s critics said McCabe was being fired as part of a Republican effort to discredit a federal probe into alleged ties between Russia and the Trump presidential campaign.</p>
<p>The report, authored by inspector general Michael Horowitz, says McCabe “lacked candor” in conversations with then FBI Director James Comey and other officials about his role in providing information to a Wall Street Journal reporter about an probe into Hillary Clinton.</p>
<p>McCabe, who has argued he was being singled out because he was a witness into whether Trump tried to obstruct the federal probe, said in a statement on Friday he was authorized to share that information with reporters and had not intentionally misled anyone.</p>
<p>“McCabe had no motive to lie or mislead about media contacts he had the authority to direct,” McCabe’s lawyer, Michael Bromwich, said in an emailed statement.</p>
<p>Reporting by Nathan Layne in Washington; Editing by Bernadette Baum and David Gregorio</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday pardoned former George W. Bush administration official Lewis “Scooter” Libby, who years ago was convicted of lying in an investigation of the unmasking of a CIA agent, in a step that Democrats immediately criticized.</p>
<p>In an arc running from the Iraq war to today, Democrats linked the Libby pardon to Trump’s bitter feud with James Comey, who was fired by Trump as FBI director last year, and to a widening investigation of possible links between the Trump campaign and Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Trump’s former national security adviser and ex-campaign chairman are among those who have been indicted in the continuing Russia investigation.</p>
<p>The Libby pardon followed by only hours Trump’s Friday morning Twitter attack against Comey, in which he called the former FBI chief a liar and a leaker.</p>
<p>Excerpts of Comey’s new book, “A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership,” give an unflattering portrayal of Trump and have been widely reported in the media this week.</p>
<p>Before heading the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Comey was deputy attorney general during the Bush administration and during that time he appointed a special counsel to prosecute a legal case that led to Libby’s guilty verdict in 2007.</p>
<p>“I don’t know Mr. Libby,” Trump said in a White House statement, “but for years I have heard that he has been treated unfairly. Hopefully, this full pardon will help rectify a very sad portion of his life.”</p>
<p>Libby could not immediately be reached for comment.</p>
<p>Conservative Republicans had been pushing for a pardon for Libby for years after former Vice President Dick Cheney was unable to persuade Bush to do it late in his presidency. Bush did, however, commute Libby’s 2 1/2-year prison sentence.</p>
<p>Libby, chief of staff to Cheney during the run-up and early years of the Iraq war, was found guilty in 2007 of lying and obstructing an investigation into who blew the cover of CIA officer Valerie Plame, whose husband had criticized the Iraq war.</p> ‘TROUBLING SIGNAL’
<p>“President Trump’s pardon of Scooter Libby makes clear his contempt for the rule of law,” House of Representatives Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said in a statement. “This pardon sends a troubling signal to the president’s allies that obstructing justice will be rewarded.”</p>
<p>Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said the Libby pardon was Trump’s way “of sending a message to those implicated in the Russia investigation: You have my back and I’ll have yours.”</p>
<p>The Libby pardon coincided with the arrival in the White House of John Bolton as Trump’s new national security adviser. Bolton was a key Bush administration advocate, along with Cheney and Libby, of the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.</p> FILE PHOTO: Lewis "Scooter" Libby listens as his attorney speaks to the media at the U.S. Federal Courthouse in Washington March 6, 2007. REUTERS/Jim Bourg/Files
<p>Bush spokesman Freddy Ford said, “President Bush is pleased for Scooter and his family.”</p>
<p>Cheney’s daughter Liz Cheney tweeted: “Scooter Libby is a good, honorable and innocent man who was the victim of prosecutorial misconduct and a miscarriage of justice. Thank you @realDonaldTrump for righting a terrible wrong.”</p>
<p>Trump has been attacking the FBI amid the investigation of his 2016 presidential campaign for possible links to Russian meddling in the 2016 election.</p>
<p>Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chairman, and a key Manafort associate are among those who have been indicted in the Russian meddling probe run by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.</p>
<p>White House aides said earlier this week that Trump was fuming over FBI raids related to the investigation on Monday of the office and home of his personal attorney, Michael Cohen.</p> FILE PHOTO: Lewis "Scooter" Libby, former chief of staff to U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, is greeted by photographers as he departs a federal courthouse at the end of the third day of his perjury trial in Washington,U.S., February 23, 2007. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/Files
<p>Trump has repeatedly called Mueller’s probe a “witch hunt” and he and Russia have both denied any wrongdoing.</p>
<p>It was the second high-profile pardon of Trump’s tenure. Last year, he pardoned Joe Arpaio, a former Arizona sheriff who campaigned for Trump, less than a month after he was convicted of criminal contempt in a case involving racial profiling.</p>
<p>Reporting by Steve Holland, Justin Mitchell and Makini Brice; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh, Bernadette Baum and Bill Trott</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s pardon of former George W. Bush administration official Lewis “Scooter” Libby on Friday has nothing to do with Trump’s views on Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into possible ties between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign, a White House spokeswoman said.</p> FILE PHOTO: Lewis "Scooter" Libby listens as his attorney speaks to the media at the U.S. Federal Courthouse in Washington March 6, 2007. REUTERS/Jim Bourg/Files
<p>“One thing has nothing to do with the other and every case should be reviewed on its own merits. Pardoning Libby was the right thing to do after the principle witness recanted her testimony,” spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in response to a question at a regular news briefing.</p>
<p>Reporting by Steve Holland; Writing by Eric Walsh; Editing by Cynthia Osterman</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>(Reuters) - A lawyer for adult film star Stormy Daniels argued in a court hearing on Friday that materials seized by federal investigators from U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer may concern his client, who claims the president slept with her.</p>
<p>Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, has said she was paid $130,000 to keep quiet about a sexual encounter with the president.</p>
<p>“We have every reason to believe that some of the documents that were seized relate to my client,” the lawyer Michael Avenatti told U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood at a hearing in Manhattan federal court.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-usa-trump-russia-cohen-filing/trump-attorney-michael-cohen-under-criminal-investigation-court-filing-idUSKBN1HK2O8" type="external">Trump attorney Michael Cohen under criminal investigation: court filing</a>
<p>Avenatti said he should be allowed to represent the interests of Daniels.</p>
<p>The hearing concerned a motion by Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, for an order restraining federal prosecutors from using materials seized in Monday’s FBI raid of his offices.</p>
<p>The raids followed a referral by U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who for nearly a year has been looking into whether Trump’s presidential campaign colluded with Russia.</p>
<p>A source familiar with the matter said this week that FBI agents were looking in those raids for information on payments to Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal.</p>
<p>Investigators were also looking into whether there was a broader pattern of tax fraud, wire fraud, tax evasion, money laundering and other crimes in Cohen’s private dealings, including his work for Trump and some real estate transactions that involved Russian buyers and prices that appeared to be well above market values, the source said.</p>
<p>Wood said at the hearing that Cohen’s lawyers are asking that they be allowed a first pass at the materials, so they can identify what is irrelevant or protected by attorney-client privilege. Alternatively, they have suggested that Wood appoint a neutral “special master” for the task.</p>
<p>Prosecutors have said that a team of their own lawyers, known as a “taint team,” should conduct the first review.</p> Michael Avenatti, attorney for Stormy Daniels, is pictured outside the Manhattan Federal Court in New York City, New York, U.S., April 13, 2018. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
<p>A lawyer for Trump, Joanna Hendon, said at Friday’s hearing, the president had “an acute interest” in the case. She asked to file a brief for the president by Sunday night. She said she would oppose having prosecutors review the documents first.</p>
<p>“There’s an appearance of fairness problem here,” she said.</p>
<p>Tom McKay, a federal prosecutor, stressed that the president does not deserve special treatment, and that his interest in attorney-client privilege was “no different” from anyone else’s.</p> Slideshow (6 Images)
<p>Wood ordered the lawyers to return at 2 p.m. on Friday for further discussion. Another hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. Monday, after Trump’s lawyers submit their brief.</p>
<p>“The last thing a trial team wants is to be subject to suppression based on a breach of the attorney-client privilege that could have been avoided,” said Jacob Frenkel, a Washington lawyer who is not involved in the case.</p>
<p>Monday’s raid infuriated Trump, who has called Mueller’s investigation a “witch hunt.” He stepped up the attacks after the raids, but said on Thursday he was cooperating with authorities. Moscow has also denied any wrongdoing.</p>
<p>Reporting by Karen Freifeld, Brendan Pierson and Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Frances Kerry and Susan Thomas</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | 2,956 |
<p />
<p>T-Mobile US reported a better-than-expected 10.6 percent rise in quarterly revenue and raised its forecast for customer additions in 2016 as heavy discounts helped the No.3 U.S. wireless carrier by subscribers attract more business.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>T-Mobile has been offering cheaper leasing plans and free music and video streaming to lure customers away from larger rivals Verizon Communications and AT&amp;T.</p>
<p>T-Mobile, controlled by Deutsche Telekom, said it added 2.2 million customers on a net basis in the first quarter ended March 31.</p>
<p>That easily topped the average analyst estimate of 1.72 million, according to research firm FactSet StreetAccount.</p>
<p>The company said it expected to add 3.2 million to 3.6 million postpaid customers on a net basis in 2016, compared with its previous forecast of 2.4 million to 3.4 million.</p>
<p>T-Mobile's 10.6 percent jump in quarterly revenue to $8.6 billion suggested its strategy to boost revenue was working. Analysts on average had expected revenue of $8.43 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>In comparison, market leader Verizon's operating revenue rose just 0.6 percent to $32.17 billion.</p>
<p>AT&amp;T is scheduled to report results later on Tuesday.</p>
<p>T-Mobile reported net income of $479 million, or 56 cents per share, for the first quarter, compared with a loss of $63 million, or 9 cents per share, a year earlier.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Sai Sachin R in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Anil D'Silva)</p> | T-Mobile Revenue Jumps 10.6% | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/04/26/t-mobile-revenue-jumps-10-6.html | 2016-04-26 | 0right
| T-Mobile Revenue Jumps 10.6%
<p />
<p>T-Mobile US reported a better-than-expected 10.6 percent rise in quarterly revenue and raised its forecast for customer additions in 2016 as heavy discounts helped the No.3 U.S. wireless carrier by subscribers attract more business.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>T-Mobile has been offering cheaper leasing plans and free music and video streaming to lure customers away from larger rivals Verizon Communications and AT&amp;T.</p>
<p>T-Mobile, controlled by Deutsche Telekom, said it added 2.2 million customers on a net basis in the first quarter ended March 31.</p>
<p>That easily topped the average analyst estimate of 1.72 million, according to research firm FactSet StreetAccount.</p>
<p>The company said it expected to add 3.2 million to 3.6 million postpaid customers on a net basis in 2016, compared with its previous forecast of 2.4 million to 3.4 million.</p>
<p>T-Mobile's 10.6 percent jump in quarterly revenue to $8.6 billion suggested its strategy to boost revenue was working. Analysts on average had expected revenue of $8.43 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>In comparison, market leader Verizon's operating revenue rose just 0.6 percent to $32.17 billion.</p>
<p>AT&amp;T is scheduled to report results later on Tuesday.</p>
<p>T-Mobile reported net income of $479 million, or 56 cents per share, for the first quarter, compared with a loss of $63 million, or 9 cents per share, a year earlier.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Sai Sachin R in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Anil D'Silva)</p> | 2,957 |
<p>(Scott Evans and Chris Evans. Screenshot via YouTube.)</p>
<p>Chris Evans credits his passion for gay rights to his gay brother, fellow actor Scott Evans.</p>
<p>In an interview with <a href="http://thefix.nine.com.au/2016/11/21/08/27/captain-america-star-chris-evans-fix-interview" type="external">The Fix</a>, Evans, 35, says “It’s really important to put faces in the situations that we’re navigating as a society.”</p>
<p>“We’re obviously in tricky times right now, but up until this election I’ve never felt any sort of backlash or friction as a result of the stance I’ve taken in my career in support of him or any other human rights,” Evans told The Fix. “Hopefully it stays that way going forward.”</p>
<p>“Whether it’s growing up with women, whether it’s growing up with different ethnic groups — it’s important to experience anything different from what you know to encourage and cultivate compassion and understanding,” Evans continued. “Growing up in the theater helped me, growing up in a progressive community helped me.”</p>
<p>Scott, 33, is best known for his role as gay cop Oliver Fish on daytime soap opera “One Life to Live.”</p>
<p>Watch the Evans brothers play the “Sibling-wed Game” on “The Tonight Show” below.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="" type="internal">Chris Evans</a> <a href="" type="internal">Scott Evans</a> <a href="" type="internal">The Fix</a></p> | Chris Evans says his gay brother helped him understand LGBT issues | false | http://washingtonblade.com/2016/11/22/chris-evans-says-gay-brother-helped-understand-lgbt-issues/ | 3left-center
| Chris Evans says his gay brother helped him understand LGBT issues
<p>(Scott Evans and Chris Evans. Screenshot via YouTube.)</p>
<p>Chris Evans credits his passion for gay rights to his gay brother, fellow actor Scott Evans.</p>
<p>In an interview with <a href="http://thefix.nine.com.au/2016/11/21/08/27/captain-america-star-chris-evans-fix-interview" type="external">The Fix</a>, Evans, 35, says “It’s really important to put faces in the situations that we’re navigating as a society.”</p>
<p>“We’re obviously in tricky times right now, but up until this election I’ve never felt any sort of backlash or friction as a result of the stance I’ve taken in my career in support of him or any other human rights,” Evans told The Fix. “Hopefully it stays that way going forward.”</p>
<p>“Whether it’s growing up with women, whether it’s growing up with different ethnic groups — it’s important to experience anything different from what you know to encourage and cultivate compassion and understanding,” Evans continued. “Growing up in the theater helped me, growing up in a progressive community helped me.”</p>
<p>Scott, 33, is best known for his role as gay cop Oliver Fish on daytime soap opera “One Life to Live.”</p>
<p>Watch the Evans brothers play the “Sibling-wed Game” on “The Tonight Show” below.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="" type="internal">Chris Evans</a> <a href="" type="internal">Scott Evans</a> <a href="" type="internal">The Fix</a></p> | 2,958 |
|
<p>Investing.com – Indonesia stocks were higher after the close on Tuesday, as gains in the , and sectors led shares higher.</p>
<p>At the close in Jakarta, the gained 0.01%.</p>
<p>The best performers of the session on the were Marga Abhinaya Abadi Tbk PT (JK:), which rose 24.92% or 375 points to trade at 1880 at the close. Meanwhile, Mark Dynamics Indonesia Tbk PT (JK:) added 19.12% or 130 points to end at 810 and Bank Of India Indonesia Tbk (JK:) was up 18.97% or 295 points to 1850 in late trade.</p>
<p>The worst performers of the session were Jakarta Setiabudi Internasional (JK:), which fell 21.21% or 700.00 points to trade at 2600.00 at the close. Bank Agris Tbk (JK:) declined 16.29% or 58.00 points to end at 298.00 and Asuransi Multi Artha Guna Tbk PT (JK:) was down 12.50% or 50 points to 350.</p>
<p>Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Jakarta Stock Exchange by 217 to 116 and 109 ended unchanged.</p>
<p>Shares in Mark Dynamics Indonesia Tbk PT (JK:) rose to all time highs; rising 19.12% or 130 to 810.</p>
<p>Crude oil for October delivery was down 0.56% or 0.27 to $47.80 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in November fell 0.39% or 0.21 to hit $53.63 a barrel, while the December Gold Futures contract fell 0.37% or 4.95 to trade at $1330.75 a troy ounce.</p>
<p>USD/IDR was up 0.14% to 13200.5, while AUD/IDR fell 0.34% to 10617.50.</p>
<p>The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.10% at 91.83.</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> | Indonesia stocks higher at close of trade; IDX Composite Index up 0.01% | false | https://newsline.com/indonesia-stocks-higher-at-close-of-trade-idx-composite-index-up-0-01/ | 2017-09-12 | 1right-center
| Indonesia stocks higher at close of trade; IDX Composite Index up 0.01%
<p>Investing.com – Indonesia stocks were higher after the close on Tuesday, as gains in the , and sectors led shares higher.</p>
<p>At the close in Jakarta, the gained 0.01%.</p>
<p>The best performers of the session on the were Marga Abhinaya Abadi Tbk PT (JK:), which rose 24.92% or 375 points to trade at 1880 at the close. Meanwhile, Mark Dynamics Indonesia Tbk PT (JK:) added 19.12% or 130 points to end at 810 and Bank Of India Indonesia Tbk (JK:) was up 18.97% or 295 points to 1850 in late trade.</p>
<p>The worst performers of the session were Jakarta Setiabudi Internasional (JK:), which fell 21.21% or 700.00 points to trade at 2600.00 at the close. Bank Agris Tbk (JK:) declined 16.29% or 58.00 points to end at 298.00 and Asuransi Multi Artha Guna Tbk PT (JK:) was down 12.50% or 50 points to 350.</p>
<p>Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Jakarta Stock Exchange by 217 to 116 and 109 ended unchanged.</p>
<p>Shares in Mark Dynamics Indonesia Tbk PT (JK:) rose to all time highs; rising 19.12% or 130 to 810.</p>
<p>Crude oil for October delivery was down 0.56% or 0.27 to $47.80 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in November fell 0.39% or 0.21 to hit $53.63 a barrel, while the December Gold Futures contract fell 0.37% or 4.95 to trade at $1330.75 a troy ounce.</p>
<p>USD/IDR was up 0.14% to 13200.5, while AUD/IDR fell 0.34% to 10617.50.</p>
<p>The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.10% at 91.83.</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> | 2,959 |
<p>The Trump administration has tied the United States to the impetuous young crown prince of Saudi Arabia and seems to be quite oblivious to the dangers. But they are growing every day.</p>
<p>Saudi Arabia's King Salman and his favorite son, <a href="" type="internal">Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman</a>, have broken with the traditional patterns of consensual politics in the royal family, and the results are likely to be a much less stable kingdom with increasingly impulsive and erratic policies.</p>
<p>A purge is now under way that includes imprisonment of top princes (albeit in a former luxury hotel), the confiscation of assets, and at least two mysterious deaths.</p>
<p>"I have great confidence in King Salman and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia," President Donald Trump tweeted on Tuesday morning, "they know exactly what they are doing..."</p>
<p>Then he went on, "...Some of those they are harshly treating have been 'milking' their country for years!"</p>
<p>Earlier, the king sacked two sitting crown princes, Muqrin bin Abdelaziz and <a href="" type="internal">Muhammad bin Nayef</a>, a very close ally of the United States in the fight against terrorism, to advance his young son's prospects. These are unprecedented moves in Saudi history. And this weekend he sacked the commander of the Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG), Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah. &#160;</p>
<p>The SANG is a 100,000 man praetorian guard that protects the royal family from coups and revolution. &#160;Mutaib was the favorite son of the late King Abdullah. His ouster alienates a powerful wing of the family and a large tribal alliance.</p>
<p>The king also appointed his 32-year-old son, known as MBS, to head a crackdown on corruption. &#160;At least 11 princes were detained along with dozens of former officials. &#160;Among those arrested is a senior official in the Bin Laden Group construction firm, the largest in the Middle East, and Prince Al Waleed bin Talal, a billionaire close to King Abdullah and a longtime promoter of reform in the kingdom. &#160;An earlier wave of arrests this summer targeted dissident intellectuals and clerics from the powerful Wahhabi establishment.</p>
<p>At least one prominent royal reportedly has died in mysterious circumstances. &#160;Prince Abdelaziz bin Fahd, the playboy favorite son of King Fahd, is rumored to have been shot while resisting arrest. &#160;He has been critical of the ouster of former Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef. &#160;Another prince died in a helicopter crash near the Yemeni border.</p>
<p>All of this suggests conspiracies and power plays far outside the bounds of normal Saudi politics. &#160;</p>
<p>The kingdom has always been a police state and an absolute monarchy married to a theocracy. &#160;But royal politics inside the family observed a certain decorum. &#160;If a prince or minister was removed he kept his honor and integrity, no one was humiliated. &#160;If a prince or princess misbehaved he or she was quietly detained, without any publicity, for private rehabilitation. &#160;</p>
<p>The firing of Muhammad bin Nayef instead was accompanied by rumors of drug addiction and he has been kept under house arrest since. &#160;The current wave of arrests has taken those detained to a former guest palace outside Riyadh where they are isolated from outsiders. &#160;Until Saturday, it was a hotel.</p>
<p>Start and finish your day with the top stories from The Daily Beast.</p>
<p>A speedy, smart summary of all the news you need to know (and nothing you don't).</p>
<p>Powerful interest groups in the family have now seen their longstanding power centers stripped away. &#160;Their fortunes are being seized by the state, which is cash short due to low oil prices and wasteful spending. &#160;The young prince is making a lot of enemies.</p>
<p>Adding more drama to the game, the pro-Iranian Houthi rebels in Yemen fired a ballistic missile at Riyadh's international airport on Saturday, which the Saudis claim they intercepted with an American made Patriot missile. This followed Houthi promises that all the capitals of the Saudi led coalition fighting them will now be targeted by missiles. &#160;Abu Dhabi may be next. With Iranian technicians and expertise helping the Houthis, that threat is real. &#160;In response the Royal Saudi Air Force is bombing Sanaa, the Yemeni capital, relentlessly.</p>
<p>The 30-month-old war is Muhammad bin Salman's signature foreign policy. &#160;He promised a "decisive storm," but he got a quagmire and the world's biggest humanitarian catastrophe. &#160;The war costs billions that the Saudi economy cannot afford.</p>
<p>Since his trip to Riyadh last May, President Trump has wholeheartedly backed the king and his son. &#160;Over the concerns of the State Department and the US military, the White House has endorsed the Saudi-led effort to blockade Qatar. &#160;The blockade has been a failure so far and has probably destroyed the Gulf Cooperation Council, the regional alliance which the U.S. has backed since Ronald Reagan.</p>
<p>The administration has trumpeted its policy as securing tens of billions of dollars in arms sales. &#160;In fact very few have gone beyond the discussion phase. &#160;They are more statements of interest than contracts. It's mostly fake news.</p>
<p>The president also wants the Saudis to put their oil firm ARAMCO on the New York Stock Exchange when it goes public for foreign investment next year. &#160;Many experts doubt that the Saudis will actually do so because it would require some transparency about how the company spends its proceeds, and it may be &#160;kept closed except to a handful of Chinese investors. &#160;</p>
<p>If it is put on the NYSE the Saudis will risk judicial action to seize the company's assets under the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism law passed last year over a veto by President Barack Obama. The law allows suits against the Saudi government and individuals for alleged involvement in the 9/11 plot. &#160;Trump supported JASTA in the campaign, as did virtually every American politician especially in New York.</p>
<p>The king and his son have embraced the most virulent sectarianism in the modern kingdom's history against Shia at home and abroad. &#160;The Saudis encouraged Lebanese Prime Minister Saed Hariri to quit his post, apparently hoping to isolate Hezbollah. Now the Saudis are saying they are at war with the group. &#160;Most likely the gambit will ricochet and benefit the Iranians and Hezbollah.</p>
<p>Since the early 1960s, Saudi Arabia has been one of the most stable and predictable players in the Middle East. &#160;Aside from some terrorist threats, usually quickly eradicated by Muhammad bin Nayef, it has been a safe place to travel and invest. &#160;That all appears to be in doubt. &#160;Splintering the royal family is a dangerous approach. &#160;Arresting and perhaps even killing political opponents is not likely to encourage investors. &#160;Fanning sectarian violence is bound to fuel turbulence. &#160;A dangerous region is getting more volatile.</p> | Trump's Bet on Saudis Looks Increasingly Dangerous, and the $110 Billion Payoff? Unlikely. | true | https://thedailybeast.com/trumps-bet-on-the-saudis-looks-increasingly-dangerous-and-the-110-billion-dollar-payoff-looks-unlikely | 2018-10-06 | 4left
| Trump's Bet on Saudis Looks Increasingly Dangerous, and the $110 Billion Payoff? Unlikely.
<p>The Trump administration has tied the United States to the impetuous young crown prince of Saudi Arabia and seems to be quite oblivious to the dangers. But they are growing every day.</p>
<p>Saudi Arabia's King Salman and his favorite son, <a href="" type="internal">Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman</a>, have broken with the traditional patterns of consensual politics in the royal family, and the results are likely to be a much less stable kingdom with increasingly impulsive and erratic policies.</p>
<p>A purge is now under way that includes imprisonment of top princes (albeit in a former luxury hotel), the confiscation of assets, and at least two mysterious deaths.</p>
<p>"I have great confidence in King Salman and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia," President Donald Trump tweeted on Tuesday morning, "they know exactly what they are doing..."</p>
<p>Then he went on, "...Some of those they are harshly treating have been 'milking' their country for years!"</p>
<p>Earlier, the king sacked two sitting crown princes, Muqrin bin Abdelaziz and <a href="" type="internal">Muhammad bin Nayef</a>, a very close ally of the United States in the fight against terrorism, to advance his young son's prospects. These are unprecedented moves in Saudi history. And this weekend he sacked the commander of the Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG), Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah. &#160;</p>
<p>The SANG is a 100,000 man praetorian guard that protects the royal family from coups and revolution. &#160;Mutaib was the favorite son of the late King Abdullah. His ouster alienates a powerful wing of the family and a large tribal alliance.</p>
<p>The king also appointed his 32-year-old son, known as MBS, to head a crackdown on corruption. &#160;At least 11 princes were detained along with dozens of former officials. &#160;Among those arrested is a senior official in the Bin Laden Group construction firm, the largest in the Middle East, and Prince Al Waleed bin Talal, a billionaire close to King Abdullah and a longtime promoter of reform in the kingdom. &#160;An earlier wave of arrests this summer targeted dissident intellectuals and clerics from the powerful Wahhabi establishment.</p>
<p>At least one prominent royal reportedly has died in mysterious circumstances. &#160;Prince Abdelaziz bin Fahd, the playboy favorite son of King Fahd, is rumored to have been shot while resisting arrest. &#160;He has been critical of the ouster of former Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef. &#160;Another prince died in a helicopter crash near the Yemeni border.</p>
<p>All of this suggests conspiracies and power plays far outside the bounds of normal Saudi politics. &#160;</p>
<p>The kingdom has always been a police state and an absolute monarchy married to a theocracy. &#160;But royal politics inside the family observed a certain decorum. &#160;If a prince or minister was removed he kept his honor and integrity, no one was humiliated. &#160;If a prince or princess misbehaved he or she was quietly detained, without any publicity, for private rehabilitation. &#160;</p>
<p>The firing of Muhammad bin Nayef instead was accompanied by rumors of drug addiction and he has been kept under house arrest since. &#160;The current wave of arrests has taken those detained to a former guest palace outside Riyadh where they are isolated from outsiders. &#160;Until Saturday, it was a hotel.</p>
<p>Start and finish your day with the top stories from The Daily Beast.</p>
<p>A speedy, smart summary of all the news you need to know (and nothing you don't).</p>
<p>Powerful interest groups in the family have now seen their longstanding power centers stripped away. &#160;Their fortunes are being seized by the state, which is cash short due to low oil prices and wasteful spending. &#160;The young prince is making a lot of enemies.</p>
<p>Adding more drama to the game, the pro-Iranian Houthi rebels in Yemen fired a ballistic missile at Riyadh's international airport on Saturday, which the Saudis claim they intercepted with an American made Patriot missile. This followed Houthi promises that all the capitals of the Saudi led coalition fighting them will now be targeted by missiles. &#160;Abu Dhabi may be next. With Iranian technicians and expertise helping the Houthis, that threat is real. &#160;In response the Royal Saudi Air Force is bombing Sanaa, the Yemeni capital, relentlessly.</p>
<p>The 30-month-old war is Muhammad bin Salman's signature foreign policy. &#160;He promised a "decisive storm," but he got a quagmire and the world's biggest humanitarian catastrophe. &#160;The war costs billions that the Saudi economy cannot afford.</p>
<p>Since his trip to Riyadh last May, President Trump has wholeheartedly backed the king and his son. &#160;Over the concerns of the State Department and the US military, the White House has endorsed the Saudi-led effort to blockade Qatar. &#160;The blockade has been a failure so far and has probably destroyed the Gulf Cooperation Council, the regional alliance which the U.S. has backed since Ronald Reagan.</p>
<p>The administration has trumpeted its policy as securing tens of billions of dollars in arms sales. &#160;In fact very few have gone beyond the discussion phase. &#160;They are more statements of interest than contracts. It's mostly fake news.</p>
<p>The president also wants the Saudis to put their oil firm ARAMCO on the New York Stock Exchange when it goes public for foreign investment next year. &#160;Many experts doubt that the Saudis will actually do so because it would require some transparency about how the company spends its proceeds, and it may be &#160;kept closed except to a handful of Chinese investors. &#160;</p>
<p>If it is put on the NYSE the Saudis will risk judicial action to seize the company's assets under the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism law passed last year over a veto by President Barack Obama. The law allows suits against the Saudi government and individuals for alleged involvement in the 9/11 plot. &#160;Trump supported JASTA in the campaign, as did virtually every American politician especially in New York.</p>
<p>The king and his son have embraced the most virulent sectarianism in the modern kingdom's history against Shia at home and abroad. &#160;The Saudis encouraged Lebanese Prime Minister Saed Hariri to quit his post, apparently hoping to isolate Hezbollah. Now the Saudis are saying they are at war with the group. &#160;Most likely the gambit will ricochet and benefit the Iranians and Hezbollah.</p>
<p>Since the early 1960s, Saudi Arabia has been one of the most stable and predictable players in the Middle East. &#160;Aside from some terrorist threats, usually quickly eradicated by Muhammad bin Nayef, it has been a safe place to travel and invest. &#160;That all appears to be in doubt. &#160;Splintering the royal family is a dangerous approach. &#160;Arresting and perhaps even killing political opponents is not likely to encourage investors. &#160;Fanning sectarian violence is bound to fuel turbulence. &#160;A dangerous region is getting more volatile.</p> | 2,960 |
<p>In his essay on “Politics and the English Language,” George Orwell critiqued insincere, pretentious verbiage masquerading as meaningful prose. But above all, he deplored the use of politically expedient euphemisms: “Defenceless villages are bombarded from the air, the inhabitants driven out into the countryside, the cattle machine-gunned, the huts set on fire with incendiary bullets: this is called pacification.” After the incalculable horrors and suffering of Vietnam (e.g., “antipersonnel weapons”) and Iraq (“collateral damage” and the like), his words remain bluntly incisive: “Political language…is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable.” In our contemporary “Botox society,” Noam Chomsky, Edward Herman and others have kept alive the most endangered species of all, exiled and lonely truth.</p>
<p>Here I am grappling with another phenomenon: the exquisitely sensitive, over-refined sensibilities of “polite society”–in short, the shrinking away from disturbing, unpleasant social realities by some of the most educated among Americans. Of course this is often what politeness and “niceness” are all about: learning to avoid the bluntly truthful when a comforting euphemism or vague circumlocution will do. What is valued is pleasantness and comfort, even if someone is suffering anguish in the next room.</p>
<p>In part, this can be ascribed to arrested development: childish, wishful thinking about well-meaning but misguided elites such as Congress or the generals. In part, it stems from an over-identification and thus over-obedience to those who have reached the pinnacle of success in our society, i.e., the “power elite” which was so trenchantly described by C. Wright Mills over a half-century ago. Thus, you wouldn’t think of simply describing former President George W. Bush as a vicious mass murderer–although Vincent Bugliosi, in his The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder, proves that he is.</p>
<p>It just isn’t done: think of a fancy dinner party, with vintage wines and witty repartee–spoiled by such a faux pas. Unlike the often vulgar working-class, with their six-packs and Super Bowl, the professional-managerial class is refined: Barack Obama, for instance, is charming, highly educated, reasonable and conciliatory. It is simply in poor taste, don’t you see, to obsessively dwell on such things, particularly on the unsightly, gruesome details of children maimed and crippled by the thousands. “Why should we hear about body bags and deaths,” Barbara Bush once mused–“why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that?”</p>
<p>Genteel hypocrisy is a more craven form of hypocrisy than that of, say, Wall Street buccaneers who pretend to be philanthropists. For it is ultimately based, not only on callous indifference but on a clinging to comforting lies and fairy tales at all costs. Contra Arendt, it is less a “banality of evil” than an “evil of banality.” Do not spoil my leisure and pleasant dreams with such in-your-face unpleasantries! It’s bad form and will soon cost you popularity and those coveted invitations. Be witty, ironic, above all entertaining; don’t bore me with such grisly details about phosphorus and depleted-uranium or with perplexing moral questions that are really beside the point. Yes, mistakes were made, Bush exaggerated the WMD, Cheney was a scoundrel, but we’re beyond that now. Don’t be such a humorless drudge: lighten up!</p>
<p>I thinking in particular of The New York Times: its banal, self-indulgent, trendy “Lifestyle” sections, and its fastidiously worded articles about the “conflict” in Iraq or the “mistakes” of Bush and company. Its readership is largely composed of a managerial-class which identifies with corporate interests, whether here or (imperialistically) abroad. But it is more than that: such people became successful through obedience, deference, and conformity to their “superiors,” whether in college, business school or the boardroom. (Think Condoleeza Rice, if you can.)</p>
<p>An upwardly-mobile manager is above all a team-player dedicated to the interests of the team, whether it happens to be the U.S. Army (Colin Powell) or BP (Tony Hayward). And successful team-players have good “social skills,” i.e., the right balance of flattery, decorum, discretion and reassuring lies. So remember: refined, educated people are kind people, people who would spare the feelings of that poor old, ailing gentleman Ariel Sharon. Learn good manners: never use an ugly (truthful) word when a comforting (lying) word will do. After all, you want to be a nice person, don’t you?</p>
<p>BILL MANSON previously taught social science at Columbia and Rutgers universities.</p>
<p />
<p>&#160;</p>
<p /> | The Politics of Nice | true | https://counterpunch.org/2010/11/19/the-politics-of-nice/ | 2010-11-19 | 4left
| The Politics of Nice
<p>In his essay on “Politics and the English Language,” George Orwell critiqued insincere, pretentious verbiage masquerading as meaningful prose. But above all, he deplored the use of politically expedient euphemisms: “Defenceless villages are bombarded from the air, the inhabitants driven out into the countryside, the cattle machine-gunned, the huts set on fire with incendiary bullets: this is called pacification.” After the incalculable horrors and suffering of Vietnam (e.g., “antipersonnel weapons”) and Iraq (“collateral damage” and the like), his words remain bluntly incisive: “Political language…is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable.” In our contemporary “Botox society,” Noam Chomsky, Edward Herman and others have kept alive the most endangered species of all, exiled and lonely truth.</p>
<p>Here I am grappling with another phenomenon: the exquisitely sensitive, over-refined sensibilities of “polite society”–in short, the shrinking away from disturbing, unpleasant social realities by some of the most educated among Americans. Of course this is often what politeness and “niceness” are all about: learning to avoid the bluntly truthful when a comforting euphemism or vague circumlocution will do. What is valued is pleasantness and comfort, even if someone is suffering anguish in the next room.</p>
<p>In part, this can be ascribed to arrested development: childish, wishful thinking about well-meaning but misguided elites such as Congress or the generals. In part, it stems from an over-identification and thus over-obedience to those who have reached the pinnacle of success in our society, i.e., the “power elite” which was so trenchantly described by C. Wright Mills over a half-century ago. Thus, you wouldn’t think of simply describing former President George W. Bush as a vicious mass murderer–although Vincent Bugliosi, in his The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder, proves that he is.</p>
<p>It just isn’t done: think of a fancy dinner party, with vintage wines and witty repartee–spoiled by such a faux pas. Unlike the often vulgar working-class, with their six-packs and Super Bowl, the professional-managerial class is refined: Barack Obama, for instance, is charming, highly educated, reasonable and conciliatory. It is simply in poor taste, don’t you see, to obsessively dwell on such things, particularly on the unsightly, gruesome details of children maimed and crippled by the thousands. “Why should we hear about body bags and deaths,” Barbara Bush once mused–“why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that?”</p>
<p>Genteel hypocrisy is a more craven form of hypocrisy than that of, say, Wall Street buccaneers who pretend to be philanthropists. For it is ultimately based, not only on callous indifference but on a clinging to comforting lies and fairy tales at all costs. Contra Arendt, it is less a “banality of evil” than an “evil of banality.” Do not spoil my leisure and pleasant dreams with such in-your-face unpleasantries! It’s bad form and will soon cost you popularity and those coveted invitations. Be witty, ironic, above all entertaining; don’t bore me with such grisly details about phosphorus and depleted-uranium or with perplexing moral questions that are really beside the point. Yes, mistakes were made, Bush exaggerated the WMD, Cheney was a scoundrel, but we’re beyond that now. Don’t be such a humorless drudge: lighten up!</p>
<p>I thinking in particular of The New York Times: its banal, self-indulgent, trendy “Lifestyle” sections, and its fastidiously worded articles about the “conflict” in Iraq or the “mistakes” of Bush and company. Its readership is largely composed of a managerial-class which identifies with corporate interests, whether here or (imperialistically) abroad. But it is more than that: such people became successful through obedience, deference, and conformity to their “superiors,” whether in college, business school or the boardroom. (Think Condoleeza Rice, if you can.)</p>
<p>An upwardly-mobile manager is above all a team-player dedicated to the interests of the team, whether it happens to be the U.S. Army (Colin Powell) or BP (Tony Hayward). And successful team-players have good “social skills,” i.e., the right balance of flattery, decorum, discretion and reassuring lies. So remember: refined, educated people are kind people, people who would spare the feelings of that poor old, ailing gentleman Ariel Sharon. Learn good manners: never use an ugly (truthful) word when a comforting (lying) word will do. After all, you want to be a nice person, don’t you?</p>
<p>BILL MANSON previously taught social science at Columbia and Rutgers universities.</p>
<p />
<p>&#160;</p>
<p /> | 2,961 |
<p>The Flynn fiasco is not&#160;about&#160;national security advisor&#160;Michael Flynn’s conversations with the Russian ambassador. It’s much deeper than that. It’s about Russia. It’s about Putin. It’s about the explosive rise of China and the world’s biggest free trade zone&#160;that will eventually&#160;stretch&#160;from Lisbon to Vladivostok. &#160;It’s about the one country in the world that is obstructing Washington’s plan for&#160;global domination. (Russia) And, it’s about the future; which country will be the key player in the world’s most prosperous and populous region, Asia.</p>
<p>That’s&#160;what’s at stake, and that’s what the Flynn controversy is really all about.</p>
<p>Many readers&#160;are familiar with&#160;the expression “pivot to Asia”, but do they know what it means?</p>
<p>It means the United States&#160;has embarked on an&#160;ambitious plan to extend its&#160;military&#160;grip&#160;and market power over the Eurasian landmass thus securing its position as the world’s only&#160;superpower into the next century. The pivot is&#160;Washington’s&#160;top strategic priority. As Hillary Clinton said in&#160;2011:</p>
<p>“Harnessing Asia’s growth and dynamism is central to American economic and strategic interests… Open markets in Asia provide the United States with unprecedented opportunities for investment, trade, and access to cutting-edge technology…..American firms (need) to tap into the vast and growing consumer base of Asia…</p>
<p>The region already generates more than half of global output and nearly half of global trade…. we are looking for opportunities to do even more business in Asia…and our investment opportunities in Asia’s dynamic markets.”(“America’s Pacific Century”, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton”, Foreign Policy Magazine, 2011)</p>
<p>In other words, it’s pivot or bust. Those are the only&#160;two options. Naturally, ruling elites in the US have chosen the former over the latter, which means they are committed to a&#160;strategy that&#160;will&#160;inevitably&#160;pit the US against a nuclear-armed adversary, Russia.</p>
<p>Trump’s National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn,&#160;wanted to normalize&#160;relations with Russia. He rejected the&#160;flagrantly hostile&#160;approach of the US foreign policy establishment. That’s why he had to be removed. And, that’s why&#160;he’s been so viciously attacked in the media and why&#160;the threadbare&#160;story about his&#160;contacts with the Russian ambassador were used to force his resignation.</p>
<p>This isn’t about the law and it isn’t about the truth. It’s about bare-knuckle geopolitics and global hegemony. Flynn got in the way of the pivot,&#160;so&#160;Flynn&#160;had to be&#160;eliminated. End of story. Here’s a clip from an article by Robert Parry:</p>
<p>“Flynn’s real “offense” appears to be that he favors détente with Russia rather than escalation of a new and dangerous Cold War. Trump’s idea of a rapprochement with Moscow – and a search for areas of cooperation and compromise – has been driving Official Washington’s foreign policy establishment crazy for months and the neocons, in particular, have been determined to block it.</p>
<p>Though Flynn has pandered to elements of the neocon movement with his own hysterical denunciations of Iran and Islam in general, he emerged as a key architect for Trump’s plans to seek a constructive relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Meanwhile, the neocons and their liberal-interventionist sidekicks have invested heavily in making Putin the all-purpose bête noire to justify a major investment in new military hardware and in pricy propaganda operations.” (“ <a href="" type="internal">Trump Caves on Flynn’s resignation</a>“, Consortium News)</p>
<p>US foreign policy is not developed willy-nilly. It emerges as the consensus view of&#160;various competing&#160;factions within the permanent national security state. &#160;And, although there are notable differences between the rival&#160;factions (either hardline or dovish) there appears to be unanimity on the question of Russia. There is virtually no constituency within the political leadership of either of the two major parties (or their puppetmaster supporters in the deep state)&#160;for improving relations with Russia. None.&#160;Russia is blocking Washington’s eastward expansion, therefore, Russia&#160;must be&#160;defeated. Here’s more from the World Socialist Web Site:</p>
<p>“US imperialism seeks to counter its declining world economic position by exploiting its unchallenged global military dominance. It sees as the principal roadblocks to its hegemonic aims the growing economic and military power of China and the still-considerable strength of Russia, possessor of the world’s second-largest nuclear arsenal, the largest reserves of oil and gas, and a critical geographical position at the center of the Eurasian land mass.</p>
<p>Trump’s opponents within the ruling class insist that US foreign policy must target Russia with the aim of weakening the Putin regime or overthrowing it. This is deemed a prerequisite for taking on the challenge posed by China.</p>
<p>Numerous Washington think tanks have developed scenarios for military conflicts with Russian forces in the Middle East, in Ukraine, in the Baltic States and in cyberspace. The national security elite is not prepared to accept a shift in orientation away from the policy of direct confrontation with Russia along the lines proposed by Trump, who would like for the present to lower tensions with Russia in order to focus first on China.” (“ <a href="" type="internal">Behind the Flynn resignation and Trump crisis: A bitter conflict over imperialist policy</a>“, WSWS)</p>
<p>Foreign policy elites believe the US and its NATO allies can engage Russia in a shooting war without it expanding into a regional conflict and without an escalation into a nuclear conflagration. It’s a risky calculation but, nevertheless, it is the rationale behind the persistent build up of troops and weaponry on Russia’s western perimeter. Take a look at this from the Independent:</p>
<p>“Thousands of Nato troops have amassed close to the border with Russia as part of the largest build-up of Western troops neighbouring Moscow’s sphere of influence since the Cold War…Tanks and heavy armoured vehicles, plus Bradley fighting vehicles and Paladin howitzers, are also in situ and British Typhoon jets from RAF Conningsby will be deployed to Romania this summer to contribute to Nato’s Southern Air Policing mission…</p>
<p>Kremlin officials claim the build-up is the largest since the Second World War.” (“ <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-nato-border-forces-map-where-are-they-positioned-a7562391.html" type="external">The map that shows how many Nato troops are deployed along Russia’s border</a>“, The Independent)</p>
<p>Saber-rattling and&#160;belligerence have&#160;cleared the way for another world war.&#160;Washington thinks the conflict can be contained, but we’re nor so sure.</p>
<p>The inexperienced Trump– who&#160;naively believed&#160;that the president sets his own&#160;foreign policy–has now learned that that’s not the case. The Flynn slap-down, &#160;followed by&#160;blistering attacks in the media and threats of impeachment, have left Trump shaken to the core.&#160;As a result, he has&#160;done a&#160;speedy&#160;about-face and swung into damage control-mode. On Tuesday, he&#160;tried to&#160;extend the olive branch&#160;by tweeting that “Crimea was taken by Russia” and by offering to replace Flynn with a trusted insider who will not veer from the script&#160; prepared by the foreign policy establishment. Check out this blurb on the Foreign Policy magazine&#160;website on Wednesday:</p>
<p>“President Donald Trump offered the job of national security advisor to retired Vice Adm. Robert Harward on Monday night…If, as expected, Harward accepts the job today, he is likely to bring in his own team, from deputy on down, with a focus on national security types with some experience under their belts…</p>
<p>Harward also would work well with Defense Secretary James Mattis. When Mattis was chief of Central Command, Harward was his deputy. Mattis trusted him enough to put him in charge of planning for war with Iran. Mattis has urged Harward to take the NSA job.</p>
<p>If Harward becomes NSA, Mattis would emerge from the Flynn mess in a uniquely powerful position: He would have two of his former deputies at the table in some meetings. The other one is John Kelly, now secretary for Homeland Security, who was his&#160;number two&#160;when Mattis commanded a Marine division early in the invasion of Iraq in 2003.” (“ <a href="" type="internal">A Mattis protégé poised to take the helm of Trump’s NSC</a>,” Foreign Policy)</p>
<p>In other words, Trump is relinquishing&#160;control&#160;over&#160;foreign policy and returning&#160;it to trusted insiders who will comply with pre-set elitist guidelines. Trump’s sudden metamorphosis was apparent in another story that appeared in Wednesday’s news, this time related to Rex Tillerson and General Joseph Dunford. Here’s a clip from CNN:</p>
<p>“Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford meet face to face with their Russian counterparts Thursday, as the Trump administration evaluates the future direction of US-Russian relations….But even as Tillerson’s plane was taking off in Washington, the Pentagon announced the meeting between Dunford and his Russian counterpart Valeriy Gerasimov, which will take place Thursday in Baku, Azerbaijan….</p>
<p>“The military leaders will discuss a variety of issues including the current state of U.S.-Russian military relations …Trump’s envoys have been expressing positions more keeping with previous US policies.&#160;…</p>
<p>Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, indicated the US would maintain sanctions on Russia for annexing Crimea in 2014. She condemned what she called the “Russian occupation” of the Ukrainian territory…</p>
<p>The US has deployed thousands of troops and tanks to Poland and Romania in recent weeks, while other NATO allies have sent troops to Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.</p>
<p>“There is a common message from the President, from his security team, the secretary of state, the secretary of defense, that they stay strongly committed to NATO,” he added.</p>
<p>Let’s summarize: The sanctions will remain, the tanks are on the border, the commitment to NATO has been reinforced, and Dunford is going to explain Washington’s strategic objectives&#160;to his Russian counterpart in clear, unambiguous&#160;language. There will be no room for&#160;Tillerson, who is on&#160;friendly terms with Putin, to change the existing policy or to normalize relations; Dunford,&#160;Haley, and Defense Secretary James Mattis will make sure of that.</p>
<p>As for Trump, it’s clear by the Crimea tweet, the sacking of Flynn and the (prospective) appointment of Harward, that he’s running scared and is doing everything in his power to get out of the hole he’s dug for himself.&#160; There’s no way of knowing&#160;whether he’ll be allowed to carry on as before or if he’ll be forced to&#160;throw other allies,&#160;like&#160;Bannon&#160;or Conway, under the bus. I would expect the purge to continue and to eventually include Trump himself. But that’s just a guess.</p>
<p>The hope that Trump would bring&#160;an element of&#160;sanity to US foreign policy has now been extinguished. The so called “Trump Revolution” has fizzled out before it ever began.</p>
<p>In contrast,&#160;the military buildup along Russia’s western flank&#160;continues apace.</p> | Blood in the Water: the Trump Revolution Ends in a Whimper | true | https://counterpunch.org/2017/02/17/blood-in-the-water-the-trump-revolution-ends-in-a-whimper/ | 2017-02-17 | 4left
| Blood in the Water: the Trump Revolution Ends in a Whimper
<p>The Flynn fiasco is not&#160;about&#160;national security advisor&#160;Michael Flynn’s conversations with the Russian ambassador. It’s much deeper than that. It’s about Russia. It’s about Putin. It’s about the explosive rise of China and the world’s biggest free trade zone&#160;that will eventually&#160;stretch&#160;from Lisbon to Vladivostok. &#160;It’s about the one country in the world that is obstructing Washington’s plan for&#160;global domination. (Russia) And, it’s about the future; which country will be the key player in the world’s most prosperous and populous region, Asia.</p>
<p>That’s&#160;what’s at stake, and that’s what the Flynn controversy is really all about.</p>
<p>Many readers&#160;are familiar with&#160;the expression “pivot to Asia”, but do they know what it means?</p>
<p>It means the United States&#160;has embarked on an&#160;ambitious plan to extend its&#160;military&#160;grip&#160;and market power over the Eurasian landmass thus securing its position as the world’s only&#160;superpower into the next century. The pivot is&#160;Washington’s&#160;top strategic priority. As Hillary Clinton said in&#160;2011:</p>
<p>“Harnessing Asia’s growth and dynamism is central to American economic and strategic interests… Open markets in Asia provide the United States with unprecedented opportunities for investment, trade, and access to cutting-edge technology…..American firms (need) to tap into the vast and growing consumer base of Asia…</p>
<p>The region already generates more than half of global output and nearly half of global trade…. we are looking for opportunities to do even more business in Asia…and our investment opportunities in Asia’s dynamic markets.”(“America’s Pacific Century”, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton”, Foreign Policy Magazine, 2011)</p>
<p>In other words, it’s pivot or bust. Those are the only&#160;two options. Naturally, ruling elites in the US have chosen the former over the latter, which means they are committed to a&#160;strategy that&#160;will&#160;inevitably&#160;pit the US against a nuclear-armed adversary, Russia.</p>
<p>Trump’s National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn,&#160;wanted to normalize&#160;relations with Russia. He rejected the&#160;flagrantly hostile&#160;approach of the US foreign policy establishment. That’s why he had to be removed. And, that’s why&#160;he’s been so viciously attacked in the media and why&#160;the threadbare&#160;story about his&#160;contacts with the Russian ambassador were used to force his resignation.</p>
<p>This isn’t about the law and it isn’t about the truth. It’s about bare-knuckle geopolitics and global hegemony. Flynn got in the way of the pivot,&#160;so&#160;Flynn&#160;had to be&#160;eliminated. End of story. Here’s a clip from an article by Robert Parry:</p>
<p>“Flynn’s real “offense” appears to be that he favors détente with Russia rather than escalation of a new and dangerous Cold War. Trump’s idea of a rapprochement with Moscow – and a search for areas of cooperation and compromise – has been driving Official Washington’s foreign policy establishment crazy for months and the neocons, in particular, have been determined to block it.</p>
<p>Though Flynn has pandered to elements of the neocon movement with his own hysterical denunciations of Iran and Islam in general, he emerged as a key architect for Trump’s plans to seek a constructive relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Meanwhile, the neocons and their liberal-interventionist sidekicks have invested heavily in making Putin the all-purpose bête noire to justify a major investment in new military hardware and in pricy propaganda operations.” (“ <a href="" type="internal">Trump Caves on Flynn’s resignation</a>“, Consortium News)</p>
<p>US foreign policy is not developed willy-nilly. It emerges as the consensus view of&#160;various competing&#160;factions within the permanent national security state. &#160;And, although there are notable differences between the rival&#160;factions (either hardline or dovish) there appears to be unanimity on the question of Russia. There is virtually no constituency within the political leadership of either of the two major parties (or their puppetmaster supporters in the deep state)&#160;for improving relations with Russia. None.&#160;Russia is blocking Washington’s eastward expansion, therefore, Russia&#160;must be&#160;defeated. Here’s more from the World Socialist Web Site:</p>
<p>“US imperialism seeks to counter its declining world economic position by exploiting its unchallenged global military dominance. It sees as the principal roadblocks to its hegemonic aims the growing economic and military power of China and the still-considerable strength of Russia, possessor of the world’s second-largest nuclear arsenal, the largest reserves of oil and gas, and a critical geographical position at the center of the Eurasian land mass.</p>
<p>Trump’s opponents within the ruling class insist that US foreign policy must target Russia with the aim of weakening the Putin regime or overthrowing it. This is deemed a prerequisite for taking on the challenge posed by China.</p>
<p>Numerous Washington think tanks have developed scenarios for military conflicts with Russian forces in the Middle East, in Ukraine, in the Baltic States and in cyberspace. The national security elite is not prepared to accept a shift in orientation away from the policy of direct confrontation with Russia along the lines proposed by Trump, who would like for the present to lower tensions with Russia in order to focus first on China.” (“ <a href="" type="internal">Behind the Flynn resignation and Trump crisis: A bitter conflict over imperialist policy</a>“, WSWS)</p>
<p>Foreign policy elites believe the US and its NATO allies can engage Russia in a shooting war without it expanding into a regional conflict and without an escalation into a nuclear conflagration. It’s a risky calculation but, nevertheless, it is the rationale behind the persistent build up of troops and weaponry on Russia’s western perimeter. Take a look at this from the Independent:</p>
<p>“Thousands of Nato troops have amassed close to the border with Russia as part of the largest build-up of Western troops neighbouring Moscow’s sphere of influence since the Cold War…Tanks and heavy armoured vehicles, plus Bradley fighting vehicles and Paladin howitzers, are also in situ and British Typhoon jets from RAF Conningsby will be deployed to Romania this summer to contribute to Nato’s Southern Air Policing mission…</p>
<p>Kremlin officials claim the build-up is the largest since the Second World War.” (“ <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-nato-border-forces-map-where-are-they-positioned-a7562391.html" type="external">The map that shows how many Nato troops are deployed along Russia’s border</a>“, The Independent)</p>
<p>Saber-rattling and&#160;belligerence have&#160;cleared the way for another world war.&#160;Washington thinks the conflict can be contained, but we’re nor so sure.</p>
<p>The inexperienced Trump– who&#160;naively believed&#160;that the president sets his own&#160;foreign policy–has now learned that that’s not the case. The Flynn slap-down, &#160;followed by&#160;blistering attacks in the media and threats of impeachment, have left Trump shaken to the core.&#160;As a result, he has&#160;done a&#160;speedy&#160;about-face and swung into damage control-mode. On Tuesday, he&#160;tried to&#160;extend the olive branch&#160;by tweeting that “Crimea was taken by Russia” and by offering to replace Flynn with a trusted insider who will not veer from the script&#160; prepared by the foreign policy establishment. Check out this blurb on the Foreign Policy magazine&#160;website on Wednesday:</p>
<p>“President Donald Trump offered the job of national security advisor to retired Vice Adm. Robert Harward on Monday night…If, as expected, Harward accepts the job today, he is likely to bring in his own team, from deputy on down, with a focus on national security types with some experience under their belts…</p>
<p>Harward also would work well with Defense Secretary James Mattis. When Mattis was chief of Central Command, Harward was his deputy. Mattis trusted him enough to put him in charge of planning for war with Iran. Mattis has urged Harward to take the NSA job.</p>
<p>If Harward becomes NSA, Mattis would emerge from the Flynn mess in a uniquely powerful position: He would have two of his former deputies at the table in some meetings. The other one is John Kelly, now secretary for Homeland Security, who was his&#160;number two&#160;when Mattis commanded a Marine division early in the invasion of Iraq in 2003.” (“ <a href="" type="internal">A Mattis protégé poised to take the helm of Trump’s NSC</a>,” Foreign Policy)</p>
<p>In other words, Trump is relinquishing&#160;control&#160;over&#160;foreign policy and returning&#160;it to trusted insiders who will comply with pre-set elitist guidelines. Trump’s sudden metamorphosis was apparent in another story that appeared in Wednesday’s news, this time related to Rex Tillerson and General Joseph Dunford. Here’s a clip from CNN:</p>
<p>“Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford meet face to face with their Russian counterparts Thursday, as the Trump administration evaluates the future direction of US-Russian relations….But even as Tillerson’s plane was taking off in Washington, the Pentagon announced the meeting between Dunford and his Russian counterpart Valeriy Gerasimov, which will take place Thursday in Baku, Azerbaijan….</p>
<p>“The military leaders will discuss a variety of issues including the current state of U.S.-Russian military relations …Trump’s envoys have been expressing positions more keeping with previous US policies.&#160;…</p>
<p>Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, indicated the US would maintain sanctions on Russia for annexing Crimea in 2014. She condemned what she called the “Russian occupation” of the Ukrainian territory…</p>
<p>The US has deployed thousands of troops and tanks to Poland and Romania in recent weeks, while other NATO allies have sent troops to Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.</p>
<p>“There is a common message from the President, from his security team, the secretary of state, the secretary of defense, that they stay strongly committed to NATO,” he added.</p>
<p>Let’s summarize: The sanctions will remain, the tanks are on the border, the commitment to NATO has been reinforced, and Dunford is going to explain Washington’s strategic objectives&#160;to his Russian counterpart in clear, unambiguous&#160;language. There will be no room for&#160;Tillerson, who is on&#160;friendly terms with Putin, to change the existing policy or to normalize relations; Dunford,&#160;Haley, and Defense Secretary James Mattis will make sure of that.</p>
<p>As for Trump, it’s clear by the Crimea tweet, the sacking of Flynn and the (prospective) appointment of Harward, that he’s running scared and is doing everything in his power to get out of the hole he’s dug for himself.&#160; There’s no way of knowing&#160;whether he’ll be allowed to carry on as before or if he’ll be forced to&#160;throw other allies,&#160;like&#160;Bannon&#160;or Conway, under the bus. I would expect the purge to continue and to eventually include Trump himself. But that’s just a guess.</p>
<p>The hope that Trump would bring&#160;an element of&#160;sanity to US foreign policy has now been extinguished. The so called “Trump Revolution” has fizzled out before it ever began.</p>
<p>In contrast,&#160;the military buildup along Russia’s western flank&#160;continues apace.</p> | 2,962 |
<p>GENEVA (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump will hog the limelight at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos next week, but behind the scenes some of the world’s leading diplomats will be working on some of humanity’s knottiest conflicts.</p> World Economic Forum (WEF) President Borge Brende attends a news conference in Cologny, near Geneva, Switzerland January 16, 2018. REUTERS/Pierre Albouy
<p>Trump is expected to arrive on Jan. 25 and make a speech on Jan. 26 at 2 p.m. (1300 GMT). Eight U.S. Secretaries and cabinet members will also be at Davos.</p>
<p>“The U.S. footprint this year will be quite considerable,” WEF president Borge Brende told Reuters.</p>
<p>“What we have heard so far is that he wants to meet with business people from Europe and also from the rest of the world, and he wants to then share with all of the participants his outlook for 2018.”</p>
<p>Trump’s visit has created extra interest because Davos is emblematic of the globalisation that he criticized heavily during his election campaign, and its collaborative ethos is at odds with his “America first” isolationism.</p>
<p>WEF founder Klaus Schwab told a news conference that a theme this year would be the future of global co-operation relating to trade, environment, the fight against terrorism, tax systems and competitiveness.</p>
<p>“In this context, it’s absolutely essential that we have President Trump with us,” he said.</p>
<p>Trump will be just one of a record line-up of political leaders, from Angolan President João Lourenço to Zimbabwe’s Emmerson Mnangagwa.</p>
<p>One invitee who has yet to confirm is Germany’s Angela Merkel.</p>
<p>“She is very much welcome if that is her decision,” said Brende, who stepped down as Norway’s foreign minister late last year to take up his WEF role.</p> World Economic Forum (WEF) founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab arrives to a news conference in Cologny, near Geneva, Switzerland January 16, 2018. REUTERS/Pierre Albouy
<p>He is beefing up the political ambitions of Davos, a retreat more commonly associated with power-broking by wheeler-dealer billionaires.</p>
<p>Among the hundreds of meetings will be closed-door special “diplomatic sessions” devoted to conflicts and reconciliation, including Syria, Somalia, Venezuela, Israel-Palestine, the Korean peninsula and the Western Balkans.</p>
<p>“I think it would be a lost opportunity with so many leaders at the start of the year if we didn’t also address peace and reconciliation questions in Davos,” Brende said.</p>
<p>Davos attendees include King Abdullah of Jordan, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Al-Hamdallah and Trump’s adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner.</p>
<p>“I hope that there will be at least discussions on the situation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and we will have a lot of key players in that ecosystem in Davos,” Brende said, adding that business leaders from both sides would call for a peace solution at Davos.</p>
<p>The exclusive venue gives key political actors the chance to meet out of the public eye, or to communicate indirectly, he said.</p>
<p>Reporting by Tom Miles</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | Aside from Trump limelight, Davos discreetly pushes peace talks | false | https://reuters.com/article/us-davos-meeting/aside-from-trump-limelight-davos-discreetly-pushes-peace-talks-idUSKBN1F52JC | 2018-01-16 | 2least
| Aside from Trump limelight, Davos discreetly pushes peace talks
<p>GENEVA (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump will hog the limelight at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos next week, but behind the scenes some of the world’s leading diplomats will be working on some of humanity’s knottiest conflicts.</p> World Economic Forum (WEF) President Borge Brende attends a news conference in Cologny, near Geneva, Switzerland January 16, 2018. REUTERS/Pierre Albouy
<p>Trump is expected to arrive on Jan. 25 and make a speech on Jan. 26 at 2 p.m. (1300 GMT). Eight U.S. Secretaries and cabinet members will also be at Davos.</p>
<p>“The U.S. footprint this year will be quite considerable,” WEF president Borge Brende told Reuters.</p>
<p>“What we have heard so far is that he wants to meet with business people from Europe and also from the rest of the world, and he wants to then share with all of the participants his outlook for 2018.”</p>
<p>Trump’s visit has created extra interest because Davos is emblematic of the globalisation that he criticized heavily during his election campaign, and its collaborative ethos is at odds with his “America first” isolationism.</p>
<p>WEF founder Klaus Schwab told a news conference that a theme this year would be the future of global co-operation relating to trade, environment, the fight against terrorism, tax systems and competitiveness.</p>
<p>“In this context, it’s absolutely essential that we have President Trump with us,” he said.</p>
<p>Trump will be just one of a record line-up of political leaders, from Angolan President João Lourenço to Zimbabwe’s Emmerson Mnangagwa.</p>
<p>One invitee who has yet to confirm is Germany’s Angela Merkel.</p>
<p>“She is very much welcome if that is her decision,” said Brende, who stepped down as Norway’s foreign minister late last year to take up his WEF role.</p> World Economic Forum (WEF) founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab arrives to a news conference in Cologny, near Geneva, Switzerland January 16, 2018. REUTERS/Pierre Albouy
<p>He is beefing up the political ambitions of Davos, a retreat more commonly associated with power-broking by wheeler-dealer billionaires.</p>
<p>Among the hundreds of meetings will be closed-door special “diplomatic sessions” devoted to conflicts and reconciliation, including Syria, Somalia, Venezuela, Israel-Palestine, the Korean peninsula and the Western Balkans.</p>
<p>“I think it would be a lost opportunity with so many leaders at the start of the year if we didn’t also address peace and reconciliation questions in Davos,” Brende said.</p>
<p>Davos attendees include King Abdullah of Jordan, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Al-Hamdallah and Trump’s adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner.</p>
<p>“I hope that there will be at least discussions on the situation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and we will have a lot of key players in that ecosystem in Davos,” Brende said, adding that business leaders from both sides would call for a peace solution at Davos.</p>
<p>The exclusive venue gives key political actors the chance to meet out of the public eye, or to communicate indirectly, he said.</p>
<p>Reporting by Tom Miles</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | 2,963 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The festival theme is “La Musique de la France” and the two composers are Claude Debussy and Jean Francaix. This year is the 150th anniversary of Debussy’s birth and the 100th anniversary of Francaix’s.</p>
<p>“Juxtaposing the two also emphasizes their very different styles – Debussy was the great Impressionist, a colorist with his own original tonalities who wrote music full of moodiness,” said festival artistic director Ida Kavafian.</p>
<p>“Francaix, even though born 50 years later, sounded less innnovative as he was a NeoClassicist, and his music is witty, sharp, energetic, much more direct and obvious than Debussy. Debussy cared little for traditional form, Francaix was a devotee of it.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Both have distinctive voices that are different from the other, Kavafian added.</p>
<p>Not only are their anniversaries inspirational, but festival patrons will get to hear some of their chamber compositions during the season.</p>
<p>Debussy’s Sonata in D minor for Cello and Piano is on a Saturday, Aug. 18 Taos concert along with music of Ludwig van Beethoven and Amy Beach.</p>
<p>Debussy’s Sonata in G minor for Violin and Piano are on an Aug. 22 concert in Angel Fire. The program also includes Frank Bridge’s Quintet in D minor for Piano and Strings and the world premiere of Steven Stucky’s “Rain Shadow” for Piano and Strings. Stucky is the festival’s composer-in-residence.</p>
<p>Two other Debussy works – the Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp and the Syrinx for Flute Solo – will be performed on Aug. 24 in Las Vegas, N.M. The concert also features W.A. Mozart’s Quartet in F major for Strings and his Divertimento in E-flat major for Strings.</p>
<p>The festival will also present two Francaix pieces.</p>
<p>His Divertissement for Bassoon and Strings will be on the Aug. 25 program in Taos. The same concert has music of Stucky, Maurice Ravel, Edward Elgar and Ralph Vaughan Williams.</p>
<p>And Francaix’s L’Heure du Berger, Sextet for Piano and Wind Quintet will be performed at a Sept. 2 concert in Angel Fire. It also has music by Francis Poulenc, Gustav Holst and Daniel Temkin, who is the festival’s young composer-in-residence.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Poulenc, Ravel, César Franck, Camille Saint-Saëns and André Caplet are five other French composers whose pieces will be performed during the festival.</p>
<p>The festival also will reach back to the 17th century for an Aug. 29 all-Baroque concert in Taos.</p>
<p>“It’s sort of become a tradition and people seem to love Baroque music,” Kavafian said. “The theme is myth and magic, and it involves a number of works that are inspired by that.”</p>
<p>The composers whose music is represented on the concert are Antonio Vivaldi, Henry Purcell, George Friderich Handel, Tomaso Albinoni, Pietro Locatelli and Matthew Locke.</p>
<p>The festival also is giving two free family/youth concerts – Aug. 29 in Taos and Aug. 30 in Eagle Nest. The programs includes Caplet’s Conte fantastique for Harp and String Quartet, after Edgar Allen Poe’s story “Mask of the Red Death.” The concerts include a lecture and demonstration and are free.</p>
<p>For a complete schedule go to <a href="http://www.musicfromangelfire.org" type="external">www.musicfromangelfire.org</a>.</p> | Festival celebrates two classical greats | false | https://abqjournal.com/123776/festival-celebrates-two-classical-greats.html | 2012-08-12 | 2least
| Festival celebrates two classical greats
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The festival theme is “La Musique de la France” and the two composers are Claude Debussy and Jean Francaix. This year is the 150th anniversary of Debussy’s birth and the 100th anniversary of Francaix’s.</p>
<p>“Juxtaposing the two also emphasizes their very different styles – Debussy was the great Impressionist, a colorist with his own original tonalities who wrote music full of moodiness,” said festival artistic director Ida Kavafian.</p>
<p>“Francaix, even though born 50 years later, sounded less innnovative as he was a NeoClassicist, and his music is witty, sharp, energetic, much more direct and obvious than Debussy. Debussy cared little for traditional form, Francaix was a devotee of it.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Both have distinctive voices that are different from the other, Kavafian added.</p>
<p>Not only are their anniversaries inspirational, but festival patrons will get to hear some of their chamber compositions during the season.</p>
<p>Debussy’s Sonata in D minor for Cello and Piano is on a Saturday, Aug. 18 Taos concert along with music of Ludwig van Beethoven and Amy Beach.</p>
<p>Debussy’s Sonata in G minor for Violin and Piano are on an Aug. 22 concert in Angel Fire. The program also includes Frank Bridge’s Quintet in D minor for Piano and Strings and the world premiere of Steven Stucky’s “Rain Shadow” for Piano and Strings. Stucky is the festival’s composer-in-residence.</p>
<p>Two other Debussy works – the Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp and the Syrinx for Flute Solo – will be performed on Aug. 24 in Las Vegas, N.M. The concert also features W.A. Mozart’s Quartet in F major for Strings and his Divertimento in E-flat major for Strings.</p>
<p>The festival will also present two Francaix pieces.</p>
<p>His Divertissement for Bassoon and Strings will be on the Aug. 25 program in Taos. The same concert has music of Stucky, Maurice Ravel, Edward Elgar and Ralph Vaughan Williams.</p>
<p>And Francaix’s L’Heure du Berger, Sextet for Piano and Wind Quintet will be performed at a Sept. 2 concert in Angel Fire. It also has music by Francis Poulenc, Gustav Holst and Daniel Temkin, who is the festival’s young composer-in-residence.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Poulenc, Ravel, César Franck, Camille Saint-Saëns and André Caplet are five other French composers whose pieces will be performed during the festival.</p>
<p>The festival also will reach back to the 17th century for an Aug. 29 all-Baroque concert in Taos.</p>
<p>“It’s sort of become a tradition and people seem to love Baroque music,” Kavafian said. “The theme is myth and magic, and it involves a number of works that are inspired by that.”</p>
<p>The composers whose music is represented on the concert are Antonio Vivaldi, Henry Purcell, George Friderich Handel, Tomaso Albinoni, Pietro Locatelli and Matthew Locke.</p>
<p>The festival also is giving two free family/youth concerts – Aug. 29 in Taos and Aug. 30 in Eagle Nest. The programs includes Caplet’s Conte fantastique for Harp and String Quartet, after Edgar Allen Poe’s story “Mask of the Red Death.” The concerts include a lecture and demonstration and are free.</p>
<p>For a complete schedule go to <a href="http://www.musicfromangelfire.org" type="external">www.musicfromangelfire.org</a>.</p> | 2,964 |
<p>The retailing giant will <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060416/ap_on_bi_ge/wal_mart_culture;_ylt=AlodO44ARZis4FJuXa3hHiIDW7oF;_ylu=X3oDMTBhZDhxNDFzBHNlYwNtZW5ld3M-" type="external">try to help small local businesses</a> via grants and in-store radio ads, among other things. The chain has also started carrying organic products and made attempts at being more transparent in its business practices. Hey, it’s a start…</p>
<p>AP:</p>
<p>Wal-Mart Tries to Modify Corporate Culture</p>
<p>By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO, AP Business Writer, Sun Apr 16, 4:36 PM ET</p>
<p />
<p>After years of accusations that it caused the demise of thousands of smaller merchants, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is undertaking an unusual strategy: helping competing local establishments stay in business.</p>
<p>Wal-Mart recasting itself as a friendly neighbor? It’s the latest course change by the world’s largest merchant as it tries to modify its corporate culture — and the perception that it’s a ruthless competitor obsessed with maintaining its dominance of the retail industry.</p>
<p>Wal-Mart’s proposal to help rival small businesses, from bakeries to hardware stores, focuses on blighted urban markets where the retailer plans to open 50 stores within the next two years. The efforts will range from giving those businesses financial grants to producing free radio ads that will be broadcast on its stores’ radio network.</p>
<p>The image makeover extends to Wal-Mart’s selling floor as well. In recent months, for example, it has embraced organic products from baby clothes to fish caught in ecologically friendly ways.</p>
<p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060416/ap_on_bi_ge/wal_mart_culture;_ylt=AlodO44ARZis4FJuXa3hHiIDW7oF;_ylu=X3oDMTBhZDhxNDFzBHNlYwNtZW5ld3M-" type="external">Link</a></p> | Wal-Mart Tries to Clean Up Its Image | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/wal-mart-tries-to-clean-up-its-image/ | 2006-04-17 | 4left
| Wal-Mart Tries to Clean Up Its Image
<p>The retailing giant will <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060416/ap_on_bi_ge/wal_mart_culture;_ylt=AlodO44ARZis4FJuXa3hHiIDW7oF;_ylu=X3oDMTBhZDhxNDFzBHNlYwNtZW5ld3M-" type="external">try to help small local businesses</a> via grants and in-store radio ads, among other things. The chain has also started carrying organic products and made attempts at being more transparent in its business practices. Hey, it’s a start…</p>
<p>AP:</p>
<p>Wal-Mart Tries to Modify Corporate Culture</p>
<p>By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO, AP Business Writer, Sun Apr 16, 4:36 PM ET</p>
<p />
<p>After years of accusations that it caused the demise of thousands of smaller merchants, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is undertaking an unusual strategy: helping competing local establishments stay in business.</p>
<p>Wal-Mart recasting itself as a friendly neighbor? It’s the latest course change by the world’s largest merchant as it tries to modify its corporate culture — and the perception that it’s a ruthless competitor obsessed with maintaining its dominance of the retail industry.</p>
<p>Wal-Mart’s proposal to help rival small businesses, from bakeries to hardware stores, focuses on blighted urban markets where the retailer plans to open 50 stores within the next two years. The efforts will range from giving those businesses financial grants to producing free radio ads that will be broadcast on its stores’ radio network.</p>
<p>The image makeover extends to Wal-Mart’s selling floor as well. In recent months, for example, it has embraced organic products from baby clothes to fish caught in ecologically friendly ways.</p>
<p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060416/ap_on_bi_ge/wal_mart_culture;_ylt=AlodO44ARZis4FJuXa3hHiIDW7oF;_ylu=X3oDMTBhZDhxNDFzBHNlYwNtZW5ld3M-" type="external">Link</a></p> | 2,965 |
<p>Qualcomm Inc. beat expectations with its quarterly earnings report Wednesday, but shares fell as the company projected profit in the current quarter to be lower than analysts' forecasts. The mobile-focused chipmaker reported fiscal second-quarter earnings of $1.2 billion, or 78 cents a share, on sales of $5.6 billion; after adjustments for share-based compensation and other factors, Qualcomm reported profit of $1.04 a share on sales of $5.5 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected on average for Qualcomm to report adjusted profit of 97 cents a share on sales of $5.34 billion. For the current quarter, the San Diego company projected earnings of 90 cents to $1 a share on sales of $5.2 billion to $6 billion; analysts on average expect profit of $1.02 a share on sales of $5.5 billion, according to FactSet. The company also revealed that it had settled a licensing dispute with LG Electronics Inc. Qualcomm shares declined as much as 3% in immediate late trading after results were announced Wednesday.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2016 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | Qualcomm Falls Despite Earnings Results Beating Estimates | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/04/20/qualcomm-falls-despite-earnings-results-beating-estimates.html | 2016-04-20 | 0right
| Qualcomm Falls Despite Earnings Results Beating Estimates
<p>Qualcomm Inc. beat expectations with its quarterly earnings report Wednesday, but shares fell as the company projected profit in the current quarter to be lower than analysts' forecasts. The mobile-focused chipmaker reported fiscal second-quarter earnings of $1.2 billion, or 78 cents a share, on sales of $5.6 billion; after adjustments for share-based compensation and other factors, Qualcomm reported profit of $1.04 a share on sales of $5.5 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected on average for Qualcomm to report adjusted profit of 97 cents a share on sales of $5.34 billion. For the current quarter, the San Diego company projected earnings of 90 cents to $1 a share on sales of $5.2 billion to $6 billion; analysts on average expect profit of $1.02 a share on sales of $5.5 billion, according to FactSet. The company also revealed that it had settled a licensing dispute with LG Electronics Inc. Qualcomm shares declined as much as 3% in immediate late trading after results were announced Wednesday.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2016 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | 2,966 |
<p>Oh dear. Bad news for the Republicans in the Senate, who’ve been <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/02/22/the-5-factions-senate-republicans-fall-into-on-obamas-supreme-court-pick/" type="external">desperately</a> trying to convince people they’re not abdicating their duties and thumbing their noses at the Constitution by <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/25/opinion/senate-republicans-lose-their-minds-on-a-supreme-court-seat.html" type="external">refusing to meet</a> with a Supreme Court nominee to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia.</p>
<p>Voters aren’t buying it. And not only that, it looks like voters are angry enough that it may cost some senators&#160;their jobs. So far, the senators in trouble include Patrick Toomey (PA), Rob Portman (OH), Kelly Ayotte (NH), and Ron Johnson (WI).</p>
<p>The news came out in <a href="http://www.americansunitedforchange.org/page/-/PPP%20Poll%20Toomey-Portman%20Hurt%20By%20Supreme%20Court%20Stance%202-22-2016.pdf" type="external">two separate</a> Public Policy Polls <a href="http://aufc.3cdn.net/ded7b95250a6ff3725_pgm6b9ttk.pdf" type="external">this week</a>.</p>
<p>An overwhelming majority of voters – and a majority of Republicans – in each of the&#160;four states think the Senate should not refuse to consider a nominee&#160;without even knowing who it is. Specifically:</p>
<p>Moreover, majorities of voters in all four states say they’re less likely to re-elect their senator if he or she fails&#160;to consider a nominee.</p>
<p>Like President Obama, voters are clearly telling their senators to&#160;#DoYourJob. (Since Democrats only need five seats to regain control, they should probably listen. But they won’t.)</p>
<p>(J. Scott Applewhite /AP)</p> | SCOTUS Vacancy: Voters Tell These GOP Senators to Do Their Jobs or Lose Their Jobs | true | http://bluenationreview.com/voters-tell-gop-senators-to-do-their-jobs-or-lose-their-jobs/ | 2016-02-26 | 4left
| SCOTUS Vacancy: Voters Tell These GOP Senators to Do Their Jobs or Lose Their Jobs
<p>Oh dear. Bad news for the Republicans in the Senate, who’ve been <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/02/22/the-5-factions-senate-republicans-fall-into-on-obamas-supreme-court-pick/" type="external">desperately</a> trying to convince people they’re not abdicating their duties and thumbing their noses at the Constitution by <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/25/opinion/senate-republicans-lose-their-minds-on-a-supreme-court-seat.html" type="external">refusing to meet</a> with a Supreme Court nominee to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia.</p>
<p>Voters aren’t buying it. And not only that, it looks like voters are angry enough that it may cost some senators&#160;their jobs. So far, the senators in trouble include Patrick Toomey (PA), Rob Portman (OH), Kelly Ayotte (NH), and Ron Johnson (WI).</p>
<p>The news came out in <a href="http://www.americansunitedforchange.org/page/-/PPP%20Poll%20Toomey-Portman%20Hurt%20By%20Supreme%20Court%20Stance%202-22-2016.pdf" type="external">two separate</a> Public Policy Polls <a href="http://aufc.3cdn.net/ded7b95250a6ff3725_pgm6b9ttk.pdf" type="external">this week</a>.</p>
<p>An overwhelming majority of voters – and a majority of Republicans – in each of the&#160;four states think the Senate should not refuse to consider a nominee&#160;without even knowing who it is. Specifically:</p>
<p>Moreover, majorities of voters in all four states say they’re less likely to re-elect their senator if he or she fails&#160;to consider a nominee.</p>
<p>Like President Obama, voters are clearly telling their senators to&#160;#DoYourJob. (Since Democrats only need five seats to regain control, they should probably listen. But they won’t.)</p>
<p>(J. Scott Applewhite /AP)</p> | 2,967 |
<p>POLSON, Mont. (AP) — Law enforcement officers in northwestern Montana are investigating a fatal shooting that happened at a residence in Arlee on the Flathead Indian Reservation.</p>
<p>Lake County Sheriff Don Bell says 49-year-old Leonard L. Peak Jr. of Arlee was shot Wednesday afternoon. The person who fired the fatal shot was taken into custody and released after questioning. No charges have been filed.</p>
<p>Bell says two witnesses also were questioned and the investigation continues.</p>
<p>POLSON, Mont. (AP) — Law enforcement officers in northwestern Montana are investigating a fatal shooting that happened at a residence in Arlee on the Flathead Indian Reservation.</p>
<p>Lake County Sheriff Don Bell says 49-year-old Leonard L. Peak Jr. of Arlee was shot Wednesday afternoon. The person who fired the fatal shot was taken into custody and released after questioning. No charges have been filed.</p>
<p>Bell says two witnesses also were questioned and the investigation continues.</p> | Man shot to death in Arlee, suspect arrested | false | https://apnews.com/amp/edb3ffebec6f4953a9150693caa044e6 | 2018-01-18 | 2least
| Man shot to death in Arlee, suspect arrested
<p>POLSON, Mont. (AP) — Law enforcement officers in northwestern Montana are investigating a fatal shooting that happened at a residence in Arlee on the Flathead Indian Reservation.</p>
<p>Lake County Sheriff Don Bell says 49-year-old Leonard L. Peak Jr. of Arlee was shot Wednesday afternoon. The person who fired the fatal shot was taken into custody and released after questioning. No charges have been filed.</p>
<p>Bell says two witnesses also were questioned and the investigation continues.</p>
<p>POLSON, Mont. (AP) — Law enforcement officers in northwestern Montana are investigating a fatal shooting that happened at a residence in Arlee on the Flathead Indian Reservation.</p>
<p>Lake County Sheriff Don Bell says 49-year-old Leonard L. Peak Jr. of Arlee was shot Wednesday afternoon. The person who fired the fatal shot was taken into custody and released after questioning. No charges have been filed.</p>
<p>Bell says two witnesses also were questioned and the investigation continues.</p> | 2,968 |
<p />
<p>Photo Credit: HUD.gov</p>
<p />
<p>Rent control is on the march in California, addressing years of leases that have increased to as much as <a href="http://abc7.com/realestate/report-california-rent-increasing-higher-than-national-average/717195/" type="external">43 percent over the national average for a one-bedroom apartment</a>.</p>
<p>In the last year, rent has increased 6.5 percent in the state.</p>
<p>The answer for local politicians is rent control; 16 cities now have such policies, but <a href="http://www.contracostatimes.com/richmond/ci_28596386/richmond-rent-control-ordinance-finalized" type="external">it had been 30 years</a> since the last time any municipality enacted such a thing until Richmond did so&#160;August 6.</p>
<p>The state is one of the most expensive for both buying and renting, and more cities across the U.S., mostly on the coasts, are dealing with rent increases that are taking up to a third of some tenants’ annual salary.</p>
<p>In Richmond, rents have jumped an estimated 30 percent since 2011. To cover the administrative costs of the new rent control program, which begins Sept. 4, a <a href="http://sireweb.ci.richmond.ca.us/sirepub/cache/2/1htawuqblh4ls1hnl2rvmped/44257308072015071050507.PDF" type="external">fee will be imposed on all owners of rental properties</a>.</p>
<p>But a review of reports and testimony surrounding a bill pending in the statehouse indicates that fees levied on developers is how we got to the ever-rising rents in the first place.</p>
<p>The first report, which now reads as a road map to rent hike disaster, was <a href="http://www.hcd.ca.gov/housing-policy-development/pay-to-play/fee_rpt.pdf" type="external">released in August 2001</a> by the state Department of Housing and Community Development. Titled “Pay to play,” the report dug into the residential development fees that are now being noted as the primary cause of rent increases:</p>
<p>“California’s high residential development fees significantly contribute to its high housing costs and prices,” the report stated. “Among our sample of California jurisdictions, fees account for an average of 10 percent of the median price of new single-family homes. Fees account for a lower share of housing prices in more expensive housing markets and a higher share in less expensive markets.”</p>
<p>The report also included a simulation, calculating what would happen if development fees were cut. Using Santa Clara County as an example, a 50 percent reduction in development fees at a 45-unit apartment building would take down monthly rent by 4 percentage points, still allowing for a 10 percent return.</p>
<p>It’s hard for a lot of the public to be sympathetic to developers; over the years they’ve been portrayed as desecrators of open woodlands and the ruin of tradition. At the same time, without them, housing would be a mess. And stopping them, even worse.</p>
<p>There are&#160;a dozen fees that can be leveled on developers. They include environmental documentation fees, school mitigation fees and something called a plan check fee, which involves a review of a planned building or development. In Long Beach, that can cost up to “85 percent of Building Permit fee per plan check, but not less than $112.58,” according to <a href="http://www.lbds.info/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=2505" type="external">city documents</a>. In Roseville, a plan check can involve as many as <a href="https://www.roseville.ca.us/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?blobid=3335" type="external">seven city departments for a multi-family project</a>. If time is money, and it is for most developers, that can be a costly delay.</p>
<p><a href="http://district34.cssrc.us/" type="external">State Sen. Janet Nguyen</a>,&#160;R- Garden Grove, introduced <a href="http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/15-16/bill/sen/sb_0301-0350/sb_341_cfa_20150511_101129_sen_comm.html" type="external">Senate Bill 341</a> in February that would, in part, address the state’s outsized development fees by requiring a periodic assessment of the various fees being charged by municipalities on developers.</p>
<p>Nguyen said in a May hearing of the Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations that the average local development fee in the state is over $22,000 as opposed to $6,000 in other states. And when adjusted for cost of living, California’s property tax rate is the highest in the U.S.</p>
<p>She noted that the last evaluation of the various development fees was done in 1998, “and it is time to update these numbers to find out what effect these fees have on current housing prices.”</p>
<p>But of course there’s a cost to the proposed periodic assessments; a Department of Finance representative said it would be around $300,000 each time.</p>
<p>If passed, Nguyen’s legislation would make California one of the rare states with a regular assessment of developer fees, said Clancy Mullen, vice president of Austin, Texas-based Duncan Associates, which advises municipalities on impact fees.</p>
<p>“Unless there is a push in a legislature to clamp down, these are not looked at with any regularity in states,” said Mullen, whose group compiled a <a href="http://www.impactfees.com/publications%20pdf/2012_survey.pdf" type="external">2012 survey on developer fees in the U.S</a>. “States may pass an enabling act then tweak it from time to time, but there is no regular review. This would be a first.”</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p> | Developer fees targeted by legislation as cities battle housing costs | false | https://calwatchdog.com/2015/08/11/developer-fees-targeted-legislation-cities-battle-housing-costs/ | 2018-08-20 | 3left-center
| Developer fees targeted by legislation as cities battle housing costs
<p />
<p>Photo Credit: HUD.gov</p>
<p />
<p>Rent control is on the march in California, addressing years of leases that have increased to as much as <a href="http://abc7.com/realestate/report-california-rent-increasing-higher-than-national-average/717195/" type="external">43 percent over the national average for a one-bedroom apartment</a>.</p>
<p>In the last year, rent has increased 6.5 percent in the state.</p>
<p>The answer for local politicians is rent control; 16 cities now have such policies, but <a href="http://www.contracostatimes.com/richmond/ci_28596386/richmond-rent-control-ordinance-finalized" type="external">it had been 30 years</a> since the last time any municipality enacted such a thing until Richmond did so&#160;August 6.</p>
<p>The state is one of the most expensive for both buying and renting, and more cities across the U.S., mostly on the coasts, are dealing with rent increases that are taking up to a third of some tenants’ annual salary.</p>
<p>In Richmond, rents have jumped an estimated 30 percent since 2011. To cover the administrative costs of the new rent control program, which begins Sept. 4, a <a href="http://sireweb.ci.richmond.ca.us/sirepub/cache/2/1htawuqblh4ls1hnl2rvmped/44257308072015071050507.PDF" type="external">fee will be imposed on all owners of rental properties</a>.</p>
<p>But a review of reports and testimony surrounding a bill pending in the statehouse indicates that fees levied on developers is how we got to the ever-rising rents in the first place.</p>
<p>The first report, which now reads as a road map to rent hike disaster, was <a href="http://www.hcd.ca.gov/housing-policy-development/pay-to-play/fee_rpt.pdf" type="external">released in August 2001</a> by the state Department of Housing and Community Development. Titled “Pay to play,” the report dug into the residential development fees that are now being noted as the primary cause of rent increases:</p>
<p>“California’s high residential development fees significantly contribute to its high housing costs and prices,” the report stated. “Among our sample of California jurisdictions, fees account for an average of 10 percent of the median price of new single-family homes. Fees account for a lower share of housing prices in more expensive housing markets and a higher share in less expensive markets.”</p>
<p>The report also included a simulation, calculating what would happen if development fees were cut. Using Santa Clara County as an example, a 50 percent reduction in development fees at a 45-unit apartment building would take down monthly rent by 4 percentage points, still allowing for a 10 percent return.</p>
<p>It’s hard for a lot of the public to be sympathetic to developers; over the years they’ve been portrayed as desecrators of open woodlands and the ruin of tradition. At the same time, without them, housing would be a mess. And stopping them, even worse.</p>
<p>There are&#160;a dozen fees that can be leveled on developers. They include environmental documentation fees, school mitigation fees and something called a plan check fee, which involves a review of a planned building or development. In Long Beach, that can cost up to “85 percent of Building Permit fee per plan check, but not less than $112.58,” according to <a href="http://www.lbds.info/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=2505" type="external">city documents</a>. In Roseville, a plan check can involve as many as <a href="https://www.roseville.ca.us/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?blobid=3335" type="external">seven city departments for a multi-family project</a>. If time is money, and it is for most developers, that can be a costly delay.</p>
<p><a href="http://district34.cssrc.us/" type="external">State Sen. Janet Nguyen</a>,&#160;R- Garden Grove, introduced <a href="http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/15-16/bill/sen/sb_0301-0350/sb_341_cfa_20150511_101129_sen_comm.html" type="external">Senate Bill 341</a> in February that would, in part, address the state’s outsized development fees by requiring a periodic assessment of the various fees being charged by municipalities on developers.</p>
<p>Nguyen said in a May hearing of the Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations that the average local development fee in the state is over $22,000 as opposed to $6,000 in other states. And when adjusted for cost of living, California’s property tax rate is the highest in the U.S.</p>
<p>She noted that the last evaluation of the various development fees was done in 1998, “and it is time to update these numbers to find out what effect these fees have on current housing prices.”</p>
<p>But of course there’s a cost to the proposed periodic assessments; a Department of Finance representative said it would be around $300,000 each time.</p>
<p>If passed, Nguyen’s legislation would make California one of the rare states with a regular assessment of developer fees, said Clancy Mullen, vice president of Austin, Texas-based Duncan Associates, which advises municipalities on impact fees.</p>
<p>“Unless there is a push in a legislature to clamp down, these are not looked at with any regularity in states,” said Mullen, whose group compiled a <a href="http://www.impactfees.com/publications%20pdf/2012_survey.pdf" type="external">2012 survey on developer fees in the U.S</a>. “States may pass an enabling act then tweak it from time to time, but there is no regular review. This would be a first.”</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p> | 2,969 |
<p>The Trump campaign claims it knows something that the rest of us are too blind to notice: There are millions of “undercover Trump voters” that will inevitably drive the Donald to victory. Or at least that’s what Trump’s new campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, is suggesting.</p>
<p>In an interview with the UK’s Channel 4, Conway flatly rejected the notion that Trump is doing horribly in the polls. Instead, she told the interviewers of the program aptly titled “ <a href="http://www.mediaite.com/tv/trump-campaign-manager-were-actually-winning-right-now-because-of-undercover-trump-voters/" type="external">President Trump: Can He Really Win?</a>” that the corrupt media is obfuscating the real numbers to ensure that her candidate loses.</p>
<p>“Cherry-picked polling numbers that are put out there by media outlets that are also bent on his destruction,” she said.</p>
<p>Condemning the poll trackers as out-of-touch, Conway said that only the Trump team has access to real numbers.</p>
<p>“Donald Trump performs consistently better in online polling where a human being is not talking to another human being about what he or she may do in the election,” she claimed. “It’s because it’s become socially desirable, if you’re a college educated person in the United States of America, to say that you’re against Donald Trump.”</p>
<p>What she said next only compounded the widespread perception that the Trump campaign has swept itself up in self-delusion.</p>
<p>“The hidden Trump vote in this country is a very significant proposition,” she stressed.</p>
<p>When asked to provide specifics on the “hidden Trump vote,” Conway hinted at some some secret internal campaign “project” that has presumably gathered electoral data contradicting basically every single publicly available poll.</p>
<p>Here’s the exchange, courtesy of <a href="http://www.mediaite.com/tv/trump-campaign-manager-were-actually-winning-right-now-because-of-undercover-trump-voters/" type="external">Mediaite</a>:</p>
<p>Conway: The hidden Trump vote in this country is a very significant proposition.</p>
<p>Channel 4 interviewer: Have you been able to put a number on that?</p>
<p>Conway: Yes.</p>
<p>Channel 4 interviewer: What do you think that is?</p>
<p>Conway: I can’t discuss it. It’s a project we’re doing internally. I call it the undercover Trump voter, but it’s real.</p>
<p>In other words, Trump will win, because our secret “project” that we obviously can’t talk about says so...</p>
<p>Right. Call me skeptical.</p> | Trump Campaign Manager: Our Guy Will Win With ‘Undercover Voters’ Because Our Secret ‘Project’ Says So | true | https://dailywire.com/news/8652/trump-campaign-manager-our-guy-will-win-undercover-joshua-yasmeh | 2016-08-25 | 0right
| Trump Campaign Manager: Our Guy Will Win With ‘Undercover Voters’ Because Our Secret ‘Project’ Says So
<p>The Trump campaign claims it knows something that the rest of us are too blind to notice: There are millions of “undercover Trump voters” that will inevitably drive the Donald to victory. Or at least that’s what Trump’s new campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, is suggesting.</p>
<p>In an interview with the UK’s Channel 4, Conway flatly rejected the notion that Trump is doing horribly in the polls. Instead, she told the interviewers of the program aptly titled “ <a href="http://www.mediaite.com/tv/trump-campaign-manager-were-actually-winning-right-now-because-of-undercover-trump-voters/" type="external">President Trump: Can He Really Win?</a>” that the corrupt media is obfuscating the real numbers to ensure that her candidate loses.</p>
<p>“Cherry-picked polling numbers that are put out there by media outlets that are also bent on his destruction,” she said.</p>
<p>Condemning the poll trackers as out-of-touch, Conway said that only the Trump team has access to real numbers.</p>
<p>“Donald Trump performs consistently better in online polling where a human being is not talking to another human being about what he or she may do in the election,” she claimed. “It’s because it’s become socially desirable, if you’re a college educated person in the United States of America, to say that you’re against Donald Trump.”</p>
<p>What she said next only compounded the widespread perception that the Trump campaign has swept itself up in self-delusion.</p>
<p>“The hidden Trump vote in this country is a very significant proposition,” she stressed.</p>
<p>When asked to provide specifics on the “hidden Trump vote,” Conway hinted at some some secret internal campaign “project” that has presumably gathered electoral data contradicting basically every single publicly available poll.</p>
<p>Here’s the exchange, courtesy of <a href="http://www.mediaite.com/tv/trump-campaign-manager-were-actually-winning-right-now-because-of-undercover-trump-voters/" type="external">Mediaite</a>:</p>
<p>Conway: The hidden Trump vote in this country is a very significant proposition.</p>
<p>Channel 4 interviewer: Have you been able to put a number on that?</p>
<p>Conway: Yes.</p>
<p>Channel 4 interviewer: What do you think that is?</p>
<p>Conway: I can’t discuss it. It’s a project we’re doing internally. I call it the undercover Trump voter, but it’s real.</p>
<p>In other words, Trump will win, because our secret “project” that we obviously can’t talk about says so...</p>
<p>Right. Call me skeptical.</p> | 2,970 |
<p />
<p>The NBA will have its first openly gay active player. Jason Collins, who <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/magazine/news/20130429/jason-collins-gay-nba-player/#all" type="external">came out in Sports Illustrated</a> last April, signed a 10-day contract Sunday with the Brooklyn Nets. When Collins steps on to the court, it will be the first time an athlete who is widely known to be gay will have played in an NBA, NFL, NHL, or MLB game.</p>
<p>Collins announced he was gay when, after a slew of injuries, he wasn’t on any team’s roster and he remained unsigned until the Nets recently reached out to him. Collins will likely <a href="http://espn.go.com/new-york/nba/story/_/id/10506550/jason-collins-sign-brooklyn-nets" type="external">make his first appearance</a> in the Nets’ Sunday night game against the Los Angeles Lakers.</p>
<p />
<p>Collins’ NBA return comes as former University of Missouri football player Michael Sam is <a href="http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/118035/sam-seizes-moment-at-nfl-combine" type="external">working out at the NFL Combine</a> and preparing for the league’s May draft. Sam, who <a href="http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/10429030/michael-sam-missouri-tigers-says-gay" type="external">came out in February</a>, is looking to be the first openly gay player in the NFL. John Amaechi became the <a href="http://www.outsports.com/2013/2/20/4009716/john-amaechi-comes-out-gay" type="external">first former NBA player to come out</a> in 2007, though he did so after his five-season career was over. Glenn Burke, who played baseball for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland Athletics from 1976 to 1979, may have been the <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/05/actually-jason-collins-isnt-the-first-openly-gay-man-in-a-major-pro-sport/275523/" type="external">first openly gay player</a> in any major American professional sport—though reporters at the time kept Burke’s sexuality under wraps and the Dodgers even tried paying him to take part in a sham marriage. (Burke refused.)</p>
<p>Collins <a href="" type="internal">received the public backing</a> of many NBA stars when he came out last year. That support continued during the signing process, with new teammate Kevin Garnett <a href="http://espn.go.com/new-york/nba/story/_/id/10506550/jason-collins-sign-brooklyn-nets" type="external">telling reporters</a>, “I think it’s important that anybody who has the capabilities and skill level [gets] a chance to [do] something he’s great at. I think it would be bias, and in a sense, racist, if you [were] to keep that opportunity from a person.” Collins will wear jersey number 98 with the Nets in honor of Matthew Shepard, the University of Wyoming student whose brutal <a href="http://www.matthewshepard.org/our-story/matthews-story" type="external">1998 beating and death</a> made him a gay rights martyr.</p>
<p /> | Openly Gay NBA Player Jason Collins Signed by Brooklyn Nets | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2014/02/jason-collins-brooklyn-nets-nba/ | 2014-02-24 | 4left
| Openly Gay NBA Player Jason Collins Signed by Brooklyn Nets
<p />
<p>The NBA will have its first openly gay active player. Jason Collins, who <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/magazine/news/20130429/jason-collins-gay-nba-player/#all" type="external">came out in Sports Illustrated</a> last April, signed a 10-day contract Sunday with the Brooklyn Nets. When Collins steps on to the court, it will be the first time an athlete who is widely known to be gay will have played in an NBA, NFL, NHL, or MLB game.</p>
<p>Collins announced he was gay when, after a slew of injuries, he wasn’t on any team’s roster and he remained unsigned until the Nets recently reached out to him. Collins will likely <a href="http://espn.go.com/new-york/nba/story/_/id/10506550/jason-collins-sign-brooklyn-nets" type="external">make his first appearance</a> in the Nets’ Sunday night game against the Los Angeles Lakers.</p>
<p />
<p>Collins’ NBA return comes as former University of Missouri football player Michael Sam is <a href="http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/118035/sam-seizes-moment-at-nfl-combine" type="external">working out at the NFL Combine</a> and preparing for the league’s May draft. Sam, who <a href="http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/10429030/michael-sam-missouri-tigers-says-gay" type="external">came out in February</a>, is looking to be the first openly gay player in the NFL. John Amaechi became the <a href="http://www.outsports.com/2013/2/20/4009716/john-amaechi-comes-out-gay" type="external">first former NBA player to come out</a> in 2007, though he did so after his five-season career was over. Glenn Burke, who played baseball for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland Athletics from 1976 to 1979, may have been the <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/05/actually-jason-collins-isnt-the-first-openly-gay-man-in-a-major-pro-sport/275523/" type="external">first openly gay player</a> in any major American professional sport—though reporters at the time kept Burke’s sexuality under wraps and the Dodgers even tried paying him to take part in a sham marriage. (Burke refused.)</p>
<p>Collins <a href="" type="internal">received the public backing</a> of many NBA stars when he came out last year. That support continued during the signing process, with new teammate Kevin Garnett <a href="http://espn.go.com/new-york/nba/story/_/id/10506550/jason-collins-sign-brooklyn-nets" type="external">telling reporters</a>, “I think it’s important that anybody who has the capabilities and skill level [gets] a chance to [do] something he’s great at. I think it would be bias, and in a sense, racist, if you [were] to keep that opportunity from a person.” Collins will wear jersey number 98 with the Nets in honor of Matthew Shepard, the University of Wyoming student whose brutal <a href="http://www.matthewshepard.org/our-story/matthews-story" type="external">1998 beating and death</a> made him a gay rights martyr.</p>
<p /> | 2,971 |
<p>There has been no more ridiculous sight over the past week than&#160; <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/13/opinion/david-brooks-the-sunni-shiite-conflict-explodes-in-iraq.html?hp&amp;rref=opinion" type="external">pundits</a> suggesting the crisis in Iraq happened because the United States withdrew its troops too soon.</p>
<p>No attention, of course, is paid to the ways in which US policy <a href="http://fpif.org/the_us_role_in_iraqs_sectarian_violence/" type="external">facilitated the sectarianism</a> now tearing apart the country. Nor is there any acknowledgement that the US ruling class and its allies are the single worst cause of suffering in Iraq since 2003 — actually, probably since at least <a href="http://www.lrb.co.uk/v32/n14/andrew-cockburn/worth-it" type="external">1991</a>. Claiming that there is violence in Iraq because of the absence of American troops defies comprehension.</p>
<p>The 2003 invasion and subsequent occupation still scar the country. American white phosphorous use in Fallujah, for example, has led to rates of infant mortality, cancer, and leukemia <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/toxic-legacy-of-us-assault-on-fallujah-worse-than-hiroshima-2034065.html" type="external">higher</a> than those reported in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki" type="external">Hiroshima and Nagasaki</a>. Ample <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/earth-insight/2013/oct/13/world-health-organisation-iraq-war-depleted-uranium" type="external">evidence</a> suggests the US used depleted uranium, as well. <a href="http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/R40824.pdf" type="external">Tabulations</a> of Iraqis killed by the invasion vary but respected organizations come up with shocking totals: The World Health Organization put the number at 151,000 by June 2006; the Lancet estimated 426,369–793,663 by July 2006, Britain’s Opinion Business Research counted over a million civilians.</p>
<p>By then, torture was <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/sep/21/iraq" type="external">worse</a> in Iraq than it was under Saddam Hussein. So <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/iraqs-disintegration-could-haunt-the-us-for-years-to-come/2014/06/12/9aab1af4-f264-11e3-914c-1fbd0614e2d4_story.html?hpid=z4" type="external">suggesting</a> American military force should be used to solve the crisis in Iraq is like recommending that a patient treat cirrhosis of the liver by polishing off a bottle of gin.</p>
<p>While the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham’s&#160;(ISIS) conduct gets most of the headlines, what is happening in Iraq has to be understood at least in part as a Sunni <a href="http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2014/06/14/Iraqi-crisis-Terrorist-attacks-or-popular-uprising/9591402774570/?spt=su" type="external">popular uprising</a> against Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, who has often been quite <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/humanrights/2013/03/201331883513244683.html" type="external">ruthless</a>&#160;in his own right.</p>
<p>And fighting in place of the vanished Iraqi army has been Shia militias such as the Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq (AAH).&#160;As Vijay Prashad <a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/06/17/iraqs-night-is-long/" type="external">writes</a>, AAH has been “given a long license by al-Maliki. Its leader Qayis Khazali was expelled from the Mahdi Army by al-Sadr because he is a loose cannon. His group has been active across Iraq, accused of supplanting the security services and being some of the most ruthless fighters around the shrine of Sayida Zainab in Damascus.”</p>
<p>Yet a dangerous mainstream media narrative has focused on the brutality of ISIS while downplaying that of the other actors involved. When the story is told that way, the message is that stopping ISIS is sufficient to solve Iraq’s problems. That framing of events lays the groundwork for another US bombing campaign, which will kill yet more civilians and be seen as an intervention on behalf of Shiites, which will only serve to inflame sectarian conflict.</p>
<p>America and its allies have done more than enough to harm to Iraqis in this century and the last. Radicals in the heart of empire need to support <a href="http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/18143/on-recent-events-in-mosul-and-other-cities-in-iraq" type="external">Iraqi leftists</a> who are struggling for a just self-rule against competing local ruling classes as well as imperialist interests. And we&#160;must&#160;vigorously oppose any further American military action so they have a chance at succeeding.</p> | No More Imperial Crusades | true | https://jacobinmag.com/2014/06/no-more-imperial-crusades/ | 2018-10-03 | 4left
| No More Imperial Crusades
<p>There has been no more ridiculous sight over the past week than&#160; <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/13/opinion/david-brooks-the-sunni-shiite-conflict-explodes-in-iraq.html?hp&amp;rref=opinion" type="external">pundits</a> suggesting the crisis in Iraq happened because the United States withdrew its troops too soon.</p>
<p>No attention, of course, is paid to the ways in which US policy <a href="http://fpif.org/the_us_role_in_iraqs_sectarian_violence/" type="external">facilitated the sectarianism</a> now tearing apart the country. Nor is there any acknowledgement that the US ruling class and its allies are the single worst cause of suffering in Iraq since 2003 — actually, probably since at least <a href="http://www.lrb.co.uk/v32/n14/andrew-cockburn/worth-it" type="external">1991</a>. Claiming that there is violence in Iraq because of the absence of American troops defies comprehension.</p>
<p>The 2003 invasion and subsequent occupation still scar the country. American white phosphorous use in Fallujah, for example, has led to rates of infant mortality, cancer, and leukemia <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/toxic-legacy-of-us-assault-on-fallujah-worse-than-hiroshima-2034065.html" type="external">higher</a> than those reported in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki" type="external">Hiroshima and Nagasaki</a>. Ample <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/earth-insight/2013/oct/13/world-health-organisation-iraq-war-depleted-uranium" type="external">evidence</a> suggests the US used depleted uranium, as well. <a href="http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/R40824.pdf" type="external">Tabulations</a> of Iraqis killed by the invasion vary but respected organizations come up with shocking totals: The World Health Organization put the number at 151,000 by June 2006; the Lancet estimated 426,369–793,663 by July 2006, Britain’s Opinion Business Research counted over a million civilians.</p>
<p>By then, torture was <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/sep/21/iraq" type="external">worse</a> in Iraq than it was under Saddam Hussein. So <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/iraqs-disintegration-could-haunt-the-us-for-years-to-come/2014/06/12/9aab1af4-f264-11e3-914c-1fbd0614e2d4_story.html?hpid=z4" type="external">suggesting</a> American military force should be used to solve the crisis in Iraq is like recommending that a patient treat cirrhosis of the liver by polishing off a bottle of gin.</p>
<p>While the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham’s&#160;(ISIS) conduct gets most of the headlines, what is happening in Iraq has to be understood at least in part as a Sunni <a href="http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2014/06/14/Iraqi-crisis-Terrorist-attacks-or-popular-uprising/9591402774570/?spt=su" type="external">popular uprising</a> against Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, who has often been quite <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/humanrights/2013/03/201331883513244683.html" type="external">ruthless</a>&#160;in his own right.</p>
<p>And fighting in place of the vanished Iraqi army has been Shia militias such as the Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq (AAH).&#160;As Vijay Prashad <a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/06/17/iraqs-night-is-long/" type="external">writes</a>, AAH has been “given a long license by al-Maliki. Its leader Qayis Khazali was expelled from the Mahdi Army by al-Sadr because he is a loose cannon. His group has been active across Iraq, accused of supplanting the security services and being some of the most ruthless fighters around the shrine of Sayida Zainab in Damascus.”</p>
<p>Yet a dangerous mainstream media narrative has focused on the brutality of ISIS while downplaying that of the other actors involved. When the story is told that way, the message is that stopping ISIS is sufficient to solve Iraq’s problems. That framing of events lays the groundwork for another US bombing campaign, which will kill yet more civilians and be seen as an intervention on behalf of Shiites, which will only serve to inflame sectarian conflict.</p>
<p>America and its allies have done more than enough to harm to Iraqis in this century and the last. Radicals in the heart of empire need to support <a href="http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/18143/on-recent-events-in-mosul-and-other-cities-in-iraq" type="external">Iraqi leftists</a> who are struggling for a just self-rule against competing local ruling classes as well as imperialist interests. And we&#160;must&#160;vigorously oppose any further American military action so they have a chance at succeeding.</p> | 2,972 |
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<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The Lobos (27-23, 16-1) completed a three-game home sweep of the Spartans (12-40, 5-22), outscoring them 52-20 over the weekend.</p>
<p>Even though the Lobos host No. 9 Arizona State on Tuesday, they celebrated Senior Day on Sunday. Ryan Padilla, the lone fourth-year senior in the program and one of four co-captains, recorded three groundouts in an inning of relief in his third career pitching appearance, all in the last 10 days. He also smacked a two-run triple in his lone at-bat.</p>
<p>"We wanted to (get him on the mound) because it might give him a chance to get drafted," said UNM coach Ray Birmingham.</p>
<p>Six Lobos had multiple hits. Carl Stajduhar went 3-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs, while Jack Zoellner was 3-for-6 with three runs. James Harrington (1-1) earned his first collegiate win by allowing one run in two relief innings.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Lobo Weber double trouble for San Jose State | false | https://abqjournal.com/582589/weber-hits-four-doubles-in-another-rout-of-sjsu.html | 2least
| Lobo Weber double trouble for San Jose State
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<p />
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The Lobos (27-23, 16-1) completed a three-game home sweep of the Spartans (12-40, 5-22), outscoring them 52-20 over the weekend.</p>
<p>Even though the Lobos host No. 9 Arizona State on Tuesday, they celebrated Senior Day on Sunday. Ryan Padilla, the lone fourth-year senior in the program and one of four co-captains, recorded three groundouts in an inning of relief in his third career pitching appearance, all in the last 10 days. He also smacked a two-run triple in his lone at-bat.</p>
<p>"We wanted to (get him on the mound) because it might give him a chance to get drafted," said UNM coach Ray Birmingham.</p>
<p>Six Lobos had multiple hits. Carl Stajduhar went 3-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs, while Jack Zoellner was 3-for-6 with three runs. James Harrington (1-1) earned his first collegiate win by allowing one run in two relief innings.</p>
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<p /> | 2,973 |
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<p>DEERFIELD, Ill. — Caterpillar Inc. on Thursday reported a loss of $1.3 billion in its fourth quarter, driven down by a hefty charge related to tax reform.</p>
<p>On a per-share basis, the Deerfield, Illinois-based company said it had a loss of $2.18. Results in the latest quarter include a tax-related charge of $2.4 billion, or $3.91 per share. Excluding that, restructuring costs and other items, Caterpillar earned $2.16 per share, topping the average estimate of $1.77 per share, according to Zacks Investment Research.</p>
<p>The construction equipment company posted revenue growth of 35 percent to $12.9 billion, also beating Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $12.01 billion.</p>
<p>“After four challenging years, many key markets improved in 2017, and our global team delivered strong results,” CEO Jim Umpleby said in a statement. “We remained focused on operational excellence and made early investments in profitable growth initiatives as we began to implement our new strategy.”</p>
<p>For the full year, the company earned $754 million, or $1.26 per share, on revenue of $45.46 billion. Adjusted earnings per share for 2017 totaled $6.88.</p>
<p>Looking ahead, Caterpillar expects 2018 adjusted earnings in the range of $8.25 to $9.25 per share. That tops the average FactSet estimate of $8.15 per share.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Caterpillar shares added 4 cents to$168.38 in afternoon trading.</p>
<p>_____</p>
<p>Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights ( <a href="http://automatedinsights.com/ap)" type="external">http://automatedinsights.com/ap)</a> using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on CAT at https://www.zacks.com/ap/CAT</p>
<p>_____</p>
<p>This story has been corrected to show that Caterpillar is now based in Deerfield, not Peoria, Illinois.</p> | Caterpillar posts 4Q loss on tax charge, but adjusted EPS up | false | https://abqjournal.com/1124143/caterpillar-posts-4q-loss-on-tax-charge-but-adjusted-eps-up.html | 2018-01-25 | 2least
| Caterpillar posts 4Q loss on tax charge, but adjusted EPS up
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<p>DEERFIELD, Ill. — Caterpillar Inc. on Thursday reported a loss of $1.3 billion in its fourth quarter, driven down by a hefty charge related to tax reform.</p>
<p>On a per-share basis, the Deerfield, Illinois-based company said it had a loss of $2.18. Results in the latest quarter include a tax-related charge of $2.4 billion, or $3.91 per share. Excluding that, restructuring costs and other items, Caterpillar earned $2.16 per share, topping the average estimate of $1.77 per share, according to Zacks Investment Research.</p>
<p>The construction equipment company posted revenue growth of 35 percent to $12.9 billion, also beating Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $12.01 billion.</p>
<p>“After four challenging years, many key markets improved in 2017, and our global team delivered strong results,” CEO Jim Umpleby said in a statement. “We remained focused on operational excellence and made early investments in profitable growth initiatives as we began to implement our new strategy.”</p>
<p>For the full year, the company earned $754 million, or $1.26 per share, on revenue of $45.46 billion. Adjusted earnings per share for 2017 totaled $6.88.</p>
<p>Looking ahead, Caterpillar expects 2018 adjusted earnings in the range of $8.25 to $9.25 per share. That tops the average FactSet estimate of $8.15 per share.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Caterpillar shares added 4 cents to$168.38 in afternoon trading.</p>
<p>_____</p>
<p>Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights ( <a href="http://automatedinsights.com/ap)" type="external">http://automatedinsights.com/ap)</a> using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on CAT at https://www.zacks.com/ap/CAT</p>
<p>_____</p>
<p>This story has been corrected to show that Caterpillar is now based in Deerfield, not Peoria, Illinois.</p> | 2,974 |
<p>Baltimore Liberty Union 49, Cols. Hamilton Twp. 32</p>
<p>Caledonia River Valley 44, Bellville Clear Fork 42</p>
<p>Circleville 42, Ashville Teays Valley 37</p>
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<p>Cols. Beechcroft 51, Cols. Centennial 39</p>
<p>Cols. Mifflin 53, Cols. East 47</p>
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<p>Holland Springfield 56, Whitehouse Anthony Wayne 38</p>
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<p>Lancaster 39, Grove City 22</p>
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<p>Westerville S. 57, Lewis Center Olentangy 41</p>
<p>Worthington Christian 44, Gahanna Cols. Academy 16</p>
<p>Zanesville Rosecrans 58, Millersport 15</p>
<p>Baltimore Liberty Union 49, Cols. Hamilton Twp. 32</p>
<p>Caledonia River Valley 44, Bellville Clear Fork 42</p>
<p>Circleville 42, Ashville Teays Valley 37</p>
<p>Cols. Africentric 73, Cols. Marion-Franklin 17</p>
<p>Cols. Beechcroft 51, Cols. Centennial 39</p>
<p>Cols. Mifflin 53, Cols. East 47</p>
<p>Cols. Northland 67, Cols. International 27</p>
<p>Cols. Ready 73, Cols. Horizon Science 37</p>
<p>Delaware Christian 46, Powell Village Academy 21</p>
<p>Dublin Coffman 72, Hilliard Davidson 45</p>
<p>Dublin Jerome 43, Worthington Kilbourne 35</p>
<p>Edgerton 42, Defiance Ayersville 15</p>
<p>Gorham Fayette 44, Pioneer N. Central 40</p>
<p>Granville 48, Pataskala Watkins Memorial 32</p>
<p>Haviland Wayne Trace 64, Sherwood Fairview 45</p>
<p>Hebron Lakewood 54, Patriot Preparatory Academy 32</p>
<p>Hicksville 41, Antwerp 40</p>
<p>Hilliard Darby 55, Delaware Hayes 39</p>
<p>Holgate 52, Defiance Tinora 46</p>
<p>Holland Springfield 56, Whitehouse Anthony Wayne 38</p>
<p>Hubbard 51, Ashtabula Lakeside 36</p>
<p>Lancaster 39, Grove City 22</p>
<p>Lancaster Fairfield Union 40, Circleville Logan Elm 36</p>
<p>Logan 76, Heath 27</p>
<p>Marysville 63, Galloway Westland 33</p>
<p>Montpelier 48, W. Unity Hilltop 28</p>
<p>Norwalk St. Paul 52, Monroeville 43, OT</p>
<p>Ontario 41, Delaware Buckeye Valley 36</p>
<p>Perrysburg 40, Maumee 19</p>
<p>Pettisville 35, Edon 28</p>
<p>Powell Olentangy Liberty 59, Lewis Center Olentangy Orange 40</p>
<p>Reynoldsburg 60, Gahanna Lincoln 57</p>
<p>Richwood N. Union 53, Marion Pleasant 51, OT</p>
<p>Sunbury Big Walnut 53, Canal Winchester 40</p>
<p>Sylvania Southview 59, Sylvania Northview 42</p>
<p>Thomas Worthington 43, Hilliard Bradley 37</p>
<p>Tree of Life 64, Gahanna Christian 29</p>
<p>Wellston 64, New Hope Christian 59</p>
<p>Westerville Cent. 46, Westerville N. 43</p>
<p>Westerville S. 57, Lewis Center Olentangy 41</p>
<p>Worthington Christian 44, Gahanna Cols. Academy 16</p>
<p>Zanesville Rosecrans 58, Millersport 15</p> | Friday's Scores | false | https://apnews.com/amp/8861583b70d346299b80a672a7ed47d4 | 2018-01-20 | 2least
| Friday's Scores
<p>Baltimore Liberty Union 49, Cols. Hamilton Twp. 32</p>
<p>Caledonia River Valley 44, Bellville Clear Fork 42</p>
<p>Circleville 42, Ashville Teays Valley 37</p>
<p>Cols. Africentric 73, Cols. Marion-Franklin 17</p>
<p>Cols. Beechcroft 51, Cols. Centennial 39</p>
<p>Cols. Mifflin 53, Cols. East 47</p>
<p>Cols. Northland 67, Cols. International 27</p>
<p>Cols. Ready 73, Cols. Horizon Science 37</p>
<p>Delaware Christian 46, Powell Village Academy 21</p>
<p>Dublin Coffman 72, Hilliard Davidson 45</p>
<p>Dublin Jerome 43, Worthington Kilbourne 35</p>
<p>Edgerton 42, Defiance Ayersville 15</p>
<p>Gorham Fayette 44, Pioneer N. Central 40</p>
<p>Granville 48, Pataskala Watkins Memorial 32</p>
<p>Haviland Wayne Trace 64, Sherwood Fairview 45</p>
<p>Hebron Lakewood 54, Patriot Preparatory Academy 32</p>
<p>Hicksville 41, Antwerp 40</p>
<p>Hilliard Darby 55, Delaware Hayes 39</p>
<p>Holgate 52, Defiance Tinora 46</p>
<p>Holland Springfield 56, Whitehouse Anthony Wayne 38</p>
<p>Hubbard 51, Ashtabula Lakeside 36</p>
<p>Lancaster 39, Grove City 22</p>
<p>Lancaster Fairfield Union 40, Circleville Logan Elm 36</p>
<p>Logan 76, Heath 27</p>
<p>Marysville 63, Galloway Westland 33</p>
<p>Montpelier 48, W. Unity Hilltop 28</p>
<p>Norwalk St. Paul 52, Monroeville 43, OT</p>
<p>Ontario 41, Delaware Buckeye Valley 36</p>
<p>Perrysburg 40, Maumee 19</p>
<p>Pettisville 35, Edon 28</p>
<p>Powell Olentangy Liberty 59, Lewis Center Olentangy Orange 40</p>
<p>Reynoldsburg 60, Gahanna Lincoln 57</p>
<p>Richwood N. Union 53, Marion Pleasant 51, OT</p>
<p>Sunbury Big Walnut 53, Canal Winchester 40</p>
<p>Sylvania Southview 59, Sylvania Northview 42</p>
<p>Thomas Worthington 43, Hilliard Bradley 37</p>
<p>Tree of Life 64, Gahanna Christian 29</p>
<p>Wellston 64, New Hope Christian 59</p>
<p>Westerville Cent. 46, Westerville N. 43</p>
<p>Westerville S. 57, Lewis Center Olentangy 41</p>
<p>Worthington Christian 44, Gahanna Cols. Academy 16</p>
<p>Zanesville Rosecrans 58, Millersport 15</p>
<p>Baltimore Liberty Union 49, Cols. Hamilton Twp. 32</p>
<p>Caledonia River Valley 44, Bellville Clear Fork 42</p>
<p>Circleville 42, Ashville Teays Valley 37</p>
<p>Cols. Africentric 73, Cols. Marion-Franklin 17</p>
<p>Cols. Beechcroft 51, Cols. Centennial 39</p>
<p>Cols. Mifflin 53, Cols. East 47</p>
<p>Cols. Northland 67, Cols. International 27</p>
<p>Cols. Ready 73, Cols. Horizon Science 37</p>
<p>Delaware Christian 46, Powell Village Academy 21</p>
<p>Dublin Coffman 72, Hilliard Davidson 45</p>
<p>Dublin Jerome 43, Worthington Kilbourne 35</p>
<p>Edgerton 42, Defiance Ayersville 15</p>
<p>Gorham Fayette 44, Pioneer N. Central 40</p>
<p>Granville 48, Pataskala Watkins Memorial 32</p>
<p>Haviland Wayne Trace 64, Sherwood Fairview 45</p>
<p>Hebron Lakewood 54, Patriot Preparatory Academy 32</p>
<p>Hicksville 41, Antwerp 40</p>
<p>Hilliard Darby 55, Delaware Hayes 39</p>
<p>Holgate 52, Defiance Tinora 46</p>
<p>Holland Springfield 56, Whitehouse Anthony Wayne 38</p>
<p>Hubbard 51, Ashtabula Lakeside 36</p>
<p>Lancaster 39, Grove City 22</p>
<p>Lancaster Fairfield Union 40, Circleville Logan Elm 36</p>
<p>Logan 76, Heath 27</p>
<p>Marysville 63, Galloway Westland 33</p>
<p>Montpelier 48, W. Unity Hilltop 28</p>
<p>Norwalk St. Paul 52, Monroeville 43, OT</p>
<p>Ontario 41, Delaware Buckeye Valley 36</p>
<p>Perrysburg 40, Maumee 19</p>
<p>Pettisville 35, Edon 28</p>
<p>Powell Olentangy Liberty 59, Lewis Center Olentangy Orange 40</p>
<p>Reynoldsburg 60, Gahanna Lincoln 57</p>
<p>Richwood N. Union 53, Marion Pleasant 51, OT</p>
<p>Sunbury Big Walnut 53, Canal Winchester 40</p>
<p>Sylvania Southview 59, Sylvania Northview 42</p>
<p>Thomas Worthington 43, Hilliard Bradley 37</p>
<p>Tree of Life 64, Gahanna Christian 29</p>
<p>Wellston 64, New Hope Christian 59</p>
<p>Westerville Cent. 46, Westerville N. 43</p>
<p>Westerville S. 57, Lewis Center Olentangy 41</p>
<p>Worthington Christian 44, Gahanna Cols. Academy 16</p>
<p>Zanesville Rosecrans 58, Millersport 15</p> | 2,975 |
<p>To many Ethiopians the sudden disappearance of Prime Minister Zenawi is a source of joy and excited expectation, for his die-hard supporters apprehension no doubt and concern for their leader. Is he dead they ask, or perhaps critically ill, has he run away, finally overwhelmed by guilt and shame at the way he and his ministerial cronies have treated the people of Ethiopia, since they took power from the communist Derg twenty one years ago. Or is he recovering from illness peacefully on some isolated retreat.</p>
<p>The Prime Minister has not been seen since his last outing at the G20 summit, in Mexico on 19th June, where he looked a wee shadow of his usual Italian suited self. Such prolonged absence is unusual for a man who revels in performing his supporting part upon the international stage of political propaganda. He has failed to appear at a series of high-profile events since June, including the opening of the African Union summit in Addis Ababa in July.</p>
<p>So where is the revolutionary democrat? It has been repeatedly reported that Meles has received treatment in the Saint-Luc hospital in Brussels for a stomach complaint, a suitably vague description as to mean nothing. The Washington Post (8/8/2012) affirms “Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, the rebel-turned-technocrat who has led Ethiopia since 1991, is sick.” The Guardian (8/8/2012) relays “the Egyptian state information service reporting that Meles underwent surgery in Germany.” They continue “It is a mystery what has happened to Meles and not even his own ministers know his fate,” an exiled Ethiopian source said.” According to a ‘government source’, (no name or status is given) speaking to the Guardian, Meles is on holiday, well it is the summer after all, and is recovering from an illness. There is no mention of where he is holidaying or why he has not personally issued a statement, reassured his followers, who are no doubt worried, and silenced the internal tussling within the EPRDF, that is undoubtedly taking place.</p>
<p>Secrecy smoke and mirrors</p>
<p>Ethiopians are notoriously secretive and distrustful, the great Polish journalist Rysard Kapuscinski in his classic work ‘The Emperor’, regarding the reign of the last Ethiopian Emperor, Haile Selasie and his inner circle, states “the Ethiopians are deeply distrustful and found it hard to believe in the sincerity of my intentions,” elsewhere he goes further claiming that Ethiopians are the most “secretive people on Earth.” Having lived in Addis Ababa and worked with Ethiopians for a number of years, my experience certainly bears out Kapuscinski’s comments reinforced by René Lefort, author of ‘Ethiopia. An heretical revolution?’ when he states “given the history of Ethiopia, where secrecy is a cardinal virtue”</p>
<p>The Sellasie years were ones shrouded in deceit and extreme secrecy, all discussions and decisions between the Emperor and his ministers took place verbally. There are no documents with Sellasie’s signature, making it possible for him to deny involvement in any policy, to adopt a number of positions on any issue and to change his mind based on political expediency at any point in time. Kapuscinski relates, “Though he ruled for half a century, not even those closest to him knew what his signature looked like.” At meetings the Monty Python sounding ‘Minister of The Pen’, recorded the Emperors orders and instructions, whose words were often muffled and ambiguous, allowing for non-commitment on issues and the creation of fear amongst his ‘court’.</p>
<p>Image and social status is of great importance within Ethiopian society. In 1973, whilst hundreds of thousands starved, Halie Selasie and his government denied that a famine was taking place in the northeast of Ethiopia, known as the ‘Unknown Famine’ and lied to ITV journalist David Dimbleby, who reported the situation in Wollo that Sellasie and his cronies had attempted to cover up. Food was in fact available in the Wollo region, but was transported to the capital Addis Ababa, where it could command higher prices at market, all under the direction of the Sellasie regime. The revelation to the World of the famine hastened his downfall and he was deposed in 1974 by a military junta, led by Mengistu Haile Mariam,&#160;who had him suffocated to death a year later.</p>
<p>Another example of the secretive/duplicitous tendency of the Ethiopian people, creating a false or misleading image was the way Emperor Menelik II death in December 1913 was kept quiet. He died and was buried without any public announcements after suffering a stroke and being unable to govern for several years. And this for and of a man regarded by many as the last true Emperor.</p>
<p>The Meles way</p>
<p>There is no freedom of the press in Ethiopia; in fact there is little or no freedom in any area of social or political life. Express dissent at governments policies and face certain imprisonment, write articles critical of Zenawi and his regime and expect to be charged with treason or some such fictitious crime and sentenced as many have been, often in absentia, to life imprisonment. The Economist (7/8/2012) reports “Dissident or investigative journalists have been jailed or driven into exile. In July a prominent online journalist, Eskinder Nega, was sentenced to 18 years in prison.”&#160; Political opposition is all but banned under the Zenawi administration.</p>
<p>All media is state owned, so too the sole telecommunication company. As well as the major printing press Barhanena Selam, who recently told the weekly newspaper Feteh, who planned to publish a story quoting BBC and others discussing the where about and health of Meles, that the government had ordered that week’s edition (22/7/2012) of the paper, about 30,000 copies, to be blocked on grounds of inciting national insecurity and endangering the government and the public. Such is the degree of media control.</p>
<p>Accurate, uncensored information about anything is therefore impossible to find within the Ethiopian news sources, who are to nobody’s surprise towing the EPRDF party line on the missing premier – ‘Meles is on holiday, recovering from illness.’&#160; ESAT the independent satellite television station based in Holland, have reported various accounts of Meles death (30/7/2012), misquoting it appears the Belgium based International Crisis Group, who denied giving any such information. It is it seems a maze of invisibility cloaks, secrets and deceit, a drama that would one feels not surprise Kapuscinski in the least.</p>
<p>The EPRDF under Meles Zenawi has been in power since 1991, he has been Prime Minister since 1995, after taking the mantle of President the previous four years. Two stolen corrupt elections in 2005 and 2010, in which European observers declared the election unfair. The regime is a dictatorship, trampling on human rights and restricting all freedoms, selling off vast tracks of prime Ethiopian farmland to international corporations for a few dollars, displacing hundreds of thousands of indigenous people in the process, who are corralled into villagization developments. Land sold is cultivated to grow staples not for the needy people of Ethiopia where some 13 million are food insecure, but for the industrial farmers home ‘market’.</p>
<p>Western complacency</p>
<p>The west believes, as it did with Egypt’s President Mubarak, that it has an ally in Prime Minister Zenawi. He allows American drones to be stationed on Ethiopian soil, and acts when ordered to by the imperial master. In 2006 Ethiopian troops invaded Somalia, at the behest of George W. Bush, who sought to subdue the activities of the Al Shabab militia (Islamist group). The deal is clear and predictable: Meles allows Ethiopia to be an outpost of the American military, in exchange for the west turning a blind eye to extensive human rights abuses in the country. As the Financial Times states “western donors and allies have been willing to overlook human rights abuses and a lack of political freedom at home.” Human rights abuses that destroy lives too many to count, but trouble not ‘western donors’, concerned only to extend their reach into all corners of the world</p>
<p>Around $3 billion a year is given to Ethiopia in development aid by the US, Europe, Britain and The World bank, all of which incidentally is paid to or through government agencies. The EPRDF misuse and politicize the funds, allocating donations based on political affiliation and not need, including emergency humanitarian aid.</p>
<p>For western donor countries the heavy hand of a tyrant, that inhibits and controls, offers stability, or so those fearful of freedom will say, as the Financial Times (9/08/2012) comments, “Strongmen in power can be useful allies. They make decisions fast and can impose their wills.” Not withstanding the impact on the people of their hasty ideologically driven decisions and shortsighted actions.</p>
<p>Time for change</p>
<p>If Zenawi is unable to continue in office, and according to Rene Lefort in Open Democracy (8/8/2012) “the widespread conviction shared by most diplomats and experts is that, whether Meles is dead or alive, he is no longer in charge and never will be again, so the candidacy for his succession is open.” should the constitution be respected, parliament would pick a successor. Would his passing make any difference, ushering in change in the way the EPRDF rules Ethiopia, for in the absence of any credible, well-organized, coherent opposition they are sure to continue in power. Will freedom social justice and democracy flow into the country unrestricted, gently healing the deep wounds of the past 20 years, or will another in the mould of the repressive, brutal Zenawi step forward to continue his legacy of suppression and human rights abuse. One suspects the latter would take place, sadly Ethiopia has lacked good governance for generations.</p>
<p>The ERDF and its leader Meles Zenawi, whilst publically espousing democratic values and signing all manner of human rights laws into their constitution and federal code – to be summarily ignored, are idealists, adhering firmly to a version of ‘Revolutionary Democracy’. At the core of which is a centralized controlling dogma, that believes in social uniformity and the abolition of independent thought. Human Rights Watch (HRW) in their report on Ethiopia ‘Development without Freedom,’ quote Meles describing his version of the ideology, “individuals will start to think alike and all persons will cease having their own independent outlook. In this order, individual thinking becomes simply part of collective thinking because the individual will not be in a position to reflect on concepts that have not been prescribed by Revolutionary Democracy.”</p>
<p>Time for freedom and justice</p>
<p>Perhaps Meles Zenawi is dead or and one feels this more likely, recuperating on holiday. Alive or not, his passing is long overdue, should a man who holds such divisive inhibiting ideals, disregards human rights laws and indeed Ethiopian domestic laws, and seems to care little for the people of Ethiopia hold political office at all. It is time for change within Ethiopia. The current regime locked as they are into a repressive narrow ideology show no signs of relaxing the controls exerted upon the people, in fact since 2009 State repression has intensified.</p>
<p>It is Prime Minister Meles Zenawi that leads the EPRDF government and dictates policy. Governance is highly centralized, The Economist (7/7/2012) states “power has still rested with a clutch of Mr. Meles’s comrades from his home area of Tigray in northern Ethiopia,” and according to a former American ambassador to Ethiopia, David Shinn cited in The Economist, “this hard core, including the army’s chief of staff, General Samora Younis, retains a “paranoid and secretive leadership style.” Echoes of Sellasie perhaps and further support for Kapuscinski’s view.</p>
<p>The people’s time</p>
<p>One doubts a man like Meles Zenawi would be a great lose, either to the African continent or to the people of Ethiopia. On the contrary the majority of Ethiopians would rejoice, for under his leadership they are controlled and suffer, have no voice and cry out to be heard, are entrapped and yearn to be free: free to express themselves, to gather and speak openly, free to build a just and open society. Free to be.</p>
<p>Graham Peebles&#160;is director of the&#160; <a href="http://www.thecreatetrust.org" type="external">Create Trust</a>. He can be reached at:&#160; <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>COMING IN SEPTEMBER</p>
<p>A Special Memorial Issue of CounterPunch</p>
<p>Featuring recollections of Alexander Cockburn from Jeffrey St. Clair, Peter Linebaugh, Paul Craig Roberts, Noam Chomsky, Perry Anderson, Dennis Kucinich, Michael Neumann, Susannah Hecht, P. Sainath, Ben Tripp, Alison Weir, James Ridgeway, JoAnn Wypijewski, John Strausbaugh, Pierre Sprey, Conn Hallinan, James Wolcott, Laura Flanders, Ken Silverstein, Tariq Ali and many others …</p>
<p><a href="http://www.easycartsecure.com/CounterPunch/Annual_Subscriptions.html" type="external">Subscribe to CounterPunch Today to Reserve Your Copy</a></p> | The Meles Mystery | true | https://counterpunch.org/2012/08/15/the-meles-mystery/ | 2012-08-15 | 4left
| The Meles Mystery
<p>To many Ethiopians the sudden disappearance of Prime Minister Zenawi is a source of joy and excited expectation, for his die-hard supporters apprehension no doubt and concern for their leader. Is he dead they ask, or perhaps critically ill, has he run away, finally overwhelmed by guilt and shame at the way he and his ministerial cronies have treated the people of Ethiopia, since they took power from the communist Derg twenty one years ago. Or is he recovering from illness peacefully on some isolated retreat.</p>
<p>The Prime Minister has not been seen since his last outing at the G20 summit, in Mexico on 19th June, where he looked a wee shadow of his usual Italian suited self. Such prolonged absence is unusual for a man who revels in performing his supporting part upon the international stage of political propaganda. He has failed to appear at a series of high-profile events since June, including the opening of the African Union summit in Addis Ababa in July.</p>
<p>So where is the revolutionary democrat? It has been repeatedly reported that Meles has received treatment in the Saint-Luc hospital in Brussels for a stomach complaint, a suitably vague description as to mean nothing. The Washington Post (8/8/2012) affirms “Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, the rebel-turned-technocrat who has led Ethiopia since 1991, is sick.” The Guardian (8/8/2012) relays “the Egyptian state information service reporting that Meles underwent surgery in Germany.” They continue “It is a mystery what has happened to Meles and not even his own ministers know his fate,” an exiled Ethiopian source said.” According to a ‘government source’, (no name or status is given) speaking to the Guardian, Meles is on holiday, well it is the summer after all, and is recovering from an illness. There is no mention of where he is holidaying or why he has not personally issued a statement, reassured his followers, who are no doubt worried, and silenced the internal tussling within the EPRDF, that is undoubtedly taking place.</p>
<p>Secrecy smoke and mirrors</p>
<p>Ethiopians are notoriously secretive and distrustful, the great Polish journalist Rysard Kapuscinski in his classic work ‘The Emperor’, regarding the reign of the last Ethiopian Emperor, Haile Selasie and his inner circle, states “the Ethiopians are deeply distrustful and found it hard to believe in the sincerity of my intentions,” elsewhere he goes further claiming that Ethiopians are the most “secretive people on Earth.” Having lived in Addis Ababa and worked with Ethiopians for a number of years, my experience certainly bears out Kapuscinski’s comments reinforced by René Lefort, author of ‘Ethiopia. An heretical revolution?’ when he states “given the history of Ethiopia, where secrecy is a cardinal virtue”</p>
<p>The Sellasie years were ones shrouded in deceit and extreme secrecy, all discussions and decisions between the Emperor and his ministers took place verbally. There are no documents with Sellasie’s signature, making it possible for him to deny involvement in any policy, to adopt a number of positions on any issue and to change his mind based on political expediency at any point in time. Kapuscinski relates, “Though he ruled for half a century, not even those closest to him knew what his signature looked like.” At meetings the Monty Python sounding ‘Minister of The Pen’, recorded the Emperors orders and instructions, whose words were often muffled and ambiguous, allowing for non-commitment on issues and the creation of fear amongst his ‘court’.</p>
<p>Image and social status is of great importance within Ethiopian society. In 1973, whilst hundreds of thousands starved, Halie Selasie and his government denied that a famine was taking place in the northeast of Ethiopia, known as the ‘Unknown Famine’ and lied to ITV journalist David Dimbleby, who reported the situation in Wollo that Sellasie and his cronies had attempted to cover up. Food was in fact available in the Wollo region, but was transported to the capital Addis Ababa, where it could command higher prices at market, all under the direction of the Sellasie regime. The revelation to the World of the famine hastened his downfall and he was deposed in 1974 by a military junta, led by Mengistu Haile Mariam,&#160;who had him suffocated to death a year later.</p>
<p>Another example of the secretive/duplicitous tendency of the Ethiopian people, creating a false or misleading image was the way Emperor Menelik II death in December 1913 was kept quiet. He died and was buried without any public announcements after suffering a stroke and being unable to govern for several years. And this for and of a man regarded by many as the last true Emperor.</p>
<p>The Meles way</p>
<p>There is no freedom of the press in Ethiopia; in fact there is little or no freedom in any area of social or political life. Express dissent at governments policies and face certain imprisonment, write articles critical of Zenawi and his regime and expect to be charged with treason or some such fictitious crime and sentenced as many have been, often in absentia, to life imprisonment. The Economist (7/8/2012) reports “Dissident or investigative journalists have been jailed or driven into exile. In July a prominent online journalist, Eskinder Nega, was sentenced to 18 years in prison.”&#160; Political opposition is all but banned under the Zenawi administration.</p>
<p>All media is state owned, so too the sole telecommunication company. As well as the major printing press Barhanena Selam, who recently told the weekly newspaper Feteh, who planned to publish a story quoting BBC and others discussing the where about and health of Meles, that the government had ordered that week’s edition (22/7/2012) of the paper, about 30,000 copies, to be blocked on grounds of inciting national insecurity and endangering the government and the public. Such is the degree of media control.</p>
<p>Accurate, uncensored information about anything is therefore impossible to find within the Ethiopian news sources, who are to nobody’s surprise towing the EPRDF party line on the missing premier – ‘Meles is on holiday, recovering from illness.’&#160; ESAT the independent satellite television station based in Holland, have reported various accounts of Meles death (30/7/2012), misquoting it appears the Belgium based International Crisis Group, who denied giving any such information. It is it seems a maze of invisibility cloaks, secrets and deceit, a drama that would one feels not surprise Kapuscinski in the least.</p>
<p>The EPRDF under Meles Zenawi has been in power since 1991, he has been Prime Minister since 1995, after taking the mantle of President the previous four years. Two stolen corrupt elections in 2005 and 2010, in which European observers declared the election unfair. The regime is a dictatorship, trampling on human rights and restricting all freedoms, selling off vast tracks of prime Ethiopian farmland to international corporations for a few dollars, displacing hundreds of thousands of indigenous people in the process, who are corralled into villagization developments. Land sold is cultivated to grow staples not for the needy people of Ethiopia where some 13 million are food insecure, but for the industrial farmers home ‘market’.</p>
<p>Western complacency</p>
<p>The west believes, as it did with Egypt’s President Mubarak, that it has an ally in Prime Minister Zenawi. He allows American drones to be stationed on Ethiopian soil, and acts when ordered to by the imperial master. In 2006 Ethiopian troops invaded Somalia, at the behest of George W. Bush, who sought to subdue the activities of the Al Shabab militia (Islamist group). The deal is clear and predictable: Meles allows Ethiopia to be an outpost of the American military, in exchange for the west turning a blind eye to extensive human rights abuses in the country. As the Financial Times states “western donors and allies have been willing to overlook human rights abuses and a lack of political freedom at home.” Human rights abuses that destroy lives too many to count, but trouble not ‘western donors’, concerned only to extend their reach into all corners of the world</p>
<p>Around $3 billion a year is given to Ethiopia in development aid by the US, Europe, Britain and The World bank, all of which incidentally is paid to or through government agencies. The EPRDF misuse and politicize the funds, allocating donations based on political affiliation and not need, including emergency humanitarian aid.</p>
<p>For western donor countries the heavy hand of a tyrant, that inhibits and controls, offers stability, or so those fearful of freedom will say, as the Financial Times (9/08/2012) comments, “Strongmen in power can be useful allies. They make decisions fast and can impose their wills.” Not withstanding the impact on the people of their hasty ideologically driven decisions and shortsighted actions.</p>
<p>Time for change</p>
<p>If Zenawi is unable to continue in office, and according to Rene Lefort in Open Democracy (8/8/2012) “the widespread conviction shared by most diplomats and experts is that, whether Meles is dead or alive, he is no longer in charge and never will be again, so the candidacy for his succession is open.” should the constitution be respected, parliament would pick a successor. Would his passing make any difference, ushering in change in the way the EPRDF rules Ethiopia, for in the absence of any credible, well-organized, coherent opposition they are sure to continue in power. Will freedom social justice and democracy flow into the country unrestricted, gently healing the deep wounds of the past 20 years, or will another in the mould of the repressive, brutal Zenawi step forward to continue his legacy of suppression and human rights abuse. One suspects the latter would take place, sadly Ethiopia has lacked good governance for generations.</p>
<p>The ERDF and its leader Meles Zenawi, whilst publically espousing democratic values and signing all manner of human rights laws into their constitution and federal code – to be summarily ignored, are idealists, adhering firmly to a version of ‘Revolutionary Democracy’. At the core of which is a centralized controlling dogma, that believes in social uniformity and the abolition of independent thought. Human Rights Watch (HRW) in their report on Ethiopia ‘Development without Freedom,’ quote Meles describing his version of the ideology, “individuals will start to think alike and all persons will cease having their own independent outlook. In this order, individual thinking becomes simply part of collective thinking because the individual will not be in a position to reflect on concepts that have not been prescribed by Revolutionary Democracy.”</p>
<p>Time for freedom and justice</p>
<p>Perhaps Meles Zenawi is dead or and one feels this more likely, recuperating on holiday. Alive or not, his passing is long overdue, should a man who holds such divisive inhibiting ideals, disregards human rights laws and indeed Ethiopian domestic laws, and seems to care little for the people of Ethiopia hold political office at all. It is time for change within Ethiopia. The current regime locked as they are into a repressive narrow ideology show no signs of relaxing the controls exerted upon the people, in fact since 2009 State repression has intensified.</p>
<p>It is Prime Minister Meles Zenawi that leads the EPRDF government and dictates policy. Governance is highly centralized, The Economist (7/7/2012) states “power has still rested with a clutch of Mr. Meles’s comrades from his home area of Tigray in northern Ethiopia,” and according to a former American ambassador to Ethiopia, David Shinn cited in The Economist, “this hard core, including the army’s chief of staff, General Samora Younis, retains a “paranoid and secretive leadership style.” Echoes of Sellasie perhaps and further support for Kapuscinski’s view.</p>
<p>The people’s time</p>
<p>One doubts a man like Meles Zenawi would be a great lose, either to the African continent or to the people of Ethiopia. On the contrary the majority of Ethiopians would rejoice, for under his leadership they are controlled and suffer, have no voice and cry out to be heard, are entrapped and yearn to be free: free to express themselves, to gather and speak openly, free to build a just and open society. Free to be.</p>
<p>Graham Peebles&#160;is director of the&#160; <a href="http://www.thecreatetrust.org" type="external">Create Trust</a>. He can be reached at:&#160; <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>COMING IN SEPTEMBER</p>
<p>A Special Memorial Issue of CounterPunch</p>
<p>Featuring recollections of Alexander Cockburn from Jeffrey St. Clair, Peter Linebaugh, Paul Craig Roberts, Noam Chomsky, Perry Anderson, Dennis Kucinich, Michael Neumann, Susannah Hecht, P. Sainath, Ben Tripp, Alison Weir, James Ridgeway, JoAnn Wypijewski, John Strausbaugh, Pierre Sprey, Conn Hallinan, James Wolcott, Laura Flanders, Ken Silverstein, Tariq Ali and many others …</p>
<p><a href="http://www.easycartsecure.com/CounterPunch/Annual_Subscriptions.html" type="external">Subscribe to CounterPunch Today to Reserve Your Copy</a></p> | 2,976 |
<p>Decades of official neglect, racism and the impact of global warming magnified the destructive impact of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and other parts of the South.</p>
<p>The mainstream media focused most on the big-money property losses–for example, the heavily damaged casinos on the Mississippi coast that took a direct hit from Katrina, and the tourist hotels in the French Quarter in New Orleans. But beyond the media spotlight are countless others who don’t have sufficient insurance–or any insurance at all–to rebuild their lives.</p>
<p>As in all “natural” disasters, a far-from-natural logic asserted itself: Those who had the least to begin with stood to lose the most.</p>
<p>Thus, in the Gulf Coast cities of Mississippi that took a direct hit when the hurricane came ashore, the big hotels were left standing, though heavily damaged. Other structures–even whole neighborhoods and communities–were erased from the map. “This is our tsunami,” said one person, drawing a comparison with last December’s disaster around the rim of the Indian Ocean.</p>
<p>A last-minute shift in the path of the storm sent Katrina east of New Orleans, prompting city officials to think that they had avoided a catastrophe. But the day after the hurricane hit, conditions began to deteriorate rapidly. Parts of the levee system that protects the below-sea-level city from flooding gave way–apparently to the north, along the shore of Lake Pontchartrain–leaving up to 80 percent of New Orleans underwater.</p>
<p>With electricity and communications out, little was known about New Orleans’ poorest neighborhoods, other than that they–predictably–bore the brunt of the disaster. Rumors spread that corpses could be seen floating in the floodwaters. No one had electrical power–nor much chance of getting it for days, and probably weeks.</p>
<p>The worst may be yet to come. The waters that inundated New Orleans were polluted by garbage and debris. And when the floods finally recede, they will leave behind a breeding ground for disease.</p>
<p>The impact of Katrina was visible even before the storm hit land, most obviously in the images of evacuees lined up to take shelter inside New Orleans’ Superdome–mostly poor and African American people forced to go for refuge to a football stadium for lack of a car or want of money.</p>
<p>“By afternoon [the day before the hurricane struck], the Superdome descended into sweaty chaos,” the Miami Herald reported. “About 30,000 refugees eventually arrived under the vigilance of the Louisiana National Guard. The frustrated line to get into the stadium stretched the length of several football fields. People sucked at empty water bottles, lugged their belongings in plastic grocery bags, fanned themselves in the humid air, brought their beer and cigarettes and braced for what could be a two-day stay as torrents of rain started soaking them about 4 p.m.”</p>
<p>Once inside the Superdome, the evacuees were ordered to stay in their seats after curfew. There were insufficient numbers of toilets, and when electrical power failed, the generators could support lights, but not air conditioning. The storm ripped several holes in the roof, and those below had to scramble away from the rain that poured in.</p>
<p>When the levee system failed and New Orleans started flooding after the hurricane passed, the Superdome became an island surrounded by hip-deep water, polluted by oil and debris. Conditions inside the stadium continued to “deteriorate,” as press reports put it–at least two people had died inside the Superdome within the first 36 hours.</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>While New Orleans is inherently vulnerable to hurricanes–much of the city lies below sea level–governments at all levels refused to take necessary precautions to minimize risk or ensure a safe and orderly evacuation procedure.</p>
<p>The levee system, crucial to the survival of a city surrounded on three sides by water, hasn’t been upgraded to withstand a Category 4 or 5 storm. Thanks to George Bush and his “war on terror.” During the 1990s, following floods that killed six people, the federal government established the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project (known as SELA). The Army Corps of Engineers was put in charge of implementing the project and spent nearly $500 million shoring up levees and building pumping stations.</p>
<p>“But at least $250 million in crucial projects remained,” wrote Philadelphia Daily News writer Will Bunch. “Yet after 2003, the flow of federal dollars toward SELA dropped to a trickle. The Corps never tried to hide the fact that the spending pressures of the war in Iraq, as well as homeland security–coming at the same time as federal tax cuts–was the reason for the strainIn early 2004, as the cost of the conflict in Iraq soared, President Bush proposed spending less than 20 percent of what the Corps said was needed for Lake Pontchartrain, according to [a] Feb. 16 , 2004 article in New Orleans CityBusiness.”</p>
<p>According to Bunch’s research, though 2004 was one of the worst hurricane seasons in history, the federal government this year imposed “the steepest reduction in hurricane- and flood-control funding for New Orleans in history.”</p>
<p>Why the neglect? Though it is best known as a tourist destination, New Orleans is one of the poorest cities in the U.S., with a population that is 67 percent African American. In the parish, or county, of Orleans, 34 percent of households live below the federal poverty line–an issue that was the focus of a new community coalition at a meeting just a few days before Katrina hit.</p>
<p>The scale of the threat has been well known for years. Oceanographer Joe Suhayda created a detailed model of the impact of a Category 5 hurricane hitting New Orleans, showing that much of the city could be plunged under 20 feet of water, causing tens of thousands of casualties. And in 2004, Hurricane Ivan barely missed the city, again highlighting the urgent need for a viable evacuation plan.</p>
<p>“Affluent white people fled the Big Easy in their SUVs, while the old and car-less–mainly Black–were left behind in their below-sea-level shotgun shacks and aging tenements to face the watery wrath,” activist Mike Davis wrote of the evacuation plans for Ivan. “New Orleans had spent decades preparing for inevitable submersion by the storm surge of a class-five hurricane. Civil defense officials conceded they had 10,000 body bags on hand to deal with the worst-case scenario. But no one seemed to have bothered to devise a plan to evacuate the city’s poorest or most infirm residents.”</p>
<p>Global warming is almost certainly to blame for the increasing strength and frequency of hurricanes, Davis told Socialist Worker last year. A number of climatic factors are at work. For example, something known as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), which involves variations in air pressure and sea temperatures, is a contributing factor to the above-normal number of hurricanes. But global warming caused by air pollution has probably made matters worse.</p>
<p>“Sea temperatures in the tropical Atlantic are higher than normal, thus supplying more energy to hurricanes,” Davis said. “This can’t be directly attributed to global warming, but an intensification of the NAO is exactly what you might expect. Every North Hemisphere summer now seems to guarantee climate disaster of one kind or another.”</p>
<p>But climate disaster can be profitable–if you happen to be a stockholder or executive for a major U.S. oil company. The oil giants were set to use the excuse of Katrina to hike gas prices still further beyond the record pump prices set last month.</p>
<p>The scale of the devastation resulting from the hurricane won’t be known forweeks. But we know already who will suffer the brunt of this tragedy–the poor in New Orleans and all along the Gulf Coast.</p>
<p>LEE SUSTAR is a regular contributor to CounterPunch and the <a href="http://www.socialistworker.org/" type="external">Socialist Worker</a>. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<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> | Left Behind to Drown | true | https://counterpunch.org/2005/09/01/left-behind-to-drown/ | 2005-09-01 | 4left
| Left Behind to Drown
<p>Decades of official neglect, racism and the impact of global warming magnified the destructive impact of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and other parts of the South.</p>
<p>The mainstream media focused most on the big-money property losses–for example, the heavily damaged casinos on the Mississippi coast that took a direct hit from Katrina, and the tourist hotels in the French Quarter in New Orleans. But beyond the media spotlight are countless others who don’t have sufficient insurance–or any insurance at all–to rebuild their lives.</p>
<p>As in all “natural” disasters, a far-from-natural logic asserted itself: Those who had the least to begin with stood to lose the most.</p>
<p>Thus, in the Gulf Coast cities of Mississippi that took a direct hit when the hurricane came ashore, the big hotels were left standing, though heavily damaged. Other structures–even whole neighborhoods and communities–were erased from the map. “This is our tsunami,” said one person, drawing a comparison with last December’s disaster around the rim of the Indian Ocean.</p>
<p>A last-minute shift in the path of the storm sent Katrina east of New Orleans, prompting city officials to think that they had avoided a catastrophe. But the day after the hurricane hit, conditions began to deteriorate rapidly. Parts of the levee system that protects the below-sea-level city from flooding gave way–apparently to the north, along the shore of Lake Pontchartrain–leaving up to 80 percent of New Orleans underwater.</p>
<p>With electricity and communications out, little was known about New Orleans’ poorest neighborhoods, other than that they–predictably–bore the brunt of the disaster. Rumors spread that corpses could be seen floating in the floodwaters. No one had electrical power–nor much chance of getting it for days, and probably weeks.</p>
<p>The worst may be yet to come. The waters that inundated New Orleans were polluted by garbage and debris. And when the floods finally recede, they will leave behind a breeding ground for disease.</p>
<p>The impact of Katrina was visible even before the storm hit land, most obviously in the images of evacuees lined up to take shelter inside New Orleans’ Superdome–mostly poor and African American people forced to go for refuge to a football stadium for lack of a car or want of money.</p>
<p>“By afternoon [the day before the hurricane struck], the Superdome descended into sweaty chaos,” the Miami Herald reported. “About 30,000 refugees eventually arrived under the vigilance of the Louisiana National Guard. The frustrated line to get into the stadium stretched the length of several football fields. People sucked at empty water bottles, lugged their belongings in plastic grocery bags, fanned themselves in the humid air, brought their beer and cigarettes and braced for what could be a two-day stay as torrents of rain started soaking them about 4 p.m.”</p>
<p>Once inside the Superdome, the evacuees were ordered to stay in their seats after curfew. There were insufficient numbers of toilets, and when electrical power failed, the generators could support lights, but not air conditioning. The storm ripped several holes in the roof, and those below had to scramble away from the rain that poured in.</p>
<p>When the levee system failed and New Orleans started flooding after the hurricane passed, the Superdome became an island surrounded by hip-deep water, polluted by oil and debris. Conditions inside the stadium continued to “deteriorate,” as press reports put it–at least two people had died inside the Superdome within the first 36 hours.</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>While New Orleans is inherently vulnerable to hurricanes–much of the city lies below sea level–governments at all levels refused to take necessary precautions to minimize risk or ensure a safe and orderly evacuation procedure.</p>
<p>The levee system, crucial to the survival of a city surrounded on three sides by water, hasn’t been upgraded to withstand a Category 4 or 5 storm. Thanks to George Bush and his “war on terror.” During the 1990s, following floods that killed six people, the federal government established the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project (known as SELA). The Army Corps of Engineers was put in charge of implementing the project and spent nearly $500 million shoring up levees and building pumping stations.</p>
<p>“But at least $250 million in crucial projects remained,” wrote Philadelphia Daily News writer Will Bunch. “Yet after 2003, the flow of federal dollars toward SELA dropped to a trickle. The Corps never tried to hide the fact that the spending pressures of the war in Iraq, as well as homeland security–coming at the same time as federal tax cuts–was the reason for the strainIn early 2004, as the cost of the conflict in Iraq soared, President Bush proposed spending less than 20 percent of what the Corps said was needed for Lake Pontchartrain, according to [a] Feb. 16 , 2004 article in New Orleans CityBusiness.”</p>
<p>According to Bunch’s research, though 2004 was one of the worst hurricane seasons in history, the federal government this year imposed “the steepest reduction in hurricane- and flood-control funding for New Orleans in history.”</p>
<p>Why the neglect? Though it is best known as a tourist destination, New Orleans is one of the poorest cities in the U.S., with a population that is 67 percent African American. In the parish, or county, of Orleans, 34 percent of households live below the federal poverty line–an issue that was the focus of a new community coalition at a meeting just a few days before Katrina hit.</p>
<p>The scale of the threat has been well known for years. Oceanographer Joe Suhayda created a detailed model of the impact of a Category 5 hurricane hitting New Orleans, showing that much of the city could be plunged under 20 feet of water, causing tens of thousands of casualties. And in 2004, Hurricane Ivan barely missed the city, again highlighting the urgent need for a viable evacuation plan.</p>
<p>“Affluent white people fled the Big Easy in their SUVs, while the old and car-less–mainly Black–were left behind in their below-sea-level shotgun shacks and aging tenements to face the watery wrath,” activist Mike Davis wrote of the evacuation plans for Ivan. “New Orleans had spent decades preparing for inevitable submersion by the storm surge of a class-five hurricane. Civil defense officials conceded they had 10,000 body bags on hand to deal with the worst-case scenario. But no one seemed to have bothered to devise a plan to evacuate the city’s poorest or most infirm residents.”</p>
<p>Global warming is almost certainly to blame for the increasing strength and frequency of hurricanes, Davis told Socialist Worker last year. A number of climatic factors are at work. For example, something known as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), which involves variations in air pressure and sea temperatures, is a contributing factor to the above-normal number of hurricanes. But global warming caused by air pollution has probably made matters worse.</p>
<p>“Sea temperatures in the tropical Atlantic are higher than normal, thus supplying more energy to hurricanes,” Davis said. “This can’t be directly attributed to global warming, but an intensification of the NAO is exactly what you might expect. Every North Hemisphere summer now seems to guarantee climate disaster of one kind or another.”</p>
<p>But climate disaster can be profitable–if you happen to be a stockholder or executive for a major U.S. oil company. The oil giants were set to use the excuse of Katrina to hike gas prices still further beyond the record pump prices set last month.</p>
<p>The scale of the devastation resulting from the hurricane won’t be known forweeks. But we know already who will suffer the brunt of this tragedy–the poor in New Orleans and all along the Gulf Coast.</p>
<p>LEE SUSTAR is a regular contributor to CounterPunch and the <a href="http://www.socialistworker.org/" type="external">Socialist Worker</a>. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<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> | 2,977 |
<p>President Barack Obama's trade agenda has survived a crucial Senate vote and seems well-positioned to become law.</p>
<p>The Senate voted 60-37 Tuesday to begin full-blown debate on Obama's request for "fast track" negotiating authority. That was the exact number needed to avoid a filibuster.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The vote continued a revival process that began last week when Obama's trade allies resurrected the legislative package in the House and won a crucial vote there.</p>
<p>Previous presidents have enjoyed fast track authority. It lets them propose trade pacts that Congress can reject or ratify but not change.</p>
<p>Unions strongly oppose it. They say free-trade deals cost U.S. jobs.</p>
<p>Obama and most GOP leaders say U.S. products must reach more markets.</p> | Obama's bid for fast track trade negotiating authority survives key Senate vote | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2015/06/23/obama-bid-for-fast-track-trade-negotiating-authority-survives-key-senate-vote.html | 2016-03-05 | 0right
| Obama's bid for fast track trade negotiating authority survives key Senate vote
<p>President Barack Obama's trade agenda has survived a crucial Senate vote and seems well-positioned to become law.</p>
<p>The Senate voted 60-37 Tuesday to begin full-blown debate on Obama's request for "fast track" negotiating authority. That was the exact number needed to avoid a filibuster.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The vote continued a revival process that began last week when Obama's trade allies resurrected the legislative package in the House and won a crucial vote there.</p>
<p>Previous presidents have enjoyed fast track authority. It lets them propose trade pacts that Congress can reject or ratify but not change.</p>
<p>Unions strongly oppose it. They say free-trade deals cost U.S. jobs.</p>
<p>Obama and most GOP leaders say U.S. products must reach more markets.</p> | 2,978 |
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<p />
<p>Forecasters were warning that the slush created during daylight would turn to ice from temperatures dropping below freezing, creating black ice on roads, bridges and other elevated surfaces.</p>
<p>“That catches people more off guard than when you see snow,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Moneypenny of the Raleigh, North Carolina, office.</p>
<p>Before Friday, the forecast for North Carolina called for little more than an inch of snow for the central counties with more expected for the higher elevations. The frigid temperatures behind a cold front combined with moisture off the Gulf of Mexico to bring the unusual wintry weather to parts of the South.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>By Saturday, Burnsville had reported 14½ inches (35 centimeters) of snow. The Hendersonville area had 12 inches (30 centimeters) and Asheville recorded 8 inches (20 centimeters) of snow. Across the South, preliminary reports to the National Weather Service showed up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) of snowfall in northwest Georgia, with 7 inches (18 centimeters) of accumulation in parts of metro Atlanta. Another 10 inches (25 centimeters) of snow was reported in Anniston, Alabama, while up to 7 inches (18 centimeters) were reported in Mississippi. Rare flurries were even reported in New Orleans.</p>
<p>“It’s very, very abnormal and rare that we would get totals like that this time of year,” said Sid King, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in the Atlanta area. “It’s really not even winter yet. I would not be surprised if we broke a lot of records.”</p>
<p>By late Saturday Duke Energy was reporting 2,000 customers without power in North Carolina, down from more than 39,000 earlier in the day.</p>
<p>Richmond had 3½ inches (8 centimeters) of snow, as did Prince Edward. Virginia State police reported hundreds of crashes blamed on icy weather.</p>
<p>Temperatures forecast for Sunday weren’t favorable for melting the snow, according to forecasters. Highs across much of North Carolina were not expected to get out of the 30s on Sunday, and after a brief warm up on Monday, a second round of cold air was likely to stall the melting.</p>
<p>At the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which sees more passengers annually than any other airport in the world, spokesman Reese McCranie said more than 400 flights were cancelled Saturday. That’s after nearly 1,200 cancellations Friday.</p>
<p>Not everyone was anxious to flee. Members of a central Florida family found their way to Atlanta specifically to witness the white drifts.</p>
<p>“It’s beautiful,” said Tim Moss, while his two sons and wife threw snowballs at each other near a McDonald’s parking lot early Saturday. He said the family — including his mother — made a spontaneous decision late Friday to leave 80-degree weather in Florida and drive seven hours to see snow for the first time.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“A lot of people who live here are staying in,” said Moss. “They don’t want to get out in it. But we want to get out and run around in it.”</p>
<p>More than 334,000 homes and businesses were still without electricity Saturday afternoon in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. About 235,000 of those still in the dark were in Georgia.</p>
<p>Southern Pine Electric Co-operative had more than 10,500 customers without power Saturday in south Mississippi. The co-op had more than twice that many outages at the storm’s peak, utility spokesman Brock Williamson said. He said getting everyone’s electricity restored could take days.</p>
<p>In Atlanta, a fallen power line was blamed for electrocuting a man late Friday. Bystanders tried to warn the man before he walked into the dangling live wire, Atlanta police Sgt. John Chafee said Saturday. He said it was unclear if the wire was downed because of the icy weather.</p>
<p>A freeze warning was in effect Saturday for parts of northern Florida, southeast Alabama and southwest Georgia. The weather service said freezing temperatures can harm vulnerable plants and animals.</p>
<p>Parts of the Northeast and New England are also expecting a share of the snowfall this weekend.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writers Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, Jeff Martin in Atlanta and Jay Reeves in Birmingham, Alabama, contributed to this report.</p> | Snow exits South, marches toward Northeast | false | https://abqjournal.com/1104470/snow-slows-or-shuts-down-much-of-normally-sunny-deep-south.html | 2017-12-09 | 2least
| Snow exits South, marches toward Northeast
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<p />
<p>Forecasters were warning that the slush created during daylight would turn to ice from temperatures dropping below freezing, creating black ice on roads, bridges and other elevated surfaces.</p>
<p>“That catches people more off guard than when you see snow,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Moneypenny of the Raleigh, North Carolina, office.</p>
<p>Before Friday, the forecast for North Carolina called for little more than an inch of snow for the central counties with more expected for the higher elevations. The frigid temperatures behind a cold front combined with moisture off the Gulf of Mexico to bring the unusual wintry weather to parts of the South.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>By Saturday, Burnsville had reported 14½ inches (35 centimeters) of snow. The Hendersonville area had 12 inches (30 centimeters) and Asheville recorded 8 inches (20 centimeters) of snow. Across the South, preliminary reports to the National Weather Service showed up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) of snowfall in northwest Georgia, with 7 inches (18 centimeters) of accumulation in parts of metro Atlanta. Another 10 inches (25 centimeters) of snow was reported in Anniston, Alabama, while up to 7 inches (18 centimeters) were reported in Mississippi. Rare flurries were even reported in New Orleans.</p>
<p>“It’s very, very abnormal and rare that we would get totals like that this time of year,” said Sid King, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in the Atlanta area. “It’s really not even winter yet. I would not be surprised if we broke a lot of records.”</p>
<p>By late Saturday Duke Energy was reporting 2,000 customers without power in North Carolina, down from more than 39,000 earlier in the day.</p>
<p>Richmond had 3½ inches (8 centimeters) of snow, as did Prince Edward. Virginia State police reported hundreds of crashes blamed on icy weather.</p>
<p>Temperatures forecast for Sunday weren’t favorable for melting the snow, according to forecasters. Highs across much of North Carolina were not expected to get out of the 30s on Sunday, and after a brief warm up on Monday, a second round of cold air was likely to stall the melting.</p>
<p>At the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which sees more passengers annually than any other airport in the world, spokesman Reese McCranie said more than 400 flights were cancelled Saturday. That’s after nearly 1,200 cancellations Friday.</p>
<p>Not everyone was anxious to flee. Members of a central Florida family found their way to Atlanta specifically to witness the white drifts.</p>
<p>“It’s beautiful,” said Tim Moss, while his two sons and wife threw snowballs at each other near a McDonald’s parking lot early Saturday. He said the family — including his mother — made a spontaneous decision late Friday to leave 80-degree weather in Florida and drive seven hours to see snow for the first time.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“A lot of people who live here are staying in,” said Moss. “They don’t want to get out in it. But we want to get out and run around in it.”</p>
<p>More than 334,000 homes and businesses were still without electricity Saturday afternoon in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. About 235,000 of those still in the dark were in Georgia.</p>
<p>Southern Pine Electric Co-operative had more than 10,500 customers without power Saturday in south Mississippi. The co-op had more than twice that many outages at the storm’s peak, utility spokesman Brock Williamson said. He said getting everyone’s electricity restored could take days.</p>
<p>In Atlanta, a fallen power line was blamed for electrocuting a man late Friday. Bystanders tried to warn the man before he walked into the dangling live wire, Atlanta police Sgt. John Chafee said Saturday. He said it was unclear if the wire was downed because of the icy weather.</p>
<p>A freeze warning was in effect Saturday for parts of northern Florida, southeast Alabama and southwest Georgia. The weather service said freezing temperatures can harm vulnerable plants and animals.</p>
<p>Parts of the Northeast and New England are also expecting a share of the snowfall this weekend.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writers Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, Jeff Martin in Atlanta and Jay Reeves in Birmingham, Alabama, contributed to this report.</p> | 2,979 |
<p>McLEAN, Va. (AP) — A dashboard video released Wednesday shows national park police in Virginia firing their weapons up to nine times at a car they had stopped after a four-minute, stop-and-go chase, killing an apparently unarmed motorist.</p>
<p>Lawyers for the family of the dead motorist, 25-year-old Bijan Ghaisar, said the video provides clear evidence police overreacted.</p>
<p>"No one was even close to being in harm's way until a pair of U.S. Park Police officers repeatedly shot Bijan at close range as he sat, unarmed, in his Jeep on a residential street," lawyers for Ghaisar's family said in a statement Wednesday after the video was made public.</p>
<p>Ghaisar, of McLean, died after the Nov. 17 chase, in which he was shot by U.S. Park Police. Authorities say Ghaisar fled after being involved in a crash on the George Washington Parkway. The FBI is now investigating the shooting.</p>
<p>Fairfax County Police Chief Edwin Roessler said Wednesday he released <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1DfM9DSxgY" type="external">the video</a> Wednesday in an effort at transparency.</p>
<p>The four-minute nighttime video shows a chase beginning on the parkway a few miles south of the nation's capital, then turning into a residential neighborhood. It shows the car driven by Ghaisar stopping twice during the chase, and officers approaching the car with guns drawn. In both cases, Ghaisar drives off.</p>
<p>At the third and final stop, officers with guns drawn approach the car at the driver side door. When the car starts to move again, five gunshots are heard. The car starts to drift into a ditch, and two more sets of two gunshots are heard.</p>
<p>"The video does not provide all the answers," Roessler said in a statement Wednesday accompanying the video's release. "However, we should all have confidence in the FBI's investigation of this matter as I know it will be thorough, objective and professional."</p>
<p>The Ghaisar family's lawyers, Roy Austin and Thomas Connolly, said the video depicts "the senseless killing of a young man at the hands of those charged with protecting public safety."</p>
<p>"Bijan Ghaisar was repeatedly threatened by over-aggressive and out-of-control law enforcement officers, after he drove away from a minor traffic incident in which he was the victim and in which there was little property damage and no known injuries," the lawyers said.</p>
<p>In an interview, Austin said he suspects Ghaisar, who has no criminal record, drove off after stopping because he was spooked by the very first stop initiated by Park Police, in which police cut him off in the middle of the highway and approached with guns drawn, yanking at his front door.</p>
<p>"A lot of people's reactions would be, 'I am in danger here," Austin said.</p>
<p>The aggressive response by police is all the more puzzling, Austin said, because the crash that precipitated the chase was little more than a fender-bender in which Ghaisar's car was rear-ended by an Uber driver, according to an accident report.</p>
<p>Roessler said in December that his department, which played a backup role in the chase, had in-car video of the shooting. He urged the FBI at the time to release video as soon as possible. But he was reluctant to immediately release the video himself out of deference to the FBI's investigation.</p>
<p>Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia, said Wednesday after reviewing the video that he wants the FBI to provide more details on the circumstances surrounding the shooting.</p>
<p>FBI spokeswoman Kadia Koroma declined to comment Wednesday on the release of the video or on the investigation itself.</p>
<p>U.S. Park Police Chief Robert MacLean said in a statement that he recognizes "the desire for more information and details surrounding the investigation."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.</p>
<p>McLEAN, Va. (AP) — A dashboard video released Wednesday shows national park police in Virginia firing their weapons up to nine times at a car they had stopped after a four-minute, stop-and-go chase, killing an apparently unarmed motorist.</p>
<p>Lawyers for the family of the dead motorist, 25-year-old Bijan Ghaisar, said the video provides clear evidence police overreacted.</p>
<p>"No one was even close to being in harm's way until a pair of U.S. Park Police officers repeatedly shot Bijan at close range as he sat, unarmed, in his Jeep on a residential street," lawyers for Ghaisar's family said in a statement Wednesday after the video was made public.</p>
<p>Ghaisar, of McLean, died after the Nov. 17 chase, in which he was shot by U.S. Park Police. Authorities say Ghaisar fled after being involved in a crash on the George Washington Parkway. The FBI is now investigating the shooting.</p>
<p>Fairfax County Police Chief Edwin Roessler said Wednesday he released <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1DfM9DSxgY" type="external">the video</a> Wednesday in an effort at transparency.</p>
<p>The four-minute nighttime video shows a chase beginning on the parkway a few miles south of the nation's capital, then turning into a residential neighborhood. It shows the car driven by Ghaisar stopping twice during the chase, and officers approaching the car with guns drawn. In both cases, Ghaisar drives off.</p>
<p>At the third and final stop, officers with guns drawn approach the car at the driver side door. When the car starts to move again, five gunshots are heard. The car starts to drift into a ditch, and two more sets of two gunshots are heard.</p>
<p>"The video does not provide all the answers," Roessler said in a statement Wednesday accompanying the video's release. "However, we should all have confidence in the FBI's investigation of this matter as I know it will be thorough, objective and professional."</p>
<p>The Ghaisar family's lawyers, Roy Austin and Thomas Connolly, said the video depicts "the senseless killing of a young man at the hands of those charged with protecting public safety."</p>
<p>"Bijan Ghaisar was repeatedly threatened by over-aggressive and out-of-control law enforcement officers, after he drove away from a minor traffic incident in which he was the victim and in which there was little property damage and no known injuries," the lawyers said.</p>
<p>In an interview, Austin said he suspects Ghaisar, who has no criminal record, drove off after stopping because he was spooked by the very first stop initiated by Park Police, in which police cut him off in the middle of the highway and approached with guns drawn, yanking at his front door.</p>
<p>"A lot of people's reactions would be, 'I am in danger here," Austin said.</p>
<p>The aggressive response by police is all the more puzzling, Austin said, because the crash that precipitated the chase was little more than a fender-bender in which Ghaisar's car was rear-ended by an Uber driver, according to an accident report.</p>
<p>Roessler said in December that his department, which played a backup role in the chase, had in-car video of the shooting. He urged the FBI at the time to release video as soon as possible. But he was reluctant to immediately release the video himself out of deference to the FBI's investigation.</p>
<p>Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia, said Wednesday after reviewing the video that he wants the FBI to provide more details on the circumstances surrounding the shooting.</p>
<p>FBI spokeswoman Kadia Koroma declined to comment Wednesday on the release of the video or on the investigation itself.</p>
<p>U.S. Park Police Chief Robert MacLean said in a statement that he recognizes "the desire for more information and details surrounding the investigation."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.</p> | Video: Police fire up to 9 times, killing stopped motorist | false | https://apnews.com/amp/f2f6fa62f5d042a9ad21dda17ba3306d | 2018-01-24 | 2least
| Video: Police fire up to 9 times, killing stopped motorist
<p>McLEAN, Va. (AP) — A dashboard video released Wednesday shows national park police in Virginia firing their weapons up to nine times at a car they had stopped after a four-minute, stop-and-go chase, killing an apparently unarmed motorist.</p>
<p>Lawyers for the family of the dead motorist, 25-year-old Bijan Ghaisar, said the video provides clear evidence police overreacted.</p>
<p>"No one was even close to being in harm's way until a pair of U.S. Park Police officers repeatedly shot Bijan at close range as he sat, unarmed, in his Jeep on a residential street," lawyers for Ghaisar's family said in a statement Wednesday after the video was made public.</p>
<p>Ghaisar, of McLean, died after the Nov. 17 chase, in which he was shot by U.S. Park Police. Authorities say Ghaisar fled after being involved in a crash on the George Washington Parkway. The FBI is now investigating the shooting.</p>
<p>Fairfax County Police Chief Edwin Roessler said Wednesday he released <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1DfM9DSxgY" type="external">the video</a> Wednesday in an effort at transparency.</p>
<p>The four-minute nighttime video shows a chase beginning on the parkway a few miles south of the nation's capital, then turning into a residential neighborhood. It shows the car driven by Ghaisar stopping twice during the chase, and officers approaching the car with guns drawn. In both cases, Ghaisar drives off.</p>
<p>At the third and final stop, officers with guns drawn approach the car at the driver side door. When the car starts to move again, five gunshots are heard. The car starts to drift into a ditch, and two more sets of two gunshots are heard.</p>
<p>"The video does not provide all the answers," Roessler said in a statement Wednesday accompanying the video's release. "However, we should all have confidence in the FBI's investigation of this matter as I know it will be thorough, objective and professional."</p>
<p>The Ghaisar family's lawyers, Roy Austin and Thomas Connolly, said the video depicts "the senseless killing of a young man at the hands of those charged with protecting public safety."</p>
<p>"Bijan Ghaisar was repeatedly threatened by over-aggressive and out-of-control law enforcement officers, after he drove away from a minor traffic incident in which he was the victim and in which there was little property damage and no known injuries," the lawyers said.</p>
<p>In an interview, Austin said he suspects Ghaisar, who has no criminal record, drove off after stopping because he was spooked by the very first stop initiated by Park Police, in which police cut him off in the middle of the highway and approached with guns drawn, yanking at his front door.</p>
<p>"A lot of people's reactions would be, 'I am in danger here," Austin said.</p>
<p>The aggressive response by police is all the more puzzling, Austin said, because the crash that precipitated the chase was little more than a fender-bender in which Ghaisar's car was rear-ended by an Uber driver, according to an accident report.</p>
<p>Roessler said in December that his department, which played a backup role in the chase, had in-car video of the shooting. He urged the FBI at the time to release video as soon as possible. But he was reluctant to immediately release the video himself out of deference to the FBI's investigation.</p>
<p>Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia, said Wednesday after reviewing the video that he wants the FBI to provide more details on the circumstances surrounding the shooting.</p>
<p>FBI spokeswoman Kadia Koroma declined to comment Wednesday on the release of the video or on the investigation itself.</p>
<p>U.S. Park Police Chief Robert MacLean said in a statement that he recognizes "the desire for more information and details surrounding the investigation."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.</p>
<p>McLEAN, Va. (AP) — A dashboard video released Wednesday shows national park police in Virginia firing their weapons up to nine times at a car they had stopped after a four-minute, stop-and-go chase, killing an apparently unarmed motorist.</p>
<p>Lawyers for the family of the dead motorist, 25-year-old Bijan Ghaisar, said the video provides clear evidence police overreacted.</p>
<p>"No one was even close to being in harm's way until a pair of U.S. Park Police officers repeatedly shot Bijan at close range as he sat, unarmed, in his Jeep on a residential street," lawyers for Ghaisar's family said in a statement Wednesday after the video was made public.</p>
<p>Ghaisar, of McLean, died after the Nov. 17 chase, in which he was shot by U.S. Park Police. Authorities say Ghaisar fled after being involved in a crash on the George Washington Parkway. The FBI is now investigating the shooting.</p>
<p>Fairfax County Police Chief Edwin Roessler said Wednesday he released <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1DfM9DSxgY" type="external">the video</a> Wednesday in an effort at transparency.</p>
<p>The four-minute nighttime video shows a chase beginning on the parkway a few miles south of the nation's capital, then turning into a residential neighborhood. It shows the car driven by Ghaisar stopping twice during the chase, and officers approaching the car with guns drawn. In both cases, Ghaisar drives off.</p>
<p>At the third and final stop, officers with guns drawn approach the car at the driver side door. When the car starts to move again, five gunshots are heard. The car starts to drift into a ditch, and two more sets of two gunshots are heard.</p>
<p>"The video does not provide all the answers," Roessler said in a statement Wednesday accompanying the video's release. "However, we should all have confidence in the FBI's investigation of this matter as I know it will be thorough, objective and professional."</p>
<p>The Ghaisar family's lawyers, Roy Austin and Thomas Connolly, said the video depicts "the senseless killing of a young man at the hands of those charged with protecting public safety."</p>
<p>"Bijan Ghaisar was repeatedly threatened by over-aggressive and out-of-control law enforcement officers, after he drove away from a minor traffic incident in which he was the victim and in which there was little property damage and no known injuries," the lawyers said.</p>
<p>In an interview, Austin said he suspects Ghaisar, who has no criminal record, drove off after stopping because he was spooked by the very first stop initiated by Park Police, in which police cut him off in the middle of the highway and approached with guns drawn, yanking at his front door.</p>
<p>"A lot of people's reactions would be, 'I am in danger here," Austin said.</p>
<p>The aggressive response by police is all the more puzzling, Austin said, because the crash that precipitated the chase was little more than a fender-bender in which Ghaisar's car was rear-ended by an Uber driver, according to an accident report.</p>
<p>Roessler said in December that his department, which played a backup role in the chase, had in-car video of the shooting. He urged the FBI at the time to release video as soon as possible. But he was reluctant to immediately release the video himself out of deference to the FBI's investigation.</p>
<p>Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia, said Wednesday after reviewing the video that he wants the FBI to provide more details on the circumstances surrounding the shooting.</p>
<p>FBI spokeswoman Kadia Koroma declined to comment Wednesday on the release of the video or on the investigation itself.</p>
<p>U.S. Park Police Chief Robert MacLean said in a statement that he recognizes "the desire for more information and details surrounding the investigation."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.</p> | 2,980 |
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<p />
<p>The device improved blood-sugar control more than standard monitors and insulin pumps did when tested for five days on 20 adults and 32 teens. Unlike other artificial pancreases in development that just correct high blood sugar, this one also can fix too-low sugar, mimicking what a natural pancreas does.</p>
<p>The device was developed at Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston University. Results were featured Sunday at an American Diabetes Association conference in San Francisco and were published online by the New England Journal of Medicine.</p>
<p>“I’m very excited about it,” said Dr. Betul Hatipoglu, an endocrinologist at Cleveland Clinic who had no role in the work. Many patients have been frustrated waiting for a cure, so “this is really a great new horizon for them,” she said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The bionic pancreas is for Type 1 diabetes, the kind often found during childhood. About 5 percent of the 26 million Americans with diabetes have this type and cannot make insulin to turn food into energy. Sugar builds up in the blood, raising the risk for heart disease and many other problems.</p>
<p>These people must check their blood and inject insulin several times a day or get it through a pocket-sized pump with a tube that goes under the skin.</p>
<p>“This would lift that burden off of their shoulders,” Dr. Steven Russell, a diabetes specialist at Massachusetts General, said of the bionic pancreas he helped design.</p>
<p>It has three parts: two cellphone-sized pumps for insulin and sugar-raising glucagon, and an iPhone wired to a continuous glucose monitor. Three small needles go under the skin, usually in the belly, to connect patients to the components, which can be kept in a fanny pack or a pocket.</p>
<p>Patients still have to prick their fingers to test blood sugar twice a day and make sure the monitor is accurate, but the system takes care of giving insulin or glucagon as needed.</p>
<p>Kristina Herndon said her 13-year-old son, Christopher, “loved it” when he tried it for the study, and “felt pretty badly giving it back” when it ended. Christopher has to check his blood sugar eight to 10 times a day and his family has to watch him closely in case it dips too low while he sleeps, which can cause seizures or even death.</p>
<p>“It’s a disease that I think people think is not a big deal but it’s tough. It’s hard on a family,” said Herndon, who lives in Newburyport, Massachusetts.</p>
<p>Next steps: A study starts Monday in 40 adults who will use the device for 11 days. By fall, researchers hope to have a next-generation version combining all three components in one device to be tested in studies next year aimed at winning federal Food and Drug Administration approval.</p>
<p>“My goal is to have this device done by the time my kid, who has Type 1 diabetes, goes to college” in about three years, said Ed Damiano, a biomedical engineer at Boston University.</p>
<p>Two San Diego-based companies – DexCom and Tandem Diabetes Care Inc. – made components of the version tested in the current study. Boston University and Massachusetts General own or have patents pending on the system, and several researchers may someday get royalties.</p>
<p>Medtronic, Johnson &amp; Johnson and several other companies also are working on artificial pancreas devices.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Progress made on a ‘bionic pancreas’ | false | https://abqjournal.com/416137/progress-made-on-a-bionic-pancreas.html | 2least
| Progress made on a ‘bionic pancreas’
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The device improved blood-sugar control more than standard monitors and insulin pumps did when tested for five days on 20 adults and 32 teens. Unlike other artificial pancreases in development that just correct high blood sugar, this one also can fix too-low sugar, mimicking what a natural pancreas does.</p>
<p>The device was developed at Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston University. Results were featured Sunday at an American Diabetes Association conference in San Francisco and were published online by the New England Journal of Medicine.</p>
<p>“I’m very excited about it,” said Dr. Betul Hatipoglu, an endocrinologist at Cleveland Clinic who had no role in the work. Many patients have been frustrated waiting for a cure, so “this is really a great new horizon for them,” she said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The bionic pancreas is for Type 1 diabetes, the kind often found during childhood. About 5 percent of the 26 million Americans with diabetes have this type and cannot make insulin to turn food into energy. Sugar builds up in the blood, raising the risk for heart disease and many other problems.</p>
<p>These people must check their blood and inject insulin several times a day or get it through a pocket-sized pump with a tube that goes under the skin.</p>
<p>“This would lift that burden off of their shoulders,” Dr. Steven Russell, a diabetes specialist at Massachusetts General, said of the bionic pancreas he helped design.</p>
<p>It has three parts: two cellphone-sized pumps for insulin and sugar-raising glucagon, and an iPhone wired to a continuous glucose monitor. Three small needles go under the skin, usually in the belly, to connect patients to the components, which can be kept in a fanny pack or a pocket.</p>
<p>Patients still have to prick their fingers to test blood sugar twice a day and make sure the monitor is accurate, but the system takes care of giving insulin or glucagon as needed.</p>
<p>Kristina Herndon said her 13-year-old son, Christopher, “loved it” when he tried it for the study, and “felt pretty badly giving it back” when it ended. Christopher has to check his blood sugar eight to 10 times a day and his family has to watch him closely in case it dips too low while he sleeps, which can cause seizures or even death.</p>
<p>“It’s a disease that I think people think is not a big deal but it’s tough. It’s hard on a family,” said Herndon, who lives in Newburyport, Massachusetts.</p>
<p>Next steps: A study starts Monday in 40 adults who will use the device for 11 days. By fall, researchers hope to have a next-generation version combining all three components in one device to be tested in studies next year aimed at winning federal Food and Drug Administration approval.</p>
<p>“My goal is to have this device done by the time my kid, who has Type 1 diabetes, goes to college” in about three years, said Ed Damiano, a biomedical engineer at Boston University.</p>
<p>Two San Diego-based companies – DexCom and Tandem Diabetes Care Inc. – made components of the version tested in the current study. Boston University and Massachusetts General own or have patents pending on the system, and several researchers may someday get royalties.</p>
<p>Medtronic, Johnson &amp; Johnson and several other companies also are working on artificial pancreas devices.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 2,981 |
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<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>New Mexico’s Hugh Greenwood reacts after making a 3-point shot Wednesday night at UNLV. (John Locher/The Associated Press)</p>
<p>Immediately after his postgame interview with CBS Sports Network on Wednesday night in Las Vegas, Nev. – the one in which he revealed to the nation his motivation in the win over UNLV stemmed from online harassment about his mother’s battle with breast cancer – UNM senior guard Hugh Greenwood made a beeline to his coach.</p>
<p>Craig Neal, who waited for Greenwood’s interview to conclude before returning to the team locker room to celebrate the Lobos’ 71-69 road win over UNLV, picked up his fourth-year starting guard and gave him a long, emotional hug on the Thomas &amp; Mack Center court.</p>
<p>“You don’t mess with family,” Neal said. “And we’re all family here.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Greenwood told the Journal a talk with Neal before tipoff calmed him down and allowed him to focus his anger toward motivation.</p>
<p>“Earlier this morning,” Greenwood said of his 22-point performance in the win, “it could have gone the other way.”</p>
<p>Neal’s style certainly isn’t for everyone. He’s highly emotional, candid, honest and rides his players hard.</p>
<p>Last week he criticized the effort, attitude and body language of some of his players in news conferences, though made it a point not to specifically name the players he was referring to (local media outlets did so, but the coach did not). He said he wasn’t going to let a few “ruin it for the whole family.”</p>
<p>Those players, presumed to be Jordan Goodman and Arthur Edwards though never confirmed by Neal, have responded with some of their best games as Lobos since, playing with more emotion and energy than they have all season.</p>
<p>And Wednesday, the Lobos likely wouldn’t have won without them. Goodman scored the game-winning basket with 9.1 seconds remaining, and Edwards snagged the game-sealing steal away from UNLV’s Jelan Kendrick as the final seconds ticked off the clock.</p>
<p>Sunday, when starter Devon Williams said he was tired in the loss to Boise State, Neal benched him and told everyone why after the game – more public comments that rubbed his critics the wrong way.</p>
<p>The sophomore responded Wednesday by scoring six points, each with strong post moves against Rebels projected NBA draft pick Christian Wood.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>It hasn’t all been perfect. Far from it, in fact.</p>
<p>This is still the team that lost at home to USC, at Grand Canyon University and watched a tie game Sunday turn into a demoralizing 10-point home loss to Boise State in the final five minutes. Afterward, the second-year head coach acknowledged he didn’t switch up his defenses enough to keep the offensively gifted Broncos out of rhythm.</p>
<p>New Mexico coach Craig Neal spoke with Hugh Greenwood before Wednesday’s game and helped calm him down. (John Locher/The Associated Press)</p>
<p>But for now, it’s working. Neal, who says all his emotion and tactics are done with the goal of trying to evoke the best reponse from his players, is pressing the right buttons at the right times (most of the time).</p>
<p>The Lobos are 5-2 in league play (13-6 overall) and alone in third place knowing that after Saturday’s game at Wyoming, they will have the four toughest road games of the season behind them.</p>
<p>As low as team morale was Sunday, UNM responded. Loose and confident, the Lobos in two days’ preparation executed Neal’s game plan – pressing when necessary, attacking the rim (UNM outscored the Rebels 38-16 in the paint), and mixing man and zone defenses just enough to force the Rebels out of synch.</p>
<p>“I told our guys we’ve got to pick ourselves up and we’ve got to go play basketball,” Neal said. “We’re going to go play a very good, talented UNLV basketball team, but we’ve got to go in there with the upmost confidence.”</p>
<p>The win for the Lobos served as a reminder that even in transition, they still belong in any Mountain West Conference title discussion.</p>
<p>“Of course,” Greenwood said. “We’re the Lobos. We’ve won however many of the last championships. Obviously coming in here and winning (the MWC Tournament in Las Vegas) every year. Yeah, you should be talking about us.”</p>
<p>Said Neal: “We’re as good as anybody when we play like we’re capable of playing.”</p>
<p>RESPONSE POURS IN: Greenwood’s in-game performance and postgame comments after the social media harassment about his mother’s cancer drew national attention Wednesday night and throughout Thursday. And UNM’s media relations department received numerous inquiries from national media outlets.</p>
<p>As for UNLV, athletic director Tina Kunzer-Murphy contacted Paul Krebs to apologize and make sure UNM knew the person on Twitter making the hateful comments was in no way associated with the school.</p>
<p>Players from around the league, including Saturday’s opponent Larry Nance Jr. of Wyoming, posted support for Greenwood on social media. Lengthy threads of fan message board comments filled one of the sites for San Diego State fans. And the UNLV booster club, the Runnin’ Rebel Club, pledged $1,000 to Greenwood’ Pink Pack Foundation for cancer awareness and fundraising.</p>
<p>LOBO LINKS: <a href="" type="internal">Geoff Grammer’s blog</a> | <a href="" type="internal">Schedule/Results</a> | <a href="" type="internal">Roster</a></p>
<p />
<p /> | UNM’s victory in Las Vegas was all about family | false | https://abqjournal.com/530348/unms-victory-all-about-family.html | 2least
| UNM’s victory in Las Vegas was all about family
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>New Mexico’s Hugh Greenwood reacts after making a 3-point shot Wednesday night at UNLV. (John Locher/The Associated Press)</p>
<p>Immediately after his postgame interview with CBS Sports Network on Wednesday night in Las Vegas, Nev. – the one in which he revealed to the nation his motivation in the win over UNLV stemmed from online harassment about his mother’s battle with breast cancer – UNM senior guard Hugh Greenwood made a beeline to his coach.</p>
<p>Craig Neal, who waited for Greenwood’s interview to conclude before returning to the team locker room to celebrate the Lobos’ 71-69 road win over UNLV, picked up his fourth-year starting guard and gave him a long, emotional hug on the Thomas &amp; Mack Center court.</p>
<p>“You don’t mess with family,” Neal said. “And we’re all family here.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Greenwood told the Journal a talk with Neal before tipoff calmed him down and allowed him to focus his anger toward motivation.</p>
<p>“Earlier this morning,” Greenwood said of his 22-point performance in the win, “it could have gone the other way.”</p>
<p>Neal’s style certainly isn’t for everyone. He’s highly emotional, candid, honest and rides his players hard.</p>
<p>Last week he criticized the effort, attitude and body language of some of his players in news conferences, though made it a point not to specifically name the players he was referring to (local media outlets did so, but the coach did not). He said he wasn’t going to let a few “ruin it for the whole family.”</p>
<p>Those players, presumed to be Jordan Goodman and Arthur Edwards though never confirmed by Neal, have responded with some of their best games as Lobos since, playing with more emotion and energy than they have all season.</p>
<p>And Wednesday, the Lobos likely wouldn’t have won without them. Goodman scored the game-winning basket with 9.1 seconds remaining, and Edwards snagged the game-sealing steal away from UNLV’s Jelan Kendrick as the final seconds ticked off the clock.</p>
<p>Sunday, when starter Devon Williams said he was tired in the loss to Boise State, Neal benched him and told everyone why after the game – more public comments that rubbed his critics the wrong way.</p>
<p>The sophomore responded Wednesday by scoring six points, each with strong post moves against Rebels projected NBA draft pick Christian Wood.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>It hasn’t all been perfect. Far from it, in fact.</p>
<p>This is still the team that lost at home to USC, at Grand Canyon University and watched a tie game Sunday turn into a demoralizing 10-point home loss to Boise State in the final five minutes. Afterward, the second-year head coach acknowledged he didn’t switch up his defenses enough to keep the offensively gifted Broncos out of rhythm.</p>
<p>New Mexico coach Craig Neal spoke with Hugh Greenwood before Wednesday’s game and helped calm him down. (John Locher/The Associated Press)</p>
<p>But for now, it’s working. Neal, who says all his emotion and tactics are done with the goal of trying to evoke the best reponse from his players, is pressing the right buttons at the right times (most of the time).</p>
<p>The Lobos are 5-2 in league play (13-6 overall) and alone in third place knowing that after Saturday’s game at Wyoming, they will have the four toughest road games of the season behind them.</p>
<p>As low as team morale was Sunday, UNM responded. Loose and confident, the Lobos in two days’ preparation executed Neal’s game plan – pressing when necessary, attacking the rim (UNM outscored the Rebels 38-16 in the paint), and mixing man and zone defenses just enough to force the Rebels out of synch.</p>
<p>“I told our guys we’ve got to pick ourselves up and we’ve got to go play basketball,” Neal said. “We’re going to go play a very good, talented UNLV basketball team, but we’ve got to go in there with the upmost confidence.”</p>
<p>The win for the Lobos served as a reminder that even in transition, they still belong in any Mountain West Conference title discussion.</p>
<p>“Of course,” Greenwood said. “We’re the Lobos. We’ve won however many of the last championships. Obviously coming in here and winning (the MWC Tournament in Las Vegas) every year. Yeah, you should be talking about us.”</p>
<p>Said Neal: “We’re as good as anybody when we play like we’re capable of playing.”</p>
<p>RESPONSE POURS IN: Greenwood’s in-game performance and postgame comments after the social media harassment about his mother’s cancer drew national attention Wednesday night and throughout Thursday. And UNM’s media relations department received numerous inquiries from national media outlets.</p>
<p>As for UNLV, athletic director Tina Kunzer-Murphy contacted Paul Krebs to apologize and make sure UNM knew the person on Twitter making the hateful comments was in no way associated with the school.</p>
<p>Players from around the league, including Saturday’s opponent Larry Nance Jr. of Wyoming, posted support for Greenwood on social media. Lengthy threads of fan message board comments filled one of the sites for San Diego State fans. And the UNLV booster club, the Runnin’ Rebel Club, pledged $1,000 to Greenwood’ Pink Pack Foundation for cancer awareness and fundraising.</p>
<p>LOBO LINKS: <a href="" type="internal">Geoff Grammer’s blog</a> | <a href="" type="internal">Schedule/Results</a> | <a href="" type="internal">Roster</a></p>
<p />
<p /> | 2,982 |
|
<p>As <a href="" type="internal">reported earlier</a> by The Daily Wire, leftists at the University of Wisconsin -Madison are gearing up with protests for tonight's speech by Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief Ben Shapiro. But this time, it's not just the leftists of Black Lives Matter who are threatening the event; the flip side, white supremacists, also plan to protest the event:</p>
<p>Apparently I'm being protested tonight at UW-Madison by one white supremacist group and two Black Lives Matters groups. Sounds about right.</p>
<p>The University of Wisconsin apparently believes everything is just hunky-dory:</p>
<p>The intrepid administrators at UW-Madison have assigned 3 officers -- yes, 3 -- for a crowd of over 500, including 3 protest groups.</p>
<p>Amy Lutz, the Program Officer for Young America’s Foundation, which is sponsoring the event, has seen this before:</p>
<p>Fantastic. It's like the Penn State lecture all over again. <a href="https://t.co/oFeRJQu5xm" type="external">https://t.co/oFeRJQu5xm</a></p>
<p>That was back on April 6. As one attendee <a href="http://sites.psu.edu/abortion/2016/04/07/ben-shapiros-warm-welcome-to-penn-state/" type="external">wrote</a>:</p>
<p>I was present in the audience during the lecture with my friend and witnessed what occurred first-hand. When Shapiro began to speak, he was immediately interrupted by screams from the crowd outside. Chants of “Let us in!” and “Shut it down!” reverberated into the lecture hall in Sparks. A girl frequently screamed, “You suck!” at Shapiro from outside. Shapiro composedly continued with the lecture that he had prepared. However, rioters began to bang forcefully on the doors of 121 Sparks, attempting to force their way in. According to YAF, the organization that sponsored the event, “Due to mounting concerns for the safety and security of attendees, YAF staff had to call campus police to request backup, preparing for the possibility that the doors may be broken down. A staff member in the lecture hall couldn’t even leave to check on the situation outside the room due to safety concerns."</p>
<p>Lutz tweeted at the time how frightening the situation was:</p>
<p>I'm scared.</p>
<p>Protesters outside <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro" type="external">@benshapiro</a> lecture literally trying to break down the door <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/yafoncampus?src=hash" type="external">#yafoncampus</a></p>
<p>This article will be updated as events require.</p>
<p>The speech will be streamed <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSoTX8xzqDI" type="external">here</a>.</p> | The Latest On The Tense Situation Tonight As Ben Shapiro Speaks At UW | true | https://dailywire.com/news/10867/latest-tense-situation-tonight-ben-shapiro-speaks-hank-berrien | 2016-11-16 | 0right
| The Latest On The Tense Situation Tonight As Ben Shapiro Speaks At UW
<p>As <a href="" type="internal">reported earlier</a> by The Daily Wire, leftists at the University of Wisconsin -Madison are gearing up with protests for tonight's speech by Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief Ben Shapiro. But this time, it's not just the leftists of Black Lives Matter who are threatening the event; the flip side, white supremacists, also plan to protest the event:</p>
<p>Apparently I'm being protested tonight at UW-Madison by one white supremacist group and two Black Lives Matters groups. Sounds about right.</p>
<p>The University of Wisconsin apparently believes everything is just hunky-dory:</p>
<p>The intrepid administrators at UW-Madison have assigned 3 officers -- yes, 3 -- for a crowd of over 500, including 3 protest groups.</p>
<p>Amy Lutz, the Program Officer for Young America’s Foundation, which is sponsoring the event, has seen this before:</p>
<p>Fantastic. It's like the Penn State lecture all over again. <a href="https://t.co/oFeRJQu5xm" type="external">https://t.co/oFeRJQu5xm</a></p>
<p>That was back on April 6. As one attendee <a href="http://sites.psu.edu/abortion/2016/04/07/ben-shapiros-warm-welcome-to-penn-state/" type="external">wrote</a>:</p>
<p>I was present in the audience during the lecture with my friend and witnessed what occurred first-hand. When Shapiro began to speak, he was immediately interrupted by screams from the crowd outside. Chants of “Let us in!” and “Shut it down!” reverberated into the lecture hall in Sparks. A girl frequently screamed, “You suck!” at Shapiro from outside. Shapiro composedly continued with the lecture that he had prepared. However, rioters began to bang forcefully on the doors of 121 Sparks, attempting to force their way in. According to YAF, the organization that sponsored the event, “Due to mounting concerns for the safety and security of attendees, YAF staff had to call campus police to request backup, preparing for the possibility that the doors may be broken down. A staff member in the lecture hall couldn’t even leave to check on the situation outside the room due to safety concerns."</p>
<p>Lutz tweeted at the time how frightening the situation was:</p>
<p>I'm scared.</p>
<p>Protesters outside <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro" type="external">@benshapiro</a> lecture literally trying to break down the door <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/yafoncampus?src=hash" type="external">#yafoncampus</a></p>
<p>This article will be updated as events require.</p>
<p>The speech will be streamed <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSoTX8xzqDI" type="external">here</a>.</p> | 2,983 |
<p>Former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz reacts to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell saying the league will not change its national anthem policy.</p>
<p>President Donald Trump on Monday continued to slam NFL players protesting the national anthem, while criticizing the league’s leadership.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>“Two dozen NFL players continue to kneel during the National Anthem, showing total disrespect to our Flag &amp; Country.&#160;No leadership in NFL!” Trump said in a tweet.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/10/22/nfl-national-anthem-protests-week-7-players-teams-list" type="external">According to Sports Illustrated Opens a New Window.</a>, at least six players on the San Francisco 49ers and one member of the New York Giants kneeled during the “Star Spangled Banner,” while about eight players on the Seattle Seahawks sat during the playing of the anthem on Sunday.</p>
<p>The protests during Week 7 come after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell <a href="" type="internal">said during a press conference last week Opens a New Window.</a> that “everyone should stand” for the patriotic song.</p>
<p>“That’s an important part of our policy. It’s an important part of our game that we all take great pride in. And it’s also important to us to honor our flag and our country,” Goodell told reporters, though he added that the league has no plans to force players into standing for the anthem.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The polarization of the protests, which were started last year by former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick over racial injustice in the U.S., have begun to have an impact on Goodell’s future with the NFL. <a href="http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/21109858/extension-roger-goodell-delayed-national-anthem-issue" type="external">According to a report by ESPN Opens a New Window.</a>, citing league sources, the controversy has delayed the finalization of his contract. At the owners meeting in New York last week, the NFL’s compensation committee spent about 20 minutes discussing the extension, though the report said Goodell’s deal is imminent.</p> | Trump slams NFL protests, says league has ‘no leadership’ | true | http://foxbusiness.com/politics/2017/10/23/trump-slams-nfl-protests-says-league-has-no-leadership.html | 2017-10-23 | 0right
| Trump slams NFL protests, says league has ‘no leadership’
<p>Former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz reacts to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell saying the league will not change its national anthem policy.</p>
<p>President Donald Trump on Monday continued to slam NFL players protesting the national anthem, while criticizing the league’s leadership.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>“Two dozen NFL players continue to kneel during the National Anthem, showing total disrespect to our Flag &amp; Country.&#160;No leadership in NFL!” Trump said in a tweet.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/10/22/nfl-national-anthem-protests-week-7-players-teams-list" type="external">According to Sports Illustrated Opens a New Window.</a>, at least six players on the San Francisco 49ers and one member of the New York Giants kneeled during the “Star Spangled Banner,” while about eight players on the Seattle Seahawks sat during the playing of the anthem on Sunday.</p>
<p>The protests during Week 7 come after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell <a href="" type="internal">said during a press conference last week Opens a New Window.</a> that “everyone should stand” for the patriotic song.</p>
<p>“That’s an important part of our policy. It’s an important part of our game that we all take great pride in. And it’s also important to us to honor our flag and our country,” Goodell told reporters, though he added that the league has no plans to force players into standing for the anthem.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The polarization of the protests, which were started last year by former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick over racial injustice in the U.S., have begun to have an impact on Goodell’s future with the NFL. <a href="http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/21109858/extension-roger-goodell-delayed-national-anthem-issue" type="external">According to a report by ESPN Opens a New Window.</a>, citing league sources, the controversy has delayed the finalization of his contract. At the owners meeting in New York last week, the NFL’s compensation committee spent about 20 minutes discussing the extension, though the report said Goodell’s deal is imminent.</p> | 2,984 |
<p>All calories are not created equally, as we well know from things like comparing candy to an apple. But new research&#160;has shown that eating specific carbohydrates and proteins may be more effective for controlling weight than counting calories. The key is finding the right balance.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.medicaldaily.com/eating-specific-proteins-carbs-may-be-more-effective-weight-management-counting-328888" type="external">study</a> done at Tufts University found that even the smallest changes can make a huge impact later on down the line and over the long term. The study actually took into account three separate long term studies over 16 years, which included 120,000 different men and women.</p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, the researchers found that the more red meat and processed meat consumed the more weight that was gained. But what they did find of note, was that consuming high amounts of nuts, lean chicken, seafood, and low fat dairy was actually attributed to weight loss.</p>
<p>The obvious conclusion from those findings were that it isn’t not the calorie count that is important, but the type of calorie that is being consumed. Interestingly, they also discovered that the fat count of dairy did not seem to make much of a difference. Basically full fat cheese didn’t seem to cause weight gain any more than low fat cheese.</p>
<p>There actually might be reasons why full fat cheese is a better option.&#160;Jessica Smith, a research fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, made a <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/life-style/67694001/Choose-proteins-and-carbs-carefully-to-avoid-long-term-weight-gain" type="external">statement</a> about this in the press release.</p>
<p>“The fat content of dairy products did not seem to be important for weight gain. In fact, when people consumed more low-fat dairy products, they actually increased their consumption of carbs, which may promote weight gain. This suggests that people compensate, over years, for the lower calories in low-fat dairy by increasing their carb intake.”</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/small-changes-in-diet-now-could-make-a-big-difference-later-study-1.2322417" type="external">researchers</a> also took into account the glycemic loads of foods and found that when people balanced low glycemic foods with high glycemic foods they could reduce some of the potential gain. For example, if someone is going to eat red meat, they should balance it out with low glycemic vegetables.</p>
<p>“Our study adds to growing new research that counting calories is not the most effective strategy for long-term weight management and prevention,” said Dariush Mozaffarian, senior author of the study.</p>
<p /> | Why counting calories is not the key to weight control | false | http://natmonitor.com/2015/04/11/why-counting-calories-is-not-the-key-to-weight-control/ | 2015-04-11 | 3left-center
| Why counting calories is not the key to weight control
<p>All calories are not created equally, as we well know from things like comparing candy to an apple. But new research&#160;has shown that eating specific carbohydrates and proteins may be more effective for controlling weight than counting calories. The key is finding the right balance.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.medicaldaily.com/eating-specific-proteins-carbs-may-be-more-effective-weight-management-counting-328888" type="external">study</a> done at Tufts University found that even the smallest changes can make a huge impact later on down the line and over the long term. The study actually took into account three separate long term studies over 16 years, which included 120,000 different men and women.</p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, the researchers found that the more red meat and processed meat consumed the more weight that was gained. But what they did find of note, was that consuming high amounts of nuts, lean chicken, seafood, and low fat dairy was actually attributed to weight loss.</p>
<p>The obvious conclusion from those findings were that it isn’t not the calorie count that is important, but the type of calorie that is being consumed. Interestingly, they also discovered that the fat count of dairy did not seem to make much of a difference. Basically full fat cheese didn’t seem to cause weight gain any more than low fat cheese.</p>
<p>There actually might be reasons why full fat cheese is a better option.&#160;Jessica Smith, a research fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, made a <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/life-style/67694001/Choose-proteins-and-carbs-carefully-to-avoid-long-term-weight-gain" type="external">statement</a> about this in the press release.</p>
<p>“The fat content of dairy products did not seem to be important for weight gain. In fact, when people consumed more low-fat dairy products, they actually increased their consumption of carbs, which may promote weight gain. This suggests that people compensate, over years, for the lower calories in low-fat dairy by increasing their carb intake.”</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/small-changes-in-diet-now-could-make-a-big-difference-later-study-1.2322417" type="external">researchers</a> also took into account the glycemic loads of foods and found that when people balanced low glycemic foods with high glycemic foods they could reduce some of the potential gain. For example, if someone is going to eat red meat, they should balance it out with low glycemic vegetables.</p>
<p>“Our study adds to growing new research that counting calories is not the most effective strategy for long-term weight management and prevention,” said Dariush Mozaffarian, senior author of the study.</p>
<p /> | 2,985 |
<p>May 2, 2013</p>
<p>By Chris Reed</p>
<p>Hydraulic fracturing has been around for decades in our northern neighbor, just as it has been in the U.S. And what do you know? Canadian enviros only began complaining about fracking in recent years when its new IT-driven efficiency suddenly made it a threat to their push for a dreamy pure green energy future — just like with the enviros in the United States. Oh, what a strange coincidence.</p>
<p>Alas, the Legislature has taken initial steps to block fracking in California. On Monday, <a href="http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB1301" type="external">AB 1301</a> and two other anti-fracking bills passed the Assembly Natural Resources Committee. Lawmakers simply don’t care that the Obama administration sees fracking as <a href="http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/mar/09/fracking-obama-regulation-greens-oil-natural-gas/" type="external">just another heavy industry</a>.</p>
<p>This indifference to reason is why starting last Saturday, every morning I’ve been blogging about the nations around the world that are embracing fracking. So far I’ve covered <a href="" type="internal">Germany</a>, <a href="" type="internal">China</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Russia,</a> <a href="" type="internal">Saudi Arabia</a> and <a href="" type="internal">Brazil</a>. Today it’s Canada’s turn.</p>
<p>My point: The fracking/brown energy revolution is coming, regardless of what greens in the newsrooms of the L.A. Times, the San Francisco Chronicle and the Sacramento Bee want, and that California can either join in the party or get left behind. This is from the Montreal Gazette:</p>
<p>“As Canadians expect a transition to a less carbon-intensive energy future, partnering becomes an essential piece of the renewable picture.</p>
<p>“Natural gas is the cleanest-burning hydrocarbons, making it an ideal partner to intermittent renewable options. It offers a reliable energy source during periods when intermittent renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, are unable to provide adequate capacity, and it can be used to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in a variety of ways, including transportation and electricity generation. …</p>
<p>“Canada is the world’s third-largest producer of natural gas, and natural gas provides almost one-third of the energy used by Canadians. …</p>
<p>“Natural gas trapped in unconventional formations is typically located two to three kilometres below the Earth’s surface and thousands of metres below drinking water aquifers. Drinking water aquifers are typically found less than 300 metres below the surface.</p>
<p>“Available technologies, including hydraulic fracturing, are continually adapted to safely and economically produce natural gas from these challenging geological formations. … Over the course of the past 60-years-plus, more than 175,000 wells have been hydraulically fractured in Canada, including in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Quebec and New Brunswick.&#160; ‘About 85% of current oil and gas activity in British Columbia, and 70% in Alberta, involves hydraulic fracturing. It is a common practice in the industry,’ Mr. Heffernan says.”</p>
<p>And what is the Canadian consensus? That it’s just another manageable heavy industry, not the devil — the same conclusion as the Obama administration.</p>
<p>“The Canadian natural gas industry is one of the most regulated in the world. In addition to regulations specific to individual provinces, all have laws to minimize impact, protect freshwater aquifers and ensure responsible development.”</p>
<p>But none of this seemingly matters to Democrats in the Legislature. Fracking is new (no), a huge threat to groundwater (no), a huge causer of dangerous earthquakes (no).</p>
<p>If only the media addressed and then debunked these claims with one-millionth the effort they do with factually challenged claims on most high-profile issues.</p>
<p>No. 1:&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Germany</a></p>
<p>No. 2:&#160; <a href="" type="internal">China</a></p>
<p>No. 3:&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Russia</a></p>
<p>No. 4: <a href="" type="internal">Saudi Arabia</a></p>
<p>No. 5: <a href="" type="internal">Brazil</a></p> | Fracking watch: Canada figures out what CA hasn’t | false | https://calwatchdog.com/2013/05/02/fracking-watch-canada-figures-out-what-ca-hasnt/ | 2018-05-20 | 3left-center
| Fracking watch: Canada figures out what CA hasn’t
<p>May 2, 2013</p>
<p>By Chris Reed</p>
<p>Hydraulic fracturing has been around for decades in our northern neighbor, just as it has been in the U.S. And what do you know? Canadian enviros only began complaining about fracking in recent years when its new IT-driven efficiency suddenly made it a threat to their push for a dreamy pure green energy future — just like with the enviros in the United States. Oh, what a strange coincidence.</p>
<p>Alas, the Legislature has taken initial steps to block fracking in California. On Monday, <a href="http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB1301" type="external">AB 1301</a> and two other anti-fracking bills passed the Assembly Natural Resources Committee. Lawmakers simply don’t care that the Obama administration sees fracking as <a href="http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/mar/09/fracking-obama-regulation-greens-oil-natural-gas/" type="external">just another heavy industry</a>.</p>
<p>This indifference to reason is why starting last Saturday, every morning I’ve been blogging about the nations around the world that are embracing fracking. So far I’ve covered <a href="" type="internal">Germany</a>, <a href="" type="internal">China</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Russia,</a> <a href="" type="internal">Saudi Arabia</a> and <a href="" type="internal">Brazil</a>. Today it’s Canada’s turn.</p>
<p>My point: The fracking/brown energy revolution is coming, regardless of what greens in the newsrooms of the L.A. Times, the San Francisco Chronicle and the Sacramento Bee want, and that California can either join in the party or get left behind. This is from the Montreal Gazette:</p>
<p>“As Canadians expect a transition to a less carbon-intensive energy future, partnering becomes an essential piece of the renewable picture.</p>
<p>“Natural gas is the cleanest-burning hydrocarbons, making it an ideal partner to intermittent renewable options. It offers a reliable energy source during periods when intermittent renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, are unable to provide adequate capacity, and it can be used to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in a variety of ways, including transportation and electricity generation. …</p>
<p>“Canada is the world’s third-largest producer of natural gas, and natural gas provides almost one-third of the energy used by Canadians. …</p>
<p>“Natural gas trapped in unconventional formations is typically located two to three kilometres below the Earth’s surface and thousands of metres below drinking water aquifers. Drinking water aquifers are typically found less than 300 metres below the surface.</p>
<p>“Available technologies, including hydraulic fracturing, are continually adapted to safely and economically produce natural gas from these challenging geological formations. … Over the course of the past 60-years-plus, more than 175,000 wells have been hydraulically fractured in Canada, including in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Quebec and New Brunswick.&#160; ‘About 85% of current oil and gas activity in British Columbia, and 70% in Alberta, involves hydraulic fracturing. It is a common practice in the industry,’ Mr. Heffernan says.”</p>
<p>And what is the Canadian consensus? That it’s just another manageable heavy industry, not the devil — the same conclusion as the Obama administration.</p>
<p>“The Canadian natural gas industry is one of the most regulated in the world. In addition to regulations specific to individual provinces, all have laws to minimize impact, protect freshwater aquifers and ensure responsible development.”</p>
<p>But none of this seemingly matters to Democrats in the Legislature. Fracking is new (no), a huge threat to groundwater (no), a huge causer of dangerous earthquakes (no).</p>
<p>If only the media addressed and then debunked these claims with one-millionth the effort they do with factually challenged claims on most high-profile issues.</p>
<p>No. 1:&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Germany</a></p>
<p>No. 2:&#160; <a href="" type="internal">China</a></p>
<p>No. 3:&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Russia</a></p>
<p>No. 4: <a href="" type="internal">Saudi Arabia</a></p>
<p>No. 5: <a href="" type="internal">Brazil</a></p> | 2,986 |
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<p />
<p>In private meetings on Capitol Hill, industry officials have told lawmakers and congressional staff that they already ban grisly content like beheadings and alert law enforcement if they suspect someone might get hurt, as soon as they are aware of a threat.</p>
<p>But tech officials also said they worry that the proposed legislation is too broad and would potentially put companies on the hook legally if they miss a tweet, video or blog that hints of an attack. They said the result would probably be a deluge of tips to law enforcement, making it tougher for the government to find more valuable information.</p>
<p>Those interviewed by The Associated Press spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing debate over the legislation.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who is backing the legislation, says requiring social media companies to tip off law enforcement to a pending terrorist attack makes sense.</p>
<p>"The FBI and the intelligence community have made it abundantly clear that the terrorist threat is severe and increasing, and that those directing, inspiring and carrying out attacks make heavy use of social media sites," Feinstein told the AP in an emailed statement. "This provision will help get potentially actionable information to the agencies responsible for preventing attacks, without requiring companies to take any steps to monitor their sites they aren't already taking."</p>
<p>The tech industry in 2013 faced a public relations nightmare after former government analyst Edward Snowden leaked details of a massive government surveillance program that relied on their cooperation. Company officials said the law gave them no choice but to supply consumer data and comply with gag orders that prevented companies from talking about it. Still, many consumers and Internet activists were furious that U.S. businesses had enabled the government to spy on their customers, in some cases even charging the government administrative fees to do it.</p>
<p>Since then, the tech industry has led an aggressive public push to limit surveillance requests and increase transparency, adopting more sophisticated encryption techniques despite opposition from the Justice Department. Their primary argument has been that consumers won't use technology they don't trust, and that unnecessary surveillance would hurt the industry.</p>
<p>At the same time, popular social media sites have become instrumental in helping terrorist groups expand their influence, despite widespread industry policies against posting or promoting terrorist-related content.</p>
<p>The Islamic State group and similar groups have relied heavily on Twitter and Facebook to recruit followers, while militants post beheading videos on sites like Google's YouTube, giving an image the chance to go viral before being shut down. In 2013, al-Shabab live tweeted its Westgate shopping mall massacre, opening up new feeds even after Twitter shut others down.</p>
<p>"This is not your grandfather's al-Qaida," FBI Director James Comey told the Senate Judiciary Committee this month. "This is a group of people using social media to reach thousands and thousands of followers, find the ones who might be interested in committing acts of violence, and then moving them to an (end-to-end) encrypted messaging app."</p>
<p>The same week as Comey's testimony, the Senate Intelligence Committee endorsed Feinstein's proposal that would require companies that spot terrorist activity on their networks to alert law enforcement.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Feinstein's provision, part of the intelligence authorization bill that still has to be approved by the Senate, is almost identical to the law requiring companies to report child pornography. One exception is that Feinstein's provision doesn't say whether or how a company would be penalized if it fails to report terrorist activity, whereas a tech company can be fined for "knowingly and willfully" failing to report an image of child pornography.</p>
<p>Tech officials say determining what constitutes child pornography is easier to do because the process is more objective. A criminal photograph can be digitally analyzed and assigned a unique identifier that be used to find similar images across networks.</p>
<p>But oftentimes, determining terrorist activity requires more context. The image of an Islamic State flag, for example, could appear in a news article or video clip as well as terrorist propaganda.</p>
<p>Monika Bickert, head of policy management at Facebook, said the social media site shares the government's goal of keeping terrorist content off the site.</p>
<p>"Our policies on this are crystal clear: We do not permit terrorist groups to use Facebook, and people are not allowed to promote or support these groups on Facebook," she said. "We remove this terrorist content as soon as we become aware of it."</p>
<p>The House didn't include a similar provision in its version of the intelligence bill. A spokesman for House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., declined to comment on the issue.</p>
<p>Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House intelligence panel, said there's "no question" the Islamic State group uses social media to disseminate propoganda and recruit fighters. Schiff, D-Calif., said Congress should work with the tech industry "to determine the most effective response."</p>
<p>__</p>
<p>Follow Anne Flaherty on Twitter at https://twitter.com/annekflaherty</p> | Could Twitter stop the next terrorist attack? | false | https://abqjournal.com/617686/could-twitter-stop-the-next-terrorist-attack.html | 2least
| Could Twitter stop the next terrorist attack?
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<p />
<p>In private meetings on Capitol Hill, industry officials have told lawmakers and congressional staff that they already ban grisly content like beheadings and alert law enforcement if they suspect someone might get hurt, as soon as they are aware of a threat.</p>
<p>But tech officials also said they worry that the proposed legislation is too broad and would potentially put companies on the hook legally if they miss a tweet, video or blog that hints of an attack. They said the result would probably be a deluge of tips to law enforcement, making it tougher for the government to find more valuable information.</p>
<p>Those interviewed by The Associated Press spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing debate over the legislation.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who is backing the legislation, says requiring social media companies to tip off law enforcement to a pending terrorist attack makes sense.</p>
<p>"The FBI and the intelligence community have made it abundantly clear that the terrorist threat is severe and increasing, and that those directing, inspiring and carrying out attacks make heavy use of social media sites," Feinstein told the AP in an emailed statement. "This provision will help get potentially actionable information to the agencies responsible for preventing attacks, without requiring companies to take any steps to monitor their sites they aren't already taking."</p>
<p>The tech industry in 2013 faced a public relations nightmare after former government analyst Edward Snowden leaked details of a massive government surveillance program that relied on their cooperation. Company officials said the law gave them no choice but to supply consumer data and comply with gag orders that prevented companies from talking about it. Still, many consumers and Internet activists were furious that U.S. businesses had enabled the government to spy on their customers, in some cases even charging the government administrative fees to do it.</p>
<p>Since then, the tech industry has led an aggressive public push to limit surveillance requests and increase transparency, adopting more sophisticated encryption techniques despite opposition from the Justice Department. Their primary argument has been that consumers won't use technology they don't trust, and that unnecessary surveillance would hurt the industry.</p>
<p>At the same time, popular social media sites have become instrumental in helping terrorist groups expand their influence, despite widespread industry policies against posting or promoting terrorist-related content.</p>
<p>The Islamic State group and similar groups have relied heavily on Twitter and Facebook to recruit followers, while militants post beheading videos on sites like Google's YouTube, giving an image the chance to go viral before being shut down. In 2013, al-Shabab live tweeted its Westgate shopping mall massacre, opening up new feeds even after Twitter shut others down.</p>
<p>"This is not your grandfather's al-Qaida," FBI Director James Comey told the Senate Judiciary Committee this month. "This is a group of people using social media to reach thousands and thousands of followers, find the ones who might be interested in committing acts of violence, and then moving them to an (end-to-end) encrypted messaging app."</p>
<p>The same week as Comey's testimony, the Senate Intelligence Committee endorsed Feinstein's proposal that would require companies that spot terrorist activity on their networks to alert law enforcement.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Feinstein's provision, part of the intelligence authorization bill that still has to be approved by the Senate, is almost identical to the law requiring companies to report child pornography. One exception is that Feinstein's provision doesn't say whether or how a company would be penalized if it fails to report terrorist activity, whereas a tech company can be fined for "knowingly and willfully" failing to report an image of child pornography.</p>
<p>Tech officials say determining what constitutes child pornography is easier to do because the process is more objective. A criminal photograph can be digitally analyzed and assigned a unique identifier that be used to find similar images across networks.</p>
<p>But oftentimes, determining terrorist activity requires more context. The image of an Islamic State flag, for example, could appear in a news article or video clip as well as terrorist propaganda.</p>
<p>Monika Bickert, head of policy management at Facebook, said the social media site shares the government's goal of keeping terrorist content off the site.</p>
<p>"Our policies on this are crystal clear: We do not permit terrorist groups to use Facebook, and people are not allowed to promote or support these groups on Facebook," she said. "We remove this terrorist content as soon as we become aware of it."</p>
<p>The House didn't include a similar provision in its version of the intelligence bill. A spokesman for House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., declined to comment on the issue.</p>
<p>Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House intelligence panel, said there's "no question" the Islamic State group uses social media to disseminate propoganda and recruit fighters. Schiff, D-Calif., said Congress should work with the tech industry "to determine the most effective response."</p>
<p>__</p>
<p>Follow Anne Flaherty on Twitter at https://twitter.com/annekflaherty</p> | 2,987 |
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<p />
<p>I love real estate, so being around other real estate professionals is energizing for me.</p>
<p>It seems like, typical to our Albuquerque real estate market, we are behind the national trend by a year or two. When the market slowed, it hit us a year or more after other parts of the country. So if we’re behind by a year or two, it should mean we’re in for busier times in home sales, with many parts of the country seeing a shortage of homes listed for sale.</p>
<p>What does this mean for buyers? In New Mexico, we still have a nice assortment of homes for sale and great or truly phenomenal interest rates. If you’ve been thinking of buying a home, it sure seems like now is the time to act.</p>
<p>As a buyer, you don’t want the market shift to happen before you buy. When it shifts, you’ll have less homes to choose from, and more buyers trying to buy the same homes, which means you may not get the house you prefer.</p>
<p>For home sellers, we have what’s considered a balanced inventory at present. This means in the homes priced generally under $350,000, we have about six months worth of inventory on the market.</p>
<p>This is considered a healthy market without too many or too few properties for sale. For homes priced higher, we’re seeing more homes sell; however, we still have an abundance of homes to choose from. And yes, there are great loans available for the higher-priced homes!</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>So when will our market shift? When will interest rates rise? I don’t want to predict – just know we follow behind the national trends, and I expect we’ll see more homes selling in the upcoming months. If you’ve been waiting to sell, the time may be here. My BIG takeaway from the convention: The bottom of the market has passed.</p>
<p>I’ve been meaning to buy investment property for myself for the past year. It’s time for me to go look at houses and lock in the prices and interest rates for myself! I love looking at houses so I’m sure to find a great one… or more than one.</p>
<p>As a Realtor, we have some great lenders, inspectors and title company partners. We can work with you to put together a financing strategy that works and help you find a great home, too.</p>
<p><a href="http://sage.abqjournalfit.com/2013/03/03/headline-136/asktheexpertstracyventurikwsquarelogo/" type="external" />Tracy Venturi is a licensed Realtor and an associate broker with Keller Williams Realty, the Venturi Team. For additional information about the Venturi Team and its extensive list of services, please visit their user-friendly website: <a href="http://www.WelcomeHomeABQ.com" type="external">www.WelcomeHomeABQ.com</a>, or call her at 505-263-2526 or 505.271.8200.</p>
<p>To ask Tracy a question, type in the comments field below. Or ask her a question by emailing <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a> or <a href="" type="internal">[email protected]. &gt;</a></p> | Market is shaping up, from Ask the Experts' Tracy Venturi | false | https://abqjournal.com/510861/headline-136-2.html | 2least
| Market is shaping up, from Ask the Experts' Tracy Venturi
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<p />
<p>I love real estate, so being around other real estate professionals is energizing for me.</p>
<p>It seems like, typical to our Albuquerque real estate market, we are behind the national trend by a year or two. When the market slowed, it hit us a year or more after other parts of the country. So if we’re behind by a year or two, it should mean we’re in for busier times in home sales, with many parts of the country seeing a shortage of homes listed for sale.</p>
<p>What does this mean for buyers? In New Mexico, we still have a nice assortment of homes for sale and great or truly phenomenal interest rates. If you’ve been thinking of buying a home, it sure seems like now is the time to act.</p>
<p>As a buyer, you don’t want the market shift to happen before you buy. When it shifts, you’ll have less homes to choose from, and more buyers trying to buy the same homes, which means you may not get the house you prefer.</p>
<p>For home sellers, we have what’s considered a balanced inventory at present. This means in the homes priced generally under $350,000, we have about six months worth of inventory on the market.</p>
<p>This is considered a healthy market without too many or too few properties for sale. For homes priced higher, we’re seeing more homes sell; however, we still have an abundance of homes to choose from. And yes, there are great loans available for the higher-priced homes!</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>So when will our market shift? When will interest rates rise? I don’t want to predict – just know we follow behind the national trends, and I expect we’ll see more homes selling in the upcoming months. If you’ve been waiting to sell, the time may be here. My BIG takeaway from the convention: The bottom of the market has passed.</p>
<p>I’ve been meaning to buy investment property for myself for the past year. It’s time for me to go look at houses and lock in the prices and interest rates for myself! I love looking at houses so I’m sure to find a great one… or more than one.</p>
<p>As a Realtor, we have some great lenders, inspectors and title company partners. We can work with you to put together a financing strategy that works and help you find a great home, too.</p>
<p><a href="http://sage.abqjournalfit.com/2013/03/03/headline-136/asktheexpertstracyventurikwsquarelogo/" type="external" />Tracy Venturi is a licensed Realtor and an associate broker with Keller Williams Realty, the Venturi Team. For additional information about the Venturi Team and its extensive list of services, please visit their user-friendly website: <a href="http://www.WelcomeHomeABQ.com" type="external">www.WelcomeHomeABQ.com</a>, or call her at 505-263-2526 or 505.271.8200.</p>
<p>To ask Tracy a question, type in the comments field below. Or ask her a question by emailing <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a> or <a href="" type="internal">[email protected]. &gt;</a></p> | 2,988 |
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<p>PHOENIX — When the Arizona Diamondbacks reached the 34th round of baseball’s draft, they didn’t pick for need or take a chance on potential. Instead, they made a gesture to a player whose career was cut short. Bypassing conventional wisdom in the draft, the Diamondbacks used the 1,020th overall pick of the draft on Arizona State’s Cory Hahn, an outfielder who was partially paralyzed during a game against New Mexico in 2011. “It was a very emotional selection for us to make,” Diamondbacks president Derrick Hall said on Saturday. “When (scouting director) Ray Montgomery and his staff came up with the idea and presented it to me, it was a no-brainer.” Hahn’s college career lasted three games. Playing against UNM on Feb. 20, 2011 in Tempe, Ariz., he suffered a spinal injury after sliding head-first on a steal attempt and colliding with Lobo second baseman Kyle Stiner’s knee. Hahn was taken off on a stretcher and had surgery later that night, but was paralyzed from the mid-chest down after fracturing his C-5 vertebrae. The Diamondbacks waited until the 34th round because Hahn wore No. 34 at ASU. LOBOS CHOSEN: UNM senior Alex Allbritton was not the first to know he’d been drafted by the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday. He was busy working a player camp at Lobo Field when he got the news. “Some of my teammates came out and gave me a group hug,” Allbritton said. “That was how I found out.” Allbritton, a shortstop/third baseman who went in the 21st round, was one of four UNM players selected as the draft progressed through rounds 11-40 on Saturday. Seven Lobos were drafted during the three-day draft, surpassing the program record of six set in 2009. Allbritton and six other players with New Mexico ties were drafted Saturday. The others:</p>
<p>BIG MONEY COMING: As the No. 12 pick by Seattle in Thursday’s first round, Lobo D.J. Peterson’s slot value assigned by MLB to the pick is $2,759,100. It’s much more than the reported offer of a six-figure bonus the Mariners offered when they picked him in the 33rd round out of Gilbert (Ariz.) High in 2010. Peterson realizes his decision to attend UNM in hindsight was a wise one. “They (the Mariners) saw maybe I needed to work on some things, and you know what? Ultimately they were right.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Four Lobos drafted on final day | false | https://abqjournal.com/239784/four-lobos-drafted-on-final-day.html | 2least
| Four Lobos drafted on final day
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<p>PHOENIX — When the Arizona Diamondbacks reached the 34th round of baseball’s draft, they didn’t pick for need or take a chance on potential. Instead, they made a gesture to a player whose career was cut short. Bypassing conventional wisdom in the draft, the Diamondbacks used the 1,020th overall pick of the draft on Arizona State’s Cory Hahn, an outfielder who was partially paralyzed during a game against New Mexico in 2011. “It was a very emotional selection for us to make,” Diamondbacks president Derrick Hall said on Saturday. “When (scouting director) Ray Montgomery and his staff came up with the idea and presented it to me, it was a no-brainer.” Hahn’s college career lasted three games. Playing against UNM on Feb. 20, 2011 in Tempe, Ariz., he suffered a spinal injury after sliding head-first on a steal attempt and colliding with Lobo second baseman Kyle Stiner’s knee. Hahn was taken off on a stretcher and had surgery later that night, but was paralyzed from the mid-chest down after fracturing his C-5 vertebrae. The Diamondbacks waited until the 34th round because Hahn wore No. 34 at ASU. LOBOS CHOSEN: UNM senior Alex Allbritton was not the first to know he’d been drafted by the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday. He was busy working a player camp at Lobo Field when he got the news. “Some of my teammates came out and gave me a group hug,” Allbritton said. “That was how I found out.” Allbritton, a shortstop/third baseman who went in the 21st round, was one of four UNM players selected as the draft progressed through rounds 11-40 on Saturday. Seven Lobos were drafted during the three-day draft, surpassing the program record of six set in 2009. Allbritton and six other players with New Mexico ties were drafted Saturday. The others:</p>
<p>BIG MONEY COMING: As the No. 12 pick by Seattle in Thursday’s first round, Lobo D.J. Peterson’s slot value assigned by MLB to the pick is $2,759,100. It’s much more than the reported offer of a six-figure bonus the Mariners offered when they picked him in the 33rd round out of Gilbert (Ariz.) High in 2010. Peterson realizes his decision to attend UNM in hindsight was a wise one. “They (the Mariners) saw maybe I needed to work on some things, and you know what? Ultimately they were right.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 2,989 |
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<p>ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Lt. Gov. Tina Smith is resigning from the board overseeing the public-private partnership with Mayo Clinic before she heads to the U.S. Senate.</p>
<p>Smith has chaired the Destination Medical Center Board since its creation in 2013. The project is meant to help the famed hospital expand its Rochester base with a blend of private investment and taxpayer-funded infrastructure expansion.</p>
<p>But Smith was appointed earlier this month to replace Sen. Al Franken when he resigns, effective next week. Smith announced Thursday she'd step away from the Destination Medical Center Board.</p>
<p>Smith is set to be sworn into the U.S. Senate on Wednesday. Former Minneapolis Mayor and current board vice chair R.T. Rybak will replace Smith as chair in the interim.</p>
<p>ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Lt. Gov. Tina Smith is resigning from the board overseeing the public-private partnership with Mayo Clinic before she heads to the U.S. Senate.</p>
<p>Smith has chaired the Destination Medical Center Board since its creation in 2013. The project is meant to help the famed hospital expand its Rochester base with a blend of private investment and taxpayer-funded infrastructure expansion.</p>
<p>But Smith was appointed earlier this month to replace Sen. Al Franken when he resigns, effective next week. Smith announced Thursday she'd step away from the Destination Medical Center Board.</p>
<p>Smith is set to be sworn into the U.S. Senate on Wednesday. Former Minneapolis Mayor and current board vice chair R.T. Rybak will replace Smith as chair in the interim.</p> | Smith exits Mayo partnership board as she heads to Senate | false | https://apnews.com/amp/9d90055cad3e4cf78916cc9ab02011d3 | 2017-12-28 | 2least
| Smith exits Mayo partnership board as she heads to Senate
<p>ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Lt. Gov. Tina Smith is resigning from the board overseeing the public-private partnership with Mayo Clinic before she heads to the U.S. Senate.</p>
<p>Smith has chaired the Destination Medical Center Board since its creation in 2013. The project is meant to help the famed hospital expand its Rochester base with a blend of private investment and taxpayer-funded infrastructure expansion.</p>
<p>But Smith was appointed earlier this month to replace Sen. Al Franken when he resigns, effective next week. Smith announced Thursday she'd step away from the Destination Medical Center Board.</p>
<p>Smith is set to be sworn into the U.S. Senate on Wednesday. Former Minneapolis Mayor and current board vice chair R.T. Rybak will replace Smith as chair in the interim.</p>
<p>ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Lt. Gov. Tina Smith is resigning from the board overseeing the public-private partnership with Mayo Clinic before she heads to the U.S. Senate.</p>
<p>Smith has chaired the Destination Medical Center Board since its creation in 2013. The project is meant to help the famed hospital expand its Rochester base with a blend of private investment and taxpayer-funded infrastructure expansion.</p>
<p>But Smith was appointed earlier this month to replace Sen. Al Franken when he resigns, effective next week. Smith announced Thursday she'd step away from the Destination Medical Center Board.</p>
<p>Smith is set to be sworn into the U.S. Senate on Wednesday. Former Minneapolis Mayor and current board vice chair R.T. Rybak will replace Smith as chair in the interim.</p> | 2,990 |
<p />
<p>Long before the War on Terror started driving U.S. foreign policy, Washington set out to win the War on Drugs, with a particular focus on nations like Colombia, which exports up to 90 percent of America’s cocaine. But, as recent developments there illustrate, victory is still proving elusive.</p>
<p>On Monday, Colombian president Álvaro Uribe <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/03/international/americas/03colo.html" type="external">offered more concessions</a> to rightist paramilitary groups, promising to create additional “haven” areas where two warring organizations can negotiate with the government. In such havens, paramilitary leaders and troops can speak with government representatives without fear of arrest or extradition to the United States on drug-trafficking charges. In exchange, Uribe wants the groups to declare a cease-fire and begin disarming.</p>
<p>The trouble is that the paramilitaries hold the power in this relationship. As the New York Times noted, “the groups have not stopped assassinating labor leaders and human rights workers, killing peasants and trafficking in cocaine,” and have said they will not demobilize unless the government agrees to a lenient stand on previous murders and trafficking. As former Colombian peace commissioner Daniel Garcia-Pena said:</p>
<p />
<p>“This process is in a crisis of credibility. The president has time to rescue the process if the conditions are well established and they make them comply. But the government has hard rhetoric one day, and they make concessions the next.”</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Uribe is battling a personal crisis of credibility concerning his possible ties to drug traffickers. On Sunday, the National Security Archive at George Washington University <a href="http://www.gwu.edu/%7Ensarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB131/index.htm" type="external">released a 1991 Defense Intelligence Agency report</a> (which it obtained by FOIA request) that listed Uribe among 104 “important” narco-traffickers in Colombia. In a short paragraph, the report says Uribe “was linked to a business involved in narcotics activities” and was a “close personal friend” of famed trafficker Pablo Escobar.</p>
<p>The report’s allegations are inconclusive at best, as the details are unspecific and the report’s contents include a disclaimer that the material had not yet been evaluated. But as the Los Angeles Times explains, just the <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-drugprez2aug02,1,6699984.story?coll=la-headlines-world" type="external">presence of the allegations</a> is a potential problem for Uribe:</p>
<p />
<p>“[The report] appeared likely to resuscitate rumors about Uribe’s controversial past, including his alleged connections with the drug trade. It also feeds perceptions of pervasive drug corruption in Colombia, which nearly felled former President Ernesto Samper in the 1990s, when it was discovered that his presidential campaign had received drug money.”</p>
<p>Any damage to Uribe’s presidency could undermine U.S. efforts to eradicate cocaine under the expensive “Plan Colombia,” which comes up for renewal in 2006. Since his election in May 2002, Uribe has been a reliable U.S. ally (Colombia even joined the ranks of Bush’s Coalition of the Willing) and as The Nation reports, <a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20040816&amp;c=2&amp;s=canby" type="external">is more than willing to embrace Washington’s approach to the drug war:</a></p>
<p />
<p>“For his promise of a military solution to Colombia’s problems, Uribe came to be known as ‘Colombia’s Ariel Sharon.’ He has been unreservedly supportive of every aspect of Plan Colombia, from strengthening the country’s military to – especially -reducing the growth of coca.”</p>
<p>Cutting down the supply of potential cocaine is the key to Plan Colombia, and the Bush administration has touted the destruction of 33 percent of Colombia’s coca since 2001, and 20 percent in 2003 alone. However, as a July <a href="http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04726.pdf" type="external">GAO report states</a>, drug prices have remained fairly stable. And while the country’s murder rate has declined, the report cautions that decline is not definitively linked to government policy.</p>
<p>The successes of Plan Colombia have also come with grave humanitarian costs. Much of the coca reduction is achieved by aerial spraying of the fields with chemicals that have also caused destruction of non-drug crops, the death of farm animals, and respiratory problems for peasants. And the government still faces an uphill battle to successfully disarm either the leftist FARC guerillas or rightist paramilitary groups, as groups of both persuasions continue with assassinations, kidnappings and large-scale drug operations despite pressure from Bogota and Washington.</p>
<p>The results of Plan Colombia have proven a mixed bag so far. Whether Uribe can broker a successful cease-fire without kowtowing to the criminals’ demands will determine the future of his presidency, the U.S.-backed Plan, and the lives of many of his constituents.</p>
<p /> | Remember the War on Drugs? | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2004/08/remember-war-drugs/ | 2004-08-04 | 4left
| Remember the War on Drugs?
<p />
<p>Long before the War on Terror started driving U.S. foreign policy, Washington set out to win the War on Drugs, with a particular focus on nations like Colombia, which exports up to 90 percent of America’s cocaine. But, as recent developments there illustrate, victory is still proving elusive.</p>
<p>On Monday, Colombian president Álvaro Uribe <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/03/international/americas/03colo.html" type="external">offered more concessions</a> to rightist paramilitary groups, promising to create additional “haven” areas where two warring organizations can negotiate with the government. In such havens, paramilitary leaders and troops can speak with government representatives without fear of arrest or extradition to the United States on drug-trafficking charges. In exchange, Uribe wants the groups to declare a cease-fire and begin disarming.</p>
<p>The trouble is that the paramilitaries hold the power in this relationship. As the New York Times noted, “the groups have not stopped assassinating labor leaders and human rights workers, killing peasants and trafficking in cocaine,” and have said they will not demobilize unless the government agrees to a lenient stand on previous murders and trafficking. As former Colombian peace commissioner Daniel Garcia-Pena said:</p>
<p />
<p>“This process is in a crisis of credibility. The president has time to rescue the process if the conditions are well established and they make them comply. But the government has hard rhetoric one day, and they make concessions the next.”</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Uribe is battling a personal crisis of credibility concerning his possible ties to drug traffickers. On Sunday, the National Security Archive at George Washington University <a href="http://www.gwu.edu/%7Ensarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB131/index.htm" type="external">released a 1991 Defense Intelligence Agency report</a> (which it obtained by FOIA request) that listed Uribe among 104 “important” narco-traffickers in Colombia. In a short paragraph, the report says Uribe “was linked to a business involved in narcotics activities” and was a “close personal friend” of famed trafficker Pablo Escobar.</p>
<p>The report’s allegations are inconclusive at best, as the details are unspecific and the report’s contents include a disclaimer that the material had not yet been evaluated. But as the Los Angeles Times explains, just the <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-drugprez2aug02,1,6699984.story?coll=la-headlines-world" type="external">presence of the allegations</a> is a potential problem for Uribe:</p>
<p />
<p>“[The report] appeared likely to resuscitate rumors about Uribe’s controversial past, including his alleged connections with the drug trade. It also feeds perceptions of pervasive drug corruption in Colombia, which nearly felled former President Ernesto Samper in the 1990s, when it was discovered that his presidential campaign had received drug money.”</p>
<p>Any damage to Uribe’s presidency could undermine U.S. efforts to eradicate cocaine under the expensive “Plan Colombia,” which comes up for renewal in 2006. Since his election in May 2002, Uribe has been a reliable U.S. ally (Colombia even joined the ranks of Bush’s Coalition of the Willing) and as The Nation reports, <a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20040816&amp;c=2&amp;s=canby" type="external">is more than willing to embrace Washington’s approach to the drug war:</a></p>
<p />
<p>“For his promise of a military solution to Colombia’s problems, Uribe came to be known as ‘Colombia’s Ariel Sharon.’ He has been unreservedly supportive of every aspect of Plan Colombia, from strengthening the country’s military to – especially -reducing the growth of coca.”</p>
<p>Cutting down the supply of potential cocaine is the key to Plan Colombia, and the Bush administration has touted the destruction of 33 percent of Colombia’s coca since 2001, and 20 percent in 2003 alone. However, as a July <a href="http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04726.pdf" type="external">GAO report states</a>, drug prices have remained fairly stable. And while the country’s murder rate has declined, the report cautions that decline is not definitively linked to government policy.</p>
<p>The successes of Plan Colombia have also come with grave humanitarian costs. Much of the coca reduction is achieved by aerial spraying of the fields with chemicals that have also caused destruction of non-drug crops, the death of farm animals, and respiratory problems for peasants. And the government still faces an uphill battle to successfully disarm either the leftist FARC guerillas or rightist paramilitary groups, as groups of both persuasions continue with assassinations, kidnappings and large-scale drug operations despite pressure from Bogota and Washington.</p>
<p>The results of Plan Colombia have proven a mixed bag so far. Whether Uribe can broker a successful cease-fire without kowtowing to the criminals’ demands will determine the future of his presidency, the U.S.-backed Plan, and the lives of many of his constituents.</p>
<p /> | 2,991 |
<p>National Cancer Institute</p>
<p />
<p>Predictably, the GOP has <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1109/29783.html" type="external">capitalized</a> on the recent uproar over revised mammogram recommendations as proof that the federal government is trying to ration your health care. And while the US Preventive Services Task Force (the panel doing the recommending) consists of 16 doctors who review the research and conduct risk-benefit analysis—the GOP is more or less correct. The government is trying to ration health care. And <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/magazine/19healthcare-t.html" type="external">it should</a>, according to Princeton University bioethicist Peter Singer.</p>
<p>I’m with Singer. In seeking the status quo, do these pols really imagine that health care isn’t now rationed by private insurers? Of course not. They’re just grandstanding. Fact is, no medical rationing is more extreme than kicking someone out of your health plan. Costs do need to be controlled, for sure, but the costs are just a symptom of bad decisions and <a href="" type="internal">perverse incentives</a> that have made America’s health care system <a href="" type="internal">No. 37</a> in the world—even though we’re <a href="http://static.seekingalpha.com/uploads/2009/7/5/saupload_f2.JPG" type="external">No. 1</a> in per-capita spending. A lot of those bad decisions involve unnecessary testing, followed by treatment for conditions that are not, in the end, life-threatening. I’m not talking about withholding a lifesaving treatment from your 75-year-old mother here, but rather about approaching health—and mortality—with rational medicine rather than emotional politics.</p>
<p>We could get into the whole debate about death with dignity, but let’s not. Instead, consider this: Would you pay out of pocket to be screened for a condition you are very unlikely to have, and which would require invasive followup if you test positive? If yes, then why this particular condition—why not get tested for every condition for which a test exists? If your answer is no, you wouldn’t pay for it yourself, then why should anybody else? Why should your insurer?</p>
<p>In the specific case of mammograms as a way to detect breast cancer, the advisory panel recommended delaying routine tests until age 50—previously, it was 40—and doing those tests every other year rather than annually. Mother Jones, incidentally, <a href="" type="internal">made a similar argument</a> as far back as 1994 because studies showed even then that screening doesn’t save lives—death rates are the same with and without it—although it may save the life of this or that individual.</p>
<p>But the clearest, most even-handed explanation I’ve seen for the logic behind rationing medical tests appeared in this past Sunday’s New York Times Magazine. Using simple math, John Allen Poulos <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/13/magazine/13Fob-wwln-t.html" type="external">showed definitively</a> that when you test a large group of people for a relatively rare condition, you will get substantially more false positives than real ones. The wider the population tested, the more this effect is exacerbated. It’s a counterintuitive result that leads to the following question: If testing is always good, why not lower the age for routine mammograms to 30 or 20—or 12?</p>
<p>For good reason. Putting aside cost and risk of these tests—mammograms involve radiation, as cancer survivor Barbara Ehrenreich points out in <a href="" type="internal">her own response</a> to the testing brouhaha—the answer is that lowering the screening age increases the ratio of real to false positives. And soon enough, the cumulative dangers of those false positives begin to outweigh the dangers of the real ones. They compel healthy women to undergo invasive biopsies and sometimes radical treatment for growths that may never pose real harm. Not only that, but Poulos notes that because survival is calculated from the moment of diagnosis, “ever more sensitive screening starts the clock ticking sooner. As a result, survival times can appear to be longer even if the earlier diagnosis has no real effect on survival.”</p>
<p>All of this stuff is true not only with mammograms but other screens, including PSA tests, which have also come under scrutiny. A PSA test measures prostate specific antigen, a protein that shows up at higher concentrations in the blood of men with prostrate cancer. The catch is that many older men have very slow-growing forms of this cancer that will never kill them. But serious consequences await those who seek biopsies and aggressive treatment—radiation, chemo, or prostate surgery. As author <a href="http://www.overtreated.com/home.html" type="external">Shannon Brownlee</a> noted in a <a href="" type="internal">recent MoJo piece</a>, they may end up popping Viagra and wearing Depends—with little to show for it.</p>
<p>To actually improve health care, the government needs to consider what’s good for a population of patients, not simply what an individual patient believes is right for him. Socialism? Fair enough, but consider that all insurance, whose aim is to spread risk from the few to the many, also falls into that category. In any case, rationing is a bitter pill in a country obsessed with the individual. But if we don’t pull it together and make some tough, wise choices, it won’t just be a few unlucky patients feeling the pain.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p /> | Why Mammograms—and Other Tests—Should Be Rationed | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2009/12/why-mammograms-should-be-rationed/ | 2009-12-16 | 4left
| Why Mammograms—and Other Tests—Should Be Rationed
<p>National Cancer Institute</p>
<p />
<p>Predictably, the GOP has <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1109/29783.html" type="external">capitalized</a> on the recent uproar over revised mammogram recommendations as proof that the federal government is trying to ration your health care. And while the US Preventive Services Task Force (the panel doing the recommending) consists of 16 doctors who review the research and conduct risk-benefit analysis—the GOP is more or less correct. The government is trying to ration health care. And <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/magazine/19healthcare-t.html" type="external">it should</a>, according to Princeton University bioethicist Peter Singer.</p>
<p>I’m with Singer. In seeking the status quo, do these pols really imagine that health care isn’t now rationed by private insurers? Of course not. They’re just grandstanding. Fact is, no medical rationing is more extreme than kicking someone out of your health plan. Costs do need to be controlled, for sure, but the costs are just a symptom of bad decisions and <a href="" type="internal">perverse incentives</a> that have made America’s health care system <a href="" type="internal">No. 37</a> in the world—even though we’re <a href="http://static.seekingalpha.com/uploads/2009/7/5/saupload_f2.JPG" type="external">No. 1</a> in per-capita spending. A lot of those bad decisions involve unnecessary testing, followed by treatment for conditions that are not, in the end, life-threatening. I’m not talking about withholding a lifesaving treatment from your 75-year-old mother here, but rather about approaching health—and mortality—with rational medicine rather than emotional politics.</p>
<p>We could get into the whole debate about death with dignity, but let’s not. Instead, consider this: Would you pay out of pocket to be screened for a condition you are very unlikely to have, and which would require invasive followup if you test positive? If yes, then why this particular condition—why not get tested for every condition for which a test exists? If your answer is no, you wouldn’t pay for it yourself, then why should anybody else? Why should your insurer?</p>
<p>In the specific case of mammograms as a way to detect breast cancer, the advisory panel recommended delaying routine tests until age 50—previously, it was 40—and doing those tests every other year rather than annually. Mother Jones, incidentally, <a href="" type="internal">made a similar argument</a> as far back as 1994 because studies showed even then that screening doesn’t save lives—death rates are the same with and without it—although it may save the life of this or that individual.</p>
<p>But the clearest, most even-handed explanation I’ve seen for the logic behind rationing medical tests appeared in this past Sunday’s New York Times Magazine. Using simple math, John Allen Poulos <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/13/magazine/13Fob-wwln-t.html" type="external">showed definitively</a> that when you test a large group of people for a relatively rare condition, you will get substantially more false positives than real ones. The wider the population tested, the more this effect is exacerbated. It’s a counterintuitive result that leads to the following question: If testing is always good, why not lower the age for routine mammograms to 30 or 20—or 12?</p>
<p>For good reason. Putting aside cost and risk of these tests—mammograms involve radiation, as cancer survivor Barbara Ehrenreich points out in <a href="" type="internal">her own response</a> to the testing brouhaha—the answer is that lowering the screening age increases the ratio of real to false positives. And soon enough, the cumulative dangers of those false positives begin to outweigh the dangers of the real ones. They compel healthy women to undergo invasive biopsies and sometimes radical treatment for growths that may never pose real harm. Not only that, but Poulos notes that because survival is calculated from the moment of diagnosis, “ever more sensitive screening starts the clock ticking sooner. As a result, survival times can appear to be longer even if the earlier diagnosis has no real effect on survival.”</p>
<p>All of this stuff is true not only with mammograms but other screens, including PSA tests, which have also come under scrutiny. A PSA test measures prostate specific antigen, a protein that shows up at higher concentrations in the blood of men with prostrate cancer. The catch is that many older men have very slow-growing forms of this cancer that will never kill them. But serious consequences await those who seek biopsies and aggressive treatment—radiation, chemo, or prostate surgery. As author <a href="http://www.overtreated.com/home.html" type="external">Shannon Brownlee</a> noted in a <a href="" type="internal">recent MoJo piece</a>, they may end up popping Viagra and wearing Depends—with little to show for it.</p>
<p>To actually improve health care, the government needs to consider what’s good for a population of patients, not simply what an individual patient believes is right for him. Socialism? Fair enough, but consider that all insurance, whose aim is to spread risk from the few to the many, also falls into that category. In any case, rationing is a bitter pill in a country obsessed with the individual. But if we don’t pull it together and make some tough, wise choices, it won’t just be a few unlucky patients feeling the pain.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p /> | 2,992 |
<p>Truthdig’s hometown is surrounded by wildfires, and although we were closely observing the developing situation, we were surprised to see the world react with such intense interest. It seems everyone from <a href="http://www.pravda.ru/photo/report/fire-4721" type="external">Pravda</a> to the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7055721.stm" type="external">BBC</a> has tuned in to watch movie stars’ homes being threatened by the flames.</p>
<p>In case you aren’t already up to speed, seven Southern California counties are struggling against fierce and unpredictable blazes driven by dry, hot winds.</p>
<p>On a personal note, our thanks go out to the firefighters who are battling this disaster and our thoughts are with the quarter of a million people who have been evacuated from their homes.</p>
<p>BBC:</p>
<p />
<p>California has evacuated a quarter of a million people as fierce winds fan wildfires in the Los Angeles region from San Diego up to Santa Barbara.</p>
<p>At least one person has died and thousands of homes are at risk in seven counties where fires have scorched some 200,000 acres (81,000 hectares).</p>
<p>About 1,500 National Guardsmen have been brought in to help fire-fighters.</p>
<p><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7055721.stm" type="external">Read more</a></p> | The World Watches California Burn | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/the-world-watches-california-burn/ | 2007-10-23 | 4left
| The World Watches California Burn
<p>Truthdig’s hometown is surrounded by wildfires, and although we were closely observing the developing situation, we were surprised to see the world react with such intense interest. It seems everyone from <a href="http://www.pravda.ru/photo/report/fire-4721" type="external">Pravda</a> to the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7055721.stm" type="external">BBC</a> has tuned in to watch movie stars’ homes being threatened by the flames.</p>
<p>In case you aren’t already up to speed, seven Southern California counties are struggling against fierce and unpredictable blazes driven by dry, hot winds.</p>
<p>On a personal note, our thanks go out to the firefighters who are battling this disaster and our thoughts are with the quarter of a million people who have been evacuated from their homes.</p>
<p>BBC:</p>
<p />
<p>California has evacuated a quarter of a million people as fierce winds fan wildfires in the Los Angeles region from San Diego up to Santa Barbara.</p>
<p>At least one person has died and thousands of homes are at risk in seven counties where fires have scorched some 200,000 acres (81,000 hectares).</p>
<p>About 1,500 National Guardsmen have been brought in to help fire-fighters.</p>
<p><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7055721.stm" type="external">Read more</a></p> | 2,993 |
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<p>CLOVIS – A grand jury has indicted a Clovis man for murder in the shooting death of another man inside a vacant home.</p>
<p>Prosecutors say a Curry County grand jury charged 40-year-old Eric Valdez on Friday with second-degree murder and tampering with evidence.</p>
<p>Ninth Judicial District Attorney Andrea Reeb says Valdez is accused of shooting 33-year-old Jose Barrera of Tucumcari.</p>
<p>Authorities say Barrera was found July 7 in a bathroom of the property with a gunshot wound to the head.</p>
<p>Police arrested Valdez after he admitted to the shooting.</p>
<p>According to police, Valdez says he and the victim got into a fight about Valdez’s daughter.</p>
<p>Valdez is currently being held in Curry County Adult Detention Center.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Murder charge in shooting death | false | https://abqjournal.com/432186/murder-charge-in-shooting-death.html | 2least
| Murder charge in shooting death
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>CLOVIS – A grand jury has indicted a Clovis man for murder in the shooting death of another man inside a vacant home.</p>
<p>Prosecutors say a Curry County grand jury charged 40-year-old Eric Valdez on Friday with second-degree murder and tampering with evidence.</p>
<p>Ninth Judicial District Attorney Andrea Reeb says Valdez is accused of shooting 33-year-old Jose Barrera of Tucumcari.</p>
<p>Authorities say Barrera was found July 7 in a bathroom of the property with a gunshot wound to the head.</p>
<p>Police arrested Valdez after he admitted to the shooting.</p>
<p>According to police, Valdez says he and the victim got into a fight about Valdez’s daughter.</p>
<p>Valdez is currently being held in Curry County Adult Detention Center.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 2,994 |
|
<p />
<p>Donald Trump said Tuesday he may return to Atlantic City, the down-on-its-luck gambling mecca he ruled in the 1980s and 1990s.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>On the same day the iconic Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino shut its doors for good, the fourth Atlantic City casino to close this year, Trump tweeted:</p>
<p>Trump Entertainment Resorts, the company that operates Trump Plaza and Trump Taj Mahal on the Atlantic City boardwalk, filed for bankruptcy last week. The company had announced last summer that Trump Plaza was closing in September, but in its bankruptcy filing it also threatened to close the Taj Mahal.</p>
<p>Both casinos were mainstays and flagships of the city’s boardwalk skyline. Trump Plaza opened in 1984 and the Trump Taj Mahal arrived four years later in 1990 to much fanfare a half-mile down the boardwalk.</p>
<p>Donald Trump was once recognized as the face of Atlantic City’s multi-billion dollar casino industry, regarded as a savior of a city more than once on life-support. At one point he owned four separate Atlantic City properties: three casinos and a stand-alone hotel.</p>
<p>But Trump pulled out of the troubled city in the mid-2000s as the company that bore his name attempted to weather difficult financial times. In recent years he played no official role at Trump Entertainment Resorts besides owning a 10% stake and allowing the firm to use his name for a licensing fee.</p>
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<p>Still, to this day the skyline above the city’s famed boardwalk is lit with the Trump name despite the fact he left town nearly a decade ago.</p>
<p>Trump added in another tweet Tuesday: “It is so sad to see what has happened to Atlantic City. So many bad decisions by the pols over the years - airport, convention center, etc.”</p>
<p>Trump sued last month to have Trump Entertainment Resorts either clean up the two properties or remove his name.</p>
<p>In the suit his lawyers charged: “Since Mr. Trump left Atlantic City many years ago, the license entities have allowed the casino properties to fall into an utter state of disrepair and have otherwise failed to operate and manage the casino properties in accordance with the high standards of quality and luxury required under the license agreement.”</p>
<p>Out on Pacific Avenue, where gamblers roll into the casinos off the Atlantic City Expressway via bus, car and limousine, the disrepair was notable on the two casinos that still bear his name. On a recent visit, both ‘M’s in the brightly lit entrance to Trump Taj Mahal had burned out, leaving a huge welcoming sign that read TRU P TAJ &#160;AHAL.</p>
<p>“I want it off both of them,” Trump recently told the Associated Press. “I’ve been away from Atlantic City for many years. People think we operate [the company], and we don’t. It’s not me.”</p>
<p>Trump would&#160; certainly be entering a buyer's market in Atlantic City. The Revel Casino, built at a cost of $2.6 billion, closed after less than two years in operation and reports say bidders are now looking at a $90 million price tag for the property. And Trump Plaza was on the market at the fire-sale price of $20 million last year in a deal that eventually fell through.</p> | Trump Plotting Return to Atlantic City? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2014/09/16/trump-plotting-return-to-atlantic-city.html | 2016-03-06 | 0right
| Trump Plotting Return to Atlantic City?
<p />
<p>Donald Trump said Tuesday he may return to Atlantic City, the down-on-its-luck gambling mecca he ruled in the 1980s and 1990s.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>On the same day the iconic Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino shut its doors for good, the fourth Atlantic City casino to close this year, Trump tweeted:</p>
<p>Trump Entertainment Resorts, the company that operates Trump Plaza and Trump Taj Mahal on the Atlantic City boardwalk, filed for bankruptcy last week. The company had announced last summer that Trump Plaza was closing in September, but in its bankruptcy filing it also threatened to close the Taj Mahal.</p>
<p>Both casinos were mainstays and flagships of the city’s boardwalk skyline. Trump Plaza opened in 1984 and the Trump Taj Mahal arrived four years later in 1990 to much fanfare a half-mile down the boardwalk.</p>
<p>Donald Trump was once recognized as the face of Atlantic City’s multi-billion dollar casino industry, regarded as a savior of a city more than once on life-support. At one point he owned four separate Atlantic City properties: three casinos and a stand-alone hotel.</p>
<p>But Trump pulled out of the troubled city in the mid-2000s as the company that bore his name attempted to weather difficult financial times. In recent years he played no official role at Trump Entertainment Resorts besides owning a 10% stake and allowing the firm to use his name for a licensing fee.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Still, to this day the skyline above the city’s famed boardwalk is lit with the Trump name despite the fact he left town nearly a decade ago.</p>
<p>Trump added in another tweet Tuesday: “It is so sad to see what has happened to Atlantic City. So many bad decisions by the pols over the years - airport, convention center, etc.”</p>
<p>Trump sued last month to have Trump Entertainment Resorts either clean up the two properties or remove his name.</p>
<p>In the suit his lawyers charged: “Since Mr. Trump left Atlantic City many years ago, the license entities have allowed the casino properties to fall into an utter state of disrepair and have otherwise failed to operate and manage the casino properties in accordance with the high standards of quality and luxury required under the license agreement.”</p>
<p>Out on Pacific Avenue, where gamblers roll into the casinos off the Atlantic City Expressway via bus, car and limousine, the disrepair was notable on the two casinos that still bear his name. On a recent visit, both ‘M’s in the brightly lit entrance to Trump Taj Mahal had burned out, leaving a huge welcoming sign that read TRU P TAJ &#160;AHAL.</p>
<p>“I want it off both of them,” Trump recently told the Associated Press. “I’ve been away from Atlantic City for many years. People think we operate [the company], and we don’t. It’s not me.”</p>
<p>Trump would&#160; certainly be entering a buyer's market in Atlantic City. The Revel Casino, built at a cost of $2.6 billion, closed after less than two years in operation and reports say bidders are now looking at a $90 million price tag for the property. And Trump Plaza was on the market at the fire-sale price of $20 million last year in a deal that eventually fell through.</p> | 2,995 |
<p>Whether you drink tea, coffee or Kool-Aid, it’s your civic duty to vote. It’s also surprisingly easy to end up in the wrong rec center casting a provisional ballot. Make sure you’re registered and know where to vote by searching with the election gadget below. You’ll find the latest poll info there as well.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p /> | Make Sure You Know Where to Vote | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/make-sure-you-know-where-to-vote/ | 2010-11-01 | 4left
| Make Sure You Know Where to Vote
<p>Whether you drink tea, coffee or Kool-Aid, it’s your civic duty to vote. It’s also surprisingly easy to end up in the wrong rec center casting a provisional ballot. Make sure you’re registered and know where to vote by searching with the election gadget below. You’ll find the latest poll info there as well.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p /> | 2,996 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>Authorities say hundreds of New Mexico residents who were students of a for-profit college chain will receive $632,000 in student-loan forgiveness as a result of a settlement of a multistate investigation into consumer complaints.</p>
<p>The agreement announced Tuesday by the New Mexico Attorney General's Office is part of a nationwide settlement with Education Management Corp.</p>
<p>Pittsburgh-based EDMC is the nation's second-largest for-profit college provider. The company operates 110 schools in 32 states plus Canada through Argosy University, The Art Institutes, Brown Mackie College and South University.</p>
<p>In New Mexico, the Attorney General's Office says EDMC operates a Brown Mackie campus in Albuquerque and that numerous New Mexico residents enrolled in online programs.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Debt forgiveness coming to New Mexico for college students | false | https://abqjournal.com/677345/debt-forgiveness-coming-to-new-mexico-for-college-students.html | 2least
| Debt forgiveness coming to New Mexico for college students
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>Authorities say hundreds of New Mexico residents who were students of a for-profit college chain will receive $632,000 in student-loan forgiveness as a result of a settlement of a multistate investigation into consumer complaints.</p>
<p>The agreement announced Tuesday by the New Mexico Attorney General's Office is part of a nationwide settlement with Education Management Corp.</p>
<p>Pittsburgh-based EDMC is the nation's second-largest for-profit college provider. The company operates 110 schools in 32 states plus Canada through Argosy University, The Art Institutes, Brown Mackie College and South University.</p>
<p>In New Mexico, the Attorney General's Office says EDMC operates a Brown Mackie campus in Albuquerque and that numerous New Mexico residents enrolled in online programs.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 2,997 |
|
<p>But, whether you blame the TV adaptation or the original text, the problem with Game of Thrones’ sexualized violence isn’t just the fact that it exists, or even that there’s lots of it. It’s the fact that the story itself often works to rationalize or justify that violence.</p>
<p>[SPOILER ALERT: This article contains major spoilers for the season finale.]</p>
<p>On Sunday night, Game of Thrones viewers tuned in to watch a man strangle his ex-girlfriend to death for hurting his feelings. The man in question is Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage), one of the few characters the show has ever encouraged us to side with unambiguously; the woman was Shae (Sibel Kekilli), a prostitute he’d hired on an exclusive basis back in the series’ first season. There has been plenty of heated coverage of the scene—including exclusive interviews with the <a href="http://tvline.com/2014/06/15/game-of-thrones-tyrion-kills-shae-sibel-kekilli-interview/" type="external">actors</a>, <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/game-thrones-tyrion-kills-tywin-711956" type="external">showrunners</a> and A Song of Ice and Fire <a href="http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/06/16/game-of-thrones-finale-martin/" type="external">author George R. R. Martin</a>, who originally wrote the twist—focusing on Tyrion’s motivations and what this means for his character going forward.</p>
<p>But, in all of that, no one seems willing to call the scene what it is: an act of partner abuse. And that’s due to some very tricky—and very dangerous —narrative work on behalf of the showrunners and George R. R. Martin. As viewers, we’re not only asked to rationalize Tyrion’s choice to physically harm his partner; we’re asked to believe that he did it out of “love.”</p>
<p>In the context of the show, Shae’s death is neither especially violent nor especially shocking. This is a series that delights in killing off major characters, after all, and the manner of her death can’t stand out as particularly gory on a show where we’ve seen people flayed, castrated and burned alive. (One major action scene this season featured a man popping his opponent’s skull like a watermelon at a Gallagher show. After that, choking someone to death seems downright polite.) Even so, the gender politics of the scene stand out as particularly nasty upon close examination, and the fact that most reviews have failed to note them says something even nastier about the effect Game of Thrones has on its audience’s sympathies.</p>
<p>The show has already come under fire for its sexism this year, especially in regard to a now-notorious rape scene, where the wicked queen Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) is raped by her supposedly good-hearted brother-slash-lover Jaime (Nickolaj Coster-Waldau). Some were quick to condemn the show for departing from the books;&#160; <a href="http://www.avclub.com/article/rape-thrones-203499" type="external">Sonia Saraiya noted</a> that the show had an established tendency to introduce scenes of violence against women where they weren't present in the original text.</p>
<p>Other critics, <a href="http://tigerbeatdown.com/2011/08/26/enter-ye-myne-mystic-world-of-gayng-raype-what-the-r-stands-for-in-george-r-r-martin/" type="external">myself included</a>, have pointed out that&#160;Game of Thrones’ tendency to use violence against women for cheap shock value is omnipresent throughout both the show and George R.R. Martin’s original writing. For example, while&#160; <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/gameofthrones/comments/rmim2/does_drogo_rape_daenerys/" type="external">some fans argued</a> that the TV series’ unambiguous rape scene between queen-in-exile Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) and the now-deceased Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa), began as an ambiguously “consensual” encounter between the two characters in the books, others maintained that it simply condensed the book's existing timeline, where, after a “consensual” wedding night (if you can ever call a sex scene between a little girl and the adult man to whom she’s been sold “consensual,” which, for the record, you cannot) Drogo begins routinely raping Daenerys until she somehow hones her sexual prowess to such an extent that he begins treating her nicely. Not only is the message of this plot line spectacularly retrograde in both versions—ladies! If you want your spouse to stop abusing you, just get really really good at giving him orgasms!— <a href="" type="internal">it’s arguably less offensive</a> in the TV version. After all, in the show, Daenerys is played by an adult actress, and we’re not forced (as we are in the books) to confront the fact that an adult man chose to write with palpable, leering eroticism about <a href="http://www.thegoktor.com/did-khal-drogo-rape-daenerys-targaryen/" type="external">the “stiffened,” “aching” nipples</a>and copious vaginal “wetness” of a 13-year-old child.</p>
<p>But whether you blame the TV adaptation or the original text, the problem with Game of Thrones’ sexualized violence isn’t just the fact that it exists, or even that there’s lots of it. It’s the fact that the story itself often works to rationalize or justify that violence. Daenerys’ rape itself isn’t inherently problematic; however, a narrative about marital rape that blossoms into true love is a huge problem, because it inherently justifies the abuse of women and girls. Similarly, the issue with Shae’s death isn’t simply that she dies; it’s the message sent by her murder.</p>
<p>In some senses, the scene is presented as a tit-for-tat revenge killing. Shae has spent most of the show working as Tyrion’s personal prostitute. After Tyrion fires her, Shae gives false testimony against him at a rigged trial intended to convict him of the murder of his nephew, King Joffrey (Jack Gleeson). Finally, when Tyrion escapes from prison, he discovers that Shae has been sleeping with his father, Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance), who was responsible for rigging the trial. We’re encouraged to believe that Shae gave her testimony out of vindictiveness, and even that she’d be willing to murder Tyrion: When he catches her in Tywin’s bedroom, she picks up a knife (a detail not included in the books) which many viewers took to mean that he was acting in self-defense. Shae “betrays” Tyrion; Shae allies with Tyrion’s enemies; Shae threatens Tyrion’s life, both with her testimony and with the knife. Therefore, Shae has to die. Simple, right?</p>
<p>Well, no. The more you look at that line of reasoning, the less sense it makes. To start with, Shae wasn’t Tyrion’s girlfriend; she was his employee. She started having sex with him when he started paying her, and she stopped when he stopped. The show suggests genuine affection developing on Shae's part, but the fact is, seeming affectionate to Tyrion was part of Shae's job, and money never stopped changing hands. To suggest that Tyrion is entitled to any sort of continuing loyalty from Shae is a fundamental misunderstanding of the sex worker/client relationship. For that matter, judging Shae for having sex with Tyrion’s enemy when her job is to have sex with people is also nonsensical; it’s the equivalent of saying that a laid-off worker is a bad person for taking another job with a competing company. And finally, there’s the fact that Shae was taken captive by Tywin prior to the trial, and would most likely have been tortured or executed if she refused to provide sex, testimony against Tyrion or both. Essentially, this is a character who gets killed for the crime of not getting herself killed.</p>
<p>And if the show seemed willing to grapple with the complexities of that arc—if it had, for example, focused its storytelling on Shae’s life as a marginalized woman and the coercion she often endured—I might actually commend it. Even if the writers had presented her death as the inevitable result of societal misogyny and Tyrion’s personal feelings of entitlement to women’s bodies and their sympathy, they might have been making a praiseworthy point. But this is simply not the case. The story of the trial, and their relationship, remains entirely centered on Tyrion’s emotions. Ultimately, Shae’s death serves no narrative function but to underline the message that we ought to pity her murderer: She’s presented as a vindictive ex rather than a victim—one more instance of how the world is unfair to poor old Tyrion Lannister. A <a href="https://twitter.com/search?src=typd&amp;q=shae%20game%20of%20thrones%20whore" type="external">quick Twitter search</a> pulls up dozens of comments like “She actually was a faithless whore,” “I’m so disappointed with Shae,” and “fuck that bitch,” confirming that the show’s efforts to confer viewer sympathies away from the victim and onto her killer are working for many.</p>
<p>Then, to add insult to injury, we’re expected to believe that he loves her. He’s shown weeping as he strangles her to death; he says “I’m sorry” to her corpse. In the very next scene, Tyrion confronts his father, gives a moving soliloquy about his love for Shae and promptly shoots Tywin to death with a crossbow for referring to her as a “whore.” It’s framed as a heroic act, a defense of Shae’s honor and value as a human being—which is to say, we’re asked to applaud a man for “defending” a woman he just beat and strangled to death in her bed for not liking him enough. Not only is this ludicrous, it renders Shae’s death purely gratuitous: She seems to have died solely to provide the emotional impetus for another, more narratively significant murder.</p>
<p>None of this is irrelevant. Women are killed by their partners or former partners at an alarming rate—40 percent of all female murder victims worldwide, in fact, <a href="http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/fvv.pdf" type="external">are killed by the men they date or used to date</a>. Even more are physically battered by them. These are the excuses we hear: That it was a crime of passion, that she brought it on herself, that she hurt him too, that he just couldn’t help himself. That he’s “sorry.” That he loved her. In Game of Thrones, the narrative works to make these excuses for Tyrion. By doing so, it actively contributes to the <a href="http://whenwomenrefuse.tumblr.com/" type="external">culture of abuse</a> women have to live in—or die in.</p>
<p>Far too frequently, Game of Thrones asks us&#160;to excuse the men who perpetrate violence against women: To believe that Jaime “loves” Cersei though he raped her, that Drogo “loved” Daenerys though he raped her repeatedly, that Tyrion “loved” Shae in spite of his evident belief that she didn’t deserve to live if he didn’t get everything he wanted from their relationship. So the problem with Game of Thrones isn’t that it features misogynistic acts. It’s that it doesn’t always recognize the misogyny of those acts—and that it teaches its viewers to share that dangerously clouded view.&#160;</p>
<p>Like what you’ve read? <a href="https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/itt-subscription-offer?refcode=WS_ITT_Article_Footer&amp;noskip=true" type="external">Subscribe to In These Times magazine</a>, or <a href="https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/support-in-these-times?refcode=WS_ITT_Article_Footer&amp;noskip=true" type="external">make a tax-deductible donation to fund this reporting</a>.</p>
<p>Sady Doyle is an In These Times contributor. She is the author of <a href="http://www.mhpbooks.com/books/trainwreck/" type="external">Trainwreck: The Women We Love to Hate, Mock, and Fear... and Why</a> (Melville House, 2016) and was the founder of the blog <a href="http://tigerbeatdown.com" type="external">Tiger Beatdown</a>. You can follow her on Twitter at @sadydoyle, or e-mail her at sady inthesetimes.com.</p> | Memo to ‘Game of Thrones’: Abusers Aren’t Heroes | true | http://inthesetimes.com/article/16847/game_of_thrones_misogyny_tyrion_shae | 2014-06-17 | 4left
| Memo to ‘Game of Thrones’: Abusers Aren’t Heroes
<p>But, whether you blame the TV adaptation or the original text, the problem with Game of Thrones’ sexualized violence isn’t just the fact that it exists, or even that there’s lots of it. It’s the fact that the story itself often works to rationalize or justify that violence.</p>
<p>[SPOILER ALERT: This article contains major spoilers for the season finale.]</p>
<p>On Sunday night, Game of Thrones viewers tuned in to watch a man strangle his ex-girlfriend to death for hurting his feelings. The man in question is Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage), one of the few characters the show has ever encouraged us to side with unambiguously; the woman was Shae (Sibel Kekilli), a prostitute he’d hired on an exclusive basis back in the series’ first season. There has been plenty of heated coverage of the scene—including exclusive interviews with the <a href="http://tvline.com/2014/06/15/game-of-thrones-tyrion-kills-shae-sibel-kekilli-interview/" type="external">actors</a>, <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/game-thrones-tyrion-kills-tywin-711956" type="external">showrunners</a> and A Song of Ice and Fire <a href="http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/06/16/game-of-thrones-finale-martin/" type="external">author George R. R. Martin</a>, who originally wrote the twist—focusing on Tyrion’s motivations and what this means for his character going forward.</p>
<p>But, in all of that, no one seems willing to call the scene what it is: an act of partner abuse. And that’s due to some very tricky—and very dangerous —narrative work on behalf of the showrunners and George R. R. Martin. As viewers, we’re not only asked to rationalize Tyrion’s choice to physically harm his partner; we’re asked to believe that he did it out of “love.”</p>
<p>In the context of the show, Shae’s death is neither especially violent nor especially shocking. This is a series that delights in killing off major characters, after all, and the manner of her death can’t stand out as particularly gory on a show where we’ve seen people flayed, castrated and burned alive. (One major action scene this season featured a man popping his opponent’s skull like a watermelon at a Gallagher show. After that, choking someone to death seems downright polite.) Even so, the gender politics of the scene stand out as particularly nasty upon close examination, and the fact that most reviews have failed to note them says something even nastier about the effect Game of Thrones has on its audience’s sympathies.</p>
<p>The show has already come under fire for its sexism this year, especially in regard to a now-notorious rape scene, where the wicked queen Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) is raped by her supposedly good-hearted brother-slash-lover Jaime (Nickolaj Coster-Waldau). Some were quick to condemn the show for departing from the books;&#160; <a href="http://www.avclub.com/article/rape-thrones-203499" type="external">Sonia Saraiya noted</a> that the show had an established tendency to introduce scenes of violence against women where they weren't present in the original text.</p>
<p>Other critics, <a href="http://tigerbeatdown.com/2011/08/26/enter-ye-myne-mystic-world-of-gayng-raype-what-the-r-stands-for-in-george-r-r-martin/" type="external">myself included</a>, have pointed out that&#160;Game of Thrones’ tendency to use violence against women for cheap shock value is omnipresent throughout both the show and George R.R. Martin’s original writing. For example, while&#160; <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/gameofthrones/comments/rmim2/does_drogo_rape_daenerys/" type="external">some fans argued</a> that the TV series’ unambiguous rape scene between queen-in-exile Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) and the now-deceased Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa), began as an ambiguously “consensual” encounter between the two characters in the books, others maintained that it simply condensed the book's existing timeline, where, after a “consensual” wedding night (if you can ever call a sex scene between a little girl and the adult man to whom she’s been sold “consensual,” which, for the record, you cannot) Drogo begins routinely raping Daenerys until she somehow hones her sexual prowess to such an extent that he begins treating her nicely. Not only is the message of this plot line spectacularly retrograde in both versions—ladies! If you want your spouse to stop abusing you, just get really really good at giving him orgasms!— <a href="" type="internal">it’s arguably less offensive</a> in the TV version. After all, in the show, Daenerys is played by an adult actress, and we’re not forced (as we are in the books) to confront the fact that an adult man chose to write with palpable, leering eroticism about <a href="http://www.thegoktor.com/did-khal-drogo-rape-daenerys-targaryen/" type="external">the “stiffened,” “aching” nipples</a>and copious vaginal “wetness” of a 13-year-old child.</p>
<p>But whether you blame the TV adaptation or the original text, the problem with Game of Thrones’ sexualized violence isn’t just the fact that it exists, or even that there’s lots of it. It’s the fact that the story itself often works to rationalize or justify that violence. Daenerys’ rape itself isn’t inherently problematic; however, a narrative about marital rape that blossoms into true love is a huge problem, because it inherently justifies the abuse of women and girls. Similarly, the issue with Shae’s death isn’t simply that she dies; it’s the message sent by her murder.</p>
<p>In some senses, the scene is presented as a tit-for-tat revenge killing. Shae has spent most of the show working as Tyrion’s personal prostitute. After Tyrion fires her, Shae gives false testimony against him at a rigged trial intended to convict him of the murder of his nephew, King Joffrey (Jack Gleeson). Finally, when Tyrion escapes from prison, he discovers that Shae has been sleeping with his father, Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance), who was responsible for rigging the trial. We’re encouraged to believe that Shae gave her testimony out of vindictiveness, and even that she’d be willing to murder Tyrion: When he catches her in Tywin’s bedroom, she picks up a knife (a detail not included in the books) which many viewers took to mean that he was acting in self-defense. Shae “betrays” Tyrion; Shae allies with Tyrion’s enemies; Shae threatens Tyrion’s life, both with her testimony and with the knife. Therefore, Shae has to die. Simple, right?</p>
<p>Well, no. The more you look at that line of reasoning, the less sense it makes. To start with, Shae wasn’t Tyrion’s girlfriend; she was his employee. She started having sex with him when he started paying her, and she stopped when he stopped. The show suggests genuine affection developing on Shae's part, but the fact is, seeming affectionate to Tyrion was part of Shae's job, and money never stopped changing hands. To suggest that Tyrion is entitled to any sort of continuing loyalty from Shae is a fundamental misunderstanding of the sex worker/client relationship. For that matter, judging Shae for having sex with Tyrion’s enemy when her job is to have sex with people is also nonsensical; it’s the equivalent of saying that a laid-off worker is a bad person for taking another job with a competing company. And finally, there’s the fact that Shae was taken captive by Tywin prior to the trial, and would most likely have been tortured or executed if she refused to provide sex, testimony against Tyrion or both. Essentially, this is a character who gets killed for the crime of not getting herself killed.</p>
<p>And if the show seemed willing to grapple with the complexities of that arc—if it had, for example, focused its storytelling on Shae’s life as a marginalized woman and the coercion she often endured—I might actually commend it. Even if the writers had presented her death as the inevitable result of societal misogyny and Tyrion’s personal feelings of entitlement to women’s bodies and their sympathy, they might have been making a praiseworthy point. But this is simply not the case. The story of the trial, and their relationship, remains entirely centered on Tyrion’s emotions. Ultimately, Shae’s death serves no narrative function but to underline the message that we ought to pity her murderer: She’s presented as a vindictive ex rather than a victim—one more instance of how the world is unfair to poor old Tyrion Lannister. A <a href="https://twitter.com/search?src=typd&amp;q=shae%20game%20of%20thrones%20whore" type="external">quick Twitter search</a> pulls up dozens of comments like “She actually was a faithless whore,” “I’m so disappointed with Shae,” and “fuck that bitch,” confirming that the show’s efforts to confer viewer sympathies away from the victim and onto her killer are working for many.</p>
<p>Then, to add insult to injury, we’re expected to believe that he loves her. He’s shown weeping as he strangles her to death; he says “I’m sorry” to her corpse. In the very next scene, Tyrion confronts his father, gives a moving soliloquy about his love for Shae and promptly shoots Tywin to death with a crossbow for referring to her as a “whore.” It’s framed as a heroic act, a defense of Shae’s honor and value as a human being—which is to say, we’re asked to applaud a man for “defending” a woman he just beat and strangled to death in her bed for not liking him enough. Not only is this ludicrous, it renders Shae’s death purely gratuitous: She seems to have died solely to provide the emotional impetus for another, more narratively significant murder.</p>
<p>None of this is irrelevant. Women are killed by their partners or former partners at an alarming rate—40 percent of all female murder victims worldwide, in fact, <a href="http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/fvv.pdf" type="external">are killed by the men they date or used to date</a>. Even more are physically battered by them. These are the excuses we hear: That it was a crime of passion, that she brought it on herself, that she hurt him too, that he just couldn’t help himself. That he’s “sorry.” That he loved her. In Game of Thrones, the narrative works to make these excuses for Tyrion. By doing so, it actively contributes to the <a href="http://whenwomenrefuse.tumblr.com/" type="external">culture of abuse</a> women have to live in—or die in.</p>
<p>Far too frequently, Game of Thrones asks us&#160;to excuse the men who perpetrate violence against women: To believe that Jaime “loves” Cersei though he raped her, that Drogo “loved” Daenerys though he raped her repeatedly, that Tyrion “loved” Shae in spite of his evident belief that she didn’t deserve to live if he didn’t get everything he wanted from their relationship. So the problem with Game of Thrones isn’t that it features misogynistic acts. It’s that it doesn’t always recognize the misogyny of those acts—and that it teaches its viewers to share that dangerously clouded view.&#160;</p>
<p>Like what you’ve read? <a href="https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/itt-subscription-offer?refcode=WS_ITT_Article_Footer&amp;noskip=true" type="external">Subscribe to In These Times magazine</a>, or <a href="https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/support-in-these-times?refcode=WS_ITT_Article_Footer&amp;noskip=true" type="external">make a tax-deductible donation to fund this reporting</a>.</p>
<p>Sady Doyle is an In These Times contributor. She is the author of <a href="http://www.mhpbooks.com/books/trainwreck/" type="external">Trainwreck: The Women We Love to Hate, Mock, and Fear... and Why</a> (Melville House, 2016) and was the founder of the blog <a href="http://tigerbeatdown.com" type="external">Tiger Beatdown</a>. You can follow her on Twitter at @sadydoyle, or e-mail her at sady inthesetimes.com.</p> | 2,998 |
<p>Let’s imagine ourselves as belonging to a remote valley population that survives on water supplied by groundwater reserves.&#160; As a society we have collectively decided to send the best and brightest to use their ingenuity to find the reserves and dig efficient wells that can sustain the population.&#160; They consider it a proud public service.&#160; As a result of population growth and technological advancement, more wells are dug farther and farther from the valley.&#160; The society subsequently grants a charter to a group of businessmen to incorporate and manufacture electric cars to transport people to and from the wells.&#160; Again, this is considered to be for the good of the population: people need access to water.&#160; These businessmen are allowed to behave according to classical market principles whereby profits incentivize efficiency.&#160; Higher efficiency means better access water which is essential for survival.</p>
<p>As time passes, the population continues to grow and technology continues to advance.&#160; It becomes increasingly clear that the most efficient way to facilitate water access to the population is to a construct a high speed train that the entire population can use.&#160; Since it’s a train, it would eliminate the need for each person to purchase an electric car.&#160; When you need water, all you would need to do is hop on the Aquatrak.&#160; People would rather concern themselves with creative endeavors and personal relationships than how they’re going to afford an electric car.&#160; Water is essential to human life, so implementing the Aquatrak is pretty obvious, right?</p>
<p>Wrong, because we forgot about the owners of Megawatt Motors.&#160; We let them incorporate and accumulate profit which became an addiction.&#160; They became wealthy enough to bribe our leaders and chief decision-makers.&#160; They couldn’t let Aquatrak develop or they would lose all their business.&#160; It doesn’t matter if all of their employees stand to benefit greatly from the better access to water.&#160; The profit distribution at the top would inexorably decline.</p>
<p>Eventually people get unruly and uncooperative as their collective sympathy kicks in upon witnessing the poor go without electric cars and the thirsty go without water.&#160; To check the unrest, Megawatt Motors allows for the construction of Aquatrak.&#160; They refuse to fund it, but they demand that only the poor and the old can use it.&#160; This, too, starts to unsettle the savage population so they stipulate that you can get on the train if you’re about to die from thirst, but those wonderful people we sent to dig the wells are going to have to pay for it which makes them jaded and cynical.&#160; Everyone else needs to buy a car if they want water.</p>
<p>Some discover that you don’t&#160;need&#160;to buy a car. &#160;If they really need water, they figure they’ll just walk the distance to the closest groundwater well.&#160; If, along the way, they realize that they were too brash and can’t make it the whole way, they have three options: 1) die 2) rent a car or 3) board the emergency train.&#160; Each option is a problem.&#160; Our society doesn’t like dying which leaves the latter two.&#160; Option 2 is bad because Megawatt Motors needs to cover its costs.&#160; So when less people buy their cars, they increase the unit price which is only rational.&#160; Increasing the unit price is bad for everyone else because they have no choice but to pay the extra cost: they&#160;need&#160;the car because they&#160;needwater.&#160; Option 3 is bad because, again, those bright groundwater seekers have to pay for it.&#160; But they’re jaded and cynical now so they bill at a higher rate for their labor.</p>
<p>So now both electric cars AND water are ridiculously expensive which burdens the society.&#160; The motor of public unrest begins to turn again.&#160; People are angry that access to water has become so expensive.&#160; It did not used to be this expensive.&#160; They can no longer focus on their passions because they are always worried about water.&#160; Disdain forms between those who can afford electric cars and those who cannot afford electric cars.&#160; The entire population becomes bitter and suspicious.&#160; They don’t understand why they are paying for an Aquatrak that they’re not allowed to use.&#160; They become angry at those using the Aquatrak.&#160; Blinded by consumerism, xenophobia, and nationalism, they cannot understand what is happening.</p>
<p>Megawatt Motors eventually sees a grand opportunity.&#160; They see this opportunity because they are clever which they have to be in order to feed their addiction.&#160; They allow a single idea to penetrate the hazy confusion and reveal its head above the cloud.&#160; Society begins to entertain the idea of forcing its constituents to buy electric cars.&#160; It seems like a great idea because the cost of water and water labor will decrease.&#160; It appears to be an answer to the big problem, a solution in the midst of turbulence.</p>
<p>If everyone buys an electric car, everyone gets water and both become cheaper.&#160; &#160;To many, it’s a no-brainer.&#160; But the rest can’t let go of their suspicion and bitterness.&#160; They detest the idea of being forced to buy an electric car. They feel that it is unfair, oppressive, and hostile to their liberty.&#160; Megawatt Motors waits silently as the two sides argue bitterly against each other.&#160; The legal obligation to purchase an electric car would be great for business and profits would soar.&#160; That’s why they let the idea grow, develop, and reach public consciousness.</p>
<p>In the chaos, the general population forgets about the power of Aquatrak, the simplest solution of all.&#160; One train versus an electric car for each person.&#160; The train is not fueled by the addiction to profit, but rather by the need for water.&#160; Everyone is allowed on the train, so no one is suspicious of each other.&#160; Everyone takes the train, so our innocent water collectors can go back to digging new wells instead of running tabs.&#160; Collective sympathy is restored.&#160; We remember that water isn’t a commodity, but an element of societal survival.</p>
<p>Aquatrak represents a single-payer universal healthcare system that cuts out the insurance middlemen represented by Megawatt Motors.&#160; During Tuesday’s Supreme Court session, attorney Paul Clement argued with Justice Kagan about the difference between electric cars and health insurance as market entities: “My unwillingness to buy an electric car is forcing up the price of an electric car…If only more people demanded an electric car, there would be economies of scale, and the price would go down” (1).&#160; Clement argued that that sort of inaction does not indicate active engagement in commerce and likewise with failure to buy health insurance.&#160; Kagan disagreed with the analogy and argued that healthcare is by nature different in that even if you do not buy health insurance, you are still entitled to healthcare.&#160; It would be like refusing to buy an electric car, but reaping the benefits of automated travel.</p>
<p>This forced intimacy between two “markets” is the absurdity that we all overlook.&#160; to buy or not to buy health insurance is NOT the question.&#160;&#160;It doesn’t have to be.&#160;&#160;Congress does not have to impose commerce.&#160; Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution: The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States.&#160; There’s no reason to force the people to do business with Megawatt Motors when Aquatrak can be financed via taxes.</p>
<p>These Supreme Court proceedings cloud the importance of health not as a commodity but as elemental to human civilization.&#160; Every human depends on it and, as such, it unites us in solidarity.&#160; We care about each other’s access to it.&#160; How can we stay silent as Americans when we’re the only modern industrialized nation where loss of employment means loss of health, loss of life?&#160; Why is corporate profit so intimately connected with popular sustenance?&#160; &#160;If healthcare distribution by wealth weren’t so viscerally immoral, why did we find it necessary to forbid emergency rooms to turn people away?&#160; Is that really the limit to our moral imagination?</p>
<p>We can’t see the 47 million uninsured, but we know they are there.&#160; How is this okay?&#160; Mandated coverage under Obamacare will not come near closing that deficit, but we’ve allowed the debate to be framed in such a way that there is no other option.&#160; Not only does it not go far enough, it’s going in the wrong direction.&#160; Channeling billions right back to private MCOs and pharmaceutical giants is not a band-aid on a papercut.&#160; It’s cauterizing a stab wound to the neck.&#160; It might stop the bleeding, but it will become infected.</p>
<p>Ravi Katari&#160;works for a health law firm &#160;in Washington D.C. &#160;He graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in Biomedical Engineering.&#160;</p>
<p>Notes.</p>
<p>(1)&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; <a href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/11-398-Tuesday.pdf" type="external">http://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/11-398-Tuesday.pdf</a></p> | The Affordable Care Act: an Allegorical Perspective | true | https://counterpunch.org/2012/03/29/the-affordable-care-act-an-allegorical-perspective/ | 2012-03-29 | 4left
| The Affordable Care Act: an Allegorical Perspective
<p>Let’s imagine ourselves as belonging to a remote valley population that survives on water supplied by groundwater reserves.&#160; As a society we have collectively decided to send the best and brightest to use their ingenuity to find the reserves and dig efficient wells that can sustain the population.&#160; They consider it a proud public service.&#160; As a result of population growth and technological advancement, more wells are dug farther and farther from the valley.&#160; The society subsequently grants a charter to a group of businessmen to incorporate and manufacture electric cars to transport people to and from the wells.&#160; Again, this is considered to be for the good of the population: people need access to water.&#160; These businessmen are allowed to behave according to classical market principles whereby profits incentivize efficiency.&#160; Higher efficiency means better access water which is essential for survival.</p>
<p>As time passes, the population continues to grow and technology continues to advance.&#160; It becomes increasingly clear that the most efficient way to facilitate water access to the population is to a construct a high speed train that the entire population can use.&#160; Since it’s a train, it would eliminate the need for each person to purchase an electric car.&#160; When you need water, all you would need to do is hop on the Aquatrak.&#160; People would rather concern themselves with creative endeavors and personal relationships than how they’re going to afford an electric car.&#160; Water is essential to human life, so implementing the Aquatrak is pretty obvious, right?</p>
<p>Wrong, because we forgot about the owners of Megawatt Motors.&#160; We let them incorporate and accumulate profit which became an addiction.&#160; They became wealthy enough to bribe our leaders and chief decision-makers.&#160; They couldn’t let Aquatrak develop or they would lose all their business.&#160; It doesn’t matter if all of their employees stand to benefit greatly from the better access to water.&#160; The profit distribution at the top would inexorably decline.</p>
<p>Eventually people get unruly and uncooperative as their collective sympathy kicks in upon witnessing the poor go without electric cars and the thirsty go without water.&#160; To check the unrest, Megawatt Motors allows for the construction of Aquatrak.&#160; They refuse to fund it, but they demand that only the poor and the old can use it.&#160; This, too, starts to unsettle the savage population so they stipulate that you can get on the train if you’re about to die from thirst, but those wonderful people we sent to dig the wells are going to have to pay for it which makes them jaded and cynical.&#160; Everyone else needs to buy a car if they want water.</p>
<p>Some discover that you don’t&#160;need&#160;to buy a car. &#160;If they really need water, they figure they’ll just walk the distance to the closest groundwater well.&#160; If, along the way, they realize that they were too brash and can’t make it the whole way, they have three options: 1) die 2) rent a car or 3) board the emergency train.&#160; Each option is a problem.&#160; Our society doesn’t like dying which leaves the latter two.&#160; Option 2 is bad because Megawatt Motors needs to cover its costs.&#160; So when less people buy their cars, they increase the unit price which is only rational.&#160; Increasing the unit price is bad for everyone else because they have no choice but to pay the extra cost: they&#160;need&#160;the car because they&#160;needwater.&#160; Option 3 is bad because, again, those bright groundwater seekers have to pay for it.&#160; But they’re jaded and cynical now so they bill at a higher rate for their labor.</p>
<p>So now both electric cars AND water are ridiculously expensive which burdens the society.&#160; The motor of public unrest begins to turn again.&#160; People are angry that access to water has become so expensive.&#160; It did not used to be this expensive.&#160; They can no longer focus on their passions because they are always worried about water.&#160; Disdain forms between those who can afford electric cars and those who cannot afford electric cars.&#160; The entire population becomes bitter and suspicious.&#160; They don’t understand why they are paying for an Aquatrak that they’re not allowed to use.&#160; They become angry at those using the Aquatrak.&#160; Blinded by consumerism, xenophobia, and nationalism, they cannot understand what is happening.</p>
<p>Megawatt Motors eventually sees a grand opportunity.&#160; They see this opportunity because they are clever which they have to be in order to feed their addiction.&#160; They allow a single idea to penetrate the hazy confusion and reveal its head above the cloud.&#160; Society begins to entertain the idea of forcing its constituents to buy electric cars.&#160; It seems like a great idea because the cost of water and water labor will decrease.&#160; It appears to be an answer to the big problem, a solution in the midst of turbulence.</p>
<p>If everyone buys an electric car, everyone gets water and both become cheaper.&#160; &#160;To many, it’s a no-brainer.&#160; But the rest can’t let go of their suspicion and bitterness.&#160; They detest the idea of being forced to buy an electric car. They feel that it is unfair, oppressive, and hostile to their liberty.&#160; Megawatt Motors waits silently as the two sides argue bitterly against each other.&#160; The legal obligation to purchase an electric car would be great for business and profits would soar.&#160; That’s why they let the idea grow, develop, and reach public consciousness.</p>
<p>In the chaos, the general population forgets about the power of Aquatrak, the simplest solution of all.&#160; One train versus an electric car for each person.&#160; The train is not fueled by the addiction to profit, but rather by the need for water.&#160; Everyone is allowed on the train, so no one is suspicious of each other.&#160; Everyone takes the train, so our innocent water collectors can go back to digging new wells instead of running tabs.&#160; Collective sympathy is restored.&#160; We remember that water isn’t a commodity, but an element of societal survival.</p>
<p>Aquatrak represents a single-payer universal healthcare system that cuts out the insurance middlemen represented by Megawatt Motors.&#160; During Tuesday’s Supreme Court session, attorney Paul Clement argued with Justice Kagan about the difference between electric cars and health insurance as market entities: “My unwillingness to buy an electric car is forcing up the price of an electric car…If only more people demanded an electric car, there would be economies of scale, and the price would go down” (1).&#160; Clement argued that that sort of inaction does not indicate active engagement in commerce and likewise with failure to buy health insurance.&#160; Kagan disagreed with the analogy and argued that healthcare is by nature different in that even if you do not buy health insurance, you are still entitled to healthcare.&#160; It would be like refusing to buy an electric car, but reaping the benefits of automated travel.</p>
<p>This forced intimacy between two “markets” is the absurdity that we all overlook.&#160; to buy or not to buy health insurance is NOT the question.&#160;&#160;It doesn’t have to be.&#160;&#160;Congress does not have to impose commerce.&#160; Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution: The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States.&#160; There’s no reason to force the people to do business with Megawatt Motors when Aquatrak can be financed via taxes.</p>
<p>These Supreme Court proceedings cloud the importance of health not as a commodity but as elemental to human civilization.&#160; Every human depends on it and, as such, it unites us in solidarity.&#160; We care about each other’s access to it.&#160; How can we stay silent as Americans when we’re the only modern industrialized nation where loss of employment means loss of health, loss of life?&#160; Why is corporate profit so intimately connected with popular sustenance?&#160; &#160;If healthcare distribution by wealth weren’t so viscerally immoral, why did we find it necessary to forbid emergency rooms to turn people away?&#160; Is that really the limit to our moral imagination?</p>
<p>We can’t see the 47 million uninsured, but we know they are there.&#160; How is this okay?&#160; Mandated coverage under Obamacare will not come near closing that deficit, but we’ve allowed the debate to be framed in such a way that there is no other option.&#160; Not only does it not go far enough, it’s going in the wrong direction.&#160; Channeling billions right back to private MCOs and pharmaceutical giants is not a band-aid on a papercut.&#160; It’s cauterizing a stab wound to the neck.&#160; It might stop the bleeding, but it will become infected.</p>
<p>Ravi Katari&#160;works for a health law firm &#160;in Washington D.C. &#160;He graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in Biomedical Engineering.&#160;</p>
<p>Notes.</p>
<p>(1)&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; <a href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/11-398-Tuesday.pdf" type="external">http://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/11-398-Tuesday.pdf</a></p> | 2,999 |
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